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 *=^o,j^ 
 
 WA 
 
 HISTORICAL LEAFLET 
 
 TME NEUTRAL NATIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 JVIary 6. Rose-Rolden 
 
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 Public Archives Archives puWiques 
 Canada Canada 
 
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 THE NEUTRAL NATIONS. 
 
 THE ERIES. 
 
 Ruad before tke Hamilton Siientific Association 
 BY MARY E. ROSE HOLDEN. 
 
 " Who then lives to mourn us? None. 
 ' What marks our exterminatioa ? Nothing.' —Sf.neca. 
 
 • 'Not Hindoo, Afgan, Cushite or Pareee, 
 
 The Indian his own prototype uiusD be." 
 
 The occupants of the shores of this lake by the ancient and 
 extinct tribe of the Eries, who were once the acknowledged pacifi- 
 cators of the neighboring Indians, and who preceded the Iroquois in 
 warlike and civic power within that basin, gives a melancholy interest 
 to whatever in the existing archaeological remains of the country, 
 serves to restore the memory of their power. 
 
 They appear to have been in the plentitude of pre-eminence 
 and of a civil zed strerf'/.h nnd influence pt the period of the first 
 discoveries of the J.'repch iri tih- beginuing of t^i*; seventeenth cen- 
 tury. The Wyandot-Hurons at that time had not been disturbed 
 from the possession of their ancient territories on the shores and 
 valley of the St. Lawrence. The Eries seem to possess unique claim 
 to remembrance, which cannot be urged by any other American 
 tribe — a claim still older than the days of Hiawatha, viz.: that of 
 kindling the Council Fires of Peace for all the tribes of the continent. 
 
 According to the French Missionaries, the Eries were at the 
 head of the singular league knoivn as the Neutral Nations. Their 
 territory extended from the extreme west to the eastern shores of 
 Lake Erie, including the Niagara valley, and of whom the Kau- 
 Kuas, of Seneca fame and tradition, were manifestly only one of the 
 powers. The dispersion of the Eries, according to European writers, 
 took place in 1656 ; according to Cusick that event occurred at the 
 time of Cabot. 
 
 The following facts are well authenticated : The Neutres kept 
 their neutrality until 1634 ; they had 36 villages in 1641 and a gar- 
 
rison of 4,000 warriors, with a total population of 12,000. The first 
 breach of the Covenant was followed by a truce for nine years. 
 
 Their history, rise, spread and power and final fall is involved 
 in a degree of obscurity which is all the more stimulating from the 
 few gleams of tradition given. There is no doubt that the Institu- 
 tion of the Pipe of Peace Council must have been subject to a very 
 delicate exercise of authority, and which was also often fluctuating 
 in its power, it was finally overthrown by some indiscreet act. The 
 power to light this pacific fire is represented as having been held by 
 a woman, and after its final extinction in the area of western New 
 York, it was equally clear that hereafter it began to flicker. It was 
 finally put out in terrible bloodshed by the increasing and conquer- 
 ing Five Nations. The fate of the Eries has excited deep interest, 
 and they are still brought to mind by the noble lake and its noted 
 outlet the Falls of Niagara, the lake which still bears their once dis- 
 tinguished name. 
 
 They possessed twelve large forts, which were similar to the 
 cities of refuge of the children of Israel. The country was noted for 
 its fertility, game of every kind abounded, and fruits of sunny France 
 flourished in the open air. The Eries were regarded as the Pacifi- 
 cators or Pea,ce 'GourrciUors of the pjapy tpi-bes-and confederacies 
 which waged war.?^"fiiripu9l,y(:fne'w,itl) another nofcth; south, east and 
 west of them. In the year 1626 they were ruled by Queen Yag-ow- 
 anea, " Mother of Nations." 
 
 She was called " Gegosasa" by the French and Senecas. They 
 spoke a dialect of the old Huron-Iroquois race, in morale and religious 
 belief, that of living under a Theocracy, they also agreed with these 
 Romans of the New world. The Eries occupied geographically a 
 significant position, their territory lay intermediate between all con- 
 tending parties — red and white — the various Indian confederacies, as 
 well as the rival European powers in the race for supremacy on the 
 comment. They had already from propinquity and from a certain 
 community of habit, and in spite of their supposed perfectly estab- 
 lished neutrality between the powers, been drawn into a secret 
 friendship with the Mississagies who dwelt on the west and north of 
 Lake Ontario. Totemic ties of consanguinity, as well as the sacred 
 trust of Kindler of the Peace fires of the continent, should have kept 
 Gegosasa true to her guardianship and faithful to her vows of vir- 
 
 I 
 
 
4- 
 
 < « • 
 
 ginity, trust and vows, which required greater wisdom than this last 
 Queen of her dynasty possessed. 
 
