USA > New York > The old New York frontier : its wars with Indians and Tories, its missionary schools, pioneers, and land titles, 1614-1800 > Part 11
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II
Why Brant Came to the Susquehanna
N the warfare that soon desolated the Susque- hanna Valley, a leading part was taken by Jo- seph Brant. The story of his life presents one of the most attractive narratives in the annals of the Iroquois. Stone's stately monument to his mem- ory had been fairly earned. Brant was a man of real capacity for leadership, and, by nature, was mas- terful. He had initiative in enterprise, great per- sonal charm, and for success in civilized life was well endowed. He was now to enter a region which he had often visited from boyhood, and he was still a young man.
Brant, whose Indian name was Thayendanegea, was born about 1742, on the Ohio River, to which his parents had gone from the Mohawk Valley, his father and mother being full-blooded Mohawks. On becoming a widow, his mother had returned to New York with Joseph and his sister Mary, com monly called Mollie, following the Susquehanna route from the head-waters of the Ohio. She set- tled at Canajoharie, where she married an Indian named Carrihogo. Stone believes that Nickus Brant, a Canajoharie chief of character and cele- brity, was the father of Joseph .*
* The Indian name of Brant's father, as given by Stone, was Teho- waghwengaraghkwin, a full-blooded Mohawk of the Wolf Tribe. Brant was " of the noblest descent among his nation."
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The Clinton papers contain many references to Indians who bore the name of Brant. On a deed dated in 1760 is found the name Nicolas Brant, who was described as "of the Beaver." At an Indian council in 1765 held at Canajoharie, it was recorded that an Indian called " Old Brant " had " flung a belt to let them know that it was their de- sire to their young men not to stir or move until such time as they should consent." An Indian writing from New York in 1764 to Sir William Johnson, sent his regards to Rac-Soutagh, who, in a parenthesis, was described as " Brant." A pa- per dated in 1755 has signed to it the name of Brant. Sir William Johnson's statement of ex- pense in 1760, sent to the British Crown, has among its items : " To Old Brant, chief of Canajo- harie, in lieu of clothing for his services, 6 pounds," and again, "to Brant of Canajoharie to buy pro- visions, 6 pounds." Another and later item in the same year is this : " To Brant's son two days after his father's death, 12 shillings."
In the veins of Joseph Brant ran the blood of Indian chiefs of high distinction in the annals of the Iroquois. Of his grandfather, a portrait is re- produced in this volume from a mezzotint of the period-Sa Ga Yean Qua Rash Tow, " King of the Mohawks, alias King Brant "-who was one of the five kings whom Colonel Peter Schuyler, in 1710, took to England. These men of the forest, as already stated, became in London the lions of social and public life, much as Joseph Brant himself was twice to become two generations afterward. Of Brant's visit an account was given in the London Magazine for July, 1776. Stone infers that it was written by Boswell, the biographer of Samuel Johnson, Brant
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SA GA VEAN QUA RASH TOW, King of the Mohawks ( 1710), alias King Brant, Joseph's grandfather.
TEE VEE NEEN HO GA Row, Emperor of the Six Nations (1710).
E Tow O KOAM, King of the River Indians, or Mohigans (1710).
JOSEPH BRANT in 1805. His age, sixty-three.
FOUR EMINENT NEW YORK INDIANS
WHY BRANT CAME
having become intimate with him. The visit in- evitably recalled the one made by the five Indian kings, of which Steele wrote an account for the Tatler and Addison one for the Spectator. As the Queen's Court was then in mourning, the Indians followed the English custom of wearing black under- clothes, over which, instead of a blanket, they had a mantle of scarlet cloth edged with gold, a present from the Queen.
Brant's sister, Mollie, according to Indian custom, had become the wife of Sir William Johnson. She bore the familiar title of " the Indian Lady Johnson," and lived with him in a state of felicity down to his death in 1774. Stone gives as follows the tradition of the Mohawk Valley as to the "rather wild and romantic " manner in which the acquaintance had begun :
She was a very spritely and very beautiful Indian girl of about sixteen when he first saw her. It was at a regimen- tal military muster where Mollie was one of the multitude of spectators. One of the field officers coming near her on a prancing steed, by way of banter she asked permission to mount behind him. Not supposing she could perform the exploit, he said she might. At the word, she leaped upon the crupper with the agility of a gazelle. The horse sprang off at full speed, and clinging to the officer, her blanket fly- ing, and her dark tresses streaming to the wind, she flew about the parade-ground swift as an arrow, to the infinite merriment of the collected multitude. The baronet, who was a witness of the spectacle, admiring the spirit of the young squaw, and becoming enamoured of her person, took her home as his wife.
