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.

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Minutes of the Provincial
Council of Pennsylvania

(November 16, 1747)

In: Pennsylvania Provincial Council
Minutes, Colonial Records,
Vol. V, pp. 148-152.

pp. 148, 149, 150, 151, 152.

(page 148)

previously to Learn from Mr. Weiser the particular History of these Indians, their real disposition towards Us, and their future designs; and accordingly sent for him. He said the Indians had in part told him their mind, and he thought they might be brought to tell him more, and when they did he wou'd inform the Council.

The Members likewise judged that it might be of Service to know Mr. Logan's Sentiments about what might be proper to be said to the Indians, & requested Mr. Weiser & the Secretary to wait on him for that purpose.

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At a Council held at Philadelphia the 16th November, 1747.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.

Thomas Lawrence,	Samuel Hasell,
William Till,	Abraham Taylor,	} Esqrs.
Robert Strettell,	Benjamin Shoemaker,
Thomas Hopkinson,	William Logan,

Mr. Weiser attending was called in, and inform'd the Council that he had Learn'd the following particulars from the Indians, viz.: That last Summer the Governor of Canada had sent the Hatchet to the Indians about the Lakes and on the branches of Ohio; that one Nation took it up; and that these Indians and the Indians in those Quarters, consisting principally of Warriors, being afraid others wou'd do the like, to prevent this took up the English Hatchet and proclaim'd War against the French, which had a good effect, no more daring after this to meddle with the French Hatchet; That these Indians on Ohio had concluded to kindle a Fire in their Town, and had invited all the Indians to a considerable distance round about them to come to their Fire in the Spring, and that they had consented to it. Mr. Weiser added that the Indians in the Parts these People came from were numerous, not less than Five hundred Men, and had many Allies more numerous than themselves; That it was always the Custom in War time to put the management into the hands of the Young People, & that it would be of the most pernicious Consequence not to give them encouragement at this time, and particularly he thought the Council should at least tell them they approv'd of their taking up the Hatchet, & acknowledge the Service done to the English by their seasonable declaration in their favour. He thought Providence had furnished this Province with a fine opportunity of making all the Indians about the Lakes their Friends, & warm Friends too. Mr. Weiser being ask'd what sort of a Present should be given them at this time, he said Goods were now so dear that the value of One hundred Pounds wou'd appear but small, that they should have so much given them at least, and half as much to the Canayiahaga Indians; Not that this was by any means sufficient, (page 149) but wou'd be a good Salutation Present, and preparatory to a larger to be sent in the Summer. This he judg'd necessary to be done, and that they should be told of the future Present, And tho' he had never been in those Parts, yet he judg'd that attaching these Indians and their Friends to the English Cause to be so necessary that he wou'd, if the Council pleased & his Health shou'd permit, go with the Present himself, and see with his own Eyes what number of Indians were there, & in what disposition. He said further, that he accompanied the Secretary to Mr. Logan's yesterday, & that the Secretary had informed Mr. Logan of all these particulars, and taken his Sentiments in writing, and on them form'd the Plan of an answer. The Board order'd the Secretary to read what he had wrote, and on considering this & Mr. Weiser's Information, an answer was agreed to and the Presents settled. The Council adjourn'd to 4 o'Clock in the Afternoon, and directed that the Indians should be told to be there in order to receive the answer of the Council to their Speech.

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At a Council held at Philadelphia, 16th Nov^r., 1747, Four o'Clock in the Afternoon.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President, and the same Members as in the Forenoon.

The Indians having taken their Seats the President spoke as follows:

"Brethren, Warriors of the Six Nations-

We, the President & Council of the Province of Pennsylvania, have taken what You said to Us into Consideration, and are not going to give you an answer.

We are always glad to see our Brethren, and are particularly pleas'd at this critical time with your present Visit. You are sensible of the constant Freindship this Government has always shown to the Indians of the Six Nations, and that from their first Settlement in the Country their Interest has been put on the same foot with our own; And as long as you shall act up to your Engagements you will never want the most substantial proofs that we can give of our Regards to your Nations.

You tell us that at the beginning of the War you received a Message from all the English to stand Neuter, and to prevail with your Allies to do the same; that in compliance therewith you did stand neuter, & all your Allies except the Praying Indians, who promis'd and broke their word; That the French commencing Hostilities, you received repeated Messages from the English to continue Neuter no longer, but to take up their Hatchet against the French, and that you and your Allies have accordingly done this.

(page 150)

Brethren, You did well to hearken to the Messages sent by The English. Your Allies so readily concurring with you, shews you keep up a good understanding with them, for which you are to be commended. You live in small Tribes at a distance from one another. Separate, you will be easily overcome; United, it will be difficult if not impossible to hurt You. Like the Strings on which you put your Wampum, a single Thread is soon snapp'd, a few require more strength, But if you weave them into a Belt and fasten them tight together, it must be a strong hand that can break it.

We are pleas'd to hear that at the pressing Instances of the Governors of New York & New England, you have taken up the Hatchet against the French, who you know, notwithstanding their fair Speeches, have been from the beginning your inveterate Enemies; And in Confirmation that We approve of what you have done, we give you this Belt.

By your String of Wampum you tell us that you observe the English Kettle does not boil high, & you give the String to all the English to encourage them to put more Fire under their Kettle.

