Delivery of that Ax. To which the Shawanese Chief Nererahhe replied, that they the Shawanese were very glad to hear from the Six Nations, & kindly thanked them for their message, at the same time they must inform them that they were strangers to what they demanded of them, and that as they said they were sure where the Ax was concealed, they wou'd be glad they wou'd point it out to them, and convince them of the truth of their assertions that they might be able to clear up the matter satisfactorily.

The Messengers then told the Shawanese that the Onondagas Messenger Kakendanaye who was at Kakoughsage last in quest of the said Ax, had seen it there, upon which the Shawanese Chief replied that what Kakendanage saw at their town, was by no means an Ax Belt, and that he wou'd explain the matter to them as in reality it was viz'. That a Message was sent from the Hurons after making peace with the English at a Congress with Sir William Johnson in 1765, to the Delawares on Ohio, acquainting them that peace was made with the English in the strongest and most lasting manner, and with that condition that whatever nation of Indians declined entering into the same, or shou'd molest the English, the whole Confederacy were to punish them until they corrected their Error, that therefore they the Hurons had sent this belt to them the Delawares to keep themselves in rea liness whenever called upon by the Confederacy on the like occasion.* When the belt was delivered to the Delaware Chief, he replied that he was an old man, and not capable of receive such messages, the Delaware nation being looked upon as women, and that it were best to apply to the Shawanese, upon which he sent the belt to him Nerarahhe, but he being a Sachim, sent it to the Chief Warrior of his nation, Sowanowane to keep it, as he, as a Sachim, did not meddle but in matters of Peace, and Sowanowane received it, and assured him that he was of one mind with the Confederacy for rendering the peace universal, and was ready to comply with the Intention of the Hurons message of chastizing any nation that wou'd act contrary to the engagements the Confederacy made with their Brethren the English. At the same time Nererahhe observed to them the Deputies, that he found by their message that the Onondaga Deputy Kakendinaye inflamed the same account of the Hurons Belt greatly, by calling it a Hatchet Belt against the English, and begged that Sir Wm Johnson might be made acquainted with the truth of the matter, and drop and forget any evil thought or Construction he might have upon Kakandinaye's Report, that one of the Messengers not being thoroughly satisfied with this account of the War Ax told the Shawanese Chief of the Imputation their nation lay under with regard to their late Chief Akastarax, who professing himself no great friend to the English, had been suspected of sending an Ax to them the Shawanese, and other nations upon Ohio, and wou'd be glad to be satisfied in that point. The Shawanese Chief told them he knew nothing of it but wou'd refer him to Kaghsigwarote, the only one that consulted with, & delivered Akastarax his Messages to them, and was now living in their nation, who wou'd best be able to inform him of the particulars relative to that affair, and which Saweeto was determined to do on his return, but Kaghsigwarote having lost his niece, the cou'd not then speak to him, it being contrary to their custom, but intended to do it as soon as conveniently he cou'd.

With regard to the summons from the Six Nations to those on the Ohio, and its environs Nererahhe told the Messengers that himself, and his Nation had been ready on the first call to

*N. What the Shawanese here say is partly true, that is with regard to the Belts in 1765, but they artfully evade giving an account of the bad belts rec'd from the Enemy in search of which the Messengers then were.

f This is the Indian custom until the ceremony of Condolence is publickly performed, but it looks like an Excuse framed by Kaghsigwarote in this instance.

go to Onondaga, but that the rest of the Nations summoned at the same time, were not then ready, but that now all that were summoned were determined to go, and thirty runners were prepared to proceed from Scioto to announce their coming, and himself with another Cheif was ready, and upon the point of setting off, desiring the Messengers to have a large hutt got ready for their reception, as they wou'd be very numerous, that then having all the Confederacy together he hoped they wou'd he able to find out where the fault lay, and why this long desired peace cou'd not be brought about.

Nererahhe proceeded addressing himself to the Twight wees.

Brothers. You have now been present, and heard all the transactions between us, Sir William Johnson, and the Six Nations. It gives me pleasure it happened in your presence, for we receive all the News from the Six Nations concerning you, and the other nations round about you, and forward, & communicate it to you carefully in order to preserve peace and a good understanding between the Confederacy, and our Brothers the English.-but no sooner do our Messengers turn their backs, than yu alter, and put false constructions upon the friendly messages, and advice we send you, and by that means poison and corrupt the minds of the Indian Nations round about you which cannot but be productive of mischief on your side, as well as ours, & is liable to involve you in trouble, and expose you to the resentment of our Brothers, the English, whereas if you were to mind the wholesome advice you from time to time receive from Sir Wm Johnson, and the Six Nations, you wou'd enjoy peace & happiness. Let me therefore admonish you to act differently for the future, and you will soon taste the sweets of peace, and a free intercourse & friendship with your Brothers the English.

