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There is an old family story about a peace pipe my father had. As my
cousin just asked about it and I wrote it up for her, I thought I should
also put it down here to remember it.
I have no idea if it is true or not. I have no idea if the peace pipe in
question actually exists or if it still exists.

My father’s family is from Vermont. They’ve been there since before
Vermont was a state. One of our ancestors was one of the first governors
of the state and into politics there before the American Revolution.
My father claimed to have a peace pipe handed down from that ancestor. He
kept it in a safety deposit box and I was never allowed to see it.
I do not know where it has gone since he died 15 years ago.
My father’s sister used to talk about the pipe and how she wished my father
had not ended up with it. So, I expect it really does exist. But, I’ve
only ever seen the sketches of it my father once made for me. (Those were
lost when my mother threw out all of my old things.)

The story of the pipe he told was this:
When the United States formed, Vermont was not one of the original 13
states. Soon after the US formed, it wanted to join and was making
preparations to do so.
As all of the state leaders got together in the capitol a group of Native
Americans showed up.
They claimed that the land was theirs and if it was to become part of the
United States they would declare war on them.
There were only about a dozen of them, but they claimed to have an army
waiting in the mountains ready to attack.
The leaders of Vermont didn’t know what to do. None of them had heard of
this tribe before. It was hard to believe there was a tribe with an army
they didn’t know. But, in the revolution many tribes had fought against
the US, and it was possible that this was one of them. But, it was also
very possible that it was just these 12 guys standing in front of them.
A vote was taken. A decision was made.
“We’ll give you $100 if you go away and never bother us again,” they told
the natives.
“Done!” their chief said.
The natives got $100 and were never heard from again.
My ancestor got a peace pipe to seal the deal. The pipe was made in the
shape of a dog, not very large, and made of clay.

It’s hard to know what that $100 would be worth now. One web site says up
to several millions of dollars. But, it depends on how you compare it. It
might only be a few thousand too.

It was more than 25 years ago that my father told me this story and made
the sketch of the pipe. At that point he said it was not in very good
shape and fairly broken.
He died 15 years ago.
I know my mother tried to sell a bunch of his old things. I don’t know if
she sold or tried to sell that.
As is true of my relationship with my mother, if I showed any interest in
it she would certainly make sure I never see it again. (You know, like the
violin she promised me when he died…)
I do wonder what has happened to it. I hope it has not been destroyed.
I may never know.