RESEARCH NOTE

"THE PROMISE THAT HE GAVE TO MYGRAND FATHER WAS VERY SWEET":THE GUN SHOT TREATY OF 1792 AT THEBAY OF QUINTE

David T. McNab14 H o w l a n d RoadToron to , On ta r i oM4K 2Z6

In a recent (1996) paper, Paul Wi l l iams has written about AboriginalOral Traditions.1 In it, he has observed that t h e r e are " s o m e a s p e c t s ofOntar io Indian oral tradi t ion that remain unsolved mysteries." As an e x a m -ple, Wi l l iams has pointed to the Gun Shot Treaty of "1791" at the Bay ofQuinte. He r e m a r k e d that this Treaty "guaranteed that all Indians w o u l da lways be able to hunt within the s o u n d of a gunshot from any lake or river,and w o u l d be able to camp within sixty-six feet of the i r s h o r e s or b a n k s . "However , he further stated that t h e r e is "no written r e c o r d of any suchpromise" and that the documents "confirming the tradi t ion" of the Treaty"remain elusive." He speculated that "Maybe" the documents "do note x i s t - - a n d m a y b e the T r e a t y was not as the tradi t ion recalls. "2

In June 1995 addit ional documents pertaining to the Gun Shot Treatyb e c a m e avai lab le in the provincial Archives of Ontar io by an acquisit ion ofprivate papers, cal led the A.E. Wil l iams/United Indian B a n d s of C h i p p e w a sand Mississaugas Papers.3 Written documents, b a s e d on Aboriginal oraltradi t ion, pertaining to the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 at the Bay of Quinte arein t hese P a p e r s . T h e s e written documents are in Oj ibwa and in English.The p u r p o s e of this research note is to draw attent ion to the existence oft hese documents in the Ontar io Archives.

The Canadian Journal of Native Studies XVI, 2(1996):293-314.

294 David T. McNab

Although, as Wil l iams has pointed out, references to the Gun ShotTreaty or Treaties, can be found in both the primary and secondaryliterature,4 t hese are not a lways consistent and are b a s e d on fragments ofhistorical knowledge. Moreover, most of them are b a s e d on observationsby Euro-Canadian observers and not on the Aboriginal oral traditions. I firstb e c a m e a w a r e of the signif icance of the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 througha paper given to me by Elder Norm Miskokomon, a ci t izen of the WalpoleIsland F i rs t Nation. Norm Miskokomon p a s s e d away ear l ier this year atBkejwanong, meaning in English, the place w h e r e the wa te r divides, orWalpole Island.

In 1927 the Miskokomon fami ly at Bkejwanong (l ikely in response tothe charges against Fred Ermatinger for sel l ing musk ra t pelts), prepared apaper on thei r Aboriginal and Treaty rights in relat ion to InternationalTreaties, the i r free trade and border-crossing rights and thei r Territories.This p a p e r also includes a n u m b e r of historical references to Aboriginal oraltradit ions of Treaties. One of t hese is the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 madeby Lieutenant Governor, John G r a v e s Simcoe and Si r John Johnson, thenSuperintendent G e n e r a l of Indian Affairs at the Bay of Quinte on LakeOntario. 5 Some of the information referred to in the M i s k o k o m o n paper isnot contained in the written r e c o r d of the government of Canada on Treatiesand is not readi ly ava i lab le in published form. 6

The documents pertaining to the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 d e s e r v e s tobe published and made ava i lab le to interested researchers for addit ionals t u d y and publ icat ion. It also war ran ts c l o s e scrutiny as it may well be aproduct of the oral t radi t ion of the F i r s t Nations.7

It is possible that the writtenr e c o r d exists in British Imperial records, e i ther in the Publ ic R e c o r d Officeor in the various col lect ions of private papers in Bri tain.

Lieutenant Governor John G r a v e s Simcoe (1752-1806) arrived atQ u e b e c to take up his new duties on N o v e m b e r 11, 1791.8 He remained atQ u e b e c through the w i n t e r of 1791-1792 and then in the Spring travel ledto Montreal and then Kingston. He was accompanied by his celebrated w i f e ,El izabeth Posthuma Gwil l im (1766-1850), the English heiress. 9 They ar-rived in Kingston and s t a y e d there, and in the immediate vic ini ty, for thenext twenty-throe days . S i m c o e left Kingston in the government's schoonerfor Navy Hall at Niagara on Ju ly 23, 1792.

10

It was sometime during these twenty-throe days of July, the tradit ionalt ime of Treaty-making with the British Crown, that S i m c o e and Si r JohnJ o h n s o n (1752-1830), son of S i r Wi l l iam Johnson, then SuperintendentGeneral of Indian Affairs, met with the Aboriginal Nations11 to negot iate andto e n t e r into the Gun Shot T r e a t y of 1792. Johnson did not leave the colony,from Montreal , for England unt i l July 22, 1792.

R e s e a r c h Note 295

Although Simcoe seemingly did not include an account in the off ic ialr e c o r d or in his private papers, his w i f e , El izabeth, provided an account ofthe i r stay in the area. The F i rs t Nations were waiting for King G e o r g e II l 'srepresentative to s p e a k with him about the solemn promises of the Crown.El izabeth S i m c o e observed the following from an ethnocentr ic perspective:

T u e s . [July] 3 r d - - T h e r e are Missisage [Mississauga] Indianshere. They are an unwarlike, id le , drunken, dirty tr ibe. I o b s e r v ehow extremes meet. T h e s e unciv i l ized people saunter up anddown the town all day with the apparent nonchalance, want ofoccupation and indif ference that s e e m s to possess the Londonb e a u x in Bond Street .. . .

Sun. 8 t h - - T h e Governor went to church and took the oathspreparatory to act ing as Governor .. . .

T u e s . 1 0 t h - - T h e [Executive] Counci l [of U p p e r Canada] met.I wa lked this evening. Some Indians arrived from a distance.They fired a salute with muske ts , wh i ch was returned with acannon [This, as a w e l c o m e , symbolized the beginning of theTreaty negotiat ions].

