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dignified and spirited manner. Tadeuscund, in his talk before the Council, said in substance as follows: There are many reasons why the Indians have ceased to be the friends of the English. They had never been satisfied with the conduct of the English after the treaty of 1737, when their Fathers, Tishekunk and Nutimus, sold them the lands upon the Delaware: that although the rights of the purchase were to extend " as far as a man can go in a day and a half" from Neshamony Creek, yet the man who was appointed to go over the ground, did not walk, but ran, and it was also expected he would go along the bank of the river, which he did not, but went in a straight line; and because they had been unwilling to give up the land to the EngFish as far as the walk extended, the Governor who then had the command in Pennsylvania, sent for their cousins the Six Nations, who had always been hard masters to them, to come down and drive them from the land. That when the Six Nations did come down, they met them at a great treaty held at the Governor's house in Philadelphia in 1742 with the view of explaining why they did not give up the land, but the English made so many presents to the Six Nations, that they would hear

*Major Parsons, who acted as Secretary to the Conference, describes Tadeuscund as 66 a lusty raw-boned man, haughty and very desirous of respect and command," and adds, that he was born some where near Trenton, and is now (1756) fifty years old." See Minutes of Conference on file in Secretary's Office, Harrisburg.

no explanation from the Delawares; and the Chief of the Council of the Six Nations (Conassatego,), abused them and called them women. The Six Nations had however, given to them and the Shawanese the country upon the Juniatta for a hunting ground, and had so informed the Governor ;but notwithstanding this the latter permitted the whites to go and settle upon those lands.-That two years before the Governor had been to Albany to buy more of the lands of the Six Nations and had described their purchase by points of compass, which they did not understand, including not only the Juniatta but also the West Branch of the Susquehanna, which the Indians did not intend to sell; and when all these things were known they declared they would no longer be friends to the English who were trying to get all their country from them."

He assured the Council that they were glad to meet their old friends, the English, to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and hoped that justice would be done to them for all the injuries which they had received. This Conference continued nine days during which time all matters of difference were considered, and the Shawanese and Delawares, the two principal tribes, became reconciled to the English with whom they concluded a treaty of peace.

The object of the Pennsylvania Government however, was not confined to the pacification merely of the Delawares and Shawanese; for knowing as the English well did the power and influence of the Six Nations, this was considered only

as a preparatory step towards forming a treaty with them also. To the formation of such a treaty additional difficulties were now created by some re cent successes of the French near the Lakes. The Marquis de Montcalm with a body of thirteen hundred regular troops, seventeen hundred Canadians, and a large body of Indian auxiliaries, laid siege to Oswego, a Fort built by the British at the mouth of the Onandago River on the shore of Lake Ontario, and the Garrison, consisting of fourteen hundred men, surrendered themselves prisoners · of war on the thirteenth of August, their Commander, the brave Col. Mercer, having been killed by a Cannon-ball.* No means however were neglected to regain the friendship of the Six Nations, and presents having been liberally distributed amongst them, a Grand Council of all the Indian tribes was held by special invitation at Easton in October 1758. At this treaty there were present Chiefs and Deputies from the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagoes, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroros, Nanticokes, Canoys, Tuteloes, Chugnues, Delawares, Unamies, Minisinks, Mohicons, Wappingers and Shawanese, amounting in the whole to about five hundred. The Conferences, on the part of the English were managed by the Governors of Pennsylvania and New Jersey accompanied by Sir William Johnson as Deputy for Indian affairs, four members of the Council of Pennsylvania, Six members of Assembly, two agents for the Province

*Smollet.

of New Jersey and a great number of Planters and citizens of Philadelphia,

The formalities of the Conference having been settled in a manner nearly similar to those of 1756, the Assembly entered upon the consideration of the great objects which had called them together. The Indians generally were loud in their com plaints against the English for having made encroachments upon their lands, and declared that this was the cause which had provoked them to hostilities. Tadeuscund, who acted as ambassador for most of the tribes, and who had been princi pally instrumental in forming the Assembly, explained to the tribes the general object of the meeting and the principles upon which he, as their representative, had made overtures of peace. The Chief of one of the Six Nations on the other hand expressed in strong language his resentment against the British Colonists who had killed and imprisoned some of his tribe, and he as well as other Chiefs of those Nations took great umbrage at the impor tance assumed by Tadeuscund whom, as one of the Delawares, they considered in some degree subject to their authority. Tadeuscund however supported the high station which he held, with dignity and firmness, and the different Indian tribes at length became reconciled to each other. The Conference having continued eighteen days, and all causes of misunderstanding between the English and the Indians being removed, a general peace was concluded on the twenty sixth day of October. At this treaty the boundaries of the different pur

chases made from the Indians were more particularly described, and they received an additional compensation for their lands consisting of knives, hats, caps, looking-glasses, tobacco-boxes, shears, gun-locks, combs, clothes, shoes, stockings, blankets and several suits of laced clothes for their Chieftains; and when the business of the treaty was completed, the stores of rum were opened and distributed to the Indians, who soon exhibited a scene of brutal intoxication.*

Peace with the Indians continued until the Year 1763, when a war again broke out between the English and the Indians about the same time that peace was concluded between the English and French, and notwithstanding the pacification between those nations hostilities between their Colonies and the Indian tribes continued until the Year 1765.

-Having thus brought down the Indian History of Wyoming from the earliest accounts to the time of the first settlements commenced by the Whites in the Valley, we shall next take a view of the causes which led to those settlements and the con troversy which they produced between the Governments of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

*Minutes of Conference.-Smollet,

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