The poet next describes his dream, in which he was carried to the battle-ground; and then thus opens the morning scene:-

"When savages, for horrid sport prepar'd,
Demand another pris'ner from the guard,

We saw their fear'd approach, with mortal fright,
Their scalping-knives they sharpen'd in our sight,
Beside the guard they sat them on the ground,
And view'd, with piercing eyes, the prisoners round."

"At length, one rising seized me by the hand;

By him drawn forth, on trembling knees I stand;

I bid my fellows all a long adieu,

With answering grief, my wretched case they view.
They led me bound along the winding flood,

Far in the gloomy bosom of the wood;

There, (horrid sight!) a pris'ner roasted lay,
The carving-knife had cut his flesh away."

After enduring every thing but death in his captivity, Dr. Younglove returned home in safety.

In 1778, a fort was built at Cherry-valley, where families for considerable extent about took up their abode, or retired occasionally for safety. Brant intended to destroy this, and came into the neighborhood for the purpose. It happened that, at the time he chose to make the discovery of the strength of the garrison, the boys were assembled in a training, with wooden guns, for amusement: not having a clear view of them from the foliage of the trees which intervened, Brant thought them to be men. It was his design to have made the attack the following night; but on this discovery, he gave up the design. He still remained in the neighborhood, secreted behind a large rock near the main road to the Mohawk, and about two miles north of the fort in the valley. Here he waited to intercept some unwary passenger, and gain more certain intelligence. Near this place is the little cascade called by the natives Tekaharawa. The inhabitants of the valley were in expectation of a company of soldiers from the Mohawk, to reinforce them, and the same day Lieutenant Wormwood came from thence, and informed them that Colonel Klock would arrive the next day with the party. Near night he set out to return, accompanied by one Peter Sitz, the bearer of some despatches. He was a young officer, of fine personal appearance, and was to return the next day with one of the companies of soldiers. He had been out of sight but a few minutes, when, as he passed the ambush of Brant, his warriors fired upon him, and he fell from his horse. The chief, springing from his hiding-place, tomahawked him with his own hands. Wormwood and his companion were ordered to stand, but not obeying, occasioned their being fired upon. Brant was acquainted with Lieutenant Wormwood before the war, and afterwards expressed sorrow at his fate, pretending that he took him to be a continental officer. His horse immediately running back to the fort, with blood upon the saddle, gave some indication of what had happened. His companion, Sitz, was taken prisoner.

In June, the same summer, Brant came upon Springfield, which he

burned, and carried off a number of prisoners. The women and children were not maltreated, but were left in one house unmolested. About this time, great pains were taken to seize the wary chief, but there was no Captain Church, or, unlike Philip of Pokanoket, Brant had the remote nations to fly to without fear of being killed by them. Captain M'Kean hunted him for some time, and, not being able to find him, wrote an insulting letter for him, and left it in an Indian path. Among other things he challenged him to single combat, or to meet him with an equal number of men; and "that if he would come to Cherry-valley, and have a fair fight, they would change him from a Brant into a Goos." This letter, it is supposed, Brant received, from an intimation contained in one which he wrote about the same time to a tory. To this man (Parcifer Carr,of Edmeston,) he writes from Tunadilla, (Unadilla) under date of July 9th, 1778,-"Sir: I understand by the Indians that was at your house last week, that one Smith lives near with you, has little more corn to spare. I should be much obliged to you, if you would be so kind as to try to get as much corn as Smith can spared; he has sent me five skipples already, of which I am much obliged to him, and will see him paid, and would be very glad if you could spare one or two your men to join us, especially Elias. I would be glad to see him, and I wish you could sent me as many guns you have, as I know you have no use for them, if you any; as I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as I can; whatever you will be able to sent'd me, you must sent'd by the bearer. I am your sincere friend and humble ser't. Joseph Brant.-P. S. I heard that Cherry-valley people is very bold, and intended to make nothing of us; they called us wild geese, but I know the contrary." This we suppose to be a fair specimen of the composition of the chief who afterwards translated the Gospel according to John into the Mohawk language, also the book of Common Prayer, copies of which are in the library of Harvard college. The next event of importance in which Brant was engaged, was the destruction of Wyoming, one of the most heart-rending records in the annals of the revolutionary war. In that horrid affair, about three hundred settlers were killed or carried into captivity, from the greater part of whom no intelligence was ever obtained.

