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- Herausgeber: Krill Press
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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THE WORLD’S FAMOUS ORATIONS: VOLUME VIII, AMERICA (1761-1837)
William Jennings Bryan
FIREWORK PRESS
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Copyright © 2015 by William Jennings Bryan
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Volume VIII, America 1761-1837
James Logan: To Lord Dunmore
Joseph Brant: To Lord George Germaine
Red Jacket: On the Religion of the White Man and the Red
Tecumseh: To Governor Harrison at Vincennes
Tecumseh: To General Proctor
Chief Pushmataha: To John C. Calhoun
Black Hawk: To General Street
Peter Wilson: On the Empire State
James Otis Jr.: In Opposition to Writs of Assistance
Benjamin Franklin: His Examination Before the House of Commons
Benjamin Franklin: On the Federal Constitution
Benjamin Franklin: Dangers of a Salaried Bureaucracy
Patrick Henry: The “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech
Patrick Henry: Shall Liberty or Empire Be Sought?
George Washington: On His Appointment as Commander-in-Chief
George Washington: His First Inaugural Address
George Washington: His Farewell Address
Samuel Adams: On American Independence
William Pinkney: For the Relief of Slaves
Alexander Hamilton: On the Adoption of the Federal Constitution
John Marshall: On the Federal Constitution
Fisher Ames: On the Treaty with Great Britain
Thomas Jefferson: His First Inaugural Address
Eliphalet Nott: On the Death of Hamilton
John Randolph: On Offensive War with England
Edward Everett: The Issue in the Revolution
Andrew Jackson: His Second Inaugural Address
Andrew Jackson: His Farewell Address
Sargent S. Prentiss: On the Death of Lafayette
Wendell Phillips: On the Murder of Lovejoy
George Bancroft: The People in Art, Government, and Religion
Thomas Hart Benton: On the Expunging Resolution
Ralph Waldo Emerson: On the American Scholar
The World’s Famous Orations: Volume VIII, America (1761-1837)
By
William Jennings Bryan
The World’s Famous Orations: Volume VIII, America (1761-1837)
Published by Firework Press
New York City, NY
First published 1906
Copyright © Firework Press, 2015
All rights reserved
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
About Firework Press
Firework Pressprints and publishes the greatest books about American history ever written, including seminal works written by our nation’s most influential figures.
INTRODUCTION
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN (MARCH 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was a tour de force in American politics around the end of the 19th century. Bryan had a long, distinguished career in politics as a liberal in the Democratic Party, including serving as Secretary of State and presidential candidate. He advocated for democracy, sought peace, and embraced evolution even while opposing the idea of Social Darwinism. Bryan came to be known as “The Great Commoner.”.
Bryan gave 500 speeches in his life and all but invented the idea of stumping for president, so who better than the brilliant, eloquent statesman to edit a compilation of the world’s most famous orations? Bryan covered the most famous speeches given by the most famous people in Western civilization from Ancient Greece to contemporary times. The World’s Famous Orations include speeches from the likes of Socrates, Cicero, Caesar, Antony, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell, Tecumseh, Ben Franklin, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, and many more. In all, Bryan included 281 speeches by 213 speakers.
Chosen by the best orator of his age, these orations offer readers a glimpse into history’s turning points as well as being a fantastic reference point. This edition includes Volume VIII, which covers the speeches of America from 1761-1837, the beginning of the Revolutionary period through the growth of the new nation. This includes 33 speeches by Founding Fathers like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton; orators like James Otis Jr., Patrick Henry and Edward Everett; Native American chiefs Black Hawk and Tecumseh; and others.
THE WORLD’S FAMOUS ORATIONS
VOLUME VIII, AMERICA 1761-1837
JAMES LOGAN: TO LORD DUNMORE
James Logan (c.1725–1780)
(1774)
Born about 1725 died in 1780; his real name, Tahgahjute; by birth a Cayuga, but made a Chief of the Mingoes; lived for many years in western Pennsylvania; his family murdered by the whites in 1774; killed near Detroit in a skirmish with Indians.
