IPiPPH;;:^ vV '^ ..^^ -^, "bo^ • <0^' ^ "^,#' ^%. ' i:^ ^> /■'. ,H^^." "^ "■'^^. ,^^^' ^.S' -.* oN> ^: \*^^.' ,X ^.. ^.^' •^ 'i-' vV '/>„ % S'^'' ^•^.,^^ .H -/^^ 9.^ "^ci-. %,* ^'■*7:,.^^^^ ^.^-^^ %%''' .^'^. <'^ '' kOO^ ■<^; ' * N ^ .^"^ ■*>. * 8 1 ^ •^ '°'\/.^'^".";./'^ "^ ^ .0- \-^' -V/-^^ \\^' ^^. ■V 'S^ ^^' -v A''^ V^' s^\' ^, vtV ^5 ii %<^^ x^^' "^^-- ^<> .^^' "^^z. V^ HISTORY CHENANGO COUNTY, CONTAINING THE DfflSIONS OF THE COUNTY AND SKETCHES OF THE TOMS; INDIAN TRIBES AND TITLES ; (§m, Cliiitim'H p'nrrljnat nf tlje Cuitnti) Cninnaljijis, EARLY INHABITANTS AND SETTLEMENTS; also: LAND PATENTS; RISE AND PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE, MANUFAC- TURES AND TRADE; ANNALS OF THE CHENANGO CANAL; CHURCH HISTORY; EMINENT MEN AND STATESMEI^, PROFESSIONS, ETC. ETC. BY HIRAM C. CLARK. NORWICH, N. Y.: PUBLISHED BY THOMPSON & PRATT. 1850. ?RIN TED AT THE DEMOCRAT OFFICffi, NORWICH, NE'^yORK. HISTORY OF CHENANGO COUNTY. INTRODUCTORY. At various times, and at stated in- 'Jervals, the annais of this county have fceen given to the public by numerous Jiistorians in their accounts of the State ; but, so far as the writer has been able' to inform himself, nothing has appeared 111 print that is not of too general a character for the precise information sought by the particular reader. For instance, book-makers tell us that Nor- •vich is a pleasant, salubrious, and .hriving village, situated upon a plain, near the junction of two streams. That It has so many churches, and school- houses, so much population, so many hotels, so much machinerv, a court- house, and, indeed, they give full par- ticulars of pre:isely what every inhab- itant already knows, but nothmg more. This kind of intelligence is satisTactory as a guide book to a traveler, but of no consequence to a resident. There are many incidents connected With the early settlement of the county resting in the recollection of aged people. If these are not soon reco^rd- ed they will be lost. Many valuable sources of information arc already cut off by the death of individuals. " It is beliRveu thit but three of the original settlers of this village are yet alive, and these three are far advanced in life. It rnust be apparent that in writincr a sketch of this nature from personal ob- servation, from details and inciJents collected promiscuously, as opportunity presents, a lucidus ordo (or arrange- ment) cannot be strictly regarded. It is proposed to introduce so much extrane- ous matter, boih National and State, as will serve to illustrate our county's rise and progress. It will be necessary also to consider Indian affairs with some minuteness. l[ we have time we contemplate giving some Geological information applicable to the county. THE COUNTY-ITS ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL DIVISIONS. The State of New York, ori^rinally adependeney, wholly subordinate to Great Britain, was erected into a sover- eignty as early as the year 1777. The proposition for the formation of the Col- ony of New York into a sovereign, in- dependent State, bearing its colonial designation, was first submitted to the people residing within its borders, by a convention, or Congress, as it was tben denominated, already called and assembled by authority of the people, as colonists, for the purpose of framing a conditional or provisional governmen't to continue only until the misunder- standings with the mother country (then understood to be temporary) could be compromised by peaceful arrangement, mutually satisfactory to the belligerent parties. But, as time elapsed, the pro- visioual government had the sagacity to discover the prospects of peace ev- ery day diminisncd. Already ihe com- plete atlainment of independence for the thirteen revolted colonies agitated political society in every quarter. Ac- HISTORY OF cordingly, on the ihirty-first day of May 1776, some two months before the final action on the declaration of inde- pendence, this convention recommended to the people of this colony, to choose delegates to a convention duly empow- ered to construct a constitution for the Colony, and to make it an independent State, renouncing all allegiance to the King of Great Britain. As soon as the passage of the declaration of independ- ence at Philadelphia was communica- ted to the world, the purposes of ihe Colonists were greatly strengthened. — In place of calling a new Convention, the people gave the Convention recom- mending the call ample powers to act in the premises. In pursuance of the new authority conferred and moreover inspirited by the action of the general Congress, the convention in April 1777, enacted the first Constitution of the State of New York. At this time the State was comprised of but fourteen counties, namely: New York, Albany, Duchess, Westchester, Ulster, Suflblk, Queens, Orange, Kings, Richmond, Tryon, Charlotte, Cumberland, and Gloucester. The two last named coun- ties were at a subsequent period ceded to Vermont. This Constitution of 1777, with occasional emendations, vindicated its wisdom, inasmuch as the people lived and flourished under it for the space of forty years, and that too when the country was in its chrysalis state. Under its benign influence this State attained to an unprecedented degree, prosperity, and even wealth and gran- deur. At this day old men are proud to recount the rise and progress of her agriculture, commerce, and the ad- vancement of the arts and sciences, during this long period of universal prosperity. They are doubly proud to rehearse the labors of her orators, her statesmen and her judges, many of whom have left world wide reputations achieved at thi? auspicious era. But as time advanced the wants of society called into existence the Constitution of 1821, which in its turn gave place to that of 1846. Under these three in- struments, yielding to each other with occasional amendments of the first two, our State has had a political life of over seventy years — a period coeval with the general government. Our political fathers are now dead, but they have erected a monument to their wis- dom, more durable than brass, to stand in lasting attestation of their sacrifices and their patriotism. Chenango County derives its name from the river which flows through its territory ; and the river is indebted for its beautiful designation to the Indians who once wandered along its borders, and in whom was vested