can be obtained from the guilty, but unreasonable it is to suppose it can be taken on the innocent. The bad men shall be killed as soon as they can be found, but nothing is more natural when they feared their doom they fled the nation, but am in hopes our good warriors will soon overtake them, and till then I hope you will wait with patience. The time you allow is very short, but consider it is not so long since one of my bupstah friends was killed in her peaceable camp and another wounded, their camp plundered, and when we demanded satisfaction it never was given by your people nor taken by ours till twelve moons after the crime was committed. I suppose the murderer was not to be found, and understand by your laws that the innocent cannot suffer for the guilty, therefore as eldest Brother hope you will not so much unmane yourselves as to deviate from your own laws and copy ours. I likewise undertake to inform you of a thing you before perhaps have been ignorant of, ery no sooner the talks become a little friendly but our paths but our paths are filled with travelling renegade people, and some families that pretend they are going to the Spanish bounds; others of them are bad men who steal from your people and fly to our land and impose their plunder on us, and we are in a state of ignorance are blame for it. Our departed friend winked at those proceedings but I hope as you are going to take his place that you will take such steps as will prevent the like in future; the day never was before bad men came among us but we were a happy people, but they have learned our young men their bad ways and on account of our not having laws to punish we by bad precedent are become miserable. I have always understood that the Ocone was the line and that we were both to drink of one stream, if it is otherwise otherwise I am kept in ignorance, if so keep your people on one side and we will keep ours on the other, unless from traders going backwards and forwards that live in our land, and people you may think proper to send among us on business, unless it should be that some of our hunters should be disturbed for some small necessaries and may take a few skins and buy them, that is all the connection we wish to have. I likewise take the liberty to inform you that it is my opinion that bad men that live on the frontiers of your country do your people and ours great injury by getting our drunken people over the line and buying their property from them particularly horses, (with rum) the people are then on foot, and sooner than remain so, go and steal the first man's horse they come across, this I hope you will prevent by some early step, as if suffered it will tend to bad consequences. My unknown friend, I have very long had a particular desire to see you, and as all our hopes are blasted by listening to bad talks, and by the death of our wise man, I hope you will revive them by your appearance in our land; come forward my friend, and dont be daunted, now is the time you can be of service to us and your country, as we are determined to take your talks and stand by you to the last moment. You now have nothing to contend with but a few vagabonds which by your good advice will soon silence and dismiss. Nine tenths of the land are your friends, therefore come forward appoint such men as will do you and us justice; give your talks freely and they shall be received by me and my friends as fire. Give your orders and they shall be executed, and dont meditate upon a war, for that is out of the question. I and my upper town friends have been always friendly disposed both now and in the time of the British War, so have been our bupstah friends, therefore should you be backward in advancing your mad men forward, and by that means bring your friends to the same fate as your enemies then the matter will become general and more serious than you are aware of. What depredations are now committed are entirely out of wanton cruelty, but should your friends share the fate of your enemies nothing can be expected but every, strengthened by rage and desperation. Your mad men may think that they can tear us up branch and root, but tell them the woods are large and the day are not all gone, for tho it is you can overpower us by numbers but your numbers must have food and raiment, as for us we are born in the Ashes, and woods and mountains and swamps are our homes, if it should so happen that your mad men should make war, tell them not to think that we are all fools and mad men and that we shall stand and let them take our lives with our lands -- We we will retreat as far as convenient, and then advance as we think it convenient but I hope these things will be all done away and our eyes opened for both our advantages. We that are your friends are men, and tell your great beloved man, that he will find us manly friends, and should it so happen, desperate enemies. I have nothing more to add, yet if you dont come yourself immediately I hope you will appoint two men one as interpreter and the other as a beloved man, to manage the business for both you and us. Our situation in that particular is now deplorable for we are obliged to apply to both your, and I believe our enemies interpreter, and give out your talks, therefore by that means are kept in the dark, and both parties imposed upon. The bearer of this is a young man but I think a great deal deal of him, and can recommend him as a man I have confidence in. Stephen Sullivan is a man who has never spoilt his talk with me nor my friends; him I recommend as a good interpreter if you think good and it is in your heart to do any thing for us appoint him two men, and I will protect them, my house shall be theirs and my town their town and likewise yours whenever you think well to come forward, which I hope will be shortly but not at the head of your madmen for I hope you are a man, and we are men and can punish our bad people ourselves, and the day shall come that we will do it. It shall make it my business to collect all the talks I have found and send them to the rock landing as soon as possible. Please send by the bearer my horses I sent down to you by Wallate. More as they have been there a long time, but I hope you dont mean to undervalue me by keeping them all this time and sending them back empty. likewise send your talks for me and the towns undermentioned. (Signed) Tushena Atca or White Lieutenant for himself and the Upper Creek towns . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Sullivan, Interpreter [Copy of a talk from the Big Warrior of the Creeks and two of the Chiefs from the same Town in answer to General Twiggs's letter delivered by him to Mr. Barnard, to be sent to General Twiggs.] Friends and Brothers, I came out to Mr Barnards with a determination to send my friends in that quarter a talk, when I had the good fortune to meet your talk the day it arrived, the Big Warrior says he had just arrived from a meeting in the Upper Creeks where they had a full meeting of the heads of all the upper Towns and likewise the lower of all the upper Creeks agreed to continue in friendship with the United States, which he believes they will stand to, the lower Creeks consent to the same but since he got home he has heard the Cowetas and Broken Arrow which is one town as they live nearly on one spot. The Chehaws and Oweritches which are as one towns, they likewise living on one spot. He wishes to inform you that they still mean to continue hostilities, and have refused to collect the property that belongs to the States, therefore as he found they were so inclined and as they were the towns that had done all the mischief he thought it his duty to acquaint his friends the white people of it. The Big Warrior says that himself and all the Chiefs of his town have done all in their power to pacify those but he now finds it is out of his power to get them to agree to give up any property or give any satisfaction for the murders they have committed, therefore no other step can be taken to bring them to their senses but for you to come amongst them, and subdue them, and then matters may be settled as usual, the Warrior Warrior says that he and the other towns are still determined to listen to the talks from time to time from their friends the whites which they agreed for their friends the Americans to drink water out of our side of the Ocone, and for the red people to drink out of the other in friendship and they hope it will remain so. He says as those bad towns have already refused to give up any property, that they had agreed to at the general meeting, and from what he has heard since he is entirely convinced that they mean continuing hostilities therefore it is his wish that you and all his friends the White people should know it that they may take such steps as may prevent them from going to too great lengths. The Big Warrior wishes to inform you that the path you took when you crossed the Oakmulge led to the Buzzard Roost where some of your friends the Creeks reside, and as they your friends are all near starving and are all settled along that path of you had continued still along that path you would have drove them from their crops and perhaps as your men were angry might have killed some of them which are your friends, he therefore hopes if you should come again that you will take the Oakfuskie path and follow that till you come near the Chalateau river and turn to a village, where an Indian lives called Short neck which is thirty or more miles above the Cowetas and from there all the Indians you find on either side of the river are Cowetas as they are settled on both sides of the river as low as the Cowetas and the Chehaws and Oweritches are settled about 12 miles below them on the same side of the river that the Cowetas lies on which is westerly. He hopes before you start that you will send a private express to him and his towns to let them know that they may not be surprised at your coming, which will convince them that you dont mean to molest them. Those mutinous towns he says shall not know of it. he says that his business out here was to bring out some horses that he had collected that belonged to Georgia to be sent down to the Rock landing to their owners and to return back from here, and as he was out unprepared for a journey even without his gun or any provisions he begs you will excuse his proceeding any further to see you altho he has a great desire to see you, therefore as it is out of his power for the present he hopes you will be satisfied with his talk he has sent you, and as he this day sets out for his town he will collect the heads of his town and acquaint them with what he has heard and with what you say in respect of seeing some of them which he hopes will be agreed upon, and if it is you will hear from him as soon as opportunity will admit, but whether or not he hopes you will consider this as a sincere talk and from your old friends those you knew even when the British were your enemy and got all the others to join them against you and paid them well for it, we even then refused to take up arms against you and likewise refused their goods and endeavoured to keep as many of the other towns back as we could and were always back and forward amongst you giving you all the information we could. This I hope my friends the Americans will not forget and always listen to what I say and not distrust us who never intended to take up arms against them without they should put us upon a footing with their enemies in that case it cannot become considered our fault. He says that those towns that took the British talks have all got negroes more or less in them to work for them, but as it is not the case with his town they have none but are poor and obliged to work themselves, themselves therefore he hopes their friends will not increase their poverty by driving them from their towns as they are so near the Cowetas that are enemies the on the other side of the river, which as you are at a loss for pilots can be informed of and you will likewise see your colours on the towns. He further hopes no town may suffer but those that are guilty, as if so you may raise up more enemies for he says he is convinced no other towns are for mischief but those mentioned, neither is there any of your property amongst them. The Warrior further says on his return to his towns he and the rest of the heads of the Creeks will do every thing in their power to prevent those towns from going out to do any more mischief, therefore if they should go out he hopes it will not be considered their fault. The Warrior wishes his friends the white people to know that they the red people have not laws to restrain their people from doing mischief neither is it in their power to command each other to take up arms to suppress such conduct. Mr W Paxton talks he says is the cause of those towns standing out so obstinately as he told the Cowetas and Chehaws not many days ago not to give up any property. Those people in particular were called down among the Spaniards he supposes for that purpose. He likewise told them not to give any satisfaction for the murders committed till they would know off from the Ocone land, thus the Warrior says Mr Paxton did to keep up a disturbance in Georgia, that no one shows may go that way, he further says, that he and Mr McGillivray in his lifetime were always giving out such talks to keep the trade in their own hands, as for the Spaniards they say but little, but Mr Paxton whether by the order of the Spaniards or not has said a great deal, and had had it not been for what he said, satisfaction would have been given before this time, but as he is master of so many goods, those mutinous towns will listen to his talks. The Warrior says this talk he has sent is the voice of his whole towns and he hopes the white people will look upon this as a talk from their best friends as they have always found the Creeks. It is all he can say at this time and he hopes it will be sent to the great beloved man General Washington, their father, as he knows he will make good use of it and not treat his red children as those that do not wish to offend him or hurt his people, but still wish to eat and drink and remain in friendship with all white people. Lower Creek Nation Flint River Personally appeared before me Timothy Barnard deputy superintendent to the United States of America William Stranger a native of Georgia and now a resident in Pensacola West Florida who being duly sworn maketh oath he was present and saw the Spaniards public store opened at Pensacola where there was arms and ammunition both delivered to the Creek Indians and he the deponent saith that he heard Governor Oncil say that he had told the Indians that those arms and ammunition was given them to kill the Americans and that he would give them more if they stood in need of it. the deponent further saith that Mr William Paxton buy the horses that are stolen from the State of Georgia and has now several of the Horses in his possession in Pensacola town further the deponent saith not. Wm Stranger. Sworn the 2^d May 1793 before me Timothy Barnard