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6 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.
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Letter Bk. I.
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appropriated to support these Men except the Sum of £4000
which is reserved to pay for any Enemy Indians that shall be
taken Prisoners, & for the Scalps of such as shall be killed.
While the Assembly was sitting I received a Letter from a
Party of Cherokee Indians who were just come to Fort Fred-
erick. I send your Lordship a Copy thereof together with
one of the Report that has been made to me by the Gentle-
men whom I appointed to carry them my Answer & to
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p. 267
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deliver them a very small Present which the Assembly enabled
me to send them. I hear that the Party of these People that
was come to Winchester (in number about 90) went out near
a fortnight ago with a considerable Detachment from the Vir-
ginia Regiment to fall on one of the Shawana Towns which
lye a great way below Fort du Quesne. They that were at
Fort Frederick are since gone to Winchester but I expect
most of them will return to our Frontiers very shortly as I
have given the Interpreter who has a good Deal of Influence
among them a Commission in one of our Companies; They
will be of great Service to our People by teaching them to
track & surprize the Enemy & will I am persuaded contribute
very much to the Security of the Frontier Inhabitants. I have
given the Commandant at the Fort Orders to send an Officer
& some Men with them as often as they go out on the Scout
& am glad to find that they are fond of having some of our
People with them, out of Compliment to the White People
that accompanied them the other Day they permitted them to
make the first Fire on the Enemy whom they found at Break-
fast after having pursued their Tracks two Days & when they
received my Present for the Scalps they gave the Soldiers
that were with them a Share, & gave no room to complain of
their Behaviour unless their Refusing to give up the Prisoners
& to suffer their Scalps to be destroyed agreeable to the Direc-
tions of our Act of Assembly can be called criminal. For my
part I think they should be indulged in their own Customs as
much as possible & as the Evidence of the Officer & Men that
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p. 268
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will always go out with them is enough to prevent the Frauds
that the Assembly were sollicitous to provide against, I shall
endeavour to get that part of the Act which forbids the
Agents to pay for any Enemy's Scalps till they are actually
burnt repealed at the next Session. Some of the Men that
are posted at Fort Cumberland (the Garrison of which place
at this time consists of 150 Men under the Command of Capt
Dagworthy) have lately had several Skirmishes with Parties
of the Enemy that have appeared near the Fort, but they
have not succeeded so far as to bring in either a Scalp or a
Prisoner. I am informed by Capt Dagworthy that a Sergeant
of the Virginia Regiment & a Catawba Indian who were
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