The Plan for Indian Affairs, which was referred to Your Consideration when I was formerly in Office, renders it almost unnecessary for me to say how much I lament that Your authority does not extend to redress those grievances which are most material; and I am persuaded that could it have been foreseen, that the Colonies would have been so backward and negligent in meeting those gracious intentions of the King, which induced his Majesty to leave the Regulation of the Commerce to them, their Representation on the subject would have not so far prevailed as to have occasioned such a deviation from the plan at first proposed, as has almost entirely defeated every useful Object it had in view; But as the matter now stands, nothing further can I apprehend be done untill the King's Servants are apprised of the Measures which the Commissioners, who I find were to meet at New York on the 1st of this month, shall have thought fit to recommend.

As you do not mention the Defection of the Kickapous Pouteatamis, two Nations of the western Confederacy, I presume you have not received any certain advices of their hostilities, nor had been apprized of the opinion General Gage has stated to me of the necessity of chastising them. Gen1 Gage has not however proposed to me any plan for this purpose, or explained the Steps he intends to pursue, and therefore I am unable to give You any particular Instruction with regard to Your conduct on this Event; But it is his Majesty's pleasure, that you should co-operate, as far as belongs to Your Department in every measure which General Gage shall think necessary for the King's service on this occasion.

You will have observed from the public prints the danger in which His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester has been, from the attacks of a very violent disorder at Leghorn, and his happy recovery from it. It is with very particular satisfaction I am able to confirm to you the latter part of that Intelligence and to congratulate you upon an event that cannot fail to give the greatest pleasure to all His Majesty's faithfull Subjects. I am, &c

(Sir William Johnson.)

HILLSBOROUGH.

Sir William Johnson to Colonel Bradstreet.

[New-York Papers (8. P. O. ) CLXIV. ]

Johnson Hall. 23. Dec 1771.

Sir.

I am sorry to find by your last letter, that you have mislaid that, which you mention to have received from me, shewing the Lands claimed by You at Popaghtunk were purchased before the late Treaty for establishing the Boundary line, for being confined to my room with my usual complaints and full of pains, I cannot possibly go to my study, or look over any papers of that time which might afford me better grounds for answering your present request that I should certify the same. As I had no concern in that or any other Indian purchase, all I can recollect is that when some purchaes were brought for confirmation before Sir Henry Moore at this place, the Six Nations declared that their Lands extended to the Popaghtunk branch of Delaware, and therefore that the lands over, or to the North West of that branch claimed by Mr Harderberghs patent was their property, and had never been sold by them, or any other

resided within the Colonies where such laws have been passed, have been made liable to be attached for the recovery of debts in a manner different from that allowed by the Laws of England in like Cases; and whereas it has been represented unto Us that such laws may have the consequence to prejudice and obstruct the Commerce between this Kingdom and Our said Colonies and to affect public Credit; it is therefore Our Will and Pleasure that you do not on any pretence whatever give your assent to or pass any Bill or Bills in Our Province under your Government, by which the Lands, Tenements, Goods, Chattels, Rights, and Credits of persons who have never resided within Our said Province shall be liable to be attached for the recovery of Debts due from such persons, otherways than is allowed by Law in Cases of the like nature within this Our Kingdom of Great Britain, until you shall have first transmitted unto Us, by one of our Principal Secretaries of State, the Draught of such Bill or Bills and shall have received Our Royal Pleasure thereupon, unless you take Care in the passing of such Bill or Bills, that a Clause or Clauses be inserted therein, suspending and deferring the Execution thereof, until Our Royal Will and Pleasure shall be known thereupon.

No 24. My Lord.

Governor Tryon to the Earl of Hillsborough.

[New-York P.pora (9. P. O.) CLXIV.]

New York. 6. March. 1772.

I thank you for your congratulations (expressed in your Lordp's letter N° 6) on my arrival in this Govern'.

I most sensibly feel the weight of your Lord's most pointed reprehension respecting my conduct in laying before the Council Board, an extract from your Letter N° 2, desirous, as I am, to make known to your Lord the full extent of my inattention to my duty, I shall represent the steps I took on that occasion. On the perusal of the last mentioned letter, I found your Lord was not inclined to advise His Maj' to consent to the prayer of the Petition (in the affair of Coll: Bradstreet for the granting of those Lands in question, until the matter should be further explained. This explication I considered my task. The Earl of Dunmore, from whom I wished to have had my information, had left the City, & was not expected to return; my only resource then was, to the Gentlemen of the Council. I intimidated therefore to them (and I thought it a natural justice due to them) that your Lord was at a loss to comprehend the grounds of their conduct in that business, at the same time signifying my wishes to give your Lordp full satisfaction in that particular. They desired an extract of the letter relative to that matter. I complied with their request, not having been furnished by Lord Dunmore with His Majesty's instructions of the 2d Sept 1768. or of any of his correspondence with your Lordship. The manner in which the Council took up this business, was not at my instance, yet I thought I was not at liberty to decline the request of the Council, and to transmit their Report to your Lordp after the subject which was the occasion of it, had on [c]e been agitated in Council, as a matter of State, and under the oath of secresy.

