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'A 1 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES AND TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA. ■i i s I -.o j=': t M X HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF DISCOVKRIES AND TRAVELS IK NORTH AMERICA; » \ .* '( .V'" INCLUDINU THE UNrTF:D STATES, CANADA, THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, AND THE VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE; WITH 11*^3^ OBSERVATIONS ON EMIGRATION. If BY HUGH MURRAY, ESQ., F. R. S. E., Author of Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Africa, Asia, die. $Uu«trateK bj) n ^ap of ^ovtfj ^merCca. VOL. I. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, & GREEN; AND OLIVER & BOVD, EDINBURGH. 1829. i %> - I rr,ih'" ^ 2L ■4^''>' ^ /it" .•( > . ,4i'-.-'"",i';'"" \ iF ith,. /^^v ^, /^^4 'H//^ "•^^s ■^^,, / Vo, •It''' "tM f "*^J^aiidi. Avpti ".»<*-! ,Ch*»i !p^,^,^/«>. ""'-.^.vji 'r--^ \ '''^''-4."^ ■^j:. "feto,. 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C ■iirBt,,v/s' „ ^ \ ^ j/i:h;"fk'' N X'fe'.^^^iirtii^ "^ ° "fc ^ ^■i '^•■^•«''' t ■ofott.ui Kii0isb .Mill's. ^a^' J^Z$i"!l'"/"\ 11''' ^^^aifo^< afV .,(^ ;.0 HK) -'OO .MX) •«)<» ,iO ■■™!l'l UJO J.oupiturfp W.-st 10 l.oniUm.l'iMi.thed Septfiiih-i I" lii:;H. hv /..mqnuiii.Rees.t^ffne.Hnmn ,<• ('•/> r ,..*""" 'r/\ vv [>^niinfii H r/u/"' 7K .liilim •'(•£l*,M "'f'Yil/l'l-.ttoM \ \ %or!l>t'''^' \,ri Si'M" Mhii (,.^./<|V. Jf*^"{r , , , \ . <> 'l4irjuiu >o v'^ vo. ► /.oiiifiiuinJ{AV,V>'f>u-,/inastian Cabotj t i >nce de Leon, ■•>'. ges along the Cartier, 81 "'V. ''i eal, 87 — Ro- ■^ ORIDA. 91.--Expe- Indians, 97. les the Gulf ioto, 115.— ^--His Re- HIDA. >f Menen- on of De nee, 176. CHAP. IV. — Discovery and Settlement of Virginia. Rise of Maritime Enterprise in England, 178. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 180. — His Arrival at Newfoundland, 184. — Fate of his Expedition, 187> — Sir Walter Raleigh, 192. — Sends an Expedition under Amadas and Barlow, 193. — Sir Richard Greenville, 196.--Lane, 197.-— White, 202.— Gosnold, 205.— Captain John Smith, 208. — His Voyages and Adventures, 211.- -The Princess Pocahuntas, 215. — Progress of the Settle- ments, 223. — Conflicts with the Indians, 228. — View of the Government, Religion, &c. of the Native Indians, 230. CHAP. V. — Discovery and Settlement of New England. First Discovery by Gosnold, 236. — Voyage of Challons, 237- — Captain John Smith, 239. — Unsuccessful Attempts, 241. — Religious Persecution in England, 243. — The Brownists, 245. — Their Colony at New Plymouth, 246. — Persecution of the Puritans, 247-— Numerous Emigrations, 248. — Settlement of Salem and Boston, 249. — First Arrangements of the Co- lony, 254. — Schism occasioned by Williams, 259. — The Red Cross, ib. — Rise of the Antinomian Sect, 260.— Mrs Hutchin- son, 261. — Violent Ferment in the Colony, 265. — Proceedings against the Antinomians, 268. — The Anabaptists, 276. — The Quakers, 278. — Accounts of their Conduct, 279. — Violent Proceedings against them, 284. — Invasion of the Colonial Charter, 289. — Andros Governor, 290.— Revolution of 1688, 292.— Alarm about Witchcraft, 293.— Trials, 296.— Singular Confessions, 297-- Dreadful State of the Colony, 306— Close of the Proceedings, 309. — The Native Indians, 311. — Dread- ful Wars with them, 313. — Measures taken for their Conver- sion, .316. CHAP. VI. — Settlement of the other Colonies. Secondary States of New England, 322.— Connecticut, 323. h CONTENTS. Rhode Island, 326. — New Hampshire, 327. — New York, set- tled by the Dutch, 329. — Transference to England, SSL- Maryland, 337.— Carolina, 340. — Its Constitutions, 342. — Various Vicissitudes, 344.— Georgia, 348. — Pennsylvania, 351. — Account of Penn, 352. — Treaty with the Indians, 355. — Its rapid Increase, 357. CHAP. VII. -Settlement of the French in Canada and Louisiana. Plan of Colonizing Canada, 360 — La Roche, 362. — Disastrous Issue, 363. — De Monts, 364. — Champlain, 365 Marquette and Jolyet, 372 — La Salle, 378— His Death, 393.— Henne- pin, ib. — Lahontan, 402. — Charlevoix, 404. CHAP. VIIL— The American Indians. Views of Savage Life, 405 — The Five Nations, 407. — Form of Policy, 408.— War, 409.— Declaration, 413.— March, 414 Surprise, 415. — Return, 416. — Treatment of Captives, 417. — Negotiations, 419. — Religious Belief and Observances, 420.— Arts, 428. — Amusements, Music, Dancing, 430. — Domestic Life, 431. — -General Decline and Disappearance of these Tribes, 435.— Its Causes, 436. CHAP. IX. — Amer[ca before and after the Revolution. General Progress of the Colonies, 437. — Comparative State be- fore and after the Revolution, 438. — Kalm, Burnaby, Smith, Chastellux, Rochefoucault, 440. — Progress of Agriculture, 441. — Of Commerce, 446. — Society and Manners, 447 — I"^- bittered Hostility of the two Parties, 453. CHAP. X. — Settlement of the Western Territory. Difficulties of crossing the Alleghany, Daniel Boon, 458. — CONTENTS. XI few York, set- igland, 331.— itions, 342. — isylvania, 351. ians, 355 Its Canada and • — Disastrous — Marquette 93. — Henne- 7— Form of irch, 414 ives, 417 ices, 420 — Domestic e of these t Kentucky, 460.— -Henderson, 461.— Smith, 463.— Dreadrul Wars with the Indians, 466. — Settlement and Progress of Kentucky and Tennessee, 467.— Of Ohio, 469.— Indiana, 473. — Illinois, Michigan, 474. — Mississippi, 475. — Alabama, 476. CHAP. XI. — Discoveries in the Regions beyond the Mississippi. Acquisition of Louisiana, 477- — Claim on the Countries West of the Mississippi, 478. — Expeditions sent to explore them, ib. — Pike to the Head of the Mississippi, 479. — To the Head of the Arkansaws, 483. — His Disasters, 486. — Return, 487. — Expedition of Lewis and Clarke, 488. — They cross the Rocky Mountains, 497- — Reach the Pacific, 506. — Long and James to the South of the Missouri, 510. — Cass and Schoolcraft up the Mississippi, 517- — Long and Keating to St Peter's River and the Lake of the Woods, 520. iVOLUTION. ! State be- by. Smith, ^riculture, 447— Im- lITORy. 1, 458— \ i •?. ...^ 1 i HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES AND TRAVELS IH NORTH AMERICA. I I- h J n INTRODUCTION. I ff': America, of the three quarters of tlie world that lie beyond the limits of Europe, possesses the strong- est claim upon the attention of the nations of that continent. It has had the most powerful influence in calling forth their energies, and modifying their des- tiny. The moment, in which that mysterious veil was lifted up, which had so long covered from their eyes this other half of the world which they inhabit- ed, was the most memorable in their annals. It was a moment mighty in itself, and big with a long train of event and adventure. America was every way a different world from that to which the eyes of its discoverers had been familiar. Nature appear- ed in savage and primeval grandeur, without a trace of those arrangements of art and culture, which give to Europe its form and aspect. The eternal fo- rest, not planted by human hand, covered almost its entire surface. Every feature existed on a bold and VOL. I. A \t 2 INTIU)J)rtTIOX. .f I sublime scale. The mountains were more extended, more lofty, and subject to volcanic action more ter- rible, than any yet known to exist in the old world. Rivers, rolling across the entire breadth of the conti- nents, held a course so immense, and poured such a profusion of waters, tliat streams which ai)peared great in Europe ranked here only as creeks or rivu- lets. Man in America was a still more singular ob- ject than the region which he occupied. The man of natm'e was seen ranging through his primeval fo- rests, a stranger to art, to science, to even the rudest forms of social existence. Even in the few favoured regions where civilization had already begun her ca- reer, it had taken a direction, and assumed forms, essentially different from those which the old world any where exhibited. As the new world thus presented so many objects calculated to arrest the attention and enlarge the ideas of its visitants, it afforded also peculiar excite- ments to their energy ana enterprise. Being found thinly peopled by savage, and, as compared to their invaders, defenceless tribes, the discovering nations established among themselves, certainly an iniquitous law, by which every part of America was held to be- long to the European by whom it was first discovered and occupied. The early prizes were singularly bril- liant. Private individuals, often of humble birth, made the conquest of empires, whose treasures eclipsed even the boasted wealth of the East. As kingdom after kingdom opened to the view, the san- guine hope was always excited, that a new adven- turer would arrive at something still more splendid : ginatioii of the Greeks was so strongly acted upon by every thing which bore a sublime and adventur- ous aspect, that an enterprise of so much bolder and more peculiar a character, than any of those of which the fame spread so wide, could scarcely have existed, without penetrating to them, through every veil which distance and mystery could draw across it. There is another hypothesis, according to which vessels may have been reluctantly driven upon the shores of the new world. On this subject it is observable, that the distance from any part of the coasts of France and Spain to America would sel- dom fall short of two thousand miles. I cannot for- bear remarking, that these monstrous aberrations occasioned by temi)est, which occur so frequently in the writings of maritime theorists, are excessively rare, if they exist at all, in real navigation. Al- though the number of ships passing along the west- ern coasts of Europe exceeds now, perhaps, a hun- dred times what it anciently was, has it ever been known that a vessel sailing between a port of Spain, France, or Ireland, found itself landed on the coast of Virginia ? Let us take the much more limited space of the German ocean. I really am not aware if there ever was an instance in which a ship sailing along the somewhat rough eastern coast of England and Scot- land was obliged to put into a port of Denmark or Norway. The mariner, driven before an adverse wind, takes down every sail, opposes every obstacle, avails himself of every interval to regain his course ; and it seldom happens, that a wind of extreme violence blows many days in the same direction. The ancient i1 1 CA. THE SARACENS. 11 icted upon adventur- bolder and e of which ve existed, veil which to which upon the yect it is art of the vould sel- annot for- berrations frequently xcessively ion. Al- the west- I, a hun- !ver been of Spain, 3 coast of ed space if there Llong the nd Scot- mark or se wind, e, avails and it violence ancient M ■V: vessels, from causes already observed, were singular- ly ill prepared for such a fearful extent of enforced navigation. The scanty stock of provisions and water with which they were furnished, rendered it impossi- ble for them to be long distant from land, without being reduced to the most dreadful extremities. When we consider that their reluctant progress west- ward would at least be retarded by their continual efforts to return, it seems inevitable that they would either regain their destined course or perish. Sup- posing that they did reach America, nearly equal obstacles would occur to their ever returning ; and, on the whole, it seems still more improbable that this than the former process should have led to the discovery of the transatlantic continent. The Arab or Saracen conquerors, who for several ages were the most civilized and enterprising of the old continent, had been bred in the interior of the Asiatic continent, and never acquired much of mari- time habits. The idea of the termination of ocean in darkness, which had only floated in the minds of the Greeks and Romans, was formed by them into a re- gular creed. The whole circuit of the bounding ocean of the earth appears in their maps under the appellation of the " Sea of Darkness." A region to which such a name and idea were affixed was not likely to invite the course, even of enterprising navi- gators. There is, however, the record of a voyage westward from Lisbon while that city was under the dominion of the Saracens. It was performed by two brothers, of the name of Almagrurim, and led to the discovery of some islands at a considerable dis- r 12 SUPrOSEl) DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA. ' Y:l '".■» . 1^ ?.\ « l|*ji-Jji tance in the West. But Hartmann, in his edition of Edrisi, seems to have clearly proved that these were the Azores only, and not any portion of the West Indies. The Welsh have a tradition of some celebrity, in virtue of which they claim the discovery of the west- ern world.* Amid certain dissensions which distract- ed the royal family of North Wales, Madoc, one of its members, fitted out, in 1170, several vessels, and set sail in quest of maritime adventure. Proceeding to the westward, after a long navigation, he arrived at a " faire and large country," in which many won- derful things were beheld. After leaving there the greater part of his companions, he returned to Wales, and prevailed on a number of his kindred and ac- quaintances to accompany him in a second expedi- tion, which consistec' jf ten sail. Here authentic tra- dition stops, though various other tales were circu- lated among the people of the country.* The narrative is so meagre, that it is difficult to found any conclusion, unless upon the probability of the event, which, assuredly, is very slender. These easy and comfortable trips across the vast Atlantic have nothing which can suggest to our minds the Welsh navigation of the twelfth century. The little that is said of the direction is far from pointing pre- cisely at America ; " he sailed west, leaving Ireland so Jar north that he came," &c. Here it is clearly implied, that the main direction beyond Ireland was south. The country at which he arrived was * Hackluyt, iii. 1. Powell's History of Wales, p. 196, &c. -M ICA. 8 edition of these were ' the West elebri ty, in F the west- ch distract- loc, one of essels, and Proceeding lie arrived (lany won- there the to Wales, i and ac- id expedi- lentic tra- ere circu- r* The to found Ly of the These Atlantic linds the rhe little ting pre- Ireland is clearly land was ^ed was THE WELSH. THE SCANDINAVIANS. 1,'i then most probably Spain ; the reaching of which, across the bay of Biscay, was in that age no inconsi- derable achievement of a young Cymric chieftain. As for the tribes found in the interior of Ainerica speak- ing purer Welsh than is spoken in Wales itself, I shall leave M. Humboldt to deal with them, finding nothing to add to his judicious observations on that subject.* But, if these discoveries are fanciful or fabulous, there is one, it is said, which can no longer admit of any reasonable doubt. The Northmen who settled Iceland and Greenland, sailed from the latter country to Labrador and Newfoundland, with which they had regular intercourse, and founded settlements. Some f centuries after, a party of Friesland fishermen found % their successors in Newfoundland, where they had built castles, founded cities, endowed libraries, and in- troduced all the arts of European life into a region formerly supposed to be the seat of unbroken and pri- meval barbarism.f As I am about to contest the established opinion of the learned in Europe, and especially of the north- ern literati, upon this curious and celebrated que ition, the reader must excuse a somewhat great^ detail than the limits of the work might perhaps otherwise a have warranted. It is carried on under the disad- • vantage of being unacquainted with the Norse lan- , guages ; but the Saga of King Olaf Tryggeson has been translated by Peringskiold, in his edition of the * Personal Narrative, vi. 324-6". t Forster, Discoveries in the North, b. ii. ch. 2. Malte Brun, Precis I. La Richarderie, Bibliotheque des Voyages, i. 49, &c. 14 SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA. ■i if I ; » f Heimskringla ; and Torfaeus, in his histories of Green- land and Vinland, has collected with the greatest care all the northern traditions upon the subject. As the statements by which I expect to overthrow this hypo- thesis will all be drawn from the writings of these its most zealous supporters, there can be no room for the suspicion of their being false or garbled. About the end of tlie tenth century, the Icelanders liad begun to form settlements on the opposite coast of Greenland. Biorn, a young Icelandic mariner, who had employed the summer in some distant voyages, ar- rived at home in the end of the season, intending to spend the winter with his father, who, however, was found to have gone across to Greenland. The enter- prising and affectionate disposition of Biorn induced him to follow, though across a stormy sea which he had never before traversed. For three days the voy- age was prosperous ; but then the sky was overcast, a strong wind blew from the north, and they were tossed about for several days they knew not whither. At length the darkness dispersed, and, after a day's sail, they descried an unknown land covered with woods and low hills. Biorn sailed for several days along this coast, after which, the wind becoming fa- vourable, he made iiis way back, and arrived at his Greenland destination.* This adventure was no sooner reported to Leif, son of Eric Redhead, a bold and enterprising young chief, * Torfaeus, Hist. Vinland, ch. i. ringskiold), i. 328. Heimskringla (edit. Pe- 1 ',-^i 1 c I ICA. THK SCANDINAVIANS. 15 es of Greeii- ^reatest care ct. As the V tliis Iiypo- of these its oom for the ? Icelanders )osite coast iriiier, who voyages, ar- itending to wever, was The enter- rn induced which he 's the voy- 3 overcast, they were t whither, er a day's ered with ^eral days oming fa- ed at his • Leif, son ung chief, than he determined upon an expedition to this newly- discovered region. He set sail with thirty-five men, and, following the direction pointed out by Biorn, ar- rived in view of the unknown land. It was rude and rocky, with lofty moiuitains, whose interstices were filled with snow. This he called Helluland, or the land of rocks. He came next to a flat and wooded region, which he named Markland. Sailing still on- ward, and favoiu'ed by a north wind, he readied a delightful island, situated opposite to the northern coast of the continent. The soil was fertile, the ground covered with bushes which bore sweet berries, and there was a river and lake amply stored with sal- mon and other fish. The very grass dropped dew, sweet like honey. In this agreeable abode they spent the winter. Their retreat was one day enli- vened by the arrival of a German of the name of Tyrker, leaping and dancing, in that state of extrava- gant gaiety which wine usually inspires. As his com- panions crowded round him to inquire the cause, he showed them some fruits, which, from his experience of southern countries, he knew to be grapes ; whence the name of Vinland or Winland continued to be given to this newly-discovered region.* The next adventurer was Thorwald, the brother of Leif, who, after repeated voyages, came at last to a promontoiy, with which he was so much delighted that he made a vow to fix his abode there. Just as the settlement was forming, however, there appeared I (edit. Pe- * Torfaeus, Vinland, ch. 2. Heimskringla, i. 335. ff^ 3-g g i ! 16 SUPPOSED DISCOVEUIKS Ol' AMERICA. i t'l ! \ ' r ^'Hi three little barkw, covered with skins in the Greenland manner, each containing three men, who, from their diminutive size, were denominated SkrcellingerSy — ♦* cuttings or dwarf-shoots." Sorry am I to say, that the Norse adventurers, in the most savage and wan- ton manner, attacked these poor creatures, and killed them all except one, who contrived to escape. They were not long, however, of reaping the fruits of this crime. As they lay buried in slumber, a voice, it is pretended, was heard calling out, — " Awake, if you wish to save your lives !" They awoke, and saw the bay covered with boats, and found clouds of arrows poured in upon them. They defended themselves with planks and boughs of trees, and, by their supe- rior skill in fighting, succeeded in repulsing the assail- ants. Thorwald, however, feeling himself mortally wounded, gave instructions that he should be buried upon this promontory, so as to fulfil in some shape the vow to make it his final abode.* Thorstein, the brother of Leif and Thorwald, not discouraged by the too-merited fate of his kinsman, fitted out another expedition, composed of twenty-five followers. He encountered a violent storm, and reached home only after being obliged to spend some time on a desert shore. The fatigue of this voyage, joined, probably, to a scorbutic affection, brought on a disease which terminated his life. As Gudrid his wife and some other friends were watching round him, the dead man rose from his bed, and predicted, I -mi \\ a It '11^ * Torf Vtnlaud, ch. v. 3 ^ CA. Greenland from their Tingers^ — 3 say, that and wan- and killed pe. They its of this 'oice, it is ke, if you id saw the of arrows ;hemselves heir supe- the assail- F mortally be buried )me shape wald, not kinsman, venty-five 9rm, and end some voyage, ought on ulrid his ig round )redicted, rm: s( andixaviaxs. 17 that a ])ers(>n from Iceland would marry (ludrid, and would migrate with her into Vinland. The reader will of course believe of this only so nuuh as may agree with his own preconceive-7. X Precis de la Gt'-ographic, i. mm mm 24 Sl'Pl'OSED DISCOVERIES Ol" AMERICA. H i* • H i undervalue, is equaily positive to the same effect. It seems, indeed, a very wild suj)position, that those little barks should sail seven hundred miles along a stormy coast in search of a place of settlement, which, according to the information of Crantz and Egede, was similar and in no respect superior to that which tliey passed by. 7''lie ancient belief, indeed, which makes Herjolfs- ness the most southern point of Greenland, may be urged in support of the opinion of Eggers ; but it is accompanied with the belief that it is also the most eastern, and the conclusion, that, in that case, Green- land stretches little or nothing to the south {pariim procedit ad austrum). But the point on which they mainly rest is the north-west course which, after coming first in view of Greenland, the vessels took in order to reach the place of settlement. That this course was followed to a certain extent admits of no doubt. Tliat coast, when first viewed by the mariner, was rugged and precipitous, and the surrounding sea encumbered with masses of floating ice. But the sailing directions quoted by Torfaeus expressly state, that from this point the navigator had only to sail twelve Icelandic miles (6() English) till he came to the episcopal seat of Gardar. Lowenorn, sent out in 1786 to seek the lost settlements of Old Greenland, but who iniluckily never read any of the works in which they are described, came in view of this rugged and i)erilous coast ; l)ut, instead of avoiding it by taking the south-west direction, which had been clearly pointed out, he stood always more to the north, till, being dangerously involved in ice-islands, he was ■m J." >• LA. THE SCANDINAVIANS. 25 effect. It ;hat tliose es along a mt, which, nd Egede, that which s Herjolfs- id, may be ; but it is ;o the most ise, Green- th {paruvi ^vhich they hich, after 5els took in That this niits of no le mariner, unding sea But the essly state, )nly to sail [C came to ■lent out in reenland, Ithe works w of this avoiding I had l)een the north, Is, he was M ;#; ol)liged to return. Lowenorn has somewhat shaken the authority of the ancient sailing directions, by dis- proving one leading statement, according to which there was a point in the voyage, where the mountains Snowfell in Iceland, and White-Shirt in Greenland, were seen at the same moment.* This was clearly proved to be an optical deception ; fully accounted for, however, by the fact, that in sailing towards Greenland his people had an almost continued view of apparent land, which melted away as they ap- proached. But if he had read Torfaeus's account of the country which he came to exi)lore, he would have found that this imagined contemporaneous vision of Snaefell and Huit-Serk was not accompanied with any false estimate of the actual distance between the two coasts. Torfaeus supposes, from this middle point, the distance to each to be thirty-fivH German miles, making the entire distance nearly three hun- dred English, which agrees very exactly with Lowen- orn's own estimate of eighty-six marine leagues (of twenty to a degree). f To those who attentively consider the views which have now been given, it will manifestly appear, that the Oesterbygd and tlieWesterbygd, the East and West Greenland of the old Icelanders, instead of being both on the western, were both on the eastern side of this great peninsula. The AVesterljygd was only seated farther in the interior of the great gulf, (called by * Toi-facus, Gi-onland, "('), Ike. Pmclias, iii. i)2{). ■\ Lowcnnvn, Annales drs Voyajjes, Septcm. 1820, I've, «i 26 SUPPOSED DISCOVEIIIES OF AMERICA. 11^ K I Arngrim Jonas vastus sinus) on the northern side of which appear to have been placed all the settle- ments of Old Greenland. This view exactly agrees with the statement of the great antiquary just named, who describes the whole of these settlements as " max- imae continentis districtus,reliquae continentis respectu perexiguns, in duplicem habitationem Asturbygd et Westurbygd, i.e. Orientalem et Occidentalem Groenlan- diam divisa," — a part of this vast continent very small in comparison of the rest. Thorlacius also, though he separates Greenland from Vinland, gives to the former a long coast facing the south, on which are both the Oesterbygd and the Westerbygd, while he marks our western coast as " Groenlandia Occidentalis veterihus incognita" — West Greenland unknown to the ancients. Our division of East and West Green- land, therefore, is founded upon a much more extensive knowledge, and has no relation to this early distribu- tion of the Icelandic settlements. I cannot quit this subject without observing, that the belief, according to which a coast extending upwards of six hundred miles in direct distance, and partly situated within the temperate zone, is supposed to be bound in chains of perpetual ice, appears very gra- tuitous. It has come by frequent repstition to be re- ceived as an established fact, that numerous attempts have been made to discover the site of these lost co- lonies, but that all have been vain. But if we look narrowly into the matter, we shall find, that the at- tempts to reach this eastern coast have been excessively few, and those few not vain. In 1578, the king of Denmark sent Magnus Henningsen with a vessel to t m 4 CA. THE SCANDINAVIANS. 27 :hern side the settle- itly agrees ist named, as " max- is respectu iirbygd et Groenlan- wnj small 5o, tlioiigh es to the whicli are while he ccidentalis Jetiown to ?st Green- extensive distribu- that the upwards nd partly »sed to be very gra- to be re- attempts lost eo- we look it the at- cessively king of vessel to search for these lost colonies. But as Captain Hen- ningsen was approaching with a favourable gale and an open sea, the ship suddenly stopped, and could not be worked forward in the direction of Greenland. Henningsen was obliged to return ; and his failure became a subject of deep speculation among the northern sages. According to some the vessel must have been caught by the teeth of the fish remora ; while others conceived that it must have been drawn back by an immense mountain of magnet, placed at the bottom of the sea ; but Crantz insinuates, that the magnetic attraction exercised in the minds of the sailors by the idea of home was that which really produced this sudden and marvellous pause in hor career.* Whatever theory we may adopt on this subject, it is in no quarter alleged, that the nature of the coast had any influence in producing this signal failure. Yet from it seems to have been originally derived the idea of its inaccessible character. In 1606, Christian IV. king of Denmark, sent out Gotske Lindenau, with the title of Admiral, and three vessels, one of which was commanded by James Hall, an Englishman. Three voyages were accord- ingly made ; but the researches were almost exclu- sively confined to Davis's Straits, and consequently to Western Greenland. On one occasion only, Lindenau touched on the eastern coast, which he found no difficulty in reaching, maintained for several days a traffic with the natives, and ended with carrying off * Crantz, i. '■'Si* wimmmmm m '. i\ 28 sriM'OSED UISCOVEKIES OT AMKUICA. three, wlio, inconsolable for the loss of this favoured country, did not long survive.* I really find no re- cord of any other voyages to this coast, except that of Lowenorn, the fortune of which has been already accounted for, and of Egede, who immediately after followed in his ste])s, on the same plan. As soon as Davis's Straits and the bays of Baffin and Hudson were discovered, it becaine evident that the north-west jias- sage, the primary object of all northern voyages, could only be sought for i n that direction ; and thither accord- ingly almost all adventurers directed their course. We have now to consider a narrative of still greater celebrity, which is rupposed to include an early record of the discovery of iVmerica. Venice, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centurii^s, was the capital seat of all com- mercial and maritime enterprise. Among its noble fa- milies, few held a higher rank than the Zeni, who had filled the highest offices of the republic, and distin- guished themselves in the wars against the Ottoman Porte. In 1380, Nicolo Zeiio set sail for the north, with the view of visiting England and Flanders, but was driven by a tempest on the coast of a country which he calls Friesland. Zichnuii, its prince, re- ceived him with much kindness, and, finding him deeply skilled in maritime affairs, placed him at the head of his naval force. In this cai)acity, Zeno had occasion, during the course of twenty years, to visit almost all the countries of the north, — Norway. Ice- land, Greenland, with others which he calls Porland, ■^ * Forster, h. iii. cli. 0", sect 2. Ci;uUz, i. LA. XAUllATIVE OF THE Zf.NI. 29 < favoured 111(1 no re- ept that of '11 already ately after A.S soon as ulson were L-west j)as- ages, could lier accord- course, till greater irly record fourteenth [)f all com- s noble fa- , who had nd distin- Ottoman le north, iiders, but I coiuitry )rince, re- ding him lini at the Zeno liad ^, to visit way. Ice- Porland, Estland, and Sorany.* These last, with Friesland, not being now appropriate to any known region of Europe, threw a veil of doubt over the whole relation. Forster, in endeavouring to elucidate the question, at first contended, that all these countries had, by some I mighty convulsion, been swallowed up in the bottom of the sea. Had he been al)le to give no better ac- count of the matter, not all the antiquity and high exploits of the Zeiii could have saved their narrative from the im])utati()ii of decide Frit'slaml ^ nnd other II, that Es- foniKllaiHl ; pet't wliich e Icehiiulic ttk'd thi'iv, very name, ) he strik- Newfoiuul- is reipjiied 11 prohably Elision con- indeed hut hese Latin indland, of itury after its coasts, '^orld, were European stige was )ed hy the Eistles, the here was least like- ly to l>e lost, mnong a people passionately fond of in- toxicating licpiorH. These accounts have generally a somewhat boastful character, l)eing written with the view of inviting emigrants ; hut they all descri!)e Newfoundland as existing in a complete state of savage and primeval nature. Supposing that this numerous and flourishing peoi)le had been exterminated by the handful of naked savages who were found on the coast, there would surely have remained some traces of culture, some fragments or foundations of build- ings, some remnant of European arts or instruwients. But it was not till the discovers 's of Americu had reached the banks of the Mississippi, a thousand miles in the interior, that they found anv traces of departed civilization ; and though some have attei nt- ed to refer these to N(n'man emigrants, the ide v'an- not surely be deserving of a serious refut.isJ. n. It may be observed finally, that the geographical position assigned is very far from agreeing with New- foundland. The distance is stated at a thousand miles ; hut from the Orkney or Faio Islands to this part of America it cannot be less than two thousand ; and the space, in such difficult and hazardous voyages, is always exaggerated instead of being so remarkably diminished. If, then, the relation be, as I rather incline to think, substantially rect, I have little doubt that Estotiland is neither more nor less than Ireland. According to Forster's translation, it ex- ceeds a thousand miles dv west; but this is by no means implied in the original, which says, " posta in ponente, lontana de Frislanda piu de mille miglia," — " situated in the west, distant from Friesland more VOL. I. c 34 SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA. 1! 11; than a thousand miles." The distance is no doubt exaggerated, but it might be expected to be so ; and it might be the coast of Connaught on which they landed. The expression, East-out-land, under a some- what different view of the subject, would be as ap- plicable to Ireland as to Newfoundland. One thing is clear, that, under the guidance of a person who had come from Estotiland, they were going (by Lewis and Islay) the direct route to Ireland, and a very circuitous one to America. If, indeed, accord- ing to Forster's supposition, the shore of Icaria, on which they were cast, were that of Ireland, it would be strange if the Estotilander should not know his own country. But it seems clear that Ireland could not be Icaria, a small island which the expedition sailed all round, while the party of natives who met them on their arrival went round along with them. It was evidently one of the minor Hebrides, Tyree, or Barra. Drogio, and the countries to the south, more extensive and fertile than Ireland, might be Spain and the south of France. But here there do occur certain featm*es which have a tendency some- what to shake our unbelief. The account of nations who subsisted solely by hunting, and were unacquaint- ed with the use of iron, bears certainly an Ame- rican character, and would not perhaps, even at that era, apply to the rudest portions of Europe. There seems no foundation also, in that continent, on which a rumour of human sacrifice could be founded. These I)articulars are so striking, while, at the same time, the negative proofs above adduced appear quite deci- sive, that I am somewhat reluctantly dri\'en to suspect 1 1 ICA. NAKUATIVE Or THE ZENI. 35 i no doubt be so; and which they der a some- l be as ap- 3ne thing is person who going (by jland, and a leed, accord- 3f Icaria, on md, it would ot know his reland coukl le expedition natives who along with lor Hebrides, itries to the eland, might ere there do lideney some- lit of nations unacquaint- fily an Ame- even at that [•ope. There |nt, on which nded. These same time, r quite deci- len to suspect I interpolation. This relation, it must be observed, thougli stated to have long existed in manuscript, did not appear till sixty years after the discovery of Ame- rica, yet while the world was still echoing with that discovery. That there was a good deal of piecing and manufacturing before it arrived at the press, is evi- dent from the relation of Marcolini, the editor, who confesses that the letters of the Zeni, from which it was drawn up, having come into his hands while a child, he had, with the wantonness of that age, torn them into pieces, which he afterwards, when he be- came aware of their importance, sorrowfully collected and put into shape. Yet they form a connected nar- rative, which could not have been effected with- out some help from the editor. Marcolini might easily avail himself of these circumstances to eke out the evidence of an early discovery of Ame- rica. I cannot help remarking, that the Frieslaud fishermen know a good deal too much for their own credit. If carried into the interior of New England or New York, they might learn somewhat of the savage natives of those countries ; but where did they hear of the gold and silver, the temples and human sacrifices of Mexico ? It is also remarkable that, along with all the knowledge respecting America possessed at the time when the narrative was published, they should combine the errors which were then prevalent. It was generally believed at that period, that the Indians of North America were cannibals, which, as America became better known, has proved an errone- ous idea ; and of this the fisherman, if he really passed through so many of their tribes, and on such an in- mm m HI 36 SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA. timate footing, could not but have been aware. Last- ly, we may confidently assert, that merchant vessels passing between Newfoundland and New England, and persons getting rich by this traffic, was a feature of which there could not exist the least vestige in the native state of those countries. CA. are. Last- ant vessels T England, IS a feature stige in the OIUGIN OF THE AMEUICANS. 37 CHAPTER II. ON THE ORIGIN OF THE INHABITANTS OF AMERICA. General Statement of the Question. — Whether all Men were derived from one Original. — Arguments for this Opinion. — Difficulties answered. — Action of the Sun on the Human Skin. — FormandCo- lour of the Americans.— Various Causes affecting it.— White Na- tions ii. America. — Various Theories respecting the Peopling of America. — Imagined Resemblance between the Americatis and Jews. — Acosta. — Grotius. — Probable Quarter whe7ice America was ])eopled. — Qticsiion whether Colonists might come from any other Quarter. — Supjmsed Resemblance between the Languages of America and those of the other Continents. How or whence America has been peopled is a still more curious question, and is connected with some of the deepest problems respecting the origin and nature of the human species. It is primarily involved in that grand question, Whether all mankind had one common original, or whether the different races which are separated from each other by such marked dis- tinctions, have each sprung from a separate source ? It is on the former supposition only, that the question respecting the peopling of America is a (juestioii at m 38 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS. all ; for if there were a number of separate originals, that continent as well as others might have had its own. On considering those great masses of mankind, among whom reigns an uniform aspect, with the broad distinctions which separate them from other portions, various learned inquirers* have concluded, that there must be distinct original races of men, as there ap- parently are of dogs and other animals. They ob- serve, that the negro, and other races, whose peculi- arities have been supposed to be most decidedly the effect of climate, when transported to a different sky, continue for generations to preserve all their charac- ters unaltered, and to transmit them to their posteri- ty. But men transported from the temperate to the tropical climates, though they acquire a darker tint, do not communicate it to their children. Although colour be the circumstance supposed most especially to depend on climate, yet the tints of the different na- tions can by no means be exactly measured by their distance from the equator. There are nations of a light colour between the tropics, and others in the vicinity of the polar regions that are extremely dark. The whole of this work would be no more than enough to enter into a full discussion of this difficult and extended subject. Our limits can allow us only to take a very rapid sketch. Without referring to any historical documents, however venerable, we may find, in the mere examination of existing phenomena, strong presumptions that all men belong to one com- ^ i idii * Pritcliard, Lawrence, &c. VARIOUS RACES OF MEN. 39 te originals, had its own. f mankind, th the broad ler portions, I, that there as there ap- . They ob- hose peculi- ecidedly the ifferent sky, heir charac- heir posteri- )erate to the darker tint. Although st especially different na- •ed by their lations of a hers in the jmely dark. more than ;his difficult low us only •eferring to )le, we may phenomena, to one com- .%^ nioii race, and may observe various particulars which have been overlooked by those who argued on the opj)osite side. There are no differences in the form and compo- nent parts of the human body similar to those which zoologists are accustomed to employ as distinctive characters. All races of men are of the same size ; the very slight existing departures from this rule be- ing easily solved by the abundance or scarcity of food, and by other causes favourable or otlierwise to the development of the human growth. There is no dif- ference in the number or form of the extremities, which, being the circumstance least acted upon by situation and habitude, is usually considered as the surest test of a distinct species. All men have the same number of fingers, of toes, of teeth ; while very slight distinctions of this species mark, I believe, otherwise similar sj)ecies of various animals. Colour is, of all other particulars, the most remark- able in which one race of men differ from another. Now the action of the sun, in darkening the human tint, is too obvious to be denied or unnoticed. The European, transported under the burning influence of a tropical sky, has its effects soon marked upon his complexion in the most distinct manner. Let us ob- serve the gradations of colour upon the meridian un- der which we live. Under the equator we have the deep black of the negro ; then the copper or olive of the Moors of Northern Africa ; then the Spaniard and Italian, swarthy compared to any other Euro- peans ; the French still darker than the English ; while the fair and florid complexion of England and Germany passes, more northerly, into the bleached ^r 40 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS. Ill I' ^ i 5i ') I im ^;i.: Scandinavian white. At last, indeed, the gradation is broken ; for a dusky tint reigns along the whole circuit of the arctic border. This colour does not seem very well explained ; but its universal prevalence under that latitude seems very clearly to indicate, that there is something in the climate with which it is connected. During their short but brilliant summer, the sun, perpetually above the horizon, shines with an intensity unknown in temperate climates. May not the natives, who spend this season almost perpetually in the open air, hunting or fishing, receive from it that dark tint which is not easily effaced ? But I cannot withstand the suspicion, that this deep tint is neither more nor less than a smoke-brown. The tenants of all tliis bleak circuit necessarily spend half the year in almost subterraneous abodes, heated by fires as ample as they have fuel to maintain, the smoke of which, deprived of any legitimate vent, con- stantly fills their apartments, and must have an effect in darkening the complexion, to which it very closely adheres. When observations are made on the difference of colour in nations placed under the same latitude, due allowance is not always made for the other causes by which the temperature is modified. Many of these are of the most powerful nature, and sufficient entire- ly to counteract the influence of a southern position. Among those which tend to diminivsh the heat are ele- vation, the proximity of the sea, vast woods and marshes covering the surface of a country. The in- tensity of the heat, on the other hand, is remarkably increased by the existence or vicinity of arid and sandy deserts. m COLOUR OF THE HUMAN SPECIES. 41 gradation the whole r does not prevalence dicate, that vhich it is It summer, les with an May not perpetually ve from it d? But I deep tint is »wn. The spend half , heated by intain, the vent, con- 7Q an effect ery closely Terence of titude, due causes by y of these ent entire- position, at are ele- '^oods and The in- markably md sandy To understand farther the varieties in the action of heat, we must consider, that the sun does not paint the human skin by an external and mechanical i)ro- cess, as the limner lays his colours on the canvass. It acts by altering the character of the juices, and caus- ing the secretion of a coloured fluid, which effuses it- self into a cellular membrane immediately under the cuticle. Blumenbach seems to have ascertained, that the negro colour is produced by the secretion of the carbon which abounds in the human frame. It is thus easily conceivable, that heat itself, by a different action, arising out of some constitutional peculiarity, may produce the dead white of the Albino. Thus disease, especially of the biliary system, tinges the skin of a very deep coloiu*. This change seems in general to form a salutary provision, affording a fence against the scorching heat, and even against the various vicissitudes of the weather. The complexion of the negro enables him to present a more iron front than any other race against every inclement action of the elements. It seems too much, however, to think with Mr Jarrold,* that he becomes the most perfect speci- men of the species, in consequence of possessing this coarse impassive tegument. As well might the hide of the buffalo, or the quills of the porcupine, be con- sidered as ranking those animals above man. because they defend against many evils to which his delicate skin exposes him. Humboldt observes, that the dark races are almost entirely free from those deformities Anthropologia. 42 (JUIGIN OF THE AMERICANS. to which the whites are liable * But the greater de- licacy and sensibility on which this liability depends must be considered, on the whole, as a perfection in the human structure. The Caucasian or European variety, formed under the influence of a temperate cli- mate, not only possesses a manifestly superior beauty, but appears the best fitted for performing all the higher functions of life. There arc other characteristics different from colour, which yet, being usually combined with it, are urged in support of the opinion that they belong all to a race differing throughout from the rest of mankind ; but, if the colour of the skin be the result of a constitutional affection, the same affection may modify other parts of the human frame. The hair is very particularly cli- matic ; and the manner in which, even in the same country, it varies with the complexion, shows how much it is ruled by the same causes. It is a matter of long observation, how, in proportion to the coldness of the climate, the covering of every animal becomes richer and softer; — hence, probably, the scanty and rude hairs of the nations under the equator, as compared with the full covering of the European head. The action of mind, and the habits of life, have doubtless an action up- on the frame, imperfectly estimated, on account of the extreme slowness of its operation. The unintellec- tual visage of the negro has been supposed, along with his colour, to form different parts of that general structure, which constitutes him a different being from •■-J New Spain, i. 152. VARIETY OF RACES. 43 greater tle- ity depends jrfectioii in • European uperate cli- rior beauty, ing all the Tom colour, ;, are urged all to a race :ind ; but, if nstitutional lier parts of icularly di- 1 the same shows how a matter of coldness of omes richer rude liairs ed with the e action of action up- 3unt of the unintellec- along with at general 3eing from other mortals. I apprehend, however, that the con- junction will be found to be casual, and the two par- ticulars to arise from distinct causes. The Foulahs, of a more thinking and vigorous character than the Mandingos, luiite a deeper black, with much less of the negro features. Nearly the same may be ob- served of the more intelligent natives of Ashantee and Haoussa. Tlie Hindoo unites the black coloui' with a delicacy of form and expression, arising evidently from habits of mind and life, which render him in these respects the antipode of the negro. Thus, the black colom* and the negro features seem connected casually, or at least in so far only as exposure to the seasons, and intellectual sluggishness, may jointly ac- company a certain backward state of civilization. The cases particularly urged by those who argue in favour of the difference of races are those where an individual transported to another climate than that of his birth, and one destitute of those peculiarities to which his form and colour have been referred, retains these unaltered, and transmits tliem to his posterity for generations. These facts appear to have been much exaggerated, both as to the length of time and the ab- sence of any gradual change. Undoubtedly, however, when any characters have been thoroughly worked into the system, they will long survive the causes which gave them birth, especially when no active con- trary causes are in operation. A dark colour, though soon acquired, is not easily effaced ; and when the causes acting on form have come to affect the bones, the effect is of course very obstinate. This may serve for the solution of many cases in which the form and 44 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS. '!H! ' ! ,;J. >J\ climate do not appear to correspond. The Chinese, descended from the Mongols, retain still a modified Mongol visage and shape. The natives of New South Wales, sprung from the oriental negro, and continu- ing still, from their rude habits, exposed to the con- stant action of sun and air, have remained black. Thus Indostan is still peopled by races of various form and colour. But I imagine that, upon narrow inspec- tion, the original characters will be found undergoing gradual modifications, which tend to assimilate them to those of the new country and situation. The Jews form certainly a very striking example on this sub- ject. " Descended from one stock, and j)rohibited by the most sacred institutions from intermarrying with other nations, and yet dispersed, according to the di- vine predictions, into every country on the globe, this one people is marked with the colours of all ; — fair in Britain and Germany, brown in France and in Tur- key, swarthy in Portugal and in Spain, olive in Syria and in Chaldea, tawny or copper-coloured in Arabia 'and in Egypt."* But it is said the Americans themselves, of whom we are treating, afford the strongest argument against this supposed power of climate in forming the pecu- liarities of race. One tint, one form, is said to pre- vail over the whole continent from the equator to the pole. This statement has a superficial aspect of truth ; but Humboldt remarks, that, " after living longer among the indigenous Americans, we discover that celebrated travellers, who could only observe a few * Smith on the Variety of Complexion of the Human Species. t . COLOUR OF THE AMEIUCAN NATIONS. 4.5 he Chinese, a modified ' New South nd contimi- to the con- lined black, various form TOW inspec- undergoing milate them The Jews n this siib- •ohibited by rrying with ^ to the di- e globe, this ill ; — fair in tid in Tiir- ve in Syria in Arabia s, of whom ent against [^ the pecii- lid to pre- ator to the aspect of fter living ve discover serve a few individuals on the coasts, have singularly exaggerated the analogy of form among the Americans."* If a broad, squat, somewhat short form be the general type, the Patagonians in the nortli have attained the reputation of giants, and the tribes on the Orinoco, ac- cording to Humboldt, are among the largest and most robust of the human race. The same great traveller found on the banks of the Orinoco tribes whose fea- tures differed as essentially from each other as those of the various Asiatic nations. The general type re- sembles the Mongolic, though with some variations ; the surface of the face, though broad, being less flat, and the cranium of a peculiar form. The north-east of Asia is the quarter from which it is ju'obable, and indeed almost certain, that the great mass of the Ameri- cans were derived. But this type itself was formed from situation and habits of life, and is liable to be mo- dified when these are changed. The features them- selves appear to be the result of a hardy, hunting life, among persons who feel continually *' the seasons' dif- ference." Hence these features, though not generally Celtic, have been formed to a certain extent among the Celts of the Scottish Highlands. But it is the colour of the American nations which has been especially urged as subverting the theory of an unity of race. Even Humboldt himself conceives that climate forms the colour of the old world, but does not act upon it in America.f But I cannot be satisfied with the facts which this very learned in- »an Species. New Spain, i. 141. t Ibid. i. 143-5. iii 46 OUKJIN Ul- Till', AMEUICANS. • iil <#» quirer adduceM in support of nn opinion so little probable in itself. There are two extremities of colour ninonf^ mankind, the black and the white, wliich ai)j)ear in their j)erfection, the one in the Afri- can negro, the other in the northern European. Be- tween these two there is a series of medial colours, — brown, copper, swarthy, mingled with tints of yel- low and red. The Americans are placed among these medial tints, the colour in scarcely any instance run- ning into those two extremeo, which are exhibited in so great a proportion of the inhabitants of the old world. In the physical structure, however, of the American continent, and the circumstances of its people, we shall find probably a sufficient solution of this peculiarity. ^Vhy does the complexion of the American never run into black, even when he lives in climates which in the old world are marked by the deepest shades of this colour? On examination, we soon discover remarkable circumstances, which in the new world mitigate the violence of the solar action. Eleva- tion is the most influential of all these circumstan- ces. The equatorial regions of the new world are pervaded by mountain-ranges of stupendous altitude, in consequence of which they present all the features of a temperate climate. The breezes, descending from the perpetual snows with which these awful heights are covered, cool the surrounding plains to a vast ex- tent. The floods descending from them, unrivalled in the old world, inundate and convert into marsh a great part of America, producing thus a remarkable lowering of its temperature. They prevent also the li COLOUR or THK AMKHltAN NATIONS. 47 1 80 little remitieH of the white, 1 the Afri- |)ean. Be- ial colours, iiitH of yel- moiig these itance niu- xhibited in of the old ver, of the icea of its solution of L*ican never lates which )est shades m discover new world n. Eleva- •ircumstan- world are IS altitude, le features [nding from 111 heights a vast ex- unrivalled to marsh a emarkable t also the fornintion of any of those ranges of sandy desert, the reflection of which, and the breezes blowing from them, excite tlie most intense antl scorching of all heats, and, existing on a great scale in Africa an. SUPPOSED MICaiATIONS TO AMKUICA. 51 lat of the vhicli (U>es »s express- iiied. were p Europe, in lat. 54" midst of eyes, there ires, and a try."* M. t argument s remained likely that abitants of f America ? ime circum- it the same their being e long-eyed ges of the le discovery traordinary 3in this vast s, or rather le subject, alysis, now hung over e dispelled. One French writer has written five volumes to prove that America was peopled by the Antediluvians.* It is the opinion of many, that the Canaanites, after being driven out l)y the Jews, fled into America; and it is added, that the Jews themselves followed after the captivity and dispersion of the ten tribes. 7'he Tyrians and Carthaginians, in the course of their extensive navigations, could not possibly miss the shores of the new world. Garcia does not see, when so many nations are putting in their claim, why the Trojans should remain behind.f In short, to read these writers, one would think there never was any class of j)ersons, from tlie earliest ages, that felt strait- ened or uneasy at home, who did not instantly set out for America. But we have said enough to show that the undertaking is far from being of that easy or likely description which the student seated in his closet so readily imagines. The weak positive proofs on which the above opinions rest, have l)een enforced by a supposed resem- blance in customs and character between the Ameri- cans and certain nations of the old world. The Jews Iiave been specially pitd'ed upon, i)robably from being the people whose usages were best known to the Spanish ecclesiastics, who began the controversy, and whose opinion has been seconded by Hennepin and other French missionaries, and most zealously * Essai sur la Question quand et comment TAmj^rique a-t-il (te pcuplce, 5 torn. 12nio, 17<)7- ♦ Origen tie los Inclios. M 111, 52 ORKHX OF THE AMERICANS. by Adair, an Euglish trader, wlio certainly had a most intimate knowledge of the Indians. According to these writers, the resemblance is so striking as to leave no room to doubt that the Americans were Jews. The judicious reader, however, soon perceives that these boasted similarities consist merely in those fundamental principles, in the constitution of man, which are connnon alike to every country and every age. Hennepin and Adair particularly instance that the Indians are divided into tribes, over which chiefs preside ; that they mourn at the death of their relations ; that their females are fond of ornamenting themselves ; with other customs equally singular, which, it is thought, could never have entered the minds of any people who were not of Jewish origin.* Garica, in })articular, remarks, that a great proportion of them honoured their parents, and considered theft and murder as crimes ; whence it appears to him manifest, that they must have received the ten com- mandments from Moses. Others, on the contrary, showed themselves obstinate, unbelieving, hard-heart- ed, and ungrateful, — faults which they could only have learned from the stiff-necked posterity of Abra- ham. Every attempt to establish analogies of a more positive nature has eriirely failed. Acosta has, of all the early writers, produced the most judicious essay upon this subject. He rejects positively the Jewish hypothesis, though he does not much strengthen the arguments against it, by reirark- * Hennepin, Decouvertc, &c. ch. 11. Adair's History of the American Indians. '» 4' m ''^? OPINIONS OF ACOSTA. (JUOTIUS. 53 [y had a Lccording :ing as to iiis were perceives r in those of man, ind every ance that ich chiefs of their lamenting singular, iitered the h origin * iroportion ered theft •s to him ten com- contrary, ard-heart- 3uld only of Abra. 2:ies of ii [luced the le rejects does not V remark- itory of the ing, that the Indians are not usurers ; for this prac- tice belongs to the later era of Jewish exile and de- gradation, not to that in which they are supposed to have emigrated to the west. He views also, with much and just suspicion, all the colonies supposed to have been sent across the ocean. The difficulty of that age, however, was the want of any known point of America which was not separated by an almost innneasurable space from any other land. He in- dites on this suoject a sentence which is almost pre- dictive. He says, " I have long cherished in my mind this opinion, that the two worlds join at least in some point of their extremities, and are not separated by such vast intervals."* He then points to the north and north-west, observing, that there was here too vast a range of unknown coast to allow of any abso- lute negative being placed on his suggestion. Then, unfortunately, he turns to the south, and suggests, that colonists from Asia may have come across the great Austral continent, and crossed at the Straits of Magellan. We must not condemn Acosta too hastily for this wild conjecture. Only the northern coast of Terra del Fue/^o was then known ; and it was very generally viewed as part of the great Austral conti- nent, of which the existence was not doubted. Had Acosta not split upon this rock, he might have been considered fis hav^ing produced the ablest solution of this problem that has yet apj)eared. Grotius, the ablest man who undertook to treat this 1. ili I * Ap. Dc Bry, ix. 37- -\i^-!f'"^--'3;^:&*' 54 OinClIN OF THK A.MKUICANS. ii f u 4 subject, wrote perhaps the weakest of all the hooks upon it. He denied the Tartar origin, and sni)p()sed North America to have heen peopled from Norway, by way of Greenland. These northern emigrants, however, were unal)le, he supposes, to pass the isth- mus of Panama, and South America was peopled partly from Afi'ica and partly from China. The peopling of America is no longer an object of the slightest mystery or difficulty. The north-west limit of this continent approaches so close to Asia, that the two are almost within view of each other, and small !)oats can pass between them. Even far- ther south, at Kamtschatka, wliere the distance may be six or seven hundred miles, the Fox and Aleutian Islands form so continuous a chain, that the passage might })e effected with the greatest facility. The Tschutchi, who inhabit tlie north-eastern extremity of Asia, are in the regular habit of passing from one con- tinent to the other.* These tribes, then, from the ear- liest ages, had discovered that mysterious world which was hidden from the wisest nations of antiquity, and appeared so wonderful to modern Europeans. It was not a discovery in their eyes. They knew not that this was Asia and that was America ; they knew not that they were on one of the great boundaries of earth. They knew only that one frozen and dreary shore was opposite to another equally frozen and dreary. However, it is manifest, that by this route any amount of people might have ])assed over into * Cochran's Pt'ile^itriiin Journt'y ^ ! '-f 1)11 riCl'LTY OF Ari'HOAl'll UV S1,A. 55 le books sup])()sed Norway, nigrants, the isth- peopled object of orth-west i to Asia, cli other, j^ven far- ince may Aleutian le passage ity. The reinity of I one con- n tlie ear- »rld wliich juity, and It was not that uiQyv not nhiries of 1(1 dreary uzen and this route over into America. The form of the Americans apf)roaching to that of tlie nations in the north-east of Asia, the comparatively well-peopled state of its north-western districts, and the constant tradition of the Mexicans, that the Azteks and the Toultecs, who early occupied their territory, came from tiie nortli-west ; all agree witli the indications afforded by the natural structure of the continent. But it may be said, that although people by this channel undoubtedly j)assed over from the old world to America, this does not exclude other colonies from finding their way across the Atlantic or the Pacific. Sup])osing it too much to have crossed the entire breadth at once, they may have taken their de])arture from some of the numerous islands with which both oceans, and especially the Pacific, are interspersed : all peojiled -'t their first discovery. If these islands wt^vii i)e()i)led from the distant continents of Europe ami Asia, why not America from them ? We are to observe, however, that the South Sea groups, how- ever distant some of them may be fn^n any mainland, range in a continuous line with each other, so that the extremity of one group is seldom very far dis- tant from the extremity of another. It was thoi*e- fore no very mighty achievement for men possessing, on a small scale, the maritime enterprise natural to an insular territory, to effect a i)assage successively to each. But America is every where, unless on the north, begirt with an unbroken breadth of at least a thousand miles of ocean, without a single insular point which could form a step in the progress of the navigator. Combining this circumstance witli the >■ 1 ! f wmm 56 ()UI(;iN or THE AMKllIt ANN. \f observations already made on tliese immense voyages, whether vohmtary or eompuisory, the j)robability aj)pears very great, that no such j)assage ever took place. If any detached individuals ever were wafted across the ocean, I am persuaded that tliey would not possess (u* retain any of the civilization of the old world ; and that tliey did not contribute in any shape to that measure or form of imj)r()vement which was attained in Mexico or Peru. It is vain to urge that the Mexicans expressed their ideas, and even their history, by paintings, which bore some resemblance to the paintings and hieroglyj)hics of Egypt. Man, as soon as he emerges from total bar- barism, must feel the desire of expressing his ideavS by some mode more dura})le than words ; and tliis mode, in the first instance, must inevitably be j)aint- ing. lie nuist begin with a j)icture of the object which he wishes to record. This picture, generalized and refined, passes gradually into the symbol, tlie hieroglyphic, the expressive mark, and, finally, into the alphabetic character. In these latter stages, although they depend upon the general principles of human nature, there is nnich, in point of form, that is arbitrary, and a coincidence in regard to which might indicate very clearly an ancient connexion. But mere paintings, as they must bear a certain re- semblance, so their common use seems to indicate nothing more than the action of the most elementary principles in the human mind. The forms of archi- tecture also, as they are dictated by convenience or the sense of beauty, may often exhibit some casual coincidences. I am convinced that all tlie AMEUICAN CIVILIZATION. 57 voy.ages, )])al)ility /er took e wafted y would 11 of the i in any •ovenient s vain to eas, and ire some pliicH of otal bar- his ideas and this ))e paint- le object neralized ibol, the Uy, into • stages, K'iples of )nn, that o which nnexion. rtain re- indicate [nientary bf archi- Ivenience \\i some all the civilization which existed in America arose, as it flourished, in the delightful ta!)le-lands of Mexico, Quito, Cusco, and (^undinamarca. It is in these liappy regions where men nuiltiply, and the means of subsistence are al)undant, that the refined arts first l)ecome an object of cultivation. This con- clusion is not at all shaken by the fact (pioted l)y Humboldt, that the Toultec ccmcpierors, who came from the now barbarous regions in the north-west, were the framers of the most remarkable of the Mexican monuments.* Generally, conquerors adopt the arts and imj)rovements of the vanquished nation ; and tlieir active and ambitious character impels them to call these into acticin on a greater scale than the usually supine dynasty which they have overtlirown. The grandest monuments of Hindos- tan and China were erected by monarchs of Tartar origin ; but the art which constructed them was Hindoo or Chinese. Several very learned and diligent efforts have re- cently been made to fix on a more precise basi;^ the origin of the American nations. Attemi)ts liave been made to find in their languages such a similarity with those of tlie old continent as might indicate the one as a derivative from the other. The first and most meritorious research upon this subject has been made by Mr Smith Barton of Philadelphia, in comparing his own researches with the rich collection of the Asi- atic dialects made by Pallas, under the ausi)ices of New Spain, i. 133. m\ 1 1 . i 'i i, ' ■ ■ . 1 58 oiiiCiiN or Tin: a.mhuicans. ■m the empress Catherine. Ih luis uius intule a collec- tion of similar sounds, which at first sight wear a somewhat imposing aspect. Professor Vater,* how- ever, hy collecting these into one point, lias, in my opinifm, triumphantly refuted the inference attempted to he drawn from then). The resemhlances amount in all to about fifty-five ; but they are by no means of any one language to any other language. One cor- respoi (leiu'e, for instance, is between the Samoiede and the Delaware langiuige ; the next between the Ostiak and the Algonquin. Upon the whole, up- wards of thirty Asiatic and the same number of American languages are employed in bringing out this very slender amcmnt of coincidences ; making an average of not quite two words to each language. It seems somewhat odd, that a greater nunjber of simi- lar sounds should not have been the result of mere chance. It is also very singular, that the most remote Asiatic countries, those which seem most beyond the reach of intercourse with America, contribute as liberally as those which are in the closest contiguity with that continent. Professor Vater, however, after overthrowing the work of his predecessor, has not hesitated to undertake a similar fabric of his own, and, by innnense labour, has fictually raised the number of resemblances to a hundred and four ; but, to obtain this result, he has been obliged to bring into requisi- tion more than thirty other languages, inchuling those of Europe, Africa, and Australasia; so that { '■«] I ^^ Untcrsuchungen uber den America's Bevolkcrung, p. 47-55. I LANGUAGES OF AMKUICA. 