business of the tribe. And in every nation,
there is what they call the central council house,
or council fire, where the chiefs of the several
tribes, with the principal warriors, convene to
consult and determine on their national affairs.
When any matter is proposed in the national
council, it is common for the chiefs of the seve-
ral tribes to consult thereon apart with their
counsellors, and when they have agreed, to deliver
the opinion of the tribe at the national council.
And as their government seems to rest wholly
on persuasion, they endeavor by mutual conces-
sions to obtain unanimity. Such is the govern-
ment that still exists among the Indian nations
bordering on the United States. To the north-
ward of these, there was another powerful nation,
which occupied the country from the head of
the Chesapeake Bay, up to the Kittatinny
mountain, and as far eastward as Connecticut
river, comprehending that part of New York

,
which lies between the Highlands and the ocean.
All the State of New Jersey, that part of Penn-
sylvania which is watered below the range of
Kittatinny Mountains, by the rivers or streams
falling into the Delaware, and the County of
New Castle, in the State of Delaware as far as
Duck Creek. It is to be observed that nations
of Indians distinguish their countries one from
another, by natural boundaries, such as ranges
of mountains or streams of water. But as the
heads of rivers frequently interlock or approach