Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-09-11
THE PAINTED POST.
4 HUMBLE MONUMENT IN NEW yosf
or The OLD INDIAN WARS


Uev roun In the Empire State Cane -
) It's Peculiar Na,ss-rhe Lsgssd Of -
/. Origin Of the Fe&s-ssas Csafiicsin,
sterics Of tine Indians
The first permanent white settlement il
Steubca county ,gs.s rseie at the Paintet
Posi- in fsssj By samuel Harris. an Indian
trailer. TESrr WIS AZ that time an impor
tant village u seGsca fadiaas established
On the banks CT the Ceaaoston river. aea
tie junction Ct the waters Of the Tioga
Canssteo ard Conhoe.en rivers, which her
form the Cleniang and pass on to the Sus
aaelaana. Beyond n doubt the Six Ma
lions appreciated the strategic ifnportane'
Of the Painted Pest, where three long val
iesys came to,zether, bringing water. whiel
HAYES no trail Through this gateway th'
war cloud from the Gtnss 1asso. or SHINING
valley, Descended in ,Iafy, f1ss, upon a.
es-aad Of savage Vengeance 10 the yon,
ing. By the sarle route, Us well as by III.
waters of tbe taaEcc;on. the former lord.
Of ffe soil n a a:cd from the battlefield q
Newtowu, whsre Genesal Sullivan and hi;
yeonanry On Aug. -. iis3. deal a death
blow 10 the power u tie great Indian con
fes.eraey.
The first waite nam f3and = n,.,8c fnad'
TO order for the place. G;.l that nanaa still
remains the inhst intern ing feature Of this
locality. TI.y' advantages OF river and val
hey have dwint.legi away before the superior
enterprise Gi,i courage IL men who man,
Years h.Eer se.tletl ia the harrow bottoms
at Corning. ta.J uaieS distant The latte'
Is new u city al l2.eJ1 inhabitants. Will,
Painted Post iisls been Incorporated vii
la,;e with population of / $40 persons,
The present Painted post stands at th'
southeast curas- Of the cross roads. 1t i,
about Is feet high and octagonai in shap,
painted rc,l. Ii is 8 inches i'll diameter
tapers 1T the ;tp and IS surmoun,ed by 8
sheet iron Indian chief grasping touna
hawk and bow aud dressed in a red jacket
and bucksi. Ia trousers. The original post
stood near tie center Of the present high
way leading f.ca Painted Post to Corning
and Il few. reds cast OF the -Four Corners
and the sight us the present post. II wa:
an oak post 10 or - feet above the ground
and from 10 to II inches in diameter, il
was square ta 4 height Of four feet above
the ground and thea octagonal To the top.
Samuel Cork OF Lindiey thus described
il to the late Charles H. Erwin of Painte,
Post as detailed hy the latter in his manu-
script ~ History of Painted Post and
Other Towns" row in the hands of his ex
ecutors: when in l1@3 | saw it for tn,
first time. il had no marks or paint upon il,
and it had the color of weather beaten
oaken rail J here was neither mark mol
carving upon v. | have many a time sal
near il and with others talked about it and
specUlsted ab4uI is history" 1t stood on
the hanks Of 'Ae Conhoctnn river at tho
side of we'll beaten trail from the village
to Tiega POM ttthcIis, Pa.
This pnst remained until 1901 or 1902,
when II is sail 10 have bCcn dug up and
carried down hc chemuug river two miles
to kuuNSill,, whether for the purpose Of
founiing Il t.j.0s1ni or for the more seri
Gus object Il rlI'9!Iia; the fame which
encin.ied the Dlk post Is not clear II wa.
afserrHpl rtl;'rald, hlt in the meantime
lew oak 7, f had bee.l erected 10y the
whites in the settlement near the original
site " hat became Of the old post is not
known for certain. 1t Is said to have re-
ntined in liz garr b eflte Est 10. tavern,
and chips FROM il were furnished to relic
hunters until onc day in IA moment Of Inn
patience Colonel Irwin. the landlord OF
the tavern, aljudged it nuisance and or
dered il thrown into the river.
In the course Of the next 20 years the new
post, whicl. MAS much larger than the old
one, was Clipped to pieces by relic fiends,
and few year. later II new post was raised
with sheet iron tndian at the top.
The generally acc, pied legend concerning
the post MAKE Il very pretty story. 1t il
said that Captain Roland Montour, n hall
breed and :; sua Of Qneen Catharnc of Wy
ouiing fHluc, NGs :1fiolisly wounded in tn,
fight Mt NeWto.in aud died on the retreat
up the Comm on. lie was buried under q
large elm tree and the 're can nes-to, +" as
the post wa, c; He'd by the Dclawares, was
sat up az I'm imposing monument to his
memory. ILis legend wa, confirmed by
the statement made by the Seneca Chief
Cornplantef to Captain Samuel Adams in
an interview bad at Curnplanter's eddy on
the Allegheny river in lS'j3
Cornpianter, being asked about the post
said through lis Interpreter, as related by
Captain Adams, that IA great chief and
brave was there taken sick, died and was
buried under the shade of an elm on the
north side Of the CONNECTION river lat the
same time mapping il ont on the ground
floor ard mark INK with his knife the place
of the gravel md that he (Cornplanterl
was one Of the council that placed over the
grave post. taiucd with the juice of the
wild strawberry, To mark the spot. He
would not stat" the name or tribe of this
great chief.
1t was not Captain Muntour, for he. with
his brother John, appeared mt the military
post of Major Taylor, near Pittsburg. in
December of the same year. Two years
later the two iTnthers were with Colonel
Broadhtad ON he Muskingum, in Ohio.
Charles H. Irwin, in pamphlet pub.
lisiIed ~ late .. M, accepts Captain Mon
tour AS the hor1h!.d martyr, but in his more
recently prepared manuscripts cites the
facts which show that the captain and his
brother were a,;tiye in the flesh for several
years later at ieau5t
Mr. Erwin ia i.is latest work scouts the
idea that the post was intended as monu-
III, mt at ali. Sch tribute to the dead wa:
contrary to lnricn nature and to any known
custom among them. 1t seems highly i'm
probable thai se unusual an exception
should be ma ic ,Cry shortly after battle
in which the ladi1ns had been worsted and
when their " Il. ,:cIiIy might Ire expected
Ia appear amun1 them at any time. 1t is
true. however, that excavations for cellars
or wells in the aeighbofhood Of the posi-
have frequently unearthed Indian bones