MISSION TO THE FRENCH.

Washington left Williamsburg on the thirty-first day of October, 1753. He proceeded to Fredericksburg, where Van Braam joined him, thence to Alexandria and Winchester for supplies and horses, but did not arrive at Will’s Creek, where Mr. Gist and others of the party were found, until No.

“Now we must depend on you, Mr. Gist, to pilot us through the wilderness,” said Washington. “My knowledge of the way ends about where yours begins, I suspect; so we shall commit ourselves to your care.”

“Well, I shall take a straight course to Frazier’s, on the Monongahela River,” answered Gist.

“And who is Frazier?” inquired Washington.

“He is an Indian trader, who lives at the mouth of Turtle Creek.”

“Well acquainted with the country, I suppose he is,” suggested Washington.

“He ought to be, for he has been at his business several years, and is an intelligent, responsible man.”

“Such a man as we need to see, I should think,” continued Washington; “so I agree to follow you to Frazier’s without a single objection.”

“A storm is brewing, and will soon be upon us,” said Mr. Gist. “I fear that a hard time awaits us.

“I expect as much as that,” replied Washington. “Such a journey as we propose can be no child’s play at any season of the year.”

That a storm impeded their progress is quite evident from Washington’s journal:

“The excessive rains and vast quantity of snow which had fallen prevented our reaching Mr. Frazier, the Indian trader’s, until Thursday, the 22d.”

“The French general is dead,” was the first announcement of Mr. Frazier, on learning the object of the expedition.

“What!” exclaimed Washington, “General Pierre Paul?”

“Yes; messengers have been sent to the Indian traders down the river announcing his death, and the return of the major part of the army into winter quarters,” answered Frazier.

“A sudden death, no doubt, and it must necessitate some change in the present plans of the French,” remarked Washington.

“Doubtless,” replied Frazier. “He died on the twenty-ninth day of October, nearly a month ago. It will not affect your business, however.”

“No; but this torrent will,” answered Washington, alluding to the impassable waters of the Monongahela, which the rains had swollen to a flood.

“No crossing here except by swimming the horses.

“And that will be hardly advisable,” rejoined Frazier, “since you can take your baggage down to the fork of the Ohio in a canoe.”

“A good suggestion,” said Washington. “Can you provide me with a canoe?”

“Fortunately I can, and shall be glad to render you any other assistance possible. It is ten miles to the fork, and you will reach there with the horses before the canoe with the baggage.”

Washington engaged the canoe, loaded the baggage upon it, and sent Currin and Steward down the river with it, while he went with the horses and the rest of the party by land. He arrived at the fort in advance of the canoe, and improved the time to visit Shingiss, King of the Delawares, a warrior who had been a terror to the English on the frontier, though he was now their friend.

Shingiss received Washington in a friendly manner, though with manifest reserve. When he learned what was the object of his mission, and that an Indian Council was proposed at Logstown, his friendliness grew into cordiality, and he promised not only to be present at the Council, but to accompany Washington and his party thither.

They arrived at Logstown on the evening of No. Washington inquired for Tanacharisson, the half-king, and found that he was out at his hunting cabin on Little Beaver Creek, fifteen miles away. Tanacharisson was called half-king because his authority was subject to that of the Five Nations.

As the half-king was absent, he repaired to Monacatoocha, with John Davidson, his Indian interpreter, and informed him that he was sent a messenger to the French general, and was ordered to call upon the sachems of the Six Nations to acquaint them with it.

“I gave him a string of wampum and a twist of tobacco,” says Washington in his journal, “and desired him to send for the half-king, which he promised to do by a ‘runner’ in the morning, and for other sachems. I invited him and the other great men present to my tent, where they stayed about an hour, and returned.”

At this place Washington met four Frenchmen who had deserted from a company at Kuskuskas, an Indian town on Big Beaver Creek, Pennsylvania. Through Van Braam, he inquired:

“Where do you hail from now?”

“From New Orleans. We were sent with a hundred men and eight canoe loads of provisions to this place, where we expected to meet as many more men from the forts on this side of Lake Erie, to convey them and the stores up.”

“What about the French forts near New Orleans?”

“There are four small forts between New Orleans and Twigtwies,” one of the Frenchmen said.

