This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan.
CHRONICLES OF CANADA
Edited by George M. Wrong and H. H. Langton
In thirty-two volumes
THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS
A Chronicle of Joseph Brant
By LOUIS AUBREY WOOD
TORONTO, 1915
A group of huntsmen were camping on the Ohio river. Thefoliage swayed in the night wind, and the argent lightof the moon ran in fleeting bars through the dim recessesof the forest. From the ground arose a ruddier glare.High and dry, fires had been built and the flames weredarting and curvetting among the trees. In the weirdlight the hunters were clustered about in squads, silentlystripping their prey or preparing their weapons for themorrow's chase. In the background were the women, movinghere and there in the dancing shadows. One was bendinglow over a newborn infant, and as she uttered his namein the stillness of the evening it blended with the musicof the tree-tops.
'Thayendanegea!' [Footnote: Pronounced Tai-yen-da-nay-geh.]
The name was taken from the great book of nature. It wasa birth-name of the Mohawks meaning two sticks of woodbound together, a sign of strength; and the woman hopedthat her tiny child might one day be a man of valouramong the Mohawks. Could she have but known it, her desirewas to be more than realized, for in vigour of mind andbody he was destined to surpass all the offspring of hisrace.
So it was, in the pear 1742, in the reign of King Georgethe Second, that Thayendanegea was born among the Mohawkson the banks of the Ohio. To the untaught savage thissluggish stream was a thing of life, and he called it the'River Beautiful.' The Ohio valley was at this time thefavourite hunting-ground of the Indian peoples. Becausethis valley was rich in game and comfortable to dwell in,it had been a scene of bitter strife. The problem of ruleon the Ohio was of long standing. For a whole centuryDelaware and Shawnee and Wyandot and Six Nations contendedfor the territory; tribe was pitted against tribe, and thenat last the answer was given. The Iroquois confederacy,or Six Nations, [Footnote: Mohawks, Cayugas, Senecas,Oneidas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras.] whose villages lay bythe Hudson river, united, determined, and vengeful, hadgained the ascendancy; from the banks of the Hudson to theseats of the stranger beside lake Erie the lands belongedto them; and other tribes to the east and west and northand south paid them tribute. The Mohawks were the mightiestof the Six Nations; in the confederacy they were chief incouncil; from their ranks was chosen the head war chief,who commanded on the field of battle; they took thefirst-fruits of the chase, and were leaders in everything.
Some time was to pass, however, before Thayendanegeacould understand that he was sprung from a race ofconquerors. As yet he was but a simple Indian babe, withstaring brown eyes and raven-black hair. Of the motherwho cared for him history has practically nothing to say.She may have been a Mohawk, but this is by