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In 1792, Farmers-Brother was in Philadelphia, and was among those who attended the burial of Mr. Peter Jaquette, and is thus noticed in the Pennsylvania Gazette of 28th March, of that year: "On Monday last, the chiefs and warriors of the Five Nations assembled at the state-house, and were welcomed to the city of Philadelphia in an address delivered by the governor. Three of the chiefs made a general acknowledgment for the cordial reception which they had experienced, but postponed their formal answer until another opportunity. The room in which they assembled was mentioned as the ancient council-chamber, in which their ancestors and ours had often met to brighten the chain of friendship; and this circumstance, together with the presence of a great part of the beauty of the city, had an evident effect upon the feelings of the Indians, and seemed particularly to embarrass the elocution of the Farmers-Brother." This last clause does not correspond with our ideas of the great chief. Through his whole life, Farmers-Brother seems to have been a peace-maker. In the spring of the next year, there was a great council held at Niagara, consisting of the chiefs of a great many nations, dwelling upon the shores of the western lakes. At this time, many long and laborious speeches were made, some for and others against the conduct of the United States. Farmers-Brother shone conspicuous at this time. His speech was nearly three hours long, and the final determination of the council was peace. We know of no speeches being preserved at this time, but if there could have been, doubtless much true history might have been collected from them. He seems not only to have been esteemed by the Americans, but also by the English.

Of Peter Jaquette, whom we have several times incidentally mentioned, we will give some account, before proceeding with Honayawus. He was one of the principal sachems of the Oneidas. This chief died in Philadelphia, March 19th, 1792. He had been taken to France by General Lafayette, at the close of the revolutionary war, where he received an education. Mr. Jaquette, having died on Monday, was interred on the following Wednesday. "His funeral was attended from Oeler's hotel to the Presbyterian burying-ground in Mulberry street. The corpse was preceded by a detachment of the light infantry of the city, with arms reversed, drums muffled, music playing a solemn dirge. The corpse was followed by six of the chiefs as mourners, succeeded by all the warriors; the reverend clergy of all denominations; secretary of war, and the gentlemen of the war department; officers of the federal army, and of the militia; and a number of citizens."

One of the most celebrated speeches of Farmers-Brother was delivered in a council at Genesee river, in 1798, and, after being interpreted, was signed by the chiefs present, and sent to the Legislature of New York. It follows:

"Brothers, as you are once more assembled in council for the purpose of doing honor to yourselves and justice to your country, we, your brothers, the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Seneca

FARMERS-BROTHER. HIS ACCOUNT OF THE MOUNDS. 257

nation, request you to open your ears and give attention to our voice and wishes.-You will recollect the late contest between you and your father, the great King of England. This contest threw the inhabitants of this whole island into a great tumult and commotion, like a raging whirlwind which tears up the trees, and tosses to and fro the leaves, so that no one knows from whence they come, or where they will fall. This whirlwind was so directed by the Great Spirit above, as to throw into our arms two of your infant children, Jasper Parrish and Horatio Jones.* We adopted them into our families, and made them our children. We loved them and nourished them. They lived with us many years. At length the Great Spirit spoke to the whirlwind, and it was still. A clear and uninterrupted sky appeared. The path of peace was opened, and the chain of friendship was once more made bright. Then these our adopted children left us, to seek their relations; we wished them to remain among us, and promised, if they would return and live in our country, to give each of them a seat of land for them and their children to sit down upon.-They have returned, and have for several years past been serviceable to us as interpreters. We still feel our hearts beat with affection for them, and now wish to fulfil the promise we made them, and reward them for their services. We have, therefore, made up our minds to give them a seat of two square miles of land, lying on the outlets of Lake Erie, about three miles below Black-rock, begin. ning at the mouth of a creek known by the name of Scoyguquoy. des creek, running one mile from the river Niagara up said creek, thence northerly as the river runs two miles, thence westerly one mile to the river, thence up the river as the river runs, two miles, to the place of beginning, so as to contain two square miles.-We have now made known to you our minds. We expect and earnestly request that you will permit our friends to receive this our gift, and will make the same good to them, according to the laws and customs of your nation. Why should you hesitate to make our minds easy with regard to this our request? To you it is but a little thing; and have you not complied with the request and confirmed the gifts of our brothers, the Oneidas, the Onondagas and Cayugas, to their interpreters? And shall we ask and not be heard? We send you this our speech, to which we expect your answer before the breaking up our great council fire."

