ORGANIZATION AND OPENING OF THE COUNCIL; FORMALITIES, &c.
The Commissioners and suite had taken lodgings at an inn on the south
bank of Fox River, about half a mile from Fort Howard, which is on the
opposite side, and down the stream. A number of strangers also were
in lodgings at the same house;--that being the only establishment of
the kind in the settlement. As a consequence it was the natural centre
of the Indians, the French, and the citizens of the States, who were
hovering about, either from interest or curiosity, to witness the
exhibitions of the occasion and the doings of the Convention. Directly
opposite this inn, on the north bank, the Commissioners had caused to
be erected what is vulgarly called, in the back woods of America, a
_shanty_; and which signifies a temporary shelter, got up to answer a
present necessity. This shanty, or shantee, was merely a roof of rough
boards, covering perhaps a space of thirty by sixty feet, with a long
and rough table crossing one end, to accommodate the court and their
secretaries; and the rest of the ground under cover was filled up with
ranges of forms, or planks, resting on blocks of wood, for the chiefs,
and for other Indians, who might choose to be spectators. There being
no sides, or walls to the shanty, an indefinite multitude of persons,
who could not get under the roof, might stand without. This temporary
structure, it is to be understood, was set upon an open plain, not
only because there was no public hall, or building, in the settlement,
adapted to the purpose; but more especially to afford a freedom of
access and retreat to the natives, who could not comfortably endure
confinement. Here they might come near, or stand a little way off, or
squat down, or lie down, as suited themselves;--and smoke their pipes,
and indulge in any and all of their odd freaks and whimsical manners.
All things being arranged on the morning of the 24th, the chiefs of
the tribes, who were interested in the deliberations to be opened,
being assembled, in pursuance of the notices, which had been served
upon them, at the order of the Commissioners; and the flat-bottomed
ferry boat, being put in requisition for the occasion, and drawn to
the shore, the Honourable the Commissioners, their secretaries,
interpreters, some of the chiefs, and strangers--as many as the
boat could conveniently receive--began to make demonstration of a
grave and solemn movement towards the place of grave and solemn
deliberation;--accompanied, as they crossed the stream, by numerous
skiffs and canoes, filled with all sorts, whites and Indians, old
and young, male and female, ragged or otherwise;--not indeed a very
splendid cortège.
The Honourable Commissioners, having landed on the other shore, with
all due solemnity and decorum, took their seats, supported by their
secretaries;--and the motley crew of spectators began to crowd around.
Directly in front of the Commissioners, and face to face, the chiefs of
the Indian tribes arranged themselves, with such formalities, as might
be peculiar to each nation, rather comical, and not a little amusing.
The chiefs of the Menomenies, however, were wanting in the group. A
message was sent to their camp, at the distance of a quarter of a mile,
that their Fathers, the Commissioners, were waiting their attendance.
But their immobility of temper suffered no shock. They were not ready.
Another messenger was despatched. But still their movements were in no
wise hurried. They could not understand, but that all the world, if
needs be, must wait their convenience. The Court grew impatient, and
began to feel annoyed at the disrespect. The crowd of spectators also
manifested symptoms of uneasiness, and began to apprehend some little
storm of collision; and perhaps a failure of the amusing transactions
anticipated. By and by, however, were seen in the distance, and
slowly approaching, a solemn procession, halting occasionally, making
strange evolutions, apparently performing certain mysterious rites,
and holding converse with invisible agencies. They came near, they
retreated, they traced circles and other more irregular figures, and
pleased themselves, in the time they occupied in getting to the place
of assembling. At last they stood without the booth, halting, still
multiplying and varying their mysterious rites. They faced, and looked
upon the Court with imperturbable gravity, seeming to say:--“You
will wait our pleasure.” Their manners, indeed, and the delay they
occasioned, were not a little provoking to our patience. With the
same grave and solemn mien the chiefs entered the pavilion, with
pipe and tomahawk in hand, and occupied the vacant seats assigned to
them;--imposing an awe, alike upon the Commissioners and spectators, by
their strange and unaccountable demonstrations. Not a feature of their
countenance was seen to move.
