USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial records of Pennsylvania, Vol. V > Part 29
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It is the opinion of the Board that the best way to avoid the Inconveniences of pressing Men, wou'd be to give a Bounty to as many Seamen as wou'd voluntarily enter on board, but as the Assembly has made no Provision for the Payment of such Bounty, the Board have it not in their power to assist the Captain as they are desir'd; the Secretary may, however, apprise Mr. Kinsey of this matter, & if he thinks this method reasonable & will advance the Money, the Board will give an Order for it upon him as Trustee, as they are inform'd there is no Money in the Treasury, in which may be likewise included the Sum expended for Supernu- merary workmen employ'd in Careening ye Otter.
At a Council held at Philadelphia, Friday, 17th June, 1748.
PRESENT :
Samuel Hasell,
William Till,
Abraham Taylor,
Robert Strettell, Esqrs.
Joseph Turner, Thomas Hopkinson,
The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd.
Captain Thomas Jenkins arriving this Afternoon, after having been taken by a Spanish Privateer at the Capes, the Secretary took
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his Examination, which he depos'd before Mr. Turner in these words :
"Thomas Jenkins, Captain of the Sloop Industry, being sworn on the Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth & saith, that he sail'd from Boston in the said Sloop Industry bound to Philadel- phia, & on Wednesday the 15th Instant about Eleven a'clock in the morning, being about five Miles from Cape May, he was taken by a Spanish Privateer from the Havannah commanded by Don Joseph Hannoteau, mounted with six Carriage Guns & about ten swivels, having on board about forty Men to the best of this Deponent's Judgment. And this Deponent further saith, that there were then in Sight two Ships, three Brigantines, & one Sloop, which he verily believes to be Enemies Vessels, as the said Sloop by which he was taken came from amongst the said Vessels & return'd to them ; and that one of the said Ships is a large Ship of upwards of Thirty Guns & has Top Lights & Poop Lanthorns ; That he was plunder'd of every thing that was valuable, & then they gave him his Vessel and set him at Liberty. This Deponent further saith, that he saw one of the Brigantines fire upon a Pilot Boat that was about three Miles to the Eastward of this Sloop, & believes she was likewise taken as he saw nothing of her afterwards.
"THOMAS JENKINS.
"Sworn this 17th June, 1748, before me,
"JO. TURNER."
On considering this Deposition the Members present concluded to send an Express to Govr. Gooch, with the following Letter :
" PHILADELPHIA, 17th June, 1748. " Sir :
" I have the honour to acknowledge the Receipt of Yours in answer to the Council's Letter, by the Express. It was exceeding kind in Your Excellency to dispatch a Messenger so soon to Cap- tain Norbury, & we hope your Letter reach'd him before he went to Sea.
" This afternoon arrived here one Captain Jenkins, who was taken off our Capes, & having made Oath to what pass'd, the Council think the Contents of his Deposition to be of so much Consequence that they have immediately dispatched a Messenger to apprize Your Excellency thereof, that You may give notice to the Vessels which are ready to Sail, & likewise may make Captain Masterson ac- quainted with the arrival of this fresh Set of Enemies' Privateers. By the Accounts of several Persons who have seen Don Pedro's Ship at the Havanna, the great Ship mention'd in Jenkins' Deposi- tiou must be the same, & the others his Consorts.
" The Council desire me as Eldest Member, in the absence of the
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President, to assure Your Excellency of their Respects, in which I most heartily join with them, being very truly,
"Your Excellency's most obedient humb. Servant,
" THOMAS LAWRENCE.
"Gov". GOOCH."
Another of the same Tenor was sent by Express to Governor Clinton, requesting him to impart the advice to Governor Shirley by the Post, who wou'd be just setting out for Boston on the arrival of the Express at New York.
At a Council held at Philada., Saturday 18th June, 1748.
PRESENT :
The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.
Samuel Hasell, William Till,
Abraham Taylor,
Robert Strettell,
Joseph Turner,
Thomas Hopkinson, Esqrs.
William Logan,
The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd.
Captain Clymer, in a Sloop bound here from Carolina, having been Chased by a Brigantine in Company with a large Ship, which he believ'd to be Don Pedro, & left his Vessel at Anchor about 18 Miles to the Northward of Cape May, his Examination was order'd to be taken by the Secretary. On this further Intelligence Captain Ballett came into Council, & desir'd the Board wou'd give their advice whether, as the Enemy's force was so strong at the Capes, it wou'd be prudent in him to venture down with the Convoy till he shou'd receive some tidings from the Loo or the Hector, & every one present thought it not safe either for the Convoy or the City that the Captain shou'd go down without some more perfect advices, which were hourly expected by the Intelligence Boats in the Employ of the Province.
