Domestic relations of Brant--Account of his family--Bad character of his
eldest son--his death by the hand of his father--Condolence of the
Chiefs--Grief of the father at the event--Anxiety for the education of
his sons--Proposed memorial to the Duke of Portland--Letter of Brant to
Colonel Smith--Correspondence with the Wheelock family--Letter from
Brant to James Wheelock--Two of his sons sent to school at
Plymouth--Various letters from and to the Wheelocks--Correspondence upon
other subjects--Reply to the question, whether the Indians have
beards--Letter from Bishop Peters--Views of Brant on imprisonment for
debt--Tumuli--Opinion of Brant touching their origin--Indian tradition
of white settlements cut off in a single night--Investigations of Samuel
Woodruff---Brant's inquiries in Paris--The discoveries of the
Northmen--Review of the life and character of Brant--His death.
The life and character of the Mohawk Chief in his domestic relations,
remain to be considered. These have never been accurately illustrated or
understood; or rather, they have been greatly misrepresented and
misunderstood, from the circumstance of a severe family affliction, the
particulars of which have never been truly set before the public. Those
even partially acquainted with the domestic history of Brant will readily
perceive that reference is here made to the death of one of his sons by
his own hands. Several accounts of this unfortunate transaction have been
published by travelers, missionaries, and others, but most of them darkly
shaded, and reflecting in a greater or less degree upon the father. In the
preparation of material for the present work, great efforts have been made
to arrive at the truth in regard to this painful incident.
Captain Brant, it will be recollected, was thrice married. By his first
wife, the daughter of an Oneida Chief, he had two children, Isaac and
Christiana. His great solicitude for the well bringing up of those
children has been noted in the early history of his life. By his second
wife, the sister of his first, he had no children. By his third he had
seven, [FN] the eldest of whom, Joseph, was born in 1783.
* * * * *
[FN] Joseph, Jacob, John, Margaret, Catharine, Mary, and Elizabeth, (the
present Mrs. Kerr.) Joseph, John, and Mary, are dead.
Isaac, the eldest of the children, was partly educated at a school in the
Valley of the Mohawk, and his education was completed at Niagara. His
disposition, bad, from his youth, grew worse as he increased in years, and
was not improved by his associations at the military post of Niagara,
after the war of the Revolution. Many of the officers on that station were
free, sometimes to excess, in their living; and in the progress of his
intercourse with them he became addicted to strong drink. When in his
cups, he was always quarrelsome, even toward his parents--forgetting the
honor due from a son to a father, and particularly disrespectful to his
step-mother. As the younger family grew up, he became jealous of them,
imagining that they received a larger share of parental favor than his
sister and himself. Nothing could have been more groundless than were his
suspicions, since from the concurrent testimony of the survivors of the
family, and the aged contemporaries of the old Chief yet living at Grand
River, no parent was ever more scrupulous in the impartial bestowment of
his affection among all his children than Captain Brant. As an evidence of
this fact, it may be mentioned, that when in England, in 1786, he sat for
his likeness in miniature, which he transmitted in a golden locket to
Christiana, the sister of Isaac. Isaac himself, moreover, notwithstanding
his untoward conduct, received the most indubitable evidence of parental
affection. With a view of keeping him more immediately under his own eye,
and if possible reclaiming him, his father had caused him to be married to
a beautiful girl, the daughter of a chief of the Turtle tribe, and
installed him in the capacity of his own secretary. [FN] But all to no
purpose. The demon of jealousy had gained possession of his bosom; and
during his drunken frolics, among his Indian associates, he often
threatened to take the life of his father. Still, he was treated with
kindness, and his step-mother invariably kept silent during his paroxysms
of insult and abuse.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. notes of conversations with Brant, by Samuel Woodruff.
His career, however, in addition to his intemperance, without the circle
of his own family, was marked by outrage and blood. On one occasion, long
before the catastrophe fatal to himself, soon to be recorded, he
grievously assaulted a young man, who was riding on horseback on the
King's highway--killed the horse, and sadly maimed the young man himself.
His father was obliged to pay a large sum of money by way of compensation
for the outrage.
Subsequently to this brutal affair, and not long before the painful
incident with his father soon to be noted, he killed a white man at the
Mohawk (Grand River) village, outright, and in cold blood. The name of his
victim was Lowell, a harness-maker by trade. He was busily engaged in his
shop at work, when Isaac Brant entered, and said--"Lowell, I am going to
kill you." The man, supposing him to be jesting, at first laughed at the
threat; and then remarked--"Why should you kill me? I have never injured
you, neither have we ever quarreled." The savage then deliberately drew a
pistol and shot him.
But his reckless and cruel career was soon arrested, by a death wound,
received, under the highest degree of provocation, at the hand of his
father. The circumstances were these: At the time of the occurrence there
was an assemblage of the Six Nations at Burlington Heights, near to the
residence of Colonel Beasley, for the purpose of receiving the annual
bounty of the government, consisting of presents of clothing and other
articles. On this occasion Isaac, with some of his young Indian
companions, again drank to intoxication, and renewed his threats against
the life of his father, declaring his intention to kill him that night.
The Chief had that evening taken tea with Colonel and Mrs. Beasley, (who
then lived near the margin of Burlington Bay,) and afterward walked up to
a small inn upon the hill, at a short distance from the Colonel's
residence, to lodge for the night. Isaac followed his father to the inn,
entered an adjoining room, and began abusing him to the people about, in
language perfectly audible to his parent, the two apartments being divided
only by a board partition. Becoming quite violent in his conduct, his
father entered his son's apartment, but had no sooner done so, than the
latter sprang toward him for the purpose of assault--armed, as it was
asserted by some, though the fact was denied by others, with a
sharp-pointed knife. Be that as it may, the Captain was badly wounded by
a cut across the back of his hand. Young Brant had been seized around the
waist by some of the Indians, at the instant he was leaping upon his
father; while the latter, irritated by the wound, had also been seized in
like manner by some white men, to prevent farther injury. The affray was
the work of an instant, during which Captain Brant had drawn a large dirk,
which he always carried upon his thigh, and with which he struck at his
son. In the descent of the blow, the point of the dirk fell upon the head
of Isaac, and, cutting through his hat, inflicted a wound which would have
been more severe had the position of the parties been that of closer
proximity. The wound was by no means considered dangerous at the time it
was inflicted, although, from excitement and intoxication, it bled
profusely. But such were the rage and violence of the young man, that he
resisted all attempts to dress the wound--tearing off the bandages as fast
as they could be applied, until, ultimately, they were compelled to bind
him fast for the return of sobriety. He then allowed his head to be
dressed properly; but the next day he resumed his drinking, and tearing
the dressings from his wound, caused it of course to bleed afresh. His
perverse conduct continued several days; a severe fever of the brain
ensued, and the result was a speedy termination of his life. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Such were the real facts of this unhappy affair, as collected,
recently, for the use of the author, from the statements of the witnesses
of the transaction, and the surviving contemporaries of Captain Brant.
And yet Dr. Morse and Dr. Belknap, who in the year following the event
were sent forth by the Board of Commissioners of the society established
in Scotland for the propagation of Christian Knowledge, to visit the
Oneida and Mohokunuh, or Stockbridge Indians, recorded the incident in
their report as a murder:--"Last Summer, Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Chief,
and a captain in the British service, formerly one of Doctor Wheelock's
scholars, murdered his own son, who was, indeed, a bad fellow, and had
attempted the life of his father."
This painful transaction took place in the year 1795. The afflicted father
immediately surrendered himself to the civil authorities, and resigned the
commission which he yet retained in the British service, and upon which he
drew half pay. Lord Dorchester, however, would not accept the resignation;
and the death of Isaac was universally regarded as in the main accidental,
and in any aspect of the case justifiable homicide. [FN] The Chief called
a council of his elderly sachems and warriors on the occasion, to whom,
when assembled, he related the circumstances of the melancholy
catastrophe. After great deliberation--for the Indians never decide
hastily upon questions of moment--the council delivered an opinion nearly
in the following words:--
* * * * *
[FN] Morse and Belknap's Report to the Scot's Society.
"Brother: We have heard and considered your case. We sympathise with you.
You are bereaved of a beloved son. But that son raised his parricidal hand
against the kindest of fathers. His death was occasioned by his own crime.
