Seneca Indian Prophet Foretold the Coming of Columbus

Seneca Indian Prophet Foretold the Coming of Columbus

      Just prior to the arrival of Columbus, the shock of an earthquake was felt, and comets and other omens of the heavens were observed. The meaning of these occurrences was not then divined, but a prophet soon appeared, who foretold the coming of a strange race from beyond the great waters. He announced that the expected strangers designed driving the Indians from their hunting-grounds and wresting away their homes, and he threatened the Great Spirit' s wrath upon any who should listen to the pale-faces. To add to these perturbations, another war broke out between the tribes west of the Genesee and the Five Nations, the weight of which, as usual, fell heavily upon the Senecas. Long and bloody conflicts ensued, and, while hostilities were yet in progress, the great event foretold by the prophet — that most pregnant fact of all Indian history, the arrival of Columbus — was heralded by the fleetest of foot along the myriad pathways of the continent. The imagination alone can picture the bewildering effect of the tidings. Wonder, awe, doubt and fear, each in turn, must have moved them, but though hushed for a moment by this event, the decisive struggle between the warring tribes went forward. The cause of this contest was so slight that tradition says it originated in a breach of faith on the part of the Kah-kwas at a game of ball to which they had challenged the Senecas.

57 gruesome stories of Indian capture and torture

Seneca Indians Sell 400 Boys, Girls and Infant Scalps To the British

Seneca Indians Sell 400 Boys, Girls and Infant Scalps To the British During the Revolutionary War

The British purchased 1000's of women, men, children and infant scalps from Native Americans during the American Revolution.

"Some Delawares are this day arrived who are desirous of showing their intention of joining their brethren

[in warring against the Americans] and have presented me with two pieces of dried meat [scalps], one of   

which I have given the Chippeways, another to the Miami, that they may show in their villages the  disposition 

of the Delawares." wrote Hamilton to Haldimand

June 18, 1778. They called Hamilton "the scalp buyer." Whether or not this title was merited may  be Judged 
from the  of an Intercepted message directed to Hamilton by one of his officers operating along the Ohio river: 
"I hereby send To your excellency.
    George Rogers Clacy under the care of James Hoyd, eight packages of scalps, cured,  dried, hooped and   
painted with all the triumphal marks, and of which consignment this is an invoice and explanation:              
Package No. 1. 43 scalps of Congress soldiers, inside painted red with a small black dot to show they 
were killed by  bullets; those painted brown and marked with a hoe denote that the soldiers were killed    
while at their farms; those marked with a black ring denote that the     persons were surprised by night;    
 those marked with a black hatchet denote that the persons   were killed with a tomahawk. Package No. 2, 
98 farmers' scalps; a white circle   denotes that they were surprised In the daytime; those with a red  foot  
denote that the men stood their ground and fought in defense of their wives and families. Package No. 3, 97 
farmers' scalps; the green hoops denote that they were killed in the fields. Package No. 4, 102 farmers'         
scalps; eighteen are marked with a yellow flame to show that they died by torture; the one with the
black band attached belonged to a clergyman. No. 5. 88 scalps of women; those  with the braided hair      
were mothers. No. 6, 193 boys' scalps. No. 7. 211 girls  scalps. No. 8, 122 scalps of   all sorts; among 
them  are twenty-nine Infant scalps, and those marked with the small white hooks denote that the 
child was   unborn at the time the mother was killed. The chief of the Senecas sends this message: 
'Father, we send   you here these many scalps that you may see that we are  not idle friends. We want you to send 
these   scalps to the Great King that he may regard them and be   refreshed.' " (This letter was carried to France by 
Benjamin Franklin and presented as a part of his appeal   to France to help America in her  protest against  the 
British attacks on non-combatants.) 


                                                             57 Gruesome tales of Indian capture and torture