SAMUEL ADAMS APPOINTS A COMMISSION TO SETTLE CLAIMS OF PENOBSCOT INDIANS TO THEIR LANDS
Amazing vellum document signed, as Governor, appointing three “Commissioners to treat with the Penobscot Indians upon the subject of their claims to certain land lying on each side of the River Penobscot in the District of Maine.” Countersigned by Secretary John Avery. 1 page, 15 3/4×12 1/2 inches, with only wear consistent with its age. The original paper seal is mostly intact. Boston, 20 June 1796.
In part, “. . . I do . . . Commission you . . . William Shepard, Nathan Dane and Daniel Davis Esq’s Commissioners . . . with full powers & authority to treat with the [Penobscot] Indians . . . & in behalf of this Commonwealth fully & finally . . . to fix the Boundaries of such Lots & parcels of Land as may be necessary to assign for the support of said Indians, and . . . extinguish all the right & claim of said Indians to the residue of the Lands aforesaid . . . .”
In 1796, the commissioners successfully negotiated a settlement to the disputed territory encompassing 189,426 acres In exchange for title to the land, they offered to the Penobscot tribe 150 yards of blue woolens, 400 pounds of shot, 100 pounds of powder, 100 bushels of corn, 13 bushels of salt, 36 hats, one barrel of rum, and an annual stipend of 300 bushels of Indian corn, 50 pounds of powder, 200 pounds of shot, and 75 yards of blue woolen cloth. (John E. Godfrey, “The Ancient Penobscot, or Panawanskek,” Historical Magazine 21, no. 2 (1872): 91).
An historic document illustrating just how the the founding fathers of America dealt with the original inhabitants.
