Dumfries originally Indian Lands—The Iroquois or Six Nation Indians— The brave Thayendanega (Col. Joseph Brant) their Chief—Dumfries purchased by Philip Stedman, in 1798—Ninety-four thousand acres for £8,841—Stedman dies Intestate—The Hon. William Dickson—A glimpse of his Character and History—Duel with Mr. Weeks—How Dumfries was obtained by him.

The Township of Dumfries, in which the Town of Galt is situated, was originally part of the lands granted by the British Crown to the Iroquois or Six Nation Indians, at the close of the American Revolutionary War. They were composed of the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Tuscarora, and Onondaga tribes, and for at least two centuries previously, under the name of the Iroquois Confederacy, they had been united and acted together for mutual protection and advantage. Their shrewdness, bravery, and, it must be confessed, cruelty, made them the terror of the Hurons, Algonquins and other tribes, and the dreaded foes of the early French colonists. But from an early period in the history of the American colonies they became the warm friends and allies of the British settlers.

Under the leadership of the brave and good Chief, Joseph Brant, (Thayendanega), they clung to the fortunes of Great Britain all through the Revolutionary War. Brant was born on the banks of the Ohio River, in 1742, and was of pure Mohawk blood. He was educated in the State of Connecticut, and was possessed of abilities far above those of the generality of his race. At the close of the struggle, when the independence of the Colonies was recognised, the Six Nations crossed over into Upper Canada, and Governor Haldimand, representing the British Government, awarded them valuable tracts of the lands of the Province as a recompence for their services and fidelity.

These grants to the Six Nations comprised some of the most fertile and beautiful lands of the Province. They were situated on the Bay of Quinte, the River Thames, and the Grand River. The latter was the principal reservation, and the chief mustering place of the tribes was at a beautiful spot on the river, about two miles below what is now the City of Brantford, where the quaint little church which Brant erected in 17SG, as well as the unpretending grave which covers his remains, can be seen to this day. This grant gave to the Indians six miles on each side of the Grand River from its source to its mouth—a noble expression of the good faith and gratitude of the British Crown to the weakest of its subjects—and embraced within its limits what ultimately became known as the Township of Dumfries and the Town of Galt, the early settlement and history of which form the subject of the present sketch.

For several decades after its cession, the Grand River and its tributaries continued to be the principal hunting-ground of the Six Nations, and during their expeditions, which were numerous and constant in earlier times,, the place where Galt now stands was one of their favourite camping-grounds. The locality abounded in fish, game, and fresh water. These were the chief objects of Indian pursuit, and they lingered long in places where they were plenty. The forest primeval, the scores of wigwams lining the river’s banks, the hundreds of painted red men, with the other surroundings of semi-savage life, which then frequently filled up the beautiful valley in which Galt is situated, must have made a wonderfully picturesque scene, and one strikingly in contrast with the peaceful and prosaic character of modern, every-day life.

Through course of time the expeditions of the Indians assumed a more regular character, and were chiefly confined to upward trips in the fall in pursuit of fur-bearing animals, and the return downwards in the spring with their furs and other products of the chase. They continued to be made in very considerable bands, however, till long after settlement had commenced, and the axe of the backwoodsman began to denude the country at once of its forests and its game. There are those still surviving who remember their later encampments in Galt, which were chiefly on an unwooded piece of ground on the west side of the river, near where the Soap factory now stands. Their visits were not regarded as absolutely dangerous, but their absence was generally preferred to their company.

The title of the Six Nations to the upper portions of the Grand river was not long retained by them. The fertility of its banks soon attracted the attention of speculators, and the Government offered no opposition, if they did not encourage, the extinguishment of the Indian title.

On the 5th February, 1798, Colonel Brant, on behalf of the Six Nations, and acting as their legal attorney, sold to one Philip Stedman of the Niagara district, that portion of their lands known as Block number one, comprising 94,305 acres, and which, by an Act of the Legislature of the Province, became known as the Township of Dumfries. The stipulated price was £8,841.

Several other tracts of Indian land were sold by Colonel Brant at the same time as the Township of Dumfries.

From Smith’s “Canada; Past, Present and Future” we learn that on the 5th February, 1798, a formal deed was made in the name of the Six Nations, surrendering all their interest in the lands mentioned below:—

“Block No. 1, now forming the Township of Dumfries, containing about 94,305 acres, was sold to P. Stedman for.................£8,841

Block No. 2, sold to Richard Beasly, James Wilson and John B. Rosseau, 94,012 acres, for.......................................... £8,887

Block No. 3, sold to William Wallace, 86,078 acres................................................ £10,364

Block No. 4, no purchaser or price named, 28,512 acres.......................................

Block No. 5, William Jarvis, 30,800 acres 5,775 Block No. 5, given originally to John Dockstader, by him sold for the benefit of his Indian children, to Benjamin Canby, 19,000 acres........................................ £5,000

Total, 352,700 acres..................£44,867

The making of these contracts with the individual purchasers, and the fixing of the consideration money, were, as it appears, the acts of the Indians themselves, either concluded upon in their Councils or negotiated by their agent, Brant, who was fully authorized for the purpose.

