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 Christian nation, the discoverers were at liberty to take Possession of this territory thus discovered, and of all the uncivilized, savage and barbarous people over whom they could acquire control, and raal-,e such disposition of the territory, and of the people found there, as ]night 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, tinder date of April 30, 1492, gave to Christopher

Columbus a commission "to discover and subdue some islands and coilli- nent in the (ocean ','@ tn(i which commission., by its terms,, conferred Upo,, Columbus the power of absolute control over the country and the people discovered, subject only to the king and queen of Spain. The ol:li(,I. Christian nations gave like commissions and authority, and under sue.], commissions., or charters, the various portions of the continent were dig-'

covered, and the power to govern them and their people ', when discox-. ered, conferred. It does not seem to have occurred to any of those Christian nations ', that the people inhabiting the territory for unnuili- bered 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 sui-e was the white man that he had the approval of divine providence, that among the early settlers of Afissaebusetts they made record, as a ea-use of congratulation and a mark of special divine guidance and over- @l

sight that the Almightv had, shortly before, sent a pestilence which prac- ticativ exterminated some of the Indiin tri-bes, so as to leave the counti@y

free for the occupancy of the white man. The only disputes arising con- cerning the occupancy of the country were between different Christian nation,-,, but as the facilities for discovering and conquering far distant lands were limited ', these disputes seem to have been settled harmoni- ously-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 northwest of the river Ohio was yet covered'with native Indian tribes ', with no communication from one part thereof to another, except by an o(x,,asional missionary or by the Indian runner, the war of the revolution was l'ought. In that war the English represented the established government, and the. Indians naturally took part wit]' the established -overinineut., as against its enemies.

When the treaty of 1783 was made, by wliieh (Treat Britain recognized the United States of America as an independent nation, and provided for a surrender to it of (,]aims to tervitoi@y, as agreed upon, it was but natural thtt the Indians should @illy themselves to the British, and that they should fail t(;recognize the United @States as a government having the right of control, so fir as white uien (!ould bii,e that riglit, over the' territor@)- of the ln(liin. ID(lian @iffaii@s were A-ei-y mijeh unsettled, tjid what were ternied Indian outrages, were frequent. Perhaps it mroxild I,,,

only ftil@ 10 18,,,um(@ that Ili(- Indian considered that lie wis upon his ONN'D terrilorv, iDd that lie oniv defending his om,n Itiads against forcible occupancy bv those wlio NN-(@re reg-ai@(le(i b.)- ]Jim is hostile. put the United

States b(@ld to tl)(, same is Ili(, nitions of

Furope had before them entertained and enforced-that the Indian has DO right except such as the white man sees fit to -recognize, and if the white man sees fit to treat with the Indian, he will do it only, a-s being an easier method of obtaining tindisturb(-d possession, than to proceed to a war of extermination.

General Anthony Wayne, having made a successful campaign 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 iuade, dated August 3, 1795, between N-nthonyNVayne, repre- senting the United States, and the following tribes of Indians, to wit: The Wyandottes, Delawares, Stiawauoes, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potta- watamies, Miames, Eel River, Weeas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws and Kas- kaskias. This treaty was made at Greenville, in Ohio, then the head- quarters of the army, and was a general treaty of peace. It was agreed'

that the Indians should surrender their prisoners to the headqnarters 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 tire south shore of Lake Erie ', at the mouth of the Cuyahoga Rivei and running thence southerly and westerly to a point on the Ohio River about half way between Cincinnati and Louisville. It will be remem- bered that it was not quite one hundred years ago when this treaty was made. I understand preparations are being made to celebrate the cen- tennial anniversary of tl,,Is 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 Louis- ville or thereabouts, is drawn, and then think of the great Northwest from that line-all a wilderness. 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 wildeimess, 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 17, 1807, made by William ]lull, Governor of the Territory of Aliebigan, for the United States on the One part, and the Ottawas, 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 Riv@,r up to the mouth of what was then called the Great Auglaise River, thence rnnnitig due north upon what was afterwards adopted as the Meridian line in Michigan, to a point about the North line Of Township seven north., thence rimming in a northeasterly direction to

White Rock, at the southeast corner of Huron County, on Lake Huron, and thence to the center of the lal,-e, and so'down the lake to a point opp(. site the place of beginning, was ceded to the United States, but all the remainder of Michi-an, with the exception of a small parcel at Mae],-i. naw, and one or two other places for military posts, still belonged to the Indians.

