"Colonel Crawford. Do you not recollect the friendship that always existed between us, and that we were always glad to see each other?
"Sachem. Yes, I remember all this; and that we have often drunk together, and that you have been kind to me.
"Col. C. Then I hope the same friendship still continues.
"Sachem. It would, of course, were you where you ought to be, and not here.
"Col. C. And why not here? I hope you would not desert a friend in time of need; now is the time for you to exert yourself in my behalf, as I should do for you were you in my place.
"Sachem. Colonel Crawford, you have placed yourself in a situation which puts it out of my power, and that of others of your friends, to do any thing for you.
"Col. C. How so, Captain Wingemund?
"Sachem. By joining yourself to that execrable man, Williamson, and his party. The man who, but the other day, murdered such a number of the Moravian Indians, knowing them to be friends; knowing that he ran no risk in murdering a people who would not fight, and whose only business was praying.
"Col. C. But, I assure you, Wingemund, that had I been with him at the time, this would not have happened. Not I alone, but all your friends, and all good men, reprobate acts of this kind.
"Sachem. That may be, yet these friends, these good men, did not prevent him from going out again to kill the remainder of those inoffensive yet foolish Moravian Indians. I say foolish, because they believed the whites in preference to us. We had often told them that they would one day be so treated by those people who called themselves their friends. We told them there was no faith to be placed in what the white men said; that their fair promises were only intended to allure, that they might the more easily kill us, as they have done many Indians before they killed those Moravians.
"Col. C. I am sorry to hear you speak thus. As to Williamson's going out again, when it was known that he was determined on it, I went out with him to prevent him from committing fresh murders.
"Sachem. This the Indians would not believe, were I to tell them so.
"Col. C. And why would they not believe it?
"Sachem. Because it would have been out of your power to prevent his doing what he pleased.
"Col. C. Out of my power? Have any Moravian Indians been, killed or hurt since we came out?
"Sachem. None. But you went first to their town, and finding it empty and deserted, you turned on the path toward us. If you had been in search of warriors only, you would not have gone thither. Our spies watched you closely. They saw you while you were embodying yourselves on the other side of the Ohio. They saw you cross that river; they saw where you encamped at night; they saw you turn off from the path to the deserted Moravian town; they knew you were going out of your way; your steps were constantly watched; and you were suffered quietly to proceed until you reached the spot where you were attacked.
"Col. C. (With emotion.) What do they intend to do with me?
"Sachem. I tell you with grief. As Williamson, with his whole cowardly host, ran off in the night at the whistling of our warriors' balls, being satisfied that now he had no Moravians to deal with, but men who could fight, and with such he did not wish to have any thing to do; I say, as he has escaped, and they have taken you, they will take revenge on you in his stead.
"Col. C. And is there no possibility of preventing this? Can you devise no way to get me off? You shall, my friend, be well rewarded, if you are instrumental in saving my life.
"Sachem. Had Williamson been taken with you, I and some friends, by making use of what you have told me, might, perhaps, have succeeded in saving you; but as the matter now stands, no man would dare to interfere in your behalf. The King of England himself were he to come to this spot with all his wealth and treasure, could not effect this purpose. The blood of the innocent Moravians, more than half of them women and children, cruelly and wantonly murdered, calls aloud for revenge. The relatives of the slain, who are among us, cry out and stand ready for revenge. The Shawanese, our grand-children, have asked for your fellow-prisoner; on him they will take revenge. All the nations connected with us cry out, revenge! revenge! The Moravians, whom you went to destroy, having fled instead of avenging their brethren, the offence has become national, and the nation itself is bound to take revenge.
"Col. C. My fate is then fixed, and I must prepare to meet death in its worst form.
"Sachem. Yes, Colonel. I am sorry for it, but I cannot do any thing for you. Had you attended to the Indian principle, that good and evil cannot dwell together in the same heart, so a good man ought not to go into evil company, you would not have been in this lamentable situation. You see now, when it is too late, after Williamson has deserted you, what a bad man he must be. Nothing now remains for you but to meet your fate like a brave man. Farewell, Colonel Crawford! They are coming. I will retire to a solitary spot." [FN]
[FN] Heckewelder's Indian Nations.
On turning away from his friend, whom it was not in his power to assist, it is said the old Sachem was affected to tears, and could never afterward speak of the incident without deep emotion. The moment the chief had left the Colonel, a number of the executioners rushed upon him, and commenced the work of torture, which was in progress three hours before the victim fell upon his face and expired with a groan. During the proceedings against him, he was continually and bitterly upbraided for the conduct of the white men at Gnadenhuetten. If not himself a participator in that atrocious affair, they reproached him for having now come against them with the worst kind of murderers—such as even Indians had not among them. "Indians," said they, "kill their enemies, but not their friends. When once they have stretched forth their hand, and given that endearing name, they do not kill. But how was it with the believing Indians on the Muskingum? You professed friendship for them. You hailed and welcomed them as such. You protested they should receive no harm from you. And what did you afterward to them? They neither ran from you, nor fired a single shot on your approach. And yet you called them warriors, knowing they were not such! Did you ever hear warriors pray to God, and sing praises to him, as they did? Could not the shrieks and cries of the innocent little children excite you to pity, and to save their lives? No! you did not! You would have the Indians believe you are Christians, because you have the Great Book among you, and yet you are murderers in your hearts! Never would the unbelieving Indians have done what you did, although the Great Spirit has not put his Book into their hands as into yours! The Great Spirit taught you to read all that he wanted you to do, and what he forbade that you should do. These Indians believed all that they were told was in that Book, and believing, strove to act accordingly. We knew you better than they did. We often warned them to beware of you and your pretended friendship; but they would not believe us. They believed nothing but good of you, and for this they paid with their lives." [FN]
[FN] Heckewelder's Narrative of the Moravian Missions. "There was farther a circumstance much against this unfortunate man, which enraged the Indians to a high degree. It was reported that the Indian spies sent to watch their movements, on examining a camp which Crawford and Williamson had left, west of the Ohio, had found on trees peeled for the purpose, the words, written with coal and other mineral substances—'No quarters to be given to an Indian, whether man, woman, or child.' When the Indians find inscriptions on trees or other substances, they are in the habit of making exact copies of them, which they preserve until they find some one to read or interpret them. Such was the fact in the present case, and the inscription was sufficient to enrage them."—Idem.
