The Iroquois Indian Museum is unlike any of the other places I visited. The artifacts and art displays mingled Indian culture and it’s development with the history of the Iroquois. In case you have never heard of the Iroquois, allow me to briefly introduce you. The Iroquois Nation consisted of five (then later, six) tribes of the Eastern Woodlands natives of North America: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, and later, the Tuscaroras from Carolina. These tribes make a peace agreement with each other and were allotted tracts of land stretching across the untamed wilderness of what we now know as Upstate New York– the Mohawks were the “keepers of the door” near Albany and the Senecas maintained the other end of the land.

What made the Iroquois so unique was their form of self-government. When other tribes across the land were still hunting and gathering and slaughtering buffalo and each other, the Iroquois made a pact and recorded it with wampum (a belt of beads made from seashells).

The Iroquois Indian Museum is an amalgam of modern Indian art from local artists and artifacts discovered throughout New York State. Oh, how I remember as a little girl, digging in my yard looking for arrowheads!

An old Mohawk pot, reconstructed from shards.

A modern work of art crafted from a deer antler.

This is an amazing sculpture from a moose antler!

Indian beadwork from the late 1800s. The ladies of the Iroquois nations still make such lovely beadwork. I saw many such items for sale at the New York State Fair this year.

Wampum beads. It was difficult to tell what articles were new and what were historic.

Iroquois women used to decorate their pottery just like ladies still love to do, today. The placard said that you could always tell what tribe pottery came from because the designs were unique to the groups.

The Iroquois Indian Museum has two levels. One is filled with such amazing artifacts and art work. The lower level is for kids. There’s a big turtle pond that my son loved– the turtles were rather friendly and swam up to him. Or maybe my son just has this *knack* with turtles, I don’t know. There are “hands on” activities, tables with coloring sheets, a few televisions playing Iroquois-related documentaries, and a booth for dressing up.

We did not take advantage of it due to the cold, rainy weather, but the Iroquois Indian Museum has 45 acres of wilderness trails in the back. The area is a real wilderness, with a stream, lush forests and wildlife. It’s a popular place for birdwatching, beaver watching and searching for Natty Bumpo and Uncas. Haha, kidding about that last part, although my kids are CONVINCED we’ll find them someday.

There is an admission fee to the museum, and the museum closes January 1st. It reopens in May and is open every day except Monday until November.

The Iroquois Indian Museum, Howes Cave, NY

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Hands down, our favorite part of the fair was the Harlem Wizards. When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the Harlem Globetrotters. I always wanted to see them perform live, but I never got the chance. The Harlem Wizards, the brainchild of Howie Davis in 1962, were brought together to give the Globetrotters a little competition. And indeed they do! The boys and I loved their show. Swoop (Dwayne Simpson), Broadway (Eric Jones), RoadRunner James Tyndal) and G-Wiz (Gordon Malone) got the audience involved in a few games and really put on a great — but all too brief! — show. These guys rock!

I also enjoyed the horse show. We got to “visit” with a few of the horses in the “waiting room” of the arena. They are such beautiful animals.

There was also an Iroquois longhouse display and an entire area devoted to local Iroquois tribes cultures and art, with loads of gift shops.

Some of the displays were very nice. This is a handmade birch bark canoe, crafted from all natural materials.

A group of folks put on an educational show. We didn’t get to see much of it, but it drew a good-sized crowd.

My son loved the armored security vehicle. He is a military buff and was thrilled to explore the vehicle. We wanted to take the machine for a little spin, but (Private?) Mulholland forgot the keys. Nuts.

It was a full day and we saw so much more. In the next post, I’ll have photos of the butter sculpture and more animals and other exciting displays, including a little interview with a dulcimer craftsman!

I Went to the New York State Fair!

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From what I have been able to ascertain, the Oneida Stone was something akin to the Ark of the Covenant for the Hebrews. The stone followed the Oneidas to their new settlements (all by itself without human intervention– some say the stone rested on a glacier, hm); when the stone was heaved into the crotch of a tree, the Oneidas were victorious in battle. They used the stone as a council landmark, too.

Now I am wondering if there were not several stones that the Oneidas called sacred– one in Smithfield here and another smaller one elsewhere. Or perhaps there was one small sacred stone and it rested on some larger stones that have been confused as being sacred? Here’s a lithograph drawn by historian Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in his book, “Notes on the Iroquois.” That looks too large to be able to fit in the crotch of a tree, and it much too large to have been placed on the memorial table at Forest Hill Cemetery, which I took a photo of, below:

Guess what, we found the stone depicted in the old lithograph.

The uniqueness of the stone (or stones??) is that it is not indigenous to the Mohawk Valley– the stone is apparently of syenite, found in the Adirondack region. The Oneidas first settlement was somewhere near Oneida Lake, but they eventually moved to the area now known as Smithfield, NY. It is a beautiful area that commands a beautiful view of the valleys of Madison County.

