Their first business, after their arrival, was to land their property, and put it under such shel ter as could be found; then, while some of them got warrants of survey, for taking up so much land as was sufficient for immediate settling, others went diversely further into the woods, to the different places where their lands were laid out, often without any path or road to direct them,for scarce any were to be found above two miles from the water side-not so much as any mark or sign of any European having been there. As to the Indians, they seldom travelled so regu larly as to be traced or followed by footsteps; except, perhaps, from one of their towns to another. Their huntings were rather like ships at sea, without any track or path. So that all the country, further than about two miles distant from the river, (excepting the Indians' moveable settlements,) was an entire wilderness, producing nothing for the support of human life but the wild fruits and animals of the woods. The lodgings of some of these settlers were, at first, in the woods. A chosen tree was frequent ly all the shelter they had against the inclemency of the weather. This sometimes happened late in the fall, and even in the winter season. The next coverings of many of them were either caves in the earth, or such huts erected upon it as could be most expeditiously procured, till better houses were built, for which they had no want of timber. The above is a representation of the celebrated Elm-tree, at Kensington, under which William Penn made his memorable treaty with the Indians, towards the close of November, 1682. The sketch was reduced from a larger engraving, taken from the tree before it was blown down, in 1810. It is remarkable that no original written record can be discovered of this celebrated event, and the evidence of its occurrence rests upon obscure references, and upon tradition; yet that tradition is abundant. The treaty and its stipulations are referred to repeatedly in the early minutes of council, and in the speeches of Civility to Gov. Keith, in 1721 and 1722; and of numerous other chiefs, at various conferences, at Conestogoe and Philadelphia. Gov. Gordon, in a council with many chiefs of the Conestogoes, Delawares, Shawanees, and Ganawese, held at Philadelphia, May 20, 1728, thus addresses them : "My Brethren: You have been faithfull to your Leagues with us, your Hearts have been clean, & you have preserved the Chain from Spotts or Rust, or if there were any you have been carefull to wipe them away; your Leagues with your Father William Penn, & with his Governours, are in Writing on Record, that our Children & our Childrens Children may have them in everlasting Remembrance. And we Know that you preserve the memory of those things amongst you by telling them to your Children, & they again to the next Generation, so that they remain stamp'd on your Minds never to be forgott. "The Chief Heads or Strongest Links of this Chain I find are these Nine, vizt: 1st. "That all William Penns People or Christians, and all the Indians should be brethren, as the Children of one Father, joyned together as with one Heart, one Head & one Body. 2d. "That all Paths should be open and free to both Christians and Indians. 3d. "That the Doors of the Christians Houses should be open to the Indians & the Houses of the Indians open to the Christians, & that they should make each other welcome as their Friends. 4th. "That the Christians should not believe any false Rumours or Reports of the Indians, nor the Indians believe any such Rumours or Reports of the Christians, but should first come as Brethren to enquire of each other; And that both Christians & Indians, when they hear any such false Reports of their Brethren, they should bury them as in a bottomless Pitt. 5th. "That if the Christians heard any ill news that may be to the Hurt of the Indians, or the Indians hear any such ill news that may be to the Injury of the Christians, they should acquaint each other with it speedily as true Friends & Brethren. 6th. "That the Indians should do no manner of Harm to the Christians nor their Creatures, nor the Christians do any Hurt to any Indians, but each treat the other as their Brethren. 7th. "But as there are wicked People in all Nations, if either Indians or Christians should do any harm to each other, Complaint should be made of it by the Persons Suffering, that Right may be done; and when Satisfaction is made, the Injury or Wrong should be forgott & be buried as in a bottomless Pitt. 8th. "That the Indians should in all things assist the Christians, & the Christians assist the Indians against all wicked People that would disturb them. 9th. "And lastly, that both Christians & Indians should acquaint their Children with this League & firm Chain of Friendship made between them, & that it should always be made stronger & stronger & be kept bright & clean, without Rust or Spott between our Children and Childrens Children, while the Creeks and Rivers run, and while the Sun, Moon & Stars endure." In a very elaborate memoir on the subject of this treaty, presented to the Pennsylvania Historical Society, in 1836, by Messrs. Peter S. Du Ponceau and J. Francis Fisher, they give it as their opinion that this treaty had no reference to the purchase of lands, but was designed solely to establish a solemn league of friendship between William Penn and the Indian tribes. The following extracts are from that memoir : The fame of the treaty under the Elm-tree, or, as it is called, the Great Treaty, is coextensive with the civilized world. So early as the middle of the eighteenth century, M. de Voltaire spoke of it as an historical fact, well known at that time. "William Penn," says he, "began with making a league with the Americans, his neighbors. It is the only treaty between those nations and the Christians, which was never sworn to, and never broken." Other European writers have spoken of it in terms of unqualified praise. It is not on this treaty that depends the fame of our illustrious founder. Others before him had made treaties of alliance with the original possessors of the American soil; others had obtained their lands from them by fair purchase-the Swedes, the Dutch, and the English. The true merit of William Penn, that in which he surpasses all the founders of empires whose names are recorded in ancient and