Governor Morris speech to the Indians ... and Andrew Montour with their answer.

[1756]

INTERNET

1 online resource (9 unnumbered leaves)

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(TEMPOCo)1460373813

At a Council held at Philadelphia the 8th of April 1756. The Governor and five Englishmen were listed as present. The Governor addressed Scarroiday and Montour, thanking them for their difficult winter journey to the Six Nations. By now, the Delaware would have had the cease-and-desist message from the Six Nations, but it appeared they chose to ignore it. The Governor officially declared war, gave the Chief a war belt, and asked him to encourage other Native Americans to join the fight. He listed cash rewards for prisoners of several varieties and said they would begin the fort at Shamokin right away. He looked forward to the assistance of the Indians. On the 10th, Scarroiday gave a rousing speech before the same audience. He expressed amazement that the English had not moved to prepare for war before now--it made them look foolish to the enemy. "Stand up with the hatchet in your hands!" He followed with a truth-to-power screed about the poor fighting qualities of the English--everyone needed training and to learn the skills for woodland fighting. The Six Nations and its allies had asked for General Johnson to be their leader since so many chiefs had died. To the consternation of the interpreters, the Chief suddenly turned to the Delaware in the room and told them to confront the false narrative about ill treatment by the English. The Governor's response is nearly illegible, but he thanked the men for taking up the hatchet and said the English would prosecute the war with vigor.

Manuscript.

Online resource; title from PDF manuscript wrapper caption (October 11, 2024).

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