Which was received, and the Interpreter ordered to give the Yo-hah.
Brother, the Governor of Maryland,
When you mentioned the Affair of the Land Yesterday, you went back to old Times, and told us, you had been in Possession of the Province of Maryland above One Hundred Years; but what is One Hundred Years in Comparison of the Length of Time since our Claim began? since we came out of this Ground? For we must tell you, that long before One Hundred Years our Ancestors came out of this very Ground, and their Children have remained here ever since. You came out of the Ground in a Country that lies beyond the Seas, there you may have a just Claim, but here you must allow us to be your elder Brethren, and the Lands to belong to us long before you knew any thing of them. It is true, that above One Hundred Years ago the Dutch came here in a Ship, and brought with them several Goods; such as Awls, Knives, Hatchets, Guns, and many other Particulars, which they gave us; and when they had taught us how to use their Things, and we saw what sort of People they were, we were so well pleased with them, that we tied their Ship to the Bushes on the Shore; and afterwards, liking them still better the longer they staid with us, and thinking the Bushes too slender, we removed the Rope, and tied it to the Trees; and as the Trees were liable to be blown down by high Winds, or to decay of themselves, we, from the Affection we bore them, again removed the Rope, and tied it to a strong and big Rock [here the Interpreter said, They mean the Oneido Country] and not content with this, for its further Security we removed the Rope to the big Mountain [here the Interpreter says they mean the Onandago Country] and there we tied it very fast, and roll'd Wampum about it; and, to make it still more secure, we stood upon the Wampum, and sat down upon it, to defend it, and to prevent any Hurt coming to it, and did our best Endeavours that it might remain uninjured for ever. During all this Time the New-comers, the Dutch, acknowledged our Right to the Lands, and sollicited us, from Time to Time, to grant them Parts of our Country, and to enter into League and Covenant with us, and to become one people with us.
After this the English came into the Country, and, as we were told, became one People with the Dutch. About two Years after the Arrival of the English, an English Governor came to Albany, and finding what great Friendship subsisted between us and the Dutch, he approved it mightily, and desired to make as strong a League, and to be upon as good Terms with us as the Dutch were, with whom he was united, and to become one People with us: And by his further Care in looking into what had passed between us, he found that the Rope which tied the Ship to the great Mountain was only fastened with Wampum, which was liable to break and rot, and to perish in a Course of Years; he therefore told us, he would give us a Silver Chain, which would be much stronger, and would last for ever. This we accepted, and fastened the Ship with it, and it has lasted ever since. Indeed we have had some small Differences with the English, and, during these Misunderstandings, some of their young Men would, by way of Reproach, be every now and then telling us, that we should have perished if they had not come into the Country and furnished us with Strowds and Hatchets, and Guns, and other Things necessary for the Support of Life; but we always gave them to understand that they were mistaken, that we lived before they came amongst us, and as well, or better, if we may believe what our Forefathers have told us. We had then Room enough, and Plenty of Deer, which was easily caught; and tho' we had not Knives, Hatchets, or Guns, such as we have now, yet we had Knives of Stone, and Hatchets of Stone, and Bows and Arrows, and those served our Uses as well then as the English ones do now. We are now straitened, and sometimes in want of Deer, and liable to many other Inconveniencies since the English came among us, and particularly from that Pen-and-Ink Work that is going on at the Table (pointing to the Secretary) and we will give you an Instance of this. Our Brother Onas, a great while ago, came to Albany to buy the Sasquahannah Lands of us, but our Brother the Governor of New-York, who, as we suppose, had not a good Understanding with our Brother Onas, advised us not to sell him any Land, for he would make an ill Use of it; and, pretending to be our good Friend, he advised us, in order to prevent Onas's, or any other Person's imposing upon us, and that we might always have our Land when we should want it, to put it into his Hands; and told us, he would keep it for our Use, and never open his Hands, but keep them close shut, and not part with any of it, but at our Request. Accordingly we trusted him, and put our Land into his Hands, and charged him to keep it safe for our Use; but, some Time after, he went to England, and carried our Land with him, and there sold it to our Brother Onas for a large Sum of Money; and when, at the Instance of our Brother Onas, we were minded to sell him some Lands, he told us we had sold the Sasquahannah Lands already to the Governor of New-York, and that he had bought them from him in England; tho', when he came to understand how the Governor of New-York had deceived us, he very generously paid us for our Lands over again.
Tho' we mention this Instance of an Imposition put upon us by the Governor of New-York, yet we must do the English the Justice to say, we have had their hearty Assistances in our Wars with the French, who were no sooner arrived amongst us than they began to render us uneasy, and to provoke us to War, and we had several Wars with them; during all which we constantly received Assistance from the English, and, by their Means, we have always been able to keep up our Heads against their Attacks.
We now come nearer home. We have had your Deeds interpreted to us, and we acknowledge them to be good and valid, and that the Conestogoe or Sasquahannah Indians had a Right to sell those Lands to you, for they were then theirs; but since that Time we have conquered them, and their Country now belongs to us, and the Lands we demanded Satisfaction for are no Part of the Lands comprized in those Deeds; they are the Cohongorontas[6] Lands; those, we are sure, you have not possessed One Hundred Years, no, nor above Ten Years, and we made our Demands so soon as we knew your People were settled in those Parts. These have never been sold, but remain still to be disposed of; and we are well pleased to hear you are provided with Goods, and do assure you of our Willingness to treat with you for those unpurchased Lands; in Confirmation whereof, we present you with this Belt of Wampum.
Which was received with the usual Ceremonies.
CANASSATEGO added, that as the three Governors of Virginia, Maryland, and Pensylvania, had divided the Lands among them, they could not, for this Reason, tell how much each had got, nor were they concerned about it, so that they were paid by all the Governors for the several Parts each possessed, and this they left to their Honour and Justice.