“And how many men?” Washington asked.

“About forty, and a few pieces of artillery.”

“What is there at New Orleans?”

“A large fort at the mouth of the Mississippi, with thirty-five companies of forty men each.”

“How many guns does the fort mount?”

“Eight carriage guns.

“Quite a formidable affair,” remarked Washington. “With courage and skill to correspond they can withstand quite a siege; and what is there at Twigtwies?”

“Several companies, and a fort mounting six guns.

“And is that all?”

“Not exactly. There is a small fort on the Ohio, at the mouth of the Obaish (Wabash), garrisoned by a few men.”

The information he gathered from these men was valuable to him and the
Virginia authorities.

As soon as the half-king returned, Washington called upon him with his interpreter, making known his business, and inviting him to his own tent. The chief cordially accepted the invitation, and he accompanied him on his return.

“I understand that you have visited the French commander, to whom I am going,” remarked Washington, “and perhaps you can give me some information about the ways and distance.”

“The nearest and levelest way,” answered the half-king, “is now impassable on account of many deep and miry savannas.

“Then we must adopt the next best way,” suggested Washington.

“Yes; and that is by the way of Venango, at the confluence of French Creek and the Alleghany,” said Tanacharisson.

“How great is the distance?”

“You cannot get to the nearest fort in less than five or six nights’ sleep, good travelling.”

“How were you received at the fort?” continued Washington, anxious to make the most of his informant.

“General Pierre Paul was alive then, and he received me sternly,” replied the chief.

“In what way did he show his sternness?” Washington asked.

“By his abrupt inquiry, ‘What did you come here about?’ And he ordered me, in an insolent way, to declare my business.

“And what did you tell him?” urged Washington.

“I made this speech to him,” the half-king answered with a smile; and he proceeded to rehearse his address to the French commander. As Washington preserved the speech of Tanacharisson, together with the French general’s reply, we furnish the remainder of the interview from that valuable document:

“Fathers, I am come to tell you your own speeches, what your own mouths have declared.

Fathers, you, in former days, set a silver basin before us, wherein there was the leg of a beaver, and desired all the nations to come and eat of it, to eat in peace and plenty, and not to be churlish to one another; and that if any such person should be found to be a disturber, I here lay down by the edge of the dish a rod, which you must scourge them with; and if your father should get foolish, in my old days, I desire you may use it upon me as well as others.

“Now, fathers, it is you who are the disturbers in this land, by coming and building your towns, and taking it away unknown to us, and by force.

Fathers, we kindled a fire a long time ago at a place called Montreal, where we desired you to stay, and not to come and intrude upon our land. I now desire you may dispatch to that place; for be it known to you, fathers, that this is our land, and not yours.

“Fathers, I desire you may hear me in civilness; if not, we must handle that rod which was laid down for the use of obstreperous. If you had come in a peaceable manner, like our brothers, the English, we would not have been against your trading with us as they do; but to come, fathers, and build houses upon our land, and to take it by force, is what we cannot submit to.

“Fathers, both you and the English are white; we live in a country between; therefore the land belongs to neither one nor the other. But the Great Being above allowed it to be a place of residence for us; So, fathers, I desire you to withdraw, as I have done our brothers, the English; for I will keep you at arm’s length. I lay this down as a trial for both, to see which will have the greatest regard to it, and that side we will stand by, and make equal sharers with us. Our brothers, the English, have heard this, and I come now to tell it to you, for I am not afraid to discharge you off this land.”

This, he said, was the substance of what he spoke to the general, who made this reply:

“’Now, my child, I have heard your speech; you spoke first, but it is my time to speak now. Where is my wampum that you took away with the marks of towns on it? This wampum I do not know, which you have discharged me off the land with; but you need not put yourself to the trouble of speaking, for I will not hear you. I am not afraid of flies or mosquitoes, for Indians are such as those; I tell you down that river I will go, and build upon it, according to my command. If the river was blocked up, I have forces sufficient to burst it open, and tread under my feet all that stand in opposition, together with their alliances, for my force is as the sand upon the seashore; therefore, here is your wampum. I sling it at you. Child, you talk foolish; you say this land belongs to you, but there is not the black of my nail yours. I saw that land sooner than you did; before the Shannoahs and you were at war. Lead was the man who went down and took possession of that river. It is my land, and I will have it, let who will stand up for or say against it. I will buy and sell with the English (mockingly). If people will be ruled by me they may expect kindness, but not else.’