modern history, is not in having made treaties with, or purchased lands of the Indians; but in the honesty, the integrity, the strict justice with which he constantly treated the aborigines of the land—in the fairness of all his dealings with them-in his faithful observance of his promises-in the ascendancy which he acquired over their untutored mindsin the feelings of gratitude with which his character inspired them, and which they, through successive generations, until their final disappearance from our soil, never could nor did forget, and to the last moment kept alive in their memories. Let us be permitted to quote here an eyewitness, the venerable Heckewelder, who thus expresses himself, in his History of the Indian Nations. After speaking of the aversion of the Indians to hold treaties elsewhere than in the open air, he proceeds: "William Penn," said they," when he treated with them, adopted the ancient mode of their ancestors, and convened them under a grove of shady trees, where the little birds on the boughs were warbling their sweet notes." "In commemoration of these conferences," continues the historian, "which are always to the Indians a subject of pleasing remembrance, they frequently assembled together in the woods, in some shady spot, as nearly as possible similar to those where they used to meet their brother Miquon, (Penn,) and there lay all his words of speeches, with those of his descendants, on a blanket, or clean piece of bark, and with great satisfaction go over the whole. This practice, which I have repeatedly witnessed, continued until the year 1780, when the disturbances which then took place put an end to it, probably for ever." Perhaps it will be asked how they could do that, who were entirely ignorant of the art of writing. They had, in their strings and belts of wampum, an artificial memory, by means of which, with the aid of tradition frequently repeated from one to the other, they could remember the speeches made to them, and their own, in due succession. That this treaty was held at Shackamaxon,* shortly after the arrival of William Penn, in 1682, we think that the least doubt cannot at present be entertained. The testimony of all the historians concur with uninterrupted tradition in establishing these facts. As to the locality, the veneration with which the celebrated Elm-tree has been regarded, from time immemorial, attests it, in our opinion, with sufficient certainty. The venerable Richard Peters, who not long since died, at a very advanced age, and his friend, Mr. David H. Conyngham, still living, both have affirmed that in their early youth, 60 or 70 years ago, the fact of the first treaty having been held under the Elm-tree, which was destroyed by a storm in 1810, was universally admitted; and that Benjamin Lay, who came to Pennsylvania at the age of 54 years, in the year 1731, only half a century after the arrival of the founder, showed his veneration for it by paying it frequent visits. These testimonies are sufficient to establish this fact, beyond the possibility of controversy Thus much we think we can assert, without the fear of contradiction; we even believe, and there is some evidence to prove, that Shackamaxon and the Elm-tree, before the arrival of Wm. Penn, were the scene of a former treaty made with the Indians, by Markham and the commissioners associated with him, which was afterwards confirmed by the proprietary, on the same spot. If it be so, it adds to the solemnity of the act, and the sacredness of the ground. The instructions to these commissioners, lately discovered among the papers of the Hamilton family, give us Penn's humane directions: "Let my letter and conditions with my purchasers, about just dealing with them, be read in their tongue, that they may see we have their good in our eye, equal with our own interest; and after reading my letter and the said conditions, then present their kings with what I send them, and make a friendship and league with them, according to those conditions, which carefully observe, and get them to comply with you. Be grave: they love not to be smiled on." We believe Mr. Clarkson's account of William Penn's address to the Indians, at the Great Treaty, to be as near the truth as any that is founded merely upon tradition. We therefore insert it. There is a great deal in this recital that bears internal evidence of truth, although we do not coincide with the writer in every thing that it contains. We reject particularly all that connects this transaction with the purchase of lands. "The Great Spirit," said William Penn, "who made him and them, who ruled the heavens and the earth, and who knew the innermost thoughts of man, knew that he and his friends had a hearty desire to live in peace and friendship with them, and to serve them to the utmost of their power. It was not their custom to use hostile weapons against their fellow-creatures, for which reason they had come unarmed. Their object was not to do injury, and thus provoke the Great Spirit, but to do good. They were then met on the broad pathway of good faith and good-will, so that no advantage was to be taken on either side; but all was to be openness, brotherhood, and love. After these and other words, he unrolled the parchment; and, by means of the interpreter, conveyed to them, article by article, the conditions of purchase, and the words of the compact then made, for their eternal union. Among other things, they were not to be mo. lested in their lawful pursuits, even in the territory they had alienated; for it was to be common to them and the English. They were to have the same liberty to do all things therein, relating to the improvement of their grounds, and providing sustenance for their families, which the English had. If any disputes should arise between the two, they should be settled by twelve persons, half of whom should be English, and half Indians. He then paid them for the land, and made them many presents besides, from the merchandise which had been spread before them. Having done this, he laid the roll of parchment on the ground, observing again that the ground should be common to both people. He then added that he would not do as the Marylanders did, that is, call them children or brothers only; for often parents were apt to whip their children too severely, and brothers sometimes would differ. Neither