Chapter IV: Part 4

In several instances, the speakers made some dextrous and
pointed thrusts at the whites, for their treatment of the
sons of the forest since the time of the pilgrims, which were
received with applause by the audience. They were all careful
in their references to the conduct of the Overseers; they
wished to say as little about them as possible; but they
wanted their removal forthwith.

This is the first time our attention has been seriously called
to the situation of this tribe. It is a case not to be treated
with contempt, or disposed of hastily. It involves the rights,
the interests, and the happiness of a large number of that
race which has been nearly exterminated by the neglect, the
oppression, and the cruelty of a superior number of foreign
invaders.

In the enslavement of two millions of American people in the
Southern States, the tyranny of this nation assumes a gigantic
form. The magnitude of the crime elevates the indignation of
the soul. Such august villainy and stupendous iniquity soar
above disgust, and mount up to astonishment. A conflagration
like that of Moscow, is full of sublimity, though dreadful
in its effects; but the burning of a solitary hut makes the
incendiary despicable by the meanness of the act.

In the present case, this State is guilty of a series of
petty impositions upon a feeble band, which excite not so much
indignation as disgust. They may be, and doubtless are, the
blunders of legislation; the philanthropy of proscriptive
ignorance; the atoning injuries of prejudice, rather than
deliberate oppression. No matter who are the Overseers, (we
know them not,) nor how faithfully they have executed
the laws. The complaint is principally against the State;
incidentally against them. They may succeed, perhaps, in
vindicating their own conduct; but the State is to be judged
out of the Statute Book, by the laws now in force for the
regulation of the tribe. Fearing, in the plenitude of its
benevolence, that the Indians would never rise to be men, the
Commonwealth has, in the perfection of its wisdom, given them
over to absolute pauperism. Believing they were incapable of
self-government as free citizens, it has placed them under
a guardianship which is sure to keep them in the chains of
a servile dependance. Deprecating partial and occasional
injustice to them on the part of individuals, it has shrewdly
deemed it lawful to plunder them by wholesale, continually.
Lamenting that the current of vitality is not strong enough
to give them muscular vigor and robust health, it has fastened
upon them leeches to fatten on their blood. Assuming that they
would be too indolent to labor if they had all the fruits of
their industry, it has taken away all motives for superior
exertions, by keeping back a portion of their wages. Dreading
lest they should run too fast, and too far, in an unfettered
state, it has loaded them with chains so effectually as
to prevent their running at all. These are some of the
excellencies of that paternal guardianship, under which they
now groan, and from which they desire the Legislature to grant
them deliverance.

We are proud to see this spontaneous, earnest, upward movement
of our red brethren. It is not to be stigmatized as turbulent,
but applauded as meritorious. It is sedition, it is true; but
only the sedition of freedom against oppression; of justice
against fraud; of humanity against cruelty. It is the
intellect opposed to darkness; the soul opposed to
degradation. It is an earnest of better things to come,
provided the struggling spirit be set free. Let this tribe
have at least a fair trial. While they remain as paupers, they
will feel like paupers; be regarded like paupers; be degraded
like paupers. We protest against this unnatural order of
things; and now that the case has come under our cognizance,
we shall not abandon it hastily.

We are aware that another, and probably an opposite view of
this case is to be laid before the public, on the part of a
commissioner delegated by the Governor and Council, to inquire
into the difficulties which have arisen between the tribe and
the Overseers. We shall wait to get a glimpse of it before we
pass judgment upon it. Whatever may be alleged either against
the Indians or against those who hold a supervision over them,
or whatever may be said in favor of them both; we have felt
authorized to make the foregoing remarks, upon an examination
of the laws enacted for the government of these discordant
parties. An augmentation, diminution, or change of the Board
of Overseers, will not remedy the evil. It lies elsewhere;
in the absolute prostration of the petitioners by a blind
legislation. They are not, and do not aspire to be an
independent government, but citizens of Massachusetts.

Fortunately, there is a soul for freedom in the present
Legislature. A more independent House of Representatives has
never been elected by the people. The cries of the Indians
have reached their ears, and we trust affected their hearts.
They will abolish a needless and unjust protectorate. The
limb, which is now disjointed and bleeding, will be united to
the body politic. What belongs to the red man shall hereafter
in truth be his; and, thirsting for knowledge and aspiring to
be free, every fetter shall be broken and his soul made glad.

About this time the opposition of our enemies increased to a flood. Yet we remained undismayed; for we knew that we had the right on our side. So we endured the shots of their sharp shooters against us patiently. The following, from the Boston Courier of January 28, 1834, will show to what I allude.

Late in the month of June last, an extraordinary proceeding
was had by the Marshpee tribe of Indians, residing on their
plantation in Barnstable County, under the protection and
guardianship of this Commonwealth. Excited, as it has since
appeared, by the turbulent spirit of a stranger and intruder,
they assembled in what they termed a town meeting, and adopted
resolutions declaring their independence of the government
of Massachusetts, abjuring the authority of the laws, and
proclaiming that after the first day of July then next, they
should assume the management of their own affairs; and, _that
"they would not permit any white man from that day, to come
upon their Plantation to cut or carry off any wood, hay, or
other article, without their permission, under the penalty of
being bound and thrown from the Plantation."_

