  Birth and parentage—Discussion of the doubts cast upon his origin—Visit of Mohawk chiefs to Queen Anne—Evidence of Brant's descent from one of those—Digression from the main subject, and Extracts from the private and official journals of Sir William Johnson—Connexion between Sir William and the family of Brant—Incidental references to the old French war—Illustrations of Indian proceedings, speeches, &c.—Brant's parentage satisfactorily established—Takes the field in the Campaign of Lake George (1765.)—Is engaged at the conquest of Niagara (1759.)—Efforts of Sir William Johnson to civilize the Indians—Brant is sent, with other Indian youths, to the Moor Charity School, at Lebanon—Leaves school—Anecdote—Is engaged on public business by Sir William—As an Interpreter for the Missionaries—Again takes the field, in the wars against Pontiac—Intended massacre at Detroit—Ultimate overthrow of Pontiac—First marriage of Brant—Entertains the Missionaries—Again employed on public business—Death of his wife—Engages with Mr. Stewart in translating the Scriptures—Marries again—Has serious religious impressions—Selects a bosom friend and confidant, after the Indian custom—Death of his friend—His grief, and refusal to choose another friend. The birth and parentage of Joseph Brant, or, more correctly, of Thayendanegea—for such was his real name—have been involved in uncertainty, by the conflicting accounts that have been published concerning him. The Indians have no herald's college in which the lineage of their great men can be traced, or parish registers of marriages and births, by which a son can ascertain his paternity. Ancestral glory and shame are therefore only reflected darkly through the dim twilight of tradition. By some authors, Thayendanegea has been called a half-breed. By others he has been pronounced a Shawanese by parentage, and only a Mohawk by adoption. Some historians have spoken of him as a son of Sir William Johnson; [FN] while others again have allowed him the honour of Mohawk blood, but denied that he was descended from a chief. [FN] Several authors have suggested that Brant was the son of the Baronet. Drake, in his useful compilation, "The Book of the Indians," states that he had been so informed by no less an authority than Jared Sparks. Drake himself calls him an Onondaga of the Mohawk Tribe! Nearly twenty years ago, a brief account of the life and character of this remarkable man was published in the Christian Recorder, at Kingston, in the province of Upper Canada. In that memoir it was stated that Thayendanegea was born on the banks of the Ohio, whither his parents had emigrated from the valley of the Mohawk, and where they are said to have sojourned several years. "His mother at length returned with two children—Mary, who lived with Sir William Johnson, and Joseph, the subject of this memoir. Nothing was known of Brant's father among the Mohawks. Soon after the return of this family to Canajoharie, the mother married a respectable Indian called Carrihogo, or News-Carrier, whose Christian name was Barnet or Bernard; but, by way of contraction, he went by the name of Brant." Hence it is argued that the lad, who was in future to become not only a distinguished war-chief, but a statesman, and the associate of the chivalry and nobility of England, having thus been introduced into the family of that name, was first known by the distinctive appellation of "Brant's Joseph" and in process of time, by inversion, "Joseph Brant." [FN] [FN] Christian Register, 1819, Vol. I. No. 3, published at Kingston, (U. C.) and edited by the Rev. Doctor, now the Honourable and Venerable Archdeacon Strachan, of Toronto. The sketches referred to were written by Dr. Strachan, upon information received by him many years before, from the Rev. Dr. Stewart, formerly a missionary in the Mohawk Valley, and father of the present Archdeacon Stewart of Kingston. There is an approximation to the truth in this relation, and it is in part sustained by the existing family tradition. The facts are these: the Six Nations had carried their arms far to the west and south, and the whole country south of the lakes was claimed by them, to a certain extent of supervisory jurisdiction, by the right of conquest. To the Ohio and Sandusky country they asserted a stronger and more peremptory claim, extending to the right of soil—at least on the lake shore as far as Presque Isle. From their associations in that country, it had become usual among the Six Nations, especially the Mohawks, to make temporary removals to the west during the hunting seasons, and one or more of those families would frequently remain abroad, among the Miamis, the Hurons, and Wyandots, for a longer or shorter period, as they chose. One of the consequences of this intercommunication, was the numerous family alliances existing between the Six Nations and others at the west—the Wyandots, in particular. It was while his parents were abroad upon one of those hunting excursions, that Thayendanegea was born, in the year 1742, on the banks of the Ohio. The home of his family was at the Canajoharie Castle—the central of the three Castles of the Mohawks, in their native valley. His father's name was Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, a full-blooded Mohawk of the Wolf Tribe. [FN] Thayendanegea was very young when his father died. His mother married a second time to a Mohawk; and the family tradition at present, is, that the name of Brant was acquired in the manner assumed by the publication already cited. There is reason to doubt the accuracy of this tradition, however, since it is believed that there was an Indian family, of some consequence and extent, bearing the English name of Brant. Indeed, from the extracts presently to be introduced from the recently discovered manuscripts of Sir William Johnson, it may be questioned whether Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, and an old chief, called by Sir William sometimes Brant, and at others Nickus Brant, were not one and the same person. [FN] Each of the original Five Nations was divided into three tribes—the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. The subject of the present memoir was of the latter. According to David Cusick, a Tuscarora, who has written a tract respecting the history of the ancient Five Nations, the laws of the confederation required that the Onondagas should provide the King, and the Mohawks a great War-Chief. The denial that he was a born chief, is likewise believed to be incorrect. It is very true, that among the Six Nations, chieftainship was not necessarily obtained by inheritance. But in regard to Thayendanegea, there is no doubt that he was of noble blood. The London Magazine for July, 1776, contains a sketch of him, probably furnished by Boswell, with whom he was intimate during his first visit to England in 1775-'76. In that account it is affirmed as a fact without question, that he was the grandson of one of the five sachems who visited England, and excited so much attention in the British capital, in 1710, during the reign of Queen Anne. Of those chiefs, two were of the Muhhekaneew, or River Indians, and three were Mohawks—one of whom was chief of the Canajoharie clan. [FN-1] Thayendanegea was of the latter clan; and as there is reason to believe that his father was a sachem, there can be little doubt of the correctness of the London publication, in claiming for him direct descent from the Canajoharie chief who visited the British court at the time above mentioned. But there is other evidence to sustain the assumption. In the Life of the first President Wheelock, by the Rev. Messrs. McClure and Parish, it is asserted that the father of Joseph Brant "was sachem of the Mohawks, after the death of the famous King Hendrick." The intimacy for a long time existing between the family of Brant and the Wheelocks, father and sons, renders this authority, in the absence of unwritten testimony still more authentic, very good; and as Hendrick fell in 1755, when Thayendanegea was thirteen years of age, the tradition of the early death of his father, and his consequent assumption of a new name, is essentially weakened. Mrs. Grant, of Laggan, who in early life was a resident of Albany, and intimately acquainted with the domestic relations of Sir William Johnson, speaks of the sister of young Thayendanegea, who was intimately