Narragansett, the sachem; in the Delaware dialect,sakiam;in Micmac,saku-
mow;and in Pnobscot, sagamo) was limited in four ways. First, “the
Werowance himselfe plants Corne, makes his owne Bow and Arrowes, his
Canoo, his Mantle, Shooes, and what ever else belongs unto him, as any
other common Indian.” There was little distinction of wealth; if a “chief ” had
more, he was also expected to give more away. As one modern historian has
said, “Chiefs were men with large responsibilities and few resources.”
Second, the leader made no decisions without the approval of his
counselors. As William Penn wrote, “nothing of Moment is undertaken, be
it War, Peace, Selling of Land or Traffick, without advising with them.”
Major decisions required the unanimous approval of the whole community,
after hours or even days of discussion and speechmaking that seem like
the accounts of Greek assemblies in Thucydides. From this we get the con-
cept and probably the word “caucus.” The Algonquian cau’-cau-as’u
became under Captain John Smith’s pen caw-cawassoughwith roughly the
meaning we give it. As William Penn poetically wrote of the Shawnee
chiefs, “they move by the breath of their people.” In 1755 Colonel James
Smith was captured by the Indians and had a chance to observe their orga-
nization under rather intense circumstances. He reported that the Indian
chief was:
neither a supreme ruler, monarch or potentate—he can neither make war
or peace, leagues or treaties—He cannot impress soldiers, or dispose of
magazines.—He cannot adjourn, prorogue or dissolve a general assembly,
nor can he refuse his assent to their conclusions, or in any manner con-
troul them.... The chief of a nation has to hunt for his living, as any
other citizen.Perhaps the best observation on the power (or lack of it) of Indian
chiefs, was made among the Delawares in the eighteenth century by
Reverend David Zeisberger. A chief, he wrote, “may not presume to rule
over the people, as in that case he would immediately be forsaken by the
whole tribe, and his counsellors would refuse to assist him. He must ingra-
tiate himself with the people and stand by his counsellors. Hence, it is that
chiefs are generally friendly, gracious, hospitable, communicative, affable
16 THE BIRTH OF AMERICA