Reprise: Tomochichi of the Yamassee Creek

Some Native leaders felt that the only way to deal with oncoming White settlers was to fight them.  However, many preferred to extend hospitality in an effort at co-existence and co-operation.

Tomochichi (c 1644-1739) was born a Creek.  For reason not known now, he was exiled with some 200 followers and settled on a site now occupied by the town of Savannah, Georgia.  Native societies were in turmoil at this time, the main issue being how to deal with advancing White settlement.  The Yamassee, who also experienced their own destructive internal conflicts over this issue, were just as divided as the Creeks and many Yamassee came to live in Tomochichi's town.  The combination of Creeks and Yamassees are sometimes termed Yamacraw, though Creek histories do not acknowledge the term.

Tomochichi was an older man, possibly in his nineties, when James Oglethorpe and his first group of colonists reached the area in 1733.  He decided to allow them to settle near his village, recognizing the opportunities for trade that the proximity of the colonists would allow.  Tomochichi himself did not know English, so both he and the colonists relied on a mixed-race Creek woman named Mary Musgrove to translate for them.  With her help and Tomochichi's influence, Oglethorpe quickly made contacts with various Creek leaders, facilitating the arrival of more settlers in Georgia.  Tomochichi believed in education so that his people could co-exist with Whites and allowed children from his town to attend school.  He also welcomed Methodist missionaries, though there is no record of his having converted.

At his death, he is said to have reminded those gathered around him to bear in mind the goodness of the King of England, whom he believed responsible for the benefits he felt his people were receiving, and to maintain allegiances and alliances with the British, which the Creek historically maintained up until the War of 1812.  Tomochichi's gravesite was built over by a monument to the founder of the Central Georgia Railroad in 1889.  A member of the founder's family realized the disrespect and had a new marker and plaque installed at the site.  The federal courthouse in in Savannah is named for Tomochichi, who became a prominent figure in Georgia history. 

Indian Agent: William Clark, 1770-1838

William Clark wore many hats on the frontier, explorer, military officer, trader, Indian agent, planter and businessman.  Like many people who lived in close proximity with Native Americans, his attitude toward them and dealings with them were conflicted many times over.  Clark, 1770-1838, is best known as one of the co-leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.  That expedition and all that it accomplished are out of the scope of this blog and beyond encapsulating in a single post.  The point here is to look at Clark's dealings with Native peoples post-expedition, when his position as Indian Agent ad Missouri governor made him responsible for implementing United States policy toward them.

Clark was born in Ladysmith, Virginia to a large plantation family on the edge of the Virginia frontier.  Though he was too young to fight in the American Revolution, he was a remote witness to it.  His older half-brother was George Rogers Clark, renowned in his own time as an Indian fighter and scourge of the Redcoats and Natives on the frontier.  George and four other Clark sons fought in the War.  After the War, the Clark family moved first to Pennsylvania and later to Kentucky.  William first saw service at the age of 19 during the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795) as a member of a Kentucky militia.  There, he began lifelong habits of journaling and keeping his eyes open to the people, places and things he encountered.  This, and his older brother George's lessons on wilderness survival would stand William in good stead later in life.  William enlisted in the Regular Army in 1792 and saw service under General Mad Anthony Wayne.  He was present at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794,

Family connections and personal ability commended him to President Thomas Jefferson when the President was seeking leaders for an expedition to examine the Louisiana Purchase territory.  During the two years that the Expedition spent in the field, Clark would have plenty of opportunity to meet, study and become familiar with various Native tribes.  Like other men of the Corps of Discovery, when he returned from the Expedition, Clark's priority was to marry, establish a family and find a place to live.  He married Julia Hancock in 1808 and the couple settled in St. Louis, Missouri.  Situated on the Mississippi River, St. Louis had been a trading hub under the French, Spanish and now the United States.  As it had been for the Expedition, St. Louis was a staging area for many immigrants moving west, and for traders and trappers bringing furs in to trade for goods and supplies.  Natives also came to St. Louis, both to trade and for various treaty parleys.

Beginning in 1808, Jefferson made both William Clark and Meriwether Lewis Indian Agents, reasoning that their experience in the wilderness made them uniquely qualified to work with Native leaders.  In 1809, Lewis was also made Governor of Louisiana Territory, which for a time made Lewis his superior.  Rather than being jealous, the two men continued to work together, Clark often stepping in when Lewis, who had a great deal of personal life issues, couldn't discharge his duties.  The main job of an Indian Agent was to persuade Natives to cede land to accommodate the increasing number of Settlers heading west.  Like William Henry Harrison in Indiana, William Clark would sign a number of treaties with Natives.  While he gained a reputation among the Natives as being fair, there was no doubt which side Clark was on.  While he was willing to treat Natives as sovereign people and worked to keep trespassers off Native lands, he was equally quick to launch punitive raids against Natives who sided with Britain or made war on American settlers. 

Clark had a keen interest in Indian culture, preserving mementos from the various tribes with whom he worked, arranging for portraits or sketches to be made of them and reports about their ways of life.  George Catlin was one portraitist whom Clark patronized for many portraits and sketches of Natives.  During the War of 1812, he led several campaigns against Natives who fought for the British against the Americans.  In 1813, during the War, Clark became Governor of Missouri Territory.  He returned to being an Indian Agent in 1820, when he was voted out of office in his first gubernatorial race in the new state of Missouri.  By 1832, under the Jackson Administration, it was part of his duties to oversee the removal of Natives in his jurisdiction.  During the Black Hawk War, Clark wasn't afraid to use the word exterminate in framing orders for dealing with Black Hawk's warriors.  Rather than any personal animus against Natives, Clark seemed to believe that, by removing them from their Native land, he was protecting them from White interference.  By the time Clark died in St. Louis in 1838, millions of acres of Native land was under U.S, ownership and many of the peoples who formerly lived on it were miles away, in Indian Territory.

Reprise: Guyasuta of the Seneca

Guide to George Washington, mentor and foster father to Simon Girty, leader of Pontiac's Rebellion, uncle to Cornplanter and Handsome Lake, Guyasuta (1725-1794) played many roles as a great warrior and leader on the frontier.

He was born in western New York, though no one is sure of the location now.  His name means "one who stands up to the cross", though the circumstances under which it was bestowed are now lost to history.  His family and kinship network, not to mention his own personal abilities, would have position him for leadership within the Seneca Nation.  His first appearance in history is in 1753, when he guided George Washington, then a Virginia militia officer, to scout the French Fort la Boeuf.  Guyasuta gave Washington the name Tall Hunter, and in turn Washington referred to him only as "the Hunter' in his journals and correspondence.  A statue overlooking Pittsburg commemorates their collaboration.  Despite their personal regard, however, Guyasuta sided with the French during the French and Indian War and may have taken a hand in wiping out Braddock's Expedition in 1755.  During this same year, a young Scotch-Irish teenager taken captive on the Pennsylvania frontier in a Shawnee raid came to his attention.  Guyasuta noticed young Simon Girty's courage and took him into his family, training him as a Seneca warrior.