59 a collec- , wear a i%* how- I, in my ttemptt'd niuount means of [)ne t'or- ■ianioiede ,veeii the liole, up- i in her of jring out aking an lago. It of siini- of mere it remote yond tlie hiite as )ntigiiity er, after has not )wn, and, uinber of o obtain rcquisi- ic'hiding so that his resuhs are ipiite as futile as those which he had previously subverted.* Lastly, M. Malte Hrun, tak- ing Asia and America only, collecting all that had been done by his predecessors, and a "c^l '» ,-> <' I! 84 r.AlU.Y VOYACiKS TO AMKItlLA. i'l Tlioy procirdtMl direct to NewfVnunllaii(l, wliiili tlioy rounded by the sairje line as in the former voyage. On coming- to the sea on the west, and i)roceeding to explore it, (artier soon found liiniself in a broad gulf, to which he gave the name of St Lawrence, which it has since retained. What he called so, how- ever, was only the channel between the island of Anti- costi and the opposite Labrador coast. On reaching its eastern cape he opened a conniumication with the natives, who informed him, that this gulf gradually narrowed till it terminated })y receiving a large river coming from a vast and unexplored distance in tlie interior of a great continent. Two days' sail above this island was the river and territory of Saguenay, beyond which was Canada, having passed which, and ascended the river, he would come to Hochelaga, a populous territory, at the higliest known point of the river. Thug instructed, Cartier sailed up the gulf, which gradually narrowed to a river, and here he found the channel divided by a long and populous island, the same afterwards called Orleans, situated immediately below Quebec. He was waited upon by Donnaconna, the ruler of Canada, with about five hundred subjects, of all ages and sexes. Donnaconna began first a long harangue, or, as it is termed, a preaching, the terms of which were not at all understood, but it appeared to be of the most friendly import ; the whole party then raised three tremendous howls, as another sign of welcome. Donnaconna crowned the whole by a very high and singular gift ; for having brought a boy and girl, who, the French were informed, were C A H 1' 1 1 : U . — C A N A I) A . 85 they lynge. ediiig broad rence, , how- Aiiti- ic'hing th the dually ! river ice in '8' sail ury of passed 3ine to [lighest Cartier to a by a called He ler of of all a long terms peared party er sign by a light a 1, were I liis son and daughter, he made a long preaching, and bestowed tiiein upon Cartier. As soon, however, as the Frencli iritinuited tiieir intention of proceeding u])wards to Hoch«»lofifa, every persuasion was employ- ed to induce tlu*ni to de^iiiit, — the ice, the dangers of the naviga-^ion, the want of any object of interest. As Cartier per*ii^ted, one of the chiefs liinted that the priiu'e and princess would never have been bestowed but under the understanding that he would not undertake this unwelcome journey ; but Cartier denied any such interpretation, and insisted upon returning their Highnesses, if this condition were annexed to the donation of them. He was then assured that they had been a free gift ; but another ex- pedient was now tried. Three men, painted black in the most frightful manner, with horns upon their lieads, came out in a little boat, and rowed round the vessel, making various unintelligible gestures and orations. Donnaconna came out himself to ex])ound this mystery. They were, it seems, messengers from Cudruaigny, their supreme deity, sent with the doleful tidings, that if the French attempted to go up to Hochelaga, they would all inevitably perish. Cartier, however, scoffed at this celestial interposition in his favour, after which no farther attempts were made to detain him. He was obliged, however, from the diminishing depth, and the obstructions on the river, to betake himself first to his smallest vessel, and then to two boats. In sailing upwards, he was delight- ed with the aspect of the country, which aj)peared to him one of the finest he ever beheld. The banks were crowned with the noblest trees, among which were jfjf.-i*,' rrm^^i mm^amm^ mm ■MM !'» 86 EARLY VOYAGEIS TO AMERICA. III ' ] hi '.; vines, standing as thick as if planted by human hands. The grapes, however, were neither so large nor so agreeable to the taste as in France, which might, he thought, be only from want of culture. On his way he met with a great lord, who presented him with another princess, eight years old ; and who endeavoured also, but in vain, to terrify him with tlie dangers of going up to Hochelaga. At length Cartier reached that long- sought-for term of his voyage. He found it, as mea- sured by the Indian standard, a considerable town. It was built in a circular form, enclosed by a strong pali- sade of stakes crossing each other, and forming a series of pyramids. There were not above forty or fifty houses, but each was divided into a number of apart- ments, where separate families slept, while there was a common hall in the centre, where they took their meals, and spent the day in common. They had large stores of dried fish and grain, with melons, cucumbers, and other fruits. They soon poured down to the number of about a thousand, and received the French with the usual welcome of preaching, dancing, and howling ; they even wept for joy at seeing the presents which their visitors drew forth, Cartier was then led to the largest house, in which resided the prince, an old infirm man, scarcely distinguished by his dress from his subjects, only that he wore a cap composed of skins of animals that were esteemed of peculiar rich- ness. He seemed, however, the object of singular ve- neration, since a mimber of sick were brought to re- ceive the benefit of his touch. Cartier ascended the lofty hill behind Hochelaga, which he called Mont-real, a name which Jias since ad- wuaffj • ji CARTIEU. CANADA. S7 llaga, ad- i hered to the place itself. To the north he saw nu- merous ranges of mountains, interspersed with fine plains, capable of the high, st cultivation. Beyond these, he was told, lay another great river, flowing also from the westward (the Ottawa). On looking up the St Lawrence, it appeared broken by a high water- fall ; but its broad and spacious channel was seen ex- tending fifteen leagues higher, when it disappeared amid three circular mountains. The natives iru'^rm- ed him, that in its upper course there were two other waterfalls, beyond which the river was navigable for the space of three moons. Cartier now returned down the river, and found his ships where he had left them ; but the crews were soon assailed by a calamity of the most dread- ful and unexpected nature. They were assailed with an unknown and terrible disease, caught, as they imagined, by infection from the natives, many of whom also laboured under it ; but the symp- toms, — swollen and putrefied gums, discoloured blood, and general aebility, — mark it for the scurvy, a malady which has since rendered itself so fatally fa- miliar to the European mariner. It went on con- tinually spreading, till there were not three in all the ships that had wholly escaped it. The living had not strength to bury the dead : unable to dig graves in the frozen ground, they were obliged mere- ly to lay them under the snow. Cartier was also greatly alarmed lest the natives, whose cordiality had by degrees abated, should discover the infirm state of his crew, and be tempted to seize both upon them and the ships. He used the most extraordinary ef- forts to conceal it from them. He pretended that he I' 1 ■ , 1 '' 88 EARLY VOYACiES TO AMEKICA. f *■ !: i^ . l'«:m was carrying on great repairs in his vessel, and could receive no one on board ; but whenever any of the In- dians came round the ship, all who could move were made to come on deck, and go busily backward and for- ward, the captain calling to those below that he would beat them heartily if they did not work harder. At the same time, such as could stir an arm, had pieces of wood put into it, with which they made all the noise in their power. He did not neglect also such means as occurred as best fitted for obtaining a cure of the malady. He caused an image of the Virgin to be set up on a tree at a little distance from the bank, where he ordered mass to be celebrated, and all who were able to walk there in procession. He made a vow also, if he should ever return to France, to go in pilgrimage to the shrine of Madonna de Rocquemado. All these vows and ceremonies were of no avail, till he observed one of the natives, who, after being ill, had rapidly re- covered his health. On earnest inquiry, a species of tree was pointed out (the white pine), a decoction of the leaves and bark of which was of sovereign virtue in this malady ; and, accordingly, by the use of it all those on board the ships were soon placed in a state of convalescence. The French commander now thought of returning home ; as a preliminary to which he hatched the ne- farious scheme of smuggling on board Donnaconna, and conveying him to France. Poor Donnaconna was not very easily caught, and even took to his bed as an apology for not visiting the French. Various steps were taken to reassure him. One of the attendants having proposed that they should carry off a man who had given them some offence, it was answered, I C A U T I E « . C A X A 1) A . 89 that they did not wisli to cany off any one, except a few })oys to learn the language. The suspicions of Donnaconna being thus lulled, he was tempted, on occasion of a splendid fete, when the French set up a brilliant cross, and hung out all their colours, to ven- ture on board. Presently he was seized and confined in the cabin. The Indians at first took to flight, and hid themselves in the forests ; but during the night they came round the ship, howling and lamenting in the most frightful manner over the fate of their lost prince. Next day they appeared again, and bitterly reproach- ed the French for having killed him ; and on the fact being denied, asked then to be allowed to see him. Donnaconna was brought upon deck, and instruct- ed to say, that he was well treated, that he went willingly to see the king of France, from whom he expected a great present, and would return in ten or twelve moons. The people were satisfied, and raised three shouts of joy. The king, who seems really to have experienced good treatment, received various px"esents, which he distributed among them, while they, in return, brought a large store of provisions for his use during the voyage. Cartier now set sr'l, and arrived at St Malo on the 6tli July, 1536. The arrival of Cartier, and his presentation of the Indian chief, produced a strong sensation in the court of France. The Sieur de Roberval, a gentleman of extensive property in Picardy, undertook to form a settlement on a great scale in this newly-discovered country. Francis invested him liberally with titles, creating him viceroy and lieutenant-general of Canada, Hochelaga, Norimbega, and all the names which had ill ^ H 90 EAllLV VOYAGES TO AMEKICA. -■■ ! been bestowed upon these shores. But this expedi- tion, notwithstanding its pomp of preparation, pro- duced nothing. Cartier, in 1540, was sent forward to prepare the way for the main armament. He did not carry out with him Donnuconna, who had died in France ; and this faiUire laid the foundation of an unkindly feeling on the part of the natives, which ripened into many acts of open hostility. Cartier, however, built a small fort, which he called Charle- bourg, and which formed the first European esta- blishment in this part of America. Having waited, however, two years in vain for his principal, and being annoyed by the natives, he set sail for France. At Newfoundland, to his great surprise, he met Ro- berval coming out in full equii)ment ; but Cartier, now disgusted with the whole business, contrived to give him the slip, and made his-way home. Rober- val proceeded, and made some attempts at discovery ; but he soon returned to France, at what time or for what reason is not recorded. He undertook another expedition in 1549, accompanied by his brother ; but both are said to have perished, without any details being preserved of this catastrophe. SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. 91 CHAPTER II. SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. Florida becomes .known as Part of the Continent. — Expedition of Pamphilo Narvacz. — War with the Indians. — Various Adven- tures. — Alvaro Nunez reaches the Gulf of Mexico. — Expedition of Fernando de Soto. — Furious Countries through which he passes. — His Rcturn.-^His Death. 1 The brilliant fortune of the first adventurers who had drawn the rich golden prizes of Mexico and Peru, kindled throughout Spain a general hope and excitation. The wide circuit of the shores of the new world embraced other regions, which might contain in their bosom treasures as immense, and might raise their conquerors to the rank of kings. Spain contained abundance of daring spirits, who were prompt to embark their persons, their fortunes, and their all, in the career of American discovery and conquest, Florida, after its first discovery by Ponce de Leon, had been visited by a number of Spanish vessels, and some idea attained of the magnitude of the continent 92 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO ILOKIDA. h J I- ! If 11 HI ,\ 'if J m to which its name was attached. It was found to stretch indefinitely to an unknown extent ; and no reason appeared why it should not afford mines as ample as those which had enriched the early adven- turers. Florida therefore became for some time the grand theatre of Spanish enterprise. Pamphilo de Narvaez was a distinguished, though not a fortunate leader in the early expeditions to America. Velazquez, governor of Cuba, finding that Cortes, whom he had employed in the conquest of Mexico, secure in the attachment of his own adher- ents, disregarded his orders, sent Narvaez, with a very superior force, to chastise this presumption, and assume the command himself. Narvaez, brave, but full of blind confidence, allowed himself to be sur- prised and defeated by Cortes, when most of his troops went over to the victorious standard. Not- withstanding this unfortunate and mortifying result, Narvaez possessed still great influence at home and favour at court, and was thus enabled to equip an expedition for Florida on a considerable scale. With this he hoped to efface the memory of his former dis- grace, and rival the glory of his fortunate competitor. He was invested with the pompous title of Adelan- tado, which included the functions both of governor and commander in chief, and went commissioned, first to conquer, and then to rule the extensive terri- tory which reaches from the Cape das Palmas to the extreme point of Cape Florida. In June, 1527, Narvaez, with an armament of five vessels and 600 men, set sail from St T.ncar. A"'- varo Nunez, surnamed Capo de Vacca, acted as his I i I'AMPHILO NAHVAKZ. 93 ?i. treasurer, and is the author of the only narrative which has been preserved of this expedition. The fleet touched first at the Island of Dominica, where it remained for some days, to supply itself with provisions, and particularly with horses. Here no less than a hundred and forty members of the expedition, swayed by invitations from the islanders, and ])robably also by a dread of the unknown and barbarous shore to which they were tending, declin- ed proceeding farther, — a coiu-se which their chiefs seem to have had no power to prevent. The fleet proceeded to St James's, in Cuba, where they continu- ed for some time, refitting and taking in supplies. Alvaro being sent with one of his ships to a port at some distance for provisions, had gone on shore with some of his men, when they were attacked by a hurricane so tremendous, that the like had scarcely ever been witnessed even in these climates. The walls and houses continually falling round them, made it impossible to remain in the city without the utmost peril. They issued forth, seven or eight linked together, by which position alone they coula avoid being carried before the wind, and they sought refuge in the woods ; but here the trees falling, or torn up by the roots on every side, caused almost equal alarm. All night they seemed to hear loud cries, with the sound of flutes, drums, and trumpets, which doubtless were only the varied voices of the tempest. In the morning it fell ; but there appear- ed such a scene of desolation as they had never before witnessed. The trees lay strewed on the ground, and every leaf and plant destroyed. On ■■1 y i m i-i? \ f Hi ■ f < 94 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. ,u; ■■u turning to the sea, they heheld a spectacle still more doleful ; for instead of their vessel, only some of its planks were floating on the face of the deep. They searched long for any remnants which might have been cast ashore, but found only a little boat, carried to the top of a tree, some cloths torn in pieces, and two bodies of men, so mangled that they could not be recognized. No time was lost in rejoining the main body, which, having found a harbour, had suffered less dreadfully. The armament was now reduced to 400 men and 80 horses, and Narvaez, in compliance with the general opinion, determined not to attempt landing in Florida till the depth of the winter was past.* On the 20th February, 1528, the armament set sai' and, after having suffered considerably from tempest in coasting along Cuba, ran across from the Havanna to the shore of Florida. On the 12th April they found themselves at the mouth of an open bay, where there was a village. They landed, hoisted the king's standard, claimed, and seemed to con- sider themselves as having had full right and ground to expect implicit obedience to his authority. The narrator even asser'^s that they obtained such obe- dience ; but this is in no harmony with his own subsequent narration, that when the natives did appear, they made long discourses, with many signals and gestures, of which the Spaniards could interpret * Cabeca tie Vacca, Alvar Nugnez, Relacion de los Naufragios, 2. Ramusio, iii. 259. ^(i . con- •ound The obe- own did gnals rpret •agios, PAMPHILO NAllVAEZ. 95 nothing, except theit they contained urgent intimations to dei)art, and vehement threats in case of noncompli- ance ; l)ut, finding i)robably that they were not strong enougli to execute these menaces, they retreated into the interior. In this village there is said to have been a house so large that it could contain three hundred persons. An excursion was now made into the interior, and another village was visited, towards which the same domineering system was observed. Seeing a munber of chests in which the Indians preserved the dead bodies of their relations, the governor conceiv- ing this to be a species of idolatry, caused both chests and bodies to be reduced to ashes, — a proceeding very little calculated to conciliate the Floridans. The avidity of tlie Si)aniards was, however, very strongly excited by the view of some fine cloths, and especially of some golden ornaments worn by the Indians ; in reply to their eager inquiries respecting which, Apa- lachen, a country situated at some distance in the interior, was referred to as the quarter whence were derived these and all the other articles seen to be desirable in the eyes of the Spaniards. It was now time for the governor to consider what course he was to pursue in exploring and conquering Florida. Miruelo, a pilot whom they brought from Cuba, had undertaken to guide them into a secure and commodious harbour, instead of which he had brought them into a mere open road, and now declar- ed himself quite out of his reckoning, and at a loss whither to steer. Narvaez, whose mind was full of the reported wealth of Apalachen, then proposed that they should at once push into tlie interior, leav- i t' |;| i 1 1 pi iiip ^B^ 1'* 1^K1 1 'i^K 1 ill ■ 11 fl 96 SPANISH KXPl'.DI rioNS INIO I I.OHIDA. > 'I K 'I , 1 ' I 1 i ■' i > ing the vessels to find their way at leisure into this or any other convenient port. Alvaro, the narrator, supported the directly opposite opinion. He observ- ed, that they were entering a savage and almost uninhabited country, of which they had not the slightest knowledge ; they were entering it as duml) persons, who could not make the natives understand a single word, or obtain from them the least informa- tion. He urged, therefore, that they should reimbark and sail on, till they should find a secure harbour in a fertile country, from which, as a basis, they might penetrate into the interior. Only the secretary sup- ported this opinion ; all the rest, dazzled with the hope of wealth, and impressed with th.' dangers of the sea, which, being recently felt, appeared more dreadful than any they could encounter or land, cor- dially seconded the governor's proposal. Alvaro still remaining obstinate, Narvaez observed, that since he was so dreadfully alarmed at the idea of marching into the country, he might take ch i 'ge of the ships, which he deemed so much safer a task. The Castilian pride of Alvaro took fire. He declared, that though he did not expect that they would ever again see the ships, or the ships them, but that they would leave their bones on this savage earth, he was detei*mined to share every extremity with his countrymen, rather than expose his honour to the slightest imputation. The fleet was therefore committed to an officer of the name of Caravallo, and all preparations were made for the interior expedition.* * Ramusio, ill. 260. Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. 4. ch. 4. f i I'AMrHU.O NAllVAKi: 97 more I On the 1st of May, 1528, the Spaiiij. ils, tlirei lum- (h'ed strong, of whom forty were inonnted, and with an allowance of two ponnds of biscuit and half a pound of pork to each man, set forth to explore the depths of this vast continent. They travelLd fifteen days without seeing house or habitation. No long time was required to consume their biscuit and pork, after which they became solely dependent on some wild palm trees. Amid the exhaustion to which this hiuigry toil reduced them, they were obliged to spend a day in crossing a ])road and rapid river, at the opi)osite side of which they found a village. Here, in answer to their eager inquiries res])ecting Ai)alachen, the Indians informed tliem that the Ai)alachens were their own enemies, and that they were ready to aid in whatever might be under- taken against that people. After liaving held some friendly communication and obtained guides, the Spaniards })roceeded ; but soon reached another river still more rapid, and which could be crossed only by constructing a large canoe for the purpose. John Velasco, a bold horseman, having attempted to swim across, .was drowned along with his horse. This first loss cast a considerable gloom over their minds ; however the horse, being found by the Indians, was made to afford the only hearty meal they had en- joyed for many days. They had still a long march to perform, over tracts sometimes mountainous and sometimes marshy, encumbered with large trees blown down by the tempests, and often blocking np the road. At length, on the 26th of June, they arrived in sight of a village, which was an- VOL. I. a I 9H SPANISH KXl'KDniON.S INTO I'lMMMDA. f . ' i 1 I I ! I iioiuiced as Apalat'lR'H. Joy took possession of their hearts, and they returned fervent thanks to Heaven that they had eonie to the end of this long and dreary journey, and of the heavy hd)oiu' and gnaw- ing hunger whicli they had enchu'ed ; that they had reached a region of abunchinee ane()|)le sent a similar eseort, who rei)orte. 1. cli- .T — 4. Her- rera, Dec. vi. b. 7- t-li. 0. Purchas, iv. l.')32. 118 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA. l{. I ' ' : I |*'^ -^f^tB iW IFT 1 ■'' 1 f ' 1 * li 1 ti ■ ■■' ) n ^'^HM 128 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FEOUIDA. harsh or tyrannical measures mixed up with it. Soto bL^gan to think, that some penalty was necessary to deter other Indians from imitating the example of those of Vitachuco ; and the plan which he fell ui)on was the most injudicious that can well be conceived. He caused the pond Indians to be distributed among the Spaniards, whom they were to serve as slaves during their stay in the city. These i)roud chiefs and warriors were thus compelled to act as cooks and scul- lions, and to i)erform all the most menial offices. Soto, it is said, meant to set them at liberty at his departure, which was not intended to be very distant ; but he did not communicate this intention to Vitachuco, to whom it a])peared that his bravest subjects were thus doomed to hopeless and humiliating bondage. That fierce thirst for revenge, which had been lulled in the breast of this savage chieftain, was awakened anew in all its force. The Indians were disarmed, but they were at large, and in their domesticated state had the Spaniards very much within their reach. It appeared to Vitachuco, that if each Indian killed his master, the detested race would be at once extinct. The plan })eing communicated, was embraced with ardour, and the secret faithfully kept. Three o'clock, while he was sitting at dinner, was the time fixed by Vitachuco for executing his purpose. He threw back his shoulders, cracking his bones in a manner pecu- liar to the Indians, and uttering a shout so loud, that it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a mile ; he then sprung up, and, seizing the general by the arm, dealt such a blow, that Soto fell senseless to the ground, and the blood gushed from the mouth and I I' i I Mi 1 KltXAXDO DE SOTO. 129 Soto ry to lie of upon Mved. inong ilavL'S fs aiul I scul- )ffices. at his staiit ; C'llUCO, 5 were ndage. lulled [ikened armed, d state h. It ed his xtiiict. d with o'clock, ixed hy w back pecu- id, that er of a leral by eless to nth and nose. The hand of the Indian was lifted to strike another, which, it was thought, would have closed the career of Soto ; but the Spanisli chiefs, starting from table, darted at once upon the Cacique, who fell pierced by twelve wounds. Mean time all the Indians liad heard the loud cry of their chief, and, starting up, seized such weapons as their servile emi)loyment af- forded, — spit** pots, platters, and chairs, — and struck them with fury against the Spaniards. Two or three of the latter were killed on the spot ; almost all the rest received unseemly and dishonest wounds. They soon rallied, however, and took to their arms ; but much embarrassment was felt by many, who held it beneath their dignity to kill their own slaves. All they would deign to do was to drag them to the great square, where they would be despatched by the arrows of auxiliary Indians ; but these })risoners often shook themselves free, throwing down and trampling upon their masters. However, at last nearly all jierished, with little deadly loss on the part of the invaders.* After this dismal and bloody catastrophe, the Spa- niards could have little satisfaction in remaining at Vitachnco. They merely spent four days in getting their wounds cured, and then set forward for Apala- chen, which still bore in their eyes somewhat of that brilliant name which had lured Narvaez to it. l^he way was through the province of Ossachile, where they found, as usual, the capital deserted, and the In- dians watching every opportunity to harass and cut * Vega Florjdaj lib. ii. cli. 18-25. Ilerrera, Dec. vi, lib. vii. ch. 11. i'i ■ I VOL. I. I M «ip* ^ A< t :,:^^ 11 ¥: -:l| =ih 130 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. them off ill detail. Nothing serious occurred, how- ever, till they arrived at the marsh or lagoon in which the army of Narvaez had suffered so dreadfully. The Indians were equally prepared for them, and had oc- cupied every post from which they could be conve- niently annoyed. The Spaniards, like their predeces- sors, found the marsh deep, difficult, and encum- bered ; and it cost them two days to effect the pass- age ; but, being continually on the watch, and by passing the most difficult parts in the night unper- ceived by the enemy, they worked their way across without any very serious loss. They had still to fight every step of their way to Apalachen, the Indians constantly hovering round them, and keeping up such a perpetual howling, that the Spaniards could scarcely obtain a moment's sleep. It was announced to them, that at Ai)alachen they would find a formidable force prepared to resist them ; but on their arrival the city was abandoned, the Cacique Capafi having retreated into the mountains. Soto sent parties in several directions to explore the country beyond Apalachen, when it was found only in one quarter to be of that rugged and mountainous character which had been reported to Narvaez. The other districts were very tolerably productive in mil- let, roots, and nuts ; so that, finding no difficulty of subsistence, he determined to take up here his winter- qurters. The Indians, however, continuing their harassing warfare, Soto resolved upon a desperate effort to terminate it, by seizing their prince. Capafi had sought refuge in the heart of a thick forest, on a spot approachable only by a narrow defile, which :4 -'I edf sei til FERNANDO DE SOTO. 131 how- vhich The id oc- !onve- ideces- nciim- ; pass- ind by unper- across still to Indians Lip such scarcely :o them, )le force the city •etreated plore the md only ntainous . The in niil- iculty of s winter- ng their desperate Capafi ;k forest, lie, which !Z the Indians had fortified by successive palisades, and considered almost impregnable. The Spaniards, how- ever, pulled up the stakes, cut the cords, and soon forced their way through the successive barriers to the retreat of Capafi. Tiui chosen troops, and all the principal chiefs of the Jrdians, rallied round their chief in this utmost peril, but could not withstand the superior arms and discipline of the assailants. It was in vain to attempt removing the Cacique, who was so excessively corpulent, that his only mode of locomo- tion was by creeping upon all fours, — a process much too slow for the present exigency. His chiefs were therefore obliged to produce him to Soto, at the same time falling on their knees, and entreating that he would rather take their lives than do the smallest in- jury to their beloved monarch. The Spaniards were much eJified by this loyalty ; so that Soto received the captive prince with courtesy, and his weighty carcass was respectfully conveyed to the capital. The gene- ral, however, was much disappointed to find that the hostilities of the Indians, instead of ceasing, became only more active and formidable. They were impelled to redoubled efforts, in hopes of effecting the deliver- ance of their chief; while the large and chosen body, who had hitherto been employed in guarding him, became disposeablc, and were in continual movement. Capafi, at the urgent request of Soto, sent repeated orders to them to desist, but without effect. As the general grumbled heavily upon this subject, and hint- ed his doubts of the Cacique's sincerity, the latter ob- served, that his chiefs, considering him in a state of cap- tivity, regarded the orders sent by him as not emanat- h' it 132 SPANISTI EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. i 1^-1 U1 K ■( 1 1 1 ?■'' I 1 S r ing from his own free will, but dictated by the Spa- niards. If, however, an arrangement were made, by which he might have an interview with his principal chiefs, he was confident of being able to persuade them of his sincere wish for peace, and to make them desist from their present courses. This was rather a deli- cate transaction ; however, Soto seeing no hope from any other course, at length agreed to make the trial. An appointment was made with the principal chiefs to assemble in a forest six miles distant from Apala- chen ; and the prince was sent thither under a strong guard of cavalry and infantry, who were enjoined to keep the strictest watch over him. They arrived in the evening on the borders of the forest, and messen- gers were sent to the chiefs, by whom a meeting was arranged for the following day. During the night the Spaniards formed a close circle round the Cacique, and stationed sentinels at every point, so as to pre- vent every possibility of escape. They hailed, there- fore, the dawn of morning, under the full confidence of a happy issue to their mission. To their utter dis- may, the Cacique wns not to be found, and tidings soon arrived that the Indians were carrying him off in triumph. The Spaniards returned very discon- solate to Apalachen, and reported to Soto that the watch had been so strictly kept as to leave no possi- bility whatever of Capafi having escaped by human means. It was, therefore, beyond a doubt, that the devil, or one of those mighty magicians with whom the Indians had such extensive traffic, must have wafted his ponderous body through the air, and placed it in the midst of his nobles. Soto, on strict a I di cd inl FEllNAXDO DE SOTO. 133 Spa- e, by icipal them desist I (leli- from trial, chiefs ^pala- strong ined to ved in nessen- ng was ; night facique, to pre- , there- iifidence tter dis- tidings him off discon- that the lo possi- / human that the :h whom List have air, and on strict inquiry, saw much reason to conchide, that Mor])heus, shedding his heavy dews on the wearied eyelids of the Spaniards, had been the power under favour of wlioni Capafi had crept out of the circle and rejoined his countrymen. However, the thing could not now be remedied ; and these being liis chosen and trusty chiefs, he did not choose to quarrel with them, but was fain to acquiesce in the supernatural solution of the affair. During the winter, Soto sent a detachment of thirty horse to Hirriga, to desire a body of troops, which he had left there under Calderon, to rejoin him at Apa- lachen. The mission was hazardous, as they had to experience the most inveterate hostility from the tribes by whom this long range of territory was occupied. They touched at Vitachuco, but found it completely deserted, being considered by the Indians as an unfortunate spot. In the course of the winter also Maldonado, a naval officer, was made to sail along the coast with two brigantines, in search of a good harbour, which he accordingly found consider- ably to the west of any of the points at which the Spaniards had yet touched. It was at a place called Achussi, at the mouth of a large river, and Soto determined to make it the basis of his future opera- tions. Other objects for the present attracted his attention towards a different quarter. Soto made the most anxious inquiries of the In- dians who were brought in to liim as prisoners, or could be allured into his service, as to the countries in the west and in the interior. At length two young men were found who had followed the mer- '1* t, I ' ' ' ;LSJ (, 1 '1 '1 '1 •1 1" i .'1 If I iff .' u ^Im^ 134 SP\NISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. chants into these countries. They described them as extensive and fertile, and offered to serve as guides to the Spaniards. The latter, ever mindful of their grand object, showed them gold, silver, and various species of jewels. The Indians said, that in the western country there was a yellow metal and a white metal, both in great plenty, and which really seemed to have a great resemblance to those now exhibited. They pointed also to the pearls, as an ob- ject which would be found there, and even showed one in their own possession. The Spaniards were now in the clouds ; another Peru, more brilliant than Piz- arro had conquered, seemed to open before them ; and every day was an age, which intervened before their departure for the land of promise.* Towards the end of March, 1540, Soto sent Mal- donado to the Havanna for supplies and stores, advis- ing him that the anuy would meet him in due time at the newly-discovered port. The general then began his march to the coast from which such san- guine hopes were derived. The Apalachians con- tinued their hostility, and a detachment of five guards and two officers, who had been sent to reconnoitre, were surprised and covered with wounds, of which all died except one. On entering into a new terri- tory, Soto felt the necessity of adopting some plan of more decided conciliation. He determined, therefore, to withdraw the clause, by which it had been required that the first conununication should consist in an w^t * Vega Florida, Hcrrera, lib. 7- rt o FEHNANDO DE SOTO. V35 their of iini)licit submission to tlie king of Spain and the pope. The unvaried indignation with which this overture liad been met convinced liim that it could never cease to be a ground of hostiHty ; and, in his unbounded anxiety to reach the country of the white and yellow metals, he was willing to suspend every other object.* The first village reached by him had, however, been deserted, probably in consequence of some rumours from the east ; but the inhabitants had not retired so rapidly as to prevent him from taking six of them, two of whom were chiefs. They proudly asked what he wanted ? whether it were peace or war ? The general replied, that all lie wanted was peace, free passage through the country, and such a portion of provisions as his troops abso- lutely required. The chiefs replied, they had no doubt of all this being readily granted, and sent for- ward a message to the Cacique, asking a favourable reception for the strangers. The Cacique gave them a cordial invitation to his capital, called Attapaha, where Soto was entertained for three days, and, in return for his good treatment, presented several out of a hundred hogs, which he carried with him and reserved as a dainty. He was equally well received at Achalaque ; and we pass over the report of his finding there only old men, — a phenomenon, it is ad- mitted, which he had not leisure to examine. From Patofa, the next Cacique, the reception was more cordial than ever. The object was now to reach * Lib. iii. Dec. vi. ch. 11, 12. HMf ' — l »' -l" '' J!JiW ' tJ Wi W .- ,.1 -/i 136 SPANISH KXI'KUITIONS INTO II.OUIDA. ;r V il m Cofaciqui, the next state, and which had all along been jiointed to as the seat of that brilliant wealth which was to reward all their toils. Patofa gave him a most unnecessary and indeed cumbrous escort of three or four thousand men ; to which, it appears, he was prompted by hostile views against this neigh- bouring power, in which he erroneously hoped that the Spaniards would assist. Such zeal did he display in tlieir service, that, on their complaining of an Indian who had neglected liis duty, he condenmed him to drink up the nearest rivulet. To fix him to this task, four of the stoutest Indians were provided with rods, and held themselves ready to join in beat- ing him all at once whenever he should make a moment's pause in drinking. The unhappy man drank and drank, till his stomach could receive no more ; then, being comi)elled to pause, the blows began to descend without intennission, and he was forced to fly back to the pool, till some of the by- standers, moved with pity, ran to Soto, and entreated him to save the man's life by procuring the remission of this dreadful penalty. The Sjianiards then set forth with their cumbrous escort, and i)roceeded for six days through a desert ; during which, liowever, they were copiously sui)plied with provisions. At the end of that period the Indians declared them- selves unable to tell where they were, or whither the road led. Soto appealed to Patofa whether this was not a most suspicious circumstance, and whether he could expect liim to believe, that of so great a crowd not one had ever been led hy war or hunting into this (puu'ter. The jn'ince, however, solennily asserted. ii^ 1 i:\ ■ I KUNANDO Di: SOTO. 137 iiiul seems to liave satisfied Soto, that this was the territory of their enemies, the C'otaciquis, by whom they were generally worsteil, and that, unless from the present favourable circumstances, no one would have ventured to penetrate so far. The two parties therefore continued to grope their way, till they came to a large and broad river, which they had no possible means of crossing. The difficulty was much aggravated by the almost total failure of their provisions, rendered much more severe by th » nume- rous body of Indians whom it was necessary to feed. Parties were desjiatched both uj) and down the river in search of a passage, but for five days without success. Diu'ing that time they suffered the severest extremities of hunger, which they were obliged to palliate by killing a nund)er of their favourite hogs ; and even these scarcely afforded a mouthful to each. At length they found some villages, where they ob- tained a supply of food ; but the Indians, indulging their old enmity, and encouraged by the presence of their Sj)anis]i allies, began i)lundering and murdering on all sides. This was ([uite contrary to all the views of Soto ; and the ju'esence of these faithful allies being thus every way useless and burdensome, he was hap- py in being able to jH'evail on them in a friendly manner to go home. After some farther travelling, the Spanish general was fortunate enough to discover, on the opi)osite side of the river, the city of which lie was in quest. When they came to the place of passage, Ortiz and an Indian called across, that some peaceably-disi)osed strangers wished to treat of an alliance with their Cacique. I 'f" M . i»l -I, ir 138 SPANLSn EXPEDITIONS INTO I'LOUIDA. Hereuj)()ii six of the most respectable inhabitants, with their attendants, entered into a boat and passed the river. On l)eing introduced to the general, they bowed first to the sun in the east, then to the moon in the west, and, lastly, to the general, to whom they put the us'ual question, Whether he wished peace or war ? Soto replied, peace, with the addition of a pass- age over the river and through the country, and a needful supply of food. It was with regret that he sought to give them this trouble, but lie hoped to be able to make some suitable return. The Indians replied, that there would be every dispdsition to grant his request ; but, unfortiuiately, the country laboured under a severe scarcity, and was also suffering from a pestilential disease ; but they served an amiable and generous princess, to whom the whole circumstances should be reported. The Indians returned to the city, and soon after an ornamented barge was seen putting off from the shore, with another attending it ; and in the first an elegant female figure, who, it was soon perceived, must be the princess herself. She arrived, and quite enchanted the Spaniards by her beauty, her grace, and the courtesy of her demeanour. She as- sured Soto that, notwithstanding the reigning scarcity, she had provided two large houses for the accommo- dation of his people, and had lodged in them six hun- dred measures of millet ; and she had still granaries, out of which, if necessary, a larger supply could be drawn. She then untied a string of large pearls, which formed a treble circle round her neck, reaching even to her girdle, and gave them to Ortiz to deliver to the general. Soto observed, how much greater uS fr FERNANDO I)E SOTO. 139 pleasure it would give him if she would piv^se* t it with lier own liand, which, as a sign of p' ice could not be considered as offending against the hicest de- corum. After some modest reluctance the princess advanced, and complied with this request. The Sj)a- niards found themselves more at home here than in any even of the friendly countries through which they had lately i)assed. Though the latter liatl shown amity, it had been in a rough, constrained, half-re- luctant manner ; hut there was something free and cordial among the Indians of Cofaciqui, which made them feel at once like old acqiuiintances. No time was lost in preparing boats and rafts, and the army was j)assed over in safety. On inquiring into the state of the country, Soto learned that the princess had a mother, who held a sort of independent establishment at twelve leagues' distance. He expressed a wish to see the old lady, who was accordingly invited ; but, instead of comply- ing, she transmitted a sharp reprimand to her daughter for having admitted into her capital strangers of whom she knew nothing. The young princess was so little affected by this remonstrance, that she con- curred in a plan of Soto to send a detachment and bring the mother by force. A young chief, with some servants attached to him, was sent with the Spaniards as their guide. This chief, who had hitherto been one of their most agreeable friends, was no sooner on the road than, to their surprise, he became buried in gloomy reverie, and heavy sighs every moment burst from him. At length, taking his quiver, he began drawing out all the arrows, which were so beautiful, I i IK) SPANISH KXI'KDITIONS INTO II.OHIDA. f ■i J ! '' .1* 'l! vVSf 'h that the attontiou of the SimnianlH was oiigroHsed in a(hiiirin^ tlit-ni, when he took out one of the sharpest, I)ieiTeu the capital, which they found deserted, and made it their winter-quar- ters. The Indians hovered round, and made frecjuent attacks ; but whenever the Spanianls apjiroached, or 150 SPANISH KXPKDITIONS TO ri.OlUDA. 1 . ,. i I :|i m '^ m iH i Lkil ' ll ir Hn If' rl ' II' I mWs a if m iM ^ 'I' even appeared, they took to iW^ht witli every symptom of pauie. All this, however, was merely iiitemled to convey to the enemy the impression of beinjjf o])posed only to cowards, and to lull them into a false security. When tliis plan appeared to have taken its full effect, the grand blow was struck. One night in the end of January, while a strong wind blew from the north, the Sj)aniar(ls were awakene*! by the loml liowling of many tlnmsand barbarians, and, on looking out, saw the whole atmosi)liere in a blaze, 'i'his last effect was ju'oduced by numberless flaml)eaux, lighted by a peculiar vegetable substance, with wliich they had evcji the tips of their arrows pointed, liy these mean.s they easily succeeded in setting fire to the camp. Amid the surj)rise, the confuj^ion, and the flames, they were able to rusii in, and began to make dreadful havock. Such an impression was made by their unexjiected prowess, that fifty of the Spaniards betook themselves to flight, — the fii*st examj)le of this disgraceful kind that had hai)pened in Florida ; but they were rallied. As Soto himself rushed against the enemy, without having had his saddle jn'operly fastened, it turned round ; he fell among the enemy, and was with diffi- culty rescued by his chiefs. ^Mien the Spaniards had been rallied and regularly drawn up, the assailants were obliged to give way.* The troops spent the winter in Chica9a, though constantly harassed by hostile attacks. They suffer- ed much also from an epidemical disorder, which they * Part ii. b. 1, ch. 14-15. Puichas, iv. 154-5. \ 1 i wi So w al) isl no loi tw M FKIINAXDO I)K SOTO. 151 ■'{ impiitt'd to tlie want of salt, but wliicli probably bad otber causes. The natives showed tliem a plant, wliieh they found almost an infallible specific; but the i)rirs luul bi'i'ii interred, t'olleeted the bones, and trampled iheni untler toot. They might he forgiven for taking oUthe heads of their countrymen, which, stuck on lances, adorned tiu' gates of the temple, and sui)stituting thosf of the slaiii Capa- lias. Amid these proceeiiings. Solo hesitated not to send continued overtures of alliance and amity; hut Caj)aha appealed to liim wliether, under the treatment which he experienced, he couhl think of any tiling hut war and vengeance. Soto at length, furnished with boats l)y liis allies, embarked two hundred Spaniards an«l three tliousand Indians to attack the island. 'J^hey landed and carried the first palisade ; but, in defending the second, the Cajiahas fought like lions ; and the C'as(piins, accustomed to fly before them, were .seized with a jianic, and fk'd precipitately to the boats, where they woidd even liavT carried ofl" those of the Spaniards to secure against pursuit, had there not been a guard to prevent them. The small Spanish detachment, thus abandoned to itself, might, it was supposed, liave been entirely cut off; hut tlie enemy, partly admiring their valour and j)artly con.ciliated by their former overtures, suspended hostilities, and allowed them to end)ark unmolested. The Cacicpie soon after came to visit Soto at his own capital, and concluded a treaty of amity : the Sj)anish general even succeeded in establishing a temporary j)eace between the two hostile potentates.* Soto, proceeding still north-west, and into tlie interior. \ Vejya, part ii. b. 2, vh. (5-7. Puirhas, iv. 1547. I'ERNANnO 1)E SOTO. 153 passed without imicli inolestation througli the pro- vinces of ColiiMii and Qiiigante. liut whvn he eanie to Tulhi, a more fierce resistance was experienced tlian from any former nation. This arose chiefly from the fe- male warriors, who fought si. > 0>^» <# /^ Sciaices Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 154 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA. \m .^'^'■i I i .1 >H r; £!■'■ At Utiangue, the next stage, Soto took up his fourth winter-quarters, and experienced from the na- tives only a slight and harassing hostility. At Na- guatex, the next stage, after some skirmishing at first, a good understanding was established. But when they came to Guacani they found a numerous and fierce people under arms. Soto began now seriously to consider the situation into which he had brought himself. He had plunged again deep into Florida, without any result more fa- vourable than he had reason to expect. He was con- tinuing to go onward, he knew not where or why, with an army gradually mouldering away, and which would soon be unequal to meet the formidable resist- ance to which it was always liable. He became sen- sible that the plan which "he had rashly abandoned, of building and fortifying a town on the seacoast, and communicating by it with the Havanna and Mexico, was the only one which afforded a promise of any solid establishment. He was now, however, so distant from the coast, that he doubted being able, with his reduced force, to make his way thither through so many na- tions. He determined then to march direct to the Chu- cagua, to build there his town and construct two bri- gantines, which might sail down the stream into the Gulf of Mexico. The Spaniards then, retracing their steps, marched rapidly, viewing the intermediate coun- tries only as a passage, and avoiding all discussion with the natives ; so that they effected a march of nearly three hundred miles in a short time and with little hinderance. They were involved in some dis- putes between the states of Anilca and Guachoia ; but tl !H:i FERNANDO DE SOTO. 155 Soto was hoping to effect his objects in the course of the winter, when a disease, of which the foundation had pro])ably been laid by disappointment, carried him off, after an illness of seven days. Soto seems to have merited a less dark close to his adventurous ca- reer. The Portuguese narrator calls him valorous, virtuous, and valiant. He was imbued, indeed, with the same unjust and tyrannical principles which ac- tuated the other conquerors of America, and which were sanctioned in their eyes by false principles, both of loyalty and religion ; but he tempered these prin- ciples with singular humanity, and combined daring valour with a good deal of prudence and discretion. Had the plan of settling Florida not been frustrated by the fierce valour of the natives, it might have been effected under better auspices than the other and more splendid conquests and establishments of the Spanish nation.* On the death of Soto, a deep and general despond- ency seized the expedition. After a short delibera- tion, it was resolved to follow out the design on which their hearts had long been fixed, of renouncing Flo- rida for ever, and shaping their way by the most di- rect course to Mexico. Their first project was to fol- low in the footsteps of Nugnez, and proceed direct across the continent. This they hoped to effect by marching due west, turning neither to the right nor the left ; and in this way they made a hundred leagues full speed, never inquiring what countries Vega, part ii. b. 3, ch. 8-9. Purchas, iv. 1552. t\ i > I ay>i r U'l 156 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA. they were going through, or holding any communica- tion with the inhabitants. By tliis blind advance, however, they found themselves entangled in wild and dreary forests, and saw before them a chain of rugged and trackless mountains. These were probably a branch of the Apalachians, which they might have avoided by a slight detour ; but they were discourag- ed, and determined to hasten back to the Chucagua, and there to construct a flotilla, which might convey them to Mexico. They suffered much, however, on the road, both by the scarcity of provisions, the se- vere cold, and the incessant hostility of the natives. On reaching the river, they seized on Aminoia, a con- siderable place, composed of two contiguous towns. The natives did not willingly admit them, but were driven out after a short resistance. As soon as the troops were refreshed from their fa- tigues, and the rigour of the wintei' was over, Moscoso, who had succeeded to the command, caused the Spa- niards to apply with the utmost vigour to the build- ing of seven brigantines, which were judged sufficient to embark the remaining troops. They now learned that a general confederacy had been formed among the neighbouring tribes, having in view their final de- struction. An envoy from one of the Caciques pri- vately assured the Indian female captives, that they would soon be delivered from the odious yoke of the strangers, whose heads, stuck on lances, would adorn the porches of the temples, while their bodies, suspended from the tops of trees, would become the prey of the birds. These fair prisoners, moved either by pity or a tenderer sentiment, gave notice of the FERNANDO DE SOTO. 157 design. But a force which was estimated, though probably much too high, at thirty or forty thousand men, opposed to a i^umber now less than five hundred, and with only a Sinall remnant of the horses, which had chiefly inspired the natives with terror, could look forward only to a very doubtful issue of the contest. They thought themselves, therefore, fortunate in be- ing delivered from it by a great inundation of the ri- ver, which converted all the surrounding plain into a sea, and made the streets of Aminoia itself passable only in canoes. They were thus enabled by the end of July to complete their brigantines ; but the enemy now determined to attack them in the passage down the river. For this purpose they had provided nearly a thousand war-canoes, formed, indeed, only of a single tree, but larger than those in the rest of Florida. They were variously adorned with brilliant colours, — blue, yellow, red, and green ; but each canoe, with the oars, and even the arrows and plumes of the boat- men, was all of one colour. It was learned from the interpreter that they spoke with contempt of the cow- ards who were flying before them in vain, but who had escaped being the prey of the dogs on land only to become that of the river-monsters. Accordingly, the voyage down for ten days was one continued battle, in which the Spaniards were obliged to remain strictly on the defensive, being not only few in num- ber, but their ammunition nearly exhausted. Every one of them, notwithstanding his armour, was more or less wounded, and all their horses were killed ex- cept eight. Having got the start of the enemy by about a league, they landed at a village for a neces- ■ji* 158 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO I'LOIUDA. 8ary supply of provisions ; but were so closely follow- ed, that they were obliged to abandon their horses, and saw miserably perish this remnant of the three hundred and fifty noble steeds whicli they had landed in Florida, and which liad been a main instrument of their victories. Soon after, the Indians, by a feigned relaxation in the pursuit, induced three barks, with fifty-two men, rashly to separate from the rest, when they were suddenly surprised and enveloped, and the whole killed or drowned, with the exception of four. They continued to follow the Spaniards during that day and the following night ; but next morning, when they saw tlie sun rise, they raised lovid shouts, and sounded all their instruments in thanksgiving to that great luminary for the victory he had granted ; — they then desisted from the pursuit, which had been conti- nued without intermission for four hundred leagues. Moscoso, with all that remained of his troops, reached the ocean without farther difficulty.* The Portuguese narrator has given an estimate of the Spanish marches, which makes them amount in all to two thousand leagues, or above five thousand miles. This is certainly extravagant ; yet they were very extensive, including, in various directions, the whole of Florida and Georgia, and even touching Ca- rolina. Nothing, however, can be more misplaced than the title of " Conquest of Florida," which Spanish pride has not scrupled to affix to the narra- tive. With the exception of the deep track of blood Vega, part ii. b. 4., ch. 4-5. to Ii mfi if FERNANDO DE SOTO. 159 with which their steps were ahnost every where mark- ed, the Spaniards left Florida as they had found it, in full possession of the native tribes. The expedition proceeded along the Gulf without any vicissitudes but those to which such a voyage is incident, and arrived at the port of Panuco. Here their miserable state excited deep sympathy. Meagre, black, overwhelmed with fatigue, covered with skins, looking more like beasts than men, they received eve- ry charitable aid, were lodged and fed ; and the })ene- volent confraternity of Mexico sent down shirts, shoes, medicines, and delicacies for the sick. By these ap- plications, in the course of ten days they were revived and recruited ; and they then began to look round for those treasures which, in failure of Florida, they liad never doubted that Mexico would furnish. Mexico had sounded in tlieir ears as a magic name, — a region where gold and silver would lie scattered in heaps, and could be collected without effort. la- stead of this, they saw a dreary and barren country, without a particle of the j)recious metals, every repo- sitory of which, they learned, had been already occu- pied, and nothing left to glean. The Panucans, ac- cordingly, were in very humble circumstances, having nothing but a few horses, and what they could wring from the ungrateful soil. To themselves there evi- dently remained nothing but hopeless beggary or daily labour. They were seized hereupon with a paroxysm of rage and regret at the idea of having left Florida, a fertile region, where they would have had a king- dom of their own, and might each have had a province to go\'ern. Their fury vented itself chiefly against i n 160 srAXISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA. ' those of their countrymen, and especially of the chiefs, through whose influence mainly the resolution to abandon Florida had been taken. They even fired at and wounded several, so that they durst not stir out of their houses. At last, the government was obliged to interfere, and send tliem to Mexico by tens and twenties, taking care that each party should be all on one side. At Mexico they were received with much interest, and there was even a talk of renewing the expedition to Florida ; but the final issue was, that they all dispersed either to the mother-country, or to seek their fortune in diiferent parts of the colonies.* Vega, b. 4j ch. 14. H )» i ^■/ m I A \i i 1 llENCII EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. I6l CHAPTER III. FRENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA. ExpedilioH of Ribaut — Of Lamlonnierc — Of Menemlcz, — Capture of the French Fort. — Dreadful Catastrophe. — Expedition of De Gourgues. — Hia Success. — Return to France. It must be obvious, from the narratives now given of the Spanish expeditions in Florida, that however gallant and adventurous their conduct had been, and however striking and eventful their career, Florida was left by them exactly as they had found it, and not a single permanent settlement formed. Yet, from the original discovery of Ponce de Leon, and these mis- named conquests, thaf .^ "oud nation claimed a right, under the name of F orida, to the whole North American continent. It was not likely that the other great nations, as they advanced in maritime skill and enterprise, would long acquiesce in so empty a claim. France, which had not hitherto taken any lead in this direction, was now the first to dispute it. The brave and generous Coligni, bred to naval affairs, first per- ceived all the advantages which his country might VOL. I. L i i ^'^' II 'j mi' ■Kk ' Fliff ' '> i I fl ',1 fH 162 FRENCH i:xrEDITI()NS INTO T'l.OUlDA. (lerive from coininerce nnd colonial possessions. In 1.56i2, the great civil war was as yet only hnxxling, and Catherine, in tiie crafty balance which she songht to maintain l)etween the parties, studied to concili- ate the admiral. She therefore cordially concnrred in his j)lan of sending a Huguenot expedition to occupy Florida ; which, amid the fatal designs over whicli she was brooding, promised even to weaken a body of which she had sworn the destruction. Co- ligni had thus no difficulty in fitting out a party exclusively Huguenot, and including some persons of respectable birth. They embarked in two vessels, luider the command of Ribaut, an officer of merit. He had a tolerably prosperous voyage, and arrived at the mouth of a river, which he called May, from its being tliscovered in that month of the year, 1562; but he sailed to the southward in search of a river which Ayllon, a previous navigator, had called the Jordan ; but instead of it he lighted upon one which the English afterwards called Ediscon, and which is, in fact, on the borders of South Carolina. A fort was soon erected, and the settlement being thus founded under promising auspices, Ribaut set sail for France, with the view of bringing out a re-enforce- ment to the colony. This was an imprudent step. The settlement, in its most critical state, was left without the benefit of his prudence and judgment; and the command devolved upon Albert, an officer quite unequal to so delicate a task. Finding it dif- ficult to maintain discipline in a society where all were more willing to command than to obey, he had recourse to the most tyrannical and brutal means of UUJAUT. Hili enforcing it. He addressed the colonists only in the most opprobrious language ; he hanged one of them with his own hand, and lield out to the others a continued menace of the same fate. At length, los- ing all patience, they rose upon him, and jmt him to death. Amid these dissensions, and amid some vain inquiries after silver cand gold, they never bethought themselves of the more essential object of raising a supply of provisions, till famine, in the most alarm- ing shape, stared them in the face. After exhausting all that they coidd either procure for themselves, or obtain from the natives, a council was called, and no resource was found but to construct a bark and return in it to Europe. They had thus the same task to perform as the followers of Narvaez, though not with means so wholly imperfect ; and hunger stimulating their exertions, enabled them in a short time to complete their vessel. A much heavier task awaited them in crossing the mighty Atlantic, and one which it seemed scarcely possible that they could achieve in safety. Other perils, however, threatened them, than those their fears had anticipated. Instead of shipwreck, they encountered so dead a calm, and the voyage thus reached to so unexpected a length, that their slender store of provisions was exhausted, and the famine from which they fled met them in all its horrors. After every other mode of sustaining life had been exhausted, their reluctance was overcome to that imj)ious one which every civilized mind must view with the deepest horror. One of the crew had been already sacrificed, to afford a dreadful prolonga- tion to the life of the rest, when an English vessel iw I I h- IBI- ruKXcn kxi'Kdition's into ri.oinnA. npi)earee(litioii against tiie Hpanianls. In vain did Lau; 170 IREXCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLOltlDA. to the fort. They had, however, a hundred leagues to travel, through a most rugged and harren country, where they subsisted wholly on roots and herbs, and only occasionally found pools of bad water. They were quite exhausted, when, on the ninth day, they were cheered by the view of the river and of the fort on the opposite side ; but what was their dismay when they saw on the ramparts Spanish colours ! An awful pause was made, to consider the course whicli they were to hold, and some were of opinion that they should suffer any thing rather than put themselves in the power of men whose chief glory was in shed- ding the blood of the enemies of their faith. Ribaut, however, judging their situation otherwise almost wholly desperate, determined to open a treaty with Menendez. He sent two of the party to represent to him, that their sovereigns were in close amity ; that the French had been sent out under the strictest in- junctions to interfere in no shape with any settlements which had been formed by Spain, and they had ri- gidly acted up to this injunction. He hoped, there- fore, that in this extremity they would be allowed all they asked, — a supply of food, and a vessel to convey them to Spain. Menendez received them in the most courteous manner, — assiu'ed them that nothing could be farther from his wish than to treat with inhuma- nity the soldiers of any nation, especially Frenchmen, with whom his so v reign was anxious to preserve amity. Since they were willing to quit Florida, he pledged himself, on the faith of a soldier and a gen- tleman, that they should be well treated and sent back to their country. Upon this pledge the French m a ti( tl] Pi e) hj RIBAUT. 171 delivered up their arms, and a boat was sent across, which brought them over in parties of thirty at a time. Ribaut was not a little dismayed to observe, that as his men were landed, they were bound two and two together, with their hands behind their backs ; but he was assured that this was only a temporary precaution. At length, when they were all assembled on a plain in front of the castle, Menendez, with his sword, drew a line round them on the sand, then ordered his troops to fall on and make an indiscriminate massacre. The Spaniards eagerly rushed on to fulfil this bloody mandate, and added every outrage which national and religious antipathy could prompt. The bodies were not only covered with repeated wounds, but cut in pieces, and treated with the most dreadful indignities. All the while the military band continued to play, to drown the cries for mercy and the shrieks of the dying. Ribaut, while he vainly invoked the pledged faitli of Menendez, was struck in the back, and having fallen down, was despatched by numerous wounds. His skin, or, according to others, the hair of his beard, was then taken off, and sent to Spain to greet the eyes of his Catholic majesty. A number of the mangled limbs of the victims were then suspended to a tree, to which was attached the following inscrip- tion : — " Not because they are Frenchmen, but because they are heretics and enemies of God." It may be proper to mention, that the Spaniards published narratives in which they admitted and even justified the barbarity of Menendez, but denied his treachery. According to them, the answer which m 172 FRENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FI.ORIDA. 1;^ / y I' !i i V [ i i'^'^'f '^ Menendez gave to the first mission was, that he had come from Spain to make mortal war against the heretics, botli l)y sea and huid ; that he had slaughter- ed the whole of the French garrison with the excep- tion of the women and children ; and that, if the French chose to surrender at discretion, he would do whatever God sliould put into his mind. Charle- voix even considers this as the most probable account of the affair. My own opinion is diametrically op- posite, as the French must have been divested of every glimmering of connnon sense, if they had laid down their arms and surrendered themselves, merely upon this solemn pledge to kill them. The opposite pledge may not have been quite so solemn as was asserted ; but that reason was given to them to think their lives would be spared, appears a point morally certain.* The tidings of this dreadful tragedy, when they arrived in France, excited an universal and mingled sentiment of grief and rage as well as a loud cry for vengeance. Fifteen hundred widows and orphans of the sufferers presented a remonstrance to Charles IX. in which they laid before him all the atrocity of the deed, and called upon him to vindicate the honour of his kingdom in warm terms, which evidently implied a doubt whether he was much inclined to meet tlieir wishes. Charles, in fact, deeply united with Philip in a purpose to exterminate the Protes- * Benzo, 445-53. Hist. Gen. des Voyages, xiii. 419-47. Charlevoix, Nouv. France, 12mo. i. 126-38. De Bry, part ii. * ^. jf i" DE GOURGUES. 