esteem for you. Our confidence in your friendship has been the stronger, as your enlarged understanding could not fail to see the advantages resulting to your nation as well as to us from a mutual good understanding. We ask nothing from them but their peace and good will, and it is a sincere solicitude for their welfare which has induced us, from time to time, to warn them of the decay of their nation by continuing to rely on the chase for food, after the deer and buffalo are become too scanty to subsist them, and to press them before they are reduced too low, to begin the culture of the earth and the raising of domestic animals. A little of their land in corn and cattle will feed them much better than the whole of it in deer and buffalo, in their present scarce state, and they will be scarcer every year. I have, therefore, always believed it an act of friendship to our red brethren whenever they wished to sell a portion of their lands, to be ready to buy whether we wanted them or not, because the price enables them to improve the lands they retain, and turning their industry from hunting to agriculture, the same exertions will support them more plentifully.

You inform me, my son, that your nation claims all the land on the Wabash and the Miami of the Lake and their waters, and that a small portion of that which was sold to us by the Ottaways, Wyandots, and other tribes of Michigan belonged to you. My son, it is difficult for us to know the exact boundaries which divide the lands of the several Indian tribes, and indeed it appears often that they do not know themselves, or cannot agree about them. I have long thought it desirable that they should settle their boundaries with one another, and let them be written on paper and preserved by them and by us, to prevent disputes among themselves. The tribes who made that sale certainly claim the lands on both sides of the Miami, some distance up from the mouth, as they have since granted us two roads from the rapids to the Miami, the one eastwardly to the line of the treaty of Fort Industry, and the other south eastwardly to the line of the treaty of Greeneville. I observe, moreover, that in

the late conveyance of lands on the White River branch of the Wabash, to the Delawares, the Powtewatamies join you in the

conveyance, which is an acknowledgment that all the lands on the waters of the Wabash do not belong to the Miamis alone. If, however, the Ottaways and others who sold to us had no right themselves, they could convey none to us, and we acknowledge we cannot acquire lands by buying them of those who have no title themselves. This question cannot be determined here, where we have no means of inquiring from those who have knowledge of the facts. We will instruct Governor Hull to collect the evidence from both parties, and from others, and to report it to us. And if it shall appear that the lands belonged to you and not to those who sold them, be assured we will do you full justice. We ask your friendship and confidence no longer than we shall merit it by our justice. On this subject, therefore, my son, your mind may be tranquil. You have an opportunity of producing before Governor Hull all the evidences of your right, and they shall be fairly weighed against the opposite claims.

My son, I salute your nation with constant friendship, and assure you of my particular esteem.

XX.

To Manchol, the great War Chief of the Powtewatamies :— My Son,-I am happy to receive you at the seat of Government of the United States, to take you and your nation by the hand, and to welcome you to this place. It has long been my desire to see the distinguished men of the Powtewatamies, and to give them the same assurances of friendship and good will which I have given to all my other red children. I wish to see them living in plenty and prosperity, beginning to cultivate the earth and raise domestic animals for their comfortable subsistence. In this way they will raise up young people in abundance to succeed to the old, and to keep their nation strong. For this reason I recommend to them to live in peace with all men, and not, by destroying one another, to make the whole race of red men disappear from the land.

You say, my son, that you have engaged in a war with the Osages, and that the war club is now in your hand for that purpose; but you do not tell me for what cause you are waging war with the Osages. I have never heard that they have crossed the Mississippi and attacked your villages, killed your women and children, or destroyed the game on your lands. What is the injury then which they have done you and for which you wish to cross the Mississippi and to destroy them? If they have done you no wrong, have you a right to make war upon innocent and unoffending people? Be assured that the Great Spirit will not approve of this,-He did not make men strong that they might destroy all other men. If your young people think that in this way they will acquire honor as great warriors, they are mistaken. Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong.

