IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

Wx.

L^<

Q-

c?.

1.0

I.I

1.25

"Ilia iiiM

^- IIIM 1 22

■ m 11^
1.4 111.6

-^a

*c^

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

<y^

r.;>

.4\^

;^^

^^%^'

%'^..^ ^^

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 mithode normale de filmage
sont indiquds ci-dessous.

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

Covers damaged/
Couverture endommag6e

Pages damaged/
Pages endommagdes

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde

□

Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul6es

Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages ddcolor^es, tachetdes ou piqu^es

Coloured maps/

Cartes g^ographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

D
D

Pages detached/
Pages d^tach^es

Showthrough/
Transparence

Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

Quality of print varies/
Quality indgale de I'impression

Bound with other material/
Reli6 avec d'autres documents

Includes supplementary material/
Comprend du matdriel supplementaire

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'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela dtbit possible, ces pages n'ont
pas 6t6 filmdes.

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

r~VPages wholly or partially obscured by errata
I n 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 film^es d nouveau de faqon &
obtenir la meilleure image possible.

Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl§mentaires:

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous,

lOX

14X

18X

22X

26X

30X

^^^"^

i9y

16X

20X

24X

28X

32X

The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:

Library of the Public
Archives of Canada

L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce 6 la
gdn^rositd de:

La biblioth^que des Archives
publiques du 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.

Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettet^ 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 whan 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.

Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimde sont film6s en commenpant
par le premier plat et en teiminant 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 filmds en commenpant par la
premiere page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en termin^^nt 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
dernidre 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 %Ue
filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour etre
reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir
de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la m^thode.

CHIEF GEORGE H. M. JOHNSON,

ONWANONSYSHON;

HIS LIFE AND WORK AMONG THE SIX NATIONS.

I
I

By HORATIO KALE.

[Reprinted from the Magazine of American History for February, 1885.]

- I

>.•

/3?^
C34).

\ ■ *

'■".'fit.

ij;

^. '

\ ■ *

■Ui>j

in.

f- '

'c. yf^An^J-

z^^-V'^^Mj

(}^7'L^l^-C<^^i^l^rv^</-V^<l- /C</'^^^

J\ ^^f^

r •■*■■

«^'.

fv',

ClIIRI' (}E()RGR II. M. J()IINS(^X— ONWANOXSVSIIOX

Ills LIFK AM) WORK AMoMi llll'; SIX NATIONS

The career of this eminent Mohawk chief, who did more perhaps than
any other individual of (jur time for the elevation and advancement of his
kindred of the red race, tieserves a more permanent recortl than that of a
newspaper obituarw His bio,<;raphy forms the latest and by no means the
least interesting chapter in the annals of that famous Iroquois confederacx',
which has held an important place in the histt)ry of the United States anil
Canada from the era of Chami)lain almost to our own da}-. As he claimed
a descent from a companion and fellow-counselor of the yreat founder of
the league, th.e brave but peace-lovini; lawgiver Hiawatha, so his character
and his acts recall something of the traits and the deeds which authentic
tradition ascribes to that no longer mythical hero.

The death of the chief occurred on the 19th of Februar)-, 18S4, at his
residence, Chiefswood, on theCirand River Reserve, in the I'roxince of On-
tario, a few miles from the city of Brantford. Though he hatl attained the
age of sixty-seven, his death must be deemed premature. He belonged
to a long-lived race and family. His venerable father. Chief John Smoke
Johnson, for many years Speaker of the Six Nations' Council, in which he
is known by his truly poetical Indian name of Sakayenkwaraghton, or
" Disappearing Mist," is still living, in vigorous health of mind and body,
at the age of ninety-two. The causes which enfeebled the stalwart frame
of his more noted son, and made his last illness fatal, were undoubtedly the
injuries which he received in his endeavors to protect the morals and the
property of his people from the white outlaws and desperadoes who
formerly infested the Reserve. It is somewhat remarkable that an Iroquois
chief should, in our peaceful time and among the tpiiet and law-respectitig
people of Ciinada, die from the effect of wounds received from his enemies
of European race, as tloubtless man\^ of his predecessors had died in the
fiercer days of old. But the conditions were strangely reversed. The con-
flict was still one of civilization with barbarism ; but in this case Indian
civilization stood at bay before White savagery, and conquered in the end,
though at the expense of a noble life.