173 tant name, though he could not altogether resist the cry of his people, made only cold and formal remon- strances, and readily accepted the superficial apologies of the Spanish court. But there was in the nation itself a spirit and energy which provided an avenger, without and against the wish and will of their monarch. Dominique de Gourgues, horn at Mont de Marsan, in Gascony, passed in that enterprising aje for one of the most distinguished leaders of partisan warfare. The Spaniards, who had often experienced his prowess, at length overpowered him while commanding a small party, took him prisoner, and very hasely sent him to work in chains among the galley-slaves. After his deliverance, he made several naval expeditions, and had just arrived at home when the news of the Floridan catastrophe reached France. The memory of his own wrongs mingled in the mind of De Gourgues with those of his countrymen, and worked him up to tlie highest exaltation. He determined to devote him- self, his fortune, and his whole being to the taking of some signal and terrible vengeance. His fortune was small, but he sold every thing he had ; he borrowed from his friends ; he prevailed on a few chosen asso- ciates to follow his example. Thus he found means to equip three small vessels, and to put on board of them eighty sailors and one hundred and fifty troops. Aware that his purpose would find no favour at court, he merely applied for and obtained a commission to bring negroes from the coast of Benin. Accordingly he proceeded, in the first instance, along the African coast ; but on reaching the Cape Verd islands, he sud- '1 I4I li (I I' i V.-' > ki. 174 FRENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO ELOKIDA. denly turned and crossed the Atlantic. It was not before reaching the western point of Cuba, that he disclosed to his countrymen that their destination was Florida, and to avenge their slaughtered countrymen. There were not wanting those who shrunk from an adventure so perilous on that bloody and terrible shore. But those who were in the secret raised a loud cry of aj)plause ; the rest were mostly devoted adherents, accustomed to follow De Gourgues through every peril ; so that an unanimous voice was soon raised in favour of the enterprise. De Goiu'gues now sailed along the coast of Florida. As he passed seemingly too close to the river May, the Spaniards, imagining the ships to be Spanish, sa- luted him with three guns, which he returned, tak- ing care quietly to stand farther out to sea, and land- ed at a river about fifteen leagues' distance. As soon as a communication had been opened with the Indians, it appeared that the Spaniards, as usual, had rendered that i)eople their mortal enemies, ready to assist and to co-operate in every thing tending to their destruc- tion. By their information, and by an exploratory excursion taken under their guidance, it appeared, that two forts had been added to the original one, and that the whole were in good condition, but carelessly guarded, the Spaniards not having the slightest sus- picion that there was a French force in this quarter of the world. The allied force having exchanged mutual oaths and hostages, set forth, and, after a very hard march, arrived in sight of San Matheo. They were obliged to spend the night at two leagues' dis- tance, being unable to cross a river that had been DE GOURGUES. 175 swelled by the rains. Next morning, on taking a view of the fort, he was much alarmed by seeing the whole garrison in motion and on the ramparts ; but they soon withdrew, and it proved to have been only to see some rei)airs made to a fountain. At ten o'clock the troops crossed the river, which still took tlicm up to the middle. They were for some time concealed by a thick wood, emerging from which they were at last seen, and two guns fired. They rushed on, how- ever, with eager fuiy ; and Alokutora, an Indian, having singly scaled the ramparts and killed an artil- leryman, the garrison were seized witli a panic, and precijiitately abandoning the fort, were most of them killed or taken. Almost immediately the garrison of the next fort followed their example, and met with the same fate. The main fort, however, still held out, and, having recovered from tlie first panic, was putting itself in a posture of defence. De Gour- gues was hapi)y to learn from a prisoner, that they considered him 2000 strong, and he was thence en- couraged to attempt carrying the place by escalade. Before his preparations were completed, however, a party sallied out, and, being taken in the rear, were almost entirely cut off; upon which the garrison were seized with the same panic as the rest, and fled into the woods, where they almost all fell into the hands of the Spaniards or Indians. De Gourgues caused his men to spare as many of the Spaniards as they could, and even collected all those whom the Indians had taken and were preparing to torture. Having assembled them, he led them to the fatal tree, on which the skeleton remains of his slaugh- 111 *;ii 176 I'llENCII KXPEDITIOXS INTO I'LOllIDA. tered country irieu were yet suspended. Here, after upbraiding them for their matchless treachery and cruelty, he hanged them all, and susj)ended them on the same tree, changing the inscription for another in the following terms : — " Not because they are Spa- niards, but because they are traitors, robbers, and nuirderers." De Gourgues did not intend, nor attempt, to make any settlement in Florida. He end)arked all that was valuable in the forts, and set sail for La Rochelle. In that Protestant capital he was received with the loud- est acclamations. At Bordeaux these were reiterat- ed, and he was advised to proceed to Paris and claim the reward of such eminent services. There he met with a very different reception. Philij) had already an embassy demanding his head, which Charles and Catherine were not disinclined to give. They dis- avowed his conduct, and had taken steps for bringing him to trial, but found the measure so excessively un- popular, that they were obliged to allow him to retire into Normandy. He received an invitation from Queen Elizabeth, which he once intended to accept ; but having, in the change of events, regained royal favour, he found ample employment in his native country.* The conductors of these expeditions, amid their hurried and tumvdtuous career, had little leisure to observe more of the natives than was developed in the course of their troubled intercourse. The Floridans appear to have displayed none of those republican * Hist. Gen. des Voyages, xiii. 448-58. De Bry, part ii. iii m I NATIVES OF FLORIDA. 177 forms, nor of that liigli sj)irit of personal iiidepeiidenee which so strongly characteriztMl the northern tribes. They had chiefs, or paraonstis, who were obeyed with enthusiastic loyalty and devotion. The veneratio!i paid to them after death was also remarkable. We have seen the manner in which their remains were piled up in chests along the sides of the temples. 'JMiese chests are said to have been of very neat workman- ship, though without locks or keys. The mode of preserving the bodies, it is probable, might be simi- lar to that which we shall afterwards find describ- ed by the historians of Virginia. The females ai)pear to have been more on a level with the stronger sex. The labour of cultivation in this fine climate is not very severe, and, with other laborious tasks, is i)artly performed by slaves. The fair Floridans second their husbands in hunting, swimming rivers, and other ath- letic exercises ; and, as may have l)een observed, are not even slow in taking the field along with them. Poly- gamy is permitted to the chiefs, and the punishment of adultery is very severe. Their houses, though built only of wood, were very large, each capable of contain- ing a number of families ; it is even asserted, that there were some in which fifteen hundred warriors might be posted. Their food was simple, consisting of bread made of millet, with various species of game and fish. The sassafras, which in Florida is of j)ecu- liar excellence, is used as a medicine in almost every disease. i lU VOL. I. M 178 DISCOVKUY t)l MlllilNlA. CHAPTER IV. DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. Hisi" # Rise of Maritime Enterprise in England. — Sir Ilmnphreij Gil- bert. — His Arrival at Nefvfoiindtand. — Fate of his Expedition. —Sir Walter Raleigh — iSends an Expedition under Amadas and Barlow — Sir Richard Greenville — Lane — White — Gos- nold. — Captain Thomas Smith — His Voyages and Adventures. — The Princess Pocahuntas. — Progress of the Settlements. — Conjlicts with the Indians. — Fiew of the Government, Religion, <5x'. ofthf Native Indians. \ The spirited and successful effort made })y the Eng- lish under Cabot was not followed up. Henry VII., notwithstanding his love of money an•■ fcrll, , I I. ' I J I." ^. wordKS " sounding to the dishonour of her majesty," he should lose his ears. Although this could not be considered a very mild sway, yet the Portuguese, from the motive, perhaps, above hinted at, do not appear to have vented any complaint. These matters being settled. Sir Humphrey became sensible that this rocky and dreary coast, which pre- sented only an impenetrable pine-forest, could never afford that golden harvest of which he was in quest. The crew had been sensibly diminished in conse- quence of a very eager anxiety to return home to England. Several plots had been discovered to seize one or other of the ships for that purpose. Many fled into the woods, hoping to smuggle themselves to Europe with one or other of the numerous vessels which were then on the coast. A considerable num- ber also being sick, were sent home in the Swallow ; and Sir Humphrey set out with the other three vessels to examine the American coast. He went in the smallest himself, for the sake of facility in ap- proaching the land. He does jiot seem to have been duly aware of the dangers of ranging along this almost unknown and exposed coast, perpetually in- volved in gloomy fogs. He seems also to have formed an overweening estimate of his own skill in seamanship, which could scarcely be of the first mag- nitude, as he was not bred to naval affairs. Clarke, master of the Delight, says that he remonstrated with him in the strongest manner against the course he was steering, saying it would bring them before morning among the fla^s *»t Sable Island. Sir Hum- phrey told him he was quite out of his reckoning, f ■*W«.i.t .■*! 1 At SIR HUMniREY (III-BERT. 187 and on Clarke persisting, cliarged him " in her ma- jesty's name, and as he would show himself in the country," to follow his direction. Clarke, " because he presented her majesty's person," saw no choice but to obey. Coxe, of the Golden Hind, though of the same opinion, was also obliged to follow. Ac- cording to the report of Hayes, who was on board that vessel, there were no symptoms of alarm among the crew of the Delight, who spent the evening in mirth and jollity, playing drums, fifes, cornets, and all their instruments ; but it was like tlie song of the swan, and was the i)rehule " to the ringing of doleful knells." A heavy gale sj)rung up, and hiu'ried them forward in the fatal career they were i)ursuing. At seven in the morning, Coxe called out that he saw white cliffs, but they proved to be only broken waves, seen dimly through the mist. The soundings, liow- ever, being taken, were found alarming, and signals were immediately made to the other two vessels ; but. before they could be acted upon, the Delight, which drew more water than the others, had struck, and immediately her whole stern went to pieces. The other vessels could give no assistance, as they were able to save themselves only by standing instantly out to sea. The only means of escape was by a little boat which had been put out, and was attached by a rope to the vessel.. Several with difficulty reached it by swimming, and brought it to the spot, where they hauled out of the water sixteen of their fellow-sailors, including the master, but not the captain. It was some time before they could recall their senses, and they still could not believe it possible that in this t? • 188 DISCOVERY OF VIRGINIA. {•% i IE •'. ■: ■ r I little boat, amid a dark and stormy sea, they could reach on these strange shores any haven of safety. After some time, however, it was found that the boat still lived ; but the danger was greatly increased by its over-crowded state. Edward Headly then pro- posed to choose four by lot, and throw them into the sea, so as to increase the chance of saving the rest ; but Clarke refused, saying they would live or die together, and " advising to abide God's pleasure, who was able to save all as well as a few." They re- mained six days out, without any food but the weeds which they found floating on the sea, or any drink but salt water. Two died ; the rest were quite worn out, and wished to die, when they came in sight of the coast of Newfoundland. They were still able to assist each other on shore ; those who had most strength left dragged the others to the nearest brook, where they quenched their thirst ; and there were berries in abundance to satisfy their hunger. They then rowed five days along the coast, till they came to a Spanish vessel, which carried them to Europe. Mean time the expedition were not a little dis- mayed at the loss of their largest vessel, with the bulk of their men. They beat about, however, for some time, in hopes of finding the shore ; but, though tantalized by coming repeatedly to soundings of forty or fifty fathoms, they never could reach any part of the American coast. The weather was now very bad, and winter approaching, gave assurance of still worse, while their supply of provisions became more and more scanty. The crew of the frigate now represented to the general that there was nothing SIR humpiihey gilbert. 189 left, but to return to England " before tbey all perished." They communicated these sentiments to the crew of the Golden Hind, who were too distant for speech, by pointing to their mouths and to their thin and ragged clothes ; which signals were fully understood, and drew forth testimonies of cordial acquiescence. Sir Humphrey saw that he had no alternative ; but, when he came to dine on board of the Golden Hind, made bitter lamentations over the loss of his vessel, his men, and, above all, it is said, his books and papers ; and the crew chose to surmise, that something still more precious, gold itself, mingled in his regret. Though he had thus lost the best part of his fleet and his whole fortune embarked in it, his spirit did not fail. He desired the men " to be content, and he would set them forth royally the next spring." He would ask a penny of no man, but would make such representations to the queen as would induce her to lend him ten thousand pounds, with which he would set forth two voyages, one to the south and the other to the north. It is now time, as Hayes expresses it, " to knit up this tragedy." It was observed to the general, that though the frigate, as it was called, but which was only a little boat of ten tons, might be well fitted for examining the coast, yet to attempt to cross the Atlantic with it, especially in its present overcharged and encumbered state, would be rash in the extreme. Sir Plumphrey, however, obstinately replied, " I will not forsake my little company, with whom I have passed so many storms and perils." It is suspected that he was swayed by some idle reports that had •^ 190 DISCOVERY or VIRGINIA. ^'i. ■ i' #■■. gone al)r()aM plague, and pestilence, they were in such penuiy untl want, that many would hazard their lives tor a year's food and clothing, without wages ; and this arma- ment might Imj most cheaply equipi)ed. He makes also a suggestion, which seems phuisihle enough, that the Newfoundland fishing- vessels going out empty might, along with the salt to be used in curing, take a number of emigrants. Captain Christopher Carlile, in 1583, circidated proposals, which drew considerable attention. He proposed to transport and settle a hundred persons, who might form the foundation of a cohmy. The es- timated cost was four thousand pounds, whicli he pro- posed to raise by subscription among the merchants. The land, and all its mines and productions, were to be divided among the subscribers, who were called adventurers, and the colonists, who were called en- terprisers. The city of Bristol Embraced this propo- sal with ardour, and subscribed a thousantl pounds. Secretary Walsingham, whose nephew Carlile was, did every thing in his power to promote the enter- prise ; and the Moscovy merchants, the most active of the commercial bodies then in the kingdom, ap- pointed a committee, who reported in its favour. But the queen did not produce a penny, and London and the other cities were found inadequate to contribute the other three thousand pounds. Raleigh, the most remarkable perhaps of the great men who adorned this illustrious reign, undertook now, at his sole charge, this grand scheme of coloni- zation. He had no difficulty in obtaining from the queen a patent as ample as that of Sir Humphrey. yilii WAI.TKII UALl'Jlill. ll):i He was allowed to take any two huinliril iiiileH in every direetion ot* such " remote, heathen, and bar- !)ar()us lamls" as were not possessed by a Christiini prince, nor inhabited by a Christian people. All who Nhonld niip'ate into this anij)le domain were to be ruled at the discretion of the said Sir Walter Raleigh, a single exce[)tion being niatle iu favour of tlie New- foundland fishery.* Raleigh did not proceed in person to his new king- dom, but fitted out two small exploratory vessels, which lie placed under the comnuuid of Amadas and Barlow, two skilful naval officers. To avoid the dis- asters which Sir numi)hrey had sustained from the northern mists and tem])ests, they chose tlie still more circuitous route by the Canaries and the West Indies. They passed through the Bahama channel, and stood for some time to the northward. At length the soundings indicated an approach to land, and they felt wafted over the sea a gale of the richest odours, such as might have been exhaled from the most deli- cious garden. They aj>pr()ached cautiously and atten- tively, and found themselves on a long line of coast, but without any appearance of a harbour. The shore was low and sandy, but green hills rose in the interior ; and there grew such a profusion of grapes as those who had travelled in the finest wine-countries of Europe liad never seen equalled. They sailed one hundred and twenty miles before they were able to find a landing- place. When they at length succeeded, and had mounted the nearest hill, they were not a little sur- ,i ;'' * Hackluyt, iii. 243-5. VOL. I. N !.l| I I i i 'I T 194 DISCOVERY OF VIRGINIA. prised to discover that the whole of this range of coast belonged, not to America, but to an island ad- joining to it. It was the long narrow island of Oka- koke, which, enclosing Pimlico Sound, runs parallel to the greater part of North Carolina. The English spent two days without seeing any people of the country ; but on the third there appear- ed a boat with three men, one of whom began walk- ing upon the beach opposite to them. They sent a boat on shore, which he awaited without any indica- tion of fear, and began to speak fluently in his un- known language. He cheerfully accepted their invi- tation to go on board, ate their victuals, drank their wine, and, having received a shirt, a hat, and some other pieces of dress, departed with every symptom of the highest satisfaction. Other natives soon flocked in, and at length there appeared no less a person than Granganimeo, brother to the king, with a train of forty or fifty attendants. They were handsome men, very courteous in their demeanour, and viewed the chief with the most abject submission. They spread a mat for him to sit upon, and stood round him in a circle, none speaking a word, except four, marked as chiefs by red pieces of copper on their heads, who merely ventured to whisper in a low tone to each other. The English began to make presents, — first to Granganimeo, and then to his chiefs ; but he took those of the last and put them into his own basket, making signs, which were assented to by the rest, that all things ought to be delivered to him alone. Com- merce was the next object, for which a quantity of valuable skins brought by the \^irginians formed a m sin WALTER RALEIGH. 195 desirable object. The English now displayed their treasures, when the affections of the i)rince were in- stantly fixed upon a tin plate, which he applied to his breast, and, having made a hole in the rim, hung it round his neck, and declared that he was now invin- cible against all his enemies. He considered it there- fore a great bargain to get this tin plate, worth about sixpence, for twenty skins, valued at a noble a piece. A brass kettle brought fifty sk'ns ; so that the English must have found this a most profitable transaction. The copper-crowned chiefs, and no others, were per- mitted to trade. The English made several excursions to different parts of the coast, particularly to Roanoke, where they found a queen, who loaded them with every mark of kindness. The two captains returned to England, bringing the most flattering accounts of their discovery. They say, " the soil is the most plentiful, sweet, fruitful, and wholesome of all the world. We found the people most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as lived after the manner of the golden age." These reports enchanted Raleigh, and filled the whole kingdom with the most pleasing expectations. The queen accepted the ho- nour of giving name to this land of promise ; which, in allusion to her unmarried state, was called Vir- ginia.* Sir Walter now strained every nerve, and expend- ed almost his whole fortune, in preparing an expedi- * Hackluyt, iii. 240-51. It i Hm.i. lirHS: I .."'' ' 196 SETTLEiMENT Or VIRGINIA. tion suited to the grand objects presented to his veiw. He equipped a fleet of seven vessels, of a magnitude, however, very little fitted for crossing the Atlantic or conquering kingdoms. The largest was of one hun- dred and twenty tons, and three were mere boats. Other ambitious projects still detained himself at home ; but the command of the expedition was taken by a most accomplished person, Sir Richard Greenville, accounted one of the chief ornaments of English chi- valry, and, even in that age of gallantry, surnamed " the Brave." He still followed the circuitous route of the West Indies ; and Robertson reproaches him with having wasted his time in sailing backwards and for- wards amid these islands, and capturing Spanish prizes. This charge is not made with the usual accuracy of that great historian. Sir Richard sailed from Ply- mouth on the 19th of May, and was in Virginia on the 29tli of June, so that he certainly lost no time. He did not take a single prize, and he merely touched at several of the islands for water and provisions, when the most studied courtesy passed between him and the Spaniards. Sir Richard landed his colony ; and, having done so, seems to have formed the erroneous idea that the most arduous part of his task was finished, instead of being only begun. The providing for the various unforeseen events of such an establishment, and the maintenance of the ties of fear and friendship over the savage natives, would have exercised the talents of the ablest statesman. They were intrusted to Mr Ralph Lane, who, though a person of some stir and activity, does not seem to have been at all equal to so SIR RICHARD GREENVILLE. 197 arduous a station. Considerable diligence was ^xert- ed, both in exploring the coast and penetrating into the country. The former was examined eighty miles to the south, and one hundred and thirty miles to the north, but without finding any commodious harbour In this last direction, however, they came into the country of the Chesepians (on the Bay of Chesapeake), which appeared the finest they had ever yet seen. Lane, in a letter to Hackluyt, extols beyond all his predecessors this newly-discovered region. He says, — " We have discovered the main to be the goodliest soil under the cope of heaven ;" adding afterwards, — " It is the goodliest and most pleasing territory of the world ; for the soil is of a huge unknowen greatnesse, and very well peopled and towned, though savage- lie." The English penetrated also to the head of Roa- noke Sound, which they fomid to be the estuary of the great river bearing now the same name. There they found Menatonon, the most powerful prince they had yet visited, being able to bring 700 men into the field. Here we suddenly find Lane holding Menatonon and his favourite son close prisoners. The father was set at liberty, but the son was still kept " handlocked," by which means Lane imagined that he could make Menatonon subservient to all his views. He did not consider that tlie king, though thus deterred from open hostility, had other means by which he could still more deeply injure the English. He immediately be- gan giving reports of what was to be found up the country, which delighted Lane, who thought him *' a \-ery grave and wise man, of singular good discourse," 198 SETTLEAIENT OF VIRGINIA. ) *', (I ft. and obtained from hini " more understanding and light than from all tlie searches and salvages that be- fore he liad conference with." Pearls were represented as so abounding in the upper country of the Moratiks and the Mangoaks, that not only the garments of skins, but their beds and the walls of their houses, were bedecked with them. Much was also said of a won- derful species of copper, which was found high up in the sands of the river. Every day seemed now an age, till they were among the Mangoaks and Mora- tiks. Lane was assured by Menatonon, that in as- cending the river he w^ould find relays with provisions at every point, and that the Indian nations, whom he was about to visit, would be prepared to give him the kindest reception. He therefore embarked forty men on board of two wherries, and sailed up with the most sanguine expectations. Great was his disappointment, when he passed three days without seeing a human being, or an article which could serve as human food. All the towns were deserted, and every thing was withdrawn that could minister in the slightest measure to the wants of the English. Lane called his company together, and observed, that they were manifestly betrayed, and, as they had with them only two days' provision, there seemed no time to be lost in making their way back. The men replied, that they longed exceedingly to have some doings with the Mangoaks, either as friends or foes ; that, in taking a fui'ther view of that most goodly river, " they hoped to meet with some better hap ;" and that in the last event they had two mastiffs, which, being made into soup with sassafras leaves, would keep them alive for two LANE. 199 days. Since they were willing, Lane gave his hearty consent ; but, in sailing on for two days longer, they still saw neither man nor food ; and human life was indicated only by lights moving to and fro in the in- terior. At length, about three in the afternoon, a voice from the woods called out Manfeo. Manteo was one of their Indian guides, and a joyful hope arose that a friendly intercourse was at length to be opened. Manteo, however, on hearing the voice, and a song which followed it, bid them be on their guard ; — presently a cloud of arrows fell among them. They escaped any injury, and immediately landed and attacked the savages, who had " wooded themselves they knew not where." They kept watch through the night, and next day reflecting, that though they might meet the enemy, " tliey would meet none of their victual," determined, with one consent, '* to be going back again." Lane now warned his crew, that they must come to their " dog's porridge, which they had bespoken for themselves, if that befell them which did." The crew could not possibly object ; yet could not bring themselves to any relish for this diet, being of opinion, that " the like thereof for a meate was never used before." The English returned to the coast only in time to avert a general rising. Their enemies had assured the other tribes, that their God having no power, had not been able to prevent them from being partly mur- dered and partly starved ; which last, it is admitted, was half true. Soon a general confederacy of the surrounding states was formed, headed by Pemisapan, under the mask of the most ardent friendship. The >> I ! .H ' »■ 'it! I J'> h' aoo SETTLEMENT OF VIIUHNIA. captive prince, however, having become attached to the English, disclosed the design, and named the very day on which an attack was to be made by three thou- sand archers. Eight days before, Pemisapan's men l)egan to make their asseinl)ly at Roanoke ; but 1500 more were still expected. Lane, understanding " they meant to come with so good company," resolved to pay the first visit. Tlie evening before, " to keep them from advertisements," he began to collect the canoes on his side of the river ; but the enemy, " privy to their own villanous purposes," held good espial both day and night. The alarm was soon given, and both parties flew to arms ; but, after the exchange of a few shots, the savages fled into the woods. Yet Lane afterwards obtained an interview with Pemisapan and his ch' fs, and amply repaid any treachery which might have been intended for him. On a watch- word given, all the Indian chiefs were attacked, and shot through the body. Pemisapan, pierced by a pistol-shot, lay on the ground apparently dead, but suddenly rose, and ran with incredible swiftness into the woods. Lane and his officers pursued, when they met his Irish servant coming out of the wood with Pemisapan's head in his hand. Although present danger had been averted, the co- lonists began to turn a longing eye towards home. The enmity of the natives was now rooted, and, in hopes of starving the English, they had ceased to sow any of the lands round the settlement. The time ap- pointed by Raleigh and Greenville for sending fresh supplies had passed. Amid these thoughts, the alarm was given, that twenty-three vessels were in view. LANE. 201 and no one could tell whether they were friends or foes. The interval of anxious suspense was most agreeably terminated, by finding this to be the fleet of Sir Francis Drake, ^-eturned from his victorious ex- pedition against St Domingo, Carthagena, and other parts of the Spanish Main. Sir Francis sent a letter, with " a most bountiful and honourable offer" of sup- plies, provisions, and even of barks and vessels duly manned and equipped ; and he was found, '• indeed, most honourably to perform what he had most coiu'te- ously offered." In the present temper of Lane and his colony, their primary object was to secure the means of returning to England ; and they solicited, therefore, such a portion of shipping as might enable them to eflect that object whenever the time might come which rendered it necessary. ])rake assigned them a bark of seventy tons, and some smaller craft, with which they were quite satisfied. But just as this arrangement had been made, there arose a tem- l)est of such extraordinary violence as would have driven the whole fleet on shore, " if the Lord had not held his holy hand over them." The barks destined for the colony were dashed ' o pieces, and Drake had no other small enough to enter the harbour. In this embarrassment, the officers and colony very readily made up their mind to get on board Drake's fleet, and make their way home to England. This purpose was fulfilled with the utmost precipitation. Hackluyt re- proaches them as " having left all things so confusedly as if they had been chased from thence by a mighty army." Their conclusion, however, that Raleigh had deserted them, was most erroneous. A iew days after 202 SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. f^if "fl M I,! ^ this hasty departure, arrived a vessel of a hundred tons, amply appointed with every thing which could relieve and assist the colony ; but the crew, to their great amazement, found there was not a colony to relieve. They sailed along the coast, and made ex- cursions into the country ; but all search being vain, they set sail for England. A fortnight after arrived Sir Richard in person, with three well-appointed vessels, bringing every thing requisite to place the settlement in the most flourishing state. Great was his dismay, when neither the colony, nor the ship sent for their relief, nor any thing English, was to be found within these vast and savage precincts. He saw no choice left but to sail for England, leaving a party of fifteen, according to Hackluyt, but, according to Smith, of fifty, (which is a more probable number,) to hold the place till he should arrive with more ample supplies.* Raleigh, amid all this complication of blunder, failure, and disaster, was not discouraged. He sent out a fresh and more ample colony of 150 persons, with three ships, under John White, as governor, and twelve assistants. They had a somewhat tedious voyage, setting sail from Plymouth on the 8th of May, and rot arriving till the 22d July. On landing and looking for the fifty who had formed the colony, they saw only the bones of one, — a dreadful spectacle, which told too distinctly the fate of the rest. The fort was razed to the ground ; the houses remained open to the air, and overgrown with grass and plants, on which Hackluyt, iii. 2.51-64. WHITE. 203 deer were browzing. White, however, sent notice to the neighbouring chiefs, that, if they would accept the oiler, he would be happy to open a friendly intercourse, and that all would be utterly forgiven and forgotten. They returned a courteous answer, saying, that they would, within eight days, either wait upon him, or send a more particular answer. White, mean time, learned the j)articulars of the fate of the fifteen, or the fifty, left by Sir Richard Greenville. They had been surprised and attacked by three hundred Indians, and had retreated into the building which served for store- house and armouries ; but the Indians having set fire to it, they were obliged to come out, and were partly killed, and partly obliged to fly into the interior, where they were never more heard of. White, inflamed by this relation, and by hearing nothing more of the chiefs to whom he had made the overtures, " thought to defer the revenging thereof no longer." He was guided, therefore, to a party of the natives, whom he attacked as they were sitting round a fire, and pur- sued them into a thicket of reeds, when it was dis- covered that they belonged to one of the few tribes friendly to the English. This ill-placed burst of resentment was the only exploit achieved by White. The colonists, who felt many hardships and privations, unwonted and unexpected, absolutely insisted on his returning to England to bring them such supplies as were necessary for their comfort ; and so urgent were they, that they allowed him, he says, only half a day to prepare for his departure. Unfortunately, on his arrival, the nation was wholly engrossed by the expected invasion of the grand Spanish Armada ; 204 sl:ttlemf.nt of viugixea. and Sir Riclianl Green vilks who wns preparing to sail for Virginia, received notice that his services were wanted at home. Raleigh, however, contrived to send out White with two more vessels ; hut they were at- tacked hy a Spanish ship of war, and so severely shat- tered, that they were ohliged to return. It was not till 1590 that another expedition reached Virginia, when they heheld a similarly dreadful scene to that which had heen j)resented on the former occasion. The houses were demolished, though still surrounded hy a pali- sade ; and a great part of the stores was found huried in the earth. From this and other circumstances it was suspected, that the colonists might have followed out a design of removing into the interior ; hut, as no trace was ever found of this unfortunate colony, there cannot he a hope, but that the whole must have mis- erably perished.* Robertson reproaches Raleigh with levity in n>>w thrt wing up his scheme of a Virginian colony. But really, when we consider, that in the course of four years he had sent out seven successive expeditions, each more unfortunate than the other, and had spent £40,000, nearly his whole fortune, without the least prospect of a return, it caimot be viewed as a very unaccountable caprice, that he should get sick of the business, and be glad to transfer it into other hands. Sir Richard Greenville also, in 1591, was overpower- ed by a much superior Spanish force, and taken pri- soner, when he died in two days of his wounds, lik . * Hackluyt, ill. 281-94. C.OSNOLD. 20.5 saying to those around him, — " Here die I, Richard Greenville, with a joyful and quiet inijid, having ended my life like a true soldier, that fought for his eouutry, queen, religion, and honour." As for Raleigh, his attention was henceforth engrossed l)y expeditions against the Spaniards, by plans for imj)roving the Irish wastes, and by vain searches after tlie golden city in the interior of South America. Sir Thomas Smith, and some other merchants of London, took up the patent, and sent the first expedi- tion above-mentioned ; but their exertions afterwards were greatly slackened ; and, indeed, they probably found it very difficult to invite emigrants into a region which had proved the grave of so many Englisli. The colonization of America was therefore suspended till it received a new impulse. In 1602, Captain liartholomew Gosnold, seem- ingly ujion his own impulse, and perhaps with a view to the Newfoundland fishery, set sail from Dartnrouth in a small vessel, with a crew of thirty-two men. The wind drove him at first as far south as the Azores, from whence he stood directly across the ocean, and found himself on that part of the coast of Connecticut which is diversified with the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and a larger one close to the shore, whicli they called Elizabeth's Island. They found the soil exceedingly fertile, so that wheat, barley, and oats, being sown in the middle of May, grew nine inches in fourteen days. On going over to the main, " they stood a while, as ravished with the beauty and delicacy of the scene," which presented large and fine meadows, adorned with clear and ex- 1^1 K-'i 206 SETTLEMENT OF VIIlC;iNIA. 'I' I'. 'I'i t I ;!,. . tenBive streains. They t'nught in six hours more cod than they knew what to make of; and the coast appear- ed so rocky and liroken as to afford every proinise of good harbours. The account which Gosnohl si)read of this first voyage to " the north parts of \^irginia," roused the almost dormant attention of the English to tliis quarter of the world. It presented to their eyes a new country, and gave a much more extensive idea of that vast dominion which, under the above name, stood nominally attadied to the British emjiire. In 1606, Thomas Armulel, Lord Wardour, an accom- plished and spirited nobleman, fitted out a vessel, and sent it, luider Captain Weymouth, to make fiu'ther discoveries. Weymouth, following the same route as Gosnold, brought home a most favourable report ; but it is very difficult, from the only narrative, which is that given by Rosier, to determine what part of the coast it was which he really did visit. He de- scribes a noble river, preserving a breadth of a mile for forty miles upwards into the country, and adds, assuredly with some exaggeration, that " Orenoque, so famous in the world's ears," was not comparable to it. Stith supposes this river to be the Massachu- setts, or Connecticut, but I should much rather sup- pose it the Hudson. He speaks of a bay, and men- tions " all the isles, channels, and inlets about it," — expressions which seem very applicable to the arm of the sea enclosed between Long Island and the conti- nent. The soil is described as most rich, " verged with a green border of grass," and which, when clear- ed of the thick woods with whicli it was covered, PI nt^ll WKY MOUTH. 207 might be formed into tlie most beautiful meadow. Weymouth might have foun13 I i! . I Indians had been on the watch ; the two men were attacked and killed, and Smith suddenly found him- self in the midst of two or three hundred infuriate sa- vages. In this extremity, he made unheard-of efforts for his deliverance. He seized his Indian guide, whom he tied round himself with his garters, and, presenting him to the enemy, made him serve as a buckler. In this position he retreated upon the canoe ; but, just as there appeared a near prospect of regain- ing it, he suddenly sunk half-way up in a swamp, was overtakf.il and made prisoner. Smith had now reason to consider his career as drawing to a close. In fact, he had been tied to a tree, and a circle formed for the purpose of shooting him, when, calling for their chief, Opechankanough, he ex- hibited to him an ivory compass-dial, and explaining to him its application to the movement of the heaven- ly bodies, entranced him and his attendants witli as- tonishment and admiration. On a signal made by the chief with the compass, all the bows and arrows were laid down, and Smith was led, carefully guarded, to their capital. He was then led from town to town, and exhibited to the women and children, who crowd- ed to see him, and received him with strange yells and dances. Every day there was set down to him as much bread and venison as would have dined twenty men ; but as no one sat down with him, and there was no corresponding mark of kindness, Smith began to dread that they were fattening for the purpose of eating him. This was not exactly the case ; yet it is true that such festal entertainment was often the pre- lude to the most fatal purpose. At length, when he I! ':^ :'!^ f 214 DlSCOVKltV Ol VIIUJINIA. H' ?! IV i' J ^H^m u had been sufficiently led about, tliree days were em- ployed in making a most dire conjuration over him. The chief performer was a grim figiu'e, having his face painted black with coal and oil, and numerous stuffed skins of snakes and weasels fastened by the tail to the crown of the head, and hanging down frightfully over the face and shoulders. He was se- conded by others, whom white eyes and red stripes mingled with the black rendered still more hideous. They intermingled circles of meal and corn with bundles of sticks, interpreting that the meal was the Indian country, the corn the sea, and the sticks Eng- land ; and this was all to discover whether he intend- ed them well or ill. The result does not appear to have been stated to Smitli ; but he was soon led be- fore Powhatan, the greatest lord of all this part of Virginia. The English even call him Emperor. Pow- hatan arrayed himself in his utmost pomp on this so- lemn occasion. He had invested himself in a large robe of racoon skins, from which all the tails were hanging. Behind him stood two long rows of men, and behind them two of women, all with their faces and shoulders painted red, their heads bedecked with white down, and a chain of white beads round their necks. One of the queens presented Smith with a towel to wash his hands, another with a bundle of feathers to dry them. The fatal moment was now approaching. Two large stones were placed before Powhatan, to which Smith, by the united efforts of the attendants, was forcibly dragged, his head laid on one of them, and the mighty club raised, — a few blows from which was to terminate his life. But a very CAPTAIN SiMITH. ttl5 unexpected interposition now took place. Pocahon- tas, the favourite daughter of Powhatan, forgetful of her barbarous birth and name, was seized with those emotions of tender pity which make the ornament of her sex. She ran up to her father, and pathetically pleaded for the life of the stranger. AVIien all en- treaties were lost on that stern and savage potentate, she hastened to Smith, snatched his head in her arms, and laid her own on his, declaring that the first blow must fall upon her. The heart even of a savage fa- ther was at last melted, and Powhatan granted to his favourite daughter the life of Smith. At first it was arranged that he should anuise the father and daugh- ter by nuiking bells, beads, and other curious Euro- pean fabrics. A different course, however, was soon resolved upon. Smitli was placed alone in a large house beside a fire ; when jwesently he heard from without a most frightful and doleful noise, and Pow- hatan rushed in, with two hundred atteiuhmts, having their faces blacked, and disguised in every frightful form that their fancy could devise. Smith thought his last hour was again at hand ; but Powhatan told him, that these were the signs of peace and friendship, and that he should be sent back to James's Town, on the sole condition of transmitting two culverines and a millstone.* Smith arrived at a critical moment. The colonists had again determined to return to their native coun- try, and were busied in fitting out a pinnace for the i'J 'rl 11 iM * Smith np. Pinkertoiij xiii. ol-'). ■f i, 216 UISCOVEllY 01' VIUCilNlA. 1. I ,r 'i'"t 1' ■ - ;.i J voyage. Smith took the strong hand, and announced that either the pinnace must stop or he sunk ; and, under the influence of this alternative, they were frightened into remaining. Pocahontas, continuing her generous kindness, brought them every three or four days supplies of provisions, till a fresh vessel ar- rived from England. Smith soon afterwards set out to complete his sur- vey of the Bay of Chesapeake. He crossed first to its eastern shore, and coasted along that long narrow peninsula, which there forms its border. He was va- riously received, — the natives in general coming " in much surprise, asking what they were, and what they would." Smith always used the means of concilia- tion ; and generally some friendly explanations, and the presentation of a few beads, led to a friendly inter- course. In other cases, the natives remained fixed in their hostility, and Smith was then forced to discharge among them the terrors of his musketry. In one place he was so nearly killed by the poisoned sting of a pembar-fish, that, by his own desire, they had dug his grave ; but either nature or a salutary oil admi- nistered by Dr Russell cured him before night. In the course of a fortnight, the men, being tired of ply- ing the oar, and finding their bread spoiled by the wet, became clamorous to return home ; and their call being seconded by two or three days of very bad weather, Smith could no longer make head against them. He turned most reluctantly, however, being anxious to see the great river Patowomek (Potow- mack), and to visit the Massowomeks, who were re- presented as the most numerous and powerful of all lb CAI'TAIN SMITH. 217 the nations on the bay. SiuUlenly, to his great satis- faction, in steering across, he came to the " seven miles broad" mouth of the Potowmack. This was so grand an object, that the men resumed their spirits and agreed to ascend it. They found the country po- pulous but hostile ; and at one place an ambuscade of three cr four thousand started up, grimed, disguised, shouting, yelling, crying, like spirits from hell. How- ever, upon the mere grazing of musket-balls upon the water, " down fell their bows and arrows," and an amicable intercourse took place. Their enmity, it appeared, had been fomented by Powhatan, who had again resumed his hostile feelings towards Smith. A considerable way up they found a mine of anti- mony, which the natives extracted with shells and hatchets, and prized the mineral highly, as the means of painting their body black, yet glittering like silver. Having returned to James's Town, Smith again set out, with the view of reaching the river of Susque- hannah, at the farthest head of this great bay. His vessel, however, could not reach it on account of rocks ; but he sent up a message, requesting a visit from the Susquehannocks, who were represented as a mighty people. After an interval of three or four days there appeared sixty, — a giant-like race, — with presents of arms, venison, and tobacco-pipes three feet long. Five of their chief Werrowannees came on board, and sailed across the bay without the least apprehension. Smith now thoroughly explored all the creeks and outlets of the Chesapeake, particularly that of Rappahannock, where, however, a thousand arrows were at one place let fly at his party, though t-r ■ m S218 DISCOVEIIY Ol- VlllGINIA. ■;^''' 'f' -4 :v I- '-t happily without doing any injury. The narrators, on the whole, consider that this voyage of three thou- sand miles, hy twelve men in a small harge, " with such watery diet in those great waters and harharous countries," threw no little credit on its performers.* Pocahontas for several years kept uj) her acquaint- ance with the English, coming hack a) d forward to James's Town with her wild train as familiarly as if it had heen her father's house. Powhatan, how- ever, dissatisfied with Smith's mode of trading, whiili does not seem to have been excessively liberal, formed the design of killing him in the woods. His life was again saved by the fair Indian j)rincess, who ran through the forest in a dark night, and warned him of his danger. She was hereupon offered large pre- sents of every thing she was known most to delight in ; but she told them, with tears in her eyes, it was as much as her life was worth to be seen having such things, and ran back alone through the woods. Open war now ensuing between Powhatan and the English, a stop was put to this amicable intercourse. Smith himself, through a wound received from an ac- cidental explosion of gunpowder, was obliged to re- turn to England ; but we shall here follow out the story of his fair deliverer. One Captain Argall, hav- ing been sent up the Potowmack to trade for corn, heard that Pocahontas, whom he had often heard called the nonpareil of \''irginia, was at a village on the ri- vej\ Hereupon he induced a common friend, Japa- 1 riUNC'KSS POL AHONTAS. 219 1 zaws, by the irresistible bribe of a copper kettle, to inveigle her on board. Thus, through his means, was the poor innocent Pocahontas betrayed into the ship, when she was told that she must repair to James's Town, that her liberation might be the means of jmr- chasing j)eace. This base transaction did nv)t produce the desired effect. Powhatan was three months be- fore he returned an answer to the terms on which the English offered to liberate his daughter. He then, indeed, sent seven English captives, with seven bad nmskets, and an offer of five hundred bushels of maize ; but these were rejected, as inadetpiate to the value of their fair prize, who remained, therefore, two years in their custody. It can only be said in their defence, that she appears to have been perfectly well treated, insomuch that she became more and more at- tached to the English manners and cliaracter. At length to the chains of captivity were added those of love. Mr Thomas Rolfe, a very respectable and de- serving young man, was smitten with the dignified demeanour and copper complexion of Pocahontas, and having paid his addresses, soon met a tender return. Sir Thomas Dale refers to a very judicious letter which he received from him, giving his reasons for forming this connexion, which has unluckily not been preserved. Tlirough Sir Thomas and her lover she was instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, which she cordially embraced, and was baptized by the name of Rebecca. The com- nmnication was made with some apprehension to the proud and savage king ; but he was quite delight- ed, and concluded thereupon a treaty of amity, which ;.';V 1 i! 220 DISCOVKllY Oi VIlUilNIA. I ■ r 'h4:M\ "if ' ■!"■ ir f ••' 1i he never after violated. lie did not choose toni)i)ear in person, but he sent his brother and one of his sons to act his part at tlie marriage. Soon after the Lady Rebecca, alias the Princess Pocahontas, alias Mrs Rolfe, set sail to visit England. As soon as Smith heard of her arrival he wrote a letter to the queen, recounting all her services to himself and to the nation, assuring her majesty that she had a great spirit, though a low stature, and earnestly soliciting her majesty's kindness and courtesy. Mrs Rolfe was accordingly introduced, and well received at court, and, as a novelty, was for some time the fa- vourite object in the circles of fashion and nobility. On her introduction into these she deported herself with a grace and j)ropriety which, it is said, many ladies, bred with every advantage of education and society, could not equal. Purchas mentions meet- ing her at the table of his patron, Dr King, bishoj) of London, where she was entertained with " fes- tival state and pomp," beyond what at his hospi- table board was 3hown to other ladies. She carried herself as the daughter of a king, and was respected as such. She was accompanied by Vitamotomakkin, an Indian chief and priest, who had married one of her sisters, and had been sent to attend her. Purchas saw him repeatedly " sing and dance his diabolical measures." He endeavoured to persuade this chief to follow the example of his sister-in-law, and em- brace Christianity ; but found him " a blasphemer of what he knew not, preferring his god to ours." He insisted that their okee having taught them to plant, sow, and wear a cork twisted roimd their left ear. rniNCESS POCAHONTAS. 221 was entitled to their undivided homage. Powhatan had instructed him to hring back every information respecting Enghmd, and particiUarly to count the number of people, furnishing him for that piu-pose with a bundle of sticks, that he might make a notch for every man. Vitamotomakkin, the moment he landed at Plymouth, was appalled at the magnitude of the task before him ; however, he continued notch- ing most indefatigably all the way to London ; but the instant that he entered Piccadilly, he threw away the sticks, and, on returning, desired Powhatan to count the h-aves on the trees and the sands on the seashore. He olso 'old Smith that he liad special instructi(ms 1j see t' e Engi'sh ( )d, their king, their queen, and their prince, f . lith could do nothing for him as to the first part,Jtilar; ^ ut he was taken to the levee, and sa / t le other tlnte, though he com- plained bitterly that none of them had ?no)^e him any present. As soon as Smith learned that Pocahontas was settled in a house .>t Brentford, which she had cho- sen, in order to be out of the smoke of London, he hastened to wait upon her. His reception was very painful. The princess turned from him, hid her face, and for ^wo hours could by no effort be induced to utter a v, ord. A certain degree of mystery appears to hang on the origin of this deadly offence. Her actual reproaches, when she found her speech, rested on having heard nothing of him since he left Vir- ginia, and on having been assured there that he was dead. Prevost has taken upon him to say, that the breach of plighted love was the ground of this resent- ■f . i ] 222 DISCOVERY OF VIRCilNlA. ment, and that it was only on believing that death had dissolved the engagement between them that she had been induced to many another. I cannot in any of the original writers meet with the least trace of this alleg- ed vow, and should be sorry to find in Smith the false lover of the fair Pocahontas. It would not also have been in much unison with her applauded discretion to have resented a wrong of this nature in such a time and manner. I am persuaded that this love was a creation of the romantic brain of Prevost, and that the real gi'ound of her displeasure was, that, during the two years when she was so shamefully kept in durance, she heard nothing of any interces- sion made in her favour by one whom she had laid under such deep obligations ; and really the thing seems to require some explanation. It ap- pears, that when Smith at last was able to draw speech from the indignant fair one, he succeeded in satisfying her that there had been no such neglect as she ai)prehended, and she insisted on calling him by the name of father. The only mortification which Pocahontas met with was from James, who took it into his head that Rolfe in marrying her might be advancing a claim to the crown of Virginia ; however, by great pains, this idea was at last driven out of liis brain. She departed, therefore, with the most favourable im- pressions, and with every honour, her husband be- ing appointed secretary and recorder-general of Vir- ginia. But Providence had not destined that she should ever revisit her native shore. As she went down to embark at Gravesend, she was seized with 1 '•!• PRINCESS rOCAHONTAS. illness, and died in a few days. Her end is described to have edified extremely all the spectators, and to have been full of Christian resignation and hoi)e.* During this time a negotiation Avas opened with Powhatan for another of his daughters, who, it was promised, should be married in a manner equally respectable and satisfactory as her elder sister. Pow- hatan, after making some wry faces, replied, that he was altogether disposed to cultivate the friendship and alliance of the English ; but his daughter he could not give, having sold her to a great chief for two bushels of tobacco. Mr Hamer urged upon him the unsatisfactory nature of this reason, and that the English were ready to give a consideration, either in tobacco or any other sliai)e, mucli more adequate to the value of her highness. The truth then came out. It was too much, he said, to deprive him of both his darling children. He was ready iu give them any other pledge of peace, but not this. There had been enough of blood and war, and he was de- termined to spend the rest of his days in tranquillity. The colony, mean time, jn-oceeded with various but on the whole troubled fortunes. The materials were by no means of a promising or desirable de- scription. Smith describes them as " poor gentle- men, tradesmen, serving-men, libertines, and such like, ten times more fit to spoil a connnonwealth than either to begin or maintain one." As they went out usually with extravagant hopes of sudden * n. Smith, ap. Pinkerton, xiii. 120-23. Beverley. Prevost. Hist. Gen. des Voya.ffe.s. xiv. 471. Piirchas, iv. 1774. ^ili IT**** WMh'i 224! DISCOVERY OF VIRGINIA. !i 'i^ W^ ii and brilliant wealth, they paid little regard to any solid or substantial pursuit, and scorned even the slight labour which was necessary to draw subsist- ence from this fertile soil. Hence the repeated ex- tremities to which they were reduced by famine, which so often impelled them to re-embark for Eng- land, had they not been relieved by the active suc- cession of supplies which were transmitted to the colony. In 1619, James gave orders for " a hundred dissolute persons"* to be delivered by the knight marshal for transportation to Virginia; and the same mode of recruiting was continued for several years. These dissolute persons were not unwelcome, to be employed as labourers, or rather as slaves ; but the practice, by giving to Virginia the reputation of " a mere hell upon earth," only fit for the reception of the vilest malefactors, lowered the character of the voluntary emigrants ; and in 1625, of nine thousand, transported at an expense of £150,000, there were alive only eighteen hundred,f and the ex- ports did not exceed twenty thousand pounds. The first great evil was insubordination, to remedy which martial law, on the advice, it is said, of Lord Bacon, was introduced, and, though contrary to every Bri- tish idea, and without an example even under Span- ish tyranny, it seems to have been the first thing which brought these loose and turbulent spirits to any degree of order and industry. The administration of the exclusive company, however, mismanaged, as it col in tifi * Stith's Hist. Virfrinia, 107-8. United Colonies. 60. t Clialmers's Annals of PROGRESS OF THE COLONY 225 was alleged to have been by Sir Thomas Smith, was always complained of as contracted and tyrannical. The colonists imputed to it a large proportion of their evils, and even sent home a petition, that, rather than contipue them under it, the king would send out a commi;-«ion to hang them.* James was not at all unwilling to listen to complaints which afforded an opening for the enlargement of his prerogative. He commenced a series of pretty arbitrary proceedings, by means of which he prociu'ed the forfeiture of the company's charter. Charles I., who immediately suc- ceeded, sent out Sir John Hervey to rule with abso- lute sway, which he did in so arbitrary a manner, that the colonists found themselves worse than be- fore, and in three years seized and sent him back a prisoner to Charles. Such a proceeding was foreign to all the ideas of that prince, who would not even see the deputies, and indignantly returned them their governor ; but he took a second and better thought on the subject, and sent out Sir William Berkeley, a most wise and able person, who was even empowered to grant a representative government and the benefits of British law. Under his salutary administration, they contracted even a strong attachment to the house of Stuart, and could boast of being the last who sub- mitted to the yoke of the Commonwealth and the first who shook it off. Under his management the colony continued in a steady state of prosjierity, and in 1670 could number forty thousand inhabitants. i I * Stitli's History of Virginia, 307. vol.. I. 226 SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. m 'i. !•:'» II Ilk ItT J I, . ( 3 . lim 1 'I M 1 . Among tlie commodities sought in Virginia, gold, as usual, was the primary object ; and whenever there appeared any mineral substance of a yellow colour, then, as Smith says, — *' Dig gold, wash gold, refine gold !" became all the cry. Several ships were loaded with this yellow trash, which, whenever it arrived in Eng- land, was pronounced to be utterly worthless. To- bacco next succeeded, and from the empire which it acquired over the tastes of Europe, became a stable source of wealth to Virginia. Raleigh, while his mind was bent on Virginia, introduced it at the court of Elizabeth, where it seems to have been the subject of considerable mirth. Raleigh offered to bet with the queen, that he would measure the smoke from it, — a challenge which the queen readily accepted, un- der the full assurance of gaining. Raleigh weighed first the tobacco, and having smoked it, weighed then the ashes ; arguing, that the difference of these two elements must have evaporated in smoke. The queen admitted his reasoning, and observed, that she had often seen gold turned into smoke, but never till now smoke turned into gold. The quantity, however, was too small to become an object of general con- sumption ; but when the colony was at last formed on a greater scale, tobacco was the only article which found a sure sale, and m^is accounted by the colonists their money. They cultivated it, therefore, to the neglect of every other object of industry, planting with it the very streets of James's Town. Tobacco, however, liad many trials to pass through before it reached its present established station^ King James declared himself its open enemy, and drew against it cur.TURK or tohacco. 237 liis royal pen. In the work which he entitled '* Coun- terblast to Tobacco," he poured the most bitter re- proaches on " this vile and nauseous weed." He fol- lowed it up by a proclamation to restrain " the dis- orderly trading in tobacco,"* as tending to a general and new corruption of both men's bodies and minds. Parliament also took the fate of this weed into their most solemn deliberation. Various members inveigh- ed against it, as a mania which infected the whole na- tion ; that ploughmen took it at the plough ; that it *' hindered" the health of the whole nation, and that thousands had died of it. Its warmest friends ven- tured only to plead, that before the final anathema pronounced against it, a little pause might be granted to the inhabitants of Virginia and the Somer Isles to find some other means of existence and trade. James's enmity did not i)revent him from endeavouring to fill his coffers by the most enormous imposts laid upon to- bacco, insomuch that the colonists were obliged for some time to send the whole into the ports of Holland ; but this too was soon after i)rohibited. The government of New England, more consistently, passed a complete interdict against tobacco, the smoke of which they compared to that of the bottomless pit. Yet tobacco, like other proscribed objects, throve under persecu- tion, and achieved a final triumph over all its ene- mies. Indeed, the enmity against it was in some re- spects beneficial to Virginia, as drawing forth the jnost strict prohibitions against " abusing and misem- * Massaire, 210. Wives, 197- 1228 SETTI.EMKXT OF VITtCilXIA. li.l^ ploying the soil of this fruitful kingdom" to the pro- duction of so odious an article. After all, as the im- port for an average of seven years lid not reach a hundred and fifty thousand pounds, it could not have that mighty influence, either for good or evil, which was ascribed to it by the fears and passions of the age.* Amid the various vicissitudes and disasters which befell the colony, one was dreadfully pre-eminent. Opechankanough, the successor of Powhatan, had adopted with ardour all the early enmity of that l^rince against the English. It was more and more imbittered, as he observed the manner in which these foreigners multiplied and spread themselves over the country. He formed one of those dreadful schemes, which are so frequent in the Indian annals, of exter- minating the whole race at one blow. Such was the fidelity of his people, and so deep the power of savage dissimulation, that this dire scheme was matured and arranged during four years, without the slightest sur- mise reaching the ears of the English. Down to the last fatal moment every the most studied semblance of friendship and cordiality was maintained. The king sent a message " that the sky would sooner fall than the peace between them should be dissolved." Several English, who had wandered into the woods, and come completely under the power cf the savages, were carefully and kindly guided back. On the fatal Friday morning the Indians came into the town in I .1 if M& III ^ 1 4:, L.. * Chalmers, b. i. ch. 3, with Notes. DREADFUL MASSACRE. 229 great numbers, with numerous presents, and many of them breakfasted in the English houses. Innnediate- \y after, they commenced a general and indiscrimi- nate massacre, without distinction of sex or age. The weapons of the English themselves, or any instru- ments of destruction which lay nearest at hand, were used against them. Many of the murderers had received from their victims particular kindness and marks of favour. In an hour, and almost in a minute, there fell three hundred and forty-seven, most of them without knowing how or by what weapon. Only one disclosure was made by Chumo, an Indian convert, living with a Mr Pace, who treated him as his own son. One of his companions, the night before, ac- quainted him with the design, and urged him to kill his master, as he himself intended to kill his. In- stead of following this horrid advice, Cliumo discover- ed it to Pace, and Pace immediately to the connnand- ant, who hastened to James's Town, and secured that settlement.* As soon as the English had recovered from the first dismay occasioned by this catastrophe they drew closer to James's Town. Thence they presently be- gan against the Indians a most furious and extermi- nating warfare. They even copied the evil example which they had so deeply reprobated ; and. having al- lured a number of Indians within their precincts, per- petrated against them a massacre as dreadful as that^ under which they themselves had suffered. The con- , • H ■ ' ii • Purchas, v. 17««. 230 SKTTLKMKNT Ol VIl{(;iNIA. 'i.l* ' ly se(iueiice was fatal to tlie slender population sui)ported in this rude state of society. The Indians disappear- ed from the face of Virginia, and left not in that country a relic of their name or nation. Tlie historians of Virginia, however, have left some records respecting this unfortunate race once inhabit- ing that territory, which are not unworthy of being gleaned. A rude agriculture, devolved solely on the women ; hunting i)ursucd with activity and skill, but rather as a pastime than as a toil ; strong attachment of the members of the little connnunities to each other, but deadly enmity against all their neighbours, and this manifesting itself in furious wars, conducted rather by stratagem and ambuscade than by conflict in the open field, — these features belong to the Virginians in com- mon with almost every form of savage life. There are others which are more distinctive. Although a rude in- dependence has been suj)posed to be, and in many cases is, the peculiar boast of the savage, yet, when a yoke of opinion and authority has once been establislied over his mind, he yields a submission more entire and more blind than is rendered to the most absolute of eastern despots. Such a sway had the King of Virginia. " When he listeth," says Smith, " his will is a law, and must be obeyed ; not only as a king, but as half a god, they esteem him. What he command- eth, they dare not disobey in the least thing. It is strange to see with whnt great fear and adoration all this })eople do adore this Powhatan ; at the least frown of his brow their greatest spirits will tremble with fear." Powhatan had under him a number of chiefs, who ruled as sui)reme within their own circle ; and a aa BBB B"*g THE NATIVK TUUIKS. 