During Pontiac's War, 1764-1767, Guyasuta was one of many Native leaders who took a prominent role in fighting against the British in an attempt to restore French control over the Ohio Valley.  Some historians believe that he was a more prominent field commander than Pontiac, such that the entire episode should be named the Pontiac-Guyasuta war.  Whether Simon Girty fought beside his foster father remains unclear.  When the Rebellion was crushed and British authorities demanded that Native return all captives, Guyasuta gave Simon a horse and returned him to Pittsburgh.  The two kept in touch for many years, their relationship rupturing when Simon initially seemed inclined to side with the Americans during the outbreak of the Revolution.  Simon quickly learned the error of his ways and returned to British allegiance, but there is no record of whether he and Guyasuta had the opportunity to reconcile.

During the American Revolution, Guyasuta followed his family and people in siding with the British and may have participated in the Battle of Oriskany, though he was aging by this time and would not have played a prominent role.  Cornplanter succeeded in securing for some of their people a grant of land near what is now Corydon, Pennsylvania and Guyasuta retired there.  Old, ailing and disillusioned with how the Americans were treating Native peoples, Guyasuta became prey to drinking.  He died before his newphew Handsome Lake began receiving the visions that would reawaken Iroquois spirit and pride, including the message to abstain from alcohol. 

Today, there are several statues to him, including the "Point of View"sculpture over Pittsburgh.  I've included some of them here, plus a modern portrait bust.  A miniature exists, said to have been painted from life, though the result shows Guyasuta with a Muscogean style turban with a silver ring surrounding it and I wonder if it hasn't been mistakenly identified. 

Extinct Tribe: The Kaskaskia

Just because a Native tribe or its language have become extinct doesn't mean there aren't descendants today who  keep the heritage alive as best they can.  The Kaskaskia were a Northeastern Woodlands tribe who lived on the Great Lakes near what is now Green Bay Wisconsin when French missionaries first encountered them in 1687.  They were part of the Illini or Illinois Confederation, a network of more than a dozen tribes around the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River. 

The first Europeans to have contacted the Kaskaskia were Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette and French explorer Louis Jolliet, who were the first Europeans to sail down the Mississippi River in 1673.  They met the Kaskaskia, along with other tribes from the Illini Confederacy near what is now Utica, Illinois.  By 1703, the French had established a trading post at what is now Kaskaskia, Illinois, along with a mission station.  Like most of the other Illini tribes, the Kaskaskia were firm French allies, putting them into constant conflict with the Iroquois, who were allies of the British.  Because of the fur trade, many French men intermarried into the Kaskaskia and other Illinois tribes, further cementing the bonds between the two groups. 

The French and Indian War (1755-1762) proved a severe test of loyalty to the Illini tribes and the mixed race or Metis communities which had grown up along the Mississippi.  Constant warfare and strife with British-allied tribes along with communicable diseases wreaked havoc on the Illini peoples, including the Kaskaskia.  Today, the descendants of the Kaskaskia are enrolled in the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe.

The Eclipse of 1142

Throughout history and in many different societies, solar eclipses have often been seen as harbingers of either good or evil.  A solar eclipse may have played a role in the founding of the Iroquois/Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the five original tribes being the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida and Cayuga.

According to Iroquois tradition, the five tribes were locked in inter-tribal strife and constant warfare.  A prophet known as Deganawida or the Great Peacemaker, visited the tribes from across the Great Lakes.  He won the confidence of Hiawatha, a noted Mohawk or Onondaga war leader, and a prominent clan mother known as Jigonhsasee.  Their access to other leader soon gained wide adherence to Deganawida's message among members of the five tribes.  But there were skeptics, and some among the tribes were more apt to continue their old ways of settling disputes through war.  Divisions arose, particularly among the Seneca, who were the last to join the Confederacy.  During a battle, a phenomenon occurred, which observers took to be a sign of support to peace over war.  Though it isn't specified exactly what happened, some sources believe the happening was a total or partial solar eclipse.  The five tribes gathered, buried their war implements and agreed to the Great Law of Peace, known today as the Iroquois Constitution.

So when was this eclipse and were other factors at work in bringing the tribes together.  Some sources indicate that the advent of agriculture may have been another factor making the people of the various tribes more receptive to peace.  Since the Iroquois tribes were allied under their Constitution prior to European contact, no one factor can be singled out as the one that tipped the scales.  However, if a solar eclipse was involved, it may be the one that happened in August, 1142, where the junction of the sun and moon would have been visible in what is now New York.  At that point in history, the Song Dynasty ruled what is now China and England was immersed in a period known as the Anarchy, when two factions of the Norman dynasty battled for control of the throne.  Ironically, while England was tearing itself apart in civil war, five North American tribes were embarking on a new period of peace and prosperity. 

 

Natives versus Settlers: the Berkeley Hundred Massacre, 1622

Berkeley Plantation, the ancestral home of the Harrison family, including POTUS William Henry Harrison, is one of the oldest established homes in America.  Settlers first came to Berkeley, then known as Berkeley Hundred in 1619.  Hundreds were townships, meant to be settled by groups of individuals or family often working under a specific charter.  Berkeley's charter called for an annual service of Thanksgiving, which is why Berkeley can claim to be a site for the first Thanksgivings in America.  Of course, at that time, Thanksgiving referred to a solemn church service or day of fasting and prayer, not a feast with family and friends as we know today.

Berkeley is also known for the tragedy that took place there in 1622, during the early stages of the Powhatan Wars.  For the first few decades of settlement, the various Native tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy had been hospitable to English settlers, gladly sharing corn and other foodstuffs and trading for skins and trade goods.  As time wore on and more settlers arrived in Virginia, demands for foodstuffs from the local tribes became more insistent.  Native leaders rightly pointed out that they needed the food for their own families, too, but their concerns fell on deaf ears.  Tensions between the Natives and Settlers exploded into war in 1622, with local Native leaders being ordered to provide the foodstuffs and, when they did not, their villages were attacked.  The Natives had no choice but to defend themselves. 

Settlements throughout Virginia were attacked, and one of those was the settlement at Berkeley.  Nine settlers were killed in an attack on the settlement.  Word soon spread to the colony of Plymouth in what is now Massachusetts and sparked the beginnings of hand-picked companies of men who were familiar with the terrain and with hunting and fighting techniques of the local Natives.  In 1622, Captain John Smith (not that John Smith), wrote about his company of men that, after the Berkeley Plantation attack, he and ten men "ranged that unknown country for fourteen weeks", on the lookout for similar attacks from Natives around Plymouth.  Soon the words ranger and ranging became used to describe men who were experienced in this type of warfare, the distant forbears of ranger units in the United States Army and elsewhere. 

Friday Reprise: Egushawa of the Ottawa

The Northwest Indian War (1785-1795), brought together some of the finest Native commanders ever seen in this early period of American history.  We've focused on Blue Jacket of the Shawnee, Little Turtle of the Miami and Buckongahelas of the Delaware/Lenape.  There were others, too, among them Egushawa of the Ottawa, who may have been related to Pontiac.