the original possessory title to the soil in this region. The County was established in 1798, over soil taken from Herkimer, and Tioga counties. Up to lb06 it included also Madison county. The county is rather more than half a century in years. It is thirty-five miles long, and 28 wide. Herkimer and Tioga coun- ties were taken from Montgomery coun- ty in 1791. Montgomery county origi- nally comprised what, during the Rev- olution, was known as Tryon county ; the name was changed from Trj^on to Montgomery in 1784. Chenango coun- ty, therefore, traces back her lineage through Herkimer and Tioga to Mont- gomery, the original Tryon county, so famous in revolutionary hibtory. The Towns into which Chenango is subdivided are twenty in number, and were erected at various periods. Bainhridge, the oldest town in the county, was organized from Tioga coun- ty in 1791, under the name of Jericho : name changed to Bainbridge in 1814. Columbus was taken from the town of Camden in 1805. Coventry was taken from Greene in 1806. Guilford was taken from Oxford, un- der the name of Eastern, in 1813. The name of Eastern was changed to Guil- ford in 1817. German was taken from the town of De Ruyter in 1800. i: n G E THE THIRD. CHENANGO COUNTY. Greene was taken from the towns of Union and Jericho in 1798. Lincklacn was taken from German in 1823. McDoiMugh was taken from Preston m 1816. New Berlin was taken from Norwich in 1807. In 1821 the name was chang- ed to Lancaster ; but changed back to New Berlin in 1822. Otselic was taken from German in 1817. Oxford organized as a part of Tioga county in 1793; taken from the towns of Union and Jericho. Pharsalia, organized under the name of Stonmgton, was taken, from Norwich in 1806 ; the name changed to Phar- salia in 1808. Pitcher was taken from German and Lincklaen in 1827. Ply?nonth was taken from Norwich in 1806. Preston was taken from Norwich in 1806. Sherburne was organized' in 1801, and comprised the eighth and ninth townships. Smithviile was taken from Greene in 1808. Smyrna was taken from Sherburne in 1808 ; organized by the name of Stafford — name changed to Smyrna the same year. Norwich was organized in 1793, as a part of Tioga county. North Norw.ich was taken from Nor- wich in 1849. By referring to the above list it will be seen that Norwich (pronounced Nor- idj, the IV is silent,) once included the towns of New Berlin, McDonough, Preston, Pharsalia, Plymouth, and North Norwich ; making an extent of territory about six times larger than her present limits. The town meetings were appointed for this village, and as the roads at an early period were in such primitive condition as not to admit of the distant citizen's attending these meetings and returning home the same day ; and, when, moreover, we call to mind that on gala days the town was visited by from one to three hundred Indians ; and, especially too, when we remember that temperance societies are of modern invention ; let not the read- er be surprised if we say to him that fun used at such times to run so high, so fast and furious, as to create serious apprehension among the sober-minded people of this burgh for their personal safety. But notwithstanding these oc- casional excesses, there was among the early settlers of this county, a manly frankness a winning hospitality, per- fectly cordial and sincere whenever ex- tended to a neighbor or stranger. We must ever reverence the homely hon- esty of the pioneers of the county.— We cannot too much admire their un- flinching perseverance while undergo- ing privations, frightful to think of, in successful efforts to subdue a cold and stubborn soil ! a soil which we. their descendants, repose upon in perfect ease. Strangers to every want (except such as ourselves create,) we are ac- commodated Avith roads and canals, schools, churches and markets, where industry realizes her rightful gains. — Theirs was the toil, ours is the reward. INDIAN HISTORY AND TITLES. Over sixty years have elapsed since the Caucassiau or white race came to clear up the forests of Chenango. When they arrived here they foun'd an- other people in possession of the soil, vv-ho held divided empire with the pan- ther, the beur, and the wolf; ail of whom had a very early occupancy ; one long prior to the landing of the pil- grims upon Plymouth Rock. The in- habitants v/ho first peopled this valley, so far as we know, were of the Oneida tribe of savages, interspersed perhaps v/ith a scattered iew of the Tuscarora Indians. There are some traces, how- ever, of a very early class of native in- habitants in this region which may have been dispossessed by the Oneidas, or some other tribe, centuries ago. HISTORY OF In the year 1817, Dewitt Clinton ad- dressed to Doct. Samuel L.Mitchell, of New York, a paper upon the antiquities of this tita'.e, iVom Avliich we extract the following, relative to this county : " In Oxfori there is a fort, on the east side of the Chenango river, in the centre of the present village, whicli is on both sides of the river. There is a piece of land containing between two and three acres, which is about thirty feet higher than the adjoining flat land nround it. This rise of land lies along the river bank about fifty rods, and at the south-westerly end this fort was situated. It contained about three roods of ground, and on the river the line was nearly straight and the bank alnioit perpendicular. The figure was nc-arly like this, At the places north and south, marked for gates, there were two spaces of Ubou: ten feet each where tho ground has not been broken, which were, un- doubtedly, the entrances or gateways by which the people of the lort went out and in, and particularly for water. The curve, except the gateways, was a ditch regularly dug; and although the ground on which ilie fort is situated, was, at the lirst white settlement, as heavily timbered as any other part of the forest, yet the lines of the work could be distinctly traced among the trees, and the distance from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the embank- ment, generally, about four feet. The antiquity of this fortification is more particularly evident from the following iact : There was one large pine tree, or rather dead trunk, fifty or sixty foet high, which being cut, one hundred and ninety-five concentric circles of the wood could be easily distinguished and many more could not be counted, as the