231 they were so numerous, and covered so large an ex- tent of territory, that Powhatan is often dignified by Europeans with the title of emperor. The priests and conjurors formed a separate order, and enjoyed that high influence which marks a cer- tain advance in the social state. The priests arrayed themselves in long robes like petticoats, consisting of skins, with the hair outwards, hanging down in a shaggy and frightful ma intr, and of whi(;h they stu- diously heightened the deformity, in order to frighten the people into veneration. They shaved the whole hair, except a narrow tuft or ridge, extending from the centre of the brow to the back of the neck. Their utmost art was employed to paint their bodies in the most singular and hideous manner. They possessed, however, some knowledge of nature, and of the history and traditions of their country, superior, at least, to that of their ruder countrymen. Their temples were luunerous, formed on a similar though inferior plan to those of Florida, and each served by one or more priests. They had a mode of preserving the bodies of their great men after death similar to that practised in Florida. They opened the skin, took out the whole interior, and separated the ])ones from the flesh. The bones being then dried, were replaced within the skin, which had been preserved entire, and the intestines being filled with white sand, the body looked as if entire, and was preserved on a shelf, under the con- tinual guard of one of the priests. Beverley was the man who made the most close inquiry into the Virginian mythology. He did not meet with all the success he wished, finding them ex- pi I ! 1 ill 11 Mr 11 ' m 11 k III m M I'll i . ^n^ 1 4 4 232 SETTLKMKNT OF VIUGINIA, cessively mysterious on the subject. Having got hold, however, of an intelligent Indian, and plied him heart- ily with strong eider, he at last got him to oi)en his heart in some degree. As he declared his lielief in a wise, perfect, and suj)remely beneficent being, who dwelt in the heavens, Beverley asked him, Iiow, then, he could confine his worship to the devil, a wicked, ugly, earthly being ? The Indian said, that they were secure as to the good being, who would shower down his benefits without asking any retiu'n ; but that the evil spirit was perpetually busy and meddling, and would spoil all, if constant court was not paid to him. Beverley, however, pressed upon him, how he could think that an insensible log, " a helpless thing, equipt with a bundle of clouts," could ever be a proper object of worship ? The visage of the Indian now assumed a very marked and embarrassed, expression. After a long pause, he began to utter, in broken sentences, " It is the priests ;" — then, after another pause, " It is the priests ;" — but, " a qualm crossed his conscience," and he would say no more. Beverley had been so well-informed upon this last point, in consequence of a favoiu'able incident of which he had availed himself. While the whole town were assembled to deliberate on some great state affair, he was ranging the woods, and stumbled upon their quiocosan, or great temple. He resolved not to lose so favourable an occasion. After removing about fourteen logs, with which the door was barricadoed, he entered the mansion, which appeared at first to consist only of a large, empty, dark apartment, with a fire-place in the middle, and set round with posts. TIIK NATIVE TUIJIKS. 2iiii croM'iied with carved and painted heads. On closer observation, he at lengtli discovered a recess, with mats hnng lietore it, and involved in tlie deepest l VIU(;INI.\. whiiii art' employed with great rigour against the victims, who, after running through tliis gauntlet, are more dead than alive, anaintings of animals and other natural ob- jects, by the form and relative position of which in- formation was transmitted ; but it is to be regretted, that none of these Virginian paintings have been pre- served lo l)e compared with tliose of the Mexicans. * Smith, (tp. Pinkcrton, xiii. 41. Beverley, 178. Till-; NATIVK THIUKS. 23.5 'J'hf only (lisoases, independent of woundw and hurts, to which their natural and active mode of life was iiahle, were those arising from sudden vieissituiles of heat and eohl, for which their sole cure was sweating. Every village had its sweatiug-liouse, a large oven, or vapour-hath, fille ran » »« 238 DIJSCOVEIIY OF NEW ENGLAND. ■ill t ( I . 1 1 ( 1 1 ' was immediately taken possession of, and the crew divided among the different ships, which separated in various directions. The captain and i)iiot were brought to Seville and thrown into prison ; but tliey gained access to the Duke of Medina Sidonijj, who took a great interest in their case, and strongly con- demned the conduct of his countrymen. Mobile in prison, however, Robert Cooke, one of tlieir number, died, when his body was dragged naked by tlie heels through the prison, with cries of " See the Luthe- ran !" and, after suffering other indignities, it was carried off they never knew whither. Soon after, Nathaniel Humfries, the boatswain, was stabbed with a knife b a Spaniard. The English carried the latter to the president for justice, demanding, " that he having slain an honest and worthy man, should die for it." The president said, they might get him sent a year or two to the galleys ; " but the King of Spain will not give the life of the worst slave that he hath for the best subject the King of England hath." They applied, however, to an ecclesiastical judge, who put them on a method, by which, after spending two hundred rials on lawyers and scribes, " at length we had him hanged." They effected their return to En.r,'land with considerable difficulty.* The issue of this voyage cast a gloom on the spirit of adventure ; yet, as it did not really decide any thing as to the merits of the undertaking, the adventurers soon resumed their courage. Cai)tain * T> Pnrchas, iv. 1832-({. GILBERT. — SMITH. 239 Popham, son to the chief justice, and Captain Gilbert, brother to Sir John Gilbert, set sail on a new adven- ture, xvith a hundred men, copiously supplied with every necessary. They settled on the river Sagaha- dock, and built a fort, which they called St George. The first apprenticeship of a colony, however, is al- ways hard, and they suffered additionally through the winter by part of their stores being accidentally burnt. A^ext summer a vessel arrived with additional supplies, but brought tidings of the death of their great patron, the chief justice, and also of the brother of Captain Gilbert, who then determined immediately to go home and take possession of his estate. The whole colony, discouraged and sick of the enterjirise, set sail together. The next adventurer in New England settlement was Captain John Smith, who acted so conspicuous a part in Virginia, and whom Purchas describes " as a man which hath many irons in the fire." He went about the principal seaports in the west of England, visiting all the gentlemen who were likely to favour the scheme ; and complains that this negotiation cost him mor«^ toil and torment than any that he endured on the coasts of the new world. The merchants of London were best able to furnish the funds, but the western sailors were the best fi«:hers ; and the ^•oyage from London to Plymouth was almost as hard as from Plymouth to New England. At length he effected the equipment of two vessels, whose destina- tion was threefold ; first, the whale-fishery ; next, a mine of gold ; and, in default of both, fish and fins, " to make themselves savers." All the three failed. ■■•« 5 240 DISCOVERY or NEW KNCIEAND. I;i The whale-fishery proved a " costly conclusion," since, though they saw and chased a great number, they could not kill any ; the gold was found a mere device of the projector ; and wlien they came to save them- selves with the fish and fins, they found that they had lost the prime season of both, and returned to England with only a sorry cargo. Smith had surveyed, however, and made a maj) of the coast, which he presented to Charles I. who took always a great interest in maritime affairs, and who amused himself with changing the uncouth Indian names into otliers derived from English places and per- sons.* Notwithstanding this sunshine of royal favour, Smith had diflficulty next year in equipping a small bark, with sixteen colonists, whom he would have wished to be several thousands, and who seemed indeed very inadequate to provide for their own security on this barbarous shore ; but he trusted in the friend- ship of Dohoday, " one of the greatest lords of the savages." However, this vessel was captured by the French, and Smith with difficulty effected his return to England. His ardent and persevering temper led him still to dwell on the scheme, and in his general history of Nc»v England he copiously laid forth all its advantages. The shore, he admits, is in many places " rocky and affrightable ;" but, in penetrating into the interior, it greatly improved, and might yield plentifully, though not quito to the same per- fection as in Virginia, the best grains, fruits, and Smith, np. Pink. xiii. 208. SMITH. — doii:mer. 241 vegetables. It might produce all the commodities of northern Europe, pitch, tar, masts, iron ; and he even names, though with some hesitation, the wine, oil, and silk of the south.* Still it is admitted, the grand staple must be fish, " reputed by some a base and mean commodity ; yet the poor Hollanders, by fishing in all weathers, and selling this mean com- modity for as mean, being wood, flax, pitch, &c. have become mighty, strong, and rich." He denies it to be his wish to persuade children from their parents, husbands from their wives, or servants from their masters ; but young married people, who had small wealth, might there live exceedingly well. Meantime the first voyage of Smith had been followed up by a most untoward issue. One Hunt, who had been left in charge of one of the ships, inveigled thirty of the natives on board, and sold them at Malaga for rials of eight. The consequence was, that Captain Hobson, who came after him, with- out knowing any thing of this affair, was suddenly set upoj , several of his crew killed, and himself wounded. The company, much grieved at this mis- hap, sent Captain Dormer, a prudent and concilia- tory person, with one of the betrayed natives, to protest that the former outrage was nerely the individual crime of Hunt, with which the nation had no concern. Dormer executed his commission faithfully and successfully, and in the course of the next two years made several voyages, to the great 1 1! '\'-V * Smith, ap. Pink. p. 215. VOL. I. Q J ■ ■ ! Q.LO SKTTLEMEXT OF NEW EXOLAXl). satisfaction of his employers ; but being attacked by a new body of savages, he received fourteen wounds, and died in Virginia.* Amid all these discouraging events, the company continued to make such liberal grants of land, that successive adventurers endeavoured, even at consid- erable cost, to found settlements upon them. A number of great families, who had relations that were burdensome to them, sent them to shift for themselves in a foreign land ; but the bread thus thrown upon the waters was scarcely ever found. These large and loose grants bred another dreadful inconvenience, as due care was not taken to keep them clear of each other, and sometimes the same spot was bestowed on two or three different persons. Hubbard calculates, that the disputed points hence arising would have afforded employment to more lawyers than there were inhabitants in the colony. As there were neither funds nor lawyers, the costs came to be levied on the person instead of the purse. This was marked in the very names of places on the coast, called Bloody Point, Black and Blue Point, and others, bearing allusion to the imcourteous methods by which these controversies were settled. From these causes, it happened that England, a hundred and twentj'^ years after her discovery of northern America, had on its shores only a few scattered huts, erected for the convenience of those who came to their summer fishing on the coast. But * Purchas, iv. 1830. it Pl.USKCI'TIOX AT HOME. 2r.i the time was come, when events, unforeseen and imdesigned by their authors, were to produce a mighty- tide of emigration, which rendered this the most flourishing and provsperous of all the colonies in the new world. The Protestant reformation in England had never been accompanied by any acknowledgment of those rights of toleration and of individual judgment upon whicli it ap])eared to be founded. However conge- nial to the wishes of the people, it was introduced not by them, but by the most absolute of their monarchs, consulting only his own judgment, or rather pas- sion and caprice ; and he exacted from liis subjects the same implicit spiritual submission which they had formerly rendered to the head of the Catholic church. Queen Elizabeth adopted the same prin- ciple ; and both, with the inclination natural to princes, favoured that high power of the hierarchy, and that pomp of ceremony, which made the church diverge as little as might be from the Romish stand- ard. But the body of the nation, disgusted with the superstitious character of that ritual, shocked by the persecutions of Mary, and the crimes committed on the continent in its support, were inclined to go eagerly into every extreme that was most opposite to that bigoted system. The connexions formed with Geneva, with the German churches, and with Scot- land, inspired a strong attachment to the Calvinistic doctrines and discipline, as well as the strict and simple manners which were usually combined with it. To these Elizabeth was irreconcileably adverse, and claimed the ill-founded right of putting them i nil '■\ fUl 1.1 fl 1 \ 'i ilM n t I 244 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. down by main force. Wlien policy, or the love of po- pularity, inclined her to relax, Archbishop Whitgift fell on his knees, and implored her not to sacrifice her authority, or suffer the unity of the church to be broken. Lord Treasurer Burleigh felt differently, and sharplj'- remonstrated with Whitgift on the dis- contents to which he unnecessarily gave rise. On seeing twenty-four questions which the archbishop had drawn up, on which to examine the unhappy Pu- ritans, Cecil declared, " he thought the Inquisition of Spain used not so many questions to comprehend and to trap their preys," and afterwards told him, he would not call his proceedings rigorous or captious, but " he had cause to pity the poor men that fell in- to his hands." The lords of the privy-council se- conded the application, but the archbishop begged them to leave the matter in his hands, as his only ap- prehension was the })eing found too lenient. How- ever, the spirit continuing to grow under the severi- ties exercised against it, more and more violent mea- sures were adopted, till ai last a most iniquitous sta- tute was passed, by which secession from the church was punished with banishment, and with death in case of refusal or return. It is so'uewhat remarkable, that, notwithstanding this violent collision with the great body of the na- tion, Elizabeth never forfeited their favour. Her po- pular deportment, and her being viewed as the bul- wark of the Protestant cause, made them still rally round her. They were also yet strongly attached to the national religion, and most anxious to adhere to it, if they could do so with any safety to their con- THE BKOAVNISTS. 345 of po- litgift ce her to be •eiitly, le dis- . On bishop [)y Pu- tion of lid and iin, he ptious, fell in- icil se- begged inly ap- How- severi- it mea- tus sta- chiirch eath in tanding the na- Her po- lie bul- ill rally ched to here to leir con- science. At length these continued severities drove some to extremity. The Brownists, or followers of Brown, denied altogether the right of tlie church of England to be considered as a church, and lier minis- ters as lawfully ordained. They formed the first ex- ample of an independent system, in which each con- gregation made a church by itself, and the whole power was vested in the brethren, or lay members. The archbishop poured all the vials of his wrath on this unhappy sect. Brown could boast that he had been shut up in thirty-two prisons, and several o^ his followers suffered death. These violences drove a ni'mV.r (•f u-.- more decided votaries of the party to tak; x'eiuge in Holland, where they long formed a se- parate church under their pastor, Mr Robinson, who seems to have been a respectable and intelligent man, and by no means very illiberal. Dissatisfied, how- ever, with their situation and prospects in this foreign land, they cast their eyes upon New England as a place wh'^re, amid the present difficulty of finding settlers, hey might be allowed an asylum. They sent over agents to the Plymouth Company, and stated themselves to be " weaned from the delicate milk of their native country, knit together in a strict t.nd sacred band, whom small things could not discourage, nor small discontents cause to wish themselves home again." After some negotiation they obtained their object ; and though James told them that there could be no formal stipulation as to the free exercise of their religion, yet, if they de- meaned themselves quietly, no inquiry would be made. Tliey set sail on the 12th July, 1()19, in two ' f 11 '5i' 246 sr/i T I.EMENT or NK\V KN(;i.AM). vessels, having on Imard one hundred and twenty persons, with goods and ])rovisions which had cost £2400. After a rougli voyage, and heing obliged to send back one of the vessels, they arrived, on the 9th November, off Cape Cod. The lateness of the sea- son, and the ignorance or evil design of the pilot, baffled their attempts to reach a more favourable sta- tion, and they were obliged to fix their settlement on a spot in Cape Cod Bay, which they called New Ply- mouth. They suffered most severely during the first four or five months from the inclemency of an Ame- rican winter, the want of necessaries, and various dis- eases ; so that in spring there was not above fifty re- maining. Even after they had seriously begun to improve the settlement, their progress was retarded by the community of goods, which, by an injudicious imitation of the primitive Christians, they made the basis of their system. This rendered labour exceed- ingly slack, and produced even the necessity for whip- ping in order to stimulate to its exercise. In religi- ous matters their partiality for " the preaching of the gifted brethren" prevented the formation of any learned or regular ministry. However, these faults were gra- dually corrected ; in the course of ten years they had increased to three hundred, and become a flourishing little colony.* ■'I * Neale's History of New England, i. 81-9(). INIather's Ec- clesiastical History of New Kngland, book i. ch. 2 and 3. Hutchison's History of MassachusgettSj p. 45. Chalmers's An- nals, p. 85-91). a J ij i^ r THE rUlUTANS. 1247 The folonization o'r' New England \uu\ not yet taken place on any scale connnensurate with the wish- es of the government, or which could ever make it a flourishing or important colony. James, however, heing anxious to promote this ohject, formed a new society, under the title of the Grand Council of Ply- mouth, at the head of which he placed the Duke of Lennox, the Marquis of Buckingham, and other per- sons of distinction. But neither this pompous title, nor the rank of the memhers, did much for New England till Charles succeeded, and entered into ar- rangements with Laud, which secured an ample hody of recruits. The laws against ..ligious dissent, how- ever rigorous, had yet heen executed in tlieir utmost severity oidy in a few prominent cases, and had not prevented a tolerable freedom of private worshij). But Laud introduced a number of new ceremonies, which nearly assimilated the form of worship to the jjomj)- ous ritual of Rome, and an inquisitorial system of the utmost violence against those who refused to con- form. It extended even to those who showed any peculiar degree of that zeal and strictness which was held to savour of the Calvinistic system. To omit reading the book of sports which might be played on the Sabbath, — to preach on a week-day or Sunday af- ternoon, — to rebuke any of the congregation for drunk- enness or other open sin, made a sufficient ground for the ejection of the most respectable ministers. They were also strictly prohibited from any i)rivate minis- tration ; so that the great body of the nation were absolutely excluded from any worship which they could consider as scriptural or edifying. The reluc- ', ' i ^> *., <^.% '/] .^ °&, ^l 0 tons, in her, ?re esti- of emi- highly- on of a )ns and iirs, but li those wife, a ngland, er hiis- r lustre 1 of Mr tan mi- nself at int and ed with prefer- iw him ng set- jtained by his illy the eek re- ch. 3. plies are on particular record. A dissolute young fel- low, having undertaken to amuse his companions at the parson's expense, went up to him, and said, " You are an old fool ;" to which he answered, " I confess I am so. The Lord make both thee and me wiser than we are, even wise unto salvation." A rude fellow having followed him from church, calling out, that " his ministry was become dark and flat," he said, " Both, brother, it may be both. Let me have your prayers that it may be otherwise." He was so gene- rally beloved, that his sins against the liturgy were for some time covered. At length Laud was inform- ed, that some of the little forms on which he set so much importance were omitted in the church-service at Boston, and Mr Cotton was called before the ec- clesiastical commission. The Earls of Dorset and Lindsay, while residing in the neighbourhood, had at- tended his ministry with so much gratification, that they assured him, if ever he wanted a friend at court, he might deperd upon them. He had never used this promise with any view to promotion ; but he now en- treated them to save him from ruin. Lord Dorset wrote in reply, that he was as anxious as ever to serve him, and had it been a case of drunkenness, fornica- tion, or any such common offence, he would easily have secured him against any annoyance ; but since it was the o^mission of any part of Laud's liturgy, all he could do for him was to advise him instantly to fly the country. Mr Cotton, therefore, left Boston in disguise, and spent some time in London, seeking a pro- per opportunity to emigrate. Here '* some reverend and renowned ministers of our Lord" craved a con- t < J> f 1) J.> r? tj . ' I ' 252 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. ference, and endeavoured to persuade him that the grounds on which he left the church were " sufferable trifles," and did not actually amount to a breach of the second commandment. Mr Cotton, however, ar- gued so forcibly on the opposite side, that several of the most eminent, among whom were Dr Goodwin and Mr Davenport, " became all that he was," and afterwards followed his example. There went out with him Mr Hooker and Mr Stone, who were esteem- ed to make " a glorious triumvirate," and were re- ceived in New England with the utmost exultation. Mr Cotton was appointed to preach at Boston, now the principal town, and was mainly employed in draw- ing up the ecclesiastical constitution of the colony.* The accounts now constantly transmitted to Eng- land of the progress of the settlement, and the many famous ministers who were freely dispensing the bread of life, while those at home were starving, produced a powerful influence. The numerous expatriated clergy had left in England flocks, who, destitute of any pas- tors in whom they could place confidence, resolved to follow them to the uttermost ends of the earth. A general impulse was felt among the most respectable of the commercial and industrious classes. Every port was crowded with vessels proceeding to the western continent ; England seemed to be moving in one mass across the Atlantic. Neale does not doubt, that in a few years one-fourth of the substance of the kingdom would have been conveyed to America. The court * Mather, book iii. ch. 1. Neale, i. 154-5. ! >H GREAT EMIGRATION. 253 court took the alarm. Its anxious wish to find persons who would migrate to New England had been much more than fulfilled. The fear was now, that England would be stripped of her wealth and her people. This crowd- ing also of the most respectable of the English people into a quarter which they had recently viewed with such aversion, exposed in an extraordinary degree the deep unpopularity of the present system. But Charles and his counsellors, instead of taking any warning from this ominous fact, were only impelled by it into a fresh act of violence. A proclamation was issued " to restrain the disorderly transporting of his ma- jesty's subjects, because of the many idle and refrac- tory humours, whose only or principal end is to live beyond the reach of authority." An order was next day issued " for the stay of eight ships now in the river of Thames, prepared to go for New England ;" and the passengers were obliged to reland. Of all the fatal wsteps into which Charles was hurried, this was the one of which he had the bitterest reason to repent. Among these passengers were no less per- sonages than John Hampden, Oliver Cromwell, and Sir Arthur Haslerigg, the men who were destined to subvert his throne and bring his head to the block. The Puritans now complained of the extraordinary hardship of their situation, neither allowed to live in the kingdom nor out of it ; and their discontents fer- mented deeper aud deeper, till the storm which Charles and Laud had been so busily brewing for themselves burst at length on their heads. Notwithstanding every prohibition, emigrants in large numbers continued to find their way over the ii l^i: f^ :i " L'l 111 ■* '1 ,' f r* i ! I 254 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGEANl). Atlantic. It was not till the recovery of the national liberty, and the cessation of that " spiritual famine of God's word," of which Pym so bitterly complained, that, though full liberty was given of proceeding to New England, it was no longer prized, and from that time a greater number returned than went out. Dur- ing the twelve years of continued migration, it is cal- culated that in 298 ships there sailed 21,200 persons ; and it would not perhaps be extravagant to average the property carried out by each at £50, which would make somewhat more than a million sterling.* Ini- quitous as the cause had been which drove them from their native country, it was yet overruled, to produce a great good to the world in general. England could spare them ; and they formed an excellent basis for a new and hereafter great community. One of their governors said : " God sifted three kingdoms, that he might bring choice grain into this wilderness." In fact, though not, as will be seen, without their due share of human infirmity, they were men, beyond the usual average, sober, laborious, of high principle, and vigorous character. Deeply impressed with the im- portance of that religion for which they had made so great a sacrifice, they rendered it the centre of their whole social and political system. In doing so, they * Mather and Neale reckon only 4000 passengers, and £192,000; but it would be easy to controvert this by their own data. I shall only observe, that Mather, in less than fifty years after, formed upwards of a hundred thousand, produced without any sensible recruit from abroad. Out of his original four thou- sand. ECCLESIASTICAL CONSTITUTION. 235 do not seem to have always distinguished between the fundamental principles of the Gospel, and those local forms and habits to which the inspired writers wisely- conformed, without intending to bind them on future ages. Discarding the common English proper names, they introduced the Hebrew ones, — Deborah, Rebecca, Abigail, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and even the abstract spiritual terms of Patience, Experience, Mercy, De- liverance. The cutting the hair very close, which seemed supported by St Paul's authority, was the chief outward symbol of a Puritan. In the case of a mini- ster, it was considered essential that the ear should be thoroughly uncovered. Vane, a young man of birth and fashion, continued for some time a recusant against this uncouth test of his principles ; but at last we find a letter congratulating him on having " glo- rified God by cutting his hair." Even after the ex- ample of Dr Owen and other eminent divines had given a sanction to letting the hair grow, and even to periwigs, a numerous association was formed at Boston, with Mr Endicot the governor at their head, the members of which bound themselves to stand by each other in resisting long hair to the last extre- mity.* The ministers, who formed so prominent a feature in this establishment, were naturally an object of pe- culiar veneration, and they have been accused of seeking to establish a power as absolute as that of the Romish hierarchy.! This was founded upon the law * Hutchison's Massachussetts. t Robertson, book x, p, 209. Chalmers, 153. ^ mi S56 SETTLEMENT 01' NEW ENGLAND. f ■ M i'ii t ii M ■; ' which confined the rights of citizenship, and admis- sion to all public and legal functions, to those who were in full communion with the church. To attain this state, it was not enough that they should profess its doctrines, attend its ordinances, and be free from public scandal. It was necessary that the candidate for admission should lay open to the ministers and session the whole train of his spiritual experiences, whence it might be judged whether a work of grace had taken place in his soul, and he was in a state of acceptance. This judgment was perhaps only com- petent to a higher tribunal ; but I do not find any ac- tual charge of its having been exercised in a manner other than conscientious, or made a political engine. Indeed an innovation, whether salutary or otherwise, which was soon introduced, must have defeated any views of that nature. A great curiosity being felt respecting these spiritual disclosures, some of the most respectable of the congregation obtained permission to be present. This circle gradually widened, till at last the whole body, urging the edification which might be derived from these narratives, and the equal right which all had to the l^enefit, succeeded in obtaining a ge- neral admission. This change, however, was not gene- rally relished by the candidates. That young persons should be required to lay open before a crowded con- gregation the most secret dealings of God with their souls, and the various temptations of Satan by which they had been assailed, was placing them at least in a very trying and difficult situation. The ministers, therefore, seem to have had good grounds for endea- vouring to negotiate that the examination should take r-i^Fli ECCLESIASTICAL CONSTITUTION. 257 adniis- se who I attain profess e from rididate irs and riences, f grace state of ly com- any ac- manner engine, lerwise, ted any ing felt he most ssion to 1 at last . might al right Qgage- 3t gene- persons ed con- h their T which least in inisters, • endea- ild take place in private, and that the elders should then re- port to the congregation such particulars as might appear most interesting and edifying.* This, however, was effected reluctantly and very slowly. But the deepest blot upon the church of New Eng- land consisted in its intolerance. The world had ex- pected, with seeming reason, that men newly escaped from an unjust persecution, and who had fled to a distant corner of the world to worship God as they deemed most acceptable, would have made liberty of conscience the basis of their system. No such idea was ever contemplated. Every dissent from the esta- blished form of belief and worship was considered an offence which was to be remedied by the arm of the civil magistrate. Imprisonment, banishment, and, in some few instances, death itself, were awarded to the dissenter. Mr Dudley, one of the most respectable of the governors, was found, at his death, with a copy of verses in his pocket, which included the following couplet : Let men of God, in court and churches, watch O'er such as do a toleration hatch ; of which, we cannot but agree with Mr Chalmers, that the sentiment and the poetry are equally deserv- ing of censure. Yet, that we may not be intolerant even against intolerance, it may be fair to mention some palliating' circumstances. The zealous votaries of any religious system can with difficulty refrain ,^1' !'i • See Mather, book xi. VOJ,. T. U 258 SETTI-KMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. « I -1' K 'A lUM from viewing witli horror, as tlit* eneiriies of Ciod, those who oppose any part of that which iw asso- ciated with ail tlieir own most venerated ideas. The Reformation in England had never been com- bined with any general doctrine of religious liberty. The sovereign, after setting aside the authority of the pope, liad assumed and exercised the entire re- gulation of the churcli as well as the state. Yet it was impossible, when the movement was once made, to prevent the rise of new opinions, inspired by the love of novelty, the variety of individual views, and the propensity of mankind to divide into sects. The new and unwonted exercise of the liberty of thought, employed by learned and unlearned, upon subjects the most abstruse and mysterious, generated opinions often of a very wild and singular aspect. Several of the sects, which now maintain the most sober and respectable character, were, in their outset, extravagant and enthusiastic in the extreme. To the ministers of New England, sober, learned, and dili- gent men, it was a severe trial to see the multitude successively carried away by those various winds of doctrine. They could not be justified, however, in the remedy which they applied ; and which had this additional evil, that the tenets of each successive sect which rose into popularity, being made a state affair, not only shook the church, but threatened the very existence of the colony. Of the dire series of schisms which rent Massa- chussetts, the first was that raised at Salem by Roger Williams. He held it unlawful to join in any reli- gious service with those of whose regenerate state he i/? W- ROOEIl WILLIAMS. 259 eiitertaiiiwl any doiibtH. He could not, therefore, at- tend church, but ministered at his own house to a chosen body of the elect. Not l)einji^ fully satisfied as to the spiritual state of liis wife, he would even not say ^race at liis own table. These singular and disso- cial views were redeemed by nuu'h genuine worth and sincerity, and by some very valuable tenets, which unfortunately appeared strange in the eyes of liis fellow-citizens. He maintained, that the magistrate had no concern with the duties of the first table, and that no man ought to be punished for worshipping according to his conscience. He started a very con- scientious, but very inconvenient question, what right the King of England had to bestow on his subjects the lands of the Indians ; which, even to the most devout planters, appeared a pestilent heresy. His most unlucky antipathy was tliat to the red cross in the banner, against which he inveighed with such vehemence, that one of his disciples who held some command cut the cross out, and trampled it under foot. This red cross had nearly subverted the colony. One part of the trained bands would not march with, another would not inarch without it. A scries of vio- lent pamphlets were written on both sides, till at length a cotnpromise was effected. It was agreed, that the cross should be retained on the castles and forts, but omitted in the colours of the trained bands. The distinction does not seem founded on any very rational principle ; but any arrangement might be considered good, which put an end to so furious and futile a controversy. At length the magistrates re- solved to banish Williams as a disturber of the order ' ri ^W I •' 260 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. P. «> < ;ii: \M of church and state. Mr Cotton, always studious of peace, obtained permission to deal with him privately, and endeavour to bring him round by gentle means ; but, as he remained inflexible, the sentence was put in execution. The town, however, was in an uproar, and the greater part of the inhabitants were with dif- ficulty prevented from following him. He retired to Providence, in Rhode Island, where a little colony col- lected round him, and he spent the rest of his life with general esteem, as a worthy and Christian minister.* Mr Williams being thus removed, the memory of himself and his doctrines gradually died away ; and the ministers hoped that they were to be left to the tranquil discharge of their duties, and the enjoyment of the respect and influence with which these had ori- ginally been attended. Suddenly, however, a much more terrible storm bui'st upon them, from a very un- expected quarter. The female part of the society of Boston had for some time shown a profound conviction, that they were qualified to treat the most abstruse mysteries of theology with the same depth and success as the most learned of the other sex. An opportunity of display- ing their powers seemed afforded by an assembly of devout citizens, held with the view of recapitulating, and sometimes commenting upon the sermons which they had weekly heard. The observations, however, hazarded on these occasions by the female divines were by no means well received ; and measures were even * JMather, vii. ch. 2. Neale, i. 158-61. Hutchinson, 37-9. ! I MRS HUTCHINSON. 261 ious of ivately, means ; 5 put in uproar, 'ith dif- tired to ony col- ife with nister.* iiiory of ly; and ; to the joyment had ori- a much i^ery un- had for at they teries of he most display- mbly of ;ulating, s which lowever, nes were ere even 11, 37-9. taken for inducing them to return to a state of silence ; and as this was found more desirable than practicable, the severe expedient was adopted of ejecting them al- together, and of admitting men only to these devout conferences. The ladies could not fail to consider this as a some- what severe proceeding, and they at least conceived that they had a full right to form an assemblage among themselves for a similar purpose. Mrs Hutchinson, a Lincolnshire lady of good birth, and of a vigorous and determined character, collected at her house, on the Sabbath evenings, a numerous party of her own sex, who might there exercise, at full liberty, those powers of speech which had been elsewhere so severely check- ed. The discussions were accordingly opened, and carried on with the utmost fluency ; nor was it long- before t^ey ascertained, not only that they were qua- lified to treat of these arduous and important subjects, but they were alone qualified, and that the ministers and male members of the colony were involved in the thickest darkness. It was found that the religious system of New England must undergo a radical change, otherwise that country could never hope to at- tain the favour of God. The system which Mrs Hutchinson so zealously in- culcated in her disciples, and which was destined to convulse both church and state, was that called by divines Antinomian ; according to which, salvation depended upon faith, or rather upon grace and elec- tion alone, and in no degree upon good works, or a good life. This system, in some shape and degree, has very generally prevailed among the more zealous ,Ml m 262 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. !| i II;. 1 -■'»■)):,' 1 1: 'I' ai of the Protestant sects. The strange and pernicious doctrines of the Catholics, respecting the merit of works, which were made even an object of transfer and sale, and became the foundation of the system of indulgences, led both Luther and Calvin to make i decided stand against allowing good works of them- selves to establish any right to salvation. When any opinion becomes characteristic of a sect, the zealots of that sect seek to distinguish themselves by push- ing it always farther and farther. After passing through various stages, it was maintained by some German divine, that good works were an impedi- ment to salvation ; but luckily this tenet never spread very wide.* The ministers of the colony were on this subject decidedly Calvinistic, and nearly what is now termed evangelical. They held, that to ascribe any merit to human works, or found on them any claim to salvation, was an erroneous and even fatal opinion. But they earnestly pressed the refor- mation of heart and conduct, as the only sure test of being in a sound spiritual state, and solemnly called upon their auditors to examine strictly if they pos- sessed this evidence of their eternal safety. The school to which our female divines had attached themselves took a much loftier flight. According to them, a certain sensible impression made by the Spirit upon the mind conveyed to it a triumphant assurance of present favour and future salvation, without there being room for the slightest reference to so trivial a I See Moslieim. 'nicious nerit of transfer ^stem of make j, f them- hen any zealots ly push- passing 3y some impedi- t never colony i nearly that to on them nd even le refor- i test of ly called ley pos- . The attached rding to le Spirit ssurance ut there trivial a THE ANTINOMIANS. 26S consideration as that of their own temper and con- duct. Not only was such reference unnecessary, but he who was so far misled, as in any shape to make it, placed himself thereby under a covenant of works, and exposed himself to that awful doom which awaits those who place their trust on so broken a reed. It has been a standing charge against the votaries of this class of opinions, that they have contrived them with the view of releasing their conduct from the re- straints of religion, and leaving them at full liberty to pursue their irregular propensities. Against this charge they have appealed with confidence to the whole tenor of their life and conversation. Not only can they produce examples of the purest virtue and phil- anthropy of which human nature is capable, but the general tone of manners has been strict and austere, marked by abstinence from pleasures and pursuits which are freely indulged in by other circles esteemed respectable. Their enemies may attack their theory as tending to licentiousness ; but the charge against their practice is, on the contrary, that they lead a gloomy and monotonous life, denying to themselves and censuring in others even innocent pleasures. These remarks, which may be verified by daily ob- servation of the more sober and rational forms of this creed, do not fail, even in regard to the high Antinomian pitch to which the ladies of Boston had risen. Our information comes almost solely from the report of their most imbittered enemies, who assuredly would not have passed over any thing in their deportment that might have been found amiss. There is even a disposition to grasp at the wildest 264 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. r.«^' • I and most improbable rumours tending to their pre- judice. Thus considerable acceptation is given to the story of poor Mrs Hutchinson having produced thirty monsters at a birth ; which, according to Mather, were of various forms and sizes, corresponding to the variety of her theological errors ; though Neale candidly declines laying much stress upon this cir- cumstance,* the evidence of which even appears to him not perfectly conclusive. But neither against her, nor against any of the female conclave whom she initiated into the covenant of grace, is there any specification of licentious or irregular conduct. On the contrary, it is given as one of the chief causes of their success, that " they appeared so wondrous holy, humble, self-denied, and spiritual."! They ap- peared such in a Puritan community, where these were the prevailing qualities. I do not even find it proved that the elect ladies exercised their tongues with such extreme violence, as Mr Graham seems to suppose, against all whom they considered as under a covenant of works. There seems to have been little courtesy on either side ; and, doubtless, in this high theological career, they might drop somewhat of the softness of their sex. Every dogma, however , ';'( * Neale, i. 194. Mather, vii. p. 19-20. It is certainly im- possible to refuse our assent to Gorton's conclusion in his " Glass for the People of New England/' that this was " a notorious lie." He says, " They banished this tenderly-bred woman in or towards winter, and what with fears and tossings to and fro she miscarried, upon which they founded their abo- minable untruth." — Hutchinsim, 72-3. f Mather, vii. p. 14. THE ANTINOMIANS. 265 fantastic, or however trivial, must assume a fearful importance to those who have brought themselves to believe that all the destinies of man are suspended upon it. The ladies are accused of defaming the ministers ; but we do not find that they defamed any thing except their doctrine ; and when they believed that doctrine to be not only false, but fatal, it might become a matter of the strictest conscience to lay open all its deformity.* The ministers were not long of being advised, that, instead of the respectful and docile attachment with which they had hitherto been viewed, they were denounced in the female coterie as the blind leaders of the blind ; but they hoped for some time that this would be only a partial and temporary effervescence. Those, however, who were best acquainted with hu- man nature easily foresaw that opinions adopted with such zeal by this class of the community would not long be confined to them. " A poison," says Mather, " does never insinuate so quickly, nor operate so strongly, as when woman's milk is the vehicle." The wives assured their husbands, and the young ladies their suitors, that those who taught them had never been taught of God ; that they could never be saved under the instructions to which they at present listened ; and that it was only by imbib- ing their own " fine-spun speculations," that they could attain to a sound spiritual state.f These * Neale, 182-3. Mather, b. vii. ch. 3. Hutchinson, 55-7- + Mather, vii. H-IT). 266 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. < ill f I a V If 1 1 fl doctrines made a most rapid progress ; the whole colony was divided between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace ; and though many, it is alleged, never to their dying day could understand the difference, they were, as usual, only the more zealous on that account. The clergy soon felt that the great body of the people had embraced the new opinions, and were alienated from themselves. Many who had crossed three thousand miles of ocean, and braved death itself, in order to sit under their favour- ite minister, would not now listen to a word that he uttered.* The churches were generally thinned, and some almost deserted ; while that of Mr Wheel- wright, who had mounted the pulpit under the au- spices of the female school of theology, could not contain the crowds with which it was thronged. The ministers and their adherents were in a situa- tion the more embarrassing from an error into which they had been betrayed. Vane, afterwards so noted under the name of Sir Harry Vane, had come out to the colony, and, though a very young man, his rank and the gravity of his demeanour had induced them to elect him governor. His enthusiastic spirit made him embrace with ardour the new tenets, and use all his influence in their support. It is even stated, that he delayed, on a most urgent occasion, the march of the militia against the Indians, on account of the dark state in which their minds appeared to be re- specting the covenant of grace. The magistrates, Mather, vii. p. 15. ilif [ ! THE ANTINOMIANS. 267 who still adhered to the old system, could scarcely obtain submission, or escape insult, on account of their legal spirit. The elections, however, were ap- proaching, and by them it was foreseen, that the fate of the two covenants would be ultimately decided. The Antinomians strained every nerve to obtain what they termed " Gospel magistrates ;" while the main object of the other party was the ejection of Vane from the office of governor. In Boston, Mrs Hutchinson and her ladies were paramount ; but the country districts adhered to their old ministers ; and they formed a majority. It was only apprehended that if the deputies met in the capital, influence, clamour, and even more violent means, might induce them to vote with the reigning party ; it was there- fore overtured, that the election should take place at Newtown (now Cambridge,) and this proposition was carried in the council, notwithstanding the utmost opposition of Vane, who refused even to put the vote upon it. The elections, notwithstanding various at- tempts to defeat or delay them, were carried entirely in favour of the sober party. Vane was thrown out, and returned in disgust to England, where he was destined to act so conspicuous a part ; and Mr Win- throp, whom Mather calls the American Nehemiah, was elected in his place. Discontent, however, was still strong at Boston ; even the sergeants refused to carry the halberts before a governor whom they con- sidered to be under a covenant of works.* , I * Hutchinson, (il. Neale, i. 184-r). ■ /: ill 268 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. 'I . 1 ■( ''■I . > ■'ill ililli The ministers, now backed by the civil power, determined to take decisive steps for the suppression of the Antinomian heresy. It seems fair to admit that they were willing to try, in the first instance, conciliatory and persuasive means. Mr Cotton, who enjoyed the highest reputation for learning and cha- racter of any minister in the colony, was the person especially pointed to by both parties. It was in his name, and in commenting upon his sermons, that Mrs Hutchinson had first broached her peculiar tenets; and his brother ministers now called upon him to say, whether and how far he was prepared to own them vis his. Mr Cotton, a fervent lover of peace, seems to have been sorely aflfected to find the colony rent by such dire dissensions, and himself unwitting- ly placed in the centre of them ; nor could he, per- haps, be insensible to the sacrifice of that profound and idolizing veneration with which female devotees regard their spiritual guides. However, he applied himself to the examination of the case, and, having heard the charges of one party and the admissions of the other, declared with tears in his eyes, that while he slept the devil had been sowing tares ; that, though he might differ from the rest upon some intri- cate questions respecting the union with Christ, and the order of justification, the system by which sanc- tity of life was excluded from being any test of a sound spiritual state never could be his : he earnest- ly exhorted his pretended disciples to renounce such obnoxious opinions, and reconcile themselves to the church. Had the ladies met with this check at an earlier THE ANTINOMIANS. 269 power, )ression > admit istance, >n, who nd cha- person s in his liat Mrs tenets ; him to to own f peace, ! colony fitting- he, per- rofound ievotees applied having missions s, that 5; that, le intri- ist, and h sane- st of a earnest- ce such to the earlier period of their theological career, it might, perhaps, have deterred them from taking quite so lofty a flight. But they had advanced too far and taken too decided an attitude to be now shaken. They exclaimed, that Mr Cotton, overawed by the num- ber and clamour of his brethren, had swerved from the truth and his own private judgment ; that he taught one thing in public and another in private ; and that, at the very best, he had lost all that insight into Gospel mysteries for which he was once so emi- nent. One of the ladies, not very wittily, sent him a present of a pound of candles, to intimate his need of more spiritual light. The good man, much troubled by the scene of dissension in which he was involved, had formed the design of removing to New- haven ; but, at the earnest request of the governor and some of the principal inhabitants, he was per- suaded to remain.* The mediation of Mr Cotton having thus failed, the governor and ministers determined upon a measure of greater magnitude. A general synod of the minis- ters of the colony was summoned to meet at Cam- bridge. It was the first assembly of this nature in New England, where, without any actual profession of independence, or even any full separation from the English church, each congregation had hitherto acted almost as a separate body. The ministers drew up a list of eighty-two propositions, said to be maintain- ed by the Antinomians, and upon which that assem- * Neale, i. 184-5. Mather, iii. p. 22-3. t ■ \ k I Itl ■ 'I li i ^7/' lit;.: 270 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. bly was to be called upon to pronounce. Preparation was made by a solemn fast, which, it was hoped, might bring men's minds into a calm and deliberate frame, fitted for the consideration of such important con- cerns. It had, however, as might perhaps have been foreseen, quite the opposite effect. Mr Cotton alone preached a " healing discourse ;" all the others sought only to inflame farther the animosity of their respec- tive partizans. Mr Wheelwright, above all, is report- ed to have preached a sermon of the most inflamma- tory tenor. He denounced the magistrates and mi- nisters of the colony as generally under a covenant of works, and consequently in a state of perdition ; and, in their present course of enmity to the truth, they could only be considered as a form of Antichrist. He compared the pending spiritual contest in the colony to that of Michael with the apostate angel, and of the pure and mystical church with the whore of Baby- lon.* . All hopes of an amicable accommodation being thus terminated, the synod assembled on the 30th August, 1637. The meeting was crowded and turbulent. It consisted not only of the ministers and the deputies from the different congregations, but of the magis- trates, who deemed their presence necessary to pre- serve order, and held it competent also to give their opinion on the theological questions. The Antino- mian partizans had also a particular place assigned to them, and were allowed the liberty of speech, which * Mather, vii, 15. Neale, i. 186. ill THK ANTINOMIANS. 271 )aration I, might frame, nt coii- ,ve been n alone I sought ' respec- 1 report- flamma- md mi- enant of II ; and, th, they ist. He e colony d of the f Baby- ing thus August, ent. It deputies magis- to pre- ive their Antino- igned to , which they are alleged to have used beyond all boiuids of moderation. As many more of the peojile as the ai)artment would contain were admitted as auditors or spectators. The eighty-two propositions were then laid before the synod. They were stated mere- ly in an abstract form, without any specification of the persons by whom they were held, leaving it to the congregation, or, if necessary, to the tribunals, to make the pei-sonal application. Many on the oppo- site side, however, complained, that this was a covert and unfair mode of proceeding. They called upon the ministers to specify who the persons were who had maintained these obnoxious tenets. Their whole demeanour is represented as clamorous in the extreme, insomuch that the civil magistrate was repeatedly obliged to exert his authority to impose silence. Ap- parently there was no excess of meekness on either side. The only speech of the opposite party on re- cord is that of Mr Wilson, who, on some one asking what they were to make of the eighty-two proposi- tions, cried out, — " Send them to the devil, from whom they came !" Three weeks were spent in this stormy discussion ; and the eighty-two propositions, one after another, were painfully debated ; when, at length, the whole underwent a decided and unani- mous sentence of condemnation.* After this great and public synodical triumph, the ministers fondly hoped that their cause was gained, and that the heretical party would no longer attempt * Hutchinson, 67-9. Neale, i. 188-1). li 1 ■ *ii '■ n ^fl H M 'in IH' {■ 11 H lI' 1 il lill '' liH ^. »■ 14 ' ' M li i il ''M i! r 11 ■' i' s. ii P^, '^'J 'i »■' ''1 1 :'.;!;:. « f{ |[| w|| ,i « 'i : ^ m i li M 1 '; ' , 1 : i :- f ' I P t;! [ : i: I \ li i t i 1 ' 1 p^ i! 1 ' i-'f • 1 i Rf" '' ir ' 'iii. , ' •: I ,||i ■ ■! ' '' R^^dl • 1 h |^ t> ?:n ilea re- isteiied ^Vheel- while )el()ved pulpit, iiausted formed le civil felt the [y been ous fast iroceed- He was edge his repeat er of se- but de- against Up. quit the )se who, eedings n which em to be no ten- »g- ' sentence. It was necessary to disarm a considerable portion of the citizens, and a great body of the Boston congregation presented an address to the elders, calling upon them to exclude the governor from church privileges on ac- count of his persecution of the saints, — a measure which would have deprived him of his rights as a ci- tizen, and consequently amounted to a sentence of de- position ; but the elders declined to interfere.* Although by these violent measures the Antino- mian spirit was for the time put down, yet that uni- ty which the ministers so vehemently laboured to ef- fect was not thus secured. The love of novelty, and the pride of belonging to a select and chosen circle in the midst of a profane world, caused new sects continu- ally to spring up. It was doubtless a pretty severe trial on the ministers, who appear really to have been, as they say, " faithful, watchful, and painful, serving their flocks daily with prayers and tears, with their most studied sermons and writings," who possessed such a reputation at home and over Europe, that the churches of New England were envied the possession of them, — to find, that no sooner did a half-learned, half-crazed enthusiast spring up or arrive in the colo- ny, than the people could be prevented only by the most odious compulsion from deserting their churches and flocking to him in a mass. Mr Parker's homely remark, that " the people love to tap a new barrel," received daily illustration. Several even of common * Mather, ii. p. 11. 276 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. ! « ' m 4 ijl ;.•{ profligates and rogues, when all other modes of swind- ling had failed, put on the character of ministers, and, repairing to Boston, enjoyed a day of popularity. But the Anabaptists were now the sect who attracted for some time almost alone the favour of the people and the enmity of the rulers. The Anabaptists did not, like the Antinomians, profess any tenets which, even in a theoretical view, could have an immoral tendency ; nor did they now profess or practise any of those extravagancies, which, under John of Munster and King Mathias, had ren- dered them odious in the eyes of manlcind. Many of them are admitted by their greatest opponents to have been genuine and worthy Christians. Like other sectaries, they were too apt to consider their own pe- culiarities as forming the grand essentials of religion. "They unchurched," it is said, "all the faithful on earth, themselves alone excepted." When asked in court, whether there was a church in Boston ? they profess- ed that, in their apprehension, there was not. They assured those who had been baptized only as infants, that they had never been baptized at all ; that they thus belonged in no shape to Christ's visible church, nor had any part or portion in him. They are also said to have encouraged shoemakers, tailors, and all sorts of unlearned persons to enter, without prepara- tion, on the work of the ministry ; so that a church wholly illiterate must have been the result of their prevalence. Obadiah Holmes was prosecuted on the charge, that the ladies, before being baptized by him, were made entirely to lay aside their clothes ; but, after the strictest investigation, this averment could never bo ANABAPTISTS. 277 f swind- ers, and, pularity. attracted e people nomians, cal view, ;hey now !S, which, had ren- Many of ts to have ike other • own pe- F religion. I on earth, in court, y profess- )t. They IS infants, that they e church, y are also 's, and all t prepara- t a church t of their ted on the id by him, ; but, after d never be made good. Indeed very extraordinary and unwar- rantable means appear to have been resorted to in or- der to throw odium upon this sect. A pamphlet was circulated through London, under the sanction of Arch- bishop Parker, entitled, " A sad History of the unpa- ralleled Cruelty of the Anabaptists of New England ; faithfully relating the cruel, barbarous, and bloody Murther of Mr Josiah Baxter, an Orthodox Minister, who was killed by the Anabaptists, and his Skin most cruelly flea'd off from his Body. Published by his mournful Brother, Benjamin Baxter, living in Fen- church Street, London." After this work had circu- lated for some weeks, the Anabaptists investigated the matter, and found that there never was a Josiah Bax- ter nor a Benjamin Baxter in existence, and that the whole was a pure and absolute fabrication.* This heresy first showed itself by almost imper- ceptible symptoms, as persons slipping out of church when the rite of baptism was to be performed, while dark rumours of secret re-baptism began to arise. At length private meetings for worship were established, whose crowded numbers, exceeding those of the thin- ned church congregations, disclosed the extent of the schism. The magistrates and ministers immediately proceeded to severities which nothing can justify. The denying the lawfulness of infant baptism, the holding a separate meeting from that of the general church, which was called " setting vip an altar of their own against God's altar ;" and the being concerned * Mather, vii. 26-7. Neale, i. 298-305, 374-5. ii ' Ki r li i< I'l I i.' I > !l II 1 f'ii j! Ilt-:'^. Sir': flfir 278 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. in re-baptizing any who had been already baptized, involved first the alternative of fine or whipping, and, finally, banishment. Obadiah Holmes, John Clarke, and John Crandall, were presented with the two first alternatives, and determined rather to abide corporal punishment, than, by paying the fine, to recognise the right of imposing it. Holmes received thirty lashes, and as he came down from the whipping-post, two of his friends shook him by the hand, and thanked God for his courage and constancy ; upon which they were called before the court, and fined forty shillings. It is somewhat remarkable, that Clarke having summoned the ministers to a disputation, his proposal was agreed to under certain conditions ; but he shrunk from the undertaking when it came to the point. The Anabaptist schism was broken in upon by an- other of a much deeper and direr cast. The singular sect of Quakers had just arisen in the north of Eng- land, whence, holding themselves commissioned to convert the whole world, they soon found their way across the Atlantic. They were received there with even more than that imbittered hostility shown to every dissenting body ; and the New England clergy and magistrates were at length hurried into dreadful extremities, which involved them in deeper reproach than any other part of their history. That it may not, however, be painted in colours darker than the truth, it may be fair to enumerate the leading grounds alleged by them in defence of those violent proceed- ings which struck mankind with astonishment and horror. The Quakers, who have since commanded the re- p^"^ .:ir^ QUAKERS. 279 spect of mankind by their industry, philanthropic ex- ertion, and orderly deportment, presented in their ori- gin a very different aspect. It was their belief, that the divine government was still administered on the same system of special communication as in Gospel ages, and especially during the mission of the Old Testament prophets. They transferred thus the pe- culiarities of a temporary and special dispensation to the ordinary course of human affairs. The want of actual revelation was supplied by a warm fancy. The favoured of Heaven felt an inward light, and heard celestial sounds, which guided them in every step of their earthly path. All their actions being direct- ed by special instructions from the fountain of wis- dom, the exercise of common sense and experience was of course superseded. Still less could they pay regard to any human authority, however constituted. The question which arose in every such case being, whether they were to obey God or man, was one which admitted of no hesitation. When actual force indeed was employed, they forbore any resistance ; they would suffer every thing, but would do nothing. Mather has given an account of their tenets, which, he affirms, is all taken from their own printed books, and which we cannot undertake to expound ; but it appears that they considered the divine natures re- vealed in Scripture in so different a light from other Christians, that they could no longer be recognised as the same beings. Accordingly, he says, but really we can scarcely believe him, that they used to go about saying, " We deny thy Christ ; we deny thy God, whom thou callest Father, Son, and Spirit ; thy Bible ! h •^r^msssisrss'. "T »*i 4 1 , .,u i iM ^i I Ml II tiW.-s-. fMJifj '» 1 1 I m 1 ' f:*t'\ l.'f • 1 1 i( ? i ^1 i 280 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. • i I is the word of the devil." They used to rise up suddenly in the midst of a sermon, and call upon the preacher to cease his abomination. Any of the ministers who waited on, and endeavoured to reason with them, were saluted as hirelings, the brood of Ishmael, and the seed of the serpent. One writer says, " for hellish reviling of the painful ministers of Christ I know no people can match them." The following epithets, be- stowed by Fisher on Dr Owen, are said to be fair specimens of their usual addresses : — " Thou green- headed trumpeter ! thou hedgehog and grinning dog ! thou tinker ! thou lizard ! thou whirligig ! thou fire- brand ! thou louse ! thou moon-calf ! thou ragged tat- terdemalion ! thou livest in philosophy and logic, which are of the devil." Even Penn is said to have addressed the same respected divine as, " Thou bane of reason and beast of the earth."* The civil rulers did not meet with any more coui'teous salutation. When the governor or any of the council came in sight, they would call out, " Wo to thee, thou oppress- or !" and, in the language of Scripture prophecy, would announce the judgments which were about to fall upon his head.f The ladies, in this as in similar instances, acted the most conspicuous part. The first who, under a command from above, came out to Boston, were Mary Fisher and Ann Austin. Mary had been formerly sent out to the Grand Signior, whom she found in his camp at Adrianople. It is said she obtained an audi- !■■■ r-i * Mather, vii. p. 26. t Neale, i. 341-5. Mather, b. vii. ch. 4. Hutchinson, 196-205. li . ^•\. ~3S: •:ir- -^.-K^" QUAKERS. 281 ddenly clier to :s who a, were nd the hellish low no ets, be- be fair green- ig dog ! ou fire- ^ed tat- l logic, to have 3U bane 1 rulers iitation. ;ame in ►ppress- , would to fall j, acted mder a e Mary )rmerly i in his n audi- ence, the particulars of which I have not been able to learn, except that her reception was much more fa- vourable than from the Christian society of New Eng- land.