SENECA JOHN, INDIAN CHIEF
HIS TRAGIC DEATH
ERECTION OF MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY
COMPILED BY BASIL MEEK
SENECA JOHN
Not much is known pertaining to the
direct biog-
raphy of Seneca John. The most that we
have is inci-
dental to and related in the story of
his execution. He
belonged however to a prominent family
of his tribe
and was one of four brothers, or rather
of three full
brothers named Comstock, Steel and
Coonstick and him-
self a half brother of the three named.
Comstock was a principal chief of his
tribe. Seneca
John succeeded Comstock as chief and
Coonstick suc-
ceeded Seneca John, or became a chief
after Seneca
John's death. Thus it appears that the
family furnished
three chiefs of the tribe.
From the story mentioned, we find that
Seneca John
was a tall noble looking man, and
resembled Henry
Clay of Kentucky; and like Clay was
very eloquent as
a speaker - the most eloquent of his
tribe. If ill feel-
ing arose in the councils he could by
his eloquence and
persuasive powers of speech restore
harmony. He was
very amiable and agreeable in his
manners and cheerful
in disposition. These traits combined
made him popu-
lar with his tribe, and upon the death
of Comstock he
was made a chief. His credit at the Trading Post at
Lower Sandusky was of the highest, and
he often be-
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Seneca John, Indian Chief 129 |
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Vol. XXXI-9. |
130
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
came security for the more improvident
members of his
tribe. He was peace loving, but by
reason of his high
qualities and popularity he was the
victim of jealousy
and envy on the part of his brothers,
which finally
resulted in his tragic death, near the
spot where the
monument erected to his memory stands.
During an expedition by his half
brothers Steel and
Coonstick, in the West hunting,
trapping and looking
for a new home for the tribe, lasting
about three years,
Chief Comstock died. On their return in 1828, they
found Seneca John chief in charge of
the tribe as the
successor of Comstock. This so aroused
their jealousy
and excited their envy that they
determined to make
away with him, and accordingly
preferred the false
charge against him of causing the death
of Comstock by
witchcraft. According to the belief of
the Senecas, the
superstition of witchcraft was to them
a verity, a
magical or supernatural power, by
agreement, with evil
spirits, the possessor of which could
bring calamity upon
or even death of the victim. The
penalty for its practice
was death. Seneca John, being innocent
of any wrong
in the death of Comstock, denied the
charge, in a strain
of pathos and eloquence rarely
equalled, in expressions
of love for Comstock and grief over his
death, but with-
out avail He was condemned to die, and
was killed by
his brothers accordingly, in the month
of August, 1828,
under the semblance of the execution of
a judicial sen-
tence, and was buried with Indian
ceremonies not more
than twenty feet from where he fell.
Sardis Birchard, cited in Knapp's
History, remem-
bered the death of Seneca John. He said:
Seneca John, Indian Chief 131
"The whole tribe seemed to be in
town the evening before
his execution. John stood by me on the porch of my
store, as
the other Indians rode away. He looked at them with so
much
sadness in his face, that it attracted my attention
and I wondered
at John's letting them go away without
him. He inquired of
me the amount of his indebtedness at my
store. The amount
was given. He bade me good-bye, and
went away without relat-
ing any of the trouble.
"Chiefs Hard Hickory and Tall
Chief came into town the
day of the killing of John, or the next
day, and told me about
it. Tall Chief always settled the debts
of Indians who died-
believing they could not enter the good
hunting ground of the
spirit land until their debts were
paid. He settled the bill of
Seneca John, after his death."*
THE EXECUTION
The particulars of the tragedy as
related by an In-
dian chief, named Hard Hickory by whose
cabin it was
enacted, and who was present are
substantially as fol-
lows:
His brothers pronounced him guilty and
declared
their determination to become his
executioners. John
replied that he was willing to die, and
only wished to
live until next morning to see the sun
rise once more.
This request being granted, John told
them that he
would sleep that night on Hard
Hickory's porch, which
fronted the East, where they would find
him at sunrise.
He chose that place, because he did not
wish to be killed
in the presence of his wife, and
desired that the Chief
Hard Hickory witness that he died like
a man.