sap wood of the tree was principally gone. Probably this tree was three or four iiundred years old ; certainly more than two hundred. It might have stood one hundred years after it had completed its growth, and even longer. It is also uncertain how long a time elapsed from the excavation of the ditch to the commencement of the growth of this tree. That it was not there when the earth was thrown up, is certain ; for It stood on the lop of tho bank, and its roots had shaped them- selves to the ditch, rumiing quite under the bottom of it, then rising on the oth- er side near the surface of the earth, and then pursuing a horizontal direc- tion. Probably this work was picketed in, but no remains of any wood-work has been discovered. The situation was very eligible, being healthy, com- manding a beautiful prospect up and doivn the river, and there being no highland within such a distsnce that the garrison could be annoyed. No vestiges of any implements or utensils have been found, except some pieces of coarse pottery resembling stoneware and roughly ornamented. The Indians have a tradition tiiat the family of the Antones, which is supposed to belong to the Tuscarora nation, are tiie seventh generation f.om the inhabitants of this fort : but of iis origin they know noth- ing. There is abo a place at Norwich, in the same county, on a high bank of the river, called the Casile, where the Indians lived at the period of our set- tling the country, and some vestiges of a fortification appear there, but it is, in all probability, of a much more mod- ern date than the one at Oxford.' In tracing back the history of the Oneida nation of Indians, they will be found to have constituted an important branch of the celebrated Five Nations, originally ; and subsequently of the Six Nations. As early as 1647, the Five Nations, composed of the Mo- hawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Cayuga, and Oneida tribes, are found to be in CHENANGO COUNTY. joint alliance with the English Colo- nist:j. Of these clans the Moliawks were first in rank, and the Scnccas first in numbers. By the terms of this al- liance they placed their countries under the protcciion of the Enj^lish nation, surrendering up sovereignty, but re- taining the title in themselves. Hence more ihan a century after the time of this alliance. Governor Tryon writes to the home government that England owned the Colony of New York "by virtue of grants, and the treaties and deeds of cession by the Five and Six Nations." The Five and Six Nations were al- ways in amity with the English, ex- cepting occasional estrangements, and the English policy was to encourage their rapacious spirit for conquest as all their acquisitions in war came nat- urally into English hands, first by trea- ties, then by purchase, followed by sol- emn deeds of cession, technically word- ed, and about the tenor of which the wild savages cosld ha.ve understood not As early as sixteen hundred and eighty-seven the Five Nations enjoyed a high war renown, for Governor Don- gan writes to England, that "they are the most warlike people in America, and are a bulwark between us and the French, and all other Indians ; they go as far as the south sea, the north-west passage, and Florida to war. They are so considerable that all the Indians in these parts of America are tributary to them." About the year 1714 the Oneida In- dians, while on a predatory excursion into the Carolinas formed an alliance with the Tuscaroras, who were natives of the South, and brought them into,or adjoining their country, lying in this State near Lake Oneida. This tribe built one village about six miles from the Oneidas, and another on the Sus- quehannah river. They were taken into the political alliance of the Five Nations, and after this time the confed- erates were styled the Six Nations.— This County is situated on the route between their two villages; it is not therefore impossible but tljat they were as numerous here &.t an early day as the Oneidas. Perhaps more so. The Mohawks were proprietors up the Mohawk valley, and their lands, as well as those of the other tribes, seem to have extended north and south, in- definitely. The Oneidas were the next nation west, and held head quarters near Rome, in Oneida county. In the year 1768 the Six Nations conveyed to the English by a deed of bargain and sale, all of their lands east and south of a line commencing a few leagues Avest of Fort Stanwix, now Rome, and running in a south-west di- rection to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. This line is east of Owego and was very near this county, if it did not run through it. As this county then had no particular known monuments by which the line past us could be designated, it is just now diffi- cult to say whether all or any portion of it was in the cession. By this cession the English obtained a country stretch- ing over a thousand miles. They paid for this mammoth cession something less than sixty thousand dollars. While giving the history of the primitive owners of the county, it is proper to show their nutnbcr and con- dition. At a very early day the poor Indian was regarded not in his social relation, but only so far as he was dangerous to the ambition of the white man, who was unceasingly abstracting his country from him for the purposes of private gain. Accordingly the ear- ly Governors of the province of New York sent to England accounts of the war capacity of the various tribes, omit- ting all mention of the women and children and youths, incapable of bear- ing arms. la the year 1677 the Onei- da tribe numbered Iv/o hundred warriors; and in 1786 the Tuscarora tribe were estimated at two hundred and fifty fighting men. The two tribes amount ing to only four hundred and fifty com- batants. In the year 1774, (one year e HISTORY OF before the Revolution,) Gov. Tryon represented that the Six Nations were two thousand strong, and expert in tlie arts of war. In the last mentioned year the Oneida tribe numbered of men women, and children, about fifteen hundred souls. At this time the Sen- eca Indians had one thousand warriors. The Five Nations of Indians ever suffered heavy losses while waging •wars to conlirm the white settlements in this country. One Governor represents that in 16S9 the Five Nations went in- to war with twenty-five hundred and fifty men ; ten years afterwards this body was so wasted by