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Cornell University Library 1993.CAPTAIN BRANT AND THE
OLD KING.
THE TRAGEDY OF WYOMING.
READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, APRIL I, 1889.
BY WILLIAM CLEMENTJ3RYANT.
The fall of Quebec in 1759 ended the long and bloody
contest between France and Great Britain for the mastery of a
continent. A moment’s reflection will suffice to remind us of
the momentous issues involved in this struggle between the two
competing civilizations. An indigeneous and barbaric people,
known as the Iroquois, or Five Nations, the bulk of whom dwelt
in what is now known as Central and Western New York, was an
important if not controlling factor in this eventful consummation.
In the war afterward waged by the American colonies for
independence, though sadly diminished, they were sufficiently
numerous to form an appreciable element of the forces which
Britain hurled against her rebellious offspring. Wasted by wars,
and overwhelmed by the tidal wave of European emigration
they have, within less than a century, peacefully surrendered an
empire to the intruding race, and have disappeared from history
as they soon will from the gaze of men.
The recorded opinions regarding this historic race are mostly
idealistic and irreconcilable. “ Romans of the West” is theI
16	CAPTAIN BRANT
eulogistic title bestowed by their earliest observers on this war-
like people before they had become enervated and corrupted by
contact with European civilization; the “ Indians of Indians 99
they are termed in the glowing pages ofParkman; kindly
conservators of peace and the domestic affections, is their
surprising characterization.by Horatio Hale; a “ gifted and pro-
gressive race ’9 they were declared to be by Morgan. On the
other hand, they are portrayed by writers, possessing equal
opportunities of observation, as monsters of cruelty, devoid of
all the nobler attributes of humanity.
Models for a sculptured Apollo, the perfection of the human
form, accompanied by a princely mien and an unstudied grace
of movement, may have frequently been seen among the lithe
and supple braves grouped around gallant King Hendrick, and
the sight of whom kindled the imagination of Sir Joshua
Reynolds; but the nature'of these picturesque youth rarely
revealed that union of gentleness, love and valor which are the
essential ingredients of chivalry. Heroes they were according
to their own rude standard suggested by the untamed animals
which formed the emblazonry of their shields; exceptions, how-
ever, were not wanting, as in the case of Hiawatha,* of a lofty
magnanimity and an all-embracing benevolence.
Cruel', ruthless and vengeful as we must admit they were;
when war inflamed their passions, we cannot deny the Iroquois
warriors possession of such attributes as loyalty, chastity, valor,
gratitude, hospitality, acumen, an inspiring eloqence and an
indomitable spirit of independence. They jealously emphasized
the distinction between allies and vassals in their relations to the
Dyo-hence-caw,j* or People-of-the-Morning, throughout the
period of a long and faithful service in which their blood was
shed like water.
There have arisen among this people, within the historic
period, many remarkable characters ; perhaps none more so than
the personage I am about to introduce to your notice.
* Hiawatha was the founder of the League of the Iroquois—a veritable “lawgiver
of the stone age,” and not a mythological creation; although superstition has
invested him with supernatural attributes. By birth he was an Onondaga, and by
adoption a Mohawk. In the Mohawk dialect the name is pronounced A-yohn-waht-
ha; in the Onondaga, Hay-en-wat-ha, and in the Seneca, Hay-ya-wan-tah.
f The Seneca name for the English.AND THE OLD KING.
17
Early in the eighteenth century, and before the hearts of the
American colonists were thrilled by the first monitory rumble of
that great, upheaval which we denominate the American Revolu-
tion, there lay in the fruitful and romantic region bordering the
foot of Lake Seneca, and within sight of its sparkling, unsullied
waters, the most considerable village of the Senecas. This
village was known to the whites as Old Castle or Kanadesaga.
It was surrounded by a timbered palisade and earthen works,
constructed under the supervision of that astute and vigilant
servant of the crown, Sir William Johnson. Outlying this forest
fastness were thriving orchards of apples and peach, and
broad fields of golden maize. Kanadesaga was peopled princi-
pally by a clan of Senecas whose totem was the turtle, a symbol,
in the simple heraldry of the Iroquois, of ancient and illustrious
origin. The principal and hereditary chieftain who swayed this
rude community, and whose influence was, in truth, potential in
the councils of the great confederacy, was known to his people
as Gui-en-gwa-toh, and in the dialect of the people who lived
nearer the sea, Sayenqueraghta, or Sakayengwaraton, which
signified the “Disappearing Smoke or Mist.”* It was this
chieftain’s prerogative to kindle and to extinguish the council
fire of his nation, and this idea was imbedded in the rocky
syllables of his Indian name. Among the English he was called
indifferently, Old King, King of Kanadesaga, the King of the
Senecas and Old Smoke ; again allusion being made to his official
prerogative. The early pioneers and explorers knew little and cared
less about the unwritten constitutions of their barbaric neighbors.
When, in the course of their dealings with the natives,
they met a sachem, who was the spokesman and appar-
ently the venerated head and leader of his people, they bestowed
upon him a royal title, as in the instances of King Powhattan,
King Philip, King Hendrick and others. In the same spirit of
extravagant idealization, when they observed an Indian town
fortified by encircling palisades and defensive moats, they
dignified it with the title of castle, as for example Oneida Castle,
Onondaga Castle, upper' and lower Mohawk Castles, the Seneca
or Old Castle, etc. The title of King was not applicable to any
* Literally, The-Smoke-has-Disappeared.18
CAPTAIN BRANT
Iroquois ruler or official. The Iroquois recognized no kingship
save that which naturally inheres in the born leaders of men,—
men whose superior understanding, imperious will and merito-
rious achievements inexorably commanded popular homage and
obedience. The government of the Confederate Iroquois was
strangely composite,—an oligarchy wedded to a pure democracy.
