General Knox said to a chief, in New York, 1789, “You look sorry, brother. What is the matter?”
“I’ll tell you, brother. I have been looking at your beautiful city—the great water—your fine country—and see how happy you all are. And then I thought:—this was ours. My ancestors lived here. They enjoyed this ground in peace, as their own. It was the gift of the Great Spirit to them and their children. At last the white people came here in a great canoe. They asked only, that we would let them tie it to a tree, lest the waters should carry it away. We said:—Yes. They then said, that some of their people were sick, and asked, if they might bring them ashore, and put them under the shade of the trees? We said:—Yes. Then the winter and ice came; and they asked leave to build wigwams, and live in them, for the winter. We said:—Yes. Then they asked for corn to keep them from starving; and we gave it them. But we said: You must go away, when the winter is gone. And they said:—Yes. But when the spring came, and we told them: “You must go;”—they pointed us to their big guns, which were planted round their wigwams, and said:—“No—we will stay.” And we could not drive them away. Afterwards more came. They brought strong water, and gave it to the Indians for land. At last they drove us back, far from the water, and the fish, and the oysters, into the woods. They destroyed our game;—and our people have wasted away. And see! how you grow up in their place! This makes me sorry, brother; and I cannot help it.”—Star in the West.
“Father, When your army entered the country of the six nations, we called you the town-destroyer; and to this day, when your name is heard, our women look behind them, and turn pale; and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. But our counsellors and warriors, being men, cannot be afraid. But their hearts are grieved by the fears of our women and children; and desire, that the tomahawk may be buried so deep, as to be heard of no more. Father, we will not conceal from you, that the Great Spirit, and not man, has preserved Cornplanter from the hands of his own nation. For they ask continually, where is the land, on which our children and their children are to lie down upon? You told us, say they, that a line, drawn from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, would mark it for ever on the east; and a line, running from Beaver Creek to Pennsylvania, would mark it on the west. But we see, that it is not so. For first one, then another comes and takes it away by order of that people; who, you told us, promised to secure it to us for ever. Cornplanter is silent (to them), for he has nothing to answer. When the sun goes down, Cornplanter opens his heart before the Great Spirit; and earlier than the sun appears again upon the hills, he gives thanks for his protection during the night; for he feels, that while in the midst of men, who have become desperate by the injuries they have sustained, it is God only that can preserve him. Cornplanter loves peace. All he had in store, he has given to those, who have been robbed by your people; lest they should plunder the innocent to repay themselves.
“The whole season, which others have employed in providing for their families, Cornplanter has spent in endeavours to preserve peace. And at this moment his wife and children are lying on the ground, and in want of food. His heart is in pain for them. But he perceives, that the Great Spirit will try his firmness in doing what is right.
“Father! Innocent men of our nation are killed, one after another, though of the best families; but none of your people, who have committed these murders, have been punished. We recollect, that you did promise to punish those who should kill our people. And we ask:—was it the intention, that your people should kill the Senecas, and not only remain unpunished, but be protected from the next of kin? Father; these, to us, are great things. We know, that you are very strong. We have heard, that you are wise. But we shall wait to hear your answer to this, that we may know, that you are just.”
“My great Father. I have travelled a great distance to see you. I have seen you, and my heart rejoices. I have heard your words. They have entered one ear, and shall not go out at the other. And I will carry them to my people, as pure as they came from your mouth.
“My great Father. I am going to speak the truth. The Great Spirit looks down upon us, and I call him to witness all that may pass between us on this occasion. If I am here now, and have seen your people, your houses, your vessels on the big lake, and a great many wonderful things far beyond my comprehension, which appear to have been made by the Great Spirit, and placed in your hands;—I am indebted to my father here,16 who invited me from home, under whose wings I have been protected. Yes, my great Father, I have travelled with your chief. I have followed him; and trod in his tracks. But there is still another great Father, to whom I am much indebted—the Father of us all:—He, who made us, and placed us on this earth. I feel grateful to the Great Spirit, for strengthening my heart for such an undertaking, and for preserving the life, which he gave me. The Great Spirit made us all. He made my skin red, and yours white. He placed us on this earth, and intended, that we should live differently from each other. He made the whites to cultivate the earth, and feed on tame animals; but he made us red skins to rove through the wild woods and plains, to feed on wild animals, and to dress in their skins. He also intended, that we should go to war to take scalps, steal horses, and triumph over our enemies;—to cultivate peace at home, and promote the happiness of each other. I believe there are no people of any colour, on this earth, who do not believe in the Great Spirit—and in rewards and punishments. We worship him; but not as you do. We differ from you in appearance and in manners, as well as in our customs; and we differ from you in our religion. We have no large houses, as you have, to worship the Great Spirit in. If we had them to-day, we should want them to-morrow; for we have not, like you, a fixed habitation. We have no settled home, except our villages, where we remain but two moons in twelve. We, like brutes, rove through the country; while you, whites, reside between us and heaven. But still, my great Father, we love the Great Spirit; we acknowledge his supreme power; our peace, our health, and our happiness depend upon him; and our lives belong to him. He made us, and he can destroy us.