fighting as to number only twelve hundred and thirty men. This fact confirms the high rep- utation of the Five Nations for valor. The British Governor iu the year 1774 reported that (the noted) "Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian affairs, had under his charge and direction twenty-five thousand four hundred and twenty fighting Indians !" certainly a formidable force when after- wards it was attempted to array it against the colonies in the revolution. As every history of the Revolution contains so much information respecting the conduct of the red men towards tha colonies during the struggle for in- dependence, it cannot be necessary in a sketch of this kind, to consume space by recapitulation. It is impossible to read of the enor- mous strength of the Indian tribes of North America (when coupled with the assistance of a wilderness inaccessible to white men, and to which the Indians could retreat in case of disaster,) with- out coming to the conclusion that the white people, in adopting the Machia- Telian policy, divide et impera, (divide and govern) adopted the only means by which this country could possibly have been settled. By keeping the Indians eternally at war and scalping each other the white race saved their own scalps, and prevented every chance of their forming alliances against themselves. When the whites arrived at Norwich between the years 1780 and 1790 the Indians held a fort, called the Cas- tle, which was near the present resi- dence of Homer Johnson, and about one and a half miles below this village on the east bank of the river. Here tliey held Councils, and appointed courts for the trial of delinquents. — Here, too, they received their Chief, and here too they entertained their guests from the neighboring tribes. In the neighborhood of the Castle, upon the flats and highlands, they con- structed wigwams; they had also cleared off large patches of land for cornfields when the first settlers appeared among them. ACCOUNT OF THE ONEIDAS. Assuming that we have already indi- cated with requisite precision the" tribes of natives who inhabited Chenango Coun- ty, prior to the advent of the early pio- neers, and that they were a fractional sec- tion of the six nations, more generally designated the Iroquois Indians, (the term Iroquois being of French extraction) it is proper in this connection to place before the reader some account of these tribes. And first, of the Oneida Canton of the Iroquois nation ! According to an able and minute narrative given by Mr. Schoolcraft, in his truly valuable " sketch- es of the Iroquois," the Oneida clan were ' originally a separate independent horde, and sprung, as Indian tradition instructs us, from two red men of the Onondaga's who strayed at an early epoch from their tribe into the vicinity of Lake Oneida, in the present County of Oneida. These men, thus isolated from the tribe to which they belonged, laid the foundation for a new tribe, which, in time, was destined to grow into importance and become sub- sequently the allies or friends of what was then known as the four nations, com- prised of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas and Cayugas. That about the year 1539 this new tribe, descended from the Onondaga wanderers, were so nu- merous as to be formally incorporated, as an independent tribe, into the then four nations, themselves constituting the fifth. This tradition concernincr the origin of CHENANGO COUNTY. the Oneidas from the Onondagas, is fur- ther confirmed by the circumstance that both languages are of so homogeneous a nature as to possess in many respects, a common identity. Another circumstance would indicate a common origin ! When- ever these tribes were pledged to adverse alliances during the wars which England carried on in this country, they ever ab- stained from hostile demonstrations a- gainst each other. Indeed it was not un- usual, when their chiefs had arrayed them in hostile attitude, by their engage- ment in the wars carried on by Europe- ans, for them at such times to visit each other and to adopt means to bring about a reconciliation to the one cause. During the revolutionary war the O- neidas, as colonial allies, made an er- rand of peace to the Onondagas, then embarked in the British interest, and employed many expedients to reconcile the hostile tribe to the cause of Indepen- dence. It is proper to remark, that through all the vicisitudes and various fortunes which the colonies underwent during that long and discouraging strug^ gle, the Oneida Tribe adhered, firmly and unflinchingly, to their alliance with us. Other nations joined us but wavered m their support; they continued constant to the end! What might have been the cause of their friendship; whether the kindness of the settlers about them; whether their sympathies were touched at the sight of small bodies of resolute men, bravely resisting the armed pov/er of England; or whatever else may have prevailed to determine their aid to the popular cause, that aid was never for a moment withdrawn ! As a nation, before the degenerating and blighting influencesof civilization had degraded them from their high estate, they were distinguished for bravery and. true Indian magnanimity. These wild men of the woods had hearts, and hearts loo that sympathized with distress! Let us examine for a moment, their conduct towards the Tuscarora tribe ! The Onei- das had made frequent hunting excur- sions into the Colony of North Carolina. They had been the guests of the Tusca- 2 roras in the days of their pride. But when in after years they made a visit to the cantonment of this tribe, they found them diminished in numbers, and a con- quered people. Their best warriors were taken from them. With true native hos- pitality, they invited the remnant of this brave tribe to accompany them to their northern home and partake v>-ith them of the comforts of the Oneida hunting grounds. As guests they came; but the Oneidas gave them possessions, and fi- nally assisted to incorporate them into the Confederacy as an integral part of the Iro- quois, or six nations. After this incorpo- ration we find the sign manual of the Tuscaroras affixed to treaties, and to deeds of cession by the six nations. They were in their new home, treated as a dis- tinct people, retaining, as much as the five tribes, all the characteristics of _ a separate nationality. The Oneidas in- sisted