[FN-2] McClure's Life of Wheelock.
As a warrior, he was cautious, sagacious and brave; watching with sleepless vigilance for opportunities of action, and allowing neither dangers nor difficulties to divert him from his well-settled purposes. His constitution was hardy, his capacity of endurance great; his energy untiring, and his firmness indomitable. His character, in his social and domestic relations, has been delineated at length, and needs no farther illustration. In his dealings and business relations he was prompt, honorable, and expert; and, so far as the author has been able to obtain information from gentlemen who knew him well, he was a pattern of integrity. The purity of his private morals has never been questioned, and his house was the abode of kindness and hospitality.
His manners in refined society have been described by Dr. Miller and General Porter. Without divesting himself altogether of the characteristic reserve of his people, he could, nevertheless, relax as occasion required, and contribute his full share, by sprightly and intelligent conversation, to the pleasures of general society. He was at once affable and dignified, avoiding frivolity on the one hand and stiffness on the other; in one word, unbending himself just to the proper medium of the well-bred gentleman. He has been described by some as eloquent in his conversation. Others, again, deny him the attribute of eloquence, either in public speaking or in the social circle; asserting that his great power lay in his strong, practical good sense, and deep and ready insight into character. Mr. Thomas Morris avers that his sagacity in this respect exceeded that of any other man with whom he has been acquainted. His temperament was decidedly amiable; he had a keen perception of the ludicrous, and was both humorous and witty himself—some times brilliant in this respect; and his conversation was often fascinating, by reason of its playfulness and vivacity. [FN]
[FN] As an illustration of his shrewdness and sagacity, the following anecdote of Brant has been communicated to the author by Professor Griscom:—"When Jemima Wilkinson, (who professed to be, in her own person, the Saviour of the world in his second appearance on earth,) was residing on her domain in western New-York, surrounded by her deluded and subservient followers, she could not fail to attract the notice of Colonel Brant; while the celebrity of the Chieftain must, in turn, have forcibly commended itself to her attention. This led, of course, to a mutual desire to see each other, and Brant at length presented himself at her mansion, and requested an interview. After some formality he was admitted and she addressed to him a few words in the way of a welcome salutation. He replied to her by a formal speech in his own language, at the conclusion of which she informed him that she did not understand the language in which he spoke. He then addressed her in another Indian dialect, to which, in like manner, she objected. After a pause, he commenced a speech in a third, and still different American language, when she interrupted him by the expression of dissatisfaction at his persisting to speak to her in terms which she could not understand. He arose with dignity, and with a significant motion of the hand, said—'Madam, you are not the person you pretend to be. Jesus Christ can understand one language as well as another,' and abruptly took his leave." Since this striking and characteristic anecdote was received from Dr. Griscom, I have discovered that it has been attributed to Red Jacket. This Chief; however, was a Pagan—a disbeliever in Jesus Christ; and as Brant was the opposite, the anecdote is more characteristic of him than of the Seneca orator.
The implacable resentments imputed to the American Indians were not characteristic of him. In a speech to a council of Misissaguas—a clan of the Hurons, located on the Bay of Quinte,—on the occasion of certain grievous personal insults, of which some of their people were complaining, he remarked:—"Brothers, I am very glad you suffer these abuses so patiently. I advise you to persevere in your patience and prudence, never allowing yourselves to feel and exercise revenge, until every regular step be taken to remove them." [FN] In the whole course of his correspondence, positive hostility, of a personal character, seems only to have been cherished toward Colonel Claus, the Deputy Superintendent General of the Indian Department. The precise nature of this difficulty the author has not ascertained. It was connected, however, with the pecuniary affairs of the Indians, in regard to which Brant was exonerated from censure at every scrutiny. Still, perfection cannot be predicated of the Mohawk Chief more than other men, and the author has not discovered a particle of evidence, going to inculpate the moral or official conduct of Colonel Claus—save that he appears to have connived at the unsuccessful machinations of Red Jacket and other enemies of Brant, to effect the chieftain's deposition.
[FN] MS. speech among the Brant papers.
Like other men, Brant doubtless had his faults, but they were redeemed by high qualities and commanding virtues. He was charged with duplicity, and even treachery, in regard to the affairs of the Indians and the United States, in connexion with his first visit to Philadelphia. But the aspersion was grievously unjust. During the years of those wars, his position was trying and peculiar. He had his own ulterior objects to consult in regard to the Indians of the upper lakes. He desired to see justice done to them, and also to the United States. And he likewise desired not to impair his own influence with those Indians. At the same time he had a difficult game to play, with the Colonial and British governments. The doubtful relations between England and the United States induced the former to keep the Indians in a very unpacific mood toward the latter for a series of years; sometimes even pushing them into hostilities, by means and appliances of which policy required the concealment, and the means of diplomatic denial, if necessary. At the same time, while Brant was thoroughly loyal to the King, he was nevertheless resolved upon maintaining the unfettered independence of his own peculiar nation; friendly relations with the Colonial government being also essential to his desire of a perfect title to his new territory.
Such a position must at all times have been full of embarrassment and difficulty, and at some conjunctures could not have been otherwise than deeply perplexing. And yet he sustained himself through the whole—proving himself above the influence of gold at Philadelphia, and passing the ordeal without dishonor. In letters, he was in advance of some of the Generals against whom he fought; and even of still greater military chieftains, who have flourished before his day and since. True, he was ambitious—and so was Caesar. He sought to combine many nations under his own dominion—and so did Napoleon. He ruled over barbarians—and so did Peter the Great.