To allay the excitement which had been created among these
misguided people, and to ascertain and remove, as far and as
speedily as possible, any just cause of complaint, the most
prompt measures were adopted by the Executive. A discreet
and confidential agent was despatched to the plantation
with instructions to make thorough examination into their
grievances, real or supposed, and to become acquainted with
their condition, and what their interest and comfort required.
He was especially charged to represent to them the parental
feelings and regard of the government of the Commonwealth
towards them; to assure the head men, that, if the Overseers
appointed by the State, had been unjust or unkind, they should
forthwith be removed, and others appointed in their stead, and
the wrongs sustained at their hand amply redressed, but
that the guardianship, originally imposed for their security
against the frauds and wicked devices of unprincipled white
men, and continued under frequent assurances, _by the Indians
themselves_, of its necessity, could not be suspended by the
authority of the Governor and Council. That this rested with
the Legislature, to which, after careful investigation of
their complaints, a proper representation would be made by
the Executive. He was also directed to caution them against
heeding the counsels of those who would excite them to
disquiet in their present situation, and to admonish them,
that disorder and resistance to any rightful authority would
meet with immediate and exemplary correction, through the
civil tribunals.

On reaching the plantation, the agent found these deluded
people in a state of open rebellion against the government of
the State, having with force, seized upon the Meeting-house,
rescued from the Overseers a portion of property in their
possession, chosen officers of their own, and threatened
violence to all who should attempt to interfere with them,
in the measures of _self-government_ which they had assumed.
These threatenings and outrages had already created great
alarm among the white inhabitants in the neighborhood, and
induced to apprehensions of more serious consequences. Through
the firmness and prudence of the agent, sustained by the
advice and good offices of several intelligent citizens of the
County, the leader in the sedition was arrested for a breach
of the peace, and delivered over to the civil authority.
An inquiry into the conduct of the Overseers subsequently
conducted by the agent in the presence of the head men, and
the conciliatory, and friendly explanations offered to the
tribe, of their relations to the government of the State,
resulted in inducing them to rescind their former violent
resolves, and restored quiet to the plantation.

A minute and interesting report by the gentleman to whom this
delicate service was assigned, embracing an historical
account of the tribe, and describing their present condition,
character and numbers, with the situation, value, and
improvement of their property, and the manner in which the
guardianship constituted by law has been exercised over them,
accompanies this communication. The Indians have received
an assurance, that the attention of the Legislature shall be
invited to their complaints, and the report will not fail
to assist in the deliberations to which the subject may give
occasion.

Does it not appear from, this, and from his message, that the Ex-Governor is a man of pure republican principles? He seems to consider the Marshpees as strangers, and thinks they ought to be driven to the wilds of the far West; in humble imitation of that wise, learned, and humane politician, Andrew Jackson, L.L.D.

I do consider that neither I nor any of my brethren enjoy any political rights; and I desire that I and they may be treated like men, and not like children. If any among us are capable of discharging the duties of office, I wish them to be made eligible, and I wish for the right of suffrage which other men exercise, though not for the purpose of pleasing any party by our votes. I never did so, and I never will. O, that all men of color thought and felt as I do on this subject.

I believe that Governor Lincoln had no regard whatever for our rights and liberties; but as he did not get his ends answered, I shall leave him to his conscience. The following from Mr. Hallett, of the Advocate, fully explains his message:

THE MARSHPEE INDIANS.

The current seems to be setting very strong against extending
any relief to our red brethren. Governor Lincoln's ex-message
has served to turn back all the kind feelings that were
beginning to expand toward the Marshpee tribe, and force and
intimidation are to be substituted for kindness and mercy.

We cannot but think that Massachusetts will be dishonored by
pursuing the stern course recommended by Ex-Governor Lincoln,
who seems, by one of his letters to Mr. Fiske, to have
contemplated almost with pleasure, the prospect of
superintending in person, military movements against a handful
of Indians, who could not have mustered twenty muskets on the
plantation.

We see now how unjust we have been to the Georgians in their
treatment of the Cherokees, and if we persist in oppressing
the Marshpee Indians, let us hasten to _unresolve_ all the
glowing resolves we made in favor of the Georgia Indians. If
Governor Lincoln is right in his unkind denunciation of the
poor Marshpee Indians, then was not Governor Troop of Georgia
right, in his messages and measures against the Cherokees? If
the Court at Barnstable was right in imprisoning the Indians
for attempting to get their rights, as they understood them,
and made their ignorance of the law no excuse, were not the
Courts of Georgia justifiable in their condemnation of the
Cherokees, for violations of laws enforced against the will of
the helpless Indians?

Oh, it was glorious to be generous, and magnanimous and
philanthropic toward the Cherokees, and to weep over the
barbarities of Georgia, because that could be turned to
account against General Jackson; but when it comes home to our
own bosoms, when a little handful of red men in our own State,
come and ask us for permission to manage their own property,
under reasonable restrictions, and presume to resolve that all
men are free and equal, without regard to complexion; Governor
Lincoln denounces it as _sedition_, the Legislature are
exhorted to turn a deaf ear, and the Indians are left to their
choice between submission to tyrannical laws, or having the
militia called out to shoot them. How glorious this will read
in history!

The next is from the Barnstable Patriot, of February 5, 1834, of a different character.

MARSHPEE INDIANS.