It was under Sir William's influence that Brant as a boy went to Dr. Wheelock's school. He was a student there from August, 1761, until July, 1763.
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Fifteen other Mohawk boys, and ten or more boys from other Indian tribes, also attended this school. One of them was William Johnson, a half-breed son of Sir William, and another was Moses, who after- ward conducted the Indian school at the foot of Ot- sego Lake. Dr. Wheelock wrote to Johnson that Brant was "indeed an excellent youth," and he had " much endeared himself to his teacher."
On returning to the Mohawk Valley, in 1763, Brant was employed by Sir William as an interpre- ter, and Sir William's accounts with the Crown show that for some years he was in receipt of £83 per annum, with other payments for extra services. He appears to have become a leader among the Indians of the valley at a very early age. In the autumn of his return from Lebanon, when a line of patent was being run, the Indians were dissatisfied, and the Clinton manuscripts contain the following account of Brant's participation in the dispute : " A few Ind- ians, joined by Joseph Brant and some other young ones, ran and prevented their proceeding, and I ex- pected nothing but that chain and compass both would go to wreck. However, the storm blew over, not without great abuse."
It was while serving as interpreter to Sir William that Brant went down the Susquehanna Valley as guide to Richard Smith, which would seem to indi- cate that Johnson had placed Brant at Smith's dis- posal. At Canajoharie, Brant owned a farm with a frame dwelling for his home. Its cellar-walls were standing as late as 1878 and showed the remains of a fireplace. In size the structure was about 14 feet by 16. In 1772 his wife died and he removed to Fort Hunter, where he assisted Mr. Stuart, the missionary, in making translations into Mohawk of
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the Catechism and Prayer-book, and became a com- municant of Mr. Stuart's church. A year or so later he desired Mr. Stuart to marry him to the half- sister of his deceased wife, but Mr. Stuart refused to do so. Brant then found a German minister to per- form the ceremony.
Brant's history from this time until his arrival on the Susquehanna in November, 1776, shows that the conduct of the Mohawks in the early years of the war had for moving cause, not so much a desire to plunder settlements and murder pioneers as to secure redress for land grievances. Since the conclusion of the Fort Stanwix treaty, there had been chronic trouble over lands around the Mohawk villages. Sir William Johnson had earnestly desired to mend these matters, but he died without succeeding.
Johnson's correspondence shows with what pains he had espoused the Mohawk cause. In October, 1769, he wrote to the acting governor, Cadwallader Colden, that Sir Henry Moore, the governor who had just died in office, promised to " take some measures for effectually securing to the Mohawks and Canajoharies the lands in and about their vil- lages." Johnson was persuaded that Colden would do "whatever was best for that end " and enclosed the surveys which he had had made by direction of Moore. In a later letter he said the work "should certainly be done in the way that is most likely to be effectual, as well as satisfactory " to the Indians, and he urged "the strongest security against any future attempts to deprive them " of their lands.
Matters were still drifting when, in July, 1774, at a council held in Johnstown, and attended by about six hundred Indians, the chief of the Canajoharies made complaint against "that old rogue, the dis-
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turber of our village, George Klock," and referred to " the many artifices he has made use of, to cheat us of our lands, and to create dissensions among our- selves." Johnson replied that he was " authorized to tell them that Klock's conduct was disagreeable to the King." When this council was about to dis- perse, Johnson was suddenly seized with illness, and early in the evening of the same day he died. Af- ter the funeral, which was attended by nearly two thousand persons, Gouldsborough Banyar being one of the pall-bearers, Johnson's successor, Colonel Guy Johnson, his son-in-law, gave the Indians assurances that their complaints "should be laid before gov- ernment."
