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Longevity, often living to the age of
about 90 and as they suppose 100
years
or upward, but as they keep no written Re
cords of Births or
other occurrences, nor have
any regular mode of computing time, other
than by moons or Winters, or then remem
brance of remarkable Events the
most
of them can give no correct account
how old they are. While we
were rais
ing Silver Heel
woman, who was sitting on the Ground
looking on, we were told
could call
her Descendants round her to the 6th
Generation. Some of
them are subject to the Rheuma
tism which is supposed may be a
consequence
of their traversing the Wood in all weather,
night and day
- wading in the river and Suffering
their Cloathing to dry on them- and
often ly
ing out exposed with little or no shelter to
wet and cold- but
from the observation I
have made on the Inhabitants, where we have
stopd coming along, the Rheumatism is a
complaint prevailing in this
climate
and therefore not wholly to be imputed
to the Indian
Exposures.
The Children are generally born in the
woods - where the Woman accompanied
by
her Mother or some other Elderly woman re
tires on the occasion
& of cold builds a
Fire - The Babe is immediately wrapd in
a
Blanket & in 3 or 4 hours the Mo
ther returns with it to her own
habitation.
she washes her blanket soon after in Cold
water &
something, on the same Day, with
out injury to herself & in two or 3
Day
after goes into the Wood, & Collects & car
ries home heavy
Loads, of Wood on her
Back with the Infant on the Top of
it tied to a
Board. the Boards for this purpose
are about two feet & a half in
length & one
in breadth with a little Hoop in front to
protect the
Head of the Child or to sus
pend a curtain to cover it from flies or
cold. at the bottom a little foot board and
at the sides are loop holes for
the purpose
of fastening the Child which is placed in
an erect porting
with its hand down
its sides & then swathed with a piece of
Cloth
from the feet to the Chin so light
as to be unable to disengage itself- if
the
Weather is Cold & the Child young a Wild
Cat Skin or some
other skin with
soft Fur is put next to it. & if
the heels to prie the
toes a incli
nation inwards but if a male the feet
are left to take the
natural direction
one consequence of this is that the
track of the
different sexes may be
easily distinguished & the children in
this
situation are carried about at pleasure & if taken into the wood
are
laid down, or set up, against stumps
on Trees as occasion requires while
the
mother is employed in gathering wood
or any other service- a few
times in
the day they loosen there but the
children are so habited to
it that-
they become quiet when uneasy out
by being placed in again
this is
continued till they are about 9
months old & anyway the
purpose
of keeping them straight as well
as lending & carrying
them with
more ease & security - Jonathan
thomas
woman who went out
pregnant &
in ten Days returned with the infant
on her back &
two hundred young
sing, inclosed in a
piece of bark all the
product of her own labour except that her
husband fell he trees for her on which the young
when the
Indians Die the Women
generally Inter them; having first dug
the Grave. They lay bark under & above
the Dead body & their
covering all with
Earth
are more in the way of having Coffins
which the men make, but they
rarely at
tend at the Interment even now and
formerly not at all -
when the Corpse
is thus interd every moring for Nine
Days successively
the female rela
tives & Neighbours of the Deceased Col
lect at the
Deceased's Habitation & fall
into a kind of throbbing Lamentation &
then to crying & Wailing - for the
space of Half an hour or more
after which they disperse & when
the days of Mourning are thue
ended they
meet & are councild to Dry up their Tears after this
endeavor to discard all marks of
lamentation
They acknowledge One Supreme Being
whom they call
lieve Him to be the Creator of all
& the Rewarder, both
in this world & the
next for all good Sections - They be
lieve also
that there is an Evil Spirit
whom they call Neis'she'o'nay
who influences to bad Action & is
the
creator of all that is bad.
Wolves, & all warlike Bears,
Rattlesnakes, Poisonous Weeds,
bad thoughts & deeds & every thing
that
is productive of unhappiness both in
man & on the Earth
They believe there is a place of Happiness
called
World they ascend & are
received there among
the spirits of good Men & Women, where
the
Great Spirit is the Head of all.
He then presents & hangs about
their
necks a string of Implements for hunt
ing providing themselves a
comfortable livings they are sent to hunt in a Warm
country where there is
plenty of Game.
& fertile for Corn, Beans & other good things.
-
The place of punishment they call
that of Happiness being a Cold & Barren Country-
little
Game & nothing to kill it with -
or to procure other necessaries that
the Bad spirit there is Governor of all
arrayd in their best
Clothing & Ornaments
They assemble twice in the Year to ren
der
Thanks to the Good Spirit for the
favours which he hath conferd upon
them - the first is in the Fall of the Year
when the Corn, Beans, Squashes
&
Potatoes are ripe & the other about the
middle of Winter
when they return with
Game & Skins from Hunting - At these
Times
the men, Women, & Children Col
lect & an examination takes place
what uneasinesses are among them and
what evil acts each one has
committed
of there it is also common that they
make Confession, the
design of
which is that all wrong things should
be done away &
that where Differences
have existed a reconcilliation take
place &
a promise on the part of
the Offenders to by to do better for the
future
which done the Council assembled forgive them.
They then divide
into small Companies Men &
Women apart & dance around & in
each
House in the Town. These Dancing Com
panies are preceeded by two
Men, ap
pointed for the purpose, who are dressd
in the most frightful
manner they can
a bag of Ashes tied
about their middles
behind them & a hole to admit the Ashes
to run
about as they move- their faces
are coverd by a Large Painted mask
hav
ing a high mane on the crown made of the
coarsest long Horse Hair
standing al
most erect & large Eyes encircled
with a flame coloured
ring- the mouth
is open & shewn their own Teeth with
which They
Grin in a terrific man
ner & their Hands are blackd so
as to leave
the mark with every
Person they lay them on- In their
Hands they carry
the Shell of a mud
Tortoise which has been dried for
the purpose with
a stick thrust
thro' it which extends the neck
& large Head to its
full extent
and inside of the Shell are a quan
tity of Pebbles- Which
when shaken
make a Dismal rattle- these men
going from House to House
rub this
Rattle on the sides & up & down the
into the House but say
nothing nor
do any Injury- as they travel about
if they meet with any
Person male
or female in their way they pursue
them- those who turn
about & receive
them in a friendly way they shake
hands with, yet
say nothing- but
it is rather expected that many
should run as if
terrified- these
before getting into a House
are pursued & if
overtaken are laid
hold of & blackd with their Hands
but no other
injury is offerd and
except a frightful yelling noise any things spoken-
The design
of these frightful representations
is to Personify and
imitate the Bad Spirit & to
remind the Indians of the Necessity
to
amend their Ways & avoid wrong
things- After these Ceremonies are
performed they Collect at the Coun
cil House where they away &
paint a Dog (a White one is preferd)
the Poor Dog is then killd &
thrown on
the Indians, mean while
Dancing round
the Fire and Hooping with a Great noise.
