that the King of England was too much occupied by his war with France to undertake the settlement of Colonial disputes, submitted to the English Attorney General, for his opinion among others, the following question:

"Whether the people of Connecticut have any color or pretence under their Charter to set up this right to this tract of land westward of New Jersey through Pennsylvania as far as the South Sea; and what is most advisable for the Proprietaries to do in case the Government of Connecticut persist in their claim "

Mr. Pratt the Attorney General, afterwards Lord Camden, delivered his reply to Mr. Penn in March 1761, and as the station as well as the talents of this gentleman entitle his opinion to some respect, it may be well to give it at large on this question. He says:

"If all the Colonies in North America were to remain at this day bounded in point of right as they are described in the original grant of each I do not believe there is one settlement in that part of the globe that has not been encroached upon, or else usurped upon its neighbour, so that if the grants were of themselves the only rule between the contending plantations there never would be an end to the dispute without unsettling large tracts of land where the inhabitants have no better title to produce than either possession or posterior grants, which in point of law would be suspended, by prior Charters. Hence I conceive that many other circumstances must be taken into consideration besides the parch

ment boundary, for that may at this day be extended or narrowed by possession, acquiescence or agreement, by the situation and condition of the territory at the time of the grant, as well as by various other matters with respect to the present dispute. The western boundary of Connecticut. was barred at the time of the original grant by the Dutch settlements and the crown was deceived when they were prevailed upon to convey a territory which belonged to another State then in amity with the crown of England. Besides this objection the settlement of the new boundary under the King's commission in 1664, and what is still stronger, the new line marked out by agreement be tween this Province and New York, has now conclusively precluded Connecticut from advancing one foot beyond those limits. It was absolutely necessary for the crown, after the cession of the New Netherlands, to decide the clashing rights of the Duke of York and the adjoining Colonies; and therefore all that was done by virtue of the commission then awarded for that purpose must at this day be decreed valid as the nations have ever since that time submitted to those determinations, and the Colonies of New York and New Jersey submit only upon the authority of those acts. I am of opinion therefore that the Colony of Connecticut has no right to resume its ancient boundary by overleaping the Province of New York so as to encroach upon the Pennsylvania grant, which was not made until after the Connecticut boundary had heen reduced by new confines, which restored the

land beyond those settlements westward to the crown and laid them open to a new grant. The state of the country in dispute is a material state reason why the crown ought to interfere in the present case and put a stop to this growing mischief. But I doubt this business cannot be adjusted very soon because Mr. Penn must apply to the crown for relief, which method of proceeding will necessarily take up time as the Province of Connecticut must have notice and be heard."

The position assumed by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, being calculated to exclude the Colony of Connecticut from all her claims westward of New York, very naturally excited the interest of the inhabitants of that Colony, and the Government feeling an equal desire to have their claims fully examined, submitted the subject to the consideration of learned and eminent council in England, who gave their opinion in favor of the Connecticut claim, as follows:

"The agreement between the Colony of Connecticut and the Province of New York can extend no further than to settle the boundaries between the respective parties, and can have no effect upon any claims that either of them had in other parts, and as the Charter of Connecticut was granted but eighteen years before that to Sir William Penn, there is no good ground to contend that the crown could at that period make an effectual grant to him of that country which had so recently been granted to others but if the country had actually been settled under the latter grant, it would now be a

matter of considerable doubt whether the right of the occupiers, or the title under which they hold, could be impeached by a prior grant without acttial settlement."

The settlement at Coshutunk continued to progress. In 1760 it contained thirty dwelling houses, three large log houses, one block house for defence, one grist-mill and one saw-mill.

Early in the spring of 1763, the Susquehanna adventurers returned to Wyoming with their families and a number of new emigrants, with a view of commencing a permanent settlement; for which purpose they brought a number of cattle and hors, and considerable stores of provisions for immediate use. They took possession of their former dwellings at the mouth of the creek which they found in the same condition in which they had been left the preceding autumn, and commenced their labours by extending their improvements upon the West side of the river. The Indians in the Valley still continued apparently friendly, and although they acknowledged the power and influence of the Six Nations, they considered themselves as entitled to some compensation for the lands occupied by the Connecticut people, and appeared to view with suspicion the increasing number of their new neighbors.

These suspicions were much increased by the conduct of several warriors of the Six Nations who, having cherished a hatred against Tedeuscund since the peace of 1758, a hatred which his influence among the white people was not calculated to

diminish, came among the Delawares under the garb of friendship, and having in the night treacherously set fire to the dwelling of Tedeuscund, the building, together with the venerable chieftain was consumed, and the crime laid to the charge of the new Colonists. During the preceding summer the friendly disposition manifested by the Indians to the Wyoming settlers, as the Connecticut emigrants were called, had created a degree of confidence on their part which had prevented any expectation of danger; and fearing that warlike arms might create suspicion, they had not furnished themselves with any, and were almost destitute of any means of defence in case of an attack from the savages. While thus unsuspicious and occupied as usual with the labors of the field, they were attacked on the fifteenth of October by a party of Indians who massacred about twenty persons, took several prisoners and having seized upon the live stock drove it towards their Town. Those who escaped, hastened to their dwellings, gave the. alarm to the families of those who were killed, and the remainder of the Colonists, men, women and children, fled precipitately to the mountains, from whence they beheld the smoke arising from their late habitations and the savages feasting on the remains of their little property. They had taken no provisions with them except what they had hastily seized in their flight, and must pass through a wilderness sixty miles in extent before they could reach the Delaware river. They had left brothers, husbands and sons to the mercy of the savages ¡~*.