Читать книгу Papers Relating to an Act of the Assembly of the Province of New-York - Great Britain. Board of Trade - Страница 29

The Honourable GEORGE THOMAS, Esq; Lieutenant-Governor. James Logan, } Clement Plumsted, } Samuel Hasell, } Abraham Taylor, } Esqrs; Samuel Preston, } Thomas Lawrence, } Ralph Asheton, } Robert Strettell, } The Chiefs of the Six Nations, with the Chiefs of the Shawanese. CANASSATEEGO, the Onondago Chief, Speaker. CONRAD WEISER, Interpreter.

The Governor opened the Conference as follows.

BRETHREN,

'The Proprietor having purchased certain Lands from your Nations about six Years ago, a Moiety of what was agreed to be given in Consideration of that Purchase was at that Time delivered to them, and the other being at their Desire left in the Proprietor's Hands, he pressed you by Shikalamy to send last Year for it, and would have been glad to have seen you, and taken you by the Hand before his Departure. But as the Design of this Meeting is to hear your News, and converse together in a free and friendly Manner, I shall say no more about the Goods than that they lie ready at the Proprietor's House, and will be delivered when you shall have sufficiently rested from the Fatigue of your Journey.'

The Chief of the Onondagoes spoke.

'BRETHREN,

'We propose to rest four Days, and then come to the main Business. At present we are at a private Conference about News, and have something of this sort to mention to our Brother Onas.' And on the Governor's signifying they would be glad to know what it was, the Chief proceeded.

BRETHREN,

'It is our Way when we come to our Brethren, or any other Persons, whom we live in strict Friendship with, to remove all Obstructions to a good Understanding; with this View we are to inform you of a Piece of disagreeable News that happen'd in our Journey.——Some White People living at a Place called Conegocheegoe, whose Names we cannot tell, nor whether they belong to this or the neighbouring Government, but one of them, as we heard, had his House burnt over his Head some Years ago, and he was brought down a Prisoner and committed to the Goal of this City: These People lighting of our young Warriors, as they were hunting, made some Proposals about the Purchasing of Land from them, and our young Men being indiscreet, and unacquainted with publick Business, were foolish enough to hearken to them, and to receive five Duffil Strowds for two Plantations on the River Cohongoronto. A Conestogoe Indian, and a French Indian, and some others that were in Company, had three Duffil Strowds, and went away with them; and our young Men carried off the other two. As soon as this came to our Knowledge, we sent for our Warriors, and after examining and rebuking them severely, we took away their two Strowds, and publickly censured them for exposing us to our Brethren of Pensylvania, in doing a Thing so inconsistent with our Engagements to them; "You are, said we aloud, that all our People might hear and take Notice, to know and remember, that the Six Nations have obliged themselves to sell none of the Land that falls within the Province of Pensylvania, to any other but out Brother Onas, and that to sell Lands to any other is an high Breach of the League of Friendship." Brethren, this rash Proceeding of our young men makes us ashamed. We always mean well, and shall perform faithfully what we have promised: And we assure you, this Affair was transacted in the Manner we have related, without our Privity or Consent. And that you may be fully convinced of this, and of the Sincerity of our Intentions, we have brought you these two Strowds [here he presented two red Strowds to the Governor] they are the very Strowds our foolish young Men received; we took them from them, and we give them to you to return to those white People who made the Bargain, and desire when the Strowds are returned to them, they may be told what we now say, and that we shall not confirm such Bargains, nor any other that may interfere with our Engagements to our Brother Onas.'

The Governor then spoke:

'BRETHREN,

'I thank you for this Piece of News; you have taken this Matter perfectly right. All Bargaining for Land within this Province, is, to be sure, a manifest Breach of your Contract with the Proprietors, and what we know you will not countenance. We have hitherto found the Six Nations faithful to their Engagements, and this is a fresh Instance of their Punctuality. You could not help these Mistakes of your young Men; they were not done in your Presence: But as several Inconveniencies may arise from these kind of clandestine Sales, or from any such loose Sales of Land by your People, we desire you will, on your Return home, give publick Notice to all your Warriors not to bargain for any Land; or if they do, that you will not confirm such Bargains; and that this very Affair, together with what you have done therein, may be particularly reported to all your Nation assembled in Council.'

The Onondago Chief promised to give such publick Notice; and desiring Liberty to mend his former Speech, he proceeded:

'BRETHREN,

'I forgot one Circumstance: Our People, who pretended to sell the Land, demanded a Belt of Wampum of the Buyers to carry to their Chiefs; and on their declaring they had no Wampum, our Warriors said, they would not answer that their Chiefs would confirm this Bargain, since they never did any thing of this Nature without Wampum.'

The Governor, after a short Pause, spoke:

'BRETHREN of the Six Nations,

'I take this Opportunity to relate to you a Piece of disagreeable News I received some Days ago in a Letter from Le Tort, the Indian Trader, at Allegheny, who says, "That in May last some Indians of the Taway Nation, supposed by us to be the Twightwees, in their Return from War, called and staid some Time with the Shawanese; who being asked, and denying they had brought either Scalps or Prisoners, the Shawanese suspecting them, had the Curiosity to search their Bags, and finding two Scalps in them, that by the Softness of the Hair did not feel like Indian Scalps, they wash'd them clean, and found them to be the Scalps of some Christians. On this Discovery, the Twightwees were so much ashamed, that they stole away from their Town in the Night-time; and coming, as they afterwards understood, to a little Village belonging to the Shawanese, they told our People that their Hearts were full of Grief; for, as they came along the Road, they found it all bloody; and having good Cause to believe it was made bloody with the Blood of some of the white Brethren, they had very sorrowfully swept the Road; and desired them to inform the Governor of Pensilvania of their (the Twightwees) Grief; and how they had swept the Road clean." 'Le Tort adds, on Behalf of the Shawanese,' "That they were much grieved at this unfortunate Accident; and prayed, as they had no Concern in it, more than by being Instruments to discover it, their Brethren would not blame them, nor suffer a Misunderstanding to arise between them on this Account: They would sweep the Road clean, and wipe all the Blood away; and desired their Brethren would be satisfied with this, and not weep too much for a Misfortune that might not happen again as long as the Sun and Moon shone."

'The Person who delivered me Le Tort's Letter, brought this Bundle of Skins as a Present to me; but I told the Messenger, I would not meddle with it; he might leave it if he pleased: The Affair appear'd to me in a bad Light, and I would represent it to the Six Nations, who were expected in Town every Day. This is the Fact, as I have it from Le Tort: I desire to be inform'd if you know any thing of this Matter; and if you do not, that you will make diligent Enquiry who committed the Murder, and who are the unhappy Sufferers, and assist us to obtain Satisfaction, if it shall appear to be any, of our Fellow-Subjects that have been treated in this Manner.'

To inforce this Request, I present you with this String of Wampum.

The Onondago Chief, in Reply, said: