THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
Letter to Arthur Lee
(Johnson Hall, March 28, 1772)
Johnson, Sir William in: The
Papers of Sir William
Johnson, vol. 12,
pp. 950-955.
TO ARTHUR LEE
Df.1
|
Johnson hall [Novr. 6th, 1771-]2 March 28th, 1772. |
SIR,
I did not receive your Very Polite Letter of June3 last until my return from Onondaga in the Month of Novr. the hurry of business wch [imediately suceeded]4 followed as it prevented me then from Answering you, I absolutely forgot till lately that I was indebted to you, which I now sit down to acknowledge.
[On my return last Week from a Conference I held with the Indians at Onondaga I was favored with your very polite Letter of June last, from which] I [was] am much pleased to find that my last5 proved to your Satisfaction, as I would willingly [desire] hope that this may do touching your last enquirys, [in] which [Indeed I can be more certain than it was possible for me to - I should - be on the Subject of the Latter-former], are Easier ansd. than the former, amid so much uncertainty & Corruption of Symbols &ca.-
You may recollect that in my last5 I [began by making] made a distinction between the [practices] ways of difft. Indian Nations [which differed according to their distance from our Settlements] tho' of the same Confederacy arrising from their Situation, those nearest to us having [lost] in a great measure lost their ancient [Ways, or blended] Customs or confounded them with ours [own]- I also confined myself chiefly to the Confederacy known by the name of the Six Nations with whom I was best acquainted. The same rule [I] shall be observed in my present Answers. As (page 951) to your first Questions concerning their Chief Magistrates, or Sachems & how they acquire their Authority &ca. I [answer] am to acqt. you that, There is in every Nation a Sachem or Chief who [Seems] appears to [preside over not only over the body of the people but over the Sachems that Preside over Tribes] have some Authority over the rest [of wch seems] & it is greatest amst [those far removed from us, tho Generally it depends on his superior Abilities, his own Influence & the Strength of his Connections] the most distant Nats. but in [most of those] [many of the Nations particularly] most of those bordering on our Settlements his Authority is Scarcely discernable, & [Hardly very] little felt [by the Rest] he Seldom assuming [arrogating to- himself] any [Authority in their presence] power before his people, & indeed this [Species of ] humility, is Judged [such good] the best policy [that it is Affected by most of the Indian Chiefs] for [having no] wanting Coercive Authority [they do not think it safe to hazard] their Commands [which might] wd. produce Envy, perhaps end in Assassination, [as some have Experienced] which sometimes is the Case. [These Chiefs as well as] the Sachems of each Tribe, are [mostly elected] usually Chose in public [Meeting] Assembly of the Chiefs & Warriors, [so often as] whensoever a Vacancy happens by death, or otherwise.
[This Election is no more than a Concurrent Choice of some Person of] a Plurality of Voices does not seem to be Suffict. as they are generally chosen for their Sense & Bravery from amongst the Oldest Warriors [of the] & approved of by [the whole] all the Tribe [when the Vacancy happens, and he is thereupon] on wch they are Saluted as Sachems. There are however sevl. Exceptions, Some families having a kind of Inheritance in this Office, [who] are [often Nominated] called to this Station in their Infancy.