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SPEECHES
INDIAN CHIEFS.
ALSO,
AN EXTRACT OF A LETTER
FROM
AN INDIAN CHIEF
Hºmelºdrą :
PRINTED BY SAMUEL WOOD,
No. 357, PEARL-stºriºr.
º
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INDIAN SPEECHES,
DELIVERED BY
Farmer’s Brother, & Red jacket,
TWO SENECA CHIEFS.
---
The following Speeches of Farmer's Brother and Red
Jacket, two of the Seneca Chiefs, communicated for publi-
cation in the Ontario Repository, have been thought worth
preserving in the form of a pamphlet. The gentleman who
furnished them to the Editor, prefaced them with observing,
“The speech of Farmer's Brother is an interesting specimen
of boldness of figure; and in one expression, Longinus would -
have given him credit for the true sublime: “the Great
Spirit spoke to the whirlwind, and it was still.”
“The speech of Red Jacket, I think, discovers the same
beauties of imagery, united with shrewdness of remark,
and an extent of information, far, beyond what we should
have expected to find in the wandering tribes of Indians. I
confess that, in perusing this speech, I felt humbled in the
view of myself, considering the superior advantages I had
enjoyed from childhood, to those granted to this man of the
woods.
“You may rely on the correctness of the speeches, as delive
ered by the Chiefs mentioned. I received Red Jacket's
from a gentleman who was present when it was delivered,
and wrote it sentence by sentence, as translated at the time,
by the interpreter.”


*Gººrººº-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º: ºr ºr rººrºrºrº
SPEECH
or.
FARMER2S BROTHE /*.
—- sº-
The following speech was delivered in a public
council at Genesee river, Nov. 21, 1798, by
Ho-NA-YA-wus, commonly called Farmer’s
Brother; and, after being written as inter-
preted, it was signed by the principal chiefs
present, and sent to the legislature of the state
of New-York.
“THE sachems, chiefs and warriors, of the Sen-
eca nation, to the sachems and chiefs assembled
about the great council fire of the state of New-
York.
“Brothers—As you are once more assembled
in council for the purpose of doing honour to
yourselves, and justice to your country; we,
your brothers, the sachems, chiefs, and warriors
of the Seneca nation, request you to open your
ears and give attention to our voice and wishes.

6
“Brothers—You will recollect the late contest
between you and your father, the great king of
England. This contest threw the inhabitants of
this whole island into a great tumult and commo-
tion, like a raging whirlwind which tears up the
trees, and tosses to and fro the leaves, so that no
one knows from whence they come, or where they
will fall.
“Brothers—This whirlwind was so directed by
the Great Spirit above, as to throw into our arms
two of your infant children, Jasper Parrish, and
Horatro Jones. We adopted them into our fam-
ilies and made them our children. We loved
them and nourished them. They lived with us
many years. At length, the Great Spirit spoke
to the whirlwind, and it was still. A clear and
uninterrupted sky appeared. The path of peace
was opened, and the chain of friendship was once
more made bright. Then these our adopted chil.
dren left us, to seek their relations. We wished
them to remain among us, and promised, if they
would return and live in our country, to give
each of them a seat of land for them and their
children to sit down upon.
“Brothers—They have returned, and have, for
several years past, been serviceable to us as inter-

º
preters. We still feel our hearts beat with affec-
tion for them, and now wish to fulfil the promise
we made them, and to reward them for theirser-
vices. We have, therefore, made up our minds
to give them a seat of two square miles of land,
lying on the outlet of Lake Erie, about three
miles below Black Rock, beginning at the mouth
of a creek known by the name of Scoy-gu-quoy-
des creek, running one mile from the river Niag-
ara, up said creek, thence northerly, as the river
runs, two miles; thence westerly one mile, to the
river; thence up the river, as the river runs, two
miles, to the place of beginning, so as to contain
two square miles.
“Brothers—We have now made known to you
our minds. We expect, and earnestly request,
that you will permit our friends to receive this
our gift, and will make the same good to them,
according to the laws and customs of your nation.
“Brothers—Why should you hesitate to make
our minds easy with regard to this our request?
To you it is but a little thing, and have you not
complied with the request, and confirmed the gift
of our brothers the Oneidas, the Onondagas, and
Cayugas, to their interpreters? And shall we ask
and not be heard?