It was, indeed, most unhappy for Colonel Crawford, that he had been captured in such company; but never were reproaches more righteously heaped upon the heads of the guilty than on this occasion. Never was the scorpion lash of satire more justly inflicted—could but the really guilty have been there to feel its withering rebuke. The son of Colonel Crawford, himself doomed to the same fate, was present with Dr. Knight, {sic} and obliged to behold the torture, and listen to the agonising ejaculations of his parent, without being able to render assistance or offer a word of consolation. [FN] The sufferings of the son followed close upon those of the father; but with Dr. Knight it was otherwise. He was reserved for sacrifice by the Shawanese, and while on his way thither contrived to escape, and, after twenty-one days of hardship and hunger in the wilderness, succeeded in gaining Fort McIntosh.
[FN] Withren's Chronicles, quoted by Drake in his Book of the Indians. Dr. Ramsay says it was Colonel Crawford's son-in-law who was present, and subsequently underwent the same fate.
The defeat of Colonel Boon at the Blue Licks in August, the massacre of the Moravian Indians, and the fate of Crawford and his expedition, are the last tales of blood connected with the American Revolution. It is true that in September following, a large body of Indians laid siege to the fort at Wheeling, but the siege was raised without farther bloodshed than the death of one man in the fort and of three or four without. A barn was burnt at Rice's fort, which was also invested, but not seriously, and the Indians withdrew to their own wilds. Should the details of the last few pages be considered rather too ample for the general plan of the present work, it must be remembered that the awarding of justice to the Indian character also entered largely into its design. The transaction on the Muskingum forms one of the darkest pages in the records of civilized war; unsurpassed, certainly, if not unparalleled, in the history, written or unwritten, of the whole aboriginal race. The victims were not only innocent and harmless, but, obedient to the precepts of their religion, offered no resistance to their hypocritical murderers, and poured out their blood like water—crimson libations in sacrifice to the white man's rapacity and hate. Nor can the Indians be censured for the fate of Crawford.
With the exception of the Indian details in the present chapter, the year 1782 passed away without furnishing any military operations of moment, under the immediate direction of the respective Commanders-in-chief. Sir Guy Carleton had probably been restrained from offensive war by instructions conforming to the pacific vote of the House of Commons, cited in the early part of the present chapter; while the condition of the American army, had Washington been otherwise disposed, disabled him from making any attempt on the posts in possession of the British. Generals Greene and Wayne had reconquered the south; and Sir Guy Carleton had directed the officers of his Majesty in the north to send out no more Indian expeditions and to recall those already on foot. Still, notwithstanding all these conciliatory indications, there remained a possibility that the conflict was not yet ended. A change of ministers in England might produce a change of policy. In view of this uncertainty, the Commander-in-chief relaxed none of his efforts during the year to preserve the discipline of the army, and keep the country in an attitude of defence. In pursuance of this policy, in the month of January, 1783, news of the signing of a treaty of peace not having yet been received, the Commander-in-chief conceived the project of surprising and obtaining possession of the important fortress of Oswego. It was the occupation of this post which gave the British such ready facilities for intriguing with the Six Nations on the one hand, and for pouring their motley battalions down upon the American settlements; and the Commander-in-chief judged wisely, that in the event of another campaign the possession of that fortress would be of the first consequence to the Americans, being then one of the most formidable military defences on the Continent.
[FN] Marshall.
Having determined to attempt its capture by surprise, the execution of the project was confided to Colonel Willett. With the utmost secrecy therefore, as to destination, the troops of his command were suddenly assembled at Fort Herkimer on the eighth of February. Commencing their march immediately, on the night of the 9th they crossed the Oneida lake, and arrived at Oswego Falls, a few miles only from the fortress, by two o'clock P. M. on the following day. With the small force under his command, and without the means of prosecuting a siege, it was of course necessary to carry the works by escalade if at all. Halting, therefore, at the Falls, the necessary ladders were constructed and the march was resumed. At 10 o'clock in the evening they were within four miles of the fort. After which, having marched about two hours, and not coming in sight of the point of destination, an investigation of the cause was undertaken, when, to the astonishment and mortification of the Commander, and to the vexation of the whole corps, it was ascertained that, by diverging from the river, their guide, a young Oneida Indian, had lost his way. The situation was, indeed, awkward and perplexing. They had been at one time nearly within speaking distance of the works, and the shout of victory was almost raised in anticipation, when suddenly they discovered that they were lost in a deep forest, in the depth of winter, and amid mountains of snow. It was too late to prosecute the enterprise any farther that night. They could not remain in the vicinity of the fortress over the ensuing day without being discovered. And the instructions of the Commander-in-chief were peremptory, that if they failed in surprising the fort, the attempt would be unwarrantable. The only alternative, therefore, was to relinquish the enterprise, and reluctantly retrace their steps. It was a sad mistake of the poor Indian, but not an error of design. The march had been one of great severity and fatigue. The guide had led them into a swamp, and while they were standing still, after discovering themselves to be lost, so cold was the weather, that the feet of some of the men froze into the mire. The return march was even more painful still, because of the lameness of some and the varied sufferings of others. One man was frozen to death. But all happened well in the end, for on Colonel Willett's return to Fort Rensselaer, and thence to Albany, he arrived at the ancient Dutch capital just in season to hear the welcome news of peace proclaimed by the Town Clerk at the City Hall, and to mingle his rejoicings with those of the inhabitants.
