The War Chief of the Six Nations | Page 6

warrior, having 'fought with Death and dulled his sword.' The
Mohawks were pleased. Let a few more autumns strew the carpet of the
forest, and they would have in him a brave and robust leader worthy of
their tradition. Joseph, on the other hand, was dissatisfied. He had lived
and communed with white men and had come to know a greatness that
was not to be won by following the war-path. He had wielded the
tomahawk; he had bivouacked among armed men on the field of battle:
now he was eager for the schoolroom. He wished to widen his
knowledge and to see the great world that lay beyond the rude haunts of
the red men.
Joseph was in this frame of mind when an Indian with the very English
name of David Fowler came to Fort Johnson. Fowler was on a long
journey from his home by the sea and rode on horseback. He had
something to relate, he said, that was of significance for the Indian
people. At Lebanon, in the colony of Connecticut, there was an
institution for the education of any young redskin who might be able to
come, and he had been sent by Doctor Eleazar Wheelock, its principal,
to gather recruits. Addressing Sir William Johnson, he asked him if
there were among the Six Nations Indians any lads whom he should
like to send to the school.
Sir William was not slow to act. Joseph Brant, the pride of Canajoharie
Castle, thirsting for knowledge, must surely go. Two other boys, named
Negyes and Center, were chosen to accompany him. These were 'three
boys,' as Dr Wheelock afterwards wrote, 'who were willing to leave
their friends and country, and come among strangers of another
language and quite another manner of living, and where, perhaps, none
of their nation, then living, had ever been.'
The trip to Connecticut was made in 1761, and the lads arrived at
Lebanon about mid-summer. They were not at all sure that the school
would be to their liking and had planned, if such should prove to be the
case, to make a hasty flight back to the Mohawk valley on the horses

they brought with them. Negyes and Center looked rather woebegone
as they came into Dr Wheelock's presence: 'Two of them,' he says,
'were but little better than naked.' Brant, however, created a good
impression. 'The other, being of a family of distinction, was
considerably clothed, Indian fashion, and could speak a few words of
English.'
The school was kept up by a number of benevolent persons who
contributed liberally to its funds. Sir William Johnson was ready to do
his share to aid the good work, and some four months and a half after
the Mohawk boys had arrived he wrote to the principal: 'I shall not be
backward to contribute my mite.' A house in which to hold the classes
and two acres of land had been given by a farmer named Joshua Moor;
hence the institution was generally called Moor's Indian Charity School.
The principal, Dr Wheelock, was a man of wide scholarship, and
became later on the founder of the seat of learning in New Hampshire
now known as Dartmouth College.
But little is known of the course of study pursued by Joseph at Moor's
School. When he entered it his knowledge must have been very slender,
and as a young man he began to learn things ordinarily taught to a mere
child. It is likely that he now became much more fluent than formerly
in his use of the English tongue. From the beginning his progress was
very rapid, and Dr Wheelock does not stint the praise that he bestows
upon him: 'Joseph is indeed an excellent youth,' was his comment; 'he
has much endeared himself to me, as well as to his master, and
everybody also by his good behaviour.'
The master here spoken of was Charles Jeffrey Smith, a young man of
ample means who wished to be of service to the Indians. He had come
to the school after Joseph's arrival and helped the principal in giving
instruction. He very soon remarked the superior intelligence which
Joseph showed among the twenty-five pupils in his charge. Intending to
make a missionary tour among the Indian tribes, he proposed to take
his young pupil with him as an interpreter. Writing to Sir William
Johnson about the matter, he referred to Joseph in most glowing terms:
'As he is a promising youth, of a sprightly genius, singular modesty,

and a serious turn, I know of none so well calculated to answer my end
as he is.'
It was with sad misgivings that Joseph thought of turning his back upon
the school, where he had been for scarcely two years; but Smith
promised to continue as his