With one voice we acquit you of all blame. We tender you our hearty
condolence. And may the Great Spirit above, bestow upon you consolation
and comfort under your affliction." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] "The account of this proceeding I received from the Secretary of the
Upper Province, at Newark, while at his office to obtain the copy of an
Indian deed."--_Note by Samuel Woodruff._
But the affliction was a very severe one to the old Chief, notwithstanding
the condolence of his people, the convictions of his own conscience that
he had not done intentional wrong, and the acquittal of all. Doctor Allen,
President of Bowdoin College, has stated, upon the authority of Joseph
Brant, jun., that as his father lay upon his bed and looked at the dirk
with which the wound was inflicted, and which hung up in his room, he was
accustomed to cry in the sorrow of his heart. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Allen's Biographical Dictionary. Isaac Brant left a widow and two
children. Judge Woodruff, in his notes, says--"The widow and two lovely
children which he left, I saw in Brant's family." The eldest of these
"lovely children," was Isaac, to whom his grandfather, the old Chief,
left a just proportion of his real estate. He also devised an equal
proportion of his real estate to his eldest daughter, Christiana. The
younger Isaac, however, grew up with the same disposition, and walked in
the footsteps of his father. He was nevertheless a brave fellow in the
field, and exhibited his prowess during the late war between the United
Slates and Great Britain, 1812--15. He was afterward killed in a drunken
frolic, at Brantford, by a blow with a gun-barrel, inflicted, as was
supposed, by a white man. But so bad had his character become, that his
poor mother, then living, seemed rather relieved than otherwise by the
occurrence, being in constant fear that he would commit some dreadful
act which would bring him to an ignominious end.
Taking all the circumstances of this trying event into consideration,
notwithstanding the unfavorable impressions, arising from prejudice and an
imperfect knowledge of the facts, that may have prevailed, no just
conclusion can be drawn to the disadvantage of the Chief as a parent.
While, on the other hand, all the evidence that can be obtained, goes to
establish the fact that both in husband and father, his own family circle
was most happy. Certainly nothing could have been stronger than his desire
for the education and moral culture of his children. Knowing his
solicitude upon this subject, and appreciating the disadvantages of his
position in that respect, several gentlemen, in the year 1800, suggested
to him the expediency of an appeal to the parent government for the
education of his sons at the expense of the crown. A memorial for that
object, addressed to the Duke of Portland, was drawn up by one of his
friends in the Upper Canadian administration, and submitted for his
consideration. In this document a strong case was made, arising from the
peculiar services which the Captain had rendered to the Crown, and the
policy of having his sons educated in sound principles of loyalty. But the
Chief peremptorily declined making such an overture. The following is an
extract from his letter announcing his determination:--
"Captain Brant to Colonel Smith.
"_Grand River, September_ 20, 1800.
"Dear Sir,
"I have very seriously considered the petition to his Grace the Duke of
Portland, for the education of my sons, which your friendship for me
prompted you to advise me to make, and must acknowledge the particular
satisfaction I feel at this further instance of your inclination to serve
me with your friendly advice. I am confident it must have been suggested
to your mind from the most friendly motives, of which I have had
sufficient proofs since our acquaintance. But I am sorry I cannot
altogether comply with your opinion on this point; for, considering the
many oppositions I have met with since the establishment of the government
of this province, in obtaining what I only considered as our rights, and
which indeed seems yet to be in some measure undetermined, I cannot
flatter myself with any prospect of succeeding in asking such a particular
favor. I therefore decline, purely from the apprehensions of having my
feelings farther hurt by a refusal. Notwithstanding, I think such a thing
being granted would be extremely for the good of my family, and give me
heartfelt satisfaction, could it be obtained for me by my friends, without
my running the risk of meeting with farther rebuffs."
The Chieftain's papers afford evidence that an occasional correspondence
must have been maintained between Captain Brant and the family of his old
preceptor, President Wheelock, for many years. The venerable founder of
Moor's Charity School, and subsequently of Dartmouth College, had slept
with his fathers, before the close of the Revolutionary war, being
succeeded in the presidentship of the college by his eldest son, John
Wheelock, Esq., who was recalled from active service in the army, to
assume the duties of that station. James Wheelock, another son, had
resided near the Chief in Upper Canada, after the conclusion of the Indian
wars, and there was a renewal of ancient acquaintance and friendship.
During this period, Mr. Wheelock had proposed taking charge of the eldest
surviving son, Joseph; and having relinquished the project of applying to
the government for assistance in the premises, the Captain once more
turned his attention to the land in which, and the friends with whom,
forty years before, he had acquired the rudiments of his imperfect
education. With this view a correspondence was opened with James Wheelock,
and his brother, the president, which was attended by the desired results.
Extracts from this correspondence will not be found uninteresting,
affording, as they will, farther and very gratifying illustrations of the
Chieftain's domestic character:--
"Captain Brant to James Wheelock, Esq.
"_Niagara,_ 3_d October,_ 1800.
"Dear Sir,
"Although it is long since I have had the pleasure of seeing or
corresponding with you, still I have not forgot there is such a person in
being, and now embrace the kind offer you once made me, in offering to
take charge of my son Joseph, whom I certainly should at that time have
sent out, had it not been that there was apparently a jealousy subsisting
between the British and Americans; however, I hope it is not yet too late.
I send both my sons, Joseph and Jacob, who, I doubt not, will be
particularly attended to by my friends. I could wish them to be studiously
attended to, not only as to their education, but likewise as to their
morals in particular; this no doubt is needless mentioning, as I know of
old, and from personal experience at your seminary, that these things are
paid strict attention to. Let my sons be at what schools soever, your
overseeing them will be highly flattering to me. I should by this
opportunity have wrote Mr. John Wheelock on the same subject, but a hurry
of business at this time prevents me. I shall hereafter take the first
opportunity of dropping him a few lines; until when, please make my best
respects to him, and I earnestly solicit his friendship and attention to
my boys, which be assured of, I shall ever gratefully acknowledge. I am,
dear Sir, wishing you and your family health and happiness,
"Your friend and well wisher,
Jos. Brant.
"_Mr. James Wheelock._"
The lads were sent to Dartmouth in charge of Colonel Benjamin Sumner, of
Claremont, (N. H.) a gentleman who had resided fifteen months among the
Canadian Indians. Colonel Sumner gave Dr. Wheelock a very gratifying
account of the surprising progress the Mohawks had made in the art of
husbandry, and the conveniences of living, in consequence of the influence
exercised over them by Captain Brant. He also repeated to the Doctor the
anxious charge which he had received from the Chief, that his sons should
be educated not only in letters, but in piety and virtue. [FN] The lads
arrived at Hanover safely, were well received by President Wheelock and
his brother James, and domesticated in the family of the latter. Both the
President and James Wheelock wrote to the Captain on the 3d of November,
announcing the fact, and informing him of the arrangements that had been
made. These were highly satisfactory to the parent, as will appear from
the subjoined letters:--
* * * * *
[FN] McClure's Life of Wheelock.
"Captain Brant to President John Wheelock.
"_Grand River, Feb._ 9, 1801.
"Dear Sir,
"I have received your favor of the 3d of November last. I have delayed
answering it until the return of Captain Brigham.
"I receive an inexpressible satisfaction in hearing from you, that you
have taken my sons under your protection, and also to find that you yet
retain a strong remembrance of our ancient friendship. For my part,
nothing can ever efface from my memory the persevering attention your
revered father paid to my education, when I was in the place my sons now
are. Though I was an unprofitable pupil in some respects, yet my worldly
affairs have been much benefited by the instruction I there received. I
hope my children may reap greater advantages under your care, both with
respect to their future as well as their worldly welfare.
"Their situation at your brother's meets my highest approbation. Your
goodness, in having provided for them out of the funds, far exceeds my
expectations, and merits my warmest thanks. The reason that induced me to
send them, to be instructed under your care, is the assurance I had that
their morals and education would be there more strictly attended to than
at any other place I know of.
"I am much pleased at the kindness you show in pressing them to be
familiar at your house. I beg you will be constant in exhorting them to
conduct themselves with propriety. The character you give me of the worthy
gentleman, their preceptor, is extremely pleasing. From the whole, I feel
perfectly easy with respect to their situation, and the care taken of
their education, and am fully convinced that all now depends on their own
exertions. The steady friendship you do me the honor to assure me of, is
what, from numberless obligations, I doubly owe your family on my part;
and I beg leave to assure you, that until death, I remain your sincere
friend.
"Should there be any thing you might wish from these parts, curiosities
or the like, I shall be happy to send them to you.
"Dear Sir, I am
Your very humble serv't.
Jos. Brant.
"_Hon. John Wheelock._"
"From same, to James Wheelock, Esq.
"_Grand River, Feb._ 9, 1801.
"Dear Sir,
"It is now some time since I had the pleasure of receiving your kind
letter of the 3d of November, 1800. It gives me unspeakable satisfaction
to find that my boys are with you, as I am fully confident they could not
have a better or more agreeable situation. I am assured, from the known
reputation of the President, that if they do not make a progress in their
studies, it will be owing to themselves. I therefore hope you will shew me
the kindness to make free, and be particular in exhorting them to exert
themselves, and to behave in a becoming manner.