The Dog is
Esteemed by them as approaching
the nearest to themselves of any other
Ani
mal and therefore is devoted on these occasions as a
sacrifice to
the Great Spirit, and together
with their Dancing is under a
profession
of pleasing Him- during this ceremony they
are feasting
occasionally on Corn Vegetables & Venison-
this Venison is taken by
encircling a large
space of Hunting Ground &
all the Deer
here Killd are Devoted to this Feast.
a particular Kind which they consider as peculiarly agree
able to
the Great Spirit is also thrown on the
Fire while the Dog is burning, in
the smoke
whereof the Spirit of the Dog ascending is
believed to be
received by the Great Spirit
as a Sacrifice of a Good Savour- during
this
Ascention one of their Chiefs whom they call
their Minister
addresses the Great Spirit
in a Speech, the purport of which is an
Acknowledgement for favours received-
Thanks for His Preservation in times
past
and imploring His continued care &
advising how they
ought to Conduct them
selves & pointing our some of the promi
nent
Evils which they should avoid- one
of the greatest of these is stealing and
ano
ther is for the Husband to Desert & Sepa
rate himself from his
Wife during Preg
nancy- but taking the Life of another
is not considerd
a Crime so Capital, as they
are left at liberty to revenge it by
ta
king the Life of the Murderer- this may
be done with impunity by the
Nearest
Relative of the Deceased & they then convey the cries of Blood
to be done away. The before
described feasting & Dancing is
continued
at Intervals & by Companies for the a
Period
of from five to ten Days- &
Formerly toward the latter part of
the
Time many of them became in
toxicated, but at present among the
Indians
of this Neighbourhood this is
entirely disused- and altho the feast
is
conducted with considerable noise
& apparent Confusion, it also is
atten
ded at Intervals with much Solemnity & on the
part of many of
them purely on
motives-
Formerly they
had Image of a man which at the
Time of those hearts was
decorated in
the Indian Stile with Wampum &
Trinkets &c- this
was elevated on a
Pedestal of about 6 feet in heighth &
their
Dance & feasting were performd
round it & their addresses made
to
it- being considered by them a Repre
sentative of the Great Spirit-
about
the Year 1802 this Image fell
down & a council was held what
was
to be done- some were for erecting
another- others for discarding
such
a Representation entirely- Henry
Obeal
River, the Council first
Consenting
that he should do it if he would
take upon himself & he
answerable
for any Judgement which might
follow- this Henry
tumbling it in the River
it floated
& lodged on an Island-
Conudiu
appointed successor &
Intercessor, to en
deavour to Keep Peace with the Great Spi
rit by
averting Judments &c- They also
Esteem him a Great Doctor & a
Prophet when
disposed to communicate any thing to the
Indians in this
Way, he wraps or covers himself
with his Blanket flying down quite
still with two little Heaps of Tobacco
smoaking beside him, he
pretends
leave the Body & Ascend to the upper
Regions where he
says he holds communion
with the Angels & recieves from them
information respecting such Things as
the Great Spirit designs should
be
imparted to the Indians- after he has
lain about half am Hour he
throws
off his Blanket & opening his Eyes
sets up- a council is
then Calld &
the subject of his pretended Visions
communicated
these professed Reve
lations have in some Instances had a
remarkable
effect upon the Indians-
his first Visions in this way we were
the Indians should
leave off Drinking Rum
& refrain from Selling their Lands- a
Reformation accordingly took place, but
it may be remarked that before
this,
friends had been labouring with them
much in those respects-
Conudiu
tinued an advocate herein
& Some time
after being desirous of encouraging &
pleasing his
Converts he told them that
he had another Vission & saw the bad
Spirit, in a frightful form & having
Wings alight behind a Certain
House
but that after looking about for some
time & finding that
the Indians had
declined drinking Rum & he had no
thing to do
there, he flew over to
Buffelo
Rum & where he found plenty of
Business. The sacrifice of
the Dog is now disap
proved by some of them & Henry Obeal
who tho' in some respects he has been a
dis
sipated character & in other is still in the
commission of
wrong things is notwithstanding
to open his
Objections in Council- he also be
lieves, with respect to Witchcraft that
it
does not exist & occasionally esperessed this Opinion
among
them, but has to do it with care,
and thinks he has already incurrd the
dis
pleasure of many whose prejudices in this
particular are yet
strong--
In Time of War they formerly Roasted
& Eat their Captives- there are one
or two
among them here who have partaken of
this inhuman feasting, but
of latter time
this Custom is exploded by this Nation
The Masks
(before described) are some
times worn as a cure for Diseases which
cures in this way, are supposed to be
effected by operating on the
Imagination.
War is considered in its Origin
to proceed from the Evil
Spirit- that
is the first agressor is instigated by
him- but when
agression has taken
place they consider is not only justi
fiable to
Revenge the Injury but even
believe that by so doing they are
employd
in the service of the Good
Spirit & that if they are killd in
Battle they are recieved into the place
They have,
beside their Public Devotions
at Hearts & Sacrifices, a Kind of
Family
Worship which is when they are setting
together particularly in
the Evening, if
one of the Heads of the family feels an
Impulse to
address the Great Spirit
he or she yield to it with an audible voice,
and this, among the more serious Class,
is frequently performed, tho' not
many
stated Days or Times-- They are some
times exercisd in this Way
when their
Friends are with them & the subject
of Aspiration is a
Thanksgiving for
preservation of their particular Family
or Tribe
& for supplying the varied
necessaries & Comforts of Sides-
de
siring their Continuance-
If an Indian of any particular Tribe
dreams a remarkable Dream
respecting
a Deceased Relative being Hungry or
in Need of Sympathy or
assistance in
any way the Indians of his Tribe are
informed of it
& a Hunting takes place
in consequence- the Game then taken
in a religious
way is instituted by the
partees engaged which continues for a
day or
more.
