The Hon'ble GEORGE THOMAS Esq; Lieut. Governor.
_James Logan_, _Clement Plumsted_, }
_Thomas Lawrence_, _Abraham Taylor_, } Esqrs;
_Robert Strettell_, }
Mr. _Richard Peters_.
_CANASSATEEGO_, } And sundry Chiefs of the
_SHICKALAMY_, } SIX NATIONS.
_SASSOONAN_, and _Delawares_.
_NUTIMUS_, and _Fork-Indians_.
_CONRAD WEISER_, Interpreter.
_Pisquetoman_, }
_Cornelius Spring_, } Interpreters to the _Fork Indians_.
_Nicholas Scull_, }
_CANASSATEEGO_ said:
'_BRETHREN the Governor and Council_,
The other Day you informed us of the Misbehaviour of our Cousins the
_Delawares_, with Respect to their continuing to claim, and refusing to
remove from some Land on the River _Delaware_, notwithstanding their
Ancestors had sold it by a Deed, under their Hands and Seals, to the
Proprietaries, for a Valuable Consideration, upwards of _Fifty_ Years
ago; and notwithstanding that they themselves had about ---- Years ago,
after a long and full Examination, ratified that Deed of their
Ancestors, and given a fresh one under their Hands and Seals; and then
you requested us to remove them, inforcing your Request with a String of
_Wampum_.--Afterwards you laid on the Table our own Letters by _Conrad
Weiser_, some of our Cousins Letters, and the several Writings, to prove
the Charge against our Cousins, with a Draught of the Land in
Dispute.--We now tell you, we have perused all these several Papers: We
see with our own Eyes, that they have been a very unruly People, and are
altogether in the Wrong in their Dealings with you.--We have concluded
to remove them, and oblige them to go over the River _Delaware_, and
quit all Claim to any Lands on this Side for the Future, since they have
received Pay for them, and it is gone thro' their Guts long ago.--To
confirm to you that we will see your Request executed, we lay down this
String of _Wampum_ in Return for yours.'
Then turning to the _Delawares_, holding a Belt of _Wampum_ in his Hand,
he spoke to them as follows:
'_COUSINS_,
Let this Belt of _Wampum_ serve to Chastise you. You ought to be taken
by the Hair of the Head and shaked severely, till you recover your
Senses and become sober. You don't know what Ground you stand on, nor
what you are doing. Our Brother ONAS'S Cause is very just and plain and
his Intentions to preserve Friendship. On the other Hand, Your Cause is
bad; your Heart far from being upright; and you are maliciously bent to
break the Chain of Friendship with our Brother ONAS and his People. We
have seen with our Eyes a Deed sign'd by _Nine_ of your Ancestors above
_Fifty_ Years ago for this very Land, and a Release sign'd, not many
Years since, by some of yourselves and Chiefs now living, to the Number
of _Fifteen_ or upwards.--But how came you to take upon you to sell Land
at all? We conquered you; we made Women of you; you know you are Women,
and can no more sell Land than Women; nor is it fit you should have the
Power of selling Lands, since you would abuse it. This Land that you
claim is gone through your Guts; you have been furnish'd with Cloaths,
Meat, and Drink, by the Goods paid you for it, and now you want it
again, like Children as you are.--But what makes you sell Land in the
Dark? Did you ever tell us that you had sold this Land? Did we ever
receive any Part, even the Value of a Pipe Shank, from you for it? You
have told us a blind Story, that you sent a Messenger to us to inform us
of the Sale, but he never came amongst us, nor we never heard any Thing
about it.--This is acting in the Dark, and very different from the
Conduct our _Six Nations_ observe in their Sales of Land; on such
Occasions they give publick Notice, and invite all the _Indians_ of
their united Nations, and give them all a Share of the Present they
receive for their Lands.--This is the Behaviour of the wise united
Nations.--But we find you are none of our Blood: You act a dishonest
Part, not only in this, but in other Matters: Your Ears are ever open to
slanderous Reports about our Brethren; you receive them with as much
Greediness as lewd Women receive the Embraces of bad Men. And for all
these Reasons we charge you to remove instantly; we don't give you the
Liberty to think about it. You are Women. Take the Advice of a wise Man,
and remove immediately. You may return to the other Side of _Delaware_
where you came from: But we do not know whether, considering how you
have demean'd yourselves, you will be permitted to live there; or
whether you have not swallowed that Land down your Throats as well as
the Land on this Side. We therefore assign you two Places to go, either
to _Wyomen_ or _Shamokin_. You may go to either of these Places, and
then we shall have you more under our Eye, and shall see how you behave.
Don't deliberate; but remove away, and take this Belt of _Wampum_.'
This being interpreted by _Conrad Weiser_ into _English_, and by
_Cornelius Spring_ into the _Delaware_ Language, _Canassateego_ taking a
String of _Wampum_, added further.
