Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1839-01-12
MISCELLAN Z D U ).
g ,.crpENT IN THE EARLY HISTORY or
ONEIDA COUNTY.

- INCIDENT IN IhL H
ONEIDA COUNTY.
~ aimee. the settlement of Deans Pa
fV ,ow, Of Westmoreland. Chen sig
camel vas the "far West "here Is u
si,.o.t TO tho foot OF the Rocky Noun
-, wonderful people these Yankeess-.nese
! s.srcsos What in the old world look e'""s'
ls~.x -eaturies has been accomplished IN 'his
hief space OF time u.
-. .ov traits Of the savage character, as e1-
49, n the noble Oneidas, then the lords OF 'h.s
~ ia adjoining county Of Madison or the mar
.d,h escapesn of our first settlers, Will DO reao
IL ;o,eres, by the present, If not by inc rising
-.er.,ions. tho writer has attempted to preserve
- of those thrilling incidents III which those
- wero repIete.-"Truth IS strange, stranger
10 fiction" The facts set forth IN mo 'oho~-
8, incident can be vouched for, by few living
p dis vicinity.
\ Tho HonnuEnaGEs DEAN was the pioneer white
...sier Of ounty; he was the first Yam
"a. Who hnrdihood to commence settle
- WEI 10 German Flats, on the Mohawk.
SsJ. n. nj nine wears old he sent by
s..e,h4 Ne with the Oneida Indians, then
c,;as on the banks of the Susquehnnnah. lie
- learned their language, and became q taVot-
4 With the Indians. He was adopted as son:
r /. sauaw in tho place of one she had lost IN
SSnIs and TO this woman he ever afterwards
ave tho cndearing appellatioc of mother. At
:, few wears residence, his father took HIM
k,uo and finished his education at Dartmouth
Cdlege.
Abou, this time the Onedas broke up their set.
aemcnt on the Susqnchannah, and joined the
min body Of their tribe, at Oneida Castle. Inc
v,r Of tho Revolution now broke out, carrying
with il MANY Of the horrors Of a civil war. added
10 the cruelty Of the ,omahuwk and scaping knife
AZ the savage so freely used by the British on our
defcuce less frontier. Judge Dean was stationed,
during the whole Of this war, at Oneida Castle
and Fort Stanwix (now Rome) with the rank OF
Major, on account Of tho influence he possessed
over the Indians. He succecde d in keeping most
Of the Oncidas from any acts of hostility. After
tho peace Of 1883, tho Onedas gave him his Pa
tent of two miles square which was subsequent
" ratified by the State. In 1884 he removed
from Connecticut and commenced the settlement
Of Oneida County.
Two or three years after this, party OF the
Oneidas went to the Cohoes, ON their annual fish
ing expediton--ihe fishery belonged to the Mo-
hawk tribe. vet they gavc their nctshbors, the
i -ssYa.n each ear' to re-
fish they chose-thls
compromising hostility ~ down from time i'm
Martin Van Buren,. 'aad the means OF Procn1
tho white man, OF which
80, iree a use. On their return some
arc in the valley Of tho Mohawk, they took
,os,ession in the absence of tho of black
smith shop, using the fire for the purpose OF COOK
inc. On the return Of the owner, he set about
dispossesng his red and NOISY tenants. lhey OBJ
;oeied and refused scufle and fight cnsued,
in which our of Vulcan Piled his hammer so
ffeely as to cause the death of one OF the patty.
Thev then took their dead comradc, brought him
TO the Oneida, and he buried in the same
ground where the grass had for ages grown on
the graves of his fathers. A council fire was
now lit up, the well known couckshell was sound
ed, and the tribe was soon collected IN council
By an ancient law of the OneIdas, II any OF thcr
tribe were murdered by a member ct tribe with
whom thew wore at peace. tho first person OF the
tribe passing through their territory, was to be
executed to appcasc the relatives IN the tribe OF
the murdered The council, after full consulta-
ton and mature elaboration, in which their order
and dccorum should forever put to blush some of
the late legislative proceedings of the less civil
ised I'm this respcct) white man, II was decreed
tina, said law should be enforced on the whites
Ignorant Of the murder, or the doings OF tho
council Judge Dean, having business to transact
in the vicinity, was the first who passed through
the ida.yillage. Again tho smoke curled
over the cl cabin. and the tribe again assem-
bIed in cddlgh After n lengthy sitting, in which
the friendship of Judge Dean TO the Indians, and
his having been adopted by their tribe, had been
duly considered, and after the council had express
sed their regret that he should have been un-
was resolved that their nncient law must be re-
spectcd and enforced In pursuance Of their
oution, Powlis, one Of their bravcst warriors, and
long known as the personal friend of the Judge
vas selected rs the cXecutioner, together with
the requisite assistants, and instructed to full
81 his duty faithfully. Soon after this last coun-
ell, some friendly Indian conveyed to Judge ID.
the circumstances which have detailed, and he,
without mentioning II TO his vito, proceeded to
settle and arrange his business, under strong
conviction that at best the tenure Of his life was
very precarious. Fleeing from the executioner
OF the law, is an act of mennness and cowardice,
Of which in the opinion OF the savage, none but
the pale face woman would be guilty.
Judge Dean therefore determined to con-
vince them he could meet death like \ Christian,
which religion they knew he protested. But a
hw days INTERVIEWED, when, after he had retired
TO rest with his wife, and two infant children, he
vas startled from his slumber BY the we'll known
death whoop, near his dwelling. He then briefly
stated the case to a young and dearly beloved
wife, exhorting her to forttude the trying scene
40 was confident would commence. The
pace was brief, ere his accustomed ear caught
%e soft and stealhy step Of the Indian, at the
s0f tho door opened. and Powlis, with his toma-
~ a. his badge Of Office. entered, followed by
1'.e OF four assistants. The Judge met them
~ 'no threshold, and without betraying tho re-
....a 0a OF single muscle, Invited them into an