Willink and his company of Dutch land speculators at Amsterdam, by which a tract a mile wide along the south shore of Lake Erie, from the mouth of Eighteen Mile Creek to the Cattaraugus, and another tract on the south side of Cattaraugus Creek, were exchanged for lands lying to the north of the Cattaraugus, and now embraced in the Cattaraugus reservation.

Strange to say, Horatio Jones was not prominent on the frontier in the War of 1812, and his name rarely occurs in the history of that period. True, his home was not on the border in those troublous times, and he was no longer a young man. But he gave two sons to the cause; their story adds still another tragic episode to our chronicle. James and George Jones, serving under Major Bennett were captured with others, by the British and their Mohawk allies, near Lewiston, on December 19, 1813. The invaders, under Col. Murray, had landed at Five Mile Meadows, 500 strong, and at once entered upon that memorable march of destruction which laid waste the American frontier and culminated in the burning of Buffalo. On attempting a division of spoil at Lewiston, the Indian warriors quarreled, worked themselves into a frenzy, and soon, beyond all restraint by the British, fell upon their prisoners. Here, within sight of the spot where Horatio Jones had come out upon the crest of the mountain ridge on his memorable journey to Niagara, his two manly sons met the fate their father had so often narrowly escaped. They were put to death by the tomahawk, their bodies scalped and maltreated by the infuriated Mohawks.*

XVI. ANECDOTES-DEATH OF HORATIO JONES.

From the restoration of peace in Western New York unti: the end of his life Horatio Jones lived in comfort, though frequently called from home to serve as interpreter. He was welcomed wherever he went. At his own home he was

* Some account of this massacre is contained in Turner's "Holland Purchase," p. 590.

ever a cordial host, to his Indian friends as well as to his white neighbors. There are many family traditions of these visits. Old Judy, and her husband, Tom Cayuga, a relative of the Jemisons, were warm friends of Horatio Jones, and often camped at Sweet Briar. But no friend had a warmer welcome than Moses Van Campen. Once a year the veteran came to visit Capt. Jones, and once a year the Captain journeyed to Dansville to see Van Campen. It is told that "the two old friends would sit down on the steps of the old Eagle tavern, drink grog and recall reminiscences of their early forest life, while crowds of friends gathered round to listen."*

Capt. Jones was intimately acquainted with James Wadsworth, and on occasion was of great service to him. It was at James Wadsworth's, at Geneseo, in 1815, that Jones once more met his old adversary Sharp Shins. The occasion was a visit to the Wadsworth brothers of Col. Wadsworth of Durham. In his honor a dinner was given by James Wadsworth, several chiefs being invited. Apparently the old animosities between Jones and Sharp Shins were outgrown, for together at the Wadsworth board they discussed old times and smoked the pipe of peace. Some time in the '20's Horatio Jones fell on the stone steps of the Wadsworth office, displacing both kneecaps. He walked with a cane ever after.

Horatio Jones numbered among his friends William H. C. Hosmer, the distinguished poet of the Genesee valley, whose "Yonnondio" and other poems dealing with the life and legends of the Senecas are of enduring worth. For some of his material, as Dr. Hosmer acknowledges in the notes to his collected "Poetical Works" (New York, 1854), he was indebted to Capt. Jones. "I was informed by Captain Jones," he writes, "that the wild glen at Fall Brook, near Geneseo, has been the scene of a tragic story, and that the place is haunted, after night-fall, by a frightful headless spectre. The Indians believe that it is a spot accursed; but

* MS. memorandum among Mr. Harris's papers. H. C. Sedgwick of Dansville, N. Y., has described his emotions as a boy on seeing Captain Horatio Jones and Major Moses Van Campen riding together in a carriage heading a Fourth of July parade.

the tourist looks with delight upon a scene where beauty contends for mastery with the sublime." Again he says, in his notes to the "Legends of the Senecas": "I have adopted, as the ground-work of my poem, the narrative of Captain Jones, late Indian interpreter, and a man who towered in intellectual stature above common men, as the pines (to use an Indian metaphor) rise above the smaller trees of the forest." Other acknowledgments are made in Dr. Hosmer's volume which show how deeply he was indebted to Horatio Jones for his material; for the narratives of Indian legend, and for guidance in the precise use of Seneca words. Indeed one may say that although not a man of the pen, Horatio Jones was truly-and indispensably-a joint author with Hosmer. Without his knowledge and painstaking communication of it to the poet the literature of Western New York, in its record of aboriginal life and beliefs, would be much the poorer.

