[FN] John Norton, the intelligent Mohawk Chief, heretofore repeatedly mentioned, gave a different version of the tradition upon this subject. Being at Albany, upon the business of the St. Regis Reservation, during the administration of Governor Jay, the Governor took occasion to ask Norton if he knew any thing concerning the origin of the Indian fortifications, as they were called, found in such numbers in many parts of the United States. He answered, that there was a tradition in his tribe that they were constructed by a people who in ancient times occupied a great extent of country, but who had been extirpated; that there had been long and bloody wars between this people and the Five Nations, in which the latter had been finally victorious. He added, that one of the last of the fortifications which was taken, had been obstinately defended; that the warriors of the other four nations of the Confederacy had assaulted it without waiting for the Mohawks, and had been repulsed with great loss, but that the latter coming to their assistance the attack was renewed, the place taken, and all who were in it destroyed.—Letter to the author from the Hon. Peter Augustus Jay, who was present during the conversation.
There seem to be many strong reasons for believing, that at some remote period of time, a race of men, different from the Indians found in occupancy by the English, farther advanced in civilization, and possessed of arts of which they were ignorant, must have been in possession of portions of this country. The Indians have various traditions upon the subject of such a lost race of men, differing, however, among different tribes, and often among individuals of the same tribes. Mary Jemison, who was raised among the Senecas, and spent a long life with them, states that the Indians held that the flats of the Genesee were cleared, and had been cultivated, by another people, before the Indians came into possession. They were a people of whom they could give no account, because "their fathers had never seen them." By the sliding of a bank of Mary's farm into the river, a burial-place was discovered, of which the Indians had no knowledge, and they held that the bones were not those of Indians. [FN-1] But of what race, nation, or complexion, were this ancient people, will probably never be known. That the continent of North America was discovered by the Normans, during the patriarchal government of the Colony of Greenland, by Erik the Red, five centuries before the voyages of Columbus, is no longer a matter of doubt. The shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the coast of New England, were visited by Lief and Thorwald, the sons of Erik, and colonies planted, as far back as the tenth century. These colonies, however, were soon lost or extirpated; and from the Icelandic records, and the histories of the Northmen, [FN-2] there is but faint reason for supposing that the few colonists of Vinland, as the new country was named, or their descendants, could have extended themselves from the estuary of the St Lawrence across into the valley of the Mississippi. [FN-3]
[FN-1] See Appendix, No. XVIII.
[FN-2] Vide, History of the Northmen, by Henry Wheaton; Voyages of Sebastian Cabot, &c. &c.
[FN-3] See Appendix, No. XIX.
The tradition recited by Brant, however, tends, especially in its details, to corroborate the well-known legend of the Welsh, concerning Prince Madog, or Madoc, which has occasioned so many stories of White and Welsh Indians, rather than any other tale of discovery and colonization with which the public is acquainted. According to the Welsh tradition, Madoc—if indeed there was such a veritable personage—in consequence of some domestic dissensions, went to sea, with ten ships and three hundred men, in the twelfth century, and discovered land far to the west. He made several voyages to and from this unknown land, but finally, with all his followers, was lost to the knowledge of his countrymen. The tradition of Brant, that the white strangers made annual voyages to and from their own country for several years, corresponds with the story as related in the Welsh Triads, and by Hakluyt, who has given an account of the supposed voyages of the Prince. The cutting off of the colonists at one fell stroke, as related by Brant, also shows very satisfactorily why his fate was never known. Œdipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx; but unless he was able to solve still greater mysteries, the origin and uses of the American Tumuli present questions that would have baffled the wisdom even of the accomplished though unfortunate son and husband of Jocasta.
In bringing the life and actions of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea, to a close, something in the form of a summary review of his character will doubtless be expected at the hands of the biographer. This task can be readily and expeditiously executed, from the method adopted in the composition of the work itself. Nor, after the record already given of his public life and conduct, and the occasional anecdotes and illustrations of character introduced in the regular progress of the narrative, will the reader be surprised to find the author disposed, not only to set aside, but to reverse the popular estimate, and all previous decisions of history, in relation to the character of that remarkable man.
