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THE 
 
 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 RED-JACKET, 
 
 SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA; 
 
 THE SEQUEL TO THE HISTORY 
 
 SIX NATIONS. 
 
 BY WILLIAM L. STONE 
 
 HUMANI NIHIL ALIENUM. 
 
 NEW-YORK AND LONDON : 
 WILEY AND PUTNAM. 
 
 1841. 
 
 y 
 
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by WILEY & PUTNAM, in 
 the Clerk s office of the District Court of the Southern District of New-York. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM OSEORN, 
 
 88 William-street. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE present volume is but one of a series, the composition of which 
 the author has been meditating for several years. The original design 
 contemplated a complete history of the great Iroquois Confederacy, 
 known at first as the Five Nations, and afterward, by the addition of 
 the Tuscaroras from North Carolina, as the Six, from the discovery 
 to the present time. Circumstances, which were explained in the 
 Life of Brant, induced the preparation of that work first. The design 
 of that effort was not merely to embrace the biography of the chief 
 himself, but under the shadow of his name to preserve the history of 
 his people during the half century of his active life, and also to gather 
 up, and reduce to form, the rich materials of the previously unwritten 
 border history of the American revolution. Brant, both as the military 
 leader and civil governor of his people, and also as one of the most 
 active and formidable officers of the border service, was selected as 
 the principal figure around whom to weave the stirring historical 
 details comprised in the two volumes bearing his name. 
 
 The present volume, containing the life of the great Seneca orator, 
 Red-Jacket, has been constructed upon the same plan. After the 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 death of Brant, Red-Jacket became the man of greatest distinction 
 among the Six Nations ; and in writing his life, the author, as in the 
 preceding work, has used him as the principal figure in illustrating 
 the history of the Six Nations down to the conclusion of the treaty 
 for the sale of the residue of the Seneca lands, in the autumn of 1838. 
 That treaty, when carried into execution, extinguishes the confederacy 
 of the AQUANUSCHIONI, or United People, a confederacy, the duration 
 of which is lost in the shadowy obscurity of tradition for ages before 
 the sound of the white woodman s axe rang upon the solemn stillness 
 of the forest- continent. The life of Red- Jacket, therefore, may be 
 considered as the sequel, or conclusion, of the History of the Six 
 Nations. 
 
 Two divisions of the work meditated by the author, and those the 
 most difficult and laborious, remain to be executed, viz. : the Life 
 and Times of Sir William Johnson, and the yet earlier history of the 
 Iroquois Confederacy from the discovery down to the year 1735, when 
 Mr. Johnson first planted himself among the Mohawks in the valley 
 of their own beautiful river. The life of the Baronet is the next, 
 which, should health and time allow, the author proposes to take in 
 hand. This work will review an important and most interesting 
 period in the colonial history of New- York, embracing, as it must do, 
 the border history of the colony during the French wars of 1745, and 
 of 1755-63. Nor can that history be properly illustrated without 
 recourse to the archives of the British and French governments. 
 Hitherto the author has been disappointed in the expectation of making 
 a voyage to Europe in connexion with this branch of his historical 
 investigations. But he hopes yet to accomplish this object. At all 
 events, "The Life and Times of Sir William Johnson" is a work the 
 execution of which will not be relinquished except from stern necessity. 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 The residue of the work, covering the earlier period of the proposed 
 history, will of course be deferred to a yet more distant day. 
 
 In regard to the present volume, the author can only say that he 
 has made it as full and as perfect as the materials which he has been 
 able to collect would allow. The subject of the memoir, it must be 
 remembered, could speak but very little English, and could not write 
 at all. He could therefore maintain no written correspondence, and 
 consequently left no letters, or other written memorials, to aid his 
 biographer. Such was not the fact in the case of Brant, whose papers 
 were of vast assistance. It must also be kept in mind that Brant was 
 a man of war, and Red-Jacket a man of peace. Hence in a memoir 
 of the latter a far smaller amount of stirring and bloody incident is 
 to be anticipated, than in one of the former. Indeed in this respect 
 the books are widely dissimilar. And yet it is hoped that it will be 
 found not altogether devoid of interest. The name of Red- Jacket, as 
 the great orator of the Six Nations, is among those most familiar to the 
 American ear ; and this volume is the first complete record of his 
 forensic efforts that has ever appeared. Neither diligence nor expense 
 has been spared to make the collection perfect of all the chieftain s 
 speeches, and notes of speeches, that have been preserved. These 
 have been arranged in the text, according to the dates of their delivery, 
 and in connexion with the history of the occasions and events which 
 called them forth. The author is aware that to this feature of his 
 arrangement some may object that the text of the narrative should 
 not be thus interrupted, and that the speeches might better have been 
 thrown back into an appendix. But he thinks differently. Had they 
 been thus disposed of they would not have been read, such being 
 the usual destiny of speeches, letters and documents, crowded together 
 at the end of almost every book of history. And certainly when they 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 are read, they are likely to be better understood and appreciated, if 
 taken in their proper historical connexion, illustrating the occasions 
 or events by which they were elicited, and in turn receiving such 
 illustrations from the historian as seem to be required. 
 
 The general portraiture of the subject of the memoir is ample, and 
 is believed to be just. Nothing has been extenuated without sufficient 
 cause, nor aught set down in malice. The thanks of both author and 
 publishers are due to Mr. Samuel Ward for the use of Wier s fine 
 picture of Red-Jacket, which has been exquisitely engraved by Mr. 
 M. I. Danforth. To the kindness of this accomplished artist the 
 author is likewise indebted for the beautiful and spirited engraved 
 title-page preceding the letter-press title. He also desires to express 
 his thanks to Mr. Osborn, the printer, for the care with which he has 
 supervised the press, and for tho typographical elegance of the volume. 
 
 As the celebrated chiefs Farmer s-Brother and Cornplanter were 
 intimately associated in public affairs with Red-Jacket for half a 
 century and more, brief sketches of their lives have been added to the 
 principal memoir. 
 
 New- York, June 1, 1841. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Subject of the biography His name Preliminary glimpses of his charac 
 ter His nation Incidental discussion concerning the Iroquois, or Five 
 Nations Tradition of the origin of the Senecas Hill of Genundewah 
 Romantic story The Hurons History of the Five Nations Chapter 
 closes in doubt, . ... . . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Nativity of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha Origin of the name, Red-Jacket Serves with 
 the Indians against the United States Charges of treachery and cowar 
 dice Hatred of Brant Called " The Cow-Killer" Cornplanter 
 Treaty of 1789, at Fort Stanwix Views of Washington Course of 
 Red-Jacket and Cornplanter there, the former opposing the treaty, and 
 the latter effecting it Dissatisfaction of the Indians at the result Corn- 
 planter attempts to reconcile them His failure Appeals to General 
 Washington Claims of Massachusetts to Western New-York Massa 
 chusetts acquires the pre-emption title Sells a part to Phelps and Gor- 
 ham Stupendous scheme for dismembering New-York The plot crush 
 ed by Governor George Clinton and the legislature Inklings of Red- 
 Jacket s duplicity, . . . V . . . 17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Indian relations of the United States in 179(T Bad feeling of the Senecas 
 Council at Tioga Point Red-Jacket Colonel Pickering Hendrick 
 Red-Jacket revives the land controversy His speech Extraordinary 
 Indian ceremony Visit of Cornplanter and Big-Tree to Philadelphia 
 Appeal to General Washington Duplicity of Cornplanter The proba 
 ble motive Kindness of Washington to the deputation Mission of 
 Colonel Proctor Council at Buffalo Creek Salutatory speech of Red- 
 Jacket British interference Attempt to remove the council to Niagara 
 Resisted by Proctor Farther difficulties Intermeddling of the British 
 officers Council broken up Interposition of the women, and proceed 
 ings resumed Red-Jacket s speech for the women Proctor s mission 
 abruptly terminated by Colonel Gordon Colonel Pickering holds a coun 
 cil at Painted Post Influence of the Indian women Favorable result 
 of that council Propositions for aiding the Indians in the arts and man 
 ners of civilization, ...... 35 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Efforts of General Washington for improving the moral and social condition 
 of the Indians Mission of fifty chiefs to Philadelphia Welcomed by the 
 Governor of Pennsylvania Speech of Red-Jacket in reply Address to 
 the chiefs by President Washington Speech of Red-Jacket in reply 
 Comments upon the speech Proposition of the government for the im 
 provement of the Indians Reply of Red-Jacket Speech of Colonel 
 Pickering to the chiefs Troubles with the north-western Indians Reply 
 of Farmer s-Brother to Colonel Pickering Reply of Red-Jacket Part 
 ing address of Washington Red-Jacket and the military clothes Close 
 of the conferences Continuance of the war with the Indians of the 
 north-west The Senecas to send a deputation of their chiefs upon a mes 
 sage of peace Irritation of the Six Nations Interference of the British 
 The Fish-Carrier The deputation returns Their mission unsuccess 
 ful Close of the Indian war, . . ,- . ." . 66 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Farther difficulties with the Six Nations, occasioned by Pennsylvania 
 Great Council at Canandaigua Troubles of the Oneidas Description of 
 the Gathering Opening of the Grand Council Ceremonies of condole- 
 ment Visit of Jemima Wilkinson Speeches in Council Jemima speaks 
 Speech of the women to Colonel Pickering Presence of a supposed spy 
 His dismissal Correspondence concerning him News of Wayne s vic 
 tory Its effect upon the Indians Difficulties and jealousies among the 
 Indians themselves Colonel Pickering determines to bring them to a de 
 cision Indians appeal to the Quakers Speech of Red-Jacket to them, 
 and also to Colonel Pickering in Council Farther proceedings Difficul 
 ties with Cornplanter Conclusion of the Treaty Dissolution of the 
 Council Excellent conduct of the Quakers, . 109 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Immediate results of the treaty General Indian pacification Death of 
 General Chapin Red-Jacket s speech of condolence The treaty of 
 Big Tree, held between the Indians and Thomas Morris, for Robert Mor 
 ris and the Holland Land Company Conduct of Red-Jacket The 
 women and warriors Difficulties with regard to the reservations The 
 White Woman Indian ignorance of finance, and of numbers Red 
 Jacket s hypocrisy and duplicity Conclusion of the treaty Visit of 
 Red-Jacket to Connecticut, . . . . 144 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Conspiracy of Cornplanter against Red-Jacket Witchcraft Cornplanter 
 defeated by Red-Jacket s eloquence Farther outrages upon the Indians 
 Mission of Red-Jacket and others to the seat of Government Speech 
 of Red-Jacket to the Secretary of War Murder of a white man by an 
 Indian Meeting in consequence at Canandaigua Speech of Red-Jacket 
 His conspiracy against BrantDeposition of the latter His ultimate 
 triumph and restoration, . 165 
 
CONTENTS. i x 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Paganism of Red-Jacket Failure of plans for Indian civilization Hosti 
 lity of Red-Jacket to Christianity Mission of the Rev. Mr. Cram 
 Council to meet him Speech of Mr. Cram Red-Jacket s speech in 
 reply Rejection of the missionary Errors of missionaries Difficulty 
 of making themselves understood Another attempt to purchase the re 
 maining lands of the Senecas Speech of Red-Jacket to Mr. Richardson 
 Causes of their hostility to the missionaries Another speech of Red- 
 Jacket Drunkenness among the Indians Tradition of their first taste of 
 the fire-waters Reflections, . ... 184 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Movements of Tecumseh and the Prophet, Elskawatwa, among the western 
 nations The young Senecas eager to join them The government of the 
 United States admonished by Red-Jacket His speech to the Secretary 
 of War Battle of Tippecanoe Conduct of the Prophet War of 1812 
 with England Council of the Six Nations at Buffalo Speech of Gran 
 ger, the agent Red-Jacket s reply Senecas declare themselves neutral 
 Active hostilities The Senecas declare war General Alexander Smyth 
 General Lewis invites the Senecas to join him Their arrival at Fort 
 Niagara Murder of Lieutenant Eldridge Invasion of Black Rock by 
 the enemy under Colonel Bishop Repulsed by General Porter s volun 
 teers and Indians; Death of Colonel Bishop Smart affair of the Indians 
 and volunteers near Fort George, 215 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Disastrous close of the Niagara campaign in 1813 Military operations of 
 the following year Red-Jacket rouses the Indians upon the war-path 
 Invasion of Canada by General Brown Tho field of Chippewa de 
 scribed Capture of Fort Erie March to Chippewa The Battle Its 
 effects Remarks thereon Conduct of the Indians Subsequent opera 
 tions on that frontier The Indians of both armies, on a proposition from 
 Red-Jacket, mutually withdraw from the service Conduct and views of 
 the Indians in war Red-Jacket in Battle Captain Worth and Farmer s- 
 Brother Startling incident at Buffalo Colonel Worth s opinion of Red- 
 Jacket, ... 251 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Another land company The Senecas begin to look for a new home at the 
 West Council at Sandusky An incident of travel Red-Jacket s speech 
 at the council Speeches of others in reply Nothing effected Attempted 
 treaty between the Ogden Land Company and the Senecas, at Buffalo, in 
 1819, Morris S. Miller, Commissioner Opening of the council Speech 
 of Red-Jacket Treaty broken off" without success Captain Pollard s 
 apology for the rudeness of Red-JacketSubsequent negotiations, . 281 
 
 B 
 
x CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Witchcraft The case of Tommy-Jemmy indicted for murder Red-Jacket 
 takes part in the trial His attention to the government of his people 
 Missionary enterprise among the Senecas Red-Jacket s opposition and 
 hatred of Christianity His letter to Captain Parish, appealing to Gover 
 nor Clinton against the black-coats Legislative action, unwittingly, against 
 the missionaries Rev. Mr. Harris and his labors Their success Con 
 version of O-qui-ye-sou, or Captain Strong The schools Mr. Harris 
 driven away under the law Conduct of the white pagans Application 
 to the legislature in behalf of the missionaries Letter of Red-Jacket to 
 Governor Clinton The missionaries and teachers sustained Beneficent 
 labors of the Quakers Remarkable interview between Red-Jacket and 
 Rev. Dr. Breckenridge, as detailed in a letter from the latter Outlines 
 of another anti-christian speech His eloquence, . . ,. . . 317 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Red-Jacket s domestic relations Loss of his children by consumption 
 His second wife becomes a Christian Separation from her, and union 
 with another Returns to his lawful wife Is received and lives in har 
 mony Red-Jacket and Lafayette Red-Jacket and the French Count 
 Scornful behaviour to a visitor from Albany Anecdotes of Red-Jacket and 
 Colonel Pickering His vanity Launch of a sloop bearing his name 
 His tact Anecdote of a dinnerparty Red-Jacket at a trial at Batavia 
 His notions of law, and his humor Anecdote of Red-Jacket and Captain 
 Jones Red-Jacket and the execution of the Thayers Anecdote of Hot- 
 Bread Opinion of Thomas Morris of his character and oratory Paint 
 ings of Red-Jacket His love of the woods, . . ; ., , . 354 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Disquietude of Red-Jacket s latter days Successes of the missionaries 
 Disaffection of his tribe Formally deposed His chagrin and journey to 
 Washington Interview with Colonel M Kenney Returns to the reserva 
 tion, prepared to make concessions Rouses himself to energetic action 
 A great council Another speech His restoration to his former rank 
 Sinks into mental imbecility Visits Washington, New-York, Boston and 
 Albany Exhibits himself at the museums Speech at Albany, contrast 
 ing the characters of Washington and Jackson His consciousness of 
 approaching death, and preparations therefor Relentings toward the 
 missionary the last council convoked by Red-Jacket for purposes of con 
 ciliation Last sickness, death and funeral Conduct of the neighboring 
 infidels Speculations and reflections on the fate of the Indians Lord 
 Erskine Opinions of Dr. Ramsay and General Benjamin Lincoln Con 
 clusion of Red-Jacket Tablet to his memory, .... 378 
 
 FARMER S-BROTHER, 409 
 
 CORNPLANTER, 423 
 
 HENRY O BAIL 456 
 
 STORY OF BLACK-CHIEF S DAUGHTER, . . . , 458 
 APPENDIX .463 
 
SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA, 
 
 RED-JACKET. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SUBJECT of the biography His name Preliminary glimpses of his charac 
 ter His nation Incidental discussion concerning the Iroquois, or Five Na 
 tions Tradition of the origin of the Senecas Hill of Genundewah Roman 
 tic story The Hurons History of the Five Nations Chapter closes in 
 doubt. 
 
 " I AM an orator! I was born an orator!" were the 
 prompt exclamations of the subject of the present memoir, 
 in reply to an inquiry, by an obtrusive white man, re 
 specting his deeds in arms. The evasion was alike spi 
 rited, quick-witted, and adroit. No man, either savage 
 or civilized, probably, was ever more conscious of the 
 strong and the weak points of his own character than the 
 celebrated Seneca chief, SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA, or " HE- 
 KEEPS-THEM-AWAKE," better known to the public un 
 der the less imposing name of RED- JACKET.* His ori 
 ginal Indian name was O-TE-TI-ANI in English AL- 
 
 * The Indian name of Red-Jacket, here given in the text, has been variously 
 spelt, by different authors. I have adopted the orthography of an old MS. re 
 cord of the Seneca chiefs, invited by Colonel Timothy Pickering to attend a 
 council in Philadelphia, in 1792. The usual translation of the name, Sa-go-ye- 
 wat-ha, has been, The Keeper Awake. It was so rendered by De Witt Clinton, in 
 his celebrated Discourse before the New-York Historical Society, in 1811. But 
 that translation is erroneous, as The Keeper Awake does not convey the idea in 
 tended. The ancient manuscript referred to gives the true meaning, as adopted 
 in the text-He-keeps-them-awake. 
 
 I 
 
2 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 WAYS READY. T.he other name was conferred upon 
 him, in after years, on his election to the dignity of a 
 Sachem. 
 
 That he was an orator, in the most exalted sense of 
 the term, of great and commanding power, is the univer 
 sal testimony of all who enjoyed opportunities of forming 
 a just opinion upon the subject. And no other man was 
 more conscious of the fact than himself. That he was a 
 warrior he did not positively deny to his unwelcome cate- 
 chist, while he studiously avoided its acknowledgment. 
 
 It is well for his veracity that he did not, since nothing 
 is more certain than that the impartial testimony of his 
 tory would have been invoked in vain to sustain the asser 
 tion. Yet, notwithstanding the absence of that physical 
 quality, the lack of which is so rare among a people liv 
 ing in the hunter state, and the possession of which is con 
 sidered so indispensable among all barbarians, few men 
 have arrived at a greater degree of consideration among 
 his own people, or exerted a more commanding influence, 
 than Red-Jacket. He was upon the war-path during 
 both conflicts between the United States and Great 
 Britain. In the former, the war of the revolution, 
 he served, with his nation, the cause of the crown. In 
 the war of 1812-1815, the Senecas having changed 
 their quasi allegiance, he served under the colors of the 
 United States. But in neither contest did he win for him 
 self the right to wear the eagle-plume. In the former 
 he was openly charged by his brother chiefs with 
 cowardice and treachery ; while in the latter the im 
 pression made upon the mind of the General, under 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 3 
 
 whose immediate eye he served, was by no means favor 
 able in regard to his courage.* His entire character 
 formed a bundle of contradictions. If he lacked firm 
 ness of nerves, he nevertheless possessed unbending 
 firmness of purpose, and great moral courage. His in 
 tellectual powers were unquestionably of a very high 
 order. He was a statesman of sagacity, and an orator 
 of even surpassing eloquence ; yet he was capable of de 
 scending to the practice of the lowest cunning of the 
 demagogue. But he was still a patriot. He loved his 
 nation, and his race ; and if, in the eyes of his people, 
 the deficiencies of his character were not lost in the blaze 
 of his genius, they were certainly more than counter 
 balanced by the admiration with which was contemplated 
 the greatness of his mind. 
 
 The Seneca Nation, whence Sa^go-ye-wat-ha sprang, 
 and whose principal chief he was for many years, was, 
 even at the time of the discovery by the Europeans, by 
 far the most powerful of the Aquanuschioni, or " United 
 People," known originally as the Five Nations, and after 
 ward as the Six, by the addition of the Tuscaroras to 
 the confederacy, about the year 1712. The reason of 
 this addition to the number of their communities has 
 been variously given. It is well known that the Five 
 Nations carried their arms as far south as the country of 
 the Cherokee s, with whom they waged a bloody war, 
 even within the last century.f The Tuscaroras were 
 
 * General Peter B. Porter, late Secretary of War, whose opinion will be 
 quoted hereafter. 
 
 t A fierce battle, continuing two days, was fought between the Cherokees, 
 Catawbas, and their associates, and the warriors of the Six Nations, at the 
 
4 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 natives of a territory now forming the state of North 
 Carolina. Bancroft speaks of them as " kindred with 
 the Five Nations," and refers to several villages in that 
 region, of the Huron-Iroquois, or Wyandot family. Ac 
 cording to some authorities, the Tuscaroras, having 
 formed a deep and general conspiracy to cut off the 
 whites, were signally defeated, and driven from their 
 country, under which circumstances they were adopted 
 as a Sixth Nation by the Iroquois.* It has been asserted 
 by others that they were conquered by the Iroquois, and 
 by them removed to their own country, where they were 
 planted down, and reckoned as an additional nation, but 
 only upon the condition that, like the Delaware s, they 
 were to be ranked as women, and inhibited the use of 
 arms in war. This is a most unlikely tale of their re 
 moval, since they " were the most powerful tribe in 
 North Carolina," occupying, in 1708, fifteen towns in the 
 upper country, on the Neuse and the Tar, and numbering 
 twelve hundred warriors, as brave as the Mohawks.t 
 Other authors have assigned a kindlier motive for the 
 transplantation, viz : the discovery, by the Five Nations, 
 of the marked similarity of the Tuscarora language to 
 their own there being no labials in either. Hence they 
 concluded that the latter either were, or of right ought to 
 
 junction of the Cumberland and Red Rivers, in Kentucky, near the present line 
 between the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, in the year 1731. The leader of 
 the Six Nations on that occasion was Hiokatoo, a celebrated Seneca chief, who 
 died in 1811, at the great age of 103. The slaughter was great on both sides, 
 but Hiokatoo was victorious. 
 
 * Smith s History of New-York, sanctioned by the Historical Discourse of De 
 Witt Clinton. 
 
 t Bancroft s United States, vol. iii. p. 245. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 5 
 
 have been, members of their own great family. Hence, 
 also, probably, Bancroft speaks of the Mohawks as their 
 " brothers." 
 
 The Senecas were the fifth nation of the original con 
 federacy their duty being to keep the western door of 
 " the long house," as the territory occupied by their 
 principal range of towns was called. The Mohawks 
 guarded the eastern door, at Schagh-nack-ta-da.* When 
 ever, at either door of " the long house," other nations, or 
 their ambassadors, knocked upon business, the first duty of 
 the nation keeping the door was to ascertain its character 
 and importance. If not of great moment, the council of the 
 separate nation attended to it. But whenever the sub 
 ject matter presented from without was of interest to 
 the whole confederacy, or of sufficient weight to require 
 the consideration of the united council, the messengers 
 charged with it were sent forward to the Onondaga Val 
 ley, where the Grand Council fire was kindled, and it was 
 discussed by the National Congress. The Mohawk 
 nation was the first in rank of the confederacy, and to it 
 appertained the office of principal war-chief. To the 
 Onondagas, in like manner, the nation whose peculiar 
 province it was to guard the council fire, appertained 
 the office of principal civil chief, or Chief Sachem. Still, 
 numerically considered, for a long time past, and per- 
 
 * The present site of Albany. The meaning of the term, literally, is " Be- 
 yond-the-Pine-Plains." These plains are those between Schenectady and 
 Albany separating the Mohawk valley from that of the Hudson. By some mis 
 take, the name was erroneously bestowed by the whites upon the Indian town 
 of Con-nugli-harie-gugh-harie, literally A-great-multitude-collected-together. 
 Standing at their castles, and looking toward the east, Schagh-nack-ta-da, (now 
 Albany,) was Beyond-the-Pine-Plains to the Mohawks. 
 
6 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 haps always, the Senecas were by far the most power 
 ful of the confederacy. 
 
 The questions as to the origin of the Seneca Indians, 
 the entire confederacy to which they belonged, and the 
 length of time they had been in the occupancy of " the 
 long house," when first visited by the white man, are all 
 involved in darkness, too deep, probably, for human 
 penetration. According to the early French historians 
 and tourists of America, among whom Charlevoix is 
 probably the best authority, the Iroquois were occupying 
 the country along the St. Lawrence, in the neighborhood 
 of Hochelaga, at the time of .the discovery of Canada by 
 Jacques C artier. " When C artier went to Hochelaga, 
 now Montreal, in 1535, he discovered a town of the Iro 
 quois, or Hurons, containing about fifty huts."* Cartier 
 landed about six miles from the town, to which the way 
 was well beaten and frequented. " It was situated in 
 the midst of large fields of Indian corn, and from the 
 description, it must even then have been a considerable 
 place, and the metropolis of the neighboring country. It 
 was encompassed by palisades, or probably a picket 
 fence in three rows, one within the other, well secured 
 and put together. A single entrance was secured with 
 piles and stakes ; and every precaution adopted against 
 sudden attack or siege. The town consisted of about 
 fifty houses, each fifty feet in length by fourteen in 
 breadth, built of wood and covered with bark, l well and 
 cunningly joined together. Each house contained 
 small chambers, built round an open court in the centre, 
 
 * Clinton s Historical Discourse. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 7 
 
 in which the fire was kindled."* The inhabitants were 
 devoted to husbandry and fishing, and the lands of the 
 island were well cultivated to the base of the mountain, 
 three miles from the present city of Montreal.! In a 
 word, according to the history of Carder s voyage, the 
 Indians of Hochelaga were more than usually civilized, 
 for barbarians, and greatly in advance of the Iroquois a 
 century afterward. It has also been held that the war 
 in which the Iroquois were engaged with the Adiron- 
 dacks, a powerful division of the Hurons, now gene 
 rally known by the name of Wyandots, at the time 
 when Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence, in 1603, 
 was the same in which they conquered the territory oi 
 the Mohawk Valley, and that lying south of Lake Onta 
 rio, in the possession of which they were found by the 
 Dutch and English. Such is, moreover, the received 
 opinion of various writers, European and American, who 
 have glanced superficially at this question. 
 
 But this supposition, though entertained by Governor 
 Golden, and afterward by Governor Clinton, is beyond 
 doubt erroneous. At the time of Carder s discovery 
 the five Huron nations occupied the Island of Orleans, 
 below Quebec, and the country of the St. Lawrence and 
 the Ottawa. The Adirondacks, the most powerful clan 
 of that people, then lived chiefly upon the Ottawa ; and 
 it is more than probable that those were the occupants of 
 Hochelaga. The town at Hochelaga, described by Car- 
 tier, had dwindled into insignificance at the time of 
 Champlain s visit, having probably been destroyed by 
 
 * Hawkins s History of Quebec, pp. 50, 51. t Idem. 
 
8 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the Iroquois a body of whom were met by Champlain, 
 while voyaging upon the lake since bearing his name, 
 on their way against the Hurons, with hostile intent. 
 Champlain was accompanied during this voyage by a 
 war party of the latter, with whom he fought in alliance 
 against the Iroquois, who were struck with amazement 
 at the reports and the execution of the fire-arms used 
 against them, engines of death which they had never 
 seen before, and defeated, of course. 
 
 But, in addition to these circumstances, all the prin 
 cipal towns and cantons of the Five Nations gave evi 
 dence, at the period of the discovery, of a much longer 
 occupancy of the territory in question than most authors 
 have conceded ; while according to their own traditions, 
 affording yet better authority, they had been in the actual 
 possession of that fair region of country for a length of 
 time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the 
 contrary.* It is true that there is a dim and shadowy 
 tradition among some of the people of the Five Nations, 
 that they originally came from the north ; but they date 
 the period of their migration a long number of centuries 
 back. Cusick, the Tuscarora author, and the only 
 Indian who has written upon that subject, dates the 
 event more than twenty-five hundred years before the 
 discovery by Columbus, as correct, probably, as the 
 Chinese chronology .t The tradition of the Senecas is, 
 that the original people of their nation broke forth from 
 the earth, from the crest of a mountain at the head of 
 
 * Charlevoix; Golden s Six Nations; Moulton s New-York, 
 i This tract of Cusick s is a wretchedly puerile performance. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 9 
 
 Canandaigua Lake. The mountain which gave them 
 birth is called " Ge-nun-de-wah-gauh," or the Great 
 Hill. Hence the Senecas are called the Great Hill 
 People, which was their original title. The base of the 
 Genundewah mountain, as it is usually called, they be 
 lieve to have been encircled, when their nation was in 
 its infancy, by a huge serpent, so vast in his proportions 
 that he was enabled to coil himself entirely around the 
 mountain. The head and tail of the monster united 
 at the gateway of the path leading to and from the 
 steep ; and few who attempted either ingress or egress 
 escaped his voracious jaws. Thus environed, the people 
 remained a long time, as it were, in a state of siege, 
 the serpent rendering their condition almost insupporta 
 ble, not only by his war upon their lives, but by reason 
 of his foetid and poisonous breath. At length, their 
 sufferings becoming severe beyond longer endurance, 
 the Indians determined to make a sally. Arming them 
 selves, therefore, with such weapons as they had at 
 hand, they descended the hill, but in attempting to 
 escape the gate, were all seized and swallowed by the 
 serpent, with the exception of two children, who by 
 some means overleaped this fearful line of circumvalla- 
 tion, and avoided the terrible fate of the body of their 
 infant tribe. Having escaped, these children were re 
 served for a yet higher destiny. They were informed, 
 by an oracle, of means by which they might rid the 
 world of the great monster so inimical to their race. 
 They were directed to form a bow of a particular kind 
 of willow, and an arrow of the same, the barb of which 
 
 2 
 
10 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 was to be dipped in poison, and shot in a direction that 
 would allow it to penetrate the skin beneath the scales. 
 The children obeyed the divine injunction, and the result 
 was the serpent s death. No sooner had the arrow penetra 
 ted the skin than he was thrown into violent convulsions. 
 Uncoiling himself from around the mountain, and writh 
 ing into the most frightful convolutions, in his agony 
 he threw up the heads of the people he had devoured, 
 which rolled down the steep into the lake. With agoni 
 zing throes the serpent himself then rolled into the lake, 
 sweeping down the timber in his course. The heads of 
 the Indians, that had been disgorged, were petrified by 
 the transparent waters, and are to be seen at the bottom 
 of the lake, in the shape of large round stones, to this day. 
 From the two orphans, thus preserved, and who thus 
 vanquished their terrible enemy, sprang the new race of 
 Senecas. The tradition is equally absurd and puerile ; 
 but not more so than are the legends of the aboriginals of 
 other nations, or even of the so-called civilized nations 
 of India and China. But it is cited to show that the 
 Senecas themselves have no idea of a modern occupancy 
 of their territory. And that they were sincere in enter 
 taining the tradition, may be allowed from the circum 
 stance that the Genundewah has been held sacred, as 
 being the place of their birth. For a long time past, and 
 down to a recent period, it was the place of holding their 
 councils. It was also the hallowed place of their religious 
 services, some of which were instituted in commemo 
 ration of the death of the serpent, which had thus threat- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. H 
 
 ened the extermination of their race.* This legend is 
 less poetical, perhaps, but it is not more absurd, than the 
 classic fable of the Hydra of Lerna, or the monster 
 which, according to ./Elian, was the terror of India in the 
 time of Alexander. The monster of Genundewah did 
 not discharge volumes of flame and smoke from his 
 mouth, like another Typhon ; but the effluvium of his 
 breath was even more destructive. The credulity of the 
 wild Senecas was no greater than that of the polished 
 Greeks ; and they did not fall into the absurdity of pay 
 ing divine honors to their monster, as the oriental Indians 
 did the dragon-cotemporary of Alexander. 
 
 Connected with this sacred mount of Genundewah, 
 and a wild precipice in its vicinity, which hangs beetling 
 over the silver Canandaigua lake, called the " Lover s 
 Leap," is an interesting story of love to distraction, and 
 courage to death, on the part of a young Indian beauty, 
 which may perhaps warrant a digression for its recital 
 more especially as the American aboriginals have gene 
 rally been accounted, comparatively, strangers to la belle 
 passion. The legend is of a later day than that of the 
 serpent, but, nevertheless, descends from remote tradi 
 tion. During the wars of the Senecas and the Algon- 
 quins of the north, a chief of the latter was captured and 
 carried to Genundewah, whereon a fortification, consist- 
 
 * This tradition was related to the author, in November, 1838, by a Seneca 
 chief, called The Blacksmith, a relative of Red-Jacket, and to whom descended 
 the medal given to the latter by General Washington. It is also given, in sub 
 stance, by Mr. Seaver, author of the Life of Mary Jemison. Mr. Seaver re 
 ceived it from the late Captain Horatio Jones, for several years a prisoner among 
 the Senecas, and long a government agent and interpreter among them. 
 
12 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ing of a square without bastions, and surrounded by 
 palisades, was situated. The captive, though young in 
 years, was famed for his prowess in the forest conflict, 
 and nature had been bountiful to his person in those gifts 
 of strength and symmetry which waken savage admira 
 tion. After a short debate, he was condemned to die on 
 the following day, by the slow torture of impalement. 
 While he was lying in the " cabin of death," a lodge 
 devoted to the reception of condemned prisoners, the 
 daughter of the Sachem brought him food,* and, struck 
 with his manly form and heroic bearing, resolved to save 
 him or share his fate. Her bold enterprise was favored 
 by the uncertain light of the gray dawn, while the soli 
 tary sentinel, weary with his night-watch, and forgetful of 
 his duty, was slumbering. Stealing with noiseless tread 
 to the side of the young captive, she cut the thongs where 
 with his limbs were bound, and besought him in breath 
 ing accents to follow her. The fugitives -descended the 
 hill by a wooded path conducting to the lake ; but ere they 
 reached the water, an alarm-whoop, wild and shrill, was 
 heard issuing from the lips of the waking guard. They 
 tarried not, though thorny vines and fallen timber ob 
 structed their way. At length they reached the smooth 
 beach, and leaping into a canoe, previously provided by 
 the brave and considerate damsel, they plied the paddle 
 vigorously, steering for the opposite shore. Vain were 
 their efforts. On the wind came cries of rage, and the 
 quick tramp of savage warriors, bounding over rock and 
 
 * The Indians always supply their prisoners with every comfort until the time 
 for their execution arrives. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 13 
 
 glen in fierce pursuit. The Algonquin, with the reckless 
 daring of a young brave, sent back a yell of defiance ; and 
 soon after the plash of oars was heard, and a dozen war 
 canoes were cutting the billows in their rear. The un 
 fortunate lovers, on landing, took a trail leading in a 
 western direction over the hills. The Algonquin, weak 
 ened by unhealed wounds, followed his active guide up 
 the acclivity with panting heart and flagging pace ; while 
 his enemies, with the grim old Sachem at their head, drew 
 nearer and nearer. At length, finding farther attempts 
 at flight useless, she diverged from the trail, and conduc 
 ted her lover to a table-crested rock that projected over 
 a ravine, or gulf, one hundred and fifty feet in depth, the 
 bottom of which was strewn with huge mis-shapen rocks, 
 scattered in rude confusion. With hearts nerved to a high 
 resolve, the hapless pair awaited the arrival of their 
 yelling pursuers. Conspicuous by his eagle plume, tow 
 ering form, and scowling brow, the daughter soon de 
 scried her inexorable sire leaping from crag to crag be 
 low her. He paused abruptly when his fiery eye rested 
 on the objects of his pursuit. Notching an arrow on the 
 string of his tried and unerring bow, he raised his sinewy 
 arms but ere the missile was sent, Wun-nut-hay, the 
 Beautiful, interposed her form between her father and 
 his victim. In wild appealing tones she entreated her 
 sire to spare the young chieftain, assuring him that they 
 would leap together from the precipice rather than be 
 separated. The stern old man, deaf to her supplication, 
 and disregarding her menace, ordered his followers to 
 seize the fugitive. Warrior after warrior darted up the 
 
14 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 rock, but on reaching the platform, at the moment when 
 they were grasping to clutch the young brave, the lovers, 
 locked in fond embrace, flung themselves 
 
 " From the steep rock and perished." 
 
 The mangled bodies were buried in the bottom of the 
 glen, beneath the shade of everlasting rocks ; and two 
 small hollows, resembling sunken graves, are to this day 
 pointed out to the curious traveller, as the burial place 
 of " the lovers." It is a sweet, wild haunt, the sun 
 beam falls there with a softened radiance, and a brook 
 near by gives out a complaining murmur, as if mourning 
 for the dead.* 
 
 But to return from the alluring field of romance to the 
 graver details of historical inquiry. There is yet farther, 
 if not stronger evidence to sustain the position, that the 
 Five Nations had for ages been in the possession of their 
 Long House. For example, speaking of the mounds in 
 their country, which, like many others scattered between 
 the lakes and the coast of Florida, have occasioned so 
 much of speculation and curious inquiry, some of the 
 Senecas told Mr. Kirkland, the celebrated missionary to 
 the Indians, " that those in their territory were raised by 
 their ancestors, in their wars with the western Indians, 
 
 * This interesting legend was derived many years ago from a Seneca chief of 
 some note, named " Chequered Cap," and was communicated to me by W. H. C. 
 Hosmer, Esq., of Avon, of whom more hereafter. On the top of Genundewah 
 the remains of an Indian orchard are visible a few moss-grown and wind-bowed 
 apple-trees still linger, sad, but fitting emblems of the wasted race by whom they 
 were planted. 
 
OF RED- JACKET. 15 
 
 three, four, or five hundred years ago."* Indeed it was 
 the belief of that people " that they sprang and grew 
 up, in that very place, like the trees of the wilderness."! 
 Still it is and must ever remain a question of doubt 
 how long the Aquanuschioni had occupied the " Long 
 House." Their traditions are confused, and not in har 
 mony with each other. De Witt Clinton inclined to the 
 opinion that they first inhabited the country on the north 
 side of the great lakes, whence they had been expelled 
 by the Adirondacks- they in turn driving from the country 
 south of the lakes a now lost nation, called the Satanas. 
 But this hypothesis is inconsistent with the subsequent 
 claim of the Iroquois to the country west of Lake Ontario, 
 and north of Lake Erie, as a conquest from those same 
 Adirondacks, or Hurons. Governor Clinton has im 
 plicitly followed Colden upon this point; but more 
 thorough inquiry has shown that Colden was wrong. 
 The Hurons, without controversy, were driven from the 
 country of the St. Lawrence, to the north-west, beyond 
 Lake Superior " hiding themselves in the dreary wastes 
 that divided the Chippewas from their western foes."! 
 They were afterward driven back by the Sioux to 
 Detroit, and the northern shore of Lake Erie. The 
 Indians called Satanas by the English, the Shaouonons 
 of the French, resided farther west, upon the Mississippi. 
 Brant, in a letter to Colonel Timothy Pickering, says the 
 
 * Clinton s Discourse. 
 
 t Note in Drake s Book of the Indians. 
 
 t Bancroft. Doctor Colden pronounced the Adirondacks " the most warlike 
 and polite nation of all the Indians in North America." He adds " they were 
 almost entirely destroyed by a people they at first despised." 
 
16 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 country south of Buffalo Creek and Lake Erie "was 
 obtained by the joint exertions of the Five Nations, in a 
 war with a powerful nation of Indians called Eries, and 
 another nation then living at Tioga Point ; so that, by 
 our successes, all the country between that and the 
 Mississippi became the joint property of the Five Nations. 
 All other nations now inhabiting this great tract of coun-r 
 try were allowed to settle by the Five Nations."* 
 
 There is yet another tradition, that the Five Nations 
 came originally from the remote west. But, so far as is 
 known, there is no language in that vast region assimi 
 lating to theirs, while the languages of the Indians east 
 of the Hudson river were evidently from the same root 
 as the different dialects of the great Delaware family, 
 who are allowed to have come from that direction. The 
 tradition, imputed by some writers to the Senecas, that 
 they were once occupants of the territory of the Creeks, 
 at the south, is not worthy of consideration. This incir 
 dental discussion, therefore, respecting the origin of the 
 Five Nations, or rather the length of time in which they 
 had been in the occupancy of what they figuratively 
 called their "long house," has necessarily left the ques 
 tion involved in as much obscurity as it was before, save 
 that it is believed to have been pretty clearly shown 
 that they were by no means recent occupants of their 
 territory at the time when the white men came among 
 them, nor had they been driven from the north by the 
 Hurons. 
 
 * MS. letter from Joseph Brant Thayendanegea to Colonel Pickering, dated 
 30th December, 1794, in the author s possession. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 NATIVITY of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha Origin of the name, Red-JacketServes with 
 the Indians against the United States Charges of treachery and cowardice 
 Hatred of Brant Called " The Cow-Killer" Cornplanter Treaty of 1789, 
 at Fort Stanwix Views of Washington Course of Red- Jacket and Corn- 
 planter there, the former opposing the treaty, and the latter effecting it 
 Dissatisfaction of the Indians at the result Cornplanter attempts to reconcile 
 them His failure Appeals to General Washington Claims of Massachu 
 setts to Western New- York Massachusetts acquires the pre-emption title 
 Sells a part to Phelps and Gorham Stupendous scheme for dismembering 
 New-York The plot crushed by Governor George Clinton and the legisla 
 ture Inklings of Red- Jacket s duplicity. 
 
 THE Seneca chief, SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA, or " He-7ceeps- 
 them-awaJce," has, by some writers upon Indian history, 
 been designated as " The Last of the Senecas," and 
 perhaps with figurative justice. He had several able 
 contemporaries, names not unknown to fame, among whom 
 were FARMER S-BROTHER and the CORNPLANTER. But 
 these chiefs were older than himself, and distinguished 
 rather as warriors than as orators ; while Sa-go-ye- 
 wat-ha, whose eloquence was the glory of his people, 
 has left no one behind who can fill his place at the coun 
 cil-fire. The orator " owed nothing to the advantages 
 of illustrious descent."* On the contrary, his parentage 
 was humble, even in the estimate of his own people, 
 among whom the democratic principle of positive equality 
 
 * De Witt Clinton s Historical Discourse. 
 
 3 
 
18 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 is as nearly approximated, perhaps, as in any other 
 country in the universe. He is believed to have been 
 born about the year 1750, at a place called Old Castle, 
 three miles west of the present beautiful and flourishing 
 town of Geneva, at the foot of Seneca Lake.* Of his 
 early history little is known beyond the fact asserted 
 by tradition, that he was remarkably swift upon the 
 chase, and from his fleetness was often employed as a 
 messenger, first among his own people, and afterward, 
 during the war of the American revolution, as a runner 
 for the British officers engaged in the border service. 
 His name of " RED-JACKET," by which he was so long 
 familiarly known among the white people, is said to have 
 been acquired in the following manner : During the war 
 just mentioned, his activity and intelligence attracted the 
 attention of several officers in the service of the British 
 crown, and acquired for him their friendship. One of 
 them, either as a compliment, or for services rendered, 
 u presented him with a richly embroidered scarlet jacket^ 
 which he took great pride in wearing. When this was 
 worn out, he was presented with another ; and he con 
 tinued to wear this peculiar dress until it became a mark 
 of distinction, and gave him the name by which he was 
 afterward best known."t At the treaty of 1794, held at 
 Canandaigua, Captain Parish, one of the interpreters 
 in the service of the United States, gave him another red 
 jacket, " to perpetuate the name to which he was so 
 much attached." J 
 
 * Sketch of Red-Jacket, written by the Rev. John Breckenridge, D. D., for 
 M Kenney s Indian Biography. t Idem. t Idem. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 19 
 
 The most authentic information that has been ob 
 tained respecting his earlier career presents him, in the 
 outset of his slender military service, in a very unfavor 
 able attitude. It was while he was upon the war-path, 
 during the invasion of the Genesee country by General 
 Sullivan, in 1779. 
 
 The author of the spirited sketch of his life just quoted 
 speaks of the " activity and intelligence" by which he 
 distinguished himself in that war, "though he had scarce 
 ly reached the age of manhood when he engaged in it." 
 But the writer, soon afterward, observes, with greater 
 justice; "in that contest he took little or no part as a 
 warrior; and it would appear that like his celebrated 
 predecessors in rhetorical fame, Demosthenes and Cicero, 
 he better understood how to rouse his countrymen to 
 war than to lead them to victory."* It is well known 
 to those who are accurately versed in the Indian history 
 of the last half century, that the celebrated Mohawk 
 leader of the Six Nations, Thayendanegea, more com 
 monly known as Joseph Brant, ever regarded the Seneca 
 orator with mingled feelings of hatred and contempt. 
 The Mohawk chief was wont to charge him with conduct 
 perfectly in keeping with the classical parallel indicated 
 by Dr. Breckenridge. According to the statements of 
 
 * Sketch by Rev. Dr. Breckenridge. Cicero, it is true, gave evidence of irre 
 solution, if not timidity, in the struggles between Caesar and the republic ; and 
 Demosthenes was accused of having been corrupted by the presents of Alexander. 
 Thus far, between both the ancient orators and the Seneca, it will appear that 
 there is a seeming parallel. Of the former two, cowardice was predicated of 
 the one, and treachery of the other. The Seneca, as will be seen, has been 
 charged with both. 
 
20 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Brant and others, made, too, with inconvenient direct 
 ness in the presence of Red-Jacket himself the latter 
 had been known to exert his eloquence to enkindle a 
 war-spirit in the bosoms of the braves of his nation, and 
 provoke them to take up the hatchet, while he inge 
 niously avoided the war-path, and availed himself of the 
 absence of the warriors, thus procured, to plunder the 
 goods, and even live stock, wherever he could not 
 caring to discriminate between the property of an enemy 
 and that of the absentees of his own people. Hence the 
 name of " Cow-killer" bestowed upon him by Joseph 
 Brant, in a letter to the Duke of Northumberland, 
 written in 1805.* 
 
 But the origin of the Mohawk chieftain s enmity is to 
 be traced to a more remote and still more aggravated 
 cause, while, as will hereafter appear, there were trans 
 actions on the part of Red-Jacket of deep personal con 
 cern to Brant, which added to the bitterness of his 
 hatred. During the campaign of General Sullivan, 
 already referred to, in which the Americans, like a 
 stream of fire, swept through the fine country then in 
 habited by the Cayugas and Senecas, and now forming 
 
 * Life of Brant, vol. ii. p. 417. " Red- Jacket was, from the following cir 
 cumstance, nick-named The Cow-killer : During the revolutionary war, he had 
 on some occasion exhorted his followers to behave with courage in an engage 
 ment expected to take place, promising that he would himself be found in the 
 hottest of the fight. But when the engagement came on, Red-Jacket was missing, 
 and was found, during the battle, cutting up a cow, belonging to an Indian, which 
 he had killed. One day, when dining at my house with Captain Brant, Corn- 
 planter told the story as if the act had been committed by some other Indian. 
 He and Brant laughed exceedingly at the anecdote, and at Red-Jacket s confu 
 sion. The latter attempted to join in the laugh, but was evidently very much 
 embarrassed. Letter to the author from Thomas Morris. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 21 
 
 the western portion of the State of New-York, the 
 Mohawk chief was the leader, and the master-spirit, of 
 the Indian forces. The battle of Newtown, so disastrous 
 to the Indians, the tories, and other more regular troops 
 in the British service, left Captain Brant no choice but 
 either to abandon the whole country at once, or adopt the 
 Fabian system, and harass the American army by coun 
 ter-marches and ambuscades. But the Mohawk was not 
 a man to fly while a blow could be struck, and the latter 
 alternative was adopted ; with, at times, no inconsidera 
 ble degree of success. Yet, on the whole, the campaign 
 of Sullivan resulted in the sad discomfiture of the In 
 dians ; and it was in after life urged by Brant, that the 
 conduct of Red-Jacket had not only caused him much 
 trouble and embarrassment during that invasion, but had 
 been the principal cause of the disasters of his people. 
 Sa-go-ye-wat-ha was then twenty-nine years old, and 
 although it does not appear that he had yet been created 
 a chief, he nevertheless seems to have been already a 
 man of influence. He was in the practice of holding 
 private consultations with the young warriors, and some 
 of the younger and less resolute chiefs, for the purpose of 
 fomenting discontents, and persuading them to sue for 
 what Brant considered ignominious terms of peace. On 
 one occasion, as Brant has alleged, Red-Jacket had so 
 far succeeded in his treachery as to induce some of 
 the disaffected chiefs to send a runner into Sullivan s 
 camp, to make known the dissensions he himself had 
 awakened, and invite a flag of truce, with propositions 
 of peace to the Indians. But the eagle eye of the Mo- 
 
22 LIFE AND TIMES. 
 
 hawk penetrated the conspiracy. Still his own position 
 was too precarious to allow the exercise of force in 
 crushing it. Watching every movement, therefore, he 
 despatched two confidential warriors to intercept the 
 American flag, possess themselves of the bearer s des 
 patches, and put him to death. This bloody but neces 
 sary commission was executed with true Indian adroit 
 ness, and the purposes of Red-Jacket were for that 
 time frustrated.* 
 
 The charge of positive cowardice, during the same 
 campaign, rests upon the testimony of another the 
 brave and war-like Cornplanter, a chief of the same 
 nation. It had been the intention of this chief to make 
 a stand against a detachment of General Sullivan s 
 forces, on the beach of the Canandaigua lake the In 
 dian village at that place having been a very considera 
 ble town. But "on the approach of the Americans, a 
 small number of the Indians, among whom was Red- 
 Jacket, began to retreat. Cornplanter exerted himself 
 to rally them. He sprang in front of Red-Jacket and 
 endeavored to persuade him to fight but in vain. 
 Whereupon the indignant chief, turning to the young 
 wife of the recreant warrior, exclaimed " Leave that 
 man he is a coward !"t 
 
 The name of Red-Jacket occurs not again in history, 
 written or unwritten, until in connexion with the great 
 Indian Treaty held at Fort Stanwix, in the year 1784. 
 It redounds little to the credit of the British ministry of 
 1782-83, that in the treaty of peace with the United 
 
 * Life of Brant, vol. ii. p. 35. t Rev. Dr. John Breckenridge. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 23 
 
 States, by which the independence of the latter was con 
 ceded to the fullest extent, no stipulation was inserted 
 in behalf of the red allies of the crown. Four of the 
 Six Nations, viz., the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, 
 and Senecas, had adhered to the royal cause with the 
 utmost constancy and with perfect fidelity. They had 
 all poured out their blood like water ; their country had 
 been ravaged by fire and sword, and the Mohawks had 
 been entirely driven from their own peculiar and beau 
 tiful region ; and yet not the slightest provision was in 
 terposed in their behalf by those whom they had served 
 so bravely and so long. 
 
 But although the hatchet was not formally buried, its 
 use was suspended by the treaty of 1783, and no farther 
 acts of hostility were perpetrated by the Six Nations. 
 Still, smarting as were the borderers of New- York from 
 the cruelties of the Indians, the legislature of that State 
 began to agitate the question of an entire expulsion of tire 
 race from beyond its remotest western confines, and 
 the confiscation of their lands. The humane feelings 
 of General Washington revolted against so harsh a mea 
 sure, as also did those of General Schuyler. The best 
 relations had ever subsisted between the Dutch and the 
 Six Nations, and likewise, for the most part, between the 
 latter and the English colonists ; and it was held by 
 Washington and Schuyler, and others whose opinions 
 were entitled to consideration, that the Indians who had 
 been deluded into the service of the crown during the 
 late struggle should be conciliated, if not won back to 
 the interests of the United States, by humane and liberal 
 
24 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 treatment. In the opinion of Washington, their expul 
 sion by force would inevitably involve the young repub 
 lic in another general Indian war ; whereas, were they 
 treated with that degree of kindness and benevolence 
 which the United States could then so well afford to ex 
 tend to them, and which would be so creditable to the 
 character of the confederation, their country might from 
 time to time be obtained by negotiation as fast as it would 
 be wanted for settlement by the whites, and at much less 
 cost than it could be acquired for by conquest. Hap 
 pily these principles prevailed, and a grand council was 
 held by the chiefs of the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, in 
 the autumn of 1784, which was attended by Oliver Wol- 
 cott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, on the part of the 
 United States, and at which a treaty of peace was nego 
 tiated. The journals of this council have been lost, and 
 nothing remains but the naked treaty, by the provisions 
 of which the Six Nations were received under the pro 
 tection of the United States, and secured in the posses 
 sion of all the tracts of country within the boundaries of 
 New-York, of which they were then the occupants. 
 
 This treaty was not signed by the chiefs in attendance 
 upon the council, as is the usual practice, but by the 
 names and arms of the nations represented, comprising 
 the whole six of the Iroquois confederacy. There is, 
 therefore, no catalogue extant of the sachems and chiefs 
 present at the council ; but from other and subsequent 
 passages of Indian history, it has been rendered certain 
 that among the more prominent of the Indian leaders 
 on that occasion, the most influential and the most elo- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 25 
 
 quent were the Cornplanter and Red-Jacket. At 
 what time the latter had been elevated to the dignity of 
 chieftainship is not known. The means employed to ob 
 tain the rank are less uncertain. His conduct upon the 
 war-path could not, by possibility, have purchased for 
 him the favor of his people, for that conduct had been 
 most emphatically stamped both with treachery and 
 cowardice the latter imperfection being ever an un 
 pardonable offence among warriors of all nations, with 
 whatever leniency the former may perhaps be looked 
 upon by Indians. But the Six Nations, above all others 
 of the American aboriginals, were lovers of eloquence, 
 and cultivators of the art.* Red- Jacket s intellectual 
 powers were of a high order, and he was an orator by 
 nature.f He was, moreover, as artful and ambitious as 
 he was eloquent. Aspiring to the rank of a chief, he not 
 only wrought upon the minds of his people by the exertion 
 of that faculty which was ever with them a high standard 
 of merit, but he succeeded in availing himself of the 
 superstitious constitution of his race, to effect his purpose. 
 " His first essay was to dream that he was, or should 
 be, a chief, and that the Great Spirit was angry that his 
 
 * " The most remarkable difference existed between the Confederates [Six 
 Nations,] and the other Indians, with respect to eloquence. You may search in 
 vain in the records and writings of the past, or in the events of the present times, 
 for a single model of eloquence among the Algonquins, the Delawares, the 
 Shawanese, or any other nation of Indians, except the Iroquois. The few scintil 
 lations of intellectual light, the faint glimmerings of genius which are sometimes 
 to be found in their speeches, are evidently derivative, and borrowed from the 
 Confederates." De Witt Clinton. 
 
 t General Erastus Root once remarked to the author, that he considered John 
 Randolph and Red-Jacket the two most perfect orators whom he had ever heard. 
 
 4 
 
26 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 nation had not advanced him to that dignity. This 
 dream, with the necessary variations, was repeated, 
 until, fortunately for him, the small-pox broke out among 
 the Senecas. He then proclaimed the loathsome in 
 fliction a judgment sent by the Great Spirit, to punish 
 them for their ingratitude to him. The consequence, 
 ultimately, was, that by administering flattery to some, 
 working upon the superstitious fears of others, and by 
 awakening the admiration of all by his eloquence, he 
 reached the goal of his ambition."* Hence his appear 
 ance in the council at Fort Stanwix, in company with the 
 same brave chief by whom he had been so bitterly re 
 proached for his cowardice, on the margin of Canandaigua 
 Lake, five years before. 
 
 Nor is it the least singular circumstance in this portion 
 of his history, that he was the sturdy opponent of Corn- 
 planter in the debates of the council, and although so 
 utterly unfitted, by the absence of physical courage, for 
 war himself, he was nevertheless opposed to peace at 
 least on the basis upon which it was granted. It appears 
 from the proceedings of a great Indian council held at 
 the mouth of the Detroit river, in 1786, two years after 
 the treaty of Fort Stanwix, that the council at the 
 latter place, the chiefs especially, who, with their 
 nations, had been engaged on the side of Great Britain, 
 in the struggle then recent were, for the most part, 
 opposed to the conclusion of any treaty which did 
 not include the Hurons, Ottawas, Shawanese, Chippe- 
 was, Delawares, Pottawattamies, and the Wabash con 
 federates, as well as the Six Nations, and cover the 
 
 * Life of Brant. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 97 
 
 entire question of boundaries for the whole.* They de 
 sired that these several nations might be invited to join 
 the council, that the pacification might include all who 
 had borne a part hostile to the United States in the war. 
 Red-Jacket was strenuous upon this point ; contending, 
 with great vehemence, that, unless it were conceded, 
 no matter for the withdrawal of Great Britain from the 
 contest, the Indians ought to make common cause, 
 and prosecute the war on their own account. His speech 
 was characterized, by those who heard it, as a master 
 piece of oratory, and it has been declared that every 
 warrior present was carried away by his eloquence.t 
 But the commissioners would listen to no such propo 
 sition ; and the Cornplanter, who was an old and wise 
 man, though less eloquent than his junior associate, ulti 
 mately succeeded in giving a favorable turn to the nego- 
 ciation. Cornplanter was a warrior of unquestionable 
 bravery. His trail had been bloody ; and he therefore, 
 at that time, stood high in the confidence of his people, 
 and of course exerted a corresponding influence. He 
 saw how utterly hopeless must be -a contest between the 
 Indians, single-handed, and the United States, and he 
 ultimately succeeded in effecting a pacification sur 
 rendering, by necessity, a large portion of the Indian 
 territory within the State of New- York, but yet retaining 
 ample ranges of the forest for his own people. But 
 
 * Life of Brant. t - 
 
 t General Lafayette, who was present at the treaty of Fort Stanwix. Vide 
 Levasseur s account of the General s interview with Red-Jacket, at Buffalo, in 
 1825. 
 
28 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 although the result of the negotiation was more favorable 
 to the Six Nations than they had any just right to expect, 
 it nevertheless gave great dissatisfaction to the Indians 
 generally ; and several years elapsed before the Senecas 
 became reconciled to it. 
 
 After the conclusion of the treaty, the commissioners 
 engaged Cornplanter to make special endeavors to pacify 
 his people, the Senecas and others ; as a compensation 
 for which exertions a special grant of land was made to 
 him on the Alleghany river, within the State of Penn 
 sylvania, on which he resided until his death. But his 
 people were not easily reconciled ; and they were yet 
 more exasperated at the conduct of Cornplanter, when, 
 five years afterward, at the treaty of Fort Harmar, he 
 gave up a still larger portion of their territory. He was 
 bitterly reproached for this transaction ; but, as in the 
 treaty of Fort Stanwix, his motives were beyond im 
 peachment. His life was even threatened,* a circum 
 stance to which he referred in the pathetic speech de 
 livered by him to "the Great Counsellor of the Thirteen 
 Fires,"t at Philadelphia, in 1790 : 
 
 " Father, we will not conceal from you that the Great God, 
 and not man, has preserved the Cornplanter from the hands 
 of his own people." 
 
 The speech here cited is a long and moving appeal to 
 the Thirteen Fires, to reconsider their treaties and other 
 proceedings with the Indians, and especially for a redress 
 
 * Drake s Book of the Indians. t Washington. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 39 
 
 of alleged grievances, connected with the purchase of a 
 large portion of their lands in Western New-York, by 
 Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham. In regard to the 
 treaty of Fort Stanwix, the history of which is eloquently 
 reviewed in the speech, the Cornplanter declares that 
 its concessions were yielded only to force. 
 
 " You then told us that we were in your hand, and that by 
 closing it you could crush us to nothing, and you demanded 
 from us a great country as the price of that peace you had 
 offered us as if our want of strength had destroyed our rights. 
 Our chiefs had felt your power, and were unable to contend 
 against you, and they therefore gave up that country." " There 
 were but few chiefs present, and they were compelled to give 
 it up ; and it is not the Six Nations only that reproach us for 
 having given up that country. The Chippewas, and all the 
 nations which lived on those lands westward, call to us, and 
 ask us Brothers of our fathers ! Where is the place which 
 you have reserved for us to lie down upon V What they 
 agreed to has bound our nation ; but your anger against us 
 must, by this time, be cooled, and though our strength has not 
 increased, nor your power become less, we ask you to consider 
 calmly, were the terms dictated to us by your commissioners 
 reasonable and just?"* 
 
 It is evident from the whole strain of this remarkable 
 speech, that Cornplanter was harassed by the murmurs 
 of his own people, and himself grieved at their condition. 
 And it will be seen in the sequel, that the crafty Sa- 
 go-ye-wat-ha afterward availed himself of the position 
 he had himself occupied at Fort Stanwix, to advance his 
 
 * Public Documents Indian Affairs, vol. i. pp. 206, 207. 
 
30 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 own ambitious views at the expense of his more ingenuous 
 superior.* Still, it must in justice be conceded to the 
 orator, that the treaty of peace having been concluded, 
 he ever after maintained it with the most unwavering 
 fidelity. 
 
 The names of Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham 
 have been incidentally mentioned a few sentences back, 
 in connection with the griefs which Cornplanter was 
 pouring into the ears of his " Great Father," the " Coun 
 sellor of the Thirteen Fires ;" and the name of Red- 
 Jacket appearing in the same connexion, a few words of 
 explanation seem to be required. It is well known that 
 in consequence of the loose and indefinite manner in 
 which patents had been granted by the crown, in the 
 earlier history of the colonies, to vast tracts and regions 
 of lands unknown, several difficult questions of land 
 titles and jurisdiction arose between New-York, Con 
 necticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. In the ad 
 justment of these difficulties, Connecticut became dis 
 possessed of a tract in the Susquehanna country, called 
 " The Gore," and, on the other hand, received that portion 
 of the State of Ohio, commonly known as " New-Con 
 necticut," or " The Western Reserve." Pennsylvania 
 obtained a tract of land lying immediately beyond the 
 western boundary of New- York, and northeast of her 
 own, embracing the harbor of Presque Isle, upon Lake 
 Erie, familiarly known as " The Triangle." This was 
 an important acquisition to Pennsylvania, affording the 
 
 * Life of Brant, vol. ii. p. 245. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 3^ 
 
 only passage, upon her own territory, to Lake Erie. The 
 difficulties between New- York and Massachusetts were 
 more serious, and of more difficult adjustment, by reason 
 of the claim of the latter to a very large portion of West 
 ern New-York. But an amicable arrangement was effected 
 toward the close of 1786, by mutual concessions. Massa 
 chusetts relinquished the jurisdiction which she had at 
 tempted to claim, and New- York relinquished to Massa 
 chusetts the pre-emptive right, (or the right of purchasing 
 the soil from the Indians,) to a tract of land embracing 
 six millions of acres, comprehending what is generally 
 known as " the Genesee country," and the territory be 
 yond to Lake Erie and the Pennsylvania border. New- 
 York thus retained her sovereignty, but lost the fee of 
 one of the finest regions of country in the New World. 
 
 Pending the adjustment of these difficulties, and em 
 boldened, probably, by the success which crowned the 
 efforts of the Green Mountaineers in robbing New- York 
 of the territory composing the state of Vermont, a daring 
 company of speculators, residing upon the banks of the 
 Hudson, had attempted to grasp the entire country re 
 maining to the Six Nations after the treaty of 1784, with 
 a view, as it was believed, of ultimately dismembering 
 New-York, and creating a separate state from its western 
 territory.* The laws of New- York, even at that early 
 day, prohibited the purchase of any Indian lands what- 
 
 * The gentlemen concerned in this vast project were, John Livingston, Caleb 
 Benton, Peter Ryckman, John Stephenson, Ezekiel Gilbert, and their associates, 
 of the county of Columbia, and state of New- York. 
 
32 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ever, by individuals, or by companies, within the state. 
 But Colonel Livingston and his associates attempted to 
 escape the legal difficulties by an evasion. Instead of 
 making a purchase, they negotiated with the chiefs of the 
 Six Nations, in the autumn of 1787, for a lease of their 
 entire territory within the state of New-York, exclusive 
 of certain reservations, for and during the period of nine 
 hundred and ninety-nine years, at the nominal yearly rent 
 of two thousand Spanish milled dollars, to be paid annu 
 ally on the 4th day of July. A lease of such extended 
 duration was equivalent to a purchase of the fee of the 
 land, and was so considered by the lessees, whose 
 object, as it was understood, was to throw a large popu 
 lation as rapidly as possible into that territory, to form 
 the nucleus of another independent state. But the 
 government of the state, and the people, took the alarm. 
 Remonstrances were poured in upon the legislature from 
 Hudson, Poughkeepsie, and other towns, expressing the 
 surprise and anxiety with which the remonstrants had 
 observed the movements of the association, and pro 
 testing against the application making by the latter to 
 obtain the sanction of their claim by the government. 
 George Clinton, then governor of the state, was strongly 
 opposed to the transaction, and called the attention of 
 the legislature specially to the subject. Finally the 
 hopes of the company were extinguished by the law of 
 March, 1788, proposed by Egbert Benson, then in the 
 Senate, declaring the pre-emptive right to the lands to 
 be vested in the state, and authorizing the strongest 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 33 
 
 measures of force to be used by the Executive, in the 
 removal of all intruders from the lands.* 
 
 Before proceeding farther with these explanations, 
 not as foreign to the purposes of this biography as they 
 may seem at the present stage of the narrative, it must 
 be noted, and the fact should be remembered, that Red- 
 Jacket was a party to the transaction with Colonel 
 Livingston and his associates, as also was the Corn- 
 planter. The importance of keeping the name of Red- 
 Jacket in close connexion with this subject will pre 
 sently appear. 
 
 Meantime, another feature in the great land operations 
 now under consideration must be unfolded. It has 
 just been seen that, in the year 1786, Massachusetts 
 acquired from the state of New- York the pre-emptive 
 right to a large tract of the Indian lands, comprehended 
 in the Seneca country proper. This pre-emptive title 
 to all the lands claimed by, or accorded to, Massachu 
 setts, lying east of the Gene see river, was sold by the 
 legislature of that state, in the following year, to Oliver 
 Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, for the sum of one million 
 of dollars, payable in three annual instalments. In the 
 next subsequent year, that is, in the summer of 1788, 
 Mr. Phelps led an expedition of colonists into the newly 
 purchased territory, and causing a council of the Six 
 
 * In order that not even the color of injustice toward the lessees might re 
 main, the legislature, five years afterward, made a grant to them of a district 
 of country, ten miles square, in the northern part of the state, and subsequently 
 they received grants of several large tracts in the Genesee country, from Phelps 
 and Gorham. 
 
 5 
 
34 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 Nations to be convened at Buffalo Creek, in the month 
 of July, succeeded in purchasing the fee of the soil, for 
 the small sum of five thousand dollars in hand paid, 
 one half in cash, and the other in goods, subject to 
 an annual rent of five hundred dollars forever. The 
 deed to Phelps and Gorham was dated on the 8th of 
 July, 1788, and bears the signature of Sha-go-yagh- 
 wat-ha,* or Red-Jacket. Joseph Brant was also a party 
 to the deed. 
 
 As the lease of their whole territory, executed the 
 preceding year by the Indians to. Colonel Livingston 
 and his associates, had not yet been declared invalid by 
 the government of the state, the sale to Phelps and 
 Gorham rendered a farther arrangement with the former 
 parties necessary. Accordingly, in the course of the 
 same season, a second instrument was executed to 
 Colonel Livingston and his company, setting forth the 
 sale to Phelps and Gorham, and for that reason re 
 linquishing to the former one half of the annual rent of 
 two thousand dollars per annum, for the period of nine 
 hundred and ninety-nine years. And here, again, it is 
 necessary to note the fact that Red-Jacket was a party 
 to this third document, connected with other papers and 
 transactions, equivalent to an entire sale of the territory 
 of his people within the state of New- York. 
 
 * Thus spelt by the person who wrote the name to which Red-Jacket placed 
 his mark. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 INDIAN relations of the United States in 1790 Bad feeling of the Senecas 
 Council at Tioga Point Red-Jacket Colonel Pickering Hendrick Red- 
 Jacket revives the land controversy His speech Extraordinary Indian cere 
 mony Visit of Cornplanter and Big Tree to Philadelphia Appeal to General 
 Washington Duplicity of Cornplanter The probable motive Kindness of 
 Washington to the deputation Mission of Colonel Proctor Council at Buffalo 
 Creek Salutatory speech of Red-Jacket British interference Attempt to 
 remove the council to Niagara Resisted by Proctor Farther difficulties In 
 termeddling of the British officers Council broken up Interposition of the 
 women, and proceedings resumed Red-Jacket s speech for the women 
 Proctor s mission abruptly terminated by Colonel Gordon Colonel Pickering 
 holds a council at Painted Post Influence of the Indian women Favorable 
 result of that council Propositions for aiding the Indians in the arts and man 
 ners of civilization. 
 
 IN the year 1790 the Indian relations of the United 
 States were in a most unhappy, if not unfavorable, con 
 dition. A savage war, fierce and bloody, was raging 
 upon the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania and Vir 
 ginia ; and the strong confederated Indian nations in 
 habiting the country of the great lakes, even to the 
 regions beyond the Mississippi, acting under the advice 
 of the officers of the British Indian Department, and 
 encouraged in various ways by the government of 
 Canada, were gathering to the contest with a determi 
 nation that the Ohio river should form the ultimate 
 boundary between the United States and the Indian 
 country. All the sympathies of the Senecas, who had 
 
36 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 never been quite satisfied with the provisions of the 
 treaty of Fort Stanwix, were with their brethren of the 
 west, as also were not a few of their warriors ; although 
 Cornplanter, their principal chief, remained unshaken 
 in his friendship for the United States. Still, the popular 
 feeling among his nation was rather hostile ; threatening, 
 in fact, open and general hostilities. Unluckily, just 
 at this inauspicious conjuncture, the Senecas found fresh 
 cause of exasperation in the murder of two of their 
 people by some of the white border-men of Pennsyl 
 vania. The effect of this outrage had well nigh pro 
 voked an immediate outbreak, but the government of 
 the United States lost not a moment in disavowing the 
 act, and in the adoption of measures to bring the mur 
 derers to punishment, by the offer of a large reward for 
 their apprehension. A conference with the Six Nations 
 was also invited at Tioga Point, at which Colonel Timo 
 thy Pickering, who then resided at Wyoming, was com 
 missioned to attend on the part of the United States. 
 The council-fire was kindled on the 16th of November, 
 and was kept burning until the 23d. Among the nations 
 present, either collectively or by representation, were 
 the Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, a small 
 party of Chippewas, and also several of the Stockbridge 
 Indians, among whom was their veteran captain, and the 
 faithful friend of the United States, Hendrick Apamaut. 
 The Indians were in a high state of excitement on their 
 arrival, in regard to the outrage for the consideration of 
 which they had been convoked, and which was deeply 
 felt. The chiefs who took the most active part in the 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 37 
 
 proceedings of this council were Red-Jacket, Farmer s- 
 Brother, Little Billy, Hendrick, and Fish-Carrier, a 
 very old and distinguished warrior of the Cayugas. 
 Old Hendrick made a very eloquent and pathetic ad 
 dress to the commissioner, in the shape of an appeal in 
 behalf of his people, reminding him of their strong and 
 uniform attachment to the United States during the war 
 of the revolution, of the hardships they underwent, and 
 the losses they had sustained during that war, and com 
 plaining bitterly of the neglect with which they had been 
 treated since the peace, in consequence, as he sup 
 posed, of the small number to which they had been re 
 duced. In referring to their services in the field, he used 
 these expressions : 
 
 " We fought by your side, our blood was mingled with 
 yours, and the bones of our warriors still remain on the field 
 of battle, as so many monuments of our attachment to the 
 United States."* 
 
 Cornplanter was not present at this council, and the 
 principal speaker was Red-Jacket, whose efforts pro 
 duced a deep effect upon his people. Still, by a wise 
 and well-adapted speech, Colonel Pickering succeeded 
 in allaying the excitement of the Indians, dried their 
 tears, and wiped out the blood that had been shed. 
 
 But no sooner had that important business been dis 
 posed of than Red-Jacket introduced the subject of 
 their lands, and the purchase of Phelps and Gorham. 
 
 * The Stockbridge Indians suffered very severely in the battle of White Plains. 
 
38 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 In a set speech to Colonel Pickering he inveighed 
 against the procedure, (although, as has been seen, he 
 had himself been a party to it,) and declared that the 
 Indians had been defrauded. It was not, he said, a sale 
 which they had contemplated, or which they had 
 stipulated to make to those gentlemen, but only a lease ; 
 and the consideration, he declared, was to have been 
 ten thousand dollars, together with an annual rent of one 
 thousand dollars, instead of five thousand dollars and a 
 rent of five hundred, which only had been paid to them. 
 He declared that after the bargain was concluded in 
 council at Buffalo Creek, the Rev. Mr. Kirkland,* Colo- 
 nelJohn Buder,t and Captain Brant, were designated by 
 the Indians to draw up the papers. The Indians sup 
 posed all to have been done correctly until the year 
 following, when they went to Canandaigua to receive 
 their pay. Expecting to receive ten thousand dollars, 
 they were told that five thousand only was their due. 
 
 " When we took the money and shared it, we had hut about 
 a dollar a piece." " Mr. Street !"J said the chief, " you very 
 well know that all that our lands came to was but the price of 
 a few hogsheads of tobacco." " Gentlemen who stand by," 
 (addressing the gentlemen in attendance with Colonel Pick 
 ering,) " do not think hard of what has been said. At the time 
 of the treaty, twenty brooches would not buy half a loaf of 
 
 * The celebrated missionary to the Indians. 
 
 t Of the British Indian Department the invader of Wyoming, then residing 
 at Niagara. 
 
 t A gentleman then connected with the Indian Department, who was present 
 at the treaty with Phelps and Gorham, and who was now with Col. Pickering. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 39 
 
 bread, so that, when we returned home, there was not a single 
 spot of silver about us. Mr. Phelps did not purchase, but he 
 leased the land. We opened our ears, and understood that 
 the land was leased. This happened -to us from our not know 
 ing papers." 
 
 The speech under immediate consideration, is the earli 
 est of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha s forensic efforts of which there 
 is any written memorial, nor does it promise much either 
 for the eloquence, genius, or talent of the orator. On the 
 contrary, it is remarkable for its tameness, rather than 
 for spirit or mental power, sinking indeed below the 
 dead level of mediocrity. But aside from the fact that 
 his theme, for the most part, was not inspiring, it being 
 chiefly a dry recapitulation of business transactions, 
 there is reason to believe that great injustice was done 
 him by the interpreter. A gentleman, now venerable in 
 years, who was present at the treaty,* asserts that both 
 in matter and manner, Red-Jacket, during the sittings 
 of the council, spoke with extraordinary eloquence and 
 power. Much depends upon the interpreter in the pre 
 servation of Indian eloquence. If he be a dull and 
 prosaic man, without genius himself, and incapable of 
 appreciating the glowing thoughts, the burning words, 
 and the brilliant metaphors of his principal, the most 
 eloquent and stirring passages, evidently such from 
 the impassioned manner of their delivery, and their 
 kindling effect upon those understanding the language to 
 
 * Thomas Morris, Esq., who has favored the author with his written recollec 
 tions of that council. 
 
40 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 whom they are addressed, will fall from the interpre 
 ter s lips as insipid as it is possible to render language 
 by the process of dilution.* Hence, from the acknow 
 ledged genius of Red-Jacket, and the known powers of 
 his eloquence upon his auditors, this speech to Colonel 
 Pickering is to be received rather as a poor paraphrase 
 by a bad interpreter, than as the speech of the orator 
 himself. The following is the best passage it contains. 
 After recapitulating his own statement of the negotiation 
 with Phelps and Gorham, and asserting the anxiety of 
 his people to appeal to Congress for a redress of their 
 grievances in this transaction, the orator proceeded : 
 
 " Now, BROTHERS, the THIRTEEN STATES, you must open 
 your ears. You know what has happened respecting our lands. 
 You told us, from this time the chain of friendship should he 
 brightened. Now, brothers, We have begun to brighten the 
 chain, and we will follow the footsteps of our forefathers. We 
 will take those steps, that we may sit easy and choose where 
 and how large our seats should be. The reason we send this 
 message is, that the President, who is over all the Thirteen 
 States, may make our seats easy. We do it that the chain of 
 friendship may be brightened with the Thirteen States, as well 
 as with the British ; that we may pass from one to the other 
 
 * " I have heard an old Indian Sachem speak with much vivacity and elocu 
 tion, so that the speaker pleased and moved his audience with the manner of 
 delivering his discourse, which, however, as it afterwards came from the interpre 
 ter, disappointed us in our expectations. After the speaker had employed a con 
 siderable time in haranguing with much elocution, the interpreter often explained 
 the whole by one single sentence. I believe the speaker, in that time, embellished 
 and advanced his figures, that they might have their full force on their imagina 
 tion, while the interpreter contented himself with the sense, in as few words as 
 it could be expressed." Colden s Six Nations. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 41 
 
 unmolested. We wish to be under the protection of the Thir 
 teen States as well as of the British." 
 
 During the progress of the negotiations with Colonel 
 Pickering at this council, an episode was enacted, of 
 which some account may be excused in this place, as 
 an illustration of Indian character and manners. It was 
 in this year, (1790,) that Robert Morris, of Philadel 
 phia, the great financier of the revolution, purchased 
 from the state of Massachusetts the pre-emptive right 
 to that portion of her territory in Western New-York, 
 that had not been sold to Phelps and Gorham, viz : the 
 entire tract bounded on the north by Lake Ontario, on 
 the south by the Pennsylvania line, on the east by the 
 Genesee river, and on the west by the Niagara. Pre 
 paratory to the negotiations which Mr. Morris well knew 
 he should be obliged to hold with the Indians, and for 
 the general management of his concerns in that country, 
 his son Thomas had taken up his residence at Canan- 
 daigua, and was diligently cultivating an acquaintance 
 with the Indians. In this he was successful, and he 
 soon became popular among them. He was in attend 
 ance with Colonel Pickering at Tioga Point, where the 
 Indians determined to adopt him into the Seneca nation, 
 and Red-Jacket bestowed upon him the name he him 
 self had borne previous to his elevation to the dignity of 
 a Sachem, Otetiani " Always Ready." The occasion 
 of which they availed themselves to perform the cere 
 mony of conferring upon young Morris his new name, 
 was a religious observance, when the whole sixteen 
 
 6 
 
42 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 hundred Indians present at the treaty, united in an 
 offering to the moon, then being at her full. The 
 ceremonies were performed in the evening. It was a 
 clear night, and the moon shone with uncommon bril 
 liancy. The host of Indians, and their neophyte, were 
 all seated upon the ground in an extended circle, on one 
 side of which a large fire was kept burning. The aged 
 Cayuga chieftain, Fish-Carrier, who was held in exalted 
 veneration for his wisdom, and who had been greatly 
 distinguished for his bravery from his youth up, officia 
 ted as the high priest of the occasion, making a long 
 speech to the luminary, occasionally throwing tobacco 
 into the fire as incense. On the conclusion of the ad 
 dress, the whole assembly prostrated themselves upon 
 the bosom of their parent earth, and a grunting sound of 
 approbation was uttered from mouth to mouth around 
 the entire circle. At a short distance from the fire a 
 post had been planted in the earth ; intended to repre 
 sent the stake of torture to which captives are bound for 
 execution. After the ceremonies in favor of Madame 
 Luna had been ended, they commenced a war-dance 
 around the post, and the spectacle must have been as pic 
 turesque as it was animating and wild. The young braves 
 engaged in the dance were naked excepting the breech- 
 clout about their loins. They were painted frightfully, 
 their backs being chalked white, with irregular streaks of 
 red, denoting the streaming of blood. Frequently would 
 they cease from dancing while one of their number ran 
 to the fire, snatching thence a blazing stick, placed there 
 for that purpose, which he would thrust at the post, as 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 43 
 
 though inflicting torture upon a prisoner. In the course 
 of the dance they sang their songs, and made the forests 
 ring with their wild screams and shouts, as they boasted 
 of their deeds of war and told the number of scalps 
 they had respectively taken, or which had been taken by 
 their nation. During the dance those engaged in it, as 
 did others also, partook freely of unmixed rum, and by 
 consequence of the natural excitement of the occasion, 
 and the artificial excitement of the liquor, the festival 
 had well nigh turned out a tragedy. It happened that 
 among the dancers was an Oneida warrior, who, in 
 striking the post, boasted of the number of scalps taken 
 by his nation during the war of the revolution. Now 
 the Oneidas, it will be recollected, had sustained the 
 cause of the colonies in that contest, while the rest of 
 the Iroquois confederacy had espoused that of the 
 crown. The boasting of the Oneida warrior, therefore, 
 was like striking a spark into a keg of gunpowder. 
 The ire of the Senecas was kindled in an instant, and 
 they in turn boasted of the number of scalps taken by 
 them from the Oneidas in that contest. They moreover 
 taunted the Oneidas as cowards. Quick as lightning 
 the hands of the latter were upon their weapons, and in 
 turn the knives and tomahawks of the Senecas began to 
 glitter in the moon-beams, as they were hastily drawn 
 forth. For an instant it was a scene of anxious and 
 almost breathless suspense, a death struggle seeming 
 inevitable, when the storm was hushed by the interposi 
 tion of old Fish-Carrier, who rushed forward, and strik 
 ing the post with violence, exclaimed : 
 
44 L * F E AND TIMES 
 
 " You are all of you a parcel of boys : When you have at 
 tained my age, and performed the warlike deeds that I have 
 performed, you may boast what you have done : not till 
 then !" 
 
 Saying which he threw down the post, put an end 
 to the dance, and caused the assembly to retire.* This 
 scene, in its reality, must have been one of absorbing and 
 peculiar interest. An assembly of nearly two thousand 
 inhabitants of the forest, grotesquely clad in skins and 
 strouds, with shining ornaments of silver, and their coarse 
 raven hair falling over their shoulders, and playing 
 wildly in the wind as it swept past, sighing mournfully 
 among the giant branches of the trees above, such a 
 group, gathered in a broad circle in an " opening" of the 
 wilderness, the starry canopy of heaven glittering above 
 them, the moon casting her silver mantle around their 
 dusky forms, and a large fire blazing in the midst of 
 them, before which they were working their spells, and 
 performing their savage rites, must have presented a 
 spectacle of long and vivid remembrance. 
 
 In December of the same year, a deputation of the 
 Senecas, consisting of the Cornplanter, Half-Town and 
 Great Tree, visited Philadelphia, then the seat of the 
 federal government, for the purpose of again remon 
 strating against the hardship of the treaty of Fort Stan- 
 wix, and of reclaiming, if possible, a portion of the terri- 
 
 * MS. recollections of Thomas Morria. Mr, M. was known among the Indians 
 by the name conferred upon him on this occasion, for many years. After his 
 marriage, his wife was called by them Otetiani squaw, and his children, Otetiani 
 pappooses. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 45 
 
 tory ceded away by that treaty. It was on the occasion 
 of that visit that Cornplanter delivered the speech to 
 General Washington, then President of the United 
 States, cited in the preceding chapter.* They wished, 
 in particular, to obtain a restoration of the territory, 
 bordering upon Pennsylvania, then occupied by Half- 
 Town and his people, who were, and had been from 
 the first, dissatisfied with the treaty. 
 
 In the course of his appeal, speaking in reference to 
 Half-Town s clan, Cornplanter exclaimed with moving 
 earnestness : 
 
 " They grew out of that land, and their fathers grew out of 
 it, and they cannot be persuaded to part with it. It is a very 
 little piece. We therefore entreat you to restore to us this 
 little piece of land." 
 
 The appeal is as simple and touching as that of Lot 
 to be allowed to flee into Zoar. " Is it not a little city ?" 
 But such has not been the course of events. Vain are 
 the appeals of Indians to the pale faces, for a restora 
 tion of territory, no matter how it may have been ac 
 quired. Yet, in the .case under consideration, the In 
 dians had less cause of complaint than usual, since the 
 treaty of Fort Stanwix could not justly have been 
 deemed oppressive. 
 
 But the provisions of the Fort Stanwix treaty did not 
 constitute the entire burden of Cornplanter s remon 
 strances. He, too, complained of the conduct of Phelps 
 
 * See the entire speech in the sketch of Cornplanter s life, toward the cloae of 
 the volume. 
 
46 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and Gorhara, imputing the same frauds that had been 
 charged by Red- Jacket, and adding that Street was 
 to receive from Phelps a grant of land ten miles square, 
 for his agency in the deception practised upon the In 
 dians. This feature in the conduct of Cornplanter, con 
 sidering the general fairness and integrity of his cha 
 racter, as exhibited in his intercourse with the whites 
 subsequent to the revolutionary war, is not of easy ex 
 plication. He, like Red- Jacket, had been a party to the 
 sale of territory to Phelps and Gorham ; and when the 
 subject was afterward brought before Congress, the re 
 port of Mr. Butler, from the Committee of Indian Affairs, 
 supplied the most ample testimony, from gentlemen of 
 irreproachable veracity, that the said purchase had been 
 made in the most fair and honorable manner, and that 
 the papers had been thoroughly and truly explained to 
 the Indians, by whom the terms were perfectly under 
 stood. The charges of fraud, therefore, first publicly 
 made by Red-Jacket in his speech to Colonel Pickering, 
 and afterward repeated, as has been seen, by Corn- 
 planter, fell to the ground. But how came these 
 chiefs, the Cornplanter being the head of his nation, 
 to prefer the charges ? May it not have been that Red- 
 Jacket was even then plotting to supplant his principal 
 in the affections of his people, by inducing them to be 
 lieve that he was more their friend, and a better patriot, 
 than his rival ? And may not the latter have taken up 
 the false charge, and repeated it to General Washington, 
 for the purpose only of sustaining himself, and circum- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 47 
 
 venting the crafty demagogue, whose machinations were 
 ultimately but too successful ? 
 
 The bearing of Washington toward these sons of the 
 forest was such as to allay the unpleasant feelings 
 under which they arrived in Philadelphia, and to send 
 them away in good humor. Nay, the Cornplanter was 
 engaged to accompany Colonel Proctor on a friendly 
 mission to the country of the Miamis, for the purpose of 
 bringing the hostile Indians to reasonable terms of 
 peace. This mission was not undertaken until the fol 
 lowing spring, when Colonel Proctor proceeded into the 
 Seneca country, to join Cornplanter. Meeting with him 
 at his own town, situated upon Oil Creek, one of the 
 upper tributaries of the Alleghany river, it was found 
 necessary to convoke a grand council of the Six Nations 
 at Buffalo Creek, before they could safely proceed to the 
 country of the hostile nations. The fact was, that the 
 repulse of General Harmar s expedition in the preceding 
 autumn had greatly emboldened the hostile Indians, 
 with whose cause those four of the Six Nations which had 
 been engaged in the war of the revolution on the side of 
 the crown, especially the Senecas, strongly sympathized. 
 Numbers of their young warriors, disregarding the re 
 straints, feeble at best, of their own principal chiefs, 
 were in the ranks of the enemy, and it was only with 
 the greatest difficulty, during the whole of that border 
 conflict, that the greater part of the Six Nations were 
 kept from joining their- brethren. Just about this time, 
 also, the Senecas had again been exasperated by the 
 murder of several of their people, who had given no 
 
48 IFE AND TIMES 
 
 offence, by some of the Pennsylvania borderers living at 
 Big Beaver Creek, in the neighborhood of Pittsburgh. 
 Hence Cornplanter and Colonel Proctor were obliged to 
 proceed with the utmost circumspection ; and a grand 
 council at Buffalo being demanded before the nations 
 would allow Cornplanter to proceed to the west, the 
 measure was acquiesced in, though attended by great in 
 convenience, and necessarily causing a long delay. 
 
 It has been necessary to glance at this mission of 
 Colonel Proctor and the Cornplanter, for the reason that 
 the leading personage of the present memoir, Red- 
 Jacket, figured conspicuously in the council at Buffalo 
 Creek, at which place Cornplanter and Colonel Proctor 
 arrived on the 27th of April, 1791. The council-fire 
 had been burning several days, in anticipation of their 
 presence, and many of the principal chiefs were already 
 there, among whom were Farmer s-Brother, Young- 
 King and Red-Jacket, the former two being dressed 
 in the uniforms of British colonels. Red-Jacket was a 
 much younger chief than the others, but had now, it was 
 evident, become a man of consideration. Colonel Proc 
 tor, in his diary,* mentions him as " the great speaker 
 and prince of the Turtle tribe."t The Colonel was 
 received with unusual ceremony. The Indians had 
 mounted a two-pounder upon logs at the porch of the 
 council-house, heavily loaded, which they discharged on 
 the approach of their guests, but to the no small peril of 
 all who were near, since the explosion up-threw the gun 
 
 * Vide Proctor s Journal, Indian State Papers, vol. i. p. 155. 
 t An Error. Red-Jacket was of the Wolf tribe. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 49 
 
 from its position, and sadly deranged its fixtures. Red- 
 Jacket, or, as his people were then accustomed to call 
 him, "the Young Prince of the Wolf Tribe," had been 
 designated by the council to receive the Colonel and 
 Cornplanter, and as they entered the council-house, the 
 orator rose and welcomed the former in the following 
 speech : 
 
 " BROTHER : Listen ! It is usual for us to speak ; and to 
 you we do it as to a brother that has been absent a long time. 
 Now we all speak to you, and to our Head Warrior that left 
 us last fall : and we thank the Great Spirit for his and your 
 safe arrival here, as you are together, hand in hand, from Ho- 
 nandaganius,* upon great business. 
 
 " You have travelled long, with tears in your eyes, upon ac 
 count of the bad roads, and bad season of the year. Besides 
 the disturbances between the bad Indians and our brothers the 
 white people, every thing has been trying to prevent your 
 coming, and to stop your business, and make you lose your 
 way. 
 
 " Thus the big waters might have stopped your coming; 
 and the wars might have stopped you; and sickness might 
 have stopped you ; for we cannot know what is to happen un 
 til it comes upon us. So, therefore, we thank the Great Spirit 
 who has preserved you from such dangers that might have 
 hindered us from hearing of the good news which you and 
 our head warrior have opened to us. But how could it be 
 that any thing bad could have happened to you, while you 
 have such important business to transact, as we understand 
 you have come on ? 
 
 " You must now wipe away those tears occasioned by all the 
 great dangers you have come through. And now we set you 
 upon a seat where you can sit up straight, and a seat where 
 you are secure from the fears of your enemies ; where you 
 
 * General Washington. 
 
 7 
 
50 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 can look round and see all your friends and brothers in peace. 
 Besides, you have come along with your heart and your throat 
 stopped up, to secure all that you had to say in your body. 
 But now we open your heart with your brothers hands, and 
 we run our fingers through to open your mouth, that you may 
 speak clear, and not be molested. Your ears also have been 
 stopped by Honandaganius until you should see your brothers 
 at this place, being spared by the Great Spirit to arrive safe. 
 
 " Now, open your ears to hear what your brothers may say 
 after you have made your speech. This is, therefore, the com 
 pliment of the chiefs and head men of Buffalo Creek, to you 
 and our great warrior, the Cornplanter, and you may each of 
 you go on safely with your business." 
 
 Cornplanter replied in behalf of Colonel Proctor 
 and himself, and at the close of his speech, intended 
 merely as an interchange of compliments, Red- Jacket 
 advanced and presented the colonel with the belt which 
 he held while delivering bis salutatory address. 
 
 But notwithstanding the apparent frankness and cor 
 diality of this speech of welcome, the conduct of Red- 
 Jacket, even during tbe first evening s conference, was 
 marked by extreme wariness, giving evidence of dis- 
 ingenuousness, if not of dissimulation. When Colonel 
 Proctor stated " that he had been commissioned by Ge- 
 " neral Washington, tbe great chief of the Thirteen 
 " Fires," Red-Jacket remarked " that many persons 
 " had occasionally come into their country, who said 
 " tbey had also come from the authority of the Thirteen 
 " Fires, but of the truth of this they were not always 
 " convinced." But the colonel afterward ascertained 
 that Red-Jacket was only playing a part in the ex- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 51 
 
 pression of his doubts. The orator and the chiefs at 
 the council had been fully, advised of the colonel s offi 
 cial character, by the chiefs who had met him in the in 
 termediate councils, called in some of the Indian towns 
 through which he had passed on his way thither. It 
 was also ascertained by Proctor, on the first evening of 
 his arrival, that Red-Jacket was acting under the advice 
 of Brant and Colonel John Butler, in order to thwart the 
 views of the government of the United States, and if possi 
 ble frustrate the intended visit of Proctor and Cornplanter 
 to the Miamis. Brant and Butler had been at Buffalo 
 Creek some days before Proctor s arrival, and after a 
 conference, the former had departed suddenly for the 
 country of the belligerent Indians, leaving Red- Jacket 
 to receive the messengers as already stated, and enact 
 a part cast expressly for the occasion of their ar 
 rival. According to certain intimations given by Cap 
 tain Powell, an officer in the British Indian service who 
 had been despatched by the commandant of Fort Erie to 
 meet Colonel Proctor at the Buffalo Council-house, this 
 sudden mission of Brant had been " directed from head 
 quarters ;" but whether reference was had to Quebec, 
 or the fort at Niagara, does not appear. 
 
 The council was numerously attended on the two 
 succeeding days, during which Colonel Proctor read his 
 entire instructions to the chiefs, as also the address with 
 which he was charged to the hostile Indians of the west. 
 Having concluded the interpretations of these papers, 
 and informed the Indians of the kindness exercised by 
 the Great Father of the Thirteen Fires, as manifested 
 
52 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 by the liberal concessions made to Cornplanter during 
 his recent visit to Philadelphia, Colonel Proctor was sur 
 prised by a speech from Red-Jacket, declaring that the 
 council-fire must be removed to the British fortress of 
 Niagara, to which place he said the colonel must accom 
 pany them. As a reason for this proposition, Red- Jacket 
 spoke of the absence of several chiefs of the Six Nations ; 
 adding, that in the discussion of matters of such grave 
 importance he wished the presence of the British offi 
 cers. " Captain Powell," he said, " is always true to 
 " us, and is with us at every treaty." 
 
 Conceiving it to be an unwarrantable request, sanc 
 tioned neither by his principals nor his instructions, the 
 colonel peremptorily refused to comply with it declaring, 
 that if the relations of the chiefs with the officers of the 
 British garrison were such that they could not act but 
 upon their counsel and advice, they must send for those 
 officers to join them at Buffalo Creek. A marked 
 silence pervaded the council for some time upon the 
 utterance of Colonel Proctor s refusal ; after which Red- 
 Jacket and Farmer s-Brother successively addressed 
 the Indians, and in the end a messenger was despatched 
 to Niagara, with a request that Colonel Butler would 
 join their council without delay. 
 
 During the three days intervening before the return of 
 the messenger, Colonel Proctor was urging upon the 
 chiefs the importance of a more rapid despatch of busi 
 ness, that he might resume his journey without farther 
 let or hindrance. 
 
 The object of his visit to the Six Nations was two- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 53 
 
 fold, first, to allay, if possible, the rising feeling of hos 
 tility among the Senecas, and secure the neutrality of 
 the entire confederacy ; and, secondly, to induce a 
 deputation of their chiefs to accompany him and the 
 Cornplanter into the hostile country, to add their pur- 
 suasions in favor of peace. But Red-Jacket and the 
 leading chiefs were exceedingly adverse, if not to the 
 entire object of the Colonel s mission, at least to the 
 sending of a deputation to accompany him. At first 
 they objected to the distance, pretending that it was the 
 design to take them away to the shores of the distant 
 ocean, a journey so long that it would require twelve 
 months to reach the point of destination. This excuse 
 having been removed, the next objection interposed by 
 Red-Jacket was fear, a fear that they would all be 
 murdered by the Miamis and their confederates. Ac 
 cordingly, on the 3d of May, in reply to the colonel, 
 who continued to press his business with urgency, Red- 
 Jacket dictated the following address : 
 
 " Tell him," (said he to the interpreter,) " Tell Colonel 
 Proctor that some of his language is soft, hut that other parts 
 of it are too strong. The danger before us is great. Our ene 
 mies are drunk, and they will not hear what we say like a man 
 that is sober ; and we consider that, whatever number of the 
 Six Nations accompany him, (Col. Proctor,) will be in the same 
 danger with himself, and it is likely that we shall not live long 
 when the bad Indians shall see us. Therefore, as it is a busi 
 ness of such great weight to us, we must take counsel, in order 
 to save ourselves, and him, from falling by their hands. More 
 over, the Indians are not like white men, for they must think a 
 great while. He (Colonel Proctor) must therefore attend our 
 
54 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 councils, and look and hear what we shall speak on his busi 
 ness. To-morrow our head men will meet together, and try 
 what can be done." 
 
 The plea of fear was one that Red-Jacket might very 
 possibly have interposed in all sincerity ; but on the part 
 of the brave old Farmer s-Brother, Young King, and the 
 celebrated Cayuga chief, Fish-Carrier, with whom Red- 
 Jacket was acting in close consultation, it must have 
 been an artifice of dissimulation. Whatever might have 
 been the fact with the orator, the emotion of fear was a 
 stranger to the bosoms of the other three. Indeed the 
 pretext was transparent. Colonel Proctor had already 
 seen that their opinions and conduct were to be regulated 
 by the British agent and the British officers only. At 
 least if he had not actually seen as much, he was not 
 long left in doubt as to the fact ; since Red-Jacket had 
 scarcely finished the brief speech recited above, before 
 a messenger came from Colonel Butler, inviting the 
 chiefs to meet him on the lake shore, at a distance from 
 the council-fire, and not to allow Colonel Proctor to ac 
 company them. From that hour forward, the prospect 
 of a favorable issue to the colonel s mission became 
 more and more dubious. It is true that Colonel Butler 
 subsequently met Colonel Proctor, and even entertained 
 him with courtesy ; but the Indians were entirely dis 
 suaded from lending him any assistance, or co-operating 
 in furtherance of his views ; while in their conversations 
 with Colonel Proctor, the British officers assumed the 
 position that no peace would, or probably could, be ne 
 gotiated with the hostile Indians, excepting through their 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 55 
 
 mediation. In a word, it was insisted by His Britannic 
 Majesty s officers that the adjustment of the entire con 
 troversy, and the details of any treaty, with the north 
 western Indians, must be left to Captain Brant, the 
 chiefs at Buffalo, and certain officers of the British In 
 dian department at Detroit. And during the whole of 
 these conversations and proceedings, the course of Red- 
 Jacket was manifestly directed by the officers of His 
 Britannic Majesty. Under these untoward circum 
 stances, ascertaining, moreover, that Brant had taken 
 a considerable body of the Mohawk Indians with him 
 to the Miamis ; that the hostile Indians were receiving 
 large military supplies from the British garrison at De 
 troit; that Colonel Gordon was strengthening his de 
 fences at Niagara ; and that preparations were making 
 for the construction of another fortification on the north 
 ern shore, near the foot of Lake Erie ; and having also 
 been explicitly told by Young King, on the evening 
 of the 14th of May, that they would not send a deputa 
 tion of their chiefs with him to the Miamis, Colonel 
 Proctor determined to end farther procrastination, and 
 his mission, at once. On the same evening, therefore, 
 he communicated this determination to the Indians, in a 
 few brief but energetic words, in the course of which he 
 forgot not to intimate that his report to the war-chief of 
 the Thirteen Fires* would not be very favorable, and 
 probably would not tend greatly to their future advan 
 tage. The colonel s decisive manner made a deep im- 
 
 * General Knox was at that time Secretary at War. 
 
56 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 pression upon the Indians, especially the women, to 
 whom his words were reported, and through whose in 
 terposition the progress of the mission speedily as 
 sumed a different aspect, promising, for the time, a favor 
 able result. The story will be related chiefly as illus 
 trative of Indian character, though not disconnected 
 with the life of Red-Jacket. 
 
