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' ''*^ ^*«l*»^M:Htw.iiT.^ I LONDON : PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFBIARS. ^ REMARKS ON THE / U^' INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA, IN A LETTER TO AN EDINBURGH REVIEWER. % 'I LONDON PRINTED FOR THOMAS AND GEORGE UNDERNVOOD, 32, FLEET-STREET. y I 1822. r \ TO THE EDINBURGH REVIEWER, WHO NOTICES THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA, NO. 73, PAGE 268. Sir, In the article that occasions this address there are some assertions which, if true, would render the history of the Indians of North America of still greater interest than even now it is felt to be, by all who study it. As, however, conclusions directly opposed to yours have forced themselves upon the minds of many individuals, both in Europe and in the other hemisphere, I take the liberty of reviewing your statements. The passage which is the subject of this letter is in pages 267, 268, of the 73d Number of the Edin- burgh Review. It is in the following words : — " From all that we learn of the state of the ** aborigines of this great continent from this vo- " lume, and from every other source of informa- " tion, it is evident they are making no advances w « (( it (( (( « it (( « ti it it <( (( (( u tt it it it tt tt it ti tt cc (( towards civilization. It is certainly a striking and mysterious fact, that a race of men should thus have continued for ages stationary in a state of the rudest barbarism. That tendency to improvement, a principle that has been thought more than perhaps any other to distinguish man from the lower animals, would seem to be to- talli/ wanting in them. Generation after ge- neration passes away, and no trace of advance- ment distinguishes the last from the first. The mighty wilderness they inhabit may be traversed from end to end, and hardly a vestige be dis- covered that marks the hand of man. It might naturally have been expected, that, in the course of ages, some superior genius would have arisen among them, to inspire his countrymen with a desire to cultivate the arts of peace, and establish some durable civil institution ; or that, at least, during the long period since the Europeans have been settled amongst them, and taught them, by such striking examples, the benefits of in- dustry and social order, they would have been tempted to endeavour to participate in blessings thus providentially brought within their reach. But all has been unavailing : and it now seems certain that the North American Indians, like the bears and wolves, are destined to fly at the ! " approach of civilized man, and to fall before his " renovating hand, and disappear from the face " of the earth, along with those ancient forests, *• which alone afford them sustenance and shelter." It is a cruel sophism, after debasing a people by bad governing and by hard treatment, to argue from their degradation that they are essentially not fit to share the benefits of civil institutions. You seem to have adopted this narrow view; and, unhappily, the condition to which a few of the In- dians are reduced, has obscured their finer qua- lities : their best friends cannot deny the truth of many remarks made to their disadvantage ; and proof of their true and natural capacity, if not oppressed, seems sometimes to depend on conjec- tural reasoning. But you have done more than speak harshly of ikjew of the Indians in their present condition. The past and the future are equally dark in your melancholy estimate of their genuine character and of their prospects. You anticipate the ex- tinction of all their tribes ; and you declare it to be falling upon them through their own defects. Yet the task is far from difficult, of showing that they are not " exceptions*' to the whole race of mankind, whom, in our Bibles, we find declared to be one blood, and for whom our liturgy puts up B 2 a common prayer: nor was it to have been ex- pected, that a publication, known as tlic Edin- burgh Review has been for its able exposure of this species of logical error, in its defence of the negroes in the West Indies, should have com- mitted the same fliult with regard to those who, in- their worst state (never being slaves), are infinitely less degraded. From what sources you have derived informa- tion carrying you to different reflections upon this kindred subject of the character of the Indians of North -America, it is, I am inclined to think, in vain to seek. For one, I promise it earnest ex- amination when produced. The grounds of your conclusion, that " genera- " tion after generation of Indians passes away, and ** no trace of the advancement distinguishes the " last from the first ;** and your surprise, that " no " superior genius should have arisen aftiong them, " to inspire his countrymen with a desire to culti- " vate the arts of peace," are, I am satisfied, equally matter of fruitless curiosity. It is so clear that these conclusions are erroneous, that you cannot have done more than consider the probable ca- pacity of the most degraded of the Indians, as you have found them described by some recent tra- vellers, and by their deadly enemies. So far indeed from its being true, that there has never appeared amongst them men disposed to raise their conntry- men from tlie misery under wliich, for centuries, they have been sinking, nothing is easier than the proof that at all times they have duly estimated the absolute value of European endowments, and the necessity that they should themselves acquire them, in order to prolong their own existence. The examples illustrative of this assertion, which now fill a few back scenes in history, are too familiar to