The New International Encyclopædia/Montour, Esther

MONTOUR, mŏn-tōōr′, Esther. An Indian chieftainess, usually known by the name of ‘Queen Esther.’ She is reputed to have been the granddaughter of Count de Frontenac, and became the wife of Eghobund, a chief of the Senecas. Owing to her strength of mind, she gained great influence among her people. She several times visited Philadelphia with the delegates of the Six Nations, and is said to have comported herself on such occasions with dignity and good manners. Despite some good qualities, however, she was at heart a savage, and in the Wyoming massacre of July, 1778, tomahawked more than a dozen helpless prisoners in revenge for the death of her son, who was killed the day before. Consult Cook, General Sullivan's Indian Expedition (Auburn, 1887).