Egushawa (c 1726-1796) would have been born in the area of the Detroit River region, not far from the later British Army outpost of Fort Detroit.  His name means "bringer together" in the Ottawa language, a skill he was good at when it came to uniting his people under his leadership later in life.  Little is known of his youth and early adulthood.  If he was born in 1726, he would have been old enough to participate in the Seven Years War (1755-1762) and later Pontiac's Rebellion (1764).  At some point, he became a war chief and later a principal political chief among the Ottawa.  He is sometimes called a successor to Pontiac, though Pontiac never had as much power during his lifetime.

The first time Egushawa appears on paper, he was mentioned in a land grant of an island in the Detroit River to Alexis Masonville in 1774.  At that time, Ottawa influence extended through what is now Michigan to Northwestern Ohio to the Maumee River.  When the Revolution broke out, Egushawa was living near the mouth of the Maumee River, near present day Toledo, Ohio.  He assisted British officials with efforts to recruit Native warriors to support the British war effort on the frontier.  Henry Hamilton, the British Lieutenant Governor at Fort Detroit, awarded him a sword.  Like many future Native leaders, he was present at the Battle of Oriskany.  In 1778, he accompanied Hamilton's expedition to recapture Fort Vincennes from General George Rogers Clark.  Hamilton was captured by Clark instead, but Egushawa escaped.  Later, he participated in an invasion of what is now Kentucky where two American outposts were captured. 

In 1783, the British ceded their land rights in the United States and Northwest Territory without consulting their Native allies.  This left tribes in the Northwest Region in the lurch, having to agree to peace treaties to keep what they could of their land and hunting rights.  Egushawa opposed this and considered none of these treaties to be valid.  When the Shawnee began agitating for the various tribes to come together to form the Western Confederacy, they found Egushawa and the Ottawa to be willing allies.  The British, who had not abandoned Detroit or Mackinack, clandestinely supported the Confederacy through advice and supplies of arms, but did not provide troops or leadership.  Egushawa was part of the Native army who defeated Col. Josiah Harmer in 1790.  Later, he was present at the Battle of the Wabash in 1791.

The tide turned at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, when the Native forces were defeated and Egushawa was wounded.  With the British unwilling to provide shelter to their families or more open support of their effort, the Natives, including Egushawa, had no choice but to agree to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, ceding most of Southwest Michigan but preserving at least some hunting range for the Ottawa in northwestern Ohio.  Egushawa, who was old by the standards of the time, died the following year.

Tellico Blockhouse and the Treaties of Tellico

Blockhouses on the frontier served several purposes, including defense for local Settlers.  They were also centers of trade and could be meeting places for treaty parleys with local tribes.  Tellico Blockhouse, on the Little Tennessee River in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee served as the focal point for four treaties with the Cherokee.  The blockhouse was named for one of the principal Overhill Cherokee towns, Great Tellico.

The period of 1775-1794 saw continual skirmishing between the Cherokee, particularly the Overhill Cherokee and White Settlers who were coming into the Tennessee Valley.  Cherokee leader Hanging Maw opened talks with North Carolina Governor William Blount, who had control over what is now Tennessee, to build a blockhouse and fort in the area and appoint an agent to treat with the Cherokee.  Hanging Maw donated the land and construction began in 1794.  In 1795, Congress passed what was known as the factory act, formalizing relations with Native tribes through what they called factories, what we now know as agencies or trading posts.  Each factory was headed by an Indian Agent, or factor in the language of the time, whose job it was to serve as a liaison with the local tribe. 

The Blockhouse was surrounded by a palisade and quickly became the focal point for the surrounding community, both Natives and Settlers.  It even made the itinerary for foreign visitors, such as Louis-Philippe, Duc of Orleans and future King of France, who was one of many royal dignitaries to visit the frontier.  The fort remained in operation until 1807, when it was abandoned.  Modern archaeologists have uncovered the fort site and even artifacts from the people who lived and passed through it.  An outline of stones gives the blockhouse and palisade dimensions and layout.  Tellico Blockhouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The four treaties concluded at Tellico Blockhouse included:

Treat of 1794, which brought an end to the Cherokee-American Wars.  Hanging Maw represented the Overhill Cherokee and John Watts was the signatory for the Chickamauga Cherokee.

First Treaty of Tellico of 1797, dealt with the problem of forcing squatters from Cherokee lands.  The Cherokee agreed to a cession of land in exchange for financial compensation. 

Second Treaty of Tellico of 1804, the Cherokee ceded land in Northern Georgia in return for financial compensation.

The Third and four Treaties of Tellico, signed on October 25 and October 27, 1805, acquired the area between the Cumberland and Duck Rivers.  The Cherokee leaders who signed were later accused of having done so for personal financial gain. 

Friday Reprise: Major John Norton (Snipe)

He was recognized at the time as one of the best Native war leaders of the War of 1812, ranking just behind Tecumseh.  But his life and contributions to the British war effort in Canada have long been overshadowed by the Shawnee leader.  Perhaps for this reason, or for others that we'll get to later, Major John Norton has never received his due in a scholarly or popular biography.  Research by a trained expert would certainly help the amateur historians and Norton fans, because John's life was an enigma, wrapped in riddle and surrounded by mystery and clouded with misinformation.

According to a video put out by the Canadian Bible Society, John's father was a Cherokee baby rescued by a kindly Scottish officer during a raid on the Cherokee village of Keowee (near present-day Clemson, South Carolina) in 1760.  Then, ten years later, John Norton himself was baptized at the Kirk in Dunfermline, Scotland, the son of this Cherokee and a Scottish woman with the last name of Anderson.  Nobody stopped to figure the unlikelihood of a ten-year-old fathering a child.  I wrote to the Canadian Bible Society for clarification, but got no answer.  In his Journal, written years later, and in other reminiscences written by people who knew and met him, John Norton is described as a full-blooded Cherokee.  He believed himself to be full-blooded Cherokee, although he would surely have known he was mixed-race. 

My idea, and my idea only, is that John himself was the baby rescued in 1760, the son of a Cherokee parent and a Scottish parent.  Many Scots did immigrate to North Carolina following the failure of the Jacobite Rising in 1745, so there were plenty of opportunities for a Cherokee man and a Scottish or mixed-race Scottish woman to meet by 1759-60.  The soldier who rescued the child was also named John Norton, and he may have bestowed this name on both John and his Cherokee father, which makes the matter all the more confusing.  At some point before he was ten years old, the soldier, John and either or both of his parents travel back to Dunfermline, Scotland, where young John would have been taken for baptism and registry in the Kirk at around 10 years old.  Young John remained in Scotland, was educated, and may have apprenticed to a printer, but around 1784 decided to join the army instead.  He was initially based in Scotland, than Ireland, and finally came to Niagara, in what was then called Upper Canada, where the British still maintained some bases on the frontier even though the Treaty of Paris required them to withdraw from the former Colonies as well as the Ohio River Valley.  While there, he became fascinated with the culture of the Six Nations and got to know Joseph Brant.  In 1788, John was discharged from the army and adopted into the Mohawk tribe as Brant's nephew.  His personal name would have been Snipe, we'll get to his more commonly-known Native name later.