8
“Brothers—We send you this our speech, tº
which we expect your answer before the breaking
up of your great council fire.”
- |
– 69-
SPEECH OF RED JACKET.
In the summer of 1805, a number of the principal
chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations, prin-
cipally Senecas, assembled at Buffalo Creek, in
the state of New-York, at the particular re-
guest of the Rev. Mr. Cram, a missionary from
the state of Massachusetts. The missionary
being furnished with an interpreter, and ac-
companied by the agent of the United States
for Indian affairs, met the Indians in council,
when the following talk took place.
FIRST, BY THE AGENT.
“Brothers of the Six Nations—I rejoice to
meet you at this time, and thank the Great Spirit,
that he has preserved you in health, and given
me another opportunity of taking you by the hand.
“Brothers—The person who sits by me, is a
friend who has come a great distance to hold a

9
talk with you. He will inform you what his busi-
ness is, and it is my request that you would listen
with attention to his words.”
MISSIONARY.
* My Friends—I am thankful for the opportu-
nity afforded us of uniting together at this time.
I had a great desire to see you, and inquire into
your state and welfare; for this purpose I have
travelled a great distance, being sent by your old
friends, the Boston Missionary Society. You
will recollect they formerly sent missionaries
among you, to instructyou in religion, and labour
for your good. Although they have not heard
from you for a long time, yet they have not for-
gotten their brothers, the Six Nations, and are
still anxious to do you good.
“Brothers—I have not come to get your lands
or your money, but to enlighten your minds, and
to instruct you how to worship the great Spirit
agreeably to his mind and will, and to preach to
you the gospel of his son Jesus Christ. There
is but one religion, and but one way to serve God,
and if you do not embrace the right way, you
cannot be happy hereafter. You have never
worshipped the great Spirit in a manner accepta-
ble to him; but have, all your lives, been in great

10
errors and darkness. To endeavour to remove
these errors, and open your eyes, so that you
might see clearly, is my business with you.
“Brothers—I wish to talk with you as one friend
talks with another; and, if you have any objec-
tions to receive the religion which I preach, I
wish you to state them; and I will endeavour to
satisfy your minds, and remove the objections.
“Brothers—I want you to speak your minds
freely; for I wish to reason with you on the sub-
ject, and, if possible, remove all doubts, if there
be any on your minds. The subject is an impor-
tant one, and it is of consequence that you give it
an early attention while the offer is made you.
Your friends, the Boston Missionary Society,
will continue to send you good and faithful minis:
ters, to instruct and strengthen you in religion, if
on your part, you are willing to receive them.
“Brothers—Since I have been in this part of
the country, I have visited some of your small
villages, and talked with your people. They ap:
pear willing to receive instruction, but, as they
look up to you as their older brothers in council,
they want first to know your opinion on the sub-
ject.

11
“You have now heard what I have to propose
at present. I hope you will take it into considera-
tion, and give me an answer before we part.”
After about two hours consultation among them-
selves, the chief, commonly called, by the white
people, Red jacket, (whose Indian name is
Sagu-yu-what-hah, which, interpreted, is Keep-
er-awake) rose and spoke as follows:
* Friend and Brother—It was the will of the
great Spirit, that we should meet together this
day. HE orders all things, and has given us a
fine day for our council. He has taken his gar-
ment from before the sun, and caused it to shine
with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened,
that we see clearly; our ears are unstopped, that
we have been able to hear distinctly the words
you have spoken. For all these favours wethank
the great Spirit, and HIM only.
“Brother—This council fire was kindled by
you. It was at your request that we came to-
gether at this time. We have listened with at-
tention to what you have said. You requested
us to speak our minds freely. This gives us great
joy ; for we now consider that we stand upright
before you, and can speak what we think. All
12
have heard your voice, and all speak to you now
as one man. Our minds are agreed.
“Brother—You say you want an answer to
your talk before you leave this place. It is right
you should have one, as you are a great distance
from home, and we do not wish to detain you.
But we will first look back a little, and tell you
what our fathers have told us, and what we have
heard from the white people.
“Brother—Listen to what we say.
* There was a time when our forefathers own-
ed this great island. Their seats extended from
the rising to the setting sun. The great Spirit
had made it for the use of Indians. He had cre-
ated the buffalo, the deer, and other animals, for
food. He had made the bear and the beaver
Their skins served us for clothing. He had scat.
tered them over the country, and taught us how
to take them. He had caused the earth to pro-
duce corn for bread. All this he had done for
his red children, because he loved them. If we
had some disputes about our hunting ground, they
were generally settled without the shedding 0
much blood. But an evil day came upon us.
Your forefathers crossed the great water, and
landed on this island. Their numbers were







