Show greatest dilim aloft ta american e G ulu ate rica is IM N ac tw N 1 V ra V N A k 1 of wow noa by ELMO SCOTT WATSON N ONE of robert W chambers spirited romances of et revolutionary new york the first chapter opens with these words the day sir william died there died the greatest american of his day because on that midsummer evening ills his excellency ans still only a virginia gentleman not yet famous and best known because of courage and sagacity displayed displaced in the bloody business of 11 raddock indeed all americans americana then living and who since have become famous were little celebrated excepting locally on the da day y sir william johnson tied died few were known outside n single province nee scarcely scirce ly one them had been heard of if abroad flat but sir william was a world figure n great constructive genius the alip greatest land owner in north america a wise also magistrate a victorious soldier a builder of cities amid a wilderness it a redeemer of men irle he was a baronet 0 of f vie fie british ills ill Maje oJe sit superintendent perin tell lent of indian affairs for nil all north america lie was the only living white man implicitly trusted by the savages of this continent because lie he never broke hla his word to them lie ile wits was perhaps the representative of royal authority in the western hemisphere utterly believed in by the dishonest tyrannical and sit stupid pack of royal governors magistrates an and lesser vermin that afflicted the colonies with the british plague ne was und kind and great all loved him all mourned him for lie he wa a very perfect gentle man who practiced truth nad and honour still and mercy nn an all aviti respectable roan man who loved laughter and gaiety and plain people lie ile saw the conflict coming which must drench tile the land in blood and dry with ore fire the black ened cinders torn betwixt loyalty to ills his mug kin whom he hall had so BO tirelessly served and loyalty to ills country which lie he so passionate natel loved it has hern been said s ild that th it rather than choose between king rind and colony he died by ills his own hand but those who know him best know othen ise sir william johnson Jo linson died of it a broken heart in his great hall till at johnstown Johnsto all alone thus a novelist one of those weavers of roman tic tales who frequently assign real persons roles in their fictional writings at and interpret them as s suits gifts their fancy but what of the historian who deals deals only with facts would he endorse if the ie novelists estimate estl male of the file greatness of sir wil V 11 film johnson Jo linson the best answer to that Is to read a recent biography of tile the nian man of the mohawks A Blo biography graphy of sir william johnson irish immigrant war chief american soldier umpire empire builder written v by arthur pound tit in collaboration with fl ichard E day and published by tile the macmillan company this blo biography graphy represents the fruits of 2 25 years vears of work on oil johnson manuscripts letters docu merits ments etc by dr 13 day of the library of the lie state of new york who prepa prepared reI them for publication tinn six sl volumes of N QUO pages each already have been published and three more tire lire finished so the file bound day blo biography graphy based as it Is upon till piece of work vork may safety safely be regarded n its as the final authority on oil sir william johnson lo linson to read the lie words of the historians in it Is to realize that there Is no no lu in the words of chambers cli the novelist for virtually every statement he makes can be backed up by d evidence which gives johnson Jo linson of the mohawks Mo hawks its authority the life of sir william johnson Is one of the great american romances in 1708 william john son a tall lall rugged handsome young Irl irishman bred aged twenty three andel andeel lit at boston and proceed eu ed to tile the small lull dull and dirty city of new york here lie he was the lie guest of hla his uncle tile famous british admiral sir peter warren there for a few months the young irishman entered wholeheartedly into the social gale gaieties tips for which the new aorl of that and sir peter war rens rans house especially was noted then he be pro ceded ceedee by stoop sloop jp the hudson to albany and then by wagon to the mohawk valley where lie ho was to take charge of a large tract of land which belonged belon geil to ills his uncle this body of uncultivated acres lay along ohp south b ank of the mohawk iver near what Is now south amsterdam within a year with the help of several and a fe few settlers whom lie had brought with him young johnson ja t had surveyed the land built a house opened a general store stole and was bringing other bettl settlers ere to the place attracted by lib hip merchandise t hie lie indians int fitt of the great iroquois confederation more especially espe chUy the Alo hawks cattle to exchange their furs for the hie white mans goods ghods and it few years william John johnson sm was one of the greatest traders in the colony with his operations extending for far beyond the colial Mo lial valley llev V i tile hit bt illi 11 ish 1411 linni lgrant I 1 ed his red neighbors fairly a experience for thein in it their den dennings deill lings with etli the english colonists and they jhc thc begun began to I 1 ook oil in 0 o him film its as their special champion challi plon in their dealings with other whites adopted into the mahall tribe under the name of hie if business a fitting name for tills this energetic young oi iii in erchant lie he sat at their council lies fires joined J in their gomes ganies and dances learned their Inn mage knew their folk anys lovei loved their bonien und mid mourned with t them ben for their lead dead mien lien the lie last ranch french and indian spir broke out johnson the lie trailer trader the lanthi winer the chuh councilor out surprisingly us a military lender leader led hv by kiili ison nad inid his friend lang king lien ilen trick the mohawk chief the colonial troops of new york and their indian