Indians always enter upon public and important deliberations with great
formality. And the Menomenies, being by far more numerous than the
Winnebagoes on the present occasion, making three-fourths of the entire
assemblage,--and to whom all the country about Green Bay originally
belonged,--that is, before it was assumed by the whites,--seemed
disposed to make more of the pending solemnities;--or at least, were
more tardy in the completion of their preliminary forms. In the present
instance, the formality of a council-fire was dispensed with; for what
reason I know not, unless that it was not considered purely an Indian
Council. The _pipe of friendship_, however, the bowl being silver and
stuck to a tube of four feet long, was solemnly filled with tobacco,
and solemnly lighted, and solemnly presented to the President of the
Court, who solemnly took one solemn whiff;--and then with the same
solemnity it was passed to the second and third members of the Court,
who solemnly puffed in their turn;--but all with a grace and dignity,
infinitely inferior to the manner of the chiefs. The latter understood
it. But the Court, alas! were extremely awkward and embarrassed. But
when it came to the chiefs successively, it was a sublime sight! I
will not attempt to describe it. But of this I am quite sure:--that,
if the Commissioners had allowed the Indians to smoke first, they
would have profited greatly by the example; or been scared out of it
in despair;--and thus, perhaps, the object of their mission to Green
Bay, would have been circumvented; in which case, no great loss to the
world. For nothing could be done, without smoking the pipe. And by this
solemnity the Council was organized and opened--with this addition,
however: that the chiefs exceeding the Court in politeness and in the
manifestation of good feeling, each in turn, and all in train, rose
and gave the right hand to each of the Commissioners, in succession.
Indeed the members of the Court, who had never before had to do in such
matters, nor witnessed such a scene, were evidently ill at home, and
had well nigh lost their self-possession.
The scene of the organization was indeed highly picturesque. I dare
to say, that such another congregation of human beings was scarcely
ever assembled, as the commonalty of the Indians, and the various
degrees of mixed blood, that crowded around, as spectators. There was
every shade and feature of French and Indian, under the same skin;
and every incongruous combination of dress upon them, from the first
corruption of European fashion, down to the purest Indian. And there
was the naked savage; (_all_ naked, except two small aprons of twelve
inches square, one before and one behind) some covered only with a
blanket, thrown over the shoulders, or else carelessly tucked around
the waist, leaving the upper part of the body and the arms exposed;
many of them looking, as if they had neither been washed, nor combed,
since they were born; not a few bedaubed in paints of all colours,
from the most glaring red, down to shades, as black as Erebus; and
their eyes sparkling and flashing like the startled snake, from
under a countenance so awfully disfigured; the whole being a fair
representation of the worst pictures, that imagination has drawn, of
the _Evil One_; some with one side of the face red, and the other
black; others showing a great variety of colours, most fantastically
thrown together; one with one feather in the hair, another with two,
or more, and some with twenty, or less; part of them sitting under the
pavilion, part standing without, and part lying down in the open plain
upon their breasts, with their heads sticking up, like snakes, from
the grass; all furnished with pipes, of their own manufacture, varying
in length from four feet to four inches, and a tobacco-pouch made of
the skin of some animal, in which is also carried an apparatus for
striking fire; every one girt with a cincture about his loins, to which
was suspended a knife in its scabbard, devoted to all the imaginable
purposes of a knife;--that is--to cut his tobacco, to whittle a stick,
to dress his game, to eat with, to scalp his enemy, &c. &c. In the hand
of each Indian is always to be seen, besides his pipe, a bow and arrow,
or tomahawk, or rifle, or weapon of some description;--more generally
his tomahawk is his pipe, the head serving as the bowl, and the
handle for the stem, it being bored into a tube;--and nameless other
appearances did this assemblage exhibit, which language is inadequate
to describe:--all waiting to see and hear.