Wed. 11th. The Indians came to d a n c e before the Governor,h igh ly painted and in thei r war costume, with little clothing. Theywere near enough to the house for me to hear the i r singing,wh i ch s o u n d e d like a repet i t ion in dif ferent dismal t o n e s of he',he', he', and at intervals like a s a v a g e w h o o p . They had a skinstretched on s t icks imi ta t ing a d r u m , wh i ch they beat withs t icks . Having d r a n k more than usual, they continued singingthe greatest part of the night. They never quarrel with w h i t epeople u n l e s s insulted by them, but are very quarrelsomea m o n g s t themselves. Therefore, when the w o m e n see themd r u n k they take away thei r knives, and hide them unt i l theyb e c o m e sober....12

On July 26, 1792, Alured C la rke (1745-1832), then Lieutenant G o v e r -nor of the Province of Lowe r Canada, wro te to Simcoe from Q u e b e c City,about the Gun Shot Treaty, as follows:

By a paper from the Indians at the Bay of Quinte, presented toSi r John Johnson, Supt. Indian Affairs, at a conference heldimmediate ly b e f o r e his departure for England, and by himcommunicated to me, they appear extremely anxious to havethe d e e d s wh ich have been promised and appear n e c e s s a r yto put them in the unequivocal possession of the i r lands. Thematter now res t s with the government of U p p e r Canada, and Iam persuaded from the knowledge you already have of this

296 David T. McNab

business, and in order to set t hese people's minds at e a s e , aswell as those settled at G r a n d River, You will take the earliestopportunity to do in the i r behalf , what you may think proper. 13

The Gun Shot Treaty was more than a sharing of the use of land:

When King G e o r g e the 3rd sent out John Graves , [sic] Simcoe,as his representative to g o v e r n C a n a d a in 1792 he made atreaty with the Indians at the Bay of Quinte, cal led the Gun ShotTreaty, [.] Thousands of Indians were present inc luding theprincipal Chiefs of the dif ferent tribes. The G o v ' r [Governor]stated although the G o v ' t [Government] w a n t e d the land it wasnot intended that the fish and game rights be excluded or thatthey were to be deprived of the i r pr iv i leges of hunt ing, trappingand fishing as it was a s o u r c e of the i r living and sustenance.T h e s e provisions were to hold good as long as the grass g r o w sand wa te r runs , and as long as the British G o v ' t [Government]is in existence. According to the rul ing of the Gun Shot Treaty,the Indians to have first r ights to all c reeks , rivers and lakes ,16 feet on both s i d e s of the said c reek , 66 feet on both s i d e sof all rivers and 99 feet around all lakes and island[s] on saidlakes . Th is land mentioned is the i r inheri tance w h e r e they cancamp and abide while pursuing thei r occupation of f ishing andtrapping and w h i l e occupying said land [,] no w h i t e men cano r d e r them off. . . .14

The Gun Shot Treaty was also remembered in the oral tradi t ion of thevarious F i rs t Nations who were in attendance at the Counci l meetings andat subsequent Treaty meetings at the same place of Counci l Fire, at theBay of Quinte. For example, Shaw-Wun-Dais (b. c. 1795-1875), or JohnS u n d a y15 remembered the Gun Shot Treaty in his evidence presented tothe British Imperial Select Committee on Aborigines (British Settlements)on M a r c h 17, 1837. Th is evidence was presented, as follows:

136. Do the C h i p p e w a y Indians border immediate ly upon theBritish possess ions in C a n a d a ? - - Yes.

137. What Is the tenure upon wh ich they hold thei r l a n d s ? -They are not certain of hold ing thei r land; they cannot get anywritings at all.

138. They do not hold thei r lands under any off ic ial documentor written grant, but solely by what is called the royal word?-Yes, that is exact ly the c a s e .

139. That is by a p r o m i s e from the C r o w n that they shall bepermitted to hold it, wh i ch is cal led the "Royal word "? - -Yes , itis on ly that.

Research Note 297

140. Are the Indians satisfied with that mode of hold ing thei rl a n d s ? - - N o , it is that they compla in of.

141. What change in that respect do they d e s i r e ? - - T h e Indianswish to get a title to the land, that they may not be driven awayfrom it. Perhaps you will a l low me to say a little about the reasonwhy it is so. F i f ty - two y e a r s ago, Sir George Johnstone [JohnJohnson] went up to make a treaty with the Indians, and theIndians agreed to give up thei r lands for what S i r GeorgeJohnstone offered for t h e m The Indians gave up to Si r GeorgeJohnstone all the lands he w a n t e d , but not the islands and thepoints of the river; the Indians reserved them for the i r wigwams.Some of the islands they reserved for themselves for plant ingcorn, and the points of the river for the i r wigwams. Wel l , as itis, t h e r e is nothing in writing, and they are afra id they may bedriven away . I remember, 25 y e a r s since, now, the governorasked for the i r land another t ime, and the Indians gave it tothem, and the governor gave his word that it should not bet a k e n away, but he w ished to see something in writing to holdour lands by, that we might not be driven away .

142. Then the Committee understand, from your statement,that you wish to have a regular charter or a deed of sett le-m e n t ? - - Y e s .

143. The Committee conclude that the object of your tr ibe indesiring this charter or deed of settlement is to obta in an exactdef in i t ion of the lands wh ich belong to you, and to obviateencroachments on the part of other pe rsons? - -Yes , that iswhat we wish.

144. Now, are we at present to understand the insecure stateof your reserves and settlements discourages you from culti-vat ing and improving these possess ions? - -Yes , certainly.Last w i n t e r all the chiefs met together to talk about this; theysaid now we must sett le here, and by-and-bye, after we soww h e a t , and it is a l m o s t the t ime of harvest, the w h i t e men willcome and say, 'We want this land, ' and so the Indians will loseit; that is what the Indians are afra id of, that it will be a lways so.Now the Indians wish they had a title, so that they could holdthei r lands from generation to generation in thei r famil ies; thatis what the Indians wish to get.16

The following documents are from the A.E. Wil l iams Papers in theOntar io Archives. An "Extract" of the Gun Shot Treaty, in an Englishtranslation, is quoted in full below:

298 David T. McNab

Extract

Gun Shot Treaty 1818

When King George III sent out Simcoe as his Representativeto Govern Canada he made a treaty with the Indians at the Bayof Quinte, called the Gun Shot Treaty. Thousands of ["Indian",stroked out] Indians were present including all the principalChiefs of the different tribes. The governor stated although theGovt. [Government[ wanted the land it was not intended thatthe fish or game rights be interfered with as these belong to theIndians who derived their living from them. These promiseswere to hold good as long as grass grows and water runs.Memo found in the Dept. of I.A. of Upper Canada in 1866.

