PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
PICKERING, Timothy. Autograph letter signed ("Timothy Pickering"), to Oliver Phelps (1749-1809), Philadelphia, 4 September 1790. 2½ pages, folio, remnants of tipping along edge of second page, recipient's docket below the signature.
細節
PICKERING, Timothy. Autograph letter signed ("Timothy Pickering"), to Oliver Phelps (1749-1809), Philadelphia, 4 September 1790. 2½ pages, folio, remnants of tipping along edge of second page, recipient's docket below the signature.
"THE ATROCIOUS MURDER...OF THE INDIANS ON PINE CREEK...THE PRESIDENT VIEWS WITH UTTER ABHORRENCE"
An eloquent expression of Washington's outrage over the murder of two Senecas, conveyed by Pickering to Phelps. The President, Pickering reports, wants to make restitution for the murder of "the Indians on Pine Creek...In consequence of which the president has desired me, in behalf of the United States, to meet the relations of the murdered Indians, the principal men of their tribe, & the chiefs of the Seneca nation, at some convenient place and at as early a day as will admit of the transportation from hence of a few goods to be given as a compensation to the friends of the deceased." With an eye to economy as well as atonement, Washington wants the number of Indian visitors kept small. Nor does he want a formal peace conference. "He sees no propriety in the idea suggested of holding a treaty with them: because they and the United States are already at peace." Washington wants instead "to compensate the relations of the deceased...to bring the offenders to condign punishment," and to make sure the chiefs appreciate the good intentions of the U. S. "The atrocious murder above mentioned, the President views with utter abhorrence; & is determined to pursue the offenders with the same zeal as if the unfortunate men they killed had been citizens of the United States. These sentiments I pray you to impress on the minds of the Indians. You know the justice & inviolable integrity of the President, and that they may perfectly confide in his assurances..."
The Pine Creek killings, also known as the Walker Affair, took place in June 1790. Two Seneca Indians, after an afternoon of drinking in a public house, engaged in riotous boasting about the murder and scalping some years earlier of a white man, John Walker. The inflammatory boasts were made in the presence of Walker's three sons, and later that night the Walkers, along with a fourth man, Doyle, tracked down the two Senecas, beat, tortured and killed them. The four went into hiding, and the Pine Creek residents feared a retaliatory attack from the Senecas. They petitioned Pennsylvania governor Mifflin to either send troops or treat with the tribe. At this point Pickering intervenes. In addition to instructions to Pennsylvania officials, he sends this communication to Phelps, a leading merchant whose many contacts with Seneca leaders made him a valuable ambassador to the tribe. Pickering attended a conference at Tioga Point on 16 November, at which Red Jacket and Cornplanter were present. The Indians were mollified by the official expressions of regret and condemnation. But only one of the killers, Doyle, was arrested. His trial resulted in an acquittal. The three Walker brothers were never brought to justice. Provenance: Frank T. Siebert Library of the North American Indian and the American Frontier, sale Sotheby's New York, 21 May 1999, lot 204.
"THE ATROCIOUS MURDER...OF THE INDIANS ON PINE CREEK...THE PRESIDENT VIEWS WITH UTTER ABHORRENCE"
An eloquent expression of Washington's outrage over the murder of two Senecas, conveyed by Pickering to Phelps. The President, Pickering reports, wants to make restitution for the murder of "the Indians on Pine Creek...In consequence of which the president has desired me, in behalf of the United States, to meet the relations of the murdered Indians, the principal men of their tribe, & the chiefs of the Seneca nation, at some convenient place and at as early a day as will admit of the transportation from hence of a few goods to be given as a compensation to the friends of the deceased." With an eye to economy as well as atonement, Washington wants the number of Indian visitors kept small. Nor does he want a formal peace conference. "He sees no propriety in the idea suggested of holding a treaty with them: because they and the United States are already at peace." Washington wants instead "to compensate the relations of the deceased...to bring the offenders to condign punishment," and to make sure the chiefs appreciate the good intentions of the U. S. "The atrocious murder above mentioned, the President views with utter abhorrence; & is determined to pursue the offenders with the same zeal as if the unfortunate men they killed had been citizens of the United States. These sentiments I pray you to impress on the minds of the Indians. You know the justice & inviolable integrity of the President, and that they may perfectly confide in his assurances..."
The Pine Creek killings, also known as the Walker Affair, took place in June 1790. Two Seneca Indians, after an afternoon of drinking in a public house, engaged in riotous boasting about the murder and scalping some years earlier of a white man, John Walker. The inflammatory boasts were made in the presence of Walker's three sons, and later that night the Walkers, along with a fourth man, Doyle, tracked down the two Senecas, beat, tortured and killed them. The four went into hiding, and the Pine Creek residents feared a retaliatory attack from the Senecas. They petitioned Pennsylvania governor Mifflin to either send troops or treat with the tribe. At this point Pickering intervenes. In addition to instructions to Pennsylvania officials, he sends this communication to Phelps, a leading merchant whose many contacts with Seneca leaders made him a valuable ambassador to the tribe. Pickering attended a conference at Tioga Point on 16 November, at which Red Jacket and Cornplanter were present. The Indians were mollified by the official expressions of regret and condemnation. But only one of the killers, Doyle, was arrested. His trial resulted in an acquittal. The three Walker brothers were never brought to justice. Provenance: Frank T. Siebert Library of the North American Indian and the American Frontier, sale Sotheby's New York, 21 May 1999, lot 204.