The Hon. Charles Augustus Murray traveled in America in 1834-36, was the guest of Gen. Wadsworth, and met Horatio Jones, apparently in May, 1836. Of this visit he writes as follows: "During my stay in this neighborhood I went once or twice to see a western veteran, named Captain Jones. He was at the time of my visit, aged probably a little more than seventy years, and was taken prisoner when a boy by a band of the Seneca tribe in their attack upon Wyoming, [!] where he and his parents then lived. He was adopted by the tribe, and lived with them upwards of twenty years; since which time he has been in constant intercourse with them, and has acted in the capacity of interpreter in many treaties and 'talks.' Of course he speaks their language, and knows all their habits as well as a native Seneca, and he can also speak and understand a good deal of the Mohawk, Oneida, and other Six Nation languages. I had several long conversations with him upon aboriginal character, customs, etc., and I found that the old man was at heart more than half Indian. He spoke of many of the red men with an affection quite fraternal, and his general impression of their qualities was much more favorable than that which I received during my residence among them;

but two things must be remembered, first, his own judgment was liable to be prejudiced by his being so long identified with the Senecas, that even now the pride of the tribe is strongly to be remarked in his expressions; and, secondly, 1 have every reason to believe, from all my later inquiries and observations, that, of all the great tribes uncontaminated by civilization (alias whiskey), the most mischievous, treacherous, and savage are my old friends the Pawnees. Captain Jones told me that they had that character among all the Indians whom he had known."* Murray is said to have received from Horatio Jones the information regarding Indian customs, etc., which he utilized in his tale "The Prairie Bird."

That Horatio Jones personally met George Washington can hardly be doubted, though no documentary evidence is known. He is said to have dined with the President on one occasion, in company with Tall Chief and a considerable deputation. In due course Tall Chief kindled the peace pipe and passed it to Washington, who tried unsuccessfully to draw smoke through the long stem. It was then handed to Horatio Jones, who succeeded better, and who then returned it to Washington, this time for a successful whiff. It may have been for this same occasion, apparently in the year 1792, that Capt. Jones and Joseph Smith had conducted to Philadelphia a party of Seneca, Oneida and Onondaga chiefs, for conference with the Government. It was at this convocation that the Chief Big Tree died from excessive eating.

Some years afterward Jones was in Washington with Follard, Thomas Jemison and other natives. Jones said to Follard, "I outran you, I think, some years ago," referring to the famous race of his youth. "Oh, yes," replied Pollard, "but I have often wanted to try it over again and you were never quite ready," a reply which greatly amused Jones.

"Travels in North America. . . including a Summer Residence with the Pawnee tribe of Indians," etc., 2 vols. London, 1839; vol. ii., pp. 358-9. It was characteristic of the British tourist, good observer though he was, to compare the scraps of information picked up by himself in a summer excursion on the plains, with Horatio Jones's fifty years of experience, and to describe the veteran's views as "prejudiced"!

Both men were then long past their fleet-footed years. Pollard died in 1838.

Many are the anecdotes told of Horatio Jones in his relations to various celebrities, both red and white. For many years, as intermediary between the two races, he was constantly in demand, not only in affairs of national consequence, but smaller matters as well. No white man knew Red Jacket better than did Horatio Jones. It is related that on one occasion in Buffalo, Red Jacket was wanted, on business with the Government agent, but could not be found. "Horatio Jones, who was to act as interpreter, after a long search, found him in a low tavern quite drunk. The porter, who was about shutting up the house for the night, was preparing to put him out of doors when Jones interposed."* Jones cared for the tottering orator on many an occasion. Although knowing him in his weakness, Jones appreciated to the full the eloquence of Red Jacket. Indeed, from his familiarity with the Seneca tongue Horatio Jones could appreciate it, probably better than any other white man who ever heard him speak. Jones bore frequent testimony to this effect. On one occasion at Canandaigua Red Jacket was acting as counsel for an Indian who had killed a white man. In his appeal to the jury-through the interpretation of Horatio Jones-Red Jacket proved so eloquent that he won the sympathy of all auditors, including jury and judge, and gained his case. Captain Jones, although fluent in English, declared that it was utterly impossible for him to preserve the full force and beauty of the great Seneca orator's utter

ances.

Red Jacket, it is said, adopted Jones as his son. Stone in his life of Red Jacket relates the following: "On a certain occasion, owing to the slanderous imputation of some mischief makers of his nation, Red Jacket entertained a suspicion that Jones was actuated by motives of self-interest and did not regard the welfare of the Indians. Shortly after he met Capt. Jones at the hotel of Timothy Hosmer at Avon. Jones advanced to greet the chief with his accustomed cordiality of manner, but was received with haughty distrust Doty, "History of Livingston County," p. 105.