 The first war was caused by an act of perfidy, and from the 
 account given by David Cusick, Yagowanea, was in some respects 
 another Zenobia. But Yagcwanea sacrificed an empire of neutrality 
 to the passion of love she entertained towards a Mississaga Chief. 
 
 There is a good deal of evidence given among many nations of 
 this continent that the order of Vestal Virgins was a recognized one 
 among the N. A. Indians. This summer, 1899, while visiting Me- 
 dad, I heard the following tale, scarcely yet has time elapsed to 
 dignify it into tradition : ^ ^, 
 
 When the vicinity of Medad was first being searched for relics, 
 some delvers in their diggings on a knoll overlooking the weird 
 waters and their surroundings, came across a solitary grave which 
 held the skeleton of a woman— what was left of her mouldering cere- 
 ments and the crumbling bones exposed to the open air were all 
 that remained of a woman of rank. By what token, or by whom 
 first whispered it is not known, but 'tis said, "through loss of her 
 " virtue, this woman was buried in a lonely grave, her remains not 
 •' being thought worthy of burial in the communion ' pit,' of family^. 
 " tribe or race." 
 
 According to Horatio Hale, "It is likely that the Erits separ- 
 " ated from the parent stock earlier than the Iroquois, and that 
 " they were thus enabled for a time to avoid becoming embroiled in 
 " the quarrel between the two great divisions of the race." Of this 
 we are certain, that they were the first to turn their steps southward, 
 cross the Canawaga (St. Lawrence), then turn their faces westward, 
 and follow the setting sun, finally settling down in the rich fields, 
 and fruit lands of the central peninsula of Canaiderada, the country^ 
 of " big lakes and rivers " Father de La Roche, a Recollect, passed 
 the winter of 1626 with the Neutre, Erigh or Cat nations — the first 
 Frenchman who came in contact with the important neutral oonfed^ 
 eracy occupying the present Niagara escarpment. Most of the vil- 
 ages were on the west side of the Niagara river, their country being 
 the ordinary, neutral passage way between the Iroquois and the 
 Hurons — sworn enemies. On all early maps the Erie cities of ref- 
 uge, situated on Lakes Erie or Ontario, were at some distance from 
 both lake and river, they were found some miles away from the 
 
water in order that they might not be surprised from sudden 
 attack. 
 
 Father de La Roche, in his first attempt to Christianize the 
 Indians, notes the peculiarity which distinguished the Eries from all 
 the other nations of America — the astounding peculiarity of neu- 
 trality between fierce and ever contending nations. They spoke a 
 dialect of Iroquois in the western, and in the northern cantons the 
 dialect was of the Huron type, while on the banks of the Niagara a 
 very close relationship existed with the Seneca speech. 
 
 This" is the only confederacy which we read of in America, which 
 was governed by a woman. According to David Cusirk in his his- 
 tory of the Five Nations, first published in 1825, the final destruction 
 of the Eries was caused by an act of perfidy. The wampum and 
 peace pipe of the Mother of Nations" were held sacred ; all who 
 sought the shelter of her lodge were "considered safe from their pur- 
 suers until such time as the question in dispute should be discussed 
 by representative chiefs from the nations representing the litigants, 
 the Queen, through virtue of her office, rendering judgment on the _| 
 
 case, a verdict from which there was no appeal. . 
 
 The central point of her authority was a place called Kieuka, 
 on the Niagara ridge and not very far from the present village of 
 Tuscarora. Protected by the sanctity of her ofifice, a reputation 
 which seems to give evidence of the truth of the assertion which has 
 been made that the order of *"Vestal Virgins was a recognized one 
 among the N. A. Indians, she had a council house and a contiguous 
 building, where she received messengers and ambassadors from the 
 Five Nations, the Wyandot (Huron), Mississagies and others. Her 
 lands extended to the foot of Lake Erie and along the head of 
 Lake Ontario. Near the " head of the lake " (Ontario), an outrage 
 occurred, which she caused summarily to be punished and which 
 led to the fatal breach of neutrality. The Seneca warriois had been 
 received and had begun to smoke the pipe of peace when a deputa- 
 tion of Mississagies were announced. These latter informed the 
 queen that the two men before her had just returned from assassinat- 
 
 T 
 
 ♦NoTK. — This is a tradition corroborated by the fact that the Indians 
 still show some medicinal plants which they say are very salutary, but 
 whicli have no virtue unless administered by Virgin hands. 
 
