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THE

LIFE AND TIMES

SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.,

WILLIAM L. STONE.

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VOL. I.

ALBANY :

J. MUNSELL, 78 STATE STREET

1865.

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Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1864,
By William L. Stone,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.

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THE MEMORY

LATE WILLIAM L. STONE, ESQ.

NEW YORK CITY,

THIS WORK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, BY HIS SON,

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE

It may not be generally known that my father, the
late William L. Stone, Esq., commenced a history of
the Life and Times of Sir William Johnson, Bart.
He had employed several years in collecting the ma-
terials for this work, and had written the first seven
chapters of it, when death cut short his labors in 1844.
Esteeming it a sacred duty, I have completed the
work ; and in so doing, have endeavored to carry out,
as far as possible, his original design. The result is
before the reader.

Perhaps the character of no man prominent in our
colonial history has been less understood, and less
fairly judged, than that of Sir William Johnson, Bart.
His death occurred just on the eve of the Revolution-
ary war ; and the troublous times which followed, and
the immediate removal of his private papers, by his
son, Sir John Johnson, into Canada, prevented any
trustworthy estimate either of the man or of his ser-
vices. As a natural consequence, the innumerable
wild and improbable traditions afloat concerning him,
have been eagerly seized and believed as veritable
history. It was therefore evident, that until access
wuld be had to his papers and private correspondence,

VI PllEFACE.

it would be impossible to prepare a faithful and accu-
rate biography of him. After years of search, mv
father procured from the Johnson family in Eng-
land, and from various other sources, a large portion
of Sir William's manuscripts, which, with the collec-
tion of the Johnson MSS. presented to the New York
State Library by General John Tayler Cooper, amounts
to more than seven thousand letters and documents.
Although many letters are evidently lost, yet enough
remain to answer the purpose of the present work ;
while the original records of Indian treaties and con-
ferences, of which nearly all are in existence, afford a
sure test of the accuracy of their relation.

Of this large collection, I have read and carefully
compared each letter and document ; and throughout
the work have made abundant reference to authorities,
in order that whoever desires may avail himself of the
same sources of information.

To Hon. Jared Sparks of Cambridge, Hon. George
Bancroft of New York, Francis Parkman, Esq., of
Boston, Professor Robinson P. Dunn of Brown Univer-
sity, and Edward F. De Lancey, Esq., of New York, I
am indebted for counsel and material aid. My thanks
are also due to Anthony Lamb, Esq., of Cambridge,
Doctor O'Callaghan of Albany, Dr. R. L. Allen, Hon.
Judge Hay, and Daniel Sheppard, Esq. of Saratoga
Springs, for valuable suggestions. Nor must I forget
to make special mention of the kindness of the Regents
and Librarians of the New York State University and

PREFACE. Vll

Library, in affording me every facility for examining
the books and original documents under their control.
To Thomas Simons, Esq., of Albany, and Elnathan
Judson, Esq., of New York, I am truly grateful for
assistance in copying many pages of manuscript.

In conclusion I may add, that in the preparation of
this work, I have made no statement, and drawn no
inference, that I did not conscientiously believe was
fully warranted by the original authorities to which I
have had immediate access.

WILLIAM L. STONE.

Saratoga Springs, January 1st, 1865.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

1534_1741.

Plan of the present work, 9 — Success of the French in winning the con-
fidence of the Indians ; one exception to this success, 10 — Inconsidera-
ble attention paid to the Five Nations by the first three English governors,
11 — Enterprise of the Jesuit missionaries during the peace of 1667, 12 —
Efforts of Governor Dongan to thwart the influence of the French, 14 —
Convention of the Five Nations at Albany in 1684, 15 — Success of
Dongan's efforts, 16 — Neglect of Indian affairs in the colony of New
York during the Leisleriau administration, 17 — Count Frontenac vainly
attempts to detach the Confederates from the English interest, 18 —
Defeat of De Calliers, Governor of Montreal, by Major Peter Schuyler,
19 — Colonel Fletcher succeeds Ingoldsby as governor. Iugoldsby holds
a council with the Five Nations at Albany, in 1692, 20 — Governor Fletcher
takes Major Schuyler into his councils, 20 — Count Frontenac captures
two of the Mohawk castles, 21 — Schuyler takes the field in pursuit. The
purpose of the Oneidas to make peace with the French frustrated by
Governor Fletcher, who calls a council of the Confederacy in July, 1693,
22 — Count Frontenac makes another effort to subjugate the Five Nations,
23 — The Earl of Bellamont succeeds Governor Fletcher, 24 — Colonel
Schuyler visits England in 1710 with five Iroquois chiefs, 26 — Senecas
prevented from turning their arms against the English by the peace of
Utrecht in 1713, 27 — The Confederates meditate hostilities against the
Catawbas and Cherokees. Numerical strength of the Tuscaroras, 28 —
They are taken into the Iroquois Confederacy, which is henceforth known
as the Six Nations, 29 — General Hunter goes back to England, leaving
Schuyler at the head of the colonial administration. The latter holds a
treaty with the Six Nations, 29 — Failure to expel the Jesuit emissary,
Joncaire, from the Senecas, 30 — William Burnet takes the reins of govern-
ment in 1720. Endeavors to break up the Indian trade between Albany
and Montreal, 30 — Passage of an act for that purpose, 31 — Trading post
established at Oswego in 1722. Beneficial effects of Burnet's policy, 31
— The establishment of an English post at Oswego, a source of great dis-
pleasure to the French. Mr. Burnet meets the Confederates at Albany
in 1727, 32 — Mr. Montgomery succeeds Mr. Burnet in the government,
33 — Revival of the trade between Albany and Montreal, 84 — Death of
Montgomery. Rip Van Dam succeeds him for a short period, 34 — Stormy
administration of Governor Cosby, 35 — The Six Nations again resume
hostilities against the southern Indians. The latter are defeated with
the loss of twelve hundred braves, 35 — George Clarke, after a brief
struggle with Rip Van Dam, is commissioned lieutenant governor, 36^-
Recommends to the assembly various important measures, 87 — The elec-
tion between Adolphe Pbilipse and Gerrit Van Horn contested.
Eloquence of Mr. Smith on the occasion, 39 — Increased political excite-
ment during the years 1738 — 1739. Reasons for it, 41 — Demand for a per-

VI CONTENTS.

manent supply bill. Dissolution of the assembly. Temper of the new
onej 43 — The governor yields to the assembly, 44 — Mr. Clarke complains
bitterly of the continued encroachments on the crown by the people, 45 — ■
The assembly decline making an appropriation for rebuilding the chapel
among the Mohawks, 47 — War declared against Spain, 47 — Grand council
of the Confederacy held at Albany by the lieutenant governor in 1741.
Satisfactory result, 51 — The famous negro plot. Incidents connected
with it, 52.

CHAPTER II.
1742—1744.
Prominence of Sir William Johnson in the colonial annals of the United
States. His life and character hitherto but imperfectly understood, 56 —
Family and descent. His uncle Sir Peter Warren, 57 — Marriage of Sir
Peter Warren. Birth of Sir William Johnson, 59 — Arrival in America,
60 — Takes charge of his uncle's estate in the Mohawk valley, and keeps
a country store. Means of both uncle and nephew, at this time, small?
60 — Receives advice from his uncle, 61 — His style of living. Description
of his person. His success in winning the confidence and affection of
the Mohawks, 64 — Proposes to erect a saw mill. His education, 65 —
Difficulty in fixing the exact date of his marriage. Character of his wife,
Catharine Weisenberg, 66 — the Six Nations in 1742, send a large delega-
tion to Philadelphia. Its object, 66 — Proceedings of the council, 68 —
Tact of Lieutenant Governor Thomas, 69 — Interesting historical incident
during the sitting of the council, 71 — Complaint made by the Indians
against the governor and people of Maryland. Misunderstood on the
part of Virginia, 73 — A party of Indians invade the county of Augusta,
and kill several Virginians. Correspondence between Lieutenant
Governor Gooch and Lieutenant Governor Clarke in relation to it, 73 —
Jacobus Bleecker sent to Onondaga by the Indian commissioners, 74 —
Another embassy sent to Onondaga. Result of these missions, 76 —
Arrival of Admiral George Clinton as the successor of Lieutenant
Governor Clarke, 77 — Opening speech of the new governor probably
moulded by Chief Justice De Lancey. Tone of the speech, 79 — Sketch
of Chief Justice De Lancey, 59 — De Lancey, in behalf of the assembly,
draws up an humble address, 80 — The governor signs all the bills pre-
sented to him, 81 — Removal of Mr. Johnson from the south to the north
side of the Mohawk. Opens a correspondence on his own account with
the opulent house of Sir William Baker & Co., London. Grows in the
public estimation, 81 — Lays the foundation of his future prosperity on the
basis of honorable dealing, 82 — The government of New York authorized
to issue letters of marque against Spain, 82 — Activity of Captain Warren
at sea. Captures a privateer and is promoted, 86 — Clinton communicates
to the assembly advices of the intended invasion of England by "a Popish
Pretender," 87 — Holds a conference with the Six Nations at Albany, 88.
— Expresses apprehensions for the post at Oswego, 89 — Lays before his
council a communication from the commandant at Oswego, in relation to
the designs of the French against that post, 90 — Grand Indian council at
Lancaster in 1744. Its proceedings in detail, 91 — 109.

CHAPTER III.
1744—1745.
Repose of the colonies under the administration of Sir Robert Walpole,
broken by the declaration of war against France. Attempts of the
French upon Acadia and Placentia, 110 — Declaration of hostilities
announced to the general assembly by Clinton. Strong measures urged
for the protection of the colony and city of New York, 111. The build-
ing of a strong fort in the vicinity of Crown Point recommended, 112 —
Cowardly retreat of the English traders from Oswego. The house pledge

CONTENTS. Vll

the ways and means for putting the colony in a posture of defence, 113 —
The Caughnawagas take up the hatchet against the English, 114 — Special
allowances voted for the defence of Albany and Schenectady, 115 — The
French again active in their endeavors to win the Six Nations from the
English, 116 — Mr. Bleecker is despatched into the Seneca country.
Returns and reports favorably. Another report from a French deserter,
117 — Arrest and discharge of David Leisberger and Christian Frederick
Post. Governor Shirley proposes the capture of Louisburg, 118 —
Description of the harbor and defences of Louisburg, 119. — Shirley com-
municates his plan to the ministry, 120 — Circular letters sent to the
several colonial governors, 122 — Lukewarm reception of the scheme by
New York. Its cause, 122 — Conduct of the assembly, and its dissolution
.by the governor, 122 — 128 — Preparations of Shirley for the capture of
Cape Breton, 129 — The command of the land forces given to Colonel
William Pepperell, 130 — Circumstances which favored the undertaking,
132 — Unfitness of Shirley to direct the conduct of the expedition, 133 —
Commodore Warren assumes command of the naval forces, 136 — Progress
of the seige, 138 — Success of Warren in cruizing off the harbor, 142 —
Surrender of the city, 14(5 — The Mermaid despatched to England with
the tidings. Effect of the conquest in Europe and America, 148 — Honor-
able rewards to the master spirits of the expedition, 149 — Unwillingness
of the parent government to reimburse the colonies for their expenses,
150 — Efforts to detract from the just fame of the Provincials defeated,
151 — Discussion respecting the relative merits of Pepperell and Warren,
156.

CHAPTER IV.

1745—1746.
David Jones of Queens county, elected speaker of the new assembly, 157 —
Clinton urges upon the assembly the importance of reinforcing the
forces of Pepperell and Warren. Doth branches of the assembly respond
cordially. Indian relations of the colony again critical, 158 — Dissatis-
faction among the Six Nations. Examination of John Henry Lydius,
159 — Animosity between the Mohawks and the people of Albany.
Conrad Weiser sent on a friendly tour among the Six Nations, 160 —
Reception of Weiser. Accusations against the Albanians by the Con-
federates, 161 — The commissioners of Indian affairs announce the
approach of scalping parties of Canadian Indians. Barbarities of these
Indians on the frontier of New Hampshire, 162 — Attention of the assem-
bly called to these outrages. A general council with the Indians recom-
mended, 163 — Proceedings of the council. Speech of Ilendrik, 164 —
Suspicions of the Massachusetts commissioners, 170 — Clinton communi-
cates the result of the council to the assembly in a special message, 172
— Burning by the French and Indians of the settlement at Saratoga, 173
— Destruction of the village of Hoosick, 174 — Governor Clinton reproves
the assembly for its indifference, 175 — Communication from Colonel
Philip Schuyler laid before the privy council. Dissatisfaction at the
removal of the local militia from the city, 176 — Prospect of a gloomy
winter. Exciting rumors, 177 — Clinton asks for an appropriation to
build a stone fort at the great carrying place between Hudson River and
Lake Champlain, 178 — Doubtful position assumed by the Confederacy, 179.
The importance of an alliance with New England for mutual protection
appreciated. Commissioners appointed for that purpose, 180 — The ques-
tion of parliamentary law and prerogative before the council and assem-
bly, 181 — The assembly driven from the city by the small pox, 182 — Dis-
cussion of the revenue bill by the council and assembly, 183 — The victory
with the representatives of the people, 185 — Resolution adopted directing
the erection of six strong block-houses. Appropriations for other import-
ant objects, 185 — Clinton again asks for reinforcements for Pepperell

Vlll CONTENTS.

and Warren, and is refused. Reluctance of the assembly to cooperate
with the New England colonies not easily explained, 186.

CHAPTER V.

1746.
Commencement of the brilliant public career of Sir William Johnson.
He erects a valuable flouring mill. Builds an elegant stone mansion,
and calls it Mount Johnson. Becomes known to Governor Clinton,
probably through the influence of Chief Justice Do Lancey, 187 — His
commercial affairs widely extended. Is engaged in shipping furs to
London. Is commissioned a justice of the peace for Albany county.
Begins to participate largely in the political concerns of the colony, as
shown by the return of Mr. Holland to the assembly from Schenectady,
188 — The exact date of his wife's decease not known. Birth of a sou —
John Johnson, and of two daughters — Mary and Nancy. Is rapidly
gaining an ascendency over the Iroquois Confederacy. Manuscript letter
from James Wilson to Johnson, 189 — Comprehensive views of Shirley,
190^Coumrunicates them to the government of New York, 191 — The
duke of Newcastle's letter laid before the council, 192 — Joyful reception
of these communications by the legislature and people, 193 — Inaction
of the parent government, 196 — Expedition against Quebec abandoned,
198 — Activity of the French, 199 — Alarm of the North American seaports
on the approach of D'Anville's fleet, 200 — Quari-el of Chief Justice Be
Lancey with Governor Clinton. Causes which led to it, 2ul — Governer
Clinton arrives in Albany to meet the Six Nations. Finds very few
Indians in attendance, 202 — Rumors of a French expedition against
Schenectady communicated to Clinton by Johnson. 204 — Growing dis-
affection of the Six Nations, 205 — The Jesuits succeed in gaining over
some of the chiefs, 206 — Mr. Clinton avails himself, in the Indian
department, of the services of Mr. Johnson. Qualifications of the latter
for this branch of the public service, 207 — Mr. Johnson exerts himself
successfully in winning back the friendship of the Confederates. Pre-
vails upon them to attend the council, 208 — Is adopted by the Mohawks,
and invested with the rank of a war chief, 209 — Receives from the
Mohawks an Indian name. Enters Albany at the head of a party of
Mohawks, dressed and painted as a warrior, 210 — Dr. Colden opens the
council with a speech, 211 — Reply of the Indians, 213 — An alliance
defensive and offensive formed with the Iroquois Confederacy, 216 —
Astonishing ignorance of Mr. Clinton in relation to affairs in New Eng-
land, 217 — Efforts of the Canadian governor to neutralize Mr. Clinton's
proceedings, 218 — The Caughnawagas, instigated by the French, vainly
attempt to dissuade the Six Nations from their recent alliance, 219 —
Impossibility of the Iroquois Confederacy, from their geographical
position, remaining neutral, 219.

CHAPTER VI.

1746.
The Canadian Indians desolate the New England frontier, 221 — Number
Four. Upper Ashuelet and Bernardstown attacked, 222 — Command of
the posts west of Hoosick mountain confided to Captain Ephraim Williams,
224 — Vaudreuil invests Fort Massachusetts, 225 — Bravery of the garri-
son, 226 — Its capture, 227 — Remarkable conduct of the Indians, 228 —
Active operations against Crown Point abandoned, 229 — Mr. Johnson
directed to organize war parties of Indians to harrass the French
settlements, 230.— The preparations of the French for the reconquest
of Cape Breton prove abortive, 232 — Disasters to D'Anville's fleet,
233 — Suicide of D'Estournelle, 234 — Governor Clinton returns to New
York. Dissatisfaction with the Indian commissioners. The manage-
ment of the Indian department devolves chiefly upon Mr. Johnson,

CONTENTS. IX

235 — Trouble between Governor Clinton and his assembly, 23G — Henry
Holland, by order of Colonel Roberts, breaks open the public store bouses
in Albany, 238 — The assembly urged to their opposition of the governor
by De Lancey, 240 — Holland declared guilty of a high misdemeanor, 241
— Review of Holland's conduct, 242 — The Sckuylers take offence at the
growing influence of Johnson, 243 — Johnson becomes contractor for
supplying the Oswego garrison. First step taken toward the establish-
ment of Kings, now Columbia college, 245 — Mr. De Lancey makes
another demonstration against his rival, Dr. Colden, 246 — Johnson pays
a visit to Governor Clinton in the autumn. Receives from the governor
the rank of colonel. Is recommended by Clinton, through the duke of
Newcastle, to his majesty's favor, 247 — The operations of the New Eng-
landers in Nova Scotia end disastrously. Inactivity of the enemy during
the winter, 248.

CHAPTER VII.

1747.
Shirley conceives the project of a descent upon Crown Point, 249 — New
York deems the plan impracticable, 250 — Active correspondence between
Clinton and Johnson in relation to the Indian service, 251 — Exertions of
Colonel Johnson, 254: — Letter from Colonel Johnson to Governor Clinton,
255 — Enumeration of scalps taken from the enemy, 257 — Attack on
Charlestown, N. H., 258 — Raising of the seige, 260— Rebuilding of Fort
Massachusetts, 261 — Clinton again involved in controversies with his
legislature, 262 — Letter from Clinton to Johnson regarding the disloyalty
of some Albanians, 266 — Mutiny of the levies at Saratoga, 267 — Report
of the committee, charged with the preparation of an address to the
governor, 273 — The attention of the assembly called to the disaffection
among the northern levies. Reply of the house, 274 — Movements of
Sir Peter Warren. Appointed second in command under M. Anson, 275
— Is promoted to the rank of rear admiral of the white, 277 — Meets
with great success in his cruizes, and is returned to parliament, 278.

CHAPTER VIII.

1747.
Military affairs in the north in a deplorable condition. Desertion of the
troops. Murders by the enemy, 279 — Captain Chew defeated near
Lake Champlain by M. Lacose, and taken prisoner. Schuyler marches
to repel the invaders, 280 — The Six Nations complain to Schuyler. Clin-
ton concerts measures with Schuyler for relieving Oswego. Governor
Shirley meditates an attack upon Crown Point, 281 — Clinton lays Shir-
ley's plan before the assembly, 282 — Is received coldly, 283 — Activity of
the enemy. Saratoga surrendered. Johnson writes to Clinton, 284 — He
demands a guard to escort the stores to Oswego, 286 — The assembly
refuse to allow them, 287 — Letter from Clinton to Johnson, 288 — High
estimation in which Johnson was held by Clinton. Cause of Johnson's
jealousy toward Lydius, 291 — Johnson returns from an expedition against
Crown Point. The fort at Saratoga in danger of being evacuated through
want of provisions, 292 — More trouble between Clinton and the assem-
bly, 293 — Colonel Roberts directed to send three companies to Saratoga,
294 — Colonel Johnson visits New York to consult with the governor
respecting tho condition of the colony. His advice, 295 — Clinton and
Shirley still cling to the expedition against Crown Point. The former
again appeals to his legislature and dwells upon the views of Johnson,
296 — The assembly respond coldly, 299 — The assembly in secret sitting
attack Colonel Johnson. Reasons for this attack, 301 — Clinton charges
the house with falsehood, and adverts to the services of Johnson in
terms of high praise, 305 — The hopes of the colonies fall to the ground.
The duke of Newcastle orders Clinton and Shirley to desist from the

X CONTENTS.

intended expedition, 310 — Trouble with James Parker, printer to the
assembly, 311 — -Clinton proposes to detail large bodies of the militia for
the defence of the frontiers, 312 — The assembly charge the governor
with inconsistency, 314 — Clinton again involved in controversies with
the assembly on the question of prerogative, 315 — He dissolves the
assembly much to its surprise, 318 — Review of the controversy, 320 —
Difficulty between Commodore Knowles and the citizens of Boston on
the subject of press gangs. Shirley's house mobbed, 222 — Order
restored, 225 — Governor Clinton presses the command of the northern
frontier upon Colonel Johnson. The latter is entrusted with the duty of
effecting a complete reorganization of the militia. All confidence
reposed in him, 326.

CHAPTER IX.
1748.
Prominence of Johnson in the affairs of the colony — Accepts the command
of the troops for the defence of the frontiers. Devotes himself to the
management of the Indian department. Becomes favorably known to
the colonial and British government. Employs as his housekeeper, Mol-
ly Brant, 327. — Beneficial effects of this Indian alliance, 328. — New
assembly chosen. The governor's opening speech conciliatory. Arent
Stevens succeeds Mr. Bleeker, deceased, as government interpreter to
the Indians, 329. — The dissolution of the old assembly produces a better
state of feeling in tbe new one. The answer of the council to the
governor's speech moved by De Lancey, 330 — Resolutions passed for
repairing the fortifications along the frontiers. Robert Charles appointed
agent for the colony, to reside in London with a salary of £200 per an-
num, 331 — The action of the assembly attributed to a desire to supplant
Clinton in the gubernatorial chair by Sir Peter Warren. Warren not a
party to this intrigue, 332 — Discontent of the Six Nations. Alarming
intelligence from Colonel Johnson and Lieutenant Lindesay of Oswego,
332 — Colonel Johnson directed by Clinton to make a tour in the Indian
country, 333 — Objects to be attained by this tour, 334 — Johnson sum-
mons a council of the Confederacy at Onondaga. Arrives at the Onon-
daga castle, and meets with a flattering reception, 335 — Proceedings of
Johnson at the council, 336 — Communicates to the Indians, the intention
of Clinton to meet them at Albany, 339 — He recommends to the governor
strong legislative enactments to prevent the sale of rum to the Indians,
341 — A grand council of the Six Nations at Albany, long in contempla-
tion by Clinton and Shirley, 341 — Clinton's efforts to second Shirley's
plan for an expedition against Crown Point fruitless, 342 — Complains to
the lords of trade of the continued encroachments of the assembly upon
the crown. Lays before the assembly Colonel Johnson's report of the
council at Onondaga, 343 — Urges an immediate exchange of prisoners.
The assembly recommends the sending of a flag of truce to Canada, 344 —
Colonel Beekman prefers a charge against the governor, 344 — Important
tidings received from Europe, 345 — Letter from Clinton to Johnson,
announcing that preliminaries of peace had been signed at Aix la Cha-
pelle, 346 — Clinton, accompanied by Dr. Colden, arrives in Albany to
attend the grand council. Unprecedented number of Indians present,
348 — Proceedings of the council not important, 349 — Massacre at. Sche-
nectady. No accurate account of it in existence, 350 — General result of
the council satisfactory, 353 — Heart rending tragedy in the town of
Hoosick, 354 — The borders of Massachusetts and New Hampshire again
suffer from the enemy, 361 — Narrow escape of Captain Melvin and his
party, 362 — The enemy generally successful in these border skirmishes,
363 — Captain Eph. Williams narrowly escapes capture, 364 — Serious
trouble among the troops stationed at Albany and along the frontiers.
The commissioners refuse to execute the orders of the governor, 365 —

CONTENTS. XI

Complains of this in a letter to Colonel Johnson, determines to reassert
the prerogative in the strongest terms, by bringing the supply-bill to a
direct issue, 366 — The assembly refuse to grant it, 368 — Various succes-
ses of the English fleet in the West Indies, 369 — Definite treaty of peace
signed at Aix la Chapelle. End of the old French war, 370 — The Con-
federates demand the release of their braves in Canada. Negotiations
between Clinton and La Galissoniere in relation to the exchange, 371 —
Embassy of M. Francis Marie. Suspicions of Johnson, 372 — Mutual
dissatisfaction of all parties, 373.

CHAPTER X.
1749-1750.

Johnson is entrusted with the transfer of the prisoners. Success of his nego-
tiations, 374 — Apprehensions of the Mohawks artfully increased by La
Galissoniere. Johnson writes Clinton upon the subject. Reply of the
governor, 375 — Johnson summons both of the Mohawk castles to a con-
ference. Happy results, 376 — Trouble between the Indians and a few
Albany traders. Proclamation of the governor in regard to it, 377 —
General exchange of prisoners effected, 377 — Remarkable energy of
Colonel Johnson, 378 — He thwarts all the plans of Galissoniere and his
priests, 379 — Encroachments of the French in Nova Scotia, 379 —
Colonel Johnson is appointed by the crown to a seat in his majesty's
council for the province of New York, 380 — This appointment, though
unsought, by no means a surprise, 381 — Wranglings between the
governor and his assembly continue. The post at Oswego in danger of
being given up. The assembly dissolved and writs issued for a new one,
382 — The assembly allow Colonel Johnson part of the debt due him for
provisioning the Oswego garrison, 383 — Contemptible conduct of the
assembly toward Johnson. Falsely charges him with peculation, 384 —
Resignation of Johnson as superintendent of Indian affairs. The step
not entirely unexpected by Clinton, 385.

CHAPTER XI.

1750-1751.
The peace of Aix la Chapelle received by the colonies with strong feelings
of dissatisfaction, 386 — Proves to be a peace only in name. Boundaries
between the English and French possessions left undetermined, 387 — The
French occupy the valley of the Ohio. La Presentation founded by Rev.
Abbe Piquet, 388 — Sagacity of Picquet. La Presentation destroyed by
Gage in 1757, 389 — Jean Cceur, a French emissary, stirs up the Six Na-
tions against the Catawbas. Johnson advises Clinton of the fact, 390 —
Clinton acting upon the suggestions of Johnson, summons the Confed-
eracy to meet the Catawbas in Albany. Determines to have the ends of
the council take a wider scope, and asks the different colonial governors
to send delegates, 391 — Johnson informs the Mohawks of the governor's
intentions. The invitation of Thomas Lee of Virginia declined by the Six
Nations, 392 — Commissioners present at the council, 393 — The Six
Nations are grieved at the resignation of Colonel Johnson. They
despatch a fleet runner for him, 394 — Johnson arrives in Albany to
attend the council. Is requested by Clinton to continue in the charge of
the Indian department, but peremptorialy declines, 395 — Is willing to
render every assistance in an individual capacity, 396 — Johnson takes
the oaths of office as a councillor. Clinton opens the council, 396 —
Reply of the Confederates. Address of Mr. Bull, commissioner from
South Carolinia, 397 — Speech of the Catawba king to the Six Nations,
398 — Treaty between the Six Nations and the Catawbas concluded, 400 —
Clinton lays before his council letters from Colonel Johnson and Captain
Stoddard of a startling nature. Designs of the French upon Oswego,
402 — Col Johnson sent down to the house by the council to demand cer-

Xll CONTENTS.

tain vouchers. They are refused, 403 — Churlish treatment of the
governor by the house, 404 — Master stroke of policy on the part of Mr.
Clinton, 405 — The French plan farther encroachments upon the territory
of New York. Meditate the establishment of a missionary and military
post at Oswego. The design frustrated by Johnson. The council grant
him Onondaga lake with the land around it for two miles in width.
Otherwise than this his debt from the colony never paid, 406.

CHAPTER XII.

1752-1753.

Dawning of a new era in American literature, 407 — Johnson indulges in
literary pursuits, and sends to London for books, 408 — Takes special
interest in the intellectual culture of the Mohawk children. Becomes a
prominent patron of the mission school at Stockbridge, 409 — Places
Joseph Brant under the charge of Dr. Eleazer Wheelock at Lebanon Ct,.,
410 — Closing years of Sir Peter Warren. His death announced to John-
son in a letter from his brother Warren Johnson, 411 — William Smith
appointed to the seat at the council board, left vacant by Sir Peter War-
ran's decease, 412 — Principal features of the new assembly, 413 — Clin-
ton consults Colonel Johnson in the appointment of a new board of
Indian commissioners, 414 — Fees of Chief Justice De Lancey, 415 — He
ceases his opposition to the governor, 416 — Difficulty in collecting the
Oswego duties John De Peyster and Peter Schuyler Jr. charged with
peculation. Johnson requested to sift the matter, 416 — Makes his
report, 417 — Hostile Indians still hover along the northern frontier, A
party of St. Francis Indians surprise and capture John Stark, after-
ward the hero of Bennington, 418 — Clinton's opening message to the
assembly, 418 — French again active, 419 — Johnson apprised of the move-
ments of the enemy. Alarm of the Six Nations, 420 — Indian affairs
sadly neglected since the resignation of Johnson. King Hendrik visits
Clinton in New York. Complains bitterly of the frauds to which the
Indians were subjected in the sale of their lands, 421 — Reply of the
governor. Disgust of Hendrik, 422 — The general assembly request
Clinton to send Johnson to Onondaga to pacify the Six Nations, 424 —
Johnson summons the Mohawks to Mount Johnson, 425 — Sets out on his
mission, 426 — Conference at Onondaga attended with happy results, 427 —
Arrival of Sir Danvers Osborne as the successor of Governor Clinton,
428 — Strange conduct of the new governor. He commits suicide. Sus-
picions of foul play clearly without foundation, 429 — Mr. De Lancey
takes the reins of government, 430 — His opening message to the assem-
bly, 431 — Change in the administration productive of one good result,
433 — Death of Governor Clinton. His character, 434.

CHAPTER XIII.
1753-1754.
Period reached when the active public life of Colonel Johnson begins,
436 — Claims of England and France to the Ohio valley, 436 — Formation
of the Ohio company, 437 — Christopher Gist sent to explore the country.
Commissioners treat at Lcgstown with the Mingoes and Shawanese, 438 —
The French call to their aid the spiritual arm, 439 — La Jonquere seizes
the English traders. George Washington sent by Governor Dinwiddie
to remonstrate with the French commander, 440 — His reception by St.
Pierre, 441 — Mr. De Lancey informs the assembly of the encroachments
of the French, 441 — Niggardly spirit of the assembly, 442 — The lieuten-
ant governor answers the quibbles of the assembly and prorogues that
body, 444 — Virginia raises a regiment of six hundred men, 445 — Wash-
ington with his troops reaches Will's creek, 446 — The fort at the Monon-
gahela captured by Contrecceur, who names it Du Quesne, 447 — Washing-
ton is put on his guard by the half king, 447 — Defeats De Jummville.

CONTENTS. Xlil

Builds a furl at the Great Meadows 'which he called Fort Necessity, 448 —
Surrenders Fort Necessity to De Villiors. The French loll iu undisputed
possession of the basin of the Ohio, 449.

CHAPTER XIV.
1754.

Congress of commissioners assemble at Albany. Its object, 450 — Colonies
represented. Backwardness of the Six Nations in arriving. Jealousy
of the Indian commissioners toward Johnson, 451 — True cause of the
reluctance of the Indians to attend the council. Lieutenant Governor
De Lancey called to the chair, 452 — Opening speech of De Lancey to the
Indians, 453 — King Hendrik replies, 454 — The venerable Mohawk brave
utters a scathing phillipic, 456 — Speech of his bvother Abraham.
Desires that Colonel Johnson may be reinstated. Biting irony of his
speech, 456 — Johnson prepares an answer, which is delivered by the
lieutenant governor, 457 — Johnson, at the request of the commissioners,
submits a paper on the management of the Six Nations, 458 — Measures
urged by him, 459 — Origin of the Wyoming lands, 4G0 — The Con-
necticut delegates purchase the lands of the Six Nations. Extent of the
land thus purchased, 464 — Plan of a general federal union taken into
consideration, 465 — Plan not adopted. Why it was not, 466 — Savage
hordes let loose upon the whole frontier. The storm bursts with all its
fury, 467 — Dutch Hoosic burned by Schaghticoke Indians. Vigorous
measures of Shirley, 468 — Captain Ephraim Williams given a command
with the rank of major. De Lancey vies with Shirley in efficient pre-
parations for defence, 469 — The French meditate a descent upon the
lower settlements. Johnson places the militia in a condition for efficient
service. Difficulties between the militia and regulars at Schenectady,
470 — De Lancey announces to the general assembly the defeat of Wash-
ington at the Great Meadows, 471 — Want of harmony in the assembly,
472 — Origin of the famous college, controversy, 472 — The church party
writhe under the lash of William Livingstone, 474 — Charter of the col-
lege granted by Lieutenant Governor De Lancey. He and Johnson
become warm friends, 475 — Rev. Mr. Barclay resigns his post among
the Mohawks for the rectorate of Trinity Church, 476 — A fort on the
Hudson river above Albany ordered to be built, 477 — End of the college
controversy, 478.

CHAPTER XV.
1755.

Vascillating course of the Newcastle ministry. Edward Braddock sent to
America with two regiments, 479 — Dieskau and Vaudreuil arrive at
Quebec. Surrender of two French men-of-war. General assembly again
convened, 480 — Johnson arrives in New York to take his seat at the
council board. Delivers to the lieutenant governor a letter from the
Mohawks, 481 — Shirley again agitates the question of a descent on
Crown Point. Thomas Pownal sent as commissioner to New York.
Meets with a cold reception, 482 — Braddock calls a conference at Alex-
andria. Four separate expeditions against the French planned, 483 —
Johnson receives the command of one of them, with the rank of major
general. Form of his commission. Receives also the appointment of
Indian affairs, 484 — Summons the Confederacy to a grand council at
Mount Johnson. Informs the Indians of the arrival of General Brad-
dock, 485 — The Confederacy, through Hendrik, express great satisfac-
tion at his being" again raised up," 486 — Johnson, by a stirring speech,
persuades them to take up arms in favor of the English, 488 — Shirley
hastens to Boston to prepare for the expedition under his command,
489 — The assembly of New York, urged by De Lancey, enter with alac-
rity into the work of raising troops for Major General Johnson, 491) —

XIV CONTENTS.

Conquest of Acadia, 491 — Character of the Acadians, 492 — Brutality of
General Monckton, 498 — Cruel fate of the Acadians, 494 — Expedition of
Braddock, 494 — His defeat, 496 — The half king at the solicitation of
Johnson, offers his services to Braddock, and is refused, 497 — The French
prevail on several Indian tribes to take up the hatchet. Susquehannas
and Catawbas remain faithful, 498 — Shirley's expedition against Niagara,
498 — It proves abortive, 490 — All eyes turned to the expedition under
Major General Johnson, 500.

CHAPTER XVI.
1755.
The forces destined against Crown Point assemble at Albany. General
Lyman is sent forward with the greater part of the troops. Johnsonl
delayed by the leaky condition of the bateaux, 501 — Difficulty between
himself and Shirley. Shirley's conduct, 502 — He is piqued at the seem-
ing neglect shown to his position, 504 — Johnson heals the dissensions
sown among the Indians by Lydius. Arrives at the great carrying
place, accompanied by Hendrik and Brant, 505 — The New England
troops burn to retrieve the disgrace of Braddock's defeat. General
Lyman builds Fort Edward, 506 — Johnson reaches Lake St. Sacrament, and
names it Lake George. Is joined by Lyman, 507 — His dissappointment
at finding so few of the Six Nations at the lake. Hendrik attributes it to
Shirley, 508 — Johnson's plan of operations, 510 — Movements of Dieskau.
A courier sent out by Johnson killed by the enemy, 611 — A council of
war called. Hendrik's advice, 512 — Dieskau arranges an ambuscade.
Deaths of Hendrik and Williams, 513 — The French fail to take advant-
age of their first success. The attack on Johnson's camp begun by the
French regulars, 514 — Dieskau attempts to turn Johnson's right. He fails.
Desperate fighting by the Provincials, 515 — Utter route of the French.
Dieskau, seriously wounded, is taken prisoner. Last words of Gardeur St.
Pierre, 616 — General Johnson receives a severe wound and is forced to re-
tire to his tent. Captain Maginnis defeats the remnants of the French army
at Rocky Brook, 517 — Losses of the English and French. Singular histori-
cal fact, not generally known, 517 — Johnson sends circular letters to
the colonial governors. His treatment of Shirley vindicated. The
Indians return home, 518 — Building of Fort William Henry. Want of
alacrity shown by the New England troops, 519 — Efforts of Johnson to
allay all jealousy, 520 — Favorable opinion of Johnson by a New England
officer. Scouting parties, under Rogers, annoy the enemy in the
vicinity of Crown Point. Johnson disbands his army and returns to
Mount Johnson, 521 — He is severely censured. Review of his conduct,
521 — Manuscript letters now first brought to light, afford a complete
vindication of his conduct, 523 — He is created a Baronet of Great Brit-
ain, and receives the thanks of parliament. Is greeted with an illumi-
nation and a triumphal procession by the citizens of New York, 525 —
Summing up of the results of the battle of Lake George, 526.

CHAPTER XVII.
1755-1756.
Sir Charles Hardy arrives in New York as the successor of Sir Danvers
Osborne. His first message to the assembly, 530 — Good feeling between
the new governor and his legislature, 581 — Hardy appoints a day
of thanksgiving, and sets out for Albany to hasten the departure of the
levies 582 — Accomplishes little by the visit. Announces to the assembly
Johnson's victory over Dieskau. Demands the settlement of a perma-
nent revenue on a solid foundation. The assembly allude especially to
the advantage gained by Johnson, 533 — Governor Hardy's demand for a
permanent support met with quiet indifference, 534— The St. Francis

CONTENTS. XV

Indians resume their incursions in the New Hampshire border, 535 —
Shirley, now commander-in-chief of the forces in America, arrives in
New York and summons a grand congress of colonial governors, 536 —
Lays before it his plan for the next year's campaign, which meets with
the general approval of the congress, 537 — The assembly of New York
look coldly upon the proposed expedition against Ticonderoga, and
Shirley, in disgust, returns to Boston, 538 — Tart correspondence between
Johnson and Shirley, 538 — The latter yields the point, 539 — Johnson is
appointed by the crown, "sole superintendent of the affairs of the

SIX NATIONS AND OTHER NORTHERN INDIANS, "540.

APPENDIX.

I. Letter from Colonel William L. Stone to the chiefs and warriors of the

Senecas, acknowledging his adoption as a chief of that nation, 541.

II. "A memorandum for trifles sent to London for through Captain Knox,"

by Sir William Johnson, 546.

III. Sketch of Colonel Ephraim Williams, 547.

IV. Sketch of King Hendrick, 549.

V. Sketch of Fort William Henry (engraving) 553.

VI. Manuscript letter ; Sir William Baker to Sir William Johnson, 554.

THE LIFE AND TIMES

SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CHAPTER I.
1534 — 1741.

The annalist is the narrator of events in exact order of chap.
time : the biographer is a relator, not of the history of ^— v— *
nations, but of the actions of particular persons : the
office of the historian is to digest and record facts and
events in a narrative style, but of yet greater security and
dignity. Such, at least, should be the office of the writer
who aspires to the more elevated walks of history. It is
not intended that the present work shall be confined within
the limits of either of the preceding definitions ; but rather
that it shall to an humble extent, combine the characteristics
of all. Were it strictly biographical, it would be in order
to introduce the principal personage concerning whom it
is written, upon the stage of action in his own proper per-
son, at the outset. But, as the life of Sir William John-
son was, for a long series of years, identified with the
Indian history of the colony of New York, it seems to be
necessary, in order to a proper understanding of the rela-
tions subsisting between the English and the Six Nations,
at the time when he was appointed to the head of the
Indian Department, — and in order, also, that the difficul-
ties he was required to surmount may be adequately ap-
preciated,— to give a summary review of the intricate

10 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, and curiously interblended history of the Iroquois Con-

*— v— ' federacy, as connected with the English and French colo-

' nies, from the time of the Dutch conquest, and the cession

of the colony to the Duke of York, down to the year in

which Johnson, in his youth, established his residence in

the valley of the Mohawk.

It is not to be denied that the French, from the day of
their arrival in the St. Lawrence to the fall of their power
in America, were generally more successful in winning
the confidence and affections of the Indians with whom
they came into immediate contact, than any other Euro-
pean people, not even excepting the Dutch. Their traders
threaded the forests, and navigated the lakes and rivers,
from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to the Delta of the Mis-
sissippi,— planting posts among them at pleasure, adopt-
ing their habits, and intermarrying with their women.
Their missionaries went forth unarmed and alone, every-
where exhibiting the most beautiful examples of patience,
meekness, and self-denial ; and, with rare exceptions, gain-
ing the confidence of even the most savage hordes whom
they encountered. Still there was one exception to this
general success ; and the time was long after their estab-
lishment in Canada, before they succeeded in making
any favorable impressions upon the Iroquois. This delay
was probably owing to the circumstance that when the
French first ascended the St. Lawrence, they found the
Confederates, upon whom they bestowed that name,1 at
war with the Hurons and Adirondacks, or Algonguins, —
with which latter nations their first amicable relations were
established, and as the allies of whom, under Champlain,

1 " Iroquois," I need scarcely remark, was not an Indian, but a French
name. The Five Nations called themselves "Aquanu Schioni," or " The
United People." Iroquois is a generic term, bestowed by the French on
that type of languages of which the Five Nations — the Tuscaroras, and,
originally, the Wyandots, spoke dialects. The term, however, was early
restricted to the two former ; and the latter, for distinction's sake, and
owing to striking events in their history, were called Hurons.

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LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 11

they engaged in the contest. The consequence of that chap.
alliance was a bitter hostility on the part of the Iroquois wv_ ,
toward the French, which continued until after the con- 1634#
quest of New York from the Dutch, in 1664.1 During 1664.
that long period even the artful Jesuits failed to make
any considerable impression upon them, — especially upon
the Mohawks, at whose hands three of their number suf-
fered martyrdom with the spirit of a primitive apostle.2
More than once, likewise, before and after that date, the
Iroquois swept over the French settlements with the torch
and tomahawk, tracking their paths in blood, and carry-
ing consternation even to the gates of Quebec. But the
French and Adirondacks having successively invaded the
country of the Mohawks with a strong force, in the spring
of 1666, a peace was concluded in the following year,
through the influence, in chief, of the English colonial
government, acting in obedience to instructions from the
Duke of York, — afterward King James II., — to whom
the colony had been granted by his brother, the second
Charles, of profligate memory.

The first three English governors of the colony, or
rather lieutenants of the Duke of York, viz : Colonels
Mcholls, Lovelace, and Major, afterward Sir Edmund
Andross, bestowed but inconsiderable attention upon the
Five Nations,3 not seeming to appreciate either the impor-

1 Dr. Colden's Memoir on the Fur Trade.

2 Father Joques, Brebceuf, and Lallemand. Vide Bancroft's United
States, vol. iii, pp. 135-142.

3 Nicholls, the first English governor, was the commander of the expedi-
tion to whom Governor Stuyvesant capitulated, August twenty-seventh,
1664. Francis Lovelace, a colonel, succeeded Nicholls in 1667. He was a
man of moderation, under whom the people lived very happily until the re-
surrender of the colony to the Dutch, which ended his administration in 1673.
But on the peace between the English and the states general, in February,
1674, the colony reverted back to England; and Major Andross (afterward
Sir Edmund), was appointed to the government ; the province being resigned

12 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, tance of their trade, or of their friendship.1 Still, the
«— v— ' mortal hatred they had borne the French, inclined them
166 rather to prefer the friendship of the English. But the
Duke of York, in his affection for the Church of Rome,
shutting his eyes to what unquestionably should have been
the true policy of the English toward the Indians, had
conceived the idea of handing the Confederates over to
the Holy See, as converts to its forms, if not to its faith.
1667. Hence the efforts to mediate the peace between the Iro-
quois and the French, of 1667 ; which were followed by
invitations to the Jesuit missionaries, from the English,
to settle among the Confederates, and by persuasions to
the latter to receive them. The Mohawks were either too
wise, or too bitter in spirit toward the French, to listen to
the proposal. But not so with the other nations of the
alliance ; and the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Sene-
cas opened their arms to the insidious strangers in holy
garb, causing infinite mischief in after years, as will appear
in the sequel;

This peace of 1667 continued several years, during
which time both the English and French prosecuted their
trade with the Indians to a great and profitable extent.
The French, especially, evinced a degree of energy, and a
spirit of enterprise, almost unexampled in the history of
colonization — planting their trading posts, under the lead
of the adventurous La Salle, at all the commanding points
of the great lakes, and across the country of the Illinois
to the Mississippi ; and stealing the hearts of the Indians
through the arts of the crafty ministers of the order of
Jesus, whom they sprinkled among the principal nations

to him in October following. Andross continued in the government of New
York until 1682. In 1686 he was appointed by King James to the govern-
ment of New England, where he displayed a tyrannical disposition. In
1688 New York was annexed to the jurisdiction of New England.

1 Smith's History of New York.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 13

over the whole country of the exploration. By these bold chap.
advances deep into the interior, and the insidious wiles *— y — -
which everywhere characterized their movements, the
French acquired a decided advantage over the English
colonists in the fur trade, which it was evidently their
design exclusively to engross ; while the direct tendency
of the Duke of York's policy, originating in blindness
and bigotry, was to produce exactly the same result.

The error was soon perceived by Colonel Dongan, who 1683.
arrived in the colony as the successor of Major An dross,
in 1683. Though his religious faith was in harmony with
that of his royal master, he nevertheless possessed an en-
larged understanding, with a disposition, as a civil governor,
to look more closely after the interests of the crown than
those of the crosier. He had not been long at the head of
the colony, before he perceived the mistakes of his prede-
cessors in the conduct of its Indian relations. In fighting
men, the Five Nations at that time numbered ten times
more than they did half a century afterward ;l and the
governor saw at once their importance as a wall of sepa-
ration between the English Colonies and the French. He
saw, also, the importance of their trade, which the Jesuit
priests were largely influential in diverting to Canada.
He saw that M. de Courcelles had erected a fort at Cada-
raqui, within the territory of the Iroquois, on the north
side of Lake Ontario,2 and that La Salle had built a bark
of ten tons upon that lake, and another of fifty upon Lake
Erie ; planting, also, a stockade at Niagara. He saw that
the French were intercepting the trade of the English
upon the lakes, and that the priests had succeeded in

1 Memoir of Dr. Colden, concerning the fur trade, presented to Gov. Bur-
nett, in 1724.

2 The site of Kingston, Canada West.

14 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, seducing numbers of the Mohawks and river Indians1 away
»«■. v— ' from their own country, and planting their colonies upon
" the banks of the St. Lawrence, in the neighborhood of
Montreal, through whose agency an illicit trade had been
established with the city of Albany, by reason of which
Montreal, instead of Albany, was becoming the principal
depot of the Indian trade.2 He saw, in a word, that the sub-
tle followers of Ignatius Loyola were rapidly alienating
the affections of the Confederates from the English and
transferring them to the French,3 and that unless the
policy respecting them was changed, the influence of the
English would, at no distant day, be at an end with them.
Nor had the priests confined their efforts simply to moral
suasion ; but as though aiming to separate the Confede-
rates from the English at a blow, and by a gulf so wide
and deep as to be impassable, they had instigated them to
commit positive hostilities upon the frontier settlements
of Maryland and Virginia.

Having made himself thouroughly acquainted with these
matters, Colonel Dongan lost no time in seeking to coun-
tervail the influence of the French, and to bring back the
Indians to a cordial understanding with his own people.
His instructions from home were to encourage the Jesuit
missionaries. These he not only disregarded, but he
ordered the missionaries away, and forbade the Five
Nations to entertain them.4 It is true this order was
never enforced to the letter, — the priests, — some of

1 The Mahickanders, or Stockbridge Indians. This tribe was composed
of Mohegans, Narragansetts, the Farmington Indians, and refugees from
what were called the Seven Nations of Connecticut Indians, who, fleeing
before the march of civilization in New England, united with the Schaghti-
koke Indians, and afterward settled together, as one people, at Stock -
bridge, and subsequently were generally known as the " River Indians."

2 Dr. Colden's memorial.

3 Idem.

* Smith's History of New York.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 15

them at least, — maintaining a foothold at several points chap.
of the Confederacy, — dubious, at times, certainly, — but*— ^— >
yet maintaining it for three-quarters of a century after-
ward. Still, the measures of conciliation adopted by Col-
onel Dongan, made a strong and favorable impression upon
the Indians.

Availing himself of the difficulty between the Confed- 1684.
erates and Virginia, consequent upon the outrages just
adverted to as having been instigated by the priests, Col-
onel Dongan was instrumental in procuring a convention
of the Five Nations, at Albany, in 1684, to meet Lord
Howard of Effingham, Governor of Virginia, at which he
(Dongan), was likewise present. This meeting, or council,
was attended by the happiest results. The difficulties
with Virginia were adjusted and a covenant made with
Lord Howard for preventing further depredations. 1 But
what was of yet greater importance, Colonel Dongan
succeeded in completely gaining the affections of the
Indians, who conceived for him the warmest esteem.
They even asked that the arms of the Duke of York
might be put upon their castles ; — a request which it need
not be said was most readily complied with, since should
it afterwards become necessary, the governor might find
it convenient to construe it into an act of at least partial
submission to English authority, although it has been
asserted that the Indians themselves looked upon the
ducal insignia as a sort of charm, that might protect
them against the French.2

There was likewise another fortunate concurrence of
events just at that time which revived all the ancient ani-
mosity between the Iroquois and the French. "While the
conferences between Lord Howard and the Indians were
yet in progress, a message was received from M. De la

1 Smith's History of New York.

2 Colden's History of the Five Nations.

16 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Barre, the Governor of Canada, complaining of the con-
^-v— ' duct of the Senecas in prosecuting hostilities against the
' Miamies and other western nations in alliance with the
French, and thus interrupting their trade. Colonel Don-
gan communicated the message to the Iroquois chiefs, who
retorted by charging the French with supplying their
enemies with all their munitions of war. " Onontio1
calls us children," said they, "and at the same time sends
powder to our enemies to kill us !" This collision resulted
in open war between the Iroquois and the French, — the
latter sending to France for powerful reinforcements,
with the design of an entire subjugation of the former
in the ensuing year. Meantime the French Catholics
continued to procure letters from the Duke of York to
his lieutenant, commanding him to lay no obstacles in the
way of the invaders. But these commands were again
disregarded. Dongan apprised the Iroquois of the designs
of the French, not only to march against them with a
strong army, but simultaneously to bring down upon them
the western Indians in their interest. The English gov-
ernor also promised to assist them if necessary.
1G85. Thus by the wisdom, and the strong sense of justice, of
Colonel Dongan, was the chain of friendship between
the English and the Five Nations, brightened, and the
most amicable relations re-established. Yet for the course
he had taken, he fell under the displeasure of his bigoted
master on his accession to the throne, in 1685.2

It is not, of course, within the purpose of this retrospect,
to trace the progress of the long and cruel wars that suc-
ceeded the negotiations between Colonel Dongan and

1 The name by which the Iroquois were wont to speak of the French
governors of Canada.

2 Colonel Dongan continued in the government of the colony from 1683
to 1688. He was highly respected as governor, being upright, discreet and
of accomplished manners. He gave the colony its first legislative assem-
bly, and after his return home became Earl of Limerick.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 17

the Confederates. Briefly it may be said, in respect to chap.
the expedition of M. de la Barrc, that it failed by reason wv_
of sickness in his army at Cadaraqui, before crossing the 1G ■
lake. He was succeeded in the government of Canada
by the Marquis Denonville, who invaded the Seneca
country in 1687 with a powerful force ; gaining, however, 1687.
such a victory over the Indians, in the Genesee Valley, as
led to an inglorious retreat. This invasion was speedily
recompensed by the Confederates, who descended upon the
French settlements of the St. Lawrence like a tempest and
struck a blow of terrible vengeance upon Montreal itself.

New York, was at this time, torn by the intestine commo-
tions incident to the revolution which drove the Stuarts
from the English throne, and ended the power of the
Catholics in the colony. It was a consequence of these
divisions, that the English could afford the Indians no
assistance in their invasion of Canada, at that time, else
that country would then doubtless have been wrested from
the crown of France. But the achievements of the
Indians were, nevertheless, most important for the colony
of New York, the subjugation of which was at that pre-
cise conjuncture meditated by France, and a combined
expedition by land and sea, was undertaken for that pur-
pose,— Admiral Cafthiere commanding the ships which
sailed from Rochefort for New York, and the Count de
Frontenac, who had succeeded Denonville, being the
general of the land forces. On his arrival at Quebec,
however, the count beheld his province reduced to a field
of devastation, and he was therefore constrained to aban-
don the enterprise.

During the civil feuds of the revolution, and those that
followed under the contested Leislerian administration,
the Indian affairs of New York were neglected. Mean-
time the New England colonies becoming involved in a
war with the Eastern Indians, sent a deputation to Albany

18 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, to invite the Five Nations to take up the hatchet in their

wv — i cause ; but the invitation was declined.

1687. rpjie revoiution which brought William and Mary upon
the throne having been followed by war between England
and France, the colonies were of course involved in the
conflict ; whereupon Count Frontenac revived the policy
of attempting to detach the Confederates from the English
interest. To this end, through the efforts of a Jesuit
residing among the Oneidas, all the Confederates save tho
Mohawks were induced to meet the emissaries of the
French in council at Onondaga. At the same time, with
a view of making an unfavorable impression upon the
Mohawks, as to the power of the English to defend their
own settlements against the arms of the French king,
a secret expedition was set on foot against Schenectady,
which resulted in a frightful massacre of the slumbering
inhabitants of that devoted town, on the night of the eighth

1690. of February, 1690. But the Five Nations were neither
won to the interests of the French by the persuasions of
the agents at Onondaga, nor by the terrors of the scene
at Schenectady. The veteran chief, Sadekanaghtie, an
Onondaga orator of great eminence acted the skillful
diplomatist at the council, while the Mohawks deeply sym-
pathized with their suffering neighbors of Schenectady,
and harrassed the invaders to good purpose on their
retreat, — sending their war parties again into Canada,
even to the attack once more of the island of Montreal.

It required, however, as will often appear in the present
work, the most unremitted attention of the government to
maintain those close relations of amity with the Five Na-
tions which were essential to the true interests and safety
of the province. Their jealousies were far more easily
awakened than allayed ; and unless continually caressed
and propitiated by frequent largesses, they became rest-
less and frowning. Hence, notwithstanding the alacrity

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 19

with which the Mohawks had sought to avenge the mur- chap.
ders of Schenectady, in February, 1690, the neglect they ^^^
experienced during the agitations attending and following
the foul judicial murder of Leisler and his son-in-law, not
only disaffected them towTard the English, but they even
went so far as to send an embassy of peace to Count Fron-
tenac. Meantime, in order to defeat this purpose, Colo-
nel Sloughter, who had superseded Leisler in the govern-
ment,1 succeeded in holding a council with the four 1691.
nations of the Confederates, exclusive of the Mohawks,
which was attended by happy results, — the designs of
the Mohawks, moved, probably, by a sudden impulse,
being frustrated, and they themselves renewing their cove-
nant chain.

In order to maintain the advantages secured by these
negotiations, and keep in action the hostile feelings of the
Confederates against the French, Major Peter Schuyler,
the white man of all others in whom the Five Nations
reposed the greatest confidence, planned and executed his
bold irruption through Lake Champlain into Canada
during the same season, — defeating, with his Indians, De
Callieres, governor of Montreal, and keeping the whole

1 Colonel Sloughter was commissioned to the government of New York
in January, 1689, but did not arrive until the nineteenth of March, 1691.
The selection of Sloughter was not fortunate. According to Smith, lie was
utterly destitute of every qualification for government; licentious in his
morals, avaricious, and base. Leisler, who had administered (he govern-
ment after a fashion, since the departure of Dongan, intoxicated with
power, refused to surrender the government to Sloughter, and attempted
to defend the fort in which he had taken refuge against him. Finding it
expedient, however, very soon to abandon the fort, he was arrested, and,
with his son-in-law Milburne, tried and executed for treason. Still, on
the whole, the conduct of Leisler during the revolution had been consi-
dered patriotic, and his sentence was deemed very unjust and cruel. In-
deed, his enemies could not prevail upon Sloughter to sign the warrant for
his execution, until, for that purpose, they got him intoxicated. It was a
murdei-ous affair. Sloughter's administration was short and turbulent.
He died July twenty-third, 1691.

20 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Canadian country in constant alarm by frequent incur-
*— v— ' sions of war-parties against the French settlements. Ae-
' tive hostilities were likewise prosecuted by the Confede-
rates against the French traders, and their posts, upon
Lake Ontario. The celebrated Onondaga chief, Black-
Kettle, one of the bravest and most remarkable warriors
of his race, was the leader in that quarter. Being taken
in the same year, he was put to death by the most fright-
ful torments.

On the death of Sloughter, Richard Ingoldsby, the cap-
tain of an independent company, was made president of
the council, to the exclusion of Joseph Dudley, who, but
for his absence in Boston, would have had the right to
preside, and upon whom the government would have ,
devolved. But although Dudley very soon returned to
New York, he did not contest the authority of Ingoldsby,
who administered the government until the arrival of
Colonel Fletcher, with a commission as governor, in Au-
1692. gust, 1692. In the preceding month of June, Ingoldsby
met the Five Nations in council at Albany, on which occa-
sion they declared their enmity to the French in the
strongest possible terms. Their expressions of friendship
for the English were also renewed. "Brother Corlaer,"
said the sachem, "we are all the subjects of one great
king and queen ; we have one head, one heart, one inte-
rest, and are all engaged in the same war." They never-
theless condemned the English for their inactivity, " tell-
ing them that the destruction of Canada would not make
one summer's work, against their united strength, if
ingeniously exerted . ' ' *

In conducting the Indian aflairs of the colony, Colonel
Fletcher took Major Schuyler into his councils, and was
guided by his opinions.2 Kb man understood those affairs

1 Smith's History of New York.

2 Fletcher was by profession a soldier, a man of strong passions, and
inconsiderable talents ; very active, and equally avaricious. His adminis-

%W%i WWt$)$MTo

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 21

better than lie ; and his influence over the Indians was so chap.
' _ i.

grout, that whatever Quider,1 as they called him, either-— y— »
recommended or disapproved, had the force of a law. This
power over them was supported, as it had been obtained,
by repeated offices of kindness, and his single bravery and
activity in the defence of his country." Through the
influence of Quider, therefore, Colonel Fletcher was
placed upon the best footing with the Indians, by whom
was conferred upon him the name of Cayenguinago, or
" The Great Swift Arrow," as a compliment for a remark-
ably rapid journey made by him from New York to
Schenectady on a sudden emergency.3

Despairing, at length, of accomplishing a peace with l693-
the Five Nations, Count Frontenac determined to strike
a blow upon the Mohawks in their own country, — which
purpose was securely executed in the month of February,
1693. For once this vigilant race of warriors were taken
by surprise, two of their castles being entered and cap-
tured without much resistance — the warriors of both hav-
ing been mostly absent at Schenectady. On assailing
the third, or upper castle, however, the invaders met with
a different reception. The warriors within, to the number
of forty, were engaged in a war-dance, preparatory to
some military expedition upon which they were about

tration was so energetic and successful, the first year, that he received
large supplies, and a vote of special thanks from the assembly. He was a
bigot, however, to the Episcopal form of church government, and labored
hard to encourage English churches and schools, and was shortly involved
in a violent controversy with the assembly, who inclined rather to favor
the Dutch churches. He was also unpopular because of his extravagant
demands for money. He continued in the administration of the government
until the year 1G95, inclusive.

1 Quider, the Iroquois pronunciation of Peter. Having no labials in
their language, they could not say Peter,

2 Smith's History of New York.

3 Colden's Six Nations.

22 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, entering ; and though inferior in force, yet they yielded
v-^— . not without a struggle, nor until thirty of the assailants

1693. ka(j been slain. About three hundred of the Mohawks
were taken prisoners in this invason, in respect io which
the people of Schenectady have been charged with bad
conduct. They neither aided their neighbors, nor even
apprised them of the approach of danger, although in-
formed of the fact in due season themselves. But Quider,
the fast friend of the Indians, took the field at the head
of the militia of Albany, immediately on hearing of the
invasion, and harassed the enemy sharply during their
retreat. Indeed, but for the protection of a snow-storm,
and the accidental resting of a cake of ice upon the river,
forming a bridge for their escape, the invaders would have
been cut off.

The loss of the Mohawks by this incursion, added to
dissatisfaction arising from the many unfulfilled promises
made to them by the English, disheartened them so much
that, in the spring of 1693, the Oneidas sued the French
for peace, — ; a purpose which was frustrated only by the
promptness of Fletcher's movements. A timely supply
of presents for the Indians, received from England, enabled
him to convene a council of the whole Confederacy at
Albany, in July, and by a liberal distribution of arms and
ammunition, knives, hatchets, and clothing, they were
pacified, and, to use their own figure of speech, made "to
roll and wallow in joy, by reason of the great favor the
king and queen had done them." Yet, a Jesuit priest,
resident with the Oneidas, named Milet, soon afterward
succeeded in persuading all the nations, excepting the
Mohawks, to open their ears to the propositions of certain
emissaries dispatched upon the insidious errand to
Onondaga. But the demands of the French, particularly
for permission to rebuild the fort at Cadaraqui, were
greater than the Indians were willing to concede, and

1694. the war was renewed in 1694, during which year Count

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 23

Frontenac sent an expedition of three hundred men chap.
against such of the Five Nations as might be found in^v — >
the region of the Niagara peninsula. Only a small num-
ber of Indians were met with, some of whom were killed,
and others made prisoners. These latter were taken to
Montreal and tortured to death by tire. The Five Nations
likewise, renewed their incursions into Canada, and the
fate of their brethren was avenged by a holocaust, in
which ten of their Indian captives were burnt.

In the year 1696, the Count de Frontenac made a yet 1696.
more formidable effort for the subjugation of the Five
Nations. To this end, an army, consisting of two battal-
ions of regular troops, four battalions of militia, together
with the warriors of all the Indian tribes, under his in-
fluence, was assembled, with which the count ascended
the St. Lawrence to Cadaraqui, and crossing thence to
Oswego, made a descent upon the Onondagas. But it
was a bootless expedition. The Indians, apprised that the
French were bringing several small pieces of artillery
against them, before which they knew they could not
stand, set fire to their principal towns, and retired with
their women and children, and their old men, to their
wilderness labyrinths. One only of their nation remained
to receive the invaders, — an old man, whose head was
whitened with the snows of a hundred winters. He re-
fused to leave his lodge, and was put to death by torture, —
dying as bravely as he had lived, and laughing to scorn
the efforts by his tormentors to wring a groan or a murmur
of complaint from his bosom. It is difficult to conceive
how the officers of a civilized and gallant people, like the
French, could have xjermitted such a murder. One would
have thought that in admiration of his fortitude, his pa-
triotism, and his courage, a hundred swords would have
leaped from their scabbards for the defence of a venerable
brave like him. But it was not thus ; and the death of
the old sachem was the only exploit which crowned the

24 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, last campaign of the Count de Frontenac against the in-
* — v— ' domitable Iroquois. Not a single Onondaga captive was
• ° ' made, and their conquest was a field of smouldering ashes.
Subsequently, by treachery, thirty-five Oneidas were taken
prisoners and carried into Canada ; but on the retreat of
the army, the Onondagas fell upon its rear and cut off
several bateaux. Nor was this all, the warriors of the Five
Nations renewed their incursions, even to the gates of
Montreal, and by tomahawk and fire caused another fam-
ine in Canada. On the other hand, the scalping parties
of the French and the Indians in their alliance, hung upon
the skirts of the English colonies, infesting even the pre-
cincts of Albany.
1697. The peace of Ryswick, in 1697, put an end to these bar-
barities. The Earl of Bellamont had by that time suc-
ceeded Colonel Fletcher in the government of New York1
and some difficulties arose between his lordship and the
French governor, in the negotiations that ensued for a
mutual release of prisoners. In these negotiations the
earl claimed the Iroquois as the subjects of, or depend-
ents upon, the crown of Great Britain, — a claim in which
Count Frontenac was by no means inclined to acquiesce.
Pending these diplomatic proceedings, the count died,
and the exchange of prisoners was effected by the Indians

1 Richard, Earl of Bellamont, was appointed governor of New York,
Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, in May, 1795, but did not arrive in
New York until May, 1G98. He was appointed by King William with a
special view to the suppression of piracy in the American seas — New York,
at that time, having been a commercial depot of the pirates, with whom
Fletcher, and other officers in the colony, had a good understanding. Kidd
was fitted out with a ship by Bellamont, Robert Livingstone and others, in-
cluding several English noblemen. Turning pirate himself, Kidd was after-
ward arrested in Boston by the Earl, and sent home for trial. The Earl
was a nobleman of polite manners, a great favorite of King William, and
very popular among the people both of New York and Boston. He had
been dissipated in his youth, but afterward became penitent and devout.
He died in New York, in March, 1701.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 25

themselves, without the earl's consent, leaving the (lis- chap.
puted point unsettled. Still, the Five Nations declared ^ — -
their continued attachment to Corlaer, and refused a
residence at Onondaga to the Jesuit missionary Bruyas,
who had acted as an ambassador in the negotiation.

Nevertheless the French were far from relinquishing 1700
their designs of supplanting the English in the affections
of the Iroquois ; to which end so many Jesuit priests were
introduced among them that in the year 1700 an act was
passed by the provincial assembly for putting to death by
hanging, every Popish, priest coming voluntarily within
the bounds of the colony.

In the spring of 1702, hostilities were again proclaimed 1702.
by England against France and Spain. Happily, however,
the Five Nations had just previously concluded a treaty of
neutrality with the Canadian French, and the murderous
border-forays incident to Indian hostilities, were not
renewed.

But even the terrors of the halter were insufficient to
deter the Jesuits from communicating with the Five Na-
tions, nor were their artful dealings with them persisted
in without partial effect. The indications wTere indeed
such in the year 1708, as in the opinion of Lord Cornbury,1 1708.

1 Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, was the son of the Eai'l of Clarendon.
On the death of Earl Bcllamont, the government devolved upon Mr. Nan-
fan, the lieutenant-governor, until the appointment of Lord Cornbury, in
1702. He was a very tyrannical, base, and profligate man, and was ap-
pointed to the government of New York by King William, as a reward for
his desertion of King James, in whose army he was an officer. He was a
savage bigot and an ungentlemanly tyrant. He imprisoned several cler-
gymen who were dissenters, and robbed the Rev. M. Hubbard, of Jamaica,
of his house and glebe. He was wont to dress himself in women's clothes,
and thus patrol the fort. His avarice was insatiable, and his disposition
that of a savage. Becoming at length an object of universal abhorrence
and detestation, he was superseded by the queen (Anne), who, in the au-
tumn of 1708, appointed Lord Lovelace in his place. He was then thrown
into prison by his creditors, where he remained until the death of his
father, when he became Earl of Clarendon. He died in 1723.
4

26 LIFE OF SLR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, then at the head of the colony, to require such an appro-
Wv— > priation as would enable him to meet them in council,
' " and conciliate them with the needful presents. This
timely measure was successful. The rusty spots upon the
chain were again rubbed off; and in the succeeding year,
through the indefatigable exertions of Colonel Schuy-
ler,— Quider, — the Five Nations were engaged heart-
ily in Colonel Nicholson's remarkable though entirely

1709. abortive expedition for the subjugation of Canada, — an
expedition the organization of which cost the colonies, —
that of New York in particular, — a vast amount of money,
and the failure of which caused deep and wide-spread
mortification.

1710. Colonel Schuyler was greatly beloved by the Five Na-
tions, and having excited their expectations to a high
pitch of enthusiasm in regard to the projected conquest
of Canada, he felt keenly the miserable failure of Nichol-
son's expedition. Still, distinctly perceiving the import-
ance of effecting that conquest, and with a view, proba-
bly, of diverting the attention of the Indians from their
disappointment, he determined upon a voyage to England
to represent the actual state of the country, in person, to
the parent government. His views were seconded by the
colonial assembly, and he took with him the five Iroquois
chiefs whose appearance in the British capital created so
great a sensation, according to the chroniclers of those
days.1 This visit was made in 1710. Schuyler returned
with his chiefs in the autumn of the same year, — the lat-
ter being highly gratified with their voyage, and their
reception by the great queen, before whom they had
strongly seconded the arguments of Quider for the
speedy reduction of Canada, as the only effectual measure
of peace and security to the northern English colonies.

1711. In accordance with this advice, another expedition for

1 Vide, one of the numbers of Addison's Spectator.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 27

that object was undertaken in the next year — 1711 ; great chap
preparations beihg made therefor, both by the parent gov- ^—s

1 71 1

ernment and the colonies. The French, aware of the
design, were equally active in concerting measures of de-
fence. The Indians in their immediate alliance were
induced to take up the hatchet, and renewed attempts
were made upon the fidelity of the Iroquois. No percept-
ible impression was made upon their virtue, however; but
the expedition resulted in another sad miscarriage, alike
upon the land and the wave, — whereat the Confederates
were greatly disheartened, and at length, under their re-
peated disappointments, they again began to " open their
ears " to the insidious counsels and persuasions of the
French. Indeed, but for the peace of Utrecht, concluded
in the spring of 1713, it was believed that the Senecas, 1713.
and perhaps others of their Confederacy, would then have
turned their arms upon the English. Yet one important
point connected with the Indian relations of the English,
was secured by this treaty, if no more. By its provisions
the long contested question of English supremacy over
the Five Nations and their territory, which in his negotia-
tions with the Earl of Bellamont, Count Frontenac had
refused to recognize, was conceded by the French. The In-
dians of this Confederacy had previously, under the admin-
istration of Colonel Fletcher, thrown themselves upon the
English for protection, — as they likewise did again at a
susbequent period, for the same object, — making a formal
surrender of their country to the English ; not as an un-
qualified cession, however, but to be held and protected
by the crown for their use. In other words, the Indians
seem to have supposed that they were investing the Eng-
lish with a sort of superior jurisdiction over their territory,
reserving to themselves their own distinct sovereignty in
every other respect.

Brigadier-General Hunter, who was appointed to the
government of New York, as the successor of Lord Love-

28 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, lace, was required to take no very active part in the In-
— v— ' dian affairs of the colony.1 The peace of Utrecht being
' followed by several years of repose, the colonies were re-
lieved from the terrible inflictions of Indian hostilities, — a
species of warfare the most frightful that can be imagined,
as well from its certain as from its uncertain character, —
uncertain, always, when, or where, the dreaded enemy
might strike, and equally certain that his path would be
illumined by fire, and made red with blood. Meantime
the Confederates, being likewise relieved from hostilities
with the French, and the Indians in their interest, again
directed their arms against their ancient enemies in the
south, — ■-in the countries of the Carolinas and Georgia,— -
among the Catawbas and the Cherokees, even to the head
waters of the Mobile. The most powerful nation in the
midlands of Carolina, were the Tuscaroras, kindred, as
their speech testified, either of the Wyandots, or the Five
Nations, or both. In either case, their language, having
no labials, bore so strong an affinity to that of the Five
Nations, that they were claimed by the latter as relations ;
and with their own consent were transplanted to the north,
within the bosom of the Iroquois Confederacy. It has
been asserted by a high authority, that at a date so recent
as the year 1708, the Tuscaroras possessed fifteen towns,
and could count twelve hundred warriors as brave as the
Mohawks.2 This enumeration must have been erroneous,
or else their numbers were rapidly diminished by pesti-

1 John, Lord Lovelace, Baron of Hurley, appointed to supersede Lord
Cornbury, entered upon the government of the colony on the 18th of De-
cember, 1708. He died on the oth of May in the next year, of a disorder
contracted in crossing the ferry at his first arrival in New York. His lady
remained in New York many years after his death. On the death of his
lordship, the government once more devolved upon Richard Ingoldsby, the
lieutenant-governor of the colony, until the arrival of Governor Hunter, in
the summer of 1710.

2 Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. iii.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 29

lence or war, or by some other calamity, since at the time chap.
of their transplantation, five years afterward, they were but' — ^— *

1713

a comparatively feeble clan. Yet they were counted as a
nation ; and the Iroquois Confederacy was thenceforward
called The Six Nations.1

General Hunter continued at the head of the colonial 1719.
administration until the summer of 1719, when he went
back to England on leave of absence, as well on account
of his health, as to look after his private affairs. He inti-
mated that he might return to the government again, but
did not.2 The chief command on his departure, devolved
on the Hon. Peter Schuyler, as the oldest member of the
council, but only for a brief period. He however held a
treaty with the Six Nations at Albany, which was consi-
dered satisfactory ; yet it would have been more so, had
his efforts to induce the Confederates to drive Joncaire,

1 The history of the Tuscaroras, and the manner or cause of their re-
moval to the north, and their incorporation with the Iroquois Confederacy,
are involved in doubt. According to some accounts, they are said to have
been first conquered by the Five Nations, and then adopted among them
because of discovered relationship. Dr. Colden says they fled to the Five
Nations, before the arms of the people of Carolina. Smith gives a still
different account of their southern locality, thus: " The Tuscaroras pos-
sessed a tract of land near the sources of James river, in Virginia, whence
the encroachments of the English induced them to remove, and settle near
the southeast end of the Oneida lake." — Smith.

2 Hunter was a Scotchman, and when a boy, an apprentice to an apothe-
cary. Leaving his master, he entered the army, and being a man of wit
and beauty, gained promotion, and also the hand of Lady Hay. In 1707
he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Virginia, but being captured by
the French on his voyage out, on his return to England he was appointed to
the government of New York and New Jersey, then united in the same
jurisdiction. Governor Hunter was the man who brought over the three
thousand Palatines from Germany, who founded the German settlements in
the interior of New York and Pennsylvania. Ho administered the govern-
ment of the colony " well and wisely," as was said to him in an affection-
ate parting address by the general assembly, until the summer of 1719,
when he returned to England on leave, to look after his private affairs.

30 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the artful a^ent of the French, out of their country, been

i. & .

v_v_' successful. This Jesuit emissary had resided among the

1719- Senecas from the beginning of Queen Anne's reign. He
had been adopted by them, and was greatly beloved by
the Onondagas. He was incessant in his intrigues in be-
half of the French, facilitating the missionaries in their
progress through the country, and contributing greatly to
the vacillating course of the Indians toward the English.
Schuyler was aware of all this ; but notwithstanding his
own great influence over the Six Nations, he could not
prevail upon them to discard their favorite. In other re-
spects the government of Schuyler was marked by mode-
ration, wisdom, and integrity.1

1720. William Burnet, son of the celebrated prelate of that
name who nourished in the reign of "William and Mary,
succeeded to the government of the colony, in the year
1720 ; and of all the colonial governors of New York,
with the exception of Colonel Dongan, his Indian policy
was marked by the most prudent forecast and the greatest
wisdom. Immediately after the peace of Utrecht, a brisk
trade in goods for the Indian market, was revived between
Albany and Montreal, — the Caughnawaga clan of the
Mohawks residing near Montreal serving as carriers. The
chiefs of the Six Nations foresaw the evil and inevitable con-
sequences to result from allowing that trade to pass round in
that direction, inasmuch as the Indians would of course be
drawn exclusively to Montreal for their supplies, to be
received immediately at the hands of the French, — and
they cautioned the English authorities against it. Mr.
Hunter had indeed called the attention of the general as-
sembly to the subject at an antecedent period; but no
action was had thereon until after Mr. Burnet had as-
sumed the direction of the colonial administration. The
policy of the latter was at once to cut off an intercourse,
so unwise and so dangerous, with Montreal, and bring the

1 Smith's History of New York.

WICSMM JBTinOlE'ff,

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 31

entire Indian trade within the limits and control of New chap.
York. To this end an act was passed at his suggestion, w^_
subjecting the traders with Montreal to a forfeiture of
their goods, and a penalty of one hundred pounds for each
infraction of the law. It likewise entered into the policy
of Mr. Burnet to win the confidence of the Caughnawa-
gas, and reunite them with their kindred in their native
valle}'. But the ties by which the Roman priesthood had
bound them to the interests of the French, were too strong,
and the efforts of the governor were unsuccessful.

In furtherance of the design to grasp the Indian trade, 1722.
not only of the Six Nations, but likewise that of the
remoter nations of the upper lakes, a trading post was
established at Oswego in 1722. A trusty agent was also
appointed to reside at the great council-fire of the Onon-
dagas, — the central nation of the Confederates. A con-
gress of several of the colonies was held at Albany, to
meet the Six Nations, during the same year, which, among
other distinguished men, was attended by Governor Spotts-
wood, of Virginia, Sir William Keith, of Pennsylva-
nia, and by Governor Burnet. At this council the chiefs
stipulated that in their future southern war-expeditions
they would not cross the Potomac, and in their marches
against their southern enemies, their path was to lie west-
ward of the great mountains — the Alleghanies meaning.
Mr. Burnet again brightened the chain of friendship with
them, on the part of New York, notwithstanding the ad-
verse influences exerted by the Chevalier Joncaire, the
Jesuit agent residing alternately among the Senecas and
Onondagas.

The beneficial effects of Mr. Burnet's policy were soon
apparent. In the course of a single year more than forty
young men plunged boldly into the Indian country as tra-
ders, acquired their languages, and strengthened the pre-
carious friendship existing between the English and the
more distant nations ; while tribes of the latter previously

32 LIFE OF SIR, WILLIAM JOHNSON, EART.

chap, unknown to the colonists, even from beyond Michilimack-
•— v— ' inac, visited Albany for purposes of traffic.

The establishment of an English post at Oswego was a
cause of high displeasure to the French, who, in order to
intercept the trade from the upper lakes that would na-
turally be drawn thither, and thus be diverted from Mont-
real, determined to repossess themselves of Niagara, re-
build the trading-house at that point, and repair their dila-
pidated fort. The consent of the Onondagas to this
measure was obtained by the Baron de Longueil, wrho
visited their country for that purpose, through the influ-
ence of Joncaire and his Jesuit associates. But the other
members of the Confederacy, disapproving of the move-
ment, declared the permission given to be void, and dis-
patched messengers to Niagara to arrest the procedure.
With a just appreciation of the importance of such an
encroachment upon their territory, the Confederates met
Mr. Burnet in council upon the subject, at Albany, in
1727. 1727. " We come to you howling," said the chiefs ; " and
this is the reason why we howl, that the governor of Can-
ada encroaches on our land and builds thereon." Gover-
nor Burnet made them a speech on the occasion, beauti-
fully expressed in their own figurative language, which
gave them great satisfaction.1 The chiefs, declaring them-
selves unable to resist this invasion of the French, en-
treated the English for succor, and formally surrendered
their country to the great king, "to be protected by him
for their use," as heretofore stated. But Governor Burnet
being at that period involved in political difficulties with
an assembly, too short-sighted, or too factious, to appreciate
the importance of preserving so able a head to the colonial
government, was enabled to do nothing more for the pro-
tection of the Indians than to erect a small military de-
fence at Oswego ; and even this work of necessity he was
obliged to perform at his own private expense. Meantime

1 Smith's History of New York.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAHT. 33

the French completed and secured their works at Niagara chap.
without molestation. v— v— '

In the course of the same year, having been thwarted 1<27-
in his enlarged and patriotic views by several successive
assemblies, Mr. Burnet, the ablest and wisest of the colo-
nial administrators, retired from the government of New
York, and accepted that of Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire.1 Mr. Montgomery succeeded him in New York, in
1728. He was an indolent man, and had not character 1728.
enough to inspire opposition. The French, enraged at
the erection of a fort at Oswego, were now menacing that
post. The new governor thereupon met the Six Nations
in council at Albany, to renew the covenant chain, and
engage them in the defence of that important station.
Large presents were distributed among them, and they
declared their willingness to join the reinforcements de-
tached from the independent companies for that service.
Being apprised of these preparations, the French desisted
from their threatened invasion.2

Much of the opposition to the administration of Gover-
nor Burnet, had been fomented and kept alive by the Al-
banians who, by the shrewdness of his Indian policy, and

1 Governor Burnet was not only a man of letters, but of wit — a believer
in the Christian religion, yet not a serious professor. A variety of amusing
anecdotes has been related of him. AVhen on his way from New York to
assume the government at Boston, one of the committee who went from
that town to meet him on the borders of Rhode Island, was the facetious
Colonel Tailer. Burnet complained of the long graces that were said be-
fore meals by clergymen on the road, and asked when they would shorten.
Tailer answered: 'The graces will increase in length till you come to Bos-
ton ; after that they will shorten till you come to your government of New
Hampshire, where your excellency will find no grace at all."

2 Colonel John Montgomery succeeded Mr. Burnet in the government of
the colonies of New York and New Jersey, in the month of April, 1728.
He was a Scotchman, and bred a soldier. But quitting the profession of
arms, he went into parliament, — serving also, for a time, as groom of the
bed-chamber to his majesty George II, before his accession to the throne.
He was a man of moderate abilities and slender literary attainments. He
was too good-natured a man to excite enmities ; and his administration,
cut short by death in 1731, was one of tranquil inaction.

