INTRODUCTORY NOTE,

BY THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE.

THE following paper, together with the medal which it describes, was transmitted to the Society by the late DE WITT CLINTON, of New York, as a token of the interest with which he regarded the objects of the association, and of his own willingness to aid in promoting them. Amidst the laborious duties of a life of uncommon activity, Governor Clinton found time for the prosecution of extensive inquiries into the history of the country; and this paper is a proof of the readiness with which he undertook the elucidation of any portion of its annals, although the matter in question might be of subordinate practical importance at the present day.

The medal remains in the cabinet of the Society, as it was received, in a mutilated condition; and it would be impossible to give a satisfactory account of the inscription without the aid of Mr. Atwater's translation, contained in the letter of Governor Clinton, which must have been made when it was in a more perfect state. Not more than one half of it has been spared, the margin on the left of the inscription bearing the marks of a chisel, by which it appears to have been cut off in an irregular manner. The remaining letters are sufficiently legible; nor is there reason to suppose that any word has been obliterated from the existing portion of the plate.

Since the communication of Governor Clinton was made to the Society, a document referring to the same matter has been brought to light by Mr. Sparks, and noticed in his edition of the "Writings of Washington." * This is the Journal of Mr. William Trent, who was sent by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to treat with the Indians on the Ohio, in 1753. Trent reports his having been informed by an Indian, that "the French say they took possession of all the lands on the other side of the Allegany Hill for the King of France, three years ago, by sinking iron plates at the mouth of several of the creeks, and putting up tin plates on

the trees." A copy of Trent's Journal was found by Mr. Sparks in the office of the Board of Trade in England.

The following is what remains of the inscription on the plate:

DESCRIPTION, &c.

To the President and Members of the American Antiquarian Society.

GENTLEMEN,

Albany, 24 October, 1827.

Several years ago I was informed by William Smith, Esq., author of a History of Canada, and son of the historian of the Province of New York, that it appeared, from his historical researches, that the Marquis De la Galissionière, a governor of Canada, had, at a remote period, ordered leaden plates to be buried at particular stations, asserting the exclusive right of France to all the region west of the Apalachian mountains; and that it was probable, that some of these plates might be discovered at some future time, and be a subject of speculation. Some time after this conversation, I received a letter from Caleb Atwater, Esq., the distinguished antiquary of the West, which announced the discovery of one of these plates. The letter is as follows, to wit:

"Circleville, May 15th, 1821.

"I now send you the account of the lead medal, found near the mouth of the Muskingum River, some years since, with a translation of the inscription, which I promised you, viz. The year of our Lord, 1749, and in the reign of Louis XV., King of France, We, Celeron, commandant of a detachment ordered by the Marquis De la Galissionière, Captain-General of New France, to re-establish peace and tranquillity among certain (savage tribes) in that region. We have deposited this plate at the mouth of the river Yenangue, this 16th August, near the river Oyo (Ohio), otherwise called the Beautiful River, as a monument and memorial of the reëstablishment of our power in that territory, which we claim near that river, and near all those which empty into it; and in all that country on both sides, and in the neighbourhood of the sources of those rivers, and which we have gained to our empire by a long line

of wise and prudent princes-maintained by our arms and by solemn treaties, especially by those of Ryswick, Dortrecht, and Aix-la-Chapelle. Paul Lebrosse, fecit."

"Remarks. From inspection of this plate, it appears that considerable numbers of them were made at a time, probably in Canada, or perhaps in France, leaving many blanks in the inscription, to be filled up with names of commandants of detachments, who carried them along with them to be deposited near some remarkable object; that is, some cave, mound, mouth of a river, &c. Thus, in this medal, Celeron,' Rivière,' Yenangue,'' Aug. 16,' &c., fill the blanks left for them, in a manner quite rude compared with what goes before or follows after them.

"Besides, the language of the inscription shows, that it was composed at a distance from the spot where the plate was left. I have underscored some of the words, to which I refer you. Paul Lebrosse' made it. Its size was about eight by ten inches square, and three-eighths of an inch in thickness. It has been considerably injured by the rude hand of violence since found, but what remains of it I have before me. As I have not been able to ascertain that the Muskingum was ever called Yenangue' by any tribe of Indians, it is supposed that some person brought it from its original place of deposit, to the spot where it was found. It is true that different tribes called the Muskingum by different names, all meaning a place of residence.' 6 Da-righ-qua' in the Wyandot, Waketomo' in the Shawanoes, and Muskingum' in the Delaware, mean the same thing, a place of residence,' or a river with a town upon its banks'; alluding, naturally enough, to the celebrated remains of an ancient town at Marietta."

Mr. Atwater, at a subsequent period, sent me the original plate, which I now transmit to you as a proper accompaniment of this account.

Recollecting my previous conversation with Mr. Smith, I wrote to him for distinct information on the subject, and he favored me with the following transcript from his History of Canada, (Vol. I. page 209.)

"Galissioniere, persuaded that peace would soon be concluded, and sensible of the importance of giving certain boundaries both to Canada and Nova Scotia, detached an officer, M. de Celeron de Brienville, with three hundred men, with orders to repair to Detroit; and from thence to traverse the country as