84 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



forces into the Delaware Valley, where he was joined by 60 or 70 of 

 the inhabitants, and seized horses and cattle. By June 18th Brant 

 was operating in the vicinity of Otsego Lake, and Colonel Jacob 

 Klock sent word to .Governor Clinton that "his number encreaseth 

 daily; many very lately did run off, moved by disaffection; others 

 join him, moved by fear, and several are forced to take up arms, or 

 to swear allegiance to the King of Britain. We are informed that 

 Brant boasted openly, that he will be joined at Unadilla by Butler, 

 and that within eight days he will return and lay the country waste. "^ 



A week later Butler was said to be at Chemung. He had set 

 out from Niagara on May 2nd to hold a council with the Indians at 

 the Seneca village of Kanadesaga, and to fix his headquarters among 

 the Loyalists at Unadilla. Recent letters from the frontier informed 

 him that his recruiting officers were meeting with good success, one of 

 them reporting an enlistment of nearly 100 men. That Butler was 

 employing every method to gather up the Tories is apparent from the 

 statement of Barnabas Kelly, a settler on Butternut Creek, who made 

 affidavit about June 25th that he "heard John Young at the Butter- 

 nut, read a proclamation from Butler, desiring all the friends to govern- 

 ment to join him, and to bring in all their cattle together with their 

 wives and families, and they would be kindly received by the said 

 Butler." Almost at the same moment Brant appeared on Butternut 

 Creek with a few Indians and "Green Coat soldiers," and ordered 

 Robert Jones "with nine families who liv'd at that place to go with him, 

 if friends to government; if not, to take their own risk. Himself 

 and 4 families with S'd Brant went to Unadilla, the other five soon 

 followed." Some days later Jones learned that a large number of 

 Senecas were on the march to join Brant at Anahquago. As our 

 deponent made his escape on the day this news was brought in, he 

 was unable to report the actual arrival of these warriors. Meantime, 

 at Unadilla Butler's Rangers seem to have gained a considerable 

 accession of persons, who had been expelled from their holdings 

 farther up the valley on account of their real or suspected loyalty.^ 



Late in June Butler and his Mohawk ally met in council at 

 Tioga Point, where it was decided that the latter should continuef 

 the work of collecting Loyalists and provisions, while the former 

 should make a descent on Wyoming in eastern Pennsylvania. When 

 Butler started on this raid his force numbered about 1,100 men, of 

 whom 700 were Indians (largely Senecas), the remainder comprising 



1 Clinton Papers, Vol. Ill; Halsey, The Old New York Frontier, 207, 209, 

 211. 



2 Haldimand Papers, B. 96-1, p. 36; Cruikshank, Butler's Rangers, 41, 44, 45; 

 Halsey, The Old New York Frontier, 212, 213, 215. 