MR. EDITOR,

William Apes, Deacon Coombs, and Daniel Amos, are now in
Boston, where they are much caressed, by the good citizens,
and are styled the "_Marshpee Deputation_;" and we see in the
Boston papers notices that the "Marshpee Deputation will be
present at the Tremont Theatre, by invitation."[10] That the
Marshpee Deputation will address the public upon the subject
of their grievances, in the "_Representative Hall_," "in
Boylston Hall," &c. And we learn at their "_talk_," in the
Representative Hall, they drew a large audience, and that
audience was so indiscreet, (not to say indecorous or
riotous,) as to cheer and applaud Apes in his ribaldry,
misrepresentation and nonsense. Really, it looks to us, as
if there was much misunderstanding upon the subject of the
Marshpee difficulties. If there is any thing wrong we would
have it put right; but how does the case appear. At the time
of Apes' coming among them, they were quiet and peaceable, and
their condition, mentally, morally and pecuniarily improving.
At this time, and when this is the condition and situation of
the Indians, comes this intruder, this disturber, this
riotous and mischief-making Indian, from the Pequot tribe, in
Connecticut. He goes among the inhabitants of Marshpee, and
by all the arts of a talented, educated, wily, unprincipled
Indian, professing with all, to be an apostle of Christianity;
he stirs them up to sedition, riot, _treason_! Instigates them
to declare their independence of the laws of Massachusetts,
and to _arm themselves_ to defend it.

We need not follow, minutely, the transactions which rapidly
succeeded this state of things. We will merely remark that, in
that time of rebellion, prompt, efficient, but mild measures
were taken by the Executive, to quell the disturbances, and
restore good faith. An agent was sent by the Governor, to
inquire into the cause, and if possible, to remove it. That
agent found it to be his duty to arrest Apes, (that _pious_
interloper,) as a riotous and seditious person, and bind him
over for trial, at the Common Pleas Court. He was there tried;
and, in our opinion, never was there a fairer trial. He was
convicted; and, in our opinion, never was there a more just
conviction, or a milder sentence. After the performance of his
sentence, Apes is again at work stirring up new movements. And
having strung together a list of _imaginary_ grievances,
and false allegations, and affixed a great number of names,
without the knowledge or consent of many of the individuals,
he goes to the Legislature, with two of his ignorant, deluded
followers, pretending to be "_the Marshpee Deputation_," and
asks redress and relief.

We would be the last to object to their receiving redress and
relief; and we doubt not they will obtain, at the hands of the
Legislature, all they ought to have. But who is the "_Marshpee
Deputation_," that is showing off to such advantage in the
city? It is William Apes, the convicted rioter, who was the
whole cause of the disgraceful sedition at Marshpee the last
summer; who is a hypocritical _missionary_, from a tribe in
Connecticut; whose acquaintance with the Marshpeeans is of
_less than a year's_ standing. And he is endeavoring to enlist
public sympathy in _his_ favor, _in advance_, by lecturing
in the Hall of Representatives, upon that pathetic and
soul-stiring theme, Indian degradation and oppression;
vilifying and abusing the irreproachable pastor of the
plantation, Mr. Fish; stigmatizing and calumniating the
Court and Jury who tried and convicted him, and flinging his
sarcasms and sneers upon the Attorney and Jury who indicted
him. And for _all this_, he is receiving the _applause_ of
an audience, who _must be_ ignorant of _his_ character; and
blinded by the pretences of this impostor. And as far as
that audience is composed of Legislators, their conduct, in
permitting Apes to enlist their passions and feelings in his
favor, pending a Legislative investigation of the subject, is
reprehensible.

But, there is no fear that the matter will not be set right.
That the investigation by the intelligent agent last summer,
(Mr. Fiske,) and the investigation now going on by a committee
of the Legislature, will show the true character of Apes, and
point out the real wants and grievances of the Indians; and
that the remedy will be applied, to the satisfaction of the
Indians and the discomfiture of that renegade impostor and
hypocritical interloper and disturber, Apes, there is little
doubt; that _such_ may be the result, is the sincere wish of

THE TRUE FRIENDS OF THE INDIANS.

The spirit in which this unrighteous piece is written, speaks for itself, and is its own antidote. However, it is just what we might expect from a liberal paper of the liberal town of Barnstable. So one gang of partizans call it. Deliver us from a "patriot," who would set his face against all good, and destroy the people themselves. These writers, if there be more than one of them, seem to have some idea of piety and religion. I therefore advise them to pluck the motes out of their own eyes, that they may see clearly enough to make better marks with their pens. The editor and his correspondents, (if he did not write the article himself,) have rendered themselves liable to a suit for defamation; but I think it best to let them go. I will not touch pitch. The discomfited, hypocritical impostor, renegade and interloper will forgive, and pray for them. He will not render evil for evil, though sorely provoked.

Nevertheless, I feel bound to say to these excellent friends of the Marshpees, who wished them to remain crushed under the burthen of hard laws forever and ever, that they will go down to their graves in the disappointment, which, perhaps, will cause them to weep away their lives. I should be sorry to hear of that, and exhort them to dry their tears, or suffer a poor Indian to wipe them away.

Notwithstanding all that was said and done by the opposition, the Marshpee Deputation left the field of battle with a song of triumph and rejoicing in their mouths, as will presently be seen. I shall give a brief sketch of the proceedings of one of the most enlightened committees that ever was drafted from a legislative body. Every thing was done to sour their minds against the Indians that could be done, but they were of the excellent of the earth, just and impartial.

The Committee was composed of Messrs. Barton and Strong, of the Senate, and Messrs. Dwight of Stockbridge, Fuller of Springfield, and Lewis of Pepperell, of the House. Benjamin F. Hallett, Esq. appeared as Counsel for the Indians.

