Description:

Moravian missionary and Indian agent John Heckwelder reports on the news of a Lenape chief who allied himself with the United States during the Revolutionary War

NATIVE AMERICAN Letter Twice Signed, "John Heckewelder," 1 page, 6.5" x 8", Baltimore, December 9, 1797, addressed in his hand on the integral transmittal leaf to "William Holmes (an Indian) Philadelphia." Expected folds, light soiling, else very good.

Heckwelder writes in full: "Inclosed is my Certificate [not present] of the Death of the late Indian Chieff [sic] called (the Big Cat) The Papers you left in pledge with Mr. Van Veach, together with your Note of Doll[ars] 20 which was to be paid before the Papers should be delivered up; are sent to a Gentleman of our Society & from Nazareth) now in Philadelphia (a Mr. Jacob Eyerly) Member of Assembly who has taken Lodgings at Mr Leshers Tavern in Second Street near the Corner of Race Street, where you may receive them on paying the above Sum, as Mentioned in the Note."

John Heckwelder (1743-1823) was born in Bedford, England, emigrating to Pennsylvania in 1754. He apprenticed as a cooper, but following a visit to Ohio with a colonial Indian agent, he began working for several Moravian missions in Pennsylvania in 1762. In 1771 Heckwelder became a full-time evangelist to the Indians, working as an assistant to Moravian missionary David Zeizberger (1721-1808) for fifteen years. His extensive knowledge of Native America affairs brought him to the notice of the newly-formed federal government in 1792 when he accompanied General Rufus Putnam to treat with the Indians at Vincennes. The following year the War Department commissioned him to treat with tribes on the Great Lakes, and from 1797 to 1800 he lived in Ohio, working as a postmaster and justice of the peace. In 1810 he retired and spent his later years in literary pursuits, becoming a member of both the American Philosophical Society and the American Antiquarian Society. Perhaps Heckwelder's most important contribution was his work translating the creation myths of the Lenape people and writing on their customs and manners. His published works include Account of the History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States (1818); Narrative of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Delawares and Mohegan Indians (1820); and Names which the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians gave to Rivers, Streams, and Localities within the States of Pennsylvania. New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, with their Signification (1822).

Big Cat (d. c. 1797) was the Lenape name for Henque Puschees (and also known as Kelemand or Lieut-Colonel Henry), a Lenape Sachem. During the Revolutionary War, unlike many of the Lenape and other tribes along the Great Lakes, allied himself with the United States. He was a signer of the 1785 Treaty of Fort McIntosh and is is mentioned briefly in David Zeisberger's diary on November 17, 1788 ( KAPPLER, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treties, 1904 2:8; Diary of David Zeisberger... 1855, 456-7).

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