need enumeration ; the sublime language in which the Logans, the Philips, the Brants, and the Tecumthes expressed their noble aspirations to a better fate, will never fail to be listened to with respect. Although you arc perfectly unaware of the fact, it is nevertheless not to be denied, that at all times, since the first settlement of Europeans in America, traces of advancement in the Indians have been distinguishable, and men " of superior genius** have arisen among them, capable and desirous of inspiring their people with wishes to establish durable civil institutions. Instead of repeating what is to be readily found in general histories, it m^iy be more acceptable to produce, from earlier accounts, a few proofs of what Indians have desired to be, and what, under i 6 f- it} good auspices, they have, from time to time, ac- tually become. The first reception of Europeans in America was kind beyond hope. The first adventurers were almost worshipped as angels and deities. Wherever a contrary disposition prevailed towards us, it may uniformly be traced to violences which we committed. From the St. Lawrence to Vir- ginia, settlers and traders were constantly in- creasing during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and the contemporary memoirs, com- piled hy ourselves, abouiid in statements advan- tageous to the character of the natives, and deeply disgraceful to us. It is also the interesting testi- mony of a Moravian*, who lived thirty years among them, that a mournful subject of their traditions, which he has heard repeatedly during their long winters, is the hard returns they have ever received for their most unbounded kindness. The just revolution in public feeling produced in the United States of America, and elsewhere, by the writings of Heckewelder, Morse, and other recent authors, proving these points, may perhaps justify the omnion, that their exertions will save the Indians who still inhabit the western continent. -..ili * Heckewelder. iifiU'iiik. The following extracts, from books of undis- puted authority, form a part of a considerable collection of original papers on this subject, which it is intended to print if the present appeal be favourably received. The first is from " A shorte and briefe Narra- " tion of the two Navigations and Discoveries to ** the north-west Parts, called New France. First ** translated out of French into Italian, by that " famous learned man Gio. Bapt. Ramutius ; " and now turned into English by lohn Florio ; " worthy the reading of all Venturers, Travellers, " and Discoverers." 1580 *. The dedication is dated at " Oxenford,** in which university the translator Florio seems to have been a resident; he was afterwards one of the gentlemen of the chamber to the Queen. " Here is the description," says he, " of a " country no less fruitful and pleasant in all re- " spects than is England, France, or Germany. " The people, though simple and rude in manners, " and destitute of the knowledge of God, or any " good laws, yet of nature gentle and tractable, " and most apt to receive the christian religion, * The reference to this book was given to the writer by a gentleman who has an interesting work in forwardness on the eloquence of the Indians of North America. 8 ^1 E li- ** and to subject themselves to some good govern- "ment." . The following passages are from the translated text of Ramuzio. " The first Relation of James *« Cartier, 1534." " In Saint Martin's Creek we saw a great num- " ber of the wild men j they went on shore, " making a great noise, beckoning us to land, " showing us certain skins upon pieces of wood ; " but because we had but one only boat, we would " not go to them, but went to the other sid€. " They seeing us flee, followed, dancing and " making many signs of joy and mirth, as it were " desiring our friendship ; saying, in their tongue, " * Napeu tondamen assurtah,* with many other " that we understood not. But we having but " one boat would not stand to their curtesie, but made signs to them to turn back j but with fury they came about us, and we shot off two pieces " among them, and terrified them. The next day ** they came to us, making signs they came to " traffic with us. We likewise made signs to " them that we wished them no evil, and two of " our men carried to them knives, with other iron " ware, and a red hat for their captain. They " seemed very glad to have our. ware, and other " things ; and came to our two men still dancing. <( « ** with many other ceremonies. They gave us ** whatsoever they had, not keeping any thing, " that they were constrained to go back again " naked, and made us signs that the next day they " would bring more skins." P. 15. Afterwards, " more than 300 men, women, and " children came to us very friendly, rubbing our " arms with their own hands, then would they lift " them up toward heaven, showing many signs of ** gladness ; and in such wise were we assured one " of another, that we very familiarly began to " traffic of whatsoever they had, till they had ** nothing but their naked bodies ; for they gave " us all whatsoever they had, and that was but of " small value. We perceived that this people " might very easily be converted to our religion." P. 18. In this first relation are other similar accounts ; and Cartier took with him to France two sons of a native chief, by the consent of the father. In the next year he went again to Canada, with the two Indians safe ; and met with people through- out the country equally wpU inclined to friendly intercourse. At Hochelaga * " all the women and ** the maidens gathered themselves together, part " of which had their arm j full of young children ; " and as many as could came to rub our faces, * On the St. Lawrence. i ■ i ; C( « 10 *• our arms, and what part of the body they could touch, showing us the best countenance that * possible was, desiring us with their signs that it * would please us to touch their children." P. 52. " As far forth as we could perceive and under- stand by this people, it were an easy tiling to ** bring them to some familiarity and civility^ and to " make them learn what one would. The Lord God *^for his mercy's sake set thereunto his helping hand " when he seeth cause. Amen,'* P. 60. Cartier built a fort in this country, and it is clearj from his own account, that he took pos- session in defiance of the wishes of the chiefs ; and kind and true as his testimony of these people is, he cannot be acquitted of having acted towards them with fraud and violence. One of the In- dians, who had gone to France in the preceding year, seems to have penetrated through the de- signs of the French, but was unable to instil his cautions into his countrymen; and Cartier was enabled to entrap the principal chief and several others, whom he would have his readers believe to have been very speedily reconciled to their destiny. He states that the people made promises of grateful return if their leaders should be brought back again safe. They were never restored to their homes, and the French suffered, during many years, from the enmity which tl^eir treachery ex- 11 cited. Our own countrymen give a similar testi- mony of their discoveries. The following domestic scene is taken from an early account of a voyage in 1605. It is a beauti- ful illustration of the good dispositions of the Indians of North America. " The savages from above all their confines " came to see the manners of the Frenchmen, and lodged themselves willingly near them ; also, in certain variances happened amongst themselves, " they did make Monsieur De Monts judge of " their debates j which is a beginning of voluntary " subjection, from whence a hope may be con- ceived, that these people will soon conform them- selves to our manner of living. " It chanced one day, that a savage named Bi- " tuani, finding good relish in the kitchen of M. " De Monts, settled himself therein, doing there " some service ; and yet did make love to a maid " by way of marriage, the which not being able to '* have with the good liking and consent of her " father, he took her to wife by force. Thereupon " a great quarrel ensueth, and in the end she was taken away from him, and returned to her fa- ther. A very great debate was like to follow, '* were it not that Bituani, complaining to M. De " Monts for this injury, the others came to defend ** their cause, (to wit, the father, assisted with « « « (( « (( 12 i' \ " his friends) saying that he would not give his ** daughter to a man, unless he had some means " by his industry to nourish and maintain both her " and the children that should proceed of the " marriage ; as for him, he saw not any thing that " he could do ; that he loitered about the kitchen " of the said M. De Monts, not exercising himself ** a hunting. Finally, that he should not have the ** maid, and ought not to complain. M. De Monts " having heard both parties, told them, that he ** detained him not, and that Bituani was a diligent " fellow, and should go a hunting to make proof " of what he could do. But yet for all that, they " did not restore the maid unto him, until he had " shown effectually that which M. De Monts pro- " mised of him. Finally, he goeth a fishing, taketh " good store of salmons, the maid is re-delivered " unto him, and the next day following he canie, " clothed with a fair new gown of bevers, well set ** on with matachias, to the fort, which was then a " building for the Frenchmen, bringing his wife " with him, as triumphing for the victory, having " gotten her, as it were, by dint of sword, whom " he liath ever since loved dearly, contrary to the *' custom of the other savages ; giving us to under- ** stand, that the thing which is gotten with pain, " ought to be much cherished." — Nova Franciay in 1605, p. 22, translated in 1609 hy P- Erondelle, 13 In the first report of Sir Walter Raleigli's ex- pedition to Virginia, it is stated by his captain and followers in 1584, that they * " were entertained " with all love and kindness, and with as much ** bounty (after the manner of the natives,) as they " could possibly devise. They found the people " most gentle, loving, and faithful, voitl of all " guile and treason, and such as live after the " manner of the golden age." The same report continues, " there came to us Granganimeo, the " king's brother, with forty or fifty of his people. " When we came to the shore to him with our " weapons he never moved from his place, nor " even mistrusted any harm to be offered from " US; but sitting still, he beckoned us to come " and sit by him, which we performed j and being " seated, he made all signs of joy and welcome, " striking on his head and breast, and afterwards " on ours, to show we were all one, smiling and '* making show, the best he could, of all love and " familiarity. A day or two after this we fell to " trading with them, exchanging some things that ** we had for chamois, buff, and deer skins. He " afterwards brought his wife with him to the " ships, his daughter, and two or three children. ** His wife wore pearls in her ears, whereof we de- " liver your worship a little bracelet. Granga- * Hakluvt. 