"I am happy to find you yet retain the same sentiments of friendship for
me that you have ever testified. I was apprehensive the manner in which I
disappointed you respecting my son, when you was here, would have too much
affected you. The occasion of it then was, the too great jealousy showed
by our government here.
"I yet add, that I should wish them to be learned that it is their duty to
be subject to the customs of the place they are in, even with respect to
dress, and the cutting of their hair.
"The reason I did not answer you sooner, is that I have expected Captain
Brigham back this way, and thought him the safest opportunity to send by.
Any thing you might want from this quarter, I should be happy to assist
you in.
"Dear Sir, I am,
With respect and esteem,
Your friend and humble servant.
Jos. Brant.
"_James Wheelock, Esq._"
"James Wheelock to Captain Brant.
"_Hanover May_ 1, 1801.
"Very Dear Sir,
"I received your polite and very agreeable letter of February 9th some
days ago, for which please to accept my sincere and cordial thanks.
"I am very happy in again gratifying your parental feelings, with the
information that your very worthy sons conduct themselves still in a most
agreeable manner; are quite attentive to their school, and make, I
believe, very laudable progress in learning. By their amiable dispositions
and manly behavior they are continually growing in our esteem; and I
sincerely hope and trust that _your_ and our _expectations_ concerning
their future _usefulness_ and _respectability_ in life, will be highly
gratified. You may depend on my friendly freedom in advising and exhorting
them whenever I may see occasion. But, Sir, (without flattery,) such
occasions will be very rare.
"What has become of my old friend, Mr. Phelps? I want to hear from him;
but I have written so often without return, that I have done. Please when
you see him to remember and mention me to him with cordial affection, and
ask him to think of our former friendly days.
"I wish we could have the pleasure of seeing you here--perhaps, some time
or other, we may be indulged in this wish. Please to remember me, with
Mrs. Wheelock, affectionately to your lady, and believe that I continue
to be, with attachment and respect, very dear Sir,
"Your sincere friend,
And humble servant,
Jas. Wheelock.
"_Captain Joseph Brant._"
"President Wheelock to Captain Brant.
"_Dartmouth College, May_ 6, 1801.
"Dear Sir,
"Though I have but a moment now allowed me to write, yet I cannot omit
embracing it to express my thanks for your kind favor of February 9th ult.
"I rejoice to hear of your good health; and great also is my happiness to
be able to inform you of the regular conduct, and steady application, and
laudable improvements of your dear sons with me. I will do all I can for
their good, and future usefulness; and may God grant that they shall be,
and long continue, great sources of comfort and assistance to you in the
sublime business of enlightening and meliorating your nations. I will
write longer when I may have a good opportunity, and can now only ask the
favor that you will accept this as a token of my cordial respect, and
perfect friendship; I am,
"Dear Sir,
Your most ob'dt serv't,
John Wheelock.
"_Capt. J. Brant, &c. &c._"
"Captain Brant to President Wheelock.
"_Buffalo Creek, July_ 23, 1801.
"Dear Sir,
"It gives me great satisfaction to hear that my sons have so conducted
themselves as to merit your approbation. The hope you form of them, is
pleasing beyond expression. When my sons went away, I promised they should
remain only one year; but as they seem to make progress, I hope you will
begin by times to convince them it is their interest to remain another
winter, and exert themselves in their studies. I intend going to England
this Fall, and should I return safe in the Spring, I will see them, and
they might then come out on a visit home.
"I am, Dear Sir,
Your friend sincerely,
Jos. Brant.
"_Hon. John Wheelock._"
"The same to James Wheelock, Esq.
"_Buffalo Creek, July_ 23, 1801.
"Very Dear Sir,
"Your kind letter gives me an extreme pleasure to find that you and family
are well, and that my sons grow in your esteem. I hope sincerely they may
continue to behave in such a manner as to deserve a continuance of it. I
have not seen Mr. Phelps since I received your favor, but expect I shortly
shall, and I will then mention what you desire. We are likely to succeed
in getting him ordained for a minister.
"It is a long time since I sent any pocket money to the boys. I shall in
a few days send by Mr. Gideon Tiffany, a note for a hundred pounds,
N. Y. C. I would do it sooner, but have not had the opportunity of
conveyance. My best respects to Mrs. Wheelock and family.
"I am, Dear Sir, sincerely,
Your friend and
Humble servant,
Jos. Brant.
"P. S. I send a letter of Captain Elliott's son, their cousin, who is much
younger than they, to shew them how he improves. [FN]
"_James Wheelock, Esq._"
* * * * *
[FN] The name of Captain Elliott has repeatedly occurred before, in
connexion with the British-Indian affairs at Detroit and the Miamis.
Captain Brant, in one of his letters to Sir John Johnson, complained that
Elliott was dismissed from the public service, for some reason not
stated, and without trial.
"James Wheelock to Captain Brant.
"_Marcellus, Sept._ 19th, 1801.
"Very Dear and Respected Sir,
"I am almost overjoyed at meeting your worthy son, Joseph, this morning,
on his way homeward. By him I have only a moment to write to express my
respect for you, and my attachment and regard for your dear and promising
sons. They have been so long in my family, that to see Joseph seems like
meeting one of my own children; indeed they are both, by their pleasing
conduct, which has been uniform, highly esteemed by all their acquaintance
with us. I sincerely hope that your expectations concerning them will be
answered, and that they will both be _good, useful,_ and _honorable_ in
the world.
"It is some weeks since I left home. I want much to see you, and Joseph
mentions that by a letter from you since I left home, we may expect that
pleasure next Spring, on your return from your intended European tour. I
hope we shall not be disappointed. I wish I could have the pleasure of my
friend Joseph's company on my return home, as I have mentioned to him.
May every blessing and happiness constantly attend you and yours, is the
sincere wish of,
"Dear Sir, your very
Sincere friend, and
Humble servant,
Jas. Wheelock.
"_Capt. Joseph Brant._"
"Captain Brant to Mr. Wheelock.
"_Grand River,_ 22_d Oct._ 1801.
"My Dear Sir,
"I received your kind letter favored by my son Joseph, and am extremely
happy to find they both give such great satisfaction to their friends, of
their good conduct, as well as to me. I cannot express myself the great
pleasure you give me by the great attention to my children. I would really
wish you to take the opportunity to continue them as your own children,
and give them every good advice, so they may be useful and honorable in
the world. As for my European route, it is uncertain.
"I remain, Dear Sir,
Your sincere friend,
And very humble serv't,
Jos. Brant.
"_Jas. Wheelock, Esq._"
Unfortunately, while thus happily situated, pursuing their studies with
diligence, and so demeaning themselves toward their friends as to win
golden opinions from all, some difficulty arose between the brothers
themselves, which produced a separation; Joseph, the eldest, leaving the
school and returning home. Jacob followed in the course of the Spring, on
a visit only, returning to the school again in the Autumn. Two or three
letters more will close all that can be found of this interesting
correspondence.
"Captain Brant to Mr. James Wheelock.
"_Grand River, March_ 20, 1802.
"My Dear Sir,
"I received your favor of the 25th January, and I am sorry to learn by it
that your friendly arguments had not the desired effect of dissuading
Joseph from his determination of coming this way. I regret very much his
leaving, so unreasonably, the advantageous situation he was in, for
improvement; for I am fully confident he could not have been in a better
place, and I shall ever remain thankful for your kind attention and that
of the President, although the imprudence of youth has rendered it
ineffectual. At the same time I must assure you that Joseph has a grateful
remembrance of the civilities he received from you and family, and
acknowledges to have been as happy and comfortable as he could wish to be;
and perfectly at home in your house.
"After the great care and attention the worthy President has been pleased
to show to my sons, it doubly grieves me that any part of their conduct
should have the least appearance of neglect, or disrespect to a character
that it was their duty to revere, and to which they were so much indebted.
"The only reason Joseph can allege for his coming away, is the perpetual
disagreement between him and his brother Jacob. Mrs. Brant joins me in
thanks and best respects to you and Mrs. Wheelock, and be assured we think
equally well of your kind endeavors as if they had had the desired effect.
"My best respects to the President, and in a short time I shall write him
in answer to the letter I received.
"My Dear Sir,
I remain, affectionately,
Your friend and
Humble servant,
Jos. Brant.
"_James Wheelock, Esq'r._"
"James Wheelock to Captain Brant.
"_Hanover, April_ 19, 1802.
"Very Dear Sir,
"It is with much pleasure I acknowledge the receipt of your friendly and
obliging letter of March 20th,--am glad to learn that Joseph arrived at
home; for I assure you, I felt not a little anxious for him, on his
setting out, horseback, at such a season of the year, so long a journey.
