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A 587261
Indian session of
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THE
ALPHEUS FELCH HISTORICAL LIBRARY
BEQUEATHED
TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BY THE
HON. ALPHEUS FELCH.
1896.
A ú
!


3
"
INDIAN CESSION OF 1819
MADE BY THE
72573
TREATY OF SAGINAW.
เ
The within paper was read by W.JL. WEBBER, of Saginaw, before
the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, at its annual
session, held at Lansing, June 5th and 6th, 1895.
SAGINAW, MICH.
SEEMANN & PETERS, PRinters.
1895.
T
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INDIAN CESSION OF 1819, MADE BY THE
TREATY OF SAGINAW.
Before America was discovered by any Christian nation,
so far as authentic history gives record, the doctrine was
firmly settled among all Christian nations that no one had
any title or right to life or property except under and in
accordance with the regulations made by some Christian
nation. So that, if it should happen that an adventurous
spirit, or a band of adventurous spirits, should find some
portion of the earth's surface not before then discovered
and taken possession of, under the authority of some Chris-
tian nation, the discoverers were at liberty to take posses-
sion of this territory thus discovered, and of all the uncivil-
ized, savage and barbarous people over whom they could
acquire control, and make such disposition of the territory,
and of the people found there, as might accord with the
views of the sovereign under whose auspices the discovery
was made. It was in accord with this well settled doctrine
-well settled among those who settled it for themselves-
that the king and queen of Spain, under date of April 30th,
1492, gaveito Christopher Columbus a commission "to dis-
cover and subdue some islands and continent in the ocean,"
and which commission, by its terms, conferred upon Colum-
bus the power of absolute control over the country and the
2
people discovered, subject only to the king and queen of
Spain. The other Christian nations gave like commissions
and authority, and under such commissions, or charters,
the various portions of the continent were discovered, and
the power to govern them and their people, when discov-
ered, conferred. It does not seem to have occurred to any
of those Christian nations, that the people inhabiting the
territory for unnumbered generations, should be consulted,
or that they had any rights, which the powers issuing those
commissions, were bound to respect. The fact that with
these commissions were sent out skilled warriors, armed
with weapons against which the savages could not for a
moment stand, was sufficient to ensure the success of the
white-man's claim, and so sure was the white-man that he
had the approval of divine providence, that among the
early settlers of Massachusetts they made record, as a
cause of congratulation and a mark of special divine guid
ance and oversight that the Almighty had, shortly before,
sent a pestilence which practically exterminated some of
the Indian tribes, so as to leave the country free for the
occupancy of the white-man. The only disputes arising
concerning the occupancy of the country were between
different Christian nations, but as the facilities for discov
ering and conquering far distant lands were limited, these
disputes seem to have been settled harmoniously—that is,
each recognized the right of the other to the possession of
the territory first discovered, so that the discovery was
made effectual, by continued occupancy.
While the territory north-west of the river Ohio was yet
covered with native Indian tribes, with no communication
from one part thereof to another, except by an occasional
missionary or by the Indian runner, the war of the revolu-
3
tion was fought. In that war the English represented the
established government, and the Indians naturally took
part with the established government, as against its
enemies.
#
When the treaty of 1783 was made, by which Great
Britain recognized the United States of America as an
independent nation, and provided for a surrender to it of
claims to territory, as agreed upon, it was but natural that
the Indians should ally themselves to.the British, and that
they should fail to recognize the United States as a govern-
ment having the right of control, so far as white men could
have that right, over the territory of the Indian. Indian
affairs were very much unsettled, and what were termed
Indian outrages, were frequent. Perhaps it would be only
fair to assume that the Indian considered that he was upon
his own territory, and that he was only defending his own
lands against forcible occupancy by those who were regard-
ed by him as hostile. But the United States held to sub-
stantially the same views as the Christian nations of Europe
had before them entertained and enforced-that the Indian
has no right except such as the white-man sees fit to recog
nize, and if the white-man sees fit to treat with the Indian,
he will do it only, as being an easier method of obtaining
undisturbed possession, than to proceed to a war of exter-
mination.
General Anthony Wayne, having made a successful cam-
paign against the Indians, and punished them to such an
extent as to lead the Indians to recognize the United States
as a proper authority to treat with, a treaty was made,
dated August 3d, 1795, between Anthony Wayne, repre-
senting the United States, and the following tribes of
Indians, to-wit: The Wyandottes, Delawares, Shawanoes,
4
Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatamies, Miames, Eel River,
Wecas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws and Kaskaskias. This
treaty was made at Greenville, in Ohio, then the headquar
ters of the army, and was a general treaty of peace. It
was agreed that the Indians should surrender their prison-
ers to the headquarters of the army, and should leave
hostages to secure the performance of their promises. By
this treaty the Indians recognized the title of the United
States to those lands lying east and south of a line which
commenced on the south shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth
of the Cuyahoga River and running thence southerly and
westerly to a point on the Ohio River about half way
between Cincinnati and Louisville. It will be remembered
that it was not quite one hundred years ago when this
treaty was made. I understand preparations are being
made to celebrate the centennial anniversary of this treaty
on the third day of August next, at Greenville, in Ohio,
and it will be a memorable celebration. Consider where
Greenville is located. Consider where this line from the
mouth of the Cuyahoga to a point on the Ohio River, fifty
miles above Louisville or thereabouts, is drawn, and then
think of the great Northwest from that line-all a wilder-
ness. This treaty recognized the right of the Indians to
all this great Northwest as still continuing, except so far
as some small parcels might have been selected out as the
sites for forts or military settlements. From time to time,
as the whites pressed more and more into the wilderness,
new treaties were made, and the Indians were called upon
to relinquish additional portions of their territory.