“The half-king told me he had inquired of the general after two Englishmen who were made prisoners, and received this answer:

“’Child, you think it a very great hardship that I made prisoners of those two people at Venango. Don’t you concern yourself with it; we took and carried them to Canada, to get intelligence of what the English were doing in Virginia.’

“He informed me that they had built two forts; one on Lake Erie, and another on French Creek, near a small lake, about fifteen miles asunder, and a large wagon-road between. They are both built after the same model, but different in size, that on the lake the largest. He gave me a plan of them of his own drawing.”

The Indians inquired very particularly after their brothers in Carolina jail.

They also asked what sort of a boy it was who was taken from the South Branch, for they were told by some Indians that a party of “French Indians had carried a white boy by Kuskheskia Town, towards the lakes.

The Indian Council which Washington convened, assembled at nine o’clock, on the twenty-sixth day of November, and he made the following speech to the rude children of the forest:

Brothers, I have called you together in council, by order of your brother, the governor of Virginia, to acquaint you that I am sent with all possible despatch to visit and deliver a letter to the French commandant of very great importance to your brothers, the English, and I dare say to you, their friends and allies.

“I was desired, brothers, by your brother, the governor, to call upon you, the sachems of the nations, to inform you of it, and to ask your advice and assistance to proceed the nearest and best road to the French. You see, brothers, I have gotten thus far on my journey.

“His Honor likewise desired me to apply to you for some of your young men to conduct and provide provisions for us on our way, and be a safe-guard against those French Indians who have taken up the hatchet against us. I have spoken thus particularly to you, brothers, because his Honor, our governor, treats you as good friends and allies, and holds you in great esteem. To confirm what I have said, I give you this string of wampum.”

The sachems listened to this speech with profound attention, noting every word; and when Major Washington concluded, they conferred together for some time, when Tanacharisson arose, and replied:

“Now, my brother, in regard to what my brother, the governor, had desired of me, I return you this answer:

“I rely upon you as a brother ought to do, as you say we are brothers and one people. We shall put heart in hand, and speak to our fathers, the French, concerning the speech they made to me; and you may depend that we will endeavor to be your guard.

“Brother, as you have asked my advice, I hope you will be ruled by it, and stay until I can provide a company to go with you. The French speech belt is not here; I have to go for it to my hunting cabin. Likewise, the people whom I have ordered in are not yet come, and cannot until the third night from this; until which time, brother, I must beg you to stay. I intend to send the guard of Rincoes, Shannoahs, and Delawares, that our brothers may see the love and loyalty we bear them.”

Washington replied to the half-king:

“Brother, your offer is a very generous one, for which I heartily thank you; but my orders are to make all possible despatch, so that I am obliged to leave, much against my inclination. My business requires the greatest expedition, and will not admit of so much delay.”

“We are sorry for this decision, brother,” continued Tanacharisson; “but we shall not permit you to go without a guard, lest some accident befall you, and, in consequence, reflection be cast upon us. Besides, this is a matter of no small moment, and must not be entered into without due consideration; for I intend to deliver up the French speech belt, and make the Shannoahs and Delawares do the same.”

Accordingly the half-king gave orders to the King Shingiss, who was present, to attend on Wednesday night with the wampum, and two men of their nation to be in readiness to set out with Washington and his party in the morning. But Washington did not leave as he designed, because he found that the sachems would be greatly offended if he did. His journal says: “I found it was impossible to go off without offending them in the most egregious manner.”

The entry in his journal for the next day, No, is:

“Runners were despatched very early for the Shannoah chiefs. The half-king himself set out to fetch the French speech belt from his hunting cabin.”

On the following evening, No, Tanacharisson returned with the French speech belt, and came to Washingtons tent in company with Monacatoocha and two other sachems.

