USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. IX > Part 10
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Then was read the following Letter from General Gage, of the 12th Instant, renewing General Amherst's requisition of Troops from this Province, for carrying on an Offensive War against the Indians, viz* :
A Letter from General Gage to the Governor.
" NEW YORK, 12 December, 1763.
" Sir :
" I am to hope, Sir Jeffery Amherst's departure from America, will make no alteration in respect of the Requisition he made in his Letter of the 5th Novem"., from the Province of Pennsylvania, of a body of One thousand Men for the Service of the next Year. But, as I have succeeded Sir Jeffery Amherst in the Command of His Majesty's Forces in North America, it behooves me to neglect nothing which might promote a Service so essential to the future Interests and happiness of all the Colonys; And, therefore, I think proper to make a fresh application to you on this Subject, trusting that the Requisition will not only meet with your Approbation, but that the necessity of the Service for which this aid is Demanded, is so Apparent, that it will meet with a favourable Reception from your Council & Assembly, & that we shall thereby be enabled to reduce the Savages to a Peace which shall be sure and lasting.
" Every thing which S". Jeffery Amherst promised respecting the Victualling of the Troops and providing them with Arms & Tents, shall be complied with. I am, with great Regard, Sir,
" Your most Obedient humble Servant,
" THOS. GAGE.
"The Honble Governor PENN.'
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PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.
The Governor having summoned the House of Assembly to meet on this day, laid before the Board a Draft of a Speech, which he proposed to deliver to the Assembly as soon as they informed him of their being met, and the same was read & approved, and is as fol- lows :
Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Assembly.
"Nothing but my indispensable duty to His Majesty, and a sin- cere Desire to promote the Welfare and Happiness of the Good People of this Government (to which the Honourable Proprietaries, with the King's Royal Approbation, have lately been pleased to ap- point me), could have prevailed on me to call you together before the time of your own adjournment, as I presume you had considered and fixed upon that as the most convenient to your domestick af- fairs ; But I am persuaded the same motives which have influenced me on this occasion, will induce you chearfully to prefer the neces- sary Service of the Publick to all private Considerations.
"I am to inform you, Gentlemen, that very soon after my Arrival, I received a Letter from Sir Jeffery Amherst, designed at first, for my immediate Predecessor, Mr. Hamilton, but (on notice of my having ta- ken upon me the Government), inclosed to me, in which he requests that I would use my influence with the Council & Assembly of this Pro- vince, to raise one thousand Men, exclusive of Commissioned Offi- cers, to be divided into Two Corps, of Ten Companies each, com- manded by their proper Field Officers, and that it will be necessary the whole should be raised and ready to join the King's Troops, or to be sent on such Service as the Commanding Officer in the South- ern District may direct, by the first of March next, and the time of their Service limited to the first of November following; tho' he bopes every thing may be finished long before that period, in which case the Troops will be sent back to the Province. You will see by the Letter which I have ordered to be laid before you, that the General undertakes to furnish the Men that shall take the Field with Tents, Provisions, and Arms, at the King's expence. All, therefore, that is desired of us, is, to make provision for their pay, and to find them in Cloathing, which may consist of a short Jacket, flannel Waistcoat, Leggings, &ca. You will also be informed by the said Letter, that the General hath made Applications to the . provinces of New York and New Jersey, and to the Colony of Vir- ginia, for certain Quotas of Men, to act in Conjunction with the King's Troops offensively against the Indians, the former by way of Lake Erie, &cy the latter in concert with ours, against the Dela- wares, Shawanese, and other Tribes, who have committed Hostili- ties against us. These measures he judges to be the most probable for crushing the present Insurrections of the Indians, & the most effectual for reducing them, & securing Peace and Quiet to the Set- tlements hereafter. This Requisition hath since been warmly re-
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newed by General Gage, who hath lately succeeded to the Chief r Command of His Majestie's Forces in North America.
"Gentlemen :
" Every Man who is acquainted with the great Extent of Fron- tier of this and the neighboring Colonies, and considers the manner in which the Indians make War, must see the Disadvantages each particular Province must labour under in endeavouring singly to defend its own Settlements, and that nothing but a vigorous exer- tion of the united Strength of the whole, & carrying the War into the Enemie's Country, can effectually secure our back Inhabit. ants from the barbarous inroads of the Savages, Or is so likely to reduce them speedily to hearken to reasonable Terms of Accommo- dation. I do, therefore, most heartily recommend this matter to your Consideration, and doubt not from your known Zeal for the King's Service in general, and your regard for the safety of this Province in particular, you will comply with a Demand which may be attended with such happy Effects to both.
