Other names of Rangers found in account book of Captain Chas. Bulkeley’s:
Copy of a Receipt, dated “Halifax, 10th Aug, 1757.”
Rec’d Of Capt. Chas. Bulkeley three hundred Spanish Mil’d Dollars for inlisting Recruits into His Majesty’s Company of Rangers, commanded by said Charles Bulkeley at ten Dollars Each Recruit and to appear with Said Recruit at Albany in ye Province of New York in Sixty days from the above date, or to return the above s’d Dollars to Said Bulkeley on Demand.James Rogers.
Rec’d Of Capt. Chas. Bulkeley three hundred Spanish Mil’d Dollars for inlisting Recruits into His Majesty’s Company of Rangers, commanded by said Charles Bulkeley at ten Dollars Each Recruit and to appear with Said Recruit at Albany in ye Province of New York in Sixty days from the above date, or to return the above s’d Dollars to Said Bulkeley on Demand.
James Rogers.
Lieut. Rogers returned in October, 1757, with the following recruits:
LIST OF PERSONS IN CAPTIVITY.
The names in italics are those of the captives.
TAKEN IN MAJOR ROGERS’ FIGHT, NEAR TICONDEROGA.MARCH 13, 1758.
Joshua Conkey, son of John;Aaron Smith, Jr., son of Aaron;Andrew Lovejoy;Jacob Bacon;Phineas Wheeler, son of Sam’l;Boaz Brown, son of Thomas;William Prentice, son of John;John Hunter, Jr., son of John; Joseph Blanchard aplt. forDavid Wallis,John Stewart,William Willson,Robert Nae,Charles McBay; Sarah Clark aplt. forSamuel Clarke,Leonard Taylor,Wm. Wilson;Matthew Spencer, son of Sarah, taken March;Wm. Prentice, 2d time;Charles McKay, Peterboro’, N. H., aplt. John McKay.
MAJOR ROBERT ROGERS1731-1795
Robert Rogers was the son of James and Mary McFatridge Rogers. He was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, on November 7, 1731. Early in the spring of 1739 James Rogers, with his family, moved from Methuen, to the wilderness of the township now known as Dunbarton, New Hampshire. He named the rich green meadowland and upland, 2190 acres, where he settled, “Munterloney,” for a place where he had once lived in Ireland, a mountainous district in Counties Derry and Tyrone.
Robert thus speaks of the years passed here in “Mountalona”:
“It would perhaps gratify the curious to have a particular account of my life, preceding the war; but though I could easily indulge them herein, without any dishonour to myself, yet I beg they will be content with my relating only such circumstances and occurrences as led me to a knowledge of many parts of the country, and tended in some measure to qualify me for the service I have since been employed in. Such, in particular, was the situation of the place in which I received my early education, a frontier town in the province of New Hampshire, where, I could hardly avoid obtaining some knowledge of the manners, customs, and language of the Indians, as many of them resided in the neighborhood and daily conversed and dealt with the English.“Between the years 1743 and 1755 my manner of life was such as led me to a general acquaintance both with the British and French settlements in North America, and especially with the uncultivated desart, the mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and several passes that lay between and contiguous to the said settlements. Nor did I content myself with the accounts received from Indians or the information of hunters but travelled over large tracts of the country myself, which tended not more to gratify my curiosity, than to inure me to hardships, and, without vanity, I may say, to qualify me for the very service I have since been employed in.”—Rogers’ Journals, Introduction. Dublin, 1769.
“It would perhaps gratify the curious to have a particular account of my life, preceding the war; but though I could easily indulge them herein, without any dishonour to myself, yet I beg they will be content with my relating only such circumstances and occurrences as led me to a knowledge of many parts of the country, and tended in some measure to qualify me for the service I have since been employed in. Such, in particular, was the situation of the place in which I received my early education, a frontier town in the province of New Hampshire, where, I could hardly avoid obtaining some knowledge of the manners, customs, and language of the Indians, as many of them resided in the neighborhood and daily conversed and dealt with the English.
“Between the years 1743 and 1755 my manner of life was such as led me to a general acquaintance both with the British and French settlements in North America, and especially with the uncultivated desart, the mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and several passes that lay between and contiguous to the said settlements. Nor did I content myself with the accounts received from Indians or the information of hunters but travelled over large tracts of the country myself, which tended not more to gratify my curiosity, than to inure me to hardships, and, without vanity, I may say, to qualify me for the very service I have since been employed in.”
—Rogers’ Journals, Introduction. Dublin, 1769.
Robert Rogers was six feet in height, a well-formed, fine looking man, with fine manners and magnetic presence. He was one of the most athletic men of his time, well known in all trials of strength or skill. General Stark used to say of him, that for presence of mind in time of danger, he was unsurpassed.
At the age of twenty-three years he organized and disciplined his Rangers. On the 6th of April, 1758, Captain Rogers was promoted to a Majority and had command of this famous corps.
His Journals of his Ranging Service, present an interesting account of his severe and perilous warfare. It is very rare. A copy recently brought £25. Some of the principal causes of the war are exhibited with spirit and truth in his drama Ponteach. His Concise Account of North America and his Concise Historical Account, etc., are both rare books containing valuable information.
He died in London, on May 18, 1795.
I claim, and with a justifiable pride, that Robert Rogers, the famous partisan chief, was the greatest American in the “Old French and Indian War.”
Major Rogers was an author as well as a soldier. After the close of the “Seven Years’ War,” he went to London and published four books, viz.:
JOURNALSOFMAJOR ROBERT ROGERS:
Containing
an account of the several excursions hemade under the Generals who commandedupon the continent of North America, duringthe late War.
From which may be collectedthe most material circumstances of everycampaign upon that continent, from thecommencement to the conclusion of the War.
London
Printed for the Authorand sold by J. Millan, bookseller,near Whitehall.
