country as the aboriginal inhabitants. Both English and French might
purchase it, or portions of it, of them, but in no other way could they
gain possession of it without becoming interlopers and robbers. So here
was a fine opportunity for trouble. A keen, quick-witted chief, assuming
to ridicule the claims of the English and French, sarcastically said to
Mr. Gist, a representative of the Virginian Colonists:
"Whereabouts do the Indian lands lie, since the French claim all the
land on one side of the Ohio River and the English all on the other?"
Governor Dinwiddie found it necessary to send an ambassador to the
French on the Ohio, to inquire into their claims and purposes.
"It is a responsible and perilous undertaking," he said to Mr. Gist.
"Who is equal to it?"
"I am sure I cannot tell," Mr. Gist replied. "There ought to be in this
famous colony some spirit brave enough to accept the mission, and fully
competent to execute it."
"Yes; but who is it?"
"I am unable to answer."
"But we must find him," continued the governor. "The time has fully come
for Virginia to defend the rights of Great Britain."
"There can be no doubt about that," replied Mr. Gist; "but who will
endure the hardships and risk his life on a mission to the Ohio is more
than I can tell."
A writer says of the project: "It was indeed a perilous enterprise; one
from which the noblest spirit might recoil. The first garrison which
could be reached was on the Ohio River, about one hundred and twenty
miles below the point where Pittsburg now stands. Here the French were
erecting a strong fortress, to which the Indians resorted for trade.
There was an intervening wilderness, from the settlements in Virginia,
to be traversed, of pathless forests, gloomy morasses, craggy mountains,
and almost impenetrable thickets, of nearly six hundred miles. Bands of
savages on the war-path or engaged in the hunt were ever ranging these
wilds. Many were exasperated by wrongs which they themselves had
received, and of which they had heard, inflicted by the white men. The
Indians in all these northwest regions had welcomed the French as
brothers, and truly fraternal relationship existed between them; and
they had nearly all learned to hate the English.... It would be very
easy for the French so to arrange matters, that a band of savages
should massacre and plunder the party of the commissioners, in the
depths of the forest, under such circumstances that it would necessarily
be regarded as merely a savage outrage."
In these circumstances, Governor Dinwiddie found it difficult to secure
a responsible party to accept the commission. He offered it to certain
men in whom he had great confidence, but all of them declined. At
length, however, Major Washington, as we will call George now, waited
upon the governor, and surprised him by saying:
"I have come, Governor Dinwiddie, to offer my services as commissioner
to Ohio. If you consider me competent for the position, I will accept
it, and do the best I can."
"Certainly you are competent for this business," answered the governor,
"and you are as brave as you are competent. It is a perilous
undertaking, and may cost you your life."
"I understand that," responded the major; "and I have come to this
decision after weighing well the difficulties and dangers. My occupation
as surveyor has inured me to hardships, and given me some acquaintance
with Indian life and character."
"That is true," remarked the governor, who was familiar with young
Washington's success in surveying, as well as with his knowledge of
military affairs, "and that experience will be of great value on such a
mission as this. I will appoint you commissioner at once, with full
powers to plan and perform the expedition."
"And what are your wishes about the time of starting?" inquired
Washington.
"As soon as your preparations can be consummated," Governor Dinwiddie
answered. "Winter is near by, and the sooner you can start the better."
"I can be ready within a few days," replied Washington, his answer
furnishing a good illustration of his promptness.
"Just as you please; the whole responsibility is with you, and I will
forward your commission as soon as possible," the governor said.
We are able to furnish the commission under which Washington acted on
that important mission, as follows:
I, reposing especial trust in the ability, conduct, and fidelity
of you, the said George Washington, have appointed you my
express messenger; and you are hereby authorized and empowered
to proceed hence, with all convenient and possible despatch, to
that part or place on the River Ohio where the French have
lately erected a fort or forts, or where the commandant of the
French forces resides, in order to deliver my letter and message
to him; and, after waiting not exceeding one week for an answer,
you are to take leave and return immediately back.
