[Footnote 7: Meaning Envoy.]

[Footnote 8: His Excellency LEVI LINCOLN, who proposed to raise
a regiment to exterminate our tribe, if we did not submit to the
Overseers.]

[Footnote 9: The Counsel for the Indians, B.F. HALLETT, Esq. could not
find a member of the House from Barnstable County, who would present
the petition. The Indians will not forget that they owed this act of
justice to Mr. CUSHING of Dorchester.]

[Footnote 10: Mr. Apes did not attend.]

AN INQUIRY INTO THE EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE
MARSHPEE INDIANS.

On the subject of the means taken to educate the Indians, I will say
a few words in addition to what has already been said, because we wish
to show that we can be grateful when we have favors bestowed on us. Up
to 1835, the State had done nothing for education in Marshpee, except
build us two School-houses in 1831.

Last winter the subject came up in the Legislature of distributing the
School fund of the State among the towns. A bill was reported to the
House, in which Marshpee was made a School District and entitled to
receive a dividend according to its population by the United States
census. Now this was meant well, and we feel obliged to the Committee
who thought so much of us as this; but had the law passed in that
shape, it would have done us no good, because we have no United States
census. The people of Marshpee, nor the Selectmen knew nothing of this
law to distribute the School fund, and our pretended missionary, Mr.
Fish, never interested himself in such matters; but our good friend
Mr. Hallett, at Boston, thought of us, and laid our claims before the
Committee, by two petitions which he got from the Selectmen and from
himself, and the Commissioner. We are told that the chairman of the
School Committee, Hon. A.H. Everett, took much interest in getting a
liberal allowance for education in Marshpee. He was once before a
warm friend to the Cherokees, and his conduct now proved that he was
sincere. He presented the petitions and proposed a law which would
give us one hundred dollars a year forever, for public Schools in
Marshpee, which was the largest sum that had been asked for by our
friend Mr. H. A number of gentlemen spoke in favor of this allowance,
and all showed that a spirit of kindness as well as justice toward the
long oppressed red men, begins to warm the hearts of those who make
our laws, and rule over us. We trust we are thankful to God for so
turn