settlers, we must first clearly define what is
meant by the Fair Play territory.

The terminal points in this analysis are 1768 and 1784, the dates of the
two Indian treaties made at Fort Stanwix (now Rome), New York. The
former opened up the Fair Play territory to settlement, and the latter
brought it within the limits of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, thus
legalizing the _de facto_ political structure which had developed in the
interim.

According to the treaty of 1768, negotiated by Sir William Johnson with
the Indians of the Six Nations, the western line of colonial settlement
was extended from the Allegheny Mountains, previously set by the
Proclamation of 1763, to a line extending to the mouth of Lycoming
Creek, which empties into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The
creek is referred to as the Tiadaghton in the original of the treaty.[4]
The question of whether Pine Creek or Lycoming Creek was the Tiadaghton
is the first major question of this investigation. The map which faces
page one outlines the territory in question.

Following the successful eviction of the French in the French and Indian
War, the American counterpart of the Seven Years' War, the crown sought
a more orderly westward advance than had been the rule. Heretofore, the
establishment of frontier settlements had stirred up conflict with the
Indians and brought frontier pleas to the colonial assemblies for
military support and protection. The result was greater pressure on the
already depleted exchequer. The opinion that a more controlled and less
expensive westward advance could be accomplished is reflected in the
Royal Proclamation of 1763.

This proclamation has frequently been misinterpreted as a definite
effort to deprive the colonies of their western lands. The very language
of the document contradicts this. For example, the expression "for the
present, and until our further pleasure be known" clearly indicates the
tentative nature of the proclamation, which was "to prevent [the
repetition of] such irregularities for the future" with the Indians,
irregularities which had prompted Pontiac's Rebellion.[5] The orderly
advancement of this colonial frontier was to be accomplished through
subsequent treaties with the Indians. The Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768
is one such example of those treaties.[6]

The term "Fair Play settlers" refers to the residents of the area
between Lycoming Creek and the Great Island on the north side of t