Chapter II (4)

_A List of the different Nations and Tribes of Indians in the Northern District of North America, with the number of their fighting Men._

====================+=======+=========================+==================
Names of the | Nos. | Their Dwelling Ground. | Their Hunting
Tribes. | | | Grounds.
--------------------+-------+-------------------------+------------------
Mohocks,[_a_] | 160 |Mohock River. |Between that and
| | | Lake George.
| | |
Oneidas,[_b_] | 300 |East side of Oneida Lake,|In the country
| | & on the head waters of| where they live.
| | the east branch of |
| | Susquehannah. |
| | |
Tuscaroras,[_b_] | 200 |Between the Oneidas and |Between Oneida
| | Onandagoes. | Lake & Lake
| | | Ontario.
| | |
Onandagoes,[_b_] | 260 |Near the Onandaga Lake. |Between Onandago
| | | L. & mouth of
| | | Seneca River,
| | | near Oswego.
| | |
Cayugas,[_b_] | 200 |On two small Lakes, |Where they reside.
| | called the Cayugas, on |
| | the north branch of |
| | Susquehannah. |
| | |
Senecas,[_b_] | 1,000 |Seneca Country, on the |Their chief
| | waters of Susquehannah,| hunting country
| | the waters of Lake | thereabouts.
| | Ontario, and on the |
| | heads of Ohio River. |
| | |
Aughquagas,[_c_] | 150 |East branch of |Where they live.
| | Susquehannah River, |
| | and on Aughquaga. |
| | |
Nanticokes,[_c_] | 100}|Utsanango, Chagmett, | Do.
Mohickons,[_c_] | 100}| Oswego, and on the east|
Conoys,[_c_] | 30}| branch of Susquehannah.|
| | |
Monsays,[_c_] | 150}|At Diahogo, and other | Do.
Sapoones,[_c_] | 30}| villages up the north |
Delawares,[_c_] | 150}| branch of Susquehannah.|
| | |
Delawares,[_d_] | 600 |Between the Ohio & Lake |Where they live.
| | Erie, on the branches |
| | of Beaver Creek, |
| | Muskingum and Guyehugo.|
| | |
Shawnesse,[_d_] | 300 |On Scioto & branch of | Do.
| | Muskingum. |
| | |
Mohickone,[_d_] | 300 |In villages near | Do.
| | Sandusky. |
| | |
Goghnawages,[_d_] | | |On the head
| | | banks of
| | | Scioto.
| | |
Twightwees,[_e_] | 250 |Miame River, near Fort |On the ground
| | Miame. | where they
| | | live.
| | |
Wayoughtanies,[_f_] | 300}|On the branches of |Between Ouitanon
Pyankeshas,[_f_] | 300}| Ouabache, near Fort | & the Miames.
Shockays,[_f_] | 200}| Ouitanon. |
| | |
Huskhuskeys,[_g_] | 300}|Near the French |
Illinois,[_g_] | 300}| settlements, in the |
| | Illinois Country. |
| | |
Wayondotts,[_h_] | 250}|Near Fort Detroit. |About Lake Erie.
Ottawas,[_h_] | 400}| |
Putawatimes,[_h_] | }| |
| | |
Chipawas,[_i_] }| 200 |On Saganna Creek, which |Thereabouts.
Ottawas }| | empties into Lake |
| | Huron. |
| | |
Chippawas[_j_] | 400}|Near Michilimachinac. |On the north
Ottawas,[_j_] | 260}| | side of Lake
| | | Huron.
| | |
Chipawas,[*][_k_] | 400 |Near the entrance of Lake|Thereabouts.
| | Superior, and not far |
| | from Fort St. Mary’s. |
| | |
Chepawas,[_k_] }| 550 |Near Fort Labay on the |Thereabouts.
Mynonamies,[_k_] }| | Lake Michigan. |
Shockeys,[_k_] }| | |
| | |
Putawatimes,[_k_] | 150}|Near Fort St. Joseph’s. |Thereabouts.
Ottawas,[_k_] | 150}| |
| | |
Kicapoos,[_l_] }| 4,000 |On Lake Michigan and |Where they
Outtagamies,[_l_] }| | between it and the | respectively
Musquatans,[_l_] }| | Mississippi. | reside.
Miscotins,[_l_] }| | |
Outtamacks,[_l_] }| | |
Musquaykeys,[_l_] }| | |
| | |
Oswegatches,[_h_] | 100 |Settled at Swagatchy in |Thereabouts.
| | Canada, on the River |
| | St. Lawrence. |
| | |
Connesedagoes,[_k_]}| 300 |Near Montreal. |
Coghnewagoes,[_k_] }| | |
| | |
Orondocks,[_k_] | 100}|Settled near Trois |
Abonakies,[_k_] | 150}| Rivers. |
Alagonkins,[_k_] | 100}| |
| | |
La Suil,[†] |10,000 |South-west of Lake |
| | Superior. |
--------------------+-------+-------------------------+------------------

[_a_] These are the oldest Tribe of the Confederacy of the Six Nations.

[_b_] Connected with New York, part of the Confederacy with New York.

[_c_] Connected with, and depending on the Five Nations.

[_d_] Dependent on the Six Nations, and connected with Pennsylvania.

[_e_] Connected with Pennsylvania.

[_f_] Connected with the Twightwees.

[_g_] These two Nations the English had never any trade, or connection with.

[_h_] Connected formerly with the French.

[_i_] Connected with the Indians about Detroit, and dependant on the commanding officer.

[_j_] Always connected with the French.

[_k_] Connected with the French.

[_l_] Never connected in any trade or otherwise with the English.

[*] There are several villages of Chipawas settled along the bank of Lake Superior, but as I have no knowledge of that country, cannot ascertain their numbers.

