Thursday the eighth Day of January, 1756.

THE Commissioners and the following Indians being met.

• Cranberry Indians, who pass by the English Names.
  • Thomas Store,
  • Stephen Calvin,
  • John Pumshire,
  • Jo. Mikty,
  • Thomas Kecahela,
  • Isaac Still,
  • William Totaney,
  • Oliver,
  • Totamy,
  • Sam. Gosling, &c. In all 27 Men, sundry Women and Children.
• Croswick Indians,
  • Quish,
  • Loulax,
  • Andrew,
  • Tashee,
  • Teach,
  • Pombolus,
  • Shockhicman,
  • Cushee, &c.
  • In all 16 Men, sundry Women and Children.
• Pompton Indians,
  • John Cooper,
  • Pamaatock,
  • Cachcow,
  • Toung Cawhow,
  • John Janaway,
  • Cobus Jeroliman,
  • Abram Shattaw,
  • Weselshelahow, &c.
  • In all 12 Men.
• Southern Jersey Indians,
  • John Palmer,
  • Peter [...]ooley,
  • Gabriel Mytop,
  • Woilis,
  • Tom Gale,
  • In all 23 Men, besides Wo­men and Childen.

[Page] [Page 4] A Commission from his Excellency JONATHAN BELCHER, Esq Captain General and Grvernor in Chief, in and over the Province of Nova-Caesarea or New-Jersey, and Territories thereon depending in Ame­rica, Chancellor and Vice Admiral in the same, &c. was published, im­powering the Honourable Richard Saker, Lewis Morris Ashfield, Charles Read, Robert Lawrence, Samuel Smith, Barzilla Newhold, and Joseph Yard, Esqrs or any three or more of them, to treat with the Indians of the Colony of New-Jersey, and to agree upon such Things, as they should esteem conducive to the Peace and Welfare of the Colony.

Jacob Howlings, Esq and Stephen Calvin, Interpretors attended, after which the Commissioners spoke to the Indians as follows.

Brethren,

WE are glad to see you here in Health, and hope those you have left behind you in your Towns are in Health also.

The Reason of our meeting you at this Time, is, that we might have an opportunity of talking freely with each other as Brethren ought to do.

We are appointed by the Government, to give you the strongest assurance of the Affection your Brethren of this Colony, have and will always retain for our Brethren the Indians.

If therefore any Thing you know of, that may on either side destroy the good Agreement that has continued for near one Hundred Years, between your Fathers and ours, you will now have an Oppor­tunity of mentioning it. And we hope you will do it in such a manner as that nothing may hereafter remain to give us or you any Occasion of Uneasiness, therefore we hope you will open your Minds freely.

We grieve for the Sufferings of our Brethren in Pennsylvania, who have suffered much by Indians misled by bad and wicked Peo­ples Advice, but we hope an end will be soon put to their Murder­ing your Friends and ours, and beleive the Indians will by the trou­ble they will bring themselves into by hearkening to this wicked Advice, be made to repent of their bad Actions.

We hope none of our Friends and Brethren of this Colony are joined with the Wicked Indians who have been destroying the Peo­ple of Pennsylvania.

And expect you will let us know all you have heard of the Intentions of the Indians, and if any of the Enemy Indians, or any strange Indians should come among you, to put evil and false Things into your Heads, [Page 5]you will do well not to believe them, and that you will deliver them to us, as dangerous to our Peace and yours.

As we have heard some of the Enemy Indians have been in the upper Parts of this Province, and Murdered one Man, and wounded another, this and the Murders on the other side of the River, has made our People who live in the upper Parts of this Colony so Angry, that it is become dangerous to any Indians to go there, as they will not in the hurry know Friends from Enemies. Therefore we would have you seriously consider with yourselves, that it will be necessa­ry for you to contrive some Bounds for your own Security, where you may be safe, and our People easy with it. And as you are our Bre­thren, we would have your Advice in this Matter, and if you have any request to make for your own ease and both our Security's, you will do well to let us know it, and we shall give it due Con­sideration.