M D C C L X V
A ConciseACCOUNTofNorth Americacontaining
A description of the severalBritish Colonies on that Continent;including the Islands of Newfoundland,Cape Breton, etc.,As toTheir Situation, Extent, Climate, SoilProduce, Rise, Government, Religion,Present Boundaries, and the number ofInhabitants supposed to be in each.Also ofThe Interior, or Westerly part of theCounty upon the Rivers St. Lawrence,The Mississipi; Christino, and theGreat Lakes.To which is subjoined,An account of the several Nationsand Tribes of Indians residing inthose Parts, as to their Customs,Manners, Government, Numbers etc.Containing many useful and EntertainingFacts, never before treated of.By Major Robert RogersLondon:Printed for the Author, and sold byJ. Millan, Bookseller, near Whitehall.MDCCLXV
PONTEACHorTHE SAVAGES OF AMERICAA Tragedy
London. Printed for the Author and sold byJ. Millan, opposite the Admiralty, Whitehall.MDCC. LXVI (Price 2s. 6d.)
A CONCISE HISTORICAL ACCOUNTof all theBRITISH COLONIESinNORTH-AMERICA,comprehending theirRise, Progress, and Modern State;Particularly of theMASSACHUSETTS-BAY,(The Seat of the present Civil War,)Together with theOther Provinces of New-England.To which is annexed, AnACCURATE DESCRIPTIVE TABLE OF THESEVERAL COUNTRIES.Exhibiting, at One View, their respective
Interspersed withParticulars relative to the different Soils and Climates,Capital Cities, &c., &c.By Major Robert Rogers.LONDON,Printed for J. BEW, in Pater-Noster-Row. 1775.
ARCHIVES PUBLIQUES DU CANADA.CORRESPONDANCE OFFICIELLE.
Série F. Vol. 303.
Montréal, 18 Avril, 1758.
Suit le bulletin.—Détails des succès remportés par plusieurs partis de Canadiens et Sauvages durant l’hiver
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Les Anglais ont eu tout l’hiver le projet de surprendre ou bombarder Carillon et s’y sont présenté plusieurs fois. Le Srd’Hebencourt, Capitaine au régiment de la Reine qui y a été établi commandant après la Campagne, et la garnison out été très alerte, les courses des Anglais ont toujours été infructueuses et le Sieur d’Hebencourt instruit qu’ils avaient en campagne un parti de 200 hommes, profita le 13 mars de l’heureuse circonstance de 200 Iroquois ou Nepissingues du Sault St. Louis et du Lac des Deux Montagnes arrivés la veille avec le Sr. Durantaye et plusieurs cadets de la Colonie, le Sieur de Langry Officer très intelligent, quelques Lieutenans et Sergens de nos bataillons que le zèle seul y fit marcher s’y joignirent. Le détachement Anglais composé des soldats d’élite et de 12 officers, commandé par le Major Roger leur meilleur partisan a été totalement défait les Sauvages ont rapporté 146 chevelures, peu de prisonniers, seulement quelques uns pour donner deslettres vivantesà leur père, expression dont les Sauvages nomment les prisonniers. Le reste aura péri de misère dans les bois. Quelques uns, entr’eux deux officiers du Régiment deBlekinsse sont rendus d’eux mêmes prisonniers à notre fort de Carillon au bout de cinq jours leur guide ayant expiré la veille.
Nous avons perdu à cette action huit sauvages et nous avons eu 17 blessés ainsi que deux cadets de la colonie et un canadien. On a couvert les morts avec grande cérémonie. On a fait des présens au nom du Roy aux families. Le Gouverneur général recompensera la bravoure de nos Iroquois par une promotion et donnant quelques haussecols et médailles à ceux qui se sont distingués, ils en seront plus animés à venger la perte qu’ils out fait.
ARCHIVES PUBLIQUES DU CANADA.CORRESPONDANCE GENERALE.
Série B. Vol. 104, p. 133.
A Montréal le 28 9bre1759.Monseigneur
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Il ne falloit rien moins, Monseigneur, que le succès du Détachement que j’avois confié au Srde la Durantay pour faire renoncer nos ennemis à leurs préparatifs pour faire escalader en hiver Carillon. Les Srsla Durantay et de Richerville ayant été compris dans la promotion de 1757 en qualité d’enseignes en pied. J’ay placé aussy le Srde la Chevrotière comme enseigne on second, j’ay prématuré les favorables dispositions de Sa Majesté à leur égard en les faisant participer aux 6000 lb qu’elle a accordée sur son état de 1757 aux Canadiens qui se sont le plus distingués. Je leur donnay d’abord à chacun 200 lb. Vous verrés, Monseigneur, par une de mes lettres que je n’ay pas encore recû cette somme. Le Corps de nos officiers est en général penetré de l’attention dont Sa Majesté honore leurs services et des recompensesqu’elle est disposée à leur accorder. Je n’ay eu rien de plus pressé que de les en instruire.
Le SrRobert Roger qui étoit à la tête du Detachement que nos Cadets defirent, eut le secret de s’échaper lorsqu’il vit la perte évidente, il laissa sur le champ de bataille son habit et même l’ordre qu’il avoit de son Général, ce qui me donnoit tout lieu de croire qu’il y avoit peri d’autant mieux qu’un sauvage m’assura qu’il l’avoit tué lui-même.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Je suis avec un trés profond respect, Monseigneur,Votre trés humble et trés obeissant serviteurVaudreuil.
ANECDOTES
When Major Robert Rogers narrated his wonderful story to the officers in the Coffee House in London, he gave “Munterloney” as his home, which they supposed to be in Italy, and, knowing him to be an American, made the story still more improbable. Gathered in little groups about the tables, one night, these men were engaged in witty and pleasant discourse, when it was agreed that the person who should tell the greatest lie, or the most improbable story, should have his bill paid by the Company. After all the others had told their stories, Rogers was called upon. He said: “When a boy in ‘Munterloney’ he made birch and hazel brooms, which he carried on his back through the woods, guided by spotted trees, to Rumford, the nearest settlement, a distance of ten miles, and sold them. He told how his father, dressed in fur, was shot dead in the wilderness by a hunter, who mistook him for a bear. He also related that his mother was followed several miles by a hunter who thought her track in the fresh, light snow, was that of a wolf. Rogers’ bill was paid by the Company for it was agreed that the Major had told the greatestlie, when, in fact, he had only told thetruth. This incident was greatly appreciated by the Major’s family and admirers in America. Major Rogers went to England in 1765 and, while travelling in a mail-coach over Hounslow Heath, the coach was stopped by a highway robber, who presented a pistol at the window and demanded the passenger’s money. The Major played asleep, while the other passengers passed over their money. When it came his turn, he drowsily opened his cloak, as if about to comply. The robber lowered his pistol. At the psychological moment, the noted Indian fighter seized him by the collar, dragged him from his horse through thewindow of the coach, and held him prisoner while he ordered the terrified coachman to drive on to the authorities. There the Major delivered him. The prisoner proved to be a celebrated offender for whose head a reward of £50 sterling had been offered. The famous Rogers received the bounty.
