guaranteed to them, and to their use:—And as General Braddock's instructions are clearly declaratory of the right of the Six Nations to the lands under consideration, we shall here transcribe the conclusive words of them,—"And it appearing that the French have, from time to time, by fraud and violence, built strong forts within the limits of the said lands, contrary to the covenant chain of the said deed and treaties, you are, in my name, to assure the said nations, that I am come by his Majesty's order, to destroy all the said forts, and to build such others, as shall protect and secure the said lands to them, their heirs and successors for ever, according to the intent and spirit of the said treaty; and I do therefore call upon them to take up the hatchet, and come and take possession of their own lands."

That General Braddock and the American Governors, were not singular in their opinion, as to the right of the Six Nations to the land over the Allegany mountains, and on both sides of the river Ohio, quite to the Mississippi,—is evident, from the memorials which passed between the British and French Courts in 1755.

In a memorial delivered by the King's Ministers on the 7th June 1755, to the Duke Mirepoix, relative to the pretensions of France to the above-mentioned lands, they very justly observed—"As to the exposition, which is made in the French memorial of the 15th article of the treaty of Utrecht, the Court of Great Britain does not think it can have any foundation, either by the words or the intention of this treaty.

1st, "The Court of Great Britain cannot allow of this article, relating only to the persons of the Savages, and not their country: The words of this treaty are clear and precise, that is to say, the Five Nations or Cantons, are subject to the dominion of Great Britain,—which, by the received exposition of all treaties, must relate to the country, as well to the persons of the inhabitants;—it is what France has acknowledged in the most solemn manner;—She has well weighed the importance of this acknowledgement, at the time of signing this treaty, and Great Britain can never give it up. The countries possessed by these Indians, are very well known, and are not at all so undetermined, as it is pretended in the memorial: they possess and make them over, as other proprietors do, in all other places."

5th, "Whatever pretext might be alledged by France, in considering these countries as the appurtenances of Canada; it is a certain truth, that they have belonged, and (as they have not been given up, or made over to the English) belong still to the same Indian nations; which, by the 15th article of the treaty of Utrecht, France agreed not to molest,—Nullo in posterum impedimento, aut molestia afficiant."

"Notwithstanding all that has been advanced in this article, the Court of Great Britain cannot agree to France having the least title to the river Ohio, and the territory in question." [N.B. This was all the country, from the Allegany mountains to the Ohio, and down the same, and on both sides thereof to the river Mississippi.]

"Even that of possession is not, nor can it be alledged on this occasion; since France cannot pretend to have had any such before the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, nor since, unless it be that of certain forts, unjustly erected lately on the lands which evidently, belong to the Five Nations, or which these have made over to the Crown of Great Britain or its subjects, as may be proved by treaties and acts of the greatest authority.—What the Court of Great Britain maintained, and what it insists upon, is, That the Five Nations of the Iroquois, acknowledged by France, are, by origin, or by right of conquest the lawful proprietors of the river Ohio, and the territory in question: And as to the territory, which has been yielded and made over by these people to Great Britain (which cannot but be owned must be the most just and lawful manner of making an acquisition of this sort) she reclaims it, as belonging to her, having continued cultivating it for above 20 years past, and having made settlements in several parts of it, from the sources even of the Ohio to Pichawillanes, in the center of the territory between the Ohio and the Wabache."

In 1755, the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations were so solicitous to ascertain the territory of the Six Nations, that Dr. Mitchel, by their desire, published a large map of North America; and Mr. Pownal, the present Secretary of the Board of Trade, then certified, as appears on the map,—That the Doctor was furnished with documents for the purpose from that Board.—In this map Dr. Mitchel observes, "That the Six Nations have extended their territories, ever since the year 1672, when they subdued and were incorporated with the antient Shawanesse, the native proprietors of these countries, and the river Ohio: Besides which, they likewise claim a right of conquest over the Illinois, and all the Mississippi, as far as they extend. This," he adds, "is confirmed by their own claims and possessions in 1742, which include all the bounds here laid down, and none have ever thought fit to dispute them." And, in confirmation of this right of the Six Nations to the country on the Ohio, as mentioned by the King's Ministers, in their memorial to the Duke of Mirepoix in 1755, we would just remark, that the Six Nations, Shawanesse and Delawares, were in the actual occupation of the lands Southward of the Great Kenhawa for some time after the French had encroached up on the river Ohio; and that in the year 1752, these tribes had a large town on Kentucke River,—238 miles below the Sioto:—That in the year 1754, they resided and hunted on the Southerly side of the river Ohio, in the Low Country, at about 320 miles below the Great Kenhawa;—and in the year 1755, they had also a large town opposite to the mouth of Sioto;—at the very place, which is the Southern boundary line of the tract of land applied for by Mr. Walpole and his associates.—But it is a certain fact, that the Cherokees never had any towns or settlements in the country, Southward of the Great Kenhawa;—that they do not hunt there, and that neither the Six Nations, Shawanesse nor Delawares, do now reside or hunt on the Southerly side of the river Ohio, nor did not for several years before they sold the country to the King.—These are facts, which can be easily and fully proved.

In October 1768, at a congress held with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, they observed to Sir William Johnson: "Now, brother, you who know all our affairs, must be sensible, that our rights go much farther to the Southward than the Kenhawa,—and that we have a very good and clear title as far South as the Cherokee River, which we cannot allow to be the right of any other Indians, without doing wrong to our posterity, and acting unworthy those warriors who fought and conquered it;—we therefore expect this our right will be considered."

In November 1768, the Six Nations sold to the King all the country on the Southerly side of the river Ohio, as far as to the Cherokee river; but notwithstanding that sale, as soon as it was understood in Virginia, that government favoured the pretensions of the Cherokees, and that Dr. Walker and Colonel Lewis (the commissioners sent from that colony to the congress at Fort Stanwix) had returned from thence, the late Lord Bottetourt sent these gentlemen to Charles-town,