fouthward, with whom they were at war, Maffawomacs. This war was carrying on in its greatest fury, when captain Smith first arrived in Virginia. The Mingo warriors had penetrated down to the Sufquehanna to the mouth of it. In one of his excurfions up the bay, at the mouth of Sufquehanna, in 1608, captain Smith met with fix or seven of their canoes full of warriors, who were coming to attack their enemies in the rear. In an excurfion which he had made a few weeks before, up the Rappahannock, and in which he had a skirmish with a party of the Manahoacs, and taken a brother of one of their chiefs prisoner, he first heard of this nation. For when he asked the prisoner, why his nation attacked the English? the prisoner faid, because his nation had heard that the English came from under the world to take their world from them. Being asked how many worlds he knew? he said, he knew but one, which was under the sky that covered him, and which confifted of the Powhatans, the Manakins, and the Maffawomacs. Being queftioned concerning the latter, he faid they dwelt on north, that they had many boats, and fo waged with all the reft of the world. The Mingo confedera су then confifted of five tribes; three who are the elder, to wit, the Senecas, who live to the west, the Mohawks to the caft, and the Onondagas between them; and two who are called the younger tribes, namely, the Cayugas and Oneidas. All thefe tribes speak one language, and were then united in a clofe confederacy, and occupied the tract of country from the east end of lake Erie to lake Champlain, and from the Kittatinney and Highlands to the lake Ontario, and the river Cadaraqui, or St. Laurence. They had, fometime before that, carried on a war with a nation, who lived beyond the lakes, and were called Adirondacs. In this war they were worsted: but having made a peace with them, through the interceffion of the French, who were then fettling in Canada, they turned their arms against the Lenopi; and as this war was long and doubtful, they, in the courfe of it, not only exerted their whole force, but put in practice every meafure which prudence or policy

a great water to the many men that they

could devife to bring it to a fuccefsful iffue. For this purpose they bent their course down the Sufquehanna, warring with the Indians in their way, and having penetrated as far as the mouth of it, they, by the terror of their arms, engaged a nation, now known by the name of Nanticocks, Conoys, and Tùteloes, who lived between Chesapeak and Delaware bays, and bordering on the tribe of Chihohocki, to enter into an alliance with them. They also formed an alliance with the Monacans, and ftimulated them to a war with the Lenopi and their confederates. At the fame time the Mohawks carried on a furious war down the Hudson against the Mohiccons and River Indians, and compelled them to purchase a temporary and precarious peace, by acknowledging them to be their superiors, and paying an annual tribute. The Lenopi being furrounded with enemies, and hard preffed, and having loft many of their warriors, were at last compelled to fue for peace, which was granted to them on the condition that they should put themselves under the protection of the Mingos, confine themselves to raising corn, hunting for the fubfiftence of their families, and no longer have the power of making war. This is what the Indians call making them women. And in this condition the Lenopis were when William Penn first arrived and began the fettlement of Pennsylvania in 1682.

(6.) p. 153. From the figurative language of the Indians, as well as from the practice of thofe we are ftill acquainted with, it is evident that it was, and ftill continues to be, a conftant cuftom among the Indians to gather up the bones of the dead, and deposit them in a particular place. Thus, when they make peace with any nation, with whom they have been at war, after burying the hatchet, they take up the belt of wampum, and fay, We now gather 'up all the bones of those who have been flain, and bury them, &c.' See all the treaties of peace. Befides, it is cuftomary when any of them die at a distance from home, to bury them, and afterwards to come and take up the bones and carry them home. At a treaty which was held at Lancaster with the fix nations one of them died, and was buried in the woods a little diftance from the town.

Some time after a party came and took up the body, feparated the flesh from the bones by boiling and scraping them clean, and carried them to be deposited in the fepulchres of their ancestors. The ope ration was fo offenfive and difagreeable, that nobody could come near them while they were performing it.

