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
Teyoninhokarawen, 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,_ 4_th 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.--
Speech of Captain Brant to Lord Sidney.
"My Lord,
"I am happy at the honor of being before your Lordship, and having an
opportunity of delivering the following speech to you, in behalf of the
Five United Nations of Indians, and their confederates in North America.
"The cause of my coming to England being of the most serious consequence
to the whole Indian Confederacy, I intreat your Lordship patiently to hear
and listen to what I am going to say.
"We hope it is a truth well known in this country, what a faithful part we
took in their behalf in the late dispute with the Americans; and though we
have been told peace has long since been concluded between you and them,
it is not finally settled with us, which causes great uneasiness through
all the Indian nations.
"When we heard peace was made between his Majesty and the Americans, we
made application to General Haldimand at Quebec, to know our situation,
delivering him a speech at the same time, which we requested might be sent
to the King--a copy of which I now deliver to your Lordship.
"Having in that speech, in as few words as possible, pointed out what
friendship we had shown to the English from the earliest time of their
arrival in America, and being conscious of the active part our forefathers
and we had taken in their favor in every dispute they have had with their
enemies, we were struck with astonishment at hearing we were forgot in the
treaty. Notwithstanding the manner we were told this, we could not believe
it possible such firm friends and allies could be so neglected by a nation
remarkable for its honor and glory, whom we had served with so much zeal
and fidelity. For this reason we applied to the King's Commander-in-chief,
in Canada in a friendly and private way, wishing not to let those people
in rebellion know the concern and trouble we were under. From the time of
delivering that speech, near three years, we have had no answer, and
remain in a state of great suspense and uneasiness of mind. This is well
known to the officers who commanded at the upper posts in America, as is
also our zeal for His Majesty's service during the war.
"Our trouble and distress is greatly increased by many things the
Americans have said, to whom we have avoided giving any direct answers, or
entering into any engagements with, before we have an answer. On the
arrival of Sir John Johnson, our Superintendent-General, in Canada, we
hoped to have received it; in full expectation of which, several of our
first and principal chiefs came down the country to meet him and hear it,
and were very much mortified and sorry at being disappointed. It was then
resolved that I should come to England, and I hope the necessity we are
under of getting this answer will plead my excuse for the trouble I give
your Lordship.
"It is, my Lord, the earnest desire of the Five United Nations, and the
whole Indian Confederacy, that I may have an answer to that speech; and
from our present situation, as well as that of the American States, who
have surveyed and laid out great part of the lands in our country, on our
side of the boundary line fixed at Fort Stanwix in 1765, the last time we
granted any territory to the King, (at which time some of the governors
attended in person, and where they did not, commissioners, vested with
full powers, appeared on their behalf; so that we had all the reason to
hope that the transaction was binding with respect to all parties,) but
through their encroaching disposition, we have found they pay little
regard to engagements, and are therefore apprehensive of immediate
serious consequences. This we shall avoid to the utmost of our power, as
dearly as we love our lands. But should it, contrary to our wishes,
happen, we desire to know whether we are to be considered as His Majesty's
faithful allies, and have that support and countenance such as old and
true friends expect.
"I beg liberty to tell your Lordship, that your answer to these matters
will be the means of relieving all our nations from that very troublesome
and uneasy suspense they now labor under, and this they all hope for on
my return.
"JOS. BRANT, _Captain,_ or
Thayendanegea.
"_London,_ 4_th Jan._ 1786.
_The Right Hon. Lord Sidney._"
The forest chief was not an unsuccessful envoy, as will appear by the
subjoined communication from Lord Sidney--so far at least as relates to
the indemnification claimed by the Mohawks and their allies of the Six
Nations:--
Lord Sidney to Captain Brant.
"_Whitehall,_ 6th _April,_ 1786.
"Sir,
"The King has had under his royal consideration the two letters which you
delivered to me on the 4th of January last, in the presence of Colonel
Johnson and other officers of the Indian Department; the first of them
representing the claims of the Mohawks for losses sustained by them and
other tribes of Indians, from the depredations committed on their lands by
the Americans during the late war; and the second, expressing the desire
of the confederacy to be informed what assistance they might expect from
this country in case they should be engaged in disputes with the Americans
relative to their lands, situated within the territory to which His
Majesty has relinquished his sovereignty.
"Were the right of individuals to compensation for losses sustained by the
depredations of an enemy to be admitted, no country, however opulent it
might be, could support itself under such a burthen, especially when the
contest happens to have taken an unfavorable turn. His Majesty, upon this
ground, conceives that, consistently with every principle of justice, he
might withhold his royal concurrence to the liquidation of those demands;
but His Majesty, in consideration of the zealous and hearty exertions of
his Indian allies in the support of his cause, and as a proof of his most
friendly disposition toward them, has been graciously pleased to consent
that the losses already certified by his Superintendent-General shall be
made good; that a favorable attention shall be shown to the claims of
others, who have pursued the same system of conduct; and that Sir Guy
Carleton, his Governor General of his American dominions, shall take
measures for carrying his royal commands into execution immediately after
his arrival at Quebec.
