Detroit, December 15th, 1833.
Gen’l Andrew Jackson,
President of the United States,
Sir,
After a fatiguing tour of more than three months, in performance of
the several public duties assigned to me, I arrived here last evening,
and have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, this morning, of your
letter of the 2nd inst. with its inclosure.
Personal respect for you, Sir, restrains the expression of feelings,
outraged and indignant at having been made the object of calumnies, so
wantonly malicious and grossly untrue, as those contained in the paper
laid before you, a copy of which you have transmitted.
I appreciate, with a proper sense of the obligation, the considerate
justice which has offered me the means of confronting my accusers,
whenever they shall declare themselves; and I thank you for the
renewed mark of confidence in my integrity, thus indicated.
The statements contained in this tissue of fabrications, shall be met
fully and fairly, by my own distinct declarations, which, if deemed
insufficient, shall be sustained by ample testimony, incapable of
refutation. And if in vindicating my honor from unmerited aspersion,
the detail should prove tedious, I ask, not doubting it will be
granted, your forbearance for a temper, smarting under a sense of
undeserved injury.
I may be permitted to premise, that like other public men, I too, have
my enemies. But for this peculiar and vindictive rancour that assails
me, I cannot otherwise account, than by attributing it to that
fruitful source of evil passions--disappointed expectations. If, in
the endeavor faithfully to discharge my duties, it has not been in my
power to accomplish _all_ the wishes of _all_, it is but the common
lesson which experience has taught, to others as well as to myself.
The invidious feeling which these causes produce, seeks to gratify
itself, by wresting from me the credit of having effected an important
Treaty, and would willingly sacrifice to its object the best interests
of the country.
To proceed then to the matters alleged against me.
The first proposition contains both an indirect and a direct
falsehood. First, in stating, for the purpose of disparagement, that
but three million acres of land are purchased, when in point of fact,
there are nearly six millions; And Secondly, that the title not being
in the Indians, “_there was no necessity for a Treaty at all_.” The
declaration itself is utterly without foundation; but waiving this, I
remark, that the province of determining this “_necessity_,” rested
not with the Commissioners but with the President. In the present
instance, it is well known that a cession of country along the Western
shore of Lake Michigan was deemed of so much importance, that an
appropriation for holding the Treaty was made at the last Session of
Congress--Who could be ignorant of this fact? And yet, those who
profess to understand this matter better than the President and
Congress, and the Secretary of War, whose knowledge of these Indians
and this region of country is minutely particular, assert that the
land did not belong to the Indians ceding it, and that “_a little
investigation will satisfy any reasonable man that there was no
necessity for a Treaty at all_.”
It is stated also that to indulge my favoritism its objects always
found it an easy matter to “persuade his Excellency to get up a
Treaty.” The mendacity of the writer is equalled only by his
ignorance. The power which assumes the ordering of Treaties does not
lie with me. But without this, the charge is unfortunate in its
application, for I appeal to my letters on file in the Department to
show whether this appointment was eagerly coveted, or reluctantly
accepted, by me. And the instructions of the Department under which
the Commissioners acted, (an extract from which for your convenience I
enclose), will show, that the Secretary was not only aware of the
importance of the duty but directed us “_not to abandon it till all
hopes of success were exhausted_.” That we succeeded in effecting all
that was required of us and, in the opinion of every good and
intelligent citizen with whom I have conversed, made a valuable
Treaty, advantageous alike to the Government and the Indians, of
importance to the surrounding country, and this in the most public and
honorable manner, I had never heard doubted, until my return to this
place. Since then, I have heard of boasts that I should be destroyed.
And accordingly, during my _absence_, falsehood and aspersion were
busy with my character and conduct. To destroy the confidence you
repose in me, no means have been scruppled at.--First, it is boldly
proclaimed that I cannot effect a Treaty--then it is denied that any
credit is due to _me_, for having accomplished it:--and now, I am held
exclusively answerable for the whole Treaty, and every circumstance
attending it.
To my Co-Commissioners, and the gentleman selected _by them_ as the
Secretary of the Commission, who are all highly respectable Citizens
of Illinois:--to the full Journal of all our proceedings:--to the many
distinguished citizens of Illinois, Indiana and the surrounding
country:--to every honourable man who was present during the Council,
among whom are Mr. Daniel Jackson of New York--and Mr. Robert Stewart,
the Agent of the American Fur Company at Michilimackinac, both of whom
I understand to be now in Washington, and whose characters are known
to you, I appeal with confidence, for a refutation of these
slanders.[113]
The suggestion that extra allowances have been made to me for extra
services is not disputed, being an usage of the Government from its
first institution. The labors I have performed and the fatigues I have
undergone, in this tour, over roads almost impassable, and during a
continuation of the most unfavorable weather, teach me to believe that
I have honestly earned all that the Rule of Department will allow: But
the vile and mean insinuation appended, and which none but an utterly
corrupt heart could generate, that I have _sold_ my patronage, does
not require an answer.