I hope he, as well as Jacob, will somewhere complete his education, and
that they both will have a disposition and abilities, to follow the
example of their worthy parent, in promoting eminently the happiness,
prosperity and advantage of their fellow men, _while you and I shall be
asleep with our fathers._
"My brother, the President has mentioned particularly concerning the
conduct, &c. of Jacob, which renders any thing from me in his praise
unnecessary; however, I must just say, that from what I have seen and
understood since he left our house, (not from our desire, but his own,)
his conduct has been quite unexceptionable, amicable, and pleasing; and I
shall always rejoice in an opportunity to shew him any mark of friendship,
by advice, or otherwise, that may be in my power.
"My brother has likewise mentioned to him Captain Dunham, [FN] the
gentleman who will accompany Jacob. He is a gentleman we highly esteem and
respect, and I doubt not but he will meet with your friendly notice and
attention."
* * * * *
[FN] Captain Josiah Dunham, an officer in the American service--a
gentleman of talents and letters. After the surrender of the Northwestern
posts, so long retained by Great Britain, Captain Dunham was stationed at
Michillimackinack. Subsequently, during the earlier part of Mr. Madison's
administration, Captain D. edited a political paper with signal ability,
in Vermont.
"I shall always be happy in an opportunity to render you, or any of yours,
any services that may be in my power; but how happy should I be in an
opportunity, especially at my own house, to see you, and to manifest that
respect to which you are so justly entitled, and to which my own feelings
so warmly would prompt me. Mrs. Wheelock joins me in cordial respects to
yourself and Mrs. Brant.
"I am, very Dear Sir, &c. &c.
Jas. Wheelock.
"_Capt. Joseph Brant, &c. &c._"
"From Captain Brant to James Wheelock.
"_Niagara,_ 17_th December,_ 1802.
"My Dear Sir,
"I received your very polite and friendly letter by my son Jacob, and am
very much obliged to you, your brother, and all friends, for the great
attentions that have been paid to both my sons; likewise to Captain
Dunham, for the great care he took of Jacob on the journey.
"My son would have returned to you long before this but for a continued
sickness in the family for three months, which brought Mrs. Brant very
low; my son Jacob and several of the children were very ill.
"My son now returns to be under the care of the President, and I sincerely
hope he will pay such attention to his studies, as will do credit to
himself, and be a comfort to his parents. The horse that Jacob rides out,
I wish to be got in good order after he arrives, and sold, as an attentive
scholar has no time to ride about. Mrs. Brant joins me in most
affectionate respects to you and Mrs. Wheelock.
"I am, Dear Sir,
With great respect, your sincere friend and
Humble servant,
Jos. Brant.
"_James Wheelock, Esq.,
Hanover._"
The only remaining letter of this branch of Captain Brant's correspondence
which has been obtained, was addressed to James Wheelock, in October,
1804. It relates to matters indifferent to the present work, save only the
mention that by the bursting of a gun, his son Jacob's left hand had been
shattered, and that he was "about marrying one of our Mohawk girls." [FN]
The whole of this correspondence, however, speaks the old Chief
exceedingly well in his domestic relations. No parent could have been more
solicitous for the moral and intellectual training of his offspring. His
letters are characterised by an amiable temper, and by good, sound,
common sense--breathing a spirit of kindness and affection throughout. And
such was his general character in his family.
* * * * *
[FN] Joseph Brant, Jr. died several years ago. Jacob Brant is yet living,
[July, 1837.] A daughter of Captain Brant married a Frenchman, who, in
June, 1789, was killed by a party of Indians while peaceably traveling
up the Wabash River. He was in company with nine others, four of whom
were killed, and three wounded. When the hostile party came up to them,
and discovered the son-in-law of the Mohawk Chief, they assisted in
drawing the arrows from the wounded, and then went off--_Carey's
Museum--quoted by Drake._
In addition to his correspondence upon public affairs, upon the business
of his own nation exclusively, and in regard to his private and domestic
concerns, which must have been very extensive, Captain Brant wrote many
letters upon miscellaneous subjects to which his attention was from time
to time invited. His fame was co-extensive with England and the United
States, and he must have had acquaintances in France. His personal friends
were very numerous, and those to whom he was known, far more numerous
still. The consequence of these friendships and this celebrity, was
frequent applications analogous to those made by Doctor Miller, for
information in regard to the history, condition, and polity of his own
people, or for the purpose of eliciting his own views and opinions upon
given subjects. Of these miscellaneous letters, but few have been
preserved. The annexed is given as an example. It had long been contended
by physiologists, both in Europe and America, that the American
aboriginals naturally have no beards. Nor is the opinion uncommon at the
present day. It was for a solution of this question that a Mr. McCauseland
wrote to Brant, soon after the close of the American war. The following
was the Chiefs reply:--
"_Niagara, April_ 19, 1783.
"The men of the Six Nations have all beards by nature; as have likewise
all other Indian nations of North America, which I have seen. Some Indians
allow a part of the beard upon the chin and upper lip to grow, and a few
of the Mohawks shave with razors, in the same manner as Europeans; but the
generality pluck out the hairs of the beard by the roots, as soon as they
begin to appear; and as they continue this practice all their lives, they
appear to have no beard, or, at most, only a few straggling hairs, which
they have neglected to pluck out. I am however of opinion, that if the
Indians were to shave, they would never have beards altogether so thick
us the Europeans; and there are some to be met with who have actually very
little beard.
"Joseph Brant,
_Thayendanegea._"
Among others, the late eccentric Samuel Peters, LL. D., either opened, or
attempted to open, a correspondence with the Chief, a few years before his
decease. Dr. Peters was a native of Hebron, (Conn.) He was graduated at
Yale College in 1757, and, taking orders in the Episcopal Church, had
charge of the churches at Hartford and Hebron, at the commencement of the
Revolutionary contest. Being a friend of the crown, he went to England,
where he remained many years, and in 1781 published his extraordinary, and
in many respects fabulous, history of his native state. In the year 1805,
he returned to the United States; and in 1817 or 1818, made a journey into
the country of the great northwestern lakes, to the Falls of St Anthony;
claiming a large extent of territory in that region, under a grant to the
ancient traveler, Captain Carver. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] A letter of Dr. Peters to Captain Brant, written in April, 1803, is
so characteristic of its author that a place has been assigned to it in
the Appendix, (No. XVII,) as a curiosity. Doctor, or Bishop Peters, as he
was called, died in the city of New-York, April 19,1826, at the advanced
age of 90. His remains were interred at Hebron.
On the subject of imprisonment for debt, his views were those of an
enlightened philosopher and philanthropist, as will be manifest from the
following interesting letter discovered among the papers of the late
Thomas Eddy; a name ever to be revered, as among the most honorable, if
not the brightest, adorning the annals of humanity. [FN] Mr. Eddy was at
the period mentioned, and for years afterward, directing his attention to
the subject of prison discipline, and his mind was much occupied on the
question of imprisonment for debt. The views of the Mohawk Chieftain were
coincident with his own. Both were more than a quarter of a century in
advance of public opinion in the United States, in that important feature
of English and American jurisprudence; and how much in advance of England,
remains to be seen.
* * * * *
[FN] This letter was transcribed by Thomas Eddy, into a volume of Indian
documents, speeches &c., collected by him while in the discharge of his
duties as an Indian commissioner for certain purposes. He had much
intercourse with the Oneida, Stockbridge, and some other tribes of
Indians, some forty years ago, and was led to inquiries and exertions for
their moral and social improvement.
"Letter from Joseph Brant to--
"My Dear Sir,
"Your letter came safe to hand. To give you entire satisfaction I must, I
perceive, enter into the discussion of a subject on which I have often
thought. My thoughts were my own, and being so different from the ideas
entertained among your people, I should certainly have carried them with
me to the grave, had I not received your obliging favor.
"You ask me, then, whether in my opinion civilization is favorable to
human happiness? In answer to the question, it may be answered, that there
are degrees of civilization, from Cannibals to the most polite of European
nations. The question is not, then, whether a degree of refinement is not
conducive to happiness; but whether you, or the natives of this land, have
obtained this happy medium. On this subject we are at present, I presume,
of very different opinions. You will, however, allow me in some respects
to have had the advantage of you in forming my sentiments. I was, Sir,
born of Indian parents, and lived while a child among those whom you are
pleased to call savages; I was afterward sent to live among the white
people, and educated at one of your schools; since which period I have
been honored much beyond my deserts, by an acquaintance with a number of
principal characters both in Europe and America. After all this
experience, and after every exertion to divest myself of prejudice, I am
obliged to give my opinion in favor of my own people. I will now, as much
as I am able, collect together, and set before you, some of the reasons
that have influenced my judgment on the subject now before us. In the
government you call civilized, the happiness of the people is constantly
sacrificed to the splendor of empire. Hence your codes of criminal and
civil laws have had their origin; hence your dungeons and prisons. I will
not enlarge on an idea so singular in civilized life, and perhaps
disagreeable to you, and will only observe, that among us we have _no_
prisons; we have no pompous parade of courts; we have no written laws; and
yet judges are as highly revered amongst us as they are among you, and
their decisions are as much regarded.
