Captain Brandt, and the other chiefs of the Six Nations, and take their direction when to return. Let Colonel McKee know when you propose to come back, that you may bring an answer from him. Let Captain Hendricks know when you propose to return. On your way to the Miami, and back to us, tell nobody your business.

August 16th, 1793, at the mouth of the Detroit river.

In the afternoon of this day the commissioners received, by the hands of the two Wyandot runners, from the Indian council, at the rapids of the Miami, the following answer to their speech of the 31st July:

To the Commissioners of the United States:

BROTHERS: We have received your speech, dated the 31st of last month, and it has been interpreted to all the different nations; we have been long in sending you an answer, because of the great importance of the subject. But we now answer it fully, having given it all the consideration in our power.

BROTHERS: You tell us that, after you had made peace with the king, our father, about ten years ago, "it remained to make peace between the United States, and the Indian nations who had taken part with the king. For this purpose, commissioners were appointed, who sent messages to all those Indian nations, inviting them to come and make peace;" and, after reciting the periods, at which you say treaties were held, at fort Stanwix, fort McIntosh, and Miami, all which treaties, according to your own acknowledgment, were for the sole purpose of making peace, you then say, "Brothers, the commissioners who conducted these treaties, in behalf of the United States, sent the papers containing them to the general council of the States, who, supposing them satisfactory to the nations treated with, proceeded to dispose of the lands thereby ceded."

BROTHERS: This is telling us plainly, what we always understood to be the case, and it agrees with the declarations of those few who attended those treaties, viz: That they went to meet your commissioners to make peace, but, through fear, were obliged to sign any paper that was laid before them; and it has since appeared that deeds of cession were signed by them, instead of treaties of peace.

BROTHERS: You then say, "after some time it appears that a number of people in your nations were dissatisfied with the treaties of fort McIntosh and Miami, therefore the council of the United States appointed Governor St. Clair their commissioner, with full powers, for the purpose of removing all causes of controversy, relating to trade, and settling boundaries, between the Indian nations in the Northern department, and the United States. He accordingly sent messages, inviting all the nations concerned to meet him at a council fire he kindled at the falls of Muskingum. While he was waiting for them, some mischief happened at that place, and the fire was put out, so he kindled a council fire at fort Harmar, where near six hundred Indians, of different nations, attended. The Six Nations then renewed and confirmed the treaty of fort Stanwix, and the Wyandots and Delawares renewed and confirmed the treaty, of fort McIntosh; some Ottawas, Chippewas, Pattawatamies, and Sacs, were also parties to the treaty of fort Harmar."

Now, Brothers, these are your words, and it is necessary for us to make a short reply to them.

BROTHERS: A general council of all the Indian confederacy was held, as you well know, in the fall of the year 1788, at this place: and that general council was invited by your commissioner, Governor St. Clair, to meet him for the purpose of holding a treaty, with regard to the lands mentioned by you to have been ceded by the treaties of fort Stanwix and fort McIntosh.

BROTHERS: We are in possession of the speeches and letter which passed on that occasion, between those deputed by the confederate Indians, and Governor St. Clair, the commissioner of the United States. These papers prove that your said commissioner, in the beginning of the year 1789, after having been informed by the general council, of the preceding fall, that no bargain or sale of any part of these Indian lands, would be considered as valid or binding, unless agreed to by a general council, nevertheless persisted in collecting together a few chiefs of two or three nations only; and with them held a treaty for the cession of an immense country, in which they were no more interested, than as a branch of the general confederacy, and who were in no manner authorized to make any grant or cession whatever.

BROTHERS: How then was it possible for you to expect to enjoy peace, and quietly to hold these lands, when your commissioner was informed, long before he held the treaty of fort Harmar, that the consent of a general council was absolutely necessary to convey any part of these lands to the United States?

The part of these lands which the United States now wish us to relinquish, and which you say are settled, have been sold by the United States since that time.