The Old King, like King Hendrick,—(who, it is worthy of
remark, bore among the Mohawks the same title of Sayenquer-
aghta),—was endowed with the innate, imperial attributes to
which I have alluded. The servants of the British crown in
North America apparently encouraged this assumption of royalty
on the part of the Old King. His family had for generations,
and while the majority of his nation were inclined to yield to
the blandishments of the rival French monarchy, remained firm
in attachment to the British sovereign. In recognition of their
loyal faith the good Queen Anne bestowed upon the Sayenquer-
aghta of her reign, an ancestor of Old King, a coronet, the
only instance, it is believed, in the history of the aborigines of
America. Kings have been crowned and dynasties established
with less color of right than that possessed by King Sayenquer-
aghta. The incident gathers significance when we recall the
royal jealousy evoked by the marriage of Rolf, an English
subject, with the Princess Pocahontas in the* days of King
James the First.
The red men had no biographers or annalists, and the
materials for a biography of the Old King are extremely scanty.
The white man’s records, however, afford us occasional glimpses
of the plumed warrior in his varied career,—now the impassioned
orator haranguing a dignified group of blanketed sachems; now
with grim visage dealing death blows in the thick of battle ; now
in friendly conference with men of rank in military and civil
life; anon, stooping to succor distressed captives like the Gilbert
family, or welcoming as a son to his cabin the weary and fam-
ished missionary, Kirkland, and then vanishing mysteriously
from view as if to justify his quaint appellation, The-Disappear-
ing-Mist.
Bancroft, speaking of the Senecas at Wyoming, says : ‘ ‘TheirAND THE OLD KING.
19
King, Sayenqueraghta, was both in war and in council the fore-
most man in all the ‘ six nations.’ ” *
Colonel Stone remarks : “ Old Smoke was the most powerful,
as he was deemed the wisest sachem of his time. He was the
principal sachem, or civil chief of the nation, and his word was
law. When he thought proper to convene a council it was only
for the purpose of announcing his intentions, and none said nay
to his behests. His infallibility was never questioned. ”f
At an interview held by the Hon. O. H. Marshall with the
venerable chief Seneca White at his house on the Cattaraugus
Reservation, in 1864, he informed Mr. Marshall that Old Smoke
was the most influential man among the Senecas in the Revolu-
tionary war, and that he opposed the Indians taking any part in
the war. According to the Senecas he was a large, portly man
of commanding presence. That he was a man of great promi-
nence at Kanadesaga as early as 1765, is evidenced from his posi-
tion in the councils then held. His closing speech in the coun-
cil at that time, in defence of Rev. Samuel Kirkland, whose life
was in imminent danger in consequence of the death of his host,
was full of convincing argument and was a masterpiece of elo-
quence that bore down all opposition and elicited a general
shout of applause “ which made the council-house ring.”J
But it is in connection with the tragedy of Wyoming that I
wish to call your attention to the Old King to-night; and here
let me refresh your memories by giving a condensed and brief
recital of the salient incidents of the affair as they have been
accepted by the historian.
The valley of the Wyoming, in the early summer of 1778,
presented a scene of peaceful and sylvan beauty. Slope and low-
land, on either side of the Susquehanna, were dotted with clear-
ings and nestling cabins, the abode of contented toil, frugality
and virtue. No notes of strife or discord arose from the bosom
of the happy valley. Only the plaint of some wild bird; the
plowboy’s careless whistle; the merry laugh and shouts of child-
ren at play ; the ring of the woodman’s axe; the muffled beating
^Bancroft’s History U. S. Vol. V., p. 279.
f “ Life and Times of Red Jacket,” by William L. Stone.
JLothrop’s “ Life of Kirkland,” Chap. 3, Sparks’s Am. Biography, Vol. XXV.20
CAPTAIN BRANT
of some thresher’s flail, and the rhythmic plash and murmur of
the winding river, broke the Sabbath hush of the embowered
settlement.
Wyoming would have been the seat of unalloyed happiness
but for two causes. The youth and chivalry of the pioneers had,
in response to the trumpet-call of duty, left their homes and
families to the care of aged sires and striplings, and were fight-
ing the battles of freedom on far away fields ; and, besides, there
was ever an undefinable, shivering fear lest at any moment, out
out the dark, mysterious forest which begirt the settlement, there
might emerge a murderous horde of their implacable enemies,
Tory and savage.
This apprehension was too soon justified when, on the second
day of July, intelligence came that a body of Tory Rangers, a
detachment of Sir John Johnson’s Royal Greens and a large
body of Indians, all under the command of the redoubtable
Colonel John Butler, had taken possession of Fort Wintermoot,
a Tory stronghold situated a few miles distant. No sooner was
the presence of the enemy discovered than the scattered male
inhabitants, who remained at their homes, hurriedly assembled to
to the number of four hundred, at a palisaded work known as
Old Fort Forty. Colonel Zebulon Butler, a soldier of some
experience in the French and Indian war, assumed command of
the little band of patriots. A council of war was held early on
the 3d of July and the desperate alternative of anticipating the
enemy’s attack by surprise was adopted. The plan might have
succeeded but for an untoward accident which apprised the
enemy of his danger. As it happened the Americans found their
foe in line of battle for their reception. Colonel Z. Butler com-
manded the right of the Americans, the left was commanded by
Colonel Dennison, assisted by Colonel Dorrance. Opposed to
the right of the Americans and also resting on the bank of the
river was Colonel John Butler with his rangers ; the right of the
enemy, resting upon or rather extending into a marsh, was com-
posed of Indians and Tories led by Sayenqueraghta. The field
of battle was a partially cleared plain.
