dians, simple, brief and kindly, admirably adapted to dispose them favorably to him. He had been authorized by his charter "to reduce the savage nations by gentle and just manners to the love of civil society and Christian religion." He was evidently greatly interested in them, as his long and elaborate descriptions sent home on the basis of rather insufficient knowl which we are commanded to live and help and do good to one another. Now this great God hath been pleased to make me concerned in your part of the world, and the King of the country where I live hath given me a great province therein, but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together as neighbors and friends; else what would the great God do to us, who hath made us not to devour and destroy one another but to live soberly and kindly together in the world? Now I would have you well observe that I am very sensible of the unkindness and injustice that hath been too much exercised towards you by the people of these parts of the world; who have sought themselves, and to make great advantages by you rather than to be examples of goodness and patience unto you; which I hear hath been a matter of trouble to you, and caused great grudging and animosi. ties, sometimes to the shedding of blood, which hath made the great God angry. But I am not such a man; as is well known in my own country. I have great love and regard towards you; and desire to win and gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable life; and the people I send are of the same mind and shall in all things behave themselves accordingly; and if in anything any shall offend you you shall have a full and speedy satisfac tion for the same by an equal number of just men on both sides...." edge testify; and he seems to have had great hopes of making acquisitions to Christianity among them. He saw, however, that Christian sentiment alone would not advance the standard or even prevent the degradation of Indian morality. He knew at least partly the character of frontier traders, the valuable bargains to be obtained from a drunken Indian, and the weakness of Indian character in the face of sensual temptations. Whatever he could do to lessen these evils he stood ready to attempt. He refused an advantageous offer when he needed money badly lest he should barter authority to irresponsible people to the disadvantage of the Indian. "I did refuse a great temptation last Second-day, which was £6000 to have wholly . to itself the Indian trade from south to north between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. But as the Lord gave it to me over all and great opposition I would not abuse His love nor act unworthy of His providence, and so defile what came to me clean."* There is additional proof of the correctness of this statement in a letter of one of the intending * Hazard's "Annals of Pennsylvania," page 522. I be purchasers, James Claypoole: "He (W. P.) is offered great things,-£6,000 for a monopoly in trade, which he refused. lieve truly he does aim more at justice and righteousness and spreading of truth than at his own particular gain." This was in 1681. In the same year he places in his "Conditions and Concessions" made with his purchasers of land the stipulations, that wrong-doers towards the Indians should be treated as if the misdeeds were against fellowplanters, that Indian criminals should be proceeded against before magistrates just as white criminals were, and that in cases of difference an arbitration committee of twelve, six Indians and six whites, should end them. He probably over-estimated the capacity and willingness of the Indians to adapt themselves to English customs, and the latter measure, apparently unworkable, was soon abandoned. But as an evidence of his desire for justice it is valuable. William Penn had paid King Charles £16,000 for Pennsylvania. He recognized, however, the Indian claims to the same territory, and was ready to purchase them. Moreover, as he determined never to engage in warfare with the na tives, and was trustful in the efficacy of justice and reason to settle all disputes, he would begin with a friendly bargain with them for the land he was to occupy. The purchase of lands of the Indians was no new thing. It had been frequently but not uniformly done in New England and New York. The early "Pennsylvania Archives" give several instances of such purchases in New Jersey. The Dutch and the Swedes had acquired title to lands in the same way in Pennsylvania. In fact it had become rather common, and Penn probably thought but little of the mere act of purchase. What seems to have impressed the Indians was the fact that Penn insisted on purchase at the first and all subsequent agreements as being an act of justice, to which both parties were to give their assent voluntarily. They also felt that the price paid was ample to extinguish their claims, and that no advantages were taken by plying them with drink or cheating them with false maps. The treaties were open and honorable contracts, and not characterized by sharpness and chicanery. As the Indians reflected on them at their leisure they saw nothing to repent of, and everything to admire in the conduct of Penn and his friends, and they preserved inviolably the terms to which they had solemnly agreed. They instinctively felt the honorable intentions and methods of "Onas," and handed down from generation to generation the belts of wampum which ratified the treaties, and the words of kindness and interest they heard from his mouth in the conferences between them. These traditions still exist in the West, and a band of Quaker Indians in Indian Territory is a testimony to their vitality. The Shawnese, forced from Pennsylvania, found a temporary home in Ohio, still keeping in touch with their Quaker friends, and when moved by the Government first to Kansas and then to the Indian Territory, made a request that their agents and teachers should be members of the Society which they and their ancestors had been able to trust. The first land purchased+ of the Indians by "American Friend," Vol. IV., page 79. †The consideration paid by William Penn was: 350 fathoms of wampum. 20 white blankets. 20 fathoms of Strand waters (coats). 60 fathoms of Duffields (coats). 20 kettles. 20 guns. Penn was on July 15th, 1682, before his arrival, when Markham conducted the negotiations. This was for a tract in the northern part of Bucks County, between the Delaware River and Neshaminy Creek.* 20 coats. 40 shirts. 40 pairs of stockings. 40 hoes. 40 axes. 2 barrels of powder. 200 small glasses. 12 pairs of shoes. 40 copper boxes. 40 tobacco tongs. 2 small barrels of pipes. 40 pairs of scissors. 40 combs. 24 pounds of red lead. 100 awls. 2 handfuls of fish hooks. 2 handfuls of needles. 10 small saws. 12 drawing knives. 4 anchors of tobacco. 2 anchors of rum. 2 anchors of cider. 2 anchors of beer. 300 gilders. *“Pennsylvania Archives," Vol. I., page 47. |
