This treaty found in the North Carolina State records is quite interesting for several reasons. First, it places the Catawba living in Anson and perhaps also Rowan County, NC in 1754. This is confirmed by another document, filed on January 4, 1755 as well, showing the number of Native fighting men of various North Carolina tribes. Put together, these two documents make a lot of sense. Based on the text of this treaty, we see that they had lived in South Carolina not long before, and we know would later remove back to South Carolina. They are thought of as a South Carolina tribe, not one from North Carolina. However, having said that, some of the ancestors of the people who would become the Lumbee were also living in Anson County at this time. It is unknown is there is a correlation or connection.
North Carolina was preparing for whatever part they would play in the French and Indian War. They had enlisted the assistance of their settlement Indians, the Indians that lived among the settlers, and in order to know how many men they could count on, they filed the census document. That information was likely taken after this treaty and before the first of 1755. In that document, the Catawba are referenced in Anson County, not Rowan.
I wish we had more of the Indian names. Other than King Hagler, we only have one, James Bullin. We know from the census document that this was not a trivial outpost, but that the village was comprised of 240 warriors, which equates to between 750 and 1200 people in total. Probably closer to the 750 figure given the devastation that smallpox had visited up on the Native people just a few years before.
Colonial and State Records of NC
Treaty between North Carolina and King Hagler and the Catawba Indians
North Carolina; Catawba Indian Nation
August 29, 1754
Volume 05, Pages 141-144b
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[From MSS. Records in Office of Secretary of State.]
North Carolina—Rowan & Anson Countys
At a Treaty held on Thursday the Twenty Ninth day of August one Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty four at the house of Mr. Matthew Tool, Between Alexander Osburn & James Carter Esqrs Commissioners, and the Cataba Indians—
King Hagler and sundry of his headmen and Wariors
James Carter Esqr Commissioner &c.
Alexdr Osburn Esqr Commissioner &c.
The Commission which was sent by his Honr the President to the above Commissioners, being Read in the presence of King Hagler and sundry of his headmen and Wariors, after which it was Interpreted by Mr. Matthew Tool, Together with the Letter which was also sent by his Honr to Capt McClenachan Andw Perkins Esqr and Others, as Concerning said Indians
After Each sentence was Distinctly Interpreted by Mr. Tool, who was Sworn for that purpose the King made the following Speech—
Brothers and Wariors
I am Exceeding glad to meet you here this day, and to have the oppertunity of haveing a talk one with an Other in a Brotherly and Loveing manner, and to Brighten, and Strengthen, that Chain of Friendship which has so long remained between us and the people of those three Provinces, and I am Very Sorry to hear those Complaints that are Laid to our People’s Charge, But now will Open our Ears to here those Grievances & Complaints that shall be made by you against our Young men and Others, and we do Heartily Thank our Good Brother the President of North Carolina for his good Talk in his Letter to us, and also for his appointing You to meet us here, to have this Discourse.
Then William Morrison Appeared, to support the Complaint that was by him Made to the Officers at a late Court martial held in Rowan County, Concerning the Indians Insults to him at his own house, some time before, when they Came to him at his mill and Attempted to Frow a pail of water into his Meal Trough, and when he would prevent them they made many attempts to striek him with their guns over his head
To which some of the Indians said what they Intended to do with the water was only to put a handful or Two of the meal into it to make a kind of a Drink which is their way and Custom.
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The King also Said that it was well that one of them had killed him, for said he had they killed You or anybody Else we would surely have killed him for they would not let him Live above the ground, but would put him under the ground, as Lately we have Done to one of our Young Fellows who got Drunk and in his Liquor met with a little girl on his way below the Waxhaw Settlement and kill’d her we were Imediately aprized of it by one our own People, and we soon Discovered who, it was that Commited the fact whereupon we Directly Caused an Other young man the fellows own Cousin to kill him, which he readily did in the presence of some of our Brothers, the white people in Order to shew our Willingness to punish such offenders.