34 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the vigorous measures by which, he had enforced it, had
•w^ — • been interrupted in their illicit trade in Indian goods with

1728. Montreal, — and also by the importers of those goods re-
siding in the city of New York. Sustained, however, by
his council-board, and by the very able memoir of Doctor
Colden upon that subject, Mr. Burnet, as the reader has
already been apprised, had succeeded in giving a new and
more advantageous character to the inland trade, while
the Indian relations of the colony had been placed upon
a better footing, in so far at least as the opportunities of
the French to tamper with them had been measurably cut

1729. off. But in December of the succeeding year, owing to
some intrigues that were never clearly understood, all
these advantages were suddenly relinquished by an act of
the crown repealing the measures of Mr. Burnet ; reviv-
ing, in eifect, the execrable trade of the Albanians, and
thus at once re-opening the door of intrigue between the
French and the Six Nations, which had been so wisely
closed.

1731. On the decease of Colonel Montgomery, the duties of
the colonial executive were for a brief period exercised by
Mr. Hip Van Dam, as president of the council.1 His ad-
ministration was signalized by the memorable infraction
of the treaty of Utrecht, by the French, who then invaded
the clearly denned territory of New York, and built the
fortress of St. Frederick, at Crown Point, a work which
gave them the command of Lake Champlain, — the high-
way between the English and French colonies. The
pusillanimity evinced by the government of New York on
the occasion of that flagrant encroachment upon its
domains, excites the amazement of the retrospective
reviewer. Massachusetts, alarmed at this advance of the
rivals, if not natural enemies, of the English upon the set-
tlements of the latter, first called the attention of the au-

1 Mr. Van Dam was an eminent merchant in the city of New York, " of
a fair estate," says Smith, the historian, " though distinguished more for
the integrity of his heart, than his capacity to hold the reins of govern-
ment."

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 35

thorities of JSTew York to the subject; but the information chap.
was received with the most provoking indifference. There w^-->
was a regular military force in the colony abundantly suf- 1731-
ficient, by a prompt movement, to repel the aggression ;
yet not even a remonstrance was uttered against it.

During the stormy administration of Colonel Cosby, 1732.
from 1732 to 1736 inclusive, no attention whatever appears
to have been directed to Indian affairs. The incessant
quarrels of this weak and avaricious man with the people
and their representatives, left him apparently no time to
bestow upon the external relations of the colony ; and the
Six Nations, in the absence of other employment, again
resumed hostilities against their enemies at the South.
One of their expeditions, directed against the Chickasaws,
was fearfully disastrous. They fell into an ambuscade,
and fought until all but two of a strong body of warriors
were slain. One only of those two returned to rehearse
the tale. He struck off' deep into the forest, and support-
ing himself by game on the way, succeeded in traversing
the whole distance back to his owri country without meet-
ing a single human being during the journey.1 Another
expedition, yet stronger, was sent against the Catawbas
and Cherokees. They met upon the banks of the Cum-
berland river, now in Kentucky, at a place called " the
bloody lands." Ascertaining that their enemies were ad-
vancing to meet them, the Six Nations in turn drew them
into an ambuscade, and a terrible battle followed, in which
the southrons, after a contest of two days, were defeated,
with a loss of twelve hundred braves killed on the field.2

These retrospective glances have now been brought down 1735
to the year 1735 — the date of the arrival in America of

1 Relation of General Schuyler to Chancellor Kent. Vide note in Kent's
Commentaries, vol. iii.

* Life of Afary Jinnix'P, the Seneca white woman. Hiockatoo, her hus-
band, was in the battle. Still, the numbers feaid to have been killed may
be an exaggeration.

36 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the extraordinary youth whose life will form a prominent
^ — -subject of these memoirs. And although that individual

1735. (joeg not jei appear Up0n the theatre of public action, still,
in order to the completeness of his " life and times," it

n will be necessary henceforward to set forth both the Indian
and the civil history of the colony With more fullness of
detail than in the preceding pages.

1736. On the demise of Colonel Cosby,1 Mr. George Clarke,
long a member of the council, after a brief struggle with
Mr. Yan Dam for the precedency, succeeded to the direc-
tion of the government ; and being shortly afterward com-
missioned as lieutenant-governor, he continued at the head
of the colonial administration from the autumn of 1736
to that of 1743, — seven years. Mr. Clarke was remotely
connected, by marriage, with the family of Lord Claren-
don,— having been sent over as secretary of the colony
in the reign of Queen Anne. Being, moreover, a man of
strong common sense and of uncommon tact ; and by reason
of his long residence in the colony, and the several offi-
cial stations he had held, well acquainted with its affairs ;
his administration, — certainly until toward its close, — was
comparatively popular, and, all circumstances considered,
eminently successful. In the brief struggle for power
between himself and Mr. Van Dam, the latter had been
sustained by the popular party, while the officers of the
crown, and the partisans of Cosby, with few if any excep-
tions, adhered to Mr. Clarke.2 This difficulty had been
speedily ended by a royal confirmation of the somewhat

1 Colonel William Cosby, appointed to the government of New York in
1732, had formerly been governor of Minorca, where he acquired no very
enviable name by the scandalous and corrupt practices to which he was
prompted by his avarice. His administration was turbulent and exceedingly
unpopular, and deservedly so, for his conduct was atrocious. He died uni-
versally detested, on the tenth of March, 1736.

2 Mr. Van Dam had been privately, and, as he and his partisans contend-
ed, illegally removed from the council-board by Cosby, in a fit of passion,
almost upon his death-bed. Hence the struggle to which I have referred
in the test.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 37

doubtful authority assumed by Mr. Clarke. His own chap.
course, moreover, on taking the seals of office, was con-^/-'
ciliatory. In his first speech to the general assembly he re- 1736>
ferred in temperate language to the unhappy divisions which
had of late disturbed the colony, and which he thought
it was then a favorable moment to heal. The English
flour-market being overstocked by large supplies furnished
from the other colonies, the attention of the assembly was
directed to the expediency of encouraging domestic manu-
factures in various departments of industry. To the In-
dian affairs of the colony, Mr. Clarke invited the special
attention of the assembly. The military works of Fort
Hunter being in a dilapidated condition, and the object of
affording protection to the Christian settlements through
the Mohawk valley having been accomplished, the lieu-
tenant-governor suggested the erection of a new fort at
the carrying-place between the Mohawk river and Wood
creek,1 leading into Oneida lake, and thence through the
Oswego river into Lake Ontario ; and the transfer of the
garrison from Fort Hunter to this new and commanding
position. He likewise recommended the repairing of the
block-house at Oswego, and the sending of smiths and
other artificers into the Indian country, especially among
the Senecas.2

These recommendations were repeated in the executive 1737.

1 The site, afterward, of Fort Stanwix, — now the opulent town of Rome.

2 In the course of this session of the general assembly, Chief Justice De
Lancey, speaker of the legislative council, announced that his duties in
the Supreme Court would render it impossible for him to act as speaker
through the session. It was therefore ordered that the oldest counselor
present should thenceforward act as speaker. Under this order, Doctor
Cadwallader Colden first came to the chair.

On the twenty-sixth of October, the council resolved that they should
hold their sittings in the common council chamber of the City-Hall. The
House immediately returned a message that they were holding their ses-
sions, and should continue to hold them in that chamber ; and that it was
conformable to the constitution that the council, in its legislative capacity,
should sit as a distinct and separate body.

OO LIFE OF SIR "WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, speech to the assembly in the spring of 1737, and also
- — v — > again to a new assembly which had been called in the
1/37. summer of the same year. The lieutenant-governor far-
ther informed the new assembly that it had become neces-
sary for him to meet the chiefs of the Six Nations in
council at Albany in consequence of certain negotiations
pending between the Senecas and the French, by virtue of
which the latter were on the point of obtaining permission
to erect a trading-post at Tierondequot, which would ena-
ble them to intercept the fur-trade of the upper lakes on
its way to Oswego.1

For the purpose of defeating this sagacious movement
of the French, and if possible yet further to circumvent
them by obtaining the like permission for the English to
establish a trading-post at the same point, the meeting with
the Confederate chiefs took place in Albany, as suggested
in the speech. The objects of the interview, however,
were only obtained in part. The Senecas agreed not to
allow the French agent, John Coeur, to build at Tieronde-
quot ; but neither would they permit the English to plant
themselves there. Still they gladly acceeded to the propo-
sition of the lieutenant-governor to send a gun-smith to
reside among them, — with whom were also dispatched an
interpreter, and three other agents, to assist in circum-
venting the intrigues of the French. At the succeeding
autumnal session of the assembly, these measures were
sanctioned by that body, and provisions made for strength-
ening Oswego, and for the farther promotion of commerce
with the Indians.2

1 Irondequot, now well known as an inlet, or bay, a few miles east of
the mouth of the Genesee river, — the place where Denonville landed in his
memorable expedition against the Senecas, half a century before.

2 Vide Legislative Journals, Also Smith's History of New York. At the
session of the Assembly, October thirteenth, of this year, the council hav-
ing sent a message to the house by the hand of a deputy clerk, a message
was transmitted back, signifying that the house considered such a course
disrespectful. Until that time, messages had been conveyed between the
houses, with bills, resolutions, &c, by the hands of their members respect-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAKE. 3'3

During the greater part of the year 1738 but little at- chap.
tention was paid to Indian affairs,-— the principal historical > — ^
incident of that year being the memorable contested elec- 1/38-
tion between Adolphe Philipse and Gerret Van Home, in
connection with which, owing to the extraordinary skill
and eloquence of Mr. Smith, father of the historian, and of
counsel for Van Home, the Hebrew freeholders of the city
of JSTew York, from which place both parties claimed to
have been returned to the assembly, were most unjustly
disfranchised, on the ground of their religious creed, and
their votes rejected.1 The colony was greatly excited by
this question, and the persuasive powers exerted by Mr.
Smith, are represented to have been wonderful, — equal-
ling, probably, if not surpassing, those of Andrew Ham-
ilton, four years previously, in the great libel case of the
Zengers,— r and possibly not excelled even by Patrick Hen-
ry, a few years afterward, when he dethroned the reason
of the court, and led captive the jury, in the great tobacco
case in Virginia.2

Yet the movements of the Indians, and the designs of
the French in Canada were not entirely overlooked. On
the thirteenth of October, the general assembly being in
session, the lieutenant-governor summoned the house be-
fore him, and announced the receipt of intelligence of a
design by the French, to establish themselves at the carry-
ing-place upon Wood creek, between the head, or south-

ively. The house considered the sending of a clerk an innovation upon
their privileges ; and Col. Phillipse, Mr. Verplank, and Mr. Johnson, were
appointed a committee to wait upon the council and demand satisfaction.
The council healed the matter by a conciliatory resolution, declaring that
no disrespect had been intended.

1 For an animated account of this celebrated case, drawn, however, by
the partial hand of a son writing of his father, see Smith's History, vol. ii.

2 See Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry.

40 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, ern end of Lake Champlain, and the Hudson river,1 and
v_^ — . calling for means to enable him to build a fort and plant
1738- a colony of settlers there for the defence of the northern
frontier, to be composed of emigrants from North Bri-
tain.2 The lieutenant-governor also announced, in the
same speech, that a delegation of the Senecas had de-
parted for Quebec, to treat, as it was understood, with M.
Beauharnois, then the governor of Canada, with a view,
after all, of allowing the French to plant themselves in the
beautiful valley of the Tierondequot, — a measure which,
said the speech, "would put an end to the Oswego trade."
In conclusion the lieutenant-governor asked for an appro-
priation of money to enable him to frustrate their designs,
and to make another effort for the purchase of the Tieron-
dequot. The assembly having been suddenly dissolved a
few days subsequent to the delivery of this speech, no
steps were taken in reference to either of its recommenda-
tions, and they were each pressed urgently upon the new
assembly summoned in the spring of the next year, 1739.

1 The Wood creek here mentioned is altogether a different stream from
that spoken of a few pages back, at the Mohawk carrying-place, which
leads into the Oneida lake. These duplicated names are apt to create
confusion. The present town of Whitehall stands upon the Wood creek
spoken of here in the text, which pours into Lake Champlain.

2 The North Britons here spoken of, whom Mr. Clarke proposed coloniz-
ing at the head of Lake Champlain, were a company of between four and
five hundred adult Highlanders, with their children, who had been brought
to the colony by Captain Laughlin Campbell, in the expectation of settling
them upon a manor of thirty thousand acres of land, which he, Campbell,
alledged had been promised him by the lieutenant-governor, — Campbell,
who was a Highland chief, calculating to become, as it were, "lord of the
manor." Smith roundly asserts that Clarke had stipulated to make the
grant to Campbell ; but the statement was contradicted by Dr. Colden, who
was at the time in question a member of the executive council. Certain it
is, however, that Campbell had the emigrants with him in New York ; yet
Colden says that many of them came out at their own expense, and that no
more land had been promised to Campbell than he could bring into culti-
vation. Be this as it may, the disappointment of the emigrants was great,
and they suffered much keen distress before they could take care of them-
selves.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 41

The years 1738 and 1739, were marked by increasing chap-
political excitement, and the dividing line of parties, in-v^^.^
volving the great principles of civil liberty on the one l738-
side, and the prerogatives of the crown on the other,
were more distinctly drawn, perhaps, than at any antece-
dent period. The administrations of the earlier English
governors, Nicholls and Lovelace, were benevolent, and
almost parental. Andross, it is true, was a tyrant ; and
during his administration parties were formed, as in Eng-
land, upon the mixed questions of politics and religion,
which dethroned the last and most bigoted of the Stuarts,
and brought William and Mary upon the throne. Don-
gan, however, the last of the Stuart governers in New
York, although a Roman Catholic, was nevertheless mild
in the administration of the government, and a gentleman
in his feelings and manners. It was upon his arrival in
the autumn of 1683, that the freeholders of the colony
were invested with the right of choosing representatives
to meet the governor in general assembly.1 For nearly
twenty years subsequent to the revolution of 1689, the
colony was torn by personal, rather than political factions,
having their origin in the controversy which compassed
the judicial murder of the unhappy Leisler and his son-
in-law Milbome. These factions dying out in the lapse
of years, other questions arose, the principal of which
was that important one which always, sooner or later,
springs up in every English colony, — involving, on the

1 Two years previous to the arrival of Dongan, the aldermen of New
York, and the justices of the peace of the court of assize, in consequence
of the tyranny of Andross, had petitioned the duke that the people might
be allowed to participate in the affairs of the government by the construc-
tion of a general assembly, in which they might be represented. Through
the interposition of William Penn, who enjoyed the favor both of the king
and the duke, the point was yielded, and Colonel Dongan was instructed to
allow the people a voice in the government. Greatly to the joy of the in-
habitants, therefore, who had become turbulent, if not disaffected, under the
despotic rule of Andross, writs were issued to the sheriffs summoning the
freeholders to choose representatives to meet the new governor in assembly
on the seventeenth of October, 1683.
6

42 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, one hand, as I have already remarked, the rights of the
«— v — ■ people, and on the other the claims of the crown. Inva-
1738. riably, almost, if not quite, the struggle is originated upon
some question of revenue, — either in the levying thereof,
or in its disposition, or both. Thus in the origin .of those
political parties in ]N~ew York, which continued with
greater or less acrimony until the separation from the
parent country, Sloughter and Fletcher had both en-
deavored to obtain grants of revenue to the crown for
life, but had failed. Subsequently grants had been occa-
sionally made to the officers of the crown for a term of
years ; but latterly, especially during the administration
of Governor Cosby, the general assembly had grown more
refractory upon the subject, — pertinaciously insisting that
they would vote the salaries for the officers of the crown
only with the annual supplies. This was a principle which
the governors, as the representatives of the crown, felt
bound to resist, as being an infringement of the royal pre-
rogative. Henceforward, therefore, until the colony cast
off its allegiance, the struggle in regard to the revenue,
and its disposition, was almost perpetually before the peo-
ple, in one form or another ; and in some years, owing to
the obstinacy of the representatives of the crown on one
side, and the inflexibility of the representatives of the
people on the other, supplies were not granted at all. Mr.
Clarke, although he had the address to throw off, or to
evade, the difficulty, for the space of two years, was never-
theless doomed soon to encounter it. Accordingly, in his
speech to the assembly at the autumnal session of 1738,
he complained that another year had elapsed without any
provision being made for the support of his majesty's go-
vernment in the province, — the neglect having occured
by reason of " a practice not warranted by the usage of
any former general assemblies." He therefore insisted
strongly upon the adoption of measures for the payment
of salaries ; for the payment of the public creditors ; and
for the general security of the public credit by the crea-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 43

tion of a sinking fund for the redemption of the bills of chap.
the colony. ^— v— '

The assembly was refractory. Instead of complying 1738-
with the demands of the lieutenant-governor, the house
resolved unanimously that they would grant no supplies
upon that principle ; and in regard to a sinking fund
for the redemption of the bills of credit afloat, they re-
fused any other measure than a continuance of the exist-
ing excise. These spirited and peremptory resolutions
gave high offence to the representative of the crown ;
and on the day following their adoption, the assembly
was summoned to the fort, and dissolved by a speech, de-
claring the said resolutions "to be such presumptuous,
daring, and unprecedented steps that he could not look
upon them but with astonishment, nor could he with
honor suffer their authors to sit any longer."

The temper of the new assembly, summoned in the 1739-
spring of the succeeding year, 1739, was no more in unison
with the desires of the lieutenant-governor, than that of
the former. The demand for a permanent supply bill
was urged at several successive sessions, only to be met
with obstinate refusals. The second session, held in the
autumn, was interrupted in October, by a prorogation of
several days, for the express purpose of affording the
members leisure "to reflect seriously" upon the line of
duty required of them by the exigencies of the country ;
for, not only was the assembly resolutely persisting in the
determination to make only annual grants of supplies, but
they were preparing to trench yet farther upon the royal
prerogative, by insisting upon specific applications of the
revenue, to be inserted in the bill itself. Meantime, on the
thirteenth of October, the lieutenant-governor brought the
subject of his differences with the assembly formally be-
fore his privy council. In regard to the new popular
movement of this assembly, insisting upon a particular
application of the revenues to be granted in the .body of
the act for the support of the government, the lieutenant-
governor said they had been moved to that determination

44 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, by the example of New Jersey, where an act of that nature
w^ had lately been passed. He was unwilling to allow any
1739. encroachment upon the rights of the crown. Yet, in con-
sideration of the defenceless situation of the colony, he
felt uneasy at such a turn of affairs ; and not being dis-
posed to revive old animosities, or to create new ones by
another summary dissolution, he. asked the advice of the
council. The subject was referred to a committee, of
which the Hon. Daniel Horsmanden, an old member of
the council, was chairman. This gentleman was one of
the most sturdy supporters of the royal prerogative ; but,
in consequence of the existing posture of affairs, and the
necessity of a speedy provision for the public safety, the
committee reported unanimously against a dissolution.
They believed, also, that the assembly, and the peo-
ple whom they represented, had the disputed point so
much at heart that it would be impossible to do busi-
ness with them unless it was conceded; and, besides, it
was argued, should a dissolution take place, there was no
reason for supposing that the next assembly would be less
tenacious in asserting the offensive principle. Since, more-
over, the governor of New Jersey had yielded the point,
the committee advised to the same course in New York.1
The point ioas conceded ; and the effect, for the moment,
was to produce a better state of feeling in the assembly.
Supplies were granted, but only for the year ; and various

1 See the old minutes of the executive or privy council, in manuscript, in
the secretary of state's office in Albany. To avoid confusion hereafter, it
may be well to state in this connection, that the council acted in a two-fold
capacity: first, as advisary ; second, as legislative. "In the first," says
Smith, in his chapter, entitled Political State, they are a privy council to
the governor." When thus acting they are often called the executive or his
majesty's council. Hence, privy council and executive council are synoni-
mous. During the session of the legislature, however, the same council sat
(without the presence of the governor) as a legislative council; and in
such capacity exercised the same functions as the senate of the present
day — so far as regards the passing of laws. The journals of this last or
legislative council have recently been published by the state of New York
under the supervision of Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 45

appropriations were made for placing the colony in a pos- chap.
ture of defence. The Mohawks, among other things, re- ^~^~'
quired either that the dilapidated defences of Dyiondaroga 1739-
(Fort Hunter) should be repaired or rebuilt, and that a
garrison should be continued there, under a threat of
leaving their own country and removing into Canada ;
and they were considered of too much importance as a
line of defence against the French, to allow their demand
in this respect to be disregarded.

But it is seldom that the wheels of revolution roll back-
ward, and the concession which allowed the general as-
sembly to prescribe the application or disposition of the
supplies they voted, ever before claimed as the legal
and known prerogative of the crown, appeased the popu-
lar party only for a very short time. Indeed, nothing is
more certain, whether in monarchies or republics, than that
the governed are never satisfied with concessions, while
each successful demand only increases the popular clamor
for more. Thus was it in the experience of Mr. Clarke. It
is true, indeed, that the year 1740 passed without any direct 1740.
collision upon the question of prerogative ; although at
the second short session of that year, the speech alleged
the entire exhaustion of the revenue, and again demanded
an ample appropriation for a term of years. But the con-
troversy was re-opened at the spring session of the follow-
ing year, — 1741,^-on which occasion the lieutenant-gov- 1741.
ernor delivered a speech, long, beyond precedent, and
enumerating the grievances of the crown by reason of the
continued encroachments of the general assembly. The
speech began by an elaborate review of the origin and
progress of the difficulties that had existed between the
representatives of the crown and the assembly, in respect
to the granting of supplies, — evincing — such, indeed, is
the inference, — a want of gratitude on the part of the
latter, in view of the blessings which the colony had en-
joyed under the paternal care of the government since
the revolution of 1688. But it was not in connection with
the supplies, only, that the assembly had invaded the

£6 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, rights of the crown. It was the undoubted prerogative of
v_^_^ the crown to appoint the treasurer. Yet, the assembly had
1741- demanded the election of that officer. Wot satisfied with
that concession, they had next claimed the right of choos-
ing the auditor-general. Failing in that demand, they had
sought to accomplish their object by withholding the sala-
ry from that officer. These encroachments, he said, had
been gradually increasing from year to year, until appre-
hensions had been seriously awakened in England " that
the plantations are not without thoughts of throwing off
their dependence on the crown." He, therefore, admon-
ished the assembly to do away such an impression " by
giving to his majesty such a revenue, and in such a man-
ner, as will enable him to pay his own officers and serv-
ants," as had been done from the revolution, down to the
year 1709 — during which period the colony was far less
able to bear such a burden than now.1

Thus early and deeply were those principles striking
root in America, which John Hampden had asserted, and
poured out his blood to defend, in the great ship-money
contest with Charles I., — which brought that unhappy
monarch to the block, — and which, — fulfilling the ap-
prehensions of Mr. Clarke, — thirty-five years afterward,
separated the colonies from the British crown ; — although
in the answer of the house to the "insinuation of a sus-
picion" of a desire for independence, with real or affected
gravity, they " vouched that not a single person in the
colony had any such thoughts; adding — " for under what
government can we be better protected, or our liberties or
properties so well secured?" 2

The Indian relations of the colony were not forgotten

1 Vide Journals of the Colonial Assembly, vol. i, Hugh Gaine's edition.
This (1741), was the year in which the chapel, barracks, secretary's office.
&c, of Fort George (the Battery), were burnt, and the speech referred to
in the text, asked an appropriation for their rebuilding — but without sue
cess.

2 Smith, vol. ii.

MM£t

OBIIT JUNK 24. 1643

Published by Arch? Kuilai-i.m .v c,, GUam

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 47

at any time by Mr. Clarke. The Mohawks having re- chap.
quested an appropriation for the rebuilding of their chapel, ^ —
the attention of the assembly was invited to the subject, 1741#
and the occasion was improved to bestow a well-deserved
compliment to the English missionary among that people
— the Rev. Mr. Barclay, who, it was said, ahad opened a
glorious prospect of spreading the Christian faith and
worship throughout the Six Nations." 1 The assembly
declined making the grant — alleging that if the Christian
converts in that nation were increasing, the funds required
for a new chapel should be raised by private contributions.
But there were other considerations connected with the
Indian policy, which it would not answer to neglect. War
had been declared by the parent government against
Spain ; and lively apprehensions were entertained of an
approaching rupture with France. In anticipation of such
an event, fortifications were required for the security of
the harbor of New York, and also for the defence of the
frontiers — particularly of Oswego, — to the importance of
strengthening which the lieutenant-governor repeatedly
called the attention of the assembly. In the event of a
war with France, he was greatly apprehensive that this
post would be taken, in which case there was reason to
fear from the temper of late manifested by the Six Na-
tions, that they would all fall away to the enemy. In this
emergency, appropriations were asked to enable the lieu-
tenant-governor to convoke a grand council of the Con-
federates at Albany, which was accordingly held in the

1 The missionary thus mentioned in the text, was the Rev. Henry Barclay,
afterward a doctor of divinity, and rector of Trinity Church in the city of
New York. He was a native of Albany, and a graduate of Yale College of the
year 1734. He received orders in England ; and after several years' service
in the Mohawk country, as a missionary, was called to New York. The
translation of the litugy into the Mohawk language, was made under his
direction, and that of Rev. W. Andrews and the Rev. J. Ogilvie. Mr.
Ogilvie succeeded him both in the mission, and also, on his decease, in
Trinity Church. Mr. Barclay died in 1765.

48 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, month, of August. The lieutenant-governor's opening
v— v — ; speech to the assemblage of sachems and warriors was
both happily conceived and expressed — creditable alike
to his head and his heart. After an apology for not hav-
ing met them at an earlier day, in consequence of the
prevalence of the small-pox in New York, the infection
of which he was apprehensive might be conveyed among
their people, he admonished them against the dangers
arising from the propensity of their young warriors to
join the Indians in the interest of the French, in their
hostile expeditions against the more distant tribes of their
own kindred. The enticing of their young men in those
expeditions, he argued, was an artful device of the French
to divide and weaken them. ""When united," said he,
" you are like a strong rope, made of many strings and
threads twisted together, but when separated, weak and
easily broken. Thus they attempt to divide and weaken
you, by leading your rash young men upon their distant
wars. They nope so to weaken you by degrees, as by and
by to be able to conquer you. If they were lovers of
liberty themselves, they ought not to try to enslave other
nations."

It was doubtless owing in a great measure to this spe-
cies of intercourse between the Iroquois and the Indians
on the Canadian side of the line, that the former were so
frequently disposed to join the French — a disposition re-
quiring so many largesses, and so much tact and activity
to counteract. The lieutenant-governor likewise drew a
contrast between the tyrannical and overbearing conduct
of the French toward the Indians, as compared with the
liberal and humane treatment which the red-men had al-
ways received at the hands of the English. Whether that
contrast was in all respects a just one, it were bootless
now to inquire.

In the course of the speech, the lieutenant-governor
attempted to impart to the sachems and warriors some

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 49

wholesome lessons of filial piety, and to infuse into their chap.
hearts some juster and loftier notions of true courage ■^~Y—'
than were prevalent among that rude people. He endea- ' '
vored to impress it upon their minds that wars upon wo-
men and children were the opposite of brave, and that the
scalps of such when brought in from the war-path, were
the trophies of cowards. He also exhorted them to aban-
don the cruelties practiced by their people in war — re-
minding them that the cruelties they inflicted upon others,
were sure in the end to be visited upon themselves in
return ; and in again admonishing them against their
associations with the French, he reminded them of the
fact, that in some of their distant expeditions in company
with the Indians in that interest, they had been compelled
to strike the heads'of their own remote allies, and some-
times it had been proved that they had struck down their
own people — probably unawares.

In connection with this intimacy with the French, Mr.
Clarke complained that some of the Onondaga chiefs had
even been to converse with the governor of Canada, after
the council they were then holding had been summoned.
Still, he thanked them for the disposition they had shown
to keep the path open to the trading-post at Oswego, and
complimented them for their wisdom in keeping the
French from Tierondequot. In conclusion he informed
them that he had it in charge from the great king their
father, to negotiate a general peace among all the Indians,
so that they, with all the red-men south and west to the
great Mississippi, should form a mighty chain, strong and
bright. This work, he said, he was determined to do.

The sachems were shrewd in their replies. In regard
to Oswego, they wished " their brother Corlaer,1 would

1 The name or title by which the Six Nations always designated the Eng-
lish governors of New York. The original Colaer was a German trader
greatly beloved by the Six Nations. He was drowned in Lake Champlain
while on one of his trading trips.
7

50 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, make powder and lead cheaper there, and pay the Indians
v-^_/ better for helping to build their houses." Of the Tieron-
174L dequot matter they replied: "You said that we had acted
very wisely in not suffering the French to settle at Tie-
rondequot, and that if they only had liberty to build a
fishing-hut there, they would soon build a fort. We per-
ceive that both you and the French intend to settle that place, but
ice are fully resolved that neither you nor they shall do it. There
is a jealousy between you and the governor of Canada. If
either should settle there it would breed mischief. Such near
neighbors can never agree. We think that the trading-
houses at Oswego and Niagara are near enough to each
other." Touching the simile of the rope, they said it was
their desire to make it strong by preserving friendship
with as many nations as they could. "As our great father
the great king has commanded us that we should be as
one flesh and blood with the Indians to the southward and
westward as far as the Mississippi, so we accept of them as
brethren, that we may be united as one heart and one
flesh, according to the king's commandment. But we
desire that some of the sachems of those southern In-
dians do come here, which will strengthen and confirm
this treaty. We will give them two years time to come
in, and in the mean time keep at home all our fighting
men."

In his rejoinder, the lieutenant-governor told them he
could perceive no necessity for any meeting between them
and the chiefs of the south and west. He was already
clothed with power to conclude for them a general peace.
He farther informed them that he had some presents from
the governor of Virginia, but was instructed not to de-
liver the articles unless they first received all the Indians
under his majesty's protection into the covenant chain.

The result of the conference, after the chiefs were made
to understand that Corlaer was empowered fully to treat
in behalf of the southern Indians, was, that they agreed to

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 51

receive them all into the covenant chain, — adding : " and chap.
we shall ever look upon them as our own brethren, and s- v— '
as our own flesh, as if they had been born and bred
amongst us. And as we have never yet been guilty of
violating treaties, so you may depend that we will keep
this inviolable to the end of the wotfld."1

The council broke up amicably, and the Indians, well
laden with presents, returned to their homes, professing a
friendship for Corlaer which was to endure so long as the
Great Spirit should cause the grass to- grow and the water
to run. But however firm the grasp by which they pur-
posed to hold on to their end of the covenant chain, their
good resolutions were liable to be shaken by every trifling
circumstance that awakened their unsl umbering jealousy,
while the hold upon the affections of the Onondagas, Ca-
yugas, and Senecas, which the Jesuits retained till the
last, in all times of peril, rendered their constancy an ob-
ject of doubtful solicitude in the minds of the English.
Still, the pacification effected by Mr. Clarke contributed
largely to the repose of the Six Nations for the two ensu-
ing years, — 1741 and 1742.2 The lieutenant-governor, it

1 Unpublished minutes of the executive council, secretary of state's office,
in Albany.

2 In the manuscript journals of the privy council which have never been
published, and which are only to be found in the office of the secretary of
state in Albany, it is stated, under the date of May thirty-first, 1742, that
the lieutenant-governor announced to the council-board that he had sum-
moned the Six Nations to meet him in Albany, on the seventh of June; but
that he had not been able to obtain the necessary funds from the treasurer to
purchase presents for the Indians. The treasurer alledged that he had not
the money nor could he obtain it. He Had, however, some other funds, to the
amount of £600, which he offered to furnish toward the necessary supply.
But the lieutenant-governor said he could not go unless an amount suffi-
cient to answer the object could be procured. Whereupon Mr. Livingston
offered to make the nocessary advance. It is not however certain that the
council win held, since I have not been able to find :tny account of it either
in the council minutes or elsewhere.

52 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, is true, adverted to the defenceless condition of the Indian
v_^_; frontiers occasionally in his speeches to the general assem-
1741. kty? especially to the important post of Oswego. But the
popularity of Mr. Clarke was rapidly on the wane. Chief
Justice De Lancy, the master spirit of the council, having
rather abandoned him, and attached himself to the popu-
lar party, managed to preserve a considerate coolness on
the part of that body toward their executive head, while
the house heeded but little his recommendations.

The only subject of local excitement, however, during
the year 1741, was the celebrated plot supposed to have
been discovered on the part of the negroes, to murder the
inhabitants of New York, and ravage and burn the city, —
an affair which reflects little credit either upon the dis-
cernment, or the humanity, of that generation.

The burning of the public buildings, comprising the
governor's residence, the secretary's office, the chapel and
barracks, in March, 1741, — an occurrence which has al-
ready been anticipated in a note to a preceding page, was
first announced to the general assembly by the lieutenant-
governor as the result of an accident, — a plumber, who
had been engaged upon some repairs, having left fire in
a gutter between the house and chapel. But several other
fires occurring shortly afterward, in different parts of the
city, — some of them, perhaps, under circumstances that
could not readily be explained, suspicions were awakened
that the whole were acts of incendiaries. Not a chimney
caught fire, — and they were not at that day very well
swept, — but the incident was attributed to design. Such
was the case in respect to the chimney of Captain "War-
ren's house, situated near the ruins of the public buildings,
by the taking fire of which the roof was partially destroyed,
and other instances might be enumerated. Suspicion, to
borrow the language of Shakespeare, "hath a ready
tongue," and is "all stuck full of eyes," which are not
easily put to sleep. Incidents and circumstances, ordinary

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 53

and extraordinary, were seized upon and brought together chap.
by comparison, until it became obvious to all that there wv_ •
was actually a conspiracy for compassing such a stupen- ' '
dous act of arson as the burning of the entire town and
murder of the people. Nor was it long before the plot
was fastened upon the negro slaves — then forming no in-
considerable portion of the population. A negro, with
violent gesticulation, had been heard to utter some terms
of unintelligible jargon, in which the words "fire, fire,
scorch, scorch," were heard articulated, or supposed to be
heard. The crew of a Spanish ship, brought into the
port as a prize, were sold into slavery. They were sus-
pected of disaffection, as well they might be, and yet
be innocent; seized, and thrown into prison. Coals
were found disposed, as was supposed, for burning a hay-
stack; a negro had been seen jumping over a fence, and
flying from a house that had taken fire, in another place ;
and in a word a vast variety of incidents, trifling and un-
important, were collated, and talked over, until universal
consternation seized upon the inhabitants, from the high-
est to the lowest. As Hume remarks of the Popish plot
in the reign of Charles II, " each breath of rumor made
the people start with anxiety ; their enemies, they thought,
were in their bosoms. They were awakened from their
slumbers by the cry of Plot, and like men affrighted, and
in the dark, took every figure for a spectre. The terror
of each man became a source of terror to another. And,
an universal panic being diffused, reason, and argument,
and common sense, and common humanity, lost all influ-
ence over them."1 A Titus Oates wTas found in the per-
son of a poor weak servant-girl in a sailor's boarding-
house, named Mary Burton, who, after much importunity

1 Quoted by Dunlap, who has given a good collection of facts respecting
this remarkable plot, though not rendered into a well-digested narrative.
See chapt. xxi, of his History.

54 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, confessed that she had heard certain negroes, in the pre-
■ — , — ' ceding February, conferring in private, for the purpose
' of setting the town on fire. She at first confined the con-
spirators to blacks ; but afterward several white persons
were included, among whom were her landlord, whose
name was Hughson, his wife, another maid-servant, and a
Roman Catholic named Ury. Some other information
was obtained from other informers, and numerous arrests
were made ; and the several strong apartments in the City
Hall, called "the jails," were crowded with prisoners,
amounting in numbers to twenty-six whites and above
one hundred and sixty slaves.1 Numerous executions
took place, upon the most frivolous and unsatisfactory tes-
timony; but jurors and magistrates were alike panic-
stricken and wild with terror. Among the sufferers were
Hughson, his wife, and the maid-servant, as also the Ro-
manist Ury, who was capitally accused, not only as a con-
spirator, but for officiating as a priest, upon an old law of
the colony, heretofore mentioned as having been passed
at the instance of Governor Bellamont, to drive the French
missionaries from among the Indians. " The whole sum-
mer was spent in the prosecutions ; every new trial led to
further accusations : a coincidence of slight circumstances
was magnified by the general terror into violent presump-
tions ; tales collected without doors, mingling with the
proofs given at the bar, poisoned the minds of the jurors ;
and this sanguinary spirit of the day suffered no check until
Mary, the capital informer, bewildered by frequent exami-
nations and suggestions, began to touch characters which
malice itself dared not suspect." Then, as in the case of
the Popish plot, and the prosecutions for witchcraft in
Salem, the magistrates and jurors began to pause. But
not until many had been sent to their final account by the
spirit of fanaticism which had bereft men of their reason,

1 Smith's History of New York, vol. ii, pp. 70, 75.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 55

as innocent of the charges laid against them as the con- chap.
victing courts and jurors themselves. Thirteen negroes- — „ — -
were burnt at the stake, eighteen were hanged, and sev- L
enty transported.1

1 Smith. Daniel Horsmanden, the third justice of the supreme court,
published the history of this strange affair in a ponderous quarto. He was
concerned in the administration of the judicial proceedings, however, and
wrote his history before the delusion had passed away. Chief Justice De
Lancey presided at least at some of the trials ; and he, too, though an able
and clear-minded man, was carried away by the delusion.

CHAPTER II,

1742— 1744.

chap. Yew names in the colonial history of the United States,
v— v — ' have descended to the present day with greater renown,
1/42 than that of Sir William Johnson, Bart. Yet, notwith-
standing its frequent occurrence in the annals of his times,
and its intimate association with the public affairs of the
country during the period of nearly forty years immedi-
ately preceding the American revolution, it may well be
questioned whether the life and character of any other
public man, equally distinguished, have been so inade-
quately appreciated, or so imperfectly understood. Com-
ing to America at the instance of a relative, when, if not
a mere youth of fifteen, he was certainly a very young
man, he threw himself boldly into the wilderness, and
with but little assistance, became the architect of his own
fortune and fame. From the subordinate station of an
agent in charge of the landed property of his relative, he
became successively a farmer, a dealer in peltries, a mer-
chant, a government contractor, a general in the armies
of his adopted country, and a baronet of the British
realm, — possessed of an estate of great value, and tran-
scending* in extent the broadest domains of the nobles of
his parent-land. The hero alike of veritable history and
of romance, his actual career being withal more romantic
by far than any of the tales which the writers of fiction
have succeeded in inventing for him, his character, — from
the wild border-life which he led, and from his associa-
tions, both in civilized life and as connected with the In-
dians, and the wonderful influence he acquired over the

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 57

latter, — has been invested, both in books and by tradition, chap.
with qualities strange and undefinable, — such indeed as> — ^— •
are believed to have appertained to no other man of his 1742-
own, or of any other age.1

William Johnson, — afterward Sir "William Johnson,
Bart., was the eldest son of Christopher Johnson, Esquire,
of Warren town, county of Dowm, Ireland,— of a family
ancient in its descent, and honorable in its alliances. His
mother was Anne Warren, sister of the brothers Oliver
and Peter, — afterward Sir Peter Warren, K. B. — whose
names are identified with the naval glory of England.
The Warrens were of an old and honorable family, pos-
sessing an estate in the county of Down from the first
arrival of the English in Ireland. Oliver Warren, the
eldest son of his father, was a captain in the royal navy,
and served with reputation during the reigns of Queen
Anne and George the First.2 Peter, the youngest son,
having been trained to the nautical profession under the
immediate eye of his brother, was appointed in the sum-
mer of 1727, to the command of the Grafton, one of the
four ships of the line sent out under Sir George Walton,
to join Sir Charles Wager, then in the Mediterranean
command. Captain Warren did not long continue in the
Grafton, having been soon after his arrival at Gibraltar,
transferred to the Solebay frigate, for the purpose of car-
rying to the West Indies the orders of the king of Spain

1 See the admirable satire by Charles Johnson, entitled Chrysal, or the
Adventures of a Guinea; vol. iii, book ii, chapters 1, 2, and 3. The
Dutchman's Fireside, by Paulding ; and also The Gipsey, by G. P. R. James ;
to say nothing of minor tales and romances. ^Neither of the writers of the
first mentioned three works appears to have understood the true character
of Sir William Johnson. The satire in Chrysal is a gross exaggeration of
the errors in the baronet's life. Paulding's exaggerations are equally great
in another respect ; while the delineation attempted by James is an utter
failure.

2 MSS. of Sir William Johnson.

58 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, for executing the preliminaries of peace agreed upon be-
^— v— - tween that monarch and Great Britain. He sailed upon
1742, this service in May, 1728 ; and having executed the com-
mission with which he was charged, in pursuance to his
instructions, he sailed from the West Indies to South Caro-
lina,— returning to England in the following year. Im-
mediately on his arrival he was appointed to the Leopard,
of fifty guns, one of the fleet which during the years 1729
and 1730, rendezvoused at Spithead, under the command
of Sir Charles "Wager. Captain Warren commanded the
Leopard until after 1735, in which year he accompanied
Sir J. IsTorris to Lisbon.

This account of the earlier service of Sir Peter Warren,
after his promotion to the command of a ship, has been
drawn from Charnock's Biographia JNavalis, and is con-
ceived to be at least not irrelevant, from the relations
which subsisted between him and the immediate subject
of these memoirs. During the period under considera-
tion, and long afterward, the domicil of Captain Warren
was in the city and colony of New York1 He married the

*The dwelling-house No. 1, Broadway, formerly the residence of Na-
thaniel Prime, and now (1864), the Washington Hotel, was built by Cap-
tain Warren. Neither pains nor expense were spared to make it one of
the finest mansions in this country. The plans were all sent out from Lis-
bon. The exterior and interior being similar in every respect to that of
the British ambassador residing at the Portuguese capital. The house
was fifty-six feet on Broadway, and when erected, the rear of the lot was
bounded by the North river. Greenwich street was not then opened or
built — the North river washed the shore. One room of this edifice de-
serves particular notice, being the banqueting room, twenty-six by forty,
and was used on all great occasions. After the British forces captured New
York, in the war of the American revolution, being the most prominent
house, it was the head-quarters of the distinguished British commanders.
Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, and Sir Guy Carlton, afterward
Lord Dorchester, all in succession occupied this house, and it is a memo-
rable fact that the celebrated Major Andre, then adjutant-general of the
British forces, and aid to Sir Henry Clinton, resided in this house, being
in the family of Sir Henry, and departed from its portals never to return,

I, . 1 1,1- I -'"■■■

//v- '

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 59

sister of James De Lancey, long the chief justice of the chap.
colony, and for several years lieutenant-governor.1 I have • — , — •
not been able to ascertain the time when Captain Warren
came to America to reside. Equally difficult, among con-
flicting authorities, is the task of fixing upon the date of
his nephew's arrival in this country. No farther mention
is made of Captain Warren in the naval history of Eng-
land from the time of his sailing to Lisbon, in 1735, until
after the rupture with Spain, when, in the year 1741, he
was in command of the Squirrel, a twenty-gun ship, on
the American station.

It seems hardly probable, from the age of Warren, and
from the active service in which he was engaged, that he
could have settled in America at an earlier period than
the year 1735. He was born in 1704, and was conse-
quently but twenty-three years of age when appointed to
the command of the Grafton.

William Johnson, his nephew, was born in the year
1715. According to Doctor Dwight, as written in his
travels, and according to the biographical dictionaries also,
Mr. Johnson was called to America by his uncle, Sir
Peter Warren, in the year 1735, to superintend a large
estate which the latter, shortly after his marriage, had
purchased in the Mohawk valley. I have besides an
old manuscript, furnished by the Sammons family of

when he went up the Noiih river, and arranged his treasonable project
with the traitor Arnold at West Point.

1 The name of James De Lancey will be of frequent recurrence in the
progress of this work. He was the son of Stephen De Lancey, a French
Huguenot gentleman from Caen, in Normandy, who fled from persecution
in France. Settling in New York in 1686, he married a daughter of M.
Van Courtlandt, and was thus connected with one of the most opulent fami-
lies in the province. He was also an active member of the house of assem-
bly during the administration of Governor Hunter. His son James was
sent to Cambridge Uuiversity (England), for his education ; and bred to
the profession of the law. On being elevated to the bench, such was his
talents and application, he became a very profound lawyer.

60 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Johnstown, which states that the young adventurer came
*_v_ /to America with Captain Warren at the age of fifteen.
1742. Neither of these dates, however, is correct, as Johnson
himself distinctly states in a letter written to the lords of
trade under date of October thirteenth, 1764, that he came
to America in the year 1738. Johnson was then twenty-
three years of age ; and his arrival must have been shortly
after the weak and turbulent administration of Governor
Cosby. Although in the letter to the lords of trade just
cited, the writer does not state the season of the year in
which he came to America, yet it was probably in the
spring, since in the fall of 1738, he was already settled in
the Mohawk country and had begun the cultivation of his
land. The document of the earliest date whichlhave found
among the Johnson manuscripts, is a letter from Captain
"Warren to his nephew, whom he familiarly addresses
as " Dear Billy. ," It was dated at Boston, November
twentieth, 1738, at which place the captain probably
passed several months, since he suggested a shipment of
wheat, corn, and other farming produce, to be made by
his nephew from Albany to his order in Boston, early in
the following spring.

The estate purchased by Captain Warren in the Mo-
hawk country, heretofore alluded to, consisted of a tract
of land lying on the south side of the river, near the junc-
tion of the Mohawk and Schoharie kill, called Warrens-
bush. From the letter just cited, it appears that young
Johnson was engaged in the double capacity of forming a
settlement upon the lands of his uncle, and bringing lands
into cultivation for himself — keeping, also, though upon
a small scale, a country store, in which his uncle was a
partner. But the means of neither of the parties could
have been great at that time ; such at least is the inference
from the letter, which is long, and abounds in many details
and directions, in what was evidently at that time a com-
paratively limited business. The captain writes : "I have

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 61

received yours of the twenty-sixth and thirtieth of October, chap.
and am glad to hear that you are in health, and go on wy-.
briskly with your settlements." Respecting the means 1'42,
for prosecuting the enterprise, the letter says: "I am
sorry you have been obliged to draw for more on New
York than I directed ; but as it is, I presume, for goods
that will bring part of the amount in again, I am not dis-
pleased with it ; yet I will not go beyond two hundred
pounds per annum in making the settlement, and that to
be complete in three years from your first beginning,
which will make the whole six hundred pounds. I desire
in your next you will let me know how much you have
had from New York in money and goods." Sailor that
he was, the captain understood the policy of cutting his
patent into small farms. "The smaller the farms," he
remarks, " the more the land that will be sold, and the
better the improvements will be." The captain had also
some taste for horticulture: "I hope you will plant a
large orchard in the spring. It won't hinder your Indian
corn, nor grass, as you will plant your trees at a great dis-
tance." He had likewise taste and forecast on the sub-
ject of clearing lands: "As you have great help now,
you will girdle many acres ;* in doing which I would be
regular, and do it in square fields, leaving hedge-rows at
each side, which will keep the land warm, be very beauti-
ful, and subject you to no more expense than doing it in a
slovenly, irregular manner." This prudential suggestion

1 " Girdling trees," is a preliminary process often adopted in the clearing
of wild land, which facilitates the labor by relieving the ax-man of a part
of his labor. The operation consists in making a deep circular cut around
the trunks of the trees of any magnitude, which draws off the sap, and
causes the tree to die in the course of a couple of years. The trunks and
limbs of the trees, becoming dry, are then readily subject to the action of
fire, and the foresters are thereby often relieved of much heavy labor ; while
by the absence of the foliage, the earth has already been partially warmed
by the sun, and is in respect of decaying roots rendered much easier of
cultivation.

62 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, in favor of leaving hedge-rows of trees and shrubs for or-'
^— v — ( nament, proves that Captain Warren had not yet imbibed
* that vandal taste so characteristic of the early Anglo-
American proprietors, inducing them to think that the
finest country, and most beautiful, from which the timber
and every verdant object has been most carefully removed.
The following passage from the letter, shows that the pa-
tron and his nephew were in a kind of partnership, in the
mercantile line. After enumerating various articles of
goods, of small amounts, which the captain had ordered
from England and Ireland, the letter proceeds : " You see
you will have a pretty good cargo. The whole proceeds
of it must be remitted as soon as possible, to be laid out
again, till you with your increase will have a very large
store of goods of all kinds proper for the country. Pray
let me know what rum, and all things sell for there, such
as axes, and other wrought iron. These I would send
from hence ; if I found the profit great, I would soon have
a thousand pounds worth of goods there." The following
sentence indicates that the nephew had already com-
menced the fur-trade, which he afterward prosecuted to
a great extent, and doubtless to great profit: "As for
what skins you can procure, I will send them to London,
and the produce of them shall be sent you in proper
goods." Captain Warren, as already stated, was brother-
in-law to James De Lancey, afterward chief justice of the
province and subsequently lieutenant-governor. But the
date of his marriage I have not been able to ascertain. It
must, however, have been some years before that of the
letter under consideration ; for in this the captain re-
marks : " My wife and two daughters are very well." The
letter concludes thus , "I will send for books for you to
keep your accounts, which you must do very regularly. I
have no more to add at this time but my service to all
friends and to wish you well. Captain Nelson, who, I

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 63

hear, is going to Fort Hunter,1 lias been so kind as to chap.
promise to spare you some muskets for your house. If wv — -
he be there, my service to him. Keep well with all man- 1742'
kind. Act with honor and honesty. Don't be notional,
as some of our countrymen are often foolishly; and
don't say anything of the badness of the patroon's horses,
for it may be taken amiss. He is a near relation of my
wife, and may have it in his power very much to serve
you.2 Get the best kind of fruit-trees for the orchard, if
they cost something more, and a good nursery would not
be amiss. My love to Mick. Live like brothers, and I
will be an affectionate uncle to you both.

P. WAKREK"

Who was "Mick," I do not know, but his name occurs
twice. The letter itself forms a singular medley, in which
matters of every description are set down without arrange-
ment, just as they came into the mind of the writer. I
have made the greater use of it not only because it is the
only manuscript I have been able to obtain from a man
who afterward became illustrious in the service of his
country, but also because that while it sheds a few glimpses
of light upon a portion of his own private life, it affords
authentic information as to the comparatively humble be-
ginnings of one, whose career in after-life filled so wide a
space in the public eye, and whose name is of such fre-
quent and honorable record in the history of his adopted
country.

Other testimony to the same point might be adduced,
were it necessary. I have a manuscript, giving some ac-

1 Fort Hunter was at the mouth of the Schoharie kill, — the site of the
lower castle of the Mohawks. The Indian name of the place was Dyionda-
rogon.

2 Mr. De Lancey through the Van Courtlandt family was connected with
that of the patroon of Albany. Hence the relationship referred to in the
text.

64 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, count of Sir "William's life, furnished by the late Thomas
v-^-/ Sammons, who in his boyhood knew the baronet. It
17i'2- speaks of his humble beginning at Warrensbush, but dates
his settlement there in 1734, at the age of nineteen ; which,
for reasons already stated, must have been at least four
years too early. According to this authority, young John-
son was wont to ride to mill, on horse-back, with very in-
different equipments, to Caughnawaga, on the opposite or
north side of the river, distant from Warrensbush fifteen
miles. He showed himself a man of enterprise from the
first, clearing a large farm for himself, erecting a store-
house, and immediately opening a trade with the white
inhabitants and also with the Indians. His style of living
was plain, and his industry great. His figure was robust,
and his deportment manly and commanding. Yet he
made himself very friendly and familiar among the peo-
ple, with whom he mingled in their rustic sports, and
speedily became popular. Of this fact he was not uncon-
scious himself. In a letter to his uncle, dated May tenth,
1739, he says : "As to my keeping in with all people, you
may assure yourself of it, dear uncle, for I dare say I have
the good will of all people whatsoever, and am much re-
spected,— very much on your account, — and on account
of my own behaviour, which I trust in God shall always
continue."

Young Johnson likewise succeeded, beyond all other
men, in winning the confidence and affection of the Mo-
hawk Indians, whose most considerable town, Dyiondaro-
gon, was but a few miles distant. His trade with them
had already become considerable, and the spirit of enter-
prise which was rapidly to raise him to fortune, was mani-
fested in the letter to his uncle just cited, wherein he thus
early spoke of opening a trading-house at Oghkwaga,1 — a

1 It is a perplexing matter to fix the orthography of Indian names, either
of men, or places, or things. For example, this place is now usually

LIFE OF SLR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 65

settlement of the Six Nations on the Susquehanna river, ghap.
some two hundred miles south of the Mohawk. The ad- -^-v— >
vantages of a trading expedition to Oghkwaga he thought ■ '
better than were offered at Oswego, where there were
already a parcel of mere sharpers in the trade. It appears
farther by this letter, that Mr. Johnson had given offence
to his uncle by the purchase of a lot of land, on the oppo-
site side of the river, to which his patron was apprehen-
sive he might remove. From the description, or rather
the tenor of the nephew's letter in reply, the purchase was
of the lot upon which he subsequently settled, known to
this day as Mount Johnson, and where the old massive
stone mansion erected by him yet stands. But Mr. John-
son protested to his uncle that he had no design of remov-
ing to his new purchase, having made it, he said, for the
purpose of securing a valuable water-power, on which he
proposed to erect a saw-mill, that would be certain to yield
a profit of full forty pounds per annum.

In regard to the early education of Mr. Johnson, I have
succeeded in obtaining no satisfactory information. It is
presumed that he did not receive the advantages of a uni-
versity course of instruction ; while the presumption is
equally strong that he had enjoyed the benefit of some
classical school where other languages than the English
were taught. I have found among his private correspond-
ence, letters addressed to him both in French and Latin,
which were filed away with endorsements in his own hand-
written Oquago. The Rev. Mr. Hawley, however, a missionary to the In-
dians, and a cotemporary of Sir William Johnson, in his journal to this
place, spells it Onohoghgwage. I have adopted, in the Life of Brant, from
his own manuscript, the orthography given above in the text. The place
and river now known as Unadilla, are spelt by Mr. Hawley, Teyondel-
hough. By Brant it was contracted to Tunadilla. The large creek flow-
ing into the Susquehanna some teu or fifteen miles south of Cooperstown,
called Otego, was written by Mr. Hawley, Wauteghe ; which is the better
Indian.

66 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, writing, always in the language in which the letters them-
- — , — ■ selves were respectively written. And it will subsequently
17 appear from the invoices of books ordered for his private
library from his correspondents in London, in the days of
his prosperity, that his selections indicated not only a
mind of considerable cultivation, but also of a scientific
turn. There is yet greater difficulty in fixing the date of
his marriage, or giving any satisfactory account of the
family with which he became thus connected. It is be-
lieved that he married young, probably about 1740, — cer-
tainly in the earlier years of his residence in the Mohawk
country, — and the object of his choice is supposed to have
been a young German woman by the name of Catherine
Wisenberg, a plain country girl of no social position, but
gifted with good sound sense, and a mild and gentle dis-
position.

Having thus introduced to the reader the principal bio-
graphical subject of these memoirs, with some of his fam-
ily connections, it is necessary for the preservation, as far
as may be, of chronological order, to resume again the
thread of Indian history, at the point of its termination in
the preceding chapter.

In the summer of 1742, the Six Nations, by a large del-
egation of counselors, chiefs, and warriors, numbering in
all upward of seventy persons, visited Philadelphia to hold
a treaty with their brother Onas, governor of Pennsylva-
nia.1 It appears that by an antecedent treaty, the Six Na-
tions, claiming the country of the Delawares by right of
conquest, had released to Onas their claim to all the lands
on both sides of the Susquehanna, from the Endless moun
tains, or Kittochtinny hills, to the southern boundary of
Pennsylvania. At the time of making that relinquish

1Onas, in the Iroquois language, signifies a Pen, and was the title by
which William Penn was addressed by the Indians, and the governors who
succeeded him.

--V

Sfc.j

mff

.1 ,\ .'•! E§ l,D l i.;\7

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 67

merit, they had received payment in goods, for the terri- chap.
tory ceded on the east side of the river; but preferred < — „ — -
waiting for the balance due for the lands on the other side ' '
until a more convenient season. It was for the purpose
of closing that negotiation, therefore, that the council of
1742 was convened. The deputation was headed by the
celebrated Onondaga counselor, Canassateego, — one of
the ablest orators and wisest sachems of his race, — and
by the Cayuga chief Shicolamy, or Shikellimus, father of
the famous Logan, who was afterward immortalized by
Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia. Shicolamy was at
that period residing with a clan of his people at Shamo-
kin. It was the policy of the Iroquois Confederacy, in ac-
cidental conformity with that of the Romans, to plant
military colonies in the countries they conquered, and that
at Shamokin was one of them. Deputations were also
present from the Shawanese, then residing at Wajomick,
or Wyoming; from the JSTantikokes, who had removed
from the eastern shore of Maryland to the southern ex-
tremity of the "Wyoming valley ; from the Delawares ; and
from the Canestogoes, — a clan of the Oneidas, planted in
Central Pennsylvania. The interpreter was Conrad Wei-
ser, a faithful man, enjoying the fullest confidence of the
Indians, and long in the service of Pennsylvania in her 1737.
intercourse with the Six Nations.1

The governor, or rather the lieutenant-governor of
Pennsylvania, under the proprietaries at that time, was
Mr. George Thomas, a man of talent and resolution, who
managed the Indian affairs of the colony for several years
with excellent tact and address. The Indians were re-
ceived by Mr. Thomas and his council at the house of the
then venerable James Logan, the learned and philosophic
friend and cotemporary of William Penn. Mr. Logan had

1 Weiser was of German blood, a native of Schoharie, in the colony of
New York.

68 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, preceded Mr. Thomas in the colonial administration, as
<~r^-< president of the council. He had long been a man of
1742, distinction in the colony, and enjoyed the unbounded re-
spect and confidence of the Indians. This reception took
place on the second of July, and the council was continued
from day to day until the twelfth.

The proceedings of the first day were rather informal, —
being confined to an exchange of salutations, and to cer-
tain explanations which the sachems desired to make. In
the first place, they disclaimed a certain sale of land which
some of their " foolish young men," when out upon a
hunting expedition, had made, or pretended to make, to
a few individuals, for a very small number of strouds, —
the sale conflicting with a previous contract of the Con-
federacy with their brother Onas. The sachems had
wrested the strouds from the young men, and now pro-
duced them that they might be returned to those who had
made the invalid purchase. Another explanation which
they desired to make, or rather which had been required
of them by Mr. Thomas, related to the murder of two or
three white people sOme time before, by a returning war-
party of Twightwees, or Miamies, which murders had
been accidentally detected by the Shawanese, through
whose town they were passing, when scrutinizing the
scalps they had taken. The Twightwees, said Mr. Thomas,
had sent a message that " their hearts were full of grief"
when they heard that "the road had been made bloody"
by some of their young men, "with the blood of white
people;" and the Shawanese had sent a message "that
they would sweep the road clean and wipe all the blood
away;" desiring that their white brethren "would be sat-
isfied with this, and not weep too much for a misfortune
that might not happen again as long as the sun and moon
shone." The governor expressed a wish that the Six Na-
tions might take up the matter, ascertain the facts of the
case, and obtain satisfaction for the outrage. The chiefs

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 69

promised to consider the subject on their return home, chap.
and send an answer. > — r— *

The times being critical, and another French war sup- 1<4~"
posed to be unavoidable, it was deemed advisable by Gov-
ernor Thomas and his counselors, to endeavor to sound
the Indians, and ascertain if possible what would be their
probable temper and disposition in such an event. A
grand entertainment was therefore provided for them,
with the design of extracting their sentiments in the flow
of the wine-cup, — upon the well known principle, "in
vino Veritas." It happened that although the deputation
was numerous, there were no representatives from the
Mohawks, and but three from the Senecas, — the most
powerful nation by far, of the Confederates. Mr. Thomas
approached the object at which he was aiming warily, by
inquiring why so few Senecas were present, since they
were equally interested with the others in the business
that had called them together. The answer of Canassa-
teego was prompt and painfully satisfactory. " The Sene-
cas," he said, "were in great distress on account of a
famine that had raged in their country, which had reduced
them to such want that a father had been obliged to kill
two of his children to preserve his own and the rest of his
family's lives." Their situation, therefore, was such that
they could not attend the council, but the necessaiy in-
structions had been given in regard to their share of the
goods. The lieutenant-governor next, with seeming care-
lessness, inquired whether any of the Seneca chiefs were
in Canada, and whether the governor of Canada was mak-
ing any warlike preparations. Both questions were ans-
wered in the affirmative ; whereupon Mr. Thomas play-
fully remarked : " "Well, if the French should go to war
with us, I suppose you would join them?" Canassateego
was evidently not put off his guard by the apparent indif-
ference of the querist, and therefore did not reply until
after a brief consultation with his people. He then said,

70 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, frankly, that the French governor was paying great court
v— v — - to the Indians, and had informed them that he was unco-
vering the hatchet and sharpening it ; but at the same
time he had told them that if he was obliged to lift it up
against the English, he hoped they would not espouse the
cause of either side, but remain neutral. The orator, how-
ever, assured his brother Onas, that in the event of a war,
they should be faithful and true to their old allies, and
lift the hatchet in their cause, adding : " The governor of
Canada talks a great deal, but ten of his words do not go
so far as one of yours ; we do not look toward them ; we
look toward you, and you may depend on our assistance."
Yet it will be seen hereafter that when the crisis came,
great reluctance was manifested by the Confederates to
engage in the contest.

At the next subsequent meeting in council, after having
delivered the goods which the Indians had come to re-
ceive, Mr. Thomas opened the subject of the probable rup-
ture with France, with more directness. It was his de-
sire, he said, in the event of a war, that the road between
the English and the Indians, should be kept clear and
open. More fuel should then be added to the fire between
them, that it might burn brighter and clearer, and give a
stronger light, and more lasting warmth. " "We must hear
with our ears for you, and you must hear with your ears
for us," — terms all significant, and well understood by
these metaphor-loving sons of the forest. Nor were they
employed without effect. Having taken a day for consid-
eration, Canassateego replied to the speech of the lieuten-
ant-governor at length, and in regard to the threatening
storm, to the entire satisfaction of the English, and with
the seemingly cordial assent of his dusky associates.

In discussing the business matters which they had as-
sembled specially to consider, the Onondaga orator, though
prepared fully to confirm the prior contract for the sale of
the lands on the western side of the Susquehanna, — but

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 71

how far west does not appear, the terms in the records of chap.
the council being quite indefinite, — had nevertheless com- - — , — <
plaints to make, as has ever been the case on such occa-
sions, of the encroachments of the white people upon their
lands. " The pale-faces think we do not know the value
of our lands," said the veteran counselor; but we are sen-
sible that the land is everlasting, and the few goods that
we receive for it are soon worn out and gone. The speci-
fic complaint adduced by Canassateego, was, that the
white people were settling all along the banks of the Ju-
niata river, — one of the large western tributaries to the
Susquehanna, — " to the great damage of our cousins, the
Delawares." This encroachment had been the ground of
a complaint before ; and Mr. Thomas now replied that
magistrates were then sent expressly to remove the tres-
passers. " Those persons who were sent did not do their
duty," interposed Canassateego. "So far from removing
the people, they made surveys for themselves, and they
are in league with the trespassers!" A common occur-
rence, I believe, in the great catalogue of Indian wrongs.

But the most interesting historical incident during the
sittings of this council, affording proof at once of a dis-
puted fact, and an illustration of Indian character, occur-
red toward its close. Mr. Thomas had complained at one
of their meetings that a clan of the Delawares, residing at
the forks of the Delaware river, had not only refused to
yield the occupancy of a tract of land which had been sold
to William Penn fifty-five years before, but had presumed
to make sales of some portions of the same lands, — not-
withstanding that their fathers had made the treaty with
Penn, and received the value of the sale ; and notwith-
standing also that they themselves had subsequently rati-
fied the treaty anew. It was in reply to this statement of
Mr. Thomas, that Canassateego uttered a speech of bitter
and biting reproof of the Delawares, in which he reminded
them in terms of severity of their subjugated condition.

72 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. "You," said he, "you take it upon yourselves to sell
v_^_, land !" " You don't know what ground you stand upon !"
1742. u You ought to be taken by the hair of your head and
shaken till you recover your senses, and become sober!"
" We conquered you, We made women of you. You
know you are women, and can no more sell land than
women !" This speech, which was full of indignant irony
and invective, was closed by a peremptory order for the
Delawares to remove forthwith from the disputed terri-
tory, either to Shamokin, or Wyoming, as they might pre-
fer. The following was the closing injunction of the man-
date: "After our just reproof and absolute order to
depart from the land, you are now to take notice of what
we have further to say to you. This string of wampum
serves to forbid you, your children and grand-children, to
the latest posterity forever, from meddling with land
affairs ; neither you, nor any who shall descend from you,
are ever hereafter to presume to sell any land. For which
purpose you are to preserve this string, in memory of
what your uncles have this day given you in charge. We
have some other business to transact with our brethren,
and therefore depart the council, and consider what has
been said to you."

The obedience of the Delawares to the order was as prompt
as the mandate itself was summary, — some of them going
to Shamokin, but the greater number settling at Wyo-
ming, on the eastern side of the Susquehanna, — a large
clan of the Shawanese residing at that time on the west-
ern side opposite. This transaction sufficiently proves the
state of abject subjection to which the Delawares had been
reduced, and in which at that time they were held by the
Iroquois, notwithstanding the efforts of the benevolent
Heckewelder to sustain a loftier position for his favorites
among the aborigines.

In the course of the proceedings at this treaty, while
complaining of the trespasses of the white men upon the

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 73

lands along the Juniata, Canassateego uttered a further chap.
complaint "that some parts of their country had been>— v — •
taken up by persons whose place of residence is south of
this province (Pennsylvania), and from whom we have
never received any consideration." It was their desire
that Mr. Thomas should "inform ' the person ' whose peo-
ple were thus seated on those lands, that that country be-
longs to us, in right of conquest, we having bought it
with our bloodr and taken it from our enemies in fair
war;" and, in their behalf, require compensation for it.
It was understood by Mr. Thomas and his board of coun-
selors, that this complaint was directed against the gover-
nor and people of Maryland ; and a letter was addressed
to the former upon the subject. But from the vague and
indefinite terms in which the Indian counselor had spo-
ken,— referring to the aggressors only as "persons living
south of Pennsylvania," — the government and people of
Virginia by some means became impressed with the idea
that the illusion was pointed at them.

An unlucky occurrence in December following strength-
ened this impression. It appeared from a communication
addressed to Lieutenant-Governor Clarke, by Mr. Gooch,
lieutenant-governor of Virginia, that in the month of De-
cember, a body of Indians had made an incursion into the
frontier county of Augusta in that colony, and committed
some very serious outrages, — killing several people, and
carrying away numbers of cattle and horses. The invaders
were pursued by' a small body of Virginia militia, com-
manded by Captains M'Dowell and Buchanan, and over-
taken on the eighteenth of December, when a smart en-
gagement ensued, — the Indians having commenced the
fight by shooting down a messenger of peace who was ap-
proaching them with a flag. The action lasted about
forty-five minutes, during which eleven of the Virginians
were killed, among whom was Captain M'Dowell. The

Indians fled, leaving eight or ten of their warriors dead
10

74 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, upon the field. Such was the magnitude of the affair, and
»— v — - such its result, as stated to Lieutenant-Governor Clarke by
Mr. Gooch. The Virginians alleged that there were
several white men with the Indians, believed to be French.
Mr. Gooch stated that the affair had occurred at an unfor-
tunate moment, since at that very time he was preparing
to send a friendly deputation to meet the Six Nations ;
and being uncertain whether these hostile Indians might
not belong to that Confederacy, he was in doubt what
course to pursue. Under these circumstances he requested
the assistance of the authorities of New York, in enabling
him to ascertain whether the aggressors belonged to the
Six Nations. He also desired Mr. Clarke to ask the chiefs
of the Six Nations where the land in Virginia was, to
which they had referred in the Philadelphia council as
belonging to them.
1743. The communication from Mr. Gooch was forwarded to
the Indian commissioners at Albany, on the fifth of April,
with instructions to adopt the necessary measures for ascer-
taining the facts.1 Should it prove true that the outrages
had really been committed by the Six Nations, in conse-
quence of any dispute with Virginia about their lands, the
Indians were to be rebuked for the adoption of such a
barbarous course. They ought rather to have sought an
adjustment by treaty, as they had done with Pennsylvania
and Maryland. Had they adopted such a course, the gov-
ernor of New York would cheerfully have aided them in
the negotiation. The commissioners hacl previously heard
of the Virginia affair, from the Mohawks, who stated that
the Indians were feeling very uneasy upon the subject.
On the receipt of the dispatches, therefore, Mr. Jacobus

1 The board of Indian commissioners at that time consisted of the follow-
ing persons, viz : Captain Rutherford, Cornelius Cuyler, Myndert Schuy-
ler, Hendrick Ten Eyck, Peter Winne, Rutger Bleecker, Nicholas Bleecker,
John De Peyster, Ryer Garretson, Dirck Ten Broeck and John Lansingh.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 75

Bleecker, a competent interpreter, was sent to Onondaga, chap.
where a council had already been convened to receive a^v-_/
deputation from Philadelphia. The errand of these mes- 1<43-
sengers, however, was merely to invite the chiefs to make
another visit to Pennsylvania. But the invitation was de-
clined by the chiefs expressly upon the ground of what had
happened at the south. They sent word that " they could
not come this year, but would do so the next."

The contents of Mr. Gooch's letter having been com-
municated to the chiefs and sachems, they gave quite a
different version to the story. They denied that they were
preferring any claims against Virginia for lands. Their
warriors, they said, had been first fired upon by the Vir-
ginians, and four of their number killed. In return for
which they had killed eight of the Virginians, and se-
verely wounded two more. There were no white men in
the party, which consisted of thirty warriors, twenty-six
of whom had returned. They thanked the commissioners
for the efforts they were making to have the difficulty ad-
justed, as they hoped it would be. Still, apprehending
the possibility of a war as the consequence of the affray,
they had sent messages to the Ottawas, and their friends
at the west, to remain at home, and be prepared to aid
them in the event of hostilities.

Mr. Clarke's council, to whom the papers connected
with these transactions were communicated, on the seven-
teenth of April, were by no means satisfied with the ex-
planations of the Indians, nor with the proceedings of the
commissioners, against whom they more than insinuated
a lack of energy. They wrote back that the interpreter
should have been instructed to demand why the war party
went to Virginia? Why they had killed some of the peo-
ple, and carried away horses .and cattle before the battle ?
Why they had killed the man who was approaching them
with a signal of friendship? The council thought the
Indians were dealing with subtilty in this matter, and

76 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, insisted that they ought to be told explicitly that they
»— v — ' were breaking the covenant chain whenever they killed
' any of his majesty's subjects, no matter in which of the
colonies. Yet if the Indians disclaimed all knowledge of
the murders, and their abhorrence of the act, and would
restrain their young men from such unwarrantable expe-
ditions hereafter, the council hoped that the governor of
Virginia would come to such a temper as would enable
them to heal the breach. In regard to the land-claim to
which Mr. Gooch had referred, the council thought the
inference was warranted from the undeterminate phrase-
ology of Canassateego's speech at Philadelphia, although
some had supposed that Maryland, not Virginia, was in-
tended. However, it was necessary that the commission-
ers should inform the Six ^Nations that such outrageous
acts against any of his majesty's colonial settlements, must
be put an end to. The Indians themselves had com-
plained to Mr. Bleecker, the interpreter, of the intrigues
of the French ; and it was evident to the mind of the
council, that in order to put a termination to those out-
rages, the emissaries of the French must be prevented
from coming among them.

The consequence of this letter to the commissioners,
was another embassy in May to the Six Nations, in coun-
cil at Onondaga, with a more peremptory message. In
reply to which the Indians again explicitly disclaimed any
claim to land in Virginia. In regard to the unhappy oc-
currence in Virginia, they denied with solemnity that any
people had been killed before their braves were fired upon
thrice by the soldiers of M'Dowell and Buchanan. Their
young men were going on a fighting expedition to the
south when the affair happened, — but not to fight against
the Virginians. They had only taken a few cattle on their
way, and they thought the Virginians had treated them
too severely by following and firing upon them for so
small an offence. They regretted the occurrence ; but it

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 77

was out of the power of the chiefs to prevent their young chap.
warriors from occasionally going off' upon such expedi-' — , — •
tions. In transmitting this reply, the commissioners wrote
to the council that the Indians were really anxious for a
reconciliation. They thought great good would ensue,
were Mr. Gooch to come and meet them himself; and it
would he yet better if some of the chiefs of those remote
southern Indians, against whom the Six Nations had been
so long at war, could he persuaded to come also and meet
them in council. A general peace might then be effected,
whereas it was now almost impossible for the chiefs to re-
strain the formation of war parties among the scattered
Indians residing at a distance from their castles, notwith-
standing the stipulations of peace negotiated by Mr.
Clarke at the council of 1740.

A pacific letter, giving the results of these conferences
with the Indians was written to Mr. Gooch by Mr. Clarke ;
and at the earnest solicitation of the latter, the matter
seems to have been pressed no farther.

The administration of Lieutenant-Governor Clarke was
ended in the autumn of 1743, by the arrival of Admiral
George Clinton, uncle of the earl of Lincoln, and a
younger son of the late earl, who had been appointed to
the government of New York through the interest of his
friends, to afford him an opportunity of mending his for-
tunes. Mr. Clarke, who in the commencement of his ad-
ministration had succeeded in conciliating the leaders of
both political parties, had contrived before the close of
his career to lose the confidence of both, — so that his re-
tirement from the government was regarded with univer-
sal satisfaction.1 Especially had he incurred the resent-

1 George Clarke, Esq., who, in various official stations was for almost
half a century connected with the colonial government of New York, was
an Englishman by birth. '; His uncle, Mr. Blaithwait, procured the secre-
taryship of the colony for him early in the reign of Queen Anne. He had

1743.

78 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, ment of the chief justice, De Lancey; who, strangely
' enough, though usually a staunch supporter of the pre-
rogatives of the crown, had now become to some extent a
favorite of the general assembly. The new governor had
spent the most of his life in the navy ; and, according to
the earliest English historian of New York, " preferring
ease and good cheer to the restless activity of ambition,
there wanted nothing to engage the interest of his power-
ful patrons in his favor, more than to humor a simple-
hearted man, who had no ill nature, nor sought anything
more than a genteel frugality and common civility, while
he was mending those fortunes, until his friends at court

genius, but no other than a common writing-school education; nor did ha
add to his stock by reading, for he was more intent upon improving his
fortune than his mind. He was sensible, artful, active, cautious ; had a
perfect command of his temper, and was in his address specious and civil.
Nor was any man better acquainted with the colony and its affairs." He
successively held the offices of secretary, clerk of the council, counselor,
and lieutenant-governor ; and from his official position he had every op-
portunity of enriching himself by obtaining grants and patents of land —
which, from his knowledge of the colony he was enabled to choose in the
most advantageous locations. He was a courtier, and was careful never
to differ with the governors of the colony ; although during Cosby's stormy
career, he usually kept himself quiet at his country villa upon the edge of
Hempstead plains. " His lady was a Hyde, a woman of tine accomplish-
ments, and a distant relation of that branch of the Clarendon family. She
died in New York. Mr. Clarke returned to England in 1745, with acquisi-
tions estimated at one hundred thousand pounds. He purchased an estitio
in Cheshire, where he died about the year 1761. George Clarke, his grand-
son, and the heir to his estates, after a residence in America of about thirty-
five years, died at Otsego, about the year 1835. His eldest son, Geoii <•
Hyde Clarke, with his young wife, was lost in the ship Albion, wrecked on
the coast of Ireland, in the summer of 1820, on his passage from New York
to England. His second son then returned to England, and entered into
possession of the fortune of his father's estates situated in that country.
By the vast increase in price of his American lands, Mr. Clarke's estates in
this country became of princely value before his death. They are in-
herited by his youngest son, George Clarke, Esq., who now (1843), resides
in the noble mansion erected by his father a few years before his decease,
upon the margin of Otsego lake.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 79

could recall him to some indolent and more lucrative sta- chap.

ii.

tion."1 ■ — v — ■

Mr. Clinton arrived in New York on the twenty-second
of September, and was received with demonstrations of
universal satisfaction by the people. Finding that the
general assembly stood adjourned to meet in a few days,
and ascertaining that the people would be pleased with an
opportunity of holding a new election, the assembly was
dissolved on the. twenty-seventh and writs for the return
of another assembly issued the same day.2 The elections
were conducted without political acrimony, and all the old
members, with but seven exceptions, were returned. The
session opened on the eighth of November. Meantime
the governor had fallen into the hands of De Lancey, who
doubtless had the moulding of his excellency's speech.
Its tone was conciliatory, although the sore subject of a
permanent revenue was opened afresh. But this was done
in gentle terms, the governor asking for a grant " in as
ample a manner, and for a time as long, as had been given
under any of his predecessors." The assembly was in-
formed that owing to the critical state of affairs in Europe,
and the doubtful attitude in which Great Britain and
France stood toward each other, a large supply of military
stores for the defence of the colony had been received
from the parent government ; and the governor hoped the
assembly would show their thankfulness by making an
adequate provision for the purchase of others. The usual
recommendations in regard to the Indian intercourse of
the colony were renewed, and an appropriation was asked
for rebuilding the barracks, and public offices, together
with the house of the governor, which had been destroyed
by fire. The latter recommendation was insisted on

1 Smith's History of New York, vol. ii, page 85.

2 Idem.

80 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, as being necessary for the comfort of the governor's

>— v — i family.

"An humble address" was voted by the council in re-
ply, drawn up by De Lancey. The appointment of the
new governor was received " as an additional evidence of
his majesty's affection for his people, and his zeal for the
liberty of mankind, lately most evidently demonstrated in
his exposing his sacred person to the greatest dangers in
defence of the liberty of Europe."1 In all other respects
the answer was an echo of the speech. The address of
the house was more than an echo, — it was couched in lan-
guage of excessive flattery to the new governor, and of fawn-
ing adulation toward the sovereign, who was designated
"the darling of his own people, and the glorious preserver
of the liberties of Europe." There was, however, a dis-
position on all sides to be pleased. The assembly re-
sponded to the demanded appropriations, — voting the
governor fifteen hundred pounds for his salary, one hund-
red pounds for house rent, four hundred pounds for fuel
and candles, one hundred and fifty pounds to enable him
to visit the Indians, and eight hundred pounds for the
purchase of presents to be distributed amongst them^
Other appropriations were made upon a scale of corres-

1 The battle of Dettingen, in Germany, in which the British troops and
their allies obtained a brilliant victory over a powerful division of the army
of the Mareschal de Noailles, commanded by the Duke de Grammont. The
English troops, commanded by the Earl of Stair, were joined by the Duke
of Cumberland, to make his first campaign, and by his majesty (George II),
on the ninth of June. The English with their allies, were moving, on the
twenty-sixth of June, toward Hanau, to obtain supplies, and to join the
Hanovarians and Hessians, when they were met in a difficult position by
the French, thirty thousand strong. The king behaved very gallantly in
the engagement, exposing his person to a severe fire of cannon as well as
musketry. He rode between the first and second lines with his sword
drawn, and encouraged the troops to fight for the honor of England. The
French were defeated with the loss of five thousand men. They might have
been destroyed had the advantage been promptly followed up.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 81

ponding liberality ; and the governor was so well pleased chap.
with the good temper of the assembly, that he signed' — „ — •
every bill presented for his approbation, without a mur- ' '
mur of disapprobation, not even excepting the supply-
bill, which, notwithstanding his demand to the contrary,
in the opening speech, was limited to the year.

But notwithstanding these reciprocal manifestations of
good feeling ; and notwithstanding also the amiable traits
of the governor's natural disposition, it will be seen in the
progress of events that the bluff characteristics of the
sailor were :uot always to be concealed ; and his adminis-
tration, in process of time, became as tempestuous as the
element upon which he was certainly more at home than
upon the land.

Until after the arrival of Governor Clinton Mr. Johnson
seems to have taken no part in the public affairs of the
colony. His name appears in none of the public records
of that day ; and such of his private papers as have es-
caped the ravages of time and revolution, exhibit him
only in the character of a country merchant, enlarging his
business from year to year, increasing rapidly in wealth,
and assiduously cultivating the friendship and language
of the Indians. Before the year 1743, he had removed
from the south to the north side of the river, and settled
at the place heretofore described as Mount Johnson.
He had also in the last mentioned year become connected
with the fur-trade at the important trading post of Oswe-
go. Nor was it long before he opened a correspondence
on his own account with the opulent house of Sir "William
Baker & Co., in London. As his fortunes improved rapidly,
he grew with equal pace in the public estimation, not
only among the people of his own region, but likewise in
Albany and New York. His correspondence during this
period was considerable, indicating an extensive business
in all the multifarious departments of a country trading

establishment, independently of the fur-trade, in which he
11

82 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM J0HNS0X, BART.

chap, was now engaged, and his commerce with the Indians. In
v.^L/ his business transactions " he by no means lost sight of
1743. hig own interests, but on the contrary raised himself to
wealth in an open and active manner, not disdaining any
honorable means of benefiting himself ; but at the same
time the bad policy, as well as meanness of sacrificing re-
spectability to snatching present advantages, were so
obvious to him, that he laid the foundation of his future
prosperity on the broad and deep basis of honorable deal-
ing, accompanied by the most vigilant attention to the
objects he had in view ; acting so as without the least de-
parture from integrity on the one hand, or inattention to
his affairs on the other, to conduct himself in such a man-
ner as gave an air of magnanimity to his character, that
made him the object of universal confidence."1

Meantime the relations between Great Britain and
Spain had undergone a change demanding the services of
Mr. Johnson's uncle and patron, Captain Warren, upon
his own element. After a long series of aggressions upon
the commerce of England in the West India seas, com-
mitted by the Spaniards, attended often by the utmost in-
solence, cruelty, and rapine,2 the former power, appealing
in vain to the court of Madrid for indemnification, granted
letters of marque and reprisal against the Spaniards in
the year 1739. It was on the seventeenth of August
of that year, that Mr. Clarke, the lieutenant-governor,
laid before his council his majesty's warrant, authorizing
the government of New York to issue letters of marque
and reprisal against the commerce of Spain. Measures to

1 Memoirs of an American Lady, by Mrs. Grant.

2 Smollett's continuation of Hume. Bancroft, I am aware, gives another
aspect to the case, vide History of the United States, vol. iii, pp. 435 and
onward. He contends that England was the aggressor, and the cause of
war was with Spain. So seems to have thought Walpole, but so thought
not Pulteney, Pitt, afterward Earl of Chatham, and their followers in and
out of parliament. Nor has the brilliancy of Bancroft's style and argu-
ment won me to his side of the question.