The Government, bv treating with the Indians and taking from them t 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 NTorthwest, as was natural, again tllied 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 Green- ville between General Harrison and General Cass acting for the United States, and the Wyandottes, Delawares, _Shaweinoes, Senecas and Mianies, of the Indians. This, it may be observed, does not include the Pottawatamies, the Ottawas, nor the Chippewas. Bv 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, there- after, 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 29, 1817, the Wyandottes, Senecas, Sliawanoes, 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 southci,n three-fourths of Hillsdale County.

By a treaty made October 0-, 1818, the Indians relinquished their title to the State of Indiana.

White settlements were crowding into the Indian territory to such all extent that it was desirable that there should be a still further cession of land by the Indians '. in Michigan, 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, inouences 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 arrangements under previous treaties by which certain annuities were to be paid to the Indians, and it seems that through financial difficulties the Government had been renliso in the payment of these annuities. John C. Calhoun was then Secretary of War, and Lewis Cass, the Commissioner, resident at Detroit. On Sep' tember 11, 1819, General Cass writes to the Secretary of War: ill shall

,leave hereon Monday next to meet the Indians at Saginaw, and

,endeavor, agreeable 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 Agembarrassed and no course has been left me but to procure the amount ilof the Chippewa annuitv upon mir private responsibility. 133r 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 eng@igenients 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 perform my promise to the bank."

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 Alr. 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.

I In a trial which was had at Saginaw in 1860, in a case between George M. Dewey and Rufus J. Hamilton as plaintiffs, and Joseph Campau and Alexander McFarlaii as defendants, there were examined many wit- nesses-all, in fact, whetber 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-cuni-e-go-qua. This trial continued some two weeks before a jury, and very manv interesting incidents con- liected with the treaty and 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 d

er was one of the counsel employed in this case, and th@ fol- ements from the'testimoiay of witnesses is taken from his own by I?im, during the trial. The testimony of the Indians was gh sworn interpreters. Mr. Campan testified in English. I

give these extracts from the testimony at considerable'length as matter ha'ving historical value. In this connection I desire to say that the secre- t8t!c'f3 who acted at the making of the treaty do not appear to have taken Olueb Pailas to make the spelling of the Indian names correspond with tb in fact thfse names were all written by the secretaries, and touched the pen, ind the cross followed the nime. To illus-

I say about Indian names: "Neome" is not found as signed to and yet. he was one of the principal chiefs; but we find

"Reaijme" signed to the treaty, doubtless intended for "Neome.@@ So (f "Okemos," in the treatv it is written "Okemans '," and "Kish-kah-koll is written "Kish-kan-koii.11 The treaty was signed with 114 Indian names, being the chiefs and warriors of tije tribe. I now give extracts from the testimony, as follows:

Kaw-ga-ge-zhic said: I was at the treaty with Gen. Cass. I was then a chief. Perhaps ineome 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; be 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 the treaty, that lands were reserved for Neome's children. I heard -Neonie say, at the Council, to Gen. Cass, "Deny me not; grant my request that a reserve be made for my childr@en." 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 Indiana were in groups talking together. The principal orator of the treaty was Neome. I only heard Itim 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 inter- preted for Neome; and a good many others also acted. I knew Peter Riley and John Riley-they were half-breeds. There were about six sec- tions of land reserved at Pe-wa-na-go-wink. I saw Taw-cum-e-go-qua married at Pe-wa-na-cyo-wink a long time ago.

Who married her?

.k. Nobody but Mixe-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 it -Nippissing. 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 mail grown up. I knew Neome and Mix-e-iae-ne and other chiefs; knew their children. 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 chil- dren 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 Indians went into the big wil'- warti, I don't know how many times, and met Gen. Cass. I don't kilo the name of the principal orator at the treaty. I don't know bow old

,km; at the treaty I was about as high as I am now to where my chin is. I recl--on my age by so many springs of the year. I do not know how old my oldest child is; I have grandchildren grown up; the oldest one is four or five feet high.

