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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from John Stuart to William Tryon
Stuart, John, 1718-1779
May 28, 1766
Volume 07, Pages 213-215

[B. P. R. O. North Carolina. B. T. Vol. 23.]
Letter from Superintendent Stewart to Governor Tryon

Charles Town 28th May 1766.

I am now to acknowledge the Receipt of your Excellency's Letter of the 5th Current since the Receipt of which a Talk from the Cherokee Nation of which the inclosed is a Copy came by the return of an Express which I had sent into that Country by it your Excellency will see how seriously those Indians think of ascertaining the Line to divide your Province from their hunting Grounds and the disagreeable Consequences that probably will attend delaying to satisfy them in demands which appear to me very reasonable and just the inclosed contract of Mr Cameron's Letter which accompanied their Talk will point out the Course of the Line already run between this Province and where it terminates upon Reedy River which falls into Saludy from which place they propose continuing it in a straight Course to Collo Chiswell's Mines upon the great Kanawa or New River, the Indians have so marked the Trees that the Line must easily be found. Mr Cameron at my desire diverted the Indians from running the Line behind your Province till the month of September next after which time it will be extreamly difficult to keep them in order without some steps be taken in this matter.

The present state of Indian affairs in this Department requires attention The Confederate Nations of Abekas Tollipusses Alibamons & Cowetas known to the English by the name of Creeks have of late years greatly increased in number they have not suffered by the incursions of the Northern Tribes against whom the Cherokees and Chickasaws serve as a Barrier and no War has subsisted between

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them and any Tribe within this Department for many years Before the evacuation of the Floridas & Louisiana by the French and Spaniards the Creeks were equally contiguous to the French Spanish and British Settlements by which three great Nations their Friendship was equally Solicited and coveted This competition naturally raised in the Savages very high ideas of their own Importance and altho' by the removal of the two first the competition has subsided and they are become in a much greater degree dependant on us for supplies of European commodities yet that jealousy on account of their Lands and independency which was deeply impressed on their Minds by the insinuations of the French is not effaced and they continue very insolent and uneasy whatever enmity or misunderstanding may subsist amongst the Indian Nations yet they all think themselves concerned in every encroachment on or injustice done any Tribe by us. The complaints of the Cherokess on account of their hunting grounds and the murder of their people in Virginia have been echoed through all the Nations The Creeks Talk of them in high Terms and quote them as incontestible Proofs of our bad intentions and Mortar Warrior who hears the young restless and turbulent part of his nation has been very busy in stirring up the Cherokees to take Revenge Offering to support them with 700 Men immediately and it was with the utmost difficulty that some Creeks who with a party of Cherokees pursued the Northern Enemy were very lately hindered by the latter from killing some White Men of your Province who they met hunting and within these twelve months several murders have been committed by them in Georgia West Florida and near the Cherokee Nation. They have of late been sounding the inclinations of our new Allies the Choctaws and small nations on the Mississippi to a general rupture they attempted to seduce the Chickasaws and are now endeavouring to inflame the minds of the Cherokees I am not without hope however that their bad intentions may be defeated by removing all cause of just complaint from and rendering justice as far as in Our power to the Latter.

A Rupture with the Creeks and Cherokees would soon become general the unfavorable impressions left by the French on the minds of our new Allies not being as yet entirely effaced and those two nations consist of no less than 6 or 7000 fighting Men a formidable Body and in their way of making war capable of doing a great deal of mischief compact and contiguous as they are to our Province.

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I take the Liberty of troubling your Excellency with a view of Indian Affairs from a possibility of its being acceptable at a time when settling the Boundarys is agitated.

As the arrival of Lord Charles Montague is hourly expected I wish to be in the way when that happens as I may possibly receive some instructions from the Ministry relative to these and such other matters as I long ago submitted to their consideration I afterwards propose myself the honour of waiting on you at Brunswick I most sincerely wish your Excellency better health and have the honour of being respectively

Sir &ca