. As the scheme was unfolded, the
war-scarred chief of the Mohawks saw that he was meant
to serve under this youth of small experience. Brant
was ready for almost any work that might be of service
to his king, but he was at first reluctant to serve under
Butler. The situation between the two leaders became
strained, but at last Brant gave in; their differences
were patched up, and the two men came to friendly terms.
Orders were issued by Brant to his motley throng of
redskins, and five hundred of them reversed their march.
The united contingent of seven hundred men first headed
for the banks of the Tioga river, one of the branches of
the Susquehanna. Here a conference was held, and it was
agreed that they should make a combined attack upon the
settlers of Cherry Valley. To Butler this was more than
pleasing, eager as he was to pay off what he considered
a heavy score. The heart of the War Chief throbbed with
savage delight. A flaunting challenge still rang in his
ears; the settlers had invited him to enter their valley,
and now he would answer their gibing call. Little did
the inhabitants of Cherry Valley dream what was in store
for them. During the summer they had carried most of
their movable property to a well-built fortress. But as
everything had now grown tranquil, they had taken it back
to their homes again. Yet hardly had this been accomplished
before Colonel Ichabod Alden, commandant of the fort,
received a note from an official source telling him that
enemies were near at hand.

In spite of the trustworthy source from which it came,
Colonel Alden gave barely any heed to this warning message.
He declared that the threatened danger was but an idle
rumour, that all would be well, and that he would take
every precaution for the safety of his people. On November
9 spies were sent out in different directions with a view
to getting fuller information. One body of these went
boldly down the Susquehanna, where their own carelessness
brought about their undoing. At nightfall they lit a
fire, and, wrapping themselves up snugly, had gone fast
asleep. But to their astonishment, as they rubbed their
eyes in the light of morning, they were surrounded by a
party of Indians, were bundled off as prisoners of war,
and hurried into the presence of Brant and Butler, who
extracted much useful information from them. In the light
of this information plans were made for an immediate
attack on the settlement in Cherry Valley. Th