The extent of this colony is 200 miles in length, and 200 miles in breadth. The soil is much better than in Jersey, chiefly consisting of a black mould; the country rises gradually as in the adjacent provinces, having the Apalachian mountains en the west, and is divided into six counties. The air, it lying in the 40 deg. of X. lat. is near the same as in New York, and very healthy to English constitutions.

The produce and merchandise of Pennsylvania consists in horses, pipe staves, beef, pork, salt fish, skins, furs, and a'l sorts of grain, viz. wheat, Rye, pease, oats, barley, buck-wheat, Indian corn, Indian pease, beans, potashes, wax. &c. and in return for these commodities, they import from the Carribbean islands and other places, rum. sugar, molasses, silver, negroes [1], salt, and clothing of all sorts, hardware. etc. The nature of the soil in Pennsylvania, the Jerseys, and New York, is extremely proper to produce hemp [2]. flax. Etc.

If the government of Pennsylvania since the death of its first proprietor William Penn, had taken proper methods to oblige the traders to deal justly with the Indians, whose tempers, when exasperated with resentment, are more savage than the hungry lion these disasters might have been in a good degree prevented.

I intend to conclude this argument in a few words, and shall endeavour to do justice on both sides by adhering strictly to truth. Know therefore, that within these late years, the Indians, being tolerably acquainted with the nature of our commerce, have detected the roguery of some of the traders, whereupon they lodged many and grievous complaints to Colonel Weiser, the interpreter between them and the English, of the injurious and fraudulent usage they had received for several years backwards from white people, who had cheated them out of their skins and furs, not giving them one quarter their value for them.

Likewise they remonstrated, that whereas hunting was the chief way or art they ever had to earn a livelihood by: game was now become very scarce, because the whites practised it so much on their ground, destroying their prey. Colonel Weiser, their interpreter, advised them to bring down their skins and furs to Philadelphia themselves, promising that he would take proper care to see their goods vended to their advantage. Whereupon they did so, in pursuance of his instructions, and finding it their interest, resolved to continue in the way he had chalked out for them; for now they were supplied with every thing they wanted from the merchants' shops, at the cheapest rates. And thus it plainly appeared to the Indians that they had been long imposed on by the traders, and therefore they were determined to have no more dealings with them. This conduct and shyness of the Indians was very disagreeable to several gentlemen of the province, who were nearly interested in that species of commerce.

Accordingly in the year 1753 and 1754, some of the traders had the assurance to renew their friendship with them, when, instead of remitting them clothes and other necessaries as had been usual and were most proper for them, they, with insidious purposes, carried them large quantities of rum in small casks, which they knew the natives were fond of, under the colour of giving it to them gratis. In this manner were the savages inveigled [3] into liquor by the whites, who took the opportunity, while they were intoxicated, of going off with their skins and furs; but the natives, recovering from the debauch, soon detected the villany, and in revenge killed many of the traders, and went directly over to the French, who encouraged them to slay every English person they could meet with, and destroy their houses by fire, giving them orders to spare neither man, woman, nor child. Besides, as a farther incitement to diligence in this bloody task, they promised the savages a reward of £15 [4] sterling for every scalp they should take, on producing the same before any of his Most Christian Majesty's officers, civil or military.

Thus our perfidious enemies instigated those unreasonable barbarians to commence acts of depredation, violence, and murder, on the settled inhabitants of North America in 1754, and more especially in Pennsylvania, as knowing it to be the most defenceless province on the continent. This consideration prompted the savage race to exhaust their malicious fury on it in particular.

1. In 1756 blacks were being shipped into Pennsylvania, where it was claimed by white servants that they were treated better by their Quaker masters.

2. Hemp was an important product for the making of ropes for naval vessels.

3. To persuade through deception

4. The price for which Peter was originally sold in Philadelphia