[1] I APPEAL to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan’s cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the. last long and bloody war Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites that my countrymen pointed at me as they passed, and said: “Logan is the friend of white men.”
I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, [2] the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature.
This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not think that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. Logan will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one!
Note 1. Lord Dunmore at this time was governor of Virginia. Logan’s speech was really a message sent to Dunmore by Logan through John Gibson, an Indian trader. There was war at that time between the Indians and whites on the western frontier of Virginia. Trouble had long existed in that region, but the killing of Logan’s family had now become the immediate cause of a general outbreak. The war was brought to a close on October 10 by the Battle of Point Pleasant, in which Logan is said personally to have taken thirty scalps.
Note 2. Colonel Michael Cresap, after whom this war has sometimes been named, tho it is more often called Lord Dunmore’s War, was not responsible for the murder of Logan’s family. Some white men, led by one Greathouse, a liquor dealer, murdered them.
JOSEPH BRANT: TO LORD GEORGE GERMAINE
Joseph Brant (1742–1807)
(1776)
Born in 1742, died in 1807; educated at Lebanon, Connecticut; Interpreter and Secretary to Sir William Johnson; visited London in 1776 and 1784; commanded the Indians at the battles of Oriskany and Newtown; translated parts of the New Testament into the Mohawk tongue; his life has been written in a notable book by William L. Stone.
[1] BROTHER GORAH:—We have crossed the great lake and come to this kingdom with our superintendent, Colonel Johnson, [2] from our Confederacy of the Six Nations and their allies, that we might see our father, the great king, and join in informing him, his counselors, and wise men, of the good intentions of the Indians, our brothers, and of their attachment to his majesty and his government.
Brother, the disturbances in America give great trouble to all our nations, and many strange stories have been told to us by the people of that country. The Six Nations, who always loved the king, sent a number of their chiefs and warriors with their superintendent to Canada last summer, where they engaged their allies to join with them in the defense of that country, and when it was invaded by the New England people they alone defeated them. [3]
Brother, in that engagement we had several of our best warriors killed and wounded, and the Indians think it very hard they should have been so deceived by the white people in that country; many returning in great numbers, and no white people supporting the Indians, they were obliged to return to their villages and sit still. We now, brother, hope to see these bad children chastised, and that we may be enabled to tell the Indians who have always been faithful and ready to assist the king what his majesty intends.
Brother, the Mohawks, our particular nation, have on all occasions shown their zeal and loyalty to the great king; yet they have been very badly treated by the people in that country, the city of Albany laying an unjust claim to the lands on which our lower castle [4] is built, as one Klock, [5] and others do to those of Canajoharie, our upper village. We have often been assured by our late great friend, Sir William Johnson, who never deceived us, and we know he was told so, that the king and wise men here would do us justice. But this, notwithstanding all our applications, has never been done, and it makes us very uneasy. We also feel for the distress in which our brothers on the Susquehanna are likely to be involved by a mistake made in the boundary we settled in 1768. [6] This also our superintendent has laid before the king. We have only, therefore, to request that his majesty will attend to this matter: it troubles our nation and they can not sleep easy in their beds. Indeed, it is very hard, when we have let the king’s subjects have so much land for so little value, they should want to cheat us in this manner of the small spots we have left for our women and children to live on. We are tired out in making complaints and getting no redress. We therefore hope that the assurances now given us by the superintendent may take place and that he may have it in his power to procure us justice.
We shall truly report all that we hear from you to the Six Nations on our return. We are well informed there have been many Indians in this country who came without any authority from their own and gave us much trouble. We desire to tell you, brother, that this is not our case. We are warriors known to all the Nations, and are now here by approbation of many of them, whose sentiments we speak.
Brother, we hope that these things will be considered and that the king or his great men will give us such answer as will make our hearts light and glad before we go, and strengthen our hands, so that we may join our superintendent, Colonel Johnson, in giving satisfaction to all our Nations when we report to them on our return; for which purpose we hope soon to be accommodated with the passage.