The action began soon after four o’clock in the afternoon,
and was for a time kept up on both sides with great spirit. TheAND THE OLD KING.
21
right of the Americans advanced bravely as they fired, and the
best troops of the enemy were compelled to fall back. At this
juncture Sayenqueraghta with a swarm of screeching warriors
unperceived outflanked Colonel Dennison and suddenly like a
dark cloud fell upon his rear. Sorely harassed Colonel D. ordered
his command to fall back, which was mistaken by the men for an
order to retreat. This misconception was fatal. A panic ensued
and the Americans fled towards Fort Forty pursued by the Indians,
who with their tomahawks and spears wrought terrific slaughter
and committed deeds of wanton and revolting cruelty. The few
survivors who escaped the carnage and succeeded in reaching the
fort were soon beseiged by throngs of excited Indians and Tories.
Possessing no adequate means of defence, and having no expecta-
tion or hope of succor the patriots yielded to the entreaties of
the women and children and capitulated, the terms of surrender
being that the beseiged should no longer fight against the crown
and should yield possession of all provincial stores to the con-
querors, who in turn promised them immunity from the scalping-
knife and tomahawk, and undisturbed possession of their homes
and clearings. The Indians, however, could not be restrained.
No lives were taken after the surrender, but the destruction of
houses and property was pursued with merciless persistency until
the vale became a scene of hideous, smouldering desolation.
Many of the terror-stricken inhabitants sought safety in flight,
and many of them fell by the way, perishing from sickness and
hunger.*
Thus far I have attempted to give a summary of this tragic
event, as the sober muse of history has recorded it, and which is
popularly known as the Massacre of Wyoming. The enchant-
ing theatre of this exciting drama,—-the picturesque actors,
* “ More than two-thirds of their number [the patriotic forces] were massacred by
the Indians and Tories with every circumstance of savage cruelty, not even the pris-
oners being spared. Some of the latter were put to death on the evening of the battle-
Queen Esther, a half-breed Indian woman, to avenge the death of her son, tomahawked
fourteen with her own hands near a rock which still bears her name.”—Appleton’s
Am. Cyclopaedia. Title% Wyoming. Colonel Butler’s official report agrees with
Colonel Claus’ statement that only two white men in his command were killed and
that the casualties included about a dozen Indians wounded. The reader cannot help
contrasting this result with that of Oriskany where the desperate valor of the colonists
shone conspicuously.22
CAPTAIJV BRAN7
patriot, Tory, royal green and painted savage, and the terrible
scenes of suffering, upon which the curtain falls, invoked the
scarcely less veracious • muse of poesy and inspired Campbell's
justly admired epic, “ Gertrude of Wyoming.”
Who led the Indians at Wyoming? is a minor vexata qastio
of history. The earlier writers assigned the doubtful honor to
Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea. On their authority the poet
Campbell makes the “ Monster. Brant ” the author of the woes
and horrors which befell the simple-minded dwellers in the
valley. Colonel Stone, the biographer of the great Mohawk,
zealously endeavored to exculpate the hero by showing that
Brant was not even present when the tragedy occurred, and that
the responsibility rested on the shoulders of the Old King.
Apparently the matter was set at rest when in reply to an
eminent skeptic in the Democratic Review, Caleb Cushing,
Stone was at the pains of gathering and publishing fresh and
convincing testimony. Some doubting Thomas, however, in
the historical field, periodically asserts that Brant was the master
spirit among the fell agencies of mischief at Wyoming. Un-
fortunately for Brant his reputation for humanity could better
sustain the burden of Wyoming, which he disclaimed, than the
infamy of Cherry Valley which neither he nor his biographer
sought to evade.
If Brant was not the leader, was Colonel Stone correct in
assigning that post to the King of the Senecas ? This question
was discussed more than twenty years ago in the club meetings
of this society. Ketchum in his “ History of Buffalo and the
Senecas” asserted with confidence that the leader could not
have been the Old King. In this opinion that accomplished
and conscientious investigator, Orsamus H. Marshall, was
inclined to concur. Both were deceived, as was the writer, by
certain confusing statements in contemporary narratives, or
documents, which assigned to Old King a weight of years and
infirmities that would naturally disqualify him for the leadership
in so arduous a campaign. The paper which I shall proceed to
read is apparently decisive of that question. How this docu-
ment came to light, after slumbering in an ancient chest for
nearly a century, the following letter from the late Senator
Plumb will explain :AND THE OLD KING.
23
Niagara, Prov. Ontario, Nov. 5, 1886.
Dear Mr. Bryant:—Mr. Conover, whom I met at Brantford, has sent
me some of his Indian pamphlets, among them a paper on the King of the
Senecas,* whom he names Sayenqueraghta. *	*
Mr. Conover gives the name of Captain Pollard, an Indian, who told
Colonel Stone and Mr. Orlando Allen that he was at Wyoming and that the
King was the leader of the Indians on that occasion, which statement Mr.
Conover was inclined to question.
You are quoted by Mr. Conover as stating that “ It is claimed that young
King was then too young to be a leader of a war party. I fear it will never
be known who that leader was.”
Now I think I can help you solve the doubt, and can show very con-
clusively, that the Old King was not only the leader, but the originator of the
Wyoming Expedition, and also a most active and faithful coadjutor of Brant
as an ally of the crown.
A family fourth in descent from Sir William Johnson, the great-grand-
children of Colonel Daniel Claus, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
who married a daughter of Sir William, by his wife Catherine Weisenberg,
resides here.
Mr. William Kerby of this place, the accomplished author of “ Le Chien
d’ Or,” and of much other Canadian literature of the highest order, informed
me that he had discovered in the possession of this family a valuable collec-
tion of Revolutionary documents: minutes of Indian councils, autograph letters,
and many interesting memoranda by Colonel Daniel Claus. Among the papers
were all those that were found in the tent of General St. Clair after his defeat,
apparently in the original hasty wrappage, and seeming never to have been
opened or examined!
