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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Address by Patrick Tonyn to the Creek Nation concerning Native American support for the British Army
Tonyn, Patrick, 1725-1804
December 1775
Volume 10, Pages 341-345

Talk from the British Commissioners to the Creek Nation.
Welcome Headmen & Warriors, Welcome to East Florida all present of the Creek Nation.

Friends and Brothers:

That I now see you gives me great pleasure, to shake hands with you; to smoak out of the same pipe & eat out of the same dish.

There is more Satisfaction in this meeting, because you are introduced to me that I may always know you, by the Great King's beloved Man, Mr Stuart, the Superintendent. His kindness &

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Friendship the Nation has very long experienced, his talk has been always true talk. He never told you a lie; he has many good old Friends amongst you that he Esteems; He has a strong affection for the young generation that are rising up under them. I will imitate Mr Stuart in these good qualities, in true talks & Love for the Creek Nation.

When I left my Native Country, when I took leave of the great King & the people of England, I was commanded to affirm to the Creeks that the Great King George regarded their Nation with equal tenderness as his own faithful white people, and as his real Children; That I was to show to them all marks of my Friendship, as a testimony of his Majesty's Friendship & as the favour & affection of the people of England. These commands I shall exactly observe on all occasions. I now embrace you: I hold you fast by the hand in the name of the Great King George & all the people of England, as his dear Children and their beloved Brothers. Now that I behold a part of the Creek Nation I am induced by my own feelings, by a natural impulse of inclination to love them all. The Revd Old Men, the Spirited Countenances of the Warriors & the chearful, lively faces of the young people fill me with affection that I seem as one of the Nation.

The great King's subjects have settled in America as many years ago as all the hairs on your beards at a vast Expence of Money, as much in Comparison as the sands of the Sea Shore. They have had a constant profusion of all necessary supplies sent to them, as much as all the Feathers on all the birds, from the Great King & his Royal ancestors & the people of England. These people of America, descendants of the same Country, England, in whose veins run the same blood, whose flesh & bone are from the same fore Fathers; they could not have lived without the kindness and benefaction of the Great King, our Common Father, and the English Nation, who fought Victorious Battles for these very people in the heart of the French & Spanish Kingdoms—drove them out of America purposely for the enjoyment of peace of the Great King's Subjects in America, that they might live like brothers with the Red people in happiness & Peace.

What is the grateful return made to the Great King & people of England for these unexampled benefactions & Protection; for the blood of Englishmen, spilt in defence of these very people; for the immense treasure spent for their happiness & Security? Let me tell

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you; I will not deceive you; I will not lie. The great King & people of England desire only the people of America to Establish peace among themselves, to fix a regular & Orderly Government that the good people may be protected; that the bad people may be punished. They are desired to raise Money for their Own Use, their own honor & dignity, to preserve their regular forms of Government. The Great King promises them to protect them by his warriors both by land & sea. But a part of these people in America have seperated themselves from the great King's good Subjects; they are no more Reckoned their Brothers; they are turned basely wicked and unnatural, as if the Son should fall upon the Father & beat him & Rob him, & as if a bad Brother should forsake his Own Brothers & family Seeking to kill them: They are become ungrateful; they are turned thieves & Robbers; they are hateful & Odious in the sight of all honest good Men; they throw away the good advice & love of the great King; they insult the great Kings Friends & all good people; they rob them & want to drive them out of America; they have their Own private & secret very bad Reasons for endeavouring to do so, which they are too wicked & Cunning to let be known to you, because if they did let you know their bad intentions, you wou'd take up the hatchet against them. But I know all their wicked designs. Depend then on the Great Kings favour & his friends who will give you timely Notice of their wicked, secret intentions against you, & against the great King & the people of England. If they had it in their power they would kill & destroy all the Kings good people & altho they pretend to Love & be friends to the red people they would kill & destroy them afterwards. The great King by the means of his power & his good people has prevented these bad people from falling upon & killing his Red Children for several years; they are indeed most wicked. They have robbed the Ships that were loaded with necessaries & Ammunition for the red people in hopes that the red people might think the great King had forsaken them: they are jealous of the favours the great King has shown to the Red people; they robb'd Mr Stuart of all his supplies at Charles Town that came from the great King for the use of the Red people, & did also the same at Savannah, They robbed me of a great quantity of powder out of the Ship & took great quantities of the strands & necessaries out of Ships coming to East Florida that were all for the great Kings Red Children. They shou'd have sent
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all these stolen goods to you; they robbed Carr, a Trader & one of the red people that was going from St Augustine with presents from me of some things & some powder & Ball I sent to some of the Head men & the Cussata King. They took away the talks sent by Mr Stuart and they Opened them & read them. We have not heard what is become of the Talks. Believe me they are a most Villainous people. If they now give you any necessaries they are those which they have Stolen from the great King & his Friends. They may now give you these things, as they have stole them; but in time to come they will not have it in their power to give you any strands, Blankets, Ammunition, or other necessaries as the great King has stopped sending them any for themselves. But the great King & people of England will never alter in affection for the red people but love them as the Mother the Child lugging the Nipple. They will always supply the Great Kings Red Children with what they want as the hand furnishes the Mouth with the Nourishment it requires to support the body. Our red Brothers shall be Cloathed in all Colours like the birds in the Air. The great King is now sending Great Armies of his Land & Sea Warriors like the Trees in the Woods, for the Guard and protection of his good white subjects that have not joined with these bad unnatural Subjects & to punish the Rebellious white people who will go on in their wickedness until these Armies Arrive, When they are punished it will all then be peace. I entreat you Friends & Brothers to beware of these bad people; they go about with false talks; they have lies ready in their Mouths; they pretend to be able to do great things; they make great promises which they cannot perform. Such Men are a reproach & disgrace to all mankind, they are despised & hated by all good Men; they have great Art & Cunning & will deceive you; if you listen to them they will pretend they are great Men & have power; when they are not, but the worst of the people. Therefore my Friends & my Brothers give them no Credit, lean not your Ears towards them, nor believe any talks but those which come from the great Kings Governors & his beloved Men & those Men which are employed by the beloved Man Mr Stuart. Once more let me declare to you that the great King & the people of England hold all the Red people fast by the hand as the head of a Man holds fast to the body; they will never let it go; they will never forsake you, more than the head can forsake the body & both live. As a testimony of the great Kings favour
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& the affection of the people of England some presents are now to be distributed amongst you by the beloved Man Mr Stuart his Majestys Superintendant—Consider me then as the great Kings Representative in this Land. If the Red people have Enemies they shall also be my Enemies; if they have friends, they shall be my friends, those people who wou'd deceive them I shall set my face against. I will always love the Red people as brothers born of the same Mother; that sucked the Milk of the same breast, laughing & smiling on the Mothers Countenance. I will join with them against all their Enemies, & the great King's Enemies; and my last Breath shall say Oh! save all the Great Kings Friends.

PATRICK TONYN.