The first white settler of Smithfield was an American Revolution patriot who fought that first battle at Lexington and Concord in 1775. He was given this tract of land for his military services. Oddly enough, he is my direct ancestor; so there is a personal interest in these stories. When my ancestor settled these lands, the Oneidas had recently left the area to settle in what is now known as Oneida Castle, NY– I blogged about it when I stopped to see the Skenandoah Boulder, which rests by the side of the road right outside the town limits.

Back to Smithfield here, it is said that the Oneidas first settled in this area as far back as the 1400s. They built a large village here, with Nichols Pond at the back and a swampy moat surrounding their village to protect the people from enemies (notably, the nasty Huron Indians from Canada).

Click the photo for ALL SIZES and choose “Original” to see it close up. You can see the pond at the back of the village, the moat on either side, and a fire in the entrance.

You probably also see some men with guns shooting at the village. What’s up with that?

Well, I’m glad you asked! If it wasn’t for this battle, you just might be speaking in French today! This scene depicts the famous battle of 1615 here on this spot. Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec and buddy to those nasty Canadian Huron Indians we mentioned, decided to travel to this Oneida village and provoke a fight. The Hurons and the Oneidas had a long-standing animosity. The Hurons thought de Champlain and his French buddies (and their amazing “iron arrows”– AKA “guns”) could wipe out the Oneidas.

It was the first time the Oneidas had ever seen or heard the “iron arrows.” They were absolutely floored, but they fought back viciously. de Champlain was wounded in battle, and the French and Hurons took off for Canada, leaving the Oneidas intact but badly wounded.

The Oneidas (and their tribesmen, the Iroquois League of Nations) never forgot that battle. They made the French their bitterest enemies. When things grew heated between the English and the French over North American territory, the Iroquois allied themselves with the English to defeat the French. And that’s exactly what they did, in the French and Indian War of 1754.

The area is a park now. If we had brought our shovels, we may have tried to look for some arrowheads or artifacts. but instead we roamed the vast acreage and explored the wooded area. There are trails that lead all around the pond. There were– amazing to me– hardly any insects.

The forest was strange to me, I don’t know why. I’ve been in all sorts of forests and have never been jittery, but this was eerie and forbidding.

And it was as humid as anything. We didn’t follow the trail for very long, but we did walk to the wetland overlook of the swampy end of the pond. It’s a huge pond!

Finally, across the park was another historical marker where some archaeology had been ongoing.

The pits were net extremely large– they were perhaps the size and depth of a kiddie pool. I do wonder how they stored squash and corn in soft soil pits, especially in the forest during New York’s steamy summers and wet autumns. But that’s another investigation…

As for the Oneida Stone, I’m still looking. From what I have been able to gather, “the” syenite stone was taken from the Oneidas in 1849 and set in Forest Hill Cemetery. The Oneidas were almost completely eradicated as a people. But they have come back to their ancestral lands, and the stone was returned to them in the 1970s. It is said that the stone now rests outside the door of their official council house, somewhere south of Oneida, NY. I hope to find it when I go out that way, soon. So the quest continues!

UPDATE: Since the writing of this article, I found the Oneida stone! Read about my story.

Oneida Indian Settlement, Nichols Pond, in Smithfield

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About 20 miles south of all this activity, we we driving along the Thruway, and it looked like this:

Not a snowflake in the air. Absolutely frigid cold temperatures, and the wind was wicked. We could see the clouds to the north– the lake effect clouds blasting the area north of us. Lake effect is so strange and so fickle! As we continued to drive west, we could see dark blue clouds broiling in the horizon. They were white and puffy on the top, but underneath, they were gray and blurry and looked like they were shooting down toward the land. It was like someone with a great big thumb came and smudged the clouds down to the earth. It was the lake effect at work, far, far away to the west over Lake Ontario. We could see it forming and watch it crashing down, but we never experienced a snowflake. I so wished to get a photo of the clouds, but we were traveling too fast. We sped westward.

Geneva, situated at the northern tip of Seneca Lake, is a lovely little city. It reminds me somewhat of Little Falls, but the buildings and streets aren’t as crowded. Population is under 15,000. Geneva is the original site of an old Seneca Indian village. The site is beautiful. The city sits on a slope, and the houses and roads clamber up the hill from the lake. Between buildings, you can see the lake glittering below.

Geneva is part of an area renowned for its great political and social movements. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from a medical school, studied in Geneva, because it was the only place that would allow a woman to study medicine. Seneca Falls (haven of the suffrage movement, teetotalers, and abolitionists) is nearby.

Geneva is a well-established, wealthy city. I love the architecture. Here are some photos of the local rowhouses.

