fifteen hundred warriors
listened to the messengers of the king. In reply the
chiefs of the assembled throng expressed their willingness
to 'assist his Majesty's troops in their operations.'
Johnson and Brant then went on to Oswego, on the margin
of the lake, where an even larger body heard their plea.
Johnson prepared for the redskins a typical repast, and
'invited them to feast on a Bostonian.' The Indians avowed
their willingness to fight for the king. Then, while the
summer days were long, a flotilla of canoes, in which
were many of the most renowned chiefs of the Six Nations,
set out eastward for Montreal over the sparkling waters
of Lake Ontario. In one of the slender craft knelt Joseph
Brant, paddle in hand, thoughtful and yet rejoicing. He
was but thirty-three years old, and yet, by shrewdness
in council and by courage on the field of battle, he
already occupied a prominent place among the chiefs of
the confederacy. Moreover, great days were ahead. Soon
the canoes entered the broad St Lawrence and were gliding
swiftly among its islets. With steady motion they followed
its majestic course as it moved towards the sea.

CHAPTER V

ACROSS THE SEA

Before many suns had set, this company of dusky warriors
had brought their canoes to shore near the swift rapids
which run by Montreal. The news of their coming was
received with enthusiasm by the officers stationed at
this place. Every friendly addition to the British ranks
was of value now that war had begun. Sir Guy Carleton,
the governor of Canada, was especially delighted that
these bronzed stalwarts had made their appearance. He
prized the abilities of the Indians in border warfare,
and their arrival now might be of importance, since the
local Canadian militia had not responded to the call to
arms. The French seigneurs and clergy were favourable to
the king's cause, but the habitants on the whole were
not interested in the war, and Carleton's regular troops
consisted of only eight hundred men of the Seventh and
Twenty-Sixth regiments.

No time was lost by the governor in summoning the redskins
to an interview. Chief Brant, it appears, was the leading
spokesman for the Indians on this occasion, and a sentence
or two of the speech made by Carleton has been preserved
by Brant himself. 'I exhort you,' was Carleton's earnest
request of the Indians, 'to continue your adherence to
the King, and not to break the solemn agreement made by
your forefathers, f