The Lower House. 553

therefore I must pray your Honour to lay this matter before your
Assembly, and to use your Influence for bringing them to join with
us in promoting this matter
I am, with great regard, Sir, Your Honour's most obedient,
humble Servant W. Shirley
Extract of a Letter from Col. John Stoddard, to Governor Shirley,
Dated May 13, 1747
I send you the Letter I lately Received from Albany, by which
your Excellency will perceive that the Six Nations are throughly
engaged, and that most of them, together with some others of their
allies, are likely to join in our Service, I think with your Excellency
and the Council, that the Encourageing these Indians is a thing of
great Importance; the Several Governments have been endeavouring
for near Three years past to persuade those Tribes into a war,
wherein they had not any Concern, but to serve their ffriends; and
they seem generally got into it, and have left their Hunting and
other means of Living, and exposed themselves and ffamilies for
our Sakes; and can we expect they should go ffight for us, and
devote themselves to that Service, and we suffer them to Starve?
Can we expect that they go a Warfare for us at their own Charge,
or can we expect that Col. Johnson and M^r Lidins should pay the
Reckoning ? They have taken a great deal of pains to get the Indians
into the war, and have effected more than the Governments did in a
Course of years; and can it be thought that they should spend all
their Substance in rewarding the Indians for their Service ? It will
Cost them about 600 or 700^l to fit out 100 men for war (in York
Money) as may be seen by Lidus's Letter of March 26; and how
many hundred will soon be out, and how many times they will go
out this summer, others can guess as well as I.
To let the Design drop, now we have a hopeful prospect of dis-
tressing our Enemy, would be fatal; for the Indians may well say,
as they have often suspected beforehand, that our design was to get
them into the War, and then Leave them in the Lurch; and then we
should fail of their Assistance, and no wonder if they should recon-
cile themselves to the ffrench, which they would be glad of, and
then take part with the ffrench against us: ffor the Indians are of
such an Humour, that if we deal justly and kindly by them, they
will put their Lives in our Hands; but if we deal deceitfully with
them, that will soon raise an Abhorrence of us. Col. Johnson and
M^r Lidins are now under a necessity of going forward, and fitting
out the Indians so long as they have any substance remaining; and
when that is gone, the affair will be at an End. Therefore I see no
way but for the several Governments to send Supplies of Money or
Goods, to enable those Gentlemen to carry on the war: I think it
altogether just, that the several Governments do Contribute towards
the Charge, and doubt not but several of them would chearfully

L. H. J.
Liber No. 34