Chief George Henry Martin Johnson— as his name is recorded in full
— was born on the 7th of October, 18 16, at what is now known as Bow

13^

( iiii:i' (.I'.oRci. II. \i. |()ii\si)\

I'ark, tluMi a part ol thr (iratid l\ivrr RiscTvc, where liis parents resided.
( )f his fatlier, an eminent uar-ehiet" ami orator of tiie Six Nations, who bore
a notiible part as a niihtary leailer in tlie war of 1S12, some mention has
ah-eady been maile. On the mother's side tlie boy'^ hnea^^e was, accorthn^r
to ln(Uan notions, still more distinL;uished. Her family had taken the I^ni;-
lish n.ime of Martin, and had some strain of lun'opean blood, derived from
the marriaL^e of an Indi.ui chief, in former days, with a captive wliite Ljirl,
adopli:d into a Moh.iwk househoKl. None the less it was known as one of
the fifty noble families of the hotpiois confederacy, descended from the
fifty ^n-eat chiefs who, about the middle of the fifteenth century, under the
leadership of Hiawatha, frametl that confederacy, and thus founded an In-
dian state which was for a lon^r time the dominant power on our continent
north of Mexico. During the American war of Independence, this con-
federacy, in the cla^h of stron;^er forces, was for a time broken up. At tlie
close of that war Hrant and his followers, comprising the greater portion
of the Iroquois people, left their ancient abodes on the south side of the
lakes, and withdrew to Canada. The government for which they had
fou'dit Slave them lands along the Grand River, from its source to its mouth ;
and here, just a hundred years ago, they re-established their league, and
rekindled its council fire. The laws and policy framed by Hiawatha and
his associates, more than four centuries ago, are still in force among their
descendants in this district. The territory has shrunk, by many sales,
made at the well-meant instance of the protecting government, to an ex-
tent of little more than fifty thousand acres, with a population of some
three thousand souls. But in this small domain the chiefs are still elected,
the c«-mcils are still conducted, and the civil policy is decided, as nearly as
possible, by the rules of their ancient league. Not many persons are
aware that there exists in the heart of Canada this relic of the oldest con-
stitutional government of America— a free commonwealth, older even than
any in Europe, except those of England and Switzerland and perhaps two
small semi-independent republics which lurk in the fastnesses of the
Pyrenees and the Apennines.

Chief John S. Johnson was mi his way an etlucated man. He had
learned to read and write, but only in the Mohawk language, as it was
written by the missionaries. He was determined that his son should have
better advantages than he had enjoyed, and accordingly sent him for a
time to the school in the then small frontier village of Brantford. Here
the lad showed an intelligence and an aptitude for learning which fortu-
nately attracted the attention of a newly arrived missionary. This was the
late Rev. Adam Elliot, a clergyman of the English church, who for many

CHIKI' r.KORCK II. M. lolINSON

years devoted himself uitli untiiin^ zeal to the religious instruction <>t the
Irociuois converts. He found their language — which is a peculi.irly coin-
l)le\ speech, and is broken up into several dialects — not eas\- to master.
As the Mohawk {nv Canienga) idiom was s[joken by the largest nundjer of
the people, and was generally understo(Hl b>' the others, it occurred to him
that his best course would be to train up an intelligent youth of that na-
tion to inter[)ret his exhortations to his hearers. Young (ieorge Johnson
was recommeniled for this office, and thus had the good fortune to find

ClllKKSWOOl). IIOMK OK CHIEF GEORCE H. M JOHNSOM.

himself installed in Mr. Elliot's family, as at once his pupil and his assist-
ant. He was still but a lad, and the instruction and practice which he
needed to qualify him for his responsible duty occupied several years. To
translate readily the recondite reasonings of an English sermon into a lan-
guage of such a different type as the Iroquois was a task of no small diffi-
culty. That he finally mastered this art, and was able to convey to an Indian
audience, promptly and accurately, the meaning of the most complicated
passage of an English speech, was admitted by all among his hearers who
were acquainted with both languages. In translating rapidly from Iroquois

134

CHIEF GEORGK II. M. JOIIXSON

into English he was not always so happy. In his childhood he had spoken
and thought only in Mohawk. English always remained to him, in a meas-
ure, a foreign speech ; and a certain hesitation was sometimes apparent in
finding the right W(Kd, which, however, usually came at last. But in his own
language he was always ready, and could, when his feelings were stirred,
rise into the eloquence proper to his race.

In 1840 young Johnson was formally appointed to the office of inter-
preter for the English Church Mission on the Reserve, an ofifice which
brought with it a small salary, "id no little toil and exposure. He was the
constant companion of the m -ionary in his rides or drives through the
Reserve, over roads which then were bogs in the spring and autumn, and
were commonly piled with snowdrifts in the winter. He had often to
make long trips by himself, on horseback or on foot, by night as well as
by day, to carry announcements, to read the services, and to visit the sick,
when the missionary was otherwise engaged. But the work seemed light
to him, for he was young and hardy, and his heart was entirely in it. His
religious feelings were fervent ; his attachment to the English Church was
sincere ; and his affection for his people amounted to a passion. Many of
them were pagans, as some unfortunately still remain. Young Johnson
saw, or thought he saw, no hope for these, either in this world or in the
next, except in becoming Christians. On one occasion his zeal for their
conversion led him beyond the bounds of prudence, though happily
with no ill result. Among the Indians on the Reserve was a small
band of Delawares, an intelligent but highly conservative race, who for the
most part still adhered to their heathen belief. They had formerly been
conquered by the Iroquois, but had lately been elevated by them to the
position of members of the confederacy. The Indians of the United
States and Canada, as is well known, had in general no idols ; but the
Delawares had advanced, as some ethnologists would say, to the status of
idolaters. They had carved a post into a rude image of the human form,
and around it performed their religious dances. When the young Mohawk
neophyte heard of these awful rites, he mused until the fire burned in his
heart. Seizing an axe, he made his solitary way through the forest to the
distant outskirt which had been allotted to the Delawares. Here he sud-
denly appeared before them, and after haranguing them, to the best of his
ability, on the monstrous nature of their religion and its ceremonies,
demanded to be allowed to destroy the image. The people listened sul-
lenly, ready at a word to rush upon the intruder and fell him to the eartli.
But their chief was a well-informed and prudent man, possibly half a
convert in his heart. He knew that the youth belonged to an influential