"Property, to say the least, is as well guarded, and crimes are as
impartially punished. We have among us no splendid villains above the
control of our laws. Daring wickedness is here never suffered to triumph
over helpless innocence. The estates of widows and orphans are never
devoured by enterprising sharpers. In a word, we have no robbery under the
color of law. No person among us desires any other reward for performing
a brave and worthy action, but the consciousness of having served his
nation. Our wise men are called Fathers; they truly sustain that
character. They are always accessible, I will not say to the meanest of
our people, for we have none mean but such as render themselves so by
their vices.
"The palaces and prisons among you form a most dreadful contrast. Go to
the former places, and you will see perhaps a _deformed piece of earth_
assuming airs that become none but the Great Spirit above. Go to one of
your prisons; here description utterly fails! Kill them, if you please;
kill them, too, by tortures; but let the torture last no longer than a
day. Those you call savages, relent; the most furious of our tormentors
exhausts his rage in a few hours, and dispatches his unhappy victim with
a sudden stroke. Perhaps it is eligible that incorrigible offenders should
sometimes be cut off. Let it be done in a way that is not degrading to
human nature. Let such unhappy men have an opportunity, by their
fortitude, of making an atonement in some measure for the crimes they have
committed during their lives.
"But for what are many of your prisoners confined?--for
debt!--astonishing!--and will you ever again call the Indian nations
cruel? Liberty, to a rational creature, as much exceeds property as the
light of the sun does that of the most twinkling star. But you put them
on a level, to the everlasting disgrace of civilization. I knew, while I
lived among the white people, many of the most amiable contract debts, and
I dare say with the best intentions. Both parties at the time of the
contract expect to find their advantage. The debtor, we will suppose, by
a train of unavoidable misfortunes, fails; here is no crime, nor even a
fault; and yet your laws put it in the power of the creditor to throw the
debtor into prison and confine him there for life! a punishment infinitely
worse than death to a brave man! And I seriously declare, I had rather die
by the most severe tortures ever inflicted on this continent, than
languish in one of your prisons for a single year. Great Spirit of the
Universe!--and do you call yourselves Christians? Does then the religion
of Him whom you call your Saviour, inspire this spirit, and lead to these
practices? Surely no. It is recorded of him, that a bruised reed he never
broke. Cease, then, to call yourselves Christians, lest you publish to the
world your hypocrisy. Cease, too, to call other nations savage, when you
are tenfold more the children of cruelty than they."
Few subjects of greater interest have been presented for the consideration
of antiquaries in North America, than those monuments of an age and a
people that are lost, found scattered over western New-York, through the
state of Ohio, and in great numbers in the valley of the Mississippi,
called Tumuli. These mounds, or barrows, as they are usually termed in
older countries, have been objects of extensive inquiry and much
speculation; but their origin, in America, and the purposes of their
erection, are yet among those hidden mysteries which it is probable that
even time itself will not unfold. Among the Greeks, on the steppes of
Tartary, in the north of Europe, in England, Ireland, and New South Wales,
in all which countries, and several others, they abound, it has been well
ascertained that these Tumuli were monumental heaps, of greater or less
extent, raised over the remains of the dead. But in the United States, and
in Mexico, where similar barrows are numerous, appearances, in regard to
very many of them, have seemed to warrant a different opinion as to the
object of their formation. Their magnitude in this country is much greater
than in any other, some of the largest American Tumuli being approached
in dimensions only by the celebrated Irish barrow at New Grange, described
by Governor Pownall; [FN] while the form of very many of the American has
induced at least a plausible conjecture, that they were the military
defences of a people long since become extinct.
* * * * *
[FN] The Irish barrow in New Grange, county Meath, covers two acres at
the base, the circumference at the top being three hundred feet, and its
height ninety. It consists of small pebbles, and has a gallery within,
sixty-two feet long, leading to a cave. There is one near Wheeling, on
the Ohio, between thirty and forty rods in circumference at the base,
one hundred and eighty at the top, and seventy feet high. Near Cahokia
there is a numerous group, stated at about two hundred in all--the
largest of which is a parallelogram, about ninety feet high, and eight
hundred yards in circuit. [_Ency. Americana._] There are some very large
and of evident military formation, in the Wyoming Valley.
While, therefore, every inquiry of the white man concerning these remains
in America has ended as it began, leaving the subject of investigation as
deep in obscurity as before, the opinion of a man of Brant's information
and sagacity, thoroughly conversant, as he was, with the traditions of his
own people, may not be unacceptable to the curious reader. That opinion,
or rather such information as the Chief had derived from the dim light of
Indian tradition, has been supplied in the manuscript notes of Mr.
Woodruff, already referred to several times in the preceding pages. A few
extracts follow:--
"Among other things relating to the western country," says Mr. Woodruff,
"I was curious to learn in the course of my conversations with Captain
Brant, what information he could give me respecting the _Tumuli_ which are
found on and near the margin of the rivers and lakes, from the St.
Lawrence to the Mississippi. He stated, in reply, that the subject had
long been agitated, but yet remained in some obscurity. A tradition, he
said, prevailed among the different nations of Indians throughout that
whole extensive range of country, and had been handed down time
immemorial, that in an age long gone by, there came white men from a
foreign country, and by consent of the Indians established trading-houses
and settlements where these Tumuli are found. A friendly intercourse was
continued for several years; many of the white men brought their wives,
and had children born to them; and additions to their numbers were made
yearly from their own country. These circumstances at length gave rise to
jealousies among the Indians, and fears began to be entertained in regard
to the increasing numbers, wealth, and ulterior views of the new comers;
apprehending that becoming strong, they might one day seize upon the
country as their own. A secret council, composed of the chiefs of all the
different nations from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, was therefore
convoked; the result of which, after long deliberation, was a resolution
that on a certain night designated for that purpose, all their white
neighbors, men, women and children, should be exterminated. The most
profound secrecy was essential to the execution of such a purpose; and
such was the fidelity with which the fatal determination was kept, that
the conspiracy was successful, and the device carried completely into
effect. Not a soul was left to tell the tale.
"The Captain expressed no opinion himself as to the truth of the tale, but
added, that from the vessels and tools which had been dug up in those
mounds, or found in their vicinity, it was evident that the people who had
used them were French.
"In the year 1801, having occasion to travel through the States of
New-York and Ohio, and a part of Pennsylvania," (continues Judge
Woodruff,) "I had frequent opportunities of viewing these artificial
mounds, as well as the entrenched plots of land contiguous to them. They
are all placed upon small and handsome elevations of ground. The
entrenched plots are of various dimensions, from six to ten rods square.
The ditches and their banks are yet plainly visible. Their antiquity may
be inferred from the size of the trees standing both in the ditches and
on the banks--being as large as any of those in their vicinity. Many of
these trees I saw which were more than two feet in diameter. Near one
corner of each of these areas, is a space of twelve feet in width, where
the ground appears never to have been broken. It is evident that these
spaces were used for gate-ways. About ten or fifteen yards from these
gate-ways, stand the mounds. These are of different dimensions, in
different places, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter at the base, and
from six to twelve feet elevation, being now much flattened down.
"Various have been the conjectures for what use these mounds were raised.
Some have supposed they were made as depositories of the dead; others, for
places in which to store provisions in winter; and others, for
watch-towers, on which sentinels were posted to guard the garrisons from
approaching danger. While in Ohio, I felt an anxiety to satisfy myself,
if possible, for which of these uses, or for what other, these Tumuli were
designed. I employed a party of young men to dig down through one of them,
beginning at the centre of the apex. When they had descended through to
the natural surface of the ground, it appeared by the mould, or soil, that
the earth had not there been broken. All we found there, were a few oaken
chips, nearly sound, and bearing the mark of the axe. These circumstances,
in my judgment, served greatly to strengthen the probability that the
mounds had been designed and used only for watch-towers. Mr. Quimby, the
owner of the land, shewed me a tinner's anvil, a pair of shears, and an
adze, which he had found on the area within the lines of the entrenchment.
All these were evidently of French origin. Many other tools and vessels,
as I was well informed, had been found at other of these stations, in
different parts of the western country, all of the same character.
"In farther conversation with Captain Brant, he informed me that he had
ever entertained a strong desire to know something more decisive
concerning those white people--their former neighbors--and that while in
England, he made a visit to the French capital for the purpose of pushing
his inquiries upon the subject. Letters of introduction were furnished by
his friends in London, to some literary gentlemen in Paris, by whom he was
received with great politeness and respect, and kindly assisted in making
researches in the public libraries. Nothing, however, could be found in
any of their histories, respecting the object of his inquiries, excepting,
that about the year 1520, (if I rightly remember,) several ships were
fitted out and sailed from L'Orient, bound to North America, freighted
with goods suitable for that market, and carrying out a number of traders,
and other enterprising individuals, with their families, to plant a colony
in that part of the world. But nothing farther was recorded concerning the
enterprize. Hence Captain Brant was induced to give additional credit to
the tradition before mentioned." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] John Norton, the intelligent Mohawk Chief, heretofore repeatedly
mentioned, gave a different version of the tradition upon this subject.
