The first movement of Brant himself, this season, (1778,) was upon the settlement of Springfield, a small town at the head of Otsego Lake, lying directly west of Cherry Valley, about ten miles. Those of the men who did not fly, were taken prisoners. The chieftain then burnt the entire settlement, with the exception of a single house, into which he collected all the women and children, and left them uninjured.
It was reported in the month of June, that Brant, whose forces were increasing at Unadilla, was fortifying that post; and Captain McKean was despatched with a small patrol in that direction, by the people of Cherry Valley, to make observations. Arriving at a house about twenty-five miles from that place, McKean was informed that Brant had been there with fifty men, that day, and would probably return in the evening. McKean was at first disposed to take possession of the house, and attempt its defence—his force consisting of but five men, exclusive of himself. But, ultimately forming a more prudent resolution, he withdrew "his forces" before nightfall, and returned home without having reconnoitered the chieftain's position at Unadilla. In the course of his journey, he wrote a letter to Brant, upbraiding him for the predatory system of warfare in which he was engaged, and challenging him either to single combat, or to meet him with an equal number of men and have a pitched battle—"adding, that if he would come to Cherry Valley, they would change him from a Brant to a goose." This chivalrous missive was fastened to a stick, and placed in an Indian path. No modern post-office could have transmitted the letter with greater speed or safety. The "contents" were "noted" by Brant in a letter addressed to Mr. Parcifer Carr, a loyalist living some fifteen or twenty miles north, upon the Unadilla settlement, to whom the chief wrote for provisions. He also solicited Mr. Carr to allow two or three of his men to join him, and likewise to send him a few guns, with some ammunition—adding, "I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as I can." In a postscript, he intimated that the people of Cherry Valley, though very bold in words, would find themselves mistaken in calling him a "goose." Whether the challenge of Captain McKean, and the pun upon the chieftain's name, had any influence upon his subsequent conduct in that section of the country, is not known.
On the 2d of July a smart engagement took place, on the upper branch of the Cobleskill, between a party of regular troops and Schoharie militia under Captain Christian Brown, and a large body of Indians. There were twenty-two militiamen and thirty regulars, the latter under charge of a lieutenant whose name has not been preserved. The Indians, by their own account, were four hundred and fifty strong. They were victorious—the Americans retreating with a loss of fourteen killed, eight wounded, and two missing. The Indians burnt several houses, killed and destroyed all the horses and cattle which they could not drive away, and took considerable plunder besides. They remained in the woods adjoining the battleground one day and two nights, dressing the wounded, and packing up their booty, with which they retired unmolested. [FN]
[FN] The only account of this battle which the author has been able to discover, is contained in John M. Brown's pamphlet history of Schoharie. He states it to have taken place on the day preceding the massacre of Wyoming, but dates it in 1776, instead of 1778, which was doubtless the true date.
Thenceforward, until the close of the war, the settlements of Schoharie were perpetually harassed by the strolling bands of the enemy, until at length they were entirely laid waste by a formidable invasion. The principal of these settlements was the vale of the Schoharie-kill—doubly inviting from the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its soil—which was even then thickly inhabited. But, although frequently doomed to suffer from the savage tomahawk, justice nevertheless demands the admission, that the first blood was drawn in that valley, and the first act of barbarity committed, by the white man, upon the body of an Indian sachem.
The circumstances leading to the outrage were these: At an early stage of the contest, the officers of the Crown made a very strenuous effort to control the popular feeling, and preserve the loyalty of the people of Schoharie. For this purpose, not only the regular militia of the settlements, but all the male population capable of bearing arms, were required to meet the King's Commissioners at the house of Captain George Mann, a loyalist of great wealth and influence, to take the oath of allegiance. They assembled in arms, and were kept on parade, day after day, as they slowly gathered at the place of rendezvous in obedience to the requisition. Those who were loyalists at heart readily took the oath; but great reluctance was manifested on the part of those whose predilections ran with the Whigs. These, however, were threatened with the pains and penalties of arrest, confiscation, and death, in case of refusal; so that for the most part they complied with the demand of the Commissioners, and took the oath of fidelity to the Crown. Immediately on taking the oath, the hat of the subject was decorated with a piece of scarlet cloth; while some of those most strongly desirous of manifesting their loyalty, wore scarlet caps. Prominent among the latter class, were Ludwig Snyder, of the Duanesburg settlement, [FN] and a Mohawk sachem named Peter Nickus, who gave offence to the Whigs by brandishing his tomahawk and occasionally sounding the war-whoop.
[FN] Snyder afterward abjured the Loyal cause, and discharged his duty faithfully as a Whig.
But there were a few bold spirits upon whom, neither the threats of his Majesty's officers, nor the menaces of the Indians in their company, had any effect. They refused peremptorily to take the oath. Chief among these were Nicholas Sternberg and William Deitz, who left the parade on the evening of the first or second day, and returned to their homes—bitterly denounced as rebels and traitors by the Royalists, and threatened with a visit of Tories and Indians during the night. To avoid an arrest, Sternberg took to the woods at evening, leaving his family in great anxiety, although the slaves, of whom he possessed a large number, volunteered to defend their mistress and the children. But there was no pursuit, and the recusants both returned to the parade on the following day—determined, of course, to render all proper obedience to the laws yet in force, but equally determined not to take the oath of allegiance; although Mrs. Sternberg besought her husband, with tears, not to jeopard his own safety, and the lives of his family, by longer refusal. Nay, she went farther; and appealing to the Bible, the good woman showed him the passage in which all men are enjoined "to fear God and honor the King." But it was with Sternberg as with the Puritans, He believed that "opposition to tyrants was obedience to God," as implicitly as did the regicides who engraved that immortal sentiment upon the New Haven rock; and he was inflexible in his purpose.