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32X

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

DISCOVERIES AND TRAVELS

NORTH AMERICA.

■i

-.o

j=':

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

DISCOVKRIES AND TRAVELS

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.

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.

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Oliver & Boyd, Printers.

ADVKRTISEMENT.

The following Historical Account of Discoveries in
North America, including a View of the Actual State
of that Continent, is on the same plan with the for-
mer works of the Author on Discoveries in Africa
and in Asia. These works having been favourably
received, he has been led to believe that the present
one might be equally acceptable to those readers who
take an interest in the progress of geographical dis-
covery and the present state of the world.

The series of bold adventure by which the coasts
of North America were discovered and its colonies
founded ; the daring attempts to find a Northern Pas-
sage by its arctic shores ; the unparalleled growth and
extending power of the United States ; with the open-
ings which America affords to our emigrant popula-
tion, — all these circumstances conspire to render that
continent an object of peculiar interest.

ADVERTISEMENT.

In regard to the execution of these volumes, the
Author has only to say, that neither research nor
exertion has been spared, in order that they may
merit, in at least an equal degree, that measure of
public approbation which was bestowed on those
similar works by which they have been preceded.

In'

lines, the
larch nor
hey may
jasure of
m those
eded.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.

Introduction,

CHAPTER I.— On supposkd Early Discoveries of

America.

General Statement of the Question, 5. — Absence of authentic
Records, 6. — Probabilities, 7* — Mode of ancient Navigation,
ib. — Different Modes in which Vessels might have reached
America, 10. — The Carthaginians, the Saracens, 11. — The
Welsh under Madoc, 12. — The Scandinavians, 13. — Voyages
to Vinland, 14.— Eric, Leif, Thorvald, Thorfin, &c., 15.—
Vinland not America, 19. — What Country Vinland is, 21. —
Voyages of the Zeni, 28. — Estotiland, 30. — Estotiland not
America, 32. — What Country Estotiland is, 33.

CHAP. II. — On the Origin of the Inhabitants of

America.

General Statement of the Question, 37.— Whether all Men were
derived from one Original, 38. — Arguments for this Opi-
nion, 39.— Action of the Sun on the Human Skin, 41. — Form
and Colour of the Americans, 44. — Various Causes affecting
it, 46. — White Nations in America, 49. — Various Theories
respecting the Peopling of America, 51. — Imagined Resem-

Vlll

CONTENTS.

blance between the Americans and Jews, 52. — Acosta, 53. —
Grotius, 54. — Probable Quarter whence America was peo-
pled, 54. — Question whether Colonists might come from any
other Quarter, 55. — Supposed Resemblances between the
Languages of America and those of the other Continents, 57-

BOOK I.

DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION OF NORTH AMERICA-

CHAP. I. — Early Voyages to the American Coast.

Discovery of North America, 61. — John and Sebastian Cabot,
62. — Various Accounts of their Voyage, 65. — Ponce de Leon,
Discovery of Florida, 71- — Verazzani, his Voyages along the
American Coast, 74. — His Tragical Fate, 80. — Cartier, 81. —
Discovers the Gulf of St Lawrence, 84. — Montreal, 87. — Ro-
berval, 89.

CHAP. II. — Spanish Expeditions into Florida.

Florida becomes known as Part of the Continent, 91. — Expe-
dition of Pamphilo Narvaez, 92. — War with the Indians, 97.
— Various Adventures, 101. — Alvaro Nunez reaches the Gulf
of Mexico, 114. — Expedition of Fernando de Soto, 115. —
Various Countries through which he passes, 117- — His Re-
turn, 154. — His Death, 155.

CHAP. III. — French Expeditions into Florida.

h i

Expedition of Ribaut, 162. — Of Laudonniere, 164. — Of Menen-
dez, 166 — -Dreadful Catastrophe, 169. — Expedition of De
Gourgues, 173. — His Success, 175. — Return to France, 176.

CONTENTS.

— Acosta, 53. —
erica was peo-
come from any
between the
continents, 57.

iIBRICA.

AN Coast.
>astian Cabotj

>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.

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.

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

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—

•?.

...^

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

DISCOVERIES AND TRAVELS

NORTH AMERICA.

I-

h J

INTRODUCTION.

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

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

:<i.--

INTUODFCTION.

extended,
more ter-
kl world,
the conti-
ed such a

appeared
i or rivii-
igular ob-
The man
imeval fo-
the rudest
V favoured
;un her ca-
ned forms,

old world

iny objects
nlarge the
liar excite-
ling found
d to their
iig nations
iniquitous
Iheld to be-
discovered
Lilarly bril-
ible birth,
treasures
East. As
the san-
ew adven-
e splendid

than had rewarded the search of his predecessors.
Altliough these hopes proved ultimately illusory and
even disastrous, yet they impelled to high exertions,
and devel()i)ed great characters, for die disi)lay of
which America became one of the grand modern
theatres.

Through the agency of these causes, in the course
of a few centuries, a new form lias been impressed on
the whole of the western continent. It has been
filled with European colonists, before whom the na-
tives have disappeared, or sought shelter in its ruder
and remoter tracts. The native race of wandering
savages has been succeeded by another, the most
civilized and improved on the globe. This new
race, by transporting into America the arts and in-
dustry of Europe, fit its immense surface to yield a
mass of subsistence, and to support a population, in-
calculably greater than was formerly possible, or than
yet exists. Its people are, therefore, in that state of
rapid increase which always ensues when the means
of subsistence are ample. There is every presump-
tion, that, in a very few centuries, the whole of
the western world will be as highly peopled as
Europe. America will then be the most powerful
and flourishing portion of the globe ; and the arts and
improvements of life, transported from Europe, will
be carried, perhaps, to higher perfection than they
have ever attained in their parent region. At pre-
sent, America, growing with such rapidity, presents
the spectacle of constant and cheerful change ; — new
countries rising, new cities founding, desert after de-
sert converted into the abode of culture and habitation.

hm«

4 INTUODIJLTION.

Before begiiniiiig to trace the progress of Ameri-
can discovery, two preliiiiiiiary (luestioiiH arise, which
have excited the natural curiosity and interest of the
modern world : — Was America known in any degree,
or through any cliannel, before the days of Colum-
bus ? — and wliat was the origin of the nations by
whom it was found inhabited, thinly indeed, but
throughout its whole extent ? The questions are
closely connected, and have genernlly been treated in
combination ; but as they are materially different, we
shall here endeavour successively to collect the means
of forming a judgment relative to each.

if.'

E !

SUPPOSKl) DISCOVEllIKS Ol' AMERICA.

of Aineri-
rise, which
jrest of the
[iiiy degree,

of Colum-
uatioiiH hy
ndeed, hut
estioiis are
1 treated in
iffereiit, we
t the means

CHAPTER I.

ON SUPPOSED EARLY DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA.

General Statement of tl e Question.—- Absence of authentic Re-
cords. — Probabilities. — Mode of ancient Navigation — Different
Modes in which Vessels might have reached America. — The Car-
thaginians. — The Saracens. — The Welsh tinder Madoc. — The
Scandinavians. — Voyages to Vinland — Eric, Lcif, Thorvald,
Thorjin, ^-c. — Vinland not America. — fVhal Country Vinland
is. — Voyages of the Zcni. — Estotiland. — Drogio. — Icaria. —
Eslotiland not America.^Whal Country Estotiland was.

It occurs at once as a curious and interesting ques-
tion, whether the ancients, who made such researches
into all the kingdoms of nature, and from whom we
derive the principles of almost every other knowledge,
remained in profound and perpetual ignorance of that
vast portion of the globe which lay beyond the At-
lantic? Did no Greek or Phenician navigator ever
venture across that formidable gulf? — Did they ne-
ver for a moment succeed in lifting that awful veil,
which covered from their view the vast world of the
West ?

Upon this subject volumes have been written, the

mj^^ K. I . ill .u »

HMa

SUrPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA.

I i

authors of which have made an immense display of
erudition. They have ransacked the records of every
naval state in antiquity, to examine whether they
have or have not undertaken this grand expedition.
These discussions have served no purpose but that
for which, perhaps, they were mainly intended, — of
displaying the erudition of their authors. They have
all been obliged to begin and end with the simple
fact, that the records of antiquity contain upon this
subject absolutely nothing. There are distinct no-
tices of voyages undertaken along the eastern and
western coasts of Africa, the southern of Asia, and
the northern of Europe ; but there is not the faint-
est rumour of one who directed his daring keel into
the vast abysses of ocean. In the total absence of
historical document, we have left only a calculation
of probabilities. Was it or was it not probable that
some one vessel belonging to the great maritime Me-
diterranean states should make its way across the
Atlantic ? If we listen to some sj^eculators, nothing
could be less difficult. To a learned professor, seated
at ease in his elbow-chair, and looking at the space
which the Atlantic occupies on a sheet-map of the
world, the crossing of it appears no very vast achieve-
ment. Very different is the lot of the mariner, who,
without guide or compass, amid the peril of tempest
and famine, must make his way across the space which
it really occupies on the surface of the globe.

Let us grapple closely with the subject. There
were only two modes in which America could have
been discovered. Either an adventurer, like Colum-
bus, must have undertaken a voyage for that express

M !'

CA.

THE ANCIENTS.

; display of

ds of every

ether they

expedition.

e but that

;ended,— of

They have

the simple

U2)ori this

[istinct 110-

astern and

Asia, and

the faint-

l keel into

absence of

calculation

)bable that

itinie Me-

across the

, nothing

501% seated

the space

ap of the

t achieve-

iner, who,

■ tempest

ace which

There
uld have
e Colum-
it express

purpose, or a vessel sailing along the western coasts of
Europe must have been driven by tempest upon the
shores of the new world. Let us attempt to weigh
the probabilities in either case.

Is it likely that any voyage was undertaken and
achieved by the ancients for the discovery of America ?
Of this idea a strong refutation is certainly afforded
simply by the profound silence of antiquity. Doubt-
less its naval records, when compared with the
modern, are very scanty. Yet enough transpires to
show that deep interest was excited, and reiterated
efforts made, for the exploration of all the unknown
shores of the three continents. Eudoxus, Sataspes,
and Hanno, are celebrated by their attempts to
navigate the eastern and western coasts of Africa ;
Himilco and Pytheas examined the western and
northern shores of Europe ; while Nearchus was
sent by Alexander to traverse the southern shores of
Asia. But there is not the least hint as if a wish or
idea had ever arisen, to inquire into the secrets of the
Atlantic deep. Such a conception was indeed alto-
gether foreign to the genius of ancient navigation.
The vessels were constructed and equipped solely
with reference to coasting voyages. The oar was
the main instrument in producing the movement
even of the largest vessels, which were only dis-
tinguished by the numbers and successive benches of
oai's. Being thus in the constant proximity of the
coast, they were not in the habit of carrying either
provisions or water for the whole voyage, but trusted
to obtaining them on land at short intervals. Even
the fleet of Nearchus, equipped by Alexander with all

■II

£&■«■

it-l

«;

SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA.

the resources which Asia could furnish, could not
keep the sea for a week, without landing and obtain-
ing supplies by the most violent means. All the
exploratory voyages, therefore, which appear to have
been anciently attempted, or even conceived, were
along coasts, and never had for their object to fathom
the depths of an unknown ocean. Unreal terrors
probably guarded that vast expanse which terminated
all the western shores of Europe and Africa ; and
the idea seems to have prevailed, that on this side
lay the dark boundaries of the universe.

It may be said, however, that though the Greeks
and Romans were not likely to undertake the voyage
to America, it lay fairer for the Carthaginians, a
much greater maritime people, and who had exten-
sive possessions and commerce beyond the Straits.
The deep and studied mystery which that people
threw over their naval transactions, may have shroud-
ed for ever the knowledge of such an event from
the classic writers of Greece and Rome. Nothing,
however, either in the nautical system of the Car-
thaginians, or in the structure of their vessels, ap-
pears to have materially differed from the forms
common to antiquity. Amid all the depth of that
veil which they threw over their naval opera-
tions, some voyages of discovery, and even one
entire narrative, have made their way ; but not the
least hint appears as if they had ever conceived the
idea of penetrating across the ocean. All their enter-
prises recorded seem to have been undertaken with
a view to commerce rather than curiosity ; and in
that early state of navigation, a route which led

CA.

could not
md obtain-
All the
sar to have
ived, were

to fathom
eal terrors
terminated
frica ; and
n this side

the Greeks
he voyage
ginians, a
had exten-
le Straits,
lat people
i^e shroud-
^ent from
Nothing,
the Car-
ssels, ap-
he forms
;h of that
al opera-
even one
it not the
eived the
eir enter-
iken with
; and in
hich led

THE ANCIENTS.

across a thousand miles of open sea would not have
been considered by them as a naval route.

It must not be concealed, that one, and only one,
path across an ocean appears to have been traced in
antiquity. This was effected by the Alexandrians,
in the most advanced state of their skill and enter-
prise, under the Roman empire. They then traced a
line across the Indian ocean from the mouth of the
Red Sea to the coast of Malabar. The voyage was
performed under the influence of a favouring mon-
soon, which rendered it secure and prosperous. It
was not at all by this route, however, that the Indian
coast was discovered. The circuitous voyage along
the coasts of Arabia and Persia had been followed
for ages, ere some daring sail adventured to strike
across to a coast, of which the situation was already
well known, and which was of such a great and
continuous extent, that the navigator could not fail
of arriving upon some one of its portions.

To perceive all the improbability that the dis-
covery Oi America should ever have been made by
the ancients, we have only to consider the magnitude
of the efforts which it cost to Columbus, with the use
of the compass, and under a greatly-improved sys-
tem of navigation. After the resources furnished
by the most powerful monarch in Europe, joined to
his own almost superhuman fortitude and enthusi-
asm, his undertaking met every thing short of failure.
^Vhat then would have been expected from any ex-
pedition fitted out under antique auspices ? But there
was, I think, every ground to believe that no such
expedition was ever undertaken. Tlie ardent ima-

SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMEllICA.

:il

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

CA.

THE SARACENS.

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

■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-

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.

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-

',-^i

ICA.

THK SCANDINAVIANS.

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 !

SUPPOSED DISCOVEUIKS Ol' AMERICA.

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,

-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.

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<l ideas ; but it is a
nuK'h more j)robable fact, that Thorfin, siu-named
Karlsefnius, did come over from Iceland, did marry
Gudrid, and with her fitted out a nuuh larger colony
than any that had heretofore sailed for that coun-
try. It consisted of three vessels, on board of which
were upwards of a hundred emigrants, with furniture
and cattle. They reached pros])erously their des-
tination, and very opportiuiely found a large whale
cast ashore, which aflbrded ample subsistence ; and
they began to cut wood and construct habitations.
They were soon visited by a jiarty of Skra^lingers,
who seem to have liad no concern whatever iji the
former disastrous transactions of their countrymen.
These simi)le people were affrighted beyond measure
by the lowing of the Imll, an animal wholly strange
to them, and, running for shelter to the cottages, were
repelled with equal terror by the strange faces with
which they foiuid them occupied. However, the
present visitors, wiser and more humane, invited
them back, ])resented various articles to them mi-
known, and milk, which extremely delighted their
palates. Weapons were prohibited articles ; but
one of them contrived to steal a battle-axe, with
which he sportively struck one of his companions, as
he had been wont with their wooden hatchets, ])ut was
seized with horror when it killed him on the spot. A
friend who stood by took the axe and threw it into
the sea.

vor.. T. T)

Sl'ri'OSFJ) DlSCOVllHIKS <)!• AMKUK'A.