Transcripts of the original documents of the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792, inOjibwa, followed by the English translation, are transcribed below:

Gun Shot Treaty:

Netum na tah me sing qua yah quain dah mong. Ke kee Kedonod. ge ka ta ge me sho mis. ki ya neen dush ne me sho mis.Emah seh (One-gahmeng [also in Ojibwa, "Onegaming,"meaning a place of portage17]. (Port Hope) ne rum ke dah sheke ge too noh ke me sho mis. me dush e meh keh deh ghe ahsheeh mod enh since ge bah quod, enewh ne me sho me sun.Ne dush ke ya go emah. Kah dah she me nah pun enh o nahwendah mah gamin . Ne nah wind dush tah ya ke kein dah genong. Ne te ghe dush ta bna yain deh min keen kah ke nah.Keo dah pe nah mon. Emah ke doghe be egun ming. 1 Ne tumne tah me sing o nun do dah meh ge ning. sah ke me sho misnah kee e ke do. Ne nenegah shomis. Ke nah do dah moon sahke dab keem. Che peh ge de neh meh we yen. Ke kee noondawh mah. Kah ah ke do you. me nik ka ah goo jing owh keegis. Ki ya me nik ka gah pe me ji nong enewh ge-be-non. Ki yame nik ka gah ge ke gwain mashushk. A peech dush one nope dong. onh ne me sho mis. Ke pah go san dah mo win. Ki yaewh ke nah ween dah mah ga win. Kah neen no mug Kehahye nah be see. owh ke eke dood. Ke nab qua son seh ewh aghe kah go san ne me yen. No sa. Ah pe je mah ne me no pedon nah ghe shaw wa he. Me yen ne mod ne dah be no je em.

Me ["sah owh" stroked out] sah o-owe me nik ka pah ge te nahmoon non. A qua nag ["ph" stroked out] pah shke ge gun Nope ruing. E newh dush neen me ne sun. neen wan e newh. nede shko nah nun. Ki ya na yah she won. Ki ya sah (se non) ["kee ge nun" stroked out]. E mah che dah ghe he ne dab nan jega yon. Ki ya go ne nee jah ne sug. ne gaun ka ni be mah de

Research Note 299

ge jig. Che tah ghe ka w o d Capt. Paudaush oge ke do non.

2 Ne tum ma gwah tah ghe wah pe ga se ka yon. E mah ahyah nwah te noong, Ne ge mah dwa kah no nig owh ke che oge mah. Ah ba pe kah ge g w e e n . Che neh qua shko dah deyong, Emah Port Hope, Me dush ke pe mah gah yon. ke nahqua shkah nog dush owh o ge m a h Keh ween dush neen atah. Ke me she no nog o ge mog, Ki ya ke me she no nog ahne she nah baig. pah noon dah gig ewh ke ge do win, Ke cheo ge mah o ge ke to win. O owh dush ke eke doo, Ne ne gahne se [above "nis"] doog. Me sah o owe a ghe pah go san neme non, me no weh ke dah keem che pah ge de neh mah weyen,

Ke de mah ge se mah. ne do shke ne g e e m wah be noongpah ah yod. pah kah da nog. ki ya go kah wah ke do go nog.Ne dush ewh wain je pah go san ne meh non. Che pah ge tenah mah we yen ke tah k e e m Pah be ga ne ge m e qua in don.Ke woh ween dah mah ga win. keh ghe nish ko bong e bon mawe g h e w , nah y a shknd kah eke do wod ke me sho me se nahnig. ke nah qua to non d u s h , one dush ne g e e kid-do min. [ "ph"s t r oked out] puh ge de nab mo nab dab sah-ke-ge-Che-go-se-non. A she pah go sa ne me ning. kah neen ne ke ["nah" s t r okedout] nah ne ["pe" s t r oked out] sa see ewh ah pe, kah dood. Medush go ka yah be kah e g h i s h k o nah mah bon. me ne sun.Kah ya na yah she won. ["O" s t r oked out] kee e ghe kah go.Pah ah ne kah no tah mah we yah g i d Ewh ah pe. Me dushowe kah eke dood. ouh o ge mah. tah me nwan dum ke-ge-che-go-se-non me dush go ka yah be nah soh. Kah eke doodke mah mo yah n a d K e de bah gad e n e w h ke gi s o o n . Kah yae n e w h ge be non. Kah na me nik ka gah ge keeg ma ghushk ,we keh che ish gwah sa ne noog ne tah gwe e go win. ["4"s t r oked out] 3 Capt. P a u d u s h me no nab ne go ding ge kahgwa de na owh ke che o ge mah. Me dush ewh one sing ke ahtoo dah mah gad. owh ke-che-o-ge-mah. Me go me no nahmah ["p" s t r oked out] Port Hope. Kah dah ghe ke ge dood. owhA h - p i s h kah y a u s h k e . Na-se-ge-gah-bowh dush ke e ghe nekaw go. Kah eh ne Kah no tung ewh [ " a f ' s t r oked out] ah pe.Ene dush kah e k e dood. Owh-o-ge-mah. Ne-ne-gah-ne-se-dook . Me nah wah sah ge wah ge bah ge sah ne me go wah.Ke-ki-che-go-se-non. Che pah ge de nah mah wong [ " w o d "above], ah ke. Abe. pe che mal l ge wah nah ne mo the go seowh O ge mah. Ne dush kah e ke do yong. ah how, sah pehge de nah m a h weh dah ke ge che k o se non. a she pah go sa

300 David T. McNab

ne me nung. Ka yah be ne ge me gwain don keh e ghe wishko bah ne ow nung. O ke ge do we ne naun. Ke ka ta me shoone se nah nig. Mge a nah ko ne ga min dush ka yah be ish.Ko nah mong. me ne sun. Ki ya na yah she won Ki ya go. Komah ewh me sick one ge wa ["yog" stroked out] Kah me gog.ne ge ish ko non no pe ning. Me dush owh Kah eke doodo-ge-mah. Kah ge che one nwan dam sah ke ge che go se non.me dush owh go nah sob kah e she mah mo yeh waid. Ke tebah e gah e newh. Ke se soon. Kah ya se be non. Ki yah meshushk. Me nik ke ah yah me guk. Che pe me sag. Ke mahween dah mah ga win. we kah che ish gwah sase noog nedahgwe e go win.--

Ne ewh ish gu ach ke e do dah mah gad owh Ke-che o-ge-mah.ewh ah pe pa ["boouk" stroked out] boong 1818. Ne mah nekeh dan dum dush me gwain dah men o wah ween dah mahga win. Owh ke me sho mis kah weesh ko bah ne nig. o ge geto win. Ewh ah pe. ah no. kah ween. ne ge me ne go se. o ghepe e gun. kah ya neen. Ka ge me gi one nah mah bon e mah["jing" stroked out] jeeng, no goom dush ke keh gwa jim Chewan dah mo non ["ewh" stroked out] en ewh a yah sen. Me saho nowh ah yah een a dah mah nin. Me ne sun. Kee ya ne yoshiwon. ki ya (aah ge soon). Ki ya ewh nen ge wa keh me jog ahke. Ka yah be a yog no pe ming. Ah neen Ki ya me nik Kah nahnon do mid. Owh Re-che-o-ge-mah. Che we do keh nog. ewh.Kee-be-wah-yum-bah-kum-me-ge-sid ma we ghaw. Kah weenka go ne gis she mah mo geh nom nee ga se. owh o ge mah.Neh sa o nowh ah yah een a dah mah rain. Neen nah sind sahah yah we yong ["yon" above]

