"Children,--When your Great Father, the lieutenant-governor, parted with
his Red children last year at this place, he promised again to meet
them here at the council-fire, and witness in person the grand delivery
of presents now just finished.
"To fulfil this engagement, your Great Father left his residence at
Toronto, and proceeded on his way to the Great Manitoolin Island, as far
as Lake Simcoe. At this place, a messenger, who had been dispatched from
Toronto, overtook him, and informed him of the death of our Great
Father, on the other side of the Great Salt Lake, and the accession of
the Queen Victoria. It consequently became necessary for your Great
Father, the lieutenant-governor, to return to the seat of his
government, and hold a council with his chief men.
"Children!--Your Great Father, the lieutenant-governor, has deputed me
to express to you his regret and disappointment at being thus
unexpectedly deprived of the pleasure which he had promised to himself,
in again seeing all his Red children, and in taking by the hand the
chiefs and warriors of the numerous tribes now here assembled.
"Children!--I am now to communicate to you a matter in which many of you
are deeply interested. Listen with attention, and bear well in mind what
I say to you.
"Children!--Your Great Father the King had determined that presents
should be continued to be given to all Indians resident in the Canadas.
"But presents will be given to Indians residing in the United States
only for three years, including the present delivery.
"Children!--The reasons why presents will not be continued to the
Indians residing in the United States I will explain to you.
"First: All our countrymen who resided in the United States forfeited
their claim to protection from the British government, from the moment
their Great Father the King lost possession of that country.
Consequently the Indians have no right to expect that their Great Father
will continue to them what he does not continue to his own white
children.
"Secondly: The Indians of the United States, who served in the late
war, have already received from the British government more than has
been received by the soldiers of their Great Father, who have fought for
him for twenty years.
"Thirdly: Among the rules which civilised nations are bound to attend
to, there is one which forbids your Great Father to give arms and
ammunition to Indians of the United States, who are fighting against the
government under which they live.
"Fourthly: The people of England have, through their representatives in
the great council of the nation, uttered great complaints at the expense
attendant upon a continuation of the expenditure of so large a sum of
money upon Indian presents.
"But, Children! let it be distinctly understood, that the British
government has not come to a determination to cease to give presents to
the Indians of the United States. On the contrary, the government of
your Great Father will be most happy to do so, provided they live in the
British empire. Therefore, although your Great Father is willing that
his Red children should all become permanent settlers in the island, it
matters not in what part of the British empire they reside. They may go
across the Great Salt Lake to the country of their Great Father the
King, and there reside, and there receive their presents; or they may
remove to any part of the provinces of Upper or Lower Canada, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or any other British colony, and yet receive
them. But they cannot and must not expect to receive them after the end
of three years, if they continue to reside within the limits of the
United States.
"Children!--The Long Knives have complained (and with justice too) that
your Great Father, whilst he is at peace with them, has supplied his Red
children residing in their country, with whom the Long Knives are at
war, with guns and powder and ball.
"Children!--This, I repeat to you, is against the rules of civilised
nations, and if continued, will bring on war between your Great Father
and the Long Knives.
"Children!--You must therefore come and live under the protection of
your Great Father, or renounce the advantage which you have so long
enjoyed, of annually receiving valuable presents from him.
"Children!--I have one thing more to observe to you. There are many
clergymen constantly visiting you for the avowed purpose of instructing
you in religious principles. Listen to them with attention when they
talk to you on that subject; but at the same time keep always in view,
and bear it well in your minds, that they have nothing whatever to do
with your temporal affairs. Your Great Father who lives across the Great
Salt Lake is your guardian and protector, and he only. He has
relinquished his claim to this large and beautiful island, on which we
are assembled, in order that you may have a home of your own quite
separate from his white children. The soil is good, and the waters which
surround the shores of this island are abundantly supplied with the
finest fish. If you cultivate the soil with only moderate industry, and
exert yourselves to obtain fish, you can never want, and your Great
Father will continue to bestow annually on all those who permanently
reside here, or in any part of his dominions, valuable presents, and
will from time to time visit you at this island, to behold your
improvements.
"Children!--Your Great Father, the lieutenant-governor, as a token of
the above declaration, transmits to the Indians a silk British flag,
which represents the British empire. Within this flag, and immediately
under the symbol of the British crown, are delineated a British lion and
a beaver; by which is designated that the British people and the
Indians, the former being represented by the lion and the latter by the
beaver, are and will be alike regarded by their sovereign, so long as
their figures are imprinted on the British flag, or, in other words, so
long as they continue to inhabit the British empire!
"Children!--This flag is now yours. But it is necessary that some one
tribe should take charge of it, in order that it may be exhibited in
this island on all occasions, when your Great Father either visits or
bestows presents on his Red children. Choose, therefore, from among
you, the tribe to which you are willing to entrust it for safe keeping,
and remember to have it with you when we next meet again at this place.
"Children!--I bid you farewell. But before we part, let me express to
you the high satisfaction I feel at witnessing the quiet, sober, and
orderly conduct which has prevailed in the camp since my arrival. There
are assembled here upwards of three thousand persons, composed of
different tribes. I have not seen nor heard of any wrangling or
quarrelling among you; I have not seen even one man, woman, or child, in
a state of intoxication.
"Children!--Let me entreat you to abstain from indulging in the use of
fire-water. Let me entreat you to return immediately to your respective
homes, with the presents now in your possession. Let me warn you against
attempts that may be made by traders or other persons to induce you to
part with your presents, in exchange for articles of little
value.--Farewell."
When Mr. Jarvis ceased speaking there was a pause, and then a fine
Ottawa chief (I think Mokomaun,ish) arose, and spoke at some length. He
said, that with regard to the condition on which the presents would be
issued in future, they would deliberate on the affair, and bring their
answer next year.
Shinguaconse then came forward and made a long and emphatic speech, from
which I gathered that he and his tribe requested that the principal
council-fire might be transferred to St. Mary's River, and objected to a
residence on the Manitoolin Island. After him spoke two other chiefs,
who signified their entire acquiescence in what their Great Father had
advised, and declared themselves satisfied to reside on the Manitoolin
Islands.
After some deliberation among themselves, the custody of the flag was
consigned to the Ottawa tribe then residing on the island, and to their
principal chief, who came forward and received it with great ceremony.
There was then a distribution of extra presents, medals, silver gorgets,
and amulets, to some of the chiefs and relatives of chiefs whose conduct
was particularly approved, or whom it was thought expedient to gratify.
The council then broke up, and I made my way into the open air as
quickly as I could.
* * * * *