associated in the family of the Baronet, as "the daughter of a sachem." [FN-2] [FN-1] These five sachems, or Indian kings, as they were called, were taken to England by Colonel Schuyler. Their arrival in London created a great sensation, not only in the capital, but throughout the kingdom. The populace followed them wherever they went. The Court was at that time in mourning for the death of the Prince of Denmark, and the chiefs were dressed in black under-clothes, after the English manner; but, instead of a blanket, they had each a scarlet-ingrain cloth mantle, edged with gold, thrown over all their other clothes. This dress was directed by the dressers of the play-house, and given by the Queen. A more than ordinary solemnity attended the audience they had of her Majesty. They were conducted to St. James's in two coaches by Sir Charles Cotterel, and introduced to the royal presence by the Duke of Shrewsbury, then Lord Chamberlain. [Smith's History.] Oldmixon has preserved the speech delivered by them on the occasion, and several historians record the visit. Sir Richard Steele mentions these chiefs in the Tatler of May 13, 1710, They were also made the subject of a number of the Spectator, by Addison. [FN-2] "Memoirs of an American Lady," chap, xxxix. In the manuscript diary of Sir William Johnson, just referred to, and of which more particular mention has been made in the Introduction, the Baronet often had occasion to speak of Brant, of Canajoharie. Sometimes he was called "Nickus Brant," and at others Aroghyadagha—but most frequently "Old Nickus," or "Old Brant." As these private journals of Sir William have never seen the light, and are curious in themselves, a few extracts will probably not be unacceptable to the reader—serving, as they will, not only to illustrate the present history, but also the character of the intercourse and relations existing between the English and the Indians, under the administration of the Indian department by that distinguished officer. A more just idea of the character and importance of the chieftain's family, may likewise be derived from a perusal of the extracts proposed to be given, exhibiting, as they do, something of the intercourse maintained between the families of the white and the red warriors. It must be borne in mind, that the diary to which we are referring, was written in the years 1757, '58, and '59—in the midst of the old French war, ending by the conquest of Canada, in 1763. An expedition against that colony, under the conduct of Lord Loudoun, projected early in the former year, had been abandoned in consequence of his Lordship's inability to bring a sufficient number of troops into the field, to meet the heavy reinforcements sent over that year from France. Meantime the Marquis de Montcalm, with an army of 9000 men, had advanced through Lake George, and carried Fort William Henry—the siege of which was followed by a frightful massacre—and was then threatening Fort Edward and the settlements on the Hudson; while at the west, the French, with their Indian allies, were continually threatening an invasion by the way of Oswego; and by their scouts and scalping parties, were vexing the German settlements on the Upper Mohawk, and continually harassing the Six Nations—or Iroquois—ever the objects of French hostility. In this state of things, it required the utmost activity on the part of Sir William Johnson, his officers and Indian allies, to keep themselves well informed as to the actual or intended movements of their subtle enemies. There was therefore constant employment, until the close of the year, for Indian scouts and messengers, throughout the whole wilderness country from Lake Champlain to Niagara, and Fort Du Quesne, on the Ohio. With this explanation we proceed to the diary: "1757.—Nov. 4. Canadiorha, alias Nickus Brant's son, who was in quest after De Conagne as far as Oneida, came here (Fort Johnson), and said he inquired what news was stirring among the Oneidas. One of the sachems told him the same piece of news Ogaghte brought some days since, about the French intending to stop the powder from the Six Nations,—building a fort near Chennessio, &c.—that it made a great noise among the nations, and gave them uneasiness; wherefore they were assembling often at Chennessio, and keeping (holding) often great councils among themselves how to act in this affair of last moment. He further was told at Oneida, that but two days ago the Six Nations received a message from the Twightwees (Miamies), letting their brethren of the Six Nations know that they had heard of the insolent attempt of the French, of destroying the Six Nations; and that after the many provocations the French gave them, in stirring them up to war against the English, &c. they were now resolved to turn the hatchet against the French, and resolved to pass the Six Nations' country in their way to war. They expected not to be delayed, but to be immediately joined by the warriors of the Six Nations, and to proceed toward Canada. He also said he heard the foreign (distant) nations complain very much for want of trade with the English; and Tahaddy, a Chenundidie chief, said that he was stopped by the French to sell his fur at Cataraghqui, and that he got not the half quantity of goods that he could (have) got from the English, and that he intended to keep his furs for the future, and in the Spring to go with them to Albany, and at the same time to intercede with Sir William in behalf of all the western nations, to grant them a trade again—and further Canadiorha said not." In the next extract it will be seen that Sir William speaks of Brant as a "sachem." Of course it could be none other than the elder, or "Old Brant," at the time; as Joseph was not then more than sixteen years old. "1758—April 15th. Sir William set out for Canajoharie, and took with him Captains Johnson,[FN-1] Fonda, and Jacobus Clement, in order to settle some matters with the Indians of that castle. He arrived that night." [FN-2] [FN-1] Guy Johnson, his son-in-law. [FN-2] This entry is not in the hand-writing of Sir William, but of a certain "P. W." who was his private secretary, "April 16th. He delivered a string of wampum to Brant and Paulus, two sachems, desiring them to call all their people out of the woods to attend a meeting he proposed the next day with them, at which he should let them know General Abercrombie's pleasure, and his own inclination and advice—also what passed between him and the several nations, who of late had had several meetings with him." Preparations were now making for a more formidable and vigorous campaign, under General Abercrombie, who had succeeded Lord Loudoun. His object was an attack upon Ticonderoga, and, if successful, a descent upon Crown Point and Montreal. The French in Canada were of course making corresponding exertions to repel the expected invasion. With a view of creating a diversion, by annoying the colony of New-York from another quarter, they were said to be preparing to invade the Mohawk Valley, by the way of Oswego and Fort Stanwix. A party of their Indians had made a bold irruption, toward the close of April, upon Burnetsfield, on the south side of the Mohawk, and destroyed the entire settlement—massacreing men, women, and children—thirty-three in number—being the whole population save two persons. There had likewise been outrages at the German Flats, where several Indians had been killed by the inhabitants. The militia were promptly ordered into the field, to rendezvous at Canajoharie, whither Sir William repaired on the 4th of May, to lead them against the enemy—reported on the same day to be in force at the great carrying place (Fort Stanwix.) Meantime it was well known that the French had left no means untried, to seduce the five westernmost tribes of the Six Nations from their allegiance to the English. They had long had their Jesuit priests among the Oneidas, Onondagas, &c.; and a variety of circumstances had occurred to induce the Mohawks to distrust their brethren of the other tribes. Under these circumstances, Sir William received the invitation thus noted in his diary:— "April 4th. Sir William having had an invitation from the Six Nations to attend a grand meeting to be held at Onondaga within a few days hence, where he intends to proceed, in case the last alarm should prove groundless." The Baronet arrived at