Formerly when a stranger or distant friend
entered an indian habitation it
was common
to set before them such provision as they
had cooked in the
house which the guest
partook of without ceremony except that
of
thanks, but friends
have rather advised them not
to give their
provision indiscriminately to
wondering or idle persons
but only to
strangers pariicularly Friends they have
old or infirm least it should encourage
indolence and be a
sound of oppressi
on on to the industirious and frugal- in this
respect
therefore thine is some change -
when a Seneca
he tells him he is done,
which amounts
to farewell - but if any circumstance
takes place which
has given umbrage
he withdraws and says nothing -this is
clear
evidence that he is offended-
Notwithstanding stealing in considered
a great crime, it not unfrequently
takes
place -when the person committing a
theft is discovered
complaint is made to the
chiefs who dispatch a runner command
ing
this mandate he
immediately obeys The
charge is then opend to him & if he is
guilty
confession is made and the Property taken is
restored if in
being -- every Chief or Warri
or in Council is then at full liberty to
express what they think, one by one, all
which he is obliged to hear. Thus
is considered
a severe punishment, but no other is
inflicted. Should
the Person charged de
ny that he is Guilty, he is considered In
nocent,
for it is remarkable in them that
they confess when justly Charges.
Jonathan
had frequently been a Witness, their
countenance &
Eyes betrayd them imme
diately, & of itself has been suffici
ent
evidence to him that the Gospel
has been preachd in them, or in other
Words that the Witness for Truth is
placed in their Minds--
The Different Sexes are very jealous & shy of
each other so that it is
rare to see a man
& Woman, even of the same Tribe, con
versing
together without witnesses, & when
a Woman has occasion to go abroad it
is
accounted Honourable to take one or more
Children with her to
testify, if needful,
too many proofs that
this is only a preten
ded shyness, yet being santioned &
esta
blished by custom it is productive of se
rious Evils - The Indians
appear to be as
well calculated and to possess talents for so
cial and
rational enjoyment as
any people, but custom putting a nega
tive on an
open friendly acquaintance
of the sexes, the natural tendency whereof
would be the improvement of their mind
and a knowledge of the good
qualities one
of the other, with the undesigned pro
duction in many
instances of permanent
attachments -they enter into Marie-
age very
early before their judgment
in ripe for the choice, without affec
tion
& without a knowledge of each
others dispositions - the
consequence
of which is that separations often
take place, so that
there are many
instances now here of Men who have
turned off several
wives, and of women
who have discarded as many hus
bands - there on
both sides marry
again (in a clandeitine ways to others
again, and thus, what ought
to be esteem
ed the most Devious & important Connec
tion in Life, is
lightly formed & dissolved
and shifted about in a manner unknown
among a People rightly Civilized -- In these
separations the Mother takes
the Children & uses them Kindly
They are very fond of Children &
indulge them
in most of their Wishes using little restraint
or
Conection of any Kind, yet sometimes
if Obstinate, tho' very young, they
will
plunge them in the River & if one Dip is
not sufficient it is
repeated till they be
come very quiet, which they soon do.
as the
Children get a little older they
will sometimes talk to them a long
time
in a Kind of harrangue or Speech
setting forth what the Child
should
do & what leave undone-- this at
times has such an Effect
that the
Tears will trickle down their Cheeks
of the Child before the
speech is
ended-- at other times they ridi
cule them for doing wrong
and tell
them they are not wise in doing so.
to tell an Indian that he
is not wise is a grating stigma.
When a Person has been Sick for a con
siderable Time in a lingering condition
&
Medecine proves
ineffectual to restore, it
is common for their Friends to collect
and
dressing two Men with Masks &c
in the Manner described at times of
Public Worship, they repair to the Ha
bitation, which they go round rattling
&
Rubbing the Tortoise Shells & whoping
in a frightful manner-
this altho' it
is a known Custom & in time of Health does
not
alarm them, yet has considerable af
fect on the Debilitated Indian
whose
fears being thus previously awakened by
knowing what is to be
endured. the men
enter the House continuing the noise &
acting
every Wild Contortion & Maneuvre
which their Imagination Devise-
some
times they pull the sick Person, whe
ther Male or female, about
the Room
dirtying them with their black Hands
&rubbing their Heads
& Bodies over
with ashes & handling in such a
manner that a
Person unacquainted
with their Custom would almost
suppose they were
going to kill the
Patient-- after this Wild treatment of
thoroughly with
their Ashes they with
draw & the nurse or some other Indian
undertakes to Clean after them-- Ab
surd as this practice appears it is
said that in many cases it has a
beneficial Effect by restoring
Per
spiration, working on the Imagin
ation & rousing the Indisposed
Person
to a Salutary Exertion--- Their Idea is
they drive away the
Evil Spirits in this way. --
The Ancient Custom when an Indian died
who was the Head of a Family was to take out
his Goods & burn the Hut,
the Design of thus
destroying the Habitation was to prevent
any
differences which might arise among
his Descendents or survivors respecting
the
possesing it that so Peace might be pre
served--
on such occasions of
the husband does
the
Houses and where both Parents are dead
When an Indian of distinction & property
dies his Gun, Blanket, Knife,
Trinkets & other
This I believe is not correct, but I cannot rectify
it. Property are preserved about 12 & some
times 18 months, before a
Division is made--
this Delay is in Consequence of an Opinion which
respectful to
take possession or bring
them into use sooner-- they are
then bro.
into Council & held up to public view, the
Indians
present being informed that here
are the Goods of such a Deceased
Chief.
on the Articles being thus severally held
up Any of the Young
Men who in
clince, are at liberty to advance & Snatch
them away,
till the whole are thus dis
tributed. the Relatives of the Deceased
making no claim in consequence of Con
nection. This Custom still
prevails
among some of the Indians in the Southern States
but some of
the more thoughtful among
the Senceas
Houses & increase of Property, do not
seem satisfied with the foregoing Cus
toms & in two or three Instances
they
have made Wills to divide their
Possessions & Improvements
among
their Children. this is a Natural Con
sequence of an advance
toward Civilization
& must obtain more place among them.
