It will be impossible for you to Judge in the least of my Trouble and the difficulties I had to overcome from the Extracts I have sent or indeed from a Copy of the whole, for the most Material Points are settled at private Congresses with the Chiefs of weh no minutes can be taken, and these I was engaged in Night & Day, for as we came to Argue the Continuation of the Boundary Northward from Fort Pitt, we had sev! disputes & the difficulties encreased in proportion as we went to the Northward and Came near the Settlements of the Six Nations or their dependts and to add to all this Two N. England Missionaries came up the one of whom was strongly recommended to me by

398 PAPERS RELATING TO

Dt Wheelock of Connecticut and did all in their power to prevent the Oneidas (whose property part of the Susquehannah &c is) from agreeing to any Line that might be deemed Reasonable They had even the face in opposition to his Majestys Commands & the desire of the Colonies to Memorial me Praying that the Inds might not be allowed to give up far to the North or West but to reserve it for the purposes of Religion,--and publickly declared to sev! Gentlemen there, that they had taken infinite pains with the Inds to obstruct the Line & would Continue to do so. The New Englanders have had Missionaries for sometime amongst the Oneidas & Oghquagaes and I was not ignorant that their old pretensions to the Susquehanna Lands, was their Real, tho' Religion was their assumed: object, but knowing that any steps I could take with these Missionss would from the Inds conceptions be deemed violent I treated them with silent contempt, Tho I think you should know these Circumstances, & the Government & public in Gen" should see ~ in what manner their favors & Indulgences are made use of by these Gentry of which I cod give many Instances being possessed of their secret instructions & many other very extraordinary papers. : |