that the Tuscaroras, by their valor in vfar, had demonstrated that them- selves had been a northern tribe original- ly, and that they afterwards fixed their nation in Carolina. The labors of the Oneidas to sustain the independence of the Colonies, but hastened the time of their own downfall. The achievement of freedom gave a stim- ulus to immigration hither, which, the Indians experienced and ineffectually re- monstrated against. Purchases of Indi- an lands were from time to time made by the State, until at length the Indian hunt- ing grounds came to be most annoyingly circumscribed. This annoyance became insupportable in later years; accordingly in 1820, the tribe purchased of the Mo- nomonees (inhabiting Wisconsin,) a tract of country adjacent to Green Bay, where at this day they have a flourishing settle- ment on Uuck'River. To this locality the majority of the tribe removed, and here they live in a state of semi-civili- zation. "In the year 1844, the western portion of the tribe numbered 722 souls. The former wide domain of these In- dians in this state has dwindled down to a narrow belt of land, held by individual rights, and contains a populntion not ex- ceeding 200 persons. 10 HISTORY OF These subsist by tillage, and they imi- tate, so far as their indian nature will ad- mit, the manners, dress, and customs of their white brethren. Thus much of the Oneidas! THE TUSCARORAS. As this tribe are supposed, upon very good authority, to have once inhabited this county, holding their possessions in joint tenancy with their friends the Onei- das, and as they probably gave name to the rivers and creeks flowing through its territory and indirectly to the county it- self, it is proper to give some account of these savages in conjunction with the Oneida annals. As has been already stated, this tribe is thought to have originated among the four or five nations. Tiiey are said to have inhabited near the falls of Oswego, in this State, from whence they wandered south Avcst to the Rlississippi Kiver near to its junction with the Oliio, and stroll- ing across the country into the colony of North Carolina, finally fixed their abode in that distant region. Mr. Schoolcraft thinks their's was the first settlement of stability south of the Powhatanic tribe living in Virginia. Like the Iroquois of the North, they affected territory and to obtain it subjected neighboring tribes. It has been surmised they were chiefly instrumental in the overthrow of the first southern settlement founded by the enterprising but unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh. Aware of their prowess, and encouraged by a uniform series of suc- cessful forays against and conquest over adjoining clans of savages, the Tus- caroras, in conjunction with the Coree Indians, commenced a war against the European Colonists of North Carolina, having for its object their overthrow and final extirpation from the country. The plan of hostilities was so secretly con- cocted, so thoroughly perfected, and in- deed, so little suspected, by the colo- nists, that the first intimation they had of it was on the 22d of September 1711, when the allied Indians broke from their fiistnesscs, and with tomahawk and scalp- ing knife in hand, poured themselves with irresistible numbers upon the devoted settlers. They made frightful havoc, de- stroying indiscriminately, men, women and children. The white people at length rallied, and, under the guidance of Col. Barnwell, of South Carolina, re- turned the fire brand of war into the In- dian country. Penetrating the indian hiding places, they gave battle and killed thirty Tuscaroras. The Indians rallied anew and continued the war for several years. The combatants in this war were so nearly balanced as to pre- vent victory declaring for either side. At length the aid of the Virginia colo- nists was invoked to put an end to the struggle. To counterbalance this new force, soon to be brought into the field against them, the vigilant Tuscaroras dis- patched runners to the Seneca Indians, then living in this State, for aid. While waiting for the arrival of the Northern Indians, they were compelled, by the ce- lerity of the whiles in pushing hostili- ties afresh and with additional force, to retreat and entrench themselves in a camp on Taw River, which they called fort Naruke, and here they awaited the approach of their enemies. The whites began the siege by making regular ap- proaches to the fort. The besieged had not provided for the requisite supply of water, and Col. Barnwell, aware of this error, so ranged his artillery that it swept the indian water places as well as every point of exit and entrance to the fortifica- tion. By this means the besieged were compelled at disadvantage, to fight a pitched battle in which the whites, assis- ted by cannon, gained a triumphant vic- tory. ' The battle was fought and gained on'the26th day of March, ^1713. In this encounter, eight hundred of the bravest Tuscarora warriors were taken captives and sold into slavery. Their power was now broken and the tribe scattered ; this broken clan came North with the Onei- das the next year, 1714. On their arri- val, they were also befriended by thf' Senecas. According to historians the Tuscaroras of North Carolina in 170S, numbered of fighting men, twelve hun- ^Ui^rlG^ CHENANGO COUNTY. 11 dred. They, by estimation, numbered in this year about six thousand souls. Two-thirds of their braves were lost at the fatal battle of Naruke in 1713. During the revolutionary war only a portion of this tribe espoused the Coloni- al Cause. After the war the Senecas gave them a ridge of land in Niagara County, in proximity to the falls. In addition to this, they purchased of the Holland Land Company, a tract adja- cent to the gift of the Senecas. In 1813 the British burned their village. Sub- sequently a reservation was provided for them west of the Mississippi, whith- er a portion emigrated but becoming dis- pleased with their new heme, returned to their present habitations. Their hun- tmg grounds are too circumscribed to subsist them, and they, like the Oncidas, have adopted the arts of civilized life. They assimilate to our habits and cus- toms, and work the soil with considera- ble skill as will be seen by the accom- panying statistics of their tribe. In 1847, according to Mr. Schoolcraft, they numbered 253 persons living in 53 families, of whom 151 were