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Beyond Penn's Treaty

Baltimore Yearly Meeting Indian Committee Minutes

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that time, that our society would afford some assis
tence to our red brethren, in instructing them in
the cultivation of the Earth, and in the knowledge
of some of the more useful arts of civil life.

Brothers
The Turtle

no doubt remembers his then
having expressed to us his regret that
spiritous liquors were so frequently introduced
amongst the Indians, by the traders, and his then
requesting the aid of our Society, in order to re
present to the Government, the baneful effects
of that pernicious article & he no doubt also
recollects, that some of us, in consequence thereof
attended congress in company with him & the other
chiefs

Brothers
In consequence of the expectations
then made, a law was passed, empowering the
President of the United States

to restrain the traders
from furnishing that article to the Indians, &
we were there united with you in the opinion, that
while it was so freely used amongst our red Brethren
it would be a considerable obstruction to their
improvement. As soon as that difficulty seemd
to be removed, we apprehended it was time
for us to take some steps towards carrying the
concern of our religious society into effect, and
as we were not fully acquainted with the situ
ation of of our red Brethren we concluded to
send some of our Brothers into your Country, where
they had a conference with divers of the chiefs of our