COUNCIL HELD AT VINCENNES WITH CERTAIN CHIEFS AND WARRIORS OF THE SAQUE, FOX, AND KASKASKIAS INDIANS, AT WHICH ATTENDED SEVERAL PIANKKESHAWS AND OUIATTONONS. [SIGNED BY THREE INTERPRETERS AND FIVE WITNESSES, INCLUDING FRANCIS VIGO]

Book Description

[Fort Knox, Northwest Territory]. June 20, 1794.. [12]pp. manuscript plus one blank leaf. Small folio. A few very tiny tears and losses at folds, old stitching loose. Overall condition is excellent. In a half morocco and cloth box. This is the manuscript record of a council held between members of the Fox, Sac, and Kaskaskia tribes and the United States, represented by captains Pasteur and Prior, at Vincennes on the Wabash River in present-day Indiana. The council came at a crucial time. The prestige of the United States with the western Indians had collapsed after the resounding defeat of Harmar and St. Clair on the Wabash in 1791, and the frontier situation in the Northwest had remained troubled and fluid, with British agents actively inciting further warfare against the Americans. In 1794 the Americans launched their counter- offensive, under Gen. Anthony Wayne, who recruited and trained his army of regulars and Kentucky militia in the spring and summer of 1794. Against this backdrop of impending war, with conflict expected on the northern frontier, the United States sought to secure its flank by cajoling and threatening the tribes to the west. The Vincennes Council, held in late June, played a crucial role in securing the loyalty of tribes which could have done great damage to the overextended Americans. In this, it was a resounding success. The three tribes remained loyal to the American side. On Aug. 20, 1794, only two months after the Vincennes Council, Gen. Wayne and his forces utterly routed the British-backed tribes at Fallen Timbers, near present-day Toledo. The Council at Vincennes played no small part in making this possible. In this record of the Council, chiefs from the three tribes express their affection for Gen. George Washington, the United States, and France, and request more provisions from the white settlers, especially guns: "...immediately on receiving the letter [of invitation...'requesting them to go and see General Washington'], he [Saque Chief Shehkowak] and his men did not hesitate to come...he hoped that guns would be given to his young men; for they were fond of their brothers' guns...the Spaniards...told them they were fools, they would get nothing from the Americans, not even a knife, but that notwithstanding, he trusted [them]...Brother! I expect you will take pity on the red people now here...Don't be sparing of your goods...help your children and your children will help you, you will grow stronger together, and be able to drive away all bad things...." Chief Ducoin of the Kaskaskias announces: "I desire all persons now present, both white and red, to listen with attention, for I am going to speak. My father General Washington, Congress and Colo. Jefferson, open your ears and listen to what I shall say. I shall hide nothing from you. One half of your children on the Mississippi and Wabash are bad - General Washington sent us here to put the bad children in a good way." The document continues with further transcripts of speeches of the various chiefs attending the council, including mention of what language each individual was using. At the end, it is signed by seven witnesses attesting that it is a true record. One witness, Francis Vigo (1747-1836), was a prominent fur trader and merchant with headquarters in St. Louis. During the Revolution, his aid was instrumental in George Rogers Clark's efforts to secure the northwest country from British influence. Other witnesses were members of the American party. An extraordinary record of a crucial Indian council, one which played a vital part in the American victory in the Northwest in the summer of 1794, and helped to establish the unquestioned control of the United States in the Old Northwest.

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