Journals of Conrad Weiser (1748), George Croghan (1750-1765), Christian Frederick Post (1758), and Thomas Morris (1764)Croghan, George
History
Journals of Conrad Weiser (1748), George Croghan (1750-1765), Christian Frederick Post (1758), and Thomas Morris (1764)
Croghan, George
Mississippi River Valley -- Description and travel; United States -- Description and travel; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
their Bellies are full they will quarrel again & raise a War. All nations
in Europe know that their Friendship is mix’d with Poison, & many that
trusted too much on their Friendship have been ruin’d.
“I now conclude & say, that we the English are your true Brethren at all
Events, In token whereof receive this Present.” The Goods being then
uncover’d I proceeded. “Brethren: You have of late settled the River of
Ohio for the sake of Hunting, & our Traders followed you for the sake
of Hunting also. You have invited them yourselves. Your Brethren, the
President & Council, desire You will look upon them as your Brethren
& see that they have justice done. Some of your Young Men have robbed
our Traders, but you will be so honest as to compel them to make
Satisfaction. You are now become a People of Note, & are grown very
numerous of late Years, & there is no doubt some wise Men among you, it
therefore becomes you to Act the part of wise men, & for the future be
more regular than You have been for some Years past, when only a few
Young Hunters lived here.”—Gave a Belt.
“Brethren: You have of late made frequent Complaints against the Traders
bringing so much Rum to your Towns, & desir’d it might be stop’t; & your
Brethren the President & Council made an Act accordingly & put a stop
to it, & no Trader was to bring any Rum or strong Liquor to your Towns.
I have the Act here with me & shall explain it to You before I leave
you;[40] But it seems it is out of your Brethren’s Power to stop it
entirely. You send down your own Skins by the Traders to buy Rum for you.
You go yourselves & fetch Horse loads of strong Liquor. But the other Day
an Indian came to this Town out of Maryland with 3 Horse loads of Liquor,
so that it appears you love it so well that you cannot be without it.
You know very well that the Country near the endless Mountain affords
strong Liquor, & the moment the Traders buy it they are gone out of the
Inhabitants & are travelling to this Place without being discover’d;
besides this, you never agree about it—one will have it, the other won’t
(tho’ very few), a third says we will have it cheaper; this last we
believe is spoken from your Hearts (here they Laughed). Your Brethren,
therefore, have order’d that every cask of Whiskey shall be sold to You
for 5 Bucks in your Town, & if a Trader offers to sell Whiskey to You and
will not let you have it at that Price, you may take it from him & drink
it for nothing.”—Gave a Belt.
“Brethren: Here is one of the Traders who you know to be a very sober &
honest Man; he has been robbed of the value of 300 Bucks, & you all know
by whom; let, therefore, Satisfaction be made to the Trader.”—Gave a
String of Wampum.
“Brethren, I have no more to say.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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