Being at Albany, upon the business of the St. Regis Reservation, during
the administration of Governor Jay, the Governor took occasion to ask
Norton if he knew any thing concerning the origin of the Indian
fortifications, as they were called, found in such numbers in many parts
of the United States. He answered, that there was a tradition in his
tribe that they were constructed by a people who in ancient times
occupied a great extent of country, but who had been extirpated; that
there had been long and bloody wars between this people and the Five
Nations, in which the latter had been finally victorious. He added, that
one of the last of the fortifications which was taken, had been
obstinately defended; that the warriors of the other four nations of the
Confederacy had assaulted it without waiting for the Mohawks, and had
been repulsed with great loss, but that the latter coming to their
assistance the attack was renewed, the place taken, and all who were in
it destroyed.--_Letter to the author from the Hon. Peter Augustus Jay,
who was present during the conversation._
There seem to be many strong reasons for believing, that at some remote
period of time, a race of men, different from the Indians found in
occupancy by the English, farther advanced in civilization, and possessed
of arts of which they were ignorant, must have been in possession of
portions of this country. The Indians have various traditions upon the
subject of such a lost race of men, differing, however, among different
tribes, and often among individuals of the same tribes. Mary Jemison, who
was raised among the Senecas, and spent a long life with them, states that
the Indians held that the flats of the Genesee were cleared, and had been
cultivated, by another people, before the Indians came into possession.
They were a people of whom they could give no account, because "their
fathers had never seen them." By the sliding of a bank of Mary's farm
into the river, a burial-place was discovered, of which the Indians had
no knowledge, and they held that the bones were not those of Indians.
[FN-1] But of what race, nation, or complexion, were this ancient people,
will probably never be known. That the continent of North America was
discovered by the Normans, during the patriarchal government of the Colony
of Greenland, by Erik the Red, five centuries before the voyages of
Columbus, is no longer a matter of doubt. The shores of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and the coast of New England, were visited by Lief and Thorwald,
the sons of Erik, and colonies planted, as far back as the tenth century.
These colonies, however, were soon lost or extirpated; and from the
Icelandic records, and the histories of the Northmen, [FN-2] there is
but faint reason for supposing that the few colonists of Vinland, as the
new country was named, or their descendants, could have extended
themselves from the estuary of the St Lawrence across into the valley of
the Mississippi. [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] See Appendix, No. XVIII.
[FN-2] Vide, History of the Northmen, by Henry Wheaton; Voyages of
Sebastian Cabot, &c. &c.
[FN-3] See Appendix, No. XIX.
The tradition recited by Brant, however, tends, especially in its details,
to corroborate the well-known legend of the Welsh, concerning Prince
Madog, or Madoc, which has occasioned so many stories of White and Welsh
Indians, rather than any other tale of discovery and colonization with
which the public is acquainted. According to the Welsh tradition,
Madoc--if indeed there was such a veritable personage--in consequence of
some domestic dissensions, went to sea, with ten ships and three hundred
men, in the twelfth century, and discovered land far to the west. He made
several voyages to and from this unknown land, but finally, with all his
followers, was lost to the knowledge of his countrymen. The tradition of
Brant, that the white strangers made annual voyages to and from their own
country for several years, corresponds with the story as related in the
Welsh Triads, and by Hakluyt, who has given an account of the supposed
voyages of the Prince. The cutting off of the colonists at one fell
stroke, as related by Brant, also shows very satisfactorily why his fate
was never known. OEdipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx; but unless he
was able to solve still greater mysteries, the origin and uses of the
American Tumuli present questions that would have baffled the wisdom even
of the accomplished though unfortunate son and husband of Jocasta.
In bringing the life and actions of Joseph Brant--Thayendanegea, to a
close, something in the form of a summary review of his character will
doubtless be expected at the hands of the biographer. This task can be
readily and expeditiously executed, from the method adopted in the
composition of the work itself. Nor, after the record already given of his
public life and conduct, and the occasional anecdotes and illustrations of
character introduced in the regular progress of the narrative, will the
reader be surprised to find the author disposed, not only to set aside,
but to reverse the popular estimate, and all previous decisions of
history, in relation to the character of that remarkable man.
His fine personal appearance in the full maturity of manhood has already
been described from the notes of Mr. Woodruff and General Porter. His
early advantages of education were limited, but of these he evidently made
the best use. Probably, being connected by the alliance of his sister with
Sir William Johnson, he may have attended some of the missionary schools
in the Mohawk Valley previous to his being sent by the Baronet to the
Moor charity school, under the care of the elder Doctor Wheelock. But as
he had already, though at so early an age, been upon the war-path in two
campaigns, his opportunities of study could not have been great,--to say
nothing of the reluctance with which an ardent youth, looking with delight
upon the pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war, and inpatient of
military renown, might be expected to confine himself to the dull and
quiet pursuits of the school-room. Still, he acknowledged in after-life
that he had derived great and lasting advantages from the instructions of
Doctor Wheelock. The wars of Pontiac a third time called him to the field;
but the campaign was no sooner ended, than he was again engaged in
literary pursuits under the direction of the missionaries. The influence
of his sister in the administration of the Indian department, called him
more directly into active public life on the death of Sir William Johnson,
although he had been much employed in the transaction of business with
the Indians previous to that event. These avocations had of course
deprived him of much time which might otherwise have been devoted to
study; and when upon him had devolved the chieftainship of the whole
confederacy of the Six Nations, it may well be imagined that the official
claims upon his attention were in themselves sufficient to occupy,
unremittingly, the most active mind. Then followed the protracted conflict
of the American Revolution, requiring, from his position, and the side he
espoused, the exercise of all his energies, physical and intellectual. But
his return to his books, the moment that the great contest was ended; the
progressive improvement in the style of his letters; and the fruits of his
labors in the translations he produced, are circumstances proving his
perseverance amidst the most harassing cares and perplexities of his
after-life, and that he had a natural taste for literature, and was
zealous in the acquisition of knowledge. His solicitude was great for the
thorough education of his children; and he had himself not only projected
writing a history of his own people, but had it in contemplation himself
to acquire the knowledge of the Greek language, that he might be enabled
to read the New Testament in the original, and thus make a more perfect
translation of the Greek Scriptures in the Mohawk tongue.