They are painted so vibrantly and have been maintained so well.

Below is the old Geneva Hotel, established in 1796. The street is brick.

Here’s the Presbyterian Church. It’s newer than many of the buildings, but the architecture is so clean and pristine.

Seneca State Park runs along the northern brim of the lake. I thought it would be great to venture out on the pier and take some photos out toward the center of the lake. Everyone else was silent and looked at me strangely. The temperature had risen to a balmy 11 degrees, and the wind was whipping wildly. I begged the boys to come with me, and, being the devoted boys that they are (plus risking being grounded for life), they came along.

It was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g. Almost unbearable. My camera was freezing up and my hands were red and painful. We did run out to the pier to snap a few photos, and ran right back to the waiting van. Brr! See what the New York Traveler does for a blog photo-op?

The photos turned out rather nice, considering the overcast skies.

Here, the Episcopal Church towers over this section of the city. It looks like a castle, doesn’t it?

Geneva was beautiful. We’d wanted to see some of the historical homes in the area, but they were all closed for the winter. I guess heating those old beasts is too difficult. I wouldn’t have minded walking around in them without heat. Oh, well. Maybe someday.

We drove out of Geneva down Route 14 south. This route runs parallel to the western side of Seneca Lake, and the views are beautiful.

Seneca Lake is one of New York’s Finger Lakes– so named because they are long and thin and stretch across the state like fingers of a hand. Seneca Lake is the second-longest Finger Lake. Trout are abundant here. Because the lake is so deep, it has been used for submarine testing!

The Seneca nation of the Iroquois Indians lived here, until they made the mistake of siding with the British during the Revolutionary War (they lost). They were driven from their lands. The fertile land is now home to dozens of vineyards and wineries. The Seneca Wine Trail (something the Mr. and I hope to experience someday) is one of the larger tourist attractions in the area. The views of the vineyards drifting down toward the glassy blue water was exhilarating and left me breathless and trembling. Or, it might have been because it was 10 degrees. Whatever.

One of the finest views of the lake is at the Glenora Winery on Route 14.

None of the lake that we could see was frozen at all (save a tiny portion we saw in Geneva around some rocks and pamphas grass). The lake looked just as fresh and perky as if it was June. There was really no snow in the area from Harmony Beach (just south of Geneva) until Watkins Glen, and the southernmost tip of the lake. These slightly warmer conditions are favorable for grape-growing.

We drove to Corning (south of Watkins Glen), to a little hotel that I’d found on TripAdvisor. As you regular readers know, we do not stay overnight anywhere very frequently, as we prefer daytrips. However, we got a terrific deal on accommodations and sightseeing in Corning, so we made a night of it.

We stayed at the America’s Best Value Inn: Lodge on the Green in Painted Post, NY. I have my full review at my page on TripAdvisor.com. It was a wonderful place and the cost just couldn’t be beat– it was a fraction of what other places were asking. We enjoyed our stay and wish it could have been longer! If we decide to return to this area (no doubt we will), we’ll reserve another room at the Lodge.

I’ll be posting about our jaunts around the Corning, NY, area soon. I’m preparing photos and a few videos, so stay tuned!

Seneca Lake and Geneva, NY

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Modern Hamilton College was in the mainstream headlines a year ago, mostly due to their decision to host a lecture by Kook of the Year, Ward Churchill. Nutsy Churchill was thankfully pressured out of the schedule by outraged Hamilton alumni and the public. However, there remain the strangest and disconcerting associations for the college, such as the college visiting professor Brigitte Boisselier, a member of the Raelian Cult Movement (who claim to have cloned a human and that we descend from aliens). It’s really weird for an Ivy League college to do some of the things it does. Yow. Poor Sam Kirkland– his vision of “solid American education for Christian boys” is in the toilet.

We love the college for its history and its inception by Rev. Kirkland as an out reach for Indians. The kooky leftward tilt of the college is tragic. But there are some great professors in the history department who do still preserve the honor and dignity of it’s history and mission.

My girls and I have attended a few lectures at the campus, one by author Ron Chernow. He was there to speak about his book, Alexander Hamilton. It was an interesting lecture. Chernow didn’t deny Hamilton’s obvious religious convictions by calling him a deist, as many modern authors do. However, Chernow’s insinuations in his book that Hamilton was homosexual or was a British spy went too far.

My daughter wants to someday pick up where Hamilton left off politically, and perhaps get involved in some kind of Christian Constitutional Society, the brain child of Hamilton. After his tempestuous time as Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton had given some thought to the existing political parties of his time, and he and George Washington both saw the danger of a two-party political scene. Hamilton also saw the degeneracy and corruption of politicians within the system, and believed only Christianity could keep our nation together under liberty.

“I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man.” –Alexander Hamilton

Infamous Aaron Burr ended Hamilton’s plan for a new political society, in July 1804.