There were voluminous writings of Colonel Daniel Claus, and a most
valuable essay by his brother-in-law, Colonel Guy Johnson, on the Six Nation
Indians, written at the request and for the use of Robertson, the Historian of
America, but not inserted in his unfinished work. The papers, numbering
nearly 2,000, were carefully examined and roughly catalogued by Mr. Kerby
and myself, and at my instance were purchased by the Dominion Government:
and placed in the public archives. One of the MSS., in the handwriting of
Col. Daniel Claus, is headed “ Anecdotes of Capt. Joseph Brant, Niagara,
Sept. 1778.” The following extracts may serve to elucidate the doubt as to
the leadership of the Wyoming Expedition. It could not have been written
with any other idea, or object, than that of stating facts then perfectly well
known to hundreds of people who would be most likely to read the statements of
Col. Claus if published.
* “ Sayenqueraghta, King of the Senecas, ” by Geo. S. Conover, Waterloo, N. Y.,
1885. In this pamphlet the author, a very able and conscientious investigator, has
collated all the printed accounts of and references to the Old King which he could dis-
cover.24
CAPTAIN BRANT
That they were not published was doubtless owing to the lack of oppor-
tunity, in part, and perhaps in a greater degree, to severe criticism, which they
contained, upon the course of Col. Butler in failing to co-operate cordially or
promptly with Brant. The first extract refers to the battle of Oriskany, at
which Col. Claus was present, and took a prominent and active part. * *
[Then follow certain extracts from the MS., which I am about to read. Mr.
Plumb concludes: ]
It may be that you will think the extracts of sufficient value to com-
municate them to your Society, and I shall be very glad to have you do so. I
shall write to Mr. Conover that I have sent them to you.
With kind regards, believe me, yours very faithfully,
J. B. PLUMB.
The writer sent to Ottawa and procured a copy of Col. Claus’
paper entitled “ Anecdotes of Captain Joseph Brant,” together
with the other MSS. mentioned by Mr. Plumb. It is an authen-
tic document written by a trusted servant of the Crown, pos-
sessing every facility for testing the truth of what he has
deliberately recorded, and his main statements of fact are
credible, notwithstanding a certain animus of personal hostility
which the author is at no pains to conceal.
CANADIAN ARCHIVES.
M. G. 2, P. 46.
From Niagara, a King’s Fort on the Frontier of the Province of New
York, we received the following:
Joseph Brant, alias Thayendanegea, now about 36 years old was born in
the upper Mohawk Town of Canojoharee. Capt. Brant, when a young lad,
showed an extraordinary capacity and promptness in acquiring the reading and
writing of his own language, under an Indian school master appointed by the
Honorable Society at his native place. The late Sir Wm. Johnson discovering
that genius sent him to a good English school where he soon made such pro-
ficiency as to be able not only to read and write English surprisingly well but
soon undertook to translate English into the Iroquois or Mohawk Language and
so vice versa and that so well that the late Sir William Johnson found him very
serviceable in translating Indian Speeches of moment to be made to the 6
Nations in Council and translate them in writing into the Iroquois Language
in order to convey to the Indians the full meaning and substance of such
Speeches wch Indian interpreters who in general are a dull illiterate kind of
white people never were capable of doing, he became therefore a great acquisi-
tion to the Superintendent of the Iroquois and 6 Nations and was employed by
them accordingly and approved himself a very useful and true person to govern-
ment discovering at the same time a penetrating sound and good naturalAND THE OLD KING.
25
understanding wch he manifested in translating great part of the N. Testament
under the inspection of Mr. Stuart, the missionary who explained difficult pas-
sages to him, as well some sermons of diffi’t subjects. At the Commencement
of the unhappy Disputes between Great Britain and her Colonies he made
shrewd and strict Enquirys into Reason of the Complaints of the Americans
among whom he chiefly resided and from whom he heard nothing but forging
of chains and intended Tyranny ag’st them. At the same time seeing no
Apparent Alteration or putting such Complaints of Tyranny into Execution the
Refutation of it agitated his mind so far as to determine on a voyage to Great
Britain in order to try what he could find out there of the matter plainly fore-
seeing how much the Indians in general were concerned in such a Quarrel,
well knowing how ignorant they were as to the Disputes in Question. Accord-
ingly in the Autumn 1775 after faithfully serving that campaign and
acquainting the Indians with the Reason of his Intended Journey he embarked
at Quebec with the gentleman that was to be appointed at home in the room
of Sr. Wm, Johnson. After his arrival he made himself acquainted with
Gentlemen on both sides of the Question, soon finding out there was an
op’pon in favour of the Americans in England; and his penetrating genius soon
saw into the Motives of that Opposition and plainly discovering that there was
no Reason of such complaints he was told of in America and all they and the
Americans aimed at was to be sole Masters of the Continent of America, an
Event so destructive to the Liberty of the Indns and their Country, and being
convinced of the Anxiety the Americans for some years showed to dispossess
the Indns of their Country had not the Crown interfered. During his stay in
London he was by order of Government shown all the remarkable Places and
Curiosities about London and vicinity, with which he was very much pleased
in particular the Tower. Several Gentlemen of Distinction and Fortune took
notice of him and used him very kindly and although some of them were
friends of the Americans and argued in their favour he listened to their Argu-
, ments with Calmness and answered with Discretion. In the beginning of June
1776 he embarked at Falmouth on board the Harriot packet in Company with
the Superintendt—of the 6 Nations and sailed for N. York, where it was
expected he would soon be able to get to Albany and from thence among his
countrymen the 6 Nations. The packet on acct of the summer season stand-
ing to southward fell in with a rebel privateer of superior force near the Caro-
linas when soon a smart engagement ensued and ye rebels were confident of
success. Joseph and his companion, John of the lower Mohawk Town who
attended him, having brass rifle guns, made them a present from my Lord
Townsend, were so dexterous and good marksmen as to pick off those on
board the rebel ship whom by their dress they took to be officers and after an
engagement of two glasses the privateer thought proper to sheer off. The
Harriot hevg her rigging much damaged was disabled from chasing her and
soon after got into N. York, being the latter end of July, and a little before Sr.
