Cornplanter in disrepute—Effort to regain his standing—Red Jacket
charged with witchcraft—His defense—Further notices of Cornplanter—
Early recollections—At the defeat of General Braddock in 1755—With the
English in the war of the Revolution—Takes his father a prisoner—His
address—Releases him—Address to the Governor of Pennsylvania—Visit of
President Alden—Close of his life.
Not long after the large sale of their domain to Robert
Morris, which had been negotiated at Big Tree, the
Senecas began to realize that they had committed a
great mistake. The broad lands, mountain, hill,
and valley, over which they had roamed, the springs
and streams of water by whose side they had been wont
to encamp, and above all the graves of their sires,
where affection’s altar had been hallowed by
their sighs and tears, these were still in view, but
they appeared not as in days gone by, to wear for
them the smiles of old and long tried friends.
They seemed to present a look and utter a voice of
reproach, as though chiding them for having broken
in upon the harmony of those time honored arrangements,
which had bound them together, and the thought of
this filled their minds with anxiety and grief.
Had they been aware of the sorrow they would experience
in looking upon these lands, as no longer their own,
their consent to part with them would not so readily
have been given.
The reverse which thereupon took place in their minds,
fell heavily on those who had taken the most active
part of the business of selling their country.
Cornplanter, having borne a prominent part in these
proceedings, fell deeply under the displeasure of
his people. Their displeasure was so marked as
to lead him to cast about for some means of relief.
Aware of the credulity and superstition of his people,
he resolved to avail himself of these characteristics
of his nation, to accomplish the end he had in view.
For this purpose he was in consultation with his brother
Ga-ne-o-di-yo, who on one occasion terminated a scene
of great dissipation, by the announcement that he
had been delegated by the Great Spirit, with a new
revelation, and with supernatural gifts. A severe
illness became the occasion during which he made a
visit to the unseen world, where visions and revelations
of a most extraordinary nature, had been made known
to him. The happiness of the good, and the tortures
of the wicked, had thus become matters of personal
observation. The announcement of these, in language
and gesture indicating his assurance of their reality,
gained for him credence among the people, as well
as chiefs of his nation, and he was received as a
prophet.
His earliest attempts were successful in accomplishing
a desirable reform, especially among the Onondagas,
the most profligate of the Six Nations, from the degrading
vice of intemperance. His influence in this direction
was salutary, and had he confined his efforts to the
recovery of his people from drunkenness, his mission
would truly have been one of mercy, and his career
might have terminated with the highest usefulness and
honor.