Whatever Colonel Johnson may have done, it is clear that no results had been reached in November, 1775, when Brant and other Indian chiefs, with Col- onel Johnson and Captain Tice, sailed for England. They crossed in the same ship on which Ethan Allen and other prisoners taken at the Battle of the Cedars were conveyed to England. Two speeches on the subject of lands were made in London by Brant before Lord George Germaine, the Colonial Secretary, who was afterward to have charge of the conduct of the war in America. The first, made March 17, 1776, contains the following words :
We have crossed the great lake, and come to this king- dom with our Superintendent, Col. Johnson, from our Confederacy, the Six Nations and their allies, that we might see our Father, the Great King, and join in informing him, his councillors, and wise men, of the good intentions of the Indians, our brethren, and of their attachment to his Majesty and his government.
Brother. The Mohawks, our particular nation, have on all occasions shown their zeal and loyalty to the Great
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King, yet they have been very badly treated by his people in that country, the City of Albany laying an unjust claim to the lands on which our Lower Castle is built, as one Klock and others do to those of Canajoharie, our Upper Castle. We also feel for the distress in which our brethren on the Susquehanna are likely to be involved by a mistake made in the Boundary we settled in 1768. And also concerning religion, and the want of ministers of the Church of England. We have only, therefore, to re- quest that his Majesty will attend to this matter; it troubles our nation and they cannot sleep easy in their beds. In- deed it is very hard when we have let the King's subjects have so much of our lands for so little value, they should want to cheat us in this manner of the small spots we have left for our women and children to live on. We are tired out in making complaints and getting no redress.
The second speech was delivered on May 7th, and in a report of it "wrote down as the same was dictated by the before named chief," occur the following passages :
Brother. When we delivered our speech, you answered in few words, that you would take care and have the griev- ances of the Six Nations, on account of their lands, particu- larly those of the Mohawks and Oughquagas, removed, and all those matters settled to our satisfaction, whenever the troubles in America were ended, and that you hoped the Six Nations would continue to behave with that attach- ment to the King they had always manifested; in which case they might be sure of his Majesty's favor and protec- tion.
We are not afraid, brother, or have we the least doubt, but our brethren, the Six Nations, will continue firm to their engagements with the King, their father.
Brother. As we expect soon to depart for our own country, having been long here, we request you, and the great men who take charge of the affairs of government, not
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to listen to every story that may be told about Indians, but to give ear only to such things as come from our chiefs and wise men in council.
In the second of these speeches it is plain that Germaine, through his promise to redress these griev- ances after the war, and his promises of the King's favor and protection, made sure of Brant's adhesion to the English cause. To support that cause was now not an ancient privilege, but a newly awakened patriotic sentiment, founded in self-interest. Proba- bly on Germaine, more than on any other man, must responsibility rest, for Brant's destructive zeal in the border warfare. Germaine's record was already bad. At the battle of Minden, on the Continent, he had won unhappy eminence. He had the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was cashiered for coward- ice. Americans have little cause to hold his name in anything but opprobrious remembrance. The most vigorous measures against the colonists had his support, including not only the enlistment of the Six Nations, but the hiring of the Hessians, and the winning over of Arnold to treason. Tow- ard him was pointed the finger of the Earl of Chatham in that memorable speech on the Ameri- can war :
But, my lords, who is the man, that, in addition to the disgrace and mischiefs of the war, has dared to authorize and associate to our arms the tomahawk and scalping knife of the savage ? to call into civilized alliance the wild and inhuman inhabitants of the woods ? to delegate to the merciless Indian the defence of disputed rights, and to wage the horrors of his barbarous war against our brethren ? My lords, these enormities cry aloud for redress and punish- ment.
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During his London visit, Brant had an eminent social success. Among those whom he met were James Boswell, the biographer of Samuel Johnson, and Romney, the artist, to whom he sat for a por- trait ordered by the Earl of Warwick .* A drawing of Brant was made at this time for Boswell, which shows him attired as an Indian chief. It was en- graved for the London Magazine and published with an account of Brant's visit which has been attributed to Boswell.