An agreement for the cessation of hostilities between the United States and Great Britain was signed by the respective commissioners of the two powers on the 20th of January, upon the basis of the articles stipulated in Paris on the 30th of the preceding November. And on the 24th of March, a letter was received from the Marquis de Lafayette, announcing a general peace. On the 11th of April Congress issued its proclamation, declaring the cessation of arms by sea and land.
In regard to the failure of Colonel Willett's last expedition, no possible censure was imputable to him. In reply to the Colonel's official account of the affair, General Washington wrote a characteristic letter, approving of his conduct, and consoling him for his disappointment. "Unfortunate as the circumstance is," said the Commander-in-chief, "I am happy in the persuasion that no imputation or reflection can justly reach your character; and that you are enabled to derive much consolation from the animated zeal, fortitude, and activity of the officers and soldiers who accompanied you. The failure, it seems, must be attributed to some of those unaccountable events which are not within the control of human means, and which, though they often occur in military life, yet require, not only the fortitude of the soldier, but the calm reflection of the philosopher to bear. I cannot omit expressing to you the high sense I entertain of your persevering exertions and zeal on this expedition; and beg you to accept my warm thanks on the occasion; and that you will be pleased to communicate my gratitude to the officers and men who acted under your command, for the share they had in that service."
Thus ends the history of the border wars of the American Revolution—the principal theatres of which were in the districts north and west of Albany. The vale of the Mohawk, including its intersecting valley of the Schoharie-kill, was among the most thickly populated and wealthy agricultural districts of the country at the commencement of the war. The productiveness of its soil, and the riches of its people, rendered it ever an inviting object of plunder to the enemy—especially to the savages, and the swarms of refugees who had fled from the country, and were sharing a precarious livelihood among the Indian wigwams and in the wilds of Canada. Its geographical position, moreover, rendered it the most easily assailable of any well-peopled section of the whole Union; while at the same time the larger armies of the enemy were employed elsewhere, and of course required the greatest portion of the physical strength of the country elsewhere to oppose them. The consequence of these, and other circumstances that might be enumerated, was, that no other section or district of country in the United States, of the like extent, suffered in any comparable degree as much from the war of the Revolution as did that of the Mohawk. It was the most frequently invaded and overrun; and that, too, by an enemy far more barbarous than the native barbarians of the forest. Month after month, for seven long years, were its towns and villages, its humbler settlements and isolated habitations, fallen upon by an untiring and relentless enemy, until, at the close of the contest, the appearance of the whole district was that of wide-spread, heart-sickening, and universal desolation. In no other section of the confederacy were so many campaigns performed, so many battles fought, so many dwellings burnt, or so many murders committed. And those who were left at the return of peace, were literally a people "scattered and peeled." It was the computation, two years before the close of the war, that one third of the population had gone over to the enemy, and that one third had been driven from the country, or slain in battle and by private assassination. And yet, among the inhabitants of the other remaining third, in June, 1783, it was stated, at a public meeting held at Fort Plain, that there were three hundred widows and two thousand orphan children. But with the news of peace the dispersed population began to return to the sites of their former homes. [FN] Their houses were rebuilt, and their farms once more brought into cultivation; while different and not less enterprising occupants, deriving their titles from the state, took possession of the confiscated lands of those who had adhered to the cause of the crown. The spirit of industry and enterprise, so characteristic of the American people, was not long in imparting a new aspect to the scene; and Tryon County, exchanging her name for that of the patriot Montgomery, soon smiled through her tears.
[FN] Along with the returning patriots, as Satan was wont in the olden time occasionally to present himself in better company, some of the Tories began to steal back into the country they had forsaken, and assisted to drench in tears of blood. But the Whig population would not endure their presence. The preceding narrative of events has shown that the Tryon County loyalists, who had taken arms in company with the Indians, were far more revengeful and bloody than were the Indians themselves. It is no marvel, therefore, that a feeling of peculiar bitterness against them existed in the bosoms of those who had suffered so keenly at their hands. These feelings were embodied and declared at two public meetings held in different sections of Tryon County, in June, 1783; for which, see Appendix, No. V.
Other scenes and other wars will afford materials for the remaining chapters of the present volumes, as connected with the subsequent life and career of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea.
The Treaty of Peace—Neglect of her Indian allies by Great Britain—Brant's negotiations with General Haldimand for a new territory—The Senecas invite the Mohawks to settle in the Genesee Valley—Declined—The Grand River country granted to the Mohawks by Sir Frederick Haldimand—Indian policy of the United States—Views of Washington and General Schuyler—Treaty with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix—Corn-planter and Red Jacket take opposite aides—Peace with the Six Nations—Dissatisfaction of the Indians—Of Thayendanegea in particular—Letter of Brant to Colonel Monroe—Relinquishes his design of going then to England—Returns to Grand River—Differences of opinion with Sir John Johnson—Brant sails for England in the Autumn of 1785—His arrival—Glimpses of his ulterior designs—His distinguished reception—Enters upon the business of his mission—Letter to Lord Sidney—Speech of Brant to Lord Sidney—Letter of Lord Sidney in reply—Question of half-pay—Brant's Letter to Sir Evan Nepean—His associations with the great—Keen sarcasm upon a nobleman—Striking incident at a grand masquerade—Brant's attention to the moral wants of his people—His return to Canada.
The treaty of November, 1782, restoring peace between the United States and Great Britain, and recognising the unconditional independence of the former, was such as to gratify every reasonable wish of the American people. In regard to questions of boundary and the fisheries, it was, indeed, more liberal than their allies, France and Spain, desired. Professedly, France had drawn the sword in behalf of the United States; but the negotiations for peace presented the singular fact, that but for the diplomacy of the former, the treaty of peace would have been sooner completed. The negotiation was a work of intricacy, requiring skill, penetration, judgment, and great firmness on the part of the American commissioners—qualities which their success proved them to possess in an eminent degree. But, although the American treaty was first definitively concluded, less than two months elapsed before preliminary articles of peace were agreed upon and signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain; France having the satisfaction of seeing her great rival dismembered of the fairest portion of her American possessions, as she herself had been by that very power twenty years before.
