The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

APPE.NDIX.] EARLY PAPERS. 435
sired 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 despatch 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 the 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 musquitoes, 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
sea-shore; 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