THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
Letter to Pitt
(Albany, May 24, 1758)
Abercromby, General James in:
Kimball, Correspondence of
William Pitt, pp. 258-260.
GENERAL ABERCROMBY TO PITT1
|
ALBANY, May 24th, 1758. |
Sir,
. . . I think it necessary to transmit You Copies and Extracts of all such Letters as have passed between Sir William Johnson, Govr Denny, & Me, upon this Occasion, together with the Information & Intelligence accompanying the same; From whence you will see, that Teedyuscung, the Chief of the Delawares,2 & several of those Tribes of Indians, who had made Incursions on the Frontiers of Pennsylvania and Maryland, were turning fast on our side; That some of the Twightwee Tribes, and of the far Nations over the Lakes, were of the same Mind; and that they were all desirous of joining His Majesty's Army against the French, previous to which they proposed a Treaty of Peace, which the Assembly of Philadelphia, in Order that they might carry their projected and favourite Plan of Trade with them, the easier into Execution, wanted by all Means to draw the Governor in; but he very wisely rejected it, untill such Time as he cou'd have Sir William Johnston & my Opinion thereupon, & for that Purpose, transmitted to me, Copy of the Minutes of the Conference between him and some of the Delawares, which I forwarded to Sir William, desiring him, if it was necessary, immediately to send Mr Croghan,3 his Deputy, to Philadelphia, to treat with these (page 259) People, in his Name, & further, that he wou'd let me have his Answer with all possible Dispatch; Meanwhile I wrote to Govr Denny, acquainting him therewith,4 and advising him not to disgust those Indians, nor, at the same Time, to conclude anything with them, till we received this Answer. On the 13th of April, Sr William writ to me, that he shou'd send Mr Croghan, as soon as he returned from the German Flatts, & that in the Interim, Govr Denny shou'd lose no Time, in sending Invitations to such of the Indians, as were inclined to Peace, to come to Philadelphia.- As soon as this Letter came to my Hands, I sent an Extract of it to Brigadier General Forbes, for him to lay before Govr Denny; As I did likewise afterwards, Copy of Sr William's first Letter of the 28th of the same Month, containing His Opinion of Teedyuscung, and his Advice with Regard to the Measures necessary, and proper to be observed upon this Occasion, all which are so full and explicit, and appear so just to me, that I desired Brigr Forbes to receive them for his Guidance; . . . I waited to see the Result of this Meeting [Congress at Onondaga] but, upon my Arrival here, having been informed, that the Enemy had made another Inroad at Herkermer's on the German Flatts, which had obliged Sir William (who was on his road to Onondaga) to return; and it being necessary, that I shou'd see him, in Order to learn from himself, how the Six Nations stood affected to His Majesty's Interest, . . . I accordingly wrote to him to come down to me here, which he did; And upon my putting the foregoing Questions to him, and desiring a candid and impartial Report of the present State of His Majesty's Indian Interest, relative to the Six Nations and the Indians of the Northern District, he deliver'd me the Enclosed Report, by which you will see, that untill the Congress of Onondaga broke up, he looks upon His Majesty's Indian Interest to be in a State of Suspense; And upon my asking (page 260) Sir William, how much longer it wou'd continue assembled, he said, he believed it might be some Weeks.5
Sir William Johnston, being desirous, for the Security of the Mohawk River, to have a Company of Rangers, and having recommended, upon his knowledge of them, one hundred able-bodied active Youngmen, every way fit for that Service, and well acquainted with every part of that Country, . . . I have agreed that he shou'd raise, and form them into a Company, upon the same Establishment as His Majesty's other Rangers; . . .
And upon a complaint from Sir William, of the infinite Detriment arising to His Majesty's Indian Interest, from the constant pernicious practise of furnishing the Indians with Rum, notwithstanding the provincial penal laws, existing to the contrary; and therefore desiring I wou'd interpose my Authority, I have accordingly published a Proclamation, and sent Orders to the different Posts on the Mohawk River, to seize and stave every drop of it, that shou'd be attempted to be brought thither; from whence I hope soon to see this Nuisance removed. . .
|
I have the Honor to be, with the greatest Respect, |
|
|
Sir, your most obedient, & most humble Servant |
|
|
JAMES ABERCROMBY. |
|
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN TO PITT6
|
NAMUR IN HALIFAX HARBOUR, 27th May 1758. |
Sr
Since my Arrival here we have had Foggs and rain almost every day,
notwithstanding which we were ready to sail with the Men of War, and Transports
the 21st Instant; but the wind
being Southerly could not get out. We have on board the Transports Thirteen
Regiments of Foot, and all the Train of Artillery, and Ordnance Stores. The
twenty
________________________
1 A. and W. I., vol. 87.
2 The once powerful Delaware tribe was now divided. Part of the Indians had moved to the banks of the Ohio. Teedyuscung ruled the Delawares of the Susquehanna.
3 Colonel George Croghan was an Irishman, who established himself as an Indian trader in the Ohio country in 1746. His influence among the Indians led to his employment as Indian Agent for Pennsylvania. He served as captain under Braddock, and did good service in defending the frontier during the terrible experiences of 1756. In July of that year he had some dispute with the Pennsylvania government, threw up his commission, and joined Sir William Johnson, who, in November, appointed him Deputy Indian Agent, with charge of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Indians, in which capacity he assisted at the numerous treaties and conferences of the next twenty years. He seems to have done service as guide in the early years of the Revolutionary War, but was later unjustly regarded with some suspicion. He died in 1782. N. Y. Col. Doc., VII, 982.
4 (1, p. 259) See Penn. Arch., III, 376.
5 (1, p. 260) See Stone, Life of Johnson, II, 62-67, for a detailed account of this episode. Stone says that on May 26 Johnson obtained assurances from the Mohawk Indians that their warriors would go with him to Lake George.
6 (2, p. 260) A. and W. I., vol. 79.
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