[†] These are a nation of Indians settled south-west of Lake Superior, called by the French La Sue, who, by the best account that I could ever get from the French and Indians, are computed ten thousand fighting men. They spread over a large tract of country, and have forty odd villages; in which country are several other tribes of Indians, who are tributaries to the La Sues, none of whom except a very few, have ever known the use of fire-arms: as yet but two villages. I suppose the French don’t choose to risk a trade among such a powerful body of people, at so vast a distance.

CROGHAN TO SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON[133]

SIR: In the scituation I was in at Ouiatonon, with great numbers of Indians about me, & no Necessaries such as Paper & Ink, I had it not in my power to take down all the speeches made by the Indian Nations, nor what I said to them, in so particular a manner as I could wish, but hope the heads of it as I have taken down will meet with your approbation.

In the Course of this Tour through the Indⁿ Countrys I made it my study to converse in private with Pondiac, & several of the Chiefs of the different Nations, as often as oppertunity served, in order to find out the sentiments they have of the French & English, Pondiac is a shrewd sensible Indian of few words, & commands more respect amongst those Nations, than any Indian I ever saw could do amongst his own Tribe. He and all his principal men of those Nations seem at present to be convinced that the French had a view of interest in stirring up the late differance between his Majesties Subjects & them & call it a Bever War, for neither Pondiac nor any of the Indians which I met with, ever pretended to deny but the French were at the bottom of the whole, & constantly supplyed them with every necessary they wanted, as far as in their power, every where through that Country & notwithstanding they are at present convinced, that it was for their own Interest, yet it has not changed the Indians affections to them, they have been bred up together like Children in that Country, & the French have always adopted the Indians customs & manners, treated them civily & supplyed their wants generously, by which means they gained the hearts of the Indians & commanded their services, & enjoyed the benefit of a very large Furr Trade, as they well knew if they had not taken this measure they could not enjoy any of those Advantages. The French have in a manner taught the Indians in that Country to hate the English, by representing them in the worst light they could on all occasion, in particular they have made the Indians there believe lately, that the English would take their Country from them & bring the _Cherokees_ there to settle & to enslave them, which report they easily gave credit to, as the Southern Indˢ had lately commenced war against them. I had great difficulty in removeing this suspicion and convincing them of the falsity of this report, which I flatter myself I have done in a great measure, yet it will require some time, a very even Conduct in those that are to reside in their Country, before we can expect to rival the French in their affection, all Indians are jealous & from their high notion of liberty hate power, those Nations are jealous and prejudiced against us, so that the greatest care will be necessary to convince them of our honest Intention by our Actions. The French sold them goods much dearer than the English Traders do at present, in that point we have the advantage of the French, but they made that up in large presents to them for their services, which they wanted to support their Interest in the Country, & tho’ we want none of their services, yet they will expect favours, & if refused look on it in a bad light, & very likely think it done to distress them for some particular Advantages we want to gain over them. They are by no means so sensible a People as the Six Nations or other Tribes this way, & the French have learned them for their own advantage a bad custom, for by all I could learn, they seldom made them any general presents, but as it were fed them with Necessaries just as they wanted them Tribe by Tribe, & never sent them away empty, which will make it difficult & troublesome to the Gentlemen that are to command in their Country for some time, to please them & preserve Peace, as they are a rash inconsiderate People and don’t look on themselves under any obligations to us, but rather think we are obliged to them for letting us reside in their Country. As far as I can judge of their Sentiments by the several Conversations I have had with them, they will expect some satisfaction made them by Us, for any Posts that should be established in their Country for Trade. But you will be informed better by themselves next Spring, as Pondiac & some Chiefs of every Nation in that Country intend to pay you a visit. The several Nations on the Ouiabache, & towards the _Ilinois_, _St. Josephs_, _Chicago_, _Labaye_, _Sagina_ & other places have applyed for Traders to be sent to their settlements, but as it is not in the power of any Officer to permit Traders to go from Detroit or _Michillimackinac_, either English or French, I am of opinion the Indˢ will be supplyed this year chiefly from the _Ilinois_, which is all French property & if Trading Posts are not established at proper Places in that Country soon the French will carry the best part of the Trade over the _Missisipi_ which they are determined to do if they can, for I have been well informed that the French are preparing to build a strong trading Fort on the other side Missisipi, about 60 miles above _Fort Chartres_,[134] and have this Summer in a private manner transported 26 pieces of small canon up the River for that purpose.

G. CROGHAN.

November, 1765.

FOOTNOTES

[1] See Weiser’s _Journal_, _ante_; and _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 287, 295.

[2] _Ibid._, v, p. 387; _Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, p. 31.

[3] _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 432-449.

[4] See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, p. 568.

[5] _Ibid._, p. 665.

[6] _Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, pp. 114, 689.

[7] _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vii, p. 355; _New York Colonial Documents_, vii, pp. 136, 174, 196, 211.

[8] Stone, _Life of Johnson_, ii, app., p. 457.

[9] _New York Colonial Documents_, vii, p. 624.

[10] _Ibid._, p. 603.

[11] Egle, _Notes and Queries_ (Harrisburg, 1896) 3d series, ii, p. 348.

[12] For his descendants see Egle, _Notes and Queries_, 3d series, ii, p. 349.

[13] See Craig, _The Olden Time_, and the heterogeneous mass of Croghan’s writings therein printed.

