subsisting between his Majesty and the French King. The French Commander utters a very great Falshood when he says that the Lands on Ohio belong to his Master, and that it was thus settled between the King of Great Britain and the French King. The quite contrary is declared in the last Treaty about these Matters, Viz that the Five United Nations are independent Nations, and that the Subjects of both Kings may trade without Molestation with them and their allies, or with the French Indians and their allies, in any of their Countreys.

"This I thought necessary you should be well informed of, least the words of the Commander should gain Credit with you. Don't trust such perfidious Men either with your Lands or your Persons, adhere all to one another, concert your Measures prudently and unanimously, and be assured his Majesty will not suffer you to want the assistance of his Subjects against these imperious and tyranical

aggressors.

"The Proprietaries to whom his Majesty has given the sole Right of treating with the Indians on Land affairs, are now at London, nor have I any power over their Chest; I am therefore obliged to consult them before I can give you an answer to the Terms on which you propose to release all your Right to the Lands on the East side of Ohio within the Limits of this Province. This I will, however, offer to your Consideration, whether it is not manifestly attended with this Difficulty that the debts due from Indians to Indian Traders and from them to their Merchants can never be reduced to certainty.— But whatever the Proprietaries Sentiments may be of this Proposal the Governor of Virginia and myself will concert Measures for your assistance; we will be as one Man and we expect You will be a Third according to your words.

"Brethren:

"We consider your Message as a very important one; We have taken time to weigh it well in all its Parts, and we are your true Friends and faithful Brethren. We have never hitherto shewn Ourselves wanting in our Assistance to You, we never shall you may be assured. The Season we apprehend will not permit the French to advance nearer to You, so that You will have time to consult together, and to make all the Indians in that large Extent of Country to which the French make Pretensions acquainted with their unjust Designs, that they may assemble together in Council, and there concert a joint and unanimous Opposition, and enter into hearty and mutual Bands and Leagues together, and be united as one Man. Let this be done, and in the End I hope all will be well. "Brethren:

"I have committed this answer to the care of Messieurs Croghan and Montour, with my Orders to deliver it and interpret it to you in Council.

"On your Recommendations, signified to me by the Commissioners who were at Carlisle, I have appointed these Two Persons to do the Publick Business of this Government, and expect to see their attestations or certificates to all the Messages which You shall please to send to this Government. They are answerable to me for their Conduct, and I can place a Confidence in what they say or do. But as to other Persons, tho' they may be good Men, yet if they are not known to me it will not be proper, especially in such a dangerous Season as this is, to entrust them with publick Consultations and make them the Messengers of advices. This is the case with those who have subscribed the Interpretation of your Speeches; they may be good Men but I do not know them nor their Characters. "JAMES HAMILTON.

"Philadelphia, 20th November, 1753."

Then were read Two Letters, one to Governor Glenn and the other to Governor Dinwiddie, wrote at the instance of the Commissioners of the late Treaty at Carlisle, in these Words:

"Sir:

"PENNSYLVANIA, October 30th, 1753.

"The Shawonese, a Nation of Indians living on the Ohio in the Borders of this Province and of That of Virginia, have heard that some of their young Men who went to War against the Southern Indians in company with a Party of Cogherawagos have been seized within your Government and committed to the publick Jayl of Charles Town, and ignorant of the Reasons why Indians belonging to a Nation in Amity with the English should be so treated, have earnestly besought me to make Enquiry into this matter and to become an Intercessor with You for their Release.

"It is at their Instance therefore that I am obliged to give you this Trouble, and to induce You to favour their Sollicitation I think it incumbent on me to acquaint You that the Six Nations, Delawares, Shawonese, Twightwees, and Owendats, all Indian Nations living on the Ohio and its Branches, held a Treaty this Summer with the Government of Virginia at Winchester, in which they set forth the Confinement of these young Warriors in Terms of much Tenderness, and made it a Point with that Government that two of the principal Men of the Six Nations should go to Williamsburg and there be joined by some Persons on the Part of Virginia, who together should proceed to Carolina to sollicit You for their discharge. That these Indians after finishing their Treaty at Winchester came into this Province, and were met at Carlisle by Commissioners of my appointment (my health not permitting me to be present) where an Account was brought to them from Ohio whilst in Council that a large Army of French who had entered their Country in the Spring and had built a Fort near the Heads of the

Ohio, were actually coming down that River to a Virginia Settlement situate in the Forks of Mohongialo, with an intent to build another Fort there and drive away the English Traders. Alarmed at this News the Indians made immediate preparation for their Return, and applied to the Commissioners to stop the Journey of their Chiefs to Carolina, setting forth that their Presence was absolutely necessary as well to conduct their Young Men home as to assist against the French; and this really appearing to the Commissioners to be the Truth, and that many bad Consequences might arise from the Absence of Men of their Character and Influence, they prevailed with the Chiefs and with the Shawonese, though not without Difficulty, to drop their intended Journey and leave it to the Governor of Virginia and myself to procure the Release of their young

men.

"The Commissioners have not only represented these Matters to me, but further add that these young men were bred up amongst the English and bave contracted a particular Regard for them; they are the Flower of their Nation for Courage and Activity, and would at this time be of great Service in the Defence of their Country; That Information was given them the Commissioners by the Virginia Interpreter, who came along with these Indians to Carlisle, that Governor Dinwiddie was using his best Endeavours to bring about a Peace between the Northern and Southern Indians, and intended for that Purpose to hold a general Treaty with them the next Summer, to which these Indians were invited and had promised to come, declaring they were sincerely desirous of Peace, and as the Commissioners have no manner of reason to doubt of the Truth of this Information they desire me to mention this to you, believing the Discharge of these young Men would much contribute to the Success of this Union, without which the Indians will in all Probability lose their Countrey and Independancy.