Sa-gos-a-qua said: Al@- full name is @s'-a-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-winl@. I had a sister Ah-won-non-o-quod-a-qua; I bad a brother 0-jib-wocl,. ]Knew Mix-e-ne-ne. He had a child, Taw-cum- e-go-qua. My sister was larger than 1; she had a child before the treaty. Myself and Taw-cum-e-go-qua were here at the treaty. While at the treaty I heird,NTeome speak about getting land for myself and my sister and Taw-ciim-e-go-qua; this was at the Council Room where General Cass was. My father was talking to General Ctss. 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-qiia; I was a little taller than she. Neouae said, "I reserve these lands for my children." There was lands reserved for Neome's people also at Pe-wa-na-go-wink. Cannot tell anything else.

0-noin-gush-],-a-wa said: I was at the treaty. I was a boy large enough to liunt some. I knew Neome; he was the chief of our band; knew the other chiefs; ],-new their children; they had their families at thetreaty. At the treaty I was told that Taw-cum-e-go-qua would have land. I heard Nleome 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. 1 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, bacl,- of Mr. Campaule house, in a long shed. I signed the treaty as one of the Chippewt chiefs. At the time I signed the treaty my residence was at a place about six ,ralles 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-,-,ob-o-way, my mother's father, and Kob-e-ko-no-k-4, my uncle, were my cliiefs. The first named was a Chippewa Indian and the last named an Ottawa. They were no connec- tion 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, at To- bosh's trading house; he was a chief at that time. I know Noe-chic-o-me;

he is acting a.,P, chief now'; be is down the Sagintw River; he had two children at the time of the treaty, and lived at tliit fine

on the Shiawassee, called Chesiniing. , at tl]O Big Rock,

Ka-zhe-o-be-ou-no-qua said: My husband's name is Antoine Peltie; I live at 0-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 in3- age for certain, think it is (;7 years; I was present at the treaty. I ",as present the day the treaty ended. They were writing, but they would not tell me what thev 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 agreeing to the treaty. I have been to Malden for presents. At the time of the treaty I was about 17 years of age. I

-kah-l,-o's band; I was born here. The treaty lasted belonged to Kish nearly a mouth; 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 longertha.utendays. NNIah-ba-zenee(JacobSmith)hadatentandsaweacit

other ever@v day; he took not mu ch 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 '"Iah-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-ine there, but not with his girl. Smith took her there. They put some new clothes on her, yet she showed in herself that she was full-blooded; she had calico for skirts, a long dress and pantalets, and smoked skin for m'occasins. Neome's children were dressed the same way, and Smith took the whole of them forward to Gen. Cass and tried to et land for

9

them and the boy; and the boy was,taken forward, and Smith said this is my boy.

Noe-chic-o-ine said: I live at Bah-wa-a-gin-ing. I am chief. I was at the treaty; I was a man grown. Mix-e-ne-ne and Neome and their fami- lies 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 building (Court House) now is. There were individual reserves made at the treaty. There wag 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 Rilc@.v on the other side of the river. There was another for Kaw-kaw-ish-L-o, the Crow, opposite the Island in the ri'Ver belowhere. TherewerealsosoniereservesatF]i-ntRiverforthechild- ren I have spoken of. Gen. Cass was in the Council room when thev 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 treatv because I was invited by the Indians to come with them. At that time Taw-cum-e-go-qii.-i was 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 anv.

Louis Campau: I live at Grand Rapids, am 68 years old last August. I remember the treaty of l@819. 1 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 bool,-. If any of those are alive it must be Mr. Hersey; I heard this summer that he was alive; I saw him in 1836 in Chicago; we traded then together; think lie is the 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 council NN,as held there-the offlee and the dining room were separated only by a store-house. Tli(@re were four log buildings ill togl@@, ter end to end. These were six to eight rods from tl]C, room where the -i-a@d Council room was. I think Cass arrived in the afternoon, and Rent his a(,ents for the Indians to gather next morning at ten O'clock - tljir, was after ill the departments had got here-all the prin- 'CiPal oflicers had -ot here. The next morning they met at the Council

