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.

(page 11)

Brethren,

I have sent two months ago, by his Majestys Commander in Chief, & Sir Wm Johnson Baronet, with Messages to your several Tribes, & have sent several Messengers to summon you together, & to my great surprize, you have by your delays, obliged me to stay here, waiting for you, thirty days, longer than I expected. A String.

Brethren,

His Excellency General Gage has ordered me to inform you that he Expects, you will immediately perform all the engagements, you made last Fall to Col: Boquet, one of which was, to deliver up all the English Prisoners & Negroes, which were in your several Villages. This Article, in part, you then performed, & was to deliver the rest, early this Spring, and I hope, as you have, delayed so long, after I did send for you, that you have brought them agreeable to your promises.

Brethren,

At the same time you promised solemnly to Col: Boquet, that you would send Deputys of your nations fully impowered to settle a Peace, with Sir Wm Johnson, & at the same time, leave such a Number of Hostages here, till their Return; how you have complied with this Article, I need not inform you.- You have sent but one man to Sir Wm Johnson, & he not a Chief of any of your Tribes, and the Hostages you delivered Col: Boquet, have all shamefully ran away except three, tho' they were all, as well used here, as any of our own People, & never confined. This Conduct Brethren, has given all your Brethren the English, a suspicion of your sincerity, therefore his Excellency Genl Gage, Expects that you will immediately send proper Deputies to Sir Wm Johnson to ratify & confirm a Lasting Peace, & replace Hostages here, 'till that is done, for 'till you perform your engagements, with Col: Boquet, no trade can be opened for your Nations.

Brethren,

His Excellency General Gage & Sir Wm Johnson have ordered me to assure you, that as soon as you perform these Articles, that a free Trade & intercourse, shall be allowed you, & all other Nations of Indians to the Sun setting, so long as they continue to behave well, to his Majestys Subjects.

(page 12)

Brethren,

His Majesty the King of Great Britain, having conquered the French, in this Country, which you are well acquainted with- All the Forts & settlements the French had, are now become the Property of the King of England; The French Troops are to be sent to France, & the Planters become subjects to England, therefore the General has ordered me to inform you, that the King of Great Britain, will take under his protection, all the nations of Indians, in this Country, to the Sunsetting, & restore tranquility, among all nations, that your Children unborn, may enjoy the blessings of a lasting peace.

Brethren,

I am now going, by his Excellency Genl Gage's order, to visit all the Indian Nations, settled on the Ouabache & in the Ilinois Country, & to offer them the Friendship, of the King of Great Britain & his subjects, as he is now become their Father; & the Genl expects that you will send a Deputation of your Nation, wth me, to assist in reconciling those nation (with whom we have had but little intercourse) to his Majesty's Interest.

Then Kyashuta spoke in behalf of the Seneca & Sandusky Indians, to the Shawanese & Dellawares:

Nephews, the Delawares, & Brethren the Shawanese,

You have heard what your Brethren the English, have said to you, they have desired nothing of you, but what you solemnly promised last Fall to Col: Boquet, all which you ought to perform. for our parts, we are determined to take the advice of our Brethren, the English, as we know, it will be for our good, & we desire you as friends, to do so; if you do not, you must take the consequences, for we are determined, to comply with what our Brethren desire of us.

Then a Chief of the Shawanese got up and taking all the Belts deliver'd them, in his hand, addressing himself to the Delawares as follows,

Grandfathers the Delawares,

You have heard, what our Father, the King of England, has said to us & likewise, what your Uncles the Six Nations have said to us, they have desired nothing, but what is right, we behaved wrong last (page 13) Fall, but we are now determined to do right, therefore we desire, you to consider well, what has been said to you, as you have not complied with all you promised, no more than we have done- Let us act like men, & convince our Father the King of England, of our sincerity & Answer these Belts to morrow:

Then Custologa spoke for the Delawares & addressed himself to the Shawanese, saying: Grand-Children, you say right, we will all consider these Speeches & answer them tomorrow.

At a Meeting with the same Indians, May 10th 1765. Capn Wm Murray & several Officers of the Garrison.

The Shawanese came over the River, with the English Prisoners, beating a Drum & singing the Peace Song, agreeable to the Antient Custom of their Nation, which they continued, 'till they enter'd the Council House.

Lawoughgua, Speaker for the Shawanese got up & addressed himself to me:

Fathers, for so we shall call you hence forward, listen to what we are going to say to you.

It gave us great satisfaction Yesterday to be called the Children of the King of England, & convinces us, that your intentions towards us are upright, as we know a Farther will be tender towards his Children, & they more ready to obey him, than a Brother; therefore, we hope our Father, will now take better care of his Children than has heretofore been done.

