﻿5§ 1 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Mary Jemison looked up and greeted him pleasantly. " Where 

 are you going? " she asked in English; " To school," he answered 

 lifting up his books. " That is right," she answered, " learn all 

 you can and be a good boy." Mary Jemison was at that time 89 

 years of age. 



In the Albany Knickerbocker-Press of September 25th, the fol- 

 lowing description of the closing ceremonies appeared : 



Perhaps the most interesting part of the unveiling was that which 

 only a dozen persons saw. 



When the crowd had dispersed Mr Parker called a chosen few 

 together to participate in the Indian dedicatory rite. Mr J. N. 

 Johnson, the Irish poet and an Irishman from Mary Jemison's 

 parents' country; Miss Bishop, the secretary to Mr Letchworth, 

 with Miss Howland, his niece ; Mrs Kennedy and Miss Bennet, the 

 two Indian descendants of Mary Jemison, and Mr Parker, gathered 

 about the grave, which lies at the foot of the statue. Miss Bennet 

 shelled from the cob four handfuls of native-grown Indian corn, 

 scattering each handful as she shelled it upon the grave as a symbol 

 of immortality. Mrs Kennedy, as an older descendant, gave a short 

 address in the Seneca tongue. She then asked Mr Parker to light 

 the grave fire and give the Ha-yaut-wat-gus offering. Mr Parker 

 did so, lighting the fire from four sides, and repeating the ancient 

 graveside rite of the Senecas. As the smoke arose to the sunny sky, 

 Mrs Kennedy led away the company, whom she asked to look back 

 once to see the still ascending smoke. 



Mr Parker has promised to explain the symbolism of this strange 

 old ceremony in a report to the Letchworth Park committee. It 

 was indeed a most impressive rite, and one not seen for many 

 years, now being known only to the Canadian Iroquois. 



The monument was dedicated on September 19th, just sixty- 

 seven years after Mary Jemison's death. 



Letchworth Park lies on both sides of the Genesee river, fifty 

 miles south of Rochester, and embraces the three falls of the 

 Genesee. As a spot of great natural beauty, it rivals Watkins 

 Glen and is visited by hundreds of excursionists each month. 



In order to preserve this region from the ravages of commercial 

 interests and conserve the park, Mr Letchworth in 1906 deeded it 

 to the State. It is still his property, but nominally' under the 

 jurisdiction of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation 

 Society. 



A crude scar, as despoiled by lumbermen, Mr Letchworth has 

 spent a lifetime in beautifying it. 



The statue of Mary Jemison is his latest effort to beautify and 

 add interest to it. The old Caneadea Indian council house stands 

 on one side, her daughter's log cabin on the other, and Mary 

 Jemison in bronze gazes forth into the future which none of us 

 may know. 



