should be lost by time, and fall to common use, they pick off the grass that grows upon them, and heap up the fallen earth, with great care and

exactness.

XXI. "These poor people are under a dark night in things relating to religion; to be sure the tradition of it: yet they believe a God and immor. tality, without the help of metaphysics: for, they say, There is a Great King that made them, who dwells in a glorious country to the southward of them; and that the souls of the good shall go thither, where they shall live again. Their worship consists of two parts, sacrifice and cantico. Their sacrifice is their first fruits; the first and fattest buck they kill goeth to the fire; where he is all burnt, with a mournful ditty of him that performeth the ceremony; but with such marvellous fervency and labor of body, that he will even sweat to a foam. The other part is their cantico, performed by round dances, sometimes words, sometimes songs, then shouts; two being in the middle that begin; and, by singing and drumming on a board, direct the chorus. Their postures in the dance are very antick and differing, but all keep measure. This is done with equal earnestness and labor, but great appearance of joy. In the fall, when the corn cometh in, they begin to feast one another. There have been two great festivals already; to which all come that will. I was at one myself: their entertainment was a great seat by a spring, under some shady trees, and twenty bucks, with hot cakes of new corn, both wheat and beans, which they make up in a square form, in the leaves of the stem, and bake them in the ashes; and after that they fall to dance. But they that go must carry a small present in their money; it may be sixpence; which is made of the bone of a fish: the black is with them as gold; the white, silver; they call it all wampum.

XXII. "Their government is by Kings, which they call Sachama ; and those by succession, but always of the mother's side. For instance, the children of him who is now king will not succed, but his brother by the mother, or the children of his sister, whose sons (and after them the children of her daughters) will reign; for no woman inherits. The reason they render for this way of descent, is, that their issue may not be spurious.

XXIII. "Every King hath his Council; and that consists of all the old and wise men of his nation; which, perhaps, is two hundred people. Nothing of moment is undertaken, be it war, peace, selling of land, or traffick, without advising with them: and, which is more, with the young men too. It is admirable to consider how powerful the Kings are, and yet how they move by the breath of their people. I have had occasion to be in council with them, upon treaties for land, and to adjust the terms of trade. Their order is thus: The King sits in the middle of an half moon, and hath his council, the old and wise, on each hand; behind

them, or at a little distance, sit the younger fry, in the same figure. Having consulted and resolved their business, the King ordered one of them to speak to me; he stood up, came to me, and, in the name of his King, saluted me; then took me by the hand, and told me, 'He was ordered by his King to speak to me; and that now it was not he, but the King, that spoke; because what he should say was the King's mind.' He first prayed me, 'to excuse them, that they had not complied with me the last time, he feared there might be some fault in the Interpreter, being neither Indian nor English; besides, it was the Indian custom to deliberate, and take up much time in council before they resolve; and that if the young people, and owners of the land had been as ready as he, I had not met with so much delay.' Having thus introduced his matter, he fell to the bounds of the land they had agreed to dispose of, and the price; which now is little and dear; that which would have bought twenty miles, not buying now two. During the time that this person spoke, not a man of them was observed to whisper or smile; the old, grave; the young, reverent, in their deportment. They speak little, but fervently, and with elegance. I have never seen more natural sagacity, considering them without the help (I was going to say, the spoil) of tradition; and he will deserve the name of wise that outwits them in any treaty, about a thing they understand. When the purchase was agreed, great promises passed between us, 'of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the Indians and English must live in love as long as the sun gave light:' which done, another made a speech to the Indians, in the name of all the Sachamakers, or Kings; first to tell them what was done; next, to charge and command them, 'to love the Christians, and particularly live in peace with me, and the people under my governinent; that many Governors had been in the river; but that no Governor had come himself to live and stay here before; and having now such an one, that had treated them well, they should never do him, or his, any wrong.'-at every sentence of which they shouted and said. Amen, in their way.

XXIV. "The justice they have is pecuniary: In case of any wrong or evil fact, be it murder itself, they atone by feasts, and presents of their wampum; which is proportioned to the quality of the offence, or person injured, or of the sex they are of. For, in case they kill a woman, they pay double; and the reason they render, is, 'that she breedeth children; which men cannot do.' It is rare that they fall out, if sober; and, if drunk, they forgive it, saying, 'It was the drink, and not the man, that abused them.'

XXV. “We have agreed that, in all differences between us, six of each side shall end the matter. Do not abuse them, but let them have

justice, and you win them. The worst is, that they are the worse for the

Christians; who have propagated their vices, and yielded them tradition for ill, and not for good things. But as low an ebb as these people are at, and as inglorious as their own condition looks, the Christians have not outlived their sight, with all their pretensions to an higher manifestation. What good, then, might not a good people graft, where there is so distinct a knowledge left between good and evil? I beseech God to incline the hearts of all that come into these parts, to outlive the knowledge of the natives, by a fixed obedience to their greater knowledge of the will of God; for it were miserable, indeed, for us to fall under the just censure of the poor Indian conscience, while we make profession of things so far transcending.

"XXVI. "For their original, I am ready to believe them of the Jewish race; I mean, of the stock of the ten tribes; and that, for the following reasons: First, they were to go to a land not planted, nor known;' which to be sure, Asia and Africa were, if not Europe; and he that intended that extraordinary judgment upon them, might make the passage not uneasy to them, as it is not impossible in itself, from the eastermost parts of Asia to the westermost of America. In the next place; I find them of the like countenance, and their children of so lively resemblance, that a man would think himself in Duke's place, or Berry street, in London, when he seeth them. But this is not all; they agree in rites; they reckon by moons; they offer their first fruits; they have a kind of feast of tabernacles; they are said to lay their altar upon twelve stones; their mourning a year; customs of women, with many other things that do not now

occur.

