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Jacob Lindley's Account, 1793

SW_JL1793_Page_146

Wrote by way of Fort Pitt, to my dear H.L.; also a letter by Lieut. Crawford, to George Dillwyn. 13th. Our commissioners had a visit from Capt. Welbank, on his return from Navy Hall; he gave them an account, as I have before noted, respectingthe treaty with the southern Indians; also mention-ed some of McGillivrey's duplicity in Indian affairs;and that the Spanish governor of Pensacola toldhim, he was sorry he had sold off so much land tothe United States; and that he could not serve twomasters, he must cleave to the one or the other, andhe might choose which. It appeared that McGil-livrey had proposed to sell to the south branch of the Ocomic river; but the nation at large withstoodit, and would give up no further than the north; to which the Creeks unitedly agreed. That divers attempts had been made to settle it, and large clear-ings were made upon it; but at present, he believed, there was not a standing house on the space of three hundred miles in length, and from thirty to seventy in breadth, according to the windings of the river.Which space, is the bone of contention at present, with the Creek nation. Welbank also says, the Spaniards are industriously making interest with the southern Indians, through the agency of one Oliver, a Frenchman: which is a subject of a seri-ous nature to our government. This afternoon, the commissioners sent off two Oneida Indians express to Col. McKee; I suppose,to let him know, that the tedious process of thebusiness began to feel unpleasant to many of the company. One of the interpreters, Horatio Jones, had lately heard of the decease of his wife, since