we are a frontier Country between your Enemy & You, so that we have been your Guard, & things have been manag'd so well as to keep the War from your Doors, and tho' we have been expos'd to many Calamities & Blood has been shed among us, yet we did not trouble you with any account of our hardship during all this War, nor has any thing that has happen'd lessen'd our Affection for you, which we assure you of by this Belt, & desire the same return of Affection from You." A Belt. "Brethren: "Now that we have brightened the Chain & inform'd you that our Regards have not been alienated from you, but have remain'd firm amidst the various occurrences of War, that we have now leisure & are poor, we by this Belt desire to make our coming agreable to you, having no other Business with you than to pay you a Brotherly Visit." A Belt. "Brethren: "We now speak only to the Governor & Council. By Treaties all white People were to have been hinder'd from scttling the Lands not purchased of Us, or if they shou'd make any settlements, as they might at such a distance from you without your knowing of it, you engag'd to remove them when discovered. Notwithstanding your Engagements many People have settled on the East side of Sasquehanna, & though you may have done your Endeavours to remove them, yet we see these have been without Effect, & that white People are no more obedient to you than our young Indians are to us; & since it may now be attended with a great deal of trouble, we have taken this thing into consideration, having while we were on our Journey observ'd your People's Settlements, and are willing to give up the Land on the East side of Sasquehanna from the Blue Hills or Chambers' Mill to where Thomas M'Gee the Indian Trader lives, & leave it to you to assign the worth of them." A Belt of 12 Rows. "Brethren the Governor & Council: "We still speak only to the Governor & Council. Some of our Company that have been here a while ago hearing that numbers were Settling & design'd to Settle the Lands on the Branches of Juniata, made Complaint to you, and as we came along we saw Papers which were Interpreted to us to be Orders for these People to remove, in consequence of the Complaints made on our behalf by the Deputies of the Seneca Nation. We thank you for taking Notice of the Complaint and taking measures to turn them off; but we are apprehensive that no better Effects will follow these than former Ones of the same nature-if not we must insist on it that as this is on the hunting Ground of our Cousins the Nanticokes, & other Indians Living on the Waters of Juniata, you use more vigorous measures & forcibly remove. We must not be depriv'd of our hunting Country, & indeed it will be an hurt to You, for all we kill goes to You, and you have the profit of all the Skins. We, therefore, repeat cur earnest entreaties that they may all be immediately made to go away with their Effects, that this Country may be entirely Left vacant.' A String. "Brethren the Governor & Council: "We have offer'd to assign over to You the Lands on the East side of Sasquehanna, from the Blue Hills to Thomas McGee's House, & have left it to You to affix the Price. In doing so we have an entire Confidence in the honour of the Governor & Council. People tell us that the Proprietors receive immense Sums for the Lands we have sold to them, & that Lands are now worth a great deal of Money; you know this better than us, & we trust you will have a regard to this when you fix the price to be paid for them; It may be all in Money or Goods, as you please to order it. That you may do for us in the best manner you can, we give you this "Belt. "Brethren the Governor & Council: The "We shou'd have mention'd at first what we are now going to say, but as it is of a disagreeable nature, we choose first to brighten the Chain, & to declare our Regards for you previously to it. As we came along we found Blood in the way & Blood spill'd within your own Doors; We enquir'd who did it & were told so many odd and different Stories that the People who gave the Accounts seem'd to us Like Drunken Men, & we could not tell what to believe. Indians, it is true, are apt sometimes to speak untruths, but white People do so too, & can utter falsehood full as readily as Indians. There are many bad People among you who are not worthy of Credit. Governor & Council are wise and understanding Men, & can distinguish who tells truth & who does not, & as we will not take upon us to say how our Warrior was killed (here the Interpreter said the Person was Nephew of the Speaker Canassatego) so many different Accounts are related of it we desire the Governor will take pains to examine minutely in the truth, not to be too credulous of what every white Man will say, but to find out the whole truth & how thiscame to his Death, & whoever the Governor shall say committed this murder, whether Indians or white People, we shall say so too, & acquiesce in his determination & to induce you to examine carefully & to judge impartially without favour or affection to your own People we give you this "String. "Brethren the Governor & Council: "We now speak in behalf of our Couzins the Nantycokes. You VOL. V.-26. know that on some differences between the People of Maryland & them we sent for them & placed them at the Mouth of Juniata, where they no live; they came to Us while on our Journey & told us that there were three Settlements of their Tribe Left behind in Maryland who wanted to come away, but the Marylanders kept them in fence & would not let them; we desire, therefore (being urg'd thereto by our Couzins the Nantycokes), that you wou'd write to the Gov of Maryland & use your utmost Interest that the fence in which they are confin'd may be taken away, & that their demands on the Maryland Government may be satisfied & that they may be allowed to come & settle where the other Nantycokes are & Live with them amongst us. We have further to tell you that the People of Maryland do not treat the Indians as you & others do, for they make Slaves of them & sell their Children for Money, & this makes us more importunate with you to get the rest of our Couzins