CHIEF GEORGE II. M. JOHNSON

135

THE OLD MOHAWK CHIRCK RRErTF.I) IN 1784.

family in the dominant Mohawk tribe, and that any injury done to him
would meet with condign punishment. He gave a seemingly reluctant
consent, and at the word the axe descended, and the obnoxious image soon
lay in fragments. The triumphant iconoclast carried off the head as
a trophy, which is still preserved. Not long afterwards the conversion of
all the Delawares was announced ; and at this day they are among the most
steady attendants upon the mission services on the Reserve.

The proceeding which has just been related will d-^iubtless elicit a smile
from some readers, who may be reminded by it of the wholesale military
conversions of the Middle Ages. Chief Johnson himself, in after days, would
have cared little for a convert who had been gained otherwise than by

13^'

ClIIKF GKORCE II. M. JOIINSf)\

reasonin*; and the innucncc of rcli<Tion. By nature he was one of the most
reasonable and tolerant of men. In later life he counted among his most
valued friends many whose opinions (mi politii.al and religions questions
differed very widely from his own.

His marriage was an event which exercised a strong influence on his
character and fortunes. He was married on the 27th of August, 1853, to
Miss Kmily Susanna Howells, a sister of the wife of his missionary patron
and teacher, the Rev. Mr. Elliot. Coming of a good family in the ancient
English city of Bristol, Miss Howells had many near relatives in distinguished
professional and political positions, both in Canada and in the United
States, including the late able and eloquent American consul in Toronto,
the Hon. Wni. C. Howells, and the eminent author, Mr. W . D. Howells.
As may be readily imagined, the companionship and influence of a refined
and accomplished lady, belonging to a family noted for literary tastes and
talent, did much to develop the husband's naturally good capacity, and to
fit him not only for the work in which he was then employed, but also for
the wider field of usefulness which was soon to open to him.

While he was engaged in his duties as church interpreter, he was called
to take part in the civil govcrnmcnL of his people. One of the associates
of Hiawatha was a Mohawk chief, who bore the designation of Teyon-
hchkon, or " Double-Life." He was, as has been said, one of the fifty great
chiefs who composed the first federal council of the F'ive Nations. His
name descended to his successors, like the title of an English peerage. It
had been last borne by George's maternal uncle, whose English name was
Henry Martin. On the death of a chief, the duty of nominating his suc-
cessor — who must be one of his kinsmen on his mother's side — devolves by
Iroquois law upon the oldest matron of the family, who is commonly known
as their "chief matron." This position in the family of the deceased chief
was held by George's mother, who, after due consideration and consultation,
named her son for the place. Such a nomination, to be valid, must be ap-
proved and confirmed both by the tribe to which the candidate belongs
and by the Great Council of which he is to be a member. In the present
case this confirmation was speedily given, and the young chief took his
place as one of the legislators of his people.

By a singular chance, which illustrated alike the Iroquois institutions
and the character of the race, he was not long allowed to hold this position
undisturbed. His ability as an interpreter, and his character for energy
and probity, had attracted the attention of a newly appointed " Visiting
Superintendent,"— as the officer is styled who represents the Canadian
Government on the Reserve. Through the nomination of Col. Gilkison—

CIIIi:i' (lEORGE II. M. JOHNSON

wlio now for more than twenty years has filled this responsible office to
the satisfaction alike of the Government and of his Indian wards — Chief
George Johnson was appointed to the post of Government Interpreter for
the Six Nations. A modest salary attached to the office formed an accept-
able addition to his income; but tl'.e post was cliiefly prized by him for
the lartjje opportunities which it offered him of benefiting his people. The
humble title of tlie office gave no idea of the duties and powers attached
to it, or rather, it should be said, which quickly annexed themselves to it
when held by the new incumbent. In strictness, perhaps, he had only to
interpret between the superintendent and council, and also in courts of
justice, when Indian witnesses were called, and to attend at the semi-
annual distribution of the annuities which accrued to the Indians from the
sale of their lands. But as the interpreter was necessarily the chief assist-
ant of the superintendent, and as powers and responsibilities naturally
flow to the capable and the willing, it was not long before he found him-
self the chief executive officer on the Reserve, charged with the duty of
carrying into execution both the laws enacted by the council and the reg-
ulations framed by the protecting government. He became, in fact, and
was often styled, the Warden of the Reserve. It was a post highly con-
genial to his disposition, and he assumed its duties with his usual energy.

