Our readers have, no doubt, perused with satisfaction the numbers which have appeared from time to time in this periodical, respecting the Seneca Indians--their habits, superstitions, &c. The facts which these articles embraced, were rendered the more interesting, by the late difficulties which had been manifested between the United States, and several southern and western tribes, upon the subject of their lands, and the right by which they held them in possession.
Since the conclusion of these interesting numbers, we have been favoured by the writer with a more enlarged and particular narration, respecting the situation of the Indians, in the early settlement of this country--in which a concise view is presented of the proceedings of William Penn, in relation to them at the period of the first settlement of Pennsylvania. A very particular description is also given of the proceedings of the Yearly Meeting of Friends of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, &c. touching the means adopted to increase their happiness, and improve their moral and physical condition. Many speeches, highly characteristic and beautiful, delivered by distinguished chiefs, in council, will be found interspersed through the narrative.
Having concluded, in our last number, the works of WILLIAM SHEWEN, we think we cannot better occupy, for a few weeks, the pages heretofore devoted to that work, than by appropriating them to the interesting subject, of which the above is an outline, and which the writer has kindly given us permission to publish. It may then be preserved in the same manner as the works just completed, and will form a small but valuable book for all classes.
PREFACE.
Believing that some account of the measures pursued by the Society of Friends, towards the Indian natives, may prove an auxiliary in the cause of humanity, and probably interest the serious and benevolent mind in behalf of the aborigines of our country, whom we consider as children of one universal parent, who is no respecter of persons, but regards with equal care all nations, whether of a fair complexion or a tawny skin; I am, therefore, induced to believe that every thing relating to their history may prove interesting to posterity, when they shall be told that such a race of men, who may then have passed away, once inhabited this populous country. And having acquired considerable knowledge of some of the Indian tribes, and of the progress some of them have made in the arts of civilized life, I am induced to offer a concise view of the friendly intercourse that has subsisted between the society of Friends and the aborigines of our country, from the time the illustrious William Penn, and some of his cotemporaries first landed on the American shores, and exhibited to the world, the singular spectacle of establishing a new model of government, amidst a mixture of persons of different nations, and different civil and religious opinions, surrounded by savage tribes of Indians, without recourse to any coercive measures--which has since been the wonder and admiration of mankind.
His great treaty, too, with the Indians, was also made without the solemnity of an oath, and has been immortalized as the only treaty, so made, that has never been broken.
In most of the histories, in which we can trace the character of the Indian nations, we find them to abound either with romantic tales, or scenes of cruelty and barbarity, calculated to excite prejudice in the mind of the reader; but in this will be found the conciliating language of peace and mutual friendship, and a disposition on the part of the Indians, to exchange the tomahawk and scalping knife, for the plough and the hoe, and peacefully betake themselves to the innocent employments of the pastoral and agricultural life.
Although the author has spent but a small portion of time in a personal residence among this people, in comparison with many others, yet he can acknowledge, that the short time devoted to that service embraced some of the happiest moments of his early life. For, although deprived of the social comforts of society, and far removed from all the near and tender connexions of his youthful days, yet from a full conviction of the rectitude of the work, and the incalculable good, under the divine blessing, that might finally result to that people, the wilderness was often made as it were an Eden, and the desert as the garden of the Lord. “Joy and gladness was found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”
During the author’s residence among the natives, as well as on several visits since that period, he had a fair opportunity of noticing the gradual improvement of the Indians, in some of the arts of civilized life, by which he is enabled to furnish, he trusts, well authenticated accounts of the benefits which have resulted to that people from the benevolent exertions of the society of Friends. And, although these exertions may appear to be limited in their operation towards a reform, yet when we take into view the numerous tribes of Indians within and circumjacent to the United States, there is reason to hope, that the instruction already afforded to several tribes, and the advancement they have made in some of the most useful arts of civilized life, will have a stimulating influence on their more distant brethren.
A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS, &c.