It was not until the treaty of November 17th, 1807, made
by William Hull, Governor of the Territory of Michigan,
for the United States on the one part, and the Ottawas,
5
ነር
Chippewas, Wyandottes and Pottawatamies, on the other,
that any considerable portion of the Territory of Michigan
was ceded to the United States, and thus the Indian title
extinguished. By this treaty, so much of what is now
Michigan as lies north of the Maumee River up to the
mouth of what was then called the Great Auglaise River,
thence running due north upon what was afterwards adopt-
ed as the Meridian line in Michigan, to a point within about
six miles south from the base line, thence running in a
northeasterly direction to White Rock, at the southeast
corner of Huron County, on Lake Huron, and thence to
the center of the lake, and so down the lake to a point
opposite the place of beginning, was ceded to the United
States, but all the remainder of Michigan, with the excep-
tion of a small parcel at Mackinaw, and one or two other
places for military posts, still belonged to the Indians.
The Government, by treating with the Indians and tak
ing from them a cession, recognized the Indian's right, so
that we may fairly say the Indian had a right to assume
that the United States recognized him as the owner of this
land until he had parted with the title.
When the war of 1812 broke out the Indians of the
Northwest, as was natural, again allied themselves to the
British. Through the fur-traders, the attachment of the
Indians to the English, and through the system of making
presents, which had been pursued in the interest of the fur-
trade, this alliance was strengthened.
At the close of the war of 1812 a second treaty was
made at Greenville between General Harrison and General
Cass acting for the United States, and the Wyandottes,
Delawares, Shawenoes, Senecas and Miames, of the Indians.
This, it may be observed, does not include the Pottawata-
6
a
mies, the Ottawas, nor the Chippewas. By this treaty of
1814 there was no land cession; it is merely a treaty of
peace, by which the United States agrees to give peace to
the Indians, and the Indians, thereafter, agree to fight for
the United States against Great Britain. By a subsequent
treaty, made between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur
as Commissioners, dated September 29th, 1817, the Wyan-
dottes, Senecas, Shawanoes, Pottawatamies, Ottawas and
Chippewas of the Indians, a cession of land was made to the
United States. The greater part of this cession, however, is
outside the State of Michigan, the only cession in Michigan
made by this treaty, is so much as now constitutes the
southern three-fourths of Hillsdale County.
By a treaty made October 2d, 1818, the Indians relin-
quished their title to the State of Indiana.
White settlements were crowding into the Indian territo-
ry to such an extent that it was desirable that there should
be a still further cession of land by the Indians, in Mich-
igan, and to that end negotiations were set on foot, and as
had been usual in these cases, and as has been usual ever
since, in like cases, influences were set at work among the
Indian traders and among the Indian Agents, to secure the
consent of the Indians to this cession. There had been ar-
rangements under previous treaties by which certain annui-
ties were to be paid to the Indians, and it seems that through
financial difficulties the Government had been remiss in the
payment of these annuities. John C. Calhoun was then Sec-
retary of War, and Lewis Cass, the Commissioner, resident
at Detroit. On September 11th, 1819, General Cass writes
to the Secretary of War : "I shall leave here on Monday
"next to meet the Indians at Saginaw, and endeavor, agree-
"able to your instructions, to procure a cession of that
"valuable territory.
((
*
*
* It would be
hopeless to expect a favorable result to the proposed
"treaty, unless the annuities previously due are discharged.
"Under those circumstances I have felt myself embarrassed
"and no course has been left me but to procure the amount
"of the Chippewa annuity upon my private responsibility.
'By the liberal conduct of the Directors of the bank at
"this place I have succeeded in procuring that annuity in
"silver, and shall thus be able to comply with past engage-
"ments before I call upon the Indians to perform others.
"I trust the receipt of a draft will soon relieve me from
"the situation in which I am placed, and enable me to per-
"form my promise to the bank."
66
Before General Cass came to Saginaw, he sent others.
There was an Indian trader located where the city of Flint
now stands, named Jacob Smith. Mr. Joseph Campau, of
Detroit was an Indian trader, and he had in his employ
Mr. Louis Campau, until lately a resident of Grand Rapids,
as Indian trader. Louis Campau had been trading at
Saginaw. The Indian chiefs moved about from time to
time, and frequently visited Detroit, where their minds.
could be prepared for this coming request.
In a trial which was had at Saginaw in 1860, in a case
between George M. Dewey and Rufus J. Hamilton as plain-
tiffs, and Joseph Campau and Alexander McFarlan as defend-
ants, there were examined many witnesses-all, in fact, wheth-
er Indian, half-breed or French, who could be found anywhere
in the country then living, who were present at the treaty
of Saginaw, to settle a question in dispute as to the identity
of a reservee in the treaty, called Taw-cum-e-go-qua. This
trial continued some two weeks before a jury, and very
many interesting incidents connected with the treaty and
8
illustrative of the habits and manners of the Indians, and of
the habits and manners of those who, by dealing between
the Indians and the white men, sought to make profit out
of both, were developed.
The writer was one of the counsel employed in this case,
and the following statements from the testimony of witness-
es is taken from his own notes, kept by him, during the trial.