London, October 8.
Tuesday last, about two o’clock, after Major Rogers had passed through Dartford, the post-chaise man who drove him, told him a highwayman hovered round the chaise. As soon as the fellow came to the Major, he seized him by the hand and pulled him into the chaise. The highwayman answers the description in an advertisement of Sir John Fielding’s. The Major carried him to the Mayor at Gravesend, and after an examination there, sent him to the Ratation-office, in Bow street.
New-Hampshire Gazette. January 24, 1772.
HIS REPUTATION AT HOME
From “The Veil Removed,” John Fellows, New York, 1843, pp. 20 and 21.
That no doubt may rest on the mind of the reader in regard to the authenticity of the statements of facts by Major Rogers in his journal, the following testimony of his title to credibility has been obtained from the distinguished gentlemen therein named, citizens of his native state, where his character would doubtless be duly estimated:
“Concord, July 16, 1842.“Dear Sir—“I have made some inquiry respecting Major R. Rogers, and among our oldest inhabitants I find but one opinion respecting his character, and that is fully expressed in the note enclosed to me, and transmitted herewith to you, from Gov. Hill.“Mr. Hill has perhaps a better knowledge of Major Rogers’ character, as an officer, than any other person here; he has been prompted by reasons which could not have operated on others.“Respectfully, your obedient servant,“Robert Davis.“Mr. Charles Coffin, New York City.”
“Concord, July 16, 1842.
“Dear Sir—
“I have made some inquiry respecting Major R. Rogers, and among our oldest inhabitants I find but one opinion respecting his character, and that is fully expressed in the note enclosed to me, and transmitted herewith to you, from Gov. Hill.
“Mr. Hill has perhaps a better knowledge of Major Rogers’ character, as an officer, than any other person here; he has been prompted by reasons which could not have operated on others.
“Respectfully, your obedient servant,“Robert Davis.
“Mr. Charles Coffin, New York City.”
“Concord, July 2, 1842.“Gen. Robert Davis:“My dear Sir—“I have this moment read Mr. Coffin’s letter addressed to you, requesting information in relation to the character of the late Maj. Robert Rogers. Having recently had occasion to make inquiries relative to his early history,I find nothing in the region of his birth that goes at all to discredit him. One of the last of his blood relations in this vicinity who personally remembered him, a lady, died about one year ago. From her mouth, through Mark Burnham, Esq., a native of the same town with Rogers, I derived the information that all the family were proud of his name, and were reluctant to associate it with a reputation that was not entirely unsullied. Maj. Rogers never resided in this state permanently after the commencement of the Revolutionary War: he was in the British service in Canada after the close of the old French War, partly in a military, and partly in a civil capacity. The only child bearing his name was several years under my care as guardian: this circumstance, among others, has led me more particularly to mark the character of the celebrated warrior. I consider him to have been one of the most talented men of the country—perhaps the best partisan officer this country ever produced. I believe him to have been the author of that perfect mode of attack and defence which enabled a hundred of the rangers to do more service than thousands of the British regulars, especially in the winter service of the old war of 1756. Such safety to troops on fatigue amid the severest seasons of a severe climate was never secured—such certainty in the results, either on the advance or retreat, perhaps, was never realized by any other force than the rangers, under the perfect arrangement and discipline invented by Rogers. I consider him to have been as great a man in his peculiar sphere as Napoleon Bonaparte, and of moral courage and honesty coming nearly if not quite up to the mark of Andrew Jackson.“I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,“Isaac Hill.”
“Concord, July 2, 1842.
“Gen. Robert Davis:
“My dear Sir—
“I have this moment read Mr. Coffin’s letter addressed to you, requesting information in relation to the character of the late Maj. Robert Rogers. Having recently had occasion to make inquiries relative to his early history,I find nothing in the region of his birth that goes at all to discredit him. One of the last of his blood relations in this vicinity who personally remembered him, a lady, died about one year ago. From her mouth, through Mark Burnham, Esq., a native of the same town with Rogers, I derived the information that all the family were proud of his name, and were reluctant to associate it with a reputation that was not entirely unsullied. Maj. Rogers never resided in this state permanently after the commencement of the Revolutionary War: he was in the British service in Canada after the close of the old French War, partly in a military, and partly in a civil capacity. The only child bearing his name was several years under my care as guardian: this circumstance, among others, has led me more particularly to mark the character of the celebrated warrior. I consider him to have been one of the most talented men of the country—perhaps the best partisan officer this country ever produced. I believe him to have been the author of that perfect mode of attack and defence which enabled a hundred of the rangers to do more service than thousands of the British regulars, especially in the winter service of the old war of 1756. Such safety to troops on fatigue amid the severest seasons of a severe climate was never secured—such certainty in the results, either on the advance or retreat, perhaps, was never realized by any other force than the rangers, under the perfect arrangement and discipline invented by Rogers. I consider him to have been as great a man in his peculiar sphere as Napoleon Bonaparte, and of moral courage and honesty coming nearly if not quite up to the mark of Andrew Jackson.
“I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,“Isaac Hill.”
LITERARY REVIEWS
ROGERS’ CONCISE ACCOUNT (From The Gentleman’s Magazine for December, 1765, Vol. 35, pages 584-5.)
This is an account very different from the compilations which are undertaken for booksellers, by persons wholly unacquainted with the subject, and who generally have neither sufficient diligence nor skill to regulate the multifarious materials which lie scattered before them, perhaps in an hundred volumes, nor even to reject, much less reconcile the inconsistencies and contradictions with which such materials always abound.
