“Representation of the Board of Trade to the King upon Sir William Johnson’s Treaty with the Indians” (April 25, 1769)

To the KING’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

May it please your Majesty,

We have, in obedience to your Majesty’s Commands, taken into our Consideration the reports made by your Majesty’s Superintendants for Indian Affairs of their Proceedings, in consequence of your Majesty’s orders signified to them for finally fixing a Boundary line between those Lands comprised within the Limits of your Majesty’s Colonies, upon which your Majesty has thought fit to allow Settlement to be made by your Subjects, and the lands claimed by the said Indians, as their absolute property, and which they insist should be reserved to them for their Hunting Grounds; And as we humbly conceive, that the Proceedings of your Majesty’s  Superintendants in this Business do, each, relate to Bodies of Indians, having separate and distinct interests, and that such Proceedings have, as far as they have hitherto gone, been carried on without any inter-Communication or Concurrence, We humbly crave leave to consider the Transactions of each Superintendant separately, and to represent to your Majesty, what has occurred to us thereupon.

It appears from a Deed executed at Fort Stanwix on the 5^th of November 1768, in the presence of Sir William Johnson, by the Governor and Chief Justice of New Jersey, the Commissioners for Virginia, and two of the Council of Pennsylvania, on the one part, and by the Sachems and Chiefs of the Six confederate Nations and of the Shawanese, Delawares, Mingoes of Ohio, and other dependent Tribes on the other part; That the said Indians in consideration of Goods and Money given to them to the Amount of Ten Thousand four hundred and sixty Pounds, seven shillings and three pence, and also in consideration that your Majesty will comply with certain Conditions expressed in their Speeches made at the Conference with Sir William Johnson, have ceded to your Majesty all the lands on the back of the British Settlements bounded by a “line, beginning at the mouth of the Cherokee or Hogohege River where it empties into the Ohio River, and running from thence upwards along the South side of said River to Kittanning, which is above Fort Pitt; from thence by a direct line to the nearest Fork of the West Branch of Susquehannah; thence through the Alleghanny Mountains along the South side of the said West Branch, until it comes opposite to the Mouth of a Creek called Tiadaghton; thence across the West Branch and along the South Side of that Creek and along the North side of Burnet’s Hills ot a Creek, called Awandae; thence down the same to the East Branch of Susquehannah, and across the same, and up the East side of that River to Owegy; from thence East to Delaware River, and up that River to opposite where Tianaderha falls into Susquehannah; thence to Tianaderha, and up the West side thereof, and the West side of it’s West Branch, to the Head thereof; and thence by a direct line to Canada Creek, where it empties into the Wood Creek at the West end of the carrying place beyond Fort Stanwix.”

With regard to those conditions upon which this Cession is made, and for which the Deed refers to the Speeches of the Indians at the Conferences held with them by Sir William Johnson, We find upon examinations of those speeches, that they relate chiefly to the following objects, that is to say.

1. A Declaration of the Right of the Six Nations and their Confederates, in contradistinction to the claims of any other Indians to the Country South of the Ohio, as far as the Mouth of the Cherokee River.
2. An expectation on their part, that their affairs both Commercial and Political shall be, as heretofore managed by an Officer for that purpose, with Deputies in the several Nations, and Smith to mend their Arms & Implements. That the Mohawk Villages and all the Lands they occupy unpatented within the Line, as also the Residence of any others of their Confederacy affected by this Cession, shall be considered as their sole property, and at their own disposal; and that certain Grants, made by the said Indians to M^r Croghan, a Deputy under Sir William Johnson, and to certain Indian Traders, in Compensation for Losses sustained by them in 1763, shall be confirmed by your Majesty.

As the Indians, whose affairs (so far as they relate to their political connections with this Country) are under the immediate inspection of Sir William Johnson, have one Union of Interest, at least in respect to the Boundary Line proposed, and form one united Confederacy, it was reasonable to have supposed, that the negotiations with them upon a Proposition clear and distinct in itself, and by the precision and accuracy of your Majesty’s Instructions freed from any perplexity, that even a Disposition to embarrass it could produce, might have been carried on and concluded without much difficulty. It appears however from what is above stated, that this has not been the case, but on the contrary, that doubts with respect to the Acquiescence of the Cherokees in the claims of the Six Nations & their Confederates to all lands south of the Ohio River, (which doubts were stated in the advice to your Majesty with no other view than as a circumstance, concurring with others, to induce the fixing the Boundary Line at the Kanhawa River,) have been improperly and unnecessarily imparted to the Indians; and the impressions, made upon them by those doubts, not only left unanswer’d and unremoved, but made a ground for the final Settlement of a Line materially different from that directed by your Majesty’s Instructions, and not corresponding with what had been agreed upon with the Cherokees by M^r Stuart for forming one intire and uniform line of Separation.