Collo Taylor, under whose Command the Batteries were put for the present, produced a Set of Instructions to Mr. John Sibbald, commissionated to be Captain of the Fort, which were read & ap- prov'd.
The following Paper was presented by Mr. Weiser in Council.
" MEMORANDUM taken the 13th June, 1748.
" Last Night arrived at my House Ganataraykon, Sogogockiather, Achnoara, Kattake, & Sanagaranet, sent by Shikalamy to inform me that a Message from the Six Nations (in the Cajucka -- ) to the following purport.
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" Brethren & Cousins, You that live on Sasquehanna' River & elsewhere :
" We let You know that our Brethren, the English, have sent a Message to us to inform us that the French had come to live on this side the Lake, & threaten destruction to the Six Nations as well as to the English, & that, therefore, it was requisite our Nation in Concert with the others shou'd take up the English Hatchet and exert themselves against the French. To encourage us, therefore, they gave a large Belt of Wampum made in the shape of a Hatchet, and told us further that the English cried out for help, having suf- fer'd much by the French. So far the English Message.
" Whilst the Indians were in Council to think on an Answer the English Messengers were very kind, & made Presents of Hatchets & other things to the Women & Children.
" The Council of Cajucka made answer-' Brethren, the English : We are surpris'd at what You say. How is it possible that you cou'd be beat before you fought? You hitherto sat still & did nothing but use all the Arts possible to bring us into the War, and then, no doubt, you'd be easy enough; but we once more must re- turn your Hatchet to You, & desire you to fight like Men. You are very numerous, and if in Case we shou'd see that the French wou'd be too many for You, we will assist You; but never before You fight like Men.' The Indians return'd the Belt. Upon
which the Messenger said that he must acquaint them that their Brethren, the English, wou'd for the future look upon the Indians to be their Enemies & in the French Interest, and the English wou'd use them accordingly. Upon which the English answered Yoh, do so. After some pause the English Messenger offer'd the Indians a dram, & gave them a large Cask; but the Indians wou'd not taste it, & return'd it; and said: 'Brethren, We have drunk too much of Your Rum already, which has occasion'd our Destruction ; we will, therefore, for the future beware of it.' The Indians also order'd the Women & Children to return every thing they had receiv'd as Presents from the said Messenger, which was accordingly done.
"The remainder of the Indian Message is as follows, viz : 'Breth- ren & Cousins that live on Sasquehanna River : We send You this String of Wampum, and desire you to have your Ears open & be on Your Guard; we also desire You will with all speed carry this our Message from Town to Town until it arrives at Schohonyady. This was accordingly done-the said Message came to Shamokin on the 9th Instant, and the Indians met in Shikalamy's House. It was delivered by a Delaware Indian that lives on Wayamuck or Seahantowany. The Indians on Shamokin dispatch'd it immedi- ately to Scohonihady aforesaid, tho' the Sun was just down.
" Shikalamy is sick & like to loose his Eye sight, but said in Council that either some of the Indian or English Messengers must have falsified the Message, for that he could not believe it, &
:
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would, therefore, dispatch two of his Sons with two other Indians to let Tharughiawagon know of it, who wou'd soon inform the Indians of the truth of the Matter. I made no other answer, but told the Young People I was of their Father's opinion entirely, & wou'd immediately set out for Philadelphia, and it was no more than for the Council of Philada to write to the Governor of New York to enquire whether the above Message was his own or not, & the Truth wou'd soon come out.
" CONRAD WEISER."
Adjourn'd to 4 o'Clock in the Afternoon to consider the above, & Conrad Weiser is order'd to attend.
P. M.
PRESENT :
The same Members as in the forenoon.
