Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters — John Shaqi
Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable CharactersThatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
History
Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters
Thatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
Indians of North America -- Biography; Indians of North America -- History
"We knock the Twightwies and Chictaghicks on the head, because they had
cut down the trees of peace, which were the limits of our country. They
have hunted beaver on our lands. They have acted contrary to the customs
of all Indians, for they left none of the beavers alive,--they killed both
male and female. They brought the Satanas into their country, to take part
with them, after they had concerted ill designs against us. We have done
less than either the English or French, that have usurped the lands of so
many Indian nations, and chased them from their own country. This belt
preserves my words.
"Hear, Yonondio!--What I say is the voice of all the Five Nations. Hear
what they answer. Open your ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas,
Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks say, that when they buried the hatchet at
Cadarackui, in the presence of your predecessor, in the middle of the
fort, they planted the tree of peace in the same place, to be there
carefully preserved. That in the place of a retreat for soldiers, that
fort might be a rendezvous for merchants; that in place of arms and
ammunition of war, beavers and merchandize should only enter there.
"Hear, Yonondio!--Take care for the future that so great a number of
soldiers as appear there, do not choke the tree of peace planted in so
small a fort. It will be a great loss, if, after it had so easily taken
root, you should stop its growth, and prevent its covering your country
and ours with its branches. I assure you, in the name of the Five Nations,
that our warriors shall dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves.
They shall remain quiet on their mats, and shall never dig up the hatchet,
till their brother Yonondio, or Corlear, shall either jointly or
separately endeavor to attack the country, which the Great Spirit has
given to our ancestors. This belt preserves my words, and this other the
authority which the Five Nations have given me."
Here the orator paused for a moment, and then addressed himself to
Monsieur Le Maine, who stood near him, acting as interpreter. "Take
courage, Ohguesse!" said he, "You have spirit--Speak! Explain my words.
Forget nothing. Tell all that your brethren and friends say to Yonondio,
your Governor, by the mouth of Garangula, who loves you, and desires you
to accept of this present of beaver, and take part with me in my feast, to
which I invite you. This present of beaver is sent to Yonondio, on the
part of the Five Nations."
When this harangue was explained to the Governor, he quietly left the
council, and withdrew to his tent, disappointed and much incensed.
Garangula, on the other hand, feasted the French officers, and then went
home. Nothing more was heard of the treaty; and the French troops, who had
been ordered out, soon after made the best of their way to their own
habitations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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