cnistonca uomina - Old Fulton History

Page 6
October 1957
Varysburg and the Mary Jemison Story
Through the courtesy of Mr, Malcolm Willard, Tonawanda, the
following excerpts are taken from a story which appeared in the
ATTICA NEWS, Thursday, May 6, 1897» Nothing indicates who the author
may have been0 Through the years there has been considerable discussion
as to whether Mary Jemison and her refugee Indian friends
did spend time at Stony Brook, This is a slightly different version »
of the oft-repeated story,
"A year or two ago, certain Indian relics were unearthed at
Varysburg, and this brought to recollection, something the White
Woman had said in the narrative she dictated to James E. Seaver 71+
years ago,
"At the time of Major General Sullivan's Expedition against the
six nations in 1779, Mrs, Jemison resided at Little Beard's Town,
the capital of the Senecas and the Western Door of the Long House of
the Iroquois, which was the limit of General Sullivan's march. He
reached there September l[|_th and found the town deserted by every
living thing except a white woman and her little child who had been
captured by the Indians the November previous - her husband being
murdered - at Nanticoke below Wyoming, Pennsylvania. She said that
on the arrival of General Sullivan the day before, the Indian and
Tory forces under Brant and Butler fled in.great panic and disorder
for Niagara,80 miles distant, she having concealed herself and child
amid the confusion,
"This is the only account of that flight ever given by an eye
witness, except allusions to it by Mary Jemison - and has always
been accepted, scanty as it is, as covering all obtainable facts -
the evil omened crew had vanished like a mist,
"But the White Woman's version of that occurrence, though very
meager, quite materially modifies that of the other women. She
states 'Sullivan arrived at Canandaigua Lake and had finished his
work of destruction there, and it was ascertained that he was about
to march to our flats when, our Indians resolved to give him battle
on the way. Accordingly they sent all their women and children into
the woods a little west of Little Beard's Town and then well armed
set out to face the conquering enemy. The place which they fixed
upon for their battle ground lay between Honeoye Creek and the head
of Conesus Lake.' After describing the.Groveland ambuscade and massacre
of Lt„ Boyd's party and the terrible torture and death of that
officer and Sgt. Parker, she continues:'This tragedy being finished,
our Indians again held a short council on the expediency of giving
Sullivan battle and finally came to the conclusion that they were
not strong enough to drive him0 The women and children were then
sent on still further towards Buffalo to a large creek that was
called by the Indians Catawba, accompanied by a part of the Indians
while the remainder secreted themselves back of Little Beard's Town
to watch the movement of the enemyG 1
(continued on page 27)