“My great Father. I will not tell a lie. I am going to tell the truth. You love your country; you love your people; you love the manner, in which they live; and you think your people brave. I am like you, my great Father:—I love my country; I love my people; I love the manner, in which they live; and think myself and warriors brave. Spare me, then, my Father. Let me enjoy my country, pursue the buffalo, and the beaver, and the other wild animals of our wilderness; and I will trade the skins with your people. I have grown up and lived thus long without work. I am in hopes you will suffer me to die without it. We have yet plenty of buffalo, beaver, deer, and other wild animals; we have also an abundance of horses. We have every thing we want. We have plenty of land—if you will keep your people off of it. Let me continue to live, as I have done—until I shall have passed to the Good, or Evil Spirit, from the wilderness of my present life.
“There was a time, when we did not know the whites. Our wants were fewer then, than they are now. They were always within control. We had then seen nothing, which we could not get. But since our intercourse with the whites, who have caused such a destruction of our game, our situation is changed. We could lie down to sleep, and when we awoke, we could find the buffalo, feeding around our camp. But now we are killing them for their skins, and feeding the wolves with their flesh, to make our children cry over their bones.
“Here, my great Father, is a pipe, which I present you, (handing it to the president) as I am accustomed to present pipes to all red skins in peace with us. It is filled with such tobacco, as we smoked before we knew the white people. I know, that the buffalo robes, leggins, (gaiters) moccasins, bears’ claws, &c. are of little value to you;—but we wish to have them deposited and preserved in some conspicuous place in your lodge; so that when we are gone, and the sod turned over our bones, if our children should visit this place, as we do now, they may see and recognize with pleasure the deposits of their fathers, and reflect on the times that are past.”
“The facts in the following anecdote of a Pawnee Brave, son of Old Knife, one of the delegation, who visited Washington in 1821-22, highly creditable to his courage, his generosity, and his humanity, were taken, by permission, from a very interesting manuscript Journal of Captain Bell, of his expedition with Major Long, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in 1821, and are sanctioned by Major O’Fallon, Indian agent, near the scene of the transaction here related; and also by the interpreter, who witnessed the scene.
“This Brave, or warrior, of fine size, figure, and countenance, is now (1822) about twenty-five years old. At the age of twenty-one, his heroic deeds had acquired for him in his nation, the rank of “the bravest of the Braves.” The savage practice of torturing and burning to death their prisoners, existed in this nation. An unfortunate female, taken in war, of the Paduca nation, was destined to this horrible death. The fatal hour had arrived. The trembling victim, far from her home and her friends, was fastened to the stake. The whole tribe was assembled on the surrounding plain to witness the awful scene. Just when the funeral pile was to be kindled, and the whole multitude of spectators were on the tiptoe of expectation, this young warrior, having unnoticed prepared two fleet horses, with the necessary provisions, sprang from his seat, rushed through the crowd, liberated the victim, seized her in his arms, placed her on one of the horses, and mounting the other himself, he made the utmost speed towards the nation and friends of the captive. The multitude, dumb and nerveless with amazement at the daring deed, made no effort to rescue their victim from her deliverer. They viewed it as the immediate act of the Great Spirit, submitted to it without a murmur, and quietly retired to their village. The released captive was accompanied three days through the wilderness towards her home. He then gave her the horse, on which she rode, with the necessary provisions for the remainder of their journey, and they parted. On his return to the village, such was his popularity, no inquiry was made into his conduct, no censure was passed upon it. And since this transaction, no human sacrifice has been offered in this, or in any other of the Pawnee tribes. The practice is abandoned. Of what influence is one bold act in a good cause!
“The publication of this anecdote at Washington, led the young ladies of Miss White’s seminary in that city, in a manner highly creditable to their good sense and good feeling, to present this Brave and humane Indian, with a handsome silver medal, with appropriate inscriptions, as a token of their commendation of the noble act of rescuing one of their sex, an innocent victim, from a cruel death. Their address to the chief closes, as follows:—
“Brother, Accept this token of our esteem;—always wear it for our sakes;—and when again you have the power to save a poor woman from death and torture, think of this, and of us, and fly to her relief and rescue.”
“Brothers and Sisters:—This (the medal) will give me ease, more than I ever had; and I will listen more than I ever did to white men. I am glad, that my brothers and sisters have heard of the good act that I have done. My brothers and sisters think, that I did it in ignorance; but I now know what I have done. I did do it in ignorance, and did not know, that I did good. But by giving me this medal, I know it.”—Morse’s Report, &c.