14^ I t I W^ ' !i " nimeo was very just of his promise ; for many ** times we delivered him merchandize upon his " word, but ever he came within the day, and ** performed his promise." ' A settlement was made here, but the settlers seem to have soon outraged the rites of hospitality so bountifully shown to them. Within two years after the date of this report. Sir Francis Drake ♦ touched upon the same coast, when he found the colony. They were in distress, and had almost despaired of relief. Sir Francis consented to leave two or three ships with them, that if in some reasonable- time they heard not from home, they might return. But a storm arising drove most of the fleet suddenly to sea. " Those on " land perceiving this, hasted to those three sail which were appointed to be left there ; and for fear they should be left behind, they left all things ** confusedly, as if they had been chased from " thence by a mighty army. And no doubt so they " mere, for the hand of God came upon them, for the " cruelties and outrages committed by some of them " upon the native inhabitants of that country** ' Such is the statement in Hakluyt, prebendary of Bristol, an earnest supporter of the early colonists, and the faithful compiler of their histories. This evidence alone is but too complete, and it is mor- * Hakluyt, « « 15 tifying and needless to accumulate the parallel examples which abound in this and other books. Early in the seventeenth century an English commander carried off six Indian chiefs from New England, whom he sold in Spain for slaves ; and laid the foundation for wars, which successive in- juries "perpetuated. The instances are painfully numerous of violences committed by the early colonists and traders, which have no justification in the conduct of the natives. In Harriot's account of the first expedition to Virginia, he says of the natives, whom he knew personally, " that in respect of us they are a people " poor, and for want of skill in the knowledge and " use of our things, do esteem our trifles before " things of greater value. Notwithstanding in their proper manner, considering what means they have, they seem very ingenious. Although " they have no such tools, nor crafts, sciences and " arts, as we ; yet in those things they do, they " show excellency of wit. And by how much they, " upon due consideration, shall find our manner " of knowledges to exceed theirs in perfection and " speed for execution, by so much the more is it " probable that they should desire our friendships " and love, and have the greater respect for plea- " sing and obeying us. Whereby may be hoped, " if means of good government be used, that they (( « »WH^^PV ' ■ ■■■»M * li 16 " may in that time be brought to civility, and the " embracing of true religion." — Hakluyt, p. 7^9. ** Master Harriot** appears to have been a worthy follower of Raleigh ; his account of Vir- ginia, preserved by Hakluyt, deserves the con- sideration of all who are curious inquirers into the early settlements of America. The advice which Lord Bacon gives with regard to the natives of new countries, was probably sug- gested to his mind by such narratives, and in consequence of the known injustice and indiscre- tion with which they were treated by Europeans. " If you plant where savages are,** says his lord- ship, " do not only entertain them with trifles and " gingles, but use them justly and graciously.**— Essay 33, Of Plantation. The harmlessness of these people is well shown in the following short passage. Early in the seventeenth century, when the settlers of Cam- bridge, in Massachusets, " had scarce houses to " shelter themselves, and no doors to hinder the " Indians access to all they had in them j yet did " the Lord so awe their hearts, that although they '^Jreqtcenied the Englishmen's places of abode, " where their whole substance, weak wives and " little ones, lay open to their plunder during " their absence, being whole days at Sabbath as- ** semblies, yet had they none of their food 17 ** or stuff diminishctl, neither children nor wives ** hurt in tlie least measure ; although the Indians " came commonly to them at those times much ** hungry belly (as they used to say), and were ** then in number and strength beyond the En- "glishby far*." With respect to the degree in which Christianity has been estimated by the Indians, it may for the present be sufficient, in addition to the foregoing testimonies, to state, that in 1655, the Onondagaes sent deputies to Quebec, accompanied by a large number of their nation, to solicit missionaries of the French, who were accordingly sent to them j and several of the heads of that tribe became proselytes t. Their disposition in this respect, and their opinions of the advantages of an ac- quaintance with the arts of European civilization, may also be fairly collected from the following narratives. The first is taken from a volume pre- served amongst the books given by the late king to the British Museum. ** There are about 155 families in the vineyard, " containing 800 souls in six villages. Each vil- " lage has a preacher and schoolmasters, although not so many as could be desired. They are . (i (( (( « ..,.... " By this time a society for propagating the gospel was formed in New England, and it was reckoned that about five thousand Indian con- verts, supposed the fourth part of all the re- maining natives, were made in that province. This pious institution was confirmed in 1649 by the parliament of England, who then passed an S4 << <( <( (( «( <« ** act to encourage the propagating the gospel amongst the Indians in New England. In con- sequence of this act a corporation was esta- blished in England, consisting of a president, a " treasurer, and fourteen assistants, with powers ** to receive and disburse money for those pious purposes ; and so popular were the interests of New England at that time, that