CHAPTER V. 



1755-1763. 



THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TENANTS AT THE CLOSE 

 OF THE FRENCH WAR. 



We have already seen how, after the defeat of 

 Braddock, the western tribes rose with one accord 

 against the English. Then, for the first time, 

 Pennsylvania felt the scourge of Indian war ; and 

 her neighbors, Maryland and Virginia, shared her 

 misery. Through the autumn of 1755, the storm 

 raged with devastating fury ; but the following year 

 brought some abatement of its violence. This may 

 be ascribed partly to the interference of the Iro- 

 quois, who, at the instances of Sir William Johnson, 

 urged the Dela wares to lay down the hatchet, and 

 partly to the persuasions of several prominent men 

 among the Quakers, who, by kind and friendly 

 treatment, had gained the confidence of the 

 Indians.^ By these means, that portion of the 

 Delawares and their kindred tribes who dwelt 

 upon the Susquehanna, were induced to send a 

 deputation of chiefs to Easton, in the summer of 



1 Gordon, Hist, Pcnn. 321. Causes of the Alienation a/the Delaware and 

 Shawanese Indians from the British Interest. MS. Johnson Papers. 