Kah o ge to yong ewh bargain

Capt. Paudaush"Nott."CoweWm. Crow"

Another related document is also quoted in its entirety below:

1 ke kah gwa jinn dush ["onowh" stroked out] wa go nan enewhah yah sen. me sah ewh pa ghig ah yah ee kay e dah mah["mon" above] bon. Ne seh e mah ge ish ko ne mah ["nom"above] ben en ewh na yah she won. emah te de ba nake chegum gah meeng. A she ne se to dah mong. Port Hope.-----

2. Ne no wah dush e mah Port Hope ke ge ge doong me dushe mah kah dah ghe kang. Ne nah wah dush ne de she ta bwa

Research Note 301

yan d u m keen kah ke nah ke o deh pe nah ["mon" s t r oked out]m i n . - - -

Me dush emeh P [Port]. Hope Kah deh she ne min no tah gogid. owe dush ke e ke dood. [ " N e "s t r oked out] ne ni gah ne sedoog. me sah me no wah a ghe pah go san ne mem na goog.

Ke the keem me nah wah. che pah ge de nah mah ne yen ["yag"above], ah pe che mah ke nah won ne no tah go se we Ke eKe dood. Ke te mah ge se nog. ne dush ke ["ke" s t r oked out]ne ge mag. nah be noong pah ah yah jig pah Kah ta wog.

Kah ya go ah nind Kah web ke do so n o g . - - -

Ah neesh me sah me nah wah ke nah gwa tah mon neen dushgo. Me sah dush go Ka yah be emah keen nan gi dah nan dahmo non. ewh ween tah ma de win. nain ge dush e ke do yon.E w e w h ah yah sen. Ewh dush Kah ge go Ke ge me ghe se oghe be e gun. Kah ya neen che ge one ji ne nab mon. Ne geche wah we ghan dunn dush neen. Kah ya go e [ " g e w h " s t r okedout] gewh ah nind pa mah de g e j i g . - - - - - -

Last treaty at Port Hope

Ne dush ewh ["e o" s t r oked out] ish dwach . Ne go ["e mah"s t r oked out] me no wah e mah Port Hope. neen dush go ahyah we yon Kah o ghe to y o n ewh bargain, ah peh na dush nanji k a h shke to you. e Ke do you, neen ne de bon dah non mene sun eke do you.

Ah pe sah dush k a h me no nah [ "wag s w o d "s t r oked out] wage nod. e gah kah be ge ge to jig Colonel Claus me no nah owhColonel . Gibben ne rum

dush gah e k e dood ["do wod" above], tab ke che mi no nahwa ge. Ke-ge-che-ko-se-nah. me dush ewh ke e k e dood ke["ow o" s t r oked out] e she no ong ewh se be. ne no wah ma[ "ghashk "s t r oked out] shaw sh ko sun.

Ke j a en ewh ke ge s o o n . Ke ah ko nah bah e-bon dah mongo [ " n o w e o h "s t r oked out] n o e w h me sah ewh a ghe ween dahno non wah bon dah e non wah she shaw na ne me non. Neen["ah" s t r oked out] sah ["ge?" s t r oked out] dush go ah yah weyou kah kah ghe to you. ewh bargain.

Captain P a u d a u s h" Nott" C o w eWm. Crowe"

302 David T. McNab

A third document is out l ined and transcribed, in full, below:

3rd Award .

Ewh owah ween dah mah go we ne nah e g e w h RobinsonTreaty-ah-ne-she-nah-baig Owh Dominion of Canada. o g e eshe mah K a a n ewh we no wah mah yah nish Kah go wod ewhte bah e ga win e g e w h Provinces of Ontar io and Quebec.

[this paragraph is c rossed out]

( p o r t H o p e )

1818

One-gah-meeng [Onegaming]

Ke ge ge do o w h w e ke che o ge mah. Ki ya ween owh-we Ahne she nah bake ge ge do. Ke ah Ke dood Ke pah g e de nahmoon sah ewh-we ne dah K e e m a u - d o dah mo we yen. (Kemah mo yah min sah ewh-we. ["A" s t r oked out and "Ah" abovealso] Nah zhe shaw-wa ne me yen.) [everything in the roundbrackets is s t r oked out]

Ki ya dush Ka me nwah be je to you no sa.

Ke mah no yah min sah wah zhe shaw wa ne me yen. Ki ya.ne dab be no je ning

Ewh-we dush me nik. nah. ah shko ne mort Kah ke nah na yahshe won. me ne sun. Ko mah Ki ya me nik m a z e wa Kah megog. Ki ya sah -ge -won . Ewh-we ne ne jah nis Ka ["ne" s t r okedout] me nwah be j e wod. ["Ki ye" s t r oked out] ewh-we dush wahzhe shaw-wa ne me yen. Che ah gwe yen me nik Ka ah goching ke zis. Ki ya ne nik Ka pe me je nong. se ["p" s t r oked out]be won.

Ah zhe dush ne wah bah don. wah ne to you. me nik. kah zhewah ween ["d" s t r oked out] dab wah we yen.

Me ge te ze mug. W e e n . Ke ge te mah ge ze wog. ewh-we ahpe. Kah ween Ka go ge k noah mah d e w i n K e ah yah se noonNoon g o m dush ween . ne wah sa yah

bun dab mah. ne do ["shke" s t r oked out] shke ne ge mug. Kiya ["an" s t r oked out] a no nak Ke Kan dah so nog me dushewh-we no goom Ke zhe guk wan je Ke kan dah mon e w h n e e .["m" s t r oked out] a zhe mah je do dah we yen. Ke w e e s h Kobun ewh-we. Ke de Ke do win. ["y" s t r oked out] wah yash Keed.

Research Note 303

woon goom dush ne mah nah dum, me g w a i n dah monewh-we.

ke wah w e e n - d a h mah ga win.

Capt. Paudaush''18

The following, also from the Wil l iams Papers, is a transcript of theEnglish translation of the P a u d a u s h oral tradi t ion of the Gun Shot Treaty,or more properly, Treaties:

Gun Shot Treaty

F i rs t Counci l that we all [are] sure of. B e t w e e n our great G r a n dFathers, was held at Port H o p e . The Governer [Governor] orSupt. [Superintendent] General had come to make a treaty withmy G r a n d father. And the p r o m i s e that he gave to my G r a n dfather was very sweet , of cou rse this was before our t ime. Andmy bel ie f is that you have t a k e n e v e r y thing down , or writtene v e r y thing that took place at that t ime in your minute-Book.