Note 1. Delivered in London before Lord George Germaine, secretary of state, on March 14, 1776. The originals of this and another speech by Brant are now in London. They have been printed in the “Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York.” Brant had gone to London to secure for the Mohawk Indians redress for lands which they had lost on the Mohawk and Upper Susquehanna Rivers. Redress was promised, but it was understood that the Indians meanwhile, in the war already begun with the Colonies, would give their support to the king. Out of this understanding proceeded the activity of Brant on the New York frontier in aid of the royal cause.
Note 2. Colonel Guy Johnson, who two years before (in 1774) had succeeded Sir William Johnson as superintendent of Indian affairs. He was not Sir William’s son, but his son-in-law.
Note 3. A reference to General Montgomery’s expedition to Quebec in summer of 1775, and particularly to the Battle of the Cedars, fought near Montreal on September 25, where Ethan Allen, with a small force, was defeated, taken prisoner, and sent to England in the same ship in which Brant sailed.
Note 4. The lower castle of the Mohawks was at Fort Hunter.
Note 5. George Klock, of Canajoharie, was the father-in-law of Colonel Cox, who was killed at Oriskany. Cox was largely responsible at Oriskany for the injudicious forward movement of the American troops, which led them into an ambush laid by the Indians under Brant.
Note 6. At the Treaty of Fort Stanwix.
RED JACKET: ON THE RELIGION OF THE WHITE MAN AND THE RED
Red Jacket (c.1758–1830)
(1805)
Born about 1752, died in 1830; his Nation, the Senecas, his home, near Geneva; his real name, Sogoyewapha, the name “Red Jacket” coming from an embroidered scarlet jacket presented to him by a British officer during the Revolution; saw service on the American side in the War of 1812.
[1] FRIEND AND BROTHER:—It was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things and has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken His garment from before the sun and caused it to shine with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened that we see clearly; our ears are unstopped that we have been able to hear distinctly the words you have spoken. For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and Him only.
Brother, this council fire was kindled by you. It was at your request that we came together at this time. We have listened with attention to what you have said. You requested us to speak our minds freely. This gives us great joy; for we now consider that we stand upright before you and can speak what we think. All have heard your voice and all speak to you now as one man. Our minds are agreed.
Brother, you say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home and we do not wish to detain you. But first we will look back a little and tell you what our fathers have told us and what we have heard from the white people.
Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island. Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He had made the bear and the beaver. Their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this He had done for His red children because He loved them. If we had some disputes about our hunting-ground they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood.
But an evil day came upon us. Your forefathers crossed the great water and landed on this island. Their numbers were small. They found friends and not enemies. They told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men and had come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat. We took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down among us. We gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return.
The white people, brother, had now found our country. Tidings were carried back and more came among us. Yet we did not fear them. We took them to be friends. They called us brothers. We believed them and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased. They wanted more land; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened and our minds became uneasy. Ware took place. Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. They also brought strong liquor among us. It was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands.
Brother, our seats were once large and yours were small. You have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got our country, but are not satisfied; you want to force your religion upon us.
Brother, continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to His mind; and, if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach we shall be unhappy hereafter. You say that you are right and we are lost. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a Book. If it was intended for us, as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given to us, and not only to us, but why did He not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that Book, with the means of understanding it rightly. We only know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people?
Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?
Brother, we do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive, to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion.
Brother, the Great Spirit has made us all, but He has made a great difference between His white and His red children. He has given us different complexions and different customs. To you He has given the arts. To these He has not opened our eyes. We know these things to be true. Since He has made so great a difference between us in other things, why may we not conclude that He has given us a different religion according to our understanding? The Great Spirit does right. He knows what is best for His children; we are satisfied.
Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion or take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own.
Brother, you say you have not come to get our land or our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell you that I have been at your meetings and saw you collect money from the meeting. I can not tell what this money was intended for, but suppose that it was for your minister; and, if we should conform to your way of thinking, perhaps you may want some from us.
Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest, and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what you have said.
Brother, you have now heard our answer to your talk, and this is all we have to say at present. As we are going to part, we will come and take you by the hand, and hope the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey and return you safe to your friends.