Canajoharie in the evening, and attended a dance of the young warriors, having the scalp of one of the hostile Indians engaged in the recent irruption, who had been killed at the German Flats. He is thus spoken of in the diary—in the hand-writing of Sir William's secretary. "The body of Otqueandageghte, an Onondaga warrior, who lived for some years at Swegachy, and formerly a mate of Sir William's, was found. His name was engraved on the handle (of his knife), and how often he had been to war, together with this inscription—'Otqueandageghte le Camera de Jeanson.'" Sir William was highly respected by the Six Nations, and by the Mohawks in particular was greatly beloved. This affection was not only manifested by their actions, but often in their speeches, at their councils, and in their concern for his welfare when sick, and for his safety when in the field. [FN] Such being their feelings toward the Baronet, they were reluctant, under existing circumstances, to allow him to place himself in the power of the Indians about to assemble at the Great Council Fire at Onondaga. They were likewise apprehensive that he might incur danger from some of the scalping parties of the French. These explanations will render the following extracts from the diary intelligible:— [FN] To this point, at the close of a council, Sir William says—"When I drank to them at parting, they in return drank my health, and thanked God I had recovered my late illness. They then all said that it was happy I did not die then; for, said they, 'had you died, we and the English would get by the ears very soon, we see; and we fear it will be the case when you die or leave us.'" Again, at another council the chiefs commenced their speech:— "Brother, We are extremely glad to see you so well recovered of your late very dangerous illness, and thank the Great Spirit above for it. Had you been taken away from us that time, our case would have been melancholy, and our situation extremely precarious. It will be so, we fear, whenever we lose you." Diary, Jan. 14-19, 1758. "May 5th. Sir William having no further accounts of the enemy's appearance, sent a scout of two Mohawks, two Canajoharies, and a white man, to go as far as Wood Creek and the Oneida Lake, in order to obtain the certainty of the alarm. About noon all the women of the chief men of this castle met at Sir William's lodging, and brought with them several of the sachems, who acquainted Sir William that they had something to say to him in the name of their chief women. "Old Nickus (Brant) being appointed speaker, opened his discourse with condoling with Sir William for the losses his people had sustained, and then proceeded:— "Brother, we understand you intend to go to a meeting to Onondaga; we can't help speaking with this belt of wampum to you, and giving our sentiments on your intended journey. In the first place we think it quite contrary to the customs of any Governors or Superintendent of Indian affairs being called to Onondaga upon public business, as the council fire which burns there serves only for private consultations of the confederacy; and when matters are concluded and resolved upon there, the confederacy are to set out for the great fire place which is at your house, and there deliver their conclusion. In the next place we are almost convinced that the invitation is illegal, and not agreed upon or desired by the confederacy, but only the Qneidas—which gives us the more reason to be uneasy about your going, as it looks very suspicious. Did not they tell you, when they invited you, the road of friendship was clear, and every obstacle removed that was in before? They scarce uttered it, and the cruelties were committed at the German Flats, where the remainder of our poor brethren were butchered by the enemy's Indians. Is this a clear road of peace and friendship? Would not you be obliged to wade all the way in the blood of the poor innocent men, women, and children who were murdered after being taken? "Brother, by this belt of wampum, we, the women, surround and hang about you like little children, who are crying at their parents' going from them, for fear of their never returning again to give them suck; and we earnestly beg you will give ear to our request, and desist from your journey. We flatter ourselves you will look upon this our speech, and take the same notice of it as all our men do, who, when they are addressed by the women, and desired to desist from any rash enterprise, they immediately give way, when, before, every body else tried to dissuade them from it, and could not prevail." Gave the Belt. "Canajoharie, May 7th. This afternoon Sir William had a meeting with the chief women of this castle, and returned them thanks for their condolence of the 5th instant. At the same time he condoled with them for the loss of one of the tribe of the Bear, that belonged to the chief of that tribe, with a stroud blanket, a shirt, and stockings." A string of Wampum. "Sir William told them that he would answer their speech concerning his journey, when the messengers who had gone to Oneida came back. He also made private presents to a few of the head women of each tribe, with a blanket and shirt each." "May 10th. This afternoon Sir William returned his answer to the speech of the chief women of this castle, made to him on the 5th instant, which is as follows:— "Dyattego, your tender and affectionate speech, made some days ago, I have considered, and thereupon have dispatched messengers to Oneida, in order to inquire how things stand there after what happened at the German Flats, and whether my presence at the meeting would be still necessary. These messengers are returned, and I find by them that the sachems of Oneida likewise disapprove my proceeding any farther, for sundry reasons they give in their reply. Wherefore I shall comply with your request to return, and heartily thank you for the great tenderness and love expressed for me in your speech." Returned their Belt. The next entry in which the name of Nickus Brant occurs, is under date of November 18th, 1758—in which he is called the chief sachem of Canajoharie. He must also have been a man of trust and consequence, as he had then just returned from an important mission to a great Indian council in Pennsylvania. "Fort Johnson, Nov. 18, 1758. Nickus, chief sachem of Canajoharie, arrived from the meeting at Easton, and in the presence of the Belt, a Seneca chief, several more of said nation, the Red Head, and some more Onondagoes, showed me all the belts which passed between the Governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and these several nations of Indians there assembled, with the purport of them, which I need not insert here." An important land negotiation had taken place at the council at Easton, by which the agents of Penn had agreed to release to the Six Nations, certain territories purchased of them at Albany in 1754—but which sale gave dissatisfaction to the tribes. Nickus desired Sir William to communicate this information to the Indians, on their return from hunting; and Sir William enjoined it upon Nickus to put an end to the irregularities of his tribe, and the mischief they were doing to the property; as "such barbarism must be productive of very fatal consequences." The Diary says:—"He told me it was with the utmost concern he had heard what I had told him, and assured me he would endeavour all in his power to restrain them, and try to bring them to proper order; but doubted of success while there was such a flood of rum in the country, which alone occasioned them to commit such irregularities, and which, if not prevented, must inevitably destroy them all in a little time." [FN] [FN] The introduction and pernicious effects of ardent spirits among the Indians were a frequent subject of complaint, even at that early day, of which Sir William's memoranda, and the records of Indian speeches to him, afford repeated proofs. On the 18th of January, 1759, Sir William held a conference at Canajoharie Castle with the Mohawk and Seneca chiefs. After condoling with them for their losses by sickness, with three strings of wampum, and for their losses by the war with a like number of strings, he addressed them as follows:— "Brethren of the two Mohawk Castles and Senecas: I take the first opportunity of acquainting you that His Majesty has been pleased to appoint Lieutenant