A talk of the Commissioners from the State of Georgia to the Creek Indians

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Kings Headmen & warriors of the Creek Nation
Brothers
The Hatchet has been frequently lifted as well by your mad people as by the mad people of Georgia -- We are now met under the eye of the great beloved man General Washington who has sent his beloved men the Commissioners of the United States here to settle all disputes between us and you
It is true that many of our People have been kill'd [killed] by your mad people and it is also true that many of your People have been killed by our mad people we are sorry for it because we were all form'd [formed] by the same Great spirit and ought to live as Brethren of the same great family -- Yet when we recollect that we have mad people on each side, we should make allowances for each other and when we are assured that the conduct of those mad men has not been countenanced by the beloved men [added text: on either side ] we ought to forget and forgive the Blood which has been spilled.
As to the murders on the Oconee committed by Harrison [unclear text: Vessels ] and others


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the good Citizens of Georgia were as much displeased at them as you were It gave the beloved men [added text: of Georgia ] when they met in Council much pain and they told the great beloved Man General Washington so. They had Harrison [unclear text: Vessels ] and others taken and bound over to take their trials [unclear text: Vesseles ] is dead the breath of life is gone [deleted text: out of his Body ] from him but Harrison and the others are yet to be tried and if found guilty must die the same death as if they had killed White Men -- so that you see it was not the fault or the wish of [deleted text: the people of ] Georgia that Harrison should spill your Blood -- We were in hopes to have Satisfied you by this and that as you promised General Washington you would not retaliate until you heard from him but to our sorrow [added text: some ] of your people came down and killed and wounded several innocent [deleted text: people ] [added text: persons ] who were as angry at what Harrison had done as you were --
Brethren -- you heard yesterday what the great beloved man General Washington told you in the talk the Commissioners delivered that you had not complyed [complied] with the stipulation you had entered into at New York in all parts that the prisoners and property, such as Negroes


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Horses Cattle &c [et cetera] -- were not restored many of the Chiefs now here were at new York & promised to do this -- You promised to return this property at thrice different treaties before you went to New York -- 1st at Augusta 2nd at Galphinton and 3rd at the treaty of Shoulderbone where many of your principal chiefs who now hear us [deleted text: were ] [added text: also ] [deleted text: also ] [added text: were ] . you there promised not only to return all Negroes and other -- property but to pay all debts due to traders -- Very few of the Negroes however and little of other Property has been returned notwithstanding those repeated promises, and particularly, that you made the President -- Many of the owners of the Negroes Horses and other property are now here waiting to see if you have them ready -- To give them all up agreeably to your contract with the great beloved man is necessary and just or to pay us for them. If Georgia is to be bound by the Treaty, you made at New york you ought to be so too, you made it and you ought to see it fully performed. -- We White Men have no right to take your skins and give you nothing for them and you Red Men have no right to take our Negroes [added text: & ] Horses and [deleted text: other ] not pay us for them -- We are here ready to receive The Negroes and Horses with the other property you have taken from us or if you have not got them to Deliver we are ready to receive Payment for them -- We call upon the beloved men sent here by the great


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beloved man General Washington to see this done -- he sent them here to settle all disputes between us -- They are sent here to do justice to you and they are also [added text: sent here ] to do justice to us -- Here is a list of property taken by you from us previous to the treaty you entered into at New york and we have other demands since that that [that] time for property taken which we will speak of bye & bye -- this list proves that you took before that time eighty nine negroes from us, eight hundred and twenty five horses, eleven hundred and fifty nine head of Cattle four hundred and ninety five [deleted text: head of ] Hogs besides other property and that you burnt one Hundred and fifteen Houses the value of this property if you are prepared to pay for it is upwards of seventy thousand Dollars Very little of this property has been return'd [returned] -- we hope now it will be settled as we are come together under the eye of the Great beloved Man to put an end to all disputes --
Brethren
We have something further of great importance to you and us and [deleted text: which ]


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which the great beloved man has told you was one principal reason for calling you here -- Our beloved men & particularly our beloved man Governor Irwin whom many of you know to be a good man and no enemy to the Red [deleted text: people ] [added text: Men ] sent us here to talk with you & to tell you truths -- listen and we will tell them to you --
altho' [although] General Clarke and the people with him were removed from the Oconee fork by our people under General Irwin because they went there without your consent or the orders of the beloved Men -- Yet they bid us to tell you that they want that Land -- that they wish to deal fairly with you and to pay you for it and they think you ought to part with it on that consideration -- The people of [added text: this ] State are very thick settled and on the Oconee they are in such numbers that they have not land enough to maintain their families. They are like a river [unclear text: so very ] full that its banks cannot contain it, that it overflows the neighbouring [neighboring] Ground. They must go somewhere to settle -- they cannot return back from whence their Fathers came because the people are full there and