In reference to the claims or accounts contained in the Schedules
annexed to the Treaty, to some of which particular exception has been
taken, I proceed, in explanation, to state: That in furtherance of the
policy of the Government to remove these Indians West of the
Mississippi, the Commissioners refused to grant Reservations of land,
although these were greatly preferred, but agreed, in lieu thereof,
that a part of the _consideration money_ should be apportioned among
such individuals as the Indians chose to designate. In like manner
another part of the consideration money, the _amount_ of which was
fixed, was to be applied in satisfaction of claims, which, on
examination, should be admitted by the Indians to be justly divided.
Who, so well as they, could tell whether they were indebted to an
individual or not? But to protect themselves against unfounded claims,
many of which were presented, the Chiefs and head men employed a
gentleman of high standing and respectability, as their assistant, and
asked permission that he might be present at the investigation of the
claims. This gentleman was Richard E. Hamilton, Esq.,[114] of
Chicago--in whom these Indians reposed unbounded confidence--They
farther requested that Major Forsyth, for whom they professed a like
regard, and who was familiarly known to them, should aid their friend
Col. Hamilton in the duty confided to him. Impressed, as all were,
with the character of the two gentlemen for integrity and honor, so
reasonable a request was not denied.--In the presence of the Chiefs
and those Assistants, the commissioners proceeded in the examination
of the numerous claims, the _decision_ on each claim being made by the
commissioners; by all of them; and by them _alone_; and the amount
allowed on each claim was then and there written down by the
Secretary. So far as relates to the allowances, (so principal an
object of animadversion), granted to the heirs of Forsyth & Kinzie, I
aver, without fear of contradiction, that neither Major Forsyth nor
any of the persons interested, had anything to do with the decision
upon them; nor, to the best of my knowledge and recollection, were any
of them present, when they were acted on--The Chiefs and Head men
insisted upon these allowances, and the Commissioners, on hearing the
representation of the Indians unanimously acquiesced in their justice.
These with the several other claims allowed form, as I have stated, a
part of the consideration money of the Treaty, and if it were
possible, which it certainly is not, to preserve the Treaty, striking
these out, the Individuals named would, I have not a doubt, suffer
neither detriment nor loss--The whole Potawatamie Nation would, I am
persuaded, restore the allowances at the Annuity table.
The name of Robert A. Forsyth, which occurs three times in the first
statement of allowances, belongs to two different individuals, one of
whom is a Merchant in Ohio,[115] and the other, the Paymaster. The
extensive trade in which the Merchant of this name in Ohio is engaged
will appear on reference to several Treaties lately made in Ohio and
Indiana. Nor is this confusion of names mentioned in defence or
extenuation--I am ignorant of any just ground of exception to my
conduct, in the whole history of this transaction, but I note it,
merely, as one of a series of deceptive statements. The jeering
comment follows that “Major Forsyth of the United States Army,
received his $3000 as an Indian Chief.” These falsehoods are almost
too gross for refutation. The Treaty states the allowance. Does it say
he received it as an Indian Chief? The Indians stated, themselves, and
without any prompting on the part of the Commissioners, that there was
due to Robert A. Forsyth a reservation, which had long since been
promised by their nation, and which they had desired Governor Cass and
Judge Sibley, Commissioners at the Treaty of Chicago in 1821, to grant
him. This request has been reiterated at the Treaty of St. Joseph, in
1828, as can be attested by Gov. Cass and Mr. Menard, the
Commissioners;--the land being then, and ever since, set apart for him
by the Indians. It was not secured to him in either of these Treaties,
because not included within the bounds of the lands then ceded. The
Commissioners, in this, as in every other instance when it could be
done compatibly with the policy of the Government, and with justice to
Individuals and the Indians, conceived it their duty to obey their
wishes.[116] The selection of persons to examine and adjust claims, as
well for reservations as on account of losses, was made, not by the
Commissioners, but by the Indians themselves. The claims were all
subjected to the supervision of the Indians, or persons they
themselves appointed to represent them;--It is notorious that they
expressed at all times the most unhesitating confidence in their
Indian Agent, Col. Owen, who was one of the Commissioners:--in Col.
Hamilton, whom they specially deputed to act for them, and in the two
persons scoffed at as “_half whites_,” Caldwell and Robinson.[117]
With these was associated also Joseph, an influential Chief, who was
present in every business transaction--Caldwell and Robinson have been
nurtured with, and raised by, these Indians, one from childhood, and
the other from his birth; they are identified with this tribe, and are
Indians in character, in manners, in mode of life, in sentiments and
conduct, and as such are regarded by them. By reference to the Treaty
of 1829, it will be seen that they were then acknowledged as the
principal men, and the Treaty was made with them. Whom could they
trust if not these? After the assent to sell had been obtained, and
the general preliminaries had been agreed upon, the Indians in open
council, as will appear by the Journal, advised the Commissioners that
they had confided the care of their interests, and all the details of
the Treaty, to these, their principal chiefs; and the Commissioners,
as I considered then and now, properly acquiesced. When these details
were completed, and the Treaty reduced to form, it was read by Col.