would he compare the friendship between him and them to a chain, for the rain might sometimes rust it, or a tree might fall and break it ; but he should consider them as the same flesh and blood with the Christians, and the same as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts. He then took up the parchment, and presented it to the sachem who wore the horn in the chaplet, and desired him and the other sachems to preserve it carefully for three generations, that their children might know what had passed between them, just as if he had remained himself with them to repeat it." "Our distinguished countryman, (says Mr. Vaux,) the late Sir Benjamin West, executed in 1775 an historical picture of the treaty of 1682, the original of which is in possession of John Penn, Esq. One of the five dignified individuals represented as present with the proprietary was * Shackamaxon was the Indian name of one of their villages, on the site of the present Kensington. 551 the grandfather of West, and the painter has given a likeness of his ancestor in the imposing group of patriarchs." But all historians complain that Penn's picture is too much tinctured with the fancies of the painter to be regarded as an authentic record. The graceful and athletic Penn, then at the age of 38, is represented as a corpulent old man, and the dresses are those of an age many years later than the reign of Charles II. The treaty tree was long preserved in the affections of the Indians and colonists. Mr. West relates that while the British occupied Philadelphia during the revolution, and their parties were scouring the country for firewood, Gen. Simcoe had a sentinel placed under the tree to protect it. The Methodists and Baptists often held their summer meetings under its shade. It was blown down in 1810, when it was ascertained to be 283 years old, having been 155 years old at the time of the treaty. Many of its pieces were wrought into vases, chairs, work-stands, and other articles, to be preserved as sacred relics. The Penn Society have erected a monument, of which the annexed is a view, on the spot where the tree stood, near the intersection of Hanover and Beach streets, Kensington. On the West. A. D. 1827, To mark the site of the Great Elm Tree. On the East. 1681, By deeds of Peace. Immediately opposite to the tree once stood a venerable mansion, of which Mr. J. F. Watson thus speaks in his Annals of Philadelphia: "This respectable and venerable looking brick edifice was constructed in 1702 for the use of A brick was found Thomas Fairman, the deputy of Thomas Holme, the surveyor-general, and was taken down in April, 1825, chiefly because it encroached on the range of the present street. in the wall marked 'Thomas Fairman, Sept. 1702.' It had been the abode of many inmates, and was once desired as the country seat of Wm. Penn himself-a place highly appropriate for him who made his treaty there. Gov. Evans, after leaving his office, dwelt there some time. It was afterwards the residence of Gov. Palmer; and these two names were sufficient to give it the character of the 'Governor's house'-a name which it long retained after the cause had been forgotten. After them the aged and respectable Mr. Thomas Hopkins occupied it for 50 years. Penn's conception of this place is well expressed in his letter of 1708 to James Logan, saying, If John Evans (the governor) leaves your place, then try to secure his plantation; for I think from above Shackamaxon to the town is one of the pleasantest situations on the river for a gov. ernor; where one sees and hears what one will, and when one will, and yet have a good deal of the sweetness and quiet of the country. And I do assure thee, if the country would settle upon * On the subject of this treaty the curious reader may find some further particulars on page 14. See also Watson's Annals, Gordon's History, Note O, and the Memoirs of Du Ponceau, Fisher, Vaux, and Watson in the Collections of the Penn. Hist. Society; Fisher's Memoir on the private life of Penn, in the same Collections; and the printed Colonial Records, Vol. III. me £600 per annum I would hasten over the following summer. Cultivate this among the best Friends.' The next year (1709) his mind being intent on the same thing, he says, Pray get Peggs' or such a remote place, [then on Front near to Green-street] in good order for me and family.'" Above is a view of probably the oldest house now extant in Philadelphia. It stands in Letitia court, the entrance of which is in Market-st. between Front and Second streets. Antiquarians have been in some doubt about the identity of the building, some thinking that the house called the Black Horse tavern, facing the end of the court, is the one formerly known as Penn's cottage; but Mr. Watson, who has entered upon the inquiry with true antiquarian spirit, infers from all the data he could find, that the house here sketched is the true one; and that it was built. by Markham as a cottage for Wm. Penn's use in 1682, before the founder's arrival, and that the latter used it on his first visit, when not at his mansion of Pennsbury manor. Afterward it was used by Markham as deputy-governor, and for public offices. On Wm. Penn's second visit in 1699, he lived at the Slate-roof house, and presented this to his daughter in fee, although she, being single, had no occasion to reside in it. A letter from Penn to his steward in 1684, allows his "cousin Markham to live in his house in Philadelphia, and that Thomas Lloyd, the deputygovernor, should have the use of his periwigs, and any wines and beer he may have there left for the use of strangers." Mr. Watson has given in his Annals a lithographic view of the house as he fancied it to have appeared with its grounds in early times. We have given its present appearance, so that the curious in such matters may contrast the two. Mr. Watson says: "If we would contemplate this Letitia house in its first relations, we should consider it as having an open area to the river the whole width of the square, with here and there retained a clump of forest trees on either side of an avenue leading out to Front-street; having a garden of fruit trees on the Second-street side, and on Second-street, the Governor's gate,' so called, opposite to the lot of the Friends Great Meeting. By this gate the carriages passed along the avenue by |
