[98] See Appendix,[ Note I.]
[99] The Sexagenary, p. 110.
[100] Samuel Standish, who was present at the time of the murder of Jane McCrea, and afterwards gave the account to Jared Sparks, who records it in his "Life of Arnold." See "Library of American Biography," Vol. III, Chap. VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT ON THE MOHAWK.
Sir William Johnson thoroughly gained the good graces of the Iroquois Indians, and by the part he took against the French at Crown Point and Lake George, in 1755, added to his reputation at home and abroad. For his services to the Crown he was made a baronet and voted £5000 by the British parliament, besides being paid £600 per annum as Indian agent, which he retained until his death in 1774. He also received a grant of one hundred thousand acres of land north of the Mohawk. In 1743 he built Fort Johnson, a stone dwelling, on the same side of the river, in what is now Montgomery county. A few miles farther north, in 1764, he built Johnson Hall, a wooden structure, and there entertained his Indian bands and white tenants, with rude magnificence, surrounded by his mistresses, both white and red. He had dreams of feudal power, and set about to realize it. The land granted to him by the king, he had previously secured from the Mohawks, over whom he had gained an influence greater than that ever possessed heretofore or since by a white man over an Indian tribe. The tract of land thus gained was long known as "Kingsland," or the "Royal Grant." The king had bound Sir William to him by a feudal tenure of a yearly rental of two shillings and six pence for each and every one hundred acres. In the same manner Sir William bound to himself his tenants to whom he granted leases. In order to secure the greatest obedience he deemed it necessary to secure such tenants as differed from the people near him in manners, language, and religion, and that class trained to whom the strictest personal dependence was perfectly familiar. In all this he was highly favored. He turned his eyes to the Highlands of Scotland, and without trouble, owing to the dissatisfied condition of the people and their desire to emigrate, he secured as many colonists as he desired, all of whom were of the Roman Catholic faith. The agents having secured the requisite number, embarked, during the month of August, 1773, for America.
A journal of the period states that "three gentlemen of the name of Macdonell, with their families, and 400 Highlanders from the counties (!) of Glengarry, Glenmorison, Urquhart, and Strathglass lately embarked for America, having obtained a grant of land in Albany,"[101]
This extract appears to have been copied from the Courant of August 28th, which stated they had "lately embarked for America." This would place their arrival on the Mohawk some time during the latter part of the following September, or first of October. The three gentlemen above referred to were Macdonell of Aberchalder, Leek, and Collachie, and also another, Macdonell of Scotas. Their fortunes had been shattered in "the 45," and in order to mend them were willing to settle in America. They made their homes in what was then Tryon county, about thirty miles from Albany, then called Kingsborough, where now is the thriving town of Gloversville. To certain families tracts were allotted varying from one hundred to five hundred acres, all subjected to the feudal system.
Having reached the places assigned them the Highlanders first felled the trees and made their rude huts of logs. Then the forest was cleared and the crops planted amid the stumps. The country was rough, but the people did not murmur. Their wants were few and simple. The grain they reaped was carried on horseback along Indian trails to the landlord's mills. Their women became accustomed to severe outdoor employment, but they possessed an indomitable spirit, and bore their hardships bravely, as became their race. The quiet life of the people promised to become permanent. They became deeply attached to the interests of Sir William Johnson, who, by consummate tact soon gained a mastery over them. He would have them assemble at Johnson Hall that they might make merry; encourage them in Highland games, and invite them to Indian councils. Their methods of farming were improved under his supervision; superior breeds of stock sought for, and fruit trees planted. But Sir William, in reality, was not with them long; for, in the autumn of 1773, he visited England, returning in the succeeding spring, and dying suddenly at Johnson Hall on June 24th, following.