•r

(1.-1

^]|

Tliorfui, ill the course of several years, was enrieli-
e<l l)y this trnffie, and returned lioiiie, wliere he lived in
some sjilendour. After some time, another party
resorted to \'iiiland, hut were involved in dreadful
and hloody contentions, chiefly fomented, we lament
to find, hy a lady of the name of Freidis ; hut there is
little temptation to follow the colony through the
dire feuds in which she involved them. In 1321,
IJishop Eric, it is said, went to Vinland ; hut Tor-
faeus, instead of relating any particulars of this
voyage, gives merely the genealogy of the worthy
])ishop, — a long roll of harharous names, which afford
no edification to the reader. Indeed, from wliat is
elsewhere mentioned, I incline to think that this
voyage was merely contemplated, and never really
took i)lace. Soon after, hy some cause never fully
ascertained, the communication hoth of Greenland
and ^'^illland with Iceland, and the rest of the north,
entirely ceased ; and the coast of the former, on
which considerable colonies had been settled, was
lamented by Europe under the ap])ellation of Lost
Greenland.

Such is an epitome of the history of Vinland.
There cannot, I think, be a question as to its being
in the main authentic. Torfaeus admits that there
are a number of particular discrepances in the dif-
ferent accounts ; but this is accompanied with a
general agreement, which, in his opinion, must have
been produced by a special interposition of Provi-
dence, in order to preserve the memory of such re-
markable events. Without being able to see any
sufficient ground for Providence specially to interfere,

R'A.

1 1 1 1 : SC A N UI N A N' I A N S.

vas eiirii'h-
' \iv lived in
ther i)arty
in (Ireadfnl
we lament
hut there is
iroiigh the

In 1321,
; but Tor-
ara of this
the worthy
,vhichaff(n*d
Mn wliat is
k that this
lever really
never fully

Greenland
• the north,
former, on
ettled, was
on of Lost

)f Vinland.
o its being

that there

in the dif-
ed with a

must have
of Provi-
of such re-
to see any

o interfere.

we readily allow tliat this variation of ])artieulars,
iiinid agrtrnieiit as to essentials, tends to eoiifirrn the
aiitiu'!iti(ity of the narrative, by showing that it does
not emanate from any single or artificial somre.
Even the tincturt' of the fabulous and supernatural,
without which the narratives coiUd not have !)een
those of that age. does not detract fro:n its gemiine-
ness. In short, I agree with all the northern writers,
that the voyages to Vinland were real voyages ; but
tliat Vinland was America, is a question respecting
wliich I entertain the greatest possible doubt.

It is by examining the details of these voyages
that the question nuist be decided. Biorn sets sail
from Iceland, and three days after the temj)est over-
takes him. We may supjjose him here about midway
between Iceland and Greenland, — the distance from
which to tlie nearest point of Labrador, or New-
foundland, cannot be reckoned at less than thirteen
hundred miles. It is as if a vessel sailing from Ire-
land to S})ain should be driven uj)on Newfoundland.
Now, I may refer to all that was formerly said as to
the doubtfid occurrence, and slender probability of
such enormous aberrations occasioned by tempest.
There is no exact statement of the duration of the
tempest, although the expressions ' some or several
days'* do not suggest any very lengthened jjeriod.
In tlie return there is something more specific.
Biorn, after losing sight of the last jioint of the

* Aliquot (lies; Tort'acus, cl». 1. Coinpliires dies; Heims-
kriiigla, p, ,328.

:|r

Niri'OSEl) DISt'OVKUIKS Ol AMKUK'A.

t !

• «

(■'

newly-discovered land, came, in the course of the
fourth day, in view of a coast whidi proved to be
that of Greenland ; and on the evening of that day
he arrived at his father's house, on Herjolfsness. I
do not in<iuire if it be ph}'sically possible ; — but can
any one seriously believe, that Biorn, in his little
bark, could make this voyage of twelve hundred
miles in somewhat less than four days ? The dura-
tion of the voyages immediately subsequent is not
particularly mentioned ; but the expressions employ-
ed in no case suggest any jirotracted or formidable
voyage.* At last we come to something very posi-
tive. Karlsefnius, who fitted out an expedition
on a greater scale tlian any preceding, sailed along
the coast till he came to the cultivated extremity of
West Greenland, and then, fioctem diemque {fuo degr)
ultra navigantem, he came to Helluland. From one
point in Greenland to one point in Vinland he sailed
in one day and one n'lghf. But there is no point in
Greenland nearer to any point in Labrador, or New-
foundland, than seven hundred miles. This distance
and this period seem to place the identity of Vinland
with America beyond eveiy range of possibility.

But it will of course be asked. If Vinland be not
America,! what country is or can it possibly be ?

* Neque vero ulla ilineris commemoratio facta sit donee
Vinlandiam appellerent. — Mavi se committebat, cum naviganti-
busipsis terra ipsa se primum aperuitj quam nuper viderat Bior-
nus. This is the whole narrative of two of these voyages. Heim-
skringla, i. 335.

t Torfaeiis, Vinland, ,50.

K A.

THE SCxVXDINAVIAXS.

rse of the
•oved to be
)f that day
jlfsness. I
; — but can
11 his little
'e hundred
The dura-
lent is not
lis employ-
formidable
r very posi-
expedition
ailed along
xtremity of
e (fno (legr)
From one
d he sailed
no point in
)r, or New-
lis distance
of Vinland
nlity.
and be not
)ssibly be?

ta sit donee
m naviganti-
viderat Bior-
ages. Heim-

I think it quite evident that it is the soutliern part of
Greenland, separated from the Greenland of the
ancient Icelanders by that deep sound or bay on
which all their settlements are described as situated.
The fact is, that the earliest of the series of maps
given by Torfaeus, constructed in 1570, gives Vin-
land, as forming one continuous continent with
Greenland, and separated only by a deep gulf. This
map was the production of Sigurdus Stephanus,
reported as a person deeply versant in the antiquities
of Iceland. It is the ordy one of the series which is
constructed upon purely Icelandic materials. All
the others are adjusted to the knowledge of America,
and to the theory of Vinland being America. Even
that of Thorlacius, in 1606, separates Vinland indeed,
but only by a strait of about a hundred miles in
breadth, placing it, not in the position of America,
but due south from Greenland. In both maps the
promontory of Herjolfsness, opposite to Iceland,
where the settlements began, is represented as at
once the most eastern and the most southern part of
the continent to which it belonged ; and this opinion
is stated to have generally prevailed. To these we
may add the very high antiquarian authority of Arn-
griin Jonas, who describes Vinland, in relation to
Greenland, as " non admodum dissita,"* — an expres-
sion difficult to translate, but which implies the
separation to have been so small, that the countries
couhl scarcely be said to be sej)arated at all.

* Specimen llistoricum Isl;nidi;ic, p. 1;")4.

SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA.

' i

,1 f

There are two features which may be alleged to
militate against this view of the subject. Forster
roundly says, that on the shortest day of winter the
sun was eight hours above the horizon. He does
not notice that Torfaeus in the body of his work
makes it only six hours, stating that the sun rose at
nine and set at three. He appends indeed a long
note, to prove that he had misunderstood the expres-
sions of the original, and that eight hours was the real
time. I pretend not to judge on a point of Icelandic
etymology ; but, as Torfaeus frankly confesses that
this new interpretation was ado2)ted solely with a
view of adjusting Vinland to the Estotiland of Zeno,
and both to N^ewfoundland, there seems ground to sus-
pect that the first after all was the most genuine version.
Surely, at least, we may conclude, that the words are
susceptible of the meaning first attached to them by
this learned antiquary. One of the islands to the
south of Cape Farewell, which may be that described
as having a mainland to the north, and where this
phenomenon was observed, would be in about 59
degrees, and would have a day not much shorter
than six hours, which, from the very roundness of
the number, was evidently only an approximation.
There is next the term of A'^iiiland, or the land of
the Vine ; but this expression, though most inapplic-
able to this southern point of Greenland, is scarcely
more so to the opposite American coast. There is a
species of grape which is found in the colder parts of
America, and even in Canada, but never, that I
know of, in Newfoundland or Labrador. If it could
thri^'e there, probably it might do so in sheltered

i j'

IICA.

THE SCANDINAVIAXS.

•e alleged to

^t. Forster

r winter the

1. He does

)f his work

sun rose at

deed a long

I the expres-

was the real

of Icelandic

infesses that

)lely with a

ind of Zeno,

•ound to sus-

uine version.

le words are

[ to them by

ands to the

lat described

where this

n about 59

nch shorter

3iindness of

iroximation.

the land of

st inapplic-

is scarcely

There is a

der parts of

er, that I

If it conld

ti sheltered

situations in the most southern part of Greenland.
But it seems more likely that one of those berries,
which these northern regions yield in profusion,
was mistaken by the fancy of Tyrker for the grape.
A subsequent and more careful account preserved by
Torfaeus describes the country as producing neither
grain nor wine.*

But there is another theory which has recently ob-
tained acceptation among the northern literati, and
which would no doubt change the complexion of this
question. According to Mr Eggers, whose opinion
is embraced by La Richarderief and Malte Brun,|
all the early Greenland settlements were, not upon
the eastern coast, which faces Iceland, but upon the
western, which extends along Baffin's Bay, and faces
America. This supposition would no doubt diminish
the impossibilities above recited, though it could
never solve the voyage to America (a distance no-
where less than seven hundred miles) in one day and
one night. But this hypothesis is directly opposed
to all Icelandic faith and tradition. By Torfaeus
himself, and in all the series of maps copied by him,
these settlements are placed on the eastern coast ; nor
does there seem to have been ever a doubt in Iceland
upon the subject. The map of Zeno, who states
himself to have actually visited Greenland, and whose
authority the present writers are far from wishing to

♦ Vinland,p. 51.

t Bibliothcque Universelle des Voyages, i. 4(>-7.

X Precis de la Gt'-ographic, i.

Sl'Pl'OSED DISCOVERIES Ol" AMERICA.

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.

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

;#;

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

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

CA.

THE SCANDINAVIANS.

: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

'. i\

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.

< 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<l forgery. But Forster
wisely liegan to consider whether, under these names,
might not be implied other countries, now known to
us by difterent a])pellations ; and it soon ai)peared
that Orkney, Shetland, the Faro Islands, and the
Hebrides, might very well furnish (mt the apparently
unknown countries described by Zeno.f In fact, Est-
land is fixed veiy clearly as Shetland, by the names
Bras (Bressa), Broas (Bara), Talas (Zeal or Yell), and
several others. The introduction even of these un-
couth names, not known in Europe when the nar-
rative was published, tends to remove the suspicion
of its being a manufactured production. Agreeing,
therefore, with the northern writers in thinking this
a genuine relation, I shall proceed directly to that
part of it which is supposed to concern the discovery
of America.

Four fishing vessels belonging to Friesland, being
overtaken by a violent storm, were tossed about for

* Ramusio Navigazioni e Viaggi, ii. 230.

t Discoveries in the North, b. ii. ch. 3, sect. 13.

SL'FPOSKl) DISCOVKllIES OF AMEUICA.

H;«'

'hi

many days by the tempest. As tlie weather cleared,
they discovered a large island, which they called Es-
totiland, reckoned to be a thousand miles distant from
Friesland. Being obliged to land, tliey were con-
ducted to a most beautiful and very populous city.
They were introduced to the king ; but neither party
were able to understand each other, till a man wa8
found who had been cast ujwn the same shore, and
who could speak Latin. The Frieslanders were de-
tained for five years in this ccmntry, which they
found nearly as large as Iceland, and nuicli more fer-
tile, watered by four large rivers springing from a
high mountain in the interior. The inhabitants raised
grain and brewed beer, and had shi])s with which they
navigated the sea. The king had a library, in which
were Latin books, which the people, however, did not
now understand. The country contained many towns
and castles.

To the south of Estotiland there lay a more exten-
sive and fertile country, called Drogio ; and the Fries-
landers, on account of their skill in navigation, were
employed in guiding thither a small fleet. They were
cast away, however, on the shore of a savage nation,
by whom the greater jjart of them were killed, and,
it is said, devoured. One fisherman, however, by
teaching the before-unknown art of fishing with nets,
came into so great favour, that war was even waged
for the possession of him. He passed, by forcible
or friendly means, through the hands of twenty-
five different lords in the course of thirteen years. He
found them a rude people, goir.g naked, destitute of
any species of corn, and living by the chase. They car-

■I

-J.fi!

CA.

NAHRATIVE OF THE /ENl.

iv cleared,
called Es-
stant from
were con-
Lilous city,
tlier party
L man was
shore, and
I were de-
liich they
more fer-
ig from a
mts raised
Aiivh they
, in which
ir, did not
my towns

ore exten-
the Fries-
ion, were
hey were
^e nation,
led, and,
t^ever, by
vith nets,
en waged
forcible
twenty-
ars. He
stitute of
hev car-

ried on fnrious wars, and committed dreadful cruel-
ties, to the extent even of devouring each other. To
the soutli-west the manners of the people were more
civilized. They made use of gold and silver, had
cities, temples, and idols, to which they oflered up
human sacrifices. At length the Frieslander effected
his escape from this country to that of Drogio, where,
having remained for three years, he found some barks
bound to Estotiland, in which he obtained a passage.
He afterwards, it is said, carried on a traffic between
the two countries, by which he acquired considerable
wealth, and, being thus enabled to equip a small vessel
of his own, returned to Friesland.

The intelligence brought by this fisherman roused
the adventurous spirit of Zichmni. He equipped a
fleet, which he placed under the command of Zeno,
for the purpose of exploring Estotiland. Unluckily
the fisherman died just as they were getting out ; but
one of the sailors who had accompanied him served as
a pilot. They sailed by Ledovo (Lewis), and Ilofe
(Islay) ; but, after leaving this last island, were over-
taken by a violent storm, by which they were tossed
for several days, when they discovered land to the
westward. It proved to be an island called Icaria,
governed by a son of Daedalus, king of Scotland.
These names have a very fabulous sound ; but Forster
surmises that, classical recollections floating in the
mind of Zeno, he here confounds plain common names
with those furnished to him by ancient poetry. At
this island he met with a very inhospitable reception,
and, in attempting to land, a scuffle ensued, in which
several were killed on both sides. Zeno, therefore,

.'33

SUProSKI) DISC'OVKUIK.S OI" AMKUIC A.

I'!

sailed oiiWc'irds to tlu' west ; but, t'linmiitorinp^ a con-
trary wind, lu* allowed his tieet to he carried north-
ward to (rreenland, whence he returned to Friesland
by way of the Faro Islands.

It is considered by Forster, Malte Brun,* an«l other
forii^n sdvcnifi, as beyond all contradiction, that Es-
totiland can be no otiier country than Newfoundland ;
and that the civilization and European aspect whidi
that region presented were derived from the Icelandic
colonies, who, two centuries before, had settled there,
aiul given it the name of Vinland. The very name,
synonymous Avitli East Out-land, is said to be strik-
ingly descriptive of the relative situation of Newfound-
land to the American continent.

After the rigid scejiticism which has reigned
thrcmghout this discussion, the reader will probably
be ])repared for finding the present i)retension con-
sidered as eqiudly questi(mable. I cannot indeed Init
think, that he himself must have fcmnd these Latin
books, in a castle on the coast of Newfoundland, of
somewhat difficult digestion. About a century after
this country was discovered by Cabot ; and its coasts,
forming the finest fishing-station in the world, were
very soon frequented and even crowded by European
vessels. How was it then, that not a vestige was
ever seen of any one of the objects described by the
Friesland fishermen? Where were the castles, the
libraries, the " belle e popolate citta ?" AVliere was
the brewing of beer, an art of all others the least like-

Pi'f'cisde la Geoifraphip, i.