Life of sir William johnson, bart. 83

that end were immediately adopted by the council, in- chap.
eluding the specification of the bonds to be taken, and thew^— >
forms of commissions to be granted.1 1743,

This measure was soon followed by an open rupture.
The British squadron in the Mediterranean having taken
two richly laden Spanish merchantmen from Caraccas, his
Catholic majesty ordered all the English ships in his har-
bors to be seized and detained. A declaration of war
could no longer be avoided by Sir Robert Walpole, al-
though that able and crafty minister had labored long and
earnestly to avoid such an issue.2 The declaration by the
king of England, was proclaimed in October, 1739, and
Admiral Vernon was forthwith dispatched in the com-
mand of a fleet against the Spanish West India posses-
sions ; but it was not until the thirtieth of June in the
following year that the fact that such a declaration had
been issued, was officially communicated to the general
assembly by Lieutenant-Governor Clarke. He then called
upon the assembly to encourage, by bounty, enlistments
of volunteers to join his majesty's troops engaged in the
"West India expedition ; and a bill was shortly afterward
passed making provision for the victualing and transport-
ation of five hundred volunteers in that service.3 From

1 MS. records of the executive council of New York. It appears by
these records, however, that the privateering business had been carried on
briskly from the port of New York for the two or three preceding years.

1 Smollett. It was upon this subject of their Spanish relations, that Sir
Robert Walpole was compelled to encounter the fierce opposition which
marked and embittered his closing career. Before the issuing of the let-
ters of marque, a convention had been concluded between England and
Spain (though never regarded by the latter), which was the subject of the
severest condemnation by the opposition, and was denounced with the
strongest invective by Sir William Wyndham and Mr. Pulteney, in the com-
mons ; to whom Walpole, losing nis temper, repnea in a manner that in-
duced the famous secession of the minority from the house, in 1738. Those
debates have been greatly Extolled for their eloquence and power. In the
following year, howeverf the seceding members resumed their seats, with
Mr. Pulteney at their head.

s Journals of the Provincial Assembly.

84 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART;

chap, the West Indies, Vernon directed his course to Porto
w^Bello, which became an easy conquest. The fortress of
1743. Chagre was also taken and demolished by Vernon, and
Europe was made to resound with his praises for these ex-
ploits. Lord Cathcart, to whom the command of the land
forces of the expedition was entrusted, having died at Do-
minica, a victim to the climate, the command devolved
upon " the inexperienced and irresolute Wentworth."1
Expectation was high in regard to anticipated triumphs ;
and in May, 1741, more levies were required from the
northern colonies, and the assembly of New York was re-
quired by Mr. Clarke to make farther appropriations for
this service. It was hoped, said the speech, that "the
glorious beginning would excite the assembly to speedy
and generous resolutions." But this "glorious begin-
ning" was shortly followed by the miserable ending of
the expedition against Carthagena, where, weakened by
sickness in its most frightful forms, and discouraged by
the ill-judged movements of their commanders, the British
troops were repulsed in an attempt to storm the citadel,
or castle commanding the town. In escaping thence,
Vernon and "Wentworth attempted to retrieve their sad
reverses at Carthagena by a descent upon Cuba. A land-
ing was effected in a bay, on the south-eastern part of that
island, in July, 1741, and the troops ascending a river,
encamped about twenty miles from the bay. This event
was announced by Mr. Clarke, in a speech to the assem-
bly, in September. General Wentworth, it was said, had
obtained a secure footing on the island, and recruits and
supplies were called for to secure the conquest.2 But they
were not needed. After remaining inactive in their posi-
tion till the month of November, enfeebled by the cli-

1 Bancroft.

2 See Journals of the Provincial Assembly. In this speech the lieutenant-
governor recommended the enactment of laws regulating the manufacture
and sale of flour and bread — denouncing the bolters and bakers for their
frauds, &c.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 85

mate, and their numbers wasted by sickness, the troops chap.
were re-embarked, and sailed to Jamaica.1 The whole ^-^—^
expedition was a deplorable failure. The levies, from the 1<43-
colonies nearly all perished from the pestilence, and the
entire loss of lives was estimated at twenty thousand. Eng-
land had made no acquisitions, and had inflicted on the
Spanish West Indies far less evil than she herself had
suffered."2

Simultaneously with these operations in the West In-
dies, the invasion of Florida from the colonies, had been
determined on, the command being entrusted to General
Oglethorpe, — the benevolent founder of Georgia, — who
was ordered to raise levies of provincials for that purpose
from South Carolina and his own infant plantations. This
expedition, though successfully commenced by the cap-
ture of Fort Diego, distant twenty-five miles from St. Au-
gustine, owing to a combination of untoward circum-
stances, ended in disaster — the general having been com-
pelled to raise the siege of the last mentioned fortress,
under circumstances that caused great and mutual dissat-
isfaction between the troops and their commander.3

These hostilities, as I have already remarked, required
the services of Captain Warren at sea, to which he seems
to have been ordered very soon after writing the letter to
his nephew cited in the early part of the present chapter ;
inasmuch as he was engaged in the squadron of Commo-
dore Price, co-operating with General Oglethorpe against
St. Augustine. The vessel commanded by Captain War-
ren at this time is not mentioned ; but he was certainly
there at the time in question, for when it was found that
the town could not be effectively cannonaded from the
batteries erected by Oglethorpe on an island in the river
opposite, because of the distance, a plan was proposed for a
night attack upon the Spanish galleys which prevented the

i Smollett.

2 Bancroft.

3 Marshall's Colonial History.

86 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, passage of the river for a direct assault, and Captain War-
v— v — -ren volunteered to conduct the enterprise. "But, on
1743- sounding the bar, the water was found too shallow to
admit the passage of one of the large ships to the attack,
and the project was necessarily abandoned."1 Probably,
however, Captain Warren was then in command of the
Squirrel, a twenty-gun ship, in which he was certainly
cruising upon the American station eighteen months af-
terward. In 1742 he commanded the Launceton, of forty
guns, in which he captured the Peregrina privateer,
mounting fourteen carriage, and four swivel guns, in com-
pany with Captain Edward Aylmer, of the Port Mahon.
"Warren was subsequently promoted to the Superbe, of
sixty guns, in which he was ordered to the West Indies,
where he was left by Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle in com-
mand as commodore of a small squadron on the Antigua
station.2 The activity of his after-life probably left him
but little time to reside on shore in New York, before his
return to and settlement in England. But of this here-
after.

France was at that time an ally of Spain, in the wars
of the continent; and had well nigh been drawn into the
contest with England in 1741. The queen of Spain hav-
ing formed a plan for erecting a kingdom for her second
son, Don Philip, from some of the Italian dominions, an
army of fifteen thousand men was embarked for that ob-
ject at Barcelona, for Orbitello, which was convoyed thither
by the united squadrons of France and Spain — passing
the straits of Gibraltar in the night, while Admiral Had-
dock, with a fleet of twelve sail of the line was lying i;
the bay. The British admiral sailing from Gibraltar, reil
in with them in a few days, and discovered both squad-
rons drawn up in order of battle, having been joined by me
French squadron from Toulon. When bearing down to

1 Marshall's Colonial History.

2 Charnock.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 8 I

give the Spaniards battle, the French admiral sent a flag chap.
to the English, informing him that inasmuch as the French ■ — ¥ — -
and Spanish fleets were engaged in a joint expedition, he 1743-
should he obliged to act in concert with his master's allies.
The combined fleets amounted to double the number of
the English ships ; and the interposition of the French
admiral prevented an engagement.1 Still the time was
not far distant when France became involved in the con-
test with England, by reason of espousing the cause of
the Chevalier de St. Greorge, usually called " the pretend-
er." And an expedition in behalf of this prince, with a
view of placing him upon the throne of his ancestors, the
Stuarts, under a belief that he would be received in Scot-
land with acclamation, wTas set on foot by France during
the present year.

Advices of the intended invasion of his majesty's do- 1744
minions, in behalf of "a Popish pretender," were com-
municated to the general assembly of New York by Gov-
ernor Clinton, in April, 1744. In connection with this
anticipated act of hostility, which would of course extend
to the contiguous colonies of the two countries, efficient
measures were urged for placing the country in a posture
of defence. The temper of the colony, in regard to this
movement of France, may be inferred from the immediate
action of the assembly. In the council, Chief Justice De
Lancey, in moving an address of thanks for the speech,
offered also a resolution expressive of the abhorrence of
that body of the designs of France in favor of the pre-
tender, and declaring that the civil and religious rights of
his majesty's subjects depended on the Protestant succes-
sion. The house was invited to join in the address, which
request, though a very unusual procedure, was readily
acquiesced in, and the address was prepared by a joint
committee of the two houses.1 From all this it was evi-

i Smollett.

2 Journals of the Colonial Assembly.

88 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, dent that a war was very near at hand, and that the fron-
v_v_/ tiers of the colony might again, very soon, be subjected to
1744- the ravages of a foe than whose tender mercies nothing
could be more cruel.

An appropriation had been made in the preceding De-
cember, to enable Governor Clinton to meet the Six !N ations
in general council. But no such conference had yet taken
place. Happening to be in Albany, however, in June of
the present year, and a considerable party of the chiefs
and sachems happening to be there also at the same time,
an interview took place at which the formalities almost
of a general council were interchanged. The governor
commenced his speech by informing them that he had it
in command from the great king their father, to tell them
of his desire that the covenant chain between them should
be kept bright and strong. He then informed them how
his majesty had sent an army into Germany the preceding
year, which had been treacherously attacked by the
French, contrary to the faith of treaties. But by the
courage of the English they were beaten, and obliged to
fly across the Rhine.1 Not only so, but the governor told
them that at a subsequent day, the French fleet had joined
itself to the fleet of his majesty's enemies, the Spaniards,
and having attacked the British fleet, the French had
again been beaten.2 After this, the French king had de-

1 Preferring to the battle of Dettingen, of which a brief account has been
given in a preceding note.

2 Referring to the irregular and unfortunate engagement between the
English and the combined French and Spanish fleets, off Toulon, on the
eleventh and twelfth of February, 1744. The English commander was Ad-
miral Matthews, under whom was Vice Admiral Lestock. The French
commander was M. de Court ; the Spanish Don Navarro. The combined
fleets had been blockaded in Toulon. But on attempting to get to sea,
they were attacked by Matthews, whq himself, behaved with great intre-
pidity ; but failed in his tactics. Between Matthews and Lestock, a bitter
antagonistical feeling existed ; and perceiving the erroneous manoeuvers
of his commander, Lestock furnished a precedent for Captain Elliott, in the
American service, on Lake Erie, seventy years afterward, by manceuver-
ing on both days, so as to keep entirely out of the action. For this con-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 89

clared war against their great father, who in turn had chap.
declared war against him.1 For the present, the governor >— ^
would not urge them upon the war-path. He wished 1744«
them to remain at home, — to be on their guard against
the arts of the French, — and to communicate whatever
information they could obtain to the Indian commission-
ers at Albany. In recompense for their fidelity, they were
promised protection by the English ; but they were also
told by the governor that he should expect them to assist
in the prosecution of the war whenever called upon for
that purpose. The governor farther spoke of the import-
ance, to them, of maintaining the post of Oswego, where
they could always purchase goods cheaper than they could
of the French. The French had their eye upon this post,
to defend which six pieces of ordnance had recently been
forwarded thither ; and should it be attacked, the govern-
or expected the Six Nations to assist in its defence. In
conclusion, the governor reminded them of the promise
formerly made by the Cayugas and Senecas, that they
would concentrate their people and unite their castles. If
this measure had not been executed, he hoped they would
attend to it as soon as possible ; since, in this time of war,
a union of their nations would greatly add to their strength
and reputation. They had likewise promised that no
Frenchmen should be suffered to live among them ; which
promise the governor hoped they had kept.

This speech was delivered on the eighteenth of June.
Two days afterward the chiefs replied ; but not in a man-
ner altogether satisfactory to the governor upon the main
subject of his speech — the war with France. True, they
reciprocated his excellency's professions of friendship with

duct, Lestock was brought to a court marshal, but instead of being pun-
ished, as he deserved, Matthews, who had really fought with gallant dar-
ing, was dismissed the service for allowing the fleets to escape him ! Such
is the caprice of fortune.

1 The French declaration of the war of 1744, was dated on the twentieth
day of March. On the thirty-first day of March, the English declaration
published amidst the acclamations of the people.
12

90 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, as much apparent cordiality as ever. It was their deter-
^— v— - urination to strengthen the covenant chain, and keep it
1744- strong and bright as long as the sun endures. Indeed,
"we will preserve it so strong and keep it so bright, that
it shall not be in the power of the devil himself, with any
of his wiles and arts, to break or rust it." Yet they were
not remarkably anxious to prove their friendship by going
upon the war-path. They said they understood all that
had been said in regard to the conduct of the French and
the war. But, as to engaging in it, that seemed to be
another affair. They were indeed a warlike people, and
they had never yet been engaged in a war in which they had
not sooner or later prevailed. But they did not now like
to begin the war with Canada. It would be time enough
when the enemy himself had taken up the hatchet. When
the enemy should have attacked any of the subjects of the
great king, their father, they would be ready to join in
defending themselves against them. In reference to the
post of Oswego, they were glad it was to be preserved ;
but, as to its immediate advantages to them, in their trade,
these were not so great as when first established ; they
sold goods cheaper to the Indians then, than they do now.
They liked the officer in command there, and wished
goods might become as cheap as before. Yet, should it
be attacked, they would aid in its defence. In regard to
the proposed concentration of their two western nations,
the Cayugas and Senecas, they were too busy to do it now.
Nor would they send from among them any of the French
that might be residing with their people. " We have just
told you we are for peace, and must await the attacks of
the enemy. Should we take hold of any French that
came among us, we should be the first aggressors." 1

The apprehensions expressed by the governor, respect-
ing Oswego, were by no means groundless. On the
twenty-fourth of June he laid before the council letters

1 The proceedings of this incidental council may be found at large in
the Council Minutes.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 91

from the commandant of Oswego, advising that Monsieur chap.
Micol Ilaydcn had ascended Lake Ontario past that post, v-^—/
with a small force (probably of observation); and some 1<44-
Indian scouts had returned from Cadaracqui, with intelli-
gence that the French were collecting a force of eight
hundred men for the purpose of attacking Oswego, and
were only waiting for the arrival of their fleet in the St.
Lawrence to complete their arrangements and make the
descent.1

But the largest and most important Indian council of the
year 1744, and upon which the principal sachems and chiefs
of the Six Nations were in attendance nearly at the same
time that Mr. Clinton was holding his conference with
others of their chiefs at Albany, took place at Lancaster,
in the colony of Pennsylvania, commencing on the twenty-
second day of June, and ending on the fourth of July.
This council was convened at the solicitation of Lieutenant-
Governor Thomas, of that colony, who had assumed the
office of mediator between the Six Nations and the colonies
of Maryland and Virginia, in regard to the ownerships of
certain districts of country within the extending borders
of those colonies, claimed by the Six Nations. It will be
remembered that complaints of trespasses upon those
lands, especially by the people of Maryland, were uttered
by the Six Nations in Philadelphia two years before, and
also that the governor of Maryland was written to upon
the subject by the council of Pennsylvania at that time, —
the Indians having intimated a threat that, if their com-
plaints were not attended to, they were able to do justice
to themselves. Mr. Thomas had also acted as a media-
tor between the Virginians and the Six Nations, touch-
ing the skirmish between a party of Iroquois warriors and
a small body of Virginia militia-men, under Captains
M'Dowell and Buchanan, which occurred in the back part
of the colony, in December, 1742, the particulars of which
have already been related. By means of this interposi-

1 Council Minutes.

92 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, tion, the difficulty had been adjusted; — both parties agree-
>—>r-> ing to lay down their arms and bury the transaction in
1744- oblivion ; Virginia cementing the reconciliation by a pre-
sent of goods to the amount of one hundred pounds. Yet
the land-controversy remained for adjustment; although
it was not apparent at the council of 1742, that the claim
of the Indians extended to any lands upon which the pale
faces had trespassed in Virginia. They were indeed re-
ported by the Indian commissioners at Albany, in their
dispatches to Lieutenant-Governor Clarke, to have disa-
vowed making any such claim. But that was a wide mis-
understanding between the parties, since the claim was
advanced upon Virginia as well as Maryland; and this
council was invited by Mr. Thomas, for the purpose, if
possible, of effecting such an adjustment of the contro-
versy between the parties respectively, as should be satis-
factory to them all.

No doubt the anxiety of Mr. Thomas to bring about a
reconciliation, was quickened by the impending conflict
with France. He saw the importance of the Six Nations
as a barrier between the English and French colonies. If
friends, to quote nearly his own language, they were capa-
ble of defending the English settlements ; if enemies, of
making cruel ravages upon them ; if neutral, they could
deny the French a passage through their country to strike
the English settlements, and moreover give timely inform-
ation of their designs. The advantages of cultivating a
good understanding with them were therefore obvious,
while equally evident were the disadvantages of a rupture.
Hence the exertions of Mr. Thomas to gather the present
council, to which Virginia had commissioned as delegates
the Honorable Thomas Lee, and Colonel "William Beverley,
and Maryland the Honorable Edmund Jennings, Philip
Thomas, Esquire, and Colonels Robert King and Thomas
Calvil. Mr. Witham Marshe was appointed secretary to
the commission, and the Rev. Mr. Craddock chaplain.1

xWitham Marshe — afterward Sir William Johnson's secretary — has
left a very particular and edifying journal of his journey to and from this

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 93

The number of Indian deputies present — chiefs and sa- chap.
chems, — is not stated ; hut they came like a caravan, w ^- ,
accompanied by warriors who were not chiefs, and by wo- 1744-
men and children and old men, to the number of more
than two hundred and fifty persons. Several of their women
and children were mounted on horseback, " a thing very
unusual with them ;" and their warriors were armed with
muskets, bows and arrows, and tomahawks.1 On enter-
ing the village of Lancaster, " a great multitude of people
followed them. They inarched in very good order, with
Canassateego, one of the Onondaga chiefs at their head ;
who, when he came near to the quarters of the commis-
sioners, sung, in the Indian language, a song, inviting to
a renewal of all treaties heretofore made, and to the nego-
tiation of a new one."2

The Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tusca-
roras were each represented. The Mohawks were not.
Canassateego and Tachanoontia, Onondagas, and Gach-
radodow, a Cayuga, were the speakers, and Conrad "Wei-
ser, whose Indian name was Tarachawagon, as usual, the
interpreter.

The chiefs with their retinue, formed an encampment in
the precincts of the town, which, from the descriptions of
honest Witham Marshe, must have presented a rare ex-
ample of the picturesque in human life. While the sages
were in council, the women occupied themselves with
their usual domestic concerns, and the children frolicked
about at their option — the boys making strong their arms
by stringing the bow, and improving their skill by speed-
ing the arrow, or hurling their little hatchets — acquiring
the art, in anticipation of going upon the war-path, of
planting the hatchet in the trunk of a tree within the

council, and of its proceedings from day to day, to which I shall have oc-
casion more than once to refer. This curious itinerary may be found in
vol. vii, Mass. His. Coll.

1 Marshe's Journal.

2 Idem.

94 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, diameter of a hair of the mark. In the evenings, when
s_^_, the graver affairs of the day were ended, and the fires were
1744. lighted, the young men indulged in their favorite sports
and games, wild and grotesque, before the groups of pale
faces that gathered around their encampment ; now illus-
trating the pow-wow dance, and now seizing a spear in
one hand and a hatchet in the other, making the woods
ring with the shrill war whoop, as around the blazing
lire they performed the threatening war-dance. Among
the friends to the mission was the celebrated Catherine
Montour,— a princess of the Senecas residing at the head
of Seneca lake in the midst of a clan whom she ruled.
Mrs. Montour was a half-breed, her father according to
tradition and her own story, having been governor of
Canada, and her mother a Huron. Until about ten years
of age, she had been carefully reared and educated, and
her manners, even then, in her old age, were affable, and
comparatively polite. During the war between the Six
Nations and the French and Hurons, she was captured and
carried into the country of the Senecas, by whom she was
adopted. On arriving at years of maturity she was mar-
ried to a famous war-captain, who was in great esteem for
the glory he achieved for his people in their wars against
the Catawbas, by whom she had several children. About
fifteen years before the date Of this council, her chief was
slain by the Catawbas. She had two daughters, both
married to war-captains, who were then upon the war-
path at the south. She had also a son, John, a man of
great prowess, then absent against the Catawbas. He was
a brave partisan warrior at a later period, and a great
favorite of Sir "William Johnson — being often in his ser-
vice. Although so young when made a prisoner, she had
nevertheless preserved her language ; and being in youth
and middle age very handsome, and of good address, she
had been greatly caressed by the gentlewomen of Phila-
delphia during her occasional visits to that city with her
people on business. Indeed she was always held in great

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 95

esteem by the white people, invited to their houses, and chap.
entertained with marked civility.1 ■ — ^

The business of the council was opened by Mr. Thomas, 1744-
in a speech addressed chiefly to the commissioners of
Maryland and Virginia, who at its close were formally in-
troduced to the dusky ambassadors " as brethren who had
come to enlarge the fire which had almost gone out, and
to brighten the chain which had contracted some rust."
To the chiefs he said : " receive these your brethren with
open arms, and unite yourselves to them in the covenant
chain as one body and one soul." The speech was closed
with exhortations to the Indians of fidelity toward the
English, and by the oft-repeated cautions against the arts
and designs of the French. Canassateego replied that the
Indians had always considered Assaragoa,2 and the gov-
ernor of Maryland as their friends ; but inasmuch as they
had met to adjust disputes about land, he preferred having
that business settled first, after which they could proceed
"to confirm the friendship subsisting between them."

The Maryland commissioners opened their case first.
They were surprised when they heard of the claim of the
Six Nations two years ago, to any of their lands, and were
displeased at the threat with which they had accompanied
their complaint, — as though they had designed to terrify
the people of Maryland into a compliance with their de-
mands. The people of Maryland had been in possession
of the lands in question more than a hundred years, with-
out having heard of this claim. Ninety years ago the
Susquehanna Indians had by treaty relinquished those
lands. Sixty years ago the Six Nations had acknow-
ledged, at Albany, that they had given up their lands and
submitted themselves to the king of England. In a word,
they believed the Six Nations had no rightful claim what-
ever to the territory in dispute. " They had now laid

1 Witham Marshe's Journal.

2 The name which the Indians had conferred upon the governor of Vir-
ginia, and by which they always addressed him or his representatives.

96 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, their bosoms bare ;" and yet they were willing, in order
v_^_/to remove every cause of contention, to make the Six Na-
1744, tions a valuable present of goods, which they had brought
along " in a chest, with the key in their pocket."

Canassateego replied.1 It was true that the Indians, in
making their complaint against the trespasses upon their
lands by the people of Maryland, had used language " that
looked like a design to terrify you." He admitted that
they had done so. They had complained in regard to
trespasses upon their lands about seven years ago. But no
notice was taken of their complaint. " Two years ago,
therefore, they resolved to use such language as would
make the greatest impression on your minds, and we find
it has had its effect. You will soon have understood our
expressions in their true sense. We had no evil design, —
no desire to terrify you, but to put you on doing the jus-
tice you have so long delayed." Having thus explained
the intention of their menace, and added the strong-
est assurances of their good disposition toward the com-
missioners, the chief proceeded to discuss the nature of
their claim, and its history, — commencing in true Indian
style, with the first planting of the European colonies in
America. " When you mentioned the aftair of the land
yesterday, you went back to old times. You told us you
had been in possession of the province of Maryland above
one hundred years ; but what is one hundred years, in
comparison of the length of time since our claim began ?
since we came out of this ground? Long before one
hundred years our ancestors came out of this very ground,
and their children have remained here ever since. You
came out of the ground in a country that lies beyond the

1 For some account of this Indian counselor, and an interesting anecdote
concerning him, see Froud's Pennsylvania, and also the author's history
of Wyoming. Witham Marshe says of him : " He was a tall, well made
man ; had a very full chest, and brawny limbs. He had a manly counte-
nance, mixed with a good natured smile. He was about sixty years of
age ; very active, strong, and had a surprising liveliness in his speech,
which I observed betwixthim, Mr. Weiser, and some of the sachems."

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOIINSON, BART. 97

seas. There you may have a just claim, but here you chap.
must allow us to be your elder brethren. It is true that *_^_ >
above one hundred years ago the Dutch came here in a 1'44-
ship, and brought us goods — such as awls, hatchets,
knives, guns, and other things. And when they had
taught us how to use them, and saw what sort of people
they were, we liked them so well that we tied their ship
to the bushes on the shore. Afterward, liking them still
better the longer they staid with us, and thinking the
bushes too slender, we removed the rope and tied it to the
trees ; and as the trees were likely to be blown ciown by
the high winds, or to decay of themselves, we, from the
affection we bore them, again removed the rope, and tied
it to a strong and big rock.1 Not content with this, for
its further security, we removed the rope to the Big Moun-
tain, and there we tied it very fast, and rolled wampum
about it ;2 and, to make it still more secure, we stood
upon the wampum and sat down upon it. To prevent
any hurt coming to it, we did our best endeavors that it
might remain uninjured forever." During all this time,
he maintained, the Dutch never disputed their title to the
land, but purchased by league and covenant, as they
needed. Then came the English, who, the Indians were
told, became one people with the Dutch. The English

1 Here the interpreter said they meant the Oneida country. They were
called the People of the Rock, from a large and peculiar stone in their
country, which, according to their tradition was moving westward, and the
nation moved with that stone, or rock. Indeed the name, Oneida, signifies
an upright stone. By some of the Oneidas, this Oneida stone was regarded
as a proper emblem, or representation of the divinity whom they worshiped.
" This stone," says the late Rev. Jeddediah Morse, D. D., in one of his
missionary tours, " we saw. It is of a rude, unwrought shape, rather in-
clined to cylindrical, and of more than a hundred pounds weight. It bears
no resemblance to any of the stones found in that country. From whence
it was brought, no one can tell. The tradition is that it follows the nation
in their removals. When set up in the crotch of a tree, the people were
supposed invincible.'"

2 This was an allusion to the Onondaga country — the People of the Big
Mountain.

98 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, governor came to Albany, and approving mightily of the
v— ^ — - friendship between the Dutch and Indians, wished like-
!744. wjge .j-0 form a league with the Six Nations. " Looking
into what had passed between us, he found that the rope
which tied the ship to the great mountain, was only fast-
ened with wampum, which was liable to break and rot.
He therefore told us he would give us a silver chain,
which would be much stronger, and would last forever.
This we accepted, and fastened the ship with it, and it has
lasted ever since." Glancing rapidly over the history of
their intercourse with the English, and arguing that on
the whole that intercourse had been of no advantage to
them, the arrival of William Penn was thus referred to :
" Our brother Onas, a great while ago, came to Albany,
to buy the Susquehanna lands of us ; but our brother the
governor of New York, who, as we supposed, had not a
good understanding with our brother Onas, advised us not
to sell him any land, for he would make an ill use of it ;
and, pretending to be our good friend, he advised us, in
order to prevent Onas, or any other person's imposing
upon us, and that we might always have our land when
we should want it, to put it into his hands ; and told us
he would keep it for our use, and never open his hands,
but keep them close shut, and not part with any of it, but
at our own request. Accordingly we trusted him, and
charged him to keep the land safe for our use. But some
time after, he went to England, and carried our land with
him, and there sold it to our brother Onas for a large sum
of money ; and when afterward, we were minded to sell
our brother Onas some of our lands, he told us that we
had sold them to the governor of New York, already, and
that he had bought them of him in England ! But when
he came to understand how the governor of New York
had deceived us, he very generously paid us for the Sus-
quehanna lands over again."

Notwithstanding the dishonesty thus practiced upon
them by New York, however, the orator admitted that in
their wars with the French, they had received such assist-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 99

ance from New York as had enabled them " to keep up chap.
their heads against their attacks." In regard to the im-v.^
mediate question as to the lands now in controversy, the 1744-
orator said they had examined the titles adduced by the
commissioners, to the Susquehanna lands, and admitted
their validity. The Conestoga or Susquehanna Indians had
sold them to the governor of .Maryland before their subju-
gation by the Six Nations, and therefore they had a right
to sell them. But those were not the lands in dispute.
The Six Nations demanded satisfaction for no part of
those lands, but their claim was from the Cohongoron-
tas lands.1 Those, they were sure, had not been in the
possession of the people of Maryland one hundred years,
no, nor even ten years;1 and the Six Nations had de-
manded satisfaction so soon as they were apprised that the
people of Maryland had settled down upon them. They
had never been sold ; but understanding that the commis-
sioners were provided with goods to pay for them, they
were willing to treat for their sale. Canassateego added,
that inasmuch as the then governors of Virginia, Mary-
land and Pennsylvania had divided the lands among them,
the Indians could not tell how much had been taken by
each, nor were they concerned on that account, provided
they were paid by the parties upon the principles of honor
and justice.2

Next in order the discussion was resumed by Mr.
Lee, of the Virginia commission, who acknowledged
that seven years before, Onas had written to Assaragoa
in behalf of the Six Nations, requesting compensation
for certain lands claimed by them, upon which they
alleged some of the Virginians had taken their seats ;
but as they had heard that the Six Nations had given up
their lands to the great king long ago, and as Virginia had
been in possession one hundred and sixty years, Assara-

1 Cohongorontas, the name by which the Potomac was called by the Six
Nations.

2 Dr. Colden's account of the treaty.

100 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, goa thought there must be some mistake in the matter.
w^ — r He had therefore requested the governor of New York,
1744. neariy two years ago, to make some inquiry upon the
subject. That governor sent a message to the great coun-
cil-fire at Onondaga more than a year ago, to which the
chiefs answered, "that if they had had any demands or pre-
tensions upon the governor of Virginia, they would have
made it known to the governor of New York." It was
clear, therefore, that the Six Nations had no claim upon
Virginia for the Cohongorohtas lands, nor for any other.
Yet, continued the commissioners, " tell us what nations
of Indians you conquered lands from in Virginia, how many
since, and what possessions you have had ; and if it ap-
pears that there are any lands oh the borders of Virginia
to which you have a right, we are willing to make you
satisfaction.

This speech was pronounced by Canassateego to be
very good and agreeable ; and after the usual time for
consideration with the Indians had elapsed, Tachanoontia
replied.1 He said they claimed the lands on the Susque-
hanna and on the Cohongorontas, and back of the great
mountains by the right of conquest — "a right too dearly
purchased, and which cost too much blood, to be given up
without any reason at all, as you say we did at Albany."
He denied, explicitly, the answer said to have been re-
turned to Governor Clarke's message from Albany the
year before. No such answer had been given either by
the chiefs, or by anybody else. If they held the fact to

be otherwise, he demanded the letter. He next proceeded

1 Tachanoontia was an Onondaga sachem and warrior. " He was a tall,
thin man ; old, and not so well featured as Canassateego, but about the
same age. He is one of the greatest warriors that ever the Six Nations
produced, and has been a great war-captain for many years past. This
chief was also called The Black Prince, because, as I was informed, he
was either the son of an Indian woman by a negro, or of an Indian chief
by a negress ; but by which of the two I could not be well assured. The
governor of Canada will not treat with any of the Six Nation, unless
Tachanoontia is personally present, he having a great sway in all the
Indian councils." — Witham Marshe.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 101

to enumerate five several nations of Indians in Virginia chap.

ir.

whom the Six Nations had conquered, " and who feel the w^-^
effects of our conquests, being now a part of our nations 1744-
and their lands at our disposal. However, the chief was
not disposed to prolong the discussion concerning the
lands, as, understanding that commissioners were provided
with goods, he thought that question could be easily
adjusted.

Before closing his speech, however, Tachanoontia re-
ferred, for the purpose apparently of making an expla-
nation, to the skirmish that had taken place in the back
part of Virginia, in December, 1742, between a party of
the Six Nations' warriors and a detachment of Virginia
militia, under Captains M'Dowell and Buchanan, the par-
ticulars of which have been already stated. This affair, he
asserted, had been occasioned solely by the aggressions
of Virginia. Twenty years ago, at the treaty held by
Governor Spotteswood in Albany, the Six Nations had
agreed to remove their road to the middle of the ridge of
the great mountains. But the Virginians, contrary to
the stipulations of that treaty, had settled on that road ;
and this was the cause of the affray. The Six Nations
then removed their road again to the foot of the moun-
tains ; " but it was not long before your people came like
a flock of birds, and sat down on both sides of it." They
could not remove their road any farther back, and this
matter, said the chief, must be settled before we can
make any grant of land. " The Virginia people must be
obliged to remove farther easterly, or, if they stay, our
warriors must share what they plant."

The proceedings were interlocutory, the Maryland com-
missioners interposing at this stage of them, and after a
speech denying, peremptorily, the claim of the Six Na-
tions, yet, for the purpose of harmony, — that they might
all be of one heart, — offering to pay for a title to the
lands in dispute the sum of three hundred pounds in
goods.

The Virginia commissioners thereupon renewed the

102 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, discussion, — insisting that "the king held the entire ter-
w^-^ ritoiy of Virginia by right of conquest, to the westward
1744- as far as the great sea." Even if the Six Nations had
conquered any Indians beyond the great mountains, they
yet had never possessed any lands there. When the Eng-
lish came those lands were deserted. But aside from this
fact, the Indians were reminded once more of their re-
linquishment of their lands to the great king fifty-eight
years before, in a treaty with the governor of New York, at
Albany. Lord Howard, the governor of Virginia, being
also there. They had then not only given up their lands
to the king for his protection, but declared themselves
his subjects.1 In respect to the affair between Captain
M'Dowell and a party of their warriors, the commission-
ers maintained that the Indians had not kept their agree-
ment with Governor Spotteswood, not to pass or repass
within certain boundaries without written passports, either
from the governor of ISTew York or of Virginia. " What
right can you have to lands that you have no right to walk
upon, but upon certain conditions ? Nor would there have
been any collision, had the Six Nations kept the peace
with the southern Indians, which had been confirmed at
Albany with Governor Clarke. It was owing to the
war they were continuing against the Catawbas, that the
skirmish had taken place. Yet, after all, they, the com-
missioners, were willing to adjust the difficulty upon the
basis of Governor Spotteswood's treaty, and furthermore
to pay any reasonable demand which the Six Nations sup-

1 This was in the year 1687. The following passage from the speech of
the Six Nations on that occasion, was cited by the Virginia commissioners :
"Brethren, you tell us the king of England is a very great king, and why
should you not join with us in any just cause, where the French join with
our enemies in a very unjust cause? 0 brethren, we see the reason of this ;
for the Frenoh would fain kill us all, and when that is done, they would
carry all the beaver trade to Canada, and the great king of England would
lose the land likewise ; and therefore, 0 great sachem, beyond the great
lakes, awake, and suifer not those poor Indians, that have given themselves
and their lands under your protection, to be destroyed by the French
without a cause."

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 103

posed themselves to have for the territory they claimed, chap.
although, as they had been informed, the southern Indians >—v—>
were claiming the same lands. 1744-

It is quite probable that in all these discussions, there
was duplicity on both sides. The Indians saw that their
own importance was magnified by the condition of the
country; while the commissioners, for the same cause,
were prepared to accede, to a considerable extent, even
to groundless claims, rather than give such umbrage to
the Indians as might by any possibility drive them over to
the French.

The Virginians were answered by a Cayuga chief named
Gachradodow — a name which appears in this negotiation
only, so far as I am acquainted with Indian history. Ad-
dressing "Brother Assaragoa" — "The world," said he,
at the first, was made on the other side of the great water,
very different from what it was on this side, as may be
known from the different colors of our skin and our flesh ;
and that which you call justice, may not be so among us.
The great king might send you over to conquer the In-
dians, but it looks to us that God did not approve of it.
If He had, He would not have placed the great sea be-
tween us where it is. Though great things are remem-
bered among us, yet we don't remember that we were
ever conquered by the great king, or that we have been
employed by that king to conquer others. If it was so,
it is beyond our memories. We do remember we were
employed by Maryland to conquer the Conestogas, and the
second time we were at war with them, he carried them all
off." Gachradodow next proceeded to explain their conduct
respecting the Catawbas. They had, it was true, at Al-
bany, when their brother Assaragoa sent them some belts
of wampum from the Cherokees and Catawbas, agreed to a
peace with those nations, on the condition that they
should send some of their great men " to confirm it face
to face." The Cherokees came, and after the peace was
confirmed, the Six Nations escorted them back to their
own country in safety. But the Catawbas refused to

104 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, come, and sent a taunting message. " They sent word
wY_ / that we were but women ; that they were men, — double
1 1 44. meil) — an(j that they would be always at war with us. They
have been treacherous, and know it ; so that the war must
be continued till one of us is destroyed. Be not troubled
at what we do to the Catawbas." The orator proceeded
to touch upon other points in the speech of the Virginia
commissioners, — but intimated that if the goods they had
brought were sufficient in quantity and value, their diffi-
culties might be adjusted. " You told us that you had a
chest of goods, and the key in your pocket. But we
have never seen the chest, or the goods. It may be small,
and the goods few. We want to see them, and come to
some conclusion. We have been sleeping here these ten
days, and have done nothing to the purpose."

The public discussions of the land questions, of which
I have barely attempted to sketch the leading features,
ceased at this point. It had been all along evident that
the Indians were willing to grant whatever Maryland and
Virginia desired ; while, as has been seen, both of those
colonies, while in terms denying the Indians any rights in
the premises, were from policy disposed to buy them off
at reasonable sums. The commissioners having prepared
maps of the districts, the Indian title to which they were
now finally to extinguish, and the Indians having assented
thereto, the goods to be given in consideration were
brought for the examination of the purchasers. By a
previous stipulation with Mr. Thomas, Virginia was to pay
one hundred pounds value in goods, to heal the border
skirmish in which Captain M'Dowell fell. To this amount
was now added two hundred pounds in goods, and one
hundred in gold. The commissioners of Maryland, also,
as an equivalent for the disputed land already in their
possession, proposed a payment of goods to the amount of
two hundred pounds, and a like addition of one hundred
pounds in gold. The negotiation was thus closed, and
the deeds executed. The lands in Maryland were " con-
firmed to Lord Baltimore with definite limits. The deed

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOUNSON, BART. 105

to Virginia extended the claim of that colony indefinitely chap.
to the west and northwest."1 But in executing this lastw^
conveyance, the Indians stipulated that their case should 1744>
be commended to the consideration of the great king,
should their brother Assaragoa push his settlements yet
farther back beyond the line of their " great road" — the
right to which road was again confirmed. But vaki were
all these stipulations to save the red man from his doom !
These matters having thus been adjusted to the satisfac-
tion of the parties, it was determined by the Maryland
commissioners to give the chiefs by special invitation, a
grand entertainment, — at which, of course all the dis-
tinguished gentlemen in attendance upon the council were
guests. Twenty-four Indian dignitaries attended the feast,
which was served with uncommon preparation and cere-
mony, in the court-house, Governor Thomas presiding.
Five tables were spread, the sachems being seated by
themselves, with Canassateego at their Jhead. " The chiefs
seemed prodigiously pleased with their feast, for they fed
lustily and drank heartily," says honest Witham Marshe.
After dinner, being warmed into a glow of good feeling, the
Indians, through the interpreter, informed Governor Tho-
mas, that as Lord Baltimore, the proprietary and governor
of Maryland was not known to the Indians by any particular
name, they had agreed in council to take the first conve-
nient opportunity when a large company should be present,
to confer one upon him. Such a transaction being with
them a matter of great form and ceremony, the deputies
of the several nations had drawn lots for the honor of per-
forming it, and the lot had fallen upon the Cayugas, who
had designated their chief Gachradodow for that purpose.
The name with .which the lord baron of Baltimore was
then honored was Tocarry-hogon, "denoting precedency,
excellency, or living in the middle, or honorable place be-
tween Assaragoa and our brother Onas, by whom our
treaties may be the better carried on." The ceremony

1 Bancroft's United States.
14

106 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. was performed "with all the dignity of a warrior, the
<-^ — ; gesture of an orator, and in a very graceful posture." 1
1744. All the differences between the Indians and their broth-
ers Tocarry-hogon and Assaragoa having thus been adjust-
ed, and some explanations having been interchanged be-
tween Onas and the chiefs, respecting the murder by a
party of Delawares, of an Indian trader, named John
Armstrong, and two of his men, and also in regard to the
alleged murder of several Indians on the Ohio, by white
men ; and the lieutenant-governor having congratulated
the council upon the happy issue of their deliberations,
the next business in hand was to sound the chiefs on the
yet more important subject of the French war. Rehears-
ing, as Governor Clinton had done at Albany, the story of
the battle of Dettingen, for the purpose of magnifying the
personal prowess of the king, and the sea-fight of Toulon,
and announcing the declarations of war that had followed
those transactions, Mr. Thomas reminded them of their
obligations by treaty to assist their brethren of Pennsylva-
nia against the French, and especially to prevent them
from passing through their country to make war upon the
English.

A conciliatory speech was then delivered by the Vir-
ginia commissioners, in which they were urged by all
means to make peace with the Catawbas, in order that
they might be the better prepared to meet their common
enemies, the French and Spaniards. They closed by in-
viting them to send some of their promising youths to

1 Witham Marske, — who adds — " This Gachradodow is a very celebrated
warrior, and one of the Cayuga chiefs, about forty years of age, tall,
straight-limbed, and a graceful person, but not so fat as Canassateego.
His action, when he spoke, was certainly the niost graceful, as well as
bold, that any person ever saw ; without the buffoonery of the French, or
the over-solemn deportment of the haughty Spaniards. When he made the
complimentary speech on the occasion of giving the new name to Lord Balti-
more, he was complimented by the governor (Thomas), who said, ' that he
would have made a good figure in the forum of old Rome.' And Mr. Com-
missioner Jennings declared, ' that he had never seen so just an action in
any of the most celebrated orators he had heard speak.' " — Witham Marshe.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 107

Virginia, to be instructed in the religion, language and chap.
customs of the white people. >— y— j

The chiefs required a day for special reflection, before 17
replying to these addresses. Meantime, said Canassatee-
go, archly, " You tell us you beat the French. If so, you
must have taken a great deal of rum from them, and can
the better spare us some of that liquor to make us rejoice
with you in the victory !"

On the next day Canassateego delivered a formal reply
to each of their addresses in order. He admitted that
their people were bound by the faith of treaties to take
part in the French war. " We have all the particulars of
these treaties in our hearts. They are fresh in our mem-
ory. We shall never forget that we have but one heart,
one head, one eye, one ear, and one hand. We shall have
all your country under our eye, and take all the care we
can to prevent any enemy coming into it." As an evi-
dence at once of their fidelity and precaution, he said they
had sent a message to Younondio, informing him that
" there was room enough at sea to fight, where he might
do what he pleased ; but he should not come through our
country to fight the English." The Six Nations, he added,
had great authority over sundry tribes of Indians in alli-
ance with the French, especially over "the praying In-
dians, formerly part with ourselves, who stand in the very
gates of the French ; and to show our care, we have en-
gaged these very Indians for you. They will not join the
French against you."1 •

In reply, specially, to his "Brother Assaragoa," Canas-
sateego said, referring to their war against the Catawbas,
" they are spiteful and offensive." Yet, although "they
have treated us contemptuously," the Six Nations were
willing to make peace with them, if they would come to

real.

1 These "praying Indians," were the Caughnawagas, residing near Mont-

1744.

108 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the north and treat for it. In reply to the invitation to
v— y— < send some of their children to Virginia to he educated, he
replied : "Brother Assaragoa, we must let you know that
we love our children too well to send them so great a way.
The Indians are not inclined to give their children educa-
tion. We allow it to be good. "We thank you for the
invitation; but our customs being different from yours,
you must excuse us." 1 When acknowledging the gifts
they had received from the proprietaries, the veteran ora-
tor was evidently affected in the contemplation of their own
poverty, and the gloomy anticipations as to the fate of his
race which he was too sagacious a man not to foresee :
"We have provided a small present for you; but, alas!
we are poor, and shall ever remain so, as long as there are
so many Indian traders amongst us. Their' s and the white
people's cattle eat up all the grass, and make deer scarce.
However, we have provided a small present for you."
Saying which he presented three bundles of skins, one for
each of the colonies represented in council.

Toward the conclusion of the council, while the several
parties to it were engaged drinking healths, and exchang-

1 Doctor Franklin, in his miscellaneous works, has given a more extended
report of Canassateego's reply to the invitation. In addition to this re-
mark which I have quoted from Colden's official account of the treaty,
Franklin reports Canassateego to have continued his speech thus: "We
have had some experience in this sending of our children to your schools.
Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of
the northern provinces ; they were instructed in all your sciences ; but
when they came back to us, they were bad runners ; ignorant of every
means of living in the woods ; unable to bear either cold or hunger ; knew
neither how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy ; spoke our
language imperfectly ; were therefore neither fit for hunters, warriors, or
counselors ; they were totally good for nothing. We are however, not the
less obliged by your kind offer though we decline accepting it, and to show
our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen
of their sons, we will take care of their education, instruct them in all we
know and make men of them." This addition to the sachem's real speech,
was doubtless one of Franklin's pleasantries.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 109

ing parting compliments, Canassateego playfully remarked chap.
to Mr. Thomas, that they had given them Drench glasses >— v— »
to drink their liquor in. " We desire you to give us some ' '
in English glasses." The governor saw the point at which
the shrewd savage was arriving, — the English glasses be-
ing the largest, — and improved the occasion by the ready
reply : " Yes. "We are glad to hear you have such a dis-
like to what is French. They cheat you in your glasses
as well as in everything else."

CHAPTER III.

1744 _ 1745.

criAp. The repose which, the colonies had so long enjoyed
w^ under the administration of Sir Robert "Walpole, — owing,
1744. probably, not more to the policy of that minister than to
the pacific temper of the duke of Orleans, — the regent of
France during the minority of Louis XV,1 — was of course
ended by the receipt of the declaration of war against
France, as stated in the preceding chapter. Indeed the
news of this declaration had not reached New England,
before Duquesnel, the French governor of Cape Breton,
resolving upon the destruction of the English fishery on
the north-eastern coast of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, as it
was called by the French, invaded the island Canseau,
burnt the houses, and made prisoners both of the garrison
and the inhabitants.2 Attempts were likewise made by
the French upon Placentia, in Newfoundland, and upon
Annapolis in Nova Scotia, in both of which enterprises
they were unsuccessful, — owing to a miscarriage of the
plan in one instance, and to the timely arrival of several
companies of militia and rangers from Massachusetts, in
the other.3

The flames of war having thus been lighted in the
north, it required no special gift of prophecy to perceive
that they would soon blaze along the whole lines of the
English and French colonies, from Cape Breton to the

1 Marshall's Introduction.

2 Belknap.

3 Idem. See also Marshall.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. Ill

trading posts of Detroit and Michilimackinac, or Macki- chap.
naw, according to the orthography of later times. "What ^— v— '
rendered the pending war yet more frightful to the inhab- '
itants of both of these extended chains of rival colonies,
was the fact that a broad belt of territory between them,
was peopled exclusively by the Indians, — ever ready to
snuff blood in the breeze, — and generally disposed to rush
forth upon the war-path at every opportunity. In fact the
Micmacs, the Abenakies and Etchmims, or the canoe-men
of St. John's river, with perhaps the remains of other and
lesser tribes of the eastern Indians, whose partialities in-
clined ever toward the French, had already taken part
with them in their expedition against Annapolis. These
Indians, twenty years before, had been declared by resolu-
tion of the Massachusetts government, to be traitors and
robbers ;x and a formal declaration of war was now pro-
claimed against them, by that colony, with a bounty for
scalps and prisoners.2

The declaration of hostilities was announced to the
general assembly of New York, by Governor Clinton, at
an adjourned session opening on the eighteenth of July,
as a measure that had become indispensable to the honor
and dignity of the crown, not only because of the attack
upon the Mediterranean fleet, but above all because of the
movements of France in behalf of the pretender. Immedi-
ate and strong measures were urged for the security of the
city of Newr York, and for the general defence of the colony,
especially of the frontiers. Measures, it was intimated, had
already been taken for strengthening the posts of Oswego
and Saratoga. In speaking of his interview with the In-
dians at Albany, it was stated that commissioners from
Massachusetts and Connecticut were also present, the ob-
ject of whose visit was to aid in cultivating a more firm

1 Bancroft.

2 Belknap.

112 LIFE OP 8IR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, and extensive alliance with that people. Their mission
> — » — • was a source of gratification to all parties. They were
moreover clothed with full powers to enter into a strict
union with New York and the other English colonies, for
the purpose of devising and executing proper measures
for the prosecution of the war offensively and defensively.
Power was asked to enable the governor to appoint like
commissioners to confer with them. The fitting out of
privateers for the protection of the coast was also recom-
mended,— not forgetting the supplies and the adoption of
all such measures as would enable his excellency to sup-
port the power and dignity of the government, and pursue
every method for its safety.

The speech was followed, on the twenty-fourth of July,
with a special message setting forth the measures that had
been taken by the executive for the security both of the
city and the frontiers; and making requisitions for all
such farther measures as were judged essential to the pub-
lic defence. For the protection of Albany and the scat-
tered settlements north of it, the governor strongly urged
the erection of a strong fort in the neighborhood of Crown
Point. As such a work would be calculated as well to
guard the frontiers of the New England colonies as those
of New York, it was suggested that it should be con-
structed at the joint expense of all. Some farther mea-
sures of defence had been adopted at Oswego ; and it was
recommended with great propriety that a strong fort
should be built at Tierondequot, or at some other suitable
point in the Seneca country, — as well for the defence of
that country against invasion, as by means of a strong
garrison, to check the wavering propensities of the Sene-
cas, — the strongest of the Confederates, and the most
easily tampered with by the French. Yet another mes-
sage of a similar character, was sent down to the assembly
on the thirty-first of July, recommending the erection of

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 113

various works of defence for the harbor of New York ; chap.
announcing the organization of a corps of rangers from « — v — -
the militia of Albany, to include a number of Indians, 1 '
whose business it should be to traverse the country north
to Canada, as perpetual scouts. The sending of troops to
be stationed at Albany, was also recommended.

The precipitate and cowardly retreat of the English
traders from Oswego, immediately on hearing of the de-
claration of war, elicited still another executive communi-
cation on the twentieth of August. This desertion of the
trading houses had created a very unfavorable impression
upon the minds of the Indians, particularly the remote
nations, who, on coming thither to trade, had found the
place really deserted, and the goods mostly brought away.
The assembly were therefore earnestly urged to adopt the
necessary measures for maintaining that important post,
as a commanding mart for trade with the Indians, upon a
more ample and efficient basis than had existed before.
Disadvantages, other than such as might arise from a loss
of trade, were apprehended by the governor. The Indians,
inspired with contempt for the courage of men frightened,
as it were, by a shadow, with the fall of Oswego, would
be very likely to desert the English interests for the
French. ,

The spirit of the general assembly was good. Resolu-
tions were promptly passed by the house, nemine contradi-
cente, pledging the ways and means for putting the colony
in a suitable posture of defence by sea and land. In con-
sequence of the demonstration made in Scotland "in favor
of a Popish pretender," a resolution was adopted requir-
ing all persons in the colony to take the oaths prescribed
by act of parliament for the security of the government
and the Protestant religion. Bills making liberal appro-
priations,— liberal considering the means of the colony, —
for the public exigencies were initiated and in progress,
when on the fourth of September, another message was

114 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, received from the governor, calculated yet more rapidly
*— v — 'to accelerate their action. It covered a communication
' from the commissioners of Indian affairs of an alarming
character. Information had been received by a secret
messenger from Canada, that, contrary to the declarations
of Canassateego, at Lancaster, as to the temper and de-
signs of the Cauglmawagas, they, with the other Canadian
Indians, had taken up the hatchet against the English, and
the fall of Oswego was considered inevitable, unless its
feeble garrison could be reinforced.1 Information respect-
ing the designs of the French upon that post, had also
been received by the Six Nations.

This communication was considered so important that
at the instance of Doctor Colden and Mr. Murray, of the
council, a conference was held between the two houses in
order to insure prompt and efficient action for the public
welfare. Chief Justice De Lancey opened the delibera-
tions of the conference, and after an interchange of opin-
ions it was determined to apply to the governor for the
addition of fifty men to the garrison of Oswego, and also
for orders to the militia of Albany to hold themselves in
instant readiness to march to the defence of that post in
the event of an invasion. A joint address in accordance
with these recommendations was made to the governor,
in which the assembly pledged itself " cheerfully to con-
tribute everything in its power for the defence and safety

1 The commissioners at that time, signing this communication, were
Messrs. Myndert Schuyler, Abraham Cuyler, Cornelius Cuyler, Dirck Ten
Broeck, Nicholas Bleecker, Johannis Lansing, and John Depeyster. Among
other matters detailed in the letter, was an account of their proceedings
under an order from the governor to send Captain Walter Butler, with his
son as an interpreter, upon a confidential errand to Oswego. The governor
had enjoined perfect secrecy as to this mission ; but the commissioners
state that the fact was known in Albany before they had opened his excel-
lency's dispatches. An admirable commentary this, upon the manner in
which secrets are usually kept, in all times, in peace as in war.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 115

of the colony, and for repelling any attempt of the chap.
enemy." » — v — ;

Difficulties were experienced in regard to the ways and '
means, arising chiefly from the reluctance of the popular
branch, no uncommon thing in representative govern-
ments, to meet the question of direct taxation. Yet the
liberality of their appropriations attested the general pa-
triotism of the members. Special allowances were voted
for the defences of Albany and Schenectady, and the
round sum of three thousand two hundred pounds was
granted in addition for the defence of the colony at large.
Provision was likewise made for the support of the pris-
oners who had been brought into ISTew York, pursuant to
a suggestion of the governor, — who was commended in
an address for his clemency, and requested to relieve the
colony from the presence of those prisoners, and others
that might be brought in, with all convenient dispatch.

Thus far in the session, no action had taken place in the
house in regard to the propositions from the New England
colonies for effecting a general alliance among the Indians
friendly to the English, and also for a closer bond of union
between the colonies, in order to the more efficient con-
duct of the war. Upon these points Governor Shirley was
particularly anxious ; and on the eighteenth of September
Mr. Clinton sent a message to the assembly, covering
an urgent letter from Shirley, and expressing surprise
that the assembly had done nothing hitherto to enable
him to appoint commissioners to meet those in attend-
ance from Massachusetts and Connecticut, and confer
together in a matter that must redound so much to the
benefit of the colony. Instead, however, of complying
with this request, the house sent up to the governor an
address, reminding his excellency of the liberality of their
appropriations, — ample, as they conceived, for the public
exigencies, — but expressing a strong reluctance to any
action upon the subject of the proposed plan of union.

116 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. They thought they ought not to enter upon any scheme
> — , — - the details of which had not been imparted to them that
they might have an opportunity of exercising their own
judgments upon it. This address was communicated by
the governor to his council on the twenty-first of Septem-
ber, and a protracted conference between the two branches
ensued ; including also, another point of difference, viz :
a refusal by the house, of an appropriation to erect a fort
at the carrying-place between the Hudson river and Crown
Point. The managers on the part of the council, De Lan-
cey and Murray, presented urgent reasons in favor of ap-
pointing commissioners to meet those from the other colo-
nies, for the organization of a league, or an alliance,
against the French ; as, for instance, the advantages of
united action, — the increase of strength, — the confidence
with which it would inspire the friendly Indians, — the
discouragements which such a union would throw in the
way of the French. The importance, likewise, of erecting
the proposed military work at the carrying-place, was ably
urged.1 But without success. No appropriation was
made either for the Indian alliance, or for the commis-
sioners, or for the erection of the fortress ; and the assem-
bly adjourned, not meeting again until March, 1745.

The autumn and winter were passed with uncertainty
as to the temper and intentions of the Six Nations, and
with considerable anxiety. At the close of September,
dispatches were received from the Indian commissioners,
expressing lively anxiety for the fate of Oswego. The
efforts of the commissioners to persuade the chiefs of the
Six Nations to keep a number of their warriors from each
of their tribes at Oswego for its defence, had been ineffect-
ual. The French were active in their appliances to steal
the hearts of that fickle people from the English, and had
at that time no fewer than twelve emissaries among the

1 Journals of the Legislative Council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 117

Senecas. Upon the receipt of these alarming reports, Mr. chap.
Bleecker, the interpreter, was dispatched into the Seneca' — , — <
country, with a message that to allow those emissaries to
remain among them was breaking their covenant chain.
The interpreter, however, returned in December with
more favorable news. He had found but two Frenchmen,
smiths, among the Senecas, and there were English smiths
among them without molestation. It was not known to
the Senecas that the French Indians had actually taken
up the hatchet ; yet they were told that the French had
entertained them at a war-feast, and joined with them in
their dances, — carrying aloft the heads of the beasts they
had slain, and declaring that thus would they dance with
.the heads of the English.1 Other reports, received by the
governor and council from time to time during the winter,
by correspondence and otherwise, tended to keep the eye
of suspicion from slumber, and occasionally to quicken
the public pulse. A deserter from the French post at
Niagara, arrived in New York and was examined before
the council on the twelfth of February, who gave a particu- 1745.
lar description of the strength and armament of that fort-
ress. He had traversed Canada, from Quebec, stopping
at Three Rivers, and Cadaracqui, before his desertion.
There were one hundred men at Niagara, with four pieces
of cannon. Cadaracqui was a stone fortress, the walls
twelve feet high, with four bastions, and garrisoned by
two hundred men. Lieutenant Butler, at Oswego, wrote
that a scout returned from Canada, reported the organiza-
tion of a force of fifteen hundred men, with a body of In-
dians, destined against that post in the spring. The
French, moreover, were expecting large supplies from
France.2

From the fickle disposition of the Indians, great caution

1 Council Minutes.

2 Idem.

118 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, was observed in regard to their intercourse with white
^—v — ■ people, whose nation, character, and designs, were known
• and understood. The laws of the colony forbade the resi-
dence of white men among the Indians, unless by ex-
press permission. Under these laws, and the watchful
policy observed, two men, David Seisberger, and Christian
Frederick Post, having been found residing at the Canajo-
harie castle,1 without a license, were arrested in mid-win-
ter and dragged to New York. On their examination
before the council, however, they were found to be two
worthy Germans, members of the Moravian congregation
at the forks of the Delaware, who had been sent thither
to learn the Mohawk language for missionary purposes.
They were discharged as a matter of course.2 Post had
an Indian wife and family ; and it will be seen farther on
that he afterward performed valuable services among the
Indians on the Ohio.

But, notwithstanding the alarms to which such a fron-
tier as that of New York and New England, in such a
contest, was liable, the winter passed away without active
hostilities between the French and the English, — the pale
faces, or the red. Yet this inactivity of matter did not
extend to mind ; and it was during this season of com-
parative repose, that William Shirley, governor of Massa-
chusetts, suggested the plan for striking a blow at the
power of France in America, which was as bold in its con-
ception, as in its execution it was brilliant.

1Canajoharie, or, according to the orthography of the Rev. Samuel Kirk -
land, who passed his life as a missionary among the Six Nations, Ca-na-jo-
ha-roo, the name of a small river flowing into the Mohawk, near the mouth
of which stood one of the Mohawk castles. The meaning of the word, lit-
erally, is, " The-pot-tJiat-washes-itsdf" applied to a large and beautiful ba-
sin, worn in the rock which forms the bed of the stream two miles back
from the Mohawk, by the whirling action of the water falling from one of
the cascades abounding upon this stream. This basin is perhaps twenty
feet in diameter ; but the water has been directed to a mill-wheel.

2 Council Minutes.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 119

The harbor of Louisburg, on the south-eastern side of chap.

°' in.

the island of Cape Breton, was considered the key to the >_Y_,

American possessions of the French. By the treaty of 1745-
Utrecht, Newfoundland and Novia Scotia, including the
island of Canseau, had fallen to the crown of Great Bri-
tain, while by the same instrument Cape Breton, situated
between them in the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
had been ceded to the French. Affording convenient har-
bors for the reception and security of ships of every bur-
den — either for men of war, or ships engaged in com-
merce between the parent country and her Canadian pos-
sessions, or those of the West Indies, — this island had
become of vast importance to France, as a security to her
own navigation and fisheries, and also as affording in time
of war, great facilities for interrupting the fisheries and
navigation of England and her colonies.1 It was there-
fore determined to build a fortified town upon this island,
for the site of which the most commodious bay upon the
south-eastern side was chosen. It had formerly been called
"English harbor," but the name was changed to Louis-
burg. Twenty-five years of labor, and thirty millions of
livres, had been expended upon the fortifications, which
were now deemed almost impregnable. Indeed it was
called the Dunkirk of America.2 " Upon a neck of land
on the south side of the harbor was built the town, two
miles and a quarter in circumference ; fortified in every
accessible part with a rampart of stone, from thirty to
thirty-six feet high, and a ditch eight feet wide. A space
about two hundred yards was left without a rampart, on
the side next to the sea, inclosed by a simple dyke and a
line of pickets. There were six bastions and three bat-
teries, containing embrasures for one hundred and forty-
eight cannon, of which sixty-five only were mounted, and

1 Belknap.

2 Marshall's Colonial History.

120

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

Cii£P' sixteen mortars. On an island at the entrance of the har-
v— v — ' bor, was planted a battery of thirty cannon, being twTenty-
' eight pounders ; and at the bottom of the harbor, directly
opposite to the entrance, was the grand or royal battery
of twenty-eight cannon, — forty-two pounders, — and two
eighteen pounders. On a high cliff opposite to the island
battery, stood a lighthouse ; and within the harbor, at the
north-east part, was a magazine of naval stores. The
town was regularly laid out in squares, with broad streets,
built up with houses, mostly of wood, but some of stone.
On the west side, near the rampart, was a spacious citadel,
and a large parade ; on one side of which were the gover-
nor's apartments. Under the ramparts were casemates to
receive the women and children during a siege. The en-
trance to the town, on the land side, was over a draw-
bridge, near to which was a circular battery, mounting six-
teen twenty-four pounders ; and from its position, its re-
duction was an object as desirable to the English as that
of Carthage was to the Romans."1

From the prisoners taken at Canseau by the French,
and sent into Boston the preceding year, and from other
sources, Governor Shirley had obtained such information
respecting the situation and condition of these formidable
works, as induced him to form the project of a sudden
invasion, with a view of carrying them either by surprise
or by storm. Shirley had indeed conceived this bold and
adventurous enterprise in the autumn of 1744, and written
to the British ministry upon the subject, — dispatching his
letter by the hand of an intelligent officer, who had been
captured at Canseau, and whose knowledge of the locali-
ties and strength of Louisburg, he doubted not would be
available to the government. The enterprise was approved
by the ministry, and orders were transmitted to Commo-
dore "Warren, then commanding a squadron in the West

1 Belknap.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 121

Indies, in January, to proceed northward in the spring chap.
and co-operate with the movements of Shirley. Of these « — , — <
instructions the latter was apprised ; but impatient of '
delay he proceeded in his preparations for the expedition
in anticipation both of the decision of the government,
and the movements of Warren. These preparations were
in truth accelerated by the ardent temperament of Colonel
William Vaughan, of New Hampshire, a son of the lieu-
tenant-governor of that state, and a man of a high and
daring spirit, who, from the fishermen in his employ, had
become well acquainted with the harbor and defences of
the place it was intended to storm. Being in confidential
correspondence with Governor Wentworth upon the sub-
ject, Shirley's project was communicated to Vaughan,
who embraced it with all the ardor which so noble an ex-
ploit would be likely to inspire a man of his bravery and
enthusiasm. Nothing, with him, was impracticable wThich
he had a mind to accomplish ; and so strong were his con-
victions of the practicability of the conquest, that he
would fain have undertaken it in mid-winter, believing
that the walls might be scaled by the aid of the drifts of
snow.1

Thus far the project had been kept a profound secret by
Shirley himself, and the very few trust-worthy men to
whom it had been confided. But early in January it be-
came necessary for the governor to communicate his
design to the general court, at whose hands he must ask
for the means of its execution. Secrecy was yet desirable,
to which end an oath of confidence was administered to
the members before the plan was laid before them. Start-
led at the magnitude of the project, as well as at its bold-
ness, the proposition was at first rejected; but subse-

1 It has been suggested, says Belknap, that the plan of this enterprise
-was first suggested by Vaughan. Several other persons have claimed the
like credit. I have discovered no good reason, however, for depriving
Shirley of the honor of its conception.
1G

122 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, quently, advantage being taken of the absence of several
^— v — ' members, the question was reconsidered, and the under-
' ' taking was sanctioned by a majority of a single voice.
Yet, nothing daunted, the governor proceeded to arrange
his measures with characteristic energy. Circular letters
were addressed to the governors of all the colonies south
to Pennsylvania inclusive, invoking their assistance in the
enterprise, and asking for the imposition of an embargo
upon their ports. Armed with one of these missives,
Vaughan, who had been awaiting the authorization of the
expedition in Boston, rode back express to New Hamp-
shire, the legislature of which was then in session. Went-
worth, the governor, was already enlisted in the scheme ;
and the legislature, catching fire from the enthusiasm of
Vaughan, entered heartily into the project, and made the
necessary grants for the quota of men and supplies ex-
pected from that colony. Equal readiness to forward the
enterprise was now manifested by the general court of
Massachusetts ; and Shirley assumed the responsibility, in
the face of his instructions from the crown, of sanctioning
an extraordinary emission of bills of credit to meet the
heavy expenditures to be incurred, — advising Wentworth
to the same course.1 Until the issuing of the circulars,
moreover, the secret had been well kept ; nor, probably,
would the disclosure then have been made, — at least not
so soon, — had it not been for the unguarded fervor of one
of the praying members of the general court, who, at the
family altar, while earnestly invoking the favor of Heaven
upon the enterprise, forgot that he was also speaking to
human auditors.

The colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island entered
into the design in the finest spirit. New York would have
done likewise, had the wishes of Governor Clinton been

1 In Massachusetts fifty thousand pounds of bills were emitted for this ex-
igency, and in New Hampshire thirteen thousand.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 123

seconded by the general assembly. That body met by chap
adjournment on the twelfth of March, and the session was>_^->
opened by a speech of a length and earnestness propor- 174°*
tionccl to the importance of the crisis. It commenced by
announcing to the assembty the projected enterprise of
Massachusetts and her sister colonies of New England
against Louisburg, in retaliation, as it was alleged, for
the attacks of the Freuch during the preceding year upon
Annapolis-Royal. Governor Shirley had written him a
pressing appeal for co-operation in this enterprise ; and
concurring entirely in his views as to its importance, the
governor informed the assembly that without awaiting
their meeting, he had already acted in relation thereto, to
the extent of his power and means. He had sent ten
pieces of ordnance to Boston, with their necessary warlike
implements ; and he called upon the assembly to respond
to the invitation of Mr. Shirley, by contributing its full
proportion to the expedition, the success of which would be
of infinite advantage to the province. Aside from this
great undertaking, farther measures for the defence of the
colony of New York itself were strenuously urged. There
was an absolute necessity for the erection of two addi-
tional forts in the Indian country, not only for the protec-
tion of the frontiers, but to give the Indians confidence,
and afford them places of refuge in hours of disaster.
Already, for want of these, they were evidently becoming
cool and indifferent toward the English. He renewed the
recommendation for an appropriation that would enable
him to appoint commissioners to meet those of the other
colonies which were disposed to form a bond of union for
the common defence. The advantages to flow from such
a league, were forcibly set forth, to which was added an
expression of regret at the course the assembly had adopt-
ed in relation to the proposition at the preceding session.
It was indeed the expressed desire of his majesty, that in
all important exigencies, the colonies should unite their

124 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, councils, and their forces, for the common security. The
wv — - speech, which was the longest thus far to be found in the
" colonial journals, closed with an exhortation to unanimity
and dispatch.

The council promptly responded to the speech by an
address, moved by Chief Justice De Lancey. It was an
echo throughout, but especially in regard to the Louis-
burg expedition. High praise was awarded to Massa-
chusetts for the energy she was exerting in this matter,
and the council closed by pledging the co-operation of
New York.1 But this pledge was not sustained by the
house. There were several points of the speech which
that body received unkindly — among which were the re-
bukes which the governor had administered to it for neg-
lecting his former recommendations, — particularly in
regard to the proposed commissioners of union, and the
appointment of a solicitor for the colony to attend to their
interests in the parent country. Consciousness of their
neglect of the public interests in those respects then,
neither improved the temper of the members, nor prompt-
ed them to a performance of the obligations of patriotism
now. Toward the governor they were not only guilty of
the discourtesy of returning him no address in answer to
his speech, but they manifested no disposition to comply
with either of his present recommendations. A special
message, on the fourteenth of April, announcing the arrival
of a large French force in Martinique, the destination of
which it was apprehended might be against ~New York,
did indeed arouse the assembly for a moment to the im-
portance of providing some farther defences for the har-
bor, and a conference with the council upon the subject
was asked and granted. Still, although a show of liber-
ality was exhibited in the appropriations proposed for this
branch of the public service, the house sought to interfere

1 Journals of the Legislative Council.

LITE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 125

with, what was claimed as a prerogative of the executive, chap.
by specifications as to the manner in which the money < — ^— >
should be expended, and designations of the points to be ' '
fortified — an interference, certainly, with the appropriate
duties of the commander-in-chief.

There was yet another cause of irritation on the part of
the house, so early as the year 1709, the general assembly
had found it necessary, in providing ways and means for
the public service, — especially in the prosecution of the
several wars in which the colony had been involved by
the parent government, — 'to issue a paper currency called
bills of credit. The operation had been repeated from
time to time, in emergent cases, — sometimes with the
approbation of the crown, and sometimes not, — until
these paper issues had become a part of the policy of the
colony. Others of the colonies, laboring under the same
necessities, had resorted to the same measures of finance ;
but to which the crown, jealous of its prerogative in all
matters of currency, had uniformly been opposed. For
many years, therefore, antecedent to this period, the royal
governors had arrived in the colony clothed with instruc-
tions against allowing farther emissions of bills of credit ; —
instructions, however, which the stern law of necessity
had seldom allowed them to enforce. Still the crown,
keenly alive to every step of independent action on the
part of the colonies, was persisting in its war against a
colonial currency even of paper; and a bill was now before
parliament upon the subject, which gave great alarm to the
people. Professedly, its design was merely for preventing
these bills of credit from being made a legal tender ; but
it was discovered that the bill was to have a far more
extensive operation, — "obliging and enjoining the legisla-
tures of every colony to pay strict obedience to all such
orders and instructions as might from time to time be
transmitted to them, or any of them, by his majesty or
Ms successors, or by or under his or their authority."

126 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Such an act, it was justly held, " would establish an abso-
v-^—/ lute power in the crown, in all the British plantations,
1745, that would he inconsistent with the liberties and privi-
leges inherent in an English man, while he is in a British
dominion." l

Vexed with themselves, and with the governor, for rea-
sons already mentioned, and still more for their own re-
missness in not having made seasonable provision for a
resident agent in London to watch over the interests of
the colony, and who might perhaps successfully oppose
this bill, — the house evinced a disposition, without any
sufficient reason, as it seems to me, to thwart the governor
upon every point. In addition to the discourtesies here-
tofore mentioned, in regard to the erection of fortifica-
tions, "it ordered the city members to inquire for and
consult some engineer ; intimated a design to lessen the
garrison at Oswego ; declined the project of a guard-ship ;
rejected the renewed recommendation for appointing joint
commissioners to treat with the Indians for mutual de-
fence ; voted but three thousand pounds toward the Louis-
burg expedition; and declined the provision of presents
for the Indians."2

It was very evident that no good could result from the
action of an assembly between which, and the governor
such an unpleasant state of feelmg existed. The session
had been extended already to more than two months, and
nothing had been done for the public defence*. Even the
bill making the paltry appropriation of three thousand
pounds toward the New England expedition, had not
passed the council. Indeed only four bills, and those of
no great importance, were awaiting the approval of the

1 Bee report of a committee of the house of assembly, colonial journals,
March 15, 1745.

2 Smith's History of New York, vol. ii, pp. 90, 91.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 127

governor.1 In this situation of affairs, the governor, in no chap.
very pleasant humor, on the fourteenth of May required >— v— '
the assembly to meet him in the council chamber, in order '
to its dissolution. In his speech on the occasion, the gov-
ernor said he was prompted to that measure by many
reasons. From an inspection of their journals he observed
they were bringing their proceedings to a close, without
having heeded most of the recommendations he had made
to them in his former speeches and messages, although the
greater part of those recommendations had been confined
exclusively to the public service. It was, indeed, true that
he had expected but little from them after the disrespect
they had manifested toward him by omitting to present
an answer to his speech. But, notwithstanding this mark
of disrespect, such had been his anxiety for the welfare of
the province that he had paid no attention to it, — having
made to them from time to time all necessary communi-
cations, and given them all the information relating to
the state of the colony, within his power. Nothing
that could enlighten them had been withholden. He
spoke of difficulties threatening commotions among the
Indians. He had signified to the assembly the necessity
of frequent interviews with these people, and of making
them presents, in order to retain their confidence, allay
their disquietudes, and renew their treaties. No respect
had been paid to his recommendations upon this subject, —
nor for the erection of the forts wanted in the interior, —
nor even for the payment of scouts, and the adoption of
such other prudential measures as were necessary for the
security of the frontier settlers. He spoke of the con-

1 One of these four bills was for the encouragement of privateering.
Another was a bill, originating in the house, which was passed by the
council, on the tenth of May, to prevent the slaves in the city of Albany
from running away to Canada. By this act the crime was declared a capi-
tal offence, and the council so amended the bill that the offender was to be
put to death " without benefit of clergy."

128 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, tempt with which they had treated the petition of the
*-— , — s people north of Albany, who were alarmed at the conduct
' of the Indians; and of the indecency of their conduct
toward him in connection with that petition. Yet, so
far as his own individual feelings were concerned, he said
he could almost overlook all their ill treatment of himself,
could he entertain the least hope of awakening them to a
proper sense of their duty toward his majesty, and the
people they represented ; but they had treated his majesty's
orders, conveyed in a letter from the duke of Newcastle,
with equal indifference, — having even misrepresented its
contents, particularly in regard to certain orders to Commo-
dore "Warren, and the service in which he was engaged.
They had neglected to make provision for the maintenance
and transportation home, of the French prisoners then
in the city of ISTew York. Nor had they even made an
appropriation for the money he had advanced, by the ad-
vice of his majesty's council, for the defence of Oswego
on the breaking out of the war. They had, moreover,
undertaken to exercise the power of designating the points
in the harbor to be fortified, and the number of guns tc
be mounted at particular ports, and even directed the
issues of gun-powder and other articles of war, without
consulting the commander-in-chief, — thus in effect assum-
ing the entire administration of the government, and
arresting his majesty's authority from the hands of the
governor. " Thus from an invincible untowardness on
the one hand, or an immediate thirst for power on the
other, they had become a dead-weight on the other branches
of the government." They had " protracted the assembly
to a most unreasonable length, without doing anything
effective for the honor of his majesty or the service, credit,
or security of the province or the people." He was there-
fore constrained to put an end to the session; and the
assembly was dissolved.1

1 See Journals of the Colonial Assembly.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 129

Meantime the preparations of Governor Shirley, for the chap.
invasion of Cape Breton, had "been pushed forward writh ^— v— *
a degree of vigor characteristic of the sons of the Pilgrims
when roused to action, and bent upon some achievement
requiring energy and courage like their own. Indeed the
expedition had embarked, and was

"In brave pursuit of chivalrous emprise,"

weeks before the dissolution of Governor Clinton's re-
fractory assembly, which, with a parsimony not usual to
!N"ew York, had refused to contribute a single pound ster-
ling toward the undertaking.1

The design of Shirley was to dispatch an army of at
least four thousand men well appointed, and if possible
to take Louisburg by surprise — calculating, — correctly
as the event proved, — that the floes of ice prevailing in the
waters of Cape Breton in the early weeks of spring, and the
dense fogs, would prevent any communication by means of
wrhich the enemy could be apprised of the intended inva-
sion. The people caught the enthusiasm of their leaders ;
and although not a recruit was mustered from beyond the
confines of ]STew England, yet the full complement was
promptly supplied. Massachusetts raised three thousand
two hundred and fifty men ; Connecticut five hundred and
sixteen ; and ISTew Hampshire three hundred and four,2 —

1('The government of New York," says Dunlop's imperfect and ill-
digested history of the state, " was wise enough to join in this plan of con-
quest, and sent field-pieces and other military equipments to Governor
Shirley." Again, on the same page, Dunlop says : "New York contributed
in money to this expedition, but had none of the honor of reducing Cape
Breton." Neither of these statements conveys the exact truth. The
cannon, as has been stated in the text, were sent by the governor of the
colony, on his own responsibility — not by the government. Nor was any
money contributed until after the great object of the expedition had
been gained. Even then, the appropriation was beggarly.

2 Belknap claims that, including the crew of an armed vessel furnished
by New Hampshire, there were four hundred and fifty men commanded by
Colonel Moore; and one hundred and fifty men more raised in that colony,
and aggregated to a regiment of Massachusetts.
17

130 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

Cnf P' *n a^' f°ur thousand and seventy. Three hundred men
v—v-' were likewise raised in Rhode Island ; but they did not
' reach the point of destination until the great object of the
enterprise had been accomplished. These forces consisted,
not of disciplined soldiers, but in the main of husband-,
men and mechanics — unused to service, save as militia-
men occasionally engaged in the border forays with the
Indians, — or to the stern code of discipline under the law
martial. Yet they went forth with a resolution, and per-
formed their duties with a steadiness, that would have
done credit to the veterans of the duke of Marlborough,
or Turenne. The Connecticut division was commanded
by Roger Wolcott, lieutenant-governor of that colony,
bearing the commission of major-general. The command
of the New Hampshire levies was entrusted to Colonel
Samuel Moore. Vaughan, the bold adventurer from that
colony, refused to accept any regular command ; but being
appointed a member of the council of war, held himself in
readiness for any special service or situation which might
offer. The command in chief of the expedition was de-
volved upon Colonel William Pepperell, a merchant of
Kitberg, in what was then called the province of Maine,
though subject to the colonial government of Massachu-
setts, who was thereupon raised to the rank of lieutenant-
general. His second in command, from Massachusetts,
was Brigadier-General Waldo. The selection of a com-
mander for an army of undisciplined volunteers, going
upon a fatiguing and hazardous service, required the
exercise of profound judgment, and a shrewd knowledge
of character — qualities which were happily illustrated in
the choice of William Pepperell. His profession had not
been that of arms ; but he had probably had some expe-
rience in the border service, not unfrequently in those
days. He was, however, a man widely known, and ex-
ceedingly popular, — of engaging manners, and a vigorous

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ut-~«

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 131

frame. His mind was of the firmest texture ; his courage chap.
doubted by none; and his reputation unblemished. These ^— y— /
qualities, united with the most admirable coolness in sea- 1745-
sons of danger, amply supplied in the public mind the
lack of any very extensive military experience.1

Each of the colonies engaged in the enterprise, supplied
all the vessels for transports, provision ships, and cruisers,
in their power; and all things being in readiness, the
Boston forces embarked from Nantasket,2 on the twenty-
fourth of March. Judging from the long and minute in-
structions from Shirley to Pepperell, and also from a pri-
vate letter from the former to Governor Wentworth, of
New Hampshire, which has been preserved by Belknap,
the governor of Massachusetts, though the author of the
project, must have been wholly unskilled in both the arts
of navigation and war. It had been his intention that the
several divisions of the expedition should meet at a com-
mon rendezvous, and the entire fleet sail in company.
According to the letter to "Wentworth, it was his design,
without making the least allowance in their sailing of
different vessels, or for variations of wind, or for any
other of the hundred casualties that might occur, that the

1 The following curious passage occurs in Belknap's interesting account
of this memorable expedition : " Before Pepperell accepted the command,
he asked the opinion of the famous George Whitefield, who was then itinerat-
ing and preaching in New England. Whitefield told him that he did not
think the scheme very promising; that the eyes of all the world would be
upon him ; that if he should not succeed, the widows and orphans of the
slain would reproach him ; and if it should succeed, many would regard
hhn with envy, and endeavor to eclipse his glory; that he ought, therefore,
to go with "a single eye," and then he would find his strength proportioned
to his necessities. Henry Sherburne, the commissary of New Hampshire,
another of Whitefield's friend, pressed him to favor the expedition, and give
a motto for the flag; to which, after some hesitation, Whitefield censented.
The motto was, " Nil desperandum Christo duce." This gave the expedition
the air of a crusade, and many of the missionary's followers enlisted. One
of them, a chaplain, carried on his shoulder a hatchet, with which he in-
tended to destroy the images in the French churches."

