[undecipherable] [to] the Miamis, Shawaneses, Delaware, Tawa, Wyandot, Pottawatamie, Huron, & the Chippeway & all other nations of red people, living on the waters of the Ohio, the Mississippi, & the great Lakes, now at war with the united States of America — Sachems, Chiefs & warriors — Open your ears, listen, and observe well, — our great Chief & father George Washington, who presides, & is head man at the great council fire of the United States, has ordered me to send you this Talk with the earnest hope that it may clear away the mist from your eyes, and incline your hearts to bury the hatchet — Chiefs & warriors! Attend to this talk, let it sink deep into your minds, & lead you to the great Council fire of peace, where your complaints will be heard; your wrongs, if you have been wronged, will be redressed, & the path will be again opened — that all the red people & the white people who live on this great islands, may pass & repass without fear or danger — For should you shut your ears against this good talk, if you turn away from the voice of peace, & are deaf to the dictates of reason & of Justice — then the hatchet must be uplifted — the war must rage and your blood, your blood must stream until your nations are exterminated; for the warriors of the united States number like the trees in the woods, their meat & their bread grow in their fields & upon their farms, & they make arms & ammunition for their own use; what then can prevent them in the end, from conquering the Indian nations, who are scattered over a Country many hundred miles in extent, who depend on the forests & the [undecipherable: probable reading "Casualties"] of the hunt for their Subsistence & procure their arms & ammunition from a distant Nation — Bad men may tell you, that the United States send you this talk from fear — Do not believe them, be cautious what you receive for the truth — unless [undecipherable] by wise & good men — shut your ears against false rumours, and listen not to [undecipherable] Connections — The [undecipherable] of the united States know no fear — they who have baffled — Have driven out of their lands the numerous Armies of a Great King, can never be afraid of your little fellers! No! the great Chief of all our Councils, in making to you this brotherly offer is moved by Humanity, by a love of peace; by a earnest wish to take a fast hold of the Chain of Friendship — Now, should you refuse to join your hands to this Chain, [undecipherable] obstinate in holding up the hatchet, the Great Spirit will bear witness, if we must have war, that it is your own wanton & unprovoked [undecipherable], The United States desire nothing more sincerely than to make peace with you upon terms of justice — they do not desire to encroach upon, or to set up a claim to any of your lands, which have not been purchased by fair treaty, & particularly the Treaty of Muskingum — Why then should the red people and the white people quarrel & fight? The red people cannot wish to reclaim what they have sold, & have received payment for, & the white people desire nothing more than this, with peaceful possession — The United States do not wish to conquer or extirpate the Indian Nations, altho they know they possess the power, but on the contrary are desirous to hear their complaints, to redress the injuries they may have received, & to right the wrongs under which they may labor. In proof of their sincerity, Articles [Ayer N.A. ms. 982]