 Having heard the conversation between Colonel Proc 
 tor and Young King, as just recited, on the following 
 morning, being the 14th of May, the elders of the In 
 dian women repaired to Colonel Proctor s lodge, where 
 a number of chiefs were present, and addressed him in 
 the following manner : 
 
 "BROTHER: The Great Spirit has spared us until a new 
 day to talk together : for, since you came here from General 
 Washington, you, and our uncles the sachems, have been 
 counselling together. Moreover, your sisters, the women, 
 have taken the same into great consideration, because that you 
 and our sachems have said so much about it. Now, that is the 
 reason why we have come to say something to you, and to tell 
 you that the Great Spirit hath preserved you, and that you 
 ought to hear and listen to what we, women, shall speak, as 
 well as to the sachems ; for we are the owners of this land, and 
 it is our s. It is we that plant it for our and their use. Hear 
 us, therefore, for we speak of things that concern us and our 
 children, and you must not think hard of us while our men 
 shall say more to you ; for we have told them." 
 
 This formal speech of the women being ended, Colo 
 nel Proctor acceded to a request that he would meet 
 their sachems in council on the same day, and hear what 
 would be said by the speaker whom they had s 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 57 
 
 to represent them " the Young Prince of the Turtle 
 Tribe, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha."* At the given signal, the firing 
 of a gun, the council assembled, and on his arrival at 
 the council-fire, an unusual spectacle was presented to 
 Colonel Proctor, who found the elders of the women 
 seated near their chiefs. It appeared that the women, 
 who, as is natural to the sex, were the lovers of peace, 
 had prevailed upon their lords, including all the leading 
 chiefs of the Six Nations, to alter the determination 
 avowed to Colonel Proctor on the preceding evening by 
 Young King. After a short silence, Red-Jacket took up 
 the speech of his clients as follows : 
 
 " BROTHER FROM PENNSYLVANIA : You that are sent from 
 General Washington, and by the Thirteen Fires : you have 
 been sitting side by side with us every day, and the Great 
 Spirit has appointed us another pleasant day to meet again. 
 
 " Now listen, BROTHER ! You know what we have been 
 doing so long, and what trouble we have been at; and you 
 
 * The women on this occasion spoke of Red-Jacket as of the Turtle Tribe, 
 and it has been thus written elsewhere. But he himself claimed to be of the 
 Wolf Tribe, and thus I have designated him. My authority is the following 
 anecdote, related to me by the venerable Mr. James Wadsworth, of Geneseo, in 
 the summer of 1840. Many years ago, the Six Nations held a treaty, by them 
 selves, at a place about five miles east of Mr. Wadsworth s residence. They 
 continued in council until their provisions were exhausted, and until, in fact, 
 they became very hungry. On breaking up, Red-Jacket, who was well ac 
 quainted with Mr. Wadsworth, led some thirty or forty of the leading chiefs 
 to his house, and requested breakfast. Mr. W. spread a table liberally, 
 but such was the voracity of the Indians that the viands disappeared almost as 
 fast asnhey could be set before them. Steaks, cold hams, tongues, &c., vanished 
 with prodigious rapidity. Red-Jacket lost not his full portion ; and reading Mr. 
 Wadsworth s surprise at their voracity in his countenance, the chief drily re 
 marked that his entertainer must excuse him, inasmuch as he belonged to the 
 Wolf Tribe adding " and wolves, you know, are always fond of meat." 
 
 8 
 
58 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 know that it has been the request of our head warrior,* that 
 we are left to answer for our women, who are to conclude 
 what ought to be done by both sachems and warriors. So 
 hear what is their conclusion. 
 
 " BROTHER : The business you have come on is very trou 
 blesome, and we have been a long time considering on it, ever 
 since you came here, and now the elders of our women, con 
 sidering the greatness of your business, have said that our 
 sachems and warriors must help you over your difficulties, for 
 the good of them and their children. Moreover, you tell us, 
 since the treaty of Tioga with us, the Americans are strong 
 for peace. 
 
 " Now all that has been done for you has been done by our 
 women : the rest will be a hard task for us ; for the people at 
 the setting sun are bad people, and you have come on in too 
 much haste for such great matters of importance. And now, 
 Brother, you must look when it is light in the morning until 
 the setting sun, and you must reach your neck over the land, 
 and take all the light you can, to show the danger. And these 
 are the words of our women to you, and the sachems and war 
 riors who shall go with you. And now we shall name them 
 as they have first presented themselves in this full council.t 
 
 " Now, Brother from Pennsylvania and from General Wash 
 ington, I have told you what has been directed. Let us, there 
 fore throw all care on the mercy of our Great Keeper, in hopes 
 that he will assist us. You now know that Colonel Butler of 
 the British told us that he must take our writings down to 
 Colonel Gordon, as he is a very wise man, and perhaps he 
 may have something to say to us that may be for our good. 
 
 * Cornplanter. 
 
 t Here followed the names of the delegates, one of whom was Red-Jacket 
 himself, and among whom was not Cornplanter, for a reason presently stated. 
 The delegates were six in number, of whom were the four following : Kuyscetta, 
 Red-Jacket, " the Young Prince of the Turtle Tribe," as he was designated, 
 Captain John, of the Onondagas, and the Grand Carrier, Awangogathe. (The 
 names of the two other deputies were lost by Colonel Proctor.) 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 59 
 
 And we also want his assistance, as he is the man that keeps 
 all the vessels that are on the lake. 
 
 " Therefore, my Brother, make your mind easy, for your re 
 quest is granted, and when we hear from our brothers the 
 British, then we shall know what time we can start. And you 
 must not be uneasy that our brother O Beel* does not go with 
 you, for he is very tired, and must rest awhile, and take charge 
 of our young warriors while they are playing,! to keep them 
 in peace for fear of danger. And now, while we are speak 
 ing, more of -our young warriors have given their names to go 
 with you."! 
 
 If the true reason is here given why the Cornplanter 
 was not allowed to proceed upon the mission, if indeed 
 he had not been kept from the deputation by a British 
 intrigue through Red-Jacket, there was probably ano 
 ther reason lying still deeper in the minds of the women. 
 Cornplanter was not only the principal war-chief of the 
 Senecas, but he was a man of great bravery and saga 
 city, and withal a sincere friend of peace. The times 
 were critical, and the Indians at Buffalo Creek and in 
 the circumjacent country were in frequent alarm. 
 Even while Colonel Proctor was with them, two fresh 
 scalps had been brought in, one of which was that of an 
 Indian, accompanied by a story that the white people 
 were making war upon them. And although Colonel 
 Proctor succeeded in convincing them that the tale was 
 without foundation in truth, yet the Indians were not 
 
 * O Beel, or O Bail, was one of the names of Cornplanter, it being the name 
 of his father, who was a white man. 
 
 t That is hunting as explained by Colonel Proctor. 
 
 t Here follow the names, very long, and very Indian, of nine warriors, who 
 volunteered to go upon the mission. It is needless to record them, as none 
 of them were never otherwise distinguished. 
 
60 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 without apprehensions of evil. It is, therefore, proba 
 ble that the women had determined to retain Cornplan- 
 ter as the chief who could best restrain the warlike pro 
 pensities of their young braves, while they could repose 
 greater confidence both in his bravery and discretion, 
 in the event of actual danger, during the absence of 
 the messengers to the Miamies, than in any other leader 
 of their nation. But the benevolent designs of the 
 women were circumvented by "the man that kept the 
 vessels on the lake." Proctor had previously applied to 
 Colonel Gordon for permission to charter a vessel for the 
 proposed voyage upon Lake Erie, to which no answer 
 had as yet been returned. The British commander, 
 probably, was reluctant to be known openly as the agent 
 in defeating the pacific mission of Colonel Proctor, and 
 he had, therefore, been intriguing to that effect through 
 the Indians. But finding that through the interposition 
 of the women, who were exercising a sounder discretion 
 upon the subject than the men, the object could not be 
 thus frustrated, he at once threw aside his mask, and 
 brought the mission abruptly to an end, by refusing to 
 recognise Proctor in his official character, and by pro 
 hibiting the passage of the Indian deputies to Sandusky 
 in any vessel upon the lake. Thus circumstanced, as 
 the journey could not with prudence be undertaken by 
 land, and as the Indians positively refused to attempt 
 the passage of the lake in canoes, Proctor was compelled 
 most reluctantly to abandon the enterprise, and return to 
 the seat of government. It was well for his personal 
 safety that he did so ; since by information received sub- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 61 
 
 sequently from a captive who escaped from the Miamies, 
 it was ascertained that the noted Simon Girty, and 
 other desperadoes, tories, who had fled from the border 
 settlements of the United States during the war of the 
 revolution, had determined upon the colonel s assassina 
 tion, should he come among them, even though attended 
 " by a hundred Senecas."* 
 
 This council at Buffalo Creek, in regard to the mission 
 of Colonel Proctor, had not been anticipated by the 
 government of the United States. But knowing the 
 feverish temperament of the Six Nations, and the recent 
 provocations the Senecas in particular had received at 
 the hands of some of the Pennsylvania border men, the 
 President was at the same time engaged in another 
 effort to divert their attention from the wars of their 
 western brethren, and to cultivate with them the most 
 amicable relations. To this end, before the unfavorable 
 result of Proctor s embassy could have been known at 
 Philadelphia, Colonel Pickering had been commissioned 
 to hold a treatyf with the Six Nations at the Painted 
 Post. This treaty was held in June, and was attended 
 by favorable results. Indeed, although most of their 
 principal chiefs were to a very unhappy extent under 
 the influence of the British military authorities in Cana 
 da, yet, the greater proportion of their older men, on the 
 republican side of the boundary, were inclined to peace, 
 -the young men of the Senecas, and a few of the Cayu- 
 gas only, being resolved upon war. The intervention of 
 
 * Deposition of Thomas Rhea. Indian State Papers, vol. i., pp. 196, 197. 
 t Holding a council, in Indian parlance, is called holding " a treaty," if there 
 be two or more parties present. 
 
62 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the women, moreover, prior to the departure of Colonel 
 Proctor, had produced a happy effect, by soothing the 
 irritated feelings of their men, and directing their 
 thoughts to the blessings of peace. Very erroneous 
 opinions are generally entertained among civilized peo 
 ple, in regard to the consideration in which their 
 women are held by the American Indians, and the de 
 gree of influence they exercise among them. True, 
 as with all barbarians, the women are in some re 
 spects the slaves of the men ; but those of the Ameri 
 can aboriginals are no farther slaves than they are ren 
 dered such by the field-labor which is imposed upon 
 them in addition to the ordinary cares of the household ; 
 and in this respect the women of the peasantry of 
 Europe are in no better position than they. On the 
 other hand, although the respect with which they are 
 treated by their lords is not as refined and spiritualized 
 as among the cavaliers in the days of chivalry, still it 
 may safely be averred that in the adjustment of weighty 
 and difficult matters, no other people are in the habit of 
 treating the opinions of their women with greater defe 
 rence than the American Indians. On the occasion now 
 passing in review, that influence, as already remarked, 
 was most happily exerted, and the consequence was, 
 that the council called under the auspices of Colonel 
 Pickering, at the Painted Post,* was well attended. In- 
 
 * The " Painted Post" was a noted land-mark in the early settlement of 
 western New-York, and in the history of Indian affairs, long before. It was 
 literally a post, of oak timber, planted in the ground upon the Conhocton Creek, 
 within the boundary of New-York, but not far from the Pennsylvania line. It 
 was painted in the Indian manner, and tradition avers that it was a monument, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 53 
 
 deed, despite the efforts of the British officers in com 
 mand of Upper Canada, the chiefs began to draw off in 
 the direction of the Painted Post, even before the de 
 parture of Colonel Proctor from Buffalo Creek. 
 
 The speeches interchanged between the chiefs and 
 Colonel Pickering at this council have not been pre 
 served ; but the result was favorable in yet farther 
 diverting the attention of the Six Nations from the affairs 
 of the western Indians in actual hostility ; while by a 
 liberal distribution of presents, the young warriors were 
 checked in their propensity to start away upon the war 
 path whenever blood was snuffed in the tainted breeze. 
 Yet another fortunate measure was accomplished by the 
 employment of the brave old Stockbridge chief, Hen- 
 drick Aupamut, upon a pacific mission to the belligerent 
 country of the Miamies, an undertaking which Colonel 
 Proctor and the Cornplanter had failed to achieve. 
 
 More interesting than all to the philanthropist, it was 
 at this council that, in accordance with the benevolent 
 views of Washington, Colonel Pickering made a suc 
 cessful demonstration toward winning the attention of 
 the chiefs to the policy so important to them, of com 
 mencing the work of civilization among their people. 
 This was a point upon which Colonel Pickering had 
 been particularly instructed by the President, and no 
 suitable occasion was neglected, during the three weeks 
 
 of great antiquity, erected to commemorate the death of some celebrated war- 
 chief, whose name has been lost in the lapse of ages. The Indians, it is also re 
 lated, were in the practice, from generation to generation, of erecting new ones 
 on the decay of the old. The Painted Post has given the name to a township, 
 now forming the south-east corner of Steuben county. 
 
64 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 deliberations of the council, to fulfil this part of the com 
 mission. At the close of the council, the colonel regaled 
 the chiefs with a sumptuous entertainment, provided 
 strictly in accordance with the usages of civilized life. 
 The assemblage at the feast was large, including several 
 gentlemen from New-York, Boston and Philadelphia, in 
 the train of the commissioner, and numerous chiefs. 
 
 In the course of the entertainment, the commissioner 
 took occasion to renew his appeal to the chiefs, at least 
 to make an effort to introduce among their tribes the arts 
 and customs of civilization, closing an eloquent address 
 by pointing them to the taste and elegance of the ban 
 quet before them. He told them that if they, would 
 comply with the advice of the President, and adopt the 
 principles and practices of civilized life, within five years 
 they might spread such a table themselves the products 
 of their overteeming soil ; while by educating their young 
 men, they might be qualified to meet the whites even in 
 the great council of the Thirteen Fires, in which coun 
 cil they might also be represented. 
 
 Red-Jacket replied, rather doggedly, but yet with 
 some humor. There were suspicions afloat, that what 
 ever might be the temper of the head men toward each 
 other, upon both sides, the terms between the young 
 white men of the company and the pretty squaws had 
 been sufficiently amicable, of which circumstance the 
 orator was not unmindful to avail himself in his re 
 sponse, which was substantially thus : 
 
 " BROTHER : You have during this negotiation said a good 
 deal on civilization. No chief present can forget what you 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 65 
 
 have told us. They will bear it in mind if they should not 
 follow your advice. 
 
 " BROTHER : We thank you for your good counsel ; and, 
 as an additional inducement to its adoption, I am happy to per 
 ceive," (casting his piercing eye around the table with an em 
 phasis, look, and tone, peculiarly but insidiously significant,) 
 " that you have introduced to our notice several young men 
 who will doubtless feel that patriotism which your oratory is 
 calculated to inspire, proud that they can give a practical 
 illustration of its sincerity by intermarrying with our women/ * 
 
 The satire was as keen as well deserved. But not 
 withstanding the indefmiteness of Red- Jacket s reply, 
 the suggestions of Colonel Pickering had been listened 
 to with more than ordinary attention ; and an invitation 
 to several of the chiefs to visit Philadelphia at some con 
 venient season, to confer with their Great Father, the 
 President, farther upon the subject, was accepted.t 
 
 * MS. Collections of Joseph W. Moulton, Esq. 
 
 t Message of President Washington to the Senate of the United States, 
 March 26, 1792. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EFFORTS of General Washington for improving the moral and social condition 
 of the Indians Mission of fifty chiefs to Philadelphia Welcomed by the 
 Governor of Pennsylvania Speech of Red-Jacket in reply Address to the 
 chiefs by President Washington Speech of Red-Jacket in reply Comments 
 upon the speech Proposition of the government for the improvement of the 
 Indians Reply of Red-Jacket Speech of Colonel Pickering to the chiefs 
 Troubles with the north-western Indians Reply of Farmer s-Brother to Colo 
 nel Pickering Reply of Red-Jacket Parting address of Washington Red- 
 Jacket and the military clothes Close of the conferences Continuance of 
 the war with the Indians of the north-west The Senecas to send a deputa 
 tion of their chiefs upon a message of peace Irritation of the Six Nations 
 Interference of the British The Fish-Carrier The deputation returns Their 
 mission unsuccessful Close of the Indian war. 
 
 ON the thirteenth day of March, 1792, Red-Jacket 
 arrived in Philadelphia, being one of a deputation of 
 fifty chiefs of his people, respectable for their character 
 and influence, invited thither by Colonel Pickering, as 
 stated in the preceding chapter. The brave and true- 
 hearted Farmer s-Brother was of the number ; and they 
 had been brought to what was at that time the federal 
 city, under the guidance of their faithful missionary, the 
 Rev. Mr. Kirkland. In addition to the design, dear to 
 the heart of Washington, of persuading the Indians to 
 exchange the hunter state for that of civilized life, the 
 visit of this deputation had been strongly desired by the 
 Executive, for the purpose, if possible, of attaching 
 them more closely to the interests of the United States. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 67 
 
 In order to effect this object, it was thought important, 
 not only to impart to them some just notions of the 
 strength and power of the United States, but to win 
 their confidence by kindness, by enlightening their un 
 derstandings as to their own true interests, and by 
 convincing them of the equitable and benevolent policy 
 of the United States in regard to them. 
 
 Nor was this the only object that rendered the visit of 
 this deputation particularly welcome in Philadelphia at 
 that time. Events had occurred in the prosecution of 
 the contest with the hostile Indians of the north-west, 
 of a disastrous character. The campaign against the 
 Miami country, entrusted to the command of General 
 St. Clair, had been brought to a bloody and disastrous 
 termination on the 4th of November, 1791. It was a 
 bitter reverse to the arms of the young republic. The 
 immediate effect of their victory was to elate the In 
 dians beyond measure ; and the government was seri 
 ously apprehensive that in the flush of the signal triumph 
 obtained by their brethren at the west, the Senecas, and 
 possibly the Cayugas also, might seize their hatchets and 
 fall upon the frontier settlements of New-York and Penn 
 sylvania, in the vain expectation that they might now be 
 able at least to avert, if not to roll back, the tide of 
 white population which was so rapidly crowding them 
 from their seats. In addition to all which, it was the 
 earnest desire of the government to make one more 
 effort to induce them to send a deputation of their most 
 influential chiefs to the hostile country, in the hope of 
 persuading them to reasonable terms of peace. By the 
 
68 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 defeat of St. Clair, a measure of this character had be 
 come far more important, and more urgent withal, than 
 at the time of Proctor s unsuccessful attempt of the pre 
 ceding year. Under these circumstances, several of 
 which had not been foreseen when the invitation was 
 first extended to the Six Nations by Colonel Pickering, 
 the visit of Red- Jacket and his associates was timely 
 and fortunate. 
 
 It is to be regretted that more ample materials for a 
 history of this Indian embassy to the seat of the federal 
 government have not been preserved. The effort was 
 one of the earliest put forth by the government of the 
 young republic, for advancing the substantial happiness 
 of the red man, by persuading him to adopt the habits 
 of civilization. And inasmuch as the policy of the Uni 
 ted States toward the hapless race, whose doom it is to 
 disappear before the white man, will be a subject of 
 grave consideration with the future historian, it is im 
 portant that the facts should stand forth upon the record. 
 The Anglo-Saxon race will have enough to answer for, 
 in regard to this people, in any event. Let it, then, 
 have credit for what it has done, or attempted to do, in 
 their behalf; and if it shall appear that few and small 
 were the advances made by the Indians in the scale of 
 civilization, during the first fifty years of the independent 
 existence of the United States, it will at the same time 
 appear that the government of the latter was not alto 
 gether at fault. Certainly it was not until after the ad 
 ministration of the sixth President had terminated, in 
 March, 1829, that the beneficent policy of Washington 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 59 
 
 toward the children of the forest was changed. Until 
 that period they had enjoyed the protection of the fede 
 ral government, in their ancient " seats," so long as they 
 chose to remain in them ; and the efforts both of the go 
 vernment and of various voluntary associations of a bene 
 volent character, for the improvement of their moral, reli 
 gious, and social condition, had been unintermitted ; and 
 it may be added, in sorrow, almost unavailing. 
 
 Viewed in the aspect here presented, the proceedings 
 attending the mission of Red-Jacket and his associates 
 to Philadelphia, now under consideration, assume more 
 than an ordinary degree of interest. And as Red- 
 Jacket himself bore a prominent part in those proceed 
 ings, the narrative will be given as much in detail as the 
 materials that have escaped the ravages of time will 
 allow. The chiefs were welcomed to Philadelphia by 
 the Governor of Pennsylvania, by whom they were ad 
 dressed in the council chamber of the city. After re 
 ferring to the fact that every thing which it was sup 
 posed might conduce to the comfort of the chiefs du 
 ring their visit had been provided for them, the 
 Governor closed his speech as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS ! I know the kindness with which you treat 
 the strangers that visit your country ; and it is my sincere 
 wish that, when you return to your families, you may be able 
 to assure them that the virtues of friendship and hospitality 
 are also practised by the citizens of Pennsylvania." 
 
 This interview took place on the 28th of March. 
 Five days afterward, for in all matters of diplomacy 
 
70 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and of state the Indians proceed with unexceeded de 
 liberation, the Governor met the chiefs in council again, 
 when Red- Jacket pronounced an answer to the speech 
 of his Excellency, in the following terms : 
 
 BROTHER ONAS* GOVERNOR : Open unprejudiced ears to 
 what we have to say ! Some days since you addressed us, and 
 what you said gave us great pleasure. This day the Great 
 Spirit has allowed us to meet you again in this council cham 
 ber. "We hope that your not receiving our immediate answer 
 to your address will make no improper impression upon your 
 mind. We mention this lest you should suspect that your 
 kind welcome and friendly address has not had a proper effect 
 upon our hearts. We assure you it is far otherwise. In your 
 address to us the other day, in this ancient council chamber, 
 where our forefathers have often conversed together, several 
 things struck our attention very forcibly. When you told us 
 this was the place in which our forefathers often met on peace 
 able terms, it gave us sensible pleasure, and more joy than we 
 could express. Though we have no writings like you, yet we 
 remember often to have heard of the friendship that existed 
 between our fathers and yours. The picturet to which you 
 drew our attention brought fresh to our minds the friendly con 
 ferences that used to be held between the former governors of 
 Pennsylvania and our tribes, and showed the love which your 
 fathers had of peace, and the friendly disposition of our peo 
 ple. It is still our wish, as well as yours, to preserve peace be 
 tween our tribes and you, and it would be well if the same 
 spirit existed among the Indians at the westward, and through 
 
 * The name which the Indians conferred upon William Penn, and which they 
 continued to bestow upon every succeeding Governor of Pennsylvania. The 
 word itself signifies a pen. 
 
 t Picture of Penn s treaty with the Indians. Drake, in whose Book of the 
 Indians the account of these interviews between the Indians and the Governor 
 of Pennsylvania is found. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 71 
 
 every part of the United States. You particularly expressed 
 that you were well pleased to find that we differed in disposi 
 tion from the Indians westward. Your disposition is that for 
 which the Onas Governors were remarkable. As you love 
 peace, so do we also ; and we wish it could be extended to the 
 most distant part of this great country. We agreed in coun 
 cil, this morning, that the sentiments I have expressed should 
 be communicated to you before the delegates of the Five Na 
 tions ; an<J to tell you that your cordial welcome to this city, 
 and the good sentiments contained in your address, have made 
 a deep impression on our hearts, and given us great joy, and 
 from the heart I tell you so. This is all I have to say." 
 
 The inference from this speech of Red-Jacket would 
 certainly be that, without diversity of opinion, the In 
 dians of the Six Nations were at length peaceably dis 
 posed. But such was not the fact. After Red-Jacket 
 had concluded, Good Peter, another of the delegation, 
 sometimes called Dominie Peter,* and a very worthy 
 man, likewise addressed a short speech to the Governor, 
 which is represented as having been, for the most part, a 
 repetition of the pacific sentiments expressed by Red- 
 Jacket.t But in the course of it the following passage 
 occurred : 
 
 "What is there more desirable than that we, who live 
 within hearing of each other, should unite for the common 
 good ? This is my wish. It is the wish of my nation, 
 although I am sorry I can t say so of every individual in it, for 
 there are differences of opinion among us, as well as among 
 the white people." 
 
 * For some account of Good Peter, see Clinton s Historical Discourse, 
 t Drake s Book of the Indians. 
 
72 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 On their presentation to the President, General 
 Washington, they were addressed by the latter in 
 the following terms of friendship and cordiality : * 
 
 " SACHEMS AND WARRIORS OF THE FIVE NATIONS : It 
 affords me great satisfaction to see so many of you, who are 
 the respectable chiefs and representatives of your several 
 tribes, and I cordially bid you welcome to the seat of the 
 Government of the United States. 
 
 " You have been invited to this place by Colonel Pickering, 
 at my special request, in order to remove all causes of discon 
 tent ; to devise and adopt plans to promote your welfare, and 
 firmly to cement the peace between the United States and 
 you, so as that in future we shall consider ourselves brothers 
 indeed. 
 
 " I assure you that I am desirous that a firm peace should 
 exist, not only between the United States and the Five Na 
 tions, but also between the United States and all the nations 
 of this land, and that this peace should be founded upon the 
 principles of justice and humanity, as upon an immoveable 
 rock. 
 
 " That you may partake of all the comforts of this earth, 
 which can be derived from civilized life, enriched by the pos 
 session of industry, virtue and knowledge ; and I trust that 
 such judicious measures will now be concerted, to secure to 
 you and your children these invaluable objects, as will afford 
 you cause for rejoicing while you live. 
 
 " That these are the strong and sincere desires of my heart, 
 I hope time and circumstances will convince you. But in 
 order that our peace and friendship may for ever be unclouded, 
 
 * This speech of President Washington has not been preserved by Sparks, 
 although that delivered by him eighteen months before, to Cornplanter, appears 
 in his correspondence. The author is indebted for it to Joseph W. Moulton, 
 Esq., who obtained a copy at Washington, many years ago. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 73 
 
 we must forget the misunderstandings of past times. Let us 
 now look forward, and devise measures to render our friend 
 ship perpetual. I am aware that the existing hostilities with 
 some of the western Indians have been ascribed to an unjust 
 possession of their lands by the United States. But be as 
 sured that this is not the case. We require no lands but those 
 obtained by treaties, which we consider as fairly made, and 
 particularly confirmed by the treaty of Muskingum, in the 
 year 1789. 
 
 " If the western Indians should entertain the opinion that 
 we want to wrest their lands from them, they are laboring un 
 der an error. If this error could be corrected it would be for 
 their happiness, and nothing would give me more pleasure, 
 because it would open to both of us the door of peace. 
 
 " I shall not enter into further particulars with you at pre 
 sent, but refer you to General Knox, the Secretary of War, 
 and Colonel Pickering, who will communicate with you upon 
 the objects of your journey, and inform me thereof. 
 
 " As an evidence of the sincerity of the desires of the Uni 
 ted States for perfect peace and friendship with you, I deliver 
 you this white belt of wampum, which I request you will 
 safely keep. 
 
 (Signed) GEO. WASHINGTON."* 
 
 The President having thus deputed Colonel Pickering 
 and General Knox to conduct the subsequent confer 
 ences with the chiefs, an interview was had with them 
 in the city council chamber, on the 31st of March, at 
 which time Red-Jacket, holding in his hands the white 
 
 * The manuscript from which the preceding speech has been transcribed bears 
 the date of March 23d, 1792. Hence, in the order of time, it should stand be 
 fore the antecedent account of the interview between the chiefs and the Governor 
 of Pennsylvania. But the date is believed to be erroneous ; and if not, the 
 transposition has been made for the sake of convenience. 
 
 10 
 
74 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 belt which had been delivered to him by General 
 Washington, addressed Colonel Pickering as follows : 
 
 " I now request the attention of the President of the Uni 
 ted States, by his agent, Colonel Pickering, now present. A 
 few days since, when the American chief had spoken to us, 
 he gave us to understand that General Knox and Colonel 
 Pickering should be the agents to negotiate with us on things 
 which concern our welfare. Let me call for your compassion, 
 as you can put all down upon paper, while we have to labor 
 with our minds, to retain and digest what is spoken, to enable 
 us to make an answer. 
 
 " BROTHER whose attention I have called as the represen 
 tative of the great chief of this Island : when, the other day, 
 he welcomed us to the great council-fire of the thirteen United 
 States, he said it was from his very heart. He said it gave him 
 pleasure to look around and see such numerous representa 
 tives of the Five Nations of Indians, and that it was at "his 
 special request we had been invited to the seat of the general 
 government, to promote the happiness of our nation, in a 
 friendly connection with the United States. He then told us 
 that his love of peace did not terminate with the Five Nations, 
 but extended to all the nations at the setting sun ; and that it 
 was his desire that universal peace might prevail in this 
 island. 
 
 " BROTHER CON-NEH-SAUTY :* I requested your compassion, 
 on account of our different situations, by reason of which I 
 should notice only a few of the principal things in the Presi 
 dent s speech, delivered to us the other day. Three things I 
 have mentioned of the introductory part of his speech. What 
 other reply can we, your brothers of the Five Nations, make 
 to that introductory part of the speech, than to thank him, 
 and say that it has given a spring to every passion of our 
 souls 1 
 
 * The Indian name of Col. Pickering. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 75 
 
 " BROTHER : The President again observed to us that he 
 wished our minds might all be disposed to peace, that a hap 
 py peace might be established between you and your brothers 
 of the Five Nations, so firmly that nothing might move it ; that 
 it might be founded on a rock. This sentiment of your chief 
 has given joy to our hearts,- to compare that peace to a rock, 
 which is immoveable. 
 
 " The President further observed to us that by our continu 
 ing to walk in the path of peace, and hearkening to his coun 
 sel, we might share with you in all the blessings of civilized 
 life. This also meets the approbation of our minds, and has 
 the thanks of all your brothers of the Five Nations. 
 
 " He again observed to us that if we attended to his coun 
 sel in this matter, our children, and children s children, might 
 partake in all the blessings which should rise out of this earth. 
 This has taken hold of our minds, and even we who are grown 
 up look forward, and anticipate its fulfilment. 
 
 " The President again observed to us that what he had 
 spoken was in the sincerity of his heart, and that time and op 
 portunities would give further evidence that what he said was 
 true. And we believed it, because we saw the words come 
 from his own lips, and therefore they were lodged deep in 
 our mind. 
 
 " The President of the Thirteen Fires, while continuing his 
 speech/ made also this remark, that in order to establish 
 all his words for the best good of your nation and our s, we 
 must forget all the evils that were past, and attend to what lies 
 before us, and take such a course as shall cement our peace, 
 that we may be as one. 
 
 " The President again observed that it had come to his ears 
 that the cause of the hostilities now prevailing with the West 
 ern Indians, was their persuasion that the United States had 
 unjustly taken away their lands. But he assured us this was 
 not the case. That it was not the mind of any of his chiefs to 
 take any land on the whole island without agreeing for it. 
 
76 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 He then mentioned a treaty at Muskingum, and he concluded 
 that what land was given up at that treaty was fairly obtained. 
 " He also observed to us that it was his opinion that the 
 hostile Indians were in an error ; that they had missed the 
 true path; whatever evil spirit, or whatever lies had turned 
 them aside, he wished they could be discovered, that they 
 might be removed. He expressed a strong wish that those 
 obstacles to the extending of peace to the westward might be 
 discovered ; and he would use all his exertions to remove 
 them, that peace might be extended to the whole Island. 
 Toward the close of his speech the President informed us that 
 there were many things which concerned the future happiness 
 of the Five Nations, the concerting of which he should refer 
 to you* here present, and the Chief Warrior of the United 
 States.f And at the close he observed that our professions of 
 friendship and regard were commonly witnessed by some 
 token : therefore, in the name of the United States, he pre 
 sented us with this white belt, which was to be handed down 
 from one generation to another, as a confirmation of his words, 
 and a witness of the friendly disposition of the United States, 
 towards the peace and happiness of the five confederated 
 Nations." 
 
 [Red-Jacket here laid aside the white belt received 
 from the President, and taking up a belt of their own, 
 proceeded as follows : ] 
 
 " Now let the President of the United States possess his 
 mind in peace. We have made but a short reply to his address 
 to us the other day, for the belt he gave us is deposited with 
 us ; and we have taken fast hold of it. What more can we 
 say than to return our united thanks for his address in wel 
 coming us to the seat of the great council, and for the advice 
 he gave us ] And our pleasure is increased that you, Con-neh- 
 
 * Pointing to Colonel Pickering. t General Knox, Secretary at War. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 77 
 
 rauty, are appointed to assist us in devising the means to 
 promote and secure the happiness of the Five Nations. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Now open your ears, as the Representative of the 
 Great Council of the thirteen United States, in our present 
 Council. Hear the words we may speak. And all here 
 present, of the great Council,* and our Brethren of the Five 
 Nations, hear ! We consider ourselves in the presence of 
 the Great Spirit, the proprietor of us all; 
 
 " The President, in effect, observed to us that we of the 
 Five Nations were our own proprietors were freemen, and 
 might speak with freedom. This has gladdened our hearts, 
 and removed a weight that was upon them. And therefore 
 you will hear us patiently while we speak. The President 
 has, in effect, told us that we were freemen ; the sole proprie 
 tors of the soil on which we live. This is th* source of the 
 joy which we feel. How can two brothers speak freely to 
 gether, unless they feel that they are upon equal ground ? 
 
 " I observed to you, Brother,! that our considering our 
 selves, by your own acknowledgment, as freemen, has given 
 this joy to our hearts that we might speak in character. 
 Therefore, we join with the President in his wish that all the 
 evils which have hitherto disturbed our peace may be buried 
 in oblivion ; and this wish proceeds from our hearts. Now we 
 can speak our minds freely, as they are free from pressure. 
 
 " Now, Brother, while you continue to hear in behalf of 
 the United States, let all here present also open their ears, 
 while those of the Five Nations here present speak with one 
 
 * Some members of Congress were present of which the Indians had been 
 informed. 
 
 t It should be borne in mind that the frequent use of the word Brother is the 
 effect of the rules of Indian politeness, which enjoin, in all conversations, a constant 
 remembrance of the relation subsisting between the parties, especially where that 
 relation implies any affection, or respect. It is like the perpetual repetition, in 
 civilized life, of Sir, or Madam or, in England, Your Lordship. In the same 
 manner the Indians, at every sentence, repeat, My Father, My Uncle, My 
 Cousin, My Brother, &c. 
 
78 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 voice. We wish to see your words verified to our children, 
 and children s children. You enjoy all the blessings of this 
 life ; to you, therefore, we look to make provision that the 
 same may be enjoyed by our children. This wish comes from 
 our heart ; but we add that our happiness cannot be great if 
 in the introduction of your ways we are put under too much 
 constraint. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Appointed agent to converse with us upon the 
 affairs of our peace, continue to hear. We, your brothers of 
 the Five Nations, believe that the Great Spirit let this island 
 drop down from above. We also believe in his superinten- 
 dency over this whole island. It is he who gives peace and 
 prosperity, and he also sends evil. But prosperity has been 
 yours. American Brethren all the good which can spring 
 out of this island you enjoy. We therefore wish that we and 
 our children, and our children s children, may partake with 
 you in that enjoyment. 
 
 " BROTHER ! I observed that the Great Spirit might smile 
 upon one people, and turn and frown upon another. This 
 you have seen, who are of one color and one blood. The 
 King of England and you Americans strove to advance your 
 happiness by extending your possessions upon this island, 
 which produces so many good things. And while you two 
 great powers were thus contending for those good things, by 
 which the whole island was shaken and violently agitated, is it 
 strange that the peace of us, the Five Nations, was shaken and 
 overturned 1 
 
 " But, let me say no more of the trembling of our island. 
 All is, in a measure, now quieted. Peace is now restored. 
 The peace of us, the Five Nations, is now budding. But still 
 there is some shaking among the original Americans, at the 
 setting sun ; and you, the Thirteen Fires, and the King of 
 England, know what is our situation, and the causes of this 
 disturbance. Now, here you have an ambassador,* as we are 
 
 * Mr. Hammond was then the British Envoy to the United States. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 79 
 
 informed, from the King of England. Let him, in behalf of 
 the King, and the Americans, adjust all their matters, according 
 to their agreement, at the making of peace and then you will 
 soon see all things settled among the Indian Nations. Peace 
 will be spread far and near. Let the President and the am 
 bassador use all their exertions to bring about this settlement, 
 (according to the peace,) and it will make us all glad, and we 
 shall consider both as our real friends. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Continue to hear ! Be assured we have spoken 
 from our very hearts, and not from our lips only. Let us there 
 fore make this observation : That when you Americans and 
 the King made peace, he did not mention us, and showed us 
 no compassion, notwithstanding all he said to us, and all we 
 had suffered. This has been the occasion of great sorrow and 
 pain, and great loss to us, the Five Nations. When you and 
 he settled the peace between you two great nations, he never 
 asked us for a delegation to attend to our interests. Had he 
 done this, a settlement of peace among all the western nations 
 might have been effected. But the neglecting of this, and pas 
 sing us by unnoticed, has brought upon us great pain and 
 trouble. 
 
 " BROTHER ! It is evident that we of the Five Nations have 
 suffered much in consequence of the strife between you and 
 the King of England, who are of one color and one blood. 
 Our chain of peace has been broken. Peace and friendship 
 have been chased from us. But you Americans were deter 
 mined not to treat us in the same manner as we had been treated 
 by the King of England. You therefore desired us, at the 
 re-establishment of peace, to sit down at our ancient fire-places, 
 and again enjoy our lands. And had the peace between you 
 and the King of England been completely accomplished,* it 
 would long before this time have extended far beyond the Five 
 Nations. 
 
 * An allusion, probably, to the retention by Great Britain, of the northwestern 
 posts, belonging to the United States, and to other difficulties under the first treaty. 
 
80 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHER CON-NEH-SAUTY : You are specially appointed 
 with General Knox to confer with us on our peace and happi 
 ness. We have rejoiced in your appointment, and we hope 
 that the great Warrior will remember that though a Warrior t 
 he is to converse with us about peace ; letting what concerns 
 war sleep ; and the counselling part of his mind, while acting 
 with us, be of peace. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Have patience, and continue to listen. The 
 President has assured us that he is not, the cause of the hostili 
 ties now existing at the westward, but laments it. Brother, 
 we wish you to point out to us of the Five Nations what you 
 think is the real cause. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Agent of the thirteen United States in the 
 present council : We now publicly return our thanks to the 
 President and all the Counsellors of the thirteen United States, 
 for the words which he has spoken to us. They were good 
 without any mixture. Shall we observe that he wished that if 
 the errors of the hostile Indians could be discovered, he would 
 use his utmost exertions to remove them ? 
 
 " BROTHER ! You and the King of England are the two 
 governing powers of this Island. What are we ? You both 
 are important and proud ; and you cannot adjust your own 
 affairs agreeably to your declarations of peace. Therefore the 
 Western Indians are bewildered. One says one thing to them, 
 and one says another. Were these things adjusted, it would 
 be easy to diffuse peace every where. 
 
 " In confirmation of our words, we give this belt, which we 
 wish the President to hold fast in remembrance of what we 
 have now spoken." 
 
 This speech was never before published.* Its impor 
 tance, in several respects, requires a pause in the narra- 
 
 * The author is indebted for the manuscript to Joseph W. Moulton, Esq., who 
 began writing a history of the State of New- York some fifteen or twenty years 
 ago, but proceeded no farther than a single volume. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 81 
 
 live for its consideration. In the first place, if the orator 
 was really as desirous of peace and amity with the United 
 States as would appear from the language of the speech, 
 the English officers in Canada must have lost their hold 
 upon his partialities since the visit of Colonel Proctor to 
 the frontier the preceding year. In the second place, by 
 bearing the declarations of this speech in mind, the 
 reader will hereafter perceive what an entire revolution 
 was subsequently wrought in the feelings of Red-Jacket, 
 in regard to the civilization of his people. But the most 
 important portion of the harangue refers to a prominent 
 cause of the Indian war then raging, which has thus far 
 been but slightly considered, viz. : The indifference with 
 which the Indians had been cut off, or passed over, by 
 Great Britain, in the treaty of peace. Notwithstanding 
 the loyalty of these untutored sons of the forest, their 
 constancy, and the prodigality with which they had shed 
 their blood in the cause of the crown, when the ministers 
 of that crown found it expedient to negotiate for peace, 
 no one condition or word was interposed in behalf of 
 allies thus faithful, and they were left to shift for them 
 selves as best they might. In the impressive language 
 of Red- Jacket, " the King showed them no compassion." 
 They had been as dependent upon the crown as children 
 upon a parent ; and being left to themselves, in a state 
 of war with the United States, although for a time they 
 desisted from actual hostilities, they knew not what to 
 do. In a word, to borrow another expressive phrase 
 from the Seneca orator, "they were bewildered." The 
 consequence was, that, distrusting the people with whom 
 
 11 
 
82 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 they had so recently been at war, and neglected by those 
 in whom they had confided, and who ought to have stipu 
 lated for an honorable peace for them, as well as for 
 themselves, the poor Indians, children of ignorance, 
 caprice, and passion, were left to the resources of their 
 own wild natures, and the chances of fortune. Nor was 
 this all: When, from a variety of untoward circum 
 stances, very shortly after the conclusion of the treaty 
 between the United States and England, in 1783, the 
 question of peace or war again hung long and doubt 
 fully in the scales, those who ought to have been the 
 best counsellors of the Indians became their worst. 
 They were encouraged again to embark in a war, which, 
 without the aid of England, even the Indians themselves 
 knew must be hopeless, and during the continuance of 
 that war, were " paltered with in a double sense;" until, 
 but for the humanity of those who, though technically 
 then their enemies, had from the first been in reality their 
 best friends, their race would have been annihilated.* 
 True indeed was the assertion of Red-Jacket, that the 
 Indians were the chief sufferers from the "shaking of 
 the island" by Great Britain and the United States ; nor 
 is it strange that in their forlorn situation, these untutored 
 and dependent tenants of the wood looked anxiously to 
 the united councils of the two white nations with whom 
 only they were acquainted, to adjust for them the terms 
 of peace. Red-Jacket has told the story in the preceding 
 
 * For an ample history of the matters here referred to, and documentary proofs 
 of the truth of the positions here assumed, see Life of Brant, vol. ii. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 83 
 
 speech, with the simple and touching eloquence of nature, 
 and there it may be left. 
 
 On the 9th of April Colonel Pickering communicated 
 to the chiefs the propositions which had been matured by 
 the American government, as the basis of its labors in 
 the work of their civilization and social improvement. 
 The details of that project seem not to have been pre 
 served. The general scope of the plan may nevertheless 
 be inferred from the following stipulation, to which the 
 President asked the assent of the Senate by a special 
 message on the 23d of March : 
 
 " The United States, in order to promote the happiness of 
 the Five Nations of Indians, will cause to be expended, annu 
 ally, the amount of one thousand five hundred dollars, in pur 
 chasing for them clothing, domestic animals, and implements 
 of husbandry, and for encouraging useful artificers to reside in 
 their villages." 
 
 Perhaps a more accurate estimate of the propositions 
 submitted to the Indians may be formed by a perusal of 
 the annexed speech from Red- Jacket, in which, while he 
 assents to the general tenor of the overtures, he suggests 
 some modifications and improvements. The Indians 
 had indeed been requested by Colonel Pickering to -speak 
 their minds upon the propositions, and to propose for con 
 sideration any alterations they should think proper. Ac 
 cordingly, at the next interview, which was on the 10th 
 of April, Red-Jacket spoke the minds of the Senecas as 
 follows : 
 
 "BROTHER CON-NEH-SAUTY : Yesterday, when you made 
 your proposals, the Oneidas accepted them, and thanked you. 
 
84 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 They spoke for those Oneidas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras 
 who all lie under one blanket* We, the Senecas, have con 
 sidered them, and are now going to speak. 
 
 " Yesterday, when you proposed four establishments, and 
 that there should be three men for each, you mentioned the 
 rewards to be given to a certain number who should learn 
 quickest of the biggest nations, six while those who could not 
 learn fast must be miserable. If you do right, you will give 
 to all something to work with as fast as they learn, so that all 
 may be supplied j otherwise a strife will arise. But if all are 
 to be supplied, all will be encouraged to learn. Another 
 thing : a great many of our people are poor women, who 
 have no men in their families : now by supplying others in the 
 manner we have suggested, the fields of the poor may be 
 ploughed. This will rouse the minds of the whole nation to 
 learn what the white people know. 
 
 " You told us if we liked what you said we should say so : 
 If it was deficient in any thing, we should tell what was 
 wanting ; if redundant, we should strike off. You mentioned 
 the places for the establishments, one was at Geneseo, and 
 one at Oneida. We have considered that at Oneida there are 
 a great many people, Tuscaroras and Oneidas, who can help 
 one another; and that at Geneseo there are also Oneidas and 
 Tuscaroras, who, being numerous, will want one establishment 
 for themselves. We wish you to use them as you do the 
 Senecas, that their minds may be easy. Perhaps they will 
 learn quicker, so as to desire two establishments at Geneseo. 
 
 " You must not suppose that we slight any thing that you 
 have offered. We accept of all. It is all good. But we hope 
 that you will not think of making establishments at Buffalo 
 Creek, or Obeilstown,t at present. For there is some shaking! 
 at the extremity of our house. There may be some danger 
 to the persons who might be employed. 
 
 * Live in one neighborhood. t O Bail, the Cornplanter s town. 
 
 * Trouble. The border of their country. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 85 
 
 " There is one thing which might be of great advantage to 
 us, which you have not mentioned : that is a saw-mill. This 
 would help us greatly. We know the cause of Mr. Allen s 
 leaving our country.* He told us the reason before he went 
 away. And you and we all know that his mill is over the line 
 agreed upon last summer before you, and he has gone away, 
 he says, because he owns nothing. Allen told us if General 
 Washington would buy the mill, paying him just what it cost, 
 it might be our s, and be allowed to stand on our land. And we 
 should rejoice exceedingly if we could become the proprietors 
 of that mill. If General Washington would buy it and give it 
 to us, the superintendent might see to the appraisement of it. 
 
 " You mentioned that this provision was for those of our 
 nations who live on this side of the Lakes. But perhaps our 
 brothers at Grand River, when they see those things introduced 
 among us, may fall in love with them, and want to come and 
 join us. We therefore wish that the plan may be so formed 
 as to comprehend all. For our peace is in a weak, languid 
 condition, just expiring, and we would avoid giving offence to 
 any of our brothers. There are two roads : perhaps they on 
 the other side of the waterf may take our road. Therefore 
 we wish you to extend your invitation to the whole Six Nations, 
 and press them to join us when peace shall take place. We 
 shall desire the proposed establishments may be made at Buffalo 
 and Alleghany. 
 
 " It was the custom of our fathers, when they had finished 
 any particular business, to talk over affairs of general concern. 
 
 * Ebenezer Allen, a tory, who fled from Pennsylvania and joined the Senecas. 
 He was a monster of iniquity, according to Mary Jemison, the white woman, 
 whose life contains a chapter devoted to him. After the war he became a trader. 
 He had several successive Indian wives, and afterward married a white woman. 
 He once drowned a Dutch trader, and committed many other enormities. He 
 built the first mill at the Genesee falls, now Rochester, under the authority of 
 Phelps and Gorham, they having obtained a special grant of a territory at that 
 place, of the Indians, twelve by twenty-four miles in extent, for " a mill-yard !" 
 Allen ultimately fled from the United States, and died at Grand River. 
 
 t Meaning the Indians at Grand River, in Upper Canada. 
 
86 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Now we wish Congress to hasten to make peace with the hos 
 tile Indians who are alongside of us. We both have our eyes 
 to the place where the trouble lies. This is all we have to 
 say."* 
 
 This address has not been preserved because of its 
 eloquence. It is a mere business recital, and claims no 
 higher character. But it forms a feature in the history of 
 this first effort to introduce the blessings of civilization 
 among the Six Nations, and it also serves to illustrate the 
 views entertained at that time by a notable chief, who 
 subsequently became one of the most steady and impla 
 cable opponents of that beneficent policy. It is therefore 
 neither a useless document, nor out of place in this con 
 nexion. 
 
 The speeches, or addresses, recited in the preceding 
 pages of the present chapter, had been interchanged 
 before the speech of Red-Jacket in reply to that of the 
 President had been formally answered by Colonel 
 Pickering, upon whom the duty of making such answer 
 had devolved. The Colonel discharged this duty at an 
 interview, appointed for the purpose, on the 17th day of 
 April. Under ordinary circumstances, involving matters 
 of less importance, a document of the length of Colonel 
 Pickering s address, instead of being inserted entire in 
 the text, would have been epitomized, or transferred 
 to the appendix. But the address is so closely inter 
 woven with that benevolent feature of Washington s 
 early Indian policy which contemplated their moral 
 
 * The author is indebted to the researches of Joseph W. Moulton, Esq., for a 
 copy of this speech. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 87 
 
 and social elevation, and passes in review so many 
 facts blended with the Indian relations of the United 
 States at the period under consideration, that its insertion 
 at length seems to be required. It serves to elucidate, in 
 language equally concise and clear, the causes, and the 
 merits, of the war then raging with the north-western 
 Indians, while it discloses, in refreshing relief, the just 
 and humane views of the President, and the policy by 
 which his administration was marked, in regard, not only 
 to the Six Nations, but to the various tribes of the abori 
 ginal family within the confines of the republic. 
 
 The chiefs having assembled, and the council been 
 opened in due form on the day above stated, Colonel 
 Pickering addressed them as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS OP THE FIVE NATIONS : Some days ago you 
 delivered your answer to the President s speech. According 
 to your custom, you repeated the principal parts of it, and 
 expressed your thanks for the friendly sentiments it contained, 
 which had made your hearts glad. You rejoiced that the 
 President considered you as freemen, and desired you to speak 
 with freedom ; and then you joined with the President in his 
 wish that all the evils which had hitherto disturbed our peace 
 might be buried in oblivion. You declared your belief that 
 this island came from the Great Spirit, that you considered 
 yourselves as in his presence, and that he is the proprietor 
 of all. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! We, your white brethren, have the same be 
 lief ; as He made, so He governs the world. He has so disposed 
 events that we should meet at this place, to consult on those 
 things which may prove blessings to you and your posterity. 
 We, your brethren of the United States, rejoice that your 
 hearts are thus inclined. Many good men have wished to see 
 such a day, when the knowledge possessed by the white people 
 
88 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 might be introduced among you, the nations of this land. Such 
 good men have long been searching, but with small success, 
 for a path by which this knowledge might be carried amongst 
 you. Now we think we have discovered the true path ; and 
 you begin to see it. But you must be very careful lest you 
 lose sight of it. Your nephews, the Stockbridge Indians, 
 know the path so well that they can now walk on boldly ; and 
 the Oneidas are following in their steps. By and by the path 
 will be extended through all your countries, and I hope to see 
 it so plainly marked that not one of all your nations shall 
 miss it. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! You not only see this path, but think it a 
 good one ; and therefore you express your wishes to see the 
 President s words verified to your children and children s 
 children. You observed that we enjoyed all the good things 
 of this life, and that you looked to us to make provision that 
 the same might be enjoyed by your children. But you desired 
 that this might be done by degrees. This is right. For you 
 know when a traveller gets upon a new track that he can but 
 just discern, if he hurries along he will be in danger of losing 
 it altogether. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! Some of you are grown old ; others are of 
 my age ; and some are much younger. But even the oldest of 
 you may see many of your children walking in this new path. 
 Look forward ten, fifteen, or twenty years ; for many of us 
 may live so long ; and then we may see our children meet 
 together and speak with one tongue. Or if your children are 
 in your country, and our s are here, yet they can then speak on 
 paper, with the same ease and certainty as if they stood face 
 to face. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! Does not this thought give you pleasure 1 
 
 " BROTHERS ! You took notice of what the President said 
 to you relative to the war with the western Indians ; that he 
 was not the cause of it, but lamented it ; and would be happy 
 in the discovery of the means by which peace could be restored. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 9 
 
 You then wished me to point out to you what I thought was 
 the real cause of the war. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! This perhaps would be a difficult task. We 
 have heard that the minds of the western Indians have been 
 disturbed on account of their lands, which at the treaty of 
 peace with Great Britain, fell within the boundary of the 
 United States. But as it has ever been our strong desire to 
 establish peace, and to remove every cause of jealousy and 
 discontent I now solemnly declare to you that we claim none 
 of those lands, except such of them as we have purchased at 
 treaties held with the Indians, who, as owners, undertook to 
 sell them. All other lands of the Indians we renounce. The 
 President, with his own mouth, has made the same declaration ; 
 and if you look into the great parchment which he gave the 
 Cornplanter, you will see it under his hand. Let this be 
 strongly impressed on your mind. But I am informed that 
 some of the western Indians who joined with the British and 
 took up the hatchet sixteen years ago, have never laid it down 
 to this day. Yet measures were taken by Congress for making 
 peace with all the Indian nations, with those at the west 
 ward as well as with you : and runners were sent at the same 
 time to invite them to a treaty. The like invitation has been 
 several times renewed. But the Miami and Wabash Indians 
 never would attend. The only nations at the westward who 
 have entered into treaties with us, are the Shawanese, about 
 six years ago, at a council fire at the mouth of the Miami, 
 which runs into the Ohio, and the Delawares, Wyandots, Ot- 
 tawas, and Chippewas, who attended the treaty at Fort 
 Mclntosh, seven years ago, and ceded part of their lands ; and 
 the Pottawattamies and Sacs, who, with the Delawares, Wy 
 andots, Ottawas, and Chippewas, attended the treaty at Musk- 
 ingum, about three years ago, when the treaty at Fort Mcln 
 tosh was renewed and confirmed. About two years ago a 
 fresh messenger w r as sent to the hostile Indians, to invite them 
 to a treaty of peace : but they refused to come, and repeated 
 their outrages with increased violence. 
 
 12 
 
90 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHERS ! It will surprise you to hear that these hostile 
 Indians, in their various incursions on our frontiers since we 
 made peace with the British, have killed upward of one thou 
 sand five hundred of our defenceless men, women and chil 
 dren ! I speak not of warriors ; but only of quiet, harmless 
 people, who were following their peaceable employments. 
 Such is our information. After all these things could we do 
 otherwise than send armies into their country 1 It is true we 
 have been unfortunate. But we are not discouraged, though 
 we desire to put an end to the war. For what good can 
 arise from the continuance of it 1 We want nothing which be 
 longs to the hostile Indians. Why then should they continue 
 their depredations 1 If any of them have made war on account 
 of the lands purchased of them since the peace made with the 
 British, I can only say that the Great Council of the United 
 States appointed Commissioners to treat with them on that 
 subject, and to give them a large quantity of goods. A num 
 ber of chiefs signed the deeds ; and from the reports of the 
 Commissioners it was supposed the lands were fairly obtained. 
 And in consequence thereof, large tracts have since been sold. 
 Some to the citizens of the United States, and some to the 
 people of your ancient Father, the King of the French, who 
 have gone and built houses and planted corn in that country. 
 Hence you see how difficult it would be to restore that land 
 to the Indians, even if those chiefs who signed the deeds were 
 not a complete representation of the nations who owned the 
 land. But there is one thing which the United States, who 
 desire nothing but what is just, will cheerfully do. They will 
 attentively hear the complaints of the western Indians ; they 
 will re-examine the treaties, and inquire into the manner in 
 which they were conducted ; and if the complaints of the 
 western Indians appear to be well founded, the United States 
 will make them ample compensation for their lands. They 
 will do more. The United States, so far from desiring to in 
 jure the western Indians, would rather do them good ; and 
 cheerfully impart to them that knowledge and those arts which 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 9^ 
 
 you are now convinced will be so beneficial to your nations, 
 and which you have cordially agreed to accept. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! What are the obstacles to so much good ? 
 Are they not the jealousies and prejudices entertained by the 
 western Indians against the United States 1 As though we 
 wished for their destruction ; or if they had been wronged, 
 that we were determined never to do what was right. But 
 these obstacles would vanish, if we could persuade them to 
 come near enough to hear our voice. For they would soon 
 find it to be the voice of justice, kindness, and peace. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! You have a regard to the people of your own 
 color, and you are the friends of the United States. Perhaps 
 as friends to both parties, you may have it in your power, and 
 be disposed to speak to the western Indians, to convince 
 them that war is not necessary to enable them to obtain jus 
 tice ; and that the United States have no desire to revenge 
 the injuries they have received. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! 891116 of you were once our enemies : but 
 now you are our friends ; and you have strong proof of the 
 kindness of our hearts toward you. In like manner let peace 
 take place with the western Indians, and they will immedi 
 ately find us equally kind to them. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! Perhaps some of the western Indians have 
 never yet distinctly heard our voice inviting them to peace. 
 Possibly our white runners did not go near enough to make 
 them all hear; or perhaps the noise of the guns prevented 
 their hearing. But it may be in your power to go among 
 them and put your voice directly into their ears. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! I mention this matter to you, because it is im 
 portant to us, your friends, and to the people of your own 
 color. If you please you can consider of it. But you are 
 perfectly free to speak and to act according to your own 
 judgment. 
 
 " BROTHERS ! You mentioned some other things in your 
 speech, which I have duly attended to ; but it would be tedious 
 to repeat them all. However, as you referred to the treaty of 
 
92 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 peace made between us and the British, and gave your opinion, 
 that if all the articles of it were completely fulfilled, the diffi 
 culties with the western Indians would cease :* I will just 
 observe, that although every thing in that treaty is not accom 
 plished, yet the peace between us and the British is not there 
 by disturbed. We constantly trade together, and maintain a 
 friendly intercourse with each other ; and all remaining differen 
 ces will doubtless be quietly settled. This being the case, those 
 must be bad people who make a handle of those differences to 
 encourage the Indians to war. Such bad men, whatever may 
 be their pretences, are equally enemies to the Indians and to 
 us." 
 
 To this wise and conciliatory speech, breathing 
 throughout a spirit of benevolence and justice, the two 
 chiefs, Farmers -Brother and Red- Jacket, rejoined in 
 succession, and at the same interview, a circumstance 
 ratber remarkable in Indian diplomacy. Farmers - 
 Brother spoke as follows ; first to his own people : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE FIVE NATIONS, attend while I address 
 myself in your presence to my Brother Con-neh-sauty, the 
 Representative on this occasion, of the thirteen United States. 
 
 Turning then to Colonel Pickering, he proceeded: 
 
 " BROTHER ! You have this day spoken to us. Your speech 
 has been long. As a part of it referred to what you had before 
 communicated to us at large, we shall not now make any re 
 ply. But in the close of your talk to us, you mentioned one 
 subject of great importance, which related to the state of the 
 hostile Indians toward the setting sun. You gave us your 
 opinion of the causes of their being in a hostile state ; we shall 
 now assign some reasons, as they lie in our minds. 
 
 * This was the opinion of Fisher Ames. See his masterly speech upon the 
 question of ratifying Mr. Jay s treaty. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 93 
 
 " BROTHER ! You desired us to speak our minds freely upon 
 this subject, as we were a free and independent people. "We 
 thank you for the declaration. We shall do it. Your Brothers 
 of the Five Nations have been exceedingly distressed in their 
 minds since your peace with the British, that things at the 
 westward were not settled to your satisfaction. "We shall now 
 assign but a few of the principal reasons of the hostilities in that 
 quarter ; for there will be no time to descend to all the par 
 ticulars. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Continue to hear us. It is true there was a 
 treaty held at Fort Mclntosh, where were a few deputies from 
 several nations composed of such as were hunting round in 
 the bush ; and not of the real chiefs.* About a year after 
 this, a large delegation of the Five Nations went into the 
 Shawanese country, where a great council was called, from all 
 the nations in that quarter. After some time spent in coun 
 selling, and it being difficult to continue longer in so great a 
 body, for want of provisions ; the warriors went out to get 
 something to season their broth, and to cover their feet. At 
 the same time some runners were sent out to call in distant 
 nations. And behold ! at this juncture, the Big-Knife came 
 into their country, to the very town where they were assem 
 bled, and took and destroyed the town, killed all the old 
 chiefs, and extinguished the council-fire. This happened 
 but one season after the treaty held at Fort Mclntosh. I 
 say that this extinguished the council-fire, which was then 
 
 * This treaty was negotiated by Gen. St. Clair, in 1785. The Indians ever 
 afterward, as well the nations said to have been represented, as the Six Nations, 
 contended that it was not the result of a fair negotiation, in other words, as 
 Farmer s-Br other maintained, they held that the nations concerned were not 
 properly represented, and they therefore contended that the treaty was not binding. 
 It had doubtless been the policy of the Indians, both the Six Nations and those 
 of the north-west, to act together in one grand confederacy, but General St. Clair 
 availed himself of a moment of jealousy between them, and dexterously con 
 trived to institute separate negotiations. Still the great body of the Indians 
 were never satisfied with that procedure. See letter of Gen. St. Clair to the 
 President. Indian State Papers, vol. i., p. 10-11. 
 
94 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 kindled for the purpose of a general peace. For, shocking to 
 tell ! the Big-Knife killed the old chief who had then in his 
 hands the treaty of Fort Mclntosh, and the flag of the United 
 States then received. Hence we conceive that the Virginians 
 themselves at that time broke the peace.* 
 
 " After this, we of the Five Nations, and Delawares, and 
 others, moved the council fire to the place called the Standing 
 Stone. And we, your brothers of the Five Nations, endea 
 vored to quiet their disturbed minds, speaking to them of the 
 disaster which had befallen them. 
 
 " Now at this removed council fire, the "Wyandot and Dela 
 wares replied to us of the Five Nations, in the following 
 manner : 
 
 " See, Brothers ! While you are kindling these council 
 fires in the bushes, evil has come upon us. We expected it 
 would be so ; and we therefore must blame you, for having 
 so much confidence in the Big-Knife. Moreover, we must 
 thank you that you have come so far into our country, and are 
 
 * now at the place where the ancient council fire was kindled, 
 1 the light of which reached to the clouds, and was seen by all 
 
 * the Five Nations. We are glad that you still talk to us upon 
 
 * It is difficult to ascertain with certainty to what transaction the speaker here 
 refers. But it is most likely he was speaking of a friendly town of Indians, 
 called the Piankeshaws, living upon the W abash. In a report upon the Indian 
 relations of the country, by General Knox, Secretary of War, to the President, 
 dated June 15, 1789, it is remarked that since the conclusion of the revolution 
 ary war, in 1783, the United States had formed no treaties with the Indians of 
 the Wabash country, and that hostilities had almost constantly existed between 
 the people of Kentucky and the said Indians. " The injuries and murders," 
 said the Secretary, " have been so reciprocal, that it would be a point of criti 
 cal investigation to know on which side they have been the greatest." The 
 Secretary added, " Some of the inhabitants of Kentucky, during the past year, 
 (1788,) roused by recent injuries, made an invasion into the Wabash country, 
 and, possessing an equal aversion to all bearing the name of Indians, they de 
 stroyed a number of peaceable Piankeshaws, who prided themselves on their 
 attachment to the United States." Is it cause of wonder, then, that the less en 
 lightened savages, who were liable to such treatment, should look upon " all 
 the whites with equal aversion?" 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 95 
 
 the subject of a general peace, and that we should still use 
 * our endeavors to effect it among all the Indian nations in this 
 quarter. 
 
 " Our elder brother, the Mohawk, then spoke, and gave them 
 great thanks, that they would still endeavor to establish peace, 
 and promised to write the Congress on the subject. 
 
 " BROTHER ! The Five Nations were the cause of the at 
 tendance on the treaty at the Falls of Muskingum. Some of 
 us went by Fort Pitt, to take all in that route. These first 
 arrived at Muskingum. Another party went by Detroit, to 
 bring all from that quarter. At length, when we had arrived 
 at the place called the High Hills, it was determined that a 
 runner should be sent to Muskingum to know the business of 
 the treaty. Accordingly, Captain David, of the Mohawk Na 
 tion, who is since dead, was chosen for this purpose. 
 
 " When the runner went to the place (which was at the 
 mouth of the Muskingum) and was returning, he met the main 
 body at the Falls, (which was about half way,) going on to 
 the council fire. Captain David brought back a large piece of 
 writing. And when it was read, (as it was by Brant,) all that 
 it spoke was in regard to their lands ; and they found that all 
 the Commissioner wanted was to get their lands. This dis 
 turbed all their minds, when they found all that was wanted 
 was to get their lands, and it shocked the minds of the Five 
 Nations. 
 
 " All the Indians then went back, except the Senecas, and 
 one out of each other of the Five Nations, and some of the 
 Delawares and Wyandots. These went on to the council fire 
 of the Commissioner, because it had been burning all the sea 
 son, waiting for them. Here their minds were made uneasy, 
 because the Commissioner marked out their lands as l\e saw fit, 
 and just told them what he did, saying, " I am going to have so 
 much." The Five Nations tried to assist those nations, but 
 could not. For the Commissioner said, I have nothing to do 
 with you, the Five Nations, but only with these other nations 
 
96 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 who own the lands. Then our minds sank within us, and we 
 said no more. 
 
 " Then the Commissioner marked off big pieces, describing 
 them, and said, so much I must have. The nations meant to 
 have the line run along the heads of the small creeks, running 
 into the Alleghany ; but the Commissioner said that was not 
 enough, but that he wanted the line to run so far back as to 
 go upon the heads of the waters running into Lake Erie ; 
 and he extended it accordingly toward the Mississippi. 
 
 " BROTHER ! You said perhaps the voice of the runner of 
 the United States had not gone near enough to the western 
 Indians for them to hear it. This was the case. 
 
 " BROTHER ! You desired us to speak our minds freely upon 
 this subject, to wit : the causes of the uneasiness among the 
 western Indians. We have now candidly related to you 
 from step to step these facts ; which from small beginnings 
 have increased to an extensive breach of our peace. 
 
 " BROTHER ! Possess your mind in peace. This matter 
 does not immediately concern us but you desired us to speak. 
 
 The Farmers -Brother having ended, Red-Jacket rose 
 and spoke as follows : 
 
 " BROTHER CON-NEH-SAUTY, who have been appointed by 
 the President to represent the United States in the business 
 on which we were invited, now attend ! 
 
 " You spoke to us on our first arrival ; and a few days 
 since you opened the whole business which respects our 
 national happiness. After this, you adverted to the troubled 
 state of the nations at the westward ; and mentioned what you 
 supposed were the causes of those troubles among the various 
 nations in that quarter ; and you desired us to speak our minds 
 freely on this subject. 
 
 " BROTHER : You have heard the two principal causes of 
 those troubles. Those two causes, as we apprehend, were 
 these, the destroying of the town by Big-Knife, and killing 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 97 
 
 the old man, while the nations were met counselling for peace ; 
 and the smallness of the number who attended the treaty at 
 Muskingum, and the affair of the lands. For we, the Five 
 Nations, had to give up our judgments to what the Commis 
 sioner dictated, and that was the reason there were so many 
 names to the writing. 
 
 " BROTHER : You have now heard the causes of the uneasi 
 ness among the western Indians ; you said you wished to know 
 the causes of those hostilities, that you might remove them. 
 Here they are, as we consider them. Now it is our wish that 
 the President and Congress would exert themselves to remove 
 them. You have manifested a desire to put the burthen of 
 bringing you and the western Indians together, upon our shoul 
 ders ; but it is too heavy for us to bear without your assistance. 
 
 " BROTHER : Continue to hear ! We are not able to go 
 forward with this great business alone. Therefore, if you earn 
 estly wish for the restoration of peace as your words have ex 
 pressed, let us have some assistance. Let there be one voice 
 between you arid the British, who are by our fireside, to effect 
 this object. True, you have drawn a line between them and 
 you ; and the line comes near to us. But we think you are 
 too proud to act together upon this business. And unless you 
 go to the western Indians, how will you convince them that 
 you mean to do them justice "? 
 
 " BROTHER : We of the Five Nations have not settled all 
 the affairs pertaining to our peace, and it will give great joy 
 to our minds if you can extend peace to the western nations. 
 What we have proposed, we think would be a healing medi 
 cine. Therefore, when we have completed our business with 
 you, we shall be glad to communicate this to the people of our 
 color to the westward. 
 
 " BROTHER : While you are yet hearing, let us remind you 
 of your own words, verily you must love those of your 
 * own color : and we believe also that you are friends to us. 
 
 " BROTHER : You have spoken truly : we do love both, we 
 
 13 
 
98 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 also love our common peace. Therefore have we thus ad 
 vised to this healing medicine, which, alone, we think, will 
 complete a cure of all the wounds. 
 
 " BROTHER : This is all we have now to say. You see that it 
 is a pleasant day ; an emblem of the pleasure and joy now dif 
 fused through all here present, for indeed it has been a coun 
 selling day, a day of business." 
 
 The consultations being about to close, on the 25th of 
 April the President transmitted to the chiefs the annexed 
 farewell address : 
 
 " MY CHILDREN OF THE FIVE NATIONS ! 
 
 " You were invited here at my request, in order that mea 
 sures should be concerted with you, to impart such of the 
 blessings of civilization, as may at present suit your condition, 
 and give you further desires to improve your own happiness. 
 
 " Colonel Pickering has made the particular arrangements 
 with you to carry into execution these objects, all of which 
 I hereby approve and confirm. 
 
 " And in order that the money necessary to defray the an 
 nual expenses of the arrangements which have been made, 
 should be provided permanently, I now ratify an article which 
 will secure the yearly appropriation of the sum of one thou 
 sand five hundred dollars, for the use and benefit of the Five 
 Nations, the Stockbridge Indians included. 
 
 " The United States having received and provided for you 
 as for a part of themselves, will, I am persuaded, be strongly 
 and gratefully impressed on your minds, and those of all your 
 tribes. 
 
 " Let it be spread abroad among all your villages, and 
 throughout your land, that the United States are desirous not 
 only of a general peace with all the Indian tribes, but of being 
 their friends and protectors. 
 
 " It has been my direction, and I hope it has been executed 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 99 
 
 to your satisfaction, that during your residence here you should 
 be well fed, well lodged, and well clothed, and that presents 
 should be furnished to your wives and families. 
 
 " I partake of your sorrow on account that it has pleased 
 the Great Spirit to take from you two of your number by 
 death, since your residence in this city.* I have ordered that 
 your tears should be wiped away according to your custom, 
 and that presents should be sent to the relations of the de 
 ceased. 
 
 " Our lives are all in the hands of our Maker, and we must 
 part with them whenever he shall demand them, and the sur 
 vivors must submit to events they cannot prevent. 
 
 " Having happily settled all your business, and being about 
 to return to your own country, I wish you a pleasant journey, 
 and that you may safely return to your families, after so long 
 a journey, and find them in good health. 
 
 " Given under my hand, at the city of Philadelphia, this 
 twenty-fifth day of April, 1792. 
 
 (Signed) GEO. WASHINGTON." 
 
 The conferences were finally closed on the 30th of 
 April, to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. The 
 chiefs had not only agreed to try, with their people, to 
 become civilized, but had likewise stipulated to send a 
 
 * One of the chiefs to whose decease General Washington here referred was 
 Peter Jaquette, a leading sachem of the Oneidas, who died on the 19th of March, 
 soon after the deputation arrived in Philadelphia. Peter had been taken to 
 France by the Marquis de la Fayette, (on that nobleman s return home after the 
 close of the revolutionary war,) where he received an education. The Pennsyl 
 vania Gazette of that day thus described the funeral of the chief: " His funeral 
 was attended from Oeler s hotel to the Presbyterian burying ground in Mulberry- 
 street. The corpse was preceded by a detachment of the light infantry of the 
 city, with arms reversed, drums fnuffled, and the music playing a solemn dirge. 
 The corpse was followed by six of the chiefs as mourners, succeeded by all the 
 warriors ; the reverend clergy of all denominations ; Secretary of War, and the 
 gentlemen of the war department ; officers of the federal army, and of the 
 militia ; and a number of citizens." 
 
100 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 strong deputation to their brethren in the Miami country, 
 for the purpose of bringing them, if possible, into a more 
 pacific disposition. Colonel Pickering delivered a part 
 ing speech to them, embracing their instructions as to 
 their contemplated mission. The hostile Indians had 
 imbibed the idea, or rather it had been insinuated into 
 their minds by the officers of the British Indian service 
 in Upper Canada, that the United States were claiming 
 the fee of their whole domain south of the great lakes, 
 and east of the Mississippi. Of this idea Red-Jacket 
 and his associates were charged to disabuse them, and 
 to show them by maps with which they were provided, 
 that the United States claimed no farther nor other por 
 tions of the soil than were comprehended in the several 
 purchases actually made by treaty, including, of course, 
 the treaties of Fort Mclntosh and Fort Harmar, or 
 Muskingum. But it should here be remembered that 
 the Indians invariably protested against the fairness and 
 validity of the two last mentioned treaties ; and were 
 then in arms to compel the United States to regard the 
 Ohio as their actual western boundary. Nevertheless, 
 the chiefs departed in good spirits, and great hopes were 
 entertained that their western mission would be attended 
 by auspicious results.* 
 
 * It was during this visit to Philadelphia that General Washington presented 
 Red-Jacket with the large silver medal, bearing his likeness, which the chief 
 wore until his death, and of which he was so proud. Soon after the arrival of 
 the chiefs, General Knox directed a military suit of clothes to be delivered to 
 each of them, including a cocked hat, &c., as worn by the officers of the army. 
 When Red-Jacket s suit was tendered to him, he requested the bearer to inform 
 General Knox that he could not consistently wear the dress, because he was a 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 The members of this deputation arrived at Buffalo 
 Creek early in June ; but although returning with the 
 most amicable feelings themselves, their people were 
 found in a very different condition of temper. Many of 
 the young Seneca warriors were among the hostile In 
 dians ; but it appeared that the commander of Fort Jef 
 ferson had succeeded in winning some of them to the 
 cause of the United States, and a scout of the hostile 
 Indians had been cut off by their assistance. This 
 affair had caused great uneasiness among the Six Na 
 tions, and their resentment against the commander of 
 Fort Jefferson was kindled to exasperation, because, as 
 they alleged, " he had excited some of their thoughtless 
 young men to strike the tomahawk into the heads of 
 their brothers." Old Fish-Carrier, the principal chief 
 of the Cayugas, and a man of great consideration among 
 his nation, was for a time after this occurrence exceed 
 ingly disaffected ; as indeed were the whole Cayuga and 
 Seneca nations. Being advised of this critical state of 
 things, General Chapin, the efficient and influential agent 
 for the Six Nations, whose residence was at Canan- 
 
 sachem, a civil officer, and not a war-chief. He therefore requested that a 
 different suit might be given to him, more suitable to his station. Still he insisted 
 on keeping the military clothes until the other dress was provided for him. But 
 when the plain dress was brought, and the regimentals asked for in exchange, he 
 declined delivering them up, coolly remarking that although as a sachem he 
 could not wear a military uniform in time of peace, yet in the time of war the 
 sachems joined the warriors, and he would therefore keep it until a war should 
 break out, when he could assume it with entire propriety. MSS. of Thomas 
 Morris. Red-Jacket had two brothers upon this deputation, viz : Sa-o-nish-shon- 
 wa, (A Great Breath,) and Sos-son-do-e-wa, (A Great Darkness.) Old MS- of 
 Colonel Pickering. 
 
102 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 daigua, hastened to Buffalo Creek, and by much exer 
 tion succeeded in allaying the anger of the Cayuga chief, 
 and tranquillizing the minds of the Indians. Such in 
 deed was the change wrought in the mind of the Fish- 
 Carrier, that he promised to recall those of his warriors 
 who had joined the hostiles.* He also acceded to the 
 measure of sending the proposed deputation of chiefs 
 to the Miami country ; but owing to the extreme delibe 
 ration of their movements, their frequent counselling, 
 and their dilatory manner of conducting business, the 
 messengers did not depart westward until the middle of 
 September. Yet these delays arose from no farther re 
 luctance on the part of the Indians to enter upon the 
 mission. The deportment of the federal government 
 toward them, and the agreeable manner in which they 
 had passed their time in Philadelphia, had completely 
 won their friendship, even that of the dissembling 
 Red- Jacket, who never afterward gave any good reason 
 for doubting his constancy upon that point. He was 
 himself one of the deputation which proceeded to the 
 west, as also was the Cornplanter. 
 
 Meantime, justly appreciating his great talents, and 
 reckoning much upon his influence among the north 
 western tribes, the government of the United States, by 
 much exertion, had succeeded, after the departure of the 
 Seneca delegation, in persuading Joseph Brant, the Mo 
 hawk chief, and the war-captain of the whole Iroquois 
 confederacy, to visit Philadelphia, for the purpose, if 
 
 * Letter from General Israel Chapin to the Secretary at War. Indian State 
 Papers, p. 241. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 103 
 
 possible, of despatching him also to the Miami country 
 as a messenger of peace. Brant did not leave Upper 
 Canada, to visit the seat of the American government, 
 without encountering much opposition from Sir John 
 Johnson and other officers in the British service. But 
 he nevertheless performed the journey, was respectfully 
 received by the federal authorities at Philadelphia, and 
 was ultimately induced to undertake the western mis 
 sion. Taking Grand River in the way on his return, he 
 was prostrated by a fit of sickness, and rendered unable, 
 during that season, to fulfil his engagement. 
 
 Nor at that time, probably, would a visit, even from 
 him, have been attended by any particular benefit. The 
 hostile Indians were met in council by Red-Jacket and 
 his associates at the Au Glaize, on the Miami river of 
 Lake Erie, but were found in a most implacable humor. 
 In his anxiety for a pacification, the President had sent 
 other messengers of peace to traverse the Wabash 
 country, among whom were the Rev. Mr. Heckewelder, 
 General Rufus Putnam, Colonel Hardin, Major Trueman, 
 and another officer named Freeman. The last men 
 tioned three of these messengers had been intercepted 
 and murdered. The hostile council was large, and no 
 white man was admitted to its deliberations, save the 
 noted Simon Girty, whom, at the expense of their own 
 character, the Wyandots considered as one of them 
 selves. The Shawanese were the only speakers on the 
 side of the hostile chiefs, and Red-Jacket alone was 
 permitted to open his lips in behalf of the pacifica- 
 
104 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 tors.* The following passage from the address of the 
 Shawanese to the Six Nations sufficiently illustrates the 
 temper by which they were then governed : 
 
 " ELDEST BROTHERS ! You come to us with your opinion, 
 and the voice of the United States. It is your mind to put an 
 end to all hostilities. Brothers ! now we will relate what took 
 place last fall in our country. General Washington sent an 
 army into our country, which fell into our hands. Their 
 orders were thus : to proceed into Our country as far as the 
 Miami towns, to the Glaize ; thence to Detroit, but not to 
 molest the King s people ; and if the army should meet any 
 people that appeared friendly, to leave them behind their 
 backs without harm. 
 
 " The President of the United States must well know why 
 the blood is so deep in our paths. We have been informed 
 that he has sent messengers of peace on these bloody roads, 
 who fell on the way.t And now, as he knows that road to be 
 bloody, no communication can take place through that bloody 
 way, as there is a path through the Six Nations country, 
 which. is smooth and easy. If he wants to send the voice of 
 peace, it must come through that road. 
 
 " ELDER BROTHERS ! We have been informed the President 
 of the United States thinks himself the greatest man on this 
 island. We had this country long in peace before we saw 
 any person of a white skin. We consider the people of the 
 white skin the younger." 
 
 There were no stenographers present at that council, 
 and it is therefore impossible to report as to the manner 
 in which Red-Jacket acquitted himself. But as he was 
 
 * Letter from the Secretary at War to the President, Dec. 6, 1792. See In 
 dian State Papers, p. 322. 
 
 t Alluding to the murders of Hardin, Trueman, and Freeman, as just men 
 tioned in the text. 
 
OF RED- JACKET. 105 
 
 the only speaker in the cause of peace, he doubtless 
 participated in the debates often. The result was a 
 stipulation for an armistice during the winter, and for 
 the holding of a treaty with the United States at the 
 Miami rapids in the ensuing spring, " at any time after 
 the leaves were oat." But as a basis of the negotiation 
 they insisted sturdily upon the status quo ante bellum, 
 contending that they had still a claim upon a portion of 
 the territory east of the Ohio, and that under no circum 
 stances would they consent to any farther western bound 
 ary than the line of that river. Such was the determi 
 nation of which Red- Jacket and his associates were the 
 bearers on their return. A report of the whole pro 
 cedure, drawn up in the Indian style, was forwarded to 
 the President, accompanied by an address from the Six 
 Nations, praying the government of the United States 
 to commission messengers to treat upon the basis pro 
 posed. They besought the President to send agents 
 " who were men of honesty, not proud land-jobbers, 
 but men who loved and desired peace." They also 
 suggested that the agents should be " attended by some 
 friend or Quaker," a proposition which, as will pre 
 sently appear, was adopted.* 
 
 The deputation returned to Buffalo Creek about the 
 middle of November, and the results of their mission 
 
 * The report of this deputation, as returned in form, and rendered into Eng 
 lish by Mr. Parish, the interpreter, is a curious document. See Appendix, [A]. 
 The council at the Glaize was very lai-ge, including representations from thirty- 
 seven nations beyond the Canadian territory, as also, chiefs from " the Gora 
 country," who were occupied the whole season in travelling thither. 
 
 14 
 
106 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 were forwarded to Philadelphia, by Mr. Jasper Parish, 
 the interpreter. Red- Jacket was desirous of visiting 
 Philadelphia as the bearer of despatches himself, but 
 considerations of economy induced General Chapin, the 
 Indian Agent, to dissuade him from that purpose, a 
 circumstance which was regretted by the Secretary at 
 War.* 
 
 The armistice for which the Miamis and Shawanese 
 had stipulated was not very rigidly observed. The 
 paths were not only made bloody by frequent murders, 
 but at least one sharp and considerable action was fought, 
 late in the fall, between an army of Indians and a de 
 tachment of Kentucky volunteers, commanded by Ma 
 jor Adair, in which the former were rather checked than 
 defeated. 
 
 The reply of the President to this proposition of the hos 
 tile Indians was by them considered evasive, and cre 
 ated great dissatisfaction. They even charged the dele 
 gates from the Six Nations with not having advised the 
 American government, in good faith, of their exact de 
 termination. The consequence was the convocation of 
 another council of the belligerent confederates, in which 
 they reiterated the conditions upon which only they 
 would agree to treat, in more positive language than be 
 fore ; and they admonished the President to send for 
 ward no commissioners, unless prepared to negotiate 
 upon the prescribed basis. Commissioners were, never 
 theless, appointed, who proceeded by the way of Alba- 
 
 * Letter of General Knox to the President. 
 
OF RED- JACKET. 107 
 
 ny to Niagara, and thence to Sandusky, to meet the In 
 dians at Au Glaize. Moved by the benevolence of their 
 principles, the Quakers, likewise, of Pennsylvania, 
 spontaneously, and before the desire to that effect, of 
 the Six Nations, was known to them, appointed a depu 
 tation from their pacific order, to proceed to Detroit 
 and exert their influence in the cause of peace.* Both 
 commissions were alike ineffective. The Indians gath 
 ered at the Au Glaize in great numbers, and in the 
 worst possible humor. And although the greatest chief 
 tain of their race, in modern times, Joseph Brant, was 
 there, and exerted himself to the utmost to accomplish a 
 general pacification, the effort was unavailing. The 
 Indians would not relax one iota from their original 
 determination to make the Ohio the ultima ihule of 
 white possession and civilization. The commissioners 
 could of course entertain no such proposition, and after 
 nearly the entire year (1793) had been consumed, they 
 returned from their bootless errand. Meantime, after 
 the defeat of St. Clair, the command of the army had 
 been confided to General Wayne, who evinced the ut 
 most energy in its re-organization. He was already in the 
 Indian country, at the time when the negotiation failed, 
 and immediately thereafter preparations were made 
 for opening another campaign, on the return of spring, 
 
 * The commissioners appointed by the government were General Benjamin 
 Lincoln, Beverly Randolph, and Colonel Timothy Pickering. The Quaker gen 
 tlemen deputed upon the mission were John Parish, William Savary, and John 
 Elliott, of Philadelphia; Jacob Lindley, of Westchester county; and Joseph 
 Moore and William Hartshorne, of New-Jersey. 
 
108 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 (1794,) with all the vigor the government could put 
 forth. That campaign was short and brilliant. After 
 several rather severe affairs in the early part of the 
 summer, the fierce battle fought by Wayne, at the 
 rapids of the Miamis, on the 20th of August, crowned 
 by a signal victory, put an end to hostilities. This bat 
 tle was not fought against the Indians alone. They 
 were assisted by " a mixed multitude" of tories and 
 refugees from the United States ; half-breeds, French and 
 English fur-traders, and others, residing at Detroit and 
 in the wild regions beyond. The action was, moreover, 
 fought almost under the guns of a British fort, which the 
 assurance of Governor Sinclair had caused to be erected 
 thus far within the territory of the United States, and 
 between the commander of which and General Wayne 
 a sharp correspondence ensued. The American Gene 
 ral was so greatly exasperated at the conduct of the 
 British officers and agents in that quarter, that he could 
 scarcely desist from laying siege to the fort itself. 
 There were several skirmishes between scouting par 
 ties, after the battle, affording Wayne an excuse to lay 
 waste the country of the Miamis, which was well culti 
 vated for the distance of fifty miles. Colonel M Kee, 
 an influential officer in the British Indian department, 
 had extensive possessions there, which were ravaged 
 and his buildings laid in ashes. Wayne continued to 
 occupy the country for a whole year afterward, at the 
 close of which the definitive treaty of Greenville was 
 concluded with the Indians, which was of a character 
 perfectly agreeable to the United States. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FARTHER difficulties with the Six Nations, occasioned by Pennsylvania Great 
 Council at Canandaigua Troubles of the Oneidas Description of the Gather 
 ing Opening of the Grand Council Ceremonies of condolement Visit of 
 Jemima Wilkinson Speeches in Council Jemima speaks Speech of the 
 women to Colonel Pickering Presence of a supposed spy His dismissal 
 Correspondence concerning him News of Wayne s victory Its effect upon 
 the Indians Difficulties and jealousies among the Indians themselves Colo 
 nel Pickering determines to bring them to a decision Indians appeal to the 
 Quakers Speech of Red-Jacket to them, and also to Colonel Pickering in 
 Council Farther proceedings Difficulties with Cornplanter Conclusion of 
 the Treaty Dissolution of the Council Excellent "conduct of the Quakers. 
 
 THE termination of the war between the United States 
 and the north-western Indians was mentioned at the 
 close of the preceding chapter, in anticipation of the 
 regular historical progress of these memoirs. But the 
 name of the Seneca orator, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, does not 
 occur in connection with that war, or with any other 
 public event during the year 1793. In February of the 
 next year, (1794,) he was present at a council convened 
 at Buffalo Creek, at the instance of the federal govern 
 ment, for the purpose of yet farther conciliating the good 
 feelings of the Senecas and Cayugas. The wayward 
 ness of the Indian character is such, and the desire of 
 their young men is always so strong to be upon the war 
 path at every opportunity, that the most assiduous and 
 watchful exertions were constantly necessary to keep 
 
110 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the Senecas and Cayugas from joining the belligerents 
 en masse; and these efforts were only crowned with 
 partial success at the best. The appliances of the gov 
 ernment, on this occasion, consisted of a liberal distri 
 bution of presents, particularly of clothing. But the 
 eagle eyes of the British officers in Canada were upon 
 every movement of the Six Nations, and such was the 
 lingering attachment of the Senecas for their ancient 
 allies, or such their actual and continued attachment to 
 them, that no council could be held upon that frontier 
 without the presence of one or more representatives of 
 the crown. Indeed, his Britannic Majesty s officers were 
 determined that no peace should be concluded, unless 
 they might be the principal agents in effecting it. At 
 about the time now under consideration, the celebrated 
 Colonel John Butler, of Wyoming memory, declared 
 that the only way to make peace with the Indians was 
 to apply to Lord Dorchester,* Governor General of the 
 Canadas, and Commander-in-chief at Quebec, for the 
 appointment of a commission of British officers to desig 
 nate the boundary between the United States and the 
 Indians, and assist in the negotiation of a treaty, to be 
 guaranteed to the Indians by Great Britain.t Propo 
 sitions so arrogant on the one side, and an acquiescence 
 in which would have been so degrading on the other, 
 were of course spurned with indignation. Still, the af 
 fairs of the war were discussed at the council ; but Joseph 
 
 * The Sir Guy Carleton of the revolutionary war. 
 t Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. i. p. 287. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Brant was the principal Indian speaker, while Red- 
 Jacket enacted only a subordinate and unimportant part. 
 He came more prominently before the public in the 
 following autumn, at the great and memorable coun 
 cil held with the Six Nations at Canandaigua. General 
 Wayne had not closed the war in the north-west 
 when the preparations for this council were com 
 menced ; but aside from the sympathies of the Six 
 Nations in behalf of their belligerent brethren, another 
 difficulty had arisen, nearer home, causing for a season 
 great anxiety. A movement by Pennsylvania, having 
 in view an immediate extension of her settlements to 
 Presque Isle, on the shore of Lake Erie, was a measure 
 that greatly exasperated the Six Nations, who claimed 
 that territory as exclusively their own, and immediate 
 hostilities had well nigh been the consequence. The 
 governor of Pennsylvania claimed the disputed territory 
 by virtue of an alleged purchase from the Cornplanter ; 
 but the Six Nations disavowed the transaction, and pre 
 pared to defend their soil with the rifle and tomahawk. 
 The military arrangements were matured under the 
 direction of Brant, or Thayendanegea, who was in readi 
 ness once more to lead his braves to the onslaught. But 
 the timely interposition of President Washington de 
 terred Pennsylvania from any farther prosecution of her 
 designs in that quarter, at that time.* Still, it was 
 
 * Life of Brant, vol. ii. pp. 377-381. A council of the Six Nations was holden 
 at Buffalo Creek, in June of 1794, upon this subject, on which occasion Corn- 
 planter delivered a speech, to be forwarded to General Washington, for which, 
 see Appendix B. 
 
112 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 deemed proper, on the part of the President, to endeavor 
 to tranquillize the Indians who had been thus disturbed, 
 by pacific measures, and a council was appointed, which, 
 as already mentioned, sat at Canandaigua, in October 
 and November, 1794. Colonel Pickering was again de 
 tailed as the commissioner on the part of the United 
 States, with instructions to hold a free conference with 
 the Indians of the Six Nations, upon all the causes of 
 discontent then existing between the two peoples. The 
 good " Friends" of Pennsylvania and New- Jersey, under 
 the conviction that the interposition of their pacific 
 offices was a religious duty, appointed a deputation of 
 great respectability to attend the council, and if possible, 
 by indirection at least, exercise some beneficial influence 
 in its proceedings.* 
 
 This was the last general council held by the United 
 States with the Iroquois confederacy, and a vast amount 
 of important business was transacted thereat. Several 
 perplexing questions of contested boundaries were settled, 
 and the relations between the United States and the 
 confederacy were adjusted upon a basis that has not 
 since been disturbed. The results were of great im 
 portance, not only to the federal government, but also 
 in respect to the influence which the adjustment of those 
 questions had upon the settlement of western New- York 
 by the white people. But a proper history of that coun 
 cil is yet a desideratum, which there are no documents 
 
 * The delegates were David Bacon, John Parish, William Savary, and James 
 Emlen. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. , 113 
 
 even in the archives of the government adequate to 
 supply, the naked treaty itself, which is not of great 
 length, being all that seems to have been preserved. 
 
 The council was opened on the llth of October, in the 
 camp of the Oneidas, they only having yet arrived. But 
 as there were many minor difficulties presented for ar 
 rangement by the arbitrament of the commission, diffi 
 culties arising among several of the tribes themselves, 
 and between the Indians and grasping white men, which 
 were not of national concernment, it was not important 
 that all the nations should be present at the first moment 
 of business. Colonel Pickering opened the council by 
 a conciliatory speech, in which he stated that he had 
 heard of difficulties among them which he would gladly 
 assist in healing. He was addressed in reply by Cap 
 tain John, and Good Peter, at great length. The first 
 grievance presented related to a lease of about one third 
 of the Oneida reservation to Peter Smith, embracing a 
 territory four miles in breadth, by twenty-four in length, 
 and containing sixty-one thousand four hundred and 
 forty acres of land. This tract, it was alleged, had 
 been leased to Mr. Smith for twenty-one years, by the 
 sachems, or civil magistrates, in opposition to the voice 
 of the warriors ; and the attempts to survey the land 
 had brought the two parties in array against each other, 
 and almost into actual conflict. Great complaints were 
 made against the whites in general, for the artifices 
 practised to deceive them and obtain their lands. Cap 
 tain John spoke in behalf of the sachems, and Good 
 Peter, the head warrior, for the braves. Colonel Pick- 
 
 15 
 
114 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ering replied to them on the following day, and proposed 
 a course of conciliation and compromise, promising to 
 visit the Oneida castle on his return, and assist in the 
 final adjustment of the difficulty. 
 
 The Indians, as usual, gathered around the council 
 fire slowly. By the 14th the Onondagas and Cayugas 
 had arrived ; and on the same day the approach of 
 Farmer s-Brother was announced, at the head of a large 
 party of Senecas. He had halted at the distance of four 
 miles from the village, to paint and dress, preparatory 
 to a public entrance into the grand camp. At three 
 o clock in the afternoon he arrived with his train, the 
 Oneidas, Onondagas and Cayugas being drawn up in 
 order, armed, painted and plumed, to receive them. 
 Marching up in front of the Oneidas and their neigh 
 bors, the Senecas fired a salute of three rounds of mus 
 ketry, which was returned by the others, making the 
 woods ring long and loud by the reverberations. The 
 Indian leaders then directed their dusky legions to form 
 a circle around Colonel Pickering and General Chapin, 
 the government agents, with their assistants and atten 
 dants, whereupon the commissioner was addressed by 
 Farmer s-Brother, who on closing returned the belt by 
 which he f had been summoned to the council. Two 
 days afterward the Cornplanter arrived at the head of 
 four hundred, being the Alleghany clan of the Senecas. 
 The same ceremonies of reception and presentation were 
 observed as on the former day, the Indians being 
 dressed and painted with all the brilliancy and beauty 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 of their wild and fantastic tastes. The number of In 
 dians then present was sixteen hundred. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th Red- Jacket made his 
 appearance, and first visited the deputation from the 
 Friends, in company with Cornplanter, Farmer s-Bro- 
 ther, Little Beard, and several other Seneca chiefs, upon 
 private business.* In the afternoon the commissioner 
 and the Friends were summoned by a son of Corn- 
 planter to attend the formal opening of the grand coun 
 cil. The officers and their interpreters were surrounded 
 by a dark assemblage, the chiefs appearing subdued and 
 thoughtful, and the entire coup d ceil presenting a striking 
 aspect. The first business was an address of condolence 
 to the Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Delawares, (a 
 deputation of the latter being present,) by Captain John, 
 of the Oneidas, on account of the loss of many chiefs of 
 the Six Nations since they had last met in general coun 
 cil. The Oneidas, in behalf of themselves and the 
 Onondagas, wished, in their figurative language, to wipe 
 the tears from their brethren s eyes, brighten their coun 
 tenances and clear their throats, that they might speak 
 freely at the council fire. Red-Jacket returned a bro 
 therly salutation, handing the eastern nations of the con- 
 
 * It appears that the Senecas had invited a private conference with the Fiiends, 
 respecting the descendants of some Indians who had formerly resided at or near 
 Hopewell, in Virginia. The Indians claimed that the people of whom the 
 Friends had purchased the lands at Hopewell had not paid for them, and there 
 fore had sold what was not their own. The Friends desired that the heirs of the 
 Indians who had been dispossessed at Hopewell should be sought out, that a 
 just compensation might be made to them. Cornplanter now informed them that 
 two of those heirs had been found, residing at Conestoga. 
 
116 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 federacy belts and strings of wampum, to unite each to 
 the other, and thus to open the council as with the heart 
 of one man. They then informed Colonel Pickering that 
 the Six Nations were duly opened as a council for the 
 transaction of business. The Colonel made a congratu 
 latory address in reply, and informed them that, as it 
 was then Saturday, on Monday afternoon he would hold 
 a council of condolence, to wipe away the tears from 
 the eyes of the Delawares, who had lost a young 
 brother, murdered by a white man at Venango, a few 
 months before. He would then take the hatchet out of 
 the head of the deceased, and bury it in the earth, pre 
 paratory to the treaty. 
 
 Accordingly on the 20th, a very large council was 
 held, at which the Colonel performed the promised 
 ceremony of condolernent with the Delawares. By 
 speech and gesture he went through the process of bury 
 ing the dead, and covered the grave with leaves, so 
 that they could see it no more in passing. The hatchet 
 which he had taken out of the head of the victim was 
 buried beneath a pine tree, which, in words, was torn up 
 for that purpose. Having placed the hatchet in a deep 
 hole, and covered it with stones, the tree was replanted 
 upon the top, so that the instrument of death should 
 never more be discovered. The Colonel then wiped 
 the blood from their heads, and the tears from their eyes, 
 and opened the path of peace, which the Indians were 
 invited to keep clear at one end, and the United States 
 at the other, as long as the sun shone. These and 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 other ceremonies having been performed, the council 
 was adjourned, and the fire covered up for the night. 
 
 On the next day, the celebrated Jemima Wilkinson, 
 who, with her followers, resided upon the western mar 
 gin of the Seneca lake, being at Canandaigua, with seve 
 ral of her disciples, was invited by Colonel Pickering to 
 dine with him, at the house of Mr. Thomas Morris. 
 The invitation was accepted by Jemima, and she was 
 treated with great attention by the Colonel, glad of the 
 opportunity to gratify his curiosity respecting this re 
 markable woman, whom he had never seen before. 
 The seat of honor was appropriated to her, and she 
 participated freely in the conversation. 
 
 At an early hour of the afternoon the commissioner 
 was summoned to the council, to which place he re 
 paired with his friends,- Jemima and her retinue follow 
 ing in the train, and taking seats with the commissioner 
 and interpreters in the centre of the circle. The ad 
 dress of Colonel Pickering, of the preceding day, was 
 answered by the Fish-Carrier, who took occasion to 
 glance retrospectively at the relations that had existed 
 between the Six Nations and the white men, since the 
 landing of the latter " on this island." When the white 
 people first came, the Indians saw that they were men, 
 and must have something to subsist upon. They, there 
 fore, pitied them, and gave them some land ; and when 
 they complained that the land had become too small for 
 them, the Indians still pitied them, and from time to 
 time gave them more. At length a great council-fire 
 was kindled at Albany, where a silver chain was made, 
 
118 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 which was kept bright for many years, until the United 
 States and the great King over the water differed. Then 
 their brothers in Canada talked to the Indians, and they 
 let the chain fall out of their hands. Yet it was not 
 their fault, but the white people s. The Fish-Carrier 
 then recapitulated the history of the negotiations with the 
 white people after the close of the revolutionary war, 
 referring to the treaties of Fort Stanwix, and com 
 plained of many grievances which they had suffered, 
 particularly in the curtailment of their territory. The 
 Indians felt that at the first treaty at Fort Stanwix, in 
 1784, the commissioners had been too grasping, a 
 position which Colonel Pickering, in his reply, labored 
 rather to extenuate than to deny. Having just come 
 out victoriously from a bloody war with them, the Colo 
 nel told them that great allowances were to be made, 
 even if the commissioners had shown themselves proud, 
 and treated them somewhat harshly. But notwith 
 standing their many causes of complaint, Fish-Carrier, 
 now that they had taken hold of the chain with the 
 fifteen fires, pledged the Six Nations to hold on. 
 
 In the course of the sitting Colonel Pickering formal 
 ly introduced the Quaker deputation, who had been ap 
 pointed at their request, and with the approbation of the 
 President. The deputies thereupon presented the ad 
 dress from the Friends to the Indians, which was read, 
 and interpreted by Jasper Parish, and received with 
 lively approbation by the Indians. The reading of the 
 address having been completed, Jemima and her dis 
 ciples dropped upon their knees, and the mistress of 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 
 
 the order uttered something in the form of a prayer. 
 The lady superior afterward desired liberty to address 
 the assembly, which being granted, she proceeded to 
 utter a rhapsody, consisting of disjointed texts of Scrip 
 ture, mingled with confused and unmeaning sentences 
 of her own, forming together a medley without co 
 herence, relevancy, or point. The proceedings of the 
 day were closed on the part of the Indians, by the in 
 terchange of belts, the design of which was to perpetu 
 ate the memories and virtues of their departed chiefs, for 
 whose loss they had been performing the ceremonies of 
 condolence. 
 
