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 18, 24, & 25, 1742)
Speeches of the Scioux, Sakis,
Renards, Puants,
Sauteux of la pointe de Chagouamigon,
and folles avoines..." in:Wisconsin
Historical Collections,
XVII, pp. 396-402.
|
pp. |
|
|
|
|
|
(page 396) continue; because you can come here for what you need as well as you can go to the English, and, moreover, I am your Father.
By a Collar
My Children, I am told that every year you decide to move your village. I know you are well placed where you are; my intention is that you remain there. By this Collar I replenish your fire, and take away all the bad thoughts that may be in your hearts.
I Send to Ouilamec, Memidokay, and Ouasado the same things I give you. Tell them from me that I urge them always to strive to do what is right.
Pilmou and Thichaakane, I give you each a Medal, and a gorget to Okeyaouisse (Oquiyaouy). On account of the distinction conferred upon you, I think this mark of honor will Induce you to strive more and more to do what is right, to Listen to my words, and to do my will.
______
Speeches of the Scioux, Sakis, Renards, Puants, Sauteux of la pointe de Chagouamigon, and folles avoines, to Monsieur the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor-general of New france, on the 18th, 24th and 25th of July, 1742.
The Scioux
My Father, we the people of the other Side of the half of the earth, are very happy to appear before you today. We come to ask your grace.
My Father, we heard throughout the earth that you do good to all your Children. We said: "why should we not go like the others and present our Calumet; perhaps our Father will have pity on us."
My Father, we heard that the Sakis and Renards had in their village a Chief called Monsieur Marin. We said: "they are fortunate; we must go and see him that he may smoke our calu- (page 397) met with us, and we must Induce the Sakis and Renards to intercede for us, that he may receive us."
My Father, as soon as Monsieur Marin had smoked our Calumet, we Sent with him two of our young men, Ouabacha and Sintez, to beg you for life.
My Father, when our young men returned to our village, they said to us: "You other Chiefs, My Father asks for you; he wishes to see you."
My Father, we begged Monsieur Marin last winter to bring us to you to ask for life. We are indebted to him for having been able to come down to see our Father.
My Father, we have had no other will than that of Monsieur Marin, and yet last spring more than 160 of our men were killed, without counting the women and Children. We have not moved to revenge ourselves for that Blow, because he, on your behalf, forbade our doing so. We have come to complain of it to you.
My Father, I will not repeat all the Blows struck at us by the Outaouacs, Sauteux, and other Nations, because we think Monsieur Marin has reported them to you.
The same on the 24th of the said month
My Father, I feared to be badly received when I entered your house, but I found you had the kindness to receive me like the others.
My Father, we would not have ventured to ask any favor of you, had we not found two of our Children, who began to cry when they saw us. As we come from so far, we Hope, My Father, that you will not refuse us, and that we may Take them with us.
My Father, I should be proud if you wold have the kindness to give us our two Children, who wept when they saw us.
My Father, though I am a Chief, the young men do not always obey my will; wherefore I beg you to have pity on me.
My Father, this Leads me to ask you to grant us an officer in our villages, to give us Sense.
Sakis and Renards - By a Collar
My Father, when I first came to beg you for my life, you granted it to me, and I have always lived from that time.
My Father, when I came here I asked you many important things. We asked you for a Chief to guide us, and you granted us one.
My Father, you gave us Monsieur Marin; we thank you for it; we are pleased with him; he takes good care of our wives and Children, and of all our villages.
My Father, when you gave us Monsieur Marin, you said to us: "Listen to his words, they are mine." He said to us: "Move your village, it is the will of your Father." We obeyed him.
My Father, we thank you for having given us that Chief; through him we live in peace.
By a Collar
My Father, we have Moved our fire; we are a day's journey from la Baye, our former village. We beg you to have pity on us and to think no evil of us.
My Father, all the French Know well that at the Place where we Were, there was not enough to live on.1 Therefore we camped a little higher up.
My Father, Monsieur Marin said to us: "You Sakis and Renards, do not go to war against the Children of your Father Onontio; remain quiet at home."
My Father, we replied to him that we would never Go to war against anybody; if we are attacked we will defend ourselves. And shortly afterward the Ilinois killed four of our women.
I do not conceal from you, My Father, that when I was killed I pursued them. We killed ten and made five prisoners.
My Father, when we had struck that blow we recognized them as our brothers, and as Children of the same Father. We said to them: "What were you thinking of when you came to strike us? You are very fortunate in being Children of Onontio; otherwise we should burn you." And we sent them home out of consideration for you.
My Father, when we arrived at the village of the folles avoines, we were surprised to see the heads of two of our men suspended in the air. We said: "how can it be that we are killed by our true brothers?"
My Father, we cannot tell you all that may have happened since we left our village; we have heard that war parties were in the field going in our direction. We know not what nation they will strike.
My Father, as we have had no news of all those parties, we know not what has happened; therefore we fear for ourselves on our way back. You only, My Father, who have arms of iron, can protect us.
My Father, it has afforded us pleasure to see our allies from the other villages receive marks of distinction. We beg you, My Father, to confer similar tokens of honor on us.
The same on the 24th of the said month
My Father, I feared you on my arrival on account of the blow we struck the Ilinois, although we were not the first to begin.
My Father, this is the second time I have come to see you, and you have always received us well.
My Father, I have asked you no favor since I have been here. I expect shortly to have life and that you have granted it to me. Therefore, My Father, we beg you to give us back the daughter of Ouachalard2 who was a great Chief with us, and the daughter of Patchipao,3 a Saki chief.