Whereupon the Twightwees replied that they wou'd defer giving an answ until their Deputies shou'd meet at the Congress shortly to be held at Onondaga.

Sayenquaraghta then acquainted Sir Wm that Kayashota the Chief of the Ohio had been indefatigable in the discharge of his Embassage, and that to manifest their cooperation therewith, he had been accompanied from the Seneca country by five of their Chiefs.

Though I am allways glad to see you punctual in your attendance according to engagement, yet I cannot help expressing my concern at meeting you on so disagreeable an occasion: For although I shou'd be unwilling to think that the murder committed upon Lake Ontario was an act that received the sanction of your people, yet I cannot but look upon it as a piece of cruelty, and injustice, that without proper satisfaction must reflect on the whole, -For if it is as disagreeable to you as I am inclined to believe, the punishment of the Guilty is meerly an act of justice you shou'd rather wish for, than oppose by any arguments whatever.

I have duely considered all you have offered upon the occasion, & as it is beneath the character of the English to evade, I shall not deny that some of your people have been killed on the frontiers, but I tell you as I have done before upon like occasions that too many of them are often concerned in irregularities upon our frontiers which expose them to the resentment

of angry men who have no prospect of any redress from you. -For although among so numerous a people as the English who are spread all over the country some men may act ill, especially when remote from the seats of justice, yet you will always find an ear to hearken to your complaints, & a disposition to relieve them on due proof of the same.—We don't want you to set, but to follow an example which is of the highest importance to your peace & happiness, and we may naturally conclude that as the principal in the late murder cou'd not fly to us as some of our people have done to you, that it was in your power to have secured him, and sacrificed him to justice, and the character of your Confederacy.

However I shall in compliance with your desire, lay the matter before the General who commands all His Majesty's Troops in America, & use my endeavors with him in behalf of the Prisoners, thro' compassion of their ignorance, & a belief that you are heartily concerned at it. In the main time the prisoners must be put into confinement and when I receive the General's answer it shall be communicated to you. A Belt Brothers. I am glad to find that in consequence of my desire you immediately ordered collections to be made of skins, & peltry as a restitution to the owners of the goods when the murder was committed. Some of these are already sent down, but I expect, and insist upon it that you see that the restitution be ample, and that both in quantity and quality the sufferers may be fully reimbursed for their losses, for without this you can lay no claim to favor, neither shall I pay any regard to your declarations. Remember my words, and see that this is fully performed. A Belt. Brothers. I have duely attended to the particulars you gave me of your peoples proceedings with the Nations assembled at Ohio, of which I long since received an account from thence.— For I know all that passes in every Quarter. I have also spoken several times to yourselves upon the occasion of that Embassy; so that I shall defer giving my farther thoughts on the matter 'till I hear the Result of the intended Congress at Onondaga, when I expect that you will see that all the Nations concerned do punctually attend, and that every thing is conducted in such a manner as may convince the other Indians of your sincerity, and attachment to the English.

I am glad to hear of the good conduct of the Chief Kayashota in his Embassage, and that you have sent five of your Chiefs to accompany and enforce his endeavors. As I repose a Confidence in him, from my knowledge, and experience of his good behaviour, I shall always shew the same countenance to those who are distinguish'd for their fidelity & zeal, and I expect that from the faithful discharge of the trust reposed in him, the Nations whose heads. have been for some time turned may be restored to their senses, which will tend greatly to your happiness, and the satisfaction of the English, who have hitherto sat still with their Axes, under their feet, thro' the fatherly tenderness of our Great King for these deluded people, and his regard for you, but they must remember that our people never take up the hatchet without cause, or lay it down wthout satisfaction. A Belt. Adjourned till next day.

Being all seated Sayenquaraghta Chief of the Senecas arose, and addressed Sir Wm as follows.

Brother. We have considered all that you have last said, and advised us to, and the Six Nations who always rely on, and follow your wise direction, now assure you that the most strict Orders have been given for collecting the full quantity of skins wch the Traders have lost, what yet remains, you may be assured shall forthwith be sent to Onondaga, & from thence brought down the country for the sufferers, that you may see we are Warriors, and men of our words, and this the warriors desire me to assure you of.