* There she and her companion were immedi- ately committed to close custody, the books found on them burnt, and their persons examined, though with- out success, for tokens of witchcraft. Soon after, Mary^ wife of John Clarke, tailor in London, left her husband and six children, to bring out a message from the Lord to the people of Boston. She had scarcely opened her lips when she was seized, whipped, and sent out of the jurisdiction. The ladies having in vain tried various modes of opening the eyes of the New Englanders, at last bethought themselves of a most injudicious method, which was that of appear- ing in public without any clothes, l^'hey admitted that, when a pious damsel felt herself stirred up to show forth in this manner the spiritual nakedness of the land, it was a heavy cross ; but it was one, they thought, from which she could not escape. Accord- ingly, Deborah Wilson undertook to walk in this state from one end of Salem to the other. She had not made much progress, when the alarm was sounded, and notice being conveyed to the magistrates, they hastened with a posse of police, and carried her off to prison, where, in recompense of her course, they in- flicted numerous and severe stripes. Bishop, how- ever, considers it a most grievous case, that this sober * Hutchinson, 169- u 96-205. f Ml -»ii! 282 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. !,^ IIF! II ^ and worthy woman, who, being heavily burdened with the iniquities of Salem, had deemed it incumbent on her to march through the place in this manner " as a sign," should not only have been stopped in her career, but laid hold of and whipped by " the wicked rulers." Her lot did not deter others from bearing similar testimony to national defection. Ly- dia Wardwell made her entry into church during di- vine service exactly in the same state. The minister stopped, and the congregation, unable to comprehend this high mystery, were in the utmost confusion, till some by-standers having collected a few clothes, threw them round the pious damsel, and conveyed her to the house of correction. Margaret Brewster came in dur- ing divine service, with her face painted as black as a coal, in « gn of a dreadful plague with which she threatened the colony. Another brought in two large glass bottles, and dashed them against each other, saying, " Thus shall the Lord break you in pieces." Elizabeth Horton, and several of both sexes, at differ- ent times ran through the streets, calling out, that " the Lord was coming with fire and sword to plead with Boston," — and these, which at present would be considered only as insane fooleries, at that time overawed and terrified the peoj^le out of their senses. Their madness proceeded sometimes to a still more violent pitch. Mary Ross pretended to be the Saviour himself, named twelve apostles, and foretold her own resurrection. Loud cries being heard from the house of one Faubord, the neighbours broke in, and found that, like Abraham, he had received a com- QUAKERS. 283 rdeiied unbent nanner ped in J "the s from I. Ly- ing di- [linister )reheiid ion, till ;, threw r to the in diir- ick as a lich she NO large L other, pieces." t differ- iit, that vord to present at that of their ;o a still be the foretold ird from roke in, d a com- mand to sacrifice his first-born, which he was busily employed in executing.* Thomas Case more laud- ably undertook to raise a friend from the dead ; but he is said to have found this a more difficult task.f Upon these grounds the ministers and rulers com- plained, that this sect were not only *' open capital blasphemers, open seducers from the glorious Trinity, the liord Christ, the blessed Gospel, and from the holy Scriptures as the rule of life," but that the colony could never enjoy peace or comfort while they were in it. It is said to have been im2)ossible to deal with them, on the most common subjects, as with other rational creatures. If they were asked where they lived, they would only answer, that they lived in God, since in him only they had their being. | When any of their number was called before a court, five or six insj}ired females attended, clothed in sackcloth, and with ashes on their heads, and in deep and hollow tones announced the judgments that would befall the judges, if they should dare to touch the prophets of the Lord. They would neither pay fines, nor work in prison, nor, when liberated, promise to make any change in their conduct. It is impossible, however, to sympathize in the heavy complaints of their non- payment of jail-fees, — an iniquitous exaction, which it would have been more meritorious to remit ; nor to avoid reprobating the order to sell Provided Southick and her husband to the plantations in liquidation of this charge, though it was never put in execution. * Hutchinson, 204. t Mather, vii. Hutchinson, 20-25, + Neale, i. 345. -v"^,.7'iiWfei-*-' ■-"■'&^^a&»i^' ..-.■.-.-i.~,-w.;>..>..>j j^ii^j<.'..^-ii^'i-fr«i.i- '■ -i^m^^S'--' 284 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. Indeed, the government proceeded always to enact more and more violent laws, not merely against the above excesses, but against the simple profession of Quakerism. It was enacted, that if any commander of a ship, &c. should bring within the jurisdiction any Quaker or Quakers, he should pay £100, — that what Quaker soever should arrive in the country be forth- with committed to the house of correction, — that if any one saw a Quaker, he must, under a heavy pen- alty, run and give notice to the nearest constable. To say any thing in their defence was 40s. for the first offence, and £4 for the second. It was 40s. to entertain a Quaker for an hour, raised afterwards to £5 for a quarter of an hour. The Quaker who yiiould refuse to pay his fines, or to work in prison (u liich, it is said, " none will ever do,") was to lose first the one ear and then the other.* The sect, under all these violent measures, continu- ing still to increase, the rulers began to meditate the last and most fatal extremities. 1'aey proclaimed, however, that it was their earnest endeavour to limit the sentence to banishment, and that they would much rather have had them " absent and alive than present and dead ;" but that no such choice was left. They sent a number, indeed, out of the colony, giving them solemn warning, that if they returned death would be the penalty. But the Quakers declared, in the most candid manner, that it rested in no shape with them whether they should or should not return to Boston ; * Neale, 315.23-35. QUAKERS. ^•^5 V they were iii the hand of the Lord ; wlierever he 8€nt them they mUvSt go. Accordingly, they were ncarcely beyond the border when the word of the Lord came to them, saying, that they should arise and go unto Boston. The dreadful denunciations still rung in their ears ; but whether were they to obey God or man ?— or, thus guided, whom should they fear ? They arose and went ; and scarcely did they seem to have departed when their voice was again heard, de- nouncing the approaching judgments of Heaven on the guilty city. It must be stated, that the law inflicting capital punishment on the Quakers met with very strong op- position. It was even with difficulty that a majority of thirteen to twelve was obtained in the court of de- puties. In fact, it was absolutely without any found- ation in the law of England ; for nothing could be more absurd than the attempt to rest it on the clause, itself iniquitous, for hanging Jesuits ; between whom and the poor Quakers there was assuredly not the slightest analogy. Even two of the judges, Captain Cudworth and Mr Heatherly, represented to the ma- gistrates, " that these were carnal and antichristian ways, not appointed by God ; that the proper mode of convincing gainsayers was by the word and spirit of the Lord, and that the sufferings of the Quakers were grievous to and saddened the hearts of many precious saints." In fact, Captain C. complains, in a letter, " that he that will not whip and lash, perse- cute and punish men that differ in matters of religion, must not sit on the bench, nor sustain any office in the commonwealth," and adds, — " Our civil powers *i i 280 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. :( 1 1 ih h ir are so exercised in matters of religion and conscience, that we have no time to do any thing that tends to promote the civil prosperity of the place." For these sentiments, and for having had some communing with the Quakers, he was M I . ii kit n 'ill : nvi '■SI , ; Ji n, I , . l,:,f 'ii'i I ' !i: It 296 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. several of her accomplices, enraged at her having betrayed the secrets of the kingdom of dju'kness.* From this moment the evil spread daily wider and wider. Mercy Lewis, Sarah Vihber, and three other females, charged Mr Burronghs, a clergyman, with using against them the arts of necromancy. An indictment was speedily drawn up, in which it was charged, that these damsels were by him " tortured, afflicted, pined, consumed, wasted, and tormented, against the peace of our sovereign lord and lady the king and queen, and the form of the statute in that case made and provided." Mr Burroughs being brought to trial, argued, " that there neither are nor ever were witches that, having made a compact with the devil, can send a devil to torment other jieople at a distance." This was a flight far beyond the place or age ; his defence was pronounced altogether fri- volous, and sentence of death was at once pronounc- ed.f The evil, however, instead of being checked, spread more and more. New charges were daily preferred, till the prisons of Salem being full, the accused were sent to those of other towns, where they seemed to carry with them the infection. The whole colony was seized with alarm. They seemed to have come altogether under the power of Satan, and knew not how they were to resist this mighty " descent of wicked spirits from their high places." A solemn and general fast was appointed, that the Lord might be besought " to rebuke Satan, and ..'y * Neale, ii. 124-8. Mather, ii. 60, vi. 79. t Neale, 130-4. PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO WITCHCRAFT. 297 show light to his people in this day of darkness." An association was formed of some of the principal people, " to meet this dreadful assault from hell," and fearlessly to prosecute all who had entered into this dire compact with the prince of darkness. In the series of trials which succeeded, nothing appears so singular as the frank and ample confes- sions of a crime which not only involved the deepest infamy, hut was followed hy immediate death. The accused related at full length the diabolical meetings at which they had been present, the long consulta- tions held as to the means of overthrowing the king- dom of heaven, and establishing that of Satan. They showed the poles on which they rode through the air, the wounds made in their bodies for the purpose of drawing the blood to be used in the signature of the fatal bond, by which their souls were made over to Satan. Some even showed the little images, by pricking and pinching of which with pins they ex- cited corresponding affections in the objects of their enmity. Doubtless, in some cases, these declarations might be the mere result of a distempered brain. But the narrative lays open a much deeper and more general cause, by which they are too amply account- ed for. The sentence of death was only executed against those supposed hardened and impenitent sorcerers who refused to own their guilt ; the con- fessors all obtained a respite, and none were ulti- mately brought to the scaffold. It is dreadful to add, that they were called upon to bear witness against, and be instruments in taking away the lives of their unfortunate fellow-sufferers. Thus only the honest I f >i -i-i :^1 vmm H 'ii\ m\t ! I i"l iif jig ' ' 298 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. and conscientious suffered ; while those destitute of truth and principle escaped. It must, however, be owned, that the statement afterwards given in by Deliverance Dane, Abigail Baker, and four other women, gives a v^i-y natural and affecting pictiu*e of the impulses by wliich they were driven to this criminal course. They say, " Joseph Ballard of Andover's wife being sick, he either from himself, or the advice of others, fetched two of the persons called the afflicted persons from Salem village to Andover, which was the cause of that dreadful calamity which befel us at Andover. We were blindfolded, and our hands were laid on the afflicted persons, they being in their fits, and falling into these fits at our coming into their presence, and then they said that we were guilty of afflicting them ; whereupon we were all seized as prisoners by a warrant from the justice of peace, and forthwith carried to Salem ; and by reason of that sudden suiprisal, we knowing our- selves altogether innocent of that crime, we were all exceedingly astonished, and amazed, and consternat- ed, and affrighted out of our reason ; and our dearest relations seeing us in that dreadful condition, and knowing our great danger, they, out of tender love and pity, persuaded us to confess what we did con- fess ; and, indeed, that confession was no other than what was suggested to us by some gentlemen, they telling us that we were witches, and they knew it, and we knew it, and they knew that we knew it ; which made us think that we were so, and our under- standing, and our reason, and our faculties being al- most gone, we were not capable of judging of our itiite of ;ver, be in by r other picture to this ilard of iself, or s called ndover, r which id, and IS, they I at our lid that pon we •om the tn ; and [ig our- vere all sternat- dearest m, and er love id con- er than n, they new it, lew it ; under- eiing al- of our PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO WITCHCRAFT. 299 condition ; as also the hard measures they used with us rendered us incapable of making any defence, but we said any thing and every thing they desired, and most of what we said was in fact but a consenting to what they said."* There soon appeared among a number of these un- happy confessors a disposition to retract. Samuel Wardmell was the first who solemnly renounced his former declaration, upon which he was immediately tried, condemned, and executed ; and the name of Wardmell was ever after sounded in the ears of those who showed any tendency to swerve from the first confession which had been extorted from them. This did not deter a few from following the example, in particular a poor girl, Mary Jacobs, who gives the following account of the matter in a letter to her mother : — " I having, through the threats of the magisi;rates, and my own vile and wretched heart, confessed several things contrary to my own con- science and knowledge, though to the wounding of my own soul, the Lord pardon me for it ; but, oh ! the terrors of a wounded conscience who can bear ! But, blessed be the Lord, he would not let me go on in my sins, but, in mercy I hope to my soul, would not suffer me to keep it in any longer ; but I was forced to confess the truth of all before the magis- trates, who would not believe me, and God knows how soon I shall be put to death. Dear father, let * Neale, ii. 160-2. 300 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. :«) '< <> . I :U fA i in y. I ;. ine beg your prayors to the Lord in my bohaU*, and seiul us a Joyful aMw con- iiiocence n at the our ho- lust die, possible , which [1 course you are B mercy ;sed will myself !vil ; we searcher 3r it at hing of )elie my rds call- rnOCKKDINfJS UKI.ATIVF, TO WITCHCnAl'T. .'JOl cd upon to produce some one confession, which was free from the above deep grounds of suspicion, laid tlieir main stress on that of a personage callewed the handle and the corresponding jiart of th ..de, which he had broken lately in the afflict- ed's presence. Another girl showed part of a white sheet, said to be torn off" a spectre in the act of tor- menting her ; but Calef reports it as proved, that she had herself provided the bit of sheet on the day pre- ceding. Others showed the marks on themselves of a full set of teeth, inflicted by the shapes of jier- sons, who, when examined, were found not to have a tooth in their heads.f It seems difficult to discover any adequate motive for such diabolical proceedings. All accounts, indeed, notice the singular alacrity with which the sheriff" 's officers confiscated the goods of II * Mather, vi. 83. * Neale, i. 12«.U. VOL. I. U 306 SF.TTLEMEXT OF NEW ENGLAND. muh mm liii ii J h I- H ' ' I '„ those who were believed to be in covenant with Sa- tan, and which, even when restored, were found to have undergone a lamentable diminution ; but I can- not find that any part of these goods went to the af- flicted. They appear to have had no visible motive except enmity to the accused, the pleasure of exciting a strong sensation in the public, and the notice and favour of some of the leading persons during their present state of frenzied excitation. The colony was now in a dreadful condition. The evil had reached a magnitude which appalled the firm- est believers in its reality. In the course of two months, nineteen had been executed ; eight more were under sentence of death. The prisons held one hundred and fifty ready for trial, and could no longer receive the additional crowds daily thrust into them. No mans property, character, or life, were for a moment secure ; all lay at the mercy of this band of crazed and malig- nant beings. The afflicted flew continually at higher game, and began to accuse the most eminent persons in the colony, till it became evident that all must be soon involved in one common destruction. Even those whose faith had been firmest, and who had taken the most active part in drawing forth informa- tions, felt a sudden revulsion, when they learned that their own spectres were beginning to walk abroad, and to commit deeds which would bring them to the gallows.* Mr Bradstreet, a near relation of the governor, and who had hitherto been among the most Math cr, J), G3. PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO AVITCHCRAI'T. 307 th Sa- int! to I can- the af- motive ixciting ice and g their 1. The :he firm- months, :e under dred and ieive the So mans it secure ; id malig- at higher persons must be Even who had informa- ned that abroad, them to on of the the most active prosecutors of witchcraft, became disgusted with the task, and threw it up. Hereupon the af- flicted accused him of riding through the air on a dog. Bradstreet did not venture to face the accusa- tion, but instantly fled the colony ; and the judges were obliged to content themselves with putting to death the dog as a species of accomplice. There arose, however, gradually among all reflecting persons a conviction that they had gone too far, and that they were la- bouring under some deep and dreadful delusion. It appeared incredible, as Mather expresses it, " that, in a place of so much knowledge, so many in so small a compass of land should so abominably leap into the devil's lap all at once." Yet the ministers and judges were alike bewildered, not knoAving where to stop, or where they had gone too far. The trials had ])een conducted strictly according to English law, and the most approved code of demonology ; and the question was how to discover the error, without giv- ing up the belief in witchcraft, and thereby, it was said, belying the experience of all ages and all nations. The first gleam of common sense which broke in upon this scene of madness was that relating to what was called spectre-evidence. The governor called a meeting of the ministers, and submitted to them how far a man ought to be punished upon mere testimo- ny borne against his spectre. The ministers, after serious deliberation, pronounced, not that these were the reveries of a half-crazed brain, but that Satan could assume any shape he pleased, and in that shape do mischief, without any concurrence of the person to whom the shape really belonged. Those, therefore, 'i h M f*'t; if 308 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. who had attained a good name by a good life shoiihl not be condemned merely for actions in which their shapes only appeared to have been concerned. In other respects they exhorted the governor to perse- vere in the vigorous prosecution of witchcraft, " ac- cording to the wholesome statutes of the English na- tion."* Notwithstanding this imjiortant and salutary deci- sion, considerable latitude was still left for these de- plorable proceedings ; but the tide of i)ublic opinion had now set in strongly against them. Of fifty-six bills which were presented at the next sessions, the grand jury brought in thirty ignoramus^ rejecting, in some instances, even the confessions of the accused, though in one case the court, to their great dishonour, sent them back to reconsider their verdict. Of the remaining twenty-six the petty jury condemned only three ; but the governor had now determined to make a general sweep of the whole proceedings. He pardon- ed all those under sentence, threw open the prison- doors, and turned a deaf ear to all the outcries and groans of the afflicted. The believers in witchcraft anticipated the most gloomy consequences from the free scope thus given to the operations of the powers of darkness. Great then was their surprise co find that from this mo- ment all the troubles of the afflicted ceased, and were never more heard of. At the same time the confessors " fell off from their confession," either owning it as false, or declaring they remembered nothing about it. Neal e, 11. 15G-7. I ; should ch their led. In perse- ft, " ac- rlish na- iry deci- hese de- opinion fifty-six ions, the L-ejecting, ; accused, ishonour, Of the ined only d to make e pardon- e prison- nd groans nticipated cope thus darkness, n this mo- and were confessors ling it as r about it. PROCEEDINGS REI-ATIVE TO WlTCirCllArT. 309 Mather seeks to account for this, hy supposing thfit Satan, after being allowed such an extraordinary range, had been suddenly chained up. But others could not help suspecting that the prosecutions had been the main exciting cause in the whole of this dreadful transaction ; as it is admitted, that the more " the afflicted were hearkened unto, the more they multiplied," and that there had been deep guilt as well as delusion in the whole affair. All who had been actively concerned as prosecutors or judges in these transactions, hastened publicly to express their contrition for the parts they had acted. Twelve of the persons who had most frequently sat on the juries published a paper signed with their own hands, in which, among other things, they say, " We confess, that we ourselves were not capable to under- stand, nor able to withstand, the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness and prince of the air, but were prevailed upon to take i\\) with such evidence as, we fear, was insufficient for touching the lives of any. We do hereby acknowledge, that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore most humbly beg forgive- ness, first of God for Christ's sake, for this our error ; and we also pray, that we may be considered candid- ly and right by the living sufferers, as being then under the power of a strong and general delusion. We do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again for the whole world." One of the judges delivered in a similar paper, to be read l)efore the congregation, and stood I y\ ' mo SETTLEMENT OF NEW EX(;EAN'D. um 'im H : #1 lilt \ \, up in their presence while it was reading. Mr Pais also asked pardon of God and inan for the part he had taken; but the people never could efface from their minds the innocent ])lood which he had been the means of shedding, and he was obliged to leave Salem. Many now vu'ged that there ought to be an inquiry into the conduct, both of the confessors and the afflicted, when it was too evident that so many liad been guilty of the most dreadful perjury. But the guilt and madness had been so distributed through the whole society, that it was difficult for one to reproach another. " Considering," says Mather, " the combustion and confusion this matter had brought us into, it was thought safer to underdo than to overdo." Neale considers it unaccountable that trial should not have been made of hanging two or three, to see if they would adhere to their confession to the last; but really this was cutting very deep for a mere experiment. It was esteemed wisest, once for all, to throw a veil of oblivion over the whole of that dreadful abyss.* Thus terminated the long series of agitations which shook the colony, till that greater one by which it was separated from the mother country. We have not yet noticed, however, the events with- out, arising from its relation with the neighbouring Indian tribes. A more full view of the habits and manners of the northern aborigines is reserved till we reach the territory of the Five Nations, where the * Neale, ii. 164-70. Mather, ii. 02-4. INDIAN WAHS. .ni native character i)resented itself under its f)oldest and most striking features. The nations about New England appear to have been an inferior race to those on the lakes. They liad not the same forms of polity, nor did they display the same copious and figurative oratory which has been admired in the latter.* The government was entirely monarchical, absolute power being exercised by the Sachems, or Kings, who transmitted the throne by hereditary succession to their posterity. In matters of difficulty the Sachem held a council of his nobles, and his deportment there is said to have been highly digni- fied and graceful, and the discussions carried on in a very orderly and judicious manner.f The ground was cultivated, but solely by the women, who sowed, reaped, collected into barns, dug in the ground, and lined the houses with bark. They held it commend- able to keep their wives well at work, and censured the English for spoiling theirs by allowing them to remain almost constantly idle. The only occupations in which they would employ themselves were those which might bear also the character of diversion, hunt- ing, fishing, and plundering. Their only medicine, besides the howling and dancing of the Powaws, or priests, consisted in bringing themselves, according to the Russian system, into a profuse perspiration, and then plunging into the nearest brook. Their only vessels were single trees hollowed out, or pieces of bark sewed together ; if these overset, " it is but it * Ilutcliinson, 408. t Mather, vi. 51. Ml *4 iiwi ! ii i I ^•;! ■' 1. A m ;'«!• n ■ ■ ■■' it. ill > Jlr i 312 SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. a little paddling like a dog, and they are soon where they were." Nothing could equal their astoni«hnient on the arrival of the first sliip, " to see the monster come sailing in, and spitting fire with a mighty noise out of her floating side."* The Indians at first received the English well, hospitably invited them into their wigwams, and guided many to their houses who had wandered in the woods, and were in danger of perishing. But this good understanding, as usually happens in the intercourses ])etween civilized and savage man, was not of long duration. The colonists, however, set out on the principle of treating the Indians in that just and equitable manner which suited their own religious profession. They passed laws, not only prohibiting the seizure by violence of the Indian lands, but even the purchase of them without leave from the general court, who took care, that the na- tives in their ignorance should not part with them for a price wholly inadequate. The Indians at first parted most readily with wide ranges of unoccupied territory in exchange for the new luxuries brought by the strangers. But when they found themselves gradually hemmed in, their hunting grounds narrow- ed, and themselves shut out from their ancient fields, they repented what they had done, and began to dread that these intruding strangers would by de- grees drive them wholly from the land of their an- cestors. Their passions being inflamed by the use of GL'ither, iii. 192. INDIAN WAllS. ^Vi strong liquors, which, notwithstanding the legcal pro- hihition, were largely sold to tlieni, occasions of quarrel could not fail to arise. In some of these Englishmen were wounded, and even killed ; the colonial government pursued the cul[)rits, and pro- ceeded against them according to the rigour of Eng- lish law, — a measure which, not being conformable to Indian ideas, kindled deep resentment, and led to measures of retaliation. There appear also to have been on the border, especially in Connecticut, a sort of outer settlements, almost beyond the pale of law and order. So little care seems to have been taken of their instruction, that Mather mentions with hor- ror, j)ersons among them who had grown up with- out having ever heard the name of Christ. It may easily be supposed that the dealings of such persons would afford every reasonable ground of provocation ; and the Indians, as usual with savages, confounding all the English together, were exasperated, not against these individuals only, but against the whole nation. Hostilities were begun l)y the Pequods, a powerful iiation on the Connecticut border, who could muster a thousand warriors. They did not face the English in the field, or attack any of their principal posts, but hovered round the border, and sought to attack and destroy detadied posts and villages. The plunder which they obtained formed an incentive to farther attacks, and they became " like wolves, continually gaping and yelling after their prey." On approaching any post, they kejit themselves concealed during the night, amid hedges and bushes, till daybreak, when they burst in with I ? >f i 'MB 330 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. the foggy shores of Newfoundland, then, proceeding south, passed Cape Cod, and sailed directly onwards to the grand estuaries of the Chesapeake and the De- laware. Finding these, however, occupied by the English, he retraced liis course northwards, and, sail- ing between Long Island and the main, entered that important river which now bears his name. He ad- mired its spacious stream, and the majestic forests by which it is bordered, and had some communication, though rather hostile, with the natives. On his re- turn, according to the English historians, " he sold his title to the Dutch."* Chalmers questions, seem- ingly on good grounds, the validity of this odd trans- action.! In that difficult code, according to which Eur()])eans divide the world among themselves, the titles seem to be purely national. But if, as Forster asserts, Hiulson not only sailed from the Texel, but was equipped at the exj)ense of the Dutch East India Com- pany, there was no room for sale or purchase of any kind to constitute the region Dutch. The English jurists, however, referring to the wide grants of Elizabeth, according to which Virginia extended far to the north of this region, insisted that there had long ceased to be room for any claim to it founded on discovery. But the Dutch, who are somewhat of slow compre- hension, could not see the right which Elizabeth could have to bestow a vast region, of the very existence of which she was ignorant. They sent out a small co- lony, which formed a trading house at the mouth of * Brit. Emp. ii. 23(3. t An. ii. 568. NEW YORK. 331 the Hudson. Argal, from Virginia, forced them to own the sovereignty of England ; but this was soon forgot- ten when the Dutch West India Company, established in 1620, sent out fresh colonies on a larger scale. Their trading houses on the island of Manhattan (the pre- sent site of New York) soon assumed the importance of a town, defended by a fort, and whicli became New Amsterdam. They afterwards, at a considerable dis- tance up the river, founded Albany, by whicli they obtained extensive facilities for the fur-trnde, and opened a communication with the celebrated confede- racy of the Five Nations. The claims of England, however, though they slumbered, were not forgotten. Charles II., inspired by rooted antipathy against the Dutch nation, granted this territory to liis brother, the Duke of York. To make this grant effectual, an expedition of three hundred men was innnediate- ly despatched, and in September, 1664, anchored in the harbour of Manhattan. Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor, appears to have been wholly un- prepared for such an attack, and, indeed, to liave been more distinguished for the acts of good go- vernment, than for military prowess. After a short and courteous parley, he surrendered the place, — an example which was soon followed by the rest of the colony. The Dutch obtained tne most liberal terms, full protection for person and property, and the free exercise of their religion. The greater part remained, and some of the principal inhabitants of New York still bear Dutch names. In the course, liowever, of the long naval war between England and Holland, the Slates sent an expedition, which, finding the go- li'' 332 OTHER SETTLEMENTS, vernor absent, and the place wholly unprepared, en- tered it in the same polite and easy manner as was form- erly done by the English. The transaction in both cases resembled rather that of a new governor coming to as- sume his functions, than a victory achieved by a hos- tile power. Most of the English settlers having ample protection granted to them, remained in the colony ; «nd the issue of the war being on the whole prosper- ous to England, New Belgium, at the peace, became again New York. James, imbued with the deepest principles of arbitrary power, sent out governors, who were instructed to rule by his sole authority. This was felt very grievous by the citizens, who had a full sense of their rights as Englishmen ; in assertion of which they proceeded to a most v^aring attempt. I'hey sent nome Dyer, the collector of the revenue, under a charge of high treason, as having attempted to levy taxes without authority of law. James took care that Dyer, whose acts had been his own, should be forthwith acquitted ; but so strongly was he im- pressed by this bold measure of his transatlantic sub- jects, that, after some hesitation, he made up his mind to give them some form of reprcsentatio i. In 16821, Mr Dongan was sent out to form a council of ten, and a house of representatives of eighteen members. Don- gan went under the odious character of a Papist, yet his integrity, moderation, and courteous manners, made him beloved and acceptable. Two meetings, and only two, were held of this assembly. James ere long repented of this extraordinary liberality. He determined, on coming to the crown, that, in the general sweep which he was making of all charter- NEW YOllK. 333 governments, New York should not be exempted. Instructions were sent out to Dongan to make laws and impose taxes, under the sole authority of the mo- narch. The humiliation of New York was not yet completed. It was soon after, with tlie other north- ern states, annexed to Massachusetts ; Dongan, its mild and conciliatory governor, was recalled, and it was placed under the domineering sway of Andros. Unable to resist, the colonists bent under the iron yoke of necessity, and did not suffer any very grievous po- sitive oppression. ^Vhen, however, rumours began to arrive of the happy Revolution of 1688, a strong im- pulse actuated their minds. Even before the arrival of the official intelligence, the inhabitants, under a mercantile character of the name of Leister, rose in arms, proclaimed William, and assembled a represen- tative body. Leister assumed the functions of gover- nor, and was very readily acknowledged as such. This assumption was not confirmed by William, who sent out a Colonel Slaughter to fill that place. Leis- ter, however, alleging some informality in the terms of his appointment, refused to relinquish his station ; but being soon overcome, he was tried and executed, — seemingly a hard sentence against one who had ren- dered such services. Accordingly the British parlia- ment soon afterwards reversed his attainder, and his estates were restored to his family.* The population and resources of New York, though in a state of gradual increase, being still very inade- rn ,, * Chalmers, ch. xix. Brit. Enip. Amer. i. 243. ( V if. ' I \M I ^il ii 334 OTHER SETTI.ElSrEXTS. quate to its situation and natural resources, parliament was employed in considering the means of forwarding its growth. The chief measure taken for this pur- pose was the transportation of three thousand German Protestants, called Palatines, who not only had lands assigned to them, but were conveyed, clothed, and sub- sisted for three years. The entire cost of this trans- portation amounted to £78,533 ; which, however, amid the ferments of party, was declared by a sub- sequent vote of parliament to be not only an extrava- gant and unreasonable charge to the kingdom, but of " dangerous consequence to the church." These so- ber and laborious colonists, however, being settled on the banks of the Hudson, proved of the greatest ser- vice to the colony, and laid the basis of a most useful part of its future population.* The English of New York, in ascending the Hud- son, came into contact with the grand savage confe- deracy of the Five Nations, which extended along the southern shore of the St Lawrence and the lakes. The relations between the two parties were in general those of friendship, and even of close alliance, cement- ed by mutual fear and hatred of the French. Tliat people, when they occupied Canada, having under- taken to support their innnediate neigh Dours, the Hu- rons and Algonquins, involved themselves in war with the Iroquois, in which they suffered severely, and spent more than a century before they could break the force of that great Indian league. The Five Nations, during this long contest for their existence, repeatedly * Brit. Emp. Am. i. 249-50. NEW VORK. fJ35 jarliameut arwarding this piir- id German liad lands I, and sub- :his trans- however, by a siib- n exti'ava- om, but of These so- settled on eatest ser- lost useful the Hud- age confe- ded along the lakes, in general e, cement- di. That ng under- s, the Hu- i war with erely, and break the e Nations, repeatedly applied for and obtained the aid of Britain, particu- larly in muskets and ammunition. In 1710, Alnecy- cathtonnopron, Ganajohabare, and three other princes, came across " the great lake" to wait upon the queen, and solicit her alliance. It was a great question in what costume these chieftains were to appear at court. Application was made, not very judiciously, to the manager of the theatre, who undertook the clothing of the monarchs ; but, with very bad taste, instead of presenting them plumed and painted in the Indian war-dress, habited them in waistcoat, breeches, and stockings, above which he drew a scarlet mantle trimmed with gold. Major Pigeon, who came over with them, interpreted their speech, which l)ore, that their great queen had been acquainted with the long war, which, in conjunction with her children, they had waged against her enemies the French ; 'luring which they had been to her subjects a wall of securi- ty, even to the loss of their best warriors. As soon as they heard that their queen was preparing to send an army into Canada, they put on the kettle, and took up the hatchet, and were very sorrowful when they lecrned there was any hesitation in putting this laudable design in execution. They presented belts of wampum, in token of strict alliance, and of their readiness to co-operate in any such glorious under- taking. Accordingly^ in 1711, when a combined naval and military e.xpedivion was imdertaken against Cana- da, they afforded an active though fruitless co-opera- tion in that unfortunate and inglorious enterprise. New Jersey was a mere offset to New York, to S^v:f'-**#l: r 336 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. :) ' .ly •fj V' ' f !i.l fii I ' wliich it naturally belonged. The Duke of York, on sending out Nicholas to make his gi*ant of the latter territory effectual by conquering it, assigned to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, already proprietors of Carolina, all the coast extending south to the Dela- ware and into the interior. These proprietors appear to have founded New Jersey on a very liberal and satisfactory footing, allowii^g to it an assembly, which had the power of making laws and imposing or re- jecting taxes. When, however, New York had been conquered by the Dutch, and afterwards recovered, the Duke contended- that, by these transactions, the grant, and the privileges conferred in consequence, had been annulled, and he subjected New Jersey to the same arbitrary system of rule which he had esta- blished over New York. From this tyranny, and especially from the right of arbitrary taxation, the colonists had the courage to appeal to the government at home ; and their representations were so forcible, that the Duke at last agreed to refer the question to Sir William Jones, who. by his legal eminence and inte- grity, rendered the name he bore already honourable. He threw additional lustre upon it by the sentence which he pronounced, that " the inhabitants claim un- der a grant from his Royal Highness, in which grant there is no reservation of any profit, or so much as jurisdiction." — " I am not satisfied," says he, " that the Duke can demand that or any other duty from the inhabitants of those lands." The Duke havii:g gone too fai' to recede, was fain to acquiesce with the best grace he could ; and the privileges thus extorted by the Jerseys are supposed to have been one chief motive T MAllYLANl). 337 York, on he latter i to Lord oprietors the Dela- rs appear )eral and ly, which ng or re- had been •ecovered, tions, the iseqvience, Jersey to had esta- Lnny, and ation, the (vernment ) forcible, lestion to and inte- (nourable. sentence claim un- ich grant much as |ie, " that from the ii:g gone the best torted by ef motive of his liberality to New York, lest it should be desert- ed in consequence of the more favoured state of the former colony. The time soon came, however, when all these barriers were to be broken down. When James ascended the throne, he would brook no more of New Jersey indepeiidence. By the usual process of quo warranto, that province was deprived of its constitution and all its rights, and annexed as an hum- ble appendage to New England. Wlien these chains were broken by the accession of William, New Jersey became agitated by a number of conflicting claims to its government, involving it for ten years in what were emphatically termed " the revolutions," and which prevented it from enjoying those benefits which it had a right to expect. The English government even endeavoured to subject it to New York ; but Sir John Hawles and Sir Creswell Levinz gave a concurrent opi- nion in favour of the rights of their own assembly. On the whole, the i)rogress of New Jersey was slow. It was reckoned that, in the ])eginning of last century, it did not consume a])ove £1000 of British manufactures, nor receive more than three ships anmially into its ports. It was overshadowed by the greater lustre and importance, first, of New York on one side, and then of Pennsylvania on the other. Its natural advantages, however, enabled it to proceed thenceforth in a course of steady, though not rapid progress. Maryi-and was founded on a different basis from any of the other colonies, and formed, in some respects, an antipode to New England. The Catholics in those <>'i s were not only persecutors, but in some decree VOL. I. Y ii..^i ' I m f.' I » Jii^l M lii' I f' : 1 ' i 1 Iv \ ' <( ' .'! # f 3.'J8 OTHER settm:m KNTS. the objects of persecution ; and Charles I., though willing, was not always able to protect them against the severe laws, inspired by fear, which had l)een en- acted against them under Elizabeth. Some of the leading members conceived the idea of creating for them an asylum in the new world. Lord Baltimore, an Irish nobleman of distinction, who stood at the head of the Catholic body, easily obtained from Charles a grant of that angle of Virginia which lie:, on both sides of the interior Chesapeake, — a tract equally happy in soil and climate, and commodious for commerce. The name of Maryland was given to it in honour of Henrietta Maria, Cliarles's beau- tiful queen, to whose intercession the adventurers were doubtles*^ greatly indebted. An expedition of two hundred persons, many of whom were Catholics of good family, was fitted out, and placed under the guidance of Lord Baltimore's brother, Mr Calvert. He carried out letters to the governor of Virginia, by whom he was kindly received and forwarded. On arriving at the upper part of the Chesai)eake, he used all his efforts to place himself on a friendly footing with the Indians. The first Werrowannee merely said, " I will not bid you stay, neither will I bid you go ; you may use your discrption." Shortly, however, by presents, feasting, and kindness, he so gained their affections, that one of the princes, in a profuse style of compliment, said, " Were the Eng- lish to kill me, I would tell my subjects not to re- venge my death, for I would be sure it had been my own fault." The natives were even induced, with little difficulty, to relinquish their village, with the MAHYLANl). 339 cleared ground round it, to the new-comers, and to remove to another sjjot. The Culverts gained great credit by their sway over Maryhind. They establish- ed a complete freedom of religious worship ; and Maryland became the resort, not only of Catholics, but of members of the church of England, flying partly from the Puritan persecutions of New Eng- land, partly from those adversities which they after- wards experienced in the mother country. The pro- prietor, as his religion began to flourish under the secret support of the crown, seems to have abated a good deal of that wise moderation which had hither- to secm'ed tlie jirosperity of the colony. Even after the population amounted to sixteen thousand, of whom by far the greater number belonged to the church of England, there were only three clergymen of that persuasion, very slenderly endowed ; while ample provisions of land had been set aside for the Catholic priests. It was in consequence represented to the heads of the English church, that the spiritual state of Maryland was deplorable for want of a public ministry ; that religion was openly despised, and a general profligacy of manners prevailed. Lord Baltimore, however, strenuously and success- fully resisted every proposition for an establishment. At the Revolution, the inhabitants of Maryland rose against the Baltimores with equal zeal as those of New England against Andros. They published a " declaration of their motives for appearing in arms," the allegations of which Mr Chalmers condemns as equally frivolous and unjust ; but, unless the latter term could be applied to them, I do not see how the former could. They complain of his Lordship '• de- L i. ' 340 OTHER SETTM'.MENTS. 1' ?.'\ n daring the best of the hiws void by proehuuntioii, though aHsenterisornnent, lioring the tongue, wliipping, banishment, or drath ; seizing Protestants in their houses with armed Papists, and detaining them long without trial ; private nuu'ders and public outrages, committed l)y Pai)ists upon Pro- testants without redress, but are conniveil at by men in chief authority, who are governed by Jesuits." These statements, if they involved any measure of truth, were certainly far from frivolous, and fiUly justified William in assuming the entire government into his own hands, leaving to the B;iltimore family only the produce of some local taxes, which had been personally appropriated to them.* Cahouna was settled at a later period, and on considerably other bases than the states hitherto de- scribed. It vibrated between the nair.es of Virginia and Florifla ; but Florida was a tragic sound, guard- ed by tliose terrors which the Spanish claim, so fierce- ly and dreadfully enforced, drew around it. Virginia, as to its southern quarter, and especially the bay and river of Roanoke, recalled the signal disasters which had befallen Green -ille and Lane in their attempts to settle it under the auspices of Raleigh. Only a small body, ejected by the interior agitations of New England, had formed a settlement round Cape Fear, * Chalmers, ch. xv. Brit. Emp. Am. i. 323-35. i... CAUOI.INA. ;)41 mintion, •nor; of is Lord- nut ii urns ;, boring ; seizing lists, and murders pon Pro- d at by Jesuits." easure of uul fully vernment re family had been 1, and on herto de- Virginia id, guard- so fierce- Virginia, B bay and ers wliicli attempts Only a s of New ape Fear, -35. und a few from Virginia, spreading themselves in search of unoccupied land, had composed tlie outer country of Albemarle. After the Restoration, how- ever, the active spirit which had been created i)y so long a train of civil contest, finding no longer scope at home, produced an impiUse in favour of foreign and cohmial adventure. Charles found, in kingdoms created hy a stroke of his pen, the means of satisfy- ing some of the vast claims made on his not very ample stock of gratitude. The Duke of Albemarle, (the innnediate instrument of his restoration,) the Earl of Clarendon, (the firmest friend of his father,) Lord Berkeley, Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, and a few others, were created absolute lords of the j)rovince dignified with the regal title of Caik^lina. Settlers were studiously drawn from various quarters. A considerable number of planters in Barbadoes, having taken some disgust at their situation there, came and settled in the vicinity of Cape Fear. Re- cruits were drawn from Virginia and other colonies, where the lands along the coast were now in a great measure filled up. Emigrants were invited from all the three kingdoms, and a numerous class were allured by an immunity, which secured the settlers for five years against any prosecution for debt contracted previous to their arrival. At the same time a liberal constitution was granted, composed of a governor, a house of assembly, and a council appointed partly by the one and partly by the other.* * Chalmers, p. 5251 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V. A A Sr f/i % 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.0 lA III 1.6 - 6" V] <^ /i "c^l ^^ o A s ''W 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation :<\^ iS #> V \\ 4^ <^ 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 o :%^#i C/a H 342 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. ii« I ■! ■p The proprietors were not content, though the co- lonists were, with all that had been thus done for the well-being of Carolina. They determined that its constitution should have something exquisite and peculiar, which might distinguish it above every one previously framed. With this view they prevailed upon Locke, the greatest philosopher of the age, to draw up what were called " The Fundamental Con- stitutions of Carolina." This plan, which appeared laudable and promising, had not, however, any suc- cess. Locke was undoubtedly well acquainted with human nature, and not ignorant of the world ; but he had not taken a sufficiently comprehensive view of the history of man, nor were political speculators yet duly aware of the necessity of adapting constitu- tions to those for which they were destined. The grand peculiarity consisted in forming a high and titled nobility, which might rival the splendour of those of the old world. But as the Dukes and Earls of England would have considered their titles degrad- ed by being shared with a Carolina planter, other titles of foreign origin were adopted. That of Land- grave was drawn from Germany, and of Cacique from the native Indians. But these princely deno- minations, applied to persons who were to earn their bread by the labour of their hands, could confer no real dignity. The reverence for nobility, which can only be the result of long-continued wealth and in- fluence, could never be inspired by mere titles, espe- cially of such an exotic and fantastic character. These high nobles met with the deputies in a parlia- ment, where, however, the council, like the Scottish CAROLINA. ,'343 ;h the co- ne for the i that its lisite and every one prevailed le age, to !ntal Con- appeared , any suc- nted with orld; but isive view peculators ; constitu- led. The high and endour of and Earls es degrad- ter, other t of Land- f Cacique cely deno- earn their confer no ?t^hich can h and in- itles, espe- character. [1 a parlia- Scottish Lords of Articles, Iiad the sole power of proposing every new law. The whole was made subject to a palatine court in England, composed of the whole proprietors ; at the head of which was placed a func- tionary, bearing the title of Palatine, and invested with almost supreme power. The sanction of negro slavery was also a deep blot in this boasted system. The colonists, who felt perfectly at ease under their rude early regulations, were struck with dismay at the arrival of this philosophical fabric of polity. They declared, that whatever might be its intrin- sic merits, it was in their circumstances altogether unsuitable and even impracticable ; that they had among them no materials out of which Landgraves and Caciques could be framed ; and that the whole was an invasion of the original rights granted at their establishment, and on the faith of which they had come to America. A compromise was made, by which only so much of these grand constitutions as the colonists felt applicable to them were at first introduced, and the rest were reserved till their minds should be enlarged to comprehend their value. It was insisted, however, that there should be some Landgraves and some Caciques ; but these great nobles never struck any root in the western soil, and have long since disappeared. Locke himself was created a Landgrave ; but without deriving from such a title any lustre additional to that which his writings conferred upon him.* * Histor. Account of the Colon, of South Carolina and Georgia, (London, 1779,) i. 44-6. Chalmers, p. 520. fiU OTHER SETTLEMENTS. I a ' I ' !l' a;*! Carolina advanced for a long time languidly and with difficulty. The colonists were exempt indeed from those dissensions which were generated by the rigid sectarian tenets of the New England church ; but they laboured under a much deeper evil, in the want of any fixed principles whatever, religious or moral, and of that steadiness and energy of action which usually accompany them. These gay cava- liers, or " ill-livers," as Archdall calls them,* under- stood much better how to spend than how to earn an income. So long as they were maintained at the expense of the proprietors, which was continued to the utmost reasonable period, matters went on toler- ably ; but when the latter began to intimate an ex- pectation that some instalments should begin to be paid of their long and large advances, they were answered only by the most urgent entreaty for far- ther supplies. They complied at first, and even repeatedly ; but, as the same result always followed, they at last declared that they could incur no more desperate debts, and that the colonists must now draw upon their own resources. They had r^jcourse, hereupon, to every idle and iniquitous mode of raising funds. They hunted down the Indians on every side, and sold their hapless victims as slaves to the West India planters. They converted their ports into dens of pirates. Yet all these expedients did not preserve them from a squalid poverty, which the pompous titles of Landgrave and Cacique rendered Brit. Emp. i. 467- vx ^w »' CAROLINA. 345 only more conspicuous and humiliating. They were cursed, moreover, with a series of governors of their own stamp, and whose continual change pre- vented any stable system, or any tie between rulers and subjects. Of all these scourges, none was so dreadful as Seth Sothel. Mr Chalmers does not hesitate to make the very bold assertion, that the annals of delegated authority do not present a name so branded with merited infamy, and that there never had taken place such an accumulation of extor- tion, injustice, and rapacity, as during the five years that he misruled the colony. He had been made prisoner in his way out, and kept in close captivity at Algiers, where he took, it appears, not warning, but lessons. At length the enraged inhabitants rose, seized the governor, and were dissuaded from their intention of sending him home to England only by his solemn agreement to renounce the government, and for some time the colony. He made afterwards an attempt, with some temporary success, to resume his place ; but, after this and some other vicissitudes, the inhabitants earnestly implored that the fine-spun and elaborate constitutions to which they imputed, perhaps unjustly, the sufferings of so many years, should be wholly withdrawn, and they should be placed again under their plain original charter.* From this t^'^e Carolina began to improve, less, perhaps, from the overthrow of her famous funda- mental constitutions, than from the flowing in of a * Chalmers, p. 530-r)2. I I SI' i 346 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. I 'Jiff i; I'ENNSYLVANIA. 351 and being king's pre- majesty of I the num- (1 d'jys, not but for the the Lower the eagle, We have u, oh great ^reat king ! will faith- ek nation." er; and the sted by the oaded with ing fetter- from the unsuitable The im- bited ; no one was [)ut special t without ounds and lest High- nd denied IS the ob- i exchang- ate use of '^as almost esHcntial to health. The prohibition of trade with the Indians excluded them from an easy mode of improving their fortune. The misfortune was, that by passing the Savannah, they found themselves in Carolina, delivered from all these shackles, and no want of land besides. The province was, moreover, exposed to continual threats and fear of invasion from the Spaniards, who never abated any thing of their original pretensions to the whole of this range of territory. It never enjoyed solid i)eace or prosperity, therefore, till the treaty of 176cJ, when, at the close of a triumphant war, Britain obtained the cession of the whole states and settlements on this line of coast, including Canada on one side and Florida on the other. From that time, both Carolina and Georgia, being freed from all apprehension of a foreign enemy, and enriched by the copious employment of British capital, advanced with uninterrupted steps in the ca- reer of improvement. There remained yet one state, which (except Georgia) was the latest in its origin, but which, be- gun under purer auspices, made a more rapid progress than any of the other colonies. We have seen the excess- es into which the early Quakers were betrayed by their fervid zeal and pretensions to immediate inspiration. These had rendered them sometimes justly amenable to the guardians of public order, though not to the dreadful extent in which their offences were actually visited. But, when a little time had cooled this extreme fervour, and they came under the guidance I 1 352 OTIIKR SETTLKMKXTN. yn !■ 1.1'-! of men of information and enlarged views, they at- tracted just admiration by tlie mild and steady courst* witli which they proceeded in the career of useful and philanthropic exertion. No Quaker name shines so bright as that of Penn. He was the son of a vice- admiral of that name, who distinguished himself in an expedition to the West Indies. Young Penn be- came imbued at college with the new opinions, and joined with several of liis fellow-students in mani- festing them, by seizing tlie surplices of the clergy, and tearing them over tlieir heads. He soon re- nounced, however, such irregular modes of testifying his faith, and became the strenuous advocate of lui- limited freedom of sentiment and worsliip. The Spirit, however, moved him at sundry times to ad- dress the public in the streets and highways, — an offence which, in that age of persecution, when re- ligious zeal was identified with disloyalty, exposed him to violent legal persecution. The first proceed- ing was before the Lord Mayor and Recorder, for simply preaching in the street. The tenor of it gives a truly dismal picture of the manner in which British justice was then administered. The indictment was laid, that " Vviiliam Penn, by agreement between him and William Mead, before made, and betwixt the aforesaid William Mead and other persons, did take on him to preach and speak, and then and there did preach and speak unto the aforesaid William Mead and other persons then in the street aforesaid." The jury, after a short consultation, brought in William Mead not guilty, — William Penn guilty of speaking tl 10 PENNSYLVANIA. 35J rs, they at- L'ady coiirae I' of useful laine shines M of a vice- himself in g Penri be- linions, and s in mani- the clergy, [e soon re- f testifying cate of un- hip. The inies to ad- liways, — an 1, when re- ;y, exposed 'st proceed- L'corder, for ' of it gives icli British :^tment was jtween him etwixt the LS, did take there did iam Mead lid." The n ^Villiani speaking only. The enraged Recorder now addressed tln'in in the following con.sfitufioNd/ terms : — ♦♦ Gentlemen, you shall not be dismissed till we have a verdict that the court will accept ; and you shall be locked up wit!iout meat, drink, fire, or tobacco. You shall not think thus to abuse the court ; we will have a verdict, or you shall starve for it." This threat wasacconlingly fulfilled, and they were locked up under all the above privations, being denied even the needful acconnnoda- tion of a chamber-pot ; but, under all this tyranny, their true British spirit only rose higher, and they brought in a decided sentence of " Not guilty." The Recorder iniquitously fined them in forty merka, sending them to prison till it was paid ; but he did not venture to proceed against Penn without their sentence, further than merely to inflict a short con- finement, as a penalty for keeping on his hat.* As he continued, however, to pour forth the dictates of supposed inspiration in the same modes and places, he was exposed to a continued series of legal proceed- ure, nor did he find protection under the parental roof. The admiral submitted, as the only terms on which his favour could be continued, the very moderate proposi- tion, that he should take off his hat to himself, to the King, and to the Duke of York. But the young Quaker declaring, that his conscience absolutely interdicted him from " hat-worship" in any shape, he received a box on the ear, and was turned out of doors. Yet the sober mildness of his demeanour and his practical Penn's Works, i. p. 15. VOI-. I. '/, 354 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. h\\ wi i; 1 '*: I ■• ui S: Jl s' wisdom enabled him gradually to triumph over all these hostile feelings. His father became cordially reconciled, and left him the whole of his pretty ample property ; and he was even allowed to plead before parliament the cause of his persecuted brethren. The attention of Penn was first drawn to America by being employed as a trustee upon the estate of one of his fellow-religionists, who had obtained an exten- sive grant there, but whose affairs had become in- volved. He was thus instrumental in embarking for the new world a number of his suffering fellow-Qua- kers. Having his attention drawn towards this ob- ject, he conceived the idea of prosecuting it on a great- er scale. He happened, through his father, to have claims upon the government to the extent of £16,000 ; and as Charles, with an exhausted exchequer, found great difficulty to pay, in the ordinary manner, a debt very considerable in those days, he very gladly em- braced the alternative of clearing it with a stroke of the pen, by the assignment of a large extent of terri- tory in the new world. Penn became thus proprie- tary of the region called after him Pennsylvania, a large expanse of inland territory, partly detached from New York and New Jersey, and partly from Mary- land. It was included between the 40th and 43d de- gree of latitude, and bounded on the east by the river Delaware. Penn diligently applied himself to form a constitution for the new state, of which he was to be the founder. He created one, in which the rights and security of the people were better provided for than in any other, even of the very liberal constitutions given to America.* 7'he most complete freedom was PENNSYLVANIA. S55 [i over all I cordially etty ample ead before hren. ;o America itate of one I an exten- become in- 3arking for ■ellow-Qua- ds this ob- on a great- er, to have .f £16,000; [juer, found iner, a debt gladly em- a stroke of nt of terri- us proprie- rLVANiA, a ;ached from rom Mary- ind 43d de- )y the river f to form a e was to be ! rights and ed for than mstitutions reedom was ■I allowed to every religious profession, and several in- stitutions peculiar to itself were formed, with a view to the promotion of peace and beneficence. There was a nomination in every county-court of three peace- makers, to terminate in an amicable manner the dif- ferences between man and man, and twice a-year there was held in every county an orphans' court, to in- sjKJct the affairs of widows and orphans.f His trans- actions with the Indians threw peculiar lustre on the legislation of Penn, and in an especial manner secured the tranquillity and welfare of the colony. In the course of the following year, 1681, commissioners went round the different tribes to treat with them for the purchase of a part of their lands, which they, who did not occupy a hundredth part of the vast extent possessed by them, could spare without any sensible loss. The arrangements being nearly completed be- fore the ari. val of Penn in the following year, a ge- neral meeting of the chiefs was appointed beneath the shade of a prodigious elm-tree, which grew near the present site of Philadelphia. On the day fixed, the Indians, with their dark visages, rude attire, and brandished weapons, appeared in the depth of the thick woods which then covered that now fine and cultivated plain. As the approach of the English was announced, they laid down their weapons, and seated themselves in groups, each behind their own chieftain. Penn then advanced with a few attendants, unarmed, in his usual plain dress, holding in his hand a roll of * Chalmers, 642. t Br. Emp. Amer. i. 311-12. S56 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. m N' ''fj I' I J! a W MmM parchment, on which were engrossed the terms of the treaty. He addressed them in a simple speech, laying down the principles of amity and equity, by which he proposed that all the transactions between them should be guided. He begged that they might keep the parchment for three generations, and show it to their children as a memorial of what had passed on this day. The Indians, as usual, made long figura- tive speeches, the substance of which was, that they would live in peace with William Penn and his chil- dren as long as the sun and moon should endure.* It is by no means rare that the intercourse between civilized and savage nations should open in this cour- teous and auspicious manner ; but it is seldom indeed that the harmony is not soon broken, and even that it is not followed by an imbittered hostility. Such was in no degree the case in the present instance. Penn continued to maintain with the Indians, not only peace, but an intimate union ; he visited them in their villages, he slept in their wigwams ; he was received by them as a brother, a son. Even after his depar- ture, the colonists trod still in his steps ; and the Indian tomahawk was never lifted against a race which would have considered it unlawful to return the blow. Although the price was satisfactory to the Indians, it was scarcely felt by the English. f Twenty miles of territory were bought for what would have been the price of one highly-cultivated acre in the mother country. Even after experience * Edin. Review^ xxi. 489. t Br. Emp. Am. i. 310-11. lUi NOVA SCOTIA. 357 terms of the ipeech, laying ty, by which letween them y might keep nd show it to ad passed on long figura- as, that they and his chil- »uld endure.* urse between in this cour- eldom indeed d even that it r. Such was tance. Penn ns, not only them in their was received »r his depar- 3s ; and the ainst a race \il to return itisfactory to he English.f ;ht for what ily-cultivated !r experience m.i. 310-11. I of the demand had taught the Indians to raise it ten times higher, years elapsed, ere, instead of the mile, it began to be sold by the acre. The growth of Pennsylvania was rapid in an un- exampled degree. Besides the great body who pre- ceded Petin, he brought out two thousand with him- self, of a useful and respectable stamp, and could boast, with some reason, that it was made a countiy at once. The historian of Carolina complains, that it obtained favour, as a young beauty eclipses her more advanced rivals, rather than from any more substantial reason. But this young maiden possessed many solid and ge- nuine attractions to justify the partial regard of her admirers. The orderly freedom which reigned, the absence of all persecution, and the perpetual peace with the Indians, who formed the scourge of the other colonies, rendered their situation much more comfort- able than any other settlement. Emigration took place on a greater scale than at any former period. In 1729 the emigrants amounted to 6208, the greater part of whom were Irish. Thus Pennsylvania, though of an origin so recent, soon equalled all, and surpassed most of the earliest founded and most prosperous co- lonies. Nova Scotia, as has already appeared, was a sub- je^.t of almost perpetual debate between the French and English governments. The former had early settled, and conferred on it the title of Acadia, while their ri- vals still held it as a portion of New England. Fol- lowing up this view of the subject, James I., in 1621, granted the southern part of it to Sir William Alex- i< 358 OTHER SETTLEMENTS. i 1 ,<] T ' ander, and a few years after the northern part to Sir David Kirk, for the purpose of leading over Scottish colonies. Sir William, in the following year, sent out a vessel, which was obliged to winter in Newfound- land ; but being re-enforced next season by another ship, it sailed, and took a pretty extensive survey of the coast. The Scotch found several very commodious harbours, and on ascending the rivers, came to " very delicate meadows, having roses, white and red, grow- ing thereon, with a kind of wild lily, which had a very dainty smell." They found also a profusion of gooseberries, strawberries, and berries of various other kinds. There grew also naturally a profusion of large pease (" but taste of the fitch,") and they even assert that they saw growing wild detached ears of wheat and barley. They made up, therefore, a very favour- able report;* at present, however, they merely car- ried it home, without any immediate attempt to form a settlement. When Purchas wrote there was an in- tention of sending out a colony next spring, which does not, however, seem to have been ever fulfilled. Sir David Kirk sold his patent to the French king for £5000, which is, however, alleged never to have been paid.f Sir William (afterwards Lord Stirling) sold his share likewise to Seigneur de la Tour, a Pro- testant lord of the house of Bouillon. Both under Oliver Cromwell and William III. successful expedi- tions were sent against this settlement ; yet, somehow or other, the French are always found aga^n in pos- * Purchas, iv. 1873. t Brit. Emp. Amer. i. 32. A I NOVA SCOTIA. 