Z4l 
 
 CAPTAIN BRANT AND THE OLD KING, 
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF WYOMING. 
 
 A PAPER READ BEFORE 
 
 THE BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 APRIL 1,1889, 
 
 BY 
 
 WM, CLEMENT BRYANT, 
 
[)()( 
 
 ;iss E aA\ 
 
 SMiriisoNi.w iii:i'()sir. 
 
^C ■ 
 
 CAPTAIN BRANT AND THE OLD KING. 
 Tlie Tragedy of Wyoming. 
 
 A PAPER READ BEFORE 
 
 THE BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 APRIL 1, 1889, 
 
 BY 
 
 Wni. CivEivLENX Bryant. 
 
 BUFFALO : 
 
 J. W. CLEMENT, PRINTER, 20I MAIN ST 
 1889. 
 
 .•f. 
 
 >*•/ 
 
e- 
 
 V 
 
 k\ 
 
 \ '-' 
 
Captain Brant and The Old King. 
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF WYOMING. 
 
 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 indigenous 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 event- 
 ful consummation. In the war afterwards waged by the 
 American colonies for independence, though sadly diminished, 
 they were sufficiently numerous to form an appreciable ele- 
 ment 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 the eulogistic title bestowed by their earliest observei's on 
 this warlike people before they had become enervated and 
 corrupted by contact with European civilization ; lhe"lndians 
 of Indians" they are termed in the glowing pages of Parkman; 
 kindly conservators of peace and the domestic affections, is 
 their surprising characterization bv Horatio Hale ; a "gifted 
 and progressive race" 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. 
 
4 Captavi Brant and the Old King. 
 
 Models for a sculptured Apollo, the perfection of the 
 human form, accompanied by a princely mien, and an unstudied 
 w-race of movement may have frequently been seen among the 
 lithe and supple braves grouped around gallant King Ilen- 
 drick, and the sight of whom kindled the imagination of Sir 
 Joshua Re3'nolds ; but the nature of these picturesque youth 
 rarely revealed that union of gentleness, love and valor which 
 are the essential ingredients of chivalr}-. Heroes they were 
 according to their own rude standard suggested by the un- 
 tamed animals which formed the emblazonry of their shields; 
 exceptions, however, 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 Iro- 
 quois warriors possession of such attributes as loyalty, chas- 
 tity, valor, gratitude, hospitality, acumen, an inspiring 
 eloquence and an indomitable spirit of independence. They 
 jealously emphasized the distinction between allies and vassals 
 in their relations to the Dyo-hence-caw,f 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. 
 
 Early in the 18th 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 
 revolution, there lay in the fruitful and romantic region 
 bordering the foot of Lake Seneca, and within sight of its 
 sparkling, unsidlied waters, the most considerable village of 
 the Senecas. '1 his village was known to the whites as Old 
 
 *Hiavvallia was the founder of the League nf the Iroquois — a verital)le " law- 
 s/iver of tlie stone a<re," and not a mvtholoirical creation ; althoucrh "tLiiiuatiuii has 
 invested him with supernatural attributes. J5y birth he was an Onoiwaga, and by 
 adoption a Mohawk. In the Mohawk (balect the name is pronounced A-yohn-waht-ha; 
 in the Onondaga, Hay-en-v\atha, and in the Seneca, Hay-ya-w an-tah. 
 
 f The Seneca name for the English. 
 
The Tragedy of \Vyo})n)ig. 5 
 
 Castle or Kanadesaga. It was surrounded by a timbered pali- 
 sade 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, principally, 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 prin- 
 cipal and hereditar}- chieftainw ho swayed this rude commun- 
 ity, and whose influence was, in truth, potential in the coun- 
 cils of the great conlederacy, was known to his people as 
 Gui-en-gwa-toh, and in the dialect of the people who lived 
 nearer the sea, Sayenqueraghta, or Saka3'engwaraton, 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 earl}^ pioneers and explorers 
 knew little and cared less about the unwritten constitutions of 
 their barbaric neighbors. When, in the course of their deal- 
 ings with the natives, they met a sachem, who was the 
 spokesman and apparently the venerated head and leader of 
 his people, they bestowed upon him a royal title, as in the in- 
 stances 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 Iroquois ruler or offi- 
 cial. The Iroquois recognized no Kingship save that which 
 naturally inheres in the born leaders of men, — men whose su- 
 perior understanding, imperious will and meritorious achieve- 
 ments inexorably commanded popular homage and obedience. 
 The government of the confederate Iroquois was strangely 
 composite, — an oligarchy wedded to a pure democracy. The 
 
 *Literally, — The-Smoke-has-Disappeared. 
 
