between the Americans and the red men. He still expressed good feelings towards the United States, and hoped that they would see it to be their interest to agree to that boundary, as he firmly believed war would ensue should they refuse. He even said, that, in case they would not consent to make these rivers the boundary, he should take part against them. It was not agreed to; but we do not hear that the old chief was actually engaged in the hostilities that followed.

How much the English of Canada influenced the measures of the Indians, it is difficult to determine; but men like Pontiac, Brant and Tecumseh could easily see through such duplicity as was practised by a few unprincipled speculators, as M-Kee, Girty and Elliot. They had, doubtless, conceived that if the Ohio and Muskingum were made the boundary, it would be an easy matter for them to possess themselves of the country from thence to the lakes, and thus enlarge the extent of Canada. They knew well that if the Indians possessed this tract of country, it would be no difficult matter to purchase it from them by means of a few trifling articles, comparatively of no consideration, and that worst of calamities, ardent spirits! In this they were disappointed, and, with the battle of Presqu'Isle, resigned their hopes, at least for a season. They urged upon the Indians what they must have been well assured of their destruction!

Much has been said and written of the cold-blooded atrocities of Brant, but which, in our opinion, will be much lessened on being able to come pretty near the truth of his history. Every successful warrior, at least in his day, is denounced by the vanquished as a barbarian. Napoleon was thus branded by all the world--we ask no excuse for our chief on this score-all wars are barbarous, and hence those who wage them are barbarians! This we know to be strong language; but we are prepared to prove our assertion. When mankind shall have been cultivated and improved to that extent which human nature is capable of attaining,-when the causes of avarice and dissension are driven out of the human mind, by taking away the means which excite them,--then, and not till then, will wars and a multitude of attending calamities cease.

As a sample of the stories circulating about Colonel Brant, while the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry-valley were fresh in the recollec tions of all, we extract from Weld's travels the following:

"With a considerable body of his troops he joined the forces under the command of Sir John Johnston." "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 with about sixty men were taken prisoners. The officer, after having delivered up his sword, had entered into conversation with Colonel Johnston, who commanded the British troops, and they were talking together in the most friendly manner, when Brant having stolen slily behind them, laid the American officer lifeless on the ground with a blow of his tomahawk. The indignation of Sir John Johnston, 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.”

Upon this passage the author of the Annals of Tryon county observes: "I have heard a story somewhat similar told of him, but it was said that the officer was killed to prevent his being retaken by the Americans, who were in pursuit." This we should pronounce very dissimilar to the story told by Mr. Weld. But there was, no doubt, some circumstance out of which a story has grown, the truth of which, we apprehend, is now past finding out.

Colonel Brant was married, in the winter of 1779, to a daughter of Colonel Croghan by an Indian woman. He had lived with her some time ad libitum, according to the Indian manner, but at this time being present at the wedding of a Miss Moore, at Niagara, (one of the captives taken from Cherry-valley,) insisted on being married himself; and thus his consort's name was no longer Miss Croghan, but Mrs. Brant. The ceremony was performed by his companion-inarms, Colonel John Butler, who, although he had left his country, yet carried so much of his magistrate's commission with him, as to solemnise marriages according to law.

King George conferred on his famous ally a valuable tract of land situated upon the west shore of Lake Ontario, where he finally settled and lived after the English fashion. His wife, however, would never conform to this mode of life, but would adhere to the custom of the Indians; and on the death of her husband, which happened November 24th, 1807, she repaired to Grand river, there to spend her days in a wigwam, with some of her children, while she left behind others in a commodious dwelling. A son, of whom we have spoken, with a sister, lately occupied this mansion of their father, and constituted an amiable and hospitable family. This son, whose name is John, is a man of note, and is the same who was in England in 1822, as has been mentioned; and the same, we conclude, who has been returned a member of the colonial assembly of Upper Canada. His place of residence was in the county of Haldiman, in Brantford, so called, probably, in honor of the old chief. Several other places are mentioned as having been the residence of Brant-Unadilla, or Anaquaqua, (which is about thirty-six miles southwest from the present site of Cooperstown,) and Niagara. He resided at these places before the Mohawks removed to Canada, which was soon after the war of the revolution was ended. They made their principal residence upon Grand river, which falls into Lake Erie on the north side, about sixty miles from the town of Newark, or Niagara. At one time, he had no less than thirty or forty negroes, who took care of his horses and lands. "These poor creatures," says Mr. Weld, "are kept in the greatest subjection, and they dare not attempt to make their escape, for he has assured them, that if they did so, he would follow them himself, though it were to the confines of Georgia, and would tomahawk them wherever he met them. They knew his disposition too