males and 167 were females. In this year they cultivated 2080 acres of land ; raised 4867 bushels of wheat ; 3515 bushels of corn; 4085 bushels of oats; 1166 bush- els of potatoes, besides beans, buck- wheat and turnips. They possessed in this latter year 339 head of neat cattle ; 96 milch cows ; made 7537 pounds of butter ; owned 153 horses; 215 sheep, and 596 hogs. The writer has lived some years near this tribe and has a personal acquaint- ance with many of its members. He has frequently conversed with James Cusick, a brother of David Cusick, the Indian archeologist. In 1827 David Cu- sick published the traditions of his tribe, professing to go back to an era anterior to the Christian. To gratify the curi- I osity of the reader, we publish an ab- stract of these ; at the same time not pre- tending to pass any opinion upon dates so ancient, and resting only in human memory. " Anterior to any date, the Eagwehoe- we, (pronounced Yaguyhohiiy) meaning real people, dwelt north of the lakes, and formed only one nation. After many years, a body of them settled on the Ka- nawag, now the St Lawrence, and after a long time a foreign people came by sea, and settled south of the lake. Towards 2500 winters before Colum- bus' discovery of America, or 1008 years before our era, total overthrow of the To- wancas, nations of giants came from the north, by the king of the Onguys, (Iro- quois,) Donhtonha, and the hero Yatatan, Three hundred winters after, or 708 before our era, the northern nations form a confederacy, appoint a king, who goes to visit the great emperor of the Golden city, south of the lakes : but afterwards quarrels arise, and a war of 100 years with this empire of the south, long civil wars in the north, &c. A body of peo- ple escaped in the mountain of Oswego. 1500 years before Columbus, or in the 8 of our era, Tarenyawagon, the first le- gislator, leads his people out of the moun- tains to the river Yenonatateh, (now Mo- hawk,) Vv'here six tribes form an alliance called the Long-house, Agoneaseah — af- terwards reduced to five, the sixth spread- ing west and south. The Kautanoh, since Tuscarora, came from this. Some went as far as the Onauweyoda, now Mississippi. In 242, Shakanahih, or Stone Giants, a branch of the western tribe, become cannibals, return and desolate the coun- try ; but they are overthrown and driven north, by Tarenyawagon II. In 492, Atotarho I., king of the Onon- dagas, quells civil wars, begins a dynas- ty ruling over all the Five Nations, till Atotarho IX., who ruled yet in 1142, Events are since referred to their reigns. Under Atotarho III., a tyrant, Sohnan- rohwah, arises on the Kaunaseh, now Susquehannah river, which makes war on the Sahwanug. In 602, under Atotarho IV., the To- wancas, now Mississaugers, cede to the Senecas the lands east of the river Ni- agara, who settle on it. Towards 852, under Atotarho VI., the 12 HISTORY OF Senecas reach the Oliio river, compel the Otowahs to sue for peace. Towards 101:2, under Atotarho VIII., w-ar with the Towanoas, and a foreign stranger visits tlio Tuscaroras of Neuse river, who ore divided into three tribes, and at war with tlie Nanticokes and To- talis. In 1143, under Atotarho IX., first civ- il war between the Erians of Lake Erie, sprung from the Senecas, and the Five Nations." Here end these traditions. The native occupants of this region had favorite haunts where they construc- ted hamlets and passed short vacations in the hunting season in accordance with their accustomed indolence. The per- manent, fixed place of savage abode is usually, near the dwelling of the chief of the canton. Like mr.n in thecivilized slate, the Indian is fond of society and re- sorts to his village to enjoy social inter- course, take part in the gaiety of metro- politan life as well as to confer with his brethren upon matters aflecting the pub- lic interest. During the intervals of game taking the Indian is inert and listless, and com- pels the submissive squaw to perform all I the menial duties of the household, and also to attend to the rougher labors of the field. Like the ox, the squaw is the impassive instrument to work out the means of subsistence for her lord, which office she performs, without a murmur of impatience. The life of the Indian hunter, and they are all hunters both by education and by nature, is of a variegated charac- ter, and is generally passed in ex- cessive fatiguing wanderings through pathless forests, abstaining for days to- gether from food and needful rest. Then follows that corresponding re-action, bor- dering upon downright imbecility, which ever happens when the human constitu- tion is overtasked, cither mentally or physically. The violent exertion the Indian makes when on excursions of duty may be illustrated by the treatment of prison- ers taken and held for a time in captivi- ty. When liberated or restored to friends, their greatest complaint has ever been the killing marches they underwent in common with their captors. The Indi- an by nature possesses, and by ear- ly culture is taught, a stoicism that makes him disdain to murmur or repine at whatever hardships he is called upon to endure. Noon, night, or midnight, when once he shakes off his lethargy and arouses himself into action, are all seasonable hours to him. At any hour of the twenty four he is equally prepar- ed to march, to hunt, to fight or to re- treat as circumstances seem best to dic- tate. We have before adverted to the fact that the tribes inhabiting this valley were accustomed to go as far as Florida and the south sea to war. In marching to these far distant countries in pursuit of their enemies they traversed dense forests through roads impassable to Avhite men and followed obscure trails over moun- tains, crossing rivers and threading a labyrinth of morasses in what seems to us an incredible short space of time. — Their journeys from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles were undertaken with all the alacrity of a ramble after pleasure. In view of these labors it is not surprising their indurated bodies should require frequent seasons of rest. We are uninstructed as to what dis- position they made of their wounded warriors in countries so remote as the Floridas. It requires four hale men to transport every disabled combatant on a march. Again in savage warfare no prisoners are taken as a general thing, al- though frequent instances