Then the Indians withdrew.

The Commissioners met.

The Indians came into Council, and having appointed Ohiockecho­que, to speak for them; he delivered in their Names the following Answer.

Dear Brethren,

SOME of our old Men can remember when the English were weak and few, and the Indians strong and many. We then nursed them up in our Bosoms and treated them as Friends.

We are glad our Friendship hath continned so long, and hope it will always endure.

Since our Fathers have sold so large a Part of their Lands to the English, we find it much more difficult to maintain ourselves and Fa­milies by Hunting, which is at least one half our Support.

But a worse evil than that has come to us, which is the Use of strong Liquor, to which the Indians are too much addicted, and by which they are made Weak, Idle, and Quarrelsome, and for strong Drink often sell those Skins, and other Things, which would provide themselves and Families with Cloaths and Bread, and for this some of the English are too much to blame.

We beg you will take care to put a Stop to this wicked prac­tise, [Page 6]which tho' it may offend some of our foolish People at first, yet it will at last be best liked, and be more for the Health of Soul and Body.

The bringing in the blessed Gospel, we esteem the greatest ad­vantage we have received by the English coming among us, and we trust it hath been a means in the Hand of God to reform the Minds and Manners of a Number of us, and we prefer the Enjoyment of it and living with our Brethren the English even to Life itself. It gives us a real concern, that any of our Acquaintance are joined with the French and their Indians. The Reason of their going to them, we beleive was, that they were seduced by Lies and Falsity's, because the same Methods were used with us, but without effect. As Times of great Distress are come on us, as well as you, we are willing to agree as Brethren, upon any Methods for our mutual Peace and Se­curity.

We propose the following, which we hope may be effectual.

We who live on this side Rariton River, will not on any occa­sion, go to the Northward of Rariton River at Brunswick, and of the great Post Road that leads from Trenton to Brunswick, except in those Town spots, but confine ourselves between the said Post Road and Delaware River, to the Sea Shores of this Province, while the War continues, in which Bounds we hope we shall always have the free Liberty of Hunting, and beg that good care may be taken, that no Traps shall be sett there, which is of late very frequent and is very dangerous both to you and us.

If any of our Young Men go to War with you, we hope you will put them upon the same footing with the English, and that when our Married Men go to War, you will make some Provision for their Families.

As several of us are obliged to leave our Habitations in this time of general Distress, we pray that some Releif may be provided for such. As it is the Misfortune of some of us to be in Debt, and we, for the publick Peace, are willing to deprive ourselves of several advantages we formerly enjoy'd, we pray that care may be taken that our Creditors may not be two pressing, and we promise as soon as we can, we will honestly pay our just Debts. We pray that all abusive Words and Actions, which destroy Love, may be punished in both Indians and English. We think we have still some Peices of Land, for which we have received no Consideration, if it should prove so, and we could get the Money for them, we hope we should be able, with some Assistance from our Brethren the En­glish, [Page 7]to purchase a Peice of Land sufficient for us all to settle to­gether, and have the Gospel among us, which is our great desire.

And we Pompton Indians, and others, living beyond Rariton, will confine ourselves within a Line to be drawn from that Part of the Sound between Staten Island and the Main, which is nearest to John Jolines, to go the nearest Course to the said John Jolines House, and straight three Miles further into the Woods, and so by a Line to be drawn thro' the Woods, at three Miles distance, back from the great Road that leads from John Jolines to Elizabeth-Town, Now­ark, Wezel, and John Jerolimans Mill, near the Falls of Passaic, and from the said Falls near Jerolimans Mill to the Fork, and then to Pompton, and then on the nearest straight Line thro' Bergen County, to the Jersey Line on the Shore of the North River, or Hudsons Ri­ver, and so by the Waters to were it began on the Sound.