Lemuel Ewer, Esq. of South Sandwich, was a witness, and the only white one who was in favor of the Indians. The Indian witnesses were Deacon Coombs, Daniel B. Amos, Ebenezer Attaquin, Joseph B. Amos, and William Apes.

On the other side appeared Kilburn Whitman, Esq. of Pembroke, as Counsel for the Overseers; Messrs. J.J. Fiske of Wrentham, and Elijah Swift of Falmouth, both of the Governor's Council; the Rev. Phineas Fish, the Marshpee missionary, sent by Harvard College; Judge Marston, Nathaniel Hinckley and Charles Marston, all of Barnstable; Gideon Hawley of South Sandwich, Judge Whitman of Boston, and two Indians, Nathan Pocknet and William Amos, by name. It was a notable piece of policy on the part of the Overseers, to make a few friends among the Indians, in order to use them for their own purposes. Thus do pigeon trappers use to set up a decoy. When the bird flutters, the flock settle round him, the net is sprung, and they are in fast hands. Judge Whitman, however, could not make his two decoy birds flutter to his satisfaction, and so he got no chance to spring his net. He had just told the Indians that they might as well think to move the rock of Gibraltar from its base, as to heave the heavy load of guardianship from their shoulders; and, when he first came before the committee, he said he did not care a snap of his finger about the matter, one way or the other. But he altered his mind before he got through the business, and began to say that he should be ruined if the bill passed for the relief of the Indians, and was, moreover, sure that Apes would reign, king of Marshpee. The old gentleman, indeed, made several perilous thrusts at me in his plea; but, when he came to cross-examination, he was so pleased with the correctness of my testimony, that he had nothing more to say to me. I shall now leave him, to attend to his friend Judge Marston.

This gentleman swore in court that he thought Indians an inferior race of men; and, of course, were incapable of managing their own affairs.

The testimony of the two decoy pigeons was, that they had liberty enough; more than they knew what to do with. They showed plainly enough that they knew nothing of the law they lived under. The testimony of the Rev. Mr. Fish was more directly against us. Some may think I do wrong to mention this gentleman's name so often. But why, when a man comes forward on a public occasion, should his name be kept out of sight, though he be a clergyman. I should think he would like to make his flock respected and respectable in his speech, which he well knew they never could be under the then existing laws. Is it more than a fair inference that it was self-interest that made him do otherwise, that he might be able to continue in possession of his strong hold? If he had said to the Indians, like an honest man, "I know I have no right to what is yours, and will willingly relinquish what I hold of it," I do not doubt that the Indians would have given him a house, and a life estate in a farm; and perhaps have conveyed it to him in fee simple, if he had behaved well. Such a course would have won him the love and esteem of the Indians, and his blind obstinacy was certainly the surest means he could have taken to gain their ill will. He may think slightly of their good opinion, and I think, from his whole course of conduct, that we are as dogs in his sight. I presume he could not die in peace if he thought he was to be buried beside our graves.

It is the general fault of those who go on missions, that they cannot sacrifice the pride of their hearts, in order to do good. It seems to have been usually the object to seat the Indians between two stools, in order that they might fall to the ground, by breaking up their government and forms of society, without giving them any others in their place. It does not appear to be the aim of the missionaries to improve the Indians by making citizens of them. Hence, in most cases, anarchy and confusion are the results. Nothing has more effectually contributed to the decay of several tribes than the course pursued by their missionaries. Let us look back to the first of them for proofs. From the days of Elliott, to the year 1834, have they made one citizen? The latter date marks the first instance of such an experiment. Is it not strange that free men should thus have been held in bondage more than two hundred years, and that setting them at liberty at this late day, should be called _an experiment_ now?

I would not be understood to say, however, that the Rev. Mr. Fish's mission is any criterion to judge others by. No doubt, many of them have done much good; but I greatly doubt that any missionary has ever thought of making the Indian or African his equal. As soon as we begin to talk about equal rights, the cry of amalgamation is set up, as if men of color could not enjoy their natural rights without any necessity for intermarriage between the sons and daughters of the two races. Strange, strange indeed! Does it follow that the Indian or the African must go to the judge on his bench, or to the Governor, Senator, or indeed any other man, to ask for a help-meet, because his name may be found on the voter's list, or in the jury boxes? I promise all concerned, that we Marshpees have less inclination to seek their daughters than they have to seek ours. Should the worst come to the worst, does the proud white think that a dark skin is less honorable in the sight of God than his own beautiful hide? All are alike, the sheep of his pasture and the workmanship of his hands. To say they are not alike to him, is an insult to his justice. Who shall dare to call that in question?

Were I permitted to express an opinion, it would be that it is more honorable in the two races, to intermarry than to act as too many of them do. My advice to the white man is, to let the colored race alone. It will considerably diminish the annual amount of sin committed. Or else let them even _marry_ our daughters, and no more ado about amalgamation. We desire none of their connection in that way. All we ask of them is peace and our rights. We can find wives enough without asking any favors of them. We have some wild flowers among us as fair, as blooming, and quite as pure as any they can show. But enough has been said on this subject, which I should not have mentioned at all, but that it has been rung in my ears by almost every white lecturer I ever had the misfortune to meet.

I will now entreat the reader's attention to the very able plea of Mr. Hallett, upon our petition and remonstrances. The following are his remarks after the law which gave us our liberty was passed by his exertions in our cause:

I will now briefly consider the "documents, relating to the
Marshpee Indians," which have been presented and printed, this
session, by the two Houses.

