Jacob Johnson, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1768 October 17 Johnson, Jacob W. Text Markup Unit, Dartmouth College Library Conversion to TEI P5 encoding Occom Circle Project Transcribed from the original manuscript Dartmouth College National Endowment for the Humanities Schweitzer, Ivy. Dartmouth College Department of English and Women's Studies The Occom Circle A digital edition Trustees of Dartmouth College
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768567 10.1349/ddlp.931

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Letter Johnson writes with news about the Congress at Fort Stanwix. USA New Hampshire Hanover Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College. DC History MSS Jacob Johnson, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1768 October 17 Johnson, Jacob W.

Handwriting is informal yet mostly legible. Johnson frequently neglects to pick up his pen between words. The trailer that is cut off by a tear in the paper is in Wheelock's hand; the other is in an unknown hand. Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate staining, creasing and wear. There is preservation work done on particularly worn areas. Brown ink is faded in spots. Manuscript 768576.1 appears to be an addition to this document.

768567 Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.

The Occom Circle Project is a digital edition of letters from and to Samson Occom (1727-1792), with other of his works. The documents in question are all housed in Dartmouth College's Rauner Special Collections Library. Occom was a Mohegan Indian, intertribal leader, public intellectual, and the most important Indian writer in North America in the 18th century.

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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) Occom Circle Project keywords and controlled vocabulary 17 October 1768 English To be added. To be added. 10 August 2012 Ivy Schweitzer Hannie Wei Pre-publication TEI review Hannie Wei Hannie Wei Maninder Rakhra Pre-publication TEI review Hazel-Dawn Dumpert reviewed and adjusted prior to publication Fort Stanwix Octobr October 17.th 17th 1768 Revd Rev. & and Hond Honoured &slong;ir Sir

I doubt not but you will be glad to hear from the Congre&slong;s Congress — I have &slong;ir sir Done every thing I could both by Prayer Con&slong;ultation consultation & and applica‐ tion — I have con&slong;ulted consulted Coll Col. Buttler Butler . — & and others — I have laid the Cau&slong;e cause before &slong;ir Sir Wm William Johnson per&slong;onally personally and by an addre&slong;s address in writeing writing &slong;ub&slong;cribd subscribed by Me&slong;rs Messrs. David Avery & and my &slong;elfe myself (For Dn Tho.s Deacon Thomas went Home not well) A copy of which I enclo&slong;e enclose which you will plea&slong;e please to pre&slong;erve preserve (for I have no other copy, & and the original is in &slong;ir Sir W.ms William's po&slong;se&slong;ion possession ) I have oppertunity opportunity to con‐ ver&slong;e con‐verse with the chief Gentn gentlemen here as Governer Governor Frank‐lin of the Jer&slong;ie Jersey Govenr Governor Penn Mr Mr. Peters of Philidelpa Philadelphia & and others many others — I coud could be heartily glad you &slong;ir sir was here you woud would be receivd received mo&slong;t most Honbly honourably & and affectionate I can a&slong;&slong;ure assure you your name is often mentiond mentioned with a great deal of Re&slong;pect respect by &slong;r Sir Wm William John&slong;on Johnson Gov.r Governor Frankd Franklin & and others — Govenr Governor Penn is gone Home but before He went I took an oppertunity opportunity to confer with Him about &slong;etting setting up an Indn Indian College on the &slong;u&slong;quahanna Susquehanna or &slong;ome where somewhere there about thereabout He told me He had &slong;een seen Dr Dr. Whittaker Whitaker & and his Reque&slong;t request of a con&slong;iderable considerable Tract of Land & and that the affair was &slong;ent sent Home to the Proprietors I a&slong;k'd asked Him if he tho't thought the Propo&slong;als proposals woud would be granted He &slong;d said He tho't thought not — I a&slong;kd asked Him if the Proprieters proprietors woud would not part with a tract of Land for that purpo&slong;e purpose He &slong;d said He beliv'd believed not as reque&slong;ted requested — will they &slong;d said I upon any Terms He &slong;d said yes as they &slong;old sold it to others upon no other terms reply'd replied I He an&slong;werd answered no He beliv'd believed not or to that purpo&slong;e purpose — I a&slong;k'd asked Him if the Proprieters proprietors woud would