But he* had hardly entered up'^.i them when an unexpected difficulty
arose. Was it consistent with the principles of the Iroquois constitution
that a salaried official of the colonial government should be a member of
the Legislative Council ? The question was warmly discussed. The case
was new, and there was no precedent to serve for a guide. The general
opinion was unfavorable ; and at length it was understood that at the next
meeting of the council the new Teyonhehkon would on this ground be dis-
placed from his chieftainship. But the councilors had reckoned without
their hostess. The chief matron, when she learned of the indignity, as she
deemed it, which was about to be inflicted on her son and the chief of her
choice, was greatly moved. The Iroquois women have always been noted
for their high spirit and their turn for public affairs. In this instance the
matron, who was both the wife and the sister of a chief, understood — or
believed she understood — the principles of their government better than
the councilors themselves. There was no doubt of the riijht of the erreat
council to eject one of its members ; but this, it was well known, must be
done for a good cause. It had never before been done except for some
delinquency of the ejected person himself. To deprive a councilor of his
office, not for anything he had done, but for something which they feared
ho might do, was, she acutely reasoned, not only unprecedented, but un-

I3«

CHIEF c;k()R(;k ii. m. joiinson

just. Using her privilege as a peeress, she presentcil herself before the
council at their next meeting, and there delivered her mind. After
soundly rating t'-'e members for their unconstitutional and arbitrary pur-
pose, she ended by declaring that if they deprived her son of his chieftain-
ship for no misconduct of his own, she would never nominate a candidate to
fill his place so long as she should live. This threat startled the assemblage.
If it were carried out, the Mohawks, who formed the leading nation of the
confederacy, would lose one of their nine representatives in the council.
The matter was reconsidered, and a conclusion was finally rcach.ed which
satisfied all scruples. Chief George was to retain his title and his seat in
the council, but so long as he remained a salaried official, a resolution of
the council (which usually required a unanimous vote) should be valid
without his assent. Thus jealously did these freeborn sons of the forest
guard the independence of their parliament.

The chief, now firmly estab'shed in his new office, set about the
measures which he had long had iii view for the benefit of his people. The
first and most important of these was to get rid of the gangs of white
ruffians who then hung about the Reserve, corrupting and impoverishing
the Indians by the illicit sale of liquor, and by combining with the more
ignorant among them to rob the Reserve of its valuable store of timber.
It was an evil of long standing, against which all efforts had hitherto
seemed fruitless. It remained to be seen what could be done by an efficient
superintendent and a zealous native warden. One prosecution after
another, leading usually to fines and imprisonment, was brought against
the dealers in illicit whiskey. At length they became thoroughly alarmed.
Their active and resolute pursuer must be disposed of. One day in Janu-
ary, 1865, two men encountered the chief walking alone. While one of them
drew his attention by some remark, the other suddenly struck him on the
head from behind, with the heavy butt of a whip. He fell insensible, and
as he lay was beaten in a most brutal manner, resulting in fractured bones
and internal injuries. His assailants believed him to be dead, or at least
disabled for life. After he was brought home, he lay for five days uncon-
scious. A long illness followed, but his strong constitution finally tri-
umphed. He recovered, but bore till his death the disfigurement and the
enfeebling effects of his injuries. Of the criminals one fled and escaped ;
the other served a term of five years in the penitentiary.

No sooner had the chief regained sufficient strength to enable him to
resume his duties than he renewed his crusade against the law-breakers
with as much energy as ever. The liquor venders had been sufficiently
alarmed and cowed. The timber plunderers, who belonged to a somewhat

CHIEr GEORGE II. M. JOHNSON

139

]

higher class, and who acted with the connivance of many Indian confed-
erates, were more difficult to deal with. Against them he waged a trouble-
some contest of watching, warnings, seizures and prosecutions for several
years, and acquired their deadly hostility. In the ordinary intercourse of
society the chief was always gentle, courteous and unassuming; but in
dealing with the corrupters and despoilers of his people his manner totally
changed. He knew them to be men utterly callous and unscrupulous, and
only to be subdued by the strong hand and the terrors of the law. To
them he was stern and imperious, as if the spirit and temper of twenty
generations of the great chiefs, his ancestors, had been concentrated in his
tone and manner. This deportment
in "an Indian" filled the measure
of their wrath to overflowing. At
length their rage had its outbreak.
In October, 1873, the chief was en-
countered on a lonely road, at mid-
night, by six men, who suddenly set
upon him with bludgeons, knocked
him down, breaking two of his ribs
and a finger, and finally shot him
with a revolv • and left him for dead.
Recovering, however, he was able to
crawl home ; and once more, after a
long illness, his wonderful vitality
triumphed. He regained his strength,
but his constitution was irretrievably
shattered. He became subject to
frequent attacks of neuralgia and
erysipelas, which at times incapaci-
tated him for work. But in the intervals of these attacks he continued
as alert and resolute as ever in the performance of his duties.

These duties, however, no longer included the war with lawless and de-
graded white men. The last murderous attack upon him had aroused a
flame of popular indignation. All classes, whites and Indians alike, shared
in the sentiment and in the determination to crush the mischief. Before
this blaze of public wrath the vile conspiracy shriveled at once, as if
smitten by lightning. The malefactors were hunted down, and expiated
their crime either in prison or by flight and self-banishment. From that
day the Reserve has been as safe and as free from open violations of the
law as any part of Canada.