Ttic- first Council N%ris to let them ],now that he was sent by the

great father to make a treaty with them, that he wanted to buv their lands, stating the points, and for them to go back and smoke and think about it; thev 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 tronble to get the consent of all. At the second Council there was greit difficulty, liird words; thev threatened General Cass among the rest. The object of the Council after they lin(i consented to treat, was to stite the terdis on Y%,bielt he was authorized 1() treat. From the second to the third (louncil was five or six days. Tlie@), stayed nine or ten days in all. The last Council wis to read the treaty to them, it was read and interpreted to them. Harry Connor was the inter- preter. 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. Gen. Cass sat at the northeast 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 l@Irs. Coutant; -,he was right oppo- site Gen. Cass, and Connor, when reading the treaty, pointed her to the Indians as their relative, -,tnd when her name was said they responded as though pleased. After the treatv wis read and approved by the Indians and signed by them, which was as soon as read, Gen. Cass o@dered the money to be brought to the table; it was all in half dollars-f or the pay- ment. 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 @L 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; lie caiiie around by water in my boat. I knew ever@v one of the Riley boys; Petei- 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 liv(,d at the Rapids ever since; the Riley I spoke of was the father of the tbt-(@e boys. I traded liere till 1826; 1 knew N-eome and his bamd after th

treaty; knew him well; he traded with nie as long as I -,old liere; 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. -Neoni(I was very ignorint, but he was very good, lionest and kind. I knew To''- dog-a-ue well ', as A,ell as I did -N7eoine; lie -*N-as the second chief of -N'(-oilli@ at the time, ind tfterw@irds head chief. I knew -,ill the li(@,id iii(-ji of t lie band who was a huntei-; heard itieni after the treaty converse about tile treat I

lundei-stoodthechil)-

pewa langiiageatthq,ttinie; lwicbroiightupwiththemfromthetime I was seven years old. I war, 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 sic,rned, and the goods and money dis- tributed, and the Indians were all drunk. Cass and Iiis party left before daylight next morning; the troops at about ten o'clocl,-. The whole talk was previous to the day of the treatv. On -tlie day of the treaty my atten- tion was all taken up with my own business; I saw them wlien 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 dav of the treaty. I was a clerk of Joseph Campaii before the wtr. '@Nfy memory 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 ;Neorne lived was called-Neome'sVillage. NVhereFlintnowiswascalledl@lus-ca-da-wain. The English called it Grand Traverse. -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. Mar- sac was at the treaty or acted as interpreter; I knew his brother and his father; his fatlier's name was Francis --Nfarsac; I was here when Cass arrived; I was here five or -ix 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 Oalz; do not recollect of Marsac being with me. There were none of mv 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 Isab(,Ila: 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 Ile-wa-na-go-wink, on the Flint River. There were other cliiefs and head men in Neome's band. I knew Mix-a-ne-rie. 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 princi@)dl men of the band at that time; all moved like one mass with their chiefs. Thei-e were many present at the treaty-I cannot remember all their uiines. All those I leave mentioned were at the treaty, and others witb them; tlie3- ill came with their families-there '15'as no one lefttt home. @N-eottio@'s family consisted of four persons. At tile time of the treaty -Nlix-a-iie-ne had two children-Taw-cum-e-go-qua

NOTIC.-This testimony wu being taken in the old (.;oart Hines on the same cite where the present

816'OAW Court Honso stands. and Nah-tun-@!-ge-zhic. At the time of the treaty Taw-etim-e-go-qua was aboutfourfeethigii. --N'eomewasiitvgrandfither. Iheardatthetreaty who got land-that Taw-cum-e-go-qiia and others got land. The Indians did not know what to do in the case. Just before the treaty was con- cluded Jacob Smith came one night to '-N7eome and suggested that a reser- vation 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-wou-non-wa-to-qtia, 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 Neorne'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 knonv 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 geiaerally, 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 stand- ing side of Neome; Gen. Cass-was near by; I stood so near Neome because I had by past experience 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 see. 1, also stood by him for I was afraid and wanted to see what was done. After the treatv Taw-cum-e-,-o-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 bo-v. Taw-cum-e-go-qua and her husband were married and lived together till she died. I am fifty-four vears 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. Cass 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 Council room. We camped all around here. Gen. Cass put his hands on the heads of the children when they were prc@sented to him. Thev were before him just long enough to take down their names- Mix-a-ne-ne wis my uncle; Nleome was my grandfather. My father liad five brothers. IVe-ba-zince (the Indian mine for Jicob Smith) wa,, a man who bid no pti-ticulir occupation it The treaty; he had been au

Indian Trider, but was riot trading qt 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 tool,- a long time because the Indians were unwilling to cede their lands; it was nianv days; do not 'know how many times the Indians met Gen. Cass in the big wigwams good many times. White man always persevering to accomplish his object. There were more than ten meetings; 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, atkd the 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 Secretary of War under date of September 30, 1819, in which he transmitted the treaty which he had made. 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 run, that the southeastern* corner of the tract ceded is in the lipossession of the Grand River Indians; if so, there will be no di:Meulty, "and very little expense in quieting their claims.