« 
 
 ing their noted chief, the queen's lover. They demanded the right 
 of blood and this demand was instantly granted, though in violation 
 of the sanctity of her lodge as a place of refuge. The Senecas were 
 put to horrible death by the Mississagies. Intelligence of this breach 
 of procedure in the queen's office spread in every direction. The 
 Iroquois, the aggrieved party, flew to arms. The Queen, when her 
 frenzy of grief had time to calm, realized what in her temporary 
 oblivion of all around her she had jeopardised for herself and 
 people — she knew what awaited her at the hands of the Iroquois — 
 but the warlike instincts of her forefathers rose to the occasion. She 
 at once despatched messengers to Onondaga to explain her position 
 and to modern Buffalo, her chief garrisoned city. She also 
 appealed to the VVar-an-ak-arana (Andastes), who were encamped 
 then on the banks of Lake Erie to come to her assistance. She 
 went herself to Buffalo and at the head of a very large force of war- 
 riors proceeded rapidly towards the Genesee river where the first 
 1 engagement took place. She was met by fifteen hundred Sentcas 
 
 T under Shorikowana, a most noted Seneca warrior. The two parties 
 
 met about midway between Canandaigua lake and the Genesee river, 
 and near the outlet of two small lakes, near the foot of one called 
 Hon-ey-oye the battle was fought. 
 
 When the two parties came in sight of each other, the outlet of 
 the lake only intervened between them. The entire force of the 
 Iroquois was not in view of the Eries. The reserve corps of one 
 thousand young men had not been alloweTJ to advance in view of the 
 foe. At sight of their opposing force on the opposite side of the 
 stream, the Eries impetuously ruslied through the water and fell on 
 the enemy with tremendous fury. 
 ^' ' Notwithstanding the undaunted courage and bravery of the 
 
 Iroquois they could not withstand such a terrible onslaught, they 
 were con)pelled to yield the ground on the bank of the stream. The 
 whole force of the Iroquois, except the ccJrps of reserve, now became 
 engaged ; they fought hand to hand and foot to foot ; the battle 
 raged horribly, no quarter was asked or given on either side. As 
 the fight thickened and became more and more desperate, the Eries 
 for the first time became sensible of their true position. What they 
 had long feared had become a fearful reality. Their enemies had 
 combined together for their destruction, and they now found themselves 
 
engaged suddenly and unexpectedly in a fearful struggle, which in- 
 volved not only their high prestige as arbitrators of America, and 
 also as the glorious custodians of the National Pipe of Peace, but 
 the fate of their national existence now hung on the issues of the 
 day. They were intensely proud, the word of their Queen, " Mother 
 of Nations," had from immemorial time been unquestioned law — a 
 power felt and a superiority acknowledged by all the surrounding 
 tribes. All these considerations flashed upon the minds of the bold 
 Eries, and nerved every arm with almost supernatural strength and 
 power. 
 
 On the other hand, tbe united forces of the once weaker tribes, 
 but seventy years joined together as a league and confederacy by 
 Hiawatha, and made strong in their union, fired by a spirit of emu- 
 lation and excited to the highest pitch among the warriors of the 
 different tribes brought for the first time to act in concert ; insi)ired 
 with zeal and confidence by the counsels of the wisest chiefs, and led 
 on by the most experienced warriors of all the united tribts, the 
 five nations were invincible. Though staggered at the first desperate 
 onslaught of the Eries, the Iroquois soon rallied and made a stand, 
 and now the din of battle rises higher and higher ; the war club, the 
 tomahawk and the scalping knife, wielded by herculean arms, do 
 terrible deeds of battle and death. During the hottest of the con- 
 flict, which was fieice and long, the corps of reserve, amounting to 
 one thousand young men, were, by a skilful movement under their 
 experienced chief and leader, placed in rear of the Eries on the op- 
 posite side of the stream in ambush. The Eries had been driven 
 seven times across the stream and as often regained their ground, 
 but the eighth time at a given signal from their leader, the corps of 
 reserve in ambush rushed upon the almost exhausted Eries with a 
 tremendous yell. 
 
 Shorikowana, the Seneca war chief, was fortunately lor the Eries 
 killed by an arrow, when G&gosasa proposed terms of peace, which 
 were accepted, and the remnant of her warriors bearing with them 
 their wounded and as many of the dead bodies of their leaders as 
 they could find returned to Bufi'alo. This first war ended in 1634. 
 Upon her return home Gegosasa found internal afl"airs in a terrible 
 condition. The campaign from which she had just returned proved 
 in the long run the destruction of the neutral Confederacy. Prophets 
 
and Seers in this crucial hour foretold the downfall of Indian 
 supremacy on the continent, dreams were dreamt, visions were seen, 
 woe and the crying of women filled the land, for now the glory and 
 prominence given to the women of old Canada was lost forever, 
 henceforth woman would be degraded and in her humiliation walk 
 with downcast eyes and in humbleness of spirit until the hour of her 
 redemption sounded. 
 
