only to be upon their Guard but to be ready to afford such assistance as the progress of the Enemy and the safety of the Colonies may require. "I deferred sending the Intelligence to you till I came here and could have the opinion and advice of the Council upon this Important Turn of our Affairs, and they have unanimously advised me to apply to You as I now do, that you would be pleased to order such of his Majesty's regular Forces as the present Exigencys of the Province require, and his Majesty's service on the other Colonies will permit you to spare. "That you may be able to form a Judgment of the nature of the intelligence and of the necessity there is of some regular Forces for the preservation of this Colony, I have sent you extracts of the most material parts of the Letters I have received that relate to this matter. "I shall take all imaginable care that the Troops destined here be well provided with every sort of necessaries and Conveniencies that this Country affords. "We are in great want of Powder, and as I understand there is a large Quantity in Fort Cumberland, I should be obliged to you to give directions to the commanding officer there to deliver to me or my orders what part thereof you shall think proper, and I will take care that it be distributed where it is most wanted & will do the most service, and whatever remains shall be subject to your order. What makes this more necessary is, that I am told the powder in its present situation is in great danger. "I am, Sir, Your most obedient and most humble Servant, "Gen' SHIRLEY." At a Council held at Philadelphia Sunday, 2nd November, 1755. PRESENT: The Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esquire, Lieu tenant Governor, &ca. James Hamilton, Lynford Lardner, Robert Strettell, The Governor mentioned to the Council that as Mr. Till, Mr. Growdon, & Mr. Logan, lived out of town, he found it difficult to get a Council, and therefore proposed to add Three new Members, viz., Benjamin Cohen, Esq Attorney General, John Mifflin, Esq one of the Aldermen of the City, & Dr. Thomas Cadwallader, if they were agreeable to the Council; and all the Members expressing their entire Satisfaction with them they were admitted, qualified, and took their places. The minutes of the three preceeding Councils were read by the new Members & then the Governor ordered the Secretary to read the following paper of Intelligence which was sent by expresses from Township to Township into all parts of the Western Counties to put them upon their Guard: "May it please your Honour: "We have scarce strength to write. We are for ever employed & without Clerks. We have within one hour received Letters from Justice Forster, from Mr. James Galbreath, and John Harris, by several Messengers, with accounts that the people at Auchwick & Juniata are cut off, and among others George Croghan. The date of Mr. Forster's Letter is the 29th Instant, of Mr. Galbreath the thirtieth, but that of Mr. Harris is thro' his confusion not dated. "We cannot find Clerks; we cannot write ourselves any thing of considerable Length; We must, therefore, depend upon it that we shall be credited without sending Copies, and originals we must keep to convince the unhappily scrupulous of the Truth of our accounts. "We are all in uproar, all in Disorder, all willing to do, and have little in our power. We have no authority, no commissions, no officers practised in War, and without the commisseration of our Friends in Philadelphia, who think themselves vastly safer than they are. If we are not immediately supported we must not be sacrificed, and therefore are determined to go down with all that will follow us to Philadelphia, & Quarter ourselves on its Inhabitants and wait our Fate with them. We are, "Your Honour's most Obedient humble Servants, "JOHN POTTS, "JONAS SEELY, "JAMES READ. "Mr. Bird was obliged to go home or would certainly have signed this. "Reading, October 31st, 1755, 8 o'clock at night." Then were read several Letters mentioning the receipt of this Intelligence, the defenceless state of the Country, the inconceivable confusion the Inhabitants were put into, and the want of even Arms and Ammunition. The following Letters from Mr. Parsons and from Mr. Weiser were delivered to the Governor in Council and read: A Letter from Mr. William Parsons to the Reverend Mr. Coart. "October 31st, 1755. "This morning very early between 4 and 5 of the clock Adam Rees, an Inhabitant over the first mountain, about six Miles from Lawrence Houts, who lives on this side the Mountain, came to my house and declared that Yesterday between 11 & 12 of the clock he heard three guns fired towards the plantation of his neighbour Henry Hartman, which made him suspect that something more than ordinary had happened there; Whereupon he took his Gun and went over to Hartman's house, being about a quarter of a Mile, & found him lying dead upon his face on the floor, and his Head was scalped, but saw nobody else. He thereupon made the best of his way thro' the Woods to the Inhabitants on this side of the Mountain to inform them of what had happened. He