Its state under England, which continued about one hundred and twelve years, and which includes the proprietary government of the Duke of York, and its government under the Kings of Great Britain, excepting about sixteen months, when it was repossessed by the Dutch. "IV. And, lastly, its political existence as a member of an independent government. "Before the lapse of many years, the remnant of the Indian nations which now inhabit the State will experience the fate of all sublunary things. The few antiquities of the country, the forts and the tumuli, which may now be easily explored, will be effaced by the extension of

viii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cultivation. Tiie natural history of the man of America, disfigured and perverted as he has been by European intercourse, may still be obtained to a considerable extent; his language may be put on record, and his traditions may be perpetuated. "As, before tlie Revolution, the Colonies of France and Great Britain were connected by vicinity, by treaty, by trade, and by continual and habitual intercourse with the Five Nations and other Indians which occupied this State, we can obtain valuable materials to illustrate this important period from the libraries and public collections of those countries. Many learned, elaborate and interesting works have never been seen in America ; some are so scarce that they cannot be procured without the expense of transcribing; and papers of great moment have never been printed. " The regular minutes of the transactions of the Indian Commissioners for this Colony, from 1675 to 1751, as kept by a secretary employed for the purpose, were bound up in four large foliovolumes. This invaluable collection, and the subsequent Colonial records relative to Indian affairs, are not now to be found in this State; and they were probably conveyed away by Sir John Johnson, or his agents, at the commencement of the Revolution.