[14] The following is reprinted from _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 496-498; also printed in _Early History of Western Pennsylvania_, app., pp. 21-29. The circumstances under which it was written are as follows: In the autumn of 1750, Conrad Weiser reported to the governor of Pennsylvania that the French agent Joncaire was on his way to the Ohio with a present of goods, and orders from the governor of Canada to drive out all the English traders. Accordingly, Governor Hamilton detailed Croghan and Montour to hasten thither, and by the use of a small present, and the promise of more, to try and counteract the intrigues of the French, and maintain the Indians in the English interest. Upon Croghan’s arrival at Logstown, he sent back this reassuring letter. Proceeding westward to the Muskingum, where he had a trading house at a Wyandot village, Croghan met Christopher Gist, agent for the Ohio Company, and with him continued to the Scioto, thence to the Twigtwee town of Pickawillany (near the present Piqua, Ohio). All the way, Croghan held conferences with the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, and Twigtwees, strengthening the English alliance, and promising a large present of goods to be furnished next spring at Logstown. At Pickawillany, he made an unauthorized treaty with two new tribes who sought the English alliance—the Piankeshaws and Weas (Waughwaoughtanneys, French Ouiatonons). Unfortunately no extant document by Croghan adequately chronicles this journey. Our knowledge of it is derived from the journal of Gist (_q. v._); from incidental notices in the _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 476, 485-488, 522-525; and from Croghan’s brief account, see _post_.—ED.

[15] In the original publication the month was misprinted December for November. See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, p. 498, where the governor in a message to the Assembly speaks of Croghan’s letter from the Ohio of the sixteenth of November. Cf. also, Gist’s _Journal_, November 25, 1750, where he says that Croghan had passed through Logstown about a week before.—ED.

[16] Philippe Thomas Joncaire (John Cœur), Sieur de Chabert, was a French officer resident among the Seneca Indians, to whose tribe his mother was said to belong. Born in 1707, on the death of his father (1740) he succeeded to the latter’s influence and authority among the Iroquois, and made constant efforts to neutralize the influence of Sir William Johnson, the English agent. Joncaire had a trading house at Niagara, and his profits from the portage of goods at that place were great. He accompanied Céloron’s expedition in 1749; and in 1753 met Washington at Venango. It was chiefly due to his influence that the Ohio Indians deserted the English at the outbreak of the French and Indian war. Joncaire led the Iroquois contingent in all the campaigns on the Allegheny and in Western New York; and when Prideaux and Johnson advanced against Niagara, he commanded an outpost at the upper end of the portage. He signed the capitulation of Fort Niagara (1759), but after that nothing further is known of him.—ED.

[17] The town mentioned here was at the mouth of the Scioto River, and was known as “the lower Shawnee town.”—ED.

[18] Detroit was considered an important station by La Salle; but no permanent post was established there until 1701, when De la Mothe Cadillac built a fort named Pontchartrain, and established the nucleus of a French colony. Bands of Indians were induced to settle at the strait; and here (1712) took place the battle of the Foxes with the Hurons and Ottawas. Detroit continued to be one of the most important French posts in the West until in 1760, when it was transferred to an English detachment under command of Major Rogers. See Croghan’s _Journal_, _post_.

The siege of Detroit during Pontiac’s War is one of the best known incidents in its history. During the Revolution, the British officials here were accused of sending scalping parties against the frontier settlements; and in 1779 George Rogers Clark captured at Vincennes its “hair-buying” commandant, General Henry Hamilton. In 1780, an expedition against Detroit was projected by Clark, but failed of organization. Throughout the Indian wars of the Northwest, Detroit was regarded with suspicion by the Americans, and its surrender in 1796 secured a respite for the frontier. Its capitulation to the British by Hull (1812) was a blow to the American cause, which was not repaired until after Perry’s victory on Lake Erie, when Proctor evacuated Detroit, which was regained by an American force (September 29, 1813). Cass was then made governor. As American settlement came in, the importance of Detroit as a centre for the fur-trade declined, and its career as a Western commercial city began.—ED.

[19] Captain William Trent was a noted Indian trader, brother-in-law and at this time partner of Croghan. Although born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1715), he served the colony of Virginia as Indian agent; and in 1752 its governor dispatched him to the Miamis with a present. See _Journal of Captain Trent_ (Cincinnati, 1871). The following year he was sent out by the Ohio Company to begin a fortification at the Forks of the Ohio, from which in Trent’s absence (April, 1754), the garrison was expelled by a French force under Contrecœur. Trent was with Forbes in 1758, and the following year was made deputy Indian agent, assistant to Croghan, and aided at the conferences at Fort Pitt in 1760. His trade was ruined by the uprising of Pontiac’s forces, but he received reparation at the treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) by a large grant of land between the Kanawha and Monongahela rivers, where he made a settlement. At the outbreak of the Revolution he joined the patriot cause, and was major of troops raised in Western Pennsylvania.—ED.

[20] Governor James Hamilton was the son of a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, and being himself educated for the legal profession, held several offices in the colony before he was appointed lieutenant-governor in 1748. His administration was a vigorous one, but owing to difficulties with the Quaker party he resigned in 1754. Five years later he was reinstated in the office, and served until the proprietor John Penn came over as governor (1763). His death occurred at New York during the British occupation (1783).—ED.

[21] This document is reprinted from _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 530-536; a portion of it is also to be found in Craig, _The Olden Time_ (Pittsburg, 1846), i, p. 136, and a reprint in _Early History of Western Pennsylvania_, app., pp. 26-34. As the result of Croghan’s Western journey during the winter of 1750-51, and the desire of Pennsylvania to maintain its trade relations with the Ohio Indians, the Assembly voted £700 to be employed in presents; and the governor instructed Croghan and Montour to deliver the goods.—See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 487, 518, 525, and Croghan’s account, _post_. The adroitness with which Croghan outwitted the French officer and interpreter Joncaire, and his influence over the chiefs on the Ohio, as well as the susceptibility of the Indian nature to the influence of material goods, are all exemplified in this narrative. It did not result, however, as Croghan and the governor wished, in inducing the Pennsylvania authorities to construct a fort on the Ohio. The beginnings of that enterprise were left to the Virginians, but too late to secure the Forks of the Ohio from being seized by the French.—ED.

