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
"Friends! whenever you have stole, or got drunk, or lied, that good
word has told you that you were bad Indians, and made you afraid of good
Indians; and made you ashamed and look down.
"Friends! your crime is greater than all those:--you have killed an
Indian in a time of peace; and made the wind hear his groans, and
the earth drink his blood. You are bad Indians! Yes, you are very bad
Indians; and what can you do? If you go into the woods to live alone,
the ghost of John Jemison will follow you, crying, blood! blood! and
will give you no peace! If you go to the land of your nation, there that
ghost will attend you, and say to your relatives, see my murderers!
If you plant, it will blast your corn; if you hunt, it will scare your
game; and when you are asleep, its groans, and the sight of an avenging
tomahawk, will awake you! What can you do? Deserving of death, you
cannot live here; and to fly from your country, to leave all your
relatives, and to abandon all that you have known to be pleasant and
dear, must be keener than an arrow, more bitter than gall, more terrible
than death! And how must we feel?--Your path will be muddy; the woods
will be dark; the lightnings will glance down the trees by your side,
and you will start at every sound! peace has left you, and you must be
wretched.
"Friends, hear me, and take my advice. Return with us to your homes.
Offer to the Great Spirit your best wampum, and try to be good Indians!
And, if those whom you have bereaved shall claim your lives as their
only satisfaction, surrender them cheerfully, and die like good Indians.
And--" Here Jack, highly incensed, interrupted the old man, and bade him
stop speaking or he would take his life. Affrighted at the appearance of
so much desperation, the company hastened towards home, and left Doctor
and Jack to consult their own feelings.
As soon as they were alone, Jack said to Doctor, "I had rather die here,
than leave my country and friends! Put the muzzle of your rifle into
my mouth, and I will put the muzzle of mine into yours, and at a given
signal we will discharge them, and rid ourselves at once of all the
troubles under which we now labor, and satisfy the claims which justice
holds against us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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