Chapter 69
After further reproaches, admonitions, and threatenings, General Haldimand concluded in the following severe words: "These are facts, Brothers, that, unless you are lost to every sense of feeling, cannot but recall in you even a most hearty repentance and deep remorse for your past vile actions."
The effect of General Haldimand's address was to cause a conference--Mr.
Deane, at the head of thirty-five Oneida warriors--with General Clinton, to apologize for the absence of their brethren from the expedition, and to make those explanations in regard to their own situation already communicated by Mr. Deane by letter, together with the address of General Haldimand. In his reply, General Clinton, among other things, said: "It is not my desire that the whole of your warriors should leave their castles. I have given a general invitation to our brethren the Oneidas, the Tuscaroras, and such of the Onondagos as have entered into friends.h.i.+p with us. In order to give all our Indian friends an equal chance of evidencing their spirit and determination to partake of our fortune, I am entirely satisfied that such only should join me as think proper."
Colonel Stone, after stating that on the 22nd of August General Clinton arrived at Tioga, and formed a junction with General Sullivan, says: "The entire command amounted to 5,000, consisting of the brigades of Generals Clinton, Hand, Maxwell, and Poor, together with Proctor's artillery and a corps of riflemen." Then, after relating the battle of Newton (the present site of Elmira), as described in extracts from the historians in previous pages, Colonel Stone narrates the progress and work of the invading army of extermination and destruction. We give the following extracts from his narrative:
"It is apprehended that but few of the present generation are thoroughly aware of the advances which the Indians, in the wide and beautiful country of the Cayugas and Senecas, had made in the march of civilization. They had several towns and many large villages laid out with a considerable degree of regularity. They had framed houses, some of them well furnished, having chimneys, and painted. They had broad and productive fields; and in addition to an abundance of apples, were in the enjoyment of the pear, and the still more delicious peach. But after the battle of Newton, the Indians everywhere fled at Sullivan's advance, and the whole country was swept as with a besom of destruction.
On the 4th (September), as the army advanced, they destroyed a small settlement of eight houses, and two days afterwards reached the more considerable town of Kendaia, containing about twenty houses, neatly built and well finished. These were reduced to ashes, and the army spent nearly a day in destroying the fields of corn and the fruit trees. Of these there were great abundance, and many of them appeared to be ancient."
"On the 7th, Sullivan crossed the outlet of Seneca Lake, and moved in three divisions upon the town of Kanadaseagea, the Seneca capital, containing about sixty houses, with gardens and numerous orchards of apple and peach trees. It was Sullivan's object to surround the town and take it by surprise. But although Butler had endeavoured to induce the Indians to make a stand at the place, his importunities were of no avail. They said it was no use to contend with such an army; and their capital was consequently abandoned as the other towns had been before the Americans could reach it. A detachment of 400 men was sent down on the west side of the lake to destroy Gotheseunquean, and the plantations in the neighbourhood; while at the same time a number of volunteers, under Colonel Harper, made a forced march in the direction of Cayuga Lake, and destroyed Schoyere. Meantime the residue of the army was employed, on the 8th, in the destruction of the town, together with the fruit trees and fields of corn and beans. Here, as elsewhere, _the work of destruction was thorough and complete_."
"The main army then moved forward upon Kanandaigua, at which place it arrived in two days. Here they 'found twenty-three very elegant houses, mostly framed, and in general large, together with very extensive fields of corn--all of which were destroyed. From Kanandaigua they proceeded to the small town of Honeoye, consisting of ten houses, which were immediately burnt to the ground. A post was established by General Sullivan at Honeoye, to maintain which a strong garrison was left, with heavy stores and one field-piece. With this precautionary measure the army prepared to advance upon the yet more considerable town of Genesee--the great capital of the western tribes of the confederacy--containing their stores and their broadest cultivated fields."
"The valley of the Genesee, for its beauty and fertility, was beheld by the army of Sullivan with astonishment and delight. Though an Indian country, and peopled only by wild men of the woods, its rich intervales presented the appearance of long cultivation, and were then smiling with the harvests of ripening corn. Indeed, the Indians themselves professed not to know when or by whom the lands upon that stream were first brought into cultivation. Instead of a howling wilderness, Sullivan and his troops found the Genesee flats, and many other districts of the country, resembling much more the orchards and farms and gardens of civilized life. But all was now doomed to speedy devastation. The Genesee Castle was destroyed. The troops scoured the whole region round about, and burnt and destroyed everything that came in their way. The town of Genesee contained 128 houses, mostly large and very elegant. It was beautifully situated, almost encircled with a clear flat, extending a number of miles, over which extensive fields of corn were waving, together with every kind of vegetable that could be conceived. But the entire army was immediately engaged in destroying it, and the axe and the torch soon transformed the whole of that beautiful region from the character of a garden to a scene of sickening desolation. Forty Indian towns, the largest containing 128 houses, were destroyed. Corn, gathered and ungathered, to the amount of 160,000 bushels, shared the same fate; the fruit trees were cut down; and the Indians were hunted like wild beasts, till neither house, nor fruit tree, nor field of corn, nor inhabitant remained in the whole country. The gardens were enriched with great quant.i.ties of useful vegetables of different kinds. The size of the corn-fields, as well as the high degree of cultivation, excited wonder, and the ears of corn were so remarkably large that many of them measured twenty-two inches in length. So numerous were the fruit trees, that in one orchard they cut down 1,500."