General Amherst, Commander in Chief of all his forces in North America, in the room of Lieutenant General Abercrombie, who is called home. Also that the General has, by letter, desired I would use my utmost endeavours to get as great a number of our brethren, the Six Nations, to join him early next Spring against our common enemy, as I possibly can. This I shall endeavour to do, and would be glad of your advice and assistance therein, which by this belt of wampum I desire you, as our steady friends, will afford me. "A Belt. "Brethren: As you are all acquainted with the late cruel and unprecedented murder of John McMichael, one of our people, by a Cayouga [FN] Indian near Fort Stanwix, whom he employed to escort him to Fort Herkimer, I shall not repeat the disagreeable circumstances to you, as I am sensible it affects you as well as me. I would now only ask your opinion what are the proper steps to be taken in the affair, as it will always have great weight with me. "Three Strings." [FN] Always spelt thus by Sir William Johnson. "Brethren: I lately received these strings of wampum from the Oneidas by Captain Fonda, by which they say I am invited to a meeting proposed to be held soon at Onondaga, where you are also desired to attend. I am ready and willing to go if you think it will be for the good of the service. At the same time I must observe to you, that I think it an unprecedented manner of inviting either you or me, without some of the Onondagas coming down with it as usual. I nevertheless submit to your judgment, as being better acquainted with their forms, and expect you will give it me, as well as your opinion of the proper steps for me to take, in order to get what prisoners of ours may be among the nations." Three Strings. "Do. Die. Tarrawarriax, and another Seneca sachem, came to Sir William, at Brant's house, and told him, &c. "January 19. The sachems, &c. being met at their council room, sent to acquaint Sir William that they were ready to answer to what he the day before had laid before them. On which he, with the same gentlemen who attended him yesterday, went to the meeting, when Aroghyadecka, alias Old Brant, chief of the Canajoharies, spoke as follows:— "Brother Warraghiysgey [FN]—We are much obliged to you for giving us so timely notice of the General's desire and intentions, and we hope and wish that he may be ready to take the field very early, which in our opinion is what should always be done. You may depend upon our attachment and assistance; being determined, as we declared to you at the beginning of this war, to stand or fall with you. And as you desired our opinion with regard to the Six Nations, we have considered of it, and think it best that you call their sachems, chief warriors, and leading women, down to your house as soon as may be, where we shall be ready to attend and assist you all in our power. "Returned the Belt." [FN] The name which the Indians had conferred upon Sir William, and by which he was almost invariably addressed. "Brother: The late murder of one of our brethren near the carrying place, by one of the Upper nations in the French interest, gives us great concern, and think he ought to be severely punished for it. But as we hope the Six Nations may now act a better part than they have hitherto, we would advise you not to say any thing about it until they come to the meeting at your house, and then we think the milder you speak to them, the better, at this time. And this is our opinion. "Returned three Strings. "Brother: As for the strings of wampum lately sent by the Oneidas, to invite you and us to a meeting at Onondaga, we think with you that it was not according to our ancient and usual custom, nor was it even a proper invitation. We are of opinion that your inviting them all to your house is much better and more in character. Wherefore we would be very glad if you would give them an invitation, and at the same time to send some strings of wampum, desiring they would bring what prisoners of our brethren may be among them. "Three Strings of Wampum. "Brother: We return you our hearty thanks for the confidence you repose in us, and be assured we shall ever study to act so as to continue your good opinion of us. We are also thankful to you for the good news you yesterday told us, and we heartily congratulate you thereon, and hope further success may attend the King's arms." The course suggested by the chiefs was adopted by Sir William, and messengers, with the usual significant belts, were forthwith dispatched to the Cayugas and Onondagas. It was attended by the best results, as appears from subsequent entries in the Diary. Mr. McMichael, who had been murdered by the recreant Cayuga, was a trader of note, and the peculiar atrocity of his murder had created a deep feeling of indignation, for which the circumstances of treachery and duplicity stated in the official report from the commanding officer at Fort Stanwix to Sir William, were a full warrant. The Cayugas lost no time in manifesting their sorrow and detestation of the crime, as will be seen from the following extract from the Baronet's journal: [FN] [FN] The author is of course aware that this is a digression from his main subject; but the incident is an interesting one, and the speech of the Cayugas worthy of preservation for its simple pathos, and also as an illustration of Indian character, Mr. McMichael's family are yet among the most respectable residents of Schenectady. "Fort Johnson, Feb. 5. Skanarady, Teughsaragarat, and Ottawannio, three chiefs of the Cayuga nation, arrived here with several more, and after being introduced by Clement, the interpreter, began and said: "Brother Warraghiyagey: The unhappy murder of one of our brethren near the Oneida carrying place, is the occasion of our coming down at this severe season of the year. Our nation would not be at rest, nor easy, until they had spoke to you about it. We now, in their behalf, wipe away the tears from your eyes, so that you may look pleasant at us. We likewise remove all obstructions, and clear your throat, so that you may speak clear and friendly to us. Lastly, we wipe away the blood of our brother, lately killed near the carrying place, that the sight of it may no longer give us concern. "Three Strings of Wampum. "Sir William told them that he would be ready the next morning to hear what they had further to say, and would desire his neighbours, the Mohawks, to attend. "Wednesday, Feb. 6. About twenty Mohawks arrived. The Cayugas being acquainted that Sir William was ready, with the Mohawks and two Onondagoes, to hear them, they entered the Council, and Skanarady spoke as follows: "Brother Warraghiyagey: On our arrival yesterday we wiped the tears from your eyes, and we now, agreeable to the custom of our forefathers, take the French hatchet, (which they gave to one of our foolish, deluded young men, giving him great rewards, and making him large promises if he would use it against our brethren the English,) out of your head, and bury it in a deep pool, where it can never be found; also, with this belt of wampum we assure you that it gives our nation as much concern as it can you, and promise the greatest care shall be taken to prevent the like happening for the future. "A Black and White Belt. "Brother: With this belt we cover his grave, that the sight of it may no longer give you or us concern. "A White Belt. "Brother: With these strings we raise up your head, now hanging down with concern for the loss of one of our brethren, and beg you will no longer keep sorrow in your mind "Three Strings of Wampum. "Brother: Lastly, we most earnestly entreat that you will not, for what has happened, neglect the management of our affairs, as your neglect of them at any, but more particularly at this, time, must render us unhappy, and throw the confederacy into confusion. "A Belt of Black and White." To which Sir William replied:— "Brethren of Cayuga: I have heard what you have by these belts said, and only now tell you that I shall defer entering into the affair until the Five Nations are met, which I expect will be soon, as I have invited them all here. Then you and they will hear what I have to say on the subject, and your belts shall be laid by safe until then." On the 11th of February, Sir William proceeded to Canajoharie, at which place he had invited a meeting of the chiefs and warriors of