As you Address this to all the English, we shall send your string to the other Governors. But to lessen your Concern on this account, We are to apprize you that the French were sending large Forces in big Ships well arm'd with great Cannon over the Seas to Canada, that the English pursued them, attack'd them, took their Men of War, killed a number of their Men, & carried the rest Prisoners to England. This Victory put a stop for the present to the Expedition intended against Canada. You are, therefore, not to judge by the appearance things make now that the English Fire is going out, but that this is only accidental, & it will soon blaze again.

As this is the first Visit paid us by our Brethren the Warriors living on the Branches of Ohio, to shew that we take it kindly of them, and are desirous to cultivate & improve the Friendship subsisting between the Six Nations & Us, we have provided a Present of Goods, a list whereof will be read to You at the close of our Answer. They are at John Harris', & the Interpreter will go along with You & deliver them to you there. In the Spring we propose to send Mr. Weiser to You, & he will be furnish'd with a proper Present to be distributed to all the Indians at Ohio, at Canayiahaga, & about the Lake Erie. In confirmation of what we say we give you this string of Wampum.

Having received by the Traders a kind Message from the Canayiahaga Indian, to let them see we are pleased with it, We have sent them a small Present of Powder & Lead by Mr. Croghan which you will inform them of, and likewise of our further intentions in their favour with this String of Wampum, which is given you for that purpose.

The President & Council at your recommendation will take care (page 151) to give Scaiohady a Present for his own private use, & his old friend Mr. Logan will do the same."

A String of Wampum.

The Indian Speaker having consulted with Scaiohady, took up the Belt and Strings of Wampum in the order they were presented, and repeating the Substance of every Paragraph, express'd high Satisfaction at what the Council had said, & promised to send the String of Wampum to the Canayiahaga Indians, who being their own Flesh & Blood they were pleased with the Regards shewn to them; And in Testimony of their entire Satisfaction & Devotion to the English Interest they gave the Indian Marks of Approbation and Danced the War Dance.

A List of Goods bought for the Ohio Indians, viz.:

4 Barrells of Gunpowder	@11	44	0	0
5 cwt. Barr Lead	40s.	10	0	0
8 Guns	50s.	20	0	0
2 Pieces Striped Duffels	14	28	0	0
1 Piece Blew Strowds		15	0	0
1 1/2 Dozen Tomahawks	30s.	2	5	0
10 lb. Vermillion	18s.	9	0	0
10 doz. best Knives	9s. 6d.	4	15	0
2 m. Flints	15s.	1	10	0
6 doz. Screw Boxes	18d.	0	9	0
5 lb. Red Lead	9d.	0	3	9
Cash paid John Smith the Waggoner for Carriage up to John Harris'		4	17	0
1/4 Cask of Gunpowder		2	15	0
1 doz. Looking Glasses		0	19	0
1 doz. Knives		0	9	6
Cash paid for Pipes & Tobacco		1	1	6
1/2 cwt. Turkey shot		1	3	9
1 cwt. Bread		0	18	0
11 pair of Sizzars		0	3	3
1 Groce of Awl Blades		0	18	0

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148

7

9

A List of Goods bought for the Canayiahaga Indians, viz.:

4 cwt. Barr Lead	@45s.	9	0	0
8 half Barrells & 2 Quarter Casks of Gunpowder		24	0	0
3 doz. best Knives	@10s. 6d.	1	1	0
4 Guns	55s.	11	0	0
1,000 Flints		1	5	0
Cash paid John Smith, Waggoner	18s.	1	12	6

_______________

47

18

6

(page 152)

A List of Goods bought for Shikalamy, viz.:

5 Strowd Match Coats	@28s.	7	0	0
1/4 Cask of Gun Powder		2	15	0
1/2 cwt. Barr Lead	40s.	1	0	0
15 Yards of Blew Half Thicks	3s. 2d.	2	7	6
1 doz. best Buckhafted Knives		0	9	0
4 Duffell Match Coats	15s.	3	0	0

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16

11

6

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At a Council held at Philadelphia 17th Novr., 1747.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.

Thomas Lawrence,	Samuel Hasell,
William Till,	Abraham Taylor,	} Esqrs.
Robert Strettell,	Thomas Hopkinson,

The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd.

Mr. Till, Mr. Taylor, & Mr. Hopkinson were appointed a Committee to prepare the Draught of a Message to the Assembly on the several Letters receiv'd from Governor Shirley, Admiral Knowles, & Governor Clinton, & likewise another Message to accompany the Indian Treaty.

_____

At a Council held at Philadelphia the 20th Novr., 1747.

PRESENT:

The Honoble. ANTHONY PALMER, Esqr., President.

Samuel Hasell,	William Till,
Abraham Taylor,	Robert Strettell,	} Esqrs.
Joseph Turner	Thomas Hopkinson,

The Minutes of the preceding Council were read and approv'd.

The President having receiv'd a Letter from Governor Clinton, inclosing an Account of the Monies paid by him for the use of the four Pennsylvania Companies, together with an Estimate of what he, on conferring with some of the Pennsylvania Officers at New York, judg'd still to be due to them, the same were read & ordered to be laid before the Assembly at their meeting.

A Letter from Governor Shirley was likewise read & order'd to be enter'd, & referr'd to the Committee, to be recommended to the Assembly in the same Message with the Indian Treaty.

BOSTON, November 9th, 1747.

Sir:

I am to inform your Honour that at a meeting of Commiss^rs.

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