m HISTORY or 



loj the Queen and the principal of Conestego, to the Go- 

 Ternor and council, to acquaint that divers Europeans^, 

 namely, ^^Mitchel (a Swiss,) Peter Bezalion, James Le 

 Tort, Martin Chartier, the French Glover of Philadel- 

 phia, Frank, a young man of Canada, who was lately, 

 taken up here, being all Frenchmen, and one from Vir- 

 ginia, who also spoke French, had seated themselves and 

 built houses upon the branches of the Patowmeck^.. 

 within this government, and pretended that they were in 

 search of some mineral or ore ; that in the Governor's 

 name, they had required the Indians of Conestogo, to 

 send some of their people with them to assist them, for 

 which the Governor would pay them. That those of 

 Conestogo, not thinking these proceedings to be incon- 

 sistent with their past treaties and leagues of friendship, 

 desired to know whether the said persons were really 

 sent by the government, and had thus seated them- 

 selres by their approbation, and whether they had 

 any orders to desire the assistance of the said Indians, if 

 not that they might be called home." 



Harry added in particular, " that though Mitchel 

 was the person who had first led the rest thither, yet 

 he had left them for many weeks past, and pretended 

 that he wanted one Clark, of Maryland, who it is said, 

 to be now under an attainder, by an act of assembly 

 of that government, to assist him in the discovery."* 



On further consideration it appeared that Peter Be- 

 zalion was the only licensed Indian trader, according to 

 an act passed at a general Assembly, October 14, 1700, 

 held at New Castle. 



Mitchel, Yv^ho had been hi Philadelphia, in the summer 

 of 1 706, Avas sent for by Governor Evans. The Governor 

 " required to know of him what he intended by travers- 



*Col. Rec. II. 420. 