We paid a visit to Samuel Kirkland’s grave site. The kids are very patriotic.

Buried next to Kirkland is Oneida Indian Schenando (also known as Skenando, Skenandoah, or Shenandoah).

Skenandoah was instrumental in persuading the Oneida Indians to resist the British and join the American Patriot cause. The Oneidas were the only members of the Iroquois nation to fight with the Americans. Skenandoah had become a devout Christian under the teaching of his “father,” Samuel Kirkland.

From The Annals of Tryon County:

From attachment to Mr. Kirkland he had always expressed a strong desire to be buried near his Minister, and Father, that he might (to use his own expression) “Go up with him at the great resurrection.” At the approach of death, after listening to the prayers, which were read at his bed side by his great granddaughter, he again repeated the request. According the family of Mr. Kirkland having received information by a runner that Skenando was dead, in compliance with a previous promise, sent assistance to the Indians that the corpse might be carried to the village of Clinton for burial.

You can read a little more about the mysterious Skenandoah Boulder that we visited a month or two ago.

The Mohawk Valley is indeed very, very rich in history. It was George Washington who referred to New York as the “Seat of the Empire,” probably giving us our nickname “The Empire State.”

From The Historian: Hamilton College in Clinton New York is one of the oldest colleges in New York State. The college was first founded by the Reverend Samuel Kirkland in 1793 as an academy (an institute to help aspiring young men prepare for higher education in universities). The academy would admit and instruct young Oneida Indian men and young white men from around the country.

As an experienced Christian missionary and diplomat among the Iroquois tribes of New York, Kirkland believed that this academy would be a great educational aid to the Indians, since they were “to be instructed in the principles of human nature, in the history of civil society, … and in the principles of natural religion, the moral precepts, and the more plain and express doctrines of Christianity.” Kirkland also expressed the hope that by educating white and red men together, this would create a stronger tie of friendship between the two peoples than they had been able to enjoy much before.

In 1793, Samuel Kirkland traveled to Philadelphia (the unofficial capitol of the United States at that time) to solicit financial and influential aid from Alexander Hamilton, signer of the Constitution, co-author of The Federalist Papers, and the then current Secretary of the Treasury. In his journal, Kirkland records that Hamilton agreed to lend the college any power in his aid and to become a premier trustee, which post he served till his death in 1804.

In honor of its benefactor, the institution was named the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, and, since Hamilton never received an opportunity to visit the grounds of the site, the noble Baron von Steuben laid the cornerstone of the first building on campus.

Kirkland anticipated the growth of the academy, and although neither he nor Hamilton (who never set foot upon the grounds of the institute) never lived to see it, the academy received its charter as a college in 1812.

Hamilton College Cemetery, Clinton, NY

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The drive to Lake George was lengthy. We traveled through the familiar and little towns of Herkimer, German Flatts, and Little Falls before taking the Thruway. Tolls have certainly increased. We got off at Amsterdam and drove through the heart of the city. I’ve never been through Amsterdam before; it has a rusty, rickety aura of a gilded era long gone –like many Upstate cities– but it has a seediness similar to Utica. The hilly roads added interest (and traffic congestion) to the ride. It was an interesting city and I would have liked to see more of it, but Lake George beckoned.

Up we traveled, through Ballston Spa, Saratoga, and Glens Falls. Lake George, NY, (the city) is at the southernmost tip of this very long lake. The lake itself is about 32 miles long and 2 miles wide. Huge mounds of solid stone stand up in a stiff regiment all around the lake. Clouds of russet-colored oak and feathery green fir trees cover big chunks of the mountains in a futile attempt to soften its appearance. It was probably no easy thing for these trees to grow roots and grasp onto such massive mounds of stone. Even with the lush tree coverage, huge boulders the size of school buses loomed. I’ve never seen anything like it. At one point we could drive no further and had to stop to take it all in. No wonder Lake George is nicknamed “Queen of the American Lakes.” And it has a bit of mystery and adventure, too, being the location of America’s Oldest Intact Warship. But because the sky was so overcast, my little point-and-shoot Kodak couldn’t capture the striking beauty of the landscape.

I feel ashamed, treating you so unjustly to such poor photos when the sight of the scene was so spectacular. Oh well, I have a hunch we will return next autumn, so stay tuned. I am glad we came in autumn. The mountains were simply ablaze with color and were almost aggressive in showing it off. This is turbulently rugged countryside and nothing like the sweetly singing hills of the Mohawk Valley.

We continued on to Fort Ticonderoga. We knew we were taking a chance, driving so far with the possibility of not seeing much of the beloved fort. Most tourist places in Upstate close by October 31st–a stinky policy, if you ask me. Autumn is the perfect time for travel! Anyway, it was Veteran’s Day, and I’d read that even though the inside of the museums might be closed, the visitor’s centers remain open. We discovered we were wrong on all counts. Nuts. But didn’t someone once say that half the fun is getting there? So we made do with what we had and enjoyed the journey.