CHIEF GEORCE H. M. JOHNSON

[/« citizen's tiress.]

140

CHIKK (JKORCK 11. M. JOHNSON

While the chief was waging the war against huvlessness which was thus
at last concluded, he had been active in other plans for the benefit and im-
provement of his people. It was his way to proceed rather by examj^le than
by precept. A fortunate venture, into which a mercantile friend had
persuaded him, had yielded a good profit and put him in funds. The
Indians on the Reserve had I'or the most part lived on their scattered farms
in the small log cabins which had replaced their earlier bark-built habita-
tions. A few attempts at a better style of residence had been made ; but
that an Indian should compete with the wealth)' whites in this way was not
expected. The chief, who had a natural taste and talent for architecture,
erected on his farm one of the finest dwellings in the county. A white
stuccoed building, of two lofty stories and a spacious and imposing front,
rose, elegant and stately, upon a terraced eminence overlooking the Grand
River, in the midst of a parklike grove, in which almost every variety of
the native woods was represented. The example proved infectious. The
traveler crossing the Reserve sees already, here and there, the new and
comfortable dwellings of frame or brick, which are gradually replacing the
rude log tenements of former days. The house, it may be added,
obtained for its possessor the Indian personal name by which (apart from
his hereditary designation in the council) he was best known — that of
Onwanonsyshon — " He who has the great mansion."*

The Iroquois have always been an agricultural people. Their extensive
plantations of maize, beans, and pumpkins excited the admiration of the
first explorers. Since their removal to Canada their industry and aptitude
as farmers have been notable. The wheat market of Brantford has for
many years been largely supplied from the .Reserve. To direct this in-
dustry into the best channels, and to furnish it with the latest scientific
aids, was a most desirable object. The chief took a zealous part in estab-
lishing an agricultural society on the Reserve. An older chief, whose
influence would be useful, was made president, while Chief George assumed
the humbler but more important duties of secretary. The annual ex-
hibitions of the society, beginning on a modest scale, now rival those of
the neighboring townships. Of the progress which agriculture has made
on the Reserve, of late years, a judgment may be formed from a single
fact. A visitor, not long ago, passing through a part of the Reserve,
counted ii) his morning's drive five thrashing-machines at work, all owned
and managed by Indians.

* The chief was accustomed to annex to his signature a peculiar hieroglyphic, somewhat
resembling the letter Z enclosing a dot, which he explained as an arm embracing a heart— an
.incient Indian symbol of friendship.

i
i

CIIIKF (JKORCK H. M. JOHNSON

141

The chief was a member of the Provincial Horticultural Association,
and frequently attended its meetings, where his judicious remarks were
always heard with pleasure and respect by his associates. His own
grounds showed a choice selection of fruit trees and the best varieties of
the grape. In this respect, also, his example has proved inspiring and
useful.

The care of the Mission Society and the government has provided the
Reserve with schools, including one of a superior stamp, the Mohawk
Institute in Brantford. As was to be expected, the Indians were for a long
time slow to perceive the advantages of these schools. The teaching,
which was now conducted entirely in English, seemed to them anything
but attractive. Such an education might suit the children of white people,
but not theirs. The chief took the best possible method of dispelling
these ideas. He secured for his own children — two boys and two girls —
the best education which the schools and colleges of Brantford and London
could give. This prescient care has speedily been repaid. His sons have
already, at an unusually early age, gained positions of much trust and re-
sponsiuility, the eldest, A' •. Henry Beverley Johnson, being cashier of the
New York Life Insurance Company for the Dominion of Canada, and the
youngest, Mr. Allen W. Johnson, holding a good mercantile situation in
Hamilton. They are not alone in manifesting to their people the advan-
tages of such a training. Several other educated members of the Iroquois
tribes, in various positions, professional and commercial, in Canada and the
United States, are displaying the acumen and energy of their remarkably
intellectual race.

The chief was often sent by his people as a delegate to bring their
needs, and occasionally their remonstrances, to the attention of the gov-
ernment. If not in all cases successful in such missions, his appearance
and address always secured him attention and respect. Governors and
statesmen received him with courtesy and interest. At Government House,
and everywhere in society, he was a welcome visitor. At public entertain-
ments, his fine Napoleonic figure and face, set off by the Indian costume"-
which on such occasions he frequently assumed, made him a center of
attraction, which his quiet dignity of manner and a happy style of conversa-
tion, combining good sense with humor, and made more piquant by a half
foreign accent, was well calculated to enhance. At home he was the most
genial and kindly of men. The attractions of the place and of the house-
hold brought many visitors, who all came away delighted v.ith a reception
in which Indian hospitality had combined with

iglish courtesy and refine-

'See Frontispiece to the Magazine.

