A Prosperous Quaker.
95. A Colony of Quakers established in Pennsylvania.—Penn now planned to send his Quaker colony to the new home in America. He came over in person in the fall of 1682, and landed at New Castle, Delaware. Penn sailed in an open boat up the broad and beautiful Delaware River until he came to the place on which his chief city or capital was soon to be laid out. The "Quaker King," for thus he was called, was received with great joy by the people. They knew that he would keep his promise to secure full freedom of conscience and speech for all. He called it a "free colony for all mankind."
No person was compelled, as were the Pilgrims of New England, to attend any church or practise any form of religious worship. Only murder and treason were punished with death. Before this Penn had written to the colonists, saying, "You shall be governed by laws of your own making; I shall not usurp the right of any, or oppress his person."
96. Penn selects a Location for his Capital; Philadelphia, "the City of Brotherly Love."—On a neck of land between the Schuylkill and the Delaware, Penn selected a site for his "faire and greene country towne"—a city of refuge and a home of free speech and conscience. And he generously bought the land from some Swedes, who had bought it from the Indians.
Penn now laid out his city and gave it the Bible name of Philadelphia, which means "brotherly love." As he stood with his friends on the high ground and beheld the country in its autumn foliage, the good man said: "I have seen the finest cities of Europe, but I never saw so beautiful a place for a city as this."
97. His Kind Treatment of the Indians.—Penn knew how cruelly some of the other colonies had treated the Indians. This should not be done in Pennsylvania. The Indians must be fairly dealt with. Their lands were not to be taken away by force, but must be openly bought and honestly paid for. If a settler wronged an Indian, he was to be punished. In short, in this Quaker colony they were all to live together as brothers.
That everything might be done in a business-like way, Penn sent word to various tribes of Indians that he would meet them on a certain day to make a treaty. He wanted them to hear what he had to say. He sent word to them that he was a man of peace, and no firearms would be brought to the meeting. The Indians gladly accepted Penn's invitation.
98. The Celebrated Treaty with the Indians.—On the chosen day they came from far and near. They met under the branches of a great elm tree a little north of Philadelphia. This giant son of the forest, called ever afterward "The Treaty Tree," became an object of deep interest. It was protected with extreme care. During the Revolutionary war, even the British officers posted guards around it to prevent its branches from being used for firewood. The venerable tree blew down some ninety years ago. Its rings proved it to be two hundred and eighty-three years of age. A monument with a suitable inscription now marks the spot where Penn and the Indians met to pledge in "unbroken faith."
Penn's Meeting with the Indians.