To this commission I have set my hand, and caused the great seal
of this Dominion to be affixed, at the city of Williamsburg, the
seat of my government, this thirtieth day of October, in the
twenty-seventh year of the reign of King George the Second, King
of Great Britain, Annoque Domini, 1753. ROBERT DINWIDDIE.
The news of Washington's voluntary offer to act as commissioner to the
French on the Ohio was received with great satisfaction by the
Colonists. They took occasion both in public and private to extol his
bravery and unselfishness. To a less humble and modest young man the
enthusiastic demonstration in his honor would have proved too
flattering; but no amount of such praise could develop vanity in
Washington.
Hastily he prepared for the expedition. When ready to start, the company
consisted of eight persons, as follows: Washington; Christopher Gist;
John Davidson, an interpreter for the Indians; Jacob Van Braam, his old
fencing-master, who could speak French; Henry Steward and William
Jenkins, experienced "woodsmen;" and two Indian guides, Barnaby Currin
and John McQuire. Mr. Gist was eminently qualified for the post given to
him; for having made a settlement between the northwestern ridge of the
Alleghanies and Monongahela River, he had often traversed the country,
and was well acquainted with the habits of the Indians in the
neighborhood through which their route lay.
Before starting upon this perilous mission, Washington paid a flying
visit to his mother, who was dearer to him than any other living person.
The announcement that he was to proceed to the Ohio at once filled her
with alarm at first, and she thoroughly regretted that he had assumed
the responsibility. However, she took a favorable view of the
enterprise, and said:
"It is a very responsible trust to be committed to one of your age,
George, but God will give you wisdom and watch over you, if you commit
your ways to Him. My prayers shall not cease to go up for your success
and return."
With such emotions as unfeigned filial love creates, Washington parted
from his mother.
The following is a copy of the letter which Washington carried from
Governor Dinwiddie to the French commander on the Ohio:
SIR:--The lands upon the River Ohio, in the western parts of the
Colony of Virginia, are so notoriously known to be the property
of the Crown of Great Britain, that it is a matter of equal
concern and surprise to me to hear that a body of French forces
are erecting fortresses and making settlements upon that river,
within his Majesty's dominions. The _many_ and _repeated_
complaints I have received of these acts of _hostility_ lay me
under the necessity of sending, in the name of the king, my
master, the bearer hereof, George Washington, Esq., one of the
adjutants-general of the forces of this dominion, to complain to
you of the encroachments thus made, and of the injuries done to
the subjects of Great Britain, in violation of the law of
nations, and the treaties now subsisting between the two
crowns. If these facts be true, and you think fit to justify
your proceedings, I must desire you to acquaint me by whose
authority and instructions you have lately marched from Canada
with an armed force, and invaded the King of Great Britain's
territories, in the manner complained of; that, according to
the purpose and resolution of your answer, I may act agreeably
to the commission I am honored with, from the king, my master.
However, sir, in obedience to my instructions, it becomes my
duty to require your peaceable departure; and that you will
forbear prosecuting a purpose so interruptive of the harmony and
good understanding which his Majesty is desirous to continue and
cultivate with the most Christian king. ROBERT DINWIDDIE.
IX.
MISSION TO THE FRENCH.
Washington left Williamsburg on the thirty-first day of October, 1753.
He proceeded to Fredericksburg, where Van Braam joined him, thence to
Alexandria and Winchester for supplies and horses, but did not arrive at
Will's Creek, where Mr. Gist and others of the party were found, until
Nov. 14.
"Now we must depend on you, Mr. Gist, to pilot us through the
wilderness," said Washington. "My knowledge of the way ends about where
yours begins, I suspect; so we shall commit ourselves to your care."
"Well, I shall take a straight course to Frazier's, on the Monongahela
River," answered Gist.
"And who is Frazier?" inquired Washington.
"He is an Indian trader, who lives at the mouth of Turtle Creek."
"Well acquainted with the country, I suppose he is," suggested
Washington.
"He ought to be, for he has been at his business several years, and is
an intelligent, responsible man."
"Such a man as we need to see, I should think," continued Washington;
"so I agree to follow you to Frazier's without a single objection."
"A storm is brewing, and will soon be upon us," said Mr. Gist. "I fear
that a hard time awaits us."