 Distracted by these prophecies and their implied reproaches on 
 her conduct, self accusations swiftly followed in their train. The 
 stings of an aroused conscience now rent her soul. Where once quar- 
 rels and disputes had been settled by peaceful council and arbitration, 
 feuds and seditions ruled, her reign as arbitrator was ended, her in- 
 fluence and claims to be regarded as the judge of her people's rights 
 and wrongs were openly jerred at and derided, her wishes once 
 law were set at naught and disregarded. 
 
 " Were these really truths which were daily being hurled at her 
 " as she endeavored to resume her old home life? " 
 
 ** Had she indeed been the first to set the law of antiquity at 
 " defiance ? Was it not owing to her failure in preserving the laws 
 " governing totemic, joined to the violation of her vows of virginity, 
 " that had brought on such disastrous results? " 
 
 These and similar questions tortured her soul with the spirit of 
 despair, but at last her courageous spirit whispered hope, '* All is 
 not lost," and she vowed yet again that if repentance and atonement 
 could wipe out her bitter shame that on her part should be done. 
 She determined to make a last appeal to the neutre nations to raJy 
 to her standard, beacon fires were lit, and her runners sent forth to 
 summon a grand council. She there confessed her sorrow and bit- 
 ter repentance and appealed to the noted chivalrous spirit of her 
 audience for volunteers to aid her in recuperating their losses. Ac- 
 companied by her vestals, noted women, counsellors and the chief 
 warriors who still remained loyal to her, she retired to Buffalo. The 
 fl jwer of the nation lefc her after the first war, those still faithful and be- 
 lieving with their dethroned Queen that *' all was not lost " for them, 
 numbered fifteen hundred warriors, these left the dissaffecled in 
 possession of the central and western towns of the peninsula and 
 gathered themselves around their Queen at Teosah-wa (Buffalo). 
 The Secessionists were composed of binds of young warriors 
 
 lfiSi&fl^^n.iiHIAgSisS'^-1.'.S.XSSi:M^''At:S£:-^i^ afa&it^Ut^sufr.L: 
 
8 
 
 .^Vi-Jrli^.r- -^.S-> 
 
 under no united leadership, each clan, under its own elected chief, 
 strove for the mastery over the others in hopes of winning ultimate 
 supremacy. 
 
 Adventurous hunters and builders of canoes joined their ranks. 
 The flint arrow makers had followed the queen. Physically both 
 parties of the divideJ Neutre Nations were the finest body of men 
 on the continent. 
 
 This faction having thrown to the winds the most sacred trad- 
 itions of their fore fathers now gave free indulgence to their worst 
 passions, As though the act of their queen failure and loss of pres- 
 tige had fallen upon thtm, the stx which had thitherto been so 
 venerated and chivalrously held in their estimation and conduct, 
 should thereafter be degraded and made to suffer. As a nation 
 they had lost standing and rule among nations through ihe weak- 
 ness of a woman ', the law regarding restitution governing their 
 national p'-ocedure should now, proportionately, be put into effect 
 regarding women. In the tribal communal respect and veneration 
 •WM paid to women among all North American Indians, in respect ' 
 prisoners who were toiture to death women were not to be sub- 
 jected to the agonies of fire. This law was now broken. The 
 •revolted Neutrals not only caused female captives taken in their 
 raids but also of their own women whom they knew or suspected 
 andergo still sympathized with OegoFasa to the atrocious torture of 
 fire, but delighted with fiendish revelry in their suffering death cries. 
 
 The richness and fertility of the . soil — the abundance of veg- 
 etables, fruit and g ume to be found without almost any exertion — left 
 the duty of providing entirely to the women, now that the men 
 felt free from any tribal o. national obligations to lead respectable 
 lives, they gave themselves up to the enjoyment of every animal 
 instinct. Luxury and self-indulgence has ruined more than one nation 
 which, unchecked by moral law, rendered no homage to, or destroyed 
 the spiritual nature of woman. 
 
 Decadence rapidly followed this new mode of life. 
 
 A generation of sloth, gluttony and licentiousness of the most 
 depraved character, with now and again as a bloody pastimi^ rousing 
 themselves to perpetrate cowardly and ferocious raids against weaker 
 tribes of the Algonkin race living to the west of them, brought on 
 swift retribution. 
 
* • 
 
 The Mascoutins or ' Fire Nations," the people who worked the 
 ancient copper mines of Lake Superior, dwelt on tiic west side of the 
 river Detroit. It was on these people that the Neutral Secessionists, 
 aided by the Oitawas now warred. (June, 1642). At the head of the 
 largest combined force of warriors they could muster', they marched 
 against the Fire or little prairie people. They attacked a fortified 
 fort, garrisoned by nine hundred warriors, who bravely sustained the 
 attack, but after a siege of nine days the Mascoutins were forced to 
 surrender. A large number were killed during the siege, four hun- 
 dred were taken prisoners, four hundred women and children shared 
 the same fate, and after having tortured the prisoners, burned the 
 women, gouged the eyes and girdled the lips of the old men of the 
 country, they aband.oned their unfortunate victims in their helpless 
 misery to a tragic existence and death. 
 