I4J

CHIEF i;i:or(;k h. m. johnson

incnt to make the pjuests feel themselves pleasantly at home. American
tourists who visited Brantford eat^^erly sou(,dit an introduction to Chiefs-
wood, and sometimes gave to the public, throu<,di the journals of the south-
ern and eastern cities, an account of their agreeable experiences — the
elegant and tasteful Indian home in the tree-embowered mansion, over-
looking the wide and winding river, the cordial and dignified chief, the
gentle English matron, and the graceful and accomplished young " Indian
princesses " — all making a picture as charmhig as it was novel and unex-
pected.

The health of the chief, never very good since he received his injuries,
began latterly to fail perceptibly. His final illness, however, was brief. An
attack of erysipelas, following a long drive in a drenching rain, seemed at
first so slight as to cause no apprehension. After a few days, however, the
malady took an unfavorable turn. Py:vmia, or " blood-poisoning," ... m,
and the patient gradually sank, losing consciousness partially toward the
last, but retaining always his kindly and cheerful manner so long as he was
capable of speaking. He died without pain. The family and friends who
surrounded his bed were not for a time aware that he had ceased to live.
There were other anxious watchers outside, for the news of his precarious
condition had spread through the Reserve, and caused much uneasiness.
Suddenly a loud, wailing cry rose, in a single note, high, prolonged and
quavering, from the river bank below the house. It was repeated on the
opposite shore. The well-known signal passed, in the still winter night,
from lip to lip, from lonely cabin to cabin, from farm to farm, in every
direction, until within an hour all the tribes of the Six Nations on the
Reserve knew that a great chief of their council had passed away.

In the churchyard of the ancient Mohawk church near Brantford, built
by Brant and his fellow-converts a century ago, the remains of this noble
Mohawk chief and Christian gentleman rest beside the graves of his fore-
fathers. His memory will long be cherished by multitudes of both the
races to which he belonged, and for whose common welfare he labored and
may be said to have died. Few have done more than he accomplished in
his humble sphere, in breaking down the absurd and wicked prejudices of
race, and proving the essential unity and brotherhood of the human family.

.<^^S.-t:^

riie Mao-aziiic of Aiiioricaii Ilistorv.

THK I'ORKMOSr IIISTOI CAI, JOIRNAI. OF AMKRKA.
The Thirteenth Volume begins with the number for January, 1885.

Tliis .MnL;a/in.. i> now warmly wclcome.l as one of the htst periodicals tha' c-

lloii-cliolcl 1. •■ . ... •

can le iiiti-odiicfd jnio tjir

l-UM.l,ol,l. l'sa„icle>a,cwdlwn.:en,l,y,heMuM eminen, wn.c; i. M,e Ian 1.,, „ ..l ": ':

an;l nve. aUen.i.,. .: .nai.Uain. i. l.i,„ Carac c,- a. an accn-a. and ..J:';,:; l^: : tn' ^ n nr ^
li^l.cd, and n, ,.s cnlarj^ed and impn.ve.l condition fnrcil.lv addresses it-clf lo ,nu'lli,.c„l rJn I , f '
cinss. amlcecd, asuella.tolhcspeciali>iand.:udcn.. ' m„c1I,^uU ..adc , ,f every a,^e.

Il i> a s|iirilcd,

.> a spuHcu. pru^re.s,ve, u.valualde monthly puMica.in„. „ne that is exciting more and n,ore in'ercs.
w,.h eac success,vc ,.uc. School,, colleges, and l,.,rari.s have iound it a nccc.itv, U is hands, ndhMn^
an.l printed, and m every \vay a credit to the countrv and the a-e. ' '"'<'■ '""^l> Ulustiattd

•■ I Ins iii.i.M/iiui lully ^atl■.|"l.- all r.;i..,,ii;,l,|.. ,li'Mn-, -^.uics iln
sirvirrs ,,| 111, „„,st iiiiiipLlciii Nviiu r, i,, il„. coiimry, is nm
c.nlMUMl lo ;,ny ,nu- Inic of i-,sear.:h, shrcN i,c«- liulu l-vciv month
"" '""■ ".■" ■'! '""l l"'-il In-lorv, and is luTlorniini; a »ork of

PRESS OPINIONS.

IIk

I'' i-.iUy.iys snnnlliinn ,.f inininluif as wo'l as i„ri

iiiliri->t 1.) \,v loiMiil

... |iirrnani nt

.' -/'"V ";,';""iii'« into i|„. hands of ihr

-jrr.ii .Old |irnnaiu-nt \ alii.."— (7;;7,f/'/Vj« />i/,///\vinr,

ON of jup.
!_• rLMiUr, and not too

"Il i-- an achniralily diMr-ilird collrclion ol' i.aiMis not i,„,
hravyl.n- thr intc;rtainiiiint of llic avc-raj.

li.ijhi lor real \ahio."_.\Vri' );•>■/,■ Trlhuiie

"This nia.i;n/ini- mo»s more and nmrc salnaMc will, ,.,,h r.>
cui-ranfT piihlication. .ind may In- ida>srd tnithhdl,- as ,i -i;,nd ird '
— ///.■ /u/;//>//c-, \\'ashinj;ion. D. I'.

