Subsequently to this, the Six Nations, and especially the Mohawks, were brought peculiarly under the influence of an English officer, afterwards celebrated in history as Sir William Johnson. Hendrick, the renowned king of the Mohawks, and his warriors, accompanied their patron in his various military excursions against the French, which terminated in the surrender of Canada to the English. The chief himself sealed his fidelity with his blood, having fallen at the battle of Lake George. Many instances of his sagacity are related. A council of war having been called, on a certain occasion, and the proposition made to send out a detachment to meet the enemy, Hendrick, being consulted, said, “If they are to fight, they are too few; if they are to be killed, too many.” Another proposition being made to send out three parties, the old chief took three sticks and said, “Put these together, and you cannot break them; one by one, you can do it easily.” His sagacity was admitted, his advice followed, and the victory was won.
It appears that this famous chief received the title of King; the occasion is said to have been as follows. The Mohawks and the River Indians, called Mohegans, had a contest which should have the honor of naming their king. Both nations gathered in their strength, and met at a place called Woton Island, in the Hudson River, to decide the question. A pitched battle was fought, which lasted through the day. Towards night, the Mohawks, fearing that the Mohegans were likely to gain the victory, suddenly took to flight, and gained another island. In the evening, they kindled a great number of fires, and spread their blankets on some bushes, as though they had encamped beneath them. The Mohegans, pursuing, landed on the island in the night, and, imagining the Mohawks to be asleep, crept up as silently as possible, and poured a heavy fire on the spot; they then rushed forward with their knives and tomahawks, raising their yells, and cutting and slashing in every direction. At this moment, the Mohawks, who lay flat on the ground, rose from their ambush at a little distance, and poured in a murderous fire on their foes, whom they could distinguish by the light of the fires. Most of them were killed, or borne down and taken prisoners. A treaty was then made, by which the Mohawks were to appoint the king, and the Mohegans were to hold them in reverence, and call them “Uncle.” Hendrick was the monarch first named by the Mohawks. He lived to a great age, and was killed, as has been related, at the battle of Lake George.
The Six Nations were accustomed now to make temporary removals from place to place, paying visits to the Miamis, Hurons, and Wyandots. Some of them also resided on the Susquehannah, in Pennsylvania, and received instruction from Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians. To this party belonged the Cayuga chief, Shikellimus, the father of Logan, the Mingo chief, whose sorrows and whose eloquence have become so celebrated. The Mohawks accompanied Sir William Johnson in his expedition to Niagara, in 1759, and contributed to the victory gained over the French, when, after the death of General Prideaux, the command devolved on Sir William. In this battle, their afterwards celebrated chief, Brant, though but a youth, greatly distinguished himself.
The Mohawks received Protestant missionaries among them, as the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas had received the French Catholics. They had churches built, and some of their young men were sent into Connecticut, to be educated there under the care of Dr. Wheelock.
In the fierce wars which broke out at the West, of which we have elsewhere given an account, the Six Nations, in general, took no active part, though some of the Cayugas, and the warriors on the banks of the Susquehannah and Shamokin, occasionally became parties to them. Still, the feelings of the Six Nations were considerably alienated from the English, as well as those of the whole Indian race, unless we may except the Oneidas. The reason of this probably was, that the English did not take equal pains with the French to win them with presents. Sir William Johnson’s influence with them, however, was very great, and, so long as he lived, they looked up to him as their protector and father. He died just before the commencement of the American War of Independence. His sons, Sir John Johnson and Colonel Guy Johnson,—the former of whom was the Indian agent for the British government,—succeeded to his influence, and their interference was the cause of many interruptions of the peace and happiness of the settlers in New York and Pennsylvania during the great struggle for freedom. But the account of these transactions, with the further history of the Six Nations, must be reserved for another chapter.
THE SIX NATIONS.
On the breaking out of the War of Independence, the Six Nations were in alliance with the British government, and under the influence of Sir John and Colonel Guy Johnson. As before intimated, they were led to take part in the hostilities against the colonies. The Indians were now living on the extended tract of country up the Mohawk valley, and reaching beyond the small lakes in the western part of the State of New York. The Mohawks had their principal seat in the vicinity of Johnstown; that of the Oneidas was near Lake Oneida, and called Oneida Castle; the Onondagas dwelt in the country around the lake which bears their name. Onondaga Castle, as it was called, was the centre of the confederacy, and here was the grand council-house where the council-fire was kept perpetually burning. The Cayugas were still further west, near Lake Cayuga, and the Senecas beyond them.