Account of the return of three white prisoners, May 20, 1760 - 3
It gives me great Pleasure to inform your
Honour in my Weakness of Health that we arrived at Mahacklousing
an Indian Town newly laid out where there are about one hundred
together all of the Minisink Indians a Sort of religious People, it is
about Eight Years since they began and Papunahoac is the beginner
of the Company & their Minister, they want to see the Friends chiefly
and to show that they really are Friends, they have not joined in the
War, these People who have the Prisoners are Since come to live among
them, and they are determined to let nobody live among them that do not
deliver their Prisoners, and Indians that have no join’d in the War
do not like to [treat] about Peace, so these are of the same Sort so farr as
I can learn. As these People are religious People & desired me to
hold a Meeting with, so I did with great Blessing over the Test
that the Angels proclaimed at the Birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ
& it suited well. They delivered the Prisoners to us as it is in Teedyuscung’s
Letter with these Speeches as follows, ~
Brother, Give attention to what I am going to say.
Brother, last Fall when you pass’d by here I heart what you & your
Brethren the English had agreed on, I rejoiced over it to hear you
after you came back that was the Reason I delivered you the Horses
that were brought here from the Inhabitants.
Brother, listen to what I say, I heard last Night what you told me
our Brethren the English have so much at Heart & what they desire
we all tell you know it shall be granted concerning their own Flesh
& Blood – We know that God hath seen us, we still have kept your
Flesh & Blood here – We know that God knows us We have not been
honest, we have been false & deceitful in keeping your Flesh & Blood so
long, tho’ we thought to love God, but, Brother, we now assure you, all
that belongs to their Town or Society, we have three Captives here which
we will deliver to you, for we desire to do Justice & to love God. But
Brothers, we cannot command others that are newly come here to
Deliver them also, Brother I would now freely do what our Brethren
the English desired me to do, I wish it was in my Power to advise
that they might [get] them all back that are settled in the
