USA > Pennsylvania > Early history of western Pennsylvania, and of the West, and of western expeditions and campaigns, from MDCCLIV to MDCCCXXXIII > Part 52
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POST'S SECOND JOURNAL, 1758.
it to the French captain, and let him go with his young men ; he boasted much of his fighting: now let us see his fighting. We have often ventured our lives for him; and had hardly a loaf of bread, when we came to him : and now he thinks we should jump to serve him." Then we saw the French captain mortified to the uttermost: he looked as pale as death. The Indians discoursed and joked till midnight, and the French captain sent messengers at midnight to fort Duquesne.
21st-We were informed that the general was within twenty miles of fort Duquesne. As the Indians were afraid the English would come over the river Ohio, I spoke with some of the captains, and told them that, "I supposed the general intended to surround the French, and therefore must come to this side of the river, but we assure you that he will not come to your towns to hurt you." I begged them to let the Shawanese at Logstown, know it, and gave them four strings of 300 wampum, with this message : "Brethren, we are arrived with good news, waiting for you ; we desire you to be strong, and remember the ancient friendship your grandfathers had with the English. We wish you would remember it, and pity your young men, women and children, and keep away from the French : and if the English should come to sur- round the French, be not afraid. We assure you they won't hurt you."
22d -Kittiuskund came home, and sent for us, being very glad to see us. He informed us, the general was within fifteen miles of the French fort : that the French had uncovered their houses, and laid the roofs round the fort to set it on fire, and made ready to go off, and would demolish the fort, and let the English have the bare ground, saying : " they are not able to build a strong fort this winter, and we will be early enough in the spring to destroy them. We will come with seven- teen nations of Indians, and a great many French, and build a stone fort."
The Indians danced round the fire till midnight, for joy of their brethren, the English coming. There went some scouting parties to- wards the army. Some of the captains told me that Shamokin Daniel, who came with me in my former journey, had fairly sold me to the French ; and the French had been very much displeased, that the Indians had brought me away.
23d-The liar raised a story, as if the English were divided into three bodies, to come on this side of the river. They told us the Cayugas, that came with us, had said so. We told the Cayugas of it. on which they called the other Indians together: denied that they ever said so, and said, they were sent to this place from the Five Nations, to tell them to do their best endeavors to send the French off from this country ; and when that was done, they would go and tell the general to go back over the mountains.
I see the Indians concern themselves very much about the affair of land : and are continually jealous, and afraid the English will take their land. I told them to be still and content themselves, "for there are some chiefs of the Five Nations with the army -- they will settle the affair, as they are the chief owners of the land; and it will be well for you to come and speak with the general yourselves."
Isaac Still asked the French captain, whether it was true, that Daniel had sold me to the French? He owned it, and said, I was theirs, they
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APPENDIX-NO. XI.
had bought me fairly ; and, if the Indians would give them leave, he would take me.
24th-We hanged out the English flag, in spite of the French ; on which our prisoners folded their hands, in hopes that their redemption was nigh, looking up to God, which melted my heart in tears, and pray- ers to God to hear their prayers, and change the times, and the situation which our prisoners are in, and under which they groan. "O Lord, said they, when will our redemption come, that we shall be delivered, and return home ?" And if any accident happeneth, which the Indians dislike, the prisoners all tremble with fear, saying, "Lord, what will become of us, and what will be the end of our lives?" So that they often wish themselves rather under the ground, than in this life. King Beaver came home, and called us to his house and saluted us in a friendly manner; which we, in like manner did to him. Afterwards I spoke by four strings of 350 wampum, and said, as followeth :
" I have a salutation to you, and all your people, front the general, the governor, and many other gentlemen. Brother, it pleases me that the day is come to see you and your people. We have warmed ourselves by your fire, and waited for you, and thank you, that you did come home. We have good news of great importace ; which we hope will make you, and all your people's hearts glad. By these strings I desire you would be pleased to call all your kings and captains, from all the towns and nations ; so that they all may hear us, and have the benefit thereof, while they live, and their children after them."
