Part 11 (2/2)

_T A C H A N O O N T I A_ replied:

_Brother_ a.s.saragoa,

You have made a good Speech to us, which is very agreeable, and for which we return you our Thanks. We shall be able to give you an Answer to every Part of it some Time this Afternoon, and we will let you know when we are ready.

In the C o u r t-H o u s e at _Lancaster, June_ 27, 1744, _P. M._

P R E S E N T,

The Honourable _G E O R G E T H O M A S_, Esq; Governor, &c.

The Honourable the Commissioners of _Virginia_.

The Honourable the Commissioners of _Maryland_.

The Deputies of the _Six Nations_.

_Conrad Weiser_, Interpreter.

_T A C H A N O O N T I A spoke as follows_:

_Brother_ a.s.saragoa,

Since you have joined with the Governor of _Maryland_ and Brother _Onas_ in kindling this Fire, we gladly acknowledge the Pleasure we have in seeing you here, and observing your good Dispositions as well to confirm the Treaties of Friends.h.i.+p, as to enter into further Contracts about Land with us; and, in Token of our Satisfaction, we present you with this String of Wampum.

_Which was received with the usual Ceremonies_.

_Brother_ a.s.saragoa,

In your Speech this Morning you were pleased to say we had wrote a Letter to _James Logan_, about seven Years ago, to demand a Consideration for our Lands in the Possession of some of the _Virginians_; that you held them under the Great King for upwards of One Hundred and Sixty Years, and that we had already given up our Right; and that therefore you had desired the Governor of _New-York_ to send his Interpreter to us last Year to _Onandago_, which he did; and, as you say, we in Council at _Onandago_ did declare, that we had no Demand upon you for Lands, and that if we had any Pretensions, we should have made them known to the Governor of _New-York_; and likewise you desire to know if we have any Right to the _Virginia_ Lands, and that we will make such Right appear, and tell you what Nations of _Indians_ we conquered those Lands from.

Now we answer, We have the Right of Conquest, a Right too dearly purchased, and which cost us too much Blood, to give up without any Reason at all, as you say we have done at _Albany_; but we should be obliged to you, if you would let us see the Letter, and inform us who was the Interpreter, and whose Names are put to that Letter; for as the whole Transaction cannot be above a Year's standing, it must be fresh in every Body's Memory, and some of our Council would easily remember it; but we a.s.sure you, and are well able to prove, that neither we, nor any Part of us, have ever relinquished our Right, or ever gave such an Answer as you say is mentioned in your Letter. Could we, so few Years ago, make a formal Demand, by _James Logan_, and not be sensible of our Right? And hath any thing happened since that Time to make us less sensible? No; and as this Matter can be easily cleared up, we are anxious it should be done; for we are positive no such thing was ever mentioned to us at _Onandago_, nor any where else. All the World knows we conquered the several Nations living on _Sasquahannah_, _Cohongoronta_, and on the Back of the Great Mountains in _Virginia_; the _Conoy-uch-such-roona_, _Coch-now-was-roonan, Tohoa-irough-roonan_, and _Connutskin-ough-roonaw_, feel the Effects of our Conquests, being now a Part of our Nations, and their Lands at our Disposal. We know very well, it hath often been said by the _Virginians_, that the _Great King_ of England, and the People of that Colony, conquered the _Indians_ who lived there, but it is not true. We will allow they have conquered the _Sachdagughroonaw_, and drove back the _Tuscarroraws_, and that they have, on that Account, a Right to some Part of _Virginia_; but as to what lies beyond the Mountains, we conquered the Nations residing there, and that Land, if the _Virginians_ ever get a good Right to it, it must be by us; and in Testimony of the Truth of our Answer to this Part of your Speech, we give you this String of Wampum

_Which was received with the usual Ceremony_.

_Brother_ a.s.saragoa,

We have given you a full Answer to the first Part of your Speech, which we hope will be satisfactory. We are glad to hear you have brought with you a big Chest of new Goods, and that you have the Key in your Pockets.

We do not doubt but we shall have a good Understanding in all Points, and come to an Agreement with you.

We shall open all our Hearts to you, that you may know every thing in them; we will hide nothing from you; and we hope, if there be any thing still remaining in your Breast that may occasion any Dispute between us, you will take the Opportunity to unbosom your Hearts, and lay them open to us, that henceforth there may be no Dirt, nor any other Obstacle in the Road between us; and in Token of our hearty Wishes to bring about so good an Harmony, we present you with this Belt of Wampum.

_Which was received with the usual Ceremony_.

_Brother_ a.s.saragoa,

We must now tell you what Mountains we mean that we say are the Boundaries between you and us. You may remember, that about twenty Years ago you had a Treaty with us at _Albany_, when you took a Belt of Wampum, and made a Fence with it on the Middle of the Hill, and told us, that if any of the Warriors of the _Six Nations_ came on your Side of the Middle of the Hill, you would hang them; and you gave us Liberty to do the same with any of your People who should be found on our Side of the Middle of the Hill. This is the Hill we mean; and we desire that Treaty may be now confirmed. After we left _Albany_, we brought our Road a great deal more to the West, that we might comply with your Proposal; but, tho' it was of your own making, your People never observed it, but came and lived on our Side of the Hill, which we don't blame you for, as you live at a great Distance, near the Seas, and cannot be thought to know what your People do in the Back-parts: And on their settling, contrary to your own Proposal, on our new Road, it fell out that our Warriors did some Hurt to your People's Cattle, of which a Complaint was made, and transmitted to us by our Brother _Onas_; and we, at his Request, altered the Road again, and brought it to the Foot of the Great Mountain, where it now is; and it is impossible for us to remove it any further to the West, those Parts of the Country being absolutely impa.s.sable by either Man or Beast.

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