Western Sun, Volume 4, Number 22, Vincennes, Knox County, 25 April 1812 — Page 3

WESTERN SUN

f INCENSES, April, 25, 1812-

Jndian if5 British Depredations. Vt have now to record as melancholy an inftance of the favage b lrlxtrity of their noble alliei as that which was given in our paper of laft week. On Wednefdav ev.

ening lart about funfet the family of mr. Haryman, Confiding of himself, his wife 8c five fmall children Were murdered at their refidence Upon the Embaras river, in the Illinois territory, & abom 5 miles from this place. Mr. Haryman Whs in the ad of loading a perogue and had his family at the waters edge for the purpofe of embarking them, when he t?as fired on ;i young m m who lived with him. & who had gone back to the houfe a fhort diftance off, to bring fomething that was left, had an opportunity of making his efcape. On Thurfday, col. Miller, with a detachment of the United States troops went to the fpot and interred as decently as circumftanct-s W6uld permit the mangh d l)odies of this unfortunate faintly. Mr Haryman was a mill right, a ref peccable citizen, and an emigrant from the Hate of Vermont. A party of rangers and militia were sent after the Indians, but a v in. lent rain which fell the night fucceedieg the murder obliterated their tracls and rendered the pursuit impracticable. In conllquence of the above mentioned murders the alarm was fhortly after communicated to the town, and we cannot but highly applaud the fpiritand alacrity man ifefted by both Citizens and Soldiers on the occafion.

In our la ft number we have fliewn, upon the authority of a r -fpeclable citizen of this plice, that in the courfe of the bft fit tamer a larger quantity of g ods than ui'nal

and a much Lrger Quantity of arms and ammuni'ion was riiflri bitted amnngfl the Indians by the BritHh agent at Maiden. Upon the authority of another cittzm equdl refpeclable. we hive given thefubfiance of a fpc txh which was lent two cars ago by the laid agent to the tribes, upon the W abalh. urging them to prepare themfekes for war, and wait for a fitnal from him to commence it. We refer red to two other citizens (captain Brouilletfe and mr. LepUnte ) men ol unimpeachable characters, to prove that the Pprophtt rectivd from the Britilh upwards of 6oo pounds of powder at one tim and we have given upon the authority of mr. Birron, the Interpreter at this place, whofe integrity is well known an anecdote to (hew that a Potawatima chit f had accnfed Tecum feh to his lice with beiug a Britilh tool, and that his obj Ot was to make Wat upon the U. S. hundreds of iti Nances might produced of limilar declarations having bee n nude to all the ROCf mrs.and to e very oilier perfueni-

p'oyed in the Indian ctertartment. To thefe facts what proof can the Iriends of Britain advance to prove her innocency ? is it to be found in the heretofore conduct of her government ? or in the mild just and amiable characters of her present mtnillry ? Without much partiality for any of them, we may obferve that either as men or politicians, Mr. Pitt &. lord Grenville would not differ in a companion with Percival, Wellefley or Liverpool ; and that lord Dorchefter

would not have been more willing to bargain with favages for fcalps than sir James Craig or fir George Provott ; and yet, under the Pitt adminiffration, when prnfc (lions of friendihip lor us were as liberal!) made as they have lately been, lord Dorche0er as governor general of Canada, organized a combination of Indians for the purpofe of letting them loole upon our frontiers hvery officer and fold it r in general W avne's army knew that the Indians who oppof d them in the action of the 20th November, 1794 fought with Britilh arms, with British ammunition, and had beer, for a confidt rable time fupported by provtfions from the Britilh (tores. 'I hat in that acljon they a ere a (Tilled by two companies of Canadian militia, and that a month before'two Britilh officers, a Captain & a fob iltern) with a detachment of artillery adted a .auxilia

ries to the Indian army in their at tak upon Fort Recovery To all ihis it M ill perhaps be objected that the letter (aid to have been written 18 months ago by fir Jalnes Craig to our fecretary of Hate communicating information of the intention of the Indians to attack us, is conclulive evidence of the purity of their intentions to wards u. If we had not IVen this letter quoted by fome of the federal Kditors for this purpofe. We Ihoulfi not have noticed it for to t w ry one who is acquainted With die lituatioti of (tie Indian affairs in tins country, it can appear in no other light than adding Ihfult