Coonstick and Steel retired for the
night to an old
cabin nearby. In the morning in company
with Shane,
another Indian, they proceeded to the
house of Hard
Hickory - who was informant - who
stated that a
little after sunrise, he heard their
footsteps on the porch,
*This quotation is a paraphrase, in
part, of the reminiscences of
Sardis Birchard recorded in Knapp's History
of the Maumee Valley.
(132) |
Seneca John, Indian Chief 133
and he opened the door just wide enough
to peep out.
He saw John asleep on his blanket and
them standing
near him. At length one of them woke
him and he
immediately rose, took off a large
handkerchief which
was around his head, letting his
unusually long hair fall
upon his shoulders. This being done, he
looked around
upon the landscape and upon the rising
sun, to take a
farewell look of a scene he was never
again to behold;
and then announced to his brothers that
he was ready
to die. Shane and Coonstick each took
him by the arm
and Steel walked behind him. In this
way they led him
about ten steps from the porch when his
brother Steel
struck him with a tomahawk on the back
of his head,
and he fell to the ground bleeding
freely. Supposing
the blow sufficient to kill him, they
dragged him under a
peach tree nearby. In a short time he
revived however,
the blow having been broken by his
great mass of hair.
Knowing that it was Steel that struck
him, John as he
lay, turned his head toward Coonstick
and said "Now,
brother, take your revenge."
This so operated on Coon
stick that he interposed to save him;
but the proposition
enraged Steel to such an extent that he
drew his knife
and cut John's throat from ear to ear;
and the next day
he was buried with the usual Indian
ceremonies near
the spot where he fell as before
stated, and his grave
was surrounded by a small picket fence,
which three
years later was removed by Coonstick
and Steel.
THE MONUMENT
The monument erected by the Sandusky
County
Pioneer and Historical Association, was
unveiled with
interesting ceremonies July 4,
1921. It is placed by
134
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the east side of the public road, west
of and near the
spot where Seneca John was executed and
where he was
buried, being the site of Chief Hard
Hickory's cabin
and of the present residence of Edwin
Young, about one
and a half miles north from the village
of Greenspring.
It consists of a boulder of unique
shape, being flat in
front and rear surfaces, unlike most of
its sort, which
are rounded in form. It is thirty-six inches in height,
thirty inches in width, and twenty-four
inches thick at
the base, gradually becoming thinner
toward the top.
It is granite in formation, with one
edge or side a pebble
conglomerate the entire height of the
stone. It stands
firmly set on a concrete base. The inscription is as
follows:
SENECA INDIAN
RESERVATION
SENECA JOHN
NOTED CHIEF
WAS EXECUTED
NEAR THIS SPOT, EASTERLY
BY HIS TRIBE IN
1828
CHARGED WITH WITCHCRAFT
NORTH 30 RODS IS THE NORTH BOUNDARY
OF THE RESERVATION.
ERECTED BY THE SANDUSKY COUNTY
PIONEER & HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
- 1921 -
Seneca John, Indian Chief 135
THE SENECAS
The Seneca Indians, occupying what was
known as
the Seneca Reservation described below,
of whom
Seneca John was a prominent Chief, as
noted above,
were offshoots of the old Seneca
Nation, one of those
comprising the once noted Iroquois
Confederacy in the
State of New York, east of the Niagara
River, called the
Five Nations. They were often spoken of as the
"Senecas of Sandusky,"
located as they were along the
Sandusky River and vicinity. Mingled
with them were
wandering remnants of other
tribes. All these had
occupied this region for very many
years prior to the
date of the reservation, probably ever
since the extermi-
nation of the former occupants, the
Erie Nation, by the
Five Nations about the middle of the
seventeenth cen-
tury. It is quite probable that in the
wars against the
Eries, portions of the Senecas, and
perhaps of other
tribes, of the Five Nations, finding
this a "goodly land"
in which to dwell, remained permanently,
thus becoming
the progenitors of the Senecas of the
reservation. It
was an ideal land and home for them.
The beautiful
Sandusky River was then navigable for
canoes all the
year round. The river teemed with fish, the marshes
were alive with wild fowl, and the
forests abounded with
large game. It was, indeed, suggestive
and emblematic
of their hoped for happy hunting ground
in the land of
the hereafter, in which they believed
and expected to
gain.