occur where the life of the captive has been spared him. By men in the savage state, war is construed in its literal sense, thai is, to destroy as many of the enemy as pos- sible, by whatever craft or device. The savage who boasts the greatest number of scalps, snatched from the (oe, ranks, in the esiiination of his Chief, and of the maiden, as the greatest conqueror. To take the enemy unsuspecting and without exposure to the captor is the highest indication of good conduct in war. The Indian code of honor is ex- CHENANGO COUNTY, 13 actly the reverse of ihat standard which every white rnan is solemnly bound to, observe. What we term magnanimity towards a cun(|uered or unresisting ene- 1 my, is deemed low minded and pusillani- 1 muus in savage life. His system of war- j fare is uniform in another respect ; when [ the warrior falls, by the fate of battle, into hostile hands, he neither asks or expects mercy. He regards his captiv- ity as the forfeit of his existence, and while subjected to tortures that unman the white race, he looks grimly upon his exulting tormentors, defying them to in- flict any cruelly that shall make him Ci^mplam. Indian courage is in manyrc- spects passive and even womanly, and sustains its possessor in circumstances apparently insupportable. The favorite resort of the natives of this region were the Indian fields, now known as the Randall farm, lying about one mile below the creek Bridge in Norwich, and a short distance South of the confluence of the Canasewacla Creek and the Chenango River. The plain upon which Norwich is situated, was flat, dry and spacious, and inter- spersed with springs of pure water, and hence, this spot was also a very grate- ful retreat to the savage at an early day. In the Indian parlance, Norwich village was then denominated the " Canashe- wacta country." Between the Chenan- go and Tiauadcrha (now Unadilla) rivers a constant communication was kept up and abundance of encampments were pitched upon either stream. The red race cleared off the forests partially up- on the Randall farm, and also cut out clearings bordering the Unadilla River. Oxford was another favorite resting place; there was yet another, some miles south of Oxford. The site of the famous Indian fort in Oxford is now cov- ered by the dwelling house of Ira Wilcox a resident of that village. There is a tradition concerning a powerful chief who once possessed him- self of the fort in Oxford, and for ma- ny successive. years kept the Oneida In- dians at bay. It seems incredible that an adveuturer should attempt this en- terprise against so well disciplined an enemy as the Oneidas were at an ear- ly era. Yet it maybe so. The reader shall have the statement as we find it. It is as follows: ••The Oneidas leave us this traditior : that about a century or more since, a gigantic chief occupied It. who destroyed all their hunter* who came into this quarter. They called this Chief Thick Neck. The Oneidas made sev- eral attempts to decoy him IVom his stronghold, but without success. They at lengili managed to go between him and thelbrt, when he ran down the river about six miles and secreted himself in the marsli around the pond called Warn's Pond. Here he was discoverd and kil- led by the Oneidas, who buried hiin and scratch- ed the leaves over his grave that no vestige of him should remain. The remnant of his tribe were adopted by the Oneidas, and an Indian wlio was hung at Morrisville many year since3 named A brain Antone was a descendant from Thick Nkck." Abrarn Antoine himself deduced his origin fr..m the Tuscaroras. In plough- ing up the lands in the neighborhood of Norwich village flint arrow points have been discovered in considtrabie numbers during these latter years. The points are of triangular shape. They vary in length from two to four inches, and in the widest part, are from half an inch tc two inches, and range in thick- ness from an eighth to three-quarters of an inch. The largest size must have required a long and heavy arrow to pre- serve the equipoise during its flight from the bow, to the object of attack. An immense bow must have been re- quired to drive so heavy an arrow with sufficient momentum to force the blunt point of the flint into the body of the victim. Unless indeed, the Indians of the olden time possessed some art in springing these ponderous bows, they surely must have been furnished with arms far more sinewy and shoulders more brawny than their descendants. The arrow head itself is a curiously wrought piece of workmanship. The flint fsso regularly carved as to show in the more finished specimens, a se- ries of small, regular indentations, pre- senting on the edges a kind of saw or teeth which it would be difficult for the 1 modern artizan to imitate. Hatchets 14 HISTORY OF carved out of stone, have been discov- ered on the banks of the Unadilla riv- fr buried among arrow points. It has been surmised by some per- sons that tlie arrows were shaped and tinished by the stone axe. Many con- jecture the natives possessed some se- cret by which they softened the flint while the carving process was going on, «nd again hardened it, (as we harden and sol"ten steel by the agency of heat,) when the operation was performed. Within the past year an alligators tooth, with the enamel much decayed, was ex- humed near the Castle, where it had long beeti buried. From the appear- ance of the workmanship upon the tooth, it seems to have been used as an orna- ment by the Indians. This tooth was doubtless procured in some of their southern incursions. Very neat the residence of Mr. Abel Chandler in Norwich, there is a large mound having many appearances in common with the mounds found in Illi- nois and Mississippi ; and which are known to have been places of deposite for the dead. This mo'jnd is situated on the alluvial soil of the valley, and is detached from the high grounds near by. If it had a rock basis it would be rational to conclude some stream had caused its disruption from the highland standing in proximity to it. But it is equally steep, or very nearly so, on each side and corresponds in length and breadth with the tumuli on the Missis- sippi, and other western rivers. We know of no Indian burying place in this region nearer than Oxford. Bones have been found when excavating about the fort in that village. But at Nor- wich where the Indians were in great- er numbers, and at an early