not come to &slong;ome some agreement with the New Eng.d England Purchacers purchasers on the &slong;u&slong;quahanna Susquehanna He &slong;d said yes as they would with any other Purchacers purchasers and upon no other Terms &slong;d said I He an&slong;wrd answered no — . I confer'd conferred with Mr Mr. Peters of Philadelpa Philadelphia upon the &slong;ubject subject — He thot thought great care &slong;houd should be taken to choo&slong;e choose &slong;uch such a place to &slong;et set up an Ind.n Indian Academie academy as might not intefere interfere with any other public School or occa&slong;ion occasion di&slong;content discontent or envy or the Like le&slong;t lest it Shoudnt shouldn't an&slong;wer answer the de&slong;ign design —and be&slong;ides besides He tho't thought few of the Indns Indians woud would ever do for Mi&slong;sionaries missionaries that in genll general it wa&slong; was not worth while worthwhile to do more for them than to learn them to read & and write & and be indu&slong;trious industrious &c etc. I confer'd conferred &slong;ir Sir william upon the &slong;ame same &slong;ubject subject what His opinion was about it— He tho't thought it a Laudable & and very good de&slong;ign design — I a&slong;kd asked Him where He tho't thought be&slong;t best to &slong;et set up the School His Excellency &slong;d said He &slong;uppo&slong;d supposed that affair was &slong;ent sent Home already & and determind determined — I infirm'd informed his Excellency It was now in agi‐tation & and preperation preparation to be &slong;ent sent — But I &slong;uppo&slong;d supposed not yet gone — I a&slong;kd asked Him where He tho't thought the mo&slong;t most proper place to &slong;et set it — He reply'd replied he &slong;uppo&slong;d supposed in or near Alba‐ny — I mentiond mentioned Pen&slong;ylvania Pennsylvania He &slong;d said He &slong;uppo&slong;d supposed the Proprieters woudn't proprietors wouldn’t part with their Lands for that purpose upon any other Terms than they woud would to others — I mentiond mentioned Koho&slong;s Coos —He tho't thought that too much a one &slong;ide side — I mention'd mentioned Pittfield Pittsfield — His Excelleny Excellency a&slong;k'd asked if they had any con&slong;iderable considerable of Lands &c etc. for that pur‐ po&slong;e pur‐pose — I told his Excelleny Excellency they woud would &slong;ub&slong;cribe subscribe in Lands & and money a Thou&slong;and thousand pounds & and more He &slong;mild smiled & and made no reply onely only that Coll Col. Williams was propriet'r proprietor there && etc. etc. — upon laying the enclo&slong;d enclosed addre&slong;s address before Him when He had read it he a&slong;k'd asked me where I woud would have the Bounds of the Provines provinces Re&slong;tricted restricted I told

Here e&slong;pecially especially at the Onoidas Oneidas He &slong;d said that was at the Indns Indians election whether they woud would part with their Lands or no At pre&slong;ent present He coudn't couldn't tell no more than I coud could where the Divi&slong;ion division Lines woud would run when all the chiefs were come together He &slong;houd should know & and not before — and that He &slong;houd should be as tender of the Ind.ns Indians Intre&slong;t interest as I or any other friend coud could be to 'em them — that twas it was ea&slong;ie easy for de&slong;igning designing men to get away their Land by in&slong;inuateing insinuating them&slong;elves themselves into their faver favour together with a few Gifts good words &c etc. that many too many had done it For the Indns Indians in genll valu'd general valued not their Lands — & and much were pa&slong;sd passed betwixt between Him & and me alone — (which I have not time or room to write for Paper is here &slong;o so &slong;carce scarce that 12 &slong;heets sheets has Co&slong;t cost me as much as 2 quire in New Engd England & and with great difficulty I have got &slong;o so much & and u&slong;d Halfe used half of it already)— But &slong;d said He viz &slong;ir Sir Wm William upon the Conclu&slong;ion conclusion he &slong;houd should make open proclamation of the Doings of the Congre&slong;s Congress that all might might know & and in the mean Time meantime that I might have further opportunity to confer upon the&slong;e these things — And &slong;ir sir I mu&slong;t must confe&slong;s confess that &slong;ir Sir wm william has & and does treat me & and mankind in the mo&slong;t most Hand&slong;ome handsome & and genteel manner Imaginable which has endeard endeared Him to me very much tho' though He has no Grace yet has no &slong;mall small Share of lovely Humanity — But &slong;ir sir on the whole the &slong;ituation situation of the Ind.ns Indians with re&slong;pect respect to there' their Lands is very tickli&slong;h ticklish & and doubtful — no le&slong;s less than 15 thou‐ &slong;and thou‐sand Pounds worth of goods & and a va&slong;t vast deal of Provi&slong;ien provision with 7 chee&slong;ts chests of Gold & and &slong;ilver silver weighing not le&slong;s less than a Barrel weight of Cyder cider or Peck each is &slong;ent sent as a Temptation with Rum wine & and high Spirits propertionale proportional if not to Exceed & and great numbers of adventuorers adventurers from

all parts e&slong;pecially especially Albany New York Pen&slong;ylvn Pennsylvania & and virgina Virginia & and many beyond— And be&slong;ides besides tis it is tho't thought the King has a de&slong;ign design to make a large purchace purchase of the natives for &slong;ome some pious u&slong;e use — But this is kept as a &slong;ecret secret which has not yet tran&slong;pird transpired & and known onely only to a very few — I mu&slong;t must leave you as I am to gue&slong;s guess in this matter what it portends but we may be pretty &slong;ure sure &slong;ome thing something to the ch-h Church of Engd England or &slong;ome some Dignatary dignitary — you will likely &slong;r sir have a more full acct. account & and view of the&slong;e these things at the Clo&slong;e close of the Congre&slong;s Congress wch which I am apt to think will be about the Latter end of next week it may be not before the week after

I am yours in all Chri&slong;tian Christian Bonds &c &c etc. etc. Jacob ws Johnson

Plea&slong;e Please to forward the Enclo&slong;ed enclosed —

from M.r Mr. J. Jacob John&slong;on Johnson Rev.d Rev. Jacob Johnsons Oct.r October 17.th 17th 1768.

To Dr Dr. Elear Eleazar Wheelock Connect Connecticut New Engd England pr per Abraham