MajorRogershas travelled through great part of the country he has described, in the course of his duty as an officer in his majesty’s army, and has received accounts of other parts immediately from the inhabitants, or from persons who had been carried prisoners thither, and afterwards released.
The work is concise and yet full; and the knowledge it contains is acquired with pleasure, and retained with ease, by the regularity of the method, and perspicuity of the stile.
The author gives an account of every province separately, and of its first discovery and settlement; he describes its situation as to latitude and longitude, and to the countries and seas by which it is bounded; its extent; its rivers; its climate; its commodities, buildings, and number of inhabitants: With a particular attention to such facts and circumstances as appeared most interesting in a political or commercial view.
In this work there is also an account of the interior part ofAmerica, a territory much larger than the whole continent ofEurope, and hitherto almost wholly unknown.This territory he has considered under three several divisions, marked out by three great rivers that rise near the center of it,St. Lawrence, theChristino, and theMississippi.
The riverSt. Lawrencehe has traced, and is pretty well acquainted with the country adjacent to it, as far up as lakeSuperior; and with the country from theGreen Baywestward, to theMississippiat the Gulph ofMexico: He has also travelled the country adjacent to theOhio, and its principal branches; and that between theOhioand the lakesErieandMeshigan, and the countries of the SouthernIndians; and his situation gave him opportunities of gaining accounts of the other parts, more particular and authentic than any other.
He has subjoined such an account of theIndians, their customs and manners, as gives a just idea of the genius and policy of the people, and of the method in which they are to be treated by those who wish to preserve a safe and advantageous commerce with them. This is a very entertaining as well as useful part of the work, for which the Major was particularly qualified, by a long and experimental acquaintance with their several tribes and nations, both in peace and war.
It is proposed to continue this History in a second volume, containing maps of the colonies and the interior country, in which the faults and deficiencies of those already extant will be corrected and supplied; by subscription; the price one guinea.
(Some extracts from this work shall be occasionally given in the future numbers of this miscellany.)
JOURNALS OF MAJOR ROBERT ROGERS: containing an account of the several excursions he made, under the generals who commanded on the continent of America, during the late war. From which may be collected themost material circumstances of every campaign on that continent, from the commencement to the conclusion of the war. From the specimen of the work now before us, it appears that the accounts of Major Rogers may be depended upon by the public; they are undoubtedly as authentic as they are important and necessary to those who would acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and progress of the late military operations in North America.
The author writes like an honest, a sensible, and a modest man; and has given, throughout his whole account, undoubted proofs that he is a brave and skillful officer. He headed, with much reputation, the provincial troops called rangers, during the whole course of what were called the French wars in America.—Bibliotheca Americana Nova, or catalogue of books relating to America, printed from 1700 to 1800, By O. Rich, London, 1832. Quoted by
John Fellows, inThe Veil Removed(New York, 1843), p. 20.
ROGERS’ CONCISE ACCOUNT (From the Monthly Review or Literary Journal: By Several Hands. London, January, 1776.)
A concise Account of North America: Containing a Description of the several British Colonies on that Continent, including the Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, &c. as to their Situation, Extent, Climate, Soil, Produce, Rise, Government, Religion, present Boundaries, and the Number of Inhabitants supposed to be in each. Also of the interior, or Westerly Parts of the Country, upon the Rivers St. Laurence, the Mississipi, Christino, and the Great Lakes. To which is subjoined, an Account of the several Nations and Tribes of Indians residing in those Parts, as to their Customs, Manners, Government, Numbers, &c. containing manyuseful and entertaining Facts, never before treated of.By Major Robert Rogers. 8vo. 5s. bound. Millan.
A concise Account of North America: Containing a Description of the several British Colonies on that Continent, including the Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, &c. as to their Situation, Extent, Climate, Soil, Produce, Rise, Government, Religion, present Boundaries, and the Number of Inhabitants supposed to be in each. Also of the interior, or Westerly Parts of the Country, upon the Rivers St. Laurence, the Mississipi, Christino, and the Great Lakes. To which is subjoined, an Account of the several Nations and Tribes of Indians residing in those Parts, as to their Customs, Manners, Government, Numbers, &c. containing manyuseful and entertaining Facts, never before treated of.By Major Robert Rogers. 8vo. 5s. bound. Millan.
Few of our Readers, we apprehend, are unacquainted with the name, or ignorant of the exploits, of Major Rogers; who, with so much reputation, headed the provincial troops called Rangers, during the whole course of our late successful wars in America. To this brave, active, judicious officer, it is, that the public are obliged for the most satisfactory account we have ever yet been favoured with, of the interior parts of that immense continent which victory hath so lately added to the British empire.——For, as to what Charlevoix, and other French writers, have related, experience hath shewn with what artful fallacy their accounts have been drawn up:—with the obvious design of concealing, from other nations, the true situation, and real circumstances of that country, of which we were, in many respects, totally ignorant, till the British lion, in revenge of repeated insults, tore away the veil, and opened to our view, the wide, extended, glorious prospect!
The present publication, however, as may be supposed, from the quantity and price above specified, contains but a part of the Major’s intended work; the remainder being proposed to be printed by subscription; and to be illustrated with maps of the several colonies, and of the interior country of North America. These we are assured, in the Author’s advertisement, will be ‘more correct, and easier to be understood, than any yet published.’
Our Author was, happily for his country, the better qualified not only for the task he hath now enjoined his pen, but also for the atchievements in which his sword hath been employed, by the circumstance of his having received his ‘early education in a frontier town in theprovince of New Hampshire, where he could hardly avoid obtaining some knowlege of the manners, customs, and language of the Indians, as many of them resided in the neighbourhood, and daily conversed with the English.—Between the years 1743 and 1755, his manner of life[5]was such, as led him to a general acquaintance both with the British and French settlements in North America, and especially with the uncultivated desart, the mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and several passes that lay between and contiguous to the said settlements. Nor did he content himself with the accounts he received from the Indians, or the information of hunters, but travelled over large tracts of the country himself; which tended not more to gratify curiosity, than to inure him to hardship.——Andhardships[6]enough he was destined to endure!