as
small. They found friends and not enemies.
They told us they had fied from their own country
for fear of wicked men, and had come here to en-
joy their religion. They asked for a small seat.
We took pity on them, granted their request, and
they sat down amongst us. We gave them corn
and meat; they gave us poison (alluding, it is
supposed, to ardent spirits) in return.
“The white people had now found our coun-
try. Tidings were carried back, and more came
amongst us. Yet we did not fear them. We
took them to be friends. They called us broth-
ers. We believed them, and gave them a larger
seat. At length, their numbers had greatly in-
creased. They wanted more land; they wanted
our country. Our eyes were opened, and our
minds became uneasy. Wars took place. In-
dians were hired to fight against Indians, and
many of our people were destroyed. They also
brought strong liquor amongst us. It was strong
and powerful, and has slain thousands.
“Brother—Our seats were once large and
yours were small. You have now become a great
people, and we have scarcely a place left to
spread our blankets. You have got our country,
B

14
but are not satisfied; you want to force your re.
ligion upon us.
** Brother–Continue to listen.
“You say that you are sent to instruct us how
to worship the great Spirit agreeably to his mind,
and, if we do not take hold of the religion which
you white people teach, we shall be unhappy
hereafter. You say that you are right and we are
lost. How do we know this to be true? We un-
derstand that your religion is written in a book.
If it was intended for us as well as you, why has
not the great Spirit given to us, and not only to
us, but why did he not give to our forefathers,
the knowledge of that book, with the means of
understanding it rightly? We only know what
you tell us about it. How shall we know when
to believe, being so often deceived by the white
people? -
“ Brother—You say there is but one way tº
worship and serve the great Spirit. If therei
ºut one religion, why do you white people diffe
so much about it? Why not all agree, as you ca"
all read the book 2
* Brother—We do not understand these thing
“We are told that your religion was given."
yoºr forefathers, and has been handed dow"
15
from father to son. We also have a religion,
which was given to our forefathers, and has been
handed down to us, their children. We worship
in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all
the favours we receive; to love each other, and
to be united. We never quarrel about our re-
ligion.
* Brother—The great Spirit has made us all,
but he has made a great difference between his
white and red children. He has given us differ-
ent complexions and different customs. To you
he has given the arts. To these he has not open-
ed our eyes. We know these things to be true.
Since he has made so great a difference between
us in other things, why may we not conclude
that he has given us a different religion, according
to our understanding? The great Spirit does
right. He knows what is best for his children;
we are satisfied.
“Brother—We are told that you have been
preaching to the white people in this place.
These people are our neighbours. We are ac-
quainted with them. We will wait a little while,
and see what effect your speaking has upon them.
If we find it does them good, makes them honest,






I6
and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then
consider again of what you have said.
* Brother—You have now heard our answer
to your talk, and this is all we have to say at
present.
“As we are going to part, we will come and
take you by the hand, and hope the great Spirit
will protect you on your journey, and return you
safe to your friends.”
As the Indians began to approach the mission.
ary, he rose hastily from his seat, and replied,
that he could not take them by the hand; that
there was no fellowship between the religion of
God, and the works of the devil.
This being interpreted to the Indians, they
smiled, and retired in a peaceable manner.
It being afterwards suggested to the missiona-
ry that his reply to the Indians was rather indis.
creet, he observed, that he supposed the ceremo-
by of shaking hands would be received by them
as a token that he assented to what they had said.
Being otherwise informed, he said he was sorry
for the expressions.