In the treaty with the United States, however, Great Britain had made no stipulation in behalf of her Indian allies. Notwithstanding the alacrity with which the aboriginals, especially the Mohawks, had entered the service of the crown—notwithstanding their constancy, their valor, the readiness with which they had spilt their blood, and the distinguished services of their Great Captain, Thayendanegea, the loyal red man was not even named in the treaty; while "the ancient country of the Six Nations, the residence of their ancestors from the time far beyond their earliest traditions, was included within the boundary granted to the Americans." [FN-1] What with the descent of Colonel Van Schaick upon the Onondagas, and the expedition of General Sullivan into their territory farther west, their whole country had been ravaged with fire and sword; and the Mohawks, in particular, had sacrificed the entire of their own rich and beautiful country. It appears, however, that when the Mohawks first abandoned their native valley to embark in his Majesty's service, Sir Guy Carleton had given a pledge, that as soon as the war was at an end they should be restored, at the expense of the government, to the condition they were in before the contest began. In April, 1779, General Haldimand, then Captain General and Commander-in-chief in Canada, ratified the promise of his predecessor, pledging himself, under hand and seal, as far as in him lay, to its faithful execution "as soon as that happy time should come." [FN-2]
[FN-1] MS. memorial of the Six Nations, presented to Lord Camden by Teyoninhokáráwen, commonly called John Norton.
[FN-2] MS. order of General Haldimand, among the Brant papers.
At the close of the war the Mohawks were temporarily residing on the American side of the Niagara river, in the vicinity of the old landing-place above the fort. The Senecas, who had been in closer alliance with the Mohawks during the war than any other of the Six Nations, and who had themselves been chiefly induced by the former to take up the hatchet against the United States, offered them a tract of land in the valley of the Genesee. But, as Captain Brant long afterward said in one of his speeches, the Mohawks were determined "to sink or swim" with the English; and besides, they did not wish to reside within the boundaries of the United States. The generous offer of the Senecas was therefore declined, and the Mohawk Chief proceeded to Montreal to confer with the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Sir John Johnson, and from thence to Quebec, to claim from General Haldimand, the Commander-in-chief, the fulfillment of his pledge. The General received the warrior with great kindness, and evinced every disposition to fulfill the pledge in the most honorable manner. The tract upon which the chief had fixed his attention was situated upon the Bay de Quinte, on the north side of the St. Lawrence, or rather of Lake Ontario; and at his request General Haldimand agreed that it should be purchased and conveyed to the Mohawks.
On the return of Thayendanegea to Niagara, the Senecas were disappointed at the arrangement, and pained at the idea that their friends were to be located at so wide a distance from them. They were apprehensive that their troubles with the United States were not yet at an end; and were, therefore, exceedingly desirous that the Mohawks should reside so near as to assist them in arms if necessary, or afford them an asylum should they be obliged to flee from the oppression of the United States. Under these circumstances Captain Brant convened a council of his people, and it was resolved that he should make a second visit to Quebec, and, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, request another and more convenient territory. The country upon the Ouise, or Grand River, flowing into Lake Erie some forty miles above the Falls of Niagara, was indicated to General Haldimand as a location every way convenient, not only for maintaining a ready intercourse with the residue of the Six Nations, but also as affording facilities for corresponding with the nations and tribes of the upper lakes. His Excellency approved of the suggestion, and promptly ordered a second purchase to be made in conformity with the request. On inquiring the extent of the territory expected by the Mohawks, the Captain replied, "Six miles on each side of the river, from the mouth to its source." With assurances that the grant should be formally secured in fee, in due season, the chief returned once more to Niagara, and shortly afterward entered into possession of the lands allotted for the new home of his people. [FN]
[FN] This narrative of facts is derived from a long speech of Captain Brant, made in council, to Gov. Simcoe, in 1795, a copy of which is preserved among the Brant papers.
In the Autumn of 1784, having learned that General Haldimand was about returning to England, the vigilant chief repaired to Quebec a third time upon this business, in order to make sure of the title deed. The result of this visit was a formal grant by Sir Frederick Haldimand, in the name of the crown, of a tract of land "upon the banks of the river Ouise, commonly called Grand River, running into Lake Erie, of six miles breadth from each side of the river, beginning at Lake Erie, and extending in that proportion to the head of said river; which the Mohawks, and others of the Six Nations who had either lost their possessions in the war, or wished to retire from them to the British, with their posterity, were to enjoy forever." [FN-1] The course of the river Ouise is about one hundred miles, so that the grant embraced a territory of that extent in length by twelve miles in width. "This tract, though much smaller than that which they had been obliged to forsake within the United States, amply satisfied these loyal Indians, who preferred living under the protection of His Britannic Majesty, (ready to fight under his standard again, if occasion should require,) to a more extensive country." [FN-2] The district of country thus granted, is said to be alike beautiful and fertile. The Grand River rises in the interior of the country toward Lake Huron, and winds its way to Lake Erie through a long and picturesque course. It is navigable for small vessels many miles upward, and for large boats a much greater distance still. The land along its whole course is uncommonly productive.
[FN-1] Copy of the Grant, among the Brant papers.
[FN-2] Norton's Memorial to Lord Camden.