John traveled to Quinte Bay, Ontario and tried teaching school.  That lasted about a year.  He worked for several years in a trading post owned by another Mohawk leader, John Desoronto.  Throughout his ramblings in the region, he continued his studies of the various Iroquois dialects and cultures.  Eventually, he would be described as able to speak almost a dozen Native dialects, as well as English, French and German.  He would later pick up Spanish.  If this seems unlikely today, it's because we don't live on a frontier where being able to pick up the rudiments of a language quickly is a means of survival.  As a trading post employee, and later a translator for the British Indian Department, he would have needed to constantly hone his skill at languages, both Native and the major European languages spoken by immigrants in the area. 

John's work kept him in contact with his adopted uncle, Joseph Brant, who noticed the younger man's leadership and negotiating ability.  At some point, Brant proposed making Norton an Iroquois Pine Tree Chief.  These non-hereditary specialized chiefs were specifically called for the in the Iroquois Constitution as a way to honor and make use of men with specialized skills who could aid the tribes in dealing with urgent issues.  Upon his investiture, Norton was given the name Teyoninhokawrawen, which means Open Door, or Open the Door.  I've seen speculation that this refers to his possible role as guardian of the Council House door, but both Norton and an earlier chief who held the title were also noted warriors and diplomats.  War chiefs of the Iroquois, such as the Seneca Red Jacket and even Brant himself, often undertook diplomatic missions on behalf of their people.  John himself was sent by Brant to England in 1804 and, while there, his life took another strange turn.

Like Brant, Norton was a deeply religious man who took a keen interest in the work of the various Anglican missionaries on Mohawk land.  Since some of these missionaries did not speak the Iroquois languages, he and Brant often acted as interpreter for Sunday sermons and the like.  With his ability at languages and interest in religion, while he was in London in 1804, he met with the founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society.   He was asked to translate a book of the Bible into Mohawk and he chose the Gospel of John.  After several months of working hours at a time on the translation, he completed his work and the Gospel was published by the Bible Society.  When Norton returned to Canada to report on the results of his mission to Brant, he carried several copies of the Mohawk Gospel of John with him.  Unfortunately, by the time he arrived home, Brant's health was failing and John's efforts to distribute the Mohawk translation fell by the wayside to other urgent matters. 

The British Indian Department was trying to take a firmer hand in affairs on the Six Nations and other reserves.  Their distrust focused on one leader who seemed to resent that, their former employee John Norton.  There were several reasons for this.  Whites who did not understand Native culture did not believe that Norton was a bona fide adopted Mohawk or duly-appointed chief.  Nor did they buy his claim of being part Cherokee.  Higher ups at the Indian Department felt that Norton was an imposter and a nuisance who needed to be shown his place.  Discouraged and fed up, John traveled to Cherokee country, trying to find his father's family.  He did find relatives and a family tree written as a preface to a 20th century publication of his journal places him in a kinship group that included Cherokee Leader John Watts, and thus by extension, Sequoyah, Dragging Canoe and Nancy Ward.  He found his father's grave and the remains of his village, then returned to Canada in 1810, meaning to publish the journal.  On the way back to Canada, he traveled through Shawnee country, meeting Tecumseh and Tenskwata. 

Tecumseh's revolt began in 1811, putting any publication plans on hold.  The War of 1812 further pushed any thoughts of Bible translating or diplomacy to the back burning.  Norton led Six Nations warriors during several battles, including Queenstown Heights, Lundy's Lane, Stoney Creek, and Beaver Dams.  During Queenstown Heights, when the death of General Sir Isaac Brock disorganized the British advance, Norton coordinated attacks of his warriors, demoralizing the Americans who were terrified of the Natives.  This allowed the new commander time to organize his men and launch a crushing counter-attack.  General Sheaffe later praised the 'judicious dispostions' Norton had undertaken to put his men where they were needed the most.  He also led a force of warriors during Tecumseh's defeat at the Battle of the Thames in 1813.  Norton remained almost constantly in the field as a war leader, but did take time off in 1813, as well, to marry a young Lenape woman who had been baptized with the Christian name of Catherine.  He'd had a son, John, Jr., by a previous relationship.  With the conclusion of the War of 1812, he had earned the brevet rank of Major.

In 1816, Norton took his young son and new wife to England for another diplomatic mission on behalf of the Six Nations.  While he conducted business in London, his son John, Jr., went to Dunfermline to be educated.  Catherine also received tutoring and lessons in deportment as befitted a lady.  They later returned to Canada, where Norton had an estate near where the town of Caledonia now stands.  He tried the life of a farmer, but couldn't make his farm successful, sinking deeper into debt.  Catherine developed a relationship with the farm overseer, a young Native man who had served under her husband in several battles.  Hurt and humiliated, Norton challenged the man to a duel and killed him.  He was charged with murder and convicted of manslaughter, forced to pay the stiff fine of 25 pounds.  After talking matters over with his son John, Norton decided that the most dignified course was to leave Ontario for awhile and let things settle down. 

He went back to Cherokee Country, accompanied by his son and some Cherokee friends who wanted to return to their own country.  John, Jr., soon returned to Canada, but without his father, who indicated that he would be returning later.  A friend also claimed to receive a letter from Norton in 1826, stating his intent to return to Grand River.  But he never came back.  A relative seeking to claim his estate said that he could prove that Norton died in Laredo, then Mexico in 1831, but the case never came to court.  John, Jr., did not claim his father's land and left the Reserve.  Norton's estate was finally auctioned in 1848.  No one knows why Norton went to Mexico, why he failed to return home, how he died, or where he is buried.  A window in the Mohawk Chapel commemorates his translation of the Gospel of John.  The picture of him in red, with the battle axe, hangs in Syon House, the London home of the Dukes of Northumberland.  A full length portrait of him in the blue outfit also hangs in Syon House, but there are no other monuments to him.  He died as mysteriously as he had lived.

Later: I've posted the Canadian Bible Society video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPeVgrmey4U

Great Leader: Gray Lock of the Western Abenaki

American fascination with celebrity has taken unique turns throughout our history.  One example of this is/was the tendency is a fascination with Native opponents in various "Indian Wars".  The first of many such would be Gray Lock/Wawanolet, a Western Abenaki leader during a conflict known as Dummer's War, sometimes known as Father Rale's War, 1722-1725.

The tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy, including the Abenaki, Mikmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, lived in what is now Nova Scotia and portions of New England, including Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.  At that time, Massachusetts controlled what would later become Maine and Vermont.  The Wabanaki tribes, like many Algonquian-speaking people, allied with the French.  Iroquoian-speaking peoples tended to ally with the English and the various tribes came into repeated conflict in the 17th century over the beaver trade.  As more and more English settlers infiltrated what is now New England and portions of Nova Scotia, they came into increasing conflict with Natives.  The tribes had been missionized by French priests, who often served as liaisons with the government of New France, providing weapons, advice and tacit support. 

During this conflict, Wawanolet emerged as a leader, known to the English by their name for him, Gray Lock.  How or why he got this name remains unknown.  His Native name refers to one who puts others off his track.  He made his presence known in Massachusetts through a series of raids, including settlements at Northfield and Rutland, killing some Settlers and taking others captive.  To combat the threat, Massachusetts authorities erected a fort near what is now Brattleboro, Vermont named Fort Dummer, after the then-acting governor of Massachusetts.  In 1724, Gray Lock struck settlements at Deerfield, Northampton and Westfield.  Captain Benjamin Wright set out with a company of militia, but quickly realized he faced a more powerful opponent and withdrew, Gray Lock's warriors tracking him every step of the way. 

The Abenaki made peace in 1725, but Gray Lock refused to be part of the treaty parley.  For the next two decades, Settlers in Massachusetts would learn of his continued existence through his lightening raids.  He died around 1750.  Mount Greylock in western Massachusetts was named for him.  A monument to him stands in Battery Park, Burlington, Vermont. 

People of the Beautiful River: the Maliseet

This Algonquian-speaking tribe were part of the Wabanaki Confederacy along with the Abenaki, Mikmaq, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy.  Their home range was the St. John River Valley in what is now New Brunswick and Canada and portions of Maine.  Their name for the river, Wolastoq means, Beautiful River, and the tribe's name for themselves, Wolastogiyik means People of the Beautiful River.  The more common name, Maliseet, was a reference by the Mikmaq, which referred to People Who Speak Differently, the two tribes speaking different forms of Algonquian dialect.

Like other Algonquian tribes, the Maliseet practiced agriculture supplemented by hunting and gathering.  They established trading relations with the French for beaver furs, and many Maliseet people learned to speak French and converted to Christianity.  Disease took its toll on the Maliseet, and the various colonial and trade wars were also destructive.  However, as beaver supplies dwindled, the Maliseet turned their attention more and more to farming.  By doing so, they were able to retain much of their traditional homeland.  The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians was one of the first tribes to sign a treaty with the new United States government and is today a federally recognized tribe.

Friday Reprise: Koquethagechton/White Eyes of the Lenape/Delaware

Native American leaders tried a variety of strategies to cope with the influx of White Settlers onto their hunting ranges.  While some preferred all-out resistance, others tried to negotiate and work with the inevitable as best the could.  Even then, the results were almost always tragic.  White Eyes' story is a case in point. 

Koquethagechton was born somewhere in Pennsylvania (c 1730-1778), and his clan heritage marked him out as a man in a position for leadership.  He received his warrior's training and later married a young woman, Rachel Doddridge, who'd been captured from her Settler family as a little girl and assimilated into the tribe.  They had one son, whom they named after a personal friend of the family.   White Eyes first came to the attention of British authorities as a messenger during the French and Indian War.  Settlers and Colonial authorities referred to him by a variety of names, including William or Captain Grey Eyes.  Most likely, the names referred to some feature of his eyes that stood out as different from other Natives, but is not recorded now.  Despite the fact that he did not speak English well, he was singled out by Colonial authorities as being useful for facilitating interaction between Whites and Natives, a role he seemed willing to play. 

By 1773, he had risen to prominence among his people as speaker of the Delaware Head Council.  By that time, he had migrated from his birthplace in Pennsylvania to the Muskingum River Valley in Ohio.  There, many Delaware came under the influence of the Moravian missionaries and turned to Christianity.  White Eyes chose to retain his traditional beliefs, but tried to make sure that Christian Delaware remained part of the larger Lenape community.  He established his own town, called White Eyes' Town, near where Coshocton, Ohio is today.  In 1774, the Lenape Grand Council named him Principal Chief of their Nation.  White Eyes' first attempts at negotiations failed, as he was unable to persuade the Shawnee not to escalate the conflict that became Lord Dunmore's War.  However, he served as an intermediary between the Virginians and the warring tribes and helped negotiate the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, October, 1774, which ended that War. 

White Eyes' ultimate aim was a separate Lenape state in the Ohio Valley where his people could live without fear of encroachment on their lands.  He was willing to talk to British colonial officials in hopes of making that a reality, but the Revolution intervened.  He opened negotiations with the Americans and, in 1776, personally visited and spoke to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, requesting a separate homeland for his people.  In 1778, representatives of the United States and the Lenape signed the Treaty of Fort Pitt, which promised, among other things, a separate Lenape State.  American negotiators took the treaty back to Philadelphia, where it was never presented to Congress for action.  The treaty also provided that the Lenape would act as guides to American forces trying to dislodge the British from the Ohio Valley.

In early November, 1778, White Eyes joined an expedition led by American General Lachlan McIntosh as a guide and negotiator.  He died soon after and the Americans reported his death to his people as smallpox.  Only years later did White Eyes' friend, United States Indian Agent George Morgan, write a letter to Congress requesting a pension for White Eyes' widow and child.  In that letter, he claimed that White Eyes had been killed by an American militiaman.  The assassination was covered up at the time to avoid alienating the Lenape and inflaming other tribes in the frontier.   White Eyes' widow, Rachel, who had assimilated to her husband's people, was also murdered by White Militia in 1788.  George Morgan took their son in and raised him as his own child.  He was successful in securing for White Eyes' son a scholarship to the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), all expenses paid by the Continental Congress.  Unfortunately, the young man died in 1798. 

Artist: Pauline Johnson of the Mohawk, 1861-1913

Education for women was becoming more accepted in the 19th century, but a woman who was a published poet and novelist was still rare.  Even rarer still were Native women who wrote for publication.  Pauline Johnson, 1861-1913 a mixed-race Mohawk woman of the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, beat these odds.

A word on her ancestry, because there are a great many myths and misconceptions.  The Mohawk traditional home range was New York.  In the 18th century, Anglo-Irish Indian Agent Sir William Johnson was well-known to the Mohawk and lived with a Mohawk woman, Mary (Molly) Brant, the sister of Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant.  The Mohawk had, for the most part, accepted and adopted to English customs, converting to Anglicanism and farming.  As was often customary, when a Mohawk person was baptized, he or she often took the name of a prominent White person.  Thus, in 1758, when Pauline Johnson's great-grandfather was baptized, he took or was given the name Jacob Johnson.  Jacob is a Bible name and Johnson honored Sir William.  However, Jacob was not, as is commonly asserted, a biological son or nephew of Sir William.  Jacob would go on to marry a Mohawk woman.  Their son, John Smoke Johnson, was a veteran of the War of 1812 and later made a Pine Tree Chief.  He was not a hereditary sachem, but was chosen as a chief because of his abilities in war, as well as his ability to work with Whites.

