An Account of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha, or Red Jacket, and His People, 1750-1830 eBook

At length one of their sachems, distinguished for his wisdom and address, proposed that they should cease from a strife, which was only destroying themselves, and unite their energies against the Alleghans, the Adirondacks, the Eries, and other ancient and warlike tribes, who were their superiors in their isolated and divided condition.  Already weary of their unprofitable conflicts, the proposal was received with favor, and Ato-tar-ho, an Onandaga chieftain, unequalled in valor, and the fame of whose skill and daring was known among all the tribes, became the leading spirit of this confederacy, and by common consent was placed at its head.  So fully did experience demonstrate the wisdom of this arrangement, that they used every means to strengthen the bands of their union, and by the most solemn engagements of fidelity to each other, they became the Ko-nos-hi-o-ni, or United people. [Footnote:  Schoolcraft’s Report.]

How long this confederacy had existed before their discovery by the whites, is unknown.  There is a tradition which places it one age, or the length of a man’s life, before the white people came to this country. [Footnote:  Pyrlaus, a missionary at the ancient site of Dionderoga, or Fort Hunter, writing between 1742 and 1748, gives this as the best conjecture he could form, from information derived from the Mohawks.  It is thought however that this time is too short, to account for the degree of development attained by the Iroquois, in their united capacity, at the time of their first discovery by the whites.]

The union of these several tribes was the means of securing their pre-eminence over the other Indians in this country.  Their individual traits are thus very fittingly represented;—­“in their firm physical type, and in their energy of character, and love of independence, no people among the aboriginal race have ever exceeded, if any has equalled the Iroquois.” [Footnote:  Schoolcraft.] They occupied a region surpassed by no other on the continent, for grandeur and beauty united, and inherited from this or some other source, a mental constitution of noble structure, which placed them in the fore-front of their race, and when united, no tribe on this continent could stand before them.  This has served to render their history, a matter of earnest and interesting inquiry.

CHAPTER III

Name Red Jacket, how acquired—­Indian name—­Conferred name—­Singular tradition—­Red Jacket during the war of the Revolution—­Neutrality of the Indians—­Services sought by Great Britain—­Sketch of Sir William Johnson—­ Position of Red Jacket—­Taunt of cowardice—­Testimony of Little Beard—­ Charge made by Brant—­Red Jacket’s indifference—­Anecdote—­Early love of eloquence—­Interesting reminiscences.

The name Red Jacket, so familiar to the whites, was acquired during the war of the Revolution.  He was distinguished at this time as well as afterward, for his fleetness on foot, his intelligence and activity.  Having attracted the attention of a British officer by the vivacity of his manners, and the speedy execution of those errands with which he was intrusted, he received either in token of admiration, or for services rendered, or both, a beautifully ornamented jacket of a scarlet color.