Mr. Weiser's Paper was again read, & on mature Consideration thereof a Letter to Governor Clinton was drawn up in these words, & the President requested to Sign it & send it by Express : " Sir-
"The inclos'd Paper which was this Day deliver'd by Mr. Weiser to the Council is deem'd of the last Consequence. If your Messen- gers really express'd themselves in the manner related by the Cay- juckers, and the Indians think they had Your Excellency's Orders for such Expressions, it is not to be doubted but they will be ex- tremely cautious & watchful of the English behaviour, & perhaps they may think it necessary to advertize the French Governor of this proceeding, & to bespeak his Friendship & Assistance in case the English be as good as their words, and what Change of Coun- cils & Opinions may be brought about among the Indians by such a measure cannot be foreseen. We are certain that 750 Indians, all Inhabitants on the Borders of Virginia, Maryland, & this Pro- vince, met a Messenger sent by this Government to Ohio but the last Month, & declar'd that they and as many more were heartily for his Majestie's Subjects against the French at Canada, & waited only the Message from this Province to point out to them in what manner they cou'd do the most Service for the King's Interest. They were presented with Goods amounting to above the Value of Two hundred Pounds, and that only as an earnest of a much larger Present now ready to be sent to them by our Interpreter, Mr. Wei- ser. It is likewise certain that Jealousies are already rais'd in the minds of Indians who are known to be Friends of the English by this last Message, and shou'd they encrease, we judge it will be ex- ceedingly difficult to quiet their fears, which perhaps wou'd not be of so great moment if it was not known that Indian Fears have as
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bad consequences as if they were in actual War. They are at least thereby put upon consulting & siding with every body that may strengthen them against those People of whom they are afraid. May not this proceedure, if real, throw them into the Measures of the French Governor, and if the Messengers did use such Expres- sions & were not authorized to do so, will it not become absolutely necessary to set the Indians right ? if they were authorized to de- clare War (for this is little else), shou'd not the Governments to the Southward of New York be duly apprized of this Step that they may be prepar'd? If Your Excellency will be pleas'd to fur- nish the Council with Your Instructions to the Persons sent to the Six Nations, & with the relation they gave to Your Excellency of what pass'd between the Six Nations & them, the Board from thence may be enabled to give a proper answer to the Indians at Shamokin & the other Tribes that Live on & near the Borders of this Pro- vince.
" This Board has a high Sense of your Excellency's regard for every thing that can conduce to preserve the Friendship of the In- dians or remove ill grounded Jealousies, & therefore write with the utmost freedom, sending a special Messenger that You and Your Council may be immediately inform'd of this important piece of Intelligence, & that the Sentiments of Your Excellency may be convey'd to Us, in order to regulate our Conduct in an Affair of so much Consequence to the Lives of His Majestie's Subjects dwelling, in all the Provinces of North America.
" Your Excellency will be pleas'd to observe the Message comes only from the Cajuckers, one of the Six Nations; but notwithstand- ing this Singularity in the Message, it may be in consequence of a general Resolve of the Council at Onondago, for as this Cajucka Nation claims property in the Lands & authority over the Indians seated on the Waters of Sasquehanna, they think all publick orders shou'd be imparted by them to these Tribes.
" The Indians wait at Mr. Weiser's for his Report, and he is de- tain'd in Town till Your Excellency's answer by the return of the Express shall arrive.
" I am Your Excelley's, most obedt Servant,
" ANTHONY PALMER,
" Philada., 18th June, 1748.
" His Excellcy. Gov". CLINTON."
Mr. Croghan presented to the Board a Narrative of his proceed- ings at Ohio, with his account of Expences, which was read :
"OHIO, April 28th, 1748.
" Brothers of the Six Nations :
" I am sent here by the Honourable the President & Council of
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Philadelphia to return You thanks for the French Sculp You sent down last Spring as a token of your engaging in the War against the French, your & our common Enemy, and to acquaint You that their Honours have provided a large Present of Goods for all their Brethren that are Settled in and about Ohio; & they have sent You by me this Present of Powder, Lead, Vermillion, Knives, & Flints, to supply You to kill Meat for your Families till the rest of the Goods can be brought up, which are to be brought by Con- rad Weiser, Esq", and will be here at your Towns by the first of August next. In token whereof, I present you this Belt of Wam- pum."
Gave a Belt of Wampum.
" Brothers of the Six Nations :
" I am order'd to acquaint you that your Brothers having taken much to heart. the many abuses you have received by strong Liquors being brought up amongst you, such as inflaming your Blood and endangering many of your Lives, &cª., have issued a Proclamation strictly forbidding all Traders carrying any strong Liquors to your Towns under severe Penalties; and further, to stop such abuses desire that if you see any strong Liquors brought to Your Towns that you may stave the Casks containing such Liquors, and likewise make information of the Trader's Names, that they may be prosecuted as the Law directs. Further, your Brothers have sent you this string of Wampum to desire that you may not give Credit to every Report that you will hear, either from Indians or White men, without you see the President & Council's Letter, for you may be sure whenever your Brothers have any News to acquaint you with they will let you know it by Mr. Weiser."