' Nantasket road — the entrance into the harbor of Boston

134 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

Ch£p' ky ^an(i and water, but for a seasonable postscript appended
wv_^ to the last-mentioned order, in these words : " Upon the
• whole, notwithstanding the instructions you have received
from me, I must leave you to act upon unforeseen emer-
gencies according to your best discretion." It was indeed
fortunate that this most important clause of the many folios
of directions was given, since the expedition was detained
at Canseau three whole weeks, waiting for the dissolution
or removal of the ice which environed the islands, and, by
coasting the bay of Chapeaurouge, or Gabarus, as it was
called by the English, during all that period protected
Cape Breton from invasion.1 Indeed the absurdity of
Shirley's original idea of keeping the squadron compactly
together during the voyage, and of a simultaneous land-
ing, regardless of ice, or storm, or fogs, or surf, was sig-
nally illustrated by the event ; for what with tempestuous
weather, and unequal sailing, the first point of destination,
Canseau, was attained in the most desultory manner.
Only twenty of the main squadron arrived with Pepperell;
and more than a week elapsed before the vessels all came
up.2 But this time was not lost by the commanding gene-
ral, whose vigilance in obtaining information was sleep-
less, and whose activity in imparting discipline to his
troops was untiring. A strong squadron of armed colonial
vessels, under Captain Edward Tyng, commander of the
Massachusetts frigate, was kept cruising off Louisburg,
to cut oft' such of the enemy's vessels as might attempt
either to enter or depart, and the prizes taken by them
afforded valuable additions to the provisions of the army.3

1 Even the Rev. Dr. Belknap, whose trade was not of war, criticises
these instructions, drawn, as he says, by a lawyer, to be executed by a
merchant, at the head of a body of husbandmen and mechanics.

2 Letter from General Pepperell to Governor Shirley.

3 Letter of Pepperell to Shirley. Governor Shirley having directed Tyng
to procure the largest ship in his power, he had purchased this ship when
on the stocks, and nearly ready for launching. It was a ship of about four
hundred tons, and was soon afterward launched at Boston. Tyng com-
manded her and was appointed commander of the fleet. — Note in Holmes.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 135

Although, as I have already said, the design of this chap.
expedition had been communicated to the ministers of the - — ^-/
crown, in the expectation of receiving assistance thence, 1'15-
yet it had been conducted thus far altogether upon the
resources of the colonies themselves ; confident, to a con-
siderable extent, in their own strength, yet anticipating
such assistance. In the hope, moreover, of securing the
co-operation of Commodore Warren, then in the West
India seas, even before he could receive direct instructions
from home, an express boat had been dispatched to him,
communicating the project on foot, and requesting the aid
at least of a detachment from his squadron. But on a
consultation with his officers he was dissuaded from en-
gaging in the enterprise; and the boat, conveying the
news of this determination, returned to Boston two clays
before the departure of the forces.1 The intelligence,
however, though unexpected, operated only as a partial
discouragement, — strong confidence being entertained that
Pepperell would be supported from England with ships
and reinforcements of troops.2

The promotion of Captain Warren to the Superbe, of
sixty guns, and his being left on the Antigua station by
Sir Chaloner Ogle, as commodore of a small squadron,
are circumstances in the career of this truly brave and
illustrious man, that have already been noted. His suc-
cess in making captures in the West India seas had
been great; and perhaps his officers were reluctant to
relinquish a genial winter climate, yielding such golden
returns of prize-money, in exchange for the icebergs and
bleak regions of the north. He had captured two French
prizes on his way to Barbadoes a few months before ; 3 and
while occupying a station off Martinique, his extraordinary
activity was rewarded by more than twenty valuable prizes,
one of which was estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand

1 Marshall.

2 Letter frem Shirley to Pepperell.

3 MS. letter, Edward Holland to Johnson.

136 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, pounds sterling.1 But notwithstanding his refusal of aid
v—y—/ to the expedition on the application of Governor Shirley,
1745- his orders from the admiralty, upon the subject, brought
him upon the New England coast with the Launceton and
Eltham, of forty guns each, in addition to his own ship,
and in addition, also, to the Mermaid of the same force,
by which he was joined shortly after his arrival.2 With-
out entering the harbor of Nantasket, the commodore
placed himself in communication with Shirley, and having
ascertained that the expedition had previously sailed, he
proceeded directly to Canseau, where he arrived on the
twenty-third of April ; and after a conference with Pep-
perell, assumed the command of the naval forces by ex-
press orders from the admiralty. Previous to his arrival,
the colonial squadron, under Captain Tyng, had taken
several prizes, — vessels laden chiefly with provisions, —
which were received in good time by General Pepperell.
The New Hampshire armed sloop had been remarkably
successful, — she having captured a ship from Martinique,
and with her, recaptured one of the transports which had
fallen into the hands of the French on the day before
"Warren's arrival.

The two commanders having concerted their plans,
Warren sailed to cruise off the harbor of Louisburg,
where he was soon afterward joined by the Canterbury
and Sunderland, of sixty guns each, and the Chester of
fifty, all from England, which enabled him to institute a
vigorous blockade. Meantime, the ice no longer effectually
impeding the navigation, the general, after having sent
out a detachment which destroyed the village of St. Peters,
and scattered the inhabitants, embarked with his forces
on the twenty-ninth of April, for the point of the grand
attack. Shirley, even in his final instructions, had not
altogether abandoned his original idea of a landing by
night, and an assault by surprise ; so that Pepperell was

1 Cbarnock.

2 Idem.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 137

still enjoined "to sail with the whole fleet from Cansean chap.
so as to arrive in Chapeaurouge bay at nine, o'clock v-^— '
in the evening. The troops were to land in four 1745-
divisions, and proceed to the assault before morning.
In the event of a failure of surprisal, particular direc-
tions were given how to land, march, encamp, attack,
and defend ; to hold councils and keep records ; and to
send intelligence, and by what particular vessels ; x and a
hundred other minute instructions were given, to be nullified
daily by a hundred unforeseen contingencies. Obedience
to the letter was out of the question. Instead of making
the point designated in the evening, the falling of the
wind brought them off the mouth of the bay only at
eight o'clock the next morning — 2 "the intended surprisal
being thus happily frustrated," as Belknap naively observes.
But notwithstanding the long delay at Canseau, the block-
ade of the cape by the ice and the fleet had been so ef-
fectual, that no knowledge of the approach of an enemy
had been received in Louisburg, and the appearance of
the fleet of a hundred transports in the bay, was the first
intimation they had of his proximity.3 It was a moment
of intense interest to the army when they came actually
in sight of Louisburg. ," Its walls, raised on a neck of
land on the south side of the harbor, forty feet thick at
the base, and from twenty to thirty feet high, all swept
from the bastions, surrounded by a ditch eighty feet wide,
furnished with one hundred and one cannon, seventy-six
swivels, and six mortars ; its garrison composed of more
than sixteen hundred men ; and the harbor defended by
an island battery of thirty twenty-two-pounders, and by
the royal battery on the shore, having thirty large cannon^
a moat, and bastions, all so perfect that it was thought
two hundred men could have defended it against five

1 Belknap. See, also, the instructions at large, in the first volume Massa-
chusetts Transactions.

2 Letter of Pepperell to Shirley.

3 Belknap.

138 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, thousand.1 Yet, as though forgetful of these advantages
w^—* of strength and position, nothing could exceed the con-
1745- sternation into which the inhahitants and garrison were
thrown by this very unexpected visit. The governor made
a feeble attempt to prevent the landing by sending out a
detachment of one hundred and fifty men for that purpose ;
but they were attacked with spirit and compelled to retire
with the loss of several killed and a number who were
made prisoners, — among whom were some persons of dis-
tinction. These enemies having been thus summarily dis-
posed of, the debarkation was effected without the loss of
a man. In their flight the French burnt several houses
situated between the grand battery and the town. Several
vessels were also sunk in the harbor, but for what particu-
lar design is not known.

The enthusiasm with which the expedition had been
undertaken by the citizen-soldiers, was unabated, and pre-
parations were made for investing the city without delay.
The point of debarkation was about a league from the
town. The first column that advanced was led through
the woods in sight of the town, by Colonel Yaughan, the
daring spirit who had been so earnest from the first in
urging forward the enterprise, find by whom the enemy
showing himself upon the ramparts, was saluted with
three cheers. On the night following, the second of May,
Vaughan marched at the head of a detachment, composed
chiefly of New Hampshire troops, to the northeast part of
the harbor, where he burned the enemy's ware-houses,
containing their naval stores, and staved in a large quantity
of wine and brandy. The smoke of this conflagration,
driven by the wind into the grand battery, so terrified the
French that they precipitately abandoned it, spiking their
guns, and retiring into the city. The next morning while
reconnoitering the works with a small party of only thirteen
men, observing that no smoke issued from the chimneys
of the battery, Vaughan prevailed upon an Indian to enter

1 Bancroft.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 139

through an embrasure and open the gate. Immediate chap.
possession was taken of the fortress, and one of the brave >— v— *
fellows of the band climbed the flag-staff, carrying aloft a 1745,
red coat in his teeth, which he hoisted in triumph as a
banner. The French immediately sent out one hundred
men to retake the battery ; but Vaughan held them at bay
until a regiment arrived to his relief and the conquest was
secured. The guns that had been spiked were mostly forty-
two-pounders.1 The trunnions had not been knocked off;
and by active drilling, under the direction of Major Pom-
roy, of Northampton, — a gun-smith when at home,2 —
about twenty of them were soon rendered fit for service.
The greater number of these guns were intended for the
defence of the harbor ; but four of them were brought to
bear upon the town with great effect, — almost every shot
being made to tell, and some of the balls falling upon the
roof of the citadel.3 The general was at a loss to con-
jecture why the enemy abandoned so fine a battery, but
concluded that it must have been occasioned by a deficiency
of men. The French turned some of their guns against
this battery, not without ' making some considerable im-
pression upon its walls. Twice, also, in the course of ten
days, they rallied out for its recovery, but in both in-
stances were repulsed with loss. The loss of the Ameri-
cans in this affair was very slight.

The siege was pressed with vigor, but its prosecution
was attended with almost incredible labor and difficulty.
For fourteen successive nights the troops were employed
in dragging their cannon from the landing place to the
camp through a morass, so miry that neither cattle nor
horses could be used for that purpose. The men sunk
to their knees in the slough, and the cannon could only
be drawn even upon sledges constructed for that purpose by
Colonel Misseroe, who, fortunately was a carpenter before

1 Letters of Pepperell to Shirley.

2 Bancroft.

3 Pepperell to Sim-ley.

140 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, lie took to the profession of arms. What added essentially
v^L, to the severity of this labor, was the circumstance that it
!745. could only be performed in the night, or when curtained
by the heavy fogs resting upon the island ; since the dis-
tance was not only within view of the town, but within
reaching distance of their cannon.1 The approaches of
the besiegers were not made with strategic regularity.
Indeed the ears of a martinet would doubtless have been
shocked at the barbarisms of the provincials in using, or
attempting to use the technicalities of military science —
or rather at the jesting and mockery which they made of
them.2 Still, the approaches were made, generally under
cover of night ; and in ten days after the debarkation,
they were within four hundred yards of the town, with
cannon planted upon several commanding heights, while
a fascine battery had been erected on the west side of

1 The men who performed this severe service were much disappointed
and chagrined when they found that it was not more distinctly acknowledged
in the accounts which were sent to England, and afterward published. The
siege was signalized by many meritorious exploits which were not men-
tioned by General Pepperell in his dispatches, as, for instance, Vaughan's
expedition on the night after the landing, and his seizure of the great bat-
tery, with only thirteen men, on the next morning.

2 Bancroft. There was doubtless much less of military seniority among
the besiegers during this campaign, than would have been the fact in an
army of regular soldiers ; and much less of strict military discipline than
their commanding officers could have desired. "It has been said, "re-
marks Mr. Belknap, " that this siege was carried on in a random, tumult-
uary manner, resembling a Cambridge commencement. The remark is in
a great measure true. Though the business of the council of war was con-
ducted with all the formality of a legislative assembly ; though orders
were issued by the general, and returns made by the officers of the several
posts ; yet the want of discipline was too visible in the camp. Those who
were on the spot have frequently, in my hearing, laughed at the recital of
their own irregularities, and expressed their admiration when they reflected
on the almost miraculous preservation of the army from destruction. They
indeed presented a formidable front to the enemy ; but the rear was a scene
of confusion and frolic. While some were on duty in the trenches, others
were racing, wrestling, pitching quoits, firing at marks, or at birds, or
running after shot from the enemy's guns, for which they received a bounty }
and the shot was sent back to the city."

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 141

the city upon which eight twenty-two-pounders were chap.
mounted. • — y — <

On the seventh^ of May, after a conference hetween the 1745-
naval and military commanders, it was agreed to summon
Duchamboau, the French governor, to surrender. This
summons having been refused, it was then determined to
prosecute the siege in a yet more vigorous manner, and
to attack the island battery, in boats, the first favorable
opportunity.1 It was a formidable undertaking. This
"island battery" stood upon a small rock, almost inac-
cessible, about two hundred yards long by twenty in
breadth, with a circular battery of forty-two pounders
commanding the entrance of the harbor, and a guard
house and barracks behind.2 On the eighteenth of May,
the besiegers had thrown up a battery within two hundred
yards of the western gate, whereon were mounted two
forty-two, and two eighteen pounders, which annoyed the
town considerably ; but several of the siege pieces of ord-
nance were defective, and by bursting, or otherwise, were
soon rendered useless.3 Indeed there was great defective-
ness in the equipments of the rank and file ; but the siege
was, nevertheless, persisted in with the most indomitable
perseverance. Between the eighteenth and twenty-eighth
of the month five unsuccessful attempts were made by
Pepperell to carry that battery, in the last of wThich he lost
nearly two hundred men, killed, and many more drowned,
before they could land, besides several boats which w^ere
shot to pieces. Although repulsed, the attack was bravely
conducted. The troops who succeeded in landing made a
noble stand, and an officer named Brookes nearly succeed-
ed in striking the flag of the fortress. It was already half
cloven when a French-Swiss, a dragoon, clove his skull
with his cutlass.4 The expediency of making yet another

1 Letter from General Pepperell to Governor Shirley.

2 Letter of "an old English merchant" to the earl of Sandwich.

3 Pepperell's letters.

4 Letter from "an old English merchant" to the earl of Sandwich.

142 LIFE OF SIK WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, attempt upon this fortress was discussed in council, but
>— ^ — - such was its strength, and the commanding advan-
1745- tage of its position, and so difficult was the landing ren-
dered by the surf, that the project was abandoned as
impracticable.1

During these operations upon land, Commodore Warren
had been cruising off the harbor with splendid success.
So closely wtis the entrance guarded that with the excep-
tion of a single sloop laden chiefly with zinc, everything
that attempted to get in was captured ; the consequence
was that both town and garrison were soon reduced to
great distress for provisions. A large ship, the Vigilante,
commanded by the Marquis de la Maison Forte, from
Brest, deeply laden with military and other supplies,
having on board reinforcements to the number of five
hundred and sixty men, and bringing also two or three
years' pay for the troops2 was known by Duchambeau to
be on her passage, and great dependance was placed upon
this arrival for relief But this, the governor's last hope,
was cut off by Warren, — the ship having been decoyed
by one of the frigates into the centre of his squadron and
captured on the ninteenth of May — " almost without
resistance.'3

1 Letter of Pepperell to Commodore Warren, in which he states the exact
loss in killed, in the last abortive attack upon the island, at one hundred
and eighty-nine.

2 Letter from Madame Warren to her brother, Chief Justice De Lancey,
written after the capture of the Vigilante.

3 So says Charnock, in the Biographia Navalis. But Bancroft says the
Vigilante " was decoyed by Douglass, of the Mermaid, and taken after an
engagement of several hours." I have seen another authority in which
Douglass is named as the captain of this ship. Yet there is doubt, upon
the subject. Holmes, in a note, cites from Alden, the biographer of Captain
Tyng, a statement that the Vigilante was taken by this officer, commanding,
as we have seen, the Massachusetts provincial frigate. Other books and
several private letters among the Johnson manuscripts attribute the cap-
ture to Warren. As the commander of the squadron, it is settled in gene-
ral history, that the credit in chief should be awarded to him. Alden's
authority for awarding the particular credit to Tyng I do not know.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 143

Although the island fortress had not yet been taken, chap.
still a battery erected upon a high cliff at the light-house, - — , — -
greatly annoyed it. Nevertheless, in the eye of Warren, 1<4°-
the operations of the siege advanced so slowly, that, impa-
tient of delay, even after the capture of the Vigilante,
having taken the opinion of a council of his officers, he
wrote to Pepperell, proposing that a decisive blow should
be struck by a combined attack by land and sea. The fogs
were a great annoyance to the commodore, being often so
dense, that it was impossible for him to communicate with
his consorts for two or three days at a time. On more
than one occasion, interviews between the land and naval
commanders had been prevented by the same cause. Fur-
thermore the commodore had been more than three months
at sea, and was wearied of the service of cruising upon
such a limited station. But the plans submitted by the
commodore for the proposed assault, were not agreeable to
Pepperell and his board of officers, and a correspondence
was maintained upon the subject for several days, — War-
ren occasionally showing a degree of earnestness, bordering 1745.
perhaps, upon asperity. Yet he protested that his only
desire was for the success of the expedition, and the honor
and interests of the crown ; and he distinctly disclaimed
the disposition to give the least offence.1

At length, however, the batteries of Pepperell continu-
ing to make considerable progress against the walls of the
town, on the first of June it was determined between the
two commanders that a combined assault should be made
as soon as the necessary arrangements could be completed.
For this purpose a large body of the land forces were to
be embarked on board the fleet, which was to force the
harbor and land them in front of the town, covered by the
guns of the ships. A bombardment of the town was to
ensue, while Pepperell was to make a simultaneous attack
through the breaches at the west gate. Before this could

1 Correspondence between Warren and Pepperell.

144 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, be done, however, there was a formidable obstacle to be

IIL r-

v— v— ' surmounted — the " island battery," heretofore mentioned,
1745- and upon which several ill-starred attacks had already been
made. It was deemed too hazardous an undertaking thus
to enter the harbor before that battery should be silenced;
it being generally doubted whether, having entered the
harbor, in the event of a repulse from the town, the fleet
would be able to get to sea again. Such was the opinion
of the officers of "Warren, at a council holden on the
seventh of June ; and plans were then considered for
another attack upon the island, to be made by the ships, —
former experience having proven that boats were entirely
inadequate to such a severe and perilous service. An at-
tempt of this kind the commodore was yet better enabled
to make after the tenth of June, on which day his squad-
ron was farther strengthened by the arrival of the Princess
Mary, the Hector, and the Lark.1

Happily, however, a further effusion of blood was ren-
dered unnecessary by a successful ruse de guerre, sug-
gested by Warren, and executed jointly by Pepperell and
himself. The French garrison, mutinous when the siege
commenced, reduced in numbers during its progress,
and to great distress by the blockade, was supposed to be .
not in the best possible humor for continuing the defence ;
and as advices had been received that a large fleet with
provisions and reinforcements for the succor of the fortress,
might shortly be expected on the coast, it was considered
wise, to hasten matters to a decision. It was moreover
believed that Duchambon was yet ignorant of the fate of
the Vigilante, and also of the capture of a large rice ship
and several other vessels laden with supplies ; and it was
suggested by Warren that should a flag be sent into the
town with this information, by the hand of a discreet
officer able to act his part well, the French commander
might be induced to capitulate from sheer discouragement
or despondency. Another part of the scheme was to play

1 Correspondence of Pepperell and Warren.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 145

upon his fears. To this end it was proposed that the Mar- chap.
quis de la Maison Forte should be taken through the sev-v-^— >
eral ships of the squadron, that he might see how kindly 1745-
the French prisoners were treated by the English. The
Marquis was next to be informed that the English had been
advised of the fact that several of their people who had
fallen into the hands of the French and Indians, had been
treated with horrible barbarity ; and he was to be requested
to ask for as good treatment of the English prisoners in
the town, as they, (the French,) were receiving on board the
fleet. The expedient was successful, and the captive com-
mander of the Vigilante readily consented to address the de-
sired letter to Duchambon, announcing the loss of his ship,
and speaking of the other matters that had been concerted.
In regard to the treatment experienced by himself and fel-
low captives, since their misfortune, the captive marquis
said they were dealt with not as enemies, but as "very good
friends ;" and in conclusion, he cautioned the governor
against allowing the cruelties complained of to be prac-
ticed upon the English prisoners in his power. Captain
Macdonald, the officer to wThom the flag was confided, dis-
charged his duty well ; and the threat which he bore of re-
taliation for the cruelties complained of, unless they should
be ended, had its effect. The bearing of the captain, was
that of a soldier sure of victory in a few days, and appa-
rently indifferent whether the besieged continued their
defence or not. Pepperell in his message by the flag,
made no demand of a surrender ; while on the other hand,
the whole affair was conducted as though the commander
of the besiegers, certain of a speedy conquest, scarcely
thought it necessary again to speak of a capitulation.
Meantime the flag-officer, Macdonald, affecting entire
ignorance of the French language though understanding
it well, heard all that passed between the French officers
themselves, who, speaking without suspicion or reserve,
unconsciously confirmed the suspicions of Pepperell and

146 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. "Warren, that the besieged were in truth ignorant of the

1D- -TIT

w^_/ loss of the Vigilante, until that hour.

1745. rpke newg Qf t^-s jog8 san]i ^ggp jnto ^q hearts of the

French. They saw, moreover, that preparations were on
foot for an assault, which, from the scattered positions of
the beseigers, and the inequalities of the ground around
the town, they could form no intelligent estimate of their
numbers — such prisoners as had fallen into their hands
having with singular uniformity reported the invading
forces much more numerous than they actually were.
Under all these adverse events and circumstances, and
discouraged, moreover, by the menacing appearances
without, Duchambon determined to surrender, and on the
sixteenth of June articles of capitulation were signed.
The terms of this capitulation were honorable to the van-
quished, who were allowed to march out with drums beat-
ing and colors flying — their arms and colors then to be
delivered into the custody of Pepperell and "Warren, until
the return of the prisoners to their own country, when
they were to be returned to them.

At four o'olock in the afternoon of the same day Colonel
Bradstreet, with a detachment of troops took possession of
the town and its defences, the strength and magnitude of
which, and the resources yet remaining to the French, had
they persisted in the defence, astonished the victors, who
saw at once that policy had stepped in very opportunely to
aid their own bravery in the reduction of works so formid-
able, yet the siege had been powerfully directed, as the
reader must have seen by the preceding details, to which
many facts and circumstances might be added.1

1 On entering the town Pepperell wrote to Shieley — "Such ruins were
never seen before, which however, is not to be wondered at, as we gave the
town about nine thousand cannon balls and six hundred bombs before they
surrendered, which sorely distressed them, particularly the day before they
sent out their flag of truce, when we kept up such a constant fire on the
town from our batteries, that the enemy could not show their heads, nor
stir from their covered ways. Our battery near the light-house played on

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 147

The time of the capitulation was exceedingly opportune chap.
for the besiegers in various respects yet unmentioned. >— v — -
Two days after it took place, information was received by 1745,
General Peppercll that a body of two thousand five hun-
dred Indians were hovering within a few miles of his
camp. The capitulation of the' fortress was doubtless a
signal for their instant dispersion among their own deep
forests. The weather, moreover, which had been remark-
ably favorable to the objects of the besiegers, for that
climate, now suddenly changed, and a cold and driving
storm of rain set in, which continued ten days, and which,
but for the shelter afforded the enemy in the town, would
have thinned its ranks to a frightful degree by sickness —
the disorders usual among those not accustomed to camp
duty, or to sleeping upon the earth, having already made
their appearance among the soldiers.

Reinforcements from Boston, for which Pepperell had
been urgently writing to Governor Shirley, arrived soon
after the capitulation, — as also did the Rhode Island levies,
after a protracted voyage, — together with supplies of pro-
visions. These and other stores, were augmented by fur-
ther captures from the enemy, — several rich prizes having
been decoyed into the harbor after the fall of the town, by
the artifice of keeping the French flag flying upon the
ramparts. Among these were two Indiamen, and one
South-sea ship, estimated, in all, at six hundred thousand
pounds.1 A dispute arose between the land forces and the

the island battery with our cannon and large mortars so that they were
ready to run into the sea for shelter, as some of them actually did."

Still in the same dispatch notwithstanding these severe operations, Pep-
perell says : we have not lost above one hundred men by the enemy in this
vast enterprise, including the disaster at the Island battery." This is in
contradiction of his dispatch giving an account of that island disaster, in
which he stated the loss by the enemy at one hundred and eighty-nine,
exclusive of those who were drowned in attempting to land from the boats.

1 On the eighteenth of July, a large schooner from Quebec, laden with flour
and other provisions was brought into Louisburg by one of the colonial cruis-
ers. On the twent y- second, the Clmrmante, a French East India ship of about
five or six hundred tons, twenty-eight guns and ninety-nine men, surrendered

148 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, naval, as to the distribution of the prize "money arising

v— . v—t from these captures, the former under the circumstances

1745. 0f thg case, claiming an equal proportion with the latter.

But the booty went to the seamen, — to the strong and

general dissatisfaction by the soldiers.

The Mermaid, Captain Montague, was dispatched to
England with the tidings, bearing official advices from
both commanders, enclosing the articles of capitulation.
These dispatches were received by the ministry on the
twentieth of July, and gazetted, but in substance only,
on the twenty-third. It has been justly said, that the
news of this important victory filled America with joy, and
Europe with astonishment. The colonists, for the first
time, began to feel the might that slumbered in their own
strong arms, while the parent country gave no uuequive-
cal evidence of jealousy at the development of so much en-
ergy and power. The letter of Pepperell, giving an ac-
count of the operations under his own command, was not
allowed to transpire ; but the publication of the general
facts caused great rejoicing among the people. A court
of evidence was immediately convened, and an address of
congratulation for the success of his Majesty's arms was
voted, though in rather subdued and formal terms. But
as the news of the capitulation spread through the colo-
nies, the feelings of the people broke forth in the most
lively rejoicings. Boston was illuminated even to the
most obscure bye-lane and alley ; and the night was sig-
nalized by fire-works, bon-fires and all the external tokens

to the Princess Mary and Canterbury, without opposition. The Charmante
had been descried in the offing, and the ships which took her, were sent out
from here. This was as valuable a prize as had been taken during the war.
On the first of August, the Chester and Mermaid brought in the Heron, a
French East Indiaman, from Bengal, — "pretty rich," — as Sir Peter wrote
to the admiralty. On the second of August, the Sunderland and Chester
brought in a French ship called the Notre Dame de la Deliverance, of thirty-
two guns and about sixty men, from Lima, — having on board, in gold and
silver, upward of three hundred thousand pounds sterling, with a cargo of
cocoa, Peruvian wool, and Jesuit's bark. — Dispatches of Sir Peter Warren to
the Admiralty.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 149

of joy. A day of solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God, chap.
was likewise set apart by the civil authorities, which was ^^_,
observed throughout the colony. Nor was a thanksgiving 1746.
festival ever more religiously kept in Massachusetts.1

But notwithstanding the studied design, so rarely man-
ifested in England, to attribute the success of the enter-
prise, and the glory of the achievement, mainly to War-
ren, there was no reluctance evinced in bestowing de-
served honors upon the provincials. Pepperell was cre-
ated a baronet, and commissioned a colonel in his majes-
ty's forces, with permission to raise a regiment in the
colonies, to be placed upon the regular establishment, in
the pay of the crown. Govenor Shirley was also appoint-
ed to a colonelcy, and confirmed in his government of
Massachusetts, as also was Benning Wentworth, in that of
New Hampshire. Commodore "Warren was likewise pro-
moted to the rank of rear admiral of the blue.2

1 Letters to Pepperell from the Rev. Dr. Chauncey. After tlie surrender
of the fortress, a grand entertainment was given on shore by Gen. Pepperell,
as well to celebrate the event, as to honor Commodore Warren and the vari-
ous officers of the navy who had cooperated in the capture. There was a
circumstance attending this dinner, connected with the Rev. Mr. Moody,
Pepperell's worthy chaplain, which has been preserved as being*at once
grave and amusing. Mr. Moody was somewhat remarkable for his prolixity
in saying grace, before meat, and his friends were particularly anxious on
this occasion that he should not fatigue their guests, and perhaps disquiet
them by the length of this preliminary exercise. Yet his temper was so
irritable that none of them ventured the hint, " be short." The chaplain,
however, catching the spirit of the occasion, very agreeably disappointed
those who knew him by preparing the service in the following words:
"Good Lord, we have so much to thank thee for, that time would be infi-
nitely too short to do it in. We must therefore leave it for the work of
Eternity. Bless our board and fellowship on this joyful occasion, for the
sake of Christ our Lord. Amen."

2 Pepperell was gazetted as a baronet on the tenth of August, — less than
a month after the news of the capitulation. Commodore Warren was ga-
zetted as a rear-admiral of the blue on the same day. It it stated by Bel-
knap, that Warren was also created a baronet as a reward for the same
achievement, and the statement is repeated by Dunlop, and perhaps by other
American writers. But the fact is not so. Warren was never a baronet.
It is true that the knighthood of the Bath was conferred upon him ; but

150 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Yet notwithstanding these honorable rewards to the
Wy—/ master spirits of the expedition, there was unquestionably
1745- a most discreditable reluctance on the part of the parent
government to reimburse the colonies for the heavy expen-
ses, which, without counting the cost to themselves, they
had so nobly and so generously incurred ; and by reason
of which, conquest was achieved, so important, according
to the testimony of their own historians, " as to prove an
equivalent, at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, for all the suc-
cess of the French upon the continent of Europe." The
claim was prosecuted several years before parliament could
be brought to sanction an appropriation to cover it. The
grant was however obtained in the year 1749, amounting
to the sum of one hundred and eighty-three thousand six
hundred and forty-nine pounds sterling. It was received
at Boston the same year, and equitably divided among the
colonies which had incurred the expenditure.1

this was not done until in the year 1747 ; the order being then conferred as
a reward for his conduct under Vice Admiral Anson, in the great naval en-
gagement with the French fleet off Cape Finisterre, which was fought May
third, of that year. Warren commanded on that occasion the Devonshire
of sixty-six guns, and (with the Yarmouth) was first in the engagement. In
July of the same year, Warren was gazetted admiral of the white, as also,
on the same day, Mr. Clinton, then governor of the colony of New York,
Sir Peter Warren and the unfortunate admiral Byng appear to have been
fellow officers, considered at that time of high and equal merit. On the same
day that Warren was promoted to the rank of rear admiral of the blue,
Byng was promoted to the same rank, and Warren and Byng were on the
same day farther promoted to the white. Yet how widely different the end
of their career ! Ten years afterward, poor Byng, as brave, doubtless, as
Wax-ren, but in a single instance unfortunate, was sacrificed by ministers a
victim to popular clamor, and to screen their own imbecility. The judicial
murder of Byng is one of the foulest blots upon England's escutcheon !

1 The exact sum was £188,649 25s. 7hd. The agent who prosecuted the
claim, encountering difficulties at every step, was William Bollan, whose
account of the negotiation is presented in the first volume of the Mass.
His. Coll. The money was told in specie. On its arrival in Boston it was
immediately conveyed to the treasury -house. It consisted, according to a
note in Holmes, of two hundred and fifteen chests (three thousand pieces of
eight, on an average, in each chest) of milled peices of eight, and one hun-
dred casks of coined copper. There were seventeen cart and truck loads of
the silver, and about ten truck loads of copper.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 151

Jealousy of the rapidly increasing strength of the colo- c"-^p-
nies. as I have already intimated, was beyond all doubt the.v— v— ^
moving cause of the unworthy attempts made in England, 1/45-
to appropriate all the glory of the conquest to Commo-
dore Warren. Mr. Bollan, the agent for prosecuting the
claims of Massachusetts, found on his arrival in London,
that in the first address of congratulation to his majesty
on the event which he saw, it was spoken of as "a naval
success" — not the least mention being made of the land
forces employed on the occasion. But although these at-
tempts to present it in the light of "a naval acquisition,"
were not without their influence, the colonists were not
friendless, and the claims of the provincial troops were
ably asserted. All credit was denied to the ministry in
regard to the achievement, by some of the most influen-
tial journals. " Our ministers," said one of these, "have
no more merit in it than causing the park and tower guns
to fire."1 Again says the same standard periodical, on
the appointment of Charles Knowles as governor of Cape
Breton, and commander of the fleet on that station :
"it is hoped that General Pepperell, the gallant commander
of those brave forces who took it, will be provided for in
some other way."

In the spring of 1775, — thirty years afterward, — these
attempts to detract from the just fame of the provincials,
were revived by the earl of Sandwich, then first lord of
the admiralty, in a speech before the house of lords. His
lordship professed to speak upon no less authority than
that of Admiral Warren, who, as the minister asserted,
had pronounced the Americans engaged in the siege of
Louisburg, as the greatest cowards and poltroons whom he
had ever seen. His lordship also made Warren to say,
that the fighting at Louisburg had been done by the ma-
rines of the ship's crews, landed by the commodore for
that purpose ; while at the same time he was compelled to

1 The Gentleman's Magazine — the best historical record antecedent to
Dodsley's Annual Register, the publication of which was begun in 1758.

152 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. prai3e the Americans for their endeavors to keep them
^ — , from running away. It should be remembered, however
1745- hat this speech was delivered at the breaking out of the,
war of the American revolution, when it was the policy
of the parent country to decry the character of the colo-
nies. The minister, moreover spoke at random of con-
versations merely held with one, who had been dead more
than thirty years. He was however, immediately and
sharply answered through the London press, by a man who
had been engaged intheseige, — who had known Sir Peter
Warren, and conversed with him upon the subject.1 This
writer proved that Sir Peter could never have made any
such statements to his lordship, nor to any one else — in
the hrst place, from the perfect harmony that existed be-
tween the land and the sea officers ; secondly, because of
the very impossibility that the story could be true, — since
the commodore had no power to command upon land, and
could not have interfered with the authority of General
Pepperell ; — and for the yet more conclusive reason, that

THE COMMODORE NEVER LANDED A PARTY, EITHER OF MARINES
OR SEAMEN, DURINO THE SEIGE.

How far Admiral Warren himself participated in these
efforts at detraction, or whether in reality he engaged
in them at all, is now a point of difficult determination.
It is affirmed by one highly respectable American authori-
ty,3 that " Warren deposed on oath, in the high court of
admirality, seventeen months after the event, that with
the assistance of his majesty's ships, &c, he, this deponent
did subdue the whole island of Cape Breton." This
declaration unexplained, presents indeed a most arrogant
claim ; but it ill accords with the declarations of the com-

1 Letter to the earl of Sandwich by "an old English merchant." — Mass.
Hist. Coll., Vol. I.

2 Walsh's Appeal from the Judgments of Great Britain, respecting the Unit-
ed States of America, in which the author cites the Registry of the High
Court of Admiralty of England, Sept. twenty-ninth, 1747. I have not seen
this authority to judge of the extent of the circumstances under which the
deposition was made.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 153

modore's letters written during the seige. In one of these chap.
addresses to Governor Clinton in New York, and dated off v_v— »
Louisburg, May twelve, 1745, the commodore says : 1745,

" Sir, I take the liberty to acquaint you that the New
England troops have taken possession of one of the ene-
my's most considerable batteries at Louisburg, which gives
them the command of the harbor ; and they have now
carried their approaches so near by land, that the city is
blockaded, and its communication by land and sea entirely
cut off, and that before the arrival of any ship to their relief
from any part of the world, except one smaU one laden with wine
and brandy." '

Indignation at British arrogance upon the subject of this
expedition, however, and a pretty general conviction that
Warren was less magnanimous than he should have been,
have on the other hand conspired to induce certain Ameri-
can historians to derogate from the substantial merits of
this distinguished naval commander, in regard to that great
achievement, whose conduct, within his own proper sphere
of action, and beyond which he evinced no desire to go,
was without fear, and without reproach. Owing to the fogs,
the ice, and the storms, the difficulties of maintaining a
rigid blockade were exceedingly difficult and hazardous.
Yet never was a blockade more effectively maintained, and
never did a naval commander evince a stronger desire to
encounter yet greater hazards for the honor of the service,
and of his royal master. It is indeed possible, that feel-
ings of jealousy may have been growing like hidden fires
in the bosoms of both commanders, even in the hour of
triumph. And if such were the fact, there were doubtless,
ill-disposed people at hand to fan the sparks into a flame.
Yet there is nothing in the conduct or correspondence of
the two commanders, during the seige, going to warrant
any such conclusion. On the contrary, there was at all
times, a generous cooperation between them. Once, in-

1 This letter is preserved in the journals of the general assembly of Neiy
fork.

154 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, deed, — but not until the day after the capitulation, — there
« — , — .was an imputation of jealousy thrown out ; hut it is no
1745. more than justice to admit that it came from "Warren him-
self, who thought he had reason for the impeachment
against Pepperell. "I am sorry," said he, "to find by your
letter a kind of jealousy which I thought you would never
conceive of me." The residue of this letter is earnest,
but relates to some unspecified complaint of Duchambon,
who seemed to apprehend a disposition on the part of Pep-
perell not to observe with sufficient exactness, the terms
of the capitulation. But the real or affected cause of the
French governor's complaint is not given, nor does the letter
seem to have been preserved in which Warren thought he
discovered the shadow of the green-eyed monster.

There were, however, sharp jealousies entertained in an-
other quarter. The people of Boston were alive to the honor
of their merchant-general ; and having heard that the
keys of Louisburg had been delivered, not to him, but to
the commodore, were not a little incensed thereat.1 Still
greater was their displeasure on hearing that Warren had
assumed the government of the conquered province — it
being feared " that New England, from a sea-officer, would
not have its full share of the glory of the conquest." 2
Hence it was requested by the legislature of Massachusetts
that Governor Shirley should repair in person to Louisburg,
which port it had been determined to repair and retain, t»
look after the interests and the glory of those who had ef-
fected the conquest. Yet the highest praise was at the
same time, and on all hands awarded to Warren. Dr.
Chauncey himself, in the letter to his friend Pepperell, im-
mediately prior to the one just cited, says: — "I have no
personal acquaintance with the brave Mr. Warren, but I

JIf I understand Hutchinson correctly, this statement was inaccurate
"It was made a question, " says their candid historian, " whether the keys
of the town should be delivered to the commodore or to the general, and
whether the sea or land forces should first enter. The officers of the army
they say prevailed. "

2 Letter from the Rev. Doctor Chauncey to Sir William Pepperell.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 155

sincerely love and honor him. Had his majesty given us chap.
the choice of a sea-commander on this occasion, we should «-v— /
have selected that gentleman from all the rest, and desired 1745-
that he might he sent." But other jealousies also existed,
as in the case of Colonel Bradstreet, and even of Shirley
himself, against whom Pepperell was admonished before
he sailed upon the expedition, " as a snake in the grass."
These things only prove that human frailty exists among
the best of men in every age. A careful study of the his-
tory of this memorable expedition will show any candid
enquirer for the truth that Warren behaved throughout like
a brave and skillful officer, and a patriotic and honorable
man. Admitting, nevertheless, for the sake of argument,
that in the course of events immediately after the first flush
of victory had passed away, unpleasant feelings had arisen
between the two distinguished commanders, they must have
been very short-lived, since the two heroes afterward lived
in bonds of friendship that were dissolved only by death.
Sir Peter Warren passed the summer at Louisburg, during
which time many valuable captures were made by his
ships,1 and Sir William Pepperell remained there a whole
year after the conquest. He afterward visited England at
the express invitation of Warren, by whom he was received
with honor, and treated with marked distinction. He was
received with great kindness by the royal family, and the
city of London presented him with a silver table. In re-
gard to the joint conquest, there certainly was little room
for jealousy, for there was glory enough for all.

It was believed, that the capture of Louisburg, prevented
the conquest of Nova Scotia by the French. Duvivier,
who had embarked for France in 1744 to solicit an arma-
ment for the invasion of that province, sailed with seven
ships of war and a large body of troops, in July, 1745.

XA Ms. letter from John Oatherwood, then an officer in the household of
Governor Clinton, to "Mr. William Johnson, dated Sept. 5th, 1845, says:
* ' This commodore has had great success in captures at Louisburg. His share,
at least, will be above £20,000.

156 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. His orders were to touch at Louisburg, and proceed thence
«— y— ' in the execution of his plan. Hearing at sea of the fall of
1745, that place, and of the strength of the British squadron sta-
tioned there, he relinquished the enterprise against Nova
Scotia, and returned to Europe.

The daring and enthusiastic Vaughan, however, appears
to have been forgotten in the hour of triumph. He re-
paired to London shortly afterward, to prefer his claims to
the crown, but was seized with the small-pox in that capi-
tal, of which disease he died.

CHAPTER IV.
1745—1746.

Recurring again to the progress of affairs in New York: chap.
Mr. Clinton, the governor, it will be remembered, had dis- vj^— >
solved the second assembly of his administration, on the 1745-
fourteenth of May, in high displeasure, because, as he
alleged in part, of the personal disrespect with which he had
been treated by that body ; but chiefly because of its inatten-
tion to the defenses of the colony, and its neglect of his
recommendations of a cooperation with the New England
colonies in the expedition against Cape Breton. Orders for
such cooperation having been received from his majesty's
ministers, the governor held that obedience was an impera-
tive duty. But the people seem not to have sympathized
with the feelings of the governor ; and the uncomply-
ing members, with few exceptions, and with singular
unanimity, were returned to the new assembly, which met
on the twenty-fifth of June, and elected Mr. David Jones,
of Queens county, a gentleman distinguished for his rigid
views of economy in public affairs, as their speaker. The
news of the fall of Louisburg had not reached New York
at the time of the meeting. Much of the governor's speech,
therefore, after pressing again upon the attention of the as-
sembly the importance of placing the colony in such a pos-
ture of defence, as the crisis demanded, was devoted to the
Louisburg expedition. The governor had indeed him-
self only heard of the earlier operations of the siege ; the
capture of the first great battery upon land, and of the
Vigilante by sea, and the latest dispatches thence con-
sisted of urgent appeals from Governor Shirley and Com-
modore "Warren, for troops, seamen, and provisions. These
solicitations were in turn urged upon the assembly with all

1745.

158 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the force at the command of the executive mind. But
although few changes had taken place in the representative
body of the general assembly, yet the dissolution had
wrought a wonderful improvement in its temper. The
answer of the council, drawn by Chief Justice DeLancey,
was an echo to the speech, and that of the house, report-
ed by Mr. Henry Cruger, was equally cordial. The mem-
bers declared their full persuasion that the governor had
the service of the crown and the welfare of the colony sin-
cerely at heart, and they were equally explicit in avowing
their own readiness to consider with the greatest attention,
the several particulars recommended for their action. Nor
was their conduct inconsistent with their professions. A
bill was passed with the utmost promptitude, appropriating
five thousand pounds toward the Louisburg expedition ;
another for the necessary fortifications both upon the wild
inland frontier and the defence of the seaboard ; and yet
another for completing the governor's house. These acts
having been passed with great harmony, the assembly ad-
journed from the sixth of July to the thirteenth of August, —
during which interval of time the glorious news of the fall
of Louisburg was received, — an achievement the most im-
portant by far of the war, and ff which proved an equiva-
lent at the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, for all the successes
of the French upon the continent of Europe."

The Indian relations of the colony were yet again becom-
ing critical. Notwithstanding the efforts of the preceeding
year, both at Albany and in the grand council at Lancas-
ter, to keep this jealous and fickle people true to their
covenants with the English ; and notwithstanding their
repeated pledges of fidelity, the Six Nations were again
wavering ; and the misgivings of the govenor as to their
designs, were communicated by a message to the house,
on the twentieth of August, in which an appropriation was
asked to enable his excellency to meet them in council,
and if possible, ascertain the grounds of their discontents.

(I I, .^ U V (' U r (' i; u | ; s ()-

London FuhUsh'd tfanhn* ij$3,by UWilkiiwon .ln',>,? (bmhili.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 159

The governor also announced that some of the Canadian chap.

IV.

Indians had broken the treaty of neutrality existing be-
tween them and the Six Nations, by committing hostilities 1745-
against some of the frontier settlements of New England,
where several of the inhabitants had been barbarously
murdered. In the apprehension that those Indians might
be meditating an infliction of the like cruelties upon the
frontiers of New York, it was necessary that due measures
of precaution should be adopted.

There had been indications of dissatisfaction among the
Six Nations for several months prior to this message. In-
deed the governor had referred to their " disquietudes " and
"commotions" in his speech dissolving the assembly in
May ; and it was well ascertained that during the preced-
ing winter, emissaries from the French had been among
them, while they in turn had sent several messengers with
belts into Canada. Information to this effect was elicited
on the examination of John Henry Lydius, of Albany,
before the executive council in New York, on the sixth of
April. Lydius was a man of extensive acquaintance with
the Indians, having resided much among them, — in Canada
several years, — and again at Lake George. He stated that
he had recently seen a French Indian, from whom he had
received information touching the designs of the enemy
against Oswego, and also in regard to the feelings of the
Six Nations. The Mohawks were very uneasy, and had
sent several chiefs to confer with the Indians in Canada.
The cause of this uneasiness was a suspicion awakened in
their bosoms by evil disposed persons, that the English
were preparing at no distant day entirely to destroy them.
This apprehension, notwithstanding its absurdity, was
seriously entertained by many of the people, and even by
some of the chiefs ; though the orators Abraham, and
Brant, gave no credence to the tale.1

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council, secretary of state's office,
Albany. The Brant here spoken of, was probably the father or the reputed
father of Joseph Brant of the revolution.

160 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. It was unfortunately but too true, at the time under con-
v_v~< sideration, that no good feelings existed between the Mo-
1745- hawks and the people of Albany. At least the Mohawks
looked upon the latter with great bitterness, — having been
overreached in some land purchases, in which the Al-
banians were concerned. So they alleged ; and by availing
themselves of these prejudices, some evil-minded persons
had to some extent persuaded the Mohawks that the Al-
banians were plotting the destruction of their nation, in or-
der to possess themselves of their domain. Rumors were
accordingly circulated among them from time to time to the
end that measures for killing them were in actual prepara-
tion. They were thus kept in a state of feverish excitement
and suspicion for several weeks. At length a runner arrived
in the Mohawk country, in the night, with information that
the Albanians were then actually upon the march against
them, to the number of several hundreds, armed with mus-
kets, and treading to the sound of arms and trumpets.
The poor Indians of the lower castle, Dyiondarogon, fled
in wild affright to their upper towns. All was confusion, —
the women seizing their infants, and the children who were
able to run, flying in the utmost consternation, and utter-
ing the dead cry — "que !" que !" que I"1

The dissatisfaction having become extensive among the
confederates, it was judged expedient to depute Conrad
"Weiser, the Pennsylvania interpreter for the Six Nations,
to make a tour of friendly observation among them.
"Weiser was a native of Schoharie, partaking largely of the
confidence of the Indians; and it was rightly judged that
a mission by him to their several towns and castles would
be attended with happy results. Those results were
realized. On the twenty-ninth of July the missionary re-
turned, and his journal was laid by Mr. Clinton before his
council. After traversing the cantons beyond Onondaga,
and soothing their feelings, he was accompanied from the

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 161

Great council fire by a party of the chiefs to Oswego, where chap.
free conferences were held. The Indians complained that w^ — >
the English kept them in the dark about the progress of the 1745-
war, dealing out their news in generals only, whereas they
wanted the particulars. They were aware that the gov-
ernor of New York was displeased with their visits to Cana-
da, but they insisted that they went thither only upon
business, — the governor of Canada knowing very well that
he could do nothing with them to the detriment of the
English.

Returning from Oswego through the Mohawk country,
Weiser was received gladly at their castles and treated kind-
ly. The Indians there said they inclined to the English,
having always been used well by the governors of New
York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. But the people
of Albany had not treated them well. They had cheated
them, and were yet trying to get their lands and destroy
them. They likewise accused the Albanians of being en-
gaged in unlawful commerce with the enemy, to whom
they had sold large quantities of powder. In regard to the
visits of the Mohawk chiefs to the French in the winter,
they admitted that they had gone thither because they were
displeased with the Albanians, and in order to let them
know that they would act as they pleased.

At Dyiondarogon, the Indians convened a council to
hear Mr. Weiser on the subject of their late alarm in con-
sequence of the rumored invasion from Albany. He as-
sured them that the whole story which had caused their
panic was false, and told them of the great surprise of the
governor on hearing of such an occurrence, at a time, too,
when he thought the parties were all so friendly to each
other. The Indians, in reply, admitted that their alarm
had been very great ; but, they said, the matter had all been
settled, " and thrown into the bottomless pit." The ex-
planations made to them had been perfectly satisfactory ;
and they now requested even that no inquiries might be
21

162 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, instituted as to the authors of the alarm.1 But it will

IV.

v.^./ presently appear that they did not exactly hold to this reso-

i"45- lution themselves.

At the same meeting of the council, letters were received
from the commissioners of Indian affairs at Albany, an-
nouncing the approach of scalping parties of the Canadian
Indians toward the frontier settlements at the north. They
also stated that two men had been murdered on the border
of New England, — the Indians having plucked out their
eyes, torn off their scalps, and cut out their hearts. This
last statement was confirmed hj a letter from Governor
Shirley, who spoke of it as a violation of the treaty of neu-
trality between the Canadian Indians and the Six Nations,
and urging as a proper measure that the latter should now
forthwith take up the hatchet. Upon these representations,
the council advised that an interpreter be immediately dis-
patched to the Six Nations, with a request that they should
ascertain to what tribe or nation the offending Indians be-
longed ; and also whether the murders were approved by
their tribe. If so, then the Six Nations were requested to
consider what was to be their own line of duty. If not, —
if the murders were disapproved, — then it was left to the
Six Nations to say whether they ought not to demand the
surrender of the murderers, — the outrage having been al-
together unprovoked.2

The cruelties just set forth, were committed upon the
frontier of New Hampshire ; but others equally atrocious
were committed shortly afterward in the border settle-
ments even of Connecticut, of which information was
given to Mr. Clinton by Governor Low of that colony.
Nor were these all. It was discovered in August, that
while the Canadian Indians had thus been let loose upon
the New England frontiers, — crossing even the province of
Massachusetts in order to strike Connecticut, — the French

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

2 Manuscript proceedings of the executive council.

1 I ■.,... lelj

W&MB HOmOC'lCDX

rf &&'***%

«•

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART* 163

had become yet more earnest in their solicitations for the chap.

•> IV.

Iroquois to join them against the English. Certain of the^.—/
Mohawk and Tuscarora chiefs, moreover, had made still 1745,
another visit to the governor of Canada, in connection,
as there was but too much reason, to believe, with these
solicitations. At all events, the return of those chiefs was
preceded by a state of feeling among the people, that
deterred the Indian commissioners at Albany from send-
ing a messenger among them, with the overture from
the governor and council as directed on the twenty-
ninth of July. Meantime a letter was received from Mr.
Phipps, acting governor of Massachusetts during the ab-
sence of Governor Shirley at Louisburg, announcing that
by the advice of his majesty's council of that province,
war had been formally proclaimed against the Eastern
and Canadian Indians.1 The alarm had therefore become
very general before the special attention of the assembly
was called to the subject by the message from the governor
of the twentieth of August. That body saw the necessi-
ty of immediate and efficient action, and an appropriation
of six hundred pounds, in addition to an unexpended
balance of four hundred pounds yet in the hands of
the executive, was made to defray the expenses of a
treaty with the Indians at Albany. The assembly there-
upon adjourned over by permission, from the twenty-
ninth of August to the fifteenth of October ; and the
necessary measures were concerted for holding a general
council with the Indians without unnecessary delay.

The negotiations were opened on the fifth day of Octo-
ber, Governor Clinton being attended by Messrs. Philip
Livingston, Daniel Horsmanden, Joseph Murray and John
liutherford, members of the executive council. Delegates
were also in attendance from the provinces of Massachu-
setts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.2 About four hun-

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

2 Tbe commissioners from Massachusetts, were, Colonel John Stoddard,
Jacob Wendell, Thomas Berry, John Choate and Thomas Hutchinson. From

164 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, dred and sixty Indians were present, representing all the
■ — y— * confederates excepting the Scnecas, who had been detained
by a distressing malady, which was sweeping off many of
their members. The first interview between the parties
was brief, — the Indians retiring immediately after they had
been presented to the governor and drunk the king's
health. A consultation was then held among the com-
missioners as to the arrangement of their subsequent pro-
ceedings, at which it was determined that in order to im-
press the Indians with an idea of the harmonious action
and consequent strength of the English, Governor Clinton
should speak the united voice of the whole, — that is, of
New York and New England. The Pennsylvania com-
missioners, being members of the Friends' society, pre-
ferred to make an address by themselves, in their own pe-
culiar way. It was likewise determined that Mr. Clinton
should present the chiefs with the hatchet to strike the
French, and the Indians in their alliance, for the infraction
of their treaty of neutrality with the Six Nations, uncon-
ditionally,— leaving it with the Indians themselves to sug-
gest, should they elect to do so, some other measure for
obtaining satisfaction for the barbarities that had been com-
mitted.1

Before proceeding to the main business for which the
council had been convened, however, the governor having
heard that notwithstanding their message by Conrad
Weiser, the Indians had never been altogether satisfied in
regard to the affair of the panic, heretofore described,
determined upon having a full explanation of that myste-
rious affair ; — and two days or more were occupied upon
that subject. Hendrik, chief sachem of the Mohawks,
made a long speech. He said their distrust of the designs
of the English, but especially of the people of Albany, had

Connecticut, Rogei' Wolcott, lieutenant-governor, and Colonel Stanley.
From Pennsylvania, Messrs. Thomas Lawrence, John Kinsley, and Isaac
Norris.
1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAltT.

165

been originally awakened by Jean Cceur, a French inter- chap.
preter, residing principally among the Senecas. This man - — ,— '
had long been regarded by the English as a dangerous ***■
neighbor, and they had endeavored to persuade the Sene-
cas to send him away, — but in vain. Hendrik now in-
formed Mr. Clinton that Cceur, on returning from a visit
to Canada, had told the Indians that the governor of New
York had been proposing to the governor of Canada to
unite for the entire destruction of their people. The tale
sank deep into their minds. They knew that the Albany
people had treated them badly, and when they came to re-
flect upon the project, and thought of the condition to
which the River Indians had been reduced, and of the fact
that the people of Connecticut and Massachusetts had taken
all their land away, they began to ponder whether such
might not be the design of the English against themselves
— the Six Nations. "You," said Hendrik, pointing to
Colonel Stoddard, "have got our land, and driven us away
from Westfield, where my father lived formerly."1 When
they thought of these things, he repeated, we feared that
" the Mohawks would be brought to the same pass," and
rendered " as poor " as the River Indians were. " This,"
he said, " had remained in their hearts some years, and
now, as the governor would have them open their minds,
they had done it, and they hoped it would have a good
effect."2

A long discussion followed the harangue of Hendrik,
in regard to the authors of the claim, and several persons
were to a greater or less extent implicated. Next to Jean
Cceur, a man named Philip Van Patten, was charged as
the chief agent in getting up the mischievous alarm, and a

1 This remark will be the better understood on the statement of the fact
that the family of Hendrik was Mohegan, and only Mohawk by adoption.
Yet Hendrik and his brothers were chiefs of the first influence — Hendrik
himself being the principal chief of the tribe, and was known as King
Hendrik.

2 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

166 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART,

chap, negro wench of Schenectady was likewise compromised.

v-^w But the statements of the Indians were contradictory ;

1745. yan Patten purged himself on oath, and the Indians were
evidently opposed to any very rigid investigation being
made.1 Indeed before the close of this branch of the pro-
ceedings, it came to be justly doubted whether the whole
affair had not been a contrivance of a few of the Indians
to excite sympathy, and perhaps extort from the govern-
ment an increased amount of presents,— a lame and impo-
tent conclusion of the touching and dramatic scene brought
to the contemplation of Conrad Weiser.

The council was opened for the transaction of the proper
business upon which it had been summoned, on the tenth
of October. After the usual preliminary salutations, in
which the Indians were told as a matter of course, that the
council had been invited for the purpose of "rendering,
strengthening, and brightening the covenant chain," and
after condoling with them for the absence of the Senecas,
because of the grievous sickness their people were suffer-
ing, the governor spoke to them directly, and in a tone 01
disapprobation of the late visit of some of their chiefs to
Montreal, where they had met the French governor. It
had been asserted in justification of that visit, that they
had gone thither to protest against any invasion of Oswe-
go by the French — the Six Nations desiring that that post
might be suffered to remain as " a place of trade and peace,"
and pretending that they were determined to defend it if
attacked. But at the very time when their chiefs were in
Montreal, the Canada Indians had been breaking their
treaty, and murdering the English. Not only so, but the
governor assured them he had been informed that while
pretending that their mission was thus pacific, they had so
far accepted the hatchet from the French, as to agree to
bring it home, and consider whether they would strike
their English friends with it or not. This story, however,

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 167

the English could hardly believe to be true, unless they chap.
should hear it from their own lips. A full and plain answer > — ^_-
was expected, " that all stains might be wiped from the 1745-
covenant chain."

Mr. Clinton next proceeded to relate to the chiefs the
progress of the war — informing them of the action of the
French the preceding year upon Annapolis Royal, and
giving them an account of the fall of Louisburg, and the
conquest of Cape Breton. In this part of the country, the
English had lain still ; but they had last year informed the
governor of Canada, that unless the war should be conduct-
ed in a Christian-like manner, — unless the Canada Indians
were restrained from murdering the English, — the Six Na-
tions would immediately join the latter and strike upon
the settlements of Canada. Yet the French seemed deter-
mined not to be at peace with us, and their Indians had not
only killed some of the English, but had left a hatchet by
the side of one of the dead, — thus defying the English and
the Six Nations to take it up. The most solemn and sacred
engagements were broken by them, and they had shown
that even belts of wampum would not bind them to their
promises. The English had been slighted, and the Six
Nations treated as though they were not worthy to be re-
garded. They think you will not perform what you have
threatened, and they fear not your displeasure. Thus they
reflect dishonor upon you.

The chiefs were next told that it was high time both the
English and the Six Nations should exert themselves to
vindicate their honor. The English desired not the de-
struction of their fellow creatures, yet they felt that they
ought not any longer to bear these insults and this evil
treatment from the French. " Therefore, since neither our
peaceable disposition nor examples, nor any methods we
have been able to use, have sufficed to prevail upon them
to forbear their barbarous treatment of us, but on the con-
trary, they seem determined to provoke our resentment, —

168 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, in the name of God we are resolved not only to defend our-

iv. J m

"— v — ; selves, but by all possible methods to put it out of their
' > power to misuse and evil-entreat us as tbey have heretofore
done. And we doubt not of your ready and cheerful con-
currence with us, agreeable to the solemn promise you
made us in this place last summer, in joining with us
against the French, and such Indians as are or may be in-
stigated by them to commit hostilities against us." This
passage of the governor's speech wTas followed by the pre-
sentation of a large belt of wampum, with a hatchet hung
to it.1

Having taken two days for consideration, the Indians re-
plied, renewing the covenant chain, which they said they
were determined should never rust again, " because they
would daily wipe off the dust, and keep it clean." In re-
gard to the visit of their chiefs to Montreal, they denied
peremptorily, the truth of the report of their having consent-
ed to receive the hatchet from the French governor, even
for the purpose of consideration. Upon this and some
other points of less importance, the chiefs answered with-
out embarrasment. But on the subject of consenting to
go upon the war-path against the French, they spoke wari-
ly. They thanked the governor for the information he
had given of the progress of the war ; but touching the
direct appeal to them to engage in the contest, they cau-
tiously said : — "you desire, as we are of one flesh with you,
that we would also take up the hatchet against the French,
and the Indians under their influence, with you. We the
Six Nations, accept of the hatchet, — and will put it in our
bosoms ! We are in alliance with a great many of the far
Indians, and if we should so suddenly lift up the hatchet
without acquainting our allies with it, they would perhaps
take oifence at it. We will therefore before we make use
of the hatchet against the French or their Indians, send
four of our people, who are now ready to go, to Canada,
to demand satisfaction for the wrongs they have done our

1 Manuscript journals of executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 169

brethren, and if they refuse to make satisfaction, then we chap.
will he ready to use the hatchet against them, whenever ^—v— '
our brother the governor of New York orders us to do it." ' '
Two months, they said, in reply to a question from the
governor, would be time enough for them to ascertain
whether the aggressors would make the requisite satis-
faction ; and in the event of their not doing so, they re-
peated their declaration to use the hatchet at the command
of his excellency.1

In subsequent sections of their speeeh, the Indians took
occasion to remind the governor that the original design
of their alliance with the English was the advantages they
hoped to derive from a reciprocal trade ; but goods had
been sold very high to them of late. They were now desti-
tute of clothes, powder, and lead ; " and people who are to
go to war ought to be well provided with ammunition.
This, however, should their request be now denied, was
the last time they should speak upon the subject." In
his rejoinder, the governor explained to them the causes
of the high prices of goods at that time. They were
occasioned by the war ; but he would see that goods
should be sold to them at as reasonable rates as possible.
The presents to be distributed among them were then an-
nounced,— the governor enjoining it upon the chiefs to
reserve for the absent Senecas their due proportion.2 The
discussions were concluded by a few words of wholesome
advice addressed to the red chieftains now about return-
ing again to their own beloved wilds.

Thus far the proceedings of the conference had been
marked by apparant harmony. But Mr. Clinton had no
sooner ended his closing address, than the Massachusetts

1 Here the Indians requested his excellency, that, as they had given the
war-shout upon his delivering the hatchet to them, that their brethren would
now signify their approbation of this article (or avowa,l) in their usual
method. Whereupon his excellency and most of the company joined in
shouts with three hurrahs. " — Ms. records of the council recorded in the ex~
ecutive journals.

2 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

9.9.

170 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, commissioners rose to express their disapprobation of that
s—y— /part of the speech of the sachems in which they had
1745- declared that for the present instead of using the hatchet
they should " put it in their bosoms." The commissioners
stated that when the Indians first arrived in Albany, they
came with a good heart to enter into the war at once ; and
they attributed their change of purpose and desire of de-
lay, to the intrigues of the people of Albany. The Albani-
ans, the commissioners said they well knew, were opposed
to having the Six Nations engaged in the contest, and
they doubted not that the hesitancy which the chiefs had
manifested, was altogether owing to their influence. On
the subject of the proposed mission to obtain satisfaction
from the red men in Canada, the Massachusetts gentlemen
regarded the proposition as a mere pretext for delay. If
satisfaction were given at all, as pretended to be given, it
would probably consist of a small bundle of skins, of no
substantial value, and would be no atonement at all.
They were therefore greatly dissappointed with the turn
the negotiation had taken.1

It would not be safe to affirm that this suspicion of the
Massachusetts gentlemen was indulged without cause.
The Albanians, at that time, regardless of the higher ob-
ligations of patriotism, were engaged in a lucrative con-
traband trade with Montreal, through the agency, proba-
bly, of the Caughnawagas, as in former years. Of this
trade the Six Nations themselves had complained, because
of the supplies of ammunition thus furnished to the
French ; and the governor, in his last preceding message
to the assembly, had recommended strong measures for its
suppression. Nevertheless, from a motive of policy, — for it
could have been prompted by nothing else, — Mr. Clinton
affected surprise at the suggestions of the Massachusetts
gentlemen, inasmuch, he urged, as it had been the de-
clared opinion of Governor Shirley himself, that it would

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 171

be in every view sufficient were the entire neutrality of the chap.
Indians to be preserved. That neutrality it was the strong *-v_>
desire of the Six Nations to maintain unbroken; and it '
was to this end, as Mr. Clinton now insisted to the Massa-
chusetts gentlemen, that some of their chiefs were in Ca-
nada at the very time when the directions for holding the
present council were issued. And yet before it was pos-
sible for them to ascertain the disposition of the Canada
Indians, or to reap the fruits of their pacific endeavors,
greatly to his surprise, Massachusetts had actually declared
war against the Indians living under the jurisdiction of
the French. It was moreover urged as an additional rea-
son why the Six Nations sought the delay, that many of
their own people were in Canada and their safety would
be compromised should their friends at home take up the
hatchet at once.1 Thus closed the council ; but the vail
which Mr. Clinton had attempted thus adroitly to throw
over the subject-matter of the complaints of the Massa-
chusetts gentlemen, was quite too transparent to be satis-
factory.

A new aspect was imparted to the case in the course of
the ensuing night, by the arrival of an express from Mas-
sachusetts with intelligence that a body of French and In-
dians had fallen upon one of the block-houses on the New
England frontier, — situated at Great meadow, on the
Connecticut river. On the next morning, therefore, the
Massachusetts gentlemen applied to Governor Clinton upon
the subject, urging that by this attack of the French and
their Indians upon one of the king's forts, the case had
substantially arisen, in which he might, under the express
agreement of the Six Nations two days before, order them
forthwith upon the war-path, and that they would be bound
to go. They had said, that if before the expiration of the
two months delay for which they asked, further acts ot
hostility should be committed by the enemy, at the orders

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

172 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART."

chap, of the governor they would " strike with the hatchet."1
< — ^ The exigency had already occurred, and the commissioners
7 now requested that the order might be given, — stipulating*
at the same time, that they would supply the Indians with
the necessary munitions of war for the campaign, at their
own expense, provided they could be led forth against the
enemy at once. But this request, after full advisement in
council, was not acceded to by Mr. Clinton. The Indians
were not inclined to immediate war ; nor had the case pro-
vided for actually arisen, inasmuch as the attack upon the
block-house must have been made before the Six Nations
had entered into the engagement referred to. Those na-
tions, moreover, were the only existing barrier between the
frontiers of New York and the enemy ; and the withdrawal
of that barrier, while the frontier of New York was thus
naked and exposed, would be subjecting the settlements to
infinite peril. The governor, therefore, could not consent
to the proposition, until he had consulted the assembly,
and given that body time to place the frontier of New York
in a posture of defence. While, however, for these and
other reasons that were stated, Mr. Clinton declined allow-
ing the commissioners the immediate aid of the Six Na-
tions, he nevertheless offered a detachment of militia for
their assistance at the expense of this province.2 This
proffer was declined, and the Commissioners departed —
not, it is to be presumed, in the best possible humor.

Returning to the city of New York, where the general
assembly, after a short recess, had resumed its sittings, the
governor, on the second of November, communicated the
results of his mission to Albany, by a special message, in
which he took occasion to speak of the aggressions of the
French and their Indian allies upon the border settlements

1 So the Massachusetts commissioners insisted, but the fact does not ap-
pear exactly thus in the formal speech preserved in the records of the
council.

2 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOIINSON, BART. 173

of New England, and urged the importance of making im- chap.
mediate and adequate provision for the defence of the^— v— *
northern frontier of New York. It was not known how 1'45,
strong was the combined French and Indian force that had
attacked the fort at Great meadow, nor how soon it might
fall upon some of the exposed settlements of this province.
Such an attack was certainly to be apprehended ; and the
governor pressed home with earnestness upon the assem-
bly the absolute necessity of erecting fortifications at the
exposed points, not only for the security of the out-settle-
ments, but for the purpose of giving encouragement and
confidence to the Indians, that they might be induced, with
the greater cheerfulness, to join in the war. For the Mo-
hawks, always brave themselves, " felt a very allowable re-
pugnance to expose the lives of their warriors in defence
of those who made no effort to defend themselves ; who
were neither protected by the arms of their sovereign, nor
by their own courage."1

These admonitions received not that immediate attention
which the exigency of the case demanded ; and but two
short weeks intervened before the war-whoop, and the
reddened sky at the north, startled the assembly from its
inaction, and taught it that earlier and more earnest heed
ought to have been given to his excellency's repeated re-
commendations. Fort St. Frederick, at Crown Point, was
at that period garrisoned with sufficient strength to enable
its commander, Mr. Vaudreuil, to send out strong detach-
ments to annoy the English settlements at his pleasure.
One of these had fallen, as already stated, upon the Great
meadow settlement in Massachusetts ; and at break of day, on
the morning of November seventeenth, a combined force of
four hundred French and two hundred and twenty Indians,
invaded the flourishing settlement of Saratoga, overcame
the garrison, killed and took nearly the entire population
prisoners, and laid every building in ashes, excepting a new
mill standing out of their course. The affair is represent-

1 Mrs. Grant's Memoirs of Madame Schuyler.

174 LIFE OF SIH WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART,

chap, eel as having been " barbarous," in the only contempora-
v-^_> neous written account of it which I have been able to find j
1745- the number of persons killed, however, is not stated.1 But
the slaughter must have been considerable, since Governor
Clinton, in a speech to the assembly several weeks after-
ward, says, "many of our people were murdered." Among
the slain was the brave Captain Schuyler, a brother of Co-
lonel Phillip Schuyler. More than one hundred prisoners
were taken away, a majority of whom were blacks, — slaves,
it is presumed. Thirty families were sacrificed in the mas-
sacre ; a description of the horrors of which would be but
a repetition of the story of Schenectady, fifty-five years be-
fore.2 So adroitly had the enemy concerted their plans,
that every house must have been attacked at nearly the
same instant of time. One family only escaped, the foot-
steps of whose flight were lighted by the conflagration.

From Saratoga the invaders crossed the Hudson, and
swept with equal desolation the village of Hoosic. A small
fort at this place, commanded by Col. Hawks, made a
spirited defence, but was compelled to surrender. These
events laid the settlements naked and open to the ravages
of the enemy down to the very gates of Albany, spreading
general consternation through the interior of the province.
The inhabitants in the settlements most exposed rushed
into Albany for security; and the males of that city capable
of bearing arms, were obliged to go upon the watch in the
environs, each in his turn every other night.3

Immediately on the receipt of these unwelcome tidings in
New York, the governor transmitted a message announcing
the facts to the general assembly, written under the

xMs. letter from Robert Sanders, of Albany, to " Mr. William Johnson,
merchant at Mount Johnson, " in which the writer says : In obedience to
your request I shall bear in mind that this is not the Saratoga watering
place of modern days, but the old town of Saratoga lying upon the margin
of the Hudson river, rendered yet more famous in history by the surrender
of General Burgoyne upon its plains in 1777-

2 Dunlop's History of New York.

3 Sanders's letter.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 175

strong excitement of the moment, and upbraiding that chap.
body for its disregard of those measures of defence which *-v— '
had so frequently been urged upon its consideration. 174'5-
"The like was never known," he said, " that one part of a
government should be left to be butchered by the enemy,
without assistance from the other." The high road from
Crown Point to Albany, was now open to the enemy, and
he again called upon the assembly for means to enable him
to erect a proper fort at the carrying-place, and such other
defences as might be necessary for the protection of the set-
tlements in the neighborhood of the places that had been
destroyed. Further provision was also demanded for the
Indian service, the exigence having now occurred which
would authorize the governor to call the Six Nations forth-
with into the service. Supplies were moreover indispens-
able for subsisting the troops and militia from the city,
and the lower counties which must be detailed to the north
for its protection. The sharp tone of the message gave
offence. And yet it was very natural that the governor,
who certainly was chargeable with no neglect of duty him-
self, should speak to those who were, in terms of earnest-
ness, if not of reproof.1

Suppressing their resentment at the governor's tartness,
for the moment, however, the assembly declared its readi-
ness at all times, " to concur, cheerfully, in every reasonable
measure for the honor of his majesty, and for the welfare
and security of this colony ; for the assistance, also, of our
neighbors, and for any well-concerted plan, consistent with
the circumstances of the colony, for distressing and har-
rassing the enemy." As an earnest of their sincerity in
this declaration, bills were passed making liberal appropri-
ations for the service, accompanied by a resolution for
building the oft-recommended fortress at the carrying-place,

1 It is asserted by Smith, that the governor's irritation with the assembly
had been excited a few days before the receipt of the news from Saratoga,
by its proceedings in the case of the contested election of Edward Holland,
to which transaction I shall have occasion again to advert.

176 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, and for rebuilding the fort at Saratoga. A resolution was
wv — ' also adopted authorizing bounties to be given for scalps,
1745- taken either by white men or Indians, provided that that
barbarous mode of warfare should be resorted to in the
first instance by the enemy. Having done thus much for
the military service, and passed the annual salary and sup-
ply bills, the assembly adjourned over from the twenty-
eighth of November to the seventeenth of December,
" then to meet at the house of Rear Admiral "Warren, in
Greenwich."1

Early in December an important letter was laid before
the privy council from Colonel Philip Schuyler, requesting
the governor to send up three hundred men from the
militia of the lower counties for the defence of Albany
and Schenectady, and also asking for the immediate re-
building of the fort at Saratoga where his brother had
been slain. These requests had been in part anticipated
by the governor, the two companies of independent fu-
sileers stationed in New York having been ordered upon
that service, who were then on their way. Tet, notwith-
standing the pressing nature of the emergency, the re-
moval of these troops from the metropolis caused dissatis-
faction, and the local militia refused to perform duty as
sentinels at the governor's residence, or at any other
place save within the walls of the fort. Conceiving this
conduct a high personal indignity, the attention of the
executive council was called to the subject, by whom an
order was passed directing that the refractory conscripts
should be compelled to perform the duty required.2 In
addition to the fusileers, a competent number of the mili-
tia were drafted for the frontier service, which was not
very desirable to the yeomanry of the counties, espe-
cially in winter ; and a spirit of insubordination among

1 See journals of the colonial assembly. The prevalence of the small-
pox in the city, — the simple antidote to that terrible disease of Dr. Jenner
not having been discovered until nearly half a century afterward — rendering
the change expedient.

2 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

.M.\.M>M KE^EHAIL IMIIUP § r I [ VY i EB

/7 /.;.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 177

them, manifested in several respects, but particularly in c"yP'
their refusal to aid in building the fort at Saratoga, gave v— n — '
Colonel Schuyler no small amount of trouble.1 There
was probably cause for dissatisfaction among these levies,
to some extent, arising not only from an ill-supplied com-
missariat, and the consequent absence of many things
necessary for their comfort in a rigorous winter climate, but
also from the want of a hospital for the sick, there being
none at Albany. Nevertheless the work at Saratoga
went slowly forward, by such assistance as could be ob-
tained from the people in that part of the country, covered
by patrols of a few militia and about forty Indians upon
whom Schuyler had prevailed to engage in that service.

On the whole, therefore, the winter set in gloomily. The
entire frontier of New England and New York was ex-
posed to the incursions of an agile and subtle enemy,
certain to strike if opportunity presented, and yet equally
certain to conceal the point of attack until the fall of the
blow. On the eleventh of December, Mr. Low, governor of
Connecticut, wrote to Mr. Clinton that a force of six hund-
red Frenchmen and Indians was investing Stockbridge,
against whom he had ordered a force to march with all
possible alacrity. Several months previously, the gover-
nor of Georgia had written that he had been advised
through the Chickasaws of a general movement against
the northern colonies, by the Indians as remote even as the
Mississippi valley, acting in alliance with those upon the
great lakes, — all of whom had been instigated against the
English by the French governor at New Orleans. This
rumor was now received through a different channel, with
the additional statement that these distant Indians were to
join the French from Canada, and strike from the west-
ward upon the settlements of Orange, Ulster, and Albany
counties, — especially upon the towns of Esopus and Mini-

1 Manuscript journals of executlue council, correspondence of Colonel
Schuyler.

2 Letter from a surgeon to the executive council.

178 LIFE OF SIR WILLLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

ohap. sink, — and also upon the frontiers of New Jersey and
—v—- Pennsylvania ; while certain suspicious movements among
1745- the clans of Indians yet remaining in Orange and Ulster,
who had withdrawn themselves suddenly from their hunt-
ing-grounds, served to strengthen the apprehension. But
in regard to these latter clans, the alarm was allayed in a
short time by a communication from Colonel DeKay, of
Orange, who had induced them to come back and renew
the chain of their covenant. The colonel was actually
bound to some of their chiefs by a chain, for an hour or
more, at their request, as an evidence that the two peo-
ples were fast bound to each other.1

Meantime the general assembly met again on the seven-
teenth of December, the session being opened by a speech,
short and to the purpose. After a brief statement of the
measures he had adopted for the public defence during the
recess, and asking for such an appropriation as would enable
him to build a fort of stone, "large and strong," at the
locality so often designated north of Albany, to guard the
carrying-place between the Hudson river and Lake
Champlain, the governor again urged the adoption of
such measures as would enable him to form a union for
the more efficient prosecution of the war with the other
colonies, a proposition which had again been pressed upon
his consideration by the government of Massachusetts.
Some action of this kind had become the more necessary,
inasmuch as there was reason to believe that the French
were organizing a powerful force in Canada, with the de-
sign of penetrating into the heart of New York. Among
the documents communicated with the speech, was a let-
ter from Doctor Colden, dated at Coldenham, in the
county of Orange, stating that the French had now a
considerable party among the Six Nations, industriously
engaged in sowing the seeds of disaffection, and in
promoting their own interests. Certain \t was, that

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 179

by means of some adverse influence, the Confederates chap.

. . iv.

were again occupying a doubtful position. This appears v— ^

from the fact, that immediately after the disaster at Sara- 1745-
toga, the governor had directed the Indian commission-
ers at Albany, to send an interpreter into the Iroquois
country, requiring of them a compliance with their en-
gagements in such a contingency, made at the treaty. The
order for them to "draw the hatchet from their bosoms,"
and proceed immediately against the enemy, was peremp-
tory. But the chiefs refused a compliance with the man-
date ; and the commissioners, in announcing the result of
the mission, suggested the calling of another council
larger than the former, at which they thought it would be
necessary to send the Indians oiF upon some expedition
before they should return to their castles.1 This unex-
pected information was announced to the general assem-
bly by a special message ; and the dispatch from the
commissioners was referred to a committee of the execu-
tive council for consideration.

But notwithstanding the irritation which the faithless-
ness of the Indians was so well calculated to produce, Mr.
Horsmanden, chairman of the committee of reference,
made an able and humane report, going so far in extenu-
ation of their conduct as almost to justify their sullen re-
fusal to enter into the war. It was considered that they
were a scattered people, and their cantons remote
from each other ; and whatever other plausible pretexts
they might themselves assign for their conduct, it could
not be doubted that they were under terrible apprehen-
sions for the safety of their own wives and children,
should they engage in the contest, since in the absence of
their warriors, who were to protect their own country from
the French and their Indians? The committee there-
fore recommended that forts and garrisons should be es-
tablished in the country of the Confederates, as places of
security for the women and children, and the old men, in

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

180 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, case of invasion. This measure would give confidence to
v-^—* the chiefs ; and the committee therefore recommended a

1745. correspondence with the other colonies upon the subject,
with a view of obtaining assistance in the erection of the
works proposed.1

1746. The importance of an alliance with the New England
colonies, both for mutual security, and for offensive and
defensive operations, was by this time becoming more ob-
vious, and the recommendations of the governor began
now to be received with greater favor by the assembly
than previous to this threatened Indian defection. Accord-
ingly, on the twenty-fourth of January the house asked of
the council its concurrence in a resolution for the appoint-
ment of a joint committee upon the state of the colony.
The proposition was acceeded to ; and the result of their
deliberations, after their action had been again quickened
by an Indian alarm, was the sanction, in the spring, of the
project which had been so long and so much desired by
the executive, and so blindly resisted by the representa-
tives of the people.2 The commissioners appointed to
confer with those from New England, were Philip Living-
ston, Daniel Horsmanden, and Joseph Murray, of the
council ; Philip Verplanck and "William Nicholl, of the
assembly.