 When the Iroquois heard of these atrocities they met to the 
 nuntber of 1500 men, crossed Gegosasa's diminished territory and in 
 rapid succession, entered village after village of th e Secessionists. The 
 greatest consternation enEued", villages wire abandontd and the in- 
 mates pursued by the conquering Romans of the new world. After 
 being hotly pressed and pursued by the Iroquois, over 2000 warriors, 
 besides women and children were destroyed. Famine and plague 
 destroyed this remnant of the Neutral Naiion. The central and west- 
 ern country v as devastated. 
 
 The Iroquois returned home, taking with them prisoners reserved 
 for adoption or fire. 
 
 Mianwhile at Buffalo, Gegusasa still held sway as Queen of the 
 Eries. The Kaw Kaws, the largest tiibe of her old Confederal ion, 
 remained loyal to her. Their lands stretched from eighteen mile 
 creek (Jordan), along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Near the 
 " head of the lake" on the north-west of Builmgton Bay, was station,- 
 ed their village of Medad, built on the hill overlooking the small lake 
 of the same name. 
 
 The ruins of this village visited by the early explorers and Jesuit 
 Fathers, are still to be seen surrounded by much of their primitive 
 beauty and natural loveliness. The spell of nature overshadowing 
 the weird surroundings is cast in a minor key ; the basin or crater of 
 some long extinct volcano whose formation justifies the belief, forms 
 the small, but ancient lake. The batin is plactd away up on the 
 
10 
 
 hills, behind ihe valley of the bay, and by hard measurement, bottom 
 is not struck until a depth of nearly eighty feet. Ail around the lake 
 basin is a marsh or bog land, so soft in places that in spring time a 
 pole may be thrust down into it to almost any depth. Lake Medad 
 and its immediate vicinity was in a pabt age of the world's history 
 one of the great gathering places for Indian peoples of Ontario, they 
 loved the spot, and not only loved and liv.:d, but buried their dead 
 there. 
 
 At the first council which the queen held after the Genese en- 
 gagement, the Eries decided to employ their time of truce in training 
 their youth in every possible warlike exercise, in order to make them- 
 selves ready when the opportunity offered to retrieve their lost position 
 with the Iroquois. Still confident in their superiority over any one 
 of the tribes inhabiting . countries within the bounds of their 
 knowledge, they trusted in what they believed to be their own 
 inherent greatness, to re-assert themselves eventually with the Five 
 Nations. No protest was therefore made when deputies sent 
 from Onondaga requested " ri^ht of way " over her possessions 
 when the Iroquois set out to revenge the Mascoutin butcheries. 
 Gegosasa still nursed her j)rojects for the future, and present 
 peace must be had at all hazards. There also remained little doubt 
 in her mind of the results of an encounter between the warriors of 
 the Great League of United Households, and her own undiscip- 
 lined, debased old Covenanttrs, better far that those who had once 
 called her "mothtr," should meet their deserved punishment from 
 the flail of the Iroquois, than that she should be forced to enter 
 into a matricidal war. 
 
 The overwhelming success of the Iroquois Campaign, taught the 
 Eries that this new confederation of tribes, any one of which might 
 be almost an equal match for her people and of whose personal 
 prowess they had witnessed on the Chinisseo, a prowess and fame 
 heightened by the masterful manner in which the rebellious Neutrals 
 had been swept out of existence, inspired Gegosasa, her councillors 
 and warriors with most anxious forebodings. .To cope collectively 
 with them, seemed to be now an impossible feat. The only hope 
 of the Eries therefore, lay in being able, by a series of subtle strat- 
 egic surprises, to destroy the Five Nations in detail. 
 
 It was the year of 1655, that the Eries sent a friendly message 
 
 7 
 
 T 
 
r 
 
 II 
 
 to the Senecas, who were their nearest neighbors, inviting them to 
 select one hundred of their most noted athletes to play a game of 
 ball against the same number to be selected by the Eries, for a wager 
 that should be considered worthy the occasion and the character of 
 the nation, in whose behalf the offer had been made. Now hitherto, 
 the Eries had been the acknowledged champion athletes of the con- 
 tinent ; in all hand and foot struggles they were unequalled. 
 
 The message was received and entertained in the most respectful 
 manner. A council of the Five Nations was called and the propos- 
 ition fully discussed, and a messenger dispatched wiih the decision 
 of the council respectfully declining the challenge. 
 
 This emboldened the Eiies, and the next year the offer was 
 renewed, and after being again considered, again formally declined. 
 