Then he said, "As soon as I heard of your coming, I rose up directly to come to you." Then there came another message, which called me to another place where six kings of six nations were met together. 1 sent them word they should sit together a while and smoke their pipes, and I would come to them. King Beaver said further :
" Brother : It pleaseth me.to hear that you brought such good news ; and my heart rejoices already at what you said to me. It rejoices me that I have now heard of you." I said, "Brother : You did well that you first came here before you went to the kings, as the good news we brought is to all nations, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, that want to be in peace and friendship with the English. So it will give them satisfaction when they hear it." The French captain told us that they would demolish the Fort, and he thought the English would be to-day at the place.
25th-Shingas came home and saluted us in a friendly manner, and so did Beaver, in our house ; and then they told us they would hear our message, and we perceived that the French captain had an inclination to hear it. We called Beaver and Shingas and informed them that all the nations, at Easton, had agreed with the Governor, that every thing should be kept secret from the ears and eyes of the French. He said, "It was no matter, they were beaten already. It is good news, and if he would say any thing, we would tell him what friendship we have together." Accordingly they met together, and the French Captain was present. The number consisted of about fifty.
King Beaver first spoke to his men : "Hearken all you captains and warriors, here are our brethren, the English ; I wish that you may give [110]
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POST'S SECOND JOURNAL, 1758.
attention, and take notice of what they say. As it is for our good, that there may an everlasting peace be established ; although there is a great deal of mischief done, if it pleaseth God to help us, we may live in peace again."
Then I began to speak by four strings to them, and said :
" Brethren : Being come here to see you, I perceive your bodies are all stained with blood, and observe tears and sorrows in your eyes : With this string I clean your body from blood, and wipe and anoint your eyes with the healing oil, so that you may see your brethren clear- ly. And as so many storms have blown since we last saw one another, and we are at such a distance from you that you could not rightly hear us as yet, I, by this string, take a soft feather, and with that good oil, our grandfathers used, open and clear your ears, so that you may both hear and understand what your brethren have to say to you. And by these strings I clear your throat from the dust, and take all the bitter- ness out of your heart, and clear the passage from the heart to the throat, that you may speak freely with your brethren, the English, from the heart,"
Then Isaac Still gave the pipe, sent by the Friends,* filled with tobac- co, and handed round after their custom, and said :
" Brethren : Here is the pipe which your grandfathers used to smoke with when they met together in councils of peace. And here is some of that good tobacco, prepared for our grandfathers from God :- When you shall taste of it, you shall feel it through all your body ; and it will put you in remembrance of the good councils your grandfathers used to hold with the English, your brethren, and that ancient friendship they had togetlier."
King Beaver rose and thanked us first, that we had cleaned his body from the blood, and wiped the tears and sorrow from his eyes and open- ed his ears, so that now he could well hear and understand. Likewise he returned thanks for the pipe and tobacco that we brought, which our grandfathers used to smoke. He said, " When I tasted that good tobac- co, I felt it all through my body, and it made me all over well."
Then we delivered the messages, as followeth :
Governor Denny's answer to the Message of the Ohio Indians, brought by Frederick Post, Pisquetomen and Thomas Hickman.
"By this string, my Indian brethren of the United Nations and Dela- wares, join with me in requiring of the Indian councils, to which these following messages shall be presented, to keep every thing private from the eyes and ears of the French." A string.
"Brethren: We received your message by Pisquetomen and Frederick Post, and thank you for the care you have taken of our messenger of peace, and that you have put him in your bosom, and protected him against our enemy, Onontio, and his children, and sent him safe back to our council fire, by the same man, that received him from us." A string.
" Brethren : I only sent Post to peep into your cabins, and to know
* The Quakers of Philadelphia, who first set on foot these negotiations of peace, and for whom the Indians have always had a great regard.
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APPENDIX-NO. XI.
the sentiments of your old men, and to look at your faces, to see how you look. And I am glad to hear from him, that you look friendly ; and that there still remain some sparks of love towards us. It is what we believed before hand, and therefore we never let slip the chain of friendship, but held it fast, on our side, and it has never dropt out of our hands. By this belt we desire that you will dig up your end of the chain of friendship that you suffered, by the subtlety of the French, to be buried." A belt.
