"Red man, what do you want?"
"Don't be afraid, young man, I sha'n't hurt you," said the Indian. "What is your name?"
"William McKoun," answered the boy.
"Oh, you are a son of Captain McKoun, who lives in the northeast part of the town, I suppose," continued the savage. "I know your father very well. He is a neighbor of Mr. Foster. Your father is a very fine fellow, indeed. I know several more of your neighbors, and they are fine men."
"What is your name?" the boy ventured to ask.
The Indian hesitated a moment, and then replied: "My name is Brant."
"What, Captain Brant?" cried the boy eagerly.
"No, I am a cousin of his," answered the great chief (for it was Joseph Brant), as he turned to go away. Thus, it can be seen that in the midst of war he was not always the bloodthirsty savage.
Another incident well exhibited his merciful side, for when in 1778 the allied troops, under Brant and an Englishman named Butler, attacked the settlements in Cherry Valley, the Mohawk Chieftain entered a house where he found a white woman baking bread.
"How is it that you are doing this kind of work while your neighbors are all being murdered around you?" asked the great warrior.