Adams Family Correspondence, volume 10
d:1794
I arrived in Philada: on Sunday Morng & was not a little disappointed at finding you had taken your departure only the Day before; I hastened my return from Reading, that I might reach Philada: before you left it. My Journey has been as pleasant as I co[uld] wish, & I have returned not a little prejudiced in favor of the State of Pennsylvania. If my conject[ures] are well founded, it will be nearly the richest State in the U[ni]on in a very few years. The River Susquehannah is the widest & most shallow, I have ever seen; the Soil within 8 or 10 miles on each side of it, is a rich Black mould & the growth of the Trees, Grain & Grass appears peculiar to itself. I received great civility from the Gentlemen of the Bar in the different Counties; but I saw no place during the Circuit, which held forth sufficient inducements for me to quit Philadelphia— As yet I have not found an Office to my mind; my Present Landlord has concluded to stay in the same house, I must therefore find a Room in the Neighborhood for my purpose, or remove my Lodgings somewhere else—
Congress did not rise to Day as was expected— Some new Communications from the President relative to indian affairs, it is thought will detain them a day or two longer—1
With Respect / I am &ca
RC (Adams Papers). Some loss of text due to a torn manuscript.
George Washington sent a message to both houses of Congress on 2 June reporting that “certain communications, recently received from Georgia … materially change
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the prospect of affairs in that quarter, and seem to render a war with the Creek nations more probable than it has been at any antecedent period.” He continued, “this intelligence brings a fresh proof of the insufficiency of the existing provisions of the laws, towards the effectual cultivation and preservation of peace with our Indian neighbors.” The papers Washington submitted included a variety of correspondence outlining growing tensions between members of the Creek Nation and Georgia residents—including members of the Georgia militia—which had culminated in a series of skirmishes. The reports also noted the inability of the U.S. military forces there to take effective action to stop the growing violence. Secretary of War Henry Knox submitted additional materials to Congress on the same subject on 5 June, but both houses adjourned on 9 June without taking any concrete action to address these concerns (
Amer. State Papers, Indian Affairs,
1:482–487;
Annals of Congress,
3d Cong., 1st sess., p. 117, 132, 745, 784).