35^ NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



friendly, the Oneidas and Mohawks of the lower castle neutral, 

 but other Mohawks congregated at Oquaga in a half hostile way. 

 In February 1776 Governor Tryon wrote that the Indians north- 

 ward and westward, as far as Detroit, w^ere in the king's interest 

 and had chosen Peter Johnson as chief. He was the son of Sir 

 William Johnson by Molly Brant, his Indian wife ; and captured 

 Ethan Allen near Montreal. Through his sister IMoUy, Joseph 

 Brant had much influence. Those who mentioned her incident- 

 ally spoke of her as a kind and pleasant woman. 



Sir John Johnson, hearing he was to be arrested though on 

 parole, left his home in May 1776, with three Indian guides, 130 

 Scotch and 120 other inhabitants, going to Canada by way of 

 Oswegatchie. He had fortified his house, and false information 

 had been lodged against him. On the first movement occasioned 

 by this, it was thought necessary to send a body of troops, and 

 a message was sent to the lower Mohawk castle. Little Abra- 

 ham and other chiefs met Schuyler at Schenectady and said: 

 " We intended to have gone down to Albany in order to speak 

 to you; but thank God that He has given us an opportunity to 

 meet you here, as we have some matters to communicate to you." 



They were sure the information was false, and warned Schuy- 

 ler against anything that might cause trouble. He then pro- 

 posed to have Sir John meet him, and this pleased them. They 

 met and Sir John gave his parole, but later suspicions and orders 

 caused his flight. After that, he was an active partizan. 



Brant soon became the principal Iroquois leader. Mr W. L. 

 Stone discussed his birth and hereditary chieftainship, but not 

 in a satisfactory way. King Hendrick, he said, was succeeded 

 by Little Abraham, and he by Brant. He also said that, while 

 no book mentions Brant's presence at the battle of the Cedars in 

 May 1776, he had positive evidence of his being there. Brant 

 sailed from England that month, reaching New York in July. 

 The Mohawks were probably alone in that battle, as four nations 

 had then a peace embassy in Philadelphia, where the Onondaga 

 speaker gave the name of Karandouan, or Great Tree, to John 

 Hancock. But, while Congress advised neutrality, it really 