The Gun
& other things were formerly buried
with the Deceased, but latterly
this custom is
much Discontinued. --
They believe in the Ressurection of the Spirit
but not of the Body &
that for some Time
after Death it is common for it to Ascend &
De
scend. in order therefore for its accommoda
tion, as altho perhaps
from motives of De
cency & Respect, a Tomb is erected over
the
Graves, sometimes formd with logs
& having a Roof of Bark -- at others
it
is Constructed with Boards & the Roof of
the same- it made in
this way, a small
hole, phps the size of a key hole is
cut at the Head
of the Tomb both above
& below to allow Ingress & Egress to
the Departed Spirit-- This Custom con
tinues-- Already in Degree, it is
taking place
when Friends first came among them they
had one common
field & altho' each planted
his particular spot, there were many
Idlers
who partook the labour of the more Indus
trious-- They now clear
their particular
spots of land where choice induces them &
build
themselves comfortable Houses.
these Improvements if they incline to
leave
(as they sometimes do in order to settle else
where) are sold to
such as incline to
purchase & altho' the Fee in the Soil
cannot be
Conveyd Being the property of
the Nation yet Improvements so sold are
considered the Property of the Purchaser
ledge-- The first sale of this Kind was
considered an innovation & made consider
able stir but it is now done
without
objection & is no Small stimilus to
Individual exertion.
--
It sometimes happened formerly that as
Infermity being tird of Life would request
to
be buried alive, a Grave or Hole was then
dug in which a seat was
formed in the Digging
the Antient Indian was then let down &
taking his last seat the other Indians be
gan to fill in the Earth doing it
very gently
& tenderly till it had risen to his Chin.
a Pause was
then made and
some ceremony used, after which the
Young Warriors threw
in the Dirt very
hartily so as to prevent their
being Witnesses to his
Struggles & to
ferings as speedily as might be.
The Indian
Men formerly pluckd out their
Beards as also the Hair from their Heads
except a Tuft on the Crown which was
left to grow pretty long. In time of
War this
was laid hold of by an Enemy who had the
Power, & the
Skin to which it was attached
severd with a Knife & this they
denominated
scalping-- The Instrument use in plucking
Wire of the Common Knitting Needle
Size on a
piece of round hard Wood about 1/2 an Inch in
Diameter &
two Inches in length. On the Wood
being withdrawn the Wire forms a
spring
or Kind of Pinchers & being applied to the Face
or Head
& then pressd with the thumb &
Finger at each end, took such fast
hold of
the Hairs which had inserted themselves be
tween the wires when
a little open, they
were readily extracted by the Roots. This
Investment
is light of carriage & will last an Age.
Plucking the
Hair from their Heads is
now Discontinued, and in many Instances the
Younger Men Shave their Beards.
Indian Parents commonly give their Children
names significant of something
in Nature, as
Corn Planters
Much.
these Names are Changed
occasionally
in Consequence of remarkable Circumstance on
taking
place, or of particular Employments
or acts of Individuals & latterly
some of these
Class & Children have taken & ap
pear pleased,
with being named after white
People. They are not Delicate in their Eating,
but
will feast, apparently with a relish, on Meat
much tainted &
even peopled with Inhabi
tants & sometimes almost rotten. --
they are very Jealous of encroachments on the
rights & Priviledges of
each other & Offences of this
Nature have often given occasion for War
between
Nations. When such Offences Occur they hold
private Councils
& if they determine
to engage, they endeavour to do it by Surprize.
Such
as excel in Artifice & courage are appointed their Chiefs
&
have the management of their War Concerns.
They generally paint
themselves Red, but on
some occasions streaks of Black are intermixed.
Painting with Red, tho' expressive of War, is also
used to denote
cheerfulness so & sometimes to hide
the true expression of the
Countenance, & in this
way, when rubbed round the Eye, it has a
Won
derful Effect. it also makes them look fierce --
Black mostly
denotes Trouble -- In their
Marches They are as Careful as possible to
con
ceal their Tracks & to make very little Fire
in order to
prevent its being discovered that
a Multitude has passed. when engaged
they
are very Fierce, scalping those whom they kill,
& taking
Prisoners all they can-- these are taken
home with them & arranging
before the Council
where it is Determined which should be Put
to
torture & which preserved alive, -- the lat
ter are sometimes adopted in
Families in the
place of Relatives who have been killd in
the War-- in
such Cases they are treated here
by & often only in marriage with the
nation
receiving them. --
They are very fond of ornaments &
a
mong the Woman particularly Silver
Brouches. TS told us that he once
When an Indian believes he
has received an
Injury he is never satisfied without Revenge
and if he
cannot obtain it on the aggressor he
seeks to do it on some of the same
tribe
or family - to illustrate this Disposition,
I may here relate an
Account
that was given me of an old Indian Man
on the Allegany River
and shook hand with,
who passes
among them by the name of Stiff
Arms. In an Indian War
many
years since, when he was young
he was shot in an Engagement
thro' both his arms - tho Ball
passing near the Elbows entirely
disabled him for resistance he
thought it necessary to make his re
peat
- in this situation it seems like
ly he would have perished but some
of
his own Tribe found and took care
of him feeding him for a long time
and dressing his Wound. Hostiliies
between the contending parties
being
by this time over, himself and his Tribe
returned home, the
thoughts of
in his mind & he
endeavored for a
considerable time to prevail with
some of his friends
to go with him
to there notion by when he was
wounded to make
celabration, but the
distance was so long (being I think
about three
thousand miles) and
the danger of the understanding so
great that they
would not join
him -
his design he set
out above & trav
aild till he reachd the Border
of his Enemy - he
then stripd
himself naked & for several days
& night lay in
the wood & corn
field in the vicinity of the Ene
mies Town,
watching to catch
some of them who might be se
parated from the next -
by obser
vation he at length found that
the warriors had gone away on
an
expedition of hunting or war & on
scalped a woman & two children &
immediately made his Retreat, tra
velling into the wilderness night
& day with the greatest expedition
he was capable of till almost
fam