Wm. Howe begun his operations upon the rebels on Long Island on wch26
CAPTA/JV BP ANT
occasion he had another opportunity of showing his bravery and activity wch
Sr. Wm. acknowledged by having him always abt him, he was also particularly
esteemed or taken notice of by the Earl of Percy for it. Finding that the cam-
paign operations were not decisive enough to take Albany. And Brant deter-
mined penetrating the rebel country and woods to get among his Indn friends
the 6 Nations, Sr. Wm. Howe and the Superintendant furnishing [him] with
orders and Instructions to the officers of Gov’t for that purpose and wch he
with much fatigue and danger effected. The first Ind’ns he met with were the
Colonies of the 6 Nations and their Dependants settled upon the Susquehanna
River, whom he soon convinced with what he had heard and saw in England
and the Arguments he made use of how much their own Country and Liberty
was in danger from the Rebels, that they all unanimously agreed with him in
sentiment and determined tq act agtst the Rebels who then secretly had sent
Emissaries from N. England among them to gain them over to their interest
but they were soon obliged to disappear for fear of being seized upon by the
Indians. These proceedings of Mr. Brant soon taking vent among the Rebels
on the Mohawk River they began to collect a Body of men to oppose him and
he saw himself under a necessity to call for more assistance among the 6
Nations and procure himself and party ammunition, wch was not nearer to be
had than Niagara; on his way thither he had the 6 Nation country to pass
thro’ where in every Town he was well received, called meetings and acquaint-
ing them with his Adventures and what he had heard and saw in the King of
England’s Residence, wch was received with much greediness aad approba-
tion. He was faithfully promised to be supported ag’st the Rebels whenever
he should call upon them; he then proceeded to Niagara and on his arrival
producing his Orders and Instructions from Sr. Wm. Howe and Col. Guy
Johnson, the Supt. of the 6 Nations.—But here Jealousy and Envy the Mon-
sters of all Discord and Mischief showed their Heads, and the person who was
left there in 1775 by Superintendant to assist the Command’g Officer at
that post in Indn Matters was an Officer of equal Employ with Mr. Brant only
of less Importance as to Indn Matters & acting in a more servile Line, this
person having with flattery & cunning (being bred and born in N. England) in-
sinuated himself into the favour of Sr. Guy Carleton & procuring himself
thereon to the office upon the Strength of that lavished immense sums without
doing the least service to Govt since the beginning of the Rebellion but
allowed the Rebels to establish themselves at Fort Stanwix in the middle of
the 6 Nation Country. This person then imagining to please Sir Guy in
slighting & disregarding Sr. Wm. Howe & the Superinten’t; besides apprehen-
sive Mr. Brant should do anything that would expose his Inactivity & willing
Backwardness received him very cooly and indifferently altho’ under Superints
immediate employ and appointment having nothing separate from Sr. Guy
even denyed him the quantity of Ammunition he demanded for opposing the
Rebels that were assembling again and he was obliged to purchase what he
could get among Traders out of his own pocket & returned very much dis-AND THE OLD KING.
27
couraged from Niagara; on his arrieval with his party he distributed what
little Ammunition he got wch was very trifling and soon after. had an Acct.
that a Body of 800 Rebels were assembled to pay him a visit shortly. Upon
wch he immediately sent Runners to call the 6 Nations to his assistance but
[illegible] they were influenced from Niagara not to go.-^—Inds being so ignor-
ant credulous a people that they may soon be dissuaded from keeping their
promises with a plausible story [illegible] of raising their Jealousy. Accord-
ingly not a man came to his assistance and soon after the Rebels marched
upon him with ,300 men leaving the rest as Corps de Reserve at Cherry Valley
they however finding Mr. Brant’s party prepared and in readiness to receive
them, they sent a Messenger to Mr Brant that they wanted to speak with
them as friends, he returned them his answer if they would come unarmed he
would admit them having at the time not 200 men together when they came
to parley and the Rebels came & entreated them to stand Neuter in the Quar-
rel. That they would [illegible] their assistance & it would reasonably be.
supposed the King of Great Britain would not want it, wch Mr. Brant flatly
refusing telling them he had sufficient reasons to oppose their proceedings on
his own acct. upon wch one of the Rebel Colonels hinted that he would be
compelled when Mr. Brant gave a Sign to his party they immediately put
themselves in a posture of Defense tho’ with very little Ammunition, upon
wch the Rebels drew in their horns & were for peace sneaking off with
themselves & if the Indns had been well supplied with Ammunition they
might have given a good acct. of the whole party as well as all the Indns in
general on ye continent.