17
The preceding Speeches were taken from a pan-
phlet, printed by james D. Bemis, at Canandai-
gua, in the year 1809. The two following are
extracted from a pamphlet, printed by Daniel
Lawrence, at Stanford, N. Y.
IN or about the year of our Lord, 1710, a Swedish
Missionary preached a sermon at an Indian trea-
ty, held at Conestogo; in which sermen he set forth
original sin, the necessity of a mediator, and en-
deavoured, by certain arguments, to induce the
Indians to embrace the christian religion. After
he had ended his discourse, one of the Indian
chiefs made a speech, in reply to the sermon: the
discourse on both sides was made known by in-
terpreters. The missionary, upon his return to
Sweden, published his sermon, and the Indian's
answer, in Latin. He dedicated them to the uni-
versity at Upsal, and desired them to furnish him
with arguments to confute such strong reasonings
of the Indians.
The Indian's speech, translated from the Latin,
is as followeth.-‘‘Since the subject of his er-
and is to persuade us to embrace new doctrines,
perhaps it may not be amiss, before we offer him
the reasons why we cannot comply with his re-
quest, to acquaint him of the grounds and princi.
18
pies of that religion he would have us to abandon.
“Our fathers were under a strong persuasion
(as we are) that those who act well in this life,
will be rewarded in the next, according to the de-
gree of their virtues; and, on the other hand,
that those who behave wickedly here, will under-
go such punishments hereafter, as are proportion-
ate to the crimes they were guilty of This has
been constantly and invariably received and ac-
knowledged for a truth, through every successive
generation of our ancestors; it could not, then,
have taken its rise from fable: for, human fiction,
however artfully and plausibly contrived, can nev-
er gain credit long among people where free in-
quiry is allowed, which was never denied by our
ancestors, who, on the contrary, thought it the
sacred, inviolable, natural right of every man, to
examine and judge for himself: therefore, we
think it evident, that our notions of future re
wards and punishments, were either revealed im
mediately from heaven, to some of our forefath:
ers, and from them descended to us, or that it
was implanted in each of us at our creation, by
the Creator of all things. Whatever the method
might have been, whereby God has been pleased
to make known unto us his will, and give us *








19
ºnowledge of our duty, it is, in our sense, a di-
wine revelation.
“Now, we desire to propose to him some ques-
tions. Does he believe our forefathers, men em-
inent for their piety, constant and warm in the
pursuit of virtue, hoping thereby to obtain eter-
mal happiness, were all damned? Does he think
that we, who are zealous imitators of them in
good works, and influenced by the same motives
as they were, earnestly endeavouring, with the
greatest circumspection, to tread the paths of in-
tegrity, are in a state of damnation? If these
be his sentiments, they are surely as impious, as
they are bold and daring.
“In the next place, we beg that he would ex-
plain himself more particularly concerning reve-
lation. If he admits of none but what is contain-
ed in his written book, the contrary is evident
from what has been shewn before. But if he
says God has revealed himself to us, but not suf-
ficient for our salvation, then we ask, to what
purpose should he have revealed himself to us in
any wise? It is clear, that a revelation insufficient
to save, cannot put us in a better condition than
we should be without a revelation at all. We can-
not concieve that God should point out the end






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20
we ought to arrive at, without opening to us the
way to arrive at that end. But supposing our un-
derstanding were so far illuminated, as to know it
to be our duty to please God, who has yet left us
under an incapacity of doing it; will this mis-
sionary, therefore, conclude, that we shall be eter-
nally damned: Will he take upon him to pro-
nounce damnation upon us, for not doing those
things which he himself acknowledges were im-
possible by us to be done? It is our opinion, that
every man is possessed with sufficient knowledge
for his own salvation.
“The Almighty, for anything we know, may
have communicated himself to different races of
people in a different manner. Some say they
have the will of God in writing: beitso; their re-
velation has no advantage above ours, since both
are equally sufficient to save, or the end of the
revelation would be frustrated; besides, if both
be true, they must be the same in substance, and
the difference can only lay in the mode of com-
munication.
* He tells us, there are many precepts in this
written revelation, which we are entirely ignorant
of But, asthose written commands could only be
necessary for those who have the writings, they