That the Indians have been suffered to entertain expectations, and thereupon to ground conditions acquiesced by your Majesty’s Superintendant which appear to us to have relation only to the Plan proposed in 1764, which plan has been since laid aside, and do not correspond with  that, which your Majesty how now adopted, and which has been so fully explained in your Majesty’s Instructions.

That stipulations have been made, by which particular bodies and tribes of Indians have been excepted out of the General Conditions of the Treaty; and lastly,

That the claims and interests of private persons, not stated to, or approved by your Majesty, have been allowed to mix themselves in this Negotiation, and to be introduced, not as propositions submitted to your Majesty’s Determination, but as Rights derived from the Indians, your Majesty’s acquiescence in which is demanded by them, as a condition of the Treaty.

It is, We humbly presume, unnecessary for us to recite all the passages in the minutes of the Proceedings with the Indians at Fort Stanwix, that verify the foregoing observations; the Facts will be found in the Talks of the Chief Speakers on the part of the Indians, made at their Conferences with Sir William Johnson on the 28^th and 31^st of October, and 1^st 2^nd and 5^th of November.

As it was the original object and intention of this Board in forming the Proposition of a Boundary Line between your Majesty’s Colonies and the Indians, that there should be one general Line of Separation united in all it’s parts, it becomes necessary for us, before we consider the step it may be advisable for your Majesty to take, in consequence of the Cession by the Northern Confederacy under the circumstances above mentioned, to take a view of the proceedings of the Superintendant for the Southern District, and humbly to state to Your Majesty, what has passed between him and the Southern Indians on the subject of the Boundary Line between the lands of the said Indians and the Colonies of West Virginia, East Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, with respect to most of which the Settlement of a Boundary Line had, antecedent to the Date of your Majesty’s Instructions, been not only an object of Negotiation, but brought to a final conclusion; and therefore did not, as in the Northern District, stand upon the ground of a Proposition undefined and left to future discussion.

Under this circumstance therefore all that remained for M^r Stuart in consequence of your Majesty’s Orders, was, to ratify by proper Treaties and Acts of Cession what had been before agreed upon, with such trivial alterations only, as, when the Lines came to be marked an run out, should appear to be necessary, from the natural state of the country & from local situation and circumstances; accordingly We find, that M^r Stuart lost no time in carrying your Majesty’s orders into execution; and it appears by Treaties, which he concluded with the Cherokees and Creeks on the 14^th of October and 12^th of Novem^r last, that the Boundary Line between the Country of the said Indians and your Majesty’s said Colonies of West Florida, East Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina & Virginia, was settled in manner following, that is to say, that the lands in the Colony of George ceded to your Majesty by the Creeks shall be separated and distinguished from the Lands reserved to the said Indians for their own use, as Hunting Grounds, by a “Line beginning where little River discharges itself into Savannah River, and up the main Stream of little River to the Forks made by the Confluence of Williams Creek with the said River, then up Williams Creek about seven miles to a place called William’s old settlement, thence by an Indian hunting Path in an East Course thirteen miles distance, to the Southermost Branch of Upton’s Creek, and up said Branch to the top of it, and thence in a straight line in an East course fourteen miles distance, to the middle Branch of Briar Creek, and down the Main stream of Briar Creek, eighteen miles three quarters distance, to the place where it is intersected by the Road or Trading Path leading form Augusta to the lower Creek nation, and thence along said Road or path in a South West course twenty seven miles distance to Ogeechie River, where the said Road intersects it, and thence along the main stream of Ogeechie River eighty miles distance to the place where it is crossed by a Road or Path leading from Mount Pleasant or Savannah River to the lower Creek Nation, and from Ogeechie River a little below said Path in a south by east half east course, sixty one miles distance to Conootchie or Cowanootchie River, and from that River running in a straight direction to that part of Alatamaha River opposite to the lowermost bend or elbow of Phinholoway or Turkey Creek, and thence in a straight direction to St. Mary’s River, which separates the Province of Georgia from East Florida.”

