IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 V 
 
 /. 
 
 // 
 
 
 <■ <t 
 
 :/ 
 
 5r -^^ 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 111 
 
 
 2.2 
 2.0 
 
 U ill 1.6 
 
 % 
 
 ^ 
 
 // 
 
 VI 
 
 c-: 
 
 c^J 
 
 # 
 
 
 c5 
 
 // 
 
 C) 
 
 / 
 
 /A 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 iV 
 
 #> 
 
 V 
 
 ■!>' 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^<b 
 
 .V 
 
 « 
 
 ■* 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 >. 
 
 <'• 
 
 c> 
 
 % 
 
 ^^ 
 
 .«"^ 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
 1980 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la methods normale de filmage 
 sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 n 
 
 y 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul^e 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. ether than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Relid avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge int^rieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes 
 lors d'una restauration apparai^'sent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 filmdes. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppl^mentaires: 
 
 □ Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 □ Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagdes 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 □ 
 
 D 
 
 Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restaur6es et/ou pelliculdes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages d6color6es, techetdes /)u piqu6es 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages d^tachdes 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 □ Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality indgale de I'impression 
 
 I I Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de fagon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 0This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu^ ci-dessous. 
 
 
 10X 
 
 
 
 
 14X 
 
 
 
 
 18X 
 
 
 
 
 22X 
 
 
 
 
 26X 
 
 
 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X 
 
3 
 
 Itails 
 s du 
 lodifier 
 r une 
 Image 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Library of the Public 
 Archives of Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la 
 g6n6ro8it6 de: 
 
 La bibliothdque des Archives 
 publiques du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 )S 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim6e sont filmds en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol ^^ (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidra image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir 
 de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 errata 
 I to 
 
 t 
 
 ) pelure, 
 
 on d 
 
 n 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 2 3 
 
 4 5 6 
 

 i- 
 
 1) 
 
 i 
 
■'■.. ;-t'4 
 
 ■M » »l>l t » mH i | ^*U»» f '' " ' UMMldUU.'. 
 
 SKETCH OF TKE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 rHAYENDANAGEA, 
 
 BY KE CHE-HA-GAH-ME-QUA, BRANTFORD. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 I 
 
 ■ lllontreal : 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN DOUGALL & SON, 
 
 3l8 A\D 220 ST. JAMES STRKF.T. 
 
 ^873- 
 

 
 
 I 
 
 
 V. 
 
 4. •• •: 
 
 .TVS A a 
 
 '' i 
 
 •if. I, / J A^ :<^' 
 
'^kh.ii 
 
 { 
 
 mm 
 
 
 
 /i\ /\ f 
 
 
 Vl! 
 
 '.■ ^' 
 
 iVN '^ ^ . 
 
 
 ■V 
 
 y 
 
 vz^ 
 
 7 7/'- 
 
 A 
 
 'if Hit' 
 
 wi"' 
 
 CAPTAIN J08BPH BBANT. 
 
SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 
 OF 
 
 CAPTAIN JOSEPH EMIT, 
 
 TTTAYENDANAGEA. 
 
 ^^ KE CHE-AH-GAH-ME-QUA, BRANTFOED. 
 
 I»Il,ICE, 
 
 2S CEIVTS, 
 
 tont«al : 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN DOUGALL & SON, 
 
 218 AND 220 ST. JAMES STREET. 
 1878. 
 
rmt. 
 
 rFMf^f 
 
 ■I ATI AD 
 
 
 .t-< i ' . 
 
 ^:4x:)isi*t 
 
 ; ',: hirilnuifi. 
 
 ,f^-f5i;;;. 
 
SKETCH OF THE LIFE Ol'^ CAPTAIN JOSEPH BRANT, 
 
 TIIAYENDANAGEA. 
 
 „ Ever since the advent of the European 
 to American soil, nearly four centuriet* 
 ago, tlie extermination of the Indian tribes 
 and nations has been going on. With the 
 exodus of Europeans to America came 
 death to the hardy and numerous aborigin- 
 al tribes. In South America we cannot 
 number the nations extirpated by the 
 Spanish conqueror. History gives but a 
 faint idea of the number of red men who, 
 in North America, have passed away be- 
 fore the cruel hand of war. Diseases 
 before unknown to the Indian have like- 
 wise carried off their thousands. The 
 gain to the nations of the world in the 
 steady march of civilization westward, has 
 not been counterbalanced by a correspond- 
 ing improvement in the condition of the 
 American Indian. Disinherited of their 
 lands, in th ; majority of cases by foul 
 means, the Indians find themselves to-day 
 stripped of all but a miserable fragment of 
 their once glorious patrimony, and the in- 
 heritors of the many vices and diseases of 
 their white exterminators. 
 
 We owe a long debt of gratitude to the 
 poor Indian. It is high time for Christian 
 philanthropists to think of their du'y to 
 the few remaining tribes of red men ; and, 
 while studying the forms which the human 
 intellect has developed among them, inter- 
 pose to raise and elevate them in the scale 
 of civilization. 
 
 Many bright examples are on record 
 proving that the Indian mind is capable of 
 a iiigh state of civilization. Tlie subject 
 of this paper. Captain Joseph Brant, 
 known by the name of Thayendanagea, 
 pronounced Ti-yan-te-na-ga, is a wonderful 
 instance of what Indian intellect can ac- 
 complish when sharpened and polished by 
 intercourse with the better class of Euro- 
 pean society. 
 
 As our beautiful town of Brantford, or. 
 
 as it was formerly called, Brant's-ford, 
 known as the spot where Brant first forded 
 the Grand River, is named after this brave 
 chieftain, his memory and history should 
 be honored and cherished with gratitude 
 by its inhabitants. Would it not do credit 
 to the white population of the country to 
 erect a monument to the memory of Thayen- 
 danagea, that succeeding generations may 
 see and kno \ the hero after whom the fast 
 rising town of Brantford and our beautiful 
 county is named? 
 
 Joseph Brant, or more correctly Thayen- 
 danagea, was born in 1742 ; he was the son 
 of Tehowaghwengaraghkin, (pronounce it 
 if you can), a full-blooded Mohawk of the 
 Wolf Tribe. His parents resided in the 
 valley of the Mohawk, New York State, 
 and were on an expedition to the Ohio 
 River when Joseph was born. While 
 Joseph ^as z mere lad his father died, after 
 which event his mother ret.irned with two 
 children, — Molly and Joseph — to their old 
 home, Canajoharie. Shortly after this the 
 mother married a respectable Indian called 
 Carrihoga, whose Christian name was 
 Barnet, by corruption Brant. It is report- 
 ed that the future brave war chief was first 
 known by the appellation of '"Brant's 
 Joseph," and, in process of time, by inver- 
 sion, "Joseph Brant." In the London 
 Magazine for July, 1776, it is stated that he 
 was the grandson of one of the five sachem s 
 who visited England in 1710, during the 
 reign of Queen Anne. Chieftainship 
 among the Six Nation Indians is not al- 
 ways hereditary; yet there is no doubt 
 Joseph Brant was of noble blood. 
 
 When only thirteen he entered the war- 
 path at the memorable battle of Lake 
 George, under the command of General 
 Hendrick. This gallant officer was slain 
 in this engagement. This victory over the 
 French laid the toundation of Sir W. John- 
 
Sketch of the Life of Ca^htain foseph Firant. 
 
 kon'H fame, for which he was created a I 
 burcmet. 
 
 In relating the particulars of this engage- 
 ment to Rev. Dr. Stuart some years after, the 
 >'outhful warrior acknowledged : — •' This 
 being the first action at which I was pre- 
 sent, I was seized with such a tremor when 
 the firing began that I was obliged to take 
 hold of a small sapling to steady myself; 
 but after the discharge of a few volleys I 
 recovered the use of my limbs and the 
 composure of my mind so as to support the 
 character of a brave man, of which I was 
 especially ambitious." Brant was no doubt 
 a warrior by nature. " I like," he said 
 once in after life, " the harpsichord well, 
 the organ better, but the drum and trum- 
 pet best of all, for they make my heart 
 beat quick." 
 
