indefinitely. In 1780 the Loyalists and Indians returned
to the attack. In May Sir John Johnson with his 'Royal
Greens' made a descent into the Mohawk valley, fell upon
his 'rebellious birthplace,' and carried off rich booty
and many prisoners. In the early autumn, with a force
composed of his own regiment, two hundred of Butler's
Rangers, and some regulars and Indians, he crossed over
to the Schoharie valley, devastated it, and then returned
to the Mohawk valley, where he completed the work of the
previous spring. All attempts to crush him failed. At
the battle of Fox's Mills he escaped defeat or capture
by the American forces under General Van Rensselaer
largely on account of the dense smoke with which the air
was filled from the burning of barns and villages.

How far the Loyalists under Johnson and Butler were open
to the charges of inhumanity and barbarism so often
levelled against them, is difficult to determine. The
charges are based almost wholly on unsubstantial tradition.
The greater part of the excesses complained of, it is
safe to say, were perpetrated by the Indians; and Sir
John Johnson and Colonel Butler can no more be blamed
for the excesses of the Indians at Cherry Valley than
Montcalm can be blamed for their excesses at Fort William
Henry. It was unfortunate that the military opinion of
that day regarded the use of savages as necessary, and
no one deplored this use more than men like Haldimand
and Carleton; but Washington and the Continental Congress
were as ready to receive the aid of the Indians as were
the British. The difficulty of the Americans was that