Brother we have already told you of the escape of the principal concerned in that unhappy affair. Here are now the two young men who were persuaded to be concerned therein.— We deliver them into your hands, because you insisted upon it.—We know your words to be sound, and good, and we can refuse you nothing, but, Brother, you must remember, you must be sensible, that this is a thing new, and uncommon to us, that it is contrary to our customs, and we must say, what was never required formerly,—neither cou'd we have agreed to it but to shew you that our arguments have great force with our people.-but as these are young men, & may be much alarmed at what appears so uncommon to them, we request you will allow us to leave three chiefs, friends of theirs here, with liberty to visit them occasionally in their confinement, until you hear from the General, and we think that what we have already done, is a strong assurance of our readiness to comply with all the other matters recommended to us, and that we though of some power, and strong in our alliances set a fair example to the other Nations.

To which Sir Wm answered.

Brothers. 1 am pleased with your repeated assurances of delivering a full equivalent to those persons who lost their goods, and I expect you will be speedy: for it is beneath the character of Warriors to use fraud or falshood, and your speedy performance of your engagements is highly necessary at all times, but more especially at present.—I am not inclined to doubt you, because as you all know I never deceived you, I am the readier induced to think you will not impose on me, and thereby degrade, and injure yourselves.

Brothers. It gives me much satisfaction to hear that my arguments have determined you to deliver up these persons. For those Customs which you have so much regard for, are weak, and insufficient.—natural justice demands them at your hands, and the greatest men among us must suffer the penalties of the Laws because the English love justice.

I have no objections to those persons staying, whom you have mentioned, and they shall be permitted, now and then to see the Prisoners who must remain in safe custody 'till I receive answers from the General.—In the main time I recommend it to you to act with prudence & discretion, and to shew by your conduct with the other Nations that you deserve the favor of the English, and that you are true to your engagements.

A true copy from the Records
Exd by

Indorsed. In Sr W. Johnson's N° 8 of 2d May 1774.

G JOHNSON D Agent as Sec

(N° 1.) My Lord,

Lieutenant-Governor Golden to the Earl of Dartmouth.

[New-York, CLXVI., No. 1. ]

New York, 4th May 1774.

By Governor Tryon's Absence from this Government, the Administration has again devolved upon Me. It shall be my study so to discharge my duty, that I may ensure your Lordship's Protection, and be made happy by my Royal Masters approbation of the last services of a very old servant.

Governor Tryon went home enabled to give your Lordship the fullest Information of the state of this Province. I need not mention any thing that he was acquainted with. The only Matter of Consequence which has occur'd since he left us, is the Transactions relative to the Tea from London.

Captain Lockyer, with the so long look'd for Tea from the India Company, arrived at Sandy Hook on the 19th of last month. The ship came no farther up, and a few days after saild from thence again for London with the Tea on Board. Neither the Capt", nor any other, made the least Application to me, about the ship or her Cargoe. The Account of this Affair published in the enclosed News paper, is as particular and full as any that I could procure. In the same Paper your Lordship will find an Account of some more violent Proceedings against a parcell of Tea imported by Capt Chambers of the Ship London; who arrived here while Captain Lockeyer was in this Place. As no application was made to me by Captain Chambers, or any other, before or since this riotous event, I cannot give your Lordship a better account of it than is contain'd in the printed Paper.—It happen'd early in the Evening, and, tho' a pretty large number of Spectators were assembled, the Quarter where I reside, and the greater part of the Town was perfectly quiet. It is said Captain Chambers drew the particular Resentment of the People upon himself by the duplicity of his Conduct. Last Voyage he claim'd applause here, for being the first who refused to take the India Company's Tea on Board his Ship; and received Public thanks from the People of this place for it.

A few days after Governor Tryon went from hence, a small sloop loaded with Dutch Tea, Duck &c. was seized by an Officer of the Custom House. She was taken in this Port, at Noon Day, and secur'd without any tumult on the Occasion.

Since Governor Tryon embarked I have received your Lordship's letters N° 17. and 18; likewise His Majesty's Additional Instruction of the third of February, and your Lordship's Circular Letter of the 5th accompanying it. I laid the Instruction and Letter before the Council, who have them still under Consideration, in order to form such Rules for our future Conduct, as may be consonant to His Majesty's Commands. I have likewise received your Lordships separate Letter of the 5th of February relative to Capt" David Price. I beg your Lordship may be assured that I will pay the strictest Obedience to His Majesty's Commands, and that I will endeavour to execute them in the most faithfull manner. I am with great respect & submission

My Lord,

Rt Honble Earl of Dartmouth.

Your most Obedient and

faithfull Servant

CADWALLADER COLDEN