John Johnston Letter to Thomas Rotch Regarding the Treaty of Saint Mary's
This three-page letter from Indian Agent John Johnston was written to Thomas Rotch of Kendal, Ohio. Johnston provides details of the Treaty of St. Mary's, which granted the Miami $15,000 annually in exchange for nine million acres in western Ohio. An advocate for American Indians, Johnston poignantly mentions the dismay of the Mohegan Indians from New York, who, while traveling through the Upper Piqua area of Ohio en route to Indiana, learned that their tribal lands on the White River had been sold. However, Johnston also writes of the American Indians and "the too free use of ardent spirits--this evil is making dreadful havoc among them before many years." Thomas Rotch (1767-1823), a Quaker and early settler of Kendal, was active in the abolition movement and conducted slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. He also served as a correspondent for the Committee on Indian Concerns. Ohio Historical Society Image Om255_965800_038.
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