The policy to be observed by the United States toward the Indians residing within their borders, was a question of grave and weighty importance, and early arrested the consideration of American statesmen. Very soon after the English came into possession of the Colony of New-York, the Six Nations relinquished their own primitive right of absolute sovereignty, and placed themselves and their lands under the protection of the government of New-York, [FN-1] reserving to themselves a kind of qualified sovereignty. The immediate object of this act, on the part of the Indians, was to secure the alliance of the English in their wars with the French, and the Huron and Algonquin Indians in Canada. [FN-2] Subsequently, during the Colonial administration, the Indians were considered as separate but dependent nations. [FN-3] Aside from this circumstance, however, by the treaty of peace the sovereignty of all the Indian countries within the prescribed limits granted to the United States by Great Britain, became vested in the former, to the same extent, of course, as it had been exercised by Great Britain. With that sovereignty, moreover, the exclusive right of preemption to all the Indian lands lying within the territory of the United States also became vested in them—subject to the possessory right only of the natives. [FN-4] These rights had been acquired by England by discovery, which, under the practice of the European nations, was held to be equivalent to conquest; and although the natives were admitted to possess a just and legal claim, as the original occupants of the soil, to retain and use it according to their own discretion, still they were not allowed to dispose of the soil at their own will, except to the government claiming the right of preemption. [FN-5] Such was the practice of Spain, France, Holland, and England; and as early as 1782, Mr. Jay, then the American Minister at the Court of Madrid, in his correspondence with the Count d'Aranda, asserted the adoption of the same principle on the part of the United States. [FN-6] But while the right of sovereignty, as it had been exercised by England, passed over to the United States by virtue of the treaty, under the complicated system of the confederacy, the preemptive right to the soil became vested in the respective States within whose boundaries or grants they were situated—the States themselves being so many sovereign powers in all matters of national import which had not been specially conceded to the Government of the Union under the Articles of Confederation.
[FN-1] Kent's Commentaries, vol. iii. p. 399.
[FN-2] Colden's Canada.
[FN-3] Kent's Commentaries.
[FN-4] Kent's Commentaries, vol. i. p. 257.
[FN-5] Idem, vol. iii. p. 379.
[FN-6] Life and Writings of John Jay.
The treatment of the Six Nations by the Dutch Colonial Government had been kind and liberal. So, also, had it been under the Colonial Government of England—the Indians, in no instance, being dispossessed of a rood of ground, except by purchase. Immediately on the conclusion of the war, however, England having made no stipulation in behalf of the Indians, a disposition was manifested by the Legislature of New-York to expel the Six Nations from all the country within the bounds of that state, which had not been ceded by them previous to the war. [FN] This disposition, which seems, likewise, to have been entertained to some extent in other states, was viewed with great concern by Generals Washington and Schuyler, who united in the opinion that such a line of policy would be alike injudicious, inhuman, and unjust. General Schuyler addressed a memorial to Congress upon the subject in July. Coinciding entirely in the sentiments of Schuyler, Washington followed up that communication by a long letter to James Duane, then in Congress, in September. The views of these gentlemen were, that the most liberal and humane policy should be adopted in respect to the Indians. True, they had taken up the hatchet in favor of the crown, and by a rigid construction of the laws of conquest, they might be dispossessed of their lands, and driven, with their allies, north beyond the lakes. But General Washington strongly urged, that while the Indians should be informed of the strict right of the United States to deal thus severely with them, and compel them to share the same evil fortune with those whom they had chosen for their allies, nevertheless, looking upon them as a people who had been deluded into the service of the crown, they should be allowed honorable terms of peace, and to retain the possession of lands and hunting grounds, to be designated by treaty, within the boundaries of which they should not be molested. It was the desire of Washington, that with regard to these children of the forest, a veil should be drawn over the past, and that they should be taught that their true interest and safety must henceforward depend upon the cultivation of amicable relations with the United States. In regard to the Six Nations, he thought the course which the Legislature of New-York seemed desirous of pursuing would involve the country in another Indian war, since the Indians would never surrender their whole territory without another struggle; while he justly held that all the territory that was actually wanted by the people of the United States might be obtained by negotiation and compromise. As a general principle, moreover, it was held that, in all time to come, it would be much cheaper to obtain cessions of land from the Indians, from time to time, as they should be required for the extension of settlements, by purchase, than to acquire them by conquest—to say nothing of the sufferings, the evils, and the guilt of war. Upon this whole subject of Indian policy there was an entire coincidence of opinion between Washington and Schuyler. Most happily it prevailed, and the subsequent cession by the states of their Indian lands to the general government, facilitated the benevolent action of the latter under that system; the wisdom of which, irrespective of its justice and humanity, has become every year more apparent since.
[FN] Letter of Washington to James Duane, Sept 7, 1783.