Fort Ticonderoga was a very important outpost during the American Revolution (which we lost to Burgoyne, by the way). However, the history of the fort and of the area goes back much, much farther.

Because this area is between Lake Champlain and Lake George, and thus the fastest route to Albany (NY’s capital city) and New York City (NY’s biggest harbor), the group who controlled Ticonderoga usually wound up controlling New York. This fort initially controlled the trade route before the French and Indian War. It later became a strategic outpost for the wars. My daughter promised me that she would (quickly) write a short and humorous synopsis of the historical aspects of this place. I’ll post it in an update as soon as I get it.

The road to the fort (which we walked, because the road was closed with a gate) was interspersed with monuments to the many, many men who died here. Talk about a world war– there were people from so many countries who fought here!

First the area was owned by the Indians, then the French. Then, the British took it over in the French and Indian War. Fighting with the British were regiments from Scotland. Then, the American Revolution came ’round, and it was French and British at it again, this time with American, Scottish, and German troops, plus more Indians. Monuments in English, French, and Latin recorded the hundreds of men who died here. Trenches were redug for posterity to see exactly where shots were fired, blood was spilled, and men were fallen.

The walk was mighty long. Because the fort was officially closed, I hurried everyone along. I wanted to get a quick view of the fort before we were kicked out!

The fort sits elevated on a cliff. It overshadows the strategic sliver of Lake Champlain where Lake George ends, and oversees all water traffic there. Across the lake is Vermont. In the summer a ferry takes passengers across to Vermont and Mount Defiance.

As we approached the fort, sounds of construction vehicles alarmed us that we were not alone. Apparently, laborers were working this day. It looked like they were clearing brush. Whether they saw us, I do not know, but they left us undisturbed. We veered off to the other side, and I rapidly made my way to the open fort entrance. Ah, so easy! Did the French and then the British enter so easily? Ha!

We came up to a “CLOSED. NO TRESPASSING BEYOND THIS POINT” sign. My husband, law-abiding citizen that he is, hesitated. I, on the other hand, had a camera in my hand that was literally pulling me toward the entrance. I walked boldly into the entrance and peered over the top. Before my eyes about 10 feet down was a red pickup truck, its engine gurgling, and two men hauling tools into the back. They were joking and laughing, so they had missed my son’s sneeze and my loud footsteps. I shrank back from the wall and motioned for the kids to be absolutely s i l e n t. I wanted to get in at least one picture before we were tossed out, or, God forbid, arrested! This is all I got.

Sorry! How I longed to enter the fort! I almost–ohh so close it was– did. But cooler heads prevailed. We turned our way back. I snapped a quick photo of Mount Defiance– that last, unexpected bastion of British ingenuity (story to come), and we left.

I was sad. Of course, I didn’t think we’d get in the fort– being past season as it is. But a girl can hope, can’t she? The kids were disappointed, too, but they recouped soon enough. Kids will be kids and they found something to do: play American Revolution in the forest:

On our way back to the van, I snapped a photo of this beautiful little stone house by the gate. The sign said it was a private residence, but it was on the fort grounds. A caretaker’s home, perhaps?

So all in all, we didn’t get to revel in the luxuriant history of the fort, but we can at least say that we have been there. All it does is gives us a thirst to return! Fort Ticonderoga, I shall return!

We continued on after Fort Ticonderoga. Read about our hike up Buck Mountain in Pilot Knob, NY!

Lake George and Fort Ticonderoga, NY

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The Herkimer Diamond is not really a diamond; it’s the name for a double-terminated quartz, a very rare kind of quartz found in “vugs” or clusters. They have six sides (18 facets) and two terminations. Some of these stones are cloudy, some are clear, and some have impurities (like water or another quartz) inside. Herkimer Diamonds are considered semi-precious, and people come from all over the world to mine it. I always believed the Herkimer Diamond to be absolutely unique to a few counties here in Upstate NY, but I recently read that these kinds of quartz have been found in Arizona, China, and Afghanistan! There’s even a page at eBay devoted to information about the Herkimer Diamond.

There are at least two “mines” in Upstate New York where you can pay a fee, enter a quarry, slip off your Asgi shoes for boots, and chisel away in search of Herkimer Diamonds. Or, if your search proves fruitless, purchase some Herkimer diamonds at the gift shop. I have a small bag of Herkimer diamonds in my keepsake box.

