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would give us under your hand a Deed that nobody shall take any advantage of us, likewise a sale Leak below the mouth of the Wabash where the Shawnees formerly lived-
Brother,
The second request we make is that you will stop your people from killing our Game, at present they kill more than we do they would be angry if we were to kill a Cow or a Hog of theirs, the little game that remains is very dear to us-
Brother,
We hope every request will be granted and we beg your assistanc[e] in geting all necessary Farming tools & those for building houses that we may go to work as quick as possible, it is the wish of all our Brothers and likewise to furnish us with some domestick Animals-
Brother,
We were told at the Treaty we never should want for provisions and that we should have better than our Fathers had, we have had only dry bread where we come from- we hope we shall have better provisions when we begin to work. till we have finished, for we shall not be able to provide for ourselves-
Brother,
Since we are here we shall inform you what took place between Mr. Wells and us last summer when we saw him at Fort Wayne he told us we were [ ? ] to come to this place to see our Brothers, and he would provide every thing for our journey, and we should meet at St. Mary's. On our arrival there he made many difficulties to our coming here but told us to go to Chilicothe and there he would settle every necessary with Governor St. Clair but to our great surprise he did not go that way. we were in great distress and the Governor would give us no lodging, so we had to lay out without a house and with much difficulty with him us got only Twenty dollars, which is only enough for one man. So Brother you see we cannot get justice for any offence at the place we come from, we
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therefore inform you that we will not have any thing to do with them & Mr. Wells in particular, we expect you will get a man who will pay more attention to his employment.
Brother,
Your Brothers the Delawares suppose you have heard what has past between them and Colonel Gibson at Fort Vincennes, in regard to fourteen Horses stolen from our Towns at different times by the white people, we wish to know if we shall have any satisfaction here, we were told no settlement would be made but here-
Brother,
Two of the Horses were taken soon after they were paid for by the Shawnees, one the owner pursued and took it the other was raised by the Nation and stole by the white people at Fort Hamilton-
Brother,
We hope you will give us power from under your hand that we may get back a little Girl stole from us and carried to Kentucky, the Child was born and bred in our Town, we think it very hard that our children should be taken by force from us-
Brother,
We shall mention once more what bad People you have under you, last year we sent a memorandom for some Farming tools which were sent accordingly, but to our great surprise when we went to Detroit, they were all exchanged for old Blankets and damaged Goods so that we were very much disappointed and is the principal reason of our coming here-
Brother,
We shall mention to you our way of thinking in regard[s] to a Trade which was promised to us at Greenville, but we never yet hav[e] seen any, we would be very happy to have one of our Brothers he may depend upon being well treated and as well as a person appointed to stay at Fort Hamilton, to receive our things at,- it is the nearest Post
153 |
from both Towns the Delaware at White river and the O Hana town.
Brother,
Our wishes towards our great Friend Francis Duchouquet we hope will meet yours, the man has lived & traded along time in our towns and we never know any bad things of him. Our intention is to give him one mile square of land where he now has a House in our Country & as it is the will of the Nation, we hope you will sign a Deed that no one may ever disturb him and if you think him of service to us we would rather hav[e] him than any other person-
Brother,
The other Interpreter is a man we raised from a Child and look on him as one of ourselves, we therefore with to give him Four miles down the river and one mile up the land, his name is George Ash and the plac[e] we meane for him is at the mouth of Kentuckey on the Indian boundary line[.]
Brother,
We return you our thanks for sending the Doctor to inoculate some of our young men, in a few Days we hope they will be ready to travel. Your brothers the Indians hope you will continue taking care of them during the Journey back and let the same Person conduct us who came from Pittsburgh, his name is Darah.
The above is a faithful interpretation of a speech delivered to the President of the United States on the 5th day of February 1802 by Black Hoof a Shawnoe Chief, in behalf of himself and the deputation from the Delaware Shawnoe Nations then present-
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his |
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Brothers of the Delaware and Shawanoe Nations
I thank the great Spirit that he has conducted you hither in health and safety and that we have an opportunity of renewing our amity and of holding friendly conferrence together. It is a circumstance of great satisfaction to us that we are in peace and good understanding with all our Red Brethren, and that we discover in them the same disposition to continue so, which we feel ourselves. It is our earnest desire to merit & to possess their affections by rendering them strict justice, prohibiting injury from others, aiding their endeavours to learn the culture of the earth, and to raise useful animals, and befriending them as good neighbors in every other way in our power. By mutual endeavours to do good to each other the happiness of both will be better promoted than by efforts of mutual distruction. We are all created by the same great spirit, children of the same family, why should we not live then as brothers ought to do?
