Shirley, I most earnestly repeat my Request to Your Excellency to honour me with a full Letter on this Important Affair, time enough for the Council to form from thence a proper Message to the Assembly.

"Your Excellency will be pleased to be referr'd to Governor Shirley's Letter of the 29th October last (as I suppose he wrote in the same manner to all the Governors) for his Sentiments about the Pay of the Levies, their Arms and other things relating to them; And as I am an entire Stranger to Millitary matters, and to the particular Circumstances of those Levies, having no other Judgment to form of what is proper to be done than from the Proclamation issued by Governor Thomas to encourage them to Inlist, I shou'd be extremely obliged to Your Excellency if You wou'd favor me with Your Sentiments on these Several Points.

"As Governor Thomas's Proclamation may be mention'd by the Officers or Soldiers, I herein inclose a Printed one, and am with very great Regard,

"Your Excellency's most obedient humble Servant,

"ANTHONY PALMER.

"His Excellency GEORGE CLINTON, Esqr."

Order'd, That fair Copies be immediately made and sent with the Papers therein mentioned by Express.

Mr. Lawrence & Mr. Till agreable to an Order of the last Council produc'd to the Board the Stamps for coining Pieces of Eight entirely defac'd.

At a Council held at Philadelphia, 13th Nov" 1747.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.

Ten Indian Warriors from Ohio having arrived in Town on Wednesday, the President sent them a Message yesterday by Mr. Weiser, the Interpreter, to bid them welcome; and understanding that they were desireous to be heard to-day, he summon'd the Council for this purpose. Mr. Weiser attending he was sent to tell the Indians the Council was sitting and ready to receive them. They immediately came. The President inform'd them the Council were glad to see their Brethren; took their Visit kindly, and desired to know what they had to Communicate.

VOL. V.-10.

After a Pause, rose up and spoke as follows: "Brethren the English, the Governor of York, the Commissioners at Albany, the Governor & Counsellors of Pennsylvania:

"We who speak to you are Warriors living at Ohio, and address You on behalf of ourselves and the rest of the Warriors of the Six Nations.

"You will perhaps be surpriz'd at this unexpected Visit; but we cou'd not avoid coming to see You, the times are become so critical & dangerous. We are of the Six Nations, who are your antient Friends-having made many Treaties of Friendship with the English, and always preserved the Chain bright. You know when our Father the Governor of Canada declar'd War against our Brethren the English, You, the Governor of York, the Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Albany, the Commissioners for this Province sent to inform the Council at Onondago of it, and to desire that they wou'd not meddle with the War; that they wou'd only look on & see what wou'd be done; that we, the Indians, wou'd let you fight it out by yourselves, and not pity either side; and that we wou'd send to all the Nations in alliance with us to do the same. And, accordingly, the Indians did send to all their Friends and Allies, and particularly to the Indians about the Lakes, and in the Places where we Live, requesting they wou'd not engage on either side; and they all stood Neuters except the French Praying Indians, who, tho' they promis'd, yet were not as good as their words. This is the first thing we have to say to our Brethren, and we hope they will receive this in good part, and be willing to hear what we have further to say.

"Brethren:

"When the Indians received the first Message from the English, they thought the English & French wou'd fight with one another at Sea, and not suffer War to be made on the Land; but sometime after this Messengers were sent to Onondago by all the English to tell us that the French had begun the War on the Land in the Indian Countries, and had done a great deal of Mischief to the English, & they now desir'd their Brethren the Indians wou'd take up the Hatchet against the French, and likewise prevail with their Allies to do the same. The old men at Onondago, however, refus'd to do this, and wou'd adhere to the Neutrality. And on their declaring this, the English sent other Messengers again and again, who pressed earnestly that the Indians would take up their Hatchet; but they were still denied by the old Men at the Fire at Onondago, who, unwilling to come into the War, sent Message after Message to Canada and Albany to desire both Parties wou'd Fight it out at Sea. last the Young Indians, the Warriors, & Captains consulted together & resolved to take up the English Hatchet against the will of their old People, and to lay their old People aside as of no use but in time of Peace. This the Young Warriors have done-provoked to

At

it by the repeated Applications of our Brethren the English. And we are now come to tell you the that French have hard Heads, and that we have nothing strong enough to break them. We have only little Sticks & Hickeries, and such things that will do little or no service against the hard Heads of the French. We therefore present this Belt to desire that we may be furnished with better Weapons, such as will knock the French down; and in token that we are hearty for You, and will do our best if you put better Arms into our Hands, we give you this Belt."

Here they gave a Belt of seven Rows.

"Brethren:

"When once we, the Young Warriors, engaged we put a great deal of Fire under our Kettle, and the Kettle boil'd high, and so it does still (meaning they carried the War on briskly), that the French Men's Heads might soon be boil'd; But when we looked about us to see how it was with the English Kettle, we saw the Fire was almost out, & that it hardly boil'd at all, & that no French men's heads were like to be in it. This truly surprizes us, & we are come down on purpose to know the reason of it. How comes it to pass

that the English, who brought us into the War, will not fight themselves? This has not a good appearance, and therefore we give you this string of Wampum to hearten and encourage you, to desire you wou'd put more Fire under your Kettle."