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There is no land to be had, if they were to [added text: return ] their Families must starve. They have looked over the Oconee and find that between that river and the Okmu [added text: l ] gee there is a slip of land up to the Heads of those Rivers which affords you but little Game and which they therefore think without hurting yourselves much you may part with [added text: to ] them at a fair price -- We wish to pay you for it and are desirous of obtaining it because it will heal all old differences and rivet the chain of Friendship between us so firmly that it will last for ages to come and prevent the spilling of our and your Blood and the Blood of our and your children after us. We think if you deliberate and consider of this matter properly and how your fathers got possession of the ground you now live and hunt on you ought to agree to our proposals and let us have the little slip of land we ask for. We are told that your Fathers came from a great distance where the sun sets at a great while ago because they wanted land and that they settled the lands you now claim altho' [although] other Nations then lived


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and hunted there who had lands to spare now if we consider this point it was right to do so -- for the Earth is a great nursing Mother and supplies food for all mankind -- Now when one nation has fewer people and more land than another Nation which has a great many people and not land enough for them to live on -- The Earth being the nursing Mother for all -- White Men or Red men -- The Nation which has fewest people and most land ought to part with a little of it to the other Nation at a reasonable price -- Now this is our case -- We have not land enough to raise corn for all our people -- No Red Man would refuse a white [added text: Man ] something to eat if he came hungry to his cabin, and yet a refusal of this land will be like a denial of Bread to many hungry families who want to raise corn on it to feed themselves -- Your hunts we are told are not very profitable on this land and that it is fit for the purpose we meant it to raise corn for our hungry people
Brethren
We have brought you a large parcel of Goods in the Vessel which lays yonder of great Value which we will Deliver the Commissioners for you is we can agree about


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the Land -- They will comfort your wives and Children and will be of more Value to you than the profits of many years hunt on the lands we wish to get from you
Brethren
The beloved men here present know more of the will of the big beloved Man General Washington than we do but we believe he would not have sent them here or for you to come Down if he had not thought that your relinquishing your Claims to this Land to the state of Georgia is necessary, and proper to promote peace and prevent the spilling of Blood, we advise you to consult the beloved men on this subject
Brethren
As we have come here under the eye of the great beloved Man to settle all disputes, as we before Mentioned we now inform you that we have a large claim against you for Negroes Horses and other property taken and mischiefs committed by you since the Treaty you made at new york -- here is a list of what has been taken and here are vouchers, proofs to the amount of near Forty thousand Dollars -- as we are now to settle every thing by Desire of the great Man.


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We also call on his Commissioners to see the property retun'd [returned] [added text: r ] or compensation made us for it and also to see that the Debts, Due our Citizens in the Nation are secured
Brethren
The beloved Man General washington has mentioned to you that the boundary line settled at New York did not please the state of Georgia it is true it did not please us You recalled that by the Treaty of Galpinton the Kings Chiefs and warriors of your Nation [deleted text: were ] then present & some of you w [deleted text: h ] ere there, made a relinquishment of all that tract of Country beginning at the forks of the Oconee & Okmulgee Rivers thence in a southwest direction untill [until] it should intersect the most Southern part of the stream call'd [called] saint Mary's River including all the Islands and water courses of the said [deleted text: s ] stream, thence down the said River to the old line, this relinquishment of claim was confirmed by the Treaty held at Shoulderbone where many Kings and Chiefs of your Nation attended & several of them we now see here -- some of your Nation however complained of Grievances to the great beloved Man and the great beloved Man General Washington sent three of his principal beloved Men to this state, General Lincoln Colonel Humphrey's and Mr. Cyrus Griffin who came here to the Rocklanding and examined into these treaties


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And when they return'd [returned] they told General Washington that the Treaties and relinquishment of the land were fair [deleted text: I ] [added text: we ] have their talk to him here and they say that it was done with Good faith between the People of Georgia and the Creek nation -- some of your people being still Displeased many of you went to New york and there a Treaty was held between the great beloved man & you but no Commissioners of Georgia were present and this land was left out of the boundary line without the consent of the state -- we submitted to it because the great beloved man [deleted text: Gen ] had done it and we were both to shed Blood but we have not parted with our claim -- we always thought we had a good claim and we think so still -- it was at that Treaty and many of you now here were there that you promissed [promised] to restore all Negroes and property with the prisoners you had taken belonging to our People -- you have not return'd [returned] them as the President has told you and on your own Ground untill [until] you comply with the Treaty this land must be considered as ours You cannot expect us to be bound by the Treaty of New York which you made


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When you do not comply with it yourselves -- But we claim this land under the respective former Treaties which you made with us --
Brethren
We long to have the path open and the Chain bright between us -- to obtain this it is necessary that you should give our talks one consideration & not determine rashly we have mad men as well as you and we wish to settle all things amicably that our madmen on both sides may be restrained from doing mischief -- we fear this may be the case if matters are not now settled -- we wish you to consult the beloved men sent here by General Washington on all the points we have talked on -- we look to them to see justice done between us as the Representatives of the President who is the chief Father of us and you

Reference was had to all the papers & Treaties alluded to in the Talk & they were fully explained
We hurry to accomplish the [unclear text: package ] by the time Col. Jones goes, has [unclear text: induced ] us to employ a young Scribe, allowance will be expected as to spelling -- the substance is correct.





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Copy [deleted text: Letter ] Talk of the Commiss. [Commissioners] State of Georgia to the Creek Indians