 The council was re-opened on the 23d. When about 
 to proceed to business, a request was made by three 
 Indian women to be admitted to deliver their senti 
 ments. The request was granted, and the women were 
 introduced by Red-Jacket, who appears ever to have 
 been a favorite with the Indian ladies. Addressing 
 himself to the sachems and warriors, he asked their 
 favor in behalf of the women, and also that of the com 
 missioner, craving that they might be heard, especially 
 as on the preceding day a lady of the pale faces had 
 been allowed the same indulgence. The assent of the 
 council having been given, Red-Jacket was designated 
 as the orator through whom they desired to speak. The 
 substance of his communication in their behalf was, 
 that they felt a deep interest in the affairs of their peo 
 ple ; and having heard the opinions of their sachems, 
 they fully concurred in them, that the white people had 
 been the cause of all the Indians distresses: The 
 
120 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 white people, they said, had pressed and squeezed 
 them together, until it gave them great pain at their 
 hearts, and they thought the white people ought to give 
 back all the lands they had taken from them. One of 
 the white women, (Jemima, meaning,) had yesterday 
 told the Indians to repent ; and they in turn now called 
 on the white people to repent, they having as much 
 need of repentance as the Indians. They therefore 
 hoped the pale faces would repent and wrong the In 
 dians no more. 
 
 The commissioner thanked them for their speech, ob 
 serving that it was far from his nature to think meanly 
 of women, and he should always be happy to hear from 
 them when they had any thing to say. But in regard 
 to the conduct of the white woman, on the preceding 
 day, which they had cited as a precedent, he remarked 
 that she had forced herself into the council, and had 
 spoken without his approbation.* 
 
 * Jemima Wilkinson was extensively known, by reputation, as a religious im 
 postor, in the western part of New-York, thirty or forty years ago. She was 
 born in Rhode Island, in 1753, and was educated a Quaker. She was artful, bold, 
 and zealous. About 1773, on recovering from a fit of sickness, during which 
 she had fallen into a syncope, so that she was apparently dead, she announced 
 that she had been raised from the dead, and had received a divine commission 
 as a religious teacher. Having made a few proselytes, she removed with 
 them into the western part of New- York, and settled between the Seneca 
 and Crooked Lakes, at the distance of about eighteen miles from Geneva, 
 calling her village New Jerusalem. In consequence of the weakness 
 and credulity of her followers, she was enabled to live in very elegant style, 
 having half a dozen beautiful damsels in attendance upon her person. She in 
 culcated poverty, but was careful to be the owner of lands purchased in the name 
 of her companion, Rachel Miller. When she preached, she stood in the door of 
 her bed chamber, wearing a waistcoat, a stock, and a white silk cravat. She died 
 in 1819. Joseph Brant once very adroitly discomfited her. As she professed 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 An unpleasant incident occurred on the morning of 
 the 25th, which came near breaking up the council in a 
 tempest. It was the appearance in the assembly of a 
 man named Johnson, who came from Fort Erie as a 
 messenger from Brant. He had indeed arrived two 
 days before, and on the day previous he held secret con 
 ference with several of the chiefs, and delivered the 
 message with which he had been charged by the Mo 
 hawk. Assuming the character of an interpreter, he 
 was now mingling in the council, and appeared rather 
 too intimate with the Indians to please Colonel Picker 
 ing, who objected to his presence, and denounced him 
 as a British spy. The Indians either were, or affected 
 to be, greatly surprised at the attitude assumed by 
 Colonel Pickering, in regard to this intrusion. Corn- 
 planter rose to vindicate Johnson and express his sur 
 prise that, notwithstanding the conclusion of peace be 
 tween the United States and the Great King over the 
 water, such an antipathy existed between them that 
 neither party could bear to sit by the side of the other 
 in treaties held with the Indians. The messenger, John 
 son, he said, had merely come on a friendly errand from 
 Captain Brant. The Indians, he said, had the year be 
 fore resolved upon convening a grand council of all their 
 nations at Sandusky, in the (now) following spring, and 
 Brant had sent them a message to remind them of the 
 
 to be Christ in his second appearing, Brant tested her by speaking in different 
 Indian languages, none of which she understood. He then disclosed her im 
 posture, simply by declaring that Jesus Christ must of course understand all 
 languages, one as well as another. 
 
 16 
 
122 L!FE AND TIMES 
 
 appointment. But unluckily for the excuse he was ma 
 king, Cornplanter disclosed too much. " Captain Brant," 
 said he, " sends his compliments to the chiefs at Canan- 
 daigua, and says, l you remember what we agreed upon 
 last year, and the line we marked out : If this line is 
 complied with, peace will take place ; and he desires us 
 to mention this at Canandaigua." The message also 
 contained an invitation for the chiefs to meet Brant at 
 Buffalo Creek, at an early day. 
 
 Colonel Pickering replied with great indignation, to 
 account for which, two or three points must here be 
 borne in mind. In the first place, such was the tardi 
 ness of communication through the deep wildernesses of 
 the west, that neither the Colonel nor the Indians had 
 yet heard of the entire overthrow of the Miamies and 
 their confederates in August, by General Wayne. In 
 the second place, the Indians at the present council 
 were striving to re-open, for fresh negotiation, the entire 
 question of boundaries between the Six Nations and the 
 United States, and not only that, but they were now 
 claiming westwardly, between Lake Erie and the Ohio, 
 as far as the Muskingum embracing, of course, a large 
 tract of territory for which the Miamies and their con 
 federates were fighting. Thirdly, although Brant had 
 been endeavoring to effect a peace, he had always fa 
 vored the Indian claim that the Ohio should be recog 
 nized as the boundary between the white men and the 
 red. The Senecas, also, had ever avowed the same 
 opinion ; and lest they might be induced to swerve from 
 that position, Brant had now taken occasion, in the 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 123 
 
 midst of a treaty, to throw them a signal of remembrance. 
 Hence the exasperation of Colonel Pickering at the pre 
 sence of Johnson. Accordingly, in reply to the excuses 
 of Cornplanter, he used language of great severity. He 
 said he considered the intrusion of Johnson as an act 
 betraying great impudence, and as affording fresh proof 
 of British insolence. Then reviewing the whole system 
 of British interference in the Indian relations of the Uni 
 ted States, and the ill treatment, in this respect, which 
 his government had received from England, for several 
 years past, the Colonel concluded a long speech by the 
 declaration that either the messenger must be sent back, 
 or he would himself cover up the council fire and depart. 
 His instructions from General Washington, he said, were 
 explicit, that he should suffer no British agents to be pre 
 sent at the treaty. 
 
 The Indians were amazed at the vehemence of the 
 Colonel s manner, remarking, as he resumed his seat 
 " the council-fire grows warm : the sparks fly about very 
 thick." Johnson himself appeared alarmed, and shrunk 
 stealthily away. The Indians then requested Colonel 
 Pickering and his party to withdraw for a short time, as 
 they wished to have a brief conference among them 
 selves. In about half an hour the doors of the council 
 house were re-opened, and Cornplanter again rose in 
 vindication of Johnson, avowing, distinctly, that he came 
 at their own solicitation, and was consequently not to 
 blame. If there were fault in the case, it belonged ta 
 the white people, who had deceived the Indians when 
 they were told at Fort Stanwix that the treaty of peace 
 
124 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 between England and the United States had been agreed 
 upon in the presence of the Great Spirit : 
 
 " We now discover," said he, " that the commissioners there 
 told us what was a lie, when they said they had made the chain 
 of friendship bright : but I now find there has been an anti 
 pathy to each other ever since. Now our sachems and war 
 riors say, what shall we do ] We will shove Johnson off. 
 Yet this is not agreeable to my mind, for if I had kindled a 
 council-fire, I would suffer a very bad man to sit in it, that he 
 might be made better. But if the peace you made had been 
 a good peace, all animosities would have been done away, and 
 you could have sat side by side in council. I have one re 
 quest to make, which is, that you would furnish Johnson pro 
 visions to carry him home." 
 
 There was altogether too much of refinement in the 
 diplomatic relations between the two white and civilized 
 nations, for the understandings of the unsophisticated 
 barbarians. A quasi war between people professing the 
 most amicable relations with each other, was a state of 
 things quite beyond their comprehension. With them, 
 their relations must be either one thing or the other, 
 peace or war, and in either attitude there would be 
 nothing equivocal. 
 
 After a sitting of five hours the storm passed away, 
 and the council adjourned.* In the evening fifteen of 
 
 * The proceedings against the supposed spy, Johnson, were harsh. By a 
 MS. letter of Gen. Chapin s, in the author s possession, it appears that the 
 General had invited Joseph Brant to attend the council. But it not being con 
 venient for him to do so, at the request of the Indians, Johnson had been sent to 
 the council by Brant. On the 4th of November Gen. Chapin wrote to Brant, 
 attempting to soften down the apparent harshness of the measure toward John- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 the principal chiefs, among whom were Red-Jacket, 
 Cornplanter, Farmer s-Brother, Little-Beard, Big-Sky 
 and the Fish-Carrier, dined with Colonel Pickering. 
 Much good humor prevailed on this occasion. The In 
 dians laid aside their stoicism, indulged in many repar 
 tees, and manifested the keenest relish for wit and hu 
 mor. Red-Jacket, in particular, was conspicuous for 
 the readiness and brilliance of his sallies. But there 
 were clouds lowering in the sky on the following day. 
 At the opening of the council, the first business was the 
 presentation of a letter which they had prepared, to be 
 transmitted to Brant by the hand of Johnson. In this 
 letter the chiefs expressed their sorrow that his messen 
 ger had not been permitted to remain with them in the 
 council ; and for the reasons of his dismissal, the Mohawk 
 captain was referred to Johnson s own relation. They 
 farther assured Brant that they were determined to ad 
 here to the boundary lines as they had been agreed upon 
 among the Indians the year before. In conclusion they 
 expressed to their old war-chief a feeling sense of their 
 present feeble condition. " They were," they said, " a 
 poor, despised, though still an independent people, 
 brought into suffering between two white nations striving 
 which should be the greatest." Nothing could have 
 been more true than this last remark. 
 
 son. In this letter Chapin said: "After Mr. Johnson arrived, some difficulties 
 existed which made it inconvenient for him to attend the treaty, not for any unfa 
 vorable regard to the gentleman, but for certain reasons of which he will inform 
 you." Colonel Pickering also wrote to Brant upon the same subject. Brant 
 replied to Gen. Chapin on the 4th of December, and to Colonel Pickering on the 
 30th, in both of which letters he avows that Johnson went at his request. [The 
 MSS. of these letters are in the author s possession.] 
 
126 LI FE AND TIMES 
 
 This communication gave high displeasure to Colonel 
 Pickering, and there were again symptoms of an unto 
 ward breaking up of the council. The Senecas were 
 displeased that the treaty had not been holden at their old 
 council fire at Buffalo Creek ; words ran high, and their 
 eyes at times flashed with vengeful fire. It must have 
 been at this juncture that Red-Jacket made the celebra 
 ted unreported speech, a glowing account of which is 
 contained in several modern Indian works* that is, if 
 the speech was ever delivered, a fact which there is 
 some reason to doubt, at least in the manner and form 
 described. According to the writer referred to, the 
 treaty was held on a beautiful acclivity that overlooks 
 Canandaigua Lake : 
 
 " The witnesses of the scene will never forget the powers of 
 native oratory. Two days had passed away in negotiation 
 with the Indians for a cession of their lands. The contract 
 was supposed to be nearly completed when Red-Jacket arose. 
 With the grace and dignity of a Roman senator he drew his 
 blanket around him, and with a piercing eye surveyed the mul 
 titude. All was hushed. Nothing was interposed to break 
 
 * Copied into Drake s Book of the Indians, and also Thatcher s Indian Biog 
 raphy, from a correspondent of the New-York American, who wrote some fifteen 
 or twenty years ago. The writer averred that he was present; but he speaks of 
 <( the gentle rustling of the tree tops, under whose shade they were gathered," 
 whereas it was now the closing week of October, and according to Mr. Savary s 
 journal, whence the materials for the present history of the treaty are chiefly 
 drawn, the ground was covered with snow to the depth of several inches. The 
 trees were then affording no shade, and the weather was that of winter. Mr. 
 Thomas Morris, moreover, who was then a resident of Canandaigua, and in at 
 tendance upon the council, recollects no such speech as that here imputed to 
 Red-Jacket, nor does Mr. Savary refer to it. The account, therefore, is either 
 an exaggeration, or apocryphal. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 127 
 
 the silence, save the gentle rustling of the tree-tops under 
 whose shade they were gathered. After a long and solemn, 
 but not unmeaning pause, he commenced his speech, in a low 
 voice and sententious style. Rising gradually with his subject, 
 he delineated the primitive simplicity and happiness of his 
 people, and the wrongs they had sustained from the usurpa 
 tions of white men, with such a bold, but faithful pencil, that 
 every auditor was soon raised to vengeance, or melted into 
 tears. The effect was inexpressible. But ere the emotions 
 of admiration and sympathy had subsided, the white men be 
 came alarmed. They were in the heart of the Indian coun 
 try, surrounded by more than ten times their number, who 
 were inflamed by the remembrance of their injuries, and exci 
 ted to indignation by the eloquence of a favorite chief. Ap ai 
 led and terrified, the white men cast a cheerless gaze upon the 
 horde around them. A nod from the chiefs might be the 
 onset of destruction. At this portentous moment Farmer s- 
 Brother interposed. He replied not to his brother chief, but, 
 with a sagacity truly aboriginal, he caused a cessation of the 
 council, introduced good cheer, commended the eloquence of 
 Red-Jacket, and before the meeting had re-assembled, with 
 the aid of other prudent chiefs, he had moderated the fury of 
 his nation to a more salutary review of the question before 
 them." 
 
 If the incident, as thus related, occurred at all, it 
 must have been at this stage of the proceedings, since 
 there was no other moment of excitement, during the sit 
 tings of this protracted council, that could have awakened 
 such a temper. But the aspect of tbe negotiation was 
 changed on the following day, by the arrival of a Tus- 
 carora runner, despatched from Niagara by Colonel 
 Butler, with tidings of the signal defeat of Little Turtle 
 and the Miamies, with their confederates, by General 
 
128 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Wayne, or Su-kach-gook,* as he was called by the sa 
 vages. The news of this event had an immediate and 
 striking effect upon the deportment of the Indians. The 
 successive defeats of Harmar and St. Clair, by the In 
 dians, in the earlier part of that desultory yet bloody 
 war, had inspired the whole race with the hope that 
 their fortunes were about taking a more favorable turn, 
 and that they might still be able to make a stand against 
 the farther advance of the whites, if indeed, by a grand 
 combination of the whole race of red men, they might 
 not one day succeed in driving them back across the 
 great water. In these hopes and aspirations the Six 
 Nations strongly sympathized ; and while the contest 
 at the West was undecided, since the arms of their 
 brethren had been twice crowned with success, the Six 
 Nations carried themselves with a considerable de 
 gree of arrogance. They were rude and saucy to the 
 white settlers, would impudently enter their houses, 
 take the prepared food from the tables without leave, 
 and commit other offences.t Their deportment was 
 rather haughty at the council until the advices of 
 Wayne s complete success were received. Indeed there 
 is reason to believe that had " The Black Snake" been 
 defeated, neither persuasions nor treaties would have 
 kept the whole Seneca nation from rushing into the con 
 test. But the complete overthrow of Little Turtle and 
 his forces at the Miamies awoke them from their dream, 
 
 * The Black Snake. 
 
 t MS. letter to the author from George Hosmer, Esq., of Avon, N. Y., a resi 
 dent of the Genesee valley at the period referred to. The valley was then thinly 
 peopled by the Senecas. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 and their demeanor was at once subdued into compara 
 tive docility.* 
 
 But farther embarrassments arose on the next day, in 
 consequence of the jealousies that had been infused into 
 the minds of the Indians, against the Cornplanter. His 
 frequent interviews with Colonel Pickering had been 
 marked, and were followed by feelings of distrust. Little 
 Billy took it upon himself to rebuke the warrior sharply, 
 telling him that he was taking too much upon himself 
 that he seemed to forget that he was but a war-chief, 
 and was transcending the bounds of his proper depart 
 ment, by partaking so largely in the conduct of civil 
 affairs. Cornplanter replied that he had exerted himself 
 many years for the good of the nation, but that if they 
 were displeased with him, or had no farther need of his 
 services, he would return home. And such was his in 
 tention. He did not appear in council on that day ; but 
 after it was opened, Colonel Pickering interposed in his 
 behalf, and in regard to the private interviews between 
 the Cornplanter and himself, assumed all the blame: 
 Cornplanter had not visited him, except when specially 
 sent for. This explanation pacified the murmurers for 
 the moment, but their suspicions were re-awakened 
 within a few days thereafter; parties were formed 
 against the warrior ; and in a council of the chiefs pri 
 vately by themselves, which was continued until near mid 
 night, his position became exceedingly critical. It is 
 necessary to note the difficulties by which the Corn- 
 
 * Letter from George Hosmer, Esq. Also conversations of the author with 
 Thomas Morris. 
 
 17 
 
130 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 planter was here environed, because of their connexion 
 with an event occurring at a subsequent period in the life 
 of Red-Jacket. 
 
 The council having already been continued many 
 days, while yet the main business of the commissioner 
 had scarcely been touched, Colonel Pickering determined, 
 on the 28th of October, to bring the whole subject-matter 
 with which he was charged, directly before the chiefs, 
 and to an issue. The council numbered more chiefs and 
 warriors, on that day, than had met the commissioner on 
 any former occasion. In the opening of a very long 
 speech, the Colonel reminded them that, notwithstanding 
 they had been there so many days, the chiefs had only 
 called his attention to two rusty spots in the chain of 
 friendship. One of these he had already brightened ; 
 but the rust of the other was thought by their chief war 
 rior to be so very deep that it could not be rubbed off. 
 This related to the great and always vexatious question 
 of boundaries. Upon this subject the commissioner took 
 an extended review of all the negotiations that had taken 
 place between the whites and themselves, during the ad 
 ministration of their affairs by Sir William Johnson, and 
 since that period, proving to them by successive treaties, 
 and by maps, the justice of the claims of the United 
 States, and the unreasonableness of their own complaints ; 
 insisting upon all the cessions of territory that had been 
 made, and recapitulating the provisions of the treaty of 
 Fort Stanwix, which had been confirmed by the Six Na 
 tions themselves at the treaty of Muskingum. Neverthe 
 less the commissioner now offered to stipulate that the 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Indians should still enjoy the privilege of hunting upon 
 all the lands they had ceded, and that their settlements 
 thereon should remain undisturbed. He added also that 
 their annuity from the United States should be increased 
 from fifteen hundred to four thousand five hundred dol 
 lars, to say nothing of ten thousand, dollars worth of 
 presents he had with him for distribution, on a favorable 
 issue of the council. In consequence of these liberal 
 propositions, the commissioner hoped the Indians would 
 cheerfully comply, and join him in digging a deep pit 
 wherein to bury all former differences, and take hold of 
 the chain of friendship so fast that nothing should ever 
 again force it out of their hands. 
 
 The Indians agreed to consider the proposals, and 
 several successive days were spent by them in private 
 deliberations. Red- Jacket had previously informed the 
 Quaker deputation why the Indians had invited them to 
 attend upon this council. Believing the Quakers to be 
 an honest people, and friends to them, they desired their 
 presence that they might see that the Indians were not 
 deceived or imposed upon. On the 31st of October, 
 while yet deliberating upon the propositions of Colonel 
 Pickering in private, a deputation of the chiefs, consisting 
 of Red-Jacket, Clear-Sky, Sagareesa,* and a chief of 
 the Cayugas, waited upon the Quaker deputies, for the 
 purpose of holding a confidential conversation. The 
 white people, and others having no business there, 
 having been excluded, Red-Jacket spoke nearly as 
 follows : 
 
 * A venerable Christian chief of the Tuscaroras, yet living, in 1841. 
 
132 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHERS : You see here four of us of the Six Nations, 
 who are assembled at this place, in the will of the Great Spirit, 
 to transact the business of the treaty. You have been waiting 
 here a long time, and often visited by our chiefs, and as yet 
 no marks of respect have been shown to you. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We are deputed by the council of chiefs as 
 sembled, to come and see you. We understand that you told 
 Sagareesa that you should not have come but at our request, 
 and that you stood ready to afford us any assistance within 
 your power. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We hope you will make your minds easy. 
 We who are now here are but children ; the ancients being 
 deceased. We know that your fathers and ours transacted 
 business together, and that you look up to the Great Spirit for 
 his direction and assistance, and take no part in war. We 
 suppose you were all born on this island, and consider you as 
 brethren. Your ancestors came over the great water, and 
 ours were born here. This ought to be no impediment to our 
 considering each other as brethren. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You all know the proposals that have been 
 made by Con-neh-sauty,* as well as the offers made by us to 
 him. We are all now in the presence of the Great Spirit, and 
 we place more confidence in you than in any other people. 
 As you expressed your desire for peace, we now desire your 
 help and assistance. We hope you will not deceive us, for if 
 you should do so, we shall no more place any confidence in 
 mankind. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We wish if you know the will of Congress, 
 or the extent of the commissioner s powers, that you would 
 candidly inform us. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We desire that what we are now about com 
 municating may be kept secret. We are willing to give up 
 the four mile path from Johnson s landing place to the Cayuga 
 Creek, agreeably to our compact with Sir William Johnson 
 
 * Colonel Pickering. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 133 
 
 long ago. The other part proposed by Con-neh-sauty to be re 
 linquished by us, that is from Cayuga to Buffalo Creek, we 
 wish to reserve on account of the fisheries, that our women 
 and children may have the use of them. We desire to know 
 if you can inform us why the triangle on Lake Erie cannot be 
 given up. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Cornplanter and Captain Brant, who were 
 only war chiefs, were the persons who attended the treaty at 
 Fort Stanwix,* and they were to have sent forward the propo 
 sals for our more general consideration. At that time Old 
 Smoke was alive, who was a man of great understanding. 
 But they were threatened into a compliance, in consequence of 
 which Captain Brant went off to Canada, desiring Cornplanter 
 to do the best he could." 
 
 The Quaker deputies replied to the committee of the 
 chiefs on the next day, but the purport of their answer 
 was not preserved in William Savary s journal, although 
 he delivered their opinion. Red-Jacket thanked them 
 for their advice, which he said " would afford them con 
 siderable strength." The chiefs having determined 
 upon their answer, the commissioner met them in grand 
 council on Sunday, the 2d of November. The business 
 was opened by Clear-Sky, who apologized for the delay, 
 which he said had been required by the importance of 
 the subject they had been considering, and the necessity 
 of preserving unanimity among themselves. Red- Jacket, 
 being the principal speaker, then rose and said, first ad 
 dressing the chiefs : 
 
 * Red-Jacket must have referred in this passage to the second treaty of Fort 
 Stanwix, viz. : that of Gov. George Clinton, held in 1789. Brant was not at the 
 treaty of 1784, held at that place, and Red-Jacket himself was. Brant attended 
 the treaty of 1789. 
 
134 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHERS : We request that all the nations present will 
 attend to what we are about to deliver. We are now convened 
 on one of the days of the Great Spirit." 
 
 Then addressing Colonel Pickering, he proceeded : 
 
 " BROTHER : You now % represent the President of the Uni 
 ted States, and when you spoke to us, we considered it as the 
 voice of the fifteen fires. You desired that we would take the 
 matter under our deliberate consideration, and consult each 
 other well, that when the chain was rusty it might be bright 
 ened. We took General Washington by the hand, and desired 
 this council-fire, that all the lines of dispute might be settled. 
 
 " BROTHER : We told you before of the two rusty places 
 on the chain, which were also pointed out by the sachems. 
 Instead of complying with our request respecting the places 
 where we told you the chain was rusty, you offered to relin 
 quish the land on Lake Erie, eastward of the triangular piece 
 sold by Congress to Pennsylvania, and to retain the four mile 
 path between Cayuga and Buffalo Creek, by which you expect 
 to brighten the chain. 
 
 " BROTHER : We thought you had a sharp file to take off 
 the rust, but we believe it must have been dull, or else you let 
 it slip out of your hands. With respect to the four mile path, 
 we are in want of it on account of the fisheries. Although we 
 are but children, we are sharp-sighted, and we see that you 
 want that strip of land for a road, that when you have vessels 
 on the lakes you may have harbors. But we wish that in re 
 spect to that land, the treaty of Fort Stanwix may not be bro 
 ken. You white people have increased very fast on this island, 
 which was given to us Indians by the Great Spirit. We are 
 now become a small people. You are cutting off our lands 
 piece after piece. You are a kind-hearted people, seeking 
 your own advantages. 
 
 " BROTHER : We are tender-hearted, and desirous of peace. 
 You told us what you would give for our land, to brighten 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 135 
 
 your end of the chain. If you will relinquish the piece of 
 land we have mentioned, our friendship will be strong. You 
 say you are not proud. Neither are we. Congress expects 
 we are now settling the business with regularity. We wish 
 that both parties may have something to say in settling peace. 
 At the time we requested a conference, we also requested that 
 our friends, the Quakers, should come forward, as they are 
 promoters of peace, and we wanted them to be witnesses of 
 what took place. We wish to do nothing private. We have 
 told you of the rusty part, which the file passed over without 
 brightening, and we wish you to take up the file again, and rub 
 it very hard. You told us that if it would not do without, you 
 would apply oil. 
 
 " BROTHER : We the sachems, warriors and others, all de 
 pend upon you. Whatever is done we regard as final and 
 permanent. We wish you to take it into consideration, and 
 give us an answer." 
 
 There was more of conciliation and concession mani 
 fested in this speech than had been anticipated. Colo 
 nel Pickering replied in a like amicable tone, urging the 
 reasons why the United States must persist in obtaining 
 the pathway along the lake shore, and between the 
 lakes. As an equivalent for a concession of this on the 
 part of the Indians, the large increase of their annuity 
 had been proposed ; and he cheerfully offered to cede 
 back to them all the lands in their former grants, upon 
 which their villages stood, although he said that when 
 he came from Philadelphia it was not expected he would 
 relinquish a single hand-breadth. In conclusion, Colonel 
 Pickering said he was becoming impatient, and he de 
 sired a speedy answer. 
 
 The proceedings of the day were closed by another 
 
136 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 funeral ceremony. Red- Jacket stated that it was a cus 
 tom among the Indians, after the decease of one of their 
 brethren, to return to the donor any present which he 
 had received in his life time as a mark of respect. In 
 conformity with this usage, he now returned to the com 
 missioner a silver gorget, belonging to one of their chiefs 
 recently dead, which had been presented to him by the 
 United States. Farmer s-Brother made a speech of 
 condolence on the occasion, and presented the customary 
 strings of black wampum to the family of the deceased. 
 On the 4th the council-fire was re-opened, and the 
 Friends, not being present, were sent for, the Indians re 
 fusing to proceed unless they were in the assembly. 
 Red-Jacket then addressed the commissioner : 
 
 "BROTHER : We the sachems of the Six Nations will now 
 tell you our minds. The business of the treaty is to brighten 
 the chain of friendship between us and the fifteen fires. We 
 told you the other day it was but a very small piece that occa 
 sioned the rust on the chain. 
 
 " BROTHER : Now we are conversing together to make the 
 chain bright. When we told you what would give us satis 
 faction, you proposed reserving the piece of land between 
 Cayuga and Buffalo Creek, for building houses,* &c. ; but we 
 apprehend you would not only build houses but towns. You 
 told us these houses would be for the accommodation of tra 
 vellers in the winter, as they cannot go by water in that season, 
 and that travellers would want a staff to help them along on 
 the road. We have taken these matters into serious con 
 sideration. 
 
 * Colonel Pickering had told them in his speech respecting the land for a road 
 four miles wide that the United States also wanted land to build taverns upon, 
 where the weary traveller might stop to rest. 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 
 
 " BROTHER : We conclude that we do not understand this 
 as the white people do. If we consent to your proposals, we 
 know it will injure us. If these houses should be built, they 
 will tend to scatter us, and make us fall in the street, by drink 
 ing to excess, instead of benefitting us. You want land to 
 raise provisions, hay, &c. ; but as soon as the white people 
 settle there, they would think the land their s, for this is the 
 way of the white people. You mentioned that when you got 
 possession of the garrisons,* you would want landing-places, 
 and fields to plant on. But we wish to be the sole owners of 
 these lands ourselves ; and when you settle with the British, 
 the Great Spirit has made a road for you. You can pass and 
 repass by water. What you want to reserve is entirely in 
 your own power. 
 
 " BROTHER : You told us, when you left Philadelphia, it 
 was not expected by the President that you would relinqish a 
 foot of land. We thank him for having left you at liberty to 
 give up what you please. You have waited with patience at 
 this council fire, kindled by General Washington. It is but a 
 very small thing that keeps the chain from being brightened. 
 If you will consent to give us this small piece, and have no 
 houses on it, the chain will be bright. As to harbors, the wa 
 ters are between you and the British. You must talk to 
 them. You are of the same color. I see there are many of 
 your people now here, watching with their mouth open, to 
 take up this land. If you are a friend to us, then disappoint 
 them. Our patience is spent. Comply with our request. 
 Dismiss, and we will go home." 
 
 Colonel Pickering rejoined, and there was consider 
 able farther discussion between the parties. The Colo 
 nel abated somewhat more of his demands, consenting, 
 on the subject of roads, to reduce his proposition to the 
 
 * The p&sts of Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit, then yet held by England, con 
 trary to the stipulations of the treaty of peace of 1783. 
 
 18 
 
138 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 liberty of constructing a road from Fort Schlosser to 
 Buffalo Creek. After a consultation among the sachems, 
 Red-Jacket said : 
 
 " We have a right understanding of your request, and have 
 agreed to grant you a road from Fort Schlosser to Buffalo 
 Creek, but not from Buffalo Creek down this way at all." 
 
 The difficulties having thus, as it was supposed, all 
 been surmounted by reason of mutual concessions, in a 
 very liberal spirit of compromise on the part of Colonel 
 Pickering, nothing farther remained but to adjust the 
 points, and prepare duplicates of the treaty for signature. 
 The whole day of the 5th was occupied by Colonel 
 Pickering and a few of the leading chiefs upon this 
 business. It was intended that the documents should 
 be executed on the 6th; but on their presentation 
 to the council, fresh difficulties broke out in regard to 
 Presque Isle. Great dissatisfaction was manifested by 
 several of the leading chiefs at the relinquishment of 
 that point of territory. Having ascertained that the 
 Cornplanter and Little Billy had received two thousand 
 dollars worth of goods at Muskingum, and two thousand 
 more at Philadelphia, as the price of Presque Isle, the 
 council was greatly disturbed, and broke up in confusion. 
 No business was transacted on the 7th, the incensed In 
 dians not yet having had time to cool. On the 8th 
 Colonel Pickering canvassed the several articles of the 
 treaty with some of the leading chiefs, and it was ar 
 ranged that it should be signed on the following day, for 
 which purpose the council assembled. But here, again, 
 
OF RED JACKET. 139 
 
 most unexpectedly, a new obstacle was interposed from 
 the hitherto fast friend of the United States, the Corn- 
 planter. The moodiness of many of the Indians had 
 been observed when the parchments were unrolled. 
 They held down their heads and manifested their dis 
 satisfaction by silence for half an hour. At length Corn- 
 planter rose and spoke as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS : I request your attention, whilst I inform you 
 of my own mind as an individual. I consider the conduct of the 
 United States, since the war, to have been very bad. I con 
 ceive they do not do justice. I will mention what took place 
 at New- York, at one particular time.* After the treaty of 
 Fort Stanwix I went to New- York under an apprehension 
 that the commissioners had not done right; and I laid before 
 Congress our grievances on account of the loss of our lands at 
 that treaty. But the thirteen fires approved of what the com 
 missioners had done, and in confirmation of it, they held up the 
 paper with a piece of silver hanging to it.f Now, Colonel Picker 
 ing, you have told us at this treaty that what was given up by the 
 British was only the land around the forts. I am very much 
 dissatisfied that this was not communicated to us before. 
 There has already been too much blood spilt. If this had been 
 known at the close of the war it would have prevented any 
 blood being shed. I have therefore told our warriors not to 
 sign this treaty. The fifteen fires have deceived us ; but we 
 are under the sachems, and will listen to what they do. 
 Though we will not sign it, yet we will abide by what they 
 do as long as they do right. The United States and the Six 
 Nations are now making a firm peace, and we wish the fifteen 
 fires may never deceive them, as they have deceived, us war 
 riors. If they once deceive the sachems it will be bad." 
 
 * At the time referred to New- York was the seat of government, 
 t The treaty with England. 
 
140 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 He then took his seat, and after a short pause said: 
 
 " I will put a patch upon what I have spoken. I hope you 
 will have no uneasiness at hearing the voice of the warriors. 
 You know it is very hard to be once deceived ; so you must 
 not make your minds uneasy." 
 
 The Eel, an Onondaga chief, thereupon rose and made 
 a warm speech in reply to the Cornplanter, exhorting 
 the sachems to abide by the decision to which they had 
 arrived. Colonel Pickering followed in an energetic 
 address, insisting that the treaty would be of little effect 
 in securing future tranquillity if signed only by the sa 
 chems. The warriors, he contended, must sign it also, 
 or he would have nothing to do with it. Two or three 
 days were spent in endeavoring to soothe the warriors 
 and bring them to terms. These efforts were ultimately 
 successful, and the treaty was finally executed by both 
 sachems and warriors on the llth of November, 1794. 
 By the terms of the treaty, the United States acknow 
 ledged the reservations to the Oneidas, Onondagas and 
 Cayugas, in their treaties with New- York ; the bounda 
 ries of the Senecas were established, and their title to 
 all the lands within the same acknowledged by the Uni 
 ted States. The Six Nations engaged never to claim 
 any other lands of the United States ; the road was al 
 lowed from Schlosser to Buffalo Creek ; a passage was 
 granted to the United States through their country, to 
 gether with the use of all their harbors and rivers. Other 
 minor particulars need not be noted.* 
 
 * For a letter from Colonel Pickering to Captain Brant, respecting this treaty, 
 and a sensible letter from Brant in reply, see Appendix C. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 It has been judged advisable to give an extended ac 
 count of this council, for several reasons. As has al 
 ready been said, it was one of the most important nego 
 tiations with the Six Nations ever effected by the United 
 States, both as to the magnitude of the council, and the 
 results ; and yet less has been known of its history than 
 of almost any other. The entire proceedings are more 
 over deemed to be interesting, as affording farther illus 
 trations of the character of the people once forming that 
 extended and daring confederacy, the terror of almost 
 half the continent, but which has now dissolved into a 
 few scattered fragments, each melting rapidly away. 
 There is one feature in the civil polity of that confederacy, 
 which is believed on no other occasion to have been so fully 
 disclosed, or so thoroughly illustrated, as at this treaty, 
 the jealousy of the Indians of the military power, and the sub 
 ordination in which it was held to the civil. It has been 
 seen that on several occasions the war-chiefs were re 
 minded, with great emphasis, of the superiority in all 
 civil affairs of the sachems, or civil magistrates. This 
 single fact shows that the untutored Aquanuschioni had 
 made no inconsiderable advances in the science of free 
 government. 
 
 Notwithstanding the untoward incidents which occa 
 sionally " disturbed the minds" of the Indians, the coun 
 cil broke up, and the parties separated, with the utmost 
 good feeling. The good men forming the Quaker depu 
 tation ingratiated themselves into the very hearts of the 
 Indians. Their mission was one of love, nor did they 
 confine their exertions to labors for the temporal benefit 
 
142 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 of the sons of the forest alone. As ministers of the 
 Christian faith, they lost no fitting opportunity of impart 
 ing to them a knowledge of the " Unknown God" whom 
 they " ignorantly worshipped." Religious meetings were 
 held by them on the return of every Sabbath, and the 
 fierce chieftains were sometimes melted into tears by 
 their discourses. Nor were the Indians alone the grati 
 fied party. The deputies studied their social relations, 
 and were often pleased with what they saw of their 
 manners, their wild sports, and the unrestrained gambols 
 of their children, as may be seen by reference to the 
 valuable journal of William Savary, already referred 
 to.* The different tribes or nations encamped by them 
 selves, and the Senecas, by far the most numerous, oc 
 cupied several camps, under separate leaders. The 
 following account of Mr. Savary s visit to one of them 
 is graphic and picturesque : 
 
 " Fifth Day, Oct. 30. After dinner, John Parish and my 
 self rode to view the Farmer s-Brother s encampment, which 
 contained about five hundred Indians. They are located by 
 the side of a brook, in the woods ; having built about seventy 
 or eighty huts, by far the most commodious and ingeniously 
 made of any that I have seen. The principal materials are 
 bark, and boughs of trees, so nicely put together as to keep 
 the family dry and warm. The women as well as the men 
 appeared to he mostly employed. In this camp there are a 
 large number of pretty children, who, in all the activity and 
 buoyancy of health, were diverting themselves according to 
 their fancy. The vast number of deer they have killed, since 
 coming here, which they cut up, and hang round their huts 
 
 * See Friends Library, vol. i. pp. 332-370. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 inside and out, to dry, together with the rations of beef which 
 they draw daily, give the appearance pf plenty to supply the 
 few wants to which they are subjected.* The ease and cheer 
 fulness of every countenance, and the delightfulness of the 
 afternoon, which these inhabitants of the woods seemed to en 
 joy with a relish far superior to those who are pent up in 
 crowded and populous cities, all combined to make this the 
 most pleasant visit I have yet made to the Indians ; and in 
 duced me to believe that before they became acquainted with 
 white people, and were infected with their vices, they must 
 have been as happy a people as any in the world. In return 
 ing to our quarters we passed by the Indian council, where 
 Red-Jacket was displaying his oratory to his brother chiefs, 
 on the subject of Colonel Pickering s proposals." On another 
 page Mr. Savary says of the orator : " Red-Jacket visited us 
 with his wife and five children, whom he had brought to see 
 us. They were exceedingly well clad, in their manner, and 
 the best behaved and prettiest Indian children I have ever met 
 with." 
 
 * On another page of his journal, Mr. Savary says they sometimes killed more 
 than one hundred deers in a day at Canandaigua, in 1794 ! 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IMMEDIATE results of the treaty General Indian pacification Death of Gene 
 ral Chapin Red-Jacket s speech of condolence The treaty of Big Tree, 
 held between the Indians and Thomas Morris, for Robert Morris and the 
 Holland Land Company Conduct of Red-Jacket The women and war 
 riors Difficulties with regard to the reservations The White Woman In 
 dian ignorance of finance, and of numbers Red-Jacket s hypocrisy and 
 duplicity Conclusion of the treaty Visit of Red-Jacket to Connecticut. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the difficulties encountered by the 
 commissioner during the protracted negotiation at Ca- 
 nandaigua, and the apparent reluctance of the Indians 
 to accede to the terms demanded, the arrangements 
 stipulated in the treaty gave, on the whole, pretty gene 
 ral satisfaction to both parties, not less to the Indians 
 themselves than to the United States. " This settle 
 ment," said one of the chiefs to Colonel Pickering, 
 " appears like a great light to us." " And to me," said 
 Colonel Pickering, in a letter to Thayendanegea, " it 
 seems like a new era."* The complaints, for the con 
 sideration of which the council was called, were re 
 moved ; and so many of the individual chiefs expressed 
 their satisfaction with the treaty, in strong terms, that, 
 farther heart-burnings and reproaches for past trans 
 actions were not anticipated. The treaty of Green- 
 
 * Appendix C. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 ville, concluded by General Wayne in the following 
 year, crowned the work of Indian pacification. Hence 
 forward, therefore, fewer occasions arose requiring the 
 national action of the Iroquois confederacy, of whom 
 Red : Jacket had now become the leading sachem, as 
 he had long been the most popular orator. But although 
 the relations of the Six Nations were thus disentangled 
 from those of the United States, yet their own peculiar 
 government remained to be administered; and what 
 with the direction of their own internal concerns, and 
 the holding of occasional councils or treaties, connected 
 with subsequent sales of portions of their remaining 
 lands, there was still business enough to keep the chiefs 
 from leading lives of unusual idleness. Nevertheless 
 the name of Red-Jacket appears on one occasion only, 
 during the three years immediately succeeding the treaty 
 of Canandaigua. 
 
 General Israel Chapin, long the Superintendent of 
 Indian Affairs for the northern department, died early 
 in the spring of 1795. He had acquired the entire con 
 fidence of the Six Nations, and shared largely of their 
 affection. In consequence of his decease, a council was 
 held at Canandaigua, in honor of his memory, on the 
 28th of April of that year. Among the chiefs in attend 
 ance were the Farmer s-Brother, Red-Jacket, Clear- 
 Sky, and others, representing the several nations, excep 
 ting the Mohawks. The following speech of condolence 
 was delivered by Red-Jacket to the son of the deceased, 
 Israel Chapin, Jr., who had served in the capacity of 
 deputy to his father for several years : 
 
 19 
 
146 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHER : I wish you to pay attention to what I have to 
 say. You will recollect you forwarded a manuscript to us, 
 informing us of the loss of our good friend. The loss is great 
 to us as well as to you. Yet you will hear what we have to 
 say, and I wish you to pay attention. 
 
 " BROTHER : We consider that we have met with a great 
 loss, we of the Six Nations, as well as the United States, 
 a person to whom we looked as a father, and a person ap 
 pointed to stand between the Six Nations and the United 
 States. It gives our minds a great deal of uneasiness to think 
 we have lost so valuable a friend, who has taken so much pains 
 to brighten the chain of friendship between the Six Nations 
 and the United States. We fear that agreeable friendship 
 will be broken up. Let us prevent its failing if we can. 
 
 BROTHER : In conformity to the good old ancient customs of 
 our forefathers, we now level the grave of our friend. We 
 gather leaves and weeds, and strew them over the grave, and 
 endeavor to banish grief from our minds as much as we can. 
 [Fourteen strings of black and white wampiim.] 
 
 "BROTHERS : You of the Fifteen Fires: Listen again to the 
 voice of the Six Nations : The man whom you appointed for 
 us to communicate our minds to has left us, and gone to an 
 other world. We are now at a loss whom to open our minds 
 to, should there be any thing to communicate from one to an 
 other. We used to reveal it to him. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You of the Fifteen Fires : We think that 
 you feel this great loss as well as we. While he had the con 
 ducting of business, it appeared as though the United States 
 sat close by our sides. If we had any thing to communicate, 
 he took it with care to the Great Council Fire. Now as we 
 have lost our guide, it troubles our minds to find out how to 
 keep up the friendship that we have had heretofore. 
 
 " BROTHERS of the Fifteen Fires : You will allow us to 
 speak our sentiments. When you have before appointed a 
 person to guide us in our business, you have chosen one to 
 give satisfaction to us, as we believe he did to you. Some- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 times there was more than he could attend to. He then sent 
 forward his son to act in his behalf. "We are well acquainted 
 with this young man, as we have frequently transacted busi 
 ness with him, and we find his mind to be good. 
 
 BROTHERS : He being well acquainted with our business, 
 and all the papers and belts of wampum being in his hands, 
 we cannot conceive of any other person so suitable to fill his 
 father s seat. His appointment would give us satisfaction, 
 We ask you to grant us the privilege of this our request. 
 
 " BROTHERS : This is the second petition of the kind that 
 we have made. But our petition before was not taken into 
 consideration. We hope now you will notice it. We think 
 the son will walk in the steps of his father." 
 
 This speech having been transmitted to the seat of 
 government, General Washington, who was yet Presi 
 dent, immediately complied with the request, and Cap 
 tain Israel Chapin was appointed to the agency made 
 vacant by the death of his father.* 
 
 The next transaction which brought Red-Jacket con 
 spicuously before the public, was the treaty of " Big 
 Tree,"t held in the year 1797. The purchase from 
 Massachusetts of the pre-emptive right to the territory 
 of New- York lying beyond the Genesee river, by Robert 
 Morris, of Philadelphia, has been incidentally men 
 tioned in a preceding chapter. Massachusetts had 
 contracted to sell tbis said right of pre-emption to 
 Samuel Ogden, his heirs and assigns, by an agreement 
 
 To John Gregg, Esq., of Canandaigua, who married the daughter of the 
 younger Chapin, I have been indebted for several parcels of letters and manu 
 scripts which have been of important service in the present work, 
 t The site of the present beautiful town of Geneseo. 
 
148 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 bearing date March 12, 1791, and on the llth of May 
 following, Ogden assigned his interest in that agreement 
 to Morris. The title to Morris was confirmed on the 
 same day by the commonwealth. The tract embraced 
 in the purchase contained about four millions of acres of 
 land, and the consideration paid by Morris was one hun 
 dred thousand pounds Massachusetts currency. In the 
 year 1792 Robert Morris sold the greater part of this 
 purchase to a company of gentlemen in Holland, since 
 known as the Holland Land Company. 
 
 By the terms of his sale Mr. Morris had stipulated 
 to extinguish the Indian title, and survey the whole tract 
 at his own expense, the company retaining thirty-seven 
 thousand four hundred pounds sterling until the fulfil 
 ment of this part of the contract. It was therefore an 
 object for Mr. Morris to procure an extinguishment of 
 the Indian title without unnecessary delay. But it was 
 not until the summer of 1797 that the Senecas, to whom 
 the territory belonged, could be persuaded to negotiate 
 upon the subject. The council was appointed for the 
 25th of August, about the middle of which month the 
 Indians began to assemble in great numbers, not the 
 Senecas exclusively, but numerous groups from the 
 other tribes came in to be fed from the stores of the com 
 missioners.* The agents of Mr. Morris were the late 
 Colonel Williamson, (agent of the estate of Sir William 
 Pultney,) and his son, Thomas Morris. The avocations 
 
 * So greatly hungered were the Indians when they came in, that they were 
 ravenous for food. Several of the oxen first killed for them were devoured raw, 
 reeking in the blood. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 149 
 
 of Colonel Williamson not permitting him to attend the 
 council, the entire duty devolved upon Mr. Thomas 
 Morris. This was not a negotiation to which the United 
 States were directly a party ; but the humane policy of 
 the government has always prompted it to appoint com 
 missioners to attend all councils of the Six Nations held 
 for the sale of their lands, subsequent to the great treaty 
 of Canandaigua, of 1794. Massachusetts, likewise, had 
 reserved the right of sending an agent to such councils, 
 to watch over the interests of the Indians. Accordingly, 
 at the treaty of Big Tree, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, 
 of Connecticut, appeared as the commissioner on the 
 part of the United States, and General Shepherd in be 
 half of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The agent 
 on the part of the Holland Company was the late Wil 
 liam Bayard, of New- York. 
 
 The council having been duly opened, the commis 
 sioners from the United States and Massachusetts pre 
 sented their credentials, and addressed the assembly, 
 declaring the object of their appointment, and assuring 
 the Indians of their desire to guard their interests, and 
 see that no injustice was done them. Mr. Morris then 
 formally opened the business for the consideration of 
 which the council had been convened, explaining to 
 them the desire of his father to purchase their lands, or 
 such a portion of them as they might be willing to sell. 
 He endeavored to persuade them that an annual income, 
 derived from the avails of such portions of their territory 
 as were not required for their actual occupation, would 
 be better for them than the retaining of a large tract of 
 
150 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 country from which they could derive no benefit, save 
 from their use as hunting-grounds ; and as such he as 
 sured them that they would be as open to them after the 
 sale, should they make it, as before. In conclusion, he 
 offered them the sum of one hundred thousand dollars 
 for the entire tract, allowing them to retain such reser 
 vations as might be required for their actual occupation. 
 But should they insist upon reservations of unnecessary 
 size, some deduction from the amount of purchase- 
 money offered must be made. The proposition having 
 been submitted, the open council was adjourned, and the 
 Indians occupied several days in private deliberation. 
 When at length they were ready to make answer, the 
 commissioners were notified and the council re-assem 
 bled. To Farmers-Brother, a chief justly enjoying 
 their confidence for his integrity, was confided the duty 
 of replying to the propositions. His speech was not 
 characteristic of the man, for it was not decided in its 
 tone. He started various objections to selling their 
 lands, and yet not absolutely declining to do so. To 
 these objections Mr. Morris replied at considerable 
 length ; whereupon there was a farther adjournment, that 
 the Indians might have yet another opportunity for pri 
 vate consultation. 
 
 On the re-opening of the council, Red-Jacket rose as 
 the organ to make known the determination of his peo 
 ple. He said they were not yet convinced that it was 
 their duty to dispose of their lands at any price. Mr. 
 Morris had said, when speaking of the little value of 
 their lands while remaining in a wild and unproductive 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 state, that the only value they had to them while in that 
 condition, arose from the consciousness they felt that 
 they owned them. The truth of this remark was ad 
 mitted by Red- Jacket, but, said he, 
 
 " That knowledge is every thing to us. It raises us in our 
 own estimation. It creates in our bosoms a proud feeling 
 which elevates us as a nation. Observe the difference between 
 the estimation in which a Seneca and an Oneida are held. 
 We are courted, while the Oneidas are considered a degraded 
 people, fit only to make brooms and baskets. Why this dif- 
 forence ? It is because the Senecas are known as the proprie 
 tors of a broad domain, while the Oneidas are cooped up in a 
 narrow space." 
 
 In his rejoinder Mr. Morris attempted to take the con- 
 . ceit out of the Seneca orator, by assuring him that the 
 consequence of his nation was much less than he sup 
 posed ; in proof of which assertion he reminded him of 
 the little consideration awarded to a deputation of their 
 chiefs, during their pacific mission to the hostile Indians 
 at the Miamis a few years before. Notwithstanding the 
 extent of their territory, they were treated with so much 
 neglect and indifference that the chiefs returned from 
 the mission deeply mortified. Red-Jacket replied that 
 the statement of Mr. Morris was true ; but, he continued, 
 the reason why they had been thus treated was to be 
 found in the fact that they were in bad company ! They 
 had made that journey to the west with the commis 
 sioners of the United States. Had they gone alone, 
 their chiefs would have been treated as Senecas should 
 be treated throughout the world.* 
 
 * The reference here is to the mission of Colonel Pickering-, Beverly Randolph 
 
152 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 A fortnight having been spent in this way, and little 
 progress made, the commissioners and Mr. Bayard be 
 came impatient, urging Mr. Morris to assume a more 
 peremptory manner, and bring the Indians to an imme 
 diate decision, one way or the other. It was in vain 
 that Mr. Morris, who understood the Indian character 
 far better than they, assured them that the course they 
 were proposing would of all others be most likely to de 
 feat their object. The commissioners insisted upon de 
 cisive steps, and Mr. Morris most reluctantly consented. 
 In answer, therefore, to a proposition from the Indians 
 that was totally inadmissible, Mr. Morris told them that 
 such a proposal required no time for consideration. He 
 refused it at once, adding, that unless the Indians were 
 prepared to make some more reasonable offer, it was of 
 no use to keep the council-fire burning any longer. 
 They might better rake it up, and terminate all farther 
 discussion. Upon this remark Red- Jacket sprang upon 
 his feet and exclaimed : 
 
 " You have now arrived at the point to which I wished to 
 bring you. You told us in your first address that even in the 
 event of our not agreeing to sell our lands, we would part 
 friends. Here, then, is my hand. I now cover up the coun 
 cil-fire." 
 
 This decision of the chiefs was received with great 
 apparent satisfaction by their people. They indulged in 
 
 and General Lincoln, to the hostile Indians at the west, in 1793. These com 
 missioners were accompanied by a deputation of Seneca chiefs, but as Red-Jacket 
 was not of their number, an account of that mission has not been given in the 
 text. Its full history may be found in the second volume of the Life of Brant. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 violent abuse of the commissioners, and of Mr. Morris in 
 particular, and made the surrounding forests ring with 
 their savage yells. Indeed, a person unaccustomed to 
 their character and manners would have trembled for 
 his scalp. Deep was the mortification of the commis 
 sioners, of Mr. Bayard especially, at this unexpected 
 issue of the experiment. He had been the most impor 
 tunate in urging the trial upon Mr. Morris, and his princi 
 pals, the Holland Land Company, were the most deeply 
 interested in the result. From the prompt and decided 
 manner in which the negotiation had been broken off, 
 moreover, he had little expectation that any thing more 
 favorable was at that time to be anticipated. Yet he 
 urged Mr. Morris very strenuously to make another 
 effort, and if possible to rekindle the fire. To these so 
 licitations that gentleman assented, upon condition that he 
 should be allowed to take his own course with the In 
 dians, without interference on the part either of the agent 
 or commissioners. 
 
 On the succeeding day Farmer s-Brother called upon 
 Mr. Morris, and expressed the hope that the failure of 
 the treaty might not cool his friendship for them. Cer 
 tainly not, replied Mr. Morris, adding that they had a 
 perfect right to refuse selling their lands. Still, he con 
 tinued, he was dissatisfied with the manner in which the 
 council had been broken up, and with the treatment he had 
 received at the hands of their warriors immediately after 
 the fire had been raked up. Such treatment he had not 
 deserved at their hands. He had been kind to them 
 ever since their acquaintance had begun. His house 
 
 20 
 
154 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 had always been open when they came to visit him, 
 and had been well supplied with food and liquor, of 
 which they had partaken whenever they came ; and at 
 the present treaty all their wants had been supplied. 
 All this Farmer s-Brother admitted to be true. He re 
 gretted that the feelings of Mr. Morris had been wounded 
 by the violent and indecorous speeches of a few of their 
 drunken young men, and lamented that the council-fire 
 had been so suddenly put out, inasmuch as it prevented 
 another meeting of the council, in which their difficulties 
 might have been explained and smoothed over. Mr. 
 Morris in his reply farther remarked that the declaration 
 of Red-Jacket, extinguishing the fire, was another act 
 of injustice toward him, though perhaps not so intended. 
 By that procedure Red- Jacket had usurped a power which 
 he did not possess, and had departed from an established 
 custom of the Indians, by which he who lighted a coun 
 cil-fire alone had a right to put it out. This council- 
 fire had been lit up by him, and he only could put it out. 
 As he had not done so, the fire was yet burning. To all 
 this Farmer s-Brother assented, assuring Mr. Morris that 
 he was glad it was so, as they could meet yet in coun 
 cil and smooth the difficulties over. It need not be ad 
 ded that Mr. Morris assented to this suggestion. 
 
 Several days intervened before this meeting could be 
 convened. Meantime Mr. Morris caused all the chief 
 women of the nation to be assembled, whom he ad 
 dressed upon the subject of his mission. He stated to 
 them the offer he had made to the sachems, and dis 
 coursed eloquently of the advantages which would ac- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 crue to themselves and their families by the annuity 
 which would be coming to them, and the comforts they 
 would be able to procure during the absence of their 
 warriors, who often flocked to the white settlements to 
 sell their skins, where they were comfortably fed while 
 their families were starving. He then distributed 
 among the women a liberal present of beads, silver- 
 brooches, clothes, and a variety of other fancy articles, for 
 which their people have a great fondness, and which were 
 received with delight. These articles, Mr. Morris in 
 formed them, were intended for distribution only after 
 the conclusion of a successful treaty. Still, as the wo 
 men had had no agency in breaking off the negotiation, 
 he thought they ought not to suffer for the misconduct of 
 their sachems, and he had consequently determined that 
 they should have the presents he had intended for them. 
 It is one of the peculiar features of Indian polity that 
 their lands belong to the warriors who defend, and the 
 women who till them, and who, moreover, are the 
 mothers of the warriors. And although the sachems, as 
 civil magistrates, have ordinarily the power of negotia 
 ting treaties, yet whenever the question of a sale of land 
 is the subject of a negotiation, if both the warriors and 
 women become dissatisfied with the course the sachems 
 are pursuing, they have the right to interpose and take 
 the subject out of their hands. The politic course adopted 
 toward the women by Mr. Morris worked like a charm. 
 In a few days after his meeting with them, as just stated, 
 he was informed that as the council-fire was yet burn 
 ing, the negotiation would be resumed, not by the sa- 
 
156 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 chems, out of whose hands the business had been taken, 
 but by the women and warriors, who had thrown them 
 selves upon their " reserved rights," and were prepared 
 to " nullify" what the sachems had done. 
 
 On a subsequent day the council was re-opened, and 
 the Cornplanter, being the principal war-chief, opened 
 the proceedings. He said the women and warriors had 
 seen with regret the misconduct of their sachems, and 
 he also censured the conduct of Mr. Morris as having 
 been too hasty. Still, he proposed that the negotiation 
 should be renewed, and he hoped it would be conducted 
 with better temper on both sides. Mr. Morris made a 
 few soothing remarks, taking upon himself a share of 
 the blame, and Farmer s-Brother, on the part of the 
 sachems, stated that these proceedings of the women 
 and warriors were in perfect accordance with their cus 
 toms. The negotiation was thereupon resumed, and 
 was prosecuted to a successful issue without farther 
 procrastination. The terms were as at first proposed, 
 one hundred thousand dollars for the tract, with such 
 reservations as the parties might be able to agree upon. 
 
 From the moment the women and warriors took the 
 negotiation upon themselves, and Cornplanter became 
 the important speaker, Red-Jacket withdrew, no longer 
 attending the council, but remaining drunk until the pro 
 ceedings were ended. Yet although the main question 
 of this treaty had been decided, difficulties fresh and 
 formidable arose in the adjustment of the reservations 
 for the different clans. The consequence of a chief de 
 pends much upon the number of warriors under his own 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 157 
 
 immediate command. Hence the different clans, with 
 their chiefs, were anxious to procure as large reservations 
 as they could for themselves, and at the same time were 
 willing to see the territories of the others reduced to 
 comparatively narrow limits. The chief having the 
 broadest domains would naturally have the largest col 
 lection of his people around him. His own importance 
 would be consequently increased, while the heads of the 
 weaker communities would be proportionately dimin 
 ished. These jealousies of aggrandizement were the 
 source of so much difficulty that the adjustment of the 
 reservations could not be accomplished in full council, 
 and in the end was only effected by a sub-council, com 
 posed of a small number of chiefs selected from the 
 several clans. Another difficulty was encountered in 
 designating the boundaries of the reservations. The 
 Indians insisted upon natural boundaries, such as the 
 rivers, hills and the courses of streams. But as bounda 
 ries like these, with which they were familiar, gave them 
 all the advantages, Mr. Morris would not listen to the 
 proposition, insisting upon the allotment to each clan 
 of such number of square miles as might be agreed upon, 
 designating the same upon a map to the view of the 
 chiefs. In only one instance did Mr. Morris depart 
 from this determination, and the result taught him what 
 might have been his fate had he allowed the principle in 
 other cases. There was a white woman named Mary 
 Jemison, who occupied a farm upon the Genesee river, 
 at a place about twenty miles southwest of Big Tree, 
 for whom the chiefs were desirous of making special 
 
158 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 provision. Mary was herself present at the council, and 
 pleaded her own case. She was truly a remarkable 
 woman. When a child, at the breaking out of the 
 French war in 1754, she had been taken prisoner by the 
 Indians in the neighborhood of Fort Du Quesne, with 
 her parents, two brothers, and other inmates of the 
 family. All were murdered except Mary. Her captors 
 were Senecas, and she was brought into the Genesee 
 country. For a season she was discontented with her 
 new situation, and devised various schemes of effecting 
 her escape. These being frustrated, she resigned her 
 self to her fate, and in progress of time became as tho 
 roughly an Indian in all her habits and feelings as Red- 
 Jacket himself. Although she had been religiously in 
 structed in her childhood, she became a pagan, and in a 
 word was thoroughly a squaw in every thing but her 
 complexion. Her life was one of vicissitude and wild 
 adventure. Her first husband was a Delaware chief, 
 with whom she resided for years in the Shawanese coun 
 try. She afterward married a Seneca chief, with whom 
 she lived until his death at the Gardow flats, the place 
 which the chiefs now prayed might be reserved for her. 
 Mr. Morris readily assented that a moderate reservation 
 should be made for her, provided the number of acres 
 Were defined. But to this she objected, stating that she 
 had various improved places, one of which was a patch 
 of corn, another of potatoes, another of beans, &c. She 
 then named certain boundaries, to which Mr. Morris, in 
 consequence of the impatience of the commissioners, 
 hastily assented, under the impression that the grant 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 159 
 
 would not exceed one hundred and fifty acres. When, 
 afterward the survey came to be made, Mary s farm 
 was found to contain thirty thousand acres of land, of an 
 excellent quality !* 
 
 There were yet other difficulties to be removed before 
 the negotiation was actually completed. Among these 
 was the arrival at the council of Young King, a descen 
 dant of " OLD SMOKE," a notable chief of the Senecas 
 many years before. Old Smoke was the most powerful, 
 as he was deemed the wisest sachem of his time. He 
 was the principal sachem, or civil chief of the nation, and 
 his word was law. When he thought proper to convene 
 a council, it was only for the purpose of announcing his 
 intentions, and none said nay to his behests. His in 
 fallibility was never questioned, and although he had 
 been dead many years, his memory was yet held in great 
 reverence. Young King, though literally a young man, 
 and of talents far inferior to Old Smoke, was nevertheless, 
 by inheritance, the chief sachem of the Seneca nation ; 
 and the usual deference secured to him by virtue of his 
 office, was greatly augmented by reverence for his de 
 scent. As chief sachem, it was necessary to the validity 
 
 * During the war of the revolution, " The White Woman s" house, for thus 
 she was designated, became frequently the quarters of Brant and Colonel John 
 Butler when making their inroads upon the frontiers of the colonies. She at 
 tended the treaty of the German Flatts, held by General Schuyler in 1775. She 
 would not throw aside her Indian costume, even after the white population had 
 surrounded her residence, but adhered to her Indian habits and customs to the 
 last. She became rich in herds and flocks, as well as in lands. One of her 
 grandsons was educated as a physician. He obtained a commission as surgeon 
 in the navy of the United States, and died a few years ago on the Mediterranean 
 station. Mary died about the year 1825, at a very advanced age. 
 
160 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 of the treaty that it should receive his assent and signa 
 ture. He was for a time utterly opposed to the sale of 
 their lands; and both the Cornplanter and Farmer s- 
 Brother assured Mr. Morris, that without his approbation 
 the work was all at an end. Still, by dint of great per 
 suasion, he was ultimately induced to sign the treaty.* 
 Another obstacle was presented by the instructions of 
 the President, General Washington, to Colonel Wads- 
 worth, who was directed to withhold his assent from any 
 treaty that did not provide for the investment of the pur 
 chase-money in the stock of the Bank of the United 
 States, in the name of the President and his successors 
 in office, in trust for the Seneca nation. It was found 
 exceedingly difficult, and in fact impossible, to make the 
 Indians understand what a bank was, and how it hap 
 pened that their annual payments should not always be 
 the same. They had no conception of the character of 
 bank dividends, or how they were accumulated. Their 
 idea seemed to be that the bank was an extensive place 
 in Philadelphia, where their money was planted, and 
 that in some years the crop would be better than in 
 others. Frequently, in after years, would they inquire 
 of Mr. Morris what kind of a crop they were likely to 
 have in a season like that. Connected with this subject 
 of finance, yet another difficulty was experienced from 
 
 * Young King died only some five or six years ago. He was engaged with 
 his warriors in alliance with the forces of the United States, during the war with 
 England of 1812 -1815, and fought bravely. By an act of Congress of 1816, a 
 pension of two hundred dollars per annum was given him, " as a compensation 
 for his brave and meritorious services, and as a provision for the wound and disa 
 bility which he received in the performance of those services." 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 their inability to comprehend the amount of the purchase- 
 money. Bat few of them could count one hundred, 
 while it was necessary to make them comprehend the 
 amount of one hundred thousand dollars. The process 
 by which only this idea could be imparted, was to take 
 a cask, and show them how many dollars it would re 
 quire to fill it, and then show them how many casks of 
 the same description it would require to contain the 
 whole amount. They were also taught the number of 
 horses it would require to draw the weight.* 
 
 It has been remarked that after the negotiation had 
 been resumed by the women and warriors, and Corn- 
 planter took the forum, Red-Jacket absented himself 
 from the council, and remained in a state of intoxication. 
 His object in thus standing aloof from the council was to 
 have the entire responsibility of the treaty thrown upon 
 Cornplanter. In his conversations with the other chiefs 
 he uniformly spoke against any sale of their lands, and 
 he opposed the treaty with great vehemence, eloquence 
 and talent. Yet his opposition was that of a demagogue, 
 and he spoke, to use an expressive metaphor of his own 
 people, with " a forked tongue." In other words his 
 opposition was insincere ; for the fact is no less true than 
 
 * The Indians of every tribe are rigidly equitable in the distribution of the 
 avails of all the lands they sell. Every member of a family, even the smallest 
 child, is entitled to, and receives, as much as the highest chief. When the di 
 vision is made, the father of the family produces as many sticks as there are per 
 sons in his household. Blankets are spread upon the ground, and pieces of coin 
 are laid by the side of each parcel of sticks, corresponding with the number, un 
 til the whole amount of the money received is fairly divided. At least such was 
 the practice before the chiefs of the Indians learned the art of being bribed from 
 the pale-faces. 
 
 21 
 
162 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 disgraceful, that after the negotiation had been com 
 pleted, he repaired to the lodge of Mr. Morris by night, and 
 told him that he had in reality no objection to the sale of 
 their lands, but yet he must seem to oppose the measure, or 
 he should lose his popularity. That popularity had been 
 acquired by opposing every land-sale that had been 
 made, and he must at least affect to continue his oppo 
 sition to the end. It has been seen that the negotiation 
 was successful. How could it have well been other 
 wise, under the circumstances, when, to those circum 
 stances, already described, is superadded the 1 fact that 
 the very leader of the opposition was a traitor to the 
 cause he pretended to defend ? But, as in other popular 
 communities, the people were the dupes. The arts of 
 the demagogue blinded their eyes to the sturdy honesty 
 of Farmer s-Brother, and the at least comparative in 
 tegrity of the Cornplanter, while their treacherous flat 
 terer became their idol. In order to manifest his appa 
 rent opposition to the treaty, he refused in council, after 
 the decision had been made, to sign it ; and yet, before 
 any signature had been made to the document, he ar 
 ranged with Mr. Morris to have a blank left for the in 
 sertion of his name afterward, desiring that the space 
 might be high up, among the first, that when General 
 Washington saw the treaty he might know that Sa-go- 
 ye-wat-ha was yet a man of consequence among the 
 chiefs of his people.* It has been related of this extra 
 ordinary dissembler, that at the treaty of Canandaigua, 
 
 * I have derived the facts of this entire history of the treaty of Big Tree, from 
 the manuscripts of Thomas Morris, and from conversations with him. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 163 
 
 daring one of his speeches, he observed Colonel Picker 
 ing to be writing, as though taking notes of what he was 
 saying. He stopped, and drawing himself up, ex 
 claimed with energetic dignity : " Look up from the 
 table, brother, and fix your eyes upon my eyes, that 
 you may see that what Sa-go-ye-wat-ha says is the truth, and 
 no lie!"* Doubtless he would have enacted the part 
 over again with Thomas Morris, at the Big Tree, had 
 there been occasion for such a theatrical display. 
 
 It was probably about the time of this year that Red- 
 Jacket made his visit to Hartford, in the state of Con 
 necticut, at the head of a small deputation of the chiefs 
 of his nation. In the several land-compromises between 
 some of the states, Connecticut had acquired the pre 
 emptive title to the section of the present state of Ohio, 
 called New-Connecticut. This territory was at that 
 time in the hands of a large association of capitalists 
 called the Connecticut Land Company, and various ne 
 gotiations were held for the extinguishment of the Indian 
 title, the Six Nations claiming the territory by right of 
 conquest. It was in connection with this matter that 
 Red-Jacket and his associates visited Hartford, where a 
 council was holden in the state-house. The documents 
 connected with this council seem to have been lost ; but 
 tradition preserves a lively remembrance of the visit of 
 the Indians, and of a great speech delivered by Red- 
 Jacket. An eminent member of the Connecticut bar, 
 afterward distinguished in the national councils of the 
 United States,t himself a member of the land company, 
 
 * O Reilly s History of Rochester. 
 
 \ Gideon Granger, Post Master General during the administrations of Presidents 
 
164 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 was wont in after years to speak with great enthusiasm 
 of the appearance of Red-Jacket on that occasion, and 
 of the speech which he delivered. " With a step mea 
 sured, firm and dignified," as he was used to relate, 
 " a countenance erect, bold and discursive, he entered 
 the vast assemblage without manifesting surprise, fear 
 or curiosity." Of the speech he then delivered, the fol 
 lowing passage was preserved in the memory of Mr. 
 Granger : 
 
 " We stand a small island in the bosom of the great waters. 
 We are encircled, we are encompassed. The evil spirit 
 rides upon the blast, and the waters are disturbed. They rise, 
 they press upon us, and the waves once settled over us, we 
 disappear forever. Who then lives to mourn us 1 None. 
 What marks our extermination ? Nothing. We are mingled 
 with the common elements."* 
 
 The history of this mission of the orator is necessarily 
 very imperfect. Brant, who took an active interest in 
 the negotiations respecting the Sandusky country, was 
 highly displeased with the course of Red-Jacket at 
 Hartford, and spoke of it with bitterness in a letter to 
 the Duke of Northumberland. Among other things he 
 states that Red- Jacket vowed fidelity to the United 
 States, and sealed his promise by kissing the likeness of 
 General Washington. 
 
 Jefferson and Madison, and afterward in the senate of New-York. He died at 
 Canandaigua in 1822, aged 55 years. 
 
 * MS. collections of J. W. Moulton. [The author has inquired diligently at 
 Hartford for the records of this council, but without success.] 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CONSPIRACY of Cornplanter against Red-Jacket Witchcraft Coraplanter de 
 feated by Red-Jacket s eloquence Farther outrages upon the Indians Mis 
 sion of Red-Jacket and others to the seat of Government Speech of Red- 
 Jacket to the Secretary of War Murder of a white man by an Indian Meet 
 ing in consequence at Canandaigua Speech of Red-Jacket His conspiracy 
 against Brant Deposition of the latter His ultimate triumph and restoration. 
 
 A MORE interesting incident, and of yet higher impor 
 tance as connected with the life, conduct, and subse 
 quent destiny of Red-Jacket, is now approached in chro 
 nological order. The unpopularity of the brave old 
 Cornplanter, for the part he had taken at several treaties 
 for the preservation of peace with the United States, 
 even at the expense of parting with large districts of the 
 Indian territory, has repeatedly been spoken of in the 
 progress of the present memoir. That unpopularity was 
 increased by each successive sale, until the chief dis 
 covered the unwelcome truth that he had lost almost the 
 entire confidence of his people. Nor is it unlikely that 
 the crafty orator of the " forked tongue" was actively 
 concerned in fomenting the jealousies which lost him the 
 popular favor. Indeed such is believed to have been 
 the fact, which Cornplanter himself was too sagacious 
 not to understand. At all events, in order, as is sup 
 posed, to recover his former influence, the warrior, 
 
166 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 knowing the credulity of his people, availed himself of 
 that characteristic, and concerted a plot by which he de 
 signed to compass the destruction of his enemies, Red- 
 Jacket in particular. It was by playing upon the popular 
 credulity that Red-Jacket had arrived at the dignity of 
 a sachem ; and the war-chief may possibly have rea 
 soned that as a victim of intrigue, injustice and ingrati 
 tude, he had a right to avail himself of the same means, 
 for his own restoration to public favor, if not to compass 
 the overthrow of his rival. Having determined upon 
 his course, " he persuaded his brother to announce him 
 self as a prophet, or messenger from heaven, sent to re 
 deem the fallen fortunes of his race. The superstition 
 of the savages cherished the impostor ; and he acquired 
 such an ascendancy as to prevail upon the Onondagas, 
 formerly the most drunken and profligate of the Six Na 
 tions, to abstain entirely from spirituous liquors, and to 
 observe the laws of morality in other respects. He ob 
 tained the same ascendancy among the confederates, 
 that another impostor, the brother of the celebrated Te- 
 cumseh, subsequently acquired among the Shawanese 
 and other western Indians ; and, like him, he also em 
 ployed his influence for evil as well as for good purpo 
 ses. The Indians universally believe in witchcraft; 
 Cornplanter s brother, in his character of prophet, incul 
 cated this superstition, and proceeded, through the in 
 strumentality of conjurors selected by himself, to desig 
 nate the offending familiars of Satan, who were accord 
 ingly sentenced to death. And the unhappy objects 
 would have been actually executed, if the magistrates of 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 1(37 
 
 Oneida, and the officers of the garrison of Niagara, had 
 not interfered. The prosecutions of Cornplanter had 
 proceeded so far that it began to be considered an art 
 ful expedient to render his enemies the objects of general 
 abhorrence, if not the victims of an ignominious death. 
 Emboldened by his success, the prophet proceeded 
 finally to execute the views of his brother, and Red- 
 Jacket was publicly denounced at a great council held 
 at Buffalo Creek, and was put upon his trial. At this 
 crisis he well knew that the future course of his life de 
 pended upon the powers of his mind. He spoke in his 
 defence nearly three hours. The iron brow of supersti 
 tion relented under the magic of his eloquence ; he de 
 clared the prophet an impostor and a cheat ; he pre 
 vailed ; the Indians divided, and a small majority ap 
 peared in his favor." " Perhaps," it is added by the 
 distinguished writer who has furnished the account of 
 this great and singular trial,* " Perhaps the annals of 
 history cannot furnish a more conspicuous instance of 
 the triumph and power of oratory in a barbarous nation 
 devoted to superstition, and looking up to the accuser as 
 a delegated minister of the Almighty." And yet it will 
 appear in the sequel that the same orator who triumphed 
 thus over the believers in witchcraft, was a believer 
 himself, or an affected believer, in the same superstition, 
 and caused the execution of at least one victim, as a 
 sacrifice to the delusion. 
 
 Red- Jacket s success in this case inflicted a blow 
 upon the influence of Cornplanter, from the effects of 
 
 Clinton s Discourse before the New-York Historical Society. 
 
168 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 which he never entirely recovered*, although he lived 
 for more than a third of a century afterward. These 
 latter years of his extended life were chiefly passed at 
 his own village, on the margin of the Alleghany river, a 
 short distance without the confines of the state of New- 
 York, and within those of Pennsylvania. He retained 
 his friendship for the people of the United States with 
 unswerving fidelity ; and espousing the Christian religion, 
 he labored zealously thenceforward to bring the Alle 
 ghany clan of the Senecas, among whom he resided, into 
 a state of civilization.* He visited Washington in the 
 winter of 1801, 1802, for the purpose of conferring with 
 President Jefferson upon this and other subjects connec 
 ted with the improvement of his people, and was in cor 
 respondence with Mr. Jefferson in relation to it, during 
 the year following. His efforts were particularly di 
 rected against the use of ardent spirits, the thirst for 
 which has ever been the bane of the Indians, and a 
 beautiful autograph letter from Mr. Jefferson to the chief 
 is yet extant.t Pennsylvania had given him a reservation 
 of nine hundred acres of choice land, upon which he be- 
 
 * The name of Cornplanter s brother, the Prophet, was Ga-nio-di-euh. He 
 began his labors in the cause of temperance in the Alleghany canton. He re 
 moved thence to the Tonnewanda i-eservation, and thence to Onondaga. After 
 Red-Jacket became thoroughly pagan in his policy, Ga-nio-di-euh, who was never 
 a Christian, attached himself to the party of the orator against his brother. Corn- 
 planter, at one time, became a religious zealot, and was in a state of excitement 
 bordering upon hallucination. During that season he too was favored with 
 visions and revelations. Statement of a chief of the Alleghany clan, to the 
 Author. 
 
 t In the author s possession, vide sketch of Cornplanter, toward the close of 
 the volume. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 came an agriculturist to a considerable extent, and re 
 sided thereon till the day of his death.* 
 
 A succession of outrages upon the Indians residing 
 along the Pennsylvania border, resulting at different 
 times in the murder of several of their people, induced 
 the Senecas and Tuscaroras in February, 1801, to send a 
 deputation of chiefs to the seat of the federal government, 
 which since the last Seneca embassage had been trans 
 ferred from Philadelphia to the city of Washington. 
 Red-Jacket was at the head of this deputation, which 
 was received formally, with an appropriate speech, by 
 the acting Secretary at War, Samuel Dexter, on the 10th 
 of February. On the llth Red- Jacket replied, setting 
 forth the business of his mission in the following speech : 
 
 " BROTHER : We yesterday received your speech, which 
 removed all uneasiness from our minds. We then told you 
 that should it please the Great Spirit to permit us to rise in 
 health this day, you should hear what we have come to say. 
 
 " BROTHER : The business on which we are now come, is 
 to restore the friendship that has existed between the United 
 States and the Six Nations, agreeably to the direction of the 
 commissioner from the fifteen fires of the United States. He 
 assured us that whensoever, by any grievances, the chain of 
 friendship should become rusty, we might have it brightened 
 by calling on you. We dispense with the usual formality of 
 having your speech again read, as we fully comprehended it 
 yesterday, and it would therefore be useless to waste time in 
 a repetition of it. 
 
 " BROTHER : Yesterday you wiped the tears from our eyes, 
 that we might see clearly ; you unstopped our ears that we 
 
 * The Indian name of Cornplanter was Gy-an-twa-ha, or " Handsome Lake" 
 He died on the 7th of March, 1836, aged upward of one hundred years. 
 
 22 
 
170 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 might hear; and removed the obstructions from our throats 
 that we might speak distinctly. You offered to join with us 
 in tearing up the largest pine tree in our forests, and under it 
 to bury the tomahawk. We gladly join with you, brother, in 
 this work, and let us heap rocks and stones on the root of this 
 tree, that the tomahawk may never again be found. 
 
 " BROTHER : Your apology for not having wampum is suffi 
 cient, and we agree to accept of your speeches on paper, to 
 evince our sincerity in wishing the tomahawk forever buried. 
 We accompany a repetition of our assurances with these strings. 
 [Strings of wampum.] 
 
 " BROTHER : We always desire, on similar melancholy 
 occasions, to go through our customary forms of condolence, 
 and have been happy to find the officers of the government of 
 the United States willing in this manner to make our minds 
 easy. 
 
 " BROTHER : We observe that the men now in office are 
 new men, and, we fear, not fully informed of all that has be 
 fallen us. In 1791 a treaty was held by the commissioners of 
 Congress with us at Tioga Point, on a similar occasion. We 
 have lost seven of our warriors, murdered in cold blood by 
 white men, since the conclusion of the war. We are tired of 
 this mighty grievance, and wish some general arrangement to 
 prevent it in future. The first of these was murdered on the 
 banks of the Ohio, near Fort Pitt. Shortly after, two men, be 
 longing to our first families, were murdered at Pine Creek ; 
 then one at Fort Franklin ; another at Tioga Point ; and now 
 the two that occasion this visit, on the Big Beaver. These 
 last two had families. The one was a Seneca ; the other a 
 Tuscarora. Their families are now destitute of support ; and 
 we think that the United States should do something toward 
 their support, as it is to the United States they owe the loss of 
 their heads. 
 
 " BROTHER : These offences are always committed in one 
 place on the frontier of Pennsylvania. In the Genesee country 
 we live happy, and no one molests us. I must therefore beg 
 that the President will exert all his influence with all officers, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 civil and military, in that quarter, to remedy this grievance, 
 and trust that he will thus prevent a repetition of it, and save 
 our blood from being spilled in future. [A Belt.] 
 
 " BROTHER : Let me call to mind the treaty between the 
 United States and the Six Nations, concluded at Canandaigua. 
 At that treaty Col. Pickering, who was commissioner on be 
 half of the United States, agreed that the United States should 
 pay to the Six Nations four thousand five hundred dollars per 
 annum, and that this should pass through the hands of the su 
 perintendent of the United States, to be appointed for that 
 purpose. This treaty was made in the name of the President 
 of the United States, who was then General Washington ; and 
 as he is now no more, perhaps the present President would 
 wish to renew the treaty. But if he should think the old one 
 valid, and is willing to let it remain in force, we are also wil 
 ling. The sum above mentioned we wish to have part of 
 in money, to expend in more agricultural tools, and in pur 
 chasing a team, as we have some horses that will do for the 
 purpose. We also wish to build a saw mill on the Buffalo 
 Creek. If the President, however, thinks proper to have it 
 continue as heretofore, we shall not be very uneasy. What 
 ever he may do we agree to ; we only suggest this for his con 
 sideration. [A Self.] 
 
 " BROTHER : I hand you the above mentioned treaty, made 
 by Col. Pickering in the name of Gren. Washington, and the 
 belt that accompanied it ; as he is now dead, we know not if 
 it is still valid. If not, we wish it renewed if it is, we wish 
 it copied on clean parchment. Our money got loose in our 
 trunk and tore it. We also show you the belt which is the 
 path of peace between our Six Nations and the United States. 
 [ Treaty and two Belts.} 
 
 " BROTHER : A request was forwarded by us from the Onon- 
 daga nation to the governor of New- York, that he should 
 appoint a commissioner to hold a treaty with them. They 
 have a reservation surrounded by white men which they wish 
 to sell. The Cayugas, also, have a reservation so surrounded 
 
172 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 that they have been forced to leave it, and they hope that the 
 President s commissioner, whom they expect he will not hesi 
 tate to appoint, will be instructed to attend to this business. 
 We also have some business with New- York, which we would 
 wish him to attend to. 
 
 " BROTHER : The business that has caused this our long 
 journey was occasioned by some of your bad men : the ex 
 pense of it has been heavy on us. We beg that as so great a 
 breach has been made on your part, the President will judge 
 it proper that the United States should bear our expenses to 
 and from home, and whilst here. 
 
 " BROTHER : Three horses belonging to the Tuscarora na 
 tion were killed by some men under the command of Major 
 Kivardi, on the plains of Niagara. They have made appli 
 cation to the superintendent and to Major R., but get no re 
 dress. You make us pay for our breaches of the peace, why 
 should you not pay also ] A white man has told us the horses 
 were killed by Major R. s orders, who said they should not be 
 permitted to come there, although it was an open common on 
 which they were killed. Mr. Chapin has the papers respecting 
 these horses, which we request you to take into consideration." 
 
 Mr. Dexter answered the deputation on tbe 16th, and 
 in the name of the President, (the elder Adams,) pro 
 mised a thorough investigation into the circumstances of 
 the murders complained of, a compliance with their 
 wishes touching an exchange of certain lands, and pay 
 ment for the horses killed at Niagara. The expenses of 
 their mission were also directed to be paid. 
 
 In the year following, a white man named John 
 Hewitt was murdered at Buffalo Creek by a drunken In 
 dian, and his surrender demanded by the civil authorities 
 of the state. This demand was resisted by the Indians, 
 and no small degree of excitement among them was the 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 173 
 
 consequence. In their own rude jurisprudence, the fact 
 of drunkenness on the part of the offender, when the 
 deed was perpetrated, could be pleaded in extenuation 
 of the crime ; whereas by the laws of the white men, 
 such a plea would be held only as an aggravation of the 
 offence. The Indians, moreover, insisted that they were 
 an independent nation, and as such had a right to the 
 entire jurisdiction of the case. Or if not, as they did not 
 exactly understand the divided and nicely balanced 
 relations existing between the United States and the 
 state governments respectively, they supposed they 
 could appeal to their Great Father the President. Buf 
 falo was at that period within the county of Ontario, 
 Canandaigua being the seat of justice. At length, after 
 several meetings between the Indians and the citizens, 
 in which the latter had vainly attempted to persuade the 
 former to surrender the culprit, a council of the principal 
 chiefs of the Senecas, Cayugas and Onondagas, was 
 convened at Canandaigua, to give the question a more 
 solemn consideration. A conference having been ar 
 ranged betwen the council and the principal inhabitants, 
 Red-Jacket, arguing against the surrender upon the 
 principles already indicated, delivered the following 
 speech, addressed particularly to the white portion of 
 his audience : * 
 
 " BROTHERS : Open your ears, and give your attention. 
 This day is appointed hy the Great Spirit to meet our friends 
 
 * For a. copy of this speech the author is indebted to James D. Bemis, Esq., 
 (for thirty years the editor of a newspaper in Canandaigua,) by whom it was first 
 published. 
 
174 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 at this place. During the many years that we have lived to 
 gether in this country, good will and harmony have subsisted 
 among us. 
 
 "BROTHERS : We have now come forward on an unhappy 
 occasion. We cannot find words to express our feelings upon 
 it. One of our people has murdered one of your people. So 
 it has been ordered by the Great Spirit, who controls all 
 events. This has been done : we cannot now help it. At 
 first view it would seem to have the effect of putting an end to 
 our friendship ; but let us reflect, and put our minds together. 
 Can t we point out measures whereby our peace and harmony 
 may still be preserved ? We have come forward to this place, 
 where we have always had a superintendent and friend to re 
 ceive us, and to make known to him such grievances as lay 
 upon our minds ; but now we have none ; and we have no guar 
 dian, no protector, no one is now authorized to receive us. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We therefore now call upon you to take our 
 speech in writing, and forward our ideas to the President of 
 the United States. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Let us look back to our former situation. 
 While you were under the government of Great Britain, Sir 
 WTlliam Johnson was our superintendent, appointed by the 
 king. He had power to settle offences of this kind among all 
 the Indian nations, without adverting to the laws. But under 
 the British government you were uneasy, you wanted to 
 change it for a better. General Washington went forward as 
 your leader. From his exertions you gained your indepen 
 dence. Immediately afterward a treaty was made between 
 the United States and the Six Nations, whereby a method was 
 pointed out of redressing such an accident as the present. 
 Several such accidents did happen, where we were the suf 
 ferers. We now crave the same privilege in making restitu 
 tion to you, that you adopted toward us in a similar situation. 
 
 " BROTHERS : At the close of our treaty at Philadelphia, 
 General Washington told us that we had formed a chain of 
 friendship which was bright : he hoped it would continue so 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 175 
 
 on our part : that the United States would be equally willing 
 to brighten it, if rusted by any means. A number of murders 
 have been committed on our people we shall only mention 
 the last of them. About two years ago, a few of our warriors 
 were amusing themselves in the woods, to the westward of 
 Fort Pitt ; two white men coolly and deliberately took their 
 rifles, travelled nearly three miles to our encampment, fired 
 upon the Indians, killed two men and wounded two children. 
 "We then were the party injured. What did we do ? We flew 
 to the treaty, and thereby obtained redress, perfectly satis 
 factory to us, and we hope agreeable to you. This was done 
 a short time before President Adams went out of office : com 
 plete peace and harmony was restored. We now want the 
 same method of redress to be pursued. 
 
 " BROTHERS : How did the present accident take place 1 
 Did our warriors go from home cool and sober, and commit 
 murder on you ? No. Our brother was in liquor, and a quar 
 rel ensued, in which the unhappy accident happened. We 
 would not excuse him on account of his being in liquor ; but 
 such a thing was far from his intention in his sober moments. 
 We are ail extremely grieved f at it, and are willing to come 
 forward and have it settled, as crimes of the same nature have 
 heretofore been. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Since this accident has taken place, we have 
 been informed that by the laws of this state, if a murder is 
 committed within it, the murderer must be tried by the laws 
 of the state, and punished with death. 
 
 " BROTHERS : When were such laws explained to us ? Did 
 we ever make a treaty with the state of New- York, and agree 
 to conform to its laws 1 No. We are independent of the state 
 of New- York. It was the will of the Great Spirit to create us 
 different in color : we have different laws, habits and customs, 
 from the white people. We shall never consent that the 
 government of this state shall try our brother. We appeal to 
 the government of the United States. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Under the customs and habits of our fore- 
 
176 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 fathers we were a happy people ; we had laws of our own ; 
 they were dear to us. The whites came among us and intro 
 duced their customs ; they introduced liquor among us, which 
 our forefathers always told us would prove our ruin. 
 
 " BROTHERS : In consequence of the introduction of liquor 
 among us, numbers of our people were killed. A council was 
 held to consider of a remedy, at which it was agreed by us 
 that no private revenge should take place for any such mur 
 der that it was decreed by the Great Spirit, and that a coun 
 cil should be called to consider of redress to the friends of the 
 deceased. 
 
 " BROTHERS : The President of the United States is called 
 a great man, possessing great power. He may do what he 
 pleases, he may turn men out of office, men who held their 
 offices long before he held his. If he can do these things, can 
 he not even control the laws of this state ] Can he not appoint 
 a commissioner to come forward to our country and settle the 
 present difference, as we, on our part, have heretofore often 
 done to him, upon a similar occasion ? 
 
 " We now call upon you, BROTHERS, to represent these 
 things to the President, and we trust that he will not refuse 
 our request of sending a commissioner to us, with powers to 
 settle the present difference. The consequence of a refusal 
 may be serious. We are determined that our brother shall 
 not be tried by the laws of the state of New- York. Their 
 laws make no difference between a crime committed in liquor, 
 and one committed coolly and deliberately. Our laws are dif 
 ferent, as we have before stated. If tried here, our brother 
 must be hanged. We cannot submit to that ; has a murder 
 been committed upon our people, when was it punished with 
 death ? 
 
 " BROTHERS : We have now finished what we had to say 
 on the subject of the murder. We wish to address you upon 
 another, and to have our ideas communicated to the President 
 upon it also. 
 
 " BROTHERS : It was understood at the treaty concluded 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 by Col. Pickering, that our superintendent should reside in the 
 town of Canandaigua, and for very good reasons : that situation 
 is the most central to the Six Nations ; and by subsequent 
 treaties between the state of New- York and the Indians, 
 there are still stronger reasons why he should reside here, 
 principally on account of the annuities being stipulated to be 
 paid to our superintendent at this place. These treaties are 
 sacred. If their superintendent resides elsewhere, the state 
 may object to sending their money to him at a greater distance. 
 We would therefore wish our superintendent to reside here at 
 all events. 
 
 " BROTHERS : With regard to the appointment of our pre 
 sent superintendent, we look upon ourselves as much neglected 
 and injured. When General Chapin and Captain Chapin 
 were appointed, our wishes were consulted upon the occasion, 
 and we most cordially agreed to the appointments. Captain 
 Chapin has been turned out, however, within these few days. 
 We do not understand that any neglect of duty has been al 
 leged against him. We are told it is because he differs from 
 the President in his sentiments on government matters. He 
 has also been perfectly satisfactory to us ; and had we known 
 of the intention, we should most cordially have united in a pe 
 tition to the President to continue him in office. We feel our 
 selves injured, we have nobody to look to, nobody to listen 
 to our complaints, none to reconcile any differences among 
 us. We are like a young family without a father.* 
 
 " BROTHERS : We understand that the President has ap 
 pointed a superintendent who is altogether unknown to us, and 
 who is unacquainted with Indian affairs. We know him not 
 in our country. Had we been consulted upon the subject, we 
 might have named some one residing in this country, who was 
 well known to us. Perhaps we might have agreed upon Mr. 
 
 * Captain Chapin was removed by President Jefferson, as here stated. Shortly 
 afterward he wrote to his friend Brant, the Mohawk chief, announcing the fact, 
 and received a reply from the latter, which, for the intelligence it evinces, and its 
 philosophy, deserves preservation. See Appendix, D. 
 
 23 
 
178 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Oliver Phelps, whose politics, coinciding with those of the 
 President, might have recommended him to the office. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We cannot conclude without again urging 
 you to make known all these our sentiments to the President. 
 
 But the eloquent pleadings of the Indians were una 
 vailing. They were compelled to surrender the offender 
 to the inexorable law of the white man, though it was 
 done with great reluctance. His name was Stiff-armed- 
 George. He was tried and convicted at the Oyer and 
 Terminer of Ontario county, on the 23d of February, 
 1803, Brockholst Livingston, one of the justices of 
 the Supreme Court, presiding ; but as the murder was 
 without pre-existing malice, and was moreover attended 
 by various mitigating circumstances, the court, the at 
 torney-general, the grand jury that indicted him, to 
 gether with many of the people of Canandaigua, united 
 in a petition to the Governor, George Clinton, for his 
 pardon. Judge Livingston, in a letter to the Governor 
 upon the subject, after stating the case, and referring to 
 the interpositions of the people in his behalf, observed : 
 
 "It is not for me to urge considerations of policy in favor 
 of a pardon ; if any exist they will occur, and be properly ap 
 preciated by those with whom this prerogative resides. It 
 may not, however, be impertinent to mention that the convict 
 is well connected ; is much beloved by his countrymen, and 
 that his situation has excited an uncommon interest and solici 
 tude in the sachems and warriors of his nation ; several of 
 them attended the trial, and behaved with great decorum. 
 Red-Jacket, one of their sachems, addressed the jury at some 
 length ; he dwelt on the hardship of making an unlettered 
 savage amenable to laws, of which, from his habits and want 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 379 
 
 of education, he must ever remain ignorant. He complained 
 of the impunity with which white men had, in various instan 
 ces, committed murders on the Indians, and particularly of the 
 outrages to which those in the neighborhood of Buffalo Creek 
 were constantly exposed. He also insisted that in this affray 
 our citizens were the aggressors. It is proper to add that 
 Judge Hosmer, Judge Atwater, and the AttorneyGeneral, 
 concur with me in recommending the Indian as a fit object of 
 mercy."* 
 
 The subject was presented to the consideration of the 
 legislature by a special message from the Governor, and 
 StifT-armed-George was not executed. 
 
 The next act in the public life of Red-Jacket presents 
 him in the character of a conspirator. Flushed with his 
 victory over Cornplanter, the principal war chief of his 
 own nation, the orator meditated an insidious blow at 
 a higher object, and sought to gratify his hate by crush 
 ing the military chieftain of the whole confederacy, the 
 renowned Thayendanegea himself. Between Brant and 
 Red-Jacket no friendship had existed since the exhibi 
 tions of cowardice and treachery by the latter, during 
 Sullivan s invasion of the Indian country, in 1779, as 
 heretofore related. They had frequently met in councils, 
 for the transaction of the business appertaining to their 
 government, and the internal relations of their own peo 
 ple, as also in their negotiations with the United States. 
 But the lion-hearted Mohawk despised him in his heart, 
 and could never meet him with cordiality, taking no 
 pains to conceal his feelings.! 
 
 * See Journals of the New-York Legislature for 1803. 
 
 t The application to Red-Jacket, by Brant, of the insulting soubriquet " THE 
 
180 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Brant, it must be borne in mind, was a resident in 
 Canada, whither he had led his Mohawks after the disas 
 trous termination of the war of the revolution. But the 
 fact of his residence, and that of his own particular na 
 tion, within the jurisdiction of another government, did 
 not dissolve the confederacy, or change its unwritten con 
 stitution. Brant had indeed offered to receive the whole 
 Six Nations in his newly acquired territory upon Grand 
 River, and many from each of the nations joined him 
 there. Still, a large majority of all the Nations, excepting 
 the Mohawks, preferred remaining in their " old seats," 
 in their own beautiful country of western New- York. 
 But the league was not affected, and Thayendanegea 
 remained the war captain of the whole. 
 
 At the time now under consideration, Brant was in 
 volved in harassing perplexities with the officers of the 
 British Colonial Government. The Grand River territory 
 had been granted to him as a place of retreat for the 
 Mohawks, by Sir Frederick Haldemand, in the name 
 and under the authority of the crown, in fee simple. 
 But as years elapsed, and the lands in that region were 
 continually rising in value, by reason of the tide of emi 
 gration that now began to roll against and around them, 
 the colonial authorities chose not so to understand the 
 
 Cow-KiLLER," has been noted in the second chapter of the present work, to 
 gether with the reason therefor. The name, moreover, must have obtained some 
 currency. Among the manuscripts of General Chapin are the proceedings of one 
 of the Seneca councils, in which The Cow-Killer is three times reported as ha 
 ving spoken at as many different stages of the proceedings. But in each of these 
 places the words Cow-Killer were crossed by a stroke of the pen, and " Red- 
 Jacket" inserted. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 grant. They held that Sir Frederick had only conveyed 
 to the Indians the right of occupancy, and that the right 
 of pre-emption was still vested in the crown. Brant re 
 sisted this construction to the utmost of his power, and 
 appeals were carried up to the parent government for 
 justice. The ministers uniformly favored the con 
 struction claimed by the Indians, but the colonial autho 
 rities as uniformly contrived to circumvent their inten 
 tions ; so that to this day the Mohawks have been ex 
 cluded from the full enjoyment of their undoubted right 
 to the soil in question. These disputes, and the exertions 
 of Brant in behalf of his people, involved him in a series 
 of troubles that continued until his death. Having at 
 tempted to lease portions of the lands to white settlers, 
 the colonial authorities, and the officers of the British 
 Indian Department, interposed, and caused him much 
 difficulty. Disaffection was also stirred up against him, 
 even among the Mohawks, by designing white men; 
 and a plot for his deposition and degradation from 
 office was matured, and attempted to be carried into 
 execution. In order to this, the Senecas, and others of 
 the Six Nations, were induced to claim a right to interfere 
 in the disposition of the Grand River lands, and also in 
 the domestic relations of the Mohawks, a right with 
 which the laws and usages of the confederacy did not 
 invest them. Brant was likewise charged with pecu 
 lation, in the management of the revenues of his peo 
 ple, a charge which he triumphantly repelled. But no 
 matter: It served the purpose of Brant s white oppo 
 nents in Canada, who were eager to destroy him, and 
 
182 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the arch-demagogue Red-Jacket became a ready instru 
 ment in their hands. In furtherance of this design, a 
 council was privately convened at Buffalo Creek, early 
 in the year 1805, under the direction of Red-Jacket him 
 self, and a few other Seneca chiefs in his immediate in 
 terest, or subject to his influence. Neither chiefs nor 
 sachems of the Mohawks had knowledge of this council, 
 although a pretended representation of that nation was 
 present, selected merely for the sake of form, from the 
 discontents, and the personal enemies of Brant, who 
 were the lowest of the people. The result of this coun 
 cil, clandestinely called and illegally constituted, was 
 the formal deposition of Brant from office, and also the 
 removal from office of all the Mohawk chiefs and sa 
 chems who were his friends. There was yet another mo 
 tive for the instigation of this measure of proscriptive 
 violence by the Canadians, who, with Red-Jacket, were 
 at the bottom of the conspiracy. The celebrated Norton, 
 a Mohawk chief, and the confidential friend of Brant, 
 was then in England, charged by the latter with a mis 
 sion to the parent government, connected with the long 
 pending controversy respecting the title to their lands. 
 Information had been received that the application was 
 likely to be crowned with success ; and those who were 
 hostile to the claim of the Indians sought to defeat the 
 measure of justice by prostrating their noblest champion 
 and most distinguished friend. With this view, having 
 effected his removal, a paper was drawn up for trans 
 mission to the parent government, disavowing the mis 
 sion of Norton, and all the claims and proceedings of 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 183 
 
 Brant. And to complete the plot, the proceedings were 
 signed by the common Indians who had been convened 
 for the occasion, in the character of chiefs, each of them 
 being promised a commission from the English govern 
 ment, for their participation in the fraud.* 
 
 But the triumph of the orator over the proud Mohawk 
 was of short duration. Although all the charges that 
 had been brought against the latter at this illegal council 
 had been fully investigated and refuted but a few months 
 before, yet the veteran chief was not disposed to sit in 
 silence under the renewal of them, or to acquiesce in 
 his own ostracism* Convening a full council of the Mo 
 hawks, including his enemies who had taken a seat in 
 the Buffalo council against him, he made a defence which 
 overwhelmed his enemies. Shortly afterward a full 
 council of the confederacy was summoned, at which, 
 after mature deliberation, the proceedings of the spurious 
 council were revoked, and the chief was restored to his 
 rank by acclamation. 
 
 * Letter of Brant to the Duke of Northumberland. Life of Brant, vol. ii. p. 
 419. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGANISM of Red-Jacket Failure of plans for Indian civilization Hostility of 
 Red-Jacket to Christianity Mission of the Rev. Mr. Cram Council to meet 
 him Speech of Mr. Cram Red-Jacket s speech in reply Rejection of the 
 missionary Errors of missionaries Difficulty of making themselves under 
 stood Another attempt to purchase the remaining lands of the Senecas 
 Speech of Red-Jacket to Mr. Richardson Causes of their hostility to the 
 missionaries Another speech of Red-Jacket Drunkenness among the In 
 dians Tradition of their first taste of the fire-waters Reflections. 
 
