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

Author Occom, Samon

Date1785-05

ms 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 amaze^d^ 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 Conclude, 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 Captives 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 — Certain^ly^ 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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