In their intercourse with the whites they were
friendly, but drunken quarrels and
fatal jealousies not
infrequently disturbed the peace among
themselves. It
was unlawful to furnish them with
intoxicating liquors,
but the law was violated by the whites,
as indicated by
136
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
the return of indictments against
several parties at the
first term of the Common Pleas Court
(1820) for selling
intoxicating liquor to Indians. They lived in the vil-
lages throughout the reservation, but
their head-
quarters, or seat of government was in
Sandusky
County about two miles northwest from
the site of
Greenspring village. Their council
house in which all
matters concerning the administration
of their govern-
ment by the chiefs and head men were
held, was located
not far from the place where the
monument just erected
stands. Trials for offenses committed
were here held,
and punishments meted out to the
guilty. For murder
and witchcraft the penalty was death. Execution
of the
death sentence was carried into effect
by the nearest of
kin, to the person against whom the
crime had been com-
mitted. The similar provision in the
Hebrew criminal
code is believed by some authorities a
suggestion of
the Semitic racial origin of the
Senecas as probably
descended from one of the lost tribes
of Israel. Their
principal burying ground was in what is
now Ballville
Township in Sandusky County.
While the U. S. Government claimed and
exercised
ultimate sovereignty over all
reservations, it conceded
and allowed complete personal
independence to the indi-
vidual occupants, and complete
municipal or civil juris-
diction to the tribes in all matters
pertaining to their
own manners, customs and laws,
including punishment
for crimes and offenses against
them. They were in
respect to these matters an independent
sovereignty, or
power. This was clearly recognized by
the Judges of
the Supreme Court held in Sandusky
County in 1828 at
Lower Sandusky, as is learned from a
statement related
Seneca John, Indian Chief 137
by Judge David Higgins in Knapp's
History of the
Maumee Valley. He was Judge of the
Common Pleas
Court from 1831 to 1837 and familiar
with the facts
related. He says he was informed that
Seneca John
was tried by a council of head men, and
that upon full
investigation was condemned to die, and
Coonstick was
required to execute his brother. During a session of
the Supreme Court (1828) someone in
Lower Sandusky
caused the arrest of Coonstick for
murder, on com-
plaints before a Justice of the Peace.
The facts in the
in the case being presented to the
Judges of Supreme
Court, they decided that the execution
of Seneca John
was an act completely within the
jurisdiction of the
Seneca Council; and that Coonstick was
justified in the
execution of a judicial sentence which
he was the
proper person to carry into effect.
The case was dismissed and Coonstick
discharged.
No record, however, of the case is
found, but there is
no doubt as to the fact stated. Thus, Seneca John,
though he was killed on a false charge
prompted by
jealousy, yet as the form of the law of
the tribe had been
followed in his trial and condemnation,
his execution
was not regarded as murder in the legal
sense. It was,
however, cold blooded murder
morally. Here as
formerly, in a bigoted portion of
so-called civilized
people, of our own country, cold
blooded murders were
committed in the name of punishment for
this so-called
crime of witchcraft.
THE RESERVATION
In 1817, by treaty the Indians ceded to
the United
States all their claim to lands in
Ohio, except cer-
tain reservations. Among these was that
known as the
138 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
Seneca Reservation. This consisted as
finally concluded
of 40,000 acres on the east side of the
Sandusky
River in the counties of Sandusky and
Seneca. About
one-fourth of the area was in Sandusky
County. The
boundaries of the reservation may be
described as fol-
lows:
Commencing on the east bank of the
Sandusky
River in Ballville Township, Sandusky
County opposite
the mouth of Wolf Creek, running thence
east through
the north parts of sections 29, 28, 26,
and 25 in said
township, and section 30, 29, 28 and
into the northwest
quarter of section 27 in Green Creek
Township, thence
through the west parts of said section
27, and section
34 in Green Creek Township south to the
boundary lines
between Sandusky and Seneca Counties,
thence continu-
ing south centrally, through the
townships of Adams
and Scipio in Seneca County to a point
in the latter
township on the line between sections 9
and 10 from
which point a line running straight
west strikes a point
80 rods south of the south line of
section 8 in Clinton
Township on the east bank of the
Sandusky River, and
thence northerly along the meandering
of the river in
said counties of Seneca and Sandusky to
the place of
beginning.