We have to complain to our Brethren, that ill minded Persons are apt to take Advantage of the Indians when they are Drunk, and buy their Lands for a trifle, and often from the Indians who does not own it. And we pray our Brethren, that for the future no In­dian Deed or Lease may be allowed to be good, but what is made and Signed before the Governor, or two of his Council, who are to have a Certificate from six Indians, that the Indian who sells the Land, is Owner of it, under the Hand of some Magistrate, who sees the fix Indians Sign it, and the Deed to have it wrote on the back, and signed by the Governor, or two of his Council, that they saw the Certificate of the six Indians, Signed by the Justice, and that the Indian who sells the Land, understood the Deed, and had a reason­able Price as common for it.

As some bad People have got a long Lease from a Drunken Indian for the Indian Lands at Wepink, and for which they pay mostly, or all in strong Drink, we beg that they may be removed from that Land, and we hope care will be taken that no loose People settle on our Lands, without buying them.

We heartily promise our Brethren, that if any strange Indians shall come among us, we will immediately give Notice thereof to the next Justice or Captain, that they may be satisfied for what end they come: And if any Indian should attempt to come among us, to draw us back from our Brethren the English, we will immediately secure them, and deliver them to our Brethren. And as this is our fixed Re­solution, which we desire may be made publick, we hope our Brethren will not give Credit to reports of strange Indians being a­mong us, when such Stories are told by ill minded People.

[Page 8] And if any of our own People should be unruly or abusive, we will deliver them up to the English to be punished.

The Commissioners then spoke to them as follows.

Brethren,

WE have here three Men and some Women and Children, in all Seventeen, which were taken in the upper Parts of the Pro­vince, where they have lived some Years, and sent down to Trenton Gaol, for both theirs and our own Security, from whence they have been escorted here, and are now in the Guard House, we shall Order them to be delivered to you, to be examined, and if after due Care and Con­sideration of this Matter, you think you can safely take them a­mong you, and Answer for their Good Behaviour, we will shew the Confidence we have in you our Brethren, by releasing them to you; but if you suspect them, you must deliver them back to the Guard. There still remains in Gaol at Trenton, one Phillip an Indian, whose conduct has given us great reason to suspect him, and whose Family is at Wiomen, and we shall detain him there till something more appears in his favour. We shall wait your Answer till the Afternoon.

The Commissioners and Indians being met.

The Commissioners spoke to them as follow.

Brethren,

WE acknowledge the Kindness your Forefathers have shewn to ours, and we shall always Act kindly to you, as we hope you will always deserve it, as long as the Waters run down Delaware.

We are glad to find you acknowledge that your Fathers have sold the Land we now possess to our Ancestors, and we hope you have received Advantages by the rising of the Price of your Skins, and Furs, and buying what you wanted at a reasonable Rate, equal to the Loss you have suffered by the scarcity of Deer and other Game.

We are pleased to hear that you are sensible of the Evils that a­rise by the too great habit of drinking spirituous Liquors among the Indians, and we shall lay that Matter before the Legislature of this Provinee, and shall endeavour to get a Provision made against that Evil.

It is agreeable to us, to hear that you so much Value the Blessed Gospel, and that it has amended the Lives of so many of you, and [Page 9]the more you practice the Precepts of it, the better it will be for you.

We are glad that the Lies and Falsities of your and our Enemies, have not been able to draw you off from us, your Brethren, for your true Interest is fast bound to ours.

As to the Bounds you have proposed for yourselves, we agree with you as to them, and shall take care that you shall be secure in them.

We hope none of our Brethren will distress you, unreasonably, on Account of any Debts you owe them. And we recommend it to you to be Frugal and Industrious till you can pay them.

We will lay it before the Legislature, to provide against your be­ing deceived or defrauded in any Bargains, Grants or Leases of Land, that you may make hereafter.

As to your Lands at Wepink, we shall make a Report about it, and you may depend upon ample Justice being done to you.

