A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary JemisonSeaver, James E. (James Everett)
History
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison
Seaver, James E. (James Everett)
Jemison, Mary, 1743-1833; Seneca Indians
On our way we passed a Shawanee town, where I saw a number of heads,
arms, legs, and other fragments of the bodies of some white people who
had just been burnt. The parts that remained were hanging on a pole
which was supported at each end by a crotch stuck in the ground, and
were roasted or burnt black as a coal. The fire was yet burning; and the
whole appearances afforded a spectacle so shocking, that, even to this
day, my blood almost curdles in my veins when I think of them!
At night we arrived at a small Seneca Indian town, at the mouth of a
small river, that was called by the Indians, in the Seneca language,
She-nan-jee, [Footnote: That town, according to the geographical
description given by Mrs. Jemison, must have stood at the mouth of
Indian Cross creek, which is about 76 miles by water, below Pittsburgh;
or at the mouth of Indian Short creek, 87 miles below Pittsburgh, where
the town of Warren now stands: But at which of those places I am
unable to determine. _Author_.] where the two Squaws to whom I belonged
resided. There we landed, and the Indians went on; which was the last I
ever saw of them.
Having made fast to the shore, the Squaws left me in the canoe while
they went to their wigwam or house in the town, and returned with a suit
of Indian clothing, all new, and very clean and nice. My clothes, though
whole and good when I was taken, were now torn in pieces, so that I was
almost naked. They first undressed me and threw my rags into the river;
then washed me clean and dressed me in the new suit they had just
brought, in complete Indian style; and then led me home and seated me in
the center of their wigwam.
I had been in that situation but a few minutes before all the Squaws
in the town came in to see me. I was soon surrounded by them, and they
immediately set up a most dismal howling, crying bitterly, and wringing
their hands in all the agonies of grief for a deceased relative.
Their tears flowed freely, and they exhibited all the signs of real
mourning. At the commencement of this scene, one of their number began,
in a voice somewhat between speaking and singing, to recite some words
to the following purport, and continued the recitation till the ceremony
was ended; the company at the same time varying the appearance of their
countenances, gestures and tone of voice, so as to correspond with the
sentiments expressed by their leader:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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