four Nations living in the Ilinois Country to me & the Six Nations, Delawares & Shawanese, on which we return'd to Ouiatonon and there held another conference, in which I settled all matters with the Ilinois Indians—Pondiac & they agreeing to every thing the other Nations had done, all which they confirmed by Pipes & Belts, but told me the French had informed them that the English intended to take their Country from them, & give it to the Cherokees to settle on, & that if ever they suffered the English to take possession of their Country they would make slaves of them, that this was the reason of their Opposing the English hitherto from taking possession of Fort Chartres & induced them to tell Mr. La Gutrie & M^r Sinnott[1] that they would not let the English come into their Country. But being informed since M^r Sinnott had retired by the Deputies of the Six Nations, Delawares & Shawanese, that every difference subsisting between them & the English was now settled, they were willing to comply as the other Nations their Brethren had done and desired that their Father the King of England might not look upon his taking possession of the Forts which the French had formerly possest as a title for his subjects to possess their Country, as they never had sold any part of it to the French, & that I might rest satisfied that whenever the English came to take possession they would receive them with open arms.
July 25th.[2]—We set out from this place (after set-
————
- ↑ La Guthrie was the interpreter sent with Lieutenant Fraser. Sinnott was a deputy-agent sent out by Stuart, agent for the Southern department to attempt conciliation in the Illinois. His stores had been plundered, and he himself having escaped with difficulty from Fort Chartres, sought refuge at New Orleans. See New York Colonial Documents, vii, pp. 765, 776.—Ed.
- ↑ We here again resume the first (Featherstonhaugh-Butler) version of the journal, which continues through August 17.—Ed.
