Show ro h b it i s n E fo icam kok ni g I 1 iz X A I 1 aate 7 tift rf 11 M syam jy les james 4 elkinson Ml kinson 4 i 40 aw Little Turtle calef feli S 0 y ay L 32 A t abey as op jy y w alt 10 fy fc raz lz j A 2 erf Z tf i ssi fer i VZ i ya avet avel celebration of birthada Birt hda y 7 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON we think of prohibition hibi tion enforcement as a ak strictly modern american question yet the fact Is that here as to in many other pres ent day problems Is a curious instance of history repeating itself the passing of the act did not bring into being the first prohibition enforcement officer that title belongs to an indian chief and he was given his appointment more than years agol in the middle of the seventeenth century the dutch in new were engaged in a series of wars with I 1 the neighboring indian tribes finally a permanent treaty of peace was vas concluded in 1000 the leading signer of which was Ora tamin sachem of the savages living at hackensack hackenback Hacken sack who declared himself commissioned by the sava savages es of tap tappan manhattan Kichta KItcha wank and Sint to act on their behalf but this treaty did not end the troubles between the two races for in Ora tamin whose name Is also spelled Ora tamy bratan and oraton complained to tl the I 1 e dutch authorities of the illicit sale of brandy to his people As the result of this protest there appeared in the official records of new therland Ke this entry whereas Ora tarn chief of hacking Fl heszky and other savages have complained several times that many self selfish ish people dare not only to sell brandy to the savages in this city but also to carry whole ankers ot of it into their country and peddle it out there from which if it Is not prevented in time many troubles will arise therefore ther etore t the he director general and council of new therland Te not knowing tor for the present of a better way to stop it authorize the said chief together with the tha sachem to seize the brandy brought into their country tor for sale and those offering to sell it and bring them here that they may be punished as an example to others the chiefs and mattano are hereby authorized to seize the brandy bran dy brought into their country tor for sale together with those who bring it and conduct them hither bither done at fort amsterdam in new therland Isa the thirtieth day of march 1662 evidently tile the two chiefs were efficient prohibition enforcement officers jeers for there Is no further mention of trouble for fifteen months but it Is evident too that prohibition then as now new produced bootleggers for in june 1003 and other chiefs again appeared before the authorities complaining pla ining that brandy was still be being I 1 carried among their people on being told that we tried to prevent and had authorized to arrest dutchmen who came into their country to peddle brandy rl reads ads the record they replied that they wore ere cheated by the dutch who said eald that the general had given civen his consent and showed a lot let ler giving permission to sell bell brandy in their country also that they had taken away a large quantity of wampum whereby the savages were entirely impoverished again they were told to arrest the white men who brought liquor into their country and this time they were further authorized to bring their captives to new amsterdam in fetters As a reward for their enforcement work we promised that they should have a piece or of cloth for a coat beside the brandy which such persons should carry and he who brought in the first should have two pieces of this incident one historian says the piece of cloth can be understood but one wonders what these temperance advocates did with the brandy perhaps they sold it back to the dutch however was not the only chief who was destined to be concerned over the liquor question amerlean american history Is full of cases of indian leaders who saw with alarm what the white mans firewater was doing to their people and who protested usually in vain to white authorities to stop the sale of it one of the outstanding of these was chief little turtle of the allemis in indiana conqueror of generals harmar and st clair during the indian wars after the revolution after his defeat by mad anthony wayne at the battle of fallen timbers little turtle settled dovin don near vort fort wayne ind and devoted his efforts to trying to improve the lot of the miami tribesmen hy by teaching them to learn to walk in the white roans mans road and to avoid the pitfalls Is placed in that road by the white man ma n during a visit to the east in 1700 little tar turtle tartie tie visited the yearly conference of the society of friends at baltimore and appealed to them to use their influence to stop the transportation por tation of liquor to the indian country accordingly the friends addressed addres sc d a memorial to congress asking that this be done but nothing seems to have come of it for in and 1803 we find him making a personal appeal to the legislatures le gisla tures of kentucky and ohio tor for their aid in suppressing the liquor traffic among his people IS mention lention of mad anthony wayne recalls tile the tact fact that a regular ration of liquor was considered an indispensable pen sable part of the sold soldiers lers daily fare during the early days af the united stites states army and in that respect its use by waynes forces