Captain Brant soon after having information that Brig’r St. Leger was on
his march upon an Expdn agst., Fort Stanwix and soon expected at Oswego,
he proceeded with his party consisting of upwards of 300 men to that place to
join him where on his arrival he found Col. Claus sent from England in Spring
’77 to Superind the Indians to be employed in sd Expedition, this Gentlemn
for upwards of twenty years acted as Assistant to the late Sr Wm Johnson in
Indn Matters of which he Had the care of ye Canada Indns till superseded in
’75 and was well acquainted wth Mr. Brants Merit, he gave Mr. Brant and
party all the Assistance in his power as to equiping them properly for the
Exped wch done he [Col. Claus] declared himself a Party ready for Service
the Brigadier arriving 2 days after and was for pushing on as expeditiously as
possible and none of the Indians that Col. Butler was to assemble having
arrived tho’ living near 200 miles nearer than Mr. Brants party and Col. Claus
finding they were chiefly to come the way the Expeditn was going he sent
orders to the Indn Officers to halt at the Three Rivers 24 miles on his way to
Fort Stanwix. Col. Butler arriving the day after at Oswego was surprised
that the Indns were stopt from coming there to hold a Congress and receive
their presents. Col. Claus gave him to understand that Indns on a march
upon the Enemy could or did not expect formal meetings and councilling
besides it would be attended with several days Delay and therefore ordered28
CAPTAIN BRANT
Mr. Butler to proceed with the few Indns he brought from Niagara and meet
the Indns at the Three Rivers and equip them and proceed to Fort Stanwix
with all Expeditn at the same time Col. Claus with Mr. Brant and party
proceeded with the Brigr leaving .Mr. Butler at the Three Rivers and invested
Fort Stanwix without them. 3 days after he came up with part of the Indns,
when Mr. Brant’s sister living in the Upper Mohawk Town sent an Express
to her brother with Intelligence that a body of about 900 Rebels were to be
within 12 miles of Fort Stanwix that night to reinforce the Garrison, prepara-
tion then was made to oppose them. Sr. John Johnson offered his services to
command a party of Light Infantry and what Indians were assembled and
ready for service to reconnoitre and ambushe said party of Rebels. Accord-
ingly when he was going to set off early in ye morning none but Mr. Brant’s
party were ready to join. Col. Butler and party were hesitating and delib-
erating whether there should not be a parley demanded of the Rebels and
Letters wrote to their Leaders before the attack. Mr. Brant observed that
they being advancing in arms it was too late to offer any terms and that he
was sure they would reject any proposals of peace and Sir John Johnson
pushing off Mr. Brant followed him, the Col. and party were unprepared for
the March for a considerable time after when Shame and Emulation forced
them to follow. An action commenced in less than an hour’s time in whch
Mr. Brant signalized himself highly by advancing on the Rebels Rear and
harassing their Retreat and making great Slaughter chiefly with Spears and
Lances. At the first onset the Senecas lost 17 men among whom were several
Chiefs and Leaders wch enraged them greatly and altho’ the Rebels were
put to Flight and left upwards of 500 killed on the Spot yet that was not
sufficient satisfaction and their principal Chief Sakoyenguaraghton a Decend-
ant of a Brave and Loyal Family who were distinguished for their Loyalty
and Attachment to the British Interest so early as the Reign of Queen Anne
and were presented by ye Queen with a Coronet the only mark of distinction
of that kind ever given to any of the 6 Nation Indns. This brave Seneca
Chief and Mr. Brant proposed to Sr John and Col. Claus to pursue the Blow
and Sr. John mentioned it to Brigr St. Leger, asking for a small Body of
white men to join the Indns but the Brigr gave his reasons why he could not
approve of it and there the affair dropt. Not long after upon false alarms the
siege was raised and the Army retreated to Oswego in order to join Gen.
Burgoyne by the way of Canada. Mr. Brant proposed to Col. Claus to pass
the Mohawk Villages secure their Women and Children and collect what
Indns he could in his way to join Gen. Burgoyne by way of Saraghtoga wch
Col. Claus agreed to. In which attempt however he ran a great Risque for
one of his Compagnions Capt. John of the Mohawks being a little in the rear
of Mr. Brant and passing Fort Stanwix was surrounded by a Rebel party
and being determined not to surrender had a whole charge of Ball and Buck
shot fired into his left Breast and Arm and notwithstanding made a miraculous
escape but is still in danger of losing his arm. Mr. Brant at ye same timeAND THE OLD KING.
29
effected his scheme of putting the Mohawk families on their guard and he
proceeding with what men he could collect and Gen. Burgoyne’s Army but
within a short distance from the Camp had an encounter wth ye Rebel party
which he soon put to flight and arrived safe wth Gen. Burgoyne who received
and treated him according to his Merit the general distinguished him from the
rest of the Indians but Mr. Brant finding that he could be of little Service
there and affairs with that Army being mismanaged he in order to guard
against a Defection among the 6 Nations in case Matters should turn out un-
favorable as he apprehended he returned among the 6 Nations procured
encouraging Messages from the Canada Inds that remained with Gen Bur-
goyne and accordingly attended a general meeting of the whole confederacy
at Onandago where he spared no pains to prepare and harangue them against
the Shock of Gen. Burgoyne’s Disaster of which they soon after had a most
exaggerated acct from the Rebels the only channel they could get it then who
at the same time with threats invited them to join their Cause with a large
Belt of Wampun and a War Ax worked in it, however Mr. Brant counter-
acting and using all the most urgent Arguments such as their loss of brave
Chiefs and warriors at Fort Stanwix and’ what Subjection and slavery they
must be exposed to if the Rebels got the better as their Behavior towards them
for many years past clearly pointed out. In wch he was joined by his faith-
ful Coajutor Sakayenguarghton the Seneca Chief above mentioned and in
Reality carried his point at last so far as to make the whole Confederacy
firmly resolve to act most vigorously against the Rebels; and Sayengwaraghto
[jzV] set the example by sending some of his men that very Autumn to harass
the Frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia and get Intelligence of Gen.
