| Show affo Earh jDa P prohibition b i ti on 1 aft 00 14 P fo ev A pete ae A e al chief gen Wl lkinson s arder zsa ylli facsimiles of manuscripts manuscript courtesy 0 united states state military academy west watt ll i point f 9 ag AL ov as a abar atz ay ra y CL amyy yc dalf lf s o sia re da 4 2 0 sr mc M c 2 AM S sesty Sp sty ii fay ave A vel f ce celebration of cf ton Birt earthna birtha hv y T by ELMO SCOTT WATSON A we think of pro arft enforcement as a strictly modern american jear question yet the fact Is that here as in many other ier pres T 7 m ent day problems Is a curious instance of history repeating av itself the passing of the act did not bring into being the first prohibition enforcement officer that title belongs to an indian chief ud and he was given his bis appointment more than years ago agol I 1 in the middle of the se seventeenth century the dutch tn in new were vere engaged in a series of wars with the neighboring indian tribes finally a permanent treaty of peace was concluded in 1600 the leading signer of which was Ora tamin sachem of the savages living at Hacken hackenback hackensack sack who declared decard himself commissioned by the savages of tap tappan manhattan wank and Sint to act on their behalf but this treaty did not end the troubles between the two races for or in 1662 arnin whose came Is also spelled Ora tamy bratan and oraton complained to the dutch authorities of the illicit sale of brandy to his people at As the result of this protest there appeared in the official records of new kew this entry whereas Ora tare tarn chief of t backing lieneke lie and other savages have complained several times that many selfish people dare not only to sell bell brandy to the ravage in this city but also t to 0 carry whole tinkers ankers of 0 it in into to their country and peddle it out there from which if it to Is not prevented in time many troubles will arise therefore the director general and council of new not knowing for the pres pre ent nt of a better way to stop atop it authorize the said bald chief together with the sachem Matt Matto anouch to seize th the brandy brought into their country for male sale and those offering ott ering to sell it and bring them here that they may be punished as aj an example to others other the chiefs and mattano are hereby authorized to delze the brandy brought into their country tho for sale ale together with those who bring brine it and conduct them hither done at fort amsterdam in now new motherland the thirtieth day 0 of fin march 1882 1662 evidently the two chiefs were efficient prohibition enforcement officers lor for there Is no further mention of trouble tor for fifteen months but it Is evident evi denit too that prohibition then as now produced bootleggers for in june 1663 and other chiefs again appeared epp eared before the authorities complaining pla ining that brandy was still being 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 reads the record they replied that they were viere cheated by the dutch who said that the general had given his consent and showed a letter giving permission to sell brandy in their country also that they bad taken away a large quantity of wampum whereby tile the savages were entirely impoverished again they were told to arrest the chite alt 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 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 onders what these temperance advocates did with the brandy perhaps they sold gold it back to the dutch I 1 however was not the only chief who i as 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 in indiana conqueror of generals harmar and st SL clair during the indian wars after the revolution after his defeat by mad anthony wayne at the battle of fallen on timbers little turtle settled don n near fort wayne ind and devoted his efforts to trying to improve the lot of the miami tribesmen by teaching deachin them to learn to walk in the white mans road and to avoid the pitfalls placed in that road by the white man during a visit to the east cast in 1790 1706 little turtle visited the yearly conference of the society of friends a at t 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 a memorial to congress asking that this be done but nothing seems to have come of 14 it for in 1802 and 1803 we find him making a personal appeal to the legislatures of kentucky and ohio tor for their aid tn in suppressing the liquor traffic among his people mention blen tion of mad blad anthony wayne recalls the fact that a regular ration of liquor was considered an indispensable pen sable part of the soldiers dally daily tare fare during the early days of the united states army and in that respect its use by waynes forces during the campaign against the tribes of the old northwest was in accordance with the custom of the day the original manuscript orderly books P of the western army commanded first by wayne and later by gen james wilkinson tire are preserved in the library of the united states military academy at west point