them in their Expeditions against the Indian Nations, subject to His Majesty, and depending on the Governments of Virginia, the two Carolina's & Georgia, who have it in their power (by their situation, if their strength were equal, as it would

be, were they united and resolved) to interrupt the march of the French from Niagra to Messasippi this the French know full well, and fearing that they may sometime or other confederate against them for that purpose, they seldom fail once a year, :

to attack one of those Nations while they are disjoined, thereby to exterpate, or bring

their Interest, and they have gone but too great a length towards

it,

them over to

none of those Nations daring

now to give them any interruption & thinking themselves happy when they are not annoyed by the French. We have a trading House and a Garrison of 20 men in it at Oswego, almost opposite to Fort Frontenac, which in our present situation will inevitably fall into the hands of the French, on the first opening of a War, & with it the Five Nations, the only Barrier against the French to all the

Provinces from this to Georgia, for tho' they now intice some of their youth to join them in their hostile marches, yet the

Body of those Nations oppose it all they can, & live in a good intelligence

with us, professing to observe inviolably their original Allyance, (or Covenant Chain as they phrase

which has subsisted ever since we first settled this Country, yet if Oswego be taken, (as nothing can hinder it while the French are masters of the Lake) the Five Nations will, and must of course, submit to our Enemy, who will oblige them to assist in all their expeditions In which Event every one of our Provinces may be so attacked, that the Planters will be obliged for the security of their Persons to quit their settlements, retire into the Towns, wherever they are, or under the cover of Forts, of which we have very few on the whole Continent, or, what is worse, leave the Country to seek a living elsewhere, the consequences whereof to England are but too obvious, & this the Enemy will more easily do, as they have a line of Forts from Canada to Messasippi.