[22] The commandant of this famous expedition (1749) was Pierre Joseph Céloron, Sieur de Blainville, born in 1693, and having served a long apprenticeship in the posts of the upper country. He commanded an invasion of the Chickasaw country (1739), and had charge of the post at Detroit in 1742-43, and again in 1750-54. Fort Niagara was entrusted to him in 1744-47, whence he was transferred to Crown Point, until his Ohio expedition took place. In the French and Indian War he held the rank of major, and served on the staff of the commander-in-chief. He died about 1777. In 1760, the Canadian authorities characterized him as “poor and brave.” Some question has arisen, whether the leader of this expedition might not have been a younger brother, Jean Baptiste. For Croghan’s visit to the Ohio directly after Céloron’s expedition had passed, see _post_; also, _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, p. 387, and _Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, p. 31.—ED.

[23] The Onondaga Council was the chief governing body of the Six Nations, or Iroquois, and since this confederacy assumed supremacy over the Ohio Indians, it was the chief centre of Indian diplomacy. The council house was situated on the site of the present town of Onondaga, New York, and was about eighty feet long, with broad seats arranged on each side. For an early description see Bartram, _Observations, etc._ (London, 1751), pp. 40, 41.—ED.

[24] Galissonière, the governor of Canada, who planned Céloron’s expedition to the Ohio, was superseded in the autumn of 1749 by Jacques Pierre de Taffanel, Marquis de la Jonquière, who continued the policy of the former; he sent orders to the commandants of the Western posts to arrest all British subjects found in the Ohio Valley. La Jonquière, who was born in 1686, had served in the French navy with distinction, and after his first commission as governor of New France was captured by an English vessel (1747), and kept a prisoner for more than a year, so that he did not reach his post until 1749. His term of service was but two years and a half, being terminated by his death in May, 1752.—ED.

[25] This Dunkar (or Dunker) was doubtless Samuel Eckerlin one of three brothers who migrated from Ephrata about 1745, and ultimately settled on the Monongahela about ten miles below Morgantown, West Virginia. The Dunkers were a sect of German Baptists that arose in the Palatine about 1708, and migrated to Pennsylvania in 1719. Their formal organization took place at a baptism on the banks of Wissahickon Creek (near Philadelphia) in 1723. There were several divisions of this sect, one of which founded the community of Ephrata. Their tenets were baptism by immersion, a celibate community life, and refusal to bear arms. The Eckerlin brothers sought a solitary wilderness life, and at first were regarded with favor by the Ohio Indians. A massacre, however, demolished their settlement in 1757. Three of the party were captured, and sent as prisoners to Canada, and later to France. For details see Sachse, _German Sectarians of Pennsylvania_ (Philadelphia, 1900), ii, pp. 340-359.—ED.

[26] For an account of this chief see Weiser’s _Journal_, _ante_.—ED.

[27] Indians receive a speech with grunts of approval, which the French annalists spelled “ho-ho.” Croghan is apparently giving the English rendering of this term.—ED.

[28] This letter accompanied the preceding journal, and was written on Croghan’s return to the settlements. Pennsboro was the district in Cumberland County west of the Susquehanna, in which Croghan’s home was at this time situated.—ED.

[29] The letter from Joncaire here referred to, is printed in French in _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, p. 540. It consists merely of a statement of the French right to the Ohio Valley, and of the orders of the governor of Canada to permit no English to trade therein.—ED.

[30] This journal is reprinted from the _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 731-735 (also found in _Early History of Western Pennsylvania_, app., pp. 50-53), and chronicles a material change of affairs on the Ohio since the last account written by Croghan. Then the English interests were in the ascendency, and the French were being flouted and driven from the headwaters of the Ohio. But the division in English councils, the supineness of the colonial assemblies, and the active preparation and determined advance of the French into the upper Ohio Valley had had its effect upon the Indian tribes. Two years before, Trent had reported all the Ohio tribes secure in the English interest; but the same year an expedition from Detroit had moved against the recalcitrant Miamis (Twigtwees), and after inflicting a severe chastisement had secured them again to the French control, as Croghan herein reports. Early the following year the French expedition under Marin had advanced to take forcible possession of the Ohio country, and begin the chain of posts necessary to its defense. Presqu’isle and Le Bœuf had been built, while a deputation under Joncaire had seized the English trader’s house at Venango, and placed a French flag above it. A large number of the Indians, frightened at this show of force, yielded to the threatenings and cajoleries of the French officers. A small party, hoping to obtain aid from the English colonists, had sent off a deputation in the autumn of 1753 to meet the Virginia authorities at Winchester, and those of Pennsylvania at Carlisle, at both of which conferences Croghan was in attendance. The present which the Assembly of Pennsylvania had voted the preceding May (_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, p. 617) was cautiously given out, most of it consisting of powder and lead; it was feared with reason, that it might be used to the disadvantage of the back settlements. Croghan himself, although using every endeavor to fortify the Indians in the English alliance, lost heart at the dilatoriness of the Pennsylvania Assembly, some of whose members even doubted whether the land invaded did not rightfully belong to the French. He could wish with all his “hart Some gentleman who is an Artist in Philadelphia, and whos Acount wold be Depended on, whould have ye Curiosety to take a Journay in those parts,” in order to prove to the province (by means of a map) that the lands on which the French were building lay within their jurisdiction—(_Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, p. 132). Meanwhile, Washington had been sent out by Dinwiddie to summon the French to retire. Croghan, who reached this territory soon after Washington’s return, reports in the following journal the conditions on the Ohio.—ED.

[31] A year and a half after this visit of Croghan’s, Turtle Creek was the site of Braddock’s defeat. For a description of the battle, and the present appearance of the site, see Thwaites, _How George Rogers Clark won the Northwest and other Essays in Western History_ (Chicago, 1903), pp. 184, 185.

John Frazier, who had his house at the mouth of Turtle Creek, was a Pennsylvania trader, gunsmith, and interpreter, who had lived twelve years at Venango, whence he was driven by the invading French expedition the summer previous. He assisted Washington on his journey, and the next year (1754) was commissioned lieutenant of the militia forces under Trent’s command, that were to fortify the Forks of the Ohio.—ED.