 From all accounts, he must have been 
 a lad of uncommon enterprise, giving 
 early promise of those eminent qualities 
 which were developed in the progress of a 
 life of varied and important action. About 
 the year 1760, after engaging with Sir W. 
 Johnson in several campaigns of the bloody 
 French War, he wis placed by his patron 
 in an institute in Lebanon, Connecticut, 
 called the Moore School, to receive an 
 English education. It is an interesting 
 fact that Sir W. Johnson subsequently 
 married Molly Urant, a sister of Joseph. 
 
 After leaving the seminary, where he 
 attained considerable proficiency in the 
 rudiments of education, he again engaged 
 in active warfare, and was employed in the 
 war with Pontiac and the Ottawas, the par- 
 ticulars of which struggles are not recorded. 
 In the year 1765, he married the daughter 
 of an Oneida chief, and settled in his own 
 house in the Mohawk valley. Here, for 
 some years, he spent a quiei life, acting as 
 interpreter between his people and the 
 whites, and lending his aid t.> missionaries 
 in teaching the Indians. Brant was noted 
 for his hospitality. About this time the 
 conversion and civilization of the Indians 
 engaged much attention. Sir W. Johnson, 
 and the Rev. Mr. Inglis, drew the attention 
 of the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel to the necessity of having mis- 
 sionaries of the Church of England 
 resident among the Mohawks. In 1770, 
 the Society ordained a missionary exclu- 
 
 i'lvcly for the Mohawks, with his residence 
 at Fort Munter. The Rev. John Stuart 
 viras the clergyman selected for this arduous 
 «nd self denying work. Captain Hrant 
 a^aiited Mr. Stuart in the translation of a 
 portion of the New Testament. Dr. Stuart 
 writes concerning this labor as follows : — 
 " During the winter of 1771, I nrst became 
 acquainted with Capt. Brant. He lived at 
 the Mohawk village, Canajoharie, about 
 thirty miles distant from Fort Hunter. On 
 my first visit to the village where he lived, 
 I found him comfortably settled in a good 
 house, with everything necessary for the 
 use of his family, which consisted of two 
 children — a son and a daughter — with a 
 wife in the last stage of consumption. His 
 wife died soon after, on which he came to 
 Fort Hunter and resided with me a con- 
 siderable time, in order to assist me in 
 adding additional translations to the In- 
 dian Prayer-book." Dr. Stuart further in- 
 timates that the work accomplished in the 
 way of translation consisted of the Gospel 
 of St. Mark, part of the Acts of the 
 Apostles, a short history of the Bible, with 
 a concise explanation of the Church Cate- 
 chism. The son referred to in the above 
 letter was Isaac, who died at Burlington 
 Heights, near the City of Hamilton, in the 
 year 1795; the daughter, Christina, mar- 
 ried Aaron Hill, a Catechist in the English 
 Church. Christina died at the Mohawk 
 Village, Brantford. 
 
 In the winter of 1772-3, Brant applied to 
 Dr. Stuart to marry him to the half-sister 
 of his deceased wife, arguing, after the 
 manner of white widowers wishing to form 
 a like connexion, " that the fact of the 
 relationship would secure a greater degree 
 of love and tenderness for the children." 
 The Episcopal clergyman refused on ac- 
 count of the forbidden relationship, when 
 a less scrupulous German ecclesiastic grati- 
 fied his desire by performing the cere- 
 mony. 
 
 It was about this time Thayendanagea 
 became the subject of serious religious im- 
 pressions. He became a thorough-going 
 churchman, entertained a high respect for 
 missionaries and the Word of God, and 
 attended the celebration of the Eucharist 
 regularly. From his serious deportment 
 and the anxiety he manifested for the 
 
Si- itch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 civilization and chriHtinni/.iitlon of his 
 people, grent hopes were entertained by 
 his relif{i()ii8 friends of his future useful- 
 ness to the «hurcli. The camp, however, 
 is ixot the best university for the develop- 
 ment ot the Christian graces. Seldom has 
 the military hero thrown aside the sword 
 for the pen or the pulpit. Brant was 
 always a high-minded, generous man, 
 and, as such, set a nuble example to his 
 people. Had it not been for the counter- 
 acting influence of his war education, no 
 doubt his afterlife would have exhibited 
 more of the Christian than the military 
 hero. 
 
 In the year 1771 commenced the upheav- 
 ing of tlose elements which terminated in 
 the revolutionary war between Great Bri- 
 tain and the American Colonies. The 
 Indians being a powerlul body, both par- 
 ties deemed it politic and necessary to 
 negotiate for their services. Brant, from 
 his attachment to his late noble patron, 
 Sir W. Johnson, who died in 1774, deter- 
 mined, with his warriors, to adhe'-e to his 
 Kon-in-law, Col. Guy Johnson, and, when 
 the Colonel fled westward to avoid Ameri- 
 can capture. Brant, with his principal men, 
 followed. Col. Guy Johnson appointed 
 him his secretary. After discussing the 
 policy they should pursue, Johnson pro- 
 ceeded to the Mohawk with a strong body 
 of Indians. Brant now took a decided 
 stand in favor of the royal cause, and, 
 through all the subsequent campaigns of 
 this deadly strife, evinced his strong and 
 sincere adherence to the British crown. 
 The Six Nations lost their extensive and 
 fertile country, now the garden of the State 
 of New York, through this attachment. 
 
 About this time Brant was made Prin- 
 cipal War Chief of the Confederacy. It is 
 not quite clear how he arrived at this dig- 
 nity. Hendric was the last of the Mohawk 
 chiefs who bore the title of King. He fell 
 under Sir W. Johnson twenty years before, 
 and was succeeded by " Little Abraham," a 
 supposed brother of Hendric, of whom no 
 further mention is made, excepting that he 
 refused to accompany Brant and Guy 
 Johnson in their flight from the Mohawk 
 Valley. It is likely that force of circum- 
 stances facilitated Brant's advancement, 
 such as his military distinctions, his des- 
 
 cent from a family of chiefs, and his otficial 
 connection with the Johnson family. As 
 our Indium hero had now become a prin- 
 cipal personage in these troublesome times, 
 the title of Captain was conferred upon 
 him in the Army of the Crown. 
 
 In the autumn of 1775, Brant embarkeil 
 with Captain Tice ot tiis first visit to Eng- 
 land. The precise 01 ject of this visit does 
 not appear. It is probable the sagacious 
 chieftain deemed it prudent, before crin- 
 mitting himself too far by actually taking 
 the field, to ponder well the cause of " the 
 Great King," lest, by an overscrupulous 
 observance of the ancient covenants of his 
 people, he should be leading them to cer- 
 tain destruction. On his flr^:* arrival in 
 London, he was conducted to the inn called 
 "The Swan with two Necks." Lodgings 
 more suitable to his rank were provided ; 
 but he said, " I am treated so kindly I pre- 
 fer staying where I am." During this visit 
 he figured at a grand masquerade ball, 
 dressed in the brilliant costume' of his 
 nation. His novel and striking appearance 
 drew towards him much observation from 
 the ladies. An amusing incident here 
 happened. In the midst of the festivities, 
 the Mohawk Chief, flourishing his war- 
 club and raising the war-whoop, so fright- 
 ened his admirers that they rushed v/ildly 
 out of the room, tumbling down stairs in 
 the greatest confusion. This visit con- 
 firmed him in his attachment to the Bri- 
 tish Crown. In the spring of 1776, he re- 
 turned to America, landing secretly near 
 New York. The disturbed state of the 
 country rendered this precaution necessary. 
 While in England Brant procured a gold 
 finger-ring, with his name engraved 
 thereon, stating he intended that the same 
 should provide evidence of his identity in 
 case he fell in any of the battles he antici- 
 pated. This ring he wore until his death. 
 It was kept as a precious relic by his widow 
 for four years, when it was lost. Strange as 
 it may seem, during the summer of 1836, 
 the identical ring was found by a little girl 
 in a ploughed field near Wellington Sqiiare> 
 while the venerable Indian Qiieen was on 
 a visit to her daughter, Elizabeth, the ac- 
 complished wife of Col. Kerr. 
 