That the Lands in the Colony of East Florida ceded to your Majesty by the said Creek Indians shall be distinguished and separated from the Lands reserved to them for their own use, as Hunting Grounds, by a “Line beginning at that point of St. Mary’s River, which shall be intersected by a straight line drawn from Colvill’s Plantation in the Forks of black Creek which falls into St. John’s River to the Mouth of Phinholoway Creek, which discharges itself into the Alatamaha, and thence in a straight direction to Colvill’s Plantation in the Forks of River Acklawaugh into St. John’s River above the great Lake, and near to M^r Spalding’s upper trading-House, and from thence up the Western Bank of St. John’s River to it’s source, & thence all along the Coast of East Florida to the River Apalachicola, across the different Rivers, Creeks, and Bays as high as the flowing of the Tide.”

That the lands in the Colony of West Florida ceded to your Majesty by the lower Creek Indians, shall be distinguished and separated from the lands reserved to them for their use, as their Hunting Grounds by a “Line to begin at the River Apalachicola, where the Line behind East Florida terminates, across all the Rivers, Creeks and Bays, as high as the flowing of the Tide, to the River Chactaw, which discharges itself into S^ta Rosa Bay, and where the territory of the said lower Creek Indians terminates and ends.”

That the lands in the Colonies of North Carolina, South Carolina & Virginia, ceded to your Majesty by the Cherokees, shall be separated from the lands reserved to them for their own use, as their Hunting Grounds by a “Line beginning at a place called Towatuhie on the Northern Bank of Savannah River, and running a North fifty degrees East course to a place called Dewisses Corner, or the Yellow Water, and thence in the same course to Wanghoe or Elm Tree, on the South side of Reedy River, & from the said Wanghoe or Elm Tree in a north course to a Spanish Oak marked with the initial letters of the names of the North Carolina Commissioners, and several other Trees with the names and Marks of Inds Friend, Slüy, Eeüy, and other Deputies of the Cherokee Nation, standing on the Top of a Mountain, now called Tyron Mountain, where the Ridge of Mountains becomes impervious, and from the top of Tyron Mountain at the marked Trees, as aforesaid in a straight Line about a North by East Course to Colonel Chiswell’s Mine on the eastern bank of the Great Kanhawa River, and from thence in a straight Line to the Mouth of the Great Kanhawa River, where it discharges itself into this River.”

These several Lines, tho’ described separately and agreed upon at different times and with different Indians, are nevertheless so connected in their courses and descriptions, as to form one united Boundary between your Majesty’s Southern Colonies, and the Indians, corresponding with the line, as described in your Majesty’s Instructions; and your Majesty’s Superintendant attending only to what is the main object of those Instructions, has in the negociation with the Indians upon that object, discreetly avoided mixing any other matter, or suffering it to be clogged with any other conditions than a Confirmation of those ingagements in the Treaty concluded at Augusta in 1763, by which each party binds itself to reciprocal Acts of Justice and friendly correspondence; Had the like attention to the real object of Negociation been shewn by your Majesty’s Superintendant for the Northern District and the same discretion used by him in treating upon it with the Norther Indians, this difficult and embarrassing business would have been, we humbly conceive, brought to a happy Issue, the Jealousies and suspicious of the Indians, which have produced constant enmity and hostility, would have been removed; their Affections regained; and the Interests of both established upon a lasting basis of mutual security and advantage; but unhappily this has not been the case; on the contrary, a new object of jealousy has been suffered to present itself, and to operate to such a deviation in the Boundary Line proposed; as has given birth to fresh difficulties and new claims on the part of the Colony of Virginia, requiring in the opinion of Your Majesty’s Governor and the Council of that Colony an alteration of that part of the Line proposed to be settled with the Cherokees which pursues a north course from Chiswell’s mine to the mouth of the Kanhawa River.

The ground stated by your Majesty’s Governor & Council for this opinion is, that many settlements have been made under legal Titles & publick encouragement upon those Waters which united from the main stream of the Kanhawa & Cherokee Rivers & which settlements as they lye considerably to the Westward of the line now proposed to be run, would in case that line is established be cut off from the Colony and the Inhabitants, who have settled themselves there under the faith of Government be exposed to disagreeable alternatives of either abandoning their possessions or remaining at the mercy of the savages.