Howe’s Success abt Philadelphia wch he procured wth a great deal of art wth
all its favorable Circumstances to the great Satisfaction and Encouragement of
the 6 Nations. The plan of Operations for the ensuing campaign was then
laid and Mr. Brant determined to harass the Frontiers of the Mohawk River
abt Cherry Valley [illegible] while Sakayenguaraghton took the Opportunity
of this diversion to cut off the settlement of Wayoming on the Susquehanna
River. All these transactions were agreed and resolved upon while Mr. But-
ler was at Montreal transacting Money and Mercantile Matters and no Indn
Officer of Gov’t present except Mr. Brant. The Rebel Commissioners of Indn
Affrs at Albany have publicly declared that if it had not been for Mr. Brants
Zeal and Cleverness they should surely have gained over the 6 Nations and
their Allies to their interest. After all plans being then fixed upon Mr. Brant
then passed thro’ the Cayouga and Seneca Towns on his way to Niagara con-
firming the Indians in their Sentiments against the Rebels and soon after they
followed him and declared their intentions to the Commanding Officer at
Niagara at the same time delivering up the Rebel War Belt wch is a mark
with Indians of their rejecting what was required of them by the Belt wth
Contempt and Disdain. ■ They also acquainted the Commanding Officers as
the Kings Representative that they intended putting their Resolutions into30
CAPTAIN BRANT
Execution as early as possible in the Spring and hinted to effect it without an
officer of Whites to join them. Accordingly as early as the season would
admit of Mr. Brant set the Example and marched off with his party to
Aughgwago where he had others to join him. Sakayenguaraghton assembled
his men at his Town Canadasege without calling upon any white person to
join them. However the Reflections of the Officers at Niagara roused Col.
Butler to march to Sakayenwaraghton’s Town who at the same Time reserved
the Command of his men to himself. Mr. Brant opened the Campaign by
attacking a party of Continental Troops joined by near 300 Militia who im-
mediately were put to flight and the Continental Troops cut to pieces all but
an Officer and four privates taken prisnrs and the Country laid waste distin-
guishing at the Settlement of Loyalists and not molesting a Woman or Child
of the Rebels. This occasioned such an alarm that all the Inhabitants farther
down the River fled towards Schenectady and the Rebels were obliged to
send several Battalions to oppose Mr. Brants Operations and the Harvest abt
Schenectady, Cherry Valley and adjacent places being thereby neglected,
prove very detrimental to the Supplies of the Rebel Army, that being the best
Grain Country they depend upon and in short Mr. Brant was the Dread and
Terror of the whole Country.
Sakayenguaraghton at the same time put his plan in Execution making
every preparation Disposition and Maneouvre with his Indns himself and
when the Rebels of Wayoming came to attack him desired Col. Butler to keep
his people separate from his for fear of Confusion and stood the whole Brunt
of the Action himself, for there were but 2 white men killed, [illegible]
And then destroyed the whole Settlement without hurting or molesting
Woman or Child wch these two Chiefs to their honour be it said agreed upon
before they [went into] Action in the Spring.
Thus has Mr. Brant and this faithful Indn Chief distinguished themselves
most|signally in the Defence of their own cause and Liberty as well as keep-
ing sacred their Alliance entered into with the Crown of Great Britain for
near a Century past: when their zealous Services at the same time have been
[illegible] from the Public and the Merit given to others who had not the
least pretension to it whch by the bye may prove detrimental to His Majys
Indian Interest and discourage and Disgust these faithful brave men as well
as ye whole 6 Nation Confederacy, and those who deceived Government and
the Public in such a manner can have no other view but to give Sanction to
the Stigma intended to be laid to Government by its Enemies of employing
Indian Officers to engage and urge Indns to commit Cruelties and Murders in
the Colonies, when at the same time the Indns act in Defence of their own
Cause and Liberty.
[to be continued.]
P. S —Soon after the Receipt of the above Anecdotes an Acct. was re-
ceived from Niagara of Mr Brant having marched a body of upwards of 400
Whites and Indns to surprise and attack two Forts at Burnetsfield alias Ger-AND THE OLD KING.
31
man Flatts about the middle of Sept, last but unluckily a Rebel Scout discov-
ered them wch alarmed the Forts and kept the Rebels and Inhabitants snug
and confined within their forts and could not be tempted to come out therefore
he fell to destroying their buildings Barns Stacks of Grain &c and driving off
a great number of horses and horn cattle some intended for the Rebels at
Fort Stanwix which cant but cause great alarm and [illegible] to the Rebel
Army it being the only Grain Country they have to depend upon. This Rav-
age he carried on upon the Rebel Inhabitants only on both sides of the
Mohawk Rivr for near a 20 Miles Extent.
[Endorsed]	1
Niagara, Sept. 1778. Anecdotes of Capt. Jos. Brant.
By Col. Dan’l Cla.us, Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
The student of this period will not fail to remark that the
sensational narratives of the fleeing and panic-stricken borderers,
given on the eve of the event, have been accepted as the un-
diluted truth by the majority of writers. It would be strange,
indeed, if these recitals were not to a considerable degree imagin-
ary or grossly exaggerated.
Col. Claus’ apparent motive was to expose the attempt of Col.
Butler,—whom he cordially disliked,—to appropriate to himself
the credit of achievements justly belonging to two native chief-
tains, Brant and Sayenqueraghta; and, secondly, to show that
the responsibility for any atrocities perpetrated at Wyoming, or
on other fields, attached to the Indians alone, contending, as
they were, for their own “ cause and liberties ” menaced by the
colonists ; a disingenuous proposition which, if seriously uttered
at this day, would be received with a smile of derision.*
Col. Stone, in his Life of Brant, was the first prominent
writer, it is believed, if indeed, he were not the last, to question
the reliability of the narratives alluded to. He says [Vol. I., p.
