Among the expeditions of this period, in which Brant and the Six Nations, as they were still called, though embracing only four of the tribes, were engaged, in alliance with the British, we may particularly notice those which resulted in the destruction of the German Flats, and the massacre at Cherry Valley. Yet the dreadful scenes at this latter place, as they are recorded in history, are too shocking for detail. Neither beauty, nor youth, nor innocence, nor age, nor piety, formed the slightest protection against the ferocity of the savages and their worse than savage instigators. Every dwelling and barn in the village was set on fire, and thirty or forty prisoners, of all classes and both sexes, were marched off, half-naked and shivering, through the woods, to the distant post of Fort Niagara. On their return to the Seneca country, the savages celebrated their exploits by a dance of thanksgiving, sacrificing, as usual, a dog, and going through the various ceremonies of the scalp-yell, while brandishing their knives, and recounting their achievements in song. In the autumn of 1778, occurred the celebrated massacre in the beautiful vale of Wyoming. This lovely spot was peopled with Germans and emigrants from New England, who lived in a state of enviable peace, comfort, and content. On the first of July, a force of 1,200 British and tories, with 400 Indians, appeared on the Susquehannah, and began their hostile operations. A brave resistance was made by the settlers, but they were at last overcome, and the whole valley became a scene of the most fearful desolation. These terrific events have acquired immortality from the pen of Campbell, who has made them his theme in the pathetic poem of “Wyoming.”[10] The year 1779, which was distinguished by the war of the Western Indians, and the Shawanese and Delawares in the remote parts of Virginia, was also marked by the project of Brant for a combined attack on the friendly Oneidas. This led to an expedition to Onondaga, by the Americans, against that hostile tribe. The Indians abandoned their villages on the approach of the enemy, yet thirty-three of them were taken prisoners, and a few slain. Three villages, consisting of nearly fifty houses, were burned to the ground; a large amount of provisions was destroyed; a hundred muskets and rifles, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, constituted part of the booty.