1. When the Governor first asked our Indian people, to [" le t meh a v e " s t r oked out] surrender 19 [ interpolat ion in English of theOj ibwa word ] the i r land. he said my dear Children, I want to askyou to [" let me h a v e " s t r oked out] surrender your land to me.As you have already h e a r d what I said ["promised" s t r oked out]["before" s t r oked out] or promised before.

As long as you ["can" s t r oked out] see the sun in the sky. aslong as the R i v e r s flow. and as long as grass grows, theR e s e r v e shall be yours , what ever you will Reserve. And myG r a n d father did not wait long. he got up and said. Great father.I do a g r e e to surrender [share] my land to you as your p r o m i s eis very s w e e t & the blessing that I will enjoy and my chi ldrenafter me as long as they live forever. I will surrender [share][ " m y " s t r oked out] on the main- land, v i z - - w e shall make a beeline from as far as you can hear a shot gun ( f r o m the shore up)this line shall leave me part of the main land: all the points[peninsulas]. Islands and all the mouths of R i ve rs . t hese shallbe reserved for m y hunt ing and fishing ground, and my chi ldrenafter me or the rising generation as long as they l ive.

2 The following statement was made by Capt P a u d a u s h again.another t ime while I was fishing it was very calm. All at once Ih e a r d s o m e b o d y speaking to me. when I looked I saw it wasthe Governor. ( S G I A [Superintendent General of Indian Af-fairs}), and he commanded me to rise and ["go" s t r oked out] togo and arrange to meet h i m at Port Hope. And I got up andwent to Port Hope with a lot of other Chiefs and war r i o r s who

304 David T. McNab

[ " m e " s t r oked out] w a n t e d to hear what the i r g r e a t father theGovernor was going to say.

this is what ["and" s t r oked out] he (Governor) said. My dearChildren. I come t o ask you aga in to surrender your land to mefor my people that are comming [coming] from the East theyare on thei r way comming [coming]. they are very poor. andh u n g r y and some of them are starving, and this is why I askyou to s u r r e n d e r your land to me. and I remembered your[above "the"] p r o m i s e you made to my g r a n d father long ago,wh i ch was very sweet , the first t ime that our fore fathers met.and I got up and spoke to him. Reminding him of the bargainthat the Gvnt. [Government] made with my grand father I amwil l ing to surrender [share] the land ["the" stroked out] to you.and the others spoke and ["said we will" s t r oked out] agreed tosurrender [share] the land to our great father. (At that t ime wehad plentyof every thing.) And I made the same bargain as myG r a n d father, v iz to Reserve, part of the main land. all thepoints, mouths of Rivers. and Islands. And I could ent [couldnot] have made a m i s t a k e that t ime. I had an interpreter (Kahdood) was his name. ["that t ime" s t r oked out] And this is whathe said (the interpreter). Our great father is very glad. andt h a n k s us very much. and he m a k e s the same promise as thegovernor did to our grandchildren long ago. viz. below as longas [ ' ' the r ises" s t r oked out] we see the sun. and as long as theRiver f lows, and grass grows. ["(and" s t r oked out] (that thesupplies of clothing and blankets etc. from the Govnt. [Govern-ment] shall never be stoped [stopped]) ["as long as this w o u l dlast" s t r oked out] as long as we l ive.

3 the following statement was aga in made by Capt. [Captain]P a u d a u s h another t ime. Th is [ " i s " s t r oked out] was the thirdt ime the governor came to us for land. same place. Port H o p e .["Kah dab" s t r oked out] The meet ing was cal led by C h i e f["Ahpishto" s t r oked out] Ah-pish-ki-yoshk. And Na-si-ge-kah-bowh . was the name of the Interpreter that t ime. And this iswhat the Governer [Governor] said. My Dear Children. oncemore your great father has come to ask you to surrender yourland to him.

3. We all agreed to grant his request, and we said Hurrah. letus surrender our land to our g r e a t father. And aga in I remem-b e r e d the promise the Govnmt. [Government] made with ["our"s t r oked out] my G r a n d father [" long ago" s t r oked out]. wh i chwas very sweet . And we aga in decided to make the sameagreement with him---to R e s e r v e a part of the ma in land the

Research Note 305

Points and mouths of Rivers and Islands. And this is what theGovernor said. Your great father is very glad. And ["he" strokedout] I t hank you very much. And I promise to ["Reserve" strokedout] that these Islands. Points. Mouths of Rivers. and part ofthe main land. ["and that" stroked out] shall be reserved for yourhunting and fishing purposes, and that the supplies of Clothing.blankets &&tc. from the Govrnt [Government]. shall neve rstop.and that this promise shall be good. as long as the Sun lasts.and Rivers flow and as long as the grass grows. And that wasthe last time that the Govrnt [Government]. asked for land. thatwas in the winter of 1818. And I am astonished, disappointed.when I remember the promise made by the Govmt [Govern-ment], his [Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe]. wordswere very sweet. At that time he did not give me any writing tokeep in my hands but I know all. and now you ask me what Iam always talking about: These are the things I ment [meant]viz. Islands. and all points, and mouths of Rivers and part ofthe main land. that are Reserved for our hunting and fishingpurposes, And how many t imes ["have" stroked out] has theGovr [Governor], asked me to assist him ["the Govr [Gover-nor]." stroked out] And I always granted his request and I neve rrealized any thing for it. These are the things I ment [meant].And we are ["those" above] the ones that make the treaty, orbargain, they call it.

Capt. Paudash"No t tCapt. CowWm, [William] Crow

1. You ask me about the things, and this is one of the things Iment [meant]: that I reserved all the points along the shorewhich we understand at Port Hope.

["1 You ask me what I meant by these things" stroked out]

2 And the second time the meeting was held at Port Hope. andmy beleaf [belief]. I am sure that you wrote every thing that tookplace at that council.

It was at Port Hope where the Governer [Governor] spoke andsaid My Children I ask you again once more to surrender yourland to me. furthermore ["stating that" stroked out] my peopleare on the i rway from the East--they are very Poor. and hungryand some of them are starving.----

306 David T. McNab

And again I agreed to surrender the land to him myself, thats[that is] why I beleave [believe] that you have every thing writen[written]. and that you have the agreement: and the promise inyour possession, and why I mention these things, because youdid not give me any writing Re the surrender, and the Promise.but I am happy, so is my people to know the surrender, and thepromise, because its [it is] something we can never forget.---

Last Treaty at Port Hope.

this is the last time we met at Port Hope. and I was the one thatmade that bargain that [that is] why you often here [hear] mesay that I own all the Islands.--

And they were pretty well satisfied with the bargain.