The benign spirit of the gospel, operating upon the benevolent mind of that eminently distinguished character William Penn, induced him, at the very commencement of the settlement of Pennsylvania, to cultivate, by the exercise of gentleness, kindness, and the love of peace, a good understanding with the natives; and in all his transactions with them, by scrupulously adhering to the law of universal righteousness, which dispenses justice to all, and infringes on the natural rights of none, he pursued the best means of establishing harmony between them and the new settlers, and thereby ensured their confidence and friendship.
In a letter which he sent them by his deputy, previous to his arrival in America, dated Eighth month, 1681, he called their attention to the existence of a supremely good, ALL-WISE BEING, and to his law written in the heart, by which men are taught to love, help, and do good, one to another; and briefly informed them respecting his grant from the king, and assured them that he desired to enjoy it with their love and consent, that they might always live together as neighbours and friends. Then, in allusion to some of the other settlements on this continent, which in too many instances having been marked with injustice and oppression, were followed by melancholy and distressing circumstances, he proceeded more at length to unfold to the natives the motives and principles, by which he was actuated towards them, adding: “The people I send are of the same mind, and if in any thing any shall offend you, or your people, you shall have a full and speedy satisfaction for the same, by an equal number of just men on both sides, that by no means you may have just occasion of being offended against them.”
In the year 1682, William Penn first arrived in this country, and began to purchase land of the Indians, exemplifying the sincerity of his previous declarations, by giving them full satisfaction for every grant, accompanied with the best advice for promoting their comfort and happiness.
Thus began that firm and lasting friendship with the natives, which continued during the life of William Penn, and with the religious society of which he was a member, for the space of seventy years; that is, as long as the society retained sufficient influence, effectually to interpose between the natives and the other inhabitants, so as to prevent misunderstandings, or to redress such grievances as occurred. A friendship which to this day remains unobliterated between the society of Friends and the Indians who have knowledge of them, and is a standing proof that the gentle and upright conduct inculcated by the gospel, as exemplified in the practice of William Penn, is a far more effectual means of preserving treaties inviolate, and insuring the permanent enjoyment of reciprocal benefits, than the system of violence, fraud, and oppression too frequently resorted to, on such occasions.
By this memorable treaty between William Penn and the natives, the parties mutually engaged to live together in peace and concord, as brethren of the same universal parent; and according to Indian customs, ratified the same by the usual token of a chain of friendship, which was not to be broken, so long as the sun and moon endure.
William Penn had also many other conferences with the Indians, during his residence in the country, some of which were of a religious nature; and his conduct towards them was in general so engaging, the advice he gave them so evidently for their advantage, and his regard to justice so conspicuous, that he became greatly endeared to them: hence, the name of Onas, by which they distinguished him, (and still do the society of Friends,) has been transmitted from father to son, with much veneration and esteem. That such was the fact, much might be advanced as proof, which, with other circumstances in the subsequent behaviour of this people, demonstrate not only their sense of gratitude, but the extensive influence which justice, tempered by love, may have on the untutored mind. It may, however, be proper to state, that in the early settlement of Pennsylvania, when the country was almost an entire wilderness, and producing little for human sustenance but a scanty supply of natural fruits, and the wild animals of the forest, the new settlers were exposed to much hardship and difficulty in obtaining food--but their sufferings and difficulties in these respects, were much alleviated by the attention and kindness of the natives, in supplying their necessities; not only extending their beneficence to those of the society of Friends, but generally to such as were under the patronage of William Penn--thereby evincing towards them the genuine spirit of hospitality--frequently visiting them in their houses.
In the course of events, the society of Friends becoming mostly excluded from the proprietory agency to which the management of Indian affairs had been chiefly committed, the trade with the Indians became corrupted, and they were frequently imposed on in the sale of their lands. Hence arose jealousies and a spirit of resentment in some of the tribes, situated north-westward of the settled parts of Pennsylvania. Hostilities ensued, and many of the inhabitants suffered, in consequence of a war which continued for several years. But notwithstanding the diminished influence which the society of Friends now possessed in public transactions, and the negotiations of treaties with the Indians, they did not relax their endeavours to improve every opportunity of cultivating a friendly intercourse with them, and promoting a peaceable disposition; for which purpose they formed an association among themselves, denominated the “friendly association for gaining and preserving peace with the Indians by pacific measures.”
