The cheating of Indians
Author’s note, a version of this story was originally published by Benjamin Franklin in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac” in the mid-eighteenth century.
What follows is my re-telling. Among the Seneca people of the Iroquois Confederacy the tradition of hospitality was elevated to a cardinal virtue. Each Seneca town maintained an empty house, known as “the stranger’s house,” for the purpose of lodging and entertaining guests and travelers through their country.
When a traveler came to a Seneca town, by tradition they would stop at the edge and call out, announcing their presence. An elder of the town would then come out to greet the traveler and escort them to the stranger’s house. The elder would then go around to the other houses in town and collect food, tobacco, clothing, or whatever else the traveler might have need of.
Once the traveler was refreshed and fed, the elders and leaders of the town would come around to visit and inquire as who the stranger was and what his business was.
If the stranger was traveling on, he would be provided with a guide and sufficient food to get him to the next town where the cycle would start over again.
Most of the eastern town dwelling tribes, from the Cherokee in the south to the northern tribes such as the Seneca, shared a similar tradition of hospitality.
A certain Seneca man, in his travels, developed a close friendship with a gentleman from among the settlers who would visit on occasion to socialize and conduct trade.
On one occasion the settler came to visit after having absent for many moons. The Seneca was of course overjoyed to see his friend and prepared a lavish feast in his honor. Later in the evening as the two men conversed at the fire the Seneca asked his friend a question.
“I have noticed,” said he “that in white men’s towns, “they close shop once
every seven days and meet in a big house. What do they do there? ‘They meet there,’ says the white man ‘to learn good things.’”
The Indian considered this for a moment, refilled and lit his pipe, and gave the following commentary.
“I do not doubt that they tell you that they meet to learn good things. They have told me the same. I do not believe them. If they net so often to learn good things, they would surely have learned some by this time. If a white man comes to one of our towns, we treat him as I do you. We dry him if he is wet. We warm him if he is cold. We feed him. We spread soft furs and blankets for him to rest and sleep on. But if I go to a white man’s house in a white man’s town and ask for food and drink, they say “get out, you Indian dog” so you see my friend, they have not learned any good things.”
The Seneca man paused to tend to his pipe, and after a moment continued his commentary.
“You see my friend, after all this time, they have not learned any good things. We do not need to meet in a big house because we are taught good things as children by our mothers. We know how to treat our fellow men. We need no meetings to teach us this.” The Seneca man continued in the rhythm of the storyteller, applying the logic that what men learn is what they do. He went on with his tale.
“No, my friend, if they met to learn good things, they would have learned some by now. I think they meet to consult the cheating of Indians. And recently I was confirmed in this suspicion.”
“Recently I went to town to sell my furs and buy coffee, flour, and so forth. There is a trader there that I normally deal with, so I approached him first. He made an offer for my furs, and then said ‘I can do no business today, today is the day we meet to learn good things’. Since I could do no business, I thought I may as well go to the meeting too.”
“I went with my trader to a big house and we sat down on a hard bench. The people there all seemed very unhappy. Soon, a man, dressed all in black, stood up on a box and began shouting at everybody. He seemed very angry. I could not understand what he was saying, but he looked much at me and my trader, so I thought he was angry at seeing me there in his meeting. I did not want him to be angry, so I left the meeting.”
The Seneca man leaves the meeting and sits on the steps of the “big house,” prepares his pipe waiting for the meeting to conclude. He thinks he hears them mention something of the fur trade and thinks it may be the subject of their meeting. He continues his tale.
“When the meeting broke up, I approached my trader, I said I hoped they had agreed to give more for furs. ‘No’, he said, ‘we cannot give so much’ he then offered me a much lower price. I spoke with several other traders and they all sang the same song, and the same price. So, you see my friend, they do not meet to learn good things. They would have learned some by now. They only meet to consult on the cheating of Indians.”
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us consider whether our deeds reflect the faith we profess.