General Washington Retaliates Against the Hostile Indians in New York

Under these incentives many savage cruelties were enacted, sometimes by the Indians alone and sometimes by British troops accompanied by Indians. The little village of Springfield at the head of Otsego Lake was destroyed in the spring of 1778, by Brant and his warriors. In July, 1778, the terrible massacres at Wyoming* on the Susquehanna were perpetrated. The whole country was aroused, and the result was the sending of the Sullivan expedition, in order to exact due vengeance for the numberless barbarities which had been committed on the frontiers. This expedition was planned by General Washington who insisted on the adequate punishment of the hostile Indians, who for so many years had acted as the willing agents of the British in harrying and raiding the New York settlements. The forces of the expedition were to consist of two parts;—one under the command of General Sullivan, which was to ascend the Susquehanna; the other under the command of General James Clinton (the father of De\Vitt Clinton) which was to be gathered in the Mohawk valley, to ascend the river in boats to Canajoharie, drag the 210 boats across the portage of twenty miles to the head of Otsego Lake, launch them there and traverse the lake to the outlet of the Susquehanna, thence to descend the river and join the first division at the junction of the Chemung and Susquehanna. The task of this second division was most diflicult, but was performed with promptness and entire success. One difliculty General Clinton surmounted in a most original and effective manner. It was in August, 1779, that he and his expedition arrived at the outlet of the lake. The drought had so lessened the flow into the river that it was too low to float the boats which had been brought thither with such labor. Clinton had a dam erected across the outlet by which the flow was interrupted. In a few days the water of the lake was raised to the necessary height. The boats had been in the mean time moored in the stream below the lake. Then when everything was ready the dam was removed, and the boats were carried down on the crest of the swollen stream, until they arrived August 22 at the designated place of rendezvous. The westward campaign at once began, under the command of General Sullivan. A considerable battle was fought at Newtown the site of the present city of Elmira. It is called the battle of the Chemung. A combined force of Indians under Brant and of British troops under Colonel John Butler, opposed Sullivan’s army. But the British and Indians were swept away and the march westward continued. The Indian towns which were found were everywhere deserted, and as a revenge for the long series of depredations upon white settlements, these towns and the crops about them were destroyed. The beautiful country* of the Cayugas and Senecas was the blossom of the highest Indian civilization. The Indians everywhere fled as Sullivan’s expedition advanced. A slight and ineffective stand was made before Sullivan entered the beautiful valley of the Genesee. Everything was devastated and destroyed. The ripening crops on which the Indians depended for their winter’s supply were burnt. “ The town of Genesee contained one hundred and twenty-eight houses, mostly large and very elegant. It was beautifully situated, almost encircled with a clear flat extending a number of miles; over which extensive fields of corn were waving, together with every kind of vegetable that could be conceived.”This town with all its accumulated supplies was utterly destroyed, besides forty other Indian towns and villages. One hundred and sixty thousand bushels of corn were burned or cast into the river. Fruit trees were cut down and fields of growing vegetables were utterly devastated. On the 16th of September Sullivan re-crossed the Genesee river and commenced his return. It had been intended that he should advance on Fort Niagara and reduce this principal stronghold  But perhaps fearing that his force had been too much reduced to undertake such a task, he did not venture upon the advance. He had accomplished the immediate object of his campaign. He had administered a stern and unsparing punishment upon the Indians for their barbarities committed upon the white settlements.   Perhaps such cruelties are justifiable under such circumstances; but modern rules of warfare would not justify the destruction of peaceful towns and villages, without absolute evidence that they belonged to the guilty authors of the depredations.

                                          57 gruesome stories of Indian capture and torture

Seneca War Chief Used A War Post to Talley Prisoners and Scalps

Jemison said that to commemorate great events and to preserve the chronology of them, the war chief in each tribe kept a war-post, a peeled stick of timber ten or twelve feet high erected in the town. For a campaign the chief made a perpendicular red mark about three inches long and half an inch wide ; on the opposite side of this, for a scalp, they made a red cross, thus X on another side, for a prisoner taken alive, they make a red cross in this manner ><, with a head or dot."* These hieroglyphics enabled them to represent with no little certainty the facts they wished to record.

                                         57 gruesome stories of Indian capture and torture

Over 100 Real Tales of Frontier Terror

The Apache Indians Art of War

All Indians were More or less warlike; a few tribes, however, were eminent for their passion for war. Such, among eastern tribes, were the Iroquois; among southwestern tribes, the Apaches; and in Mexico, the Aztecs.The purpose in Indian warfare was, everywhere, to inflict as much harm upon the enemy, and to receive as little as possible.The causes of war were numerous—trespassing on tribal territory, stealing ponies, quarrels between individuals.In their warfare stealthiness and craft were most important. Sometimes a single warrior crept silently to an unsuspecting camp that he might kill defenseless women, or little children, or sleeping warriors, and then as quietly he withdrew with his trophies.