 Many efforts were used, and arguments 
 urged, to secure Brant's neutrality, or pre- 
 
Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 vent hiH joining the Royal btandurd. His 
 old tutor, President Wlieelock, sent him a 
 long epistle on this subject, lo which Brant 
 ingenuously replied: — "I recall to mind, 
 with pleasure, the happy hours I spent 
 under your roof, and cRpccially the prayers 
 and family devotions to which I listened. 
 One passage in particular was so often 
 repeated it could never be effaced from my 
 memory — viz., 'That they might be able 
 to live as good subjects, to fear God, and 
 honor the King!' " This letter was sufli- 
 cient to convince anyone that Brant was 
 firm in his attachment to the British cause. 
 In June of 1776, Brant visited Unadilla for 
 the purpose of procuring provisions, which 
 were perforce furnished him. In a con- 
 ference held at this time, he again ex- 
 pressed himself decidedly in favor of the 
 Royal cause, alluding took! covenants and 
 treaties entered into between the King and 
 his people, an J complaining of ill-treat- 
 ment from the hands of the colonists. 
 Shortly-after this, Gen. Herkimer, of the 
 American militia, started with a strong 
 force for Brant's heaiquarters, upon what 
 terms does not appear. Before the troubles 
 between Great Britain and America, these 
 two men were great friends. The troops 
 that Gen. Herkimer thought proper to 
 bring to this conference, accordingly, were 
 viewed with suspicion by Brant. The 
 chieftain concealed himself for a week, and 
 when the conference was entered into, had 
 a body-guard of five hundred wurriors with 
 him. The respective parties met unarmed, 
 an d every precaution was taken to pre- 
 vent treachery. The parley terminated 
 unbatisfactorily, and another appointnient 
 was made for the coming morning. After- 
 wards it was discovered that the General 
 had engaged one Joseph Waggoner, with 
 three associates, to shoot Brant and his 
 three principal men. Whether the chief- 
 tain entertained any suspicion of foul play is 
 ni^t certain; but, as he entered the circle, 
 he drew himself up with dignity, address- 
 ing Gen. Herkimer as follows :— " I have 
 five hundred warriors with me, armed and 
 ready for battle. You are in my power. 
 As we have been neighbors and friends, I 
 will not take the advantage of you." Say- 
 ing which, at a signal, a host of armed 
 warriors darted from the forest, painted. 
 
 and ready for the onslaught, as their war- 
 whoops too plainly proclaimed. The Chief 
 then thanked the General for his civility 
 in coming so far to see him, and trusted 
 some day he might return the compliment. 
 The late Colonel Robert Nelles, father to 
 the present missionary to the Six Nations, 
 the Rev. Canon Nelles, was a volunteer 
 with the Indians and present on this occa- 
 sion. 
 
 Brant next marched to the British place 
 of rendezvous at Oswego. Here a great 
 council was held with the representatives 
 of Great Britain. The result of this con- 
 ference was a treaty of alliance between the 
 Indians and the British. In August ol 
 1777, the bloody battle of Oriskany was 
 fought. The destruction on both sides 
 was very great. The veteran officer 
 Herkimer here received his death-wound. 
 Although the Intlians were worsted on this 
 occasion, the Six Nations, with the excep- 
 tion of the Tuscaroras and the Oneidas, 
 remained faithful to the king. Brant, aid- 
 ed by Johnson and Butler, used strenuous 
 exertions to win over the Indians of the 
 Far West to the royal cause. Failing in all 
 these efforts, the chieftain returned to his 
 old quarters at Oghkwaga, where he con- 
 tinued to harass and plunder the colonists. 
 In this guerilla warfare Brant always 
 strove to stay the hand uplifted against the 
 feeble and helpless. In his attack on 
 Springfield, for instance, he drove off or 
 took prisoners all the men, but concealed 
 in safety the women and children. 
 
 Early in November, 177S, Brant was re- 
 luctantly prevailed upon to leave his winter 
 quarters at Niagara, and accompany Walter 
 Butler, a man whom he greatly disliked, in 
 an attack on the beautiful and prosperous 
 settlement of Cherry Valley, a village de- 
 fended by fortifications and garrisoned by 
 troops under Col Alden. The motive that 
 impelled Butler to this expedition was a 
 desire to avenge an imprisonment he had 
 suffered on the charge of treason. The 
 wholesale slaughter of the inhabitants of 
 this settlement is said to have been fearful. 
 The ferocious Seiiecas spared neither old 
 nor young in their indiscriminate attack. 
 The terrible scenes in the carnage of Cherry 
 Valley cannot be shouldered upon Brant, 
 since he held but a subordinate position in 
 
Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 was re- 
 winter 
 Walter 
 ked, in 
 sperous 
 age de- 
 )ned by 
 ve that 
 
 was a 
 he had 
 , The 
 ants of 
 fearful, 
 her old 
 attack. 
 Cherry 
 
 Brant, 
 tion in 
 
 the Butler expedition 
 that dreadful day state that the Mohawk 
 chieftain frequently interfered to st.iy the 
 uplifted tomahawk. Brant, they tell us, 
 made an unsuccessful effort to avert the 
 destruction of a family resident in this 
 settlement, of the name of Wells, to whom 
 he was strongly attached. One instance 
 out of many that might be related, will 
 show the animus which characterized Tha- 
 ^c-ndanagea throughout the Cherry Valley 
 slaughter. On entering one of the dwell- 
 ings of that village he found a woman en- 
 gaged in her domestic duties, of whom he 
 immediately inquired: — "Are you thus 
 employed while all your neighbors are 
 murdered around you?" The woman re- 
 plied : — " We are in favor of the King." 
 " That plea will not avail you to-day," re- 
 plied the warrior; "they have murdered 
 Mr. Wells' family, who are as dear to me 
 
 as my own. 
 
 But," continued the 
 
 woman, "there is one Joseph Brant; if he 
 is with the Indians, he will save us." " I 
 am Joseph Brant!" was the quick response, 
 "but I have not the command, and I know 
 not that I can save you ; but I will do what 
 is in my power." At the moment of utter- 
 ing these words he saw the Senecas ap- 
 proaching. "Get into bed quick," he 
 commanded her, " and ign yourself sick." 
 The woman obeyed. He put the Indians 
 off with this pretext. Upon their departure, 
 by a shrill signal, he rallied a few of his 
 Mohawks, and directed them to paint his 
 mark upon the woman and her children. 
 " You are now probably safe," he remark- 
 ed, and departed. It is an Indian practice 
 thus to mark their captives ; the known 
 mark of a tribe or chief is a protection 
 from danger at other hands. It will thus j replied 
 be seen that the term "mouoter" is en- 
 tirely inapplicable to Brant in connection 
 •with the Cherry Valley slaughter. 
 
 In the months ot July and August of 
 1770, Brant again signalized himself by 
 various successful expeditions, destroy- 
 ing villages and resisting the move- 
 ments of his pursuers with remarkable 
 skill. With the Iroquois and the Oneidas, 
 Brant had many a brush. In 1780 he de- 
 scended again into the Mohawk Valley, 
 this time circulating a report that he was 
 about to attack the forts, for the purpose of 
 
 Eye-witnesses of I obtaining stores. This rumor was only a 
 feint to cause the militia to leave the 
 villages, so that they might the more easily 
 fall into the cunning chieftain's hands. 
 The stratagem proved eminently success- 
 ful. Much property was either taken or 
 destroyed. Women and children were 
 saved and borne into captivity. On one 
 occasion Brant returned an infant one of 
 his " braves " had carried off. With the 
 messenger who bore back this child was a 
 letter addressed to " the Commanding 
 Officer of the Rebel Army," in which the 
 chief avers that, " whatever others might 
 do, he made no war upon women and 
 children." 
 
 In the winter of 17S0, Brant married his 
 third wife, Catherine, the eldest daughter 
 of the head chief of the Turtle tribe, first 
 in rank of the Mohawk nation. 
 
 On the 24th October, 1781, the last en- 
 gagement of importance connected with 
 the Revolutionary War took place. In 
 this battle the notorious Walter Butler was 
 shot and scalped by an Oneida. Through- 
 out these contests the Indians proved most 
 efficient allies. No one can dispute the 
 bravery of the Mohawk Chief. It may be 
 said of him, as was said of the lamented 
 General Brock: — "His eye was like the 
 eagle's; his motions like arrows from the 
 bow; his enemies fell before him as the 
 trees before the blast of the Great Spirit." 
 