You likewise put us in mind, of our promises to Col: Boquet, which were to bring your Flesh & Blood to be delivered at his place. Father you have not spoke for nothing, we have prepared, you see, we have brot them with us. You now desire us to send Deputys to Sr Wm Johnson to confirm a Peace; We have appd a Deputation to go there, & also, the Hostages, who are to remain here, 'till their return. You then informed us, you was going to the Ilinois Country, to invite the several Nations there, to join in friendship wth our Father, the King of Great Britain & his Subjects, & desired some of us, to accompany us there; In this you have done well- those Nations, are our Allies, we will go with you, & do every thing in our Power to promote the good work of Peace, between our Father & them, wth whom, you have no acquaintance as yet.

(page 14)

Father

Here is your Flesh and Blood, except, a few that was out with some of our hunting parties, & those will be brought here as soon as they return. They have been all tied to us by adoption, and altho' we now deliver them up to you, we will always look upon them as our relations whenever the great Spirit is pleased that we may visit them.

Father:

We have taken as much care of these prisoners as if they were our own Flesh and Blood; they are now become unacquainted with your Customs & manners, & therefore, Fathers, we request you will use them tenderly & kindly, which will be a means of inducing them to live contentedly with you.

Father:

We will now comply with every thing you have asked of us, & assure you we are sincere in every thing we have said. Here is a Belt with a figure of our Father, the King of Great Britain, at one end, and the Chief of our Nation at the other; This represents them holding the Chain of Friendship, & we hope that neither side will slip their hands from it so long as the Sun and Moon gives light.

Custologa, speaker for the Delawares:

Brethren:

Yesterday you put us mind of our engagements to Col. Bouquet; we now assure you we are ready to perform every part which we have not yet complied with.

Brother:

You desire we may again leave Hostages at this place, and send other Deputies to Sir William Johnson; this we will likewise do.

He then addressed himself to the Six Nations: "Uncles, yesterday you desired us to be strong in complying with every thing our Brethren, the English might require of us; this we are deter- (page 15) mined too, and hope you will also do every thing on your parts to forward a good peace."

Brother:

Addressing himself to me, "as you told us you were ordered to visit the Western Nations, I now wipe your Eyes, and open your Ears, that you may see and hear those Nations with pleasure when they speak to you. I likewise clear the way, that you may have a safe passage to the place you are going."

Brother:

Don't imagine what I have said come from my lips only; I assure it proceeds from the bottom of our Hearts, and now, by this Belt, I remove every evil thing from your heart, and make it like those of our Ancestors when they thought of nothing but Peace; and I also wipe the outside of your Body clean, that not the least remains of any thing which might give you trouble, may ever again appear, and by this Belt we take fast hold of you, our Brethren, in Peace.

Delivered a Friendship Belt of 20 Rows, with the figure of two men, representing the English and themselves.

Kyashuta then spoke to the Delawares:

Nephews:

You told us your Uncles, the Six Nations, that you were determined to do every thing that was requested of you by us and our Brethren, the English; we are glad to hear you are come to such a Resolution, and we desire you to be strong & do so.

Kyashuta then addressed himself to us:

Brethren:

I am now going to speak to you in behalf of all the Nations present, and those to the Sun Setting. You told us yesterday that the General, and Sir William Johnson, ordered you to assure all Nations to the Sun Setting, that if they performed their engagements we should enjoy a free Trade and intercourse; I hope this comes from your Heart, as you see your Brethren, the Delawares, and Children, the Shawanese, are willing to comply with every thing you required of them. Now, Brethren, do not act as you have done for a Year or two before those late Troubles, when you prohibited the sale of Powder, Lead and Rum.

(page 16)

This conduct gave all Nations in this Country a suspicion that you had bad designs against them, and was contrary to your first promises, when you came here to settle and build this Fort on our Ground. You make Rum, and have taught us to drink it; you are fond of it yourselves; therefore, don't deprive us of it, or the liberty of purchasing Goods; Open the trade, and let us sell our skins which we have brought here for that purpose, otherwise, we must think you [speak] from your lips, and not from your Hearts.

Brethren:

When you first come to drive the French from this place, the Governor of Pennsylvania sent us a Message that we should withdraw from the French, & that when the English was settled here, we should want for nothing. It's true, you did supply us very well, but it was only while the War, was doubtful, & as soon as you conquer'd the French you did not care how you treated us, as you then did not think us worth your Notice; we request you may not treat us again in this manner, but now open the Trade and do not put us off with telling us you must first hear from your great man before it can be done; If you have but little Goods, let us have them for our Skins, and let us have a part of your Rum, or we cannot put dependance on what you tell us for the future.