Indian Spears, Shield, and Quiver of Arrows.

In such approaches, it was necessary to use every help in concealing oneself. Of the Apaches it is said: “He can conceal his swart body amidst the green grass, behind brown shrubs or 
gray rocks, with so much address and judgment that any one but the experienced would pass him by without detection at the distance of three or four yards. Sometimes they will envelop themselves in a gray blanket, and by an artistic sprinkling of earth will so resemble a granite bowlder as to be passed within near range without suspicion. At others, they will cover their person with freshly gathered grass, and lying prostrate, appear as a natural portion of the field. Again, they will plant themselves among the yuccas, and so closely imitate their appearance as to pass for one of them.”

At another time the Indian warrior would depend upon a sudden dash into the midst of the enemy, whereby he might work destruction and be away before his presence was fairly realized.

Clark tells of an unexpected assault made upon a camp by some white soldiers and Indian scouts. One of these scouts, named Three Bears, rode a horse that became unmanageable, and dashed with his rider into the very midst of the now angry and aroused enemy. Shots flew around him, and his life was in great peril. At that moment his friend, Feather-on-the-head, saw his danger. He dashed in after Three Bears. As he rode, he dodged back and forth, from side to side, in his saddle, to avoid shots. At the very center of the village, Three Bears' horse fell dead. Instantly, Feather-on-the-head, sweeping past, caught up his friend behind him on his own horse, and they were gone like a flash.

A favorite device in war was to draw the enemy into ambush. An attack would be made with a small part of the force. This would seem to make a brave assault, but would then fall back as if beaten. The enemy would press on in pursuit until some bit of woods, some little hollow, or some narrow place beneath a height was reached. Then suddenly the main body of attack, which had been carefully concealed, would rise to view on every side, and a massacre would ensue.

[]

After the white man brought horses, the war expeditions were usually trips for stealing ponies. These, of course, were never common among eastern tribes; they were frequent among Plains Indians. Some man dreamed that he knew a village of hostile Indians where he could steal horses. If he were a brave and popular man, companions would promptly join him, on his announcing that he was going on an expedition. When the party was formed, the women prepared food, moccasins, and clothing. When ready, the party gathered in the medicine lodge, where they gashed themselves, took a sweat, and had prayers and charms repeated by the medicine man. Then they started. If they were to go far, at first they might travel night and day. As they neared their point of attack, they became more cautious, traveling only at night, and remaining concealed during the daylight. When they found a village or camp with horses, their care was redoubled. Waiting for night, they then approached rapidly but silently.

Each man worked by himself. Horses were quickly loosed and quietly driven away. When at a little distance from the village they gathered together, mounted the stolen animals, and fled. Once started, they pressed on as rapidly as possible.

It was the ambition of every Plains Indian to count coup. Coup is a French word, meaning a stroke or blow. It was considered an act of great 
bravery to go so near to a live enemy as to touch him with the hand, or to strike him with a short stick, or a little whip. As soon as an enemy had been shot and had fallen, three or four often would rush upon him, anxious to be the first one to touch him, and thus count coup.

There was really great danger in this, for a fallen enemy need not be badly injured, and may kill one who closely approaches him. More than this, when seriously injured and dying, a man in his last struggles is particularly dangerous. It was the ambition of every Indian youth to make coup for the first time, for thereafter he was considered brave, and greatly respected. Old men never tired of telling of the times they had made coup, and one who had thus touched dreaded enemies many times was looked upon as a mighty warrior.

Among certain tribes it was the custom to show the number of enemies killed by the wearing of war feathers. These were usually feathers of the eagle, and were cut or marked to show how many enemies had been slain. Among the Dakotas a war feather with a round spot of red upon it indicated one enemy slain; a notch in the edge showed that the throat of an enemy was cut; other peculiarities in the cut, trim, or coloration told other stories. Of course, such feathers were highly prized.

Every one has seen pictures of war bonnets made of eagle feathers. These consisted of a 
crown or band, fitting the head, from which rose a circle of upright feathers; down the back hung a long streamer, a band of cloth sometimes reaching the ground, to which other feathers were attached so as to make a great crest. As many as sixty or seventy feathers might be used in such a bonnet, and, as one eagle only supplies a dozen, the bonnet represented the killing of five or six birds. These bonnets were often really worn in war, and were believed to protect the wearer from the missiles of the enemy.