 This cruel war being ended — the toma- 
 hawk buried — ^peace proclaimed — Brant and 
 his people, having disposed of their beauti- 
 ful territory in the United States, applied 
 to the Mississaugas, Ojebways of the River 
 Credit, Upper Canada, for a portion of 
 their lands. The Ojebways, in council, 
 ' Brethren, the whole country is 
 before you ; choose you a tract for your- 
 selves, and there build your wigwams, and 
 pliint your corn." The Six Nations select- 
 ed the Grand River tract, which, they said, 
 reminded them of the country they had 
 lost; they offered pay, but the Ojebways 
 refused compensation. The Senecas also 
 made an offer of a tract of land to the 
 Mohawks in the valleyof the Genesee; but, 
 as Captain Brant long after said in one of 
 his speeches, " the Mohawks were de- 
 termined to ' sink or switn with the Eng- 
 lish ;' besides they did not wish to continue 
 
8 
 
 Sketch of the Life of Captain 'Joseph Brant. 
 
 in the United States." Notwithstanding 
 the constancy and valor of the Aborigines, 
 especially the Mohawks, during the Revo- 
 lutionary War, Great Britain, in her treaty 
 of peace, made no stipulation in behalf of 
 her Indian allies ; the loyal red man was 
 not even named, while the ancient country 
 of the Six Nations, the residence of their 
 ancestors far beyond their earliest tradi- 
 tions, was included in the boundary grant- 
 ed to the Americans. 
 
 In 1785, Brant paid his second and last 
 visit to England. The adjusting of the 
 claims of the Mohawks upon the Crown, 
 and the indemnification of their losses 
 during the war, formed the object of the 
 chieftain's mission. A cordial reception 
 awaited him among his old military 
 associates. Statesmen and scholars sought 
 his society. The Bishop of London, 
 Charles Fox, James Boswell, and other 
 noted characters, showed him marked atten- 
 tion. With the King and Royal family he 
 was a great favorite. He sat for his pic- 
 ture for Lord Percy, and Fox presented 
 him with a silver snufF-box bearing his 
 initials. On his presentation to His 
 Majesty he proudly refused to kiss his 
 hand, gallantly remarking, " I am a King 
 myself in my own country; I will gladly 
 kiss the Queen's hand." George III. was a 
 man of too much sense not to be gratified 
 with the turning of the compliment in Her 
 Majesty's favor. That the Chief was not 
 an unsuccessful envoy on behalf of his 
 people will appear from the following ex- 
 tract from Lord Sidney's communication, 
 dated Whitehall, 6th of April, 1786. * * * 
 *' His Majesty, in consideration of the 
 zealous and hearty exertions of his Indian 
 allies in the support of his cause, and as a 
 proof of his most friendly disposition to- 
 wards them, has been graciously pleased to 
 consent that the losses already certified by 
 his Superintendent-General shall be made 
 good ; that a favorable attention shall be 
 shown to the claims of others who have 
 pursued the same line of conduct." During 
 this visit to England, Brant was the recipi- 
 ent of an elegant large octavo edition of 
 the Gospel of St. Mark. This edition was 
 printed under the patronage of the King, 
 in alternate pages of English and Mohawk, 
 and contained, in addition to the Gospel, 
 
 the Psalms, occasional prayers, together 
 with the service of communion, baptism, 
 matrimony, and the burial of the dead. It 
 was embellished with engravin<^s; the fron- 
 tispiece representing the interior of a 
 chapel, with portraits of the King and 
 Queen, a bishop standing on either hand, 
 and groups of Indians receiving the sacred 
 books from both their Majesties. 
 
 Returning to his Canadian home, this 
 celebrated chieftain was unwearied in his 
 disinterested exertions to benefit his peo- 
 ple. However desirous Captain Brant 
 may have been for honor or power, he was 
 never mercenary in regard to property. 
 In one of his speeches he declared with all 
 solemnity, that " I have never appropriat- 
 ed a dollar of money belonging to my 
 nation to my own use ; nor have I ever 
 charged my nation a dollar for my services 
 or personal expenses." Brant, with his 
 people, supposed the land allotted them 
 was conveyed in fee, by a perfect title; in 
 this they were greatly disappointed. The 
 chieftain used his best efforts to obtain for 
 his people a perfect title, in fee, to their 
 new territory, but all without avail; Coun- 
 cil after council, conference after confer- 
 ence, with quires of MS. speeches, attest 
 the sleepless vigilance with which he 
 watched the interests of his tribe, and his 
 ability in asserting and vindicating their 
 rights. These troub les were a source of 
 perpetual vexation to the old chief to the 
 day of his death. In his last speech on 
 this subject he declared:— "I cannot help 
 remarking that it appears to me that cer- 
 tain characters here who stood behind the 
 counter during the late war, and whom we 
 knew nothing about, are now dictating to 
 your great men concerning our lands. I 
 should wish to know what property these 
 officious persons left behind them in their 
 own country, or whether, through their 
 loyalty, they e' c lost any? I doubt it 
 much. But 'tis well known that scarcely 
 a man amongst us but what sacrificed 
 more or less by leaving their homes. It is 
 well known that personal interest and not 
 the public good prompts them." This 
 speech Brant said should be his final effort 
 to obtain justice from the " Great Men." 
 
 Brant expressed great anxiety for the 
 thorough education of his two sons, Joseph 
 
■■ar\'V^.'.vmta^'Crr. 
 
Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 and Jacob — and, accordingly, sent them to I 
 the t^chool he had attended in Lebanon. 
 The following extract from a letter ad- 
 dressed to President John Wheelockon this 
 subject is of interest: — "It gives me un- 
 speakable satisfaction to find that my boys 
 are with you. I hope you will show me the 
 kindness to make free, and be particular, in 
 exhorting them to exert themselves, and to 
 behave in a becoming manner. I should 
 wish them taught that it is their duty to be 
 subject to the customs of the place they are 
 in, even with respect to dress and the cut- 
 ting of their hair." 
 
 Brant's people being now in a transition 
 state — neither hunters nor agriculturists — 
 it formed the object of the Chief to draw 
 them from the chase to cultivate the ground. 
 The sad necessities ol war transplanted the 
 Six Nations to a primitive forest. The 
 Mohawk Chief well knew what alone could 
 prove the basis of an industrious com 
 munity. One of Brant's first stipulations 
 with the Commander-in-Chief was for the 
 building of a church, a school-house, and 
 a flouring-mill. With great exertion and 
 scanty means, the church was built. This 
 monument of Brant's devotion to the Church 
 of England was erected on the banks of 
 the Grand River, a short distance from 
 where now stands the flourishing town of 
 Brantford. This venerable house of God, 
 now nearly a hundred years old, was the 
 first Protestant church in Canada. These 
 noble red men procured for the old Mohawk 
 Church the first " church-going bell" that 
 ever broke the stillness of a Canadian 
 forest. It is reported that when Brant died, 
 this bell tolled for twenty-four hours ! In 
 their loyalty to the British Crown, the Six 
 Nations, although obliged to leave the 
 major part of their possessions behind 
 them in their flight from the States, yet 
 managed to bear with them a few things 
 they held sacred. The curious may be sur- 
 prised to learn that one of these articles 
 was a large Bible, and the other a com- 
 plete service of Communion plate, pre- 
 sented to the Mohawks by the " the good 
 Qiieen Ann," when they resided at Fort 
 Hunter. On the Communion service is in- 
 scribed, " The Gift of Iler Majesty, Ann, 
 by the grace of God, of Great Britain, 
 France, and Ireland, and of Her Planta- 
 
 tions in North America, Qi^ieen, to Her In- 
 dian Chapel of the Mohawks." 
 
 A similar service was presented, at th« 
 same time, to the Onondagas; but they 
 having no missionary, it was kept in trust 
 by the rector of St. Peter's, Albany, where 
 it has remained ever since. The Mohawks 
 trimmed the pulpit of their church with 
 crimson, painting on its walls the Creed 
 Commandments, and the New England 
 Society's and King's Coat of Arms. 
 
 Brant exerted every effort to obtain a 
 settled clergyman for his Mohawk Church. 
 Two or three years p issed before his pious 
 wish was gratified. Impatient of delay, he 
 reminded the Bishop of the pledge the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury had made to him 
 in the presence of the King, that "When- 
 ever the Indians, by the erection of a church , 
 should be ready for religious instruction, 
 he would do all in his power to supply their 
 wants." 
 