"Being entirely ignorant of the Reasons of the Imprisonment of these People, it is not possible for me to do more than lay before You these Considerations, which will I imagine be of sufficient Weight to induce You to put an End to it, unless there be something very particular in their Case. If, therefore, You should agreewith me in Opinion with Regard to the Expediency of their Discharge, I should be much obliged to You to consider what Method may be the most proper to conduct them into their own Country, whether by Sea to this Port or by Land to Virginia, and if this last should on the Account of the approaching Winter appear the best, then whether they should not be escorted thro' the Inhabited Parts of your Province to Williamsburg, the Expence of which will be chearfully born by that Government to which they shall be delivered.

"I will only add, that their Enlargement will give a sensible Pleasure to This and the neighbouring Provinces whose Nearness to the Nations interesting themselves in their Discharge does at this Junc

ture call for every Measure by which they may be confirmed in their Attachment to the English Interest.

"I am with great Regard, Sir, Your Excellency most obedient and most humble Servant,

"JAMES HAMILTON.

"His Excellency JAMES GLEN, Esquire."

"Sir:

"NEWCASTLE, 30th October, 1753.

"The Indians who were at Winchester coming afterwards into this Province, I appointed Commissioners to meet them at Carlisle. While in Council there an Account was brought that the Half King was returned without Success from the Fort near Weningo, which the French had just finished, and that their Army which was in two hundred Canoes was removing, notwithstanding the repeated prohibitions of the Indians, to the Forks of Mohongialo, with Intent to build another Fort there.

own.

"This News obliged the Commissioners at the Request of the Indians to stop Scarooyady's and Andrew Montour's Journey to Charles Town, as set forth in my Letter to Governor Glen, which I send you a Copy of, desiring You will please to support it with One of your You are better acquainted with Mr. Glen and the Reason of the Proceedings against these Indians than I am, and a Letter from you in favour of these Young Men would add great Weight to the Application, in which, if they have not success, I cannot help being Apprehensive of bad Consequences, and that You will fail in your well-judged and most seasonable Intention of bringing about a Reconciliation between the Northern and Southern Indians, in which if I can be of any Service I shall with great Pleasure receive your Commands.

"I should be glad to know what was done at Winchester; as the Commissioners have not yet made their Report to me of their Proceedings at Carlisle, I am prevented from sending you an Account of that Treaty, which I shall not fail to do when I have an Opportunity.

"I am, with great Regard, Sir,

"Your most obedient and most humble Servant,
"JAMES HAMILTON.

"I acknowledge the favour of your late Letter, but being from home I cannot at present answer it.

"J. H.

"His Excellency ROBERT DINWIDDIE, Esquire."

After which the Governor informed the Board that a Vessel

arrived Yesterday from Carolina, and that the Captain had brought with him Two of the Shawonese and a Letter from Governor Glen, which was read and ordered to be entered:

"Sir:

"So. CAROLINA, October 12th, 1753.

"While the Six Nations continue at War with the Catawbas, the French Indians, who are without doubt well pleased to see our Indians destroying one another, frequently accompanied them in their Expeditions, under pretence of assisting them against their Enemies; but I have reason to be of opinion that their Views did not terminate in the Destruction of the Catawbas, tho' that be a favourite Point, but that they were in hopes by repeated Injuries done to this Province to provoke Us to revenge ourselves on the Six Nation. They, therefore, under Cover of the Name of Senecas, Nittewagees, frequently came into our Settlements, at first sculking in the Woods and Swamps, killing a few Cattle only for Provision, but afterwards shewing themselves more openly, forcing Provisions from the Inhabitants, killing their Cattle out of Wantonness, and carrying off some of our Settlement Indians, People born among Us and who were not at War with any Nation whatever, and such of our Slaves as had the least Tincture of Indian Blood in them. These Provocations made me write circular Letters to all the Officers of the Militia to raise their respective Companies in any Part of the Province where any Damage had been done by Indians, and to

endeavour to bring such Indians to Charles Town, but if they resisted to use military Force; at the same time I laboured to reconcile Differences that had so long subsisted betwixt our Friends the Catawbas and the Six Nations, and this I did as thinking it for the British Interest in general to preserve and protect such Indians as are Friends to the English; but I was also hopeful that if Peace could be brought about, that we should be less troubled with Northern Indians in our Settlements, since they could have no Pretence of coming this Way. At Length Peace was concluded and We have had fewer Incursions than before, but still some Parties continue to come, and some Months ago one of these Parties murdered one Felix Smith not far from Charles Town, and ravished a Woman at the same time, upon which I, by the Advice of the Council, issued a Proclamation promising a Reward to any Person who should take alive or kill any of the Gang of Indians who had been guilty of the above Actions, or to any Person who should kill or take alive any Northern Indians in the Settlements after the Expiration of three Months. I knew there were some of the Six Nations at that time in the ' Catawbas, and as I knew that they were very scarce of Provisions I concluded that they might be hunting with the Catawbas for Provisions round that Nation, and I was apprehensive if any of our Inhabitants should for the Reward fall upon them without notice and destroy them, it might have the Effect to involve this Province in an Indian