The accounts here given of the British colonies are very brief. They seem to have been chiefly intended to form an introduction to the Major’s description of our late conquests in that part of the world; and which must, undoubtedly, be considered as the most valuable part of his work. Accordingly he himself observes, that ‘it will not be expected, after volumes on volumes that have been published concerning the British colonies on the eastern shore of the American continent, that any thing materiallynewcan be related of them.’ The only thing, adds he, ‘that I mean to attempt with regard to this is, to collect such facts and circumstances, as in a political and commercial view, appear to me to be most interesting; toreduce them to an easy and familiar method, and contract them within such narrow limits, that the whole may be seen as it were at once, and every thing material be collected from a few pages, concerning seventeen provinces; a minute and circumstantial account of which would fill so many considerable volumes.
‘In doing this, where my own knowlege (acquired by travelling several times through most of them) did not serve me, I have endeavoured to make use of the most authentic materials, collected from others, and to set every fact and circumstance in a true and impartial light, without favour or prejudice to any particular part or party.
‘But the principal object I have had in view, and what I look upon to be the most interesting and deserving part of this work, is the account I have given of the interior parts of North America, which though concise, and vastly short of what I should be glad to exhibit, I flatter myself is as full and perfect as any at present to be come at. Certain I am, that no one man besides has traveled over and seen so much of this part of the country as I have done; and if my remarks and observations relative thereto are injudicious or wrongly placed, it is not owing to any want of attention to the subject, but merely to a want of skill. What is comprehended under the appellation of theinteriorcountry of America, is of itself a larger territory than all the continent of Europe, and is at present mostly a desart, uninhabited, except by savages: it cannot therefore be reasonably expected that any one man has it in his power to give a just and minute account of its several parts, but that he must pass over large tracts of country in very general terms, and in many things depend upon the reports of others, or proceed upon his own uncertain conjectures.
‘This wide-extended country may naturally enough beconsidered under three general divisions, occasioned by the three great rivers that take their rise near the center of it, namely, St. Lawrence, the Christino, and the Mississipi. The first of these I have traced, and am pretty well acquainted with the country adjacent to it as far up as Lake Superior, and with the country from the Green Bay westward to the Mississipi, and from thence down to the mouth of the Mississipi at the gulph of Mexico. I have also travelled the country adjacent to the Ohio and its principal branches, and that between the Ohio and the Lakes Erie and Meshigan, and the countries of the southern Indians. But as to the country above Lake Superior, I have my intelligence chiefly from Indians, or from prisoners that have travelled with them into it. The same is the case as to the country at the head of the Mississipi, and that adjacent to the river Misauris. The Christino I have taken wholly from the Indians: and though the accounts they have given me of these countries are large, and in some particulars very inviting, yet I shall do little more than mention their names, till I have better authority to go upon.
‘In the account I have subjoined of the Indians, their customs, manners, &c. I have purposely omitted many things related by others who have wrote on that subject: some, because they are false, and others, because they are trite and trifling; and have only mentioned such as I thought most distinguishing and absolutely necessary to give a just idea of the genius and policy of that people, and of the method in which they are to be treated, in order to our having any safe and advantageous commerce with them. And, without vanity, I may say, that the long and particular acquaintance I have had with several tribes and nations, both in peace and war, has at least furnished me with materials to treat the subject with propriety.’
As we have had many contradictory accounts of the two Floridas, part of our newly acquired territories; and as many of our Readers may be at a loss what idea to form of those settlements, we shall present them with Major Rogers’s account of them entire: which will likewise serve as a specimen of his brief way of mentioning the elder Colonies, most of which he has described with nearly the same brevity.
‘The country south of Georgia, and between that and the Mississippi river, an extent of about 600 miles, was by the Spaniards called Florida, which name it still retains; but is now divided by the English into two provinces, viz. East and West Florida.
‘East Florida is bounded north by Georgia, or St. John’s river, which divides them; eastwardly and southwardly, by the gulph of Florida; south-west, by West Florida; and north-west, by the country of the Creek Indians.
‘The Spaniards attempted a settlement at St. Augustine in this province in 1512; however they were obliged to abandon this attempt, by reason of the savages, and other inconveniences, they not being properly supplied with necessaries to go through with it. In 1565 they again took possession, and erected a fort called St. Augustine, which commanded a convenient harbour for their ships trading between Spain and America; but there being a constant war between the Spaniards and Creek Indians, greatly prevented the enlarging their settlements here. They maintained their garrison (though several attempts were made to reduce it by the Carolinians, and afterwards by General Oglethorpe) till the conclusion of the late war, when the garrison and the whole territory of Florida was ceded to the crown of Great Britain, by the treaty of Fountainbleau, in 1762. His Britannic Majesty beingabsolute sovereign of the soil, has the appointment of the governors in both of the Floridas.
‘The soil of East Florida is not so good as that of Georgia in general; but the northerly part of it adjacent to Georgia is much like it, and may be improved to all the purposes that Georgia is, viz. for raising of corn, rice, indigo, silk, wine, &c. and again, in the west part of the province is some very good land, capable of being improved to great advantage.
‘The centre or Cape of Florida is a more sandy soil; however, there are some good settlements begun in this province, under the direction of Colonel Grant, the present Governor of it, and there is a prospect of it soon becoming a flourishing province; and as inhabitants are flocking to it from several countries in Europe, there is no doubt but in a short time it will be considerable.
‘Their exports at present are but small, the produce of their trade with the Indians being the chief they have to spare. As the country was three years since almost entirely uncultivated, and the number of inhabitants as yet but small, no great improvements and productions are at present to be expected; but, undoubtedly, this country is capable of producing rice, indigo, silk, wine, oil, and other valuable commodities in great abundance. As the country is new, it has great plenty of all kinds of wild game, common to the climate. The metropolis of the province is St. Augustine. The number of inhabitants, exclusive of his majesty’s troops garrisoned there, is, as I am told, about 2000.
‘It may well be supposed, from its southerly situation, that the air and climate of this province is not more agreeable and healthy than that of Georgia, and that it is no less infested with poisonous and troublesome animals of various shapes and sizes.’—Thus far, relating toEast-Florida.