" Gentlemen :
" I, with pleasure, take the first opportunity of speaking to you as a Body, to acquaint you that I have it in charge from the Pro- prietaries to assure you of their paternal Regard and affection for the good people of this Province, and that they wish for nothing more than to promote their real Happiness. As to myself, I can with great Truth say, that I am most sincerely disposed to do every thing in my power that may tend to the advantage & prosperity of the Province, and to cultivate and improve that Harmony and good understanding with this and all future Assemblies, during my Ad- ministration, which is so essentially necessary to the publick good, as well as to the ease and happiness of the several Branches of the Legislature.
" 20th December, 1763."
" JOHN PENN.
The Governor, agreeable to the advice of the Council, wrote the following Letter to the magistrates of York, Lancaster, & Cum- berland Counties, viz *. :
" PHILADELPHIA, 19th Decem", 1763.
" Gentlemen :
" Having received Information that on Wednesday, the 14th In- stant, a party of Men, armed and mounted, did, without cause or provocation, and in defiance of all Authority, proceed to the Cones- togo Indian Town, in Lancaster County, and murder Six of our Friendly Indians, settled there under the Protection of this Gov- ernment and its Laws. I.do hereby direct and require you imme- diately to exert yourselves on this occasion, & to issue Warrants and take all other Measures in your power for the apprehending all
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the Principals concerned in the murder of the said Indians and their accomplices, & securing them in some of the Gaols of this Province, that they may be brought to Justice, & receive a legal tryal for the Crimes they have committed.
" I am, Gentlemen, "Your very humble Servant,
" JOHN PENN.
" To the Magistrates of the Counties of Lancaster, York, and Cumberland."
At a Council held at Philadelphia, on Tuesday, the 20th De- cember, 1763. .
PRESENT :
The Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &ca.
Benjamin Shoemaker, Richard Peters, Esqrs.
William Logan,
Benjamin Chew, S
The Governor, having received a Message this morning from the Assembly by two members, acquainting him that a Quorum of the House was met pursuant to His Summons, and were ready to re- ceive any thing he had to lay before them, and that they desired a Copy of the Writ by which the House were convened, to which the Governor made answer that he intended to meet them in the Coun- cil Chamber this day at 12 o'Clock, & should send the Secretary with one of the Writs.
The Council being met, the Secretary was ordered to acquaint the House that he required their attendance in the Council Chamber, and to deliver to them one of the Writs by which they had been called together.
The Speaker and the whole House attending, accordingly the Governor made the Speech to them agreed upon Yesterday.
The Governor then delivered to the Speaker the several Letters from General Amherst & General Gage, referred to in his Speech.
At a Council held at Philada", on Wednesday, the 21st December, 1763.
PRESENT :
The Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor, &cª.
William Logan, Richard Peters, & Benj". Chew, Esquires.
The Council taking into Consideration the late Conferences with Papounan & other Indians from Wighalousin, as well as the un-
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happy affair of the Conestogo Indians, were of opinion, that the few friendly Indians left at Wighalousin by Papounan should be invited down to Philadelphia, & be taken under the protection of the Government, & that those of the Conestogo Indians who escaped the Fury of the Rioters, ought to be immediately removed for their better Security, & therefore advised the Governor to desire the Con- currence of the Assembly in these Measures, & that they would provide for the necessary expence attending them; for which pur- pose a draught of a Message was immediately prepared, read and approved, & the Secretary was ordered to transcribe the same, and carry it to the House this Evening, and at the same time lay before them the Minutes of Indian Conferences therein referred to for their perusal.
A Message from the Governor to the Assembly.