Note 1. Delivered at a council of chiefs of the Six Nations in the summer of 1805 after Mr. Cram, a missionary, had spoken of the work he proposed to do among them.
TECUMSEH: TO GOVERNOR HARRISON AT VINCENNES
The Shawnee Chief Tecumseh (1768?–1813)
(1810)
Born about 1768, died in 1813; a Chief of the Shawnee and twin brother of Elskwatawa, who was defeated by Harrison at Tippecanoe; joined the British in the War of 1812; fought in several battles in Canada; commanded the right wing of the allied Indian and British forces, who were defeated in the Battle of the Thames by General Harrison.
[1] IT is true I am a Shawnee. My forefathers were warriors. Their son is a warrior. From them I take only my existence; from my tribe I take nothing. I am the maker of my own fortune; and oh! that I could make that of my red people, and of my country, as great as the conceptions of my mind, when I think of the Spirit that rules the universe. I would not then come to Governor Harrison to ask him to tear the treaty and to obliterate the landmark; but I would say to him: “Sir, you have liberty to return to your own country.”
The being within, communing with past ages, tells me that once, nor until lately, there was no white man on this continent; that it then all belonged to red men, children of the same parents, placed on it by the Great Spirit that made them, to keep it, to traverse it, to enjoy its productions, and to fill it with the same race, once a happy race, since made miserable by the white people, who are never contented but always encroaching. The way, and the only way, to check and to stop this evil, is for all the red men to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was at first, and should be yet; for it never was divided, but belongs to all for the use of each. For no part has a right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers—those who want all, and will not do with less.
The white people have no right to take the land from the Indiana, because they had it first; it is theirs. They may sell, but all must join. Any sale not made by all is not valid. The late sale is bad. It was made by a part only. Part do not know how to sell. It requires all to make a bargain for all. All red men have equal rights to the unoccupied land. The right of occupancy is as good in one place as in another. There can not be two occupations in the same place. The first excludes all others. It is not so in hunting or traveling; for there the same ground will serve many, as they may follow each other all day; but the camp is stationary, and that is occupancy. It belongs to the first who sits down on his blanket or skins which he has thrown upon the ground; and till he leaves it no other has a right.
Note 1. Delivered to Governor Harrison in council at Vincennes on August 12, 1810. Large tracts of land in Tecumseh’s absence had been sold by the Indians on both side of the Wabash River.
TECUMSEH: TO GENERAL PROCTOR
[1] FATHER, LISTEN TO YOUR children! you have them now all before you. The war before this, our British father gave the hatchet to his red children when old chiefs were alive. They are now dead. In that war our father was thrown on his back by the Americans, and our father took them by the hand without our knowledge; and we are afraid that our father will do so again at this time.
Summer before last, when I came forward with my red brethren and was ready to take up the hatchet in favor of our British father, we were told not to be in a hurry; that he had not yet determined to fight the. Americans.
Listen! When war was declared, our father stood up and gave us the tomahawk, and told us that he was ready to strike the Americans; that he wanted our assistance, and that he would certainly get us our lands back, which the Americans had taken from us.
Listen! You told us at that time to bring forward our families to this place, and we did so; and you promised to take care of them, and that they should want for nothing while the men would go and fight the enemy. That we need not trouble ourselves about the enemy’s garrisons; that we knew nothing about them, and that our father would attend to that part of the business. You also told your red children that you would take good care of your garrison here, which made our hearts glad.
Listen! When we were last at the Rapids, it is true we gave you little assistance. It is hard to fight people who live like ground-hogs.
Father, listen! Our fleet has gone out; we know they have fought; we have heard the great guns, but know nothing of what has happened to our father with one arm. Our ships have gone one way, and we are much astonished to see our father tying up everything and preparing to run away the other, without letting his red children know what his intentions are. You always told us to remain here and take care of our lands. It made our hearts glad to hear that was your wish. Our great father, the king, is the head, and you represent him. You always told us that you would never draw your foot off British ground; but now, father, we see you are drawing back, and we are sorry to see our father doing so without seeing the enemy. We must compare our father’s conduct to a fat animal that carries its tail upon its back, but when affrighted it drops it between its legs and runs off.