"Having completed the objects contemplated by the expedition to the point at which he had arrived, General Sullivan recrossed the Genesee with his army the 16th of September, and set out on his return. Why he did not follow up his success, and strike the enemy's citadel at Niagara, which at that time was in no situation for formidable resistance, is a question difficult of solution. Unquestionably, in the organization of the expedition, the conquest of Niagara, the headquarters of the foe of all descriptions, and the seat of British influence and power among the Indians, was one of the princ.i.p.al objects in view. Certain it is, that the most important feature of the enterprise was not undertaken; and it will be seen in the sequel that but small ultimate advantage resulted from the campaign. Stimulated by a keener thirst for revenge, clouds of savages were again and again seen to sweep through the valley of the Mohawk with the scalping knife and the torch."
"The return of the army was along the same tract by which it had advanced. On the 20th, having recrossed the outlet of Seneca Lake, Colonel Zebulon Butler was detached with the rifle corps of 500 men to pa.s.s round the foot of Cayuga Lake, and lay waste the Indian towns on its eastern sh.o.r.e; while Lieutenant-Colonel Dearborn, with 200 men, was detached to perform the same service on the south-western sh.o.r.e. The main army pursued the most direct route to the Chemung and Tioga. On the 26th Colonel Dearborn's detachment returned, and
"The army then resumed its march, and pa.s.sing through Wyoming, arrived at Easton on the 15th of October. The distance thence to Genesee Castle was 280 miles. With the exception of the action at Newton, the achievements of the army in battle were not great. But it had scoured a broad extent of country, and had laid more towns in ashes than had ever been destroyed on the continent before. The red men were driven from their beautiful country, their habitations left in ruins, their fields laid waste, their orchards uprooted, and their altars and the tombs of their fathers overthrown."[98]
All the devastations of settlements, burnings and slaughter committed by the "Tories and Indians" during the whole war shrink into insignificance in regard to extent of territory, the number of inhabitants and towns, the extent of cultivated farms and gardens, when compared with General Sullivan's one vast sweep of ruin and misery, in the course of which, as the historian says, "_the Indians were hunted like wild beasts, till neither house nor fruit tree, nor field of corn nor inhabitant, remained in the whole country_."
All this was done by an express order of Congress to the Commander-in-Chief; and for doing this General Sullivan and his army received the cordial approbation and thanks of the Congress.
It was very natural that the survivors of the Six Nations and the "Tories," who took refuge and resided among them, should seek revenge on every possible occasion, in months following, in the regions of their own sufferings, especially upon those individuals and communities who they knew had prompted and aided the executioners of Congress. There were partizan leaders, with adventurous followers, on both sides, in the Southern as well as in the Northern States, who inflicted many acts of barbarity and desolation; but these retaliatory cruelties and raids of destruction acquired a greater intensity of bitterness and cruelty after the terrible ravages and cruelties perpetrated by General Sullivan and his army.
Besides, the history of the Indians, as well as of the "Tories,"
throughout the whole war, was written by their adversaries, and it was considered a master-stroke of policy to exaggerate the alleged misdeeds and paint the character of both the Indians and Tories in the blackest colours. The story of the "Ma.s.sacre of Wyoming" is a sample of the manner in which the American writers of the day made history against the Indians and the "Tories." When facts could not be sufficiently seasoned to stimulate recruits for the army and appropriations from the people for its support, fiction pure and simple was resorted to; and Dr.
Franklin himself did not think it unworthy of his antecedents, age and position to employ this method to bring disrepute upon the "Tories," the Indians, and the British Government itself, and to excite the hatred of his countrymen against them. The accomplished author of the _Life of Brant and the Border Wars of the American Revolution_ forcibly observes:
"The Indians of the Six Nations, in common with their chief, were loaded with execrations for atrocities of which all were alike innocent, because the deeds recorded were never committed, it having been the policy of the public writers and those in authority, not only to magnify actual occurrences, but sometimes, when those were wanting, to draw upon their imaginations for such deeds of ferocity and bloodshed as might best serve to keep alive the strongest feelings of indignation against the parent country, and likewise induce the people to take the field in revenge, if not driven thither by the n.o.bler impulse of patriotism."[99]
Such deliberate fictions, for political purposes, as that by Dr.