6 Captain Brant and the Old Kin{^. 
 
 Old King, like King Hendrick, — (who, it is worth}^ of remark, 
 bore among the Mohawks the same title of Sayenqueraghta), 
 — 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 
 Sayenqueraghta 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 dynas- 
 ties established with less color of right than that possessed by 
 King Sayenqueraghta. 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 oi' 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 friendl) 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 famished missionary, Kirkland, and then 
 vanishing mysteriously from view as if to justify his quaint 
 appellation, The-disappearing-mist. 
 
 Bancroft, speaking of the Senecas at W)-oming, says : 
 "Their King, Sayenqueraghta, was both in war and in council 
 the foremost man in all the " six nations."* 
 
 Col. vStone 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 
 
 Bancroft's History U. S. Vol. V, p. 279. 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 7 
 
 only for the purpose of announcing his intentions, and none 
 said nay to his behests. His infallibility was never ques- 
 tioned."* 
 
 At an interview held by the Hon. (). H. Marshall with 
 the venerable chief Seneca White at his house on the Catta- 
 raugus Reservation, in 1864, he informed Mr. Marshall that Old 
 Smoke was the most influential man among the Senecas in the 
 Revolutionary war, and that lie 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 
 prominence at Kanadesaga as early as 1765, is evidenced from 
 his position in the councils then held. His closing speech in 
 the council 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 
 master-piece of eloquence that bore down all opposition and 
 elicited a general shout of applause " which made the council 
 house ring." f 
 
 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 
 lowland, on either side of the Susquehanna, were dotted with 
 clearings and nestling cabins, the abode of contented toil, fru- 
 gality 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 children at play; the ring of the woodman's axe; the 
 muffled beating of some thresher's flail, and the rhythmic 
 plash and murmur of the winding river, broke the Sabbath 
 hush of the embowered settlement. 
 
 * Life and Times of Red Jacket by William L. Stone. 
 
 f Lothrop's Life of Kirkland, Chap. 3, Sp.ark's Am. Biography, Vol. X.XV. 
 
8 Captain Brant and the Old Kinq;. 
 
 Wyoming would have been the seat of unalloyed happi- 
 ness 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 strip- 
 lings, and were fighting the battles of freedom on far away 
 fields; and, besides, there was ever an undefinable, shivering 
 fear lest at any moment, out of the dark, mysterious forest, 
 which begirt the settlement, there might emerge a murder- 
 ous horde of their implacable enemies, tory and savage. 
 
 This apprehension was too soon justified when, on the 
 second day of July intelligence eame 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 Col. 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, hur- 
 riedly assembled to the number of four hundred, at a palisaded 
 work known as Old Fort Forty. Col. Zebulon Butler, a sol- 
 dier of some experience in the French and Indian war, as- 
 sumed command of the little band of patriots. A council of 
 war was held early on the 3d of July and the desperate alter- 
 native 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. Col. Z. Butler commanded the right of the 
 Americans, the left was commanded by Col. Dennison, assisted 
 by Col. Dorrance. Opposed to the right of the Americans and 
 also resting on the bank of the river was Col. John Butler 
 with his rangers ; the right of the enemy, resting upon or 
 rather extending into a marsh, was composed of Indians and 
 tories led by Sayenqueraghta. The field of battle was a par- 
 tially 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. 
 The 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 uni)erceived outflanked Col. Dennison and suddenly 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 9 
 
 like a dark cloud fell upon his rear. Sorely harassed Col. 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 besieged 
 by throngs of excited Indians and tories. Possessing no 
 adequate means of defence, and having no expectation or hope 
 of succor the patriots yielded to the entreaties of the women 
 and children and capitulated, the terms of surrender being 
 that the besieged 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 scalp- 
 ing 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 mer- 
 ciless persistency until the vale became a scene of hideous, 
 smouldering desolation. Many of the terror-stricken inhab- 
 itants sought safety in flight, and many of them fell by the 
 wa}', perishing from sickness and hunger.f 
 
 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. 7"he 
 enchanting theatre of this exciting drama, — the picturesque 
 actors, patriot, tory, royal green and painted savage, and the 
 terrible scenes of suffering, upon which the curtain falls. 
 