‘West Florida was seized upon by the French, who began a settlement in it at Pensacola, in 1720, and they enjoyed it till the before mentioned treaty of Fountainbleau in 1762, when this was ceded to and formed into a government by his Britannic majesty. It is bounded, eastwardly, by East Florida; southwardly, by the Gulph of Mexico; westwardly, by the Mississipi river, and the Lake St. Pier; and northwardly, by the country of the Chikitaws.
‘The principal town is Pensacola; and as many of the French, who inhabited here before the treaty, have chose to become British subjects for the sake of keeping their estates, this will contribute to the speedy peopling this province, and no doubt render the settlements considerable very soon, especially as the land in this province is mostly very good, vastly preferable to the eastern province, its soil being capable of producing all the valuable commodities of rice, indigo, wine, oil, &c. in the greatest abundance; and its situation for trade is extremely good, having the river Mississipi for its western boundary.
‘They already carry on a very considerable trade with the Indians, and export great quantities of deer-skins and furs. The French inhabitants here raise considerable quantities of rice, and build some vessels.
‘There are at present, as I am told, about 6000 inhabitants in this province, which increase very fast, it being much more healthy and inviting than East Florida; especially the western parts upon the banks of the Mississipi, where it is said to be agreeable enough to English constitutions. In short, it is not to be doubted but that in a few years this will be a rich and flourishing province, nature having denied it nothing that is necessary to make it so.’
How far our Author’s account of these two settlementsmay, in every circumstance, be depended upon, is a point not perfectly clear to us, as we are not precisely informed whether he hath related all of them from his own personal acquaintance with those provinces; or whether he hath not chiefly made his report from the information of others. He appears, however, to be so honest a Writer, that we do not suspect him to be capable of anyintentionto mislead his Readers, in any respect whatever.
In our Author’s description of the manners and customs of the Indians, particularly those called theFive Nations, are many curious particulars; some of which may serve as a proper supplement to the account extracted, in the preceding article, from Lieutenant Timberlake’s Memoirs: and the observations of both these writers may, perhaps, be considered by the judicious Readers as a valuable addition to the more elaborate performance[7]of Cadwallader Colden Esq.; published not long before the commencement of our Review.
TheseFive Nations, are, beyond all the other Indian tribes, the most distinguished for their understanding, their valour, and above all, for their glorious spirit of liberty: in which respect even Britons may be proud to call themtheir brethren. Of these, again, the Mohawks are the first in rank, (in regard to the aforementioned virtues) though at present the smallest in number: to which circumstance they have been reduced, from being the most numerous, by their continual wars. The union of the five nations, somewhat resembles that of the Dutch United Provinces; and this republican league, or confederacy, in which no one nation hath any superiority over the other, have subsisted so long, that the Europeans,says Mr. Colden, know nothing of its origin. Their most northern settlement, says Mr. Rogers, ‘is a town called Chockonawago, on the south of the river St. Lawrence, opposite to Montreal; but their largest settlements are between Lake Ontario and the provinces of New York and Pensylvania, or the heads of the Mohock, Tanesee, Oneoida and Onondaga rivers. They claim all the country south of the river St. Lawrence to the Ohio, and down the Ohio to the Wabach, from the mouth of the Wabach to the bounds of Virginia; westerly, to the Lakes Ontario and Erie, and the river Miamee; their eastern boundaries are lake Champlain, and the British colonies. When the English first settled in America, they could raise 15,000 fighting men; but now, including the Delawares and Shawanees, they do not amount to more than between three or four thousand, having been thus reduced by the incessant wars they have maintained with the other Indians, and with the French, in Canada.’
Speaking of the great military exploits of the Mohawks, our Author assures us, that they have been inveterate enemies to the French, ever since their first settlement in Canada; that they once burned the city of Montreal; and that they are almost the only Indians within many hundred miles, that have been proof against the solicitations of the French to turn against us; but the greatest part of them have maintained their integrity, and been our stedfast friends and faithful allies.—As to their persons, Mr. Rogers remarks, that there is rarely found, among the Indians, a person that is any way ‘deformed, or that is deprived of any sense, or decrepid in any limb, notwithstanding the little care taken about the mother in the time of her pregnancy, the neglect the infant is treated with when born, and the fatigues the youth is obliged to suffer; yet generally they are of a hale, robust, and firm constitution; but spirituous liquors, of which they are insatiably fond, and the women as well as the men, have already surprizingly lessened their numbers, and will, in all probability, in one century more nearly clear the country of them.’
How greatly have these untutored people the advantage over us, in respect to what is observed, in the beginning of this last quotation! To what can it be owing that,among us,SO MANYare found deformed, or deprived of one or other of their senses? To what more than the spirit of Quackery[8]which, for many ages past, hath taken possession of us, instead of the simplicity of former times? Quackery seems, indeed, to have vitiated our whole National Constitution and character: it hath infected our government, our religion, our laws, nay our very nurseries! Every thing appears to beover-done, among us; and, (anxious mortals that we are) we act as though afraid of trusting to Providence, or leaving any thing to the unerring direction of nature. Hence, each succeeding generation is continually busied in undoing what was done by their predecessors: hence the perpetual changes and revolutions of all our systems; and, hence, perhaps, the fatal necessity for so many repeals of the solemn acts and decrees even of senatorial wisdom!—But to our Author.
Among other virtues possessed by the Indians, Mr. Rogers extols their surprizing patience and equanimity of mind. They have, says he, a ‘command of every passion, except revenge, beyond what philosophers or Christians usually attain to. You may see them bearing the most sudden and unexpected misfortunes with a calmness and composure of mind, without a word, or changeof countenance; even a prisoner, who knows not where his captivity may end, or whether he may not in a few hours be put to a most cruel death, never loses a moment’s sleep on this account, and eats and drinks with as much chearfulness as those into whose hands he has fallen.
‘Their resolution and courage under sickness and pain is truly surprising. A young woman will be in labour a whole day without uttering one groan or cry; should she betray such a weakness, they would immediately say, that she was unworthy to be a mother, and that her offspring could not fail of being cowards. Nothing is more common than to see persons, young and old of both sexes, supporting themselves with such constancy under the greatest pains and calamities, that even when under those shocking tortures which prisoners are frequently put to, they will not only make themselves chearful, but provoke and irritate their tormentors with most cutting reproaches.’