359 part to Sil- ver Scottish ar, sent out Newfound- by another e survey of ommodious le to " very red, grow- hich had a ►refusion of irious other ion of large even assert •s of wheat 'ery favour- merely car- npt to form was an in- king, which 'er fulfilled, 'rench king ^er to have rd Stirling) our, a Pro- 3oth under ful expedi- t, somehow i^n in pos- session of it. It was not till the treaty of Utrecht, in 1716, that Nova Scotia was finally ceded to Great Britain, the French only retaining the island of Cai)e Breton, — extremely commodious for their fishery, and affording them an entry into the river of St Law- rence. tner. i. 32. 860 FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. M CHAPTER VII. SETTLEMENT OF THE FRENCH IN CANADA AND LOUISIANA. Plan of Colonizing Canada. — La Roche.— 'Disastrous Issue.— De Monts, — Champlain,— Marquette, and Jolyet.— Hennepin. '—Lahontan.— Charlevoix. ! ■If While the English were founding along the Ame- rican coast the most flourishing and prosperous colo- nies of the new world, the French were busily pursuing a different career. They were penetrating into the im- mense northern interior of America, ascending and de- scending those mighty rivers, and coasting the shores of those boundless lakes, which seem to convey to its most inland depths the character and the benefits of a maritime region. The heads of the French mission, both political and religious, engaged in this career, dis- played really very great enterprise and address, and ef- fected extensive discoveries with much less disaster than might have been expected to attend so new a line of discovery, beset with such great and singular perils. The river St liawrence, and generally the more northern tracts of America, formed the quarter to m. \.DA AND us Issue.'— ■—Hennepin. the Ame- rous colo- pursuing to the im- ig and de- shores of ^ey to its lefits of a mission, ireer, dis- !S, and ef- ister than a line of r perils. ;he more Liarter to CANADA. 361 which the French directed their special attention. The transactions in Florida, however in some respects glorious, were of too tragic a character, and the pre- tensions of Spain on that side too formidable, to make any farther attempts be felt as safe or eligible. The naval energies of England, and the tide of emigration produced by her religious dissensions, had enabled her to preoccupy all the middle regions of the continent. The early discoveries of Cartier had turned the eyes of France towards the St Lawrence, and established her claim to it according to that peculiar code by which Europeans have chosen to ai)portion among them- selves the rest of mankind. Although Canada had scarcely any measure of the smiling and luxuriant aspect of Florida, or even of Virginia, yet it opened into regions of vast extent ; and the tracing to its distant fountains this sea-like abyss of waters pre- sented more than common attraction to curiosity and adventure. At this time, the only mode in which it was con- ceived that the regions of the newly-discovered world could be peopled, was by sovereign and exclusive com- panies. In fact, when we consider the perilous and doubtful character of those early adventures, — that fleets were to be equipped, towns built, wastes culti- vated, and too probably war waged, — a much more than ordinary temptation was required. The want of rivalry, however, could not fail, according to uni- versal experience, to have a most paralyzing effect on the energies of these companies. They, indeed, were likely to be bold and adventurous spirits who sought to range in such a sphere ; yet favour rather than 1 » i 362 FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. merit formed too often the principles upon which the selection was made. The first who, after the long interval which had now elapsed, undertook to colonize these northern re- gions, was a bold Breton, of good family, named T)e la Roche. He obtained from Henry IV. a patent of the same extensive character as those granted in England to Gilbert and Raleigh. He received the title of Lieutenant-General for the countries of Canada, Hochelaga, Newfoundland, Labrador, the river of the great bay (St Lawrence) Norimbega, and all the lands adjacent. He was to have the supreme command, both civil and military, and no one was to be permit- ted to trade, unless under his sanction. The King of France stipulated for himself absolutely nothing, not even that invariable article, a fifth part of the gold ; but rumour had never ascribed to Canada this darling representative of wealth. La Roche, in 1598, set out to take possession of the vast domain thus lavishly bestowed on him. So little ardour, however, did the nation feel, that he was obliged to draw upon the jails for a great proportion of the sailors. After a not unprosperous voyage, he reached Sable Island, near the coast of Nova Scotia, where he landed a party of his ill-conditioned crew. The choice is censured, this island being a mere collec- tion of sand-hillocks, with only a few scattered shrubs, and the interior filled with a large lake or pond. La Roche, however, was groping in the dark, and might think his party better secured here than on the conti- nent against the hostility of the natives. He proceeded, and made a survey of the opposite coast of Nova Sco- I which the which had lorthern re- named De ^ a patent granted in eceived the 5 of Canada, river of the II the lands command, » be permit- ^he King of lothing, not f the gold ; this darling ssion of the So little lat he was proportion voyage, he ova Scotia, oned crew. mere coUec- red shrubs, pond. La and might 1 the conti- proceeded, ■ Nova Sco- DE LA ROCHE. 363 tia, and then returned to France, with the view of ob- taining fresh recruits and supplies. Arriving in Bri- tany, he incurred the enmity of the Duke de Mercoeur, whose power in that province was still almost sove- reign, and who so far prepossessed the King, that De la Roche was deprived of the means of carrying his enterjirise farther. The chagrin of this disappoint- ment brought him to the grave. No one, mean time, concerned himself about the unfortunate expedition left at Sable Island, which was soon reduced to the utmost misery. From the planks of a shipwrecked Spanish vessel they formed to themselves some sort of shelter from the severity of the climate. Having soon consumed their scanty stock of provisions, they were reduced to a diet purely of fish ; and as their clothes fell to rags, were obliged to recruit them by sewing together the skins of sea-wolves. At length some one put Henry in mind of the existence of this unhappy colony, and that no one had any idea of what had be- come of them. That humane prince instantly sent out a vessel to relieve whatever of its hapless rem- nant might still be found. Twelve only survived, who were brought home, and, with their shaggy and uncouth aspect, their dress of fish-skins, and their hair and beard grown to an enormous length, so moved that prince, that he granted a pardon for all their past offences, and dismissed each with a present of fifty crowns.* This was no very encouraging outset ; and for se- His. Gen. des Voyages, xiv. 589-91. 'f 364 FHKNCH SETTLEiM ENTS. veral years nothing was attempted beyond a traffic in furs, which proved very profitable. Chauvin and Pontgrave, two of the principal fur-merchants, made even some faint attempts to settle a colony, which were seconded by a company formed at Dieppe, yet proved abortive. A more splendid and vigorous attempt was made by De Monts^ a gentleman of Saintonge, and a Cal- vinist. He was invested by the court with the same extensive and exclusive rights so lavishly bestowed on all who would engage in the arduous career of trans- atlantic adventure. He even obtained free permission to exercise his own religion ; oddly combined, however, with an engagement to initiate the savages in the mys- teries of pure Catholicism. He equipped an expedi- tion really on a large scale, comprising no less than forty vessels. His commission extended from the fortieth to the fifty-fourth degree of north latitude, in- cluding thus the whole of New England not yet oc- cupied by any other potentate. De Monts, with his officers, spent a long time in surveying the coast as far as Cape Cod, without well knowing where to fix ; and he is supposed not in the end to have made a hap- py choice. He settled on the little island of St Croix, fertile indeed, but which, in winter, afforded neither wood nor fresh water ; and he removed afterwards to Port Royal, now Annapolis. This country, however, fulfilled none of those hopes of rapid wealth, under the influence of which most of the adventurers had been attracted thither. With difficulty it was made to yield the necessaries of life; and the fur-trade was very limited when compared with that which could DE MONTS. — CHAMPLAIN. 363 be carried on in the upjier part of the St Lawrence. De Monts was moreover accused of riding on the top of his very ample commission, by capturing indiscrimi- nately every vessel whicli apjiroached the wide limits of the coast conveyed over to him ; and it was but a derisive compensation which he sometimes offer- ed, of giving their names to the j)oint of the coast at which tliey liad been seized. (Complaints were made, that the Newfoundland fishery, a great source of na- tional wealth, could no longer, on Ue Monts's account, be carried on with any safety. The King listened to the cry of the fishers, and deprived him of his com- mission, granting him only a small compensation. The company, however, continued under other aus- pices ; but, finding that Acadia, as they had called their present settlement, offered none of tlie advantages sought for, they gradually moved over to Tadousac, on the St Lawrence, a little below the future station of Quebec. At length the English having appropriated to themselves this part of the continent, under the title of Nova Scotia, sent an expedition of three vessels, which rooted out all that remained of the French settlements and possessions, and sent the occupants prisoners to Virginia. The French made repeated attempts to re- gain possession of it ; and the country fluctuated be- tween the two nations till the treaty of Utrecht, by which, as before stated, it was finally ceded to Eng- land. Canada,- however, remained much longer in the hands of the French, and became the main point from which they extended their range of discovery. Samuel C/KWiplain^ who had accompanied De Monts in his different voyages, was now invested with the 'I ! 'i^.lrM n .h'' I J 366 FllENClI SETTLEMENTS. chief direction, and became the real founder of Cana- lore these jrica. He editions of Marquette, gh not al- ly inspired n the hope ess yet un- to encoun- sionary la- id acquired iY and the ins on the nee which yarned the lan mortal, )e launched of strange mouth and entire crew. come to a stream, by nthin a cer- tain distance was suddenly plunged into the depth of the waters. The French, however, assured their inform- ants, that they were ready to encounter all the perils, natural and supernatural, which were to be met in descending this grand central stream of the continent. The expedition proceeded first through the already explored lakes of Erie and Michigan, till they reach- ed the north-western extremity of the latter, which Marquette conceives to have been the Ultima Thule of the French. It was called then the Bay des Puans, but bears now the more elegant appella- tion of Green Bay. The surrounding country was wandered by the Miamis, Mescounteens, and Kicka- poos. The Miamis are considered as civilized and intelligent beyond most savages. They would often wake the French in the middle of the night, to ask farther information on any subject of which they had been talking. Their houses, being commodiously formed of rushes, can easily be taken to pieces and carried from place to place. On entering their chief village, there appeared in the middle of it a cross, on which were suspended white skins, red girdles, bows and arrows, offerings to the great Manitou for his care of them during the winter. The meadows around this village appeared the most extensive in the world. Two Miamis undertook to be their guides up the Fox River, and to see them embarked on the Ouiscousin, which fell into the Mississippi. The former, in fact, though broad at its entrance into the lake, was in its upper course so encumbered with marshes and narrow channels, that they could never have found their own way ; and sometimes ^ t ; i" ' Bl!' \ '} \V Ij i|iifii* i ' I 374 rilENCH DISCOVERIES. the wild oats grew so thick amid the water, that they appeared to be sailing amongst fields of corn. At length, after a passage of a mile and a half, they were launched in the Ouiscousin, and their guides left them to find their own way into the unknown depths of America, without any other protection than what they supposed themselves to derive from a daily hymn to the Virgin. The voyage down the Ouiscousin was easy and prosperous ; and they saw it with exultation opening into that grand stream of which they were in search ; the broad Mississippi descending from its distant northern fountains to the unknown southern sea in which it was to terminate. The banks bore a majestic character corresponding to that of this main central river of America. The trees appeared to Marquette the loftiest he had anywhere seen ; wild bulls and other animals of gigantic stature roamed in vast herds over the meadows. The water abound- ed with fishes, among which there really were mon- sters, (caymans ?) of very frightful aspect, and a col- lision of which with their fragile canoes might really not have been very safe. They sailed for more than two hundred miles through majestic solitudes, in which they did not discover a human being. At length they descried the print of human feet ujion the sand ; upon which Jolyet and Marquette follow- ed the track, till it led them to a j^lace where three villages were clustered together, and they were so near as to hear the voices of the inhabitants. Here- upon the French set up a loud cry ; and this, \^'^}''?h would have been enough to frighten a civilized cum- .lOLYET AND MARQUETTE. 375 that they corn. At they were guides left wn depths than what aily hymn easy and m opening in search ; ts distant thern sea ks bore a this main »peared to een ; wild re roamed ir aboiind- vere mon- and a col- i<^ht really more than itiides, in ng. At feet upon tte follow- iiere three r were so ;s. Here- lis, wl'v'h ized com- I munity, reassured the savages, who thus saw tliat there was no intention to take them by surprise. Four old men advanced slowly and solemnly, and presented the calumet, or mysterious pipe, the sym- bol of peace over all America. They then conducted the strangers to the principal cabin, where the most venerated old man of the tribe stood, with his hands lifted towards the sun. He received them most courteously, saying, " This is a happy day, on which thou comest to visit us. All our people wait for thee, and thou shalt enter our cabin in peace." A multitude crowded round them, preserving the great- est order, and a few voices only saying, " You have done well, brethren, in coming to see us." The French stated four reasons of their journey, accom- panying each reason with a present. The Indians ap- proved of all, except their intention of proceeding far- ther down the river, against the dangers of which they kindly remonstrated. After this discussion the feast was introduced. The dishes were sagamity, or boil- ed Indian corn, enriched with fat and fish. The Indians took these victuals in a spoon, and, having cooled by blowing upon them, thrust the food into the mouths of the strangers, whom they fed as we do children. Then came the crown of the feast, — a dog, killed and dressed expressly to regale their guests ; but, as they could not admit a morsel of this dainty within their lips, beef was furnished in its stead. On inquiring the name of this people they were told, " the Illinois," a name which signifies j/ien, and to which they thought themselves entitled in an especial and pre-eminent degree. Marquette does T^, 'I? ■■.'». ' 'Wif V" V I lit- \n 376 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. not altogether repel this pretension, and considers them the most civilized people he had seen in Ame- rica. One thing appeared mysterious ; a number of men, who wore the clothes and followed the occupa- tions of women, and were excluded from most manly exercises, though they were admitted to the national councils, and held in a sort of religious veneration. In other respects, the Illinois did not materially differ from the nations of Canada. The travellers took leave of their kind hosts, and proceeded down the Mississippi. A number of rocks rose boldly from the banks, one of which had mon- sters painted in very brilliant colours on its perpen- dicular sides. Soon after they heard from the right a mighty roar of waters, and saw trees and floating islands rushing down into the channel. This was the influx oi the great Missouri from its distant source in the Rocky Mountains, after a longer course, and with a larger body of water than the Mississippi itself. They recognize it under the name of Peke- tanoni ; and it was a subject of regret that the chan- nel, which before was clear and gentle, became now troubled, muddy, and rapid. Soon after they saw, hovering in the centre of its streams, the demon of which they had been so solemnly forewarned. He consisted of a range of cliffs, crossing nearly the whole stream, and against which the waves dashed with noise and fury ; and considerable skill was in fact necessary to guide the canoe over this American Scylla. The next event was the entrance from the eastward of the Ouabiskgou, (the united streams of the Wabash and the Ohio,) inhabited by a peaceable JOLYET AND MARQUETTE. 377 considers in Ame- lumber of le occupa- ost manly Q national eneration. ally differ hosts, and r of rocks had mon- ts perpen- L the right id floating This was ts distant jer course, Mississippi of Peke- the chan- came now they saw, demon of •ned. He learly the es dashed 11 was in American from the itreams of peaceable race, who were cruelly harassed by the Iroquois. In descending the river they suffered severely from gnats, against which they were obliged, in imitation of the natives, to build a hut above their canoe, and kindle a fire beneath it, the smoke of which drove away those tormentors. They came to several vil- lages, the inhabitants of which presented appearances a little hostile ; but on presenting their calumet of peace, a friendly intercourse was always established. At length they came to the Akamseas, (at the mouth of the great river Arkansaw). Some fear was excit- ed by the appearance of two large canoes, with the captain standing up in the midst of one of them ; but the presentation of the calumet produced the usual hospitable reception ; and though some in the council started a proposition to murder and rob them, it was indignantly overruled by the chief, who sealed his friendship by dancing the calumet in their pre- sence. They were here informed, not with strict accuracy, that they were within five days' sail of the sea. On comparing this statement with their actual position, they became convinced that the Mississippi emptied itself into the gulf of Mexico, not as they had expected and hoped, into the sea of California. They considered, therefore, that by proceeding down- ward, they might fall into the hands of Spaniards, from whose jealous enmity they might suffer death, or at least imprisonment, — a very disagreeable issue to themselves, and which would lose to their country all the benefits of this extensive discovery. They deter- mined, therefore, to return to Canada. Their voy- age was laborious and tedious, as they had to struggle m 37« FllENCH DISCOVERIES. .'■ij 'I ii: ,< f- n '{ against the stream ; but, being by tlie very same route, it presented no new object or event.* When Jolyet and Marquette reached Quebec, there happened to be in that city a yoiuig and enterpris- ing Frenchman, of some birth and fortiuie, and wlio had come out with the view of attaining either wealth or distinction by American discovery. His name was Cavalier, to which he added the title of Sieur de la Salle, by which he is best known. His adventurous spirit was at once smitten hy the ac- counts of this vast river, which seemed to afford a key to the whole of the interior continent. His am- bition having been especially directed to the scheme of a northern passage to India, he is supposed to have conceived the idea of effecting it by means of the Upper Mississippi, though he surely could not expect to find an opening by this channel into the northern ocean. Full of these ideas, he set sail for France, where, through the favour of the Prince of Conti, he received every encouragement. The Prince presented him with a coadjutor, the Chevalier de Tonti, a brave officer, who had lost an arm in the wars of Sicily. La Salle, from the very circumstance that he could not refuse, felt probably some jealousy as to the companion thus fastened upon him, but who proved in fact to be a most useful and efficient coadjutor. He now set sail from Rochelle with thirty men, among whom were citizens of different descriptions. He did not linger at Que- r * Relation de Marquette, ap. Thevenot Recueil, torn. i. LA SAI-l.i:. *79 ame route, bee, but hastened up to the lakes, where he Hp^nt two years iu raising forts, carrying on the I'ur- trade, and building vessels of forty or fifty tons, which astonished the savages, who called them the great wooden canoes. Being unaccustomed, however, to the difficult navigation of the lakes, two of them were wrecked, which occasioned a severe loss. At length the whole party were united, like their prede- cessors, at the extremity of the lake of Illinois, which we call Michigan. They had hitherto maintained the most friendly intercourse, even the Iroquois having received favourably the embassy sent to smoke their pipe. Near their present station, however, there were a party of Outagamis, who, one night, creeping on their bellies, and in deep silence, reached the French quarters, where they succeeded in possessing themselves of a coat belonging to M. La Salle's ser- vant. As they were making off, however, the senti- nel heard a sort of noise, and called out, Who is there ? to which they answered, " Friends." He told them he was glad to hear it, but this was the strang- est time and manner of visiting friends he had ever known. The Outagamis made some lame apologies, which were accepted under the circvunstances, till the absence of the coat was discovered. Hereupon a council being called, it was determined, rather idly l)erhaps, to take some strong step which might deter the Indians from similar visits. La Salle sent a mes- sage to the chief, intimating that he would kill him unless the coat was restored. This notice threw the Indians into a strange perplexity. The coat had been too inestimable a treasure to remain entire, or to be the I 380 FRENCH DISCOVEUIES. portion of any one man. It had been cut into piet'es, and the buttons, being taken off, had been distributed among the chiefs, of whose collections they formed the pride. After taking a view of this state of things, the Outagamis concluded, that no alternative was left to them but to present themselves to the French in battle-array. This was not precisely what had been expected, and the visages of some of the French were observed to become somewhat pale at such an issue. La Salle ran about cheering his men to the combat ; but Father Hennepin, seeing no symptoms of either side being very blood-thirsty, very laudably walked forward to the oldest Outagami, and offered to act as mediator. It was immediately agreed to send two of their elders, provided an assurance was given of their safety. This arrangement being made, they assured La Salle that the misdeed had been com- mitted by some of their rash young men, and that their only motive for not restoring the coat was the impossibility of doing so, arising out of the state to which it had been reduced. La Salle, sensible that matters had gone rather too far, was not inexorable, and a good understanding was soon restored. The savages even requested him to remain with them- selves rather than go among the Illinois> who were very numerous, and would kill him. They expressed also great esteem for the grey-coats that went bare- foot, some of whom they would have wished to re- main with them. Without regard to the above sinister presages, La Salle set out with forty-four men and three recollets, to follow the Mississippi downwards to its termina- LA SAI.LE. 3HI into pieces, (listributed ley formed is state of alternative Ives to the cisely what )me of the I at pale at [ig his men seeing no hirsty, very :agami, and itely agreed jurance was being made, d been com- 1, and that at was the the state to nsible that inexorable, ored. The ivith them- who were y expressed went bare- jhed to re- 'esages, La le recollets, ts termina- tion. He took a different and more direct course, — ascending the Miami, and then descending tlie Illinois. They found it*< course very fine, equally l)t>autiful and fertile, and l)ordered by large villages. The first they came to, composed of five hundred wooden Inits, was deserted ; bu^ in descending the river, they found themselves ^ iddenly between two large iKxlies, en- camped on the opposite banks. The Illinois, asto- nished by this large array of strangers, placed them- selves in order of battle. However, the French, drawing up themselves in a line, and in a good pos- ture of defence, were merely asked, who they were, and for what purpose they came? They answered, that they were subjects of the King of France, who had sent them for the purpose of instructing and do- ing them all the good in his power, and without any evil intention. The Indians then presented the calu- met of peace, declared their respect for his French majesty, and invited the French on shore. They now made a grand feast, composed of beef, venison, and game of every description, and, when the Europeans added brandy, materials were afforded for an vuiinter- rupted festival of three days. The French, according to Indian usage, received the names of comrades, friends, and even of brothers ; and some of them were adopted as members of the principal families. Every thing, therefore, on the dreaded side of the savages afforded the most favourable promise for La Salle's undertaking. His only danger was from the discon- tents fermenting among his own people, and which existed to an extent sufficient to overturn the best-laid schemes. The sense of this, and the rumours of the :**-., m '■•i:\ 382 rilKNCH DISCO Vi:i{ IKS. :if ^' f : ),. i: loss of his principal bark, wrought so strongly upon his mind, that, in building a small fort to secure his pre- sent position, he gave it the name of Crevecoeur (Heart- break). His followers made haste to justify this appel- lation. They do not seem to have had any just ground of complaint ; but they murmured at being led into distant and unknown regions, among men worse than brutes, and having the prospect of being led still far- ther, to gratify the caprice of an adventurer, and ful- fil his prospects of aggrandizement, which they were not to share. To effect his destruction and their own return became their main object. They represented him to the natives as a spy of the Iroquois, their ancient enemies, for whose sake he was observing their country, and building the present fort, and whom he would soon lead to effect their utter destruction. These asser- tions made a deep impression on the credulous minds of the savages. La Salle, soon perceiving this by their altered manner, formed a bold and decisive re- solution. He went directly to the assembly of the chiefs, and demanded to know the cause of the evi- dent alienation which had taken place. The chiefs frankly told him ; and he then argued the point so forcibly, and showed so clearly the motives of the ca- lunmy, that they were entirely satisfied. Presently, however, came an Iroquois envoy, who represented that the French were endeavouring to make them- selves masters of all America ; for which jmrpose they especially sought to arm Americans against each other ; that the mission of La Salle could have no other object, and the building of the fort was one of the steps towards it. La Salle breasted this danger ■I 1 ^1. (I ■SA!:-: I-A SALLE. 383 ngly upon ire his pre- ur (Heart- tliis appel- ust ground ig led into worse than id still far- ;r, and ful- they were 1 their own jsented liim leir ancient eir country, would soon hese asser- tions minds ng tills by lecisive re- ibly of the of the evi- The chiefs le point so 3 of the ca- Presently, represented lake them- urpose they vainst each d have no was one of his danger p m in the same bold manner ; and, by openly arguing with his antagonist, succeeded in dispelling an appre- hension which was not so wholly devoid of founda- tion. But his perils were not at an end. His ruffian followers, when they saw all other means of his de- struction fail, formed the horrid design of administering poison both to himself and all the friends who would have avenged his death ; and this they succeeded in doing at the Christmas dinner. Scarcely was tlie en- tertainment over, when the company began to be seized with convidsive aftections, the cause of which being immediately penetrated by La Salle, he used and recommf^r?ded a large doze of treacle, which, with other remedies, effected the restoration of the wliole poisoned party. The villains, in horror at seeing him alive, fled, and were in vain pursued through these immense deserts. La Salle, though l)y his firmness he had baflfled all these plots and perils, found himself so much weak- ened by the desertion of his men, that he resolved to return to Fort Frontenac for a fresh sui:)ply of arms and ammunition. He sent, however, Dacan, with Father Louis Hennepin, and four other Frenchmen, to reach the Mississippi, and ascend that river to its source, — an expedition the result of which will come afterwards under our view. Tonti was left with the command of the fort and men ; but the mutinous spi- rits were not all jiurged out of the latter, and when Tonti returned from an occasional absence, he found that the greatest number had deserted the fort, car- rying with them every thing that could be carried. By great activity many of tlie fugitives being caught, \ i 384 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. :fi r^iUti* '!l 11 m- ' m were partly hanged and partly pardoned ; and some of the savages recruited the French ranks. Scarcely, however, were matters brought again to a tolerable state, when a fresh calamity was announced. The Iroquois, it appeared, were advancing to attack the Illinois, whom they both outnumbered and surpassed in valour, and the Illinois felt all their suspicions re- vive of a correspondence between the French and their mortal enemies. Tonti was so much stung by this circumstance, that he determined to proceed person- ally and singly to the hostile camp, and endeavour to negotiate a treaty. He approached with the calumet of peace, but was immediately seized, and a stroke made at him with a knife, which would have caused death, but for the interposition of the ribs. This, however, was contrary to the savage law of nations, and all the others cried " Shame ! shame !" and led him before their chiefs, Agoustot and Tagoncourte. As he was opening his treaty, however, news came that the parties were skirmishing, and that some Frenchmen were seen fighting on the side of the Illinois. The fate of Tonti appeared now sealed ; and a young Indian behind him, holding a knife, began fondly stroking his hair, under the evident feeling what a fine scalp it would make. Tonti, however, besought him to have a little patience, till he saw whether the council would award him this savage prize. He exhausted all his ora- tory to incline the Iroquois chiefs to peace. He endeavoured to work both on their affections and fears. He represented that Count Frontenac, their father, and M. La Salle, their brother, would LA SALLE. TONTI. fJ85 and some Scarcely, a tolerable iced. The attack the I surpassed 5picions re- trench and ung by this ed person- ideavour to he calumet d a stroke ave caused ibs. This, of nations, !" and led igoncourte. lews came that some side of the DW sealed ; ig a knife, ;he evident ie. Tonti, e patience, uld award II his ora- eace. He ctions and :enac, their ler, would be highly displeased with their present hostile con- duct, and would not fail to inflict due chastisement, to which he scrupled not to add, that the opposite force, consisting of 600 Illinois and 200 French, would be found much more than a match for theirs. Notwithstanding all this, the fierce Tagan Courte still advised death; but Agouston, a friend of La Salle, was listened to on the side of mercy, and Tonti was even sent back with a fine collar of porcelain, in token of sincere peace and amity with the Illinois. Two days after their chiefs waited upon him and presented three collars of wampum ; the first of which was in honour of, the governor of Canada, the second of La Salle, and the third intimated a perpetual alliance with the Illinois. A few days after, Tonti was respectfully invited to the council, where he was presented with six bags of beaver-skins, all of them significant. The two first were to Count Fron- tenac, their father, the third was for plaster to his wounds, the fourth was for oil to rub his legs, the fifth was in veneration of the sun ; while the sixth imported, that the French should next morning eva- cuate the fort, and set out for their own settlements in Canada. This last bag effaced from the mind of Tonti all the favourable impressions which the first five had excited. He began indignantly to sound them as to what would happen in failure of the con- dition which they had attached to it. The reply was neither very prompt nor perspicuous ; but its import seemed very clearly to be, that they would devour him. Hereupon Tonti indignantly kicked away the bags, and departed both in wrath and in VOL. L 2 b It I m ■I ■' ^f: :? jpi ^.|iii( 386 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. haste ; for it was whispered to him that, in the pre- sent temper of the chiefs, there was not a moment to lose for his personal safety. That night a council was held at the fort, and as they cooled it became evident that they were in a very critical situation. The Iroquois had discovered the deception put upon them in regard to the French force, at which they were highly indignan"^ ; so that, if the import of the sixth bag were not verified, a general attack would be made, which they felt themselves very unable to resist. All things considered, there appeared no choice, but forthwith to pack up, embark on the river, and make the best of their way towards the lakes. This was effected with all speed, and in a month they reached the shores of Lake Michigan. La Salle, even under this accumulation of disasters, did not lose courage. Having collected twenty men, with the requisite provisions and stores, he put him- self in motion early next season. He now wisely determined no longer to lose time in building forts in wild and untenable positions, but to push directly down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. The waters being frozen when he first set out, he was obliged to proceed by land, but at length embarked on the Illinois, and proceeded direct down to the Mis- sissippi. He soon came to the immense muddy in- flux of the Missouri, which he calls Osage, and to the Ohio, which he names, from its great tributary, the Wabash. Descending the river sixty leagues, he came to the nation of the Chicacha,(Chickasaws,) whose pride is to make their faces like flat plates, by the application of wooden tablets, strongly girt with LA SALLE. — MISSISSIPPI. 387 1 the pre- [loment to a council it became situation, put upon irhich they ort of the ack would unable to peared no L'k on the )wards the , and in a chigan. >f disasters, ^enty men, le put him- low wisely ilding forts ish directly xico. The ut, he was embarked to the Mis- muddy in- age, and to Lt tributary, leagues, he aws,) whose ites, by the girt with bands, to the foreheads of the children. The people were numerous, in a plentiful country, and supplied them amply with every refreshment. Fifty leagues lower down they came to the Cappa, where they were at first somewhat alarmed by the sound of a drum ; but, on coming in contact with the people, found them also quite friendly and civilized. They came next to the Akanceas, (Arkansaws,) where tidings of them having preceded their arrival, a great multitude were assembled to see them, and hear the discharge of their fire-arms. Here they procur- ed guides to the Taencas ; among whom they found something decidedly superior to any thing else they had seen in America. The streets of the village were built in a straight line and regular order ; and both the palace and the temple had some share of magnificence. The ladies, dressed in cloth of woven rushes, with necklaces and ear-rings of pearl, — with a deep-brown complexion and black sparkling eyes, enchanted the Chevalier. Seeing one of the prin- cesses cast a longing eye on a case of scissors, whicn had been presented to the king, he slipped a pair into her hand, and received a cordial squeeze in return. As another lady cast a somewhat rueful glance at the thorns with which her train was rudely fastened, he delighted her by presenting a parcel of pins. The Taencas were found under a political system, nearly similar to the celebrated one of the Natches, — an absolute prince, who is not only implicitly obeyed, but venerated almost as a God, before whose path flowers are strewn, and on whose tomb twenty of the principal chiefs voluntarily im- » t ■■ * &m Ml^i III! V!, )( i- i^'^i ! i'i't ^D 388 FRENCH DlSCOVEllTES. molate themselves. Tonti returned to the boat, and gave La Salle an account of his friendly reception, and presently after the royal barge was seen ap- proaching, with drums beating, and female attend- ants playing on various instruments. A most amic- able interview took place, in which it is even asserted that he acknowledged himself the vassal of the King of France ; but upon this point we must reserve our belief. In proceeding farther down they were met by a canoe containing a hundred men, armed with bows and arrows, which appeared about to be employed against the French. Lu Salle, however, caused his men to arrange their canoes in regular array, when, having placed them in this formidable position, he presented the calumet of peace, which by this time the natives were heartily glad to at ept. These were of the nation of the Natches ; and La Salle was invited to their village, which presented, on a greater scale, the same scene just seen among the Taencas. The Quini- pissas received them in a very difl'erent manner, and, lining the shore, answered their advances only by a shower of arrows ; whereupon they very wisely sailed on. Tangibao, to which they came next, pre- sented a dreadful picture of savage warfare. It had just been surprised and sacked, and the dead bodies of its inhabitants were lying piled over each other. They thought it was not good staying here, and sail- ed on with all speed. Ten leagues farther the chan- nel began to assume a new character. It stretched to a breadth so immense, that one side could no longer be seen from the opposite, the taste of the water l.A SAI.LE. MlSSISSiri'I. 389 V bocit, and reception, seen ap- ale attend- most amic- en asserted f the King reserve our met by a with bows ! employed caused his •ray, when, osition, he lis time the ese were of IS invited to >r scale, the The Quini- anner, and, !s only by -^ery wisely e next, pre- re. It had lead bodies each other, 'e, and sail- er the chan- [t stretched Id no longer ' the water became more and more brackish, and the shore was strewed with large and beautiful shells. They were at the mouth of the Mississippi. La Salle celebrated with extraordinary rejoicings this triumphant accomplishment of the object of his voyage. 7V Deum was sung, the cross suspended to the top of a large tree, and the arms of France set up. The sun's altitude was then taken, and the lati- tude fixed as between the degrees of 22 and 23, very erroneously, unless there be some mistake of copying. The immediate banks were so flat and so inundated by the tide as to be uninhabitable ; but a few leagues up the soil became rich and the country beautiful. He now determined to reascend the river, and, proceeding by way of Canada to France, convey thither in person the tidings of this splendid dis- covery. The ascent, however, was of course much harder than the descent, and their provisions begin- ning to fail, they were driven to somewhat violent and perilous modes of supply. It was needful to begin with their friends, the Quinipissas, who had given them such an inhospitable reception. They thought themselves lucky in falling in with four females of that nation, whom they treated in the kindest man ner, and then sent one of them, loaded with trinkets, hoping that she would act as a mediator. Accord- ingly the chief came out, and invited them to take refreshments, and spend the night in his village. Under this fair seeming, however, deep treachery lurked; and had not the French been strictly on their guard, they would have been destroyed in an attack made at daybreak by the united body of the I I'il ^1- I li,-1 \ 390 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. savages. Being roused, however, in due time, they killed several, and most barbarously, in imitation of the reprobated practice of their enemies, tore off their scalps, which they carried away as trophies. They next repaired to the Natches, to whom they presented the Quinipissa scalps, which, being those of their enemies, would both, it was hoped, excite their ardent gratitude, and show " that they were not persons to be fooled with." The prince did not re- ceive those horrid gifts with all the complacency which was expected ; and there appeared many symptoms, that, if they had not seen the French so closely on the watch, they might have followed the Quinipissa example. After this, in the course of several months, which it cost them to reascend the Mississippi and Illinois, they met with various adven- tures, but made their way without any serious ob- struction, and La Salle, having reached Quebec, im- mediately set off for France. The French court received La Salle with all the distinction due to the eminent discovery which he had made. The plan with which he followed it up, of forming a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi, and thence establishing a regular communication with Canada, was cordially embraced An expedition was fitted out, comprising four vessels of various sizes, and a crew of 280 men ; and La Salle was made ab- solute governor of all that back region, which extends from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. He set sail from La Rochelle on the 24th July, 1784, along with the West India fleet ; and, after touching at St Domin- go and Cuba, arrived on the coast of Florida. But here J ' ;t^ I.A SAI.I.E. MISSISSIPPI. 391 inie, they itation of tore off trophies, lom they ^ those of cite their W'ere not id not re- iplacency d many •"rench so owed the course of icend the us adven- rious ob- ebec, im- li all the h he had it up, of ssissippi, tion with ition was us sizes, nade ab- 1 extends set sail mg with t Domin- But here he was involved in an unforeseen perplexity. Although he had formerly reached the mouth of the Mississip- pi, he had not come down so far as to be able to know its appearance from the sea ; he possessed no observa- tion of longitude ; and he inquired in vain of the pi- lots and navigators of America on the subject. The little information he got tended to mislead him ; and he passed the main opening of that great stream with- out knowing it. He proceeded upwards of two hundred miles to the westward, and found himself in a bay, afterwards called that of St Bernard. Finding him- self in a broad channel, bordering a fine country, he resolved to found here the fort which was to be the basis of the establishment. Accumulated evils, however, began here to press upon him. The vessel in which were deposited his stores, utensils, and all the materials of his establishment, sunk, through the misconduct, and, as was suspected, the evil purpose of the commander. La Salle, by great activity, saved a part of them ; but as the rest floated down the river, they were eagerly appropriated by the Indians. The violent measures adopted by La Salle for compelling them to desist and to make restitution, kindled the deepest resentment in this fierce and proud tribe, called the Clamcoets. It led to one of those dreadful mid- night attacks which form the usual mode of American warfare, and in which they killed two and wounded several of the French. A similar outrage was re- peated on other occasions, when opportunity was found. The health of many began to sink under the tropical climate, and one of the officers having been bit by a serpent, without knowing how to cure it, died H 111 ( ' ki.. r li jt fM i: l!i| 1 ' ■f Ik; u ill 11' i 1 ' IN m^^ If wLl |! ' M 392 FRENCH DISCOVKIUES. of the wound. The flat-bottomed boat, or frigate, aa it was called, which had been brought for the purpose of surveying the coast, also perished. Meantime Tonti, surprised and anxious at receiving no tidings of the expedition, measured over again the whole of the former voyfige, and reached the mouth of the Mis- sissip])!. He made the most diligent search on each shore, and, proceeding to the sea, sent boats both east and west, which examined the coast for twenty leagues in each direction, Imt without seeing the least trace of any thing French, or being able to obtain the slightest intelligence respecting La Salle and his expedition. He then gave up the search in despair, and sailed up- ward to the lakes. Meantime La Salle struggled with energy against the difficulties of his situation, aggravated by the hos- tile conduct of the commandant, who, though enjoin- ed to obey, sought only to thwart him on every occa- sion. He completed the fort, suppressed a violent mutiny, and made several excursions into the neigh- bouring country. He became sensible that he was not in the Mississippi ; and as the country, though suffi- ciently fertile, offered no prospects of wealth, or open- ing for commerce, he determined to penetrate to the Mississippi and the Illinois, and endeavour to form an exact idea of his situation with regard to those rivers, and the continent in general. He took with him twenty men, among whom was his nephew, of the name of Moranger, a young man of merit, but of somewhat haughty spirit. He became an object of resentment to several of those fierce and turbulent spirits, who formed the savage resolution of satiating LA SALLE — HIS DEATH. 393 frigate, as he purpose Meantime nu tidings e whole of uf the Mis- c'h on each s both east ity leagues ast trace of le slightest L^xpedition. sailed up- gy against jy the hos- Lgh enjoin- ivery occa- . a violent the neigh- he was not ough suffi- h, or open- ate to the to form an ose rivers, with liim ?w, of the •it, but of object of turbulent f satiating their revenge by his blood. Having gone some miles with him on a hunting expedition, they attacked at once liim and his servant, and soon executed their bloody purpose. La Salle, when night came, without the return of his nephew or any of his party, felt a dreadful foreboding, and early next morning set off for the quarter where he understood them to be. It was not long till he discovered his nephew lying stretched on the ground, and weltering in his blood. As he sought the assassins with every expression of grief and rage, two of them, who were concealed in the grass, started up and successively fired at him. One of the balls entered liis head, and he died in an hour after. Thus perished, on a distant and savage spot in the depths of America, one of the most distinguished ex- plorers of that continent. He evidently possessed courage, activity, addresp, and perseverance sufficient to accomplish the boldest enterprises. There can only arise the question, on considering the dreadful enmities which arose against him among his followers, whether he possessed a conciliatory spirit, and the art of managing the minds of men ? Prevost says, that even his friends and panegyrists admitted that he was harsh, violent, and tyrannical. Such a character is not given of him by Hennepin and Tonti, who knew him intimately, and do not qualify in any shape the praises which they bestow upon him. Tonti laments him as a friend in the tenderest terms. He talks of those blooming families of whom he was the common father, the main sui:)port, and who were ruined by his loss. He mentions him as a man universally beloved. ''IT ^ t:,.m y ' 394 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. Indeed the influence which he possessed with the sa- vages, and the attachment felt towards him by those fierce spirits, affords a strong* presumption that he was not altogether of the rash and violent temper im- putec' to him. The persons employed in these distant exi)editions were too often composed of the refuse of Europe, or at least of those daring and intractable spirits who, removed beyond the pale of law and so- ciety, thought themselves exempted from every re- straint, and indignantly repelled the necessary attempt to enforce it.* We have already mentioned that La Salle, on his first return from the Illinois to Lake Michigan, had sent forward Da can and Father Hennepin to survey the Mississippi from its source to its termination. Hennepin has left a pretty copious narrative of this expedition. They first went down the river almost to its mouth ; but the sailors being alarmed at the idea of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, obliged them to return. Reascending the river, they passed the mouth of the Illinois, afterwards that of the Ouis- cousin, and reached above the falls of St Anthony. During this voyage, Hennepin made it his daily prayer, that if he should meet ^with Indians, it might be by day, and not by night; at which last period it is their invariable system to kill, plunder, and scalp all who come in their way. To this extent his prayer was granted. About eight leagues above the fall of * Tonti ap. Voyages au Nord, v. 86-183. torn. ix. Charlevoix, Nouv. France, iii. 34-7. Hennepin, ib. Hist. Gen. des Voyages, xiv. HKNNEl'IN. 393 St. Gen. des St Anthony, at two in the afternoon, fifty canoes of bark, manned by about a Inindred and twenty naked savages, were seen descending tlie river witli incredible swiftness. All attempts to escape being vain, the French made towards them, and presented the calu- met of peace, saying, in the Iroquois language, Misti- ^ouchc Diatches, " Friends, We are the men of wood- en canoes ;" but this was quite unintelligible to them. The savages surrounded the party with loud shouts and cries, and were preparing their arrows, when an elderly chief came forward, and endeavoured to hold some intercourse with them by signs. He particular- ly sought to learn what was become of the Miamis, the enemies of his tribe, for whose destruction they had come down in this savage array. The French gave them to understond, that the Miamis were be- yond their reach, having retreated and joined the Illi- nois. This was evidently felt as a deep disappoint- ment ; and several, who had relations to avenge upon the Miamis, shed copious tears, accompanied with the most doleful cries. The French, as coming from the Miamis, shared the odium of that race ; and the cliief having refused to smoke in their calumet of peace, it was plain that their life was in the utmost peril. Sud- denly the Indians set up a dreadful united shout, and hurried them across the river, keeping up a series of bowlings, which thrilled through their nerves. On reaching the opposite bank, it was announced to them, that they must prepare for death. Hereupon Henne- pin felt that he must bestir himself, and having ex- amined his stores, drew forth six hatchets, fifteen knives, and some pieces of Virginia tobacco. This ifi III I I mi iff.' f, if illJil ' ii t 396 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. donation smoothed the brows of several of the chiefs, and though they still refused the calumet, they pre- sented some beaver-flesh, cooled by being blown upon with their mouths, and allowed the captives to go to sleep. Next morning a young chief, painted all over, came and asked for their pipe of peace. On its being delivered he filled it with tobacco, caused it to be smoked first by his own tribe, and then by those who had shown the greatest enmity to the strangers. It was announced, however, that they must accompany them to their home, whither, since the Miamis had escaped, they had now resolved to return. The French were pretty roughly treated in their passage up the river, and were exposed to much fear from Hennepin's determination to go through his sacred office, without regard to his pagan and savage spectators. As the Indians made strange gestures whenever he began, his ' companions represented to him that if he persisted, they would certainly all be killed. They entreated him not to sacrifice their lives to this ritual, and at least to seek a private op- portunity of performing it. Hennepin attempted to follow this last advice ; but the Indians, thinking he was attempting to fly or secrete something valuable, watched him so closely as to render this plan abor- tive. At length he announced to his companions, that he was resolved to go through his office, and leave the event to Providence. As he took out the prayer-book and began to read, the Indians showed a strange emotion ; but, as was afterwards understood, they considered it an evil spirit whom he was endea- vouring to sooth, — a ceremony not foreign to their IxENNEPIN. 397 own worship, and which they did not consider worthy of reprobation. The most critical moment in the eye of his companions was when the father took out his breviary and began to chaunt the litany. They were agreeably disappointed ; the Indians listened with pleasure to the music, and considered the brevi- ary as a friendly spirit, which was teaching him to sing. Yet there remained still a party who eagerly thirsted for the blood of the French in the room of that of the Miamis. One old chief endeavoured to effect his purpose by standing beside them, and weep- ing the whole night without intermission. When he could hold on no longer, he called one of his sons to weep in his room, so that the lamentation was never intermitted. These tears sorely afflicted the captives, not merely on account of the deadly purpose with which they were shed, but because they made it im- possible to take the rest which fatigue urgently de- manded. These doleful proceedings brought repeat- edly under discussion the question of killing them ; but the friendly chiefs urged, that the calumet having been smoked, the faith of the tribe was now plighted, and that, by giving good treatment to these prisoners, they might obtain a store of the " iron with the evil spirit," as they call guns ; the superior nature of which to their own arrows they already well under- stood. Although, however, the French continued to hold their lives by this precarious tenure, the hard- ships they endured were unspeakable. The Indians marched, or rather flew, with almost preternatural speed, and without being retarded for a moment by rocks, swamps, or the most entangled forests. The lite ^■^' I 398 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. captives, at their best, were very unequal to such a career, and being soon overcome with fatigue, and their legs and feet cut and bleeding, they could with difficulty walk at all. No allowance was made ; the Indians, enraged that their progress should be stop- ped, used the most violent means of pushing them forward. When every thing else failed, they set the dry grass behind them on fire, which spread most rapidly, and then indeed it was " run or burn." However, when at any time the last alternative seem- ed to be nearly inevitable, the savages ran and carri- ed them off out of the danger. After nineteen days of this dreadful march, they came to a spot in the midst of almost inaccessible morasses, which, being thought secure against enemies, had been made the head-quarters of the tribe. As the chiefs ".yere now about to separate, they began a survey of the French property, which had hitherto been in some degree respected, for the purpose of dividing it among them- selves. A roll of very fine tobacco was the most tempting object, and had almost given occasion to a battle. They took possession also of Hennepin's embroidered sacerdotal robe, and all the ornaments of his portable chapel. The chalice only threw such a glitter of light that no one durst touch it. After dividing their property, the next affair was to divide the French themselves ; and this was the subject of long and eager discussion. At length Hennepin learned with utter horror, that he had fallen to the lot of the same chief who had shed so many tears in order to obtain his life. He now deemed it high time indeed to prepare for his last hour on earth ; fi > HENNEPIN. 399 1 to such a 'atigue, and could with made ; the lid be stop- shing them hey set the oread most or burn." lative seem- 1 and carri- neteen days spot in the hich, being n made the 5 '.yere now^ the French 3me degree nong them- 3 the most jcasion to a Hennepin's ornaments threw such I it. After s to divide subject of Hennepin lien to the ny tears in ed it high on earth; but great was his surprise, when the chief advanced with the calumet of peace in his hand, which he pre- sented, receiving that of Hennepin in return. The latter was now acquainted, that the national customs allowing the chief two alternatives, either to kill him with torture, or to adopt him as a son, he had, after some preparations being made for the first, ended with fixing upon the latter, and that he might now expect from him all the tenderness of a parent. Hennepin was then introduced to his kindred, and first to a brother, who had got on his sacerdotal robe, and was walking up and down with it in great pride, calling it the robe of the sun, having wrapped in it the bones of a revered relation deceased. The worthy friar was then led to the tent, where he found six mothers, the chief being privileged to indulge in pt Ay.. ^Tyiy to a considerable extent. This large family, of •? Hennepin had so suddenly become a mem- ber, applied themselves to cure the severe rheu- matic affections which he had contracted from cold and fatigue, and which made him unable to rise with- out assistance. They laid him on a bear's skin, and rubbed him with the grease of wild cats ; but this being found insuflficient, they stripped him naked, and hurried him to the sweating-house, or great vapour- bath. They kept him lying for several hours, during which his father and three of his brothers partly sung and partly wept, straining their voices to the very highest pitch. Hennepin thought this remedy would have cured him of all his earthly evils, instead of which, after a few applications, it entirely restored him to health. 400 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. Hennepin now felt a desire to learn the language of his new family ; but there was on both sides such a total ignorance, as did not leave him a single point from which to set out. At length he caught the word Tabetchiabetif " How do you call this ?" which served as a basis. As in answer to this he received the names of successive objects, he wrote them down upon paper, — an operation which, with others unin- telligible to them, conveyed the idea of him as a supernatui'al being. They addressed him by the ap- pellation of Spirit, and in unfavourable weather so- licited a change, though he solemnly deprecated any such power. The paper, or white, as they called it, was imagined to be another Spirit, to whom he told and by whom he was reminded of every thing. They amused themselves with telling him long catalogues of the names of objects, always adding, " Spirit tell that to whiter As they were naming all the parts of the different objects, they included some that were frivolous, and even indecent ; and as they saw him omitting these, they called out, " Tell that to white too ! Tell that to white too !" Their fear and venera- tion were especially excited by a round iron pot which the French had brought with them, as less brittle than earthen ware. It was tendered as a pre- sent to several whose favour it was desirable to gain ; but they repelled it with horror, believing it to be a malignant power, and would not even touch it, with- out having their hands well covered with beaver-skin. The women, not daring to sleep in the same house with it, took care to have it hung without doors, on tlie bough of a tree. h h !il.: HEXNEPIX. 401 Winter now came on, and a severe scarcity of pro- visions affected the settlement, in which Hennepin very amply shared. Neither their tenderness for him as a son, nor their veneration as a divinity, pre- vented them from giving him scarcely a sufficiency of food to keep soul and body together. His mothers had otlier children who came much closer to them, and to whom they were more inclined to give the little they coald spare, than to this foreign and mys- terious son. Hennepin at last was able to sub- sist only on roots and berries which he collected, without being able to make any very nice distinction whether they were palatable, or even wholesome. This extreme want, without any mear s of supply, made it next to impossible for the savages to refuse to their captives permission to depart. Accordingly they sailed down the river Mississijipi, meeting with various adventures, which, for brevity's sake, and because they have nothing very striking, are here omitted. They met, however, the Sieur de Luth, with a party, coming to inquire after them, and endeavour to form a settlement on the Mississippi. Hennepin turned back with them ; but found so many obsta- cles, that he determined for the present to return to Canada. During his residence among the savages, Hennepin made inquiry of some who came from the westward concerning the South Sea and the Strait of Anian, which had been one of La Salle's principal objects. Several assured him that ihcy had come five hun- dred leagues from the westward, and had never found any great lake or sea, nor, consequently, any VOL. I. 2 c if r »,i«l V ": I 402 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. straits, and had heard of none such from any of their neighbours. There were only great rivers, travers- ing a boundless extent of plain, great part of which was destitute of wood. He concludes, therefore, that there is no Strait of Anian, and no separation between Asia and America. Although this last inference be so very erroneous, it was yet a natural one under Hen- nepin's circumstances. It was always hitherto sup- posed, that, if the South Sea bounded North America, it must be immediately behind the settlements fo"med by Europeans along the coast ; nor was it ever ima- gined that the continent could stretch here to such an immense and continuous breadth as it actually does. The many adverse events which had attended this expedition, deterred for some time any others from attempting to penetrate beyond the lakes. Indeed, the government seems never to have concerned itself to form a settlement in these vast interior regions of America, but left them to be explored by individuals animated by private adventure or religious zeal. Among the first, and one of the most conspicuous, was Baron La Hontan, a French gentleman of good family, who went out early to Canada, hoping to re- trieve his paternal fortune, which had suffered by se- veral misadventures. Being employed by go^Trn- ment upon the lakes, he became so intimate with the savages, that the public, it appears, accused him of having become a savage himself ; which, he insists, was doing him more honour than he deserved. How- ever, this intimacy between him and the Indians led him to the scheme of penetrating deeper into their territories. He formed the plan of an expedition to HENNEl'IN. 403 ly of their s, travers- of which •efore, that 311 between rence be so inder Hen- therto sup- h America, nits fo»'med ; ever ima- ! to such an lally does, tended this ithers from s. Indeed, lerned itself regions of individuals ^ious zeal, onspicuous, an of good Dping to re- ared by se- by go'"^ern- ite with the sed him of he insists, ^ed. How- Indians led into their :pedition to those eastern regions beyond the Mississippi, which European enterprise had never till now contemplated. His object was to ascend that great tributary, which he calls Long, but which I apprehend to be that known under the name of Peter's River. He proceeded first to Lake Michigan, the general point of outset, and, de- scending the Oniscousin, found himself in the Missis- sippi. He passed successively through the country and numerous villages of the Eokoros, the Essanapes, and the Gnaczitares ; but he is not celebrated for the genuineness of his names. Among these last he found himself beyond the range of the calumet of peace, that mystic and sacred symbol not being here understood. They appeared, however, the most polished Indians he had yet met with ; their houses were well con- structed, and their villages large. They were well acquainted by report with the Spaniards of New Mexico, with whom their wide wanderings brought them sometimes into contact. The French were here visited by a party of a people called Mozeemlik, who were said to be very powerful, and who i)leased them by their grave and polite deportment. They report- ed, that far to the west there was a great salt lake, about three hundred leagues in circumference, and with a wide opening to the south. In the interval there was a broad range of' very high and steep mountains, which could not be crossed without great difficulty. From them rivers flowed, — on one side to the Mississippi, on the other towards the salt lake. These statements sufficiently authenticate the journey and information of La Hontan. The salt lake, a name which the Americans familiarly apply to the it rt tlii-i 404 FRENCH DISCOVERIES. sea, appears to be Queen Charlotte Sound, the river the Columbia, and the mountain-range evidently that of the Rocky Mountains. From the lake on which the Gnaczitares dwell, La Hontan descended in five weeks to the Mississippi. He went down that river as far as the Illinois ; in ascending which he found the fort of Crevecoeur still under the command of De Tonti, who, he says, was highly respected in that neighbour- hood. Among the missionary travellers the most eminent was Father Charlevoix. He made what may be termed the grand tour of interior America ; proceed- ing up the St Lawrence through the lakes, and then down the Mississippi to New Orleans. As he was well attended, and effectually supported in a route now repeatedly traced, he met with few adventures ; but he collected materials for the best published ac- count, both of the very extensive dominions then pos- sessed by France in America, and of the institutions and character of the Indian tribes. On the former subject his information is now superseded ; but on the latter he will, in the following chapter, furnish us with a great part of the materials on which its in- formation is to be founded. THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 405 CHAPTER VIII. THE AMEllICAN INDIANS. Fiews of Savage Life. — The Five Nations Form of Policij. — War. — Declaration.