21
cannot possibly regard us. Had the Almighty
thought so much knowledge necessary for our sal-
vation, his goodness could not so long have de-
ferred the communication of it to us. And to say,
in a matter so necessary, he could not at one and
the same time reveal himself to all mankind, is
nothing less than a denial of his omnipotence.
Without doubt, he can make his will manifest
without the help of any book, or the assistance of
any bookish man whatever.
“We shall, in the next place, consider the ar-
guments that arise from the consideration of
providence.
“If we be the work of God, (which we pre-
sume will not be denied) it follows from thence
we are under the care and protection of God; for
it cannot be supposed, that the Deity should aban-
don his own creatures, and be utterly regardless
of their welfare: and to say the Almighty has
permitted us to remain in a fatal error, through
so many ages, is to represent him as a tyrant.
How is it consistent with his justice, to force life
upon a race of mortals without their consent, and
then to damn them eternally, without ever open-
ing to them the door of salvation. Our concep-
tions of the gracious God, are much more noble;

22
and we think that those who teach otherwise, de
little less than blaspheme.
“Again, it is through the care and goodness of
the Almighty, that from the beginning of time,
through so many generations to this day, our
name has been preserved unblotted out, and by
our enemies unreduced to nothing. By the same
care we now enjoy our lives, and are furnished
with the necessary means of preserving these
lives; but all these things are trifling, compared
with our salvation. Therefore, since God has
been so careful of us in matters of so little conse-
quence, it would be absurd to affirm, that he has
neglected us in cases of the greatest importance;
admit he has forsaken us, yet it could not be with-
out a just cause:
“Let us suppose, that some heinous crimes
were committed by some of our ancestors, like to
that we are told of among another race of people;
in such a case, God would certainly punish the
criminal, but never involve us that are innocent in
the guilt; those who think otherwise, must make
the Almighty avery whimsical, ill-natured being:
* Once more: are the christians virtuous? or
rather, are they not more vicious than we are:
If so, how comes it to pass that they are the ob:

23
ºts of God's beneficence, while we are negleet-
iſ does he daily confer his favours without rea-
on, and with so mushpartiality?
“In a word, we find the christians much more
lepraved in their morals than we are; and we
judge of their doctrine, by the badness of their
lives.”
-º-º-º-
Observations of a Tuscarora Chief.
A Missionary among the Indians, had been
urging the necessity of a civilized life; and con-
cluded with saying, “they must now set out in a
new path, or they would be a ruined people.”
The chief, being a very sensible, observing man,
said, “I see the necessity of it; I feel I am a
poor, weak creature. When I am in my hunting
walks, I often cry to the great Spirit for his pro-
tection. Also, when I am called to make a
public speech, I look to the same Spirit for wis-
dom. I see our hunting is almost gone; we
must try to follow the path of white people, whom
God manifestly blesses. We are like children, as
to getting our living by labour. I hope if white
people love us, they will help us, and teach us
how to live.”

24
-
ºxtract of a letter from capt. Hendricks, an In-
dian chief, of the Stockbridge nation, to col.
Pickering, one of the commisioners appointed
by the president of the United States, for hold-
£ng a treaty with the Six Nations, at Canan-
daigua, in the fall, 1794.
“There is a powerful, strongman, that has long
made war against all the nations of Indians, and
made dreadful havoc amongst them. He has
also attacked our nation, and cut off almost all
our young men and warriors; and many of our
old men have been slain by him. This strong
man, our enemy, is named RUM! and he is your
son, and begat by the white people; and we be-
lieve you have power to control him; we, there-
fore, hope you will chain him down, and confine
him among yourselves, and never let him again
loose among us poor Indians.”
re-º-º-º-o-º-º-
FINIS.
sº e-eeee-e
º -
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