I was pleased to find His Maj" approved of my Conduct in writing to the Govr of S' Domingo to demand reparation for the injuries Capt" Frisby of the Hawk Sloop had suffered. The

sentiments of the King's Ministers with regard to my requiring the punishment of the Officers who offered the injury, entirely convinces me I exercised a power that did not belong to my situation. In any similar instance, instructed as 1 now am, I shall be carefull to fulfill His Maj' pleasure.

I shall lose no time in procuring in order to lay before your Lordp for His Maj"" approbation, a full state of the method of proceding upon an application for grants of lands, at which time I shall subjoin such observations as occur to me on that important subject. 1 last month obtained from the several officers of the Land office return of the usual and accustomary Fees they respectively take with the services they perform. Copies of all which I here transmit, the originals have been some time under the consideration of Committee of the Council, who are to report thereon.

1 heartily rejoice on your Lord's confirmation of His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester's recovery of his health, and am with great respect & esteem

I was lately honored with your Lordships letter No 17 in answer to mine N° 16 since which I took the liberty of addressing Your Lordship by a few lines on a more private subject; From that time I waited with much impatience for the return of Thomas King the Indian Cheif, who with others went as Deputys to the great Congress at Sioto, as I mentioned in my last letter, but in October to my great concern I received the disagreable news that Thomas King died at Charles town South Carolina, after having discharged the Embassy committed to him, This I considered, as I still do, as a sensible disappointment because the Fidelity of that Cheif, joyned to his superior capacity gave me good hopes of receiving a circumstantial account of all matters at his return, which I could not expect so perfect from the rest of his party. After waiting some months more, I found that his party, who had taken shipping at Charles town, were landed at Philadelphia, and in February the greatest part of them, with many others, came to my house here. I found that Anawacka the next in authority to Thomas King had died on shipboard, and that an other was so afflicted with a lameness that he could not as yet make me a visit. I was therefore obliged to content myself with such accounts as the young men who survived could give, who after laying before me a considerable number of Belts, Calumets &ca began to repeat the proceedings of Thomas King, first with the Shawanese at Fort Pitt on his way to Sioto where these people assured him that the Wawiaghtanons would shortly send Deputys to the six nations & myself to sollicit a continuance of friendship. They next recounted that upon Thomas King's arrival at

Sioto, he assembled all the nations in that quarter of the country, and first addressed the Shawanese whom he upraided for retireing so far down the Ohio, and for confederating with people unmindfull of their engagements and in short repeated to each of the Nations faithfully all that he had been charged with by the six nations and myself. The Shawanese answered that the six nations had long seemed to neglect them, and to disregard the promise they formerly made of giving them the lands between the Ohio and the Lakes, that thus distressed they went on board of their Canoes determined to go whither soever fortune should drive them, but were stopped (many years since) at Sioto by the six nations, who shook them by the heads & fixed them there, charging them to live in peace with the English, but that to their great surprize they soon after saw the six nations in arms & coasting along the Lakes with the English (i. e. assisting us & acting offensively last war). That when the war was ended the ill treatment of the six Nations increased, to whom thereupon they sent Belts to strengthen their union, but that they supposed Augastarax the Seneca Cheif who received them did not make them public, for that they never received any answer thereto; The Shawanese and the rest then shewed some emblematical Belts representing themselves and the Ilinois Indians with ten confederate Nations between them, they also delivered a Belt from the Chickesaws who promised to be guided by the Six Nations.

Thomas King then, after accusing them of misrepresentation, answered them by a full detail of all their hostile acts, as also of those of the Poulewatamies, Kickapous &c concluding with telling them that he and the other deputys were come to restore them to their senses & strengthen the union of those who affected the English Alliance, by opening a Road to the Council Fire at Onondaga, & from thence to my house, for the use of those who chose to live at peace and be happy, but that the first nation that should obstruct the same, or look another way would assuredly be punished by the rest. To this they made reply on several Belts &c excusing themselves on various pretences, ending with strong assurances of their pacific intentions, & promising faithfully to abide by all that was recommended to them, and forthwith to bring all their confederates into the same sentiments. The Cherokees particularly thanked the six nations and myself for the peace they had obtained in 1768 whereby they began once more to enjoy themselves. And the cheif of the Creeks who met them at Gohi, expressed much satisfaction at seeing the Deputies, promised to make use of the Road they had opened, and to adhere steadfastly to his engagements. After this and many other matters The Catabaws escorted the Deputys to Charles town where Thomas King died, and the rest proceeded as before mentioned.

This, my Lord, is a brief summary of the Report made to me by Nicaroondase the principal survivor, the two cheifs being dead, & and one of the principal men yet behind from which and some farther conversations I have held with the Deputys who returned, it appears to me that the Shawanese, who, to my knowledge, grasped at the lands on both sides of the Ohio, tho at the late conference they only mention the North side, repenting the sale of ye Lands on the South of that River had sent belts to the Senecas to stir up the Six Nations to disavow their own act, propagating at the same time reports which might tend to alienate us from the latter; That Gaustarax and his tribe approved of this, but that the rest of the Confederacy would not give ear to it, is evident from the speech made to the Deputies at Sioto, that thereupon Augustarax sent Belts to the other Nations to set them up, which gave rise to the story of the Seneca Plot & the Belts sent by Augustarax a little before his death; These Belts I am assured will be speedily delivered, those who promised to see the same performed,