well not to think that he would strictly adhere to his word." The same author says that Brant received presents, which, together with his half-pay as captain, amounted to £500 per annum.

An idea of the importance of this chief, in 1795, may be formed from the circumstance, that a gentleman considered himself a loser to the amount of £100, at least, by not being able to arrive at Niagara in season to attend to some law case for him. Contrary winds had prevented his arrival, and the business had been given to another.

"Whenever the affairs of his nation shall permit him to do so, Brant declares it to be his intention to sit down to the further study of the Greek language, of which he professes himself to be a great admirer, and to translate from the original, into the Mohawk language, more of the New Testament; yet this same man, shortly before we arrived at Niagara, killed his own son, with his own hand. The son, it seems, was a drunken, good-for-nothing fellow, who had often avowed his intention of destroying his father. One evening, he absolutely entered the apartment of his father, and had begun to grapple with him, perhaps with a view to put his unnatural threats in execution, when Brant drew a short sword, and felled him to the ground. He speaks of this affair with regret, but, at the same time, without any of that emotion which another person than an Indian might be supposed to feel. He consoles himself for the act, by thinking that he has benefitted the nation by ridding it of a rascal."

With regard to the dress of the sachem, there has been some contradiction. Mr. Weld, though he did not see him, says he wore his hair in the Indian fashion, as he also did his clothes; except that, instead of the blanket, he wore a kind of hunting frock. This was in 1796. But it was reported, that, in 1792, Brant having waited on Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Canada, upon some business, his lordship told him, that as he was an officer in the British service, he ought to lay aside the Indian dress, and assume that of an English captain; and that, if he persisted in wearing an Indian dress, he should stop his pay. It is added that thereupon he changed his dress.

When Colonel Brant arrived at any principal city, his arrival was publicly announced in the gazettes with great minuteness. Although we have given some specimens of these, we will add one more:

"New York, June 20, 1792. On Monday last arrived in this city, from his settlement on Grand river, on a visit to some of his friends in this quarter, Captain Joseph Brant, of the British army, the famous Mohawk chief, who so eminently distinguished himself during the late war, as the military leader of the Six Nations. We are informed that he intends to visit the city of Philadelphia, and pay his respects to the President of the United States," General Washington, which he did. We have before mentioned his visit to that city.

The very respectable traveller, Rochefoucauld, thus notices our chief: "At twenty-four miles from this place, (Newark, U. C.) upon Grand river, is an establishment which I had been curious to visit. It is that of Colonel Brant. But the colonel not being at home, and being assured that I should see little else than what I had already seen

among those people, I gave over my intention. Colonel Brant is an Indian who took part with the English, and having been in England, was commissioned by the king, and politely treated by every one. His manners are half European. He is accompanied by two negro servants, and is in appearance like an Englishman. He has a garden and farm under cultivation; dresses almost entirely like an European, and has great influence over the Indians. He is at present (1795) at Miami, holding a treaty with the United States, in company with the Indians of the west. He is equally respected by the Americans, who extol so much his character, that I regret much not to have seen him.” The great respect in which Brant was held in England will be very apparent from a perusal of the following letter, dated December 12th, 1785: "Monday last, Colonel Joseph Brant, the celebrated king of the Mohawks, arrived in this city, (Salisbury,) from America, and after dining with Colonel de Peister, at the head-quarters here, proceeded immediately on his journey to London. This extraordinary personage is said to have presided at the late grand congress of confederate chiefs of the Indian nation in America, and to be by them appointed to the conduct and chief command in the war which they now meditate against the United States of America. He took his departure for England immediately as that assembly broke up; and it is 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, (at the Moor's charity school in Lebanon, Connecticut,) is a very shrewd, intelligent person, possesses great courage and abilities as a warrior, and is inviolably attached to the English nation."