"I expect as much as that," replied Washington. "Such a journey as we
propose can be no child's play at any season of the year."
That a storm impeded their progress is quite evident from Washington's
journal:
"The excessive rains and vast quantity of snow which had fallen
prevented our reaching Mr. Frazier, the Indian trader's, until Thursday,
the 22d."
"The French general is dead," was the first announcement of Mr. Frazier,
on learning the object of the expedition.
"What!" exclaimed Washington, "General Pierre Paul?"
"Yes; messengers have been sent to the Indian traders down the river
announcing his death, and the return of the major part of the army into
winter quarters," answered Frazier.
"A sudden death, no doubt, and it must necessitate some change in the
present plans of the French," remarked Washington.
"Doubtless," replied Frazier. "He died on the twenty-ninth day of
October, nearly a month ago. It will not affect your business, however."
"No; but this torrent will," answered Washington, alluding to the
impassable waters of the Monongahela, which the rains had swollen to a
flood.
"No crossing here except by swimming the horses."
"And that will be hardly advisable," rejoined Frazier, "since you can
take your baggage down to the fork of the Ohio in a canoe."
"A good suggestion," said Washington. "Can you provide me with a canoe?"
"Fortunately I can, and shall be glad to render you any other assistance
possible. It is ten miles to the fork, and you will reach there with the
horses before the canoe with the baggage."
Washington engaged the canoe, loaded the baggage upon it, and sent
Currin and Steward down the river with it, while he went with the horses
and the rest of the party by land. He arrived at the fort in advance of
the canoe, and improved the time to visit Shingiss, King of the
Delawares, a warrior who had been a terror to the English on the
frontier, though he was now their friend.
Shingiss received Washington in a friendly manner, though with manifest
reserve. When he learned what was the object of his mission, and that an
Indian Council was proposed at Logstown, his friendliness grew into
cordiality, and he promised not only to be present at the Council, but
to accompany Washington and his party thither.
They arrived at Logstown on the evening of Nov. 24. Washington inquired
for Tanacharisson, the half-king, and found that he was out at his
hunting cabin on Little Beaver Creek, fifteen miles away. Tanacharisson
was called half-king because his authority was subject to that of the
Five Nations.
As the half-king was absent, he repaired to Monacatoocha, with John
Davidson, his Indian interpreter, and informed him that he was sent a
messenger to the French general, and was ordered to call upon the
sachems of the Six Nations to acquaint them with it.
"I gave him a string of wampum and a twist of tobacco," says Washington
in his journal, "and desired him to send for the half-king, which he
promised to do by a 'runner' in the morning, and for other sachems. I
invited him and the other great men present to my tent, where they
stayed about an hour, and returned."
At this place Washington met four Frenchmen who had deserted from a
company at Kuskuskas, an Indian town on Big Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania.
Through Van Braam, he inquired:
"Where do you hail from now?"
"From New Orleans. We were sent with a hundred men and eight canoe loads
of provisions to this place, where we expected to meet as many more men
from the forts on this side of Lake Erie, to convey them and the stores
up."
"What about the French forts near New Orleans?"
"There are four small forts between New Orleans and Twigtwies," one of
the Frenchmen said.
"And how many men?" Washington asked.
"About forty, and a few pieces of artillery."
"What is there at New Orleans?"
"A large fort at the mouth of the Mississippi, with thirty-five
companies of forty men each."
"How many guns does the fort mount?"
"Eight carriage guns."
"Quite a formidable affair," remarked Washington. "With courage and
skill to correspond they can withstand quite a siege; and what is there
at Twigtwies?"
"Several companies, and a fort mounting six guns."
"And is that all?"
"Not exactly. There is a small fort on the Ohio, at the mouth of the
Obaish (Wabash), garrisoned by a few men."
The information he gathered from these men was valuable to him and the
Virginia authorities.
As soon as the half-king returned, Washington called upon him with his
interpreter, making known his business, and inviting him to his own
tent. The chief cordially accepted the invitation, and he accompanied
him on his return.
"I understand that you have visited the French commander, to whom I am
going," remarked Washington, "and perhaps you can give me some
information about the ways and distance."