 This was far from satisfying the proud lords of " The Great Lake," 
 and the challenge was renewed the third time. The blood "of the 
 young Iroquois could not be restrained. They importuned the old 
 men to allow them to accept the challenge, and the wise councils 
 which had so far prevailed at last gave way, and the challenge was 
 accepted. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm with which each tribe sent 
 forward its chos'^n champions for the contest. The only difficulty 
 seemed to be to make a selection where all were so worthy. After 
 much delay, one hundred of the flower of all the Five Nations were 
 fixed. An experienced chief was chosen as the leader of the party, 
 whose orders the young men were strictly enjoined to obey. A grand 
 councij was held at Onondaga, and in the presence of the assembled 
 multitude, the paity was charged in the most solemn manner, to 
 observe a pacific course of conduct towards their competitors and 
 the nation whose guests they were about to become, and to allow no 
 provocation, however great, to be resented by any act of aggression 
 on their part, but in all respects to acquit themselves in a manner 
 worthy the representatives of a great and powerful people, anxious to 
 cultivate peace and friendship with their neighbors according to the 
 teachings of Hiawatha. The party then took up its line of march 
 for Teosahwa. When the chosen band had arrived in the vicinity 
 of the point of their destination, a messenger was sent forward to 
 notify the Eries of their arrival, and the next day was to be set apart 
 for their grand entree. The elegant and athletic forms, the tasteful 
 
12 
 
 yet not cumbrous dress, the dignified, noble bearing of their chief, 
 and more than all, the modest demeanor of the young warriors of the 
 Iroquois party, won the admiration of all beholders. They brought 
 no arms. Each one bort a bat, used to throw or strike the balli 
 tastefully ornamented, being a hickory stick about five feet long, bent 
 ov€i c the end, and a thong netting woven intti the bow. 
 
 After a day of refreshment, all things were ready for the contest. 
 The chief of the Iroquois brought forward and deposited upon the 
 ground, a large pile of costly belts of wampum, beautifully orna- 
 mented moccasins, rich beaver robes, and other articles of great 
 value in the eyes of the Indians, as the stake and wager on the part 
 of 1 is people. These were carefully matched, article by article, by 
 the chief of the Eries — were won by the Iroquois, who bore off their 
 prize in triumph. Thus ended the day. 
 
 The Iroquois having now accomplished the object of their visit, 
 proposed to take their leave, but the chief of the Eries addressing 
 himself to the leader, said, their young men though fairly beaten in 
 the game of ball, would not be satisfied unless they could have a „ 
 
 foot race, and proposed to match ten of their number against an 
 equal number of the Iroquois party, which was assented to, and the 
 Iroquois were again victorious. 
 
 The Kaw-Kaws, who resided at twenty mile creek (Jordan) being 
 present as friends of the Eries and umpires of the games, invited the 
 Iroquois to visit them before they returned home, and thither the 
 whole company repaired. The chief of the Eries evidently dissatis- 
 fied with the result of the several contests already decided, as. a last 
 and final test of the courage and prowess of his guests, proposed to 
 select twelve men to be matched by the same number to be selected 
 from the Iroquois party to wrestle, and that the victor should des- 
 patch his adversary on the spot by braining him with a tomahawk, 
 bearing ofif his scalp as a trophy. This proposal was not at all agreeable 
 to the Iroquois. They, however, agreed to accept the challenge with 
 the determmation — should they again be victorious — not to execute 
 the bloody part of the proposal. The champions were accordingly 
 chosen. A Seneca was the first to step into che ring, and threw his 
 adversary among the ringing shouts of the multitude. He stepped 
 back and declined to execute his victim who lay passive at his feet. 
 As quick as thought, the chief of the Eries seized the tomahawk and 
 
 1 
 
Plk ^^'^m.^^'^^^^-^ .. ..^«»«..«,..^^^^^«^^^.».,or«^^ ....«.,»,«:»..m^,.«»«»,«».«.««^^^ 
 
 •■ 
 
 •3 
 
 with a single blow scattered the brains of his vanquished warrior over 
 the ground. His body was dragged out of the way and another 
 champion of the Eries presetlted himself. He was as quickly thrown 
 by his more skilful and powerful antagonist of the Iroquois party, and 
 as quickly despatched by the infuriated chief of the Eries. A third 
 met the same fate. The chief of the Iroquois seeing the terrible 
 excitement which agitated the multitude, gave a signal to retreat. 
 Every man obeyed, and ir a moment they were out of sight. In two 
 hours they arrived at Buffalo, gathered up the trophies of their vic- 
 tories and were on their way home.* 
 
