Philadelphia 2 July 1797 When Virginia in March 1784 ceded to the United States the lands north west of the Ohio within the limits of her charter, no reservation was made for satisfying the claims for bounty lands of the State Officers not on continental establishment of which description John Nelson ice his petition is stated to be. Consequently the United States are not bound by the terms of cession to satisfy the claim of John Nelson or any other of the like kind. The Indian right to the land between Cumberland and Tenessee rivers, whereon locations were made for the use of John Nelson and others in the State line of Virginia was not extinct at the time of those locations and therefore they must be viewed as made subject to that right and liable to the possibility of being [strikethrough: left without] upon the boundary line of the lands allotted to the Indians when a peace should be made with them or a contract concluded with them. In making the treaty of 10^th Jan^ry 1786 with the Chickasaws congress exercised a lawful right and did not do an act by which John Nelson was deprived of land to which he or Virginia under whom he claims had a complete title. The Indians had never consented to cede those to Virginia, and the utmost right of Virginia was a pre-emption right — This pre-emption right is not violated or taken away by any act of Congress but is deemed to exist in full force. Whenever the Indians will surrender their right to those lands by treaty, the State of Virginia ought to exercise her right of pre-emption and when obtained the location title of John Nelson to the lands in his surveys should be preferred to all others under Virginia protection to it. Till the Indian right shall be extinguished in a valid and regular manner to the tract of country, or Virginia shall [strikethrough: have] [strikethrough: the lands] for satisfying claims of this kind they must remain as they are. The United States are under no obligation to satisfy him in any manner whatsoever — I am respectfully your most ob^d Servant Charles Lee The Secretary at War