 \ "More than two-thirds of their numl)er [the patriotic forces] were massacred liy 
 the Indians and Tories with every circumstance of savage cruelty, not even the prison- 
 ers 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. Col. Butler's official report agrees with Col. 
 Claus' statement that only two white men in his command were killed and that the 
 casualties included about a do/cn Indians wounded. The reader cannot liclp contrast- 
 ing this result with that of Oriskany where the desperate valor of the colonists slione 
 conspicuously. 
 
lo Captairi Brant and the Old King. 
 
 invoked the scarcely less veracious muse of poesy and inspired 
 Campbell's justly admired epic, "Gertrude of W3'oming." 
 
 Who led the Indians at Wyoming? is a minor vexata 
 qccstio 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. Col. Stone, the biographer of/the great 
 Mohawk, zealously endeavored to exculpate ifee^ 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 xvas the 
 master spirit among the fell agencies of mischief at Wyoming. 
 Unfortunately 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 Col. Stone correct in 
 assigning that post to the King of the Senecas? This question 
 was discussed more than twenty years ago in the club meet- 
 ings 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 accom- 
 plished and conscientious investigator, Orsamus H. Marshall, 
 was inclined to concur. Both were deceived, as was the 
 writer, by certain confusing statements in contemporary nar- 
 ratives, 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 apparentlv decisive of that 
 question. How this document came to light, after slumber- 
 ing in an ancient chest for nearlv a century, the following let- 
 ter from the late Senator Plumb will explain : 
 
The Trailed)' of Wyoming. 1 1 
 
 " Niagara, Pro v. Ontario, ) 
 Nov. 5, 1886. S 
 
 " Dear Mr. Bryant : 
 
 " Mr. Conovcr, 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 PoHard, an Indian, 
 who told Col. 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. C, 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 conclusively, 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 
 g-reat-grandchildren of Col. Daniel Claus, Deputy Supt. 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 the Cliien d' Or, and of much other Canadian literature of the 
 highest order, informed me that he had discovered in the pos- 
 session of this family a valuable collection of revolutionary 
 documents: minutes of Indian councils, autograph letters, and 
 many interesting memoranda by Col. Daniel Claus. Among 
 the papers were all those that were found in the tent of Gen. 
 St. Clair after his defeat, apparently in the original hasty 
 wrappage, and seeming never to have been opened or ex- 
 amined ! 
 
 * " SAYENf^UKRAcnriA, KiNG OK 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 OKI King which he could 
 discover. 
 
I 2 Captain Brant and the Old King. 
 
 There were voluminous writings of Col. Daniel Claus, 
 and a most valuable essay by his brother-in-law, Col. 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 ivell known to hundreds 
 of people who ivoiild be most likely to read the statements of Col. 
 Claus if published. 
 
 That they were 7iot published was doubtless owing to 
 the lack of opportunity, in part, and perhaps in a greater 
 degree, to severe criticism, which they contained, upon the 
 course of Col. Butler in failmg 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. -;r * * * t^ * 
 
 (Then follow certain extracts fi^om the MS., which I am about 
 to read.) Mr. Plumb concludes : 
 
 'Tt ma}^ be that vou will think the extracts of sufficient 
 value to communicate them to your society, and I shall be 
 very glad to have you do so. 1 shall write to Mr. Conover 
 that I have sent them to you. 
 
 With kind regards, believe me, yours very faithfully, 
 
 J. B. PLUMB.'''' 
 
 1 
 
 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 authentic document written by a trusted servant of the 
 crown, possessing every facility for testing the truth of what 
 he has deliberatelv recorded, and his main statements of fact 
 are credible, notwithstanding a certain animus of personal 
 hostilitv which the author is at no pains to conceal. 
 