allies won a great victory ter over iaron aron kieshau at lake inke geo george re to lay a magnificent topped hv by t the e statues ot mug king hendrick and johnson In linson leg forever in stone overl ner looks the lie hatt leflek where file indian alef chief fell art anil the file col lea lender er won the vl which eathil ills faine and won for hini it 11 baronetcy all d it 11 purse plinio of eidl litter while wolfe was wag capturing out hulec bee and amherst Im herst lighting his wily ay tiuis montreal Mon Ion treal lie file former iral immigrant rw sir Wil willinia linin johnson loh birt bart was ns n winning inning another vict ry tit at maaia a and thus securing for grot great britain buhs uhs flute liss assurance urance of control of the file Al middle lItIle west tin and canada an ida but no sooner wits the danger from I 1 tile lie french eliminated than a new one armee the indians in the west were erv restless n tit nt hie file prospect of what would luppen happen to them IHM that cont of f the continent had passed front froni their friends tie me french Ire nih to their tile english so to detroit went cal sir ll llan johnson in 1701 1761 there to hold a counell council to exert much of the same saine influx enic ence over these tribes as lie had exerted over the iroquois and to postpone for a while the inevitable conflict which limner limned out two years later in uprising ilia again it was nna the t lie strong hands on the covenant chain which turned the scale F for or sir Wil william linin johnson Jn linson and his brothers by adoption mana ninna geil to keep ill but one of the six nations out of the most bitter indian war var the british fought la in america and so was waa defeated worn out from Ws is arduous services on the frontier sir william declined to be considered for governor goer nor of new york A year after his arrival in the mohawk valley he had purchased for himself there thereby bv alienating ills his uncle sir peter warren A I 1 ajo torr 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 hull hall in what Is now johnstown N Y A settlement quickly sprang up around t tha he hall churches were built and schools here he established probably lily the lie first free school in america und missions mr for tile Ind indians inns life at johnson hall was on till nn expansive and scale guests tame came froni from all parts of tile lie world to enjoy abl lit hound boundless less hospi of this american baronet rich wine andl and abundant food graced his table ills stables were filled avitt line fine horses vo fox hunting with hou ands brought from england archery fencing racing sports were eie the arder of the lay day always hla his brethren haunted the place and oner once a year the six sh nations ciline came trooping in for n onnell and it 11 feasting which lasted for days never did lie fall them in protecting them from land lahd grabbing of his own race thus for more than a decade the former irish immigrant 1 1 lgrant boy ruled like a feudal baron over its his little 1 1 e kingdom king doun on american soll soil hut but it was a kingdom in which the monarch ruled with wisdom and kindness nud and fair dealing to all men the end came on july 11 1774 W chambers in the novel previously referred to has painted th af unforgettable word picture of the lie scene that any iv ills son sir john killed it a horse riding from fort johnson to tile hall all and arrived too late and all of it a lathar in tile the starlight arni light at the hall ahe he numerous household was all in a tunnell tun turi null rind and besides sir willennis Wil linnis ills immediate faintly fairl fain fly lv there istre re a thousand gi guests lo 10 s ts a thousand iroquois ans arwind the lie hull 1101 with whom sir william hit had been holding iare counell for lie had to restrain his aio to haw bawls ls till and to maintain tranquility among till all the fierce warriors of hie file si 81 Na timis and so sn pledge the entire iroquois confederacy to an absolute ah solute neutrality neutral ltv in the of war betwixt king and colony which now seemed to ho he coming omin so rapidly upon us thal llin already ily its burnace rii inace birath ans ns heating boating r atless t savages it to 9 fever feer all that hot auly day though ill III and mentally tin happy ond tin under ler n vertical sun with head bead uncovered covered sli sh Wili wililard Ul lilam larn had spoken to the with belts the days labour of if trint that accursed counell llie fire ended at sunset sachem and chief dep tall sp sip pitres petres in the lie inning laii ln west there wai a clash of steel at the lie gunt kiihnl d house as the guard presented arms mr duncan saluted the beracy erac with lifted claymore cl then tin nn old man bareheaded alone turned away front from the lovered covered lire fire and an boffl seeing how flow feebly lie moved filing an all arm about ills his shoulder so sir william came slowly to its his great halt and tin slowly entered and lold till him film down in hla his library on oil a sofa and slowly died there while tile the sun was going down then abr first star lame came out where in the neliea of the july sunset a pale rose tint thit still lingered but sir william lay lead dead in hla his great hall nil all alone go to johnstown N 7 today and wander in the chur nyard of old ald st johns Jo lins there you will find a simple headstone upon which Is engraved only tills this str sir william johnson hart bart 1715 1774 but when that stone dissolves under tile the slow blow kiss of time writes pound a grateful people may consider gran graving upon its successor this quotation from a johnson letter 11 1 I thank heaven I 1 have ever thou thought glit mi self elf love a small sacrifice to the public and his biographer arns up the story of the career of this greatest american of his bis day with these words the revolution could proceed america Aine ilca could proceed proc ped the gatekeeper gate keeper of the mohawk had fought oft off the french and tamed the indians and now since he be was dead the gate to the west stood open 0 by western newspaper aalon |