But there was another group, called Indians, sitting by themselves,
whose dress, countenance, manners, and every appearance exhibited
all the decencies of civilized life. They looked and acted like men,
who respected themselves, and would be respected by others. Their
presence and entire demeanour would not have lowered the dignity of any
parliamentary assembly. These were the New York Indians. I had often
seen them at their own villages, in the State of New York;--but I never
knew how to respect them before. I never thought it was possible for
other human beings to be sunk so far below them, as to raise them by
comparison to such a proud pre-eminence. All wore the same natural
complexion, and all were evidently of the same stock. But _here_ was
a class _elevated_--distinguished by such marks of superiority, as to
make the difference between them and their wild untutored brethren,
greater than would appear, by bringing together the highest and the
lowest, the very extremes of society, that can be found in all Europe.
And during the whole session of the Council, for a period of eight
days, the New York Indians rose higher and higher, by their pure and
exemplary conduct, in their claims to respect and confidence. Indeed,
the extraordinary occurrences and scenes of Green Bay, after we
arrived, had been so absorbing, that I seemed to forget the rest of the
world, while I was there. They were interesting for their novelty, but
sickening and revolting for the unpleasant exhibitions of human nature,
with which they were accompanied. It was exactly that state of things,
where the virtue of barbarism has been confounded, and the order of
civilized society is not yet established. For my own part, I found it
a refuge to fall into the society of the chiefs and principal men of
the New York Indians. Among them I could be sure of exemption from any
thing vulgar, profane, indecent, or intemperate. For moral worth and
good manners, they rose and towered above every thing around them, not
excepting the white population, during that long and protracted public
occasion.
The whole number of chiefs admitted into the Council, to represent
the tribes interested, were, I believe, about _thirty_:--representing
the Stockbridges, the Oneidas, and Brothertons, of the State of
New York;--and the Menomenies, Winnebagoes, and Chippeways, of the
North-West Territory. The Brothertons were interested, as purchasers
of land, although they had not yet removed. The Chippeways were also
allowed to be interested in some of the discussions pending. And
all these tribes speak so many different languages; the Brothertons
excepted, who speak only English. Of course all the doings of the
Council, and all deliberations were required to be brought, by
interpretation, into each of the tongues. For example: when the
Commissioners spoke, their addresses and remarks passed _directly_ into
the languages of the New York Indians, which are two; but _mediately_
through French into Menomenie and Winnebago. The necessity of employing
the French language arose from the want of an interpreter _immediately_
between English and the languages spoken by the Winnebagoes and
Menomenies. But there were many _half-bloods_, as they are called,
that could speak French, and one or the other of these languages, with
equal fluency; having been brought up in families, where both tongues
are in use. When a Menomenie chief spoke--for the Commissioners, it
passed through French into English; for the Winnebagoes, through French
into their language; and for the New York Indians, through French and
English, into theirs respectively; and _vice versâ_. The Chippeway
language would have made the communication more direct, as it is more
or less common, in all those regions, and with the different tribes.
But in matters deemed important, they did not like to trust to any
uncertainty. Interpretation was generally done at the end of every
short sentence;--and after the utterance of every simple thought;--a
slow and tedious process. And by the time a thought had passed,
_mediately_, into a third, and sometimes into a fourth language,
it may easily be imagined, that without the most scrupulous and
accurate interpretation, it was likely to have undergone some little
transformations.
To a spectator and stranger to Indian Councils, the most interesting
part was the extemporaneous speeches of the chiefs; which were
delivered longer, or shorter, by more or less, on every day of the
public deliberations. The principal speakers were _four_ of the
Menomenie chiefs; _two_ of the Winnebagoes; and _two_, and sometimes a
third and fourth, of the New York Indians.