 THE life and conduct of Red- Jacket are now to be 
 contemplated in a different aspect. It has been seen 
 that at an earlier period of his career by twelve or thir 
 teen years, he was at Philadelphia, listening with appa 
 rent approbation to the counsels of Washington for the 
 civilization of his people, and concerting measures with 
 Colonel Pickering to that end. It may indeed be 
 doubted whether he was altogether sincere at that time ; 
 for such was the habitual deceitfulness of his character, 
 that his professions were at all times but an uncertain 
 index to the resolves of his mind. But it is of little im 
 portance whether he was sincere at the time referred to, 
 or not, nothing is more certain than that if he was not 
 a dissembler then, an entire revolution must have been 
 wrought in his views previous to the year 1805, at which 
 time, even if it had ever been otherwise, he had become 
 thoroughly pagan. From that year forward, had it been 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 185 
 
 in his power, he would have entirely cut off from his 
 people all knowledge of the Christian religion, and all 
 communication with the Anglo-Saxon race. His lan 
 guage now was, that the Great Spirit had formed the 
 red and white men distinct, that there was no more 
 reason why the two races should profess the same re 
 ligious creed, than that they should be of the same color. 
 The Indians, he held, could not be civilized ; and he 
 had now become anxious not only to resist all farther 
 innovations upon their manners, but that their ancient 
 customs should be restored.* 
 
 It is not unlikely that the ill success attending the ex 
 periments made under the auspices of Washington and 
 Pickering, aided by the persevering efforts of the Quakers, 
 might have induced the orator to abandon the project of 
 civilization in despair.t And not without show of reason, 
 since the fact is equally indisputable and lamentable, 
 that from the day on which the Pilgrims landed upon 
 Plymouth Rock to the present, the intercourse between 
 
 * MS. Collections of Joseph W. Moulton, Esq. 
 
 t The care with which the Friends watched over the interests of the Six Nations 
 on various occasions, particularly at the treaty of Canandaigua, has been repeat 
 edly mentioned in the foregoing pages. But their efforts did not end here. In 
 1796 several families of Friends were located upon the Oneida reservation, to 
 teach the ^Indians the art of husbandry, and some of the indispensable mechanic 
 arts. Their women, also, it was sought to teach the skill of household duties, 
 spinning, sewing, knitting, &c. In 1798, the Senecas, who had observed the 
 improvement of the Oneidas, requested the Friends to aid them in the same 
 way, and three families accordingly planted themselves down in the canton 
 of the Alleghany. Their presence, their instruction, and their example, were 
 of great benefit to that canton, although the progress of Indian improvement 
 has been slow. The late Thomas Eddy, of New-York, devoted himself actively 
 to this cause for several years. 
 
 24 
 
186 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the Indians and the white people has resulted in little 
 more than the acquisition by the former of the vices of 
 the latter. Red-Jacket had seen this result, and he 
 doubtless mourned over it. He had seen his people 
 melting away before the pale-faces, with a rapidity 
 foreboding their early extinction. He had learned the 
 failure of every antecedent effort to convert them, as a 
 people, to Christianity ; and he had seen that every at 
 tempt thus far made to introduce even the primary arts 
 and customs of civilization among them, had been equally 
 abortive. He had therefore become utterly averse to 
 any farther intercourse or association with the whites, 
 having arrived at the conclusion that the only means of 
 preserving his race, even for a few brief lustres, would 
 be the erection of a wall of separation, strong and high, 
 between them. Thenceforward he ever acted rigidly 
 upon that principle. He was opposed to any farther 
 sales of their lands. He was opposed to blending the 
 races by intermarriage, not unfrequently murmuring, 
 that whereas before the approach of the white men the 
 eyes of their children were all black, now they were be 
 coming blue. He was opposed to the introduction of 
 the arts of civilized life. He was opposed to the acqui 
 sition by his people of the English language. Above 
 all, he was opposed to the introduction among them of 
 Christianity. Nor indeed, speaking after the manner of 
 men, was he greatly blameable for his hostility to this 
 new religion, judging, as both he and his people in their 
 simplicity naturally would do, of the character of that 
 religion from such of its fruits as were most perceptible 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 187 
 
 to them. The irregular and reckless border-men, pres 
 sing them closely upon all sides, and setting every bad 
 example possible before them, called themselves Chris 
 tians. Those who were continually persuading the In 
 dians to drunkenness, in order to cheat or plunder them 
 before they were sober, were called Christians. And 
 the rapacious land-jobbers, who were seeking every op 
 portunity of stripping them of their territory, and who 
 were held in special abhorrence by Red- Jacket and the 
 more considerate of the chiefs, were likewise known to 
 the Indians as Christians. The orator had pondered all 
 these things ; and being unable to discriminate between 
 the nominal and the real Christian, or rather not under 
 standing enough of the nature of Christianity to know 
 that it was a religion of the heart, and that, no matter 
 by what names they were called, those only were Chris 
 tians who endeavored to live up to its principles, he 
 could perceive nothing good in the system. So far as 
 he could judge from such lights, and such examples, he 
 saw nothing better in Christianity than in his own pagan 
 ism. Hence the tone of the speech now to be intro 
 duced, which has been regarded as the ablest and most 
 ingenious of his rude forensic efforts. 
 
 The occasion was this: In the summer of 1805, a 
 young missionary named CRAM was sent into the coun 
 try of the Six Nations by the Evangelical Missionary So 
 ciety of Massachusetts. His design was to plant a mis 
 sionary station among the Senecas, and a council of their 
 chiefs was convoked at Buffalo Creek to hear his propo 
 sitions. The agent of the United States for Indian af- 
 
188 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 fairs attended the council, and the government interpre 
 ter was also present. The proceedings were opened by 
 the agent, who thus introduced the missionary : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE Six NATIONS : I rejoice to meet you 
 at this time, and thank the Great Spirit that he has preserved 
 you in health, and given me another opportunity of taking you 
 by the hand. 
 
 " BROTHERS : The person who sit& by me is a friend who 
 has come a great distance to hold a talk with you. He will 
 inform you what his business is, and it is my request that you 
 would listen with attention to his words." 
 
 The missionary thereupon opened his business in the 
 following terms : 
 
 " MY FRIENDS : I am thankful for the opportunity afforded 
 us of uniting together at this time. I had a great desire to 
 see you, and inquire into your state and welfare. For this 
 purpose I have travelled a great distance, being sent by your 
 old friends, the Boston Missionary Society. You will recol 
 lect they formerly sent missionaries among you, to instruct 
 you in religion, and labor for your good. Although they have 
 not heard from you for a long time, yet they have not forgot 
 ten their brothers, the Six Nations, and are still anxious to do 
 you good. 
 
 " BROTHERS : I have not come to get your lands or your 
 money, but to enlighten your minds, and to instruct you how 
 to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind and will, 
 and to preach to you the gospel of his son Jesus Christ. 
 There is but one religion, and but one way to serve God, and 
 if you do not embrace the right way you cannot be happy 
 "hereafter. You have never worshipped the Great Spirit in a 
 manner acceptable to him ; but have all your lives been in 
 great errors and darkness. To endeavor to remove these 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 189 
 
 errors, and open your eyes, so that you might see clearly, is 
 my business with you. 
 
 " BROTHERS : I wish to talk with you as one friend talks with 
 another ; and if you have any objections to receive the religion 
 which I preach, I wish you to state them ; and I will endeavor 
 to satisfy your minds and remove the objections. 
 
 " BROTHERS : I want you to speak your minds freely : for I 
 wish to reason with you on the subject, and, if possible, re 
 move all doubts, if there be any on your minds. The subject 
 is an important one, and it is of consequence that you give 
 it an early attention while the offer is made you. Your friends 
 the Boston Missionary Society will continue to send you good 
 and faithful ministers, to instruct and strengthen you in reli 
 gion, if, on your part, you are willing to receive them. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Since I have been in this part of the country, 
 I have visited some of your small villages, and talked with 
 your people. They appear willing to receive instruction, but 
 as they look up to you as their older brothers in council, they 
 want first to know your opinion on the subject. You have 
 now heard what I have to propose at present. I hope you 
 will take it into consideration, and give me an answer before 
 we part." 
 
 After about two hours consultation among themselves, 
 Red- Jacket rose and spoke as follows : 
 
 " FRIEND AND BROTHER : It was the will of the Great 
 Spirit that we should meet together this day. HE orders all 
 things, and has given us a fine day for our Council. HE has 
 taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine 
 with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened, that we see 
 clearly ; our ears are unstopped, that we have been able to 
 hear distinctly the words you have spoken. For all these 
 favors we thank the Great Spirit ; and HIM only. 
 
 " BROTHER : This council fire was kindled by you. It 
 
190 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 was at your request that we came together at this time. 
 We have listened with attention to what you have said. You 
 requested us to speak our minds freely. This gives us great 
 joy ; for we now consider that we stand upright before you, 
 and can speak what we think. All have heard your voice, 
 and all speak to you now as one man. Our minds are 
 agreed. 
 
 " BROTHER : You say you want an answer to your talk be 
 fore you leave this place. It is right you should have one, 
 as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish 
 to detain you. But we will first look back a little, and tell 
 you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard 
 from the white people. 
 
 " BROTHER : Listen to what we say. There was a time 
 when our forefathers owned this great island. Their seats ex 
 tended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit 
 had made it for the use of Indians. HE had created the buf 
 falo, the deer, and other animals for food. HE had made the 
 bear and the beaver. Their skins served us for clothing. 
 HE had scattered them over the country, and taught us how 
 to take them. HE had caused the earth to produce corn for 
 bread. All this HE had done for his red children, because 
 HE loved them. If we had some disputes about our hunting 
 ground, they were generally settled without the shedding of 
 much blood. But an evil day came upon us. Your fore 
 fathers crossed the great water and landed on this island. 
 Their numbers were small. They found friends and not 
 enemies. They told us they had fled from their own country 
 for fear of wicked men, and had come here to enjoy their re 
 ligion. They asked for a small seat. We took pity on them, 
 granted their request ; and they sat down amongst us. We 
 gave them corn and meat ; they gave us poison* in return. 
 
 " The white people, BROTHER, had now found our country. 
 Tidings were carried back, and more came amongst us. Yet 
 
 Rum. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 we did not fear them. We took them to be friends. They 
 called us brothers. We believed them and gave them a 
 larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased. 
 They wanted more land ; they wanted our country. Our 
 eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars 
 took place. Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and 
 many of our people were destroyed. They also brought 
 strong liquor amongst us. It was strong and powerful, and 
 has slain thousands. 
 
 " BROTHER : Our seats were once large and yours were 
 small. You have now become a great people, and we have 
 scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got 
 our country, but are not satisfied ; you want to force your re 
 ligion upon us. 
 
 " BROTHER : Continue to listen. You say that you are sent 
 to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to 
 his mind, and, if we do not take hold of the religion which 
 you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. You 
 say that you are right and we are lost. How do we know 
 this to be true ] We understand that your religion is writ 
 ten in a book. If it was intended for us as well as you, why 
 has not the Great Spirit given to us, and not only to us, but 
 why did he not give to our forefathers, the knowledge of that 
 book, with the means of understanding it rightly ] We only 
 know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to 
 believe, being so often deceived by the white people ? 
 
 " BROTHER : You say there is but one way to worship and 
 serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do 
 you white people differ so much about it 1 Why not all 
 agreed, as you can all read the book 1 
 
 " BROTHER : We do not understand these things. We are 
 told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has 
 been handed down from father to son. We also have a reli 
 gion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed 
 down to us their children. We worship in that way. It 
 teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive ; to 
 
192 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about 
 religion. 
 
 " BROTHER : The Great Spirit has made us all, but HE has 
 made a great difference between his white and red children. 
 HE has given us different complexions and different customs. 
 To you HE has given the arts. To these HE has not opened 
 our eyes. We know these things to be true. Since HE has 
 made so great a difference between us in other things, why 
 may we not conclude that he has given us a different religion 
 according to our understanding? The Great Spirit does 
 right. HE knows what is best for his children ; we are 
 satisfied. 
 
 " BROTHER : We do not wish to destroy your religion, or 
 take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own. 
 
 " BROTHER : You say you have not come to get our land or 
 our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell you 
 that I have been at your meetings, and saw you collect money 
 from the meeting. I cannot tell what this money was hir 
 tended for, but suppose that it was for your minister, and if 
 we should conform to your way of thinking, perhaps you may 
 want some from us.* 
 
 " BROTHER : We are told that you have been preaching to 
 the white people in this place. These people are our neigh 
 bors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little 
 while, and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If 
 we find it does them good, makes them honest and less dis 
 posed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what 
 you have said. 
 
 " BROTHER : You have now heard our answer to your talk, 
 and this is all we have to say at present. As we are going to 
 part, we will come and take you by the hand, and hope the 
 
 * This paragraph is not contained in the first edition of the speech, as pub 
 lished by James D. Bemis, in 1811; but I find it in the speech as given by 
 Drake, in his Book of the Indians, and also in Thatcher s Indian Biography. 
 Still, it appears to me to be an interpolation. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Great Spirit will protect you on your journey, and return you 
 safe to your friends." 
 
 It has been asserted that, when preparing for this inter 
 view, Red-Jacket supposed that possibly he might be 
 drawn into a regular argumentative discussion with the 
 missionary. Like a wary gladiator, therefore, on entering 
 upon the arena he felt disposed to measure the force of 
 his antagonist, and by a searching scrutiny of his coun 
 tenance, ascertain his intellectual calibre. For this pur 
 pose, he approached very near the person of the mission 
 ary, and by a rapid but penetrating scrutiny, soon satis 
 fied himself whether it was a great man, like Con-neh- 
 sau-ty,* with whom he was to draw the bow of Achilles, 
 or wield the shield of Ajax. His mind was quickly at 
 ease, and his apprehensions, if he had entertained any, 
 were dissipated at a glance. With a mingled and inde 
 scribable expression of countenance, smiling in scornful 
 composure, he turned away, and joined the dusky circle 
 of his own people.t Be this as it may, his reply is in 
 genious and able. Some of its figures are beautiful, 
 some of its passages eloquent. It was received by the 
 missionary, probably, with disappointment, and with 
 manifest displeasure, a displeasure which a wiser man, 
 even if he had felt it, would have concealed. Agreeably 
 to the suggestion at the close of Red- Jacket s speech, as 
 the council was breaking up the Indians moved toward 
 the missionary for the purpose of extending the parting 
 
 * Colonel Pickering. 
 
 t MS. Collections of Joseph W. Moulton. 
 
 25 
 
194 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 hand of friendship ; but Mr. Cram rose hastily from his 
 seat, and replied that he could not take them by the hand, 
 "there being," he added, "no fellowship between the 
 religion of God and the devil." These words were in 
 terpreted to the Indians, but they nevertheless smiled, 
 and retired in a peaceable manner. Subsequently, on 
 being advised of the indiscretion of his remark, Mr. Cram 
 observed in explanation, that he supposed the ceremony of 
 shaking hands would have been received by the Indians 
 as a token that he assented to what had been said. Be 
 ing more correctly informed, he expressed his regret at 
 what had so unadvisedly fallen from his lips. Still it 
 cannot be denied that the Indians exhibited better breed 
 ing, and more knowledge of human nature, than the 
 missionary. Indeed it is quite probable that Mr. Cram s 
 ill success arose in part from his own repulsiveness of 
 manner, and the want of tact, or, in other words, the 
 power of adaptation, so essential in the composition of a 
 successful missionary. It must be stated in fairness to 
 the Indians, to borrow the langugage of another,* " that 
 the missionaries are not always men fitted for their 
 work. Many of them have been destitute of the talents" 
 and information requisite in so arduous an enterprize ; 
 some have been bigotted and over-zealous, and others 
 have wanted temper and patience. Ignorant of the abo 
 riginal languages, and obliged to rely upon interpreters 
 to whom religion was an occult science, they doubtless 
 often conveyed very different impressions from those 
 which they intended ;" and the worthy and well mean- 
 
 * Rev. John Breckenridge, D. D. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 ing man who called forth the preceding pagan speech of 
 Red-Jacket, probably deserved to be classed in this 
 category. The reader will have observed, from an inti 
 mation in the speech itself, that the orator had been at 
 several of the missionary s meetings, and it has been as 
 serted of Mr. Cram that his first, or at least an early 
 sermon to the Indians, was exactly such as a wise 
 man would never have preached to such a congrega 
 tion. Instead of being a simple * discourse, brought 
 down to the level of their ignorant, and, upon such a sub 
 ject, child-like minds, presenting to them the elementary 
 principles of Christianity in their simplest and most 
 winning forms, the missionary, according to tradition, 
 gave them a long argumentative sermon upon the doctrine 
 of divine decrees, and the deep mysteries of fore-know 
 ledge and predestination.* A more repulsive therne, 
 even for many enlightened congregations reared in the 
 bosom of the church, could hardly have been selected ; 
 but that it was chosen as the ground-work of an intro 
 ductory discourse to these simple children of the forest, 
 argues a want of common sense almost too great for hu 
 man credulity. Possibly there may be error in the re 
 lation. But another circumstance was added, which 
 favors its truth. Red-Jacket is reported to have been 
 indignant at the attempt to force doctrines upon him 
 which were entirely beyond his comprehension ; and in 
 the expression of that indignation, according to unwritten 
 history, he perpetrated the only pun that is recorded of 
 
 * The author s informant is a distinguished gentleman, of high character and 
 intelligence, then o. resident of the Seneca country. 
 
196 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 him. " Not content," he said, " with the wrongs the 
 white men had done to his people, they were now seek 
 ing to Cram their doctrines down their throats," &c. 
 And yet the remark will bear repetition, that much of 
 the difficulty in this, and other similar cases, may very 
 naturally have arisen from the ignorance of the parties 
 respectively of the language and modes of thinking of 
 each other. In regard to the American Indians, in par 
 ticular, the greatest difficulty has always existed in con 
 veying any new ideas to their minds, from the barren 
 ness of their language ; and in many instances it has 
 been found impossible to convey to them the sentiments 
 attempted.* " What have you said to them ?" inquired 
 a missionary once, of the interpreter who had been ex 
 pounding his sermon. " I told them you have a mes 
 sage to them from the Great Spirit," was the reply. 
 " I said no such thing," cried the missionary. " Tell 
 them I have come to speak to them of the only living and 
 true God, and of the life that is to be hereafter : Well, 
 what have you said ?" " That you will tell them about 
 Manito, and the land of spirits." " Worse and worse," 
 exclaimed the embarrassed preacher ; and such is doubt 
 less the history of many sermons that have been de 
 livered to the bewildered heathen.t The fact is, Red- 
 
 * General Lincoln s Observations on the North American Indians, in o. letter 
 to Dr. Ramsay. 
 
 t M Kenney s Lives and Portraits of the Indians. " The Iroquois have few 
 radical words, but they compound them without end. Sometimes one word 
 among them includes an entire definition of the thing; for example, they call 
 WINE, Oneharadesehoengtseragherie,a& much as to say, a liquor made of the 
 juice of the grape. "[Colden s Six Nations. ] " The Indian language requires 
 many more words to express the meaning of the speaker than ours, as they are 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Jacket did not understand the system of the Christian 
 religion, nor did he wish to understand it. It was his be 
 lief, and it is that of the Indians generally, that they form 
 a race entirely distinct from the pale faces. They repu 
 diated the idea of a common origin of the human family ; 
 and as to the mission of Christ, and his crucifixion, they 
 cannot perceive that they are interested in the one, or 
 have any participation in the guilt of the other. In a 
 conversation with a distinguished clergyman, who was 
 endeavoring to instruct him upon the subject of the 
 Christian religion, not many years before his death, Red- 
 Jacket said : 
 
 " BROTHER : If you white men murdered the Son of the 
 Great Spirit, we Indians had nothing to do with it, and it is 
 none of our affair. If he had come among us, we would not 
 have killed him ; we would have treated him well ; and the 
 white people who killed him ought to be damned for doing it. 
 You must make amends for that crime yourselves.* 
 
 obliged to describe objects which a single English word suffices to explain. This 
 will be the more readily understood by the following statement: When Red- 
 Jacket, Farmer s-Brother, and several hundred Indians arrived at Tioga Point to 
 attend the treaty of 1790, Farmer s-Brother, after thanking the Great Spirit for 
 having permitted them to travel there in safety, narrated all the particulars at 
 tending their journey. Wishing among other circumstances to describe their 
 having made a halt at a log hut, where a kind of tavern was kept, the tavern was 
 described as a house put together with parts of trees piled on each other, and 
 to which a pole was attached to which a board was tied, on which was written, 
 " Rum is sold Here. 11 This difficulty of expressing in a few words matters 
 which in their own language required a round-about description, demanded a 
 considerable time for them, in their public discussions, to say that which the inter 
 preter would render into a few words of English." Letter to the author from 
 Thomas Morris. 
 
 * Conversations between Dr. Breckenridge and the author. See, also, Drake, 
 on the authority of W. J. Snelling. 
 
198 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 After the adjustment of the great controversy between 
 the Indians and the United States, at Canandaigua, in 
 1794, the councils of the Six Nations became of less 
 public importance. With the exception of a few reser 
 vations, of a comparatively limited extent, their broad 
 and beautiful domains in the State of New-York had 
 fallen within the greedy and remorseless grasp of the 
 white men, even before the dawn of the present century. 
 From that day to the present, the efforts of those who 
 have become possessed of the pre-emptive title to those 
 reservations have been directed to the acquisition of the 
 fee from the Indians; and so strong and persevering 
 have been the appliances to that end, that slice after 
 slice has been taken away, until but a comparatively 
 few thousand acres now remain to the Indians, the 
 scattered and disheartened fragments of the once proud 
 lords of the continent.* But after the last great sale to 
 Robert Morris, in 1797, and after the deliberate resolu 
 tion of Red- Jacket, as already stated, to repel the ad 
 vances of the whites, and, as the only means of averting 
 the progressive ruin of his people, to re-envelope them 
 in the darkness of paganism, and restore their wildest 
 barbarity, he continued inflexible in his purposes. 
 
 * These reservations are as follows : 
 
 Tonnewanda Reservation, near Niagara River, containing about . 13,000 acres. 
 
 Buffalo Reservation, near the city of Buffalo, " " . 53,000 " 
 
 Cattaraugus Reservation, near Cattaraugus Creek, " (t . 22,000 " 
 
 Alleghany Reservation, near the Alleghany River, " " . 31,000 " 
 
 119,000 " 
 
 Much of this land is among the most fertile and valuable in the State of New- 
 York. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. ^99 
 
 From the hour of arriving at that determination he 
 never in the slightest degree swerved from his resolu 
 tion, to drive away, and keep away, every innovation 
 upon the character, and every intrusion upon the terri 
 tory then remaining to his nation. In the Spring of 
 1811 an attempt was made by the New-York Company 
 holding the pre-emptive title to the reservations within 
 the Morris, or Holland Purchase, to divest the Indians 
 of their rights by negotiation and purchase. The agent 
 employed by the Company was a Mr. Richardson. 
 He met the chiefs in council at Buffalo Creek, in May, 
 and after opening his business, awaited their reply, 
 which was made by Red-Jacket, a few days afterward, 
 in the following speech : 
 
 " BROTHER : We opened our ears to the talk you lately de 
 livered to us, at our Council fire. In doing important business 
 it is best not to tell long stories, but to come to it in a few 
 words. We therefore shall not repeat your talk, which is 
 fresh in our minds. We have well considered it, and the ad 
 vantages and disadvantages of your offers. We request your 
 attention to our answer, which is not from the speaker alone, 
 but from all the Sachems and Chiefs now around our Coun 
 cil fire. 
 
 " BROTHER : We know that great men as well as great na 
 tions, having different interests have different minds, and do 
 not see the same subject in the same light, but we hope our 
 answer will be agreeable to you and to your employers. 
 
 " BROTHER : Your application for the purchase of our 
 lands is to our minds very extraordinary. It has been made 
 in a crooked manner, you have not walked in the straight 
 path pointed out by the great Council of your nation. You 
 have no writings from our great father the President. 
 
200 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHER : In making up our minds we have looked 
 back, and remembered how the Yorkers purchased our lands 
 in former times. They bought them piece after piece for a 
 little money paid to a few men in our nation, and not to all 
 our brethren ; our planting and hunting grounds have become 
 very small, and if we sell these we know not where to spread 
 our blankets. 
 
 " BROTHER : You tell us your employers have purchased 
 of the Council of Yorkers a right to buy our lands, we do 
 not understand how this can be, the lands do not belong to 
 the Yorkers ; they are ours, and were given to us by the 
 Great Spirit. 
 
 " BROTHER : We think it strange that you should jump 
 over the lands of our brethren in the East, to come to our 
 Council fire so far off, to get our lands. When we sold our 
 lands in the East to the white people, we determined never 
 to sell those we kept, which are as small as we can live com 
 fortably on. 
 
 " BROTHER : You want us to travel with you, and look for 
 other lands. If we should sell our lands and move off into a 
 distant country, towards the setting sun, we should be looked 
 upon in the country to which we go as foreigners, and stran 
 gers, and be despised by the red as well as the white men, and 
 we should soon be surrounded by the white men, who will 
 there also kill our game, come upon our lands, and try to get 
 them from us. 
 
 " BROTHER : We are determined not to sell our lands, but 
 to continue on them, we like them, they are fruitful and 
 produce us corn in abundance, for the support of our women 
 and children, and grass and herbs for our cattle. 
 
 " BROTHER : At the treaties held for the purchase of our 
 lands, the white men with sweet voices and smiling faces told 
 us they loved us, and that they would not cheat us, but that 
 the king s children on the other side the lake would cheat us. 
 When we go on the other side the lake the king s children 
 tell us your people will cheat us, but with sweet voices and 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 201 
 
 smiling faces assure us of their love and that they will not 
 cheat us. These things puzzle our heads, and we believe 
 that the Indians must take care of themselves, and not trust 
 either in your people or in the king s children. 
 
 " BROTHER : At a late Council we requested our agents to 
 tell you that we would not sell our lands, and we think you 
 have not spoken to our agents, or they would have informed 
 you so, and we should not have met you at our Council fire at 
 this time. 
 
 " BROTHER : The white people buy and sell false rights to 
 our lands ; your employers have, you say, paid a great price 
 for their right ; they must have plenty of money, to spend it 
 in buying false rights to lands belonging to Indians ; the loss 
 of it will not hurt them, but our lands are of great value to 
 us, and we wish you to go back with your talk to your em 
 ployers, and to tell them and the Yorkers that they have no 
 right to buy and sell false rights to our lands. 
 
 " BROTHER : We hope you clearly understand the words 
 we have spoken. This is all we have to say." 
 
 Thus, as in the great majority of their speeches, the 
 Indians were still endeavoring to brace themselves 
 against what they considered to be the inordinate rapa 
 city of the whites, in the acquisition of their lands. 
 This disposition of the white man to grasp at all their 
 property, with a view, as it appeared, of driving them 
 from the face of the earth, was then, as it is now, and 
 probably ever will be until the race becomes extinct, 
 the source of their jealousy, and the burden of their 
 complaint. Notwithstanding the rapid diminution of 
 their numbers, and their increasingly depressed condi 
 tion, they still felt that they were independent nations, 
 and they were tenacious of that character. They be- 
 
 26 
 
202 ^ IFE AND TIMES 
 
 lieved that they had been placed on " this island" by 
 the Great Spirit, and that he had created it for their 
 sole benefit, and they held that nobody could have a 
 right to dispossess them. Hence nothing could have 
 been more inopportune than an effort made at this 
 very council, by a missionary society in the city of 
 New-York, to establish a Christian mission among 
 them.* The former attempts had left no favorable im 
 pression upon the mind of Red-Jacket, now their prin 
 cipal civil chief. On the contrary, he had imbibed a 
 fixed and deep-rooted hatred to the system, counte 
 nancing, as he supposed, a course of policy on the part 
 of its professors that would eventually sap the founda 
 tions of the happiness, and work the ruin of his people.t 
 Least of all was it an auspicious moment to strive far 
 ther to persuade them to change their religion, at the 
 very time when those who called themselves Chris- 
 tains were renewing their efforts to dispossess them 
 of their few remaining roods of ground. Hence the 
 following reply, by Red- Jacket, to the advances of the 
 Rev. Mr. Alexander, the agent of the Missionary Socie 
 ty on that occasion : 
 
 " BROTHER : We listened to the talk you delivered to us 
 from the Council of Black Coatsf in New- York. We have 
 
 * " In discourse they spoke about preaching, and said, they wished many 
 times to hear the word of God ; but they were always afraid that the English 
 would take that opportunity to bring them into bondage. " Journal of Chris- 
 tian Frederick Post, to the Delawares of the Ohio. Proud s Pennsylva 
 nia, vol. ii. 
 
 t General Lincoln. 
 
 t So Red-Jacket was wont to call the clergy. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 203 
 
 fully considered your talk, and the offers you have made us : 
 we perfectly understand them, and we return an answer 
 which we wish you also to understand. In making up our 
 minds we have looked back and remembered what has been 
 done in our days, and what our fathers have told us was done 
 in old times. 
 
 "BROTHER: Great numbers of black coats have been 
 amongst the Indians, and with sweet voices, and smiling faces, 
 have offered to teach them the religion of the white people. 
 Our brethren in the East listened to the black coats, turned 
 from the religion of their fathers, and took up the religion of 
 the white people. What good has it done them ? Are they 
 more happy and more friendly one to another than we are ? 
 No, brother, they are a divided people, we are united ; they 
 quarrel about religion, we live in love and friendship ; 
 they drink strong water, have learnt how to cheat, and to 
 practice all the vices of the white men, which disgrace In 
 dians, without imitating the virtues of the white men. 
 Brother, if you are our well wisher, keep away and do not 
 disturb us. 
 
 " BROTHER : We do not worship the Great Spirit as the 
 white men do, but we believe that forms of worship are in 
 different to the Great Spirit, it is the offering of a sincere 
 heart that pleases him, and we worship him in this man 
 ner. According to your religion we must believe in a Father 
 and a Son, or we shall riot be happy hereafter. We have always 
 believed in a Father, and we worship him, as we were taught 
 by our fathers. Your book says the Son was sent on earth by 
 the Father, did all the people who saw the Son believe in 
 him] No, they did not, and the consequences must be 
 known to you, if you have read the book. 
 
 " BROTHER : You wish us to change our religion for yours, 
 we like our religion and do not want another. Our friends* 
 
 * Pointing to Mr. Granger, the Agent of the United States for Indian affairs, 
 who was present Mr. Parish, the Indian interpreter, and Mr. Taylor, the 
 
204 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 do us great good, they counsel us in our troubles, and in 
 struct us how to make ourselves comfortable. Our friends 
 the Quakers do more than this, they give us ploughs, and 
 show us how to use them. They tell us we are accountable 
 beings, but do net say we must change our religion. We are 
 satisfied with what they do. 
 
 " BROTHER : For these reasons we cannot receive your 
 offers we have other things to do, and beg you to make 
 your mind easy, and not trouble us, lest our heads should be 
 too much loaded, and by and by burst." 
 
 It is a fact that cannot be sufficiently deplored, that 
 men boasting of their civilization, and calling themselves 
 Christians, not only in this but in other lands, have by 
 their own vicious examples interposed the greatest ob 
 stacles to the efforts of tbose who are earnestly laboring 
 for the moral, social and religious improvement of the 
 heathen. The missionaries have found such to be the 
 fact in the Sandwich Islands. And so upon the coasts 
 of Africa, and at the missionary stations in tbe China 
 seas, and in India, the counteracting and contaminating 
 influences of the seamen and others, belonging to Chris 
 tian nations, cause the severest trials which the mission 
 aries are obliged to encounter. The natives know them 
 all alike as Christians, not understanding the difference 
 between those who are really and truly governed by 
 Christian principle, who, in a word, are Christians at 
 heart, and those who are called Christians because they 
 belong to nations known as such, albeit as individuals 
 knowing nothing of, and caring nothing about, religiSh of 
 
 agent of the Society of Friends for Improving the Condition of the Indians, re 
 siding near the Alleghany settlement, but also present at the Council. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 205 
 
 any sort. Most emphatically has such been the fact in 
 respect to the American aboriginals. To borrow a brief 
 passage, without essential variation, from the sainted 
 Milne, the faithful co-laborer of Morrison in China, the 
 meagre specimens of Christianity which they but too 
 often see among the so-called civilized men who first 
 settled around them, have not tended to produce reve 
 rence for the system. The total neglect of all religion 
 prevailing too generally in frontier settlements, even among 
 many who have at some time professed to be the follow 
 ers of Christ, the public and bare-faced profanation of 
 the Sabbath, the avarice, lying and cozening which 
 characterize their dealings, sometimes with each other, 
 and most shamefully often in their commerce with the 
 Indians, the drunkenness, loose morals, and hardness 
 of heart, in daily illustration all around them, have in but 
 too many instances steeled the Indian s soul against 
 Christianity. However earnestly the missionaries may 
 be preaching to him the excellencies of Christianity and 
 civilization, he doubts if they have any of the former, 
 and scoffs at the latter. He cannot think well of a sys 
 tem, the professed adherents of which pay so little re 
 gard to God, to truth, and to duty.* Hence the tone of 
 Red- Jacket s speeches to Mr. Cram and Mr. Alexander ; 
 hence also the kindred character of the following outline 
 of another of the Seneca orator s philippics against 
 Christianity, delivered on a similar occasion, at about 
 
 * Life of Dr. Milne, by Robert Philip, page 146. 
 
206 I^FE AND TIMES 
 
 the same period of his life with his last mentioned ad 
 dress : * 
 
 " BROTHER : I rise to return you the thanks of this nation, 
 and to return them hack to our ancient friends, if any such 
 we have, -for their good wishes toward us in attempting to 
 teach us your religion. Inform them we will look well into 
 this matter. We have well weighed your exertions, and find 
 your success not to answer our expectations. But instead of 
 producing that happy effect which you so long promised us, 
 its introduction so far has rendered us uncomfortable and 
 miserable. You have taken a number of our young men to your 
 schools. You have educated them and taught them your re 
 ligion. They have returned to their kindred and color, neither 
 white men nor Indians. The arts they have learned are in 
 compatible with the chase, and ill adapted to our customs. 
 They have been taught that which is useless to us. They have 
 been made to feel artificial wants, which never entered the 
 minds of their brothers. They have imbibed, in your great 
 towns, the seeds of vices which were unknown in the forest. 
 They become discouraged and dissipated, despised by the 
 Indians, neglected by the whites, and without value to either, 
 less honest than the former, and perhaps more knavish than 
 the latter. 
 
 "BROTHER: We were told that the failure of these first 
 attempts was attributable to miscalculation, and we were in 
 vited to try again, by sending others of our young men to dif 
 ferent schools, to be taught by different instructors. Brother, 
 the result has been invariably the same. We believe it wrong 
 for you to attempt further to promote your religion among us, 
 or to introduce your arts, manners, habits, and feelings. We 
 
 * The precise time when this speech was delivered, or the particular occasion 
 that called it forth, is not known. The manuscript, from the interpretation of the 
 old Indian linguist, Captain Parish, was obtained by Judge Moulton, from the late 
 Dr. Cyrenus Chapin, of Buffalo. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 207 
 
 believe that it is wrong for us to encourage you in so doing. 
 We believe that the Great Spirit made the whites and the In 
 dians, but for different purposes.* 
 
 " BROTHER : In attempting to pattern your example, the 
 Great Spirit is angry, for you see he does not bless or crown 
 your exertions." 
 
 Here, according to the manuscript, Red-Jacket painted 
 in the most glowing and descriptive colors the curse that 
 seemed to have descended upon all those Indians who 
 had been made the objects of pious but mistaken mis 
 sions, how imbecile, poor, effeminate, contemptible, 
 drunken, lying, thieving, cheating, malicious, meddle 
 some, backbiting, quarrelsome, degraded and despised, 
 the poor victims of civilized instruction had become, 
 having lost all the noble qualities of the savage, and 
 acquired all the ignoble vices of the whites, without one 
 solitary exception where the Indian had been bettered. 
 He then proceeded : 
 
 " But, BROTHER, on the other hand we know that the Great 
 Spirit is pleased that we follow the traditions and customs of 
 our forefathers, for in so doing we receive his blessing, we 
 have received strength and vigor for the chase. The Great 
 Spirit has provided abundance, when we are hungry we find 
 the forest filled with game, when thirsty, we slake our thirst 
 at the pure streams and springs that spread around us. 
 When weary, the leaves of the trees are our bed, we retire 
 with contentment to rest, we rise with gratitude to the Great 
 Preserver. Renovated strength in our limbs, and bounding 
 joy in our hearts, we feel blessed and happy. No luxuries, no 
 vices, no disputed titles, no avaricious desires, shake the foun- 
 
 * According to a parenthetical note in the manuscript, Red-Jacket here went 
 into a train of reasoning from analogy. 
 
208 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 dations of our society, or disturb our peace and happiness. 
 "We know the Great Spirit is better pleased with his red chil 
 dren, than with his white, when he bestows upon us a hun 
 dred fold more blessings than upon you. 
 
 " Perhaps, BROTHER, you are right in your religion : it 
 may be peculiarly adapted to your condition. You say that 
 you destroyed the Son of the Great Spirit. Perhaps this 
 is the merited cause of all your troubles and misfortunes. But, 
 Brothers, bear in mind that we had no participation in this 
 murder. We disclaim it, we love the Great Spirit, and as 
 we never had any agency in so unjust, so merciless an outrage, 
 he therefore continues to smile upon us, and to give us peace, 
 joy and plenty. 
 
 " BROTHER : We pity you, we wish you to bear to our 
 good friends our best wishes. Inform them that in compassion 
 toward them, we are willing to send them missionaries to 
 teach them our religion, habits and customs. We would be 
 willing they should be as happy as we are, and assure them 
 that if they should follow our example, they would be more, 
 far more happy than they are now. We cannot embrace your 
 religion. It renders us divided and unhappy, but by your 
 embracing ours, we believe that you would be more happy and 
 more acceptable to the Great Spirit. Here, (pointing his fin 
 ger to several whites present who had been captured when 
 children, and been brought up among them,) here, Brother, 
 (with an animation and exulting triumph which cannot be de 
 scribed,) here is the living evidence before you. Those young 
 men have been brought up with us. They are contented and 
 happy. Nothing would be an inducement with them to aban 
 don their enjoyments and adopt yours, for they are too well 
 aware of the blessings of our society, and the evils of yours. 
 But as you have our good will, we would gladly know that 
 you have relinquished your religion, productive of so much 
 disagreement and inquietude among yourselves, and instead 
 thereof that you should follow ours. 
 
 " Accept of this advice, BROTHER, and take it back to your 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 209 
 
 friends, as the best pledge of our wishes for your welfare. 
 Perhaps you think we are ignorant and uninformed. Go, then, 
 and teach the whites. Select, for example, the people of Buf 
 falo. We will be spectators, and remain silent. Improve 
 their morals and refine their habits, make them less disposed 
 to cheat Indians. Make the whites generally less inclined to 
 make Indians drunk, and to take from them their lands. Let 
 us know the tree by the blossoms, and the blossoms by the 
 fruit. When this shall be made clear to our minds we may 
 be more willing to listen to you. But until then we must be 
 allowed to follow the religion of our ancestors. 
 " BROTHER : Farewell !" 
 
 A bitter satire ! Humanity weeps that the conduct 
 of civilized men puts arguments like these into the 
 mouths of the heathen, against their own best good. 
 It is a striking coincidence tbat the Iroquois Indians 
 were first unhappily made acquainted with their two 
 greatest enemies, RUM and GUNPOWDER, by tbe rival 
 discoverers, Hudson and Champlain, during the same 
 week of the same year, 1609. While Henry Hudson 
 was cautiously feeling his way, as he supposed, into 
 the northern ocean, through the channel of the river 
 which bears his name, Champlain was accompanying a 
 war-party of the Hurons against the Iroquois, upon tbe 
 lake receiving its name from him. Hudson discovered a 
 company of the Iroquois upon tbe bank of the river, whom 
 he regaled with rum. Champlain discovered a body of 
 Iroquois warriors upon the coast of the lake, near the spot 
 afterward selected for tbe site of Ticonderoga, and 
 there first taught them the fatal power of gunpowder. 
 The tradition of the savages, as to their first knowledge 
 
 27 
 
210 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 of the former, is substantially this : Many years ago, 
 before a white skin had ever been seen, some of their 
 people who were fishing where the sea widens, descried 
 a huge object, with white wings, moving up the water. 
 They hurried ashore, and called their friends to view 
 the phenomenon. None of them could divine what it 
 was. Some of them supposed it must be a huge fish, 
 and others a monster of another sort. Onward it 
 came, growing larger as it approached. The natives 
 were terrified, and despatched runners in all directions 
 to collect their warriors. By and by living objects 
 were seen moving upon the back of the monster. As it 
 came nearer, they saw that it was a floating house or 
 castle, and that the living objects on board had the 
 figures of men, but clothed in a very different manner 
 from themselves. One of them was in red. They 
 now concluded that it was the Manitto, or Great Spirit, 
 coming to make them a visit. Their sensations were, 
 therefore, changed from fear to adoration. Instantly 
 they set themselves at the work of preparation to re 
 ceive their celestial visiter with divine honors. The 
 men prepared a sacrifice, and the women a feast. 
 They had no apprehension that the Manitto was coming 
 to them in anger, for they worshipped him in sincerity. 
 They descried from the distance various animals in 
 their Manitto s water-pavilion, and thought that perhaps 
 he was coming to bring them some new species of 
 game. While the preparations for the festival were in 
 progress, the house upon the water stopped. The medi 
 cine-men were busy with their charms, to divine the 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 import of the extraordinary visitation, and the women 
 and children looked on with awe. At length a voice 
 sounded from the vessel, speaking words in a language 
 they could not understand. They replied by a shout 
 peculiarly their own. A small canoe then left the large 
 vessel with several persons therein, one of whom was 
 the being in red. It was certainly the Manitto ! The 
 sachems and warriors formed a circle to receive him 
 with solemn respect. As the canoe touched the land, 
 the figure in red, with two attendants, stepped on shore, 
 and approached them with a friendly countenance. 
 The figure in red saluted them with a smile, and they 
 returned his salute. A passage was opened for him 
 into the circle, and his gorgeous red dress, and orna 
 ments glittering in the bright sun, were viewed 
 with delight. Surely it must be the Manitto. But 
 why should he have a white skin ? The thought 
 was perplexing ; but he was, nevertheless, regarded 
 with mingled feelings of amazement and adoration. 
 After friendly salutations had been interchanged, the 
 Manitto beckoned to one of his attendants at the canoe, 
 who brought him a lockhack,* clear as the new ice upon 
 the surface of a lake. He also had a little cup which 
 was also transparent. The Manitto then poured a 
 liquid from the bockhack into the cup, which he drank. 
 Then filling the cup again, he handed it to the chief 
 standing near him. The chief smelled it, and passed it 
 to the next, who did the same, and in this manner it 
 
 * A gourd. The reference is to a glass decanter. 
 
212 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 went round the circle, without the liquid having been 
 tasted by either. As the last man of the circle was about 
 returning the cup to the Manitto, the first chief inter 
 posed and arrested the movement. The cup, he said* 
 had been given to them to drink, as the giver had done 
 himself, and it would be offending their Great Benefactor 
 to return it to him untasted. To drink it would please 
 him, to refuse might provoke his wrath. Be the con 
 sequences, therefore, what they might, he would drink 
 the cup. It would be better for him to encounter even 
 a poisoned draught, than for the Great Spirit to become 
 angry with their whole nation. Saying which, the 
 patriotic chief bade his people adieu, and quaffed the 
 cup to its bottom. All eyes were now directed to the 
 chief in watching the effects. There was no sudden 
 change ; but no long time had elapsed before his joints 
 became relaxed, his movements grew flexible, and ere 
 long his limbs refused to perform their office. His eyes 
 closed lustreless, and he rolled heavy and helpless upon 
 the ground. The dusky group stood around him in 
 solemn thought, and the wailings of the women rose 
 upon the gale. He became motionless, and they sup 
 posed him dead. But perceiving afterward, from the 
 heaving of his chest, that he yet breathed, their grief 
 was abated, and they watched anxiously the result, 
 not daring, of course, to breathe a murmur against the 
 Great Spirit, whatever that result might be. After a 
 long time, their chief began to revive. He rose upon 
 his seat, rubbed his eyes, and at length sprang joyously 
 upon his feet. He declared that he had experienced 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 213 
 
 the most delightful sensations while in the trance. He 
 had seen visions, and had never been more happy. He 
 requested another draught ; and encouraged by his ex 
 ample, the liquor was poured out for them all. They 
 all partook of the ravishing cup, -and all became in 
 toxicated.* 
 
 Fatal indeed was that cup ! From the hour when they 
 first tasted the maddening poison to the present, their thirst 
 for it has not abated. In vain have their best advisers 
 and teachers admonished them against it. In vain have 
 humane legislatures endeavored to prohibit its introduc 
 tion among them. In vain have their own Councils, 
 when sober, passed decrees against it. And equally 
 vain have been the most eloquent and pathetic appeals 
 of their women against it; whenever and wherever 
 they can lay their hands upon the fire-water, they are 
 sure to drink it. Two hundred years ago, the clergy, 
 and all good men, deplored the evil as deeply as their 
 successors do at this day. With equal vehemence did 
 they then, as now, inveigh against the conduct of the 
 white men, who, knowing their infirmity, supply them 
 with the poison. " Those," says Charlevoix, writing in 
 1721, " who perhaps have greatest reason to reproach 
 themselves with the horrors of Indian intoxication, are 
 the first to ask whether they are Christians. One might 
 answer them, yes, they are Christians, and new con 
 verts, knowing not what they do ; but those who, in cold 
 blood, and with a perfect knowledge of what they are 
 
 * MS. in the New-York Historical Society. Heckewelder, vol. i. Phila 
 delphia Philosophical Transactions. 
 
214 !FE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 about, reduce, from sordid motives of avarice, these 
 simple people to this condition, can they be imagined to 
 have any religion at all ? We certainly know that an 
 Indian will give all he is worth for one glass of brandy. 
 This is strong temptation to dealers, against which 
 neither the exclamations of their pastors, nor the zeal 
 and authority of the magistrate, nor respect for the 
 laws, nor the severity of divine justice, nor the dread of 
 the judgments of the Almighty, nor the thoughts of a 
 hell hereafter, of which these barbarians exhibit a very 
 striking picture, have been able to avail."* 
 
 * Charlevoix Voyage to North America. Letter viii. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MOVEMENTS of Tecumseh and the Prophet, Elskawatwa, among the western na 
 tions The young Senecas eager to join them The government of the United 
 States admonished by Red-Jacket His speech to the Secretary of War 
 Battle of Tippecanoe Conduct of the Prophet War of 1812 with England 
 Council of the Six Nations at Buffalo Speech of Granger, the agent Red- 
 Jacket s reply Senecas declare themselves neutral Active hostilities The 
 Senecas declare war General Alexander Smyth General Lewis invites the 
 Senecas to join him Their arrival at Fort Niagara Murder of Lieutenant 
 Eldridge Invasion of Black Rock by the enemy under Colonel Bishop Re 
 pulsed by General Porter s volunteers and Indians Death of Colonel Bishop 
 Smart affair of the Indians and volunteers near Fort George. 
 
 THE reader will probably be surprised to discover 
 the name of Red-Jacket in connexion with the Indian 
 war between the United States and the Shawanese, and 
 other powerful tribes of the West, under the celebrated 
 Tecumseh, in the year 1811. Like the great Pomatecom, 
 the Wampanoag,* of the eastern Indians, and Pontiac 
 the Ottawa, and Brant the Mohawk, Tecumseh, with the 
 aid of his brother, Elskawatwa,t had for years been 
 laboring to form a vast league of the western and south- 
 
 * Philip of Pokanoket, commonly called King Philip. 
 
 t This name, according to Schoolcraft, signifies " A-Jire-that-moves-from-ptace- 
 to-place." The orthography of Elskawatwa s name has been variously changed 
 by recent writers. Cushing, in his Life of Harrison, writes it Ol-li-wa-chi-ca, 
 upon what authority I know not. In the absence of a reason for the change, the 
 primitive name is preferred. 
 
216 I-IFE AND TIMES 
 
 western Indians, in the vain expectation that they might 
 be able to arrest the farther advances of the white popu 
 lation. Those Indians were then, as they ever had 
 been since the conquest of Canada from the French, 
 more under the influence of the British officers in the 
 north-west, and of the British Fur Companies and tra 
 ders, than under that of the Americans. Notwithstanding 
 all the friendly advances of the Americans toward them, 
 prior and subsequent to the war of 1789 1795, ended 
 by General Wayne at the battle of the Miamis and the 
 treaty of Greenville, their attachment to England was 
 much stronger than to the United States, and the move 
 ments of Tecumseh were evidently not looked upon with 
 an unfavorable eye by the British provincial authorities 
 in the remote interior, inasmuch as the relations between 
 the United States and Great Britain were at that time 
 critical, and evidently verging toward a war. The 
 Prophet had begun to collect his warriors as early as 
 1808, and in 1810 Tecumseh assumed a semi-hostile 
 attitude toward General Harrison, in a council held at 
 Vincennes. The elements of the succeeding storm 
 thenceforward gathered rapidly ; and although the Uni 
 ted States had vastly increased in numbers and strength 
 since the Indians were overwhelmed at the Miamis, yet 
 the white settlements immediately upon the borders 
 were in as great peril as were the borderers twenty 
 years before. For many months, therefore, during these 
 movements of Tecumseh and his brother, the homes of 
 the frontier settlers were those of peril. They were in 
 daily apprehension that their paths would be ambushed. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 217 
 
 At every rustling leaf the mother pressed her infant 
 more closely to her bosom. The yells of savage ven 
 geance and the shrieks of torture seemed again in 
 fancy to sigh upon the west winds, and mingle with 
 every echo from the mountains. Families retired to 
 rest, not knowing but that the war-whoop should wake 
 the sleep of the cradle, or that the darkness of mid 
 night might not glitter with the blaze of their own dwel 
 lings.* 
 
 It has been seen in the glances heretofore given of 
 the former Indian wars, ended by General Wayne, that 
 notwithstanding the friendship of most of the Seneca 
 chiefs for the United States, many of their warriors, 
 especially their young men, would steal away and join 
 themselves to the forces of the Little Turtle and his 
 allies ; and although sixteen years of peace had inter 
 vened since the treaty of Greenville, and the Senecas 
 had been living in close proximity, and upon cordial 
 terms, with the white settlers of New- York, by whom they 
 were now completely surrounded, yet no sooner did 
 they scent blood upon the western gales than numbers 
 of their warriors again stole away and joined themselves 
 to the forces of Tecumseh and the Prophet.f The fact 
 of this intercommunication between the Senecas and the 
 warriors of Tecumseh could not of course be kept from 
 the knowledge of the chiefs of the former, and it is due 
 to Red-Jacket to place the fact upon record, that he was 
 
 * Speech of Fisher Ames on the British Treaty. 
 
 t MS. Letter of George Hosmer to Henry O Reilly, Esq., author of History of 
 Rochester. 
 
 28 
 
218 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 true to the United States in regard to those transactions, 
 and that as early as 1809 he gave information to the In 
 dian Agent of the gatherings of the western tribes, and 
 the organization of another extensive league, for the 
 avowed purpose, in their own councils, of war. Very 
 early in the year 1810, Red-Jacket visited the city of 
 Washington at the head of a delegation of his people, 
 attended by Erastus Granger the Agent, and Captain 
 Parish the interpreter. During this visit, viz., on the 
 13th of February, Red-Jacket delivered a speech to the 
 Secretary at War, of which the following passage has 
 been preserved in the archives of the Department : 
 
 " BROTHER : At the time we were making bright the chain 
 of friendship at Canandaigua, the commissioner on your part 
 told us that the time might come when your enemies would 
 endeavor to disturb our minds, and do away the friendship we 
 had there formed with you. That time, Brother, has already 
 arrived. Since you have had some disputes with the British 
 government, their agents in Canada have not only endeavored 
 to make the Indians at the westward your enemies, but they 
 have sent a war-belt among our warriors, to poison their 
 minds, and make them break their faith with you. This belt 
 we exhibited to your agents in council, and then sent it to the 
 place whence it came, never more to be seen among us. At 
 the same time we had information that the British had circu 
 lated war-belts among the western Indians, and within your 
 territory. We rested not, but called a general council of the 
 Six Nations, and resolved to let our voice be heard among our 
 western brethren, and destroy the effects of the poison scat 
 tered among them. We have twice sent large deputations to 
 their council fire, for the purpose of making their minds strong 
 in their friendship with your nation ; and, in the event of a 
 war between the white people, to sit still on their seats, and 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 219 
 
 take no part on either side. So far as our voice has been 
 heard, they have agreed to hearken unto our counsel, and re 
 main at peace with your nation. 
 
 " BROTHER : If a war should take place, we hope you will 
 inform us of it through your agents, and we will continue to 
 exert our influence with all the Indians with whom we are 
 acquainted, that they will sit still upon their seats, and culti 
 vate friendship with your people." 
 
 Of these two councils to which Red-Jacket referred 
 in this speech, they having been probably composed ex 
 clusively of Indians, no written memorials have been pre 
 served. Yet it is stated that at about that period 
 there was held at Detroit, or in its vicinity, perhaps the 
 largest Indian Council that had been known in many 
 years, at which were assembled deputations from all 
 the tribes and nations of the upper lakes, and to which 
 the Senecas sent a strong representation with Red- 
 Jacket at its head. The first day of the council there 
 arose a question of the right of precedence in debate, 
 a point of honor most tenaciously regarded. It was 
 claimed by the Wyandots, and supported by their 
 ablest chiefs, to whom Red-Jacket replied, displaying a 
 knowledge of the history of the several tribes, and pow 
 ers of oratory, particularly of invective, which accord 
 ing to an eye-witness, who understood the language per 
 fectly, were truly wonderful. At least his speech was 
 so overpowering that no one attempted a reply, and 
 the rank of the Senecas was yielded to them without 
 farther contention.* 
 
 * Letter to the author from Hon. Albert H. Tracy. 
 
220 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 This may very likely have been one of the Councils 
 to which Red- Jacket referred in his speech to the Secre 
 tary of War, in which the Seneca chiefs endeavored 
 to dissuade Tecumseh from a farther prosecution of his 
 designs. But those pacific counsels were of no avail. 
 The storm of war broke out in 1811, but was summa 
 rily ended, for that year at least, by General William 
 Henry Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, at the head 
 of a division of United States troops, and several corps 
 of western volunteers, on the bloody field of Tippe- 
 canoe. The action was fierce, and many of the noblest 
 spirits of the west fell. But the victory was decisive.* 
 Tecumseh was not himself in this battle, having been 
 
 * The battle of Tippecanoe was fought on the Wabash, near the Prophet s- 
 Town, on the 7th of November, 1811. The forces of Governor Harrison con 
 sisted of a body of Kentucky and Indiana militia, and the 4th U. S. Regiment, 
 under Colonel Boyd. The straggling Indians whom they saw on the march 
 toward the town had behaved in a very threatening mai.ner, so much so that 
 it was the strong desire of Colonel Daviess and the officers generally, that 
 Harrison should proceed and attack the town, on the afternoon of the 6th ; but 
 the Governor s orders were peremptory not to fight, if hostilities could possibly 
 be avoided, and as he was met near the town by several chiefs, disclaiming all 
 hostile designs, and making offers of peace and submission, the Governor, after 
 carefully reconnoitering the country, selected an advantageous position, and en 
 camped for the night. At four in the morning, just after the Governor had risen 
 and dressed, while engaged in conversation with his military family, the attack 
 was commenced, the Indians, to the number of from six to eight hundred, hav 
 ing crept stealthily up to his very outposts. The camp was furiously assailed on 
 all sides, and a bloody and doubtful contest ensued. It was not until after sun 
 rise that the Indians were finally repulsed, with the loss, on the part of the 
 Americans, of sixty-two killed and one hundred and thirty-six wounded, and a 
 still greater loss on the side of the Indians. Colonel Daviess, a distinguished 
 lawyer, a volunteer from Kentucky, Colonel White, and several other valuable 
 officers, fell on this occasion. Governor Harrison, having destroyed the Pro 
 phet s-town, and thrown up some fortifications, returned to Vincennes. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 221 
 
 absent on a visit to the Creeks, whom he was endeavoring 
 to persuade to take up the hatchet. The Indians were com 
 manded by White-Loon, Stone-Eater, and Winemac, a 
 Potawatamie chief who had been with General Harrison 
 on his march, and at Fort Harrison, making great profes 
 sions of friendship. Their master-spirit was the Prophet 
 himself, Elskawatwa. Not that he was actually in the 
 battle, since " he kept himself secure on an adjacent 
 eminence, singing a war-song. He had told his follow 
 ers that the Great Spirit would render the army of the 
 Americans unavailing, and that their bullets would not 
 hurt the Indians, who would have light while their ene 
 mies would be involved in thick darkness. Soon after 
 the battle commenced he was informed that his braves 
 were falling. He told them to fight on, assuring them 
 that it would be as he had predicted, and then began to 
 sing in louder tones."* Numbers of the young Seneca 
 warriors were engaged in this battle. 
 
 * Dawson s Life of General William Henry Harrison. The Prophet was 
 frequently engaged in practicing incantations and infernal rites and conjurations. 
 There is no better method of working upon the feelings of the Indians than an 
 appeal to their superstition. Tecumseh and the Prophet had conceived the idea 
 of combining all the Indians in a league, and making war upon the United States, 
 as early as 1806. The first account of the pretended divine mission of the Pro 
 phet is contained in a talk which was circulated widely among the Indian na 
 tions, in 1807. This talk was delivered at he entrance of Lake Michigan, by 
 the Indian chief Le Maiquois, or The Trout, on the 4th of May, of that year, 
 as coming from " the first man whom God created," and was addressed to all 
 the Indian tribes. The following is an extract from the talk referred to, and is 
 a curiosity : 
 
 " I am the father of the English, of the French, of the Spaniards, and of the 
 Indians. I created the first man, who was the common father of all these peo 
 ple, as well as yourselves ; and it is through him, whom I have awakened from 
 his long sleep, that I now address you. But the Americans I did not make. 
 
222 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 From the evidence collected by the government of the 
 United States at the time, no doubt can exist that Te- 
 cumseh and his followers had been moved to their hos 
 tile course by the officers of the British Indian Depart 
 ment in the upper lake country, and by the British fur 
 traders. The relations between the United States and 
 Great Britain had again assumed an unfriendly charac 
 ter, threatening war ; and as in former years, the agents 
 of the latter were active in their exertions again to 
 secure the Indians as their allies, in anticipation of a 
 rupture.* 
 
 The act of the Congress of the United States, decla 
 ring war against England, was approved by President 
 Madison on the 18th of June, 1812, and the proclama 
 tion of the President, announcing the fact to the world, 
 was issued on the 19th. The news had no sooner 
 reached the province of Upper Canada, than measures 
 were adopted by the officers of the crown to induce the 
 Mohawks and all other Indians, who could be controlled 
 by their influence, to take up the hatchet. The Shawa- 
 
 They are not my children, but the children of the evil spirit. They grew 
 from the scum of the great water, when it was troubled by the evil spirit, and 
 the froth was driven into the woods by a strong east wind. They are numerous, 
 but I hate them. My children, you must not speak of this talk to the whites. 
 It must be hidden from them. I am now on the earth, sent by the Great Spirit 
 to instruct you. Each village must send me two or more principal chiefs to re 
 present you, that you may be taught. The bearer of this talk will point out to 
 you the path to my wigwam. I could not come myself to Abre Croche, because 
 the world is changed from what it was. It is broken, and leans down, and as it 
 declines/the Chippewas and all beyond will fall off and die. Therefore, you 
 must come to see me, and be instructed. Those villages which do not listen to 
 this talk, and send me two deputies, will be cut off from the face of the earth." 
 
 This great Manitou, or Indian second Adam, was Elskawatwa. 
 
 * Vide American State Papers, Indian Affairs, pp. 795804. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 nese, and Miamis, and their confederates, who had been 
 so recently and severely chastised by General Harrison, 
 were of course eager for the onslaught. The Mohawks, 
 moreover, residing upon the Grand River, about sixty 
 miles from Niagara, were no less ready to take part in 
 the war, and their emissaries were early among the Sene- 
 cas, for the purpose of influencing them to embark in the 
 contest, upon the same side. In this effort they were 
 not successful, as the Senecas, and all others of the Six 
 Nations remaining within the state of New- York, were 
 disposed to peace, save some hundreds of the younger 
 warriors, who seemed impatient to bear a part, though, 
 for once, not against the United States. But the older 
 chiefs preferred repose, and they more than once des 
 patched messengers of peace among their brethren the 
 Mohawks, to dissuade them from their bloody purposes. 
 Farthermore the American government, in conformity 
 with the humane policy which had prompted a similar 
 course at the beginning of the revolutionary war, lost 
 not a moment in its endeavors to prevent the Senecas 
 and others of the Six Nations residing in the state of 
 New-York, from engaging at all in the contest. To this 
 end a council of those nations was convened at Buffalo, 
 on the 6th and 8th days of July, by Mr. Erastus Granger, 
 the Indian Agent, with the view of spreading the whole 
 matter before them, and consulting with their chiefs as 
 to the course it would be most wise to adopt. The pro 
 ceedings of the council were opened by Red-Jacket, who 
 addressed himself to Mr. Granger thus : 
 
224 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHER : We are glad of having an opportunity once 
 more of meeting you in council. We thank the Great Spirit 
 that has again brought us together. This is a full meeting. 
 All our head men are present. Every village is represented 
 in this council. We are pleased to find our interpreter, Mr. 
 Parish, is present. He has attended all our councils since the 
 last war, and is well acquainted with all the treaties we have 
 made with the United States. The voice of war has reached 
 our ears, and made our minds gloomy. We now wish you to 
 communicate to us every thing which your government has 
 charged you to tell us concerning this war. We shall listen 
 with attention to what you have to say." 
 
 Mr. Granger thereupon addressed the council at 
 length, in the following words : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE Six NATIONS : I am happy to behold 
 so many of you assembled together at this time. I observe 
 that the chiefs of the Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga arid Tuscarora 
 nations, and some of the Delawares, are present. The Mo 
 hawks, who live in Canada, are not represented, and the Onei- 
 das, living at a distance, could not attend. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You will now listen to what I say : 
 
 " At the close of the revolutionary war the United States 
 held a treaty with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix. They 
 restored to you the country of land which they had conquered 
 from you and the British, and set you down once more on your 
 old seats. Several treaties have since been made with you ; 
 but that which particularly binds us together, was made at 
 Canandaigua about eighteen years since. 
 
 " The chain of friendship then formed has been kept bright 
 until this time. In this great length of time nothing material 
 has happened to disturb the peace and harmony subsisting be 
 tween us. Any momentary interruptions of peace which have 
 taken place, have been happily settled without injury to either 
 party. Our friendship has remained unbroken. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 225 
 
 " BROTHERS : The prosperity and happiness of the Six Na 
 tions have always been objects which the United States have 
 had in view. 
 
 " You have enjoyed with us all the blessings which the 
 country afforded, consistent with your mode and habits of liv 
 ing. We have grown up together on this island. The United 
 States are strong and powerful ; you are few in numbers and 
 weak ; but as our friends, we consider you, and your women 
 and children, under our protection. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You have heretofore been told that the con 
 duct of Great Britain toward us, might eventually lead to war. 
 That event has at length taken place. War now exists be 
 tween the United States and the British nation. The injuries 
 we have received from the British, have at length forced us 
 into a war. 
 
 " I will now proceed to state to you the reasons why we have 
 been compelled to take up arms. 
 
 " For a number of years past the British and French, who 
 live on the other side of the great waters, have been at war 
 with each other, shedding each other s blood. These nations 
 wished us to take a part in their war. France wanted us to 
 fight against Great Britain. Great Britain wanted us to join 
 against France. But the United States did not wish to take any 
 part in their quarrels. Our object was to live in peace, and 
 trade with both nations. Notwithstanding our endeavors to 
 maintain friendship with them, both France and Great Britain 
 have broken their treaties with us. They have taken our ves 
 sels and property, and refused to restore them or make com 
 pensation for the losses we sustained. 
 
 " But the British have done us the greatest injury. They 
 have taken out of our vessels at least six thousand of our own 
 people, put them on board their ships of war, and compelled 
 them to fight their battles. In this situation our friends and 
 connexions are confined, obliged to fight for the British. 
 
 " BROTHERS : If you consider the situation in which we 
 are placed, you cannot blame us for going to war. I will ask 
 
 29 
 
226 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 you a question. Suppose that the Mohawk Nation, who live 
 in Canada, were at war with a nation of Indians at the west 
 ward. Both these nations being your friends, you were de 
 termined to take no part in their disputes, but to be at peace 
 with both, to visit them, and trade with them as usual. In 
 consequence of this determination, you should send messen 
 gers with speeches to inform them of the system you had 
 adopted. But the Mohawks not satisfied in seeing you in 
 prosperity, enjoying the blessings of peace, visiting and trading 
 with their enemy, determine to make you feel the evils of 
 war, unless you agree to give up all intercourse with those 
 they are at war with. This you cannot consent to : you want 
 the privilege of selling your furs and skins where you can find 
 the best market. The Mohawks still continue to flatter you, 
 say they are your friends, put on smiling faces and speak 
 good words. But in the mean time, while professing friend 
 ship toward you, they fall upon your hunting and trading par 
 ties, as they travel back and forth, strip them of their pro 
 perty, leave them naked in the world, and refuse to make 
 satisfaction. Not only this, but they come near your villages, 
 and there murder your people, others they take, when found 
 from home, bind them fast and compel them to go and fight 
 their battles. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Could you for a moment submit to such 
 treatment 1 Would you not all as one rise from your seats, and 
 let the enemy feel your vengeance 1 If you are warriors, if 
 you are brave men, you certainly would. What I have stated 
 is exactly our case. The British have done us all these in 
 juries, and still continue to do us wrong without a cause. The 
 United States have risen from their seats, they have raised 
 their strong arm, and will cause it to be felt. 
 
 " BROTHERS : I feel it my duty at this present time, to 
 point out to you the straight path in which you ought to walk. 
 You well recollect the advice given you by the people of the 
 United States, at the commencement of the revolutionary war 
 against Great Britain. You were then requested to stay at 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 227 
 
 home, to sit upon your seats at your own council fires, and 
 to take no part in the war. 
 
 " It would have been happy for you had you followed this 
 good advice. But the presents and fair speeches of the British 
 poisoned your minds. You took up the hatchet against us, 
 and became our enemies. At the close of the war with 
 Britain, (the event you well know,) the United States had it 
 in their power to cut you off as a people, but they took pity on 
 you, and let you return to your former seats. 
 
 " Your great father, the President of the seventeen fires, 
 now gives his red children the same advice that was given you 
 at the beginning of the last war : that is That you take no 
 part in the quarrels of the white people. He stands in no need 
 of your assistance. His warriors are numerous, like the sand 
 on the shores of the great lakes, which cannot be counted. 
 He is able to fight his own battles, and requests you to stay at 
 home, cultivate your fields and take care of your property. 
 If you have any regard for your women and children, if you 
 have any respect for the country in whose soil repose the 
 bones of your fathers, you will listen to his advice, and keep 
 bright the chain of friendship between us. 
 
 " You have been invited to join the British in this war. 
 Reflect for a moment on the consequence of complying with 
 their request. You will lose your property in the United 
 States. We shall soon take possession of Canada. They 
 will have no land to sit you down upon. You will have no 
 thing to expect from our mercy. You will deservedly, as a 
 people, be cut off from the face of the earth. 
 
 " The late delegation which you sent to Canada, was told 
 that they ought not to put any confidence in the United 
 States, that if you did we should deceive you, that the Uni 
 ted States kept no promises made to Indians. 
 
 " BROTHERS : I now ask, in what have the United States 
 deceived you 1 Have they not punctually paid your annuities 
 as they became due 1 Have not the Senecas received annually 
 the interest of their money in the public funds ? Has not the 
 
22S LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 state of New- York honestly fulfilled her engagements with the 
 Oneidas, Onondagas and Cayugas ? Have not the Tuscaroras 
 been assisted in the sale of their property in North Carolina, 
 and in obtaining a pleasant seat, purchased of the Holland 
 Land Company ? I again ask, have not the United States ob 
 served good faith toward you ! Have they deceived you in 
 any one thing ? I answer, they have not. 
 
 " Knowing, as you do, that we are your friends, will you 
 act like children, and suffer yourselves to be imposed upon at 
 this time by our enemies 1 
 
 " BROTHERS : It was our wish that the Six Nations should 
 all be agreed as one man, but the Mohawks and some few 
 others living on the British side, have been so foolish as to 
 declare in favor of war. The good advice you lately gave 
 them, has not been attended to. They are now at Newark in 
 arms against the United States. I am sorry they have not lis 
 tened to good counsel. You, however, have done your duty, 
 and you are not to blame for their folly. They will soon find 
 they have done wrong, and must suffer the consequence. 
 " BROTHERS : Continue to listen. 
 
 " You have been frequently told, that in case we went to 
 war we did not want your assistance. The same thing has 
 this day been repeated. But I find some of your young men 
 are restless and uneasy. They wish to be with our warriors, 
 and I am sensible the chiefs have not power to control them. 
 As I observed before, we want not their aid, but we believe it 
 better for them to be our friends than our enemies. 
 
 " If they will not be contented to stay at home, but must 
 see something of a war, perhaps 150 or 200 will be permitted 
 to stand by the side of our warriors, and receive the same pay 
 and provisions which our soldiers receive. 
 
 " If they should be permitted to join our troops, they must 
 conform to our regulations. Your mode of carrying on a war 
 is different from ours. We never attack and make war upon 
 women and children, nor on those who are peaceably inclined 
 and have nothing to defend themselves with. Such conduct 
 we consider as cowardly, and not becoming a warrior. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 " BROTHERS : If you have not sufficient time this evening 
 to deliberate on what I have said, I will meet you to-morrow, 
 or next day, and receive your answer." 
 
 The Agent of the United States having concluded his 
 speech, the council was adjourned until the 28th, when 
 Red- Jacket delivered the following reply : 
 
 " BROTHER : We are now prepared to give an answer to 
 the speech you delivered to us in council the other day. We 
 are happy to find so many of the white people present. We 
 are not accustomed to transact important business in the DARK ! 
 We are willing that the light should shine upon whatever we 
 do. When we speak, we do it with sincerity, and in a man 
 ner that cannot be misunderstood. 
 
 " You have been appointed by the United States an Agent 
 for the Six Nations. We have been requested to make you 
 acquainted with the sentiments of those nations we represent. 
 None of the Mohawks or Oneidas, it is well known, are pre 
 sent. The number of treaties that have passed between the 
 Six Nations and the United States, appears to be fresh in 
 your memory. We shall only mention to you some things 
 that were agreed upon in the treaty made at Canandaigua. 
 
 " We were a long time in forming that treaty, but we at 
 length made up our minds and spoke freely. Mr. Pickering, 
 who was then agent for the United States, declared to us that 
 no breach should ever be made in that treaty. We replied 
 to him, if it should ever be broken, you will be the first to do 
 it. We are weak. You are strong. You are a great people. 
 You can, if you are so disposed, place yourselves under it and 
 overturn it, or, by getting upon it, you can crush it with your 
 weight ! Mr. Pickering again declared, that this treaty would 
 ever remain firm and unshaken, that it would be as durable as 
 the largest rock to be found in our country. 
 
 " This treaty was afterward shown to General Washington. 
 He said that he was satisfied and pleased with what the agent 
 
230 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 had done. He told us that no treaty could be formed that 
 would be more binding. He then presented us with a chain, 
 which he assured us would never rust, but always remain bright. 
 Upon this belt of wampum,* he placed a silver seal.t This 
 belt we always have and always wish to look upon as sacred. 
 " In the treaty, it was agreed that the Six Nations should 
 receive a small annuity, to show the intention of the United 
 States to continue friendly with them. This has been com 
 plied with. It was also agreed that if any injury or damage 
 should be done on either side, satisfaction should be made to 
 the party injured. We were a long time in conference be 
 fore we could make up our minds upon one article of the 
 treaty, what punishment should be inflicted for the crime of 
 murder *? Mr. Pickering said it should be hanging. We told 
 him that would never do : that if a white man killed an Indian, 
 the Indians would not be permitted to hang the white man, 
 the sacrifice would be considered too great for killing an In 
 dian ! We at length agreed that conciliatory measures should 
 be resorted to, such as would give satisfaction to all parties. 
 
 ".In cases of theft, as in stealing horses, cattle, &c., it was 
 agreed that restitution should be made. In this article, the 
 whites have transgressed twice, where the Indians have once. 
 As often as you will mention one instance in which we have 
 wronged you, we will tell you of two in which you have de 
 frauded us ! 
 
 " I have related these articles of the treaty to show you that 
 it still remains clear in our recollection, and we now declare 
 to you, in presence of all here assembled, that we will con 
 tinue to hold fast the chain which connects us together. Some 
 who first took hold of it are gone ! but others will supply their 
 place. 
 
 " We regret, extremely, that any disturbance should have 
 taken place among the white people. Mischief has com- 
 
 * Holding up a belt of wampum curiously wrought. 
 
 t Upon which an eagle was engraved, representing the United States. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 231 
 
 menced. We are now told that war has been declared against 
 Great Britain. The reasons for it are unknown to us. The 
 Six Nations are placed in an unpleasant situation. A part of 
 them are in Canada, and the remainder in the United States. 
 
 " Whilst we were endeavoring to persuade those who live 
 in Canada to remain peaceable and quiet, the noise of war 
 suddenly sounded in our ears. We were told that all commu 
 nication between us and them would be prevented. We have 
 since heard that they have taken up arms. We are very sorry 
 to hear of this. They are our brothers and relations, and we 
 do not wish that their blood should be spilt, when there is so 
 little occasion for it. We hope that the passage is not so 
 closely stopped but that a small door may still be open by 
 which we may again have an opportunity of seeing our bro 
 thers, and of persuading them to take no part in a war in 
 which they have nothing to gain. 
 
 " We know the feelings of the greater portion of them. We 
 therefore believe, that if we have another opportunity, we can 
 persuade them to have nothing to do with this war. Our 
 minds are fully made up on this subject, and we repeat, that 
 it is our wish to see them once more, and to give them our ad 
 vice about the path they ought to travel. 
 
 " You (Mr. Parish,) are going to the eastward ; you will 
 visit the Oneidas. Relate to them faithfully what has taken 
 place in this council ; tell them all we have said, and request 
 that a deputation of their chiefs may be sent to attend our 
 council here. We wish that you would return with them." 
 
 [The orator then brought forward the belt which he 
 had before held up in his hand, and requested Mr. 
 Granger and the others present to look at it and observe 
 whether it was not the one that had been presented to 
 the Six Nations by General Washington. He likewise 
 held up another belt, much larger, of different colors, 
 
232 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 which appeared to be very ancient, and then con 
 tinued : ] 
 
 " BROTHER : I will now state to you the meaning of this 
 belt. A long time ago the Six Nations had formed an union. 
 They had no means of writing their treaties on paper, and of 
 preserving them in the manner the white people do. We 
 therefore made this belt, which shows that the Six Nations 
 have bound themselves firmly together ; that it is their deter 
 mination to remain united ; that they will never do any thing 
 contrary to the interests of the whole ; but that they will al 
 ways act toward each other like brothers. 
 
 " Whenever, for the future, you see a small number of our 
 people meeting together to consult about any matter of trifling 
 account, we desire that you would pay no attention to it. It 
 may give you uneasiness, when we have no intention to injure 
 you. This happened but a few days ago : It seems that a 
 white man and two or three Indians, living on the same creek, 
 had a small conversation, which the mischievous talked about 
 until the whole country was in an uproar, and many families 
 left their country and homes in consequence. 
 
 " The council held some time since at Batavia, was unauthor 
 ized by us, and we now declare to you that none have a 
 right to hold council any where except at this place, around 
 the great council fire of the Six Nations.* 
 
 " We hope that you will not accept of any of our warriors, 
 unless they are permitted by our great council to offer them 
 selves to you. And we should be sorry indeed if any of the 
 whites should entice our young warriors to take up arms. 
 We mention these things to show you that we wish to guard 
 against every thing that may interrupt our good under 
 standing. 
 
 " BROTHER : We hope that what has been said will be 
 
 * There are no records, that I am aware of, connected with the council here 
 referred to. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 233 
 
 generally known to the white people. Let every one recol 
 lect and give a faithful account of it. We wish them to know 
 that we are peaceably disposed towards the United States, and 
 that we are determined to keep bright the chain of friendship 
 that we formed with them at Canandaigua. 
 
 " BROTHER : We have one thing more to which we would 
 wish to call your attention. We present you the papers* 
 which secure to us our annuities from the United States. We 
 would be glad to know if this war would affect our interests in 
 that quarter. We also desire that you would inform us 
 whether the monies we have deposited in the [late] Bank of 
 the United States will be less secure, than if this war had not 
 taken place." 
 
 To which Mr. Granger, after thanking them for their 
 general and punctual attendance, thus rejoined : 
 
 "BROTHERS: You have this day brought forward the large 
 white belt, given you at Canandaigua. Your speaker has ex 
 plained the leading particulars of the treaty made at that time. 
 I am much pleased to find your minds so deeply impressed 
 with them. I now repeat to you that the United States will, 
 on their part, hold fast of the treaty ; they wish you to do the 
 same. Should it be broken on your part, the United States 
 will no longer consider themselves bound by it. 
 
 " BROTHERS : It appears that you are still desirous of send 
 ing to Grand River, to endeavor to prevail on your brethren 
 in that quarter to remain at peace. An undertaking of this 
 kind will be of little use. They will only fill your heads 
 with idle talk, and poison your minds against the United 
 States. Perhaps after crossing Niagara river, you will not be 
 permitted to go any farther. Still, should you insist upon 
 it, permission will be granted to four or five of your chiefs 
 to go over, with such instructions as you shall think pro 
 per to give them." 
 
 * Handing the agent a small bundle of papers. 
 
 30 
 
234 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " But should your young men cross over and join our ene 
 mies, they must never expect to be allowed to set their feet 
 on our shores again as friends. Rest assured they will be 
 severely punished for it. 
 
 " With respect to the property you have placed in the hands 
 of the United States you have nothing to fear, it will be fully 
 as secure as if this war had not happened. Your annuities 
 will be paid you as formerly, and your bank stock be as pro 
 ductive as usual. 
 
 " I now return you my thanks for the good attendance you 
 have given at this council. I feel pleased that you have again 
 come forward and renewed the covenant of friendship, that 
 you have once more declared your steady attachment to the 
 United States. 
 
 " Your friend, Mr. Parish, will soon go to the eastward, 
 where he will see such of your brethren as were not present 
 at this council. In a short time he will return, and remain 
 here, if he should be wanted, through the summer." 
 
 The earnestness with which the council, through the 
 mouth of their speaker, had urged their request for 
 leave to send yet another peaceable message to their 
 brothers, the Mohawks, induced the agent to grant the 
 desired permission ; although he had not the least con 
 fidence in the measure. He was right in his conjec 
 tures. A deputation of five chiefs proceeded to Lewis- 
 ton, and application was made to General Brock, then 
 in command of the British forces on the opposite shore 
 of the Niagara, that they might be allowed to land in 
 his Majesty s dominions. After deliberating two days 
 upon the request, the deputation was permitted to cross 
 over and hold a consultation with some of the Mohawk 
 chiefs. They did so ; but the conference was brief, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 235 
 
 and the object was not accomplished. The Mohawks 
 had taken up the hatchet, and were resolved not to bury 
 it ; and the friendly messengers of the Senecas were 
 ordered to return. 
 
 But the Senecas did not long succeed in maintaining 
 their neutrality. The young men, as already inti 
 mated, were restless from the moment of the declara 
 tion of war ; and the soul-stirring music, the glittering 
 panoply and pomp of war, speedily wrought so power 
 fully upon the feelings, and indeed the natural propen 
 sities, of the older chiefs, that they rather sought occa 
 sion to declare hostilities on their own behalf, con 
 sidering themselves still an independent nation. That 
 occasion was fast approaching. Not long after the com 
 mencement of hostilities, it was rumored at Buffalo, 
 and among the Senecas, that the enemy had taken pos 
 session of Grand Island, appertaining to the United 
 States, and then owned by the Senecas. Red-Jacket 
 immediately convoked a council of his people, and in 
 vited Mr. Granger to attend there for consultation. Af 
 ter stating the case to the latter, the orator avowed the 
 purpose of the Senecas in the following brief but ener 
 getic speech : 
 
 " BROTHER : You have told us that we have nothing to do 
 with the war that has taken place between you and the British. 
 But we find that the war has come to our doors. Our proper 
 ty is taken possession of by the British and their Indian friends. 
 It is necessary now for us to take up the business, defend our 
 property, and drive the enemy from it. If we sit still upon 
 our seats, and take no means of redress, the British, according 
 to the customs of you white people, will hold it by conquest. 
 
236 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 And should you conquer the Canadas, you will claim it upon 
 the same principles, as though you had conquered it from the 
 British. We therefore request permission to go with our war 
 riors, and drive off those bad people, and take possession of 
 our lands." 
 
 The request was granted, and at a subsequent meet 
 ing of the council, strengthened by a larger attendance, 
 a formal declaration of war was issued in the following 
 terms : 
 
 " We, the chiefs and councillors of the Six Nations of In 
 dians, residing in the State of New- York, do hereby proclaim to 
 all the war-chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations, that war is 
 declared on our part against the provinces of Upper and 
 Lower Canada. Therefore, we hereby command and advise 
 all the war-chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations to call forth 
 immediately the warriors under them, and put them in motion 
 to protect their rights and liberties, which our brethren, the 
 Americans, are now defending,"* 
 
 No speech of Red-Jacket delivered at this council 
 has been preserved, but from the address of one of the 
 oldest warriors present, it would appear that it was 
 their expectation to put as many as three thousand 
 braves upon the war-path.t But there surely must 
 have been some mistake in this computation, since the 
 whole Iroquois confederacy was never able to call forth 
 so large a number of warriors, even in the palmy days 
 of Sir William Johnson ; and at the time under conside 
 ration, the number of warriors within the confines of the 
 State of New-York, Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, 
 
 * Drake and Thatcher. t Drake and Thatcher. 
 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 337 
 
 Cayugas and Tuscaroras, all included, could not have 
 exceeded two thousand fighting men. Not more than a 
 fourth of that number ever took the field at any one 
 time during the war of 1812. Still, the friendship of 
 the nation was unwavering, and considerable bodies of 
 their warriors were occasionally in the service of the 
 United States upon that frontier, until near the close of 
 the contest. The Mohawks, and the other red allies of 
 England, it is true, endeavored to poison their minds 
 with disaffection, for which purpose emissaries were 
 occasionally discovered amongst them, but without ef 
 fect. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding their preparations, and their 
 formal declaration of hostilities, the first Indian de 
 claration of the kind, it is believed, ever issued in wri 
 ting, they seem not actually to have entered the field 
 as the allies of the Americans during that year, at 
 least such is the presumption from the following cir 
 cumstances : After the brilliant, though in the end, dis 
 astrous affair of Queenston, and after the reliriquish- 
 ment of the command of that frontier by General Van 
 Rensselaer, General Alexander Smyth succeeded to 
 the station. He made preparations to retrieve the for 
 tunes lost at Queenston, but his demonstrations were 
 failures, and the results proved him to be a man of 
 words rather than of deeds. His name is only here 
 introduced because of the declaration contained in one 
 of his inflated proclamations, illustrating the fact just 
 asserted, that the Senecas were not in actual service in 
 that year. In the proclamation referred to, General 
 
238 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Smyth, in order to stimulate the militia into the field, 
 told them that " even the Indians of the friendly Six 
 Nations had offered their services, but that, through re 
 gard to the cause of humanity, he had refused to follow 
 a disgraceful example by letting loose these barbarous 
 warriors upon the inhabitants of Canada."* 
 
 No corresponding feelings had deterred the enemy 
 from employing Indians, and using them at every op 
 portunity. It was, therefore, at length thought advisa 
 ble by the government of the United States to bring the 
 same description of warriors into the field, though not 
 into battle, if that alternative could be avoided. The 
 Spring of 1813 found Major-General Lewis in com 
 mand of the American fortress of Niagara ; and it oc 
 curred to that officer, that inasmuch as the relationship 
 between the Mohawks, and others of the Six Nations 
 who had joined their settlement upon the Grand River, 
 and the Senecas, Cayugas and Onondagas upon the 
 American side, was near and intimate, they might feel 
 reluctant to come into conflict, brother against brother. 
 The idea was accordingly suggested, that the actual em 
 ployment of the Senecas might possibly induce the Mo 
 hawks to retire, in which case the Senecas were forth 
 with to have been dismissed. With this object the Se 
 neca warriors were invited to meet General Lewis at 
 Niagara, and they responded to the invitation, to the 
 number of from three to four hundred, armed, painted, 
 and with distended nostrils breathing eagerly for the 
 
 * H. M. Breckenridge s Histoiy of the War. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 239 
 
 contest. They were led by Farmer s-Brother, the most 
 noble Indian in form and mould, in carriage and in soul, 
 of that generation of his race.* The forest warriors 
 were received by General Lewis, and addressed in ac 
 cordance with the views already indicated. But very 
 great was the disappointment of the Indians. They 
 had supposed themselves invited to a feast of blood in 
 earnest, and their dissatisfaction at the suggestions of 
 the General, who intended to use them rather to pre 
 vent than to participate in fighting, was but ill concealed, 
 if indeed concealment was intended. Their counte 
 nances fell ; their murmurs were deep and strong ; and 
 they left the fort with a degree of displeasure bordering 
 upon indignation. Red-Jacket was among them on this 
 occasion, and was as usual their orator ; but he appeared 
 not in the character of a war-chief, being now the head 
 sachem or civil magistrate of his nation.t 
 
 But fastidiousness in regard to the employment of 
 this description of force by the Americans soon ceased 
 to be a virtue. The campaign of that year against Up 
 per Canada was auspiciously commenced by the cap 
 ture of York, on the 27th of April. The plan of this 
 brilliant exploit was conceived by General Pike, 
 whose blood was a dear purchase of the triumph. 
 
 * The opinion and nearly the same language of Colonel William J. Worth, of 
 the army, who at the time was in the staff of General Lewis, and from whose 
 conversations the facts concerning the Indian service upon the Niagara frontier 
 in the campaigns of 1813 1814, "have in part been drawn. 
 
 t In the account of the great treaty at Canandaigua, it has been seen how 
 jealous the Indians were of the power of their war-chiefs. But that was a time 
 of peace. In peace the voice of the chief sachem is potential. In war he is 
 but a counsellor, while the war-chief becomes the dictator. 
 
240 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 This achievement was followed, a month afterward, by 
 the conquest of forts George and Erie. Still, these suc 
 cesses not being followed up with corresponding vigor, 
 a war of outposts succeeded in that quarter, continuing 
 through the season, unattended by any important re 
 sults. " On the 8th of July a severe skirmish was 
 brought on, in which nearly the whole force on each 
 side was engaged, without any thing of moment result 
 ing from it. An incident, nevertheless, occurred which 
 exasperated the Americans to a greater degree than any 
 thing that had previously transpired in that quarter du 
 ring the war. Lieutenant Eldridge, a gallant and ac 
 complished youth, with about forty men, was drawn by 
 his impetuosity too far, and was surrounded by British 
 troops and Indians. The greater part resisted until 
 they were killed ; but Lieutenant Eldridge and ten 
 others were taken prisoners, and never afterward heard 
 of. The bodies of the slain were treated in the most 
 shocking manner by the Indians. Their heads were 
 split open, and their hearts torn from their bodies. 
 General Boyd, considering the forbearance hitherto 
 practised in declining the aid of Indian allies as no 
 longer justifiable, and by way of preventing a recurrence 
 of such barbarities, accepted the services of four hun 
 dred Senecas, under Henry O Bail, the Young Corn- 
 planter.* But it was positively stipulated that the un 
 resisting and defenceless should not be hurt, and that 
 no scalps should be taken."t 
 
 * This young chief had been partially educated in Philadelphia ; but not 
 liking the restraints of civilization, he had again resumed the blanket, 
 t Breckenridge s History of the War. 
 

 OF RED-JACKET. 241 
 
 The first affair in which these auxiliaries took an 
 active part in the contest, was the defence of Black 
 Rock and Buffalo against an attack by the British 
 troops, in July, 1813 ; and, although in proportion to the 
 numbers engaged, it was, both in its style of execution 
 and its issue, one of the most brilliant and useful achieve 
 ments of the war, it was but little noticed either in the 
 army despatches, or in the public journals, by reason of 
 its having occurred at a time when there was a sort of 
 interregnum, or shifting of commands, between Generals 
 Dearborn, Lewis and Boyd ; and the public attention, as 
 well as that of the army, was engrossed with the scenes, 
 far from creditable to the American arms, which were 
 enacting at the Beaver Dams, Cross Roads, and other 
 places in the immediate vicinity of head quarters.* 
 
 After the capture of Fort George, in May, General 
 Dearborn withdrew nearly the whole of his forces from 
 the upper parts of the Niagara River, to the support of 
 his position at Fort Niagara; leaving the provisions, 
 naval stores and equipments, collected for the squadron 
 with which Commodore Perry, soon after, did such sig 
 nal execution, in the ware-houses at Black Rock ; and 
 also a large supply of provisions and quarter-master s 
 stores for the army, at Buffalo, wholly unprotected. 
 
 On being strongly urged by those who were more 
 conversant with the affairs of the frontier, and the pro- 
 
 * The affairs here referred to were the discomfiture and captivity of Generals 
 Winder and Chandler, on the morning of June 4th, 1813, and the sad and humi 
 liating defeat of Colonel Boerstler, at the Beaver Dams, on the 23d of June, 
 by a small party of British troops and a few hundred Mohawks. 
 
 31 
 
 * 
 
242 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 bable views of the enemy, than himself, General Dear 
 born ordered a guard of eight or ten artillerists to take 
 charge of the block-house at Black Rock, and made a 
 call for five hundred of the neighboring militia, about 
 one hundred and fifty or two hundred of whom arrived 
 early in July, and were stationed near the ware-houses 
 at Black Rock, under command of Major P. Adams, 
 who was furnished with two or three pieces of artillery. 
 For Buffalo he ordered about ninety or one hundred 
 regular troops, being a body of infantry and dragoon re 
 cruits on their march from the south to head quarters, 
 under Captain (now Colonel) Cummings. Besides 
 which, Mr. Granger, the Indian Agent, was directed to 
 engage as many Seneca warriors as would consent to 
 remain in camp. At the same time requesting General 
 Peter B. Porter, who was then residing at his house in 
 Black Rock, to take command of the whole, in case of 
 an emergency. 
 
 Notwithstanding this show of force, an expedition was 
 fitted out against these places, at the British head-quar 
 ters on Lundy s Lane, and placed under the command 
 of Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop, of the forty-first regiment, 
 comprising three hundred regulars of his own regiment, 
 and a body of Provincials and volunteers, under Colo 
 nel T. Clark ; and making in the whole a force estima 
 ted at four hundred. 
 
 This detachment embarked in boats at Chippewa, 
 early in the evening of the 10th of July; and, passing 
 up the Niagara, landed in the course of the night on the 
 American shore, two or three miles below Black Rock ; 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 243 
 
 and soon after daylight on the llth, surprised the en 
 campment of Major Adams, who fled to Buffalo with 
 his militia, leaving his artillery with its ammunition on 
 the ground, without taking the precaution to disable it. 
 
 The enemy, after setting fire to the marine and mili 
 tary barracks and block-house, and ordering breakfast 
 at General Porter s house for their principal officers, (lit 
 tle anticipating that a less palatable one was preparing 
 for them in the field,) proceeded to the plunder of the 
 inhabitants as well as of the public stores, assisted by 
 constant reinforcements of men and boats from the Bri 
 tish shore. 
 
 General Porter, after a narrow escape from his own 
 house, and an unsuccessful attempt to reach Major 
 Adams s camp, retired on foot toward Buffalo ; but be 
 fore reaching there was met by Captain Cummings, 
 who, having heard the alarm, was promptly advancing 
 with his command to the support of Black Rock. After 
 directing the captain to proceed to an open ground be 
 tween the two villages, and there to halt until a suffi 
 cient force could be collected to justify an attack on the 
 enemy ; and after supplying himself with a horse and 
 equipments taken from one of the captain s dragoons, 
 the general left him for Buffalo ; and, in the course of 
 an hour and a half, rejoined him with about ninety or a 
 hundred of Major Adams s militia, who had retreated by 
 the lake route, and been kept together by their officers, 
 and about fifty volunteer citizens of Buffalo, who were 
 found in the streets making preparations to abandon the 
 town with their effects. 
 
244 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Captain Cummings having, in the meantime, ascer 
 tained by his videttes that the enemy, that is to say, their 
 three hundred regular troops, their volunteers being en 
 gaged in plundering, were in possession of the com 
 manding position left by Major Adams, and prepared 
 for defence, General Porter determined to divide his 
 force into three parts, and by a simultaneous attack 
 from three different points, throw the enemy into confu 
 sion, and prevent the effective use of their artillery. 
 The smallest of these divisions consisted of but twenty 
 resolute volunteers, who were directed to associate 
 themselves with a body of Indian warriors, understood 
 to be gathering in the woods a short distance in ad 
 vance, provided the Indians would consent to join 
 them, and take a position, unobserved, in a deep ravine 
 close upon the enemy s left, remain concealed until the 
 action commenced, and then raise the war-whoop and 
 rush forward. These Indians, numbering between 
 thirty and forty, did join, behaving throughout in the 
 
 most admirable manner. 
 
 By a bold and united attack with these forces, the 
 enemy at 8 o clock in the morning, after a spirited re 
 sistance of a few minutes, were beaten, routed and driven 
 in great confusion to the neighborhood of their boats. 
 Here they again rallied with their entire force, and with 
 the apparent intention of renewing the fight. But being 
 again attacked by the united and organized force of the 
 assailants, fled with precipitation into their boats, taking 
 with them most of their wounded, and leaving eight or 
 ten dead on the field, and sixteen or eighteen prisoners, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 945 
 
 among whom was Captain Saunders of the forty-first, 
 badly wounded. 
 
 But their principal loss was after they had entered 
 their boats, particularly the last, which, besides some 
 sixty men, contained most of their officers. The pursuit 
 was so close that some of the American warriors actually 
 plunged into the water, seized upon the gunwales of the 
 boat, and would have brought it to shore but for the 
 fire from the rear, which obliged them to desist. The 
 occupants of the boat made great efforts at first to gain 
 an offing in the river, but the firing from the shore be 
 came so intense that they dropped their oars and hoisted 
 signals for surrender ; in consequence of which, the firing 
 in a few minutes ceased. Taking advantage of this in 
 terval, they dropped down the river with the current, 
 followed pari passu by the troops on shore, making in 
 the meantime some slight movements with their oars, 
 as if to return to shore, and proclaiming their inability to 
 do more by reason of their disabled state, until they 
 reached the upper point of Squaw Island, when, by a 
 sudder\ and vigorous effort, they sheered their boat to the 
 outside of the island, and soon escaped under its pro 
 tection ; but not without again suffering from a renewal 
 of the fire. The apology afterward given for this act of 
 bad faith was, that the soldiers in the boat declared that 
 they had seen Captain Saunders tomahawked and 
 scalped by the Indians, after he had surrendered ; and 
 that they could have expected no better fate if they had 
 done the same. 
 
 Colonel Bishop and several of his officers were slain 
 
246 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 in their boats, the former having received a severe but 
 not mortal wound while on horseback in the field, and 
 four or five others after he had embarked, of which he 
 died in the coarse of the day. 
 
 The Indians throughout this affair displayed the most 
 admirable tact and gallantry, and evinced no disposition 
 to commit acts of barbarity on the prisoners or the 
 slain, other than to take the scalps of the latter, 
 had they been permitted, according to their usages in 
 war. When passing Captain Saunders, they divested 
 him, in the -gentlest manner, of his cap, epaulettes, sword 
 and belt, but offered him no personal insult. He was 
 wounded by a rifle ball passing through his chest and 
 lungs, which it was not supposed he could survive, and 
 a musket shot shattering his wrist ; but he had no cut 
 or mark of the knife or the tomahawk. 
 
 He was carried, after the action, by the Indians, in 
 blankets to General Porter s house, where he was suf 
 fered to remain, under the kindest treatment, accompa 
 nied by his wife, who was written for at his anxious re 
 quest, for two or three weeks, when he was sent to the 
 depot at Williamsville, and is now a British pensioner. 
 
 The whole loss of the British, whose numerical force 
 exceeded that of the Americans, in that expedition, 
 was estimated at one hundred, inclusive of killed, 
 wounded and prisoners ; while the American loss was 
 only one sergeant and three or four privates of the mili 
 tia, killed, and as many more wounded ; and Young- 
 King, the leader of the Indians, and one of his warriors 
 badly wounded. The disproportionate loss of the mili- 
 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 247 
 
 tia, compared with the regulars and Buffalo volunteers, 
 was the consequence of their having been permitted to 
 retrieve the reputation they had lost by the retreat, by 
 taking the advance in the charge on the British line, 
 which they executed most gallantly. Major Adams 
 being in too bad health to permit him to take an active 
 part, his battalion was led by his adjutant, now Gene 
 ral Phinehas Staunton, of Genesee county, who had 
 kept them together on their retreat, and who distin 
 guished himself in that as well as many subsequent oc 
 casions on the Niagara. Captain Cummings was joined 
 by Colonel King of the army, on their march from Buf 
 falo to the Rock, and both of them took efficient parts in 
 the operations of the morning.* 
 
 * For this account of the invasion of Black Rock by Colonel Bishop, and his 
 defeat, I am indebted to General Peter B. Porter. 1 had written an account 
 myself, from such materials as could be obtained ; but finding that the publica 
 tions of the day, and the books subsequently written, gave but a very unsatisfactory 
 idea of the gallant affair, I gave my manuscript to General Porter, who not only 
 corrected, but re-wrote the narrative. This, therefore, is the first correct account 
 that has appeared of that brilliant exploit. General Porter adds, in a note, that 
 in writing this account more details have been indulged than was otherwise 
 necessary, for the purpose of correcting the misrepresentations contained in Ge 
 neral Armstrong s book lately published, and intended as a repository of historical 
 truth for posterity, entitled " Notices of the War of 1812." In this book, (vol. 
 1st, pages 147-8 and 9,) the General attempts to depreciate and ridicule the 
 militia of the state, by representing them as having run away on the first sight of 
 the enemy, but giving them no credit for their prompt return and subsequent 
 good conduct ; and ascribing the gallant attack and defeat of the British, on that 
 occasion, to about one hundred and fifty United States infantry and a few In 
 dians, whom he represents as having casually assembled at Buffalo. 
 
 It is true as asserted by General Armstrong, and admitted in the preceding 
 account, that the militia stationed at Black Rock did flee most ignominiously on 
 the first appearance of the British troops, and without firing a gun ; but it is 
 equally true, that these same militia a short time afterward nobly returned to 
 their duty, and fought and achieved the only severe battle of that morning, un- 
 
248 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 The next affair in which the Indians were engaged, 
 occurred in the neighborhood of Fort George, on the 
 
 aided by the regular troops from Buffalo, who, by-the-bye, amounted, not to 
 one hundred and fifty men, as represented by General Armstrong, but to only 
 about one half that number, and they too, with the exception of the officers, raw 
 recruits, nine tenths of whom had never seen a battle or a camp. 
 