the Mohawks. The occasion, and the proceedings, will be understood from the annexed extract:— "Monday, Feb. 12—8 at night. Being all assembled, Sir William told them that the reason of his coming to their castle was to get a number of their briskest men to join Captain Lotteridge, and some of the Mohawks and Schoharies, on a scout to Tienderago, [FN] or Crown Point, in order to see what the enemy was about, and get him a prisoner from whom he might be able to get better intelligence than the General daily receives, and which would enable the General to take proper measures for the defence of the country until the opening of the campaign,—and that they would be ready in two days to set off for his house, where they would be supplied with every thing necessary for such service. "A painted War-Belt thrown between them." [FN] Ticonderoga—always spelled thus by Sir William Johnson. No sooner was the belt cast among them, than Sonughsas, a chief of the Bear tribe, arose, took the belt in his hand, and sang his war-song, and was followed by several more of each tribe. Then Aroghigadecka, the chief sachem of the castle, stood up and said:— "Brother Warraghiyagey: We, the sachems and warriors of the Canajoharie castle immediately quit our hunting on your call, and made all the haste possible to meet you here, where we are all heartily glad to see you; and in answer to your desire, without any hesitation, I am desired by the young men present to tell you they will be ready to go with Captain Lotteridge, and the Mohawks, &c. on the service you require, and we have no reason to doubt you will (in their absence) take care of their families, who are extremely poor and in great want of provisions. "Here returned the War-Belt. "Sir William thanked them for the readiness they showed on the occasion, and told them he would give their families some provisions in their absence, or money to purchase it, so that they should not suffer. He then gave them an entertainment, as usual on such occasions, and parted. He left that castle Tuesday morning, and arrived at Fort Johnson that night." The next mention of the Brants contained in the broken manuscripts of Sir William, is found in the private journal kept by him of his tour to Detroit in 1761, after the surrender of the Canadas. The duty then devolved upon Sir William of meeting the upper Indians around the great Lakes, previously under the influence, and many of them in the service, of the French, in Grand Council at Detroit,—to establish friendly relations with them, and receive a transfer of that quasi allegiance which the Indians have generally acknowledged to the whites, French, English, or American. In addition to his own immediate suite, among whom was his son, Lieutenant Johnson, (afterward Sir John,) he was attended on the expedition by a detachment of troops, and a band of the Mohawk warriors. While at Niagara, [FN] Sir William notes: [FN] The author has already acknowledged his indebtedness to Archibald Johnson, Esq., of Lower Canada, for the original of this very interesting journal, which it is hoped will be of greater use in another work. "Monday, August 10. Nickus, [FN] of Canajoharie, an Indian, arrived here, and acquainted me that several of his castle had died of malignant fever; and that all Brant's family were ill of the same disorder, except the old woman. He also told me that he had heard by the way from several Indians, that I was to be destroyed or murdered on my way to Detroit; and that the Indians were certainly determined to rise and fall on the English, as several thousands of the Ottaways and other nations had agreed to join the Five Nations in this scheme or plot." [FN] Nickus Hance—another name and a different person from Nickus Brant, of this Nickus, repeated mention is made in Sir William's previous official diaries. The following quotations are given as curious illustrations of Indian customs: "Fort Johnson, May 22, 1757. Sir William spoke with Nickus Hance, alias Taicarihogo, a Canajoharie chief, who came to see him, and told him, that as he was much concerned for the loss of his (said Hance's) mother, who lately died, that he expected he would remove his concern by going to war, and bringing either a prisoner or a scalp to put in her room, or stead, as is usual among Indians. Upon this Sir William gave him a very fine black belt to enforce his request. Taicarihogo returned Sir William thanks for the concern he shared for the loss of his mother, accepted the belt, and promised he would, on his return home, call his young men together, and lay Sir William's belt and request before them." [The giving of a belt in this way, was a sort of commission to make up a scalping party against the forces or the settlements of the enemy.—Author.] Of a similar character is the following extract from the Diary: "Albany, May 18, 1758. Capt. Jacob Head, of a Company of Stockbridge Indians, brought to Sir William's lodgings four French scalps, which his cousin, chief of another company of said Indians, had taken from the enemy some few days before, and the aforesaid Jacob spoke as follows: "Brother Warraghiyagey: This scalp (the one with a black belt tied to it painted) I desire maybe delivered to my wife's uncle, old Nickus, of Canajoharie, to replace her mother, who was his sister. "This scalp, (meaning another upon the same stick, with a bunch of black wampum tied to it,) I send to the aforesaid man to replace Eusenia, who was Taraghyorie's wife. "This scalp, (meaning a scalp by itself on a stick, with a bunch of black wampum,) my cousin, Captain Jacob, gives to replace old King Hendrick, of Canajoharie. [Killed in 1755, at the battle of Lake George.—Author.] "This scalp, (meaning the small one tied round with a bunch of wampum,) my said cousin gives to replace Nickus's son, who was killed at the battle of the Lake under your command." It is needless, however, to multiply citations to the point immediately in view. The object of those already made has been to clear up the doubts, if possible, and establish the fact as to the immediate ancestry of Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant; while, it is believed, the incidental history necessarily involved in these extracts has not been altogether devoid of interest. And although the fact is nowhere positively asserted, yet there is much reason to suppose that he was the son of Nickus Brant, whose Indian name, according to Sir William Johnson, was Aroghyadecka; but which has been furnished to the author by the family as Tehowaghwengaraghwin. It has been seen from the extracts that Nickus Brant was a Canajoharie chief of character and celebrity, between whom and Sir William a close intimacy subsisted. When called to Canajoharie upon business or pleasure, the Baronet's quarters were "at Brant's house," as noted in his own Diary. It is likewise well known, that after the decease of Lady Johnson, (an event which occurred several years antecedent to the period of which we are now writing, and before he had won his baronetcy at Lake George,) Sir William took to his home as his wife, Mary Brant, or "Miss Molly," as she was called, with whom he lived until his decease in 1774, and by whom he had several children. This circumstance is thus mentioned by Mrs. Grant in her delightful book already referred to:—"Becoming a widower in the prime of life, he connected himself with an Indian maiden, daughter to a sachem, who possessed an uncommonly agreeable person and good understanding; and whether ever formally married to him according to our usage, or not, continued to live with him in great union and affection all his life." The Baronet himself repeatedly speaks of this Indian lady in his private journals. While on his expedition to Detroit, entries occur of having received news from home, and of having written to "Molly." He always mentioned her kindly, ex gr:— "Wednesday, Oct. 21st. Met Sir Robert Davers and Captain Etherington, who gave me a packet of letters from General Amherst. . . . Captain Etherington told me Molly was delivered of a girl: that all were well at my house, where they staid two days." But to return from these digressions. Molly, as it has already been stated, was the sister of Thayendanegea; and both, according to the account of the London Magazine of 1776, the earliest printed testimony upon the subject, were the grandchildren of one of