Then Came James Armstrong William Young and William McNight who Laid sundry things to the Indians Charge, (to wit) Concerning their taking Bread meat meal and Cloaths and also for attempting to Take away a child, and attempting to stab men and women if opposed by them from Committing those Crimes, To which the King & some of the Headmen, Answered
Brothers as You are Wariors Yourselves, You well know that we oftentimes goe to War against our Enemies and Many Times we are Either makeing our Escape from our Enemies or in pursuit of them, which prevents us from hunting for meat to Eat when we are in Danger, least our Enemy should Discover us; and as this is our Case many times we are forced to go to Your houses when Hungry, and no sooner we do appear but your Dogs bark and as soon as You Discover Our Comeing You Imediately hide Your Bread Meal and Meat or any Other thing that is fit to Eat about your houses, and we being sensible that this is the Case, it is True we serch, and if we finde any Eatables in the house we Take some, and Especially from those who behave so Churlish and ungreatfull to us, as they are very well assured, of our great need many times for the Reasons we now give, If we ask a little Victuals you Refuse us & then we Owne we Take a Loaf of bread a little meal or meat to Eat, and then You Complain and say those are Transgressions, it is True there are many in those Settlements that are very kind and Curtious to us when or as often as we come they give us Bread and milk meat or Butter very freely if they have any ready and never Do refuse whether we do ask or no, and if it should happen that they have nothing we goe away Contented with them, for we well know that if they had any thing ready we would have it freely &c not Refused by them. One of the Captains named James Bullin Owned that not Long agoe he and his men were in pursuit of the Enemy and then on their Track he Came to James Armstrong’s house, the above Complainant, who gave him a small Cake of Bread, and being very hungry he asked more for himself and
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his men, and being Told by sd Armstrong that there was no more ready in the house One of the Indians Lifted up a bag that lay in the house Under which they Discovered Some Bread which they had Suspected was hid from them, and taking some of it the woman struck one of them Over the head, which is the Cause of our Taking, Those things without law that we would not do to those who are kind to us in our Necessity when we apply to them
King—You I Remember Brothers accuse our People with attempting To take away a Child from one of Your People, but I hope you will not harbour this Thought of us so as to Imagine it was done in Earnest, for I am Informed it was Only done by way of a joke by one of our wild Young men in Order to Surprize the People, that were the parents of the Child, to have a Laugh at the Joke
But as to their Takeing other things such as knives Cloaths or Such Things we own it is not right to do but there are some of our young fellows will do those tricks altho’ by us they are oftentimes Cautioned from such ill Doings altho’ to no purpose for we Cannot be present at all times to Look after them, and when they goe to war or hunting Among the Inhabitants we generally warn them from being any ways offencive to any white person upon any Consideration whatever,
King—Brothers here is One thing You Yourselves are to Blame very much in, That is You Rot Your grain in Tubs, out of which you take and make Strong Spirits You sell it to our young men and give it them, many times; they get very Drunk with it this is the Very Cause that they oftentimes Commit those Crimes that is offencive to You and us and all thro’ the Effect of that Drink it is also very bad for our people, for it Rots their guts and Causes our men to get very sick and many of our people has Lately Died by the Effects of that strong Drink, and I heartily wish You would do something to prevent Your People from Dareing to Sell or give them any of that Strong Drink, upon any Consideration whatever for that will be a great means of our being free from being accused of those Crimes that is Committed by our young men and will prevent many of the abuses that is done by them thro’ the Effects of that Strong Drink
Commissrs—King Hagler and Brethren here is one thing more that is Laid to your peoples Charge by many of the white people, that is your Comeing into our woods and among our plantations and Steale our horses mares and Young Creaturs from us and Takes them away and sell them to others under a pretence of their being your property if such Things as these were Done by any of our people agst one an other, our Laws and Customs are to put them to Death, or any offender when Discovered or Catch’d in any such heinous fact, or for smaller facts they are punished
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according to the Nature of the Crime; but when your people do any of these things we have no remedy but are obliged to apply our selves to you, that the Offenders may be punished according to the Nature of the Crime and according to your manner and Customs, and if these Offences are by you permitted to be done it will be a great means to Breake that strong Chain of Friendship that has been so Long made Between as: it will also be a means to rise discentions among you and us and make us act and be hard towards one an other as tho’ we were Entire Enemies to one an other, if this should be our Case the Great king your Father and ours would be much Displeased with you and us, as he looks upon us as his own Children and so doth the president who he sent here in his stead as a guardian over us and you, but on the other hand whilst we behave well to Each Other it will Cause them to Rejoice and they will be ready and willing to protect us from the Impositions of Insults of any other nations or that would attempt to take our properties from us or you
Commissrs—You Remember in the Letter the President wrote to you by Capt McClenachan and the other Gentlemen he told you that he had understood that Mr. Glen the Governor of South Carolina Incouraged you to Drive, all the white people from the Land within thirty miles of Your Nation, if he has told you so you Cannot Expect that this man Loves you or the white people, Because he well knows that the great king your Father & ours gave those Lands to his Children and also he gave it into the Care of the President of North Carolina to Divide according to his Discretion among his people and not to the Governor of South Carolina and it is his desire and pleasure to do Justice Between you and us, for he Looks upon you and us as his own people and would rejoice to here of our Unity and Friendship to Each Other for whilst we behave thus to Each Other and stand by Each other we need not fear any oppressors that should attempt or Come to Dismay us.