- The Chief Sachem, ([or as] by some [have] called [him] the King) is either so by Inheritance or acquires it by a kind of tacit consent [wch is] the Consequence of his Superior Influence & on his own Wisdom, the Number & Consequence of his Relations, and the Strength of his particular Tribe [ therefore this Office tho' it may nominally] but even in those cases where it (page 952) descends to posterity [yet if] shod. the Successor appear unequal to the Task some other Sachem is Sure to possess himself of the power [tho' without any formal appointmt.] & duties of the Office I shod. observe that Military Services are the Capital recommendation to this [Office] Rank. And it appears pretty Clearly that [Originally] heretofore the Chief of [the Whole] a Nation had [much of] the Authority of a [King (which is Still the Case amst the most remote Nations on this Continent)] Sovereign in no small degree (as some now have amst. the most remote Inds.) but as [according to] since the [Indian Accot. they originally fought in Close bodies so, after the ] Introduction of Fire Arms [amst them finally the mode they adopted every Man shifted for himself & became] They no longer fight inclose bodies but every Man is his own General [from which I am of opinion the Authority of the Chiefs began to decline].- I am inclined to think this circumstance has contributed to lessen the power of a Chief. This Chief of a Whole Nation has the Custody of the Belts of Wampum &ca [from all Nations,] which are as [their] Records [& he] of publk. Transactions, & he prompts the Speaker [from time to time] at all Treaties & proposes [all Matters of a Public Nature, their accedence to which nevertheless at present depends solely on the Reasonableness of his proposals, the opinion they conceive of his Judgement, & of the Strength of his Connections,] Affairs of Consequence, he Sits with the rest of the Sachems who form the Grand Council [of the Whole], the Sachems of each Tribe often deliberate apart on the Affairs of their Tribe, [but at a Grand Council all are Admitted]. [Their] All Deliberations are Conducted with Extraordinary regularity & Decorum. They never Interrupt [the person] him that Speaks, & very rarely use any harsh Language whatever their thoughts are.- The Chiefs [may] assume [much more] most Authority in the Field [than at home] but this must be done even there with great Caution as a Head Warrr. thinks himself of most consequence in that place.
I think I observed in my former Letters that they have no Laws [but this must be understood in a Limitted Sense for] they have [certain Oral] nevertheless Customs [that generally] & usages that (page 953) amt [to such] thereto, but this [is a Wide field wch If I more than touched on] Subject, Tho' it wd. show them in a very favorable Light [and far] Exceeds the bounds-Limits -of a Letter; [& the Leisure which many frequent Interruptions afford- As] they believe in & are much afraid of Witchcraft, [they fear it greatly &]. The Suspected one is therefore often punishd. [wth. the Suspected] with death. Sevl. Nations are equally severe on those guilty of Theft, a Crime indeed uncomn. amst. them but in cases of [but] Murder [is generally left to] the Relations [of the party, that they may] are left to make such Revenge as is most a agreeable to them in wch they resemble our own Northn. Ancestors,- [Tho' in general they] They Generally are unwilling to Inflict Capital punishment [because it diminishes their Numbers & all their Policy, their Adoption of prisrs. &c tends ] as it defeats their grand political Object wch is to increase their [People] Numbers By all possible means.- On their Hunts as upon all other occasions they are strict observers [of property] Meum & Tuum & that from principle holding Theft in contempt, of which [is therefore very] they are rarely [Committed] Guilty, tho' tempted by Articles of much Value. Neither do the Strong attempt to Seize the Prey of the Weak [At least instances of that kind are very uncommon], and I must do them the Justice to say that [except when] unless heated [by] with Liquor or inflamed by Revenge their Ideas of Good & Evil & their practices in consequence thereof wod. if fully known, do them [Great] much honor.- Tis true [that they] that havg. been [so] often deceived by us [concerning] in the Sale of Lands, & in Trade &c [that] many of them [have learned to deceive but this is an] begin to act the same part but this Acquirement [which rather] Reflects most on [ourselves] those who set the Example.