the Mohawk chiefs who visited England half a century before. That his father was a chief, several authorities have likewise been cited to show; to which may be added that of Allen's Biographical Dictionary, where the fact is positively asserted. [FN] From such a body of testimony, therefore, direct and circumstantial, it is hazarding but very little to assume, that, so far from having been of humble and plebeian origin, according to the statement of Dr. Stewart, Joseph Brant was of the noblest descent among his nation. [FN] President Allen is connected by marriage with the family of the late President Wheelock, and has had excellent opportunities for arriving at the probable truth. Of the early youth of Joseph, there are no accounts, other than that he was very young when first upon the war-path. In one of the authorities to which reference has already been made, [FN-1] it is stated, that having attained the age of thirteen years, he joined the warriors of his tribe under Sir William Johnson, and was present at the memorable battle of Lake George, in which the French were defeated, and their commander, the Baron Dieskau, mortally wounded. The Mohawks were led into action by their celebrated king, the brave old Hendrick, who was slain. [FN-2] It was this victory which laid the foundation of Sir William's military fame, and in reward for which he was created a Baronet. It is reported, that in relating the particulars of this bloody engagement to Doctor Stewart, the youthful warrior acknowledged, "That this being the first action at which he was present, he was seized with such a tremor when the firing began, that he was obliged to take hold of a small sapling to steady himself; but that after the discharge of a few vollies, he recovered the use of his limbs and the composure of his mind, so as to support the character of a brave man, of which he was exceedingly ambitious." He was no doubt a warrior by nature. "I like," said he, once in after-life, when the conversation was about music, "the harpsichord well, and the organ still better; but I like the drum and trumpet best of all, for they make my heart beat quick." [FN-3] [FN-1] Christian Register. [FN-2] A council of war was called Sept. 8. It was proposed to send a detachment to meet the enemy. When the number was mentioned to Hendrick, he replied—"If they are to fight, they are too few; if they are to be killed, they are too many." When it was proposed to send out the detachment in three parties, Hendrick took three sticks, and said, "Put these together, and you can't break them; take them one by one, and you will do it easily." Hendrick's advice was taken, and victory was the result.—Holmes. [FN-3] Letter of T. Campbell to Ahyonwaeghs, President Allen states that the father of Thayendanegea had three sons in the army of Sir William Johnson in the year 1756. Of these Joseph was probably the youngest, since he was but thirteen at the battle of Lake George in 1755. A young warrior truly; but he might well have been there, even at that tender age, since, by all the accounts that have descended to us, he must have been a lad of uncommon enterprise—giving early promise of those eminent qualities, which were developed in the progress of a life of various and important action. The youthful warrior likewise accompanied Sir William during the Niagara campaign of 1759, and in the brilliant achievements of the Baronet, after the chief command had devolved upon him by the death of General Prideaux, is said to have acquitted himself with distinguished bravery. General Prideaux, commanding the expedition, was killed by the accidental explosion of a cohorn on the 20th of July, soon after commencing the siege; but Sir William prosecuted the plan of his fallen superior with judgment and vigour. On the 24th of July Monsieur D'Aubrey approached the fortress with a strong force, for the purpose of raising the siege. A severe engagement ensued in the open field, which resulted in the triumph of the British and Provincial arms. The action was commenced with great impetuosity by the French, but Sir William was well prepared for their reception. After a spirited contest of half an hour, the French broke, and the fate of the day was decided. The flight of the French was bloody and disastrous for the space of five miles, at which distance D'Aubrey, and most of his officers, were captured. The Indians behaved uncommonly well on this occasion, and Brant was among them. On the following day, so vigorously did the Baronet prosecute his operations, the fort was taken, with all its military supplies and about six hundred prisoners. By this blow the French were cut off from their project of keeping up a line of fortified communications with Louisiana. The exertions of Sir William Johnson to improve the moral and social condition of his Mohawk neighbours, were not the least of his praiseworthy labours among that brave and chivalrous people. Having aided in the building of churches and locating missionaries among them, at the request of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland and others, he selected numbers of young Mohawks, and caused them to be sent to the "Moor Charity School," established at Lebanon, Connecticut, under the immediate direction of the Rev. Doctor Eleazer Wheelock, afterward President of Dartmouth College, of which, by its transfer, that school became the foundation. Among the youths thus selected was young Thayendanegea, the promising brother of "Miss Molly." The precise year in which he was thus placed under the charge of Dr. Wheelock cannot now be ascertained. The school itself was opened for the reception of Indian pupils, avowedly as an Indian missionary school, in 1748; the first Indian scholar, Samson Occum, having been received into it five years before.[FN-1] It has been asserted that Joseph was received into the school in July 1761, at which time he must have been nineteen years old, and a memorandum of his preceptor to that effect has been cited. According to Dr. Stewart,[FN-2] however, he was a mere boy when first sent to Lebanon; and it will presently appear that the entry of Dr. Wheelock was most probably incorrect. He was doubtless at the school in that year, and very likely on the point of leaving it; since three years afterward he will be found settled in his own native valley, and engaged in very different pursuits. [FN-1] The success of the Doctor with him, was a strong inducement for establishing the school. Occum was ordained to the ministry in 1759; and was subsequently located as a missionary among the Oneidas, to which place he was accompanied by Sir William himself. The Indian preacher afterward compiled and published a volume of devotional hymns. [FN-2] Although, for want of other authorities in regard to the young chief at this period of his life, it is necessary to use that of Dr. Stewart, yet that is evidently not very accurate. For instance, he sends Thayendanegea to Dr. Wheelock at Dartmouth; whereas the school at that place was not opened until 1770, at which period, or only one year thereafter, by the same authority, the chief was living in his own house, with a wife and children, at Canajoharie. The correspondence between Doctor Wheelock and Sir William was quite active at this period upon the subject of the school, and Joseph was himself employed as an agent to procure recruits for it. Thus, in a letter from the Baronet to the Doctor, dated November 17, 1761, he says—"I have given in charge to Joseph, to speak in my name to any good boys he may see, and encourage to accept the generous offers now made to them; which he promised to do, and return as soon as possible, and that without horses." The probability, however, is, that he went to the school immediately after his return from the Niagara campaign in 1759. No doubt he had left it before Sir William wrote the letter just cited, and, being engaged upon some Indian mission, had been instructed to interest himself among the people of the forest in behalf of that institution. That he did not, himself, remain long at the school, is conceded. According to Dr. Stewart, moreover, he made but little proficiency in his studies at this seminary, having "learned to read but very indifferently in the New Testament, and to write but very little." The fact, however, that the Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith, a