[32] The journal of Washington on this journey was on his return printed in Winchester (only two copies of which edition are known to be extant), also in London (1754). Frequent reprints have been made, and the journal has been edited by Sparks, Rupp, Craig, Shea, and Ford. The journal of Gist, who accompanied Washington, is found in Darlington’s _Gist_, pp. 80-87. Croghan gives a concise summary of Washington’s mission and its results.—ED.

[33] John Patten was a Pennsylvania Indian trader, who was captured in the Miami towns by the order of the French governor (1750). He and two companions were carried to Canada, and afterwards sent to France, being imprisoned at La Rochelle, whence they appealed to the English ambassador who secured their release. See _New York Colonial Documents_, x, p. 241. Patten had at this time been sent to the Ohio with the Shawnee prisoners from South Carolina. See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 730, 731.—ED.

[34] Six Shawnee Indians had been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in a raid, and confined in the Charleston, South Carolina, jail. On the request of Governor Hamilton, two were released and sent to Philadelphia to be delivered to their kinsfolk. The other four made their escape. See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 696-700.—ED.

[35] The Half-King was a prominent Seneca or Mingo chief, whose home was at Logstown. He was faithful to the English interest, and accompanied Washington both on his journey of 1753 and his expedition of 1754; upon the latter, he claimed to have slain Jumonville with his own hand. He was decorated by the governor of Virginia in recognition of his services, and given the honorary name of “Dinwiddie” in which he took great pride. When the French secured the Ohio region, he removed under Croghan’s protection to Aughwick Creek, where he died in October, 1756.—ED.

[36] The Chickasaws were a tribe of Southern Indians, domiciled in Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, who were traditional allies of the English and enemies of the French. After the Natchez War in Louisiana, the remnant of that tribe took refuge with the Chickasaws, who inflicted a severe defeat upon the French (1736), capturing and burning a Jesuit priest and several well-known officers.—ED.

[37] The Ottawas were an Algonquian tribe, domiciled in Michigan about the posts of Mackinac and Detroit. Faithful to the French interests, they were doubtless acting under the directions of their commandants in gathering to attack the Shawnees on the Scioto—ED.

[38] Lewis Montour, a brother of Andrew, had come the previous autumn to the governor of Pennsylvania, with a message purporting to have been sent by the Ohio Indians; they were represented as requesting help against the French, and the building of forts on the river, and as offering all the lands east of the river to pay the debts of the traders. As the character of those who claimed to have obtained this treaty was open to suspicion, the governor had sent Croghan and Andrew Montour to ascertain the truth of the matter. The unauthorized insertion of so great a land grant, is a good specimen of the methods by which the unprincipled traders sought to take advantage of the Indians. See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 691-696.—ED.

[39] Shingas, brother of King Beaver, was one of the principal leaders of the Delaware Indians on the Ohio, where he had a town at the mouth of Beaver Creek. Shortly after this meeting with Croghan, he deserted to the French, and his braves were a terror to the border settlers. Governor Denny of Pennsylvania set a price of £200 upon his head. Post had a conference with Shingas (1758), and persuaded him to return to the English alliance; nevertheless, at the occupation of the Forks of the Ohio by the English, Shingas with his band retreated to the Muskingum. The last mention of him seems to be in 1762 (_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, viii, p. 690), and he appears to have died before the conspiracy of Pontiac (1763), in which his tribe took part.—ED.

[40] This letter is reprinted from _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vi, pp. 642, 643. In the interval between this and the preceding document, momentous events, in which Croghan had a full share, had occurred on the Ohio. The governor of Virginia had engaged him to act as interpreter in Colonel Washington’s army—see “Dinwiddie Papers,” _Virginia Historical Collections_ (Richmond, 1883-84), i, p. 187—and he had been present at the affair of the Great Meadows. During the period between this and Braddock’s expedition, Croghan had been busily employed in bringing over as many Indians as possible to the English cause, and he had led the Indian contingent to Braddock’s aid (see _post_). After the battle of the Monongahela, Croghan returned to his home at Aughwick Creek, caring at his own expense for the few Indians who remained firm in the English interest, and planning to defend his settlement by a stockade fort. A bill for his relief (he had lost all of his trading equipment) passed the Pennsylvania Assembly. Although holding no provincial office, his knowledge of the frontier situation was much relied on in this extremity.—ED.

[41] This stockade fort was built on Aughwick Creek, where stands the present town of Shirleysburg. It was known first as Fort Croghan, then a private enterprise; but later in the same year (1755), a fort was built on this site by order of the government and named for General Shirley, commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. Governor Morris wrote, after a visit to this fort in January, 1756, that seventy-five men were garrisoned therein (_Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, p. 556). It was appointed as the rendezvous for Armstrong’s expedition against Kittanning in August of this same year; but by October 15 the site had grown so dangerous that the governor ordered it abandoned.—ED.

[42] This account of the situation on the Ohio, obtained from the journey of a Delaware Indian, is reprinted from _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vi, pp. 781, 782. Since the last letter written by Croghan, the Assembly had passed a militia bill (November, 1755), and Franklin had been commissioned to take charge of the erection of a series of frontier forts. Croghan was commissioned captain, and promptly raising a company, entered with zeal upon the work. For his instructions, see _Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, p. 536.—ED.

[43] Robert Hunter Morris, son of Lewis Morris, prominent colonial statesman and governor of New Jersey, was born at Morrisania, New York, about 1700. Having been educated for the law, he became chief-justice of New Jersey (1738), a position held until his death in 1764. The Pennsylvania proprietors chose him as lieutenant-governor to succeed Hamilton in 1754; during his term of office he vigorously defended the province, but engaged in constant disputes with the Quaker party in the Assembly. The annoyance arising from this caused him to resign in 1756.—ED.