We receive kindly the hearty Declarations you make to us, that you will give immediate Notice to the Officers of Government, when any strange Indians come among you, and that you will secure such as are your and our Enemies. Let this lay deep in your Hearts, and your fulfilling it punctually, will give us sure Proofs that you are our hearty Brethren.

We will make these your Intentions publick, and make no doubt but this Declaration, which we believe comes from your Hearts, will make your Brethren Love and Esteem you, and make them unwilling to beleive any false Reports to your disadvantage.

All manner of rude and bad behaviour of the English and Indians to each other shall meet with proper Discouragement.

As some of our Brethren, have sustained Losses by Attachment and Love to their Brethren the English, We are willing to assist­such of them as have left their Places of abode in their present Ne­cessity, and shall lay the Affair before the Legislature for their Con­sideration.

As to such of our Brethren the Indians, as will go out to War with our People, which we hope they will chearfully do, when there is occasion, they will always be put upon the same footing with their Brethren the English, as they have been heretofore.

[Page 10] Then the Indians by Ohiockchoque return'd the following Answer, to what the Commissioners delivered to them this Morning.

Dear Brethren,

WE have considered what you said to us respecting the Indians who were bro't from the back Parts of the Province. We have strictly examined them, and according to the best Judgment we are able to frame, we verily believe they had no bad designs against the English; but considering the deceitfulness of Man's Heart, we dare not engage for any but ourselves, we would be Willing to take them to our Town at Cranberry, and do our utmost to Watch over them, but the Fears and Jealousies of our English Neighbours, are so great, that (as we are informed) it would not be for their or our safety to have them among us, and therefore do not choose to have any Connections with them, at least for the present.

The Commissioners afterwards enquired of the Indians, if they had the same Objections to the taking them to any of their o­ther Towns, and informed them, that the Commissioners would make allowance of some Indian Corn towards their support this Winter, as they were removed from their own Habitations. Upon which Quish and the Chiefs of the Indian Town in the Branches of Croswicks, agreed, as nothing appeared against these Indians, but that they were brought from their Habitation for their own Security, and the Peace of the upper Inhabitants, and that they could not return there again as be­ing out of the Bounds the Indians had prescribed to themselves, that they would take them home, use them as Brethren, and have a careful Eye over them.

And the Indian Prisoners promissed to keep with the Croswick Indians, and to be have orderly.

And they were delivered to them, whose Names were Abraham Lewis, John Price, John Phillip, and Twelve Women and Children.

And the Commissioners informed them, that they would Order some Corn for the relief of those who have suffered by their Love to us, and by being drove from their Habitations.

And the Treaty broke up, and the Indians next Day went in an orderly Manner to their Towns.

What follows is added by Order of the Commissioners.

IT appeared to the Commissioners in the Course of this Treaty, that the Indians of Susquehannah, have for three or four Years past, used many Endeavours to carry of to Susquehannah all the Indians from [Page 11]this Province, and have brought Belts of Wampom, in the Name of the Mohocks, to Order them to remove, tho' the Indians never be­leived them to have been sent by the Mohowks, and have refused to leave us.

The Commissioners are convinced of the Sincerity of the Indians of this Province, and recommend it to the Inhabitants to use them kindly, to be careful not to supply them with strong Drink, where­by many disorders may be prevented.

They also request the Inhabitants not to use aggravating Lan­guage to the Indians, whereby rude and threatning Expressions may be drawn from them in their Drink, and those improved into Tales to alarm weak, People and raise ill Blood between the Inhabitants of the Colony and the Indians, which ought to be suppressed by all Means.

They recommend it to the Inhabitants to consider whether any Thing but their Love and Friendship to us, could have prevented their being new among our Enemies, and for this token of their Af­fection for us, they are intitled to our Friendship.

As the spreading of reports, without a good Foundation, can only serve to give the Inhabitants uneasiness, they request them carefully to suppress all Idle Stories, as they will tend to destroy their own Quiet and Repose.