(7.) p. 155. The Ofwegàtchies, Connofedagos and Cohunnegàgoes, or, as they are commonly called, Caghnewàgos, are of the Mingo or Six nation Indians, who, by the influence of the French miffionaries, have been feparated from their nation, and induced to fettle there.

I do not know of what nation the Augquàgahs are; but fufpect they are a family of the Senecas.

The Nanticocks and Conòies were formerly of a nation that lived at the head of Chesapeak-bay, and who, of late years have been adopted into the Mingo or Iroquois confederacy, and make a feventh nation. The Monacans or Tufcaroras,who were taken into the confederacy in 1712, making the Sixth.

The Saponies are-families of the Wanamies, who removed from New-Jerfey, and, with the Mohiccons, Munfies, and Delawares, belong to the Lenopi nation. The Mingos are a war colony from the fix nations; so are the Cohunnewagos.

Of the reft of the northern tribes I never have been able to learn any thing certain. But all accounts feem to agree in this, that there is a very powerful nation, distinguished by a variety of names taken from the several towns or families, but commonly called Tàwas or Outawas, who speak one language, and live round and on the waters that fall into the western lakes, and extend from the waters of the Ohio quite to the waters falling into Hudfon's bay.

No. II.

In the Summer of the Year 1783, it was expected, that the ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA would call a CONVENTION for the Establishment of a CONSTITUTION. The following DRAUGHT of a FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTION for the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA was then prepared, with a design of being proposed in such Convention haď it taken place.

Το

O the citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia, and all others whom it may concern, the delegates for the said commonwealth in convention affembled, fend greeting.

It is known to you, and to the world, that the government of Great-Britain, with which the American States were not long fince connected, affumed over them an authority unwarrantable and oppreffive; that they endeavored to enforce this authority by arms, and that the states of New-Hamphire, Massachusetts, Rhode-İfland, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennfylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, confidering refiftance, with all its train of horrors, as a leffer evil than abject fubmiffion, clofed in the appeal to arms. It hath pleafed the Sovereign Difpofer of all human events to give to this appeal an iffue favorable to the rights of the ftates; to enable them to reject for ever all dependence on a government which had fhewn itfelf fo capable of abufing the trufts repofed in it; and to obtain from that government a folemn and explicit acknowledgment that they are free, fovereign, and independent ftates. During the progrefs of that war, through which we had to labor for the establish

ment of our rights, the legislature of the commonwealth of Virginia found it neceffary to make a temporary organization of government for preventing anarchy, and pointing our efforts to the two import ant objects of war against our invaders, and peace and happiness among ourselves. But this, like all other acts of legislation, being subject to change by subsequent legislatures, poffeffing equal power with themselves, it has been thought expedient, that it should receive those amendments which time and trial have suggested, and be rendered permanent by a power fuperior to that of the ordinary legislature. The general affembly therefore of this ftate recommend it to the good people thereof, to choose delegates to meet in general convention, with powers to form a conftitution of government for them, and to declare those fundamentals to which all our laws present and future fhall be fubordinate: and, in compliance with this recommendation, they have thought proper to make choice of us, and to veft us with powers for this purpose.

We therefore, the delegates, chosen by the faid good people of this state for the purpose aforefaid, and now affembled in general convention, do, in execution of the authority with which we are invefted, establish the following conftitution and fundamentals of gov ernment for the said state of Virginia.

The said state shall for ever hereafter be governed as a commonwealth.

The powers of government fhall be divided into three distinct departments, each of them to be confided to a separate body of magis tracy; to wit, those which are legislative to one, those which are judiciary to another, and those which are executive to another. No perfon, or collection of perfons, being of one of these departments, fhall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the inftances herein after exprefsly permitted.

The legislature shall confift of two branches, the one to be called the house of delegates, the other the fenate, and both together the general affembly. The concurrence of both thefe, expreffed on three feveral readings, fhall be neceffary to the paffage of a law.

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