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New York Yearly Meeting Committee on Indian Concerns Scrapbook

NYYM_scrapbook_206

the agents of the American Fur Company, and control the manner of paying out the annuities to the Indians; by which the agents for the Company are enabled to monopolize the whole trade with them. It was said they first took all the annuity money and deducted thier charges against the Indians; and for the balance gave to each man as many cents (with a particular mark on them) as there were dollars due him; promising to pay him as many dollars in goods as he had cents; thus compelling te Indian to purchase all his goods of them at an exorbitant price. There was recently a large amount of appropriation paid out to this Tribe, in cattle swine and agricultural implements: the In- dians not being acquainted with the use of them soon sold and gave away all thier ploughs, killed the cattle and swine, and the whole plan was frustrated. The Osages are a statly race, the men are exceedingly large and tall, but the women are short, and like the females of the Winnebagoe Tribe appear dejected--they dress altogether like the wild Indians. After collecting the foregoing account respecting the Osages, we travelled south towards the Cherokee nation; intending on our way to pay a visit to the United Tribe of the Seneca and Shawnee Indians. We lodged with one Jackson and half . In the morning men to meet us at his house; with whom we held a council We gave them such advice as in our opinion was needful. They appeared perfectly friendly and listened attentively to what was said to them We spoke to them through Jackson who in- terpreted for us. They made no reply to us as there was no suitable interpretor. We learned that the greater part of these Indians were raising some corn and domestic animals, and have pretty comfortable log cabins, &; some fear of them are adopting the habits of the whites in various respects; such as laying aside the blanket as an article of dress, putting on pantaloons instead of the leggings, &;c. They have no School amongst them, and none of thier children are recieving an education out of the nation, excepting two of Jacksons'. The moral habits of the female part of this Tribe were represented as exceedingly gross and licen- tious; and from all accounts they are fast wasting away After visiting the Seneca's and Shawnees, we rode sixteen miles to the house of Dan- iel Adams a Mohawk Indian residing in the Seneca nation. The tribe located in this place are the Sandusky Senecas. This Adams is a man of tolerable education and speaks and writes both the English and Indian language; he is married to a Stockbridge woman, formerly from the State of New York. She informed us that when a girl she spent four years on Long Island, where she was educated at a Friends School; she retains a grateful remem- brance of the many kindness that were shown her by friends in those parts, the names of some of whom she mentioned--her appearance was greatly superiour to any Indian woman we saw while on our journey: her whole conduct and conversation were dignifi- ed; she was easy in her manners and conversed understanding upon a variety of subjects, but more especially upon whatever related to her friends the Indians of New York State. She manifested a deep interest in the Treaty lately made with the Seneca Indians there. This woman and her husband are both professors of the Christian religion, and from appearance were honestly engaged in the discharge of thier social, moral and religious duties: they had a family of three small children, who were clothed in the style of the whites and taught in the english language altogether. They resided in a good timber house newly built and well fur- nished--thier manner of living was superior to the generality of the whites in the west. They spoke freely of the lorn state and condition of thier peo- ple, and of the strong prejudices existing in thier minds against the whites, and of the difficulty of