Herkimer diamonds were “first” discovered when workers were digging into the rock here in the Mohawk Valley, in the 1700s. I wonder if the Native Americans had found them before this, though, because the Mohawk Valley’s Indian name is “Kanyenka,” which means “Place of the Flint.” However, there is no abundant flint here. The late historian Paul Keesler wondered the same thing, and wrote in his book, Discovering the Valley of the Crystals:

I asked a number of students of the Mohawks where the flint was in the Mohawk Valley that was so plentiful and so unique. No one could answer that simple question. The fact is, there is no rock face or quarry in the Mohawk Valley where flint is abundant or unique.

As I discovered while researching Kuyahoora-Discovering West Canada Valley there are, however, a number of dolostone rock faces and quarries in the Mohawk Valley—from Middleville to the Noses—where a form of clear quartz crystal is abundant and unique. So unique that people from around the world come here to mine it.

Then I read Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites by Dean R. Snow and In Mohawk Country by Snow, Gehring and Starna. In both books it’s noted that the “the place of the flint” was more likely “the place of the crystal”, referring to quartz crystals that are now called Herkimer Diamonds.

I contacted Charles Gehring and he referred me to Dean Snow. Dean is one of North America’s leading historical anthropologists and is currently Professor and Head of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. He was extremely helpful and suggested I read his book The Iroquois.

In that book, Snow writes: “They were known to themselves and to the other Iroquois nations as the Kanyenkehaka, the people of Kanyenke (also spelled Ganienkeh). This has usually been translated “Place of the Flint,” but the flint (or more properly chert) sources in Mohawk country were not particularly sought after. More important were the clear quartz crystals now called Herkimer diamonds, which could be quarried in a few local mines and abound on Mohawk village sites. These were highly valued by Iroquois and other nations. Kanyenke was more likely “Place of the Crystals.”

Crystals were symbolically important as amulets of success, health, and long life, artifacts more likely to inspire a name than a second-rate chert. The Mohawks were the main suppliers of quartz crystals up to 1614. After that they became primary middlemen for the Dutch glass beads that replaced them.”

Sometime the kids and I are going to go diamond-hunting. There are a variety of facilities around here: Herkimer Diamond Mines, Crystal Grove Campgrounds, and the Ace of Diamonds mine. They have some great photos here.

You can read more about minerals in New York State at the NYS Museum website, here.

The Herkimer Diamond

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The Children’s Museum is right next to historic Bagg’s Square, of which I wrote here. The Children’s Museum is a testament to the ingenuity of moms. It was a group of women– the Junior League– in 1963 who started out with a lifesize model of an Iroquois longhouse in a library basement, and expanded the project into four stories of displays for children of all ages. This place has EVERYTHING, except maybe Audemars Piguet offshore chronographs, but then like I said, we didn’t see everything. I snapped almost 100 photos, and that was after whittling my choices down. I obviously cannot post all my photos here. If you’d like to see some really cool stuff, check out my Flickr page.

The kids had an absolute blast. My kids are older (youngest is 11) and we still had a blast. There is a cute playroom for toddlers, but everything else is geared for kids ages 5 to 100.

Shall I possibly list off everything we saw? No way! How about everything we saw that interested us? No way! How about the top fifty? Wow… my blog posts can only be so long, you know! The place is filled with old stuff. And it’s all stuff you can touch and experiment with.

Here’s Injane checking out an old telephone operator board. One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy…

Here’s a cool see-through car that you can explore. Has a crash dummy, too.

I, of course, loved the architecture of the building. It used to be an old dry goods store. Can you imagine?! A dry goods store– with an oak staircase, transom windows, tin ceilings, oak flooring, federal-style loft windows?! My house isn’t even built this nicely.

We loved the Iroquois longhouse. History oozed from everything.

I love the replica Hiawatha wampum belt. Looks just like the real thing.

There were several pianos and musical instruments in the museum. Several uprights, and some baby grands, an old organ, and assorted xylophones. What blast!

The place also had toys, clothing, dioramas, reptiles, bugs, life-sized displays to play make-believe, a stage with assorted pianos (all out of tune), Legos, displays of community events (like a kayaking group, and the Ride for Missing Children’s Group), puppets, fossils, everything!

I really liked the radio station display. I worked in radio for several years, and seeing this brought back such memories!

I will add that it is rather disconcerting to see equipment that I used in my younger years labeled as “nostalgic.” :S

As seems to happen wherever we go, a photographer from the local newspaper shows up on the day as we do. For some reason, my kids usually have their pictures taken by photographers. They’ve been in the newspaper a few times now. I took a photo of the photographer photographing my kids.

The kids didn’t make it in the papers this time around.

Here’s a photo of a pacu, a fish native to the Amazon river. He’s a big one.

They also had a big turtle, a gerbil, and a tarantula! Several years back, there was a clear plastic display filled with honeybees making honeycomb, but the bees are gone. I saw a sticker that said there was a mite infestation (which I’d been hearing is responsible for our honeybees dying off), so I guess the bees were removed. Too bad; that was one of my favorite exhibits.

