PROCEEDINGS of the COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED BY THE STATUTE Entitled An Act for appointing Commissioners to hold Treaties with the Indians within this State, passed the first Day of March, 1788. At a Meeting of the Commissioners at the Court House in Poughkeepsie, in the County of Dutchess the third Day of March, 1788. Present: His Excellency Governor Clinton. William Floyd, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Richard Varick, Samuel Jones & Egbert Benson. Resolved, That a Treaty be held with the Six Nations of Indians at Fort Schuyler on the tenth Day of July next; That a Message for this Purpose be sent to the Six Nations, and that Mr. Varick and Mr. Benson prepare a Draft thereof and Report the same to this Board at their next Meeting. Resolved, That John Tayler of the City of Albany, Esquire, be appointed Agent to this Board at Albany, to manage such Business in Relation to the Commission as shall from time to time become necessary; That a Letter be written to him informing him of his Appointment, and that Mr. Varick and Mr. Benson prepare a Draft thereof and report the same to this Board at their next Meeting. At a Meeting of the Commissioners at the Court House in Poughkeepsie, in the County of Dutchess, the tenth Day of March, 1788. Present: His Excellency Governor Clinton. William Floyd, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Richard Varick, Samuel Jones & Egbert Benson. Mr. Benson reported to the Board a Draft of the Message to the Six Nations of Indians, which being read was amended and agreed to by the Board and is in the Words following: Sachems and Warriors of the Six Nations! Open your Ears to the Voice of the great Council of the State of New York; for in their Name We now speak to You. Altho' the late War has for a Time interrupted that brotherly Intercourse which was so pleasing to your and our Ancestors, yet we have never been unmindful of the Friendship which was between them and which it is our earnest Desire should forever remain between You and Us. With this good Disposition, which has been given us by the great Spirit above, we met you in a Treaty at Fort Schuyler shortly after the General Peace, and with the same Disposition we now wish to meet you again in a Treaty at Fort Schuyler on the tenth Day of July next, as well to brighten the Chain and renew the Covenant which has so long bound us together, as to confer with you on Matters of very great Importance to our mutual Happiness and Welfare. BRETHREN: We have heard that some of our People have been among you to purchase by taking a Lease of your Lands from you without the Consent of our great Council and contrary to the good old Rule and Custom which has always been between your Forefathers and ours and between you and us. Listen to our Advice. This is one of the principal Matters about which we wish to talk with you, and we advise you as well for the Sake of yourselves and your Children and Children's Children as for our own Sakes, that you will not suffer any of these People to come and settle on your Lands. BRETHREN: These People who have been to purchase your Lands have been disobedient Children to their Fathers, our great Council. BRETHREN: A Belt will be delivered to you in Confirmation of this our Message to you. Mr. Benson also reported to the Board a Draft of a Letter from the Board to John Tayler, Esquire, which being read and amended was agreed to, and is in the Words following: SIR: By an Act of the Legislature at the present Session we are appointed Commissioners to hold Treaties with the Indians within this State and have agreed that you should be our Agent in Albany to manage such Business in Relation to the Commission as shall from time to time become necessary, and we flatter ourselves that the Appointment will not be inconvenient to you. We have for the present entrusted to your Care our Message to the Indians which you will herewith receive and which we request you to forward to them as soon as possible in such Manner as you shall suppose best, so that they may receive it with Certainty. You will observe that it will be necessary to provide a proper Belt to accompany the Message. We must also depend upon you for an immediate Communication of the Answer from the Indians, and we shall then have it in our Power to determine as to Provisions and other Requisites for the Treaty, which we shall instruct you to procure, and will furnish you with Money as well for that Purpose as for paying the Messenger or Messengers, as you may find necessary to employ to convey the Message to the Indians. The holding of the proposed Treaty with the Indians is of the utmost Importance, and we commit it to your Discretion to use such Means for effecting this Object as you shall deem proper, notwithstanding our particular Instructions at present do not extend beyond the sending of our Message to the Indians. We are Sir, Your most obedt. Servants. JOHN TAYLER, ESQUIRE, Albany. GEO: CLINTON. Resolved, that