Everything possible was done in England to please Brant, and the Indians who went with him. Colo- nel Johnson's account of the expenses connected with the visit, as afterward sent to the English Government,+ contains several interesting items. The board-bill for a part of the visit, which extended over six months, amounted to £207. Travelling expenses to Windsor and other places were £82. There was an apothecary's bill of £9, a jeweller's bill of £4, pistols that cost £14, and clothing cost- ing £25. When the Indians sailed for home, " articles laid in for their accommodation on board, while returning to New York," cost £27 1IS, and " other supplies on ship," £22 IOS.
Returning in May, 1776, starting twelve days after Sir William Howe sailed away to take com- mand in America, Brant reached Staten Island in July, and joined the British forces under General Tryon. He was stationed for a time in Flatbush, where, as the story is told, he one day tasted a crab- apple, puckered up his mouth, and exclaimed : " It is as bitter as a Presbyterian." This prejudice was
* A reproduction of this portrait appears as the frontispiece of this volume.
t A copy exists among the "Johnson Manuscripts" in the State Library.
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an obvious outgrowth, not only of his Church of England associations, but of his dislike of the Bos- ton " rebels," who, in the main, were of Calvin's faith. In November of this year he made his way to the first scene of his potent activities in the war -the upper Susquehanna Valley. Brant's manner of dress and his personal appearance at this period have been described by Captain Snyder :
He was a likely fellow, of a fierce aspect-tall and rather spare-well spoken, and apparently about thirty years of age. He wore moccasins, elegantly trimmed with beads, leggings and breech-cloth of superfine blue, short green coat, with two silver epaulets, and a small laced round hat. By his side hung an elegant silver mounted cutlass, and his blanket of blue cloth, purposely dropped in the chair on which he sat, to display his epaulets, was gorgeously deco- rated with a border of red.
Some of the Six Nations had already arrived at Oghwaga. Late in the winter of 1775 and 1776, while Brant was in London, many of the Mohawks returned by way of Fort Niagara * and took up head-quarters at Oghwaga. Thus they came to lands which were their own. In no sense were they in- vaders. They came by a route that was not the most direct to the frontier settlements, for the key to the Mohawk Valley was Fort Stanwix, but this was in the hands of the Americans. As long as the war continued, the Susquehanna route was frequently employed.
By the summer of 1776 a considerable body of Mo- hawks had reached Oghwaga, and citizens of Cherry Valley, in a petition to the Provincial Congress, de-
* Fort Niagara lay at the mouth of the river Niagara, on a point of land jutting out into Lake Ontario. It was already an old fort.
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clared, on information received " from missionaries and Indian friends," that the settlers were " in im- minent danger of being cut off by the savages." Some thirty of the able-bodied men of Cherry Val- ley had already joined the patriot army, and Captain John Wisner had enlisted twenty men elsewhere in the Susquehanna Valley. Thus the inhabitants were left " in a defenceless condition." Immediate aid was asked for, " as the inhabitants of the Old Eng- land District and Unadilla are daily flying into our settlement, so that we shall immediately in all ap- pearances have an open, defenceless, and unguarded frontier." Before the summer was ended, Captain Winn was sent to Cherry Valley with a company of rangers.
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III
Brant's Arrival in Unadilla
1777
I N November Colonel Guy Johnson, who had returned from London with further instructions in line with those the Earl of Dartmouth had given him the year before, sent word to Germaine that, with the approbation of General Howe, he had " lately dispatched in disguise one of my officers with Joseph, the Indian chief, who desired the ser- vice, to get across the country to the Six Na- tions." He had hopes of their getting "through undiscovered, and of their preparing the Indians to co-operate with our military movements."
News that Brant had reached Oghwaga went on to Cherry Valley, whence it was forwarded to the Pro- vincial authorities at Kingston, with further word that "'tis said he is to return to Lord Howe." The alarm spread rapidly throughout the frontier settle- ments. No doubts could longer be entertained as to the sympathies of the Indians, for they had raised the British flag at Oghwaga. At Cherry Valley the Campbell house, being the largest in the settlement and situated on elevated ground, was now fortified. An embankment of earth and logs was constructed enclosing the dwelling-house, two block-houses, and two large barns. The doors of the house were made
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double, and strong shutters were put up at the win- dows. Complaints came in from Oghwaga dur- ing the winter that the Indians had not been paid for certain lands sold by them to George Croghan for the benefit of "the late General Brideport." * They had accepted Croghan's note, and "the said lands had since been patented to others under the great seal of the State of New York." They de- sired that justice might be done and " their minds quieted." These complaints referred to the griev- ances of the Oghwaga Indians, mentioned by Brant in London.
