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.
Croghan's Journal
(Feb. 28, 1765 - May 11, 1765)
(Due to length divided here into two parts)
Croghan, George in: Etting Collection,
Pennsylvania Historical Society,
Cratz-Croghan, 1:12 and in
British Series, Vol. II,
pp. 1-19.
February 28th Lieutenant Frazer & I arrived at Fort Pitt, where Major Murray informed us, that Mr McKee, had a fortnight, before, sent a Messages to the chiefs of the Delawares, Shawanese, Senecas, & Sandusky Indians, desiring them immediately to come to this Post, to meet me, but as yet recd no answer, and further acquainted me, that but few Indians were there, during the Winter.
I then went and spoke to the Hostages, who inform'd me that they had heard from Custologo & his Tribe, who were hunting near Tuskerawas, & that they believed, they would soon com into this Post, but heard nothing from the other two Tribes.
March 1st 1765, Six Senecas Indians came here, from one of the Shawanese Towns & inform'd me, as follows- That the deputation from from [sic] the Shawanese & Delawares, which were sent last Summer, to the Ilinois to Councel with the French & Indians in that (page 2) Country, were returned, that they had been well recd by the French, who, on their arrival, clothed them & told them, they would supply them, with every necessary they wanted, to carry on the War agst the English; & would send Traders with them, to their Towns, when they shou'd set out. That they had held a Council with nine Indian Nations, settled on the Ouabache & in the Ilinois Country, who all Engaged to support them, with their whole Force, should they continue the War against the English. That on those Deputys return to the plains of Siota & being informed of the Terms, of accommodation agreed on by their Nations (during their absence) with Colonel Boquet, they then in Council with the Sandusky & Seneca Indians, agreed to abide by their People's Engagements, & perform the whole in their part, provided the English wou'd open a free Trade & intercourse with them, & supply them with Ammunition, Goods, & Rum, as usual & not prohibit the Sale of Powder & Liquors, as they had done before the late difference happened. These Indians farther said, the Shawanese had sent a Message to the French Traders, who were then following them to their Towns, to return home- (I much doubted the Truth of this) & that they had sent a Message, likewise, to the Nine Nations in that Country acquainting them, that they were about accommodating matters with the English, & desiring them to sit still, 'till they heard farther from them in the Spring.
March 2nd I dispatched a Messenger to the Shawanese & Senecas, & another to the Delaware & Sandusky Indians, to acquaint them of my arrival here, in Company with Lieutenant Frazer, with Messages from the Kings Commander in Chief, & Sir Wm Johnson, to their Nations, & desired their several Chiefs, would immediately come here to meet me. I likewise sent a Message to Pondiac who I heard was among the Twightwees, to meet me at the mout [sic] of Siota, on my way down the River.
4th Two Senecas came here from Venango (where a hundred of their people were hunting) to know, if a Trade was opened here, for the Indians, as they had heard from the Seneca Country, all differences being settled between their Nation & the English, last fall, by Sir Wm Johnson.
Deliver'd a string of Wampum.
5th Major Murray & I acquainted them there was no Trade opened yet, nor could there be any, till the Shawanese & Delawares (page 3) had come in, to perform their Engagements with Colonel Bouquet. That we did send for them & Expected them here, before the last of this month. Gave them a Belt of Wampum, desiring them to rest satisfy'd, till that time, & likewise desired some of their Chiefs, to come down and hear, what should pass between us & those Nations.
March 7th Andrew, a Huron Indian, & a French Man Mr Alexander Maisonville came here, wth dispatches from Col: Campbell at Detroit, to the General.
20th Lieut Frazer informed Major Murray & me, that the Generalls Instructions to him, was to be at the Ilinois at all Events, by the beginning of April, that as the Indians were not met here, he purposed to set off down the River, in two or three days, as the service which he was sent on, was of a different nature from mine, he desired I would Employ Mr Maisonville & Andrew, to go with him that the service he was going upon, might not suffer.