Here they presented the string of Wampum of 7 strings. "Brethren:

"We have now done with general Matters, but old Scaiohady desires to inform the Council that he was here in James Logan's time, a long while ago, when he had but one Child, and he a little one; that he was then employ'd in the Affairs of this Government; that James Logan gave him this String to assure him if he ever shou'd come to want & apply to this Government they wou'd do something for him. Scaiohady is now grown old & infirm, & recommends himself to James Logan's & the Council's Charity." Here he laid down a String of Wampum.

The Indians withdrew, & the Council adjourn'd to Eleven O'Clock to-morrow morning.

In the Council Chamber, 14th November, 1747.

Thomas Lawrence,

Benjamin Shoemaker,

PRESENT:

Robert Strettell, Esqrs.
William Logan, S

The President being indisposed & the other Members not attending there could be no Council.

The Members present judg'd that before the heads of an Answer to the Speech of the Indians cou'd be considered, it was necessary

previously to Learn from Mr. Weiser the particular History of these Indians, their real disposition towards Us, and their future designs; and accordingly sent for him. He said the Indians had in part told him their mind, and he thought they might be brought to tell him more, and when they did he wou'd inform the Council.

The Members likewise judged that it might be of Service to know Mr. Logan's Sentiments about what might be proper to be said to the Indians, & requested Mr. Weiser & the Secretary to wait on him for that purpose.

At a Council held at Philadelphia the 16th November, 1747.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.

Mr. Weiser attending was called in, and inform'd the Council that he had Learn'd the following particulars from the Indians, viz. That last Summer the Governor of Canada had sent the Hatchet to the Indians about the Lakes and on the branches of Ohio; that one Nation took it up; and that these Indians and the Indians in those Quarters, consisting principally of Warriors, being afraid others wou'd do the like, to prevent this took up the English Hatchet and proclaim'd War against the French, which had a good effect, no more daring after this to meddle with the French Hatchet; That these Indians on Ohio had concluded to kindle a Fire in their Town, and had invited all the Indians to a considerable distance round about them to come to their Fire in the Spring, and that they had consented to it. Mr. Weiser added that the Indians in the Parts these People came from were numerous, not less than Five hundred Men, and had many Allies more numerous than themselves; That it was always the Custom in War time to put the management into the hands of the Young People, & that it would be of the most pernicious Consequence not to give them encouragement at this time, and particularly he thought the Council should at least tell them they approv'd of their taking up the Hatchet, & acknowledge the Service done to the English by their seasonable declaration in their favour. He thought Providence had furnished this Province with a fine opportunity of making all the Indians about the Lakes their Friends, & warm Friends too. Mr. Weiser being ask'd what sort of a Present should be given them at this time, he said Goods were now so dear that the value of One hundred Pounds wou'd appear but small, that they should have so much given them at least, and half as much to the Canayiahaga Indians; Not that this was by any means sufficient,

but wou'd be a good Salutation Present, and preparatory to a larger to be sent in the Summer. This he judg'd necessary to be done, and that they should be told of the future Present, And tho' he had never been in those Parts, yet he judg'd the attaching these Indians. and their Friends to the English Cause to be so necessary that he wou'd, if the Council pleased & his Health shou'd permit, go with the Present himself, and see with his own Eyes what number of Indians were there, & in what disposition. He said further, that he accompanied the Secretary to Mr. Logan's yesterday, & that the Secretary had informed Mr. Logan of all these particulars, and taken his Sentiments in writing, and on them form'd the Plan of an answer. The Board order'd the Secretary to read what he had wrote, and on considering this & Mr. Weiser's Information, an answer was agreed to and the Presents settled. The Council adjourn'd to 4 o'Clock in the Afternoon, and directed that the Indians should be told to be there in order to receive the answer of the Council to their Speech.

At a Council held at Philadelphia, 16th Nov 1747, Four o'clock in the Afternoon.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President, and the same Members as in the Forenoon.

The Indians having taken their Seats the President spoke as follows:

"Brethren, Warriors of the Six Nations

"We, the President & Council of the Province of Pennsylvania, have taken what You said to Us into Consideration, and are now going to give you an answer.

"We are always glad to see our Brethren, and are particularly pleas'd at this critical time with your present Visit. You are sensible of the constant Freindship this Government has always shown to the Indians of the Six Nations, and that from their first Settlement in the Country their Interest has been put on the same foot with our own; And as long as you shall act up to your Engagements you will never want the most substantial proofs that we can give of our Regards to your Nations.

"You tell us that at the beginning of the War you received a Message from all the English to stand Neuter, and to prevail with your Allies to do the same; that in compliance therewith you did stand neuter, & all your Allies except the Praying Indians, who promis'd and broke their word; That the French commencing Hostilities, you received repeated Messages from the English to continue Neuter no longer, but to take up their Hatchet against the French, and that you and your Allies have accordingly done this.