The testimony of the Indians was given through sworn
interpreters. Mr. Campau testified in English. I give
these extracts from the testimony at considerable length as
matter having historical value. In this connection I desire
to say that the secretaries who acted at the making of the
treaty do not appear to have taken much pains to make
the spelling of the Indian names correspond with the sound,
in fact these names were all written by the secretaries, and
the Indians touched the pen, and the cross followed the
name. To illustrate what I say about Indian names :
"Neome" is not found as signed to the treaty, and yet he
was one of the principal chiefs; but we find "Reaume"
signed to the treaty, doubtless intended for "Neome."
of "Okemos," in the treaty it is written "Okemans," and
"Kish-kah-ko" is written "Kish-kau-kou." The treaty was
signed with 114 Indian names, being the chiefs and warri-
ors of the tribe. I now give extracts from the testimony,
as follows:
So
Kaw-ga-ge-zhic said: I was at the treaty with Gen.
Cass. I was then a chief. Perhaps Neome told them to
put my name down. I remember having touched a pen.
I then lived far up above Mus-ca-da-wain. I then knew
Neome; he was my older brother; I knew his children.
They all had their families at the treaty; they brought
them to have a reserve made for them. I heard, while at
9
the treaty, that lands were reserved for Neome's children.
I heard Neome say, at the Council, to Gen. Cass, "Deny
me not; grant my request that a reserve be made for my
children." The children were present at the time; the
children's mother brought them in; their father was also
present; the children were brought before Cass. Their
names were given. I do not know how many times the
Indians met Gen. Cass in the big wigwam, but it was very
often. The Indians were in groups talking together. The
principal orator of the treaty was Neome. I only heard
him speak once. I did not hear Kish-kah-ko make any
speech. Kish-kah-ko went, in the night, to the tent, without
the knowledge of the other Indians, to cede the land. Jacob
Smith interpreted for Neome; and a good many others
also acted. I knew Peter Riley and John Riley-they were
half-breeds. There were about six sections of land reserved
at Pe-wa-na-go-wink. I saw Taw-cum-e-go-qua married at
Pe-wa-na-go-wink a long time ago.
Q. Who married her ?
A. Nobody but Mix-e-ne-ne (her father). I do not
know whether Mix-e-ne-ne was a magistrate; he was not
a priest. When Mix-e-ne-ne, Tone-an-dog-a-ne and Neome
went into Gen. Cass's room and talked with him, they each
stated to Smith what they wanted, and Smith interpreted
it to Gen. Cass. The usual mode of marrying among the
Indians was that the parties consented, then they went to
live together as husband and wife.
George Wain-je-ge-zhic said: I live in Isabella; I formerly
lived at Nippising. I remember the treaty made at this
place by Gen. Cass. I was then about ten or twelve years
old, about five feet high-nearly a man grown up. I knew
Neome and Mix-e-ne-ne and other chiefs; knew their chil-
UorM
10
dren. I knew Taw-cum-e-go-qua. Neome said, "I desire
you that these, my children, may have land." He spoke
to Gen. Cass. The children were then there at that time.
I think I am now fifty years old. I remember there was
a great reserve made at Mus-ca-da-wain for the children,
and one at Pe-wa-na-go-wink for the band.
The treaty
lasted a long time; may be ten days or more. The Indi-
ans went into the big wigwam, I don't know how many
times, and met Gen. Cass. I don't know the name of the
principal orator at the treaty. I don't know how old I am;
at the treaty I was about as high as I am now to where my
chin is. I reckon my age by so many springs of the year.
I do not know how old my oldest child is; I have grand-
children grown up; the oldest one is four or five feet high.
Sa-gos-a-qua said: My full name is Sa-gos-a-qua; my
father was Neome. I remember the treaty with Gen. Cass
at this place. My father then lived at Pe-wa-na-go-wink.
I had a sister Ah-won-non-o-quod-a-qua; I had a brother
O-jib-wock. Knew Mix-e-ne-ne. He had a child, Taw-
cum-e-go-qua. My sister was larger than I; she had a
child before the treaty. Myself and Taw-cum-e-go-qua
were here at the treaty. While at the treaty I heard
Neome speak about getting land for myself and my sister
and Taw-cum-e-go-qua; this was at the Council Room
where General Cass was. My father was talking to Gen-
eral Cass. I heard Neome say to General Cass, "I reserve
land for my children at Mus-ca-da-wain." We then stood
by the side of our father, and Gen. Cass was very near us.
I was about three feet high at the treaty, perhaps ten years
old, but think I was older than Taw-cum-e-go-qua ; I was
a little taller than she. Neome said, "I reserve these lands
for my children." There was lands reserved for Neome's
Maou
11
people also at Pe-wa-na-go-wink.
else.
Cannot tell anything
O-non-gush-ka-wa said: I was at the treaty. I was a
boy large enough to hunt some. I knew Neome; he was
the chief of our band; knew the other chiefs; knew their
children; they had their families at the treaty. At the
treaty I was told that Taw-cum-e-go-qua would have land.
I heard Neome say so in the Council room where Gen.
Cass was.
It was under a shelter made of boards where
the Council was held. I had no particular business at the
treaty; my mother requested me to be present to hear what
was going on.
Okemos was a witness. He said: I am 76 years old;
have lived in Michigan 48 years; I knew Gen. Cass well.
I was at the treaty of 1819. I was at that time a chief of
a certain band among the Ottawa tribe-a part of the band
I was chief over were Chippewas. The treaty was signed
at Saginaw, on the west side of the river, back of Mr.