21st With the approbation of Major Murray, I employed Mr Maisonville and Andrew Interpreters, with a Shawanese & a Seneca Indian, to accompany him, and furnished him with Wampum, Silver Truck & other necessaries for the Journey- That the service might not suffer by any delays the Indians might give him here, or by his wanting any assistance in my power to give.
22nd Two Delaware Runners came here from Custaloga, to let us know that he had forwarded the Message, sent him, and expected, that all the Nations were on their way hither by this time, & that he would come in a few days.
23rd Several Dellawares came here to trade, with what peltry they had, for goods, but not being suffered- they seemed very Sulky.
25th Several Senecas from Venango, came here, expecting the Shawanese, Delawares & Sandusky Indians, were come but finding they were not, determined to wait their arrival.
28th Three Shawanese & one Seneca, came here from the lower Shawanese at, the plains of Siota, with a message to let me know, that my Message came to their Town, two days before they left it, & that their chiefs had sent them off, to acquaint me they were Collecting all our Flesh & Blood together, meaning all the English Prisoners, & were to set out, in two days, after those left it, & should (page 4) make all the haste in their Power, up with them, but as the weather, was so severe & the Waters high, they could not make all the dispatch they could wish.
April 1st Four Dellawares came here, from one of their Towns, where two of their Tribes were collected together in Council & said, that they were sent by their Chiefs, to inform me, That altho Custaloga had sent me word, their Chiefs should come here, yet their two tribes could not, One of their men having been called up to Heaven, by the Great Spirit of Life, who told him, that he must acquaint his Nation, that before they made Peace with the English, they must consult the Quakers of Philadelphia, who would direct them, how to make lasting Peace; And desired I should send for some of them, to come here; then their nation would come in & make a Peace, And as the great Spirit had told this man, several things of great consequence to them, he desired that Mr McKee might go there and commit it all to Writing.
2nd Major Murray & I made those Four Delawares the following answer on a Belt of Wampum.
Brethren,
We are surprised, at the Message you delivered us Yesterday from the Chiefs of the Delawares- The man you mention, who says he spoke with the great Spirit, you may rest assured, is decieving [sic] your people, as we are perswaded, that he never spoke to him,- Your Nation agreed to terms of accommodation last Fall, wth Col: Boquet. In part, they have comply'd with those Terms- They begg'd of him, peace in the most submissive manner, & your Brethren the English, thought your nation would be the first, to come here, when sent for.- We have received Messages from the Senecas, Shawanese & Sandusky Indians, that they are now on their way here- There are the Messengers that brought us those accots and are to stay here, 'till they arrive.- You will therefore return to your (page 5) chiefs, & let them know, that no People whatever in this Country can give you Peace, but the Kings Commander in Chief, & we desire them to come here with the other Nations & Comply with your Engagements to Col: Boquet, & not suffer themselves to be amused by idle Dreams, or Stories, that may be told them, by any Body.
A Belt.
April 6th- Four Six Nation Indians arrived here, in a Canoe down the Monangahela, with Five Cherokee Scalps- They met a Number of Virginia Hunters, on the Heads of New River, who had like to have killed them.
13th Several Munsie Indians, came here in Canoes down the Ohio, from their Village, above Venango & brought with them, two English Prisoners, which they delivered up, both Girls, One about twelve, 'tother nine Years of Age, they were taken young, cant speak a word of English, one was taken near Shippensburgh, the other near Juniata, in Cumberland Country Pennsylvania.
14th About Eight Seneca Indians, came here from their Town, at the two Creeks, & brought with then, a qu[anti]ty of Skins & Furs expecting to Trade.
In a private conversation with Major Murry & me they informed us, that two Tribes of the Dellawares, were very averse to making Peace with the English, 'till the return of Killbuck, from Sir Wm Johnson, and then if they liked the Terms, they should stand to them, but not otherwise; that they called Custolago an old Woman, for agreeing to the terms, he died with Col: Boquet, that they wanted to Fight, & would have cut off the Army, had it not been for him & that they have been Striving all this Spring, to prevent the Senecas, Shawanese & Sandusky Indians from coming here with the English Prisoners, telling the Indians, in public Council, as the French and Nine Nations living on the Ouabache & in the Ilinois Country, have agreed to supply & support them, in the War against the English, they should be able to drive them out of this Country, in less then two Years. But those Indians said that Guiashutha with the rest of the Senecas, Shawanese, and Sandusky Indians, with all the English Prisoners, in their Nations, were now on their way here, & would have arrived by this time, had it not been for the Delawares; Custologa (page 6) & his Tribe, being the only people in that Nation, willing to be at Peace with the English.