Listen, father! The Americans have not yet defeated us by land; neither are we sure that they have done so by water; we therefore wish to remain here and fight our enemy should they make their appearance. If they defeat us, we will then retreat with our father.
At the Battle of the Rapids, last war, the Americans certainly defeated us; and when we retreated to our fathers fort in that place the gates were shut against us. We were afraid that it would now be the case, but instead of that we now see our British father preparing to march out of his garrison.
Father! You have got the arms and ammunition which our great father sent for his red children. If you have an idea of going away, give them to us, and you may go and welcome; for us, our lives are in the hands of the Great Spirit. We are determined to defend our lands, and if it is His will we wish to leave our bones upon them.
Note 1. Delivered “in the name of the Indian chiefs and warriors to Major-General [Henry A.] Proctor, as the representative of their great father, the king,” a short time before the Battle of the Thames in Canada, which occurred on October 5, 1813. Proctor, totally defeated by Gen. William Henry Harrison, was court-martialed and suspended from his rank and pay, but reinstated afterward and rose to be a lieutenant-general. This speech was first published in 1813 in the National Intelligencer of Washington, with a note saying it was “found among General Proctor’s papers after his flight.”
CHIEF PUSHMATAHA: TO JOHN C. CALHOUN
The Choctaw Chief Pushmataha (1765–1824)
(1824)
Born in 1765, died in 1824; a Chief of the Choctaws; had a notable career as a Warrior against the Osage Indians and in Mexico; served with the Americans in the War of 1812.
[1] FATHER, I have been here at the council-house for some time, but I have not talked. I have not been strong enough to talk. You shall hear me talk to-day. I belong to another district. You have, no doubt, heard of me. I am Pushmataha.
Father, when in my own country, I often looked toward this council-house, and wanted to come here. I am in trouble. I will tell my distresses. I feel like a small child, not half as high as its father, who comes up to look in his father’s face, hanging in the bend of his arm, to tell him his troubles. So, father, I hang in the bond of your arm, and look in your face; and now hear me speak.
Father, when I was in my own country, I heard there were men appointed to talk to us. I would not speak there; I chose to come here, and speak in this beloved house; for Pushmataha can boast and say, and tell the truth, that none of his fathers, or grandfathers, or any Choctaw, [2] ever drew bow against the United States. They have always been friendly. We have held the hands of the United States so long that our nails are long like birds’ claws; and there is no danger of their slipping out.
Father, I have come to speak. My nation has always listened to the applications of the white people. They have given of their country till it is very small. I came here, when a young man, to see my Father Jefferson. He told me, if ever we got in trouble, we must run and tell him. I am come. This is a friendly talk; it is like that of a man who meets another, and says: “How do you do?” Another of my tribe shall talk further. He shall say what Pushmataha would say, were he stronger.
Note 1. Pushmataha’s name is sometimes spelled Pushmatahaw, the word meaning “The warrior’s seat is finished.” In 1824 he went to Washington “to brighten the chain of peace.” where he was treated with great attention by President Monroe and John C. Calhoun, then secretary of war, to whom he made the speech here given, a copy being now preserved in the official records of the War Department. Soon afterward he died. One of his last requests was that he might be buried with military honors. The procession that followed his body to the Congressional Cemetery was estimated to be more than a mile in length, the sidewalks, stoops and windows of houses being thronged along the way, and minute guns being fired from the hill of the capitol. John Randolph, in a eulogy pronounced in the Senate, characterized him as “one of nature’s nobility; a man who would have adorned any society.” On his tombstone he is described as “a warrior of great distinction; he was wise in counsel, eloquent in an extraordinary degree, and, on all occasions and under all circumstances, the white man’s friend.” Andrew Jackson said he was “the greatest and the bravest Indian he had ever known.” During a visit to Lafayette, who was then in Washington, Pushmataha, being accompanied by other Indians of his tribe, made the following speech:
“Nearly fifty snows have melted since you drew your sword as a companion of Washington. With him you fought the enemies of America. You mingled your blood with that of the enemy, and proved yourself a warrior. After you finished that war, you returned to your own country, and now you are come back to revisit the land where you are honored by a numerous and powerful people. You see everywhere the children of those by whose side you went to battle crowding around you and shaking your hand as the hand of a father. We have heard these things told in our distant villages, and our hearts longed to see you. We have come; we have taken you by the hand and are satisfied. This is the first time we have seen you; it will probably be the last. We have no more to say. The earth will part us for ever.”
