mentioned Submission and Articles of Peace, but such as acknowledge themselves Subjects and Children of the King of England Wapacomagat replied that it was very proper and they now throw aside the Name of Brother and should ever after Acknowledge themselves Subjects and Children of the King of England which they should always for the future call themselves.1 INDORSED: Transactions of a Congress held with the Chiefs of the Ottawas and Chippewas &ca. FROM WILLIAM DARLINGTON ETC. In the Johnson Calendar, p. 235-36, are listed the following papers which were destroyed by fire: a letter of September 8th from William Darlington, New York, about annoyances arising from his attempt to get an accountant for Sir William through an intelligence office; one of the 8th from J. T. Kempe, New York, recommending John Arthur for employment as a clerk; Duncan & Phyn's bill, dated the 8th, against Sir William Johnson; Gilbert Forbes's bill, the 10th, New York, for articles bought by William Darlington; Samuel & William Baker's bill (fragment); and Francis Bassett's bill, the 11th, New York, for articles bought by Mr. Darlington. 1A few burned portions of the proceedings of the 10th, held by Bradstreet with the Mississaugas, are here supplied from a duplicate which is recorded in the same manuscript as his proceedings of September 29th with the Wendots of Sandusky. DEAR SIR TO THOMAS GAGE Df.1 Johnson hall Sept. 11th, 1764 Your favor of the 2d. Inst With the Enclosures I received Two days ago on my ret". from one of my most dist' plantat", too late to be ansd. by the post and last Night I was favored with your Letter of the 4th. by an Express, [who sent it to me & returned without an Ans". so that I have forwarded this by another."] I was concerned to hear that the Indians had met with Coll Bradstreet, at Presqu' Isle, & had obtained the Treaty a Copy of which you enclosed me. I was indeed apprehensive that these Nations on finding two Armys in motion with a body of Indians to go against them would have taken some step of that Nature, & under the appearance of much plausibility might effect their design. The Number of Indians who came to represent so many Nations & Tribes are very few neither did they deliver any belt on the Subject of peace as usual in such cases at the same time from what I have heard of the present Disposition of the Shawanese & Delawares, they will probably ratify it. It matters little with regard to the Shawanese & [Delawares3] whether the peace is observed by us, or not, Indeed I fear the rest of the Nations will be too apt to take the alarm & Consider it in a very serious light unless the Shawanese Delawares &c shod. openly infringe the Treaty because it will be impossible for to apprize them all within Sufficient time with the reasons íor setting it aside, & the Enemys Emmissaries will undoubtedly be at work to shew the fairness of their Conduct. Col Bradstreet I presume has not heard that Coll Bouquet was in any forwardness, to which the peace must be attributed but I think 1In the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.; in the handwriting of Guy Johnson. 2Crossed out in the original. it has not left us without Just pretences to go against them without greatly disgusting the other Nations. For instance It can Justly be said that these Deputys could not be properly authorized from the Contradictions they have used. They first Say, "They in the name of the Whole of these Nations ask where the Army is going & what are their Intentions," and imediately afterwards, They declare; that "on receiving certain intelligence that it was coming agt them they had imediately called in all their Warriors, who were out agt our Frontiers." This is inconsistent, with their first Question & the latter part false, from the depredations, then & Since Comitted. Another Circumstance wch will make in favour of the orders you have sent to Coll Bradstreet is, that I am pretty positive the Indians will not be at Sandosky within the Time proposed by him for their performing the Articles, they are Seldom very punctual as to time, but especially when they have persons to deliver up which is always done with reluctance, in this case, the Peace is void from the Tenor of it & the Army might proceed without creating any disgust, besides, it appears to me, that they must be very desirous to delay on this occasion, that the Season may be too far advanced for the Troops to Continue in that Country, for which purpose they will probably have recourse to the old Expedient, by sending messengers to acqt Coll Bradstreet, that the prisoners &ca live many of them at a great distance, & so scattered that they can't collect them all within the Time limitted, that some were on their Way but are waiting for the rest, These & many such like pretences will probably be made use to protract the Motions of the Armys, in which case a good opportunity may offer for proceeding agt them in Conjunction with Col. Bouquet and I have great reason to think that should the Inds. Even be Sincere, there will yet be mischief done by some of their partys yet out, who can scarcely resist the Temptation which the Defenceless State of many of the frontier Settlements affords them. All which, or indeed, any part of what I have mentioned must Justify our proceedings, if Messages are sent from the Army to advise the other Nations with the |