the money con- * tributed in one year in Old England enabled the society to purchase estates to the yearly ** value of sia^ hundred pounds" — Modern Univ, J7/5^. Vol. XXXV. p. 305. y ., , / Nor must it be supposed that Eliot and his supporters found the Indians predisposed to re- ward their pains by any peculiar circumstances favourable to the success of their attempts. This has been sometimes insinuated by those who rea- dily find excuses for the "ontrary proceedings of less earnest labourers in such works. Eliot's own words, preserved in Shepard's " Clear Sunshine of " the Gospel breaking forth upon the Indians," are, " That which I first aimed at was to declare ** and deliver unto them the law of God, to civilize " them. But when I attempted it, they gave no * * heed unto it, but were weary, r nd rather despised ** what I said. Awhile after, God stirred up in " some of them a desire to come into the English " fashions, and live after their manner, but knew 25 « <( " not how to attain unto it, yea, despaired that *• ever it should come to pass in their days» but ** thought that in forty years more some Indians " would be all one English, and in an hundred " years all Indians here about would so be j which " when I heard (for some of them told me they thought so, and that some wise Indians said so,) my heart moved within me, abhorring that we ** should sit still and let that work alone, and ** hoping that this mind in them was a preparative ** to embrace the law and word of Godj and I " told them that they and we were already all one " save in two things : 1st, we know and pray unto ** God, and they do not. 2dly, We labor and work in building, planting, clothing ourselves, &c. and they do not : and would they but do as *' we do in these things, they would be all one " with Englishmen ; and I told them I would " come to their wigwams, and teach them, their " wives and children, which they seemed very " glad of J and from that day forward I have not " ceased to do that poor little which you know I « do,"^Letter of Mr, Eliot to T, S, dated Rox- buryy 24 Sept, 1647. The success of Mr. Eliot proves beyond all doubt that Indians are capable of civil improvement. It seems very sufficiently to show, that " generation " after generation has not passed away without a i< <( 26 i *• trace of advancement distinguishing the last of " them from the first," as you have somewhat rashly asserted. In fact, the defect, the criminality, rest with us alone: we (Europeans) have possessed their country upwards of 200 years; during a small portion only of which time, and in a few spots, have we acted towards them with ordinary justice ; but whenever, in all that time, they were fairly dealt with, it is perfectly apparent that " a ** desire to cultivate the arts of peace" distinguished them. It is not, however, pretended that the Indians of North America have ever been found in a faultless state of morals. Without doubt vicious habits prevailed amongst them, independ- ently of our example. They appear to have beeii exposed to wars before our arrival ; and tyrannical government, the usual consequence of wars, was then but too well understood and practised in the hew world. Many of their customs also appear to be subversive of the well-being of society ; but it is not always to be inferred, that the practices which we reject with marks of disgust should be cri- minal amongst a people differently circumstanced. With regard to the intercourse of the sexes, upon which the Indians have met with great reproach, it is clear, from the foregoing story of Bituani, taken from a very early traveller, that their views are not in all respects imprudent or vicious. Ott ii*mf 27 the contrary, the introducing of similar principles into every family of this empire would be of in- finite advantage to ourselves. Hitherto a perfect failure on this point seems to have attended the exertions of all our guides, ecclesiastical as well as civil. If the horrors of Indian warfare also are not to be lightly passed over, it seems to be very far from an unfair excuse for them, that they have been perpetrated by men whose best feelings and dearest interests have been outraged by unceasing perse- cutions. Most truly may it be asserted of the re* venge which they have sometimes visited upon us, that it has been but a "wild justice.** Nor must it be forgotten that Indian hostilities have rarely been carried on in the absence of European instigation, . . ' ' • To return : the representatives of Eliot*s con- verts are understood to be now much reduced in number. They have proved themselves capable of civilization, and yet they have sunk before us. A conclusion very different from yours, from the two circumstances, would not be harsh : but to account for their disappearance in various di» stricts, step by step, requires a more minute examination of documents than can at present be entered into. As you have published opinions only, it may be permitted to one who is desirous that they should not at least pass unopposed, to 1\ mk 28 allude, without producing many proofs, to his rea- sons for thinking those opinions erroneous. He makes accusations in reply to them reluctantly ; but he is induced to do so by the hope of exciting attention to an important subject, at a moment when it may be beneficially discussed. The exertions of the benevolent heretofore, and the advantages of mere contact with civilization, have been directly opposed and counteracted by gross personal violences, by dishonest practices and licentiousness in trading, and by the un- repressed encroachment upon Indian lands, which have marked our progress throughout America. There is indeed