ishd -after extreme hardships en
durd he at length reached home
&
says he then left satisfied, - he
still relates the circumstance
with
great apparent satisfaction - says he
thinks he did right &
that if he had
not obtaind revenge he never should
have felt easy-
However despa
rately cruel this act may appear to
the Christian, and in
a rational view
however unjust that the innocent
should be made to
suffer for the Guilty,
yet great allowance is to be made
for the
unfetterd Indian who by Edu
cation is taught to believe that the
Revenge for an aggression is a Du
ty -that the family or the tribe, are
implicated with the individual aggres
sor and that if he falls in
obtaining
his desire, he will undoubtedly Die happy-
staid about home & employd part of the time
down five feet deep in a
Mound in the Field under an ap
prehension that it had once been an Indian
place of
internment but in this we were disappointed. we how
ever found
a number of Pebble stones which on break
ing often presented us the
impression of marine
shells - were also thrown a Flint stone taken
from the River those involving a shell of their kind -
and about this House
& premises there are large
rough stones suitable for building which
are
apparently composed entirely of marine shells
& a kind of
Earth or Clay in a Petrified state
they told in that in the copy of the
Mountains, which is
here near us & in full view, are abundance
of
stone of this description & that Petrifaction
is very common &
discoverable in various ways
throughout this Mountaneous Country- that
wherever this Petrification prevails the inhabi
tants are subject to the
complaint before
mentioned of a Swelling in the Throat, here
denominated the Guitar -
- sat with the Fam
ily in their Week Day meeting - after Din
ner the
Indian Runner who went with our
Message to Cattaraugus
been quite to Buffalo
the Indian Path -
he left their town on
first Day about Eleven oclock & returned
to
it about the same hour having performed
the journey wholly on foot in 11
Days - be
ing about 150 Miles- he brought a
from which I insert as it shows the place Jacob
has with the indians and also touches on their
im
provement --
I have now a short oppy to note that
I arrived here last sixth
day at the pressing re
quest of the allegany
tend a council of the
six nations
principle Business is to adopt some permanent
measure to prevent
any more Sales of their Lands
&c. The War Department are mostly
in favour
of the Plan, & I rather think it will be car
ried into effect - they have received their
presents a few
Days since at this place
from the U.S. & I think I never saw so
many Indians together that conduct
ted with so much propriety
- the num
ber could not be well ascertained but it
was thought
there were about One Thou
sand, and I dont remember to see One
Drunken Indian amongst them -
I believe Wool & other Articles we shall
want can be obtained at
this place - The
Agents says he will furnish the Cattaragus
Indians with Wheels, or Unite in any
Measure proper to forward
the Object of
Improvement - the Chief Warriors wife
has learnd
to spin tolerably well, and
& commence
Spin'g after Corn Harvest -
- We have had summer Weather
since being here & to Day several fine
Showers
being the first Rain of Consequence that we
have seen since
leaving home. In the
Evening Jacob Taylor
rode from Cattaraagus
that the Indians propose
being home to
morow giving us a hearing in
council on first Day.
Jacob
entertaining this
Evening in some encou
raging accounts of Indian Improvement
&
relating some Annecdotes of their Dis
cernment & Talents. he also read
us an
Indian Letter to the Agent of the US for the six Nations
Indian Affairs. being as follows-
We Chiefs must inform you, as
you are superintendant, that bad
thing
happen in our Nation. last Sattarday
we very Sorry. we
hope you will not
be angry with us about it, when you
know
Truth about it. One William, be
long Oneida
Nation
he kill one Wife in Oneida
run away, come amongst
us- take
Wife in our Nation- he got Drunk very
many times
most Kill her- he often say he
would Kill some our People- Last
Saturday
he come home Drunk- he try to Kill his
Son, a young
Chief,- he knife from his
Father- his son break it,- run to
Bush
where his Mother & Children make Sugar,
soon William
follow him,- come to camp- all run into Bush but one young
Man
brother to William Wife- he has
come from Grand River
not run,- he think
William had Gun
most Dark- he think he hear Gun
Snap- William
Stand behind Tree,-
he then shot at William with small
shot,-
William then go away- He lie
all night in Cold, next Morning
was
found Dead- may be froze more Death
than Shot Kill him- we
do not
know- Monday we buried him-
the young Man that Kill him
gone
Grand River- We hope you will ad
vise what is right- we
send Knife
broke you may see it- we hope you
will not think
Murder- Our whole
Nation Mourn- We hope our Nation
will not be
blame- we mean to Keep
suade all our
Nation not Drunk Whiskey.
we shamed any of our People get
Drunk
- we wish you Send Letter by Young Man
bring this, and
tell when you Come
see. we want to see you here our
Fine
Place-
Cloudy & some Rain. no account yet of
the Indians return and we have to
exercise Pati
ence. Ill therefore employ part of the Time in des
cribing
this Farm. Know then whom it may
concern that it lies on the East side of
the Allegany River
bounded on that side being the West by the Indian
Preservation
& on the East by Sands of the Holland Compy.
of whom
it was purchased about the year 1803.
for $1.25 cents p Acre and contains
692
Acres- about 60 of which is cleard and per
haps 22 of the 60 may be
Calld Meadow or
bottom Sand, lying on the Tunassasa
Creek
which runs thro' its part of this Meadow is
considerably Improved & very good (say 12
Acres) the rest is
capable of being made so,
and will all bear culture with the Plow.
The
Cleard Upland produces well but is not
the most fertile- the residue mostly
well
Timberd with W Pine, Hemlock, Beech,
Birch, Sugar Maple &c.
The House is
agreeable Eminence and commands a view of the
Meadows, Creek, Race,
Tanyard, Saw & Griste Mills
Cowpen, Piles of Boards &c. these are
incom
passed by Wood, & to the South West is a consi
derable
Mountain containing Petrified curiosities.
- on the North the Ground is
rising, but not
immediately, and the Pine Trees here rear thin
lofty
Heads. The House is a very comfort
able one, suited with Judgement for
the
occasion. Its Inhabitants are a very
clever Company, each filling,
or, and believe
sincerely endeavouring to fill up their
alotments
& several services, & therefore
there is not one banner or
unprofitable
among them- they appear to be im
pressed with the
Inestimable value of
Accordance, & Consequently live in Love.
