he was most enthusiastically received, his fame as a sufferer for righteousness' sake, and as an eager philanthropist, having preceded him.
A day of general rejoicing was succeeded by a solemn leave-taking of the colonists, and then, embarking on the broad waters of the Delaware, Penn made what resembled a royal progress from one station to another, till he came, toward the end of November, to the borders of his own dominions. His first act on landing in Pennsylvania, as the new districts had already been christened, was to hold a solemn meeting with the Indian chiefs, and make with them that treaty of peace which was followed by such excellent results for his people. Beneath a large elm tree at Shackamaxon, on the site of the modern Kensington, the sons of the forest, hitherto accustomed to very different treatment from the white man, awaited the approach of him whom they looked upon as a messenger from the Great Spirit in awestruck silence. As Penn approached, the oldest sachem rose and bade him welcome, adding that the nations of the Delaware were ready to listen to his words.
"We meet," replied Penn, as he stood a little in advance of the chief of his colonists, "on the broad pathway of good works and good will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. I will not call you children, for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor brothers only, for brothers differ. The friendship between you and me I will not compare to a chain, for that the rains might rust, or a falling tree break. We are the same as if one man's body were divided into two parts; we are all one flesh and blood."
This speech, which has become historical, and is proudly quoted in every account of the founding of Philadelphia, appealed direct to the very hearts of those to whom it was addressed. Here, at last, was one who owned true fellowship with them, who would feel as they felt, who would protect them, and, better still, whom they themselves could aid. Again their spokesman stood forth, and, in the name of every tribe, from the Schuylkill and the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Juniatta, replied, "We will live in love with Father Onas (the native name given to Penn) and his children, as long as moon and sun shall endure." The treaty between the two parties was then signed, the Indians adding the emblem of their tribes to the names of the white men; presents were exchanged, and the solemn scene was at an end. We may add, however, that the peace thus cemented was, unlike most compacts with the sons of the soil, preserved inviolate as long as the
