Editing 1:102:354

designedly stayed away from the Indians. I believe he was ashamed, or afraid to go among them. I was there & <u>saw all this</u> & know it to be true. Sinclair tried to get me & Mr. Lassell, & Saml Edsall (his brother in law) to go down to the camp & <u>induce</u> Chief Lafontaine to go up & see him at Mr. Clymers. I asked Sinclair to go down to the camp himself. he declined.

We went, Sinclair wrote a letter to Lafontaine inviting him to come up to Clymer. Mr. Lassell read the letter to Lafontaine & he & Edsall explained that Mr. Sinclair wished him to go up in the carriage that evening to Clymers, Lafontaine declined, stating to me that he would not go, that he wanted no <u>secret</u> councill with Mr. Sinclair & would not talk with him only in councill in the presence of his people. He did not say this to Lassell & Edsall, but made excuses for not going with them, said it was late & perhaps he might go in the morning, but the moment they walked away from his camp, he told me he would not go. That he & his people wanted him to come there (to this camp) that they had much they wanted to say to him. That he had proved to be a <u>false</u> friend & his people were going to tell all about it in his presence to the new agent & get him to inform the Department.

Mr. Sinclair could find no time to meet them in councill he was taken with a dreadfull leaveing, and thus it was that he did actually take leave of these Indians. I was there an eye witness