John Smoke Johnson married a woman of the Wolf Clan who carried the authority to chose one of the hereditary sachems of the Mohawk Nation.  Their son, George, was thus a Wolf Clan Sachem.  Like his father, George had a flair for public speaking, diplomacy and languages.  He was a church translator and government interpreter.  He fell in love with Emily Howells, the sister-in-law of an Anglican missionary with whom he worked as a translator.  Emily's family opposed the match because George was Mohawk.  George's family opposed the match because Emily, being White, would carry no status within the tribe.  They felt that a sachem should marry a woman who could transmit her status and clan membership to her children.  George and Emily stuck to their guns and, in 1853, they were married.  By 1856, George built Chiefswood, a timber mansion house similar to what well-to-do White families would have lived in at the time.  The families eventually came around and accepted the marriage.

Emily Pauline Johnson was born at Chiefswood in 1861.  Her parents instilled in her respect for both the Anglo and Mohawk heritages.  Grandfather John Smoke was still alive and his stories fired young Pauline's imagination.  She would grow up understanding Mohawk but not speaking it well.  While other Native children were sent away to boarding schools, Emily insisted on teaching Pauline at home.  George had acquired a library and Pauline loved poetry, devouring Tennyson, Keats, Browning and Longfellow.  At the age of 14, Pauline went to Brantford Central Collegiate and graduated in 1877.  A well-to-do young woman of the time didn't work outside the home, so Pauline had plenty of opportunity to begin writing and acting in amateur theatricals.  She published her first work, "My Little Jean" in 1883.  Then, in 1884, her father died.  The family rented out Chiefswood and moved to a modest home in Brantford.  Pauline now had to make her acting and writing pay.

In 1885, she published "A Cry From an Indian Wife," basing it on an incident from the recent Riel Rebellion.  She would later travel to New York, and write a poem honoring Seneca leader Red Jacket.  Then, in 1886, she wrote a poem to commemorate the unveiling of the Joseph Brant Statue in Brantford.  By the 1890's, she was regularly publishing in periodicals in Canada.  She began giving readings of her poems, wearing Native dress to recite works dealing with Native history and legends, and also writing conventional poetry of the time.  This was an era of interest in all things Native, including the Wild West shows of the period, which were popular throughout North America and Europe.  Later in life, she moved to Vancouver, where some of her work dealt with the local Suquamish people.  She died in Vancouver of breast cancer in 1913.  She was cremated and her ashes buried near Siwash Rock in Stanley Park.  In 1922, a memorial cairn was erected at the site.

Scouts: the Black Seminoles, 1870-1914

Prior to the Civil War, members of the Five Southeastern Tribes, had owned black slaves.  Slaves, both from other tribes and from White masters, found a ready escape in Florida with the Seminoles.  While some Seminoles did own black slaves, for the most part they welcomed blacks to live among them and intermarry with Natives.  Mixed race Seminole leaders, such as John Horse, were trusted colleagues of Seminole leaders such as Osceola and Coacoochee, fighting for what they considered their homeland, too.  John Horse eventually agreed to lead his people to Oklahoma, under a promise that they would not be returned to slavery.  However, once in Oklahoma, White slave catchers began taking blacks and mixed race Natives back into slavery.  John Hors led his people from Oklahoma and down into Mexico to escape enslavement.  Many became scouts for the Mexican Army.

Following the Civil War, the U.S. government turned its attention to Texas, where tribes such as the Kiowa, Comanche and Kickapoo were fighting White encroachment on their homelands.  The trackless plains with their dust and heat were some of the most unforgiving country in North America.  In order to track bands of raiding warriors, the Army would have to turn to other Natives who, by now, had plenty of experience in the area doing just that for the Mexicans.  In 1870, the government invited John Horse and his people to return to the United States.  On July 4, 1870, 200 warriors with their families crossed the Rio Grande.  The men were mustered into the Army, while their families often settled near Army posts.

Because most of these people were either black or mixed race, they were often dispatched to work with the 9th and 10th Black Cavalry, the Buffalo Soldiers.  Like the cavalry, they were mounted and became proficient scouts and soldiers.  Four Seminole Scouts would receive citations for the Congressional Medal of Honor in skirmishes with the Comanche, Kickapoo and other Plains tribes, but it's unclear whether they actually received the medals to go with the citations.  In 1914, with the war in Europe claiming the government's attention, the Seminole Scouts were disbanded and they and their families forced to go to Indian Territory.  Most of them did.  However, some of their descendants still live in Texas and Mexico.

Friday Reprise: Chainbreaker of the Seneca

The Wolf Clan of the Seneca produced many notable leaders.  We've already looked at Red Jacket.  His maternal nephews were Cornplanter and Handsome Lake, whom we've already discussed.  Their maternal nephew was a war chief known variously as Blacksnake, Governor Blacksnake or Chainbreaker.  His native name or chiefship title is given as Tah-Wo-Ne-Ahs or Thaonawayuthe.

The first mystery in his life is his birth year, which is given from 1727 to 1760, depending mostly on estimates of his age at his death.  His tombstone gives the year 1737, but also claims in error that he served in the Continental Army.  That would have put him at over 120 years old when he died in 1859, which would be implausible without documentation.  He was documented as having served with the British during the Seven Years War (1755-1763), so a birthdate in the 1740's is plausible, making him at least 110 when he died, though he might have been older.  Most likely, he was born near Seneca Lake.  Using the Iroquois matrilineal kinship system, a maternal uncle, such as Cornplanter, would have provided his warrior training and sponsored his rise in Seneca society.  That his mentor was most likely Cornplanter is born out by the fact that he accompanied Cornplanter on a mission to George Washington during the Revolution and also to appear before the Continental Congress.  In 1788, he moved to his uncle's land when his own village was taken in the Phelps and Gorham Land purchase, which more in a later post. 

At some point around 1803, Cornplanter and Blacksnake had a falling out.  Blacksnake agreed to much of Handsome Lake's ideas, especially temperance and personal morality.  But he disliked the idea that Natives should not participate in White men's wars, seeing that the was often the only way for a tribe to gain advantage in preserving their lands.  After Handsome Lake's death, he adapted the Code which modified his views on war somewhat to encourage compromise.  He permitted missionaries to work on lands under his control and encouraged his people to attend school and work toward social harmony among themselves and with neighboring Whites. 

But he was a warrior and later attained the rank of war chief among the Seneca.  In 1777, he took part in the Siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany. In 1778, he participated in the Battle of Wyoming (nothing to do with the present stat of that name), under Loyalist Major John Butler.  In 1779, he tried to defend Seneca villages from raids by Col. Daniel Brodhead during Sullivan's Expedition, which we've already discussed.  He also carried messages for the British.  After the War, he became reconciled to its outcome and focused on protecting Seneca land.  During the War of 1812, despite advancing age, he participate in the Battle of Fort George.  Throughout

this crucial time in his people's history, he was everywhere and witness to most of the events taking place, including several surveys of Seneca land by Settlers seeking to purchase, or convince the government to take control over, land that belonged to his people.  Blacksnake's testimony in a court case was crucial to saving the lands that became part of the Oil Spring Reservation, as he had in his possession maps which outlined the agreed-upon boundaries, thwarting attempts by land speculators to help themselves to more Seneca land.