Campau's house, in a long shed. I signed the treaty as one
of the Chippewa chiefs. At the time I signed the treaty
my residence was at a place about six miles above Lansing,
on the Red Cedar River. I was born in Michigan, near
Pontiac, on an island in a lake. From that time to the
time of the treaty I lived at Okemos City, near Lansing.
I was 30 years old when I left the place where I was born.
Min-e-to-gob-o-way, my mother's father, and Kob-e-ko-no-
ka, my uncle, were my chiefs. The first named was a
Chippewa Indian and the last named an Ottawa. They
were no connection to each other. I was first a chief when
I was 20 years old, and was about 50 at the time of the
treaty. I knew Kaw-ga-ge-zhic; he was at the treaty.
He lived about six miles from the present village of Flint,
12
at To-bosh's trading house; he was a chief at that time.
I know Noc-chic-o-me; he is acting as chief now; he is
down the Saginaw River; he had two children at the time
of the treaty, and lived at that time at the Big Rock, on
the Shiawassee, called Chesaning.
Ka-zhe-o-be-on-no-qua said: My husband's name is
Antoine Peltie; I live at O-pin-con-ning; my husband is
a Frenchman; I do not understand much French; my
first husband's name was Archie Lyon; I am a half-breed;
I do not know my age for certain, think it is 67 years;
I was present at the treaty. I was present the day the
treaty ended. They were writing, but they would not
tell me what they were writing about. This was in the
Council room, put up with branches and forks, with a
table in the center, where they took a vote about agree-
ing to the treaty. I have been to Malden for presents.
At the time of the treaty I was about 17 years of age.
I belonged to Kish-kah-ko's band; I was born here. The
treaty lasted nearly a month; they met very often, not
all day, sometimes only in the morning; it is so long a
time ago that I cannot tell how many times they met;
it was nearly every day; Neome was there all the time;
it lasted longer than ten days. Wah-ba-zence (Jacob
Smith) had a tent, and saw each other every day; he
took not much part, he was not a great favorite with the
Indians. I knew Neome's children at that time. Mix-e-
ne-ne had one girl at that time, her name was Taw-cum-e-
go-qua; her name was mentioned when Wah-ba-zence
had her in the Council to get land; people were writing at
the same time. I saw Neome there, and Mix-e-ne-ne there,
but not with his girl. Smith took her there. They put
some new clothes on her, yet she showed in herself that she
13
was full-blooded; she had calico for skirts, a long dress
and pantalettes, and smoked skin for moccasins. Neome's
children were dressed the same way, and Smith took the
whole of them forward to Gen. Cass and tried to get land
for them and the boy; and the boy was taken forward,
and Smith said this is my boy.
Noc-chic-o-me said: I live at Bah-wa-a-gin-ing. I am
chief. I was at the treaty; I was a man grown. Mix-a-
ne-ne and Neome and their families were there. Neome
was then chief.
(Witness then gives the names of their
children and grandchildren). I heard at the treaty that
these children would have grants of land. I heard the
Indian chiefs speak of it. It was in the place where the
Council was being held, not far from where the large build-
ing (Court House) now is. There were individual reserves
made at the treaty. There was one for John Riley near
the mouth of the river, and one for Peter just below here
on this side of the river, and one for James Riley on the
other side of the river. There was another for Kaw-kaw-
ish-ko, the Crow, opposite the Island in the river below
here. There were also some reserves at Flint River for the
children I have spoken of. Gen. Cass was in the Council
room when they were talking about giving lands to these
children. Kish-kah-ko was present and other chiefs. When
the children were brought forward by Neome before Gen.
Cass, and he asked land for them, Neome talked and the
other chiefs consented that these children should have land.
I knew the children after the treaty, as they come up,
Taw-cum-e-go-qua and the others. I am 60 years old.
At the time of the treaty I think I was 20 years old. I
came to the treaty because I was invited by the Indians to
come with them. At that time Taw-cum-e-go-qua was
14
about three feet high; she was old enough to run about ;
she was taken by the hand and brought to where Gen. Cass
was. The Indians met Gen. Cass in the big wigwam every
day, and Cass met them there. Cass wanted to talk with
them about the surrender of their lands, and they were met
ten times or more; they were a long time at it. Neome
had a reserve made at Pe-wa-na-go-wink. I did not see
Gen. Cass put his hands on the heads of the children; they
sat on the other side of the table, by Neome. I was not
then a chief, I took no part in the treaty; I was there to see
and to hear. There were half-breeds there. John, James
and Peter Riley were half-breeds. Do not know of any
others that got land. There were many half-breeds there,
and some of them were desirous of getting land, but I did
not hear of their getting any.
Louis Campau: I live at Grand Rapids, am 68 years
old last August. I remember the treaty of 1819. I then
resided here. I had then resided here four years before
the treaty. I was trading with the Indians. Joseph, one
of the defendants, is my uncle. I had a trading house;
this was opposite the lower end of the bayou; the house now
there I built in 1822; it was farther up that my store was.
I was at the treaty. I was then acquainted at Detroit, and
about there. I used to spend summers in Detroit and
winters here. I was here at the treaty. There was old
Mr. Riley, Connor, Beaufait, Knaggs, Godfrey, Whipple,
Visger, Forsyth, Tucker, Hersey, and a half-breed named
Walker, brought from Mon-a-gua-gon. I have seen the
treaty and know the witnesses without looking at the
treaty book. If any of those are alive it must be Mr. Her-
sey; I heard this summer that he was alive; I saw him in
1836 in Chicago; we traded then together; think he is the
15
only one living. I was requested by Cass to come on ahead
and make suitable provisions for a store-house and dining
room and Council room, etc. The most of the business
was at Gen. Cass's office, going in and going out. There
was a long table in the dining room, and the private coun-
cil was held there the office and the dining room were
separated only by a store-house. There were four log
buildings all together end to end. These were six to eight
rods from the room where the grand Council room was.