An improved spirit of liberality was likewise evinced as
to appropriations for the public defence, and for other
branches of the service. Yet the proceedings of the As-
sembly, upon some of these measures at least, were not
characterized by the greatest harmony. There was an in-
creasing hostility in the lower house against the governor ;
the assembly and council were at odds upon a question of
parliamentary law, involving, indirectly, the royal preroga-

1 Manuscript journals of the executive council.

2 The committee on the part of the council, recommending this course, con-
sisted of Chief Justice DeLancey, Joseph Murray, Daniel Horsmanden, and
John Moore. On the part of the house, the committee consisted of Mr.
Clarkson, Captain Richards, Major Van Home, Mr. Cruger, Mr. Verplanck,
Colonel Beekman, Captain Livingston, and Colonel Chambers.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 181

tive, and finally, the members of the assembly fell into chap.
discreditable fends among themselves touching the distri- w v_*
bution of the public burdens among their respective coun- 1746,
ties,1 The mixed question of parliamentary law and pre-
rogative, arose on a disagreement between the legislative
council and the assembly, upon the details of a bill au-
thorizing an emission of bills of credit to the amount of
ten thousand pounds. Before the introduction of the bill,
the assembly had inquired of the governor whether he
had any objection to an emission of paper money to meet
the exigencies of the country ; to which question the proper
answer was given by Mr. Clinton, that " when the bill came
to him he would declare his opinion."2 The bill was there-
fore introduced and passed by the assembly ; but the coun-
cil, disapproving of certain of its provisions, requested a
conference. The assembly, however, declared that inas-
much as it was a money bill, they would consent to no such
course upon the subject. The council thereupon summa-
rily rejected the bill, and sent up an address to the govern-
or, written by the chief justice, DeLancey, setting forth
their reasons, by which their course had been governed.
One of the objections to the bill, according to this repre-
sentation, was found in the fact, " that the money proposed
to be raised by the bill was not granted to his majesty, or
to be issued by warrants in council, as it ought to have
been, and as has usually been done." This objection in-
volved the old question of the royal prerogative — nothing
more. On the subject of the right claimed by the assem-
bly of exclusive power over the details of money bills, the
address asserted "the equal right of the council to exercise
their judgments upon these bills." Various other ob-
jections of detail were suggested; but the two points spe-
cified above, were the only grounds of principle upon which
the council relied in justification of its course. Yet the
unreasonableness of the assumption of the house, that the

1 Smith's History of New York,yo\. ii, p. 94.

2 Ibid, p. 96.

182 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, council should not be allowed even to point out and rectify
v-^—/ the defects of anything which they chose to call a money
1746> bill, was argued at considerable length.1

Just at this point of collision, the small pox, which had
driven the assembly from the city, appeared in Greenwich,
producing a panic that for several days entirely arrested
the course of business. The assembly prayed for a recess
from the ninth of March to the twelfth of April, and also
for leave to adjourn their sittings to some other place. Ja-
maica and Brooklyn were suggested ; but in the opinion
of the governor the demands of the public service forbade
so long an interregnum, and he therefore directed their ad-
journment for a week, then to meet in the borough of
Westchester. They convened there accordingly ; but the
inconvenience of the locality was such that the members
begged permission to adjourn, even back to the infected
city again, rather than remain where they were. In the
end the governor directed them to adjourn to Brooklyn, at
which place the transaction of business was resumed on
the twentieth of March, on which day an address to the
governor was ordered to be prepared, in answer to that of
the council respecting the rejection of the before mentioned
revenue bill.

Whether such an address was prepared or not, the jour-
nals of the assembly afford no information ; but the bill
appears to have died between the two houses. Still, the
dangers and necessities of the country were such as to for-
bid inaction, whatever might become of questions of pre-
rogative, or of legislative etiquette. Letters from the in-
terior were pouring in upon the governor and council
full of alarming reports, and asking for assistance at va-
rious points. The inhabitants of Kinderhook and Clave-
rack, now that the fort at Hoosic had been destroyed, and
the settlement deserted, petitioned for the erection of a
couple of block-houses for their security ; large parties of

i Journals of the legislative council, from the proceedings at length.

LIFE OF Sill WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 183

the enemy were traversing the country about Saratoga, chap.
the garrison of which, weak and uneasy, threatened de->-v-'
sertion; parties both of French and Indians were infesting1746-
the environs of Albany and Schenectady, destroying pro-
perty, and killing and scalping, or snatching into captivity
such of the inhabitants as ventured beyond the walls ; the
emissaries of the French, of whom the Jesuit priest, Jean
Coeur, was the leader, were holding the Six Nations in
check, and preventing them from going upon the war-path,
while advices were received from the Canajoharie castle
that the governor of Canada had invited the Confederates
to a meeting with him at Onondaga, which invitation had
been accepted.1 The settlements in the interior, not ex-
cepting the considerable towns of Albany and Schenecta-
dy, were, therefore, in a state of general panic. A stronger
principle than that of prerogative, if not than that of po-
litical liberty, demanded, with irresistible emphasis, some
efficient action from the legislature. Before the close of
the session, therefore, another revenue bill, originating in
a spirit of compromise, and yet making no essential con-
cession on the part of the representatives of the people,
was passed by both houses, and received the signature of
the governor.

This bill provided for raising a supply of thirteen thou-
sand pounds, by a tax on estates, real and personal, and for
emitting bills of credit to the same amount for the public

1 Ms. journals and correspondence of the executive council. Among the
letters written about this time was one from the Indian commissioners stating
that certain persons for a suitable compensation were willing to undertake
to bring Jean Coeur from the Seneca country to Albany. The commission-
ers thought it an important object, but it seems not to have been acted upon.
A letter was also received from Arent Stevens, a landholder residing at the
Canajoharie castle, announcing that the Caughnawaga Indians had sent a
belt from Canada, desiring to come back to reside in their native valley.
On the same day a communication was received from John Henry Lydius,
who had an intimate knowledge of the Caughnawagas, proposing a scheme
for persuading them to the same course. But these suggestions came to
nothing.

184 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, service, and creating a sinking fund for their redemption.1
J^w But though the bill was passed by the council without
1746- amendment, it did not get through wholly without oppo-
sition. Chief Justice DeLancey, usually among the most
strenuous supporters of the prerogatives of the crown, it
is true, yielded his hostility to the popular demand ; but
Mr. Rutherford recorded his protest upon the journals of
the council at length. His objections were manifold as to
the details of the bill, but the objection in chief was one
of principle. The bill, he contended, proposed a method
of raising a revenue which should be resorted to only in
case of extreme necessity ; the amount proposed to be
raised, was to be applied wholly to the object set forth in
the bill ; — the points of defence designated would be en-
tirely insufficient for the protection of Albany county ; —
but above, and more than all, the Assembly had in the bill
encroached upon the royal prerogative by nominating offi-
cers to receive and apply the money to be raised, and by
designating the sites of the defences to be constructed, —
duties properly belonging to the commander-in-chief.

On the other hand, the majority of the council caused
to be entered upon the journals, the reasons which impelled
them to vote for the bill. These were, in chief, the exi-
gencies of the country at large, and especially the perilous
condition of the frontier, — the enemy having appeared in
the environs both of Albany and Schenectady, where seve-
ral bloody outrages had been committed. In answer to
Mr. Rutherford's objections touching the prerogative, the
majority of the council said that the provisions objected to
had been inserted, and the officers designated in the bill

i The annual tax by which, it was proposed that the bills should be re-
deemed in three years, amounted to the sum of £4,331. 10s. 8d The ap-
portionment was as follows:— New York £1,444 8s. lid. ;— Albany, £622.
3s. 9 j ;_Kings, £254. 18s. OJrf;— Queens, £487. 9s. 5^;— Suffolk, £433. 6s.
gd. ;— Richmond, £131. 6s. 2>\d. ;— Westchester, £240. 14s. 8Jrf. ;— Ulster,
£393. 18s. 9^;— Orange, £144. 8s. 10^ ;— Dutchess, £180. lis. l%d;— To-
tal, £4,331. 10s. 8d.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOIINSON, BART. 185

named, with the consent of the governor. It will be at chap.

IV.

once perceived that this arrangement with the executive <~~Y—'
was a mere subterfuge. The victory was with the repre- 1746-
sentatives of the people. And it was signal ; deserving of
special note as marking the progress of the great princi-
ples of popular liberty.1

The general assembly had now been in session, with a
very few brief intermissions, for nearly a twelvemonth, and
although it had done much, yet the fruits of its labors were
not altogether satisfactory. In addition to the passage of
the revenue bill as already rehearsed, a resolution had been
adopted directing the construction of six strong block-
houses, three of the number to be planted between the
south-west frontier garrison of Massachusetts, and the post
at Saratoga ; and the other three between Saratoga and
Fort William in the upper Mohawk country. The appro-
priation for these objects, however, had been diverted from
the greater and more essential projects of a substantial
fortress at the earrying-place, — orders for the construction
of which had been given by the governor early in the
preceding winter, and without which there could be no se-
curity against invasions from Crown Point at the pleasure
of its commander. One hundred and fifty pounds were
voted for repairing the works at Oswego ; three thousand
three hundred and seventy-five pounds w^ere directed to be
raised by lottery, to be applied to the defences of the city
and harbor of New York ; — the fort at Schenectady was
directed to be repaired ; — a corps of rangers were to be or-
ganized for the protection of the western lines of Ulster
and Orange counties ; — the militia laws were amended with
a view to their greater vigor, in conformity with the wishes
of the governor; — and the resolution of the preceding
session, offering a bounty upon scalps, was enacted into a
law. But although the fortress of Louisburg was threat-
ened with a formidable attack from France, and although
Governor Shirley, Sir William Pepperell, and Admiral

1 See the proceedings at large in the journals of the legislative counoil.
24

186 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Warren had been pressing Mr. Clinton for months to send
Wy—/ forward the quota of reinforcements which New York had
1746- been required to supply, yet the assembly peremptorily
refused a compliance with trie demand. They would not
even provide a convoy to guard a transport ship then in
the harbor of New York, destined to the assistance of that
garrison, which had been greatly weakened by fever and
other causes. There had indeed been from the first a re-
luctance in the assembly to cooperate with the New Eng-
land colonies in regard to the conquest of Cape Breton,
not wholly susceptible of explanation ; but for their present
course at least a plausible excuse was found in the weak
and exposed condition of their own colony.

CHAPTER V.
1746.

The period is now approached at which the long, ardu- chap
Ous, and in many respects brilliant public career of Sir^,*,
William Johnson commenced. During the stirring scenes 1746.
rehearsed in the two preceding chapters, Mr. Johnson
had been pushing his fortunes as a private citizen, with a
degree of discernment and energy that marked him as no
common man. His removal from the south to the north
side of the Mohawk river, has already been noted. In
the year 1744 he erected a valuable flouring mill upon the
brisk stream falling into the Mohawk about two miles
west of the Chucktanunda creek, in the town of Amster-
dam,— where he also built an elegant stone mansion for
his own residence ; conferring upon the estate the name of
Mount Johnson. Not only thus early had he become
known to Governor Clinton, but a correspondence was
shortly afterward commenced between them which soon
became close and confidential ; and their acquaintance
ultimately ripened into the relations of cordial intimacy.
It is very probable that Johnson's introduction to the new
governor at so early a period of his administration, was
effected by Mr. DeLancey, the chief justice, whose daugh-
ter it will be remembered was the wife of Sir Peter "War-
ren, and consequently the aunt, by marriage, of the young
adventurer. Mr. Clinton, almost immediately on coming
to the government, had resigned himself passively in-
to the hands of the chief justice ; l and that sagacious
jurisconsult, would scarce be slow to advance the fortunes
of a family connexion, whose talents, sagacity, and enter-

1 Vide Mass. Hist. Collections, vol. xiii, p. 79.

188 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, prise pointed him out as a man who might one day be of

v-v— ' importance in sustaining his own interests. Political

1746. friendships, however, are seldom constant or enduring ;

and it will be seen hereafter that the subsequent relations

— at least for a time —between DeLancey and Johnson,

form no exception to the remark.

During the years 1744 and 1745, Mr. Johnson's atten-
tion must have been closely applied to his own commer-
cial affairs, already widely extended. From his corre-
spondence it appears that he was in both those years often
shipping furs to London, and was likewise engaged in the
flour trade with the West India islands, — making ship-
ments also to Curracoa and Halifax.1 Still his time was
not thus exclusively occupied, since it appears that in the
month of April, 1745, he was commissioned one of his
majesty's justices of the peace for the county of Albany —
being the first official appointment conferred upon him.2
He was moreover beginning to participate actively in the
political concerns of the colony, his influence being put in
requisition in the autumn of the last mentioned year, to aid
in the return of his friend Mr. Holland to the general as-
sembly for the township of Schenectady. The election
of this gentleman was strongly desired by the governor, —
a reason of itself sufficient to enlist the exertions of
Johnson. Holland was returned ; but in order to annoy
the governor, the assembly, upon a flimsy pretext, insuffi-
cient in law, and in every other respect entirely indefensi-
ble, excluded him from his seat, as has been mentioned in
a note upon a preceding page. Justly indignant at this
unjustifiable procedure toward his favorite, Mr. Clinton
manifested his feelings by the acrimony of his message
terminating the session. The rejection of Mr. Holland
was nevertheless the making of his political fortunes, in-
asmuch as it procured for him the mayoralty of the city
of New York and a seat at the council board.

1 Private correspondence in manuscript.

2 Manuscript letter of Edward Holland enclosing the commission.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 189

As I have not been able to ascertain the date of Mr. chap.
Johnson's marriage, so likewise have I found it impossible ^ — ■
to ascertain the time of his wife's decease. It has always 1746-
been understood that she died young ; but a few years af-
ter their union ; and before her husband had acquired
either civil or military renown ; yet not until after she had
given birth to a son, — afterward Sir John Johnson, — and
to two daughters, — Mary and Nancy. But although the
exact time of her death cannot be determined, there is
reason to believe that it took place at least as early as the
summer of 1745. It has already been noted, more than
once, that it was Mr. Johnson's policy to cultivate an in-
timate acquaintance with the Indians. Being largely en-
gaged in commerce with them, his facilities to that end
were great ; and no white man perhaps, ever succeded in
more entirely winning their confidence. He mingled
with them freely; joined in their sports; and at pleasure
assumed both their costumes and their manners, and cast
them aside, as circumstances might require. He was con-
sequently fast gaining an ascendency over them upon
which the French looked with exceeding jealousy. It be-
came therefore an object with the latter either to cut, or to
take him off — an object which it will presently appear was
seriously meditated in the autumn of 1745. Among the
private letters of Mr. Johnson escaping the ravages of
time and chance, is one from Mr. James "Wilson, of
Albany, addressed to ""William Johnson Esquire," and
dated "November 26th, 1745," from which the following
passage is extracted : — " Mother desires you to come down
and live here this winter, until these troublesome times
are a little over. They have kept a room on purpose for
you, and they beg that you will send down the best of
your things directly. There is room enough for your
servants, if you will bring them down. I would not have
you stay at your own house, for the French have told our
Indians that they will have you dead or alive, because you
are a relation of Captain Warren, their great adversary.

190 LIFE OF SIK WILLIAM JOHNSON,- BART.

chap. Therefore I beg you will not be too resolute and stay, If
v—y—/ you will not come yourself, I beg you will send your
1746. books and papers, and the best of your things." The en-
tire silence of this letter in regard to Mrs. Johnson, and
the appropriation of only a single room for his occupancy,
induces the supposition that she must have died previous
to the time when it was written. Still this conclusion is
merely conjectural ; and to say the truth, but little can be
ascertained respecting Mr. Johnson's domestic relations
for several years of this portion of his life.

Resuming then, the course of public events : The views
of Governor Shirley were comprehensive, and in planning
the expedition against Cape Breton, they had by no means
been confined to the reduction of that island. His design
comprehended nothing short of another eifort for the entire
subjugation of Canada, — an object that had several times
been attempted, but always without success. The conquest
of Louisburg by the provincials, aided by the fleet, af-
forded strong encouragement for attempting the larger
enterprise. With this great design uppermost in his mind,
Shirley made a visit to Louisburg after its fall, to confer
upon the project with Pepperell and Warren. In the flush
of their late brilliant success, his views were warmly second-
ed by those officers ; and such representations were made
to the ministers at home as prevailed upon them to approve
the undertaking. A circular was accordingly issued by the
duke of Newcastle, on the ninth of April, 1746, directed
to the governors of all the British American colonies,
south to Virginia inclusive, requiring them to raise as many
men as they could spare, and form them into companies of
one hundred each, to be in readiness for taking the field.
The design was to attack the enemy's territory simultane-
ously from two directions. The New England troops, to
be first in motion, were to proceed to Louisburg, there to
be joined by a squadron of ships of war with a large body
of land forces from England. These combined forces were
then to proceed south and ascend the St. Lawrence against

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 191

Quebec ; while the provincial troops of New York and the chap.
other colonies upon which the requisition had been made, - — „ — ■
together with the Iroquois Indians, provided they could be 1746-
brought heartily into the service, after being concentrated
at Albany, were to make a descent upon Crown Point and
Montreal. The expedition from Louisburg was to be com-
manded by General Sir John St. Clair, acting in conjunction
with Sir Peter Warren and Governor Shirley. The com-
mand of the other division was committed to Brigadier
General Gooch, the lieutenant-governor of Virginia, who,
six years before, had signalized himself in the unsuccess-
ful expedition against Carthagena. Sir William Pepperell
and Sir Peter Warren both visited Boston early in the
spring, to confer jointly with Shirley upon the business of
the enterprise ;l but Warren wag shortly ordered home,
where, on the fourteenth day of July he was advanced to
the rank of rear admiral of the white.2 His successor in
the command of the American squadron, was Commodore
Knowles. But this officer proposed remaining at Louis-
burg, so that all the preparatory arrangements devolved
upon Shirley.3

The project of this formidable enterprise had been com-
municated to the government of New York by Mr. Shirley,
as early as the second week in January, and was received
with high favor.4 The general assembly met again on the
third day of June, in Brooklyn, being deterred from sitting
in the city by the small-pox. A message from the governor
informed them that during the recess such had been the
alarming state of affairs at the north, that an additional
force of three hundred men had been drafted from the sev-
eral counties, and ordered to Albany for the protection of

1 Belknap

* Charnock.
3 Belknap.

* Smith's History says it was approved by the general assembly on the
twenty-fifth of February, for which statement the author had the authority
of a message from Governor Clinton of June six ; but the legislative jour-
nals do not sustain the assertion.

192 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the frontier. The exigency had fully warranted such an
« — r — i exercise of discretionary power on the part of the govern-
1/46 or. for the records of the privy council disclose the fact
that the most urgent letters for assistance had been received
from the Indian commissioners at Albany, in consequence
of the murders and scalpings perpetrated in that neighbor-
hood ; and on the very day when the legislature reassem-
bled, an account was transmitted from the commissioners
of a skirmish between some of the northern settlers and a
party of French and Indians, in which one of the latter was
killed. The assembly readily voted the necessary supplies
for the exigency, increasing the amount for the support of
two hundred levies more than had previously been called
into service, thirty of whom were to be stationed in Kin-
derhook, and the residue between Albany and Schenec-
tady. Fifty Indians were likewise to be employed if they
could be raised for the better security of the last mentioned
town. But the assistance of the Indians was doubtful, —
the commissioners having ascertained at an interview with
several of their chiefs that they were reluctant to any bel-
ligerent action until after a grand council of their warriors
could be held at Onondaga.1

On the sixth day of June, a message by the hand of Mr.
Goldsborow Banyar, who, four days previously, had been
appointed deputy secretary to the colony, required the
presence of the assembly in the council-chamber, where
the governor announced in a speech the receipt of the be-
fore-mentioned circular from the duke of Newcastle, and
requested the cooperation of the legislature in all measures
necessary for a prompt and efficient prosecution of the in-
tended campaign. An outline of the plan of the intended
double invasion of the French possessions, has already been
given. All needful information was imparted to the as-
sembly upon the subject, and a long letter from the duke
of Newcastle was also laid before the council, stating that
General St. Clair would sail from England with five bat-

1 Manuscript records of the council board.

LIFE OJ Sill WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 193

tallions of regulars, who were to be joined at LouisburgCtfAp.
by two regiments more from Gibraltar, and urging it upon ^^-^
the colony of New York not only to put forth its utmost 1746'
strength upon the occasion, but if possible to obtain the
active cooperation of the Indians.1

These communications were received in the best possible
spirit, both by the legislature and the people. There was
indeed universal rejoicing at the prospect of speedily crush-
ing the power of France in America, — it being evident to
all that there could be no permanent repose until that work
should be accomplished. In the council, Mr. Justice Hors-
manden moved the address, and Mr. Clarkson in the as-
sembly, both of which breathed a dutiful degree of loyalty,
and a lofty spirit of patriotism. Especially did the assem-
bly pledge itself that hearts and hands should be employed
in the great work proposed, and that its proceedings should
be conducted with such unanimity and despatch as should
attest their duty, loyalty, and gratitude to his majesty. A
kindred feeling prevailed in every direction, both with the
local government, and the people. True indeed, the legis-
lature of Massachusetts had in the outset manifested some
disinclination to participate in the enterprise, burdened as
she was with the debt incurred by the Louisburg expedition,
not yet reimbursed by the parent government f but the ar-
guments of Shirley, strengthened by the out-breaks of the
Canadian Indians upon their frontiers, overcame their re-
luctance, and all was now enthusiasm among the people, —
the New England colonies directing their energies toward
the eastern division of the expedition. Governor Hamil-
ton, of New Jersey, wrote on the second of July, that that
little colony had voted to raise five hundred men for the
enterprise, and a contribution of two thousand pounds for
the military chest. General Gooch wrote from Virginia,
enclosing a bill of exchange of three hundred pounds, with

1 Graham's History of North America.
a Manuscript records of the council board.
25

194 LIFE OF SIE WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, directions that it be applied to the purchase of presents for

—^ the Indians.1

1746. Mr. Horsmanden, from a committee of the privy coun-
cil, appointed to consider and report as to the best measures
to be adopted in furtherance of the great enterprise, made
an elaborate report on the thirteenth of June. The active
cooperation of the Six Nations was regarded by the commit-
tee as an object of high moment ; to secure which the com-
missioners at Albany were advised to dispatch an interpret-
er, with two assistants, into the Indian country, to dance the
war dance among them by way of rekindling a military
spirit, especially with the young warriors ; and also to in-
vite the chiefs and prominent warriors of the entire confede-
racy to meet the governor in a grand council, to be holden
at an early day in Albany. Presents were likewise recom-
mended upon a liberal scale, to be given, not as compen-
sation, but as incentives to action, — the Indians always fight-
ing for honor, and scouting the idea of going upon the
war-path for pay.2

Four days afterward, the house of assembly asked of the
council a committee of conference for the purpose of joint
deliberation upon the condition of the colony. The request
was acceded to ; and every branch of the government unit-
ed heart and hand in every possible measure for advancing
the grand design.3 An act was promptly passed the more
effectually to prevent the exportation of provisions and war-
like stores. In order to the descent upon Crown Point and
Montreal, a fleet of bateaux was essential for the naviga-
tion of Lakes George and Champlain. Stephen Bayard and
Edward Holland, members of the council, were deputed
to superintend the building of the bateaux. They report-
ed on the sixth of July that the ship-builders had all refused

1 Manuscript council minutes.

a Ibid.

3 The committee on the part of the council consisted of Chief Justice De
Lancey, and Messrs. Van Courtlandt, Horsmanden, Murray, and More. The
chief justice, however, seems to have acted no very efficient part during the
■whole year, — for reasons which will appear hereafter.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 195

to perform the work, under the pretext that they were em- chap.
ployed in the execution of prior engagements. This con- v-^
duct of the naval architects formed an exception to the 1746-
general disposition of the people ; and a bill was forthwith
introduced, and expeditiously passed into a law, authorizing
the impressment into the public service, of all ship and
house-carpenters, joiners, sawyers, and their several ser-
vants, and all other artificers and laborers whose assistance
might be required for the state, together with horses,
wagons, and whatsoever else might be required to forward
the expedition.1 Resolutions were adopted allowing a
bounty of six pounds for the enlistment of each able-bodied
man into the king's service, over and above his pay ; six
thousand pounds were appropriated for the purchase of pro-
visions for the colony's levies ; three hundred men were by
law directed to be detached for the army from the city of
Albany ; and to cover the expense of these and other
appropriations demanded by the exigence, a tax of forty
thousand pounds was imposed upon the real and personal
estate of the colony, and an emission of bills of credit au-
thorized to enable the government to anticipate the avails
of the tax. Indeed the general assembly hesitated at no
appropriation that was required, save for the Indian service,
and for the transportation of troops and military stores. In
respect to the latter, they refused to advance money to the
crown, even upon loan, preferring to raise it by bills of ex-
change,— " a hint which Mr. Clinton improved greatly to
his own emolument."2 With respect to the Indian service,
they conceived that inasmuch as the grand council which
the governor had already summoned at Albany, pursuant
to the recommendation of his privy council, was to be con-
vened for the common benefit of all the exposed colonies,
they ought all to contribute toward the heavy expenses to
be incurred, not in presents only, but for their clothing,
arms and subsistence. Toward these objects Virginia had

1 Journals of the legislative council.
* Smith, vol. ii, p. 99.

196 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, already made a handsome remittance ; but Connecticut and

» — ; — - Pennsylvania had declined making any contribution ; and by

1746. a message 0f the ninth of July, Governor Clinton informed

the assembly that no answers had been received from the

other colonies to the applications addressed to them upon

the subject.

Nevertheless the means for holding the council were not
wanting ; and having in these matters discharged its duties
to the public service, the assembly closed its session on the
fifteenth of July. Not, however, until after a joint address
of the two houses had been votedtothe king, congratulating
his majesty upon the defeat of the rebels engaged in the
cause of the Pretender, by the army under the duke of
Cumberland.1 The mover of the resolution for this address
was the chief justice ; but the journals disclose the unusual
circumstance, that he was not placed at the head of the
committee, which was organized thus — Philip Livingston,
Chief Justice DeLancey, and Mr. Justice Horsmanden.
The active labor seems to have been performed by the latter.
Meantime great apprehension prevailed in New England
at the inaction of the parent government, from which much
had been promised, and more was expected, and without
whose powerful cooperation an enterprise so vast as that

1 The battle of Culloden. The young Prince, Charles Edward, called the
Pretender, having defeated the royal forces under Sir John Cope at Preston-
pans, had penetrated a short distance into England ; but finding the people
unanimous against him, he was compelled to fall back rapidly into Scotland.
On his return he routed General Hawley at Falkirk, but the approach of the
duke of Cumberland put an end to his triumph. He retreated before the
royal army, and at last the hostile forces met in the field of Culloden to de-
cide the fate of the kingdom. The Scotch fought with accustomed bravery ^
but the English prevailed, and the unfortunate youth escaped with difficulty
from the battle where he left three thousand of his misguided adherents
dead. Though a large reward was offered for the head of the illustrious
fugitive, who had thus to combat against want and temptation, yet the
peasants of Scotland pitied his misfortunes, and even those of his enemies
who were acquainted with his retreat^kept inviolate the fatal secret, and
while they condemned his ambition, commiserated his distresses. He at last
escaped to St. Maloes, and never again revisited the British dominions, —
dying at Florence in 178&

' *-*»,,. »m «. t»¥"L

e^***

CHARLES EDWARD STITAJRT.

T1IK YOl'NO PRKTENDJSR.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 197

which had been projected, could not within themselves be chap.
carried forward by the colonies. It has been already stated wv_.
that eight battalions of regular troops had been promised 1746-
by the parent government, to rendezvous at Louisburg.
The ministers had not specified the contingent of troops
required from the respective colonies, contenting themselves
by announcing the wish of the king that the total levies
should not fall short of five thousand men ;l but, fired with
ambition to preserve the laurels they had won at Cape Bre-
ton, the provinces vied with each other in putting forth
their strength for the achievement of a yet greater exploit,
and the forces embodied with alacrity exceeded by far the
expectations entertained at home. New Hampshire voted
to raise one thousand men, and more if they could be en-
listed— with a bounty of thirty pounds currency and a
blanket to each recruit.2 Of this number eight hundred
were ready for embarkation by the first of July. Mas-
sachusetts voted three thousand five hundred men ; Con.
necticut one thousand ; and Rhode Island three hundred.
But such was the spirit of the people that a yet larger num-
ber were actually enlisted. These all were destined for
Louisburg, and thence for the assault of Quebec. For the
forces to be directed upon Crown Point and Montreal, New
York raised sixteen hundred men ; New Jersey five hun-
dred ; Pennsylvania four hundred, though not by the act
of its Quaker government, but by a popular act unsanctioned
by its executive ; Maryland three hundred ; and Virginia
one hundred ; — making the grand total of provincials eight
thousand two hundred. But of the promised assistance
from England, two regiments, only were sent ; and these
from Gibraltar, to relieve the New England men who had
garrisoned Louisburg from the clay of the conquest. Of
other reinforcements none came ; neither the general who
was to command ; nor fleet ; nor orders. The New Eng-

1 Grahame.

? Belknap states the number thus ; but Hutchinson, in a note, affirms that
New Hampshire voted to raise only five hundred.

198 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, land levies were mustered and prepared for embarkation,—-
v-^ — , the transport vessels, moreover, being in readiness to receive
1746- them. But their ardor, after weeks of cruel suspense, was
doomed to a sad disappointment by the inaction of minis-
ters. Admiral "Warren, after his visit with Pepperell to
Boston for consultation with Mr. Shirley, had sailed for
England. It was now mid-summer, and neither troops nor
tidings arriving from home, it was evident that the season
was already too far advanced to allow the farther prosecu-
tion of that branch of the expedition destined against Que-
bec ; since it was impossible that a fleet could now reach
Louisburg from England in season to justify an attempt to
ascend the St. Lawrence. Under these circumstances, al-
though not without deep chagrin, that important feature
of the enterprise was abandoned. The strange inaction of
the parent government on that occasion, has been variously,
though never satisfactorily accounted for. That a feeling
of jealousy at the growing strength of the colonies, was
awakened in England by the conquest of Louisburg, had
been apparent almost from the moment of its fall ; and co-
temporary politicians were not wanting, who attributed the
inaction of 1746 to a feeling on the part of ministers, that
it might after all be as well to allow Canada unconquered
to remain as a check upon its young and vigorous Anglo-
Saxon neighbor. The excuse offered, has been, that min-
isters had reason to suspect that the armament which the
French were ostensibly preparing for the reconquest of
Cape Breton, and possibly for the invasion of some of the
English colonies, was in reality intended for the invasion
of Great Britain itself.1 Be. all this as it may, it was still
believed that by uniting the Eastern levies with the forces
collecting in New York for a descent upon Crown Point, a
combined movement might be made in that direction which
could not well fail of success. The ISTew England forces
were accordingly directed to hold themselves in readiness
to concentrate upon Albany.

1 Grahame.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 199

But this scheme in its turn, was disconcerted, and the chap.

' v.

anticipated march for Albany was arrested by serious *-^—/

alarms from the opposite direction. It was known that 1746-
France had been making great preparations, — not, as some
have affected to believe, for the invasion of England, but
for the recovery of Louisburg, and the conquest of Nova
Scotia, — with the ulterior design, as was apprehended, of
ravaging the sea coasts of the English colonies, from An-
napolis-Royal to' Georgia.1 The vigilance with which
Rochelle, where the preparations were making, had been
watched by the English, had not prevented the enemy's
fleet from getting to sea, which it succeeded in accomplish-
ing on the twenty-second of June. And although the
English fleet, destined for the interception of the French,
and also for Louisburg, had put to sea several times, it had
been driven back as many, being utterly unable to get to
the westward. It was commanded by Lestock, an admiral
in whom, certainly, no great confidence ought to have been
reposed. The fleet of the French was commanded by the
Count D'Anville, numbering, as it was affirmed, seventy
sail, fourteen of which were ships of the line ; thirty were
men of war of a smaller size ; the remainder of the force,
consisting of fire-ships, bombs, tenders, and transports for
eight thousand troops,2 " and a formidable apparatus of
artillery and military stores."3 In anticipation of D'An-
ville's arrival, accounts were received in Boston that a
French officer named Ramsay, had collected a force of
seventeen hundred Canadian troops and Indians, to coope-
rate with the French admiral, which force was even then
threatening Annapolis-Royal, while the Acadians were
also known to be rife for a revolt. In order, therefore, to
prevent the loss of Nova Scotia, the orders for marching
to Albany were countermanded, and the troops directed

1 Hutchinson.
» Ibid.

s Grahame. This author greatly reduces the number of disciplined
troops on board D'Anville's fleet, from the statement of Hutchinson and
other provincial historians — making it no more than three thousand.

200 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, to embark for Annapolis. Before, however, the embarka-
v_v — ! tion had actually taken place, news of D' Anville's arrival
174^ at Chebucto Bay in Nova Scotia was received, and the
whole country was thereby thrown into a state of conster-
nation. " England was not more alarmed by the Spanish
Armada in 1588, than Boston and the other North Ameri-
can sea ports were by the arrival of this fleet in their neigh-
borhood."1 It was not supposed that so formidable an arma-
ment as that of D'Anville, to equip which the whole power
of France had been exerted for many months, could be
destined alone against Louisburg. A recapture of that
important post would only be the prelude to a sweeping-
attack upon the entire sea-board ; and feeling themselves
neglected, if not deserted by the parent government, as
though willing to see the colonies sacrificed, all thoughts
of sending away any of their forces were at once aban-
doned. Shirley was a man of energy, enjoying in a high
degree the confidence of the people ; and he bore himself
in the crisis in a manner worthy of his position and his
character. The first intelligence of D'Anville's arrival
upon the coast, had filled the public mind, wearied and
discouraged by the disappointments of the season, with
dismay. But the elasticity of the New England character
was soon manifested by the return of all the courage
and resolution necessary to enable its possessors to look
danger in the face and to meet it. Under the lead of
Shirley, therefore, inspired by his example, the whole en-
ergies of New England were immediately directed to the
<. now paramount object of self-defence, — to which end all
hands were at once engaged in putting the country in the
most commanding attitude. The troops which had been
destined, first for a descent upon Canada and next for the
defence of Nova Scotia, found sufficient employment at
home, as a matter of course, in strengthening the defences
of the coast, by repairing dilapidated forts and building
new ones. Nor were they left to labor with unaugmented

1 Hutchinson.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 201

numbers. The militia spontaneously left their homes, chap.
and their ripening harvests, seized their arms, and within wv_/
a few days, to the number of more than six thousand, 1746-
marched into Boston, while an additional six thousand
more were promised from Connecticut in the event of an
actual invasion.1

Governor Clinton had appointed the twentieth of July
as the day for meeting the Six Nations in council at Alba-
ny. He arrived there himself on the twenty-first ; but as
the city was afflicted with small-pox, and also at the same
time with a malignant bilious fever, his excellency, not
having had the former disease, deferred his landing until
the following day, — not making it then in the town but
at the fort. Whether the governor's quarrel with De-
Lancey, had or had not served to alienate from him any
other members of the council, does not appear ; and the
fact that the latter could prevail upon none of its members
to accompany him to Albany, excepting Doctor Colden
and Mr. Livingston, is left unexplained. Major Ruther-
ford of the council being already at Albany in the dis-
charge of his military duties, enabled the governor, though
with the smallest number allowed by his majesty's com-
mission, to form a council board for the transaction of
business.

The cause of DeLancey's quarrel with the governor,
has been attributed to his own native arrogance ; to an
overweening family pride, engendered by the elevation of
his brother-in-law, Sir Peter Warren ; and also to his reli-
ance upon the patronage of his former tutor, Doctor Har-
ris, bishop of York, who was soon afterward elevated to
the archbishopric of Canterbury.1 On his arrival in the
colony, Mr. Clinton had found the chief justice omnipo-
tent with the assembly, and being himself fond of his
ease, and caring more for the emoluments than for the
glory of official station, the governor had to a great

2 Smith, — who makes Doctor Harris at this time archbishop of Canterbury,
which is not correct. Dr. H. was not advanced to the primacy until the
following year, 1747.

202 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, extent yeilded the direction of the government to this
•«_Y_> ambitious minister. Every thing went smoothly enough
1746. "between them, until after the governor in a moment of in-
caution, had renewed DeLancy's commission as chief jus-
tice, during good behavior, — or, in other words, for life.
" He now began to dictate rather than to advise. Dining
one day with Mr. Clinton, and insisting upon some favor-
ite point with great imperiousness, the governor, who
had so long suffered himself to be led, refused on this oc-
casion to be driven. The chief justice then arose and left
him ; declaring, with an oath, that he would make his ad-
ministration uneasy for the future. His excellency replied
he might do his worst. Thus they parted, nor were they
ever afterward reconciled."1 The governor's confidence
was immediately transferred to Doctor Colden, in whom
it was reposed to the end of his administration.

But notwithstanding the preparations made in anticipa-
tion of his arrival, the governor found no Indians at Alba-
ny to meet him, save two straggling Onondagas, and one
Oneida warrior; all three of whom had arrived on the
same day with his excellency, from the north, bringing
with them two French scalps which they had boldly taken
at the very gate of Fort St. Frederick — Crown Point. On
presenting these trophies to the governor, the leader of
the party made a formal speech, as belligerent as could be
desired, declaring that the murders committed by the
French had been suffered to remain unavenged until his

*See Letter to a Nobleman, being a review of the military operations
in North America from 1753 to 1756, the authorship of which was attributed
to Governor Livingston, of New Jersey, and his friends Messrs. Smith and
Scott, lawyers, of New York. Smith has since been known as the historian
of New York ; and the coincidences between portions of this letter and pas-
sages of his history, are so numerous and striking, as to warrant the con-
clusion that he must have shared in writing the former. The letter, which
is long, may be found in the fourth volume of Mass. Hist, Collections.

Still in forming an estimate of the character of Mr. DeLancey, as well as
of other individuals mentioned in this letter, great allowance should be
made for the intense political rancor which its authors cherished against the
personages therein assailed.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 208

heart could bear it no longer ; and lie had therefore him- chap.
self determined to open for his brethren the path of re- ^—y—
venge. The scalps had been taken at noon-day, within two 1/46-
hundred steps of the fort. The report of their guns
startled the garrison, and a party of soldiers sallied forth
in pursuit ; but having forgotten their arms in their haste,
and being consequently obliged to run back after them,
the Indians were enabled to make good their retreat.
They were each rewarded with strouds and a laced hat, —
the leader receiving in addition a line laced coat and a
silver breast-plate. The governor at the chief warrior's
suggestion favored him with a new name, signifying The-
opener-of-the-jpath. Proud of his distinction, the warrior
then informed his excellency that his two associates, to-
gether with a River Indian, were going upon the war-path
again ; and were it not that he supposed he could render
better service in the council, he should go against the
enemy with them.1 No other Indians having arrived to
meet the governor, and the reports from the interpreters
who had been sent to the cantons of the Six Nations
being exceedingly discouraging, the Path-opener, who
proved to be a very faithful fellow, volunteered upon an
embassy to bring the Indians to the council himself, not
doubting that he should to a considerable extent be suc-
cessful.

For nearly a month the prospect of procuring a general
attendance of the Indians, was discouraging. Within a
day or two of the incident just recorded, another party of
six or seven Indians, previously sent by the commissioners
of Indian affairs to lurk about in the vicinity of Crown
Point, returned without having met with any success, and
with the loss of two of their number, made prisoners by
the enemy. One of these, however, had been released
through the interposition of the Caughnawagas in the ser-
vice of the French. It was the impression of these spies
that the enemy was strong at Fort St. Frederick, both in

1 Minutes of the council board.

204 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, regular troops and Indians. This unpleasant intelligence
« — » — ' was confirmed very soon afterward by the return froin the
7 6* same region, of a party of sixteen Mohawks, who had
been sent thither to reconnoitre the enemy's works by Mr.
Johnson, — whose active agency in the Indian department
was now about first to be brought into requisition. These
Indians added the expression of their belief, from the ex-
tent of the enemy's preparations at Crown Point, that an
expedition was on foot against Schenectady and the white
settlements farther up the Mohawk valley, and possibly
against Albany itself. These reports were strengthened
by letters from Mr. Johnson to the governor, and also by
advices frOm the officer commanding the small English
garrison kept in the Mohawk country. Mr. Clinton, how-
ever, attached less importance to these reports than those
did who communicated them ; believing them to have been
sent abroad by the French to deter the Indians from gather-
ing in the council at Albany. He thus wrote to Johnson ;
endeavoring at the same time, by the offer of liberal re-
wards, to persuade the last mentioned Indian party to re-
turn to the neighborhood of Crown Point, but without suc-
cess,— the Indians insisting that they must return to their
homes, to inform their relatives and friends of what they
had heard and seen. Mr. Johnson likewise thought there
were serious grounds for alarm ; writing to the governor
that the white settlers for twenty miles above him, and be-
low to Schenectady, had deserted the country. Of his own
property in jeopardy, he had eleven thousand bushels of
wheat and other grain ; and he asked the favor of a small
detachment of troops for his protection. A lieutenant and
thirty men were immediately sent to him ; and a company
of militia was likewise added to the upper Mohawk castle
to assist the Indians in adding to the strength of that de-
fence.1 It will appear in the course of the present chapter
that the apprehensions of an invasion from Fort St. Frede-

1 Manuscript correspondence of Clinton and Johnson.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSOV, BART. 205

rick, were not altogether idle, although it did not take ex- chap.
actly the anticipated direction. ««, ^. .

But the Six Nations came not to the council, and the 1746-
summer was wearing rapidly away ; while, to increase the
embarrassment of Mr. Clinton, the proposition from Gov-
ernor Shirley for an immediate expedition against Crown
Point had been acceded to on the fourth of August, and the
information of a change in Shirley's purpose, rendered im-
perative by the threatened invasion of the seaboard by the
French, had not been received at Albany. The prospect
was indeed far from cheering in many respects. The storm
of war lowered darkly in the northern horizon. A com-
pany of rangers, belonging to Albany, enrolled for the ex-
press purpose of traversing the frontier to watch the move-
ments of the enemy, notwithstanding the danger that
threatened their own fire-sides, refused to go again upon
duty unless the governor would become personally responsi-
ble for their pay, at the rate of three shillings each per
diem, and also for their subsistence. Indignant at their
conduct, and believing that men thus mercenary, when even
their own family altars were in jeopardy, could not be safe-
ly trusted, Mr. Clinton accepted the services, voluntarily
tendered, of Captains Langdon and Tiebout, with their re-
spective companies of new levies. A few of the reluctant
Albanians were taken as guides for these generous volun-
teers ; but whenever any signs of hostile Indians were dis-
covered, the heroic guides were sure, either by discharging
their guns, or by making other noises, to give the alarm
and enable the foe to escape ; — thus avoiding the danger
themselves, but at the same time defeating the purpose in
view. The temper of the Six Nations, with a few individ-
ual exceptions, was bad, and apparently growing worse.1
Notwithstanding the unwearied efforts of the English to

1 Dunlop in quoting Colden, in regard to the discontents among the Six
Nations at this time, says : " It was owing to the misconduct, of those who
were entrusted by the government with the management of Indian affairs ; "
adding: " The Indian agent was Mr. Johnson. " It was not so. Johnson's
appointment to that agency took place afterward.

206 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, counteract the influence of the Jesuit missionaries among
w v — s them, yet those crafty ecclesiastics had obtained a hold upon
1746. their affections, which it seemed all but impossible to break ;
and fresh evidences were received by the governor, almost
daily, disclosing the unwelcome fact that the Iroquois, if
not again balancing which side of the contest to espouse,
were more strongly than ever resolved upon maintaining
an attitude of neutrality. The messengers dispatched to
the Indian country, to persuade them to . attend the coun-
cil, had met with very indifferent success. One of them
had fallen sick by the way. Several of the influential chiefs
had again been visiting Canada, and were in full commu-
nication with the Caughnawagas of the St. Lawrence.
These were active in preventing the convocation. The
messengers had passed thirteen days among the Oneidas
without making any perceptible impression ; and the Cay-
ugas met the governor's invitation at first with a flat re-
fusal. The Mohawks, living in the closest proximity to
the English, were for a considerable time equally reluctant
to join in the council, and several of the chiefs at the upper
castle peremptorily refused ; nor in all candor can it be de-
nied that their reasons at once attested their political sa-
gacity and the soundness of their judgment. " It was, "
they said, " a war between the Englsh and the French, in
which the Indians had no interest. Those nations could
at any time make peace ; but it was not so with the Indians.
Once involved in the war, they could not make up the quar-
rel among themselves, but must continue the contest until
one or the other party was destroyed." These views were
encouraged by the emissaries of the French, who, entertain-
ing little expectation of being able to engage the Iroquois
upon their own side, were content to urge them strongly to
neutrality. " It is your interest, " artfully said the Jesuits,
" not to suffer either the French or the English to be abso-
lute masters, for in that case, your slavery to one or the
other, will be inevitable. " Yet it was not doubted that
some of the chiefs had been gained entirely to the French,

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 207

and were even then ready to strike the heads of the Eng- chap.
lish. -3^

It was in this critical exigency that Mr. Clinton determined 1746-
to avail himself, in the Indian department, of the services of
Mr. Johnson, — services, for the discharge, of which he was
already exceedingly well qualified from the intimate know-
ledge he had acquired of their language, their character and
customs, and also from the confidence they reposed in him,
and his consequent extensive popularity among them.
These qualifications of Mr. Johnson for that delicate
branch of the public service were well known to Mr. Clin-
ton ; and inasmuch as Colonel Schuyler, son of the cele-
brated Quider, and head of the board of Indian com-
missioners at Albany, had espoused the side of DeLancey
in his opposition to the governor, while Johnson had
manifested a disposition to sustain the latter, the road to
preferment was already open.1 Indeed there seems to have
been a serious misunderstanding between the governor and
the Indian commissioners several months before, the latter
having written to his excellency on the seventeenth of
the previous April, that " as their proceedings give so little
satisfaction to him, they beg to be excused from any farther
trouble."2 Mr. Johnson, therefore, already a correspond-
ent and a favorite of the governor, now succeeded Colo-
nel Schuyler in the management of the Indians ; although
the sincere affection of the latter for the family of their
old friend Quider, continued long afterward. It is from
this point, that the long official career of the young Irish
adventurer, William Johnson, — a career equally brilliant
and honorable, — takes its date.

The commissioners having neglected to send messages
to the ^Esopus and Minisink Indians — tribes inconsidera-
ble and not very reliable, — and also to the clans dispersed
along the upper Susquehanna and its tributaries, — on the

> Smith.

2 Manuscript letter preserved in the minutes of the council.

208 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, fourth of August interpreters with suitable belts were dis-
«^v_- patched to those scatterred peoples. Meantime a change
174G- favorable to the wishes of the English had been produced
among the Senecas from an unexpected quarter. It hap-
pened that while the messengers of the governor were
among the Senecas, a party of twenty Chickasaws arrived
at their castle, with a request " that the Senecas would
show them the way into Canada." The Chickasaws had
always been enemies to the French ; and an expedition of
five hundred men sent against them from Canada, four
years before, had been defeated in the Chickasaw country,
almost to annihilation. These young envoys referred to
the subject in a manner characteristic of the race. Ad-
dressing the Senecas, they said: — "Four years ago the
French had been so kind as to visit their country, and
leave among them four hundred muskets. Those muskets
however, by constant use, had been worn out ; and as their
friends the French had not thought proper to bring them
any more, the Chickasaws had determined to goto Canada
and bring away some new ones." It was their desire
that the Senecas would show them the way, and if they
would promise to do so, the young men said they would
return home and bring back about four hundred of their
stout-hearted fellows to find the new guns and bring them
away. Encouraged by this unlooked for alliance from
the south, and also by assurances that other remote na-
tions of the forest were in no good humor with the French,
the Senecas, in considerable numbers, changed their
minds, and determined to meet the governor in Albany.
Mr. Johnson was at the same time exerting himself with
the utmost activity to dispel the clouds resting upon the
moody brows of the Mohawks, and to revive their obvious-
ly waning friendship for the English. Familiar with their
language and manners, he assumed their garb, and mingled
among them as one of their own people. He entered
readily into their athletic exercises, their games, and all
the varieties of their pastimes, — prompted, it is likely, in

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 209

part, by his love of the picturesque and of wild adventure, chap.
and in part, it is but just to believe, by the sincere affec- -y-/
tion he had imbibed for the race. Flattered by his asso- 1746,
ciation with them upon terms of such generous equality, —
not for an instant dreaming that there could be ought of
simulation in his conduct toward them, as perhaps there
was not, — the Mohawks adopted him as a member of their
nation, and invested him with the rank of a war-chief.1 In
this capacity he assembled them at festivals, and appointed
frequent war-dances, by way of exciting them to engage
actively in the war. His success, considering the sourness
of their temper, and the spirit of uneasiness that had pre-
vailed among them for so many months, was far greater
than had been anticipated by the commissioners ; for he
not only persuaded numbers of the war-chiefs and sachems
to repair to Albany and hear what the governor had to say,
but he likewise engaged many of their young warriors un-
reservedly to join the army in the proposed campaign.

Thus stood matters at the Mohawk castles when the in-
terpreters from the more distant members of the Confede-
racy arrived with such of the sachems and warriors of those
nations as they had succeeded in bringing to attend the
council. But here a new difficulty arose. A political feud
had existed among the Confederates for a length of time,
causing a division into two distinct parties, — the Mohawks,
Onondagas and Senecas forming one division, and the
Oneidas, Cayugas and Tuscaroras the other, — the last men-
tioned being numerically the weaker. On the arrival of
the warriors and counsellors of the latter, it appeared that
they had by no means determined to espouse the cause of
the English, and they censured the Mohawks for having
committed themselves so far without the previous consent
of the other Confederates. The Mohawks replied with
warmth. They were less numerous than the other nations,
it was true; but they declared that theip warriors were all

1 In connection with this custom of adoption, see Appendix, No. 1, to this
volume.

1746.

210 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, men ; : and in the event of a trial of strength, the Mohawks
.- might not be found in reality the weakest. Chafed at the
rebuke of their fellows, they moreover now boldly avowed
that their hearts were truly English ; and the contention at
length became so sharp, that the opposing factions would
not consent to move in company to Albany, — the Mohawks
marching by themselves on one side of the river, while
their opponents took the other. Both divisions entered
Albany on the eighth of August, — the Mohawks in full
panoply, at the head of whom marched their new war-
captain, Johnson, upon whom they had conferred the name
of War-ragh-i-ya-gey, signifying, it is believed, Superin-
tendent of affairs2 -r— dressed, painted and plumed as re-
quired by the dignity of his rank. In passing Fort Frede-
rick at Albany, salutes were exchanged, the Indians firing
their muskets, and the fort its artillery. The chiefs and
sachems were then received in the hall of the fortress, and
served with refreshments. {

All the Mohawk sachems but three, had been persuaded
by Mr. Johnson heartily to engage in the cause. One of
these dissentients was Aaron, of the Lower castle, who, with
others, had made a visit in the preceding spring to the
French governor in Canada. The two others were of the
Canajoharie, or Upper castle. Both were sachems of influ-
ence, one belonging to the Bear tribe, and the other to the
Tortoise, — the latter being first in dignity. Great pains
were taken at private interviews with these sachems, to
bring them into the cause of the English. The task, though
difficult, was ultimately accomplished through the instru-
mentality of the Rev. Mr. Barclay, an English missionary
residing among the Mohawks, and the exertions of Doctor

i The Six Nations reckoned all other Indian nations women in compari-
son with themselves.

2 The signification of Johnson's Indian name is not known with certainty.
Some authorities have given as its meaning — " one who unites two peoples
together. " The interpretation however given in the text, reasoning from
the analysis or the supposed analysis of thg word, appears to be nearer
the truth.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 211

Colden, who, during former visits to the Canajoharie castle, chap.
had contracted an acquaintance with those reluctant sa- < — , — <
chems. The doctor had indeed some twenty years before, 1746
been adopted into their clan, and invested with a new name.
Still, there were other difficulties to be adjusted, and it was
not until the nineteenth day of August that a public coun-
cil could be safely opened. Meantime Governor Clinton
had been attacked by fever, and the duty of conducting the
council devolved upon Dr. Colden. The commissioners in
attendance from Massachusetts, were Colonel Wendell and
Mr. Welles. Connecticut was not represented.

The opening speech delivered by Mr. Colden, had been
prepared to be spoken by the governor. After announcing,
in the usual form, that the council had been called to con-
firm the covenant chain, and all former treaties and engage-
ments, it recapitulated the history of the war, referring to
the cruelties of the enemy, and reminding the Indians of
their stipulation the year before, that if satisfaction for those
cruelties should not be promptly rendered, they would take
up the hatchet and make immediate use of it. But the
enemy, so far from having made the least reparation for
their wrongs, had repeated their cruelties on the frontiers
of New England, by the destruction and massacre of Sara-
toga, and by barbarous murders in the very precincts of
Albany. Yet, knowing these facts, the Six Nations had
not fulfilled their promises, an immediate compliance with
which was now necessary, if they would show that those
promises came when made from the bottom of their hearts.

The speech next announced the determination of " the
king their father, " to effect the subjugation of Canada,
and informed the Indians of the preparations making for
that object. They were assured in the most confident
terms, that forces sufficient for effecting the conquest at a
blow, had been levied and were already in motion. Those
from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
New York, destined to proceed to Montreal, they would
soon see in Albany ; while the governor was in the hourly

212 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, expectation of hearing of the arrival of the promised ships
w^and troops from England ; — " a great army of experienced
1746. goldiers, — who, with the New England levies, were to as-
semble at Cape Breton ; — after which the attack upon Ca-
nada would be made on all sides, both by sea and land."1

Yet, in order to complete the preparations for so great
an enterprise, the Six Nations were required to join all their
forces with the English, in doing which they would have a
glorious opportunity of increasing their renown by aiding
in the conquest of the Erench, — a perfidious people, who
were even caressing the enemies of the Six Nations, de-
siring nothing so much as to see their name obliterated.

They were next reminded of the many injuries they
themselves had received at the hands of the Erench, es-
pecially by their repeated invasions of their territory, as
at Onondaga, and the Seneca country. The mischiefs
inflicted by them upon the Mohawks in their successive
invasions were recounted ; the story of the massacre of
their warriors at Cadaracqui, was rehearsed ; while the
cruel burnings of some of their braves at Montreal, was
not forgotten. Having thus kindled a spirit of vengeance in
their bosoms, as could be read in the flashing eye, and the
distended nostril, the ambition of the warriors was next art-
fully excited by a recital of their own brave exploits when
carrying their arms into Canada : — " If your fathers," said
the speech, " could now rise out of their graves, how
would their hearts leap for joy fo see this day, when so
glorious an opportunity is put into your hands to revenge
all the injuries your country has received from the French,
and be never more exposed to their treachery and deceit."
As the true sons of such renowned and brave ancestors,
animated by the same spirit for their country's glory, and
the same desire of revenge, they were invited to share in

xSo ignorant was the governor of the true state of things at the moment
in New England, where all expectation of the grand combined attack had
been relinquished ; Boston not more than two hundred miles distant, and yet
the governor of New York was left in ignorance to make these fallacious
promises to the Indians.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 213

the honor of vanquishing the enemies alike of them- chap.
selves and the English ; provisions, arms, clothing, being wv!_/
promised in abundance, and' ample protection for their 1746*
wives and children during their absence. They were far-
ther reminded of several murders of their white brethren
by the enemy's Indians, committed even since their arrival
at the council-lire. These additional insults they were
called upon to avenge ; and in conclusion a belt was given
as an assurance of the intention of the English to live and
die with their red brethren.

The speech was well received. At the end of each sen-
tence one of the chiefs called out — "yo-hay;" — "do you
hear?" and the response of approbation was general.
When, moreover, after its close, the war-belt was thrown
down, the significant act was followed by a war-shout,
unanimous and hearty. The council-fire was then raked
up to give the forest counsellors time for deliberation.
Three days afterward they announced that their answer
was ready ; and on the following day, August twenty-
fourth, the governor himself was able to meet them in
council for its reception.

The fire having been rekindled at the appointed time,
an Onondaga sachem spoke to the following effect — the
speech of course abounding in the figurative expressions
inseparable from Indian eloquence and diplomacy. It
opened by informing the council that the Missesagues
had united with them for the purposes immediately in
hand, as a seventh nation. The Six Nations were rejoiced
that the English were wiping away their sorrowful tears,
opening their throats, and washing clean the bloody bed.
They also spoke of the silver covenant chain formed of
old, which both were holding fast. They acknowledged
having received the hatchet the year before, and their
pledge to use it in the event of farther provocations and
murders by the French ; — admitted that the bloody affair
of Saratoga, and other acts of hostility, demanded the ful-
filment of the pledge ; and they farther declared their

214 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. readiness "from the bottom of their hearts," to use their

v.
w^—, hatchets against the French and their children, — the Ca-

1746- nada Indians meaning, — from that day forward. As an
earnest of their sincerity in this declaration, the war-belt
was thrown down with great emphasis both of attitude
and expression. They assured the governor of the entire
union of their clans in this declaration, and hoped the
governors of the different English colonies would be as
closely united in the prosecution of the war as themselves.
In regard to the wiles of the French priests against which
they had been admonished, they averred that their blood
boiled at the manner in which they had formely been
treated by them, and being now at war with their nation,
those priests would no more dare to come. The Six Na-
tions would have no further use for them than to roast
them. As to the Missesagues, whom they now commended
to the English as their allies, they numbered eight hundred
warriors, all being determined to join in the common
cause.1 In conclusion the chiefs said they would leave
some of their warriors with the troops of the governor,
while they themselves returned to their castles to send
down a greater number.

With this speech closed the proceedings of that day, and
the next was appointed for the delivery of the presents
sent to them from the king, and also by the governors of
Virginia and Massachusetts. "When on the twenty-fifth the
presents were brought forth for delivery, the Albanians re-
marked that they were much more valuable than any that
had been previously given to the Indians. So, also, thought
the recipients, a Mohawk chieftain, of his own volition,
addressing his brethren thus : — " You see how you are here
treated, — really like brethren. The governor of Canada
treats not his Indians so, but sets them on like dogs, and
they run without thought or consideration. You see what
a noble present is made to you. If the governor of Ca-
nada should sieze all the goods in that country, he could not

iThe Missesagues then lived at Detroit, between Lakes Erie and Huron.

LIFE OF SLR WILLIAM JOHNSON, EART. 215

make such a present."1 In the division of the presents chap.
among the nations represented, two-eighths thereof were ^^~^
voluntarily assigned to the Missesagues. On the day fol- 174G-
lowing, being the twenty-sixth, the war-kettle was put over
the fire, and in the evening the solemn war-dance was per-
formed, in presence of the governor and many other gen-
tlemen. The warriors were all painted for the occasion,
and the appropriate songs were sung with affecting pathos.
Before the Indians dispersed, the governor had private
conferences with the leading chiefs, and rendered the cov-
enant chain yet brighter by making further presents. The
two Missesagues present were particularly friendly. One
of them assured his excellency that among the Indians yet
farther than themselves in the interior, there was a grow-
ing dislike to the French, reporting a transaction strongly
corroborating his assertion. It was to the effect that a party
of sixty Frenchmen had lately been sent to one of those
distant nations to persuade them to take up the hatchet
against the English. They accepted the hatchet, — and im-
mediately put the whole part}' presenting it to death. In
conclusion, the Missesagues promised on returning home
to bring as many of those distant nations as they could
upon the war-path. Unfortunately, however, both sickened
of the small-pox and died, — one of them not being able to
depart for the fair hunting grounds with resignation until
the governor had promised to send his mother the first
French scalp that should be taken. His companion at the
council died on his way home, — the Six Nations at once
providing for their wives and children, who had accom-
panied them to Albany.

xThis account of the Indian negotiations of 1746, I have drawn from the
copious details of Doctor Colden. Smith, the historian, intimates that the
presents actually given by the governor, were small and unsatisfactory:
and charges that Colden wrote a partial account for his patron's vindica-
tion— his excellency having been accused of embezzling large portions of
the presents. This imputation is unwarrantable. Colden's account was
published in the course of a few weeks after the council closed, and, had
it been untrue, and the Indian's speech a fiction, the dishonesty would have
been exposed at the time.

216 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. The alliance, offensive and defensive with the Iroquois,
Wy— < having thus been satisfactorily renewed, Mr. Clinton next
1/46. turned his attention to the Muh-he-ka-neok, or River In-
dians,— a small nation residing at Stockbridge, in the colo-
ny of Massachusetts, — composed of remnants of the Mo-
hegans, Narragansetts and Schaghticokes, together with
various other smaller clans and tribes from Connecticut,
who had been formed into a community some ten years be-
fore by a philanthropic clergyman, — the Rev. Mr. Sergeant.
With these remnants of various peoples who had been
peeled and scattered in New England, a council was also
holden, the result of which was satisfactory to all. They
readily consented to engage in the war, concluding their
speech, however, in words equivalent to a condition that
they were not to be forgotten on the conclusion of a peace :
" When you Christians, " said they, " are at war, you make
peace with one another ; but it is not so with us. There-
fore we depend upon you to take care of us ; in confidence
of which we now take up the hatchet, and will make use
of it. " * They were dismissed with presents.

Lingering in Albany yet a full month longer, Mr. Clin-
ton was enabled to receive in person the Indians from the
Susquehanna country, whose principal town was at Oghqua-
go. These Indians to the number of sixty warriors, ex-
clusive of the usual train of old men, women and children,
— never-failing attendants upon important councils, — ar-
rived in charge of Captains Vrooman and Staats, about the
tenth of September, and sent the governor on the next day.
They had responded to the summons with alacrity, — com-
plaining nevertheless at the lateness of their invitation, and
regretting that the negotiations with the Six Nations should
have been concluded before their arrival. Toward the Six

1 Smith very improperly classes the River Indians — called by him after the
Dutch orthography Mohickanders, — with the Esopus and Susquehanna In-
dians, and denounces them as "dastardly tribes," to whom Governor Clin-
ton " gave presents for promises which they never meant to perform. "
Toward the Muk-kuk-kan-cok, their denunciation is most unjust. They
were always true to the English, and poured out their blood freely for them.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 217

Nations they appeared to entertain feelings bordering upon chap.
jealousy. It was a shame, they said, that these Indians ^^—^
had not sooner used the hatchet placed in their hands a 1746-
year before. They had themselves sometimes been de-
ceived as to the progress of the war, but they were now
ready to join in the contest, — adding " We know several
roads to Canada, and we want to see the hatchet that we
may grasp it." "Whereupon the governor threw down a
cutlass, which was eagerly seized by one of the chiefs, and
they all commenced the war-dance, — declaring that " they
should keep firmly hold of the hatchet, and were resolved
to use it." A sudden alarm, caused by an incursion of the
enemy's Indians, and the murder of a non-commissioned
officer in the very suburbs of Albany, served to test both
the fidelity and the courage of these Indians, by the alert-
ness with which they spontaneously went in pursuit of the
hostile party. Several of their number remained in Al-
bany to act as scouts or guides, as occasion might require ;
the residue being dismissed with presents — having promised
the services of six hundred braves to the governor when-
ever he should summon them to the field. The governor
did not question the sincerity of their professions ; but
wrote to Mr. Johnson the sixteenth of September, that
" they looked as though they were determined to be hearty
in our cause," and "he expected their warriors to join him
in about ten days. " It is astonishing, nay, inexplicable,
how completely Mr. Clinton and his counsellors were left
in the dark, down even to the date of the letter just cited,
as to the situation of affairs in New England. In this let-
ter he tells Johnson that he talked to the Indians "in no
other light than that of going immediately to fighting,"
and adds : " Five hundred troops from the Jersies, and four
hundred from Philadelphia, have arrived here, besides seve-
ral more companies from New York, which amount to over
two thousand men. More are expected ; and as I hear
that the fleet was seen orT the banks of Newfoundland, I
conclude they are before now at Louisburg, — having sent,

218 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, some time since, an express to Boston not yet returned,
•— ^ — -and I think lie must be detained on that account." l The
1746. governor also in the same letter informs Johnson that he
has sent the fourteen Susquehanna warriors who had re-
mained behind, against the enemy, attached to a company
of sixty men under the command of Captain Staats, and
from whom he hoped to hear a good account.

The Canadian governor had not been an inattentive ob-
server of Mr. Clinton's preparations for meeting the In
dians. He had indeed adroitly attempted to prevent the
gathering, by sending a number of Caughnawaga emissa-
ries among them, with pacific overtures.2 The Onondaga
captain, taken, as already related, at Crown Point, in July?
was to accompany them, charged with a message from the
governor to the effect, that although the warriors of the
Six Nations had killed some of his people, yet he was wil-
ling to overlook the past, and " as an evidence of his love
for them, he had sent back one of their people instead of
eating his flesh." At the same time the Caughnawagas
were charged "not to spill any more blood from Albany
upward, but to turn their arms toward their inveterate
enemies in New England. "There," said the French go-
vernor, " There is the place for you to gain honor now."
But much to the surprise of the governor, the Caughnawa-
gas declined the honor of the proposed mission, either as
the bearers of intelligence, or menaces. " Such a course,"
they replied, " would only stir up the Six Nations, and
bring them and all their allies to destroy you at once.
They are not to be bullied by your words or arms ; where,
fore, father, we must leave you to go through this work
by yourself." These sudden scruples of his allies, but that
the French governor was doubtless well acquainted with
the unstable and impulsive character of the Indians, must
well nigh have confounded him. But the Caughnawagas
nevertheless dispatched one of their number in company

1 Manuscript letter, Clinton to Johnson.

2 Idem in reply to a letter from Johnson.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 219

with the returning captain, as the bearer of a message, not chap.
from the governor, but from themselves, to their former -w^_/
brethren, conjuring them by all their ancient ties of friend- 1746-
ship, not to embark in a war against them, and begging
them to give information of any plottings of Governor
Clinton against them. They invited the Six Nations to
visit them in council again at their seat on the St. Lawrence
in the spring ; and requested them to inform Governor Clin-
ton that the French had eighteen hundred soldiers at Crown
Point, ready for battle, but in which number were included
eight castles of Ottawa Indians. It was on the return of
the Mohawks from the council at Albany, that they were
met by six of their own people as the bearers of this mes-
sage, which they had received from the returning Onon-
daga prisoners,-^-the Cauglmawaga messenger having ven-
tured no farther than the confines of the Mohawk territory.
But neither the message from their former brethren, nor
the desires of the French governor, made the slightest im-
pression upon the Six Nations, since they communicated
both to their new war-captain, Johnson, without reserve or
delay, — giving every desirable evidence of the good faith
in which they had revived their English alliance.

It was suggested by some contemporary writers, that in-
asmuch as the governor of Canada asked only for the neu-
trality of the Six Nations, the dictates of humanity required
an acquiescence on the part of the English. But whoever
has studied the character of this remarkable variety of the
human family, — especially of the L-oquois, — must be aware
how difficult, if not how utterly impossible, it would have
been to keep them neutral. The Iroquois were the aborigin-
als of all others, whose friendship and alliance was most
strongly desired by both the principal belligerents, and whose
possible hostility was anticipated with the greatest appre-
hension by both. Their position, stretching from the west-
ern shore of Lake Champlain to Lake Erie, placed them
like a barrier between the French and English colonies,
and enabled them to strike with sudden fury upon the bor-

220 LIFE OF SIR "WILLIAM JOHNSON^ BART.

chap, ders of either, as they might elect. The most formidable
i-Y^in numbers, the most compactly disposed in their cantons,
1746- and the best governed of the savage race, — inured to war,
and accustomed to conquest, — their name was a terror to
the Indians from the country of the Natchez to the gulf of
St. Lawrence. Their trade was war ; and although they
had for a season evinced a strong reluctance to engage in
the contest then raging, yet the French were continually
tampering with them, and their clergy had for a long pe-
riod exercised great influence over them. They were them-
selves by no means ignorant of the importance of their po-
sition, nor of the important fact, that, as between the
French and English colonies, they held the balance of
power. How desirous they might be of making the most
of their position, the English could not tell ; nor had they
any warrant, in the event of neglecting to secure their ser-
vices beyond a peradventure themselves, that when the con-
test should become fierce, and the Indians should scent
blood upon the breeze, they might not, in a moment of
impulse, throw off their neutrality and strike suddenly in
behalf of the French. Hence it is maintained that the
English were by no means bound passively to allow the
French to secure the advantage of a neutrality on the part
of the Iroquois, the maintenance of which would be so ex-
tremely uncertain, and the benefits of which would enure
solely to the party proposing and so strenuously urging it.

CHAPTER VI.
1T46.

The governor of Canada was prompt in executing the chap.
purpose suggested to the Caughnawagas, of striking upon •— v— '
the borders of New England, the people of which he had ' '
designated as their most inveterate foes. Indeed the In-
dians in the French service had not waited for that sug-
gestion, since from the opening of the spring, the whole
New England frontier from the eastern border of New
York, had been kept in a continuous state of alarm ; their
hamlets were often in flames ; and their fields reddened
with blood.

The New Hampshire border being the most exposed,
was full of danger at every point. On the thirteenth of
April, the Indians appeared at a township called Number-
Eour,1 and took three men prisoners, and killed their cat-
tle. Four days afterward a larger party of fifty attempted
to surprise the fort at Upper Ashuelot,2 hiding themselves
in a swamp near by with the design of marching into the
fort on the departure of the men to their field labors in the
morning. But their ambuscade was discovered by a man
who went forth very early in the morning, and their pur-
pose frustrated. A skirmish took place in which a man
and a woman were killed, and another man taken prisoner.
On retreating, the Indians burned several houses and
barns. Three days afterward a party of savages came to
New Hopkinton, where was a block house guarded by
several men. One of these going out very early to hunt,
leaving his companions asleep, also left the door open, — a

1 Since named Charlestown.
»Keene.

222 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, very convenient instance of carelessness, — for the lurking
^— v — ' savages, who thereupon rushed in and made eight pri-
1/46, soners — four men, one woman and three children. On the
second of May, Number-Four was revisited, and a party
of women milking some cows, guarded by several soldiers,
were fired upon. One man was killed, and two of the
Indians mortally wounded by the return fire. Two days
afterward, Contoocook1 was visited by the enemy, by
whom two men were killed, and a third taken prisoner.
The same hostile party made two prisoners two days after-
ward at Lower Ashuelot,2 but lost one of their number in
another attempt upon the little fort at Upper Ashuelot.
About the same time, a party of savages made an incur-
sion into Bemardstown, in Massachusetts. They attacked
a house garrisoned by only three men, but the duty of
these was performed so effectively, that the enemy
retreated with two of their warriors mortally wounded.
On their way through Coleraine they ambuscaded a road
near one of the forts, and fired upon a party consisting
of a man, his wife and daughter, and two soldiers. The
first was killed ; and the woman and her daughter wound-
ed. But on losing one of their number by the fire of the
soldiers, the enemy made off? On the twenty-fourth of
May, a company of troops sent for the defence of the in-
habitants, was drawn into an ambuscade in Number-Four,
and in a smart skirmish which ensued five men were
killed on each side — the Indians gaining the advantage of
making a prisoner. A month afterward another spirited
affair occurred at the same place. In this instance the
dogs were the most vigilant sentinels, but for whom, Cap-
tains Stevens and Baker would probably have been drawn
into a fatal ambuscade. The Indians having been disco-
vered, the provincial detachment had the advantage of the
first fire. After a brisk encounter, the Indians were driven

1Boscawen.

2 Swansey.

3 Hoyt's Antiquities.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 223

away — leaving evidences of considerable loss. Only one chap.
of the provincials was killed, but there were five wound- ^_ v^_,
ed. The bodies of several Indians were afterwards dis- * re-
covered, concealed in a swamp. Guns, hatchets, spears,
and other warlike articles, were left b}^ the Indians, the
sale of wThich produced to the victors between seventy and
eighty pounds.1 On the twenty-fourth of June, two men
were killed, and two taken prisoners at Fort Dummer.
One of the prisoners killed an Indian before he was taken.
Three days afterward a party of laborers were attacked
in a field in Rochester, only twenty miles from Ports,
mouth. The men were unarmed. Four of them were
killed, and the fifth, wounded, was made prisoner. He
was taken into Canada, as the other prisoners had been,
being carefully attended to on the way until his wounds
were healed. A lad was likewise made prisoner in anoth-
er part of the town — the men with whom he was at work,
making their escape. Yet another man was killed in
Rochester soon afterward. On the third of July, an am-
buscade was discovered in Hinsdale, but the Indians were
put to flight. One month afterward, they again revisited
Number-Four, and killed two men and several cattle.
Two men were surprised and taken on the sixth of Au-
gust, at Contoocook ; and a large party visited Penacook,2
and formed an ambuscade for the purpose of attacking a
congregation while at worship in their church. But ob-
serving that the men were well armed with carnal weap-
ons, they delayed an attack until the next morning, when
five men were killed, and two taken prisoners.3 Murders
were also committed again in the neighborhood of Fort
Dummer ; at Hinsdale ; in Winchester, Poquaig,4 Green-
field ; at Penacook, and in several other places. At Pen-

1 Manuscript journal of Deacon Noah Webster.
'Concord.

3 Belknap is the authority for several of these accounts of the border
skirmishes of 1746. See also Hoyt's Antiquities.

4 Afterward called Athol.

224 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, acook five persons were killed.1 These hostile parties

w^ chiefly came from the St. Francis country, through Lake

1/4G. Memphremagog. The prisoners taken were carried

into Canada, where some of them died, but the greater

number were subsequently redeemed or exchanged.

But in addition to these partizan operations, painful to
neighborhoods, yet more irritating than important in their
influence upon the war, there was one of a more formida-
ble character. It has already been seen that the French
were concentrating a strong force at Crown Point ; and it
happened that at the very time when Governor Clinton
was opening his conferences with the Six Nations, — a
combined force of French and Indians was within so short
a distance of Albany, that had the officers and citizens
there assembled been aware of the fact, they would most
likely have felt rather uneasy in their seats. On the
breaking out of the war, the New England colonies had
erected a chain of small works — stockades and block
houses — along the frontiers of Maine and New Hamp-
shire, from Saco to Charlestown, — thence down the Con-
necticut river to Greenfield. The old defences at the
place last mentioned, and at Northfield, were repaired ;
and another cordon of similar works was extended from
the Connecticut across the Hoosic mountain, to the terri-
tory now forming the towns of Adams and Williamstown ;
thence south through Pittsfield, Stockbridge and Sheffield,
at each of which points stockades were erected, and also
at Blanford, for the purpose of guarding the principal road
from the east to Kinderhook and Albany. The general
command of this territory, belonged to Colonel John
Stoddart, of the Hampshire militia regiment ; but the
immediate command of the posts west of Hoosic mountain,
was confided to Captain Ephraim Williams, whose head-
quarters were in a work of considerable strength, called
Fort Massachusetts, upon the Hoosic river, within the
bounds of what is now the town of Adams. Small but

1 Hoyt's Antiquities.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 225

active scouting parties were kept ranging from post to chap.
post ; and such was their vigilance that the Massachusetts - — , — >
border suffered but little during the years 1744 and 1745, 1746-
save by the two successive incursions of the enemy upon
the Great Meadow settlement above Fort Bummer ; in
both of which a few persons were killed, and a few others
carried into captivity. Irritated, however, by the loss of
Louisburg, the French, with tjieir dusky allies, became
more active, as well as more savage, along the whole bor-
der, as the reader has seen in the rapid account just given
of their incursions.

But the largest demonstration of the enemy that season,
was the descent of Rigaud de Vaudreuil from Crown
Point, upon the post already described as Fort Massachu-
setts, which was invested by that officer about the middle
of August, with a force of regular troops and Indians
numbering nine hundred and sixty-five men. This was
the extreme northwestern post belonging to the colony,
whose name it bore, and was commanded, as heretofore
stated, by Captain Ephraim Williams. This excellent offi-
cer, however, with the greater part of the force under his
immediate command, was at Albany at the time of the
invasion, having been ordered to join the proposed expe-
dition so long in preparation for the conquest of Canada.
Meantime the fort was left in charge of John Hawks, a
soldier of approved courage and discretion, but whose
rank was no higher than a sergeant. But higher honors
were in reserve for him as the progress of history will dis-
close. The number of men in the garrison, was no more
than thirty-five, eleven of whom were sick. This small force
moreover was yet farther weakened before it was known that
an enemy had arrived to besiege it, by detaching Boctor
Thomas Williams, the surgeon, and thirteen men, with
directions to make the best of their way through the wil-
derness to Beerfield on the Connecticut river, for ammuni-
tion and other supplies. By this reduction, the sergeant-
commander was left with but eleven effective men ; and

226 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, when the great disparity of the respective forces is consi.
v— v — - dered, to say nothing of other untoward circumstances, the
1746. defence he made of the post may be regarded as one of
the most gallant affairs, of no greater magnitude, upon
record. The enemy showed himself before the slender
works on the nineteenth of August, — the very day on
which Mr. Clinton opened his conferences with the Indi-
ans at Albany. The fort was most unfavorably situated
for defence, its site having been designated by some one
who must have been lamentably deficient in the science
of war, since it stood in a low long meadow, commanded
by heights in every direction. But although short of
ammunition himself, Hawks was aware that the enemy
had no artillery, and he determined to defend the post as
long as he possibly could, in the expectation that the
advance of so large a body of the enemy must be known
very soon at Albany, and the possible hope that a compe-
tent force might be detailed from the main army to his
relief. But the movement of M. de. Vaudreuil had been
executed with such profound secrecy, that nothing of it
was known at Albany.

The enemy commenced his attack at about nine o'clock
in the morning, and continued it briskly until the same
hour in the evening — approaching at times, within the range
of small shot. The lire was returned with vigor and effect
from the fort, until about one o'clock past meridian, when
the sergeant discovered that his ammunition was so near
exhaustion as to require an order that no man should fire
save when a fair opportunity was presented of doing exe-
cution. Such an order was disheartening ; but it was
obeyed with advantage as was soon perceptible from the
deliberation of every subsequent shot, and the obvious fre-
quency with which they told. The men were sharp-shoot-
ers, and by singling out their objects among their assailants,
many were brought down even at long shots, — some of
them falling while standing, as they supposed, in perfect
security. Two soldiers of the garrison only were wounded

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 227

on that day. The fort was entirely surrounded during the chap.
night following, — the night itself being rendered hideous ^-^
by the dismal howlings, and the warlike songs and revel-1746-
ries of the Indians. With the return of lis-ht the attack
was renewed, and in the course of the forenoon, one of the
brave fellows in the fort was killed. At twelve o'clock me-
ridian, the assailants ceased firing, and an Indian Was sent
forward with a flag to request a parley. The invitation
was acceded to, and the sergeant, accompanied by two or
three of his comrades, repaired to the head quarters of the
French commander, who offered honorable terms of capitu-
lation. Hawks returned with the proposal to the fort, and
convoked his little army as a council of war. Prayer for
wisdom and direction from above was offered by Mr. Nor-
ton, their chaplain, whereupon in view of their exhausted
magazine, and the fact that their number was reduced to
eight effective men, it was resolved to accept the proffered
terms and surrender. By those terms they were to be re-
ceived as prisoners of wTar, and to be treated with humani-
ty until ransomed or exchanged, — terms, moreover, which
the French commander would not probably have granted,
had he known either the weakness of the fort, or of the
force defending it. There was also a farther stipulation
that the prisoners should not be delivered into the hands of
the Indians. The enemy took immediate possession of the
fort and ran up their colors ; but they nevertheless seemed
in equal haste to depart, and actually set the works on fire
before they had plundered the cellar of its stores.

The articles of capitulation were not strictly observed by
M. Vaudreuil, and several of the prisoners were allotted
to the savages, by whom one of them was killed. The
others were all kindly treated, both by the French and their
uncivilized allies. There were in the fort two women and
several children, — to the number of the latter one being
added on the second day of the march. But mother and
child were kindly borne along by the Indians, and the little
stranger brought thus rudely into the world, was baptized

228 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON^ BART.

chap, by thd chaplain. The prisoners were taken to Crown
wy— . i Point, and thence to Canada, — the gallant sergeant being
1746. every where treated by the French officers as brave men
should ever treat the brave. Arriving successively at Cham-
blee, Montreal and Quebec, they met with numbers of their
countrymen in captivity ; but they were themselves, for
the most part, ultimately redeemed or exchanged, and en-
abled to return to their own homes. Sergeant Hawks with
several of his companions, was shipped from Quebec to
Boston. The number of the enemy killed or badly wound-
ed during the siege, was forty-seven. After the capitula-
tion, it was ascertained that the besiegers were lying in am-
buscade in the neighborhood of the fort, watching for an
opportunity to take it by surprise, at the time of Doctor
"Williams's departure in quest of supplies on the Connecti-
cut river. They had probably no idea that the doctor's
small party of thirteen had constituted more than one-third
of the garrison ; and they allowed the little platoon to pass
without molestation, in order to prevent an alarm that
Would have discovered their presence and object. 1

Remarkable was the conduct of the Indians in this affair
toward the prisoners. It is a single bright spot of relief in
the generally dark and bloody picture of savage warfare.
But there was an episode to the siege and capture of the
fort, of a deeply tragic character. Vaudreuil's Indians,
numbering about fifty, crossed the Hoosic mountain, with
the design of falling upon Deerfield. Having reconnoitred
the village, however, an open attack was judged to be im-
prudent. They accordingly withdrew two miles south, and
formed an ambuscade upon the margin of a meadow of
newly-moWn hay, for the purpose of rushing upon the hay-
makers when they should come out to their work. Their
object was rather to make captives than to kill ; and but

1 My authority for the facts given in the present account of the chivalrous
defence of Fort Massachusetts, is the unassuming manuscript journal of
Sergeant Hawks himself, for which I am indebted to Dr. S. W. Williams, of
Deerfield, grandson of Surgeon Williams mentioned in the test.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 229

for an accident, that object would probably have been ac- chap.
complished by the seizure of the laborers of two families, >-^__/
with several children, numbering in all ten persons, who 1746-
came to the meadow in the morning as the savages had an-
ticipated. Alarmed by the discharge of a gun aimed at a
partridge by a fowler who happened to be shooting at no
great distance from the place of their concealment, the In-
dians started up, and first killing the fowler, rushed down
upon the laborers in the meadow. Those of the latter who
were men, being armed, made a resolute stand for their
own lives, and the defence of the children. A struggle,
vigorous and fierce, ensued ; but the disparity of force
was great, and three of the men were killed and scalped.
A daughter of one of the slain was likewise severely
wounded by a blow from a tomahawk, and left upon the
field as dead ; — but she recovered, and lived to an advanced
age. One of the lads fell into the hands of the Indians and
was carried away, — the residue of the party making good
their escape. l

Meantime the summer had passed away, and with it the
best season for active operations against Crown Point and
the French. General Gooch, who had been commissioned
by the crown for the special service of conducting the ex-
pedition, had declined the appointment; and the chief
command of the forces at Albany, had thus far devolved
upon Governor Clinton. 2 With great pains and labor, the
Iroquois Confederacy had finally been prevailed upon to
take an efficient part in the contest, but there was not yet
an immediate demand for their services in a body ; although
at this late day it seems strange that large numbers of them
were not employed in connection with the rangers who had

1 Hoyt's Antiquities.

'Major General Sir William Gooch was lieutenant-governor and governor
of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. " He sustained an excellent character, and
was popular in his administration." He had superior military talents, and
commanded a division of the forces in the unsuccessful attack on Cartha-
gena in 1740.