April 18th Two Delaware runners came here from their Chiefs to inform us, they had accepted of the Invitation which I sent them, & were now on their way here & should endeavour, to be here, as soon as the other Nations.
19th The Several Indians, now here, which are about two Hundred, seem very Sulky on Account of their not being suffered to Trade, notwithstanding I have made use of every argument in my power, to explain to them the reasons of it.
April 20th I dispatched four Indian Runners, to meet the several Chiefs with Messages, pressing them to make all the dispatch possible here. In the Afternoon, the Beaver with several Dellawares, came here, with several Horses, loaded with Peltry, in order to Trade, when I informed them, that no Trade could be permitted, 'till the several Nations, had performed their engagements with Col: Boquet.
21st A Number more Delawares arrived here with several Horse Load of Peltry, in order to Trade.
23rd Four Senecas came here, who informed me, they had seen a Battoe, with several White men going down the River, about twenty five days ago, & asked me where they were going; on which I told them, they then said, I was wrong in letting them go, as they knew the French, had incensed the Indian Nations that way, against the English, & that unless, a number of the Shawanese & Delawares would undertake, to reconcile those nations to the English, they were of opinion it would be very difficult to do it, any other way.
24th The Newcomer Noatwhetama, arrived here, with most of the Warriors of his Tribe, when he made a long speech to Major Murray & me by way of Compliment.
25th Custologa arrived here, when he & his Tribe, saluted the Garrison with three Discharges of their Guns, which Major Murray ordered to be returned with three Cannon.
26th Six Dellaware Indians, arrived here from Sir Wm Johnson, & brought brought [sic] a Letter to the Chief of the Delawares which I Interpretted & Explain'd to them, in a Meeting which Major Murray & I, had with them, on that occasion. In the Evening, about (page 7) Twenty more of the Delawares came here, with several Horses, Loaded with skins & Furrs.
April 28th Four Shawanese Runners, came here with the Calimut of Peace, belonging to their nation & after Smoaking out of it, they informed Major Murray & me, that the Chiefs of their nation, were on their way here, with all the English Prisoners, which was the reason of their being so long on the road, the Prisoners not being able to travel fast, but that they should all be here, in three or four days, & desired us, not to be uneasy, 'till they arrived.
29th I had a private meeting with the Chiefs and the principal Warriors, of the three Tribes of the Delawares, when they brought me the Indian, which they said, had been lifted up to Heaven, & had spoke, to the great spirit, or giver of Life. I spoke to him & desired to know what the great Spirit had told him. He remained silent for sometime, & then spoke as follows.
Brethren,
It is now One hundred & fifteen days, since I saw & spoke with our Father, which is in Heaven, by which I know everything on Earth, & good from bad. I have likewise been informed, how far our great Father, allows us to know his will, & in what manner we ought to proceed, in order to make a firm lasting friendship between one & other, & the persons amongst the White People, to whom we are to speak to, on this head, by order of our Father, are the Quakers. We are sensible of the misunderstanding, that has been between us, & know we ought to be as one People, having but one Father, God, when he first made us, on this Earth, considered us, as his People, & gave us directions, in what manner to Live, & now this second time has discovered himself to me, acquainting me with the method, we ought to pursue, & to live agreeable to his desire. He spoke to me concerning all the People which inhabit this Continent.
Now, Brethren, We have got as much of his sentiments, as will be sufficient, to direct us to live in firm friendship, and it will be happy, Brethren, if we adhere to the advice our Father has given us, it will do us both good, as we are people of different Colours, who inhabit this continent. Our Father has likewise spoke to my Chiefs, by me, giving them advice, in what manner to behave as Kings, and now they will as Kings.