This
Example cannot be last to their Indian
neighbors who often visit them-
indeed
the seed sown has in many Instances pro
duced comfortable Fruit.
May they be
presented is my sincere Petition!
As for us, we are here
treated as Prices &
free on the Fat of the Land. Flesh
from the
Field, & Fish from the Lucid
Stream;- Butter of Kine, excellent,
in
deed, & vegetables first rate in quality;-
are prepared by the
Representa
and pleasant to the Taste, -- beside other
nice sauce, we are
favourd with Good ap
petites as the Diminished Luxuries on the plenteous
Board often
spread, daily bears Witness, Thus are
we favourd Day by
Day from the bounte
ous Giver of every Good, - to whom with
propriety,
the Aspiration may arise,
What shall we render for all Thy Bene
fits?
Corn Planters
Burnt House) has about 4
families who live
in it & is about 13 Miles from Cold Spring
the River- Genes'ing guh'ta (on amongst
the
Hills) has 3 or 4 families & is 3 Miles from
Cold Spring
Pittsburg
sand 150.- The Allegany River
tiful stream. There about 90 or 100 yeards
wide- is fordable when
the Waters are low.
and for about half the Summer season na
vigable for
Boats of 8 to 12 Tons. French Creek
from here & Conowongo
are both navigable Waters- the 1st
has 14 Miles sand can get to
Lake Erie
other 8 Miles
& head in Chintankquasake
No Message being re
cieved from the Indians, Joel set off this Morning
to be held
to Day, bu on his Way was met
by J.P. one of the Indian Chiefs who was
com
ing to inform us that it was deferrd till to
morrow we were
therefore at liberty to stay
at home & sat with the Family in then
usu
al ways. After Dinner a Couple of Indian
Girls (one of them
Cornplanters
respecting the propriety of continuing the Prac
tice of Grinding for them
instructing
in the various arts of Housewifery on this Day
of the
Week- me own opinion is that it is time to
shew a discountenance as
preparatory to a total
discontinuance others of the Committee do not
appear to be like minded supposing the Indians
to be not yet ripe on
account of their prejudices &
want of Knowledge of Days- some of the
Friends
stationed here have for some time been uneasy.
& other
think the indulging Indians in this re
spect is unavoidable. I hope
eventually all
will work right. Yesterday the Committee with
Friends
of This Family agreed upon a address to
the Indians being previously drawn
up by TS
since being here- in substance being-
I wish
to remind them of Frnd continued care toward
and regard
for them. their starting that we had
from
& had felt desires for
their farther advancement
in every good Work. next that if they men
would
do more Work on their Farms & would en
courage their
Wives & Daughters in learning
to spin, Weave &c. Our belief
was that they
would devise great advantage from it-
That Jon Thomas
them, free of Cost for one year, provided
2 or 3 of their
women, in that time, would
learn to Weave, but if they neglected
this
The benefit designd by his thus instruc
ting them would
not fully answer our
wishes- Their custom of Husbands
&
Wives separating was next love to
upon & our sense thereon
conveyed that
such a practice was displeasing to the
Great
Spirit- & often left their Chi
lden in Poverty & Distress
-
We also expressd a Desire that they
would think very seriously
indeed be
fore they condemnd & Killd any for
supposing them
guilty of Witchcraft
reminding them that about 100 years
since
such a practice prevaild in one
neighbourhood among White People
&
before put a stop to, some of those who
had been judges
of others, were them
selves changed with the same often
is
& executed. On these two sub
jects desiring their Careful
Considera
tion but not wishing a reply at this
Time
every advantage to
be derived from
our Friends living among them while
they
continued here -
That they had seen the bad ef
fects of playing cards & other
games
& that altho' these was an Impress
ment these was yet
room for more,
& if their principal Chiefs & wise
men
would discourage the Practice
we thought a we would arise to
their Young People -
That our friends had lived with
their many years in Harmony
&
Friendship - if any part of our
conduct towards them had
not
been quite to their wishes we
desired they would speak
their
minds freely & let us know -
After Breakfast set out to attend the Council
of Cold
Spring
way to the
Town to Shake hands with the Indians
then went to the Council House with is
a Building
nearby the Centre of the Town about 40 feet in
length &
20 in breadth. having a Door at each End
ascending of the Smoke from Council Fires -
which
are built on the Ground about 12 feet from
each Door.- These
fires are daily used by the In
habitants for cooking on other purposes,
being
a kind of public Priveledge the Open Doors
admitting ready
Impress & Egress to them at plea
sure- the floor is laid by nature and
on each
side from one End to the other is a platform laid co
verd with
Board, Skins &c. about 6 feet in width
& 10 Inches in heighth- over
these all the
heighth of 5 feet under other Platforms which
serve to
throw up skins Corn or any Lumbering
articles & to the Rafters was
suspended a quantity
of old Corn some of it near the Openings in the
Roof being as black as smoke Could make
it - this they dont mind but use it
for making
Bread & other purposes perhaps preferring it
as I
observed in their Houses generally the Corn
was stored by suspending it
with the Husk
this way - as The Indians were not generally
collected
it afforded opportunity to make some
observations. Conudius
to the Council House
& within a few Yards- Our at
tention was here averted by the sound of
mu
sic & Dancing & feeling some inclination to be
witnesses we
were informed that it would give
no offence & so went inside of the
Door - In the
Middle of the Room lay the Hommany Block
& an Old
Bench apparently designd to prevent an
encroachment on that part of the
floor & to
preserve regularity of Circuit sound them
those rude
Regulators were encompassd by
18
& 20 Females (occasionally more)
some Elder
of age- these
forming a Circle were Dancing (or
shuffling) round sideways with a slow
& solemn
motion, & Heads uniformly reclining to the
sound of
Musick performd by a Man in one
corner of the Room. this was done by
beating
slowly on a Drum made by a Dried Deer or
some other Kind of
Skin dressd a little in the
manner of Parchment & tightly strechd
over
the Top of a Churn. or sometimes we were
told an Iron Pot- they
said he bent with
two sticks & the sound of one of them put me
in
mind of tinkling symbols, being, either hol
low & enclosing something of
the trikling kind
or else havg some small bells attachd to
it. but it
was so dark where he sat that I
could not see- this sound he
accompa
nied with a vocal Time or perhaps a song,
but if the latter his
articulation was very
indistinct - it however appeard to be in
stanza
at the end of which the female
circle would cease their Dancing &
walk
round with a quicker motion & some ap
pearance of Hilarity
till after a circle or
two, another Stanza began. this Dance &
music
continued for abt 2 Hours after we were there
& the Dancers
would step out occasionally drip
ping with Perspiration (apparently to cool
& get
air) & then return again- they were much in
then usual
Dress except the Children several
of whom lookd clean & Dressed for the
occasion
one in white Cloth- another Green a third
Blue &c.- and
there had each a bunch of
as they Danced
not much unlike the singing of Secrets- a few
of them were a little touchd
with Paint- when
the Dance was over they had a Feast being a
kind of
soup or
new corn shelld from
the Cob- a little meat, su
gar &c. & was boild in the Council House
in a
large Kettle. this being carried into Coundius
one of each family engagd in the Dance & who
had pre
viously (we were told) contributed, refraind
with their small
kettles or Wooden Bowls to
receive their shares-. After waiting for
some
Time an Antient Indian blew a Trumpet to no
tify the Inhabitants
of Council & they began to
assemble- They were dressd of ornamented
various
ly many were painted with red streaks about
the face Head &
Eyes as fancy inclined- some
had Bandages of Indian Workmanship round
their Heads & tufts of Feathers of different co
lumns. Sometimes Furs.