missionary to the Mohawks, took Thayendanegea as an interpreter in the year following, (1762,) and gave him an excellent character, presents a much more favourable idea of his progress in learning while at the school; as also does the following passage from the memoirs of his teacher:—"Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian affairs in North America, was very friendly to the design of Mr. Wheelock, and at his request sent to the school, at various times, several boys of the Mohawks to be instructed. [FN-1] One of them was the since celebrated Joseph Brant; who, after receiving his education, was particularly noticed by Sir William Johnson, and employed by him in public business. He has been very useful in advancing the civilization of his countrymen, and for a long time past has been a military officer of extensive influence among the Indians in Upper Canada." [FN-2] Accompanying Thayendanegea to the "Moor School," [FN-3] were several other Mohawk youths, and two Delawares had entered the school before him. The name of one of Thayendanegea's companions was William, a half-breed, who was supposed to be the son of his patron. Only two of the number remained to receive the honours of the future college. The others, impatient of the restraints of a school, and delighting more in the chase of game than of literary honours, loving their native forests better than sunny fields, and preferring to string the bow and speed the arrow, rather than turn over the pages of Livy or Corderius, returned to their hunter state in about two years. Thayendanegea probably left the school at the same time. He used, when speaking of the school, to relate with much pleasantry an anecdote of "William," who, as he affirmed, was one day ordered by Mr. Wheelock's son to saddle his horse. The lad refused, alleging that, as he was a gentleman's son, the performance of such a menial office would be out of character. "Do yon know," inquired the younger Wheelock, "what a gentleman is?" "I do," replied William; "a gentleman is a person who keeps race-horses, and drinks Madeira wine, and that is what neither you nor your father do,—therefore saddle the horse yourself!" [FN-4] [FN-1] When the foundation of the school was enlarged by the liberality of the Earl of Dartmouth and others, in England, and the same was removed from Connecticut, it contained 24 pupils, 6 of whom were Indians. There is among the Johnson papers a letter from President Wheelock, written to Sir William in 1772, introducing two of his Indian pupils to the acquaintance of the Baronet.—Author. [FN-2] McClare's Life of Wheelock, page 27. [FN-3] So called from the name of its founder, Mr. Joshua Moor, of Mansfield, Connecticut. [FN-4] Christian Recorder. This anecdote reminds the author of another, which he has heard a distinguished Kentucky member of Congress relate with great glee of himself. When first elected, he said he had never crossed the Alleghenies, and he feared greatly that his ignorance and rusticity would be but too manifest when he came to associate with gentlemen. He had heard that gentlemen were fond of Champagne, of which he had never tasted. But he said, that at the first dinner party after his arrival at the seat of government, he was relieved of his embarrassment. At the first taste of the sparkling liquor, he found that he loved it. He knew, therefore, that he was made for a gentleman! And a very agreeable and accomplished gentleman he became. The exigencies of the frontier country did not allow Thayendanegea to remain long associated in the mission with Mr. Smith. He was again called out upon the war-path, as appears by the following paragraph in one of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland's [FN] earliest reports to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, in regard to the Christian missionaries and teachers employed among the Six Nations:— [FN] The Rev. Samuel Kirkland, father of President Kirkland, late of Harvard University, and for more than forty years a missionary among the Six Nations—chiefly the Oneidas. He was the son of the Rev. Daniel Kirkland, of Norwich (Conn.) where he was born in 1742. His education was commenced at Dr. Wheelock's school, and his collegiate course performed at Princeton, where he was graduated in 1765. He first commenced his labours among the Senecas, in 1766, having learned the Mohawk language while in college. He was often employed by the Government in various Indian transactions, and died at Paris, Oneida County, in March, 1808. "Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Indian, and of a family of distinction in that nation, was educated by Mr. Wheelock, and was so well accomplished that the Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith, (a young gentleman who, out of love to Christ and the souls of men, devotes his life, and such a fortune as is sufficient to support himself and an interpreter, wholly to this glorious service,) took him for his interpreter when he went on his mission to the Mohawks, now three years ago. But the war breaking out at that time between the back Indians and the English, Mr. Smith was obliged to return; but Joseph tarried, and went out with a company against the Indians, and was useful in the war; in which he behaved so much like the Christian and the soldier, that he gained great esteem. He now lives in a decent manner, and endeavours to teach his poor brethren the things of God, in which his own heart seems much engaged. His house is an asylum for the missionaries in that wilderness." [FN] [FN] Narrative of the Indian Charity School, published by Dr. Wheelock in 1767, page 35. Neither the particular war in which the young chief was then engaged, nor the time of the campaign, is noted in the foregoing extract. A passage contained in a letter from Sir William Johnson to Dr. Wheelock, however, dated April 25th, 1764, affords a clue to the desired information:—"J—— is just returned from an expedition against the enemy, who have abandoned their towns, of which three were burned, with four villages, consisting, in all, of about two hundred houses, built with squared logs, and vast quantities of corn, &c. Parties are now in pursuit of the enemy." It was therefore early in the Spring of 1764 that young Brant returned from the war—then brought to a close. The war itself could have been none else than that against the great Ottoway chief Pontiac, who, in 1763, undertook to dispossess the English of the country of the lakes, then recently acquired by conquest from the French. Pontiac was by far the most formidable chief with whom the English colonists had had to contend since the fall of Philip. He combined the great Indian tribes of the north-west almost as one man, and in 1763 led thirty-six chiefs, with their trains of warriors, against Detroit, after having carried several of the remote western posts. A well-concerted stratagem, timely discovered to the British commander by an Indian woman, had well nigh placed that important position within his power also. Foiled in the plan of obtaining admission by stratagem and putting the garrison to death, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, attacking it with great fury. It was besieged for a long time, as also were the fort at Niagara and Fort Pitt. It was not until the Autumn of 1763 that the English were able to throw succours into Detroit, in accomplishing which enterprise some of the Mohawk warriors were engaged. There had been several severe engagements with Pontiac's warriors in the course of that Summer, in which the Indians attached to the English cause had fought with great bravery. The vessel carrying the supplies to Detroit, was likewise furiously attacked by a force of 350 Indians, in boats on the lake, but they were bravely repulsed. In what particular battles, during this contest, Thayendanegea was engaged, does not appear. But he was in the war, and his courageous and enterprising spirit offered the best evidence, that he neither avoided the post of danger, nor failed to reach it for want of activity. Having invested Detroit for a twelvemonth, the French, moreover, with whom he was in alliance, having lost their power in America, Pontiac sued for peace on the approach of Gen. Bradstreet from Pittsburgh, at the head of 3000 men. [FN] [FN] Pontiac was assassinated in 1779, during a war between the Ioways