Prevod
Leta 1786 je v North Bendu v Ohiu, blizu sotočja rek Miami in Ohio, stala majhna stavba, nad katero je plapolala zastava z zvezdami in progami. Bila je ena izmed utrjenih postojank, zgrajenih za varovanje izkrčenih zemljišč med prihajanjem naseljencev, vendar je bila prej trgovska postaja kakor utrdba, saj je bila vlada do rdečekožcev miroljubna. Francozi iz doline Misisipija pa se niso mogli sprijazniti s širjenjem oblasti saškega ljudstva, prav tako pa so Angleži v Kanadi zavidali blaginjo pokrajin, ki so jih šele pred kratkim izgubili. Ko se je razvedelo, da nameravajo Združene države s Šavniji skleniti pogodbo, so imeli tako Francozi kakor Angleži med njimi svoje odposlance.
Bilo je tisto blago vreme, ki se za nekaj časa vrne v oktobru, ko Cantantowit iz svojega domovanja na jugozahodu blagoslovi deželo z razkošnimi barvami, otožnimi vonjavami razkrajanja, nežnimi sapicami in mehko svetlobo — čas za mir; toda posadka v utrdbi se je zavedala, da je položaj negotov. Šavniji so se utaborili okoli njih in zrak sta polnila rezgetanje njihovih ponijev in lajež njihovih psov. Spustiti jih v utrdbo bi pomenilo izzvati pokol; pustiti jih zunaj, potem ko so jih sami povabili, pa napovedati vojno.
Polkovnik George Rogers Clarke iz Virginije, ki je poveljeval posadki, se je posmehoval strahu svojih mož in ni hotel prisluhniti njihovim prošnjam, naj srečanje odloži ali ga prestavi drugam. Ob dogovorjeni uri so odprli vrata in Indijanci so vstopili. Po ustaljenem obredu so pokadili pipo miru, vendar so bili rdečekožci čemerni in predrzni ter so očitno iskali povod za prepir. Clarke je pojasnil, da si belci želijo le miru, in pozval modrece, naj spregovorijo v imenu svojega plemena. Krepak poglavar je vstal, prezirljivo ošinil častnika in njegovo malo stražo ter z dolgimi koraki stopil do mize, za katero je sedel Clarke, in nanjo vrgel dva pasova iz vampuma — pas miru in pas vojne. »Ponujamo vam ta pasova,« je dejal. »Veste, kaj pomenita. Vzemite tistega, ki vam je ljubši.«
To je bila namerna žalitev in odkrito kljubovanje. Obe strani sta to vedeli in mnogi možje so zadrževali dih. Clarke je brezskrbno dvignil pas vojne s konico svoje palice in ga zalučal med zbrane poglavarje. Vsi v prostoru so planili na noge in zgrabili za orožje. Tedaj je Clarke s strogostjo, ki je mejila že na divjost, z ukazovalno kretnjo pokazal proti vratom in zaklical: »Psi, poberite se!«
Njegova prisebnost in navidezna samozavest sta Indijancem preprečili, da bi uresničili svoje zle namene, saj sta jih prepričali, da ima v bližini čete, s katerimi se niso bili pripravljeni spopasti. Z njegovo močjo in premetenostjo so že imeli grenke izkušnje, zato so v strahu, da jim je nastavil past, v zmedi pobegnili. Kmalu zatem je bila pogodba potrjena.
Izvirnik
In 1786 a little building stood at North Bend, Ohio, near the junction of the Miami and Ohio Rivers, from which building the stars and stripes were flying. It was one of a series of blockhouses built for the protecting of cleared land while the settlers were coming in, yet it was a trading station rather than a fort, for the attitude of government toward the red men was pacific. The French of the Mississippi Valley were not reconciled, however, to the extension of power by a Saxon people, and the English in Canada were equally jealous of the prosperity of those provinces they had so lately lost. Both French and English had emissaries among the Shawnees when it had become known that the United States intended to negotiate a treaty with them.
It was the mild weather that comes for a time in October, when Cantantowit blesses the land from his home in the southwest with rich colors, plaintive perfumes of decay, soft airs, and tender lights a time for peace; but the garrison at the fort realized that the situation was precarious. The Shawnees had camped about them, and the air was filled with the neighing of their ponies and the barking of their dogs. To let them into the fort was to invite massacre; to keep them out after they had been summoned was to declare war.
Colonel George Rogers Clarke, of Virginia, who was in command, scoffed at the fears of his men, and would not give ear to their appeals for an adjournment of the meeting or a change of the place of it. At the appointed hour the doors were opened and the Indians came in. The pipe of peace was smoked in the usual form, but the red men were sullen and insolent, and seemed to be seeking a cause of quarrel. Clarke explained that the whites desired only peace, and he asked the wise men to speak for their tribe. A stalwart chief arose, glanced contemptuously at the officer and his little guard, and, striding to the table where Clarke was seated, threw upon it two girdles of wampum--the peace-belt and the war-belt. “We offer you these belts,” he said. “You know what they mean. Take which you like.”
It was a deliberate insult and defiance. Both sides knew it, and many of the men held their breath. Clarke carelessly picked up the war-belt on the point of his cane and flung it among the assembled chiefs. Every man in the room sprang to his feet and clutched his weapon. Then, with a sternness that was almost ferocious, Clarke pointed to the door with an imperative action, and cried, “Dogs, you may go!”
The Indians were foiled in their ill intent by his self-possession and seeming confidence, which made them believe that he had forces in the vicinity that they were not prepared to meet. They had already had a bitter experience of his strength and craft, and in the fear that a trap had been set for them they fled tumultuously. The treaty was ratified soon after.