The Hair of some
was shorn round the Crown & left long round
the
Temples & on the Top of the Head- others
had it left long in little
Tufts over the Head
& those Tufts plaited - many had Breast
plates
of Different fancies- others back Or
naments & Ear Bobbs all of
silver-
One had one Red Legging & the other Blue- some
Caps of Fur
with Tufts of Dyed Freathers
or Caps of Feathers &
other tails of long Hair like Horse Hair Dyed
Red hanging down
their Backs or erected
or suspended from their Ears- Old Conidin
of each Eye- his
Ears were cut round in
their manner & extended to a considerable
length on each Ear were two silver
Quills- one about 3 1/2 & the other
2 Inches
the erect one having a Tuft of Red Feathers
stuck in at the
lower End- part of his
Forehead & on his Crown were also painted
red
& being nearly bald & a very grave countenance
he lookd
venerable- On his arms were wider
silver Bracelets- his Leggings were of
Red Cloth
& his Covering a Blanket over all which he
threw off in
Council & look up his long Pipe-
They had a very great variety of other
orna
ments & trinkets such as Nose Bobs & Plates re
sembling
Furniture for Drawers- silver band
round their Arms wrists or Ankles
&c. &c. & yet in
a general way very Dirty & careless in
their
Persons- One of the Chiefs was Dressd in a
Wood Rangeres Frock
& many of them had
no ornaments- John
Peirce
was the only one among them who
thought
it worth while to appear on this occasion
in a Full Dress- He
is Tall & a good Per
son- Had a new White Hat on with a high
crown
which was coverd from the Brim to
the top with a bandage of Green
Flowred
silk- in front were two bunches or Knots of
Green Ribbons
displayd with taste one above
the other & on one side of them a Tuft of
Dyed Feathers of Different Colours- He wore
a new Coat of a neatly
figured green Calico
the Boson Raffled
with the same. his Leg
coverings or Pantaloons were in the Indian
manner with a seam sewed out leaving a ship
of about am Inch & Quarter.
this strip or Edging
on each Leg was faced with blue Silk, neatly
wrought with needlework of Blue ornamen
ted with Red twines or Curls- and
edged with
Beads in the Indian Stile- Instead of a Blanket
his Outer
Covering was about a yard & half of
super fine White Cloth which in
Council
he threw off from his Shoulders at pleasure.
young Fatty
Hair was shorn on the sides of his Head but from
the crown down
the neck was left to grow in
the antie quite long & was pleated down
his
Back in a large Plait- on each side of this the
Hear was left
about 4 Inches long & being soft
course & glossy resembled a ship
of black
Feathers- The Council having at length taken
their seats we
were introduced & seated near
the centre- The Chiefs present were
Cornplanter
& Old Conudin
some Men- Cornplanter
countenance & penetrating Eyes, but owing to some
cause
either habit or Injury, he keeps one of
them about half shut - after a
little Time of
silvence & then a Conference between the Chiefs
Conudiu
opend the Business for which
we had met & that
they were now ready to hear;- Our communications
a
little further conference among themselves
cornplanter
an address to the Indians in a methodical &
sensible manner-
when our Business was
got this base their farewell & returnd home.
26th Left the settlement of our Friends at
Tunasassa
accompanying us- J B Moses &
myself keeps
with [hemion?] the West side of the Allegany
order to go by the Indians Saw Mill which
in about 10 miles from their Town- On our
way passd several Indian
Plantations as good
we thought as any we had seen, particularly
an
Indian named Kah'Shun'Lee' on the
Fiery flying Dragon- his Wife was
Dressd
in a Silk Short Gown wearing a large silver
cross at her
Breast- these the Indians have
got from the Roman Catholics originally
but are now worn only by way or ornament
Kah shun dee was hawlg oats of
which
we saw a considerable Crop standing in the
build in a neat
shock. He had a large Barn
(which Jacob
Hands). & in it is considerable
quantity
of Old Corn & Grain of Different Kinds a
part of which we
saw- on passing pay- he
is Industrious & Wealthy- not fond of
attending their feasts & Councils and de
clines the appointment of a
Chief-
our course after leaving Peter Snyders was
Stephen Hazeltines before 4 oClock calld
20 miles from Tunasassa
27th our Bed, last night not being calculated
to Induce a morning
Indulgence we rose before
Day eat our Breakfasts & set off before
it
was light- in a little way Riding fell into
the Indian Path which
we pursued upwd
of 20 miles & take it all together perhaps
the
worst Road we have passd over any Day
before- Moses concluded that after
this he
should not be afraid of any sort of Road
& I thought while
riding on a long sideling Hill
which really seemd Dangerous I should be
wis
hing our Friends at home should have a peep
at us, could they have
also had an assurance
that we should get thro this safely, as was the
care
not by our own might or management but
under the protecting care
of the Omnipotent
Arm for which may our acknowledgements
were as
acceptable Incence to Him.
