improvements began to appears, and many
of the In-
dians have begun to clear out and cultivate their
ground;
have built houses more comfortable than
they were formerly accustomed to.
When I was up
the river from this place four years ago, I believe
there were but three or four settlements worth
noticing; and now there
are eighteen or nineteen,
and divers of them have large fields of corn,
con-
siderable stock of cattle, and some of them this sea-
son had wheat
for sale; so that upon the whole I
think they have improved in agriculture
beyond my
expectations. Soon after we arrived, our friends
showed us
the copy of a speech made by Cornplanter
and his brother, Conudiu
moving off the Indians' land and settling near them
where they might have the opportunity of being in-
structed as usual and building a saw-mill, which is as
follows:
It is now a long time since
you came to live amongst us; it have
even exceeded
the limits that were first proposed. I now speak the
united voice of our cheifs and warriors to you, our
women
also, and all our people. Attend, therefore,
to what I say. We wish
you to make your minds
perfectly easy; we are all pleased with your
living
amongst us, and not one of us wants you to leave our
country. We find no fault with you in any respect
since you came
among us, neither have we anything
to charge you with. You have
lived peaceably and
honestly with us, and have been preserved in
health,
and nothing has befallen you. This we think is proof
that the Great Spirit also is pleased with your living
here
and with what you have done for us.
Friends, Tewenstee, we have been very much en-
gaged in business
respecting the affairs of our na-
tion, which has prevented us from
answering you
proposals of declining the settlement at Genesinguhta
and moving up the river to settle on land of your
own joining ours. We now all agree to leave you at
full liberty either to remain where you now are on our
land, or to move up the river and settle, on land of
you own--only that you settle near us. The Little
Valley is as far up the river as our people are willing
you should go, as we want you to be near us, that you
may extend further assistance and instruction; for
although we have experienced much benefit from
you, and some of our people have made considerable
advancement in the knowledge of useful labor, yet
we remain very deficient in many things, num-
bers of us are yet poor.
Friends, Tewenstee, I myself have been advising
our people to
pursue the course of life you recom-
mend to us, and we have fully
concluded to follow
habits of industry; but we are only just
beginning to
learn, and we find ourselves at a loss for tools to
work
with. We now request you to bring on plenty of
all kinds
you think will be useful; then such of our
people as are able will
buy for themselves, and such
as are poor we wish you to continue to
lend to, and
they shall be returned to you again. We also want
you to bring useful cloths and sell to us, that we may
get
some necessary things without having to go so far
for them. In
looking forward we can limit no time
for you to live beside us;
this must depend on your
own judgment. When your friends come from
Phil-
adelphia
them as the full result of our minds concerning you.
After the foregoing speech was delivered Corn-
planter
Friends, Tewenstee, attend. I will add a little
further. When I was
in Phildelphia
ago, the Indians and white people at that time con-
tinued to kill each other; I then heard of Quakers,
that they were a peaceable people, and would not
fight or kill anybody. I inquired of the President
of the United States about them, whether or not this
account was true. He said it was true enough; they
were such a people. I then requested him to send
some of them to live amonst the Indians, expecting
they would be very useful to us. Then it was a long
time after before you came. You are now here, and
it has afforded me much satisfaction that you have
come. I have not been disappointed in the account
I heard of you. You have lived peacefully among us,
and no difficulty has happened between you and our
people. We now want you to stay with us and stand
between us and the white people; and if you see any
of them trying to cheat us let us know of it; or if you
see any of our people trying to cheat the white we
wish you to let it be known also, as we confide in you
that you will not cheat us.
"Friends, we have now spoken so full on the busi-
ness that we need
not say any more until we find one
of you has killed one of our
people, and we find him
lying dead on the ground, or until one of
us kills one
of you; then we will take up the business again."
[De-
livered the 30th of the 8th month,
1803.]
Notwishstanding this, we thought it necessary to
see the chiefs and others
in council; and being in-
formed that Cornplanter
ing tour, we hired an Indian to go in the night, (though
it was a wet one), in quest of him. He set out and
traversed the woods, blowing his horn; and just at
daybreak found him, who came to us early this morn-
ing which is the 21st, and 4th of the week. After
conferring with him, he appeared very much pleased
with our coming, and agreed to send out for the dis-
tant chiefs and others to meet us in council at this
place next Seventh- day morning. We then set off up
the river in order to look for a suitable place to maek
a settlement and build a saw-mill. Having viewed
two valleys heretofore had in view, but found the
streams entirely dried up, we came to a fine stream
on the east side of the river, called Tunesasau, on
which we think there is a good mill-seat, being about
three and a half miles from this place, and land tol-
erably good; then returned. On our way we had the
curiosity to ascend a very high mountain in order to
have a prospect of the river and adjacent country.
Jacob Taylor
route until we got a grand prospect of the river and
the adjacent country and a number of the Indian set-
tlements, and got home as soon as the others. The
young Indian who is the smith at Genesinguhta
whose name is Levi Halftown