"Brethren : It happened that the Governor of Jersey was with me, and a great many Indian brethren, sitting in council at Easton, when your messengers arrived, and it gave pleasure to every one that heard it; and it will afford the same satisfaction to our neighboring Governors, and their people, when they come to hear it. I shall send messengers to them and acquaint them with what you have said.
"Your requesting us to let the King of England know your good dis- positions, we took to heart and shall let him know it; and we will speak in your favor to his Majesty, who has, for sometime past, looked upon you as his lost children. And we can assure you, that, as a tender father over all his children, he will forgive what is past, and receive you again into his arms." A belt.
" Brethren : If you are in earnest to be reconciled to us, you will keep your young men from attacking our country, and killing, and carrying captive our back inhabitants : And will likewise give orders that your people may be kept at a distance from Fort Duquesne, that they may not be hurt by our warriors, who are sent by our King to chastise the French and not to hurt you. Consider the commanding officer of that army treads heavy, and would be very sorry to hurt any of his Indian brethren." A large belt.
"And brethren: The chiefs of the United Nations, with their cousins, our brethren, the Delawares, and others now here, jointly with me send this belt, which has upon it two figures that represent all the English and all the Indians now present taking hands, and delivering it to Pis- quetomen ; and we desire it may be likewise sent to the Indians who are named at the end of these messages,* as they have all been former- ly our very good friends and allies; and we desire they will all go from among the French to their own towns, and no longer help the French."
" Brethren on the Ohio : If you take the belts we just now gave you, in which all here join, English and Indians, as we do not doubt you will, then, by this belt, I make a road for you and invite you to come to Philadelphia to your first old council fire, which was kindled when we first saw one another; which fire we will kindle up again, and remove all disputes, and renew the old and first treaties of friendship. This is a clear and open road for you ; fear, therefore, nothing, and come to us with as many as can be of the Delawares, Shawanese, or of the Six Na- tions. We will be glad to see you ; we desire all tribes and nations of Indians, who are in alliance with you, may come. As soon as we hear
* "Sastaghretsy, Anigh Kalicken, Atowateany, Towigh, Towighroano, Geghdageghroano, Oyaghtanont, Sifaghroano, Stiaggeghroano, Jonontady- nago."
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POST'S SECOND JOURNAL, 1758.
of your coming, of which you will give us timely notice, we will lay up provisions for you along the road."
A large white belt, with the figure of a man, at each end, and streaks of black representing the road from the Ohio to Philadelphia.
" Brethren : 'The Six Nation and Delaware Chiefs join with me in those belts, which are tied together to signify our union and friendship for each other; with them we jointly take the tomahawks out of your hands and bury them under ground.
" We speak aloud, so as you may hear us ; you see we all stand to- gether, joined hand in hand." Two belts tied together.
General Forbes to the Shawanese and Delawares, on the Ohio.
"Brethren : I embrace this opportunity by our brother, Pisquetomen, who is now on his return home with some of your uncles of the Six Nations from the treaty of Easton, of giving you joy of the happy con- clusion of that great council, which is perfectly agreeable to me ; as it is for the mutual advantage of our brethren, the Indians, as well as the English nation.
"I am glad to find that all past disputes and animosities are now final- ly settled and amicably adjusted; and I hope they will be forever buried in oblivion, and that you will now again be firmly united in the interest of your brethren, the English.
"As I am now advancing at the head of a large army against his Ma- jesty's enemies, the French, on the Ohio, I must strongly recommend to you to send immediate notice to any of your people who may be at the French fort, to return forthwith to your towns; where you may sit by your fires, with your wives and children, quiet and undisturbed, and smoke your pipes in safety. Let the French fight their own battles, as they were the first cause of the war and the occasion of the long differ- ence which hath subsisted between you and your brethren, the English; but I must entreat you to restrain your young men from crossing the Ohio, as it will be impossible for me to distinguish them from our ene- mies ; which I expect you will comply with without delay, lest by your neglect thereof, I should be the innocent cause of some of our brethren's death. This advice take and keep in your own breasts, and suffer it not to reach the ears of the French.