 The attacking force was on that morning divided by the commanding officer 
 into three columns, which were to advance by different routes, and make a simul 
 taneous assault on the British position, which was on high, open and commanding 
 ground. The militia and Indians arrived in season and commenced the attack; 
 but the column composed of the regular infantry and the volunteer citizens at 
 tached to it, being commanded at the time the order for the attack was given by 
 Captain Cummings of the army, but who was superseded at the critical moment 
 when the troops were advancing, by another officer of the army of higher rank, 
 who happened to arrive and to insist on his right to command the column, lost 
 the favorable moment for rendering efficient service. Misapprehending the pre 
 cise orders under which they were acting, the officer who thus assumed the 
 command over Captain Cummings, made an awkward, although but momentary 
 diversion, which prevented him from reaching the ground until the battle had 
 been fought, and the enemy had fled in the direction of their boats. 
 
 Subsequently, when the enemy had rallied and again presented a line of battle 
 in the vicinity of their boats, the regular infantry from Buffalo, being now incor 
 porated with the other troops, advanced to the charge with all the zeal and spirit 
 that distinguished their associates : but the British, abashed by the vigor and 
 resolution manifested by their assailants, made and received but one or two fires, 
 when they took to their boats and hurried to the opposite shore of the Niagara. 
 
 This explanation is made in no feeling of unkindness toward the regular 
 troops; but is richly due to the gallant little band of militia, who, it is believed, 
 set the first example during the late war, but afterward so often and so glori 
 ously repeated on the Niagara frontier, of a body of raw militia advancing and 
 meeting, in open field and regular order, an equal, or as in this case, even a supe 
 rior number of disciplined British troops, and dispersing them at the point of the 
 bayonet. For the conflict on this occasion was closer and more desperate than 
 happens in nine out of ten battles said to be fought by British troops at the bayo 
 net s point. 
 
 There are other misrepresentations in General Armstrong s account of this 
 affair, such as materially underrating the number of combatants, and the numbers 
 slain and made prisoners ; and in his assertion that the British had accomplished, 
 before they were driven back, most of the important objects of the expedition, in 
 burning barracks and block houses, and carrying away the whole of the plunder 
 that invited it, when in fact they did not carry away or destroy more than one 
 third of the valuable naval stores prepared at Black Rock for Commodore Perry, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 49 
 
 17th of July. A body of volunteers and Indians, un 
 der Major Cyrenius Chapin, having crossed over to the 
 fort, and being somewhat impatient to see the enemy, a 
 plan was concerted to cut off his pickets. The forces 
 of Major Chapin, Indians and militia, consisted of about 
 three hundred. To these was added a detachment of 
 two hundred regulars, under Major Cummings, and the 
 command of the whole entrusted to General Porter. 
 The British and Indian encampment was surprised at 
 daylight, seventy-five of their number killed, and six 
 teen taken prisoners. It has been stated that the suc 
 cess of the expedition was almost entirely owing to a 
 stratagem of the Indians, who, when they had formed 
 their plan of attack, succeeded in decoying the opposing 
 Indians into an ambuscade, so artfully disposed that 
 when they raised the war-whoop their dusky opponents 
 mistook it for a signal of a party of their own friends.* 
 An official account of this affair was given by General 
 Boyd, then commanding the post of Fort George, in 
 which he says : 
 
 " Those who participated in this contest, particularly the 
 Indians, conducted with great bravery and activity. General 
 Porter volunteered in the affair, and Major Chapin evinced 
 his accustomed zeal and courage. The principal chiefs who 
 led the warriors this day were Farmer s-Brother, Red-Jacket, 
 Little-Billy, Pollard, Black-Smoke, Johnson, Silver-Heels, 
 Captain Half-Town, Major Henry O Bail, and Captain Cold, 
 
 nor touch a particle of the military stores in depot at Buffalo for the use of the 
 army. But these are errors of minor consideration, and would not have been 
 noticed but for the cruel attack upon the militia of the Niagara frontier. 
 * Drake s Book of the Indians. 
 
 32 
 
250 L!FE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 who was wounded. In a council which was held with them 
 yesterday, they covenanted not to scalp or murder ; and I am 
 happy to say that they treated the prisoners with humanity, 
 and committed no wanton cruelties on the dead." 
 
 The chiefs named in this despatch were all Senecas 
 excepting Captain Cold. In a subsequent bulletin 
 General Boyd spoke a second time of the good conduct 
 of the Indians in this brisk affair, thus : -" The bravery 
 and humanity of the Indians were equally conspicu 
 ous ;" and another authority* says : " They behaved 
 with great gallantry, and betrayed no disposition to vio 
 late the restrictions imposed upon them by General 
 Boyd." The despatch of General Boyd, just quoted, 
 contains the first official information extant, of Red- 
 Jacket s personal service in the field during that contest. 
 
 * Article in Niles s Weekly Register. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 DISASTROUS close of the Niagara campaign in 1813 Military operations of the 
 following year Red-Jacket rouses the Indians upon the war-path Invasion 
 of Canada by General Brown The field of Chippewa described Capture 
 of Fort Erie March to Chippewa The Battle Its effects Remarks there 
 on Conduct of the Indians Subsequent operations on that frontier The In 
 dians of both armies, on a proposition from Red-Jacket, mutually withdraw 
 from the service Conduct and views of the Indians in war Red-Jacket in 
 battle Captain Worth and Farmer s-Brother Startling incident at Buffalo 
 Colonel Worth s opinion of Red-Jacket. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the brilliant successes with which 
 it had been opened, the Niagara campaign of 1813 closed 
 disastrously to the American arms. Forts Erie and 
 George were successively evacuated by the forces of 
 the United States, the latter withdrawing to the re 
 publican side of the river, while their pathway was 
 lighted by the conflagration of the beautiful town of 
 Newark, wantonly laid in ashes by General M Clure, 
 under a misapprehension of his instructions from, the 
 Secretary of War. This event, the remembrance of 
 which is painful to every American of just feelings, oc 
 curred on the 10th of December. But the Vandal act 
 was not allowed to pass unavenged. On the night of 
 the 18th, the enemy crossed the river in force, and the 
 fortress of Niagara was carried by surprise. Pursuing 
 his success, the enemy swept rapidly along the frontier 
 
252 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 from Ontario to Erie, carrying the works at Lewiston, 
 Manchester, Black Rock and Buffalo, laying those fair 
 villages in ruins, and ravaging the adjacent country 
 with fire and sword. It is true that this frontier had 
 been left comparatively defenceless, by the withdrawal 
 of the regular troops for the memorable descent of the 
 St. Lawrence, with a view to the capture of Montreal, 
 an enterprise which signally failed. Still, the fall of 
 Niagara was inglorious, while but few laurels were won 
 in defence of either of the posts, successively and imme 
 diately thereafter falling into the hands of the invaders. 
 Among the villages destroyed in this retaliatory invasion 
 was that of the Tuscaroras ; but the Indians themselves 
 appear to have borne no part even in the feeble defence 
 interposed by the militia, and the handful of regulars sta 
 tioned among them. 
 
 But the contest was renewed in that quarter in the 
 following year, more vigorously than ever, and the Sene- 
 cas, with their confederates upon the American side, 
 roused by the stirring eloquence of Red-Jacket, were 
 upon the war path as early at least as the American 
 troops were prepared to resume offensive operations. 
 
 On the 1st of July, 1814, General Brown found him 
 self in Buffalo, at the head of a military force so strong 
 as in his judgment to authorize the invasion of Canada, 
 for which movement the country at large as well as his 
 own troops appeared to be impatient. His army con 
 sisted of two brigades of infantry, commanded respec 
 tively by Generals Scott and Ripley, to each of which 
 was attached an efficient train of field artillery, under 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 253 
 
 Colonel Towson and Major Hindman, and a small 
 squadron of cavalry under Captain Harris, the whole 
 in the highest state of discipline and equipment. To 
 these was added a brigade of miscellaneous troops, com 
 prising a regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers about five 
 hundred strong, a corps of six hundred New- York volun 
 teers, one hundred of them mounted, then on their 
 march from Batavia, and five hundred and fifty to six 
 hundred Indian warriors, embracing nearly the whole 
 military force of the Six Nations, all under the imme 
 diate command of General Peter B. Porter, as the 
 Quarter-master General of the militia of New- York ; 
 who, without intending to adopt permanently the military 
 profession, was induced to accept this heterogeneous 
 command, under a belief that his local knowledge of the 
 country, at least, might enable him to be useful in the 
 prosecution of a war which, in another situation, he had 
 been instrumental in recommending, but which thus far 
 had been attended with so little success.* 
 
 General Brown proposed to open the campaign by the 
 capture of Fort Erie ; and thence, proceeding rapidly 
 down the Niagara river, reduce in succession the British 
 posts of Chippewa, Queenston Heights, Forts Missis- 
 saugua and Niagara; anticipating the co-operation of 
 Commodore Chauncey s squadron on Lake Ontario, in 
 the achievement of the two last objects. 
 
 Fort Erie, situated at the foot of Lake Erie, was gar 
 risoned by one hundred and seventy men, and comman- 
 
 * General Porter, as a member of Congress, had been a strong and eloquent 
 advocate for the Declaration of War. 
 
254 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ded by Major Burke of the British army. Chippewa, 
 eighteen miles below, and then the head quarters of the 
 British forces, was occupied by General Real, with an 
 army, inclusive of troops at available distances in his 
 rear, of about the same numerical force, and of the same 
 composition with that of General Brown, save that the 
 number of his Indian allies was somewhat less. 
 
 In order to form any just estimate of the merits 
 of the battle of Chippewa, no just or adequate ac 
 count of which has yet appeared in history, a correct 
 and minute knowledge of the positions of the two 
 armies and their surrounding localities, at the time of 
 the engagement, is indispensably necessary. The Chip 
 pewa or Welland River, the north or left bank of which, 
 near its mouth, was occupied by the British army and 
 their defences, consisting of two block-houses connected 
 and flanked by a parapet, is a considerable stream, 
 about one hundred yards wide and from twelve to 
 twenty feet deep, coming from the west and entering 
 the Niagara at a right angle. Street s Creek, the mouth 
 of which was selected by the American commanders 
 as a suitable position before the battle, is a small sluggish 
 stream parallel to the Chippewa, and entering the Nia 
 gara two miles above, or to the south of it. The Chip 
 pewa is bordered on the south by a flat, open plain, 
 about three-fourths of a mile wide and terminating in 
 the rear in a dense forest of primitive growth ; so wet, 
 and so much obstructed by fallen timber, as to be im 
 practicable for carriages or horses. The west bank of 
 the Niagara is precisely similar to the south bank of the 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 255 
 
 Chippewa, with this difference only, that about mid 
 way between the Chippewa and Street s Creek there is, 
 or was at that time, a strip or tongue of woodland which 
 had never been cleared, about one-fourth of a mile in 
 width, extending from, or being a continuation of, the 
 forest in the rear to a narrow clearing of one hundred 
 yards width, on the bank of the river, used as the pub 
 lic highway, thus forming a mask between the two 
 positions of Chippewa and Street s Creek, by which the 
 occupants of each were excluded from all knowledge or 
 observation of what was passing at the other. 
 
 On the 2d of July General Brown, with Generals 
 Scott and Porter, made a reconnoissance of Fort Erie 
 and the upper parts of the Niagara, and concerted a 
 plan for the attack of the fort on the following morning. 
 By this plan General Ripley, with part of his brigade, 
 was to embark in boats at Buffalo in the course of the 
 night, and passing up and across the lake, land at day 
 light on the British shore, a mile above Fort Erie ; and 
 General Scott with his brigade to cross the Niagara 
 River, through a difficult pass in the Black Rock 
 Rapids, and make a simultaneous landing, a mile below 
 the fort ; when the two brigades, closing and surround 
 ing the fort, would prevent the escape of the garrison 
 until artillery could be brought from Buffalo to reduce 
 it. General Ripley, although punctual in his departure, 
 did not reach the point of debarkation until some hours 
 after the appointed time, in consequence of a heavy fog 
 by which his pilots were misled. But General Scott, 
 with his accustomed promptitude, made good his land- 
 
256 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ing at the hour indicated, and was able, with the assist 
 ance of a few Indians and volunteers who accompanied 
 him, to invest the fort in such a manner as to secure its 
 garrison. 
 
 The rising sun disclosed to the British commandant 
 and his officers, who were deliberately viewing the 
 scene with their glasses from the top of their works, not 
 only their fort already surrounded, but the hurried 
 transit of boats at the ferry below freighted with In 
 dians, artillery and other means for their destruction. 
 Whether influenced most by the formidable appearance 
 of the artillery or of the Indians, who are held even in 
 greater terror by European than by American soldiers, 
 the commanding officer, soon after mid-day, and too 
 soon perhaps to satisfy the claims of military etiquette, 
 surrendered the fort and garrison to the demand of Ge 
 neral Brown, without firing a gun. 
 
 On the same evening General Scott, with his brigade 
 and Towson s artillery, proceeded down the Niagara, 
 and on the morning of the 4th, having driven in on his 
 march some advanced posts of the enemy, established 
 his camp in the open field on the south side of Street s 
 Creek, near its mouth and two miles from Chippewa. 
 On the evening of the same day (4th) he was joined by 
 General Brown, with General Ripley s brigade, which 
 took post in the same field in rear of General Scott. 
 In the course of the night of the 4th, General Porter 
 crossed the Niagara at Black Rock, with the Pennsyl 
 vania volunteers and Indians ; and at sunrise on the 
 morning of the 5th, marched for the camp, where they 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 257 
 
 arrived at twelve o clock. On their way down they 
 were met about five miles above Chippewa by General 
 Brown, who on joining and returning with them gave 
 General Porter to understand that the position of the 
 American army, although probably the best that could 
 have been selected, was a most uncomfortable one on 
 account of its contracted limits, there being but about 
 three-fourths of a mile distance between the river and 
 an almost impenetrable forest, infested by a band of 
 Indians and militia, conversant with its haunts and sent 
 out from the British camp to annoy and assail his pic 
 kets ; that he had that morning been under the neces 
 sity of making an example of a valuable officer for suf 
 fering his guard to be driven in, and the army thus ex 
 posed to the direct fire of these troublesome visitants, 
 that it was absolutely necessary for the quiet and safety 
 of the camp that these intruders should be dispersed ; 
 and, as regular troops were ill qualified for such service, 
 proposed to General Porter that he should with his corps 
 of Indian warriors, aided if necessary by the volunteers, 
 scour the adjoining woods and drive the enemy across 
 the Chippewa, handling them in such a manner as 
 would prevent a renewal of this kind of warfare, as 
 suring him in the most confident terms that there was not 
 and would not be in the course of that day a single 
 British regular soldier on the south side of the Chippewa. 
 But still, to be prepared for such improbable contingency, 
 that he would direct General Scott s brigade to cross 
 Street s Creek and occupy the plain on the north side 
 of it, (which afterward became the principal battle 
 
 33 
 
258 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ground,) and be in readiness to sustain him. The pro 
 position was of course acceded to by General Porter, 
 and when afterward communicated to his brigade, re 
 ceived by them with enthusiasm. 
 
 By three o clock in the afternoon, the men having 
 been refreshed from the fatigues of the preceding twen 
 ty-four hours, the plan of march and attack settled, 
 and the warriors duly arrayed in their battle dress,* 
 General Porter s command, with the exception of two 
 hundred Pennsylvanians who were left on parade, sub 
 ject to future orders, -was formed about half a mile 
 in rear of the main camp, into a single or Indian file, 
 with Indians on the left ; and thence marching into the 
 woods in the same order, in a line at right angles to the 
 river, until the whole Indian force was immerged in the 
 forest, leaving the white troops in the open field, they 
 had only to halt and face to the right, when the whole 
 were formed in line of battle, three-fourths of a mile 
 long and one man deep, looking in the direction of Chip- 
 pewa. Red- Jacket was placed at the extreme left of 
 the line, and General Porter took his station on the mar 
 gin of the woods between the white and red troops, ac 
 companied by Captain Pollard, a Seneca chief, who 
 was considered as the first in command among the In- 
 
 * It was the uniform practice of our Indian warriors, when going into action, 
 to divest their persons of all covering excepting moccasins, perhaps leggings, a 
 breech-cloth, a large tuft of white feathers fastened to the hair on the crown of 
 the head, and a small strong plaited line or belt, three or four yards long, (called 
 a matunip line,) girt about their waist, to secure the tomahawk, knife, powder- 
 horn, &c., and used if necessary to bind their prisoners. Their naked bodies 
 and faces were then painted with bold and gaudy colors, without uniformity, and 
 generally, though not always, without much taste or design. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 359 
 
 dians,* Colonel Flemming, the Quarter-master of the 
 Indian corps, Lieutenant (now Major) Donald Eraser, 
 his aid, Henry Johnson, his interpreter.! He was also 
 accompanied by Major (now Adjutant-General) Jones, 
 and Major Wood of the Engineers, who afterward fell 
 in the sortie from Fort Erie, as volunteers ; and sup 
 ported by a company of regular infantry, marching in 
 column in the rear as a reserve. The Indians were 
 commanded by their war-chiefs who were indulged in 
 their own mode of conducting the attack, marching about 
 twenty yards in advance of the warriors of their respec 
 tive tribes. General Porter having sent out scouts to re- 
 
 * The selection of their leader for this battle, or perhaps for the campaign, 
 was made in council but a short time before the action took place. The chief 
 who expected the distinction was an Onondaga, named Ka-was-kwant, or the 
 Spring- Trap, commonly known as Captain John. He was an aged warrior, 
 who had shown his braveiy at Wyoming, Cherry Valley, and Newtown, and in 
 short at almost every place where fighting was to be done during the war of the 
 revolution. He was now seventy-five years old ; but hearing that his people 
 were about to go again upon the war-path, the fire of heroism rekindled in 
 his bosom, and he hastened to the frontier, confident, that from his well-known 
 character of old, he should be chosen the leader on the present occasion. But 
 he was not even named in council, the choice falling with great unanimity upon 
 Pollard. Captain John was greatly affected by this neglect, and the tears rolled 
 down his cheeks as he related the circumstance to Mr. Tyler, the author s in 
 formant. " They think me too old, and that I am good for nothing," said the 
 veteran chief, in the bitterness of his heart; and with a countenance saddened 
 with disappointment he left the warriors, and retraced his steps to Onondaga. 
 As they did not want his services, he would not trouble them with his presence. 
 
 t Henry Johnson, (called Cattaraugas Hank,) was a white man by birth ; but 
 having been made a prisoner in infancy, was in all his associations, habits and 
 dispositions, a thorough Indian. He was honest and possessed a handsome pro 
 perty, was endowed with great physical power and enterprise, and being withal 
 an admirable hunter, there was, probably, not an Indian or a white man on the 
 Niagara, who could boast of having slain the number of foes that fell by his un 
 erring rifle. 
 
260 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 connoitre the enemy, the march was commenced by signal, 
 and proceeded at first with great stillness and caution. 
 The chiefs have signals, by which, on the discovery of 
 any circumstance requiring consultation or a change of 
 route or action, they convey notice through their ranks 
 with great celerity, on which the whole line of warriors 
 drop instantly to the ground, and remain there until far 
 ther orders. Two manoeuvres of this kind occurred on 
 the march, the first of little moment, but the second 
 communicating, through the scouts, the exact position of 
 the enemy, who, apprised of their assailants approach, 
 lay concealed in a thicket of bushes along the margin 
 of Street s Creek. A consultation was thereupon held 
 and new orders given, the purport of which was to 
 change the line of march so as to meet the enemy to 
 more advantage, to increase the speed as much as was 
 consistent with the preservation of order, to receive 
 their first fire, but not to return it except singly and 
 when it could be done with certain effect, and then to 
 raise the war-whoop, pursue, capture and slay as many 
 as practicable, until they should reach the open ground 
 in front of Chippewa, and thence return to camp. 
 
 The march was accordingly resumed, the fire of the 
 enemy received, and a rush accompanied with savage 
 yells made upon them and continued for more than a 
 mile, through scenes of frightful havoc and slaughter, 
 few only of the fugitives offering to surrender as pri 
 soners, while others, believing that no quarters would be 
 given, suffered themselves to be cut down by the toma 
 hawk, or turning back upon their pursuers, fought hand 
 to hand to the last. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 On reaching the open field in front of Chippewa, the 
 assailants were met by a tremendous discharge of mus 
 ketry, by which the warriors, who were principally in 
 front, were thrown back upon the volunteers and re 
 serve, who for want of equal speed were a short dis 
 tance in the rear. Presuming that the fire had come 
 from the enemy he had been pursuing, and who had 
 rallied on reaching the open ground, General Porter 
 made an effort, not without success, to reform his line 
 with the volunteers, reserve, and a portion of the war 
 riors ; but on again advancing to the margin of the 
 woods found himself within a few yards of the whole 
 British regular army formed in line of battle, and pre 
 senting within a given space at least three men fresh 
 from their camp, to a single one in his own attenuated 
 and exhausted line. After receiving and returning two 
 or three fires, the enemy rushed forward with charged 
 bayonets, when, hearing nothing from General Scott, he 
 gave the order to retreat, sauve qui peut, and form again 
 on the left of General Scott s brigade, wherever it 
 should be found. 
 
 It appears that the British commander had resolved 
 on making a general attack that day on the American 
 camp ; and in execution of this purpose had marched 
 his whole force across the Chippewa a short time before 
 General Porter entered the woods with the Indians ; 
 and having sent forward his Indians and militia, which 
 was the British force met in the woods, to commence 
 his attack on the left flank of the Americans, formed in 
 the meantime his battalions of regulars on the plain, 
 
262 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 under cover of the strip of wood land which divided the 
 two camps, with his artillery on his left, near the gorge 
 occupied by the road along the bank of the river ; ready 
 to act the moment the effect of the flank attack should 
 be developed. 
 
 The repulse of General Porter s command was thus 
 effected by the main body of the British army, while 
 General Scott s brigade was more than a mile in the 
 rear, and had not yet crossed the bridge over Street s 
 Creek. The error therefore of General Porter, if he 
 committed one, consisted in remaining as long as he did 
 under so unequal a fire ; or perhaps in attempting to 
 rally at all against so superior a force ; and if the Indians 
 were more censured for cowardice than the volunteers, 
 in consequence of being foremost in the flight, they owe 
 their degradation to their greater speed and bottom, for 
 every fugitive, whether white or red man, exerted his 
 utmost power of locomotion to escape, restrained by no 
 other consideration than a passing regard to the safety 
 of his immediate companions in flight.* In a retreat of 
 
 * Colonel Worth, of the U. S. army, has given me in conversations some amu 
 sing reminiscences of this retreat of the Indians. The Colonel was a young officer 
 at that time, attached to the military family of General Scott. Some of the In 
 dians, it seems, had taken their sons, lads of twelve to fourteen, into the battle, to 
 teach them early in the trade of war. As the Indians came rushing along in a 
 diagonal direction, some of them ran up in front of Scott s brigade, which opened 
 a passage through for their retreat. Among them Colonel Worth observed one 
 stalwart Indian, with his son upon his shoulder, bounding forward with the ut 
 most expedition. Just as he was passing near the position of the General and 
 staff, a shell of the enemy s exploded apparently over his head. With the usual 
 exclamation of " Ugh !" the Indian bounded nearly ten feet high, and as he came 
 down, his son, who was about fourteen years old, tumbled sprawling upon the 
 ground, the father continuing his speed, and the young " brave" picking him- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 263 
 
 a mile in a diagonal direction to the right, so as to un 
 cover the enemy to the fire of the American line, then 
 just beginning to form, they gained but little distance on 
 the British columns who were in hot pursuit. When 
 General Porter and his staff arrived at Street s Creek, 
 they were met by Major (now General,) Jesup s bat 
 talion, then in the act of taking its position, which was 
 on the left, and a short distance from the remainder of 
 General Scott s brigade ; and the volunteers, fatigued as 
 they were, aided Major Jesup s evolutions, which were 
 executed with great order and celerity, by breaking 
 down the fences to enable him to pass from the road 
 bordering on Street s Creek, to his position in the field. 
 Nothing could exceed the coolness and order with which 
 General Scott s brigade crossed the bridge and formed 
 its line, under the galling fire of the enemy s artillery, 
 and the headlong approach of his infantry, who, when 
 only fifty yards distant, were received by a tremendous 
 discharge of musketry from the American line, which 
 forced them to fall back for a considerable distance. 
 But they speedily rallied and advanced again, when 
 they were met in the same gallant manner, which proved 
 decisive of the battle ; and they thereupon fled the field 
 with as much precipitation as they had entered it, not 
 halting until they had recrossed the Chippewa and de 
 stroyed their bridge. General Scott pursued them 
 around the point of woods, beyond which he could only 
 
 self up and scampering after him as fast as possible. The scene was so ludicrous 
 as to create merriment among the young officers, even on so grave an occasion, 
 calling forth a rebuke from General Scott. W. L. S. 
 
264 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 advance in face of their batteries, and these he could 
 not reach by reason of the intervening river. He there 
 fore deployed to the left, and forming a line in the open 
 field in front of Chippewa, directed his men to lie down 
 with their heads toward the batteries, the better to avoid 
 the effect of their fire. 
 
 The battle between the regular troops was but of a 
 few minutes duration, with the exception of the artillery, 
 which, on both sides, was earliest and longest engaged, 
 and served with the most destructive effect, Colonel 
 Towson occupying the right of the American line, on 
 Street s Creek, and the British artillery the left of theirs, 
 at the point of woods, and both commencing with the 
 first movements of the regular troops. 
 
 Immediately after the two lines had encountered on 
 Street s Creek, a magnificent charger completely capari 
 soned, but without a rider, was seen prancing and cur 
 veting in the centre of the battle field, and endeavoring 
 to make his escape through the American line to the 
 rear. Presuming that he had belonged to some officer 
 who had fallen, he was forthwith secured by the servant 
 of General Porter, and immediately mounted by the 
 general, to whom he was a most acceptable acquisition 
 after the labors of the day which he had performed on 
 foot.* 
 
 * This powerful steed was the property of Major M Neal, who commanded 
 one of General Scott s battalions, and never having before been in action, was so 
 much alarmed by the sudden and tremendous discharge of musketry and artil 
 lery in every direction, as to be, for a few moments, wholly unman agable ; and 
 the major was obliged to dismount and abandon him. He, nevertheless, soon 
 became familiarized, as his owner had been long before, to the dangers of his 
 new profession, and was the next morning restored to the major. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 265 
 
 Riding up to General Brown, who was also in the 
 midst of the action, General Porter received his orders 
 to march with the two hundred Pennsylvanians who 
 had been left in camp, to the support of General Scott ; 
 which orders were promptly executed by following Gene 
 ral Scott s brigade around the point of woods, receiving 
 the fire of the British batteries, and taking post on his 
 left with the men in the same recumbent position. Here 
 they awaited the arrival of General Ripley s brigade, 
 which, on the first discovery that the whole British army 
 was in the field, had been ordered to make a detour 
 through the woods, and attack the enemy s right. They 
 soon came up, in the same muddy plight with the volun 
 teers and Indians who had previously traversed the same 
 ground ; when the whole army at about sundown quietly 
 retired to their camp on the south side of Street s Creek. 
 And thus ended the battle of Chippewa, which probably 
 produced more important results in favor of the Ameri 
 can arms than any other engagement by land in the 
 course of that war ; although there were several battles 
 fought on the Niagara, if not elsewhere, during the same 
 campaign, exhibiting a greater number of combatants 
 engaged, a larger number slain, and a result equally 
 creditable to the gallantry and good conduct of the Ame 
 rican soldiers. 
 
 The first advantage gained was in driving from the 
 British army those troublesome enemies, their Indian 
 allies, who had been the terror of our troops in the west, 
 during all the preceding stages of the war, and had kept 
 the camps of General Dearborn, General Lewis and 
 
 34 
 
*>66 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 General Boyd, in a perpetual panic during the campaign 
 of 1813. Terrified and disheartened by the reception 
 they met with at Chippewa, they fled from the battle 
 field to the head of Lake Ontario, a distance of thirty 
 miles, without halting, and never again during the re 
 mainder of the war appeared in the British camp, thus 
 giving a practical and decisive proof that they held the 
 prowess of their red American foes in much higher esti 
 mation than some of the allies of the latter were dis 
 posed to accord to them. 
 
 Another immediate effect of this battle was to give the 
 American people confidence in the courage and efficiency 
 of their army, and to the latter, confidence in themselves. 
 A great blunder had been committed at the commence 
 ment of the war, in the appointment of incompetent and 
 unworthy men, taken perhaps from the gambling table 
 or the race course, as officers of the army, owing their 
 places to the importunities of influential friends, who 
 sought this mode of providing for those who were useless 
 in civil life. 
 
 It is a well known fact, and it is fortunate for the pur 
 poses of war that it is so, that the tone, temper and 
 spirit of the common soldier will, in most instances, and 
 especially on occasions of great peril, conform to, and 
 identify themselves with those of his commanding offi 
 cer ; so that if an officer prove recreant in battle, his 
 example will poison and make cowards of the whole 
 corps to which he belongs ; and it was to this circum 
 stance that the Americans were indebted for most of 
 their early discomfitures. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 267 
 
 But in 1814 this difficulty had in a great measure 
 been overcome by the resignation or dismissal of unde 
 serving incumbents, and the army of Niagara entered 
 the field under a complement of as gallant officers as 
 could be found in any army or country. 
 
 The victory of Chippewa and those which followed 
 it were achieved by men three fourths of whom, in 
 cluding the regular troops as well as the volunteers and 
 Indians, had never before been in action, thus esta 
 blishing the important fact, which should not be lost 
 sight of in the future organization of our army and mi 
 litia, that the efficiency of a military force depends more 
 on the judicious selection and arrangement of the original 
 material of which it is composed, than on prolonged dis 
 cipline ; and that a farmer fresh from the plough may, 
 by a drill of six weeks, under proper officers, be rendered 
 as efficient in all the duties of the field, as a soldier of 
 ten years standing, although he may not within this short 
 space become enured to the habits of the camp. 
 
 The eclat of these victories created such an enthu 
 siasm throughout the country, that not only the youth, 
 but men of every age and condition in life, were pressing 
 for opportunities to enter the service ; and had the war 
 continued, the campaign of 1815 would have opened 
 with an army of any desired extent, selected from the 
 choicest materials of the country. But these same events, 
 so brilliant on our part, had a corresponding influence in 
 depressing the hopes and expectations of our enemy, and 
 led to the peace of December, 1814, so honorable to both 
 parties, and which, it is to be hoped, will not soon be 
 again disturbed. 
 
268 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 On reviewing the several incidents connected with 
 the battle of Chippewa, it is evident that, had General 
 Scott s brigade been at hand to support the volunteers 
 and Indians when first met by the regular columns of 
 the British army, the contest as a whole would have pre 
 sented quite a different aspect from the one it actually 
 assumed ; but that the result would have been equally 
 auspicious to the American arms is not to be doubted. 
 Why they were not there has never been satisfactorily 
 explained to those who were most interested in the 
 movement. There can be no question that General 
 Scott was as full a believer as General Brown, in the 
 proposition and prophecy so confidently advanced by 
 the latter in the morning, " that there was not and would 
 not be, in the course of that day, a single regular British 
 soldier on the south side of the Chippewa," and that 
 General Porter s force was amply sufficient to dispose of 
 the Indians and militia. But whether the tardy exe 
 cution, or rather non-execution, of the promised order for 
 his support, proceeded from delay in the issuing, or in 
 the performance of it, is a question which seems not to 
 have been settled. 
 
 Still, the successive mistakes committed by the two 
 armies on that day, by reason of their mutual ignorance 
 of each other s positions, plans and movements, were 
 probably quite as injurious in their consequences to the 
 British as to the Americans. The first error, in throw 
 ing the volunteers and Indians, in their exhausted con 
 dition, into the power of the British battalions, without 
 support, was immediately followed by an equal one on 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 269 
 
 the part of the latter, who, on seeing the sudden check 
 and rapid retreat they had given to their assailants, and 
 elated too, as they evidently were, with the idea that 
 victory was already achieved, pursued them for a mile 
 with a precipitation which at once exhausted their 
 strength, and threw them into a degree of confusion, 
 which was so much increased by the astounding re 
 ception they met with from General Scott s line, that 
 they could never afterward restore that order which 
 was necessary to enable them to cope with the cool and 
 compact ranks of the Americans. And these mutual 
 blunders probably hastened the termination of the battle, 
 and rendered it less sanguinary than it would have been 
 had the parties met more deliberately, and with a bet 
 ter knowledge of each other s views and comparative 
 strength.* 
 
 The rumor which was industriously spread, that the 
 whole of the American Indians, immediately on their re 
 pulse at Chippewa, fled to Buffalo, and were never seen 
 again in the American camp, was destitute of foundation. 
 The Indians never coerce their warriors into battle or 
 compel them to remain there, and it is true that a con 
 siderable number of them fled from sheer cowardice and 
 fright, on the first fire ; but the number of fugitives was 
 much exaggerated for want of a knowledge of Indian 
 customs. When they take a prisoner, the captor, with sur 
 prising dexterity and despatch, binds his hands behind his 
 back with his maturnip line and leads him off to the rear, 
 
 * General Riall had seventeen hundred men engaged in this battle, while the 
 American troops actually brought into the battle did not exceed thirteen hundred. 
 
270 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 like a horse by a halter, on a trot ; and the frequent ap 
 pearance of these parties gliding along the skirts of the 
 woods at the commencement of the action, the guard 
 generally outnumbering the prisoners, led the other 
 troops by whom they were observed to believe that they 
 were all fugitives. But that the great body of warriors 
 as well as volunteers, engaged in the opening attack, 
 fought with a boldness, not to say desperation, unsur 
 passed by any other troops until they were placed, 
 and that not by their own fault, in a situation where it 
 would have been madness not to retreat, was fully at 
 tested by their officers ; and was, moreover, proved by 
 the fact that the loss of the British Indians and militia 
 in the woods, inclusive of killed, wounded and prison 
 ers, was not less than that of their regular troops in the 
 subsequent engagement in the field. 
 
 Most of the warriors remained in camp for some 
 fifteen days longer, and until the eve of the battle of 
 Bridgewater, when, for reasons which were plausible, if 
 not satisfactory, they retired from the army to their re 
 spective villages. 
 
 On the morning of the 6th of July, General Porter 
 was waited on at his tent by about twenty chiefs, each 
 accompanied by a warrior bearing the scalps which his 
 tribe had taken during the preceding day. They had, 
 it seems, been informed that they were to receive a 
 bounty for every scalp taken in battle. But on be 
 ing apprised of their mistake, these unseemly trophies 
 were immediately buried or thrown into the river. Still 
 they were allowed a premium for the prisoners they had 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 271 
 
 taken, amounting to sixteen or eighteen, among whom 
 were two or three chiefs, proportioned to the rank they 
 held. 
 
 At their request General Porter gave them permis 
 sion to visit the battle ground, for the purpose of bring 
 ing off the bodies of their friends who had fallen, 
 which in the hurry of the preceding day they had not 
 been able to do, it being understood that Colonel 
 Flemming should accompany them. 
 
 After an absence of a few hours they returned, bring 
 ing in the bodies of fifteen warriors, among whom were 
 three chiefs, all of which were buried in the course of 
 the evening with the honors of war.* They reported 
 also that among the numerous bodies of their enemies 
 strewed along the woods, they had discovered three 
 who, although mortally wounded, were still living. 
 Two of these they despatched by cutting their throats, 
 but recognizing in the third a late member of one of 
 their own villages, who was burning with fever and 
 thirst, Johnson had filled his own canteen with water 
 at a neighboring creek and given it to him, to die by 
 himself. On being reproached with the savage pro-: 
 ceeding of taking the life of an unresisting foe, the only 
 answer given by Johnson, with marks of evident con 
 trition, was, " That it did seem hard to take the lives 
 
 * Among the slain chiefs was Captain Le Fort, an Onondaga, of courage and 
 reputation. His son, Abraham Le Fort, yet resides at Onondaga. He has pro 
 cured a good education, adopted the costume of the whites, and his children are 
 inmates* of the English common school in his neighborhood. He was a lad of 
 fourteen at the time of the battle of Chippewa, and accompanied his father 
 in that campaign. W. L. S. 
 
272 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " of these men, but that we ought to recollect that these 
 " were very hard times." 
 
 Two days after the battle a passage was forced 
 across the Chippewa at a point three miles above its 
 mouth, by Major Hindman s corps of artillery, supported 
 by General Ripley s brigade and the New- York volun 
 teers, just arrived. After a short and gallant resistance 
 by the enemy at the cannon s mouth, they fled in great 
 haste and confusion, destroying their works at Chip 
 pewa and Queenston heights, to Fort Mississagua, at 
 the mouth of the Niagara River. 
 
 On the march of the army to Queenston, the Indians, 
 whose roving habits it was impossible to restrain, com 
 mitted some depredations upon the neighboring farmers, 
 besides capturing some fifty to one hundred barrels of 
 wine, brandy, and other stores belonging to the British 
 army, which they found concealed in the woods. This 
 property was taken from them by the United States 
 Quarter-master, in virtue of an order issued by Gene 
 ral Brown on entering the province, and as regarded 
 the public stores, much to their dissatisfaction. 
 
 About this time, on the suggestion of Red- Jacket, ap 
 proved by General Brown, two young chiefs distin 
 guished for their bravery, prudence and address, were 
 despatched to the camp of the British Indians at the 
 head of the lake, with secret propositions for the mutual 
 withdrawal of the whole Indian forces from both armies. 
 After three days absence they returned, and reported 
 that they were kindly received by the few chiefs with 
 whom they dared to communicate or to be made 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 273 
 
 known to ; and that measures would be immediately 
 taken by them to carry the proposition into effect. 
 This embassy, which Red-Jacket was disposed to 
 turn to the best advantage, resulted in the retirement 
 of all the American warriors to their respective villages, 
 with a positive engagement, nevertheless, that they 
 would immediately return if the British Indians should 
 again appear in the field. But they did not appear; 
 still, some forty or fifty American Indians, among whom 
 was Johnson, lured by the love of war and by the ex 
 citing scenes through which they had already passed, 
 returned to the army and were useful auxiliaries dur 
 ing the remainder of the campaign, having been in 
 Fort Erie at the time of its investment, and performed 
 a conspicuous part in the sortie of the 17th September, 
 on which occasion they were among the first to scale 
 the enemy s works. 
 
 The writer of the preceding account has relied 
 almost wholly on his memory, having had recourse to 
 scarcely a single written document, except to ascertain 
 dates, for the facts it contains.* His principal object 
 has been to vindicate the men of the Six Nations, who 
 have no historian to chronicle their good or bad deeds, 
 against the charges both of bad faith and cowardice 
 
 * General Porter is himself the author of this account of the crossing of the 
 Niagara by the American army ; the capture of Fort Erie ; and the battle of 
 Chippewa. I had written as good an account of these events as all the mate 
 rials I could obtain enabled me to collate. But not being satisfied with it my 
 self, I placed the manuscript in the hands of General Porter, who kindly favored 
 me with a far more correct, extended, and impartial account of that portion of the 
 campaign of 1814, than I could obtain the means of composing. See letter from 
 General Porter to the author, Appendix E. 
 
 35 
 
274 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 preferred against them during their brief connexion 
 with the army. He will close it with a few remarks on 
 their character, and more especially that of Red-Jacket, 
 as warriors. 
 
 Although these people are unable, for want of the 
 necessary science, materials, and machinery, to wage a 
 systematic and independent war, they are nevertheless 
 most valuable auxiliaries to an army in this country. 
 Indeed, a corps of Indian warriors, bearing a due pro 
 portion to the size of the army with which they act, may 
 be considered as worth at least double their numbers in 
 any other description of troops. Equal, at least, to 
 white men in physical strength, intelligence, and mili 
 tary ambition, the athletic habits in which they are edu 
 cated, their familiarity with the woods and fields, and 
 their abstemious modes of living, confer on them an ac 
 tivity and fleetness and a power of endurance far be 
 yond what white men possess ; while the lightness of 
 their arms and dress and the scanty means required for 
 their subsistence and sleeping, relieve an army from a 
 vast amount of the lumber and material of war. The 
 prevailing impression that they are more cowardly than 
 white men, which is an inference from their well 
 known repugnance and refusal to fight hand to hand in 
 the open field, is known to be unjust by those inti 
 mately acquainted with their character and customs. It 
 should be recollected that the sentiment of true valor, which 
 is as much respected and cherished by the Indians as by 
 white men, is not less the offspring of education than of 
 instinct. Among the qualifications of a great war-chief, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 275 
 
 prudence, sagacity, and skill in circumventing and 
 prostrating an enemy with the least possible loss to his 
 own people, are not less regarded and venerated than his 
 prowess in the field. They are taught from their infancy to 
 hold in detestation that sort of blind chivalry which in 
 duces two men, or two equal bodies of men, to march into 
 a field and deliberately hack each other down. Yet 
 many of our Indians were repeatedly seen, not only 
 charging with the other troops in the field, but perform 
 ing, when acting by themselves, feats of open, bold, 
 and daring bravery, from the execution of which few 
 even of our best troops would not have recoiled. But 
 when they do indulge in such feats it must be when 
 the chances of success are strongly in their favor, and 
 in prospect of a boon commensurate with the hazard 
 they run. 
 
 As to Red-Jacket, he was considered by his own 
 friends as well as by his enemies, constitutionally a cow 
 ard, that is to say, as formed with nerves more sen 
 sitive to danger than those of most other men ; and 
 yet so powerfully was he influenced by the feelings of 
 pride, and the necessity of sustaining in every situation 
 the reputation of a great chief, that he was said by those 
 who were near him to have behaved exceedingly well 
 in the battle of Chippewa. But he took care to keep 
 himself out of all minor engagements and skirmishes, 
 where, if the hazard would have been less, so also was 
 the object to be achieved. During the whole period of 
 the war, the powers of his great eloquence were con 
 stantly exerted both on the government and on the chiefs 
 
276 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and warriors ; first, to keep them from joining in the war, 
 and after they had become engaged to withdraw them 
 from it ; and in this his counsels were those of a wise 
 man and a provident father of his people. His principal 
 arguments were, that the Indians had no interest in 
 the quarrel between the two parties, and nothing to gain 
 or lose in the result, that they had no voice in the de 
 claration of war, nor could they have in its conduct and 
 termination, and above all, that the Six Nations had 
 but few young men, who, if permitted to be drawn into 
 the contest and employed in such enterprises as the white 
 officers by whom they would be commanded should di 
 rect, and their own ambition court, would be very 
 soon exterminated, and leave the remainder of their na 
 tion poor and powerless. 
 
 Four days after the battle of Chippewa, the army re 
 sumed its march down the Niagara, for the investment 
 of Fort George, the passage of the Chippewa being but 
 feebly opposed, and General Riall falling back upon 
 Twelve Mile Creek, and throwing a portion of his troops 
 into the last mentioned fortress. 
 
 In the hard fought battle of Lundy s Lane, on the 
 25th of July, among the wounded were the Commander- 
 in-chief Major-General Brown, General -Scott, and his 
 favorite aid-de-camp Captain Worth. The latter officer 
 was carried back to Buffalo to be healed of his wounds. 
 While lying there, an incident occurred connected with 
 the Indian department of history, which is worthy of re 
 cord. Captain Worth had become quite a favorite with 
 the Indians in that and the preceding campaign, and 
 
OF RED-JACKET, 277 
 
 during the several weeks of his confinement, they were 
 wont to hang around his quarters in considerable num 
 bers, watching him with great solicitude. Farmer s- 
 Brother, in particular, was in the habit of attending his 
 bed-side several hours almost every day. On one occa 
 sion, a Chippewa Indian crossed over from the Canada 
 shore, and joined a large party of Indians near Captain 
 Worth s quarters, in the character of a deserter. Accor 
 ding to his story, he had left the British camp below the 
 falls, swum the Chippewa, and finding means of crossing 
 the Niagara, he had now come over to join the Ameri 
 cans. Desertion is not an Indian vice, being peculiar to 
 the more elevated race of the whites. His statement 
 was therefore received with distrust. Nevertheless, for 
 a short time he mingled among the Senecas undetected. 
 But his true character could not be long concealed. The 
 Indians having indulged rather more freely than common 
 in drink one afternoon, and consequently waxing valiant, 
 began vauntingly to recount their exploits, each one 
 relating how many of the British red-coats and Indians 
 he had killed. The spirit of the Chippewa kindled at 
 the recital ; and forgetting for the moment his assumed 
 character, he held up his fingers and boasted of the 
 number of Yankees and Senecas whom he had slain. 
 Words ran high, and ere many minutes had elapsed the 
 Chippewa stood in the midst of a circle of some twenty 
 warriors, self-convicted, not only as an enemy, but a spy. 
 The veteran Farmer s-Brother happened at the time to 
 be sitting with Captain Worth, and the noise of the ex 
 citement called him into the street. The weather was 
 
278 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 extremely hot, and the windows of the Captain s apart 
 ments were open, so that he was enabled to see from 
 his couch all that was passing without. After a few 
 words to the old chief, apparently of explanation, but 
 which Captain Worth could not understand, Farmer s- 
 Brother stepped up to the Chippewa, who drew his 
 blanket over his head, and fell from a blow inflicted by 
 the veteran s war-club. He was stunned, and fora few 
 seconds lay motionless, when, springing suddenly upon 
 his feet, he leaped through the circle, and ran swiftly 
 away to the distance of several rods. Recovering from 
 the momentary surprise into which they had been thrown 
 by this unlooked for action, the Senecas called after the 
 fleeing Chippewa, and taunted him for his cowardice in 
 refusing to die like a brave man. The retreating spy, 
 stung by the reproach, stopped short in his flight, wheeled 
 about, and deliberately retraced his steps to the fatal 
 circle. Having resumed his place, he once more drew 
 his blanket over his head, and laying himself quietly 
 down, received the contents of Farmer s-Brother s rifle 
 in his breast, arid expired, atoning for his crime with 
 as much calmness and resignation as Socrates displayed 
 in drinking the deadly hemlock.* 
 
 From the preceding narrative it must be apparent 
 that Red-Jacket bore no very prominent part among 
 his people while upon the war-path. Yet, in other 
 respects, while with the army, his influence upon 
 his people was great. Their councils were frequent 
 
 * Notes of the Author s conversations with Colonel Worth. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 379 
 
 during the campaign, and Red-Jacket was uniformly 
 their principal orator. His manner was graceful and 
 imposing in the eye of every beholder, and his voice 
 music, especially to the ears of his own people. He 
 had the power of wielding them at will, and the soul- 
 stirring trumpet could not produce a more kindling ef 
 fect in the bosoms of a disciplined army, than would his 
 appeals upon the warriors of his race. Still, they were 
 all aware of his infirmity, and sometimes when he was 
 speaking of the war-path, those who were waggishly in 
 clined would exchange significant glances at his ex 
 pense.* And yet they were strongly attached to him, 
 from their admiration of his talents, their love of his 
 eloquence, and their confidence in his patriotism. He 
 had years before this period become addicted to that 
 almost universal vice of his race, intemperance, and 
 was now indeed almost a confirmed drunkard. But he 
 always abstained from the fire-water for a season before 
 a council, and made due preparation for any intellectual 
 effort he might be expecting to put forth. " Often have 
 " I known him to make a great speech, rich in elo- 
 " quence, and in an hour afterward seen him drunk 
 " upon the ground."f 
 
 In the course of the campaign sketched in the pre- 
 
 * An anecdote in point has been related to the author by a western gentleman 
 who knew Red-Jacket well. He says that the Indians were often in the habit 
 of jeering him for his cowardice, notwithstanding their strong affection for him. 
 On one occasion this gentleman heard a conversation between the orator and two 
 Indians, who were walking with him. They were reminding him of the circum 
 stance of their having once in compassion given him a scalp that he might take 
 it home as a trophy, but they said that he was afraid to carry it ! 
 
 t Remark of Colonel Worth to the author. 
 
230 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 sent chapter, Red-Jacket is said to have formed a strong 
 friendship for Colonel Snelling, of the army, who had 
 shown him some particular attentions. The colonel 
 having been ordered to the command of Governor s 
 Island, in the harbor of New-York, the orator waited 
 upon him to bid him farewell. His parting speech was 
 thus reported : 
 
 " BROTHER : I hear you are going to a place called Go 
 vernor s Island. I hope you will he a governor yourself. I 
 understand that you white people think children a blessing. I 
 hope you may have a thousand. And above all, I hope, where 
 ver you go, you may never find whiskey above two shillings a 
 
 quart."* 
 
 Published in the New-England Galaxy, by William J. Snelling. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 ANOTHER land company The Senecas begin to look for a new home at the 
 west Council at Sandusky An incident of travel Red-Jacket s speech at 
 the council Speeches of others in reply Nothing effected Attempted treaty 
 between the Ogden Land Company and the Senecas, at Buffalo, in 1819, 
 Morris S. Miller Commissioner Opening of the council Speech of Red- 
 Jacket Treaty broken off without success Captain Pollard s apology for the 
 rudeness of Red-Jacket Subsequent negotiations. 
 
 IN process of time, subsequent to the negotiations of 
 Thomas Morris with the Indians in behalf of the Hol 
 land Land Company, this association disposed of its pre 
 emptive right to the several reservations yet held by 
 the Senecas, to Colonel Aaron Ogden and others, since 
 known in connexion with this subject as " The Ogden 
 Company." Thenceforward it of course became the 
 interest of this last mentioned association to induce the 
 Indians to relinquish those reservations, and seek a new 
 home in a more distant territory. Negotiations to this 
 end have often been instituted since, attended, from 
 time to time, by partial success. It appears, moreover, 
 that the Senecas themselves began to think of "re 
 moving their seats," at an early day after the peace of 
 1815. There is some reason also to suppose that con 
 nected with this projected removal was the revival, by 
 Red-Jacket and his fellow chiefs, of the scheme so 
 
 36 
 
282 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ardently prosecuted by Brant twenty-five or thirty years 
 before, of forming a great confederacy of the northwest 
 ern nations, at the head of which the Senecas would 
 have claimed their position. Such, at all events, is the 
 inference, irresistible, to be drawn from the proceedings 
 of a grand Indian council held at the upper rapids of the 
 Sandusky, in the autumn of 1816. Among the north 
 western nations represented in this council were the 
 "Wyandots, Shawanese, Delawares, Ottawas, Monseys, 
 Piankishaws, and several others. A deputation of the 
 chiefs of the Six Nations was likewise in attendance, at 
 the head of which was Red-Jacket, accompanied by 
 Jasper Parish, the interpreter, and likewise by George 
 Hosmer, Esq., a resident of the Genesee Valley, who 
 had been a warm friend of the Seneca chiefs from his 
 youth up, and who made this journey with them at their 
 express solicitation.* 
 
 Among Mr. Hosmer s memoranda of his journey to 
 Sandusky on this occasion, he has recorded an agree 
 able incident, illustrating the fact that notwithstanding 
 the scorn with which he looked upon the laws and 
 usages of civilization, Red-Jacket was not an entire 
 stranger to the rules of propriety and delicacy in the 
 social circle. In travelling up the shore of Lake Erie, 
 when in the neighborhood of Cleveland, they were 
 overtaken by a heavy storm of rain, which thoroughly 
 drenched the party and their baggage. Stopping for 
 
 * I am indebted exclusively to Mr. Hosmer for the accompanying account of 
 this council, and the sketches of the speeches delivered, which were reported by 
 him. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 233 
 
 the night at a comfortable log-tavern, after having par 
 taken of some refreshments, the whole party were seated 
 in a large circle around a cheerful fire, drying their bag 
 gage and clothes. The chiefs, with the exception of 
 Red- Jacket, were earnestly and with much animation 
 and glee engaged in a jocular conversation with Cap 
 tain Parish, and by the keenness of their wit, and the 
 readiness and briskness of their sallies, greatly annoyed 
 him, as was evident from his exertions to sustain him 
 self. During all this time Red-Jacket sat opposite to 
 Mr. Hosmer, calmly smoking his pipe, and apparently 
 taking little interest in the conversation farther than oc 
 casionally to cast toward Mr. H. a gratified expression of 
 his sparkling eye. Mr. Hosmer was ignorant of the 
 Seneca language, a circumstance which Red- Jacket 
 very well knew, and the idea crossed his mind that his 
 friend might possibly suppose that their sport was at his 
 expense, which, situated as he was, would have been 
 inexcusable rudeness. After their mirth had been in 
 dulged for some time, Red-Jacket interposed a word to 
 Mr. Parish, and instantly all were silent. He then ad 
 dressed a few sentences to Mr. Parish, which he de 
 sired him to interpret to Mr. Hosmer. It was done in 
 the following words : 
 
 " We have been made uncomfortable by the storm; we are 
 now warm and comfortable ; it has caused us to feel cheerful 
 and merry. But I hope our friend who is travelling with us 
 will not be hurt at this merriment, or suppose that we are 
 taking advantage of his ignorance of our language, to make 
 him in, any manner the subject of our mirth." 
 
284 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 To which Mr. Hosmer replied, that knowing himself 
 to be in company with brave and honorable men, he 
 could not allow himself to entertain any such impres 
 sion. After which they resumed their merriment, and 
 Red-Jacket his gravity. 
 
 Arriving at the council-fire, and the council having 
 been organized for business, on the 7th of November 
 Red- Jacket delivered the following speech : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE COUNCIL, LISTEN ! You must recollect 
 that a few years since some delegates from your elder brethren, 
 the Six Nations, came to you. That council fire was kindled 
 at Brownstown, by the mutual consent of the Six Nations ; 
 but we then requested that all important business should there 
 after be transacted at this place. A few years after this, ano 
 ther delegation came to this council fire from your elder 
 brethren, the Six Nations. We then thought appearances 
 looked squally. We thought the United States and Great 
 Britain were looking with jealous eyes at each other. It ap 
 peared to us a tremendous and destructive storm was approach 
 ing, bearing blood and carnage upon its wings. We then told 
 you that if we were not on our guard we should feel that 
 storm. We also told you that it was the policy of the red 
 coats* to request at such times the aid of the Indians. We 
 admonished you to take warning from the past, and told you to 
 recollect the calamities which have befallen our nations in the 
 wars of the pale faces. We then therefore solemnly requested 
 you would be neutral in that contest. We advised you not to 
 listen to their requests, but to sit still on your seats. 
 
 " At length the tremendous storm burst, and first in this 
 quarter you were disturbed by the Virginians. Others of our 
 brothers who listened to the voice from the other side of the 
 water, and some of your warriors, united with the Virginians. 
 
 * The English. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Those warriors you took without consulting your elder bre 
 thren, the Six Nations. The consequence was, your whole 
 land, and the place of your council fire, was smeared with 
 blood. Our ancient records were dispersed, and many were 
 wholly lost. Thus are we situated. There is now a delega 
 tion present from the Indians at large. A great council fire is 
 kindled, whose smoke shall ascend to the heavens ; and we 
 now appoint this the place for kindling a great council fire, 
 where all important business shall be transacted. In token 
 we give you a large belt of wampum, brown and white, inter 
 mixed with strings. 
 
 " BROTHERS : When we received your message to attend 
 at this time and place, you requested a full representation 
 should arise from their seats, for the purpose of making some 
 general arrangement for the benefit of the Indians. We have 
 attended agreeably to your request, and shall now make 
 some communications to remind you of former transactions. 
 Whenever the two white nations are about falling into diffi 
 culties, we discover different languages are held out by the 
 British that we must adhere to them, and when the storm is 
 near by, they will present you with a sharp iron. This has 
 always been the course of the red-coats. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You must be sensible that this continent was 
 the gift of the Great Spirit. But in consequence of the wars 
 that have taken place, we have been the perpetual sufferers. 
 In all wars within my memory, we have lost territory by taking 
 up the hatchet. The British have sold our country to buy 
 peace. By the experience of the past let us learn wisdom, and 
 close our ears to British counsel. War may again happen ; 
 and when it does you will be invited to mate with the British. 
 If we continue to listen to their counsel, we shall soon be ex 
 terminated. Let us guard against this by forming a perma 
 nent union which shall protect us in future. To decoy you 
 into their measures, the British allure you with many fanciful 
 trinkets. But these are trifles when compared with our gene 
 ral and individual happiness. We now earnestly request you 
 
286 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 will exert yourselves to extend the sound of our voices to our 
 brethren who are absent from this council. 
 
 " WARRIORS, LISTEN ! You recollect that we have now es 
 tablished at this place a council fire, to be under the care of 
 the Wyandots. I request you to submit to the direction of 
 the sachems, and not through pride to attempt to control 
 them. It is planted in the centre of your country. Do not be 
 flattered away by any white people who may wish to purchase 
 your land. To command respect you must possess extensive 
 territory. Keep your seats sufficiently large that you may 
 not be crowded on any side by the whites. And do not ever 
 attempt to transact any business except at this place, and then 
 in the presence of the sachems. I hope that you will aid and 
 assist the sachems in bringing back from the other side of the 
 water* those of our brothers who have gone astray to the Bri 
 tish. Take them by the hand in friendship, and forget their 
 errors. They will add to your strength. 
 
 " MY YOUNGER BRETHREN OF THE SHAWANESE : I now ad 
 dress myself to you. When we were created by the Great 
 Spirit, we were all of one color. But it was his pleasure that 
 we should speak different languages, and be placed in different 
 countries. You must be sensible that you are foreigners. A 
 number of years since you came to this country, and were taken 
 under the protection of our brethren the Wyandots, who gave 
 you a pleasant seat, where you enjoyed a delightful country, 
 and shared in common with them the game of the forest. 
 These proceedings came to the knowledge of the Six Nations. 
 You had not resided here long before you became uneasy, and 
 you have been first to produce disturbances, and been forward 
 to effect the sale of lands which did not belong to your nation. 
 You have been the authors of other difficulties between the red 
 and white people. You have been forward in the late diffi 
 culties, by listening to the voice from across the waters. Where 
 is now your head sachem 1 Where a part of your people ? 
 
 * Not the ocean, but the great lakes meaning. The same phrase, in the same 
 sense, occurs frequently in the course of this speech. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 They lent an ear to the red-coats, and are now in exile be 
 yond the waters. We admonish you to recall them, unite 
 them with their brethren, form a band of union with the 
 Wyandots. Settled on the seats of the Wyandots, your friends, 
 listen to their counsel. It will be good. Listen also to the 
 counsels of the Six Nations, your elder brethren. Do not at 
 tempt to transact important business, involving the rights of 
 others, unless at the great council fire, and with the approbation 
 of the Wyandots. 
 
 " SACHEMS OF THE MUNSEE AND DELAWARE INDIANS : You 
 are sensible that you are not the original proprietors of the 
 country you now enjoy. You came from the east. We know 
 the country you came from. You wasted away your inheri 
 tance and became wanderers. We gave you a seat on White 
 River, where is plenty of game and pure water. And notwith 
 standing this, your nation is dispersed. Some of your people 
 have taken up the hatchet, united with the red-coats, and are 
 now across the water. We request you will collect yourselves 
 in one body, and settle yourselves on your lands at White 
 River. Do this, and we will then unite ourselves together 
 under one confederacy. We shall then have strength and be 
 respected as well by the whites as by the more western nations." 
 
 [The speaker next proceeded to address the dispersed 
 members of the Six Nations, residing on the lands of 
 the Wyandots, admonishing them as he had admonished 
 others, and counselling them to act in union and har 
 mony, and to follow the advice of the Wyandots. He 
 then addressed himself to Mr. Parish, and another offi 
 cer in the Indian department, named Johnston : ] 
 
 " BROTHERS : We are happy to meet you both at our 
 council. We of the Six Nations transact all our business 
 openly, and not under the curtain. I have observed with 
 what attention you have listened to me. I hope you will be 
 
288 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 willing to unite with us in bringing back our friends from be 
 yond the water, and making us one band. Then we shall be 
 come one great family of children, under our great Father, the 
 President. We ask your assistance. Let the communication 
 with the other side of the water be opened, and then we shall 
 be able to bring back our friends from across the water. Our 
 great Father we hope will not forget his red children ; and as 
 he now possesses much of our finest land, we hope he will be 
 more liberal of presents than he has been. You must now be 
 sensible that we are well pleased with presents. You may 
 know this by the influence of British presents. They have won 
 to the British cause many brave warriors. I hope that you 
 will take much pains, now that we are at peace, in uniting all. 
 Treat us well. We in common with you possess this soil. 
 We have frequently heard your voice, when it was for our in 
 terest and happiness to listen to it. It would conduce much 
 to our happiness to listen to the voice of the United States, 
 and not be poisoned by the language of the red-coats. To 
 make us happy do not crowd our seats. When you purchase 
 lands still leave us some to move upon. This you will make 
 known to our Father the President, and solicit his aid in open 
 ing our passage across the water to our friends. 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE DELAWARES : We received a message 
 fom you a number of years since, offering us a seat of land in 
 your country. You said you had not forgot the favors hereto 
 fore received from the Six Nations, who took you under their 
 care, until at length you travelled west to the country of White 
 River. As you say you have not forgot past favors, are you 
 now willing to offer the Six Nations, or any part of them, a 
 seat in your country 1 This invitation has been often repeated. 
 We now come forward to accept the offer. We request you 
 will designate its extent, situation and boundary. We have 
 applied to our Father the President for leave to move into 
 that country, and to be assured that he will confirm your grant. 
 We find it is necessary by his answer, that when you shall 
 make such a grant, it must be done on paper, so that such 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 239 
 
 conveyance may be confirmed. We should be unwilling to 
 leave our present seats without a secure and permanent grant, 
 securing a seat for us, our children, and children s children to 
 the remotest generation. We request that if you are not au 
 thorized of yourselves to make such location, you will com 
 municate our wishes to the neighboring nations, proprietors of 
 the land, that they may make such location. This seat we 
 shall expect to receive not as our exclusive property, but to be 
 held in common for the benefit, as well of such of the Six 
 Nations who may wish to settle upon it, as of any other In 
 dians who may choose to take their seats there with us." 
 
 Such is the only report preserved of Red-Jacket s 
 speech at this great council, tbe apparent design of 
 which was entirely of a pacific character, intended by 
 the Indians to heal the wounds among each other inflic 
 ted during the then recent war between tbe United 
 States and England, in which they had indiscreetly 
 taken a part, and likewise to improve their social con 
 dition, by means of a more extensive and perfect union 
 among themselves. The speech has lost much of its 
 Indian character in the process of translation, or else 
 Red- Jacket s language and course of thinking had be 
 come somewhat assimilated to those of the white man. 
 Still, tbe character of the speech was well adapted to 
 the occasion, and its counsels were those of wisdom. 
 It is, moreover, worthy of preservation, not only as ap 
 pertaining to the life of Red-Jacket, but as forming a 
 fragment of Indian history. Mr. Hosmer, who took 
 down tbe speech from the lips of the~ interpreter, notes 
 tbat the orator concluded by a general address to the 
 council, recommending the cultivation of friendly inter- 
 
 37 
 
290 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 course among themselves, and at the close gave them 
 a string of wampum which he called " the path of 
 peace." He again admonished them to avoid the Bri 
 tish and their shores, and to hold their communications 
 on the south side of the lakes. 
 
 On the day following the speakers of the several na 
 tions addressed by Red-Jacket made their replies. The 
 Wyandots spoke first, by Tear-unk-to-yor-on, or " Be- 
 tween-the-Logs," as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE Six NATIONS : You say that at Browns- 
 town was a great council fire, whose smoke ascended to the 
 heavens. I must remind you of an omission. At that fire 
 was a large tree. A strong root ran to the east. At its foot 
 lay a staff and a broom. The root moving eastward was to 
 represent the Six Nations. The staff was for the support of 
 the aged, who sought shelter there. The broom to brush 
 away any destructive worm, or other thing that might en 
 danger the tree." 
 
 [The orator next proceeded to rehearse the speech of 
 Red-Jacket, as the Indian manner is, in order to show 
 that all had been understood. He then said : ] 
 
 BROTHER : This has been your conversation as I have re 
 hearsed it. You have appointed this place for the council fire 
 of the Six Nations. As it is your choice we accept it as a 
 friendly act toward us. Brothers, we return you many thanks, 
 warriors and women all. You may expect due attention paid 
 to it. 
 
 " BROTHER : We are happy to hear that you have not for 
 got the customs of our forefathers. By these strings, do not 
 think them too small, you will return to your respective na 
 tions, and say their wishes are accepted of. As to your request 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 291 
 
 that we use our influence in getting back our brothers beyond 
 the water, we will do so. We will use our best endeavors to 
 win them back by gentle means. You may expect that our 
 younger brethren, the Shawanese, and our nephews, the Dela- 
 wares, will unite with us in recalling the dispersed of our tribes. 
 And now, BROTHERS, I enjoin that you do the same thing on 
 your part. You are similarly situated. This winter will pass 
 and the next summer will come, before we shall hear from you 
 again on this subject. I am not certain whether we shall come 
 to you, or you to us. We will take care to suppress our pride, 
 and lest I should be thought to possess it, I will say but little. 
 It is easy to say all that is necessary. 
 
 " BROTHERS : As to your speech yesterday, relative to our 
 assisting our sachems, depend upon it we will take due care ; 
 if we see any thing go amiss, we will put it right. Do you the 
 same. It has often been an injury that the counsels of the 
 war chiefs have not been heard. We have now closed our re 
 ply t your speech. You will now open your ears to the re 
 ply of the Shawanese." 
 
 The Shawanese chief, Cutte-we-ga-saw, commonly 
 called Black-foot, then spoke to the following effect : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE Six NATIONS : We heard you yester 
 day. You shall soon hear our reply. We are pleased that 
 the council fire is established at this place by our friends the 
 Wyandots, and that our Brothers, the Six Nations, have agreed 
 to unite with us. 
 
 " BROTHER : I remember what you said relative to our 
 people being dispersed. Some of them are scattered, it is 
 true, and I shall do all in my power to collect them. What 
 you say relative to our making difficulties I admit is truth. 
 The way it happened was this : A man came among us who 
 pretended he had communication with the Great Spirit,* and 
 
 * Elskawatwa, the brother of Tecumseh. 
 
292 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 that if we followed him we could regain our lands. The 
 whites were crowding upon us. He said they would eat land, 
 and that they would soon eat all our land up. I was deceived 
 and led away by him, and many of my nation. We took him 
 for the Great Spirit. But we soon found him to be a devil, 
 and forsook him. This great man, who pretended to be the 
 Great Spirit, has not only intermeddled with us, but he has 
 been among you,* and has misled many of all nations. I am 
 not surprised that you should bring this charge against us. 
 This prophet exerted such influence over us that we were no 
 longer governed by our ancient customs, but were entirely led 
 by him. You, my elder brother, are of the same people who 
 flocked to him, and listened to him, expecting he would carry 
 his point. I disbelieved it. You, when you went there, were 
 shown a great map, and on it the prophet traced out a great 
 tract of land for you on the Wabash, which was promised you. 
 There was a battle there, and some of your men were in it ; 
 and there were others on the way who did not arrive in season. 
 The next place where we found the prophet was at Maiden, 
 with some of the Senecas as his followers. And this man was 
 the cause of the destruction of our council fire at Brownstown. 
 This prophet was driven back t into Canada. He again at 
 tempted to strengthen himself. He promised to your people 
 the land on the Wabash. We heard it. Of all our people 
 who followed the prophet, only eight families remain with 
 him. His power is broken. He is nothing." 
 
 The council was next addressed by a chief called 
 Colonel Lewis, but his nation is not designated in Mr. 
 Hosmer s manuscript. He expressed his concurrence 
 in the views presented by Red-Jacket, and exhorted the 
 Indians to be of one mind, and as Americans all, to be 
 
 * Alluding to the fact that some of the warriors of the Six Nations were in the 
 battle of Tippecanoe. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 293 
 
 faithful and true. He was succeeded by Black-Hoof, 
 (of what nation is not stated,) who said : 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE WYANDOTS : You have invited me to 
 this council, and you see me standing before you. I address 
 myself to all present. I have heard all that has been said, and 
 am well pleased with it. I agree with my brothers the Wy- 
 andots, in all they have said. 
 
 " BROTHERS OF THE Six NATIONS : You were the first to 
 make away with your lands, on which you ought to have reared 
 your women and children. You advise us to take good care 
 of our lands. We thank you for that counsel, and are very 
 sorry you did not take better care of yours. We now give the 
 same advice to you. Take care of your land. We shall take 
 good care of ours. We have not much left. But what we 
 have we mean to keep, and we recommend the same counsel 
 to our brothers the Wyandots. We have made peace with 
 the United States, and I shall keep it. To my brothers the 
 Wyandots I recommend that great care should be taken of 
 their lands. Let the rights of all be established and carefully 
 guarded. 
 
 " MY BROTHERS OF THE DELAWARES : I understand you 
 have promised a seat to the Senecas. I invite your attention 
 to this subject. I have frequently talked with the President. 
 He has sent Mr. Johnson as our agent, through whom we may 
 communicate with him. If you have any thing to do in trans 
 ferring your land, consult him. 
 
 "BROTHER SENECAS: I wish to remind you of one thing. 
 I understand our brothers, the Delawares, have invited you to 
 settle at White River. They own no land, and were only 
 permitted to settle there and hunt. But they have been there 
 so long that they pretend a claim, and have in two instances 
 made sales of land." 
 
 The Delawares, their chief being absent, declined 
 saying any thing in reply to the imputation of having 
 
294 MFE AND TIMES 
 
 sold what was not their own ; neither did Red- Jacket 
 respond to the sharp rebuke directed to the Six Nations, 
 for having been among the first after the war of the re 
 volution to dispose of their domains. No farther infor 
 mation in regard to this council has been obtained from 
 the manuscripts of Mr. Hosmer, or from any other 
 source. As it was a meeting in which the United 
 States had no concern, the archives of the Indian 
 bureau contain nothing respecting it ; and the council 
 seems to have broken up without the adoption of defini 
 tive measures of any description, for the benefit of any 
 of the parties concerned therein. 
 
 But in the summer of 1819, the Ogden Company de 
 termined to open negotiations directly with the Seneca 
 chiefs, for the purpose either of securing their removal 
 from all the reservations yet held by them, or of in 
 ducing them to concentrate the several fragments of 
 their nation upon a single one of these reservations. Ar 
 rangements having beeti made for holding a treaty with 
 them at Buffalo, the Hon. Morris S. Miller was appointed 
 a commissioner to conduct the proceedings by the Uni 
 ted States.* The Hon. Nathaniel Gorham, of Canan- 
 daigua, was designated by Massachusetts, as agent to 
 attend the negotiation.! The council was opened on the 
 5th of July, Colonel Ogden and his associates being 
 present, with Captain Parish, the interpreter. Major 
 
 * Mr. Miller is since deceased. He was a resident of Oneida County, and 
 was for several years an able member of Congress from Oneida. 
 
 t From her former interest in the Indian country of western New-York, Mas 
 sachusetts has ever appointed an agent to attend these land negotiations with the 
 Senecas, for the purpose of guarding them from wrong. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 295 
 
 Joseph Delafield, at that time an agent of the United 
 States for the adjustment of boundaries under the sixth 
 article of the treaty of Ghent, happening to be in the 
 village of Buffalo, and having a few days of leisure on 
 his hands, complied with a request from Judge Miller to 
 act as secretary. 
 
 It was well known that Red-Jacket was to appear in 
 the character of principal speaker in opposition to the ob 
 jects of the land company, and the deep and general in 
 terest felt in the result of the negotiation drew together 
 a large concourse of people, pale faces and red. No 
 subsequent assemblage of Indians within the State of 
 New- York has presented so numerous and imposing an 
 array, nor is it likely that so many of them will ever 
 again meet upon the soil of their fathers. 
 
 The council having been opened for business, Captain 
 Pollard, the brave Seneca chief who had signalized him 
 self upon the war-path in the Niagara campaign of 1814, 
 rose to welcome the commissioner and the other officers, 
 agents, and parties in attendance upon the council, a 
 duty which he performed with much courtesy. The 
 credentials of the commissioner on the part of the Uni 
 ted States having been read and interpreted, Judge Mil 
 ler proceeded to explain the objects of his mission. 
 
 " He stated that their great Father (the President) had de 
 puted him to meet them at their council fire : that he came to 
 give them his good advice, and the assurance of their great 
 Father, who protected both the red and the white men, that it 
 was his wish to extend to them security and the useful arts. 
 That, situated as they now were, his wishes would not be so 
 
296 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 well effected as if the Indians were more closely concentrated. 
 He explained to them the tenures by which they held their 
 reservations ; the rights of the pre-emptioners, and the guar 
 dianship of the United States. He then submitted to them 
 these several propositions : First, that they should all con 
 centrate on the Alleghany reservation, the title to which 
 should be ceded to them in fee, as white men hold their lands. 
 Second, if they preferred to join their red brothers at Sandusky, 
 or to settle in the Territories of the United States, upon other 
 lands to be given to them, they were at liberty to do so. In 
 case they chose the latter proposition, the offer made by their 
 great Father was not to impair the price they were to receive 
 from the pre-emptioners, nor in any manner to influence the 
 bargains to be made. It was meant as a free gift, and for the 
 mutual benefit of the red and white men. Judge Miller pro 
 ceeded with much eloquence to describe the present situation 
 of the Six Nations, more particularly that of the Senecas, 
 and predicted the time when they must be overwhelmed by 
 the force of the white population, if they continued in their 
 little villages so closely surrounded. He cautioned them 
 against the antipathies of bad men, and against the hasty adop 
 tion of the advice of good white men, and concluded by ad 
 monishing them that they must reflect more for themselves, 
 and take time to deliberate in council." 
 
 An adjournment was then proposed by Governor Og- 
 den, to give time to consider these propositions, where 
 upon Captain Pollard spoke as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS : We have listened attentively to what the com 
 missioner has said to us : as well to the authority by which he 
 meets us at this council as also to the views our great Father the 
 President entertains, relative to the affairs of his red children 
 here. In doing this, brother, you have addressed yourself 
 principally to the Senecas. The Six Nations are present. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 397 
 
 They are our confederates. For myself, I am gratified that 
 .they are present, and that they, too, have heard what you have 1 
 said to us. You have told us, that the propositions which we 
 now hear from our great Father have not been made by him 
 in haste ; that he has deliberated a long time, and taken a full 
 view of the interests of his white and red children. In doing, 
 this, he has sometimes addressed the Seneeas, sometimes the 
 Six Nations. He has considered fully, you tell us, the situa 
 tion of his red children, and he knows their wants, their pov 
 erty, and their troubles. You have told us, too, of his solici 
 tude for the red men, and also of the solicitude of his great coun 
 cil, as expressed during the last year. You are not now to 
 expect that we will reply to these subjects. We think it proper 
 now to make but a short talk ; to thank you for what we have 
 heard, and to thank the President for what he has said to us 
 through you, to which we have listened attentively. We re 
 joice that this council has been made so public. We are 
 pleased that so many white men have attended. We rejoice 
 that your squaws have come with you, and we thank you that 
 they are present." 
 
 Then turning to Colonel Ogden, he proceeded : 
 
 " The Commissioner has not spoken solely to the red men. 
 You are also interested in what our Great Father has said, and 
 the result of this council will also interest you as well as us. 
 After our brother s talk you told us this, and that you wanted 
 time to reflect upon the propositions, which are serious and 
 important. We too, brother, have had a short consultation 
 upon your proposal to meet the day after to-morrow. We wish- 
 to give you time, and to have time ourselves to hold our coun 
 cils, and to reflect. We will meet you again the day after to 
 morrow. Knowing that our proceedings are slow and dilatory, 
 and not like yours, we propose to meet you at 10 o clock on 
 that day." 
 
 The Commissioner then explained that he had ad- 
 
 38 
 
298 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 dressed the Senecas more particularly, because his com 
 mission appointed him to treat with that nation ; but as 
 the Six Nations were assembled, he had also addressed 
 them jointly ; and again advising them to a full and calm 
 deliberation, the council was adjourned. 
 
 The council fire was re-kindled by Red-Jacket on the 
 7th of July, who spoke as follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS : We have been preserved in health, strength 
 and spirit, to meet you again at our council fire. The Great 
 Spirit has protected us, and we are thankful again to meet 
 you. You will recollect, brothers, that we listened with atten 
 tion to what the Commissioner said, and to the words of our 
 Great Father through his mouth. As this council was called 
 by the voice of our Great Father, you barely told us of his 
 care for his red children. You further promised us that the 
 Yorkers, (meaning the pre-emptioners,) had communications 
 for us. We now welcome you all to this council, and are 
 ready to hear what you have to say. We see here our brother 
 from Massachusetts. He, too, is welcome, and we are ready 
 to hear from him. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We wish you to open your minds to us. Let 
 us hear frankly all that you have to communicate, that we 
 may be ready to answer." 
 
 Having thus spoken, Red-Jacket resumed his seat, 
 and Judge Gorham addressed the council, approving 
 of the propositions in behalf of the company, from the 
 President. Mr. David A. Ogden succeeded him, and 
 discussed at greater length the views of the pre-emp 
 tioners, explaining the nature and extent of their rights, 
 and the relations subsisting respectively between the 
 Indians and the United States, the state of Massachu- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 399 
 
 setts, and the company. In conclusion, he offered in be 
 half of the company to accede to the propositions that 
 had been submitted by the commissioner at the first 
 meeting. Red-Jacket then addressed the council and 
 said : 
 
 " We have now heard our great Father and Mr. Ogden. 
 "We must take time to deliberate upon these propositions and 
 agreements. When we are ready we will send you word. 
 We are slow, and the subjects are important. We have 
 nothing farther to decide at this council fire." 
 
 The council convened again on the 9th of July, when 
 Red- Jacket, first addressing the commissioner, spoke at 
 large as follows : 
 
 " BROTHER : We understand that you have been appointed 
 by our great Father the President to make these communica 
 tions to us. We thank the Great Spirit for this pleasant day 
 given us for our reply, and we beg you to listen. 
 
 " BROTHER: Previous to your arrival at this council fire, we 
 were told that our great Father had appointed a commissioner 
 to meet us. You have produced your commission, and it 
 has been read and explained to us. You have also explained 
 the object of your mission, and the wishes of the President in 
 sending you to the council fire of the Six Nations. We do 
 not doubt that the sealed document you produced contained 
 the words of the President, our great Father. When first in 
 formed of your appointment, we supposed that you were 
 coming to meet us on a very different subject. Since the war 
 of the revolution we have held various councils with our white 
 brothers, and in this same manner. We have made various 
 speeches and entered into several treaties, and these things 
 are well known to our great Father ; they are lodged with 
 him. We, too, perfectly understand them all. The same in? 
 
300 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 terpreters were then present as now. In consequence of 
 what took place during the late war, we made it known to our 
 great Father, through our interpreter, that we wished to have 
 a talk. Our application was not complied with. We sent a 
 messenger to brighten the chain of friendship with our great 
 Father, but he would not meet around the council fire, and we 
 were disappointed. We had supposed that the commissioner 
 he has now sent came forward to brighten the chain of friend 
 ship, to renew former engagements. When we made a treaty 
 at Canandaigua with Colonel Pickering, in 1794, we were told 
 and thought that it was to be permanent, and to be lasting be 
 tween us and the United States forever. After several treaties 
 had been entered into under our great Father, General Wash 
 ington, large delegations from the Six Nations were invited to 
 meet him. We went and met him in Philadelphia. We 
 kindled a council fire. A treaty was then made, and General 
 Washington then declared that it should be permanent be 
 tween the red and white brothers : that it should be spread 
 out on the largest and strongest rocks that nothing could un 
 dermine or break ; that it should be exposed to the view of all. 
 " BROTHER : We shall now see what has been done by the 
 United States. After this treaty had been formed, I then said 
 that I did not doubt but that the United States would faith 
 fully perform their engagements. But I told our white bro 
 thers at that time, that I feared eventually they would wish to 
 disturb those contracts. You white brothers have the faculty 
 to burst the stoutest rocks. On our part we would not have 
 disturbed those treaties. Shortly after our interview with our 
 great Father, General Washington, at Philadelphia, a treaty 
 was made at Canandaigua, by which we widened our former 
 engagements with our white brothers, and made some new 
 ones. The commissioner, Colonel Pickering, then told us 
 that this treaty should be binding and should last without alte 
 ration for two lives. We wished to make it extend much far 
 ther, and the Six Nations then wished to establish a lasting 
 chain of friendship. On our part, we wished the treaty to 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 301 
 
 last as long as trees grow and waters run. Our brother told 
 us that he would agree to it. 
 
 " BROTHER : I have reminded you what had taken place be 
 tween our confederates, the Six Nations, and our white bro 
 thers, down to the treaty of Canandaigua. At the close of 
 that treaty it was agreed, it being as strong and binding as 
 by my former comparisons I have explained,:- that if any dif 
 ficulty should occur, if any monster should cross the chain of 
 friendship, that we would unite to remove those difficulties, to 
 drive away the monster ; that we would go hand in hand and 
 prolong the chain. So it was agreed. 
 
 " BROTHER : Many years ago we discovered a cloud rising 
 that darkened the prospect of our peace and happiness. We 
 heard eventful things from different quarters, from different 
 persons, and at different times, and foresaw that the period 
 was not very distant, when this threatening cloud would burst 
 upon us. 
 
 "BROTHER: During the late war we intended to take no 
 part. Yet residing within the limits of the United States, and 
 with the advice of General Porter, we agreed around our 
 council fire that it was right, and we took a part. "We thought 
 it would help to promote our friendship with our white 
 brothers, to aid the arms of the United States, and to make 
 our present seats still stronger. These were our reasons. 
 WTiat were the results ? We lost many of our warriors. We 
 spilt our blood in a cause between you and a people not of 
 our color. 
 
 " BROTHER : These things may be new to you, but they are 
 not new to your government. Records of these things are 
 with our great Father the President. You have come, there 
 fore, for a very different purpose from the one we expected. 
 You come to tell us of our situation, of our reservations, of 
 the opinions of the President that we must change our o!4 
 customs for new ones ; that we must concentrate in order to 
 enjoy the fair means you offer of civilization and improvement 
 in the arts of agriculture. 
 
302 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " BROTHER : At the treaty of Canandaigua we were pro 
 mised that different kinds of mechanics, blacksmiths and car 
 penters, should be sent among us ; and farmers with their 
 families, that our women might learn to spin. We agreed to 
 receive them. We even applied for these benefits. We were 
 told that our children were too young to be taught. Neither 
 farmers nor mechanics were sent. 
 
 " BROTHER : We had thought that the promises made by 
 one president were handed down to the next. We do not 
 change our chiefs as you do. Since these treaties were made 
 you have had several presidents. We do not understand why 
 the treaty made by one is not binding on the other. On our 
 part, we expect to comply with our engagements. 
 
 " BROTHER : You told us when the country was surrounded 
 by whites, and in possession of Indians, that it was unproduc 
 tive, not being liable to taxes, nor to make roads and improve 
 ments, it was time to change. As for the taxing of Indians, 
 this is extraordinary ; and was never heard of since the settle 
 ment of America. The land is ours by the gift of the Great 
 Spirit. How can you tax it 1 We can make such roads as 
 we want, and did so when the land was all ours. We are im 
 proving in our condition. See these large stocks of cattle, 
 and those fences. We are surrounded by the whites, from 
 whom we can procure cattle and whatever is necessary for 
 our improvement. Now that we are confined to narrow 
 limits, we can easily make our roads and improve our lands. 
 Look back to the first settlement by the whites, and then look 
 at our present condition. Formerly, we continued to grow 
 in numbers and in strength. What has become of the Indians 
 who extended to the salt waters 1 They have been driven 
 back and become few, while you have been growing numer 
 ous and powerful. This land is ours from the God of Heaven. 
 It was given to us. We cannot make land. Driven back and 
 reduced as we are, you wish to cramp us more and more. 
 You tell us of a pre-emptive right. Such men, you say, own 
 one reservation, and such another. But they are all ours, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 303 
 
 ours from the top to the bottom. If Mr. Ogden had come 
 from heaven, with flesh on his bones, as we now see him, and 
 said that the Heavenly Father had given him a title, we might 
 then believe him. 
 
 " BROTHER : You say that the President has sent us word 
 that it is for our interest to dispose of our lands. You tell us 
 that there is a good tract of land at Alleghany. This, too, is 
 very extraordinary. Our feet have covered every inch of that 
 reservation. A communication like this has never been made 
 to us at any of our councils. The President must have been 
 disordered in mind, when he offered to lead us off by the arms 
 to the Alleghany reservation. I have told you of the treaty 
 we made with the United States. Here is the belt of wam 
 pum that confirmed that treaty. Here, too, is the parchment. 
 You know its contents. I will not open it. Now the tree of 
 friendship is decaying ; its limbs are fast falling off. You are 
 at fault. 
 
 " Formerly, we called the British brothers. Now we call 
 the President our Father. Probably among you are persons 
 with families of children. We consider ourselves the chil 
 dren of the President. What would be your feelings were 
 you told that your children were to be cast upon a naked 
 rock, there to protect themselves. The different claims you 
 tell us of on our lands, I cannot understand. We are placed 
 here by the Great Spirit for purposes known to him. You 
 have no right to interfere. You told us that we had large 
 and unproductive tracts of land. We do not view it so. Our 
 seats, we consider small ; and if we are left here long by the 
 Great Spirit we shall stand in need of them. We shall be in 
 want of timber. Land after many years use wears out ; our 
 fields must be renewed, and new ones improved, so that we 
 have no more land in our reservations than we want. Look at 
 the white people around us and back. You are not cramped 
 for lands. They are large. Look at that man.* If you want 
 
 * Mr. Ellicott, the agent of the Holland Land Company. 
 
304 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 to buy apply to him. He has lands enough to sell. We have 
 none to part with. You laugh, but do not think I trifle. I am 
 sincere. Do not think we are hasty in making up our minds. 
 We have had many councils, and thought for a long time upon 
 this subject. We will not part with any, not with one of our 
 reservations. 
 
 " We recollect that Mr. Ogden addressed his speech to you, 
 therefore I have spoken to you. Now I will speak to Mr. 
 Ogden. 
 
 " BROTHER : You recollect when you first came to this 
 ground that you told us you had bought the pre-emptive right, 
 a right to purchase, given you by the government. Hemem- 
 ber my reply. I told you, you had been unfortunate in buy 
 ing. You said you would not disturb us. I then told you as 
 long as I lived, you must not come forward to explain that 
 right. You have come. See me before you. You have 
 heard our reply to the commissioner sent by the President. I 
 again repeat that, one and all, chiefs and warriors, we are of 
 the same mind. We will not part with any of our reserva 
 tions. Do not make your application anew, nor in any other 
 shape. Let us hear no more of it. Let us part as we met, 
 in friendship. You discover white people on our reservations. 
 It is my wish, and the wish of all of us, to remove every white 
 man. We can educate our children. Our reservation is 
 small. The white people are near. Such as wish can send 
 their children to the white people s schools. The school 
 master and the preacher must withdraw. The distance is 
 short for those who wish to go after them. We wish to get 
 rid of all the whites. They make disturbances. We wish 
 our reservations clear of them." 
 
 Colonel Ogden and Judge Miller both made replies to 
 Red-Jacket, correcting him in several particulars wherein 
 he had misunderstood them, as well as the views of the 
 President, Mr. Monroe. It is but just, moreover, to say, 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 395 
 
 that these replies were made with a degree of feeling 
 and frankness carrying with it the conviction of a 
 sincere desire that the Indians should be dealt with 
 justly and generously. But their breath was expended 
 to no good purpose. The counsels of Red- Jacket pre 
 vailed, and the treaty was broken off without even an 
 approach to success. 
 
 The speech of Red- Jacket, it will have been observed, 
 in some respects bordered upon rudeness, and in one 
 instance upon irreverence to heaven. Great pains had 
 been taken by his people that he should be well pre 
 pared for this council, and that he should appear in his 
 best condition. The consequence was, that whatever 
 excesses might have marked his conduct before or after 
 the council, there was on this occasion no evidence of 
 intemperance. On the contrary, his personal conduct 
 was marked throughout by the utmost propriety, and his 
 manner was calm, deliberate and decided. Still, there 
 had been intemperate expressions in his speech, which 
 gave pain to some of the most considerate and respect 
 able of the chiefs, and which they feared would be sources 
 of unpleasant reflection, if not of irritation, to the com 
 missioner and the other white gentlemen of his company. 
 It must be here remarked that the Senecas had, some 
 time before the holding of this treaty, become divided 
 into two bodies, the Pagan and Christian parties. At 
 the head of the former was Red- Jacket, of the latter, that 
 fine old chief Captain Pollard.* It was this latter party, 
 
 * Captain Pollard, or Ka-o-un-do-wand, is yet living, (1841,) avenerable look 
 ing old man, with a finely developed head which would form a noble subject of 
 
 39 
 
306 WFE AND TIMES 
 
 of course, that felt chagrined at some of Red-Jacket s 
 remarks, and they determined that an apology or expla 
 nation ought to be tendered to the commissioner. On 
 the day after the adjournment of the council, therefore, 
 the commissioner received a message from Captain Pol 
 lard, informing him that thirteen of their chiefs were then 
 in council deliberating upon the occurrences of yester 
 day, and that they wished to make a communication to 
 him. In the afternoon a deputation of chiefs presented 
 themselves, consisting of Young King, Pollard, De- 
 stroy-Town, Jim Nickerson, White Seneca and Captain 
 Johnson, when Pollard, addressing the commissioner, 
 said : 
 
 " BROTHER : You recollect what took place in council yes 
 terday. The speaker first made a reply to you, and then to 
 the proprietors. You must have discovered some things in 
 that reply that were not correct, and some that were impro 
 per. You must also have observed from our different meet 
 ings that there was a division among ourselves. This is true. 
 It has been so for a long time. We, although a minority, 
 have been reflecting, for a long time, how we could adopt the 
 advice of good white men, and how it could be possible that 
 you would have told us any thing that did not come from the 
 President our great Father, when you said it came from him. 
 An intimation of this kind, you might have perceived, was 
 given. The speaker yesterday acknowledged your authority, 
 and that your commission contained the President s words ; 
 but he did not admit that your subsequent words came from 
 
 study for Dr. Combe. The author visited him in the autumn of 1838, to make 
 certain historical inquiries connected with the invasion of Wyoming 1 . Pollard 
 was a young chief in that bloody expedition. He declares that neither Brant 
 nor the Mohawks were there. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 397 
 
 our great Father. One expression grieved us. He said 
 that the President, our great Father, must have been dis 
 ordered in mind to offer to lead us off to the Alleghany. This 
 remark made us very unhappy. Another expression of his 
 was very extraordinary, one that we are not accustomed to. 
 He said that if Mr. Ogden should come from heaven with life 
 and with flesh on his bones, and tell us he had a title to these 
 lands, then we might believe him. This we, as Christians, 
 think very wrong ; and it gave us much pain. After the coun 
 cil dispersed, the followers of the speaker collected around 
 him, and took him to task for these things. They proposed 
 that an apology should be made for him. But he said no ; it 
 has gone forth, let it stand. This gives us an opportunity to 
 come forward. He told you also of many treaties down to 
 Pickering s. Speaking of that, he exhibited the wampum in 
 confirmation, with the parchment. He would not open the 
 parchment, saying that you had a copy at Washington, and 
 had misrepresented it. This we consider improper, rude and 
 indecorous. He spoke, too, of our great Father the Presi 
 dent, calling him President. We call him and consider him 
 as father, friend and protector. The speaker has attempted 
 to explain what he meant by the disordered mind of the Pre 
 sident, but as we think, he has made the matter worse, because 
 he casts aspersions upon the Quakers, and others who have 
 been long praying for our good. We view the commissioner as 
 coming from a father to his children. Your advice to concen 
 trate and improve in our mode of agriculture we approve of. 
 We see that the time has come when we should change our con 
 dition and improve our husbandry. But we all agree in what 
 he said about parting with our lands ; and we all agree that 
 his harsh and rude language was improper. 
 
 " Another motive for asking this interview is, to make you 
 acquainted with our peculiar views and feelings. We, the 
 Senecas, are divided. The Tuscaroras are all united and 
 wish to receive instruction and civilization. The Alleghanies 
 are divided, but are principally with our party,- wishing to 
 receive instruction from the whites. 
 
308 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " When I look back among our forefathers, I see no 
 thing to admire, nothing I should follow, nothing to induce 
 me to live as they did. On the contrary, to enjoy life 
 I find we must change our condition. We who are 
 present have families and children; we wish them to be 
 instructed and enlightened, if we have not been, that 
 their eyes may be opened to see the light, if our s have not 
 been. We are getting old arid cannot receive the instruction 
 we wish our children to have. We wish them to know how 
 to manage their affairs. After we are dead and gone, are 
 covered with the dust, they will bless us for giving them in 
 struction that our fathers had not given us. The Tuscaroras 
 have for a long time received instruction, and they continue to 
 improve. They see and know the advantage of it, and their 
 children will enjoy it. We wish our great Father the Presi 
 dent to know of this interview and our explanations. Here 
 after when he makes communications to the Senecas, we wish 
 to have them made to us, the Christian party. This we think 
 would do good, and be a lesson to our children. We wish to 
 adopt his advice in improving our condition, because we see 
 that by following Indian habits we must decay and sink to 
 nothing. We are sensible that we cannot remain indepen 
 dent, and would therefore wish to undergo a gradual change. 
 In cases of crimes committed we are not independent now. 
 We are punished, and this is right. 
 
 " One cause of division among us is, that one party will 
 school their children, the other will not. Another cause is, 
 the placing of white men on our lands as tenants. I did so, 
 because advised by a white friend, and because I wished to 
 show our people how the white men farmed the land."* 
 
 * The author is indebted entirely to the kindness of Major Joseph Delafield 
 for the speeches at this council, by whom they were taken down from the lips of 
 the interpreter. Major Delafield remarks in a note at the close of his report, 
 which has never before met the public eye, that the speeches were taken down 
 as nearly in the language of the interpreter as was possible, such corrections 
 as were obviously necessary having been made at the time. The only liberty 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 309 
 
 The hopes of the pre-emptioners were thus again de 
 ferred ; but they ceased not in their efforts to accomplish 
 their purposes by proposing treaties, and using such ap 
 pliances as were within their power. Indeed such were 
 their perseverance and pertinacity in pushing their de 
 signs, that the Indians, in their ignorance, were at times 
 apprehensive that means would be found to dispossess 
 them of their lands without their own free consent. A 
 strong and eloquent address from the Senecas to the 
 President of the United States, upon this subject, was 
 transmitted to Washington in January, previous to the 
 council held by Judge Miller, and two years afterward 
 another appeal was made to the executive of the state of 
 New- York, Governor De Witt Clinton. In his reply to 
 their memorial, dated February 9, 1820, Governor Clinton 
 said : 
 
 " All the right that Ogden and his company have, [to your 
 reservations,] is the right of purchasing them when you think 
 it expedient to sell them, that is, they can buy your lands, 
 but no other person can. Yon may retain them as long as 
 you please, and you may sell them to Ogden as soon you 
 please. You are the owners of these lands in the same way 
 that your brethren, the Oneidas, are of their reservations. 
 They are all that is left of what the Great Spirit gave to your 
 ancestors. No man shall deprive you of them without your 
 
 taken in transcribing them, has been to omit the repetitions for which both Red- 
 Jacket s and Pollard s speeches were remarkable. The interpreter stated that 
 he could not translate some of Red-Jacket s figurative flights, they were too wild 
 and difficult to appear in English, and he did not attempt it. Should his 
 speech be improved by omitting its tautology, it has no doubt lost much of its 
 most characteristic beauty and interest from the acknowledged omissions of the 
 interpreter. 
 
310 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 consent. The State will protect you in the full enjoyment of 
 your property. We are strong, and willing to shield you from 
 oppression. The Great Spirit looks down on the conduct of 
 mankind, and will punish us if we permit the remnant of the 
 Indian nations which is with us to be injured. We feel for 
 you, brethren : we shall watch over your interests. We know 
 that in a future world we shall be called upon to answer for 
 our conduct to our fellow creatures."* 
 
 But the Anglo-Saxon race is seldom diverted from its 
 purpose, especially if that purpose be tbe acquisition of 
 territory. Treaty after treaty succeeded the abortive 
 council held by Judge Miller ; and although at all these 
 treaties, so long as he lived, Red-Jacket exerted himself 
 to the utmost to prevent the sale of another rood of 
 ground, yet tbe arts and appliances of the Ogden Com 
 pany and its agents, by degrees prevailed over tbe pa 
 triotism of the Indians, and tbe chief, already stricken 
 in years, lived yet long enough to mourn the loss, by 
 piece-meal, of almost the entire of that beautiful region 
 which he loved so well, and over which he had been 
 wont to roam, free as the air he breathed, with so much 
 delight. 
 
 A distinguished gentleman, long a resident of Buffalo, 
 has supplied a few notes of one of the treaties just re 
 ferred to, between the Senecas and the Ogden Com 
 pany, and of the part borne thereat by Red-Jacket, 
 which is both spirited and interesting. According to the 
 
 * Manuscript answer of Governor Clinton, to a speech from the Senecas. 
 Would that the elevated morality of that great philanthropist had governed 
 every American negotiation with the children of the forest. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 memoranda of that gentleman,* this treaty, or council, 
 was holden at the Seneca village near Buffalo, in 1822 
 or 1823. The council having been addressed by the 
 commissioner, and also by Governor Ogden, Red- Jacket, 
 in a single speech, replied to both. After a concise and 
 appropriate exordium, addressing himself to the com 
 missioner, and repeating in form the speech in which the 
 desire of the United States had been communicated, that 
 the Senecas should sell their lands, he gave a succinct 
 but connected history of the transactions between the In 
 dians and the whites, from the first settlement of the 
 country, down to that day. Some of his figurative illus 
 trations were very happy. 
 
 " "We first knew you," said he, " a feeble plant which 
 wanted a little earth whereon to grow. We gave it you, 
 and afterward, when we could have trod you under our feet, 
 we watered and protected you; and now you have grown to 
 be a mighty tree, whose top reaches the clouds, and whose 
 branches overspread the whole land ; whilst we, who were 
 then the tall pine of the forest, have become the feeble plant, 
 and need your protection." 
 
 Again, enforcing the same idea, he said : 
 
 " When you first came here, you clung around our knee, 
 and called us father. We took you by the hand and called 
 you BROTHERS. You have grown greater than we, so that we 
 no longer can reach up to your hand. But we wish to cling 
 round your knee and be called YOUR CHILDREN." 
 
 * The Hon. Albert H. Tracy. 
 
312 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Referring to their services in the then recent war with 
 England, he said : 
 
 " Not long ago you raised the war-club against him who 
 was once our great Father over the waters. You asked us to 
 go with you to the war. It was not our quarrel. We knew 
 not that you were right. We asked not : we cared not : it 
 was enough for us that you were our brothers. We went 
 with you to .the battle. We fought and bled for you : and 
 now," said he with great feeling, pointing to some Indians 
 who had been wounded in the contest, " dare you pretend to 
 us that our Father the President, while he sees our blood run 
 ning yet fresh from the wounds received while fighting his 
 battles, has sent you with a message to persuade us to relin 
 quish the poor remains of our once boundless possessions, to 
 sell the birth-place of our children, and the graves of our 
 fathers. No ! Sooner than believe that he gave you this 
 message, we will believe that you have stolen your commis 
 sion, and are a cheat and a liar." 
 
 In reply to an explanation as to the nature of the pre 
 emptive claim of the company to their lands, and an 
 assurance that the object was not to wrong them in the 
 purchase, but to pay the full value, he referred to the 
 different treaties, the great cessions the Indians had 
 made, the small equivalents they had "received, and 
 the repeated solemn assurances given by the govern 
 ment that they should not be importuned to relinquish 
 the reservations remaining to them. 
 
 " You tell us," said he, " of your claim to our land, and 
 that you have purchased it from your State. We know 
 nothing of your claim, and we care nothing for it. Even the 
 whites have a law, by which they cannot sell what they do not 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 own. How, then, has your state, which never owned our 
 land, sold it to you ? We have a title to it, and we know that 
 our title is good ; for it came direct from the Great Spirit, who 
 gave it to us, his red children. When you can ascend to 
 where He is," pointing toward the skies, " and will get 
 His deed, and show it to us, then, and never till then, will 
 we acknowledge your title. You say that you came not to 
 cheat us of our lands, but to buy them. Who told you that 
 we have lands to sell ? You never heard it from us,." 
 