The elocution of the New York Indians was unadorned in style, and mild
in manner. Resting principally upon their written communications, they
had not much to say. Their education and long intercourse with the
whites had entirely disrobed them of the native wildness of Indian
eloquence. John Metoxen, however, an aged and venerable chief, of
the Stockbridges--(than whom a man of more exalted worth cannot be
found on earth)--on the last day of the Council, as all attempts at
reconciliation and adjustment of differences had failed, addressed
himself _sentimentally_ to his brethren of the Menomenies and
Winnebagoes; and also to the Commissioners, in a strain most sublime
and touching; and with a respect and delicacy, towards the feelings of
all concerned, unrivalled. Metoxen is about sixty years old, and head
chief of his tribe. By his language and manner he first brought us into
the presence of God, so that we felt ourselves to be there. Even the
wild Indians are a most religious people, and a pattern of piety to
many, who are called Christians. That is: they always acknowledge a
superintending Providence. They never begin, nor end a speech, without
a reference to the Great Spirit. But John Metoxen is a Christian;--and
he has enlightened and practical views of the Christian’s God;--and on
the occasion now under consideration he made us feel his superiority,
not only as a Christian, but as a man. He appealed to the solemn
engagements of the New York Indians on one hand, and of the Menomenies
and Winnebagoes on the other, as the original contracting parties, now
at variance; he called on the Commissioners to witness the repeated
and solemn pledges of Government, to secure the fulfilment of these
engagements; he depicted the anxious progress and unfortunate result of
the present Council; with inimitable delicacy and becoming manliness he
freely confessed his diffidence in the present measures of Government,
relating to this affair; he solemnly declared, that his only confidence
now rested in the God of nations, who had propounded himself the
guardian of the oppressed, and the avenger of their wrongs;--and
whatever might become of himself, of his family, or of his people,
he felt, that it was now his last and only prerogative, to surrender
their cause into the hands of their God. “_God is witness_,” said he,
lifting up his eyes to heaven. “Brothers, I have no more to say.”[14]
It is due, that I should say something of the speeches of the wild
Menomenies and Winnebagoes. No conception of romance, in my own mind,
had ever reached the wildness and extravagance of their thoughts, or of
their manner of expressing them. And besides this, they are not wanting
in shrewdness, and what perhaps, in more dignified bodies, would be
called parliamentary device. For instance: it had happened, that the
Commissioners, in their summonses sent to these tribes, had not served
upon them a copy of their letter of instructions from the President, as
they had done to the New York tribes;--judging, not unwisely, that the
Winnebagoes and Menomenies would have little occasion for the _litera
scripta_. But before they would consent to proceed in the business of
the Council, they demanded to be made equal to the New York Indians
in this particular; and as there seemed to be so much propriety and
argument in the requisition, the Court rubbed their faces in confusion,
promised them a copy, and adjourned.
The next day, the Winnebagoes and Menomenies still refused to go on
for want of an _interpreter_. It had happened, the day previous, that
the Commissioners had promised to provide for these tribes, in this
particular, and to submit to their own nomination, notwithstanding
that they had brought along the public interpreter from Detroit. But
the young man, a half-blood, named by these Indians, to discharge this
office, thinking himself equal to a Member of Congress, demanded _eight
dollars_ (1_l._ 12_s._) per day. Whereupon the Commissioners demurred,
and sent the Indians word, that they might get their own interpreter,
if they did not like the one employed by the Commissioners. The
Indians, however, thought better; and concluded to hold the
Commissioners to their engagement. Council being assembled, the new
interpreter was not at his post. “What is the matter?”--said the Court.
One of the chiefs rose and said: “Our Fathers told us yesterday, they
would provide us an interpreter; and our Fathers are _true_ men”--and
then sat down. The crowd of barbarians roared out their applause, in
the most wild and tumultuous manner; the whites joined with them--and
the Commissioners, confounded, ordered an adjournment again; and
having grown wiser by this schooling, engaged the interpreter, as was
understood, on his own terms.