It was while the Mohawk chief was occupied in making his final arrangements with the Canadian Commander-in-chief, as has been seen a few pages back, that the sachems and warriors of the Six Nations were holding a treaty with the United States at Fort Stanwix. At this negotiation, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Oneidas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Seneca-Abeal [FN-1] nations were represented. The Commissioners on the part of the United States were Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee. The records of this treaty, containing the speeches interchanged on the occasion, seem not to have been preserved, as has been usual in diplomatic matters with the Indians. Nothing appears upon the subject among the Indian state-papers at the seat of Government, save the naked result of the council, in the form of a very brief treaty, signed by the nations represented instead of the several chiefs. It is known, however, that among the leading chiefs who took an active part in the negotiations, were the Corn-planter and Red Jacket; and enough is to be gathered from the records of subsequent transactions with the Indians, to afford a general idea of the course of these proceedings. Beyond doubt the representatives of the Six Nations at that council were opposed to a separate negotiation with the United States. Their desire was, that no definitive treaty of peace and boundaries should be concluded, unless the whole ground was covered at once; and, as a consequence, they strenuously urged that the Hurons, Ottawas, Shawanese, Chippewas, Delawares, Pottawattamies, the Wabash Confederates, and the Cherokees, should be represented, in order that the whole question of boundaries, on all the Indian borders, might be determined. [FN-2] But the Commissioners on the part of the United States would listen to no such delay. The Six Nations, as such, had taken up the hatchet in favor of the crown, and it was determined to punish them by a dismemberment of their territory. Red Jacket, a somewhat younger chief than the Corn-planter, was opposed to a burial of the hatchet, and spoke with great eloquence and vehemence in favor of a continuance of the war by the Indians on their own account. "His speech was a masterpiece, and every warrior who heard him was carried away with his eloquence." [FN-3] The Corn-planter was a wiser man than his junior associate. He saw the folly of a war to be waged by the Indians single-handed against the United States, and he exerted himself with all his power in favor of peace. He saw that the only alternative of his people was the relinquishment of a portion of their territory by compromise, or the loss of the whole by force. His efforts were in the end successful, and on the 22d of October a treaty was signed, by which the United States gave peace to the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagas, and Cayugas—the four hostile nations of the confederacy—and received them under their protection on condition that all the prisoners, white and black, in the possession of the said nations, should be delivered up; the Oneidas and Tuscaroras were secured in the possession of the lands then in their occupation; the Six Nations at the same time relinquishing all claims to the country west of a line beginning at the mouth of the Oyonwayea Creek, flowing into Lake Ontario four miles east of Niagara; thence southerly, but preserving a line four miles east of the carrying path, to the mouth of the Tehoseroron, or Buffalo Creek; thence to the north boundary of Pennsylvania; thence west to the end of that boundary; and thence south along the Pennsylvania line, to the river Ohio. All the Six Nations were to be secured in the possession of the lands they were then occupying; and six hostages were to be delivered to the United States, to remain in their possession until all the prisoners, whose liberation was stipulated, should be surrendered by the Indians. [FN-4] There was likewise a stipulation that the Indians should deliver up certain persons of their own people, who were considered very great offenders, to be tried by the civil laws of the United States. Two persons were surrendered under this stipulation; but the Indians afterward complained, that, instead of being tried according to law, they were wrested from the hands of the magistrate by some of the lowest of the white people, and immediately put to death. [FN-5]
[FN-1] The clan of the Senecas residing with the Corn-planter on the Allegheny.
[FN-2] Speech of the united Indian nations at a confederate council, holden at the month of the Detroit River, November and December, 1786.
[FN-3] Drake, who translates from Levasseur's Lafayette in America. The Marquis de Lafayette was present at the treaty, and, when visited by Red Jacket at Buffalo, during his tour through the United States in 1824-25, the General was reminded by the venerable chief of the circumstance of their former meeting at Fort Stanwix. This is the earliest account given of the eloquence of the man of the woods who afterward became so renowned for his oratory.
[FN-4] Vide the treaty itself, American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i. Originally the Five Nations claimed "all the land not sold to the English, from the mouth of Sorel River, on the south side of Lakes Erie and Ontario, on both sides of the Ohio until it falls into the Mississippi; and on the north side of those lakes, that whole territory between the Ottawa river and Lake Huron, and even beyond the straights between that and Lake Erie."—Smith's History.
[FN-5] Speech of Big Tree, Corn-planter, and Half-Town, to President Washington, in 1790.
The result of this negotiation gave great dissatisfaction to the Indians generally; and the crafty Red Jacket afterward availed himself of the advantages of his position, in stealing the hearts of the Senecas from the Corn-planter to himself. The Mohawk chief, Thayendanegea, was likewise highly displeased with the conditions of the treaty, the more so, doubtless, from the circumstance that Captain Aaron Hill, a subordinate chief of the Mohawk nation, was detained as one of the hostages under the treaty. When he heard of the proceedings, the old chief was at Quebec. He had completed his business with Sir Frederick Haldimand, and was on the point of embarking for England, to adjust the claims of his nation upon the crown for their sacrifices during the war. The design of going abroad was immediately relinquished for that season, and Captain Brant hastened back to his own country, to look after the welfare of his own people at home. He arrived at Cataraqui on the 27th of November, and two days afterward addressed a long letter to Colonel James Monroe, [FN] in which, after expressing a wish that the letter may find the Colonel in health, and thanking him for some recent personal civilities, he says—
[FN] Whether the Colonel Monroe, to whom this letter was addressed, was the late President of the United States, the author has not ascertained; and if so, it does not appear how he was connected with the Fort Stanwix treaty.
"I was at Quebec, getting ready to set off from thence for England (you know my business there perfectly well.) About the same time I received an account that our chief, Capt Aaron Hill, [FN] was detained, and kept as a prisoner at Fort Stanwix by the commissioners of Congress, and understood that he was to be kept until all the American prisoners returned to their own places, from the different nations of Indians, who are still remaining amongst them. When I received, this disagreeable news, I immediately declined going any farther from there. It did alarm me very much of hearing this, because it was me that encouraged that chief to come and attend that meeting at Fort Stanwix."
[FN] This chief was connected with the family of Thayendanegea. Aaron Henry Hill married one of his daughters, and is spoken of by Captain Brant, fifteen years afterward, in his correspondence with Thomas Morris, Esq.