Their method of declaring war is very solemn, and attended, says our Author ‘With many ceremonies of terror.’ In the first place, they call an Assembly of the Sachems [old men] and warriors to deliberate on the affair; in which congress the women have a voice as well as the men. Take our Author’s farther account in his own words.
‘When they are assembled, the president or chief Sachem proposes the affair they have met to consult upon, and, taking up the hatchet (which lies by him) says, who among you will go and fight against such a nation? Who among you will go and bring captives from thence, to replace our deceased friends, that our wrongs may be avenged, and our name and honour maintained as long as rivers flow, grass grows, or the sun and moon endure? He having thus said, one of the principal warriors rises, and harangues the whole assembly; and thenaddresses himself to the young men, and inquires, who among them will go along with him and fight their enemies? when they generally rise, one after another, and fall in behind him, while he walks round the circle or parade, till he is joined by a sufficient number. Generally at such a congress they have a deer or some beast roasted whole; and each of them, as they consent to go to war, cuts off a piece and eats, saying, This way will I devour our enemies, naming the nation they are going to attack. All that chuse, having performed this ceremony, and thereby solemnly engaged to behave with fidelity and as a good warrior, the dance begins, and they sing the war-song; the matter of which relates to their intended expedition and conquest, or to their own skill, courage and dexterity in fighting, and to the manner in which they will vanquish and extirpate their enemies; all which is expressed in the strongest and most pathetic manner, and with a tone of terror. So great is the eloquence or influence of their women in these consultations, that the final result very much depends upon them. If any one of these nations, in conjunction with the chiefs, has a mind to excite one, who does not immediately depend upon them, to take part in the war, either to appease the manes of her husband, son, or near relation, or to take prisoners, to supply the place of such as have died in her family, or are in captivity, she presents, by the hands of some trusty young warrior, a string of wampum to the person whose help she solicits; which invitation seldom fails of its desired effect. And when they solicit the alliance, offensive or defensive, of a whole nation, they send an embassy with a large belt of wampum, and a bloody hatchet, inviting them to come and drink the blood of their enemies. The wampum made use of upon these and other occasions, before their acquaintance with the Europeans, was nothing but smallshells, which they picked up by the sea-coasts and on the banks of the lakes; and now it is nothing but a kind of cylindrical beads, made of shells white and black, which are esteemed among them as silver and gold are among us. The black they call the most valuable, and both together are their greatest riches and ornaments; these, among them answering all the ends that money does among us. They have the art of stringing, twisting, and interweaving these into their belts, collars, blankets, mogasons, &c. in ten thousand different sizes, forms and figures, so as to be ornaments for every part of dress, and expressive to them of all their important transactions. They die the wampum of various colours and shades, and mix and dispose them with great ingenuity and order and so as to be significant among themselves of almost any thing they please; so that by these their records are kept, and their thoughts communicated to one another, as ours are by writing. The belts that pass from one nation to another, in all treaties, declarations, and important transactions, are carefully preserved in the palaces or cabbins of their Chiefs, and serve, not only as a kind of record or history, but as a public treasure. It must, however, be an affair of national importance in which they use collars or belts, it being looked upon as a very great abuse and absurdity to use them on trifling occasions. Nor is the calumet or pipe of peace of less importance, or less revered among them in many transactions, relative both to war and peace. The bowl of this pipe is made of a kind of soft red stone, which is easily wrought and hollowed out; the stem is of cane, elder, or some kind of light wood, painted with different colours, and decorated with the heads, tails, and feathers of the most beautiful birds, &c. The use of the calumet is, to smoak either tobacco, or some bark-leaf, or herb, which they often use instead ofit, when they enter into an alliance, or on any serious occasion, or solemn engagements; this being among them the most sacred oath that can be taken, the violation of which is esteemed most infamous, and deserving of severe punishment from heaven. When they treat of war, the whole pipe and all its ornaments are red; sometimes it is red only on one side, and by the disposition of the feathers, &c. one acquainted with their customs will know, at first sight, what the nation who presents it intends or desires. Smoaking the calumet is also a religious ceremony upon some occasions, and in all treaties is considered as a witness between the parties; or rather as an instrument by which they invoke the sun and moon to witness their sincerity, and to be, as it were, guarantees of the treaty between them. This custom of the Indians, though to appearance somewhat ridiculous, is not without its reasons; for, they finding smoaking tended to disperse the vapours of the brain, to raise the spirits and qualify them for thinking and judging properly, introduced it into their counsels, where, after their resolves, the pipe was considered as a seal of their decrees, and, as a pledge of their performance thereof, it was sent to those they were consulting an alliance or treaty with: so that smoaking among them in the same pipe is equivalent to our drinking together, and out of the same cup.’
Here we cannot help observing what a noble and consistent spirit of liberty prevails among these Indians, with respect to the method used by their chiefs ofinviting, notimpressing, the people to accompany them to the wars. What a striking contrast does this afford, to our tyrannical practice ofseizingour fellow-subjects by brutal force,imprisoningandtransportingthem like felons and Newgate convicts; and, after such base treatment, compelling themto go forth with our fleets and armies, to fight in defence of theRIGHTSandLIBERTIESof their country!
In short, says our Author, the great and fundamental principles ‘of their policy are, that every man is naturally free and independent; that no one or more on earth has any right to deprive him of his freedom and independancy, and that nothing can be a compensation for the loss of it.’
Describing the other Indian nations, still farther to the westward, viz. those bordering on the great lakes, Mr. Rogers hath introduced some account of the famous Pondiac, orPonteack, according to our Author. ‘The Indians on the lakes,’ says he, ‘are generally at peace with one another, having a wide extended and fruitful country in their possession. They are formed into a sort of empire, and the emperor is elected from the eldest tribe, which is the Ottawawas, some of whom inhabit near our fort at Detroit, but are mostly further westward towards the Mississipi. Ponteack is their present King or Emperor, who has certainly the largest empire and greatest authority of any Indian chief that has appeared on the continent since our acquaintance with it. He puts on an air of majesty and princely grandeur, and is greatly honoured and revered by his subjects. He not long since formed a design of uniting all the Indian nations together under his authority, but miscarried in the attempt.
