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Show THE BULLETIN Celebrations New York Honor "Greatest American of His Day" in Series of Pageants in Mohawk Valley Recall the Arrival 200 Years Ago of a Young Irish Immigrant Who, as an English Baronet end Mohawk Indian Chieftain, Ruled Over a Wilderness Empire and Helped Shape the Destiny of America in Colonial Days. S Western Newspaper Union. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON THE historic Mohawk of New York a IN series of historical pageants, memorial services and other gatherings have been held this summer as a bicentennial commemoration of a great American who is too little known to later generations of Americans, lie was not only the greatest American of his day, but he was "a world figure; a great constructive genius; the greatest landowner in North America; a wise magistrate, a victorious soldier, a builder of cities amid a wilderness; a redeemer of men. He was a Baronet of the British Realm; His Majestys Superintendent of Indian Affairs for all North America. He was the only living white man implicitly trusted by the savages of this continent, be- - Bloekhouse at Johnson llall. cause he never broke his word to them. He was, perhaps, the only representative of royal authority in the Western Hemisphere utterly believed in by the dishonest, I tyrannical, and stupid pack of Royal Governors, Magistrates and lesser vermin that '.afflicted the colonies with jthe British plague, He was kind and great. j All loved him. All mourned him. For he was a very perfect gentleman who prac-itice- d truth and honour and , mercy; an unassuming and respectable man who loved laughter and gaiety and plain J J ; ! people. He was thus characterized in an historical novel of the Colonial and Revolutionary days. But, let it be added at once, historians have confirmed the novelist's judgment of Sir William Johnson. It was just 200 years ago that a tall, rugged, handsome young Irishman, aged twenty-threlanded in Boston and went imto the afterwards mediately small, dull and dirty city of New York to become the guest of his uncle. Sir Peter Warren, the famous British admiral. Here for a few months young Johnson entered into the gay social life for which the New York of that period was noted. Then with the true spirit of the pioneer stirring in him, Johnson took a boat up the Hudson to Albany and then went by wagon to the Mohawk valley where he was to be in charge of a large tract of land belonging to his uncle. This land, 13,000 acres of wilderness, lay along the south bank of the Mohawk river near what is now South Amsterdam. He Becomes a Trader. Within a year Johnson, with the help of several mechanics and a few settlers whom he had brought with him, had surveyed the land, built a house, opened a general store and was bringing other settlers to the place. The principal patrons of his trading store were the Indians of the great Iroquois confederation, especially the Mohawks, and before long this trade was vital to the of these Indians. Soon Johnson was one of the greatest traders in the colony with his operations extending far beyond the Mohawk valley. Johnson lived at Although peace with his Indian neighbors, his life was not free from danger. England and France were entering upon their contest fur supremacy in North America and for several years in the early 1740s Johnsons post was on constant watch for a raid by the French and their Indian allips. By 1745 the situation had become precarious. Commissions had failed in the past, so Governor Clinton put Johnson on the board of Indian commissioners and on August 28, 174G, he was appointed Colonel of the Forces to be raised out of ihe Six Na- tions. It was loft for Johnson to win all the Indians over to the e, whole-hearted- ly well-bein- g One of the most interesting of the pageants presented during the bicentennial celebration this year waa staged at Johnson Hall late in July and depicted the council of the Six Nations over which Sir William presided on the day of his death. Just before he died he spoke to a young Mohawk chieftain who stood at his bedside and who had aided him in that council. Joseph, restrain your people. I have to go away, he said. The man to whom these words were addressed was one of the Indians in most remarkable American history. Thayendane-ge- a (Bundle of Sticks") was his Indian name but he is better known as Joseph Brant. He was born in 1742 on the banks of the Ohio, whither his mother, a Mohawk widow, had gone to live. Although it has never been proved, historians have good reason to believe that Sir William was Joseph Brants father. Certainly the close association of the baronet and the Mohawk boy during the last three decades of Sir Williams life indicated that he had a special interest in him. The baronet, seeing his unusual talents, sent him to Dr. Whee-locschool at Lebanon, Conn., where he learned to read and write. But the confinement of the white mans school was too irksome for the Indian boy so he returned to New York and became an employee of Sir Williams Indian department. He also served as assistant and interpreter for Reverend Charles Jeffrey Smith, a missionary, and when Pontiacs war broke out Brant was with Smith in the enemy territory. The missionary was forced to return to the settlements but Brant remained to lead a party of Iroquois against Pontiacs warriors and it is probable that he helped Sir William in the negotiations which brought peace to the harried frontier. In 1765 Brant married the daughter of an Oneida chief and settled at Canajoharie, N. Y. 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Patterns 15 cents (in coins) each. e. 35-in- ch 39-in- ch 39-in- ch ks Johnson Hall, baronial mansion of Sir William Johnson. English side, which he soon did. was made Sir William Johnson They made him a Mohawk war and given $25,000, with the thanka chief and gave him the name of of the nation, and in February, Warraghiyagey, Chief Big Busi1756, a royal commission made ness, a fitting name for this enhim Sole Agent and Superintendent of the Indians in the ergetic young merchant, who sat at their council fires, joined in North. their games and dances, respectLater, while Wolfe was captured their traditions and folkways Quebec and Amherst fighting ing and treated them fairly a his way toward Montreal, the forunique experience for them in mer Irish immigrant, now Sir their dealings with the English William Johnson, Bart., was wincolonists. ning another victory at Niagara So when the Six Nations met in and thus securing for Great Britain absolute assurance of control Albany in 1746 the Mohawks were of the Middle West and Canada. immediately won over to the English side by the man whom But no sooner was the danger they considered their brother and from the French eliminated than the other five tribes followed their a new one arose. The Indians in lead. Indian relations improved the West were restless at the end in 1748, when Johnson reprospect of what would happen organized the Albany