Franklin, just referred to, were probably rare; but the investigations into which the author has been, in the preparation of the present work, have satisfied him that, from other causes, much exaggeration and falsehood has obtained a permanent footing in American history. Most historians of that period, English and American, wrote too near the time when the events they were describing occurred, for a dispa.s.sionate investigation of the truth; and other writers who have succeeded, have too often been content to follow the beaten track, without incurring the labour of diligent and calm inquiry. Reference has been made above to Wyoming, concerning which, to this day, the world has been abused with monstrous fictions, with tales of horror never enacted. Nor were the exaggerations in regard to the invasion of Wyoming greater than were those connected with the irruption into and destruction of Cherry Valley, as the reader will discover in the course of the ensuing pages.
Indeed, the writer, in preparation of materials for this work, has encountered so much that is false recorded in history as sober verity, that he has at times been disposed almost to universal scepticism in regard to uninspired narration.
The "deliberate fictions, for political purposes, by Dr. Franklin," as the biographer of Brant expresses it, "were written as facts;" or, as the author quoted expresses it, "the well-known scalp story of Dr.
Franklin was long believed, and recently revived and included in several books of authentic history." The details of Dr. Franklin's publication were so minute and varied as to create a belief that they were perfectly true. "It was long supposed to be authentic," as the author quoted says in introducing the doc.u.ment, in Appendix No. 1 to Volume I., "but has since been ascertained to be a publication from the pen of Dr. Franklin, for political purposes."
The names introduced are of course fict.i.tious, as well as the statements, but introduced with such an air of plausibility as to preclude the suspicion that they were fict.i.tious. The publication will be a curiosity to most of the readers of these pages, as it has been to the writer. It is as follows:
_Extract of a letter from Captain Gerrish, of the New England Militia, dated Albany, March 7th_, 1782:
"The peltry taken in the expedition will, as you see, amount to a good deal of money. The possession of this booty at first gave us pleasure; but we were struck with horror to find among the packages eight large ones, containing scalps of our unhappy folks taken in the last three years by the Seneca Indians, from the inhabitants of the frontiers of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and sent by them as a present to Colonel Haldimand, Governor of Canada, in order to be transmitted by him to England. They were accompanied by the following curious letter to that gentleman:
"TIOGA, January 3rd, 1782.
"May it please Your Excellency,
"At the request of the Seneca chiefs, I send herewith to your Excellency, under the care of James Boyd, eight packs of scalps, cured, dried, hooped, and painted with all the Indian triumphal marks, of which the following is invoice and explanation:
"No. 1, containing forty-three scalps of Congress soldiers killed in different skirmishes; these are stretched on black hoops, four inch diameter; the inside of the skin painted red, with a small black spot to note their being killed with bullets. Also sixty-two farmers, killed in their houses, the hoops red; the skin painted brown, and marked with a hoe; a black circle all round, to denote their being surprised in the night; and a black hatchet in the middle, signifying their being killed with that weapon.
"No. 2, containing ninety-eight farmers killed in their houses; hoops red; figure of a hoe, to mark their profession; great white circle and sun, to show they were surprised in the daytime; a _little red foot_, to show they stood upon their defence, and died fighting for their lives and families.
"No. 3, containing ninety-seven farmers; hoops green, to show they were killed in the fields; a large white circle, with a little round mark on it for the sun, to show that it was in the daytime; black bullet mark on some, hatchet on others.
"No. 4, containing 102 farmers, mixed of the several marks above; only eighteen marked with a little yellow flame, to denote their being prisoners burnt alive, after being scalped, their nails pulled out by the roots, and other torments; one of these latter supposed to be of a rebel clergyman; his band being fixed to the hoop of his scalp. Most of the farmers appear by the hair to be young or middle-aged men; there being but sixty-seven grey heads among them all, which makes the service more essential.
"No. 5, containing eighty-eight scalps of women; hair long, braided in the Indian fas.h.i.+on, to show they were mothers; hoops blue; skin yellow ground, with red tadpoles, to represent, by way of triumph, the tears of grief occasioned to their relations; a black scalping-knife or hatchet at the bottom, to mark their being killed with these instruments; seventeen others, hair very grey; black hoops; plain brown colour, no mark but the short club or ca.s.setete, to show that they were knocked down dead, or had their brains beat out.