Last time we visited, the fourth floor was undeveloped. It was a treat to see new exhibits. They have a small (genuine) airplane the kids can hop in and work the controls.

There’s also the world-renowned Hot Wheels collection. The toys went way back to- what?- the 50s? Quite a big collection.

There is just too much to mention, really. The nice thing about this Children’s Museum is that it is a little beat up. It’s old and creaky and some of the stuff is obviously very worn. But that’s part of its charm. You can handle and play with things and not worry about breaking them. You can relax and not have to watch your p’s and q’s that you might drop something. It’s truly a kids’ place.

Outside, there’s a small park around Bagg’s Tavern, and a few train cars to explore. The trains were locked up, so we couldn’t go inside, but we could peer through the windows. And the kids had no problem having fun on the train decks.

What started out as an after-school project by community moms and the Oneida Indians has grown to become a wonderful glimpse into our community’s past. I don’t think we’ll ever be too old not to visit the Children’s Museum!

The Children’s Museum, Utica, NY

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Oriskany, NY, has the sad distinction of the location of the bloodiest battle of the American Revolution.

The Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site is located on Route 69, north of the small village of Oriskany, NY. The site used to hold reenactments of the battle, although in the past we have always missed them, and I am not sure they are held anymore. I’ve seen photos and they were incredible events, with hundreds of actors posing as British, Mohawk and Oneida Indians, Loyalists, and American Patriots.

There is an Oriskany Museum approximately 4 miles south of this battlefield, also on Route 69. The Battlefield is a memorial to those who fought in the War, and the Museum is more about the U.S.S. Oriskany aircraft carrier, with some information about the American Revolution. The Museum is worth seeing. We spent a delightful hour there, and I found out some really neat things about the U.S.S. Oriskany. You can read about it here.

When you drive in to the Battlefield Memorial Site, these signs greet you.

The Battlefield site is plain and somber. The state has tried to keep it looking a lot like what it must have appeared as in 1777. When we last went in 2004, the fields were mown; today, swaths of wild grasses and weeds surround the trails that take you to key points of the battle. I don’t know if this au natural look is intentional, or due to neglect. I think it looked better when the place was trimmed. It looks too unkempt now. There’s another good site about the Battlefield here.

The site has “play-by-play” markers posted along the trail.

The now-infamous ravine is where Mohawk Indian Joseph Brant (his birth name was Thayendanegea) led the raid of British soldiers and Tories against the Patriots. Brant and his crew were a vicious bunch, leading all sorts of horrendous massacres against settlers (especially the Cherry Valley Massacre). British General John Burgoyne (hiss hiss) found great use for the Iroquois Indians. He wrote a lovely poem for us Patriots, letting us know his intentions in his “Burgoyne’s Orderly Book”:

“I will let loose the dogs of hell,
Ten thousand Indians, who shall yell
And foam and tear, and grin and roar,
And drench their moccasins in gore:
To these I’ll give full scope and play
From Ticonderog to Florida…”

…. Nice.

Anyway, the ravine is very overgrown now. We had to jump over the weeds that wanted the trail back.

The events of the battlefield unfolded the first few days of August 1777. Those summer days were typical Upstate New York days– so hot and humid that the forest literally steamed with heavy gasps of respiration. The American Patriots–led by General Nicolas Herkimer– and their noble allies, the Oneida Indians, were hurrying from Tryon County (Little Falls, NY, area) to Fort Stanwix (in what is now Rome, NY). They were coming to the aid of the fort, which was under siege by the British armies. Their march was a three-day, 40-mile slog through dense woods and swamps. By the time they reached this point in Oriskany, they were only six miles from Fort Stanwix. We could only imagine how laborious this trudge through the depths of the Mohawk Valley had been.

The tiny trail we followed led us about 50 feet down and across a small footbridge. This was the site where the Patriots stooped down to sip the cool water and wash their sweaty heads. It was at this moment, while the Americans’ backs were turned, that Brant’s crew attacked them. The Indians and Loyalists had been waiting in the woods for them.

Loyalists (also known as Tories) were Americans– they sympathized with the British and refused to join the fight for independence. Families were split apart over these political tensions. My own husband’s ancestors fought here at this battlefield, these Loyalists and Patriots. Many of the battles of Upstate New York were brothers fighting against brothers, and sons against fathers. This made the bloodshed more tragic. The Indians were not immune, either– the Iroquois Six Nations had been wrent when the tribes joined the British except for the faithful and pious Oneida tribe and the Tuscaroras. The Oneidas suffered horribly during the Revolution for their faithful alliance with the Patriots.