"This liberal conduct on the part of His Majesty, he trusts, will not
leave a doubt upon the minds of his Indian allies that he shall at all
times be ready to attend to their future welfare; and that he shall be
anxious, upon every occasion wherein their happiness may be concerned, to
give them such farther testimonies of his royal favor and countenance, as
can, consistently with a due regard to the national faith, and the honor
and dignity of his crown, be afforded to them.
"His Majesty recommends to his Indian allies to continue united in their
councils, and that their measures may be conducted with temper and
moderation; from which, added to a peaceable demeanor on their part, they
must experience many essential benefits, and be most likely to secure to
themselves the possession of those rights and privileges which their
ancestors have heretofore enjoyed.
"I have the honor to be,
With great truth and regard,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
Sidney.
"_To Captain Joseph Brant,
Thayendanegea._"
It appears, that during his negotiations with the ministers, conversations
had been held touching his claim to half-pay; but from the loss of papers,
it is difficult to arrive at the precise circumstances of the case.
Captain Brant held His Majesty's commission during the war as a Captain.
But it was probably a special commission, not in the regular line of the
army, and consequently there may have been doubts as to his title to
half-pay on the reduction which followed the war. No matter, however, for
the exact circumstances of the case, such doubts were entertained, and
were the occasion of the following magnanimous letter from the chief to
one of his Majesty's under Secretaries, a copy of which was preserved
among the private papers of the warrior:--
Captain Brant to Sir Evan Nepean. (No Date.)
"Sir:--
"Since I had the pleasure of seeing you last, I have been thinking a great
deal about the half-pay, or pension, which you and I have talked about.
"I am really sorry that I ever mentioned such a thing to you. It was
really owing to promises made to me by certain persons several times
during the late war, that I should always be supported by the government,
at war or peace. At that time I never asked any body to make me such a
promise. It was of their own free will.
"When I joined the English at the beginning of the war, it was purely on
account of my forefathers' engagements with the King. I always looked upon
these engagements, or covenants, between the King and the Indian Nations,
as a sacred thing. Therefore I was not to be frighted by the threats of
the rebels at that time. I assure you I had no other view in it. And this
was my real case from the beginning.
"However, after this, the English gave me pay and a commission from the
Commander-in-chief, which I gladly received as a mark of attention, though
I never asked for it; and I believe my trouble and risques was of equal
value to the marks of attention I received; I am sure not too much in the
eyes of the Indians, or I should not have accepted them, as I should be
sorry to raise jealousies. My meaning for mentioning those things to you,
is because I saw there was some difficulty on your part how to act on this
head relative to half-pay or pension;--and when it does not seem clear,
I should be sorry to accept it. Therefore I beg of you will say no more
about it;--for was I to get it when there were doubts about the propriety
of it, I should not be happy. For which reason I think it is best to go
without it.
"I am now, Sir, to beg you will return my best thanks to Government for
what they [have] done for me, and am, Sir,
"Your most obedient,
Humble servant,
Joseph Brant.
"_To Sir Evan Nepean, Under Secretary, at Home._"
There are a frankness and manliness of tone and spirit in this letter,
which will illustrate a striking feature in the character of the writer,
and are worthy of high approbation. It is the only paper of any
consequence connected with the Captain's mission to England, in addition
to those already cited, that remains.
The chieftain's visit must have been most agreeable, since, in addition to
the success which crowned his labors in regard to the claims of the
Indians, no pains were spared to render his residence in London one of
uninterrupted gratification. He was caressed by the noble and the great,
and was alike welcome at court or at the banquets of the heir
apparent--who, with all his faults, was "the first gentleman in the
realm;"--a fine classical scholar himself, and a lover of genius and
intellect---of letters and men of letters--of sparkling wit, as well as
wine. Among his most frequent guests were Fox, Burke, and Sheridan, and
others of that splendid galaxy of eloquence and intellect--the master
spirits of the opposition in the House of Commons--who were at that time
basking in the sunshine of the Prince's favor, and living in the hope of
more substantial things to come. Though deficient in his literary
acquisitions, Brant, with great strength of mind and shrewdness of
observation, had, moreover, sufficient taste and cultivation to appreciate
society, even of this elevated and intellectual character. The natural
reserve of the Indian temperament he could assume or throw off at
pleasure, and with a keen sense of the ludicrous, he could himself use
the weapons of humor and sarcasm with a good share of skill and dexterity.