day, no burial place has been discovered, so far as the writer can ascertain. The Cas- tle had a village around it, as some of the first inhabitants report. Forty or fifty years ago, the outlines of an indi- an huddle or hamlet was plain to be seen. Mr. Wm. Thomas, who has visit- ed tho west and witnessed the exhu- ming of bones from the mounds feels confident that this mound has a deposit of bodies. He forms his judgement upon the striking similarity between this and the Mississippi mounds. Mr. Thomas says the bodies west are found buried on a level with the land surrounding the mound, and concludes from this fact that slight covering of earth was first placed over thff dead, and after the spot was pretty much taken up with in- terments the mound was then piled up after the manner of the pyramids of Egypt, or in conformity to our custom of honoring the dead by the erection of monuments. As this mound is about twenty feet above the level of the plain around it, it would probably require about that amount of excavation to reach the bodies, if they are there. — The fact that the mounds in the \vest were first made by hands was first as- certained by the nature of the soil com- posing the mound, it being different from all the land lying about it. This caused excavations to be made. The spot from whence the earth composing the mounds in the west was taken, it seems next to impossible to ascer- tain. Like the stone of which the pyramids are built it must have been transported from a distance. There is a mound in Illinois called mount Joliet, built in a pyramidal form and of dimensions which discov- ers the great labor required to construct it. Its height is 60 feet or nearly four rods perpendicular, its length S4 rods, its width 14 rods and 196 rods in cir- cumference on the top— but much lar- ger at its base. This is regarded as the most extraordinary mound in this country, as also the 'largest. This mound consist of eighteen million two hundred solid feet of earth. It may not be improper to advert to the proba- ble origin of mounds or tombs by cop- ying the following from the American Antiquities. "AxciENT Tumuli are considered a kind of antiquities, differing in character from that of the other works ; both on account of what is fre- CHENANGO COUNTY. 15 quently discoverd in them, and the manner of their construction. They are conical mounds, either of earth or stones,' which were intended for sacred and important purposes. In many parts of the world, similar mounds were used as monuments, sepulchres, altars and temples. The accounts of these works, found in the Scriptures, show, that their origin must be sought for among the antedeluvians. That they are very ancient. and were used as places of sepulture, public resort, and public worship, is proved by all the writers of ancient times, both sacred and profane- Homer, the most ancient Greek poet frequently mentions them, particularly describing the tumulus of Tydeus, and l he spot where it was. In memo- ry of the illustrious dead, a sepulchral mound of earth was raised over their remains ; which, from that time forward, became an altar, where- on to olter sacrifices, and around which to ex- hibit games of athletic exercise. These offer- inss and games were intended to propitiate their names, to honor and perpetuate their memories. Prudentius, a Roman bard, has told us, that there were in ancient Rome, just as many temples of the gods, as there were sep- ulchres of the heroes ; implying that they were the same." Antiquarians believe this country to have been once peopled by a civilized race originating in Asia. They insist that the antiquities of the country show this. But it is a matter foreign to our subject and we leave it as we find it. We extract from the "Annals of Binghamton" a brief account of an- tiquities discovered in the town of Greene : "There were no Indians in this particular section, when first settled by the whites. But burnt ; suggesting the idea, that the mode of disposing of the dead, when these bones were deposited, was the burning of the dead body.— - No conjecture could be formed as to the number of bodies buried here. They were found lying without order, very much jumbled, and so far decayed as to crumble, or fall apart, when brought to the air and handled. The supposi- tion would not be an unlikely one, that these bones were the remains of bodies which had faU len in battle, and were afterwards hurriedly thrown together and buried. •••••♦ In the mound near Greene, there were found lying, quite in one pile, 200 arrow heads, cut after their usual form, and all either of yellow or black flint. It will be recollected that there are no stones of this kind found in this part of the State of New York. In another part of the mound there were found, lying together, about sixty made after the same form- A sil- ver band or ring was also found, of about two inches in diameter, extremely thin, but wide, with the remains— in appearance— of a reed pipe, lying within it. The supposition is, that I it was some sort of a musical instrument. — I There was also found a number of stone chisels, I of different shapes, evidently fitted to perform ! different species of work. A large piece of I mica also, cut into the form of a heart ; the I border much decayed, and the different laminaa seperated." j We have recently had a conversation ] with Moses Abram, a nephew (as he I represents himself,) of Abram Antoine, and one of the Oneida tribe. He was asked to interpret the meaning of the \ term Chenango. He replied it was not Chenango but Chenengo, and altered by the whites to Chenango. He said the 1 name was not Oneida but Tuscarora, as " as the term Canashewacta, pro- we have to recoid a "^^^J-.y^^^^l-l^.^'j'f, "1°"^^ \ nounced in modem times Canasawacta. the relic of Indian superstition and industrj .— . ,. There are now to be seen only some imperfect Moses was asked what part of this county the Indians most loved to in- habit. He replied, the Canashewacta country and Oxford, He thought they did not like Ot.selic so much, but the traces of it. It was situated about two miles south of the village, and about ninety rods from the river bank, on what is now the farm of Mr. Lett. The mound, before it was dug down or plouahed over, was about six or seven feet above the surface of the ground, and forty feet |. hunting was good there. He said he in diameter ; bcin