230 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, been sent out from Albany to scour the forests, and watch
^— v — > the motions of the enemy at the north. It certainly argues
1746 grea£ negligence, somewhere, that so large a force as that
led against Fort Massachusetts by M. Vaudreuil, could
have made such a movement, approaching as it did within
forty miles of Albany, without the fact being known at
headquarters until after the invaders had retired. Yet it
appears to have been so. Equally in the dark, moreover,
was Mr. Clinton in regard to the state of affairs in New
England ; and on the sixteenth of September, timely ad-
vices not having been received from Shirley and Warren,
the governor, with his council, came to the reluctant de-
cision that the season for active military operations was so
far advanced as to render an expedition, even against Crown
Point, impracticable, and that nothing more could then be
done than to make the necessary dispositions for the se-
curity of the frontiers. 1 Four days afterward letters were
received both from Governor Shirley and the admiral, the
former announcing that he had appointed General Waldo,
of Massachusetts, to the command of the northern expe-
dition, in the place of General Gooch. 2 But it was now
too late ; and the high hopes of the people were dashed
with bitter disappointment. The parent government had
entirely failed in every engagement. Neither a fleet of
adequate force, nor the promised troops under Sir John
Sinclair, had appeared ; while the threatened invasion of
the New England coast by France, had placed those colonies
entirely on the defensive, and it now only remained for
New York, instead of attempting a descent upon Crown
Point, to prepare winter quarters for her own levies, and
to adopt such measures as would afford the best security to
her frontiers.

To this end Mr. Johnson was directed, on his return to
the Mohawk castle, to organize war parties of the Indians,
and send them to harrass the French settlements in Canada.

1 Manuscript proceedings of the counoil board.

2 Manuscript journals of the council board.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 231

But his first efforts were discouraging. Many of the In- chap.
dians had contracted the small-pox at Albany, and a con-^-/
siderable number of their finest young men had died of 174G-
the pestilence, either while journeying homeward, or after
reaching their castles. It was during their affliction from
this at that period appalling disease, that Mr. J ohnson was
pressing them to go against the enemy ; and his urgency, on
one occasion, drew a rebuke from a sachem of the Canajo-
harie clan, that was full of feeling : — " You seem to think
that we are brutes," said the first chief; " and that we have
no sense of the loss of our dearest relations, and some of
the bravest men we had in our nation. You must allow ut>
time to bewail our misfortune."

Nevertheless, early in October, a party of seventy war-
riors, composed of some from each of the cantons, was
made up for the purpose of harrassing the Canadian border.
Several Englishmen accompanied this party, as well to as-
sist, as to be witnesses of their conduct, under the lead of
a son of Captain Butler, of the royal forces. But they had
not been out many days before Mr. Butler fell sick of the
small-pox, and five of the Indians were obliged to return
to carry him back. The residue continued their course,
being instructed to avoid the paths and water-courses
usually traveled between the English and French colonies,
and to thread the woods and cross the mountains in such
manner as, if possible, to escape observation. Another small
party was sent forth to hover about the precincts of Crown
Point for the purpose of gaining intelligence, and render-
ing such other service as chance and opportunity might re-
quire. After the return of Mr. Butler the first party found
it expedient to divide, — thirty of the Indians, with ten white
men, taking one direction, and the residue striking off in
another. The first division fell upon a French settlement
on the north side of the St. Lawrence, ten leagues above
Montreal; killed and scalped four people, and brought
away ten prisoners, one of whom was a captain of militia.

232 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Another party of nine Indians entered Canada still nearer
v— Y— < to Montreal, and mingled with the Caughnawagas, under
1746, the guise of friendship. Their dissimulation was carried
still farther, for they allowed themselves to be taken to
Montreal, where they had an interview with the governor,
and by whom they were dismissed with presents. So well
did they play their part that they were entrusted with of-
ficial dispatches to the commanding officer at Crown Point,
and were also charged with letters from officers to their
friends at that post. These communications were all de-
livered to the commanding officer at Albany on their re-
turn. They moreover had the good fortune on their way
back to surprise a small French defence, in which they
killed five men, bringing away one prisoner and one scalp. l
But notwithstanding the mortifying failure of all the
plans of the year for such a vigorous prosecution of the
wTar as it was supposed must result in the subjugation of
Canada, the immense preparations of the French for the
reconquest of Cape Breton, and possibly the invasion of
New England, were equally abortive, and her high hopes
were likewise overthrown. The grand armament destined
upon this service has been described in a former part of
the present chapter. Its misfortunes were truly remarka-
ble. Indeed before the summer was entirely gone, such
accounts were received in Boston of its distresses, as very
materially to lessen their apprehensions of an invasion, even
if the promised augmentation of Admiral Townsend's na-
val force at Cape Breton should not be realized. The num-
ber of vessels in the French armament has already been
stated. Comprised in that number were eleven ships of
the line, thirty smaller vessels carrying from ten to thirty
guns each, with transport ships conveying land forces to
the number of three thousand one hundred and thirty men.
To this force a squadron of four ships, under Admiral
Conflours from the West Indies, was to be added, —
D'Anville, the commander of the whole, being a nobleman

1 Colden's account of the treaty at Albany.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 233

of high qualities and courage, in whose conduct the ut- chap.
most confidence was placed. On arriving in Nova Scotia, > — , — -
the land forces were to have been joined by seventeen hun-
dred Canadians and Indians, who were already in arms,
awaiting their debarkation. The main squadron of the
French, fitted at Rochelle, was ready for sea in the begin-
ning of May, but was prevented by contrary winds from
getting out, until the twenty-second of June. This delay
seems to have been ominous of the train of adverse cir-
cumstances which followed. A series of disasters retarded
the progress of the fleet, and weakened its power. The
Count did not pass the Western Islands until the fourth of
August. On the twenty-fourth, yet distant three hundred
leagues from Nova Scotia, one of the ships proving un-
seaworthy, was burnt. In a storm on the first of Septem-
ber, two ships, one of seventy-four, and the other of sixty-
four guns, were so much damaged in their masts, that they
were obliged to bear away for the "West Indies ; and on the
fifteenth, the Ardent, also of sixty-four guns, found it neces-
sary to put back to Brest, in consequence of a pestilential
fever, which broke out among the crew. D'Anville arrived
at Chebucto on the twelfth of September, wTith but two
ships of the line, and only three or four of the transports.
One ship only had arrived before him ; and after waiting
three days, finding himself joined by only three more of
the transports, — and having heard by an intercepted dis-
patch from Shirley, that the English fleet had arrived on
the coast in pursuit of him, although Shirley's information
was incorrect, — the admiral died suddenly, — by apoplexy,
according to the French accounts, and by poison, self-
administered, according to the English. Monsieur de la
Jonquiere, Governor General of Canada, an officer of age
and experience, was on board of D'Anville's ship, the
Northumberland ; and having been created a chef d'escadre
previous to the sailing of the fleet, by the death of the
admiral, he succeeded to the command. Two days after-

234 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, ward the vice admiral D'Estournelle, came up with three

vi. .

w^-/ or four more of the missing ships, and a council of war

1746. was thereupon called to determine what next should be
done. Considering the extent to which their forces had
been weakened by such a succession of calamities, equally
unlooked for and severe, the absence of many of the regu-
lar troops who were on board the missing and disabled ves-
sels, and the sickness of many more among whom the fever
was raging with violence, the vice-admiral proposed return-
ing to France. Being strenuously opposed, however, in
this suggestion by Jonquiere, and overruled by the council,
D'Estournelle fell upon his own sword and died. Jonquiere
thought himself yet in a condition to conquer Annapolis-
Royal and recover Nova Scotia, and made his dispositions
for that object. Most of the sick having died at Chebucto,
the fleet sailed thence with the residue on the thirteenth of
October ; but a violent storm was encountered two days
afterward, when off Cape Sable, which continued several
days and separated the fleet, — two ships only, one of fifty,
and the other of thirty-six guns, remaining in company.
These, on approaching Annapolis-Royal, discovered the
Chester man of war, the Shirley frigate, and a smaller
British vessel, under sail, — whereupon they retired under
a press of canvass, to return no more.

Such was the disastrous termination of that memorable
expedition from which so much had been expected by
prance. x "Never had so great an armament been dispatched
from Europe to North America ; and never had any proved
more inefficient." 2 The people of New England accustomed
to see the hand of Providence in every event of human
life, viewed their deliverance as a signal and direct inter-
position of the deity in their behalf, — by pestilence and
storm. "Never was a disappointment more severe on the
part of the enemy ; nor a deliverance more complete, with-

1 Hutchinson.

2 Grahame.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 235

out human help, in favor of this country." l Not a single chap.
honest effort had been put forth by the ministers for their v— v — -
defence beyond the sending of Admiral Town send with 1<<46'
reinforcements for the squadron of Commodore Knowles
at Louisburg ; " and these two commanders," says Grahame,
" doubtless in conformity with orders which they had re-
ceived, contented themselves with guarding that harbor
from attack, without making the slightest demonstration
in support of New England."

Governor Clinton returned to New York early in Octo-
ber, meeting his council in that city on the fourteenth of
the same month. Before leaving Albany he had made
arrangements for a winter camp at that place, and adopted
measures which it was supposed would be adequate to the
protection of the frontiers. His detention at the north for
nearly three months had been unexpected, and his exertions
had been arduous and patriotic. The critical state in which
he found the Indian affairs, required the exercise of all the
prudence and attention in his power to bestow ; and in their
management he had derived but little assistance from the
Board of Indian commissioners. Great dissatisfaction had
prevailed respecting the conduct of this board ; and know-
ing that the governor's confidence had been withdrawn
from them, several members of the commission refused to
attend the council, frankly confessing that they had lost all
influence over the Indians.2

It was in this posture of that important branch of the
public affairs, that the influence and services of Mr. John-
son were invoked ; and the management of that depart-
ment thenceforward devolved chiefly upon him.

In addition to all his other duties, the governor had been
likewise compelled by the refusal of Gen. Gooch to serve
in the campaign, to assume all the cares and responsibili-
ties of military commander-in-chief; and the cares and

1 Belknap.

* Manuscript journals of the council board.

236 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, responsibilities, after the arrival of the colonial troops
v-v_/ from !New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, irrespective
1746. 0f -j-^Q inc]ian administration, were by no means light.
Environed by difficulties, and limited in his means, contem-
porary historians have not awarded him that meed of jus-
tice to which he was unquestionably entitled for the zeal
with which he labored to discharge his public duties.

The general assembly met on the seventeenth of October ;
and the governor, being indisposed, instead of opening the
session in person, sent for the speaker, and through him
transmitted a copy of the speech he had intended to deliver
to the house, — a procedure which that body, acting under
the influence of De Lancey, and not coming together in
the best possible humor, voted to be not only unprece-
dented, but irregular. De Lancey, it will be remembered,
on his rupture with the governor, had sworn that he would
thenceforward render his excellency's administration un-
comfortable ; and he made good his oath. " His uncommon
vivacity and ease, his adroitness at a jest, and his conde-
scension to his inferiors, wonderfully facilitated his pur-
poses ;" and it took him not long to infuse such a spirit of
factious opposition to the governor that the assembly
paused not at measures to embarrass him of the most inde-
fensible character. Still the assembly proceeded to the
consideration of the public business. The speech opened
by rehearsing the history of the governor's mission to Al-
bany,— the difficulties that had attended, and the measure
of success which had crowned it. Owing to misconduct
on the part of the commissioners, the Indians, who had
been tampered with by the French, had well nigh gone over
to them ; but the governor said he had fortunately secured
their alliance, and it remained only by judicious measures
to retain their friendship. The events of the summer, as
connected with the prosecution of the war, — feeble enough
in every respect, — were spoken of; and a call was made
for increased appropriations for the Indian service, for the
construction of additional defences on the frontiers, and

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOIINSOX, BART. 237

especially for the maintenance of a winter encampment in chap.
the neighborhood of Albany, for the shelter of the troops w¥J_/
destined against Canada, whenever the time for a decisive 1746>
movement should arrive. In conclusion the speech ex-
horted the assembly to union and harmony, interposing a
caution against the dangers consequent upon encroach-
ments by either branch of the government upon the consti-
tutional privileges of the others.

The speech was a very fair one, and nothing appears
upon its face dictated otherwise than by a very proper spirit.
Yet such was the temper of the assembly that the speech
was like the dropping of a spark into a magazine. The
house was instantly inflamed. His excellency's " persua-
sions to harmony excited only to discord ;" and in the con-
cluding admonitions against encroachments upon the pre-
rogatives of other branches of the government, — the pre-
rogatives of the crown meaning, — the assembly discovered,
or affected to discover, a degree of distrust which incensed
them exceedingly. They voted, however, the sum of six
thousand five hundred pounds for the subsistence of the
winter encampment at Albany ; but provided for the trans-
portation of supplies to that city, and no farther, — refusing,
in effect, the means for conveying those supplies to the
several posts at which they were needed. Farther provision
for*the subsistence of certain detachments of militia which
had been ordered to Albany in May and June, was likewise
refused. The governor promptly sent in a message rebuk-
ing the legislature for its parsimony, and insisting that
when at the preceding session they had voted to provision
the forces of the province destined against Canada, they
had as a consequence pledged themselves to bear all the
charges incident thereto. He told them with military truth
" that the provisions for an army are so necessary a part of
all warlike enterprises, that any defeat or obstruction in
the daily supply of them, might defeat the best concerted
measures ; and that if the provisions of an army are not
subject to the orders of the commanding officer, it would

238 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, be in the power of those charged with furnishing the sup-
x— y-— plies, to frustrate any enterprise." His excellency there-
1746. fore required a grant for transporting supplies along with
the forces, to whatever parts they might be ordered. The
assembly was also informed that there were thirteen hun-
dred and sixty men at Albany, to whom but a portion of
their promised enlistment bounty had been paid ; and the
necessity of making up the deficiency was urged in suitable
terms, for the prevention of irregularities and desertions.

This message was referred, nemine contradicente, to a com-
mitte consisting of Colonels Phillipse, Morris and Schuy-
ler, with instructions to prepare an humble representation
in reply, — the house meantime voting, in addition to the
ordinary civil list, only the deficient bounty money. But
before the committee had prepared its report, information
was received from the commissioners having in charge the
purchasing of provisions for the forces, that Henry Hol-
land, late high sheriff' of Albany, by order of Colonel
Roberts,1 had broken open the store-houses in that city,
and taken thence a large quantity of provisions in their
custody for the public service.

The address reported by the committee, was an answer
both to the special message, and to the opening speech of
the session. The temper of this document was such as
might well try that of the governor. In regard to the
Indian service, the committee affected ignorance either of
a bad disposition on the part of the Indians, or the causes
of such disposition if it existed. They said they had
voted liberal supplies for this department, and for the cus-
tomary presents to that people, adding significantly, "in
what manner that service has been performed, your excel-
lency, and those whom you have thought proper to employ,

xAn officer of one of the independent companies, now raised by Mr-
Clinton to the rank of colonel in the intended expedition. He had been a
cornet of horse at the accession of George I., and was connected, by his
first marriage, with the earl of Halifax. His second wife was the daugh-
ter of that Mr. Harrison who had so deep a share in the fueds of Cosby
and Van Dam. — Smith.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 239

can certainly best determine." In respect to the alleged chap.
mismanagement of the Indian department, the address « — „ — -
avowed the readiness of the assembly to enter upon a full 1746
investigation, whenever the governor should communicate
to them all the papers and documents connected with that
branch of the public service since the commencement of
his excellency's administration, — until which time no
larger sum than usual would be voted for that department,
lest there should be farther misconduct. The winter encamp-
ment was disapproved of, as being calculated to retard
rather than facilitate the meditated invasion of Canada.
The soldiers could not be made comfortable in the climate
of Albany, and sickness and desertion would be the conse-
quences of attempting to keep them there. The address
declared that larger appropriations had been voted than
even the king had expected. The imputation of parsi-
mony was therefore repelled ; as also was the intimation
that the most perfect harmony did not exist between the
different branches of the legislature. It was farther
declared that the assembly was to guard against the private
views of any artful or designing men ; and they should be
sorry to find that any such men could prevail upon his
excellency to break that harmony so necessary for the
public welfare ; — adding, that if any such persons had
been infusing such distrust into his excellency's mind, they
must have had sinister ends in view, and could be no
friends to their country. Disclaiming any designs to
encroach upon the prerogatives of others, it was said that
although collisions had happened in former times, yet they
had arisen from the bad advice given by designing men
to the governors, rather than from any wanton stretch of
power by the people. In regard to the transportation of
the army supplies, the address vindicated the action of the
assembly, declaring " the circumstances of the colony
would not suffer them to take one step farther;" but the
committee nevertheless concluded their report with an as-
surance that as far as was consistent with the duty they

240 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, owed his majesty, they would always endeavor to make
<— ^_, his excellency's administration easy. This last declaration
1746. wag a mere flourish of rhetoric, hollow and insincere.

The address was presented to the governor on the fifth
of November. Three days afterward the committee to
which had been referred the complaints of the commis-
sioners of supplies touching the conduct of Roberts and
Holland, in breaking open the stores of the commissariat
at Albany, brought in their report. The documentary
history of the controversy upon this subject is long. In
brief, however, it appeared that in order to supply the
deficiency in the number of state levies caused by sickness,
desertion, and death, the governor had annexed to these
forces four companies of independent fusileers, the supplies
for whom did not fall within the precise letter of the act
of appropriation. The commissioners of purchases had
consequently refused to issue provisions for these four
companies, in the face of an express order of the governor.
When, moreover, the forces at Albany were ordered to
march for the carrying place en route to Crown Point, the
commissioners refused to convey the provisions to the
place designated, and to other frontier points also, for
their subsistence. Under these circumstances, having an
order from the governor to meet the contingency, issued
under a special impressment act of the general assembly,
Roberts and Holland took the responsibility of taking the
necessary supplies from the store houses themselves, —
Doctor Colden, one of the governor's council, having
sanctioned the procedure, after in vain threatening the
commissioners with removal from office as a punishment
for their contumacy. But it has been seen that under the
influence of Mr. DeLancey, the assembly was rife for a
quarrel with the governor ; and a resolution was passed
censuring him in the first instance for the warrant that
had been issued for the subsistence of the fusileers. A
second resolution was adopted approving of the conduct
of the commissioners ; a third, declaring the warrant of

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 241

Colonel Roberts to Holland, directing lrim to open the chap.
stores for supplies to be arbitrary and illegal ; a fourth, w^-^
declaring both Roberts and Holland guilty of a high mis- 1/46'
demeanor; a fifth, declaring the breaking of the store-
houses, and the seizure of the provisions, to be a manifest
violation of the rights and liberties of the subject; a
sixth, declaring that Holland was guilty of a high crime
and misdemeanor for breaking the store-house ; a seventh,
declaring it a high misdemeanor for any person in authority
to attempt by threats to influence any officers appointed
by law to violate their duty ; an eighth, applying the last
mentioned resolution expressly to Cadwallader Golden, and
declaring him guilty of the crime charged; a ninth, de-
claring that it would be in vain for the assembly to vote
farther supplies until an effectual stop should be put to
such proceedings ; and a tenth, calling upon the governor
to direct the attorney-general to prosecute the delinquents.
Mr. Clinton replied to the address of the house of the
fifth of November, on the tenth, with firmness and
energy, — exhibiting more of dignity, and less of insta-
bility than might have been expected under the circum-
stances of the case from his choleric temperament. He
had supposed the bad feeling of the Six Nations, and the
misconduct of the Indian commissioners, matters of too
great notoriety to require special averments or commen-
taries in his opening speech. But in order to the better
understanding of the case by the assembly, he had ordered
copies of the documents which they had intimated a
desire to examine, to be laid before them, whenever it
might suit them to make the call. Had they asked for
information respecting the military transactions at Albany,
before expressing their dissatisfaction with those transac-
tions, the governor suggested that they might possibly
have formed different opinions, or arrived at different
conclusions in regard to them. His excellency censured
the house for having given publicity to their address ;
expressed his regret that his recommendations for a good
31

242 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, agreement among the different branches of the govern-
v— v-/ ment in times of danger should have given offence ; and
7 6 renewed his protestations of a sincere desire to cultivate a
spirit of harmony in his administration. "And now
gentlemen," he added, "I think this is an occasion on
which I may be allowed to tell you, that within the six
months last past, I have gone through with more diffi-
culties, I have had less assistance, and I have done more
for this province, than I believe any governor of New
York has done before me ; I feel in my own heart my zeal
for my king and my country's service ; and therefore I can
with pleasure lay the account of my administration at his
majesty's feet. Meantime I shall to the utmost of my
power, be careful of the rights and liberties of every man
under my government. J shall be more especially careful
of the preservation of your privileges ; and at the same
time to preserve that part of his majesty's authority
entrusted to me."

This message, however, having been prepared in answer
to the proceedings of the assembly of the fifth of Novem-
ber, formed of course no answer to the resolutions of the
eighth, respecting the seizure of the provisions at Albany
by Roberts and Holland, and demanding the arrest and
trial of those officers. Indeed it is most likely that those
resolutions had not been communicated to the governor in
form when this message was delivered, the tone of which
was not calculated to allay the already excited feelings of
the legislature. A recess of ten days, from the fourteenth
to the twenty-fourth of November, was allowed ; and on
reassembling of that body, a message was in readiness to
meet them, extended and elaborate, answering the resolu-
tions of the eighth seriatim, and justifying the proceedings
at Albany, which, his excellency declared, had been direct-
ed by himself and his council under the pressure of the
utmost necessity.

Viewing the transactions in question at this length of
time, although the commissioners entrusted by the assem-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 243

bly with the supplies, whose duty it was to deliver them chap.
out, and the assembly which sustained their course, had^l/
the advantage of the popular side of the controversy, yet 1746-
it seems equally certain that those commissioners acted in
a manner greatly embarrassing to the public service ; — for
what substantial reason does not appear. Mr. Clinton, in
obedience to the orders of the crown, and in concert with
Governor Shirley and Admiral Warren, had planned what
was intended to be a final and decisive descent upon Canada,
— the conquest of which was indispensable to the security
and repose of the English colonies, — for which purpose the
forces had been collected at Albany. In October they were
ordered to advance to the carrying-place between the Hud-
son river and Lake Champlain, — to which point the com-
missioners of subsistence were requested to forward the
necessary supplies from the store houses in Albany. The
request was refused under the flimsy pretext that they were
not in funds that could be applied to that purpose. Those
commissioners were John Cuyler and Dirck Ten Broeck.
On being demanded by Colonel Roberts whether they
would deliver the provisions, should the means of trans-
portation be provided, they refused because they had no
power, as they alleged, to comply. The colonel then
demanded whether they would deliver the provisions to a
commissary, or to the quartermasters, under the warrant of
the governor, to be receipted for. This request, right in
itself, and reasonable withal, was also refused, upon the
mere technical pretext that by the act of the assembly they
were allowed to deliver supplies " only to the captains."
All these excuses were obviously evasions. The Schuylers,
whose interest was powerful, were offended because Mr.
Johnson was rising into favor in the Indian department.
De Lancey, who had been succeeded in the governor's
affections, by Golden, was implacable ; and he was omnipo-
tent with the assembly, of which body the commissioners
were the agents. Hence it was the policy of each of these
interests to embarrass, rather than to strengthen, the com-

244 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, mander-in-chief. Yet the frontiers must be protected ; and

vi. *

Wy—* the orders to Colonel Roberts were peremptory to move

1746. ;yg forces northward to the carrying-plaee. A council of
war was held after the refusal of the commissioners to
move the provisions, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonels
Roberts and Marshall, and Majors Clarke and Ruther-
ford,— the latter officer being also one of the executive
council, — at which it was determined, as the only alterna-
tive in the emergency, to make use of a warrant granted
in anticipation of some such act of contumacy, authorizing
the impressment of the necessary supplies from the colonial
stores, giving a receipt for the same, and taking all proper
measures to guard against waste or extravagance. The
case was stated with all frankness and candor in the mes-
sage, yet without asperity. But, although under the cir-
cumstances then existing, it is difficult to perceive what
other course could have been adopted on the instant of the
emergency, the governor's explanations nevertheless gave
no satisfaction to the assembly, as was made fully to appear
by the resolves passed two days afterward. In addition to
the declaration of dissatisfaction, it was resolved that no
further supplies should be voted while the abuses of which
they complained were openly avowed and encouraged. A
thrust was likewise aimed at Doctor Colden, who had con-
curred in the proceedings of Colonel Roberts, and who had
doubtless advised, if he had not prepared, the vindictory
message, by a resolution declaring " that whoever had
advised the said message, had endeavored to create jealous-
ies and dissensions among the several branches of the legis-
lature ; had encouraged a manifest breach of the laws of
the colony; and were enemies to the constitution thereof."
But notwithstanding the attitude thus assumed, the assem-
bly still avowed its readiness, as soon as proper assurances
were given that the alleged abuses should be effectually
prevented, to vote an ample allowance for the subsistence
of the forces.

Mr. Clinton was either alarmed at the resolutions, or else

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 245

he judged it no suitable time for a controversy. His mes- chap.
sage in reply was conciliatory if not yielding. He only w v^_/
required that for the future, the provisions for the army 1746<
should be delivered out agreeably to the existing engage-
ments of the assembly, in which case nothing that had
happened could or should happen again. He also pledged
himself that all possible care should be taken of the pro-
visions, and exact accounts rendered. This advance had
the effect of allaying the storm, and the assembly applied
itself to its duties in a spirit that encouraged the governor
to call for additional supplies for the maintenance of arti-
zans among the Senecas, and also for bounty money for
female scalps — bounties being allowed only upon the scalps
of males by the existing laws. The immediate cause for
preferring this request, — so abhorent to the feelings of the
present day, — was the fact that a party of the Six Nations
had recently brought in three female prisoners from Canada,
and one female scalp. Evidence was thus afforded that the
Confederates had at length engaged heartily in the war ;
and the governor thought they should be encouraged in
the manner proposed. The same message also demanded
supplies for Oswego, and announced that Mr. Johnson had
become the contractor for that post, — with a stipulation
that no higher charges should be made in time of war, than
it had been usual to pay in time of peace. Heed was taken
of these requisitions, and the necessary supply bills both
for the civil and military service, were passed. * An act
was also passed authorizing a lottery to raise two thousand
two hundred and fifty pounds for founding a college in the
city of New York. This was the first step taken toward
the establishment of Kings, now Columbia College, — so
far behind the colonists of New England were those of
New York, on the great subject of education. 2

1 Manuscript letter from Johnson to Capt. John Catherwood, acknow-
ledging receipt of advices that the assembly had by resolution approved of
the governor's recommendation that he (Johnson) should supply the troops
at Oswego. Thanks the governor, and promises to act with energy, &c.

2 This was at the distance of more than one hundred and twenty years
after the discovery and settlement of New York, whereas the colonies of

246 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. It was now the fourth of December, and the general assem-
•*-v— blj was drawing its session to a close. Mr. DeLancey, how-
1746. ever, conld not allow the session to terminate without mak-
ing another demonstration against his rival, Doctor Colclen.
On the day last mentioned, the chief justice called the
attention of the legislative council to a pamphlet giving an
account of the Indian negotiations at Albany, of which so
much has already been said in the present chapter, wherein
it was set forth that although the governor had requested
the members of his council to attend and assist in those
negotiations, three only had complied with the request, viz :
Messrs. Colden, Livingston, and Rutherford. According
to that narrative, therefore, his excellency had been left to
act with the smallest number of counsellors that could con-
stitutionally form a board. Mr. DeLancey considered this
statement a reflection upon the non-attending councilors,
and moved that the printer of the pamphlet be summoned
to the bar, to answer as to its authorship, An animated
debate ensued upon the motion, in the course of which Dr.
Colden averred the authorship, and assumed the responsi-
bility of its publication. Messrs. DeLancey, Horsmanden
and Murray successively uttered some animadversions upon
the pamphlet ; and on the motion of the former, a vote of
censure was adopted, denouncing the offensive passage as a
misrepresentation of the facts, and an invidious reflection
upon those members of the council who did not accompany
the governor to Albany.

Massachusetts and Connecticut had commenced their institutions of classi-
cal learning very soon after planting their colonies. Smith, the historian,
states that for many years within his recollection the only academics in the
colony of New York, except such as were in holy orders, were Mr. DeLancey
a graduate of Cambridge, England, and Mr. Smith, (the historian's father,)
who was at the bar. At the time even, now under examination, there were
not above thirteen graduates in the colony, excluding the clergy. Except
Mr. DeLancey, there was then no graduate of a college upon the bench, or
in either of the branches of the legislature. The practice then, even of the
most opulent of the citizens, whose attention was generally engrossed with
commerce, was to send their sons directly from the writing school to the
counting room, and thence to the West Indies.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 247

The session closed on the following day. No events of chap.
public or political importance occurred within the province > — v — -
of New York during the residue of December ; nor did the 1746-
enemy after the capture of Fort Massachusetts, harrass the
northern border any more during this year.

Meantime, Mr. Johnson was growing rapidly in the favor
of the governor, to whom he paid a visit in New York
toward the close of the autumn. I have not been able to
discover the date of Johnson's elevation to the military
rank of colonel ; but it must have been at about the period
of time now under review. He had a brother, Warren
Johnson, a captain in the royal service, who had recruited
a company in Boston that year. The captain wrote to his
brother William, on the ninth of October, that his uncle
Warren, (the admiral,) was on the eve of sailing for Louis-
burg, and that his lady was preparing to return to New
York to pass the winter. On the tenth of December, the
captain was in New York on his way to the Mohawk
country to visit his brother. By his hand, under the last-
mentioned date, governor Clinton addressed a letter "To
Colonel William Johnson, at Albany." This is the earliest
document I have found among the Johnson manuscripts?
superscribed with a military title. The letter, the main
purpose of writing which was to request the colonel to pur-
chase for his excellency a pair of black stallions, contained
the following passage : — " This comes by your brother. I
hope he will find you well. I hear nothing of news but
what he will tell you. I have recommended you to his
majesty's favor through the duke of Newcastle. I must
desire you will keep up the Indians to their promises of
keeping out scouts to watch the motions of the French."
From this letter, therefore, it is probable that Clinton had
just then commissioned Mr. Johnson as a colonel, subject
to the approbation of the crown.

The operations of the New Englanders in Nova Scotia,
ended disastrously. The French and Indian forces, whose
purpose it was to cooperate with the fleet of the Count

248 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. D'Anville, did not retire from that peninsula on the dis-
v— vl_,persion of the fleet, and General Shirley judged it neces-
1746- sary to send a body of provincials, to dislodge them. The
levies from Massachusetts, with the exception of those on
hoard of one of the transports which was wrecked, arrived
at Annapolis in safety, as also did two hundred of the New
Hampshire troops. One of the New Hampshire transports,
after a blundering cruise in the Bay of Funcly, was decoyed
to a French sloop, and the crew captured. The Rhode Island
levies did not reach their place of destination, their vessels
being1 wrecked. In the course of the winter, the Massachu-
setts forces at Annapolis being inferior in numbers to the
enemy, yet deceived as to the extent of the disparity, were
drawn into the field by false representations, and defeated,
after a severe engagement, in the midst of a driving snow
storm at Minas. Col. Arthur Noble, with about sixty men,
was killed, and there were fifty wounded. Noble's army did
not exceed six hundred men ; and the survivors of the bat-
tle, unable to escape, were compelled to capitulate. Cheva-
lier Ramsay commanded the French ; but notwithstanding
his victory, he did not venture to attack Annapolis, nor did
the French inhabitants yet move in their meditated revolt. x
The posts on the western border of New Hampshire, had
been guarded by troops from Massachusetts; but inas-
much as those posts were without the jurisdiction of the
colony, the garrisons were withdrawn late in the autumn.
The settlers along that border, being left thus exposed, fell
back upon the larger towns — taking away such of their
goods as they could remove, burning such as could not
be concealed in the earth without damage, and leaving
the residue exposed to the ravages of the enemy. But the
enemy was not active during this winter, and its deep repose
in the forests of the north was only broken once, by an
attack of the Indians upon Fort Hinsdale, occupied only
by six families, by the stalwart hands of which the post was
successfully defended.

i Belknap, Grahame, Hutchinson, Hoyt.

CHAPTER VII.

1747.

Impatient of delay, and anxious that the blow so long chap.
meditated against Canada might be struck before the^,^
French should have power to repel it, the active mind of 1747.
Shirley conceived the project of a descent upon Crown
Point at mid-winter. The legislature of Massachusetts
was readily persuaded to second the enterprise ; and on
the sixteenth of January, Governor Clinton communicated
to his council a very long letter from Mr. Shirley, setting
forth his plans, and urging the cooperation of New York,
and the adoption of immediate and vigorous measures to
that end. It was Shirley's intention, while the troops
destined directly against Crown Point were concentrating
in the neighborhood of Albany, to create a diversion in
the enemy's country, by detaching a force of five hundred
men, to march through the valley of the Connecticut, and
fall upon the villages of the St. Francis Indians, two
hundred miles north of the English settlements. A simi-
lar movement, for the like object, was urged upon Gov-
ernor Clinton, to be made against Fort Frontenac by the
way of Oswego. Could the French be thus doubly
distracted by simultaneous attacks at those distant points,
it was presumed that in respect to the grand enterprise
against Crown Point and Montreal, there could remain no
well-founded doubt of success. Mr. Shirley, therefore,
seeming to take it for granted that New York would
second the enterprise without hesitation, much less with
reluctance, asked for the services of its levies, then in
garrison at Albany,1 and requested that accommodations

xThe New York forces during the winter of 1746 — '47, were distributed
32

250 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, for the New England troops might be provided at Sara-
v_v_<toga. He desired farther that the Six Nations might be
1747- brought into the field, and that forts might be erected by-
New York, at the heads of Lakes George and Champlain.1
The letter was referred to a committee by the council,
the report of which was indecisive and unsatisfactory.
The committee affected to be in favor of the enterprise,
yet doubted the practicability of carrying it into execu-
tion before the breaking up of winter. It was alleged
that there were sufficient accommodations for the New
England levies at Saratoga ; the forts could not be built
in time to guard the portages at the heads of the two
lakes ; and as to the proposed design against Fort Fronte-
nac, New York was then in no condition to undertake it.
On the whole, therefore, the committee thought " a winter
campaign against Crown Point was liable to many diffi-
culties, and would be a hazardous undertaking."2 Governor
Clinton was nevertheless inclined to favor the scheme,
wild and impracticable as it seemed to many; and on the
second of February he requested a more definite expression
of opinion by his council. Two days afterward that
opinion wras given, in the form of a very decisive report
against the whole project. It was urged, not without rea-
son, that the winters in that high northern latitude were
at best exceedingly unfavorable for military operations,
and it was moreover then too late. The warriors of the
Six Nations could not by any possibility be collected in sea-
son for the contemplated movement ; and besides, more
than a fortnight had intervened since a syllable had been
heard from the projector of the expedition — Mr. Shirley.
It was therefore held, as presented, to be utterly impracti-

at various points. Some were posted at Saratoga ; others in the Mohawk
country ; and others again at Schenectady. Three companies were at
Schaghticoke ; four at Half Moon ; two at Niskayuna, and others still at
Albany.

1 Shirley's letter — Minutes of the council board.

2 Idem.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 251

cable.1 Belknap adds, as another reason prompting to this chap.
conclusion, that the small-pox was prevailing in the settle- w^ — •
ments north of Albany, through which the forces must1'47-
necessarily pass, — a disease, the violence of which, at that
day, had not been disarmed of its terrors by vaccination,
or even mitigated by the process of inoculation. The
agency of Clinton's council in defeating this darling enter-
prise of Shirley's, seems not to have been generally or
publicly known, and the merit, — if such it may be called, —
of defeating it, has been accorded alone to " the more sober
discretion of Connecticut," the government of which
" deemed the winter an improper season for so important
an undertaking," refusing to furnish its quota of troops
until spring.2 Equally effectual was the unfavorable
interposition of the New York council board.

An active correspondence was maintained between
Governor Clinton and Colonel Johnson, during the winter
and spring, having relation to the protection of the fron-
tiers in general, but more especially to the Indian service ;
and the letters of the governor bear evidence that the
colonel was already in the enjoyment of his strongest confi-
dence. The notorious Jean Cceur, one of the most perse-
vering and mischievous of the Jesuit emissaries in the
Indian Confederacy, was yet among the Senecas, and it
was deemed by Johnson an object of high importance to
obtain possession of his person. He communicated his
views upon the subject to the governor in February, by
whom the project was warmly approved, and the colonel
was urged to use his utmost endeavors to effect the object,
either by stratagem or force, as circumstances might
require. Early in March, moreover, Mr. Clinton wrote to
Johnson directing him to send out as many war-parties

1 Council minutes in manuscript

8 Belknap and Marshall. Smith does not even allude to these winter
deliberations.

252 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. " of Indians and Christians,1 to harass the enemy in their
«— v— 'own settlements," as he could bring into the service. To
1747, carry the war into the enemy's own country, and in his
own way, was rightly judged " one of the most effectual
means to prevent their daring mischief to us."2 The
Colonel was yet farther directed to send a party of Indians
to the garrison at Saratoga, to act as scouts, — the com-
manding officer of which post being enjoined to treat the
Indians thus coming to his assistance with the utmost
kindness.3 In reply to the letter thus abridged, Colonel
Johnson wrote as follows :

Colonel Johnson to Governor Clinton,

" Mount Johnson, March 18, 1747.
" May it please your Excellency :

" This instant I am honored with your's by the express,
and by whom I send this in return. In answer to what
your excellency says about sending a party as out-scouts to
Saratoga, I can only say that I find already that it is not
at all agreeable to the Indians, they being now inclined and
ready to go against Canada, where they say they can do
more execution. Moreover they never like to keep in a
garrison among so many Christians. Yesterday a party of
twenty-two Christians and Indians returned from Saratoga,
where I sent them in hopes to have met and intercepted
some of the enemy's out-scouts. But they met none. No

1 The whites at that day were called Christians in distinction from the
Indians.

zGrahame, in his usually acurate, and very excellent history of the
United States, falls into an important error respecting these predatory
excursions of the Indians, which he maintains, were not encouraged by the
English. Such was by no means the fact. The English employed all the
Indians they could upon this service. Grahame, however, was probably
led into the error by Belknap, who wrote particularly of New England
and evidently in great ignorance of the operations in New York. See
Grahame, book x, chap. ii.

3 Manuscript letter; Clinton to Johnson. At its close, the governor
said — << Pray let me know how poor old Hendrick dies, who, I am sorry to
hear, is so bad." Hendrick, it will be remembered, was the king of the
Mohawks.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 253

one will more readily comply with your excellency's orders chap.
than I shall ; but at this time I would beg leave to assure ^—^
your excellency that the consequence of it may be disas- 1747-
trous by keeping the Indians from fighting — they being
now inclining that way more and more. I have this week
sent out a parcel of Canajoharies, mixed with a few of the
Five Nations1 against the French and their settlements, and
am every day busy with fitting out more. I am going to
send up Captain Stephens and two of the lieutenants, with
a small party of men, and Indian chiefs of the two castles
with them, to bring down some of the Five Nations to go
a-scalping. I am of opinion we shall make the French
smart this spring, by taking, scalping, and burning them
and their settlements. But I shall be ruined for want of
blankets, linen, paints, guns, cutlasses, &c, for I am almost
out of all these, and cannot get them in Albany. I
believe your excellency has seen how difficult it was last fall
for you to get those things. But how much more so for
me, being so envied by them. Wherefore if I cannot have
them from New York by the first opportunity, I do not
know what I shall do. So I hope your excellency will
endeavor to have them procured and sent up, — as also the
pay for those belonging to me, about four hundred and
thirty pounds. The party now going out were so uneasy
that I paid the most of them to encourage them. Old
Hendrick is in a pretty fair way of recovering again, which
will be of great service to our cause. I hope that your
excellency will order it so that my people may be supplied
as the rest, with every thing on a march which is requisite.
As to the party which you intend to send to Oswego, I shall
be ready to transport them a little after the lake opens,
which I judge to be in about a fortnight. But be that as
it will, I shall always let you know time enough beforehand.
"We kept St. Patrick's day yesterday and this day, and drank

1Sointhe original draught of the letter. Yet the Canajoharies were
only a clan of the Mohawks — the head of the original Five Nations.

254 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CvnP* y°ur health, and that of all friends in Albany, with so many
v-v — - other healths that I can scarce write.

"I am, with great regard, dear sir, your most obedient
humble servant,

"Wm. Johnson,"

As a farther encouragement to the Indians, the legisla-
ture of Massachusetts voted an additional bounty for scalps ;
but Johnson opposed the allowance, and suggested that a
different direction be given to the appropriation. Inasmuch,
he said, as the bounty for scalps allowed by the assembly
of New York, was entirely satisfactory to the Indians, and
inasmuch also as he had already sent off several war-parties
under the promise of that bounty and no more, he proposed
applying the Massachusetts funds to the purchase of
clothing and subsistence for the Indians and their families,
now become very poor from the long time they had been
kept from their hunting. l The Indians were at this time
wretchedly armed, and scantily supplied ; but Clinton was
doing all in his power, as he wrote to Johnson on the
twentieth of March, to remedy these deficiencies. The
letters of the latter show that the need was pressing.

It was now the fourth year of the war. Yet, with the
exception of the conquest of Louisburg, scarcely anything
had been accomplished against the enemy, even in retalia-
tion for the remorseless cruelties visited upon the border
settlements of the English along the whole northern fron-
tier. The energies of the colonies had been exerted, seem-
ingly almost to exhaustion, in large preparations ending only
in mortifying abortions. Such being the situation of affairs,
Colonel Johnson, now at the head of the Indian depart-
ment, determined to exert himself to the utmost in making
the enemy realize the true character of the species of war-
fare he had adopted, by pouring into the Canadian settle-
ments as many scalping parties as he could command. The
contest became, therefore, so far as the colonies were con-

1 Manuscript letter ; Colonel Johnson to Colonel Jolin Stoddard, of North-
ampton.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 255

cerned, ignoble upon both sides ; " resembling more the chap.
practices of banditti than the operations of civilized war- w y-1/
fare, and tending to no other results than obscure individ- 1747,
ual suffering, and partial havoc and devastation." In
order to a better understanding of the manner in which the
war was thus waged, and of the activity and energy of
Colonel Johnson, even at this early period of his military
career, the following letter is inserted at large :

Colonel Johnson to Governor Clinton.

" Mount Johnson, May 30, 1747.
" May it please your Excellency :

" You cannot conceive the uneasiness your long silence
gives me, — not having had the honor of a line from you
since the thirtieth of April. It is now the first time that
I have wanted money for scalps and prisoners, and instruc-
tions most of all. The numbers about me every day going
to war, takes abundance of arms, ammunition and clothing,
and I am quite bare of most of those things. Your excel-
lency will conceive that what I have received is but a mere
trifle with so many as I have to distribute it among, although
so sparingly done ; and were it not for my own store, and
what goods I have been obliged to buy, I should have been
obliged to drop the affair some time ago, which would have
been very hard after all my trouble to bring them so heartily
into our interest. I am quite pestered every day, with par-
ties returning with prisoners and scalps, and without a
penny to pay them with, ;t comes very hard upon me, and
is displeasing to them, I can assure you, for they expect
their pay, and demand it of me as soon as they return, as
I mentioned to your excellency in my last of the twenty-fifth
instant. Now that they find the money is not ready, they
tell me this was but a draw to encourage them. Therefore
I wish your excellency would only consider of it shortly.
I thank God there is nothing wanting or backward in my
affairs, wherefore hope your excellency will not let me
suffer, or the cause drag for want of things requisite to

256 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, carry it on. If your excellency intends soon to come up
v-^l/to Albany, I should be glad to receive your orders concern-
1747. ing the Indians coming down, for they certainly expect to
be called, or invited, down this summer by you, or else by
me. I am positive I could do more with them here, by far,
than if they went to Albany, without going to above a
quarter the expense ; because there they are corrupted by
evil people, and drink all the goods they get, whereas here
they have not that opportunity, but can carry them home
and show their families what they have had of you, — which
would encourage them much. Moreover here I have all
my counsellors, the Mohawks and Canajoharies, with whose
assistance I could bring them to do anything. There is
nothing more requisite at present than some blue camlet,
red shalloon, good lace and white metal buttons, to make
up a parcel of coats for some chief warriors from the Sene-
cas, and for others who are daily expected. "Wherefore I
wish your excellency would send me up these things by
the first opportunity, and also about thirty good castor hats,
with scallop lace for them all ; white lace, if to be had, if
not some yellow with it. This I assure your excellency
goes a great way with them. They have been gained so
mostly by the French always, and of consequence they
expect it from us, and we have promised it. There is three
mouths pay due to my officers and people the first of June,
and as they are all upon hard service with the Indians daily,
they require their pay, which I hope your excellency will
please pay unto Mr. Anthony Duane, merchant of New
York, who will give your excellency a receipt for it. I also
should be glad your excellency would advise me how I
shall get the money for the enclosed account, being now a
year due almost, and by your orders. Just as I was finish-
ing my letter, arrived another party of mine, consisting of
only six Mohawks, who brought with them seven prisoners
and three scalps, which is very great for so small a party.
I have my house, &c, now all full of the Five Nations, —
some going out to-morrow against the French. Others go

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

for news, which, when furnished, I shall let your excellency chap.
know. My people's success is now the talk of the whole > — ^— '
country. I expect in a short time several more parties 1747*
home from Canada. I believe Hendrick will he the first,
who, I dare say, will bring a great many with him, dead or
alive— so that we shall need a great deal of money among
them all. They have brought in this spring as follows :
First, by Lieut. Walter Butler and his party, from Crown

Point, the scalps of men, 6

By Lieut. Thomas Butler and party, prisoners, 8

By a Canajoharie party, prisoners, 3

Scalps, , 2

By Gingegoe and party, prisoners, 7

Scalps, 3

Total this spring, 29

" If the money is sent up to me for this use, I shall give
certificates of age, and render a clear account thereof, and
the Indians shall receive it all in dollars, and not be cheat-
ed, as they would be by others, who would only give them
some trifles of goods, rum, &c, for their bounty, — which
usage has ruined our Indians mostly.

I am, with the greatest respect, your excellency's much

obliged humble servant, &c.

"¥m. Johnson."

Petty details of a petty warfare ; but the record is essen-
tial to a just understanding of the border history of those
times, for it was in this manner only that active hostilities
were prosecuted during the entire open season. Neither
the inhabitants of the English nor of the French borders
were left to the enjoyment of a moment's security or repose.
Exposed every hour to these hostile and often bloody incur-
sions, they were compelled to fortify their houses by night,
and go armed while performing the labors of the field by
day.

One of the most considerable of these hostile incursions
during the spring of this year, was an attack upon a small
33

258 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, fort in Charlestown, New Hampshire, by a large body of
Wy^/ French and Indians, under the command of M. Debeline.
1747. This post had been unoccupied during the winter ; but
toward the close of March, captain Phineas Stevens, an
officer who had been in command of it the year before,
returned to the station, at the head of a body of thirty
Massachusetts rangers, and no more. The enemy came
stealthily into the immediate neighborhood of the fort, as
it was called, — being, however, nothing but a small pick-
etted stockade, — and lay in concealment, watching, doubt-
less, for an opportunity when the gate should be opened,
to rush in and carry the work by a sudden assault unawares.
Uneasiness, however, on the part of the dogs in the fort,
created a suspicion that all was not right without. The
little garrison being thus upon the qui vive, one of the men,
desirous of ascertaining the cause of this canine inquietude,
left the fort, and creeping cautiously to the distance of thirty
rods, discharged his gun. Supposing themselves to have
been discovered, a party of the enemy sprang up and fired
at the adventurous ranger, slightly wounding him. Not
with sufficient severity, however, to prevent his regaining
the fort, though hotly pursued by the enemy, who, no
longer affecting concealment, rushed forward with savage
yells as though determined at once to carry the defence.
But their courage was unequal to the attempt ; and for a
considerable time nothing more was done than to keep up
a general fire, brisk, but ineffectual. The rangers were
well covered, and small arms could of course make no sensi-
ble impression upon the stockade ; but the fire was never-
theless returned with spirit. Finding the garrison bent
upon a resolute defence, and perceiving that the work was
constructed of combustible materials, the enemy next
attempted to set on fire, and thus summarily to compel a
surrender. To this end the torch was applied to the neigh-
boring fences, and also to a log-house standing about forty
rods to windward. A brisk wind favored the design, and
the flames approached, enveloping the fort in a dense body

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. . 259

of smoke, and eclipsing the view of the enemy, — but of chap.
whose continued presence, the hideous yells of the savages, < — » — :
and the incessant rattle of musketry, gave ample evidence. 1747,
There was indeed immediate danger from the approach of
the devouring element, and it is quite probable that through
its agency the enemy would have been successful but for a
lucky expedient devised by captain Stevens^ and bravely
executed by his men. The soil being favorable for rapid
excavation, several subterranean passages or galleries were
carried under the parapet, deep enough to allow the men
to stand in them at the foot of the stockades on the outside,
yet completely covered from the enemy. Buckets of water
from the well within were then passed rapidly to the men
standing in the trenches without, which being dashed
upward upon the timbers, they were moistened sufficiently
to prevent ignition. Failing in this first effort to produce
a conflagration, M. Debeline next prepared a sort of man-
lalet, loaded with faggots, which were fired and forced down
upon the fort. Showers of burning arrows were also shot
into the defence, — a device which was alike abortive. The
exertions of one-half the thirty preserved the work from
the fire, while the other half lost no opportunity of firing
upon the enemy, as often as he could be discovered through
the intervening clouds of smoke. On the second day of
the seige the French commander proposed a cessation of
hostilities, until sunrise of the following morning, — a propo-
sition readily acceded to by Captain Stevens, but the object
of which does not appear. But no matter : just before the
expiration of the armistice, Debeline, himself, bearing a
flag, with fifty of his men, approached within fifty rods of
the stockade, and a parley ensued, — Stevens receiving a
lieutenant and two of the enemy into the fort as hostages,
while the same number proceeded to a conference with
the French commander. His demand was a surrender of
the fort, the garrison to be conducted to Montreal as
prisoners of war, with a request that Captain Stevens should
meet him and reply to the summons in person. Ascertain-

260 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, ing that his men would stand by him in defending their
v—y—- little work to the last, Stevens proceeded to meet the
1747. Frenchman as requested, but was received roughly. With-
out pausing for an interchange even of the ordinary cour-
tesies required by good breeding, Debeline threatened that
if his terms were rejected, he would take the fort by storm ;
— adding, that in the event of the death of any of his men
in the assault, he would put every man of the garrison to
the sword. Under a menace like that, Stevens at once
declined further negotiations, — declaring his purpose to
listen to no overtures of surrender whatever, until his
means of defence should be exhausted. " Do as you please,"
replied Debeline ; — " I am resolved to have the fort or die.
Go and see if your men dare fight any longer, and give me
a speedy answer." Returning to the stockade, the hostages
were interchanged, and at about twelve o'clock meridian,
hostilities were recommenced, the firing being continued all
that day, and the night following. Just at the peep of dawn
on the third day, Stevens was addressed from the ranks of
the enemy with the friendly salutation " Good morning,"
to which was added a proposition for a second armistice of
two hours. It was granted ; and shortly before its expira-
tion, two Indians approached with a flag, proclaiming that
if the English would sell them some provisions, they would
withdraw without offering further molestation. The nego-
tiation was declined upon the basis proposed ; — Stevens,
however, offering to supply them with provisions at the
rate of five bushels of corn for every prisoner the enemy
Would stipulate to release at Montreal, hostages to be left
to secure a faithful performance of the agreement. This
proposition was in turn rejected; but the fire of the enemy
gradually fell away, and before nightfall the seige was
raised and the foe departed, deeply chagrined, beyond all
t doubt, at the failure of his enterprise, especially of the
boastful confidence with which it had been commenced.
The attack continued three days, during which thousands
of balls were discharged into the fort, yet not a man of the

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 261

garrison was killed, and but two of them wounded, and chap.
those slightly. Commodore Sir Charles Knowles, then^.^,
with his squadron lying at Boston, was so highly gratified 1(47-
with the conduct of Captain Stevens, that he sent him an
elegant sword, hearing a suitable inscription. The bravery
of Stevens, and the mental resources which he discovered,
were subjects of high praise in other quarters ; yet he has
been criticised for his imprudence in admitting the hosta-
ges retained by him during the negotiations, into the fort, —
thus necessarily disclosing his weakness, — while it has also
been suggested that he ought not to have risked his own
person by placing himself within the power of a perfidious
enemy, when he might rather have sent a subaltern to
meet the French commander.

Debeline did not retire from the country at once, but on
raising the siege of the stockade he divided his motley
forces into several small parties, by which the border set-
tlements of New Hampshire were infested for weeks there-
after. Skirmishes were frequent, houses were burnt, and
individuals were killed from day to day. All the dwell-
ings in the two settlements of Winchester and Upper
Ashuelot were destroyed by fire. Yet nearer to Albany
the enemy was hovering about in considerable numbers.

In May, the government of Massachusetts commenced
rebuilding the fort of that name which had been destroyed
the year before by M. Vaudreuil. A party of one
hundred men having been detached to Albany for provi-
sions, on its return discovered the enemy in ambuscade
in the very environs of the works. The discovery was
timely. An engagement ensued, and the enemy, attacked
upon both sides, — both by the returning party and the
garrison, — was soon obliged to flee to the woods, whence
he did not again emerge. The loss to the English was
trifling, two men only being wounded, and one killed, —
the latter an Indian ally of the Stockbridge tribe.

While the border-men were engaged in these predatory
aifairs, — prolific of individual suffering, but, though illus-

262 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, trated by many acts of personal conduct worthy of all
*— v — ■ praise, productive of no important results, — Governor
1747- Clinton was again involved in hostilities with his legisla-
ture. In the reasonable expectation of receiving instruc-
tions from ministers touching the prosecution of the war,
the governor had delayed summoning the general assembly
until the twenty-fifth of March. But no instructions
came ; and the season was already so far advanced as to
require very active dispositions of the forces already in
service for guarding the exposed points of the frontiers,
even were offensive operations not in contemplation. The
assembly was told in the speech that Colonel Roberts had
been sent to Boston to confer with Governor Shirley, and
that the Mohawks had been detained from their hunting
expeditions that they might be in readiness to act in the war
as circumstances might require. For the purpose of yet
farther cultivating the friendship of the Six Nations, the
governor proposed another voyage to counsel with them at
Albany, for which obj ect he required an appropriation. The
long proposed expedition against Crown Point was again
presented for legislative consideration; and, in the absence
both of the advices and supplies expected from England,
appropriations were required for the construction of the
forts so long talked of at the carrying-places between the
Hudson river and Lake Champlain. The forces likewise
for the expedition, were to be levied and paid by the colo-
nies embarking therein, upon all which points a full and
cordial understanding existed between Governors Clinton
and Shirley. Provision having only been made for victualing
the levies then in the service until the first of May, farther
supplies were required for that object. A week afterward
a special message was sent down asking an appropriation
for maintaining scouts, and a corps of rangers upon
the frontiers. These requests were judged the more rea-
sonable, inasmuch as all the expenses of the Indian service,
and for the rangers, had been defrayed during the preced-
ing year by the crown. No other business was presented

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 263

to the consideration of the assembly, whose session, the chap.
governor suggested, must be short. v— v — '

Justice Horsmanden reported the address of the council
in answer to the speech. It contained the following pas-
sage embodying a reflection upon the integrity of the
Indians, which, judging from the correspondence of Colo-
nel Johnson, seems not at that time at least to have been
deserved.

"It cannot but occasion great uneasiness in us to observe,
that our Indians employed in the barbarous method of
scalping, (only justifiable by the precedent practices of our
enemies,) industriously avoid attacking, or meeting the
French Indians ; or when they meet, treat each other as
friends ; whereby they are encouraged in their cruel practice
of butchering those who are not in arms, and even those
who are unable to bear arms — women and children."

The assembly, determined to continue its quarrel with
the governor, neglected the customary civility of voting an
address. But the situation of the country forbade entire
inaction, and a petition from the inhabitants of Kinderhook,
accompanying the special message, contained a pathetic
appeal to the assembly for a garrison of fifty men for their
defence, and a like number of rangers to traverse the woods
to the northward and eastward. Moved by this appeal,
resolutions were passed directing the employment of one
hundred rangers, one-half of whom were to be stationed
upon the east, and the other upon the west side of the
river in the county of Albany. Supplies were also voted
for victualling the levies for the term of three months
beyond the twenty-fourth of May. But the house at the
same time reaffirmed its declaration of the preceding
November, that it would make no provision for the trans-
portation of any supplies beyond Albany. In regard to
his excellency's proposed conference with the Indians, it
farther manifested its temper by voting the beggarly allow-
ance of one hundred and fifty pounds. Nor was this all.
After passing the bill in form, pursuant to the resolutions,

264 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAET.

chap, and before it had received the assent of the representative
*— v— ' of the crown, the assembly adopted yet another resolution
1/4/- setting forth that the levies then in service, so long main-
tained at very great expense, had thus far been unemployed,
and praying that the hundred men authorized in compli-
ance with the Kinderhook memorial, should be detached
from those levies — from the little army destined against
Canada ! The pay proposed in the bill was one shilling per
diem, over and above the wages allowed and paid by the
crown. Eight days afterward, the governor not yet having
approved the bill, the assembly, availing itself of a memo-
rial from Albany giving a melancholy representation of
the suffering and defenceless situation of that country, as
if purposely to chafe his excellency by farther insult, sent
up an address of affected tenderness and solicitude for the
condition of the frontier settlers, and praying him no longer
to withhold his assent from the measure they had been so
prompt to enact.

In his reply to this address, the governor went into a full
and elaborate vindication of his conduct during the last
eventful year of his administration, — rehearsing his labors
and exertions in the public service, for which he had been
so unworthily requited. In regard to the bill presented for
his approbation, his excellency said he looked upon the
allowance of the extra shilling per diem, as altogether
inadequate, considering the character and severity of the
service, the extra expenses to which the rangers were sub-
ject by the wear and tear of their clothes when plunging
into morasses, climbing mountains, or threading the deep-
tangled woods. He denied that the levies had been inac-
tive, and gave an account of the dispositions that had been
made of them. The invasion of Canada having been
necessarily deferred, the next object of the executive had
been to make an advanced movement in that direction, for
the purpose of forming a winter encampment at the carry-
ing-place, and for the construction of fortifications at the
heads of the two lakes, Champlain and St. Sacrament, —

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 265

measures of the first importance, and of the greatest effi- chap.
eiency in affording protection to the frontiers against the *—Js
predatory bands so frequently issuing from Crown Point. 1747-
But his purposes had been frustrated by the conduct of the
assembly respecting the provisions at Albany; and also by
reason of a waste of time, the consequence of which was,
that the levies, instead of advancing to the designated
point, had been compelled to halt and winter at Saratoga,
— an ill-chosen and unsafe locality for a military position.
In all these proceedings his excellency said he had had the
concurrence of Governor Shirley, as well as of the other
colonies uniting in the prosecution of the war. They had
all evinced a willingness to share the expense, but in the
expectation, of course, that as New York was the most
immediately interested in the result of the contest, she
would set a cheerful example in meeting the exigency.
After reciting various measures that had been adopted for
the common security, his excellency intimated that points
other than those enumerated, would have been occupied
and fortified, but for the obstinate refusal of the assembly
to appropriate even the sums necessary for their own safety.
He upbraided them for the disrespect with which they had
treated his speech at the opening of the session, although
in the preparation of that speech he had carefully avoided
everything which he supposed could have a tendency to
revive the unpleasant difficulties of the former session.
Referring to the many difficulties he had been obliged to
encounter, especially at Albany, he did not conceal his
belief that they had been fomented by the opulent traders
of that city, who had grown rich by their trade with Cana-
da, and who were desirous of preserving the neutrality of
the Six Nations. He likewise intimated a suspicion that
there were Roman Catholic emissaries in the colony, — art-
ful and cunning men, — engaged in treasonable practices, —
" dangerous instruments for the destruction of the religion
and liberty of the land." In conclusion he said, that not-
withstanding the opposition they had made to his mea-

266 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, sures, there was nothing in his power which he would not
w^ cheerfully do " for the security of the frontiers, and topre-
l?4?' serve the inhabitants from the incursions of a cruel and
barbarous enemy."

On the subject of the suspected disloyalty of some of
the people of Albany, to which reference had been made
in the message, — charging them in effect with leaguing with
the enemy to obstruct the operations against Canada, the
governor wrote to Colonel Johnson as follows :

Governor Clinton to Colonel Johnson.

"New York, April 25th, 1747.
"Sir:

"You will find by a paragraph of a message I sent to
the assembly yesterday, that I have taken notice of the
endeavors which I suspect some people of Albany have
used for to obtain a kind of neutrality between them and
Canada.

" You told me of some private messages you heard had
been sent by Indians for the purpose. Send me a particu-
lar account of what you know and have heard on that sub-
ject, and of what you can now, or at any time after this,
learn by farther inquiry. I expect you will use all the
diligence possible to discover every part of this scheme,
and in what manner it has been carried on. I long much
to hear from you, for we have most villainous reports
spread. I hope the Indians all remain steadfast and in
good health.

"In the bill I am going to pass, the council did not think
it proper to put rewards for scalping or taking poor women
or children prisoners in it ; but the assembly has assured
me the money shall be paid when it so happens, if the
Indians insist upon it.

" I am, Sir,

"Your very humble serv't,

" G. Clinton."
" To Colonel Johnson."

GOVERNOR GEORGE CLINTON.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 267

Those portions of the message alledging that the house chap.
had treated his excellency with disrespect, and charging it ^^
with neglecting to provide for the safety of the colony, as 1747.
also the paragraph containing the imputation upon the
Albany traders, were received with high displeasure, — real
or affected, — and a committee was appointed by resolution
with instructions to prepare an answer. 1 The appointment
of this committee was made on the twenty-fourth of April ;
and for several days immediately subsequent, the assembly
met but only to adjourn, without proceeding to business.
At length, in order to give the members time to abate their
choler, the house was adjourned from the second of May
to the twelfth, and again to the nineteenth.of May.

While these disputes between the executive and his
assembly were in progress in the city of New York, affairs
at the north were in a sad condition. The levies who had
been kept in service during the winter, clamorous for their
pay, were almost in a state of mutiny. The officers wrote
from Saratoga that they were fearful the garrison would
desert in a body. Colonel Roberts wrote to colonel John-
son, announcing the desertion of thirty-four men from a
single company ; the garrison at Saratoga had become so
much weakened, as to create apprehensions that the post
would be lost ; while the officers wrote to the governor
from Albany, that they could not persuade the designated
quotas of the northern militia companies to march for the
defence of that jeoparded position. During the months of
April and May, the communications spread before the
executive council upon the subject, were of the most urgent

1 The gentlemen forming this committee were, David Clarkson, Cornelius
Van Home, Paul Richard, Henry Cruger, Frederick Phillipse, John Thomas,
Lewis Morris, David Pierson, and William Nicholl Smith, in a note, suggests
that the reflection upon the Albany traders, was intended by the governor
as a cut at DeLancey, whose father, many years before, during the admin-
istration of Governor Burnett, had been largely benefitted by the Indian
trade with Canada through Lake Champlain. But Clinton's private letter
to Johnson, now first brought to light, shows that he was acting in perfect
good faith — having reason to believe the imputation just.

268 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

°vn.P' character. Funds for the payment of the troops in part,
' — * — ' were remitted ; but partial payments by no means sufficed ;
the discontents became more impatient ; and on the thirty-
first of May, a dispatch was received from Colonel Roberts,
announcing that the levies upon all the frontier stations
had united in a solemn resolution that unless their whole
pay should be immediately forthcoming, they would desert
en masse, and pay themselves by the plunder of the city and
county of Albany. Additional remittances were made with
all possible alacrity ; but Mr. Clinton nevertheless cautioned
the officers against paying at once all that was due, lest from
the prevailing spirit of insubordination they might still
desert the moment their pockets should be filled. Not long
before this, two Mohawk Indians had been discovered in
an attempt to kill and scalp some of Captain Tiebout's
company, stationed at Schenectady. They were lying in
wait for that object, and had wounded one man. Roberts
wrote to Johnson upon the matter, and as the offenders
had been secured, the latter advised that they should be
surrendered to their own people for punishment. *

The committee charged with the preparation of an
address to the governor, made their report on the nineteenth
of May. It was very long, extending to nearly eight large
folio printed pages ; and as it was read to the house^
approved, engrossed, and presented to his excellency all
on the same afternoon, it must have been evident that its
terms, even to a letter, had been previously settled by what
is in modern times designated a caucus, and the labor of
engrossing performed in anticipation. The spirit of the
address was very bitter, though sweetened by terms of ill-
dissembled courtesy. They protested with the utmost
gravity that it had been far from the intention of the house
to give his excellency the least occasion of offence by their
former resolutions. The suggestion for the employment of
one hundred men to be taken from the levies as rangers,
had been made, they averred, in compliance with applica-

1 Journals of the council board.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAHT. 269

tions to that effect from the people of Albany ; and a pre- Cy„p"

cedent for the adoption of that course had been found in '— v— '

1747
the course of his excellency's own proceedings at Albany

the year before. By the remark that " the levies had hith-
erto been unemployed," they meant no more than to say
what was known to all, that they had not been employed
in the Canada expedition. They were "much concerned
that this misconstruction of their innocent intentions,"
should have induced his excellency to give so full a history
as he had done, of his conduct in defence of the country
during the preceding year, since in doing so he "had taken
the trouble of relating many particulars well known before."
They acknowledged the importance of preserving the
friendship of the Six Nations, and rehearsed their own
proceedings to that end during the entire period of his
administration. It was admitted that the crown had
defrayed the charges of the great council at Albany of the
preceding year ; but for the expenses of the council of the
year before that, they had voted one thousand pounds,
besides appropriations for his excellency's own personal
expenses ; and they intimated an opinion that while they
had not been informed what sums had been actually dis-
bursed for presents to the Indians, there were not wanting
individuals who had profited largely in that branch of
the service. Yet, notwithstanding all the expenditures
upon the Indians, and the pains that had been taken to
secure their friendship, they had not joined in the war to
any considerable extent. In regard to the governor him-
self, they had received him with distinguished considera-
tion on his arrival ; and in consequence of the efforts he
was understood to have made in behalf of the colony before
his embarkation for his government, they had voted him a
gratuity of a thousand pounds, and had moreover, ill as
the colony could bear the expense, caused a new and ele-
gant house to be built for his residence, in conformity to
his own plans, besides raising as much for his support as
had been allowed to any of his predecessors. In reviewing

270 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

c vnf' ^ne eyents of the war and their own acts for sustaining the
"— v— ' public service, they recurred to the destruction of Saratoga,

1747

two years before, as an event that might not have happened
but for the withdrawing of the independent companies
from that post. Afterward, at the governor's request, they
had appropriated money for rebuilding that fort, which was
done, and the works garrisoned by the militia, at the expense
of the colony. In addition to this they had also at the
governor's request, made appropriations for building other
forts to guard the frontier passes. Yet again, the plan of
defence having been changed, they had voted money for
building a chain of block-houses from the New England
border to the castles of the Mohawks ; but this plan being
in turn abandoned, the money was diverted to the payment
and subsistence of detachments of the militia posted upon
the frontiers by the governor during the recess of the
assembly. They admitted the importance of guarding the
passes of the great carrying-place by suitable fortifications,
but shrunk from the expense, both for the building, and for
the maintenance of garrisons. The other exposed colonies
had an equal interest with New York in building and sus-
taining those defences, and they thought the expense should
be shared among them, — intimating a doubt, however, not-
withstanding the assurances of his excellency upon that
point, whether the colonies referred to would in fact be
willing to bear a portion of the burden. Touching his
excellency's complaint that his projected northern encamp-
ment had been frustrated, and the division of levies des-
tined upon that service compelled by the climate to fall back
upon Saratoga for winter quarters, knowing the severity
of that climate as they did, they had anticipated as much ;
and as to the unsuitableness of the locality, as now averred
by his excellency, it had at least been rebuilt there by his
own directions. His excellency's reference to the difficulties
at Albany, the previous autumn, in regard to the delivery
and transportation of provisions, whereby as wa3 alleged,
his plans had been defeated, was tartly answered. "If,"

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 271

they said, "your excellency means thereby the refusal of chap.
" the commissioners to deliver the provisions contrary to ^-v— -
" the law you were pleased to pass but a little before, the 1747#
" house had occasion to give your excellency their thoughts
" upon it in their resolves of the seventeenth of November
"last, which were by order of the house laid before your
" excellency, to which we beg leave to refer." Rehearsing,
next, in reply to the charge of the governor that they had
not shown a disposition even "to take care of themselves,"
they pointed to the previous measures they had adopted for
the public defence, and the appropriations, among which
was one of forty thousand pounds for the northern expe-
dition, as irrefragable proofs of the reality and sincerity of
their intentions, — suggesting that if his excellency, on cool
reflection did not think them so, " they must be so unhappy
" as to despair of giving him satisfaction on that head."
They said the appropriations they had made of nine pounds
per man for the enlistment of sixteen companies of one
hundred men each, and the provisioning of those compa-
nies, were nearly exhausted; and they intimated a belief
that in the erection of fortifications, great waste had been
indulged, and much needless expense incurred for the want
of competent engineers. Whenever they should have rea-
son to believe that their money would not be advanced in
vain for this department of the public service, and when-
ever they should have an earnest that the other colonies
were prepared to cooperate in the work of mutual protec-
tion, they would be found ready to vote for such additional
fortifications as might be judged necessary. In regard to
the statement in the governor's opening speech, that an
agreement had been made with the commissioners of Mas-
sachusetts for building the two forts so often recommended,
at the passes of the carrying-place, and also in respect to
the forces to be raised by the several colonies expected to
cooperate in the Canadian invasion, and the rates of expense
for each, the assembly was surprised, inasmuch as the
governor had but three members of his council with him,

272 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, while Massachusetts alone of the other colonies was repre-
^s—< sented at the conference, that his excellency should have
1747- entered upon any such agreement. Moreover as they were
in the daily expectation of advices from England, hoping
withal for the speedy arrival of experienced officers, they
trusted his excellency would excuse the house for its opinion,
" that they could not in conscience provide for schemes the
" execution of which would be very hazardous, and put
"the colony to great expense." They told the governor
plainly, that " ever since he had thought fit to place his
confidence in a person obnoxious to, and censured by the
house, the public affairs had been much perplexed, and had
not been attended with the steadiness and good conduct
which their importance required. They attributed several
of his excellency's late speeches to that person, declaring
that until the day when he was taken into favor the utmost
harmony had existed between all the branches of the gov-
ernment. These thrusts were aimed at Doctor Colden, the
lance having been barbed by DeLancey, the master-spirit
in fomenting these dissensions. Respecting the charges
against the people of Albany, entire disbelief in the justice
of the imputation was expressed, — the mind of his excel-
lency having probably been poisoned upon that subject by
the individual to whom reference had already been made
as an abuser of his confidence. If the people of Albany
were indeed engaged in treasonable practices, they mar-
velled that none of them had been arrested and brought
to trial. In answer to his excellency's apprehension that
Popish emissaries had been engaged in sowing dissensions
and kindling every spark of discontent, the house seized
upon the suggestion and applied it to a person then in great
favor with Mr. Clinton in the Indian service — Mr. John
Henry Lydius, son of a former Dutch minister in Albany,
and of course bred a Protestant ; who had resided several
years in Canada; married a wife there of the Romish
church, after having abjured his own religion ; and whom
they declared to be a person of desperate fortunes. They

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 273

admitted tlie great skill of this man " in all the weaknesses chap.
& vu.

of human nature, but wondered how he could have secured <—Y—'
his excellency's favor. To him, and h is intrigues in Albany, 1747-
and among the Indians, the assembly attributed many of
the difficulties that had arisen. He had been the means of
undermining the influence of the Indian commissioners,
and distracting the affairs of that department. They never-
theless admitted that there might possibly be some Popish
emissaries in the province ; but at the same time there was
equal reason to believe that there were other men screen-
ing themselves behind the curtain, and answering all the
ends of such emissaries, — men of wrong heads and worse
hearts, who were doing infinite evil by infusing groundless
jealousies into his excellency's mind. They next told the
governor that although they were not disposed to listen to
every idle tale, yet they had hoped that before that period
the report might have reached his ears that there had been
a large embezzlement of the funds appropriated for Indian
presents in 1745, — one thousand pounds having been voted,
while not more than three hundred pounds worth of goods
had reached the hands of those for whom they were de-
signed. So at least it was said by persons who saw the
goods delivered. They also informed the governor, — for
the benovolent purpose of enabling him to bring the
authors of the scandal to justice, — that a report was cur-
rent to the effect that French and Spanish prisoners had
been sold under the authority of his name, for a pistole
a head, to owners and captains of flags of truce. The con-
cluding paragraph contained another pungent reference to
Doctor Colden, whose designing artifices and private yiews,
" although they had hitherto been providentially blasted,
" it was still feared might at length spring up again, and
"bear a greater increase, which God forbid."

Mr. Clinton's reply to the address, which was presented
on the twenty-sixth of May, was brief and emphatic. He
remarked upon the rapidity with which the address had
been hurried through the house,— two hours only having

274 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, elapsed from the time when it was reported by the commit-
v-^ — - tee until its presentation all engrossed ! " You shall have,"
1747. a saj^ the governor, " the best answer to this representation
" you can expect. I shall take all possible care that it be
"laid before his majesty and his ministers, who are the
" proper judges of my conduct. I doubt not that the min-
istry will discern with what spirit it is made, and for what
"purposes." Commanding an adjournment for a week,
the indomitable sailor-governor then dismissed his refrac-
tory little parliament.

Reassembling on the second of June, they were met by
an executive message calling their attention to the distrac-
tions prevailing among the levies at the north, for want of
their pay. The governor informed them that thus far these
levies had been paid by the crown, he himself having pro-
vided the means by drawing bills of exchange. The
amount thus drawn was then nine thousand pounds, the
whole of which he declared should be applied to the pay-
ment of the new levies. Although these bills had all been
drawn by the advice of his council, yet his excellency began
to fear, or pretended to fear, that they might not all be
honored, in which event his private fortune might be
involved. Though willing to draw yet farther for that
object, yet he was not willing to jeopard his own estate, —
believing, as he did, that every man in the province was as
much bound as himself to contribute from his private
means for the safety of the people. Indemnification against
the consequences of a protest of his bills, should he be
requiredto draw anymore of them, was therefore demanded
in justice to his own family.

The house, in answer, referred to a letter from the duke
of Newcastle of April, 1746, authorizing the necessary pre-
parations for the long-projected expedition, with an asr
surance that the forces to be raised, officers as well as rank
and file, should be taken into his majesty's pay. It was
therefore clearly not intended by the crown that the pay-
ment of these forces should in any event be devolved upon

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 275

the people of the colony ; and the refusal of the governor Cyn.p'
to continue his drafts would imply a distrust of the king, •*= v~ t
and render himself personally answerable for the lives and
estates of his subjects. Entertaining these views, the
assembly peremptorily refused the act of guaranty, —
declaring at the same time that as his excellency had the
means of paying the forces in his own hands, should he
refuse to use them, and should the lives and estates of the
people be endangered by the threatened desertion of the
levies, "his excellency alone would be to blame."

From the fourth of June to the same day of August, the
assembly only met to adjourn. Meantime the governor
replenished his exchequer by the usual resort to bills of
exchange, and on the nineteenth of June embarked for
Albany, in order, if possible, to put an end to the troubles
with the levies.

I must not lose sight of Sir Peter Warren, whose name,
as an adopted citizen of New York, belongs to its history.
Prance, smarting under the loss of Cape Breton, and mor-
tified at the disastrous failure of D'Anville's armada,
determined again to put forth her energies for the recovery
of Louisburg, and the resuscitation of her naval character
— of late so deeply compromised. To these ends, there-
fore, another fleet was equipped, at Brest, destined against
Louisburg early in the spring, under the command of M.
de la Jonquiere. The duty of watching the motions, and,
if possible, of intercepting this fleet, was assigned to Vice
Admiral Anson, — a widely different man from Admiral
Lestock, whose equivocal conduct, on the French coast,
when engaged in the like service, has already been recorded.
It has already been said that Sir Peter Warren returned to
England in the autumn of 1746. In the beginning of the
year following he was appointed second in command under
Mr. Anson, hoisting his pennant on board the Devonshire,
of sixty-six guns. The Brest fleet, uniting a large convoy
of Indiamen, and numbering, in all, thirty-eight ships, pro-

276 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

°vuf • ceeded to sea about the last of April. It was fallen in with
'— y— ' by Admiral Anson, on the third of May, off Cape Finis-
terre. When descried, nine of the ships, — men of war>
mounting from eighteen to seventy-four guns, — were short-
ening sail and drawing into a line of battle, while the
remainder of the fleet, consisting of the vessels under con-
voy, stretched to the west with all the sails they could set.
Anson immediately formed his fleet into a line ; but ob-
serving by the manoeuvres of the enemy that his object was
to gain time, for the purpose, probably, of escaping under
favor of the night, then approaching, he made signal for
the whole fleet to close and engage the enemy, without any
regard to the line of battle.1 In the course of the action
that ensued^ Warren had an opportunity which he failed
not to improve, of signalizing and covering himself with
glory. He ran his ship, the Devonshire, up with Le Serieuxy
the flag-ship of M. de la Jonquiere, and after receiving his
fire, which was well-directed, closed within pistol-shot, and
continued to engage in the most daring and brilliant style,
until the enemy struck. Having silenced his antagonist,
Warren proceeded next to encounter the Invincible, sev-
enty-four, commanded by M. de St. George, the second
officer of the enemy's squadron. Being seconded by the
Bristol, Captain Montague, the Invincible was in a short
time dismasted and taken by Warren. The general action
was short and brilliant, resulting in the capture of the
whole French squadron, consisting of six ships of two
decks, including the Grloire, of forty-four guns, and four
frigates. 2 It is true that Anson's fleet was greatly superior
in the appointment of ships and guns. Three of his ships,
however, participated in the action but a very few moments,
— having been detached as soon as the Frenchmen were so
far crippled as probably to render them unable to get away,
with all the sail they could press, after the enemy's flying
Indiamen. 3 The loss of the English was not severe, — Cap-

1 Admiralty official report, May 16, 1747.

2 Charnock.

3 Admiralty report.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, LAHT.

tain Grenville beino; the only officer of note who was killed, chap.
The French were greater sufferers, — M. de la Jonquiere w y— .
himself was shot under the blade bones of both his 17i7-
shoulders, but the wounds were not mortal. In the month
of July following this memorable engagement, being
stationed with a squadron off Cape Finisterre, Sir Peter
fell in with four valuable merchant ships of the enemy
convoyed by two men of war, which ran into a bay on the
island of Sisarga, and being closely pursued they all ran
on shore. One of the men of war, mounting forty-four
guns, was fired by the crew and blown up before Warren's
boats could board her ; but the merchantmen were all got
off and brought into Plymouth the next day, being the
twenty-second of July. Warren was now floating in the
tide of fortune, for very shortly after taking these noble
prizes at Sisarga, he fell in with and captured a considera-
ble fleet of French West Indiamen. According to one
account, this fleet consisted of a very large number of ships,'
though Charnock, in his biography of Warren, makes no
mention of this affair.1 Sir Peter's gallantry on these
occasions, was rewarded by his farther promotion to the
rank of admiral of the white. He sailed again from Spit-
head on a cruise, on the second of September, but falling
sick was compelled to relinquish his command and go on
shore. But glory had not been the only reward of his
splendid career. The number of his captures had produced
an ample fortune, which he invested in part, by purchasing
a country-seat in Westbury, Hampshire county, to which
he now retired. His circumstances must indeed have been
affluent. At least so thought some of his relatives, as
appears from the following extract from a letter from his
nephew, Captain Warren Johnson, to his brother the colonel.
This letter also corroborates the preceding account of the
last great capture of West India merchantmen, not men-
tioned by Charnock :

1 Gentleman's Magazine.

278 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Captain Warren Johnson to his Brother.

1747.

" New York, September 13, 1747.
"Dear Brother:

" Last evening I arrived here from Louisburg, in order to
go to England in the Scarborough man of war.