no doubt that an inclination to dispossess them of their lands by any means has been very prevalent amongst most of the white settlers in all Indian countries. Even the fairest seeming purchases must be held to be grossly unequal : they are made with certain reservations to the aborigines of rights of hunting, fishing, and location; but the progress of cultivation soon pro- hibits the enjoyment of these rights to any bene- ficial purpose, and the sellers thus undoubtedly lose part of the consideration of the sale ; or, in more correct terms, they never enjoy it. They are the victims of their own inexperience ; and inasmuch as the opinion is now almost obsolete, that the strong and cunning may fairly prey upon the ig- 2Q norant and weak, we may be said to be bound to prevent the fatal consequences of such error on their part, or to abstain from such purchases. * The extent to which injustice has been carried, with respect to the lands of the Indians, cannot be exaggerated by the most indignant reprobation. We have not only stripped them of it in the wild state ; but the evidence is clear, that when they may have successfully expended labour on it, their possession is generally disturbed. Mr. Bromley, of Nova Scotia, late paymaster of the 23d fusileers, is an authority on this point beyond suspicion. In his Appeal on behalf of the Indians, printed at Halifax in 1820, p. 24, he says : " One '* of the chiefs, who took up his abode with me a ** few weeks ago, appeared much agitated while ** he related the circumstance of the white people " having obtained a grant of the burying-ground ** of his ancestors, whose bones they had lately " ploughed up ; and this to an Indian is a species of sacrilege which he never can forgive. I am also acquainted with a particular part of the province of Nova Scotia, where a most ancient burying-ground of the Indians is now in the " possession of the white people ; who, however, ** out of courtesy, still allow them to bury their " dead there." Mr. Bromley adds, " While read- '* ing over this part of my manuscript to a friend. C( (( <( <( 'r 'M n| i\ m 30 ^* a native of this country, he assured me that the ** white people had not only dispossessed them of " their land, but that they had also driven them *• from their fishing ground j and he related the ** following anecdote, as he was an eye-witness to " the circumstance, which took place last autumn. ** In Chedebucto Bay, contiguous to Fox Island, " in the eastern part of Nova Scotia, where the In- •* dians have been in the constant habit of fishing, ** and .supplying the white fishermen with their *• manufactures, peltry, &c. for several years, they " have been expelled in the most brutal manner from that fishing ground by the white people,; who entered their camps, defiled their women, *< abused and beat the men, and, in fact, con- ** ducted themselves in such a manner as to pte- " vent the possibility of their remaining any longer. " My friend assures me, that he has purchased '< from those Indians, during his visits to that ** place, more than 300 barrels of mackarel. He " described them as strictly honest, sober, and ** intelligent." • - ; ? •,..»;>> Since the publication of Mr. Bromley's Appeal, the fishing place which he speaks of is reported to have been restored, by the authority of the govern- ment of Nova Scotia* ' A female correspondent of Mr, Bromley (p. 35),' the lady of a military officer, mentions her en-' « u 31 deavours to persuade an Indian to cultivate the soil, and states, that ** his grand objection to set- " tling was the fact of some Indians having done " so, and planted potatoes, when a white man *' came (with a grant of the land, she supposed), " and took it from them." Upon this Mr. Bromley remarks, " This is too often the case : indeed, you " will scarcely meet an Indian but who will tell you " that he has cleared and cultivated land some time ** or other, but that the white men have taken it " from him. A chief told me a few weeks ago, " that his father had cleared no less than 200 acres " in different parts of the province ; but that he " had been dispossessed of the whole by the whittf "people." .; > t .:;.,i / .. You will thus perceive. Sir, that the presenting to the Indians models of civilized life has not been the sole occupation of Europeans in North Ame- rica. I have shuddered with indignation and sor* row upon hearing accounts from gentlemen of credibility, of the barbarous personal tyranny ex- ercised over these unfortunate people. - Until now, governments have also neglected the obvious duties of christianizing ** the heathen," for which they professed to seize upon the New World J they have never attempted to check the* ravages of the diseases introduced by civilized 32 m I ■f man ; and they have expended prodipjious sums, and exhausted political misrepresentations, in order to engage the aborigines in quarrels, which, how- ever advantageous to European interests, could only retard their advancing to habits of domestic tranquillity. Indians have been known to wish neutrality, and have been allured to war. The negligence of those whose duty it has always been to do them justice is without excuse. In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1764, p. 125, is a plan for civilising the Indiansof North America. It closes with " a reserve of what might be further ** said on the subject to another opportunity, as " leisure or encouragement might afford." The writer subscribes himself Philo-Indian, and appearp to have been a man of excellent sentiments. He had resolved personally to execute his plans ; but, as far as I can learn, met with no " encouragement." His whole manuscrip has fallen into the hands of the writer of this letter, and will be published. The failure of '* encouragement" cannot be attri- buted to deficiency of means, or of opportunity. Rich corporations had long been devoted to this ob- ject, and at that very time wanted efficient servants ; and the government was in undisturbed possession of North America. The French were dispossessed of Canada, and the most powerful of the hostile 33 Indians had been subdued in the murderous cam- paign of the preceding year against the unhappy Cherokees. It is coolly announced in ** Letters ** from Sir Jeffrey Amherst, dated Albany, 13 Aug. " 1763, that in the western country Lieut.