sist ouce more on our account at your councils. We hope, notwithstanding his age and the effects of a fit of sickness, which we understand has hurt his constitution, that he may yet continue a long time to assist the provinces with his counsels. He is a wise man, and a fast friend to the Indians; and we desire when his soul goes to God, you may choose in his room just such another person, of the same prudence and ability in counselling, and of the same tender disposition and affection for the Indians. In testimony of our gratitude for all his services, and because he was so good as to leave his country house, and follow us to town, and be at the trouble in this his advanced age to attend the council, we present him with this bundle of skins. Brethren, It is always our way at the conclusion of a treaty, to desire you will use your endeavours with the traders, that they may sell their goods cheaper, and give us better price for our deer-skins. Whenever any particular sort of Indian goods is scarce, they constantly make us pay the dearer on that account. We must now use the same argument with them. Our deer are killed in such quantities, and our hunting countries growing less every day, by the settlement of white people, that game is now difficult to find, and we must go a great way in quest of it; they therefore ought to give us a better price for our skins, and we desire you would speak to them to do so. We have been stinted in the article of rum in town, we desire you will open the rum bottle, and give it to us in greater abundance on the road: to enforce this request, we present you a bundle of skins. Brethren,-When we first came to your houses, we found them clean and in order, but we have staid so long as to dirty them, which is to be imputed to our different way of living from the white people; and therefore as we cannot but have been disagreeable to you on this account, we present you with some skins to make your houses clean, and put them in the same condition they were in when we came amongst you, Brethren,―The business of the Five Nations is of great consequence, and requires a skilful honest person to go between us; one in whom both you and we can place confidence. We esteem our present interpreter to be such a person, equally faithful in the interpretation of whatever is said to him by either of us, equally allied to both; he is of our nation, and a member of our council, as well as of yours. When we adopted him, we divided him into two equal parts; one we kept for ourselves, and one we left for you. He has had a great deal of trouble with us, wore out his shoes in our messages, and dirtied his clothes by being among us; so that he is become as nasty as an Indian. In return for these services we recommend him to your generosity; and on our own behalf we give him five skins to buy him clothes and shoes. Brethren, We have still one favour to ask: our treaty and all we have to say about public business is now over, and tomorrow we design to leave you. We hope as you have given us plenty of good provision whilst in the town, that you will continue your goodness so far, as to supply us on the road. And we likewise desire you will provide us with waggons to carry our goods to the place where they are to be conveyed by water. To which the Governor made a suitable reply; observing, amongst other things, that the judgment they had passed on the Delawares, confirms the high opinion ever entertained of the justice of the Six Nations, and for which they were deservedly famed; and concluded by granting their requests, as to supply of provision and waggons for the road, &c. &c. At a Council, held at Lancaster, June the 30th, 1744. Among other things the Governor observed, relative to the possession of certain lands, that such belonged to the great King, the common father, who will do equal justice to all his children. Whereupon on the next day, after hearing the Governor, Gachradodow in a strong voice, and with a proper action, spoke as follows: Great Assaragoa*,The world at the first was made on the other side of the great water, different from what it is on this side, as may be known from the different colours of our skin and of our flesh, and that which you call justice may not be so amongst us; you have your laws and customs, and so have we, The great King might send you over to conquer the Indians; but it looks to us that God did not approve it; if he had, he would not have placed the sea where it is, as the limits between us and you. Brother Assaragoa,-Though great things are well remembered among us, yet, we don't remember that we were ever conquered by the great King, or that we have been employed by that great King to conquer others: if it was so, it is beyond our memory. We do remember we were employed by Maryland to conquer the Conestogoes, and that the second time we were at war with them, we carried them all off. Brother Assaragoa,-You charge us with not acting agreeably to our peace with the Catawbas. We will repeat to you truly what was done; the Governor of New York at Albany in behalf of Assaragoa, gave us several belts of wampum from the Cherokees and Catawbas, and we agreed to a peace, if those nations would send some of their great men to us to confirm it face to face, and that they would trade with us; and desired that they would appoint a time to meet at Albany for that purpose, but they never came. Brother Assaragoa,-We then desired a letter might be sent to the Catawbas and Cherokees, to desire them to come and confirm the peace. It was long before an answer came, but we met the Cherokees and confirmed the peace, and sent some of *Name for the Governor of Virginia. our people to take care of them until they returned to their own country. The Catawbas refused to come, and sent us word that we were but women, and that they were men, and double men; and that they would make women of us, and would be always at war with us; they are a deceitful people: our brother Assarogoa is deceived by them: we don't blame him for it, but are sorry he is so deceived. Brother Assaragoa,-We have confirmed the peace with the Cherokees, but not with the Catawbas: they have been treacherous and know it, so that the war must continue till one of us is destroyed; thus we think proper to tell you, that you may not be troubled at what we do to the Catawbas. Brother Assaragoa.-We will now speak to the point between us. It is always a custom among brethren and strangers to use each other kindly; you have some very ill-natured people living up there, so we desire the persons in power may know that we are to have reasonable victuals when we want. You know very well when the white people came first here, they were poor; but now they have got lands and are by them become rich, and we are now poor: what little we have had for the land goes soon away, but the land lasts for ever. You told us you had brought with you a chest of goods, and that you have the key in your pockets; but we have never seen the chest, nor the goods that are said to be in it: it may be small and the goods may be few; we want to see them, and are desirous to come to some conclusion. We have been sleeping here these two days past, and have not done any thing to the purpose. The Commissioners replied they should see the goods on Monday. Lancaster Court-House, July 3rd, 1744.. Present, GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA; COMMISSIONERS FROM VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND; The GOVERNOR spoke as follows: Friends and Brethren of the Six Nations, At a treaty held with many of the chiefs of your nations two years ago, the road between us was made clearer and wider, our fire was enlarged, and our friendship confirmed, by an exchange of presents. We think ourselves happy in having been instrumental to your meeting with your brethren of Virginia and Maryland; this has given us an opportunity of seeing you sooner than perhaps we should otherwise have done. As we are under mutual obligation by treaties, we hear with our ears for you, and you hear with your ears for us, we take this opportunity to inform you of what very nearly concerns us both. The Great King of England and the French King, have declared war against each other; two battles* have been fought, one by land and the other by sea; the great King of England commanded the land army in person, and gained a complete victory; numbers of the French were killed and taken prisoners, and the rest were forced to pass a river to save their lives. The Great God covered the King's head in that battle, so that he did not receive the least hurt, for which you as well as we have reason to be very thankful. The engagement at sea was likewise to the advantage of the English. The French and the Spaniards joined their ships. together and came out to fight us. The brave English Admiral burned one of their largest ships, and many others were so * The Battle of Ditterjon. · |