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Beyond Penn's Treaty

Committee on Indian Concerns Scrapbook

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Meeting of Indian Com. of N. England & M. Day in behalf of
New York. John D. Lang, &c. 2 mo 1842.
Letter from S. Taylor Jr. at Fort Madisons, Iowa
on way to Indian Ter.. 10 mo 1842

10th mo. 15 1842
Fort Madison Iowa Territory 200 miles up the Mississippi from St Louis Dear Friends Mahlon Day

Having a little leisure at this time
while waiting for a conveyance down the Mississippi to St Louis

I
have thought to occupy a part of it in writing to thyself and some other
of our dear friend in the East, I wrote to our mutual Friend Henry
Hinsdale about the time of our leaving Ohio. After leaving Ohio we
went by water to Detroit Michigan to Chicago so on to
Golane and Dabesque. We there hired a man to take us 100 miles
to the Agency on the Neutral Ground occupied by the Winnebago
Indians. David Lawry is at this time Sub. Agent of this Tribe. The
U.S.Government have appriopriated about 5000$ for the support
of a School amongst this Tribe. There have been 85 children
receiving some instruction at the school the past year many of
them have made pretty good progress in the various branches of
an English Education. As near as we could learn this school is
doing some good to this poor degraded tribe of Indians. As miserable
and degraded as any of the Tribes west of the Mississippi River. This
Tribe numbers about 2200 in all and fast waisting away through
the destructive influence of the whites, many of whom are selling
them whiskey and in every other possible way cheating them out of all
their Annuities of money, Blankets Guns, &c. So that in a very short
time after their Annuities are made the poor Indians have nothing
to show but poverty and retchedness. We were informed by D. Lawrey
the Agent that in a little more than one Year thirty nine persons Indians had been
killed in their drunken revels, that had come to his knowledge. And he
had not much doubt, but that a number more might have been killed
which he did not know of