THE OHIO VALLEY-GREAT LAKES ETHNOHISTORY
ARCHIVES: THE MIAMI COLLECTION
It is noted that the following work from the Miami Archives should be read and
considered within the historical context in which it was composed and printed.
The opinions expressed and the language used do not reflect the opinions or
standards of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, but are, rather,
indicative of thought in that historical moment during which the document was
published.
Speeches by Indian Tribes
to Beauharnois
(July 8, 1742)
Speeches of the Ouyatanons,
Petikokias,
Kikapoux, and Maskoutins..." in:
Wisconsin Historical Collections,
XVII, pp. 380-387.
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1742: OTHER WESTERN INDIANS AT MONTREAL
[MS. in archives of Ministre des Colonies, Paris; press mark, "Canada, Corresp. gn., vol. 77, c. 11, fols. 181-235."]
Speeches of the Ouyatanons, Petikokias, Kikapoux, and Maskoutins to Monsieur the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor General of New france, July 8, 1742.
The Ouyatanons
We are rejoiced at Our Father being pleased to smoke our Calumet.
My Father, this is the message of a Chief who was obliged to discontinue his journey on account of illness, and who was bringing you the hearts of all the young men.
My Father, we weep, we are broken-Hearted because the Chicachas killed us last Spring. We beg you to have pity on us; we Are quite naked.
My Father, we have followed the road you traced out for us. We Again beg you to have pity on us, and always to look favorable upon that road.
My Father, the Hearts of all the young men have been brought to you. Here is mine which I also bring to you. The message of the young men is the Calumet that fills hearts with gladness.
My Father, as we cannot swim and Are not familiar with Canoes, we beg you to give us somebody to convey us.
My Father, we cease not to weep for the death of Monsieur de Vincennes, and we are continually on the warpath against the Chicachas to avenge it.1
My Father, our young men Hope you will be good enough to Send them some of your Milk.2
My Father, goods are sold us at very high prices. We therefore beg that the Post of the Ouyatanons be under the system of Licenses like Detroit, so that Everybody may go and trade there.3
My Father, we love Monsieur de Noyelles; he is Familiar with our usages and is accustomed to our Ways. We beg you to give him to us.
The Petikokias 4
My Father, as I have never appeared in Councils, I beg you to excuse me if any Thing Escapes me in my discourse.
My Father, what the other band has said to you is the same Thing that I wish to say to you.
I am of the same Mind as my Father who has already come here twice. I follow the footsteps of my ancestors and my Heart is the same.
My Father, all that I have said is said in all sincerity. I know that you have but one word.
My Father, all our young men are quiet in our village. They Hope you will have pity on Them.
There was an evil nation, that of the Renards. We waged war on them and drove them Away because we knew they would not do your will.
My Father, our sole occupation will be to avenge the blows struck by the Chicachas upon your French and upon Monsieur de Vincennes.
My Father, this Calumet is for the purpose of making the sky clear and dissipating the clouds.
The Kikapoux
My Father, I think you will have pity on us because we have never Deviated from the Path you traced out for us.
My Father, I think your Heart will have pity on me. It is contained in this Paper.5
My Father, we have widened the Road you laid out for us, in order to follow the traces more easily.
My Father, I have a Desire to leave the Ouyatanons and Settle in the meadow of the Maskoutins.6
My Father, I do not think I shall ever come back here because I am very old.
My Father, we ask you for a Chief, a blacksmith, and Frenchmen to bring us what we need.
The Maskoutins - in two bands
My Father, you have always had pity on us; we think you will continue to show us the same kindness.
My Father, we have followed the road you traced out for us. We have no news to tell you. We come to Listen to your word. We Hope you will have pity on us.
The other band
My Father, when we saw that the Chiefs had decided to come and see you, we followed them. We Hope you will have pity on us as on your other Children.
My Father, we have come to see you and to Listen to your words. We Hope you will have pity on us.
We Hope, my Father, that you will Send us away soon lest the inclement season overtake us on our journey.
My Father, as we know not the Road, we Hope you will give us Frenchmen to lead us above the Rapids.
My Father, we ask your permission to go by the South of the Lake to shorten our road.
My Father, the Puants came to me in my village last Summer to seek a refuge and to form but one Body With us, because they could no longer live with the Renards, who attacked them continually. I gave them my word that they had only to come to me, and we would Settle Together in the Meadow of the Maskoutins, where we think the Chaouanons [Shawnee] will also come and Settle with us, as they have promised us to do so.
______
Reply of Monsieur the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor-general of New france, to the speeches of the Ouyatanons, Petikokias, Kikapoux, and Maskoutins, July 12, 1742.
To the Ouyatanons
My Children, I have smoked your Calumet with much pleasure, to show you how I love you all.
My Children, I am sorry that the Chief who was bringing (page 384) me the Hearts of the young men should have been compelled by Illness to discontinue his journey. I have received his message with joy, and I charge you to bear him mine. You may say on my behalf to all the young men, that so long as they Listen to my words, I will always include them in the number of my true Children.