" I make no doubt you have heard of my uncle Warren's
great success in his two cruises, the first with Admiral
Anson, and the second with a squadron of which he was
commander-in-chief — part of which fell in with the St.
Domingo fleet, and took sixty-two sail of them. He had
taken several rich ships before. He must now be one of
the richest men in England, and not one has done his
country so much service. He must be worth three or four
hundred thousand pounds sterling. He is now vice admiral
of the white, and a member of parliament from "Westmin-
ster, and I have no doubt in a very short time he will be a
peer of England, there being no person better able to main-
tain that dignity.

" Your most affectionate Brother,

"Warren Johnson."
" Colonel Johnson."

In the autumn of this year, Sir Peter was returned to
parliament. He was likewise at about the same time pre-
sented with a large silver monteth, of curious workmanship,
by the inhabitants of Barbadoes, in acknowledgment of
his services in the cruise of that season. 1 The exultation
of Sir Peter's relatives at his good fortune, was justifiable,
for they had been bravely won.

1 Gentleman's Magazine.

CHAPTER VIII.

1747.

Governor Clinton, who, as already observed in the last c$£f '
chapter, had departed for Albany on the nineteenth of "—v— '
June, did not leave an hour too early, for the military affairs
in that quarter were in a deplorable condition. Instead of
increasing them, for the purpose of offensive operations,
the forces were diminished by sickness and desertion, and
the thousand mischances incident to an army of irregulars
kept in the field contrary to their own inclinations. In
such numbers did they desert, that a party of thirty-eight
in a body were fired upon by the officers at ^Esopus, and
retaken, — two of them being wounded. They were
marched back to Albany. x The road from Mount Johnson
to Oswego, was infested by the enemy ; murders were com-
mitted at Burnetsfield ; 2 so that Colonel Johnson could
not forward supplies without a strong guard, thus materially
enhancing the expense of executing his contract for that
post ;3 while in addition to all, as if grown weary of await-
ing an invasion at Crown Point, the French, with their
Indians, were again showing themselves in formidable num-
bers in the vicinity of Saratoga. Colonel Johnson was
advised, on the sixteenth of June, by the return of an
unsuccessful war-party of the Schoharies,4 of the approach
upon Lake Champlain, of a fleet of three hundred canoes,
and admonished to be on his guard against a surprise. 5 Im-

1 Manuscript letter: John H. Lydius to Colonel Johnson.

2 The present village of Herkimer.

3 Manuscript Letter : Johnson to Clinton.
*A clan of the Mohawks.

6 Manuscript Letter : Lydius to Johnson.

280 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, mediately on the arrival of this intelligence at Saratoga,
«— v — > Captain Chew was ordered forth with a detachment of one
1747- hundred men to reconnoitre the country between that post
and the head of Lake Champlain. Falling in with the
enemy on the nineteenth of June, an action ensued in which
fifteen of his men were killed, and forty-seven more, with
himself, taken prisoners. The detachment encountered
by Chew was commanded by M. Lacose, who immediately
fell back upon a much larger force, occupying the path of
communication between the Hudson and the lake. But
Lacose did not fall back without leaving a detachment of
three hundred men, under M. Laquel, to lurk about Sara-
toga, and cut off approaching supplies. According to the
representation of one of the enemy's Indians, who deserted
and came into Saratoga, the main force of the French at
the carrying-place consisted of twelve companies. The
Indian informed farther, that Lacose was to advance again
immediately with artillery and mining tools, to lay seige to
the fort. Meantime the three hundred who had been left
in the environs of the fort, under M. Laquel, performed
bold service by appearing openly and attempting to fire a
block-house, used, as they supposed, as a magazine, by
shooting burning arrows against its walls. " The person
"appointed to perform this duty," said the commander of
the fort in a letter written to Colonel Johnson, "had a
" blanket carried before him that he might not discover the
" fire upon the points of the arrows. 1" The main body of
the enemy soon moved down to Fish Creek, a few miles
north of Saratoga, and a detachment of his troops was thrown
between that post and Albany. Colonel Schuyler imme-
diately marched with his regiment, and such other forces
as he could raise on the instant, to meet the invader ; who,
however, though greatly superior in numbers, retired at
his approach and fell back to Crown Point.

The Indian allies of the English were again becoming

1 Letter to Colonel Johnson, copied in his own hand, but the signature of
which is omitted.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 281

much dissatisfied with the languor pervadine; the service, chap.

& l 6 VIII.

After having, though with great reluctance, been incited to s— v— -
engage in the war, they were desirous of seeing it prose- 1747-
cuted with vigor. A number of their chiefs now met
Colonel Schuyler and complained bitterly of the continued
and most discouraging delays. They had been chiefly
induced to take the war-path against the French by the
extraordinary preparations they had marked as in progress
for the invasion, and they had not themselves been back-
ward in annoying the enemy ; but as they were convinced
from the present inactivity of the English, that the design
of an invasion must have been laid aside, — a conviction
strengthened by the daily and rapid decrease of the new
levies, — they said they should be necessitated to make peace
with the French for themselves, on the best terms they
could. Still, if the English would immediately march
against Crown Point, they would cheerfully assist them
with one thousand of their best warriors. *

I have found no record of Mr. Clinton's doings at Albany
during this visit, save a single sentence in a letter written
by him to the duke of Newcastle upon his return to the
city, to the effect that while at Albany, he had prevailed
upon two powerful Indian natives — formerly in the French
interest — to join the English. The visit, however, was
probably a short one, since he was at the council board
again in July. But from the letters of Colonel Johnson it
appears that he met the governor and concerted arrange-
ments for relieving Oswego, — Lieutenant Visscher having
been dispatched thither with a cargo of goods, provisions,
and ammunition.

Meantime notwithstanding the loss of so great a portion
of the open season, and the utter neglect of the contest by
the ministers, so far at least as the colonies were concerned,
Governor Shirley was pushing his design of an attack upon
Crown Point, with all the zeal and energy of his character,
and all the means at his command. There could be no

1 Gentleman's Magazine, September, 1747.
36

282 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CviilP' security for the frontiers either of New York or New Eng-

v— v — ' land from the devastations of the enemy, until Crown Point,

1747

' the grand rendezvous of the numerous war-parties con-
tinually harrassing the border, should be wrested from him ;
and in order to unity of action, and the organization and
concentration of a force adequate to the undertaking, Shir-
ley wrote to Clinton in July, proposing a congress of the
colonies from New Hampshire to Virginia, both inclusive,
to consult for the common defence, and render their efforts
for the prosecution of the war more effective. He informed
Mr. Clinton that he had summoned a meeting of the Mas-
sachusetts legislature to consider the subject, and he urged
a similar course upon New York. He said he had made
like communications to the colonies included in the pro-
ject, urging them all to cooperate, — Massachusetts, at all
events, being determined to exert her utmost power in the
enterprise. He was very anxious that the Six Nations
should be persuaded to greater exertions than they had
hitherto made ; and for the better security of the north-
western settlements of Massachusetts, he asked that one
hundred rangers might be employed by New York between
Saratoga and the New England border. 1

The general assembly of New York came together again
for the transaction of business on the fourth of August,
when Shirley's letter was laid before them by the governor,
accompanied by a message informing them that by the
advice of his council he had acceded to the proposal con-
tained in that letter, and that the forces of the province
were to be put into action in conjunction with those of
Massachusetts and Connecticut. The season for offensive
operations, however, was already too far advanced to allow
of a meeting of commissioners to make estimates of the
expense, and to adjust the proportions which each colony
respectively should bear. But on a rough calculation it
was thought that fourteen thousand pounds would cover
the charges of the intended movement, and his excellency

} See Shirley's letter in the minutes of the council board.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 283

trusted that neither of the colonies would be backward in c"uf *
meeting its just share of the amount. Indeed, he thought v— v— '
New York might venture to assume more than its quota, '
both Massachusetts and Connecticut having advanced con-
siderable sums to stimulate the Six Nations in continuing
their incursions against the enemy. The governor said he
had received the renewed assurances of the good feelings
of the Six Nations, with pledges of their most vigorous
assistance ; and he had likewise reason to expect the aid
of several more distant tribes, heretofore in the interests
of the French. He would bring no other subject to the
attention of the assembly then, wishing their immediate
action upon this important matter, that he might communi-
cate their determination to the other governments forth-
with, and thus prevent further loss of time.

The message was not met in a corresponding spirit by
the assembly, but on the contrary, the first action was the
adoption of a series of resolutions insulting the governor,
and evasive as to the object specially pressed upon their
consideration. They cautiously declared their willingness
to come into any "well-concerted" scheme for annoying
the common enemy, but they would not consent to raise
moneys upon the "pretence" contained in the message,
without a better knowledge of the "grounds" and "rea-
sons." They doubted whether Massachusetts and Con-
necticut had ever contributed any " considerable sums" for
the Indian service, and even if they had done so, New York
had paid more than both of them put together, — adding to
the sentence the significant insinuation — " and his excel-
lency knows how these sums have been applied." Still,
for the promotion of any "well concerted scheme" against
the enemy by the three colonies named in the message,
they would consent to bear one-third of the expense ;
believing, however, that the other colonies, not mentioned,
ought to contribute to the cause. These negative resolves
were adopted on the sixth of August. From that da}* until
the thirty-first, not the least attention was paid by the

284 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CvraP' assem Dty to the state of the colony, — its time being occu-
v-v-^ pied upon bills of comparatively trifling moment, such as
for farming out the excise,— for raising a farther sum by
lottery toward founding a college, — and for the examina-
tion of the public accounts for the year 1713 ; for prevent-
ing desertions from the forces, &c, &c.

But if the assembly was idle, the enemy was not, and the
people of the northern settlements, even of Albany itself,
were in a high state of alarm, and that not without reason.
Parties of the enemy had penetrated south of the Mohawk?
into the valley of the Schohariekil, where a number of
men had been killed and scalped. Saratoga was also once
more nearly if not quite surrounded by the foeman, and
several persons had likewise been killed in that vicinity.
How Colonel Johnson was engaged at this time, will appear
by the following extracts from a letter addressed by him to
the governor':

Colonel Johnson to Governor Clinton.

" Mount Johnson, August 13, 1747.
" May it please your excellency :

" I enclose the message sent by the ISTew England Indians
to their uncles, the Mohawks, and their answer to it, by
which all people may see that the Indians are in earnest,
and resolved to proceed in the war. I this day had an
account by an Indian express from Oswego, that there were
a great number of Senecas, and some of the foreign Indians
with them, (called the Flat Heads,) coming down to me
with several belts of wampum, — one whereof is a vast large
one, — almost like the one your excellency gave the Six
Nations last summer, — which belt must purport a great deal
of news. I expect them here in two days, and am making
everything ready for their reception. As soon as I have
heard the news, and have done with them, I shall let your
excellency know the purport.

**********

" I spoke to your excellency when in Albany, about neces-
saries for the men destined for the Indian service, but find

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 285

nothing done about it. I have not one pair of Indian shoes chap.
& r via.

for them, without which they cannot go through the woods. ■ — , — >
I proposed doing great service with these men, and the 1747-
Indians together, but it seems I may not have the oppor-
tunity ; for there is not even one of the companies which
were ordered for that service moved up here yet, which
makes the Indians think worse and worse of us, after
assuring them they should be up very shortly. I lead a
most miserable life among them at present, occasioned by
so many disappointments.

" There is one thing which I wish your excellency to
consider of, which is my extraordinary expense in keeping
several hands employed to attend the numbers of Indians
I have daily had at my house these twelve months past ; as
also of a clerk, who, with myself, has more work than men
can well bear. This the country is very sensible of. So I
shall leave it to your excellency's consideration what to do
in it."1

On the twenty-fourth of August, information was received
by the governor from Albany, that the forces stationed there
had been withdrawn from the city, and posted on the east
side of the Hudson, a mile below, by which movement the
city was left defenceless, greatly exposed, and the people
much alarmed. Several gentlemen from Albany were
examined upon the subject before the legislative council,
who confirmed the statement. It farther appeared that
depredations had been committed by the enemy in the very
precincts of Albany ; that there were not more than three
hundred of its citizens, old and young, capable of bearing
arms ; and that all were compelled, from the aged judge of
the court to the stripling, to mount guard in turn each one
every fourth night, — whereupon an address was presented
to the governor praying that the levies at the north be
ordered to move into the city and remain there for its pro-

1 Manuscript Letter.

1747,

286 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, tection until otherwise directed. The cause of this move-
.inent of the troops from Albany nowhere appears. It
seems, however, to have been of a piece with the bustling,
yet strangely inefficient conduct of the war in this quarter
from the beginning.

Impatient, and not without reason, at the inaction of the
assemb]y, the governor sent them a message on the thirty-
first of August, informing them explicitly that he would
no longer furnish provisions for the four independent com-
panies stationed at Albany, at the expense of the crown,
nor for the levies from the southern counties, destined for
the Canadian expedition. Neither would he draw any
longer upon the crown for the support of the Indian depart-
ment, although he could not disguise the fact that a failure
of supplies for the Indian war-parties, might be followed
by frightful consequences. He therefore requested a vote
of supplies for those objects of the public service for two
months, — by the end of which time he hoped to receive
definite information as to his majesty's pleasure respecting
the forces at Albany, and also to learn whether the neigh-
boring colonies would contribute toward the defence of the
country. He informed them that since the invasion of the
enemy at Burnetsfield, Colonel Johnson could no longer
supply the post at Oswego, save at double the former
expense, nor even then unless furnished with a guard to
escort the stores. A vote of supplies for this object, and
also to defray the cost of transporting provisions to Sara-
toga, was necessary, since these expenses could no longer
be borne by the crown. Accompanying the message was
an extract from a letter from Colonel Johnson, informing
the governor that he was about to set out at the head of a
considerable party of Christians and Indians in quest of a
large body of the enemy and his allies who had been dis-
covered between Saratoga and Crown Point. This letter
was dated on the nin eteenth of August. Two days afterward
another dispatch from the colonel, dated the twenty-eighth,
was communicated to the assembly upon the same subject.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

287

The assembly replied by resolutions declaring that neither chap.
the crown nor the colony need be at the expense of sup- w^y
porting the four companies of independent fusileers sta-1'4'-
tioned at Albany, they having always subsisted themselves,
out of their own pay, save when detached to distant posts,
as at Oswego, for example, in which cases the colony had
always furnished the supplies, as of course they ought.
The colony, it was said, had from time to time, and some-
times even without his excellency's recommendation, pro-
visioned the sixteen companies of one hundred levies each •
and it appeared to the assembly unreasonable that they
should be burdened with the farther expense of supporting
the forces from the more southern colonies, which ought
each to provide for their own. In regard to the Indian
service, inasmuch as the crown had authorized the making
of such presents to them in 1746, as would secure their
hearty cooperation in the war, they urged that his excel-
lency ought to continue drawing upon that source, for that
object, at least until his majesty's pleasure should be sig-
nified to the contrary, — hoping at the same time — for the
house lost no opportunity of renewing, at least by impli-
cation, the charge of a former embezzlement of Indian
presents, — that his excellency had made such use of the
means placed in his hands by the crown for that object,
as had been for the advantage of his majesty's service.
So of supplying Saratoga, as his excellency's bills for sup-
plying that post had thus far been borne by the crown, he
should continue to draw until instructed to the contrary.
Respecting the hardship of Colonel Johnson's case, it was
held that according to his excellency's own message of
December second, 1746, that gentleman had contracted to
supply the garrison at Oswego upon the same terms in war
as in peace. No additional allowance ought therefore to
be made to him for that service, even for defraying the
expenses of guards, The pressure of the enemy upon the
northern settlements, however, awakened the assembly to
a partial sense of duty in the emergency ; and having thus

288 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, cavalierly discussed those subjects of the message, it had
v_^ — * the grace to resolve that provision ought to be made for
1/47- the pay and subsistence of three companies of rangers, of
fifty men each, for the protection of the inhabitants against
the skulking parties of the enemy, — one for the defence ot
Albany, one for Schenectady, and one for Kinderhook.
The feelings of Mr. Clinton in regard to these resolutions,
may be inferred from the subjoined letter communicating
a copy thereof to Colonel Johnson : It also shows the high
estimate which Clinton placed upon the services which
Johnson was then rendering to the country :

Governor Clinton to Colonel Johnson.

New York:, September 7, 1747.
"Sir:

My last letter to you was dated the twentieth of August.
Soon after I received yours of the fourteenth, seventeenth,
and nineteenth, acquainting me of your intention of going
out with a party of Indians and Christians ; and very uneasy
I have been ever since, afraid lest that letter should be the
means of your laying aside such a glorious design, which
must always redound to your honored reputation. You
ought to receive the thanks of the whole province for what
you have already done for it, but am sorry to say, instead
of public thanks, you have the frowns of an inveterate
assembly, as you will see by the inclosed resolves. But I
hope you will receive thanks from their superiors.

" I must now acknowledge the receipt of yours of the
twenty-eighth of August, which I immediately communi-
cated to the council and assembly, in hopes it would have
touched their souls. l But notwithstanding it was delivered
to them before their resolve about the provisions for

1 Johnson was very careful in preserving the original draughts of his let-
ters. But the letter we have spoken of, with many hundreds of others, has
not survived the ravages of time and chance. According to the entry of
its substance in the minutes o,f the council board, however, the force the
colonel was now preparing to lead against the enemy, consisted of "four
hundred Christians and about the same number of Iudians."

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 289

Oswego, it had no effect on them. But I will venture to chap.
say, that though these stubborn Dutchmen won't do you wv— <
the justice they ought, yet when I represent to his majesty 1747-
the vast progress you have made, (beyond any reasonable
expectation,) by your good management, and most extraor-
dinary influence with the Indians, which you surprisingly
cultivate continually, your conduct and behavior will be
greatly approved by his majesty, and in such a manner as
may show these wretches you have merited your royal
master's favor, in a great measure preserving not only this
but all the northern colonies from ruin.

"I acquainted governor Shirley what you desired in
relation to Lydius, who desired I would acquaint you he
was sorry you had taken umbrage at Lydius's being con-
cerned with you in what has been done by his government
towards securing the Indians of the Six Nations in our
interest. He would not have you imagine that himself, or
any part of his government, puts Lydius's services in the
least computation with your own, or that the Indians have
been engaged in acts of hostility against the French, by
any person's influence but your own, under my directions ;
and your uncle Sir Peter, to whom his letters on that head,
and the duke of Newcastle, have been shown, can inform
you that he has done your merit all the justice in his power.

" For my part I think this expedition you have now
undertaken, to be of such infinite service to this and the
neighboring colonies, that though I was determined to be
at no more charges for the Indians at the expense of the
crown, yet I can't avoid doing it again in justice to you
and the brave Indians who are on this party with you ; for
which reason, whatever goods and expense you are at, for
satisfying the Indians, on your return I will give you my
bills on the treasury therefor. But then I must desire you
to give it out, (and to let nobody know to the contrary)
that you take this expense upon yourself from the faith you
have in the assembly, which can't refuse to pay you for
37

290 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

°viuP' seryice that is so absolutely necessary for the safety of the

^— v — ' people of this province.

1747. it j wouic[ send you up money, but as I writ you word in
my letter of the twentieth, I could not get a farthing, on
account of a man-of-war going to England. I should there-
fore be glad if you would take bills for the account you
sent me, and add this to it, your uncle can solicit it, and I
promise to do all in my power, both with the duke of New-
castle and Mr. Pelham, to get them immediately paid ; and
I can assure you you may depend on Mr. Shirley's interest
in it entirely. I think you had best come down, and we
can together settle things to the satisfaction of both of us.
" Commissioners are come from Boston to negotiate a
scheme for securing the Indians and frontiers, and I expect
others. l It will not be amiss to acquaint the Indians of
it. I hope Mr. Shirley and I shall soon agree upon some-
thing to keep the Indians steadfast in our interest.

" You have several friends on the spot who heartily wish
you well, and a great deal of success ; and I do assure you
nobody does it more heartily than, dear sir,

"Your faithful friend and serv't,

G. Clinton.

"P. S. I must caution you to be on your guard, for some
people who ought to bear a greater regard for you than
they ever showed, considering the alliance between them
and Sir Peter, have some designs not to save you, take my
word, but themselves. I wait with great impatience to
hear from you. 2
" Colonel Johnson."

1 These commissioners were Samuel Wells, Robert. Hale, and Oliver Part-
ridge. Shirley's letter announcing their appointment, was received and
laid before Governor Clinton's council on the fourth of September. On the
eleventh, Roger Wolcott, Thomas Fitch, and Benjamin Hall, were announced
as the commissioners from Connecticut. On the twenty-second, Philip Liv-
ingston, and Joseph Murray, of the executive council, and William Nicholl,
Philip Verplanck, and Harry Cruger, of the assembly, were appointed com-
missioners to the congress on the part of New York.

2 Manuscript letter.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 291

1* he sailor-governor, who certainly wrote his own letters, chap.
although Colden had the credit of preparing his state- v_^l/
papers, was not the best rhetorician of his day. Still, he 1747-
could write well enough to make himself understood.
Colonel Johnson was now evidently in high favor with his
excellency, while the members of the assembly were
denounced with emphasis, though in a private letter, as
"wretches." The character of Lydius was questionable,
and there was probable cause for the jealousy of Johnson
toward him. Lydius had visited Boston during the pre-
ceding month of May, and from the tenor of a letter
addressed to him soon after his return to Albany, by Colonel
Stoddard, of Northampton, which I find among the John-
son papers, he must have succeeded in imposing himself
upon Governor Shirley and his counsellors as a man of no
mean consideration. The postscript to the foregoing letter
of Mr. Clinton, referred, of course, to DeLancey, now
become the master-spirit of the assembly, and who had
probably moved the house to the hostile resolution against
Johnson. But the chief justice was too wary to commit
himself upon paper, —using Mr. Horsmanden, his associate
upon the bench, as his amanuensis. The resolutions and
addresses of the assembly during this stormy period were
understood to have been written by him, and the day on
which he was to be punished for these labors, was now ra-
pidly drawing nigh. Having invested the chief j ustice with
a commission irrevocable during good behavior, and there-
fore being unable to visit him with his resentment, the
governor determined to bestow the full measure of his
vengeance upon his instrument. Accordingly, on the
twelfth day of September, Mr. Horsmanden was suspended
from his majesty's service as a member of the council, and
a note of his suspension was directed to be entered upon
the journals. The reasons for this procedure the governor
said he would cause to be laid before his majesty. Having
also been previously named as one of the commissioners to
meet the representatives from the other colonies in con-

292 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, gress, Mr. Horsmanden's name was ordered to be stricken
^-v— / from that commission. x Nor was his degradation cora-
1747. pleted until his removal from the bench, and from the
recordership of the city, — measures that followed in quick
succession. Yet he continued to hold the pen for the
assembly for a considerable time afterward. Being poor,
however, he was compelled to rely upon the private bounty
of his friends and partisans ; and those who know the
selfishness and ingratitude of politicians, in all ages, and
almost without an exception, may well judge how he fared.
In the emphatic language of Smith) he was " employed,
applauded, — and ruined.2"

The return of Colonel Johnson from his expedition
toward Crown Point in search of the enemy, whom he was
not able to find, was announced to the governor by express
on the thirteenth of September. Very unpleasant intelli-
gence, however, had been received from that direction a
few days before, filling the assembly and the people with
alarm. The fort at Saratoga was garrisoned by the New
Jersey levies, commanded by Colonel Peter Schuyler ; but
as Mr. Clinton was inflexible in his purpose of drawing no
more upon the crown, there was danger of a speedy evacu*
ation of the post for want of provisions. Indeed, inform
mation to that effect from Colonel Schuyler himself, caused
the assembly, without waiting for his excellency's answer
to their resolutions of the second of September, to address
him on the ninth, praying earnestly for the adoption of such

1 Minutes of thecouneil board.

2 " Such was his condition, until he raised himself by an advantageous
match, and, by forsaking bis associates, reconciled himself to Mr. Clinton)
when that governor broke with the man whose indiscretion and vehemence
the chief justice had improved, to expose both to the general odium of the
colony. Until his marriage with Mrs. Vesey, Mr. Horsmanden was an object
of pity ; toasted indeed as the man who dared to be honest in the worst of
times, but at a loss for his meals, and, by the importunity of his creditors,
hourly exposed to the horrors of a jail ; and hence his irreconcilable enmity
to Doctor Colden, by whose advice he fell, and to Mr. DeLancey, whose
ambitious politics exposed him to the vengeance of that minister." — Sr/ti!/i,
vol. ii. page 139.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 293

measures as would prevent the destruction of thelbrces, chap.
and preserve the fortress from falling into the hands of thewv_ '
enemy, with its heavy cannon and stores. In the event of 1747-
the desertion of the Jerseymen, the house suggested that
the post might be regarrisoned by a detachment from the
new levies destined against Canada. Or, if these levies
were not still within his excellency's command, they prayed
that a portion of the independent fusileers might be sent
thither, the assembly pledging the necessary supplies for
that service. But before this address had been presented,
the governor had rendered any answer thereto unnecessary
by a message of a very decided character in reply to the
resolutions of the house of the preceding week, in which
all the demands for supplies contained in his last preceding
message, were reiterated, with a threat that unless the
house should revoke its determination not to provide for
the transportation of supplies to the outposts, together with
its refusal to allow Colonel Johnson a guard to convey the
supplies for Oswego, he should be under the necessity of
withdrawing the garrisons both from the last mentioned
post, and from Saratoga, — points which would of course
be immediately occupied by the enemy. Recapitulating
again the history of his own successful negotiations with
the Indians, and extolling the services of Colonel Johnson,
his excellency reminded the assembly of the great expense
to which the crown had been put in bringing the Indians
into their present amicable state of feeling toward the
English, and insisted that the colony ought in justice to
defray the future charge of maintaining those relations.
In any event, he demanded appropriations to cover the
demands of the service for at least two months, admonish-
ing the assembly that if this demand should again be
refused, the responsibility for eveiy calamity that might
consequently ensue, Would rest upon them. " If," said his
excellency in closing, " you deny me the necessary supplies,
all my endeavors must become ineffectual and fruitless;
I must wash my hands, and leave at your doors the blood

294 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, of the innocent people that may be shed by a cruel and
*—y~' merciless enemy." This message was received by the
1747- house on the tenth, and referred to a committee. One day
after, the committee deputed to wait upon his excellency
with the resolutions of the ninth, reported that they had
discharged their duty, but that the governor had declined
answering them. Whereupon it was forthwith resolved
that his excellency be again addressed to the same effect
as before in regard to the perilous condition of Saratoga ;
and on the sixteenth another series of resolutions was
adopted, embodying the exact substance of those of the
ninth, save that the assembly now avowed a willingness,
should Colonel Johnson, by any unforseen accident, be a
sufferer in the execution of his contract for supplying
the garrison at Oswego, to take his case into consideration,
and do for him whatever might appear to be reasonable.
But upon every other point the house insisted upon its
former positions.

This vexatious game of cross purposes was interrupted
by successive adjournments, by command of the governor,
until the fifth of October, — not, however, without a remon-
strance by the assembly against these interruptions, and a
vote of censure for the inconvenience to which his excel*
lency was subjecting the members. Yet Mr. Clinton
deserved not the censure, being engaged during the recess
in active negotiations with the commissioners from the
several colonies then in session, and not desiring the
presence of the assembly until the results of those nego-
tiations could be communicated. Meantime, as volunteers
could not be obtained for recruiting the garrison at Oswego,
Colonel Philip Schuyler was ordered to draft the requisite
number of men for that service from his own regiment ;
and Colonel Eoberts was directed to send three companies
of levies to Saratoga, with instructions that should it be
found impossible to maintain that post, the fort and block-
houses must be destroyed, and the cannon and military
stores removed to Albany. 1 Very shortly afterward advices

1 Journals of the council board.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 295

were received that the latter clause of the instructions had chap.

VIII.

been obeyed to the letter. The fort had been burnt and ^~^— <
the stores removed as directed, — by which measure of 1747*
questionable necessity the northern frontiers was left
entirely uncovered. 2

At the earnest solicitation of the governor, Colonel
Johnson had now arrived in New York for consultation
respecting the condition of the colony at large ; and on
the third of October, a committee of the executive council
was directed to summon the colonel before them for exam-
ination, with special relation to Indian affairs and the
measures proper to be pursued in their immediate admin-
istration. The examination was held on the ninth. The
colonel's advice was, that an agent should be dispatched to
Oswego without delay, with suitable presents for distribu-
tion among the Indians, in order to preserve their existing
good disposition. He stated that when he first engaged in
the management of the affairs of that department their
sachems were chiefly in the French interest, and had actually
received belts from them which they had since given up,
receiving belts from him in their stead, in behalf of the
English. He believed that unless proper measures were
taken to secure them in their present favorable mood, there
would be great dissatisfaction and danger resulting from
repeated disappointments. He stated that the Indians had
been detained from hunting during the whole year, by the
directions of the governor, and were consequently in a state
of destitution, — actually suffering for man}^ necessaries for
themselves and their families. Should not the necessary
measures be taken for their relief, he felt that he himself
would be obliged to leave his Mohawk settlement, and his
removal would of course be the signal for a general flight
of the people from that valley also. He furthermore
thought it of importance that the English should build a
fort in the Oneida country, and another among the Sene-
cas. The Indians would be gratified at the adoption of

Journal8 of the council board.

296 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, measures like these, which iu themselves would go far to
vm. . ' ...

v— y—/ secure their confidence. At the close of his examination

1747- the colonel made a complaint on oath against several per-
sons for selling rum to the Indians, and the attorney-general
was instructed to institute prosecutions for the offence. }

The commissioners of Massachusetts, Connecticut and
New York having closed their deliberations, Mr. Clinton
communicated the result of their conferences to the general
assembly on the sixth of October. Long and tedious as
had been the procrastination, the expedition against Crown
Point and the invasion of Canada, was still uppermost in
the minds of Shirley and Governor Clinton ; and the mes-
sage announced a compact agreed upon by the commission-
ers, for the immediate prosecution of the long-deferred
enterprise. By the terms of that compact, New York was
bound to have a certain number of men in readiness to
march on a certain day ; and supplies were demanded for
raising and paying the levies, and for covering all other
expenses connected with that service, save for arms, ammu-
nition, and camp equipage, which were to be provided by
the crown. But the season for warlike operations in the
north had again so nearly passed away, that it was yet again
found necessary to defer the expedition until the ensuing
spring. Nevertheless, contrary to Mr. Clinton's wishes,
and indeed against his earnest entreaties, the commissioners
had concerted nothing for the security of the frontiers of
New York, nor for the equally important object of pre-
serving the friendship of the fitful Indians. For both these
objects, therefore, supplies were needed. Mr. Clinton
again reviewed the history of his own labors in the Indian
department ; — taking care to mention that since the treaty
of the preceding year, Massachusetts had given presents to
the Six Nations to the amount of one thousand pounds,
and Connecticut to the amount of three hundred ; while
neither at the treaty referred to, nor since, had New York
been put to any expense for that service, — the whole having

1 Minutes of the council board.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 297

been borne by the crown. "But," said bis excellency, "I chap.
can no longer, and will no longer, continue this charge on ^— v — ;
the crown." The views of ColonelJohnson were enforced, 1747,
especially his suggestions that forts should be erected in the
several cantons of the Six Nations. The Indians were yet
friendly ; but they had been so frequently disappointed in
their expectation that Canada would before now have been
strongly invaded by sea and land, that the most wise and
efficient measures would be necessary for preserving their
confidence. Although the entire charge of the Indian
service, and the defence of the frontiers, would hence-
forward devolve upon the colony, yet his excellency said he
intended to make an appeal to the governments of the
colonies south, as far as, and including Virginia, to con-
tribute to the expense — the public defence being an object
common to all. In conclusion, after a variety of sugges-
tions as to the best method of raising and sustaining the
quota of levies falling upon New York, the message stated
that the sachems of the Six Nations were then in the city,
awaiting the determination of the house, concerning them-
selves and what was to be done for them. They had been
accompanied by Colonel Johnson, " whose name," said the
governor, "I cannot mention without grateful remem-
brances of the services he has done his country." These
sachems were impatient to be gone ; and the message
strongly urged upon the assembly the immediate adoption
of such measures as would soothe their feelings, and send
them away with presents so liberal as to be satisfactory.

According to the articles of the compact founded by the
commissioners, Crown Point was first to be reduced. The
number of troops to be raised for the expedition, was four
thousand, exclusive of all the Indians who could be brought
into the service. Of these four thousand levies, New
York was to furnish twelve hundred from its own territory,
and four hundred more, to be drawn from Massachusetts,
and paid for by New York, — bounties, wages and supplies.
For the Indian service of the campaign, Massachusetts

298 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, stipulated to pay nine-twentieths of the expense, New York
s-^ eight-twentieths, and Connecticut three. Every Indian
1747. warrior was to be equipped to the value of five pounds,
and at the close of the expedition, a present to the same
amount. The three colonies were to appoint and com-
mission the three general officers who were to conduct the
expedition. Applications are to be made to the other colo-
nies, from New Hampshire to Virginia inclusive, to exert
themselves to the extent of their ability in the prosecution
of the war, and generally for the common defence. They
were also to be invited to send delegates to meet in a grand
committee of conference at Middletown, in Connecticut,
in December. Meantime an application was to be made
to the crown to create a diversion in Canada by sending a
large fleet into the St. Lawrence, to attack the citadel of
Quebec in accordance with the plan concerted two years
before. In the event of a refusal on the part of ministers thus
to cooperate in the grand design, the colonies were to create
the diversion themselves, by fitting out such a fleet as they
might, to act in concert wdth such ships of war as might
chance to be cruising upon the American station. In case
of a failure of both branches of the enterprise, the first
three parties to the agreement, were each to employ a
corps of rangers to harrass the border settlements of the
enemy, and make war upon their allies, as best they could
— the other colonies being invited to aid in this description
of service likewise. In the event of an invasion of either
of the colonies, parties to the agreement, the others were
to march to their assistance. The forces to be directed
against Crown Point, were to rendezvous at Albany as early
as the fifteenth of April then ensuing, — 1748. The con-
cluding article of the compact set forth as a reason for this
alliance the utter inability of the colonies, singly, to main-
tain a sufficient force to guard so extensive a frontier, — it
being five hundred miles in length. Already they had
suffered severely from the repeated and frequent incursions
of the enemy, the loss of life, and the destruction of their

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 299

towns and hamlets. To put an end to such a harrassing chap.
species of warfare, the reduction of Crown Point was indis- «— v— ;
pensable ; and the commissioners strongly appealed to the 1747-
other colonies, less exposed only because guarded and pro-
tected by them, and who were in fact better able to defray
the charges of this war than themselves, to come to their
assistance. Nothing could have been more reasonable than
such an appeal, but its reception was more cold than
redounded to the credit of the parties directly appealed to,
either for their patriotism or liberality.

Mr. Clinton had requested a speedy answer to his mes-
sage communicating these important arrangements, and it
was given two days afterward in a series of resolutions, in
part, at least, very little to his liking. Although the assem-
bly voted with alacrity for everything essential to the
Canadian invasion, for the defence of the frontier during
the intervening winter, and supplies for making suitable
presents to the Indians chiefs brought to the city by Colonel
Johnson, yet among the resolutions were some breathing
a spirit of rank and bitter hostility. Of this description
was one setting forth that although his excellency had made
large drafts upon the crown for the Indian service during
the preceding summer, no disposition of the avails had
been heard of. But the importance of preserving the
alliance of the Six Nations was so great that they would
nevertheless vote for the sum of eight hundred pounds for
that object, to be 'placed in the harids of proper persons for dis-
bursement. This proviso was but a thinly disguised impeach-
ment of the executive integrity. In reference to the build-
ing of forts in the Indian country, for the security of the
women and children and old men while the warriors were
absent in the service, the vote was conditional that the other
colonies must share the expense. The forces at Albany
destined for the defence of that section of the frontier
during the approaching winter, the house was not inclined
to take into pay unless their discharge should be directed
by his majesty. News of the destruction of the fort at

300 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Saratoga not having yet reached the ears of the assembly,
v— v— / it was voted that that post should be preserved at all events ;
1747# and a resolution of censure was added because the governor
had not responded to the proceedings of the house in respect
to that fortress, on the ninth and eleventh of September.
The wrath of the governor was kindled by these resolu-
tions to vehemence as will sufficiently appear by the follow-
ing laconic reply :

" Gentlemen :

By your votes I understand you are going upon things
very foreign to what I recommended to you : I will receive
nothing from you at this critical juncture, but what relates
to the message I last sent you, viz : By all means imme-
mediately to take the preservation of your frontiers, and
the fidelity of the Indians into consideration. The loss of
a day may have fatal consequences ; when that is over, you
Imay have time enough to go upon other matters.

G. Clinton."

The effect of this message was like the casting of a live
coal into a magazine of gun-powder. In its consideration
the doors of the assembly were shut, locked, and the key
laid upon the table in the due and ancient form in cases of
alleged breaches of privilege ; and a series of resolutions
was passed, nemine contradicente, wherein it was declared to
be the undoubted right and privilege of the house to pro-
ceed upon all proper subjects for their consideration, in
such order, method and manner as to themselves should
seem most convenient ; — that any attempt to direct or pre-
scribe to the house the manner in which they must proceed
in their discussions of public affairs, was a manifest breach
of the rights of the house and the people ; — that the declara-
tion of the governor that he would receive nothing from the
house at that time but what had been recommended in his
message, was irregular and unprecedented — tending to the
subversion of the rights, liberties and privileges of the
house and the people ; — and that whoever had advised that
message had attempted to undermine those rights and

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 301

privileges, and to subvert the constitution of the colony, Cv^P*
and was moreover an enemy to its inhabitants. The re- ' — v — '
solutions were followed up immediately by an address, or '
remonstrance to his excellency, extending to the great
length of eight printed folio pages, conceived in the same
acrimonious spirit which had indeed characterized the pro-
ceedings of both parties for many months. It professed
to review the whole controversy between the governor and
themselves from its inception, being his excellency's mes-
sage of June sixth, 1746. Down to that period, the remon-
strance declared that the utmost harmony had existed
between them, and their distractions had only arisen since
his excellency " had thought lit to place his sole confidence
in that person who styles himself the next in administra-
tion, and been pleased to submit himself to his direction
and influence." This individual, Dr. Colden, was bitterly
denounced. In reviewing the late proceedings both of the
governor and themselves, in connexion specially, with the
Indian affairs, the executive was severely censured for
taking the management of those affairs from the hands of
the Indian commissioners at Albany, and confiding them
to other individuals, the chief of whom, of course, was
Colonel Johnson. Much of the ill-feeling of the Indians,
prior to the treaty of 1746, was attributed to the intrigues
of designing men, seeking to supplant the commissioners
for interested and mercenary purposes. Instead of the
course the governor had pursued by the summary employ-
ment of individuals, if dissatisfied with the conduct of old
commissioners, he should have caused them to be suspended
by new appointments issued in a regular manner.

This attack upon Colonel Johnson showed very con-
clusively that he was at that time in no favor with his
relative, Mr. DeLancey. His excellency had repeatedly
advocated, in his late messages, not, indeed without an air
of self-complacency, to his successful diplomacy with the
Indians, whereby he had changed their policy, and defeat-
ed the designs of the people of Albany, whose aim it was

302 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

p- to keep the Indians from the war-path, and allow them to
maintain the position of neutrals. Upon this point the

vm.
1747.

address avowed the opinion, distinctly, that it would have
been far better had the Indians been left in that position.
His excellency had indeed told them that the Six Nations
had engaged heartily in the war ; but the house was yet in
ignorance touching any engagement in which they had par-
ticipated. All the evidence of their prowess, which they
had seen, consisted in the exhibition in the city, by a small
party of Indians, of three scalps, and a few French prisoners.
Again, on the subject of Indian expenditures, they hinted
at the misapplication of funds said to have been laid out
for presents ; and considering the heavy drafts upon the
crown for this service during the late summer, they intimat-
ed a belief that notwithstanding his excellency's call for
appropriations, he must have already a considerable sum in
bank. They treated his excellency's frequent expressions
of concern for the welfare of the people with ridicule,
charging upon him and his adviser the guilt of the mas-
sacre of Saratoga in the autumn of 1745, which event, they
alleged, could not have taken place but for the rash with-
drawal of the garrison from that place. Many other
charges of faults and official delinquencies, civil and mili-
tary, were set forth and commented upon with biting irony.
They declared that from a very early time of his adminis-
tration, he had treated with contempt the people of the
colony in general, and the members of the house in par-
ticular ; and that he had applied to them in terms so
opprobrious as to render them unfit for publication. They
complained of the many short and inconvenient adjourn-
ments to which they had been subjected, and were par-
ticularly displeased that they had not been kept in session
during the recent negotiations with the Massachusetts and
Connecticut commissioners, " that they might have been
daily advised with, and their opinions consulted from time
to time as to the matters under consideration," — forgetting,
probably, in the ardor of their patriotism, that the house of

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 303

assembly was not exactly the executive council, and that chap.
by the English constitution the treaty-making power resides >_v_,
not in the house of commons. They thought it very likely 1747-
his excellency had been advised that the best way to manage
an assembly was to harrass them by frequent and short
adjournments ; but they assured him that with them, such
a course would be vain and fruitless. " No treatment your
excellency can use toward us, no inconveniences how great
soever that we may suffer in our own persons, shall ever
prevail on us to abandon or deter us from steadily pre-
serving the interest of our country."

This address was reported by Mr. Clarkson, from a com-
mittee previously appointed upon the subject, on the ninth
of October. Immediately upon its reading, the speaker,
David Jones, was directed to sign, and a committee con-
sisting of Messrs. Clarkson, Phillipse, Thomas, Cruger,
Beekman, Lott and Chambers, were designated as a com-
mittee to present it to his excellency. This duty was
promptly discharged; but the irascible governor would
neither allow the chairman to read it to him, nor leave it
in his chamber.

Three days afterward, before the assembly had taken any
farther action in the controversy, — unless a request for
information as to the state and condition of the forts and
garrisons of Saratoga and Oswego might be considered of
that character, — the governor sent down a message in
answer to the assembly's resolutions of the eighth, almost
as long, and if possible, even more vituperative than the
address of the house. In the first place, however, the
governor expressed the pleasure he felt at the ready appro-
bation which the house had given to the compact of the
commissioners for the invasion of Canada. The scheme
contemplated by that compact closely resembled the project
between himself, Mr. Shirley and Sir Peter "Warren, the
year before ; and had it then been executed it would have
been at the expense of the crown. Now, however, it must
be done entirely at the charge of the colonies. His excel-

304 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

p- lency was also pleased at being able to announce that one
or more forts, by the arrangement of the commissioners,

VIII.

1747

sanctioned by the unanimous vote of his council, were to
be erected at the carrying-place. This expense also, would
fall exclusively upon the colonies ; — whereas but for the
conduct of the commissioners appointed by the house, in
regard to the transportation of provisions and general sup-
plies for the forces, those defences would likewise have
been constructed xat the cost of the crown.

His excellency next proceeded to vindicate his own con-
duct from the aspersions so frequently cast upon it in con-
nection with his management of the Indian department,
and the oft-repeated insinuation of a misapplication of the
money drawn from the crown for that branch of the service.
The house had asserted, in one of its resolutions respecting
this money, " that no disposition thereof for the purpose
intended had yet been heard of." In this resolution, Mr.
Clinton now charged the house with uttering " as bold a
falsehood as ever came from a body of men." In vindica-
tion of himself, and in refutation of the assertion, the mes-
sage pointed to a long chain of operations in the Indian
department, known to them all, and sufficient to absorb a
very large sum, but for which not a shilling had been paid
by the colony. The Indians had all been armed, clothed,
and provisioned by him ; numerous war-parties had been
kept in constant motion, and at one time as many as six
hundred warriors were marching together.

The services of Colonel Johnson in that department,
were adverted to in terms of high praise. Before the go-
vernor's interview with the Indians at Albany the previous
year, it was a difficult matter to prevail upon a dozen or
twenty of them even to go forth upon a scout. Now, how-
ever, Colonel Johnson engages to bring a thousand war-
riors into the field upon any reasonable notice. Through
his influence the chiefs had been weaned from their intimacy
with the French, and many distant Indian nations were
now courting the friendship of the English. As to the

LIFE QF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 305

money lie had received from the crown for this service, the chap.
governor said he was in no way accountable to the house v—^
for its application. Not having supplied a penny of it, 1747-
they had nothing to do with it. In this connection he
inveighed against the proviso of the resolution appropriat-
ing eight hundred pounds for the Indian service, to be
placed for disbursement in other hands than those of the
executive. This condition displosed the motive for the
slander against him, it being nothing less than a determina-
tion to violate an undisputed prerogative of the crown, and
to wrest his majesty's authority from the executive hands.

The conditional resolve concerning the supplies for the
forces at Albany, was likewise denounced as an interference
with the military prerogative of his majesty ; in connection
with which his excellency tauntingly inquired whether the
house had received any advices or orders from his majesty,
or his ministers, upon the subject of the army regulations.
" The forces at Albany are under my command only," said
he ; " and you will never know anything of his majesty's
pleasure about these forces, but from me, or from my suc-
cessor." * * * "His majesty will not part with the
least branch of bis military prerogative ; nor dare I, nor
will I, give up the least branch of it on any consideration,
however desirous you may be to share it, or to bear the
whole command." In this spirit the crown had sent him
orders relating to Saratoga; and while they knew that he
was heartily inclined to do what they desired of him in that
matter, they, also, some of them, knew it was impracticable.

He had formerly told them that the fort at Saratoga was
inadequate for the security of that section of the frontier ;
and of what has happened to it they had been forewarned,
unless proper assistance should be afforded for its preserva-
tion. The position of that fort was unfavorable ; it bad
been maintained at great expense, and more lives had been
lost by reason of its disadvantageous situation, than by any
other cause since the war. It had been placed there by
commissioners recommended by his council ; but it ha<l

306 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, since been discovered that their object in selecting that site
v-v — - was not the protection of the country, but of quantities of
1747. -wheat growing in its neighborhood. The work itself being
of no substantial use as a military position, and finding it
impossible longer to maintain it without hazarding the total
dissolution of the forces at Albany, the cannon and stores
had been withdrawn and the fortification destroyed. In
addition to all which, the conduct of the assembly itself had
compelled him to abandon the place by their opposition to
every measure proposed by him for its preservation.

On the subject of his endeavors to confine the action of
the house exclusively to his recommendations for the wel-
fare and protection of the colony, especially in regard to
his brief message of the eighth, his excellency attempted
a justification. His design was simply to secure in the first
instance, such action as would guaranty the safety of the
province. There would afterward be time enough for the
consideration of as many other subjects as they could desire.
He taunted them sharply for what he called the farce of
locking the door and laying the key with solemn form upon
the table, — asking them whether there were any suspicious
people without the doors of whom they were afraid, and
whether they apprehended that any of their own members
were intent upon running away. If not, — it was really
an attempt to shut him out so that he could not communi-
cate by message, — then the act was a high insult to the
royalauthority, and for the time being a withdrawal of
their allegiance. He declared that by their resolutions of
the ninth, they had assumed all the rights and privileges
of the house of commons of Great Britain. Such an
assumption was nothing less than claiming to be a branch
of the legislature of the kingdom, or in other words a
denial of subjection to the crown and parliament. He
reasoned the point to show that it could not be so ; the
supreme power had a right to put limitations upon their
proceedings ; and he told them not only that these and
some subjects which they had no right to discuss, but that

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 307

" he had his majesty's express command not to suffer them chap.
to bring some matters into the house, nor to debate upon v-^L
them." It was for that reason that the clerk of the house 1747-
was required every day to lay before the governor the
minutes of their proceedings, that the governor may put a
stop to them when they become disorderly or undutiful.

He reproved them for having recently adopted the dis-
respectful and unmannerly practice of ordering resolutions
to be served upon him from time to time ; and censured
them severely for their rudeness on a late occasion, when,
within a quarter of an hour after they had served him with
a copy of their resolutions of the ninth, several of the
members of their body thrust themselves upon him in an
apartment of his own house, without previous notice of,
to read "a large bundle of papers," which they called a
remonstrance from the house. Every private man in the
country considered his own house his castle, and his excel-
lency demanded whether their governor was not entitled
to the same privilege ? Whether he must be thus intruded
upon, and bear it with patience ? Under the circumstances
of the case, he had but too much reason to refuse to receive
the remonstrance ; — and he then gave them warning that
he would never again receive from them a document in
public, which had not first been communicated to him in
private.

He reminded them of another act of incivility. At the
opening of the session, they had not, as usual, acquainted
him with their organization, — an omission without prece-
dent, and evidently by design. They had resolved forth-
with to enter upon the consideration of the state of the
province, without having received any information as to
what its condition was. They also resolved to make a
remonstrance upon the condition of the colony, without
resolving what should be the subject matter of the docu-
ment,— ordering their committee to draw it up without
instructions. That committee presented the report so
soon, and the house adopted it so hastily, as to preclude

308 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the exercise of any rational judgment upon the subject.
w^I^o precedents could be found for their conduct, save in the
1™** course taken by the house of commons when they had
determined to take away the king's life, and overthrow the
established government. This allusion was certainly not
malapro2JOs. The same leaven was doubtless at work in
Clinton's little parliament, which, in the greater, had sent
the unhappy Stuart to the block.

Various other points of the controversy were passed in
review. The house had been insolent toward him, and
forgotten all kind of decency and regard for the authority
vested in him by his majesty. They had endeavored to
deprive him of the esteem of the people. They had
witholden supplies for the public service ; and for the pur-
pose of justifying themselves to their constituents, had
endeavored to induce a belief that he had applied the pub-
lic money to his own use. To refute this idea he now stated
that during the few years of his administration no more
than one thousand eight hundred pounds currency of the
colony had passed into his hands for the Indian service ;
and the account he then gave of the uses to which the
money had been applied, and the benefits secured by its
expenditure, when viewed at this distance of time, proves
very clearly that the expenditure was made with wisdom,
prudence and economy. Upon this point his excellency
insisted that if they had really entertained any suspicions
of his integrity, they should have instituted an investiga-
tion. But they had not done so, although they had seemed
to act as though he was the only man in the province
who could misapply the public revenues ; for more than
sixty thousand pounds had passed through the hands of
their own commissioners, while no reports as to the manner
of its disbursement had been exacted, nor any inquiry made.
In a word all the charges and insinuations of the house
against the governor, were pronounced to be false, and their
conduct toward those who had endeavored to support his
administration against their opposition, was declared to be

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAR*; 809

malicious. Their long-continued unbecoming conduct, in C™AV'
the view of his excellency, could arise but from one of the w^— .
following causes : mi.

I. A firm principle of disloyalty, with a desire to deliver
the country up to the king's enemies :

II. The desire of some individuals for such a shameful
neutrality as was established in the war of Queen Anne's
time.

III. A design to overturn the constitution, and throw
everything into confusion :

IV. The gratification of the pride and private malice and
rancor of a few men, at the hazard of the lives and estates
of their constituents. It was added — "That there are
such men in this country, is no secret, nor what share they
have in your private consultations."

The governor then drew a contrast showing how widely
different had been his conduct fromtheir's. When he dis-
covered that they had fallen into a state of unreasonable
heat and passion, he had adjourned or prorogued them,
that they might have time to cool down. And on their
reassembling, although he had endeavored to forget past
differences, they would strive by every means to revive
them. Even now, although they had every just reason to
expect the manifestation of strong resentment from him,
yet he was resolved to disappoint them. He therefore in
conclusion again exhorted them to make the proper pro-
visions for the care and safety of the province, — admon-
ishing them, however, to beware of attempting any mea-
sures that might clash with his instructions from the crown,
or infringe upon the royal prerogative. " The ill effects of
the condescensions of former governors of the province,"
were now too sensibly felt to justify any further conces-
sions.

It appears by the assembly's journal, that after referring
the message to a committee, the house entered upon the
consideration of public affairs with a commendable degree
of diligence. On the fifteenth day of October they

310 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART,

chap, requested the governor to execute one of the projects agreed
v-^— / upon by the commissioners, by sending gun-smiths and
174~- assistant artizans into the country of the Six Nations among
all the tribes beyond the Mohawks, pledging the ways and
means, in the full confidence, however, that Massachusetts
and Connecticut would defray their respective proportions
of the expense. On the next day the governor commu-
nicated a table of estimates requiring appropriations for
the winter service, — stating that it was his intention to
invite the cooperation of the colonies south to the Caro-
linas, for the common defence. Having ordered the proper
arrangements for the security of the colony during the
repose of winter, it was thought the assembly might be
safely adjourned — to be aroused into action again in the
spring, when the bugle should sound to arms for the actual
invasion of Canada.

But the hopes and the high expectations of the colonies,
especially those of New York and New England, were
again dashed by disappointment alike mortifying and
severe. On the nineteenth of October, orders were
received from the duke of Newcastle, signifying the royal
approbation of the preparations made jointly by Shirley
and Clinton, for the intended expedition, but nevertheless
directing them to desist from that expedition, and to dis-
band all the levies engaged for that service, retaining such
a number of the New England forces as might be judged
necessary for the protection of Nova Scotia. The colonies
were directed to pay off the levies, and transmit the
accounts to be reimbursed by parliament. Mr. Clinton
immediately transmitted these disheartening orders by
message to the assembly, with a recommendation that so
many of the levies at Albany as might be deemed neces-
sary for the defence of the north might still be retained in
the service, and provision be made for their subsistence.
This suggestion was followed by a vote of the assembly to
retain eight full companies at Albany until the ensuing
month of August, if their service should so long be neces-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. oil

sary ; but in view of the heavy expenses to which the colony chap.
had already been subjected by the war, and the almost *— v— '
ruined condition of the colony, the house felt itself obliged 747,
to decline advancing either money or credit for the pay-
ment of the forces in arrears. With this exception, the
assembly proceeded with apparent calmness to make just
and proper appropriations for various objects, such as the
employment of a corps of rangers to traverse the northern
border, and for repairing sundry forts. Appropriations
were also voted for divers other matters, among which was
one for the completion of the governor's house. But the
calm was short, if not delusive, and the storm directed
against the executive broke out on the twenty-sixth of
October with unabated violence. It appears that two days
before that date, it being on Saturday, the governor, by a
written order under his own hand, had forbidden Mr. James
Parker, printer to the assembly, to publish in the journals
of that body the celebrated remonstrance of the ninth, of
which a copious analysis has already been given. Parker
had refused to recognize the validity of a verbal order to
the same eifect, communicated by his excellency's secretary,
Mr. Catherwood ; and this written mandate he was required
to publish in his newspaper, which he accordingly did on
Monday morning, — together with the paragraph contained
in the governor's message of the thirteenth, wherein his
excellency had charged the committee of the house, bearing
the said remonstrance, with obtruding themselves rudely
into a private apartment of his domicil. Chafed at this
arbitrary mandate to Parker, and smarting yet from the
imputation cast by the governor upon the committee, Mr.
Clarkson rose in his place on Monday, and called the atten-
tion of the house to the contents of the newspaper. The
publication having been read, Mr. C. proceeded to relate,
and his colleagues of the committee to confirm, the history
of the transaction in question. The committee " knocked
at the outward door, and told the servant who attended,
that they had a message. Retiring into an inner room, the

312 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, servant soon returned, accompanied by a gentleman, who
v—^—, showed them into the presence of the governor, by whom
1747- they were received without any manifestation of displeasure.
They informed his excellency that they came as a commit-
tee of the house with a remonstrance, which they offered
to read ; but his excellency refused either to hear it, or
even to allow them to read it, upon the ground that such
a procedure, without the presence of the speaker, was not
parliamentary. The next step was to order the attendance
of Parker at the bar of the house, to produce the original
order from the governor, a copy of which had been
published in his newspaper. This being done, resolutions
were passed declaring that the attempt to prevent the pub-
lication of their proceedings, was a violation of the rights
and liberties of the people, and an infringement of their
privileges ; that the remonstrance was a regular proceeding ;
that the governor's order was unwarrantable, arbitrary and
illegal, a violation of their privileges, and of the liberty of
the press, and tending to the utter subversion of all the
rights and liberties of the colony ; and that the speaker's
order for printing the remonstrance, was regular and con-
sistent with his duty." l Parker preferred to identify his
, fortunes with those of the popular party, rather than to
obey the behest of the crown, as expressed by its repre-
, sentative. The governor's order was therefore disre-
garded, and the remonstrance printed as directed by the
house. The controversy was maintained with increasing
intensity, for many days ; in the course of which the house,
in order, doubtless, as much to reassert its own power as
to annoy the governor, directed Parker to reprint the offen-
sive document, and furnish each member with two copies
thereof, — "that their constituents might know it was their
firm resolution to preserve the liberty of the press."

But while these proceedings were yet in progress, the
governor startled the assembly by a message announcing
that he might find it necessary to detach large bodies of

1 Smith, vol. ii. pp. 132, 133. Vide also journals of the colonial assembly.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 313

the militia for the defence of the frontiers, and requiring chap.
a contingent appropriation to meet the expense. This • — , — -
species of service was not only burdensome, but particu- 1747,
larly irksome to the people, and the house was thrown
into fermentation by the requisition. The message was
referred to a committee which a week afterward reported
in substance, that they were amazed that his excellency
should have sent them such a message, since he had so
recently given them to understand that he should rely
upon the levies already at Albany for the public defence ;
for the pay and subsistence of whom the house was even
then taking the necessary measures. In conclusion the
committee avowed the belief that while his excellency was
governed by such unsteady and ever-varying counsels,
and while he continued to send them messages conceived
in such doubtful and ambiguous terms as had of late
marked his communications to them, it would be difficult
to make such provision for the defence of the frontiers as
seemed necessary. Nevertheless it was acknowledged to
be their duty to adopt such measures as the exigency of
the case appeared to require.

This report had no sooner caught the eye of the
governor while examining the copy of the assembly's
journal as presented for his inspection by the clerk, than
he turned the tables upon his opponents, and demonstrated
beyond doubt the factiousness of their cause. He first
reminded them of their vote upon his message of the
nineteenth of October, refusing to pay the arrears of the
levies. They had indeed voted to retain eight companies
of the levies at the north, but not upon the terms sug-
gested in his message, viz : the continuance of full pay ;
instead of which they had cut the officers and subalterns
down to less than one half of the compensation allowed
upon the regular military establishment. Upon these
terms it was not to be expected that the levies would
remain in the service. Indeed men fit to serve ought not
to remain. And he begged the assembly to consider

314 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. what would be the condition of things, were the levies to
*— y— ' disband themselves and return to their homes, unpaid and
1747, without clothes, — leaving the nothern frontier entirely
uncovered. As to the charge of vascillation in his coun-
cils, the governor said they must necessarily vary with
changes of circumstances ; but in the present instance it
was the conduct of the assembly alone that had caused the
variation. Still duty required him to do all in his power
to avert the mischiefs arising from their conduct, and also
to take care of the people.

The assembly rejoined in a bad spirit, reiterating the
charge of inconsistency against thegovernor, and accusing
him of pursuing measures purposely intended to cause the
disaffection and desertion of the levies, that a plausible pre-
text might thereby be afforded for wantonly harrassing the
poor people of the colony by dragging them into the
military service. Under all the circumstances of the case,
therefore, they had arrived at the conclusion that to retain
the levies would now be impossible, and that as a conse-
quence immediate provision must be made for raising a
sufficient number of volunteers for the public defence.
The committee's report was concurred in nemine contra-
dicente; and on the fifth of November resolutions were
passed directing the employment of eight hundred volun-
teers, for two hundred and seventy days service, and appro-
priating the sum of eighteen thousand pounds for their
subsistence. Contemporaneously with this procedure, the
house was notified by the legislative council that they had
passed its bill for the supply of the eight full companies
of levies already at Albany, as heretofore mentioned.
This scheme however, having been virtually abandoned
by the house, a resolution was adopted, declaring the
impracticability of retaining those eight full companies of
levies in the service, and praying the governor to issue
warrants for raising thirteen companies of volunteers of
sixty men each, with the promise of commissions to those
who should actually recruit them, at the reduced rates of

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

compensation to which his excellency, in respect to the chap.
retention of the levies, had objected, as being altogether ^—v— -
inadequate to the employment of respectable men. A 1747-
committee of which Colonel Schuyler was chairman,
waited upon his excellency with this resolution, but he
declined answering it. Three days afterward, to wit on
the tenth of November, the assembly deputed another
committee to wait upon his excellency, and inform him
of their apprehensions that the river navigation to Albany
would close before the necessary winter supplies for the
forces at the north could now be sent up, and praying his
assent to the subsistence bill, which, having passed both
houses, now awaited only his signature to become a law.
But his excellency, like Richard, was "busy," — preparing
despatches as he alleged, for Boston, — and would receive
no message from the house otherwise than at the hand of
their speaker. On the thirteenth, the request was
renewed by a formal address presented by the house in a
body — the speaker of course being at their head. From
the reply of his excellency, it appeared that his reluctance
to sign the bill in question, had arisen from an objectiona-
ble principle involved therein. He had on two previous
occasions given his assent to bills involving the same
principle, and had been censured at home for so doing.
His excuse to the crown had been the pressing necessity
of the public service, and he hoped the same excuse
would avail again, as he had made up his mind to sign
the bill. He took occasion, moreover, to admonish the
house in regard to the bill for the pay of the forces to be
raised, then pending, not to incorporate in its provisions
any thing that might in anywise interfere with the preroga-
tives of the crown. The bill thus specially referred to,
authorized the raising of the sum of twenty-eight thou-
sand pounds, by a direct tax, for the military service,
and the like sum by an issue of bills of credit, with pro-
visions for sinking and cancelling the same. In closing
his reply, the governor farther informed the house that

316 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

1747.

°vin!>' tne officers of the four companies of fusileers stationed at
Albany had notified him that for the want of supplies
they were on the point of dissolution.

On the twenty-fifth of November his excellency com-
manded the attendance of the house in the council
chamber, when he approved the bill for victualling the
forces and also the important revenue bill just spoken of.
Two other bills of minor importance, likewise received
his excellency's signature ; whereupon, finding that the
controversy in which he had so long been engaged with
the assembly had evidently become past healing, — indeed
that on the contrary the breach was daily becoming wider
and yet wider, — the general assembly was dissolved. His
excellency commenced his speech announcing the disso-
lution, by referring to the votes of the house in the case
of Parker. He maintained that their remonstrance, of
which he had forbidden the republication from the jour-
nals in Parker's newspaper, was a false, scandalous, and
malicious libel upon him throughout; and he therefore
had a right, for the protection of his own character, to
inhibit the publication of a document surcharged with
falsehood, as they very well knew it to be. As to the
popular out-cry which they had attempted to raise about
the liberty of the press, he said it was a liberty very liable
to be abused, and against which there ought to be a
remedy. ISTor could the application of a proper remedy
be considered a restraint upon a just degree of liberty.
He charged them with a design, as was obvious from their
whole course, to usurp the supreme authority of the
government, and in support of the charge the governor
again entered upon a summary review of the conduct of
the assembly, rehearsing its sins both of omission and
commission. Among the former, he observed that
notwithstanding the frequency and earnestness of his
appeals to them for the Indian service, and the importance
of preserving the existing amicable relations with the
Confederates, the assembly had not made the slightest pro-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 317

vision for that object. The house had complained that he chap
J r . vm.

had kept secret from them the orders he had received for <~^—<

discharging the forces intended for the Canada expedition 1747-
until the hour had arrived for their execution. His reply
to this charge was an ample justification of his course.
It was necessary to keep those orders from the knowledge
of the enemy lest advantage should be taken of them, and
the frontiers invaded, before the necessary preperations
could be made for their defence. He had, however, given
them timely notice of what was to happen ; and had the
suggestions he had made to them been seasonably acted
upon, the object of security could have been attained at
an expense forty thousand pounds less than what would
now be the cost to the colony. In reviewing his own
exertions for the public defence, and his endeavors to pre-
serve a force at Albany so large as to render drafts upon
the militia unnecessary, his excellency charged upon the
assembly the design of usurping the command of the
militia, and with having passed resolutions calculated to
produce disobedience to orders, and which, in fact, had
produced such disobedience. Their refusal to pay the
arrears of the forces on the credit of the king, showed
what little regard they had either for his majesty's pleasure,
or for the interests of those who had willingly exposed
their lives for the defence of the country. It was now
well known, that had his advice been followed in the first
instance, a sufficient number of the levies might have been
retained at Albany. Equally well was it now known that
the necessary force could not now be readily obtained.
The consequence was that by the advice of his council he
should now be obliged to apply to some of the other colo-
nies for assistance. Other points were raised in the speech
which have become familiar in the history of this protract-
ed controversy. Even now, in one of the bills to which
he had just placed his signature, they had inserted a clause
that would very likely defeat its object. He referred to a
section placing the provisions and ammunition for the

318 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CvmP' Public service under the exclusive control of persons of
1 — «-— ' their own nomination, without consulting the governor in
' ' the appointment of those persons, — they, too, having it in
their power to control any order which the governor
might give ! He had been compelled by the public danger,
to sign that bill, though contrary to the express instruc-
tions of the crown. In a word, they had done all they
could to traduce his character; to encourage disobedi-
ence ; to inflame the passions of the people ; and to para-
lyze his exertions for the safety of the province. Near the
close of the speech the following passage occurs, which
was true beyond a doubt :

" Your continued grasping for power, with an evident
tendency to the weakening of the dependency of the
province on Great Britain, accompanied with such notori-
ous and public disrespect to the character of your
governor, and contempt of the king's authority intrusted
with him, cannot be hid longer from your superiors, but
must come under their observation, and is of most dan-
gerous example to your neighbors."

Knowing, therefore, that great-numbers of the inhabit-
ants disapproved of their proceedings, and for the pur-
pose of giving them an opportunity of vindicating their
loyalty to their prince, as well as their love of country,
his excellency declared the general assembly to be dis-
solved.

This act appears to have come somewhat suddenly upon
the assembly, a committee having at the time been
engaged in the preparation of another address to his
excellency, similar in tone and character to the late remon-
strance, but much larger, and more elaborate. The disso-
lution Y aving prevented the house from giving an oflicial
impress to the document, it was shortly afterward publish-
ed in the form of " A letter from some of the represent-
atives in the late general assembly to his excellency the
governor, in answer to his message of October thirteenth,
and to his dissolution speech." This document comprised

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 319

a very extended review of the whole controversy between c"*p.
the parties, dwelling upon each and every particular point ^-^- >
with exceeding minuteness, and evidencing considerable
powers of reasoning and analysis. There was no abate-
ment in the bitterness of its tone, either toward the
governor, or his chief confidential adviser, Doctor Colden.
But from the historical sketch already given of the con-
troversy, no necessity exists for a synopsis of this formid-
able paper — sufficient, of itself, to fill one hundred pages
of an ordinary octavo. Smith attributes the authorship
to Judge Horsmanden, — Doctor Colden being also
charged with the composition of his excellency's state
papers. These suppositions were probably correct. In-
deed Mr. Horsmanden had been summarily degraded
from his station for his officiousness in this respect ; and
Doctor Colden had entered several protests upon the
journals of the legislative council, bearing strong family
resemblances to the papers bearing the signature of Mr.
Clinton. Among these was a protest against a bill from
the assembly, which passed the council on the third of
November, instituting a committee to examine the public
accounts of the colony from the year 1713. The doctor
protested against this bill, first, as being an infringement
upon the royal prerogative. The moneys, he asserted, had
been raised for the service of the king, and his majesty, or
his representative, had therefore an undoubted right to
appoint the persons charged with the proposed exami-
nation, especially in regard to their expenditure, whereas
the governor had not even been consulted as to the per-
sons constituting the commission. Secondly, the commis-
sioners named were merchants. As the revenues were
in a great measure raised from duties and imposts, he held
that a mercantile commission was improper. The reve-
nues from those sources were not half as much as they
would be if honestly collected. These commissioners, if
merchants , could connive with their friends for the conceal-
ment of frauds. Other exceptions were taken to the details

320 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, of the bill ; but those just mentioned are the most important.
>— > — - The doctor also protested against a bill from the assembly
1747- cancelling certain bills of credit, together with the special
revenue bill for the prosecution of the war, upon the old
ground of collision with the kingly prerogative. The last
mentioned bill it was averred was specially objectionable
because it usurped the executive power for the appoint-
ment of troops and officers, and provided for the disburse-
ment of money from the treasury without the governor's
warrant.

Although from a very early date in the history of this
protracted controversy, it became inexcusably personal, yet
it is not difficult to perceive that it was in reality one of
principle. On the one hand, the infant Hercules, though
still in his cradle, was becoming impatient of restraint.
The yoke of colonial servitude chafed the necks, if not of
the people, at least of their representatives. The royal
governor was not slow to perceive what kind of leaven was
fermenting the body politic ; and hence he became perhaps
over-jealous in asserting and defending the prerogatives of
his master. Doubtless in the progress of the quarrel there
were faults on both sides. Of an irascible and overbearing
temperament, and accustomed in his profession to com-
mand rather than to persuade, he was ill qualified to exer-
cise a limited or concurrent power with a popular assembly
equally jealous of its own privileges and of the liberties of
the people; watching with sleepless vigilance for every
opportunity to circumscribe the influence of the crown ;
and ready at every moment to resist the encroachments of
arbitrary power. Still, however patriotic the motives,
under the promptings of DeLancey, their opposition to
Mr. Clinton became factious ; and it is not difficult even
for a republican to believe that he was treated not only
with harshness, but with great injustice, especially in regard
to his measures, and his personal exertions for the public
defence and the prosecution of the war.
But the principles for which Hambden bled, and Sidney

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 321

died on the scaffold, were striking deeper root in British chap.
America every day, — an additional proof of which fact, v— v— '
not easily to he misunderstood, was manifested about this
time by a transaction at Boston. Time immemorial the
crown had claimed the right in periods of war, of raising
and equipping its fleets by impressing the ships of mer-
chants, and seamen to man them. In the feudal ages,
indeed, the claim had been asserted much farther, and the
right of impressment exerted in respect to every descrip-
tion of force, as the public service required, including even
the members of the medical profession. \ But with the
growth of a permanent national marine, the impressment
of merchant ships could only be necessary as transports,
and the practice had been narrowed down to the employ-
ment of press-gangs for the procurement of common
sailors. Fortified by the opinions of the law-officers of
the crown, the ministers had repeatedly asserted ,the right
of extending the right of this odious practice to the colo-
nies. The claim, however, had been uniformly resisted
by the people;, and nowhere more strenuously than in Vir-
ginia,— held at the time to be the most loyal .of ,tb.e pro-
vinces. Indeed it was in Virginia, that the first act
of resistance to the practice was made, and in every
instance in which the right was attempted to be put in
exercise, the officers of the crown were defeated by popular
interposition. 2 No experiment of the kind, however, Jiad
as yet been made in New England; and the honor of the
first attempt, and of experiencing a .signal defeat, was

1 It appears from Rymer's Fcedera, that king Henry V, in 1417, authorized
John Morstede, to press as many surgeons as he thought necessary for the
French expedition, together with persons to make their instruments. It is
also true, and appears in the same book of records, that with the army which
won the day at Agincourt, there had landed only one surgeon, the same John
Morstede, who indeed did engage to send fifteen more for the arm y, three of
which, however, were to act as archers ! With such a professional scarcity,
what must have been the state of the wounded on the day of battle? —
Andrews's Great Britain.

2 Grahame, — who says that Franklin was the first writer by whom its. inde-
fensible injustice was demonstrated.

322 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, reserved for Commodore Knowles, then governor of Cape
vm. ,

w^ Breton, and the successor of Sir Peter Warren in the naval

1747> command of the American station. Visiting the waters of
Massachusetts with his squadron, and lying at Nantasket
about the middle of November, the commodore lost a num-
ber of his sailors by desertion, the places of whom he
determined to supply by a vigorous act of impressment in
Boston. Detaching a number of boats to the town at an
early hour in the morning, a sweep was made of all the
seamen found on board the vessels lying at the wharves,
and also of a number of ship carpenters, with their appren-
tices, together with several landsmen. The act was execut-
ed with such suddenness that the men were far down the
bay on their way to the fleet, when the transaction had
become generally known to the people. But when known,
such a popular fermentation ensued as had never before
taken place in Boston. All classes of the people were
greatly excited ; but the rage of the lower classes knew no
bounds. Siezing whatever arms they could find, spears,
clubs, pitchforks and guns, the mob rushed together, deter-
mined upon vengeance, or a rescue, or both. A lieutenant
of the fleet falling first within their power, was siezed, and
would have been treated with violence but for the inter-
position of the speaker of the provincial legislature, then
in session, who assured the multitude that this officer had
not been concerned in the transaction. The next move-
ment of the mob was directed against the house of the
governor, Shirley, who was at the very time entertaining
several captains of the fleet. Of these officers the rioters
resolved to demand satisfaction, and the house was speedily
surrounded by the infuriated legion. The officers within
doors being supplied with fire-arms, determined to defend
themselves, and there would doubtless have been a serious
effusion of blood, had not a number of the more consider-
ate citizens insinuated themselves among the rioters, and
dissuaded them from the commission of actual violence.
Among the peace-officers on duty was a deputy sheriff,

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 323

who was irreverently siezed and borne off to the stocks, chap.
with the practical use of which invention he was made ^-v— '
acquainted, both his legs being made fast therein. There 174L
was a dash of the ludicrous in this exploit, of the " sove-
reigns," creating merriment, and serving for a while to
moderate, though it did not appease their anger. The
deepening of the twilight into night, however, was a signal
for renewed outrages, and the deliberations of the legisla-
ture, or general court, as it was called, were disturbed by
the breaking of their windows, and other riotous proceed-
ings. The governor, with several distinguished gentlemen
and counsellors, ascended to the balcony, whence they
addressed the people in the most soothing and considerate
manner, — rebuking their turbulence, it is true, but at the
same time expressing strong disapprobation of the outrage
of which they complained, and promising their utmost
exertions to obtain the discharge of every man who had
been kidnapped and carried away. But the tempest was
not to be thus easily hushed, and the arrest and detention
of every officer of the squadron in town, was demanded as
the only measure that would answer the purpose. Such
being the temper of the populace, it was judged advisable
that the governor should withdraw from the scene of
tumult to his own house, — to which he was accompanied
by several officers, civil and military, and also by a small
party of personal friends. Meantime it was bruited that a
barge had come up to the town from the fleet, whereupon
the rioters rushed headlong to the wharf to sieze it. The
report was not true, for no such barge had arrived. Yet
the populace thought otherwise, and a huge boat, lying at
the dock, belonging to a Scotch merchantman, was taken
by mistake, and drawn through the street, as though no
heavier than a birchen canoe. It was at first resolved to
kindle a bonfire with this unlucky craft in front of the
governor's house ; but a suggestion that lighting a fire there
would jeopard the town, the mob drew away, and indulged
their heated design in a place of greater security. Thus

324 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, ended the proceedings of the first day. On the next, the
>— ^ governor Ordered the militia under arms for the preservation
1747. 0f the peace ; but the drummers were interrupted in heat-
ing to arms, and the militia, with a surprising degree of
unanimity, refused to parade. Several of the British offi-
cers on shore had been siezed by the populace, by whom
they were retained as hostages. Of this number was Cap-
tain Erskine, of the Canterbury. He was taken in Roxbiiry,
but was speedily liberated on giving his parole not to go on
board until the difficulty should be adjusted. Such being the
temper of the people, — the entire militia refusing obedience
to their ofiicers, — -it was thought expedient, as well for the
personal security, as for the power, of the governor, whose
authority was thus virtually suspended, that he should
retire to the castle — Fort William. From this place Mr.
Shirley wrote to Commodore Knowles, informing him of
the high exasperation into which the people had been
thrown by his proceedings, and urging an immediate
release of the persons impressed, as the only means of
restoring the public tranquility. But the commodore
declined even to entertain the proposition Until those of
his ofiicers who had been caught on shore should be liberat-
ed. The first suggestion of Knowles was to land a body
of marines to aid the governor in quelling the disturbances ;
but Shirley was too wise a man, and understood too well
the character of the New England people to second such a
proposition. The commodore thereupon became enraged,
and threatened to burn the town, — directing at the same
time certain movements of his ships which for a few hours
caused much uneasiness. During the eighteenth and nine-
teenth days of the month the town was under the entire
control of the mob, — the general court feeling reluctant to
interpose, even for the preservation of order, lest their
action should be construed as favoring the conduct of
Knowles. The provocation had been great ; and although
the prevailing spirit of insubordination was indefensiblej
yet it was regarded by every American with greatly miti-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 325

gated displeasure. Still, the danger of allowing the town chap.
longer to remain under the sway of an infuriated populace, ^-v— '
and the impropriety of leaving the governor, whose con- 1747,
duct had not only been wise and patriotic, but blameless,
thus unsupported, was perceived before the close of the
day last mentioned, and a series of resolutions was adopted
by the house of representatives, strongly condemning the
tumultuous proceedings of the people ; pledging themselves,
their lives and estates, to sustain the executive authority ;
but at the same time declaring that they should put forth
their utmost exertions to redress the grievances which had
provoked the riots. Simultaneously with this procedure
the council passed an order for restoring Captain Erskine
and the other officers in actual custody, to their liberty,
and declaring them to be under the protection of the gov-
ernment,—^which order was concurred in by the house of
representatives. These measures had the effect of allaying
the excitement, and the rioters soon began to disperse. A
town meeting was holden in the afternoon ; and although
it was urged by the less discreet portion of the assemblage
that a suppression of the tumults would have the effect of
encouraging his 'majesty's naval commanders in the com-
mission of similar outrages in future, yet the counsels of
the more prudent prevailed, and the town, by solemn vote,
condemned alike the riotous proceedings of the people,
and the injury and insult by which those proceedings had
been provoked. Not anticipating so favorable a turn of
affairs, so soon, the governor had made preparations for
calling to his assistance the provincial troops of the circum-
jacent towns, horse and foot ; but on the following morning
the militia of Boston paraded spontaneously, and many
citizens were in arms who had seldom been seen in arms
before. In the course of the day the governor was escorted
from the castle back to his house with great parade, and
law and order resumed their wonted sway. Commodore
Knowles dismissed all, or nearly all, the subjects of the
impress, and sailed for Louisburg, to the great and irre-

326 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap- pressible joy of the people.1 But his sovereign had little
v-v— < cause to thank him for an act which awoke a spirit that
1747# slumbered not until the richest jewel was torn from his
diadem.

There remains little more to be written of the border
troubles of New York during the year 1747. Small parties
of the enemy continued to hover about the new settlements
until the depth of winter, and several additional murders
were committed. One of their autumnal forays was me-
lancholy and bloody. A party of woodmen, engaged in
cutting timber, about four miles west of Schenectady, was
fallen upon, and thirty-nine of their number killed. Along
the confines of Massachusetts and New Hampshire these
murders or assassinations were yet more frequent during
the autumn than in New York. Skirmishes between the
enemy and the borderers, wrere common, and in one of
these a French officer of some consideration, named Pierre
Ramboert, was wounded and taken.1

Late in November, Governor Clinton pressed the com-
mand of the northern frontier upon Colonel Johnson.
The people were strongly in favor of that appointment 2 and
it was ultimately accepted. But aside from this command,
the colonel had full employment upon his hands for the
winter, independently of his Indian charge. The militia
of Albany county, then embracing all the northern and
western settlements beyond Ulster and Dutchess, had fallen
into a state of sad demoralization ; and to Colonel John-
son Mr. Clinton entrusted the duty of effecting a complete
reorganization. All confidence was reposed in him ;
and in the removal of incompetent officers, and the appoint-
ment of new ones, his word was law. " Send down a list
immediately, of those you think proper, and look upon it
as done." *

1 Hutchinson. Grahame.

2 Hoyt's Antiquities. -^
8 Manuscript letter of Jacob Glen.

4 Manuscript letter ; Major Rutherford, of the executive council, to Colonel
Johnson.

CHAPTER IX.
1748.
Colonel Johnson had now become, through his own tact

0 . CHAP-

and the influence of Governor Clinton, a prominent man ix.
in the affairs of the colony. In February, he accepted the ^^
command of the New York colonial troops for the defence
of the frontiers — a circumstance which affords another
proof of the high favor in which he was held by the gov-
ernor. Though still continuing the traffic in furs, and by
no means neglecting his mercantile pursuits, he devoted
himself more assiduously, not only to political matters, but
also to the management of the Indian department over
which he had for the last two years had the control.
Becoming favorably known both to the colony and the
British government, he now assumed, as better suited to
his improved standing, more dignity in his appointments,
his manner of living, and his intercourse with the Indians.
It was about this period, although I have not been able
to learn the exact date, that Colonel Johnson employed as
his housekeeper, Mary Brant, or Miss Molly, as she was
called, a sister of the celebrated Indian chief Thayendane-
gea, with whom he lived until his decease, and by whom he
had several children.1 This circumstance is thus mentioned

1 That Molly Brant was not the wife of the Baronet, is fully proved by his
last will, (published in appendix to vol. ii.) in which, after desiring to have
the "remains of his beloved wife Catherine," interred beside him, he speaks
of the "children of my present housekeeper, Mary Brant," as his "natural
children." It is, however, but justice to Molly Brant, to state that she
always regarded herself as married to the Baronet after the Indian fashion.