His fine personal appearance in the full maturity of manhood has already been described from the notes of Mr. Woodruff and General Porter. His early advantages of education were limited, but of these he evidently made the best use. Probably, being connected by the alliance of his sister with Sir William Johnson, he may have attended some of the missionary schools in the Mohawk Valley previous to his being sent by the Baronet to the Moor charity school, under the care of the elder Doctor Wheelock. But as he had already, though at so early an age, been upon the war-path in two campaigns, his opportunities of study could not have been great,—to say nothing of the reluctance with which an ardent youth, looking with delight upon the pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war, and inpatient of military renown, might be expected to confine himself to the dull and quiet pursuits of the school-room. Still, he acknowledged in after-life that he had derived great and lasting advantages from the instructions of Doctor Wheelock. The wars of Pontiac a third time called him to the field; but the campaign was no sooner ended, than he was again engaged in literary pursuits under the direction of the missionaries. The influence of his sister in the administration of the Indian department, called him more directly into active public life on the death of Sir William Johnson, although he had been much employed in the transaction of business with the Indians previous to that event. These avocations had of course deprived him of much time which might otherwise have been devoted to study; and when upon him had devolved the chieftainship of the whole confederacy of the Six Nations, it may well be imagined that the official claims upon his attention were in themselves sufficient to occupy, unremittingly, the most active mind. Then followed the protracted conflict of the American Revolution, requiring, from his position, and the side he espoused, the exercise of all his energies, physical and intellectual. But his return to his books, the moment that the great contest was ended; the progressive improvement in the style of his letters; and the fruits of his labors in the translations he produced, are circumstances proving his perseverance amidst the most harassing cares and perplexities of his after-life, and that he had a natural taste for literature, and was zealous in the acquisition of knowledge. His solicitude was great for the thorough education of his children; and he had himself not only projected writing a history of his own people, but had it in contemplation himself to acquire the knowledge of the Greek language, that he might be enabled to read the New Testament in the original, and thus make a more perfect translation of the Greek Scriptures in the Mohawk tongue.
His character has been represented as savage and cruel; and in the meagre sketches of his life hitherto published, although an occasional redeeming virtue has been allowed by some, anecdotes of treachery and blood have been introduced, to sustain the imputed disposition of relentless ferocity. [FN-1] The causes of this general libel upon the native character of the Indians, and upon that of Brant in particular, have been indicated in the commencement of the present work. Such, however, was not the fact. On the contrary, making the necessary allowances for his position, his own blood, and the description of warriors he commanded, after the most diligent and laborious investigation, the author is free to declare his belief that Brant was no less humane than he is on all hands admitted to have been brave. He was an Indian, and led Indians to the fight, upon their own principles and usages of war. Bold and daring, sagacious and wily, he often struck when least expected; but the author has in vain sought for an instance of wanton cruelty—of treachery—or of the murder of prisoners, or others, by his own hand, or by his permission, in cold blood. At the first outbreak of the American revolution, he interposed and saved the life of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland when on the point of becoming a victim to Indian fury, although not at that time on the very best terms with that gentleman. The first battle of the revolutionary war in which Brant was engaged, was that of the Cedars, on the banks of the St. Lawrence. Immediately after the fate of the day was decided, he interposed to save the prisoners, and actually, at his own private expense, appeased the Indians, and prevented the sacrifice of the brave Captain McKinstry. This gentleman was well known to the author, and he ever entertained a high regard for Captain Brant, by whom he was afterward visited on the manor of Livingston. The Chieftain's efforts at the massacre of Cherry Valley, to stay the effusion of innocent blood, have been mentioned in the account of that tragic irruption. In addition to the circumstances there narrated, Doctor Dwight, who was as careful as he was diligent in the collection of his facts, relates, that on entering one of the houses in Cherry Valley, Walter Butler ordered a woman and child, who were in bed, to be killed; but the Mohawk Chief interposed, and said—"What! kill a woman and child! No! That child is not an enemy to the King, nor a friend to the Congress. Long before he will be big enough to do any mischief, the dispute will be settled." At the affair of Wyoming, for which he has always received the severest condemnation, he was not present. His conduct to Captain Harper and his fellow-prisoners was anything but cruel, in the Indian acceptation of the term, although the execution of the aged and weary prisoner, if done with his knowledge or by his direction, was indefensible. But at Minisink, according to his own relation of the circumstances, (and his veracity has never been questioned,) his conduct has been grossly misrepresented. He exerted himself in the first instance to avert the effusion of blood, and was fired upon while in the act of making pacific overtures. True, Colonel Wisner was finally killed by his own hand; but the very blow was prompted by humanity, according to the reasoning of an Indian. The soldier was wounded past cure or removal; and after reflection upon the painful case, to prevent his dying agonies from being aggravated by beasts of prey, the Chief put an end to his sufferings through an honest dictate of compassion. A thoroughly civilized warrior would neither have reasoned nor acted as he did under the circumstances. Still, the act was prompted by feelings of humanity, and was doubtless such in reality. Lieutenant Wormwood was killed at Cherry Valley by mistake, and after refusing to stand when hailed. Lieutenant Boyd and his companion were treated with humanity by Brant after the capture in the Genesee country, and the dreadful tragedy which ended their lives was not enacted until Brant had departed for Niagara. The reader cannot well have forgotten the touching and beautiful incident of the restoration of the infant to its mother, at Fort Hunter, as related to the author by Governor Lewis, an eye-witness of the transaction. To all which may be added, that his last act of the last battle he fought was the rescuing of an American prisoner from a savage Irish ally of his own Indians, who was about to murder him. [FN-2]