his Excellency the Governor be requested to write to his Excellency the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, informing him of the Proceedings of this Board, and requesting that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will join in the proposed Treaty. At a Meeting of the Commissioners at the House of Stephen Hendrickson in Poughkeepsie, in the County of Dutchess, the twelfth day of March, 1788. Present: His Excellency Governor Clinton. William Floyd, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Richard Varick, Samuel Jones, & Egbert Ben son. The Governor laid before the Board a Paper signed by several Indians of the Oneida Nation and attested by Matthew Lyne, respecting the Purchase made of some of their Nation by Caleb Benton, Ezekiel Gilbert and others, and Mr. Lyne appeared before the Board and was examined; Thereupon Resolved, That a Message be sent to the Oneida Nation, and that Mr. Benson prepare a Draft thereof. Resolved further, That a Letter be written to John Tayler, Esquire, to accompany the Message to the Oneida Nation, and that Mr. Benson prepare a Draft thereof. Mr. Benson laid before the Board a Draft of a Message to the Oneida Nation, which being read and amended, was agreed to by the Board, and is in the Words following: BROTHERS: A Paper purporting to be a Message to the Assembly of this State and signed with the Names of several Indians of your Nation, has been received by the Legislature of this State and has by them been delivered over to me and the other Persons whom they have appointed Commissioners on their behalf to hold Treaties with the Indians. The Commissioners had previously resolved to hold a Treaty with the Six Nations at Fort Schuyler on the 10th of July next, and I sent to you for your Information a Copy of the Message to the Six Nations of Indians inviting them to the Treaty. At the Treaty the Several Matters in the above mentioned Papers contained will be fully considered, and in the mean Time my Advice to you and your People is that you keep Peace and Order among yourselves, and by no Means suffer any Persons to come and settle on your Lands. It is earnestly our Wish that as many of your People do attend the Treaty as possible, as the Business to be there transacted is of the greatest Importance both to you and us. * At a Meeting of the Commissioners at the House of Walter Heyer, in the City of New York, the 18th Day of April, 1788. * [Extract of John Tayler's Speech to Oneida Indians enclosed in a letter to Governor Clinton, dated March 20, 1788.] BROTHERS: The Governor and Great Men of the State of New York have received your Message and have listened to what you said unto them. They have sent an Answer by me. I would not intrust their Message to any one but resolved to come & see you myself. The Roads are so bad that I could not get farther than this Place. I have sent for you, Sachems and Warriors to meet me here; I am glad to see you, and will now deliver the Message. BROTHERS: I have likewise another Message from your Father the Governor to the Six Nations which he desired me to send to them, and he told me that the safest Way was to send it by some of the Oneidas, as he was sure his Friends the Oneidas would deliver it carefully. I have it now with me and wish you would send it off immediately by two of your Chiefs, and I will give you who go a little Money, and will provide you with some Bread and Pork to support you on your Journey, and I will return and wait for the Answer of the Six Nations at Albany, which I expect you will bring to me, and I will write to the Governor that he may be sure it will be safe delivered. * * * * Indians' Answer. BROTHER: We have travelled a bad Road, and are very much tired. We are glad to see you here. You have told us good News. We hear the Governor's Message with great Joy, and we will tell it to all our Friends, and will deliver the Governor's Message and Belt to the Senecas, and if those you send the Message by should take sick, we will send it by some safe Men. The Road is open to Fort Schuyler, and all the Nations will meet you there after the Corn is howed. We hope you will not fail to meet us there. BROTHER: You have told us the Truth and it has made us very glad to hear our Friend speak to us, and we will not forget what you have said to us, and we hope to see you at Fort Schuyler with the Governor, and that we shall be put in the right Way. We will certainly meet you there, and listen to your good Advice. At a Meeting of the Commissioners at the House of Richard Varick in the City of New York, the third Day of May, 1788. Present: His Excellency Governor Clinton. John Lawrence, Richard Varick, Samuel Jones, Egbert Benson. The Governor laid before the Board a Letter from John Livingston to him covering certain Proposals to the Commissioners, which Letter and Proposals are in the Words following: SIR: I have taken the Liberty to inclose to your Excellency the Propositions I promised. If your Excellency and the Commis |