The first is a Memorial, signed by seventy-nine males and
ninety-two females, of the Plantation. Of the seventy-nine
males, sixty-two are Proprietors, and forty-four write their
own names. They are all united in wishing to have a change of
the laws, and a removal of the Overseership, but desire that
their land may not be sold without the mutual consent of the
Indians and the General Court.

This memorial represents, 1. That no particular pains has been
taken to instruct them. 2. That they are insignificant because
they have had no opportunities. 3. That no enlightened or
respectable Indian, wants Overseers. 4. That their rulers and
the minister have been put over them, without their consent.
5. That the minister, (Mr. Fish,) has not a male member in his
church of the Proprietors, and they believe twenty years
would have been long enough for him to have secured their
confidence. 6. That the laws which govern them and take away
their property, are unconstitutional. 7. That the whites have
had three times more benefit of the Meeting-house and the
minister, than they have had. 8. That the business meetings
for the tribe, have been held off the plantation, at an
expense to them. 9. That their Fishery has been neglected and
the whites derived the most benefit from it. [The Overseers
admit that the Herring Fishery has not been regulated for
fifty years, although in 1763, it appears it was deemed a
highly important interest, and in 1818, the Commissioners
reported that it ought to be regulated for the benefit of the
Indians to the exclusion of the whites.] 10. That the laws
discourage their people, who leave the plantation on that
account. 11. That men out of the tribe are paid for doing what
those in it are capable of doing for the plantation. 12. That
the whites derive more benefit than themselves, from their
hay, wood and timber. 13. That the influence of the whites has
been against them, in their petitions for the past years.
14. That they believe they have been wronged out of their
property. 15. That they want the Overseers discharged, that
they may have a chance to take care of themselves. 16. That
very many of their people are sober and industrious, and
able and willing to do, if they had the privilege. All these
statements will be found abundantly proved.

This memorial comes directly from the Indians. It was drawn up
among them without the aid of a single white man. They applied
to me to prepare it for them. They happened to select me, as
their counsel, simply because I was born and brought up within
a few miles from their plantation, and had known their people
from my infancy. I told them to present their grievances
in their own way, and they have done so. Not a line of the
memorial was written for them.

On the other side, opposite to their memorial for
self-government, is the remonstrance of _Nathan Pocknet_
and forty-nine others, the same Nathan Pocknet, who in
1818 petitioned for the removal of the Overseership. This
remonstrance was not prepared by the Indians. It came wholly
from the Rev. Mr. Fish, and the Overseers. It speaks of the
"unprecedented impudence" of the Indians, and mentions a
"_Traverse Jury_." No one who signed it, had any voice in
preparing it. It shows ignorance of the memorial of the tribe,
by supposing they ask for liberty to sell their lands; and
ignorance of the law, by saying that the Overseers have not
power to remove nuisances from the plantation.

This remonstrance is signed by fifty persons, sixteen males
and thirty-four females; seventeen can write. Of the signers,
_ten_ belong to Nathan Pocknet's family. Ten of the males
are Proprietors, of whom two are minors, and one a person non
compos. Of the non-proprietors, one is a convict, recently
released from State prison, who has no right on the
Plantation. Two of the Proprietors, who signed this
remonstrance, (John Speen and Isaac Wickham,) have since
certified that they understood it to be the petition for Mr.
Fish, to retain his salary, but that they are entirely opposed
to having Overseers and to the present laws.

Thus it is shown that out of the whole Plantation of 229
Proprietors, but _five_ men could be induced, by all the
influence of the Minister and the Overseer, to sign in favor
of having the present laws continued, and but _eleven_ men out
of the whole population of 312. The signers to the memorial
for a change of the laws are a majority of all the men, women
and children belonging to the Plantation, at home and abroad.

Another document against the Indians who ask for their
liberty, is the memorial of the Rev. Phineas Fish, the
missionary. Of the unassuming piety, the excellent character,
and the sound learning of that reverend gentleman, I cannot
speak in too warm terms. I respect him as a man, and honor him
as a devoted minister of the gospel. But he is not adapted
to the cultivation of the field in which his labors have been
cast. Until I read this memorial, I should not have believed
that a severe expression could have escaped him. I regret the
spirit of that memorial, and in its comparison with that of
the Indians, I must say it loses in style, in dignity and in
Christian temper.

In this memorial, Mr. Fish urges upon the Legislature the
continuance of the laws of guardianship as they now are, and
especially the continuance of the benefits he derives from the
property of the plantation. What are the reasons he gives for
this. Do they not look exclusively to his own benefit, without
regard to the wishes of the Indians?

He states, as the result of his ministry, twenty members of
the tribe added to his church in _twenty-two_ years. This
single fact proves that his ministry has failed of producing
any effect at all proportioned to the cost it has been to the
Indians. Not from want of zeal or ability, perhaps, but from
want of adaptation. If not, why have other preachers been so
much more successful than the missionary. There never has been
a time that this church was not controlled by the whites.
Mr. Fish now has but five colored members of his church, and
sixteen whites. Of the five colored persons, but one is a
male, and he has recently signed a paper saying he has been
deceived by Mr. Fish's petition, which he signed, and that he
does not now wish his stay any longer among them.