 In 17S4, the Rev. John Stewart, who had 
 interested himself so much for their 
 spiritual improvement in the States, emi- 
 grated with his family to Canada. In 178G 
 he visited the Indians, who were his former 
 charge, at their new settlement at the 
 Mohawk Village. Here he found them 
 comfortably located on a fertile soil — the 
 village containing about 700 souls. Mr. 
 Stewart was delighted with their beautiful 
 church, and remarks, "As they had no 
 stated clergyman at the time, I preached to 
 a very large audience; and it cost me a 
 struggle to refuse the unanimous and press- 
 ing invitations of this large settlement, witli 
 additional salary,to remain amongst them." 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Addison, of Niagara, 
 visited them twice a year to perform bap- 
 tisms and marriages. He was succeeded 
 by the Rev. R. Leeming, then resident at 
 Ancaster, who visited them occasionally. 
 Their first resident minister was the Rev. 
 Mr. Hough, sent out by the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 
 succeeded by the Rev. R. Lugger, whom 
 the New England Corporation Co. sup- 
 plied, who remained but a few years, being 
 obliged in 1836 to return to England, on 
 account of ill health, where he soon after 
 died, much regretted. Since that time the 
 Rev. A. Nelles, assisted by the Rev. A. 
 Elliott, have, by God's help, been their in- 
 
lO 
 
 Sketch of the Life of Captain yoseph Brant. 
 
 defatigable and self-denying missionaries. 
 Mr. Nelles still continues tiie head of the 
 Missions, and the Principal of the Mohawk 
 Institution. This school at present educates 
 and entirely supports 90 children from the 
 funds of the N. E. Society. There are at 
 present laboring amongst these people four 
 Church of England clergymen, and one 
 Wesleyan Minister, with nine or ten day- 
 schools. 
 
 At the Bay of Quintd there is one Church 
 of England clergyman and two schools. 
 The Oneidas have a large settlement on 
 the River Thames. Part of them belong 
 to the Church of England, and part to the 
 Wesleyan Methodists. The Caughna- 
 wagas settled near Montreal after the Re- 
 volutionary War, and united with the 
 Roman Catholics. 
 
 The tide of emigration has again obliged 
 the Six Nations to leave their comfortable 
 homes, and recede to the southern side of 
 the Grand River, where they are clearing 
 farms in the midst of the primeval forest. 
 Their present locations being too far from 
 the old Mohawk church, a new and beau- 
 tiful one has lately been erected through 
 the joint contributions of friends here and 
 in England. This church is called " St. 
 Paul's," and is situated at Kanyeageh, near 
 the centre of the Reserve. It was conse- 
 crated for Divine worship on August 22nd, 
 1S66, by the Right Revd. the late Lord 
 Bishop of Huron. It is built of white brick 
 in the early English style of architecture. 
 There are two beautiful " In Memoriam " 
 windows, one presented by the Rev. Canon 
 Nelles, in memory of his late excellent 
 wife, and the other by the Rev. A. Elliott, 
 of Tuscarora, in memory of the late Mrs. 
 Elliott. 
 
 It would, however, be sad to see their first 
 and ancient House, "where their fathers 
 praised God," come to ruin ; and we are 
 pleased to learn that, through the exertions 
 ol their chief missionary, the Rev. Canon 
 Nelles, and other friends, eflforts are now 
 being made for its restoration. As a peo- 
 ple we are under strong obligations to the 
 Six Nations for their past valuable services 
 in time of trouble; therefore we should be 
 liberal in contributing towards this worthy 
 object. The old church is also needed for 
 
 the use and benefit of the Indian children 
 at the Mohawk Institution. 
 
 A few years prior to his death, Capt. 
 Brant built himself a large frame house at 
 the northern extremity of Burlington Bay 
 beach, and Augustus Jones, father of the 
 late Rev. Peter Jones, built his house at the 
 southern end, now called Stony Creek. 
 These two pioneers in Canadian history 
 were very intimate. The beautiful smooth 
 beach between their dwellings formed a 
 natural sand road, over which they tra- 
 velled backwards and forwards, sharing 
 each other's hospitality. 
 
 On the 24th of November, 1807, this 
 noble man died at his own residence, Wel- 
 lington Square, at the age of sixty-four 
 years and eight months. His illness, 
 which was painful, he bore with great 
 patience and resignation, and appeared 
 thankful to his friends for the attentions 
 they shewed him. His remains were con- 
 veyed to the Mohawk Village on the Grand 
 River, and interred near the church which 
 was erected chiefly through his indefati- 
 gable efforts. The interests of his people 
 were uppermost in his thoughts to the end 
 of his life. His last words that have been 
 preserved on this subject, were addressed 
 to an adopted nephew : " Have pity on the 
 poor Indians. If you can get any influence 
 with the great, endeavor to do them all the 
 good you can." 
 
 The Six Nation Indians, wishing more 
 specially to distinguish the last resting- 
 place of their late illustrious Chief, deter- 
 mined to have his remains re-interred in a 
 new tomb, which interesting ceremony 
 took place on Nov. 27th, 1850. 
 
 Catherine Brant, widow of Thayen- 
 danagea, was forty-eight when her husband 
 died. As the inheritance of chieftainship 
 descends throuG;h the female line, Mrs. 
 Brant had power to appoint her own son, 
 or if a grandson, it must be the child of 
 her daughter. The head chief of the Six 
 Nations is styled Tekarikogea, to which 
 station the mother appointed John, her 
 fourth and youngest son, whose Indian 
 name was Akyontnaighi. 
 
 This fine young man received a superior 
 English education, studied the best Eng- 
 lish authors, and improved his mind by 
 travel and good society. All who remem- 
 
•Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 1 1 
 
 ber the late John Brant will bear testimony 
 to his being not only a manly, but an 
 amiable and accomplished, gentleman. 
 
 He distinijuished himself at the battles 
 of Qiieenston, Bcaver-dams, and Lundy's 
 Lane. 
 
 He visited England, like his father, for 
 the express purpose of once more appeal- 
 ing to the justice and magnanimity of the 
 Parent Government respecting the land- 
 title controversy. Promises were made 
 that his complaints should be redressed; 
 but on returning to his country, his expec- 
 tations were again thwarted, the Local 
 Gpveinment refusing to carry into effect 
 the instructions received; and to this day 
 the long-pending and vexed question of 
 titles to their lands remains as unsatisfac- 
 tory as ever I 
 
 In the poem by Campbell—" Gertrude 
 of Wyoming" — the poet, after describing 
 the valley as a paradise, and the people as 
 blessed spirits, introduces our hero as 
 "the Monster Brant." This phrase gave 
 great offence to the family of the old Chief, 
 and during his son's visit in England, he 
 determined to vindicate the memory of his 
 father from the aspersions that had been 
 cast upon it. After much communication 
 with the poet, all the satisfaction he got 
 was the insertion ot an apology, not in the 
 poem itself, but merely in a note at the end 
 of the volume — a poor redress for such a 
 wrong, as the poem lives through succeed- 
 ing'generations, while the note, if read at 
 all, makes little impression and is soon 
 forgotten. 
 
 John Brant evinced the same philan 
 thropic spirit as his late father for the 
 improvement of his people. 
 
 In the year 1832, he was returned a Mem- 
 ber of the Provincial Parliament for the 
 County of Haldimand; but as a large 
 number of those by whose votes he was 
 elected, held no other title to their lands 
 than long leases, conveyed to them by In- 
 dians, his return was contested by the 
 opposing candidate, Colonel Warren, who 
 was declared chosen.* 
 
 JOHN brant's death. 
 
 But it mattered not which should, for a 
 
 * Extnict from a letter irom the Hon. M. S. Bid 
 well. 
 
 I short season, wear the Parliamentary 
 honors. Death soon laid both low. The 
 desolating cholera swept fearfully over the 
 country of the Great Lakes, cuttinur down, 
 in the prime of manhood, and just as a 
 bright and brilliant career of usefulness 
 promised future service and honor, this 
 noble, this proud example of what civiliza- 
 tion and letters can do for a son of the 
 American forest! 
 
 On the death of her favorite son John, 
 the venerable widow of Joseph Brant, pur- 
 suant to the Mohawk law of succession, 
 conferred the title of Tekarihoj^ea upon the 
 infant son of her daughter— Mrs. Kerr. 
 This son, Simcoe Kerr, still lives on the old 
 homestead, at Wellington Square, the 
 recognized head Chief of the Six Nation 
 Indians. 
 
