University of Virginia Library

SINCE printing the above, we have fortunately met with a publication relative to the Welch Indians, which we esteem of the greatest importance to elucidate the subject. We shall make no apology for inserting it at length, convinced that the public will feel equally interested with ourselves in this very important question.

Sir,

No circumstance relating to the history of the western country, probably, has excited, at different times, more general attention and anxious curiosity, than the opinion that a nation of white men, speaking the Welch language, reside high up the Missouri. By some the idea is treated as nothing but the suggestion of bold imposture and easy credulity:—whilst others regard it as a fact fully authenticated by Indian testimony and the report of various travellers worthy of credit. The fact is accounted for, they say, by recurring to a passage in the history of Great-Britain, which relates that several years before the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, a certain Welch prince embarked with a large party of emigrants—that after some time a vessel or two came back with the account that they had discovered a country far to the westward, and that they set sail again with a fresh reinforcement and never returned any more. The country which these adventurers discovered, it has been supposed, was the continent of North-America, and it has been conjectured, that they landed on this continent some where in the gulph of Mexico, and from thence proceeded northwards till they got out of the reach of the hostile natives, and seated themselves in the upper country of Missouri. Many accounts accordingly have been published within the last thirty years of persons who in consequence either of accident or the ardour of curiosity have made themselves acquainted with a nation of men on the Missouri, possessing the complexion of Europeans, and the language of Welchmen. Could the fact be well established, it would afford, perhaps, the most satisfactory solution of the difficulty occasioned by a view of the various ancient fortifications with which the Ohio country abounds, of any that has ever been offered. Those fortifications were never made by the Indians. The Indian art of war presents nothing of the kind. The probability too is that the persons who constructed them were at that time acquainted with the use of iron: the situation of those fortifications, which are uniformly in the most fertile land of the country, indicates that those who made them, were an agricultural people, and the remarkable care and skill with which they were executed, afford traits of the genius of a people, who relied more on their military skill than on their numbers. The growth of the trees upon them, is very compatible with the idea that it is not more than 300 years ago that they were abandoned.

These hints, however, are thrown out rather to excite inquiry, than by way of advancing any decided opinion on the subject. Having never met with any of the persons who had seen these white Americans, nor even received their testimony near the source, I have always entertained considerable doubts about the fact. Last evening however, Mr. John Childs, of Jessamine county, a gentleman with whom I have been long acquainted, and who is well known to be a man of veracity, communicated a relation to me, which at all events, appears to merit serious attention. After he had related it in conversation, I requested him to repeat it, and committed it to writing. It has certainly some internal marks of authenticity. The country which is described was altogether unknown in Virginia, when the relation was given, and was probably very little known to the Shawanese Indians; yet the account of it agrees very remarkably with later discoveries. On the other hand, the story of the large animal, though by no means incredible, has something of the air of fable; and it does not satisfactorily appear how the long period which the party were absent was spent—though Indians are however, so much accustomed to loiter away their time, that many weeks and even months, may probably have been spent in indolent repose.

Without detaining you any more with preliminary remarks, I will proceed to the narration, as I received it from Mr. Childs.

Maurice Griffith, a native of Wales, which country he left when he was about 16 years of age, was taken prisoner by a party of Shawanese Indians, about 40 years ago, near Vosse's fort, on the head of Roanoke river, in Virginia, and carried to the Shawanese nation. Having staid there about two years and a half, he found that five young men of the tribe, had a desire of attempting to explore the sources of the Missouri. He prevailed upon them to admit him as one of the party. They set out with six good rifles, and with six pounds of powder a piece, of which they were of course very careful. On reaching the mouth of the Missouri they were struck with the extraordinary appearance occasioned by the intermixture of the Missouri, and the clear, transparent stream of the Mississippi. They staid two or three days amusing themselves with the view of this novel sight: they then determined on the course which they should pursue, which happened to be so nearly in the course of the river, that they frequently came within sight of it as they proceeded on their journey. After travelling about thirty days through pretty farming wood land, they came into fine open prairies, on which nothing grew but long, luxuriant grass. There was a succession of these, varying in size, some being eight or ten miles across, but one of them so long, that it occupied three days to travel through it. In passing through this large prairie they were much distressed for water and provisions, for they seldom saw either beast or bird, and though there was an abundance of salt springs, fresh water was very scarce. In one of these prairies, the salt springs ran into small ponds, in which, as the weather was hot, the water had sunk and left the edges of the ponds so covered with salt, that they fully supplied themselves with that article, and might easily have collected bushels of it. As they were travelling through the prairies, they had likewise the good fortune to kill an animal which was nine or ten feet high, and of a bulk proportioned to its height. They had seen two of the same species before, and they saw four of them afterwards. They were swift footed, and they had neither tusks nor horns. After having passed through the long prairie, they made it a rule never to enter on one which they could not see across, till they had supplied themselves with a sufficiency of jerked venison, to last several days. After having travelled a considerable time through the prairies, they came to very extensive lead mines, where they smelted the ore and furnished themselves with what lead they wanted. They afterwards came to two copper mines, one of which was three miles through, and in several places they met with rocks of copper ore as large as houses.

