CHAP. V.] BRANT.-HIS DEATH. 95 told by Mr. Weld. But there was, no doubt, some circumstance out of which a story has grown, the truth of which, we apprehend, is now past find ing out. Colonel Brant was married, in the winter of 1779, to a daughter of Colonel Croghan by an Indian woman. He had lived with her some time ad libitum, according to the Indian manner, but at this time being present at the wedding of a Miss Moore, at Niagara, (one of the captives taken from Cherry-valley,) insisted on being married himself; and thus his consort's name was no longer Miss Croghan, but Mrs. Brant. The ceremony was performed by his companion-in-arms, Colonel John Butler, who, although he had left his country, yet carried so much of his magistrate's commission with him, as to solemnize marriages according to law. King George conferred on his famous ally a valuable tract of land situated upon the west shore of Lake Ontario, where he finally settled and lived after the English fashion. His wife, however, would never conform to this mode of life, but would adhere to the custom of the Indians, and on the death of her husband, which happened 24 November, 1807, she repaired to Grand River, there to spend her days in a wigwam, with some of her children, while she left behind others in a commodious dwelling.* A son, of whom we have spoken, with a sister, lately occupied this mansion of their father, and constituted an amiable and hospitable family. This son, whose name is John, is a man of note, and is the same who was in England in 1822, as has been mentioned, and the same, we conclude, who has been returned a member of the colonial assembly of Upper Canada. His place of residence was in the county of Haldiman, in Brantford, so called, probably, in honor of the old chief. Several other places are mentioned as having been the residence of Brant-Uuadilla, or Anaquaqua, (which is about 36 miles south-west from the present site of Cooperstown,) and Niagara. He resided at these places before the Mohawks removed to Canada, which was soon after the war of the revolution was ended. They made their principal residence upon Grand River, which falls into Lake Erie on the north side, about 60 miles from the town of Newark, or Niagara. At one time, he had no less than 30 or 40 negroes, who took care of his horses and lands. "These poor creatures," says Mr. Weld, " are kept in the greatest subjection, and they dare not attempt to make their escape, for he has assured them, that if they did so, he would follow them himself, though it were to the confines of Georgia, and would tomahawk them wherever he met them. They know his disposition too well not to think that he would adhere strictly to his word." The same author says that Brant received presents, which, together with his half-pay as captain, amounted to £500 per annum. An idea of the importance of this chief, in 1795, may be formed from the circumstance, that a gentleman considered himself a loser to the amount of £100, at least, by not being able to arrive at Niagara in season to attend to some law case for him. Contrary winds had prevented his arrival, and the business had been given to another.‡ "Whenever the affairs of his nation shall permit him to do so, Brant declares it to be his intention to sit down to the further study of the Greek language, of which he professes himself to be a great admirer, and to translate from the original, into the Mohawk language, more of the New Testament; yet this same man, shortly before we arrived at Niagara, killed his own son, with his own hand. The son, it seems, was a drunken, good-for-nothing fellow, who had often avowed his intention of destroying his father. One evening, he absolutely entered the apartment of his father, and had begun to grapple with him, perhaps with a view to put his unnatural threats in execution, when Brant drew a short sword, and felled him to the ground. He speaks of this affair with regret, but, at the same time, without any of that emotion which another person than an Indian might be supposed to feel. He * Buchanan's Sketches, i. 36. t Mr. Campbell's Annals of Tryon County has been one of our main sources of information throughout this account, especially of the revolutionary period. Weld, Travels, 487. 96 BRANT. [BOOK V. consoles himself for the act, by thinking that he has benefited the nation, by ridding it of a rascal.” * With regard to the dress of the sachem, there has been some contradiction. Mr. Weld, though he did not see him, says he wore his hair in the Indian fashion, as he also did his clothes; except that, instead of the blanket, he wore a kind of hunting frock. This was in 1796. But it was reported, that, in 1792, Brant having waited on Lord Dorchester, the governor of Canada, upon some business, his lordship told him, that as he was an officer in the British service, he ought to lay aside the Indian dress, and assume that of an English captain; and that, if he persisted in wearing an Indian dress, he should stop his pay. It is added that thereupon he changed his dress.† When Colonel Brant arrived at any principal city, his arrival was publicly announced in the gazettes with great minuteness. Although we have given some specimens of these, we will add one more :— "New York, June 20, 1792. On Monday last arrived in this city, from his settlement on Grand River, on a visit to some of his friends in this quarter, Captain Joseph Brandt, of the British army, the famous Mohawk chief, who so eminently distinguished himself during the late war, as the military leader of the Six Nations. We are informed that he intends to visit the city of Philadelphia, and pay his respects to the president of the U. States," General Washington, which he did. We have before mentioned his visit to that city. The very respectable traveller § Rochefoucauld thus notices our chief: “At 24 miles from this place, (Newark, U. Č.) upon Grand River, is an establishment which I had been curious to visit. It is that of Colonel Brant. But the colonel not being at home, and being assured that I should see little else than what I had already seen among those people, I gave over my intention. Colonel Brant is an Indian who took part with the English, and having been in England, was commissioned by the king, and politely treated by every one. His manners are half European. He is accompanied by two negro servants, and is in appearance like an Englishman. He has a garden and farm under cultivation; dresses almost entirely like an European, and has great influence over the Indians. He is at present [1795] at Miami, holding a treaty with the United States, in company with the Indians of the west. He is equally respected by the Americans, who extol so much his character, that I regret much not to have seen him." || The great respect in which Brant was held in England will be very apparent from a perusal of the following letter,¶ dated 12 December, 1785: "Monday last, Colonel Joseph Brant, the celebrated king of the Mohawks, arrived in this city, [Salisbury,] 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 nation 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 con † Apollo for 1792. American Apollo, 297. * Weld, Travels, 489. Duke de Liancourt, Travels, ii. 81, before cited, from whom we translate this. This French traveller seems to have been in advance of history, in as far as he thus early sets in their proper light the characters of the heroes of Wyoming. After speaking of the influence of Indian agents over those people, as we have extracted in a previous note, he thus consigns to Colonel Butler the place which he is doubtless to hold in all after-time in the annals of his country:-" L'agent anglais dont il est ici queston, est le Colonel Buttler, fameux par ses incendies, ses pillages et ses meurtres dans la guerre d'Amérique. Il est lui-même Américain d'auprès de Wilkesbarre ; [one of the towns in the valley of Wyoming ;] sou prétendu loyalisme qu'il a su se faire payer de brevets et de traitemens, lui a fait commettre plus de barbaries, plus d'infamies contre sa patrie, qu'à qui que ce soit. Il conduisait les Indiens, leur indiquait les fermes, les maisons à brûler, les victimes à scarpeler, les enfans à déchirer. L'Angleterre a recompensé son loyalisme de cinq mille acres de terre pour lui, d'une quantité pareille pour ses enfans, d'une pension de deux à trois cents livres sterlings, d'une place d'agent auprès des Indiens, qui lui en vaut cinq cents autres, avec la facilité de puiser à volonté dans les magasins de présens." Rochefoucauld, ut supra, (ii. 78—9.) There is no name to this letter; but it was written in Salisbury, Eng., and thence sent to London, where it was published. |