"The nearest and levelest way," answered the half-king, "is now
impassable on account of many deep and miry savannas."
"Then we must adopt the next best way," suggested Washington.
"Yes; and that is by the way of Venango, at the confluence of French
Creek and the Alleghany," said Tanacharisson.
"How great is the distance?"
"You cannot get to the nearest fort in less than five or six nights'
sleep, good travelling."
"How were you received at the fort?" continued Washington, anxious to
make the most of his informant.
"General Pierre Paul was alive then, and he received me sternly,"
replied the chief.
"In what way did he show his sternness?" Washington asked.
"By his abrupt inquiry, 'What did you come here about?' And he ordered
me, in an insolent way, to declare my business."
"And what did you tell him?" urged Washington.
"I made this speech to him," the half-king answered with a smile; and he
proceeded to rehearse his address to the French commander. As Washington
preserved the speech of Tanacharisson, together with the French
general's reply, we furnish the remainder of the interview from that
valuable document:
"Fathers, I am come to tell you your own speeches, what your own mouths
have declared.
"Fathers, you, in former days, set a silver basin before us, wherein
there was the leg of a beaver, and desired all the nations to come and
eat of it,--to eat in peace and plenty, and not to be churlish to one
another; and that if any such person should be found to be a disturber,
I here lay down by the edge of the dish a rod, which you must scourge
them with; and if your father should get foolish, in my old days, I
desire you may use it upon me as well as others.
"Now, fathers, it is you who are the disturbers in this land, by coming
and building your towns, and taking it away unknown to us, and by force.
"Fathers, we kindled a fire a long time ago at a place called Montreal,
where we desired you to stay, and not to come and intrude upon our land.
I now desire you may dispatch to that place; for be it known to you,
fathers, that this is our land, and not yours.
"Fathers, I desire you may hear me in civilness; if not, we must handle
that rod which was laid down for the use of obstreperous. If you had
come in a peaceable manner, like our brothers, the English, we would not
have been against your trading with us as they do; but to come, fathers,
and build houses upon our land, and to take it by force, is what we
cannot submit to.
"Fathers, both you and the English are white; we live in a country
between; therefore the land belongs to neither one nor the other. But
the Great Being above allowed it to be a place of residence for us; So,
fathers, I desire you to withdraw, as I have done our brothers, the
English; for I will keep you at arm's length. I lay this down as a trial
for both, to see which will have the greatest regard to it, and that
side we will stand by, and make equal sharers with us. Our brothers, the
English, have heard this, and I come now to tell it to you, for I am not
afraid to discharge you off this land."
This, he said, was the substance of what he spoke to the general, who
made this reply:
"'Now, my child, I have heard your speech; you spoke first, but it is my
time to speak now. Where is my wampum that you took away with the marks
of towns on it? This wampum I do not know, which you have discharged me
off the land with; but you need not put yourself to the trouble of
speaking, for I will not hear you. I am not afraid of flies or
mosquitoes, for Indians are such as those; I tell you down that river I
will go, and build upon it, according to my command. If the river was
blocked up, I have forces sufficient to burst it open, and tread under
my feet all that stand in opposition, together with their alliances, for
my force is as the sand upon the seashore; therefore, here is your
wampum. I sling it at you. Child, you talk foolish; you say this land
belongs to you, but there is not the black of my nail yours. I saw that
land sooner than you did; before the Shannoahs and you were at war. Lead
was the man who went down and took possession of that river. It is my
land, and I will have it, let who will stand up for or say against it. I
will buy and sell with the English (mockingly). If people will be ruled
by me they may expect kindness, but not else.'
"The half-king told me he had inquired of the general after two
Englishmen who were made prisoners, and received this answer:
"'Child, you think it a very great hardship that I made prisoners of
those two people at Venango. Don't you concern yourself with it; we took
and carried them to Canada, to get intelligence of what the English were
doing in Virginia.'
"He informed me that they had built two forts; one on Lake Erie, and
another on French Creek, near a small lake, about fifteen miles asunder,
and a large wagon-road between. They are both built after the same
model, but different in size, that on the lake the largest. He gave me a
plan of them of his own drawing."