" Gentlemen :
"I lay before you the Minutes of several Conferences I have held with Papounan & some other Indians, who live at Wighalousin, on the River Susquehanna. I have no reason to doubt that they have disclosed to me all that they really know of the present state of the Indian War, and of the Cause assigned by the Enemy Indians in their Neighbourhood for their renewing Hostilities against us. They have intimated to me that they, and a few others with whom they are connected, being really our sincere Friends, are uneasy at their present Situation, and would incline to come and live among us, if we would receive & protect them. They have been very im- portunate with me for an immediate Answer, alledging, as they have been very kindly treated by us, if this overture should be likewise favourably accepted, that it would confirm those who are already well disposed, & also incline many others, who are at pre- sent in Arms against Us, to sue for Peace.
" The Commissioners who are joined with me in the Disposition of the Publick Money, were made acquainted with this affair ; and. tho' they agreed with me as to the Expediency and Utility of the Measure, yet as it would be attended with Expence, & the public Funds were nigh exhausted, we did not think proper to go into it. I therefore recommend it to you to consider this matter, & if you concur with me in Opinion that this will be for the public Service, & will provide a Fund on the Occasion, I desire you will give me your answer as soon as possible, that I may no longer detain the Indians, who are impatient to return home with my Messages.
"I am also to lay before you a piece of intelligence I received from Lancaster on Friday last, which has given me the utmost Con- cern. On the 14 Instant a number of People well armed & mounted, went to the Indian Town in Conestogoe Manor, and, without the least Reason or Provocation, in cool blood, barbarously killed Six of the Indians settled there, & would probably have
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PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.
treated all the rest with the same cruelty, had they not Providen- tially been abroad at that time ; & after burning all their Houses the Perpetrators of this inhuman & wicked Action retired.
" As the Indians were seated on the Manor by the Government, & had lived there peaceably & inoffensively during all our late Troubles, I conceived they were as much under the Protection of the Government, & its Laws, as any others amongst us, wherefore I thought it my Duty to do every thing in my power for the im- mediate apprehending & bringing to Justice the Authors of this horrid Scene ; & accordingly, by the advice of the Council, I have dispatched Letters to the Magistrates of Lancaster, Cumberland, and York Counties, requiring and charging them to exert them- selves & endeavour, by all possible means, to discover and secure the Principals concerned in this outrageous Act, and their Accom- plices. I am also preparing a Proclamation, ordering and requir- ing all officers civil and military, and all His Majesty's Subjects in this Government, to be 'aiding and assisting to the Magistrates in the Execution of the Laws on this unhappy occasion. . Such of the Conestogoe Indians as had the good fortune to escape the Fury of the abovementioned lawless Party, are now taken under the protec- tion of the Magistracy at Lancaster, and are secured in the Work- house there, but are in great distress for want of necessaries & Apparel, having lost every thing except the little they had on their backs, in their Houses which were burnt.
" As they do not apprehend themselves to be safe where they are, " they have, by a verbal Message by one of your Members, requested of me that they may be removed to this city, or its Neighbourhood ; and I am very ready to comply immediately with their desire, pro- - vided you will enable me to defray the Expence of it.
"JOHN PENN.
"December 21st, 1763."
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Thursday, 22d December.
This day the Governor issued the following Proclamation, by the advise of the Council, on the 19th Instant, viz *:
" By the Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Gov- ernor & Commander-in- Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, & Sussex, upon Delaware :
"A PROCLAMATION.
" WHEREAS, I have received Information that on Wednesday the fourteenth day of this Month, a number of People armed & mounted on Horseback, unlawfully assembled together, & went to
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the Indian Town in the Conestogo Manor, in Lancaster County, and without the least Reason or Provocation, in cool blood barbarously killed Six of the Indians settled there, and burnt & destroyed all their Houses & Effects. And Whereas, so cruel and inhuman an Act committed in the Heart of this Province, on the said Indians, who have lived peaceably and inoffensively among us during all our late Troubles, and for many Years before, & were justly con- sidered as under the protection of this Government and its Laws, calls loudly for the vigourous Exertion of the civil Authority to detect the Offenders and bring them to condign Punishment, I have therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, thought fit to issue this Proclamation, and do strictly charge and enjoin all Judges, Justices, Sheriffs, Constables, Officers, Civil and Military, and all other his Majesty's liege Subjects within this Pro- vince, to make diligent Search & Enquiry after the Authors & Perpetrators of the said Crime, their Abettors and Accomplices, and to use all possible means to apprehend and secure them in some of the Public Gaols of this Province, that they may be brought to their Tryals, and be proceeded against according to Law.
