[FN-1] Original letters among the Brant papers.
[FN-2] Idem.
[FN-3] Idem.
The necessary arrangements having been adjusted, the journey was commenced early in June. General Chapin not being able to accompany the Chief to the seat of government, he was attended by the General's son, and by Doctor Allen, and two body servants of his own—all mounted. Their route from Niagara to Albany was taken through the Mohawk Valley. At Palatine, by previous invitation, the Captain visited Major James Cochran, who had then recently established himself in that place. But the feelings of the inhabitants had become so embittered against him during the war of the Revolution, and such threats were uttered by some of the Germans, of a determination to take his life, that it was deemed prudent for him privately to leave the inn, where his friend Major Cochran was then at lodgings, and sleep at the house of Mrs. Peter Schuyler in the neighborhood, where he would be-less likely to be assailed. He did so, and the next morning pursued his journey. [FN] With this exception, he was well received at every point of his journey. His arrival in New-York was thus announced in the newspapers:—"On Monday last arrived in this city, from his settlement on Grand River, on a visit to some of his friends in this quarter, Captain Joseph Brant of the British army, the famous Mohawk chief who so eminently distinguished himself during the late war as the military leader of the Six Nations. We are informed that he intends to visit the city of Philadelphia, and pay his respects to the President of the United States."
[FN] Letter of Major Cochran to the author.
He arrived in Philadelphia on the 20th of June, where he was announced in terms very similar to the above, and received by the Government with marked attention. But few memorials of this visit have been preserved. The President announced his arrival in respectful terms, on the 21st of June, in a letter addressed to Gouverneur Morris; and he speaks of the circumstance again in a subsequent letter, but makes no allusion to the result of his interviews with him. No doubt, strong efforts were made, not only to engage his active interposition with the Indians to bring about a peace, but likewise to win him over permanently to the interests of the United States. In a letter subsequently addressed by Captain Brant to the Count de Puisy, [FN] in regard to his difficulties with the British government touching the title to the Grand River territory, while pleading the claims of his Indians to the favorable consideration of the Crown, and repelling certain charges of selfishness which had been bruited respecting himself, the following passage occurs on the subject of the proposals made to him by the American Executive:—"I am sorry to find that my perseverance in endeavoring to obtain our rights, has caused unjust surmises to be formed of my intentions, notwithstanding the many evident proofs I have shown of my integrity and steady attachment to the British interest. Had I not been actuated by motives of honor, and preferred the interests of his Majesty, and the credit of my nation, to my own private welfare, there were several allurements of gain offered me by the Government of the United States when I was at Philadelphia, during the time the Shawanese and other tribes maintained a war against them. I was offered a thousand guineas down, and to have the half-pay and pension I receive from Great Britain doubled, merely on condition that I would use my endeavors to bring about a peace. But this I rejected. I considered it might be detrimental to the British interests, as also to the advantage and credit of the Indian nations, until the Americans should make the necessary concessions. Afterward I was offered the preemption right to land to the amount of twenty thousand pounds currency of the United States, and fifteen hundred dollars per annum. This I considered as inconsistent with the principles of honor to receive, as by accepting of any of these offers, they might expect me to act contrary to his Majesty's interest and the honor of our nations; and from the repeated assurances of his Majesty's representatives, I had full confidence his bounty would never fail."
[FN] The Count de Puisy was one of the French nobles driven into exile by the revolution of 1789. He subsequently held a commission as Lieutenant General in the British service, and commanded a detachment of the emigrants in the Quiberon expedition. Receiving a grant of land in Canada from the British crown, as did several of the exiles, the Count came over, and resided for a time near Niagara. During this period he formed an intimate acquaintance with Captain Brant, who corresponded with him after his return to England. The Count resided somewhere in the neighborhood of London until his death, which happened many years afterward.
But notwithstanding his refusal of these propositions, the result of the interview seems at the time to have been mutual satisfaction. The true causes of the war with the western Indians were explained to him; and great pains were taken by the President and Secretary of War to impress upon his mind the sincere desire of the United States to cultivate the most amicable relations with the sons of the forest, of any and every tribe. In the end, the Chief was induced to undertake a mission of peace to the Miamis, for which purpose he was furnished with ample instructions by the Secretary of War. Most emphatically was he enjoined to undeceive the Indians in regard to their apprehensions that the United States were seeking to wrest from them farther portions of their lands. On this point the Government solemnly disclaimed the design of taking a foot more than had been ceded in the treaty of Muskingum in 1789. The Chief left Philadelphia about the 1st of July, on which occasion the Secretary of War wrote to General Chapin, among other things, as follows:—"Captain Brant's visit will, I flatter myself, be productive of great satisfaction to himself, by being made acquainted with the humane views of the President of the United States." To Governor Clinton the Secretary likewise wrote as follows:—"Captain Brant appears to be a judicious and sensible man. I flatter myself his journey will be satisfactory to himself and beneficial to the United States."