﻿35 
  2 
  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, 
  were 
  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 
  Molly, 
  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 
  

  

  