— March. — Surprise. — Return. — Treat- ment of Captives. — Negotiations. — Religious Bcluf and Ob- servances. — Arts. — Amusements. — Music. — Dancing. — Domes- tic Life. — General Decline and Disappearance of these Tribes. —Its Causes. Among the results of American discovery there is none which, considering man as an intellectual being, seems entitled to rank higher than the new, bold, and picturesque forms under which it presented human manners and existence. The species appeared much more nearly approaching to what has been accounted his state of nature than in any region of the old con- tinent. The Scythian, among the ancients, had been taken as the representative of the man of nature ; but, however rude might be his aspect when compared with the civilized Greek or Roman, he had already made a certain progress in the arts of life. He be- longed to the pastoral state, possessed numerous flocks and herds, while the nation was assembled in large bodies, and obeyed ancient and hereditary chiefs. THE AMEUICAN INDTANS. Tlie Indians of Nortli Ameiica, on the contrary, formed only a handful of men, scattered over an im- mense extent of continent. Destitute of sway over any part of the animal creation, they subsisted en- tirely on the precarious produce of the chase. In this state they afforded favourable elements for solv- ing the interesting question of what man is, when not yet subjected to the influence of order, law, and civi- lization ? They then fatally refuted the theory main- tained by some philosophers, and even fondly cherished by the human heart, of a state of nature as one of simplicity and innocence. Such a state, so far as it has any real existence, is found only among the inhabitants of a civilized country placed in retired and rural situa- tions, restrained by law, and maintained by the order of society in a round of regular and peaceful occupation. But man, untaught and freed from eveiy restraint, soon shows, that there is within him a source of evil which arrives at a rapid and terrible development. It inspires fierce and unbounded passions, impelling to excesses of crime, such as are viewed with horror by the most corrupted members of a civilized society. Yet this dark picture is not without some great and some amiable features. Liberal hospitality, unbound- ed attachment to their chiefs or communities, fearless courage, and daring fortitude, are virtues thoroughly and uniformlydisplayedbythe Indian. We have caught striking views of savage life, in tracing the progi'ess of settlement in the countries along the Atlantic coast; but it is on the lakes of Canada, and along the Mississi])pi and its tributaries, that this life was dinplayed un- der its boldest and graiijilest features. In particular lA r ■^r ;J 1 ifr 'i -1 ''4 1 lif^t l|j: ^: 1 i n:. ■ ff ' ' If i i. WL'i ' THE FIVE NATIONS. 407 the IroqiioiH, or Five Nations took long a moHt promi- nent part, and displayed, in the most marked and decid- ed manner, all that is peculiar in the Indian character. They were formed of the Mohawks, the Oneydas, the Onondagoes, the Cayugas, and the Senekas ; to which the Tuscaroras, by a voluntary union, added a sixth. Their enemies, the Hurons and Algonquins, ranged on the opj)osite side of the lake and river boundary. The Outagamis and Nadouessis, on the Upper Mis- sissippi, the Illinois, on the river of that name, the Natches, Chikasaws, and Choktaws, on the Lower Mississippi, were also prominent among the Indian nations. Philosophers, who have drawn in the closet the ideal picture of man in the savage state, have imagined, that where the supply of food and clothing is so scanty and precarious, the obtaining of these first and neces- sary objects will absorb every effort, and leave scarcely room for any farther thought. Actual observation tells a different tale. It shows, that the findingof food is nei- ther the only nor the chief object which occupies the time or mind of the savage. Agriculture, and the rude processes of clothing and covering, are carelessly de- volved upon the enslaved females. Hunting, which, as a train of suspense and adventui'e, derives an at- traction which renders it always a favourite recrea- tion of the opulent in civilized life, is the only form under which he deigns, en s'amusanty to contribute to the public subsistence. The objects which engross his soul, and call forth all its energies, are those of the state and of war. Our modern economists, following Smith, of whose few errors this is perhaps the greatest, I J^ ■i 408 THE AMEKICAN INDIANS. n , i !!'' M 1 are too apt to consider niari as a mere moiiey-inaking animal, who will never hesitate to work, provided he is well paid for it. Tliey do not eonsil :ni(|uishc'(l lii'iii for a whic'li has When, any por- rel usually ich render once vie- )r Indians •ople with- iests, teni- ion, which of savage late obser- whole life I'e guidance a supreme the Master nite all the n* They ?y suppose ice of mind m for the Their pre- ! continued march is its. When J course of fasting, jihysic, and dreaming, is observed on a small scale. 'J'hey have no idea of such a thing as chance, or the fortune of war. 7^hey are not even strangers to spiritual pride. Europeans are called by them the men of the accursed speech ; while they value them- selves as " the beloved of the (xreat Spirit." Tliough tiieir religion thus comprises some lofty elements, and may seem at first sight to be purer than that of more civilized people, it is soon found to partake most amply of the imperfections of all the religions of nature. Along witli the (ireat Spirit they worship the Great Hare, or rather, j)erhaps, these are one and the same ; for this is a point on which neither travel- lers, nor perhaps the Indians themselves, seem to have very clear ideas. But, besides this great being, each individual has his Oka or Manitou, consisting of the head, beak, or claw of a bird, the lioof of a cow, and every the most insignificant object. Each youth, before he is recorded in the list of warriors, nuist have secured his Manitou. He is made to fast for several days, and careful note taken of his dreams ; in the course of which some object or other usually makes a deep and peculiar impression upon his mind. This is fixed as his Manitou or guardian power, and a good specimen of it is procured. The youth then, after a thorough persi)iration produced in one of their large vapour-baths, is laid on his back, and the figure of the Manitou is pricked on his breast with ten needles of fish-bone, dipt in vermilion ; the inter- vals are then rubbed with gunpowder, so as to i)ro- duce a mixture of red and blue. They now call out, " Master of Life, look on us well ; receive a brother IJLHl i!H T «^ J \ iti : Z\ 422 THK AMKIIICAN INDfAN'S. warrior ;" and the newly-inltiate . : pHtil ill i| by the feet. There does not seem to be much abso- lute vision of ghosts, though examples of this are by no means wanting ; it is generally t)elievetl, however, that tlie deceased does not set out immediately for tlie country of souls, Imt continues for some time to hover round his earthly remains. They are appre- hensive, therefore, that the spirit of those whom they have tortured may be on the watch to do them mis- chief, and study, by beating all round with rods, and raising the nu)st frightful cries, to scare it away. Even the souls of tlieir countrymen do not finally depart for their western home till after the festival of the dead. This most singular celebration takes place at intervals of about a year ; and on this occa- sion the whole nation, and often their allies, are as- sembled. The whole tribe then proceed in a body to the burial-place, open the tombs, and, on coming in view of the mortal remains enclosed, remain fixed for some time in solenni and religious silence. At length the women break forth into the most lamentable cries, and they then begin to collect the bones, sepa- rating any remains of flesh which may still adhere to them. These bones are then wrapped in the finest skins, and conveyed, amid continued mourning, to their home, wliere each is deposited in the cabin of the family. Then begins a round of feasts, dances, songs, games, and prize-combats, which do not seem nnich in harmony with the solemn object ; but every motion and sound are said to bear the stamp of woe ; and we may remember, that games in lionour of the dead were a classical observance. After a few days thus sj)ent, the dead are publicly exhibited in the hall aOES CATHOIJC CONVERSIONS. 425 eh ahso- s are by lowever, itely for time to •e api)re- om they lem mis- Otis, and away, t finally festival on takes his occa- are as- body to iming in fixed for it length inentable les, sepa- idhere to he finest ning, to cabin of , dances, lot seem ut every of woe ; ir of the -ew days the hall of council, witli the presents destined for them ; and sometimes they are carried about from village to vil- lage. At length they are borne in solemn proces- sion to a long pit, previously prepared, and, with their gifts and ornaments, are lodged, amid cries and lamentations, in this final abode. The women lay down food on the grave for several days, which, it is suj)posed, may elapse ju'evious to their departure for the land of souls. While the French were in the occupation of Canada, their religious orders, with a zeal which must merit some share of jn-aise, sent out numerous missionaries for the conversion of the natives. They published even l)ompoiis accounts of whole nations baptized and con- verted. The more judicious, however, even among themselves, admit, that this conversion was neither more nor less than n simi)le j)rofanation of the ordi- nances of religion. The Indians readily let them- selves be baptized six times a-day for a glass of brandy or a pound of tobacco. They learned by heart the prayers and litanies, and repeated them as they did songs. They thankfully accepted crucifixes and beads, which were hung round tlieir necks as toys. The footing on which the communi(m was dispensed may appear from what is mentioned by a missionary, who asked an Indian if lie had not found it very comfort- able, when the Indian replied, " i'es, Sir, it was cer- tainly very good, Init brandy is better." After these conversions, therefore, the Indians were exactly the same people as before, fixed in their original ideas, ig- norant or indifferent as to all that was told them by the missionaries. Those who wished to give them f 'I 426 THE AMERICAN INDIANS. ■;■! '« *;Wi h t t any real instruction found a great obstacle in their politeness. They listened with attention to the most copious expositions of Christian doctrine, saying, these were good words, — that was true, — they were much obliged to them for telling all this. \Vhen, however, the missionary thought them in a fair train of conversion, they began in continuance to relate the dreams inspired to them by the Great Hare, the pro- tection afforded by the Manitou, which they showed painted on their breasts, and the length of the journey to the land of souls. When the missionary told them that these were ridiculous fables, their wrath was kindled ; they appealed to him whether such language was not very uncivil, and very contrary to theirs, who had given an implicit assent to thinf ^ that appeared to them the most strange and incredible. Others did not wholly retract their first declaration, but said, that these things were good for those people who lived on the other side of the great lake (the sea), but that a land of souls, where there would be abundance of fat animals, was what alone suited the Indians. The missionaries were therefore obliged to confine them- selves to baptizing children, and sometimes grown people at the point of death, which, according to their superstitious ideas, ensured their future well-being. A suspicion became prevalent, that the French were carrying them away to serve as their slaves in the fu- ture M'orld ; and one parent, on seeing his dying child about to be baptized, made strict inquiry, whether, in the world to which they were conveying him, there would be good hunting? On being told, that there would be no animal whatever, he asked, what then ENGLISH MISSIONARIES. 427 in their to the , saying, ley were ^Vhen, fair train relate the the pro- showed e journey told them Tath was language leirs, who appeared )thers did but said, who lived , but that mdance of ans. The ine them- es grown g to their '^ell-being. mch were in the fu- nng child hether, in lim, there hat there i^hat then there would be to eat ? but on being infonned that there was to be no eating, all his politeness forsook him, and he exclaimed, " Oh what a lie ! how can a man live without eating ?"* Although the French thus failed in the accomplish- ment of any serious conversion, they were yet allovyed to live in the Indian villages, and respected as spirits or sorcerers, who could do and say wonderful things. They acqvured thus a certain infUience, which they are said to have very zealously employed in j)romoting the political views of the French crown. Both Adair and Carver speak of it as notorious, that they had drawn up what these writers call " the })loody cate- chism," in which the Indians were taught, that it was the English who liad put our Saviour to death, having intercepted him on his way to teach the Five Nations how to become masters of all America. Long, who travelled after the French had lost sway over Canada, seems somewhat sceptical as to this horrid imj)utation, and says, that he saw several villages which had been sensibly improved by the efforts of the F'rench mis- sionaries. He laments to say, that those sent out by Britain had been at least not more successful. They appear to have accompanied the fur-trauers, and, in many instances, to have been infected by the irregular habits of that class of persons. At least, the conduct of those traders, and the articles brought with them, much more than neutralized any efl'ect derived from their instmctions. When, therefore, Governor Hun- * Charlevoix, let. 24, 15. Hennepin. Chateaubriand, Lettres Edifiantes. iS. f 1 1 m\ lii! I . (? 428 THE AMERICAN INDIANS. ter assembled a number of Indiaii chiefs, to assure them (3f the friendly disposition of his Britannic ma- jesty, wlio had sent a present of a number of pieces of fine cloth, and wouhl also send preachers to instruct them in the duties of religion, the chief rei)lied, that tliey were exceedingly obliged to his majesty for the fine cloths ; but that as to preachers, they had already more than enough, and that the peoj)le learned nothing from them but to drink, quarrel, aiitl cheat. The Indians, as to cultivation and the useful arts, are in the very infancy of social existence. Kalm reckons that tlieir villages are seldom less than six- teen or eighteen miles from each other, and only a little space round each is slightly turned up with the hoe ; so that they scarcely make any impression on the unbroken immensity of forest. Through these forests they hunt with singular dexterity and skill, though rather as an adventure and an object of glory than as a branch of industry. The great hunter ranks se- cond to the great warrior ; and, liefore setting out on his grand expeditions, he j)rej)nres liimself by a simi- lar course of fasting, dreaming, and religious observ- ance. Manufactures ])eing an object of less urgent necessity, are in a still less advanced state. Vet the floor of their hovels is often spread W-:h mats of considerable fineness, — the work of their women. Tlie belt or I'oUar of wamjmm i;^ ranked by them as the most precious of their works. It is foruied of a beautiful si)ecies of shell, brought from ihe coast to a great distance into tlie interior. These shells being sawed into oblong beads, are strung upon cords of leather, which, being sewed together by sinewy III ! to assure iiiiiic ma- pieces of J instruct lied, that ;y for the (I ah'eady d iiotliing* eful arts, Kalni than six- id only a with the ion on the se forests 1, though •y than as ranks se- ng out on )y a simi- is ohserv- ss lU'gent Yet the mats of nen. The ^m as the ued of a •oast to a 'lis heing cords of '■ sinewy ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 429 threads, form helts or collars, as they are frequently called, from being worn round the neck. They serve not merely or chiefly for ornament, but are the grand medium of all treaties and transactions throughout America. Every argument and every stipulation has a bead or i)ortion of the belt appropriated to it ; and abstract conceptions receive thus a sensible image, fixing them in the mind of the savage, from which they would otherwise eva[)orate. l^he calumet, or pipe of peace, is also an object of the most careful workmanship. It is on a (piite different scale from oiu's, being three or four feet long. The ])owl is of the finest stone, and sometimes of marble, while the handle, of a fine light wood, hears carefully carved or jiainted up(m it all the warlike exploits of its owner. He adorns it, UKU'eover, with a profusion of beautiful feathers, to which, if his exploits can enable liim to add a painted scalp, it becomes then a truly proud and superlative ornament. But the ornamental art which is pursued with the greatest ardour is painting, especially that description of which the human skin is the canvass. It is far from being merely an orna- mmtal art; the hieroglyphic figures which it deli- neates form their only writing, the chronicle of their history, the record of their glories. ^ ne bare l)osoms and arms of a warrior tell the battles he has fought, — tlie scalps he has taken, the whole story of his achievements. Th;^ colours are rubbed in with powder composed of coloured earth, or the pounded bark of trees, niul though not very brilliant, 'are extremely dnral)le. Baskets, very skilfully made of swamp ,1 J 1^ . 430 THE AMERICAN INDIANS. M •"f cane, and bows and arrows, the finest in tlie world, are also enunierate'l among tlieir works. It is rare that nuisic and song, under some of their forms, do not find access to the most savage breast. By the Indians they are enij)loyed as the vehicle of all their great emotions. It is essential to every In- dian, that he should have his song of war, and his song of death ; and there are moments of his life fixed for the recitation of each. His own exploits, the enemies he has slaughtered, scalped, tortured, these are the perpetual burdens of his lay. Each man for himself moulds his heroic deeds into song ; and hence they rise of course to very varying degrees of excel- lence. The language as well as the music rather expresses the passions decidedly and deeply, than is adorned with the brilliant colours of imagination. Nor is the Indian lyre a stranger to the softer lays of love. These abound with allusions to the objects of nature, but are framed in an artificial and almost ori- ental taste. Long gives the following song of court- ship : — " Father, I love yoar daughter ; will you give her to me, that the small roots of her heart may en- tangle mine, so that the strongest wind that blows shall never separate them ?" He adds the following song of a maiden : — " It is true, I love him only whose heart is like the sweet sap that runs from the sugar- tree, a)id is brother to the aspen-leaf, that always lives and shivers." The dance forms an essential element in the exist- ence of an Indian. It is the grand celebration at all their festivals, the prelude to their war, their liunting. > i SOCIAL LIFE. 431 and all their grand undertakings, — the expression of their triumph. Like the music and song which it ac- companies, it studies to express at once the movements of their souls and their meinorahle exi)loitH. They give here a full representation of living and real war, and perform all the movements of seizing, scalping, and torturing their enemy, at the same time sounding the war-whoop, and setting up the most hideous yells. Carver, who wished to conciliate them, once joined in tliis performance ; but, as naked tomahawks were brandished on all sides, without the least con- sideration of what course they might take, he felt his situation exceedingly uncomfortable. The In- dians themselves took a pride in the dexterity with which tliev evaded the i)eril ; l)ut to him it seemed as if every moment bid fair to be his last, till he got happily out of the circle, which he was careful never to re-enter. The dance of the calumet, in sign of peace and j)erfect amity, is the only ono which greatly pleases the European eye ; but it is intro- duced only upon high and solemn occasions. A good deal has been said of the black dance, in which the devil rises and becomes the chief performer ; but Eu- ropeans have been able to give an account of this only from very imperfect hearsay. The social and domestic life of the Indians, when closely viewed, were re/ynided by travellers, on the whole, in a favourable light. — " We perceive in them," says Charlevoix, " the passions and appetites of beasts of prey joined to a virtue which does honour to hu- man nature." Their intense and devoted attachment, indeel, to their own communitv became a mixed and i .1 432 THi: AMKUICAN INIJIANS. doubtful quality when it was coiiuefted with and in- spireil so fearful a hatred of every other. Yet it cer- tainly preserved in their daily and domestic inter- course a degree of harmony, and even cordiality, which we are not accustomed to observe in much more polished societies. Tlie universal license aris- ing from the absence of all govermnent and police was far from generating those dreadful consecpiences, which would be reasonably exjjccted from the j)o- pulace of our own country, if j)laced in such a si- tuation. They were remarked, in j)articular, for the most liberal sharing of the little they j)ossessed witli their friends, their councrymen, and even with the passing stranger. They viewed with equal dislike and contempt the selfish appropriation made by Europeans, and their lives spent in the ceaseless study of accumulating property. It was admitted that Europeans had many good things, which, in the hands of those who, like the Indians, knew how to use and bestow them, might have been of real value ; but, as it was, tliey were only a sub- ject of perpetual anxiety from the constant fear of losing them. The eager value placed upon gold and silver appeared to them wholly incomprehensible ; but when told tliat for want of those glittering bau- bles, Britons were innnured in dungeons for life, no words could exjn'ess their contempt for the barbarous race who could be guilty of such an atrocity. The entire personal independence of which they make their boast was shared even by the children from the moment they emerged from the period of infancy. The mother, even in the event of conduct wliich she ' ! [ and in- ""et it cer- tic iiiter- unliality, ill iiiuc'h .'list' aris- ■ 1(1 police equeiices, 1 tlie ])()- iicli a si- ll', for the 'sseil with with tlie lal dislike made by- ceaseless admitted which, ill ms, knew e been of ily a sub- Liit fear of n gold and •eheiisible ; ;eriiig bavi- for life, no I barbarous L'ity. The they make II from the 3f infancy. which she SOCIAL LIVE. 433 most disapproves, never pretends any right to forbid or even to chide. The only step she takes is to burst into tears, and exclaim that lier daiigliter will n the scaf- ry sign of e sentence >'hidi they celebrated their felicity in being allowed thus to de- vote themselves. A number of parents also strangied their children, and carried them in pride and pomp to the place of interment. This des])otism, founded upon ignorance and su- perstition, all barbarous as it appears to us, was yet a step in the career of civilization, l^he territory of the Natcliez was more liighly cultivated than that of the free Americans ; their mats were liner ; their paintings, whether on wood or on the skin, were more skilful. Chateaubriand cannot believe that much progress could have been made in these arts, when all was to be done for the sole benefit of a ruler ; but the attachment to this ruler formed a sentiment, the force of wliich equalled or exceeded that of private interest among us. The Natchez loved war, but they did not carry it to the dreadful extremities which prevail among the nations on the lakes. To this might be added, in general, more humane and polish- ed hiibits, likely to survive the degrading servitude by which they had been originally formed. Of the nations who in this chapter have been de- scribed as present, the greater part are now passed, and for ever. The Five Nations, with the Hurons, the Algonquins, and all the neighbours whom they made to tremble, have nearly disappeared from the face of the earth. It seems difficult to account for an extinction so total of so many brave and determined tribes. The wars which they waged with Europeans, though at- tended with some brilliant successes, could not, amid the inequality of arms and discipline, but be on the .->^. -''■ %.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O :<»/ 1.0 I.I M 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 < 6" - ► V] <^ /^ /. "cfl °^? o 7 M Photographic Sciences Corporation WJS^ I.V-0^ > % ^^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 436 THE AMERICAN INDIANS. fil-ilii 1 i Pi 'FK whole unfortunate. New diseases were introduced, which, being healed only upon the rough system of plunging into the nearest stream, could not but be most disastrous. But that which above all has broken up their whole social system is the introduction of the European poison — brandy. The eagerness which, amid a monotonous life, arises for some violent ex- citement, finds a gratification in the use of this pow- erful and deleterious stimulant which no Indian seems to have been able to resist. They seem also to have had no idea of enjoying it unless in its very utmost excess. The historian of New England mentions, that when a party had procured a quantity of brandy, not sufficient thoroughly to intoxicate the whole, they cast lots who should drink, and those who were re- jected thought it more edifying to see others get dead-drunk than to get moderately drunk themselves. Volney saw them only in the state of degradation to which they were reduced by having surrendered themselves wholly to this fatal propensity. He met them assembled at Vincennes to sell the produce of their red hunt, when, even in the morning, men and wo- men were wandering through the streets only to pro- cure brandy ; selling first the produce of their hunt, then their trinkets, then their clothes, and never ceas- ing to drink till they had entirely lost the use of their faculties. He could not go out without seeing them by dozens wallowing in the mire like hogs, and too often not without witnessing broken heads or stabs with a knife. To this unfavourable point of view may probably be ascribed the very dark picture of the na- tive Indians, drawn by this eminent observer. il i ^ itroduced, system of 3t but be las broken luction of Bss which, iolent ex- this pow- iian seems so to have ly utmost mentions, of brandy, i^hole, they were re- others get themselves, adation to urrendered He met produce of ten and wo- mly to pro- their hunt, never ceas- nse of their eeing them rs, and too is or stabs if view may I of the na- ver. AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. 437 CHAPTER IX. AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. General Progress of the Colonies.-— Comparative State before and after the Revolution. — Kalm, — Biwnahy, — Smith, — ChasleUux, —liochefoucault. — Progress of Agriculture, — of Commerce, — Society and Manners. — Imbittered Hostility of the two Parties. From the happy era of the British Revolution, in 1688, the American colonies, being established in the same state of poetical freedom, and in the same full security of person and property which was enjoyed by the mo- ther country, proceeded in a steady and rapid career of improvement. Their own numbers, as always happens where there is a perfect facility of subsistence, rapidly multiplied ; and the influx of emigrants from the mo- ther country was more ample and continuous than ever. These did not, as formerly, seek the western world as a gloomy refuge from wrong and persecu- tion. They came in the hope to improve their cir- cumstances, to escape from the pressure of care and difficulty, and to acquire that dignified position which arises from the possession of property in the soil. Escaped now from the vicissitudes and hardships which had pressed so severely on the early settlers. MS* \\ r' 'I i r V \ ! ill ■I'll It liiii i ^mm 438 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. they began to cultivate all the arts of life, and to as- sume the regular aspect of an European community. Their cities now resembled handsome English county towns, — their towns were good villages, — and even in the depth of woodland which still covered the interior, farms and cleared spots were interspersed at consider- able but diminishing intervals. The population of America in 1775, according to an estimate published by Congress, amounted to 3,137,869. In 1783, however, a new enumeration, made with a view of apportioning the burden of taxa- tion, gave only 2,389,300.* There might be some diminution in the course of so severe a contest, where so great an extent of the states became successively the theatre of war ; but it was not probably so remark- able as these estimates would infer. At the first era, it was doubtless contemplated to present to Europe as imposing an aspect as possible, as well as to en- courage the Americans themselves to rally round the standard of independence; while the last, though made with more care, being yet for a purpose anxi- ously shunned, would probably in vain attempt to prevent many from escaping its comprehensive sweep. The distribution in the principal states was as fol- lows :— ^ New Hampshire, Massachussetts, Rhode Island, 1775. 150,000 400,000 59,678 1783. 82,500 350,000 50,400 * Smith, ii. 413-14 I.UTION. find to as- mmimity. sh county id even in e interior, consider- ording to mnted to imeration, n of taxa- be some est, where sively the remark- first era, ;o Europe as to en- round the t, though •ose anxi- ttempt to ve sweep, as as fol- 1783. 82,500 350,000 50,400 ITS ORKilN. 1-39 1775. 1783. Connecticut, 192,000 206,000 New York, 250,000 200,000 New Jersey, 130,000 Pennsylvania, 350,000 320,000 Delaware, 35,000 Maryland, 320,000 220,700 Virginia, 650,000 400,000 North Carolina, 300,000 200,000 South Carolina, - 170,000 Georgia, - 25,000 A people who had risen so rapidly to so consider- able a height, who possessed natural resources so vast, and saw themselves in a regular progress to be- come one of the greatest nations in the world, could scarcely fail to become fretful under the yoke of a mother country situated at the distance of three thousand miles. Amid the very liberal constitutions which had been granted to the colonies, one grand question had been left undecided. Was the legisla- ture of Great Britain, or was it not, supreme over the American states ? Whenever this question came un- der discussion, it was evident that the political exist- ence of the latter entirely hinged upon it. If the parliament of Great Britain held jurisdiction over the colonial assemblies, the latter could scarcely be said to have any liberties at all ; and yet, if they were entirely independent of that legislature, could the colonies be said to depend upon the mother country, or be capable of any harmonious and united action with it. This dread question was brought rashly m ''- I'ti li I !. k I w wniil 440 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. under discussion, by the attempt to make America bear some share of that enormous taxation which she had been very instrumental in creating. But, as- suredly, if the Americans had once admitted the right to be taxed by an assembly in wliich they had not a single rein'esentative, their claim to the charac- ter of freemen must have become very equivocal. This work is not a history. It does not come within its scope to recount either the steps which led to this terrible rupture, or the memorable events and vicissi- tudes distinguishing the contest of eight years, which issued in the establishment of American independ- ence. The aim of this chapter is to draw, from the records of a series of intelligent travellers, a picture of what America was during this era, what she was before this revolution, and what she became after. For this object, materials will be afforded by the narra- tives of Kalm the Swede; Archdeacon Burnaby; Smith, a zealous American loyalist; Chastellux, a French nobleman, who held a considerable command in the auxiliary force sent by his country to aid the Ameri- can revolution ; Brissot and Rochefoucault, eminent and well known French characters, who visited America after it began to breathe from the effects of so long a war. The details of these writers are in a great measure superseded by the rapidly-pro- gressive state of this region ; but they are still very interesting, as they fulfil the object already announc- ed, and will enable us to connect the infant steps hitherto observed with the mature and advancing state of these great colonies. The hand of human cultivation had now made a deep LUTIOX. AGRICULTURE. 441 I America which she But, as- litted the L tliey had lie charac- eqiii vocal, lue within led to this nd vicissi- irs, which ii)depend- from the a picture it she was Line after, the narra- >y; Smith, a French nd in the le Ameri- :, eminent o visited ;he effects 'riters are lidly-pro- still very announc- ant steps idvancing ide a deep impression on tlie once unbroken expanse of the Ame- rican forest. Rochefoucault considers Massachussetts to be about as well cultivated as France ; and gener- ally from five to thirty miles in the interior was now cleared. Cultivation had also extended up the Mud- son as far as Albany, which was already become an important seat of interior commerce ; and one might advance a hundred miles into the interior without seeing an Indian. The whole range of country, mean time, to the south of the lakes remained still nearly in a state of nature. The county of Onon- dago, adjoining to Lake Ontario, which contained 1,800,000 acres, did not maintain a population of more than 3000. The agriculture of America, even under its best forms, presented nothing wliich an European farmer could regard as diligent or meri- torious. In some parts of the interior no plough was used, the ground being merely turned up by a harrow with iron teeth four inches long, which, the farmers hesitated not to maintain, was more effica- cious. That system, characteristic of the infant state of husbandry, according to which the different parts of a farm were successively cultivated, and allowed to lie waste, very generally prevailed ; and, however repugnant to all the ideas of an English farmer, was, as circumstances stood here, perhaps the best policy. There was an ample succession of lands ready to relieve each other ; cattle could be pastured in the meadows at scarcely any expense ; and there was not a market to pay the cost of high cultivation and the collection of manure. The cultivated and occupied regions along the coast gave forth continually new M 442 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. iltiiil settlers to bring the interior under successive culture. Their mode of proceeding is described to resemble much that which is still followed by the emigrants to the western territory. Any man, says the Marquis de Chastellux, who can command twenty-five pounds, may go into the woods, and purchase 150 or 200 ncres, which seldom cost more than a dollar a-piece, of which price he pays only a small part in ready money. He begins by felling all the smaller trees, and some strong branches of the larger ones, using them as fences for the first field he wishes to clear. He next boldly attacks those immense oaks or pines which stand as the ancient lords of the territory he is usurping ; he strips them of their bark, or lays them open all round with his axe. These trees, mortally wounded, are the next spring robbed of their ho- nours ; the leaves no longer spring, the branches fall, and the trunk becomes an hideous skeleton. This trunk seems still to brave the efforts of the colonist ; but, wherever the smallest chinks or crevices can be found, they are surrounded by fire, and the flames consume what iron was unable to destroy. This object completed, the groimd is cleared ; the air and the sun begin to operate upon an earth wholly form- ed of decomposed vegetables, and teeming with the latent principles of production. The grass grows rapidly, there is pasturage for the cattle the very first year ; after which they are left to increase, or fresh ones are bought, and they are employed in tilling a piece of ground which yields the enormous increase of twenty or thirty fold. At the end of four or five years the planter completes the payment of his land, ILUTION, AGRICULTUUE. 443 and finds himself comfortable. Then his dwelling, which at first was no better than a large hut formed of the branches of trees piled above each other, and having their interstices filled with mud, is changed into a handsome wooden house, more convenient and certainly much cleaner than those in the greater part of our small towns. According to Brissot, many of the first adventurers were of desperate fortune and irregular habits, who, when established in the depth of the forests, lived almost in a wild state, allowed their cattle to roam at large, and hunted over all the tracts adjoining. As soon as they found society ad- vancing and drawing its links around them, they sold their domain to a more settled and industrious plant- er, and sought a station farther in the depth of the interior wilds. The first preaching of the gospel was usually accepted by them as a signal for taking their departure. Instances have been known of per- sons who have thus successively broken up four dif- ferent districts. The planter of Virginia and the Carolinas conduct- ed his operations on a quite different scale and system. He bestowed some pains in laying out the plantation which he had piu'chased. This done, his next hiect was to invest all the capital he could command in negroes ; upon which unfortunate race he devolved all the labours of the field under this burning climate. The active planter perhaps rose in the cool of the morning, and took a ride round his grounds ; but the rest of the day he lay stretched on his pallet, fanned by his negroes, and taking draughts of weak .toddy. Many of the estates were extensive, and the planters ll ' ■ , ' ' I I . ' 1 h I \i 444 AMERICA BI'.FOnE AND ATTEU nrVOLUTION. lived inucli in the style of Euf^lish country gentlemen. The (leniand in Eur()])e was steady and increasing for the tobacco of Virginia, the rice and cotton of Carolina and (ieorgia.* The consequence of the various improvements of this century liad been an extraordinary rise in the price of land, which, in the New England districts, sold at thirty or forty dollars an acre ; and instances are even mentioned where very fine grass-land l)rought upwards of a liundred dollars.f Mr Byrd having an extent of 33,000 acres in the Sawra country behind Virginia, sold it in 1761 for ^500. The jH'oprietor, however, having taken a dislike to it, Mr Byrd took it back, and then sold it in the same year to Mr Farley for £1000. Mr Farley laid it out in a judi- cious manner, and in 1772 was offered but refused £28,000 for the same territory. The land, however, in all the back settlements was still excessively cheap. Mr Smith purchased 450 acres of excellent land, with a cleared plantation and a house upon it, for £100.| In 1791, Captain Williamson, (supposed agent of Sir William Pulteney) concluded with Mr Morris the purchase of a tract in Genessee, on the borders of Lake Ontario, judged to contain a million of acres, for £50,000. On survey there was found a surplus of 120,000 acres, which the purchaser very handsomely allowed to go along with the rest. Cap- tain Williamson divided this vast possession into * Smith, i. 41, Sjc. t Rochefoucault, 17-23-517. + lb. 152-3. SOLUTION. "■ gentlemen. I iiicreuHiii^ d cotton of )vements of rise ill the 11(1 districts, id instances md brought 1 liaving an titry behind proi)rietor, • liyrd took year to Mr : in a judi- but refused [1, however, excessively )f excellent se upon it, , (supposed d with Mr see, on the n a million was found chaser very :'est. Cap- 3Ssion into •23-517. MANUFACTUUKS. U5 squ.ires of six miles each, and out of his own funds, or those of his employer, built four towns, erected corn and saw mills, and transporte. I 44() AMKHICA m:i'()HK AND AFTKU UI'.VOLUTION. H:'M ■.;/,,!. / I i! compensated by tlie extreme cheapness and ready command of the materials. On the navigal)le rivers of the Northern States, even New Hampshire and Maine, ships couhl be built for eij^ht, nine, and ten l)ounds a ton, and then sold at New York for twelve or thirteen pounds ; thus affording an advantageous mode of disposing of the large surj)lus of timber.* The thread, stockings, and beaver-hats made at Phi- ladelphia, are also noticed with a])probation. Brissot mentions sixty-three paper-mills in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The connnerce of North America was in a state of rising prosperity, much superior to that of its manu- factures. A great part of its productions was rais- ed ex])ressly for foreign consumj)tion, and was sent abroad to be exchanged for the manufactures of Eu- rope, and the luxurious productions of the West Indies. According to Burke, in 1748, there entered the port of Boston, to and from foreign ports only, exclusive of coasting and fishing vessels, inwards, 430 ships, — outwards, 500 ; New York, inwards, 232, — outwards, 288 ; Philadelphia, inwards, 303, — out- wards, 291. Jvaltimore was not then of any import- ance. In 1795, according to Rochefoucault, the ves- sels which entered Boston from abroad were 725, and the exports, 4,255,000 dollars. The American navigators were begiiming to show the enterprising character which has since made itself * Chastellux, i. 38, &c. Rochefoucault, 478, 441, 309, 427- Burnaby, ajmd Pinkerton, xiii, 729-30. OM'TION. ami ready ^nhiti rivers ipshire and [le, and ten : for twelve Ivantageous of timber.* ade at Phi- n. Brissot nnsylvania, n a state of f its nianu- 9 was rais- [1 was sent ires of Eu- the West ere entered ports only, i, inwards, vards, 232, 303,--oiit- ny import- It, the ves- •e 725, and ig to show made itself H, 369, 427- SOCIAL STATK U7 so conspicuous. In 1794, when Brissot wrote, a ship of sixty tons, built at Albany, had made a voyage to the East Indies. I'liat writer estimates the imports of America as follows : — Rum, brandy, &c. Wine, Teas, Coffee, cocoa, &c. Molasses, Sugar, Salt, Other goods, value 4,000,000 galls. 1 ,000,000 125,000 lbs. 1,500,000 3,000,000 20,000,000 1,000,000 20,000,000 dollars. There were still about twenty vessels, which, not- withstanding the legal prohibition, employed them- selves in the slave-trade, carrying negroes from Africa to the West Indies. The social state of America had also undergone a remarkable change, corresponding in a great measure with that of Europe, from which it was derived, and on which it continued in a great measure to model itself. In the northern states, that extreme and in- tolerant rigour, which had characterized its religirms founders, had been greatly softened down. Boston was no longer a scene of schism and persecution. The most complete freedom of religious worship was established in that city. The citizens appeared to Brissot to unite simplicity of morals with a portion of French politeness and delicacy of manners. Neat- ness, without luxury, characterized their appearance. The inside of a church in Boston appeared to him to i ■ i l-',i li •■•h : iff^^ti > ' ii H.H AMKuicA nr.roiiK and aitkr ukvot.ution. liivsiMit a vory odifylug' Hpoctaclt', the iiioii siibstjui- tially (Irt'ssi'd in ji^ood cloth coalH, the woiiicmi in I'liiiit/os and calicoes. Philadelphia had nuule such a proji^ress in population and wealth, that it seems j^e- nerally considered at tiiis time the capital of Ameri- ca. The austere [)lainness of tiie orij^inal Quaker establishment was by tiiis time nnu-li diluted by the nr'xture of various classes and denominations; and, indeed, Hrissot coinj)lains that the ladies not Quaker wore dresses almost as showy ami expensive as those of tlie l*arisian belles, "^rhere were even the ordinary auiusements of great cities, though carried on not only with strict order and decorum, ])ut under a system of rigid regulation, which to the Marquis de Chastellux,* a gay French nobleman, appearerominent j)lace among the cities of America at which it has since {irrived. Bradbury, in 1759, * Travels, i. 2^7-11 T.UTION. 1 HubstJlIl- VOIIUMl ill wlc* such 51 Sl'C'lllH irc- ()f* Aini'i'l- itl Qualvor ivd l>y llu' oils; and, ()t Quakor '(' as (host' e ordinary I'd on not t uncU'r a klarqnis (k' iri'd much :" the coin- hidy cacli to remain they fixed ion wliich st despotic L'li^aj^ed in the dance, you tliink ew York, )nied with I (|uite the inerica ut in 1759, SOCIAI. STATE. 449 found much of the ohl i)luin, fruf^al Dutch spirit; but ((> IJrissot, twenty years iifter, New York a|)])ear- ed altogvtlier English, and the citizens to rival the splendour ami profusion which reign in the great cities of the mother ccmntry. In Virginia and the other southern colonies an entirely oj)j)osite tone of manners was found to pre- vail. The planters, enabled by the hdxmr of their slaves to live in jilenty and in proud indolence, had acijuired much tlie haliit of English country squires. They eagerly followed all those pursuits which by uncultivated minds are accounted him up d thickly- , yet with- among the ivho knew L they were ho had oc- 1 to be an it any idea msiasts in the utmost )per room, f not dan- ; it was an- Iphia ; but s removal, ! night be- lt when the g with one accompany e depth of ^hole range ^lish posts •ough a re- which fell smith's adventures. 455 thick over his head, wading through creeks encum- bered with ice, sleeping under rocks or in the hollow of trees, and finding only, at vast distances, some coarse refreshment or a fire to dry himself. Here too he was obliged to hear and join in the most violent abuse against himself, and to show implicit credence in the most absurd reports of what he had done against the American cause. Fatigue, cold, and exhaustion had nearly deprived him of the use of liis limbs, when he came in view of those tremendous chasms by which the Potowmack pours its mighty torrents from the bosom of the Alleghany. As he was preparing to scale this formidable ridge, his companion deserted and robbed him, and he was left with a scanty rem- nant both of money and clothes. His resolution, however, did not forsake him ; and, climbing these icy steeps in two days, wading through many dan- gerous water-courses, and finding rest only at one so- litary hovel, he reached the opposite side, and seemed now to have only a portion of the great western plain to cross ; when, in this moment of hoped deliverance, he suddenly encoimtered the party which had passed him in pursuit, and gone on to Pittsburg, whence they were returning in despair when they exultingly beheld him. He represents his treatment now as bar- barous and insulting in the extreme. They placed him on a wooden pack-saddle, tying his feet below the horse, on whose neck they placed little bells instead of a bridle. In this state they drove the animal for nearly three hundred miles across the steep and slip- pery precipices of the Alleghany ; allowing the rider iA '■'H 456 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. scarcely any food or refreshment. He firmly believes that they abstained from killing him only because they would thus have lost the reward offered by the Congress for his person. He was then carried to Philadelphia, where he was thrown into a damp cell of the house where the female convicts were confined. This gloomy dungeon, the rattling of the massy keys, the creaking of the numerous iron doors, and the screams of the unhappy dairsels, nearly broke his spirits, while his health also seriously suffered. The members of Congress to whom he obtained access, behaved to him politely, but did not procure any alleviation of his sufferings. Congress, mean time, alarmed by the advance of the British army through the Jerseys, determined upon withdrawing to Balti- more, and carried their prisoners along with them. At Baltimore, and generally throughout Maryland, Smith found a much more friendly disposition ; and, notwithstanding all the strictness of government, he contrived to escape on board a vessel in the Chesa- peake. Though disappointed of meeting an English ship in the bay, he succeeded in reaching some friend- ly districts, and at length arrived at New York, then in the possession of the British. The severities and insults now recorded are stated by Smith to have been equally suffered by all who were suspected of any attachment to the cause of England. Even Chastellux,* with all his French 'n^ m 'I * ii. 265. t 1^' HOSTILITY TO ENGLAND. 457 feelings, was astonished at the violence of that enmity which the Americans displayed against the British name. They were even mortified at the idea of speak- ing the language of those whom they deemed their op- pressors ; they studiously called it the American, and at one time, it is said, seriously started the idea of changing it, and in its stead adopting the Hebrew. i i 458 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. CHAPTER X. SETTLEMENT OF TLE WESTERN TERRITORY. Difficulties of crossing the Alleghany. — Daniel Boon, — Kentucky — Henderson. — Smith. — Dreadful Wars with the Indians.—' Settlement and Progress of Kentucky and Tennessee.— Of Ohio. —Indiana. — Illinois. — Michigan.— Mississippi.— Alabama, > ii li-iii i 'tjji The steep and continuous, though not extremely lofty range of the Alleghany, drawn like a belt along the whole back frontier of the eastern states, was long for them the boundary, not only of settle- ment, but even of knowledge and ideas, respecting the American continent. The discoveries which the French, from Canada and Louisiana, made of the regions on the Mississippi, sufficiently showed that the limited breadth which the first discoverers had assigned to it was wholly inadequate. It was long, probably, before they suspected the magnitude of what lay between these two grand lines of mountain and river ; — that they enclosed a valley the most fer- tile, the most extensive, and the most finely-watered, that exists perhaps on the face of the globe. It was DANIEL BOON. 45}) obvious, however, that on that side there must lie vast regions, to the possession of which the States, according to European ideas, had a natural chiini. As, tlierefore, the eastern territory became comparatively filled up, and the spirit of emigration and enterprise was more and more kindled, their eyes were turned in that direction. The approach of this region, how- ever, was so arduous, and a settlement in it beset with so many dangers, that only a few of the most ardent spirits attempted for some time to break" through these barriers. Daniel Boon, at first a farmer and a hunter, after- wards a colonel, had the merit of first penetrating into, and exploring Kentucky. On the 1st May, 1769, he set out with" five companions from his farm on the Yadkin, in North Carolina. He encountered very rugged roads, and very boisterous weather, in passing the mountain wilderness, till, on the 7th of June, he foimd himself on the banks of the Red River, flowing westward towards the Mississippi. Ascending an eminence, he saw, spread before him, the vast and beautiful forest-plain of Kentucky. Plunging into the bosom of this fruitful wilderness, he found it peopled with numberless wild animals, particularly buffaloes, in vast droves, which roamed over the plains, fearless of man, with whom they were yet unacquainted. The gun therefore afforded to the party an easy and ample subsistence. The forests presented a beautiful variety of scenery, be- ing sometimes diversified with fruit-trees, partly in blossom, partly in bearing, and also with flowering shrubs. The Indians, however, were already in wait 460 WEST EllN SETTLE M K NTH. to attack them. That race seem to have felt an in- stinctive conviction, tliat the moment in whicli Eu- ropeans should fix their foot on the west of the Al- leghany would he fatal to the name and existence of the Red nations ; they placed themselves from the first, therefore, in open war As Boon, and a com- panion of the name of Stewart, were rambling, a party of Indians rushed out from a cane-brake and made them prisoners. They experienced great cruelty, and expected more ; but Boon, always on the watch, caught a moment when the enemy lay buried in deep slumber, touched his companion, and they made their escape. He had soon after the satisfaction of meeting his brother, who had come across the mountains in search of him. They spent a considerable time in roaming this vast country, where there was not a white man but themselves, exposed to continual danger, but finding delight in this wild independence. At length Boon determined to remove his abode and family to this favourite region, and in September, 1773, having sold his farm and its appendages, he broke up from his establish- ment on the Yadkin. He was accompanied with five other families, and forty persons more joined them on the road. In their passage over the mountains, however, they were attacked by a body of Indians, who killed six of the party, one of whom was Boon's eldest son. Kentucky began now to draw the attention of government. General Dunmore, governor of Vir- ginia, appointed several oflicers to make a complete survey of the country, and engaged Boon to accom- ;.: I IIKNDEllSON. 461 pany them nnd serve as a guide. He accordingly corrij)leted, along with them, in sixty-two days, a tour of eight hundred milfs, which enahled them to form a nu)re eom()leto idea than Ijefore of the extent and position of this fine tract of territory. Soon after a colonial 'indertaking was formed on a greater scale. Nathaniel JJenderKon, born of poor parents, grew up without being ahle to write or read ; but, having afterwards supplie*! all these early de- ficiencies, he raised himself by his talents and elo- quence to the first eminence at the bar. He was even appointed a judge ; but his b(»Ul and restless genius struck out another path to pros])erity. He con- veyed across the Alleghany ten waggons, loaded with coarse woollens, spirits, toys, and trinkets, and hav- ing, with the aid of Boon, convened a meeting of the Cherokees at Wataga, in March, 1775, he concluded with them, for these valuable considerations, a treaty, by which they ceded a hundred square miles of terri- tory on the Kentucky and Ohio, — a tract equal to any in the universe for beauty and fertility.* An old Cherokee, however, closed the transaction, by saying, " Brother, we have given you a Jine land, but you will have trouble in settling it." Henderson now vacated his seat on the bench, and commenced a planter, or rather a sovereign and legislator. By gifts of fine land, on the most liberal terms, he at- tracted settlers from all parts of America, composed a new code of laws expressly for them, and adminis- * Smith, i. 126. Inlay, 334-5. it < ^ Qi; ii t' n 462 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. tered tlie government without reference to any autho- rity higher than his own. The whole of this course, however, was considered absohitely inconsistent with the duties which he owed as a British subject. The purchase of lands, and much more of a kingdom, from the Indians, had been absolutely prohibited, without the concurrence of the governors and provincial as- semblies. His proceedings were disallowed, he him- self outlawed, rewards offered for his apprehension, and all persons prohibited from joining him. But the warrants of government could not yet be executed on the banks of the Ohio ; the Indians having con- cluded the sale, made a point of honour to maintain him in it, and his domain was continually filled with fresh emigrants. Mr Smith lieard so much of this establishment, that he determined to cross the Alleghany, for the express purpose of viewing it. He provided him- self with a back-woodsman as his servant, with rifles and ammunition to bring down the game, blan- kets to cover them while they slept in the woods, and bells fastened to their horses' necks, as a means of finding them after they had been turned out to feed. One day of very difficult travelling, through a rough country, crossed by several dee]) water-courses, brought him to the foot of the great eminence, not very elegantly called the Wart Mountain. This had been described to him as the point in all America which commanded the most magnificent and exten- sive view. He accordingly spent a laborious day in ascending it, and employs a chapter to describe, in somewhat inflated terms, the emotions with which HENDERSON. 463 any autho- this course, istent with •ject. The i^doiri, from (1, witliout )viiicial as- id, he him- )reheiisiori, lim. But e executed aviiig" coii- ► inaintaiii filled with blishment, y, for the ided him- ant, with ime, blan- le woods, 3 a means ed out to through a r-courses, ence, not This had America id exten- ts day in icribe, in h which the view inspired him. Yet the objects comprised in it are not very distinctly marked. It appears to comprehend a very extraordinary extent of mountain scenery, of which the most characteristic feature is, that the spectator, i)laced at the dividing point of this mighty ridge, sees the early course of all the great rivers which flow on one side to the Atlantic, and on the other to the Mississippi. They are seen various- ly rolling in deep glens, or bursting impetuously over rocks and through awful chasms and ravines. Not a glimpse is caught of the far-distant plains on either side ; nor does there appear, in all the immense cir- cuit, a trace of human art or existence. From the foot of this mountain there were still eight or ten days of very hard travelling, till, after crossing many successive ridges. Smith came to the last and most lofty of all the Alleghanies. This ridge, called the Ousiotto, afforded on one side a vast view over the mountain region which they had j)ass- ed. It was now, however, with much greater plea- sure that he beheld on the other side an entirely new scene, a boundless champaign, covered with magni- ficent forests, and intersected with prodigious rivers, which all directed their course towards the mighty Ohio. Through a break in the woods there was even descried a portion of its vast waters, rolling in distant and solemn majesty. The party now de- scended rapidly into this great plain, which, though from above it appeared almost level like the ocean, was soon found to be broken and obstructed by mi- merous water-courses. However, they soon got into the great Indian war-path, and found little difficulty Uii' kl M 464 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION. in descending the banks of the Kentucky, forming a range of four or five hundred miles of territory, scarcely equalled in the universe for natural fertility and the abundance of every species of production. The settlement had made some progress, and Henderson showed considerable talent both as a plant- er and legislator ; yet was not Smith much edified by the demeanour of these sons of the wilderness. There was no idea of subordination, respect, or any distinction between man and man, except that of the weak and the strong, or the fatal difference between white and black. He found himself treated with coarse familiarity by the meanest and most vulgar of this infant society. However, he admits that they were an open, hospitable, hardy, enterprising race ; they had abundance of shrewd sense, and something bold and spirited, which made their conversation agreeable ; they were strangers to meanness and cowardice in every form : those faults were still con- fined to the eastern side of the mountains. Sensible of the many causes which rendered their tranquillity precarious, they had studied to give a strong defen- sive character to their position. They had made their log-houses tenable against small arms, and had erected three stockaded forts ; but both the structure and position of these indicated the total want of mili- tary eye and discernment. The entire want of sub- ordination was also here an evil of the first magni- tude. It was impossible in these forts to say who commanded or who obeyed ; the defenders consisted of a mere tumultuous rabble. This was an evil that scarcely admitted of remedy; but Mr Smith endeavour- OLUTION. , forming a F territory, ral fertility luction. )gress, and as aplant- iich edified wilderness. »ect, or any that of the ce between eated with ;t vulgar of I that they ising race ; something Dnversation mness and fe still con- . Sensible tranquillity •ong defen- had made IS, and had le structure mt of mili- mt of sub- irst magni- ;o say who s consisted m evil that endeavour- HENDERSON. 465 ed to show them the error of their positions, and to point out others that were much stronger and more defensible. This region began now to be traversed in every direction. Mr Henderson was visited by two gentle- men who had embarked at Pittsburg to sail down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. They had an agreeable voyage, navigating the river during the day and sleeping on shore at night. New Or- leans and the settlements on the Lower Mississippi contained already twelve thousand families, mostly French, who were in deep dismay at being transfer- red, as they had just been, to the domination of Spain, which was already employed in imposing pernicious restraints on their commerce. The system of colonization of the western territory was thus put fairly in train, and seemed likely to advance with rapid steps ; but it encountered a dread- ful check from the war which immediately ensued between the cclonies and the mother country. The English government, by a. policy which has been the subject of much discussion, allied itself with the In- dians ; and that fierce people were fired with the hope that they might finally cut off all that part of " the long knife," as they termed it, which had reached beyond the Alleghany. They immediately began their desolating system of warfare. Although they did not at first directly attack Colonel Boon in his fort at Boonsborough, they hovered round the settle- ment, shot the husbandman as he was busy at his plough, and destroyed most of the cattle. Tbey even carried off, near the fort, a daughter of Colonel Boon, VOL. I. , 2 G i^ 466 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. and one of Colonel C.alaway's ; but the colonel pur- sued and recovered the young ladies. As their num- bers increased, they made bolder advances, and close- ly invested the forts. Boon himself, sallying out for the purpose of obtaining provisions, was surrounded by a large body of Indians and made prisoner. He secured, however, an honourable capitulation, which was observed, and by his address he so insinuated himself into their favour, that he was adopted as a son. The only occasion on which his favour was shaken, was when he shot or hunted better than themselves. It behoved him therefore to lower his exploits in these respects, that they might be brought below the level of those of his Indian protectors. He was carried by them a great distance, first to Detroit, and then to Old Chelicothe. Here, however, seeing 400 Indians painted and armed for an attack upon Boonsborough, he thought it was high time to be gone, if possible. He stole off, and, travelling 160 miles in four days with only a single meal, reached his fort. The Indians ap- peared in a few weeks with 400 men, and invested it ; but, not being skilful in this species of warfare, they were repulsed even by the small body of men enclos- ed within it, and soon obliged to raise the siege. They gained, however, many advantages, and even cut off several stations ; and Colonel Boon, with some other officers, having collected 176 men, and rashly attacked their main body, much superior in number, near the Blue Licks, was completely defeat- ed, with the loss of his son and all the principal of- ficers. The termination of the war for the independence I I r KENTUCKY. 467 3nel pur- leir num- and close- ig out for irrounded )ner. He on, which insinuated d as a son. laken, was selves. It ts in these ;he level of carried by id then to 00 Indians nsborough, if possible, r days with Indians ap- in vested it ; irfare, they men enclos- the siege. 5, and even 3oon, with men, and superior in ;tely defeat- )rincipal of- idependence of America, and even, before its termination, the de- pressed state of the British interests in that quarter, had a disastrous influence on the cause of the In- dians. They were obliged, in consequence, to re- nounce all that region to the south of the Ohio which forms Kentucky, and to leave it open to American emigration and settlement. The fertility of the coun- try, superior to that of any of the formerly settled States, the pride of landed property, and the spirit of enterprise kindled by the late contest, united to impel the Americans into this path of adventure. A tide of population began to flow across the Alleghany, which, amounting sometimes to twenty thousand in the year, produced a growth the most rapid, perhaps, that ever took place in any society. In 1782, there was only a handful of people; in 1790, these had increased to 73,000 ; in 1800, to 220,000 ; in 1820, to 564,000, exceeding the population of Massachus- setts. In the first enthusiasm of emigration, many finding obstacles in disposing of their property, are said to have abandoned it altogether, rather than delay in proceeding to their new possessions. Yet the dif- ficulties which the route presented were still consider- able. The Alleghany was to be crossed at one of its most steep and formidable points, over which no route had yet been formed that was passable for carriage or waggon of any description ; and the emi- grants were obliged to make this difficult journey either on foot or on horseback. They were still, be- sides, exposed to danger from the Indians, who, though unable to make head in open combat, carried on a series of desultory and destructive attacks. With .^ ! k""' 111 :. ''Mi! 'I i K i 468 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. a view to this danger. Blockhouse, on the western side of the mountains, was made a place of rendezvous wliere the emigrants remained, till a caravan had been formed, which appeared strong enough to venture across the wilderness of a hundred and thirty miles, which still intervened till they arrived at Crab Or- chard, the first inhabited spot in Kentucky. Unfor- tunately the business of disposing of lands was not yet reduced to a system ; neither the description nor the mode of conveyance was sufficiently .accurate ; and in many cases gross impositions were practised. Mere ideal lots of 50 to 100,000 acres were sold in Europe, and even in some of the great towns of the United States. The consequence was, that the titles of Kentucky are in general exceedingly vague, and subjected to conflicting claims, which can only be settled by the fatal remedy of lawsuit. The only check which the States could contrive was to ordain that the old claimant, who ejects the present possess- or, shall repay to him all that he has expended in bringing it under cultivation, — a penalty which, joined to the previous lawsuit, proves often a suffi- cient bar to the enforcement even of a legal right. Kentucky, till 1792, continued to be considered as Virginia ; but it was by that time so great and so detached from its parent state, that its claims to a separate political existence were admitted by Con- gress, and it received a constitution and assembly of its own. Kentucky was found to be bounded on the south by a long and lofty branch of tiie Alleghany, CrilieJ the Cumberland or the Laurel Mountains ; and so TENNESSKE. 