CA.

NARRATIVK OF THE ZF.XI.

'\u^ a coii-
ried iKU'th-
> 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

SUPPOSED DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA.

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.

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

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-

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.

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

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-

idii

* Pritcliard, Lawrence, &c.

VARIOUS RACES OF MEN.

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

ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS.

Ill

i 5i

') I

^;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.

COLOUR OF THE HUMAN SPECIES.

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.

(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.

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

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

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

COLOUR or THK AMKHltAN NATIONS.

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<l Indostan, are
doubtless one princijjal cause of producing the deep
black of those regions. Lastly, America is almost one
continued forest, entertwined with the most profuse
growth of underwood. Even in the wide open savan-
nahs the grass attains a growth above the human
height. The deej) shade thus produced not only af-
fords a fence against the rays of the sun, but causes a
general co(»lness of the surface, and renders America
under the same latitude every where colder than Af-
rica or Europe.

Though there are general causes sufficient to con-
nect the absence of the negro in America with clima-
tic influence, there are admitted to be great varieties
in the depth of the brown complexion ; Imt M. Hum-
boldt contends that these cannot in any case be refer-
red to the greater or less degree of heat. It is the
same, he observes, in tlie most elevated plains of the
Cordilleras, and in the narrowest and deepest plains
of the equinoctial regions. But the upper table-
plains of the Andes are in a great measure open
and cultivated, while the valleys at their feet are
buried under an almost impenetrable depth of shade.
A shaded heat, I imagine, has not the same influ-
ence on the complexion as the direct beating of
the rays of the sun. A person, who, even in the
hottest summer, remains constantly within doors,
suffers perhaps more from heat than those who go
abroad, but never becomes, like them, freckled or sun-

ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS.

burnt. A pale colour predominates even among the
most vigorous tenants of the back woods of America.
These considerations may solve much of the mystery
which M. Humboldt remarks in the swarthy colour
of the inhabitants of the high Mexican table-land.
This lofty plain, arid, and remarkably bare of ve-
getation, of course leaves its tenants without that
shelter which the lower regions afford. Another
mystery does not appear very profound. " In the
forests of Guiana, especially near the sources of
Orinoco, are several tribes of a whitish complexion."
The very terms of this description, implying consider-
able elevation and deep shade, seems to involve the
solution of the difficulty. The closest approach to
lAack appears to be in Brazil, where climatic causes
ought certainly to place it, — that country being com-
paratively low, and immediately under the equator.

But how then are we to solve the opposite pheno-
menon, that the American complexion never passes
into white ? America has a temperate region, more
extensive than that of Europe, and cooler, or rather
colder, under the same latitude. Yet the Hurons
and the Iroaquois, inhabiting the Canadian rivers and
lakes, frozen during half the year, are decidedly copper-
coloured nations. The simple reason appears to be,
they are savages. Scarcely half-clothed, most imper-
fectly defended, in miserable wigwams, from the
inclemency of the elements ; wandering often for
weeks on their long war and hunting excursions,
without any shelter but that of the trunk of a tree,
they are exposed to bear all the vicissitudes of
weather, and constantly " to bide the pelting of the

ir\

LOLOUll Ol" THK AMERICAN NATIONS.

nong the
America,
mystery
ly colour
ible-land.
re of ve-
oiit that
Another
" In the
mrces of
iplexion."
consider-
volve the
proach to
tic causes
Ang com-
quator.
te pheno-
er passes
on, more
or rather
Hurons
vers and
copper-
rs to be,
t iniper-
om the
ften for
ursions,
a tree,
udes of
of the

l)itiless storm. Their visage soon acquires that hard
and bronzed aspect which is always formed under
such circumstances. A gentleman who sliould hunt
for a whole summer exposing liimself to all weathers,
over the Highland mountains, would return with that
brown complexion which we call weather-beaten, and
which sailors, even in the temperate seas, generally
acquire. The peasantry who work constantly in the
open air, unless, as in England, they tijke some pecu-
liar precaution, soon acquire a hard and imbrowned
visage. No class of men is white, unless those who
are regularly clothed, live under cover, and enjoy
some of the conveniences of life.

After all, there a?'e white nations in America, and
those of no inconsiderable extent. On the north-
west coast, about lat. 50°, in Nootka Sound, and a
nuinl)er of other l)ays examined by Cook, Meares,
and Vanccmver, the people are more numerous, and
have attained a much greater share of external
acconnnodatiou, than over the rest of the conti-
nent. One of their towns contains 2000, another
4000 people. They have Imilt large houses, walled
and roofed with gigantic trunks of trees, whicli, as in
Florida, are often carved into a rude species of
images. They are well clothed, and, besides the
products of the chase, derivo an abundant subsist-
ence from the fishery. They are thus in a great
measure exempted from those hardships, and those
dire vicissitudes of the seasons, which the hunting
tribes encounter. Accordingly, when the thick coat-
ing of dirt and ochre in which they are usually cased
could ])e taken off, they proved to be iv/tifc. Cook's

vol,. 1.

()|{l(;iN Ol I'lll. AMl.URANS.

narrative calls it an effete whito, like that of the
southern nations of Europe, — a description which does
not seem veiy easily understood ; hut IMeares exj)ress-
ly says, that some of the females, when cleaned, were
found to have the fair comi)lexions of Europe.
Somewhat farther north, at Clo'ak Bay, in lat. 54"
10', Humholdt remarks that, " in the midst of
copj)er-coloured Indians, with small long eyes, there
is a trihe with large eyes. European features, and a
skin less dark than that of our peasantry."* M.
H\md)oldt considers this as the strongest argument
of an original diversity of race which has remained
for ages unaffected hy climate. But is it likely that
there should he a creation of the inhabitants of
Cloak Bay distinct from 'iat of the rest of America?
These j)eople exist evidently under tlie same circum-
stances with those of Nootka, and present the same
features, rendered perliaps more decided by their being
somewhat farther to the north, while the long-eyed
copper Indians are the wandering savages of the
interior.

European writers, for some time after the discovery
of America, busied themselves to an extraordinary
degree in conjecturing whence and by whom this vast
continent had been peopled. The volumes, or rather
libraries, which have been written on tlie subject,
can be little deserving of any detailed analysis, now
especially, when the mysteries which once hung over
the subject have been in a great measure dispelled.

Ntw Spain, i. \4C>.

SUPPOSED MICaiATIONS TO AMKUICA.

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.

111,

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.

[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

ili

* Ap. Dc Bry, ix. 37-

-\i^-!f'"^--'3;^:&*'

OinClIN OF THK A.MKUICANS.

f u

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.

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 !

wmm

()UI(;iN or THE AMKllIt ANN.

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.

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.

1 .

i 'i

i, '

■ ■ . 1

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.

LANGUAGES OF AMKUICA.

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<lding a few of
his own, has made out about a hundred and twenty ;
but for this piupose he has been obliged to bring into
play upwards of sixty languages in each world ; so
that it seems somehow im])ossil)le to pass the fatal
average of two words to a language.f

The resemblances being so inconclusive, in conse-
quence of the smallness of their nund)er, it may seem
superfluous to criticise that small number very se-
verely ; and yet tliey aftbrd considerable room fd
criticism. Almost all the striking agreements consist
in the natural sounds, — Ata, liaba. Papa, Mama, Ana,
which, being the first usually uttered by the infant
organs, are employed in all langiuiges to express the
tender relation which exists between the parent and
child. Of the others, many really aj)])ear exces-
sively faint. The similarity of hehavhquccft to kuk,
— pffppoos to pup., — peevhtcn to pu.sch'i, — keeaq to
/'w.v, — metxli to w///.v, — mequarme to nuh\ aj)pear to
be the reverse of striking.

"i'liere really is something mysterious in this total
absence of all analogy between the languages of the
old and new world. It appears the more singular,
when we observe that all the languages of the lui-
merous nations of the civilized world spring from
one or two original stocks, which have also close ana-

'« I'

p. 47-55.

* Untersuthunffen, &c. 15G-74.

t Universal Gcogniphy, v.

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Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

MOi

ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS.

logics with each other. It should seem, that the
speech of wandering tribes, who migrate to distant
regions, and have neither written record nor tradi-
tionary poetry to preserve any fixed standard, under-
goes by degrees a total change. Even the provincial
dialects in the remoter districts of England diverge
so widely from the genuine standard as to be abso-
lutely unintelligible to the speaker of pure English
and' to the inhabitants of other provinces. Hence we
may wonder less at a still more entire change taking
place in cases of wider and longer separation. The
extraordinary number of languages which exist with-
in America itself, and their faint analogies to each
other, tend to confirm this supposition.*

* Vater, Untersuchungen, &c. 195-203. Humboldt, Personal
Narrative, vi. 359.

■3&

that the
o distant
lor tradi-
d, under-
provincial
a diverge
be abso-
j English
Hence we
ige taking
ion. The
xist with-
s to each

BOOK I.

DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION OF NORTH

AMERICA.

CHAPTER I.

(It, Personal

EARLY VOYAGES TO THE AMERICAN COAST.

Discovery of North America.-— John and Sebastian Cabot.—-
Various Accounts of their Voyage. — Ponce de Leon, Discovery
of Florida. — Verazzani — His Voyages along the American Coast
— His tragical Fate. — Cartier discovers the Gulf of St Law-
rence — Canada — Montreal — Robervnl.

It is not here intended to enter into any detail of the
grand discovery by Columbus. That event (the best
known of any in modern times) has been received into
the domain of history, and has been recorded b}' Ro-
bertson with an eloquence and interest v*ith which I
should reluctantly enter into competition. Still more,
since Mr Irving has given new force to the character
of Columbus, and painted the shores of the new world
in such magic tints, the writer would be daring who
should attempt to tread in such footsteps. This work,
besides, relates to North America, and Columbus

^11~

EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA.

I ■; nil

i '\ '■{ • '<'i

i m

s .'

only saw the soutliern, and did not, at any point, come
into contact with the northern part of that mighty
continent, which he had been the inKstrument of dis-
covering.

Henry VII. of England narrowly, and somewhat
hardly, missed the glory of attaching to his name and
that of his country, the discovery of the transatlantic
world. Colunibus, finding his negotiations at the
courts of Spain and Portugal in an unpromising state,
sent his brother, Bartholomew, to treat with Henry,
who, notwithstanding his cautious and penurious ha-
bits, appears very readily to have closed with the pro-
position.* Before, however, Bartholomew returned
to Spain, his brother, under the auspices of Isabella,
had sailed on the voyage, from which he returned
triumphant.

Henry, though he had missed the main prize, con-
tinued still disposed to encoiu'age those who were in-
clined to embark in the brilliant adventure. An offer
was soon made to him from a respectable quarter.
Such are the vicissitudes of human destiny, that the
English, who were to become the greatest maritime
people in the world, ventured not then to undertake
distant voyages but under the guidance of Italians, —
a people whose vessels are now never seen beyond
the Mediterranean. Finding encouragement, however,
from the rising spirit of the nation, John Caboto,
whom we call Cabot, a Venetian, came over with his
three sons to settle in England. By him a plan was

* Hackluyt, i. 4.

'.«

THE CABOTS.

oiiit, come
it mighty
nt of dis-

somewhat
name and
ansatlantic
ns at the
ising state,
ith Henry,
Lurioiis ha-
th the pro-
V returned
»f Isabella,
e returned

prize, con-

10 were in-

An offer

le quarter.

y, that the

maritime

undertake

talians, —

en beyond

t, however,

in Caboto,

r with his

a plan was

presented to Henry for a western voyage, to undertake
the discovery of lands and regions unknown. Faby-
an and Ramusio assert, that Henry defrayed the cost
of at least one ship ; but their testimony, though fol-
lowed by Forster, cannot stand against the express
words of the charter, in which the Cabots are author-
ised indeed to carry out ships and men, but " suis et
eoruni propriis sumptibus et expensis." Their com-
mission indeed is abundantly ample. They are em-
powered to discover all the parts, regions, and bays
of the eastern, western, and northern seas. They may
fix the royal banners of England in any city, castle,
town, island, or firm land, which may be by them dis-
covered. John and his sons, thei^- heirs and assig-
nees, are to conquer, occupy, and rule the said cities,
castles, towns, islands, and firm lands, as governors
and lieutenants under the king ; and no one is to ap-
proach or inhabit the said cities, castles, &c. without
their permission. They are to enjoy the exclusive
trade of these newly-discovered regions, being only
bound to bring all their productions to the port of
Bristol. These goods are to be exempted from all
the ordiniuy duties of customs ; but a fifth of the net
profits arising from their sale is to be paid over to
the king.

Under this warrant, Cabot set sail, and, on the 24th
June, 1497, saw land, which he termed Prima Vista;
but the English have since substituted their native
term of Newfoundland. He afterwards sailed along
a considerable extent of coast both to the north and
south ; when, finding a continuous range of coast, and
no opening to the westward, he returned to England.

64.

EARLY VOYAGES TO AMEIUCA.

This was the first discovery of the American con-
tinent ; for it was not till the following year, and in
his third voyage, that Columbus saw the coast
of South America, where the Orinoco pours its
vast flood into the ocean. It is remarkable, and
seems to indicate a very supine state of feeling upon
these subjects, that, while the Spanish discoverers
found such numerous historians, not a single narra-
tive should exist of this memorable voyage. Hack-
luyt has with difficulty collected from various quar-
ters a number of shreds, which do not harmonize
very well together, and give only a very imperfect
idea of the proceedings. The most authentic docu-
ment is contained in a writing, made on a map drawn
by Sebastian, and engraved by Clement Adams, which
was kept at Whitehall, and of which there are said to
have been copies in the houses of many of the old
merchants. It is very short, and merely states the
discovery of Newfoundland, and some of its qualities.
The natives, it states, are clothed in the skins of
wild beasts, which they value as much as we do our
most precious garments. In war they use bows,
arrows, darts, wooden clubs, and slings. The land
is barren, and bears no fruit, whence it is filled with
bears of a white colour, and stags of a magnitude
unusual among us. It abounds in fishes, and those
very large, as sea-wolves, (seals ?) and salmon ; there
are soles of a yard in length ; but, above all, there is
a great abundance of those fishes which we call
baualaos, (cod).

This chart is stated, by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, to
be in his time still preserved in the queen's private

!f?

THE CAIJOTS.

1 con-
ind in
coast
rs its
3, and
; upon
)verers
narra-
Hack-
5 quar-
monize
[perfect
I docu-
I drawn
, which
I said to
the old
ites the
aalities.
^kins of
do our
bows,
le land
ed with
gnitude
d those
there
there is
iwe call

■■i

•S

gallery at \Vliitehall ; l)ut I have understood that it
M'as afterwards destroyed by fire.

The only other meagre testimony is that of Fa-
byaii, who saw three natives brought over by the
Cabots from Newfoundland. " These were clothed in
beasts' skins, and did eat raw flesh, and spake such
speech that no man could understand them." How-
ever, two years after, he saw them apparelled after
the manner of Englishmen, in Westminster Palace,
" which that time I could not discern from English-
men, till 1 was learned what they were ; but as for
speech, I heard none of them utter one word."

Such are all the records which England has seen
fit to preserve of this her earliest and one of her
most illustrious naval exploits. John Cabot, it would
appear, soon died, and Sebastian, the most intelligent
of his sons, finding no sufficient honour or encourage-
ment in England, repaired to Spain, where the ardour
for discovery still continued. He was readily receiv-
ed into the service of the Catholic king, and sent to
the coast of Brazil, where he made the important
discovery of the Rio de la Plata. He became the
most eminent person of his age for the sciences con-
nected with his favourite pursuits ; the construction
of maps, geography, and navigation ; and, after age
had rendered him unfit for the active exertions of a
seafaring life, he guided and directed others in this
career, and obtained the honourable title of Piloto
Mayor of Spain. Afterwards, on the accession of
Edward VI. to the throne of England, when the
nation caught at last the enthusiasm of maritime
adventure, Cabot was invited back to England, and

VOL. 1. E

'■,'i

ili

KAULY VOYACaOS TO AMKUICA.