On the other hand, "blind Jo," as he is called, a native
Indian, blind from his birth, now 28 years of age, has
educated himself by his ear and his memory, has been regularly
ordained as a Baptist minister, in full fellowship with that
denomination, and has had a little church organized since
1830. The Baptist denomination has existed on the plantation,
for forty years, but has received no encouragement. Blind
Jo has never been taken by the hand by the missionary or the
Overseers. The Indians were even refused the use of _their_
Meeting-house, for the ordination of their blind minister, and
he was ordained in a private dwelling. Though not possessing
the eloquence of the blind preacher, so touchingly described
in the glowing and chaste letters of Wirt's British Spy,
yet there is much to admire in the simple piety and sound
doctrines of "Blind Jo;" and he will find a way to the hearts
of his hearers, which the learned divine cannot explore.

There is another denomination on the plantation, organized
as "The Free and United Church," of which William Apes is the
pastor. This denomination Mr. Fish charges with an attempt
to _usurp_ the parsonage, wood-land and the Meeting-house; he
denounces, as a "_flagrant act_," the attempt of the Indians
to obtain the use of _their own Meeting-house_, and appeals
to the sympathies of the whole civilized community to maintain
_by law_ the Congregational worship, which, he says, "is the
most ancient form of religious worship there!" "Why should
Congregational worship be excluded to make room for others?"
asks the Rev. Mr. Fish. "Where will be the end of vicissitude
on the adoption of such a principle, and how is it possible,
amid the action of rival _factions_, for pure religion to be
promoted." [Pages 7, 8, 9, of Mr. Fish's memorial. Senate, No.
17.] Is this language for a Christian minister to address
to the Legislature of Massachusetts? To petition for an
established Church in Marshpee? Can he ever have read the
third Article of the Bill of Rights, as amended?

What has been the result of those "rival factions," in
Marshpee? Blind Jo and William Apes, have _forty-seven_ Indian
members of their churches, (fourteen males,) in good standing,
collected together in three years. The missionary has baptized
but twenty in twenty-two years. The Indian preachers have also
established a total abstinence Temperance Society, without any
aid from the missionary, and there are already sixty members
of it, who, from all the evidence in the case, there is no
reason to doubt, live up to their profession.

I do not say this to detract from the good the missionary has
done; I doubt not he has done much good, and earnestly desired
to do more; but when he denounces to the Legislature other
religious denominations, as _usurpers_ and "_rival factions_,"
it is but reasonable that a comparison should be drawn between
the fruit of his labors and that of those he so severely
condemns.

I confess, I am struck with surprise, at the following
remarks, in the memorial of the Rev. Mr. Fish. Speaking of the
complaint of the Indians respecting their Meeting-house, that
it is not fit for respectable people to meet in, being
worn out; he says, "As it was built by a _white_ Missionary
Society, and repaired at the expense of the _white_
Legislature of the State, perhaps the _whites_ may think
themselves entitled to some wear of it, and being no way fit
for '_respectable_ people,' the church and congregation
hope they may the more readily be left unmolested in their
accustomed use of it." [Page 4.] Again he says of the
complaints of the Indians, that they were forbidden to have
preaching in their School-houses. "The School-houses, built
by the munificence of the State, began to be occupied for
_Meeting-houses_, soon after their erection, and have been
more or less occupied _in this fashion_! ever since; and your
memorialist desires to affirm that _in this perversion_ of
your _liberal purpose_, he had no share whatever!"

Is this possible? Can it be a _perversion_ of buildings
erected for the mental and moral improvement of the Indians,
that religious meetings should be held there, by ministers
whom the Indians prefer to the Missionary?

The inequality in the appropriations for religious
instruction, is remarked upon by the Commissioner, Hon.
Mr. Fiske, who says in his report that if the present
appropriations are to be restricted to a Congregationalist
minister, some further provision, in accordance with religious
freedom, ought to be made for the Baptist part of the colored
people. [Page 29. No. 14.]

I regret too, the unkind allusion in the Rev. Mr. Fish's
memorial to Deacon Coombs, the oldest of the Marshpee
delegation, formerly his deacon, and the last proprietor to
leave him. He says the deacon "once walked worthy of his holy
calling." Does he mean to insinuate he does not walk worthily
now? I wish you, gentlemen, to examine Deacon Coombs, who is
present, to inquire into his manner of life, and see if you
can find a Christian with a white skin, whose heart is purer,
and whose walk is more upright, than this same Deacon Coombs.
In point of character and intelligence, he would compare
advantageously with a majority of the Selectmen in the
Commonwealth.

With the religious concerns of Marshpee, I have no wish to
interfere. I only seek to repel intimations that may operate
against their prayer for the liberties secured by the
Constitution. Neither do I stand here to defend Mr. Apes, who
is charged with being the leader of the "sedition." I only
ask you to look at the historical evidence of the existence of
discontent with the laws, ever since 1693, and ask if Mr.
Apes has been the author of this discontent. Let me remind
you also, of the fable of the Huntsman and the Lion, when
the former boasted of the superiority of man, and to prove it
pointed to a statue of one of the old heroes, standing upon a
prostrate lion. The reply of the noble beast was, "there
are no _carvers_ among the lions; if there were, for one man
standing upon a lion, you would have twenty men torn to pieces
by lions." Gentlemen, by depressing the Indians, our laws have
taken care that they should have no _carvers_. The whites have
done all the _carving_ for them, and have always placed them
_undermost_. Can we blame them, then, that when they found
an educated Indian, with Indian sympathies and feelings, they
employed him, to present their complaints, and to enable them
to seek redress? Look at this circumstance, fairly, and I
think you will find in it the origin of all the prejudice
against William Apes, which may be traced to those of the
whites who are opposed to any change in the present government
of Marshpee. If aught can be shown against him, I hope it
will be produced here in proof, that the Indians may not be
deceived. If no other proof is produced, except his zeal in
securing freedom for the Indians, are you not to conclude that
it cannot be done. But his individual character has nothing to
do with the merits of the question, though I here pronounce it
unimpeached.

