PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF

CAPTAINS JONES AND PARRISH,

AND OF THE PAYMENT OF INDIAN ANNUITIES

IN BUFFALO.

BY HON. ORLANDO ALLEN.*

I design to give a short account of the manner of paying annuities to the Iroquois or Six Nations Indians residing in New York, as I saw it nearly fifty years ago and for the twelve or fourteen succeeding years.

These annuities were in money, dry goods, agricultural implements, such as plows, chairs, axes, hoes, etc., a certain amount of blacksmithing and gunsmith work, together with sustenance, to a limited amount, usually consisting of pork and flour dealt out to them while assembled for the transaction of their annual business with the United States.

The money annuity to the Seneca Nation was interest on certain trust funds held for them by the United States arising from the sale of lands; also from the State of New York for the cession to it of the islands in Niagara River, known as the "Grand Island annuity"; and to the Cayugas. Onondagas, and Oneidas for the cession to the State of certain lands by those nations respectively.

The annuities in dry goods, implements, smithwork and provisions, were from the United States to the Six Nations

Extract from a paper read before the Buffalo Historical Society about 1868, Hon. Millard Fillmore presiding. Now first published.

in accordance with certain treaty stipulation made with them in April, 1792, and in September, 1794. The dry goods consisted of broadcloths of different colors, what was known in those days as Mackinaw Indian blankets, calicoes, and green worsted yarn for making belts, white beads, thread, needles, ribbons, etc.

Blacksmiths and gunsmiths residing near the bands of Indians were to be served by them when designated by the agent. Their accounts properly verified by the chief of their bands, were rendered and paid by the agents at the time of paying the general annuities to the Indians, and these were due on the first day of June in each year. . . .

At that period Captain Jasper Parrish of Canandaigua was the Government agent, title sub-agent of the New York Indians, and Captain Horatio Jones of Leicester, Livingston County, was the interpreter. A part of the duties of these Government agents was to pay the annuities to the Indians, see they were properly distributed among the several bands, settle with the mechanics employed to repair their implements of husbandry, guns, etc., be the mediums of communication with the General and State governments, together with a general supervision of their business and interests particularly as between them as nations and the surrounding whites.

The United States also paid to some of the prominent chiefs, such as Cornplanter, Young King, Little Billy, Destroy Town, Pollard, Strong, Governor Blacksnake and several others, considerable sums of money in the form of annuities. The State of New York also paid one individual annuity, and but one so far as I know, and that was an annuity of fifty dollars to the celebrated Cayuga chief, Fish Carrier, running to him and his heirs forever.* These an

NOTE BY MR. ALLEN.-Soon after the sale of their lands Fish Carrier, with a considerable number of his people, the Cayugas, emigrated to Canada and settled on Grand River, near the Mohawks. The annuity was regularly paid to him during his life and afterwards to his son, who assumed the name, until about 1840, when the latter, becoming alarmed at the report of war between the United States and Great Britain, applied to me, I having been his agent for several years, to procure the payment of the principal of his annuity which the State was ready to do. This I obtained; he came to Buffalo, received his money, returned to Canada, and died a few years later.

nuities were paid by the agents at the time of paying the national annuities.

Parrish and Jones had been captains among the Indians for several years during the Revolution. The former among the Mohawks, the latter among the Senecas, and of course were familiar with the language of their respective captors, and in this respect as in all others in fact, were eminently qualified to act in their several official capacities.

It is said that Captain Parrish spoke five of the Iroquois languages fluently. I have no personal knowledge as to the truth of this claim; whenever I heard him address the Indians it was always in the Mohawk tongue. Captain Jones was considered an excellent interpreter of the Seneca language. He spoke it like a native, and for an uneducated man had a remarkable command of the English language. His selection of words to express his ideas was happy and his descriptions of scenes graphic.

Parrish and Jones were both large, portly men, with gray hair and florid complexions, and as they moved about our streets would attract notice by their dignified carriage and gentlemanly bearing.

