Samson Occom, Petition, to the Connecticut General Assembly, 1785

Author Occom, Samon

Date1785-05

Call Number785340

abstractOccom writes on behalf of five other signatories representing Mohegan and Niantic Indians, to express dismay over restrictive fishing prohibitions and to petition for their removal.

handwritingOccom's hand is clear and legible.

paperSingle sheet is in fair condition, with moderate-to-heavy creasing, staining and wear that leads to a slight loss of text.

inkBrown ink is somewhat faded.

noteworthyThis document appears to be a draft. An editor, likely 19th-century, has amended spellings, puncuation, etc., in dark ink. These edits occasionally obscure Occom's hand; however, the transcriber has attempted to ignore them whenever possible. The same editor has added the note "1785 by Occom &c" after the trailer; this note has not been included in the transcription.

signatureThere are six signatures, all in Occom’s hand.

Persistent Identifier

To the moſt Hon:l general Aſembly of Connecticut Convened
at Hartford, in may, in the Year of our Common Lord &
Saviour Jeſus Christ one Thouſand Seven Hundred Eighty
and five
Years
Your Steady, Cloſe and Faithful Friends the Tribe
of Mohegan
, and the Tribe of Nahantick Sendeth
greetting. —
 Sincere Friends and Brethren May Talk freely
together without offence. Such we Conclude, the Engliſh
of Connecticut, and Mohegans, and Nahantick are —
Your Exellencies may well remmember, that we Sent
a Memorial to the General Aſembly, held at New Haven
last Octor, Requeſting, not a [illegible]Privilledge, which we
never had before, But a Protection in in our Natural
Privillidges, which the King of Heaven Gave to our f[gap: hole][guess: o]re
Fathers and to their Children forever, — When we receiv'd
an Anſwere or Grant to our Petition, we were all amazed
and Aſtoniſhed beyondd Meaſure, What? to have only
half a Sein allowed to M[illegible][guess: o]nooya[illegible][guess: u]hegunnewuck, from
the beſt Friends to the leaſt Friends — We are ready to Con
clude, that the meaning muſt be, that in Time to Come
we muſt not have only one Can[illegible][guess: oo], one Bow, one Hook
and Line, among[gap: hole][guess: ſt] two Tribes, and we muſt have
Taxes Impoſed upon us alſo, &c &c — whileſt the Kings
Of England had authority over here they orderd no Such
things upon us[illegible][guess: , —] alas where are we — if we were Slaves
under Tyrants, we muſt have [illegible]Submitt; if we were Cap
tives we muſt be Silent and if we were Strangers we
muſt be Contented, — or if we had fo[illegible][guess: rfeted] our Privile[illegible] at your Hands [below]by any of our agreaments we Shoud have nothing to Say when ever we went to war againſt
your and our Enemies, one Bow, and [illegible] Hatchet will woud
not do, for two Tribes — And what will the Various Tri[gap: hole][guess: be][gap: worn_edge][guess: s]
of Indians, of this Boundleſs Continent Say, when they
hear of this Reſtraint of Fishing upon us[illegible][guess: ;] will they
not all Cry out mmauh, mmauh, theſe are the good
that the Mohegans ever gloried and Boaſted of — Certainly
We can not Hunt [illegible][guess: to] the Public by fiſhing we never had more than
tow S[illegible][guess: o]ins in Mohegan and two in Nahantick and
and many Times not one in Mohegan for [illegible][guess: 10] or 15 years together

and we fiſh but very little in the Seaſon —
We Conclude Your Excellencies muſh have
miſt[illegible][guess: ook] our Requeſt[illegible] — And therefore we earneſtly
Pray again, that the Honorable Aſembly woud Protect
us in our Natural Privilledges, that none may forbid
hinder, or Reſtrain us from Fiſhing in any of the where
we uſe to fiſh heretofore[illegible] — This is the earneſt Reques[gap: worn_edge][guess: t]
and P[illegible][guess: i]tition of

Petition to the
Connecticut Asbly

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