The wild Indians are not bad in managing the few facts, which
they have in their possession; and they are certainly possessed of
unrivalled skill in magnifying trifles and dignifying nothings. They
will deliver themselves of the following sentence, (which by the by is
only one word:)--“Yerensotavakarangetakowa”--in a manner to astound all
one’s senses, and raise the highest expectation. And lo! when it comes
to be interpreted, it reads:--“_the greatest fiddle possible_”--alias,
_a church organ_, which he had seen in the white man’s council-house;
and which he wished to describe to his own people. The Menomenie and
Winnebago chiefs uniformly commenced their addresses, or speeches,
and almost every sentence--(after waiting for the interpreter to
perform his office)--with a strong, monosyllabic exclamation,
involving very emphatically the guttural and aspirate elements, and
signifying:--“_Attention--hear--I am about to speak_.” It would be
mockery for any but an Indian to attempt to exemplify it. The chiefs
would always address themselves directly to the Commissioners, and with
the greatest possible vehemence, as if they understood; and when they
had finished a sentence, they would wait for the interpreter. I do not
remember to have heard a single sentence from a Winnebago, or Menomenie
chief, in Council, whether the subject were important, or trifling,
or in whatever degree it might have either of these characters, when
it was not superlatively marked with a loud and vehement elocution,
and an impassioned and violent manner; as if the fate of the world, or
of the universe, were pending on the question, or the thought. If the
sentiment uttered met with the approbation of their people, a deep and
loud guttural, or ventral _grunt_, and sometimes a boisterous uproar,
would express their applause. This single, _ventral_ expression of
approbation, if it might be called so, was apt to be heard, at the end
of every sentence, when they were gratified. And I question, whether
any orators of a civilized people, ancient or modern, were ever better
supported by the generous applause and loud acclamations of their
auditors. It was impossible not to observe the increased animation of
the speakers, from this cause; as also the quick sympathy, between
themselves and their people. If the thought, when interpreted, seemed
trifling to us, it was not always so to them. Indians, like children,
are often amused with trifles; and not unfrequently exhaust their
gravest meditations on trifles: like children they can be pleased,
and even delighted with a toy. But sometimes they stand up, and show
themselves like men; and men of the highest order. They are not great
by education, but on the instant, for the particular occasion. “There
is a spirit in man, and God hath given him understanding.” _Nature_ is
in the Indians;--and when a high demand, an imperative call challenges
its proof, it comes like the lightning, and astounds like the thunder;
whether it be in the council-house, or from the battle ambush. And now
and then, during the deliberations of this Council, we had these proofs
of Indian sagacity and power, not to be despised. For a sentimental
appeal, a delicate allusion, or a sublime flight, when occasion puts
him to it, the Indian is unrivalled; and for the keenness of wit, and
the severity of sarcasm, he is not wanting. For the generosity of his
nature, it is without bounds. I have already spoken of some of these
characteristics.
Of power over _sentiment_, I would quote the following: It was
intimated to the Indians, by the Commissioners, towards the close of
the deliberations, that the usual presents from Government, at the
breaking up of such occasions, would be withheld, because they had
refused to come to an adjustment of differences. One of the Menomenie
chiefs saw at a glance the desolateness of their prospects, and rose
instantly from his seat, and made the following speech: “Fathers,”
said he, “when you sent to call us to this Council, we were building
canoes to gather the wild rice, that our families might have bread to
eat in the winter. But, as soon as we heard your voice, we left our
canoes unfinished, and came directly to this place. Fathers--the rice
harvest is now come, our canoes are not built--and we shall have no
bread for our families.” And when it is understood, that the first
wind that blows, after the wild rice is ready for harvest, will waste
it all, the force of this appeal can better be appreciated. It was, in
the circumstances and manner, altogether overpowering, and moved the
Commissioners to grant the usual presents.
Indian speeches, in public council, always abound in religious
sentiments, or in a grateful recognition of Divine Providence; and
in friendly congratulations. This sort of religion may be accounted
for, perhaps, from their own child-like improvidence, and their more
immediate dependence on the providence of God. Their other affections
are also so child-like, that friendship and kindness are dear to them,
as they are to children. I may say in one word: that the speeches
of the Indian chiefs, on these occasions, demonstrated almost every
attribute of greatness and littleness--much to admire and much to laugh
at.