 The widow of the late old Captain died 
 at Brantford, on the Grand River, the 24th 
 November, 1837, thirty years to a day 
 from the death of her husband. Her age 
 was 78. Dignified and stately in manners, 
 tall and handsome in person, she well 
 merited the title of " the Indian Princess." 
 
 brant's personal apfearance. 
 
 General P. B. Porter describes Brant as 
 "distinguished alike for his address, his 
 activity, and his courage, possessing in 
 point of stature and symmetry of person, 
 the advantage of most men, even among 
 his own well-formed race, — tall, erect, and 
 majestic, with the air and mien of one born 
 to command. Having, as it were, been a 
 man of war from his boyhood, his name 
 was a tower of strength among the warriors 
 of the wilderness." 
 
 HIS manners 
 
 were aff"able and dignified, avoiding fri- 
 volity as one extreme, or stiffness on the 
 other. Not noted for eloquence, his power 
 lay in his strong, practical good sense, and 
 his deep and ready insight into character. 
 
 as a man of rule, 
 
 the Rev. John Stewart represents "his 
 influence to have been acquired by his un- 
 common tiilents and address as a counsellor 
 and politician, by which means he subdued 
 all opposition and jealousy, and at length 
 acquired such an ascendancy that, even in 
 
12 
 
 Sketch of the Life of Captain Josc/^h Brant. 
 
 the hour of action and danger, he was en- 
 abled to rule and direct his warriors as 
 absolutely at if he had been born their 
 general. ' 
 
 AS A WARRIOR 
 
 he is represented as brave, cautious, and 
 Bagacious. His constitution was hardy, 
 and his capability of endurance great, his 
 energy untiring, and his firmness indomi- 
 table. In his business relations he was 
 prompt, honorable, and a pattern for 
 integrity. 
 
 HIB SENSE OF JUSTICE. 
 
 Justice was a distinguishing feature in 
 the character of this noble man. When on 
 long and fatiguing marches, with scanty 
 supplies of food, every prisoner was 
 allowed a full share with himself. The 
 same love of justice marked his conduct 
 during the Indian wars of i789-'95, as also 
 his correspondence with the British 
 Government regarding the subsequent 
 difficulties touching the Grand River land 
 title. When he thought the Indians claimed 
 or demanded too much, he opposed them ; 
 wiien too little, he fought for them. In a 
 letter to General Chapin, he says: "As to 
 politics, I study tiiem 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 tiieir opinioi.s 
 of me be what they will — unless I plainly 
 see they are sincere an i just in what tlie^' 
 may aim at. When I perceive that these 
 are the sentiments of a people, no endea- 
 vors ever shall be wanting on my part to 
 bring nations to a good understanding." 
 
 HIS TEMPERANCE rKINClI'I.KS. 
 
 Brant ever evinced a deep solicitude to 
 adopt some system to prevent this worst of 
 all vices — intemperance. Experience has 
 long proved that neither Brant's nor any 
 other man's importunity can avail so long 
 as the Indian comes in contact witii the 
 moral contagion of unprincipled white 
 men and strong drink. Will not the blood 
 of the Red man be required at his hands 
 who, for paltry gain, has been an agent of 
 Satan in the ruin and extermination of the 
 original proprietors of the American soil.' 
 
 DRANT A FREEMASON. 
 
 When Captain McKinstry was taken 
 prisoner by the British, and marked as a 
 victim by the Indians to be put to death 
 by fire, Brant, recognizing him as a mem- 
 ber of the brotherhood, exerted himself for 
 his rescue, and, in connection with some 
 humane English officers, subscribed to pur- 
 chase an ox, which they gave to the Indians 
 for their carousal instead of the gallant 
 prisoner. An intimacy and friendship con- 
 tinued between these two parties until the 
 Chiefs death. After the Revolution, 
 Brant never visited the Hudson without 
 spending a few days at the Manor with Hft 
 friend McKinstry. At the time of his last 
 visit in 1805, he attended the Freemason's 
 Lodge in the City of Hudson, where his 
 presence attracted great attention. 
 
 The life of the late Jonathan Maynard, 
 Esq., formerly a member of the Senate of 
 Massachusetts, was saved by Brant, by his 
 discovering on the prisoner's arms the 
 symbols of Freemasonry, when the 
 Indians had partially stripped him to put 
 him to death. Mr. M. lived to an advan- 
 ced age, universally respected, an upright 
 and faithful magistrate. Surely such a 
 character is neither savage nor cruel. Brant 
 was no less humane than he was brave. 
 
 urant"s shrewdness and sagacity 
 
 are illustrated by the following anecdote. 
 When Jemima Wilkinson (who professed 
 to be the Saviour of the world in, his second 
 appearance on the earth) was residing in 
 western New York she attracted the atten- 
 tion of Capt. Brant. His celebrity being 
 known to her, an interview was obtained. 
 She addressed hitn a few words of saluta- 
 tion, to which the chief replied in his own 
 language, when she informed him she did 
 not understand him. \\^ then addressed her 
 in another Indian dialect, to which in like 
 manner she objected. After a pause he 
 commenced a third speecli in a still 
 different tongue. She then interrupted 
 him by expressing her dissatisfaction in 
 his persisting to speak in terms she could 
 not understand. Brant arose with dignity, 
 and with a significant motion of the hand, 
 said, — ' Madame, you are not the person 
 you pretend to be. Jesus Christ can un- 
 
Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 »3 
 
 cicihtaiul one language rs well as another," 
 and abru])tly took his leave. 
 
 DRANr's VIEWS ON IMPRISONMENT FOR 
 DEBT. 
 
 Extracts from the following letter to the 
 late Thos. Eddy on the subject of " im- 
 prisonment for debt" will exhibit his 
 views as a philanthropist. Mr. Eddy 
 was directing his atte Uion to the subject of 
 prison discipline, and, it appears, the 
 views of the Mohawk Chieftain coincided 
 with his own. 
 
 ♦ * * ♦ "You ask me whether in my 
 opinion civilization is favorable to human 
 liappiness ? * * * You will allow me in 
 some respects to have had the advantage 
 of you in forming my sentiments. I was. 
 Sir, born of Melian parents, and lived 
 while a child among those whom you are 
 pleased to call savages. I was afterwards 
 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 in- 
 fluenced 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 ci.il laws have 
 had their origin; hence your dungeons 
 and prisons. I will not enlarge on an 
 idea ko singular in civilized life, and 
 perhaps disagreeable to you, and will only 
 observe that amongst 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 
 amongst you, and their decisions as muc'i 
 regarded. Property, to say the least, is as 
 well guarded, and crimes are as im- 
 partially punished. We have among us 
 no splendid villains above the control of 
 our laws. Daring wickedness is here never 
 
 ' suffered to triumph over helpless inno- 
 cence. 
 
 '•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 action but 
 the conciousness of having served his na- 
 tion. Our wise men are called Fathers; 
 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 
 dvjonncd piece of earth assuming airs that 
 become none but the Great Spirit above- 
 Go to one of ^-our prisons; here descrip- 
 tion 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, dispatches his unhappy victim 
 by a sudden stroke. 
 
 " But for what are many of your prison- 
 ers confined? For debt!— astonishing I — 
 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. I solemnly declare, I had 
 rather die 'jy 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 Sa- 
 viour 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 hypo- 
 crisy. Cease, too, to call other nations 
 savage, when you are ten-fold more the 
 children of cruelty than they." 
 
 In short the great and fundamental 
 principle of his policy was, that every man 
 is naturally free and independent^ that no 
 one on earth has any right to deprive him 
 of his freedom and tlial nothing could be a 
 compensation for the loss of it. 
 
«-^ »T *l) < llll« » 
 
 H 
 
 Sketch of the Life of Captain Joseph Brant. 
 
 In bringing this sketch of the noble 
 Brant to a close, all unprejudiced minds 
 will agree that few men have exhibited a 
 life of more uninterrupted activity than 
 Thayendanagea. It must be remembered 
 that all his noble traits were displayed 
 under circumstances unfavorable to their 
 development. His educational advantages 
 were comparatively few, his surroundings 
 not such as would be likely to develop 
 
 the finer feelings of the man, or those 
 hif^her principles of justice which secure 
 the honor and respect of his fellow men. 
 In spite of all these disadvantages, he 
 stands forth, in many respects, a bright ex- 
 ample for the more favored of our race. 
 Brant was a high-minded, large-hearted, 
 philanthropic man, whose memory not 
 only the Indian, but also the "paleface" 
 will long continue to honor and revere. 
 