" And Whereas, a number of Indians who lately lived on or near the Frontiers of this Province, being willing and desirous to preserve and continue the ancient Friendship which heretofore sub- sisted between them and the good People of this Province, have, at their earnest request, been removed from their Habitations and brought into the County of Philadelphia, and seated for the pre- sent, for their better Security, on the Province Island & in other places in the neighbourhood of the City of Philadelphia, where Provision is made for them at the Publick Expence. I do there- fore hereby strictly forbid all Persons whatsoever, to molest or injure any of the said Indians, as they will answer the Contrary at their Peril.
" Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the said Province, at Philadelphia, the twenty-second day of December, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, And in the Fourth Year of His Majesty's Reign.
" JOHN PENN.
"By His Honour's Command. " JOSEPH SHIPPEN, Jun"., Secretary. "GOD SAVE THE KING."
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Saturday, the 24th December.
The Governor received a Message from the Assembly by two Members, acquainting him that the House proposed to present an Address to His Honour, and desired to know when he would be
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pleased to receive it, & that they were inclinable to adjourn till Monday, the 2nd January next, if it was agreeable to him; To which the Governor answered, that he would be ready to receive the address of the House at half an hour after 4 o'Clock this after- noon, in the Council Chamber, and that he had no objection to their proposed short Adjournment. The said Members, at the same time, presented to the Governor the following written Mess- age from the House :
A Message to the Governor from the Assembly.
" May it Please your Honour :
" We have taken into our Consideration your Honour's Message of the 21st Instant, & are extreamly concerned to hear of the un- provoked Cruelties committed on the peaceable Indians settled in Conestogoe Manor.
"We thank the Governor for communicating this Intelligence and the Indian Conferences to Us, and for the Measures he has taken to have the Perpetrators of this horrid Barbarity, and their Accomplices, apprehended and brought to Justice.
"We will provide for the removing and maintaining such of these unhappy People as have escaped the Fury of the above men- tioned lawless Party, and desire your Honour will be pleased to order them to be brought down to some place of Safety as soon as it can conveniently be done.
"We shall also make Provision for the support of the few friendly Indians at Wighalousin, on Susquehanna, who incline to come and live among us, whenever your Honour shall think proper to invite them into the interior parts of the Province.
" Signed by order of the House,
"ISAAC NORRIS, Speaker.
" December 24th, 1763."
Eodem Die, 4} o'Clock, P. M.
The Governor having ordered the Secretary to acquaint the House that he was in the Council Chamber & ready to receive them, They attended accordingly, and the Speaker delivered the following ad- dress, vizt :
" The Address of the Representatives of the Freemen of the Pro- vince of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met :
" To the Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieutenant Gov- ernor, & Commander-in- Chief of the Province aforesaid, and Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, upon Delaware :
" May it Please your Honour : " The Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of Penn- sylvania, in General Assembly met, with the most cordial Satisfac- VOL. IX .- 7.
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tion, embrace this Opportunity to congratulate your Honour on your safe arrival among us, and your accession to this Government. The appointment of one of the Descendants of our first worthy Proprietary to preside over the Province, gives us high Pleasure, and, we doubt not, is very agreeable to the People we represent, as we are induced to hope for many Advantages from the Administra- tion of one of the Proprietary Family, whose true Interest is cer- tainly so intimately united with that of the People, that neither can suffer an Injury by any unfortunate Disunion, without affecting the other.
" Permit us, therefore, to return your Honour our sincere thanks for the warm Professions you are pleased to make, of doing every thing in your power that may tend to the advantage and prosperity of the Province, & to cultivate and improve Harmony and a good Un- derstanding with Us and all future Assemblies. A Conduct so judi- cious and obliging, must certainly render your Government easy and agreeable to yourself, & happy to the People, as you may be as- sured nothing shall be wanting on our part to protect and preserve that Harmony so essentially necessary at all times for the ease of the several Branches of the Legislature & the public Welfare.