When about fifteen days journey from the second copper mine, they came in sight of white mountains, which though it was in the heat of summer, appeared to them to be covered with snow. The sight naturally excited considerable astonishment, but on their approaching the mountains, they discovered, that instead of snow, they were covered with immense bodies of white sand. They had, in the mean time, passed through about ten nations of Indians, from whom they received very friendly treatment. It was the practice of the party to exercise the office of spokesman in rotation; and when the language of any nation through which they passed was unknown to them, it was the duty of the spokesman, a duty in which the others never interfered, to convey their meaning by appropriate signs.

The labour of travelling through the deep sands of the mountains, was excessive, but at length they relieved themselves of this difficulty by following the course of a shallow river, the bottom of which being level, they made their way to the top of the mountains, with tolerable convenience.

After passing the mountains they entered a fine fertile tract of land, which having travelled through for several days, they accidently met with three white men in the Indian dress. Griffith immediately understood their language, as it was pure Welsh, though they occasionally made use of a few words with which he was not acquainted. However, as it happened to be the turn of one of his Shawanese companions to act as spokesman, or interpreter. he preserved a profound silence, and never gave them any intimation that he understood the language of their new companions.

After proceeding with them four or five days journey, they came to the village of these white men, where they found that the whole nation were of the same colour, having all the European complexion. The three men took them through their village for about the space of fifteen miles, when they came to the council house, at which an assembly of the king and chief men of the nation was immediately held. The council lasted three days, and as the strangers were not supposed to be acquainted with their language, they were suffered to be present at their deliberation. The great question before the council was what conduct should be observed towards the strangers.—From their fire-arms, their knives and their tomahawks, it was concluded they were a warlike people—it was conceived that they were sent to look out for a country for their nation, that if they were suffered to return, they might expect a body of powerful invaders, but that if these six men were put to death, nothing would be known of their country, and they would still enjoy their possessions in security. It was finally determined that they should be put to death. Griffith then thought it was time for him to speak. He addressed the council in the Welsh language. He informed them that they had not been sent by any nation: that as they were actuated merely by private curiosity, they had no hostile intentions: that it was their wish to trace the Missouri to its source, and that they should return to their country satisfied with the discoveries they had made, without any wish to disturb the repose of their new acquaintances. An instant astonishment glowed in the countenances not only of the council but of his Shawanese companions, who clearly saw that he was understood by the people of the country. Full confidence was at once given to his declarations: the king advanced, and gave him his hand. They abandoned the design of putting him and his companions to death, and from that moment treated them with the utmost friendship. Griffith and the Shawanese continued eight months in the nation: but were deterred from prosecuting their researches up the Missouri, by the advice of the people of the country, who informed him that they had gone a twelve months journey up the river but found it as large there as in their own country. As to the history of this people, he could learn nothing satisfactory. The only account they could give was that their forefathers had come up the river from a very distant country. They had no books, no records, no writings. They intermixed with no other people by marriage; there was not a dark skinned man in the nation. Their numbers were very considerable. There was a continued range of settlements on the river for fifty miles, and there were, within this space, three large water courses which fell into the Missouri, on the banks of each of which, likewise, they were settled. He supposed that there must be 50,000 men in the nation, capable of bearing arms. Their cloathing was skins well dressed. Their houses were made of upright posts and the bark of trees. The only implements they had to cut them with were stone tomahawks. They had no iron, their arms were bows and arrows. They had some silver, which had been hammered with stones into coarse ornaments, but it did not appear to be pure. They had neither horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, nor any domestic or tame animals. They lived by hunting. He said nothing about their religion.

Griffith and his companions had some large iron tomahawks with them. With these they cut down a tree and prepared a canoe to return home in:—but their tomahawks were so great a curiosity, and the people of the country were so eager to handle them, that their canoe was completed with very little labour. When this work was accomplished, they proposed to leave their new friends, Griffith, however, having promised to visit them again. They descended the river with considerable speed, but amidst frequent dangers from the rapidity of the current, particularly when passing through the white mountains. When they reached the Shawanese nation, they had been absent about two years and a half. Griffith supposed that when they travelled, they went at the rate of about fifteen miles a day.—He staid but a few months with the Indians after their return, as a favourable opportunity offered itself to reach his friends in Virginia. He came with a hunting party of Indians to the head waters of Coal river, which runs into New river not far above the falls.—There he left the Shawanese, and easily reached the settlements on Roanoke.—Mr. Childs knew him before he was taken prisoner, and saw him a few days after his return, when he narrated to him the preceding circumstances. Griffith was universally regarded as a steady, honest man, and a man of strict veracity. Mr. Childs has always placed the utmost confidence in his accounts of himself and his travels, and has no more doubt of the truth of his relation, than if he had seen the whole himself. Whether Griffith be still alive or not he does not know.

Whether his idea be correct or not, we shall probably have a better opportunity of judging on the return of captains Lewis and Clark—who, though they may not penetrate as far as Griffith alleged that he had done, will probably learn enough of the country to enable us to determine whether the account given by Griffith be fiction or truth.

I am, Sir, your humble servant,