Colonel [William] C laus and Coil [Colonel] Gibbins [Givins] andthis is what they said. Your Great father will be very wellsatisfied with the bargain. And they mentioned the promise viz.the Rivers. ["Points." stroked out] grass, and the Sun. as longas you see these, you shall en joy that blessing.

Those that made the treaty. Or bargain Capt. Paudash

"No t t" C o wW m [William] Crow

The implications of the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 have contin-ued to this day. The failure to recognize and respect theTreaty(ies) in terms of First Nation citizens' rights to their landsand waters as well as the i r hunting, fishing and trapping rights,has been a stain on the honour of the federal and provincialgovernments in Ontario since 1792. The purpose of this paperis to draw the attention of scholars to the Gun Shot Treaty of1792 and these new documents which have only come to lightin the past year. The significance of the Gun Shot Treaty(ies)in the Aboriginal history of Ontario will be examined andinterpreted in the years to come. It will have a great impact onthe future relationship between First Nations and non-Aborigi-nal people in Ontario.

1.Notes

Paul Williams, "Oral Traditions on Triar" in S. Dale Standen and DavidMcNab, Editors, with an "Introduction,": Gin Das Winan DocumentingAboriginal History in Ontario, Occasional Papers of The ChamplainSociety, Number 2, Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1996, pp. 29-34.

Research Note

2.

3.

4.

307

Ibid, p. 32.

A.E. Wil l iams/United Indian B a n d s of C h i p p e w a s and MississaugasP a p e r s , F 4 3 3 7 , Provincial Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Inventory,dated October, 1995. I wish to exp ress my t h a n k s to Mr. lan Wilson,Archivist of Ontario, and his colleagues, for d r a w i n g my attent ion tothe Wil l iams P a p e r s in 1995. The papers were acquired through aprivate dealer who was handl ing the estate of the late A.E. Will iams,an insurance adjuster who l ived in N o r t h York , Ontario. They wereacquired by the Ontar io Archives on the last day of the political regimeof the NDP government of Bob Rae. It is unl ikely that t hese papersw o u l d have been acquired by the draconian right wing regime ofMichael Ha r r i s , wh i ch government was responsible for the events atIpperwash two m o n t h s later. The papers have been microf i lmed onfour microf i lm reels MS 2604-2607 and are now avai lab le by Inter-Li-b r a r y loan. The Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 is in F 4337-11-0-8. I alsowish to exp ress my t h a n k s to Dr. R h o n d a Telford for her assistance ind r a w i n g my attent ion to other historical references to the Gun ShotTreaties.

The historiography on the existence of a Gun Shot Treaty(ies) is nota clear subject. A n u m b e r of s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s have noted theexistence of the Gun Shot T r e a t y entered into on the northern s h o r e sof Lake Ontar io immediate ly after the c l o s e of the American Revolut ionin the late eighteenth century, from 1793 to 1797. All the s o u r c e shighl ight two main points: the Treaty document or proceedings of theCounci l is (are) missing from the historical record and (2) the Treatydiscussions and agreements were on ly about land wh ich was to be"surrendered" by the F i rs t Nations who were present at the negot ia-t i o n s . Th is was clear ly not the c a s e . O t h e r subjects were d i s c u s s e dand Treaties were made on them. The historiography has tended toobscu re the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 and its signif icance. For example,Peter S. Schmalz, in his The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario, stated that

R o b e r t Prescott, governor in chief of Canada, in a let ter to PeterR u s s e l l on 9 Apri l 1798 complained that ' the land purchasedfrom the Mississaugas was most undoubtedly in an a w k w a r dpredicament since some of the treaties did 'not exp ress a singleBoundary.' A frant ic attempt was made to clari fy the situationby interviewing those who were involved. The interpreterNathaniel Lines, who was a wi tness to the negotiations, statedthat a 'blank d e e d ' was signed by all parties. This was thefamous 'walking Treaty' or, as some cal led it, the 'Gun ShotTreaty.' Captain W.R. Crawford claimed he had negot iated thesurrender with the Mississaugas on 9 October 1783 for the land

308 David T. McNab

' from Tonaito or Onagara to the River in the Bay Quinte withineight leagues of the bottom of the said Bay, including all theIslands, extending from the Lake back as far as a man cantravel in a day.' When Alexander Atkins attempted to surveythe area, he found that the Ojibwa were unhappy not only withthe treaty but with others made in the area as well. Furthertreaties were made to correct the error. But years later evenCaptain T.G. Anderson of the Indian Department still main-tained that, of the area under consideration, there remainedunsurrendered 'a hundred miles of the richest farm land in theprovince.'

Professor Donald B. Smith, in his Sacred Feathers, The ReverendPeter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) and the Mississauga Indians, hasnoted that

... Captain William Crawford, a Loyalist officer who had accom-panied the Mississaugas on several raiding parties during theRevolutionary War, obtained all the lands from the ToniataRiver, a tributary of the St. Lawrence below Gananoque, to ariver in the Bay of Quinte 'within Eight Leagues of the Bottomof Said Bay.' For this vast tract, with its loosely describedsouthern boundary, the Indian leaders asked for and obtainedclothing for all members of their bands, guns for those withoutthem, powder and ammunition for their winter's hunting, and'as much coarse Red Cloth as will make about a Dozen Coatsand as many Laced Hats.'

More purchases followed, each of which confirms that the Missis-saugas believed they were granting the use of the land. Once theBritish promised presents 'as long as the sun shines, the waters flow,and grass grows,' the Indians allowed them the use of as much landas they needed.

Professor Robert J. Surtees in his paper on "The Williams Treaties,"commissioned for, and published by, the federal Department o f IndianAffairs in 1986, has provided historical background to the events o f theperiod from 1783-1792. He has written that

Two considerations inclined British officials in Canada to seekextension o f these agreements. First there was the desire toprovide for an unbroken line of settlement along the shore o fLake Ontario between the Trent River and the head of the lake;second, it was also considered advisable to have an alternateroute to the interior, other that the Ottawa River or the LakeErie-Detroit River-St. Clair River. Such an alternative waspossible by travelling the Humber River-Holland River-Lake

Research Note 309

Simcoe route ( k n o w n as the Toronto Carrying Place) to the eastend of Georgian Bay. Such a route w o u l d have mil i tary andcommercial uses.