It has been denied that Brant was in any way engaged in the massacres at Wyoming, but it seems hardly possible that so many should have been deceived at that time; and, moreover, we do not find that it was denied until almost every one of that age had left the stage of action. Those who deny that he was at Wyoming should at least prove an alibi, or they cannot expect to be believed.

Brant was said to have been sixty-five years old at his death. A daughter of his married William J. Ker, Esq., of Niagara, and he had several other children besides those we have mentioned. The son who visited England in 1822, and another named Jacob, entered Moor's school, at Hanover, N. H., in 1801, under the the care of Dr. Wheelock. The former son, John, died in the winter of 1831.

CHAPTER V.

TECUMSEH-HIS GREAT EXERTIONS TO PREVENT THE WHITES FROM OVERRUNNING HIS COUNTRY-BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE-BATTLE OF THE THAMES, AND DEATH OF TECUMSEH.

Tecumseh, by birth a Shawanee, and brigadier-general in the army of Great Britain in the war of 1812, was born about 1770, and, like

his great prototype, Pometacom, the Wampanoag, seems always to have made his aversion to civilisation appear a prominent trait in his character; and it is not presumed that he joined the British army, and received the red sash and other badges of office, because he was fond of imitating the whites, but he employed them, more probably, as a means of inspiring his countrymen with that respect and veneration for himself which was so necessary in the work of expulsion which he had undertaken.

The first exploit in which we find Tecumseh engaged was upon a branch of Hacker's Creek, in May, 1792. With a small band of warriors, he came upon the family of John Waggoner about dusk. They found Waggoner a short distance from the house, sitting upon a log, resting himself after the fatigues of the day. Tecumseh directed his men to capture the family, while himself was engaged with Waggoner. To make sure work, he took deliberate aim with his rifle, but fortunately he did not even wound him, though the ball passed next to his skin. Waggoner threw himself off the log, and ran with all his might, and Tecumseh followed. Having the advantage of an accurate knowledge of the ground, Waggoner made good his escape. Meanwhile his men succeeded in carrying off the family, some of whom they barbarously murdered. Among these were Mrs. Waggoner and two of her children. Several of the children remained a long time with the Indians.

This persevering and extraordinary man had made himself noted and conspicuous in the war which terminated by the treaty of Greenville, in 1795. He was brother to that famous impostor, well known by the name of the Prophet, and seems to have joined in his views just in season to prevent his falling into entire disrepute among his own followers. His principal place of rendezvous was near the confluence of the Tippecanoe with the Wabash, upon the north bank of the latter. This tract of country was none of his, but had been possessed by his brother, the Prophet, in 1808, with a motley band of about one thousand young warriors from among the Shawanese, Delawares, Wyandots, Pottawatomies, Ottowas, Kikkapoos, and Chippewas. The Miamies were very much opposed to this intrusion into their country, but were not powerful enough to repel it, and many of their chiefs were put to death in the most barbarous manner for remonstrating against their conduct. The mal-administration of the Prophet, however, in a short time very much reduced his numbers, so that in about a year his followers consisted of but about three hundred, and these in the most miserable state of existence. Their habits had been such as to bring famine upon them, and but for the provisions furnished by General Harrison from Vincennes, starvation would doubtless have ensued. At this juncture Tecumseh made his appearance among them, and although in the character of a subordinate chief, yet it was known that he directed every thing afterwards, although in the name of the Prophet. His exertions now became immense to engage every tribe upon the continent in a confederacy,