336] : “ It does not appear that anything like a massacre followed
the capitulation. Nor, in the events of the preceding day, is
there good evidence of the perpetration of any specific
* Note.—Col. Benjamin Dorrance, before mentioned, vouchsafes us a passing
glimpse of Sayenqueraghta in action. “ He states that after the capitulation, the Brit-
ish regular troops marched into the fort by the northern or upper gateway, while
Sayenqueraghta and his Indians entered at the northern portal. Col. D. recollects well
the look and conduct of the Indian leader. His nostrils distended, and his burning
eyes flashing like a basilisk’s, as be glanced quickly to the right and to the left, with
true Indian jealousy and circumspection, lest some treachery or ambuscade might await
them within the fort.” Stone’s Wyoming, p. 214.32
CAPTAIN BRANT
acts of cruelty other than such as are usual in the general rout of
a battle-field—save only the unexampled atrocities of the Tories
thirsting for revenge probably in regard to other questions than
that ot allegiance to the King.” Steuben Jenkins, a descendant
of one of the patriot Heroes, in his centennial address at the
Wyoming monument, July 3d, 1878, after depicting in the most
lurid light the atrocities committed on that spot a hundred years
before, and fiercely denouncing the perpetrators, said: “ Truth
and justice require That another fact, which has been omitted,
should be told at this time. * * * SO FAR AS KNOWN
TO THE PEOPLE HERE NOT A WOMAN OR CHILD
WAS SLAIN BY THE ENEMY IN THE VALLEY. There
was no shutting up of whole families in their houses and then fire
set to them and the whole consumed together. No slaughter
of whole families, men, women and children, in that or any
other way.”*
Butler, it is known, indignantly denied that any were slain
save actual combatants with arms in their hands and in the act of
using them against his forces. Lord Germain extolled the
humanity displayed by the invaders.
When we take into consideration the circumstance, men-
tioned by Bancroft, that the Senecas had been wrought up to a
pitch of frenzied exasperation by the slaughter of so many of
their braves and leaders at the battle of Oriskany, and when we
consider the inveterate customs and military policy of the Iro-
quois, their moderation at, Wyoming was something remarkable.
All the wars waged between the native tribes on this conti-
nent, involved the extirpation of one or the other of the com-
batants. Their warlike tactics were of surprises, which the
vast and pathless woods suggested and encouraged, and the red
men as a rule possessed no defensive fortifications and none of
the tremendous military enginery with which the more ingenious
whites sweep off their enemies. The art of civilized warfare,
which means the mangling and murdering your foes politely and
humanely, in vast numbers, and at a comfortable distance, these
barbaric warriors had never acquired.
*Wilkesbarre, Pa., 1878.AND THE OLD KING.
33
The envenomed hate of their Tory allies showed no relenting,
but it may be said of the Senecas that the angel Pity touched
those wild hearts at Wyoming.
This view is not, however, the popular one. The vulgar
appetite must “sup on horrors” ; as though the unvarnished de-
tails of any active campaign, where men, created in the image of
God, maim and butcher each other, are not sufficiently revolting.
A few particulars concerning the later life of the Old King
and my task is finished. When General Sullivan’s army devas-
tated the Seneca country, the King with his tribe was compelled
to abandon his beloved seat on the shores of Lake Seneca and
seek safety under the protecting guns of Fort Niagara. Subse-
quently, and at the end of the war, he retired with a portion of
his people to the region drained by Buffalo Creek and its tribu-
tary streams. Another portion of the nation, however, erected
their bark cabins in the valley of the Genesee, their ancient
abode, which in their own musical tongue they had christed The
Beautiful, and there rekindled their immemorial council fire.
Only for a little time were they permitted to linger there; “ The
foot-that-knows-no-rest ” was on their track. The Old King’s
last abode was on the banks of the stream named in his honor,
Smoke’s Creek. There for a few years he dispensed a true Indian
hospitality which awakens wonder even now. Among the faces
lighted up by the glow of his hearth, and in strange juxtaposi-
tion with the tawny, dark-haired daughters of the wood who
crouched by their side, might have been discerned the fairer and
more delicate features of the captive Gilbert children, his
adopted son and daughter, and the benignant countenance of the
missionary Kirkland. Here, within a few miles from where we
sit to-night, and at about the close of the last century, the King:
of the Senecas died and was buried. His grave is unmarked and
the exact spot where his bones lie is unknown even to his tribe
and family. His successor, the bearer of the sacred brand, was
the Young King, well and favorably known to our older citizens.
This chieftain was a gallant warrior ; he fought on the side of the
United States in the second war for independence; was seriously
wounded in one of the engagements on this frontier, and re-
ceived a pension from our Government. Later in life he was34
CAPTAIN BRANT AND THE OLD KING.
converted to the Christian faith, which he adorned and illustra-
ted to the day of his death, some forty-five years ago.
The Young King, so far as is known, was the last Seneca in-
vested with the dignity and title of Sayenquerahta. The vision
of the eagle-plumed warrior flying along the forest trial, and
bearing aloft the burning brand with its banner of smoke, will be
seen no more. The modern Senecas have cast off their ancient
form of government and fashioned another after the pattern of
the race they have so much reason to fear and hate. The Long
House,—as the confederated tribes figuratively styled their gov-
ernmental structure,—undermined and shattered by Sullivan’s
army, has since fallen and crumbled to dust. The tamed
descendants of the fierce and haughty Senecas dwell mournfully on
the days when their “ King” held his court at Kanadesaga Castle
and was the leader and pride of the triumphant Iroquois.
The name Sayenqueraghta,— literally rendered, The-Smoke-
has-Disappeared,—was prophetic of the final quenching of that
council fire, which in the barbaric age, and in the early dawn of
civilization on our shores, was the dread of a continent.