"I never did expect that it should be the cause of detaining chiefs in the matter; for I thought the affair was too far gone to happen any such things. The Congress have past their words to us that they wish to be friends with all the Indians; and we likewise did the same to them. However, suppose the commissioners of Congress did find it necessary for them to detain some of the chiefs, I should have thought they could reasonably have excused our chief, and let him gone, and kept other right persons, who ought to be detained, because we are clear from keeping prisoners since peace. As soon as the word came, peace, we let all our prisoners go, except one or two children which could not help themselves. Captain Aaron Hill had no conveniences to take with him when he went to Fort Stanwix. We also all along advised the other tribes of Indians, since peace, that the prisoners should go to their homes; and have during the war always favored the prisoners, especially women and children; and likewise did push the matter forward since, to promote peace, and to renew the friendship with you again as we formerly had, in honestly manner. We mean to go through with it and be done with it, that every body should mind their own business and be happy. This is our customs and manners of the Mohocks, whenever engaged any thing. They are all-ways active and true;—no double faces at war, or any other business. All this makes me think the commissioners should consider this, and our chief should [have] gone home, for we have been a generous enemy to you during the war, and very active in forwarding the matters of settling peace with you all last Summer. I believe the commissioners must have some spite against the Mohocks of using them so, through the advice of Priest Kertland and the Oneidas, and he did likewise even to the Senekas, who were our friends. He tried all he could that they should themselves be against the Mohocks; all this I am well informed. Sir, these low-live tricks (it is very odd to me why it should be so,) confuses me very much. I believe we shall be at last prevented of becoming good friends with you. If it should be the case, the fault shall not be ours, which I hope you will find so. It would relieve me many points if you would be so kind as to answer me this letter, as far as you will understand my English, and please to explain me at once of your sentiments concerning this kind of complaint of mine, let it be what it will, because whatever must be done its no help for it, it must be so. If I could see you, and talk with you, I could explain myself better than a letter half English half Indian. You remember I told you that I should be happy to be present if any council-fire of yours should be held in the Spring; I mean about the Indian affairs; and I wanted to see you in New Jersies if I had time. But, my dear sir, I begin to be backward about going there, since my chief is detained. Perhaps I should be served the same, and be kept from my different sweethearts, which would be too hard for me. It is the very thing which will deprive me from having the pleasure to see you, and attending your council in the Spring—except the affairs change in different footing. But believe me this, let the affairs turn out what it will, I should be always very happy to see you. I shall winter here, myself and family; early in the Spring I shall leave this, and go to my new country at Grand River.
"I am your well-wisher, And humble servant, JOS. BRANT, or Thayendanegea. [FN]
"To Col. James Monroe."
[FN] The MS. of this letter, preserved among the papers of Capt. Brant, is probably the first rough draft. It was evidently written in great haste, and the author has made a very few corrections where the errors seemed clearly to be the effect of carelessness. Otherwise, it stands as it was written. Captain Brant improved in his English composition very much and very rapidly in after years.
What effect was produced by this letter, or how just were the complaints set forth therein, is not known; but the probability is, that the difficulty in regard to the detention of Hill was satisfactorily adjusted. In any event, Captain Brant accomplished his purpose of visiting England at the close of the year following, (1785.) Before his embarkation, however, he seems to have formed a plan somewhat analogous to that entertained, and in part accomplished, twenty years before, by Pontiac—that of combining all the great north-western Indian nations into a single grand confederacy, of which he was to be chief. In furtherance of this design, he visited the country of the upper lakes, and held councils with the nations. It is not known whether, like Pontiac, he meditated war upon the United States, unless in the event of being attacked. Still, he could not but look upon hostilities, in the event of the formation of his confederacy, as more than probable. Ostensibly, his visit to England was undertaken for the purpose of adjusting the claims of the loyal Mohawks upon the crown, for indemnification of their losses and sacrifices in the contest from which they had recently emerged. And such, probably, was the sole design of the visit, when originally projected, the preceding year. But the dissatisfaction existing in regard to the treaty of Fort Stanwix, and other indications among the Indians, had probably increased the objects of his mission. At all events, it soon appeared that, coupled with the special business of the Indian claims, was the design of sounding the British government, touching the degree of countenance or the amount of assistance which he might expect from that quarter, in the event of a general Indian war against the United States.
Sir John Johnson, who visited England immediately after the war, had returned to Canada during the Summer of 1785. He seems likewise to have been charged with the claims of the Mohawks, but accomplished nothing to their satisfaction. Still, he was opposed to the mission of Captain Brant, and wrote on the 6th of November, strongly dissuading him from undertaking the voyage. Sir John thought the claims in question might be adjusted to mutual satisfaction before the lapse of another year; and he hinted to his friend that his own interest required his attention at home. "I need not, I am sure," said the Baronet, "endeavor by many words, to point out to you the critical situation of your own affairs; I mean those of your confederacy; and how much the aid of every man of weight and influence among you is wanting at present, to guard against the designs of your enemies, who, by calling meetings at this time in every quarter, mean to spare no pains to divide and separate your interests, thereby to lessen your consequence and strength, and to answer their designs upon your country and liberty." [FN]
[FN] MS. Letter of Sir John Johnson, among the Brant papers.
But the chief was not to be diverted from his purpose. Embarking immediately, and having a short passage, he was received by the nobility and gentry with great consideration and respect. His arrival at Salisbury was thus noted in a letter from that place, dated December 12, 1785, and published in London. "Monday last, Colonel Joseph Brant, the celebrated King of the Mohawks, arrived in this city from America, and after dining with Colonel De Peister, at the head-quarters here, proceeded immediately on his journey to London. This extraordinary personage is said to have presided at the late grand Congress of confederate chiefs of the Indian nations in America, and to be by them appointed to the conduct and chief command in the war which they now meditate against the United States of America. He took his departure for England immediately as that assembly broke up; and it is conjectured that his embassy to the British Court is of great importance. This country owes much to the services of Colonel Brant during the late war in America. He was educated at Philadelphia; is a very shrewd, intelligent person, possesses great courage and abilities as a warrior, and is inviolably attached to the British nation."
What particular Indian council is referred to in the preceding quotation, is unknown. Most likely it was connected with the ambitious project of Thayendanegea already indicated; and it is, moreover, very likely that the discontents of the north-western Indians, chiefly in relation to questions of boundary, which ultimately produced the war of 1789-'95—may, even thus early, have been at work in the bosoms of the Indians. Undoubtedly, if such a council was held, "the Great Captain of the Six Nations" was present. Certain it is, that while prosecuting the just claims of the Mohawks at the British Court, he did not fail, with great adroitness, though indirectly, to present the other subject to the consideration of Lord Sidney, then Secretary for the Colonies. Indeed, it appears from a passage in the letter of Sir John Johnson, already quoted, that that gentleman had previously been sounding the government on the same question. "With regard to the assistance required or expected in case of war," said the Baronet in the letter referred to, "I think I explained that to you also, and shall more fully when I see you."