It was known early in the spring of 1778, that a large force was collecting at Niagara for the object of laying waste the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York; and even as early as February, General Schuyler wrote to Congress to inform them that such was his belief. In March he wrote again to Congress, saying, "A number of Mohawks, and many of the Onondagoes, Cayugas, and Senecas, will commence hostilities against us as soon as they can; it would be prudent, therefore, early to take measures to carry the war into their country; it would require no greater body of troops to destroy their towns than to protect the frontier inhabitants." But Congress had more than their hands full in other directions, and nothing was done. In the beginning of July, the tory and Indian force, amounting together to about sixteen hundred men, were discovered in possession of Fort Wintermoot, a short distance from the village of Wyoming.

Here was also a fort, at which were collected near four hundred men for the defence of the country, who were under the immediate command of Colonel Zebulon Butler. On the 3d of July, a council of war was held upon the propriety of marching out and attacking the tory and Indian army, and it was finally agreed that the enemy should be sought. Accordingly the Americans marched out upon this expe dition the same day. Having sent forward spies, they had not proceeded far, when they were discovered by two Indians, who were, doubtless, upon the same business. The scouts fired each upon the other, and then hastened to their respective head-quarters. Both parties were immediately in motion, and joined battle near a thick swamp. The Indians and tories, being the more numerous, outflanked the Americans, and Brant, at the head of his furious warriors, issuing from the swamp, turned their left flank, and creating thereby a confusion, which greatly favored his kind of warfare, and enabled him to make dreadful havoc among them.

The Americans were in two lines, and it was the line commanded by Colonel Dennison that Brant successfully encountered. Butler, at the same time, was gaining some advantage over the other line, under his cousin Zebulon, which, added to the raging disaster in the left, became immediately a flight. Colonel Dennison's order to fall back, by which he designed to make an advantageous evolution, was distorted, by the terrified troops, into an order for flight; and all was in a few moments lost. And from Judge Marshall we add as follows:"The troops fled towards the river, which they endeavored to pass, in order to enter Fort Wilkesbarre, (in the village of that nanic on the opposite side of the Susquehanna). The enemy pursued with the fury of devils;' and of the four hundred who had marched out on this unfortunate parley, only about twenty escaped," among whom were the commanding officers.

The fort at Wyoming was now closely besieged, and seeing no chance of escape, Colonel Butler proposed a parley with his friend and namesake, which was assented to. The place of neeting was appointed at some distance from the fort, and the Americans marched out in considerable force, to prevent treachery, to the place appointed: but when they arrived there, they found nobody with whom to parley. The commander of the tories has been branded with gross infamy, for this piece of treachery with his kinsman; for he feigned fear from his approach, and had retired as they advanced, displaying meanwhile the flag of truce. The unwary Americans were, by this treacherous stratagem, led into an ambush in nearly the same manner as were Hutchinson and Wheeler, at Wickabaug Pond, in Philip's war. They were in a moment nearly surrounded by Brant's warriors, and the work of death raged in all its fury.* The tories "were not a whit

There is much incongruity in relation to the affairs of Wyoming. Chapman distinctly states that Brant commanded the right wing of the army under Butler, when he was met by the forces that marched out to meet them; but it has lately been denied that Brant was even at Wyoming during these affairs.

"accom

behind the very chiefest" of them in this bloody day. A remnant only regained the fort, out of several hundreds that went forth. They were now more closely besieged than before; and the more to insult the vanquished, a demand was sent in to them to surrender, panied by one hundred and ninety-six bloody scalps, taken from those who had just been slain." When the best terms were asked of the besiegers, the "infamous Butler" replied in these two words,-"the hatchet." This was the only truth we hear of his uttering. It was the hatchet, indeed-a few only fled to the surrounding wilderness, there to meet a more lingering death by famine. These were chiefly women and children.