^I'l,

constituted, by a special deed, Grand Pilot of Eng-
land, with an ample salary. In this capacity he
formed the plan and drew up the instructions for
the expedition sent under Sir Hugh Willor.tijhf /
and Chancellor, to attempt the discovery of India by
the north-east. Sebastian, with all his knowledge,
and in the course of a long life, never committed to
writing any narrative of the voyage to North Ame-
rica. The curious on the continent, however, drew
from him in conversation, various particulars, which
gave a general idea of the extent and tenor of his
discovery. Butrigario, the pope's legate in Spain,
told Ramusio that he had much intercourse with
him, and found him a very polite and agreeable per-
son ; and Peter Martyr mentions in liis history, that
he had him often at his house, and was quite on an
intimate foothig with him. In the reports from these
different quarters there are discrepances, and even
errors, which mark imperfect memory on the part of
the narrators ; but the general outline of the voyage
appears to have been as follows : — The Cabots, like
Columbus, held it for their main object to reach
Cathay, and the golden regions of India, which had
still attached to them all the European ideas of
wealth. Sebastian proceeded first to the north, in
the hope, that, by turning on that side the boundary
of the continent, he might find himself in the ex-
panse of ocean which led to the eastern regions.
He reached the latitude of sixty-seven degrees, or,
by a more probable account, only of fifty-six degrees ;
but, finding the sea encumbered with floating ice, and
the coast tending back to the eastward, he was either

I'm: cAi'.oTs.

Eng-
y he
IS for
ir^hh/
iia by-
ledge,
;ted to
Ame-
, drew
which
of his
Spain,
e with
)le per-
ry, that
e on an
m these
id even
jart of
voyage
ts, like
reach
ch had
deas of
►rth, in
►undary
the ex-
egions.
ees, or,
egrees ;
ice, and
s either

himself discouraged, or, as others say, overpowered
by a mutiny of tlie sailors. Perhaps there might be
a coml)inatiou of both causes. Retracing his steps,
and reaching his former point, he thence proceeded
to the s(mthward, still keei)ing tlie same object in
view. But tlumgh this, like the former coast, tended
steadily to the westward, it preserved the same un-
broken contimiity, and gave as little hope as ever of
the passage, to find which had been his jn-imaiy
o])ject. Worn out with a voyage of such uiuisual
length for that age, he returned to England. He
stated liimself in this southern course to have reach-
ed the latitude of Gibraltar, and the longitude of
Cuba, which would place him near the entrance of
the Chesapeake.

It cannot fail to strike us as a remarkable cir-
cumstance, that, in all the foreign accovmts of this
voyage, Sebastian is represented as its mover and sole
conductor. The legate even told Ramusio, that he
imderstood the father to have been dead before it was
undertaken ; yet the charter of Henry, and the re-
cord on the map, place it beyond a dou1)t, that old
John was at the head of the whole undertaking. This
suggests a disagreeable doubt, v ..ther Sebastian,
when abroad, having his own story to tell, did not
drop all mention of his worthy father, and even kill
him before the time. The hypothesis to which Camp-
bell is driven, of there being two voyages, in one of
which were both father and son, and in the other the
son only, does not seem very tenable. Nothing of the
kind is hinted at in any of the original relations ; and
the date which Sebastian assigns to that of which he

(J8

KAHl.V \()VA(;r,S TO A.MKinC'A..

makes liimself the sole conductor, is rather prior than
subsequent to the date of the joint voyage.*

It appears that, on the 9th December, 1502, Henry
gave a patent to John Elliot and Thomas Ashurst,
merchants of Bristol, with John Gonzales and Francis
Fernandez natives of Portugal, to go with English
colours in quest of unknown countries.f I have not
been able to learn any thing of this voyage, which
seems to have escaped the diligent researches of Hack-
luyt. He communicates the fragment of a letter from
Mr Robert Thorne of Bristol, boasting that his father,
and Hugh Elliot, another mercliant of Bristol, had
been the discoverers of Newfoundland ; but this, I
suspect, is only in respect of having aided in setting
forth the Cabots, not of liaving preceded them.

Another important step in discovery was made by
a naval nation of the highest distinction at that era.
The Portuguese stood long foremost, and even alone,
in tracing a naval career through the ocean. Their
efforts, indeed, were for a long period concentrated in
that series of exploratory voyages, by which the passage
of the Cape was effected, and a path opened into the In-
dian seas ; in the course of which they made the dis-
covery of Brazil. One Portuguese family, however,
called at first Costa, and afterwards Cortereal, signa-
lized itself in the career of northern discovery. There
is even an authority, not devoid of some weight, ac-
cording to which a Cortereal, twenty years before Ca-

* Hackluyt, iii.6 — 9. Ramusio, iii. Pref. p. 28. Peter Martyr,
Dec. iii. ch. 6. Fabyan, Kent's Memoirs of Seamen, i.
t Rapin's History, i. 083.

LOUTEUEAl..

than

lenry
hurst,
raneis
nglish
ire not
which
Hack-
r from
father,
al, had
this, I
setting

•

lade by

hat era.

1 alone.

Their

•ated in

passage

the In-

the dis-

lowever,

1, signa-

There

ight, ac-

fore Ca-

er Martyr,

hot, JH said to have sailed from the Azores to New-
foimdhiiid ; but though this voyage seems more plau-
sible than any of those made by the Scandinavians, it
stands yet on too slender evidence to disi)ute with
Cabot and ColumbiLs the glory of discovering America.
An expedition, undoubtedly genuine, was that of Gaspar
Cortereal, who, in 1.500, set sail with two caravels to
discover a shorter passage to India and the Spice
Islands. He appears first to have reached Newfound-
land, whence, pushing on to the nortli, he came to
that great range of coast, to which, from some very
superficial observation, he gave the name of Labrador,
or the Labourer's coast, which it has ever since re-
tained ; though Munster, Ortelius, and others of the
early cosmographers, give it, in honour of the dis-
coverer, the name of Corterealis. He found the coast
covered with abundance of timber, well stocked with
fish, and inhabited by a poor, robust, and hardy race.
They are described correctly as skilful archers, clothed
in the skins of beasts, and living in caves. They
were found very jealous of the chastity of their wo-
men. He brought with him several of the inhabit-
ants, though surely not so many as fifty-seven, the
number stated by Pedro Pascoal. On reaching lat.
60°, and seeing snow drifting through the air at the
close of summer, and the sea beset with huge islands
of ice, he determined to postpone farther proceedings
till a future season. Much is said of his having dis-
covered a strait called Anian, which was probably one
of those entering into Hudson's Bay. He returned,
on the whole, with sanguine hopes as to the discovery
of a northern passage ; and in the following year he

,iH

l.AKI.V V()YA(;i:s TO AMKllKA.

Het out a^aiii with two vessels, under the saiution aiul
furtherance of tlu' court. I'he voyage was prospercms
till they reached a coast wiiich they called 'IVrraW-rde,
Greenland ; not, however, our Greenland, but some
part, more smiling? than the rest, of the coast formerly
visite<l. Here the two vessels, overtaken by a vio-
lent storm, were completely separated ; and that in
which Cortereal was not, after long })eating about and
searching in vain for its consort, was obliged to return
to Lisbon without the author of the expedition, who
was never more heard of.

Gaspar had a younger brotlier, Miguel, who, incon-
solable for the fate of his ])rother, obtained ])ermission
from the king to sail in search of him. He had with
him three vessels, which, on coming to the mouth of
the straits, took eacli a separate passage, appointing a
rendezvous, at which they were to meet on the 20th of
Augnst. Two of them did there meet; but Miguel
was wanting, and was no more seen or heard of.
There remained yet a third brotlier, who eagerly
sought to follow in the traces of his lost kinsmen ;
but the king, who thought he had lost already too
much in this bold adventure, interposed his royal pro-
hibition. Since these two gallant and ill-fated youths,
no Portuguese appears to have attempted either a
passage or a settlement on any part of the coast of
America ; though the nation engaged early and to a
great extent in the Newfoundland fishery.

The next point upon which the continent of Ame-
rica was approached was its southern extremity, from
the Gulf of Mexico. The Spaniards, who had begun
the career of discovery in so l)rilliant a manner, sought

I'ONCK DK l.liO;

■1 I.OUIDA.

HI and
prntUM
Vcnlc,
some
rinerly
a vio-
hat in
lilt antl
return
n, who

incon-
iiiission
1(1 with
oiith of
nting a
20th of
Miguel
ard of.

agerly
risineii ;
ady too
rn\ pro-
youths,

ither a
oast of
id to a

»f Ame-

y, from

begun

sought

long to absorf) tlie whole of the new continent. One
of the most eminent of the followern of Columbus wan
Juan Ponce de Leon. After serving with distinction
in a sub(»rdinate capacity, he became desinms of a field
of action which might l)e wholly his own. In sailing
along the coast of Porto Kico, he liad l)een struck
with its attractive aspect, and witli symptoms which
appeared to portend gold, that almost sole object of
Spanish desire. Ovando, under whom he served in
Hispaniola, very readily rllowed him a detachment
with which to try his fortune. Ponce, acting with
equal prudence and vigour, soon reduced the island to
subjection ; and though he did not discover that am-
ple deposit of gold which had been lioped and exj)ect-
ed, he did not entirely fail in his search after this pre-
cious metal.*

Ponce de Leon having comi)leted this undertaking,
had a mind too ardent and active to remain at rest.
Another object attracted his desire, and absorbed his
whole soul. He was assured by a number of Indians,
that in some part of the islands called Bahama, or
Lucayos, there was a tbuntain called Bimini, of such
marvellous virtue, that the happy man who bathed in
its waters, to whatever period of life he might have
reached, rose in the full bloom and vigour of youth.
To the discovery of this precious fountain. Ponce de-
voted his existence. He spent many months sailing
along these coasts, landing at every point, and j)lung-

* Hevrora, Dec, i. lib. vii. ch. !).

■fl* ■ ,T

'1/

llM

ii;.

KAULY VOYACiKS TO AMERICA.

ing into every pool, however shallow or muddy, al-
ways hoping to rise in that state of blissful renovation
which he had been taught to anticipate. The conse-
quence of such long and incessant agitation under a
burning sky was, that, instead of the brilliant youth
which he so vainly hoped to attain, he brought upon
himself all the infirmities of a premature old age.
Indeed, by what Oviedo could learn, instead of a
second youth, he arrived at a second childhood, and
never disco veered the same vigour, either of body or
mind, as before he entered upon this delusive search.
It is seldom, however, that extraordinary efforts of hu-
man activity fail of leading to some result.* While
Ponce waj beating about restlessly from shore to shore
in search of the mysterious fountain, he came in view
of a more extensive range of land than any formerly
seen. It was crowned with magnificent forests, in-
termingled with flowering shrubs, which presented an
enchanting aspect, and to which, therefore, he gave
the name of Florida. In navigating along its shore,
his ships were violently agitated by the currents
arising out of the action of the gulf-stream, which
rushes here with concentrated force through the Ba-
hama channels, and from which he gave to the south-
ern cape the name of Corrientes. The Spaniards,
however, still continued to attach the idea of island to
all the newly-discovered lands ; and the pointed and

* Ramusio, iii. 347- Osorio, History of the Portuguese, book
i. Barrow's Voyages, 37-48.

PONCE DE LEON. — FLORIDA.

dy, al-
)vatioii
conse-
nder a
youth
t upon
Id age.
d of a
od, and
)ody or
search.
s of hu-
While
;o shore
in view
jrmerly
sts, in-
nted an
le gave
5 shore,
urrents
which
he Ba-
south-
miards,
land to
ed and

?sc, book

I)eninsulated form which the continent here presents to
the Gulf of Mexico made them obstinately continue
for some time to attach to Florida the character of
insularity. In vain did the natives assure them, that
it formed part of a vast continent, of which they even
named various nations and provinces. Some years
elapsed, according to Herrera, before the Spaniards
could learn to view Florida as part of the American
continent. AVhen at last they did so, they hesitated not
to claim as Florida, and as belonging to Spain, the
whole northern continent, as its vast extent was suc-
cessively discovered. But this pretension was soon
met by others, advanced by nations who possessed
better means of making their claims effectual ; and
the name of Florida was obliged to give way before
those of Virginia, Carolina, and others, which the
prosperous colonies of England imposed upon this
extensive line of coast.

Ponce de Leon having at length renounced h/s un-
fortunate search after the fountain of youth, deter-
mined to make the utmost of his real discovery. He
repaired to Spain, and obtained from the king autho-
rity to lead an expedition into Florida, with the title
of Adelantado, which included the powers of gover-
nor and commander-in-chief. Finding, however, Porto
Rico disturbed by an insurrection of the Caribes, he
was obliged to take the field against them ; but, being
unequal to his former exertions, he made an un-
fortunate campaign, and lost much of his former re-
putation. At length he contrived to equip an expe-
dition for Florida ; but his constitution, exhausted by
visionary hopes and efforts, being now unfit for the

EARLY VOYAGES TO AMEKICA.

If li'

i, ,1 B
if j Kl

fatigues of such a voyage, he was obliged to put into
Cuba, where he died.*

The Spaniards from Cuba soon found their way to
Florida, and made expeditions, of which one object
soon came to be the iniquitous practice of carrying off
the Indians as slaves. A considerable timo elapsed,
as we shall see, before attempts began to be made for
the actual conquest and occupation of Florida.

While the nations both of the north and the south
of Europe had made such vigorous exertions for the
discovery of America, the French flag had not yet
appeared in the western seas. That nation, though
equally powerful and enterprising, had been more at-
tached to feudal usages, and less imbued with the mo-
dern maritime and commercial spirit, than any other
of modern Europe. A monarch of such spirit as
Francis I., however, could not be content to see
Charles, his rival, carrying off all the brilliant prizes
offered by the new world. He listened readily to the
suggestion, that he too should send an expedition to
the west, for the discovery of kingdoms and countries
unknown. He found himself, however, under the
same necessity as Henry, to employ foreign science
and skill to guide his fleet into those distant seas.
Juan Verazzani, a Florentine, who had distinguished
himself by successful cruises against the Spaniards,
was sent with a vessel called the Dauphin to the
American coast. In the narrative of his voyage

* Herreva, Dec. i. b. (). c. 10; Dec. ii. c H ; Dec. iv. h. 4 ;
f. 4, 5, 6. Ovieclo ap. Ramiisio, iii. 140-7.