The T}'aotdy of Wyoming. 13 
 
 "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, aUas Thavendanegea, now about 36 years 
 old was born in the upper Mohawk Town of Canojoharee. 
 Capt. Brant, when a voung lad, showed an extraordinary 
 capacity and promptness in acquiring the reading and writing 
 of his own language, under an Indian school master ap- 
 pointed by the Honorable Society at his native place. The 
 late Sir Wm. Johnson discovering that genius sent him to a 
 good English school Avhere he soon made such proficiencv 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 Wm. Johnson found him very serviceable in trans- 
 lating Indian Speeches of moment to be made to the 6 Nations 
 in Council and translate them in writing into the Iroquois Lan- 
 guage in order to convey to the Indians the full meaning and 
 substance of such Speeches wch Indian interpreters Avho in 
 general are a dull illiterate kind of white people never were 
 capable of doing, he became therefore a great acquisition to the 
 Superintendent of the Iroquois and 6 Nations and was em- 
 ployed by them accordingly and approved Jiimself a very use- 
 ful and true person to government discovering at the same 
 time a penetrating sound and good natural understanding 
 wch he manifested in translatmg great part of the N. Testa- 
 ment under the inspection of Mr. Stuart, the missionar}- 
 who explained difficult passages 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 
 Tyrann}' ^gsX. them. At the same time seeing no Apparent 
 Alteration or putting such Complaints of Tyrann)" into Execu- 
 tion the Refutation of it agitated his mind so far as to deter- 
 mine on a voyage to Great Britain in order to try what he 
 
14 Captain Bra)it and the Old King. 
 
 could tind out there of the matter plaiuly foreseeing- how 
 uiuch the Indians in general were concerned in such a Quarrel, 
 well knowing how ignorant they were as to the Disputes in 
 Question. Accordingly in the Autumn 1775 after faithfidly 
 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 
 ()p[)()sition and plainly discovering that there was no Reason of 
 ol such complaints he was told of in America and all they and 
 the Americans aimed at was to be sole Masters of the Conti- 
 nent of America, an Event so destructive to the Liberty of the 
 Indus and their Country, and being convinced of the Anxiety 
 the Americans lor some years showed to dispossess the 
 Indus 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 Amer- 
 icans and argued in their favour he listened to their Ar^ru- 
 ments with Calmness and answered with Discretion. In the 
 beginning of June 177(3 he embarked at Falmouth on board 
 the Harriot packet in Company with the Superintendt — of 
 the G Nations and sailed for N. York, where it was ex- 
 pected he would soon be able to get to Albany and from 
 thence among his countrymen the Nations. The packet on 
 acct of the summer season standing to southward fell in with 
 a rebel privateer of superior force near the Carolinas when 
 soon a smart engagement ensued and ye rebels were confident 
 of success. Joseph and his comi)anion, John of the lower Mo- 
 hawk 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 ofificers and after an 
 engagement of two glasses the privateer thought proper to 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 15 
 
 sheer off. The Harriot havg 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 wch occa- 
 sion he had another opportunity of showmg his braver}- 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 campaign 
 operations were not decisive enough to take Albany. And 
 Brant determined 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 In- 
 structions 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 Depend- 
 ants settled upon the Susquehanna River, whom he soon con- 
 vinced 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 unani- 
 mously agreed with him in sentiment and determined to 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 takino- 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 part}^ ammuni- 
 tion, 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 heard and saw in 
 the King of England's Residence, wch was received with 
 much greediness and approbation. 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 Monsters of all Discord and Mischief 
 showed their Heads, and the person who was left there in 
 
1 6 Captain Brant and tJic Old King. 
 
 1775 by the Superintcndant to assist the Commaiid'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 cS[ act- 
 ing in a more servile Line, this person having with flattery & 
 cunning (being bred and born in N. England) insinuated him- 
 *self 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 begmning of the Rebellion but allowed the Rebels to 
 establish themselves at Fort Stanwixin the middle of the G Na- 
 tion Country. This j)erson then imagining to please Sir Gu}' 
 in slighting cS: disregarding Sr. Wm. Howe & the Superin- 
 ten't; besides apprehensive Mr. Brant should do anything that 
 would expose his Inactivity & willing Backwardness received 
 him very cooly and indifferently altho" under Superints im- 
 mediate employ and appointment having nothing seperate 
 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 
 discouraged from Niagara ; on his arrieval with his party he 
 distributed what little Ammunition lie got wch was very tri- 
 fling and soon after had an Acct. that a Body of 800 Rebels 
 were assembled to pa}^ him a visit shortly. Upon wch he im- 
 mediately sent Runners to call the 6 Nations to his assistance 
 but [illegible] they were influenced from Niagara not to go. 
 — Inds being so ignorant credulous a people that they may 
 soon be dissuaded from keeping their promises with a plausi- 
 ble story [illegible] of raising their Jealousy. Accordingly 
 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 
 imarmed he would admit them having at the time not 200 men 
 together when they came to parley and the Rebels came c^ 
 entreated them to stand Neuter in the Ouarrel. That they 
 would [illegible] their assistance & it would reasonablv be sup- 
 posed the King of Great Britain would not want it, wch Mr. 
 