The northern and western most port ion of the Toronto-Georgian Bayroute was apparent ly s e c u r e d by a treaty arranged in 1785 by JohnCollins, [note #7 to Florence B. Murray (editor), Muskoka and Halibur-ton, 1615-1875, Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1963, 99] the dep-uty-Surveyor General who arranged for p a s s a g e b e t w e e n the Narrowsat Lake Couchiching and Matchedash Bay via the S e v e r n River. Theremainder of that route, from present Toronto to Lake Simcoe and thelands of Lake Ontario's north shore became the object of negot iat ionsin 1787-88, when Governor Dorchester directed Si r John Johnson, theSuperintendent General of Indian Affairs

to take such s t e p s with the Indians concerned, as may ben e c e s s a r y to establish a free and amicable right for Govern-ment to the interjacent L a n d s , not yet purchased, on the Northof Lake Ontario, for that p u r p o s e as well as to such part of theCountry, as may be n e c e s s a r y on both s i d e s of the proposedcommunicat ion from Toronto to Lake Huron. [Ontario, ThirdReport of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario,1906, p. 453]

It was this direct ion that brought S i r John to meet an arrangedgathering of the Mississaugas at the head of the Bay of Quinte inSeptember, 1787. A b o u t 626 p e r s o n s were present; another 391 [NACRG 10, Volume 15, page 97] gathered at Toronto at the same t ime.The lat ter gathering was represented at Quinte by selected chiefs, andthe two g r o u p s b e t w e e n them were recipients of L2000 wor th of g o o d sdispensed by J o h n s o n [note: NAC M.G. 19, Claus P a p e r s , Volume 4,page 168. J o h n s o n to C l a u s , October 19, 1787.] An account of thatmeet ing by the Indian trader, John Long, noted that S i r John showedthe Indians a map by wh ich he desired to have the land 'from Torontoto Lake H u r o n ' [note: John Long, Voyage and Travels of an IndianInterpreter and Trader, London, 1791, pp. 177-178.] Another recon-struction of the af fa i r by P e r c y Robinson, contends that J o h n s o n tooka surrender of the right of transport from Toronto to Matchedash Bayas well as b l o c k s of land (10 mi les square) at each end. Robinson'sprincipal s o u r c e expla in ing the events of the decade before, is a let terw r i t t e n by J o h n s o n in 1798. In that let ter Sir John did not ment ion landother than the Toronto-Matchedash area, but it w o u l d seem that he dids p e a k to the assembled Indians about the land on the north shore ofLake Ontar io b e t w e e n Quinte and Toronto. Long's account says hedid; his instructions said he was s u p p o s e d to; and according to theinvoice of g o o d s given out at the t ime, the Mississaugas who had

310 David T McNab

gathered at Quinte on September 23, 1784 "Made a formal Cessionof Lands on the North side of Lake Ontario to the Crown." Also, thisland cession was described more specifically by the Land Board forNassau in 1790, when it issued instructions to survey the 'Land latelypurchased by Sir John Johnson from the Mississaga Nation on theNorth Side of Lake Ontario in the District of Nassau from the head ofthe Bay of Quinte to Toronto."

Sir John's distribution o f presents at this council was later interpretedas payment for lands. These gifts of ammunition, arms and tobacco,however, were rather designated as a present to the Mississaugas asa reward for their fidelity to Britain and for 'services' during the lateAmerican War." Specific payment for the land was to come later. Itwould seem, however, that a deal was provisionally arranged atQuinte.

Notwithstanding Sir John's denial of having put anything on paper atthe time, a deed of sorts has been found and identified as having beendrawn up at the Quinte Carrying Place in 1787. It was witnessed bythree chiefs--Wabikane, Neace, and Pakquan--and by John Collins,Louis Kotte and Nathaniel Lines. It does not contain a description ofthe lands to be sold, but simply leaves blank spaces which evidentlywere to be filled in later after proper surveys could determine anaccurate description. According to the interpreter, Nathaniel Lines,who recounted the event some eight years later, the land in questionswas the north shore of Lake Ontario. Others suggest that the landdescriptions to have been inserted at a later date were to include theregion o f the Toronto-Matchedash purchase. It is likely that Sir John'shurried visit to Quinte in 1787 did not allow sufficient time to ascertainthe precise bounds, particularly in terms of depth, that the governmentwanted or that the Mississaugas were prepared to offer. In any eventthose details could be delayed until the following year when paymentcould be made. The requisitions for supplies to make that paymentclearly indicate that two separate purchases were intended. Thesebeing the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Toronto-Matchedashlands. That little trouble was anticipated was reflected in the concurrentdespatching of surveyor Alexander Aitken, to conduct a survey of theToronto site.

Aitken and the provisions arrived at Toronto on the Seneca on August1, 1788. He was joined a few days later by Lord Dorchester, Sir JohnJohnson and Colonel John Butler. Dorchester and Johnson remainedat Toronto only until the goods had been distributed to the Missis-saugas who had gathered for that purpose. However, not all theexpected Bands arrived on time. Thus, Butler remained behind to meetthose who were expected from Lake Simcoe and Pawastink (Port

Research Note 311

Hope), and also to reach some agreement regarding the depth of thecession on the Lake Ontario shoreline. Again from fragmentary evi-dence, we can observe that Butler was successful in coming to anagreement about the depth of the tract. He later reported from Niagarathat while at Toronto, after the Lake Simcoe and Port Hope Indiansarrived, he called all the chiefs into a council and proposed that theysurrender the land between Toronto and the Bay of Quinte 'as far backas Lake la Clay (Simcoe) and the Rice Lake ' Having secured theiragreement, 'after2 or 3 meetings,' he then proposed that the depth bea straight line beginning 15 or 16 miles back from Toronto. Runningthe depth in a straight line cost an extra twenty-five guineas to twochiefs, Wabikane and Porqua The actual depth was in fact determinedby the surveys completed in 1791, when the surveyor, AugustusJones, reported having done surveys to eleven townships, beginningwith the eastern boundary of the District of Nassau and extending twomiles west of Toronto.

This issue of the north shore and the Toronto-Matchedash sectionappeared to have been settled at this point. The Indians, at leastaccording to Butler's reports and Johnson's understanding were sat-isfied; and the government was content also with having secured asolid line of settlement between Cataraqui and Toronto, as well as thecommunications link between Toronto and Matchedash Bay. But therewere some clouds on the horizon. First, Aitken had been prevented byWabikane from completing a full survey of the Toronto site. It was onlythrough the intervention of Nathaniel Lines that Aitken was permittedto begin at the Etobicoke River rather than the Humber River. And,being left alone after the departure of Butler and Lines, he feared torun his survey more than 2 3/4 miles inland, for Chief Wabikanecautioned him against crossing the stream located at that point.Second, one group of Indians, apparently those from Matchedash,claimed that they had not received payment for their lands. Accordingto Butler, this resulted because Sir John had given the goods to thewrong people. More serious than any of these, however, was theabsence of a territorial description in the deed of surrender preparedat Quinte in 1787. As a result, the problem did not become so muchfrom anger on the part of the Indians, but rather from anxietiesexpressed by White administrators and by settlers who were con-cerned about the security o f their tenure in lands covered by the1787-88 agreements.

