The morning news., 1897-07-18

The ancients of our country being ac-
oustomed to dry each others tears when
they are afflicted by sny misfortune, we
come. Achlendase, TO perform for you
this duty of friendship.
We weep with thee, because misfor-
tune cannot touch thee without piercing
us by the same stroke; and we are unable
without extreme grief, to see thee so .ll-
treated in our land after having left thine
own, in which thou vast perfectly at thine
ease. Sickness casts thy nephews into the
depths of an earth OF which thou knowest
not yet the surface. All, how the cruel
demon makes good the opportunity Of
affecting those whom ne hates! He uses
precisely time to make this evil stroke,
when thou has most need of thy nephews
to build thy cabins, to fortify thyself, and
to cultivate thy fields. Having ceaselessly
harassed them through all the summer
time, and having found himself too weak
to attack thee, he has made a league with
the demons of fever and death, in order to
JON our loss to yours, making his raVages
uDon us even more than upon you. But
take courage, my brother; we wipe away
the tears from thy eyes, so that thou
mayest see that all thy nepheWs are not
dead. We open thine eyes by this present,
so that thou mayest think of those who re-
main to thee, and that by thy favorable
looks thou mayest give them at the same
time life and joy. AS for our two nephews
who are dead, it is not needful that they
should so naked into the other world; be-
hold beautiful pail TO cover them. Be
hold also something with which to put
them in the grave for fear that the sight
of them may renew thy sorrow, and 10
take away from before thy view every
kind Of doleful objects.
This present is to level the earth in
which have put them, and this other to
erect a palisade around their tomb. so
that beasts and birds of prey may not
disturb their repose Finally, this last is
TO restore thy mind into its repose so that
our peace continuing in the same stabili-
ty, no demon can change it
These were the appropriate terms of
the speech of this grave barbarian, which
was accompanied by eight beautiful pres
ents of wampum, which he made in the
name of the public. Several individuals
used the same courtesies and liberality,
which we have acknowledged with inter-
est on all occasions that we could find"
Whatever We're the other Christian GER
emonies at these funerals. and they were
undoubtedly as full and stately as cir
cumstances permitted this is the oldest
address extant of any European funeral
in this country. 1t was that of an Onon-
daga chief
The French sympathized with them in
return, for the chief spoke of the greater
mortality among the Indians, and the
neral feasts, representing there the gov
ernor of Canada, An old man mourned
for the dead, but he said "Yet am /
consoled at seeing Onnontio and the rest
of the French weeping with us. But cour-
age, my klndred let us sadden no longer
so honorable a guest; let us dry up the
tears of Onnontio by drying up our own.
Here is a present which will dry up their
source" This present which he made at
the same time, was a collar of wampum,
which was followed by presents and con-
dolences from all the others.
French captives who were tortured,
burned and eaten, of course, had only liv-
ing sepulchres, but there were many at
Onondaga who were well treated and
much esteemed. Most of these were safely
returned to their homes. One who was taxi
en- in 1861 was not so fortunate. His name
was Liberty. but he did not live long
enough for it, and this came from their
liking for him. So strong was this that his
masters wished him to marry an Onon-
daga woman. He refused and they insist
ed. At last the terms were wife or death,
and he chose death. A hatchet settled his
fate but there is little doubt that he had
Christian burial not being killed in ha-
tired. The French captives were then
many in number on Indian HILL and the
great and good Garakonite gave them
friends.
1t is quite likely that among the fire.
quent hunters, traders and deserving sol
diers of later days, there were other
deaths and burials of Europeans in Onon-
daga but the three mentioned above are
the earliest interments clearly shown.
Two were in the town of Salina, one in
Pompey, and it is not difficult to imagine
the scene in either case. In the one ap
peared soldiers in arms, back-robed
priests, majestic Indians, and the funeral
chant was heard from well-trained voices
as they united in bearing the dead. In
the other, in some quiet spot, the fearful
French and Huron eaptives sadly buried
the body of the murdered man, whose fate
might soon be their own. There was no
officiating priest, but the oldest French
man. he who long led their devotions,
would have offered prayer for the living
and the dead. Thus far back does Euro
pean burial go in old Onondaga. What
myriads have gone to rest here between
1856 and 1896!