to imun . What are the f .Cts i

f he communication rt fpeciinfc the

intended IvOiiiu of the Indians

w as made to our gov ernment long

after it had been poffefled of unequivocal proofs of the fad from other fouice. It might however have been received and confiderecl a mark of friendihip both by our government and citizens, if it had not been known that the Britilh at that time we re in the condant habit of fupply mg the Indians, whole hnftile views they had announced with arms, ammunition and every other neceff'.ry for carrying on the war, and that i hey have continued the pracbee to this day iff lames Cfalg fealty intended to dousferxice, w ould he not have directed that the king's lions at leaH, fhould be fbut againfl tin hofhle Indians ? It would have leen too great a I'acnrice for mercantile avarice to I'll hm 1 1 tn, and a meafure whteh perhapa exceeded the pov r of the Cim ernor gent fa I to put a lhp tn the trade w ith theft Indians But for tnis there ua no necefity. If the Indians had heen informed that the oouniy of

their Fathering George, weure be with held from them who flood in a hofhle at

titude 2 ainft " his friends the government

and people of the U. States," we venture to aff-rt that the battle of Tippacanoe would never have taken place nor (hould we hive had the unpleafat tak of record ing thofe dreadful ma(Icres of our citi

eens which have been perpetrated in this

and theneighboring Territories. An attempt hi been made to refer thr

Indian disturbances to the meafures ot our

government in relation to the puichafr ot their lands, and particularly to the conducl of that officer by whom thofr purrhaiVs were principally cfFcftad we will i lofe our obfervations by a few remarks upon this lubjctf. In the firft place, we d-ny that thofe purchafrs have had the influence

which has been attributed to them ; bur f r the pfefeat we will dmit it to be fo

Vrhat tourfe ought our government to

have adopted upon being informed that a prt of the Indians were doT. tisficd with the treaty concluded in 1809 No other we prrfume than that which was purfued ; I he difaffcCted Indians were fent for and informed ;ht although the lands which had been lately purclnfrd, were fuppofed to be fairly bought of thofe who bad a right to fell ; yet if the facl were otherwif.-, & any ther tribe could Ihevv a better or as good a title, our claim would be immediately abandoned and the lands given up that if the Indians who confidered thcruk'lves aggrieved tuppofed that the public agents in f his qu.rter would not do them jv:(tice, the means ft CettrVeyafiec Would be immediately turnifhed to takf thrm to thr iVatof government, that they ntiht lay their grievances before the Pretident in perfon tbii oef w indignajuly rejected, and the only claim which thefe perfons iould letup tD the Ir.uds in tjuefiion was the prepofterous one k that the whole continent was the common property of the Indians upon it," and that it required the Content of all of them to alienate any part of it. "It mufi be evident that fuch a clattn could never be admittrdc With refpecl to the conducl of Governof Harnfon, who negociated thrfe treaties, we cannot place it in a better light than to quote thr concluding paragraph of the report of a caufe which was determined at this pi ice about a year ago. It was an crion brought by the Governor againft a

citizen of this town for aflertiug that he h-id cheated the Indians out of their land-, and that by his conduct in fo doing, he had made them enemies to the Unitrd States, and caufed the difturbances which thm prevailed Never was theft jl fairer tri!. and never a more honeO or independent ju-

ry, and nevrr was a man's conducl m ire thorwuirhly fitted than was the Governor's ; upwards of twenty witnefles were examined, and as the ju Ige who drew up there port obferves- " Much irrelevant teOimony was civen; and it would feem every cir- ( umliance in regard to the late treaty, and .he dilturbances with the Indians, was dif lofed. There was not a particle of evi

dence, however, in fupport of defendants

pie ? of juftifiration ; but the whole of it

went to (hew the vigilance, uprightnefs and integrity frith which the .governor had

onducVd himfjf in the adminiftration of

Indian afFairs and the defendant's attorney a;prarrd to give up the caufe, as his arguntenl u:r-ed chiefly on the amount of damaIfH that ought to be by the jury ; contending that in vindicating the plaintiffs' character a cent was as decifive as ten thoufand. Verdiil for pUintiff 4000 dollars. Motion for new trial, on the ground that the dafRagel were excefllve, Motion overruled, and judgment for

plaint. ff.

