[1331] The Book of the Indians and History of the Indians of North America from its first discovery to the year 1841, by Samuel G. Drake (Boston, 1841). This is the title of the 8th edition.
[1332] The Memoir and writings of James Handasyd Perkins, edited by William Henry Channing (Boston, 1851), 2 vols. His chief paper originally appeared in the N. A. Rev., Oct., 1839.
[1333] Annals of the West, embracing a concise account of principal events which have occurred in the Western States and territories, from the discovery of the Mississippi Valley to the year eighteen hundred and fifty-six. Compiled from the most authentic sources, and published by James R. Albach (Pittsburgh, 1858, 3d edition).
[1334] Cf. Vol. V. p. 581.
[1335] Lack of space prevents the proper development of the influence upon the Indians, of the constant absorption by the colonies of their lands. Besides settlers with their families; besides squatters, and in addition to English companies, like the Ohio Company and the Walpole Company, the attention of individuals was directed towards these lands for the double purposes of colonization and investment. Bancroft (vi. 377) says that Franklin organized "a powerful company to plant a province in that part of the country which lay back of Virginia, between the Alleghanies and a line drawn from Cumberland Gap to the mouth of the Scioto." The correspondence of Washington discloses his eagerness to secure land for investment (see Vol. V. p. 271). He labored to get for the soldiers who had participated with him in the French wars the land bounties offered by Dinwiddie, and in addition he sought to secure land for himself by purchase. "Nothing is more certain", he wrote to his agent, "than that the lands cannot remain long ungranted, when once it is known that rights are to be had" (Sparks's Washington, ii. 346). "My plan is to secure a good deal of land" (Ibid. 348). He wished the matter kept secret, as he apprehended that others would enter into the same movement if they knew about it (Ibid. 349). In 1770 he personally visited the valley of the Ohio, and marked corners for the soldiers' land. While on this trip he was told by Indians that they viewed the settlements of the people on this river with an uneasy and jealous eye, and that they must be compensated for their right if the people settle there, notwithstanding the cession of the Six Nations (Ibid. 531).
In Pennsylvania an act was passed Feb. 18, 1769, "to prevent persons from settling on lands within the boundaries of this province not purchased of Indians." The preamble recites that "Whereas, many disorderly persons have presumed to settle upon lands not purchased of the Indians, which has occasioned great uneasiness and dissatisfaction on the part of the said Indians, and have [sic] been attended with dangerous consequences to the peace and safety of the province", etc. (Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, etc., republished under authority of the Legislature, by Alexander James Dallas, Philadelphia, 1797).
[1336] See Vol. III. p. 161.
[1337] If land companies were disposed to avail themselves of the doubt as to what tribe of Indians had a right to sell land, so the British government itself had treated the question of their shadowy allegiance to suit its convenience. Bradstreet, in his abortive attempts at making a treaty with them, called them subjects. Sir William Johnson said the very idea of being "subjects was abhorrent to them." Compare this with the doctrine laid down in Huske's Present State of North America, pp. 16, 17.
[1338] Croghan's testimony does not materially alter the boundaries as they were defined by Sir William Johnson in his report to the Lords of Trade, Nov. 13, 1763 (N. Y. Col. Docs., vii. p. 573). "Along the ridge of the Blue Mountains to the head of the Kentucky River, and down the same to the Ohio above the rifts, thence northerly to the south end of Lake Michigan", etc. Cf. letters (1767) to Franklin from George Croghan, Joseph Galloway, and Samuel Wharton, in the Shelburne Papers (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep., v. 218).
Charles W. E. Chapin contributed an article entitled "The Property Line of 1768", to the Magazine of American History, January, 1887. He shows how the boundary line defined in the Fort Stanwix treaty came to be known as the "Property Line", and forcibly points out the powerful influence this treaty had upon the Revolution.