As he grew older, his power waned, but he was still a respected elder among his people.  He died on the Allegheny Reservation in Cattaraugus County, New York, remembered as a man of rare intellectual and moral power.  He was buried in Hillside Haven Cemetery.   

Treaty: Fort Stanwix I, July, 1768

We've dealt with this treaty in connection with others that set the boundaries and provided for land concessions from various tribes on the frontier.  Today, we'll deal with the first Treaty of Fort Stanwix, signed at Fort Stanwix near what is now Rome, New York.  Specifically, we'll look at the backstory of the treaty.

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix put a formal end to two conflicts between Natives, specifically the Iroquois, and Colonial governments (read, Sir William Johnson, the Penn family of Pennsylvania), and representative of four colonies, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia.  In frontier America, land speculation was big business.  Though the Royal Proclamation of 1763 had forbidden White settlement beyond the Appalachian mountains, many prominent colonial Americans had already staked out claims to what is now Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.  Further, being an Indian agent was lucrative business. Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent for Indian Affairs, Northern Department had long used his connections to the Iroquois (read Joseph and Molly Brant), to acquire title to thousands of acres of Iroquois land in New York.  The Iroquois believed that, by rights of conquest during the 17th century Beaver Wars, they had control over hunting rights in the Ohio Valley.  Johnson wasn't the only one with his eye on this lucrative land.  The Penn family in Pennsylvania also hoped to capitalize on Ohio real estate.

The Seven Years War had ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, in which France ceded possession of all its North American territory to Britain, without any specific mention of Native rights to any lands whatsoever.  Several Native tribes who had supported the French rose in what became known as Pontiac's War, 1763-1766.  One of their concerns was the increasing number of Settlers on Native hunting range beyond the Appalachian Mountains, which the British were supposed to police but didn't have the resources or the intention to.  There was only one solution to this problem, one which benefitted wealthy investors in America but created only further war on the frontier.  Johnson, as Indian Agent, called a counsel at Fort Stanwix.  Whether by accident or design, he chose to invite only the Iroquois Confederacy to the counsel.  The Cherokee, Ottawa, Lenape, Cherokee and other tribes who used the Ohio Valley as hunting range were not invited or consulted. 

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix pushed the Royal Proclamation line back into the Ohio Valley.  Instead of the line being the watersheds of the Appalachians, it now ran from near modern-day Pittsburgh (Fort Pitt), and followed the Ohio Valley to the Tennessee River, ceding what is now Kentucky and West Virginia to Virginia, adding several thousand acres to what is now Pennsylvania, and taking in most of modern-day Ohio.  The Iroquois received 10,000 pounds sterling as well as an annual annuity of trade goods in receipt of this purchase.  English officials in London decided to ignore this overstep of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and called the newly acquired land the New Purchase.  The Shawnee were furious.  They wouldn't cede their rights to the Ohio Valley until the Treaty of Camp Charlotte which ended Dunmore's War of 1774.  The Cherokee went through two treaties, Hard Labor in 1768 and Lochaber in 1770, to cede their rights to this same land.  Meanwhile, Settlers continued to pour onto Native land and conflicts continued.

The Foreign MIssion School, Cornwall, Connecticut

This brief experiment in Native American higher education had every chance of working, but for two love stories marred by racial prejudice.  Jedidiah Morse, the father of F.B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, believed that young men from non-White races could be trained as missionaries to their respective people.  He conceived of the idea of a seminary to train such young men as missionaries.  To that end, the Foreign Mission School was established in 1816 in Cornwall, Connecticut.  This wasn't the first opportunity for Native men to receive a University level education.  Both Yale and what would later become Dartmouth also had auxiliary schools for non-White students.  Herman Daggett, the nephew of Yale College president Naphtali Daggett was a headmaster at the school, as well as Timothy Dwight, who also had Yale connections.

The first students at the school were Native Hawaiians.  Henry Opukahaia was a young Hawaiian who'd been abandoned in Connecticut by his ship.  He enrolled at the school and appreciated it so much that he began recruiting among other Native Hawaiians.  Eventually seven Native Hawaiians would receive missionary training at the school, along with one Hindu, a Bengali, two Chinese and two Malay.  Two White students were also enrolled, but the overwhelming majority of the student body was Native, mostly mixed race.  In addition to a typical University curriculum of astronomy, calculus, theology, geography, chemistry, navigation and surveying, French, Greek and Latin, the students were required to do missionary work in the local community.  They also learned practical courses such as blacksmithing and barrel-making.  The aim was to make them self-sufficient preachers, teachers and even translators in a foreign missionary assignment.

Then, in the early 1820's, two young mixed-race Cherokee boys did what college students have done since there has been college students, cultivate an interest in the opposite sex.  Two local girls from prominent families didn't find John Ridge and Elias Boudinot all that bad, and were dead-set on marrying them, even if that meant moving far away from homes and families to Cherokee Country.  Local public opinion, though, wasn't as moonstruck as the two girls.  In fact, they were angry and demanded the school's closure, which occurred in 1826.  Among the notable alumns were Cherokee David Brown, James Fields, Leonard Hicks, David Carter, John Vann, Choctaw McKee and Israel Folsom, Delaware Adin Gibbs, Osage Robert Monroe and Stephen van Renssalear (named for the general), among others.

The Steward's House of the Foreign Mission School still stands and is a National Historic Landmark.

Great Leader: Yonaguska, Janaluska and William Holland Thomas

Today's post is a story of cruel ingratitude and selfless loyalty.  William Holland Thomas was the only White man ever appointed as a chief of the Cherokee Nation and it's easy to see why they reposed such trust in him.  His story intersects with the lives of two other great leaders, so we'll tell all three men's stories here.

Janaluska (1775-1868) was a war leader of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, in what is now North Carolina.  In 1813, he and his warriors joined General Andrew Jackson's army in a punitive expedition against the Red Stick Creeks in what is now Alabama.  At the battle of Horseshoe Bend, March 27, 1814, he joined Jackson in interrogating some prisoners.  One of them broke loose and lunged for the General.  Janaluska intervened and killed the attacker, saving Jackson's life.  Later, Janaluska was awarded land for participating in the fight against the Creeks.  In 1819, he lost his rights to the land after yet another treaty with the Natives was violated.  He moved to the larger Cherokee settlement of Qualla Town.  While there, he may have become acquainted with a young clerk at the trading post, William Holland Thomas.  Their acquaintance would stand Janaluska in good stead later in life.

