The Grave Of Shikellamy, Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Shikellamy's real name was Ongwaterohiathe. 'It has caused the sky to be bright for us'. This famous Oneida chief has also been called Swataney. When a tribe was conquered by the Six Nations, a deputy or vice -gerent was sent by the Iroquois or Six Nation Council to watch over the tribe. Shikellamy was such a deputy sent by the Great Federal Council of the Six Nations 'Onondaga' in 1728 to watch over Deleware, Shawnee and other tribes in the Valley of the Susquehanna River in what is now the State of Pennsylvania. This chief was highly respected, by not only the Six Nations, but by the white colonial folks as well. He was always the friend of the white man and upon many occasions treated white settlers with great kindness. He never drank the white man's firewater because, as he once said, "I never wish to be a fool." He tried to prevent the sale of this cursed drink to those Indians under his trust. One of his first acts as Vice-Gerent was to send word to the colonial officials that unless they stopped peddling rum among his people, friendly relations between the Six Nations and the Colony of Pennsylvania would cease. This ultimatum to the Pennsylvania Government was delivered in 1731. Because of the harm that liquor peddlers were causing among their people, many Indians were moving west to the Ohio Valley where the French were trying to alienate them from English interests. The English had reason to fear friendly relations between the Six Nations and the French.

Shikellamy was asked by the English to go to Onondaga and invite the Six Nation Chiefs to go to Philadelphia, the object, to secure the friendship and alliance of the Six Nations in case of a war with France and also to try to get the Ohio Indians to return to the Susquehanna country to act as a bulwark against the enemy. Though they mistrusted the English, three of the Six Nations sent delegates to the council '1732'. At Philadelphia the English were very concerned and uneasy as to whether the Six Nations were their friends or whether they would favor the French. They were put at ease by one of the speakers of the Confederacy who, informed them that the Governor of Canada had met them in council, as they suspected, and had told them that he intended to war upon the English colonies and wished the Six Nations to remain neutral! The answer of the Iroquois speaker to the French Governor as regards the request was as follows: "Onondiio (name for French Governor) , you are very proud! You are not wise to make war with Corlear (English Governor of New York), and to propose neutrality to us. Corlear is our brother. He came to us when he was little and a child. We suckled him at our breasts. We have nursed him and taken care of him until he is grown-up to be a man, He is our brother and of the same blood. He and we have but one ear to hear with, one eye to see with and one-mouth to speak with. We will not forsake him nor see any man make war upon him without assisting. We shall join him and, it we fight with you, we may have our father, Onondiio, to bury in the ground. We would not have you force us to do this but be wise and live in peace." 'Pa. Col. Records, Vol. 3., It does not make the author proud to know, that at this moment, officials of the state that bears the name of Corlear are backing a bill, now before Congress, S-192; that will, if passed, take away the few rights and promises left to the Six Nations, the Confederacy that nursed their fathers until they had grown to be men. 'Write to Chief Clinton Richard, Pres. I. D. L. A., Sanborn, N. Y. for information.'

In the execution of his office Shikellamy conducted many important embassies between the Six Nations and the Government of Pennsylvania. It was through this chief that the Treaty of 1736 was called at which delegates from all of the Six Nations were present at the Council Hall in Philadelphia. Over a hundred Iroquois attended this council. At this council the Iroquois deeded to the State of Pennsylvania all of their Susquehanna lands. When most of the delegates had returned home, and several weeks later, another deed was drawn up by the whites and those Indians who had remained 'most of them drunk' signed away lands owned by the Delaware Indians. Became of this act, the Delawares and other Indians sought the alliance of the French and from 1755 to 1764 Pennsylvania was drenched in blood of an Indian war. Old William Penn, a sincere and honest man, never stooped to crooked dealings with the Indian people. His sons, however were not of the same make as their father, but were more interested in personal profit and trickery. The results of this shameful act was one of the bloodiest wars in colonial history.

Because of the help of Shikellamy in cementing a friendship between the Six Nations and the Colony of Pennsylvania, a future nation, the United States, was made possible. If the Six Nations and the French had formed an alliance, there can be no doubt that the result would have been the destruction of all the English colonies on the coast. Shikellamy was the mediator between the Colony of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations. He was the key to the friendship of the Iroquois.