 Then drawing up, and giving Mr. Ogden a look of 
 earnestness, if not of indignation, he said : 
 
 " Did I not tell you, the last time we met, that whilst Red- 
 Jacket lived you would get no more lands of the Indians ? 
 How, then, while you see him alive and strong," (striking his 
 hand violently on his breast,) " do you think to make him a 
 liar r* 
 
 Red-Jacket was doubtless sincere, at this time, and 
 during the latter years of his life, in his opposition to any 
 farther disposition of their already contracted territory, 
 
 * Speaking in reference to the real eloquence of Red-Jacket, the gentleman 
 referred to in the last note remarks : " It is evident that the best translations of 
 Indian speeches must fail to express the beauty and sublimity of the originals, 
 especially of such an original as Red-Jacket. It has been my good fortune to 
 hear him a few times, but only of late years, and when his powers were enfeebled 
 by age, and still more by intemperance. But I shall never forget the im 
 pression made on me the first time that I saw him in council : 
 
 Deep on his front engraven, 
 Deliberation sate, and public care, 
 And princely counsel in his face yet shone, 
 Majestic, though in ruin. 
 
 I can give no adequate idea of the strong impression it made upon my mind, 
 though conveyed to it through the medium of an illiterate interpreter. Even in 
 this mangled form, I saw the disjecta membra of a regular and splendid oration, 
 
 40 
 
314 ^ IF E AND TIMES 
 
 although, as has been seen at an earlier stage of his 
 life, he could speak with a " forked tongue" upon the 
 subject, declaring eloquently in open council against the 
 selling of an acre, and meeting the agent of the purchase 
 by night to facilitate his operations. But however sin 
 cere at the last mentioned and at subsequent councils, 
 in his opposition to the views of the pre-emption com 
 pany, their persuasives were stronger than his, less 
 eloquent, but far more effective. It is believed that no 
 sales of land were made at either of the two councils 
 last mentioned ; but shortly afterward, viz., in the sum 
 mer of 1826, another negotiation was opened, which was 
 attended by better success for the company. The com 
 missioner on the part of the United States was the Hon. 
 Oliver Forward, of Buffalo. The agent for the com 
 monwealth of Massachusetts was the Hon. Nathaniel 
 Gorham. The agent of the company was John Greig, 
 Esq., of Canandaigua, who succeeded in extinguishing 
 the Indian title to about eighty thousand acres of their 
 smaller reservations along the course of the Genesee 
 River, of which there were several. Red-Jacket par 
 ticipated largely in the proceedings of the council, and 
 opposed every cession step by step. Yet his eloquence, 
 though earnest as ever, was exerted to but little pur 
 pose ; the Indians acceded to the terms proposed to 
 them. After the treaty was concluded, and its terms were 
 reduced to writing, Mr. Greig remarked to Red- Jacket 
 that as he had opposed the sales he need not sign the 
 paper. But the chief would listen to no such proposi 
 tion. He was proud of having his name appear upon 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 every document connected with the fortunes of his peo 
 ple, whether he approved of them or not, and insisted 
 on signing the instrument, which he accordingly did.* 
 Still, although this negotiation was conducted with the 
 utmost fairness in respect to the Indians, loud complaints 
 were made against it by Red- Jacket and the non-con 
 tents, and a commission was subsequently instituted by 
 President Adams, to inquire into the true character of 
 the transaction. This duty was confided to Richard 
 Montgomery Livingston, of Saratoga. A powerful effort 
 was made by Red- Jacket to cause the treaty to be set 
 aside as fraudulent, but without success, and it was al 
 lowed to be carried into effect.f 
 
 Another negotiation was instituted in the year 1828, 
 and others still have followed, until, yielding to the per 
 tinacity of the company, in the autumn of 1839 the In 
 dians so far relinquished the contest that a treaty was 
 concluded, by virtue of which all the remaining territory 
 of the Senecas in the state of New- York was conveyed 
 
 * Conversations of the Author with Mr. Greig. 
 
 t The treaty here referred to was concluded on the 31st of August, 1826. By 
 it the Seneca nation of Indians sold to the proprietors of the pre-emptive right 
 87,526 acres of their reservations, being 33,637 from the Buffalo, 33,409 from 
 the Tonnewanta, 5,120 from the Cattaraugus, all of the Caneadea, (10,240,) and 
 all of the Gardow,SquackyHill, Big Tree and Canawagus reservations, containing 
 1,280 acres each. The last four were situated in the county of Livingston, and con 
 tain each a portion of the Genesee river flats. The papers connected with this 
 treaty were once partially examined by the author, at the house of the late Mr. Liv 
 ingston, but they were subsequently burnt with his office-building. Red-Jacket 
 was again active and eloquent in opposition to the views of the company ; but he 
 was out-voted in council, and compelled to yield to the overpowering numbers of 
 " democracy, savage and wild," literally as Governeur Morris once pronounced 
 it in another place. 
 
316 LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 
 
 to the company that had so long and intently been 
 striving to grasp the prize.* This treaty was ratified by 
 the Senate of the United States in March, 1840 ; but 
 although yet unexecuted, and doomed, perhaps, to en 
 counter opposition in regard to the appropriations neces 
 sary for its fulfilment, still it requires no special gift of 
 prophecy to foretell that the remains of the once proud 
 and powerful Senecas, comprising now but a few scat 
 tered and dissolving bands, must soon turn their backs 
 upon the fair region which they have possessed for cen 
 turies, to seek out a new home toward the setting sun. 
 Lost amid the boundless regions beyond the Mississippi, 
 and mingled with nations of their own race more nume 
 rous than themselves, not many years will elapse before 
 the Senecas will be numbered as among the nations that 
 were. 
 
 * There remained to the Senecas after the treaty of 1826, at Buffalo 49,920 
 acres, at Tonnewanta 12,800, at Allegany 30,469, at Cattaraugus 21,760, and at 
 Tuscarora 1,920, in all 116,869 acres, all of excellent quality. With the ex 
 ception of the Tuscarora reservation, which is small, all have now been sold by 
 the Indians. For an account of the provisions of the last mentioned treaty, and 
 a history of the arts and management by which it was obtained, see Appendix F. 
 

 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WITCHCRAFT The case of Tommy-Jemmy indicted for murder Red-Jacket 
 takes part in the trial His attention to the government of his people Mis 
 sionary enterprise among the Senecas-^Red-Jacket s opposition and hatred 
 of Christianity His letter to Captain Parish, appealing to Governor Clinton 
 against the black-coats Legislative action, unwittingly, against the mission 
 aries Rev. Mr. Harris and his labors Their success Conversion of 0-qui- 
 ye-sou, or Captain Strong The schools Mr. Harris driven away under the 
 law Conduct of the white pagans Application to the legislature in behalf of 
 the missionaries Letter of Red-Jacket to Governor Clinton The mission 
 aries and teachers sustained -Beneficent labors of the Quakers Remarkable 
 interview between Red-Jacket and Rev. Dr. Breckinridgc, as detailed in a let 
 ter from the latter Outlines of another anti-christian speech His eloquence. 
 
 NEITHER civilized nor savage wars occurring again in 
 the neighborhood of the Seneca country during the resi 
 due of Red-Jacket s life, few public events with which 
 his name is associated remain to be discussed. The 
 most considerable exception to this remark is to be found 
 in the celebrated case of Tommy-Jemmy, a chief of the 
 Senecas, who, in the year 1821, was tried for murder at 
 Buffalo. The case was substantially this : In the spring 
 of the year just mentioned, a Seneca Indian fell into a 
 state of languishment, and died. The character and 
 course of the disease were such that the Indian medi 
 cine-men did not understand it ; and from a variety of 
 strange circumstances attending the sick man s decline 
 and death, it was sagely concluded that he had been 
 
318 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 destroyed by sorcery. Nay more, the woman who had 
 nursed him, and anxiously watched him at his bed-side, 
 was fixed upon as the beldam who, by the aid of an evil 
 spirit, had compassed his death. The woman fled the 
 territory and crossed into Canada, but was followed 
 thither by the sachems and others, arrested, and tried 
 by a council, in due form, according to the immemorial 
 usages of her people in such cases made and provided. 
 She was proved guilty, and sentenced to death. But the 
 Indians were too well informed, and too wary, to carry 
 the execution into effect beyond the confines of their 
 own territory, either in Canada or the United States. 
 The poor culprit was therefore artfully inveigled back 
 to the American side of the Niagara, and thence within 
 the bounds of their own jurisdiction, where it was de 
 termined she should meet her doom. Still the Indian 
 who had been designated as the executioner faltered in 
 his duty. Either his heart or his hand failed, or his con 
 science smote him, and he declined the fulfilment of his 
 bloody commission. In this emergency, a chief named 
 So-on-on-gise, but who was usually called Tommy- 
 Jemmy, seized a knife, and despatched the sorceress by 
 cutting her throat. The white inhabitants of the neigh 
 borhood were shocked at the deed ; and forgetting that, 
 to a certain extent at least, the Indians constituted an 
 independent community, Tommy- Jemmy was arres 
 ted by the civil authorities of Buffalo, and thrown into 
 prison. In due time he was indicted for the capital 
 crime of murder, and arraigned at the bar of the oyer 
 and terminer to take his trial. This trial, interesting 
 in itself, became in its progress both curious and instruc- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 319 
 
 live ; and before the close of all the proceedings had in 
 connexion therewith, attracted very general attention 
 throughout the state, especially with the legal profession. 
 The death of the woman, by the hand of the accused, of 
 course was not denied. But the prisoner, by his coun 
 sel, pleaded to the jurisdiction of the court, that the 
 Seneca Indians were a sovereign and independent na 
 tion, exercising exclusive jurisdiction of all offences com 
 mitted by any of its members within their own territory, 
 and that the prisoner, as well as the person killed, was 
 a member of the Seneca nation, and the offence, if any, 
 was committed within their own territory. The woman, 
 it was held, had been judicially executed, according to 
 their own laws and usages, and it was therefore insisted 
 that it was a matter of which the tribunals of the state of 
 New- York could take no cognizance. To this plea a 
 replication was filed by the public prosecutor,* denying 
 the allegations, and an issue to the country tendered. 
 In this issue the prisoner joined, and a jury was sworn 
 to try the same. Among the witnesses introduced to 
 support the plea of the accused was Red-Jacket, who 
 was examined at large touching the laws and usages of 
 his people. The eminent counsel who conducted the 
 prosecution wished to exclude his testimony, and to that 
 end inquired whether he believed in the existence of a 
 God. " More truly than one can who could ask me 
 such a question," with an indignant look, was the instant 
 reply.f Afterward, on his cross-examination, the chief 
 
 * The Hon. John C. Spencer, now, (1841,) Secretary of the state of New- 
 York. 
 
 t Letter to the author from the Hon. Albert H. Tracy. 
 
320 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 was asked by one of the counsel, what rank he held in 
 his nation : to which he answered with a contemptuous 
 sneer, " Look at the papers which the white people 
 keep the most carefully," (meaning the treaties ceding 
 their lands,) " they will tell you what I am !"* 
 
 The testimony of the orator, as also did that of the 
 other Indian witnesses, went to show that in the appre 
 hension of the Indians the woman was clearly a witch, 
 and that she had been tried by a properly constituted 
 council, and executed, in pursuance of their laws, which 
 had been established for a time whereof the memory of 
 the white people, at least, ran not to the contrary, inas 
 much as these laws were in force long before the English 
 came to this island. In the course of his examination, 
 perceiving that their superstition on the subject of witch 
 craft was the theme of ridicule, as well with the legal 
 gentlemen as among the bystanders, Red-Jacket found 
 an opportunity to break forth as follows : 
 
 " What ! Do you denounce us as fools and bigots, because we 
 still believe that which you yourselves believed two centuries 
 ago 1 Your black-coats thundered this doctrine from the pul 
 pit, your judges pronounced it from the bench, and sanctioned 
 it with the formalities of law ; and you would now punish our 
 unfortunate brother for adhering to the faith of his fathers 
 and of yours ! Go to Salem ! Look at the records of your 
 own government, and you will find that hundreds have been 
 executed for the very crime which has called forth the sen 
 tence of condemnation against this woman, and drawn down 
 upon her the arm of vengeance. What have our brothers 
 done more than the rulers of your people have done ? And 
 
 * Drake s Book of the Indians. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 what crime has this man committed, by executing, in a sum 
 mary way, the laws of his country, and the command of the 
 Great Spirit 1"* 
 
 The appearance of Red-Jacket, when delivering this 
 sarcastic philippic, was noted as remarkable, even for 
 him. When fired with indignation, or burning for re 
 venge, the expression of his eye was terrible, and when 
 he chose to display his powers of irony, which were 
 rarely excelled, the aspect of his keen sarcastic glance 
 was irresistible.! The result of the trial was a verdict 
 that the allegations contained in the prisoner s plea were 
 true. The court suspended giving judgment, and the 
 proceedings were removed by certiorari into the Su 
 preme Court. At the August term of that tribunal, in 
 the same year, a motion was made by the attorney- 
 general for judgment that the prisoner answer farther, 
 notwithstanding the verdict of the jury. The argument 
 was opened, in behalf of the people, by Mr. Spencer, 
 who was followed by Mr. Oakley ,| in behalf of the pri 
 soner. Mr. Samuel A. Talcott, attorney-general, closed 
 the argument, which was sustained throughout, on both 
 sides, with great ability. The discussion produced a 
 very thorough examination of all the laws, treaties, 
 documents, and public history relating to the Indians, 
 from the time of the discovery ; and the court, intima- 
 
 * Albany Argus, 1821, one of the editors of which paper, at that day, was 
 present at the trial. 
 
 t William J. Snelling, who was also present at the trial. Vide Drake s Book 
 of the Indians. 
 
 t Thomas J. Oakley, formerly attorney-general, and now (1841,) one of the 
 judges of the Superior Court of the city of New-York. 
 
 41 
 
322 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ting that there was considerable difficulty in the ques 
 tion, took time for mature consideration. The conclu 
 sion of the whole matter was the discharge of the pri 
 soner by consent. The court, not liking to make a de 
 cision recognizing the independent jurisdiction of the 
 Indians in such cases, and yet being unable to deny to 
 them the existence of a qualified sovereignty, perceiv 
 ing, moreover, very clearly that the case was not one 
 of murder, as the Indians " understood it," took the 
 middle course, and allowed the liberation of the prisoner. 
 After the close of the war between the United States 
 and Great Britain, in 1815, the whole attention of Red- 
 Jacket was devoted to the government of his people, and 
 the advancement of what he doubtless honestly conceived 
 to be their true interests. The leading feature of his policy 
 was to exclude the white people from mingling with his 
 nation, and to prevent Christain missionaries and school 
 masters from coming amongst them ; in furtherance of 
 which design, all his influence, and all that remained of 
 his power, were exerted to the utmost. In a word, he 
 labored with all his energies to shut out every thing like 
 moral and social improvement, and to preserve his peo 
 ple in their primitive Indian character. But his arm 
 was too feeble to check the advances of the Anglo- 
 Saxon race, and the residue of the Six Nations at length 
 found themselves hemmed closely within the compara 
 tively narrow reservations yet remaining to them. Both 
 school-masters and missionaries, also, the objects of the 
 chieftain s peculiar hate, were still insinuating themselves 
 among them ; for the New- York Missionary Society, no- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 333 
 
 thing daunted by the repulse of Mr. Alexander, in 1811, 
 had succeeded in establishing several missionary sta 
 tions. Indeed, the Tuscarora Indians had received the 
 missionaries as early as the year 1805, and the conse 
 quence had been a rapid improvement of their moral 
 and social condition. A missionary house had likewise 
 been opened at the Seneca village, about five miles from 
 Buffalo, and another upon the Cattaraugus reservation.* 
 These humble efforts in the cause of Christian civiliza 
 tion were crowned with very considerable success, so 
 that previous to the year 1820 the Senecas had become 
 divided into two distinct parties, Christian and Pagan, 
 as mentioned incidentally in a preceding chapter. 
 The former was headed by the veteran Captain Pollard, 
 or Ka-oun-doo-wand, Gishkaka, commonly called Little- 
 Billy, and several other chiefs of note, and the latter by 
 Rec 1 -Jacket and the Young Cornplanter, who, notwith 
 standing the conversion of his father to the Christian faith, 
 and his own education in Philadelpha, adhered still to 
 the heathenism of his ancestors. There were likewise 
 other pagan chiefs acting in concert with Red-Jacket, 
 who, with their followers, probably at that period com 
 posed considerably more than half the nation. The 
 hostility of this pagan party to these inroads of civiliza 
 tion was uncompromising, and at the close of the year 
 1819, or early in 1820, an appeal was made to Governor 
 Clinton for protection against the " black-coats." This 
 appeal was embodied in a letter, dictated by Red- 
 Jacket, and addressed to Mr. Parish, their favorite in- 
 
 * Reports from the missionary, in the Missionary Herald. 
 
 
324 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 terpreter, then on a visit to the seat of the state govern 
 ment, upon business appertaining to the Indians : 
 
 RED-JACKET TO CAPTAIN PARISH. 
 
 " BROTHER PARISH : I address myself to you, and through 
 you to the governor. The chiefs of Onondaga have accompa 
 nied you to Albany, to do business with the governor ; I, also, 
 was to have been with you, but I am sorry to say that bad 
 health has put it out of my power. For this you must not 
 think hard of me. I am not to blame for it. It is the will of 
 the Great Spirit that it should be so. The object of the Onon- 
 dagas is to purchase our lands at Tonnewanta. This and an 
 other business that they may have to do at Albany, must be 
 transacted in the presence of the governor. He will see that 
 the bargain is fairly made, so that all parties may have reason 
 to be satisfied with what is done ; and when our sanction shall 
 be wanted to the transaction, it will be freely given. I much 
 regret that, at this time, the state of my health should prevent 
 me from accompanying you to Albany, as it was the wish of 
 the nation that I should state to the governor some circum 
 stances which show that the chain of friendship between us 
 and the white people is wearing out, and wants brightening. 
 But I will proceed now to lay them before you by letter, 
 that you may mention them to the governor, and solicit 
 redress. He is appointed to do justice to all, and the In 
 dians fully confide that he will not suffer them to be wronged 
 with impunity. 
 
 " The first subject to which we would call the attention of 
 the governor, is the depredations that are daily committed by 
 the white people upon the most valuable timber on our reser 
 vations. This has been a subject of complaint with us for 
 many years ; but now, and particularly at this season of the 
 year, it has become an alarming evil, and calls for the imme 
 diate interposition of the governor in our behalf. Our next 
 subject of complaint is, the frequent thefts of our horses and 
 cattle by the white people ; and their habit of taking and 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 325 
 
 using them whenever they please, and without our leave. 
 These are evils which seem to increase upon us with the in 
 crease of our white neighbors, and they call loudly for redress. 
 
 " Another evil arising from the pressure of the whites upon 
 us, and our unavoidable communication with them, is the fre 
 quency with which our chiefs, and warriors, and Indians, are 
 thrown into jail, and that, too, for the most trifling causes. 
 This is very galling to our feelings, and ought not to be per 
 mitted to the extent to which, to gratify their bad passions, 
 our white neighbors now carry this practice. 
 
 " In our hunting and fishing, too, we are greatly interrupted 
 by the whites. Our venison is stolen from the trees where we 
 have hung it to be reclaimed after the chase. Our hunting 
 camps have been fired into, and we have been warned that 
 we shall no longer be permitted to pursue the deer in those 
 forests which were so lately all our own. The fish, which, in 
 the Buffalo and Tonnewanta creeks, used to supply us with 
 food, are now, by the dams and other obstructions of the 
 white people, prevented from multiplying, and we are almost 
 entirely deprived of that accustomed sustenance. Our. great 
 Father the President has recommended to our young men to 
 be industrious, to plough and to sow. This we have done, 
 and we are thankful for tbe advice, and for the means he has 
 afforded us of carrying it into effect. We are happier in con 
 sequence of it. 
 
 " But another thing recommended to us has created great 
 confusion among us, and is making us a quarrelsome and divi 
 ded people ; and that is, the introduction of preachers into our 
 nation. These black-coats contrive to get the consent of some 
 of the Indians to preach among us, and wherever this is the 
 case, confusion and disorder are sure to follow : and the en 
 croachments of the whites upon our lands are the invariable 
 consequence. The governor must not think hard of me for 
 speaking thus of the preachers. I have observed their pro 
 gress, and when I look back to see what has taken place of 
 old, I perceive that whenever they came among the Indians, 
 
326 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 they were the forerunners of their dispersion; that they always 
 excited enmities and quarrels among them ; that they intro 
 duced the white people on their lands, by whom they were 
 robbed and plundered of their property ; and that the Indians 
 were sure to dwindle and decrease and be driven back, in pro 
 portion to the number of preachers that came among them. 
 Each nation has its own customs and its own religion. The 
 Indians have theirs, given to them by the Great Spirit, un 
 der which they were happy. It was not intended that they 
 should embrace the religion of the whites, and be destroyed 
 by the attempt to make them think differently on that subject 
 from their fathers. 
 
 " It is true, these preachers have got the consent of some of 
 the chiefs to stay and preach among us, but I and my friends 
 know this to be wrong, and that they ought to be removed ; 
 besides, we have been threatened by Mr. Hyde, who came 
 among us as a school-master and a teacher of our children, but 
 has now become a black-coat, and refused to teach them any 
 more, that unless we listen to his preaching and become 
 Christians, we will be turned off our lands. We wish to 
 know from the governor if this is to be so ; and if he has no 
 right to say so, we think he ought to be turned off our lands, 
 and not allowed to plague us any more. We shall never be 
 at peace while he is among us. Let them be removed, and 
 we will be happy and contented among ourselves. We now 
 cry to the governor for help, and hope that he will attend to 
 our complaints, and speedily give us redress. 
 
 " SA-G-O-YE-WAT-HA, or Red-Jacket."* 
 
 In consequence of tbis representation, and others of 
 corresponding import, an act was passed by the legisla- 
 
 * This letter was dictated by Red-Jacket, and interpreted by Henry O Bail, 
 in the presence of the following Indians: Red-Jacket s son, Cornplanter, John- 
 Cobb, Peter, Young-King s-Brother, Tom-the-Infant, (Onnonggaiheko,) Blue- 
 sky, (Towyocauna,) John-Sky, Jemmy-Johnson, Marcus, Big-fire, Captain- 
 Jemmy. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 327 
 
 ture of New- York, during the session of 1821, for the 
 more effectual prevention of encroachments upon the 
 lands of the Senecas. The enactments of this law were 
 peremptory, requiring the district-attorney and sheriff 
 of the county, on complaint being made, to remove from 
 the reservation " all persons other than Indians." Re 
 sistance to the mandate for such removal was punishable 
 by imprisonment. It is not supposed that in the enact 
 ment of this law the legislature intended to molest the 
 missionaries, or to interfere with their schools. The de 
 sign was to afford more efficient protection to the In 
 dians against intruders in general, who were crowding 
 upon them in considerable numbers, destroying their tim 
 ber, and endamaging them in other respects. Against 
 such it was occasionally enforced ; but in regard to the 
 missionaries its energies were allowed to slumber for 
 two or three years. Meantime the New- York Mission 
 ary Society had transferred its stations to the care of the 
 American Board of Foreign Missions, by which latter 
 association the Seneca missions had been re-organized 
 upon a more efficient and commanding basis. In 1821, 
 the Rev. Thompson S. Harris, with an augmented mis 
 sion family, had been stationed at the Seneca village, with 
 a commission as superintendent of the stations in the 
 several cantons. A church was soon afterward organized, 
 and schools, male and female,were opened. In the year 
 1822, the Rev. Mr. Thayer, with his family and suitable 
 teachers for schools, was stationed at the Cattaraugus 
 reservation. The labors of both of these families, mis 
 sionaries and teachers, were greatly blessed ; and Red- 
 
328 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Jacket and his pagan adherents were doomed to the 
 mortification of beholding a rapid increase of the Chris 
 tian party at the expense of their own. The children 
 were flocking to the schools, and the adults almost daily 
 renouncing their heathen rites and superstitions, and 
 avowing themselves Christians. Among the notables of 
 the tribe who came out from among the pagans, was the 
 principal chief of the Cattaraugus clan, O-qui-ye-sou, 
 well known in English as Captain Strong. He was a 
 chief of talent and great influence among his people, 
 a sober, deep-thinking man, who for judgment and pene 
 tration surpassed most others of his nation. His family 
 was connected with that of Red-Jacket by ties of con 
 sanguinity, and, with all the members of that family, he 
 remained a pagan until 1823. Red- Jacket himself had 
 not been more decided in his opposition to the mission 
 aries than Captain Strong, down to the period just men 
 tioned. But observing the salutary influences which the 
 missionaries and their schools were exerting upon his 
 people, he was brought to reflect seriously upon the sub 
 ject. His pagan friends became alarmed at the symp 
 toms they discovered of a change in his views, and a 
 council was convened, at which the most strenuous 
 efforts were put in requisition to prevent his defection. 
 But their efforts were vain. To the disappointment and 
 grief of the pagans, after they had exhausted their 
 stock of dissuasives, O-qui-ye-sou rose and in a manly 
 speech abjured his pagan creed, and avowed himself a 
 member of the Christian party, to which he has sted- 
 fastly adhered until this day. Alarmed at the loss of 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 329 
 
 such a chief as Captain Strong, and at the rapid dimi 
 nution of his adherents, foreshadowing his own loss of 
 influence and power, the project of a forcible ejectment 
 of the missionaries and school-teachers, under the act of 
 1821, was conceived by Red- Jacket, and by the aid of 
 several white pagans in Buffalo, who were ever on the 
 qui vive to facilitate his ariti-christian purposes, carried 
 into prompt execution. Complaints having been duly 
 entered against Mr. Harris and his teachers at the 
 Seneca village, the district-attorney and sheriff, having 
 no discretion in the premises, were compelled to pro 
 ceed against them, and the mission at the Seneca village 
 was broken up in March, 1824. There were forty-three 
 children in the school at the time, who, with their teach 
 ers and assistants, were removed to the Cattaraugus 
 station. Mr. Harris and his family retired to Buffalo, 
 to watch the course of events, and render such offices 
 to the Indians of his spiritual charge as might yet be in 
 his power. This was a sad disappointment to the mis 
 sion-family, and was deeply lamented by the Christian 
 Indians, upon whom the happiest influences had been 
 exerted. A lively concern had been awakened in their 
 bosoms for the salvation of their souls, and they were in 
 the habit of resorting to the woods for their private de 
 votions. They therefore felt deeply the loss of their 
 minister, to whom they owed so much, not only for his 
 instructions in religion, but for his labors in the improve 
 ment of their social condition. The American Board 
 had no sooner heard of these transactions, than an ap 
 peal was made to the legislature for such a modification 
 
 42 
 
330 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 of the law of 1821 as would allow the missionaries to 
 resume their labors. The people of Buffalo, also, with 
 the exception of a small knot of unbelievers in alliance 
 upon this subject with Red-Jacket, sustained the appli 
 cation. Judge Wilkinson, then a senator from Buffalo, 
 made a strong speech in favor of the proposed modifica 
 tion of the law, and bore powerful testimony to the advan 
 tages that had resulted to the Indians from the labors of 
 the missionaries. In this posture of affairs, while the 
 question was yet pending, Red-Jacket addressed the 
 following letter to Governor Clinton : 
 
 " TO THE CHIEF OF THE COUNCIL FIRE AT ALBANY. 
 
 " BROTHER : About three years ago, our friends of the great 
 council fire at Albany wrote down in their book that the priests 
 of white people should no longer reside on our lands, and told 
 their officers to move them off whenever we complained. This 
 was to us good news, and made our hearts glad. These priests 
 had a long time troubled us, and made us bad friends and bad 
 neighbors. After much difficulty we removed them from our 
 lands ; and for a short time we have been quiet, and our minds 
 easy. But we are now told that the priests have asked liberty 
 to return ; and that our friends of the great council fire are 
 about to blot from their book the law which they made, and 
 leave their poor red brethren once more a prey to hungry 
 priests. 
 
 " BROTHER : Listen to what we say. These men do us no 
 good. They deceive every body. They deny the Great Spi 
 rit, which we, and our fathers before us, have looked upon as 
 our creator. They disturb us in our worship. They tell our 
 children* they must not believe like our fathers and mothers, 
 and tell us many things we do not understand and cannot be 
 lieve. They tell us we must be like white people, but they 
 
 * Several of Red-Jacket s children had joined the Christian party. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 331 
 
 are lazy and won t work, nor do they teach our young men to 
 do so. The habits of our women are worse than they were 
 before these men came amongst us, and our young men drink 
 more whiskey. We are willing to be taught to read, and 
 write, and work, but not by people who have done us so much 
 injury. 
 
 " BROTHER : We wish you to lay before the council fire the 
 wishes of your red brethren. We ask our brothers not to blot 
 out the law which has made us peaceable and happy ; and not 
 to force a strange religion upon us. We ask to be let alone, 
 and, like the white people, to worship the Great Spirit as we 
 think best. We shall then be happy in fulfilling the little 
 share in life which is left us, and shall go down to our fathers 
 in peace. 
 
 " SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA."* 
 
 In one of the parables of the Great Author of Chris 
 tianity, it is said that on a certain occasion, when a hus 
 bandman had been scattering good seed in his field, 
 " an enemy" came afterward and sowed tares. It was 
 even so at the village of the Senecas. There were a 
 few individual white men in the vicinity of the reserva 
 tion, unbelievers in the Christian religion, of whose 
 number was a man of some political notoriety in Buf 
 falo, who labored with a zeal worthy of a better cause, 
 to thwart the efforts of the missionary and teachers at 
 the Seneca village. By these men the prejudices of 
 Red-Jacket and his pagan adherents were fomented, 
 and their hands strengthened. No man labored with 
 
 * The original of this document is in the office of the Secretary of State, at 
 Albany. It was subscribed with the mark of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, or Red- Jacket, 
 first, and then follow those of the Young Cornplanter, Green-Blanket, Big-Kettle, 
 Robert Bob, Twenty Canoes, senior and junior, Two-Guns, Fish-Hook, Hot- 
 Bread, Bare-Foot, and several others of the pagan party. 
 
332 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 greater industry in sowing the good seed than Mr. Har 
 ris. None could have labored with greater assiduity in 
 sowing tares in the same field than the persons referred 
 to. And these men were doubtless the counsellors of 
 Red- Jacket, as they had been on other similar occasions, 
 in the composition of the foregoing letter to Governor 
 Clinton. It was a grievous libel upon the character and 
 conduct of the missionaries, and probably was not with 
 out its influence for temporary evil, inasmuch as the ap 
 plication in their behalf was not at that time sustained 
 by the legislature. But at a period not long subsequent, 
 the rigors of the law were meliorated, and both mission 
 aries and teachers were allowed to resume and con 
 tinue their labors without farther molestation. 
 
 There is indeed, in one passage of the letter under 
 consideration, an apparent qualification of the old chief 
 tain s hostility to the introduction of the arts of reading 
 and writing among the Indians ; but he was nevertheless 
 averse to the acquisition of those accomplishments from 
 Mr. Harris and his assistants. But toward the Quakers, 
 who had exercised a watchful guardianship over the 
 Alleghany clan of the Senecas, by means of boards of 
 visiters and resident agents, almost from the hour of 
 their laying down the hatchet in 1783, Red-Jacket was 
 much better disposed. He made an earnest appeal to 
 them, at about the same time, for assistance, or for the 
 exertion of their influence in keeping the missionaries at 
 a distance. In his communications with the Quakers 
 upon this subject, he was more grievously libellous 
 against the missionaries even than in the letter to Go- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 333 
 
 vernor Clinton, charging them with stealing the horses of 
 the Indians, driving away their cattle, and with other 
 grave offences. Charges like these, against men holding 
 the commissions of the American Board of Foreign Mis 
 sions, stationed, as it were, under the very eye of the 
 Board itself, carried their own contradiction upon their 
 face. Still it may be possible, barely possible, that 
 miscreants may have assumed the missionary garb in 
 order to accomplish some sinister purpose against this 
 much-abused race. And when the orator told the Qua 
 kers, as it is alleged he did by at least one authority, 
 that such of the Senecas as were nominally converted 
 from heathenism to Christianity by those pretended 
 teachers, only disgraced themselves by paltry attempts 
 to cover the profligacy of the one with the hypocrisy of 
 the other,* he must either have adverted to some isolated 
 instance of imposture and affected conversion, or coined 
 the libel with malignant intent. 
 
 But his hostility to Christianity and its teachers was 
 implacable, and broke forth on every possible occasion. 
 About the year 1824, a gentleman who had much official 
 and personal intercourse with the Senecas, and with 
 Red- Jacket in particular, while in conversation with him 
 in company with the late Colonel Chapin, asked the 
 question why he was so much opposed to the mission 
 aries. The inquiry awakened feelings of real or affected 
 surprise in the bosom of the chief, and after a brief 
 pause as though for reflection, he replied with a sarcastic 
 smile, and an emphasis peculiar to himself: 
 
 * Thatcher s Indian Biography. 
 
334 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 " Because they do us no good. If they are not useful to 
 the white people, why do they send them among the Indians ? 
 If they are useful to the white people, and do them good, why 
 do they not keep them at home ] They are surely bad enough 
 to need the labor of every one who can make them better. 
 These men know we do not understand their religion. We 
 cannot read their book, they tell us different stories about 
 what it contains, and we believe they make the book talk to 
 suit themselves. If we had no money, no land, and no coun 
 try to be cheated out of, these black-coats would not trouble 
 themselves about our good hereafter. The Great Spirit will 
 not punish us for what we do not know. He will do justice to 
 his red children. These black-coats talk to the Great Spirit, 
 and ask for light, that we may see as they do, when they are 
 blind themselves, and quarrel about the light which guides 
 them. These things we do not understand, and the light they 
 give us makes the straight and plain path trod by our fathers 
 dark and dreary. The black-coats tell us to work and raise 
 corn : they do nothing themselves, and would starve to death 
 if somebody did not feed them. All they do is to pray to the 
 Great Spirit ; but that will not make corn or potatoes grow ; 
 if it will why do they beg from us and from the white people ? 
 The red men knew nothing of trouble until it came from the 
 white men; as soon as they crossed the great waters they 
 wanted our country, and in return have always been ready to 
 teach us to quarrel about their religion. Red-Jacket can 
 never be the friend of such men. The Indians can never be 
 civilized, they are not like white men. If they were raised 
 among the white people, and learned to work, and to read, as 
 they do, it would only make their situations worse. They 
 would be treated no better than negroes. We are few and 
 weak, but may for a long time be happy if we hold fast to 
 our country and the religion of our fathers !"* 
 
 * Colonel M Kenney s Indian Biography. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 335 
 
 It need scarcely be added that this outpouring of in 
 vective against the missionaries was no more bitter than 
 unjust; and were it not for the close resemblance it 
 bears to the preceding letter to Governor Clinton, it 
 would be charitable to hope that the reporter imparted 
 to the language of the speaker a tone of severity beyond 
 his design. No doubt can exist that his feelings of hatred 
 to Christianity were at that time settled and deep ; but, 
 as has been previously intimated, there were white pa 
 gans in the Seneca neighborhood, who, with a vigilance 
 that never slumbered, were watching for opportunities 
 to infuse into the bosom of Red-Jacket a portion of the 
 poison rankling in their own. Such may have been the 
 fact in regard both to the last mentioned speech and the 
 letter. Perhaps, therefore, a more just conception of the 
 old chieftain s general views upon this important sub 
 ject, his manner of reasoning respecting it, and the 
 position in which he supposed the Indians stood in regard 
 to it, may be formed by a perusal of the notes of a pro 
 tracted colloquy between him and a young candidate for 
 clerical orders, now an eminent divine,* which occur 
 red at about the period of his life now under consideration. 
 These notes, or more properly sketches, in addition to 
 their dramatic interest, will serve as vivid illustrations 
 of the manners of the orator in his old age, and the cha 
 racter of his mind ; while the missionaries are at the 
 same time vindicated. 
 
 * The Rev. John Breckenridge, D. D. 
 
336 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 REV. DR. BRECKENRIDGE TO THE AUTHOR. 
 
 " The first opportunity I ever enjoyed of seeing that 
 deservedly celebrated Indian chief Red- Jacket, was in the 
 year 1821, at the residence of General PETER B. PORTER, 
 Black Rock, New- York. Being on a visit to the General 
 and his family, it seemed a peculiarly fit occasion to be 
 come acquainted with the great Seneca orator, whose 
 tribe resided within a few miles of Black Rock. Gene 
 ral Porter embraced the Indian warriors who fought 
 with us on that line, during the late war with Great 
 Britain, in his command. From this cause ; from his 
 high character; his intimate acquaintance with the 
 chiefs ; and his known attachment to these interesting 
 people, he had great influence over them ; and his la 
 mented lady, who it is not indelicate for me to say 
 was my sister, had by her kindness won the rugged 
 hearts of all their leading men. So that their united in 
 fluence, and my near relationship to them, secured to 
 me at once access to the chiefs, and their entire confi 
 dence. 
 
 " I had not only a great desire to see Red- Jacket, but 
 also to use this important opportunity to correct some 
 of his false impressions in regard to Christianity and 
 the missionaries established in his tribe. To this end it 
 was agreed to invite Red-Jacket and the other chiefs of 
 the Senecas, to visit Co-na-shus-tah,* and meet his 
 brother at his house. The invitation was accordingly 
 given, and very promptly and respectfully accepted. 
 
 " On the appointed day they made their appearance 
 
 * The name given to General Porter by Red-Jacket. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 337 
 
 in due form, headed by Red-Jacket, to the number of 
 perhaps eight or ten, besides himself. Red-Jacket was 
 dressed with much taste, in the Indian costume through 
 out. He wore a blue dress, the upper garment cut after 
 the fashion of a hunting-shirt, with blue leggings, very 
 neat moccasins, a red jacket, and a girdle of red about 
 his waist. I have seldom seen a more dignified or 
 noble looking body of men than the entire group. It 
 seems, though no such impression was designed to be 
 made by the terms of the invitation, that some indefi 
 nite expectation had been excited in their minds of 
 meeting an official agent on important business. And 
 they have been so unworthily tampered with, and so 
 badly treated by us, as a people, and many of their 
 most important treaties have been so much the result of 
 private and corrupting appeals, that they very naturally 
 look for some evil design in every approach to them, 
 however open and simple it may be. So it was on this 
 occasion. As soon as the ceremonies of introduction 
 had passed, with the civilities growing out of it, the old 
 orator seated himself in the midst of the circle of chiefs, 
 and after a word with them, followed by a general 
 assent, he proceeded in a very serious and commanding- 
 manner, always speaking in his own nervous tongue, 
 through an interpreter, to address me in substance as 
 follows : 
 
 " We have had a call from our good friends/ (pointing to 
 the general and his lady,) to come down to Black Rock to 
 meet their brother. We are glad to break bread and to drink 
 the cup of friendship with them. They are great friends to 
 
 43 
 
338 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 our people, and we love them much. Co-na-shus-tah is a 
 great man. His woman has none like her. We often come 
 to their house. We thank them for telling us to come to-day. 
 But as all the chiefs were asked we expected some important 
 talk. Now, here we are : What is your business V 
 
 11 This, as may be readily supposed, was an embar 
 rassing position to a young man just out of college. I 
 paused. Every countenance was fixed upon me, while 
 Red- Jacket in particular seemed to search me with his 
 arrowy eye, and to feel that the private and informal 
 nature of the meeting, and the extreme youth of the 
 man, were hardly in keeping with the character and 
 number of the guests invited ; and his whole manner 
 implied, that but for the sake of the general and his 
 good viands, I should have waited for you to come to 
 us. With these impressions of his feelings, I proceeded 
 to say in reply : 
 
 " That I should have thought it very presumptuous in me 
 to send for him alone, and still more for all the chiefs of his 
 tribe, to come so far to see me ; that my intention had been 
 to visit him and the other chiefs at his town ; but the gene 
 ral and his lady could not go with me to introduce me. 
 Nor were we at all certain that we should find him and the 
 other chiefs at home ; and at any rate the general s house was 
 more convenient. He intended, when he asked them, to keep 
 them as long as they could stay, and to invite them to break 
 his bread, and drink his cup, and smoke his pipe ; that 
 his woman, and he as well as I, desired to see them at their 
 house ; _that as to myself, I was a young man, and had no 
 business with them, except that I had heard a great deal of 
 Red-Jacket, and wished to see him and hear him talk ; and 
 also that I had some things to say to him when we were better 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 339 
 
 acquainted, which, though not business, were important to his 
 people ; and I thought it would be interesting to him, as I 
 knew he loved his people much ; and finally that I would re 
 turn his visit, and show him that it was not out of disrespect, 
 but out of great regard for him, and great desire to see him, 
 that we had sent for him, this being the way that white men 
 honor one another. 
 
 " Mrs. Porter immediately confirmed what I had said, 
 and gave special point to the hospitality of the house, 
 and the great desire I had to see Red-Jacket. Her ap 
 peal, added to the reply, relaxed the rigor of his man 
 ner and that of the other chiefs, while it relieved our in 
 terview of all painful feelings. 
 
 " After this general letting down of the scene, Red- 
 Jacket turned to me familiarly and asked : What are 
 you ? You say you are not a government agent, are 
 you a gambler ?* or a black-coat ? or what are you ? 
 I answered : I am yet too young a man to engage in 
 any profession ; but I hope some of these days to 
 be a black-coat. He lifted up his hands accompa 
 nied by his eyes, in a most expressive way, and though 
 not a word was uttered, every one fully understood that 
 he very distinctly expressed the sentiment, < What a 
 fool ! I had too often been called to bear from those 
 reputed * great and wise among white men, the shame 
 of the cross, to be surprised by his manner ; and I was 
 too anxious to conciliate his good feelings to attempt 
 
 * By the term " gambler," Red-Jacket meant a land speculator, and by the 
 way not a bad definition, especially of those base men who have so long con 
 spired to cheat the poor Indians out of their little remaining lands. 
 
340 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 any retort, so that I commanded my countenance, and 
 seeming not to have observed him, I proceeded to tell 
 him something of our colleges, &c., &c. That gradu 
 ally led his mind away from the ideas with which it was 
 filled and excited when he arrived. 
 
 " A good deal of general conversation ensued, ad 
 dressed to one and another of the chiefs, and we were 
 just arriving at the hour of dinner, when our conference 
 was suddenly broken up by the arrival of a breathless 
 messenger, saying that an old chief, whose name I for 
 get, had just died, and the other chiefs were immediate 
 ly needed, to attend his burial. One of the chiefs shed 
 tears at the news ; all seemed serious ; but the others 
 suppressed their feelings and spent a few moments in 
 a very earnest conversation, the result of which Red- 
 Jacket announced to us. They had determined to re 
 turn at once to their village ; but consented to leave 
 Red-Jacket and his interpreter. In vain were they 
 urged to wait until after dinner, or to refresh themselves 
 with something eaten by the way. With hurried fare 
 well and quick steps they left the house, and by the 
 nearest foot-path returned home. 
 
 " This occurrence relieved me of one difficulty. It 
 enabled me to see Red-Jacket at leisure, and alone. It 
 seemed also to soften his feelings, and make him more 
 affable and kind. 
 
 " Soon after the departure of the chiefs, we were 
 ushered to dinner. Red-Jacket behaved with great 
 propriety, in all respects ; his interpreter, Major Berry, 
 though half a white man and perhaps a chief, like a true 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 341 
 
 savage. After a few awkward attempts at the knife 
 and fork, he found himself falling behind, and repeating 
 the old adage which is often quoted to cover the same 
 style among our white urchins of picking a chicken- 
 bone, that fingers were made before knives and, forks? he pro 
 ceeded with real gusto, and much good humor, to make 
 up his lost time upon all parts of the dinner. It being 
 over, I invited Red- Jacket into the general s office, 
 where we had for four hours a most interesting conver 
 sation on a variety of topics, but chiefly connected with 
 Christianity ; the government of the United States ; the 
 missionaries ; and his loved lands. 
 
 " So great a length of time has passed since that in 
 terview that there must be supposed to be a failure in 
 the attempt perfectly to report what was said. I am 
 well assured I cannot do justice to his language, even as 
 diluted by the ignorant interpreter ; and his manner can 
 not be described. But it was so impressive a conversa 
 tion, and I have so often been called on to repeat it, that 
 the substance of his remarks has been faithfully retained 
 by my memory. It is only attempted here to recite a 
 small part of what was then said, and that with parti 
 cular reference to the illustration of his character, mind 
 and opinions. 
 
 " It has already been mentioned and is largely known, 
 that Red-Jacket cherished the most violent antipathy 
 toward the American missionaries who had been located 
 among his people. This led to very strenuous resistance 
 of their influence, and to hatred of their religion, but of 
 the true character of which he was totally ignorant. His 
 
342 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 deep attachment to his people, and his great principle 
 that their national glory and even existence depended 
 upon keeping themselves distinct from white men, lay 
 at the foundation of his aversion to Christianity. Though 
 a pagan, yet his opposition was political, and he cared 
 very little for any religion except so far as it seemed to 
 advance or endanger the glory and safety of the tribe. 
 
 "He had unfortunately been led by designing and 
 corrupt white men, who were interested in the result, 
 falsely to associate the labors of the missionaries with 
 designs against his nation ; and those who wished the 
 Senecas removed from their lands that they might profit 
 by the purchase, and who saw in the success of the 
 mission the chief danger to their plans, artfully enlisted 
 the pagan party, of which Red-Jacket was the leader, 
 to oppose the missionaries, and thus effectually led to 
 the final frustration of Red- Jacket s policy, in and by 
 the defeat of the missionary enterprise. But as this 
 question is discussed in the sequel, I will not anticipate. 
 Thus much it was necessary to premise, in order to ex 
 plain the nature and ends of my interview with Red- 
 Jacket. My object was to explain the true state of the 
 case to him, and after this to recommend the doctrine of 
 Christ to his understanding and heart. My first step, 
 therefore, was to ask him why he so strongly opposed 
 the settlement and labors of the missionaries ? He re 
 plied, because they are the enemies of the Indians, and 
 under the cloak of doing them good are trying to cheat 
 them out of their lands. I asked him what proof he had 
 of this. He said he had been told so by some of his 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 343 
 
 wise and good friends among the white men, and he ob 
 served that the missionaries were constantly wanting 
 more land, and that by little and little, for themselves, 
 or those who hired them to do it, they would take away 
 all their lands, and drive them off. 
 
 " I asked him if he knew that there was a body of 
 white men who had already bought the exclusive right 
 to buy their lands from the government of New- York, 
 and that therefore the missionaries could not hold the 
 lands given or sold them by the Indians a moment 
 after the latter left the lands and went away. He 
 seemed to be startled by the statement, but said nothing. 
 I proceeded to tell him that the true effect of the mis 
 sionary influence on the tribe was to secure to them the 
 possession of their lands, by civilizing them and making 
 them quit the chase for the cultivation of the soil, build 
 ing good houses, educating their children, and making 
 them permanent citizens and good men. This was 
 what the speculators did not wish. Therefore they 
 hated the missionaries. He acknowledged that the 
 Christian party among the Indians did as I said ; but 
 that was not the way for an Indian to do. Hunting, 
 war and manly pursuits, were best fitted to them. But, 
 said I, your reservation of land is too little for that pur 
 pose. It is surrounded by the white people like a small 
 island by the sea; the deer, the buffalo and bear, 
 have all gone. This wont do. If you intend to live so 
 much longer, you will have to go to the great western 
 wilderness where there is plenty of game, and no white 
 men to trouble you. But he said, we wish to keep our 
 
344 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 lands, and to be buried by our fathers. I know it, and 
 therefore I say that the missionaries are your best 
 friends ; for if you follow the ways they teach you can 
 still hold your lands, -though you cannot have hunting 
 grounds ; and therefore you must either do like white 
 men, or remove from your lands, very soon. Your 
 plan of keeping the Indians distinct from the white peo 
 ple is begun too late. If you would do it and have 
 large grounds, and would let the missionaries teach you 
 Christianity far from the bad habits and big farms of 
 the white people, it would then be well : it would keep 
 your people from being corrupted and swallowed up by 
 our people who grow so fast around you, and many of 
 whom are very bad. But it is too late to do it here, and 
 you must choose between keeping the missionaries and 
 being like white men, and going to a far country : as it is, I 
 continued, Red-Jacket is doing more than any body else 
 to break up and drive away his people. 
 
 " This conversation had much effect on him. He 
 grasped my hand and said if that were the case it was 
 new to him. He also said he would lay it up in his 
 mind, [putting his hand to his noble forehead,] and talk 
 of it to the chiefs and the people. 
 
 " It is a very striking fact, that the disgraceful scenes 
 now passing before the public eye over the grave of 
 Red-Jacket, so early and so sadly fulfil these predictions ; 
 and I cannot here forbear to add that the thanks of the 
 nation are due to our present chief magistrate,* for the 
 
 * This letter was written in January, 1841, and the President alluded to is 
 Mr. Van Buren. W. L. S. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 345 
 
 firmness with which he has resisted the recent efforts to 
 force a fraudulent treaty on the remnant of this injured 
 people ; and drive them against their will, and against 
 law and treaties sacredly made, away from their lands, 
 to satisfy the rapacity of unprincipled men. 
 
 " It may be proper here to say likewise, that I do by 
 no means intend to justify all that may possibly have 
 been done by the missionaries to the Senecas. It is 
 probable the earliest efforts were badly conducted ; and 
 men of more ability ought to have been sent to that pe 
 culiar and difficult station. But it is not for a moment 
 to be admitted, nor is it credible that the authors of the 
 charges themselves believe it, that the worthy men who 
 at every sacrifice went to the mission among the Senecas, 
 had any other than the purest purposes. I visited the 
 station, and intimately knew the chief missionary. I 
 marked carefully their plan and progress, and do not 
 doubt their usefulness any more than their uprightness ; 
 and beyond all doubt it was owing chiefly to malignant 
 influence exerted by white men, that they finally failed 
 in their benevolent designs. But my business is to 
 narrate, not to discuss. 
 
 " My next object was to talk with Red- Jacket about 
 Christianity itself. He was prompt in his replies, and 
 exercised and encouraged frankness with a spirit be 
 coming a great man. 
 
 " He admitted both its truth and excellence, as adap 
 ted to white men. He said some keenly sarcastic 
 things about the treatment that so good a man as Jesus 
 had received from white men. The white men, he said, 
 
 44 
 
346 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ought all to be sent to hell for killing him ; but as the 
 Indians had no hand in that transaction, they were in 
 that matter innocent. Jesus Christ was not sent to 
 them ; the atonement was not made for them ; nor the 
 Bible given to them ; and therefore the Christian religion 
 was not meant for them. If the Great Spirit had in 
 tended that the Indians should be Christians, he would 
 have made his revelation to them as well as to the white 
 men. Not having done so, it was clearly his will that 
 they should continue in the faith of their fathers. He 
 said that the red man was of a totally different race, 
 and needed an entirely different religion, and that it 
 was idle as well as unkind, to try to alter their religion 
 and give them ours. I asked him to point out the differ 
 ence of the races, contending that they were one, and 
 needed but one religion, and that Christianity was that 
 religion which Christ had intended for, and ordered to 
 be preached to, all men. He had no distinct views of 
 the nature of Christianity as a method of salvation, and 
 denied the need of it. As to the unity of the races, I 
 asked if he ever knew two distinct races, even of the 
 lower animals, to propagate their seed from generation 
 to generation. But do not Indians and white men do 
 so ? He allowed it ; but denied that it proved the matter 
 in hand. I pressed the points of resemblance in every 
 thing but color, and that in the case of the Christian 
 Indians there was a common mind on religion. He 
 finally waived this part of the debate by saying " that one 
 thing was certain whatever else was not, that white 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 347 
 
 men had a great love for Indian women, and left their 
 traces behind them wherever they could."* 
 
 " On the point of needing pardon, from being wicked, 
 he said the Indians were good till the white man cor 
 rupted them. " But did not the Indians have some wick 
 edness before that ?" " Not so much." " How was that 
 regarded by the Great Spirit ? Would He forgive it ?" 
 He hoped so, " did not know." " Jesus," I rejoined, 
 " came to tell us He would, and to get that pardon for 
 us." 
 
 " As to suffering and death among the Indians, did 
 not they prove that the Great Spirit was angry with 
 them, as well as with white men ? Would He thus treat 
 men that were good ? He said they were not wicked be 
 fore white men came to their country and taught them 
 to be so. But they died before that ? And why did they 
 die, if the Great Spirit was not angry, and they wicked ? 
 He could not say, and in reply to my explanation of the 
 gospel doctrine of the entrance of death by sin, he 
 again turned the subject by saying he was a " great 
 doctor," and could cure any thing but death. 
 
 " The interpreter had incidentally mentioned that 
 the reason the chiefs had to go home so soon, was that 
 they always sacrificed a white dog on the death of a great 
 man. I turned this fact to the account of the argument, 
 and endeavored to connect it with, and explain by it, 
 the doctrine of atonement, by the blood of Christ, and 
 
 * In another conversation upon this subject, I believe with Dr. Breckenridge, 
 Red-Jacket expressed this idea more pungently, as may be seen by referring 
 back to page 186. W. L. S. 
 
348 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 also pressed him on the questions, how can this please 
 the Great Spirit, on your plan ? Why do you offer such a 
 sacrifice, for so it is considered ? And where they got such 
 a rite from ? He attempted no definite reply. 
 
 " Many other topics were talked over. But these 
 specimens suffice to illustrate his views, and mode of 
 thinking. 
 
 " At the close of the conversation he proposed to give 
 me a name, that henceforth I might be numbered among 
 his friends, and admitted to the intercourse and regards 
 of the nation. Supposing this not amiss, I consented. 
 But before he proceeded he called for some whiskey. 
 He was at this time an intemperate man, and though 
 perfectly sober on that occasion, evidently displayed 
 toward the close of the interview the need of stimulus, 
 which it is hardly necessary to say we carefully kept 
 from him. But he insisted now, and after some time a 
 small portion was sent to him at the bottom of a de 
 canter. He looked at it, shook it, and with a sneer 
 said, " Why, here is not whiskey enough for a name 
 to float in." But no movement being made to get more, 
 he drank it off, and proceeded with a sort of pagan or 
 gies, to give me a name. It seemed a semi-civil, semi- 
 religious ceremony. He walked around me again and 
 again, muttering sounds which the interpreter did not 
 venture to explain ; and laying his hand on me pro 
 nounced me " Con-go-gu-wah," and instantly, with great 
 apparent delight, took me by the hand as a brother. I 
 felt badly during the scene, but it was beyond recall, 
 and supposing that it might be useful in a future day, 
 submitted to the initiation. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 349 
 
 " Red- Jacket was in appearance nearly sixty years 
 old at this time. He had a weather-beaten look ; age 
 had done something to produce this, probably intempe 
 rance more. But still his general appearance was stri 
 king, and his face noble. His lofty and capacious fore 
 head, his piercing black eye, his gently curved lips, fine 
 cheek, and slightly aquiline nose, all marked a great 
 man, and as sustained and expressed by his dignified 
 air, made a deep impression on every one that saw him. 
 All these features became doubly expressive when his 
 mind and body were set in motion by the effort of 
 speaking, if effort that may be called which flowed 
 like a free full stream from his lips. I saw him in the 
 wane of life, and I heard him only in private, and 
 through a stupid and careless interpreter. Yet notwith 
 standing these disadvantages, he was one of the greatest 
 men and most eloquent orators I ever knew. His ca 
 dence was measured and yet very musical. In ordi 
 nary utterance it amounted to a sort of musical mono 
 tony. But when excited he would spring to his feet, 
 elevate his head, expand his arms, and utter with inde 
 scribable effect of manner and tone, some of his noblest 
 thoughts. 
 
 " After this interesting conference had closed, the old 
 chief with his interpreter bade us a very civil and kind 
 farewell, and set forth on foot for his own wigwam. 
 
 " It was four years after this before I had the plea 
 sure of again seeing my old friend. I was then on a 
 flying visit to Black Rock. At an early day I repaired 
 to his village, but he was not at home. Ten days after, 
 
350 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 as we were just leaving the shore in the steam-boat to 
 go up the lake, he suddenly presented himself. It was 
 unhappily too late to return. He hailed me by name, 
 and pointed with much animation to such parts of his 
 person as were decorated with some red cloth which I had 
 at parting presented to him, and which, though not worn 
 as a jacket, was with much taste otherwise distributed 
 over his person. These he exhibited as proofs of his 
 friendly recollection. 
 
 " The last time I ever saw him, was at the close of 
 Mr. Adams s administration. He, with a new interpreter, 
 (Major Berry having been removed by death,) had been 
 on a visit to his old friend Co-na-shus-tah, then Secre 
 tary of War. After spending some time at the capital, 
 where I often met him, and had the horror to see his 
 * dignity often laid in the dust, by excessive drunken 
 ness, he paid me by invitation a final visit at Baltimore, 
 on his way home. He took only time enough to dine. 
 He looked dejected and forlorn. He and his interpre 
 ter had each a suit of common infantry uniform, and a 
 sword as common, which he said had been presented to 
 him at the war department. He was evidently ashamed 
 of them. I confess I was too. But I forbear. He 
 was then sober, and serious. He drank hard cider, 
 which was the strongest drink I could conscientiously 
 offer him, so I told him. He said it was enough. I 
 said but little to him of religion, urged him to prepare 
 to meet the Great Spirit, and recommended him to go to 
 Jesus for all he needed. He took it kindly, said he 
 should see me no more, and was going to his people to 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 351 
 
 die. So it was, not long after this, he was called to 
 his last account. JOHN BRECKENRIDGE." 
 
 On another occasion, at no great distance of time from 
 his first interview with Doctor Breckenridge, the supe 
 rior benefits of husbandry, education, the enjoyments 
 and refinements of civilized life, and the blessings of 
 Christianity having been urged upon him by a benevo 
 lent gentleman with great earnestness, Red-Jacket re 
 plied in the following strain : 
 
 " As to civilization, among white people, I believe it is a 
 good thing, and that it was so ordered that they should get 
 their living in that manner. I believe in a God, and that it 
 was ordered by him that we, the red people, should get our 
 living in a different way, viz : from the wild game of the 
 woods and the fishes of the waters. I believe in the Great 
 Spirit who created the heavens and the earth. He peopled 
 the forests, and the air and the waters. He then created 
 man, and placed him as the superior animal of this crea 
 tion, and designed him as governor over all other created be 
 ings on earth. He created man differing from all other ani 
 mals. He created the red man, the white, the black, and 
 yellow. All these he created for wise, but inscrutable pur 
 poses," &c.* 
 
 To prove this he reasoned from analogy, from the 
 varieties in the same species, and from the different 
 species under a common genus in all other animals, 
 whether quadruped, fowl, or fish, pointed out their 
 different modes of living, and showed that they each 
 had a distinct designation assigned to them in the grand 
 
 * MS. collection of Joseph W, Moulton. 
 
352 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 arrangement of the animal economy by the Great Spirit. 
 He proceeded : 
 
 " This being so, what proof have we that he did not make 
 a similar arrangement with the human species, when we find 
 so vast, so various, and so irreconcileable a variety among 
 them, causing them to live differently, and to pursue different 
 occupations. As to religion, we all ought to have it. We 
 should adore and worship our Creator for his great favors in 
 placing us over all his works. If we cannot with the same 
 fluency of speech, and in the same flowing language, wor 
 ship as you do, we have our mode of adoring, which we do 
 with a sincere heart, then can you say that our prayers and 
 thanksgivings, proceeding from grateful hearts and sincere 
 minds, are less acceptable to the Great God of the heavens 
 and the earth, though manifested either by speaking, dancing, 
 or feasting, than your s, uttered in your own manner and 
 style r* 
 
 Doctor Breckenridge laments, in the preceding letter, 
 his inability to make even an approach to justice as to 
 the language and figures in which Red-Jacket clothed 
 his thoughts, and by which he illustrated and enforced 
 them. The same confession has been uniformly elicited 
 from every writer who enjoyed opportunities of listening 
 to the chief or conversing with him. General Porter, 
 
 * In their mode of worship, the Six Nations addressed the Great Spirit with 
 thanks and prayer by particular speakers. They then feasted, or celebrated a 
 thanksgiving, closing with dancing and other amusements and recreations. 
 Their great religious festivals, when the convocations were general, were semi 
 annual, and continued from three to six days. While prayer is offered, the dust 
 of tobacco is sprinkled on live coals of fire, that the incense may ascend with 
 their supplications. Thanks are returned for all their temporal mercies, their 
 lives, health, crops, game, and in a word for all the bounties received from the 
 Great Spirit. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 353 
 
 than whom no one knew him better, speaks of him as 
 a man "endowed with great intellectual powers, and 
 who, as an orator, was not only unsurpassed, but un 
 equalled, longo intervallo, by any of his cotemporaries. 
 Although those who were ignorant of his language could 
 not fully appreciate the force and beauty of his speeches, 
 when received through the medium of an interpretation, 
 generally coarse and clumsy, yet such was the pecu 
 liar gracefulness of his person, attitudes and action, and 
 the mellow tones of his Seneca dialect, and such the 
 astonishing effects produced on that part of the audito 
 ry who did fully understand him, and whose souls ap 
 peared to be engrossed and borne away with the orator, 
 that he was listened to by all with perfect delight."* 
 He drew his arguments from the natural relations and 
 fitness of things. His mind glanced through the visi 
 ble creation, and from analogy he reasoned in a way 
 that often baffled and defied refutation. His figures 
 were from the same inexhaustible fountain, and were 
 frequently so sublime, so apposite, and so beautiful, that 
 the interpreters often said the English language was not 
 rich enough to allow of doing him justice. Such, at 
 least, have been the representations of those who knew 
 him well, and who have had the best opportunities of 
 arriving at correct conclusions. Nevertheless, the cha 
 racter of nearly all his speeches that have been pre 
 served, as they have been preserved, bears evidence 
 rather of the enthusiasm of his admirers, than of their 
 judgment. 
 
 * MS. letter to the author from General Porter. 
 
 45 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RED-JACKET S domestic relations Loss of his children by consumption His 
 second wife becomes a Christian Separation from her, and union with an 
 other Returns to his lawful wife Is received and lives in harmony Red- 
 Jacket and Lafayette Red-Jacket and the French Count Scornful behavior 
 to a visitor from Albany Anecdotes of Red-Jacket and Colonel Pickering 
 His vanity Launch of a sloop bearing his name His tact Anecdote of a 
 dinner party Red-Jacket at a trial at Batavia His notions of law, and his 
 humor Anecdote of Red-Jacket and Captain Jones Red-Jacket and the 
 execution of the Thayers Anecdote of Hot-Bread Opinion of Thomas Mor 
 ris of his character and oratory Paintings of Red-Jacket His love of the 
 woods. 
 
 THE domestic relations of Red-Jacket have thus 
 far scarcely been adverted to. Indeed, the materials 
 for his family history are very slender. The orator had 
 two wives. The first, after having borne him a large 
 family of children, he forsook, for an alleged breach of 
 .conjugal fidelity, and never received her to his favor 
 again. In William Savary s journal of the treaty of 
 Canandaigua, in 1794, that excellent Friend gave an ac 
 count of a visit to Red-Jacket s lodge, and spoke of his 
 children, in regard to their appearance and manners, in 
 terms of gratified commendation. But a large number 
 of his children by the first wife died of consumption 
 while yet " in the dew of their youth." In a conversa 
 tion with that eminent medical practitioner, Doctor John 
 W. Francis, of New-York, a few years before the chief- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 355 
 
 tain s death, on the subject of the diseases incident to the 
 Indians, Red -Jacket refuted the popular notion that they 
 were not equally obnoxious with others to pulmonary 
 complaints. In support of his position he instanced the 
 case of his own family, of which he said seventeen had 
 died of consumption, ten or eleven of whom were his 
 children. He felt the bereavement deeply, and some 
 times evinced strong emotion when conversing upon the 
 subject. On one occasion, when visiting an aged lady 
 of his acquaintance at Avon, who had known him 
 almost from his youth,* and who was aware of his 
 domestic afflictions, she inquired whether any of his 
 children were living. He fixed his eyes upon her with 
 a sorrowful expression of countenance and replied : 
 
 " Red-Jacket was once a great man, and in favor with the 
 Great Spirit. He was a lofty pine among the smaller trees of 
 the forest. But after years of glory he degraded himself by 
 drinking the fire-water of the white man. The Great Spirit 
 has looked upon him in anger, and his lightning has stripped 
 the pine of its branches !" 
 
 For his second wife Red-Jacket married the widow 
 of a deceased chief, whose English name was " Two- 
 Guns." She was one of the most amiable and respect 
 able women of her tribe. Her mind was of a superior 
 order, and the dignity of her manners and fine personal 
 
 * The late Mrs. Berry, of the Genesee Valley, wife of Gilbert R. Berry, one 
 of the earliest settlers of western New-York, and a trader at the Indian 
 town, once standing near the place where the turnpike crosses the Genesee river 
 at Avon. Mrs. Berry was the mother of Mrs. George Hosmer, from whom I 
 received this touching incident. Mrs. B. was a great friend of the Senecas, and 
 spoke their language, (as does Mrs. Hosmer,) fluently. 
 
356 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 appearance rendered her a very suitable counterpart to 
 the noble form and bearing of her husband. It is an in 
 teresting, if not remarkable fact, that notwithstanding 
 the inveterate hostility of Red- Jacket to the missionaries, 
 and his confirmed paganism, his wife became a Christian, 
 and several of his children were believed to have died 
 in the same faith. 
 
 It was in the year 1826 that his wife first became 
 interested in the subject of religion. She was frequent 
 ly seen in the Christian assembly, an attentive listener 
 to the truths of the gospel, as presented from Sabbath 
 to Sabbath in the plain familiar address of the mission 
 ary. She at length abandoned her pagan worship alto 
 gether, became a constant attendant at the mission 
 chapel, and in the following year proposed connecting 
 herself with the little church then under the pastoral 
 charge of the Rev. Mr. Harris. This proposal was strong 
 ly resisted on the part of Red- Jacket. He represented 
 to her " that they had hitherto ever lived in peace and 
 harmony, and had been prosperous and happy; and 
 now if she was going to leave him and go over and 
 join herself to the company of his political and personal 
 opponents, one thing was certain, that he should leave 
 her for ever ; he should never come to see her again." 
 Soon after this somewhat arbitrary communication, she 
 went one day to the house of Mr. Harris, apparently in 
 much distress, to ask counsel as to the course she ought 
 to pursue. The advice can readily be anticipated. She 
 was told that God required her to be a Christian under 
 all possible circumstances ; that it was best to follow 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 357 
 
 the dictates of her conscience and the commands of 
 Jesus Christ ; and that if she would humbly look to the 
 Saviour for grace, He would strengthen and comfort 
 her under this trial, and cause it " to work for her 
 good." Still, although holding the course thus indicated 
 to be the path of duty, the missionary very properly ob 
 served to her that she must be governed in her decision 
 by the voice of conscience, and the dictates of her own 
 judgment. 
 
 Her resolution was soon taken to abjure the dark and 
 senseless superstitions of her people ; and in a short 
 time thereafter she was received on the profession of 
 her faith into the fellowship of the Christian church. 
 True to his threat, Red- Jacket left her ; and retiring to 
 the Tonnewanta reservation, connected himself with a 
 woman of that nation. No one questioned the sincerity 
 or the strength of the attachment of the woman thus 
 abandoned for her husband, yet she followed not after 
 him, nor made any efforts to induce his return. The 
 injury was borne with a meek and submissive spirit, 
 so much so as to endear her greatly to the members 
 of the mission family, to whom she became much at 
 tached, and with whom she was wont to spend several 
 hours almost every week, in Christian conversation 
 and prayer. 
 
 Red- Jacket continued absent, in his new alliance, for 
 six or seven months, by which time he repented of his 
 folly and returned to his lawful wife, whom he urgently so 
 licited to receive him back. She did receive him, with the 
 same meek and forgiving spirit that marked her character 
 
358 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and conduct during her desertion. But it was with the 
 condition that she should be unmolested in regard to her 
 religious opinions, and the discharge of her Christian 
 duties, a condition to which Red- Jacket willingly ac 
 ceded. Their conjugal relations having been thus re 
 established, the chieftain and his wife continued to live 
 together with their usual harmony, until a divorce was 
 pronounced by a summons from another world.* 
 
 When, in the year 1825, General Lafayette, as the 
 guest of the nation, was making his memorable tour 
 of the United States, being at Buffalo, Red-Jacket was 
 among the visitors who in throngs paid their respects to 
 the veteran. Having been presented to the General, the 
 orator inquired whether he remembered being at the 
 treaty of peace with the Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix, 
 in 1784. Lafayette answered that he had not forgotten 
 that great council, and asked his interrogator if he knew 
 what had become of the young chief who, on that occa 
 sion, opposed with so much eloquence " the burying of 
 the tomahawk." " He is before you" was the instant re 
 ply. The General remarked to him that time had 
 wrought great changes upon both since that memorable 
 meeting. "Ah," rejoined Red-Jacket, "time has not 
 been so severe upon you as it has upon me. It has left 
 you a fresh countenance, and hair to cover your head ; 
 while to me behold !" and taking a hand 
 kerchief from his head, with an air of much feeling, 
 he disclosed the fact that he was nearly bald. It is 
 
 * I have derived the facts of this relation respecting Red-Jacket and his second 
 wife, directly from Mr. Harris, the missionary, himself. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 359 
 
 added by M. Lavasseur, the secretary of General La 
 fayette, and the French historian of his tour, that the 
 people in attendance could not help laughing at the sim 
 plicity of the Indian, who appeared to be ignorant how 
 to repair the ravages of age in this respect. But his 
 simplicity was presently enlightened by the disclosure 
 of the fact that the General was furnished with a wig, 
 whereupon the chief, confounding a wig with a scalp, 
 conceived the idea of regarnishing his own head by an 
 operation truly Indian, at the expense of some one of 
 his neighbors. But this was a suggestion of pleasantry. 
 M. Lavasseur remarked of the appearance of Red- Jack 
 et at that time, " This extraordinary man, although 
 much worn down by time and intemperance, preserves 
 yet, in a surprising degree, the exercise of all his facul 
 ties. He obstinately refuses to speak any language but 
 that of his own people, and affects a great dislike to all 
 others, although it is easy to discern that he perfectly 
 understands the .English. He refused, nevertheless, to 
 reply to the General before his interpreter had translated 
 his questions into the Seneca language."* 
 
 Red- Jacket was ever gratified with the attentions of 
 distinguished men, with whom, no matter for the height 
 of their elevation, he felt himself upon a footing of perfect 
 equality. It is related that " about the year 1820, a 
 young French nobleman, who was making the tour of 
 the United States, visited the town of Buffalo. Hearing 
 
 * Lavasseur Drake B. B. Thatcher. M. Lavasseur was perfectly correct 
 in this last suggestion. Red-Jacket understood the English language very well r 
 as the author had occasion to ascertain. But he could not speak it well. 
 
360 LIFE A ND TIMES 
 
 of the fame of Red-Jacket, and learning that his residence 
 was but seven miles distant, he sent him word that he 
 was desirous to see him, adding a request that the chief 
 would visit him in Buffalo the next day. Red-Jacket 
 received the message with much contempt, and replied : 
 " Tell the young man that if he wishes to visit the old 
 chief, he may find him with his nation, where other 
 strangers pay their respects to him ; and Red-Jacket 
 will be glad to see him." The count sent back his mes 
 senger, to say that he was fatigued with his journey, and 
 could not go to the Seneca village ; that he bad come all 
 the way from France to see the great orator of the 
 Senecas, and after having put himself to so much trouble 
 to see so distinguished a man, the latter could not refuse 
 to meet him at Buffalo. " Tell him," said the sarcastic 
 chief, " that it is very strange he should come so far to 
 see me, and then stop short within seven miles of my 
 lodge." The retort was richly merited. The count 
 visited him at his wigwam, and then Red-Jacket accepted 
 an invitation to dine with him at his lodgings in Buffalo. 
 The young nobleman was greatly pleased with him, de 
 claring that he considered him a greater wonder than the 
 Falls of Niagara. This remark was the more striking, 
 as it was made within view of the great cataract. " But," 
 adds the relator,* " it was just. He who made the world, 
 and filled it with wonders, has declared man to be the 
 crowning work of the whole creation." 
 
 But the chieftain did not always stand so sternly upon 
 his dignity, and in the case just related, it is quite pos- 
 
 * Rev. Dr. Breckenridge vide M Kenney s Indian Sketches. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 35 1 
 
 sible that he was more particular because of the rank of 
 the stranger, and because he was a stranger to the country. 
 On one occasion, not many years before his death, a gen 
 tleman from Albany on a visit to Buffalo, being desirous 
 of seeing the chief, sent a message to that effect. The 
 gentleman was affluent in money, and in words, the lat 
 ter flowing forth with great rapidity, and in an inverse 
 ratio to his ideas. He had also a habit of approaching 
 very near to any person with whom he was conversing, 
 and chattering with almost unapproachable volubility. 
 On receiving the message, Red-Jacket dressed himself 
 with the utmost care, designing, as he ever did when 
 sober, to make the most imposing impression, and came 
 over to the village. Being introduced to the stranger, 
 he soon measured his intellectual capacity, and made no 
 effort to suppress his disappointment, which indeed was 
 sufficiently disclosed in his features. After listening for 
 a few moments to the chatter of the gentleman, Red- 
 Jacket, with a look of mingled chagrin and contempt, 
 approached close to him and exclaimed, " cha, cha, 
 cha !" as rapidly as utterance would allow. Then draw 
 ing himself to his full height, he turned proudly upon his 
 heel, and walked away in the direction of his own domicil, 
 " as straight as an Indian," nor deigned to look behind 
 while in sight of the tavern. The gentleman with more 
 money than brains was for once lost in astonishment, 
 and stood longer motionless and silent than he had ever 
 done before.* 
 
 A prominent trait in the Indian character is vanity. 
 
 * This incident was related to the author by the Hon. Mr. Moseley, of Buffalo. 
 
 46 
 
362 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 The Indians are vain of their dress, of their achieve 
 ments, and of their talents, whenever marked by supe 
 riority ; and it cannot have escaped the observation of 
 the reader, that this weakness was prominent in the dis 
 position of Red-Jacket. The organ of self-esteem, ac 
 cording to the classification of the phrenologists, was 
 beyond doubt strongly developed upon his head. A 
 few illustrations of this feature in his character may not 
 be amiss. 
 
 In the earlier years of his public life, as the reader is 
 well aware, Red- Jacket was frequently engaged in 
 negotiations with Timothy Pickering, of whose vigorous 
 intellectual powers there is no occasion to speak in this 
 connexion. Some time after the diplomatic intercourse 
 between the colonel and himself had ceased, the former 
 was called to the State Department of the federal go 
 vernment.* On meeting Red-Jacket soon afterward, 
 the fact of this appointment was mentioned to him by 
 his friend Thomas Morris. " Yes," observed the chief: 
 " we began our public career about the same time. He 
 knew how to read and write, but I did not, and there 
 fore he has got ahead of me. But had I possessed those 
 advantages I should have been ahead of him."t 
 
 At the treaties held by him, Colonel Pickering was 
 in the practice of taking down the speeches of the In^ 
 dians, from the lips of the interpreter, in writing, and in 
 
 * The last treaty between the United States and the Six Nations was held at 
 Canandaigua, in 1794. Colonel Pickering was appointed Secretary of State by 
 Washington, in December, 1795. 
 
 t Letter of Thomas Morris to the author. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 353 
 
 order to expedite business, he would sometimes write 
 while the orator in chief was himself speaking. On one 
 occasion, when Red-Jacket occupied the forum, obser 
 ving that the colonel continued writing, he abruptly 
 came to a pause. The colonel desired him to proceed. 
 " No," said the orator, "not while you hold down your 
 head." " Why," inquired the commissioner, " can you 
 not go on while I write ?" " Because," replied the chief, 
 " if you look me in the eye you will then perceive 
 whether I tell you the truth or not."* 
 
 On another occasion, Colonel Pickering turned to 
 speak to a third person while Red-Jacket was address 
 ing him. The chief instantly rebuked him for his inat 
 tention with great hauteur, observing, with emphasis, 
 " When a Seneca speaks he ought to be listened to with 
 attention from one extremity of this great island to the 
 other."t 
 
 On returning from his visits to the seat of the federal 
 government, where, at different periods, he had several 
 interviews with General Washington, he would magnify 
 to the other Indians the importance of his reception by 
 the great chief. "I remember having seen him on one 
 of those occasions, when, after having seated the In 
 dians around him in a semi-circle, taking the cocked-hat 
 that had been presented to him by General Knox, then 
 Secretary of War, in his hand, he went round bowing 
 to the Indians, as though they were the company at the 
 President s house, and himself the President. He 
 would then repeat to one and another all the compli- 
 
 * Letter of Thomas Morris to the author. t Idem. 
 
364 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 ments which he chose to suppose the President had be 
 stowed upon him, and which his auditors and admiring 
 people supposed had been thus bestowed."* 
 
 Toward the close of his life he was present by invita 
 tion at the launching of a schooner at Black Rock, bear 
 ing his name. He made a short address on the occa 
 sion, showing the estimation in which he held his own 
 high merit. In the course of this speech, addressing 
 himself directly to the vessel, he said : 
 
 " You have had a great name given to you,-; strive to de 
 serve it. Be brave and daring. Go boldly into the great 
 lakes, and fear neither the swift winds nor the strong waves. 
 Be not frightened nor overcome by them, for it is by resisting 
 storms and tempests that I, whose name you bear, obtained 
 my renown. Let my great example inspire you to courage 
 and lead you to glory."t 
 
 He was not deficient in tact, and with true Indian cir 
 cumspection, and his own characteristic cunning, was 
 careful to conceal his ignorance as to the usages of so 
 ciety in the better circles into which he was occasion 
 ally thrown. " He once, on his return from Philadel 
 phia, told me that when there he perceived many things 
 the meaning of which he did not understand, but he 
 would not make inquiry concerning them there, because 
 they would be imputed to his ignorance. He therefore 
 had determined on his return to ask me. He said that 
 when he dined at General Washington s, a man stood 
 all the time behind his chair, and would every now and 
 
 + Letter from Thomas Morris. 
 
 t Letter from the Hon. Albert H. Tracy to the author. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 365 
 
 then run off with his plate, and knife and fork, which he 
 would immediately replace by others. * Now, said 
 Red- Jacket, < what was this for ? I replied to him, that 
 he must have observed on the President s table a variety 
 of dishes, that each dish was cooked in a different man 
 ner, and that plates, and the knives and forks of the 
 guests, were changed as often as they were helped from 
 a different dish. < Ah, said he, after musing a mo 
 ment, l is that it ? I replied in the affirmative. You 
 must then suppose, he continued, that the plates, and 
 knives and forks, retain the taste of the cookery ? Yes, 
 I replied. Have you then, he added, any method 
 by which you can change your palates every time you 
 change your plates ; for I should suppose that the taste 
 would remain on the palate longer than on the plate ? I 
 replied that we were in the habit of washing that away 
 by drinking wine. Ah, said he, 4 I now understand it. 
 I was persuaded that so general a custom among you 
 must be founded in reason, and I only regret that when 
 I was in Philadelphia I did not understand it, when 
 dining with General Washington and your father. The 
 moment the man went off with my plate, I would have 
 drunk wine until he brought me another ; for although I 
 am fond of eating, I am more so of drinking."* 
 
 Red-Jacket could never become reconciled to the 
 criminal law of the white men, the operation of which, 
 in many respects, he thought unequal, and consequently 
 unjust. It has been seen in a former chapter, on the 
 trial of Stiff-armed George, indicted for murder, that 
 
 * MS. letter of Thomas Morris to the author. 
 
366 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the Indians supposed that drunkenness might with pro 
 priety be pleaded in mitigation of a crime, whereas the 
 white men hold it to be but one crime superadded to 
 another, and therefore aggravating the offence. In like 
 manner, he could not understand the justice of the law 
 that would punish an offender by as long an imprison 
 ment for stealing a trifling article as for a larger one. 
 An incident in point occurred in the county of Genesee, 
 about twenty years ago, which will at once illustrate his 
 views upon this subject, and his humor. It happened 
 that an Indian was indicted at Batavia, for burglary, in 
 breaking and entering the house of Mr. Ellicott, agent 
 of the Holland Land Company, and stealing some tri 
 fling article of small value, the punishment for which 
 was imprisonment in the state prison for life, the crime 
 of petit larceny merging itself in the greater offence. 
 Red-Jacket, with other chiefs, attended the trial for 
 the purpose of rendering all the aid and obtaining all 
 the favor in their power for their brother in bonds. 
 The proof was clear, and a verdict of guilty followed 
 without hesitation. When the prisoner was arraigned 
 for sentence, and the usual question propounded, why 
 the sentence of the law should not be pronounced, 
 Red-Jacket, who had been watching the proceedings 
 with intense interest, asked permission to speak in his 
 behalf. The request being granted, he rose with his 
 usual dignity, and boldly questioned the jurisdiction 
 of the court, and asserted the independence of his na 
 tion. He contended that the Senecas were the allies, 
 not the subjects of the whites, that his nation had laws 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 357 
 
 for the punishment of theft, and that the offender in 
 the present case ought to be delivered up to them, to be 
 tried according to the usages, and suffer according to the 
 laws of his own people,- assuring the court that, in the 
 event of his surrender, the culprit should be thus tried 
 and punished. His manner on the occasion was par 
 ticularly fine, even for him. But his argument was not 
 sufficiently powerful to avert the sentence, which was 
 pronounced in due form. The orator was dissatisfied 
 at the result. Estimating the measure of delinquency 
 by the pecuniary loss, he could not perceive the justice 
 of incarcerating a man for life, who had only stolen a 
 few spoons of small value, when another offender, who 
 had stolen a horse, was sentenced to but a few years 
 imprisonment. After the proceedings were over, in 
 passing from the court-house to the inn, in company 
 with a group of lawyers, Red-Jacket discerned upon 
 the sign of a printing-office the arms of the state, with 
 the emblematical representation of Liberty and Justice, 
 emblazoned in large figures and characters. The chief 
 tain stopped, and pointing to the figure of Liberty, 
 asked in broken English, " What Jiim call 6 ?" He was 
 answered, " LIBERTY." " Ugh !" was the significant 
 and truly aboriginal response. Then pointing to the 
 other figure, he inquired, " What him call ?" He was 
 answered, "JUSTICE," to which with a kindling eye he 
 instantly replied,by asking, " Where him live now?"* 
 Captain Jones, who was so long connected with the 
 
 * Related to the author by George Hosmer, Esq., of Avon, who was present 
 at the scene in the court-house, and also in the street. 
 
368 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 Indians as a resident of their country, and an inter 
 preter, had been adopted by Red-Jacket as a son, ac 
 cording to the customs of that people. On a certain 
 occasion, owing to the slanderous imputations of some 
 mischief-makers of his nation, Red-Jacket entertained a 
 suspicion that Jones was actuated by motives of self- 
 interest, and did not regard the welfare of the Indians. 
 Shortly after his mind was thus poisoned in reference to his 
 friend, he met the captain at the hotel of Timothy Hos- 
 mer, in Avon. Jones advanced to greet the chief with 
 his accustomed cordiality of manner, but was received 
 with haughty distrust and coldness. After the lapse of 
 a few minutes, during which time the questions of Jones 
 were answered in monosyllables, the captain asked an 
 explanation of Red-Jacket for his conduct. Fixing his 
 searching glance upon him as if reading the secrets of 
 his soul, Red- Jacket told him of the rumor circulated in 
 reference to his fidelity to the Indians, and concluded by 
 saying with a saddened expression, " And have you at 
 last deserted us ?" The look, the tone, the attitude of 
 the orator, were so touching, so despairing, that Jones, 
 though made of stern materials, wept like a child, at the 
 same time refuting the calumny in the most energetic 
 terms.* Convinced that Jones was still true, the chief, 
 forgetful of the stoicism of his race, mingled his tears 
 with his, and embracing him with the cordiality of old, 
 
 * This incident, and the touching and almost pathetic inquiry of Red-Jacket, 
 remind one of the dying words which the dramatists have put into the mouth of 
 Caesar, when he discovered Brutus among the conspirators, " .E^tt Brute? 
 Wilt thou stab Caesar too?" Or in the words of another author; "And Brutus 
 thou my sonne, whom erst I loved best." 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 369 
 
 the reconciled parties renewed old friendships over a 
 social glass.* 
 
 Red-Jacket did not relish being trifled with, even in 
 playfulness. At one of his visits to the house of Captain 
 Jones, on taking his seat at the breakfast table with the 
 family, Mrs. Jones, knowing his extreme fondness for 
 sugar, mischievously prepared his coffee without the 
 addition of that luxury. On discovering the cheat, the 
 chief looked at the Captain with an offended expression, 
 and thus rebuked him: "My son !" stirring his cup 
 with energy, " do you allow your squaw thus to trifle 
 with your father ?" Perceiving at the same time by the 
 giggling of the children, that they had entered into the 
 joke, he continued, " And do you allow your children 
 to make sport of their chief?" Jones and his wife there 
 upon apologized, and the latter made the amende hon 
 orable by handing him the sugar-bowl, which he took, and 
 w r ith half-angry sarcasm filled his cup to the brim with 
 sugar. The liquid not holding so large a quantity in so 
 lution, he ate the whole with his spoon.f 
 
 Red-Jacket was not gratified with scenes of human 
 suffering. Some four or five years before his death, 
 there was an execution of three brothers at Buffalo, 
 named Thayer. They had been convicted of murdering 
 a man several years before, named Lane, the discovery of 
 whose remains caused much excitement, and altogether 
 the extraordinary circumstances with which the case 
 was invested, caused a great sensation in Western New- 
 
 * Related to the author by W. H. C. Hosmer, of Avon. 
 t Related to Mr. Hosmer by Mrs. Jones, in May, 1840. 
 
 47 
 
370 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 York. On the day when the unhappy brothers were exe 
 cuted, while the whole civilized population of that region, 
 of both sexes, was crowding the roads to Buffalo to be 
 hold the exit of three of their fellow beings upon the scaf 
 fold, Red-Jacket was met by Judge Walden, of Buffalo, 
 wending his way from the town to his own home. The 
 judge inquired where he was going, at the same time 
 expressing his astonishment that he did not join the mul 
 titude who were pressing the other way to see the exe 
 cution. The answer of the chief was brief: "Fools 
 
 enough there already Battle is the place to see men 
 
 die." This reply was a severe rebuke, as just as sen 
 tentious, of that strange and discreditable curiosity un 
 accountably prevailing among both sexes of all nations, 
 to witness the awful spectacles of public executions.* 
 
 Although fond of the pleasures of the table himself, 
 yet no man had a more thorough contempt for the mere 
 sensualist or gourmand than Red- Jacket. Many years 
 ago, before the Indian towns were broken up along the 
 valley of the Genesee, a clan of the Senecas resided at 
 Connawaugus, in the vicinity of the present town of 
 Avon. The chief of this clan was a good easy man 
 named Hot-Bread. He was a hereditary sachem, not 
 having risen by merit, was weak and inefficient, and 
 of gluttonous habits. On a certain occasion, when Mr. 
 Hosmer was accompanying Red- Jacket to an Indian coun 
 cil, in the course of general conversation he inquired 
 the chief s opinion of Hot-Bread. " Waugh !" exclaimed 
 
 * Related to the author by the lady of George Hosmer. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 Red- Jacket : " He has a little place at Connawaugus, 
 big enough for him. Big man here," (laying his left 
 hand upon his abdomen,) " but very small here," bring 
 ing the palm of his right hand with significant emphasis 
 upon his forehead. 
 
 As to the general manners of Red- Jacket, his intel 
 lectual character, his personal appearance, and the 
 power and studied graces of his oratory, a gentleman 
 who knew him intimately for almost half a century has 
 written thus : " When I first knew Red- Jacket he was 
 in his prime, being probably about thirty-six years of 
 age. He was decidedly the most eloquent man amongst 
 the Six Nations. His stature was rather above than 
 below the middle size. He was well made. His eyes 
 were fine, and expressive of the intellect of which he 
 possessed an uncommon portion. His address, particu 
 larly when he spoke in council, was very fine, and al 
 most majestic. He was decidedly the most graceful 
 public speaker I ever heard. He was fluent, without 
 being too rapid. You could always tell when he meant 
 to speak, from the pains he would take before he arose 
 to arrange the silver ornaments on his arms, and the 
 graceful fold that he would give to his blanket. On 
 rising he would first turn toward the Indians, and be 
 speak their attention to what he meant to say in their 
 behalf to the commissioner of the United States. He 
 would then turn toward the commissioner, and bending 
 toward him with a slight but dignified inclination of the 
 head, proceed. There is much more decorum in the 
 Indian councils than in any of our public bodies. When 
 
372 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 any chief thinks that the speaker has omitted or forgotten 
 any thing that ought to be dwelt upon, he places himself 
 quite near to the speaker, and in the most delicate and 
 quiet manner, his voice not louder than a whisper, 
 prompts him, while the whole assembly in their peculiar 
 manner encourage by cheering the orator."* 
 
 Deprived as were the Indians of the unspeakable ad 
 vantages of a written language, and depending alto 
 gether upon tradition for the preservation of both their 
 official and unofficial history, the cultivation of the 
 memory was an object of the first importance among 
 them.t The provisions of their treaties, it is well known, 
 were preserved with great accuracy, and for genera 
 tions, by means of belts, with strings of wampum, 
 each string, being different^ was in fact a record of some 
 
 * Letter to the author from Thomas Morris. 
 
 t There is reason to believe that the orators of the Six Nations were as careful 
 in the study of their speeches, those especially which were to be delivered on 
 great occasions, as were the orators of Greece and Rome. The author has been 
 informed by that veteran legislator, General Erastus Root, that he was a member 
 of the Senate of New-York when the celebrated letter, or speech, of Farmer s- 
 Brother, containing the passage which has been so much admired, " The Great 
 Spirit spake to the whirlwind and it was still" was presented to that body. 
 The General says that it struck him so forcibly at the time, that he called for a- 
 second reading, which was had. Soon afterward, in a conversation with Mr. 
 Parish, so long the interpreter of the Senecas, the General inquired of him whe 
 ther it was not the habit of the interpreters to embellish the speeches of the In 
 dian orators. His reply was an exclamation of surprise at the suggestion. So 
 far from it, Mr. Parish averred that it was altogether impossible for him to impart 
 to the translations any thing like the force and beauty of the originals. He also 
 stated that on great occasions, the Indian orators, Red-Jacket and Farmer s- 
 Brother in particular, not only studied their speeches, and conned them well, but 
 would send to him for rehearsals, in order that they might be assured that he un 
 derstood them fully, and could translate them with accuracy. They were alike 
 vain and ambitious of appearing well in the reports of their speeches. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 373 
 
 particular article or provision of a treaty. These 
 belts were deposited in their council lodges with great 
 care, and the signification of each particular string was 
 carefully repeated from father to son, or from chief to 
 chief in the succession, until thoroughly fixed in the 
 memory. By this process, the stipulations of every 
 treaty were so deeply impressed upon the mind, that 
 by the aid of the belt they were at any time, when oc 
 casion required, brought to fresh remembrance. This 
 cultivation of the art of mnemonics would necessarily 
 be carried to its greatest perfection by a chief of Hed- 
 Jacket s intellectual powers and ambition, and the fol 
 lowing incident has been preserved as an illustration of 
 his accuracy. " In a council which was held with the 
 Senecas by Governor Tompkins, of New-York, a con 
 test arose between that gentleman and Red- Jacket, as 
 to a fact connected with a treaty of many years stand 
 ing. The American agent stated one thing, and the In 
 dian chief corrected him, insisting that the reverse of 
 his assertion was true. But it was rejoined : l You 
 have forgotten. We have it written down on paper. 
 
 I The paper then tells a lie, was the confident answer ; 
 
 I 1 have it written down here, he added, placing his 
 hand with great dignity upon his brow. You Yankees 
 are born with a feather between your fingers, but your 
 paper does not speak the truth. The Indian keeps his 
 knowledge here, this is the book the Great Spirit gave 
 them ; it does not lie. A reference was immediately 
 made to the treaty in question, when to the astonish 
 ment of all present, and the triumph of the unlettered 
 
374 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 statesman, the document confirmed every word he had 
 uttered."* 
 
 There are no portraits of Red-Jacket extant, taken in 
 early life, or even when in the prime of his manhood, 
 although many efforts were made by the artists of New- 
 York and Philadelphia, and also by other gentlemen, dur 
 ing his visits to those cities, to induce him to sit. His re 
 ply to all importunities upon the subject, for many years, 
 was, that when Red- Jacket died, all that appertained to 
 him should die with him. He wished nothing to re 
 main. But this purpose was changed in the autumn of 
 1820, through the interposition of the blacksmith of the 
 tribe, and he was induced to sit to Mr. Mathies, a self- 
 taught artist, residing at Rochester. Indeed, his reluc 
 tance was readily overcome by an appeal to his vanity, 
 Mr. Mathies having assured him that his only motive 
 was to obtain a likeness to be placed by the side of the 
 portraits of other great men of the United States. He 
 sat three times to Mathies, and the picture is said to be 
 very good. The Rubicon having been passed, there 
 was less difficulty in prevailing upon him to favor other 
 artists, among whom was the distinguished delineator of 
 Indians, Mr. George Catlin, who painted him twice. 
 Henry Inman also made a sketch of him, a head only, 
 which is thought very spirited. But the picture by 
 Mr. Robert W. Weir, taken in 1828, at the request of 
 Doctor John W. Francis, of New- York, is of far the 
 highest order of merit, and has become the standard 
 likeness of " the last of the Seneca orators." An ac- 
 
 * M Kenney s Indian Biography. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 375 
 
 quaintance of several years, and the reception of some 
 trifling presents from Doctor Francis, had enabled the 
 latter to induce a promise from the old chief to sit, on 
 his next visit to New- York. This happened in the year 
 last mentioned ; when, with his interpreter, Jemison, 
 he very promptly repaired to the painting-room of Mr. 
 Weir. "For this purpose he dressed himself in the 
 costume which he deemed most appropriate to his cha 
 racter, decorated with his brilliant overcovering and 
 belt, his tomahawk and Washington medal. For the 
 whole period of nearly two hours, on four or five suc 
 cessive days, he was as punctual to the arrangements of 
 the artist as any individual could be. He chose a large 
 arm-chair for his convenience, while his interpreter, as 
 well as himself, was occupied, for the most part, in sur 
 veying the various objects which decorated the artist s 
 room. He had a party of several Senecas with him, 
 who, adopting the horizontal position, in different parts 
 of the room, regaled themselves with the fumes of to^ 
 bacco to their utmost gratification. Red-Jacket occa^ 
 sionally united in this relaxation ; but was so deeply 
 absorbed in attention to the work of the painter as to 
 think, perhaps, of no other subject. At times he mani 
 fested extreme pleasure, as the outlines of the picture 
 were filled up. The drawing of his costume, which he 
 seemed to prize, as peculiarly appropriate, and the 
 distant view of the falls of Niagara, scenery at no great 
 distance from his residence at the reservation, forced 
 him to an indistinct utterance of his satisfaction. When 
 his medal appeared complete in the picture, he ad- 
 
376 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 dressed his interpreter, accompanied by striking ges 
 tures ; and when his noble front was finished, he sprang 
 upon his feet with great alacrity, and seizing the artist 
 by the hand, exclaimed, with great energy, " Good ! 
 good!" The painting being finished, he parted with 
 Mr. Weir with a satisfaction apparently equal to that 
 which he doubtless, on some occasions, had felt, on 
 effecting an Indian treaty. Red-Jacket must have been 
 beyond his seventieth year when the painting was 
 made. He exhibited in his countenance somewhat of 
 the traces of time and trial on his constitution. Never 
 theless he was of a tall and erect form, and walked with 
 a firm gait. His characteristics are preserved by the 
 artist to admiration ; and his majestic front exhibits an 
 attitude surpassing every other that I have ever seen of 
 the human skull. As a specimen for the craniologist, 
 Red- Jacket need not yield his pretensions to those of the 
 most astute philosopher. He will long live by the paint 
 ing of Weir, the poetry of Halleck, and the fame of his 
 own deeds."* 
 
 Red-Jacket loved his native forests, and no music was 
 to him so sad as the sounds of approaching civilization, 
 before which they were destined to fall. Every blow of 
 the woodman s axe sent a pang to his heart. The crash 
 of a falling tree sounded more painfully upon his ears 
 
 * Letter from Doctor J. W. Francis to William Dunlap, vide Dunlap s History 
 of the American Arts of Design. Doctor Francis held many conversations with 
 Red-Jacket, some of which were upon the subject of the diseases to which the 
 Indians were subject. He was quite descriptive in his statements, and seemed 
 sufficiently qualified to make a number of very fair distinctions in relation to 
 the subject. Conversations of Dr. Francis with the author. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 377 
 
 than the jar of an earthquake. An anecdote, illustra 
 tive of his feelings upon this subject, will complete the 
 present chapter. In the days of his youth he was wont 
 to join the hunters in the beautiful valley of the Genesee 
 with great enthusiasm. Game was then plenty, and 
 those were indeed the finest hunting grounds he could 
 traverse. Toward the close of his life he went thither 
 to indulge once more in the chase, where a forest, appa 
 rently of considerable extent, yet remained. He entered 
 it, recognizing some of his ancient friends among the 
 more venerable of the trees, and hoping yet to find 
 abundant game. But he had not proceeded far before 
 he approached an " opening," and his course was pre 
 sently impeded by a fence, within the enclosure of 
 which one of the pale-faces was engaged in guiding the 
 plough ! With a heavy heart he turned in another di 
 rection, the forest seeming yet to be deep, and where he 
 hoped to find a deer, as in the days when he was young. 
 But he had not travelled long before another " opening" 
 broke upon his view, another fence impeded his course, 
 and another cultivated field appeared within. He sat 
 down and wept.* 
 
 * Related to the author by a Seneca chief. 
 
 48 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DISQUIETUDE of Red-Jacket s latter days Successes of the missionaries Dis 
 affection of his tribe Formally deposed His chagrin and journey to Wash 
 ington Interview with Colonel M Kenney Returns to the reservation, pre 
 pared to make concessions Rouses himself to energetic action A great 
 council Another speech-^His restoration to his former rank Sinks 
 into mental imbecility Visits Washington, NewrYork, Boston and Albany 
 Exhibits himself at the museums Speech at Albany, contrasting the charac 
 ters of Washington and Jackson His consciousness of approaching death, 
 and preparations therefor Relentings toward the missionary thejast coun 
 cil convoked by Red-Jacket for purposes of conciliation Last sickness, death 
 and funeral Conduct of the neighboring infidels Speculations and reflections 
 on the fate of the Indians Lord Erskine Opinions of Dr. Ramsay and Gene 
 ral Benjamin Lincoln Conclusion of Red-Jacket Tablet to his memory. 
 
 THE last three years of Red-Jacket s life afforded him 
 no season of repose. For a long period after he obtained 
 the ascendancy over the Cornplanter, and especially 
 after the death of Farmer s-Brother, which event oc 
 curred shortly after the close of the last war between 
 England and the United States, Red-Jacket had borne 
 almost undisputed sway over his people, those of them, 
 especially, whom he could so far control as to keep in a 
 measure from what he conceived to be the contamina 
 ting influences of Christianity and civilization. But not 
 withstanding his vigilance, his inflexibility and his en 
 ergy, those influences were too powerful for him to re 
 sist. A dense white population had by this time sur- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, &c. 379 
 
 rounded each of their several reservations. The mis 
 sionaries and school-masters were indefatigable in their 
 efforts, and his people, on every hand, were at length in 
 daily and necessary communication and association with 
 the whites. Those who yet adhered to their paganism 
 were nevertheless neglecting to celebrate their feasts by 
 the usual rites, and were in fact abandoning their grosser 
 ceremonies and superstitions.* It may readily be con 
 ceived that, to a mind like Red- Jacket s, at once vigorous 
 and clear, these superstitions, or at least the uncouth 
 observances by which they were attended, had no in 
 trinsic value ; but he looked upon them as conservative 
 in their operation, as potent and effectual barriers 
 against the tide of innovation which he could not but 
 perceive, would in the end prove fatal to his own au 
 thority, and from which he apprehended the most disas 
 trous consequences to his people. He was deeply im 
 pressed with the conviction that the white and red races 
 could not exist together ; and it was his anxious policy 
 and wish to keep up between them every wall of separa 
 tion afforded by difference of habits, language, costume 
 and religion. Therefore he deprecated and resisted 
 to his utmost ability every attempt at departure from the 
 ancient nationality of his race. The arts of civilization 
 were gradually advancing among them, though in their 
 
 * Yet incredible as the statement may appear, in the year 1830 there was an 
 infidel white man in a neighboring town, who went among the Indians at Catta- 
 raugus, convened a meeting of them, and endeavored to persuade them against 
 Christianity. He even went so far as to endeavor to induce them to renew their 
 Pagan dances, and other cast-off abominations of heathenism. But the Indians 
 scouted his proposals, and one of them denounced him, not inaptly, as " the 
 Devil s Minister." Vide Missionary Herald for 1830. 
 