[44] King Beaver (Tamaque) was head chief of the Delaware Indians on the Ohio, with headquarters at the mouth of Beaver Creek. He was somewhat half-hearted in the English service, but protested his desire to preserve the alliance until after Braddock’s defeat, when he openly took the hatchet against the English settlements. Post met him upon the Ohio in 1758, and secured a conditional agreement to remain neutral; but after the English occupation of the Forks of the Ohio, he retreated to the Muskingum, where a town was named for him. He took part in the treaties with the English in 1760 and 1762; but was one of the ring-leaders in the conspiracy of Pontiac (1763). After Bouquet’s advance into his territory, he reluctantly made peace, and delivered up his English prisoners. He died about 1770, having in his later years passed under the influence of the Moravian missionaries, and become one of their most eminent disciples.—ED.

[45] Fort Duquesne, built at the Forks of the Ohio in 1754, was first commanded by Contrecœur; but in the September following the battle of the Monongahela, Captain Dumas, who had distinguished himself at that engagement, was made commandant. He was an officer of great ability, and while he sent out parties against the frontier, his instructions to one subordinate (Donville, captured in 1756) were to use measures “consistent with honor and humanity.” Dumas was superseded in 1756 by De Ligneris, who remained in command at Fort Duquesne until ordered to demolish the post, and retire before Forbes’s advancing army (1758).—ED.

[46] The Caghnawagos (Caughnawagas) were the Iroquois of the mission village of that name, about six miles above Montreal.—ED.

[47] This reference is to the massacre of the Moravian settlers at Gnadenhütten, in November, 1755.—ED.

[48] This paper is reprinted from _New York Colonial Documents_, vii, pp. 267-271. It accompanied a letter from Croghan to Sir William Johnson, in which he says, “Inclosed you have a copy of some extracts from my old journals relating to Indian Affairs, from the time of Mr. Hamilton’s arrival as Governour of this Province till the defeat of General Braddock; all which you may depend upon are facts, and will appear upon the records of Indian Affairs in ye several Governments.”

After Croghan had been commissioned captain by the Pennsylvania authorities, “he continued in Command of one of the Companies he had raised, and of Fort Shirley on the Western frontier about three months, during which time he sent, by my direction, Indian Messengers to the Ohio for Intelligence, but never procured me any that was very material, and having a dispute with the Commissʳˢ about some accounts between them, in which he thought himself ill-used; he resigned his commission, and about a month ago informed me that he had not received pay upon Genˡ Braddock’s warrant, and desired my recommendation to Genˡ Shirley, which I gave him, and he set off directly for Albany, & I hear is now at Onondago with Sʳ Wᵐ Johnson.”—(Letter of Governor Morris, July 5, 1756, in _Pennsylvania Archives_, ii, pp. 689, 690.)

Sir William Johnson, having more penetration than the Pennsylvania authorities as to the value of Croghan’s services, immediately appointed him his deputy, in which position he continued for several years. When he presented himself to the governor’s council in Philadelphia, December 14, 1756, “the Council knowing Mr. Croghan’s Circumstances was not a little surprised at the Appointment, and desired to see his Credentials”—(_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vii, p. 355). In regard to his services during this period, see _New York Colonial Documents_, vii, pp. 136, 174, 175, 196, 211, 246, 277, 280; _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vii, pp. 435, 465, 484, 506; viii, 175; _Pennsylvania Archives_, iii, pp. 319, 544.

Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland in 1715, came to New York at an early age, and settled as a trader in the Mohawk Valley. He was adopted into the Iroquois nation, and acquired power in their national councils, retaining them in the English interest during the French and Indian War. After the battle of Lake George, Johnson was rewarded with a baronetcy, and secured the surrender of Niagara in 1759. From that time until his death in 1774, he was occupied with Indian negotiations, chief of which was the treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768).—ED.

[49] Donegal was an old town on the east side of the Susquehanna, situated between the Conewago and Chiques creeks, in the northwestern angle of the county of Lancaster (Scull’s _Map of Pennsylvania_), where these Indians have left their name to the Conoy, or as it is now called, Coney Creek. _Memoirs of the Pennsylvania Historical Society_, iv, part ii, p. 210. The Conoys were originally from Piscataway, in Maryland, whence they moved to an island in the Potomac, and, on the invitation of William Penn, removed to the Susquehanna—(_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, iv, p. 657).—E. B. O’CALLAGHAN.

[50] Christopher Gist was of English descent, and a native of Maryland. In early life he removed to the frontiers of North Carolina, where he became so expert in surveying and woodcraft, that he was employed for two successive years by the Ohio Company in inspecting and surveying the Western country. It was on his first journey (1750-51) that he encountered Croghan, when they travelled together to Pickawillany (the Twigtwee town), and Gist continued via the Scioto River and the Kentucky country back to Virginia. On the second journey (1751-52), he explored the West Virginia region. His most noted adventure was accompanying Major George Washington in the autumn of 1753 to the French forts in Northwest Pennsylvania. Earlier in the same year, Gist had made a settlement near Mount Braddock, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and under the auspices of the Ohio Company was enlisting settlers for the region. Eleven came out in the spring of 1754, and a stockade fort was begun. This was utilized during Washington’s campaign, but burned by the French after the defeat at Great Meadows. Gist later petitioned the Virginia House of Burgesses for indemnity, but his request was rejected. Both Gist and his son served with Braddock as scouts, and after his defeat, raised a company of militia to protect the frontiers. After serving for a time as deputy Indian agent for the Southern Indians, he died in 1759, either in South Carolina or Georgia. One of his sons was killed at the battle of King’s Mountain (1780).—ED.

[51] For a copy of this treaty see _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 522-525. In regard to the rejection thereof, note that the governor in the speech made to the Twigtwees says it is approved. See _ante_.—ED.