"No. 6, containing 193 boys' scalps, of various ages; small green hoops; whitish ground on the skin, with red tears in the middle, and black bullet marks, knife, hatchet, or club, as their death happened.
"No. 7, 211 girls' scalps, big and little; small yellow hoops; white ground; tears, hatchet, club, scalping knife, etc.
"No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above mentioned, to the number of 122; with a box of birch bark, containing twenty-nine little infants' scalps of various sizes; small white hoops, white ground.
"With these packs, the chiefs send to your Excellency the following speech delivered by Coneiogatchie in council, interpreted by the elder Moore, the trader, and taken down by me in waiting:
"'_Father!_--We send you herewith many scalps, that you may see that we are not idle friends.--A blue belt.
"'_Father!_--We wish you to send these scalps over the water to the Great King, that he may regard them and be refreshed; and that he may see our faithfulness in destroying his enemies, and be convinced that his presents have not been made to ungrateful people.--A blue and white belt with red ta.s.sels.
"'_Father!_--Attend to what I am going to say; it is a matter of much weight. The Great King's enemies are many, and they grow fast in number.
They were formerly like young panthers; they could neither bite nor scratch; we could play with them safely; we feared nothing they could do to us. But now their bodies are become big as the elk and strong as the buffalo; they have also got great and sharp claws. They have driven us out of our country by taking part in your quarrel. We expect the Great King will give us another country, that our children may live after us, and be his friends and children as we are. Say this for us to the Great King. To enforce it we give this belt.--A great white belt with blue ta.s.sels.
"'_Father!_--We have only to say further, that your traders exact more than ever for their goods; and our hunting is lessened by the war, so that we have fewer skins to give for them. This ruins us. Think of some remedy. We are poor, and you have plenty of everything. We know you will send us powder and guns, and knives and hatchets; but we also want s.h.i.+rts and blankets.--A little white belt.'
"I do not doubt but that your Excellency will think it proper to give some further encouragement to those honest people. The high prices they complain of are the necessary effect of the war. Whatever presents may be sent for them through my hands shall be distributed with prudence and fidelity. I have the honour of being
"Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,
"JAMES CRAUFURD."
This chapter of Congress vengeance to exterminate the Six Nations of Indians, and of its writers to picture them as human monsters, cannot be better concluded than in the words of the historian of Brant,[100] and of the Border Wars of the American Revolution:
"No Indian pen traces the history of their tribes and nations, or records the deeds of their warriors and chiefs, their prowess and their wrongs. Their spoilers have been their historians; and although a reluctant a.s.sent has been awarded to some of the n.o.bler traits of their nature, yet, without yielding a due allowance for the peculiarities of their situation, the Indian character has been presented with singular uniformity as being cold, cruel, morose, and revengeful; unrelieved by any of those varying traits and characteristics, those lights and shadows which are admitted in respect to other people no less wild and uncivilized than they.
"Without pausing to reflect that, even when most cruel, they have been practising the trade of war--always dreadful--as much in conformity to their own usages and laws as have their more civilized antagonists, the white historian has drawn them with the characteristics of demons.
Forgetting that the second of Hebrew monarchs did not scruple to saw his prisoners with saws, and harrow them with harrows of iron; forgetful likewise of the scenes of Smithfield, under the direction of our own British ancestors; the historians of the poor untutored Indians, almost with one accord, have denounced them as monsters _sui generis_, of unparalleled and unapproachable barbarity; as though the summary tomahawk were worse than the iron tortures of the harrow, and the torch of the Mohawk hotter than the f.a.ggots of Queen Mary.
"Nor does it seem to have occurred to the 'pale-faced' writers that the identical cruelties, the records and descriptions of which enter so largely into the composition of the earlier volumes of American history, were not barbarities in the estimation of those who practised them. _The scalp lock was an emblem of chivalry._ Every warrior shaving his head for battle was careful to leave _the lock of defiance upon his crown_, as for the bravado, 'Take it if you can.' The stake and the torture were identified with their rude notions of the power of endurance. They were inflicted upon captives of their own race, as well as upon whites; and with their own braves these trials were courted, to enable the sufferer to exhibit the courage and fort.i.tude with which they could be borne--the proud scorn with which all the pain that a foe might inflict could be endured.
"But (it is said) they fell upon slumbering hamlets in the night and ma.s.sacred defenceless women and children. This, again, was their own mode of warfare, as honourable in their estimation as the more courteous methods of committing wholesale murder laid down in the books.
"But of one enormity they were ever innocent. Whatever degree of personal hards.h.i.+p and suffering their female captives were compelled to endure, their persons were never dishonoured by violence; a fact which can be predicated, we apprehend, of no other victorious soldiery that ever lived.