nuous waterway from the Hudson to the
Great Lakes. Two primitive forts were built in 1725 to protect the
carrying place, but these were superseded by Ft. Stanwix, erected about
1760 by Gen. John Stanwix, at an expense of L60,000. The first permanent
settlement dates from this time. In Oct. and Nov. of 1768, Sir William
Johnson and representatives of Virginia and Pennsylvania met 3,200
Indians of the Six Nations here and made a treaty with them, under
which, for L10,460 in money and provisions, they surrendered to the
crown their claims to what is now Kentucky, West Virginia and the
western part of Pennsylvania.

This treaty, the last great act of Sir William Johnson, probably
averted another Indian war. Great preparations were made for
feasting the Indians who attended the council. It is said that 60
barrels of flour, 50 barrels of port, 6 barrels of rice and 70
barrels of other provisions were sent to the meeting place. There
was a prolonged period of speech making, but the treaty was
finally signed on Nov. 5, 1768. One of the features of this
treaty was the sale to Thomas Penn (1702-1775) and Richard Penn
(1706-1771), second and third sons of William Penn (founder of
Pa.), of the remaining land in the province of Pa., to which they
claimed title. This transaction involved L2,000 of the total
payment made to the Indians.

The fort was immediately dismantled, but was repaired by the
Continentals after 1776 and renamed Ft. Schuyler, in honor of Gen.
Philip Schuyler and so is sometimes confused with Old Ft. Schuyler at
Utica. The 3rd Regiment of New York line troops under Col. Peter
Gansevoort, occupied the fort in 1777. The first U.S. flag made
according to the law of June 14, 1777, was raised over Ft. Schuyler on
Aug. 3rd of that same year, one month before the official announcement
by Congress of the design of the flag, and was almost immediately used
in action. The first fight under the colors was the battle of Oriskany
in which the soldiers of the fort became involved.

The basic idea of the present flag was evolved by a committee
composed of George Washington, Robert Morris, and Col. George
Ross with the assistance of Betsy Ross. The flag made by Mrs.
Ross, though it is sometimes referred to as the first U.S. flag,
was actually prepared as a tentative design or pattern for
submission to Congress. On the 14th of June, 1777, Congress
resol