[52] The records appear to bear out Croghan’s contention that he was given instructions to discuss the erection of a fort. See _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 522, 529. Historians admit that this neglect of the Indians’ request was attended with evil consequences to the English colonies, and Pennsylvania in particular. Consult _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 537, 547, for the Indian demand and the Assembly’s refusal.—ED.

[53] On this conference at Logstown see _Dinwiddie Papers_, i, pp. 6, 7, 11, 22; Trent’s _Journals_, pp. 69-81; Gist’s _Journals_, pp. 231-234.—ED.

[54] For the French sources of this expedition see _New York Colonial Documents_, x, pp. 255-257; _Pennsylvania Archives_ (2d series), vi, pp. 161-164.—ED.

[55] On the conferences at Winchester and Carlisle (1753), see _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, v, pp. 657, 665-684.—ED.

[56] Colonel Thomas Cresap was a Yorkshireman who came to Maryland at an early age. Having settled within the territory in dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania, he became an aggressive leader of the forces of the former and was arrested by the Pennsylvania sheriff of Lancaster, where he spent several months in jail. Being released by an agreement between the proprietors of the two colonies (1739), he moved westward, and became the first permanent settler of Maryland beyond the mountains, taking up land at a deserted Shawnee village now called Oldtown. An active member of the Ohio Company, he was assisted by the Indian Nemacolin in blazing the first path west to the Ohio (1752). After the defeat on the Monongahela, Cresap moved back to the settlements on Conococheague Creek; but on the return of peace sought his former location, where he became a noted surveyor and frontiersman. His son Michael was likewise a well-known borderer and Indian fighter. For a complete biographical account, see Ohio Archæological and Historical _Publications_ (Columbus, 1902), x, pp. 146-164.—ED.

[57] The official report of these affairs is in _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vi, pp. 150-161, 180, 181, 186-191.—ED.

[58] On Croghan’s relations to Braddock’s expedition, see _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vi, pp. 372, 381, 398; _New York Colonial Documents_, vi, p. 973.—ED.

[59] Colonel James Innes was an elderly Scotch officer, who had served under the king’s commission in the West Indies, and had settled in North Carolina. He commanded the contingent from that colony that came to the assistance of Virginia in 1754. On the death of Colonel Joshua Fry, Dinwiddie appointed Innes, who was his personal friend, to the position of commander-in-chief of the colonial army, of which Washington was acting commandant. Innes got no further than Fort Cumberland, where he remained as commander of the fort, alternately appealing to his former royal commission, and to his colonial authorization, for authority to maintain his rank.—ED.

[60] The years between the last document (1757) and the commencement of this journey (October 21, 1760) had been eventful ones for the future of American history. The French and Indian War, which until the close of 1757 had resulted only in a series of disasters to the English, was pursued with greater vigor when a change of administration sent able officers and leaders to America. The evacuation of Fort Duquesne (1758), the capture of Niagara and Quebec (1759), and the final capitulation of all Canada at Montreal (1760) gave the mastery of the continent to the English, and opened the portals of the West. Croghan was occupied during these momentous years with Indian negotiations of great importance. As deputy of Sir William Johnson, he endeavored to hold the Six Nations firm in their alliance, to pacify the frontier tribes, and finally to announce to the expectant savages the English victory, and their transfer to British authority. In 1757, he was employed in making peace with the Susquehanna Indians (_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, vii, pp. 517-551, 656-714; _Pennsylvania Archives_, iii, pp. 248, 319; _New York Colonial Documents_, vii, pp. 321-324); and made a journey to Fort Loudoun, in Tennessee to sound the disposition of the Cherokees—(_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_ vii, pp. 600, 630). His influence was relied upon to pave the way for Forbes’s army (1758), and he was present at the important treaty at Easton, in October of this year—(_Pennsylvania Archives_, iii, p. 429; _Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, viii, pp. 175-223; Stone, _Life of Sir William Johnson_, ii, p. 389). Croghan also accompanied Forbes’s expedition, and assisted in pacifying the Allegheny Indians. The journal in _Pennsylvania Archives_, iii, pp. 560-563, designated as _Journal of Frederick Post from Pittsburgh, 1758_, is really Croghan’s journal, as a comparison with Post’s journal for these dates will reveal. Early in the next year we find Croghan at Fort Pitt, holding constant conferences with Western Indians (_Pennsylvania Colonial Records_, viii, pp. 387-391; _Pennsylvania Archives_, iii, pp. 671, 744), where he remained until ordered to join the expedition sent out under Major Rogers to secure possession of Detroit and other Western posts, included in the capitulation at Montreal. The diary of this journey, which we here publish, is reprinted from _Massachusetts Historical Collections_, 4th series, ix, pp. 362-379. Other letters of Croghan’s are found in the same volume, pp. 246-253, 260, 266, 283-289. These all relate to Indian affairs, and the information being brought in by his scouts and messengers of conditions in the country lying westward—of the agitation, alarm, and confusion among the Indian hostiles, who were eager to give in their allegiance to their conquering English “brothers.” This journal of the voyage to Detroit admirably supplements that of Major Robert Rogers, commandant of the party which Croghan accompanied, whose account has been the standard authority. It was published in Dublin, 1770, and several reprints have been issued, the best of which is that edited by Hough, _Rogers’s Journals_, 1755-1760 (Albany, 1883).—ED.

[61] Major Robert Rogers, the noted partisan leader, was born in New Hampshire. On the outbreak of the French and Indian War he raised a company of scouts known as “Rogers’s Rangers,” who did great service on the New York frontier. After receiving the surrender of Detroit and attempting in vain to reach Mackinac, he was again sent to Detroit to relieve the garrison in Pontiac’s War, after which he proceeded against the Cherokees in the South. About this time he was retired on half pay, and visited England, where he published his journals, and a _Concise Account of North America_. In 1766, he was assigned to the command of the important post of Mackinac, and there schemed to betray the fort to the Spaniards. The plot having been discovered, he was tried in Montreal, but secured an acquittal, when he visited England a second time, only to be thrown into prison for debt. During the Revolution he led a body of Loyalists, and having been banished from New Hampshire retired to England (1780), where he died about 1800.—ED.