‘In the year 1760, when I commanded and marched the first detachment into this country that was ever sent there by the English, I was met in my way by an embassy from him, of some of his warriors, and some of the chiefs of the tribes that are under him; the purport of which was, to let me know, that Ponteack was at a small distance, coming peaceably, and that he desired me to halt my detachment till such time as he could see me with his own eyes. His ambassadors had also orders to inform me, that he wasPonteack, the King and Lord of the country I was in.
‘At first salutation when we met, he demanded my business into his country, and how it happened that I dared to enter it without his leave? When I informed him that it was not with any design against the Indians that I came, but to remove the French out of his country, who had been an obstacle in our way to mutual peace and commerce, and acquainted him with my instructions for that purpose. I at the same time delivered him several friendly messages, or belts of wampum, which he received, but gave me no other answer, than that he stood in the path I travelled in till next morning, giving me a small string of wampum, as much as to say, I must not march further without his leave. When he departed for the night, he enquired whether I wanted any thing that his country afforded, and he would send his warrior to fetch it? I assured him that any provisions they brought should be paid for; and the next day we were supplied by them with several bags of parched corn, and some other necessaries. At our second meeting he gave me the pipe of peace, and both of us by turns smoaked with it; and he assured me he had made peace with me and my detachment; that I might pass through his country unmolested, and relieve the French garrison; and that he would protect me and my party from any insults that might be offered or intended by the Indians; and, as an earnest of his friendship, he sent 100 warriors to protect and assist us in driving 100 fat cattle, which we had brought for the use of the detachment from Pittsburg, by the way of Presque Isle. He likewise sent to the several Indian towns on the south-side and west-end of lake Erie, to inform them that I had his consent to come into the country. He attended me constantly after this interview till I arrived at Detroit, and while I remained in the country, and was the means ofpreserving the detachment from the fury of the Indians, who had assembled at the mouth of the strait with an intent to cut us off.
‘I had several conferences with him, in which he discovered great strength of judgment, and a thirst after knowledge. He endeavoured to inform himself of our military order and discipline. He often intimated to me, that he could be content to reign in his country in subordination to the King of Great Britain, and was willing to pay him such annual acknowledgment as he was able in furs, and to call him his uncle. He was curious to know our methods of manufacturing cloth, iron, &c. and expressed a great desire to see England, and offered me a part of his country if I would conduct him there. He assured me, that he was inclined to live peaceably with the English while they used him as he deserved, and to encourage their settling in his country; but intimated, that, if they treated him with neglect, he should shut up the way, and exclude them from it; in short, his whole conversation sufficiently indicated that he was far from considering himself as a conquered Prince, and that he expected to be treated with the respect and honour due to a King or Emperor, by all who came into his country, or treated with him.
‘In 1763, this Indian had the art and address to draw a number of tribes into a confederacy, with a design first to reduce the English forts upon the lakes, and then make a peace to his mind, by which he intended to establish himself in his imperial authority; and so wisely were his measures taken, that, in fifteen days time, he reduced or took ten of our garrisons, which were all we had in his country, except Detroit; and had he carried this garrison also, nothing was in the way to complete his scheme. Some of the Indians left him, and by his consent made aseparate peace; but he would not be active or personally concerned in it, saying, that when he made a peace, it should be such an one as would be useful and honourable to himself, and to the King of Great Britain: but he has not as yet proposed his terms.
‘In 1763, when I went to throw provisions into the garrison at Detroit, I sent this Indian a bottle of brandy by a Frenchman. His counsellors advised him not to taste it, insinuating that it was poisoned, and sent with a design to kill him; but Ponteack, with a nobleness of mind, laughed at their suspicions, saying it was not in my power to kill him, who had so lately saved my life.
‘In the late war of his, he appointed a commissary, and began to make money, or bills of credit, which he hath since punctually redeemed. His money was the figure of what he wanted in exchange for it, drawn upon bark, and the shape of an otter (his arms) drawn under it. Were proper measures taken, this Indian might be rendered very serviceable to the British trade and settlements in this country, more extensively so than any one that hath ever been in alliance with us on the continent.
‘As our Readers are, perhaps, by this time, fully satisfied with regard to these free-born sons of the vast American wilderness, we shall conclude the present article, with a remark or two, borrowed from Mr. Colden, in respect to the Five nations. ‘They are called, says he, a barbarous people, bred under the darkest ignorance; and yet a bright and noble genius shines through these black clouds. None of the Roman heroes have discovered a greater love to their country, or a greater contempt of death, than these people calledbarbarianshave done, when liberty came in competition. Indeed I think,’ continues that learned and sensible historian, ‘our Indians have out-done the Romans in this particular. Some of the greatest of those havemurdered themselves to avoid shame or torments; but the Indians have refused to die meanly, or with but little pain, when they thought their country’s honour would be at stake by it; but have given their bodies, willingly, to the most cruel torments of their enemies, to shew, as they said, that the Five Nations consisted of men whose courage and resolution could not be shaken.—They greatly sully, however, these noble virtues, by that cruel passion,revenge; this, they think, is not only lawful, but honourable; and for this only it is that they can deserve the name of barbarians.—But what, alas! have weChristiansdone, to make thembetter? We have, indeed, reason to be ashamed that these infidels, by our conversation and neighbourhood, are becomeworsethan they were before they knew us. Instead of virtues, we have only taught them vices, which they were entirely free from before that time.’ In another place he observes, on the same subject, that this cruelty of revenge, is not peculiar to the Five Nations, but is common to all the other Indians. To blunt, however, the keenness of that censurewemight be apt to cast on them, upon this account, he hath the following just reflection: ‘It is wonderful, how custom and education are able to soften the most horrid actions, even among a polite and learned people. Witness the Carthaginians and Phoenicians burning their own children alive in sacrifice; and several passages in the Jewish history;—and witness, in later times, the Christians burning one another for God’s sake!’
JOURNALS OF MAJOR ROBERT ROGERS (From The Monthly Review; or, Literary Journal: By Several Hands. Vol. XXXIV. London: M,DCC,LXVI. For January, 1766.)