would stay all winter, and then we think our smiths
by that time, with his instruction, will be able to do
our work; but now they cannot do all we want.

We replied that John Pennock,

(the good smith
he meant), had a wife and children at home who re-
quired his attention, and we could not urge him to
stay from them longer than he was willing; that he
had been with them as long as we expected; but
when we got home we would mention their request
to our friends for them to consider whether they
could help them or not.

And as I have heretofore and more stongly of
late felt my mind impressed with strong desires for
the benefit and improvement of the poor natives from
whom our predecessors in the first settlement of
Pennsylvania

received so much kindness and assist-
ance, at times [I] felt a flow of good-will towards
them, and the rest of my brethren present having
desired me to reply to them, I addressed them in sub-
stance, as follows:

Brethren and friends attend. It is now a great
many years since our forefathers, the Quakers, came
over the great water and began to settle in that part
of this country called Pennsylvania.

At that time
the Indians were very numerous and we were but
very few. The Indians were kind to our forefathers,
helped and assisted them in the wilderness. Love
and confidence were kept alive towards our fathers
and the Indians a great many years, and they were
at peace with each other; but after some years a great
many other people came over the great water and a
great many were born here who were not so peace-
able and did not love the Indians so much as our
fathers did, who were the first settlers. And as these
people became numerous, for a good while [they] had
a share in the great councils in Pennsylvania; and at
length as our fathers, the Quakers, were altogether
for peace, and the others became the more numerous,
they took the great councils of the State affairs in
Pennsylvania into their hands; many of these were
very desirous of having the Indians' lands, and as
fast as they could kept driving them back. Then In-
dians began to kill white men and white men to kill
Indians. All this time the Quakers loved the In-
dians and did not kill any of them, but were very
sorry the Indians and white men did kill one another,
but could not help it; and [during] the long time of
Indians and white men being at war and killing one
another, treaties were often appointed, and although
the Quakers had no power over either the Indians or
whites, yet some of them almost always attended the
treaties to try to keep the Indians from being cheated
out of their land or other things. The wars and
troubles continued at times between the Indians and
whites, until about ten years ago when there seemed
to be a general peace agreed upon between the In-
dians and white people in this country. Soon after
that, at one of our great councils in Philadelphia,
where there were a great many hundred Quakers
present, we remembered our Indian brothers, whose
fathers were so kind to our fathers, and on whose
fathers' lands, (which once belonged to them), we
now live so comfortably; and our Indian brothers
being driven back, we counciled amongst ourselves
to know what way we could do them the most good.
We then thought if we would raise a great deal of
money--and give it to them, they would soon waste
it and spend it for whiskey and in other ways which
would do them no good at last. Then we concluded
to ask leave of the President of the United States to
try to help our Indian brothers. The President ap-
peared to love the Indians and gave us leave; and as
we knew that by clearing and cultivating our land we
had got to live comfortably, we thought it would be
best to get some of our sober, industrious young men
to come out and live amongst them and endeavor to
teach them to clear and farm their land so that they
might live comfortably as we do on ours. It is now
several years since some of our young men have been
living amongst you.

Now, brothers, it rejoices our hearts to find that
the Good Spirit has preserved our young men
amongst you and that we see signs of industry taking
place; many of you are beginning to build better
houses and clear out your land, raise more corn, as
well as cattle and wheat, particularly up the river.
Brothers, you may be assured that we do not want
anything from you for all that we do for you, neither
your skins, your furs, your land, nor anything else
that you have; only that you should attend to the
counsel and instruction of our young men who live
among you. Brothers, it made our hearts glad when
we heard from our young men that the Seneca nation

of Indians, more especially on the Alleghany River,
had taken up the resolution to banish whiskey and
other strong liquor from amongst you; we wish you
to be strong in your resolution and join together as
one man against this mighty evil; and when any of
your young men are out hunting or otherwise met
with white people that offer it to them, be sure to re-
fuse, for when a man drinks some he mostly wants
more and more until he gets drunk; and when that
is the case either with white people or Indians, they
mostly neglect their business; their wives and chil-
dren often suffer for want of necessary things.
Brothers, there are other things that do a great many
white men much harm, which are gaming, playing
cards and laying wagers; whereby many of them
not only spend their time unprofitably, but often lose
almost all that their wives, children, and themselves
should have to live upon. We wish you not to fall
into any of these practices, but to live sober, indus-
trious lives; and then the Good Spirit will love and
preserve you. But if you will get drunk and be
wicked, you will feel sorrow and trouble in your own
hearts for it.

After which a letter from John Parrish

to Corn-
planter was read, which mentioned this desire,--that
they might follow the counsel we gave them; that
they would have the ox instead of the buffalo, the
hog instead of the bear, and the sheep instead of the
deer.

Cornplanter

then replied it was very true if we
had given them a large sum of money it would all
have been gone before now and they would have
been none the better; and he appeared quite elevated
with John Parrish's prospect of their having domestic
animals instead of the wild, and said very pleasantly