Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-10-21
PENN'S FAMOUS TREATY.


Records which Seem to Show That Shackn-
msxon Is Emitted TO its Historic Mon.
ument-fhe Old Elm Tree.
The statement of WestcOtt, the PhiIa-
delphia historian, that the story of Penn 8
famous treaty Of friendship with the In
dams under the old Shackamaxcn elm is .
myth, has created something Of sensa-
tiOn in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and
Charles S. keyser, a Bi-Centennial his.
tOrian, comes forward with an elaborate
historical pamphlet published by ID. Nc
Kay, 20 South Ninth street) covering all
the supporting facts, tO show that such .
treaty really did take place. Mr.. Keyser
claims that the treaty was made in NOvem.
Der, 1852. ShackamaxOn was then tho
site of an Indian village and tho old tsce
was the great meeting place. He says that
Penn and Markham, and Holmes and
Symock, Haigus and Taylor and Pierson,
names associated with the early history OF
Pennsylvania, were all present beneath
the broad foliage Of the ancient elm, and
tho Delaware, the MsDgue and the Shaw
nese Indians were all represented. .
The proofs which are offered to sustain
the story are prefaced with the following
quotation from the memoirs of the Hor-
ticultural society The treaty of Shack-
amazon still rests, after moro than ono
hundred and seventy years, An anbrOken
and unvarying tradition the incidents in
relation to it, from time to time success
lively developed, verify and never contra.
dict it, Mr.. keyser then proceeds to show
that such a treaty was one of the first things
contemplated by Pcun when he landed.
The records of the history of Penn's works
arc quoted to show that no really did
carry out this purpose showing that the
council records refer to "the old league of
friendship = that reports made to the
council board in 1920 speak of "the love
and friendship" promised by Penn to tho
Indians '' when he first held councils with
them - that the Conestogoes said then
that William Perm made a league with
them to last thrco or four generations, "
and SO on through :ouger chapter of sim
liar record quotations. Governor Gordon 3
letter, dated 1871, and written to the
Delaware lndians, is also quoted,
in which: he says: "Wben William
Penn first came TO this country he
called all the Indians together and
made = strong chain and league Of friend
ship with them" etc. These citations,
to which only imperfect reference has
been made, are held by Mr.. Kcyser to cs-
tablish tho fact that there was such q
treaty made in 1852, and that upon PENIS
return from England he entered into /.
second treaty. Both were committed to
writing, and the chief heads of tho first
treaty and tho whole body Of the second
arc still extaut iu Pennsylvania colonial
records. A portion of a letter from Penn
to the Society Of Free Traders,
dated August 1G, 1853, tho year follow
ing the treaty, is quoted as follows ::
"Grcat promises passed between US of
kindness, good ncighborlood and that the
English and the Indians must live together
in love as long as tn sun gives light" 1t
is not claimed that the exact date Of the
treaty to the day or month in 1852 eau be
fixed, but the spot is clearly de-
scribed, and description of the old
tree, as it stOed at the time, appears in
Mr.. keyser's pamphlet 1t fell duriD.
a storm Oh the night Of March 5, 1910; a
great blow from the northwest leveled it
to the ground. It measured twenty-fOur
feet in circumference and the circles Of
annual growth which it's trunk exhibited
then, indicated an age of 2S3 years. Por-
tinns of the old tree were made into such
relics as arm chairs, inkstands and book
cases, and sent to Europe.