Gave a string.
" OHIO, May 2d, 1748.
" Brother Onas :
" We have seen the Messenger you sent us, & have heard what he says ; we have also received the Present you sent us by him, to our great Satisfaction, for at this time we are but poor by reason that we are engag'd in a War against the French, & we are oblig'd to supply other Nations with Ammunition to assist us in the War. We have made intercession with some Nations of Indians that was in the French Interest, & have brought them to dwell amongst us; Your Messenger can inform You as to the number. Brothers : we have not prosecuted the War with that vigour we might have done, for this reason, that we wanted all our Brethren home from amongst the Enemy before we strike the home stroke, which we intend to do. It is true some of our Young Men go to pay the French a visit now and then, and Brothers we assure You that we resent the abuses done to You & us by the French. We send you this French Sculp as a token that we don't go to visit them for nothing."
Gave a Sculp and Wampum.
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PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.
" OHIO, May 4th, 1748.
" Brother Onas :
"We return You thanks for the Present we have received, & likewise for sending us word that you will send us another Present by Mr. Weiser, which could never come in better time, as we have a large. Body of our Brethren that are lately come to supply as well as ourselves. We have heard by Schaiohady, & now by your Messenger, that you have put a stop to the Traders carrying out strong Liquors, which we approve of very well, for we have suffer'd considerably by such abuses-for there is many People who brings nothing else but Liquor, & so cheats us of our Skins, & many of our People have lost their Lives. But, Brothers, we have one thing to acquaint you with, that is there a great Nation of Indians come from the French to be your Brothers as well as ours, who say they never tasted English Rum yet, but would be very glad to taste it now as they are come to Live with the English, so we hope you will order some of your Traders to bring them some, for which re-' quest we send you this string of Wampum."
Gave a String of Wampum.
" Brother Onas :
"We have no more to say at present but to acquaint you that there is 730 Men of us of the Six Nations settled here on Ohio & able to go to War, exclusive of other Nations which will make up as many more, and all we wait for is for our Brothers the Eng- lish to tell us when & where we shall go; and to assure our Bro- thers of our Constancy, we send you this string of Wampum."
Gave a String of Wampum.
At a Council held at Philada., Thursday, 23d June, 1748.
PRESENT :
The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.
Thomas Lawrence, William Till,
Abraham Taylor,
Robert Strettell, Joseph Turner, 1 Esqrs. William Logan,
Thomas Hopkinson,
The Minutes of the preceding Council were read & approv'd.
A Letter from the Shawonese & some of the Six Nation Indians, Dated the 4th Instant, at Loggs' Town, the first of the Indian Towns on the Road from Lancaster to Allegheny, was read, purporting that some of them were coming down to present the Chiefs of the Twig- twees, a Nation lately come over from the French into the Interest VOL. V .- 19.
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of the English, & desir'd their Brethren wou'd send somebody to meet them on the Road with Provisions, & that they wou'd be pleas'd to kindle a Council Fire for them at Lancaster.
Mr. Weiser & Andrew Montour attending without were call'd in. Mr. Weiser presented Andrew to the Board as a Person who might be of Service to the Province in quality of an Indian Interpreter & Messenger, informing them that he had employ'd him in sundry affairs of Consequence & found him faithfal, knowing, & prudent; that he had for his own private Information, as Andrew lives amongst the Six Nations between the Branches of Ohio & Lake Erie, sent a Message to him in the Winter, desiring him to observe what pass'd amongst those Indians on the Return of Schaiohady & come down to his House in the Spring, which he did, & gave him such a full account of the Numbers & Importance of the Indians in those parts as wou'd be useful to him in his intended Journey there with the Province Present, & recommends him to the Council for a Reward for his trouble. 1
The Letter receiv'd from the Shawonese & others was read again, & Mr. Weiser & Andrew were ask'd whether they knew the Sub- scribers Tammany Buck, Big Hommony, Pala Kishaw, & Lawac- quaqua. Andrew said the two first named were the principal Men among the & the two last were , that the Twig- twee Nation were a very considerable Nation, & that it was happy that they & their Friends shew'd an Inclination to be well with the English, & might prove of extraordinary Service, for they were a Nation of vast importance to the French on the Lakes.
