National Republican., 1881-11-04
THE TUSCARORAS.
WHERE THEY LIVE IN NEW YORK.
Talk with Chief-Gcncral Parker and His Sis
ter-Thc Tradition Of This Tribe Of In.
dlnns-Their Anccstors-The
"Long House."
spoclo, corrcspondcpce ofTur RrrrnrrcAx.

This reserve is reached by railway Mt Suspon-
sion Bridge. II is about seven miles from Niagara
Falls A portion Of the lands were included in
the treaty sale Of S3s to the Ogden Land Com
pany, but were not relnquished, and much
larger tract is held in fee by the Tuscarora Nation,
20 that that these Indians are quite wealthy.
TUscARoRA BRAVE AND ToNAwASDA MAIDEN.
At Niagara Falls we met Kaw- we. ah -kn, or John
Mount Pleasant, distinguished cheftan of the
Tuscaroras The chief Is tall erect fine looking
man, of intelligence and judgment, and is an en-
terpnsing farmer; and he displayed his discretion
and good taste by going over to the Tonawanda
reserve fora wife. There he found Seneca maiden,
mentally endowed, accomplished in department,
courteous and affable, but of great dignity
skilled with the needle and in household arts nm
excellent writer, as she was a superior scholar,
being graduate Of the State Normal School at
Albany. Mount Pleasant mingled with the Tona-
wandas and tarried long; he Joined in the harvest
fcasts-something else held him spelboundl He
wooed, finally won heart and hand, then married
Caroline Parker lie transferred her to his Tus-
carora home, at Mountain Ridge where perpetual
rcverberation Of the voice Of the Great Spirit min
giles with the sound Of Niagara's ceaseless diapa-
son. Mrs. Mount Pleasant is the only sister of the
distinguished Tonawanda. Seneca
WARRIOR CHIEF, GENERAL ELY s. PARKER.
This gentleman II will be recollected, served dur
ing the war on General Grants staff with such
fidelity and gallantry rs to win from his chief the
dior-genera He was subsequent to the war Com
missioner of Indian Affairs. Being an educated
gentleman, wel-read lawyer, and skilled civil
engineer, during the administration of President
Buchanan General Parker had charge Of the
construction of the United States buildings
at St. Louis, Dubuque, and GalcnN- At the
latter place, where he spent each third
alternate fortnight upon his public duty,
he first made the acquaintance of that plain
citizen, Captain u. S. Grant, which afterward
ripened into warm friendship, and the former still
holds for the latter hearty and affectonatc re-
membrance. General Parker's engineering skill
was sought by the police department of New York,
wnere he is employed as civil engineer and con.
ttructor Of department buildings. In summer the
village of Fairfield, Conn, near the stately and
well-preserved mansion Of the great
ROGER SHERMAN, OF REVOLUTIONARY RENowN.
sherman's statue may be seen in the old Hall of
Representatives at Washington, and In Trumbull's
grand picture Of the Declaration Of Independence,
Yn the rotunda of the National Capitol Sherman's
portrait Is in the group Of the Committee of Five,
presenting TO the Continental Congress that great
instrument of defiance to the Third King George,
with notice of The dissolution of partnership be-
tween Young America and old Mother Britain.
"THE TuscARoRAs CAME FROM NORTH CAROLINA,
we have heard Can you give us the facts in re-
gard 10 the time when, ana the cause Of the trans
fer of your ancestors from the mild climate Of the
South TO the more rigorous one Of Western New
Briefly can, sir, MS runs our tradition" said
Mr., Mount Pleasant. =" According to Captain John
Smith, the early English navigator and discovcrer
we may be Of the Manacans Of the Potomac who
about 1910 migrated westwardly and joined the
ih he ear owned % And 9eSHpd
North Carolina, where they had fifteen towns and
could count twelve hundred warriors as
early as 100 In old times Indian nations some.
times quarreled. Then they went forth TO battle
the offenders from the north to the SOUTH from
the east 10 the west or the reverse whence insult
reasons
THE POWERFUL IRoQUoIs FIVE SATIoSs
made incursions west to the Wabash to chastise
the WyandOs, Delawares, Shawncgs or Miamies,
or whatever tribe the offenders might be. Some
times they would, when the oliense seemed to
hnas to fight the Cherokees, Creeks Catawbas and
Others in return for similar incursOns of those
S Te SNons WS BY G
against those southern Indians in North Carolina,
the Tuscaroras (having incurred the displeasure
Of other Southern tribes and being warred upon by
them) became the allies Of the 1ruquois From this
alliance grew the affinity that led Them aherwnrd
% seek home at the North, The Tuscororas were
not kindred Of the Iroquois"
About what time did your ancestors migrate
g the Iro9gois territory, In the present State of
"our ancestors, the Tuscarous of North Caro-.
