The Treaty Held with the Indians of the Six Nations at Philadelphia, in July 1742

The Treaty Held with the Indians
of the Six Nations at Philadelphia,
in July 1742

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Title: The Treaty Held with the Indians of the Six Nations at
Philadelphia, in July 1742 To which is Prefix'd an Account of the first
Confederacy of the Six Nations, their present Tributaries, Dependents,
and Allies
Author: Various
Editor: Sir George Thomas
Release Date: June 20, 2006 [EBook #18635]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE
TREATY
Held with the
INDIANS
OF THE
SIX NATIONS
AT
Philadelphia, in July 1742.
To which is Prefix'd
An Account of the first Confederacy of the SIX NATIONS, their present
TRIBUTARIES, DEPENDENTS, and ALLIES.
LONDON:
Re-printed and Sold by T. SOWLE RAYLTON and LUKE HINDE, at
the Bible in George-Yard, Lombard-Street.
[Price Six-Pence.]

THE

PREFACE.
A Copy of the following Treaty, printed at Philadelphia in 1743, having
fallen into my Hands, upon perusal, I judg'd its Contents deserved to be
more generally known, than probably would have been from the few
Copies which might be sent over.
To make it more instructive and entertaining, I had once Thoughts of
prefixing an Account of the Customs and Manners of these People, such
an one as I could collect either from the Printed Relations concerning
them, or from such Materials as my Correspondence or Acquaintance
would have afforded: But, the accurate Description drawn up and
published by the memorable WILLIAM PENN, deterr'd me from
attempting a short One; and an ingenious Gentleman of New-York will
probably soon oblige the World with a large and curious History of the
Five Nations,[1] exceeding any thing in my Power to perform.
[Footnote 1: The History of the Five Nations, from the earliest
Acquaintance of the Europeans with them, to the Treaty of Reswick, by
C. COLDEN, a Manuscript ready for the Press, in the Hands of a
worthy Gentleman in London.]
But, that the Reader might have some Idea of these People, I thought it
necessary to subjoin the following succinct Account of the Principles in
this Confederacy, their Tributaries, Dependents and Allies: And the
more so, as it is neither extant in Print, nor is this Part taken Notice of
so fully in the Manuscript History above-mentioned. It was
communicated by a Gentleman of good Understanding and Probity;
one who is very well skill'd in the Indian Affairs,[2] adopted into one of
their Tribes, is of their Council, and their constant Interpreter at the
Philadelphia Treaties, to a Friend of his, who sent it to his
Correspondent here.
[Footnote 2: "It is customary among them to make a Complement of
Naturalization
into the Five Nations; and considering how highly they
value themselves above all others, it must be accounted no small
one.--I had this Complement from one of their old Sachems, which he
did by giving me his own Name: He had been a notable Warriour; and

he told me, that now I had a Right to assume to my self all the Acts of
Valour he had performed." C. COLDEN'S History of the Five Nations,
M.S.]
They have generally been stiled the Five Nations of Indians, bordering
upon Pensilvania and New-York; but, since the Arrival of the
Tuscarora's from Carolina, they are called the Six Nations. An Account
of whom is as follows,
1. The Conymkos or Mohawks; the first Promoter of the
Confederacy.[3] He is stiled in the Council of all the Nations,
Dicarihoagan, i.e. President or Eldest.
[Footnote 3: The Indian Idiom; they always stile a whole Nation in the
singular Number.]
2. The Onayiuts or Onoyders, were the first that join'd in the
Confederacy with the Mohawks, by putting themselves under their
Protection. He calls the Mohawk his Father, and in Return
[Transcriber's Note: original has "Retnrn"] he is called a Son: The
Mohawk used him for his Ambassador to the other Nations: In Council
he is stiled Niharontaquoa, or the great Tree.[4]
[Footnote 4: A Tree is their most frequent Emblem of Peace. To plant a
Tree whose Top may reach to the Sun, and its Branches may extend
over the whole Country, is a Phrase for a lasting Covenant of Peace.]
3. The Onontago's were the next