BROTHERS: You say, "the United States wish to have confirmed all the lands ceded to them by the treaty of fort Harmar, and also a small tract at the rapids of the Ohio, claimed by General Clarke, for the use of himself and his warriors. And in consideration thereof, the United States would give such a large sum of money or goods, as was never given, at any one time, for any quantity of Indian lands, since the white people first set their feet on this Island. And because these lands did every year furnish you with skins, and furs, with which you bought clothing, and other necessaries, the United States will now furnish the like constant supplies. And therefore, besides the great sum to be delivered at once, they will every year deliver you a large quantity of such goods as are best fitted to the wants of yourselves, your women, and children.”

BROTHERS: Money, to us, is of no value, and to most of us unknown: and as no consideration whatever can induce us to sell the lands on which we get sustenance for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed, and peace thereby obtained.

BROTHERS: We know that these settlers are poor, or they would never have ventured to live in a country which has been in continual trouble ever since they crossed the Ohio. Divide, therefore, this large sum of money, which you have offered to us, among these people: give to each, also, a proportion of what you say you would give to us, annually, over and above this very large sum of money: and, we are persuaded, they would most readily accept of it, in lieu of the lands you sold them. If you add, also, the great sums you must expend in raising and paying armies, with a view to force us to yield you our country, you will certainly have more than sufficient for the purposes of re-paying these settlers for all their labor and their improvements.

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BROTHERS: You have talked to us about concessions. It appears strange that you should expect any from us, who have only been defending our just rights against your invasions. We

want peace. no longer. BROTHERS: You make one concession to us by offering us your money; and another by having agreed to do us justice, after having long, and injuriously, withheld it-we mean in the acknowledgment you have now made, that the King of England never did, nor ever had a right to give you our country, by the treaty of peace. And you want to make this act of common justice a great part of your concessions: and seem to expect that, because you have at last acknowledged our independence, we should, for such a favor, surrender to you our country.

Restore to us our country, and we shall be enemies

BROTHERS: You have talked, also, a great deal about preemption, and your exclusive right to purchase Indian lands, as ceded to you by the King, at the treaty of peace.

BROTHERS: We never made any agreement with the King, nor with any other nation, that we would give to either the exclusive right of purchasing our lands; and we declare to you, that we consider ourselves free to make any bargain or cession of lands, whenever and to whomsoever we please. If the white people as you say, made a treaty that none of them but the King should purchase of us, and that he has given that right to the United States, it is an affair which concerns you and him, and not us: we have never parted with such a power.

BROTHERS: At our general council, held at the Glaize last fall, we agreed to meet commissioners from the United States, for the purpose of restoring peace, provided they consented to acknowledge and confirm our boundary line to be the Ohio: and we determined not to meet you, until you gave us satisfaction on that point: that is the reason we have never met.

We desire you to consider, brothers, that our only demand is the peaceable possession of a small part of our once great country. Look back, and review the lands from whence we have been driven to this spot. We can retreat no farther, because the country behind hardly affords food for its present inhabitants; and we have therefore resolved to leave our bones in this small space to which we are now confined.

BROTHERS: We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us justice, if you agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line between us. If you will not consent thereto, our meeting will be altogether unnecessary. This is the great point which we hoped would have been explained before you left your homes, as our message last fall was principally directed to obtain that information.

Done in general council, at the foot of the Miami Rapids, the 13th day of August, 1793.

To the foregoing answer of the Indian nations, the commissioners immediately made the following reply, and delivered it to the two Wyandot runners, who brought the answer.

To the chiefs and warriors of the Indian nations, assembled at the foot of the Miami Rapids:

BROTHERS: We have just received your answer, dated the 13th instant, to your speech of the 31st of last month, which we delivered to your deputies at this place. You say it was interpreted to all your nations, and we presume it was fully understood. We therein explicitly declared to you, that it was now impossible to make the river Ohio the boundary between your lands and the lands of the United States. Your answer amounts to a declaration, that you will agree to no other boundary than the Ohio. The negotiation is therefore at an end. We sincerely regret, that peace is not the result; but, knowing the upright and liberal views of the United States, which, as far as you gave us an opportunity, we have explained to you, we trust that impartial judges will not attribute the continuance of the war to them.

Done at Captain Elliot's, at the mouth of Detroit river, the 16th day of August, 1793.

B. L.

B. R.

T. P.

Commissioners of the United States.