OLONEL JOSEPH BRANDT, whose Indian name was Thayendenaga, was a chieftain of the Mohawk tribe. He was in fact a half-breed, who lived and acted so like the red men that few are aware of his mongrel blood. He was born about 1745, and was placed by Sir William Johnson in a school at Lebanon, Connecticut, where he received a fair education. On the eve of the Revolution, he went to England, was presented to King George III. and attracted much notice. A peculiar trait of Brandt was that he always managed to draw much attention to himself. He formed a strong liking for the English, and made up his mind to do all he could for them in the war that was about to open. He was given a colonel's commission in the British army on the frontiers, and soon after returned to America to link his name with some of the most shameful events in the West. Associated with Brandt were two Tories who were worse miscreants than he; these were John Butler and Walter his son, who lived a few miles from Johnstown, in New York, which was the home of Brandt.

Brandt acted as the secretary of Colonel Guy Johnson, son-in-law of Sir William Johnson, who died in 1774. When Guy Johnson, alarmed for his own safety, fled to Canada, Brandt and the two Butlers went with him. There, where they were safe, they hatched their plots for injuring the Americans. Brandt soon fell out with Johnson, and he and the Butlers returned to New York.

In order clearly to understand the events that follow, we must glance at the status of the struggle of the colonies for independence. England formed a plan in 1777, for crushing the uprising by means of the most formidable campaign that had yet been set on foot. This was to send Burgoyne, with his large army from Canada, and open communication between that province and the city of New York, thereby cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies. If this plan could be carried out, Burgoyne's powerful army would be forced like a stupendous wedge between the two sections, and a fatal blow given to the struggle for liberty.

This campaign provided for the advance of Burgoyne to Albany, where he was to meet a large force sent up the Hudson from New York. This is not the place to describe the failure of the important movement, ending in the capture of Burgoyne and his whole army.

A part of this great scheme was that Colonel Barry St. Leger was to go up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, and thence to Albany by the Mohawk River. His command was composed mostly of Tories and Indians, and Brandt and the Butlers were with him. Early in June, Brandt gathered his Mohawks together and made ready to strike a blow for the English. General Nicholas Herkimer in command of the Tryon County militia, was ordered to check Brandt. He set out to relieve Fort Stanwix (also called Fort Schuyler), which was besieged by a large number of British, Canadians, Tories and Indians. Most of these marched to meet Herkimer, of whose approach they had learned.

While marching in loose order through the woods at Oriskany, near Utica, Herkimer's militia were ambushed by the Tories and Indians. They were thrown into a panic and a large number shot down. A bullet killed Herkimer's horse and mortally wounded him. He propped himself on the ground with his back against a tree, lit his pipe and continued to give orders. The reports of the guns of a body of troops that had hurried out of the fort to the relief of the militia, alarmed the Indians who fled, the Tories quickly following them. General Herkimer was carried to his home, where he soon died from the effects of the wound.

The relief of Fort Stanwix was brought about by a curious piece of strategy. Schuyler, in command at the time of the campaign against Burgoyne, could hardly spare a man, and yet, unless relief was sent, the fort must fall. His officers opposed, for the reason named, and the angry Schuyler asked for some leader to volunteer. Benedict Arnold promptly offered, and at the head of eight hundred men, hastened toward the endangered post. Brave as was Arnold, he could not shut his eyes to the fact that his force could not compare in number with the Tories and Indians, and was more likely to fail than to succeed.

Reaching German Flats he found that one of the prisoners held by the Americans was a half-witted Tory, who had been condemned to death for some fault. He was hardly responsible for his acts, but was scared almost to death, and his mother was in an agony of distress over his fate. She sank on her knees before Arnold and prayed him to save her son. The officer consented on the single condition that the youth should do a certain thing for him. The joyous mother and boy declared that he had only to tell them what it was and it should be done.

"It is simple," explained Arnold, "you and a friendly Oneida Indian are to go to the camp of St. Leger and make him believe my force is twice as great as his, and that if he waits where he is, I shall kill them all."

The youth eagerly said he would do all that was required, and the plan was soon formed. Several bullets were fired through his clothes, and he dashed off as fast as he could speed through the woods. When he reached the enemy's camp a few miles away, he was so exhausted that he could hardly stand. Asked to explain what it all meant, he said he had just escaped from the Americans by the narrowest means possible, and as proof he showed the many bullet holes in his clothing.

