Duncan, David (fl. 1786) Extract of a letter from David Duncan to Tho Hutchins Esqr.
High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03254 Author/Creator: Duncan, David (fl. 1786) Place Written: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Type: Manuscript document Date: 28 March 1786 Pagination: 5 p. : docket ; 32 x 20.3 cm. Order a Copy
In this letter, David Duncan, a former Indian trader appointed to work at Fort McIntosh, writes to Thomas Hutchins, the Geographer of the United States. After a four-month tour of Detroit and the surrounding areas, Duncan reports to Hutchins about the Indians he encountered. First, he says that evidence indicates the British will not be giving up their post at Detroit any time soon, as they seem to be settling in there. He describes the dispositions of the Indians he encountered, providing detail about the nations he came upon, including the Shawnee, Ottowa, and Delaware. Is highly critical of the way Congress has handled negotiations with the Indians: "I am of opinion that we ought not to have treaties with the indians until we had full possession of the western posts." Adds, "Had Congress sent out a few men as messengers with a few horse loads of goods and those men to have convened the indians in the most central towns and then have told them that they were sent by Congress to take them by the hand, and that it was now peace and for them to mind their hunting there wou'd not have been one white man killed to this day." Believes that Congress has gotten very little benefit from the treaties, and also fears that the British are making friendly overtures to the Indians. A copy, written in the hand of war department secretary Robert Pemberton.
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.