Let this Belt of Wampum serve to Chastise you. You ought to be taken by the Hair of the Head and shaked severely, till you recover your Senses and become sober. You don't know what Ground you stand on, nor what you are doing. Our Brother Onas's Cause is very just and plain and his Intentions to preserve Friendship. On the other Hand, Your Cause is bad; your Heart far from being upright; and you are maliciously bent to break the Chain of Friendship with our Brother Onas and his People. We have seen with our Eyes a Deed sign'd by Nine of your Ancestors above Fifty Years ago for this very Land, and a Release sign'd, not many Years since, by some of yourselves and Chiefs now living, to the Number of Fifteen or upwards.—But how came you to take upon you to sell Land at all? We conquered you; we made Women of you; you know you are Women, and can no more sell Land than Women; nor is it fit you should have the Power of selling Lands, since you would abuse it. This Land that you claim is gone through your Guts; you have been furnish'd with Cloaths, Meat, and Drink, by the Goods paid you for it, and now you want it again, like Children as you are.—But what makes you sell Land in the Dark? Did you ever tell us that you had sold this Land? Did we ever receive any Part, even the Value of a Pipe Shank, from you for it? You have told us a blind Story, that you sent a Messenger to us to inform us of the Sale, but he never came amongst us, nor we never heard any Thing about it.—This is acting in the Dark, and very different from the Conduct our Six Nations observe in their Sales of Land; on such Occasions they give publick Notice, and invite all the Indians of their united Nations, and give them all a Share of the Present they receive for their Lands.—This is the Behaviour of the wise united Nations.—But we find you are none of our Blood: You act a dishonest Part, not only in this, but in other Matters: Your Ears are ever open to slanderous Reports about our Brethren; you receive them with as much Greediness as lewd Women receive the Embraces of bad Men. And for all these Reasons we charge you to remove instantly; we don't give you the Liberty to think about it. You are Women. Take the Advice of a wise Man, and remove immediately. You may return to the other Side of Delaware where you came from: But we do not know whether, considering how you have demean'd yourselves, you will be permitted to live there; or whether you have not swallowed that Land down your Throats as well as the Land on this Side. We therefore assign you two Places to go, either to Wyomen or Shamokin. You may go to either of these Places, and then we shall have you more under our Eye, and shall see how you behave. Don't deliberate; but remove away, and take this Belt of Wampum.'
This being interpreted by Conrad Weiser into English, and by Cornelius Spring into the Delaware Language, Canassateego taking a String of Wampum, added further.
'After our just Reproof, and absolute Order to depart from the Land, you are now to take Notice of what we have further to say to you. This String of Wampum serves to forbid you, your Children and Grand-Children, to the latest Posterity for ever, medling in Land Affairs; neither you nor any who shall descend from you, are ever hereafter to presume to sell any Land: for which Purpose, you are to preserve this String, in Memory, of what your Uncles have this Day given you in Charge.—We have some other Business to transact with our Brethren, and therefore depart the Council, and consider what has been said to you.
Canassateego then spoke to the Governor and Council:
'BRETHREN,
We called at our old Friend James Logan's in our Way to this City, and to our Grief we found him hid in the Bushes, and retired, through Infirmities, from Publick Business. We press'd him to leave his Retirement, and prevailed with him to assist once more on our Account at your Councils. We hope, notwithstanding his Age, and the Effects of a Fit of Sickness, which we understand has hurt his Constitution, that he may yet continue a long Time to assist this Province with his Councils. He is a wise Man, and a fast Friend to the Indians. And we desire, when his Soul goes to GOD, you may chuse in his Room just such another Person, of the same Prudence and Ability in Counselling, and of the same tender Disposition and Affection for the Indians. In Testimony of our Gratitude for all his Services, and because he was so good as to leave his Country-House, and follow us to Town, and be at the Trouble, in this his advanced Age, to attend the Council; we present him with this Bundle of Skins.
'BRETHREN,
It is always our Way, at the Conclusion of a Treaty, to desire you will use your Endeavours with the Traders, that they may sell their Goods cheaper, and give us a better Price for our Deer-Skins. Whenever any particular Sort of Indian Goods is scarce, they constantly make us pay the dearer on that Account. We must now use the same Argument with them: Our Deer are killed in such Quantities, and our Hunting-Countries grown less every Day, by the Settlement of white People, that Game is now difficult to find, and we must go a great Way in Quest of it; they therefore ought to give us a better Price for our Skins; and we desire you would speak to them to do so. We have been stinted in the Article of Rum in Town. We desire you will open the Rum-Bottle, and give it to us in greater Abundance on the Road.
To inforce this Request, about the Indian Traders, we present you with this Bundle of Skins.
'BRETHREN,