Pushmataha was taken ill just after this visit to Lafayette. On his death-bed he said to his Indian companions: “When you shall come to your home they will ask you, ‘Where is Pushmataha?’ and you will say to them: ‘He is no more!’ They will hear the tidings like the sound of the fall of a mighty oak in the stillness of the woods.”
Note 2. The Choctaws had formerly lived in southern Alabama and Mississippi, but, after the Revolution they began to drift westward. In 1830 the last remnant had departed, their lands east of the Mississippi River being in that year ceded to the whites.
BLACK HAWK: TO GENERAL STREET
Chief of the Sacs Black Hawk (1767–1838)
(1832)
Born in 1767, died in 1838; succeeded his father as Chief of the Sac Indianas in 1788; acted against the Americans in the War of 1812; because of the occupation by the whites of certain vacated lands, began the Black Hawk War in 1831; defeated in two battles in 1832; surrendered, taken East and confined in Fortress Monroe until June, 1833.
[1] YOU have taken me prisoner, with all my warriors. I am much grieved; for I expected, if I did not defeat you, to hold out much longer, and give you more trouble, before I surrendered. I tried hard to bring you into ambush, but your last general understood Indian fighting. I determined to rush on you, and fight you face to face. I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal.
I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sank in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead, and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner of the white men; they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian. He has done nothing for which an Indian ought to be ashamed. He has fought for his countrymen, against white men, who came, year after year, to cheat them and take away their lands.
You know the cause of our making war. It is known to all white men. They ought to be ashamed of it. The white men despise the Indians, and drive them from their homes. They smile in the face of the poor Indian, to cheat him; they shake him by the hand, to gain his confidence, to make him drunk, and to deceive him. We told them to let us alone, and keep away from us; but they followed on and beset our paths, and they coiled themselves among us like the snake. They poisoned us by their touch. We were not safe. We lived in danger. We looked up to the Great Spirit. We went to our father. We were encouraged. His great council gave us fair words and big promises, but we got no satisfaction: things were growing worse. There were no deer in the forest. The opossum and beaver were fled. The springs were drying up, and our squaws and papooses were without food to keep them from starving.
We called a great council and built a large fire. The spirit of our fathers arose, and spoke to us to avenge our wrongs or die. We set up the war-whoop, and dug up the tomahawk; our knives were ready, and the heart of Black Hawk swelled high in his bosom, when he led his warriors to battle. He is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. He has done his duty. His father will meet him there, and commend him.
Black Hawk is a true Indian, and disdains to cry like a woman. He feels for his wife, his children, and his friends. But he does not care for himself. He cares for the Nation and the Indians. They will suffer. He laments their fate. Farewell, my Nation! Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are crushed. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk!
Note 1. Delivered in the late summer of 1832. General Street appears to have been a militia officer. Black Hawk, having been defeated in July and August by General Dodge and General Atkinson in battles on the Wisconsin and Bad Axe Rivers, made his surrender to Street at Prairie du Chien on August 27, and was placed in the immediate charge of a young lieutenant, Jefferson Davis, afterward president of the Southern Confederacy. It is curious that Robert Anderson, who commanded at Fort Sumter, and Abraham Lincoln were serving at this time against Black Hawk; and, curious again, that Black Hawk, on being taken to the East a captive, was confined in Fortress Monroe, where, thirty-three years afterward, Jefferson Davis was confined. Before going to Fortress Monroe, Black Hawk was taken to Washington and presented to Andrew Jackson in the White House, where he saluted him in words which then could not have raised the smile which they raise now: “I am a man and you are another.”
PETER WILSON: ON THE EMPIRE STATE
The Cayuga Chief Peter Wilson
(1847)
