He did not remain in England many months, but, in company with Captain Tice, sailed on his return toward the close of March or early in April, [FN-1] and arrived on the coast near the harbor of New-York after a very short passage. Having fully determined to fulfill his stipulations with General Carleton, and take up the hatchet in the cause of the Crown, he was cautiously and privately landed somewhere in the neighborhood of New-York, whence he performed a very hazardous journey to Canada—having, of course, to steal his way through a hostile population, until he could hide himself in the forests beyond Albany. He had taken the precaution, however, in England, to provide evidence of the identity of his body in case of disaster, or of his fall in any of the battles he anticipated, by procuring a gold finger ring, with his name engraven thereon at length. [FN-2]
[FN-1] The London Universal Magazine for July of 1776, states that he embarked for America in May. But there must have been a mistake in the date, since Brant, as will soon appear, was in the battle of the Cedars, above Montreal, in that month.
[FN-2] This ring he wore until his death. It was kept as a precious relic by his widow for four years, when it was lost. Strange as it may seem, however, during the last Summer, (1836,) the identical ring was found by a little girl in a ploughed field near Wellington Square, while the venerable Indian queen was on a visit to her daughter, the accomplished lady of Colonel Kerr. The aged widow of the old chief was overjoyed at once more possessing the memento, after it had been lost six and twenty years.
What were the particular arguments addressed to the Mohawk in the British capital, or by what process he became impressed with the idea that the arms of the King would, in the end, be victorious in the Colonies, is not known. It is certain, however, that whatever doubts he might have entertained, were most effectually dispelled; since, on taking leave, it was understood that he pledged himself heartily to embrace the Royal cause, and promised to take the field with three thousand warriors of his race. [FN]
[FN] It appears that Colonel Guy Johnson must have visited England at the same time, or nearly the same time, with Brant. Perhaps they went together, although Johnson did not return so soon. General Washington announced his arrival at Staten Island, from England, on the 6th of August, 1776, in a letter written to the President of Congress on the 8th. In Dunlap's History of the American Stage, Guy Johnson's name is given, in 1778, as one of the managers of the old Theatre Royal, John-street. The players were all amateurs, officers of the British army; and the avails of their performances were appropriated for benevolent purposes. The unfortunate Major Andre was one of the actors and the scene painter. A drop-curtain, painted by him, was used many years after his death.
It is no more than justice, however, to allow Captain Brant to speak for himself, in regard to the principle by which he was governed in his decision. In a letter written by him to Sir Evan Nepean, the Under Secretary of State, when in England after the peace of 1783, he said:—"When I joined the English in the beginning of the war, it was purely on account of my forefathers' engagements with the King. I always looked upon these engagements, or covenants between the King and the Indian nations, as a sacred thing; therefore I was not to be frightened by the threats of the rebels at that time; I assure you I had no other view in it, and this was my real case from the beginning."
By "threats" in this letter to the Under Secretary, Brant probably meant no more than the efforts made by the Americans to prevent his joining the Royal standard, and to preserve the neutrality of the Indians. In connexion with these efforts, there is a scrap of unwritten history, which, whether true or not, is characteristic of the shrewdness and dry sarcastic humor of the chief. It is related, that during the early part of the year 1775, while it was yet considered doubtful which side the Mohawks would espouse, and when it was of course very desirable to ascertain the views of Brant upon the subject, President Wheelock was applied to as a medium of communication with his former pupil. The Doctor, according to the tradition, wrote him a long epistle upon the aspect of the times, and urged upon Brant those considerations which appeared most likely to win him over, or rather to secure his neutrality, if not his friendship, to the Colonists. Brant replied very ingeniously. Among other things, he referred to his former residence with the Doctor—recalled the happy hours he had passed under his roof—and referred especially to his prayers and the family devotions, to which he had listened. He said he could never forget those prayers; and one passage, in particular, was so often repeated, that it could never be effaced from his mind. It was, among other of his good preceptor's petitions, "that they might be able to live as good subjects—to fear God, and honor the King."
If doubt had existed among the Colonists before, as to the direction of the channel in which ran his inclinations, there was surely none after the perusal of this letter. But scenes of a more stirring character now demand the attention.