He then added that he did not speak for himself, but was appointed by all the Tribes present, & that what he had said was the Sentiments of the whole.

Then Kyashuta spook to the Delawares on behalf of the English & Six Nations, giving them an invitation to return to their old Settlements, & at the same time desiring them to hold fast by the Chain of Friendship subsisting between the English & Six Nations.

Then Ogista, an old Seneca Indian, spoke to the Shawanese, & invited them to return to their old Settlements, where they would be near their Fathers, the English, & their Brethren, the Six Nations.

At a meeting with the same Indians.Fort Pitt, May 11th, 1765.

Present:

Major William Murray, & Several Officers in the Garrison.

(page 17)

Brethren of the Six Nations, Shawanese, Delawares, & Sandusky Indians:

You Yesterday answered the several Speeches I delivered you the day before from his Excellency General Gage, and you have agreed to comply with every thing he desires of you; Brethren, you have done right in complying with the General's request, & you may be assured I will represent your readiness on this occasion to him, & Sir William Johnson, in a proper manner.

Brethren:

When first your Brethren, the English, settled here, they kindled a Council Fire for all the Nations of Indians to the Sun Setting, but for two years past, this Fire has been neglected and was near going out. Now, Brethren, I put some good dry wood on your Council Fire, that it may blaze up to the Sky, so that all Nations may see it, and come here to smoke with their Brethren in peace.

Brethren:

Now I have kindled your Council Fire, and made it burn clear, I again, with this Belt, disperse all the dark Clouds that has been hanging over your heads for some time past, that you may see the Sun clear.

Brethren:

You have now appointed a Deputation to go to Sir William Johnson's, of your several Nations, to confirm a lasting peace as you promis'd Col. Bouquet last fall; You have made a good choice; I am well acquainted with your Tribes, and I know these to be the Chiefs & Men of consequence in your Nations; I approve of them; Therefore, Brethren, I now make the Road smooth and easy to their Feet, & remove any Logs that may have fallen across it, that you may Travel safe to Sir William Johnson's.

Brethren, the Shawanese:

You Yesterday delivered to Major Murray & me a number of our people, agreeable to your promises, & say the few remaining, which was out a hunting, should be brought here as soon as possible; your conduct in this is very agreeable, & convinces us of your Sincerity, & be assured I will represent it properly to the General & Sir William Johnson, & I desire you will, as soon as possible, bring in those you left behind.

Brethren:

Yesterday you made two Speeches concerning our past conduct in Trade. I must observe to you that had we a mind to recapitulate (page 18) Injuries, we could convince you that we have much more reason to complain of your Conduct than you have of ours, but we have thrown away from our remembrance every thing that gave us any trouble, and hope your future conduct will be such as will give us no reason to repeat past offences, and to convince you of our Sincerity, the Commanding Officers here, tho' he has no orders for it, will take upon himself to open the Trade and suffer you to purchase such necessaries as is here, which is but little, owing to your own backwardness in not coming here early in the spring, as you promised, but as soon as the General is made acquainted with your Conduct at this meeting, he will order our Traders to supply you with all necessaries you may want.

Brethren:

You desire that rum may be sold to you; the traders here have none, but as soon as you have sold your peltry, and is setting out for your own Country, Major Murray will make you a present of some.

Brethren:

I have now finished every thing I had to say to you only to acquaint you that the General, willing to convince you of the Sincerity he has towards you, has ordered Major Murray & me, on your complying with what he ordered me to require of you, to make you a present of Goods to Cloath your Women & Children, which we now deliver to your several Tribes.

After the presents were delivered, Kyashuta spoke to the Delawares and Shawanese:

Nephews, the Delawares and younger Brethren the Shawanese:

You have now heard every thing your Father, the English, had to say to you, as as you have assured them you will comply with every thing they desired, be strong. We have appointed Deputies to go to Sir William Johnson's and men to attend Mr. Croghan on his Journey; here is one of our Chiefs, who is to stay here with his Family to assist our Brethren, the English, in Council.

Then he addressed himself to Major Murray & me, & pointed to the Chief, saying, this is the man to stay where with you till our return.

Then Custologa spoke to the Six Nations in behalf of the Delawares:

Uncles, You Yesterday desired us to return to our old Settlements, & live in peace with our Fathers, the English: thin, I assure you, we will do, & you shall see us kindle our Fire again at our old places.

Gave a Belt.

Then addressing himself to the English:

Fathers: I must now call you; It's your desire that we appoint Deputies; this is done, and we send such men as are best acquainted with the Affairs of our Nation.

A true Copy from Mr. Croghan's Journal.

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