The Council order'd Andrew to go & meet them, & if possible to. prevail with them to come to Philadelphia, but if he found it dis- agreable not to press it too much, & to be sure to send an Express by Mr. Weiser's to Philadelphia, with an account of their number & Business, if they should not be willing to come to this City.
Order'd, That Andrew Montour have for his trouble £-, & that his Expence & that of his Company be likewise paid.
Mr. Weiser's Instructions were read to him in these words, viz .:
" Instructions to Conrad Weiser, Esq., Interpreter for the Province of Pennsylvania.
" Sir :
" This Government having promised the Indians who came here from Ohio in November last to send You to them early in the Spring, & having provided a Present of a considerable Value, You are to proceed thither with all convenient Dispatch. Mr. George Croghan, the Indian Trader, who is well acquainted with the Indian Country and the best Roads to Ohio, has undertaken the Convoy of you & the Goods with his own Men and Horses at the Publick Ex-
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pence, & as it cannot be foreseen how long the Journey will take him nor what trouble may attend it, so as to enter into Contract before hand with him, all affairs relating thereto are entirely left to You, wherein we recommend all the frugallity that can consist with the Nature of Your Business, the Treasury being Low and a large Sum expended in the Purchase of the Present.
: "As soon as You come to the place of general Rendezvous you are to notify your arrival in a Speech to all the Tribes, wherein you are to deal in generals, reserving all particular Matters to your closing Speech.
" You are to use the utmost diligence to acquire a perfect know- ledge of the Number, Situation, Disposition, & strength of all the Indians in or near those parts, whether they be Friends, Neutrals, or Enemies, & be very particular in knowing the Temper & In- fluence of the Tribes of Indians who send Deputys to receive You, for by the knowledge of these matters You are to regulate the dis- tribution of the Goods which is to be divided amongst them in as equal & just a manner as possible, that all may go away satisfied, & none receive the Least Cause of Disgust at any undue preference given to others.
"You cannot be at a loss for Matter from whence to form Your Speeches. The antient Enmity of the French to the Indian Na- tions, their perfidy upon all occasions, of which if any reliance can be had on the Articles of News in the Publick Papers you may give some late Instances in the Death of Taghananty the Black Prince, who perish'd in a Jayl at Montreal, & in the cruel Treat- ment of the Indians in general at Canada, who are confin'd to loathsome Prisons without proper or wholesome Sustenance.
" The Inability of the French to protect the Indians or to supply them with such Necessaries as they stand in need of for their Sub- sistence, These observations are what cannot but occur to You. You may further enlarge on the constant & antient Friendship of the English, & their readiness at all times to assist them against the Attempts of the French, who have ever been for destroying or enslaving them. And an ample field will be furnish'd to You in doing Justice to this Province, which has ever shewn the greatest readi- ness to supply the Indians in their most pressing Necessitys, men- tioning the several valuable Presents made them from time to time, particularly since the commencement of the War, instancing the Governments Presents at Philadelphia over & above the Price of their Lands in the Year 1742, the large Presents at Lancaster & at Albany, & then the present occasion will bear a peculiar enlarge- ment, this Government having no sooner heard of the Distresses of the Indians, & that abundance of Families & Young Warriors had for the convenience of Hunting remov'd to the Waters of Ohio & Lake Erie, than they determin'd to send them a Supply of Goods &
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Powder, which in this time of Scarcity they cou'd have from no other Place. This tenderness for those who out of every Nation had came & fix'd their habitation in these Parts, must needs make deep Impressions on their Affections, & especially on the minds of their Young People, to the advantage of the kindness of this Pro- vince for all the Indians.
" By the Treaties subsisting between His Majestie's Subjects & the Indian Nations, they are laid under the strongest obligations to give each other the earliest Intelligence of whatever may affect their Persons or their Properties. In discharge of our duty you are to inform the Indians that the management of the War being com- mitted to the Governors of New York & Boston, operations of this Year are concerted by them; that they have Orders from His Ma- jesty exceedingly favourable to the Indians, & in pursuance thereof they will prosecute the War against the French & their adherents with the utmost vigour; that His Majesty in token of his Regard to the Indian Nations has sent a large Present to the Governor of New York to be distributed at Albany, but that as by their distance from this Place the Indians on Ohio & Lake Erie may be suppos'd not to receive much Benefit from the Albany Present, This is an additional Consideration why this Government chuses to be kind to these Indians & assist them the readier when they are in distress, because they cannot without extreme difficulty get Supplies from other Places.
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