I am peculiarly gratified by receiving the visit of some of your most antient and greatest warriors of whome I have heard so much good, it is a long journey which they have taken at their age and in this season, and I consider it as a proof that their affections for us are sincire and strong. I hope that the young men, who have come with them, to make acquaintances with us judging our dispositions towards them by what they see themselves and not what they may hear from others, will go hand in hand with us through life, on the cultivation of material peace, friendship and good offices.-
The speech which the black Hoof delivered us on behalf of your nation, has been duly considered, the answer to all its particulars will now be delivered you by the Secretary of War, What ever he shall say you may consider as if said by myself, and that what he promises our nation will perform-
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Thos Jefferson |
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Brothers,
Your Father the President of the United States having fully considered all that you communicated to him the other day respecting the objects of your long journey to this place, has authorized me to give you the following answer
Brothers,
In answer to your request respecting grants of land to your Nations and to your Interpretors, I must inform you that your Father the President does not consider himself authorized to divide the Lands of his red children or to make any particular grants to any part of them. He considers the great Chiefs and Sachems, of your several Nations when met at your great council fires as the proper persons to make such divisions and grants and he has no doubt but they will do what is just and equitable, and make such divisions as will be satisfactory to all respectively concerned.-
Brothers,
The heart of your Father the President, is pained to learn that any disputes or misunderstandings have happened between you and some of your red brethren and Mr. Wells in relation to your journey to this place- he hopes that no more disputes will happen. If you do not like Mr. Wells you can apply to your good friend General Lyman at Detroit, whose ears will ever be open to your complaints, and whose heart will ever be disposed to afford you relief and comfort-
Brothers,
The Goods to which you are annually entitled by the Treaty of Greenville, will in future be delivered in good order in the month of July or the first of August, at places where it will be convenient for you to receive them, and better provisions will be furnished for you when you are in want at any of our Posts; but you ought not to expect supplies of provisions unless you are industrious and use all the mans in your power to provide for yourselves-
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Brothers,
The great Council of the sixteen states now sitting at this place have under consideration the subject of establishing Trading houses in the country of our red brethren, North West of the Ohio, and whatever shall be agreed on by the great Council, will be strictly attended to by your Father the President-
Brothers,
Your Father the President will take care to have ploughs and other useful tools provided for such of his red children, as may be disposed to make a good use of them, and he will likewise furnish you with some Cattle, and other articles equally beneficial-
Brothers,
Your Father the President is not acquainted with the situation and circumstances of the Salt Lick, you mention; but he will desire your friend Governor Harrison to attend to your request, he will know more about it. Governor Harrison, Governor St. Clair, and General Lyman will likewise be requested to furnish all white people who take any of your horses, and to see that you have justice done you in all cases. And they will likewise be requested to punish every white man who shall be detected in killing your Game or in hunting on your land without your permission, or who does any mischief to the red people. The case mentioned by you of the Child is in a course of legal proceedings, and the interference of the President at this time would be improper-
Brothers,
Your Father the President will take good care of you while you stay here, and make provision for your comfortable return home. The ma[n] who cane with you from Pittsburgh will return with you to that pla[ce] and take care of you on the journey-
Brothers,
You will by the orders of the President of the United
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States, receive from one a written Instrument, in which your Father the President promises to protect you, and all his red children of your Nations, against all wicked people, so long as you shall continue to act honestly and peacably with each other, and your white brethron-
Brothers,
When you are prepared to set out on your journey home, I hope that the Great Spirit will take care of you, and enable you to return in safety to your friends and families, and that you will find them all alive and in good health-
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Given under my hand and the Seal
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H. Dearborn
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War Department
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Sir,
In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia and your letter on that subject I have to inform them through you that a Company will be posted in that quarter as early in the spring as circumstances will permit, and that the Executive is disposed to give them every aid and protection in its power.
The Delaware and Shawanoe Chiefs lately at the se[at] of Government and complain loudly of the white peoples hunting an[d] killing game on their lands, and of having their horses stolen by white people. It is the desire of the President that you take every means in your power to prevent such abuses and to punish the offenders. Those Chiefs request that measures may be taken by the Government to aid them in leasing a sa[lt] spring on their lands near the mouth of the Wabash, if said spring can be leased to some persons in whome you can confide, on such terms as will be satisfactory and useful to the Indians, it is the wish of the President that you pay the
169 |
necessary attention to the subject, and have it properly adjusted. They are extremely anxious to have a division of lands, and to have a line agreed on and marked between the Delawares and their neighbors, they have been informed by the President that whenever they can agree with their neighbors in a boundary line in your presence, and the parties interested shall enter into explicit stipulations on the subject to your satisfaction, that you will be requested to have the line so agreed, run and marked at the expence of the United States. They were also desirous of asking grants of land to the two interpreters which were with them, which is likewise referd for your consideration, a complaint was made by them relating to a white child taken from one of their people which case we understand is now pending in the District Court at Kentuckey, and of course no measures could be taken relative thereto. You will please to take such measures in their behalf as you may deem proper-
It is presumed that Congress will in the course of the present Session authorise the President to prohibit the sale of any ardent Spirits to the Indians and to establish one or more trading houses North West of the Ohio, probably one at Fort Wayne and perhap[s] one at Vincennes. From the experiments made in Tennessee & in Georgia, the effect of such Trading houses are found to have a very beneficial tendincy.
It is considered as a great misfortune that the neighboring Indians are so extremely jelous of the Little Turtle, who really appears to be a man of extraordinary tallent and capable of doing much good or harme according as he may be induced to act, those jealousies ought to be discouraged by all the fair means in our power. It is the [inten]tion of the President to use every means in his power for the gr[owing ?] introduction of the arts of husbandry and domestic manufactor[ing a-?]
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mong the Indians generally and especially amonge those with whome we have the means of easy intercourse and he hopes to derive great assistance from the Territorial Governors in carrying his benevolent intentions into effect-
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I have the honor &ca H. D. |
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