Whether it may or may not be adviseable under these circumstances to consent to an alteration of the line with the Cherokees as it affects Virginia must be submitted to your Majesty;—If your Majesty shall think it fit upon consideration of what is suggested on this subject as well by the Governor & Council of Virginia as by your Majesty’s Superintendant for the Southern District in his letter of the 12^th of February last to allow of an alteration. We would humbly recommend that your Majesty’s said Superintendant should be instructed to enter as soon as possible upon a negociation with the Cherokees for such an alteration of the Boundary Line with Virginia as is proposed by him in his said letter; that is to say “that such new Line may begin at the point where the North Carolina Line terminates, and run thence a West Course to Holsteins River, where it is intersected by the Line, dividing the Provinces of North Carolina and Virginia, and thence in a North East by North Course to the Confluence of the Kanhaway & Ohio Rivers;” which line, he is of opinion will cover all the settlements actually made, and may be proposed without exciting the jealousy of the Indians.

It is however our duty to observe to your Majesty, that M^r Stuart has stated, that such a proposal cannot be made to the Cherokees upon the Ground of any title to those Lands derived from the Cession of the Northern Indians, but must be done by way of purchase, the amount of which he estimates at Two thousand Pounds Sterling, and adds, that the allowance for the ordinary expence of his Establishment will not bear any part of the expence of such new negotiation, nor indeed ought it, in our humble opinion, be any ways chargeable upon this Fund, but ought to be born by the Colony of Virginia, and provision made for it by that Colony before any steps are taken with regard to the alteration proposed; which we are further humbly of opinion should not be made, or the Line, as now settled with the Cherokees, altered, unless the Colony of Virginia consents to pay the expence.

As we have already in the former part of this Representation pointed out to your Majesty the indiscretion of Sir William Johnson’s having admitted the claim of M^r Croghan, and the Indian Traders, to be introduced into the negotiation with the six Nations, touching the Boundary Line, it only remains for us, under that head, to point out to your Majesty such further Circumstances relative to this Transaction, as may lead to a consideration of the steps it may be adviseable to take thereupon, consistent with your Majesty’s just Rights and Authority, which appear to us not to have been duly attended to in this Transaction; for we beg leave to observe that neither the foundation or extent of the claims of these persons have at any time been represented to Your Majesty; nor are we enabled either by a communication of the Deeds themselves executed by the Indians, or by any other information, to state to your Majesty the situation or quantity of the land in question.

It is indeed mentioned in that part of the negotiation, where these claims are first introduced, that they are founded, so far as relates to the Indian Traders, upon an Article in a Treaty made with the Indians in 1765; but upon our having recourse to that Treaty, we find, that your Majesty’s approbation of any grants of lands to them, in compensation for losses, is made an express condition of the Engagement; upon what ground therefore it was, that the Confirmation of a Grant of Lands, the propriety of which was by a former Treaty left to your Majesty’s discretion, was now suffered to be made an absolute condition of the present cession to your Majesty, we are at a loss to guess; but as we conceive your Majesty will not think fit to accede to a stipulation of this nature admitted by your Majesty’s Superintendant without any authority for that purpose; We humbly conceive, that this transaction does so far as it relates to the Indians, stand upon no other ground than that of a proposition, that, in our humble opinion, ought to be rejected.

With regard to what is expressed by the Indians in their speeches of their expectation, that their Interests, both commercial and political, should be under the management of the same officers and upon the same establishment, as heretofore; it does appear; that Sir William Johnson, in answer to those speeches, acquainted them, that what regarded the management of the Indian Trade was committed to the care of the Colonies, and referred them to the assurances given by the Commissioners from the several Colonies, that they should be well treated in that respect; but we must observe at the same time, that what was urged by the Indians upon this subject is nevertheless referred to in the Deed itself not as a subject of discussion, in Sir William Johnson’s Explanation of what they had acquiesced, but as a condition of the Cession, which we humbly submit ought not to be confirmed, at least otherwise than as a proposition made by the Indians, and acquiesced in by your Majesty, that your Majesty’s Authority shall be exerted to induce the Colonies to make, by law, such regulation in respect to the Trade with the Indians, as shall operate to prevent those Frauds and Abuses, to which it is in it’s nature but too much exposed.

As we are not informed, under what authority Sir William Johnson has incurred the expence of carrying his measure into execution; and as no account or estimate of the particulars of it has been laid before us, We cannot take upon us to offer any opinion upon that part of the Transaction.