King—Brothers and Warriors You Talk very well, and as to your talk about our people takeing your Horses and Mares, it is very True there are a great many of our Creatures that Runs amongst the white peoples and there are also many stole from us by these people for it is not Long ago since we caught a white man with some of our Horses and sent him to Justice, but was not punished as Represented to us while agoe
Commmissrs—Who was that Justice you Carried him before
Indians.—Before Mr. McGirt in South Carolina below the Waxhaw settlement.
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Commissrs—This offence was not in our power to punish for we have no authority in an other Government so that we are Excusable in this Case.
King.—As to our Liveing on those Lands we Expect to live on those Lands we now possess During our Time here for when the Great man above made us he also made this Island he also made our forefathers and of this Colour and Hue (Showing his hands & Breast) he also fixed our forefathers and us here and to Inherit this Land and Ever since we Lived after our manner and fashion we in those Days, had no Instruments To support our living but Bows which we Compleated with stones, knives we had none, and as it was our Custom in those days to Cut our hair, which we Did by Burning it of our heads and Bodies with Coals of Fire, our Axes we made of stone we bled our selves with fish Teeth our Cloathing were Skins and Furr, instead of which we Enjoy those Cloaths which we got from the white people and Ever since they first Came among us we have Enjoyed all those things that we were then destitute of for which we thank the white people, and to this Day we have Lived in a Brotherly Love & peace with them and more Especially with these Three Governments and it is our Earnest Desire that Love and Friendship which has so Long remain’d should Ever Continue.
King.—Our Brother the Governor of Virginia sent for us not Long agoe, we gladly answered his Call, and he Entertained us and shook hands with us very kindly, and had he Indulged us we would have Gone with the white people to war against their Enemies the French, but arms and ammunition being not sufficient to supply the white people who were then going out, we were forced to Return Back to our Nation again untill further Instructions from him
We understand that our Brothers and the french has had a battle and that several of our friends were kill’d I am heartily sorry for it
We Never had the pleasure of seeing our Good Brother the President of North Carolina as yet, but this Let our Brother know that we want to be brothers and Friends with him & all his people, and with the great king over the water, and all his Children, and to Confirm the same I shall as soon as get home I will Call all our nation Together and charge the young men and Wariors Not to Misbehave on any Consideration whatever to the white people and as we do Expect an Everlasting Friendship between you and us, we Expect your kinds to us for ever as you may depend upon our Friendship and kindness to you.
And Tell our Brother the President of North Carolina that if this war Continues between the white people and the french that I and my
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people are ready and Willing to Obey his Orders in giveing all possible assistance in my power to him when called by him or the Governor of Virginia and as a pledge of the same Take our Brother this letter as a token of Everlasting Friendship and return him Thanks for our good Talk this, Day with Each other.
Then they shook Hands all round.
A True Coppy as to me Delivered by Mr. Matthew Toole Interpreter at the above Treaty.
Hat tip to Sharron for this document.