Brothers, We now concede this great point. We, by the express authority of the President of the United States, acknowledge the property or right of soil of the great country above described, to be in the Indian nations, so long as they desire to occupy the same. We only claim particular tracts in it, as before mentioned, and the general right granted by the king, as above stated, and which is well known to the English and Americans, and called the right of pre-emption, or the right of purchasing of the Indian nations disposed to sell their lands, to the exclusion of all other white people whatever. Brothers, We have now opened our hearts to you. We are happy in having an opportunity of doing it, though we should have been more happy to have done it in full council of your nation. We expect soon to have this satisfaction, and that your next deputation will take us by the hand and lead us to the treaty. When we meet and converse with each other freely, we may more easily remove any difficulties which may come in the way. BENJAMIN LINCOLN, BEVERLEY RANDOLPH, TIMOTHY PICkering, Commissioners of the United States. At Captain Eliot's, at the mouth of Detroit River, July 31st, 1793. This speech was read by paragraphs, and interpreted by Mr. Jones into the Seneca tongue, and then delivered to the oldest chief with a white belt and with thirteen stripes of black wampum. The deputation said that it was too late to make any reply, but they would speak to us in the morning. August 1st, 1793. Present as yesterday. The Wyandot chief arose and spoke, which was interpreted by Simon Girtie. Brothers, we are all brothers you see here now. Brothers, it is now three years since you have desired to speak with us. We heard you yesterday and understand you well, perfectly well. We have a few words to say to you. Brothers, you mentioned the treaties of Fort Stanwix, Beaver Creek, and other places. Those treaties were not complete. There were but few chiefs who treated with you. You have not bought our lands; they belong to us. You tried to draw off some of us. Brothers, many years ago we all know that the Ohio was made the boundary; it was settled by Sir William Johnson. This side is ours; we look upon it as our property. He and you Brothers, you mention General Washington. know you have houses and people on our lands. You say you cannot move them off; and we cannot give up our lands. Brothers, we are sorry that we cannot come to an agreement. The line has been fixed long ago. Brothers, we do not say much. There has been much mischief on both sides. We came here upon peace, and thought you did the same. We shall talk to our head warriors; you may return whence you came, and tell Washington. The council here breaking up, Captain Eliot went to the Shawanese chief, Kakaipalathy, and told him that the last part of the speech was wrong. That chief came back and said it was wrong. Girtie said he had interpreted truly what the Wyandot chief spoke. An explanation took place, and Girtie added as follows, viz. Brothers, Instead of going home, we wish you to remain here for an answer from us. We have your speech in our breasts, and shall consult our head warriors. The Commissioners then said that they would wait to hear again from their council at the Rapids; but desired that this answer might be without delay. Aug. 2. I walked, towards evening, on the bank of the river; was discovered by a man of observation, who met me and carried me to his house. From him I learned that a little distance therefrom, in a new field, he had discovered a large circular fortification, which must have been erected very many years since; for, besides very large timber trees standing therein, there were many, which having come to maturity, had fallen down, and appear to have remained in that situation for a long time. The fortification embraced about four acres. He also added that a fortification, of some kind or other, would be discovered in every four miles square in all this part of the country. In tilling the land, they plough up parts of earthen pots and some stone axes. Hence it is evident that the people who erected these works were not in possession of iron tools. Works similar are to be found throughout this western world. What puts this business in a more perplexing point of light is, that the lands in this neighborhood, about three miles from the river, are swampy and full of water; yet in these low lands fortifications are to be found, as on the higher, with the ditches full of water. These facts must serve to silence the conjectures of Mr. Webster, when, speaking of those works on the Muskingum, he supposed that they were thrown up by the Spaniards, in a route they took through that country. This country, at the time the works were thrown up, was doubtless much fuller of inhabitants than at present. It is now too thinly inhabited to effect any such works as are discovered, though they should make use of all the knowledge and advantages which they have derived from civilized nations; for such is their mode of living, that to obtain a very indifferent support consumes most of their time, and especially that season of the year in which only works in this cold climate can be erected. It is an observation which, I think, from all appearances is well founded, that when America was first discovered by the Europeans, there were many millions of natives in that tract of country now claimed by Great Britain, Spain and the United States, east of the Mississippi. At this day, by a supposed exaggerated computation, there are but about 300,000, the whole number of souls, viz. men, women and children, in all the territory above mentioned, which contains one million of square miles. This