Ai'-e British fritnJshiflu( as this

paper ws about to be put to yrifs, an cjl-

j prefs arrived from ctpt. Wiyins wBoccan

Hands a militia company on the Ohio, with a letter to the governor containing llit $uU lowing ir.form-tion : On Tueldaylaft the family of a mr. Mi living on Little Fidgeon cretk, wrre at. tacktd by three Indians about da) hht old Mrs. Mix was firlt fired on as Ihc waS oing to the fpring, but flic full incd n injury her hefoand ran into the aid, and was immediate iy fhot down ; her young- ft fon ws llo fhot in the houfe ano his a'm hiokrn with a tomh wk w hilft they wi r (trulmg on the floor, his filler took do n the ld gentleman's nfle and fnfppcd it aw gainlt the Indians hed, fhe then drlibe-r-itrly primed the gun, and fl-.fhed it un fortunately it was not loaded the old lady then f-iad an ax with which fhe beat th Indian off of hrr frn and drove him out of rhe hcufe. WhilO thefe things wer pafling, another fon or mr. Mix, whof houie was aru ut forty y-rds from his father's had fired on the induns. killed one, and then retreated into thr wevcis with his family, lupofmgr that his father's were all killed, The old Uuy and her daughter, iiowevr, hr-ioii'Iy kpt the hnufe, which th two rrmnnin Ir duns dm ft no: ag .in atr mpt to enter, but takn u up the Koi'y of their dereafrd compniun, thry threw it into the fpring brmh, nd coverirg it with a few logs, made a precipitate retrr,t IDiiBaSElS -4 The following communication was re ceived, and intended to have appeared in our paper of 1 fl week, but by fome meant overlooked. All powerful GOD ! Thou crt the last and the greatest hope of Man. Departed this life on Sunday morninp the fifth ffiftant, at hi dwrlliojf houfe in Vm. crnnes. the Honhle. HEbiRY VANDERBURGH, one of the Judgrt of the territory, in the fifty frcond year of his ar. . Asa jode he was benrvolrnt and jufi as a hufband and parent, he was the moft kind and indulgent as a citiren he "was urbanr rnd as a man, he wants not tha

pi n of mortals, for he is, I hope, written in the book of life. Kis cornfe was taken

on the 6th at 5 P. M. to his farm about

a mile to the S. E. of town, under a large

cftort of the Mafonic Brethren, and one

from col. Miller's command of thr 4th U. States regt. of infintry, with the band of

mufjc, and a numerous coihdion of the

molt lefpeclablc cittSefti, where it w s in

fered with the hotiois of M font y and of

War. An pprrpn ue prayer was fff ied

up to the giver of. II good, by the Rrv, S.

I. Scott- the prot r fln-n then re'uimd in p-rfecl decorum, and ech order refumrd its ffation : the whole bring under the immediate command of I irut. Hwkin's, as Marfhal of the flay f heiefore, Say why the pensive widow teres 1c retp Whtn 0n her knee, she roc is htr babe sleep t Tremblingly still, she lifts his Tfilto tratc The Father's features in his infant face." The follow intr trftimsnial of rrfprcl was on the night of the fame day, paid to the detceafed. VINCENNZS LODGE, No. 13. April 6;h, A. L. 58 19. Resolved, That the members of thif Lodge, be, and they are hereby directed, and that the vifiting brethren are rrqurfled to wear crape on the left arm, for the fpace of one month, in honor and remembrance of our late deceafed brother Vander-Burgb

Telie.

CHARLES SMITH, Secretary,

NOTICE. I INTEND making applirsrion to the next term of the Court of Common Pleas K nox county. Indiana Territory, fof ave to efUblifh Frrry on thr Omo. thrrc qomefs of a mile above the mouth of B'g rtdgeoa, from my land cn the territory I de to the oppofite Oiore.

April, ir, 18i,

Hugh M'Gary,