I will allude to but one other suggestion in the memorial
of the Rev. Mr. Fish, [page 10.] To show the necessity of
continuing the present laws, he says, "already do we witness
the force of example in the visible increase of crime. But a
few weeks since, a peaceable family was fired in upon, during
their midnight repose; while I have been writing, another has
been committed to prison for a high misdemeanor."

Now what are the facts, upon which this grave allegation
against the whole tribe is founded. True, a ball was fired
into a house on the plantation, but without any possible
connection with the assertion of their rights by the Indians,
and to this day it is not known whether it was a white man or
an Indian who did it. The "high misdemeanor," was a quarrel
between Jerry Squib, an Indian, and John Jones, a white
man. Squib accused Jones of cheating him in a bargain, when
intoxicated, and beat him for it. The law took up the Indian
for the assault, and let the white man go for the fraud.

Respecting then, as we all do, the personal character of the
missionary, can you answer his prayer, to continue the present
government, in order to protect him in the reception of
his present income from the lands of the Indians? Are the
interests of a whole people to be sacrificed to one man?

What says the Bill of rights? "Government is instituted for
the common good, for the protection, safety, prosperity, and
happiness of the _people_, and not for the _profit_, honor or
_private interest_ of any _one_ man, family, or class of men."

I have now only to consider the report of the Commissioner,
Mr. Fiske, who visited Marshpee in July last. The
impartiality, candor and good sense of that report, are highly
honorable to that gentleman. Deriving his first impressions
from the Overseers and the whites, and instructed as he was
with strong prepossessions against the Indians, as rebels
to the State, the manner in which he discharged that duty,
deserves a high encomium. He has my thanks for it, as a friend
of the Indians. As far as the knowledge of the facts
enabled the Commissioner to go, in the time allowed him, the
conclusions of that report, substantiate all the positions
taken in defence of the rights of the Indians. The
Commissioner was instructed by the then Governor Lincoln, to
inform the Indians that the government had no other object
than their best good; "let them be convinced that their
grievances will be inquired into, and a _generous_ and
_paternal_ regard be had to their condition." They were so
convinced, and they come here now, for a redemption of this
pledge.

But his Excellency seems to have been strangely impressed
with the idea of suppressing some rebellion, or another Shay's
insurrection. Mr. Hawley, one of the Overseers, had visited
the Governor, at Worcester, and because a few Indians had
quietly unloaded a wood-cart, the calling out of the militia
seems to have been seriously contemplated by the following
order, issued to the Commissioner, by the Governor, dated July
5. "Should there be reason to fear the insufficiency of the
_posse comitatus_, I WILL BE PRESENT PERSONALLY, TO DIRECT ANY
MILITARY REQUISITIONS."

Think of that, gentlemen of the Committee! Figure to
yourselves his Excellency, at the head of the Boston and
Worcester Brigades, ten thousand strong, marching to Marshpee,
to suppress an insurrection, when scarce twenty old muskets
could have been mustered on the whole plantation?

With the utmost respect for his Excellency, I could not
refrain on reading this "order of the day," from exclaiming,
as Lord Thurlow did, when a breathless messenger informed him
that a rebellion had broken out in the Isle of Man--"pshaw--a
tempest in a tea pot."

Let us not, however, because the Indians are weak and
in-offensive, be less regardful of their rights.

You will gather from the Report of Mr. Fiske, conclusive
evidence of the long continued and deep rooted dissatisfaction
of the Indians with the laws of guardianship, that they never
abandoned the ground that all men were born free and
equal, and they ought to have the right to rule and govern
themselves; that by a proper exercise of self-government, and
the management of their own pecuniary affairs, they had it
in their power to elevate themselves much above their present
state of degradation, and that by a presentation of new
motives for moral and mental improvement, they might be
enabled, in a little time, to assume a much higher rank on
the scale of human existence. And that the Legislature would
consider their case, was the humble and earnest request of the
natives.

Is not the conclusion then, from all the facts in the case,
that the system of laws persisted in since 1763, have failed
as acts of paternal care? That the true policy now is to try
acts of kindness and encouragement, and that the question of
rightful control over the property or persons of the Indians
beyond the general operation of the laws, being clearly
against the whites; but one consideration remains on which the
Legislature can hesitate: the danger, that they will squander
their property. Of the improbability of such a result, Mr.
Fiske informs you in his report, [page 26.] He found nearly
all the families comfortably and decently clad, nearly
all occupying framed houses, and a few dwelling in huts or
wigwams. More than thirty of them were in possession of a cow
or swine, and many of them tilled a few acres of land, around
their dwellings. Several pairs of oxen, and some horses are
owned on the plantation, and the Commons are covered with an
excellent growth of wood, of ready access to market. Confine
the cutting of this wood to the natives, as they desire, and
they never can waste this valuable inheritance.