The traditions of the Mohawk valley state that the acquaintance of
Colonel Johns on with Molly, had a rather wild and romantic commencement.
The story was, that she was a very sprightly and a very beautiful Indian
girl of about sixteen, when he first saw her. It was at a regimental militia

328 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

c^p. by Mrs. Grant in her entertaining book. "Becoming a
n—v — ' widower in the prime of life, he connected himself with an
1748. inciiail maiden, daughter to a sachem, who possessed an un-
commonly agreeable person and good understanding ; and
whether ever formally married to him according to our usage
or not, continued to live with him in great union and affec-
tion all his life." Colonel Johnson himself repeatedly
speaks of this Indian lady in his private journal. During
his expedition to Detroit entries occur in which he speaks
of having received news from home, and of having written
to Molly. He always mentioned her kindly. Thus under
date of Wednesday, October 2,1st, 1759, he Writes :

" Met Sir Robert Davis and Captain Etherington, who
gave me a packet of letters from General Amherst. Cap-
tain Etherington told me Molly was delivered of a girl and
all were well at my house, where they stayed ten days."

Molly, as has already been stated, was the sister of
Thayendanegea, and both, according to the account in the
London Magazine of 1776, the earliest printed testimony
upon the subject, were the grand-children of one of the
Mohawk chiefs, who visited England half a century before.
That her father was a chief, several authorities have like-
wise been cited to show; to which may be added Allen's
Biographical Dictionary, where the fact is positively as-
serted. l

By thus forming an alliance with the family of an influ-

muster, where Molly was one pf a multitude of spectators. One of the field
ofiieers coming near her upon a prancing steed, by way of banter she asked
permission to mount behind him. Not supposing she could perform the
exploit, he said she might. At. the word she leaped upon the crupper with
the agility of a gazelle. The horse sprang off at full speed, and, clinging
to the officer, her blanket flying, and her dark tresses streaming in the wind,
she flew about the parade ground swift as an arrow, to the infinite merriment
of the collected multitude. The colonel, who was a witness of the spectacle,
admiring the spirit of the young squaw, and becoming enamored of her per-
son, brought her to his house.

1 President Allen was connected by marriage with the family of the late
President Wheelock, and has had excellent opportunities for arriving at the
probable truth.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 329

ential and powerful chieftain, Colonel Johnson evidently ch^p
aimed at a more extended influence over the Indians. Nor >— v— '
did the result disappoint him ; for in this alliance and in 1748-
his custom of mingling among them in his familiar way,
is doubtless to be found the secret of his extraordinary
ascendency over the fickle red men of the forest.

Meantime a new assembly had been chosen, which the
governor met upon the twelfth of February. The election,
however, had made but few changes in the composition of
that body ; all the former leaders being returned, and Mr.
Jones consequently again presented for his excellency's
approbation as speaker. The opening speech of the
governor was conciliatory. He announced that the conven-
tion agreed upon between the commissioners of New York,
Massachusetts and Connecticut, had been ratified by the
first and last mentioned of those colonies, and by the legis-
lature of Massachusetts, with the exception of a single
article, which his excellency did not conceive to be very
material. The place of the cordon of rangers provided
for by that article, the governor thought, could be supplied
by strong parties of Indians. Notwithstanding the abortive
effects of the two preceding years to achieve the invasion
of Canada, and the strangely vascillating conduct of the
ministry upon this important subject, measures to that end
were again proposed, and the necessary means suggested,
with as much confidence as though there had been no dis-
appointment. The disbanding of the forces at Albany had
necessarily discouraged the Indians, who had regarded the
measure as a want either of courage or strength, and the
French had not been slow to avail themselves of the oppor-
tunity again to sow the seeds of disaffection among them —
particularly the Senecas and Onondagas. Measures were
therefore advised for regaining the hearty cooperation of
their people. The death of Mr. Bleecker, long the govern-
ment interpreter in its intercourse with the Indians, and the
appointment of Arent Stevens in his place was announced.
The government was indebted to Colonel Johnson for

330 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, various advances of money, and he had given notice that
*-v— ' such was the increased cost of provisioning the garrison of
1748. Oswego, that he could no longer perform that service with-
out an advance upon the terms of his contract of two hun-
dred pounds per annum. The fortifications of Albany need-
ed repairs, and several of the forts were short of ammunition.
The attention of the assembly was also called to the fact
that no provision had been made at the last session for
paying the salaries of the officers of the government.
Other suggestions connected with the public service were
made in the speech, one of which was the employment of
a smith for the benefit of the Indians at Oswego. Finally
he recommended that they should make immediate pro-
vision for rewarding those Indians who had acted as scouts
for transporting the new levies to Albany, victualing them
in the Mohawk's country, removing cannon from Saratoga
to Albany, and also for the salary of a commanding officer
to the troops raised by the province.

It would appear that the dissolution of the assembly had,
for a time, at least, produced a better state of feeling in
the new assembly than in the previous one. The answer
of the council was moved by Chief Justice DeLancey ; that
of the assembly was reported by Mr. Clarkson ; and both
were conceived in a better spirit, and couched in much
more respectful language than had been usual for some
time past. In the address of. the house to the governor
upon the eighteenth, the assembly assured his excellency
of their readiness to enter immediately upon the consider-
ation of the different matters which he had submitted to
them, and to make provision for such supplies as were
essential to the well being and security of the colony. Two
days afterward, however, as if they feared that they had
conceded too much, and wished therefore to counteract it
by thwarting the favorite scheme of the governor, the
committee of the whole on his speech, reported it as their
opinion, that to follow out the plan proposed by Massachu-
setts, would be contrary to the purposes of the agreement,

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 331

and therefore that the house ought not to accede to the chap.
alteration. < s_^_/

The temper of the assembly, however, as before remarked, 1748-
was much more tractable ; and at this sitting, several
resolutions were passed in favor of repairing the dif-
ferent fortifications along the frontiers, stationing a larger
garrison at Oswego, defraying the expenses of the gun-
smiths stationed among the Indians, paying the rangers
employed as scouts, building block houses, and other plans
of a like character. Two hundred pounds were also voted
to Colonel Johnson, for the extraordinary charges to which
he had been subjected in supplying the garrison of Oswego
with provisions, and an appropriation made for the payment
of the salaries of the officers of the government, but to
which was attached " a reward of one hundred and fifty
pounds to Mr. Horsmanden, for his late controversial labors,
under the pretext of drafting their bills, and other public
service."1

The most important act of the session, however, was an
appropriation of two hundred pounds per annum for the
compensation of an agent, to reside in the parent capital,
to solicit in the concerns of the colony. The appointment
of such an agent had been previously recommended ; and
though successful at last by a unanimous vote, it might not
have been, but from the design of the house to employ an
agent who should be under its own direction, and whose
office, at least in part, should be to thwart the views of the
governor at home. The enactment was so shaped as cau-
tiously to deprive the governor even of a concurrent power
in making the appointment ; and indeed the agent, Robert
Charles, was named and his first instructions actually
given, a few hours before the house was summoned into
the presence of the governor to witness, previous to the
adjournment, his assent to the bills that had been passed.
These instructions are in part inscribed upon the journals
of the assembly ; while another portion may be found in

1 Journals of the colonial assembly, Smith Hist. New York.

332 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, the appendix to the second volume of Smith, being a letter

v-^w to Charles from the speaker, Jones. They will be found

!748. to sustain the opinion already advanced, viz : that the agent

was to be the instrument of the assembly against the

governor.

This course of action has been attributed to a desire on
the part of the DeLancey family to supplant Mr. Clinton
with the view of bringing Sir Peter Warren into the execu-
tive chair ; and color is given to the suggestion by the fact
that Mr. Charles was enjoined " in the execution of his
instructions, always to take the advice of Sir Peter Warren
if in England." } DeLancey, the chief justice, was like-
wise ambitious ; and it is not unlikely that he might have
cherished such a design in favor of his brother-in-law*?
but I have found no evidence that Sir Peter Warren him-
self was a party to any such intrigue. Why should he
have been ? The measure of his naval glory was full. He
was now a member of the imperial parliament, in the
enjoyment of a princely estate, and withal in a bad state
of health* The governorship of the colony of New York,
therefore, could have been no object with him, even should
he be able to compete with success against the Newcastle
interest by which Mr. Clinton was sustained.

Meanwhile the Indians of the Six Nations, true to their
wavering character, upon hearing that the expedition
against Canada had been given up, had become exceedingly
discontented. Added to this, an express arrived at New
York on the seventeenth of Pebrurary, bearing advices to
the governor from Colonel Johnson of an alarming nature.
Intelligence had been recently brought in by scouts, so
Johnson wrote, that an expedition was fitting out in Cana-
da against the settlements, but whether the blow was to
fall upon Albany, Schenectady, or the Mohawks, could not
be ascertained. Advices were also received on the twenty-
second, from Lieutenant Lindesay, the commanding officer

1 Letter of Speaker Jones to Mr. Charles, April 9th, 1748.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 333

at Oswego, stating that his scouts reported that a French chap.
army was marching to attack that post. The whole *_ v_,
country, but especially the border, was kept in a state 1748-
of great terror for several days. Nor was the panic con-
fined to the sparsely peopled settlements. It extended
to Albany, and so great was the fear of the inhabit-
ants, that Colonel Schuyler ordered into the city for
its defence, several companies of the militia, who were
quartered in the neighboring districts.1 While affairs were
in this harrassing state, Colonel Johnson wrote to Governor
Clinton that the governor of Canada, through the instru-
mentality of the Jesuit missionaries, was pressing upon the
Six Nations warm invitations to visit him in Montreal, and
by every means in his power was endeavoring to seduce
those Indians from their alliance with the English. Nor
had these artifices been entirely without effect, for the
Indians, especially the Onondagas, were already wavering,
and were even now manifesting alarming symptoms of
defection.

In this exigency, the governor, at the suggestion of Shir-
ley, immediately wrote to Colonel Johnson, directing him
to proceed forthwith into the Indian country attended by a
strong guard. The note of preparation for this visit is
given in the following letter :

Colonel Johnson to Captain Catherwood — (Extract.)

"Albany, April 9, 1748.
u ***** j am g0 jnuc^ hurried with settlinsr
my affairs before I go, that I declare I have not time to
write a line. I intend to set off" next Thursday from my
house, with a guard of fifty men, Captain Thomas Butler,
and Lieutenant Laurie, officers. We shall have a fatiguing
journey of it, and I reckon pretty dangerous; fori am
informed by Hendrik's son, that the French at Cadaracqui,
having heard of my intention by Jean Cceur, were quite
uneasy at the news, and said they would prevent it — an

2 Manuscript letter Colonel Schuyler to Governor Clinton.

334 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, attempt wliicli I think very likely, as it would be of great
wy—/ consequence to them. The worst of it is, we must march
1748. for above one hundred miles on foot to go through all their
castles by the way, in order to talk to some of the most
obstinate of them privately before the meeting, which is
the only way I could ever find to gain a point with this
sort of people. I reckon I shall have a great deal of trouble
to overset all that the French have been doing since last
fall. However, I shall leave no stone unturned to accom-
plish what I go at, either by fair or foul means, for if they
are obstinate, — I mean the Onondagas, — I shall certainly
talk very harsh to them, and try what that will do. I hope
to return in about three weeks, (if nothing extraordinary
happens,) when I trust I shall be able to give his excellency
an agreeable account of my progress. I also hope his
excellency will not omit writing to me if anything of con-
sequence occurs. It will be the time to hear good news
when among them all, — especially of an expedition going
on, which would cheer up all their drooping spirits. If
the governor and Governor Shirley intend to come soon, it
would be very proper to give me timely notice, in order to
prepare the Indians for a meeting. I hope the assembly
will not be so unconscionable as to expect I should take the
command of these companies without a salary. But I leave
that, and the affair of the regiment entirely to his excel-
lency and you, to do as you think proper against I come
back. As to the latter, I assure you it is in a bad way, as
also is the watch of Albany."

The orders given to Colonel Johnson were, to erect
forts for the protection of the Indian women and children ;
and by the judicious distribution of presents, to arrest
this defection, and thus counteract the insidious influ-
ence of the Jesuit priests. The governor farther direct-
ed him " to keep the Indians with some Christians contin-
ually engaged in skirmishing and in hostile acts against
the enemy;" hoping that in this manner the Indians

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 335

might be led to forget their dissappointment.1 But these chap.
were not the only objects aimed at in this journey. Oolo-v-^— j
nel Johnson was moreover particularly instructed to ascer- 1'48-
tain the temper of the Six Nations towards the English;
and if possible persuade their sachems to attend a grand
council to be held shortly at Albany at a time not as yet
designated.

Upon the reception of these orders, a council of all the
chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations was summoned by
Colonel Johnson to meet him around the central council
fire at Onondaga ; and it appears to have been pretty well
attended. Whatever of doubt or distrust, moreover, the
colonel might have previously entertained as to his proba-
ble reception, he certainly had no cause of complaint
upon that head. Being the bearer of presents to a consi-
derable amount, in goods and provisions, which were neces-
sarily transported by bateaux, his advance was slow. In-
deed the assemblage at Onondaga, had been well nigh
dissolved the day before his arrival, from sheer hunger.
But the colonel was well received at all the castles on the
route, and his arrival at Onondaga, on the twenty-fourth
of April, was greeted by the display of English colors and
a salute of fire-arms, which was returned by his guards.
He was attended by the principal chiefs to a large house
prepared for his reception, spread with new mats, and
three others of their bark houses, were appropriated to
his attendants. In about an hour afterwards all the
sachems of the Confederacy waited upon the colonel in a
body, and welcomed him in a general speech, delivered
by an Onondaga sachem named Gan-ugh-sa-dea-gah, —
" thanking the Great Spirit that he had been spared to
come among them at this bloody time." They apologized
for the "miserable poor condition" in which he had found
them, owing to the fact that by the directions of the
English they had now been kept two years from their
hunting, in the expectation of being employed upon the

1 Manuscript letter from Governor Clinton to Colonel Johnson.

336 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

ch^vp. war-path, — " and that" said the sachem, " all for nothing,
v— , — < as we see no sign of your doing anything with your army
1/48- as we expected." They had now assembled, pursuant to
a belt which he had sent them, " in their present hungry
condition having nothing to eat," to hear what he had to
say, and to thank him for the supplies they had brought,
" although the day before," being quite out of patience
and hungered," they had resolved to break up and go
home." Colonel Johnson thanked them for the kind
welcome they had given him, but being too much fatigued
to enter upon business then, he deferred them until the
next day, adding — " So I hope you will be easy in your
minds, and content yourselves so long, and I will this
night provide a feast for your sachems, and another for
the warriors and dancers, who I hope will be merry, as it
will be my greatest pleasure to see them and make them
so."

On the following day the colonel met them in grand
council, and imparted the business which had called him
thither in a general speech, prepared after the usual pattern
of Indian diplomacy. He told them that he had found in
some of the old writings of our forefathers which were
thought to have been lost, an old and valuable record,
containing an account of the manner in which the first
friendship between their respective ancestors had com-
menced on the arrival of "the first great canoe" at Albany.
As that canoe contained many things that pleased the
Indians, they resolved to tie it fast to the strongest tree
on the bank of the river, by a great rope, that the great-
est care might be taken of it. But on farther considera-
tion, fearing that the tree might be blown down, it was
thought safest to make a long rope and tie it fast at Onon-
daga, and the rope put under their feet, that in case of any
danger to the canoe, by the shaking of the rope, they
might all rise as one man, and see what the matter was.
Afterward, that their covenant of friendship might be the
stronger, the governor had provided a long silver chain

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 337

instead of the rope, that it might never break, or slip, or chap.
rust. This chain was to hind both peoples together, as of v_v_,
one head, one heart, one blood ; and whenever it became 1748-
rusty, it was to be immediately brightened up again, that
the covenant might be perpetual. Having thus figura-
tively rehearsed the history of the ancient alliance, Colonel
Johnson proceeded with directness to the object of his
visit. He told them that the French had emissaries among
them, who were endeavoring to blindfold them, and per-
suade them to slip their hands out of that chain, which,
as their wise forefathers had told them would certainly be
the destruction of them all. He conjured them therefore
to listen no longer to their deceitful enemies, whose object
in the end, would be to destroy them all. In answer to
their complaint that for two days all their roads had been
stopped by the orders of the English — in other words that
they had been kept from hunting, — the colonel told them
they had misunderstood the belt he had sent them. He
had only meant to stop the road leading to Canada. He
informed them that the governors of New York and Mas-
sachusetts, to their great concern, had heard of their
determination soon to go that way again, contrary to their
engagements, and he told them explicitly, that he had
been sent by those governors to stop their going. It was
the wish, both of the governors and himself, that they
should act for their own interests, and go in whatever
direction they pleased excepting to Canada. On no consi-
deration whatever should they offer to go there.

The plea of the Indians for their present desire to send
a mission to Canada was, that several of their " flesh and
blood" were in Montreal, chained and imprisoned, and
they wished to go thither " and get them back;" but the
colonel told them they had better leave that matter to their
brethren the English, who would be most likely to succeed.
He then rebuked them sharply for a transaction of the
preceding year. They had then expressed a strong
desire to send an embassy to Canada, to persuade their

338 LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

ch^p. " flesh and blood," the Caughnawagas, to leave the French,
^ — - and return to their own country and kindred ; and at their
1747- solicitation, hostilities were to be suspended during their
absence — they promising to return within a month. But
instead of that, tney staid in Canada the whole summer,
and brought back none of their " flesh and blood" when
they finally returned. True to his engagement the colo-
nel had kept all the warriors of the Six Nations at home
during their absence, and the consequence was that the
lives of several of his people had been lost by the incur-
sions of the Canada Indians, and he told the Onondagas
plainly that he had no doubt they had seen their scalps.
Indeed he charged them with having feigned the errand to
the Caughnawagas, for the purpose of giving them an
opportunity to talk with the French governor ; but he
warned them not to set their faces that way again.

Thus far Colonel Johnson told them, the Six Nations
had not hurt the Caughnawagas during the war ; and yet
some of their principal men had lately been murdered in
the open fields by the Caughnawagas and the French.
" The Frenchman's axe is therefore sticking fast in our
heads day after day." By this barbarous act, it was ren-
dered very plain that the French aimed at nothing short
of their destruction, which, he insisted, had ever been
their design, " as you all," said he, "by sorrowful experi-
ence have formerly seen and felt, when they used to destroy
your castles, and sacrifice such numbers of your predeces-
sors, that large heaps of their bones yet lie scattered over
your whole country. This consideration alone ought to
be sufficient to stir up everlasting resentment in your
bosoms against such a barbarous people ; and it would, if
there was the least spark of that Great Spirit in you, for
which your brave ancestors were noted through the world.
If you are worthy of those ancestors you will now use the
axe against them which you have had so long in your
hands.

Before closing his speech, the colonel repeated his suspi-

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 339

cions of their friendly intentions toward the French, and c^p"
warned them against any farther duplicity. They must Wy— -
either drop the French entirely and stand by their own 1748*
brothers, or declare themselves at once and explicitly, if
the contrary was their determination. In conclusion,
however, he informed them of the liberal disposition
entertained toward them by the governor, and by their
great father the king. He had now orders to build forts
in their country for the defence of their towns and castles
while their braves were absent in the war ; and he had the
pleasure farther to inform them that the king had
sent a quantity of goods as presents for those of them who
were hearty in his cause. These presents were expected
shortly to arrive, and it was his desire that their nations
should meet the governor at Albany, there to receive them.
The council-fire was then raked up until the next day,
when the sachems delivered their answer ; and even if
they had been meditating treachery, either the decided
tone in which Colonel Johnson had spoken, or the promis-
ed presents, or perhaps the influence of both, had wrought
sa favorable change in their temper as could have been
desired. They admitted that they had been tampered
with by the French, " who had used a great deal of art,"
but promised that their friendship for the English, should
never be dropped. They nevertheless thought it hard and
cruel that they should not be allowed to go to Canada for
their "flesh and blood," rotting and dying in irons, when
their release had been offered if they would go for them.
"Had you," they said, "got them from thence as you did
your own people, we should not have thought of going to
Canada as friends, but in another manner." However, as
the colonel promised that efforts should be made to pro-
cure the release of the Indian captives in exchange for
French prisoners, they would not look that way any
longer. Yet they begged earnestly that their brother
would make haste in this matter. They explained the
reason of their long detention when on a mission to

340 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Canada, the summer before. While they were in Montreal,
%— v— ' news came that the Six Nations had killed and taken seve-
1748. raj French people, upon which they were ordered to Que-
bec to be imprisoned. They were detained ninety-two
days, at the end of which they were permitted to return,
but with only two of their warriors who were prisoners.
The governor would release no more, but told them he
would give them all up if they would come again this
spring, unless in the meantime the Six Nations should
make war, in which event he would put them all to death.
"Now," said the governor " as we have told you all about
this affair, we hope you will not blame us as you have
done, but be assured our resolution is to live and die by
you. We listen to you with open ears and mind what
you say, you may depend upon it. And we hope you will
not make a doubt of it that our firm resolution is, to keep
up in every step, to the rules laid down by our forefathers.
And as we have your axe so long in hand, we assure you
that we have been, ever since we last took it up, always
ready to make use of it in conjunction with you and will
ever continue so." Recurring in the course of their
speech to the same idea of having had the axe so long in
their heads again, the sachem proceeded as follows :
" Brother, we were in hopes to have used the axe before
now to some purpose, as you told us two years ago that
you were then ready to march with your army against
Canada. But instead of an army you only sent out small
parties, several of whom were by that means cut to pieces.
Had you gone on-iwith your army and ships, as you told
us you would, and assisted us properly to get over the
foreign Indians to our interest, who offered their service,
then We should have been able with the loss of a few men
to have driven the French and his allies into the great
lakes and drowned them. But as you have not done that,
which we are sorry for, we tell you now, brother, according
to your desire, we used what interest we could that way,
and have gained a considerable number of the foreign

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 341

Indians who were ready to join you, and us. But there isc^p-
no sign of an army now, nor the encouragement given to - — » — '
them which they expected. "We cannot pretend to say
now what they will do."

This rebuke of the English for the feeble manner in which
the war had been conducted, notwithstanding all the bust-
ling preparations of the two preceding years, was not
undeserved.

The sachems closed their address by warm expressions
of thanks to Colonel Johnson for his care over them, and
for the presents he had brought. They also promised to
meet the governor at his call ; and in conclusion, the colonel
assured them that he should inform the governor of wThat
had taken place "with a cheerful heart." 1

Yet in transmitting the proceedings to the governor, the
colonel avowed his decided belief that no restraint that
should be at once wholesome and permanent, could be
imposed upon the Indians, unless by strong legislation,
unprincipled white men could be prevented from hastening
their destruction by the "accursed traffic of rum."

The idea of a grand council, to be held at Albany the
ensuing summer, had been long in contemplation both by
Governor Clinton and Governor Shirley. 2 Strangely
enough, moreover, considering the course of the ministers
in terminating the military demonstrations of the preceding
autumn, and ordering the disbanding of the troops, a letter
was received from the Duke of Newcastle, in February,
addressed to Governors Shirley and Clinton, urging in the
strongest terms, the importance of destroying the French
settlement at Crown Point— ^an object, it need not be here
repeated, long entertained by the colonies, and the achieve-
ment of which, had only been prevented by the indecision,
if not the weakness of ministers. They were also directed
in the same despatch, to do everything in their power to

JFor a full account of the proceedings of this council, see journals of the
council board.

2 Letter from Governor Shirley to Governor Clinton — London documents

XXX.

342 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

ch£p. secure the steady attachment of the Six Nations to the
s_^— > king's interests — to which end the necessary presents were
1748. fa j^ provided at the expense of the crown. This com-
munication from the ministers only hastened the carrying
out of the proposed council ; and on the twenty-eighth of
March, Governor Clinton being indisposed. Chief Justice
De Lancey, by his order, laid before the council the
duke of Newcastle's letter. The letter having been
referred to a committee, the suggestions contained in it
were fully approved, and an expedition against Crown Point
recommended as best calculated to secure the Six Nations
in the interests of the crown. The committee farther
seconded, without a dissenting voice, the project of holding
a council with the Indians during the ensuing summer,
and suggested that the governor should send down a mes-
sage to the house asking for its cheerful acquiescence in
these plans. In accordance, therefore, with this advice,
the governor sent a me ssage to the assembly, urging upon
its consideration these suggestions of the council, and
asking for immediate action. On the next day a committee
of the whole house reported favorably upon the message.
They acknowledged the kindness of his majesty in directing
that the Indians should be protected at the expense of the
crown ; they proposed that the provinces should unite with
each other in every well concerted scheme for defence ;
and suggested that provision should be made to enable the
commissioners of the different provinces to meet together
and determine upon suitable measures. This report met
the entire approval of the assembly, and on the same day
it further brought in a bill for reimbursing the governor
for the money which he had advanced out of his own funds
to Colonel Johnson as pay for the scalps which had been
brought in by the Indians.

But notwithstanding this seeming disposition on the part
of the assembly to acquiese in the wishes of the governor,
all his efforts to second governor Shirley's favorite plan
for an expedition against Crown Point were fruitless.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 343

Although the new assembly had not openly opposed the chap.
governor thus far, yet its apathy showed plainly how little ^— y— '
it was its purpose to second vigorously his efforts. In a 1747,
letter from Governor Clinton to the lords of trade, under
date of April of this year, the writer complains bitterly of
this indisposition to second him in his endeavors to pro-
mote the welfare of the colony ; and alludes in no gentle
spirit to the continued encroachments of the house on the
crown, particularly as shown in the appointment of Robert
Charles as agent for the province without his privity or
consent. This appointment by the assembly without refer-
ence to the wishes of the governor, was well calculated to
exasperate a far less choleric temperament than his ; and
accustomed as he had been all his life to command, he
could ill brook the growing spirit of insubordination in
his legislature. Indeed, this is but another evidence of the
tendency which was everywhere manifesting itself in the
colonies, to assert their entire independence of the crown
in the government of their home affairs.

The general assembly again met on the sixth of June,
but was adjourned until the twenty-first. The session
was opened by a message from the governor, transmitting,
among other papers, Colonel Johnson's report of the pro-
ceedings at the Onondaga council. Favorable, however,
as these proceedings appeared, his excellency said he had
little hope of preventing their ultimate defection to the
French, unless some enterprise against the enemy should
be speedily and resolutely undertaken. He therefore again
urged an expedition against Crown Point, conjointly with
the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut, who were
ready to unite immediately in an attempt for the reduction
of that post. On the subject of intercourse between the
traders and the Indians, a strong enactment to prevent the
sale to the latter of spirituous liquors, and the purchase
from them of arms, ammunition and clothing, was recom-
mended. The message farther announced that his excel-
lency was preparing to meet the Indians at Albany in the

344 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, course of the ensuing month ; but particularly it called

^^L the attention of the assembly to the disaffection of the

1748. Indians on account of the detention of their braves in

Canada ; urging in view of this, that immediate provision

be made for the exchange of these prisoners.

Upon the last mentioned suggestion the assembly acted
with promptitude ; and a resolution was passed, requesting
the governor to send a flag of truce to Canada with twenty-
five French prisoners then confined in New York, together
with all the prisoners detained at Albany, to be exchanged
for such of the inhabitants of the colony, and Indians of
the Six Nations, as were held in captivity by the French, —
the house pledging itself to defray the expense. But as
to the other recommendations of the message, a decided
spirit of reluctance was manifested. The house refused to
engage with Massachusetts and Connecticut in the pro-
posed united expedition against Crown Point ;-^instead of
which they recommended merely that the governor should
unite with Governor Shirley, and the other governors on
the continent, in humbly representing to his majesty the
distressed state of the colonies by reason of the French in
Canada, and imploring his assistance.

There had as yet been no collision between Mr. Clinton
and his new assembly — rendered new only by the process
of an election, — but however smooth the surface, the
elements of an outbreak were smouldering beneath. And
these had well nigh been called info action by a very small
affair, during the present short session. On the twenty-
fourth of June, Colonel Beekman, one of the representa-
tives from the county of Dutchess, brought forward with
all possible solemnity, a charge against the governor, " of
such a violation of the laws, and such a grievance upon the
people, — such an attempt upon their rights and properties,

as called loudly for redress." The facts adduced by

Colonel Beekman to sustain this very grievous charge, were
these : Some of the late levies from Dutchess county, who
had served on the northern frontier, had sued, and others

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOIINSON, BART.

were preparing to sue, their captain for their pay ; npon chap*
which the governor had written to the judge, and Mi-.v^
Catherwood, his secretary, to the clerk of the court, and 1748-
also to the sheriff, desiring them to put a stop to the pro-
ceedings. Upon this representation, a committee of inquiry
was raised, with power to send for persons and papers.
No sooner, however, had the governor seen the entry of
these proceedings upon the journals, than he transmitted
a message of explanation to the house, from which it
appeared that the suits in question had been instituted by
sundry deserters who had gone off with his majesty's arms
and clothing, by reason of which they hac). fortified all pay
due them from the crown ; and the letters written to the
officers of the court, merely recommended that a stop
should be put to the claims of those deserters. "If," said
the governor, " such a step taken, can, in the most exten-
sive light, be construed any violation of the laws, or a
grievance upon the people, it was done through inadver-
tency ; as I never had an intention to infringe upon any
man's right or property; and if the people have received
any damage thereby, I am ready to redress it." No farther
action was had in the case, and the assembly adjourned on
the first of July,— not, however, without complying with
the suggestion of Colonel Johnson, by passing an act more
effectually to cut off the pernicious traffic in rum with the
Indians.

Mr. Clinton's attention was next occupied in prepara-
tions for his approaching interview with the Indians, at
which Governor Shirley proposed to be present. Just as
he was on the point of starting for Albany, however, tidings
though unofficial, were received from Europe, the nature
of which would be at once to change the character of the
negotiations with the Indians, and of which the governor
wrote thus to Colonel Johnson :
44

346 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. Governor Clinton to Colonel Johnson.

1748.

3 New York, July 5, 1748.

Sir:

I have just this moment received yours of the first
instant, which I have but time to acknowledge by Lieuten-
ant Cleavland, and send you the enclosed piece of news,
which I believe will startle you, as it does everybody else ;
though I think if the Parliament had agreed to the prelimi-
naries, we must have had orders before this. Upon this
news I received a letter from Governor Shirley last Satur-
day, to desire I would postpone my meeting the Indians
for eight or ten days. Upon that I have sent an express
to know the difficulty I shall meet in complying, besides
the danger of making them angry if I don't meet them
at or about the time appointed. Therefore I was obliged
to set out, but would defer speaking to them till the
twentieth instant, in the hope of his being there by that
time. I set out on Thursday, and expect an answer to my
express at the manor of Livingston this day sennight, —
having given him positive orders to be there in the morn-
ing, and written to Mr. Shirley to despatch him for that
end. One reason Governor Shirley gives for postponing
the conference, is, that we may expect some directions from
home in regard to the Indians, and what it would be proper
to say to them on this occasion. Adieu in great haste.
" Yours most sincerely,

"Geo. Clinton."
"To ColonelJohnson."1

The report proved to be true — the preliminaries of a
general peace having been signed by the ministers of the
great powers, at Aix-la-Chapelle in May, as announced by
the king in closing the session of parliament on the
thirteenth of that month. The truth was, that all parties
had become tired of the war, — England, because of the
prodigious expense she was compelled to incur, not only in
keeping up her own fleets and armies, but in subsidizing

1 Manuscript Letter.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 347

the northern powers of Europe, — an expense so great as chap.
not to be countermanded by the splendid series of victories v_ ^— >
which her arms had achieved at sea, and by the glory which 1748-
the Duke of Cumberland had won upon the continent.
The king of France, too, had in the preceding autumn,
expressed his desire of a pacification in a personal conver-
sation with Sir John Ligonier, made prisoner by the French
in the battle of LafFeldt ; and his minister at the Hague
had subsequently presented a declaration to the same effect
to the deputies of the States General. \ Nor is it strange
that the French monarch should have been desirous of
peace. For notwithstanding the successes of his arms in
the Netherlands, the victory of Marshall Saxe over the
confederates at Laffeldt, was accidental, and withal had
been dearly purchased, while the Marshal de Belleisle,
though at first successful in Italy, had been checked, and
his brother, the chevalier, slain in Piedmont, and his large
army defeated. Everywhere upon the seas the English had
been victorious. In addition to the loss of the expensive
armament under the Duke D'Auville, occasioned by sick-
ness, tempest, and the death of the commander, and the
victories of Anson and "Warren, of which an account has
already been given in a former chapter, Commodore Fox
had, in the month of June of the preceding year, taken
above forty ships richly laden from St. Domingo, and in
October following, Admiral Hawkehad achieved his splen-
did victory over the French fleet commanded by Monsieur
Letendeur, in the latitude of Belleisle. Letendeur's fleet
consisted of nine ships of the line, besides frigates, in con-
voy of a numerous fleet of merchant ships bound from the
West Indies. A large number of the merchantmen were
intercepted before their arrival at Martinique, and taken.
The number of prizes captured by the British cruisers that
year from the French and Spaniards, was six hundred and
forty-four — the loss of the English during the same period
not exceeding four hundred and fifty.2

i Smollett.
2 Smollett.

348 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BAET.

chap. These results had been sufficiently discouraging to the
^-v— 'French monarch, who now knew in addition, that G-reat
1/48. Britain had at length succeeded in subsidizing the Czarina
of Russia, who had a large army then on the march to join
the Duke of Cumberland and the Confederates in the
Lowlands. Every day France was becoming more and
more impoverished by the expenses, and the losses of the
war, while her statesmen were amazed at the resources of
England, enabling her not only to maintain invincible
armies and navies, but to subsidize all Europe.1 Hence
the desire of the French monarch for peace, the prelimina-
ries of which were signed in May of the present year, as
already stated, although there was no cessation of hostilities
until the conclusion of the treaty in October.

The time for holding the grand council — so earnestly
desired uy the royal governors, and so long looked for by
the Indians — had now arrived. Preparations for this event
had been made upon a large scale, and everything which
would Tender it attractive to the Indians had been thought
of and prepared. Accordingly, on the twentieth of July,
Governor Clinton, accompanied by Doctor Colden and
other members of his council, arrived in Albany. Here
they found waiting them, Governor Shirley and the com-
missioners of Massachusetts Bay, who had arrived a day
or two previously. JNor had the Indians been less prompt
in their attendance. The representations from the Six
Nations, the River Indians, and some of the far ofi" tribes,
was unprecedented in the history of any former council.
So large, indeed, was the number of Indians assembled
upon this occasion, that the oldest of the inhabitants
declared that Albany had never before witnessed such a
large concourse within her precincts. The exertions of
Colonel Johnson, which had been unremitting to secure a
full delegation from each of the different tribes, undoubt-
edly contributed much to this result. Indeed, such had

i Smollett.

PMUjMP alias METACG3IET of Poianoket.

IltiifiiiiYif /rem ///e original as TittHsked. iu Chiaxh.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

349

been his influence, that numbers of those Indians, who chap.
had hitherto leaned toward the French interest, camev
flocking in from the surrounding country, anxious to show 1748-
their allegiance to the British crown.

The old Dutch city had in fact seldom witnessed such a
sight. Here were gathered Indians from the far West,
many of whom at a later period were destined to redden
their tomahawks in the blood of so many brave garrisons,
under the great Pontiac. Here were many of the River
Indians, — remnants of once powerful tribes, — whose grand-
sires had followed the brave Uncas and Miantonomo to
battle, and had taken their last stand with the noble
but ill-fated King Philip. In one spot, a painted and
tattooed warrior might have been seen smoking his pipe,
as he recounted to his wondering companions the sights seen
in his morning's stroll ; while everywhere groups of pic-
turesquely attired Indians, with nodding plumes and
variegated blankets, wandered through the streets, gazing
with curious eye upon the novelties of civilization.

The proceedings of the council, however, contrary to
expectation, were not important. The governor's speech
was but another rehearsal, in substance, and in metaphor,
of former ones. The old " covenant chain" was again
"brightened," and the Indians w^ere again admonished
against the wiles of the French. They were requested to
keep "the axe in their hands," and to restrain their young
men still longer from their hunting. They were cautioned
against allowing theirpeople, under any pretext whatesover,
to be seduced by the invitations of the French into Canada,
and they were peremptorily directed to arrest the celebrat-
ed Jean Cceur, so long the arch enemy of the English
residing among the Senecas at the Niagara carrying-place,
and deliver him to the colonial authorities, and likewise
to banish every French emissary from their territory.
They were furthermore requested to desist from a war-ex-
pedition which they were about to undertake against the
Flathead Indians, residing far in the northwest, who were

350 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, claimed by the governor as his majesty's allies. The fol-
v-v— ' lowing is the concluding paragraph of the speech, which
1748. j8 quoted in hcec verba, for the reason that it refers to a mas-
sacre of which the particulars are not known.

" Brethren : You have since you came to this place,
given a new and strong proof of your love to your brethren
and fidelity to the king your father, by so cheerfully and
speedily sending out a number of your warriors with our
troops in quest of the enemy, who a few days since sur-
prised and killed many of our brethren at Schenectady,
and although those who earnestly pursued the enemy, had
not the good fortune to meet with them, you may assure
yourselves that this instance of your affection and readi-
ness to join in our cause, shall always be remembered by
me, and made known to the king your father."

ISo printed or official record of the affair here referred
to is believed to exist. Among the Johnson manuscripts,
however, I have discovered a very confused and unsatis-
factory account of it, contained in a letter to ColonelJohnson
from Albert Van Slyck, dated Schenectady, July twenty-
first, 1748. From the details preserved in this letter, it ap-
pears that a party of men from Schenectady, the leader of
whom was Daniel Toll, had been dispatched to some place
in the vicinity to bring in a number of horses, which was
surprised by a party of the enemy, whose presence in the
neighborhood was neither known nor suspected. The
firing being heard by Adrian Van Slyck, a brother of the
writer of the account, who seems to have resided at a dis-
tance from the town ; he sent a negro man to the latter
place to give the alarm, and obtain reinforcements. Four
parties of armed men successivly repaired to the scene of
action, the first of which was composed of " the New
England lieutenant with some of his men, and five
or six young lads," accompanied by Daniel Van Slyck, —
another brother. The second party was led by Angus Van
Slyck, " and some men" — how many of either party
is not stated. Adrian Van Slyck followed next, at the

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 351

head of a party of New York levies ; but on reaching the chap.
scene of action, where Angus, with inferior numbers, was v-^—^
holding the enemy at bay, the levies all fled, in the most 1748-
cowardly maimer. The fourth party, was composed of
Albert Van Slyck, (the writer of the letter,) Jacob Glen,
" and several others," on the approach of whom the enemy
drew off, leaving Adrian Van Slyck among the dead.
The letter adds — " It grieves me, I not being commander,
that when we went, Garret Van Antwerp would suffer no
more to accompany the party."

Having taken three days for consideration, the Indians
replied on the twenty-sixth, Onnasdego, an Onondaga
sachem, and orator of renown being the speaker. But
the occasion was not such as to kindle the fire of his genius,
or to elicit a single glowing period. His oration was
therefore a commonplace answer, in their exact order, to
the various topics of the speech addressed to them by the
governor. In the outset all their ancient covenants with
the English were renewed ; and while they " freely
acknowledged that the French were continually using
artifices to induce them to break the covenant chain,"
they nevertheless were resolved to hold it fast. They
promised that none of their people should be allowed to
visit the French; declared that no French interpreter
should be longer allowed to reside among them ; and
announced that Jean Cceur had already been delivered up
by the Senecas — but of this fact there seems to be no
good evidence. Their war-kettle, they said, was yet over
the fire, and the hatchet in their hands. They would
grasp it still, and be ready to use it when summoned to
the path. They promised to desist from the prosecution
of hostilities against the Flatheads ; thanked the governor
for his efforts to procure an exchange of prisoners ; express-
ed their grief for the people who had been slain at Sche-
nectady, and their regret that their wariors had not been
able to overtake the enemy, "who had gone a different
road from what they used to go." But they would " wipe

352 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, up the blood of the slain," and " dry up the tears of their

v— ¥ — ^friends."

1748. "ji^g councii fire was then raked up, and the conferences

were closed by a dance of the young warriors in the even-
ing, the governor giving them five barrels of beer where-
with to drink his majesty's health.

On the following day the River Indians presented
themselves, and were thus welcomed by the governor : —

"Brethren : I am glad to see you here and do give you
thanks for the fidelity you have always shown to this
government, and I do assure you, you shall never want my
protection as long as you behave yourselves with duty and
obedience to his majesty. And as a token of the king
your father's affection, he has directed me to make you a
present which I have ordered to be given you."

To which the chief addressing himself to the governors
both of New York and Massachusetts, replied : —

" Fathers : We wipe off your tears you had for the loss
of your people who have been murdered since the com-
mencement of this war.

" Fathers : We are very much rejoiced for the regard our
father the king of Great Britain has for us by ordering a
present which you assure shall be given us.

" Fathers: Our forefathers told us that before any white
people came among them, they saw a vessel in the river.
For some time they were afraid to go to it. But at last
they ventured on board and found them to be white
men who treated them civilly and exchanged mutually
presents to each other, with promise that they would
return the next year, which accordingly happened. When
they came again the white people and they entered into a
covenant together that they should live on their lands,
which they did. And they also promised to take us under
their arms and protect us which they have done to this day.

" Fathers : When you came first to this country you were
but a small people and we very numerous. We then
assisted and protected you, and now we are few in num-

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 353

ber, you become multitudes like a large tree, whose roots chap.
and branches are very extensive, under whose branches Wy— >
we take our shelter as we have heretofore done. 1748-

" Fathers : It is now almost three years since the war
first began. You have had a very numerous army
together. We were re-ady to join you in hopes that
Canada would have been in possession of the English
b efore now. We have been always ready and have still
our hands on the cocks of our guns to go against our'
common enemy whenever we shall be commanded.

" Fathers : We thank you for your kind expressions
toward us, and are very sorry we were not here the other
day, when the enemy murdered a number of our brethren
at Schenectady, which if we had we would have readily
and cheerfully joined in the pursuit of them, even to the
gates of Crown Point."

While this council was sitting, the rumor that the pre-
liminaries for a general pacification had actually been
agreed upon by the great powers of Europe, became gen-
eral, and was soon the topic of conversation among
Indians, as well as among whites. To the Indians of
the Six Nations, who had hoped by a continuance of the
war to have avenged their slaughtered relatives, the
rumor of a peace was a severe blow. All the clans of
the Confederacy had lost some of their braves, but the
Mohawks upon whom the loss naturally fell with greater
force, now that they had at last gone upon the war-path,
were loth to relinquish it. They recalled, too, with bitter-
ness the justice of the remark made by them to Colonel
Johnson, when urged by him to take up the hatchet.
"You and the French can make peace whenever you
choose, but with us when the hatchet is once dug up, it
cannot be so easily buried, but the war must be one of
extermination."

Still the result of this council, so far as the colonies
were concerned, was all that the most sanguine could
desire. The Six Nations promised, either to drive all the

354 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap. French emissaries who had privately resided among them,
»— y— > out of their country, or to deliver them up to Governor
1748. Clinton. They agreed farther to send no deputations
to the Canadian governor, and to keep their warriors
in constant readiness to obey the commands of Mr.
Clinton. Indeed so strong had been the desire of the
Confederates to send a deputation into Canada — Galisso-
niere having represented that this was the condition
alone upon which their braves detained by him would be
given up — that Governor Shirley thought it best to bring
with him fourteen French prisoners to be immediately sent
into Canada as an exchange for an equal number of In-
dians detained there in captivity.

The tragedy at Schenectady, was not the only one enact-
ed upon the northern border of the colony during the sum-
mer of 1748. Another, of a most heart rending description,
was perpetrated at about the same time, in the town of
Hoosic, twenty-five miles north of Albany, by a party of
Indians from St. Francis, which, from its peculiar barbari-
ty, and the character of the victims, deserves a more
extended record than is usually awarded to these incidents
of the border. Indeed among all the scenes of blood,
written or traditionary, in the early history of this country,
none surpass in cruelty the one now about to be related.

Maria Keith, whose name is identified with this savage
transaction, was born in 1721, of highly respectable
parents, on the banks of the Hudson, about eighteen miles
above Albany. Of her infancy and early life, it is suffi-
cient to say, that she gave decided promise of no ordi-
nary qualities of mind, evincing an unusual attachment
for books, and devoting to reading the greater part of that,
which her contemporaries in childhood spent in play.
By seizing thus upon every opportunity of improving her
mind, she acquired much information, and laid up a consi-
derable amount of knowledge, though the expression of
her biographer, from whom the leading facts of the nar-

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 355

rative are drawn, that "she had informed her opening chap*
mind with the principles of every useful science," is proba- >— ^
bly somewhat exaggerated.1 But be this as it may, it is 1748,
evident that her mind was well cultivated. To this excel-
lence may he added another, which though of less import-
ance, yet deserves notice, that her manners were elegant,
an d her person uncommonly attractive. Her beauty became
so celebrated that her fame reached Albany, and drew
thence several admirers who visited Miss Keith, and
solicited her hand. This she refused to all her Albanian
suitors, reserving her affections for a relative of the same
name. The latter, though not handsome, yet having an
engaging address, and being mutually and morally such
as suited her tastes, won her heart, in preference to other
lovers, who might have been considered in a worldly point
of view, more eligible. She was married at the youthful
age of fifteen, her nuptials being celebrated under the
most favorable auspices.

Immediately after her marriage, Mr. Keith erected a
beautiful mansion on the banks of the Touharna, a tribu-
tary of the Hoosic river, whither they removed, and where
they were surrounded by everything necessary to happiness
and tranquil enjoyment. Among the neighbors they were
both very popular, winning golden opinions by their kind-
ness to the sick, their generosity to the poor and needy, and
their hospitality to all of every grade in life who entered
within their peaceful doors. In this way they passed twelve
years of uninterrupted happiness, during which time Mrs.
Keith gave birth to a daughter and a son, between whose
ages there was a difference of nearly eleven years, — this lat-
ter having been born in the spring of the year now under
review. In every hour of alarm, therefore, Mrs. Keith felt
increased anxiety on account of the helpless infant which
she held in her arms. Indulging the feelings of a devoted
and an attached mother, she listened with breathless solici-
tude, to all the rumors which were spread concerning the

1 Works of Ann Maria Bleecke'r.

356 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, marauding bands of Indians, sent out from Canada by the
v— v — i French, for the purpose of ruthless devastation upon the
1748. property, and merciless cruelty upon the persons of the bor-
derers. Rumor with her thousand tongues, many of which
spake but too truly in this case, soon repeated the nearer and
nearer approach of another band of the dreaded ministers
of French and savage vengeance. When it was ascer-
tained that the Indians had arrived within the vicinity of
Fort Edward, and were seen prowling about that place,
Mr. Keith dispatched a messenger to bring his brothers
who resided there, to his house on the Touharna, — deeming
his residence a safer sanctuary, on account of its being
more interior. One of his brothers had been married
several months before, and his wife at the time of their
flight from Fort Edward, was in a peculiarly delicate situa-
tion.

Not long after Mr. Keith had thus collected his relations
around him, and under his roof, his family were visited by
some Indians of the St. Francis tribe, who had pitched
their wigwams a small distance from the village of Schagh-
ticoke. These were hospitably entertained, and were per-
mitted to pass several hours in eating and drinking ; during
which time much conversation passed between Mrs. Keith
and her savage visitors. To soothe her apprehensions, an
old Indian who was spokesman, assured her that the family
might dismiss their fear, and solemnly promised that in
case of any danger she should be seasonably informed, and
the means afforded her for escape. To enforce his " glozing
lies," he presented her with a belt of wampum, saying,
•" There, receive my token of friendship. "We go to dig up
the hatchet, to sink it in the heads of your enemies. We
shall guard this word with a rail of fire. You shall be
safe." Still farther to quiet her fears, he added in apparent
anger that she should suspect his fidelity, " No Maria, I
am a true man. I shoot the arrow up to the Great Captain
every new moon ; depend upon it, I will trample down the
briars round your dwelling that you do not hurt your feet."

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 357

TheRe bland words seem to have satisfied Mrs. Keith, chap.

' IX.

though her husband, with greater sagacity, suspected and w^_>
feared that beneath was concealed a plan for their destruc- 1748#
tion.

The next morning after the ominous visit of the savages,
perhaps for the purpose of dispelling the anxiety of his
mind, Mr. Keith proposed a hunting excursion to his brother
Peter, which was accepted, and they sallied forth with their
guns in quest of game. Musing upon the perils that sur-
rounded their families, they had gone several miles from
home, before they became aware of the distance they had
traveled. At that moment their eye caught sight of a fine
doe, at which Peter leveled his piece, and brought her to
the ground. But scarcely had the echo of the explosion
died away among the the hills, when they heard a rustling,
followed by the crack of a rifle, and Peter fell forward
pierced by two balls in his heart. This was rapidly fol-
lowed by the rushing of two savages upon them, one of
whom prepared to scalp his victim, while the other aimed
his gun at Mr. Keith. Quick as thought Mr. Keith shot
his antagonist dead on the spot, and assailing the other
Indian with the butt of his rifle, prostrated him on the
ground. Leaving his foes for dead, he placed the bleeding
corpse of his brother upon his horse, and hastened home
with the dire intelligence.

It is not necessary to describe the scene of woe that fol-
lowed his arrival, bearing with him the dead body of
a brother, who a few hours before, had been in the
enjoyment of life and health. Suffice it to say, that after
having washed the body from its gore, and prepared it for
the grave, they laid it in an upper room, designing to have
the obsequies performed the following day. Under cir-
cumstances calculated to excite no great alarm, Mr. Keith
resolved to set out that night for Schaghticoke, to procure
a couple of wagons, and convey his family to Albany.
Though dissuaded by his wife from going, yet he persisted
in his design, and accordingly went, leaving an affectionate

358 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, EART.

chap, circle behind him, which he fondly hoped to see again in
•— v — ! the course of a few hours, and greet them with tidings of
1748. j^ guccesSj an(j the certainty of being soon placed beyond
the reach of danger. But he had not been gone long,
when at the hour of midnight, the inmates of Mr. Keith's
mansion were startled by voices and yells of savages sur-
rounding the house, and clamoring for admission. Blow
after blow was made upon the doors. Every moment
increased the violence of the assailants, who were bent
upon deeds of blood. Mrs. Keith pressed her children
more closely to her heaving bosom, and all stood petrified
with terror. At length the brother of Mr. Keith, who, as
I have already mentioned, had been lately married,
advanced as if in frantic despair, and unbarred the door.
Instantly it flew open, and he fell pierced with balls, and
weltering in his blood. In rushed the savages, and imme-
diately began the work of death. They seized the prostrate
husband of Cornelia, and tore off his scalp before her eyes.
While this deed was perpetrating, an Indian, hideously
painted, strode up to Cornelia, and buried his tomahawk
in her forehead. Her eyes just opened as the blow
descended, and then closed forever. Perceiving her near
approach to being a mother, they ripped her body open, and
tearing the unborn child from her womb, dashed it against
the wall.

While this horrid carnage was going on, another Indian,
— the same one who had with Punic faith presented the
belt of wampum as a token of peace, — approached Mrs.
Keith, who sat circling her children in her arms, and utter-
ing the most piteous entreaties for mercy. She drew forth
and showed to her treacherous foe, the belt, and appealed
to his promise made when he gave it to her. But she
might as well have remonstrated with the ferocious tiger,
when hungry for prey. He only replied that she should be
spared, and " dance with him around the council fire in
Canada" — and then with a sardonic smile, expressing the
fear that her infant son would only incumber her on the

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 359

journey, he seized the child by the wrists, and tore it from chap.
her embrace. Enraged apparently at her resistance, he . — , — -
dashed its forehead against the wall, and hurled its reeking 1748-
body some distance from the house. Frenzied by the
sight she rushed to the mangled remains of her loved
infant, redoubling her cries of anguish, casting herself
upon its body, wiping the blood from its ghastly counte-
nance, and pressing it to her bosom.

The savages having plundered the house of everything
that was portable, forced those who had escaped their ven-
geance, to quit the house, consisting of Mrs. Keith, her
daughter Anna, a lovely girl in her twelfth year, and a
brother of Mr. Keith. They then completed the work of
destruction by firing the building, which was soon enveloped
in flames. But Mrs. Keith's cup of sorrow was not yet
full. Anna, acting as if she thought that death in any shape
was to be preferred to being in the hands of ruthless bar-
barians, to whom pity was a stranger, fled precipitately
back to the house, though the flames were bursting forth
in every direction, and entering in, secreted herself in a
closet, where she remained until her escape became impos-
sible, and perished in the devouring fire. The excruciating
feelings of Mrs. Keith, on being compelled to behold this
funeral pile of her only daughter, can readily be imagined.
"Words fail to express the horror which must have filled
her bosom, when seeing at her feet the mangled remains
of one child, and witnessing the raging flames that were
consuming the other, by a most agonizing death. She
continued calling the name of her daughter with loud
cries, till the Indians, impatient at her delay, compelled
her and her brother, the only survivors in this fearful trage-
dy, to set out with them in their journey to Canada.

The remainder of the story is soon told. On her
wearisome journey with the savages, nothing remarkable
occurred that deserves a particular mention. As might be
supposed, she suffered various privations, and was exposed
to great fatigue. Unaccustomed to their mode of living,

360 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, she would have been starved, had not her brother prepared
< — „ — ■ her food, and ministered to her necessities. After enduring
1748. numerous perils and hardships, she at last reached Canada.
"When in the Indian village, to which her captors hastened,
she narrowly escaped having her brains dashed out by an
old hag, who seemed determined to glut her vengeance
upon the prisoners. But on reaching Montreal, bating
some painful circumstances which, to the disgrace of civ-
ilization were allowed, she was kindly provided for by
some charitable ladies, one of whom received her into her
house, and treated her with the kindness of a sister.

Thus she remained in the house of this charitable
Samaritan, till she was at last found by her husband. The
morning after the deed of cruelty which has been described,
was perpetrated, he returned with two wagons to carry his
family to Albany. But what was his horror, on beholding
his house burned to the ground, and the scene of ruin
which on every side met his eye ! By exploring the ruins,
however, he found the bones of those who had been mur-
dered, and also, which touched his heart to the quick, the
half consumed remains of his infant, bearing yet the marks
of savage violence. Collecting these charred bones, and
depositing them in a box, he returned with them to Schagh-
ticoke, where they were decently buried. Resigning him-
self to despair, and supposing that Indian vengeance had
spared not a single object of his affections, he joined the
colonial army, resolving to seek death by placing himself
in the front of the battle, and courting places of the great-
est exposure. But the bullets passed harmlessly by him,
nor could he find the death he sought. At length the
thought occurred to him that he might yet find his brother,
who possibly had not fallen a victim. Cherishing the idea,
he set off for Canada, availing himself of the opportunity
of accompanying some prisoners, who were returning to
Quebec. In Canada he pursued the object of his journey
with indefatigable ardor, inquiring of eveiy officer the
names of prisoners who had been captured during the war.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 361

On arriving at Montreal, he was immediately introduced chap.
to the general officer, who patiently heard his story, and u-^L/
treated him with great clemency. Having obtained per- 1748-
mission to remain in town a few days, he respectfully with-
drew, and turning down a street inquired of a man where
lodgings were to be let. The stranger turned about and
civilly took off his hat, when whom should Mr. Keith
recognize in the stranger, but his brother Henry ? By him
Mr. Keith received the delightful intelligence of his wife's
preservation, and of her being then in Montreal. He
speedily flew to her embrace. The rapture of the reunion
was greater than she could endure. She fainted in his
arms, but soon recovered, and felt that the joy of meeting
compensated her for the wearisome months of sadness,
grief and distraction which she had endured.

Nor were the borders of Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire unmolested during the spring and summer of this
year. Unable to obtain assistance from their own govern-
ment, the inhabitants of the exposed settlements of New
Hampshire upon the Connecticut river, applied to Massa-
chusetts, by the legislature of which a garrison of one
hundred men was placed in the fort at Charlestown, called
Number Four, under the command of the gallant Cap-
tain Stevens, who had signalized himself by his bravery
in that position before. His second in command was Cap-
tain Humphrey Hobbs. Fort Massachusetts having been
rebuilt, was also garrisoned by one hundred men, and
entrusted again to its former commander, Captain Ephraim
"Williams — ColonelJohn Stoddard of Northampton, having
the general command of the northern and wrestern frontiers
of that colony. Dying, however, \n the month of June,
that eminent man was succeeded by Colonel Israel Wil-
liams, of Hartford.

But it was not garrison duty alone which the officers and
soldiers of Number Four were required to perform. They
had a wide extent of territory to guard against the irrup-
tions of the enemy, extending from the upper Merrimac

362 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, country to Lake Champlain, and a suitable number of men,
' — „ — from both forts, were required to be constantly employed
1748. jn ranging the forests to intercept the enemy in their sallies
from Crown Point, and the great Indian rendezvous of
St. Francis. The enemy first appeared at Charlestown
about the middle of March, when a party of thirty Indians
attacked eight of Stevens's men, at a short distance from
the fort. Captain Stevens sallied forth for their rescue,
and brought them in after a sharp skirmish, with the loss
of two men, one of whom was killed, and the other taken
prisoner. A third was wounded. A yet larger party, con-
sisting of eighteen men under Captain Melvin, from the
same garrison, had a narrower escape in the month of May.
Melvin having crossed the woods to the shore of Lake Cham-
plain opposite Crown Point, imprudently disclosed himself
to the enemy in that fortress by firing upon two canoes of
Indians. A party was immediately sent out from the fort
to intercept him on his return, which by a rapid march
gained his front. Having crossed the enemy's trail, and
thereby discovered his design, Melvin endeavored to cir-
cumvent him by changing his course from Charlestown,
and striking down in the direction of Fort Dummer. * But
the enemy was soon upon his path, and in close pursuit,
though without his knowledge. Arriving at West river,
Melvin incautiously allowed his men to halt and amuse
themselves by shooting the salmon which were passing up
a shoal of that stream. The consequence had well nigh
been fatal to the whole party, since the enemy, thus
apprized of their halt, and by stealthy observation of their
amusement, rushed upon them unawares, and killed six of
the most valuable men, — the residue, after vainly attempt-
ing to make a stand against superior numbers, making their
escape to Fort Dummer. A month afterward a party of
thirteen men on the route from Hinsdale to Fort Dummer,

1 Fort Dummer, frequently spoken of in the early border wars, was first
built in 1723. It was situated on the Connecticut river, forty miles below
Charlestown, or Number Four.

LIFE OP SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 363

fell into an Indian ambuscade, and were all but three either chap.

IX. g

killed or taken prisoners. * >— v— '

The history of this feebly conducted contest shows that 1748>
in a large majority of these border affairs, the enemy was
successful — a fact, perhaps, that should create no wonder,
when it is considered that his movements were always by
stealth, and his attacks by surprise, — he having the selec-
tion of time and place, and the option of fighting or not,
according to circumstances. But fortune was not always
turning in their favor. It happened that on the twenty-sixth
of .June, while Captain Hobbs, at the head of forty men
from the garrison of Number Four, was ranging the
woods west of the Connecticut river, when about twelve
miles from Fort Dummer, he was attacked by a strong
body of Indians, under a resolute half-breed chief named
Sackett. Hobbs and his men were regaling themselves at
their knapsacks at the moment of the attack, in an opening
upon a rivulet hedged writh alders, and covered with large
and towering trees. The precaution of posting sentinels,
however, had not been omitted, so that the surprise was
less complete than otherwise it would have been. At the
instant of alarm, each man selected a tree for his cover,
and the Indians rushing upon the heels of the sentinels,
were in the onset so warmly received as to check their
advance. The Indians, in like manner, selected trees for
their protection ; and an irregular battle succeeded which
lasted four hours. The two captains were both men of
coolness and courage. They were personal acquaintances,
and had been friends before the war, and frequently called
out to each other in the course of the fight>-^-Sackett claim-
ing— as he had — a large superiority of force, and demanding
a surrender, on pain of the indiscriminate use of the tom-
ahawk in case of refusal. Hobbs, with stentorian voice,
refused and bade defiance. Less cautious than the English,
the Indians several times exposed themselves by attempting
to advance to a hand to hand contest, but were as often

1 Hoyt.

364 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, repulsed, with severe loss. Discouraged, at length, by the
v— y— - unyielding courage of Hobbs and his men, and probably
1748. forming an erroneous estimate of their strength, the
Indians at length drew off— dragging off, also, their dead,
by reason of which their loss was not known.1 Many
Indians, however, were seen to fall, and the battle ground
was deeply sanguine. But notwithstanding the duration
of the fight, only three of the English were killed, and
the same number wounded. 2 The strength of the Indians
was estimated at one hundred and sixty. Still, the expe-
dition of Sackett was not altogether bootless, since, a fort-
night afterward he surprised a party of seventeen men
between Hinsdale and Fort Dummer, killed two and
wounded the same number, and made nine of the residue
prisoners. Four escaped. In these enterprises it seems
to have been the desire of the enemy to take captives rather
than to kill. There was sound policy in this ; the large
amounts received from the friends of the captives for their
ransom, going far toward defraying the expenses of the
war.

Fort Massachusetts was not molested until past midsum-
mer. But on the second of August, a party of four men
being engaged at some distance from the fort, were tired
upon by an enemy whose presence had not been suspected.
Captain Williams immediately sallied forth for their res-
cue with Lieutenant Hawley and thirty men. The attack-
ing party, apparently small, were soon driven back ; but
in the moment of fancied safety, an ambuscade of thirty
Indians rose and poured in a fire upon "Williams's right,
moving wuth the design of intercepting his return to the

1 "In all battles the Indians endeavor to conceal their loss, and in effect-
ing this, they sometimes expose themselves more than in combat with the
enemy. When one falls, his nearest comrade crawls up, under cover of the
trees and brush, and fixing a tump line to the dead body, cautiously drags
it to the rear. Hobbs's men related that in this action they often saw the
dead bodies of the Indians sliding along the ground, as if by enchantment."
— Eoyt.

2 Hoyt's Antiquities.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 365

fort. The celerity of Williams's movements, however, c"^p-
frustrated this manoeuvre, and the fort was reached with >~>r-'
the loss of only one man killed and two wounded — one of 1>i7'
whom was the lieutenant. It soon appeared that the
escape of Williams was most fortunate. Indeed it must
be confessed that he had exhibited singular absence of
military precaution in hazarding a sortie with so small a
party, while ignorant of the strength of his enemy ; three
hundred of whom, including thirty Frenchmen, followed
close upon his heels as he regained the fort, and commenced a
general attack. The fire was sustained on both sides
about two hours ; but having no artillery, the enemy was
unable to make any impression upon the works, and drew
off with a loss, the amount of which was not ascertained.
The enemy was shortly afterward more successful in the
neighborhood of Fort Dumrner, where a party of seven
under Lieutenant John Sargeants, was defeated, the com-
mander being among the killed, and the survivors made
prisoners.1

Meanwhile serious trouble began to manifest itself
among the troops stationed at Albany and along the front-
iers, in consequence of the scarcity of supplies. Many of
the men deserted, and some of the officers resigned their
commissions, flatly refusing to serve longer.2 The assem-
bly was not to meet until October, and the commissioners
refused to execute the orders which the governor, by the
advice of his council, had given them for supplying the
troops, — urging as an excuse that they had not been so
authorized by the assembly. The governor was exceed-
ingly chafed by this refusal of the commissioners to act.
This appears in all of his correspondence at this time, but
especially in his correspondence with Colonel Johnson,
with whom he was now on terms of intimacy. In a letter

1 Hoyt's Antiquities.

2 Manuscript letter, Johnson to Clinton ; also manuscript letter to John-
son from Captain Stoddard, then in command at Schenectady.

366 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, under date of October fifth, the following passage occurs :
v— ^ " By a letter I have from Captain Stoddard that no pro-
1748. visions are gone up, I conclude it was designedly neglect-
ed by the commissioners in order to distress the service
and disband the troops sooner than I thought it necessary ;
and with a great deal of assurance, declared that even if
they were served with an order from the council they
would not obey it ! What a low ebb is the governor and
council of New York driven to, that their orders are
refused for three weeks provisions for a few men. * *
* * Formerly the governor and council had the disposal
of every shilling, and did it all in council by warrant,
without consulting the assembly or anybody."1

Those persons have read little, and have thought still
less, who suppose that the revolt of the colonies was the
result of a moment. The controversies between the
assembly and the executive ; the seeming apathy of the
house to provide for the safety of the frontiers, and its
general indiiference in providing the needed supplies of
which Mr. Clinton so bitterly complains, had in fact their use
not so much in an unconcern for the welfare of the colonies
as in a fixed determination to resist the encroachments of the
crown. Still it must be frankly admitted, that the assem-
bly were often in the wrong, and that much of this treat-
ment of the governor was harsh and ill-judged.

In the assembly, which met upon the twelfth of Octo-
ber, the governor determined to reassert the prerogative
in the strongest terms by bringing the subject of a perma-
nent supply to direct issue ; choosing as an able writer has
remarked, New York " as the opening scene in the final
contest that led to independence."2 Accordingly on the
fourteenth Mr. Clinton sent down his message to the
house, in which, after congratulating them upon the near
prospect of a general peace, he demanded a permanent
support for five years. The message stated that on coming

1 Manuscript letter.

2 Bancroft.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 367

to the administration of the government, he had been chap.

° ' IX.

disposed to do all he could, consistently with his duty to ' — „ — ;
the king, for the care and satisfaction of the people.
Hence, reposing confidence in the advice then given him,
ho had given his assent to various acts of the assembly,
the tendency of which, as experience had taught him, was
to weaken the authority of his majesty's government. Still,
as the country was very soon afterward involved in war,
he had forborne to take that attitude in the premises which
duty to his sovereign seemed to require. But with the return
of peace, he deemed it to be his indispensable duty to put
a stop to such innovations. Prominent among these was
the practice which had been growing up, of making only
an annual provision for the payment of the officers of the
government. He also alluded to the modern practice of
naming the officers, for whose benefit the appropriations
were made, in the act — thus interfering with the preroga-
tive in the appointing honor. He admonished the assem-
bly that he should give his assent to no acts of that
character for the future ; and demanded an appropriation
for the payment of the governor's, secretaries, judges and
other salaried officers, for the term of five years, accord-
ing to the practice that had prevailed during the adminis-
tration of his four immediate predecessors, namely,
Governors Hunter, Burnett, Montgomery, and Cosby.
The inconveniences of these annual grants of salaries and
allowances, was adverted to, and objections farther urged
against the recent method of intermixing matters of an
entirely different nature with the provisions of the salary
bills, and tacking new grants for other purposes to the
governor's own support. The governor desired them
farther to make immediate provision for the payment of
the troops at Albany, and on the frontier ; recommended
that the troops should be continued at Albany ; and con-
cluded by calling the attention of the assembly to a debt
of two thousand one hundred and thirty-eight pounds, due
to Colonel Johnson for disbursements made by that gentle-

368 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, man in the public service, and which had been allowed
^ — - and ordered to be paid by an act of the preceeding session.
1748. Owing to a deficiency in the funds, upon which it was
directed to be charged, the money had not been paid;
and the inconvenience of being kept so long out of so
large a sum of money, was so great, that it was only with
much difficulty that he had been enabled to persuade
the colonel to undertake again the supplying of the import-
ant garrison at Oswego.

The assembly, in its reply, justly regarding the request
for a permanent supply as a direct attempt to render the
crown independent of the people, with great indignation,
refused to grant it. As to the more recent practice of
naming the officers provided for in the salary bills, it not
only justified it, but intimated that if this course had
been adopted at an earlier day, his excellency would not
have been able to remove the third justice of the supreme
court "without any color of misconduct" on his part —
who was " a gentleman of learning and experience in the
law."1 Respecting the other matters in the message, it
replied, that it saw no reason for burdening the colony
with the troops in Albany, declaring that the troops at
Oswego were quite sufficient in time of peace for the
protection of the province. It passed however, a bill
granting three thousand six hundred pounds for the
pay of the troops on the frontier, but ignored entirely the
claim of Colonel Johnson. The result can readily be seen.
After continual bickerings for several weeks, Mr. Clinton,
in great wrath, prorogued the assembly.

Thus the parties separated, and thus again commenced
that great struggle between the republican and the mon-
archal principle, wh ich in the onward progress of the
former was destined at a day not even then far distant, to
work such mighty results in the western hemisphere.

1 Alluding to the removal, the year before, of Justice Horsmanden. This
act was again imputed to the influence of " a person of a mean and despi-
cable character" — meaning, as it was well understood, Doctor Colden.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

Although hostilities were suspended between the chap-
belligerents, whose armies were contending in the Nether- >— y— '
lands, immediately after the preliminaries were signed at 1748*
Aix La Chapelle, yet it was long before the forces at sea
were apprized of the fact. Meantime Admiral Boscawen,
in the East Indies, having invested Pondicherry by land
and water, was compelled to retire with signal discomfit-
ure. Rear Admiral Knowles, too, — the same who had
rendered himself so deservedly unpopular at Boston the
year before, — continued to prosecute the contest in the
West Indies with various success. With a squadron of
eight ships he attacked fort St. Louis, on the south side
of St. Domingo, which after a warm action of three hours
was surrendered on capitulation and dismantled. But he
afterward made an abortive attempt upon St. Iago de Cuba,
at the result of which he was greatly chagrined.1 Early
in October Admiral Knowles, while cruising in the neigh-
borhood of Havana, with eight ships of the line, fell in
with a Spanish squadron of nearly equal force, command-
ed by Admiral Reggio, and a severe engagement ensued,
which lasted six hours, commencing at two o'clock in the
afternoon, and ending at eight. Knowles himself began
the action in gallant style, but being seriously disabled,
his ship was compelled to drop astern of the squadron,
and was not afterward engaged in the line; but being
borne down upon by the enemy, and another ship coming
to his assistance, a struggle sharp and bloody ensued. The
Spanish commander, notwithstanding the inferiority of
his force, was at one time confident of victory;2 but the
fortunes of the day were against him, and he was com-
pelled to put into the Havana with the loss of two ships ;
and a third was destroyed the next day to prevent her from
falling into the hands of the English. Admiral Knowles
taxed some of his men with misbehavior in this affair,
and he was accused in turn. Several of the officers were

i Smollett.

2Spanisk official account in the Gentleman's Magazine for April 1749.

370 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, tried by a court martial, and reprimanded, and Knowles
v_^^ himself was tried in December, 1749. The court acquitted
1748. ]1jm 0f ^e charge 0f cowardice ; awarding him on the
contrary, the merit of great personal bravery. But he
was nevertheless found guilty of negligence in his arrange-
ments, in several particulars, and ordered to be repri-
manded.1 High feelings of animosity arose among the
officers, who either took sides with or against the admiral,
and several duels were the consequence, in one of which
a Captain Jarvis was mortally wounded by his antagonist
Captain Clark.2 But according to both English and Span-
ish accounts the action was bravely fought on both sides.
As it proved it was a needless waste of life.

The definite treaty of peace was concluded and signed
on the seventh day of October at Aix La Chapelle ; and
considering the circumstances under which it was con-
cluded, and the relative strength of the parties and the
condition of the alliance at the head of which was Eng-
land, for a farther prosecution of the contest, it was a most
inglorious peace.3 Thus ended the " old French war,"
produced by the wickedness of Frederick, " the evils of
which were felt in lands where the name of Prussia was
unknown ; and, in order that he might rob a neighbor
whom he had promised to defend, black men fought on
the coast of Coromandel, and red men scalped by the
great lakes of North America.

1 Proceedings of the court martial, vide Gentleman's Magazine,

» Smollett.

3 This contest was called "the old French war." It was in fact begun
by Frederick the Great, by an unjust and rapacious attack upon the Em-
press-Queen Maria Theresa, for the purpose of wresting Siberia from her.
It involved the world in arms. The respective alliances on the one side,
were the king of Great Britain, the empress-queen, the states-governors
of the United Provinces, and the king of Sardinia, with several smaller
princes as auxiliaries On the other side, was the alliance of France, Spain,
(claiming the Austriain succession,) the infant Don Philip, brother of the
king of Spain and son-in-law of the king of France, with the republic of
Genoa and the duke of Madrid.

4Macauley's life of Frederick the Great.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. o71

Meanwhile the Confederates were again becoming chap.
solicitous for those of their warriors who were still languish- ^~v—/
ing in chains in Canada.1 The promises made to them, at 1748'
the council at Albany, by Clinton and Johnson, of the
speedy release of their brethren, had quieted them for a
time. But now, as month after month passed away and
nothing was acomplished, they doubted the power of the
English to bring this about, and thought seriously of
taking the matter into their own hands. Johnson feared
this himself, for in a letter written at this time to Governor
Clinton upon the subject, he says : — "There is not one of
our Indians suffered to come, nor any of the Christians
who were taken with them, which is very hard, and will
be the means, I reckon, of all the Five Nations going
down now to Canada to get them." There was indeed
cause for alarm ; and it required the most strenuous exer-
tions of Colonel Johnson to keep the Mohawks quietly at
their castles, until the terms of the exchange of prisoners
could be settled. This was no easy matter ; and through-
out the remainder of the year the attention of Mr. Clin-
ton was chiefly occupied in successive negotiations with
Galissoniere, for an exchange of prisoners. But notwith-
standing the evident approach of peace, and an arrange-
ment for a cessation of arms in Europe, the French
governor opposed various obstacles in the way of an equita-
ble and prompt exchange. Mr. Clinton had sent two flags
of truce without success, particularly in reference to the
captive warriors of the Six Nations, who, as before hinted,
were becoming exceedingly restive under the delay, — so
much so, indeed, as to lead them to send a special deputa-
tion of their chiefs to New York at the close of Septem-
ber, to plead with the governor upon the subject.2 There
were likewise many prisoners in Canada, males and
females, inhabitants of the frontiers, who had been carried
away, and who were of course, with their friends, anxious

1 Manuscript letter ; J. Williams to Major Lydius.

2 See journals of the council.

372 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

chap, for their return.1 But the difficulty was not so much in
^-v— / relation to the exchange of the English for the French
1748. prisoners, as it was in reference to the exchange of the
Mohawks for an equal number of the French held as
prisoners in New York. La Galissoniere, claimed that
the Mohawks were an independent nation, and as such,
qualified to treat alone with him upon the subject; while
Clinton justly maintained that by the treaty of Utrecht,
the Mohawks were the dependants and subjects of the
British crown.

Instead therefore, of meeting the views of Mr. Clinton
and proceeding at once to a general exchange, Galisso-
niere released only a few, sending a return flag, with
seven officers, eighteen privates, and four Canadian
Indians, accompanied by some propositions to which the
governor of New York refused to accede. On the arrival
of this formidable company at Albany, Colonel Johnson's
suspicions were aroused that all was not right ; and he
would not allow them to proceed to New York, until per-
mission to that effect had been received.2 That permis-
sion having been given, the French party, the leader of whom
was M. Francis Marie, proceeded at once to New York.
The embassy was, however, bootless as appears by the fol-
lowing passage taken from a long manuscript letter upon
this and other subjects, addressed by Mr. Clinton to Colonel
Johnson on the fifth of October : — " As the commandant
of this party is a very pretty gentleman, it grieves me much
that I can't send any of his people back with him, as it
might be of great service in recommending him to the
governor. But his letter is so haughty, and indeed rather
insolent, that I am obliged to stick on punctilios. His
detaining our Christian prisoners from us in time of peace,
is not right. Yet if he had sent one or two of the Indians

1 Manuscript letter from Peter Van Schaick to Colonel Johnson, — written
at this time, while a prisoner in Canada, — begging that the latter would use
his earnest efforts to obtain his speedy release.

2 Manuscript letter; Colonel Johnson to Governor Clinton. ,

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 373

back in room of the five of his I sent, something might chap.
have been done. But the poor gentleman must go back w^ — •
as he came, and thank his own governor's indiscretion for 1748-
putting things on a wrong footing."

Thus matters stood until the end of the year. Nothing
definite was arrived at in relation to the exchange ; and
although there were no active hostilities, yet the year
closed, leaving all parties mutually dissatisfied, and equally
suspicious of the designs of each other.

CHAPTER X.

1749—1750.

The exchange of prisoners still continued to be the sub-

chap* Jec* °f a lengthy coiTespondence between the royal

,x' governors. The Six Nations yet retained in their posses-

1749. sion several of the French, uncertain — as in turn they

were influenced by the French emissaries, or by Colonel

Johnson — to which of the governors to yield them up.

To the Confederates at least, the final disposition of their

prisoners was a subject of grave consideration. Should

they treat directly with La Galissoniere, they were fearful

of incurring the displeasure of Governor Clinton ; while

on the other hand, should they yield up their prisoners to

Colonel Johnson, they feared that by so doing, they

would lose the power to redeem their braves from their

captivity.

To Colonel Johnson this delicate matter of effecting a
transfer of the prisoners into his hands, was entrusted ; and
after considerable negotiation, rendered necessary by their
vascillating course, the Mohawks were induced to yield
up twelve of their prisoners. This transfer, however, was
accompanied by a request, on the part of the Mohawks,
that the colonel would not allow the Frenchmen to return
home, until those of their warriors, who yet languished in
the jail at Quebec, should be brought down to Crown
Point, and delivered into his hands. The success of his
negotiations, the colonel immediately communicated to
Mr. Clinton in a letter, which the latter at once laid before
his council for its action. Several months elapsed
before farther orders touching the final disposition of the
prisoners were received from the governor ; during which
interval, the colonel received them into his own house,
treating them with much kindness and consideration.

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 375

Meanwhile the Mohawks, always suspicious, and not chap.
understanding the delays and forms of diplomatic inter- ^^-,
course, began to he apprehensive lest the object they had1749-
in delivering up their prisoners might not be attained.
These apprehensions were likewise increased by messages
which the wily La Galissoniere, with artful tact, continued
to send to the Mohawks, inviting them to come to Quebec,
and treat in person for their braves. This, as it was
designed, only increased their ill temper, — conscious that
they had lost the power to do this, when they allowed the
Frenchmen to go out of their hands. Their discontent at
first manifested itself in angry looks and dark hints, until
finally, unequivocal symptoms showed that they designed
taking the matter into their own hands, by wresting back
by force that which they had so unwillingly granted. So
deeply rooted had their disaffection become, and so widely
had it spread, that the colonel himself feared that even
his influence would not much longer avail for the protec-
tion of the prisoners. In this strait, he at once wrote to
Mr. Clinton, stating the situation of affairs and his own
fears. The governor immediately replied as follows :

"KewYork June 7, 1749.
" Sir.

"I have the favor ot yours of twenty-sixth of last
month, and am well pleased with the accounts you give me
of your conduct with the Indians. You may assure the
Mohawks that the reason of my not sending back the
French prisoners which you have in your hands, is in
order to secure the return of their people who are prison-
ers in Canada, and that their people shall not have their
liberty on any conditions but that of the liberty of the
Indians who are prisoners in Canada ; that all these mes-
sages from the governor of Canada are only an artifice to
draw them to Canada in order to make mean and shameful
submissions to him there. And in order to prevent any of
their people making such a shameful step, so disgraceful to
their nation, you must endeavor to persuade them to deliver

376 LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.

CHAP.
X.

1749.

the remaining prisoners into your hands that they may he
kept safe till the liberty of the Indians be secured. And
for this purpose, if you have any apprehensions that the
French now at your house cannot be safely kept there,
you are to send them to Albany to the sheriff, there to be
kept in jail till such time as he shall receive my orders
for their liberty. If you think it may be attended with
any inconvenience to keep the French in prison at Albany,
then you may send them down to 'New York where I shall
take care to have them secured.

Inclosed is an order to the sheriff to receive the prisoners
from you, and to keep them in safe custody.

" But as the Indians are frequently very humorsome,
and there must be some regard had to it, you are allowed
to take some latitude in the execution of these orders, by
delaying the full execution of them, till you inform me of
any inconvenience which you may apprehend may attend
the strict observance of them. I have received no orders
from court relating to the liberty of prisoners, and I delay
sending to Canada for their liberty in expectation of
receiving such, and am,

" Sir, Your very humble servant,

"G. Clinton."

On the reception of this letter Colonel Johnson sum-
moned both of the Mohawk castles together, and used
all his influence to divest them of their suspicions, and per-
suade them to leave the exchange of the prisoners entirely
with Mr. Clinton. In this he succeeded ; but only after
great effort, and by the payment to the Indians of large
sums of money out of his own purse. The Mohawks
were also induced at the same time to deliver up to him
the remainder of their captives, thus increasing the num-
ber under his protection to nineteen.

Scarcely had this affair been amicably arranged, when
another difficulty arose, which for a little while threat-
ened to mar the harmony between the Indians and the

LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART. 377

English. This time, however, the trouble had its origin chap.

. . . x.

in the indiscreet conduct of a few whites. It seems that • — , — -

some traders from Albany and the adjacent settlements, 1749-
in going their yearly rounds among the different cantons
of the Confederacy, had taken several Indian children as
pawns or pledges for the payment of the goods sold to the
parents. Notwithstanding the latter came at the appoint-
ed time to redeem their children, the traders refused to
deliver them up, — designing to keep them as security for
future purchases. The chiefs of the several tribes, justly
indignant at this breach of faith, came in a body to Mount
Johnson, and laid their grievances before the colonel, who
thereupon informed Mr. Clinton of these facts. The result
was a proclamation from the governor directing that the
children should at once be restored to their homes. Most
of the traders forthwith obeyed, but a few wrere obstinate
and refused compliance. The French, ever ready to seize
upon anything which might be turned to