county milito them, now that control of tia under his command, life bethe continent had passed from came safer in the district. their friends, the French, to their The Appeal of the Mohawks. enemies, the English. So to Detroit went Sir William Johnson To equip the braves and to in 1761, there to hold a council, to keep them happy with presents exert much of the same influence much and credit. required money over these tribes as he had exJohnson advanced supplies and erted over the Iroquois and to money until he was loaded down with debts which the New York postpone for a while the inevitable conflict which flamed out assembly was never in any hurtwo years later in Pontiacs upry to settle, and the burden rising. But again it was the became so heavy that in 1751, to strong hands on the Covenant the dismay of the Mohawks, Johnchain which turned the Kale. For son resigned all his public offices Sir William Johnson and his and commands. At the next Inbrothers by adoption managed to dian council the Mohawks apkeep all but one of the Six Napealed to the governor to re- tions out of the most bitter Indian war the British fought in America and so Pontiac was defeated. Worn out from his arduous services on the frontier, Sir William declined to be considered for governor of New York. A year after his arrival in the Mohawk valley he had purchased for himself (thereby alienating his uncle. Sir Peter Warren) a tract of land on the north side of the Mohawk river where he later built Fort Johnson, near the present Amsterdam, N. Y. But after his return from the wars he built a new mansion for himself, Johnson Hall, in what is now Johnstown, N. Y. A settlement quickly sprang up around the hall. Churches were built and schools here he established probably the first free school in America and missions for (he Statue of Johnson in Indians. Johnstown, K. Y. A Baronial Mansion. instate Johnson because Life at Johnson Hall was on an he has large Ears and heareth a expansive and expensive scale. Guests came from all parts of great deal, and what he hears he tells to us, he also has large Eyes the world to enjoy the boundless and sees a great way, and conhospitality of this American baronet. Rich w'ine and abundant ceals nothing from us. Johnson was at once appointed to the food graced his table. His stables crown council, the upper house were filled with fine horses. Fox of the legislature, where, alhunting with hounds brought from though he had no direct responEngland, archery, fencing, racsibility for Indian affairs, he was ing such sports were the order able to use his influence. of the day. Always his Mohawk brethren haunted the place and Several years of comparative once a year the Six Nations came quiet followed until the outbreaks of the French and Indian war trooping in for a council and a in 1755. Then Johnson, the tradfeasting which lasted for days. Thus for more than a decade er, the landowner, the councilor blossomed cut as a military leadthe former Irish immigrant boy er of the first rank. In August, ruled like a feudal baror. over 1755. he started for Crown Point on Lake Champlain with a force of Indians and New England militiamen and established a camp at the southern end of Lake George. When the French attacked Fort Edward in September, Johnson sent a relief force which was ambushed by the French and was about to be routed when reinforcements under the commander arrived. Johnson, who rushed ito the heat of fire, received a bullet wound and was carried to his tent during the batLast resting place of a great tle. The enemy nas not pursued American. because the supplies were low and many of the troops were unhis little kingdom on American fit for duty. Nevertheless, the soil. His last days were devoted French were definitely halted. to perfecting various schemes for An Important Victory. the education of the Indians and protecting them from the Johnson's victory was imporencroachment of tant. It bolstered the faltering set. tiers. faith of the Iroquois in British The end of his career came on prowess. The Indians had seen their white chief triumph on the July 11. 1774. He was buried in battlefie.ld and they realized that the churchyard of St. Johns in it would be folly to desert the Johnstown and visitors there tovictor. It was, after all, the first day see only a simple headstone, purely American victory over bearing the words. "Sir William The regular European troops. 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Does a robin enjoy his chirrups as much as you do? Hope is an obliging grace. She always comes when invited. push-butto- n HOTEL They Want It Protected JOSEPH BRANT (From the painting by Romney) had died and he had fallen in love with Molly Brant, Josephs sister. She became his common law wife and bore him several children. While she lived at Johnson Hall, Joseph Brant was a frequent visitor there. After Sir Williams death, Col. Guy Johnson, his nephew and succeeded to his position as Indian agent and through the influence of Colonel Guy and Sir John Johnson, Sir Williams son, the Mohawks cast their lot with the British at the outbreak of the Revolution. Thereupon Joseph Brant was elevated to the post of principal war chief of the Six Nations and given the title of captain by the British. In November, 1775, Brant accompanied Col. Guy Johnson to England, where he was entertained and made much of by many prominent people. He became a friend of James Boswell, biographer of the great Samuel Johnson, and sat for his portrait by the famous painter, Romney. On his return he made a hazardous journey on foot from New York to Canada to aid in the plans of the British for an invasion of New York from the north. Brant played a prominent part in the Revolution and although his name will always be associated with the massacre at Cherry Valley, his career is full of instances of humanity to his enemies. These are in striking contrast to the cruelty which some of the Tories practiced upon their former friends and neighbors in the Mohawk valley who had espoused the Patriot cause. After the Revolution Brant again visited England to see that justice was done to his people who had supported the Crown during the war. Upon his return, he settled in Canada and devoted his life to the welfare of his people. He died on November 24, 1837 at his home at the head of Lake Ontario. He was buried in the Mohawk reservation which lay along the Grand river, east of Hamilton, Ont., but in 1850 his remains were transferred to a new tomb at Brantford. Ont., where an imposing monument was erected to perpetuate the fame of this great Indian. Conservatism generally wins In America because more people have a stake in its wealth. We like some hateful people. They say the things we dont dare to. There is a feeling of affluence in contemplating a drawer plumb full of shirts that are all yours. We never realized how little the wretched Europeans are masters of their fate until we see them drifting into another war. 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