and in them ere are some entries which make curious reading in these days of the eighteenth amendment for instance on july 4 1792 when ben headquarters of the expedition were at Pim pittsburgh burgh wayne issued a general order for a double allowance of spirits to the troops today being the anniversary of the independence of the united states on february 21 1790 1706 at greenville general wilkinson ordered that the soldiers were to be allowed to draw an extra gill of whisky with which to celebrate washington Ing tons birthday the some extra allowance was authorized for she eel celebration e of st patricks patrick day on march 17 although it was accompanied d by a warning that the brigadier general genera I 1 will have no riot or the next year however when headquarters were at detroit the use ose of liquor by the soldiers was causing so much trouble that wilkinson was forced to issue an all order prohibiting its sale to them within the last year or so go the state of michigan has received widespread publicity because of its famous life tor for a pint liquor law especially 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 wa s the result of Wilkin wilkinsons sons order of july 12 the woman was lydia connor described as a follower of 0 the army in the report of the court martial at which she and two men were tried all three were found guilty but only the woman was punished what her punishment was Is recorded thus la ill the orderly books the court finds the prisoner guilty of 0 the charge exhibited against her and sentences sentence her under the general order of the instant and the th article of the section ol of tho the rules and articles of aar to be drummed with a 8 bottle botte suspended about her neck with the rogues march together with william mitchell a prisoner convicted of the like offense on ense her right hand tied to his left th through h the citadel in front 0 of f th the tr troops paraded thence through th the streets tire 2 a of the town awn thence to a and nd around the front of ct the barracks 0 of f the soldiery in fort lhernault Ler Lor thence out of the tort fort to and along the main street and out of the west or southwest gate of the town not to return therein or within the lines and fortifications of the troops of the united states on penalty of receiving such punishment as may be inflicted upon her by sentence of a court martial mart fai when these sentences were presented to general wilkinson he be acted upon them thus the sentence passed upon lydia connor a notorious offender Is to be carried into execl tion ut at six this afternoon however highly merited he remits so much of the sentence passed upon mitchell itchell ll as relates to drumming and he flatters himself that this instance of his clemency may not be milsap pretended ended as no further indulgence must be expected in the case of frazer the other man wilkinson was even more lenient probably because frazer was very aromi j nent in tile the little town of detroit I 1 I 1 and by dealing lightly with him the j general may have hoped to curry favor i with the citizens this wilkinson was not an admirable character it will be remembered for later in his bis career w while bile commander in chief of the amerlean american army he was guilty of what hat closely bordered upon treason treas more so eve even n th than 11 aaron nAaron burr upon whom the greater odium of uie the conspiracy with will the spaniards Spon lards in I 1 the southwest sout hw t fell so there Is reason tor for reading in a cynical frame of mind the following unctuous words i with respect to william frazer fraz r the i commander in chief will observe the that I 1 as he can never be indifferent to the th tz feelings of any person should the I 1 transgression have originated in misi apprehension he regrets the occasion I 1 otherwise he hopes bories the process may be received as am evidence of the impartiality of his administration adminis and of the duty of the court and that it will b have avo the effect to prevent it a repetition of I 1 the offense which cannot be permit I 1 ted or pardoned I 1 the measures ot of the general since he took t oo 00 k command of the post poet have been directed by motives of public u utility and the effects are visible to all acting above personal considers I 1 tion he abhors every emotion of a i vindictive spirit and disdains t ih he principles of a narrow and iceldia insidious us policy bound by the solemn obliga I 1 bione tione of public trust end and personal honor he will sedulously guard the ini tere confided to his charge and it will be a source of pleasure to him i should he in the discharge of his duty give five satisfaction to citizens and allena aliens but this Is a secondary object thel the I 1 first crt to Is the promotion of the national j interests and the approbation of his him I 1 superiors the commander in chier chief I 1 Is here berm to render publio public service not to court popularity or the accommodation of 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