[With regard to Language,] I in my [former] last Letter [I think] took Notice that [that] the Language of the 6 Nats. [is peculiar] seem to themselves, [&] on which I made some reflections [on that Circumstance I am thought to understand it perfectly well & I wish] my present Leisure would allow Me to give [sufficient] as many Specimens of it, [wch] as wd. shew You that it is (tho' not (page 954) very Wordy) Extremely Emphatical, & [that] their Stile [is] adorned with Noble Images, Strong Metaphors, & in Allegory equal to [any] many of the Eastern People. The Article is continued in the [Word] Noun, by a Variation of the Termination. The Adjective is [also] [in] like manner included [therein in such a Manner as to give Dignity to the Expression]. For Instance [Ungwediio] a Man is called Echin, A Great Man Echinaowana [compounded] of Echin, a Man & Gowana, Great, [Unheghte is a Woman, ] Eso is expressive of a Great[deal] quantity, Esogee is the Superlative,- [Ughnega, is Water] Cahyunghaw a Creek, Cahyungha a River, Caghyunghaowana a Great River, Cahyungheeo a fine River, [Caraghgwa the Sun, Caraghquinnuagani, the East, or Sun Rising,] Haga the Inhabitants of [some] any place, Tierhans, the Morning, [&] so If they Speak of Eastern people they say Tierhans-haga, or people of the Morning,; The Words Gorota & Golota wch you mention[ed in your Letter] are not of the Six Natn. but [of the] a Southern Language. [They have various distinctions in their] I shd. farther observe that they have various modes of speech & Phrases [& Words that are] peculiar to each Age & Sex, [as well as some Amst. others worth Notice] wch they strictly observe for Instance [Cadaghacriaz is hunger If] a Man [is in want of Animal food he] when hungry says Cadaghcariax [but if he wants Indn. Corn or spoon Meat he says] wch is both expressive of his Want & the Animal food he requires to supply it, whilst a Child says under the same Circumstances Cautsore [& in like Manner, as the most proper food for the Young a Child allways, uses the latter Word, to Express his wants.] i.e. I reqre. Spn. Meat6 as most fitting a Child.- [Concerning] As to your Remark on their Apparent Repugnance [in their Nature] to Civilization [A Th] I must [beg to] Observe that [a thorough knowledge of the Inds. wod. incline one to think That it is partly] this is not owing, to [their not being taken suffict. care of, & partly to their System of politics] Nature or [their] [Than to] want of Capacity,- As they[possess] have a Strong Genius for (page 955) Arts & an uncommon [degree of] patience [& have Certainly a Strong Genius for Arts, but] I believe they [generally return] are put to Schools too [] & sent home too Soon to their [own] people, [amongst whom it is a] whose Political Maxim, Spartan-like is to discountenance all Arts but [that of] War, holding all other knowledge [in Contempt, least it might tend] as unworthy they dignity of man & as tending to enervate [them or] & divert them from those [practises] pursuits on which they [apprehend] conceive their Liberty & Happiness depends. These Sentiments [they are carefull to inculcate] constantly instilled into the Minds of [their] Youth [by often bringing before them the State of those poor-beings-Indians whom they call Women & who by being surrounded by our Settlements are no longer Expert at hunting, or capable of War, It is therefore no Wonder that such hereditary prejudices, strengthened by such powerfull Arguments, & Illustrated by the Strongest Examples, shod. defeat the purposes of] & Illustrated by Examples drawn from the Contemptible State of the domesticated Tribes Leave lasting impressions & can hardly be defeated by an ordinary School Education.-
I am so much inclined to [give you all the Satisfaction, which your Merit & Curiosity deserves that I have extended this Letter so far as my present time will possibly admit Whether I have sufficiently gratified] gratify your laudable Curiosity that I have drawn this Letter out to a great Length whether it will Answer yr. Expectations I cannot Say, but of this you may be assured [of] that I shall allways [be glad] so far as my [Infirmities & hurry of] health & business will permit, be ready to demonstrate my Inclination to Satisfy your Ingenious Enquirys & to shew you how much I am
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&c |
DR. ARTHUR LEE.
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INDORSED: |
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March 28th 1772- |
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1 In Harvard University Library. In Guy Johnson's hand.
2 Date italicized and in brackets is crossed out in the manuscript.
3 Not found.
4 Words italicized and in brackets are crossed out in the manuscript.
5 Johnson to Arthur Lee, Feb. 28, 1771 printed in Doc. Hist. N. Y., 4:430-37, and in W. L. Stone, Life and Times of Sir William Johnson, Bart., 2:479-86. The draft in the Johnson Manuscripts was supplemented in the Doc. Hist. N. Y. by additional paragraphs form the version printed in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The present letter was incorporated with the earlier letter by Dr. Lee to form the published version
6 "I require spoon meat."
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