 Joseph Brant's Genealogical Tree. 
 
 isT Wife— Margaret. 
 
 Iss 
 Isaac, 
 Issue 
 Tsnac, ^ 
 Margaret, > 
 Ellen. ) 
 
 Isaac and Marga- 
 ret's descendants 
 have passed away. 
 
 Ellen married Lot- 
 teridge. 
 
 Issue 
 3 girls, 
 I bov, 
 all living. 
 
 ue — 
 
 Chriitina, 
 Issue 
 
 3 girl*. 
 
 4 boys, 
 
 Mary only living, a 
 very kind and intelli- 
 gent old lady, widow 
 of the late Joseph 
 Sawyer, Chief of the 
 New Credit, or Mes- 
 sessauga Band of 
 Chippeways. 
 
 3ND— 
 
 Susanna. 
 
 ft 
 
 01 
 
 3* 
 O 
 
 •X 
 
 ft 
 
 3 
 
 5' 
 
 ft 
 
 3- 
 O 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 ft 
 
 3RD— Catherine. 
 
 A 
 
 Issue — 
 Joseph, Jacob, John. Margaret, 
 
 Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth. 
 I.Joseph, ) Issue, one child, 
 obit 1830. S Catherine, who mar- 
 ried Aaron Hill. 
 
 2. Jacob, ) Issue, 6 children, 
 obit 1846. 5 yohn, Squire, 
 
 Christina, married 
 
 the late John 
 
 Jones, 
 yacoi married Mary 
 
 Jones. 
 Peter. 
 Charlotte married 
 
 Peter Smith. 
 
 3. John, Never married, obit 
 
 183a. 
 
 4. Margaret, > Married Powles. 
 obit 1848. ) Issue several 
 
 children. 
 
 5. Catherine,* Married Peter 
 
 John. Issue 
 three children. 
 
 6. Mary, Married Seth Hill, 
 
 issue, one child, 
 living. 
 
 7. Elizabeth, t Married to Wm. 
 
 Kerr— four child- 
 ren. 
 
 * Catherine (Mrs. John) will be remembered by 
 most of our Brantford friends as the last remaining 
 child of the celebrated Brant. Mrs. John had four 
 children, all of whom died many years ago. In old 
 age she presented a queenly bearing; tall and hand- 
 some, a fine specimen of the pure Aborigines. She 
 died in the home of her childhood, at Wellington 
 Square, af^ a brief illness, on the 31st January, 1S67, 
 and was buried in the old Mohawk graveyard, close 
 
 to the tombs of her valiant father and other rela- 
 tives. 
 
 t Elizabeth was married in i8j8, at the Mohawk 
 church, to William Johnson Kerr, Esq., son of the 
 late Dr. Robert Kerr, of Niagara,' and grandson of 
 Sir William Johnson. Mrs. Kerr died in April, 1S44, 
 at Wellington Square, leaving four children, viz., Wal. 
 ler, Joseph, Kate, and Simcoe. The two last are still 
 living. 
 
Sketch of the Life of Cc'>tain yoseph Brant. 
 
 ^5 
 
 Molly Brant, Bister of Chief Joseph, was 
 n woman of talent as well as tact. She 
 possessed great influence among the In- 
 dians, and was aided by the counsels of her 
 brother, Capt. Brant, who spent much of 
 his time with Sir William Johnson during 
 the latter years of his life. She was care- 
 ful of the education of her children, and 
 her descendants from Sir W. Johnson may 
 be classed amongst some of the most re- 
 spectable families in the Province. 
 
 As there is much of romance connected 
 with her first acquaintance with Sir Wil- 
 liam, it may prove interesting as a link in 
 Brant's history. 
 
 '♦ Molly was a very sprightful and beau- 
 tiful Indian girl of sixteen when he fi'st 
 saw her. It was at a regimental militia 
 muster, where she was one of the specta" 
 tors. A field officer coming near her upon 
 a praficing steed, by way of banter she ask- 
 ed permission to mount behind him. Not 
 supposing she could, he said she might- 
 At the word she leaped upon the crupper 
 with the agility of a gazelle. The horse 
 tpranjj off at full speed, and, clinging to 
 the <;tlicer, her blanket flying, and her 
 dark tresses streaming in the wind, she 
 flew about the parade-ground swift as an 
 arrow, to the merriment of all. The Baro- 
 net, who was an eye-witness, admiring the 
 spirit of the young girl, and becoming 
 enamored of her person, took her home as 
 his wife." 
 
 I'RESENT CONDITION OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Formerly all Indians lived in wigwams, 
 and subsisted by hunting and fishing. 
 Hundreds, nay thousands, still pagans, 
 are no better oiY at the present time. But 
 it is a matter of gratitude to Almighty God 1 
 that through the labors of zealous and ! 
 excellent missionaries, the religion of Jesus | 
 has done much to reform the moral, social, j 
 and domestic habits of these once degraded 
 races. The women, who formerly were 
 slaves to the men, have no longer the 
 drudgery and hard work to perform, but 
 are living in comfortable cottages, neatly 
 clothed, and enjoying that peace which 
 the religion of Jesus alone can give. The 
 sober and industrious men are making) 
 
 considerable progress in farming; many of 
 them grow wheat, oats, pens, Indian corn, 
 &c. &c., have small orchards, and cut con- 
 siderable hay. But as the Indian possesses 
 no Title Deedior his lands, he has only a 
 life interest in them — a circumstance mate- 
 rially tending to check that spirit of enter- 
 prise which stimulates the white farmer in 
 working and laying up for his family. 
 
 Excepting the protection of law, which 
 every alien who resides in Her Majesty's 
 Dominion claims, Indians do nut possess 
 any civil or political rights as BritiNh sub- 
 jects. As many of them possess strong 
 native talents, powers of foresight, quick 
 and accurate observation, conjoined in 
 many instances with extraordinary per- 
 sonal influence and persuasive faculties, 
 why they should not participate in all the 
 blessings of British North American sub- 
 jects, and with their white neighbors en- 
 joy permanent security of their landed 
 possessions, is a query for our rulers and 
 great men to solve. 
 
 As fast as the white man approaches the 
 Indian reserves, the value of land greatly 
 increases, and in many instances land 
 speculators have not suffered the poor 
 Indian to rest, until by some artihce or 
 other, they have prevailed on them to quit 
 their settlements and seek fresh homes in 
 the fnr-ofT West. Many arguments have 
 been advanced with the plausibility of 
 philanthropic intentions, that by such 
 removals they were rendering the Indian 
 service; but the fallacy of such reasoning 
 is evident. 
 
 If while under the counsel of those who 
 sincerely desire their advancement and 
 improvement, they still feel the influence 
 of those whose aim is to injure and de- 
 moralize, what will their condition be 
 benefited when driven far beyond the 
 power of Christian example and restraint? 
 
 The Indians within our Provinces are 
 well aware of the advantages of civilization^ 
 and desire to improve in arts and know- 
 ledge, so that they may participate in our 
 privileges. It is a matter of congratulation 
 that in many of the settlements efforts are 
 now made to encourage and bring forward 
 by the system of competition, those who 
 
i6 
 
 Skelch of the Life of Captain yoscph Brant. 
 
 apply themselves to agriculture and the 
 arts, and aUo that many Indian youths, 
 who have discovered superior talents, are 
 now receiving advantage** of a higher 
 degree, fitting them as teachers amongst 
 their brethren. 
 
 brant's schuol-days. 
 
 It will be remembered that Sir William 
 Johnson having observed the promising 
 character of young Brant during several 
 campaigns of the war against the F'rench, 
 placed him at school in Lebanon, Connec- 
 ticut, to receive an English education, in 
 17O0. 
 
 The account of his introduction into the 
 school is found in a narrative by Rev E. 
 Wheelock, the principal. 
 