380 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 simplest state ; and the indomitable Indian, who looked 
 with scorn upon these things, and beheld their advance 
 with vexation, was doomed to see the ranks of his Pagan 
 followers almost daily thinned by the desertion both of 
 chiefs and people to the Christian party.* By this latter 
 party he had for years been looked upon with no eye of 
 friendship, much as they admired his talents. Those 
 who had truly imbibed the principles of Christianity 
 could not longer repose confidence of any kind in the 
 great champion of Paganism ; and those who had be 
 gun to taste the comforts of civilization, having incurred 
 the hostility of the orator, by showing a disposition to 
 throw off the savage state, could not of necessity remain 
 upon terms of cordiality with him. On the contrary, 
 by his continued opposition to their moral and social im 
 provement, they came to regard him as an enemy or 
 
 * The Rev. Mr. Harris, whose own particular station was at the Seneca 
 village Red-Jacket s town was likewise the general superintendent of the 
 several missions among the Six Nations, and his labors for the nine years of his 
 residence there were equally unwearied and effective. In the year 1826 the 
 school at the Seneca village had become so forward as to be an object of curiosity 
 for strangers to visit. The children had indeed made a remarkable degree of 
 proficiency. At the same date the Cattaraugus mission had made very en 
 couraging progress. Not only were the children taught in the schools, but under 
 the impulse given by the missionaries, the people were making rapid advances 
 in the arts of husbandry in the fencing and general cultivation of their farms. 
 They had also, voluntarily, and at their own cost, built a church. In the year 
 1827 the Sunday school of the Seneca village was attended numerously, and 
 with great interest. In addition to the children, about eighty adults were in at 
 tendance upon these schools, receiving instruction from their own children, and in 
 some instances from ibeir grand-children. It was in this year that Red-Jacket s 
 wife began to manifest an interest in Christianity, as stated Jin the preceding 
 chapter ; visiting Mr. Harris and acknowledging the struggles of her conscience 
 in conforming to heathen rites. In the year 1828 the Indians of the Seneca 
 village built a comfortable church, contributing one thousand dollars in money, 
 and supplying the lumber from their own saw-mill. There were at that time 
 
(22 
 
 Q 
 
 H 
 
 ; 
 
 Q 
 W 
 
 Q 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 at least as a foe to their best interests. Meantime his 
 habits had become so extremely dissipated, that by all 
 the better portion of his people he was considered as in 
 every respect morally worthless. Under these circum 
 stances, the Christian party determined upon his deposi 
 tion, a measure of exceedingly rare occurrence among 
 the Indians. The council for this purpose was held in 
 September, 1827, and the following act of deposition 
 was drawn up, adopted, and signed by the chiefs. It 
 was written in the Seneca tongue, but translated into 
 English for publication, by Dr. Jemison, himself a half- 
 breed, retaining his connexion with the Indians : 
 
 " We, the chiefs of the Seneca tribe, of the Six Nations, 
 say to you, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, (or Red-Jacket,) that you have a 
 long time disturbed our councils ; that you have procured 
 
 twenty-one members of the church. In 1830 the church at Seneca village con 
 tained forty-nine members ; at Tuscarora, fourteen ; at Cattaraugus twenty- 
 three. The Seneca school had then fifty children j the Cattaraugus thirty-five ; 
 the Tuscarora twenty. Temperance societies had also been formed, and the use 
 of ardent spirits totally abandoned by the members. A white farmer among 
 them having brought a barrel of whiskey upon the reservation, for his harvest, 
 the Indians took possession thereof, and poured it upon the ground. Mr. Harris 
 had translated the Gospel of Luke into the Seneca language, and also a small 
 collection of prayers, and a spelling-book, all of which had been printed. In 
 cases of church discipline, there were instances in which offending members, 
 their feelings softened, and their savage natures changed by the spirit of the Gos 
 pel, instead of showing the implacable and revengeful dispositions characteristic 
 of their race, submitted to the church authorities with the docility and quietness 
 inculcated by the principles of the new religion they had professed. In conse 
 quence of the improvement of their moral and social condition their numbers, 
 instead of longer diminishing, began to increase. On the three reservations of 
 Seneca, Cattaraugus, and Alleghany, by a census taken by order of the Secretary 
 of War, in 1830, there had been an increase to the number of 294 in three years. 
 There was also a corresponding increase of flocks and herds, and an augmenta 
 tion of the means of domestic comfort. Consult the Missionary Herald, from 
 1821 to 1831. 
 
382 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 some white men to assist you in sending a great number of 
 false stories to our Father the President of the United States, 
 and induced our people to sign those falsehoods at Tonna- 
 wanta as chiefs of our tribe, when you knew they were not 
 chiefs ; that you have opposed the improvement of our nation, 
 and made divisions and disturbances among our people ; that 
 you have abused and insulted our great Father the President ; 
 that you have not regarded the rules which make the Great 
 Spirit love us, and which make his red children do good to 
 each other ; that you have a bad heart, because in a time of 
 great distress, when our people were starving, you took and 
 hid the, body of a deer you had killed, when your starving 
 brothers should have shared their proportions of it with you ; 
 that the last time our Father the President was fighting 
 against the king across the great waters, you divided us, you 
 acted against our Father the President, and his officers, and 
 advised with those who were not friends ; that you have pre 
 vented, and always discouraged our children from going to 
 school, where they could learn, and abused and lied about our 
 people who were willing to learn, and about those who were 
 offering to instruct them how to worship the Great Spirit in 
 the manner Christians do ; that you have always placed your 
 self before them who would be instructed, and have done all 
 you could to prevent their going to schools ; that you have 
 taken goods to your own use, which were received as annui 
 ties, and which belonged to orphan children, and to old peo 
 ple ; that for the last ten years you have often said the com 
 munications of our great Father to his red children were 
 forgeries made up at New- York by those who wanted to buy 
 our lands ; that you left your wife, because she joined the 
 Christians, and worshipped the Great Spirit as they do, know 
 ing that she was a good woman ; that we have waited for 
 nearly ten years for you to reform and do better ; but are 
 now discouraged, as you declare you never will receive in 
 structions from those who wish to do us good, as our great 
 Father advises, and induced others to hold the same language. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 333 
 
 " We might say a great many other things, which make you 
 an enemy to the Great Spirit, and also to your own brothers, 
 but we have said enough, and now renounce you as a chief, 
 and from this time you are forbid to act as such ; all of our 
 nation will hereafter regard you as a private man, and we say 
 to them all, that every one, who shall do as you have done, 
 if a chief, will in like manner be disowned, and set back 
 where he started from by his brethren." 
 
 Declared at the Council-house of the Seneca 
 nation, Sept. 15, 1827 * 
 
 * This remarkable document was signed by the following chiefs, among whom 
 it will be observed, were Young-King, Captain Pollard, Little Billy, Twenty- 
 Canoes, Doxtater, Two-Guns, Barefoot, and others who had been partizans of 
 Red-Jacket in his better days. 
 
 Ga-yan-quia-ton, or Young King, X his mark. 
 Ha-lon-to-wa-nen, or Captain Pollard, X his mark. 
 Jish-ja-ga, or Little Billy, X his mark. 
 Ya-on-yau-go, or Seneca White, X his mark. 
 Is-nish-har-de, or James Stevenson, X his mark. 
 Go-non-da-gie, or Destroy Town, X his mark. 
 Ho-no-ja-cya, or Tall Peter, X his mark. 
 Yut-wau-nou-ha, or Little Johnson, X his mark. 
 
 White Chief, X his mark. 
 
 Ha-sen-nia-wall, or White Seneca, X his mark. 
 Yen-nau-qua, or Doxtater, X his mark. 
 Ha-ja-on-quist, or Henry Two-Guns, X his mark. 
 Ska-ta-ga-onyes, or Twenty Canoes, X his mark. 
 Ha-squi-sau-on, or James Stevenson, jun., X his mark. 
 O-qui-ye-sou, or Captain Strong, X his mark. 
 Ya-yout-ga-ah, or Captain Thompson, X his mark. 
 > George Silverheels, X his mark. 
 
 William Jones, X his mark. 
 James Robinson, X his mark. 
 Blue-eyes, X his mark. 
 John Pierce, X his mark. 
 
 Sa-he-o-qui-au-don-qui, or Little Beard, X his mark. 
 Barefoot, X his mark. 
 Lewis Rainy, X his mark. 
 Captain Jones, X his mark. 
 
384 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 A melancholy picture of fallen greatness ! Nor can it 
 be denied that in many of its lineaments it was drawn 
 with but too much fidelity. Still, the artist may have 
 been moved to darken the portraiture by personal ani 
 mosity or political hate. The charges may have been 
 multiplied in the heat of party asperity, and magnified 
 by the bitterness of religious dissension ; while it may 
 well be questioned whether one of the most heinous 
 items in the declaration was not positively untrue. Cer 
 tainly there is no evidence, of antecedent date, whereon 
 to found a charge of treachery to the cause of the United 
 States, by Red-Jacket, during the last war with Eng 
 land. On the contrary, although not often personally 
 valiant in fight, yet, almost from the day of the declara 
 tion of that war by the United States, until its close, 
 Red-Jacket was active and eloquent in their behalf. 
 He was no more suspected of treachery than he was of 
 courage, by the American officers in the service, and 
 his character should be relieved from that imputation. 
 Yet there were charges enough specified in the decla 
 ration, that were true, to warrant the procedure. 
 
 But the orator was not prepared to submit to his offi 
 cial degradation without an effort to regain his position ; 
 nor had the energy of his mind been so far impaired by 
 his intemperance as to render him incapable of exer 
 tion. Perhaps he yet felt, occasionally, both the con 
 sciousness of his power and the sting of his shame.* 
 Be it so or not, he " was greatly affected by this deci 
 sion, and made a journey to Washington to lay his griefs 
 
 * Thatcher s Indian Biography. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 385 
 
 before < his Great Father the President. His first call, 
 on arriving at the seat of government, was upon Colonel 
 M Kenney, the commissioner then in charge of the In 
 dian Bureau. That officer had previously been informed 
 of all that had occurred upon the subject among the 
 Senecas, and of the decision of the council, and the 
 cause of it. After the customary shaking of hands, the 
 old Seneca thus opened his message : I have a talk for 
 my Father. Tell him, answered Colonel M Kenney 
 to the interpreter, c I have one for him. I will make 
 it first, and will then listen to him. The chief of the 
 Indian Bureau then proceeded to narrate all that had 
 passed between the two parties, taking care not to omit 
 even the minute incidents that had combined to pro 
 duce the rupture between the Christian and Pagan par 
 ties, and the deposition of the chief of the latter. He 
 sought to convince Red- Jacket that a spirit of forbear 
 ance on his part, and the yielding to the Christian party 
 of the right, which he claimed for himself, to believe as 
 he pleased on the subject of the Christian religion, would 
 have prevented the mortifying result of his expulsion from 
 office and power. At the conclusion of this talk, during 
 which Red- Jacket never took his eye from the speaker, the 
 chief turned to the interpreter, saying, with his finger 
 pointing in the direction of his people,- < Our Father 
 has got a long eye ! He then proceeded to vindicate 
 himself and his cause, and to pour out upon the * black- 
 coats the vials of his wrath. The result of the confer 
 ence was an arrangement between the Indian commis 
 sioner and the chief, that the latter should return home, 
 
 49 
 
386 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and there, in a council to be convened for that purpose, 
 express his willingness to bury the hatchet, and leave it 
 to those who might choose to be Christians, to adopt the 
 ceremonies and creed of that religion ; whilst for him 
 self, and those who thought like him, he claimed the 
 privilege to follow the faith of his fathers.* 
 
 On his return to the reservation, Red- Jacket entered 
 upon the work of retrieving his character, and wiping 
 off the disgrace, by regaining his position, in earnest, 
 and with an energy becoming the meridian of his man 
 hood. " It shall not be said of me," thought the vene 
 rable orator, with the glearn of a fiery soul in his eye, 
 "it shall not be said that Sa-go-ye-wat-ha lived in in 
 significance and died in dishonor. Am I too feeble to 
 revenge jny self of my enemies? Am not I as I have 
 been ?"t In a word he aroused himself to a great effort, 
 and pains were taken to procure a full attendance at a 
 Grand Council, to be composed of all that could be 
 gathered from the remaining of the whole Six Nations. 
 The council was holden at the upper council-house of 
 the principal reservation, in the neighborhood of Buffalo. 
 The business for which it was assembled having been 
 stated, and the act of deposition by the Christian party 
 read, Half-Town, a chief from the Gattaraugus reserva 
 tion, rose and declared that there was but one voice in 
 his section of the nation, and that of general indignation 
 at the contumely cast on so great a man as Red-Jacket. 
 
 * The authority for this interview is Colonel M Kenney himself, whose language 
 has in part been adopted. 
 
 t Thatcher s Indian Biography. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 337 
 
 Several other chiefs addressed the council to the same 
 effect.* After these declarations, and a farther inter 
 change of views, the condemned orator rose slowly, as 
 if grieved and humiliated, and after a solemn pause, 
 but with somewhat of his ancient dignity and grandeur 
 of manner, spoke as follows : - 
 
 " MY BROTHERS ! You have this day been correctly informed 
 of an attempt to make me sit down and throw off the authori 
 ty of a chief, by twenty-six misguided chiefs of my nation. 
 You have heard the statements of my associates in council and 
 their explanations of the foolish charges brought against me. 
 I have taken the legal and proper way to meet those charges. 
 It is the only way in which I could notice them. They are 
 charges which I despise, and which nothing could induce me 
 to notice, but the concern which many respected chiefs of my 
 nation feel in the character of their aged comrade. Were it 
 otherwise I should not be before you. I would fold my arms, 
 and sit quietly under these ridiculous slanders. The Chris 
 tian party have not even proceeded legally, according to our 
 usages, to put me down. Ah ! It grieves my heart when I 
 look around me and see the situation of my people, in old 
 times united and powerful, now divided and feeble. I feel 
 sorry for my nation. When I am gone to the other world, 
 when the Great Spirit calls me away, who among my people 
 can take my place ? Many years have I guided the nation." 
 ****** 
 
 In the report of these proceedings the connected 
 speech ends thus abruptly. But it is added that the 
 
 * Such is the statement of Thatcher, the only authority the author has dis 
 covered for the account of this council. But the statement of Half-Town must 
 certainly have been exaggerated, inasmuch as O-qui-ye-sou, or Captain Strong, 
 always a chief of consideration among the Cattaraugus Indians, was one of the 
 signers of the act of deposition. 
 
388 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 chief proceeded in an artful manner to rehearse the his 
 tory of what some have called his " persecution," and 
 to repel the various attacks that had been made against 
 him. Recurring again to the subject with which his 
 heart was always full, viz : the evils befalling his peo 
 ple by reason of the countenance they were giving to 
 Christianity, and the disgrace which should attach to 
 them for their abandonment of the faith of their fathers, 
 he proceeded once more to denounce, with his wonted 
 vehemence, the " black-coats." He said that in a con 
 ference with Mr. Calhoun, four years before,* he had 
 been told that the Indians might treat these black-coats 
 just as they thought proper, and the government would 
 not interfere. "I will not consent," he concluded, sa 
 gaciously identifying his disgrace with his opposition to 
 Christianity, "I will not consent silently to be trampled 
 under foot. As long as I can raise my voice I will op 
 pose the * black-coats. As long as I can stand in my 
 moccasins I will do all I can for my nation." 
 
 The result of the council corresponded with the pro 
 mises made to him at Washington, and he was restored 
 to his former rank by a unanimous vote. But the ex 
 citement of the occasion being over, the orator sank 
 rapidly into a state of comparative imbecility, a con 
 dition, both of body and mind, prematurely superin 
 duced by strong drink. Indeed, the energies he had 
 put forth in these proceedings resembled rather the un- 
 
 * Mr. Calhoun was, at the time referred to, Vice-President of the United 
 States. He had been Secretary at War, in which capacity he probably became 
 acquainted with Red-Jacket, 
 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 
 
 natural mental and bodily vigor often exhibited by dying 
 people, arousing from stupor and exhaustion just before 
 the hour of dissolution, than the healthful intellectual 
 action which characterized his better days. 
 
 He nevertheless visited the Atlantic cities once or 
 twice after his restoration. His last journey to the city 
 of Washington was made in the spring of 1829, soon 
 after the accession of General Jackson to the office of 
 President. On his return, he travelled eastward as far 
 as Boston, having become so lost to the pride of charac 
 ter, as to allow the keepers of the museums in Boston 
 and Albany to exhibit him for money. At Albany great 
 pains were taken to collect a political audience to meet 
 him at the museum, and listen to a speech which he was 
 advertised to deliver. The legislature was in session, 
 a large majority of which body was composed of the 
 political friends of the new President. It was noised 
 abroad that the orator would speak of his visit to the 
 President, and the impression somehow obtained cur 
 rency, that the savage orator, having been struck with 
 great admiration of the character and bearing of the 
 hero of New-Orleans, would pronounce a panegyrick 
 upon his character and services ; the loftiest strains of 
 forest eloquence were anticipated. The audience was 
 large, and the majority consisted of the most ardent 
 friends of the President, hurrying with impatience to 
 hear him extolled from the lips of an orator so renowned 
 as the great Seneca. But he had not completed half a 
 dozen sentences of his speech, before their kindling im 
 patience was changed into disappointment, which was 
 
390 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 in turn succeeded by chagrin ; for instead of eulogizing 
 the man who was at that time the popular idol of the 
 nation, he spoke of his former visit to General Washing 
 ton, drew an outline of his character, and then instituted 
 a comparison between it and that of General Jackson, 
 greatly to the disadvantage of the latter. The applause 
 with which the orator was greeted on his first appear 
 ance, was changed into rude manifestations of displea 
 sure, and the audience rapidly grew thin by the depar 
 ture of those who had been the most eager to come. 
 Justice, moreover, requires the acknowledgment that 
 the speech was feeble and puerile in itself, and delivered 
 without energy or grace. There was not even enough 
 of the orator left to show that he had ever had any valid 
 pretensions to that character.* 
 
 But his career was now drawing rapidly to a close, 
 and he lived not to behold the opening flowers of another 
 spring. The circumstances of his decease were striking. 
 "For some months previous to his death, time had made 
 such fearful ravages on his constitution as to render him 
 fully sensible of his approaching dissolution. To that 
 event he often adverted, and always in the language of 
 philosophic calmness. He visited successively all his 
 most intimate friends at their cabins, and conversed 
 with them upon the condition of their nation, in the most 
 impressive and affecting manner. He told them that he 
 
 * The author speaks not at random. He was present on the occasion refer 
 red to, and well remembers the whole scene, not forgetting the disappointment 
 which sat on the countenances of those who had been anticipating a rich display 
 of Indian eloquence in behalf of their favorite President. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 391 
 
 was passing away, and his counsels would be heard no 
 more. He ran over the history of his people from the 
 most remote period to which his knowledge extended, 
 and pointed out, as few could, the wrongs, the privations, 
 and the loss of character, which almost of themselves 
 constituted that history. " I am about to leave you," 
 he said, " and when I am gone, and my warnings shall 
 be no longer heard or regarded, the craft and avarice 
 of the white man will prevail. Many winters have I 
 breasted the storm, but I am an aged tree, and can stand 
 no longer. My leaves are fallen, my branches are 
 withered, and I am shaken by every breeze. Soon my 
 aged trunk will be prostrate, and the foot of the exulting 
 foe of the Indian may be placed upon it in safety ; for I 
 have none who will be able to avenge such an indignity. 
 Think not I mourn for myself. I go to join the spirits of 
 my fathers, where age cannot come ; but my heart fails 
 when I think of my people, who are so soon to be scat 
 tered and forgotten." These several interviews were 
 all concluded with particular instructions respecting his 
 domestic affairs, and his funeral." " Bury me," said he, 
 " by the side of my former wife ; and let my funeral be 
 according to the customs of our nation. Let me be 
 dressed and equipped as my fathers were, that their 
 spirits may rejoice at my coming. Be sure that my 
 grave be not made by a white man ; let them not pursue 
 me there."* 
 
 But notwithstanding these brave resolutions in anticipa 
 tion of the time of his departure, to die as he had lived 
 
 * Sketches of Red-Jacket in M Kenney s Indian Biography. 
 
392 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 and to be buried a pagan, there is reason to believe that 
 he relented not a little in the bitterness of his hostility 
 toward the missionary and the religion he taught. The 
 conduct of his wife toward him after her conversion to 
 Christianity, during the troubles of his latter years, not 
 withstanding his temporary desertion of her, had afforded 
 a beautiful illustration of the spirit of her new religion ; 
 and this circumstance may have softened and won upon 
 his feelings. 
 
 While the lamp of life was flickering in its socket, 
 he convened a general council of the nation, embra 
 cing both the Christian and Pagan parties, for the ex 
 press purpose of exerting his influence to cause a better 
 understanding between them. Not that he spoke, or 
 made any direct movements, in favor of Christianity, 
 but his desire was to bring both parties to a resolution to 
 quarrel no more respecting their religion, leaving every 
 man to choose for himself, without let or hindrance, and 
 to have his children taught in whatever school he might 
 prefer.* He was taken mortally sick of cholera morbus 
 during the sittings of this council, but he yet lived long 
 enough to see his recommendation adopted by mutual 
 resolution, and he spoke of the act with great satisfac 
 tion, a little previous to his departure. Two days be 
 fore his last sickness, moreover, he sent a friendly mes 
 sage to the chief missionary, the Rev. Mr. Harris, de 
 siring him to come and talk with him. But there was 
 
 * At this time the pagans were sending their children to a Quaker school, 
 while the Christian party sent their s to the schools under the supervision of Mr. 
 Harris. 
 
s 
 
 Sr I" 
 
 EH > 
 
 M I 
 o 
 
 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 393 
 
 an ecclesiastical council sitting at the time, in which 
 Mr. Harris was engaged ; and in the multiplicity and 
 confusion of business, the message was not received un 
 til after his decease. The object of the request was, 
 therefore, not positively known ; but his wife believed 
 his desire was to express more friendly feelings toward 
 the religious character of the missionary than he had 
 previously manifested. He remarked " that the minis 
 ter knew that he had always been his opposer, and now, 
 as by the resolution of the council there was a prospect 
 of seeing his people more united than they had been for 
 years, he desired to have some talk with him." 
 
 When his last attack of illness came upon him, he 
 said he should not survive, and refused all medical 
 assistance. His request of his wife was, that at the 
 moment of his departure she should place in his hand a 
 certain vial of water, possessing, as he supposed, a 
 charm sufficiently potent to keep away the devil, should 
 the latter attempt, as he was not without apprehension 
 might be the fact, to take away his soul. That vial, he 
 believed, would be all-sufficient to secure his spirit an 
 unobstructed flight to the fair hunting-grounds. He 
 died on the 20th of January, 1830, at his residence, 
 near the church and mission-house at the Seneca vil 
 lage.* The management of his funeral was committed 
 
 * The women among the Indians regulate the household affairs altogether, 
 prescribing the locations of their cabins, or houses, as the case may be, and dic 
 tating removals at their own pleasure. By virtue of this authority, after the 
 wife of Red-Jacket embraced Christianity, she removed the residence of her 
 lord to the vicinity of the church and the house of the missionary, for the conve 
 nience of public worship, and of conversations with her spiritual guide. Here 
 
 50 
 
394 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 by himself to his wife s son-in-law, William Jones. He 
 himself had not a near kinsman in the world. His 
 friends of the Wolf-clan, to which he belonged, deter 
 mined that his remains should be carried to the church 
 in which they worshipped, and buried in the ground be 
 longing to the Christian party. The funeral was numer 
 ously attended, not only by his own. race, but by the 
 white people who gathered in from the adjacent coun 
 try. Among the latter were some of the leaders of the 
 infidel white men who had acted in concert with the de 
 ceased in his opposition to Christianity. These latter 
 came with high expectations of beholding a splendid 
 pagan funeral, accompanied by the bowlings of women, 
 and all the barbarous rites and ceremonies incident to 
 savage funerals in the days when " darkness brooded" 
 over the wilds of the continent. Great, therefore, was 
 their disappointment on finding themselves in the train 
 of a Christian funeral, attended only by its simple and 
 solemn observances.* Thus died the renowned Sa-go- 
 
 was the mission-school, in which her grand-children were receiving gratuitous in 
 struction in the elementary principles of knowledge. Here was the chapel, to 
 which, since the change in her religious views, she had become very much at 
 tached ; and here were the missionary and his family, whose instruction and 
 counsels she had for some time been accustomed to regard as those of friends to 
 her people. 
 
 * My authority for the preceding account of the last days of Red-Jacket s 
 life, including the last council summoned by him, and his funeral, is the Rev. Mr. 
 Harris, with whom I have had repeated and full conversations upon the subject, 
 and whose report, written at the time, and published in the Missionary Herald, 
 vol. xxvi., I have consulted. Very grievous misrepresentations in regard to the 
 conduct of this gentleman at the death and funeral of the chief were sent abroad 
 by the disappointed white pagans, referred to in the text, some of which unfor 
 tunately found their way into the sketch published in the Indian Biography of 
 Colonel M Kenney. I quote a few passages : " There had long been a mis- 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 395 
 
 ye-wat-ha, whose great talents, and matchless gifts of 
 oratory, had so long exerted such a powerful influence 
 over the councils of his nation. 
 
 Some of the speeches of Red-Jacket, as noted down 
 in the closing conversations of his life, were prophetic, 
 and have already been fulfilled. " The craft and ava 
 rice of the white man will prevail," said he. And they 
 have, prevailed. Less than nine years had elapsed 
 after his decease, when every remaining foot of the an 
 cient inheritance of the Senecas was ceded to the white 
 man, in exchange for a tract of country west of the Mis 
 sionary among the Senecas, who was sustained by the party among the natives 
 who had procured the deposition and disgrace of Red-Jacket. This gentleman 
 of the dark dress was of course looked upon with high disfavor by Red-Jacket, 
 who considered him one of the agents by whom his nation had been distracted." 
 Now it has been seen by the statements in the text, that the chief was desirous of 
 dying in peace with the missionary. Again it is recorded in the same work, and 
 has thus gone upon the records of history, that, " The neighboring missionary, 
 with a disregard for the feelings of the bereaved, and the injunctions of the dead, 
 for which it is difficult to account, assembled his party, took possession of the 
 body, and conveyed it to their meeting-house. The immediate friends of Red- 
 Jacket, amazed at the transaction, abandoned the preparations they were making 
 for the funeral rites, and followed the body in silence to the place of worship, 
 where a service was performed, which, considering the opinions of the deceased, 
 was as idle as it was indecorous. They were then told from the sacred desk 
 that if they had any thing to say they had now an opportunity. Incredulity and 
 scorn were pictured on the faces of the Indians, and no reply was made, except 
 by a chief called General Blanket, who briefly remarked " This house was 
 built for the white man ; the friends of Red-Jacket cannot be heard in it." Not 
 withstanding this touching appeal, and the dying injunctions of the Seneca chief, 
 his remains were taken to the grave prepared by the whites, and interred. 
 Some of the Indians followed the corpse, but the more immediate friends of the 
 deceased took a last view of their lifeless chief, in the sanctuary of that religion 
 which he had always opposed, and hastened from a scene which overwhelmed 
 them with humiliation and sorrow." Now all this is very well told, and with 
 good dramatic effect. But, like most other dramatic compositions, it is an entire 
 fiction: 
 
396 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 souri, to which the remnant of their people and the Tus- 
 caroras are to remove. When this removal takes place, 
 it may be considered the final dispersion, if not the ex 
 tinguishment, of the once mighty confederacy of the 
 Five Nations. 
 
 This confederacy was never, perhaps, certainly not 
 within the knowledge of the white man, so great in its 
 numerical strength as has been supposed, or as might 
 be inferred from their deeds, and the extent of their do 
 minion. And yet, within that period, from their superior 
 organization, their discipline, and their prowess, their 
 name was terrible over a large section of the Ame 
 rican continent. It is within the knowledge of the white 
 man that the cry of " Mohawk !" would cause the In 
 dian to fly in terror.* The Delawares were conquered 
 and made tributaries by them. They drove the Algon- 
 quins and the French before them, sacking Montreal, 
 and raising their war-whoop almost before the gates of 
 Quebec, while at the west and south their arms were 
 extended to the mouth of the Ohio, and the confines of 
 Florida. For upward of a century they formed a liv 
 ing barrier between the English colonies and the French ; 
 and for more than two centuries have they been strug 
 gling against the gradual encroachments of the white 
 men, striving but in vain to bear up against a hundred 
 successive storms of adversity, and maintain an inde 
 pendent existence. During this period, nation after na 
 tion of their hapless race has melted away and disap 
 peared from the face of the earth. Fate in her stern 
 
 * Colden s Six Nations. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 397 
 
 behests has at length decreed that the Five Nations are 
 likewise to be numbered among nations lost on earth. 
 
 The fate of this people is a subject for deep and anx 
 ious reflection. What is the destiny of those who yet 
 remain ? Are they, any considerable portion of them, 
 at least, eventually to yield to the influences and usages 
 of civilization, and thus to be rescued from extinction ? 
 Or is it among the inscrutable designs of Providence that 
 the whole race shall disappear before the all-conquering 
 Anglo-Saxons ? Their destiny has been the subject of the 
 gravest and most interesting contemplation, almost from 
 the day of the discovery to the present. Philanthropists, 
 for more than two hundred years, have been endeavor 
 ing to guide them into the paths of civilization, and 
 Christians to win them from the gloom of paganism to 
 the brighter hopes and promises of the gospel. But the 
 efforts of both have been exerted to very little purpose. 
 Small numbers, at various periods, have been prevailed 
 upon to yield a faint assent to Christianity, but sound 
 conversions, illustrated by subsequent li ves of virtue and 
 temperance, pureness of living, and truth, have been 
 rare, while even among supposed converts the opinion 
 has often been expressed by themselves, that Christiani 
 ty was a better religion for the white people than for 
 them ; and their reformation, in but too many instances, 
 has only been attended by the loss of many of their 
 savage virtues, in exchange for which they have con 
 tracted the vices peculiar to civilized society.* Upon 
 civilization the unsophisticated Indians have looked 
 
 * President Kirkland Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. iv. 
 
398 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 with contempt. But as they have been brought into 
 close contact with civilized life, many of them have 
 been constrained to acknowledge the superior dignity 
 and happiness of such a state, and to wish that their 
 children might participate in its benefits, as the only 
 means of saving them from extinction. " If they some 
 times reflect on us for being cowardly, effeminate, and 
 tame spirited, they do it not so much from a real con 
 tempt of us, as to relieve that uneasy sense of in 
 feriority which mortifies and oppresses them. Still, 
 when they have acknowledged the importance of indus 
 try and the arts to their happiness, respectability, and 
 even existence, they will add, Indians can t work. 9 
 They feel fast bound by the power of their savage 
 habits, and do not summon resolution to practice ac 
 cording to their conviction."* 
 
 But Red- Jacket, as the reader has observed in the 
 progress of the present work, during the latter thirty 
 years of his life, would make no concessions in favor, 
 either of Christianity or civilization ; and for the same 
 reasons that operated upon his mind, the larger number 
 of his race have entertained the same opinions. These 
 reasons have already been adverted to more than once 
 or twice* They were slow to comprehend the principles 
 of Christianity, and could not well discriminate between 
 the real and nominal Christian. Among the border-men, 
 with whom they were first and most frequently brought 
 into communication and contact, they were sure to find 
 more of the latter class than of the former. Nor did 
 
 * President Kirkland Massachusetts Historical Collections. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 399 
 
 it commend the new religion to their untutored minds, 
 that they constantly saw these professors of that religion 
 practising every little art, and watching every opportu 
 nity to overreach them, and deprive them of their pro 
 perty, especially of their lands. They were early 
 alarmed at the rapacity of the whites to obtain their 
 lands, to which, always when sober, they clung with 
 great tenacity. " I have heard a naked savage," says 
 the eloquent Lord Erskine, " in the indignant charac 
 ter of a prince surrounded by his subjects, addressing 
 the governor of a British colony, holding a bundle of 
 sticks in his hand, as the notes of his unlettered elo 
 quence, demand, being encroached upon by the restless 
 foot of English adventurers : * Who is it that causes 
 
 * this river to rise in the high mountains, and to empty 
 itself into the ocean ? Who is it that causes to blow the 
 1 loud winds of winter, and that calms them again in 
 
 * summer ? Who is it that rears up the shade of those 
 lofty forests, and blasts them with the quick lightning 
 
 * at his pleasure ? The same Being who gave to you 
 a country on the other side of the waters, gave ours 
 
 * to us : and by this title we will defend it, said the 
 warrior, throwing his tomahawk upon the ground, and 
 raising the war-sound of his nation. These are the feel 
 ings of subjugated man all over the globe."* Especially 
 have they ever been the feelings of the American Indians ; 
 and having for two centuries seen the " knavery and 
 
 * Speech of Lord Erskine, in the great libel case of Stockdale. Lord E. had 
 served in America, in early life, in the British army, and was present at an Indian 
 council. 
 
400 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 strength of civilization" exerted "by alternate stratagem 
 and force," to dispossess them of their proud inheritance, 
 thus derived, is it a subject of wonder that they alike 
 spurned the religion and civilization from whose ad 
 vances they had so much to apprehend ? 
 
 It was the opinion of Dr. Ramsay, the historian, ex 
 pressed in a letter to the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 so long ago as the year 1795, that the American Indians 
 are a people who cannot be civilized. The doctor had 
 once regarded the belief as unphilosophical ; but reflec 
 tion and experience had brought him to the opinion that 
 to tame wolves would be no more impracticable than to 
 civilize the Indians. Hence he had almost adopted the 
 melancholy belief that they would ere long cease to be 
 a people. He gave nevertheless but few reasons in sup 
 port of his gloomy anticipations of their destiny ; and 
 the subject was followed by a more extended discussion, 
 in the autumn of the same year, by General Benjamin 
 Lincoln, who had enjoyed large opportunities of studying 
 the Indian character. General Lincoln concurred fully 
 in the opinion of the doctor, that they would never be 
 civilized ; but he did not anticipate their entire extinction. 
 Among the causes of their decrease of numbers, he 
 enumerated the change in their habits of dressing, by 
 substituting linens and calicos in the place of their na 
 tural and ancient covering, the furs, retaining, in other 
 respects, their partiality for the savage life, and exposed 
 to all the sufferings from the inclement seasons, and 
 rigorous winters of the high northern latitudes under 
 which they live. A knowledge of fire-arms has led them 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 401 
 
 to measures producing the worst effects, and serving to 
 diminish their numbers. The game upon which they 
 previously subsisted, and the skins of which served them 
 for clothes, was afterward wantonly destroyed ; while 
 the possession of fire-arms, and other implements of war 
 composed of metal, fired their ambition, and enkindled 
 a hope in their breasts, that with these weapons they 
 would be enabled to avenge all their wrongs and recover 
 their country. Stimulated by these delusive hopes, they 
 have rushed heedlessly into wars which have greatly re 
 duced their numbers. Another cause of this diminution 
 of their numbers is found in the reluctance of their 
 women to bear children, prompting them to employ 
 means to prevent an increase of maternal responsibili 
 ties. Indian mothers have been greatly affected by the 
 loss of their sons in their frequent wars, until, to quote 
 their own expressive words, " they have become tired of 
 bearing children to be slain in war" Other causes of the 
 decrease of this people are adduced by General Lincoln, 
 and he accounts for their reluctance to become either 
 civilized or christianized, upon the principles already 
 explained.* 
 
 On the question of the ultimate destiny of the race, 
 the communication referred to concludes as follows : 
 " Should the Indian nations in general never become 
 civilized, we may, I think, point to the consequences. 
 Nature forbids civilized and uncivilized people possess 
 ing the same territory ; for the means pursued by the 
 civilized to obtain a support counteract the wishes and 
 
 * Letter to Dr. Ramsay Mass. Historical Collections, 
 
 51 
 
402 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 designs of the savage. While the former are busily 
 employed in removing from the earth its natural growth, 
 as necessary to the establishing themselves as husband 
 men, the latter are wishing to increase that natural shelter 
 and hiding place for the beasts of the forest ; for without 
 a covering they cannot be retained, but will seek new 
 feeding-grounds. Consequently the savage must retire 
 to those lands where he can with more ease obtain a 
 supply. Yet their new position cannot long avail them ; 
 for civilization and cultivation will make rapid strides, 
 and advance fast toward them ; and they must neces 
 sarily make way for such approaches, by following the 
 game, which takes the first alarm, or leave their present 
 pursuits and modes of living, and oppose the cultivator 
 by cultivation. The savage arm is too feeble, in any 
 other way, to counteract the progress of their civilized 
 neighbors ; but it is hardly to be expected, considering 
 their attachments and prejudices, that they will see the 
 importance of this measure in time for self-preservation ; 
 but will continue retiring before the enlightened husband 
 man, until they shall meet those regions of the north 
 into which he cannot pursue them. There, probably, 
 they will be set down and left, in the undisturbed pos 
 session of a country unenvied by any ; as the last resort 
 of a people, who, having sacrificed every thing to their 
 love of ease, were at length compelled, by the effects of 
 their obstinacy and disobedience, to give up all hope of 
 ever regaining those hospitable tracts of country from 
 which they had retired, and which they had surrendered 
 to others; while nature had furnished them with the 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 403 
 
 power of having forever participated in the enjoyment 
 of them. Being thus shut up in a country where sub 
 sistence can only be obtained by the chase, they will 
 probably continue as a people until time shall be no 
 more." 
 
 Such, with but a trifling change of phraseology, were 
 the conclusions to which a gentleman of intelligence, 
 sound judgment, and deep study of the Indian charac 
 ter, arrived more than forty-five years ago. Experience 
 has in a great measure tested the correctness of his 
 views, although as yet there have been no indications 
 of a tendency on the part of the Indians to escape con 
 tact with the white man by seeking a refuge in the hy 
 perborean regions. They could, doubtless, live there, 
 as do the Esquimaux 5 but their attachment to the places 
 of their birth, and their desire to linger around the 
 graves of their ancestors, induce them to cling to their 
 native soil with death-like tenacity. And although a close 
 proximity to the whites has almost invariably caused a 
 rapid diminution of their numbers, yet nation after na 
 tion of this extraordinary and in many respects noble 
 people has melted away, and disappeared, or been re 
 duced to a few degenerate relics, who at last relinquish 
 their distinctive character by mingling with the fragments 
 of other nations also in a rapid decline, but perhaps not 
 quite so near positive extinction as themselves. This 
 is a melancholy subject of contemplation, but it seems 
 thus to have been decreed by an inscrutable Provi 
 dence ; and the flight of the feeble and broken remnant 
 of the once proud and haughty AQUANUSCHIONI before 
 
404 LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 the march of civilization, is but another and yet stronger 
 illustration of the sad conclusion, that their destiny is to 
 be, EXTINCTION ! 
 
 The orator, whose life has been traced in the pre 
 ceding pages, and who, with all his faults, was a man of 
 great talents and sagacity, foresaw the event almost 
 with a prophet s vision, and labored for many years 
 with all the energies of his soul to avert, or at least to 
 put off the evil day. It was kindly ordered that he 
 should not, with his natural vision, behold the extirpa 
 tion of his people from the beautiful country so long 
 their own, and he was gathered to his fathers in peace. 
 For nine years after his decease, neither a stone nor 
 other memorial marked his resting-place. But during 
 the summer of 1839, while on a visit to Buffalo, HENRY 
 PLACIDE, Esq., a gentleman of the histrionic profession, 
 determined that the place of his sepulture should no 
 longer remain undistinguished. A subscription was set 
 on foot under his auspices, and the result was the erec 
 tion over his grave of a handsome marble slab, bearing 
 the following inscription : 
 
 SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA, 
 
 (HE-KEEPS-THEM- AWAKE,) 
 
 RED-JACKET, 
 
 CHIEF OF THE 
 WOLF TRIBE OF THE SENECA*, 
 
 THE FRIEND AND PROTECTOR OF HIS PEOPLE, 
 
 Died Jan y 20, 1830, 
 Aged 78 years. 
 
OF RED-JACKET. 495 
 
 t , 
 
 The grave is surrounded by a neat picket fence ; and 
 it was noted as an interesting coincidence, that during 
 the visit of the gentlemen to superintend the erection of 
 the tablet, a funeral feast, as is the custom of the Indians, 
 was in progress, at an adjoining wigwam, in commemo 
 ration of the death of Red- Jacket s daughter, which oc 
 curred five months before, and during the ceremony his 
 aged widow was distributing the moccasins, clothes, 
 trinkets, etc., of the deceased. 
 
 Charlevoix and Golden, among the earlier Indian histo 
 rians, and De Witt Clinton among the modern, have insti 
 tuted comparisons between the ancient league of the Five 
 Nations and the Romans. The coincidence was in some 
 respects remarkable, especially in their foreign policy. 
 The counsellors of the Five Nations had never heard of 
 the Romans; and yet their ambition of foreign con 
 quests, and their policy of planting military colonies in 
 the countries they had subjugated, were the same. Other 
 resemblances might be indicated were it necessary to 
 the present purpose. With as much justice as Rienzi 
 has been styled the last of the Romans, may Red- 
 Jacket be denominated " the last of the Senecas." 
 Though in the main the characters were widely dis 
 similar, and the one acted in great matters and the 
 other in comparatively small, yet there is in one respect 
 a striking coincidence : " Rienzi was more energetic in 
 speech and council than in action, and failed in courage 
 and presence of mind in great emergencies." 
 
HO-NA-YE-WUS, 
 
 OR 
 
 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 AMONG the Indian contemporaries of Red-Jacket, the 
 reader of the foregoing pages will have frequently 
 observed the name of FARMER S-BROTHER. It was an 
 arbitrary name,-^his real one, in his own language, be 
 ing HO-NA-YE-WUS. Beyond all doubt he was one of 
 the noblest of his race, in both intellect and eloquence 
 fully equal to Red-Jacket, and infinitely above him in 
 courage and all the moral qualities of the man. But it 
 seems not to have been his ambition to shine in council, 
 as he might have done,^-taking the few specimens of 
 his eloquence that have been preserved, and the opin 
 ions of his contemporaries, as the criterion of judgment. 
 On the contrary he was a warrior, in principle and prac 
 tice, spurning agriculture, and every other civilized art, 
 with the contempt of Red- Jacket himself. 
 
 The time of his birth is uncertain ; but as he was be 
 lieved to have been between eighty and ninety years old 
 at the time of his death, in the autumn of 1814, he was 
 probably born about the year 1730. It has been stated 
 that he was in the bloody battle in which General Brad- 
 dock, with fool-hardiness, lost his life, and nearly the 
 whole of his army, in July, 1755. On the score of age 
 he may very well have been there ; but the fact is not 
 certain. 
 
 52 
 
410 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 The first authentic mention of his name, as a war 
 rior, is found in connexion with the horrible massacre 
 of the " Devil s Hole," in the neighborhood of Niagara 
 Falls, an event that occurred in the year 1762, or 
 1763. Like their brethren, the other nations of the Iro- 
 quois confederacy, the Senecas had in general been the 
 faithful allies of the English against the French, down 
 to the war which ended in the conquest of Canada by 
 the former. The Senecas were formerly engaged for a 
 series of years in a war with the French and Adiron- 
 dacks, during which the forces of the latter had invaded 
 their country several times, and laid waste some of their 
 towns and villages. At length a peace was concluded, 
 and the French succeeded in detaching the Senecas from 
 the English, and converting them into allies. Hence, 
 in the war of 1755 1763, they looks ides with the 
 former, although it is said they regretted this connexion, 
 and renewed their alliance with the English before the 
 close of that contest. 
 
 The French fort at Niagara fell before the arms of Sir 
 William Johnson, in the summer of 1759, as also did the 
 smaller fortress at Schlosser, situated about two miles 
 above the great cataract. These two posts were of 
 great importance to the English, for the protection of the 
 means of communication with the posts above, on the 
 upper lakes. In 1760 a contract was made between 
 Sir William Johnson and a Mr. Stedman, to construct a 
 portage road from what is now the Lewiston Landing to 
 Fort Schlosser, a distance of eight miles, in order to fa 
 cilitate the transportation from one place to the other. 
 In conformity with this agreement, on the 20th of June, 
 1763, Stedman had completed his road, and appeared 
 at Lewiston Landing with twenty-five portage wagons, 
 and one hundred horses and oxen, for the transportation 
 to Schlosser of the king s stores destined to Detroit, &c. 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 Sir William was even at this time suspicious as to the 
 designs of the Senecas, although the French power in 
 that neighborhood had been extinguished four years be 
 fore ; for there were various indications of an uneasy 
 and hostile disposition among them. In order, there 
 fore, to protect the teams, goods and drivers from harm, 
 a strong detachment of troops* was ordered to guard 
 them across the portage. The caravan, under this 
 escort, started from the landing, the troops in advance, 
 and Stedman, mounted upon a fine horse, riding be 
 tween them and the teams. A small redoubt had been 
 thrown up on an inconsiderable eminence, near the De 
 vil s Hole, garrisoned by twelve men, as a competent 
 guard for ordinary occasions against the depredations of 
 the savages. The place, even at this day wild and dis 
 mal, must have been frightfully so then. It is about 
 three miles below the cataract, on the American side of 
 the strait, and is often visited by the inquisitive traveller 
 in search of the picturesque. Indeed, as it has been 
 justly said, " the mind can scarcely conceive of a more 
 frightful looking den. A large ravine, made by the 
 falling in of the perpendicular bank, darkened by the 
 foliage of the birch and cedar, which had taken root be 
 low, and the low murmuring of the rapids of the chasm, 
 added to the distant and solemn thunder of the cataract 
 itself, contribute to render the scene grand and awful. "t 
 The escort approached this gloomy place without ap 
 prehension, and the teamsters were whistling cheerily 
 along, unconscious of danger. Fatal security ! A large 
 body of Seneca warriors had been sagaciously disposed 
 in ambuscade under the conduct of Farmer s-Brother, 
 who only awaited their arrival at a designated point, to 
 
 * In the life of Mary Jemison the number is stated at three hundred, but that 
 must be altogether too great. 
 t Thatcher. 
 
412 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 leap upon them like so many tigers. They did so, and 
 their descent was like a storm-cloud in its fury. Falling 
 upon the troops, teams and drivers, and the guard of 
 twelve already mentioned, every man in the company, 
 but three, was either killed outright, or by being precipi 
 tated, together with the teams, headlong down the pre 
 cipice, was dashed in pieces ! One of the Indians seized 
 Stedman s horse by the bridle, and was attempting to 
 make a prisoner of him ; but some extraordinary act of 
 the bloody scene diverted his attention for a moment, 
 and was the means of Stedman s escape. Quick as a 
 flash the latter cut the reins yet in the Indian s hands, and 
 putting spurs to his horse, the animal bounded over 
 the dead and dying, and speedily placed his master be 
 yond the reach of their bullets, although sent after him 
 in a shower. Two others also escaped, one of whom 
 was a drummer, a fortuitous circumstance, since his 
 rescue from death was owing to the strap of his drum, 
 which caught the limb of a tree in his descent into the 
 chasm, and broke his fall. The third had his thigh 
 broken by the fall, but he nevertheless succeeded in 
 crawling out of the den and finding his way back to the 
 garrison, below the cataract. The Indians themselves 
 were so much pleased by the brave conduct of Sted- 
 man, that they gave him a handsome tract of land as a 
 reward for his dauntlessness.* 
 
 During the whole contest of the American revolution, 
 Farmer s-Brother was upon the war path, as an active 
 and bold yet sagacious leader of his people in the cause 
 of the British crown. But after the conclusion of peace 
 with the United States, he maintained his pacific rela 
 tions with the most unwavering fidelity to the end. He 
 was one of the party of chiefs who visited Philadelphia 
 
 * Old manuscript cited by L. S. Everett, formerly of Buffalo, in a letter to 
 the author of Mary Jemison s Life. 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 on a friendly mission in the spring of 1792, and was 
 among the attendants upon the funeral and burial of 
 Peter Jaquette, whose life and death have been noted in 
 the history of Red-Jacket. He was also one of the 
 chiefs who replied to the speech of the governor of Penn 
 sylvania, welcoming them to Philadelphia. 
 
 In the spring of the following year he was present at 
 a grand Indian council held at Niagara, the deliberations 
 of which were connected with the war then raging be 
 tween the United States and the north-western Indians. 
 Those hostile Indians were represented in the council, 
 and the debates were long and ardent. Farmer s-Brother 
 signalized himself on this occasion by a speech of three 
 hours long, of great eloquence and power, as it was re 
 ported, in favor of peace. Unfortunately the speeches 
 of the council were never written. 
 
 The speech, or composition, of Farmer s-Brother, 
 which has been most admired, was delivered at a coun 
 cil held by the Six Nations, at Genesee River, on the 
 21st of November, 1798, and has already been referred 
 to in the preceding life of Red-Jacket. It was intended 
 as a communication to the legislature of the state of New- 
 York, and was transmitted to that body as such, though 
 first delivered in the form of a speech. The occasion 
 was this : Messrs. Jones and Parish, whose names have 
 repeatedly occurred in the foregoing pages, as Indian 
 interpreters, had been taken captive by the Indians, in 
 the war of the revolution, and adopted by them. Thnir 
 confidence in and affection for both was strong, and it 
 was now their desire to give them a substantial mark of 
 their favor by a donation of land. But by the laws of 
 the state, no transfers of Indian lands could be made to 
 private individuals, unless by permission of the govern 
 ment. Hence the following communication in the form 
 of a speech, from Ho-na-ye-wus, to the white sachems 
 around the council fire at Albany : 
 
414 
 
 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 The Sachems, Chiefs and Warriors of tlie Seneca Nation, to 
 
 the Sachems and Chiefs assejnblcd about the great Council 
 
 Fire of the State of New- York : 
 
 " BROTHERS : As you are once more assembled in council 
 for the purpose of doing honor to yourselves and justice to 
 your country ; we, your brothers, the Sachems, Chiefs, and 
 Warriors of the Seneca Nation, request you to open your ears 
 and give attention to our voice and wishes. 
 
 " BROTHERS : You will recollect the late contest between 
 you and your father, the great king of England. This contest 
 threw the inhabitants of this whole island into a great tumult 
 and commotion, like a raging whirlwind, which tears up the 
 trees, and tosses to and fro the leaves, so that no one knows 
 from whence they come, or where they will fall. 
 
 " BROTHER : This whirlwind was so directed by the Great 
 Spirit above, as to throw into our arms two of your infant 
 children, Jasper Parish, and Horatio Jones. We adopted 
 them into our families and made them our children. We loved 
 them and nourished them. They lived with us many years. 
 At length the Great Spirit spoke to the whirlwind, and it was 
 still. A clear and uninterrupted sky appeared. The path of 
 peace was opened, and the chain of friendship was once more 
 made bright. Then these our adopted children left us, to seek 
 their relations. We wished them to return among us, and 
 promised, if they would return and live in our country, to 
 give each of them a seat of land for them and their children 
 to sit down upon. 
 
 " BROTHERS : They have returned and have for several years 
 past been serviceable to us as interpreters. We still feel our 
 hearts beat with affection for them, and now wish to fulfil the 
 promise we made them, and to reward them for their services. 
 We have therefore made up our minds to give them a seat of 
 two square miles of land lying on the outlet of Lake Erie, 
 about three miles below Black Rock, beginning at the mouth of 
 a creek known by the name of Scoy-gu-quoy-des Creek, run 
 ning one mile from the river Niagara, up said creek, thence 
 northerly as the river runs two miles, thence westerly one mile 
 to the river, thence up the river as the river runs two miles 
 to the place of beginning, so as to contain two square miles. 
 
 " BROTHERS : We have now made known to you our minds, 
 we expect and earnestly request that you will permit our friends 
 to receive this our gift, and will make the same good to them, 
 according to the laws and customs of your nation. 
 
 " BROTHERS : Why should you hesitate to make our minds 
 easy with regard to this our request 1 To you it is but a little 
 thing, and have you not complied with the request, and con 
 firmed the gift of our brothers the Oneidas, the Onondagas 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 and Cayugas to their interpreters 1 And shall we ask and not 
 be heard ? 
 
 " BROTHERS : We send you this our speech, to which we 
 expect your answer before the breaking up of your great 
 council fire." * 
 
 This brief speech has been uniformly regarded as one 
 of the most interesting specimens of Indian eloquence, 
 from its boldness of figure. The gentleman who wrote 
 down the translation, at the time, in furnishing it for 
 publication, remarked in a note to the editor, that for 
 one expression Longinus would have given him credit 
 for the true sublime : " The Great Spirit spoke to the 
 whirlwind, and it was still." 
 
 * The copy of this speech was furnished to the author by James D. Bemis, Esq., 
 of Canandaigua, from the original publication. Messrs. Jones and Parish, in whose 
 behalf the application was made, both died in the summer of 183G, the former 
 aged seventy-two, and the latter sixty-nine years. The lives of both were event 
 ful, and were marked with incidents of a remarkable character. Captain Hora 
 tio Jones was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in November, 1763, and 
 while quite young emigrated with his parents to Bedford county, in the same 
 state. In 1799, and at the age of sixteen, he enlisted as a volunteer under Cap 
 tain Boyd, in an excursion against the New-York and Canada Indians, who, led 
 on by the notorious Butler, Brant, and Bob Nellis, had committed many atro 
 cious massacres in that peaceful neighborhood, sparing neither age nor sex from 
 the tomahawk and scalping knife. Boyd s company, consisting of thirty-two, in 
 their pursuit of Nellis, were surprised by a large ambuscade of Seneca Indians, 
 on a branch of the Juniata, about half the party killed, and eight made prison 
 ers ; among the latter was the subject of this notice. He was conyeyed to the 
 Genesee Valley, went through the horrid and savage ceremony of "running 
 the gauntlet," was adopted into an Indian family, and for five years remained a 
 captive, suffering all the privations and hardships incident to Indian life. After 
 the treaty of 1784, he was appointed an interpreter for the Six Nations by General 
 Washington, the duties of which office he discharged with great ability until a 
 year or two previous to his death. Possessed of uncommon mental vigor and 
 quick perception, he was enabled to form a just estimate of character, and deter 
 mine with readiness the springs of human action. 
 
 His bravery, physical power, energy and decision of character, gave him great 
 command over the Indians with whom he was associated and he obtained their 
 entire confidence, which afforded him an opportunity of rendering valuable ser 
 vice to the government in our subsequent treaties with the northern and western 
 tribes. He was the favorite interpreter of Red-Jacket, and his style on all occa 
 sions was chaste, graphic and energetic. Sincere and ardent in his attachment, 
 frank and hospitable in his intercourse with the world, he commanded the re 
 spect and esteem of all who knew him. He retained the full possession of his 
 mental faculties until the last moment, and has gone down to the grave full of 
 years and with a character above reproach. In the various relations of husband, 
 father, and citizen, his loss is sincerely and deeply deplored. Livingston 
 Register* 
 
 The early life of Captain Jasper Parish was likewise marked by inci- 
 
416 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 In the month of December, 1811, Farmer s-Brother 
 addressed a letter to the Hon. William Eustis, then Sec 
 retary of War, of which the following is a copy : 
 
 " BROTHER: The sachems and chief warriors of the Seneca 
 nation of Indians, understanding that you are the person ap 
 pointed by the great council of your nation to manage and 
 conduct the affairs of the several nations of Indians with 
 whom you are at peace and on terms of friendship, come at 
 this time as children to a father, to lay before you the trouble 
 which we have on our minds. 
 
 " BROTHER : We do not think best to multiply words. We 
 will therefore tell you what our complaint is. 
 
 " BROTHER : Listen to what we say. Some years since we 
 held a treaty at Big-tree, near the Genesee River. This treaty 
 was called by our great father, the President of the United 
 States. He sent an agent, Colonel Wadsworth, to attend this 
 treaty, for the purpose of advising us in this business, and 
 seeing that we had justice done us. At this treaty we sold to 
 Robert Morris the greatest part of our country. The sum he 
 gave us was one hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 " BROTHER : The Commissioner who was appointed on 
 your part, advised us to place this money in the hands of our 
 great father, the President of the United States. He told us 
 our father loved his red children, and would take care of our 
 money, and plant it in a field where it would bear seed forever, 
 as long as trees grow or waters run. Our money has hereto 
 fore been of great service to us. It has helped us to support 
 our old people, and our women and children. But we are told 
 the field where our money was planted has become barren. 
 
 " BROTHER : We do not understand your way of doing busi 
 ness. This thing is heavy on our minds. We mean to hold 
 
 dents which gave interest to his character. He was born at Wintlham, Con 
 necticut, in March, 1766, and while a child emigrated with his parents to the 
 Lackawaxen, Luzerne county, Penn. In 1778, at the age of eleven years, when the 
 British and Indians, led on by those ruthless chiefs Butler and Gi-en-gwah-toh were 
 waging an unrelenting warfare upon the inhabitants of Wyoming Valley, he was 
 made a prisoner by the party of Delawares who had a few days previous com 
 mitted the atrocious " Massacre of Wyoming." He remained a captive among 
 the Indians seven years, during which time he was transferred from one tribe to 
 another of the Six Nations, suffering privations incident to Indian life. He was 
 released from captivity at Fort Stanwix, (now Rome,) under the treaty of 1784. 
 He had acquired, and could speak fluently, five different languages of these tribes, 
 which enabled him to be useful in our subsequent intercourse with them, and he 
 possessed, moreover, much of their confidence. Under Washington s adminis 
 tration he was appointed interpreter to the Six Nations, and afterwards sub-agent; 
 both of which offices he held more than thirty years, and until Jackson s ad 
 ministration. He was an early settler in Canandaigua, having resided there 
 since 1792 ; and he well sustained the relations of a husband, father and citizen. 
 Canandaigua Repository, of July 19, 1836. 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 our white brethren of the United States by the hand. But 
 this weight lies heavy. We hope you will remove it. 
 
 " BROTHERS We have heard of the bad conduct of our bro 
 thers toward the setting sun.* We are sorry for what they 
 have done. But you must not blame us. We have had no 
 hand in this bad business. They have had bad people among 
 them. It is your enemies have done this. 
 
 " BROTHER : We have persuaded our agent to take this talk 
 to your great council. He knows our situations, and will speak 
 our minds."t 
 
 On the declaration of war by the United States against 
 Great Britain, in 1812, Farmer s-Brother, although up 
 wards of eighty snows in years, was among the earliest 
 to proffer his services to the United States, and was 
 among the foremost upon the war-path when the services 
 of the Indians were at last accepted. The part he bore, 
 and an interesting incident in his career, have already 
 been noted in the life of Red-Jacket, and need not here 
 be repeated. 
 
 Unlike the greater portion of his race, he had the 
 fortitude to abstain from ardent spirits, and lived and 
 died a sober man. He was remarkably well-formed, 
 and erect in his carriage, and trod the earth with a firm 
 step to the last ever grave in his demeanor, and con 
 versing, but only through an interpreter in English, with 
 great precision. " He was as firm a friend where he 
 promised fidelity, as a bitter enemy to those against 
 
 * Referring to the rising of the north-western Indians, under Tecumseh and 
 the Shawanese Prophet. 
 
 t Mr. Erastus Granger, the Indian agent of the United States, certified that 
 this communication was delivered by Farmer s-Brother, in the form of a speech, 
 and being reduced to writing, was signed by the Seneca chiefs as follows : 
 Farmer s-Brother, his mark X Wheel-Barrow, his mark X 
 
 Little Billy, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Jack Berry, do 
 
 X 
 
 Young King, 
 
 do 
 
 x 
 
 Twenty Canoes do 
 
 X 
 
 Pollard, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Big Kettle, do 
 
 X 
 
 Chief Warrior, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Half-Town, do 
 
 X 
 
 Two Guns, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Keyandeande, do 
 
 X 
 
 John Sky, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Captain Cold, do 
 
 X 
 
 Parrot-Nose, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Esquire Blinkey, do 
 
 X 
 
 John Pierce, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 Captain Johnson, do 
 
 X 
 
 Strong, 
 
 do 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 53 
 
418 FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 whom he contended ; and would lose the last drop in 
 his veins sooner than betray the cause he had espoused. 
 He was fond of recounting his exploits, and dwelt with 
 much satisfaction upon the number of scalps he had 
 taken in his battles and skirmishes with the whites."* 
 At the time of his visit to Philadelphia, as already men 
 tioned, General Washington presented him with a silver 
 medal, bearing his own likeness, which the chief prized 
 highly, and ever afterward wore suspended from his 
 neck, always declaring that he would lose it only with 
 
 his life. 
 
 He was bold and uncompromising, and nobly fearless 
 in his resentments ; and although on many occasions 
 implacable and unrelenting, he not unfrequently mani 
 fested instances of feeling and sensibility of compas 
 sion which few savages discover. Not like Tecumseh, 
 not like Pontiac, he at times listened to the appeals of 
 suffering humanity even when strict policy demanded 
 the sacrifice, and at all times when strict policy did 
 not demand it. He was indeed a noble instance of a 
 great and magnanimous mind, covered by a rough and 
 savage, but commanding and princely exterior. No man 
 who looked upon Farmer s-Brother could imbibe feelings 
 of contempt, disgust or hatred ; on the contrary, all who 
 saw him were impressed with respect, if not veneration 
 and esteem. There was no meanness, no littleness, no 
 low enterprise, intrigue or management in his deport 
 ment or conduct. All was open, great, dignified and 
 fearless. The impress of integrity and honor chastened 
 and softened the sterner outlines of his character.t 
 
 Soon after the close of the Niagara campaign of 1814, 
 the veteran paid the debt of nature, at the Seneca village, 
 where, as a mark of respect for his character and dis 
 tinguished bravery, the fifth regiment of United States 
 
 * B. B. Thatcher. t MS. Collections of Joseph W. Moulton. 
 
FARMER S-BROTHER. 
 
 infantry interred him with military honors.* A friend 
 of the author residing at Buffalo,! who knew him well, 
 thus describes his character and bearing : " He was 
 every way a great man, truly one of nature s nobles, 
 
 The front of Jove himself, 
 
 An eye like Mars to threaten and command 
 A station like the herald Mercury. 
 
 None who ever saw him will fail to recollect his ma 
 jestic mien and princely bearing, much less will they 
 who have heard him in council forget the power and 
 deep toned melody of his voice, his natural and impres 
 sive gestures, and the unaffected but commanding dignity 
 of his manner. Unrivalled as a warrior, and only 
 equalled by Red- Jacket in eloquence, speaking in the 
 verity of sober prose, it may be said that his was 
 
 A combination and a form indeed, 
 To give the world assurance of a man. 
 
 With such attributes, it is not surprising that his influ 
 ence with his nation, though its form of government is 
 essentially democratic, was controlling nor is it less to 
 his true glory, that his open-heartedness, his fidelity to 
 truth and his generous magnanimity, secured for him 
 the admiration and esteem of every white person who 
 had the honor of his acquaintance." 
 
 * B. B. Thatcher. t Hon. Albert H. Tracy. 
 
GA-NIO-DI-EUH, 
 
 OR 
 
 THE CORNPLANTER. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 
 
 FEW names are of more frequent occurrence, in the 
 modern history of the Six Nations, during a period of 
 more than three-quarters of a century, than that of THE 
 CORNPLANTER. His Indian name was Ga-nio-di-euh,* or 
 Handsome-Lake, and supposing him to have been twenty 
 years old at the defeat of General Braddock, in which 
 bloody affair he was engaged, he must have been born 
 at least as early as the year 1735. It has already been 
 stated, both in the life of Red- Jacket and in the pre 
 ceding sketch of Farmer s-Brother, that the Senecas 
 fought in alliance with the French during the war of 1755, 
 1763, and the defeat of Braddock was entirely owing 
 to them, since the French were exclusively indebted 
 to Indian tactics for that signal victory. What part was 
 sustained by Cornplanter in that memorable action, 
 whether he was a chief, or whether he had not yet ar 
 rived at that dignity, cannot be told; but in either 
 case he doubtless acquitted himself bravely, for he was 
 a brave man. He was a native of Conewaugus, in the 
 valley of the Genesee River ; being a half-breed, the son 
 
 * Great difficulties are continually encountered in settling the orthography of 
 Indian names. Every original writer fixes upon the orthography from the sound, 
 and scarcely any two of them agree. The Indian name of Cornplanter has 
 usually been written Gyantwaia, The orthography adopted by the author was 
 received from Pierce, a Seneca chief, educated at Dartmouth college. 
 
424 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 of an Indian trader from the Mohawk Valley, a white 
 man, named John O Bail.* His father, during his fre 
 quent journeys from Albany to Niagara and back, became 
 enamoured of a squaw, and Cornplanter was the fruit of 
 their attachment. Of his early life but very little is 
 known, beyond the fact already stated, that he was in 
 the engagement against the British and provincial troops 
 under General Braddock, near Fort du Quesne, in July, 
 1755. His boyhood was in nowise distinguished from 
 that of his juvenile contemporaries, according to his very 
 naive letter, written long afterward to the Governor of 
 Pennsylvania : 
 
 " When I was a child," he said in that letter, " I played 
 with the butterfly, the grasshopper, and the frogs ; and as I 
 grew up, I began to pay some attention, and play with the 
 Indian boys in the neighborhood ; arid they took notice of 
 my skin being a different color from their s, and spoke about 
 it. I inquired of my mother the cause, and she told me that 
 my father was a resident in Albany. I still ate my victuals 
 out of a bark dish. I grew up to be a young man, and mar 
 ried me a wife, and I had no kettle or gun. I then knew 
 where my father lived, and went to see him, and found he was 
 a white man, and spoke the English language. He gave me 
 victuals while I was at his house, but when I started to return 
 home, he gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave 
 me neither kettle nor gun." * 
 
 The conflict of the American revolution found Corn- 
 planter a war chief of his tribe, in the full vigor of man 
 hood, and of high rank. He was active, sagacious, elo 
 quent, and brave. But from that period to the close of 
 his life, his history was from necessity so closely inter 
 woven with the lives of Brant and Red- Jacket, that 
 with the exception of the few of his letters and speeches 
 that have been preserved, a mere rapid outline is all 
 
 * This name, too, has been variously written, O Bail, O Beal, and Abeel. I 
 have preferred the former, in the absence of positive information, because it is the 
 orthography observed in the life of the Seneca white woman, Mary Jemison. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 
 
 425 
 
 that can be necessary to the present purpose. He is 
 believed to have participated in most of the principal 
 engagements in which the Indians bore a part, during 
 that war. The cruelties of Wyoming and Cherry Val 
 ley were chiefly enacted by the Senecas, and Cornplan- 
 ter was doubtless present in both affairs, although his 
 name does not appear in the accounts. He was on the 
 war-path with Brant, during the campaign of General 
 Sullivan against the Indian towns of the Cayugas and 
 Senecas, in 1779, in the course of which it may be re 
 membered he had occasion to reproach Red-Jacket for 
 his cowardice. And when, in a subsequent year, the 
 Indians fearfully avenged the invasion of Sullivan, by 
 sweeping with fire and sword through the valleys of the 
 Schoharie-Kill and the Mohawk, under the command of 
 Brant and Sir John Johnson, Cornplanter was the leader 
 of the Senecas. It was during this expedition that he 
 paid another visit to his father, who was then residing in 
 the vicinity of Fort Plain. Having ascertained the re 
 sidence of his sire, he made him a prisoner, but with 
 such caution as to avoid an immediate recognition. Af 
 ter marching the old man some ten or twelve miles up 
 the river, he stepped before him, faced about, and ad 
 dressed him in the following terms : 
 
 " My name is John O Bail, commonly called Cornplanter. 
 I am your son ! You are my father ! You are now my pri 
 soner, and subject to the customs of Indian warfare. But you 
 shall not be harmed : you need not fear. I am a warrior ! 
 Many are the scalps which I have taken ! Many prisoners I 
 have tortured to death ! I am your son ! I was anxious to 
 see you, and greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin 
 and took you by force. But your life shall be spared. Indians 
 love their friends and their kindred, and treat them with kind 
 ness. If now you choose to follow the fortune of your yellow 
 son, and to live with our people, I will cherish your old age 
 with plenty of venison, and you shall live easy. But if it is 
 your choice to return to your fields and live with your white 
 
 54 
 
426 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 children, I will send a party of my trusty young men to con 
 duct you back in safety. I respect you, my father : you have 
 been friendly to Indians, and they are your friends." 
 
 But the elder O Bail preferred his white children and 
 green fields to his yellow offspring and the wild woods, 
 and chose to return. He was therefore discharged by 
 the chief, and escorted in safety bacl^ to his own habita 
 tion.* 
 
 In addition to these greater movements, Cornplanter 
 was ever active in smaller war parties and partizan 
 forays ; nor did his white blood modify his Indian propen 
 sities, or cool the temperature of his vengeance ; for his 
 tenderest mercies were cruel. He was probably en 
 gaged in the battle of Oriskany, and was certainly lurking 
 about the precincts of Fort Stanwix at subsequent stages 
 of the war, ready to fall upon every light detachment or 
 straggler from the garrison ; and by his own confession, 
 he was the murderer of a little girl who was shot under 
 the guns of the fort, while engaged in picking black- 
 berries.t 
 
 But notwithstanding the cruelty of his hostile prac 
 tices while the war continued, he became the fast friend 
 of the United States when once the hatchet was buried ; 
 nor did he afterward falter in his pacific course. It has 
 already been seen, both in the lives of Brant and Red- 
 Jacket, that he was the efficient agent in effecting the 
 treaty of peace concluded at Fort Stanwix, in 1784, in 
 opposition to the eloquent persuasions of the greatest ora 
 tor of his nation. He very well knew that by assenting 
 to the large cessions of territory exacted by the treaty, 
 he was jeoparding his popularity with his own people. 
 But if others had not, he had the sagacity to perceive 
 
 * Mary Jemison. t Vide Life of Brant. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 437 
 
 that, although he and his people had served the crown 
 of Great Britain with all fidelity, they had nevertheless 
 been abandoned to their fate by their more powerful 
 ally, and were now by consequence reduced to the mise 
 rable alternative either of giving up as much of their 
 country as the United States required, or of yielding 
 the whole of it. His course, and it was also the course 
 of wisdom, was prescribed by the necessity of the case ; 
 and by the energy and ability with which he conducted 
 the negotiation he yet retained for his people an ample 
 and beautiful territory. In a subsequent negotiation, 
 five years afterward, at Fort Harmer, in a mixed coun 
 cil of his own and several of the northwestern nations, 
 he assented to the cession to the United States of an im 
 mense tract of territory, situated beyond the Seneca 
 country proper. This country was claimed by the Six 
 Nations by right of conquest from the Eries and Dela- 
 wares, the former of whom they had exterminated. There 
 were conflicting Indian claims to the same territory; 
 and disputes ensued which were the cause of numerous 
 and protracted difficulties. Very soon afterward, in the 
 same year it is believed, viz., 1789, another treaty was 
 held with the Indians at Marietta, which, according to 
 contemporary accounts, " terminated entirely to the satis 
 faction of all concerned. On this occasion an elegant 
 entertainment was provided. The Indian chiefs be 
 haved with the greatest decorum throughout the day. 
 Good wine was served after dinner, and Cornplan- 
 ter took up his glass and said : I thank the Great 
 Spirit for this opportunity of smoking the pipe of 
 friendship and love. May we plant our own vines, 
 be the fathers of our own children, and maintain 
 them. "* 
 
 * Quotation from Carey s Museum, by Drake. 
 
428 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 But the satisfaction which prevailed at the conclusion 
 of the treaty, and on this festive occasion, was not dif 
 fused among the Senecas and others of the Six Nations 
 at home. Far from it ; the course of Cornplanter at Fort 
 Stanwix, Fort Harmar, and Marietta, was severely cen 
 sured by his people, and in the bitterness of their re 
 proaches his life was threatened. 
 
 Red- Jacket, as has been stated in the preceding life 
 of the orator, more eloquent and artful than his elder 
 rival, but less frank and honest, adroitly availed him 
 self of the unpalatableness of those treaties for his own 
 aggrandizement, and the consequence was that Corn- 
 planter found himself beset with difficulties at home on 
 every side. In this emergency he resolved to appeal to 
 " the Great Father of the Fifteen Fires," General Wash 
 ington, for counsel, and perhaps for relief. Repairing to 
 Philadelphia, the then seat of the federal government, 
 accompanied by Half-Town* and Big-Tree ,t chiefs or 
 
 * The Indian name of Half- Toicn was Achiout. After the war of the revo 
 lution was terminated, and peace with the Six Nations concluded at Fort Stan 
 wix, Half-Town became the white man s friend, and during the subsequent wars 
 with the more western Indians, he communicated to the garrisons of the United 
 States eve ry suspicious movement of the tribes of whom doubts were entertained. 
 Hostile bands for a long time hovered about the post of Venango, which, but for 
 the vigilance of Half-Town, and other friendly Indians, would have been cut off. 
 In April, 1791, Cornplanter and Half-Town had more than one hundred warriors 
 in and about that garrison, and kept runners out continually, "being determined 
 to protect it at all events. Their spies made frequent discoveries of war parties. 
 On the 12th of August Half-Town and New Arrow gave information at Fort 
 Franklin, that a sloop full of Indians had been seen on Lake Erie, sailing for 
 Presque Isle, and their object was supposed to be that fort ; but the suspicion 
 proved to be groundless. He was also one of the chiefs at the council of Fort 
 Harman, in 1789, and with Cornplanter signed the unpopular treaty. The legis 
 lature of Pennsylvania rewarded his fidelity by granting a quantity of land. 
 
 t The Indian name of Big- Tree was Kc-on-do-wa-nea, [Drake s orthography 
 is Ki-an-do-ge-wa, but the author s authority is an ancient manuscript received 
 from Thomas Morris, derived from Timothy Pickering.] Big-Tree was with 
 General Washington during the summer of 1778, as may be seen in Campbell s 
 Annals, and my Life of Brant. He returned to the Seneca country in the autumn 
 of that year, pnssing through the country of the Oneidas, who were at all times 
 friendly to the United States, and by whom he was received and entertained with 
 hospitality. Arrived among the Senecas, he used his eloquence to dissuade them 
 from longer fighting under Brant against the United States, hut to no good pur 
 pose. He had promised the Oneidas to return to them, and having staid longer 
 amon the Senecas than was expected, a messenger was despatched to him to 
 
CORNPLANTER. 439 
 
 
 
 sachems of consideration, the following pathetic appeal 
 for a reconsideration of the several treaties beforemen- 
 tioned, and for a modification of some of the stipula 
 tions, was presented to the President. It forms a touch 
 ing chapter of grievances, and its composition was the 
 work of Cornplanter, his associates in the mission ap 
 proving thereof by their signatures. The document is 
 long ; but the talents of the author would not be justly 
 appreciated, nor the history of the Six Nations rendered 
 complete, without it : 
 
 The Speech of Cornplanter, Half- Town, and Big- Tree, Chiefs 
 
 and Councillors of the Seneca nation, to the great Councillor 
 
 of the Thirteen Fires. 
 
 " FATHER : The voice of the Seneca nation speaks to you, 
 the great councillor, in whose heart the wise men of all the 
 Thirteen Fires have placed their wisdom. It may be very 
 small in your ears, and we therefore entreat you to hearken 
 with attention ; for we are about to speak of things which are 
 to us very great. When your army entered the country of 
 the Six Nations, we called you the Town Destroyer ; and to this 
 day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and 
 turn pale, and our children cling to the necks of their mothers. 
 Our councillors and warriors are men, and cannot be afraid ; 
 but their hearts are grieved with the fears of our women 
 and children, and desire it may be buried so deep as to be 
 heard no more. When you gave us peace, we called you 
 father, because you promised to secure us in the possession of 
 our lands. Do this, and so long as the lands shall remain, 
 that beloved name shall live in the heart of every Seneca. 
 
 " FATHER : We mean to open our hearts before you, and 
 
 know the reason. He returned answer that when he arrived among his nation 
 he found them all in arms, and their villages, Kanadaseago and Genishaw, 
 crowded with warriors from remote tribes, who at first seemed inclined to hearken 
 to his wishes ; but soon learning from a spy that the Americans were about to 
 invade their country, all flew to arms, and that he had put himself at their head, 
 " determined to chastise" he said, " the enemy that dared to think to presume 
 to invade his country." After the peace he became an abiding friend to the 
 United States. He lamented the disaster of St. Glair s army, and was heard to 
 say that he would have two scalps for General Butler s, v/ho fell in that bloody 
 battle, and was scalped. The legislature of Pennsylvania made him a grant of 
 land, comprising an island in the Alleghany river. Being on a mission to Phila 
 delphia, in 1792, he died, after a short illness, on Sunday the 22d of April, and 
 was buried with suitable attention. His descendants are yet persons of some 
 consideration among his people. 
 
430 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 
 
 we earnestly desire that you will let us clearly understand 
 what you resolve to do. When our chiefs returned from the 
 treaty at Fort Stanwix, and laid before our council what had 
 been done there, our nation was surprised to hear how great 
 a country you had compelled them to give up to you/ without 
 your paying to us any thing for it. Every one said that your 
 hearts were yet swelled with resentment against us for what 
 had happened during the war, but that one day you would re 
 consider it with more kindness. We asked each other, What 
 have we done to deserve such severe chastisement V 
 
 " FATHER : When you kindled your thirteen fires separate 
 ly, the wise men that assembled at them told us, that you were 
 all brothers, the children of one great father, who regarded, 
 also, the red people as his children. They called us brothers, 
 and invited us to his protection ; they told us that he resided 
 beyond the great water, where the sun first rises ; that he was 
 a king whose power no people could resist, and that his good 
 ness was as bright as that sun. What they said went to our 
 hearts ; we accepted the invitation, and promised to obey him. 
 What the Seneca nation promise, they faithfully perform; and 
 when you refused obedience to that king, he commanded us to 
 assist his beloved men in making you sober. In obeying him 
 we did no more than yourselves had led us to promise. The 
 men that claimed this promise told us you were children, and 
 had no guns ; that when they had shaken you you would sub 
 mit. We hearkened to them, and were deceived, until your 
 army approached our towns. We were deceived ; but your 
 people, in teaching us to confide in that king, had helped to 
 deceive, and we now appeal to your heart, is the blame all 
 ours 1 
 
 "FATHER: When we saw that we were deceived, and 
 heard the invitation which you gave us to draw near to the 
 fire which you had kindled, and talk with you concerning 
 peace, we made haste towards it. You then told us that we 
 were in your hand, and that by closing it you could crush us 
 to nothing, and you demanded from us a great country, as the 
 price of that peace which you had offered us ; as if our want 
 of strength had destroyed our rights. Our chiefs had felt your 
 power, and were unable to contend against you, and they 
 therefore gave up that country. What they agreed to has 
 bound our nation ; but your anger against us, must, by this 
 time, be cooled ; and although our strength has not increased, 
 nor your power become less, we ask you to consider calmly, 
 were the terms dictated to us by your commissioners, reason 
 able and just 1 
 
 " FATHER : Your commissioners, when they drew the line 
 which separated the land then given up to you, from that 
 
CORNPLANTER. 43 ^ 
 
 which you agreed should remain to be ours, did most solemnly 
 promise that we should be secured in the peaceable possession 
 of the lands which we inhabited east and north of that line. 
 Does this promise bind you ? 
 
 " Hear now, we beseech you, what has happened concern 
 ing that land. On the day in which we finished the treaty at 
 Fort Stanwix, commissioners from Pennsylvania told our 
 chiefs that they had come there to purchase all the lands be 
 longing to us within the lines of their state, and they told us 
 that their line would strike the river Susquehannah below 
 Tioga branch. They then left us to consider of the bargain 
 till the next day. On the next day we let them know that we 
 were unwilling to sell all the lands within their state, and pro 
 posed to let them have part of it, which we pointed out to 
 them in their map. They told us that they must have the 
 whole ; that it was already ceded to them by the great king, 
 at the time of making peace with you, and was their own; but 
 they said that they would not take advantage of that, and were 
 willing to pay us for it, after the manner of their ancestors. 
 Our chiefs were unable to contend at that time, and therefore 
 they sold the lands up to the line which was then shown to 
 them as the line of that state. What the commissioners had 
 said about the land having been ceded to them at the peace, 
 our chiefs considered as intended only to lessen the price, and 
 they passed it by with very little notice ; but, since that time, 
 we have heard so much from others about the right to our 
 lands, which the king gave when you made peace with him, 
 that it is our earnest desire that you will tell us what it means. 
 
 "FATHER: Our nation empowered John Livingston to let out 
 part of our lands on rent, to be paid to us. He told us that 
 he was sent by congress, to do this for us, and we fear he has 
 deceived us in the writing he has obtained from us. For 
 since the time of our giving that power, a man of the name of 
 Phelps has come among us, and claimed our whole country 
 northward of the line of Pennsylvania, under purchase from 
 that Livingston, to whom, he said he had paid twenty thousand 
 dollars for it. He said, also, that he had bought likewise from 
 the council of the thirteen fires and paid them twenty thou 
 sand dollars more for the same. 
 
 "And he said, also, that it did not belong to us, for the great 
 king had ceded the whole of it, when you made peace with 
 him. Thus he claimed the whole country north of Pennsyl 
 vania, and west of the lands belonging to the Cayugas. He 
 demanded it ; he insisted on his demand, and declared that he 
 would have it all. It was impossible for us to grant him this, 
 and we immediately refused it. After some days he proposed 
 to run a line, at a small distance eastward of our western 
 
432 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 boundary, which we also refused to agree to. He then threat 
 ened us with immediate war, if we did not comply. 
 
 " Upon this threat, our chiefs held a council, and they agreed 
 that no event of war could be worse than to be driven, with 
 our wives and children, from the only country which we had 
 any right to j and, therefore, weak as our nation was, they de 
 termined to take the chance of war, rather than submit to such 
 unjust demands, which seemed to have no bounds. Street, the 
 great trader to Niagara, was then with us, having come at the 
 request of Phelps, and as he always professed to be our great 
 friend, we consulted him upon this subject. He also told us 
 that our lands had been ceded by the king, and that we must 
 give them up. 
 
 " Astonished at what we heard from every quarter, with 
 hearts aching with compassion for our women and children, 
 we were thus compelled to give up all our country north of 
 the line of Pennsylvania, and east of the Genesee River, up 
 to the fork, and east of a south line drawn from that fork to 
 the Pennsylvania line. 
 
 " For this land, Phelps agreed to pay us ten thousand dol 
 lars in hand and one thousand a year for ever. 
 
 " He paid us two thousand and five hundred dollars in hand, 
 part of the ten thousand, and he sent for us to come last spring 
 and receive our money ; but instead of paying us the remainder 
 of the ten thousand dollars, and the one thousand dollars due for 
 the first year, he offered us no more than five hundred dollars, 
 and insisted that he agreed with us for that sum, to be paid yearly. 
 We debated with him for six days, during all which time he per 
 sisted in refusing to pay us our just demand, and he insisted 
 that we should receive the five hundred dollars ; and Street, 
 from Niagara, also insisted on our receiving the money, as it 
 was offered to us. The last reason he assigned for continuing 
 to refuse paying was, that the king had ceded all the lands to 
 the Thirteen Fires, and that he had bought them from you, and 
 paid you for them. 
 
 " We could bear this confusion no longer ; and determined 
 to press through every difficulty, and lift up our voice that you 
 might hear us, and to claim that security in the possession of 
 our lands which your commissioners so solemnly promised us. 
 And we now entreat you to inquire into our complaints, and 
 redress our wrongs. 
 
 " FATHER : Our writings were lodged in the hands of Street, 
 of Niagara, as we supposed him to be our friend ; but when 
 we saw Phelps consulting with Street on every occasion, we 
 doubted of his honesty towards us, and we have since heard 
 that he was to receive for his endeavors to deceive us, a piece 
 of land ten miles in width west of the Genesee River, and 
 
CORNPLANTER. 
 
 433 
 
 near forty miles in length, extending to Lake Ontario ; and 
 the lines of this tract have been run accordingly, although no 
 part of it is within the bounds which limit his purchase. No 
 doubt he meant to deceive us. 
 
 " FATHER : You have said that we are in your hand, and 
 that by closing it you could crush us to nothing. Are you de 
 termined to crush us 1 If you are, tell us so ; that those of 
 our nation who have become your children, and have deter 
 mined to die so, may know what to do. 
 
 " In this case, one chief has said he would ask you to put 
 him out of pain. Another, who will not think of dying by 
 the hand of his father or his brother, has said he will retire 
 to the Chateaugay, eat -of the fatal root, and sleep with his 
 fathers in peace. 
 
 " Before you determine on a measure so unjust, look up to 
 God, who has made us as well as you. We hope he will not 
 permit you to destroy the whole of our nations. 
 
 " FATHER : Hear our case : many nations inhabited this 
 country ; but they had no wisdom, and therefore, they warred 
 together. The Six Nations were powerful, and compelled 
 them to peace ; the lands for a great extent were given up to 
 them ; but the nations which were not destroyed all continued 
 on those lands, and claimed the protection of the Six Nations, 
 as the brothers of their fathers. They were men, and when 
 at peace had a right to live on the earth. The French came 
 among us and built Niagara ; they became our fathers, and 
 took care of us. Sir William Johnson came and took that 
 fort from the French ; he became our father, and promised to 
 take care of us and did so until you were too strong for his 
 king. To him we gave four miles around Niagara, as a place 
 of trade. We have already said how we came to join against 
 you ; we saw that we were wrong ; we wished for peace ; 
 you demanded a great country to be given up to you ; it was 
 surrendered to you, as the price of peace, and we ought to 
 have peace and possession of the little land which you then 
 left us. 
 
 " FATHER : When that great country was given up, there 
 were but few chiefs present, and they were compelled to give 
 it up, and it is not the Six Nations only that reproach these 
 chiefs with having given up that country. The Chippewas, 
 and all the nations who lived on those lands westward, call to 
 us, and ask us, Brothers of our fathers, where is the place 
 you have reserved for us to lie down upon V 
 
 " FATHER : You have compelled us to do that which has 
 made us ashamed. We have nothing to answer to the chil 
 dren of the brothers of our fathers. When, last spring, they 
 called upon us to go to war, to secure them a bed to lie upon, 
 
 55 
 
434 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 the Senecas entreated them to be quiet, till we had spoken to 
 you. But on our way down, we heard that your army had 
 gone toward the country which those nations inhabit, and if 
 they meet together the best blood on both sides will stain the 
 ground. 
 
 "FATHER: We will not conceal from you that the Great God, 
 and not man, has preserved the Cornplanter from the hands of 
 his own nation. For they ask continually, Where is the 
 land which our children, and their children after them, 
 are to lie down upon V You told us/ say they, that the 
 line drawn from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, would mark it 
 for ever on the east, and the line running from Beaver Creek 
 to Pennsylvania would mark it on the west, and we see that it 
 is not so. For first one and then another comes and takes it 
 away by order of that people which you tell us promised to 
 secure it to us. He is silent ; for he has nothing to answer. 
 When the sun goes down, he opens his heart before God, 
 and earlier than that sun appears upon the hills, he gives 
 thanks for his protection during the night ; for he feels that 
 among men, become desperate by their danger, it is God only 
 that can preserve him. He loves peace, and all that he had 
 in store he has given to those who have been robbed by your 
 people, lest they should plunder the innocent to repay them 
 selves. The whole season, which others have employed in 
 providing for their families, he has spent in his endeavors to 
 preserve peace ; and at this moment, his wife and children are 
 lying on the ground, and in want of food ; his heart is in pain 
 for them, but he perceives that the Great God will try his firm 
 ness, in doing what is right. 
 
 " FATHER : The game which the Great Spirit sent into our 
 country for us to eat, is going from among us. We thought 
 that he intended we should till the ground with the plough, as 
 the white people do, and we talked to one another about it. 
 But before we speak to you concerning this, we must know 
 from you whether you mean to leave us and our children any 
 land to till. Speak plainly to us concerning this great busi 
 ness. 
 
 " All the lands we have been speaking of belonged to the 
 Six Nations ; no part of it ever belonged to the King of Eng 
 land, and he could not give it to you. 
 
 " The land we live on, our fathers received from God, and 
 they transmitted it to us for our children, and we cannot part 
 with it, 
 
 " FATHER : We told you that we would open our hearts to 
 you. Hear us once more. 
 
 " At Fort Stanwix we agreed to deliver up those of our 
 people who should do you any wrong, that you might try them, 
 
CORNPLANTER, 435 
 
 and punish them according to your law. ^We delivered up two 
 men accordingly, but instead of trying them according to your 
 laws, the lowest of your people took them from your magis 
 trate, and put them immediately to death. It is just to punish 
 murder with death ; but the Senecas will not deliver up their 
 people to men who disregard the treaties of their own nation. 
 
 " FATHER : Innocent men of our nation are killed one after 
 another, and our best families ; but none of your people who 
 have committed the murders have been punished. 
 
 " We recollect that you did not promise to punish those 
 who killed our people, and we now ask, was it intended that 
 your people should kill the Senecas, and not only remain un 
 punished by you, but be protected by you against the revenge 
 of the next of kin ] 
 
 " FATHER : These are to us very great things. We know 
 that you are very strong, and we have heard that you are wise, 
 and we wait to hear your answer to what we have said, that 
 we may know that you are just. 
 
 It may be remembered that a brief reference to the 
 preceding speech was made in the Life of Red Jacket ; 
 and it will not have escaped the reader s attention, that 
 other grievances tban those connected with the treaties 
 of Fort Stanwix and St. Clair, are in this document pre 
 sented. In his reply, President Washington was evi 
 dently embarrassed by a struggle between his feelings 
 and the sterner behests of duty. Commiserating the 
 situation of the cbiefs and tbeir people, it may well be 
 conceived that his humane inclinations were in favor 
 of the supplicants. On the other hand, the terms of the 
 treaties, particularly in regard to the difficulties with 
 Oliver Phelps, did not justify the complaints of the In 
 dians. He doubtless said all he could for their encour 
 agement, under the circumstances of the case, evading 
 some of their complaints, and passing entirely over 
 others. He assured them that no fraudulent means of 
 obtaining tbeir lands would be sustained by the govern 
 ment, arid that in one particular act complained of, (the 
 purchase of their lands by Livingston and others,) the 
 whole transaction had been declared null and void. The 
 
436 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 persons who had murdered several of their people, he 
 assured them should be dealt with in the same manner 
 as though they had murdered white men, and that 
 all possible means should be used for their arrest 
 and proper rewards offered to stimulate exertions for 
 that purpose. In regard to the lands conveyed to the 
 United States by treaty, the President could only assure 
 them that he had no authority to interpose in the pre 
 mises. On the whole, his reply to them was such as to 
 soothe their feelings, and to afford them a little encour 
 agement, but not all they hoped for. In the course of 
 this answer, General Washington bore the following tes 
 timony to the character of the head of the deputation : 
 " The merits of Cornplanter, and his friendship for the 
 United States, are well known to me, and shall not be 
 forgotten ; and, as a mark of esteem of the United 
 States, I have directed the Secretary of War to make 
 him a present of two hundred and fifty dollars, either 
 in money or goods, as the Cornplanter shall like best." 
 
 Cornplanter and his associates rejoined to the speech 
 of the President, referring again to some of their real or 
 fancied grievances, and pleading for the restoration of a 
 small portion of their lands which had been ceded by 
 the treaty of Fort Stanwix, comprising the village of 
 Half-Town and his clan. As one reason for making 
 this application, they urged that the treaty at Fort Stan 
 wix was made while the United States were too angry 
 with them, and that the exactions then insisted upon, 
 were unwarrantable and unjust. This rejoinder was 
 made by Cornplanter, and is here inserted at large : 
 
 The Speech of Cornplanter, Half-Town, and Great- Tree, 
 Chiefs of the Seneca Nation, to the President of the United 
 States of America. 
 " FATHER : Your speech, written on the great paper, is to 
 
 us like the first light of the morning to a sick man, whose 
 
CORNPLANTER. 437 
 
 pulse beats too strongly in his temples, and prevents him from 
 sleep. He sees it and rejoices, but is not cured. 
 
 " You say that you have spoken plainly on the great point. 
 That you will protect us in the lands secured to us at Fort 
 Stanwix, and that we have the right to sell or to refuse to sell 
 it. This is very good. But our nation complain that you 
 compelled us at that treaty to give up too much of our lands. 
 We confess that our nation is bound by what was there done ; 
 and, acknowledging your power, we have now appealed to 
 yourselves against that treaty, as made while you were too 
 angry at us, and therefore unreasonable and unjust. To this 
 you have given us no answer. 
 
 " FATHER : That treaty was not made with a single state, 
 it was with the Thirteen States. We never would have given 
 all that land to one state. We know it was before you had 
 the great authority, arid as you have more wisdom than the 
 commissioners who forced us into that treaty, we expect that 
 you have also more regard to justice, and will now at our re 
 quest, reconsider that treaty, and restore to us a part of that 
 land. 
 
 " FATHER : The land which lies between the line running 
 south from Lake Erie to the boundary of Pennsylvania, as 
 mentioned at the treaty at Fort Stanwix, and the eastern 
 boundary of the land which you sold, and the Senecas con 
 firmed to Pennsylvania, is the land in which Half-Town and 
 all his people live, with other chiefs who always have been and 
 still are dissatisfied with the treaty at Fort Stanwix. They 
 grew out of this land, and their fathers grew out of it, and 
 they cannot be persuaded to part with it. We, therefore, en 
 treat you to restore to us this little piece. 
 
 " FATHER : Look at the land which we gave to you at that 
 treaty, and then turn your eyes upon what we now ask you to 
 restore to us, and you will see that what we ask you to return 
 is a very little piece. By giving it back again you will satisfy 
 the whole of our nation. The chiefs who signed that treaty 
 will be in safety, and peace between your children and our 
 children will continue so long as your land shall join to ours. 
 Every man of our nation will then turn his eyes away from all 
 the other lands which we then gave up to you, and forget that 
 our fathers ever said that they belonged to them. 
 
 " FATHER : We see that you ought to have the path at the 
 carrying-place from Lake Erie to Niagara, as it was marked 
 down at Fort Stanwix, and we are all willing that it should 
 remain to be yours. And if you desire to reserve a passage 
 through the Conewago, and through the Chataugue Lake and 
 land, for a path from that lake to Lake Erie, take it where 
 you best like. Our nation will rejoice to see it an open path 
 
438 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 for you and your children while the land and water remain. 
 But let us also pass along the same way, and continue to take 
 the fish of those waters in common with you. 
 
 " FATHER : You say that you will appoint an agent to take 
 care of us. Let him come and take care of our trade ; but 
 we desire he may not have any thing to do with our lands ; 
 for the agents which have come among us and pretended to 
 take care of us, have always deceived us whenever we sold 
 lands ; both when the King of England and the States have 
 bargained with us. They have by this means occasioned 
 many wars, and we are therefore unwilling to trust them again. 
 
 " FATHER : When we return home, we will call a great 
 council, and consider well how lands may be hereafter sold by 
 our nation. And when we have agreed upon it, we will send 
 you notice of it. But we desire that you will not depend on 
 your agent for information concerning land ; for after the 
 abuses which we have suffered by such men, we will not trust 
 them with any thing which relates to land. 
 
 " FATHER : There are men that go from town to town and 
 beget children, and leave them to perish, or except better men 
 take care of them, to grow up without instruction. Our nation 
 has looked round for a father, but they found none that would 
 own them for children, until you now tell us that your courts 
 are open to us, as to year own people. The joy which we 
 feel at this great news, so mixes with the sorrows that are 
 past, that we cannot express our gladness, nor conceal the 
 remembrance of our afflictions. We will speak of them at 
 another time. 
 
 " FATHER : We are ashamed that we have listened to the 
 lies of Livingston, or been influenced by threats of war by 
 Phelps, and would hide that whole transaction from the world 
 and from ourselves, by quietly receiving what Phelps pro 
 mised to give us for the lands they cheated us of. But as 
 Phelps will not pay us even according to that fraudulent bar 
 gain, we will lay the whole proceedings before your court. 
 When the evidence which we can produce is heard, we think 
 it will appear that the whole bargain was founded on lies, 
 which he placed one upon another; that the goods that he 
 charges to us as part payment were plundered from us ; that 
 if Phelps was not directly concerned in the theft, he knew of 
 it at the time and concealed it from us ; and that the persons 
 we confided in were bribed by him to deceive us in the bar 
 gain ; and if these facts appear, that your court will not say 
 that such bargains are just, but will set the whole aside. 
 
 " FATHER : We apprehended that our evidence might be 
 called for, as Phelps was here, and knew what we have said 
 concerning him ; and as Ebenezer Allen knew something of 
 
CORNPLANTER. 439 
 
 the matter, we desired him to continue here. Nicholson, the 
 interpreter, is very sick, arid we request that Allen may re 
 main a few days longer, as he speaks our language. 
 
 " FATHER : The blood which was spilled near Pine Creek 
 is covered, and we shall never look where it lies. We know 
 that Pennsylvania will satisfy us for that which we spoke of to 
 them before we spoke to you. The chain of friendship will 
 now, we hope, be made strong as you desire it to be. We 
 will hold it fast, and our end of it shall never rust in our 
 hands. 
 
 " FATHER : We told you what advice we gave the people 
 you are now at war with, and we now tell you that they have 
 promised to come again to our towns next spring. We shall 
 not wait for their coming, but will set out very early, and show 
 to them what you have done for us, which must convince them 
 that you will do for them every thing which they ought to ask. 
 We think they will hear and follow our advice. 
 
 " FATHER : You give us leave to speak our minds concern 
 ing the tilling of the ground. We ask you to teach us to 
 plough and to grind corn ; to assist us in building saw-mills, 
 and to supply us with broad-axes, saws, augers, and other 
 tools, so as that we make our houses more comfortable and 
 more durable ; that you will send smiths among us, and, above 
 all, that you will teach our children to read and write, and our 
 women to spin and to weave. The manner of your doing these 
 things for us we leave to you, who understand them ; but we 
 assure you we will follow your advice as far as we are able." 
 
 The President replied to this appeal in a spirit of 
 kindness, reminding the chiefs that the treaty of Fort 
 Stanwix had been fully confirmed at Fort Harman in 
 1789, again stating to them that it was not within his 
 power to annul the provisions of a treaty, more espe 
 cially of one that had been concluded before his admi 
 nistration commenced, but assuring them tbat Half- 
 Town and his people should not be disturbed in tbe 
 peaceful occupancy of the territory which they desired 
 to reclaim. The President also suggested that he had 
 in contemplation the adoption of some measures for 
 teaching the Indians the use of letters, of domestic ani 
 mals, and tbe arts of husbandry. The stay of the chiefs 
 in Philadelphia was protracted until the 7th of February, 
 
440 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 when they took leave by the following letter to the 
 President : 
 
 The Speech of Cornplantcr, Half- Town, and Big- Tree, Seneca 
 Chiefs, to the great Councillor of the Thirteen Fires. 
 
 " FATHER : No Seneca ever goes from the fire of his friend, 
 until he has said to him, I am going. We therefore tell you, 
 that we are now setting out for our own country. 
 
 " FATHER : We thank you, from our hearts, that we now 
 know there is a country we may call our own, and on which 
 we may lie down in peace. We see that there will be peace 
 between your children and our children ; and our hearts are 
 very glad. We will persuade the Wyandots and other wes 
 tern nations, to open their eyes, and look towards the bed which 
 you have made for us, and to ask of you abed for themselves, 
 and their children, that will not slide from under them. 
 
