Chief Pontiac, 7 September 1765

PONTIAC or OBWAANDI'EYAAG (c. 1714/25 - 1769). Document signed with his manual of a turtle, Detroit, 7 September 1765.

Two pages on a single leaf, 325 x 195mm (separated at some folds with pinholes at fold intersections, some reinforced with paper with glue residue evident, marginal wear and toning, toned along margins).

A 1765 deed signed by Ottawa Chief Pontiac. Pontiac rose to prominence in 1763 when he laid siege to the British post at Detroit. Although unsuccessful, his attack inspired other tribes to join in a general rebellion against the British, who had only recently assumed control of the former French possessions west of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi. It became known as Pontiac's Rebellion. Although it would be nearly a year before Pontiac would enter into formal peace negotiations, the present document, a deed for eighty acres on the south side of the Detroit River, suggests that he was making concrete overtures to the British. Done in the presence of George Croghan, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Pontiac conveys the property to Lt. Edward Abbott, a member of Royal Artillery … as a free Gift, without any Lien, Hindrance or Molestation from us or our Heirs." In 1769 Abbott sold the parcel for "One Hundred Pounds New York Currency," to Antoine Lewis Labardee—the deed accomplished on the verso of the present document at Detroit, on 14 September. Provenance: Edward Abbott – Antoine Lewis Labardee – C. F. Labardie (inscription on mat, 1 Febraury 1886)