BULL. 30] 



ERIE 



431 



at that time the Wenrohronon may have 

 been either entirely independent or else 

 confederated with the Erie. 



Historically little is definitely known of 

 the Erie and their political and social or- 

 ganization, but it may be inferred to have 

 been similar to that of the Hurons. The 

 Jesuit Relations give only a few glimpses 

 of them while describing their last wars 

 with the Iroquois confederation; tradi- 

 tion, however, records the probal)le fact 

 that the Erie had had many previous 

 wars with these hostile tribes. From the 

 Relations mentioned it is learned that the 

 Erie had many sedentary towns and vil- 

 lages, that they were constituted of sev- 

 eral divisions, and that they cultivated 

 the soil and spoke a language resembling 

 that of the Hurons, although it is not 

 stated which of the four or five Huron 

 dialects, usually called "Wendat " (Wy- 

 andot) by themselves, was meant. From 

 the same source it is possible to make a 

 rough estimate of the population of the 

 Erie at the period of this final w'ar. At 

 the taking of the Erie town of Rique in 

 1654 it is claimed that the defenders num- 

 bered between 3,000 and 4,000 combat- 

 ants, exclusive of women and children; 

 but as it is not likely that all the war- 

 riors of the tribe were present, 14,500 

 would probably be a conservative esti- 

 mate of the population of the Erie at this 

 period. 



The Jesuit Relation for 1655-56 (chap, 

 xi) gives the occasion of the final strug- 

 gle. Thirty ambassadors of the Cat 

 Nation had been delegated, as was cus- 

 tomary, to Sonontouan, the Seneca capi- 

 tal, to renew the existing peace. But 

 through the misfortune of an accident one 

 of the men of the Cat Nation killed a 

 Seneca. This act so incensed the Seneca 

 that they massacred all except 5 of the 

 ambassadors in their hands. These acts 

 kindled the final war between the Erie 

 and the confederated tribes of the Iro- 

 quois, especially the Seneca, Cayuga, Onei- 

 da, and Onondaga, called by the French 

 the 'upper four tribes', or 'les Iroquis 

 superieurs'. It is further learned from 

 the Jesuit Relation for 1654 that on the 

 political destruction of their country some 

 Hurons sought asylum among the Erie, 

 and that it was they who were actively 

 fomenting the war that was then striking 

 terror among the Iroquois tribes. The 

 Erie were reputed brave and warlike, 

 employing only bows and poisoned 

 arrows, although the Jesuit Relation for 

 1656 declares that they were unaljle to 

 defend one of their palisades against the 

 Iroquois on account of the failure of their 

 munitions, especially powder, which 

 would indicate that they used firearms. 

 It is also said that they "fight like 

 Frenchmen, bravely sustaining the first 



charge of the Irocjuois, who are armed 

 with our muskets, and then falling upon 

 them with a hailstorm of poisoned 

 arrows," discharging 8 or 10 before a 

 musket could be rel(»aded. Following 

 the rupture of amicable relations be- 

 tween the Erie and the Iroquois tribes in 

 1653, the former assaulted and burned a 

 Seneca town, ]>ursued an Irocjuois war 

 party returning from the region of the 

 great lakes, and cut to pieces its rear 

 guard of SO picked men, while the Erie 

 scouts had come to the very gates of one of 

 the Iroquois palisaded towns and seized 

 and carried into captivity Annenraes 

 (Annencraos), "one of the greatest cap- 

 tains." All this roused the Iroquois tribes, 

 which raised 1,800 men to chastise the Erie 

 for these losses. A young chief, one of 

 the two leaders of this levy, was converted 

 by Father Simon Le jNIoine, who chanced 

 to be in the country at the time, and was 

 baptized. These two chiefs dressed as 

 Frenchmen, in order to frighten the Erie 

 by the novelty of their garments. When 

 this army of invaders had surrounded ohe 

 of the Erie strongholds, the converted 

 chief gently asked the besieged to sur- 

 render, lest they be destroyed should they 

 permit an assault, telling them: "The 

 Master of Life fights for us; you will be 

 ruined if you resist him." "Who is this 

 Master of our lives?" the Erie defiantly 

 replied. ' ' We acknowledge none but our 

 arms and hatchets." No quarter was 

 asked or given on either side in this war. 

 After a stubborn resistance the Erie pal- 

 isade was carried, and the Onondaga 

 "entered the fort and there wrought such 

 carnage among the women and children 

 that blood was knee-deep in certain 

 places." This was at the town of Rique, 

 which was defended by between 3,000 and 

 4,000 combatants, exclusive of women 

 and children, and was assailed by about 

 1,800 Iroquois. This devastating war 

 lasted until about the close of 1656. when 

 the Erie power was broken and the peo- 

 ple were destroyed or dispersed or led 

 into captivity. Six himdred surrendered 

 at one time and were led to the Iroquois 

 country to be adopted as one of the con- 

 stituent people of the Iroquois tribes. 

 The victory at Rique was won at a great 

 loss to the Iroquois, who were compelled 

 to remain in the enemy's country two 

 months to care for the wounded and to 

 bury the dead. 



Only two of the Erie villages are known 

 by name — Rique and Gentaienton. A 

 portion of the so-called Seneca now living 

 in Indian Ter. are probably descendants 

 of Erie refugees. (j. n. b. n. ) 



Cat Indians,— Smith qudted bv Proud, Penn., ll, 

 300, 1798. Cat Nation.— Cusic {ca. 1S2-1) quoted 

 by Sc'hooleraft, Ind. Tribes, vi. 1-48, isri7. Ehrieh- 

 ronnons,— .Tes. Rel. for 1(5.54. 9, 18.'i8. Brians.— Ma- 

 caulev, N. Y., ll, 180, 1829. Erieckronois.- Hen- 



