334 LAWSON'S HISTORY 



bread in. These are the reasons that the savages 

 give for not making known what they are acqain- 

 ted withal of that nature. And, indeed, all men 

 that have ever gone upon those discoveries, allow 

 them to be good ; more especially my ingenious 

 friend, Mr. Francis Louis Mitchell, of Bern in Switz- 

 erland, who has been for several years, very indefat- 

 gable and strict in his discoveries amongst those vast 

 ledges of mountains and spacious tracts of land, ly- 

 ing towards the heads of the great bays and rivers 

 of Virginia, Maryland and Pensylvania, where he 

 has discovered a spacious country inhabited by 

 none but the savages, and not many of them, who 

 yet are of a very friendly nature to the Christians. 

 This gentleman has been employed by the canton 

 of Bern to find out a tract of land in the English 

 America, where that republic might settle some of 

 their people, which proposal, I believe, is now in a 

 fair way towards a conclusion between her majesty 

 of Great Britain and that canton,' which must 

 needs be of great advantage to both ; and as for 

 ourselves, I believe no man that is in his wits, and 

 understands the situation and affairs of America, 

 but will allow. Nothing can be of more security 

 and advantage to the crown and subjects of Great 

 Britain, than to have our frontiers secured by a 

 warlike people, and our friends, as the Switzers 

 are, especially when we have more Indians than 

 we can civilize, and so many Christian enemies 

 lying on the back of us, that we do know not how 

 long or short a time it may be before they visit us. 



