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Against all others, armies were to be sent to crush and over

awe them.

The occasion when the above treaty with the Senecas was to be ratified was a general meeting of all Indian tribes who desired peace, at Fort Niagara, in July, 1764, to which Johnson had already invited them, in order to readjust their relations with the British government.

Two military expeditions were planned, one for the west, under General Bradstreet, 1,200 strong, which assembled at Oswego in June, 1764, where it was joined by Sir William Johnson, with 550 Iroquois. They reached Niagara July 3, 1764, and found there such a scene of life and activity as one can hardly conceive of to-day.

In this expedition was Israel Putnam, a lieutenant-colonel of the Connecticut Battalion,1 later the "Old Put" of the Revolution; and rumored, though no doubt erroneously, to have been the first white man ever to set foot on Goat Island at Niagara Falls.

Over 1,000 Indians, representing many tribes, extending from Nova Scotia to the head-waters of the Mississippi, whose numbers but a few days later were increased to 2,060, were assembled to meet and treat with Johnson.2

Such a representative concourse of Indians had never before been seen.

Their wigwams stretched far across the fields and to this picturesque scene were now added the white tents of Bradstreet's

men.

Many reasons had induced this great assemblage of Indians. Some came to make peace because the aid expected from the

(1) Turner's Holland Purchase, 1849, page 234. (2) Stone's Life of Sir William Johnson, vol. II, page 219.

1

French had not been forthcoming; some because they were tired of war; some because they needed clothing, ammunition, etc., and could get them in no other way; some to protest their friendship for the British; some by an early submission to avert retribution for past offenses; some came as spies, and some, no doubt, because they knew that at such a time "fire water" would be easily obtainable.

Alex. Henry, the trader, tells how the Great Turtle, the Spirit that never lied, on being consulted as to what course the Ojib ways should pursue, told them the English soldiers were on the war-path already, and also said: "Sir William Johnson will fill your canoes with presents, with blankets, kettles, guns, gunpowder and shot, and large barrels of rum, such as the stoutest of the Indians will not be able to lift, and every man will return in safety to his family." 1

The Ojibways accepted Johnson's invitation and were present. Henry himself came to Niagara at this time, and accompanied Bradstreet westward.

Though this assemblage consisted of peace-desiring savages, their friendly disposition was not certain. Several straggling soldiers were shot at, and great precautions were taken by the British garrison to avert a rupture. "The troops were always on their guard, while the black muzzles of the cannons, thrust from the bastions of the fort, struck a wholesome awe into the savage throng below." 2

But among all the throng the Senecas were not represented, in spite of their promise to ratify their agreement at this time. They were at home, considering whether they would keep it. for they had already made an alliance with other tribes against

(1) Henry's Travel, 1809, page 171. (2) Parkman, Pontiac, vol. II, page 170.

the British. Notice was sent to them, that unless they at once fulfilled their agreement, the army then at Niagara would forthwith march against them and burn their villages. A large body of this war-like tribe, overawed by this menace, at once went to Niagara.

It took all the diplomacy, shrewdness and influence of Sir William Johnson to preserve order and peace among the savages, many who had been hostile to each other, and but lately fighting against the British, and the business of the assemblage detained him at the fort for a month.

The council room (which was located in the center of the first floor of the castle overlooking the lake) was crowded from morning till evening; but the tiresome formalities which had to be observed on such occasions, the speeches made and the replies thereto, the smoking of pipes, the distribution of presents, the judicious serving out of whiskey, the terms of each treaty, the tax on the memory of remembering what each belt of wampum given to and received from each tribe meant, while fatiguing, were finally successfully brought to an end.

One point of policy was rigidly adhered to. Johnson would hold no general conference; with each tribe he either made a separate treaty, or where satisfactory treaties were already in existence he merely brightened the chain of friendship. By this course he made the best of terms, by promoting a rivalry among the tribes. He also thus discouraged a feeling of union and of a common cause among them.1

First of all he met the Senecas, and, till their agreement had been ratified and the lines of the land to be deeded to England had been settled, Sir William would transact no other business.

(1) Parkman, Pontiac, vol. II, page 174.

The Senecas ratified their former agreement, and on August 6th they deeded to the English crown a strip of land four miles wide on both banks of the Niagara river from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, thus adding to their former agreement all the land from Schlosser to Lake Erie, on both sides of the river. Gen. Bradstreet had asked Johnson to try and get this extra cession, in order that Britain might have title to the land where Fort Erie, at the source of the Niagara river, on the Canada side, now stands. He was anxious to build a depot for provisions there. Johnson asked for it. The Senecas were ready to do anything asked of them while that British army was on the ground, so they readily assented. They specially excepted from their grant, and gave to Sir William Johnson, personally, as a gift, all the islands in the Niagara river, and he promptly gave them to his Sovereign.1

This was the first tract of land in the limits of the present Western New York to which the Indian title was absolutely extinguished, and this remarkable land deal, so vast in the amount of territory involved, so beneficial to the whites in the power it gave them for trade, and the settlement of the country, and of such enormous subsequent value in view of very recent developments along this frontier, was closed 132 years ago, within the historic fortifications of Fort Niagara.

From this time on, for fully thirty years, especially during the Revolution, the Senecas were allied with and espoused the cause of the British.

The treaties with the many other tribes were then arranged without difficulties. On August 6th, Sir William Johnson seems to have completed the formalities by having a separate treaty

(1) Col. Docs. N. Y., vol. VII, page 647.

the British. Notice was sent to them, that unless they at once fulfilled their agreement, the army then at Niagara would forthwith march against them and burn their villages. A large body of this war-like tribe, overawed by this menace, at once went to Niagara.

It took all the diplomacy, shrewdness and influence of Sir William Johnson to preserve order and peace among the savages, many who had been hostile to each other, and but lately fighting against the British, and the business of the assemblage detained him at the fort for a month.

The council room (which was located in the center of the first floor of the castle overlooking the lake) was crowded from morning till evening; but the tiresome formalities which had to be observed on such occasions, the speeches made and the replies thereto, the smoking of pipes, the distribution of presents, the judicious serving out of whiskey, the terms of each treaty, the tax on the memory of remembering what each belt of wampum given to and received from each tribe meant, while fatiguing, were finally successfully brought to an end.

One point of policy was rigidly adhered to. Johnson would hold no general conference; with each tribe he either made a separate treaty, or where satisfactory treaties were already in existence he merely brightened the chain of friendship. By this course he made the best of terms, by promoting a rivalry among the tribes. He also thus discouraged a feeling of union and of a common cause among them.1

First of all he met the Senecas, and, till their agreement had been ratified and the lines of the land to be deeded to England had been settled, Sir William would transact no other business.

(1) Parkman, Pontiac, vol. II, page 174.

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