This concern was increased greatly in 1794. Pressured by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe regarding the imprecision surrounding the landcessions, Lord Dorchester declared the blank deed taken in 1787 tobe invalid.

312 David T. McNab

Enquiry has been made relative to the purchase at MatchedashBay, a Plan... has been found in the Surveyor General's Office,to which is attached a blank deed, with the names or devicesof three chiefs of the Mississauga Nation, or separate piecesof paper annexed thereto, and witnessed by Mr. Collins, Mr.Kotte, a Surveyor, since dead, and Mr. Lines, Indian Inter-preter, but not being filled up, is o fno validity, or may be appliedto a land they possess; no fraud has been committed or seemsto have been intended. Itwas, however, an omission which willset aside the whole transaction, and throw us entirely on thegood faith of the Indians forjust so much land as they are willingto allow, and what may be further necessary must be pur-chased anew, but it will be best not to press that matter or shew[show] any anxiety about it.

However, Professor Surtees' account does not recognize either theoral tradition or the events of the Gun Shot Treaty at the Bay of Quinteat the council meeting in July, 1792.

5. The Miskokomon papers were shared by the Miskokomon family withNin.Da.Waab.Jig. in the Fall o f 1994 and copies were shared with theauthor of this paper. It is entitled "Treaties between the Whites andIndians, o f Chippewa [Ojibwa], Ottawa, and Pottawatomie [Potawa-tomi] Tribes," dated March 24, 1927. I am most grateful to ElderNorman Miskokomon, formerly a member of the Walpole Island FirstNation Heritage Committee, for shanng this information with me. Thispaper enabled me to identify the Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 from theWilliams Papers.

6. Canada, Indian Treaties and Surrenders, 3 Volumes, Ottawa: Queen'sPrinter, 1891,1912 (Reprinted by FiSh House Publishers, Saskatoon,1992). On this subject see also the author's papers as follows: "A FewThoughts on Understanding Propaganda alter Oka," in Social Sci-ences and Humanities Aboriginal Research Exchange, Volume 1, No.1, Fall-Winter, 1993, pp. 18-21; "Treaties and an Official Use ofHistory," The Canadian Journal o f Native Studies, Vol. XIII, No. 1,1993, pp. 139-43; '"A Little Piece of Flesh': Some Reflections on OralTradition and Historical Research," paper presented at the NationalResearch Director's Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb-ruary 23, 1994.

7. The event is unrecognized in the historiography or in the documentarycollections or in the archival records that are currently available in thepublic domain. See, for example, The Correspondence o f Lieut. Gov-ernorJohn Graves Simcoe, Collected and edited by Brigadier GeneralE.A. Cruikshank, Volume I, 1789-1793, Toronto: Ontario Historical

Research Note 313

Society, 1923, (Hereafter cited as the Simcoe Papers); Colin G.Calloway, Crown and Calumet, British-Indian Relations, 1783-1815,Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987, especially pp. 51-76and the same author's recent The American Revolution in IndianCountry, Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities, Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. See also biographies of themajor historical figures such as John Graves Simcoe, cited below, inthe Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Toronto: University of TorontoPress; Canada, Indian Treaties and Surrenders, Volume 1, Ottawa:Queen's Printer, 1891, (Reprinted by Fifth House Publishers, Saska-toon, 1992); Robed S. Allen, His Majesty's Indian All ies Brit ish IndianPolicy in the Defence of Canada, 1774-1815, Toronto: Dundum Press,1992, pp. 57-86.

8. A most ineffective, and overly negative, impression of Simcoe can befound in S.R. Mealing's "John Graves Simcoe," Dictionary ofCanadianBiography, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983, Volume V,1801-1820, pp. 754-759. Mealing's portrayal of Simcoe's relationshipto First Nations is at best misleading and entirely one-sided and, at itsworst, exhibits a complete disregard for the history of First Nations.

9. Edith Firth, "Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim," Dictionary of CanadianBiography, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988, Volume VII,1836-1850, pp. 361-363.

10. G.M. Craig, Upper Canada The Formative Years 1784-1841, Toronto:McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1963, pp. 20-28.

11. Earle Thomas, "Sir John Johnson," Dictionary of Canadian Biography,Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987, Volume VI, pp. 352-354;see also his Sir John Johnson, Loyalist Baronet, Toronto: DundurnPress, 1986 in which he gives the date of Johnson leaving Montrealon July 22, 1792 which date (i.e. 1792) coincides with the Simcoearrival in the colony. It also appears that Simcoe met Johnson late inJune or early in July, 1792.

12. J. Ross Robertson, The Diary of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe, Toronto:William Briggs, 1911, Toronto: Coles Publishing Company, 1973, pp.111-120.

13. The Correspondence of Lieut. Governor John Graves Simcoe, Col-lected and edited by Brigadier General E.A. Cruikshank, Volume I,1789-1793, Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1923, p. 182.

14. The Miskokomon paper is dated March 24, 1927. The first part of thisdescription of the Gun Shot Treaty is also contained in the A.E.Williams papers, referred to above, which are now in the ProvincialArchives o f Ontario.

314 David T. McNab

15. G.S. French, "Shaw-Wun-Dais," Dictionary of Canadian Biography,Volume X, 1871-1880, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972, pp.647-648. I am grateful to Professor Donald Smith for drawing myattention to this and the next reference in his letter of November 11,1995, to me.

16. British Parliamentary Papers, "Report from the Select Committee onAborigines (British Settlements) with Minutes of Evidence Appendixand Index. Anthropology Aborigines, Irish University Press Series ofBritish Parliamentary Papers. Shannon: Ireland: Irish University Press,1968, p. 29.

17. It should also be noted that the place of portage was also a place ofboth water and fire. It was a place of meeting for important councilsand holding council fires. For example, other places of Council Firesinclude: Niagara, Detroit, Amherstburg, St. Anne Island, Lake Ontarioat Fort Ontario near present-day Oswego, Burlington Heights, WalpoleIsland among others.

18. An effort is currently being made to provide an English translation andinterpretation of the Gun Shot Treaty o f 1792, quoted above.

19. There is no concept of the English word "surrender" in Ojibwa. TheAboriginal understanding in concept and language would have beenthe word "share."