The Traocdy of Wyomiiig. 17 
 
 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 c^ were for peace sneak- 
 ing off with themselves & if the Indus had been well supplied 
 with Ammunition they might have given a good acct. of the 
 whole party as well as all the Indus in general on ye conti- 
 nent. 
 
 Captain Brant soon after having information that Brig'r 
 St. Leger was on his march upon an Expdn agst., Fort Stan- 
 wix 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 En- 
 gland 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 Indus 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 Indus were stopt 
 from coming there to hold a Congress and receive their 
 presents. Col. Claus gave him to understand that Indus on a 
 march upon the Enemy could or did not expect formal meet- 
 ings and councilling besides it would be attended with several 
 days Delay and therefore ordered Mr Butler to proceed with 
 the few Indus 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 i)arty proceeded with the Brigr leaving Mr Butler at the 
 
i8 Captain /ira)it a)id the Old Kins.- 
 
 Three Rivers and invested l^'ort Stanwix without them. 3 
 days after he came up with part of the Indus, when Mr Brant's 
 sister Hving in the Uj)per Mohawk Town sent an Express to 
 her brother with Intellis^ence that a body of about 900 Rebels 
 were to be within 12 miles of Fort vStanwix that night to 
 reinforce the Garrison, preparation 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 
 read)^ for service to reconnoitre and ambushe said party of 
 Rebels. Accordingly when he was going to set off early in 
 ye morning none but Mr. Brant's party were read}^ to join. 
 Col. Butler and party were hesitating and deliberating whether 
 there should not be a parley demanded of the Rebels and Let- 
 ters 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 au}^ 
 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 Emu- 
 lation 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 j)ut to Flight and left upwards of 500 
 killed on the Spot yet that was not sufficient satisfaction and 
 their principal Chief vSakoyenguaraghton a Decendant 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 Indus. This brave Seneca Chief and 
 JVIr. Brant proposed to Sr John and Col. Clans to pursue the 
 Blow and Sr. John mentioned it to Brigr St Leger, asking for 
 a small Body of white men to join the Indus 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 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 19 
 
 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 Stan- 
 wix 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 time 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 Arm}- being mismanaged he in 
 order to guard against a Defection among the 6 Nations in 
 case Matters should turn out unfavorable as he apprehended 
 he returned among the 6 Nations procured encouraging Mes- 
 sages from the Canada Inds that remained with Gen Burgoyne 
 and accordingly attended a general meeting of the whole con- 
 federacy at Onandago where he spared no pains to prepare 
 and harangue them against the Shock of Gen. Burgoyne's Dis- 
 aster 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 coimteracting and using all the most 
 urgent Arguments such as their loss of brave Chiefs and war- 
 riors 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 jjointed 
 out. In wch he was joined by his faithful Coajutor Sakayen- 
 guarghton the Seneca Chief above mentioned and in Reality 
 carried his point at last so far as to make the whole Confed- 
 eracy firmly resolve to act most vigorously against the Rebels ; 
 and Sayengwaraghto \_sic\ set the example by sending some of 
 
