The sun., 1908-05-03
CAUGHNAWAGAS ASK HEARING
THEY'VE FOUND THEIR MISSING
TREATY WITH the STATE.
And Believe That New York Owes Them
SIOC .OcO or MOre-MheA They send to
Gov. hughes They DO Not Even Get an
Acknowledgement Of the Communication

Coy. IIuEhes They DO Not Even Get an
Acknowledgement Of the Communication
rae Csuahnavaga and St. Regis Indians
regard the State of New York as their
dcbtor to the extent II $4,000 and a good
deal more than that n any ACCOUNT IL
taken Of interest due. They have been
tri.ng to get the State to sec 1t in that
light for several years, but without sue
cess. Lawyers acting in their behalf have
recently endeayored to bring the matter
to the personal attention Of Gov Hughes
w means Of letters to which the Governor
sas thus far not replied
At the present time the Caughnawagas
ssr the most part live on the reservation
Y their tribe which IA near Montreal
Many If tho ST. Regis Indians however,
about / $50 Of them in fact, still live within
the boundaries ~ New York, most OF them
4iorg tire Clay River which runs through
Clinton county and empics into lakeCham-
plain The bin which the red men would
like 10 have the State settle dates back to
the wear i7B. The treaty upon which
their claim Is based was signed on May 20
Of that year, ard the agreement to pay the
trbcp an annuity in pcrpetuity was made
in exchange for certain lands which the
Indians gave up to the State. In the letter
which Wagner 4 Garrison. counsel for the
Indians, sent 10 Gov Hughes On March IL
la6t the case is thus described
1his treaty nl- executed m Nov lor. m
trp"o1ta one uf which i- ON ile IN The Office
ofthe Secretary of state m Albany. tho sn"ond
is f.od with the nite1 States Government,
and thr third rs In me possession Of the In
dars
PAYMENTS 20 orc made pursuant TO the terms
this treaty lof the years li06 10 lsoOinclusiye
and the receipts we're ndorted on the orisi.
nal m the hands Of the Indians. We are
informed that since isn0 no payments what
ever hsfe been made. Some time during
ths year laol a deputafion Of CaughnsNaga
rrGisrs appeared In Albany 10 arrange Tor
. conference with Tho Governor but we're
Informed bv tho private socTstsry that owing
IN tho rpss NJ business affairs nothing could
As done az lbat time An inquiry made in
the year 1904 At the o07cc NJ thr Secretary of
state showed thai that Office had no knowl-
aIrs Of snv snhseduent treaty. shrog1UnE
the terms nj tho treaty herein mentioned.
We arc writing this letter on behalf ..
the taurhnawags Indians. % that they ma,
10 Advised whether or NOT the pa s"meut-
rortemp,ated hv this treaty. will br made
for tho year zoos and neither or NOT anv
appropriatons have been made for the inter
val from 1870. MI Vhether OF not there Is any
reason WHY payment should not bs made
More than three weeks later m reply.
having been received, the lawyers wrote
m ask b the Governor had received their
original letter Again no reply was made.
and a fortnight ago Gilll another inquiry
was forwarded which elected l1st AZ much
.lence ss it6 predecessors.
The annual Payment guaranteed ny ne
old treaty wss something over 1900 II
sppears that for q good many years the
corv ct the treaty that was In the possession
of The Indian. has been lost Nobody seems
tn know plzt how lorC ago II was first
rnIsl4id tut = very few wears ago n vas
dis-oyered m an old Trunk that had belonged
10 cne cf the former chiefs Of the tribe.
one II the provisions Of the treaty II ap-
rear WIS that II, successive payments
shr,fld ha noted on the back ct the copy the
indians hald The urohabl- explanation Ut
tho Lance m u9vments Is that Nhsn the
Indiana lost their COIy they took the naive
,ieu- fiat rrohably they couldn't collect
the money because of the lo7s This wac
naturally view which was not violently
ccmbste1 hv the financial officers OF the
stats so tho years have rolled away,
more than hundred Of Them, and no pay
mspts have been made a. the indians
WITH the finding OF their copy ~ the
treaty. however. the red men took the atti
tide that they were entitled TO those en-
nuities. Mavbe they we're entitled 10 all
the hacL pavnents. and II not, why certainly
the future was secure After they had
made repeated visits 10 Albany and all ~
vain they appealed 20 Joseph k,eppler,
cartoonst and part owner Ol Fuck Mr..
Keppler is = member Of the Seneca tribe
bv sdoption aud has for years taken an
a.tive Interest in Indian affairs, u was
thus natural that the -. Regis and Caugh-
nsUaea Indians should ask him TO take
I'm their case. II was 10 him too that a
delaeation of Caughna vaga Indians headed
NV Chief Frank Dibo came when they
visited tho city not long ago 10 see what
could he done. ..,,-
Gysntwska lthe plantorl, for that Is Nh.
Kenper's Seneca name, investigated and
learned things that made him think their
cause Is inst and be is doing what he can.
Tho engagement Of the firm Of lawyers
foIInued as veil as the thus far truitle1s
attompf 10 get some kind Of response from
Gov Hughes. The Indians who think the
state owes them money are for the most
nsrt farmers and thrifty Something ilke
thirty Of the CaughnaTsgas we're among the
bridgo collsusal a. Quebec not long ago;
chief Dibo himself lost Two sons and several
ether relatives IN that disaster. That CHEZ
Diho probably knows What he Is talking
sbout is clearly Indicated by this letter
which he wrote within few days TO New
Yorker who Is trying to help them get the
money they think the State owes them
VIC, the Indians Of the caushnawaso reser'
walton, all ion IN sending YOU and yours our
hearty thanks ior the interest YOU are takins
in our affairs Now. We have been sort OF
.rpect!na 10 get q word from you about our
sReirs, or is IL too soon for that? ITS been
four years. by the wsyl But no doubt you
are making some progress and. however 50
Nttls. We would be more than pleased TO learn
oi some. BY letting Us know as soon a.
POSSIBLE YOU would greatly oblge Yours re-
spsctfully, THE CAUoHsAvAdA lNnIANs.
The Caughnswagas are Catholic Indians,
rsmnants OF the once powerful lroquos,
and their religion is the result Of the early
Iahors Of Jesuit missionaries. The tribe
Is famous for its skilful boatnen and la
crosse players.
ELS INVADE BROOKLYN.