I think Cass arrived in the afternoon, and sent his agents
for the Indians to gather next morning at ten o'clock; this
was after all the departments had got here-all the princi-
pal officers had got here. The next morning they met at
the Council house. The first Council was to let them know
that he was sent by the great father to make a treaty with
them, that he wanted to buy their lands, stating the points,
and for them to go back and smoke and think about it;
they then worked at private business for three or four days,
when he called them together again. After he had got the
will of the principal chiefs there was much trouble to get
the consent of all. At the second Council there was great
difficulty, hard words; they threatened General Cass among
the rest. The object of the Council after they had con-
sented to treat, was to state the terms on which he was
authorized to treat. From the second to the third Council
was five or six days. They stayed nine or ten days in all.
The last Council was to read the treaty to them, it was
read and interpreted to them. Harry Connor was the
interpreter. I was present at the last Council; went in the
morning, and did not leave until they all left. I cannot
tell everything that was done there for it is impossible to
recollect them all. Tribal reservations were first made.
16
Gen. Cass sat at the north-east corner of the shanty, the
table was next to him, then a row of logs, and beyond that
the Indians-women, children and all. Then after the
reservations for the tribes were made, the reservations were
made for the half-breeds-first the Rileys, then a Campau,
and then mentioned Mrs. Coutant; she was right opposite
Gen. Cass, and Connor, when reading the treaty, pointed
her to the Indians as their relative, and when her name
was said they responded as though pleased. After the
treaty was read and approved by the Indians and signed
by them, which was as soon as read, Gen. Cass ordered
the money to be brought to the table; it was all in half
dollars-for the payment. After the treaty was made, it
was sundown, and the Indians all got drunk, and nothing
could be said by anyone, and Gen. Cass gave the order to
be off. The Crow was a good looking young fellow-
looked like a half-breed; he had a little log house, a store-
house and a hen house, and tried to imitate the whites as
much as he could in cooking, etc. He had a tent he made
himself. I knew LaParle, he was my hired man; he came
around by water in my boat. I knew every one of the
Riley boys; Peter was not here, John and James were; Jim
was my clerk, and remained such until he was killed. I
left here in the spring of 1826, and have lived at the Rap-
ids ever since; the Riley I spoke of was the father of the
three boys. I traded here till 1826; I knew Neome and
his band after the treaty; knew him well; he traded with
me as long as I sold here; knew Neome before the treaty
from the time I came here in the spring of 1815; knew his
hunters; he never had any children that I know of; I paid
no attention to any of them unless they were able to trade
with me. Neome was very ignorant, but he was very
17
good, honest and kind. I knew Ton-dog-a-ne well, as well
as I did Neome; he was the second chief of Neome at the
time, and afterwards head chief. I knew all the head men
of the band who was a hunter; heard them after the treaty
converse about the treaty, and Mix-e-ne-ne also; he used to
trouble me. I understood the Chippewa language at that
time; I was brought up with them from the time I was
seven years old. I was 68 last August; I never was in the
office; I was in the Council room from the morning till the
evening, and this is a statement of the facts as they took
place before my eyes, as I saw them after the treaty was
signed, and the goods and money distributed, and the
Indians were all drunk. Cass and his party left before
daylight next morning; the troops at about ten o'clock.
The whole talk was previous to the day of the treaty. On
the day of the treaty my attention was all taken up with
my own business; I saw them when they left the day of
the treaty and after that I had no talk with anybody; all
that I have said was done before the last day of the treaty.
I was a clerk of Joseph Campau before the war. My mem-
ory is very good on this subject. I think it has failed me
much in many things. At the time of the treaty there was
no Flint Village where Flint now is; where Neome lived
was called Neome's Village. Where Flint now is was
called Mus-ca-da-wain. The English called it Grand Trav-
erse. Neome was a short, thick man, a little stooped, at
the time of the treaty; he must have been from forty-five
to fifty-five years old. When we spoke of Flint Village in
the early times we meant what the French called Lapeer.
Don't know that Capt. Marsac was at the treaty or acted
as interpreter; I knew his brother and his father; his
father's name was Francis Marsac; I was here when Cass
18
arrived; I was here five or six days when he got here; do
not recollect of Marsac being with me any part of the way.
Col. Beaufait started to come with me and came to near
Royal Oak; do not recollect of Marsac being with me.
There were none of my buildings but those occupied by
the department, and there were no other buildings of mine
here. The Government had a number of men here to
influence the Indians outside, but they were not sworn as
interpreters.
Nau-gun-nee said: I now live in Isabella; before lived
in Nippising. Before I lived in Nippising I lived on the
Shiawassee River. I remember the treaty made with
Gen. Cass. The treaty was made just below this place.*
There were no houses there at that time. I was present
at the treaty. Neome was my chief; his band lived at Pe-
wa-na-go-wink, on the Flint River. There were other
chiefs and head men in Neome's band. I knew Mix-a-ne-
ne. They were at the treaty. There were four chiefs at
that time; Neome and Pe-na-ze-ge-we-zhic were present at
that treaty. There were no principal men of the band at
that time; all moved like one mass with their chiefs. There
were many present at the treaty-I cannot remember all
their names.