-Col. ** Grant had burnt fifleen towns, and all the plan- " tations of the country j destroyed 1400 acres of " corn, &c.; driven about 5000 men, women, and ** children into the woods and mountains, where, ** having nothing to subsist upon, thei/ must either ** starve or sue for peace" The corporation chiefly alluded to confessed their failure in christianizing the Indians; but they discovered " that the Indians themselves ob- " stinately rejected our care ;** and those exertions, which ought to have had a better issue, seem to have been muoh discontinued *. It is disgrace- ful to the capacity of the governors of that cor- poration, that its funds havcodone so little good in one of their peculiar objects, when the exertions of the almost unassisted Moravians have produced * See the Sermon of this year 1664, and of 1773, before the Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, and the pamphlets defending the society. There must be something wrong in the constitution of this society, since its disposition to do the Indians service can hardly be doubted. In the present year the expense of reprinting an Indian tract, found in the Bri- tish Museum, was undertaken upon the suggestion of one who was a stranger to it. D h I' Jl 111 34 effects fully commensurate tc the means employed. It is indeed to be regretted that the trustees, who found their ministers unequal to the execution of th*^ir duty, did not pay over the funds to those persons, who, in the midst of prodigious disad- vantages, never failed of proving, that, in the worst of times, much might be done, it should also have occurred to the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that even greater want of suc- cess than they had experienced might be accounted for by many other causes than by the " untame- " able savage spirit, which refused to hear the " voice of instruction,*' as asserted * of the In- dians. That society will not deny that religion has been presented to them under many unfa- vourable characters j and when otherwise well in- troduced, it must have greatly prejudiced the general cause, that deadly animosities were seen to divide the advocates of the new faith. Il cannot be said that the affairs of these people lay concealed from public view. Independently of the general regard which they have alxvai/s at- tracted, there have been perpetually occurring incidents which never failed to bring them fully into the consideration of tht people of this coun- try. The government has also at all times spent * Sermon before the Society in 1773, 19 February. 35 very large sums of money on the Indian depart- ment of the colonies. But in this particular year, 1764, public attention was remarkably excited to the subject. A n^urder was perpetrated upon three men, two women, and a boy, Indians of the Conestagoe village in Pensylvania, calculated by its unmixed atrocity to have raised a crusade against the murderers, if some overwhelming self- interest had not governed us. Instead of venge- ance pursuing these barbarians, fifty of thv^m broke open th2 door of a workhouse, in which fourteen other Indians of the same village had taken shelter, ** and entered with the utmost fury " in their countenances. When the poor wretches " saw that they had no protection nigh, nor could " possibly escape, and being without the least " weapon for defence, they divided into their " little families, the children clinging to the pa- " rents j they fell on their knees, protested their " innocence, declared their love to the English, *' and that, in their whole lives, they had never done " them injury ; and in this posture they all re- " ceived the hatchet ! — men, women, and little children, were every one murdered in cold blood." — Gentleman's Magazine, 1764, p. 174. The civil authorities appear to have been per- fectly aware of the atrocity of the above-mentioned D 2 (( (( 36 |;v;i massacre, and to have saved some of the Indians connected with those \^ho were murdered ; but to put the laws in force against the perpetrators of the crime, seems not to have been thought of. — See Heckewelder and LoskieVs Accounts of the Moravian Settlements amongst the Indians from the Year 1740. Besides the infliction of positive wrong, we have in a great measure withdrawn the benefits which were once conferred on the Indians. What was so well begun under the active pa- tronage of Mr. Boyle, and by the generi ^a ort of the nation in the seventeenth century, seems to have been less vigorously attended to after the decease of Eliot and his excellent supporter. In 1783 the British funds were withdrawn from the United States Indians, without being duly ex- pended amongst those who still adhered to us in our remaining North American colonies ; and it is remarkable that Boyle's own estate, administeref' by another society, then suffered a similar d.