[62] Fort Presqu’ Isle was built by the French expedition under Marin in the spring of 1753, on the site of the present city of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was a post of much importance in maintaining the communication between Niagara, Detroit, and the Forks of the Ohio. After the fall of Fort Duquesne at the latter site (1758), a large garrison was collected at Fort Presqu’ Isle, and a movement to re-possess the Ohio country was being organized, when the capture of Niagara (1759) threw the project into confusion. Johnson sent out a party to relieve the French officer at this place, and a detachment of the Royal Americans commanded by Colonel Henry Bouquet advanced from Fort Pitt and took possession of the stronghold. The fort was captured by Indians during Pontiac’s conspiracy (June 17, 1763), as graphically related by Parkman. After this uprising, a British detachment controlled the place until the final surrender of the posts to the United States in 1796. Within the same year, General Anthony Wayne, returning from his fruitful campaign against the Indians, died in the old blockhouse of the fort. Some remains of the works are still to be seen at Erie.—ED.

[63] Captain Donald Campbell was a Scotch officer who came to America with the 62nd regiment in 1756, and was made captain of the Royal Americans in 1759. After accompanying this expedition to Detroit (1760), he was left in command of that post (see letter from Campbell, _Massachusetts Historical Collections_, 4th series, ix, p. 382), and when superseded by Major Gladwin remained as lieutenant-commander. Leaving the fort on an embassy, during the Pontiac uprising (1763), he was treacherously seized, made captive, and cruelly murdered by the Indian hostiles. See Parkman, _Conspiracy of Pontiac_ (Boston, 1851), chaps. 11 and 14.—ED.

[64] Marin’s expedition (1753), that erected forts Presqu’ Isle and Le Bœuf, intended to plant a fort at Venango, at the junction of French Creek with the Allegheny; the first detachment sent out for that purpose was, however, repulsed by the Indians. When Washington visited the place (December, 1753), he found the French flag flying over the house of an English trader, Frazier, who had been driven from the spot. The following year, the French built an outpost on this site, and named it Fort Machault. When Post passed by here in 1758, he found it garrisoned by but six men and a single officer; see _post_. The French abandoned Fort Machault in 1759, and early the following spring the English built Fort Venango, about forty rods nearer the mouth of the creek. At the outbreak of Pontiac’s War, the latter fort was commanded by Lieutenant Gordon, and he with all the garrison were captured, tortured, and murdered by Indian foes. No fort was rebuilt at this place until late in the Revolution, when Fort Franklin was erected for the protection of the border, being garrisoned from 1788-96. The present town of Franklin was laid out around the post in 1795.—ED.

[65] The French Fort Le Bœuf (technically, “Fort de la Rivière aux Bœufs”) was built by Marin (1753) on a creek of the same name, at the site of the present town of Waterford, the terminus of the road which Marin caused to be constructed south from Presqu’ Isle. This was the destination of Washington’s expedition in 1753, and here he met the French commandant, Legardeur de St. Pierre. The fort at this place was farmed out to a French officer, who superintended the portage of provisions from Lake Erie to the Ohio. Post found it garrisoned by about thirty soldiers in 1758; see _post_. The following year, after the French had abandoned it, a detachment of the Royal Americans went forward from Fort Pitt to occupy this stronghold; and three years later Ensign Price was beleaguered therein by the Indians, and barely escaped with his life after a brave but futile defense. The Indians destroyed Fort Le Bœuf by fire, and it was never rebuilt. In 1794, another fort with the same name was erected near the old site, and garrisoned until after the War of 1812-15. Subsequently the structure was used as a hotel, until accidentally burned in 1868.—ED.

[66] General Robert Monckton, a son of the Viscount of Galway, began his military career by service in Flanders (1742). He came to America about 1750, and was stationed at Halifax, being appointed governor of Nova Scotia (1754-56). After being transferred to the Royal Americans (1757), he was at the siege of Louisburg in 1758, and the following year was made second in command for the capture of Quebec. Promoted for gallant services, he was placed in control of the Western department, and had headquarters at Fort Pitt, where Rogers had been detailed to seek him for orders with reference to the latter’s Western expedition. General Monckton was military governor of New York City, 1761-63. During that time he made an expedition to the West Indies, and captured Martinique. Returning to England he was made governor of Berwick (1766), and later of Portsmouth, which he represented in Parliament. He refused to take a commission to serve against the Americans in the Revolutionary War.—ED.

[67] Captain David Brewer joined Rogers’s Rangers as ensign in 1756, and three years later was promoted for gallant services on Lake Champlain. He appears to have been one of the most trusted officers of this company. Rogers left him to bring up the troops to Presqu’ Isle, while he hastened on to Fort Pitt, at the beginning of the expedition; after the capitulation of Detroit, he sent the larger portion of the Rangers back to Niagara under Brewer’s command. See Rogers’s _Journal_, pp. 152, 198.—ED.

[68] The topography of this voyage is a disputed question. Croghan is the only contemporary authority who gives details. Siney Sipey is probably the present Conneaut Creek, about twenty miles from Presqu’ Isle. Rogers says “by night we had advanced twenty miles.” “Sinissippi” is frequently used for Stoney or Rock Creek; the present Rock River, Illinois, claims that for its Indian title. In 1761, Sir William Johnson describes this place (without naming it) as follows: “Encamped in a very good creek and safe harbor. The creek about fifty yards wide, and pretty deep; two very steep hills at the entrance thereof, and the water of it of a very brown color.”—ED.