All those I have mentioned were at the
treaty, and others with them; they all came with their
families-there was no one left at home. Neome's family
consisted of four persons. At the time of the treaty Mix-
a-ne-ne had two children-Taw-cum-e-go-qua and Nah-tun-
e-ge-zhic. At the time of the treaty Taw-cum-e-go-qua
was about four feet high. Neome was my grandfather.
I heard at the treaty who got land—that Taw-cum-e-go-
* NOTE. This testimony was being taken in the old Court House, on the
same site where the present Saginaw Court House stands.
19
qua and others got land. The Indians did not know what
to do in the case. Just before the treaty was concluded
Jacob Smith came one night to Neome and suggested that
a reservation should be made to the children, and gave four
names, of which Taw-cum-e-go-qua was one. After that
suggestion was accepted by Gen. Cass, he suggested that
the children should be brought forward to whom land was
reserved that he should see them. The crowd made room
for the children to come in, and the children came forward
and their names were taken; the names were given in and
Neome and Jacob Smith stood together and gave in Ah-
won-non-wa-to-qua, Taw-cum-e-go-qua and the others.
While Neome was here I did not lodge in the same tent,
but the tent I was in was close to Neome's. While Smith
and Neome were talking in the evening or in the night
at Neome's tent, Smith said to Neome it will be difficult
to secure any place or future home for your children, and
Neome said "I know not what to do in the case," and
Neome requested Smith to assist him in trying to get a
reservation for his children, and Smith agreed. Smith
said that reservation had been made for the band generally,
and it would be better for him to get a special reservation
for his children. When the children came into the council
room I was standing side of Neome; Gen. Cass was near
by; I stood so near Neome because I had, by past experi-
ence learned that the white-man generally takes away what
he bought of the Indians, and I was anxious to see what
this would lead to of this treaty, and I thought it might be
possible if this land were sold to the white-man that he
would take away the country, or that the Indians would be
driven away from the country; I did not know how the
white-man sold ground or land, and I had a curiosity to
20
see. I also stood by him for I was afraid and wanted to
see what was done. After the treaty Taw-cum-e-go-qua
lived at Pe-wa-na-go-wink, and at Flint, where the village
now is. I knew her husband; they had children; their
oldest boy was called in English, "James Nicholson;" have
known him since I was a little boy. Taw-cum-e-go-qua
and her husband were married and lived together till she
died. I am fifty-four years old; I can't tell how high I was
at the time of the treaty; I was large enough to catch fish
along the river. The Indians had assembled here a long
time before Gen. Gass came to hold the treaty. As soon
as he came and the Council commenced I went into the
Council all the time. Gen. Cass sat at one end of the Coun-
cil room. We camped all around here. Gen. Cass put
his hands on the heads of the children when they were pre-
sented to him. They were before him just long enough to
take down their names. Mix-a-ne-ne was my uncle; Neome
was my grandfather. My father had five brothers. Wa-
ba-zince (the Indian name for Jacob Smith) was a man who
had no particular occupation at the treaty; he had been an
Indian trader, but was not trading at the treaty. He then
lived at Detroit. He resided at Flint, on both sides, and
finally located himself in trading on this side of Flint River,
at Flint. Wa-ba-zince was very friendly with Neome.
The treaty took a long time because the Indians were un-
willing to cede their lands; it was many days; do not know
how many times the Indians met Gen. Cass in the big wig-
wam-a good many times. White man always persevering
to accomplish his object. There were more than ten meet-
ings; they were summoned by Gen. Cass to talk about the
surrender of their land the first time; then the second time
for the same purpose, and the third and fourth, and the
21
fifth and sixth, and so, ten times or more-all being for the
same object.
This treaty was signed on the 24th of September, 1819.
Gen. Cass reached Detroit and made report to the Secreta-
ry of War under date of September 30th, 1819, in which
he transmitted the treaty which he had made. He
He says in
this letter of transmittal, among other things:
((
"The boundaries of the tract ceded may be easily traced
upon any good map of the United States; but, owing to
"our ignorance of the topography of the interior of this
"territory, it may be eventually found, when the lines are
(6 run, that the southeastern* corner of the tract ceded is in
"the possession of the Grand River Indians; if so, there
"will be no difficulty, and very little expense in quieting
"their claims.
"That portion of the Chippewa Indians which owned
"this land have not made the necessary advances in civil-
"ization to appreciate the importance of education for their
youth. It was, therefore, hopeless to expect from them
66
any reservation for this object, or to offer it as an induce-
"ment for a cession of their country. Some consideration
"more obvious in its effects, and more congenial to their
"habits, was necessary to insure a successful termination
"to the negotiation.
"In acceding to the propositions which they made upon
"this subject, I endeavored to give such form to the stipu
"lations on the part of the United States, for the payment
"of annuities, as would be permanently useful, and, at the
same time, satisfactory to them.
.6
(6
"Their own wishes unquestionably were, that the whole
sum stipulated to be annually paid to them should be
* Probably a misprint for "southwestern."
*
22
"paid in specie. With the habitual improvidence of sav-
"ages, they were anxious to receive what they could speed-
"ily dissipate in childish and useless purchases, at the
"expense of stipulations which would be permanently use-
"ful to them.
"The opinions advanced in your letter of instructions of
"March 27th, 1819, respecting the injurious tendency of
66 large annuities to the Indians are correct; and the effect
"of these annuities upon the Indians is stated with as much
precision as they could be were they the result of daily
"intercourse with these unfortunate people.