Several anecdotes have been preserved in well-authenticated tradition,
illustrative of these traits of character. One of these is the
following:--Among the gentlemen of rank with whom Brant was acquainted,
was a nobleman of whom it was scandalously reported that his place was
purchased by the illicit favors bestowed upon another by his beautiful
wife. On one occasion his Lordship undertook to rally the forest chief
upon the subjects of the wild and rude manners and customs of the Indians,
to which they pertinaciously adhered notwithstanding all the attempts made
to improve them by the arts of civilization. Some of their absurd
practices, of which the English, as his Lordship remarked, thought very
strange, were particularised. Brant listened very patiently until it
became his turn to speak, when he replied that there were customs in
England, also, of which the Indians thought very strange. "And pray what
are they?" inquired his Lordship. "Why," answered the chief, "the Indians
have heard that it is a practice in England for men who are born chiefs to
sell the virtue of their squaws for place, and for money to buy their
venison!" The Mohawk occupied a position which enabled him to say what he
pleased with impunity. But in the present instance the rebuke was doubly
withering,--from the gravity and assumed simplicity with which it was
uttered, and the certainty that the titled gentleman could not mistake the
direction of the arrow, while he could neither parry nor avoid, nor appear
to notice it.
During his stay in London, a grand fancy ball, or masquerade, was got up
with great splendor, and numerously attended by the nobility and gentry.
Captain Brant, at the instance of Earl Moira, was also present, richly
dressed in the costume of his nation, wearing no mask, but painting one
half of his face. His plumes nodded as proudly in his cap as though the
blood of a hundred Percies coursed through his veins, and his tomahawk
glittered in his girdle like burnished silver. There was, likewise, in the
gay and gallant throng a stately Turkish _diplomat_ of rank, accompanied
by two houris, whose attention was particularly attracted by the grotesque
appearance of the chieftain's singular, and, as he supposed, fantastic
attire. The pageant was brilliant as the imagination could desire; but
among the whole motley throng of pilgrims and warriors, hermits and
shepherds, knights, damsels, and gipsies, there was, to the eye of the
Mussulman, no character so picturesque and striking as that of the Mohawk;
which, being natural, appeared to be the best made up. He scrutinised the
chief very closely, and mistaking his _rouge et noir_ complexion for a
painted visor, the Turk took the liberty of attempting to handle his nose.
Brant had, of course, watched the workings of his observation, and felt
in the humor of a little sport. No sooner, therefore, had Hassan touched
his facial point of honor, under the mistaken idea that it was of no
better material than the parchment nose of the Strasburgh trumpeter, than
the Chieftain made the hall resound with the appalling war-whoop, and at
the same instant the tomahawk leaped from his girdle, and flashed around
the astounded Mussulman's head as though his good master, the Sultan, in a
minute more, would be relieved from any future trouble in the matter of
taking it off. Such a piercing and frightful cry had never before rung
through that _salon_ of fashion; and breaking suddenly, and with startling
wildness, upon the ears of the merry throng, its effect was prodigious.
The Turk himself trembled with terror, while the female masquers--the
gentle shepherdesses, and fortune-telling crones, Turks, Jews and gipsies,
bear-leaders and their bears, Falstaffs, friars, and fortune-tellers,
Sultans, nurses and Columbines, shrieked, screamed and scudded away as
though the Mohawks had broken into the festive hall in a body. The matter,
however, was soon explained; and the incident was accounted as happy in
the end as it was adroitly enacted by the good-humored Mohawk. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This incident was somewhat differently related by the British
Magazine, which represented that the weapon was raised by Brant in sober
earnest; he having taken the freedom of the Turk for a real indignity.
But such was clearly not the fact. His friends never so understood it.
But neither the pleasures of society, nor the follies of the Prince of
Wales, nor the special business of his mission, nor the views of political
ambition which he was cherishing, made him forgetful of the moral wants of
his people. Notwithstanding the ceaseless activity of his life, he had
found time to translate the Gospel of Mark into the Mohawk language; and
as most of the Indian Prayer and Psalm Books previously in use had been
either lost or destroyed during the war, the opportunity of his visit was
chosen by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
to bring out a new and superior edition of that work, under Brant's own
supervision, and including the Gospel of Mark as translated by him. This
was the first of the Gospels ever translated entire into the Mohawk
language. The book was elegantly printed in large octavo, under the
immediate patronage of the King. It was printed in alternate pages of
English and Mohawk; and the volume contained the psalms and occasional
prayers before published, together with the services of communion,
baptism, matrimony, and the burial of the dead. It was embellished with a
number of scriptural engravings, elegant for the state of the arts at that
day; the frontispiece representing the interior of a chapel, with
portraits of the King and Queen, a bishop standing at either hand, and
groups of Indians receiving the sacred books from both their Majesties.
[FN]
* * * * *
[FN] A handsome copy of this valuable book, in morocco gilt, has been
loaned to the author by Mrs. Kerr. It belonged to the widow of the old
chief, and contains the record of his death.
It is not known at what time of the year 1786 Captain Brant turned his
back upon the gay metropolis of England, to bury himself once more in the
deep forests toward the setting sun. It must, however, have been soon
after receiving Lord Sidney's dispatch of April 6th, since, among the
papers of the chief, there is a letter addressed to him after his return,
by Major Matthews, who was attached to the military family of Sir Guy
Carleton, dated at Montreal, July 24, 1786. Early in the month of December
following he will also be found attending an Indian Council far in the
country of the Great Lakes.