The reception of the distinguished Mohawk in the British capital was all that the proudest forest king, not unacquainted with civilized life, could have desired. In the course of the war he had formed many acquaintances with the officers of the army, upon whom he must have made a highly favorable impression, since all who met him in London recognised him with great cordiality. Some of these he had met in the salons of Quebec, as well as been associated with them in the field. His visits to the Canadian capital had been frequent during and subsequent to the war. On one of these occasions the Baroness Riedesel met him at the provincial court, which gave her occasion to speak of him thus in her memoirs:—"I saw at that time the famous Indian chief, Captain Brant. His manners are polished; he expressed himself with fluency, and was much esteemed by General Haldimand. I dined once with him at the General's. In his dress he showed off to advantage the half military and half savage costume. His countenance was manly and intelligent, and his disposition very mild." [FN-1] Aside, therefore, from the novelty of gazing upon an Indian prince in the British capital, his education and associations, his rank as a warrior, and his bravery, were so many substantial reasons why he should be received with kindness and courtesy. Sir Guy Carleton, afterward Lord Dorchester, who was then on the point of embarking for America to relieve Sir Frederick Haldimand in the government of the Canadas, was well acquainted with the Chief. Earl Moira, afterward Marquis of Hastings, who had served in America as Lord Rawdon, had formed a strong attachment to Captain Brant, and gave him his picture set in gold. [FN-2] The late General Sir Charles Stuart, fourth son of the Earl of Bute, who, while serving in America, had often slept under the same tent with him, had the warmest regard for him, [FN-3] and cordially recognised him as his friend in London. With the late Duke of Northumberland, then Lord Percy, he had likewise formed an acquaintance in America, which ripened into a lasting attachment, and was maintained by a correspondence, continued at intervals until his death. With the Earl of Warwick, and others of the nobility and gentry, he had become acquainted during his first visit, ten years before. His acquaintance was also sought by many of the distinguished statesmen and scholars of the time; among whom were the Bishop of London, Charles Fox, James Boswell, and many others. He sat for his picture for Lord Percy, as he had done for the Earl of Warwick and Boswell when first in England; and Fox presented him with a silver snuff-box, bearing his initials. [FN-4] With the King and royal family he was a great favorite—not the less so on the part of his Majesty, for having proudly refused to kiss his hand on his presentation. The dusky Chief, however, in declining that ceremony, with equal gallantry and address remarked that he would gladly kiss the hand of the Queen. George the Third was a man of too much sterling sense not to appreciate the feelings of his brother chief, and he loved his queen too well not to be gratified with the turning of a compliment in her Majesty's favor, in a manner that would have done no discredit to the most accomplished cavalier of the Court of Elizabeth—Sir Walter Raleigh.
[FN-1] Letters and memoirs of the Baroness de Riedesel.
[FN-2] Now in possession of the lady of Colonel William J. Kerr, the daughter of Thayendanegea.
[FN-3] Letter of Thomas Campbell to the late John Brant, or Ahyonwaeghs, the son of Thayendanegea; of whom more hereafter.
[FN-4] Still in the possession of Mrs. Kerr.
Equally well did he stand in the graces of the Prince of Wales, [FN] who took great delight in his company; sometimes inviting him in his rambles to places "very queer for a prince to go to," as the old chief was wont to remark in after-life. He was also, it is believed, an occasional guest at the table of the Prince, among that splendid circle of wits, orators, and scholars, who so frequently clustered around the festive board of the accomplished and luxurious heir apparent. It has been asserted, likewise, that these associations, and the freedom with which the leading Whigs were accustomed to speak of the King, had an unhappy effect upon the mind of the warrior, by lessening his reverence for the regal office, if not for his Majesty's person.
[FN] His late Majesty George IV.
But, amidst all the attractions of the metropolis, and the hospitalities in which he was called to participate, the Chief did not neglect the special object, or objects, of his mission. He had left his nation suffering from their losses of property and other sacrifices, by which, as well as their arms, they had proved their loyalty, or rather their good faith to the King as allies, during the late war, and his first object was to obtain relief. The claims of his people had previously been presented to the consideration of his Majesty's Government, as already staled, by Sir John Johnson; but, apparently receiving no attention, on the 4th of January, 1786, Captain Brant addressed the following letter to Lord Sidney, his Majesty's Secretary for the Colonial Department:—
Captain Brant to Lord Sidney.
"My Lord,
"The claims of the Mohawks for their losses having been delivered by Sir John Johnson, His Majesty's Superintendent General for Indian affairs, to General Haldimand, and by him laid before your Lordship, who cannot but be well informed that their sufferings, losses, and being drove from that country which their forefathers long enjoyed, and left them the peaceable possession of, is in consequence of their faithful attachment to the King, and the zeal they manifested in supporting the cause of His country against the rebellious subjects in America.
"From the promises made by the Governor and Commander-in-chief of Canada, that their losses should be made good, and that soon, when I left them, I was desired to put His Majesty's ministers in mind of their long and sincere friendship for the English nation, in whose cause their ancestors and they have so often fought and so freely bled,—of their late happy settlements, before the rebellion, and their present situation,—and to request their claims might be attended to, and that orders may be given for what they are to receive to be paid as soon as possible, in order to enable them to go on with the settlement they are now making; in some measure stock their farms, and get such articles and materials as all settlements in new countries require, and which it is out of their power to do before they are paid for their losses.
"On my mentioning these matters, since my arrival in England, I am informed orders are given that this shall be done; which will give great relief and satisfaction to those faithful Indians, who will have spirit to go on, and their hearts be filled with gratitude for the King, their father's, great kindness, which I pray leave, in their behalf, to acknowledge, and to thank your Lordship for your friendship.
"JOSEPH BRANT, Captain, or Thayendanegea.
"London, 4th January, 1786."
On the same day Captain Brant was honored by an interview with the Secretary, on which occasion he addressed his Lordship in the following speech, a copy of which was delivered in writing.—