further informs me that he had been to Adam Reed, Esq, and related the whole affair to him, & that Mr. Reed is raising men to go over the Mountain in quest of the Murderers. "I am your very humble Servant and most hearty friend, "WM. PARSONS. "To the reverend Mr. COART and all other Friends. "Please to forward this to Mr. Weiser." A Letter from Mr. Parsons at Stonykiln to Adam Reed, Esq. "Sir: "STONYKILN, November 1st, 1755. "I wrote to you yesterday that I intended to be with you at the unhappy place where Henry Hartman was murdered, but when I was got to the top of the Mountain I met some men who said they had seen two Men lying Dead and scalped in the Shamokin road about two or three Miles from the place we then were; Wherefore we altered our course, being 26 in number, and went to the place and found the two men lying dead about 300 Yards from each other, and all the Skin scalped off their heads. We got a grubbing Hoe and spade from a Settlement about a Mile from the place and dug a Grave as well as we could, the Ground being very stony, and buried them both in one grave without taking off their Cloaths or examining at all into their wounds, only we saw a Bullet had gone thro' the leg of one of them. I thought it best to bury them to prevent the bodies from being torn to pieces by wild beasts. One of the men had a Daughter with him that is yet missing, and the other man had a Wife & three or four children that are also missing. I shall be obliged to return home in a day or two, but hope to see "I am, Sir, Your very humble Servant, "ADAM READ, Esq." To all his Majestie's subjects in the Province of Pennsylvania or elsewhere: "Whereas, Andrew Montour, Belt of Wampum, two Mohawks, and other Indians came down this day from (3) Shamokin, who say that the whole Body of Indians, or greatest part of them in the French interest, is actually encamped on this side () George Gabriel's near Sasquehanna, and that we may expect an attack in three days at farthest, and a French Fort to be begun at Shamokin in ten days hence. Tho' this be the Indians report, We, the Subsoribers, do give it as our advise to repair immediately to the Frontiers with all our Forces to intercept their Passage into our Country, and to be prepared in the best manner possible for the worst event, as witness our hands. Paxton, October 31st, 1755, From John Harris' at 12 o'clock at Night. "JAMES GALBREATH, "JOHN HARRIS, "THOMAS HARRIS, "JAMES POLLEK, "JAMES ANDERSON, "WILLIAM WORK, "PATRICK HEANY. "Before me, "JAMES GALBREATH. "P. S.-They positively affirm that the above-named Indians discovered a party of the Enemy at Tho McKee's upper place on the 30th of October last. (4) Shamokin is at the Forks of Sasquehannah on the east side. (b) George Gabriel's below the Forks of Sasquehannah, about 30 Miles of Harris' Ferry, on the West side of the River. "Monacatootha, the belt, and other Indians here, insist upon Mr. Weiser's coming immediately here to John Harris' with his Men, and to Council with the Indians." Mr. Hamilton finding by the Letters received from Lancaster County that matters were in the utmost danger and confusion, proposed to go instantly to the Town of Lancaster in order to do all the service in his power, and a Dedimus with Blank military Commissions by the advice of the Council was given by the Governor to him, empowering him to fill up the Blanks with such persons names as should offer, and were men of known good Characters. A Dedimus was likewise given Mr. Hamilton to qualify such Officers as should be appointed in that part of the Country. Sundry Petitions from the most respectable persons in the several Counties of Cumberland, York, Lancas' and Chester, setting forth the dismal Condition of the Inhabitants were read, and sundry Companies were formed & Commissions granted to such as were recommended for Captains, Lieutenants, and Ensigns. At a Council held at Philadelphia, Monday, 3d November, 1755. PRESENT: The Honourable ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Esqr., Lieutenant Governor, &a. Robert Strettel, Thomas Cadwallader, Richard Peters, A Draught of a Message to the Assembly having been prepared by the Governor it was read, considered, and approved, and whilst it was transcribing the House sent a Message to the Governor that a Quorum was met in obedience to his Summons and ready to receive any thing he might have to lay before them, and desired a copy of the Writ by we they were Summon'd. The Governor desired the members to acquaint the House that he would send one of the Writts by the Secretary, and sundry papers of the most interesting Intelligence, & before these could be read he would send them a Message founded on those papers. Accordingly the Secretary delivered to the House one of the Writts, together with all the foregoing papers that are entered, and sundry others of like Tenor that were not entered in the Minutes of Council. In half an hour the Secretary delivered the following Message to the House: A Message from the Governor to the Assembly. "Gentlemen: "Having received Intelligence that a party of French and Indians |