Yonaguska (1759-1839) was another Cherokee leader who knew Thomas well.  William Holland Thomas (1805-1893), was born in what is now Waynesville, North Carolina.  His father died by drowning when William was a baby.  Later, he was apprenticed to a trader in Qualla Town and took a genuine interest in the post's Cherokee clientele, learning their language and customs.  In time, the fatherless young man and the older Cherokee warrior Yonaguska developed a close friendship.  Yonaguska adopted Thomas as his son, giving him the name "Will-Usdi" or Little Will.  In 1820, the trading post closed.  As partial payment of his past-due wages, the trader gave Thomas a set of law books.  Thomas studied them and was admitted to practice law in North Carolina.  Eventually, he came back to Qualla Town and reopened the trading posts.  He and Yonaguska remained in close touch and they would have much to talk about in the years to come.

Jackson's Administration passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, aimed primarily at the five largest Southeastern tribes, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole.  As the pressure mounted on the Cherokee to leave or face military action, Janaluska made the journey to Washington and asked to see the man whose life he'd once saved.  Jackson granted him an audience, then denied the incident ever happened.  He told Janaluska there was nothing he could do and dismissed him.  Later, as he saw his people being dispossessed, Janaluska remarked that, if he'd known at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend what was to come, history would've been written differently.  In 1838, he was placed in a stockade and began the trip to Oklahoma.  Several weeks in, he and fifty other Cherokee deserted and tried to head back to North Carolina.  They were arrested and deported to Oklahoma.  Janaluska stayed until 1847, when he could stand it no longer and returned to North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Yonaguska had been made the Principal Chief of the Cherokees remaining in North Carolina.  Some of them had received earlier land grants and believed the government would honor them.  Yonaguska wasn't so sure.  He asked him adopted son to represent the North Carolina Cherokee's interests in Washington.  Thomas realized that the Cherokee wouldn't be able to stay in North Carolina unless someone bought the land outright.  Since Natives were losing their land rights and unable to purchase land, Thomas used his own money and credit, as well as available Cherokee funds, to purchase land in North Carolina in and around Qualla Town.  This land became the Qualla Boundary, the nucleus of the land held by the Eastern Band Cherokee in North Carolina.  He also fought for, and won, the right of Yonaguska and several other Cherokee to become citizens of North Carolina and thus avoid deportation.  

Yonaguska now repaid the debt to his adopted son, by convincing the Eastern Cherokee to chose William Holland Thomas to replace him as Principal Chief, the only White man ever to hold that post.  After Yonaguska's death, Thomas continued to fight for the right of his adopted people to stay in North Carolina.  In 1847, when Janaluska returned home, Thomas took his case to the state legislature, earning state citizenship for the old warrior so that he could remain in Qualla without fear of arrest and removal, again.  Thomas continued his labors on behalf of the Cherokee, seeking election to the state legislature so that he could use the leverage of that position on their behalf.  He served from 1848-1860.  When North Carolina seceded from the Union, Thomas formed a troop of cavalry and infantry from Cherokee recruits, and others of Scots and Sotch-Irish extraction.  Thomas' Legion of Cherokees and Highlanders.  They fired the last shots of the Civil War, days after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox.  Another Cherokee unit serving in the West under General Stand Watie also claims that distinction. 

Following the War, Thomas' health began to deteriorate.  It's believed he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.  He was eventually sent to a mental institution and spent the next several years of his life in and out of mental hospitals.  During his lucid moments, he assisted ethnologist James Mooney of the Smithsonian Institution by recounting his knowledge of the Cherokee, their history, legends and traditions.    

The Praying Towns

Settlers hadn't been in New England long when efforts began to convert the local Native populations to Christianity.  While some efforts may have been well-intentioned, most faiths believe they have the path to God and want to share it with others, it may also have been a way of ridding the local tribes of practices that the Puritans considered of the Devil, including Native ceremonies and dress.  Puritan preacher John Eliot learned the local Nipmuc language and began a missionary campaign among the local Nipmuc tribe.  In 1646, he began preaching at what is now Newton, Massachusetts.  Progress was slow but some Natives did eventually convert.

To encourage more Natives to convert and give up their traditional ways, Puritans conceived the idea of the Praying Town.  They wanted to encourage Christianized Natives or Praying Indians, to live in towns, farm, dress and behave as the English did.  Their hope was that, the more Natives who saw the benefits of English living, the more they would convert and the less tension would be in the colony as a whole.  By 1660, Eliot had established 7 Praying Towns.  There would be a total of 14 in all, including but not limited to Natick, Gay Head, Punkapog, Nantucket, Mashpee, and what is now Grafton, Plymouth and Dartmouth.  Three of the towns were located in Connecticut, including the present-day town of Woodstock.  While some Natives may have converted out of genuine belief, others may have been forced to or felt compelled to as they saw their traditional beliefs attacked by the English as evil.

Praying Indians were in the minority and many Natives clung steadfastly to their old traditions.  They saw no need to congregate in English towns and resented the constant demand for lands, foodstuffs and criticisms of their way of life.  This resentment flared into King Phillip's War in 1675.  Though most of the Praying Indians remained neutral or loyal, fear and resentment of the Natives forced the colonial legislature to disband some of the towns and placed the rest under more direct supervision, becoming more insistent that Natives forsake their traditional practices and fully adopt Christianity Puritan-style. 

People of the Great Blue Hill: the Massachusett

Early explorers and settlers of what is now New England often had difficulty keeping straight the various tribes and inter-tribal relationships they encountered among the Natives they met.  The Massachusett were one of several Algonquian-speaking people in Massachusetts, their traditional range being in the Boston area.  A chain of hills near Boston Harbor, known as the Blue Hills, carried special significance to these people, who were known locally by variants of the word Massachusett.  Their original designation was given an ending letter s, and became the name of the bay, colony and later commonwealth now known as Massachusetts.

English and European sailors first encountered the Massachusett during fishing expeditions along the northeastern coast of North America in the 16th century.  Unfortunately, these contacts often brought the Natives into contact with slavers, and with communicable diseases to which they had no immunity.  Samuel de Champlain explored the Massachusetts coastline in 1605, and John Smith also encountered Massachusett people, meeting two leaders, Wessagusett and Quonahasset.  With disease thinning their population, the Massachusett were vulnerable to more powerful tribes such as the Mohawk of New York and the Abenaki.  They were unable to defend themselves against English encroachment on their land.  In 1624, a skirmish between the Massachusetts and members of a short-lived colony at Wessagusett led to the death of a Massachusett sachem, Pecksuot and several warriors.  A smallpox epidemic in 1633 further decimated the tribe.

Several Massachusett accepted Christianity and moved to so-called Praying Towns, an early attempt to confined Native inhabitants to specified areas similar to later reservations.  Natives were coerced into accepting the Puritan religion and English customs and practices, forsaking ancient rituals and tribal beliefs.  It wouldn't be until 1869 that the Massachusetts legislature passed a law permitting Natives to vote in state elections as full citizens of Massachusetts.  Today, descendants of the Massachusett continue to live in Massachusetts, but are not federally recognized as a tribe.