My Father, one of the two girls I ask for is a Renard and the other a Saki. As you have granted us our lives, I do not think you will refuse them to us.
My Father, although we found two war-parties going in our direction, this did not Prevent our coming down to see you. We know not what may have happened.
My Father, those two War Parties cause us apprehension; they will perhaps attack the Scioux or us; we have everything to fear.
My Father, on account of all these unfortunate affairs, we beg you to recommend Monsieur Marin who brought us here to take us back quietly to our villages and to urge him to depart, because we would like to return home promptly, owing to those War parties.
The Puants
My Father, you told us to go and Settle at la Baye; one half the village has gone there, the other is at Riviere a la Roche.
My Father, you told me to obey Monsieur Marin; I have done so. I am on the warriors' Road. I cannot Prevent their passing; all I can do is to stop our young men. None have yet gone to war.
My father, I am uneasy; I am Embarassed at seeing Nations that wish to disturb the land. We have only you to support us.
The Sauteux - By a Collar
My Father, I have nothing to say; I cam to Listen to your words. You told me to keep quiet and to not disturb the land any more; I have done so.
My Father, last autumn Monsieur Marin Sent a Letter to Monsieur de Laronde, who said to us: "Go my Children, go to him; he asks for you on behalf of your Father."
My Father, you see all your Children here; I have gone through their villages.
My Father, as I am not master of my body, I bet you to (page 401) have pity on me, and to Teach me to live properly; that is what I Want to do.
My Father, I will not tell you What I have done, because I think Monsieur Marin and Monsieur de la Ronde have reported it to you. Here is the Message of the Scioux, Sakis, and Renards with whom I have made Peace.4 I bring it to you that you may keep it, because it would much better be in your hands than in mine.
The folles-Avoines, on the 25th of the said month
My Father, I have not come here without design. Monsieur Marin said to me: "man a Canoe with Chiefs, go down below that you may yourselves tell your Father of the Blow you struck." I obeyed and came down as you see us before you.
It is true, My Father, that we did wrong in striking the Renards our brothers. The Chiefs did not consent to it, and had nothing to do with it. A young Giddy-pate committed the deed that causes us so much Trouble today.
My Father, knowing the fault I have committed, I come to deliver my body into your hands.
My Father, never had I done evil, because I have always followed your advice and done your will. It has seemed to me that the French only were my allies.
My Father, we have come also to Listen to the speeches of the Scioux, Renards, Sakis, Puants, and Sauteux, our allies, your Children, who have come down here to ask you for Peace and quiet. We come for the same purpose, and have no doubt they have spoken of it to you.
My Father, the reason why you see so many of us, is that I have brought with me the more dangerous of the young Warriors, whom I have bound, so that, if the Renards Wish to revenge themselves, they may do so more easily, as we have left women only in our village.
My Father, I know not what to do to give an opening to (page 402) my Enemy, that he may revenge himself more quietly. We come to weep near you, and we beg you to settle the trouble we are now in. That is all we have to say to you.
___________
Reply of Monsieur the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor General of New france, to the speeches of the Scioux, Sakis, Renards, Puants, Sauteux of la pointe de Chagouamigon, and folles-avoines, July 28, 1742.
To the Scioux
My Children, you are right in saying that you are fortunate in being permitted to appear today before me, in being granted the favor you ask of me, and in being included by me in the number of my true Children.
My Children, you have seen for yourselves that what the whole earth told you is true. You have seen also that I have accepted your Calumet and have smoked it, to show you how I wish peace and quiet to reign amongst the Nations of my Children. You must have perceived that I have pity on you.
My Children, I saw the two young men you Sent me, Ouabacha and Sintz. I replied to their speeches. They made me, indeed, promises on your behalf, which they have not kept, because the same Ouabacha killed one of my Frenchmen in the River of the Ilinois, and since then another Frenchman has been killed in the mississipi country, and one has been captured, whom you gave the Sakis and Renards to be handed over to Monsieur Marin.
My Children, you would have done much better had you Chiefs come down here instead of Sending young men. Perhaps those evil things would not have happened, because you would have paid more attention to my words.
My Children, you did rightly in coming down with Monsieur Marin to beg your
lives of me. I grant them to you on condition that no evil affair shall ever
happen. I think that all you have said to me is sincere, and comes from the
bottom
______________________
1 These were the villages on Little Lake Butte des Morts, a widening of Fox River just below Doty's Island in Menasha township, Winnebago County. See Grignon's statement of location of Foxes, in Wis. Hist. Colls., iii, p. 204; also Lawson, "Outagamis at Menasha," in Wis. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, 1899.- ED.
2 (1, p. 399) Ouachala; see Wis. Hist. Colls., xvi, index.- ED.
3 (2, p. 399) Apparently the hereditary name of the head chief of the Sauks. One Pashepaho held that office in the time of the Black Hawk War; see Wis. Hist. Colls., x, 154.- ED.
4 (1, p. 401) Note on original MS.: "it is a collar."
Return to
TOC, p. 10
Continue
to next part of Miami Collection
[return to Miami
Collection Menu]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology List of Publications]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology Home]
Last updated: 15
November 2000
URL: http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/home.html
Comments: webmaster@www.gbl.indiana.edu
Copyright 1996, Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and The Trustees of Indiana University
Return to
TOC, p. 10
Continue
to next part of Miami Collection
[return to Miami
Collection Menu]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology List of Publications]
[return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology Home]
Last updated: 20
April 1999
URL: http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/home.html
Comments: webmaster@www.gbl.indiana.edu
Copyright 1996, Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and The Trustees of Indiana University