When here in Buffalo they usually stopped at the Phoenix Coffee House, kept by Ralph Pomeroy, on the northeast corner of Main and Seneca streets, now the site of Brown's buildings. Sometimes Parrish stopped at the Mansion House, kept by Joseph Landon, on the south side of Crow, now Exchange Street, midway between Main and Washington streets.

At the appointed time in the early part of June Parrish and Jones would arrive in the stage from the East, and the Indians would gather from all quarters. Those living at Oneida and Onondaga were usually represented by a delegation of their chiefs and head men; and those living nearer often coming in great numbers, chiefs, warriors, women and children, so that in the course of a day or two there would be a large assemblage besides those belonging to the Buffalo Creek Reservation.

The councils on these occasions were held at a council house belonging to the Senecas, situated a few rods east of

the bend in the road a little north of the red bridge across Buffalo Creek, on the now so-called Aurora plank road, then little more than an Indian trail; and here the money was divided per capita, and the dry goods and implements apportioned. The chiefs and head men had the numbers of their tribes represented by a corresponding number of notches on a stick. These were all to be examined carefully, to see that their aggregate did not exceed the known aggregate of the entire population so that there should be none left without his or her free proportion, especially of the annuity money.

The chiefs and head men represented the tribes, the mothers the families. So the former was given the proportion belonging to their tribes, which by them was divided between the families, the mothers receiving for themselves and their children, husbands, and adults without family for themselves. By the observance of these rules, rarely if ever, did mistakes occur. The dry goods and implements were divided more according to the necessities of families, regard being had to the more destitute and needy. To the mothers who were here upon the ground would be divided their proportions, as also to individuals without families, those residing at a distance received theirs from the hands of their representatives, on return of the latter to their homes.

Merchants doing business in the neighborhood of the several bands of Indians, were much in the habit of trusting them, principally for dry goods, depending mainly upon these annuities for payment. Some of the mothers of families would be entitled to receive fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty dollars, as it might be, depending, of course, upon the number of their children. This would be known to the merchant and he would regulate the amount of his credits by the probable amount to be received by the mother of the family, but she, sharp woman, would not infrequently trade out the amount of her proportion of the coming annuity with different merchants, each believing himself to be the sole creditor.

These merchants or their clerks were always upon the ground when the annuities were paid, sometimes in waiting

day after day. At length when the money was divided it would be discovered by them that there were more than one, and sometimes several claimants for the entire amount of the annuity money of a family. Then there would be lively times among them and probably not one of them would get a dime. There was no way of enforcing payment of claims against Indians, as they were not amenable to the laws, and unless they were honest and well disposed their debts remained unpaid. Some of the Indians and squaws were honest and paid their just debts, but many of them were far otherwise.

The councilings, annotations, overhauling of accounts, auditing claims, and other preparations for the final distribution of the annuities, would occupy many days. Indians are proverbially slow in all their deliberations, much talk and more smoking, before any definite conclusions are arrived at. During these days the young men would spend some of their time in their favorite game of ball, sometimes nation against nation, bets running high and one side or the other, both men and women, getting stripped of all their finery, their bets consisting of articles of clothing or silver trinkets. Often, however, their games were for mere sport.*

The great sport of the occasion was a foot race, gotten up for the close of the proceedings as a winding up. The merchants in town would make up a purse, consisting of various articles of dry goods, such as coat patterns, blankets, shawls, calico, etc., having as many prizes as contestants, each differing in value, say from one to five dollars, distance to be run twelve miles, i. e., from where the liberty pole stands on Main Street, up Main Street one mile, up and down six times. Into this race would enter all who felt disposed and competent to contend, and these would generally consist of from fifteen to twenty-five of the best runners of the Six Nations. The runners were divested of all clothing except a shirt and breech-cloth and a belt around the loins. If wearing long hair a band around the head confined it closely, this band

* Mr. Allen here described the game of lacrosse.