Hardly was this explanation made when the Oneida ran in from another direction, with the same startling story. "The Americans are like the leaves on the trees," he said; "They will soon be here!"

It was enough. The terrified Indians broke in a wild flight for safer quarters, despite the efforts of their officers to check them. Inasmuch as they made up most of the force of the besiegers, the soldiers had nothing to do but follow them and thus the siege of Fort Stanwix was raised.

It seems strange that it did not occur to the underwitted Tory that, after reaching the camp of the besiegers, he might as well have told the truth, since he was beyond the reach of Arnold; but that officer probably gave him such a scare that it took him a long time to get over it. And it is likely the American commander played upon his fears regarding the safety of his mother, in case he betrayed his trust.

The next event in which Brandt figures is the tragedy at Wyoming, which occurred in the following July. Congress had been warned that a large force was gathering at Niagara for the purpose of desolating the frontiers of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, but that body had so much other business on hand it gave no attention to the appeal.

In the month of July, 1778, a Tory and Indian force to the number of sixteen hundred, marched against the lovely settlement.

The people took refuge in a structure known as "Forty Fort," while the old men, boys, and a few veteran soldiers, who were home on furlough, ranged themselves for action. Although the invaders were three times as numerous as the patriots, the latter had a fair chance of success in an open fight, for they were quite well armed, were led by good officers, and had the strongest inspiration that can come to men placed in their situation; they were about to fight, not for themselves alone, but for their wives and children. Before the opening of the battle, strong spirits were distributed among the defenders, and truth compels us to say that a number indulged too freely,—so much so that it helped in the defeat of the patriots. They were steadily gaining ground when an order was misunderstood and confusion followed. At that critical moment, the Indians made a charge, hopeless panic followed, and the historical Wyoming massacre began. Under a solemn pledge that no one should be harmed, the fort was surrendered: nearly all the garrison, as well as the women and children, perished by the tomahawk.

Some of the settlers were too wise to trust their lives to the plighted word of a Tory or Indian, and plunged into the forests on their way to the settlements of the Upper Delaware. Many sank down and died in the dismal solitudes which have ever since borne the name of the "Shades of Death." A few succeeded in reaching Stroudsburg and other points, but the awful woe suffered by Wyoming in the early days of July, 1778, will give the place a sad distinction so long as the history of our country is chronicled.

It was only four months later, that a body of seven hundred, most of whom were under Brandt, set out for Cherry Valley. Colonel Ichabod Alden was in command of this post, and was blamable for what followed. He was warned of the approach of Brandt and his men, and the settlers asked for shelter in the fort. He replied that he did not believe the danger was serious, and would send out scouts that would keep him informed of the movements of the enemy. The principal of these scouts found the November weather so chilly, that, after going a little way they kindled a fire, lay down and went to sleep. Brandt's scouts were drawn to the spot by the light, and captured every one of the men, who were compelled to give exact information of the fort and settlement. In the cold mist of the morning the enemy approached the post. Among the first victims was Colonel Alden, who was quartered outside the fort. The latter repelled several attacks, and the assailants took their departure with about forty prisoners, while fully as many had been put to death or mortally wounded.

When peace came and the independence of the United States was secured, Colonel Brandt did what he could to prevent hostilities by the Indians on the southern and western frontier. Much trouble resulted from the failure properly to fix the boundary between the United States and the Indian tribes. Brandt urged making the Ohio and the Muskingum such boundary, and, declared that, unless it was done, the Indians would go to war. He even said he would join them, but this must have been in the nature of intimidation, for though the red men took up the hatchet again, Brandt was at no time with them.

The king of England did not forget the services of his ally. He gave him a fine tract of land on the western side of Lake Ontario, where he made his home and lived after the English fashion. He had married a half-breed woman in the winter of 1779, by whom he had several children. She remained more of an Indian, however, than a white woman, and refused to conform to civilized life. After her husband's death (November 24, 1807), she removed to Grand River and spent the remainder of her days in a wigwam, taking some of her children with her and leaving others at their former home.

A remarkable piece of work by Brandt was the translation of John's Gospel and the Book of Common Prayer into the Mohawk language. Copies of these works may be found in the library of Harvard University.