AC
"Viewing the subject in this manner, I finally concluded
"to admit a stipulation conformable to their wishes, for an
"annuity of $1,000, but to secure the payment of whatever
"additional sum the Government of the United States
"might think they ought to receive, in such manner as
"would be most useful to them.
"A stipulation, therefore, was inserted that the United
"States should provide and support a blacksmith for them,
"and should furnish them with cattle, farming utensils, and
persons to aid them in their agriculture.
66
แ
"The amount which shall be expended for those objects
by the United States, the term during which this expense
"shall continue, and the mode in which it shall be applied,
"are left discretionary with the President.
"In taking this course, I was influenced by the consider-
"ation that the negotiator of an Indian treaty is not always
"the best judge of the value of the purchase or of the
"amount which should be paid for it. Sometimes too
"much has been allowed, and at other times too little. He
"is not sent upon such a negotiation to ascertain the lowest
possible sum for which the miserable remnant of those
(6
23
"who once occupied our country are willing to treat, and
"to seize with avidity the occasion to purchase. Certain I
"am that both you and the President would censure me
"(and justly, too,) were I governed in my intercourse with
"the Indians by such principles. The great moral debt
"which we owe them can only be discharged by patient
"forbearance and a rigid adherence to that system of im-
provement which we have adopted, and the effects of
"which are already felt in this quarter.
66
"It is due to the Indians and myself to say that the sum
"which it was expected by us would be expended for the
'objects which I have mentioned is from $1,500 to $2,500
"annually. But they distinctly understand that the amount
66
of this expenditure is entirely discretionary with the
"President. Of course the Government can now apply
"such a sum to these objects as the value of the cession
"and the wants and population of the Indians may justify.
"Although I am firmly persuaded that it would be better
"for us and for these Indians that they should migrate to
"the country west of the Mississippi, or, at any rate, west
"of Lake Michigan, yet it was impossible to give effect to
"that part of your instructions which relates to this subject
"without hazarding the success of the negotiation. An
"indisposition to abandon the country so long occupied by
"their tribe, an hereditary enmity to many of the western
“Indians, and a suspicion of our motives are the prominent
"causes which, for the present, defeat this plan. When
"they are surrounded by our settlements, and brought into
contact with our people, they will be more disposed to
"migrate.
66
"In the meantime, we may teach them those useful arts
"which are connected with agriculture, and which will
24
}
66
prepare them, by gradual progress, for the reception of
"such institutions as may be fitted for their character,
"customs and situation.
แ
66
"Reservations have been made for them to occupy; and
"I indulge the hope that they will appreciate the advant-
66 ages which are now offered to them, and will aid, by their
own efforts, the plans of improvement which have been
adopted by the Government. Reservations have also
"been made for a few half-breeds. It was absolutely neces-
sary to our success that these should be admitted into the
'treaty. Being only reservations, and the fee of the land
"remaining in the United States, I trust that it will not be
"thought improper that I admitted them."
66
Gen. Cass then proceeds in his report to speak of a sup-
plemental article involving additional private grants which
was acceded to by him at the treaty, but with the under-
standing that unless it should be approved by the President
and the Senate the same might be annulled without preju-
dice to the treaty, at large. Pursuant to this authority the
President and Senate annulled this supplemental article.
There were tribal reservations in this treaty in various
locations, in some cases as small as 640 acres, and the high-
est running up to 40,000 acres in one tract, the whole ag-
gregating more than 100,000 acres of land, where the
Indians could have their villages and make their homes,
until such time, as by subsequent treaty, these should be
relinquished. They were, in the main, relinquished by a
treaty made in 1837, negotiated by Henry R. Schoolcraft.
In the accounts which were rendered by Gen. Cass of
his expenditures connected with the treaty at Saginaw we
find one item for money disbursed by him in the purchase
and distribution of provisions and expenses for persons to
25
and from Saginaw, and for various presents, etc., to the
Indians at the treaty ground and subsequently in conse-
quence of promises made to them at the treaty, and the
consequent expense going to and coming from the treaty,
$6,406.77.
In another item it seems that he disbursed to Jacob Smith
for his services and for the use of buildings at the Saginaw
treaty, $104.00; also that he paid Jacob Smith for services.
during the summer in relation to the treaty at Saginaw,
$500.00, and that he paid Henry Connor, also an Indian
interpreter, the sum of $80.00. It also appears that he
paid Mr. Louis Campau the sum of $1,046.50 for many
small items which seem to have been presented to the Indi-
ans-spades, shovels, scythes, rings, calico, tobacco, canoes,
mats, cotton cloth and one gun delivered to an Indian and
sundry other articles. To J. and A. Wendell, who were
Indian traders, was paid the sum of $998.03 for various
purchases-crosses, camp-blankets, handkerchiefs, etc., given
to the Indians. He paid Joseph F. Marsac, whom many of
the old settlers will remember as so long a resident at
Lower Saginaw, $61.00 for his services as interpreter at
the Saginaw treaty-sixty-one days at $1.00 per day. He
paid to John Riley for his services as interpreter, $244.00,
and Peter Riley $300.00.
It will be remembered that John and James and Peter
Riley were three of the half-breeds who received special
reservations of land at the treaty. There were many other
disbursements, all of which demonstrates clearly the meth-
ods that were used to operate upon the minds of the Indi-
ans to secure their assent to the treaty.
