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1794 WD 11 mo. 8 7 General Chapin the Commr. has signified the same by Certificate, which I hope may be sufficient to satisfy those possessers, who have long since gone into a subscription as a peace offering, and more especially as this Tribe have become scattered, & have no lands of their own.
2 .1.
in margin: Attend Council
We had a favourable meeting in the School house, in the afternoon, the Council met, which we attended and Col: Pickering informed the Indians that the Deeds were ready for signing, but the Indians appear'd backward about signing, & after a short consultation with their heads together, Cornplanter stoped on a bench before Col: Pickering, & addressed him as follows. Brother, I request your attention, while I inform you my own mind as an individual, I consider the Conduct of the United States since the War to have been very bad, I conceive they do not do justice, I'll mention what took place at New York at one particular time, after the treaty at fort Stanwex, I went to New York under an Apprehension that the Commissioners had not done Justice, and laid before Congress our grievances on account of the loss of our Lands according to that treaty, but the 13 fires? approved of what the Commissioners had done, & in confirmation of it, they held up the Paper with a piece of Silver hanging to it, now Col: Pickering, you have told us at this treaty, what was given up by the Brittish, that it was only the Lands surrounding the fort, I am very much dissatisfied this was not communicated to us before, there has already been too much blood spilt if this had been known at the close of the War, it would have prevented any blood being Shed, I have therefore told our Warriors not to sign this, because the Sachems have been deceived, we are under them, & will listen to what they do tho we will not sign it, yet we shall abide by what they do as long as they do right, the United States & the Sachems of the 6 Nations are now making a firm Peace, and we wish the fifteen fires may never deceive them, as they have done us Warriors, if they once deceive the Sachems