tract cast into acres, makes 364,000,000 acres, which divided by the number of the present inhabitauts leave 121,330 acres to each individual. Some of the tribes have been reduced two thirds since the memory of people now living, and from causes not yet investigated. They yet rapidly waste, and nothing, in my opinion, will prevent their becoming extinct, or retiring, as aforesaid, to such lands as will not bear cultivation, unless they become civilized, till the ground, and receive their support from the cultivated earth. The savage manners never will check that progress which is the natural effect of civilization. It may, I know, with propriety, be asked me, why this country will not support as many inhabitants as it manifestly did some centuries past. A solution of this question appears to me very easy. When this country was filled with inhabit ants, prior to their connection with the mercantile part of the world, none of the wild beasts of the forest were destroyed for any other purpose than to give food to the hungry, and clothing to the naked. Now they are destroyed in the most wanton manner, and it is probable that not one twentieth part of the flesh is eaten of those beasts which are killed for the sake of their skins. Of the truth of this we can all judge, when we know that it is not uncommon for a single huntsman to kill one hundred deer in a few months, while out on one hunt. The temptation to this is that the present inhabitants find a market for that peltry to which the former inhabitants were perfect strangers. These skins are bartered mostly for mere bawbles, and for some articles even worse. The temptation to this kind of life is such, that it engages the whole attention of the most active and hardy part of the tribe, and so destroys the game, that at times they suffer greatly from want; this operates as a discouragement to the sex. The suffering of the wives in bringing up their children, leads them to practise every art to prevent their bearing; and authorizes, in their minds, the destruction of those which are in any degree imperfect or deformed. The mode of hunting now practised by the Indians operates much to their disadvantage. By the use of fire-arms they have it in their power to destroy many more of the wild beasts than they could before; and generally speaking, the more they kill, the worse it is for them. Besides, the report of their guns terrifies the game, and keeps it in a shy and wandering state, frequently driven from its necessary feedinggrounds, by which means it is impoverished and rendered less valuable. The Indians must have suffered and now suffer greatly from their having abandoned their former mode of covering, viz. that of furs and skins, for the linens and calicos of Europe, while they retain the savage mode of life, by which they are exposed to many hardships. They have not any covering from the waist up, saving a linen or calico shirt, and occasionally a blanket thrown over their shoulders. Besides, they all have Indian stockings, made of woollen cloth; the males a breech cloth and the females a woollen petticoat, generally blue, but sometimes black, and sometimes scarlet; this comes down to the knee, and wraps light around their waists and hips. This doth not appear to be a sufficient covering to preserve them from the inclemency of the weather, with indifferent huts, in these high northern latitudes, and in the various situations to which, from their mode of life and the nature of their employments, they are too frequently exposed. The consequence of which is that they get repeated colds, which falling on the lungs bring on consumptive habits, which now carry off a great proportion of them. This disorder, I am informed, was not known among them until after they became connected with the Europeans. Hence I conclude, that their former dress, which consisted of furs and skins, was more consonant to the savage life than the mode of dress now adopted by them. Facts also establish this point beyond controversy; for the more northern Indians, still retaining their original dress of furs, &c. are more robust and live longer than those who inhabit this milder climate. It is a mistaken idea embraced by some, that one cause of the reduction of the native tribes in this country, is owing to their being driven into narrow limits. Certainly they are not; it is thinly inhabited, compared with what it formerly was, and one hundred and twenty thousand acres cannot be considered a small allotment, which is supposed to be, at least, the share of each individual, the present occupants of this uncultivated world. very I know that it is an opinion commonly adopted that the Indians are destroyed by their intemperance. That they are intemperate, none will deny; but it is certain that they use a small proportion of ardent spirits compared with the white inhabitants in general. They have not the means of obtaining it; if they could procure it, they would make an improper use of it, I have no doubt. I see nothing among the different tribes which bespeaks a want of health, or that they, in a peculiar manner, die before they have lived out half their days. There appear as many old men among them as among any people within my knowledge. It is said, that by their connection with the Europeans they have contracted a disorder which proves in its consequences exceedingly injurious to them, and to which, they say, that before such communication, they were perfectly strangers. It is supposed by some that they have an easy method of cure. But I believe, from all I can learn, that what they call a cure is often but a palliative, and only corrects the virulence of the disorder for a time, and that it finally so affects |
