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when the upper section of the Mohawk valley was opened for settlement.

From his long association with the Europeans and particularly with Sir William Johnson, whom he highly regarded, and who found but little difficulty in directing the actions of the chief as he thought best, Hendrik had adopted and wore the English costume, and become accustomed to live in

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a house. He resided much of the time at the upper Mohawk castle, in the town of Danube, his dwelling being located upon the elevated ground not far from the Indian Castle Church, commanding an extended view of the surrounding country. He is spoken of as a man of great sagacity and vigor of mind, inflexibly brave and of "unmovable integrity."

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The French authorities of Canada, with all their intrigues, were never able to move him and his faithful Mohawks from their allegiance to the British crown. Dr. Dwight says, "a gentleman of very reputable character, who was present at a council held with the Six Nations by the governor of New York and several agents of distinction from New-England [this was in 1754], informed me that his figure and countenance were singularly impressive and commanding; that his eloquence was of the same superior order, and that he appeared as if born to control other men, and possessed an air of majesty unrivaled within his knowledge." He fell at the battle of Lake George, on the 8th of September, 1755, winning glory, a fortune and a title for his friend, Major General William Johnson.

The anecdote illustrated by the following dialogue between Sir William, before he was knighted, and the old king, should be repeated, although quite as unreal as most dreams are.

Scene. -Sir William's parlor; the knight seated in deep thought. Enter King Hendrik giving a searching glance round the room as he approached and saluted his friend. King Hendrik (addressing Sir William), "I dream." Sir William. "Well, what did you dream?"

King Hendrik. “I dream you give me one suit of clothes." Sir William. "Well, I suppose you must have it." The scene changes, and Sir William and Hendrik meet in their sylvan excursions.

Sir William (addressing Hendrik with a bland smile on his face). "I dreamed last night."

King Hendrik. "Did you? What
"Did you? What you dream?"

Sir William. "I dreamed you gave me such a tract of land" (describing the outlines of it).

King Hendrik (pausing). "I suppose you must have it, but" (raising and shaking his finger significantly), "you must not dream again."

The petition of Sir William and thirty-nine other persons for a license to purchase the Indian title to 40,000 acres of

land lying between the two Canada creeks, was presented to the governor and council on the 8th of July, 1761, six years after Hendrik's death. This was the first step taken to obtain the title to the royal grant.

Although a stern and rigorous warrior, Hendrik was kind to the white population of the valley, and was highly regarded by them. He well understood the extent of his mission that he must guard and protect the liege subjects of his sovereign to the extent of his power against the attacks of the hostile French and Indians, and he did not fail to execute it. If he was not the most distinguished for courage and strategy of all the native war chiefs, known to the Europeans, after the settlement by them of the country, history has dealt too favorably with his fame, and he still wears an undeserved crown of immortality.

NOTE.-I have collected the following notices of Hendrik from the "Documents relating to the Colonial History" of this state. July 8, 1697, he is recognized as a chief of the Mohawk canton. In 1698, he is described as a chief, a convert to the Christian faith, of eight years' standing,” and as being of full age. In 1699, he was examined before the mayor, recorder and justices at Albany, in regard to what he had said about Dom. Dellius's going away, and is spoken of as a married man. 1710, he visited England. 1711, October 9th, at a conference with Gov. Hunter, he gave the governor a letter addressed by the chiefs to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and desired him to thank the Queen of Great Britain for the care taken by her to convert the Indians to the Christian religion. September 3d, 1720, Hendrik, the Maquaes, having been suspended four years before from being a sachem in the tribe, was restored and installed as a chief, at the request and in presence of the commissioners of Indian affairs. In 1753, he attended a conference between Sir William Johnson and the Mohawks, and in 1754 he was at the Congress of the Commissioners from the six northern provinces, held at Albany, to consult on Indian affairs. He was the chief speaker at both of these conferences. Judge Harring, now living, who came to Johnstown in 1795, and at an early day was quite familiar with the inhabitants, old and young, then on the stage, says, that Sir William dreamed for the land known as the Kingsborough patent, where he built his own family mansion, and not for the royal grant.

CHAPTER II.

Early History of the German Tribes - This Name first Applied by Julius Cæsar -Their Authentic History commences with the Christian Era - Early Habits and Stature Confederation of Tribes - Severe Laws of Conversion to Christianity The Reformation - Luther and Dr. Eck-Lower Palatinate of the Rhine-Religious Wars — Frederick Prince Palatine — Theidelburgh Library — The Palatinate Devastated — Continental Wars of Europe Manheim-Characteristics of these People-A Legend.

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The reader having been introduced to the aboriginal possessors of the soil of Herkimer county, so far as can now be defined, will have the goodness to indulge me a few moments, while I give a brief historical outline of a people of known European origin, who first planted themselves in the upper Mohawk valley. Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon race are of German descent, and whoever claims a Teutonic ancestry, traced through an English channel, will have some of the blood of a Saxon or Dane on which to rest that claim. Our design in this chapter is to set out, as far as needful, the origin of a race who are losing every distinct national characteristic, which they maintained more than one hundred years upon the American continent.

The Germans were believed, by the Romans, to be an aboriginal, pure and unmixed race of people. The primitive language of the inhabitants of Germany is the Teutonic, called High Dutch, and has no affinity with the Celtic tongue. The name Germanum, when applied to the tribes collectively, was first used, it is said, by Julius Cæsar; but German historians assert the aboriginal name of these people is what they bear at this time. It can not be very remarka

ble that the original collective name of a people inhabiting a particular district of country, so much divided into tribes or septs as was the territory embraced in and now known as Germany, should be familiar to strangers coming from Rome or middle and southern Gaul. A Teutscher, or Deutscher, according to the method of pronunciation, was a person belonging to the nation. Some would no doubt translate this as meaning Dutchman. The first intercourse the original barbaric tribes of Germany had with a people practiced in historical writing, was in the year 113 before the Christian era, 1968 years ago, when the Cimbrians and Teutonians made an incursion into the Roman territories; but this must have been too transitory to have permitted the Romans to take any particular note of the origin or historical antecedents of their invaders. When Julius Cæsar, about fifty years before the birth of Christ, advanced to the frontiers of what might then be considered Germany proper, and hence was brought into more immediate contact with its people, he is enabled to speak with certainty. Any thing like authentic German history commences with the Christian era, and it ripens with the progress of civilization and learning, and light comes to us through the darkness and gloom of the middle ages.

Historians describe the early German race as having "but one determined and equal form of body. Their chests were wide and strong; their hair yellow, and with young children of a dazzling white. Their skin was also white, their eyes blue, and their glance bold and piercing." Some ancient writers say their usual height was seven feet. It is also said that" from their earliest youth upward they hardened their bodies by all devisable means. New-born infants were dipped in cold water, and the cold bath was continued during their whole lives as the strengthening renovator, by both boys and girls, men and women." It is not intended to give an extended and detailed view of the habits, manners, regulations, and institutions of these people. But it is

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