469 II the south lany, r'tlici^ lis ; and so h)ng as fertile and iinoccujiied land continued to be in abundance, no atteinj)t was made to penetrate beyond this barrier. When, however, the crowds which came yearly over the mountains, found all the best districts already filled, they began to look to the otlier side of the Laurel chain ; and about 1 7H9 a brisk movement took j)lace in that direction. They found a soil, which, if not quite so deej) as in Ken- tucky, was highly favcmrable to vegetation, and was watered liy a magnificent river tributary to the Ohio. Here too, however, it was necessary to travel in cara- vans, in order to guard against the attacks of the fierce Cherokees. A bloody war was to be main- tained with that great Indian tribe, who were at last partly subdued and i)artly conciliated. Tennessee, which in 1790 was not thought worthy of being numbered, in 1800 contained a population of 10.5,000, and in 1820, by a still more rapid progress tluin Ken- tucky, it had risen to 422,000. After the settlement of Kentucky and Tennessee, a vast range of territory, extending for twelve hundred miles along the north of the Ohio, remained still in the undisturbed possession of its savage natives. The districts bordering on Pennsylvania and Canada were a debateable ground between the French and English, and were occupied only by military posts belonging to these great nations. The most impor- tant of these was Fort Duquesne, wliich, when ac-. quired by England in the war of 1756, was trans- formed into Pittsburg. After the peace of 1763 had confirmed all these regions to Britain, its government,, by a somewhat capricious regulation, prohibited thty rl « ;ll I ii i«i m.i 470 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. formation of settlements upon any waters, except those which flowed into the Atlantic. The tempting aspect and luxuriant fertility of the plain of the Ohio attracted emigrants in spite of every obstacle; but the hostility of the Indians, to which they were thus exposed without any protection, rendered their situa- tion extremely precarious. It became still more for- midable during the war of independence, when these fierce tribes were supported by British aid. It was not till the year 1788 that the Ohio Company, from New England, formed a settlement, on a considerable scale, at Marietta, about the mouth of the Muskingum. They were still harassed, however, by the hostility of the Indians, which broke out repeatedly into open war, till, in 1795, a pacification was effected at a congress helf' at Greenville ; and the United States began on a great scale the system of purchase, which has since been carried to a vast extent. The Wyan- dots, Delawares, Pottawatomies, Kickapoos, Pian- kashaws, Miamis, and several other Indian tribes, received the value of 20,000 dollars in manufactured goods, accompanied with an obligation on the part of the United States to deliver to them annually the value of 9500 dollars ; in return for which they ceded the most valuable of the lands on the north bank of the Ohio to its junction with the Great Miami. In this transaction the nations of the west sold, like Esau, their birthright and their home for a miserable return ; yet, when we reflect tiiat, by this process, vast regions that were now a wilderness were to be converted into the abode of populous and civilized nations, and that it was a process so much milder than that by which the OHIO. 471 ?, except tempting the Ohio acle; but vere thus leir situa- more for- len these It was my, from isiderable iskingum. ostility of into open :ted at a ed States se, which he Wyan- os, Pian- an tribes, lufactured he part of ' the value ceded the ink of the . In this ^sau, their turn; yet, gions that d into the nd that it which the same end had been often effected, we feel very little inclined to criticise it with severity. The American States having thus secured the peaceable disposal of a great extent of rich territory, soon adopted a more systematic mode of distribution, which at once secured the titles of the proprietors, and brought an ample supply of funds into the trea- sury. It was partitioned into townships, cu' simces extending six miles in every direction. These town- ships, by intersecting lines, were subdivided into sec- tions of 640 acres, and these into quarter-sections of 160 acres. The lands were put up in quarter-sec- tions, at the minimum rate of two dollars an acre, to be repaid in the course of five years. Reservations were made for the erection of schools and seminaries of learning. As soon as this arrangement was made, and the fertile territory of Ohio fully laid open, an influx began, still more rapid than that which had poured across the Alleghany into the southern settlements. The eastern States, becoming yearly more densely peo- pled, gave out a greater surplus of emigrants ; while, in the old world, the united pressures of difficulty and of political discontent impelled increasing crowds to sefek refuge, or better fortunes, across the Atlantic. The route was now across Pennsylvania, from Phila- delphia to Pittsburg, and being less rugged than the northern one by Virginia, it became soon the most common one even to Kentucky. Mr Birkbeck gives a lively picture of a scene which presented itself on this great highway of emigration. " Old America," says he, " seems to be breaking up, and moving west- ■ : 'i • I ¥1 ,1 , 41! H t 472 WEST RUN S ETT i . K M ENTS. * \ 'i ": I, ward. We are seldom out of sight as we travel on this grand traek, towards the Oliio, of family groups, behind and before us, some with a view to a par- ticular spot, close to a brother perhaj)s, or a friend, who lias gone before and reported well of them. Many, like ourselves, when they arrive in the wilder- ness, will find no lodge jirepared for them. A snjall waggon, so light that you may almost carry it, yet strong enough to bear a good load of bedding, uten- sils, and provisions, and to sustain marvellous shocks in its passage over these rocJky heights, with two small horses and a cow or two, comprises their all, except a little store of hard-earned cash for the land- office of the district, where they may obtain a title for as many acres as they possess half-dollars, being one- fourth of the purchase-money. The waggon has a tilt or cover, made of a sheet, or perhaps a blanket. The family are seen before, behind, or within the vehicle, according to the road or weather, or perhaps the spirits of the party. The New-Englaif^ers, they say, may be known by the cheerful air of the women, advancing in front of the vehicle ; the Jersey peoi)le by their being fixed steadily within it ; whilst the Pennsylvanians creep lingering behind, as though regretting the homes they had left. A cart and single horse frequently afford the means of transfer, sometimes a horse and packsaddle. Often the back of the poor pilgrim bears all his effects, and his wife follows barefooted, bending under the hopes of the family. " To give an idea of the internal movements of this vast hive, about 12,000 waggons passed between }3al- OHIO. — INDIANA. 4i i tiniore nrid Philadolphiu in the course of the last yea (1817), with from four to six horses, carrying from ;j5 to 40 cwt. The cost of carriaj^e is about seven dol- hu's from Philack'iphia to Pittsburg, and the money j)aid for the conveyance of goods on this road exceei Hi ^ l| 476 WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. IKi' « northward along several great rivers which fall into it, till it comes to rest on the Tennessee. This, in 1800, was formed into a territory, which, from one of these rivers, was named Alabama. It is of very various character, the soil being in many places sandy and swampy, and the climate even of doubtful salu- brity ; but there are some spots of excessive fertility, which attracted the eyes of settlers from the Caro- linas and Georgia, for whom this settlement lay ex- ceedingly commodious. Thus, Alabama, in 1820, had reached a population of 128,000, a great propor- tion of which, however, unfortunately consisted of slaves. The acquisition of Louisiana opened a still wider range of emigration and discovery in the immense regions comprehended between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean. An account, however, of the ex- peditions by which these were explored and surveyed must form the subject of a separate chapter. r H: WM H'^ h-^ %. ch fall into This, in Tom one of is of very laces sandy Libtful salu- ve fertility, the Caro- ent lay ex- in 1820, eat propor- onsisted of still wider e immense issippi and of the ex- d surveyed r. IIEGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. ,477 CHAPTER XI. DISCOVEIIIES IN THE IIEGIONS BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI. Acquisition of Lruisiana.-— Claim on the Countries West of the Mississippi. — Expeditions sent to explore ihcm. — Pike to the Head of the Mississippi — To the Head of the Arkaiisaws. — His Disasters — Retuvfi. — Expedition of Lewis and Clarke. — Thci/ cross the Rocky Mountains — Reach the Pacific. — Long and James to the South (f the Missouri. — Cass and Schoolct qfl up the Mississippi. — Long and Keating to St Peter's River and the Lake of the Woods. An immense field had been opened to American dis- covery and enterprise in the wide and luxuriant plain which extends from the Alleghany to the Missis- sippi ; but the arrangement which now took place af- forded to it still more vast and almost unbounded scope. Louisiana, or the lower valley of the Mississippi, had been originally settled by France, not without conti- nued remonstrances on the part of Spain, which view- ed with jealousy a settlement thus interposed between her possessions of Florida and Mexico. At length, by the peace of 1763, this region was finally ceded by France ; but England, as the fruit of this triumph- 1 wm •;( 478 REGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. ant war, obtained all the portion which was east of the Mississippi ; while Spain had all that lay west of that grand boundary. The English part was trans- ferred to the United States, in consequence of the suc- cessful struggle which terminated in their independ- ence ; while, in 1801, Spain was compelled, by the pre2)onderant jJower of France, to cede her portion of it. In 1804, Napoleon was tempted by pecuniary difficulties to the very unusual step of selling this ter- ritory to the United States for the sum of sixty mil- lions of francs (£2,500,000 sterling). Some Ameri- can statesmen censured this as an improvident bar- gain, being one which really pressed heavy on the li- mited finances of the state ; but subsequent issues have shown that its benefits to them were quite in- calculable. The prosperity of the western settle- ments, as they rose to their present amazing magni- tude, essentially rested on having for their debouchc the grand channel of the Mississippi. The Ameri- cans, however, had an ulterior and still mightier ob- ject. On the possession of Louisiana they founded a claim to these immense tracts, forming.almost another world, which stretched westward from the Mississip- pi as far as the Pacific. The Indians might well have called on them to show by what law of nature, or what acquired right, a band of foreigners had thus become masters of this immense region, which had been held by their own ancestors from ages immemo- rial, and of which these new claimants knew not even the aspect or boundaries. It cannot, however, admit of a doubt, that the Americans, having removed Euro- pean rivalry, will make good their claim to this coun- /as east of lay west of was traiis- ! of the suc- ' iiidepeiid- ed, by tlie • portion of pecuniary ng this ter- sixty mil- ine Arneri- ndent bar- on the li- lent issues quite in- ern settle- ng magni- • deboiiche he Anieri- ghtier ob- founded a )st another Mississip- : well have nature, or had thus vhich had i immeino- '^ not even ver, admit ved Euro- this coun- PIKE. 479 try against every opposition which its savage and na- tive possessors can make. Accordingly, it has already, in the great community of civilized nations, been re- cognized as theirs. The Americans, havingmade this inmiense purchase, were not long in undertaking to survey the regions of which it consisted, and which were nearly as unknown as the most inland depths of Africa. A young and en- terprising officer, Zabulon Montgomery Pike, was the first employed on this important mission. He was sent, on the 9th August, 1805, to explore the Upper Mississippi, and make a minute survey of all the in- teresting objects which its banks presented. He was especially instructed to inquire into the nature and extent of the fur-trade, with the residence and popu- lation of the several Indian nations, and to make eve- ry effort to conciliate their friendship. Mr Pike in this expedition had with him a compa- ny of twenty men, in a boat about seventy feet long, furnished with four months' provisions. From Fort Louis to the confluence of the Missouri the current was rapid, but obstructed by sand-bars. Above, as described by former travellers, it became compara- tively smooth and gentle, though at the mouth of the Illinois considerable agitation was occasioned by islands and sand-banks. Afterwards the river was bordered by fine cliffs, and through their skirts of fo- rest extensive prairies might be discovered. On the 6th September he reached the mouth of the Ouiscou- sin, which had become a great rendezvous of the fur- trade from Canada. The village of Prairie des Chiens, on its eastern bank, was the scene of grand meetings. 1 1 i m i t 480 REGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. in spring and autumn, between the traders and the Indians, and great fairs were held for the exchange of furs with European goods ; but as, among the lat- ter, brandy was the most sought and valued medium of traffic, very extensive disorders unavoidably en- sued. The inhabitants were hospitable ; but, by their extensive communication with the Indian squaws, had become half-Indian. At Prairie des Chiens Major Pike obtained guides ; and, after ascending to the mouth of the Towa, was met by a party of the Sioux Indians, with their chief. They assured him that they had kept themselves so- ber in order to receive him ; yet this sobriety did not appear altogether complete. Their salutation, by firing a volley of musket-balls a good deal too close to their visitants, was found a little startling. How- ever, all proved to be well-meant ; the party were hos- pitably entertained, and the chief presented the sacred pipe, which, when shown to all the upper bands of Sioux, would serve as a letter of recommendation. They were entertained, by special favour, with a view of the great religious or medicine-dance. The chief fea- ture was that of frequently running up to each other, and giving a puff through small skins held in their hands, when the person blown upon would fall, and appear almost lifeless, or in great agony, but would slowly rise, recover, and take his place in the dance. Afterwards in another village, where he was hospi- tably entertained, Mr Pike having alluded with some tenderness to a person from whom it was painful to him to be separated, the chief replied, that doubtless it must be very uncomfortable to be without a wife, I ! It.: r li pike's first expedition. 481 i and the exchange ig the lat- l medium dably en- t, by their I squaws, id guides ; owa, was lieir chief, selves so- ty did not tation, by 00 close to g. How- were hos- tile sacred bands of fiendation. ith a view 3 chief fea- lach other, 1 in their L fall, and )ut would :he dance, i^as hospi- with some painful to doubtless ut a wife. but he would soon remedy this evil, and would pre- sent him a choice, out of which he could not fail to satisfy himself. Pike having assiu'ed him that he considered it his duty to remain faithful to one wife, the chief said, that this was very strange, since not only he himself had three, but he knew American traders who had six in the course of a winter. Being assured that such conduct in the latter was condemned by all the more respectable part of their own countrymen, who made it a rule to have one wife only, the chief still declared his preference of the Indian system. The banks of the river, from the Prairie des Cliiens to the Chippeway, consisted in a great measure of hills, not running, as usual, parallel with the stream, but in an angular direction into the country, and sepa- rated by low valleys. This interchange of hills and valleys exhibited some of the most romantic and sub- lime views he had ever witnessed. They were some- times interrupted by wide-extended prairies, resem- bling the lawns of civilized regions, and almost in- ducing the traveller to suppose himself in the heart of a highly-cultivated plantation. The Chippeway was a deep and majestic stream, but not nearly equal to the St Peter's, coming from the west ; but the chan- nel above the junction to the falls of St Anthony is one continued series of rapids, consisting of rocks in the bed of the river, and separated only by narrow pas- sages. Above the falls the navigation became more and more difficult. They were obliged to quit their large boat, and proceed up in canoes. The sea- son was now unfavourable, there being a great de- ficiency of water ; in consequence of which they were voi,. I. 2 H li \H2 HKCIIONS ni'.VONl) IMINSISSH'1'I. obliged sometimes to wjide, sometimes to force the bouts over roeks iiinl shoals, and rovisionH and stores in a log-fort, defended by a small detach- ment. The journey was very lal)orious, it being now the depth of winter, and they were often unable to make more than a few miles a-day. They in vain endeavoured to regale themselves by catching a few elks, though they saw (nice a body of a hundred and fifty marching like .in Indian army in rank and file ; but their swiftness eluded all jmrsuit. The mighty Mississippi was now dwindled into . small stream of three hundred yju'ds broad, liolding a slow course through a level country. In February they arrived at Leech Lake, which appeared to form the main source of the river. The winter was now so severe, that in crossing it several of the men had their ears, noses, and chins frozen ; but they were hospitably received at a trading fort belonging to the North-west Company from Montreal. The American eye, how- ever, was offended by the view of the British flag fly- ing over ground indisputably belonging to the United States, and the British commander agreed to with- draw this obnoxious display. The party visited alstf Red Cedar Lake, whence another branch of the Mis- sissippi, considered by some as the principal one, is derived. Here they found another fort of the North- ■'i . f ■<■■ t '\h I'IKKS SECOND r.XPKDl rioN. W.i west Coini)any, superintended by n Mr (irant. It a[)i)eared siirjirising that any men accustomed to the comforts of civilized life could he induced to si)end their lives in this dreary solitude, where they lived onlv on j)reserved meat, and wild oats purcliased from the neighbouring Indijins ; but they were amply supplied with every thing necessary to carry on their trade with vigour and success. An assembly of Indian cliiefs was called, and an invitation given to them to accompany the expedition on a visit to General Wilkinson at Fort Louis. Two of them, entitled the Buck and lieau, the latter ])rother to Flat-Nose, rea- dily consented. Mr Pike, having accomplished liis object, now pro- ceeded to descend the river, wliich, being a mere re- versal of his course upwards, could present little of novelty. On the 30th April he arrived at Fort Louis, after an absence of eight months and twenty-two days. Lieutenant, now Major Pike, had scarcely arrived, when he was sent out on another exploratory expedi- tion. The object was now, while Lewis and Clarke were proceeding on their grand voyage up the Mis- souri, to survey the regions to the south of that river, and particularly to trace the heads of the Ar- kansaw and the Red rivers, already known in their lower course as grand tributaries of the Mississii)i)i. The party consisted of twenty-three, among whom were a surgeon and interpreter. They proceeded for some space along the Missouri, and, coming among a tribe who had recently lost several of their relations in war, received strong proofs of the relative attach- u |i i: «; 484 REGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. ' III! 'I 1 ments which subsist among these savages. The re- lations began their lamentations in the morning, and continued them for about an hour, being joined by others, who, having long ago suffered similar losses, felt their wounds opened afresh. One would say, " My dear father exists no longer ; have pity on me, thou Great Spirit ! You see I cry for ever ; dry my tears and give me comfort." But the warriors' songs were usually to the following tenor : — " Our enemies have slain my father ; he is lost to me and his family. I pray to you, O Master of Life ! to preserve me un- til I revenge his death, and then do with me as thou pleasest." On the 26th they reached the Osage river, which from the south pours in a great mass of tributary wa- ters into the Missouri. The country on this river was found one of the most beautiful that the eye ever be- held, having all the advantages of wood, water, gentle slopes, and luxuriant prairies, diversified by flowers and verdure. The Osage Indians were found to com- pose a sort of republic blended with oligarchy, — all measures being prepared and planned by a small body of chiefs, but requiring the assent of the council of warriors. They live in considerable abundance, — grain, beans, and pumpkins being cultivated ; but, as usual, by the women only. Their board is pro- fusely spread, and strangers are invited to it so hos- pitably that they cannot refuse without giving of- fence. Mr Pike was obliged to taste of fifteen differ- ent entertainments in the same fifternoon. The re- storation of the captives produced a striking display of natural tenderness, without any affectation of ex- lIU pike's second expedition. 485 aggerated sensibility. Wives embraced their hus- bands, and parents their children ; and all united in returning thanks to the Good Spirit, who had once more united them. In passing from theOsage river to that of theArkan^ saw, the travellers passed also the large rivers Kanses and Platte, on whose banks were the Pawnee Indians, a race scarcely differing from those just described. They found the Arkansaw a broad stream, and its banks might, they thought, be considered the paradise of the Indian hunter ; buffalo, elk, and deer, roved in such vast herds, as might have fed the whole race of In- dians for a century. From its junction with tlie Mis- sissippi to its issue from the mountains the distance is 1981 miles ; the whole of which, in spring, is navig- able for boats ; but in the dry season it is a com- plete sand-bar. In ascending the Arkansaw, they came in view of the grand western chain of moun- tains, rising before them like a white wall. Severe hardship was suffered in reaching the head of the Arkansaw. It was now winter, and not having been aware of the elevation of this spot, they were wholly unprepared for the inclemency of the elements arising from it. One mighty mountain particularly attract- ed their attention, which served as a land-mark to the savages for a hundred miles round, and appeared to them, though erroneously, a rival of Chimborazo. They attempted to ascend its sides, but were soon plunged to the middle in snow, and unable to proceed. They reached the head of the Arkansaw, which they found 192 miles above its issue from the mountains, making the entire course 2173. They were now, i I ' t it. 486 IlKGIONS III'.VONI) MiSSlSSiri'I. however, reduced to a dreadful condition, being left, on one occasion, four days without food, the gjinie being all under cover from the rigour of the season. Two of the men had their feet frozen, and were obliged to be left behind. Major Pike, however, pusli- ed on in search of th^ Red River, which, from its course along tiie j)lain, ought, it appeared, to be the one immediately beyond. In this direction a large stream was accordingly tVmnd, and Major Pike, be- fore beginning to descend it, erected a wooy considerable tribes of Indi- ans. The Pawnees ranked once among the most nu- merous of the Missouri races ; and though they have suffered severely in their contests with the Indians of the west, they still count four considerable bands. The Ottoes, once their rivals, are now much reduced, and obliged to place themselves under their protec- tion. Both these tribes cultivate the ground, and employ themselves only occasionally in hunting. The Kite Indians, farther to the west, are constantly on horseback, and are so named from the rapidity of their movements. They are the fiercest of all the In- dians, never yielding in battle, or sparing their ene- mies; but this ferocity has called forth a dreadful ii I -. 490 REGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. % ' i .1 t ■ 'S U^' . aiid just retaliation, which has reduced their numbers to a hundred. Above the Platte, the Missouri became less rapid and more winding ; and the scenery, consisting of a valley enclosed between two ranges of bold heights or bluffs, was extremely interesting. Here the Ameri- cans had a conference with fourteen of the Ottoe and Missouri Indians. The grand chief, indeed, whose name in English signifies Little Thief, was unfortu- nately absent; but Big Horse, White Horse, and Hospitality, held a most amicable conference, express- ed their satisfaction with the change of government to the United States, and hoped their great father (the president) would send them arms for hunting and de- fence. The Missouri was found here to wind in an ex- traordinary manner. After sailing along it for twelve miles, Captain Clarke happened to go hunting, and having walked a quarter of a mile, came to the very point from which their progress had begun. The banks here consist entirely of sand and mud brought down by the stream, the loose texture of which accumulates, and either breaks down of itself, or is easily pene- trated. It was not doubted, that the river would in due time force its way across this narrow neck, and leave the whole enclosed peninsula dry, or rather in a moist alluvial state. The portions of the bank thus continually falling in, being partly composed of cobalt and other minerals, formed a crust on the siu'face, by drinking which the party were afflicted with severe bowel and other complaints. They passed a rock peculiarly precious in the eyes of the natives, as af- _;>■ LEWIS AND CLARKE. 491 fording the red stone from which they make their pipes ; and amid the deadly wars which rage among them, they have established it as a neutral and sacred ground, where every one may, unmolested, collect this precious substance. Another lofty mound, of which it was doubtful whether framed by nature or art, is viewed with sacred terror as the abode of a species of malignant fairies, a foot and a half high, and armed with sharp arrows, which they discharge against all who venture to approach their residence. Our travellers fearlessly ascended it, and enjoyed, un- molested, a magnificent view of the plain of the Mis- souri. Near this spot, the Americans were visited by eight chiefs of the Ottoes and Missouris, among whom was now Little Thief, accompanied not only by Big Horse, but by Crow's Head, Black Cat, Big Ox, and Big Blue Eyes. With these worthies a very amicable council was held, concluded by a dram ; and as they honestly confessed, that, in the present war, they had been themselves the aggressors, by stealing two horses and some corn. Captain Lewis more readily and hopefully undertook to mediate an accommodation. Higher up they learned that a large party of the Sioux were in the vicinity, and sent to them Sergeant Pryor,whowas received in their very best style, a fat dog ready dress- ed being put down to him. Captain Lewis, on learn- ing this reception, immediately set out for the Indian camp, and received their chiefs and warriors under a large oak, where he presented them with a flag, a medal, a certificate, with a string of wampum ; and to the great chief a richly-laced uniform, cocked hat. 11 I 492 HEGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. : M III l:li If %W I ' ' * and red feather. They made long speeches, which did not do them particular honour, being a string of begging requests. They besought powder, ball, knives, clothes, but with particular earnestness a por- tion of their great father's milk, meaning the presi- dent of the United States, and his milk being their favourite and fatal brandy. Yet among this num- ber were several belonging to tribes who had made and fulfilled the Spartan vow, never to retreat before any danger ; and one of this race had carried it to so wild a height, that on crossing the Missouri upon the ice, having met a hole, he chose rather to perish than make a circuit to avoid it. In general, most of these tribes had a sad tale to tell of their former greatness, and of the humbled state to which they were now re- duced. This was the result both of the constant and bloody contests in which they were engaged, and of the ravages caused by the first introduction of the small-pox. A tribe of the Mahas, who saw themselves wasting before this last evil, were worked up to such a pitch of frenzy, that they set fire to their village, killed many of their wives and children to save them from so dreadful a scourge, and set out for another country. Proceeding upwards, they came to the Ricaras, a handsome and well-proportioned race, and in their be- haviour somewhat more meritorious than those lately visited. Their chiefs, Lighting Crow and Eagle's Feather, declined the proffer of whisky, and expressed wonder that their great father should send them a liquor which made men fools. They received presents with thankfulness ; but did not beg them in the importunate LEWIS AND CLARKE. 493 style of the fonner Indians. This tribe pay a pecu- liar veneration to three figured stones in the midst of the river, believed by them to be the forms of two unfortunate lovers, with their faithful dog, who, find- ing their union prevented by the cruelty of parents, wandered, lamenting their fate, till they were con- verted into stone. Both they and the Sioux, how- ever, exhibited the most dissolute conduct in regard to their females, offering and even i)ressing them up- on the strangers, with whom we suspect they did not find a very unfavourable market. One of the most remarkable features of the Mis- soiu-i consists in what is called the Big Bend, where it performs a similar detour to that already described, on a greater scale, being thirty miles in circuit, while the two angles of the river approached within two thov"'>nd yards of each other. The isthmus, how- ever. ^ 'I;' composed of a ridge nearly two hundred feet 1-^:^ sloping down to the plain which composes the peninsula, did not afford the same prospect of its ever being penetrated by the stream. By the time the party reached the latitude of 47% sixteen hundred miles above the Missouri junction, a cold wind blew from the north-west, ice began to form on the rivers, and all the symptoms of winter were thickening. They determined to build a fort, where they might spend the winter with some com- fort, and be ready in the spring to start for the head of the Missouri and the passage of the Rocky Moun- tains. They called it Fort Mandan, from the Indian people, among whom they now were. They were soon waited upon by Big White, Little Raven, , <■'* 4 ; wSm I II I. '■ 494 llEGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. Neighing Horse, and Bird's Tail, the great chiefs of the Mandans, on whom they bestowed the usual pre- sents, and soon established an amicable intercourse. The Mandans had something peculiar in their reli- gious ideas, or at least names. Their supreme deity- is called indifferently the Great Spirit, or the Great Medicine ; every thing wonderful is called medicine ; and each warrior's guardian power, instead of his manitou, is here called liis medicine. This struck the travellers as something very peculiar ; but, in fact, among all savage tribes something supernatural is attached to the processes employed in the cure of dis- ease ; the priest and physician among them is one and the same character, and the remedies employed consist always of superstitious formulce. There is a Medicine stone which is the great oracle of the Man- dans. It is thick and porous, twenty feet round, with a smooth surface. Every spring a deputation of the chiefs of the nation visit and smoke solemnly before it ; after which they retire to sleep in an adjoining wood ; when in the morning the destinies of the nation are found expressed in mysterious white marks, " which those who made them are at no loss to decipher." The Mandans were as dissolute and as regardless of the virtue of their females as the nations lower down ; and their dances, even of a religious character, were marked by the most flagrant indecency. Yet instances were not wanting in which jealousy dis- played itself in its darkest furies. " One of the wives of the Borgne deserted him in favour of a man who had been her lover before the marriage, and who after some time left her, and she was ob- LEWIS AND CLARKE. 495 liged to return to her father's house. As soon as he heard it, the Borgne walked there, and found her sit- ting near the fire ; without noticing his wife he hegan to smoke with the father ; when they were joined hy the old men of the village, who, knowing his temper, had followed in hopes of appeasing him. He con- tinued to smoke quietly with them, till, rising to return, he took his wife by the hair, led her as far as the door, and with a single stroke of his tomahawk put her to death before her father's eyes ; then, turn- ing fiercely upon the spectators, he said, ' that if any of her relations wished to avenge her, they might always find him at his lodge." ' On the 7th April the party broke up from Fort Mandan, thirty-two strong, in six canoes and two large perioques. On the 13th they passed the influx of the I'apid stream of the Little Missouri, and on the 26th came to the much more important river of tlie Yellowstone, (Roche-Jaune of the French,) descend- ing from the Black Mountains, and almost rivalling the Missouri itself. These two rivers rolled through wide plains, varied with wood, and animated by vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope. The abund- ance of game was now most extraordinary. Buffa- loes were seen to the number of three, and on some occasions even ten thousand at once. They were intermingled, however, with animi,ls of a more for- midable character, among which the brown bear was pre-eminently terrible. The great danger arose from his frightful tenacity of life ; it was only when the ball went through the brain that there was the least chance of killing him by a single shot. In several I' I \l II I; !t ♦. .^v4 496 REGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIITI. instances, even after repeated balls passed through the lungs, he continued still formidable. Captain Lewis had very nearly lost his life by one which had reached, unperceived, within twenty yards of him, while his rifle was unloaded. He escaped only by running waist-deep into the river, then turning and presenting his espontoon, when the animal was seized with a panic, and suddenly fled. Continuing to ascend in an almost due westerly direction from the junction of the Yellowstone, the party came to two great channels, or forks, as the Americans call them, which involved the leaders in great perplexity. One flowed from the north and the other from the south, and they were unable to decide which was the real Missoui'i, by ascending which they would reach the head of the Columbia. The south branch was 372 yai'ds broad, the north only 200 ; yet the latter was deeper and gave its colour and character to the Missouri. Its waters, like those of the main river, were thick, whitish- brown, and turbid, and ran in the same boiling and rolling iUanner which characterizes that river ; while those of the south fork were perfectly smooth and transparent. The two h*^ads of the expedition made separate journeys of two days, respectively, along the banks of each river, but without coming to any de- cisive feature. Almost all the party, swayed by the similar aspect of the two rivers, and by the authority of one Cruzatte, an old waterman on the Missouri, were of opinion that the north was the genuine fork. The two chiefs formed a different judgment, observ- ing, that the southern branch was decidedly the III J HwiWt M:\VIS AM) t l.AilKK 497 largest, and the very clearness of its current favoured the idea of its coining from a rocky and mountainoua region. The opinion of the commanders ju'evailed, as of right ; and the men, though not convinced, sub- mitted with a good grace. The great falls of the Missouri were to afford the only sure test by whidi this doubtful question was to be solved. In searcli of these they formed a light exploratory expedition, depositing their heavy goods in a hole, or cnche^ as the French traders call it, floored with dry branches, covered with skins, and earth over them. In two days they came to a ridge, from the top of which they had a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains, now completely covered with snow, and consisting of several ranges rising above each other, till the most distant mingled with the clouds. On the following day a soimd was heard as of a distant waterfall, and spray driven before the wind rose high above the plain like a •column of smoke. The sound, swelling as they approached, became at length too tremendous to be any thing but the great fall of the Missouri. Captain Lewis, hurrying impatiently over some rug- ged rocks which intervened, at length reached the centre, and enjoyed the sublime spectacle of this stupendous object, which since the creation had been lavishing its magnificence on the desert. The river here throws itself down a precipice of three hun- dred yards wide, for about a third of which breadth it falls in one smootli and unbroken sheet ; but in the remaining part, being received upon some rugged and projecting rocks, it is broken into an im- mense mass of white foam, the spray of which is VOL. I. 2 1 .it |i ' ' n »r< ! ! 498 HECilOX IJKYOXl) MISSISSIl'PI. thrown up in a thousand shapes, and sometimes forms cohimns of fifteen or twenty feet, on whic^h the sun impresses the brightest colours of the rainbow. Captain Lewis, after bivouacking near the fall, pro- ceeded next day to ascend the river, whicli formed for five miles a continued series of rapids, one of which was nineteen feet perpendicular, and so rugged and irregular as to be called the Crooked Falls. The riv'er now took a bend to the north ; in following which, Captain Lewis heard a loud roar, and, cross- ing the point of a hill, saw one of the most beautiful objects in nature, — the whole Missouri throwing itself down one shelving rock which runs across it, and dashing across the rocky bottom, whence it throws up a spray of the purest foam across the river. The identity of the Missouri being thus establish- ed l)eyond all controversy, the expedition was im- mediately moved up the river. As the boats, how- ever, could not be conveyed over the falls, eight canoes were constructed above, on board of which was placed the necessary stock of baggage and stores, the rest being lodged in a cache. The voyage was laborious, there being a rapid current against them, and the channel often obstructed by inlets and shallows. The first mountain ranges now hemmed in the river more closely, and often hung over it in perpendicular cliffs. It was not, however, till the 19th July that they came to the grand gates of the Rocky Moun- tains. Of all pass-scenery in the world this appears to be the most awful. The rocks, for upwards of five miles, rising perpendicularly from the water's edge, form a most sublime and extraordinary spec- ^'' LKWIS AND CLAIlKi: 499 tacle. For three miles there is not a spot, exeept one of a few yards, on which a man can stand be- tween the water and the perpendiciihir nionntain- wall. The frowning darkness of tliese rocks pro- jecting over the river, and menacing destruction to all beneath, ai)])eared to the navigators trnly awful. This river, here ,'i50 yards in breadth, has evidently hewn its way through the mountain-mass, and the dreadful convulsion by which this must have been effected, is testified l)y the vast columns of rock torn from the mountain, and strewed on both sides of the river, trophies as it were of its victory. The Missouri, at some distance above, was found separating into three branches, which, coming from the loftiest recesses of the rocky chain, united to form it. Being no longer fettered by the Indians in the composition of names, the Americans took the matter into their own hands, and a])plied to these forks those of three of their great statesmen, Jeffer- son, Madison, Gallatin ; while to two tributaries they gave, not in the very best taste, the names of Philo- sophy and Philanthropy Rivers. The movement of the canoes up the Jefferson be- ing slow and laborious, Caj)tain Lewis went forward on land to investigate the route. Continually ascending towards the most central recesses of the rocky moun- tains, he at last came to a i)oint where a foot could be placed on each side ; and one of the party, in a fit of enthusiasm, thanked God that he had lived to bestride the Missouri. Proceeding onward, they reached a small gap formed by high mountains on each side ; from the foot of one of which welled out the spring-head of 1 111 s : I 500 UKCilON IlKYONI) ^^ISSISSIPI'(. this greatest river periiaps in the world, and whose channel for tliree thousand miles they had so la- Imriously ascended. " They had now reached the hidden sources of that river, which had never yet been seen by civilized man ; and as they quenched their thirst at the chaste and icy fountain, as they sat down by the brink of that little rivulet, they felt themselves rewarded for all their labours and all their difficulties." Having made this discovery, the party were not long of reaching the crest of this gi'eat rocky bound- ary, and their descent announced that they were com- ing within the domain of the Pacific. The object was to meet some of the Shoshonee or Snake Indians, who might serve as guides to the head of the Cohun- bia, and afford various aids in the prosecution of the journey downwards to the ocean. The first whom they saw ran away, and could not be overtaken ; but they succeeded in surprising two females. These poor creatures, accustomed to consider the name of stranger as synonymous with that of the direst enemy, seated themselves on the ground, and held down their heads, submissive to the fatal blow which they imme- diately expected. Captain Lewis took one of them by the hand, raised her up, presented some beads and pewter mirrors, and painted her cheeks with Vermil- lion, the Shoshonee emblem of peace. They were soon re-assured, and undertook to show the way to the camp ; on approaching which, sixty warriors were met, mounted, armed, and rushing forth in the atti- tude of repelling a hostile attack. Captain Lewis ad- vanced with a flag, and the women going up to the n\ ' LEWIS AND I l.AlJKi:. 501 itl whose (1 so la- dled the ever yet jiienched they sat they felt all their vere not y bound- ere coni- le object Indians, I Colum- n of the it whom en ; but These name of t enemy, vn their y imme- 3f them ads and vermil- jy were way to Ts were ie atti- wis ad- to the Indian chief, who was marching in front, ex])lai!U'd to him that these were white men, who came witli tlie most pacific professions, and she showed the jire- sents received from them. They presently uttered vociferations of gladness and welcome, and their chief embraced Captain Lewis, who had the satisfaction of finding himself besmeared with paint and grease. They took off also their mocassins, understood to be a sacred pledge of sincerity, and to imprecate on them- selves the misery of going for ever barefoot over these rugged moimtain tracts, if they should break their en- gagement. The Americans then moved to the Indian camp, where a slight lodge had been fitted up for their reception. They were seated on green boughs and antelope-skins, and a space in the middle cleared of grass, on which a fire was kindled. The chief then took his pipe of transparent green-stone, lighted it, and having directed the stem three times towards the four cardinal points, took three whiffs, then pre- sented it to Captain Lewis, and after him to the other white men. They had no food to give him except a cake made of berries, which, being seasoned by hunger, was found very acceptable. Captain Lewis now proposed to the chief, that he, with a party of his men, and about thirty horses, should go to meet those ascending the Jefferson, and assist them in the conveyance of their luggage to the Colmnbia. The chief readily consented ; but next day, when Captain Lewis was pressing their departure, he saw the Indians still hanging back and hesitating, and at last learned, that some one had surmised, that the white men were in league with their enemies, and tVil m 502 REGION DKYONH MISSTSSTPPI. 1 ii were drawiiijif tliem into an ambusfade. Captain L. warmly renionstratrd with the thief upon this siiHpi- cion, and by dropping a hint as to his courage, ho worked upon him, that lie declared to his country- men Iiis resohition to go, thougli destruction should be the consetpu'uce. Only eight or ten would accom- pany him on this j)erilous condition, the women cry- ing and imploring the (ireat Sj)irit to j)rotect tlieir warriors ; yet so inctmstant is the will of savages, that, before evening, all the men, and a great ])ropor- tion of the women, had joined the [)arty. They were allured not only by the hope of a good market for their horses, but of seeing a black man with curled hair (negro), who accomjKuiied the Americans. At every mysterious and unexpected incident, however, their ah'irms were renewed, and were raised to the highest pitch when they came to the apjiointed i)lace, and m) Americans had yet arrived. The two parties were now in a most uncomfortable state in relation to each other, till an Indian came running to tell that he saw the white men. Joy and confidence succeed- ed ; and a most tender recognition took place between the captive female whom they brought with them, and her relations and intimates, though she learned with grief the death of several in her absence. Being brought into the tent to act as interpreter, she instant- ly, in the chief himself, recognized her brother, leap- ed into his arms, threw her blanket over him, and wept profusely. She began to interpret, but was continually bursting into tears, and unable to proceed The Americans had been making strict inquiry into the means of reaching the Columbia, and descending \ 1, i:\VIS AM) ( lAHKK. 50:j ^USJ)N ",*'. so Intry- [•com- cry- Itlieir ace, that river to the ocean. 'J'he iiit'onnatioii ol)taiiK'(l was by no means very satisfactory. 'J'here was no timber lit for tile bnihling of eanoes, and, notwithstanding the extreme rugji^edness of the country, they had no choice but to proceed on horsel)ack. 'I'hey were, moreover, forewarned, that the means of fdlin^^ their stomach would be very scanty, 'i'ho Indians, who wished to go to the buffah) country, were only imhu-ed to ac- company them as guides by having tlieir jiromise to that etlect urged upon them in tiu^ most pointed man- ner. Wliile the i)arty were malting j)re|)arations. Captain (Marke undertook a trial-expedition. Ue found the road excessively rough, strewed wiMi rocks and large stones, over which it seemed ab^^olutcly ii i- possible to ride ; liut tiie fine Indian horses, quite a;- customed to tliese obstacles, carried liim easily and swiftly over every difhculty. At length they caine in view of a mountain, the loftiest yet seen, and vtre told, that its rocky sides hennned in the river s* clo^^e as to prevent all possibility of passing. It was neces- sary, therefore, to set out in a different and more northerly direction, by which they miglit reach the river below this obstruction. I'hey had a very severe journey, and the Americans, though they could endure considerable liardshij), were ill able to brook a privation of the first wants of nature, which, in the course of the journey, l)egan to be experienced. Their first re- source was to kill and eat the horses on which tliey rode, though rather too mea^';. ; for the purpose. They were next fain to piu' •! a.-e and dress the dogs which the natives kept for domestic purjmses, though they theinselves had so little idea of eating them, that 504 REGION BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. Ilii '(-:<■ III' ,;-(• ,ff. they called the strangers by the opprobrious name of dog-eaters ; however, to our great surprise, they be- came rather fond of this food, and preferred it to pounded fish. At length they reached the lower course of the Lewis river, and found the Chopunnish, or Pierced-nose Indians, whose chief, the Twisted Hair, gave them a cordial reception, and assisted them in framing canoes. They came next to the Sokulks, a mild and peaceable people, who live in commodious houses of mat, and are well supplied with fishing im- plements, by means of which they secure a regular subsistence. The next tribe were the Pishquitpaws, who had never before seen white men, and in whom they excited considerable alarm. Just before Captain Clarke appeared, he had brought down with his gun a duck and a white crane ; and the natives seeing these birds fall beside him, imagined he had fallen from the clouds along with them. This appeared more certain, when fire being wanting, he lighted his pipe with a burning-glass. It was a considerable time before they could be persuaded that the stran- gers were not supernatural beings, or, at least, not descended with evil intent. The party was now in the Columbia, and saw in the west, at the distance of 150 miles, a very high mountain covered with snow, which, from its direction and appearance, was suppose. I to be the Mount St Helens, laid down by Vancouver as visible from the mouth of that river. In four days they came to the great falls. These, however, seem to be rather of the nature of rapids, being chiefly distinguished by the rocks and islands, which divide the river into a num- «?' ii' ,lif yiv, t LEWIS AND CLARKE. 505 name of they be- ed it to le lower punnish. Twisted t'tl them 5okiilks, nodious ling im- regular litpaws, 1 whom Captain lis gun seeing I fallen jpeared ted his ierable stran- st, not saw in ' high ection nt St rn the the )fthe 7 the oum- I I ber of separate channels. The first descent being twenty feet high, they were obliged to haul the canoes over a neck of land. A mile below, the stream de- scended with great rapidity down a ftiU of eight feet. Here they merely carried the canoes to the bank, and let them down by ropes. This was the first pitch of the falls ; next day they came to the second, which were rather narrows than falls. In approaching they saw a huge black rock, ^e^ming to run from the right shore wholly across the river, and meet high hills on the opposite side, so as to make it appear mysteri- ous how the water escaped. On the left side, how- ever, a great roaring was heard ; and on steering thither, there appeared a channel forty-five yards broad, through which the whole body of the Columbia forced its way. Driven into this narrow passage, it whirled and boiled in every pai t with the wildest agi- tation. Yet, as it appeared impossible to carry their canoes and baggage over these immense rocks, it was necessary to trust to their skill in steering ; and they actually, to the utter astonishment of the Indians, passed through this perilous channel without any se- rious accident. A little below they came to another very bad rapid ; but the shores being low, they were able to send round the heavy baggage and the men who could not swim. All these were only prelimi- nary to the Great Narrows, which had been repre- sented as the most perilous of all the passages. In fact, the channel for three miles was worn through a black rock 50 to 100 yards wide, in which the wa- ter swelled and ])oiled in a tremendous manner. They Iiad now, however, gained both courage and experi- 506 REGION BEYOND MISSISSIPPI. ence, and by similar processes as before they made their way tiirough. In passing downwards among tlie SkiUoots and the Chilhikittequaws, they observed figures of men rudely carved and painted, beside which liung the medicine-bag, containing roots, pounded dirt, and those other sacred objects which an Indian only can appreciate. They found reason, however, to believe, that these were not objects of worshij), but merely ornaments ; and, in fact, they were not now far from Nootka Sound, where the houses are ornamented in a similar manner on a much greater scale. As they descended the Columbia, its channel gra- dually widened, till it attained a breadth of two miles, and even expanded into a species of bay filled with islands. Then having ascended a hill, and the fog which had involved the western horizon clearing up, they enjoyed the delightful prospect of the ocean ; — that mighty ocean, the boundary of America and of American dominion, to reach which had been the ob- ject of all their labours, the ground of all their anxi- eties. This grand and cheering prospect, and the dis- tant roar of the breakers, gave new life to all the tra- vellers. Yet they had not reached the end of their troubles. 'I'hey were tossed about for a fortnight in a sea which their frail canoes were ill able to sustain, and amid deluges of rain, before they could fix upon Meriwether Bay as a sj)ot where they could securely establish themselves for the winter. During this season the Americans held extensive communication with the Clatsops, the Chinnooks. and the Killamucks, — the chief Indian tribes who inhabit LEWIS AND CLAllKE. 507 y made ainoiig- )serve(l l)eside roots, whicli casou, H-ts of they re the iiiiicli 1 gra- miles, with e fog K "P, lu;^ id of e ob- 'iiixi- i dis- tra- heir It in ain, poll rely live iiid hit around the mouth of the Columhia. The leading ex- ternal feature in these, as in all the otlier tribes west of the mountains, is one produced entirely by art. This is the flattening of the forehead ; and when this form is carried so far that a straight line -viiis from the top of the nose to the crown of the he ad, though so frightful in the eyes of a civilized spectator, it appears the perfection of beauty in those of a Chiniiook. For this important purpose a compressing machine is applied to the head of the infant soon after its birth, which, operating gently and gradually, produces in about a year, without jjain, a permanent impression. This deformity reigns in full sway among the tribes on the coast, and diminishes on approaching tlie mountain-boundary, which it never passes ; and the eastern Indians designate by the appellation of Flat- lieads those who dwell beyond the Rocky chain. Their dress consists chiefly of the skins, often rich and valuable, of the sea and land animals caught by them, mixed with some blankets of m'^ooI and mats made of grass. Their ornaments are wamj)um-collars of bears' claws, bracelets of copper and brass ; but, abov^e all, white and blue beads, which are worn in great profusion. Considerable skill is shown both in their fishing implements and in their canoes. One of the latter, though fashioned out of a single tree, contains thirty or even fifty persons, with large (piantities of goods. They carry on even a sort of active com- merce ; an annual meeting ])eing held at the falls, of all the nations, both above and below, to exchange the commodities of their respective districts. Their coast is even visited annually by merchant-vesstls. I f f i 4i 508 UKCaON IJEYONl) MISSISSITI'I. which might be supposed to be Russian ; but a num- ber of names were given, whicli api)ear to be English, and probably come, like Meares, from the British In- dian possessions to this remote corner. By this cliannel they receive bad guns, brass and coj)per kettles, old sailors' clothes, blankets, knives, tobacco, and, most valueless and most })rized of all, the white and blue beads, which form their most precious ornaments;, and even their money. They carry on traffic in a manner very little creditable, asking, and even refusing at first, the most extravagant price for their goods, and often begging ultimately that they may be taken at a tenth part of this first demand. They are acute, inquisitive, and loquacious, finding a constant subject for conversa- tion in every thing relating to the whites, as well as in the events, trade, and politics of the little but active circle of the Clatsoi)s, Killamucks, Wahkiacums, and Chinnooks. They are unacquainted with any species of intoxicating liquors, though using tobacco to ex- cess ; and they ai'e excessively addicted to gambling. The women are treated more on a level with the men than in other Indian tribes ; but we are sorry to find that those depraved ideas on the subject of female virtue, which prevail in all the nations west of the Mississippi, exist in peculiar force here. They are carried into practice in the most grave and syste- matic manner, the husband proffering his wife and the parents their daughter, as the medium of trade, the return for presents, the reward of services. The travellers assure us that these tenders met a very cold reception from them, their virtue, it is admitted, being greatly fortified by the circumstance, that a :A 1^ \ rip I.KWIS AND CrAllKK. 509 I Clatsop young lady in full dross is nearly the most liideons object in existence. Her flattened forehead* her brown and pendent })reasts, and the copious mix- ture of filth with her finery, served as an antidote to any irregular inclinations. Having occupied so many of our pages in carrying this expedition out to the Pacific, we really cannot afford any more to bring them back by the very same nmte, with oidv a few deviations, and which could afford therefore no new observations of any great importance. On the 22d May, 1806, they arrived at Fort Louis, at the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri. SI I At the same time with tliis grand expedition across the continent, others on a smaller scale ascended several other western tributaries of the Mississijjpi. Mr Dunbar and Dr Hunter, from Natches, exj)lored part of the Red River, and then its northern tribu- tary, the Washita. They found the banks of the latter stream singularly fertile ; it flov/ed with a clear and gentle current, and the water was perfectly fresh and agreeable, though there were a considerable number of salt springs on its banks. The Red River, on the contrary, as its name imports, was deeply dis- coloured with mud. Dr Sibley from Natchitoches, 250 miles from its mouth, ascended it to a consider- a])le height, and collected nuich information concern- ing its upper districts. The navigation ajipeared to extend about fifteen lumdred miles from its junction with the Mississippi, being interrupted only by rapids about 185 miles up, and more than 300 miles higher, bv a nuu'li more singular ol)stacle, called the rafts. I, fi 510 llEGION BFYOXI) MISSISSIPPI. These consist of massj .s of drift-wood, mixed with vegetable eartli, which are carried down the stream, and wedged together till they are compacted into so solid a mass that trees grow over it, and it forms for fifty miles a sort of natnral bridge, over which men and horses can often j)ass witii safety. The Auerican government now rested for a con- siderable time from the work of discovery. At length, in 1819, a new zeal appears to have inspired them. Mr Calhoun, the minister at war, organized two expeditions, which might follow nearly in the traces of Pike, and complete what he had left unfinished. One of them proceeded westward to ex})l()re the re- gions south of the Missoiu'i. It was fitted out on a large scale, provided with a geologist, botanist, assist- ant naturalist, and painter. It was c()imnan A ■ -I 1^ vi '-. I 512 KKOTOX RKYOxi) :\ris.srssn'i'i. and activity. This dreadful malady arose from its common and well-known causes, want of fresh meat and vegetahles, and we suspect, of sufficient exercise. It was entirely escaped hy the hunters, who pursued their occupation at a distance from the camp. Major Long returned on the 28th May, with in- structions to ascend the Missouri no farther, but to exi)lore the upper course of the Platte, wliich, not- withstanding its humble and prosaic name, pours in at the junction a mightier volume of waters than even the great river to which it is held as tributary. They accordingly abandoned their steam-boat, and having procured a due number of horses and mules, set forth on the 6th June upon this long land-expedi- tion. The Platte, in its early course, was found bordered by those large level tracts, covered with luxuriant grass, and scented with wild flowers, but destitute of timber, to which Americans give the appellation of prairie. In ascending, however, they came to 1h?>< vast and naked plain, bearing almost an African as- pect, which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the borders of the Missouri, and is about 400 miles in breadth. The surface would be a dead level, were it not broken by deep ravines, sunk many hundi'ed feet below the general level, and at the bottom of which meander some streams, skirted with a scanty and stunted growth of pine, red cedar, oak, and willow. The general surface is covered with a soil almost exclusively of sand, and produces no vegetation of any kind, except tufts of dry grass, and such gum- my and saline plants as can draw subsistence from LONG AND JAMES. 513 gum- froni the most arid soil. Among these are several species of the cactus, tlefeiided with such horrid and for- midahle spines, that scarcely any animal will attempt to j)enetrate the thickets of it, with which large tracts are covered. In many j)laces there were traces of volcanic rocks, and smoke and flame might even be seen issuing from the ground with considerable noise ; but none of these could be considered as form- ing a real volcano. Although the greater part of these plains presented no vestige of any thing living, yet, wherever there was any slight vegetation, large herds of wild animals were seen roaming, whose num- bers increased as they ascended the river. Bisons, with their " unsightly figure, cumbrous gait, and im- politic movements," appeared on one occasion to the amount, it was believed, of ten thousand ; horses of various size and colour scoured over the plains with surprising fleetness ; the elegant and swift antelope, the neat and comfortable figure of that species of marmot which is here called the prairie-dog. the wolf, and the horrid and grizzly bear, made tlieir frequent appearance. In the 102d degree of longitude they found the Platte divided into two forks, each about half a mile broad, of which they ascended the southern. The immense range of the Rocky Moun- tains now began dimly to appear, rising like a bounding cliff to the ocean of sand extending along its base. It was now remarked, that while the mornings and evenings were extremely hot and oppressive, about mid-day a cool and refreshing breeze sprung from the westward. This seems just- ly ascribed to the cold air of the mountains rush- i' VOL. L Oil K .514 UlUilON UKVONI) MISSISSIPI'I. '; .(■ ing ill upon tlie rart'iictl atniosphere of the plains. Though the tlierniomcter seldoni fxceeded 80 de- grees, the rays of the suii were !)iirning, and very painful to the eyes. On the Gth July, ahout hit. 39" long. 105", they reached the point where the Platte bursts out from the interior of its rocky valleys. The mountain face ju'esented an almost perpendicular ridge or wall, from one to two hundred feet high, skirting the base of tlie chain like an immense rampart. Hetween this rampart and the main gra- nite range was an interval of about a mile, studded with insulated colunniar rocks, some of a snowy whiteness, rising like ])yramids and obelisks from amid a number of mounds and hillocks, which seemed to be formed by the ilisintegration of similar masses. Mr James, with a detachment of the expedition, now directed his course towards that loftiest j)eak which had so strongly attracted Major Pike's atten- tion, and had been considered })y him as a rival to the loftiest Cordillera. After clearing tlie sand- stone boundary, they came to the first jirimitive range of coarse red granite, on which there grew oidy a few stunted trees, with some berries. The red cedar and j)ine were the trees which, in a dwarf state, reached the greatest elevation. The beauty of the Alpine plants excited their admiration, the co- lours, especially blue, being deeper and more bril- liant than in (U'dinary situations. The summit, com- prehending a naked plain of about ten acres, connnand- ed a grand and extensive, but desolate prospect, con- sisting of vast ranges of snowy peaks, beneath which ajipeared the immense expanse of the desert, with LONG AND .JAMES. .515 )laiiis. de- i very It. 39° IMatte alleys, lii'ular high, iiiieiise ill gva- tudded snowy < from seemed lasses, .'dition, it jieak atteii- ival to saiid- mitive 3 grew The dwarf luty of he co- e bril- , coin- inaiid- t, con- which . with narrow lines of wood skirting the rivers, wliicli occa- sionally glittered through them like silver. The mercury stood at 42% when at tlie same hour it stood at 96° in the encampment below ; and iiaving lost their way, they were ol)liged to s])eiid the night on a part of the mountain where it fell to 38\ The jmsi- tion of this peak was found to have been very erro- neously laid down, even in Mr Mellish's map published under authority of Congress. It was there fixed at 40° 42' N. lat. and 107" 20' W. long. ; whereas it was found 38" 53' N. lat. and 105' 52 W. long. No Ijarometrical process seems to have been employ- ed in ascertaining its height ; but a trigonometrical measurement made at Boiling-Spring Creek, about 25 miles distant, gave 8507^ feet ; and having estimated, or, j)erhaps, rather guessed the height of this encamp- ment at 3000 feet above the sea, they made the entire elevation of the peak to be 11,500 feet. This boil- ing spring is a remarkable feature. It is a large and beautiful fountain, strongly impregnated with car- bonic acid, and which has deposited carbonate of lime in such abundance, as to form a large basin capable of containing 300 or 400 gallons. The water is in a state of constant agitation, bubbling up from the bottom, and discharging every minute about 50 gallons of air and water, in equal quantities. It is clear, grateful to the taste, and produces an exhila- rating effect. As the expedition passed along the base of the Rocky Chain, and the head of the waters which it pours down to the Mississij)pi, they found only a continuation of the same naked and sandy plain ) . {: I : 516 lU'.CJION HKYONl) MISSISSllMM. which they tuid jmsMi'd in nscondhipf the Platte. 'J'hiy sufl'iTi'il sovort'ly from wjint of provisions, from the hrarkish and miuhly quality of tlie water, and from the lit-at, (he (hermoiiu'tcr ranging from D/i' to 100'. Tiiey were annoyed moreover hy various inseet-tormentors ; h)eusts fiiU'd the air with shrill and sct>iMl(' SC'IIOOIXISAIT. 519 charity of the Indians, wlio throw into his hut somo of the refuse of tiieir victuals ; and lie was now reduced to the most debilitated and emaciated state. Governor (.'ass furnished him with food, and sent u guide with him to the nearest American factory. JJelow the Falls of IVckagania the river presents altogether a changed asi)ect. Its hreadth is now .'JOO feet, and continually increasing, and it (lows at the rate of three miles an hour. The aquatic meadows disaj)i)ear, and are succeedejj hy forests of elm, maple, asii, poplar, and, lower down, of black walmit and sycamore. These alternate with what Mr School- » craft calls the " dry j)rairies," of wliicli he draws the most flattering j)icture, and where the profusion of wild flowers and the sweet-scented liulian grass fill the air witli a refreshing fragrance, an;h Cold Water, Muddy and White Fish Lakes, Cat's 'J\iil River, Dog River and Lake, and the Kamenatckivaya River. The whole of this route to Lake Superior is a continued chaos of lakes, islands, and river-channels. There is thus a continuous navigation from that lake to the heads of all the great rivers, and even far into the most northerly region of America. Hut the ac- commodation thus afforded is greatly diminished by the innnense nund)er of j)ortages, or obstructed points at wliich it is necessary to drag the canoes over land. Mr Keating enumerates no less than eighty-four between the Red River and Lake Superior. There is a fall on Dog River called Kakkabekka, which was considered to yield to Niagara in l)readth only, not in volume of water, pomp of sound, and picturesque effect. The boundary-line between Britain and the United States runs for some time along tliis range of waters as far as the Lake of the Woods, after which it cuts America in the mechanical section made by the 49th degree of latitude. This seems scarcely a fortunate arrangement, since it leaves no boundary, either of separation or defence, between these two great rival VOL. I. 2 L IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ IM 2.2 156 |a2 ^ 1^ 12.0 14 II 1.6 V] •c=^ ^^/ " c>%^.^' r <'\ ^;> A