from among them, and to urge this we give you "A Belt of 7 Rows. "Brethren: "This kindness has been always shewn us that when we came to see you our Guns & Hatchets and other things of this kind have been mended for us, we request by this String you will continue this favour to us & give the like Orders now as you have been us'd to do." A String. "Brethren the Governor & Council: "We return two Belts & a String of Wampam which were sent to Us by Gov" Thomas. At the Instance of the Governor of Virginia who sent him the Belts, he became a Mediator to procure a Peace between the Catawbas and us, & that if we were willing to treat with them, some place in Virginia might be appointed for both sides to come to, and dispatch'd Conrad Weiser with a Message to Us on that head; and out of Regard for the Governor of Pennsylvania we promised to call our Warriors together & to lay the proposal before them, but then told him that if they were willing to accommodate matters, we shou'd rather chuse to come to Philadelphia than Virginia, but the War broke out soon after & we have never been able to get them together till lately & now we say we neither offer nor reject Peace, nor do we think that the Catawbas whom we know to be a false People dealt sincerely with the Governor of Virginia when they made him believe that they desir'd Peace. This is our answer, but we request that you wou'd write to the Governor of Virginia that he wou'd find out what are the true Sentiments of the Catawbas, but let him be on his Guard for they will deceive him, & when he has reason to think that he knows their Hearts that he wou'd inform us of the truth by you. We do not lay any stress on this Matter, but if you will take this trouble on you we shou'd be glad to know the present disposition of the Catawbas." The Indians having declar'd that they had nothing further to communicate, they withdrew, & the Secretary was order'd to prepare a fair Copy of these Minutes & to Lay it before the Assembly to-morrow with the following Message: "Mr. Speaker "The Governor for expediting Business sends to the House the Minutes of Council containing the Speech made yesterday by the Indians; and as they, have been faithful to Us during the War, recommends it to the House to take into Consideration the making them a Present at this time." At a Council held at Philadelphia 19th Aug, 1749. PRESENT: The Honourable JAMES HAMILTON, Esqr., Lieutenant Gov The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd. The Governor inform'd the Board that he had receiv'd from the House by two of their Members a Bill Entitled "An Act for imposing a Duty on Persons convicted of heinous Crimes, & to prevent Poor & Impotent Persons being imported into this Province," & that having compar'd it with former Acts of the same kind & found it exactly agreeable to them, he had return'd it with a Message that it shou'd be pass'd when presented to him for that purpose. And that the two Members acquainted him that the House had agreed to the Amendments propos'd to the Bill for erecting a new County; and that as to the Bill relating to the Poor, though the House wou'd have been better satisfied to have had it pass'd entire, yet as several things still remain'd in the Bill that might be serviceable to the Publick, they had agreed to the Amendments propos'd & had order'd it to be engross'd. The Governor further inform'd the Board that two Members of Assembly had deliver'd to him some Resolutions of the House on the Message to them, with a Copy of the Indian's Speech, which are as follow: "Resolo'd, "That besides the Sum of One hundred Pounds lately given to the Indians, a Sum not exceeding Five hundred Pounds be now presented to them.' "Resolo'd, "That the Governor be acquainted with the Sentiments of the House, & the hope they entertain that in Consideration thereof the Proprietaries' Agents are impowered & will accordingly make an additional Present to the Indians, as well as contribute to the Expence arising on this Visit." And after the Governor had read them, They said they were order'd by the House to acquaint the Governor that as great Injuries were done by the Indians to several Persons as they came down, the House requested he wou'd take proper Notice of them in his Speech to the Indians, in order to prevent the like Outrages for the future; and that he had made them this answer, viz., that he wou'd strongly represent to the Indians the Injuries done by some of them to the Inhabitants, and would Likewise consider the other part of the Message relating to an Addition to the Present. His Honour further inform'd the Board that two Members of Assembly had waited on him, acquainting him that the Bills which had pass'd the House with his concurrence were engross'd in the manner agreed on, and desir'd to know when the Governor wou'd be pleas'd to receive the House in order to the enacting those Bills into Laws; and further, that they desir'd the Governor would appoint two Members of Council to join a like number of the House, in order to compare them; whereupon he had order'd the House to attend him at 12 o'Clock this morning, Mr. Peters & Mr. Strettell having compar'd the engross'd Bills with the Originals. A Message was sent to the House that the Governor was ready to receive them in the Council Chamber, & they coming accordingly, the Speaker presented to His Honour the two following Acts, Entitled "An Act for Erecting part of the Province of Pennsylvania Westward of Sasquehannah & South Eastward of the South Mountain into a County," And "a Supplement to the Act intitled 'Au Act for imposing a Duty on Persons convicted of heinous Crimes, & to prevent poor and impotent Persons being imported into this Province," and "An Act for amending the Laws relating to the Poor," which were pass'd into Laws; and then the Speaker presented to the Governor an Order of the House for Six Hundred Pounds, the Remainder of his Support, for which he was pleased to thank the House, & say he hoped the good Agreement which had subsisted between the several Parts of the Legislature hitherto was a good presage of its continuance during his Administration. |