DELAWARE (from the Delaware River). One of the most important tribes of Algonquian stock, originally occupying what is now New Jersey and the Delaware River basin, eastern Pennsylvania, and southeastern New York. They call themselves Lenape. 'true men,' and claimed and were accorded precedence over nearly all the other tribes of Algonquian kinship. They had a number of subtribes in three principal divi sions, of which the Munsee (q.v.) r olf tribe differed considerably from the others. They were friendly with the Dutch and Swedish colo nists, and in 1682 made the celebrated treaty with William Penn, which was faithfully kept on both sides for over half a century. German :Moravian missionaries, among whom were the devoted Zinzendorf, Zeisherger, and Ileckewelder, labored among them with great success. Through the aggression of the later settlers, backed by the powerful Iroquois, they were finally compelled to retire to the Susquehanna and upper Ohio region. in consequent,: of which they became em bittered against the English colonists and threw their whole strength with the Freneh side in the French and Indian War of In the Revolution they joined with the British against the Amerieans, and. with other tribes of the
Ohio Valley, continued the struggle until crushed by Wayne and eompelled to accept time treaty of Greenville, by which, in 1795, the allied tribes ceded nearly all their ancient claims in what is now Pennsylvania and Ohio. During this strug gle oeeurred the massacre of the peaceful Chris Dan Delawares at Cnadenhuetten, Ohio, in con sequence of which the remaining convert, tied to canada. fly successive removals the larger por tion of the tribe drifted from Indiana to Slis ,,,uri and Kansas, a band settling by Spanish permission in eastern Texas. The main body removed in 1867 from Kansas to the Indian Territory and became incorporated with the Cherokee Nation. The whole tribe, including the Alunsee, numbers now about 1750, distributed as follows: Incorporated in Cherokee Nation, 780; oil (late) Wichita reservation, oklahoma, 95; Alunsee, with Chippewa. in Kansas, 55( ?) ; Mnnsee, with Stoekbridge. at Green Iiay, Wis.. 210 ( ?) 'Sloravians of the Thames,' Ontario, 355; 'Alunsees of the Thames,' Ontario, 120; Delaware, with Six Nations, on Grand River reserve, Ontario, 135.