"As a proof of the truth and sincerity of what I say, and to confirm the tender regard I have for the lives and welfare of our brethren on the Ohio, I send you this string of wampum.
"I am, brethren and warriors,
"Your friend and brother,
"JOHN FORBES."
" Brethren : Kings Beaver and Shingas, and all the warriors who join with you :
" The many acts of hostility, committed by the French against the British subjects, made it necessary for the King to take up arms in their defence, and to redress their wrongs which have been done them ; heaven hath favored the justice of the cause, and given success to his fleets and armies in different parts of the world. I have received his commands with regard to what is to be done on the Ohio, and shall H
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APPENDIX-NO. XI.
endeavor to act like a soldier, by driving the French from thence, or de- stroying them.
"It is a particular pleasure to me to learn that the Indians, who inhabit near that river, have lately concluded a treaty of peace with the English ; by which the ancient friendship is renewed with their brethren, and fixed on a firmer foundation than ever. May it be lasting and unmoveable as the mountains. I make no doubt but it gives you equal satisfaction, and that you will unite your endeavors with mine, and all the Governors of these provinces, to strengthen it. The clouds that for some time hung over the English and their friends, the Indians on the Ohio, and kept them both in darkness, are now dispersed, and the cheerful light now again shines upon us and warms us both. May it continue to do so, while the sun and moon give light.
" Your people, who were sent to us, were received by us with open arms; they were kindly entertained while they were here, and I have taken care that they shall return safe to you ; with them come trusty messengers whom I earnestly recommend to your protection ; they have several matters in charge, and I desire you may give credit to what they say ; in particular, they have a large belt of wampum, and by this belt we let you know that it is agreed by me and all the Governors that there shall be an everlasting peace with all the Indians, established as sure as the mountains, between the English nation and the Indians all over, from the sun-rising to the sun-setting ; and as your influence on them is great, so you will make it known to all the different nations that want to be in friendship with the English ; and I hope by your means and persuasions, many will lay hold on this belt and immediately with- draw from the French : this will be greatly to their own interest and your honor, and I shall not fail to acquaint the great King of it: I sin- cerely wish it for their good ; for it will fill me with concern to find any of you joined with the French, as in that case you must be sensible I must treat them as enemies ; however, I once more repeat that there is no time to be lost, for I intend to march with the army very soon, and I hope to enjoy the pleasure of thanking you for your zeal, and of enter- taining you in the fort ere long. In the mean time I wish happiness and prosperity to you, your women and children.
"I write to you as a warrior should, that is, with candor and love, and I recommend secresy and dispatch.
"I am, Kings Beaver and Shingas, " And brother warriors, " Your assured friend and brother,
"JOHN FORBES.
"FROM MY CAMP AT LOYALHANNON, Nov. 9, 1758."
The messages pleased and gave satisfaction to all the hearers, except the French Captain. He shook his head with bitter grief, and often changed his countenance. Isaac Still ran down the French Captain with great boldness, and pointed at him saying : "There he sits." After- wards Shingas rose up and said :
" Brethren: Now we have rightly heard and understood you, it pleas- eth me and all the young men that hear it; we shall think of it and take it into due consideration ; and when we have considered it well, then
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POST'S SECOND JOURNAL, 1758.
we will give you an answer, and send it to all the towns and nations as you desired us."