? r

vEiiA;f;fANi.

b. 4;

which he sends to Francis, Verazzani sets out from
the little island or rock near Madeira, called the De-
sertas. About midway across the Atlantic, he en-
countered one of those disasters to which navigators
of that age, in their comparatively small vessels, were
so liable. His little bark had nearly perished. It
survived, however, and, completing happily the rest of
his voyage, he arrived on a coast which, according to
him, was never seen by any either of the ancients or
moderns, and which appears to have been some
part either of Carolina or Florida. That it was
inhabited appeared from the large fires kindled on
shore ; but he sought in vain for a port into which
his vessel could enter. After sailing first south, and
then north, in the fruitless search, he determined to
put out a boat, and open an intercourse with the na-
tives. They came to the shore in considerable num-
bers ; but as soon as the French landed, and began to
follow them, tliey ran away, turning back, however,
with evident signs of wonder and curiosity. At length,
being satisfied that they had nothing to fear, they
offered victuals to the French, assisted them in drawing
their bark on shore, and viewed with surprise and ad-
miration the white colour, the dress, and the whole
appearance of this unknown people. They were tall,
handsome, swift, perfectly naked, except that various
skins and tails of animals were fastened round the
middle by a girdle of woven grass, and hung down to
the knee. The coast was sandy, rising behind into
little hills ; but as they proceeded, it became more
elevated, and was covered with magnificent woods,
not of the common forest-trees, but of the palm, the

i I

ll "ri*!

if V

' I

EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA.

cypress, and others unknown to Europe, and which
diffused the most delicious perfume. This land was
in lat. 34°, which, if correct, would place it about Cape
Fear. They now proceeded along the coast, which
turned to the eastward, and appeared very populous,
but so low and open, that even a boat could not ap-
proach it. In this emergency, a young sailor under-
took to swim on shore, and open an intercourse \7ith
the natives. They crowded to receive him ; but just
as he had arrived within a few yards of the land, his
courage failed, and he attempted to turn back. A
high wave, however, met him, and, amid the agi-
tation of fear and of the waters, he was thrown on
shore more dead than alive. The natives immediate-
ly stripped him naked, and conveyed him to a large
fire which they had been busily kindling. His com-
panions in the ships then never doubted that he was
about to be roasted alive, and to furnish one of those
horrible banquets in which the Indians were supposed
to delight. The youth himself was at first of the
same opinion ; but he was soon consoled, when they
merely brought him so near as to place him in a com-
fortable state of warmth. They viewed with an eager
but kindly curiosity the whiteness of his skin, and all
the particulars which made him a different being from
themselves. On his making signs that he wished to
return, they took leave of him with tender embraces,
accompanied him to the shore, and kept their eyes in-
tently fixed on him till he reached he vessel.

Verazzani now sailed onward, and reached the
coast of Virginia. It was found, like the former,
beautiful, and covered with noble trees, which did

VEllAZZANI.

not, however, in this colder climate, emit the same
agreeable perfume. They found the barks of the
natives made of a single tree, not by any instru-
ment either of iron or wood, but hollowed out by
the use of fire, — a process more fully observed by sub-
sequent travellers. The men had all fled, and they
only succeeded in overtaking two females, of whom
one was old, the other young, tall, and handsome.
The old woman was soon prevailed upon to eat with
relish of the victuals which they offered, and even
allowed them to take a boy who was in her arms,
for the purpose of carrying him into France ; but
the young woman threw indignantly on the ground
every thing which they tendered to her, and when
they attempted to carry her off, uttered such fright-
ful screams, that they were obliged to desist. After
sailing a hundred leagues farther, they came to a
fine and sheltered bay, surrounded by gentle hills,
which received a very great river, (the Hudsoi- ?)
so deep that loaded vessels might have ascended it ;
but, dreading accidents, they merely went up in
boats, and found a country equally rich and beautiful,
which they left with regret. The hills, to their
anxious view, appeared to afford some metallic pro-
mise. They now sailed fifty leagues eastward, along
a coast, (probably that of Long Island,) without
suspecting its separation from the continent, and
came to an island ten leagues from land, apparently
Martha's Vineyard. It was covered with gentle and
finely- wooded hills, and reminded them of Rhodes.
There soon appeared twenty boats filled with natives,
who approached within fifty paces, raising various

rj-

EAllLV VOYAGES TO AMKUICA.

i!..;

cries. After carefully viewing the French, they set
up an united shout, expressive of joy and security,
and came nearer. The French threw them bells,
mirrors, and other little toys, when they no longer
hesitated to come on board. Verazzani thought
them the finest and handsomest race, as well as the
most civilized in their manners, that he had yet seen
in America. Their colour was less dark than that of
the more southern people, and their forms even
approached to the beauty of the antique. They
became extremely intimate with the French, who
made several excursions with them into the interior
of the country, and found it covered with noble
woods. They showed, however, an extreme jealousy
of their females, whom they would, on no account,
allow to enter the French vessel. Even the queen,
while her royal husband spent a long time on
board, examining the different parts of the vessel,
and communicating with the crew by signs and
gestures, was left with her ladies in a boat, at a
little distance. At length the French took leave of
this friendly people, and sailed a hundred and fifty
leagues, along a coast running first to the east, and
then to the north, which last direction marks that
they had now entered upon New England. The
country was in general similar to that which they
had left, though it gradually became higher, and
even sometimes rose into mountains. Other fifty
leagues, in the direction of east and north, brought
them to a region covered with peculiarly dense and
dark woods, (apparently the district of Maine). Here
they stopped, and endeavoured to open an intercourse

VEUAZPJANT.

with the natives, but found them every way the
reverse of their last acquaintances. They were alike
rough in their persons and dispositions, and repelled
every friendly overture. They were tempted, indeed,
by the display of articles which the French brought,
to accede to a certain species of barter ; but they
would admit of it on no footing except the following :
They came to the shore, at the point wliere the surf
was breaking most violently, while the French boat
kept on the outer side, and a rope was passed from
one to the other, along which the articles of traffic
were conveyed. They would accept of nothing,
however, but knives, fishing-hooks, and cutting
metal ; " ne stimavano gentilexxti alcuna." While
this traffic was going on, they were continually call-
ing to the French on no account to approach the
shore, and they closed it by rude gestures indicative
of disdain and aversion. There was little temptation
to linger here, and the French followed, therefore, a
course of fifty leagues farther, during which they
counted thirty islands, separated by narrow channels,
(pretty evidently those of the Bay of Penobscot).
Another course of 150 miles brought them to the
land discovered by the Bretons, (British,) in about
50° N. lat., and which is therefore Newfoundland.
Verazzani's stores being now exhausted, he took in
wood and water, and returned to France.

Verazzani had thus completed a survey of seven
hundred leagues of coast, including the whole of that
of the United States, and a great part of British
America, forming one of the most extended ranges
of early discovery. He returned to France in high

Vh nn I"

i f

KAIILY VOYACJES TO AMEIIICA.

hopes and spirits, and laid before Francis plans not
only for completing the discovery of tlie American
coast, but for penetrating into tlie interior of the
continent, and also for colonizing some part of this
vast and fertile region. That monarch seems to
liave welcomed the jiroposal with his characteristic
ardour, since Ramusio speaks of the " immense
liberality" with which he was disposed to favour it,
and from which the most important results were
expected. Verazzani did indeed set out on another
voyage ; but its records are equally brief and fatal.
Kamusio gives neither date nor place, nor country,
but states, that having landed with some of his crew,
he was seized by the savages, killed and devoured in
the presence of his companions on board, who sought
in vain to give any assistance. Such was the fate
of one of the most eminent navigators of that age,
whom Forster ranks as similar to Cook, both as to
his exploits during life, and the dreadful mode of his
death. But Verazzani, though possessed of many
great qualities, cannot be placed on a level with the
first navigator of modern times. I should even hope
that this analogy fails as to the peculiar fate which
he is reported to have suffered. That all the Indians
were cannibals was a standing belief of that age,
of which the slightest appearance or presumption
was held conclusive. But closer observation has, in
almost every instance, proved, that though their
treatment of enemies and captives was abundantly
direful, it scarcely ever assumed this peculiarly dread-
ful form. That Verazzani perished amid flame and
torture is but too probable ; but I do not think that

( AUTFKK.

he perished in that fearful manner which his annalist
lias recorded.*

The gloomy imjn'ession produced by the tragic
fate of Verazzani seems to have deterred others for
some time from such enterprises. At length Jacques
Cartier, a l)old seaman of St Malo, proposed another
voyage, and was readily supplied witli two ships,
under the direction of the Sieur de Melleraye, then
Vice-Admiral of France. He set sail on the 20th
April, 1534, and on tlie 10th May came in view of
Cape Bonavista. As large masses of ice, however,
were still floating about the coast, he deemed it wise
to enter a harbour which he called St Catherine, and
to remain there ten days. The sea then becoming
favourable, he came out, and stood to the north.
The first striking object was an island named the
Island of Birds, from the prodigious flights with
which it was covered. Tliey appeared as if they
were planted, and standing like crops of grain upon*
it and the sun'ounding sea. In his second voyage,
he says, there would have been enough to liave
loaded the whole navy of France, without any sensi-
ble vacancy being left.

Cartier now sailed along the whole northern coast
of Newfoundland, giving names to all its capes and
harbours. He found it barren in the extreme, and
considers it a great license to call it Newfoundland,
when there was not land enough to have loaded a
cart ; nothing but rocks and sand, covered with arid

* Ramusio, Hi. 348-52.

VOL. I.

i ; i'.i ■-

KAHl.Y VC)YAC;i:s TO AMKKICA.

i! I

ii'!

M !

atones : he verily thought it must have been the
land assigned to Cain. The natives were tall, stout,
and fierce ; they were clothed in skins of beasts
and fishes, had their bodies painted, and used canoes
made of bark. A French boat, which had been sent
on shore, was surrounded by five of their canoes,
when they offered the usual savage welcome by
dancing and raising cries of joy. The French, how-
ever, afraid of their superior numbers, discharged
some guns, which caused them to fly with the ut-
most sj)eed. Next day they appeared in nine barks,
but fled at sight of the French, at the same time
looking back and showing skins, with which they
were willing to traflfic. On receiving assurance of
safety, they gladly ai)proached, and, seeing the knives
and toys witli which the French were ju'ovided,
began dancing with all their might, and setting up
loud shouts of joy. In the purchase of these much-
prized objects they not only expended all the skins
with which they had come prepared, but took from
their persons tliose with which they were scantily
covered, and went off stark-naked in search of more.
Proceeding along the coast, the French came to a
place where they were visited by forty barks, having
on board about two liundred men, women, and chil-
dren. They received with equal delight the slender
gifts which the foreigners bestowed upon them.
The young ladies were at first kept in the back-
ground, within a grove ; but two or three having
contrived to get forward, received such handsome
presents, that the other damsels were presently
brought uj), in the hope of coming in for a share.

CAUTIKH. — NKWl'orNDI./.Nl).

Hii

I tlie
<t()iit,
)easts
aiioes
1 sent
Einoes,
le by
, liow-
larged
he ut-
barks,
e time
I they
ince of
knives
ovided,
iiig up
miich-
e skins
k from
cantily
more,
e to a
having
d chil-
lender
them,
back-
having
dsome
jesently
share.

f 'artier thought these the most miserabk' mortals he
had ever fieheld. They wore nothing but a seanty
covering of poor skins, tlie vahie of which could
in no case be rated above fivepence. They lived
solely on fisli, and on some berries and small grains
which grew spontaneously ; and they lia<l no habita-
tion, excej)t their barks, which, when they went on
shore, they turned upside down, juid slept beneath
them.

Cartier having sailed along the northern coast of
Newfoundland, and passed through the Straits called
afterwards lielleisle, found himself in a wide and
open sea, which no navigator, except, perhaps, Cor-
tereal, appears before to have reached. All had sailed
across from the coast of Newfoundland to that of
Labrador, or Nova Scotia, considering the passages
separating them only as gulfs. To the west he
now saw a wide and open field of discovery ; but
the season was far advanced, and the east wind,
wliich was driving him with violence towards these
unknown seas and coasts, would have rendered his
return to France precarious. He determined to
reserve till another voyage and season the farther
prosecution of this object.

\Vlien Cartier returned to France, and reported
the prospects opened to him by the sea to the west
of Newfoundland, he found the Court still ready to
second his enterprise. A larger exjiedition was
equipped next spring, consisting of three vessels, of
120, of 70, and of 40 tons. They were solemnly
prepared for the expedition by confession, and re-
ceiving the sacrament in the church of St Malo.

j^) f

> <'

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 .

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

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

!'»

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.

llaga,

ad-

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

1 ■ , 1 ''

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,

C A U T I E « . C A X A 1) A .

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

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.

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.

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

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO ILOKIDA.

h J

I- ! If

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'AMPHILO NAHVAKZ.

?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

i-i?

\ f

Hi
■ f <

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.

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-

|;|

1 1

iiip

^B^

1'*

1^K1

'i^K

ill

■

SPANISH KXPl'.DI rioNS INIO I I.OHIDA.

> 'I

K 'I

' 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.

I'AMrHU.O NAllVAKi:

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

SPANISH KXl'KDniON.S INTO I'lMMMDA.

f .

' i

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 an<l wealth, sucli as
this had been painted.

Narvaez desired Alvaro, with fifty infantry and
nine cavahy, to enter and take })osse8sion of the
town. This he easily effected, as all the men were
absent, jn'obably on a hunting excursion, and only
women and children left in the i)lace. The warriors,
however, soon apjieared, and were neither little nor
agreeably surprised to find their abodes in the i)os-
session of a band of strangers. They showed their
sentiments by letting fly a shower of arrows, one of
which killed a Spanish horse. \Vlien fairly attacked,
however, they were unable to bear the shock of
European troops, and retreated into the woods.
They appeared two days after in a pacific attitude,
and besought, that if they could not recover their
houses, they might at least have their wives and
children. This was granted, the Spaniards only
retaining one of their Caciques as a hostage. It was
soon found, however, that their enmity was in no
degree abated. Next day they made an attack so
furious, that they succeeded in setting fire to some of
the houses ; and though again quickly repulsed, fled
with such celerity into the woods and marshes, that
only one could be killed. Next day an equally brisk
attack was made, with a similar result.

The Spaniards had not remained long at Apala-

VAMPIIII.O NAIlVAi'./.

1)9

their

eaveii

and

Ttiaw-
■y had
uh an

•y and

of the

II were

id only

arriors,

ttle nor

:he pos-
ed their

}, one of

ittaeked,

hock of
woods,
attitude,

vev their

tves and
4s only
It was
as in no
attack so
o some of
ilsed, fled
shes, that
ally brisk

at Apala-

I'heii, when they became statisfied that the hrilliant
wealth which had hu'ed them on to this hil)orious and
IHtIIous e.\|)edJtion was a perfect cliimera. The coun-
try was mountainous and ru^^ed, covered witli ex-
tensive marshes, which, l)oth from their deptb and
tli .• large trees strewed across them, were exceedingly
difficult to i)ass. On strict inquiry, it appeared that
the farther they proceeded in this <lirection they would
find it always the more barren and rugge<l. They
now hegan to feel themselves in evil plight. Tlunigh
the Indians c(mld not face them in the field, they hem-
med them closely in, and every man or horse which
straggled from the main body was overwhelmed witli
a shower of arrows. At length it was learned, that
to the south was the country of Ante (now called the
Bay of St Mark), which was situated on the seacoaat,
and abounded in maize. So valuable did these com-
forts now appear, that the Spaniards, renouncing all
their chimeras of gold and conquest, determined to set
out in search of the coast of Ante.

The journey was free neither from diflficulty nor
danger. They had to cross lagoons and marshes
deeper and more encumbered than any they had
hitherto encountered. On the second day, while they
were struggling through, with the water up to their
breast, the air was suddenly darkened by clouds of
arrows, shot by invisible hands. These were the In-
dians, who had lodged themselves along the banks of
the lake, or behind the trees which floated on its sur-
face. AVith bows eleven or twelve spans long, and
as thick as a man's arm, they discharged arrows to the

]

If ••

'ill

ili

I, "I I i|

I !:

100 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO rLOIlIDA.

distance of two hundred yards with ahnost unerring
precision, and such force, that they penetrated the
thickest armour, and grievously wounded both man
and horse. Sometimes even a single wound caused
immediate death. The Indians, when seen, being tall,
naked, and moving with prodigious swiftness, had al-
most the appearance of supernatural beings. No
movement of resistance or attack could be made till
the Spaniards were extricated from the lagoon ; and
even then the ground was so encumbered, that the
cavalry could not act, and it was only by dismount-
ing and pursuing the enemy on foot, that it became
possible to drive them to a little distance. They soon
re-appeared, and allowed the Spaniards no rest, till
after their stock of arrows was exhausted. The expe-
dition then proceeded without farther molestation, and
in nine days from its last departure arrived at Ante.
The natives had abandoned the place ; but a good
store of maize was found, and after another day's
march they came to the banks of a river which ap-
peared to open at some distance below into a broad
arm of the sea.