"That portion of the Chippewa Indians which owned this land have not "made the necessai@y advances in civilization to appreciate the import- "ance of education for their youth. It was, therefore, hopeless to expect "from them any reservation for this object, or to offer it as an induce- 'ilment 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 tiendeai,ored to give such form to the stipulations on the part of the "'United States, for the payment of annuities, as would be permanently diuseful, and, at the same time, satisfactory to them.

"Their own wishes umlquestionably were, that the whole sum stipu- "lated to be annualiv paid to them should be aid in specie. With the

p "habitual improvidence of savages, they were anxious to receive what "they could speedilv dissipate in childish and useless purchases, at the expense of stipulations which would be permanently useful to them. "The opinions advanced in your letter of instructions of Alarch 27, respecting the injurious tendency of la.-,-e annuities to the Indiains "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 fortunate people.

torn."

"Viewing the subject in this manner, I finally concluded to admit a Cistipulation conformable to their wishes, for an annuitv of $1,000, but to @gsecure 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 blacl,-smith for them '. and should furnish them @@with cattle, farming utensils, and persons to aid them in their agricul- "ture.

"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 Presi- "dent.

"In taking this course, I was influenced by the consideration 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. Some- "timestoomuchhasbeenallowed,audatothertimestoolittle. Heisuot gisent upon such a negotiation to ascertain the lowest possible sum for "which the miserable remnant of those who once occupied our couutrv iiare 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 44 principles. The great moral debt which we owe them can only be dis- "charged by patient forbearance and a rigid adherence to that system of "improvement which we have adopted'. and the effects of which are "already felt in this quarter.

"It is due to the Indians and myself to say that the sum which it "expected by us would be expended for the objects which I have men- "tioned is from $1,500 to $2,,500 annually. But they distinctly und("'- "stand that the amount of this expenditure is entirely discretionary with "the President. Of course the Government can now apply such a sell to "these objects as the value of the cessiou and the wants and population of "thelndiansmayju,stify. Althoughlamfirmlypersuadedthatitwould "be better for us and for these Indians that they should migrate to the "country west of the l@lississippi, or, at any rate, west of Lake

g@yet it was impossible to give effect to that part of your instriietiob* 4i which relates to this subject without hazarding the success of the iiel@10, "tiation. An indisposition to abandon tb(- country so loii- oc(-iii@i('d "by their tribe, an beriditavi, eniiiitv to many of the

"Indians, and a suspicion of our motives are the proniinen4z causes "for the present, defeat this plan. NN'tien they are surrounded

i4 settlements, and brought into contact with our peol)le, they will be lu("e "disposed to migrate.

&01.1. VO.L

"In the meantime, we may teach them those useful artr, Which are con. "nected with agriculture, and which will prepare them, by gradual prog- '4ress, for the reception of such institutions as may be fitted for their "character, customs and situation.

"Reservations have been made for them to occupy; and I indulge the "hope that they will appreciate the advantages 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 necessary to our success "that these should be admitted into the treaty. Being only reservations, "and the fee of the land remaining in the T-Tnited States, I trust that it &gwill not be thought improper that I admitted them."

Gen. Cass then proceeds in his report to speak of a supplemental article involving additional private grants which was acceded to by him at the treaty, but with the understanding that unless it should be approved by the President and the Senate the same might be annulled without pre- judice 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 highest running up to 40,000 acres lia one tract, the whole aggregating more than 100,000 acres of land, where the Indians could have their villages and make their homes, until such time, as bv subsequent treaty, these should be relinquished. They were, in the main, relinquished bv a treaty made in 1837, negotiated by Henry R. Schooleraft.

In the accounts which were rendered bv Gen. Cass of his expenditures connected with the treaty at Saginaw we find one item for nionev dis- bursed bv him in the purchase and distribution of provisions and expenses for persons to and from Saginaw, and for various presents, etc., to the Indians at the treaty ground and subsequently in consequence of promises made to them at the treaty, and the consequent expense going to and coming from theptreaty, $6,4@(:,.77.