We thanked them and wished them good success in their undertaking ; and wished it might have the same effect upon all other nations that may hereafter hear it as it had on them. We went a little out of the house. In the mean time Isaac Still demanded the letter which the French had falsely interpreted, that it might be read in public. Then they called us back, and I, Frederick Post, found it was my own letter, I had wrote to the General. I therefore stood up and read it, which Isaac interpreted. The Indians were well pleased, and took it as if it was written to them ; thereupon they all said: "We always thought the French report of the letter was a lie ; they always deceived us:" Pointing at the French Captain ; who, bowing down his head, turned quite pale, and could look no one in the face. All the Indians began to mock and laugh at him ; he could hold it no longer and went out. Then the Cayuga Chief delivered a string in the name of the Six Nations, with these words :
"Cousins, hear what I have to say ; I see you are sorry, and the tears stand in your eyes. I would open your ears, and clear your eyes from tears, so that you may see, and hear what your uncles, the Six Nations have to say. We have established a friendship with your brethren, the English. We see that you are all over bloody, on your body ; I clean the heart from the dust, and your eyes from the tears, and your bodies from the blood, that you may hear and see your brethren, the English, and appear clean before them, and that you may speak from the heart with them." Delivered four strings.
Then he shewed to them a string from the Cherokees, with these words :
"Nephews, we let you know, that we are exceeding glad that there is such a firm friendship established, on so good a foundation, with so many nations, that it will last forever; and, as the Six Nations have agreed with the English, so we wish that you may lay hold of the same friendship. We will remind you, that we were formerly good friends. Likewise we let you know, that the Six Nations gave us a tomahawk, and, if any body offended us, we should strike him with it; likewise, they gave us a knife, to take off the scalp. So we let you know, that we are desirous to hear very soon from you, what you determine. It may be, we shall use the hatchet very soon, therefore, I long to hear from you."
Then the council broke up. After a little while messengers arrived, and Beaver came into our house, and gave us the pleasure to hear, that the English had the field, and that the French had demolished and burnt the place entirely, and went off; that the commander is gone with two hundred men to Venango, and the rest gone down the river in battoes, to the lower Shawanese town, with an intention to build a fort there ; they were seen yesterday passing by Sawkung.
We ended this day with pleasure and great satisfaction on both sides: the Cayuga chief said, he would speak further to them to-morrow.
26th-We met together about ten o'clock. First, King Beaver ad- dressed himself to the Cayuga chief, and said :
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APPENDIX-NO. XI.
"My uncles, as it is customary to answer one another, so I thank you, that you took so much notice of your cousins, and that you have wiped the tears from our eyes, and cleaned our bodies from the blood ; when you spoke to me I saw myself all over bloody ; and since you cleaned me, I feel myself quite pleasant through my whole body, and I can see the sun shine clear over us." Delivered four strings.
He said further, " As you took so much pains, and came a great way through the bushes, I, by this string, clean you from the sweat, and clean the dust out of your throat, so that you may speak what you have to say from your brethren, the English, and our uncles, the Six Nations, to your cousins, I am ready to hear."
Then Petiniontonka, the Cayuga chief, took the belt with eight dia- monds, and said :
" Cousins, take notice of what I have to say ; we let you know what agreement we have made with our brethren, the English. We had almost slipt and dropt the chain of friendship with our brethren, the English ; now we let you know that we have renewed the peace and friendship with our brethren, the English ; and we have made a new agreement with them. We see that you have dropt the peace and friendship with them. We desire you would lay hold of the covenant, we have made with our brethren, the English, and be strong. We like- wise take the tomahawk out of your hands, that you received from the white people ; use it no longer, fling the tomahawk away ; it is the white people's, let them use it among themselves ; it is theirs, and they are of one color ; let them fight with one another, and do you be still and quiet in Kshkushking. Let our grand-children, the Shawanese, like- wise know of the covenant, we established with our friends, the English, and also let all other nations know it."
Then he explained to them the eight diamonds on the belt, signifying the five united nations, and the three younger nations, which join them: these all united with the English. Then he proceeded thus :
"Brethren, (delivering a belt with eight diamonds, the second belt,) we hear that you did not sit right ; and when I came I found you in a moving posture, ready to jump towards the sunset ; so we will set you at ease, and quietly down, that you may sit well at Kushkushking ; and we desire you to be strong ; and if you will be strong, your women and children will see from day to day, the light shining more over them ; and our children and grand-children will see, that there will be an ever- lasting peace established. We desire you to be still ; we do not know as yet, what to do ; towards the spring you shall hear from your uncles what they conclude ; in the mean time, do you sit still by your fire at Kushkushking."
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