My Children, I am greatly afflicted by the loss you have experienced through the death of your Warriors who were killed by the Chicachas. Here is a leaf I throw on their Bodies, and a Drink of Milk to wipe away your Tears.
My Children, you have given me pleasure by following the Road I have traced out for you. It will always be clear, and you will never find any Ambush in it.
My Children, I have already told you that I received with pleasure the Hearts of all your young men. I receive yours and your Calumet with Equal satisfaction.
My Children, I know that you Are not accustomed to Canoes. I will therefore give you Frenchmen to Convey you.
By a Collar
My Children, you do rightly in weeping for the death of Monsieur de Vincennes. I had given him to you because I knew he loved you and you loved him greatly. By this Collar, I ask you to continue to avenge his death.
My Children, here is some of my Milk for your young men; they will see that I have Listened to their request.
My Children, you are aware that it costs a great deal to convey Goods to your villages, and that there is a considerable difference between your road and that of Detroit. Nevertheless, I take your request into Consideration. There will be several traders, and you will be Masters to seek a cheap market.
My Children, I will have an answer given to your request for Monsieur Denoyelle. I must first know how your villages are to be arranged. (page 385)
To the Petikokias
My son, although thou hast never appeared in Councils, I think nothing evil will come from thee.
My son, I am delighted that thou hast the same heart and the same sentiments as they brothers, and that thou followest the traces of they Father and of thy ancestors.
My son, I know thy Heart is sincere; thou are right in saying I have only one word.
My son, I am delighted that they young men are quiet in your village; thou seest that I have pity on them.
My son, I know what thou hast done with Regard to the Nation whereof thou hast spoken to me.7 It has acknowledged its error and I have forgiven it.
It is right, my son, that thou shouldst continue to avenge the Blows struck by the Chicachas upon the French and upon Monsieur de Vincennes. I ask thee to join thyself to the Collar I have just given for all your Nation.
My son, I am pleased to see that thou wishest to have the sky Clear. I will always strive to have it so.
To the Kikapoux
My son, I know that thou hast never Deviated from the road I traced out for thee. To give thee proofs of my satisfaction, I change thy medal; and I give thee thine for thy son, that he may be recognized as a Chief through that mark of distinction.
My son, I know that I have given thee my Heart and that thou bearest it continually with thee.
My Children, I am pleased that you have widened the road I traced out for you.
My son, I leave thee at liberty to Settle in the meadow of the Maskoutins.
My son, I Hope the master of life will preserve thee long enough to allow of my having the pleasure of seeing thee here again.
My Children, as soon as I see your fire well lighted, I will Send you a Chief, a blacksmith, and Frenchmen to take you what you need.
To the Maskoutins
My Children, you are right in thinking that I shall have pity on you, and that I shall always continue to show you the same kindness.
My Children, I rejoice at your having taken the road I traced out for you, and at your having come to Listen to my word. You did right in following the Chiefs who decided to come and see me.
I have always included you in the number of my true Children. You see that I treat you all Equally.
My Children, you will be Free to leave whenever you like. I will give Frenchmen to you, as to the others, to take you back.
To the three Nations
My Children, it is impossible for me to consent to give you the permission you ask, to pass by the South side of the Lake to shorten your Road. I have traced out one by which you have come; you said you would not Deviate from it. I have reason to believe that you have not two words.
My Children, the season is not so far advanced as not to give you time enough to return to your homes. This will not lengthen your road more than two or three days. The Frenchmen I give you will soon enable you to make up that time. Moreover, if the bark is ready, I will give orders to Embark you on it to cross the Lake. If not, the French will take you to Niagara.
My Children, I take this precaution lest you should mix my Milk with that of the English by passing by Choughen, and lest some accident befall you. You know that people are killed at that Place every year through drink. As you Have come to see me peacefully, I shall be much pleased to have you go back in the same manner.
To the Kikapoux and Maskoutins
My Children, here is a Collar that I give you to ask you, as I have asked your brothers the Ouyatanons and Petikokias, to continue to strike the Chicachas.
That is all I have to say to you.
____________________________
1 For the capture and death of Vincennes at the hands of the Chickasaw, see ante, p. 259, note 1.- ED.
2 French "milk," in Indian parlance, signified brandy or other alcoholic liquors.- ED.
3 On the Ouiatanon post, and license therefor, see manuscript of 1731, ante, pp. 131-134.- ED.
4 A Ouiatanon (Wea) tribe; see Wis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 376.- ED.
5 (1, p. 382) Note on margin of original MS.: "it is a commission of great Chief of a village."
6 (also 1, p. 382) This is apparently a well-known landmark; see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 1097, and x, p. 20, where it appears to be identified incorrectly. The editor thereof is inclined to think it was at or near the site of South Bend, Ind.; but the evidence is inconclusive. See Carr, "The Mascoutins," in Amer. Antiq. Soc. Report, April, 1900, for an account of the wanderings and relationships of this tribe.- ED.
7 (1, p. 385) Note on original MS.: "The Renards."
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