                                          57 gruesome stories of Indian capture and torture

Sioux Language

Sioux Indian Dwellings and Furniture
Mandan Sioux Sun Dance
George Catlin and the Mandan Sioux
Sioux Indians of the Plains Sign Language
Sioux and Apache at War: Scalping
Osage and Iroquois Traditions of Burial Mounds
Sioux Burial Mounds in Nebraska

Native Americans: Languages of the Sioux Indians

Native American's Wampum                     Massacre on the Wabash, the Miami Indians Defeat of St. Clair

Native Americans: Omaha Sioux Indian Dwellings, Furniture and Implements

California Native Americans: Indians of the Yosemite with Rare Photographs

Native American Symbolism and Myths of the Bird and Serpent

Native Americans Sacred Numbers

The Complete History of the Seminole Indians of Florida with Rare Photographs

Native Americans of Southern California

Native American Mandan Sioux Dance

Native Americans: Cherokee Indian Symbolism

Native American's Graves and Burials Illustrated

Native American Picture Writing

Native American Sioux; Plains Indians Sign Language

Native American Canoes

Native American Sioux and Apache Scalping

Native Americans Clothing and Moccasins

Native American Houses Illustrated

Native American Navaho Customs and Religion

Native Americans: The Complete Guide to the Apache's Customs and Religion Illustrated

Miami Indian Preparation for War Ceremony

Miami Indian Preparation for War Ceremony

In preparing for war, the Miamis have a custom, peculiar to themselves. 
Says Charlevoix: " After a solemn feast, they placed on a kind of altar, some 
pagods made with bear-skins, the heads of which were painted green. All the 
savages passed this altar, bowing their knees, and the jugglers led the van, hold- 
ing in their bands a sack which contained all the things which they use in their 
Conjurations. They all strive to exceed each other in their contortions, and as 
any one distinguished himself in this way, they applauded him with great 
shouts. When they had thus paid their first homage to the idol, all the people 
danced in such confusion to the sound of a drum and a Cbeahicoue; and during 
this time the jugglers make a show of bewitching some of the savages, who seem 
ready to expire ; then, putting a certain powder upon their lips, they make them 
recover. When this farce has lasted some time, he who presides at the feast, 
having at his side two men and two women, runs through all the cabins to give 
the savages notice that the sacrifices were going to begin. When he meets any 
one in his way, he puts both his hands on his head and the person met embraces 
his knees. The victims were dogs, and one hears on every side the cries of these 
animals, whose throats they cut, and the savages, who howl with all their strength, 
seem to imitate their cries. As soon as the flesh was dressed, they offered it, to the idols; then they ate it and burnt the bones. All this while the jugglers never 
cease raising the pretended dead, and the whole ends by the distribution made 
to these quacks of whatever is most to their liking in all the village." 

" From the time that the resolution is taken to make war, till the departure 
of the warriors, they sing their war-songs every night; the days are passed in 
making preparations. They depute some warriors to go to sing the war-sung 
amongst their neighbors and allies, whom they engage beforehand by secret 
negotiations. If they are to go by water, they build or repair their canoes; if it is winter, they furnish themselves with snow-shoes and sledges. The raquets, 
which they most have to wear on the snow, arc about three feet long, and about 
fifteen or eighteen inches in their greatest breadth. Their shape is oval, end behind, which terminates in a point. Little sticks, placed across at five 
or six inches from each end, serve to strengthen them, and the piece which is 
before us is in the shape of a bow, where the foot is fixed and tied with leather 
thongs. The binding of the raquet is made of slips of leather about a fourth part 
of an inch wide, and the circumference is of light wood hardened by fire. * * 
The sledges, which serve to carry the baggage, and, in case of need, the sick and 
wounded, are two little boards, very thin, about half a foot broad, each board, and 
six or seven feet long. The fore-part is a little bent upward, and the sides are 
bordered by little bands, to which they fasten straps to bind what is on the sledge. 
However loaded these carriages may be, a savage can draw them with ease by the 
help of a long band of leather, which he puts over his breast, aud which they call 
collars. 

'• All things being ready, and the day of departure being come, they take 
their leave with great demonstrations. * * * Lastly, they all meet at the 
cabin of the chief. They find him armed as he was at the first day he spoke to 
ihem, and as he always appeared in public from that day. They then paint their 
faces, every one according to his own fancy, and all of them in a very frightful 
manner. The chief makes them a short speech ; then hi; conies out of his cabin 
singing his song of death. They all follow him in a line, keeping a profound 
silence, and they do the same every morning, when they renew their march. The 
women go before with the provisions, and when the warriors come up with them, 
they give them their clothes, and remain almost naked — at least as much as. the 
season will permit. 

" Formerly, the arms of these people were bows and arrows, and a kind of 
javelin, which, as well as their arrows, was armed with a point of bone, wrought 
in different shapes. Beside this, they had what they call the' head-breaker.'. This is a little club, of very hard wood, the head of which is round, and has one side 
with an edge, to cut. The greatest part have no defensive arms." 

Such were their customs of war, less than 200 years ago, when the use of 
firearms was far less common until at the present day. They were, however, equal 
to the demands of the times, anil served well their puropose' in in'usin^ a spirit of stubborn bravery that, with the class of offensive and defensive weapons in use, was most formidable in its effects.