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a Country which has been in continual trouble ever since they crossed the Ohio. Divide therefore this large sum of money which you have offered to us, among these people: Give to each also, a proportion of what you say you would give us annually over & above this very large sum of money, and we are persuaded they would most readily accept of it in lieu of the lands you sold to them. If you add also the great sums you must expend in raising & paying Armies, with a view to force us to yield you our Country, you will certainly have more than sufficient for the purposes of repaying these Settlers for all their labour & their improvements. "Brothers - You have talked to us about concessions: It appears strange that you should expect any from us, who have only been defending our just rights against your invasions. We want peace. Restore to us our Country & we shall be enemies no longer. "Brothers - You make one concession to us by offering us your money, & another, by having agreed to do us justice, after having long & injuriously witheld it: We mean in the acknowledgement you have now made, that the King of England never did, now ever had a right to give you our Country by the treaty of peace: And you want to make this act of common justice a great part of your concessions; and seem to expect that because you have at last acknowledged our Independance, we should for such a favor surrender to you our Country. "Brothers - You have talked also a great deal about pre-emption & your exclusive right to purchase Indian lands, as ceded to you by the King at the treaty of peace. "Brothers - We never made any agreement with the King, nor with any other Nation, that we would give to either the exclusive right of purchasing our lands: And we declare to you that we consider ourselves free to make any bargain or cession of lands, whenever & to whomever we please. If the white people as you say, made a treaty, that none of them but the King should purchase of us, & that he has given that right to the U. S., it is an affair which concerns you & him, & not us. We have never parted with such a power. "Brothers - At our General Council held at the Glaize last fall, we agreed to meet Commissioners from the U. S. for the purpose of restoring peace; provided they consented to acknowledge & confirm our boundary line to be the Ohio: And we determined not to meet you until you gave us satisfaction on that point;- that is the reason we have never met. We desire you to consider, Brothers, that our only demand, is the peaceable possession of a small part of our once great Country. Look back & view the lands from whence we have been driven to this spot. We can retreat no further; because the Country behind hardly affords food for its present inhabitants. And we have therefore resolved to leave our bones in this small space to which we are now confined. "Brothers - We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us justice, if you agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line between us: If you will not consent thereto, our meeting will be altogether unnecessary: This is the great point which we hoped would have been explained before you left your homes; as our message last fall, at the foot of the Miamis Rapids, the 13th day of August 1793-
Done in General Council, at the foot of the Miamis Rapids, the 13th day of August 1793-