His character has been represented as savage and cruel; and in the meagre
sketches of his life hitherto published, although an occasional redeeming
virtue has been allowed by some, anecdotes of treachery and blood have
been introduced, to sustain the imputed disposition of relentless
ferocity. [FN-1] The causes of this general libel upon the native
character of the Indians, and upon that of Brant in particular, have been
indicated in the commencement of the present work. Such, however, was not
the fact. On the contrary, making the necessary allowances for his
position, his own blood, and the description of warriors he commanded,
after the most diligent and laborious investigation, the author is free to
declare his belief that Brant was no less humane than he is on all hands
admitted to have been brave. He was an Indian, and led Indians to the
fight, upon their own principles and usages of war. Bold and daring,
sagacious and wily, he often struck when least expected; but the author
has in vain sought for an instance of wanton cruelty--of treachery--or of
the murder of prisoners, or others, by his own hand, or by his permission,
in cold blood. At the first outbreak of the American revolution, he
interposed and saved the life of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland when on the point
of becoming a victim to Indian fury, although not at that time on the very
best terms with that gentleman. The first battle of the revolutionary war
in which Brant was engaged, was that of the Cedars, on the banks of the
St. Lawrence. Immediately after the fate of the day was decided, he
interposed to save the prisoners, and actually, at his own private
expense, appeased the Indians, and prevented the sacrifice of the brave
Captain McKinstry. This gentleman was well known to the author, and he
ever entertained a high regard for Captain Brant, by whom he was afterward
visited on the manor of Livingston. The Chieftain's efforts at the
massacre of Cherry Valley, to stay the effusion of innocent blood, have
been mentioned in the account of that tragic irruption. In addition to the
circumstances there narrated, Doctor Dwight, who was as careful as he was
diligent in the collection of his facts, relates, that on entering one of
the houses in Cherry Valley, Walter Butler ordered a woman and child, who
were in bed, to be killed; but the Mohawk Chief interposed, and
said--"What! kill a woman and child! No! That child is not an enemy to the
King, nor a friend to the Congress. Long before he will be big enough to
do any mischief, the dispute will be settled." At the affair of Wyoming,
for which he has always received the severest condemnation, he was not
present. His conduct to Captain Harper and his fellow-prisoners was
anything but cruel, in the Indian acceptation of the term, although the
execution of the aged and weary prisoner, if done with his knowledge or
by his direction, was indefensible. But at Minisink, according to his own
relation of the circumstances, (and his veracity has never been
questioned,) his conduct has been grossly misrepresented. He exerted
himself in the first instance to avert the effusion of blood, and was
fired upon while in the act of making pacific overtures. True, Colonel
Wisner was finally killed by his own hand; but the very blow was prompted
by humanity, according to the reasoning of an Indian. The soldier was
wounded past cure or removal; and after reflection upon the painful case,
to prevent his dying agonies from being aggravated by beasts of prey, the
Chief put an end to his sufferings through an honest dictate of
compassion. A thoroughly civilized warrior would neither have reasoned nor
acted as he did under the circumstances. Still, the act was prompted by
feelings of humanity, and was doubtless such in reality. Lieutenant
Wormwood was killed at Cherry Valley by mistake, and after refusing to
stand when hailed. Lieutenant Boyd and his companion were treated with
humanity by Brant after the capture in the Genesee country, and the
dreadful tragedy which ended their lives was not enacted until Brant had
departed for Niagara. The reader cannot well have forgotten the touching
and beautiful incident of the restoration of the infant to its mother, at
Fort Hunter, as related to the author by Governor Lewis, an eye-witness of
the transaction. To all which may be added, that his last act of the last
battle he fought was the rescuing of an American prisoner from a savage
Irish ally of his own Indians, who was about to murder him. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] As a specimen of these bloody anecdotes, take the following,
related many years since by a traveler named Weld, from whom it has been
universally copied since. And yet there is not a syllable of truth in its
composition:--"With a considerable body of his troops, he joined the
forces under the command of Sir John Johnson. A skirmish took place with
a body of American troops; the action was warm, and Brant was shot by a
musket ball in his heel; but the Americans in the end were defeated and
an officer and eighty men were taken prisoners. The officer, after having
delivered up his sword, had entered into conversation with Sir John
Johnson, who commanded the British troops, and they were talking to
either in the most friendly manner, when Brant, having stolen slyly
behind them, laid the American officer low with a blow of his tomahawk.
The indignation of Sir John Johnson, as may be readily supposed, was
roused by such an act of treachery, and he resented it in the warmest
terms. Brant listened to him unconcernedly, and when he had finished,
told him that he was sorry for his displeasure, but that indeed his heel
was extremely painful at the moment, and he could not help revenging
himself on the only chief of the party that he saw taken. Since he had
killed the officer, he added, his heel was much less painful to him than
it had been before."
[FN-2] This incident was mentioned to me by Colonel Kerr, his son-in-law.
The occurrence was at the defeat of St. Clair.
In the course of his conversations with Major James Cochran and General
Porter, long after the war, in regard to the alleged cruelty of his
career, Brant assured those gentlemen that he had always spared in battle
whenever it could be done without bringing upon himself the censure of his
own people. In more instances than one, he said, he had been instrumental
in preserving life when exposed to the fury of his warriors, and that he
had winked at the escape of white prisoners, whose sufferings would not
permit them to proceed on their march. He related one instance in
particular, in which a young female prisoner had lagged behind, and whom
he himself hid in the bushes that she might escape and return to her home.
This account of himself was subsequently confirmed by Captain Philip Frey,
son of Colonel Hendrick Frey, of Tryon county, of most respectable
character and connexions, and an officer in the British army, who had
served with Brant on several military expeditions, and shared with him the
dangers of several battles. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Major Cochran to the author. In farther illustration of
Brant's general desire to prevent the shedding of blood unnecessarily,
the following incident has been communicated to the author while these
sheets were passing through the press:--"The late Jonathan Maynard, Esq.
of Framingham, (near Boston,) Massachusetts, formerly a member of the
Senate of that State, was actively engaged in the war of the Revolution,
and, as he was in the habit of relating to his friends, was taken
prisoner at one time in the western part of New-York by a party of the
enemy, composed chiefly of Indians, under the command of Brant. The
savages were disposed to put him to death according to the exterminating
mode of warfare practised in that section of the country by the combined
Indians and Tories; and preparations were making to that effect, when,
having been partially stripped, Brant discovered the symbols of
Freemasonry marked upon the prisoner's arms, which led him to interpose
and save his life. Mr. Maynard was then sent a prisoner to Canada, where,
after remaining several months, he was finally exchanged, and returned
home. He lived to an advanced age, universally respected in the town
where he resided, as an upright man and faithful magistrate; and was
favorably known throughout the county of Middlesex, which he represented
in the Senate of the commonwealth."--_Letter to the author by George
Folsom, Esq._
Having thus disposed of the principal events in his career during the war
of the Revolution, in respect to which his conduct was certainly the
opposite of savage and blood-thirsty, this point of his vindication may
be appropriately closed by the following extract from a letter addressed
to him in February, 1792, by the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, than whom none was
more intimately acquainted with his general character and disposition:--
"Rev. Mr. Kirkland to Captain Brant.--(Extract.)
"_Genesee, February_ 17_th,_ 1792.
"My Dear Friend,
"I was honored with your very polite and affectionate letter of the 1st
inst. by Dr. Allen, last Saturday. The opportunity which now presents of
addressing you, is very unexpected. Yesterday I had the pleasure of a
short interview with Captain Williamson, who had lately passed through
Philadelphia, where he received a large packet for Colonel _Gordon,_
commanding at Niagara, soliciting his aid in behalf of a disconsolate
mother, to inquire after the fate of her son, _Captain Turner_--an
unfortunate officer, who is supposed to be a prisoner among the Miamis,
and taken in the action of last Fall. I told Mr. Williamson that no
person would be more willing and ready on such an occasion to make
inquiry, and perhaps no one under equal advantages, to obtain the
much-desired information, than your self; and that, _notwithstanding all
your martial fire and heroism, you possessed a sensibility of soul that
would weep at the tale of woe._ He gave me a most affecting account of the
situation of the afflicted mother--probably he was a darling son. Mr.
Williamson has accordingly written you on the subject."
One of the distinguishing features of his character was his strong sense
of justice. It will be recollected, in the narrative of the captivity of
Alexander Harper and others, that during their long and fatiguing march,
when his own warriors and himself were suffering almost the extremity of
hunger, he saw with his own eyes the most rigid impartiality exercised in
the distribution of such scanty supplies of food as they were able
casually to procure. Every prisoner was allowed a full share with himself;
and at the end of their march, it has been seen how adroitly he averted
the torture of the gauntlet-running, which it was so customary with the
Indians to inflict upon their prisoners. This same love of justice,
moreover, marked his conduct during the Indian wars of 1789--'95, and
pervaded his correspondence connected with those wars, and his own
subsequent difficulties with the British Government touching the Grand
River land title, and in all his negotiations with the State of New-York.
He honestly thought the claim of the north-western Indians to the Ohio and
Muskingum boundary a just one. Hence his untiring exertions, year after
year, to adjust the difficulties between the Indians and the United States
upon that basis. When he thought the Indians claimed too much, he opposed
them; and so far as he thought them in the right, he was ready to fight
for them. In a letter to General Chapin upon this subject, written in
December, 1794, he says:
"Your letters from Kanandaigua are now before me. I have to say that our
meetings during the whole of last summer, at all of which our thoughts
were solely bent on fixing a boundary line, such as we thought would be
the means of fixing a peace on a solid basis, for which reason we pointed
out the line we did, well knowing the justness of it, and being certain
that the whole Indian confederacy would ratify it.
"I must regret, as an individual, to find that this boundary has been
abandoned, as I am well convinced a lasting peace would have ensued had it
been adopted. I, therefore, ever have, to bring about this desirable end,
exerted every nerve, wishing for nothing more than justice between us.
This line, you will recollect, was offered to Governor St. Clair at
Muskingum. Notwithstanding the two successful campaigns of the Indians, I
still adhered to the same line, and still do. This, I hope, will satisfy
you that my wish ever was for peace. The offer made was rejected by Mr.
St. Clair, and what the consequences have been you well know. . . . You
will recollect that I differed even with my friends, respecting the
boundary, [FN] and to the two last messages that you then received, my
name was to neither, for the reason that I thought them [the Indians] too
unreasonable. For this reason I was obliged to take more pains and trouble
to bring the Indians and you to an understanding, than I was under any
obligation to do, otherwise than having our mutual interests in view. As
to politics, I study them not. My principle is founded on justice, and
justice is all I wish for. Never shall I exert myself for any nation or
nations, let their opinions of me be what they will, unless I plainly see
they are sincere and just in what they may aim at, and that nothing more
than strict justice is what they want. When I perceive that these are the
sentiments of a people, no endeavors ever shall be wanting on my part to
bring nations to a good understanding."