dur during ing the campaign against the tribes ot of the old northwest was in accord accordance atice with the custom of the day the original manu script orderly books of the western army commanded I 1 first by bv wayne and later by gen james wilkinson are preserved in the library of tile united states military academy at west point and in them are some entries which make curious reading in these days of the eighteenth amendment for instance on july 4 1702 1792 when headquarters of the expedition were at pittsburgh wayne issued a gen gea erat eral order for a double allowance allow ance of spirits to the troops today being the anniversary of the independence of the united stites states on february 21 1706 at greenville general genera wilkinson ordered that the soldiers were to be allowed to draw an extra gill of whisky with which to celebrate ing tons birthday the same extra at allowance was authorized for the celebration of st patricks day on march 17 although it was accompanied by a warning that the brigadier general will have no riot or drunkenness s favot Orr fer facsimiles of manuscripts courtesy courtes y united states military academy west point the next year however when headquarters were at detroit the use of liquor by the soldiers was causing so much trouble that wilkinson was forced to issue an order prohibiting its sale to them within the last year or so the state of michigan Alic higan has received widespread publicity because of its famous life for a pint liquor law espee especially lally when several women were convicted under that law and these convictions were another example of history repeating itself for the first conviction and punishment of a woman liquor seller was the result of Wilkin wilkinsons sons order of july 12 1797 tile the woman was lydia connor described as a follower of the army in the report of the court martial it at which she and two men were tried all three were found guilty but only the woman was punished what her puni punishment ashment was Is recorded thus in the orderly books the court finds the prisoner guilty ot of the charge exhibited against her and d sentences her under the general order of the instant and the tha article of the section of the rules and articles of aar ar to be ba drummed with a bottle suspended about her neck with the rogues march together with william mitchell Ml a prisoner convicted of the like offense her right hand tied to his left through the citadel in front of the troops paraded thence through the streets of f the town thence to and around the front of the barracks of the soldiery tn in fort lhernault Ler Lern thence out of th fort to and along the main street and 0 out ut of the west or southwest gate ot of the town not to return therein or within the lines and fortifications ot of the troops of the united states on penalty of receiving such punishment as 9 may y be inflicted upon her by sentence of a court martial when these sentences were presented to general wilkinson lie acted upon them thus the sentence passed upon lydia connor a notorious offender Is to be carried into eseau ti alon on at six tills this afternoon however highly merited he remits so much of the sentence passed upon Id Itchell as relates to drumming anil and he flatters himself that this instance of his clemency may not be milsap pretended ended as no further indulgences indulgence must be expected in the case of frazer the other man wilkinson was even more lenient probably because frazor frazer was very prominent in the little town of detroit and by dealing lightly with him the general may have hoped to curry favor w with ith the citizens this wilkinson was not lot an admirable character it will be remembered for later in his career while commander la in chief of theamer the amerlean american army lie was guilty of what closely bordered upon treason more aci 0 o ev even en than aaron burr upon whom the greater odium of the conspiracy with the spaniards in the southwest fell so there is reason for reading in a c cynical frame of mind the following unctuous words with respect to william frazer the commander ln in ahlet will oberee that i as he can never be indifferent to the feelings of any person should the transgression have originated in misapprehension ho he regrets the occasion otherwise he hopes the process may bo be received as evidence of the impartiality of ill his 9 administration and of the tha duty of the court and that it will have the effect to prevent a repetition of the tha offense which cannot be permitted or pardoned the measures meas urea of the gener general al since a h he too took ic command of the post have been been d directed by motives of public utility and the effects are visible to 9 all 11 acting above personal cons consideration ho abhors every ey emotion notion of a vindictive spirit and disdains the principles principles ot of a narrow and insidious policy bound by the solemn obligations of public trust and personal bohor honor he will sedulously guard tile tho interests confided to his charge and it will be a source of pleasure to win him should he in the discharge ot of his duty give satisfaction to citizens a and d aliens but this Is a secondary object the first Is the promotion ot of the national riall onal interests and the approbation of hla his superiors the commander ln in calef Is hero to render public service not to court popularity or the accommodation of individuals |