'After our just Reproof, and absolute Order to depart from the Land, you
are now to take Notice of what we have further to say to you. This
String of _Wampum_ serves to forbid you, your Children and
Grand-Children, to the latest Posterity for ever, medling in Land
Affairs; neither you nor any who shall descend from you, are ever
hereafter to presume to sell any Land: for which Purpose, you are to
preserve this String, in Memory, of what your Uncles have this Day given
you in Charge.--We have some other Business to transact with our
Brethren, and therefore depart the Council, and consider what has been
said to you.
_Canassateego_ then spoke to the Governor and Council:
'_BRETHREN_,
We called at our old Friend _James Logan's_ in our Way to this City, and
to our Grief we found him hid in the Bushes, and retired, through
Infirmities, from Publick Business. We press'd him to leave his
Retirement, and prevailed with him to assist once 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 this Province with his Councils.
He is a wise Man, and a fast Friend to the _Indians_. And we desire,
when his Soul goes to GOD, you may chuse 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 a 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 grown
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 inforce this Request, about the_ Indian _Traders, we
present you with this 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 into the same
Condition they were in when we came amongst you.
'_BRETHREN_,
The Business the _Five Nations_ transact with you is of great
Consequence, and requires a skilful and honest Person to go between us;
one in whom both you and and [Transcriber's Note: repeated word in
original] we can place a 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 our
selves, and one we left for you. He has had a great deal of Trouble with
us, wore out his Shoes in our Messages, and dirty'd his Cloaths by being
amongst 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
with.
'_BRETHREN_,
'We have still one more Favour to ask. Our Treaty, and all we have to
say about publick Business, is now over, and to morrow we design to
leave you. We hope, as you have given us Plenty of good Provision whilst
in Town, that you will continue your Goodness so far as to supply us
with a little more to serve 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 these several Points the Governor made the following Reply.
'_BRETHREN of the Six Nations_, [Transcriber's Note: original has
"BRRTHREN"]
'The Judgment you have just now pass'd on your Cousins the _Delawares_,
confirms the high Opinion we have ever entertained of the Justice of the
_Six Nations_. This Part of your Character, for which you are deservedly
famed, made us wave doing our selves Justice, in order to give you
another Opportunity of convincing the World of your inviolable
Attachment to your Engagements. These unhappy People might have always
liv'd easy, having never receiv'd the least Injury from us; but we
believe some of our own People were bad enough to impose on their
Credulity, and engage them in these wrong Measures, which we wish, for
their Sakes, they had avoided.
'We hoped, from what we have constantly given in Charge to the _Indian_
Traders, that they would have administred no just Cause of Complaint: If
they do you Wrong, it is against our Inclinations, and contrary to our
express Directions. As you have exhibited no particular Charge against
them, we shall use our best Endeavours to persuade them to give you as
much for your Skins as they can possibly afford; and to take Care that
their Goods which they give in Exchange for Skins, be of the best Sort.
We will likewise order you some Rum to serve you on your Journey home,
since you desire it.
'We wish there had been more Room and better Houses provided for your
Entertainment; but not expecting so many of you, we did the best we
could. 'Tis true there are a great many Houses in Town, but as they are
the Property of other People, who have their own Families to take Care
of, it is difficult to procure Lodgings for a large Number of People,
especially if they come unexpectedly.
'We entertain the same Sentiments of the Abilities and Probity of the
Interpreter as you have express'd. We were induc'd at first to make Use
of him in this important Trust, from his being known to be agreeable to
you, and one who had lived amongst you for some Years, in good Credit
and Esteem with all your Nations; and have ever found him equally
faithful to both. We are pleas'd with the Notice you have taken of him,
and think he richly deserves it at your Hands. We shall not be wanting
to make him a suitable Gratification, for the many good and faithful
Services he hath done this Government.
'We have already given Orders for Waggons to carry your Goods, and for a
Supply of Provisions to serve you on the Road in your Return home, where
we heartily wish you may arrive in good Health.'
After the Governor had concluded [Transcriber's Note: original has
"conclued"], Mr. _Logan_ return'd an Answer to that Part of
_Canassateego's_ Speech which related to Him, and said, 'That not only
upon the Account of his Lameness, of which the _Indians_ themselves were
Witnesses; but on Account of another Indisposition which about three
Years since had laid him under an Incapacity of expressing himself with
his former usual Freedom, he had been obliged to live retired in the
Country. But that our first Proprietor, the Honourable _William Penn_,
who had ever been a Father and true Friend to all the _Indians_, having
above Forty Years since recommended them to his particular Care, he had
always, from his own Inclination, as well as from that strict Charge,
endeavoured to convince all the _Indians_, that He was their true
Friend; and was now well pleased, that after a Tract of so many Years,
they were not insensible of it. He thanked them kindly for their
Present, and heartily joined with them in their Desires, that this
Government may always be furnished with Persons of equally good
Inclinations, and not only with such, but also with better Abilities to
serve them.'
And then _Canassateego_ said, he had forgot to mention, that
_Shickalamy_ and _Caxhayn_, had been employ'd on several Messages to
this Government, and desir'd that they might be consider'd on that
Account.
* * * * *
At a COUNCIL held the 12th of _July, P.M._ 1742.