Hamilton in private Council to the Indians, and was again read before
them in public Council, by myself, and unanimously approved. It is
represented that old Mr. Forsyth never had $500 in property in his
life. This can be disproved by a hundred witnesses, conversant with
the fact, that he was extensively engaged in the Indian trade. So,
too, the assertion that “old Mr. Kinzie died a subject of the King of
Great Britain”, can be falsified by the records of the War Department,
showing him to have been for many years after the war a _Sub Agent of
the Government_. Equally and unqualifiedly false also is the
declaration that “he fought against his country in the late war,” or
“led the Indians in the Massacre of Chicago.” On the contrary he was a
zealous and efficient partizan of the American party, and as the books
of the American Fur Company will show, was their agent at his death.
Nor is the declaration that Major Robert A. Forsyth, a Paymaster in
the United States Army, has never been “naturalized,” by which it is
intended to be conveyed that he is an alien, less destitute of truth.
The Father of Major Forsyth was an American Citizen, (born in
Detroit), and has always resided in this country, and the accidental
circumstance that Major F’s mother was, at his birth, among her
friends across the narrow line which divided the Territory from
Canada, did not, nor could, divest him of his national character. The
law of nations recognize no such principle: Accordingly, the vote of
Major Forsyth has never been challenged at an election; he bore a
Commission, as a Cadet of the Military Academy, and subsequently as an
officer in the Army of the United States. He has been elected to the
Legislature of the Territory, and executed the trust; where the
objection stated, if valid, would have been fatal. Finally, he has
received from the President of United States, a Commission as Pay
Master in the United States Army. Equally deceptive with every other
feature of this malignant attempt to destroy me, is the perverse
meaning significantly assigned to the trusts, confided to Major
Forsyth and Mr. Kinzie. They are real, substantial trusts, created
under circumstances of perfect notoreity at Chicago, and challenge
scrutiny. In these, as in every other case, the appointment was made
without consulting the individual, and in some instances against his
inclination.
Major Forsyth is charged also with having bribed Caldwell and Robinson
with $10,000 each, to influence the Chiefs of their Nation. This
varies in nothing from the complexion of the other statements. It is a
pure fiction. Major Forsyth had nothing to do with the matter. The
Individuals cited, received, by the express direction of their people,
the sum of $10,000 each, _as the two head men of the nation_, to whom
the entire direction of their affairs had long before been
committed,--on whom they not infrequently lived, and to whom they
looked for relief in their necessities. A reference to the Journal
will establish the fact of their appointment, because it is so
declared in the speeches of the Indians, delivered in public Council.
If the Indians, in open Council, declare what shall be done with a
part of the consideration money of their land and, according to their
custom, insist that their principal Chiefs shall be provided for out
of it, why should it be objected to? As well might it be objected that
$5000, a part of this consideration money, is appropriated at the
request of the Chiefs to the students of the Choctaw Academy, of which
sum the Honorable Richard M. Johnson is constituted Trustee.[118]
It is said also among other representations that a Frenchman called
Loranger,[119] who never had goods in the Indian country, was allowed
by the Commissioners on Claims $5000 by assigning his claim to Robt.
A. Forsyth to whom he was indebted $3,000.
It is with difficulty Sir, that I can sufficiently command my
feelings, or control the disgust with which I am affected, at these
monstrous falsehoods, for while I would speak of them in the manner
they merit, I would not forget the respect due to you. But in the
above proposition of three lines, are stated three direct, unqualified
untruths:--First--That he had had no goods in the Indian Country which
could be refuted by a common clamor. Second--That he assigned his
claim to Major Forsyth; and Third--That he was indebted to him for
$3000.--I have already named Mr. Daniel Jackson, of the firm of
Suydam, Jackson & Co., of N. Y. who are so extensively engaged in the
sale of Indian Goods--Of him I would ask how long he has known Mr.
Loranger to be in the Indian trade, and what has been the amount of
goods sold yearly to Mr. Loranger--The claim of Mr. Loranger was much
greater than the allowance--The balance is lost to him, because not
presented at the Treaty in Indiana in October 1832, being due by that
Band or Party of Potawatamie Indians--He has been in the Indian trade
since 1804, and lives within sight of this town.
I had intended to close this communication here; but I cannot remain
silent, while slanders are heaped upon the gallant dead. The
characters and memories of John Kinzie and Robert A. Forsyth deceased
have been wickedly assailed--and by whom? Their descendants would like
to know--For the part each one of these individuals took, and the
important services rendered by them to the American Government in the
late war, reference is made to many of the first men in the country;
Among those immediately around you is the Secretary of War, Major
General Macomb, General Gratiot and Colonel Croghan.--Having
considered it my duty to make inquiry I have obtained the following
information and believing it to be strictly correct, I give it to you
as such.--