'•Oerich^dly ,,n,> of the lust |Mriod„als in ihr world is the
-Ma.ua^mo ,.( Anniaan Iiisi,.iy."—C'//;w;/<7,' ,<«,(' Constitution-
alist, Au;^ust.i, K ...

prosi.ni iiiaii.iK.iiicnt."— c/.Tv/rtW/Zmi/jA

'•This sphndid pitMicalioi, covers in its issn,. f,-,,in month to
■"■•nth an.l year to year the entire lield of the histo'v ,| , ,

ttnentlrotn ns remotest peri,,ds to the e■^ en.s of to.l.v ,L
eomed thro„«ho,„ ,)„. whoh land f,,r the' re.,s,,n that it is n n' , I
m Its ,,h.u-aeter."_.V.T,. Orl,a„s Daily u'tv Item

•■'I his i|id,h,:alion has steadily increased ,n interest. It M\. ,
"■li-ol ilsnwn.and IdU ,t so adniirahly as „, «ard off , a
tempts at eompe:u ---I'altimon' Amc,i,a„ . '

■■lli- rirj, in ijlusirations, and its m.doMip is of the l,ie|,,.st

;:;n:■'l;;s,!:A.:;^:•■l;^;;Si;;•— ^^

Hon, (U'oryeliareroft.

Kev. (;e,,rueK. J.lJis, D.l),

linn. ( liarhs CJaearfc.

lion. I, llaminoni' Trnndmll.

Hon. J. Cii-son l!r.\.iori.

Hon. Isaac .V. .ArnoM.

Hon. Ili'ialio Kiiii;.

J Jr. David .Minia\ .

(ieneral Charles |'. Stone.

C.eiieral CeorKc W. ( 'idluni.

Cener.d John f. R.ihinson.

Kev. Ch.irles II. I'.irklnust, H.l).

John ICsti'ii Cooke.

Theodore V. Duiyhl.

James Schonler.

Colonel T. Ilaihy Myres.

Dr. Till 1111. is .Addis I'anmet.

luUvard !■'. Delancev.

Ceoi-ije Slew.irt. Jr..' [■'.R.S.C. (Jneliecl.

Captain R. M. I'otler. V . S. .\.

Ji>el I'lenton.

John Re.-ide. I'.R.S.C. NFontre.d'.

Cemi-al Jolin t'oclirane.

Kev. Francis I!. Wheeler. D. D.

Chailes l.oilv.n-d Norton

II. JoyJelVrus, .\1,D.

RECENT CONTRIBUTORS.

D.D.

' Hon, l..!n, l.,v.

; Kev. Ch.irles .\. llriyu

I I'resid.iu D. (.'. (olmaii.

i Charles C. (ones, (r. I..I..D.

i Professor l'harles"|.'. Rich.,rd-on.

Ceorye C'ary |-.Kuleslon,

]>r. Charles' R. Km.:;.

I.anniice lliilio)i.

Xorm.in Walker.

Charlis K. Thwinj;.

Davis Krodhiad.

Horatio ll.de. .M .A.

( Ieneral M.in n- 1. Wri-ht.
I Noah P,ro..ks. ■
\ (ieiural .Meriililh Ri-.ul, l'.S..\ , M R 1 \

I I'.k.c.^.

fJeneral Janus Crant Wilson,

I'rofessor l''.duard K. Salislmry.
! Rev. William llarrous. D. | I

Charles Howaril Sliiini.
I Charles Ikirnard.
! J. (.'hapmaii. .A.M.
] Cyrils Thomas. I'lil i,

Charles 1 )imitr\-,
I Henrv W. Hull., rt,
! S. N,'|l. North.

J. lines C. C, r.ii-d.
I Ke'.ir .\dmiiMl I'rel.le.

I'le-ideni li. .S. I'IvmH.
I Ivlu.ird Channin,^, I'li.ll.

Key. .A. C. X'eniiily,,-. I 1. D.
' Henry V.. I'ierrep,,l,i.
. Walton W. j'U.ins.
I Charles H. Fileli.
I Fduanl liiizle
j I.. W. Wilhelm.
i Key. Horace V.. HaMlen, D, j)

I. von Cardiner I'vler
I Professor W. .Allan.

Kev. R. W. .Allen.

Kev, WiUi^un H.dl,
, .M, \. Mo.ire.
j -All, in I'or.nian,
1 .Almoin Rjrni-. I.L.I!
! Ke\, 1. C. Slockhrid-e.
! Hon. Henry Slo.khridL^e.
, John I limiiry,
' K, H, C.oss. ■

Frederic ( ;, M.iiher,
I l.ewis Ros,.nihal
j C.ini-ral Hor.ice ('.ipron,
Jiid.ui'-.Advocate .\sa llird ( lardner.

Price, $5.00 a year; 50 cents a number.

posTAui- I'Ri-i: TO Ai.r. srnscRini-.Rs i.x tjie iwui-n states axd caxada.

Address :

MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY,

30 Lafayette Place, New York.

A POPULAR WORK.

{The resul* of fifteen years' unremitting and conscientious literarij labur.)

"PI^TOI^Y GF THE CITY OF NEW YORK."

By MRS. MARTHA J. LAMB.