The situation of the Spaniards v/as now such as
called for the most serious reflection. All their bril-
liant hopes had vanished. Nearly a third of their
number had perished. More than a third of those
remaining laboured under disease, which was gaining
so rapidly as to make it certain that a continuance of
these laborious marches through a hostile country
would place the whole on the sick-list. There was
thus every reason to fear, that either in attempting to

^^^Smm

I'AMPHILO NARVAEZ.

101

lerring
ed the
h man
caused
rig tall,
had al-
's. No
ade till
n ; and
hat the
imount-
became
ley soon
•est, till
le expe-
ion, and
it Ante,
a good
r day's
lich ap-
a broad

such as
eir bril-
)f their
)f those
gaining
lance of
country
ere was
)ting to

retrace their steps, or to march along the coast in
search of their fleet, the whole would perish. A ge-
neral meeting was called, and every one was asked
wliat he had to propose. After long deliberation,
there appeared only one resource which afforded a
gleam of hope ; this was to construct little barks, and
sail along the coast till they should find their fleet.
It was difficult to conceive a resource more forlorn.
They had neither knowledge of ship-building nor any
implements of the art, nor any materials out of
which sails, ropes, and rigging could be construct-
ed. Still the plan had this one recommendation,
tlial every thing else was utterly desperate. They
therefore applied themselves to the task, and called
upon Heaven, and upon Necessity, the mother of
invention, to aid them. One of them, out of wooden
pipes and the skins of wild beasts, contrived to make
a pair of bellows, by the operation of which their
stirrui)s, spin's, and cross-bows, were converted into
nails, saws, and hatchets. Their shirts, cut open and
sewed together, made sails ; the juice of a species of
pine was a substitute for tar ; the woolly part of the
palm-tree served as oakum ; its fibres, with loose hair,
formed a species of rope. A horse was killed every
three days, and its flesh distributed, partly to the
working hands, partly as a dainty to the sick. In
short, with such ardour did the work i)roceed, that
having begun on the 4th of August, by the 22d of
Sej)tember they had comi)leted five boats, in each of
which were embarked from forty to fifty persons ; but
they were so crowded, that they could not move or
turn in the boat, of which not more than a fimrth

1
ill J

102 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA.

I: f

i J

part was above the water. In this plight, however,
it behoved them to sail.*

After proceeding six days, a favourable circum-
stance occurred. On approaching an island, they des-
cried five canoes belonging to Indians, who immedi-
ately abandoned them. The canoes being taken and
attached to their boats, enabled the Spaniards to place
themselves in a somewhat better condition. They
sailed on, however, thirty days without finding any
secure haven, or opportunity of refreshment. The
scarcity of victuals was now felt ; and that of water
was so extreme, that many were driven to drink sea-
water, which, when taken in any quantity, proved
fatal. Their sufferings were aggravated by a severe
storm, which continued for six days ; at the end of
which they seemed on the point of perishing, when,
on turning a point, they discovered a fine and secure
bay, with a considerable village. - Here they were re-
ceived most cordially and hospitably : before each door
stood vessels of water, from which they quenched their
thirst, and they enjoyed a hearty meal of roasted fish.
Mutual presents were exchanged, and such a cordial
intercourse established, that Narvaez agreed to spend
the night under the roof of the Cacique. This calm
was of short duration. At midnight the village was
attacked by a hostile tribe of Indians ; the Cacique
fled with all his people, and the Spaniards were left to
maintain alone a desperate contest. The governor

* NautVagios, \^. 6-9. Herrera, Dec. iv. G-9, lib. 4. ch. 6.
Ramusio, iii. 2G2-3.

Al.VAUO XI' Ni:/.

103

wever,

ircum-
ey des-
nmedi-
en and

place
They

iig any
. The
' water
nk sea-
proved

1 severe
end of

, when,
secure
vere re-
tch door
ed their
ted fish,
cordial
o spend
lis calm
fige was
Cacique
e left to
overnor

4. ch. 6.

::i

liiniself and all his people were wounded more or
less severely, before the enemy could be beat oft"; and
they had no choice left but to re-embark. They
touched afterwards at another populous bay ; but be-
ing involved in a quarrel with the natives, respecting
two of tneir people who had been lured away, were
obliged agam to put out to sea. Tlieir situation be-
came now every moment more critical. Hieir rem-
nant of provisions was drawing fast to a close, and the
shattered barks could scarcely be got forward. That
of the governor being the best manned, now l)egan
pushing on at a rate with which the rest were im-
able to keej) pace. Alvaro called out to ask orders
how he was to proceed ; to which Narvaez answer-
ed, that the time was past for giving or receiving
orders, and that it rested with every man to save
his life as he best could ; he then pushed on, and
was soon out of sight. Alvaro, with another of
the barks, continued the voyage for four days ; but
having only half a handful of maize daily for each,
and encountering severe weather, they were reduced
to the most extreme distress. On the evening of the
fourth day the crew sunk entirely, and fell down half
dead over each other. Alvaro being alone capable of
any exertion, the master called to him, that he must
take the helm, as he himself would certainly die
that night. Alvaro took che post, but after a few
hours' rest the master resumed it. Towards morning
they heard the sound of breakers, and found the vessel
in six fathoms water, which led to the ho2)e of being
near land. Daylight confirmed this hope, and, after
a severe shock in crossing the breakers, the boat was

^Ji

< '

:li

1:1

^.'i:'

'.n

I !

■

,ii.

i '

! t

si I

104 SPANISH KXPEDITIONS IXTO ri.ORIDA.

got near to the land, and the exhausted crew crept on
shore upon their hands and feet. Here they kindled a
fire, cooked the maize which they had still left, and
began to feel their strength and spirits revive.

Alvaro desired Lope d'Oviedo, the most vigorous
of the company, to mount a tree and see what land it
was on which they had been thrown. Oviedo report-
ed that it was an island, and so well cultivated, that
it ai)peared almost a Christian land. He was then
desired to advance a little into the country, though
with caution. He soon found a village, with only
women and children in it ; but three archers sjieedily
appeared, with others behind, who, following Oviedo,
quickly reached the shore, and formed a circle of
about a hundred roiuid our party. They were well-
armed and tall, and, to the alarmed eyes of the Spa-
niards, appeared almost gigantic. Alvaro, who had
not six men that could rise from the ground, saw
clearly that he had nothing to hope from resistance,
and that his only course was to endeavour to propitiate
the strangers. This he sought to do by courtesy, and
by presenting them with those toys in which savages
delight. He met a most kind and gracious return ;
the Indians presented him with arrows, their surest
pledge of confidence ; they regretted much having no
provisions with them, but promised by next morning
to icturn with a copious supply.

The Indians fulfilled their engagement, and both
this day and the following brought fresh stores of
fish, roots, and other productions of the soil. Alvaro,
having formed a stock of these sufficient to last for some
time, determined to set sail and pursue his voyage.

ALVARO NUNEZ.

105

•ept on
idled a
ft, and

gorous
land it
report-
id, that
IS then
though
th only
peedily
3viedo,
ircle of
re well-
he Spa-
jho had
id, saw
istance,
pitiate
y, and
avages
eturn ;
surest
mg no
lorning

d both
)res of
Vlvaro,
)r some
-^oyage.

For this purpose it was a matter of great labour, in
their weak state, to loosen the boat out of the sand in
which it was fixed, and drag it afloat ; in. doing which
it was even necessary to strip themselves naked,
throwing their clothes into the boat. A fresh ca-
lamity here overtook them, more dreadful than any
former one. A violent wave overset the boat, wliich
sunk with all the clothes, and carried down three of
the Spaniards ; the rest with difliculty reached the
shore. They threw themselves naked on the sand ; and
their former condition, deemed so wretched, appeared
almost happiness when compared with that extremity
of misery at which they had now arrived. Their des-
titution was utter ; all the little they had was gone
down, and with it every hope and chance of deliverance.
As they looked at the emaciated bodies of each othei',
in which every bone could be counted, each felt sym-
pathy for his companions, mingled with a more in-
tense feeling of his own misery. While they lay in
this state, the Indians came up with a fresh supply of
provisions ; but at the view of their changed and
dreadful condition, set up loud cries of lamentation,
which were heard at a great distance, and were con-
tinued for half an hour without intermission. As
soon as their plaint had somewhat abated, Alvaro
asked his companions (without fear of being under-
stood by the Indians), what was to be done in this
extremity, and whether they ought not to ask shelter
from strangers who showed so tender a concern for
their sufferings. There happened, however, to be
several of the party who had accompanied Cortez in
his expedition -to Mexico, and had seen from a dis-

I if if I -I if

,;i

106 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO EI,Oini)A.

:^-

' i : .'

■I

taiice the dreadful pomj) with which their coiuitiymeu
had been sacrificed in the temple of the Mexican god
of war. These adjured Alvaro, by all that was sacred,
to abide every extremity, rather than deliver them
into the hands of men from whom they might expect
a fate of similar horror. Alvaro looked round him.
His companions were lying stretched on the sand,
on the point of perishing, without any human hope
or aid, except that dreaded one against which he was
so solemnly warned. His position was manifestly
quite desperate, but for the Indians ; and their tender
lamentations, with the kindness and pity which beam-
ed from their eyes, made it surely at least possible,
that their intentions might not be of the horrible na-
ture now suggested. Disregarding, therefore, the
terrors and remonstrances of his comrades, he related
his disaster to the Iniuans, and entreated the shelter
of their hospitable roof. The Indians gave the most
cordial consent, only proposing that they should re-
main for a short time round the fire which had here
been kindled, till they should hasten and prepare for
their reception. In a few hours they returned, and
then led, or rather carried, the Spaniards to their vil-
lage, scarcely allowing their feet to touch the ground.
They had kindled large fires at short distances, where
the naked and shivering bodies of the Spaniards had
from time to time the heat restored to them. On
reaching the village, it was found that a house, of the
slight materials used in the country, had been speci-
ally constructed for them, and had been brought, by
large fires, into a comfortable temperature. All this
care and kindness abated in no degree the panic

li: 'f

i? '

Al-VARO NUNEZ.

107

lymeii
111 god
sacred,
them
expect
d him.

I sand,

II hope

he was

lifestly

tender

I heam-
(ossible,
ible iia-
re, the
related
1 shelter
le most
)uld re-
ad here
lare for
ed, and
leh' vil-
ground.
where
rds had
On
, of the
1 speci-
Lght, by
;\11 this
panic

of the Spfiniards, to whom it aj)])eared, that these
were only arrangements for placing their bodies in a
state which miglit render them fit to be placed on
the altar of the Floridan deities. The Indians bid
them a cordial good-night, and, retiring to their
own habitations, began, according to the custom of
the country, to sing and dance through the evening ;
l)ut these cheerful scmnds, instead of tran({uillizing
the Spaniards, heightened their alarm, ])eing deemed
only the festal pomp which was to celebrate their im-
molation. They lay sleepless, seeming to feel at
every moment the sacrificial knife stuck in their
breasts. It was not till morning dawned that a
gleam of hope began to enter their minds. The In-
dians then entered with a plentiful breakfast ; and the
same kindness being continued from day to day, the
alarms of the Spaniards were at length composed.*
They learned soon after, that there were other Si)a-
niards at no great distance, who proved to be the crew
of another bark that had been shipwrecked, though not
ill so disastrous a manner. These had preserved their
clothes, though only the single set which they h; d on
their persons; so that they could communis. .i,e no-
thing to mitigate the extreme want of this necessary
under which the companions of Alvaro laboured.

Fate did not cease to persecute this unfortunate
crew. There befel such a series of cold and tempest,
that the Indians could neither find the roots on which
they ordinarily subsisted, nor carry on their fishery

* NaufViiffios, 14. Ramusio, iii. 263-4.

108 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLOUIDA.

I, f"'i

, l!

fill LV '

»♦ •! !t!;

with advantage. A severe scarcity ensued, which
fell with peculiar weight on the strangers, who could
expect nothing from tlie Indians, and had neither the
same skill nor means to provide for themselves. Five
of them, who were in a detached station on the
coast, were reduced to such an extremity, that they
betook themselves to the horrible remedy of devour-
ing each other ; which they continued till there re-
mained only one, who survived only because " there
was nobody to eat him." The Indians were shocked
beyond measure on learning this affair, and ever after
viewed the whole body of the Europeans with quite
an altered eye. Their condition became thus always
worse and worse, so that, in the course of the season,
famine and disease had reduced their number from
eiglity to fifteen. The Indians were at the same time
attacked with a pestilential malady, which carried off
half of them. Under the deep- distress which this
occasioned, a superstitious idea seized them, tliat all
the calamities of this dreadful winter had originated
in a magic and malignant influence exercised by the
strangers. They took it therefore into deliberation,
whether they should put them to death ; but an old
Indian very reasonably argued, that if the Spaniards
had possessed this supernatural power, they would
surely liave used it in protecting themselves ; where-
as the fact was, that they had suffered still more
severely than the Indians. So just a view of the
subject carried conviction to the minds of the savages.
The Spaniards had, however, entirely lost their
former favour ; they were reduced to the station of
slaves, and were obliged to perform the most labori-

ALVARO NUNEZ.

109

whicli
could
er the
Five
11 the
t they
evoiir-
ere re-
< there
[locked
!!• after
1 quite
always
season,
ir from
ae time
ried off
ch this
that all
[filiated
by the
oration,
an old
aniards
would
where-
I more
of the
avages.
their
tion of
labori-

ous offices, particularly that of digging the earth,
and searching at the bottom of the marshes for the
roots on which they subsisted. To this indeed was
added the function of pliysicians, which they were
called upon to exercise. In vain did they j)lead tlieir
profound ignorance of the healing art ; no credit was
given to this averment ; and, after persuasion had
been used in vain, notice was given to them, that all
allowance of food was to cease till they should enter
on their medical functions. Thus starved into doc-
tors, they at length began their practice, which was
exceedingly simple, being modelled on that of the
Indians. They merely blew upon the patients, and
uttered Spanish words, which were considered as
magical ; when, to their utter astonishment, all the
patients declared that from that moment they felt the
greatest and most sensible relief. As the success of
their practice, however, did not bring any improve-
ment in their situation, Alvaro contrived to make his
escape to the continent, where he set on foot a petty
traffic, which succeeded wonderfully. It consisted in
carrying into the interior shells, marine plants, and
other jn-oductions of the sea, for which he brought in
exchange, hides, red ochre for the savage toilet,
flints for arrow-heads, and cane for arrows. The
perpetual hostility of the natives among themselves
caused them to stand much in need of a foreign and
neutral hand to carry on these transactions. Alvaro,
in his capacity of merchant, was therefore well and
courteously treated, and enjoyed full personal liberty.
In this manner our narrator spent several years,
during which his object, as may be sui)posed, was

■;

110 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA.