-- part of our Way was up the little Valley
then across the Broad Mountain
over & next the Hog
back Mountain 6
miles over- on this for miles our path lay
on the
Crown of the Hill & the descent
immediately & in some places steep,
on
either hand- We also several times forded
Cattarangus Creek
& then the main Creek- The soil rode even
to Day has been
generally good & the Timber
Chestnut Trees which
we supposed 6 & of feet
over (perhaps more)- also Poplars,
Hemlock,
Sugar Maples, Ash, Cucumber Trees, Beech &c.
very large-
near the main Catt. Creek lay a
body of sand much coverd with Black
Walnut
& as rich as Bank Meadow- about the mid
dle of our Journey
we fed our Horses & eat a
biscuit at a place of Indian Encampment
&
before this had passd as Grave enclosd in
the Indian manner
where Jacob
a man was buried who
perished in the
Woods about 4 years ago on his way from
Buffaloe
& himself about 8 miles
further- was warnd
before setg out of the Danger of Perishing
but said
he was so much like Iron
there was no Danger- We also met
an Indian on
Horseback from Grand River
some of whom he
was related- Jacob
talkd with him,
informg our Bu
siness &c. - He replied in substance
that he was
pleasd with meeting us- & with
the Business we were engagd in, and
wish
ing us preservation & safety on our
further we met another
man on Horseback
named Pollard
small Child
before him & his Wife (we sup
posed) on another Horse behind. she
was
well dressd & her neck ornamented with sil
ver Broaches so as
to give it the appearance
at a little Distance of a richly silverd
Shawl
It had not felt quite pleasant to me
that we made no return to
the Saluta
tion & friendly wish of the first Indian
& this one
also Greeting us in a sim
ilar way. I desired Jacob
we were pleasd with meeting him on
his
Way to visit his Friends at Allegany
brighten the Chain of Friendship- if
he could also encourage them
in useful
Industry it would be a good Work- he
recieved it Cordially
& we passd on- Jacob
told us he was
an Industrious Man & one
of the greatest Farmers among the Indians
in that Country. before 4 oclock reachd
the settlements of our Friends at
Clear Creek
calld 25 Miles from
Hazeltines & after takg
some Refreshment spent the Eveng in viewg
the Farm & Improvements
went to see the Indians Improvements.
way, except
about a Quarter of a mile being
& well
Timberd but (as if it were designd for
Indians who have not yet learnd to
labour there
are many hundred Acres of Flats without a Tree,
being
coverd with Fern, Wild Grass, Strawbery
vines (which in their season
[been?] abundantly) and
rich herbage in some place as high as our
heads
on Horseback- the soil is black when wet &
new when Dry
resembling Ashes- the Timber ad
joining & bordering on it White &
blk oak- black
Walnut, Sugar Maple &c. - on the open Plains
were
many Houses feeding, belonging to the Indians
in about 5 miles riding we
came to the Village
of the Muncy
Indians
Delaware Tribe
the Cataraagas
one mile further & they are about 250 Persons
We stopd at
the House of the Chief Warrior
named Wyundegohta whose store House we
found pretty well supplied with wheat, oats,
old corn&some of his
Warrior employed in shilg
new corn which they had previously parched-
this is to be dried in the sun & as wanted for
use, to be pounded &
mixed with sugar, and is
an excellent nutritious & portable food for
tra
velling- We here saw many Ornaments in
their Way. One Head Dress
made with long Fea
thers wrapd on the sides of the Head with white
skin
of some animal ornamented with the
skin of a Drakes Head in spots. the
Feather
part stuck out behind being highly coloured,
& over the
Forehead was the Head & beak of
a Bird (perhaps a Raven) on each side
of
which from the Eye was a Tuft of long Crim
being a string
of Half Moons of 4 in Number, all of Sil
ver, the largest (wh they said cost
6 Dollars) being on the
Top & so regularly becoming [On after?] as they
went to
the bottom- on each was an ingraving of some bird
or animal-
One pt of Musical Leg Ornaments com
posd of Dyed Feathers & worn in
these Dances- a pair
of Mockasins richly wrought with Porcupine Quills
& tipd with a very great number of silver Quills
many other things rich
in their way- The Sand
on which these two villages stand, perhaps 15
or 20 Acres in each is beautifully coverd
with white Clover, Green Grass
&c. & if it
were inclosed & Kept up for Mowing we thought
would cut the first crop near two Tons per
acre. After stageing here a
while & leaving it
with them to fix a time when to receive us
in
Council we rode about two miles further
down the Cataraugus Creek
corn & oats
&c. the Crops are not very good
owing to several causes the principal
are
poor cultivation, yet the Sand is superlatively
good- those
Flatts, containing many Thou
sand Acres contain in their Bowels strong
months of being made Ground- as we rode
along the Creek
is now forming, while
the bank on which we were
is washing away & as the Depth of 10 or 12
feet
the Logs are sticking out of the Bank into the Creek
bearing the
marks of having been there buried
for a long series of years- On returning
to the
Catarinugus Creek
rode out of the main creek into the Bed of the
small creek
which the mill is built on - the
bottom of which is a slate rock -on about
80 or
100 yards we came to the spring mentd the 18th Ult
an indian had
a accompanied us with a fire brand
on the application of whichto the
Effluvium
arising it immediately burnt into a Blasett
burned with
considerable heat as long as we in
clined to view it & would have
continued to burn
as we were told till extinguished by a sudden
Dash
of water or blow of wind - I dashed afraid
of it out with water pour the
creek but al
most as soon as I had done the air caught again
The Rock in this place is cracked across in
several directions & the
Babbling appears in
the centre, where is the largest opening, at
this
place is first caught but soon exten
ded itself for several feet along
the other cracks the flame emitting a
sulpherous Effluvia, mixed with
some
other smell- the Water in the Creek was
now very low, but
Jacob
Spring
was coverd with the Creek as it often
was it produced a much larger
Flame
than we saw- At a small Distances
from this Spring Jacob
an Antient
Fortification containing
about