Brethren,
We are fully determined to comply with the Orders of our Great Father, as we don't think it would be right to disobey him , & we desire you Join us, let us both comply with his request, it will be better for us, we are his People & he is our Father. You know Brethren, if we don't do, as he desires us, it will not be good, for either of us.
April 30th Several Chiefs & principal Warriors of the Delawares, in a private Meeting told me, that the great Spirit had told them as they were the first nation, that met the Quakers, when first they, came to Philadelphia, they ought to be the first applyed to, in making a lasting Peace, for all other Nations in this Country, & if they would agree to that, they would make a peace & bring all other Nations into it. I told them, that I was well acquainted by other Nations, that this was what they wanted, that I was much surprised at their Conduct, after what they had promised to Col: Boquet and that the Quakers could not make Peace with them. That as soon as the Shawanese, came, I would deliver the Generals Messages to them, which if they Complied with, it would be well for themselves, as all other Nations, had made their peace already with Sir Wm Johnson, except them, & the Shawanese. That the Shawanese were not coming, in order to go to Sir Wm Johnson to make theirs. And if they would not, they must go to the Quakers, or sit alone in the woods, for it was out of my power, to to comply with their request.
May 1st Two Indians from Sandusky came here and said that about 30 days ago, a Frenchman from the Ilinois passed by the Miamies Village, towards Detroit, & told all the Indians he saw, that the King of France their Father, had sent a large Quantity of Goods to New Orleans, for to supply his Children the Indians, in this Country & would send them more next Year.
Last night, two Principal Warriors of the Delawares, differed in Council & stabb'd each other, in such a manner, that their Lives are despair'd of, which Accident threw all the Tribes of that Nation, in such confusion, that Major Murray, & I were obliged to speak to them, on three Belts of Wampum, to reconcile them to each other.
2nd A Number of the Shawanese, arrived here, with part of the English Prisoners & Saluted the Garrison, with a discharge of their Guns, which was returned, by three Cannons, after which they came over the River, and informed me the rest of their People, would be here tomorrow.
5th The Messenger that I sent to meet part of the Shawanese returned & said, that some of the prisoners, were Sick, which delay'd them so long, on their way here, but that they expected them tomorrow Evening.
6th A number of Senecas arrived here & said the Shawanese wou'd not get here 'till tomorrow morning.
May 7th The Shawanese arrived here, with the last of the White Prisoners, and saluted the Garrison, with two rounds, which was returned by three Cannon. Then made several Compliments to Major Murray & me, for their delay on the road, & the time it took them to collect the prisoners together, before they set out; being determin'd not to come 'till they could deliver them all up, & comply with their other Engagements, as their whole nation, was resolved to make a lasting Peace with their Brethren the English, which shall never be broke on their side; and hope their Brethren, would give no occasion for the future, to excite their Jealousy or suspicion (meaning the English). In the Evening, two Senecas, arrived here from Chenessies, on Business to the Senecas, Shawanese, and Delawares, and by what I could learn the business is to enquire, what success the Shawanese, Delawares & Senecas had last Fall with the French and Indians, at the Ilinois; these two Men told the Senecas here, that the Six Nations are so divided in their Councils, that they had not agreed to go to Sir William Johnson, when they left home, tho' he had sent several Messages for them.
8th The Shawanese & Senecas, sent for Major Murray and me, and performed all the Ceremonies of Condolence, as usual, on Meetings of this nature.
At a Meeting I held with the Chiefs of the Shawanese, Delawares & Sandusky Indians, at Fort Pitt- May 9th 1765.
Present Major Wm Murray & several Officers of the Garrison.
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Dellawares |
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Shawanese |
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Nettawattways |
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Kisinoutha |
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Chiefs |
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Cap: Jacobs |
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Weconnathaca |
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Senecas |
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Ouchista |
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Ginnisuram |
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Chief Warriors |
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With 125 Warriors besides Women & Children- |
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Sandusky Indians |
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Onadegass |
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Thanissa |
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Chief Warriors |
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With 38 more Warriors, besides Women and Children- |
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Munsies |
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38 Men besides Women & Children- |
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