 The visit of the hundred athletes of the Iroquois and its terrible 
 results, only served to inflame the jealousy of the Eries, and to con- 
 vince them that they had powerful enemies to contend with. It was 
 no part of their new policy to strengthen their power by cultivating 
 friendly, or rather equal alliance, with any of their neighbors — they 
 struggled to regain their ancient position as Arbitrators of the con- 
 tinent — the "Island" — as warriors, they must prove themselves 
 "superior to all men." As a league, the Five Nations could rot be 
 dealt with, they must be destroyed in detail. With this view, a 
 powerful war party was immediately organized to attack the Senecas. 
 It happened at that time, that there resided among the Eries, a 
 Seneca woman, who during the first war had been taken captive and 
 been married to an Erie, he died and left her a widow without child- 
 ren, a stranger among strangers, and now sadly alone, her heart and 
 thoughts naturally turned with longing towards her old home. 
 Apprehending the terrible note of preparation for a bloody onslaught 
 upon her kindred and friends, she formed the resolution of apprising 
 them of their danger. As soon as night set in she started on her 
 journey, travelled all night, and early next morning reached the 
 "head of the hke," where she found a canoe fastened to a tree, she 
 boldly jumped in and pushed out into the open lake. Coasting 
 down the south shore of the lake, she arrived at Oswega river in the 
 
 *A parallel engagement between " Young Men " is found in sacred 
 history, in ii Samuel, Chap, ii, Verses 14, 15, 16, beginning "Let the 
 young men now arise and play before us." "Let them arise." The 
 plac6 was called hereafter, the "Place of Strong Man." "The chiefs 
 arose and called out in a loud voice, 'Treachery, Treachery." 
 
 r'i^^^^^^^T^^^FTT^ 
 
i 
 
 14 
 
 night, she was near to the town of Hon-ey-oye. She directed her 
 way to the house of the head chief and gave him her information. 
 She was immediately secreted by the chief, and runners were des- 
 patched to all the tribes summoning them to grand council. When 
 they were convened, the chief arose, and in the most solemn mannen 
 told the audience that a bird had appeared to him in a vision of the 
 night and that a great war party of the Eries was preparing to make 
 a secret and sudden descent upon them to destroy them, that nothing 
 could save them but an immediate rally of all the warriors of the 
 Five Nations to meet the enemy before they had time to strike the 
 meditated blow. These solemn announcements were heard in breath- 
 less silence. When the chief sat down, there was one yell of men- 
 acing madness and the earth fairly shook when the mass of frenzied 
 Iroquois stamped the ground with fury, and brandishing high in the 
 war clubs, demanded to be led against the invaders. No time was 
 to be lost, delay might prove fatal. A body of five thousand war- 
 riors was formed, with a corps ot reserve of one thousand young men 
 who had never seen battle. The bravest chiefs from all the tribes 
 were put in command, spies sent out in search of the enemy, the 
 whole body taking up a line of march in the direction from whence 
 they expected an attack. Meanwhile, Erie scouts brought word to 
 Buffalo ot the approach of an armed force. Gegosasa with over two 
 thousand warriors besides women and children, took refuge within 
 the palisaded fort or fortifications. This fortress at present Buffalo, 
 stood on a fine plain, and was surrounded by a high wall, formed of 
 huge trunks of trees driven into the ground side by side, and wedged 
 together. These were crossed within and without by smaller and 
 longer pieces bound to them by bands made of split trees and wild 
 vines. The whole was plastered with a kind of mortar, made of clay 
 and straw stamped together, which filled every chink'and crevice in 
 the woodwork, so that it appeared as if smoothed with a trowel. 
 Throughout its whole surface, the wall was pierced at the height of a 
 man with loopholes, whence arrows might be discharged at any 
 enemy, and at every fifty paces it was surmounted by a tower, cap- 
 able of holding seven or eight fighting men. Whole villages were 
 built of reeds and straw. These forts were built in quadrangle form 
 and palisaded. The four sides were each four hundred paces in 
 length, from side to side, two other palisades divided it into separate 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 ^5 
 
 parts. As the Iroquois approached Te osah-wa, two of the best 
 chiefs disguised themselves in French mihtary costume, to frighten the 
 Eries, and lead them to believe that the wonderful pale faces were 
 with then. These advancing within hearing distance of the fort 
 advised the Eries to surrender, " The MASTER OF LIFE fights 
 for us," said one of the disguised chiefs, "Who is this Master of 
 Life of whom you speak?" replied Gegosasa. "We know of no 
 Master save our right arms and our hatchets," The assault com- 
 menced, the palisades were attacked on all sides, the Iroquois using 
 every exertion to carry the Fort by storm without success, their war- 
 riors being killed as fast as they appi'oached. At length they resorted 
 to stratagem, they converted their canoes into shields, and advanc- 
 ing under the protection thus aUbrded, they succeeded in reaching 
 the foot of the entrenchment, using the canoes for ladders, they 
 climbed the palisades in face of the enemy, who, having exhausted 
 their munitions, stood at last within their own fortifications "at bay " 
 before the foe, Gegosasa, and one thousand of her warriors disdain 
 ing to fiy, and to afford, by a temporary resistance, time for as many 
 as possible of her people to escape, now engaged in a terrible hand 
 to hand and foot to foot engagement, the canoes gave passage way 
 for continual reinforcements of the Iroquois. 
 