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STREET-HILL.
1 As the Author has frequently been obliged to employ the distinctive phrase of wild Indians in this work, and has inadvertently omitted to explain it—he would take this opportunity to say, that it indicates those Indians, who have not been cultivated and modified by the influence of civilization.
2 It is interesting to remark, that M. Cuvier, before he died, had consented to take the chair at the next anniversary of the Paris Bible Society, and to exhibit the proofs of agreement between geological observations and the Mosaic account of the Creation and Deluge.
3 This story is constructed from information obtained upon the spot, and is in substance true.
4 Not having the exact dimensions of these lakes from authority, under hand, these statements are made from recollection, and a glance view of the map. It is thought they are within the actual limits, and sufficiently accurate for the present purpose.
5 One detachment had been left at Fort Gratiot.
6 After all I confess it seems to me an incredible statement. That a vast group of islands have long time been observed to lie in that quarter, is evident from the fact, that the ordinary charts are densely spotted to represent them, where the following inscription stands: “The Thousand Islands.”
7 This decision may be found in the Appendix to the second volume, and the subject treated at large in the text of that volume.
8 Sassacus was chief of the Pequots; Philip of the Pokanokets—but sometimes headed the Narragansetts, as allies.
9 Of course I do not pretend to quote literally, but merely to give the substance of what was said in these interviews, as narrated to me by the chiefs. The advice was taken and acted upon, and led to momentous results—as will appear.
10 To show how little the disturbance of these Indians, in their new abode, North-West Territory, was anticipated, and the benevolent wishes of those, who desired to confirm them in this retreat, I would here introduce some of the remarks of Dr. Morse in his Report to Congress. It may be observed, that the Doctor had been appointed an agent of Government, with instructions to visit remote tribes, and collect all possible information respecting them—to report the result of his observations, and to recommend any measures, which might seem to him desirable to be adopted for the welfare of the Indians.
“The expectation is,” says the Doctor, when preparing his Report, “that a great part of the Stockbridge Indians, with numbers of the St. Regis tribe, of the six nations, of the Munsees, Nanticokes, Delawares, and others, in the course of the next season, 1822, will emigrate and plant themselves on this purchase (in the North-West Territory, which had been made pursuant to the Doctor’s recommendation.) Should this take place, a colony will be formed at once, and a current to it created; and should its foundations be broad and laid with wisdom, there is little doubt of its gradual increase. Should the plan be popular with the Indians, (and the prospect is, that it will be) a large colony, enough perhaps to form a territory,11 or a State, may be ultimately collected here, educated together, and received into the Union, and to the enjoyment of the privileges of citizens.
“Let regulations be made to prohibit the introduction of white settlers within the limits of this territory—that is: within limits bounded south by Illinois, east by Michigan, north by Superior, and west by the Mississippi. Let this territory be reserved exclusively for Indians, in which to make the proposed experiment of gathering into one body, as many of the scattered and other Indians, as may choose to settle there—to be educated, become citizens, and in due time, to be admitted to all the privileges common to other territories and States of the Union. Such a course would probably save the Indians.”
The following is an article of a treaty made between the Government of the United States and the Delaware tribe in 1788:—
Art. 6. “Whereas the enemies of the United States have endeavoured by every artifice in their power, to possess the Indians in general with an opinion, that it is the design of the States aforesaid to extirpate the Indians, and take possession of their territories:—to obviate such false suggestions, the United States do engage to guarantee to the aforesaid nation of Delawares and their heirs, all their territorial rights in the fullest and most ample manner, as they have been bounded by former treaties, as long as the said Delaware nation shall abide by and hold fast the chain of friendship now entered into. And it is further agreed between the contracting parties,—should it for the future be found conducive to the mutual interests of both parties,—to invite any other tribes who have been friends of the United States, to join the present confederation and to form a State, whereof the Delaware nation shall be the head and have a representation in Congress, &c.”
11 A Territorial Government in America, is substantially Colonial.
12 This letter asserts, that the annual interest of a fund, granted in the reign of George II. for “Civilizing and Christianizing the Indians of New England,” amounts to about 40,000l.—and that it is not appropriated. It might be interesting to inquire after it.
13 Indian name of conference.
14 I present this merely as the substance of the impressions left on my own mind.
15 It has been before observed in this volume, that the Indian chiefs under the jurisdiction of the United States, are accustomed to receive the flag of the Union, a present from Government, in token of their alliance, which they are generally proud to display.
16 Major O’Fallon.
17 The Braves are warriors, who have distinguished themselves in battle, and stand highest in the estimation of the tribe.
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.