You say, my son, that it is not the wish of my red children to meddle in the wars between the whites, nor that we should meddle in the wars among our red children. If your wars in no wise affect our rights, or our relations with those on whom you make war, we do not meddle with them but by way of advice, as your father and friend submitting it to your own consideration. But my son, your war parties cannot pass from your towns to the country of the Osages, nor can the Osages come to revenge themselves on your towns without traversing extensively a country which is ours. They must cross the Mississippi which is always covered with our boats, our people and property. All the produce of the western parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, and Louisiana, goes down the river Mississippi to New Orleans. It cannot be indifferent to us that this should be exposed to danger from unruly young men going to war. Our interests require that the Mississippi shall be a river of peace, not to be crossed by men seeking to shed blood. We have a right then to say that no war parties shall cross our river or our country without our consent. The Sacs and Foxes, besides the country from the Illinois to the Wisconsin on the east side of the Mississippi, ceded to us the country on the west side of the Mississippi, between that river and the Missouri, for about one hundred miles up each. The Osages

have ceded to us all the country from the south side of the Missouri to the Arkansas, more than two hundred miles up each river. Surely, my scn, we are justifiable in so far meddling with your wars as to say that, in carrying them on neither the Osages nor you must cross that country which is ours, to get at one another, and in doing so to endanger our people and our property, and to stain our land with blood; and friendship requires that we should give you this warning.

My son, I wish you to consider this subject maturely, and to tell your nation that I request them to consider it also. I am ready to do them every favor in my power, and to give them every aid, but not aids to carry war across our territory. Do not suppose that in refusing this I am not your friend. If I were your enemy, what could I do better than to encourage you in tomahawking one another till not a man should be left. Neither must you suppose this to proceed from partiality to the Osages. You are nearer to me than the Osages, and on that account I should be more ready to do you good offices. But my desire to keep you in peace arises from my sincere wish to see you happy and prosperous, increasing in numbers, supplying your families plentifully with food and clothing, and relieving them from the constant chance of being destroyed by their enemies.

My son, the Secretary at War will give to you those tokens of our good will by which we manifest our friendship to the distinguished men among our red children who visit us. Be assured that I shall set a great value on your friendship; and convey for me to your nation assurances that I wish nothing more than their welfare. You shall return by the way of Baltimore and Philadelphia as you desire. I wish you to see as many of your brothers of the United States as you can. You will find them all to be your friends, and that they will receive you nospitably.

XXI.

December 21, 1808.

To Beaver, the head warrior of the Delawares :

My Son,-I am glad to see you here to take you by the hand. I am the friend of your nation, and sincerely wish them well. I shall now speak to them as their friend, and advise them for their good.

I have read your speech to the Secretary at War, and considered it maturely. You therein say that after the conclusion of the treaty of Greenville, the Wapanakies and other tribes of Indians mutually agreed to maintain peace among themselves and with the United States. This, my son, was wise, and I entirely approve of it. And I equally commend you for what you further say, that yours and the other tribes have constantly maintained the articles of peace with us, and have ceased to listen to bad advice. I hope, my son, that you will continue in this good line of conduct, and I assure you the United States will forever religiously observe the treaty on their part, not only because they have agreed to it, but because they esteem you ; they wish you well, and would endeavor to promote your welfare even if there were no treaty; and rejoicing that you have ceased to listen to bad advice, they hope you will listen to that which is good.

My son, you say that the Osage nation has refused to be at peace with your nation or any others; that they have refused the offers of peace, and extended their aggressions to all people. This is all new to me. I never heard of an Osage coming to war on this side of the Mississippi. Have they attacked your towns, killed your people, or destroyed your game? Tell me in what year they did this? or what is the aggression they have committed on yours and the other tribes on this side the Mississippi? But if they have defended themselves and their country, when your tribes have gone over to destroy them, they have only done what brave men ought to do, and what just men ought never to have forced them to do. Your having committed one wrong on them gives you no right to commit a second; and