“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.” Afterwards Shingas rose up and said:
“Brethren, now we have rightly heard and understood you, it pleaseth 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 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 exceedingly glad that there is such a firm friendship established, on so good a foundation, with so many nations, that it will last for ever; 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 me 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 Sawcung.
We ended this day with pleasure and great satisfaction on both sides: the Cayuga chief said, he would speak further to them tomorrow.