This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan. CHRONICLES OF CANADA Edited by George M. Wrong and H. H. Langton In thirty-two volumes Volume 16 THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS A Chronicle of Joseph Brant By LOUIS AUBREY WOOD TORONTO, 1915 CONTENTS I. THE YOUNG MOHAWK II. BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE III. SCHOOLDAYS AND AFTER IV. THE WAYS DIVIDE V. ACROSS THE SEA VI. BRANT MEETS HERKIMER VII. FORT STANWIX AND ORISKANY VIII. FIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER IX. CHERRY VALLEY X. MINISINK AND THE CHEMUNG RIVER XI. OVER THE BORDER XII. ENGLAND ONCE MORE XIII. STATESMAN OF THE TRIBES XIV. THE CHURCH BELL RINGS XV. THE PINE-TREE TOTTERS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE CHAPTER I THE YOUNG MOHAWK A group of huntsmen were camping on the Ohio river. The foliage swayed in the night wind, and the argent light of the moon ran in fleeting bars through the dim recesses of the forest. From the ground arose a ruddier glare. High and dry, fires had been built and the flames were darting and curvetting among the trees. In the weird light the hunters were clustered about in squads, silently stripping their prey or preparing their weapons for the morrow's chase. In the background were the women, moving here and there in the dancing shadows. One was bending low over a newborn infant, and as she uttered his name in the stillness of the evening it blended with the music of the tree-tops. 'Thayendanegea!' [Footnote: Pronounced Tai-yen-da-nay-geh.] The name was taken from the great book of nature. It was a birth-name of the Mohawks meaning two sticks of wood bound together, a sign of strength; and the woman hoped that her tiny child might one day be a man of valour among the Mohawks. Could she have but known it, her desire was to be more than realized, for in vigour of mind and body he was destined to surpass all the offspring of his race.