A gentleman, who visited Buffalo in 1810, observes that FarmersBrother was never known to drink ardent spirits, and although then ninety-four years old, walked perfectly upright, and was remarkably straight and well formed; very grave, and answered his inquiries with great precision, but through his interpreter, Mr. Parrish, before named. His account of the mounds in that region will not give satisfaction. He told Dr. King that they were thrown up against the

Taken prisoners at the destruction of Wyoming by the tories and Indians under Butler and Brant.

Dr. William King, the celebrated electrician, who gives the author this information verbally.

incursions of the French, and that the implements found in them were taken from them; a great army of French having been overthrown and mostly cut off, the Indians became possessed of their accoutrements, which, being of no use to them, were buried with their owners.

He was a great warrior, and although "eighty snows in years" when the war of 1812 began, yet he engaged in it, and fought with the Americans. He did not live till its close, but died at Seneca village, just after the battle of Bridgewater, and was interred with military honors by the fifth regiment of United States Infantry. He usually wore a medal presented him by General Washington. In the revolution, he fought successfully against the Americans. Perhaps there never flowed from the lips of man a more sublime metaphor than that made use of by this chief, in the speech given above, when alluding to the revolutionary contest. It is worth repeating: "The Great Spirit spoke to the whirlwind, and it was still."

This celebrated chief was engaged in the cause of the French, in the old French war, as it is termed, and he once pointed out the spot to a traveller, where, at the head of a band of his warriors, he ambushed a guard that accompanied the English teams, employed between the Falls of Niagara and Fort Niagara, which had then recently surrendered to the English under Sir William Johnson. The place of the ambush is now called the Devil's Hole, and is a very noted place to inquisitive visiters of that romantic region, as it is but three and a half miles below the great Falls, and upon the American shore. It is said of this place, that "the mind can scarcely conceive of a more dismal-looking den. A large ravine, made by the falling in of the perpendicular bank, darkened by the spreading branches of the birch and cedar, which had taken root below, and the low murmuring of the rapids in the chasm, added to the solemn thunder of the cataract itself, contribute to render the scene truly awful. The English party were not aware of the dreadful fate that awaited them, Unconscious of danger, the drivers were gaily whistling to their dull ox-teams. Farmers-Brother and his band, on their arrival at this spot, rushed from the thicket which had concealed them, and commenced a horrid butchery." So unexpected was the attack, that all presence of mind forsook the English, and they made little or no resistance. The guard, the teamsters, the oxen, and the wagons were precipitated down into the gulf. But two of the men escaped; a Mr. Stedman, who lived at Sclosser, above the falls, who, being mounted on a fleet horse, effected his escape; and one of the soldiers, who was caught on the projecting root of a cedar, which sustained him until the Indians had left the place. He soon after got to Fort Niagara, and there gave an account of what had happened. The small rivulet that runs into the Niagara through the Devil's Hole, was, it is said, colored with the blood of the slain on that unfortunate day, and it now bears the name of Bloody-Run.

Farmers-Brother fought against the Americans in the revolution, and was no inconsiderable foe; but his acts were probably mostly in council, as we hear of no important achievements by him in the field.

The following remarkable incident should not be omitted in the life of this chief. In the war of 1812, a fugitive Mohawk from the enemy had endeavored to pass for a Seneca, and accordingly came under those of Red-Jacket and Farmers-Brother. The latter discovered him, and immediately appeared in his presence, and thus accosted him. "I know you well. You belong to the Mohawks. You are a spy. Here is my rifle, my tomahawk, my scalping-knife. Say which I shall use. I am in haste." The young Mohawk knew there was no reprieve, nor time to deliberate. He chose the rifle. The old chief ordered him to lie down upon the grass, and with one foot upon his breast, he discharged his rifle into his head.