! J

1 ■¥

not to remain in this miserable exile, but to obtain
such information as might enable him to reach the
distant points of the South Sea and Mexico, the only
channel by wliich he could hope to revisit his native
country. He was anxious also to make an arrange-
ment with two or three comjjanions, to share with
him the toils and perils of this long expedition. At
length he agreed with Andrea Dorante and Alonzo
de Castiglio, two others of the principal officers, to
join him in this grand and daring adventure. They
fell in at first, however, with a nation more barbarous
than any among whom they had sojoiu'ned. The
country being desolate, and the people unacquainted
with any species of agriculture, they devoured eagerly
the most loathsome food, ants' eggs, worms, lizards,
serpents, even fish-bones and wood ; and our traveller
verily believes if there had been stone in the country,
they would have eaten it. They are said to have
been in the truly barbarous habit of exposing all
their female children ; and when interrogated on the
subject, they argued, that within their own tribe
the ties of consanguinity were so close, that girls
could not be married there without a breach of pro-
priety ; and that to marry them to their enemies
would be affording to the latter the means of multi-
plying and increasing their power. When wives
were wanted, they procured them, either by violence
or purchase, from their neighbours, and devolved
upon them the most laborious offices. Amid all their
misery, they spent the greater part of their time in
s'nging and dancing, especially during the only period
of the year when they enjoyed plenty, which was

!;!(

AI.VAUO NUNEZ.

Ill

L)l)tain
L'h the
e only
native
ranj^e-
3 with
I. At
Monzo
:era, to
They
■barous
. The
Liainted
eagerly
lizards,
raveller
ountry,
to have
ng all
on the
tribe
girls
of pro-
3nemies
multi-
wives
i^iolence
evolved
ill their
time in
period
ch was

during tiie harvest of a fruit whifii they called Tune.
These IimIIjmis converted the Spaniards into slaves,
employing them in the most laboricnis offices, and
often leaving them four days without food, tor which

offered no plea but

and

consolation,

but that they would have plenty during the season
of Tune. That season in fact brought to them a
l)ermanent deliverance ; for, amid the tumultuous
festivity to which it gave rise, they contrived to
escai)e, and find refuge among a j)eoi)le farther to
the westward. Here no European had hitherto
been seen ; and they were received with that pleased
surprise which usually marks the first meeting be-
tween civilized and savage people. Their reverence
was much increased when Alvaro began to cany
into practice those medical jirinciples which he had
imbibed on the coast. His success was greater than
ever ; insomuch, that he assures us that he succeeded
in raising a dead man to life.* Such an achieve-
ment cannot but shake oui* confidence in the authen-
ticity of the whole narrative ;f however, we are will-

" Naufragios, 23-4. Herrera, Dec. iV. b. i. ch. 3-4. Ra-
musio, iii. 269.

t A warm controversy arose in Spain on the subject of these
miracles. Padre Honorio Filippino, in his work, " Nova Typis
Transacta Navigatio Novi orbis Indiae Occidentalism" admits in-
deed, that these may be very natural and probable events ; but
insists, that to render them so, they ought to be performed by a
holy priest, ana not by a wiiked soldier, (soldado escelerado).
An anonymous author, however, has undertaken the vindica-
tion of Alvaro, and written a long treatise on the subject. He
only faintly repels, however, the last appellation, as applied to

i . '^

112 srANlSH FXF'KDITIONS INI'O I l.OHIDA.

iiig to iH'lit've, that the person iiiiglit have been in a
swoon, or stunned by a blow, especially as tlie re-
surrection took place only upon a Um^ application of
the remedy, and even some time after it had ceased.
Be this as it may, such worship did they obtain in
the eyes of the Indians, that on the assertion beinj^
made, that they were the children of the Sun, it met
with innnediate belief; and they were not only at
full liberty to proceed to tlie westward, but were
furnished witii an escort to conduct and reconnnend
them. The escort accordingly introdiu'ed them to
tlie next j)e()ple, as children of the Sun, who liad
power to cure or kill every disease to which man
could be subject. They added, it is said, " greater
lies," which are not sj)ecified. All passed current,
and these persons scrui)led not, even under cover of
this sacred character of their mysterious companions,
to appropriate whatever appeared -to them desirable, —
a proceeding viewed with much alarm by the Spani-
ards, on account of the hostile feelings which seem-
ingly it could not fail to kindle ; but, on the contrary,
they found their companions made welcome on their

*. '

his hero. His argument is, that the power of working miracles,
or at least marvels, had been granted to the most unworthy
objects ; not only to wicked men, (malos y reprobos,) but to
devils, (diabolicos admirables,) and even to the lower animals,
as he devotes a chapter to the " portentos admirables de los
Brutos." After this, every argument derived from the un-
worthiness of Alvaro, which he insists is much exaggerated,
must fall to the ground. The reader probably feels no inclina-
tion to pursue this controversy any farther.

Ai.VAKo ntm:/.

113

iiracles,
worthy

but to
nimals,

de los
he un-
Terated,
inclina-

juroiiiit, l(» any tliiiif*' tlioy chose to take. 'IMiis new
|>e()|)le sent a similar eseort, who rei)orte<l the snitu'
absurdities, and made a siniihn* use of the eredit
derived from thei.M ; and tlius they were passed on,
from nation to nation, guided, venerated, and pro-
tected, 'i'iiey had nothing to encounter, except the
physical obstacles of the route. 'I'hey passed first u
large river coming from the north, wiiich appears to
be the Mississippi, then travelled thirty leagues over
a populous plain, when they came to a rugged, arid,
and dreary tract, fifty leagues in extent, being the
desert which separates the (hiited States from the
Mexican territory. In this road they suflered severe-
ly from thirst and hunger ; but it was still worse
when, having crossed another broad river, the " Rio
del Norte," ^hey came to a range of desert, steep,
and barren mountains, (the continuation of the Cor-
dilleras, passing into the Rocky chain). Here the
Indians at one time, overcome i)y fatigue and hunger,
lay down, and declared it impossible to i)roceed ; when
Alvaro, impelled to resentment, used high words and
threats, to which they at last yielded. Soon after a
severe malady attacked and carried off eight of them,
when the poor creatures, imagining that the anger of
Alvaro had induced him to employ magical i)owers to
produce this effect, implored on their knees that he
would forgive, and cease to slay them in this terrible
manner. To cause such a calamity was as little in the
wish as the power of Alvaro, who was grieved on
their account, and also from the dread of not being
able to prosecute his journey. At length they came
to a party of Indians who had a little maize, the
vol,. I. 11

I'i

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114

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA,

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sight of which wOvS like that of land to those who had
been long on a tempestuous ocean. They followed
them to their village ; but learned that the maize could
not be raised in this high and arid tract, though in
proceeding westward they would not be long of arriv-
ing at a fertile country and the seacoast. Alvaro be-
gan now to inquire about the Christians, when he was
informed, that to the south-west there was a wicked
people of that name, who plundered and murdered all
who fell in their way, and never were known to do a
good action. He was carefully warned to avoid all
communication with them. He found too ample
proofs of the correctness of this report, as he pro-
ceeded over a large plain, which the ravages of the
Spaniards had reduced almost to a complete desert.
Continuing to insist upon proceeding to meet the
Christians, his guides reluctantly accompanied him ;
but nothing could equal their astonishment when told
that Alvaro himself was a Christian. This they de-
clared to be utterly impossible, since every thing was
contrary in the two parties. The one came from the
east, the other from the west ; — the one was naked and
on foot, the other clothed and on horseback ; — the one
healed those who were sick, the other killed those who
were well ; — the one showed no signs of avarice, while
the other seemed to have no object in life but to steal
whatever they could reach. Indeed they fully justi-
fied their character, Alvaro being only able, with
great difficulty, to prevent them from making prison-
ers of the poor Indians who had served as his guides.
This, and the opinion which he frankly expressed of
their conduct, inspired such resentment, that, after

10 had
lowed
! could
igh in
arriv-
iro be-
he was
wicked
jred all
to do a
oid all
ample
16 pro-
of the
desert,
eet the
d him;
len told
ley de-
ing was
;om the
ked and
-the one
ose who
while
to steal
y justi-
e, with
prison-
guides,
essed of
t, after

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

115

having traversed all America free and respected, he
was made a prisoner by his own countrymen, and sent
over a range of mountains so desolate and rugged,
that two of the party perished on the road. On his
arrival, however, at Compostella, the capital of New
Gallicia, he was very courteously received, and much
displeasure was expressed by the governor at the con-
duct of the frontier Spaniards. At Mexico his recep-
tion was still more cordial, and he was liberally sup-
plied with every thing he wanted. After spending
the winter here, he set sail next spring ; and, having
escaped considerable danger both from the sea and the
French, who were then at war with Spain, he arrived
at Lisbon on the 9th August, 1537.*

The disasters which had attended the expedition
of Narvaez and its calamitous issue, did not, at that
era of daring adventure, deter captains, even of high
possessions and promise, from pressing eagerly on in
the same career. Fernando de Soto, a native of
Badajos, originally possessing only courage and his
sword, had been one of the most distinguished com-
panions of Pizarro, and a main instrument in annex-
ing to Spain the golden regions of Peru. He went
along with Ferdinand Pizarro on the first embassy to
the Inca of Caxamalca, and he commanded one of
three companies of horse, who encountered and made
captive that unfortunate prince. Afterwards, along
with Barco, he advanced to Cuzco, and first entered
that imperial city. He returned to Spain, laden with

* Herrera, Dec. vi. Naufragios, &c. 31. Raniusio, iii. 276.

^ H

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116

Sl'ANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA.

I.' T I

I i)

wealth, and with that high, though somewhat dark
fame, which attended these celebrated exploits. He
appeared at the court of Charles V. in great pomp,
with a brilliant retinue, who had in some degree
shared his prosperity. By a. commodating the empe-
ror with a liberal loail, he paved the way for obtain-
ing almost any thing he might choose to demand. Soto
sued for a fatal gift. Not content with the ample
wealth and honours at which he had arrived, he view-
ed them only as instruments towards the attainment
of something more splendid. In the conquest of Peru
his part had been secondary, — the first prize had been
carried off by another. He sought a country, the
glory of conquering and the pride of ruling which
should be wholly his ; and he was willing to embark
all his ample treasures in an adventure which would
open, it was hoped, new and more copiouG sources of
wealth. His wishes were fulfilled. He was created
Adelantado of Florida, combining the offices of go-
vernor-general and commander-in-chief. He was
also allowed, in this future kingdom, thirty leagues of
territory to be formed into a marquisate. Soon after
the conclusion of this agreement, Alvaro made his ap-
pearance, soliciting the same appointment, to which
his dear-bought experience seemed to give him a sort
of right ; but the prior and well-supported claim of
Soto kept its ground, and Alvaro was obliged to con-
tent himself with the government of Buenos Ayres.
Thus gifted to his utmost wishes, he immediately pro-
ceeded to embark his whole fortune in the grand
adventure. As the repopt spread, that Soto was set-
ting forth to conquer new kingdoms, and to open the

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FERNANDO DE SOTO.

117

treasures of another Peni, crowds of spirited and en-
terprising youths flocked to join, and even, like him,
to embark their fortunes in the cause. In the course
of fifteen months he had equipped an expedition of
ten sail and nine hundred adventurers, most of them
trained to arms.* He set sail with the Mexican fleet,
of which he received the command as far as Cuba, and
that island was even placed under his command, that
he might draw from it every resource which it could
afford for the furtherance of his object. At Cuba he
was re-enforced by a distinguished volunteer, Vasco
Porcalho, who had long carried arms both in Europe
and America, and, having accumulated an immense
fortune, was living in splendid retirement ; but, on
seeing the fine equipment and bold spirit of this expe-
dition, he felt his military ardour revive. In a few
days he resolved to join them in person, bringing an
ample supply of provisions and stores, eighty horses,
and a considerable train of followers. In considera-
tion of these important aids, and of his own expe-
rience, he was created by Soto his lieutenant-general.
On the 12th May, 1539, the Adelantado set sail
from Cuba, and towards the end of the month disem-
barked on the coast of Florida. He immediately ad-
vanced upon the city of Hirriga or Hirrihigua, govern-
ed, like all the other Floridan states, by a cacique of
the same name. Soto seems to have come with in-
tentions more than usually wise and humane, and to

f . !

\ ll

* Vega Garcilossa de Florida del Ynca, 1>. 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

<l l.l^

^1 I

have sought to redeem the character of his nation.
He determined not only to abstain from every injury
and outrage against the natives, but even not to re-
sent their first hostility, and to make friends of them
by every possible sacrifice. But the memory of the
Indians furnished a dreadful catalogue of wrongs,
which could not be wiped off by a few passing pro-
fessions, or by even acts of kindness. The Adelantado
was moreover obliged to open his communications by
demanding, in virtue of the Papal grant, a regular
act of submission to his sovereign, and to himself as
viceroy, — a demand which was held in utter disdain
by the free and proud Caciques of Florida. The sove-
reign of Hirriga, we are coolly told, had had his nose
cut off and his mother cruelly murdered by the Spa-
niards, so that he could never view them but with the
most unrelenting enmity. He had caught hold of
four, three of whom he put to death amid the sever-
est torments. With respect to Ortiz, the fourth, a
controversy was raised by that humane disposition
which the wife and daughters of the Cacique shared
with the rest of their sex. By constant entreaty they
succeeded in persuading him to do no more than va-
riously torture his prisoner. Even when they found
him one day laid over the fire on a gridiron, they res-
cued him, and by great care recovered him from his
half-roasted state. At length Hirriga announced that
he must and would, without further delay, kill Ortiz,
and that in so peremptory a tone that the ladies durst
say no more. Pity, however, still swayed their
breasts ; and the eldest daughter contrived to send
him off at midnight, under charge of a trusty Indian,

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

119

to Muco^o, a neighbouring prince who was tenderly
attached to her. MUC090 received in the kindest
manner a fugitive who came with such a recommen-
dation. As soon, therefore, as he learned the landing
of the Spaniards he repaired to their camp along with
Ortiz. The sight of this personage, and the hearing of
his name, caused a pretty deep disappointment to the
expedition. Some one, it seems, had intimated that
there was something at the court of MUC090 which
would be agreeable to them ; but, pronouncing the
word Orotis, the two first syllables caught the ear of
the Spaniards, and suggested to them gold, — that ob-
ject of their sole and perpetual longing. Instead of
that precious metal, to see only a captive countryman,
caused them to look somewhat blank; though the secur-
ing an interpreter and guide was perhaps an object of
more real value. MUC090 seemed extremely pleased
with his reception at the camp, and even agreed to
hold himself as the vassal of the crown of Spain.
His poor mother, however, arrived after him in a
doleful plight. She immediately hastened to the ge-
neral, and, falling on her knees, implored from him
her son, declaring herself ready to die in his stead.
Soto solemnly assured her that nothing could be far-
ther from the wish of the Spaniards than either her
death or his, and entreated her to compose herself,
and take some refreshment. At length she was pre-
vailed on to sit down to table ; but, still cherishing
the blackest ideas of the Spaniards, she would not al-
low a morsel to enter her lips till Ortiz had tasted it,
and certified that it was not poisoned. Hereupon
some of the gentlemen rallied her upon such extreme

120

Sl'ANlSH EXPEDITIONS TO FI.OUIDA.

I U'

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love of life, which a little before she had declared her-
self so ready to sacrifice ; but she replied, that she
loved life much, but her dear sou still uiore, and that
this ought to })e ouly au additional motive to them not
to kill him, but to give him up to her. They told
her that he was welcome to go if he chose ; but Mu-
co(;;o, laughing at her wild ai)prehensions, declared
that he wished to stay a few da} s longer with his
friends the Spaniards ; and, after many solemn as-
surances of his safety and good treatment, she took
her mournful departure.