Thus passed the fourth of July, 1778, in the before flourishing settlement of Wyoming, on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna. Barlow knew well, in his early day, who was forever to be branded with infamy for the acts of this memorable tragedy. He says,

"His savage hordes the murderous Johnson leads,

Files through the woods and treads the tangled weeds,
Shuns open combat, teaches where to run,
Skulk, couch the ambush, aim the hunter's gun,
Whirl the sly tomahawk, the war-whoop sing,
Divide the spoils, and pack the scalps they bring."

Columbiad, vi. 389, &c.

Having now got full possession of Wyoming, and, observes Dr. Thacher, "after selecting a few prisoners, the remainder of the people, including women and children, were enclosed in the houses and barracks, which were immediately set on fire, and the whole consumed together. Another fort was near at hand, in which were seventy continental soldiers; on surrendering without conditions, these were, to a man, butchered in a barbarous manner; when the remainder of the men, women and children were shut up in the houses, and the demons of hell glutted their vengeance in beholding their destruction in one general conflagration." The houses of the tories were spared. As though they could not exercise their cruelty enough upon human beings, they fell upon the beasts of the field-shooting some, wounding and mangling others, by cutting out their tongues, &c., and leaving them alive. Well does Campbell make his Oneida chief to say, (who comes as a friend to warn the settlement of the approach of the combined army of tories and Indians,)

"But this is not a time,'-he started up,

And smote his breast with woe-denouncing hand

This is no time to fill thy joyous cup:

The mammoth comes-the foe-the monster Brandt,

With all his howling, desolating band;

These eyes have seen their blade, and burning pine,

Awake at once and silence half your land.

Red is the cup they drink, but not with wine:

Awake and watch to-night! or see no morning shine.

Scorning to wield the hatchet for his bribe,

'Gainst Brandt himself I went to battle forth:

Accursed Brandt! he left of all my tribe

Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth; 1

No! not the dog, that watched my household hearth,
Escaped, that night of blood, upon our plains!
All perished!-I alone am left on earth!
To whom nor relative nor blood remains,

No!-not a kindred drop that runs in human veins !'"

Gertrude of Wyoming.

The tories, as was often the case, were attired like Indians, and from every account it appears that they exceeded them in ferocity.

Dr. Thacher gives us the following examples of horror, which were of notoriety at the time, and "promulgated from authentic sources. One of the prisoners, a Captain Badlock, was committed to torture, by having his body stuck full of splinters of pine knots, and a fire of dry wood made round him, when his two companions, Captains Ranson and Durkee were thrown into the same fire, and held down with pitchforks, till consumed. One Partial Terry, the son of a man of respectable character, having joined the Indian party, several times sent his father word that he hoped to wash his hands in his heart's blood. The monster, with his own hands, murdered his father, mother, brothers and sisters, stripped off their scalps, and cut off his father's head!"

We

It was upon such scenes as these, that the mind of the poet just cited had dwelt, which caused him to wield the pen of denunciation with such effect upon the memory of Brant. That Butler was the far greater savage, none can dispute, and Mr. Campbell has long since acknowledged his too great severity upon the character of the former. should explain here, that a son of Colonel Brant, a chief Mohawk, of the name of Ahyonwaeghs, called by the English John Brant, was in London in 1822, and furnished Mr. Campbell with documents, which, in the poet's own words, "changed his opinion of his father." This passage was contained in a long and interesting letter upon the subject, to Ahyonwaeghs, which appeared at that time in the newspapers.

With Wyoming were destroyed Wilkesbarre and Kingston, upon the other side of the Susquehanna. Though Wyoming is generally understood to be the place destroyed, it should be remembered that in the valley bearing that name, there were three other towns, which were all destroyed, as well as Wyoming. These towns were settled by emigrants from Connecticut, and, when destroyed, contained more than one thousand families, and had furnished the continental army with more than one thousand men, who were generally the young and active part of the population. The opposite sides which the inhabitants took in the great revolutionary question, created the most violent rancor in the bosoms of both parties, and hence the barbarities which ensued.

In November following, Cherry-valley met with a fate similar to Wyoming. At this time, Brant was returning to winter-quarters, when he was met by a tory captain, and persuaded to engage in one expedition more. This was Walter Butler, son of John, the hero of Wyoming. He went to Canada with Guy Johnson, in 1775, as has been mentioned; and now some circumstances brought him among