Sebastian Rale-A Maine Tragedy of the Eighteenth Century: The Portsmouth and Arrowsic Treaties page 57-63 John Francis Sprague Boston, Mass. Printed by the Heintzemann Press 1906 What is known in the history of New England as the treaty of Portsmouth was concluded and signed between Governor Walter Barefoot and three of his Council on the part of New Hampshire, and Francis Hook and John Davis, two of the Provincial Councillors of the District of Maine, and twelve sagamores and chiefs representing the Penacook, Saco, Androscoggin and Kenne- bec tribes, on the eighth day of September, 1685. The terms of this treaty were: First: That there should be lasting friend- ship between the English and the Indians. Second: That if either harm the other, the English shall be tried and punished by a jus- tice of the Peace, and the Indians by their sag- amore. Third: That whenever any Indian shall man- ifest designs of mischief, the other Indians in- habiting these provinces shall give notice to the English and assist them. Fourth : That all the tribes while in friend- ship shall be protected against the Mohawks. Fifth: That whenever the Indians shall re- move with their wives and children without giv- ing timely notice to the English, they may be apprehended or war made upon them, till the sagamores render satisfaction. These conditions did not bind the English to anything very specific, while it did set forth clearly defined limitations for the conduct of the Indians ; but the Indians believed, as it would seem rightfully, that, when a few years later the English began to erect forts, manifestly for hos- tilities against them, that the English were breaking the spirit if not the letter of these treaty obligations. This awakened the animos- ity of the tribes. These and other overt acts on the part of both the English and Indians soon stirred up a flame which threatened the peace which had been established by the treaty of Portsmouth, and in 1717 the General Court of Massachusetts became alarmed about exist- ing relations with the Indians. It feared the belligerent attitude which they were assuming and was also jealous of the influence which Rale and other Jesuits seemed to have. The Indians pledged themselves not to pur- chase any goods except at trading houses estab- lished by the English. As time went on, the English did not carry out their part of the agreement. No trading houses were established, no shops erected for the repairing of their tools and arms, as had been agreed upon. The In- dians complained of adventurers, under protec- tion of the English, who were continually cheat- ing and defrauding them. Naturally, under these conditions, they pre- ferred the French to the English to trade with. Instead of building trading houses, the English erected forts, which intensified the suspicions of the Indians. Nearly all historians agree that after the treaty of Utrecht (1713) the Indians desired peace with the English. They were exhausted and tired of war. One of their first moves toward establishing friendly relations with the English was to send leading chiefs and saga- mores to Casco. The English were arrogant, domineering and dictatorial, and did not meet them in a fraternal spirit. Finally the English and the Indians met at Arrowsic in August, 1717. The Governor was haughty in manner and not inclined to be con- ciliatory. He presented the sachems with the Bible, in the Indian language, and said to them: "This book contains the true religion. Mr. Baxter, who has accompanied us, will remain with you, and teach you its principles." One of the sagamores promptly replied, " All people have their own religious teachers. Your Bible we do not care to keep. God has given us teachers. Should we abandon them, we should offend God." The chiefs then turned to the political ques- tions which were creating trouble, and Abbot says: " In the conference which ensued they showed themselves to be men of remarkable strength of mind and common good sense." Their principal speaker said: " We admit that the land west of the Kennebec River, the Eng- lish have a claim to regard as theirs ; but cer- tainly no sale has ever been made to them of the country east of that river." According to the account given in the "Let- tres Edifiantes et Curieuses erites des Missions Etrangres," one of the chiefs gave the follow- ing answer to the proposition that they should dismiss their missionary and take an English- man in his stead: " You astonish me by the proposition you make. When you first came here you saw me a long time before I saw the French, but neither you nor your ministers spoke to me of prayer, or of the Great Spirit. They saw my furs, my skins of beaver and elk. Of these only they thought. These they sought with the greatest eagerness. I was not able to furnish them enough. When I carried them a large quantity, I was their great friend, but no farther. " One day my canoe having missed its route, I lost my way. After wandering a long time I landed near Quebec. Scarcely had I arrived when one of the Black Robes came to see me. I was loaded with furs ; but the French Black Robe scarcely deigned to look at them. He spoke to me at once of the Great Spirit, of heaven, of hell, and of prayer, which is the on- ly way to reach heaven. " I heard him with pleasure, and remained a long time in the village to listen to him. I de- manded baptism and received it. At last I re- turned to my country and related what had happened to me. My friends envied my happi- ness, and wished to participate. They departed to find the Black Robe, and demanded of him baptism. It is thus that the French have acted towards me. Thus I tell you that I hold to the prayer of the French. I shall be faithful to it until the world is burned up." The result of these negotiations was that the treaty of Portsmouth was renewed and ratified by an exchange of wampum and other presents, in accordance with the custom of those days when the red man made treaties and agreements with his pale-face brother. The unfairness of these proceedings is appar- ent when one considers how little the Indians could have understood or comprehended the legal terms of the treaty of Portsmouth. Hutchinson and other writers have admitted that the treaty could not have been morally binding upon the Indians, on account of their ignorance of the translation. This, and the capture of Baron de St. Castine, whose mother was an Indian woman, and of several Indians who were taken to Boston and held in captivity as hostages, contrary to treaty obligations, the deception too often used in their dealings and intercourse with the Indians, are among the causes which prejudiced the Indians against the English. It is evident from the authorities upon this subject, that the English violated their solemn agreements with the Indians, which resulted in so much bloodshed and suffering. If the English had spent more energy in pla- cating the Indians by fair dealings and maintain- ing their integrity with them, and less in con- tending about territorial lines and inciting their own people against Rale, it would undoubtedly have been far wiser and better for all concerned. The strife and wrangling over these treaties added to the contentions regarding the bound- aries of Acadia, which we have already consid- ered, are among the events of that time which strengthened and stimulated Rale in 'persistently pursuing the course which he had marked out for himself. (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society & Somerset County Maine US Gen Web Project ************************************************* NOTICE: Printing the files within by noncommercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. 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