112 another item it seems that he disbursed to Jacob Siiiith for his ser- 'Vices and'for the use of buildings at the Saginaw treatv $104.00; also that he paid Jacob Smith for services during the summer in relation to the treaty at Saginaw, $500.00, and that lie paid Henrv Connor, also an Iiidian interpreter, the sum of $80.06. It also appears that lie paid Mr. Louis Campau the sum of $1,046.50 for many small items which seem to have been presented to the Indians-sl)ades, shovels, seythes, rings, 'ealil-'O, tobacco, canoes, mats, cotton cloth and one gun delivered to an "dia. and suiidu other articles. To J. and .1. A17endell, who were pdiaii traders '. was paid the sum of $998.0,9j@ for various purchases- rosses, camp-blaiiliets'. handkerchiefs, etc., given to the Indians. He

paid Joseph F. Marsac, whom many of the old settlers -will remember is so long a resident at Lower Saginaw, $61.00 for his services as interpre- ter 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 demon- strates clearly the methods that were used to operate upon the minds of the Indians to secure their assent to the treaty.

The land which was embraced in this treaty of 1819, was about six mil- lions of acres. Tal@e a map of Michigan, find White Rock, on the shore of Lake Huron, at the southeast corner of Huron County, trace a line thence southwest to where the North side of Township seven north inter- sects the Meridian line, thence south to a point 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 Thuiader Bay River, thence down the river to Alpena on the shore of Lake Huron, thence southeasterly in Lale Huron to the boundary line, and thence down the boundary line opposite 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, 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 Mackinaw to Alpena, except a small site at Old Mackinaw ceded as a militarn, post at an early date, was the property of the Indians until 1836.

It was in 1831 that the French Philosopher, De Toequeville, visited the Saginaw Valley. He was told by 2@ajor Biddle, the Register of the Land Office, at Detroit, that he should not think of looking in that direction; he said, "Toward the northwest is the point where the -current of immi- "gration has least tended. About Pontiac and its neighborhood some "pretty fair establishments have lately been comnienced. But you niil,-t "not thinl,- of fixing yourself further off; the country is covered by "' "almost impenetrable forest, which extends uninterruptedly towards the "northwest, full of nothing but wild beasts and Indians. The united "States proposes to open a wii, 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."

DeToequeville 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 landing war, 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, De- Toequeville, 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 hundred miles 44 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. Schooleraft, Commissioner 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 Chi- cago, and there he found a schooner for Grand River, where he had to wait some days for a conveyance to Grand Rapids, which, he 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, stopping by the way to land an emigrant English family from Canada, who had a log house in the woods for their occupancy. On reaching Grand Rapids he was invited by Mr. Louis Campan, the proprietor of the village, to take lodging with him. Concerning Grand Rapids, he says:

"The fall of Grand River here creates an ample water power; the sur- rounding country is one of the most beautiful and fertile imaginable, and its rise to wealth and populousness must be a mere question of time, and that time burried,,f)n by a speed that is astonishing. This genera-

"'tion will hardly be in their graves before it will have the growth and "inaprovement which in other countries are the result of centuries."

What DeToequeville foresaw with reference to Saginaw; what School- craft predicted for Grand Rapids, have been in fact, realized during the the life of many of the members of this Society, many of us here present, and some of us residents of the territory since the date of these prophe- cies. The marvelous development of the Northwest, including all the

territory embraced in the ordinance of 1787, as indicated by this sketch, is almost beyond comprehension.

Instead of going from this country to Europe and Asia by the thou- ,sands yearly to visit the wonders of the old world, the marvel is that all Europe and Asia do not rush to the LTiaited States to see the marvelous

developments of a single centur@;'. The story that cities line Cincinniti,

Chicago, and St. Louis, to say nothing of the scores of other large cities within the territory, and the solid population 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 enthusiastic as too great for credence, had this story been told by pro- p@ecy one hundred years ago. Had it been suggested to DeToequeville, in 1831, that in sixty years the journey from Detroit to Saginaw could have been made in three hours, or to Schooleraft, 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 possible.

The pioneers have done their work rapidly and well; it is about fin- ished, but they can lay aside their labors and rest in the full conscious- ness that their duty has been well done.

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