*- version: it was indeed applied to a purpose so eminently good (the religious and civil improve- ment of negro slaves), that it is almost free from reproach. The effects, however, upon Indian in- terests, must be acknowledged to have been hi- jurious even beyond the immediate falHng oit^n 37 funds ; inasmuch as it is of great importance that the exertions of the benevolent should not be fluctuating. Your paper concludes by anticipating the ex- termination of these tribes j and, with a signal want of information upon the subject of which you were treating, you utter your prophecy at the precise moment when, to an extent almost beyond hope, means are in active progress which make the permanent improvement of the condition of the Indians extremely probable. As you are obviously unacquainted with what has lately been undertaken in America on their behalf, I will close this reply to your remarks by i\ short statement of the experiments lately made amongst the western tribes, and in Nova Scotia ; and of the views of a society in the United States, of which all the public men of the Union, without exceptir'^, are members. A change in the prin- ciples of our intercourse with them is also under- stood to be in progress in Canada. The subject is well illustrated by th<^ following extract from the before-mentioned Appeal in be- half of the Indians of North America, p. 45. " The Indians in Nova Scotia are perhaps njore " degenerated than any other tribes ; they prolong " a wretched existence by begging. The best " means of affording them a regular subsistence, '"^'ffll'V i( ; in- 49 •* dependence of the warrior is no more. Of tlie *' innumerable tribes which, a few centuries ince, " roamed fearless and independent in their native " forests, how many have been swept into obhvion, ** and are with the generations before the flood ! ** Of others, not a trace remains but in tradition, " or in the person of some soUtary wanderer, the " last of his tribe, who hovers like a gho. t among " the sepulchres of his fathers — a spark still faintly " glimmering in the ashes of an extinguished race.' " Alas! sir, shall the sword of avarice, or the strong ** arm of civilized power, still pursue this unhappy " people ? Shall the unceasing and relentless force " of emigration drive them from forest to forest, ** until the last remnant, struggling for existence, ** shall fall on the verge of the Western Ocean, or " perish in its flood ! Will not the voice of hu- ** manity prompt us to arrest this unremitting pro- ** gress of extermination ? Does not the glory of " our country require that we extend to those " who still survive the hand of friendship, convey " to them the blessings of social life, and raise ** them to a high and happy destiny ? And how, " sir, shall this be accomplished ? Break down ** the restrictions which have happily been placed ** upon Indian trade, and you will let loose upon '* the untutored tenants of the wilderness a horde " of selfish and unprincipled adventurers, to pdl- E 50 l " lute, debase, deceive, and destroy. But con- " tinue and enforce those restrictions — encourage '* and aid the missionary institutions of our coun- ** try, and you will find a host of pious ministers, " teachers, farmers, and mechanics, who will go " forth to the work of civilizing the Indians, with " no other motive than that of promoting their ** temporal and eternal benefit, and expecting and " wishing no earthly remuneration for their pri- " vations and their toils. Adopt this course, and " you will have agents who will carry on the noble ** designs of the government in relation to the " Indian tribes, with a spirit of disinterestedness, " perseverance, and fidelity, which, in any other " way, or on any other principle, cannot be found. ** Adopt this course, and with cheering hope you •* may look forward to the period when the savage ** shall be converted into the citizen ; when the ** hunter shall be changed to the agriculturalist or " the mechanic; when the farm, the workshop, the " school-house, and the church, shall adorn every ** Indian village; when the fruits of industry, good ** order, and sound morals, shall bless every Indian '* dwelling ; and when, throughout the vast range of country from the Mississippi to the Pacific, " the red man and the white man shall every where ** be found mingling in the same pursuits, che- " rishing the same benevolent and friendly views. <( 51 . " fellow-citizens of the same civil and religious " community, and ffcllow-heirs to an eternal inhe- '* ritance in the kingdom of glory.** This statement is supported by the progress which other neighbouring Indians are making. The journal of the mission among the Choctaw nation contains an equally satisfactory report of the proceedings of that people to a late date : — "Oct. 1, 1821. A general council, which has " been sitting since the 27th ult., closed their ** session this day. They have organised, in the " north-east district, a small company often men, ** to act as a patrol, for the purpose of punishing " offenders, collecting debts, &c. This is the first ** instance of the organization of a civil power " among the Choctaws, to execute the laws. Pro- " vision was made in the last treaty, by which " they are to receive twenty dollars annually per " man." — Boston Mismrtary Herald jor April, 1822, p. 103. The accounts from this mission, to March in the present year, are in the higl st degree satis- factory : — '* Jan, 1, 1822. We examined tb boys' school, " and were much gratified with the appearance of ** the scholars. Their attention to their studies, ** and their eagerness to learn, were very striking. " They w^ere examined in reading, spelling, wri- E 2 52 n . ■'■-■'. . LONDON: PniNTED DY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFRIAR5. her led. iif- in's pen : is ans .^if