The following letter will, besides exhibiting the condition of the Senecas, develope some other interesting facts in their biographical history.

"To the Honorable WILLIAM EUSTIS,

Secretary at War.

"The sachems and chief warriors of the Seneca nation of Indians, understanding you are the person appointed by the great council of your nation to manage and conduct the affairs of the several nations of Indians with whom you are at peace and on terms of friendship, come, at this time, as children to a father, to lay before you the trouble which we have on our minds.

"Brother, we do not think it best to multiply words; we will, therefore, tell you what our complaint is. Brother, listen to what we say. Some years since, we held a treaty at Big-tree, near the Genesee river. This treaty was called by our great father, the President of the United States. He sent an agent, Col. Wadsworth, to attend this treaty, for the purpose of advising us in the business, and seeing that we had justice done us. At this treaty, we sold to Robert Morris the greatest part of our country; the sum he gave us was one hundred thousand dollars. The commissioners, who were appointed on your part, advised us to place this money in the hands of our great father, the President of the United States. He told us our father loved his red children, and would take care of our money, and plant it in a field where it would bear seed forever, as long as trees grow, or waters run. Our money has heretofore been of great service to us; it has helped us to support our old people, and our women and children; but we are told the field where our money was planted has become barren. Brother, we do not understand your way of doing business. This thing is very heavy on our minds. We mean to hold our white brethren of the United States by the hand; but this weight lies heavy; we hope you will remove it. We have heard of the bad conduct of our brothers towards the setting sun. We are sorry for what they have done; but you must not blame us; we have had no hand in this bad business. They have had bad people among them. It is your enemics have done this. We have persuaded our agent to take this talk to your great council. He knows our situations, and will speak our minds.

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"N. B. The foregoing speech was delivered in council by FarmersBrother, at Buffalo creek, Dec. 19th, 1811, and subscribed to in my presence by the chiefs whose names are annexed.

ERASTUS GRANGER."

Eight thousand dollars* was appropriated immediately upon receipt of the above.

We find among the acts of the Pennsylvania Legislature of 1791, one" for granting eight hundred dollars to Corn-Planter, Half-Town and Big-Tree, Seneca chiefs, in trust for the Seneca nation." At this time much was apprehended from an Indian war. Settlers were intruding themselves upon their country, and all experience has shown that whenever the whites have gone among them, trouble was sure to follow. Every movement of the Indians was looked upon with jealousy by them at this period. Half-Town was the "white man's friend," and communicated to the garrisons in his country every suspicious movement of tribes of whom doubts were entertained. It is evident that hostile bands, for a long time, hovered about the post at Venango, and, but for the vigilance of Half-Town, and other friendly chiefs, it would have been cut off. In April this year, (1791,) CornPlant and Half-Town had upwards of one hundred warriors in and about the garrison, and kept runners out continually, "being determined to protect it at all events." Their spies made frequent discoveries of war-parties. On the 12th of August, 1791, Half-Town and New-Arrow gave information at Fort Franklin, that a sloop full of Indians had been seen on Lake Erie, sailing for Presqu'Isle; and their object was supposed to be Fort Franklin; but the conjecture proved groundless.

The Indian name of Half-Town was Achiout. We hear of him at Fort Harmer, in 1789, where, with twenty-three others, he executed a treaty with the United States. The commissioners on the part of the latter were General Arthur St. Clair, Oliver Wolcut, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee. Among the signers on the part of the Senecas were also Big-Tree, or Kiandogewa, Corn-Planter, or Gyantwaia, besides several others whose names are familiar in history. Big-Tree was often called Great-Tree, which, in the language of the

"In lieu of the dividend on the bank shares, held by the President of the U. States, in trust for the Seneca nation, in the bank of the U. States."

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