As the fee simple of the Indian lands remained in the Crown, some time elapsed before the transaction with Stedman could be completed. The Indians surrendered their rights, and petitioned His Majesty George III. to issue Letters Patent conveying to Stedman the block of lands which he had purchased from them. This was finally assented to, and in the Crown Patent it was recited that the purchaser had given security to the Hon. David William Smith, Captain William Clause, and Alexander Stewart Esq., Trustees for the Indians, for the payment of the purchase money or the annual interest thereof.

It does not appear what efforts Stedman made to turn his purchase to account. Indeed, little could be done with it at that time. Upper Canada was then (1798) little better than a wilderness. When separated from Lower Canada in 1792, and given a separate government, the total population was estimated at 20,000 souls, most of whom were settled around Kingston, the Bay of Quinte, the Village of Newark (now Niagara) and at Amherst-burg. Kingston and Newark were the only places of any size. Toronto was in its infancy, having just been founded by Governor Simcoe, and the progress of settlement was extremely slow. All the interior of the Province, now cleared and cultivated, dotted over with cities, towns, and villages, and the abode of nearly two millions of people enjoying all the blessings of civilization, was then an almost unbroken solitude. It is difficult to realize that eighty-seven years can have wrought such a wondrous transformation!

Stedman died within a few years after obtaining the Patent from the Crown, and left neither direct heirs nor any devise of his estate. His property was, consequently, inherited by his sister, Mrs. John Sparkman, of. the Niagara district, who subsequently, on the 2Gth July, 1811, in conjunction with her husband, sold and conveyed to the Hon. Thomas Clarke, of Stamford, in the County of Lincoln, the block of lands obtained from the Six Nation Indians. No part of the principal money agreed upon with Philip Stedman had at this time been paid, for Clarke, on taking possession, executed a mortgage on the lands to the Indian Trustees for the payment of the £8,84) and interest.

There was at this time living in Niagara a gentleman, whose name was destined to become permanently associated with this block of valuable lands, and who found in them an ample fortune for himself and family. This gentleman was the Hon. William Dickson.

Mr. Dickson was born in Dumfries, Scotland, in the year 1769. He came to Canada in 1792, and, having settled in Niagara, began the practice of the profession of the law He took an active part during the war of 1812; was taken prisoner, and sent to Greenbush, New York State but was subsequently released on parole. An effort, it is said, was made to retain him a prisoner in consequence of a duel fought with a gentleman named Weeks, also a barrister in Niagara, which took place on American territory. The judge before whom the case came, however, would not allow Mr. Dickson to be detained, on the ground that he was a military prisoner, and had not come voluntarily upon United States territory. As they serve to throw some light upon the “good old times,” as some consider them, when duelling was the recognized mode of settling disputes between gentlemen, the circumstances of the duel, as obtained from the most trustworthy authority, may be briefly narrated, as follows:—

“Mr. Weeks, an Irish gentleman, and Mr. Dickson, were barristers practising law in Niagara, in 1808 (I think), and at the Assizes held at Niagara in that year> they were acting as Counsel in the same cause. In the course of the trial, the conduct of Governor Simcoe (then dead) came into question, and was very coarsely and profanely commented upon by Mr. Weeks in his address to the jury.

“At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Dickson rose, and addressing himself to the Court said : ‘ As he was engaged in the suit on the same side as his learned friend, it might be supposed that he concurred in all he had said to the jury, whereas he disapproved and condemned the manner in which his learned friend lmd spoken of Governor Simcoe, and considered the remarks as unjustifiable, and he wished it to be distinctly understood that they did not meet with his approval.

“Mr. Weeks and Mr. Dickson met the same evening, and there was no apparent interruption to the good understanding between them. During the night, however, some friends of Mr. Weeks impressed upon his mind that Mr. Dickson had insulted him in open court, and that he must challenge him, which he did. Mr. Dickson accepted it, and the duel was fought opposite the Town of Niagara, behind the American fort. At the first exchange of shots, Mr. Weeks fell mortally wounded, only living three hours.”

Possessed of much force of character and well educated, Mr. Dickson during his period of active life, was a prominent and influential public man. He was called to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada about the year 1810, and was widely known and respected. As an evidence of his energetic character, it may be mentioned that on the outbreak of the Rebellion in 1837, although then in his 08th year, he rallied what men he could at Niagara,, went by steamer to Toronto, took an active part throughout the battle of Gallows Hill, and, afterwards, in restoring public order.

Shortly after the close of the war of 1812, Mr. Dickson, having full confidence in the future progress and prosperity of Upper Canada, determined to become possessed of some of the large tracts of agricultural lands which were in the market, and open them up for settlement. With this object in view, he placed himself in communication with the Hon. Thomas Clark, who had five years previously, as we have already seen, become possessed of the Stedman Indian lands. The final result of the negotiation was, that on the 3rd July, 1810, Mr. Dickson purchased the entire block comprising the Township of Dumfries The consideration money was £15,000, and the assumption of the mortgage of £8,841, making altogether about £24,000, or a little over one dollar per acre.

Mr. Dickson shortly afterwards paid off the mortgage, to the Hon. William Clause, Trustee for the Indians, entered into possession of the township, and, as the next chapter will disclose, promptly began arrangements to open it up for settlement.