Iina came North in l7l2, aud were adopted by the
New York Indians as an additional nation, From
MAT date the title of the COniedeTucy changed
from the Five Nations to the great
IRoQuOIs CoSFEDERACY OF SIX NATIONS,
Cayugas. Senecas, and Tuscaroras, making their
Long House from the Hudson River in the east
to he NiagaTa kiyer a. the west" ,,- ,,,,.o-,..
has that title any peculiar Significance among the
Indian people|
"Yes, that term was used TO signify the civil and
military union: so the political cdico of the Six
Nations was likened to a long house, The senecas
occupied the doorway to the west, whence hostile
onsets of Western or Southern tribes We're looked
FOR. The two military chiefs were In all cases to be
ofthe Seneca nation; II was the right and duty,
nom their location, for the
sESEcAs FIRST TO TAKE THE wAR-PATHl
II invaded they were to drive back the invaders
II the hostile warriors were too formidable for
them they dispatched fleet young runners to
notify their next allies, the Cayugas; and so on,
when necessary, TO each of the othcrs-evcn TO the
eastern end of the Long House, occupied by the
Mohawks."
"But We do not see how your ancestors were
benefited by leaving their ancient homes; for
compelled your people to join them in their in
cessant wars, which were quite as often offensive
In origin MS dclenslve?"
at required no compulsion on the part of the
Senecas, sir. Our ancestors were as ready for
hostile incursion and Us quick to fight an enemy
rs the senecas, l will try TO give you a graver
reason for our people,
THE TUscARoRAs, LEAVING NORTH CAROLINA.
Early in the eighteenth century German fugtiycs
tors grants from the King OF England. with little
SHOW OF ceremony or Justice, these 'proprletors
commenced parceling out the lands of the Tusca-
rons TO the German iugtlyes The German sur.
teyOrs were seized by the Indians aud held some
weeks, and portion OF the IuscaroTas made
descent upon the scattered German settlements
on the Roanoke and Pimllco Sound, carrying
there and TO the Albemarle Sound war
with the earnestness and desperation that the pro-
lection OF their homes would inspire. A portion
OF the Tuscarons, however, did not countenance
this sudden resort TO the sUalplng- knife and toma
hawk South Carolina came TO the relief of North
Carolina. This was in I'LL. An allied force Of
South Carolinians, Cherokee, Creeks and catawbas
made war upon tho Tustaroras but 10 avoid
The issues Of battle they negotiated a treaty
OF peace. This was Of short duration In
allied forces seized the inhabitants OF the Tusca
Lora villages, aud carried them into captivity.
Will the German aggression upon their lands. tile
persistent hostility Of the proprietary government
and the Indian nations in alliance with the pro.
pricton, the TuscaroIaz accepted an offer from the
Iroguoih OF a home In lll2 they reached Niagara,
AMI were given tract OF 1900 acres By the Sen.
7" How aid your people obtain the lands In addI.
uon 70 those given them blythe senccas, and from
whomr'
=" They were purchased from the Holland Land
Company, and We hold Ia fee by that purchase
lsls aGnea. This tract Of land was made BY Gen.
sral Henry Dearborn, secretary Of War under
President Jefferson, In trust for the Tuscaruras.
1ho purchase money !sld,'s2l was portion Of u
Enst iuli1 heu oy uh9 .9i,ed States possessed in
upon North Carolina. Our people, though wRrred
upon Ia that state had their village DESTROYED by
the allied forces referred 10, and worse than All,
had suJ taken captive aud sold into slavery, and
finally leaving the State In l7l2, never ceased 10
claim their right ~ property In that State. Afcr
very many yean THIS right was Hasenod 10, aud
that STATE paid % the United States meagre sum
khoreiOr In trust for u.s."
How many Tuscarofa's are there on your re.
serve, and what amount Of land has your nation r.
We have a population Of AZ Of our nation and
b. friendly OnOndagas. We have about 5.OOi acres
OF land There arr ~ whites living on leased land
We raised last year 600 bushels Of wheat II 90 Of
corn, 1900 Of oats and barley, 1888 of vegetables,
aud 7lb tons hay. We own l5l hOrses, l57 cattle,
and 20 swine, We have % good dwelling houses