Harry x Quaduaquid To the Most Honorable Assembly of the State of Connecticut Conv'd at Hartford May 14, 1789.

         To the Most Honorable Assembly of the State of Connecticut Conv'd at Hartford May 14, 1789.

         Your Good old Stady Friends and Brethern the Mohegan Tribe of Indians Sendeth Greeting:

         We beg Leave to lay our Concerns and Burdens at Your Excellencies Feet. The Times are Exceedingly Alter'd, Yea the Times have turn'd everything Upside down, or rather we have Chang'd the good Times, Chiefly by the help of the White People, For in Times past our Fore-Fathers lived in Peace, Love and great harmony, and had everything in Great planty. When they Wanted meat they would just run into the Bush a little ways with their Weapons and would Soon bring home good venison, Racoon, Bear and Fowl. If they Choose to have Fish, they Wo'd ony go to the River or along the Sea Shore and they wou'd presently fill their Cannoous With Veriety of Fish, Both Scaled and shell Fish, and they had abundance of Nuts, Wild Fruit, Ground Nuts and Ground Beans, and they planted but little corn and Beans and they kept no Cattle or Horses for they needed none--And they had no Contention about their lands, it lay in Common to them all, and they had but one large dish and they Cou'd all eat together in Peace and Love--But alas, it is not so now, all our Fishing, Hunting and Fowling is entirely gone, And we have now begun to Work on our Land, keep Cattle, Horses and Hogs And we Build Houses and fence in Lots, And now we plainly See that one Dish and one Fire will not do any longer for us-Some few there are Stronger than others and they will keep off the poor, weake, the halt and the Blind,k And Will take the Dish to themselves. Yea, they will rather Call White People and Molattoes to eat With them out of our Dish, and poor Widows and Orphans Must be pushed one side and there they Must Set a Craying, Starving and die.

          And so We are now Come to our Good Brethern of the Assembly With Hearts full of Sorrow and Grief for Immediate help--And therefore our most humble and Earnest Request and Petition is That our Dish of Suckuttush may be equally divided amongst us, that every one may have his own little dish by himself, that he may eat Quietly and do With his Dish as he pleases; and let every one have his own Fire.

         Your Excellencies Compliance and Assistance at This Time will make our por hearts very Glad and thankful.

          This is the most humble Request and Petition of Your True Friend & Brethern Mohegan Indians,

                                           By the Hands of our Brothers
                                                    Harry x Quaduaquid, his mark
                                                    Robert Ashop.