Mr. Fiske also says in his report, [page 30,] "that it is
hardly possible to find a place more favorable for gaining a
subsistence without labor, than Marshpee." The advantages of
its location, the resources from the woods and streams, on one
side, and the bays and the sea on the other, are accurately
described, as being abundant, with the exception of the
_lobsters_, which Mr. Fiske says are found there. The
Commissioner is incorrect in that particular, unless he adopts
the learned theory of Sir Joseph Banks, that _fleas_ are a
species of lobster!

Is there, then, any danger in giving the Indians an
opportunity to try a liberal experiment for self-government?
They ask you for a grant of the liberties of the constitution;
to be incorporated and to have a government useful to them as
a people.

They ask for the appointment of magistrates among them, and
they ask too for an _Attorney_ to advise with; but my
advice to them is, to have as little as possible to do with
Attornies. A revision of their laws affecting property by the
Governor and Council, would be a much better security for them
than an Attorney, and this they all agree to. Is there any
thing unreasonable in their requests? Can you censure other
States for severity to the Indians within their limits, if you
do not exercise an enlightened liberality toward the Indians
of Massachusetts? Give them then substantially, the advantages
which they ask in the basis of an act which I now submit to
the Committee with their approval of its provisions. Can you,
gentlemen, can the Legislature, resist the simple appeal of
their memorial? "Give us a chance for our lives, in acting for
ourselves. O! white man! white man! the blood of our fathers,
spilt in the revolutionary war, cries from the ground of our
native soil, to break the chains of oppression and let our
children go free."

The correctness of Mr. Hallett's opinions are demonstrated in the following article.

Other editors speak ill enough of Gen. Jackson's treatment of the Southern Indians. Why do they not also speak ill of all the head men and great chiefs who have evil entreated the people of Marshpee. I think Governor Lincoln manifested as bitter and tyrannical a spirit as Old Hickory ever could, for the life of him. Often and often have our tribe been promised the liberty their fathers fought, and bled, and died for; and even now we have but a small share of it. It is some comfort, however, that the people of Massachusetts are becoming gradually more Christianized.

[From the Daily Advocate.] THE MARSHPEE INDIANS.

The Daily Advertiser remarks that the Indian tribes have been
sacrificed by the policy of Gen. Jackson. This is very true,
and we join with the Advertiser in reprehending the course
pursued by the President toward the Cherokees. If Georgia,
under her _union_ nullifier, Governor Lumpkin, is permitted to
set the process of the Supreme Court at defiance, it will be a
foul dishonor upon the country.

But while we condemn the conduct of General Jackson toward the
Southern Indians, what shall we say of the treatment of our
own poor defenceless Indians, the Marshpee tribe, in our own
State? The Legislature of last year, with a becoming sense of
justice, restored to the Marshpee Indians a _portion_ of their
rights, which had been wrested from them, most wrongfully, for
a period of _seventy-four_ years. The State of Massachusetts,
in the exercise of a most unjust and arbitrary power, had,
until that time, deprived the Indians of all civil rights, and
placed their property at the mercy of designing men, who had
used it for their own benefit, and despoiled the native owners
of the soil to which they hold a better title than the whites
hold to any land in the Commonwealth. These Indians fought
and bled side by side, with our fathers, in the struggle for
liberty; but the whites were no sooner free themselves, than
they enslaved the poor Indians.

One single fact will show the devotion of the Marshpee Indians
to the cause of liberty, in return for which they and their
descendants were placed under a despotic guardianship, and
their property wrested from them to enrich the whites. In
the Secretary's Office, of this State, will be found a muster
roll, containing a "Return of men enlisted in the first
Regiment of Continental troops, in the County of Barnstable,
for three years and during the war, in Col. Bradford's
Regiment," commencing in 1777. Among these volunteers for that
terrible service, are the following names of Marshpee Indians,
proprietors of Marshpee, viz.

Francis Webquish, Samuel Moses, Demps Squibs, Mark Negro,
Tom C├Žsar, Joseph Ashur, James Keeter, Joseph Keeter, Jacob
Keeter, Daniel Pocknit, Job Rimmon, George Shawn, Castel
Barnet, Joshua Pognit, James Rimmon, David Hatch, James
Nocake, Abel Hoswitt, Elisha Keeter, John Pearce, John Mapix,
Amos Babcock, Hosea Pognit, Daniel Pocknit, Church Ashur,
Gideon Tumpum.

In all twenty-six men. The whole regiment, drawn from the
whole County of Barnstable, mustered but 149 men, nearly
_one-fifth_ of whom were volunteers from the little Indian
Plantation of Marshpee, which then did not contain over one
hundred male heads of families! No white town in the
County furnished any thing like this proportion of the 149
volunteers. The Indian soldiers fought through the war; and as
far as we have been able to ascertain the fact, from documents
or tradition, all but one, fell martyrs to liberty, in the
struggle for Independence. There is but one Indian now living,
who receives the reward of his services as a revolutionary
soldier, old Isaac Wickham, and he was not in Bradford's
regiment. Parson Holly, in a memorial to the Legislature in
1783, states that most of the women in Marshpee, had lost
their husbands in the war. At that time there were _seventy_
widows on the Plantation.

But from that day, until the year 1834, the Marshpee Indians
were enslaved by the laws of Massachusetts, and deprived of
every civil right which belongs to man. White Overseers had
power to tear their children from them and bind them out where
they pleased. They could also sell the services of any adult
Indian on the Plantation they chose to call idle, for three
years at a time, and send him where they pleased, renewing the
lease every three years, and thus, make him a slave for life.