“An Indian from Venango,” said Monacatoocha, “has brought news that the French have called all the Mingoes, Delawares, and several other tribes together, and told them that they intended to have been down the river this fall, but the waters were growing cold, and the winter advancing, which obliged them to go into quarters, but that they might assuredly expect them in the spring with a far greater number, and requested them to remain passive, and not inter-meddle unless they had a mind to draw all their force upon them, for that they expected to fight the English three years, in which time they should conquer; but that if they should prove equally strong, the French and the English would join to cut them all off and divide the land between them; that, though they had lost their general and some few of their soldiers, yet there were men enough to reinforce them, and make them masters of the Ohio.”

Washington inquired concerning the reliability of this information, and was told that “one Captain Joncaire, their interpreter-in-chief, living at Venango, and a man of note in the army, delivered the speech to us.

On the next morning, the half-king and Monacatoocha appeared very early at Washington’s tent, and besought him to wait another day.

“We have used all diligence possible, but the Shannoah chiefs have not brought the wampum ordered, but will be here to-night,” the half-king said. “If they should not come in to-night, we will not delay you another day, but will send it after you as soon as it arrives.

Washington yielded to their request, giving the reason in his journal thus:

“When I found them so pressing in their request, and knew that the returning of wampum was the abolishing of agreements, and giving this up was shaking off all dependence upon the French, I consented to stay, as I believed an offence offered at this crisis might be attended with greater ill-consequence than another day’s delay.”

Small beads made of shells, used for money.

Washington’s journal continues:

“In the evening, late, they came again, and acquainted me that the Shannoahs were not yet arrived, but that it should not retard the prosecution of our journey. He delivered in my hearing the speech that was to be made to the French by Jeskakake, one of their old chiefs, which was giving up the belt the late commandant had asked for, and repeating nearly the same speech he himself had done before.

“He also delivered a string of wampum to this chief, which was sent by King Shingiss, to be given to Kustalogo, with orders to repair to the French and deliver up the wampum.

“He likewise gave a very large string of black and white wampum, which was to be sent up immediately to the Six Nations, if the French refused to quit the land at this warning, which was the third and last time, and was the right of this Jeskakake to deliver.”

On the evening before Washington left the place, the great men of the Indians assembled at their council-house, to discuss the journey, and decide who should go. The result was, that, instead of the numerous convoy promised, they concluded to send but three of their chiefs and one famous hunter.

When the company were ready to start, about nine o’clock, on the morning of No, and Washington found that his escort consisted only of the half-king, Jeskakake, White Thunder, and the Hunter, he said to Tanacharisson:

“Brother, how is this? This is not the complete guard you promised me.”

“Very true, brother,” answered the half-king, “but be assured there is no intention to be untrue. When we conferred together last night it was thought so large a number might give the French suspicions of evil designs, and cause them to treat us rudely.”

The journey was resumed, and proved very wearisome on account of stormy weather and hard traveling. They reached Venango, seventy miles distant, on the fourth day of December. Venango was situated at the mouth of French Creek, on the Ohio.

Seeing the French colors flying from the house of Mr. John Frazier, an English subject, whom they had driven from his house, Washington repaired thither at once, to inquire where the commander of the French forces resided. He found three officers there, one of whom, Captain Joncaire, of whom Monacatoocha had spoken, said:

“I command the French now.”

Washington had made known his business, whereupon Captain Joncaire referred him to an officer in another fort farther on.

“But you will stop and dine with us?” said the captain in a very cordial manner. “We shall feel honored by your company.”

Washington accepted the invitation, which turned to his advantage beyond his expectations; for the French officers imbibed so much wine that they became talkative, as well as communicative, and imparted information which they would have withholden when sober.

“The French design to take possession of the Ohio.” said one of the tipsy officers, “and they will do it in spite of all opposition. We know that the English can raise two men to our one, but they are so mortal slow that we can accomplish our object while they are getting ready. The French have an undoubted right to this river, and they will maintain it.”

Washington appreciated his opportunity to gain information, and he plied his inquiries for that purpose. He learned that the French had about fifteen hundred men between that place and Lake Ontario, but that all except six hundred of them were recalled after the death of General Pierre Paul. He learned, also, the number of forts the French had erected, and where situated, together with the number of men required to garrison each. Hence, the information acquired was worth much more than his dinner.