Owing to the increasing white
settlements about the
reservation, with the consequent
encroachments of civili-
zation on the savage life of the
occupants and disap-
pearance of game, the reservation was
becoming unsuit-
able as an abode for them, and
accordingly they decided
to abandon it for a home in the West
beyond the then
pale of civilization, and under the
treaty of Washington
made on the 28th day of February, 1831,
they ceded the
Seneca John, Indian Chief 139
entire reservation to the United
States. The treaty
provided that the United States should
sell all the land,
deduct from the proceeds certain
expenses and $6,000.00
advanced to the tribe and to hold the
balance of the pur-
chase money until the same should be
demanded, by the
chiefs, and in the meantime pay them 5%
interest on
same. On the part of the Senecas the treaty was
signed by Coonstick, Hard Hickory, Good
Hunter, and
Small Cloud Spicer. In 1831 the tribe in a body, a
sorrowful procession it may well be
imagined, departed
from the land of their birth, their
beloved hunting
grounds, and the graves of their
kindred dead, for their
new home beyond the Mississippi. In
1832 by proclama-
tion of President Andrew Jackson, the
lands of the
reservation were surveyed and placed on
sale by the
United States Government.
NOTES
Judge David Higgins, to whom reference
is made
in the preceding article, gives a very
different story in
regard to the character, trial and
execution of Seneca
John. This is recorded in Knapp's History
of the Mau-
mee Valley, pages 282-283:
"During the session of the Supreme
Court at Fremont, in
the the year 1822, (I may be
mistaken in the year), some person
in Fremont (then Lower Sandusky)
instituted a complaint be-
fore a Justice of Peace against the head
chief of the Senecas for
murder, and he was arrested and brought before the
Justice, ac-
companied by a number of the principal
men of his tribe. The
incidents upon which this proceeding was
founded are very in-
teresting as illustrating the Indian
life and character. With this
head chief (who among the Americans
passed by the appelation
of Coonstick) I was somewhat acquainted.
He was a noble
speciman of a man, a fine form,
dignified in manner, and evincing
140
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
much good sense in conversation and
conduct. Some two years
before this time, in prospect of his
tribe removing to the west
of the Mississippi, Coonstick had
traveled to the West, and had
been absent a year and a half in making
his explorations. The
chief had a brother who was a very bad
Indian, and during the
absence of the chief, had made much
disturbance among the
tribe; and among other crimes, he was
charged with intriguing
with a medicine woman and inducing her
to administer drugs to
an Indian to whom he was inimical, which
caused his death.
When the chief returned home, he held a
council of his head
men, to try his bad brother; and, upon
full investigation, he was
condemned to be executed. The
performance of that sad act
devolved upon the head chief-and
Coonstick was required to
execute his brother. The time fixed for
the execution was the
next morning. Accordingly, on the next
morning, Coonstick,
accompanied by several of his head men,
went to the shanty
where the criminal lived. He was sitting
on a bench before his
shanty. The party hailed him, and he
approached them, and
wrapping his blanket over his head,
dropped on his knees before
the executing party. Immediately
Coonstick, raising his toma-
hawk, buried it in the brains of the
criminal, who instantly ex-
pired. These facts being presented to
the Supreme Court, they
decided that the execution of the
criminal was an act completely
within the jurisdiction of the chief,
and that Coonstick was
justified in the execution of a judicial
sentence, of which he was
the proper person to carry into effect.
The case was dismissed
and Coonstick discharged."
Sardis Birchard in his reminiscences
recorded in the
work above quoted bears favorable testimony
to the
character of Seneca John and states
that on the infor-
mation furnished by Hard Hickory and on
the approval
of Tall Chief, Steel and Coonstick were
arrested. At
the trial, however, Tall Chief contrary
to expectation
did everything in his power to defend
Steel and Coon-
stick.
The story as related by Mr. Meek is
based largely
upon the report of Henry C. Brish,
Indian sub-agent at
Upper Sandusky, and supported by the
reminiscences of
Sardis Birchard. In other words, the foregoing con-
Seneca John, Indian Chief 141 tribution is supported by the testimony of two men who personally knew Seneca John, while Judge Higgins does not seem to have known him but had met and was favor- ably impressed with the appearance of Chief Coonstick. The Judge might have felt also that it was his duty to defend the action of the Supreme Court in this case. Editor. |
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