Other reports indicated a more hostile spirit, and a committee of the Provincial Congress in Febru- ary, 1777, reported that it was " necessary to pro- vide measures for apprehending Joseph Brant." In fact, a resolution was offered that "it will be of great service to the American cause to apprehend Joseph Brant ; wherefore no cost should be spared for that purpose, and that it will be of use to recom- mend to General Schuyler, Mr. John Harper, of the County of Tryon, as the proper person to be employed in that service, the said John Harper be- ing, as this committee are well informed, very inti- mately acquainted at the Oghwaga Castle, and warm- ly attached to the American cause." The report was recommitted two days later and another made
* So printed in the journals of the Provincial Congress, but an obvious error for Major-General John Bradstreet, who just before his death had obtained an extensive tract from the Oghwaga Indians-some 300,- 000 acres-lying in part in the western portion of the present town of Sidney. General Bradstreet had won his rank in the French and Ind- ian War. Many years after the Revolution some of these lands were claimed by a granddaughter of General Bradstreet, who came over from Ireland to prosecute her suit. Although she did not succeed, many settlers were ruined in their estates through the expenses caused by litigation in which they were defendants .- Brant MSS. in the Draper Collection.
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in its place. Harper and Brant having been school- mates at Lebanon, it was thought Harper might suc- ceed in negotiations, and accordingly he departed with a friendly letter. The two men had then been ten years out of Dr. Wheelock's school. Both had seen something of the world, and nothing had oc- curred to disturb the friendly relations they had en- joyed at Lebanon.
An account of this visit was written by Colonel Harper himself. He set out on February 17, 1777, with one Indian and one white man, and went " in order to discover the motions of the enemy." Gould says Harper was accompanied as far as the Johnston Settlement by a regiment of militia, which he left at the settlement to await further orders while he pro- ceeded to Oghwaga. Harper's statement that he was accompanied only by one Indian and one white man, referred only to that part of the journey made on Indian territory. Harper says he gave private orders to the captains of the several companies un- der his command, " to be in readiness at the short- est notice by me in order to oppose the aforesaid Brant and his party." On arrival at Oghwaga he " found the reports well grounded," and wrote to the Provincial Congress that " in order to present your letter in the most friendly manner, we killed an ox for to make a friendly entertainment, which had the desired effect." The letter which Harper bore was in part as follows :
It gives us real concern that George Croghan has abused your confidence and defrauded you of money due you on his note of hand. He has treated many other subjects of this State in the same manner : first running greatly in debt, and then privately removing out of its jurisdiction. The great council will, however, when the important business
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which at present engages all its attention shall admit, en- deavor to secure your debt.
Brothers, the great council never will suffer you to be defrauded of your lands; but will severely punish all who attempt it, and you may safely depend on our protection. If a settlement should be attempted, the great council will order the intruders to be removed.
Brothers, we are not unmindful of your wants, or your former request for ammunition. We shall always be pleased when it is in our power to assist you ; and we now send you 100 weight of powder, which you will accept as a proof of our sincerity and regard.
Brothers, rely on our justice, protection, and friendship. Farewell.
Harper understood the Indian language, and be- fore delivering this letter made an address, using the Indian gestures. For the entertainment he painted his face, joined in the ceremonies, and wore Indian dress. At the close of the feasting, a crown made of a belt and decorated with beads was formally placed upon his head, signifying that he was entitled to a voice in the deliberations of the Six Nations- an honor conferred upon only one other white man -Sir William Johnson. The Indians said they were sorry the frontiersmen had been troubled, and left an impression on Harper's mind that they would take no part against the patriots in the conflict with England. The Indians at Oghwaga as yet mainly sought to secure justice in their land affairs, and it is to be remembered also that they told Colonel Harper they had been forbidden by Colonel John Butler from injuring any of the frontier settlements.
On his return Colonel Harper encountered, near the mouth of Schenevus Creek," a party of Indians
* So named after an Indian who lived and hunted on the stream.
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