"So much for the natives; next, the old planters will be considered in this relation, before I come to our colony, and the concerns of it.

XXVII. "The first planters, in these parts, were the Dutch; and soon after them, the Swedes and Finns. The Dutch applied themselves to traffic; the Swedes and Finns to husbandry. There were some disputes between them, some years, the Dutch looking upon them as intruders upon their purchase and possession; which was finally ended in the surrender made by John Rizeing, the Swedish Governor, to Peter Styvesant, Governor for the States of Holland, anno 1655.

XXVIII. "The Dutch inhabit mostly those parts of the province that lie upon, or near the bay; and the Swedes, the freshes of the river Delaware. There is no need of giving any description of them, who are better known there than here; but they are a plain, strong, industrious people; yet have made no great progress in culture or propagation of fruit trees; as if they desired rather to have enough than plenty or traffic. But, I presume the Indians made them the more careless, by furnishing them with the means of profit, to wit, skins and furs, for rum and such strong liquors. They kindly received me, as well as the English who

were few, before the people concerned with me came among them. I must needs commend their respect to authority, and kind behaviour to the English; they do not degenerate from the old friendship between both kingdoms. As they are people proper and strong of body, so they have fine children, and almost every house full; rare to find one of them without three or four boys and as many girls; some, six, seven and eight sons. And I must do them that right; I see few young men more sober and laborious.

XXIX. "The Dutch have a meeting-place for religious worship at New-castle; and the Swedes, three; one at Christina, one at Tenecum, and one at Wicoco, within half a mile of this town.

XXX. "There rests that I speak of the condition we are in, and what settlement we have made: in which I will be as short as I can, for I fear, and not without reason, that I have tried your patience with this long story. The country lieth, bounded on the east by the river and bay of Delaware and Eastern sea; it hath the advantage of many creeks, or rivers rather, that run into the main river or bay; some navigable for great ships, some for small craft. Those of most eminency are, Christina, Brandywine, Skilpot, and Sculkil; any one of which have room to lay up the royal navy of England, there being from four to eight fathom

water.

XXXI. "The lesser creeks, or rivers, yet convenient for sloops and ketches of good burden, are Lewis, Mespilion, Cedar, Dover, Cranbrook, Feversham and Georges, below; and Chichester, Chester, Toacawny, Pammapecka, Portquessin, Neshimenck and Pennberry, in the freshes; many lesser, that admit boats and shallops. Our people are mostly settled upon the upper rivers; which are pleasant and sweet, and generally bounded with good land. The planted part of the province and territories is cast into six counties, Philadelphia, Buckingham, Chester, Newcastle, Kent and Sussex, containing about four thousand souls. Two General Assemblies have been held, and with such concord and dispatch that they sat but three weeks; and at least seventy laws were passed without one dissent in any material thing. But of this, more hereafter, being yet raw and new in our gear. However, I cannot forget their singular respect to me in this infancy of things; who, by their own private expenses, so early considered mine, for the public, as to present me with an impost upon certain goods imported and exported-which, after my acknowledgment of their affection, I did as freely remit to the province, and the traders to it. And for the well government of the said counties, courts of justice are established in every county, with proper officers, as justices, sheriffs, clerks, constables, &c., which courts are held every two months. But, to prevent law suits, there are three peace makers chosen by every county court, in the nature of common arbitrators, to hear and

end differences betwixt man and man. And spring and fall there is an Orphans' Court in each county, to inspect and regulate the affairs of orphans and widows.

XXXII. "Philadelphia, the expectation of those that are concerned in this province, is at last laid out, to the great content of those here that are anyways interested therein. The situation is a neck of land, and lieth between two navigable rivers, Delaware and Sculkil, whereby it hath two fronts upon the water, each a mile, and two from river to river. Delaware is a glorious river; but the Sculkil being an hundred miles boatable above the falls, and its course north-east, towards the fountain of Susquahanna (that tends to the heart of the province, and both sides our own) it is like to be a great part of the settlement of this age. I say little of the town itself, because a platform will be shewn you by my agent; in which those who are purchasers of me will find their names and interests. But this I will say, for the good providence of God, that of all the many places I have seen in the world, I remember not one better seated; so that it seems to me to have been appointed for a town, whether we regard the rivers, or the conveniency of the coves, docks, springs, the loftiness and soundness of the land, and the air, held by the people of these parts to be very good. It is advanced, within less than a year, to about four score houses and cottages, such as they are; where merchants and handicrafts are following their vocations as fast as they can; while the country men are close at their farms; some of them got a little winter corn in the ground last season; and the generality have had an handsome summer-crop, and are preparing for their winter corn. They reaped their barley this year in the month called May; the wheat in the month following; so that there is time, in these parts, for another crop of divers things before the winter season. We are daily in hopes of shipping to add to our number; for, blessed be God, here is both room and accommodation for them-the stories of our necessity being either the fear of our friends, or the scare-crows of our enemies-for the greatest hardship we have suffered hath been salt meat; which by fowl, in winter, and fish, in summer, together with some poultry, lamb, mutton, veal, and plenty of venison, the best part of the year, hath been made very passable. I bless God, I am fully satisfied with the country and entertainment I got in it: for I find that particular content, which hath always attended me, where God, in his providence, hath made it my place and service to reside. You cannot imagine my station can be, at present, free of more than ordinary business; and, as such I may say, it is a troublesome work. But the method things are putting in will faciliate the charge, and give an easier motion to the administration of affairs. However, as it is some men's duty to plow, some to sow, some to water, and some to reap; so it is the wisdom, as well as the duty, of a man to