It ciTil)r;iCfS more varied and authentic; information, u])on a greater niiml)er of irni)ortant
subjects, than any other historical work of tiie san)(j size in the English language, and is as
fresh and readable as any work of fiction. To the generation now coming upon the stage of
affairs it is of priceless value, and its inlluence in creating and cultivating the ])ublic taste for
historical reading has been already so marked as to be apparent even to the most casual
observer. No family can afford to be without a copy.

Tlic AV?!' York 'J'lihiiih' said of it as it came from the iiress : — •' The whole work is inarkeil witli tlic i,.j;ii(.r
qualities (if liistoijial writing. The personal .skelehes whicli it jiresents of several of tlic jToniinent characters
of tiie revolut'onary juriiMl indicate minute researeii and exact discrimination. Mrs, La nb gives abundant
evidence not only of a ]irofound, but of a singularly intelligent study of her autliorities, and siie has used her
iiialerials \\\\\\ tiie acuteness and (Hscriminalion wiiieh betray an equal degree of sound culture and good sense.
Her acquaintance with tlie l'".uri)i)ean jiolitics of the day, which form the framework, or rather llie foundation of
her history, is turned lo excellent account, giving a breadth and solidity to the narrative which is admirably
blendetl with the pievailing grace and dignity of her style. Her frequent touches of jiersonal and family history
add the chanu of biographical descri])tion lo the historical incidents. The city of Kew "S'ork lumis the central
point ill contenq)oraneous history, and well deserves the elaborate and beautiful iiiemurial thus v i>ely consecrated
to its progress."

Ilaipi'rs Miii^aziiii' pronounced it: — "A piece of historical paintmg which, for brightne-s of color, dis-
tinclnesiof "utline, and general truthfulness in detail, deserves the highest commendation. There is scarcely a
]ihase in New York life or an incident connected with its progress and history which Mrs. Lamb has failed to
reproduce with attractive fidlness."

Rev, Dr. R. S, Stokks wrote : — "I am impressed afresh, every time that I open it, with the remarkable
combination which it presents of excellent and attractive qualities. The immense mass of materials which it
contains, gathered with indefatigable labor and patience, has been wrought by the author into a graphic and
fascinating narrative. She delightfully condjines an easy grace of literary skill with diligence and iierseverance
ill collecting information from all tjuarters and corners. While her volumes are replete with the results of careful
investigation, they show as well the fine touch of the practiced hand of a cultivated woman — in the biographical
sketches, aiul the dexterous tracing of family history, which are deftly interwoven with clear and large accounts
of public at'i'airs ; in the swift glinqises at the changing manners of successive times, or at picturesque incidents
of social life, which serve often to illuminate the large panorama of the general story."

Rev. Dr. W. R, DiKVicti wrote: — "It is no volume compounded from previous histories, as too many
so-called historical works are, but it is a complete digest of information gathered from original sources, such as
coloniai documents, family genealogies, personal letters, and home traditions. We wonder every time we look
into these noble volumes at the research, patient and persevering, which is shown on everv page. The manner
in which the story is presented seems to us to be fully c(|ual to the style which charms us in Macaulay and Froude,
although there is not t!ie slightest imitation of any master. Fact is linked to fact, family feebng changes into
political history, the city and the nation act and react on each other, and still the story flows on clear and inter-
esting through the generations. The concise, yet complete presentation of the course of events in our Revolu-
tionary War and in the war of 1812, is sim])ly a masterpiece of condensation, a history within a history,"

*<ev. Dr. Gkokc.f, K. Ei.i.IS, in a recent comprehensive and scholarly review of the work, published in four
successive issues of iha Bos/on Transcript, wrote: — "A reader cursorily glancing over Mrs, l.andj's images and
noting the running titles, might infer that she was writing the history of the country at large, in its public affairs
and movements, rather than confining her attention to the city of New York. But the two themes, like llie warp
and the woof, are wrought inseparably together. . , . Out of all the wealth of matter and sidiject which she
has so diligently gatherel, Mrs. Lamb seizes felicitously upon the salient themes for narration or description, and
covers her instructive and brilliant pages with the substance of history. Dividing the continuity of her narrative
by paragrajihs, now descriptive of the private, social or professional character of (he most eminent citizens (of the
several decades) and their relations to each other and to public affairs, and now taking note of the develo[)ment
and beautifying of the municipality itself, Mrs. Lamb steadily holds the thread which gatheis all details into
their place in our national annals. . . , All through her jxrges we see evidence of patient, faithful and
exhaustive research, of impartiality of spirit and judgment, of comprehensiveness of view, and of exceptional
felicity in style. For this great historical work the splendid and prosperous city whose ri.iC and growth she has
so admirably chronicled owes her a large debt of gratitude and appreciation."

// contains 1,620 royal octavo pages, and jij illustratioits of the most unique and valuable character.
It is bound in cither t-^'o or four volumes. Sold only I'V subscription.

\, S, BARNES & CO, Publishers, 111 & 113 William St, N.Y.City; 34 & 36 Madison S^Chicaffo.

•

'• 91

rtant

I ;'