The land which was embraced in this treaty of 1819, was
about six millions of acres. Take a map of Michigan, find
26
White Rock, on the shore of Lake Huron, at the southeast
corner of Huron County, tracé a line thence southwest to a
point in Jackson County, six miles south and twelve miles
west of the northeast corner of Jackson County, thence
run west about sixty miles to a point in Kalamazoo County,
about four miles north from where the city of Kalamazoo
now is located, thence run a little east of north to a point
in Montmorency County, near the headwaters of Thunder
Bay River, thence down the river to Alpena on the shore
of Lake Huron, thence northwesterly in Lake Huron to
the boundary line, and thence down the boundary line op-
posite the point of commencement, and you will have its
boundary.
It is difficult to imagine that the entire Saginaw Valley,
with the present site of the city of Lansing, the city of
Flint, and all other towns and cities were, until 1819, the
property of the Indians, with no right, on the part of the
white-man, to settle within it. Where the city of Grand
Rapids now stands, and all the territory south of the Grand
River, and west of the line fixed by the treaty of 1819, was
ceded by the Indians by a treaty negotiated by Gen. Cass
in 1821, and north of Grand River, including the site of
the city of Muskegon, Ludington and Manistee, and all
up the west shore, and around by the way of Old Mack-
inaw to Alpena, except a small site at Old Mackinaw ceded
as a military post at an early date, was the property of the
Indians until 1836.
It was in 1831 that the French Philosopher, De Tocque
ville, visited the Saginaw Valley. He was told by Major
Biddle, the Register of the Land Office, at Detroit, that he
should not think of looking in that direction; he said “To-
"ward the northwest is the point where the current of immi-
27
"gration has least tended. About Pontiac and its neighbor-
"hood some pretty fair establishments have lately been com-
"menced. But you must not think of fixing yourself further
"off; the country is covered by an almost impenetrable for-
"est, which extends uninterruptedly towards the northwest,
"full of nothing but wild beasts and Indians. The United
"States proposes to open a way through it immediately, but
"the road is only just begun, and stops at Pontiac. I repeat,
"that there is nothing to be thought of in that quarter.
99
DeTocqueville came, for he wanted to see nature in its
primitive state; he crossed the Saginaw River, and landed
at what is now the west bank of the river, in fact his land-
ing place was within a few rods of the site where the treaty
held with Gen. Cass was signed, which was near where the
present Court House stands, a little south and a little east,
say about the junction of Hamilton street with Cass street.
Concerning Saginaw DeTocqueville, writing in 1831, says:
"In a few years these impenetrable forests will have
"fallen; the sons of civilization and industry will break the
"silence of the Saginaw; its echoes will cease; the banks
"will be imprisoned by quays; its current, which now flows.
"on unnoticed and tranquil through a nameless waste, will
"be stemmed by the prows of vessels. More than a hun-
"dred miles sever the solitude from the great European
"settlements, and we are, perhaps, the last travelers allowed
"to see its primitive grandeur."
A few years later and Henry R. Schoolcraft, Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs, visited Grand Rapids in June, 1838.
He proceeded from Detroit to Grand Rapids by going by
steamer to Mackinaw and thence to Chicago, and there he
found a schooner for Grand River, where he had to wait
some days for a conveyance to Grand Rapids, which, he
28
says in his diary, gave him time to ramble about the
neighborhood and to pick the early spring flowers in the
valley. He then took the Washtenong, a small stern-wheel
steamer, and by it was carried up to Grand Rapids, stop-
ping by the way to land an emigrant English family from
Canada, who had a log house in the woods for their occu
pancy. On reaching Grand Rapids he was invited by Mr.
Louis Campau, the proprietor of the village, to take lodging
with him. Concerning Grand Rapids, he says:
(6
"The fall of Grand River here creates an ample water
power; the surrounding country is one of the most beau-
"tiful and fertile imaginable, and its rise to wealth and
"populousness must be a mere question of time, and that
"time hurried on by a speed that is astonishing. This gen-
"eration will hardly be in their graves before it will have
"the growth and improvement which in other countries
"are the result of centuries."
What De Tocqueville foresaw with reference to Saginaw;
what Schoolcraft predicted for Grand Rapids, have been
in fact, realized during the life of many of the members
of this Society, many of us here present, and some of us res-
idents of the territory since the date of these prophecies.
The marvelous development of the Northwest, including
all the territory embraced in the ordinance of 1787, as indi-
cated by this sketch, is almost beyond comprehension.
Instead of going from this country to Europe and Asia
by the thousands yearly to visit the wonders of the old
world, the marvel is that all Europe and Asia do not rush
to the United States to see the marvelous developments of
a single century. The story that cities like Cincinnati,
Chicago, and St. Louis, to say nothing of the scores of
other large cities within the territory, and the solid popula-
29
tion of farmers, together with the thousands of miles of
railway, would be builded and made as the work of a single
century, would have taxed the imagination of the most en-
thusiastic as too great for credence, had this story been told
by prophecy one hundred years ago. Had it been suggested
to DeTocqueville, in 1831, that in sixty years the journey
from Detroit to Saginaw could have been made in three
hours, or to Schoolcraft, in 1838, that in less than sixty
years the journey from Detroit to Grand Rapids could have
been made in four hours, it would not have seemed possi-
ble.
The pioneers have done their work rapidly and well; it
is about finished, but they can lay aside their labors and
rest in the full consciousness that their duty has been well
done.
Saginaw, June, 1895.
W. L. WEBBER.
DorM

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