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.

14 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [LET. 22.
TO GOVERNOR DINWIIDDIE.
Little Meadows, 9 May, 1754.
SIR,
I acquainted you by Mr. Ward with the determination, which we prosecuted four days after his departure,
as soon as wagons arrived to carry our provisions.
The want of proper conveyances has much retarded
this expedition, and at this time it unfortunately delays
the detachment I have the honor to command. Even
when we came to Will's Creek, my disappointments
were not less than before; for there I expected to find a
sufficient number of packhorses provided by Captain
Trent, conformably to his promise, and to Major Carlyle's letters and my own, that I might prosecute my
first intention with light, expeditious marches; but instead
of that, there was none in readiness, nor any in expectation that I could perceive, which reduced me to the
necessity of waiting till wagons could be procured from
The only rightful owners were the Indian occupants, and these were not
the Iroquois. This point is very clear from the whole tenor of Indian history, and is fully confirmed by Heckewelder, though in some things that
venerable missionary was credulous, and too much influenced by the
traditions of his favorite Delawares.
Besides the above memorable treaties of the high European powers,
Governor Dinwiddie gave great weight to an Indian treaty made at Lancaster, in 1744, between a large number of delegates from the Iroquois
tribes, and Commissioners from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
This treaty was conducted with much parade and formality, after the Indian manner, and the Iroquois professed to give up their claim to the lands
on the west of the Allegany Mountains for four hundred pounds, paid to
them by Virginia in money and goods; but the extent of these lands is
not defined; and the Commissioners themselves seem to doubt the title of
the Iroquois, when they tell them, " We are informed that the Southern
Indians claim these very lands that you do." During the whole transaction, which lasted several days, the Indian negociators expressed more
solicitude about the rum, that was given them from time to time, than the
affairs of state in which they were engaged.
There was much good sense, however, in the following remarks of the
Sachem Gachradodow, in his speech to the Commissioners from Virginia;