 Intimidated by the boldness of the invaders, hundreds of the 
 Eries fled, Gegosasa and her women were secretly led from the 
 fort, guarded by the Queen's body guard. An indiscrimate slaughter 
 of men, fleeing women and children now took place. The blood of 
 the victims ran as water. The vanquished Queen and a remnant of 
 three hundred fugitive Eries collected together and recruited their 
 energies, they retraced their steps in hopes of surprising the enemy on 
 his way home from the pursuit of their fleeing brethren. The plan 
 was well conceived, but failed in execution, Gegosasa and her noble 
 " three hundred " were surrounded, taken prisoners and led captives 
 to Onondaga, the Queen to await trial for her act of betrayal of the 
 Sacred Trust, as custodian of the National Pipe of Peace. Her 
 judges were chosen representatives from the Nations which at one 
 time had ceased war at her command, and whose ambassadors had 
 at her Council House at Kieuka, on the Niagara ridge, yielded their 
 wills to the utterances of a " Mother of Nations." The council fires 
 of the Iroquois Confederacy accepted the judgment of the Onon- 
 
» 
 
 i6 
 
 dagas, the senate of the Nations, which was, that the Erie Confeder- 
 acy should be wiped out of remembrance, and their name obliterated 
 from the nuniber of the tribes of the Huron-Iroquois race. The 
 memory of such a dynasty as that of Yagowanea, "Mother of Nations" 
 was to be buried fathoms deep in the waters bearing their name, the 
 Sacred Lodge of Gegosasa demolished and the Order of Vestal Vir-' 
 gins dispersed, the towns of Refuge covered up or reduced to ashes. 
 The confederacy of Neutrality, instituted in the days of "Antiquity'' 
 by the ceremonial of the Pipe of Peace, was left with no monument 
 to carry their name save the name of the waters of Erie. The em- 
 barrassments of the wounded and so many captives had detained the 
 Iroquois nearly two months in the country of the Neutrals. The 
 Niagara Peninsula herealter was annexed as •' Hunting Grounds " to 
 the territory of the Iroquois. The rapids of Niagara which for ages 
 have rushed through forest walls and rocky flats, haunted by the 
 rattlesnake, are still hurrying with impetuous speed over rough and 
 stony bed to yield their quota of "smoke" to the ever rising heaven^ 
 ward incense of Niagara "in memoriam" of the broken covenant of 
 the •' peace and good will towards men," which once ruled over the 
 Council fires of Central Canaiderada. 
 
 The legend is told among the Chippawa tribe, that before Nature 
 sleeps, she clothes herself in royal robes of purple, scarlet and gold 
 in all the glorious mystery of the Indian summer. ' At that season 
 (October) the Chippawa came to Niagara to make their annual sac- 
 rifice to " The Spirit," which dwelt behind the rocks. They chose 
 a victim from the loveliest of their Vestals — the one chosen by lot 
 was sent forth in a newly made white birch canoe, clothed in a tunic of 
 swans skins, over which fell as a mantle the glory of a woman, her 
 long hair, ornamented with wreaths of flowers, around her neck were 
 hung strings of white Wampum — the sign manual of her people that 
 this particular maiden was the victim chOsen by the tribe. From the 
 Chippawa shore she was sped forth on the seething rapids above the 
 Falls, an offering to the Mighty Being, who also would draw to him- 
 himself over the cataract, twelve for the one withheld, before as many 
 moons should wax and wane. One autumn, the lot of sacrifice fell 
 upon an aged sachem's only child, the sole comfort of his old age. 
 He opened not his mouth, and was dumb under the doom of the 
 choice, but to live without her he could not. When she was far out 
 
 ■rms 
 
■'•^■'«'mmjmm)^^mi^m-^^vy!'v,m^^':^m^.''''9miism. flfiPwi'*Hp^^^P|^l 
 
 17 
 
 on the seething treacherous waters, the canoe of the unhappy father 
 shot hke an arrow from the bank to join with his childTn death 
 
 J'r. " 'm ''".^'^" ""'' ^^^■" ^' the moment the ternt" 
 
 smokmg ca dron below arched over with innumerable i r7e 
 cent rambows claimed the double sacrifice. 
 
 "Ye say they all have passed away, 
 
 That noble race and brave. 
 That their light canoes have vanished 
 
 From off the crested wave. 
 
 Thafmid the forest where they roved 
 There rings no hunter's song shou't, 
 
 Hilt their name is on our waters, 
 And ye cannot wash it out.'*