Ticonderoga: A Story of Early Frontier Life in the Mohawk Valley

by G. P. R. James

At an early hour on the following morning all the arrangements were made for the great council, or talk, that was about to be held. Some large armchairs were brought forth into the court. A few soldiers were seen moving about, and some negro servants. A number of the guests from the Hall came up about nine o'clock, most of them on horseback; but when all were assembled, the body of white men present were few and insignificant when compared with the multitude of Indians who surrounded them. No one showed or entertained any fear, however, and the conference commenced and passed off with perfect peace and harmony.

It is true that several of the Indian chiefs, and more especially King Hendrick, as he was called, the son of the chief who had been killed near Fort George a year or two before, had made some complaints against the British government for neglect of the just claims of their red allies. All angry feeling, however, was removed by a somewhat large distribution of presents, and after hearing everything which the Indians had to say, Sir William Johnson rose from the chair in which he had been seated, between Lord H---- and Mr. Prevost, and addressed the assembly in English, according to his invariable custom, when called upon to deal publicly with the heads of the Five Nations, the speech being translated, sentence for sentence, by an interpreter. The whole of his address cannot be given here, but it was skillfully turned to suit the prejudices and conciliate the friendship of the people to whom he spoke. He said that their English father, King George, loved his red children with peculiar affection, but as his lodge was a long way off, he could not always know their wants and wishes. He had very lately, however, shown his great tenderness and consideration for the Five Nations by appointing him, Sir William Johnson, as Indian agent, to make known as speedily as possible all that his red children desired. He then drew a glowing picture of the greatness and majesty of the English monarch, as the Attotarho of chief leader of a thousand different nations, sitting under a pine tree that reached to the sky, and receiving every minute messages from his children in every part of the earth.

A hum of satisfaction from the Indians followed this flight of fancy, and the speaker went on to say that this great chief, their father, had long ago intended to do much for them, and still intended to do so, but that the execution of his benevolent purposes had been delayed and impeded by the machinations of the French, their enemies and his, whom he represented as stealthily lying in wait for all the ships and convoys of goods and presents which were destined for his Indian children, and possessing themselves of them by force or fraud. Rich as he might be, he asked how was it possible that their white father could supply all their wants when he had so many to provide for, and when so many of his enemies had dug up the tomahawk at once. If the chiefs of the Five Nations, however, he said, would vigorously aid him in his endeavors, King George would speedily drive the French from America; and to show his intention of so doing, he had sent over the great chief on his left hand, Lord H----, and many other mighty warriors, to fight side by side with their red brethren. More, he said, would come on in the ensuing spring, and with the first flower that blossomed under the hemlock trees the English warriors would be ready for the battle, if the Indian chiefs then present would promise them cordial support and co-operation.

It must not be supposed that in employing very exaggerated language Sir William had any intention of deceiving. He merely used figures suited to the comprehension of his auditors, and his speech gave the very highest satisfaction. The unusually large presents which had been distributed, the presence and bearing of the young nobleman, and a natural weariness of the state of semi-neutrality between the French and the English, which they had maintained for some time, disposed the chiefs to grant the utmost he could desire, and the conference broke up with the fullest assurance of support from the heads of the Iroquois tribes--assurances which were faithfully made good in the campaigns which succeeded.

CHAPTER VIII

All was pleasant at the house of Sir William Johnson, from which the stateliness of his manner did not at all detract, for when blended with perfect courtesy, as an Irishman can perhaps better than any man blend it, stateliness does not imply restraint. The conference with the Indians had not ended until too late an hour for Mr. Prevost and his companions to return to his dwelling on the day when it took place, and as Walter was not expected with the answers to Lord H----'s dispatches for at least two days more, the party were not unwilling to prolong their stay till the following morning. Several of the guests, indeed, who were proceeding to Albany direct, set out at once for their destination, certain of reaching the well inhabited parts of the country before nightfall; and it was at one time proposed to send a letter by them to young Walter Prevost, directing him to join his father at the Hall. The inconveniences which so frequently ensue from deranging plans already fixed, caused this scheme to be rejected, and while her father, Lord H----, and their host wandered forth for an hour or two along the banks of the beautiful Mohawk, Edith remained at the Hall, not without hope of seeing Otaitsa present herself, with some intelligence. The beautiful Indian girl, however, did not appear, and gloomy thoughts thronged fast upon poor Edith. She strove to banish them; she schooled herself in regard to anticipating events only possible; but who ever mastered completely those internal warnings of approaching peril or woe, which as often come to cloud our brightest days, as to darken the gloom of an already tempestuous sky? Her chief companion was an old lady nearly related to Sir William, but very deaf and very silent, and she had but small relief in conversation.

In the meantime the three gentlemen and a young aide-de-camp pursued their way amongst the neat farmhouses and mechanics' shops which had gathered round the Hall; Mr. Prevost gave way to thoughts apparently as gloomy as those which haunted his daughter, but in reality not so, for his was a mind of a discursive character, which was easily led by any collateral idea far away from any course which it was at first pursuing; and though he had awakened that morning full of the considerations which had engaged him during the preceding day, he was now busily calculating the results of the meeting which had just been held, and arriving at the conclusions, more just than were reached by many of the great statesmen and politicians of the day.

Lord H----, on his part, paid no little attention to the demeanor and all the proceedings of their host. The character of his mind was the exact reverse of that of Mr. Prevost, attaching itself keenly to an object, and turned from its contemplation with difficulty. His thoughts still dwelt upon the consequences which were likely to ensue from the death of the Oneida by the hands of Captain Brooks, without anything like alarm, indeed, but with careful forethought for those who in a few short days had won for themselves a greater share of the warmer affections which lay hidden in his heart than he often bestowed upon anyone. As they quitted the door of the house a mere trifle called his attention to something peculiar in the conduct of Sir William Johnson, and led him to believe that the mind of that officer was not altogether at ease, notwithstanding the favorable result of the meeting with the Indians. After they had taken a step or two upon their way, Sir William Johnson paused suddenly, turned back, and ordered a servant to run up to the top of the hill and there watch until he returned. "Mark well which paths they take," he said, without specifying the persons of whom he spoke, "and let me hear if you see anything peculiar."

The man seemed to understand him perfectly, and the parties, as I have said, walked on, Lord H---- watching everything with the utmost attention. In the course of their ramble not less than some nine or ten persons came up at different times, and spoke a word or two to Sir William Johnson. First it was a negro, then a soldier, then an Irish servant, then another white man, but with features of a strongly marked Indian character. Each seemed to give some information in a few words uttered in a low tone, and each departed as soon as they were spoken, some with a brief answer, some with none.

The evening which succeeded their walk passed somewhat differently from the preceding one. There were fewer persons present, the conversation was more general and intimate, and Sir William Johnson, seating Edith at the old-fashioned instrument which in those days supplied the lack of pianofortes, asked for a song which it seems he had heard her sing before. She complied without any hesitation, with a sufficient skill and management of her voice to show that she had been well taught, but with tones so rich, so pure, and so melodious, that every sound in the room was instantly hushed, and Lord H---- approached nearer and nearer to listen.