The Indians inquired very particularly after their brothers in Carolina
jail.
They also asked what sort of a boy it was who was taken from the South
Branch, for they were told by some Indians that a party of "French
Indians had carried a white boy by Kuskheskia Town, towards the lakes."
The Indian Council which Washington convened, assembled at nine o'clock,
on the twenty-sixth day of November, and he made the following speech to
the rude children of the forest:
"Brothers, I have called you together in council, by order of your
brother, the governor of Virginia, to acquaint you that I am sent with
all possible despatch to visit and deliver a letter to the French
commandant of very great importance to your brothers, the English, and I
dare say to you, their friends and allies.
"I was desired, brothers, by your brother, the governor, to call upon
you, the sachems of the nations, to inform you of it, and to ask your
advice and assistance to proceed the nearest and best road to the
French. You see, brothers, I have gotten thus far on my journey.
"His Honor likewise desired me to apply to you for some of your young
men to conduct and provide provisions for us on our way, and be a
safe-guard against those French Indians who have taken up the hatchet
against us. I have spoken thus particularly to you, brothers, because
his Honor, our governor, treats you as good friends and allies, and
holds you in great esteem. To confirm what I have said, I give you this
string of wampum."
The sachems listened to this speech with profound attention, noting
every word; and when Major Washington concluded, they conferred together
for some time, when Tanacharisson arose, and replied:
"Now, my brother, in regard to what my brother, the governor, had
desired of me, I return you this answer:
"I rely upon you as a brother ought to do, as you say we are brothers
and one people. We shall put heart in hand, and speak to our fathers,
the French, concerning the speech they made to me; and you may depend
that we will endeavor to be your guard.
"Brother, as you have asked my advice, I hope you will be ruled by it,
and stay until I can provide a company to go with you. The French speech
belt is not here; I have to go for it to my hunting cabin. Likewise, the
people whom I have ordered in are not yet come, and cannot until the
third night from this; until which time, brother, I must beg you to
stay. I intend to send the guard of Rincoes, Shannoahs, and Delawares,
that our brothers may see the love and loyalty we bear them."
Washington replied to the half-king:
"Brother, your offer is a very generous one, for which I heartily thank
you; but my orders are to make all possible despatch, so that I am
obliged to leave, much against my inclination. My business requires the
greatest expedition, and will not admit of so much delay."
"We are sorry for this decision, brother," continued Tanacharisson; "but
we shall not permit you to go without a guard, lest some accident befall
you, and, in consequence, reflection be cast upon us. Besides, this is a
matter of no small moment, and must not be entered into without due
consideration; for I intend to deliver up the French speech belt, and
make the Shannoahs and Delawares do the same."
Accordingly the half-king gave orders to the King Shingiss, who was
present, to attend on Wednesday night with the wampum, and two men of
their nation to be in readiness to set out with Washington and his party
in the morning. But Washington did not leave as he designed, because he
found that the sachems would be greatly offended if he did. His journal
says: "I found it was impossible to go off without offending them in the
most egregious manner."
The entry in his journal for the next day, Nov. 27, is:
"Runners were despatched very early for the Shannoah chiefs. The
half-king himself set out to fetch the French speech belt from his
hunting cabin."
On the following evening, Nov. 28, Tanacharisson returned with the
French speech belt, and came to Washington's tent in company with
Monacatoocha and two other sachems.
"An Indian from Venango," said Monacatoocha, "has brought news that the
French have called all the Mingoes, Delawares, and several other tribes
together, and told them that they intended to have been down the river
this fall, but the waters were growing cold, and the winter advancing,
which obliged them to go into quarters, but that they might assuredly
expect them in the spring with a far greater number, and requested them
to remain passive, and not inter-meddle unless they had a mind to draw
all their force upon them, for that they expected to fight the English
three years, in which time they should conquer; but that if they should
prove equally strong, the French and the English would join to cut them
all off and divide the land between them; that, though they had lost
their general and some few of their soldiers, yet there were men enough
to reinforce them, and make them masters of the Ohio."