Old Shikellamy became ill with fever and passed away Dec. 6, 1748. Said the Moravian missionary, Zinzindorf, of Shikellamy, "He was truly an excellent and good man, possessed of many noble qualities of mind, that would do honor to many white men. laying claims to refinement and intelligence. He possessed of great dignity, sobriety and prudence, and was particularly noted for his extreme kindness to the inhabitants with whom he came in contact." AMERICA OWES MUCH TO THIS GREAT IROQUOIS!

Leaving To-ri-wa-wa-kon and the grave of Shikellamy, the Mohawks traveled up the great river Susquehanna until they arrived at Lewisburg. Here they visited an ancient Indian village site which was an earlier residence of the noted Oneida chief Shikellamy. Continuing still north up the river the warriors arrived at still another of Shikellamy's towns. Here the great chief also resided, just south of the Village of Milton, Pennsylvania. From this village site the Mohawks traveled over a road that was once called, The Sheshequin Path. This ancient Iroquois trail was used by Conrad Weiser and Shikellamy on trips through this region of beautiful hills to the six Nations Capitol at Onondaga. This Indian trail connected the Iroquois country and the Shamokin area and is spoken of as, The Peace Path. Many an ancient Iroquois traveled over this beautiful trail coming from or going to the Land of the Ho-de-no-sau-ne.

Still traveling north up the great river, the warriors 'north of Towanda, Pa.' came to the meeting place of the Indian trails, the plans where the trail joined the Iroquois Country and the Shamokin Area. Still traveling up this Indian path, the Sheshequin Path, the Mohawks arrived in the vicinity of Athens, a town of Pennsylvania. In this location many important events of Indian history took place. This was also known as Tioga Point and several important councils of the Six Nations were held here. This was the site of the ancient Indian Village of Tioga. This was the Indian gateway from New York into Pennsylvania and had been an important Iroquois highway for generations. At Athens they saw, the Carring Path, the Indian voyager down the Chemung River lifted his canoe and carried it a hundred and ninety yards across the neck to ascend the Susquehanna River. This area around Athens was known by the whites as the "Pine Plains." In 1790 near this spot Timothy Pickering met Red Jacket and his Senecas. They were on their way to the Peace Council at Tioga Point. Just south of here was Queen Esther's Town. Near Green's Landing, on the terrace below, lived this French-Indian woman, Esther Montour. Near here stands Spanish Hill, ancient village site of the Andante Indians' who were an Iroquoian people, of the Six Nations. The Mohawks visited the Tioga Point Museum at Athens where they were fortunate enough to meet a woman of Indian blood, Elsie Murray, director of the museum. This woman, an Indian authority, gave the Mohawks the history of the region.

Leasing Tioga Point, the Mohawk left the main trail and heading west they arrived at the Village of Knoxville. Here, in Iroquois days, was a noted Seneca Iroquois village known as "Mingo Town." This Seneca sentinel village, located here at the eastern end of "The Forbidden Trail" during the mid-18th century, was the place where the white man was forbidden to pass. All white travel westward was halted here. Post, provincial agents, was turned back at this point in 1760. It is interesting to know, that at the head of a stream near here, Cowanesque Creek, is a short trail that led to where the Village of Raymond is now located. There it met the head-waters of the Allegany River down which it was possible to travel either by canoe or by a well-worn trail to the distant Monongahela River, 352 miles away and places farther down the Ohio River. This early route to the Mississippi Valley was used by the Iroquois for generations.

Leaving Pennsylvania the warriors headed down the Chemung River to the Seneca Village site of Newtown near Elmira, N. Y. At the City of Owego they saw a marker that had the following inscription: "Ka-nau-kwis, known as Captain Cornelius. In time of need here, he supplied venison and corn flour to family of pioneer, Benanuell Beuel." They recognized the Indian name as an Onondaga name and the thought came to them that there were many other instances of Iroquois hospitality and friendship to the early white settlers, occasions that deserved memorials and markers so that Americans of today would know that here in this beautiful country of America once lived a people who possessed of many characteristics that are admired today.

Heading north through a beautiful hill country the Mohawks arrived again at Onondaga, Capitol of the Six Nation Iroquois Confederacy. From here they headed north for the thousand Island Bridge. Crossing this they were again in Canada. Traveling south along the shore of Lake Ontario they were soon in the Thendinaga Mohawk Reservation. The Coming Of The Mohawks

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