"Permit us, also, to request you will be pleased to return the Honourable Proprietaries our hearty acknowledgments for the As. surances they give us of their paternal Regard and Affection for the good People of this Province, & their inclination to promote our real happiness. Such a Disposition, we are persuaded, will secure to our Proprietaries the Esteem and Respect of the Inhabitants of the Province, and induce them on all Occasions to unite in promo- ting the Proprietary Interest & Happiness of their Families. " May it Please your Honour,
"The good Opinion you are pleased to entertain of our zeal for His Majesty's Service, and our Regard for the Safety of the Pro- vince is very grateful to us ; The paternal Affection of the best of Sovereigns for his Subjects, however remote, and his constant atten- tion to the preservation of their Rights & Liberties, justly demand the highest Degree of Loyalty and affection for His Royal Person, & Zeal for his Service, that a grateful People can possibly demon- strate ; and the important Charge with which we are entrusted, & our inviolable Duty to the People we represent, we hope will en- sure to them our utmost Regard to their Protection and safety. Influenced by these motives, we have resolved to comply fully with the General's requisition, recommended to us by your Honour, in granting to His Majesty a thousand Men, exclusive of Commis- sioned Officers, to be divided into two Corps, Commanded by their proper Field Officers ; and we shall immediately proceed to prepare a Bill for the raising of the Supplies necessary for the Cloathing & paying the Troops, that the same may be presented to your Honour for your Concurrence.
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" To this important measure we have acceded with the utmost Chearfulness, from a Conviction that nothing less than a vigorous Exertion of the united Strength of the Colonies in offensive Operations against the Enemy, and making them sensible of the weight of our just Resentment for their Perfidy in captivating & cruelly murdering our Inhabitants, as well as Traders who were supplying them with the necessaries of Life, at their own Instance & Solicitation, can procure a Restitution of our Fellow Subjects, who have been perfidiously taken or detained since the late Peace, contrary to express Treaties ; nor can any thing less, in our Opinion, obtain a Redress for the losses sustained by our merchants, Traders, and others, his Majesty's Subjects in this Province, and reduce the Emeny to accept of reasonable Terms of Accommoda- , tion ; and at the same time that we have resolved thus fully to. comply with the General's Requisition, we make no doubt the Lower Counties, under your Honour's Government, will likewise. chearfully raise a proportionable number of Men for the same im. portant Service.
"Signed by Order of the House. "ISAAC NORRIS, Speaker.
" Decem™ 24th, 1763."
To which the Governor was pleased to return an Answer in these. words, viz' :
" Gentlemen :
"I am extreamly obliged to you for your kind & affectionate Ad- dress. I shall take a particular pleasure in communicating to the Proprietaries that part of it wherein you are pleased to express the due Sense you have of their Regard and Affection, which I know will be most acceptable to them.
" Your speedy resolutions respecting the General's requisition of Troops to be employed in offensive Operations against our Indian Enemies, & the Chearfulness with which you have voted the full Quota demanded, cannot fail to recommend you to His Majesty's favour, as you thereby Testify your Zeal for his Service, as well as your Regard for the safety & Happiness of the People of this, Province.
" Decem". 24, 1763."
"JOHN PENN.
Then the Speaker gave the Governor a Certificate for £600 to- wards his Support for the ensuing Year.
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At a Council held at Philadelphia on Thursday the 29 Decem- ber, 1763.
PRESENT ::
The Honourable JOHN PENN, Esquire, Lieuten't Governor, &ca.
James Hamilton,
Richard Peters,
Benjamin Shoemaker,
Lynford Lardner,
William Logan,
Benjamin Chew,
Esquires.
Thomas Cadwalader,
The Governor received last Night, by Express, the following Letter from Edward Shippen, Esquire, at Lancaster, which was laid before the Board for their Consideration, & is as follows :
" LANCASTER, 27th Decem"- 1763, P. M. " Honoured Sir:
" I am to acquaint your Honour that between two and three of the clock this afternoon, upwards of a hundred armed men, from the Westward, rode very fast into Town, turned their Horses into Mr. Slough's (an Inn-keeper) Yard, and proceeded with the great- est Precipitation to the Work House, stove open the door and kill- ed all the Indians, and then took to their Horses and rode off, all their business was done, and they were returning to their horses be- fore I could get half way down to the Work house ; The Sheriff and Coroner, however, & several others, got down as soon as the Rioters, but could not prevail with them to stop their hands ; some people say they heard them declare they would proceed to the Pro- vince Island, and destroy the Indians there.
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