and Ottawas. He was a great man. In 1765, Thayendanegea, having been previously married to the daughter of an Oneida chief, was settled at Canajoharie, as appears by a letter from the Rev. Theophilus Chamberlain, one of the missionaries to the Six Nations, to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, written from Canajoharie, and dated July 17th of that year. After speaking of the encouraging condition of the Indian school, and the prospect of opening another, Mr. Chamberlain said:—"I am now at Joseph Brant's house, very poorly with the dysentery, which hath followed me near a week. Riding in the rain sometimes, wading through tracks to get along, and lodging on the cold ground the other night, have made me almost down sick; but my business keeps me alive. Joseph Brant is exceeding kind." Three years afterward he was still leading a peaceful life at the same place, as we learn from the following entry in the journal of Mr. Ralph Wheelock, who had been sent to Oneida to relieve Mr. Kirkland, that gentleman being sick: "March 18, 1768. At my old friend, Joseph Brant's, I met one of the chiefs of the Onondagas, (who is, by way of eminence, called the Wise-man,) on his return to his tribe, with his wife and child; and by Joseph Brant's help I was able to discourse with him, and delivered my message to his nation." During the three years next ensuing, no certain information has been obtained respecting his course of life. As the country was at peace, however, he was probably leading a life of repose at home, save when acting, upon occasional business visits among the Indians, under the direction of Sir William Johnson. It is very probable, moreover, that he may at that time have been connected with the English Episcopal Missions to the Mohawks, commenced in the Mohawk Valley so early as 1702, and continued down to the beginning of the Revolutionary war. Having been employed as an interpreter by one of the missionaries, several years before; and as the Rev. Dr. John Ogilvie, the predecessor of Dr. Barclay in that mission, was engaged, in the year 1769, in revising, extending, and reprinting the Mohawk Prayer Book, embracing additional passages of Scripture, some occasional prayers, and Indian versifications of several psalms, it is highly probable that Thayendanegea may have been employed as an assistant in that labour, since he was partial to exercises of that description. In the year 1771, the Rev. Mr. Stewart conducted a school at Fort Hunter, thirty miles below Canajoharie. A venerable friend of the author, yet living in Albany, [FN] states, that being a pupil in Doctor Stewart's school at about that time, he had opportunities of seeing Thayendanegea at that place frequently, and formed an acquaintance with him, which continued, interrupted only by the war of the Revolution, until the death of the warrior. He then formed an excellent opinion of the young chief in regard to talents and good disposition. It is believed, that from the shrewdness of his sister Molly and the influential position which she occupied in the family of Sir William, added to his own talents and sagacity, he was much employed at home by the Baronet, in the discharge of the multifarious duties incident to his important official station. He was also frequently engaged upon distant embassies among the western tribes, and his talents and tact as a diplomatist of the forest, were qualities pertaining to his character through life. [FN] Douw Fonda, Esq., son of Captain Jelles Fonda, who was an active and very efficient officer, both in the Indian and Military service, under Sir William Johnson. Thayendanegea was thrice married—having been twice a widower before the war of the Revolution. His first two wives were of the Oneida tribe. The Rev. Dr. Stewart states that he first became acquainted with him in the winter of 1771. He was then still residing at Canajoharie, on visiting which village the Doctor says he found him comfortably settled, in a good house, with every thing necessary for the use of his family—consisting of a wife, in the last stage of consumption, and two children—a son and a daughter. His wife died some time afterward, on which Thayendanegea repaired to Fort Hunter, and resided with the Doctor for a considerable length of time. Doctor Stewart was then engaged upon another revision of the Indian Prayer Book, and Joseph assisted him in making various additional translations. He likewise assisted the Doctor in translating a portion of the Acts of the Apostles, and a short history of the Bible, together with a brief explanation of the Church catechism, into the Mohawk language. [FN] [FN] Doctor Stewart states that he was directed to repair to New-York, and publish these books at the expense of the Missionary Society, but was prevented by the breaking out of the war. He took the MSS. to Canada, and afterward delivered them to Colonel Daniel Claus, by whom they were taken to England; but it does not appear that they were ever published. It is stated on the same authority, [FN] that in the winter of 1772-3, he applied to Doctor Stewart to marry him to the half-sister of his deceased wife, but the Divine refused the application on the ground of the forbidden relationship. Brant, however, vindicated the act, much in the manner of white widowers desirous of forming the like connexion; arguing, very naturally, that the fact of the relationship would secure a greater degree of tenderness and care for his children. Still the Episcopal minister persisted in his refusal, and a less scrupulous German ecclesiastic gratified his desire by performing the ceremony. [FN] The Christian Register. It was at about the same period of his life that Thayendanegea became the subject of serious religious impressions. He attached himself to the Church, was a chastened and regular communicant at the celebration of the Eucharist; and from his serious deportment, and the anxiety he had ever manifested to civilize and Christianize his people, great hopes were entertained from his future exertions in that cause. No doubt has ever been entertained of his sincerity at that time; and it has been attributed to the counteracting influences of the dreadful trade of war, in which it was his fortune afterward again so actively to become engaged, that those manifestations of Christian utility were effaced; entirely eradicated they were not, as will be seen at a subsequent stage of the career of this remarkable man. In compliance with Indian custom, he selected a bosom friend, during that period of his life we are now contemplating, in the person of a Lieutenant Provost, a half-pay officer residing in the Mohawk Valley. Those unacquainted with Indian usages are not probably aware of the intimacy, or the importance attached to this relationship. The selected friend is, in fact, the counterpart of the one who chooses him, and the attachment often becomes romantic; they share each other's secrets, and are participants of each other's joys and sorrows. As the Revolutionary troubles were approaching. Lieutenant Provost was ordered to his regiment and upon foreign service, greatly to the regret of the future chieftain. His lamentations attracted the attention of Doctor Stewart, who advised him to select another friend—offering to stand as a substitute himself. But no; the young chief declared that such a transfer of his affections could not take place. He was Captain John's friend, and another such friend could not be in existence at the same time. Lieutenant Provost had been ordered to the West Indies; and in order to assure him of the strength and constancy of his attachment, Thayendanegea procured an entire Indian costume of the richest furs he could obtain, which was sent to him in Jamaica. This incident has been detailed, not because in itself of any particular importance, but as disclosing an excellent trait of character, besides illustrating a feature of Indian life which may not be familiar to all. [FN] Other events will now occupy the attention of the reader, in which the Mohawk chieftain will be but one of many actors, though seldom an obscure one. [FN] A similar custom prevailed among the ancient Greeks. Two young warriors often assumed this obligation of brotherhood, which was taken with peculiar ceremonies, and maintained inviolate through life.
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