20 Captain Brant and the Old Kinp;. 
 
 his men that very Autumn to harass the Frontiers of Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia and get Intelligence of Gen. Howe's 
 Success abt Philadelphia vvch he procured wth a great deal of 
 art wth all its favorable Circumstances to the great Satisfac- 
 tion and Encouragement of the 6 Nations. The plan of Oper- 
 ations 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. Butler was at Mont- 
 real transacting Money and Mercantile Matters and no Indn 
 Officer of Gov't present except Mr. Brant. The Rebel Com- 
 missioners 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 G 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 confirming 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 
 into Execution as early as possible in the Spring and hinted 
 to effect it without an officer of Whites to join them. Accord- 
 ingly 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 assem- 
 bled 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 Sakay- 
 enwaraghton's Town wlio at the same Time reserved the 
 Command of his men to himself. Mr Brant oj^ened the Cam- 
 paign by attacking a party of Continental Troops joined by 
 near 300 Militia who immediately 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 distinguishing 
 
The Traoedy of WyoDiiiig. 21 
 
 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 Exe- 
 cution making ever}^ preparation Disposition and Maneouvre 
 with his Indus 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 distin- 
 guished themselves most signally in the Defence of their own 
 cause and Liberty as well as keeping sacred their Alliance 
 entered into with the Crown of Great Britain for near a Cent- 
 ury 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 Govern- 
 ment by its Enemies of employing Indian (3f1icers to engage 
 and urge Indus to commit Cruelties and Murders in the Col- 
 onies, when at the same time the Indus 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 received from Niagara of Mr Brant having marched 
 
22 Captain Braiif and the Old King. 
 
 a body of upwards of 400 Whites and Indus to surprise and 
 attack two Forts at Burnetsfield alias German Flatts about 
 tlie 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 Ravage he carried on upon 
 the Rebel Inhabitants only on both sides of the Mohawk Rivr 
 for near a 20 Miles Extent. 
 
 [Endorsed] 
 
 Niagara, Sept, 1778. Anecdotes of Capt. Jos. Brant. 
 
 By Col. Dan'l Claus, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. '^ 
 
 The student of this period will not fail to remark that the 
 sensational narratives of the tieeing and panic-stricken bord- 
 erers, given on the eve of the event, have been accepted as 
 the undiluted truth by the majority of writers. It would be 
 strange, indeed, if these recitals were not to a considerable 
 degree imaginary 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 chieftains. Brant and Sayenqueraghta ; and, secondly, 
 to show that the responsibity 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. 
 
 Note. — Col. IJenjamin Donance, before mentioned, vouchsafes us a passing 
 glimpse of Sayenqueraghta in action. " He states that after the capitulation, the 
 British regular troops marched into the lort 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 burn- 
 ing eyes flashing like a basilisk's, as he 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. 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 23 
 
 Col. Stone, in his Life of Brant, was the first prominent 
 writer, it is believed, if indeed, he were not the last, to ques- 
 tion 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 preced- 
 ing day, is there good evidence of the perpetration of any 
 specific 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 re- 
 gard to other questions than that of 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 com- 
 mitted 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 forcej^ 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 Iroquois, their moderation at Wyoming was some- 
 thing remarkable. 
 
 All the wars waged between the native tribes, on this con- 
 tinent, involved the extirpation of one or the other of the com- 
 batants. Their warlike tactics was one of surprises, which the 
 
 * Wilkesbarre, Pa., 1878. 
 
24 Captain Bra)it and the Old King. 
 
 vast and pathless woods suggested and encouraged, and the 
 red meiiATule 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. 
 
 The envenomed hate of their tor}' allies showed no relent- 
 ing, 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 
 details of any active campaign, where men, created in the 
 image of God, maim and butcher each other, are not suffi- 
 ciently revolting. 
 
 A few particulars concerning the later life of the Old 
 King and my task is finished. When General Sullivan's army 
 devastated 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. Subsequently, and at the end of the war, he re- 
 tired with a portion of his people to the region drained by 
 Buffalo creek and its tributary 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 christened 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 w\as 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 juxtaposition 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 mis- 
 sionary Kirkland. Here within a few miles from where we 
 sit to-night, and at about the close of the last century, the 
 
The Tragedy of Wyoming. 25 
 
 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 engage- 
 ments on this frontier, and received a pension from our gov- 
 ernment. Later in life he was converted to the Christian 
 faith, which he adorned and illustrated to the day of his 
 death, some forty-five years ago. 
 
 The Young King, so far as is known, was the last Seneca 
 invested with the dignity and title of Sayenquerahta. The 
 vision of the eagle-plumed warrior flying along the forest 
 trail, 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 governmental structure, — under- 
 mined 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, Tlie- 
 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.