Patriot General Herkimer’s militia men fiercely fought the Brant crew. Herkimer was shot –mortally wounded– but continued to direct the battle from under a tree. War is truly hell. It must have been horrible. Losses were very bad– 450 of 800 Patriots and Oneidas died. 150 Loyalists and Mohawks perished. At Fort Stanwix in Rome (where these American Patriots and Oneida Indians were headed), there’s a reenactment video of this historic moment. It’s stunning, and really gives the viewer an idea of how chaotic and vicious this attack was.

A vivid painting of Herkimer at this moment, The Battle of Oriskany, by E. N. Clark, hangs upstairs in the Utica Public Library (a GREAT library; boy, I wish they got more support and funding).

The obelisk at the Battlefield honors the dead. Listed on the monument is a relative of an ancestor of my husband’s, who was the only Patriot in my husband’s old family of Tories. Brother fought against brother. (My husband’s ancestors fled to Canada after the War.) My grandmother would be rolling in her grave if she knew I married a man whose ancestors were Tories! But my husband, a Patriot now, has been redeemed .

It is a sober memorial.

No one actually won this battle. The Americans suffered a horrific loss, but they did prevent Brant’s men from reaching Fort Stanwix. It is a surety that if the Patriots had not staved off Brant, Fort Stanwix would have fallen to the British.

There was a large monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution, in honor of the Unknown Soldiers who fought and died.

General Herkimer died several days later. He died from a botched amputation of his wounded leg. At the Herkimer House Museum, his old Bible is displayed, open to Psalm 38 which he wanted to read just before his death.

Psalm 38:1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.

12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.

13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15 But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

Herkimer’s efforts were not in vain. So although the Americans suffered tremendous loss, they did detain Brant’s group from getting to Fort Stanwix in Rome, where British General St. Leger was laying seige. Because of the failure of the British to gain ground in Fort Stanwix and in Oriskany, as well as some other typical British blunders, Burgoyne’s Three-Pronged-Attack on Albany collapsed. Burgoyne was captured in Saratoga. When the French heard of this American victory, they decided to aid our cause, and sent money, ships, and troops our way (most notably, to Yorktown). We can see the importance of this small battle today, but back then in the heat of things, it must have been hard to endure the loss. We are ever grateful that they hung on.

At the Battlefield site, we visited a small visitor’s center. The last time we visited, in 2004, the center was closed, so this was a real treat to finally go in.

This flag perked us up!

Outside the center was the coolest car I’d ever seen. A hybrid!! We quietly snuck in it for a quick photo.

It was fun to explore the area, fun to run down the trails and imagine life back then. But all the while the cloud of sobriety hangs above, reminding us that this little battle was more than just a little battle. These valiant men were fighting not for land or wealth, but for an idea: the right to live free and the right to our inalienable rights endowed by our Creator. These men weren’t blindly struggling, as so many pawns do in war (“the sport of kings”). These guys knew what they were fighting for, and they did it for posterity– for us!

Oriskany Battlefield: Bloodiest Battle of the American Revolution

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I have written extensively about the Oneida Indian Nation and the American Revolution. You can look at my Travel Archives for articles relating to this topic, or do a search for “Oneida” in my sidebar. The history is indeed fascinating.

The Oneidas have constructed a beautiful museum of their history. We have visited Shako:wi several times; the most recent visit was to meet with a few representatives of the Nation regarding my curiosity about the history (and location) of the Oneida Stone. You can also read more about the history of the Oneida Stone here.

I was honored with permission to snap a few photos of artifacts and displays in Shako:wi when I visited. Here are some of my favorites!

Firstly, this is a display showing the Treaty of Canandaigua, the treaty that reserves the lands for the Oneidas and pledges peace between us. Notice how the Indians signed it in their blood.

There are several displays devoted to Chief Bill Honyoust Rockwell, of the Bear Clan. He died in 1960. He was a leader of the Oneidas; his old property is behind the Cultural Center. Tradition has it that his great-great-great grandmother, Polly Cooper, helped George Washington that bitter winter at Valley Forge, by traveling all the way to Pennsylvania from Oneida, NY, to bring his army corn. Mrs. Washington is said to have given Polly a beautiful shawl for her service.

I love this. This is a display of the kastowa- the headdresses of the Iroquois tribes. Eagle feathers were positioned on leather caps to distinguish one tribe from another.

A painting titled, The Great Law of Peace, depicts how seriously the Oneidas took the peace treaty with the Americans.

Upstairs, the museum displays many handiwork of the Oneidas, including their beautiful basket weaving. The Oneidas were renowned for their beautiful baskets.

A place to relax.

It’s a wonderful museum. New York State children should not forget the sacrifices our forefathers and their allies made for our freedom. Admission is free. You can also see more of my photos at New York Traveler Blogger.

Inside Shako:wi Cultural Center, Oneida, NY

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