It is interesting that the letter makes no mention of who sent it. 
Where is the signature? I have a list of Indian Children who attended 
the school as well, with their Native names. 

Anita 



-- marsha moses <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
OH, MY GOSH, Katherine.   Is this for real?  I am blown away if it 
is.  
Were there Indians who could convey these thoughts?  Marsha in Wv

Katharine Harbury wrote:

>There was indeed input from  Native Americans but has to know where 
to
>look.  One famous example, shown below, was given in June 1744 to the
>College of William and Mary in response to their invitation that the 
Six
>Nations send twelve boys to the school: 
>
>"Sirs,
> We know that you highly esteem the kind of Learning taught in those
>Colleges, and that the Maintenance of our Young Men, while with you,
>would be very expensive to you.  We are convinc'd, therefore, that 
you
>mean to do us Good by your Proposal; and we thank you heartily.  But
>you, who are wise, must know that different Nations have different
>Conceptions of things; and you will therefore not take it amiss, if 
our
>Ideas of this kind of Education happen not to be the same with yours.
>We have had some Experience of it.  Several of our Young People were
>formerly brought up at the Colleges of the Northern Provinces; they 
were
>instructed in all your Sciences; but, when they came back to us, they
>were bad Runners, ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, 
unable
>to bear either Cold or Hunger, knew neither how to build a Cabin, 
take a
>Deer, or kill an Enemy, spoke our Language imperfectly, were 
therefore
>neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counsellors; they were totally
>good for nothing.  We are, however, not the less oblig'd by your kind
>Offer, tho' we decline accepting it; and, to show our grateful Sense 
of
>it, if the Gentlemen of Virginia will send us a Dozen of their Sons, 
we
>will take Care of their Education; instruct them in all we know, and
>make Men of them."
>
>IF I recall correctly, the source is housed among the special
>collections at the College of William and Mary, but it can also be 
found
>in printed books, such as "Letters of a Nation" by Andrew Carroll or
>"Touch the Earth" by T.C. McLuhan.  
>
>Swem's index also lists names of some of the Indian students at the
>College of William and Mary if anyone is interested- here are a few 
of
>the names listed for the years 1754 and 1755 - Gideon and John 
Langston,
>Charles Murphy, John Montour, William Squirrel, and John and Thomas
>Sampson.  [See vol. 6 of "William and Mary Quarterly," first series, 
No.
>3, p. 188; vol. 1 of ditto, 2nd series, No.1,  pp. 32, 35, 36, 38, 
39.]
>
>  
>
>  
>