P
transverse in one and a half days. The athletes train
for nine days, while colonists clear trees and brush to
make their path easier to travel. As the athletes set off,
Lenni Lenape witnesses shout at them to walk, not
run. Ignoring the Indians, the men race at full speed.
The fastest runs 65 miles in the allotted time. Based
on his feat, Pennsylvania claims 1,200 square miles of
Lenni Lenape territory, outraging its Indian inhabit-
ants. (See also entry for 1742.)
“This very ground that is under
me was my land and inheri-
tance, and is taken from me by
fraud.... When I have sold lands
fairly, I look upon them to be re-
ally sold. A bargain is a bargain.
Tho’ I have sometimes had noth-
ing for the lands I have sold but
broken pipes or such triffles, yet
when I have sold them.... I look
upon the bargain to be good.
Yet I think that I should not be
ill used on this account by those
very people who have had such
an advantage in their purchases
no be called a fool for it. Indians
are not such fools.”
—Lenni Lenape (Delaware) leader
Teedyuscung on the
Walking Purchase1740January
An Indian force attacks Spanish Florida.
Georgia governor James Oglethorpe leads Creek,
Chickasaw, and Cherokee warriors in an invasion
of Spanish-held Florida. The battle is part of a larger
conflict known as the War of Jenkins’s Ear (1740–43),
which involves disagreements between England and
Spain over treaty violations. Oglethorpe’s force twice
attempts unsuccessfully to capture St. Augustine (see
entry for 1565) before retreating to Georgia.1741Alaska Natives make contact with Russian
explorers.
A Russian exploring party led by Danish naviga-
tor Vitus Bering sails to the region of present-day
Alaska, becoming the first non-Indians to encounter
the indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Aleutian
Islands. From them the Russians receive sea otter
furs, which create a sensation among their country-
men when they return home. Hoping to make their
fortunes, Russian traders flock to the region to ob-
tain more furs.
The sea otter fur trade proves a disaster for the
Aleutians. With no regulation of their conduct, the
foreign traders—known as promyshlenniki—often
sail to a village, take women and children hostage,
and refuse to release the prisoners until the village’s
men hunt for them. Many of these brutal traders
rape their captives and kill men if they are unsuc-
cessful on the hunt.1742The Iroquois use the Walking Purchase
to challenge Lenni Lenape (Delaware)
land claims.
At a conference in Philadelphia, the Iroquois mediate
the land dispute between Pennsylvania and the Lenni
Lenape (Delaware) resulting from the fraudulent
Walking Purchase treaty (see entry for SEPTEMBER 19,
1737). The Iroquois support Pennsylvania’s dubious
claim and order the Lenni Lenape off the land. Pos-
sibly bribed by Pennsylvania officials, Iroquois leader
Canasatego insults the Lenni Lenape, calling their
men “lewd women” and insisting they “take the ad-
vice of a Wise Man and remove immediately.”