* * * * *
[FN] Captain Brant had proposed a compromise boundary line, of which he
was here speaking. But neither the United States nor the Indians would
listen to it.
These views are frank, manly, and honorable; and correspond with the whole
tenor of his speeches and correspondence, as well upon that as all other
questions of controversy in which he was called to participate.
His efforts for the moral and religious improvement of his people were
indefatigable. In addition to the details already presented upon this
point, the fact is no less interesting than true, that the first
Episcopal church erected in Upper Canada was built by Brant, from funds
collected by him while in England in 1786. The church was built the same
year, and the first "church-going bell" that tolled in Upper Canada, was
placed there by him. [FN-1] The Rev. Davenport Phelps, in writing to
President John Wheelock, November, 1800, upon the subject of the
exertions of Captain Brant, and the progress his people were making in
religious knowledge and the arts of civilized life, under his influence,
remarks:--"I cannot, sir, but here observe, that strong hopes may be
entertained that we may yet see the wilderness bud and blossom like the
rose. There is already a degree of civilization among a number of the
Indians which would surprise a stranger. And with some of them there is
such an appearance of Christianity, that many of the whites who possess
it, might well blush at a comparative view. Of this great and important
alteration, and of the present pleasing prospect of success in extending
the knowledge of the Redeemer among them, I am fully persuaded the labors
of your venerable predecessor, under God, have been the cause. Colonel
Brant greatly encourages civilization and Christianity. Through his
exertions and influential example among the Indians, it is to be hoped
their progress toward refinement may yet be considerable." [FN-2] His
earnest desire, beyond a doubt, was to render himself a benefactor to his
people.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter to the author from Colonel W. J. Kerr.
[FN-2] McClure's Life of Wheelock.
As a warrior, he was cautious, sagacious and brave; watching with
sleepless vigilance for opportunities of action, and allowing neither
dangers nor difficulties to divert him from his well-settled purposes. His
constitution was hardy, his capacity of endurance great; his energy
untiring, and his firmness indomitable. His character, in his social and
domestic relations, has been delineated at length, and needs no farther
illustration. In his dealings and business relations he was prompt,
honorable, and expert; and, so far as the author has been able to obtain
information from gentlemen who knew him well, he was a pattern of
integrity. The purity of his private morals has never been questioned, and
his house was the abode of kindness and hospitality.
His manners in refined society have been described by Dr. Miller and
General Porter. Without divesting himself altogether of the characteristic
reserve of his people, he could, nevertheless, relax as occasion required,
and contribute his full share, by sprightly and intelligent conversation,
to the pleasures of general society. He was at once affable and dignified,
avoiding frivolity on the one hand and stiffness on the other; in one
word, unbending himself just to the proper medium of the well-bred
gentleman. He has been described by some as eloquent in his conversation.
Others, again, deny him the attribute of eloquence, either in public
speaking or in the social circle; asserting that his great power lay in
his strong, practical good sense, and deep and ready insight into
character. Mr. Thomas Morris avers that his sagacity in this respect
exceeded that of any other man with whom he has been acquainted. His
temperament was decidedly amiable; he had a keen perception of the
ludicrous, and was both humorous and witty himself--some times brilliant
in this respect; and his conversation was often fascinating, by reason of
its playfulness and vivacity. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] As an illustration of his shrewdness and sagacity, the following
anecdote of Brant has been communicated to the author by Professor
Griscom:--"When Jemima Wilkinson, (who professed to be, in her own
person, the Saviour of the world in his second appearance on earth,) was
residing on her domain in western New-York, surrounded by her deluded and
subservient followers, she could not fail to attract the notice of
Colonel Brant; while the celebrity of the Chieftain must, in turn, have
forcibly commended itself to her attention. This led, of course, to a
mutual desire to see each other, and Brant at length presented himself
at her mansion, and requested an interview. After some formality he was
admitted and she addressed to him a few words in the way of a welcome
salutation. He replied to her by a formal speech in his own language, at
the conclusion of which she informed him that she did not understand the
language in which he spoke. He then addressed her in another Indian
dialect, to which, in like manner, she objected. After a pause, he
commenced a speech in a third, and still different American language,
when she interrupted him by the expression of dissatisfaction at his
persisting to speak to her in terms which she could not understand. He
arose with dignity, and with a significant motion of the hand,
said--'Madam, you are not the person you pretend to be. Jesus Christ can
understand one language as well as another,' and abruptly took his
leave." Since this striking and characteristic anecdote was received from
Dr. Griscom, I have discovered that it has been attributed to Red Jacket.
This Chief; however, was a Pagan--a disbeliever in Jesus Christ; and as
Brant was the opposite, the anecdote is more characteristic of him than
of the Seneca orator.
The implacable resentments imputed to the American Indians were not
characteristic of him. In a speech to a council of Misissaguas--a clan of
the Hurons, located on the Bay of Quinte,--on the occasion of certain
grievous personal insults, of which some of their people were complaining,
he remarked:--"Brothers, I am very glad you suffer these abuses so
patiently. I advise you to persevere in your patience and prudence, never
allowing yourselves to feel and exercise revenge, until every regular
step be taken to remove them." [FN] In the whole course of his
correspondence, positive hostility, of a personal character, seems only to
have been cherished toward Colonel Claus, the Deputy Superintendent
General of the Indian Department. The precise nature of this difficulty
the author has not ascertained. It was connected, however, with the
pecuniary affairs of the Indians, in regard to which Brant was exonerated
from censure at every scrutiny. Still, perfection cannot be predicated of
the Mohawk Chief more than other men, and the author has not discovered a
particle of evidence, going to inculpate the moral or official conduct of
Colonel Claus--save that he appears to have connived at the unsuccessful
machinations of Red Jacket and other enemies of Brant, to effect the
chieftain's deposition.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. speech among the Brant papers.
Like other men, Brant doubtless had his faults, but they were redeemed by
high qualities and commanding virtues. He was charged with duplicity, and
even treachery, in regard to the affairs of the Indians and the United
States, in connexion with his first visit to Philadelphia. But the
aspersion was grievously unjust. During the years of those wars, his
position was trying and peculiar. He had his own ulterior objects to
consult in regard to the Indians of the upper lakes. He desired to see
justice done to them, and also to the United States. And he likewise
desired not to impair his own influence with those Indians. At the same
time he had a difficult game to play, with the Colonial and British
governments. The doubtful relations between England and the United States
induced the former to keep the Indians in a very unpacific mood toward the
latter for a series of years; sometimes even pushing them into
hostilities, by means and appliances of which policy required the
concealment, and the means of diplomatic denial, if necessary. At the same
time, while Brant was thoroughly loyal to the King, he was nevertheless
resolved upon maintaining the unfettered independence of his own peculiar
nation; friendly relations with the Colonial government being also
essential to his desire of a perfect title to his new territory.
Such a position must at all times have been full of embarrassment and
difficulty, and at some conjunctures could not have been otherwise than
deeply perplexing. And yet he sustained himself through the whole--proving
himself above the influence of gold at Philadelphia, and passing the
ordeal without dishonor. In letters, he was in advance of some of the
Generals against whom he fought; and even of still greater military
chieftains, who have flourished before his day and since. True, he was
ambitious--and so was Caesar. He sought to combine many nations under his
own dominion--and so did Napoleon. He ruled over barbarians--and so did
Peter the Great.
A few years before his death, Captain Brant built a commodious
dwelling-house, two stories high, on a tract of land presented him by the
King at the head of Lake Ontario--directly north of the beach which
divides the lake from the sheet of water known as Burlington Bay. The
situation is noble and commanding, affording a glorious prospect of that
beautiful lake, with a fruitful soil and a picturesque country around it.
At this place, on the 24th of November, 1807, he closed a life of greater
and more uninterrupted activity for the space of half a century, than has
fallen to the lot of almost any other man whose name has been inscribed by
the muse of history. He was a steadfast believer in the distinguishing
doctrines of Christianity, and a member of the Episcopal church at the
time of his decease. He bore his illness, which was painful, with patience
and resignation. He died in the full possession of his faculties, and,
according to the belief of his attendants, in the full faith of the
Christian religion. [FN] His age was sixty-four years and eight months.
His remains were removed to the Mohawk Village, on the Grand River, and
interred by the side of the church which he had built. The interests of
his people, as they had been the paramount object of his exertions through
life, were uppermost in his thoughts to the end. His last words that have
been preserved upon this subject, were contained in a charge to his
adopted nephew, Teyoninhokarawen:--"Have pity on the poor Indians: if you
can get any influence with the great, endeavor to do them all the good you
can." With great justice the surviving Mohawks might have, made a similar
exclamation to that of King Joash at the bed of the dying prophet--"My
father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!"
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. XX.
[Illustration: John Brant]