 " We thank you for your presents to us, and rely on your 
 promise to instruct us in raising corn, as the white people do; 
 the sooner you do this the better for us. And we thank you 
 for the care you have taken to prevent bad men from coming 
 to trade among us ; if any come without your license we will 
 turn them back ; and we hope our nation will determine to 
 spill all the rum which shall hereafter be brought to our towns. 
 
 " FATHER : We are glad to hear that you determine to ap 
 point an agent that will do us justice, in taking care that bad 
 men do not come to trade among us ; but we earnestly entreat 
 you that you will let us have an interpreter, in whom we can 
 confide, to reside at Pittsburgh ; to that place our people, and 
 other nations, will long continue to resort ; there we must send 
 what news we hear, when we go among the western nations, 
 which we are determined shall be early in the Spring. We 
 know Joseph Nicholson, and he speaks our language so that 
 we clearly understand what you say to us, and we rely on what 
 he says. If we were able to pay him for his services we would 
 do it ; but, when we meant to pay him, by giving him land, it 
 has not been confirmed to him ; and he will not serve us any 
 longer unless you will pay him. Let him stand between, to 
 entreat you. 
 
 FATHER : You have not asked any security for peace on our 
 part, but we have agreed to send nine Seneca boys to be under 
 your care for education. Tell us at what time you will receive 
 them, and they shall be sent at the time you shall appoint. This 
 will assure you that we are, indeed, at peace with you, and de 
 termined to continue so. If you can teach them to become 
 wise and good men, we will take care that our nation shall be 
 willing to receive instruction from them. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 441 
 
 This letter was answered in behalf of the President 
 by General Knox, Secretary at War. He cautiously in 
 formed them that instead of taking a portion of their 
 youth away from their country, to be educated abroad, 
 it was proposed by the President to send a schoolmaster 
 to reside among them. Two or three farmers were 
 also to be planted in their country, to teach them the 
 arts of husbandry. With these and other favorable 
 assurances, Cornplanter and his associates departed for 
 their homes. Arriving at Pittsburgh, they ascertained 
 that some fresh outrages and additional murders had 
 been committed by the whites against and upon their 
 people, whereupon Cornplanter immediately addressed 
 the following letter of just complaint to the President: 
 
 Message from the Cornplanter, New- Arrow, Half-Town, and 
 Big- Tree, Chiefs of the Seneca nation of Indians, to the Pre 
 sident of the United States. 
 
 PITTSBURGH, Marcli 17, 1791. 
 
 " SIR : When we rose from the Great Council of the 
 Thirteen Fires, we mentioned that we meant to have a coun 
 cil with the chiefs of the had, angry Indians. Through the 
 whole Quaker State, as we came up the road, we were treated 
 well, and they took good care of us until we came here. One 
 misfortune happened only, that one of our wagons is not yet 
 arrived here ; the one we first engaged, with the goods you 
 presented to us. 
 
 " FATHER : Your promise to us was, that you would keep 
 all your people quiet ; but since we came here, we find that 
 some of our people have been killed, the good honest people 
 who were here trading. 
 
 " FATHER : We hope you will not suffer all the good people 
 to be killed ; but your people are killing them as fast as they 
 can. Three men and one woman have been killed at Big 
 Beaver Creek, and they were good people, and some of 
 the white people will testify the truth of this. When we 
 heard the news we found one boy had made his escape, and 
 got to the trader s house, who saved his life ; we now wait to 
 see him. 
 
 " FATHER : We have been informed that twenty-seven men 
 came from another state, and murdered these men in the 
 Quaker State, and took away nine horses, and all the goods 
 
 56 
 
442 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 they had purchased from the trader. Our father, and ruler 
 over all mankind, now speak and tell us, did you order those 
 men to be killed] 
 
 " FATHER : Our word is pledged to you that we would en 
 deavor to make peace with all warrior nations. If we cannot 
 do it, do not blame us ; you struck the innocent men first. 
 We hope you will not blame us, as your people have first broke 
 good rules ; but, as for our people, they are as firm and friendly 
 as ever. 
 
 " FATHER : "We must now acquaint you with the men s names 
 who did this murder at Beaver Creek ; Samuel Brady, formerly 
 a captain in your army, and under your command j also a Bal 
 den, were persons concerned in this murder. 
 
 " FATHER : We can inform you little more ; therefore will 
 conclude with asking you how we should have come to the 
 knowledge of this, or how we could have informed you, had it 
 not been for our good friend Joseph Nicholson 1 Therefore 
 we beg you may grant him an appointment as interpreter ; for 
 we cannot see how we can do without him. We know of no 
 other man who speaks your language and ours so well as he. 
 
 " CORNPLANTER, X his mark. 
 
 " NEW- ARROW, X his mark. 
 
 " HALF-TOWN, X his mark. 
 
 " BIG-TREE, X his mark. 
 
 " P. S. The boy who made his escape at Beaver Creek has 
 arrived at this place, and I have taken him under my protec 
 tion. Father, your despatches from Detroit have been una 
 voidably detained, heretofore ; but to-morrow Big-Tree and 
 one other shall set off with them, and will also take the boy 
 mentioned here, and deliver him to his relations. We part, 
 to-day, at this place ; Big-Tree is going among the Cross In 
 dians to see if they will make peace, and I go to my own 
 people to call them to council. 
 
 " CORNPLANTER." 
 
 The Secretary at War replied to this message on the 
 28th of March, disclaiming and denouncing the outrages 
 committed by Brady, and assuring the Indians that Ge 
 neral St. Clair, then commanding in Ohio, should make 
 full inquiry into the circumstances of the case, reimburse 
 the Indians for the property destroyed, and discover and 
 arrest the offenders if possible. 
 
 It will have been observed from the last two commu 
 nications of Cornplanter and his associates, that Big- 
 
CORNPLANTER. 443 
 
 Tree and Half-Town were about to proceed into the 
 country of the Indians then at war with the United 
 States, upon an embassy of peace. An arrangement to 
 this effect, which was to include Cornplanter also, had 
 been made during the visit of the chiefs at Philadelphia. 
 Still it had been judged advisable for Cornplanter him 
 self to proceed home in the first instance, for the pur 
 pose of convening a general council of the Six Nations, to 
 meet Colonel Proctor, in whose company, and for whose 
 protection, it was proposed that he should make his jour 
 ney among the hostile tribes. The proceedings under 
 this part of the arrangement have been detailed in the 
 life of Red-Jacket. The mission of Colonel Proctor 
 was a failure, -he being unable to proceed among the 
 hostile Indians. Yet at a subsequent period Cornplanter 
 performed the mission, at great personal hazard, but 
 without any favorable results. There were many at that 
 time, as in all Indian wars, who entertained doubts of 
 the fidelity of such Indians as professed friendship for 
 the whites, and Cornplanter did not escape suspicion. 
 But his subsequent conduct showed that those suspicions 
 were unjust. Among other evidences of his integrity, 
 a letter from Fort Franklin bore the following testimony 
 to his fidelity : " I have only to observe that Cornplan 
 ter has been here, and in my opinion he is as friendly as 
 one of our own people. He has advised me to take 
 care ; * for, said he, you will soon have a chance to 
 let the world know whether you are a soldier or not. 
 When he went off, he ordered two chiefs and ten war 
 riors to remain here and scout about the garrison, and 
 .let me know if the bad Indians should either advance 
 against me, or any of the frontiers of the United States. 
 He thinks the people at Pittsburgh should keep out 
 spies toward the salt licks, for he says, by arid by, he 
 thinks the bad Indians will come from that way. An- 
 
444 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 other evidence of his good faith may be found in the 
 following advertisement, signed by him and published 
 in the same year, 1792 : " My people having been 
 charged with committing depredations on the frontier 
 inhabitants near Pittsburgh, I hereby contradict the as 
 sertion, as it is certainly without foundation. I pledge 
 myself to those inhabitants, that they may rest perfectly 
 secure from any danger from the Senecas residing en the 
 Alleghany waters, and that my people have been, and 
 still are, friendly .to the United States."* Another in 
 stance, and a painful orle, goes to establish the same 
 truth. At or near the time of his departure on his mes 
 sage of peace to the west, " as three of his people were 
 travelling through a settlement upon the Genesee, they 
 stopped at a house to light their pipes. There happened 
 to be several white men within, one of whom, as the 
 foremost Indian stooped down to light his pipe, killed 
 him with an- axe. Another of the party was badly 
 wounded with the same weapon, while escaping from the 
 house. They were not pursued, and a boy of the num 
 ber escaped unhurt."t When Cornplanter became ac 
 quainted with the foul transaction, instead of seizing his 
 tomahawk, and rushing at the head of his clan upon the 
 nearest American settlement for revenge, he charged 
 his warriors to remain quiet, and was heard only to 
 say : " It is hard, when I and my people are trying to 
 make peace for the whites, that we should be thus re 
 warded. I can govern my young men and warriors 
 better than the Thirteen Fires can their s!" This re 
 buke would have done honor to a Christian philosopher. 
 During all the troubles of those days between the Uni 
 ted States and the Indians, until after the decisive vic 
 tory of Wayne, and the treaty of Greenville, Cornplan- 
 
 * Drake. 
 
 t Idem. This poor wounded Indian, when almost recovered from the injury, 
 was bitten by a serpent, which caused his immediate death. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 445 
 
 ter was ever neutral, and always the friend of peace. 
 His exertions to this end are referred to in the life of 
 Brant, and more fully set forth in the preceding life of 
 Red-Jacket, He was present at the several treaties 
 held with his people by Colonel Pickering, ending with 
 that of Canandaigua, in 1794. Nothing farther is heard 
 of the veteran chief until the treaty with Thomas Mor 
 ris, held at Big Tree, in 1797, when he again appeared 
 upon the stage of action, as stated in the former part of 
 the present volume. 
 
 He had ever entertained a profound regard for the 
 character of Washington, and on the eve of the retire 
 ment of that great man from the public service, as Pre 
 sident of the United States, Cornplanter made a special 
 visit to the seat of the federal government, to take an 
 official leave of the great benefactor both of the white 
 man and the red. The following manly speech from 
 the forest chief was delivered on the occasion at the in 
 terview : 
 
 Speech of The Cornplanter to General Washington, Philadel 
 phia, 2Stk February, 1797. 
 
 11 FATHER : I thank the Great Spirit for protecting us through 
 the various paths which we have trod since I was last at this 
 place. As I am told you are about to retire from public business, 
 I have come to pay my last address to you as the great Chief 
 of the Fifteen Fires, and am happy to find that I have arrived 
 here in time to address you once more as father, and to advise 
 with you on the business of our nation. You have always 
 told us that the land which we live upon is our own, and that 
 we may make such use of it as we think most conducive to 
 our own comfort and the happiness of posterity. 
 
 " FATHER : I wish whilst I am able to do business to pro 
 vide for the rising generation. Our forefathers thought that 
 their posterity would pursue their tracks, and support them 
 selves by their hunts, as they did in the extensive forests given 
 them by the Great Spirit, and by them transmitted to us. But 
 the great revolution among the white people in this country 
 ha extended its influence to the people of my color, turn 
 our faces which way we will, we find the white people culd- 
 
446 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 vating the ground which our forefathers hunted over, and the 
 forests which furnished them with plenty now afford but a 
 scanty subsistence for us, and our young men are not safe in 
 pursuing it. If a few years have made such a change, what 
 will be the situation of our children when those calamities in 
 crease r { 
 
 " FATHER : To those points I wish to draw your attention, 
 and once more to have your candid and friendly advice on 
 what will be best for the present race, and how we can best 
 provide for posterity. Your people have a different mode of 
 living from ours ; they have trades and they have education, 
 which enables them to take different pursuits; by which means 
 they maintain themselves, provide for their children, and help 
 each other. 
 
 " FATHER : I am also told that your people have a strong 
 place for their money, where it is not only safe, but that it pro 
 duces them each and every year an increase without lessening 
 the stock. If we should dispose of part of our country and 
 put our money with your s in that strong place, will it be safe ? 
 Will it yield to our children the same advantages after our 
 heads are laid down as it will at present produce to us ] Will 
 it be out of the reach of our foolish young men, so that they 
 cannot drink it up, to the prejudice of our children ? 
 
 " FATHER : ; You know that some of our people are too fond 
 of strong drink, and I am sorry to observe that your people 
 are too apt to lay that temptation before them. 
 
 " FATHER : The last time I was here 1 mentioned to you 
 that my mind was uneasy in regard to Mr. Oliver Phelps s 
 purchase, to which you desired me to make my mind easy, 
 and said that yOu would inquire into the business. On my re 
 turn I met Mr. Phelps at Canandaigua, where he promised to 
 give me a piece of land arid to build me a house, and give me 
 some cattle. With this I was satisfied, till I saw him again 
 some time after, when he, to my surprise, had almost forgotten 
 it, but when I put him in mind of it he gave me a horse and 
 two cattle, but refused the house and land because land had 
 raised so much in value. 
 
 " FATHER : To one thing more I wish your attention : 
 When I was returning home the last time I was here, I was 
 plundered by some of your unruly people, of several things, 
 amongst which was a paper given me by General Parsons, en 
 titling me to one mile square of land at Muskingum, which I 
 have never been able to recover, and without your friendly 
 assistance must lose the land. 
 
 " FATHER : I congratulate you on your intended repose 
 from the fatigues and anxiety of mind which are constant at 
 tendants on high public stations, and hope that the same 
 
CORNPLANTER. 447 
 
 good Spirit which has so long guided your steps as a father to 
 a great nation will still continue to protect you, and make your 
 private reflections as pleasant to yourself, as your public mea 
 sures have been useful to your people." 
 
 The manuscript of the preceding speech has been 
 preserved among the papers of Thomas Morris. The 
 circumstances of this visit being unofficial, or rather not 
 being connected with the public service, it is not mentioned 
 in the Indian state papers, and the reply of Washington 
 seems not to have been preserved. No doubt it was 
 characteristic of that illustrious man, considerate as 
 well as kind. 
 
 The relations between the United States and the In 
 dians having now been settled upon a permanently 
 pacific basis, the life of Cornplanter was no longer con 
 nected with the general history of the country. His 
 labors were consequently thenceforward devoted to his 
 own people. Like his great Mohawk contemporary, 
 Thayendanegea, he was anxious for the civilization and 
 moral and social improvement of his race, and his efforts 
 were directed to that object. He saw all around him 
 the evils of intemperance, and exerted himself with zeal, 
 in conjunction with his brother, Gos-kuk-ke-wa-na-kow- 
 ne-di-yu, the prophet, to effect a reformation upon this 
 subject. In the course of his exertions in this cause he 
 made a visit to President Jefferson, in the early part of 
 his administration, for counsel and encouragement. 
 Shortly afterward he received a beautiful and character 
 istic letter from Mr. Jefferson, which, not having been 
 elsewhere published, is here inserted :* 
 
 " Washington, Novembers, 1602. 
 
 " BROTHER HANDSOME LAKE : I have received the message 
 in writing which you sent through Capt. Irvine, our confiden- 
 
 * The author has been favored with the original of this letter, by Mr. Pierce, 
 a young Seneca chief of the Alleghany clan, to whom reference has before been 
 made. 
 
448 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 tial agent, placed near you for the purpose of eommunicating 
 and transacting between us whatever may be useful for both 
 nations. I am happy to learn you have been so far favored by 
 the Divine Spirit, as to be made sensible of those things which 
 are for your good and that of your people, and of those which 
 are hurtful to you ; and particularly that you and they see the 
 ruinous effects which the abuse of spirituous liquors have pro 
 duced upon them. It has weakened their bodies, enervated 
 their minds, exposed them to hunger, cold, nakedness, and 
 poverty; kept them in perpetual broils, and reduced their 
 population. I do not wonder, then, brother, at your censures, 
 not only on your own people, who have voluntarily gone into 
 these fatal habits, but on all the nations of white people who 
 have supplied their calls for this article. But these nations 
 have done to you only what they do among themselves. They 
 have sold what individuals wish to buy, leaving to every one to 
 be the guardian of his own health and happiness. Spirituous 
 liquors are not in themselves bad. They are often found to be 
 an excellent medicine for the sick. It is the improper and in 
 temperate use of them, by those in health, which makes them 
 injurious ; but as you find that your people cannot refrain from 
 an ill use of them, I greatly applaud your resolution not to use 
 them at all. We have too affectionate a concern for your hap 
 piness to place the paltry gain on the sale of these articles in 
 competition with the injury they do you ; and as it is the desire 
 of your nation that no spirits should be sent among them, and 
 I am authorized by the great council of the United States to 
 prohibit them, I will sincerely co-operate with your wise men 
 in any proper measures for this purpose which shall be agreea 
 ble to them. 
 
 " You remind me, brother, of what I have said to you when 
 you visited me the last winter, that the land you then held 
 would remain yours, and should never go from you but when 
 you should be disposed to sell. This I now repeat, and will 
 ever abide by. We, indeed, are always ready to buy land ; 
 but we will never ask but when you wish to sell ; and our laws, 
 in order to protect you against imposition, have forbidden indi 
 viduals to purchase lands from you ; and have rendered it ne 
 cessary, when you desire to sell, even to a state, that an agent 
 from the United States should attend the sale, see that your 
 consent is freely given, a satisfactory price paid, and report to 
 us what has been done, for our approbation. This was done 
 in the late case of which you complain. The deputies of your 
 nation came forward in all the forms which we have been used 
 to consider as evidence of the will of your nation. They pro 
 posed to sell the state of New- York certain parcels of land, 
 of small extent, and detached from the body of your other 
 lands. The state of New- York was desirous to buy. I sent 
 
CORNPLANTER. 449 
 
 an agent in whom we trust, to see that your consent was free, 
 and the sale fair. All was reported to be free and fair. The 
 lands were your property. The right to sell is one of the 
 rights of property. To forbid you the exercise of that right 
 would be a wrong to your nation. Nor do I think, brother, 
 that the sale of lands is, under all circumstances, injurious to 
 your people ; while they depended on hunting, the more exten 
 sive the forests around them, the more game they would yield. 
 But, going into a state of agriculture, it may be as advantageous 
 to a society as it is to an individual who has more land than he 
 can improve, to sell a part and lay out the money in stocks and 
 implements of agriculture, for the better improvement of the 
 residue. A little land, well stocked and improved, will yield 
 a great deal more without stock or improvement. I hope, 
 therefore, that, on further reflection, you will see this transaction 
 in a more favorable light, both as it concerns the interest of 
 your nation, and the exercise of that superintending care 
 which I am sincerely anxious to employ for their subsistence 
 and happiness. Go on, then, brother, in the great reformation 
 you have undertaken. Persuade our red men to be sober and 
 to cultivate their lands ; and their women to spin and weave 
 for their families. You will soon see your women and chil 
 dren well fed and clothed : your men living happily in peace 
 and plenty, and your numbers increasing from year to year. 
 It will be a great glory to you to have been the instrument of 
 so happy a change, and your children s children, from genera 
 tion to generation, will repeat your name with love and grati 
 tude for ever. In all your enterprises for the good of your 
 people you may count with confidence on the aid and protec 
 tion of the United States, and on the sincerity and zeal with 
 which I am animated in the furthering of this humane work. 
 You are our brethren of the same land ; we wish your pros 
 perity as brethren should do. Farewell ! 
 
 (Signed,) " TH. JEFFERSON." 
 
 It was in the course of these labors for the moral ele 
 vation of his people, that Cornplanter became involved 
 in the contest for the ascendancy with Red-Jacket, as 
 related at large in the life of the orator. There had 
 never been any good will between them since the treaty 
 of Fort Stanwix ; and the effort now made by Corn- 
 planter to regain the influence he had lost through the 
 intrigues and subtlety of his rival, by means of the pre 
 tended visions and revelations of his brother, the prophet, 
 
 57 
 
450 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 having signally failed, as heretofore stated, the old war- 
 chief remained, during the residue of his extended life, 
 in retirement and comparative obscurity. The residence 
 of his clan was upon the banks of the Alleghany, and 
 its tributaries, the Oil and Connewango creeks, partly 
 within the bounds of New-York, and partly in Pennsyl 
 vania. The legislature of the latter state having made 
 him a special grant of land on the Alleghany, about seven 
 miles below its junction with the Connewango, Cornplan- 
 ter removed thither and continued there to reside, culti 
 vating a large farm, until the day of his death. 
 
 In the year 1816, the late Rev. Timothy Alden, then 
 President of Alleghany College, made a visit to the old 
 chief, whom he says he found on the banks of the Alle 
 ghany on a piece of first-rate bottom land, a little within 
 the limits of Pennsylvania. He was the owner of thir 
 teen hundred acres of land, upon six hundred of which 
 stood his village, exhibiting the signs of industrious in 
 habitants. " It was grateful," remarked Dr. Alden in 
 his journal, " to notice the present agricultural habits of 
 the place, from the numerous enclosures of buckwheat, 
 corn and oats. We also saw a number of oxen, cows, 
 and horses ; and many logs, designed for the saw-mill, 
 and the Pittsburgh market." The chief was a pro 
 fessing Christian, and hailed with joy the visits of his 
 fellow Christians. He was delighted with the arrival of 
 Dr. Alden, and lost not a moment in welcoming hhn to 
 his village, and insisted on waiting upon him in person. 
 He had many of his people under his command, but he 
 preferred serving his visitor, and even cutting and bring 
 ing from the field the forage for his horse, himself. The 
 Western Missionary Society at that time were sustaining 
 a school in Cornplanter s village, which Dr. Alden de 
 scribed as being in a condition promising good success. 
 One of his sons, Henry O Bail, had been educated in 
 
CORNPLANTER. 
 
 Philadelphia ; but on returning to his people he became 
 a drunkard and was discarded by his father. He after 
 ward attached himself to the Pagan party under Red- 
 Jacket. Cornplanter had other sons, but he resolved 
 that no more of them should be educated among the 
 whites, since, as he said, "it entirely spoils Indian !"* 
 Notwithstanding his profession of Christianity, Corn- 
 planter was very superstitious. "Not long since he said 
 the Good Spirit had told him not to have any thing to do 
 with the whites, or even to preserve any mementos or 
 relics that had from time to time been given to him by 
 the pale-faces ; whereupon, among other things, he 
 burnt up his belt and broke his elegant sword." 
 
 From the time of Dr. Alden s visit until the month of 
 February, 1822, the name of this extraordinary man is 
 found in connexion with no public event. It appears 
 that in 1821- 22, the State of Pennsylvania attempted to 
 exact a tax from Cornplanter and his people. The blood 
 of the chief, though chilled by the cold of almost a hun 
 dred winters, became warm again. Such a demand 
 never having been made of him before, he conceived it 
 to be not only unlawful, but a personal indignity. He 
 therefore resisted payment, and only submitted when 
 the civil officers appeared and were about to enforce 
 their demand with fire-arms. The tax was then paid, 
 whereupon Cornplanter applied to the governor of the 
 state for a redress of the grievance, in the following letter 
 not actually written, but entirely dictated by himself. 
 It is worth preserving, not only as it relates to the sub 
 ject in dispute, but as a curious piece of Indian auto-^ 
 biography : 
 
 " AllegJiany River, 2d Mo. 2d, 1822. 
 
 " I feel it my duty to send a speech to the Governor of 
 Pennsylvania at this time, and inform him the place where I 
 was from, which was Conewaugus, on the Genesee River. 
 
 * Judge E. T. Foote, of Chautauque, as cited by Drake. 
 
452 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 " When I was a child, I played with the butterfly, the grass 
 hopper and the frogs. As I grew up, I began to pay some 
 attention, and play with the Indian boys in the neighborhood, 
 and they took notice of my skin being a different color from 
 theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired of my mother the cause, 
 and she told me that my father was a residenter in Albany. I 
 ate still my victuals out of a bark dish I grew up to be a 
 young man, and married me a wife, but I had no kettle or gun. 
 I then knew where my father lived, and went to see him, and 
 found he was a white man, and spoke the English language. 
 He gave me victuals while I was at his house, but when I started 
 to return home, he gave me no provision to eat on the way. He 
 gave me neither kettle nor gun, neither did he tell me that the 
 United States were about to rebel against the government of 
 England. * 
 
 " I will now tell you, brothers, who are in session of the 
 legislature of Pennsylvania, that the Great Spirit has made 
 known to me that 1 have been wicked ; and the cause thereof 
 was the revolutionary war in America. The cause of Indians 
 having been led into sin, at that time, was that many of them 
 were in the practice of drinking and getting intoxicated. Great 
 Britain requested us to join with them in the conflict against 
 the Americans, and promised the Indians land and liquor. I, 
 myself, was opposed to joining in the conflict, as I had nothing 
 to do with the difficulty that existed between the two parties. 
 I have now informed you how it happened that the Indians 
 took a part in the revolution, and will relate to you some cir 
 cumstances that occurred after the close of the war. General 
 Putnam, who was then at Philadelphia, told me there was to 
 be a council at Fort Stanwix, and the Indians requested me to 
 attend on behalf of the Six Nations, which I did, and there 
 met with three commissioners, who had been appointed to hold 
 the council. They told me they would inform me of the cause 
 of the revolution, which I requested them to do minutely. 
 They then said that it had originated on account of the heavy 
 taxes that had been imposed upon them by the British govern 
 ment, which had been for fifty years increasing upon them ; 
 that the Americans had grown weary thereof, and refused to 
 pay, which affronted the king. There had likewise a difficulty 
 taken place about some tea, which they wished me not to use, as 
 it had been one of the causes that many people had lost their 
 lives. And the British government now being affronted, the 
 war commenced, and the cannons began to roar in our country. 
 General Putnam then told me at the council at Fort Stanwix, 
 that by the late war the Americans had gained two objects ; 
 
 * This paragraph has been already quoted, as chronologically belonging to the 
 opening of the present sketch. 
 
CORNPLANTER. 453 
 
 they had established themselves an independent nation, and 
 had obtained some land from Great Britain to live upon, the 
 division line of which ran through the lakes. I then spoke, 
 and said that I wanted some land for the Indians to live on, 
 and General Putnam said that it should be granted, and that I 
 should have land in the state of New- York for the Indians. 
 General Putnam then encouraged me to use my endeavors to 
 pacify the Indians generally ; and as he considered it an ar 
 duous task to perform, wished to know what I wanted as pay 
 therefor ? I replied to him, that I would use my endeavors to 
 do as he had requested with the Indians, and for pay thereof, I 
 would take the land. I told him not to pay me money or dry 
 goods, but land. And for having attended thereto, I received 
 the tract of land on which I now live, which was presented to 
 me by Governor Mifflin. I told General Putnam that I wished 
 the Indians to have the exclusive privilege of the deer and wild 
 game, which he assented to. 
 
 " The treaty that was made at the aforementioned council 
 has been broken by some of the white people, which I now 
 intend acquainting the governor with. Some white people are 
 not willing that Indians should hunt any more, whilst others 
 are satisfied therewith ; and those white people who reside 
 near our reservation, tell us that the woods are theirs, and 
 they have obtained them from the governor. The treaty has 
 been also broken by the white people using their endeavors 
 to destroy all the wolves, which was not spoken about in the 
 council at Fort Stanwix, by General Putnam, but has originated 
 lately. 
 
 " It has been broken again, which is of recent origin. White 
 people wish to get credit from Indians, and do not pay them 
 honestly, according to their agreement. 
 
 " In another respect it has also been broken by white peo 
 ple, who reside near my dwelling ; for when I plant melons 
 and vines in my field, they take them as their own. It has 
 been broken again by white people using their endeavors to 
 obtain our pine trees from us. We have very few pine trees 
 on our land, in the state of New- York ; and white people and 
 Indians often get into dispute respecting them. There is also 
 a great quantity of whiskey brought near our reservation by 
 white people, and the Indians obtain it and become drunken. 
 
 " Another circumstance has taken place which is very trying 
 to me, and I wish the interference of the governor. The white 
 people who live at Warren, called upon me sometime ago, to 
 pay taxes for my land, which I objected to, as I had never been 
 called upon for that purpose before ; and having refused to 
 pay the white people became irritated, called upon me fre 
 quently, and at length brought four guns with them and seized 
 our cattle. I still refused to pay, and was not willing to let 
 
454 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 the cattle go. After a long dispute they returned home, and I 
 understood the militia was ordered out to enforce the collection 
 of the tax. I went to Warren, and, to avert the impending 
 difficulty, was obliged to give my note for the tax, the amount 
 of which was forty-three dollars and seventy-nine cents. It is 
 my desire that the governor will exempt me from paying taxes 
 for my land to white people ; and also cause that the money 
 I am now obliged to pay, may be refunded to me, as I am 
 very poor. The governor is the person who attends to the 
 situation of the people, and I wish him to send a person to 
 Alleghany, that I may inform him of the particulars of our 
 situation, and he be authorized to instruct the white people in 
 what manner to conduct themselves toward the Indians. 
 
 " The governor has told us that when any difficulties arose 
 between the Indians and white people, he would attend to 
 having them removed. We are now in a trying situation, and 
 I wish the governor to send a person, authorized to attend 
 thereto, the forepart of the next summer, about the time that 
 grass has grown big enough for pasture. 
 
 " The governor formerly requested me to pay attention to 
 the Indians, and take care of them. We are now arrived at a 
 situation that I believe Indians cannot exist, unless the governor 
 should comply with my request, and send a person authorized 
 to treat between us arid the white people, the approaching 
 summer. I have now no more to speak." 
 
 The appeal was not in vain. An act was passed by the 
 legislature of Pennsylvania, exonerating tbe chief from 
 the tax, and two commissioners repaired to his village to 
 explain the matter to him. He met them at the court 
 house in Warren, a town of Pennsylvania situated at 
 the junction of the Connewango Creek and the Alleghany, 
 on which occasion he delivered the following speech, 
 excellent of its kind, and eminently characteristic of his 
 race : 
 
 BROTHERS : Yesterday was appointed for us all to meet here. 
 The talk which the governor sent us pleased us very much. I 
 think that the Great Spirit is very much pleased that the white 
 people have been induced so to assist the Indians as they have 
 done, and that he is pleased also to see the great men of this 
 state and of the United States so friendly to us. We are 
 much pleased with what has been done. 
 
 " The Great Spirit first made the world, and next the flying 
 animals, and found all things good and prosperous. He is im- 
 
CORNPLANTER. 455 
 
 mortal and everlasting. After finishing the flying animals, he 
 came down on earth and there stood. Then he made different 
 kinds of trees, and weeds of all sorts, and people of every 
 kind. He made the spring and other seasons, and the weather 
 suitable for planting. These he did make. But stills, to make 
 whiskey to be given to Indians, he did not make. The Great 
 Spirit bids me tell the white people not to give Indians this 
 kind of liquor. When the Great Spirit had made the earth 
 and its animals, he went into the great lakes, where he breathed 
 as easily as any where else, and then made all the different 
 kinds of fish. The Great Spirit looked back on all that he 
 had made. The different kinds he made to be separate, and 
 not to mix with and disturb each other. But the white people 
 have broken his command by mixing their color with the In 
 dians. The Indians have done better by not doing so. The 
 Great Spirit wishes that all wars and fightings should cease. 
 
 " He next told us that there were three things for people 
 to attend to. First, we ought to take care of our wives and 
 children. Secondly, the white people ought to attend to their 
 farms and cattle. Thirdly, the Great Spirit has given the bears 
 and deers to the Indians. He is the cause of all things that 
 exist, and it is very wicked to go against his will. The Great 
 Spirit wishes me to inform the people that they should quit 
 drinking intoxicating drink, as being the cause of diseases and 
 death. He told us not to sell any more of our lands, for he 
 never sold lands to any one. Some of us now keep the seventh 
 day ; but I wish to quit it, for the Great Spirit made it for 
 others, but not for the Indians, who ought every day to attend 
 to their business. He has ordered me to quit drinking any in 
 toxicating drink, and not to lust after women but my own, and 
 informs me that by doing so I should live the longer. He 
 made known to me that it is very wicked to tell lies. Let no 
 one suppose this I have said now is not true. 
 
 " I have now to thank the governor for what he has done. I 
 have informed him what the Great Spirit has ordered me to 
 cease from, and I wish the governor to inform others of what I 
 have communicated. This is all I have at present to say." 
 
 If there are any farther memorials of the life of Corn- 
 planter, they have escaped the researches of the author. 
 The old chief appears to have again fallen back into en 
 tire seclusion, taking no part even in the politics of his 
 people, which, owing to the conduct of Red-Jacket, and 
 the dissensions concerning him, were not of the most 
 
456 CORNPLANTER. 
 
 quiet description, until the close of his earthly career. 
 He died at his residence, on the 7th of March, 1836, at 
 the age of one hundred years and upward. His last 
 speech, at Warren court-house, discloses a curious com 
 bination in his mind of the history of the creation, and 
 of the rudiments both of Indian and Christian theology. 
 Whether, at the time of his death, he expected to go to 
 the fair hunting grounds of his own people, or to the 
 heaven of the Christian, is not known. 
 
 HENRY O BAIL. 
 
 THE name of this chief, the son of Cornplanter, has 
 been mentioned a few pages back, and also several 
 times in the life of Red-Jacket. He was a boy of fine 
 spirit and promise, and his father sent him to Philadel 
 phia for the benefit of an English education, under the 
 charge of the Quakers, who placed him in a suitable 
 school, and directed his studies. A few anecdotes and 
 traditions are related by way of illustrating his cha 
 racter. 
 
 He was not only received in good society in Philadel 
 phia, but was caressed. On one occasion, being at a 
 ball, while dancing with a beautiful girl, the jealousy of 
 one of the young gentlemen present was excited, and 
 he gave vent to his vexation by muttering the dislike he 
 felt at seeing the young lady " dance with a d d In 
 dian." The quick ears of young Harry caught the 
 sound, and after the figure was ended, having invited 
 the angry swain to the head of the stairs, he thrust him 
 out, and opposing his foot to his seat of honor, gave an 
 impulse that sent him headlong down. " There !" said 
 he ; " you may now boast that you have been kicked 
 down stairs by a d d Indian !" 
 
 Another story is told respecting him, of a more senti- 
 
YOUNG CORNPLANTER. 457 
 
 mental character ; rather too sentimental, in fact, to be 
 in keeping with the usual stoicism of his race. " Har 
 ry," says the narrator, " had been too long the wild boy 
 of the mountains to be pleased with confinement, or 
 bear patiently his monotonous exercises. He wasted 
 and pined till he became pale and emaciated. Possess 
 ing not that spirit of reserve and laconic manner of 
 speech, so characteristic of the Indian, he was courte 
 ous and kind, exercising a suavity of manner peculiar 
 in the forest chieftain. l My sister, he would say em 
 phatically, my sister is not here, and there is another 
 who is not with me. He thirsted for the bright waters 
 of his native valley, and longed to breathe once more the 
 pure air of the Alleghanies. The crowded streets of 
 the city had no charms for him. He stayed but a few 
 months, and bursting from his confinement, bounded 
 back, with the alacrity of a wounded deer, to the green 
 mountain haunts of his boyhood, the sweet tones of his 
 sister, and the gentle cooings of his forest dove. The 
 following year, Mr. N , a gentleman from Philadel 
 phia, who had known the young chief there, came on 
 an errand of agency to our country, where he has since 
 resided. Having no acquaintance here, and feeling a 
 deep interest in the welfare of his young friend, he 
 penetrated through the dark wilds of Potter and 
 M Kean, and soon found himself at the village of the 
 Cornplanter. Harry welcomed him cordially, pre 
 senting him to his father, his sister, and his friends, 
 but there was a sadness visible in his countenance, a 
 quick restlessness in his movements, which betrayed 
 
 how deep were the workings within. Mr. N then 
 
 asked him for the gentle dove he had described to him, 
 in days gone by. She is gone ; said he, and he led 
 him to her grave. Here Harry, after the custom of the 
 whites, had planted flowers ; not the forget-me-not, nor 
 
 58 
 
458 YOUNG CORNPLANTER. 
 
 the rose, nor the myrtle, but pale spring violets, refresh 
 ing them with his tears, and breathing from this hal 
 lowed spot his invocations to the Great Spirit."* 
 
 The subsequent career of Henry O Bail but ill ac 
 corded with such a gentle and pensive beginning. He 
 opposed his father s efforts for the moral and social im 
 provement of his race, and even attached himself to the 
 adherents of his father s bitterest enemy and successful 
 rival, Red-Jacket, becoming ultimately very dissolute 
 and intemperate. He was, nevertheless, a brave man, 
 and did good service in the Niagara campaign, during 
 the last war with England, under General Porter. He 
 was at one period a man of handsome property. Hav 
 ing squandered this, he removed from the Seneca reser 
 vation to Tonnewanta. Shortly afterward a tradesman to 
 whom he had contracted a debt, for which he had given 
 his note, meeting with him at a public house, took the 
 note from his pocket, and asked for his pay. Henry 
 taking the note into his hand and looking at it for a mo 
 ment, inquired of the holder, " This is a good note, is 
 it not?" "Why, certainly it is," replied the creditor. 
 " Then you had better keep it," coolly answered the 
 Indian, handing it back with all possible gravity. The 
 note was never collected, and Henry died not long after 
 ward, a miserable drunkard. Alas, for the poor In 
 dian ! His arrow is broken ! 
 
 BLACK-CHIEF S DAUGHTER. 
 
 THE proverbial stoicism of the Indians has been re 
 ferred to in the preceding brief sketch of the young 
 Cornplanter, as casting a shade of doubt over the ro 
 mantic incident furnished by the lady of Wellsborough, 
 connected with an affair of the heart, and the untimely 
 
 * MS. letter from Miss Jackson, of Wellsborough, (Pa.) 
 
BLACK-CHIEF S DAUGHTER. 459 
 
 death of the object of his attachment. And yet these 
 apparently moody sons of the forest are not always so 
 insensible to the finer feelings of the common race of 
 Adam, when acting by and for themselves, as most of the 
 pale-faces suppose them to be. Mr. Washington Irving, in 
 his prairie-rambles, has said, as other writers before 
 and since have done, that the Indians, in their own circles, 
 have their wits and their humorists, and indulge in 
 their pleasantries, their jokes, brisk repartees and merry 
 makings, as well as the whites. Why, then, should they 
 be thought insensible to the thrill of the tender passion, 
 and incapable of feeling acutely the pangs of sorrow ? 
 The anecdote of Henry O Bail and his betrothed wood 
 land nymph, if true, illustrates one division of the inter 
 rogatory. A marked illustration of the other is afforded 
 by the touching story of Black-Chief s Daughter. 
 
 Forty years ago, Black-Chief was Sachem of the clan 
 of Senecas residing at Squawky-Hill, in the valley of 
 the Genesee River. He was famous for his skill and 
 bravery in war, and the pursuits of the chase, and withal 
 endeared to his people by his amiable temper and gene 
 rous qualities. After his death his clan honored with 
 their esteem an only daughter of the chief, remarkable 
 for her beauty and intelligence, and resembling her 
 deceased father in native goodness of heart. Indeed, so 
 highly was she regarded that by a formal decree in 
 council, notwithstanding her extreme youth, she was 
 clothed with the authority of a princess. The brightest 
 fish from the waters, the sweetest flowers, and the richest 
 and rarest fruits of the forest, and the proudest trophies 
 of the hunt, were left, in reverence, at the door of her 
 wigwam. Old men prayed daily to the Great Spirit that 
 her years might be long in the land ; for their hoary seer 
 had assured them that during her lifetime the ancient 
 glories of the Senecas would be in part restored. 
 
460 BLACK-CHIEF S DAUGHTER. 
 
 But as with the white man, so with the Indian, it is 
 well that the future is a sealed book. A malignant fe 
 ver which had nearly depopulated the flourishing village 
 of Connewaugus, extended its ravages to Squawky-Hill. 
 The strong man was laid low, woman grew pale, and, 
 with the infant at her bosom, perished. The dog howled 
 over the festering carcass, and hunger, in alliance with 
 the fell distemper, filled the cup of misery to overflow 
 ing. In vain every precaution was taken to avert the 
 blow from the head of their beloved princess. After the 
 panic had in a great measure abated, and signs of re 
 turning health became visible, the destroyer entered her 
 lodge, and amid wails of grief, and groans of despair, 
 proceeding from a hundred lips, her young heart was 
 stilled for ever. 
 
 When a distinguished individual expired, it was the 
 custom of the Senecas to deposite the remains in a simple 
 structure of unhewn logs, called " The Cabin of Death." 
 But such was their enthusiastic affection for the chief- 
 tainess, that they departed from this ancient rite by 
 erecting a v high scaffold in a neighboring grove. After 
 adorning the body with beads, shells, feathers, and other 
 barbaric ornaments, they placed it in an upright posture 
 on the rude throne they had thus upreared. A drum* 
 formed of the untanned hide of a deer, drawn tensely 
 over a section of the hollowed trunk of a tree, cut to a 
 proper length, and beaten upon by a war-club, gave out 
 its dull and dismal note, while men, women and chil 
 dren, moved in a slow and solemn dance around the 
 dead. 
 
 To the Seneca towns of Tonnewanta, Connewaugus 
 and Caneadea fleet runners hastened with the melan 
 choly tidings, and the principal men of those places ac 
 companied them back to take part in the sorrowful cere 
 monies. Garlands of flowers, ears of corn and valu- 
 
BLACK-CHIEF S DAUHGTER. 
 
 able furs were thrown in profusion at the feet of the life 
 less object of their idolatry. By night, fires were lighted, 
 and watchmen were stationed to guard the hallowed 
 spot, and keep the gaunt wolf at a distance. And every 
 morning the solemn rites of the preceding day were 
 renewed. After a partial decomposition of the body 
 had taken place, it was removed and committed to the 
 earth with tears and loud lamentations.* 
 
 But these rites were not peculiar to the Senecas, or 
 to the Five Nations. The Chippewas, who pitch their 
 tents on the shores of Lake Superior, proudly called the 
 " Father of Waters," and other nations of the great 
 northwest, honor their dead with obsequies somewhat 
 similar. It has indeed been conjectured that the Chip 
 pewas derived their picturesque funeral observances 
 from the Iroquois, with whom they often met in conflict, 
 for they were enemies of old, notwithstanding the vast 
 wilderness that separated their hunting-grounds. Nade- 
 wa-we-gu-nung, in Michigan, nine hundred miles from 
 the great council fire at Onondaga, was the scene of a 
 terrific battle between them " long time ago." On the 
 death of a sachem, or other person of note, the Chippe 
 was, after dressing the body in the vestments of the liv 
 ing, and by the aid of colors extracted from plants and 
 clay having given a life-like appearance to the counte 
 nance, deposite the relics on two cross-pieces nailed or 
 tied with thongs to four posts set firmly in the ground. 
 With pious veneration they plant near the poles or posts 
 the gadding wild-hop, or the flaunting woodbine, in or 
 der that the revolting process of decay may be rendered 
 less offensive by the refreshing verdure of vegetable 
 beauty, and in a short time the corse is thickly em- 
 
 * This little narrative was written down from the lips of Mrs. Hosmer, of 
 Avon, who, reared as it were amidst the Senecas, was acquainted with the facts, 
 and, I believe, with parties. 
 
462 BLACK-CHIEF S DAUGHTER. 
 
 bowered with leaves and flowers. There is something 
 strikingly poetical in these simple rites of the untutored 
 savage. While the enlightened pale-face yields to the 
 sunless custody of the tomb the beautiful and brave, 
 his wild brother of the woods mourns over the loved 
 and the lost with a lasting sorrow, and deems it hard to 
 cast into the cold embrace of the earth 
 
 " Countenances benign, and forms that walked 
 But yesterday so stately o er the earth."* 
 
 Glowing are the histories of departed monarchs lying 
 in gilded pomp, while in the crowns that rounded their 
 cold temples 
 
 " Kept Death his court, 
 Scoffing their state, and grinning at their pomp," 
 
 of Inez de Castro, disinterred and arrayed in the glit 
 tering trappings of royalty ; but where is the heart that 
 would not be less touched by those descriptions of the 
 learned narrators than by the unstudied recital of the 
 simple funereal honors paid by the Senecas to the beloved 
 daughter of Black-Chief? 
 
 * See Heckewelder s description of Indian funerals, Transactions of Philadel 
 phia Philosophical Society, for much interesting matter upon this subject. Also, 
 Lewis and Clarke s Expedition. The Indians suppose that when the soul is 
 separated from the body, it preserves the same inclinations which it had when 
 both were united. Hence they bury the implements of war and the chase with 
 their bodies, and bring provisions to the grave. Some of the Indian nations be 
 lieve in the transmigration of souls, especially of the souls of those who die 
 young, and who therefore have the privilege of commencing a second life, be 
 cause they enjoyed so little of the first. Hence children are buried along the 
 highways, that the women, as they pass, may receive their souls. From this 
 idea of their remaining with the body arises the duty of placing food upon their 
 graves ; and mothers have been seen to draw from their bosoms that nourishment 
 which those little creatures loved when alive, and shed it upon the earth which 
 covered their remains. Charlevoix. Dr. Jarvis s Historical Discourse. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 [A.] 
 
 THE deputation sent from the Six Nations as messengers of peace, 
 to the hostile Indians at the Miami of the lakes, in the autumn of 
 1792, returned in November. General Chapin, the agent of the Six 
 Nations, was absent at the seat of government when they returned, 
 and the council to receive their report was called by his son, Israel 
 Chapin, Jun. It was held at Buffalo Creek, on the 16th of Novem 
 ber, and was attended by Major Littlehales in behalf of Governor 
 Simcoe, then commanding in Upper Canada. The following is the 
 report of the deputation, as rendered into English by Mr. Parish, the 
 interpreter. 
 
 BUFFALO CREEK, November 16, 1792. 
 
 BROTHERS, PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, AND KING S PEOPLE, 
 take notice ! Last winter the President took us by the hand, and led 
 us to the council fire, at Philadelphia ; there they made known to us 
 their friendship, and requested us to proceed to the westward, and to 
 use our influence to make peace with the hostile Indians. We went 
 accordingly, and made known to them our agreement. 
 
 When we returned from Philadelphia to Buffalo Creek, the chiefs 
 that remained at home on their seats, were well pleased with what 
 we had done at Philadelphia ; and after we had determined to proceed 
 on our journey, some of our chiefs were detained on account of sickr 
 ness. 
 
 BROTHERS, PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES AND KING S PEOPLE : - 
 After we arrived at the westward, we met with an agreeable recep 
 tion ; they informed us we were their oldest brothers, and appeared 
 as the sun risen on them, as they always looked to them for advice. 
 
 It is now four years since we have heard your voices, and should 
 be happy now to hear what you have to relate to us. 
 
 The Six Nations then requested of the western Indians what they 
 had to relate to them, as they kindled the council fire. 
 
 The WESTERN INDIANS replied : About four years since, your 
 voices came to us, desiring us to combine ourselves together, as we 
 were the oldest people of this island, and all of one color, that our 
 minds may be one. 
 
 59 
 
466 APPENDIX. 
 
 This, they informed us, they had attended to, and exhibited a large 
 bunch of wampum, to prove the same, from each nation. 
 
 To confirm it still further, they informed us we sent them a pipe, 
 which passed through all the nations at the west and southward ; all 
 smoked out of it, both women and children ; and as this pipe has been 
 through the nations, and all smoked out of it, they returned it to us, 
 and bid us to smoke out of it ourselves. 
 
 BROTHERS : Listen once to your eldest brothers. Our forefathers 
 have handed down to us, that we are one people, of one color, on this 
 island, and ought to be of one mind, and had made our minds strong, 
 and had become as one people in peace and friendship. 
 
 This being done, our chiefs agreed to hand it down to future poste 
 rity, and the same combination to continue down to them. 
 
 The nation called the Unions, took a brand from our fire and kindled 
 it, and became a people with us ; then we considered ourselves as 
 one people, combined together. 
 
 And now there is a white people on this island, who are watching 
 our conduct ; but let us attend to our own concerns, and brighten the 
 chain of friendship with our nations ; and as our minds are one, let 
 us consider future posterity and not consider those young warriors 
 who are in the prime of life, and so much engaged in the pursuit of 
 land, &c., which is the cause of so much difficulty at present. 
 
 BROTHERS : Consider your country, which is good, and conduct 
 yourselves in such a manner as to keep it to yourselves and pos 
 terity. 
 
 Now, BROTHERS : You present us the pipe, you say your eldest 
 brothers sent you ; you say your head chiefs all smoked out of it, and 
 returning it to us again, all took it and smoked out of it ourselves, in 
 friendship. Now, as we are thus combined together, we are able to 
 lift a heavy burden. 
 
 THE SHAWANEE NATION said : OUR ELDEST BROTHERS : We have 
 heard what you have related, we have heard it with attention ; we 
 consider it as if you delivered it from the outside of your lips ; although 
 you consider us your younger brothers, your seats are not at such a 
 distance but what we can see your conduct plainly ; these are the 
 reasons why we consider you to speak from the outside of your lips ; 
 for whenever you hear the voice of the United States, you immedi 
 ately take your packs and attend our councils. 
 
 We see plainly folded under your arm the voice of the United 
 States, wish you to unfold it to us, that we may see it freely and 
 consult on it. [Speaking on a string of wampum of three strings, 
 throwing it across the fire to us, instead of handing it in a friendly 
 manner.] 
 
 [Then we proceeded to relate the instructions of congress, which is 
 too tedious to relate, and which they already know ; but when we 
 first related it we failed for interpreters, so that they had not a proper 
 idea of it ; they appeared to be very much ruffled in their minds, and 
 adjourned the counsel to the next day ; then it was interpreted pro 
 perly to them, and they appeared easy in their minds.] 
 
 ELDEST BROTHERS : You desire us to consider our country and 
 property ; we will accept of your advice, and proceed accordingly. 
 
 THE Six NATIONS said : Let us look back to the time of white peo 
 ple coming into this country ; they very soon began to traffic for land. 
 
 
APPENDIX. 4.57 
 
 Soon after, Sir William Johnson was sent as an agent from the king, 
 and he began to purchase at the treaty at Fort Stanwix, and purchased 
 all east of the river Ohio. 
 
 A few years after this purchase, the people of the States and the 
 king s people broke apart, and we being persuaded to take the king s 
 part, became very bad for us. After a few years, the king was beat ; 
 then the States took possession of all the land the English formerly 
 took from the French. 
 
 You tell us, we come with the voice of the United States ; we do, 
 together with the advice of the king. He tells us not to throw our 
 minds on either side, but to listen to reason, &c., and remain a people 
 confederated. 
 
 THE SHAWANEE NATION, -Now ELDEST BROTHERS : You come to 
 us with your opinion, and the voice of the United States. It is your 
 mind to put an end to all hostilities. Brothers : now, we will relate 
 what took place last fall in our country. General Washington sent 
 an army into our country, which fell into our hands ; their orders 
 were thus, to proceed into our country as far as the Miami towns, to 
 the Glaize ; thence to Detroit, but not to molest the king s people, and 
 if the army should meet any people that appeared friendly, to leave 
 them behind their backs, without harm. 
 
 The President of the United States must well know why the blood 
 is so deep in our paths. We have been informed he has sent messen 
 gers of peace on these bloody roads, who fell on the way. And now, 
 as he knows that road to be bloody, no communication can take place 
 through that bloody way, as there is a path through the Six Nations 
 country, which is smooth and easy. If he wants to send the voice of 
 peace, it must pass through this road. 
 
 ELDEST BROTHERS : We have been informed the President of the 
 United States thinks himself the greatest man on this island. We had 
 this country long in peace before we saw any person of a white skin ; 
 we consider the people of a white skin the younger. 
 
 BROTHERS : You inform us it is the wish of the white people to 
 hold council with us, General Washington being the head man ; we 
 will consent to treat with them; we desire you, our older brothers, to 
 inform General Washington we will treat with him, at the Rapids of 
 Miami, next spring, or at the time when the leaves are fully out. 
 
 We consider ourselves still the proper owners of some land on the 
 east side of the Ohio. 
 
 But we will deliver up that, for money that has been paid to some 
 individuals, for land on the west side of the River Ohio. 
 
 BROTHERS : You have have given us a dish, and one spoon, desiring 
 the whole combination to eat with them ; we accept of them, and shall 
 do accordingly. 
 
 We are now about to complete the business you came on. When 
 you return you will make known to the President what we have done ; 
 it may be he will not consent to what we have proposed ; and if he 
 will not, we must call on you to assist in the heavy burden that will 
 lie on us. We have opened a path, and pointed out a way, and, if he 
 will not walk in it, we must have your assistance. 
 
 Now, OUR ELDEST BROTHERS : When the President came to you r 
 he took you aside to hear what he had to say. He desired you to 
 come to us and deliver the messages ; you have delivered them, and 
 
468 APPENDIX. 
 
 we desire you to deliver the messages we have given you to deliver 
 to him, and desire him to send a message back what he will do con 
 cerning what we have done and concluded on ; to forward it to you, 
 and you to us. We will lay the bloody tomahawk aside until we hear 
 from the President of the United States, and when this message comes 
 to us, we will send it to all the different nations. (Speaking on three 
 strings of wampum.) 
 * 
 
 Speech from the Six Nations to the President. 
 
 You sent us on the westward with a message of peace to the hostile 
 Indians. 
 
 We proceeded accordingly to your direction?, and was protected, 
 going and coming, by the Great Spirit. We give thanks to the Great 
 Spirit that we have all returned safe to our seats. 
 
 While we were at the westward we exerted ourselves to bring about 
 peace. The fatigues we underwent are not small. Now, it is our 
 desire for your people on the Ohio to lay down their arms, or otherwise 
 it is all in vain what we have done. 
 
 Now, if you wish for peace, you must make every exertion, and 
 proceed through this path we have directed for you. If peace does 
 not take place the fault must arise from your people. 
 
 We now desire you, Brothers, to send forward agents, who are men 
 of honesty, not proud land-jobbers, but men who love and desire 
 peace. Also, desire they may be accompanied by some Friend or 
 Quaker to attend the council. 
 
 We wish you to exe~rt yourselves to forward the message to the wes 
 tern Indians as soon as possible ; and we are taken by the hand, and 
 have agreed, next spring, to attend the council at the Rapids of Miami, 
 when we shall hear all that takes place there. 
 
 Hostile Indians to Governor Simcoe. 
 
 BROTHER : We have been informed the late governor is a good 
 man ; we desire that you will take the governor by the hand and lead 
 him to the council next spring. Exert yourselves to get him up, that 
 he may not be backward ; that he may sit side and side with the 
 Americans at the time of the council. And when you take him by 
 the hand, desire him to furnish us with provisions necessary for the 
 treaty. 
 
 Six Nations to the Governor. 
 
 BROTHER : Now, we have laid all our proceedings before you, 
 which took place at the westward. You have heard the request of 
 your western brothers, therefore wish you to exert yourself to grant 
 their requests. 
 
 You informed us to listen to the voice of peace, wherever we might 
 hear it. Now we hear the voice of peace ; we call on you for assist 
 ance, that we may obtain peace through this island. 
 
 BROTHER : We now sit here together ; you are the man who re 
 presents the United States ; we have discerned that too great a degree 
 of pride has subsisted between the two governments ; we desire that 
 it may be laid aside. 
 
 When the agents from the United States come forward to the coun- 
 
APPENDIX. 4(59 
 
 cil, we desire they may bring forward all the records, plans, maps, and 
 documents, that anyway respect the lands purchased from the Indians. 
 
 Fish- Carrier s Speech. 
 
 Desiring this degree of pride, which has heretofore existed, may be 
 done away, and that each government may mutually consent and 
 agree on terms of peace. 
 
 Cornplanter s Speech. 
 
 He informs, that he has always attended treaties that have been held, 
 and has always wished for peace, and has done all in his power for 
 peace ; that he has not advised any hostilities to commence on either 
 side, and now wishes each government to lay aside all pride and preju 
 dice and to use their endeavors for peace. 
 
 After the council was over, Major Littlehales, who represented 
 Governor Simcoe on that occasion, answered the Indians as follows : 
 
 BROTHERS : I shall lay before the governor your requests ; and 
 respecting his furnishing you with provisions, &c., I doubt not but he 
 will do it agreeable to your wishes. And also to procure all records, 
 plans, and documents, which shall be thought necessary, and to do 
 every thing in his power to bring about a peace, so interesting to the 
 United States, as well as to the British government. 
 
 [B.] 
 THE PRESQUE ISLE QUESTION. 
 
 At a council of the Six Nations, held at Buffalo Creek, on the 18th 
 of June, 1794, Captain O Bail (Cornplanter) spoke as follows in 
 behalf of the Indians : 
 
 BROTHER : We are thankful that you have attended to the call of the 
 Six Nations, and that you have been preserved by the Great Spirit, &c. 
 
 BROTHER : (Addressed to the President) I have for a long time 
 aimed at the good of both parties, I have paid you different compli 
 ments, as that of brother and father, and now I call you friend. 
 We were pleased when we heard that you were appointed to have the 
 chief command of the United States. 
 
 BROTHER : The Great Spirit has so ordered, that every nation shall 
 have some one to be at their head you are to look over your people, 
 and settle all difficulties and we, the Six Nations, expect that you 
 will not be unmindful of us, but see that we have justice done us, as 
 well as your own people. 
 
 BROTHER : We, the Six Nations, now call upon you ; we pay no 
 attention to what has heretofore been done by congress ; their pro 
 ceedings we consider as unjust. We wish for nothing but justice, 
 and hope that will take place. 
 
 BROTHER : You know our demands we ask but for a small piece 
 of land, and we trust as you are a great man, you can easily grant our 
 request. 
 
 BROTHER : You wish to be a free people in this country, who have 
 come from the other side of the water, and why should not we, whose 
 
470 APPENDIX. 
 
 forefathers have lived and died here, and always had possession of the 
 country. 
 
 BROTHER : We, the Six Nations, have determined on the boundary 
 we want established, and it is the warriors who now speak. 
 
 BROTHER : You have the map on which the boundaries are marked 
 out which we want established. 
 
 BROTHER : We want room for our children. It will be hard for them 
 not to have a country to live in after that we are gone. 
 
 BROTHER : It is not because that we are afraid of dying that we 
 have been so long trying to bring about a peace. We now call upon 
 you for an answer, as congress and their commissioners have oftentimes 
 deceived us, and if these difficulties are not removed, the consequences 
 will be bad. 
 
 This speech was delivered with eight strings of black and white 
 wampum. 
 
 BROTHER : We have opened this fire upon two different kinds of 
 business we wish you to listen to them with attention. 
 
 BROTHER : We are in distress a number of our warriors are mis 
 sing, and we know not what has become of them, but suppose that 
 they have been killed by the Americans. 
 
 BROTHER : Last fall an Indian chief by the name of Big-Tree, left 
 this country and went to the American army in a friendly manner, and 
 we have since been informed that he was killed by them. 
 
 BROTHER : The other day a very unfortunate circumstance happened. 
 One of our nephews (of the Delaware nation,) was killed at Venango, 
 by a party of warriors who were going to Presque Isle, without giving 
 us any notice whatever. 
 
 BROTHER : You are sensible this must be very hard, to have a man 
 killed in time of peace one who was sitting easy and peaceable on his 
 seat you certainly would complain if we were to treat your people in 
 the same manner. 
 
 BROTHER : It has been customary, when one person has killed an 
 other, that those who have done the injury go to the injured party and 
 make satisfaction. 
 
 BROTHER : We told you that we had two pieces of business to at 
 tend to, we hope that you will pay attention to them both. 
 
 BROTHER : The establishing a garrison at Presque Isle may occa 
 sion many accidents, as the southern Indians may do injury, and we 
 may be blamed without a cause. 
 
 This speech was delivered with ten strings of black wampum. 
 
 Captain O Bail then addressed himself to Captain Chapin : 
 
 BROTHER : When we sent for you, it was because we placed great 
 dependence upon you,* we hoped that you would not fail of doing 
 every thing in your power to assist us. 
 
 BROTHER : We now expect that you will exert yourself in removing 
 those people off of our lands. We know very well what they have 
 come on for, and we wish them pushed back. 
 
 BROTHER : We now wish that you and Mr. Johnson would go to 
 gether and remove those people back over the line which we have 
 marked out upon the map. 
 
 BROTHER : If these people remove off immediately we shall con- 
 
APPENDIX. 471 
 
 sider them as our friends, if not, we shall consider them as no 
 friends. 
 
 BROTHER : We expect that you and Mr. Johnson will go together 
 on this business, and we shall send ten warriors to attend you ; and 
 we shall expect that you will bring us word when you return. 
 
 This speech w T as delivered with six strings of black and white 
 wampum. 
 
 General Chapin s answer to the speech delivered by Captain 
 O Bail : 
 
 BROTHERS : I have heard the speeches which you have delivered 
 with great attention, and have thought seriously on what you have 
 communicated to me. You have requested me to go to Presque Isle, 
 as I wish to do every thing in my power, both for the United 
 States and the Indians, I shall comply with your request. 
 
 BROTHERS : I can do no more to those people than to give them my 
 advice. It is not in my power to drive them off. 
 
 BROTHERS : You must be sensible that I am obliged to look to the 
 interests both of the United States and the Indians, and consider my 
 self accountable to both for whatever I do ; and you may depend that 
 when I return, I will give you a just account of whatever takes 
 place. 
 
 BROTHERS : This business is of a serious nature, and is really a 
 matter of importance to both parties. You may rest assured that the 
 President is your friend, and that he will pay attention to the business 
 which you have laid before him. 
 
 BROTHERS : You observed that you would send ten warriors to at 
 tend me. I must also request that you would send two of your chiefs. 
 
 BROTHERS : The business which you desire me to do, is what I had 
 little thought of. I am unprepared for the journey ; however, as I 
 have informed you that I would go, I shall set out immediately. 
 
 BROTHERS : The speeches which you have delivered for the Presi 
 dent, shall be sent on as soon as is convenient, and you may shortly 
 expect to receive an answer. 
 
 General Chapin to the Secretary of War : 
 
 Canandaigua, July 10, 1794. 
 
 DEAR SIR, The evening before I returned my son arrived in this 
 place. He brought letters from the Secretary of War, which men 
 tion nothing to counteract any of our proceedings while I was at the 
 westward ; but rather in favor than otherwise. 
 
 I sent Parish immediately to Philadelphia with despatches, after my 
 return, including the whole of our proceedings while at Buffalo Creek, 
 and Presque Isle, &c. ; and from every information by my son I am in 
 hopes and believe the dispositions of the President and of General 
 Knox are such as will render satisfaction to the Six Nations. 
 
 It is a fact that the President was not concerned in the business of 
 ordering this party to Presque Isle, but so far from it, (that after 
 the Governor of Pennsylvania had ordered the party to march to 
 Presque Isle,) for fear of ill consequences, the President sent them 
 counter orders to stop and remain at Le Boeuf. Matters appear more 
 favorable with regard to war between Great Britain and America. 
 They have ceased in some measure to take our vessels in the West 
 
472 APPENDIX. 
 
 Indies, and it is to be hoped that the present negotiation with Mr. Jay, 
 will be the means of settling the difficulties subsisting between both 
 parties. 
 
 As soon as Parish returns I shall communicate the answer, as 
 soon as possible. Yours, &c., 
 
 ISRAEL CHAPIN. 
 
 [C.] 
 
 THE CANANDAIGUA TREATY. 
 COLONEL PICKERING TO CAPTAIN BRANT. 
 
 Canandaigua, November 2(M, 1794. 
 
 SIR : When I wrote you on the 17th, I had not time to express any 
 opinion relative to the Mohawk nation, as implicated in the present 
 treaty. As one of the Six Nations, I did not think it proper to name 
 it as not included in the treaty ; nor to omit it by enumerating the other 
 five. For general concerns, I consider the whole six as forming one 
 confederate nation. 
 
 The great object of this treaty (like almost all other Indian treaties) 
 was to remove complaints respecting lands. The particular tract in 
 question I supposed especially concerned the Senecas ; but it was 
 natural that an object so important to one, should interest the whole. 
 By the terms of the present treaty, the complaints which were the 
 immediate occasion of it have been removed ; and, as I observed in 
 my former letter, all appeared to be satisfied ; and many individual 
 chiefs, in strong terms, expressed their satisfaction. So, I trust, no 
 heart burnings for past transactions will be felt, nor reproaches used, 
 in future. 
 
 It is the nature of the present settlement which has led me to con 
 template the case of the Mohawk nation. 
 
 " This settlement," said one of the chiefs to me, " appears like a 
 great light to us." And to me it seems like a new era. With much 
 pleasure, therefore, I should see presented to that nation, a token for 
 participating in the general satisfaction which this treaty has produced. 
 The goods in my power to dispose of have been distributed ; and to 
 convey a share of them to your people would have been impractica 
 ble ; and therefore I abandoned the idea of it ; but if it should not 
 meet your approbation, I persuade myself that an equivalent in money 
 would cheerfully be presented. On this subject I shall be happy to see 
 your mind expressed in a letter to General Chapin, (whom I have con 
 sulted on this occasion,) or to me. In the meantime a copy of this 
 letter will be given to the Secretary of War, for the President s infor 
 mation. 
 
 The Onondagas and Cayugas, residing at Grand River, who were 
 not present to receive a part of the goods given at this treaty, may 
 doubtless be also comprehended in providing a gratuity on the present 
 general settlement with the Six Nations. Before I closed my letter 
 of the 7th, I intended to give you a sketch of the terms of the treaty ; 
 but a throng being about me, and your nephew waiting, it was omitted. 
 By former treaties the Six Nations relinquished all their lands west of 
 
APPENDIX. 473 
 
 a line running due south from the mouth of Buffalo Creek. Now I 
 have given up the claim of the United States to a large tract of land 
 lying between this due south line and the meridian which makes the 
 eastern boundary of the triangular piece of land which the United 
 States sold to Pennsylvania. The tract now relinquished probably 
 contains four times as much land as tfiat triangle, and was peculiarly 
 important to the Seneca nation, as several hundred of their nation 
 were dwelling on it. 
 
 I have also relinquished the United States claim to the strip of land 
 four miles wide, including the carrying path from Lake Ontario to Lake 
 Erie, along the Niagara strait, except that part of it which, in a treaty 
 held thirty years ago with Sir William Johnson, the Seneca nation 
 ceded to the King of Great Britain, to whose right therein I considered 
 the United States as succeeding. Or, as the chiefs expressed it, " that 
 piece became ours (the United States) by the right of war." Its 
 eastern boundary is a line from Johnson s Landing to Stedman s Creek, 
 and thence to Niagara Straits, and the strait itself bounds it on the 
 west and southwest. Besides these relinquishments, I have stipulated 
 a perpetual annuity of four thousand five hundred dollars, to be applied 
 to the benefit of those of the Six Nations, and their Indian friends and 
 associates, residing among and united with them, who do or shall reside 
 within the boundaries of the United Statas ; for the United States do 
 not mean to interfere, by any permanent arrangements, with nations 
 elsewhere resident. The terms I have stipulated, will, I trust, be ap 
 proved by the President and Senate, and then the treaty will be obliga 
 tory on both sides. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c., 
 (Signed) TIMO. PICKERING. 
 
 P. S. My letter of the 7th was delivered to the care of Henry 
 Young Brant, who I understood was your nephew. In that I enclosed 
 a copy of my speech relative to the appearance of a British agent at 
 a council fire kindled by the United States. 
 
 Capt. Jos. BRANT. 
 
 CAPTAIN BRANT TO COLONEL PICKERING. 
 
 Niagara, 30th December, 1794. 
 
 SIR : Your letters of the 17th and 20th November, 94, from Kanan- 
 daigua, I have now before me, and I have to say, that at all our meet 
 ings during the whole of last summer, our thoughts were solely bent on 
 fixing a boundary line between the confederate Indians and the United 
 States, so as that peace might be established on a solid basis, for which 
 reason we pointed out the line we did, well knowing the justness of it, 
 and that it would be ratified by the whole Indian confederacy. 
 
 As an individual I much regret to find that the boundary so pointed 
 out has now been abandoned, the establishment of which, I am well 
 convinced, would have been the means of bringing about a lasting and 
 permanent peace. This object, so earnestly to be desired, has ever 
 made rne exert every nerve, wishing for nothing more than mutual jus 
 tice. This line, you will recollect, was offered to Governor St. Clair 
 at Muskingum, and notwithstanding the two successful campaigns of 
 the Indians, after this I still adhered to the same, and still do. This, I 
 hope, will satisfy you that my wish ever was for peace. The offer was 
 
 60 
 
474 APPENDIX. 
 
 rejected by Mr. St. Clair, and what the consequences have been you 
 well know. I should be sorry if your endeavors would be crownel 
 with no better success, as your exertions I hope are not influenced by 
 similar motives with his. You must also recollect that I differed even 
 with my friends respecting this boundary, and to the last two messages 
 you then received, my name was to neither of them, because I thought 
 them too unreasonable. This made me take more pains and trouble to 
 bring the Indians and you to an understanding, than I was under any 
 obligations to do, otherwise than humanity dictated to me, having 
 nothing but our mutual interests in view, and as to politics I study them 
 not. My principle is founded on justice, and justice is all I wish for, 
 and never shall I exert myself in behalf of any nation or nations, let 
 their opinion of me be what it will, unless I plainly see they are just 
 and sincere in their pursuits, doing what in every respect to justice 
 may belong. When I perceive -such are the sentiments of a people, 
 no endeavors shall be wanting on my part to bring neighbors to a good 
 understanding. 
 
 I must again repeat that I am extremely sorry this boundary, so 
 long since pointed out, should have been abandoned, it being an ob 
 ject of such magnitude, and which much depends on the whole Indian 
 confederacy being interested. I should therefore have supposed it 
 would have been more for mutual interests and would have had a bet 
 ter effect, to have dealt upon a larger scale than within the small 
 compass of the Five Nations, the meeting being intended solely to 
 talk over the business of the boundary, and then to have acquainted 
 the whole confederacy with what had passed, so that something final 
 could have been determined on, as all that part of the country is a 
 common to the whole of us. 
 
 You say on your part every thing has been openly and fairly ex 
 plained, and that you shall be disappointed if the chiefs do not acknow 
 ledge your candor. I can, for my own part, form no opinion, whether 
 it is so or not, being perfectly ignorant of what has passed, but ever 
 look upon it that business fairly transacted should be adhered to as 
 sacred. 
 
 And that you are still ready to make peace with the western na 
 tions, this has made me say much about the boundary line, in order 
 that peace and friendship might be established between you. This 
 obliges me to say they ought to have been included in this treaty, and 
 to have been consulted with, as well as those who were there, they 
 being equally interested with the Six Nations in this line. As to the 
 British, they are an independent nation, as well as the United States 
 and the Indian nations, and of course they act for themselves, as well as 
 other white nations do. 
 
 My mentioning in my letter to you, that I was sorry Mr. Johnson 
 was looked upon as a spy, was because I knew the Five Nations so 
 often erred in their transactions with the white people, it being my 
 self in person, from the wish of the Indians, that requested Mr. John 
 son should go to the treaty ; in consequence of which request he was 
 permitted. I was well aware at the same time of the reception he 
 would meet with, as we are an independent people. I ever thought 
 our councils should be private ; but must at the same time say, we 
 have an undoubted right to admit at our councils whom we please. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 475 
 
 Of course the United States have it optional whether they will treat 
 or not with any nation or nations, where foreign agents are present. 
 
 You seem to think, in your letter of the 20th, that the Senecas are 
 the nation most concerned in the tracts in question, agreeable to the 
 lines you point out. At the different treaties held since the year 83, 
 I allow, the Senecas from their proceedings seemed to be the only na 
 tion concerned in that country, although the whole Five Nations have 
 an equal right one with the other, the country having been obtained by 
 their joint exertions in war with a powerful nation, formerly living 
 southward of Buffalo Creek, called Eries, and another nation then liv 
 ing at Tioga Point, so that by our successes all the country between 
 that and the Mississippi, became the joint property of the Five Na 
 tions, all other nations now inhabiting this great tract of country 
 were allowed to settle by the Five Nations. 
 
 This I hope will convince you that the Mohawks have an equal 
 claim, and right to receive in proportion, with the others of the Five 
 Nations. But as I am ignorant of the transaction, knowing nothing 
 of what has passed, and what was the result of the treaty, must, 
 therefore, defer saying any thing farther on the subject until I know 
 the particulars, which I hope will be ere long. As to the others of 
 the Five Nations residing on the Grand River, they must answer for 
 themselves. I am not so particular in that as I might be, seeing no 
 great necessity for it, as I hope to see General Chapin ere long. 
 
 In reading the speech you have sent me, I perceive that you say 
 we requested you might be sent to kindle the council fire, &c. This 
 I knew to be a mistake. Incur speech to General Chapin, we wished 
 the President of the United States to send a commissioner to our fire 
 place at Buffalo Creek, (your name being mentioned,) not that you was 
 to come and kindle a council fire elsewhere and that you requested 
 our assistance to bring about a peace, &c. You did, and every thing 
 has been done by us faithfully and sincerely, by pointing out the medi 
 cine that would accomplish it, your relinquishing part of your claims 
 in the Indian country. 
 
 You also say that I told General Chapin at Winny s that it was 
 the British prevented the treaty taking place. I said so then, and still 
 do. What enabled me to say so, was the gentleman belonging to the 
 Indian department in that quarteiv interfering in the business. Had 
 the line, as pointed out by us been accepted of by the United States, 
 their interference could not have prevented peace then taking place, 
 as the five nations had pledged themselves to see it ratified. 
 
 As to the business of the white nations, I perceive it at present to be 
 a lottery which will be uppermost cannot be known until drawn 
 the most powerful no doubt will succeed ; but let who will be suc 
 cessful, our situation is the same, as we still have whites to deal with 
 whose aims are generally similar. 
 
 You mention the people of France took the Indian method, all their 
 warriors turning out. The Indian warriors are always ready to turn 
 out in defence of their just rights, but Indian warriors would not be 
 ready to butcher in an inhuman, shocking manner, their king, queen, 
 nobles and others. This is acting worse than what is called savage. 
 The Indians are not entirely destitute of humanity but from every 
 appearance it has fled from France. I must therefore say the French 
 have not acted as Indians do. 
 
476 APPENDIX. 
 
 You likewise mention that you told the deputies from the westward 
 who met you at this place, that though you were willing to run a new 
 line, yet it was impossible to make the Ohio the boundary. This, I 
 believe is a mistake, as the word Ohio was never mentioned at that 
 time. 
 
 You may now perceive that I do not swerve from any expressions I 
 have made use of. I know the necessity for being candid, especially 
 at this critical juncture, and still earnestly hope that peace may be 
 established without further bloodshed, and that friendship may reign 
 between the people of the United States and the Indian nations. This, 
 be assured, is the sincere wish of, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 TIMOTHY PICKERING, ESQ. JOS. BRANT. 
 
 [D.] 
 CAPTAIN BRANT TO CAPTAIN CHAPIN. 
 
 " Niagara, 21st of May, 1803. 
 " DEAR SIR, 
 
 " Your friendly letter by Aaron, I have the felicity of acknow 
 ledging, and ought to have answered it long ere this. But I trust 
 you ll excuse me for this neglect, particularly so, when I assure you 
 of my high esteem for you. I trust you ll continue your friendly cor 
 respondence, as the love I bear you is sincere, and as there was a de 
 gree of confidence and friendship that subsisted between your worthy 
 and much to be lamented father and myself. This I look upon, (ex 
 clusive of our personal friendship and acquaintance,) to be a sufficient 
 reason for continuing our mutual friendship toward each other. Be 
 assured nothing on my part shall be wanting to keep this flame of 
 friendship alive. 
 
 " I certainly regretted to hear of your removal from office, but trust 
 it will not be long before you again fill it, an office in which you 
 have certainly done credit to yourself, and justice to those Indians 
 over whom you presided. To you did they look up as their friend 
 and patron. Your removal is one of the natural changes incidental 
 to republican governments. When a person is elevated to a high 
 office, it is expected from him, and it is but natural to suppose that he 
 will provide for his friends, at the expense of others, perhaps more 
 honorable than the favorite to be provided for. I am happy that you 
 bear your dismissal with manly, virtuous, and patriotic fortitude. 
 This surely must redound to your honor, and raise you even in the 
 estimation of the person who dismissed you. 
 
 " I hope before long to have the pleasure of seeing you personally, 
 and condoling with you for your loss, if you look upon it as such. In 
 all revolutions, some changes for political reasons will take place, 
 perhaps through whim, caprice, or prejudice. 
 
 " I will thank you to pay attention to your friend Oghgwage-Joseph, 
 who is the bearer of this, and am, dear sir, 
 
 " Your friend and well-wisher, 
 
 " JOSEPH BRANT." 
 w CAPTAIN ISRAEL CHAPIN." 
 
APPENDIX, 477 
 
 GENERAL PORTER TO THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Niagara Falls, Oct. 25, 1840. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I have received your favor of the 9th ultimo, en 
 closing a number of the manuscript sheets of your intended biogra 
 phy of Red-Jacket, containing a notice of the repulse of a detachment 
 of British troops under the command of Colonel Bishop, at Black 
 Rock, in July, 1813, being the first occasion on which our Indians 
 were engaged in battle as auxiliaries of the Americans ; and embra 
 cing also an account of the march and operations of the American 
 army under General Brown, from the time of their entering Canada, 
 on the 3d of July, 1814, until shortly after the battle of Chippewa, 
 when the Indians took leave of us for their respective homes ; and 
 asking for such additions, corrections and remarks as the subject may 
 suggest. 
 
 While I will cheerfully comply with your request as regards the affair 
 at Black Rock, I will not disguise the satisfaction which the receipt of 
 your communication has given me, in so far as it affords me an oppor 
 tunity of doing an act of justice, too long withheld from the Indians 
 and volunteers engaged in the battle of Chippewa ; by presenting, 
 with your permission, and in a shape and connexion where it will be 
 sure to meet extensively the public eye, a minute account, (so far at 
 least as the Indians and volunteers were concerned,) of the various 
 movements and incidents of that day ; and thus rescuing their cha 
 racters from the charge of cowardice, preferred against them for their 
 conduct on that occasion. 
 
 It is to be regretted that we have no fair, intelligent and connected 
 history of the interesting campaign of 1814, on the Niagara frontier, 
 prepared by some one whose knowledge of the views and plans of 
 those who conducted it, as well as of its incidents, gives him a right 
 to be heard. But of those best qualified to perform the task, many 
 have doubtless been deterred by considerations of delicacy in the nar 
 ration of events in which they had a deep personal interest or agency ; 
 and thus involving the necessity either of becoming their own pane 
 gyrists, or of suppressing important facts, the preservation of which 
 is due to the integrity and truth of history. 
 
 Many, if not most of these, have already left the stage of life, and 
 the only hope of preserving the recollection of many interesting 
 events of that period, rests upon the occasional and voluntary contri 
 butions of those who remain. I observe, with much satisfaction, that 
 our friend, Major Douglass, has been employed in delivering, in your 
 city, a course of lectures on the subject of the " Niagara Campaign." He 
 was, if I mistake not, personally engaged in several of the principal 
 battles of that year ; and, although then young, and fresh from West 
 Point, he was an intelligent and active officer, and will doubtless gra 
 tify the public expectations with many interesting reminiscences. 
 
 Will it, then, my dear sir, be presuming too much to offer for your 
 acceptance the accompanying narrative of the operations of the army 
 during the few days to which it extends, and embracing the battle of 
 Chippewa, as a substitute for the sheets you sent me I In exchange 
 for the loss of style and spirit in its composition, I can only promise a 
 more minute detail, and probably somewhat greater accuracy in the re- 
 
478 APPENDIX. 
 
 lation of facts. If the story should appear to be a long one, I hope 
 that this defect will not be ascribed wholly to the proverbial garrulity 
 of an old soldier, but to the impossibility of doing justice to the several 
 parties engaged in that severe conflict, without a full knowledge of its 
 complicated incidents. The whole history of this battle, as it has ap 
 peared in most of our publications on the subject, may be compre 
 hended in two simple propositions : the one, that our volunteers and 
 Indians, when met and attacked on that day, by the regular columns 
 of the British army, retreated and were pursued with great precipita 
 tion. The other, that these same British columns were, immediately 
 thereafter, met and beaten by our regular troops, and obliged in their 
 turn, to retreat with equal precipitation. 
 
 Now, both these propositions are literally true : but whether the 
 inferences that have been drawn from them are just, can only be de 
 cided by reference to the whole operations of the day, and these it has 
 been my purpose to detail. I have however introduced some circum 
 stances that were not strictly necessary to an exposition of the merits 
 of the battle, merely because I thought they would be interesting to 
 readers of the present day. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, very truly and respectfully, yours, 
 
 WILLIAM L. STONE, ESQ. P. B. PORTER. 
 
 [P.] 
 THE INDIAN TREATIES. 
 
 The following are the leading provisions of these treaties as agreed 
 upon in council on the Indian reservation, January, 1838. We pre 
 sume they have been ratified essentially as they were originally made. 
 The government gives the New- York Indians 1,824,000 acres of land, 
 west of Missouri, being 320 acres for each person, to be held in fee 
 simple by patent from the President, which is never to be included in 
 any state. The Indians are to have the right of holding in severalty, 
 under such regulations as they may prescribe, and are to enjoy their 
 own form of government, subject only to the laws of Congress. They 
 are to be secured in their new possessions, and if aggressions are 
 committed upon them, and redress cannot be obtained of the aggressor, 
 then the government is to make good the loss. It is to remove them 
 and subsist them for one year. It is also to erect for them council- 
 houses, churches, school -houses, a saw and grist-mill, gunsmiths and 
 blacksmiths shops ; find coal, iron and steel ; and pay teachers, mil 
 lers, blacksmiths and a gunsmith for ten years, and as much longer as 
 the President may deem proper. 
 
 Fifty thousand dollars are set apart to be invested to support a high 
 school, or college, the teachers of which are to be Indians, if those of 
 suitable qualifications can be found. Twenty thousand dollars are set 
 apart to make erections and enclosures for poor people, after their arrival 
 west. 
 
 Ten thousand dollars a year, for five years, are to be paid them in 
 domestic animals, farming utensils, spinning wheels and looms, and to 
 support persons to teach them the use of the same. 
 
 It is farther provided, that those who wish to remove in their own 
 conveyances, can do so, and be paid what it costs the government to 
 
APPENDIX. 479 
 
 remove others, and a physician is to accompany each party of emi 
 grants, if they desire it. 
 
 The only cession of land to the government, is of the Green Bay- 
 tract, from which is expected a reservation now occupied by the Onei- 
 das. Those who do not remove to the new country in five years, or 
 such time as the President may appoint, forfeit their right to the country 
 set apart for them. The Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and the Onon- 
 dagas, residing on the Seneca reservations, agree to remove in five 
 years, and a portion of the Oneidas are to do so, as soon as the Gover 
 nor of New- York will purchase their lands. 
 
 Several sums of money are to be paid to several nations and indi 
 viduals, to remunerate them for losses and services, which it is supposed 
 the United States ought to pay. There are also several separate 
 provisions for each tribe, and distinct branches of a tribe. 
 
 A separate treaty was also made in January, 1838, with the Senecas 
 and Tuscaroras, for the purchase of their lands, (except one reserva 
 tion conveyed by the latter to the United States in trust,) by the repre 
 sentatives of the state of Massachusetts with the assent of a superin 
 tendent from that state. The consideration money for the sale of the 
 Seneca reservation is to be paid to the United States, and be held in 
 trust for the nation. One hundred thousand dollars of which is to be 
 invested for the use of the nation ; and the balance ($102,000) is to 
 be distributed among the owners of the improvements on the reser 
 vation. 
 
 The government agrees to have one of its agents reside among the 
 Indians at their new homes, and to pay them their annuities there. 
 
 These are the leading provisions. 
 
 By this treaty the Tuscaroras cede to the Ogden Company, who 
 have purchased the pre-emptive right, 1920 acres ; to the United 
 States about 5000 acres, of which the Indians owned the fee, and 
 which is to be sold by the United States, and the nett proceeds paid to 
 the Indians. 
 
 The Senecas cede to the pre-emptive owners about 115,000 acres, 
 all lying in the western part of this state, upwards of 50,000 of 
 which is the reservation near this city. 
 
 The other reservations are, one at Tonnawanda, one at Cattaraugus, 
 and one at Alleghany. 
 
 The tract which the Indians obtain, lies directly west of, and ad 
 joining the State of Missouri, being 27 miles wide and about 106 deep. 
 It is watered by the little Osage, Marmaton, Neosho, and branches 
 of the two Verdigris and Turkey-foot rivers. These are all clear 
 rapid streams, abounding in fish. The country is healthy and fertile, 
 with sufficient timber along the borders of the rivers for all practical 
 uses. Besides this, on the tract are found coal, fine stone quarries, 
 and, in the immediate vicinity, salt in abundance. 
 
 Such was an outline of the treaty as at first concluded in 1838. 
 While under discussion in the Senate of the United States, it was 
 amended as follows : The special provisions for the erection of houses, 
 churches, mills, shops, providing various utensils, coal, iron, steel, &c. 
 &c., it was thought might open the door to fraud and speculation, and 
 in lieu thereof, after a careful estimate of the fair probable cost of all 
 these things, the Senate struck them all out, and inserted instead the 
 specific sum of $400,000, which is to be expended under the direction 
 
480 APPENDIX. 
 
 of a superintendent in providing every thing promised by the treaty, 
 which it was believed would cover the whole expense. 
 
 [The following article, copied from the New-York Journal of Com 
 merce of December 30, 1840, affords a history of the negotiations 
 with the Senecas which resulted in the treaty-so-called, that has been 
 concluded. The article is a review of two important publications, 
 which the nefarious transactions here unveiled, have called forth.] 
 REPORT on the memorials of the SENECA INDIANS and others. Ac 
 cepted, November 21, 1840, in the Council of Massachusetts. Bos 
 ton : Dutton & Wentworth, State printers, 1840. pp. 28. 
 THE CASE of the SENECA INDIANS in the State of New- York, illus 
 trated by facts. Printed for the information of the Society of Friends, 
 by direction of the Joint Committee on Indian Affairs, of the Four 
 Yearly Meetings of Friends, of Genesee, New- York, Philadelphia, 
 and Baltimore. Philadelphia : Merihew & Thompson, 1840. pp. 254. 
 
 To all who can sympathize with the Indians in the afflictions which 
 are consuming them from the face of the earth, these are deeply in 
 teresting publications ; and the character of the sources from which 
 they emanate, must command respectful attention to their contents. 
 Nor can the truth of their statements be questioned ; for all the im 
 portant facts are sustained by authentic documents, given at full 
 length. A brief abstract of their contents seems the more desirable, 
 as the Senecas aver that a powerful influence, exerted over the "press 
 in their vicinity, has hitherto prevented them from laying the story 
 of their wrongs fully before the public. 
 
 The present number of the Senecas is said to be 2,449. They 
 claim four "Reservations" in the State of New- York, viz : the Tonna- 
 wanda, 13,000 acres ; the Buffalo, 53,000 acres ; the Cattaraugus, 
 22,000 ; and the Alleghany, 31,000 ; in all, about 119,000 acres. 
 Much of this land is among the most fertile and valuable in the state, 
 and the whole is supposed to be worth at least two millions of dollars. 
 At the close of the war of the revolution, Massachusetts claimed an in 
 terest in this and other land belonging to the Six Nations. By arti 
 cles of agreement, dated at Hartford, December 16, 1786, Massachu 
 setts ceded to New- York the sovereignty and jurisdiction over those 
 lands, and New- York ceded to Massachusetts, its grantees, their 
 heirs and assigns, the right of pre-emption to the lands themselves. 
 It was " provided, however, that no purchase from the native Indians 
 by any such grantee or grantees should be valid, unless the same 
 should be made in the presence of, and approved by, a superintendent, 
 to be appointed for such purpose by the commonwealth of Massachu 
 setts, and having no interest in such purchase ; and unless such pur 
 chase shall be confirmed by the commonwealth of Massachusetts." 
 This agreement was sanctioned by Congress in 1787. 
 
 By an agreement, dated March 12, 1791, the commonwealth con 
 tracted to sell its pre-emptive right to Samuel Ogden, his heirs and 
 assigns ; and by several transfers, that title has come into the hands 
 of a company, now known as the " Ogden Land Company." Under 
 this title, several purchases have been made of the Indians, and con 
 firmed by the commonwealth. 
 
 The United States had made three treaties with the Six Nations, 
 
APPENDIX. 481 
 
 pluvious to the negotiations which have given occasion to these pub 
 lications. The first was a treaty of peace and boundaries, in 1784. 
 The second, in 1789, was little more than a confirmation of the first. 
 The third, which continued to be the rule of intercourse between the 
 parties for more than forty years, was made in 1794. It contained 
 two important provisions, bearing on the questions which have lately 
 arisen. First, it acknowledged and guaranteed the right of each of 
 the Six Nations, to its own reservations ; so that the Six Nations 
 could not, thenceforth, dispose of any of the land of any one tribe 
 of the confederacy against its will. Secondly, while other Indians 
 are restrained from selling their land except to the United States, this 
 treaty conferred on each of the Six Nations^ separately, the right to 
 sell any or all of its lands to citizens of the United States, whenever 
 and however they might choose. The Indians agreed never to set 
 up any claim to any other land within the United States. Under 
 these arrangements with the United States and Massachusetts, the 
 Indians frequently sold land to companies and individuals, and con 
 veyed it, not by treaties* but by ordinary deeds of conveyance. 
 
 It would seem that the United States had now no further connexion 
 with this business. It was, however, for the interest of the Ogden Land 
 Company, that the United States government should be involved in 
 some train of measures for removing the New- York Indians. For 
 this purpose, as it was stated by Mr. Sevier, Chairman of the Com 
 mittee on Indian Affairs^ in his speech in the United States Senate, 
 March 17, 1840, the Company induced two small bands to apply to 
 President Monroe, in 1818, for permission to purchase, with their 
 own means and on their own account, the title of the Menomonies, to 
 certain lands near Green Bay. Mr. Sevier asserts, that evidence of 
 the Company s influence in this movement is on file in the War De 
 partment. Mr. Monroe gave his assent. The agents of the " two 
 small bands," as they assert^ purchased the land and paid $12,000 for 
 it, and the bands began to remove. The Menomonies denied the 
 purchase. A controversy arose, and the United States Government 
 was called upon to make peace. The government made peace 
 in 1832, by purchasing the land of the Menomonies, paying back 
 to the " two small bands" the $12,000 which they professed to have 
 paid for it, and paying $35,000 to the Oneidas and $5,000 to the 
 St. Regis Indians, as a remuneration to them for purchasing and 
 removing to the Green Bay lands, under Mr. Monroe s permission. 
 
 This treaty of 1832 was made with the Menomonies ; and neither 
 the Senecas, nor any other Indians residing in New- York, were pre 
 sent, or had any thing to do in making it. Yet by this treaty the 
 United States purchased* for $20,000, of the Menomonies, 500,000 
 acres of land, as a home for all the New-York Indians ; and it was 
 stipulated that the New- York Indians should remove to it within 
 three years, or their right to it should be forfeited, and revert to the 
 United States. This, it was hoped, would induce them to sell their 
 reservations in New- York to the Ogden Company on easy terms. The 
 Senecas, however, paid no attention to the treaty. They were satis 
 fied with their old homes, and cared nothing for the forfeiture of lands 
 which they had not purchased and did not want. In the hope that 
 they might be brought to change their minds, a supplementary arti- 
 
 61 
 
482 APPENDIX. 
 
 cle was procured, by which the time for their removal was left to the 
 discretion of the President. 
 
 So matters remained till 1837. About this time, certain new agents 
 appeared, acting for the Land Company. It does not appear from the 
 documents before us, but has been currently reported at and around 
 Buffalo, and is understood to be acknowledged by the gentlemen them 
 selves, that five men agreed to obtain a treaty for the removal of the 
 Senecas within a specified time ; for which some of them were to re 
 ceive $25,000 each, and some of them $20,000 and certain profitable 
 agencies. These agents took hold of their work in good earnest. 
 Mr. Sevier, in his speech already quoted, read a contract between one 
 of these agents, on behalf of the Ogden Land Company, and a Seneca 
 chief, in which the said chief agreed to " use the best of his exertions 
 and endeavors" to procure such a treaty as the Company desired, by 
 - the active application of his whole influence at councils, and in con 
 fidential interviews," and in such other ways as he should be advised; 
 for which, and for his " improvements," he was to receive two thou 
 sand dollars within three months after the ratification of the treaty, 
 and a lease, at a nominal rent, during occupancy, of the farm on 
 which he lived. By the treaty, if made, he would of course be paid 
 for his " improvements" a second time. Mr. Sevier read another 
 contract, by which the same agent agreed to pay another chief, for 
 similar services, five thousand dollars. How many such contracts 
 were made, is not -known. Mr. Sevier mentioned six others. By 
 these eight, the Company were bound to pay $21,600 to eight chiefs 
 for such services as have been described, besides leases for years, or 
 for life, or grants in fee simple, of the lands they then occupied. By 
 this arrangement, he remarked, * the emigrating party were to stay 
 at home upon their leases, and the non-emigrating party were to be 
 transported beyond the Mississippi." 
 
 To accomplish the object, the intervention of the United States was 
 necessary, and was obtained. A commissioner was appointed, to pur 
 chase of the Senecas their right in the Green Bay lands, which they 
 always had refused to accept as a gift. A council was called. Two 
 instruments were laid before the council. One was a treaty, by which 
 the United States were to give 1,800,000 acres of land, west of the 
 State of Missouri, and $400,000 in cash, for the Green Bay lands. 
 The other was a deed, conveying the Seneca reservations in New- 
 York to the Ogden Land Company, for $202,000, the receipt of which 
 was acknowledged, though the treaty provides that it "shall be 
 paid" to the United States, to be used as stipulated for the benefit of 
 the Senecas, and though the Senecas have never yet received any 
 part, either of the principal or income. To this treaty forty-five sig 
 natures, purporting to be those of chiefs or head men, were obtained. 
 The effect of these bargains would be, that the United States would 
 remove the Senecas at an expense of 1,800,000 acres of land, and 
 $400,000 in cash ; and the Ogden Land Company would purchase 
 $2,000,000 worth of land for $202,000. 
 
 The party among the Senecas who were opposed to emigration, 
 asserted that this treaty had been obtained by fraud and corruption ; 
 but they do not seem to have had, at that time, the means of proving 
 their assertion. The contracts referred to by Mr. Sevier, had not 
 then come to light. The sale was approved by the government of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 483 
 
 Massachusetts ; but the United States Senate found its provisions so 
 enormously liberal that they refused to ratify it. They amended it, 
 so as to make it almost a new treaty ; either wholly annulling, or 
 commuting for others which the Senecas might think less valuable, 
 six important inducements to sell their lands and remove. They sent 
 the amended treaty back to the Senecas, with a resolution, that it 
 " shall have no force or effect whatever, nor shall it be understood 
 that the Senate have assented to any of the contracts connected with 
 it," till it should have been explained by the United States com 
 missioners in open council, and received the assent of a majority of 
 the chiefs. This provision was added, to prevent such frauds in ob 
 taining signatures as the Senecas had complained of. 
 
 The Commissioner returned, called a council, explained the amended 
 treaty, and urged the Senecas to assent to it. Among other things, 
 he told them that the head of the Indian Bureau at Washington thought 
 the sale to the Land Company valid, whether the treaty was ratified 
 or not ; so that they must assent to it, or be left without a home. Gen. 
 Dearborn, who attended as superintendent on the part of Massachu 
 setts, told them that the Governor of Massachusetts thought other 
 wise, that if the treaty was not ratified, the contract was void. The 
 Commissioner called for signatures. One of the chiefs proposed that 
 those opposed to the treaty should sign a remonstrance ; but the 
 Commissioner refused to authenticate it. One was drawn up, and 
 authenticated by Gen. Dearborn. The treaty was signed by 16 chiefs, 
 and the remonstrance by 63. The Commissioner then invited the 
 chiefs to sign the treaty singly and secretly, at his private lodgings, 
 in a tavern at Buffalo. Runners were sent out, chiefs were brought 
 in, paid various sums of money for their signatures, made drunk and 
 induced to sign, or their assent was procured at their own houses. 
 In various ways, 15 more signatures were procured, making 31 in all, 
 The treaty was sent to Washington, and five more signatures were 
 sent after it; but they were rejected by the Department of War. 
 The Commissioner continued his labors, and obtained ten more sig 
 natures, including three who had been made chiefs illegally, for the 
 purpose of signing the treaty, and making 41 in all. The whole 
 number of undisputed chiefs is 75. Of these 29 appear to have 
 signed the amended treaty. The whole number who are claimed to 
 be chiefs by both parties, is 97, of whom 41 appear as signers. Six 
 of those whose names are attached to it, solemnly swear that they 
 never signed it, knowing what they did, nor in any way authorized 
 others to sign it on their behalf. The " Friends" in one of the works 
 mentioned at the head of this article, give at full length the " bribery 
 contracts," as they call them, and one affidavit, testifying that twenty- 
 five dollars was offered to a certain Seneca, if he would forge the 
 name of a chief to the power of attorney for signing the treaty, and 
 then swear that the signature was genuine. 
 
 The treaty went again to the Senate, who advised the President to 
 make proclamation of it and carry it into effect, whenever he should 
 be satisfied that it had received the assent of the Senecas, according 
 to the true intent and meaning of the Senate s former resolution. In 
 August, 1839, the Secretary of War and Gen. Dearborn met the 
 Senecas in council. Of the result, the President says : " No advance 
 toward obtaining the assent of the Senecas to the amended treaty, in. 
 
484 APPENDIX. 
 
 council, was made ; nor can a majority of them in council now be ofr* 
 tained ;" and again : " That improper means have been employed to 
 obtain the assent of the Seneca chiefs, there is every reason to be 
 lieve." It was referred, in the Senate, to the Committee on Indian 
 affairs, who reported a resolution for rejecting it. The Senate, how* 
 ever, March 25, 1840, passed a contrary resolution, it is said, by the 
 casting vote of its presiding officer ; and the President, April 4, pro 
 claimed it, as a part of the law of the land. The ratification of a 
 treaty requires the assent of two-thirds of the senators present. 
 Whether this vote was a ratification, and therefore void for want of the 
 constitutional majority, is a disputed question. 
 
 The Senecas then applied to the government of Massachusetts, as 
 their ancient protector ; and the " Friends" of the four " Yearly 
 Meetings" sent on their memorial. These papers were referred by 
 the Governor and Council, to a Committee, of which John R. Adan y 
 Esq., was Chairman. The Report was accepted by the Council and 
 approved by the Governor, November 21, 1840. It is brief, but able. 
 It concludes that the assent of the Commonwealth to the sale of Re 
 servations, though made in ignorance of important facts, which, if 
 known, would have prevented it, cannot be retracted. It sets forth 
 several strong arguments against the validity of that sale ; but these 
 only raise a " legal question, a question of title to the lands, which 
 must be determined by a judicial tribunal, and cannot be determined 
 by the Executive Department of Massachusetts." "Considering the 
 nature of the objections to the Ogden Company s title, we think the 
 character of that Company, and of those who conduct its affairs, as 
 well as the interest of both parties, require that those objections should 
 be fairly met and judicially settled without delay. Until that shall be 
 done, the Senecas will probably remain at their old homes ; and the 
 Ogden Company may not find it easy to sell them, or any part of them, 
 to any prudent purchaser." 
 
 Such is the present situation of this affair. Those who wish to 
 examine in detail the long and sickening series of astounding frauds 
 by which it has been brought into this situation, may consult the pub 
 lications from which this abstract has been made. 
 
 Thus far the Journal of Commerce. It should be stated, in order 
 that his name may be held in everlasting remembrance, for good if 
 he has done good, and for evil if evil, that the name of the United 
 States Commissioner, under whose conduct such proceedings have been 
 had, is Gillett, recently a member of Congress from the county of St. 
 Lawrence, N. Y. His duty, in theory, was to watch over the interests 
 of the Indians, and shield them from the rapacity and fraud of the 
 white man. How far, and with what degree of fidelity he has per*^ 
 formed that duty, is a question which the public must decide. 
 
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