 "The Honorable Scotch commissioners, 
 in and near Boston, understanding and 
 approving of the design of sending for 
 Indian children of remote tribes, to be edu- 
 cated here, were the first body or society 
 who have led the way in making an at- 
 tempt for thnt purpose, which because of 
 the newness and remarkable success of it, 
 (I suppose it may not be disagreeable if I 
 am a little particular in my account of it) ; 
 while I was in Boston they passed a vote to 
 this purpose. May 7th, 1761 : That the Rev. 
 Mr. Wheelock be desired to fit out David 
 Fowler, an Indian youth, to accompany 
 Mr. Sampson Occom, going on a mission 
 to the Oneidees, that said David be sup- 
 ported on said mission for a term not ex- 
 ceeding four months, and that he endeavor, 
 on his return, to bring with him a number 
 of boys not exceeding three, to be kept un- 
 der Mr. Whcelock's care and instruction, 
 and that £20 be put into Mr. Wheelock's 
 hands to carry this design into execution, 
 and that when said sum be expended, he 
 advise the Treasurer of it and send his 
 accounts for allowance. 
 
 " P«r.<«ff«/ tothi svote I clothed and fur- 
 nished said David with Horse and Money 
 for his long Tour into the wilderness, 
 which he set out on June loth, in company 
 with Mr. Occom, by the way of New York ; 
 in which Journey he rode above a thousand 
 miles, and by the Advice, Direction and 
 Assistance of Sir W. Johnson, obtained 
 three Boys of the Mohawk Nation, who 
 were willing to leave their friends and 
 country and come among Strangers of 
 another Language and quite another Man- 
 ner of Living, and where, perhaps, no one 
 of their Nation then living had ever been; 
 and among a People of whom their Nation 
 have been of a long time inclined to enter- 
 tain Jealousies. Their names were Joseph, 
 
 Neyges, and Center. They arrived here 
 August 1st, 1761, but had so much Caution 
 in the extraordinary Enterpr-ze, that they 
 brought each of them an Horse Irom their 
 own Country. Two of them were but lit- 
 tle better than nakeil, and could not speak 
 a word of English. The other being of a 
 Family of Distinction, was considerably 
 clothed, ///^//rtw-fashion, and could speak a 
 few words of English. Joseph, accom- 
 panied by Mr. Kirllaml, who was learning 
 the Mohawk language of him, returned 
 home Nov'r -ftli, and back again on the 
 37th inst, bringing two Moha\«k lads with 
 them viz : Moses ami Johannes, by whom 
 Sir Wm. Johnson informed ine that he ex- 
 pected to be able to, send the Rest when 
 they came in from hunting. 
 
 Sir W. Johnson writes in 1761 to the Rev. 
 E. Wheelock :— 
 
 Fort Johnson, Nov. 17, 1761. 
 Reverend Sir, — 
 
 * ♦ * I am pleased 
 to find ye Lads I sent have merited your 
 good opinion of them. I expect they will 
 return, and hope will make such progress 
 in the English Language, and their Learn- 
 ing, as may prove to your satisfaction and 
 the benefit of the Indians, who are really 
 much to be pitied. * * ♦ ♦ j have 
 given in charge to Joseph (Brant) to speak 
 in my name to any good Boys he may see, 
 and encourage 'em to except the Generous 
 offer now made them, which he promised 
 to do, and return as soon as possible, and 
 that without horses. • . j 
 
 (Signed,) 
 
 Wm. Johnson. 
 
 The other letters concerning this time 
 are of later date:— ,.!fu/,.>Mi 
 
 Extract from Mr. Smit/i's letter to Sir IV. 
 yoAiiso/i, dated Leba/ioH, Jan. iS//t, 
 
 1763- 
 " I propose next Summer to take an 
 excursion into the Mohawk Country as a 
 Missionary; and, being a stranger to the 
 Indian Dialect, I must of consequence im- 
 prove an Interpreter; having spent some 
 time here as a Schoolmaster, (with that 
 worthy gentleman and eminent friend of 
 Indians the Rev. W. Wheelock) I have 
 contracted an intimate Acquaintance with 
 Joseph, who I understand is high in your 
 affection and esteem, and has the Wisdom 
 and Prudence to resign himself to your 
 Direction and Conduct — as He is a promis- 
 ing youth, of a sprightly Genius, singular 
 Modesty, and a Serious Turn. I know of 
 none so well calculated to answer my End 
 as He is — in which Design He wold very 
 Willingly and cheerfully engage should 
 
Sketch of the Life of Captain fostph Brant. 
 
 '7 
 
 your Honour connent to and approve of 
 It. He hii8 (lo Muich endeared liiinRclf to 
 me, hy his Amiable Deportment; his 
 I^audable Tliirst after and Progress in 
 LearninK, that did I not appreiiend this 
 would be as beneficial to Him as advan- 
 tageous to me, I should neither deserve his 
 AssiHtance nor solicit Your Approbation. 
 Fhit I apprehend I can much sooner perfect 
 him in the English Languaue, and bett;r 
 instruct Him in whatever He shall have 
 occonion to learn, when he is constantly 
 with Me, than when in the School, where a 
 large Number are to be taken Care of in 
 conjunction with Him. Should your 
 Honour approve of the Proposal, I should 
 immediately take upon me the whole Ex- 
 pense of his Education; and so long as he 
 serves in the Character of an Interpreter, 
 would allow him a genteel Reward. The 
 present Excursion is designed only for a 
 few months, after which he can return 
 again to his School, so that I imagine if 
 it's of no Advantage, it Can be but of lit- 
 tle disadvantage to him." 
 
 \Signed,) 
 
 Charles Jkffery Smith. 
 
 licvjretid Mr. Wheelock 
 yofiHsoH : — 
 
 /o Sir ll'i/tiam 
 
 Hartford, M.iy 16, 1763. 
 
 Sir, — May it please your Honour: — 
 
 I received last evening a paper with 
 your seal, enclosing a letter from Joseph to 
 his sister; wrote, I suppose, intheMohawk 
 language, and by which he informs me he 
 is ordered to coi.ie diiectly home; that the 
 Indians are displeased with his being here 
 at school; that they don't like the people, 
 &c., which has occasioned no small exer- 
 cise in my mind, and many turnings of 
 thoughts what should be the occasion of it. 
 In my last to you I informed you of the 
 truly noble and charitable design of Mr. 
 
 Charles JeflTrcy Smith, (who has been 
 foseph's tutor last winter), his purpose to 
 come with Josepii to you as soon as he 
 could get ready for the business of his pro- 
 posed mission, and that I designed to take 
 Joteph with ine to Boston and Portsmouth, 
 Sic, and that you might expect bim in 
 June, &c. ; biit whether you have 'eceived 
 that letter, with others from Mr. Smith 
 and Joseph, 1 ilon't learn. Anc' inasmuch 
 as there was nothing wrote l.> me mani- 
 festing your i;leasiire in the alTair, I pre- 
 sume Your Honoi did not know the con- 
 tents of the inclosed, though it came under 
 your seal; and how to coniluct in the afTair 
 I am at a great loss. Mr. Smith is now 
 gone to New York, Sic, to prepare for his 
 Mission. I expect him back soon, and if 
 he cometi and finds Joseph gone, whom he 
 depends upon for a guiile and companion, 
 he will be greatly disappointed, and, I fear, 
 will think himself very ungratefully treat- 
 ed. Joseph is rendered so very uneosy, 
 for fear of gaining the Displeasure of his 
 Krientis, that I am doubtful whether it will 
 do to detain him; and to send him alone 
 on foot will not be well, and to send r 
 Horse with him may give him much trouble 
 to return him. Nor have I any intimation 
 of the aluable End that may be served by 
 his going before tlie time proposed. And 
 as Joseph desires to put himself under 
 your Honour's conduct, as what he appre- 
 hends most pr'.uient and safe for him to do, 
 so I shoultl be glad Your Honor would, as 
 explicitly as you please, let me know 
 your Pleasure And, upon the whole, I think 
 it advisable to detain Josepli (if he will be 
 content to stay), till 1 receive your Hon- 
 our's Pleasure, or till the time appointed 
 for his coming by Mr. Smith. 
 
 And I am, with Sincere Respect and 
 Esteem, 
 
 Your Honour's 
 
 Most obedient humble Serv't, 
 
 Eleazar Wheelock. 
 Sir William Johnson. 
 
 r"^x5ll^::>0<^^x:^~i,