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The Cherokee Advocate - 1884
| THE LAST OF THE SENECAS |
| Reinterment of Red Jacket and Other Famous Chiefs |
| Impressive Scene in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo-Indians Singing Dirges Over the Grave-Historical Address |
| Submitted by: Mollie Stehno |
October 17, 1884-The Cherokee Advocate-Buffalo, Oct. 9-Interesting exercises attending the reinterment of the remains of the celebrated Iroquois chief Red Jacket and other famous Indian chiefs in the beautiful lot donated for the purpose by the Forest Law Association, brought together an unusually large delegation of Indians from the various reservations in this State and Canada. At about 10 A. M., the remains of the Indian chiefs were borne from the rooms of he Historical Society, where each had been placed in selected cedar caskets. The bearers of the different chiefs were selected from the Indians as follows:
Those bearing Red Jacket's remains were Chief Levi Jonathan, an Onondaga Indian; Benjamin Carpenter, a Cayuga; Henry Clinch, and Oneida; John Fraser, a Mohawk; Moses Hill, a Tuscarora, and Andrew Snow, a Seneca. Destroy Town's bearers were Chiefs John Buck, an Onondaga Indian; Joseph Porter, an Oneida; Thomas Isaac, a Tuscarora, and Peter Powless, a Mohawk. The bearers of Young King's remains were Chiefs David Hill, and John Hill, Seneca Indians, Robert David, a Cayuga, and the Rev. Zachariah Jamison, a Seneca. Chiefs Thomas Lay, Silversmith, William Jones, and John Jacket all Seneca; bore Little Billy's remains. Chief Nicholas Barker, a Seneca; John Montpleasant, a Tuscarora; Thomas David and Thomas Jamison, Cayugas, bore the bones of Tall Peter.
While bearing the remains from the rooms to hearses the chiefs, many of them wearing their native costumes, recited the usual Indian funeral dirge. The remains having been placed in six hearses, the funeral cortege of seventy-five carriages, occupied by members of the Historical Society and the older residents of the city, wended its way to the cemetery. A temporary stand draped with American flags had been erected near the graves, which were cut east and west and were of uniform depth, that of Red jacket being much larger than the others to afford room for stone casings. The remains were placed on temporary girders over the graves, and the Indians were then invited to seats on the platform. The scene was an impressive one.
Among those conspicuous on the platform were Mrs. William C. Bryant, Judge Sheldon, a granddaughter of Bryant, Chief of the Mohawks; two young ladies in black, descendants of another noted Indian chief, and an Indian in regular army uniform. Gen. Parker, who was military secretary of Gen. Grant's staff during the war of the rebellion, was seated next to his sister, Caroline Mountpleasant, whose husband, the Chief of the Tuscaroras, was by her side. There were also on the platform John Buck, in citizen's dress, the chief of the Onondagas, Nicholas Parker, brother of Gen. Parker, and chief of the Seneca on the Tonawanda reservation. He was in full dress, with sash, tomahawk, headgear, etc. The oldest Indian present was Andrew Snow, a warrior from the Cattaraugus reservation.
The Rev. Mr. Jamison opened the exercises with a short prayer in the Seneca tongue. Mr. Bryant then delivered an interesting historical address reviewing the history of the Six Nations, from the breaking out of hostilities in the Revolutionary war, and describing the many wars which they had passed through to the downfall of the Iroquois Confederacy. His tribute to Red Jacket was such as to move to tears many of those present. It concluded as follows:
He has been fitly called "the last of the Seneca. His life was troubled and unhappy. There has been no rest allowed even to his bones in the lowly grave, which should have been scared and unprofaned. We now commit the moldering relics of his humanity, surrounded, as he wished, by his kindred and friends, to their last resting place, and here the dust of our antagonistic races will commingle undisturbed until the final summons shall call alike from the ostentations mausoleum of the white man and the humble grave of the Indian the innumerable dead to one common judgment.
The Indians, led by Chief John Buck, then chanted a dirge. Then thirty representatives of the Six Nations marched down from the stand in Indian file and ranged themselves by the sides of the caskets. Mr. Bryant exhibited, a wampum belt, which had been in the Iroquois tribe over 300 years. The caskets were duly lowered into the graves. The Indians then stationed themselves at the foot of the graves and gave earnest attention to addresses in the Onondaga and Seneca tongues by Chiefs John Buck and John Jacket.
After repeating the weird chant heard before, the Rev. Mr. Anthony, a Delaware chief, pronounced the benediction in English.
In the evening the large music hall was comfortably filled. Seated upon the stage were Chief Judge Sheldon, the Hon. George W. Clinton, Mr. Bryant, members of the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association, the Indian Chiefs, Indians from the reservations, and a large number of prominent citizens with their wives and daughters. Judge Sheldon delivered a short address, followed by the singing of an Indian dirge and short addresses by Indian chiefs. The Hon. George W. Clinton then delivered an historical address, reviewing the history of the different tribes composing the Six Nations, the lives of the most eminent chiefs and the wars in which they had been engaged, the attachment shows by the Indian tribes to the struggling American troops, during the War for Independence, paying glowing tributes to the dead Indian heroes.
The exercises were brought to a close by singing by Indian chorus. N. Y. Sun
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