Soto prevailed upon some friendly natives to proceed
to Hirriga, make overtures of alliance, and tender a
friendly visit. Hirriga, however, replied, that the
heads of the Spaniards, severed from their bodies,
would be most welcome, but that in no other shape
would he admit them into his presence. He even
ventured an attack upon them, bu4; was repulsed with
loss, by Porcalho ; upon which he abandoned his
capital, and retreated into the woods and marshes.
Soto sent back the captured Indians with jn-esents,
and took every method in his power to mollify the
cacique's resentment ; but though he was thus in-
duced to treat more mildly such Spaniards as fell
into his hands, nothing could induce him to hold the
shadow of friendly intercoiirse with that detested
nation.

The Spaniards advanced now upon another city
in the interior, known by the lengthy name of Urri-
baracuxi ; but the approach was difficult, across the
marshes occu])ied by the enemy, who seized every
opportunity of harassing their march. Porcalho,

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

V2l

hearing that Hirriga was iu a neighhoiiring wootl,
and elated with his former success, undertook to sur-
prise him and bring him in prisoner. Every one
assured liim that he did not know what he was under-
taking, or the obstacles he was to encounter ; but
nothing could divert him from the enterprise. He
led on his men with youthful ardour, and, coming to
a marshy spot, where every one else shrunk back,
he alone pushed in, but soon sunk so deep, that it
was with the utmost difficulty he could be dragged
out alive. Thus forced to retreat without seeing an
enemy, the old man returned to the camp in the most
dreadful ill humour. He would speak to no one,
but was heard constantly muttering to himself, in
stammering and broken accents, — Hirrihigna, — Urri-
baracuxi, and pouring imprecations upon a land of
which the very first names were such as no human
organs could utter. These symptoms fermented into
a resolution to quit the enterprise in which he had so
hastily embarked, and betake himself again to his
comfortable quarters in Cuba. He left indeed his
nei^hew ; but this young man, intractable, and pos-
sessed of lofty ideas of his own importance, did not
prove a very serviceabl*^ associate.

Urribaracuxi was found deserted, the Cacique, with
all his people, having retreated into the woods. Soto
made a desperate effort to reach him ; but, after spend-
ing a day in penetrating a long defile, he came to a
marsh so deep, that the army could proceed no farther,
and were obliged, not without difficulty, to make their
way back. They came next to Acuera, the chief of
which equally repelled their advances, expressing his

129.

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA.

II !' W

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i ill li

utter astonishment at their once imagining that free-
born men should spontaneously place themselves
under a foreign yoke. His subjects and himself, he
declared, would sooner die. He issued, therefore,
his mandate, that two Spanish heads should be pre-
sented to him daily ; and during the twenty days
that the Spaniards spent there, the reckoning was not
ill kept up. So close was the watch, that a Spaniard
could not stir three hundred yards from the camp
without being cut down. They came next to the
country of Acali, which was fertile, and free from the
dangerous marshes which abounded in those already
crossed ; so that with pleasure they felt the ground
firm beneath their feet. Here too the prince, after
some delay, waited upon them with many professions
of friendship, and acceded to all the terms propound-
ed. Suspicion was soon excited by various observa-
tions made upon his conduct; but it was thought
better to dissemble, and watch him closely, than to
make him an open enemy. The cloven foot appeared
at the crossing of a large stream, when, as the Spani-
ards were constructing a bridge, some hundred In-
dians started up from among the bushes, and poured
in clouds of arrows, calling them base robbers, and
other opprobrious epithets. They effected their pas-
sage, however, without any greater calamity than
the loss of Brutus, a favourite dog, who was
much lamented by the army. The prince remained,
making solemn professions of innocence and grief,
and lamenting that, in consequence of his attachment
to the Spaniards, he had lost altogether the command
of his own subjects. Soto, though he placed exceed-

: 1

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

12^

irig little faith in these explanations, did not choose to
make an open breach ; but, thinking that the absence
of this young prince would be more eligible than his
company, he gave him a friendly advice to satisfy
his own subjects by going home to them.

The Spaniards marched next into the province of
Vitachuco, which, contraiy to the usual custom of
Florida, was divided among three brothers. Ochile
the youngest was surprised in his capital, and taken
prisoner, upon which he either was or appeared to
be gained over, and undertook to plead the cause of
the Spaniards with his eldest brother, who was much
the most powerful, and bore the name of Vitachuco.
He wrote to acquaint him that these strangers were
ascertained to be the children of the sun and of the
moon, and rode on animals so swift that nothing could
escape them. They behaved in the most friendly
manner towards those who received them well, but
committed the most dreadful havock where they
experienced the contrary. He earnestly exhorted
him, therefore, to take the more prudent part. Vita-
chuco answered in the most disdainful terms, that the
solar and lunar descent of the Spaniards was a ridi-
culous tale ; that whatever outward appearance they
might assimie, doubtless they were, like all the rest
of their countrymen, traitors, murderers, robbers, and
children of the devil. That, if they were the honest
men they pretended, they would stay at home and
cultivate their own soil, instead of coming into dis-
tant climates to expose themselves by their robberies
to the execration of mankind. He afterwards sent
messages to the Spaniards themselves, filled with most

1 1

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124

SPANTkSII EXPED1TI(3NS to FLORIDA.

violent and indeed chimerical menaces. He told tliem
that if they entered his country, he would command
the earth to open and swallow them up, the mo\m-
tains between which they marched to unite and crush
them ; he would poison the waters, the plants, and
the very air. AVhen, however, he saw the Spaniards
continuing to a<lvance, and learned from various
quarters how very formidable they were, he assumed
an entirely different tone. He went to meet Soto,
made many apologies for the injurious ideas which
he had at first imbibed, and the nule manner in
which he had expressed them. His only anxiety now
was how he coiUd do him the greatest honour. He
tendered to him his own submission and that of his
subjects, and was only anxious to learn what quantity
he would require of provisions, and of every thing
useful to him that his territory afforded. Soto
received his submission in the most gracious manner,
professed his entire oblivion of the past, declared that
his only object was to render him all the service in
his power, and that he would study not to be burden-
some to him. But the hatred of Vitachuco was still
as deep and deadly as ever, and all this courteous
seeming was only to cover a scheme by which he
fondly hoped that not one of this detested race would
ever pass out from the precincts of his territory.

The prince led the Spaniards to his town, and
provided for them the best accommodation it could
afford. At the same time, as if to do them honour, he
summoned his warriors from even'^ part of his terri-
tory, and appointed a day in which they were to be
drawn up and exhibited in full nrray. He then dis-

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FEllNANDO 1)K SOTO.

125

cloHed to a number of his chiefs, that, on n signal
given, they should fall suddenly on the hated race of
the strangers, and exterminate them at one blow.
They ai)i)lauded and declared their eagerness to
sacrifice themselves, if necessary, in so glorious an
undertaking. One, however, of !)aser temper, com-
municated the fatal design to Ortiz, by whom it wtis
immediately reported to the general. Soto resolved
to dissemble, and to turn the i)lot of the Indian
against liimself. He expressed the pleasure witli
which he would see the Indian array exhibited, add-
ing, that, in order to heighten the pomp of so great a
day, he would also bring out his own Spaniards in
full armour and in order of battle. It was easy to
see that Vitachuco would have gladly dispensed with
this honour ; but he had no pretence for refusing, and,
not aware that all was discovered, hoped still to effect
his object by means of surprise.

On the appointed day the Indians aj)peared, drawn
up on a large plain in front of the town, having a
wood on one side and a range of marshes on the
other. The Spanish troops came out from the town,
Soto and Vitachuco marching together at their head.
As they approached the spot where Soto was to have
been seized, a musquet was fired, at which signal
twelve Spanish soldiers, previously instructed, sur-
rounded the Cacique, and made him prisoner. The
Indian army, seeing this catastrophe of their chief,
raised a loud shout and rushed on to battle. Soto
mounted his favourite horse Azeituno, and with a
too daring valour which was usual to him, rushed
foremost upon the enemy. The Indians met him

pi!/ '^

12G

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA.

iii'

■ I

Iff

!|.

with a sliower of arrows, aimed particularly at Azei-
tuno; and that gallant Htee<l, which had ho often
borne its rider to victory, was pierced with eight
barbs, and fell down dead. Soto fell with him, and
was in imminent danger ; but the Spanish cavalry
instantly rushed on and charged the enemy. The
loose infantry of the Indians was wholly unable to
sustain the shock ; they were broken, dispersed, and
fled in every direction. Some hundreds, the flower
of the army, who had been i)laced in the rear, could
escape only by throwing themselves into a large
pond, so deep, that at four feet from the bank it took
them over head, and they could support themselves
only by swimming. The Spaniards occupied all the
sides of the pond, but the Indians continued floating
in the water, and obstinately refused to surrender.
They even locked themselves three or four together, on
the backs of whom one stood, and discharged ari'ows
as long as they had any remaining. They waited
anxiously for night, hoping under its favour to effect
a landing, and escape into the woods. The Spaniards,
however, invested the pond six deep, and eU'ectually
prevented every attempt to land. In the morning the
Indians were in a miserable state, half dead with cold
and with the fatigue of keeping themselves on the
surface of the water, yet they still tiu'ned a deaf ear
to the urgent invitations of Ortiz, who assured them
of safety and good treatment if they would only yield.
At length a few, quite overcome, approached the
shore ; but the greater part, after touching it, again
plunged into the water. When it was seen, however,
that the few who landed were kindly received, others

< i

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

127

iiiHeriNilily followed. By mid-day, two hmidivd had
yielde<l, and in the evening there reinaine<l floating
only seven, who seemed detennined to i)eriHli in the
water rather than yield. Soto hereupon sent out half
n dozen of his best swinnnera, who took hold of them
by the hair, and piUled them on shore. After, by
proper remedies, they had been recovered from their
almost lifeless state, they were asked what could lead
them, after the hopeless and miserable state to which
they had been reduced, to persevere in so obstinate a
resistance. They replied, that, having been mvested
by their master with the highes commands, t' ey con-
sidered themselves bound to annwer sucb confidence
by sacrificing themselves in his caus*;, an(' thus to set
a noble example to their children and po; verity. They
felt themselves dishonoured and unfortunate i.i hav-
ing been spared by the clemency of Sot^. and it woul(?
be an additional kindness if he would ,ulit their lives.
The high loyalty and courage breathed in these senti-
ments were congenial to the ideas of the Spaniards,
who even shed tears of admiration ; and the seven,
with general consent, were left at liberie to go to their
homes. Soto, at the same time, used every effort to
gain over Vitachuco. He admitted him again to his
table, and assured him, that however dreadful his con-
duct had been, the memor/ of it would be entirely
effaced, provided he now acu-ii up to those professions
of fidelity which he had once made.

Soto had thus far fniiowed the course most likely
to effect his object of conciliating the Indians. This
plan, however, having been adopted, it ought to have
been thoroughly followed out, and not to have had any

i t

111

««W||M»W*>|*'^

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iW IFT

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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 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.

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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

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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

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-

132 SPANISTI EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA.

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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
If

I iff

^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-

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.

V il

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 .

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-I,

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

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.

■i
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.1*

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vVSf

that the attontiou of the SimnianlH was oiigroHsed in
a(hiiirin^ tlit-ni, when he took out one of the sharpest,
I)ieiTe<l his heart, and instantly expired. His attend-
ants hurst into tears, and saiil, that tliis chief, heing
ecjualiy attached to hotli princesses, the present neces-
sity of failing to one or other of tlieni had agitate<l
his mind, and drawn him to this fatal deed. They
proceeded, however, to search for the old lady, !)ut
found that she liad deserted her home ; and the Indians
rei)resented, that in attempting to follow her they
might he surrounded and cut to pieces ; and that
really it was of no consequence, as the young lady's
friendship would secure every thing they could need.
The Spaniards then wisely returned ; hut another re-
port having reached them of Iier highness's retreat, a
fresh jiarty was sent, who were equally unsuccessful,
and this idle chase was at last given uj).

Mean time the Spaniards were making anxious in-
quiries about the productions of Cofaciqui, and j)arti-
cularly the white and yellow metals. The princess
answered, that they were in abundance, and caused
immediate specimens to be produced. That instant
dispelled all the brilliant chimeras, under the influence
of wliich they had undertaken this long and hazardous
expedition. The yellow metal proved to be mere
brass, with somewhat of a golden tint ; while the white
metal was oidy quartz, whicli crumbled in the hand
like dried clay. Under this deep disappointment, their
only consolation was found in pearls, which existed in
abundance, though they could not form any judgment
as to their value. The princess told them, they might
take as many as they pleased out of a large temple,

i;t

IFllNANDO DK SOTO.

141

whii'li served also oh the ceinetery of hei mcestors,
and which was Invishly nchu'iied with them. This,
wliieli is positively asserted in both narratives,
cannot Init appear very singuhir, when contrasteil
with that rev^erence tor ancestry which nsually dis-
tin^nishes nations in tliis sta^jfe of society. 'J'his
and another tenijile were found in fact to con-
tain pearls sufficient to have h)aded the wliole army,
— an abundance whicli of itself afforded a pretty
stroufi^ presumption of inferior character. The other
temple was that of 'i'olomeco, the most spacious edi-
fice which was seen in Florida. It was a hundred
paces lonjif by forty broad, the roof formed by six
mats placed over each other, and brilliantly adorn-
ed with shells and pearls. The ^nta was adorned with
twelve statues of giants in full armour, and all round
the interior of the walls were ranged statues of men
and women of the ordinary size, the former fully
armed. The intendants of the emperor were pro-
ceeding to levy his fifth upon the pearls and other
precious articles found in the temi)le, — a measure
which was stopped by Soto, on the ground that they
could not encumber tliemselves with sucli a burden,
but doubtless considering that the advancement of
such a claim would bid fair to dissolve all the hapj)y
understanding which now subsisted with the native
rulers.*

The Spaniards at length departed from Cofaciqui,
amply supplied with every thing by their generous

* Vejfa, part i. b. 4. c. 1.5, 16. Purchas, iv. ir)37-8.

irt

I. ' i

r 1,1

J ti« i

If i|

142 SPANISH EXPEDITIONS INTO ELORIDA.

friend. She even furnished them with guides, who were
instructed todenouncewar against any of the neighbour-
ing states who should not receive them in the most cor-
dial and hospitable manner. At Chouala, therefore,
which was under her immediate dependence, their re-
ception was e /ery thing tliey could wish ; but as they
had no longer any motive to penetrate farther into
the country, and Soto wished to approach the port by
which he conununicated with the Havanna, he de-
termined to move southwards, down the rivers Cha-
caqua and Grande. The Spaniards experienced the
same favourable reception at Guachoule, Xualla, and
Tciahe. In the last place they found themselves on
the scene of the pearl-fishery, and had the opportuni-
ty of observing how it was carried on by the natives.
The pearls were found in great abundance, but were
much injured by the use of fire in opening the shell,
and afterwards by being pierced. In entering Acos-
ta, the next province, they were met by a band of
1500 men, who presented themselves under a very
rude and menacing aspect, and manifested a resolution
to oppose their progress. Soto was very imwilling
to interrupt the harmonious intercourse which he
had so long held with the natives ; he therefore sent
forward his Indian guides to make every possible
explanation and assurance of friendly intent. A
correspondence was immediately opened, and the
Cacique received them cordially into his capital.
After refreshing themselves here for ten days, they
proceeded to the frontier, escorted by the Cacique. At
Talisse, a frontier town, strongly terraced and pali-
saded, they met the son of Tascaluca, prince of the

FERNANDO DE SOTO.

143

country which they were ahout to enter. He was an
extremely tall and fine-looking young man, and on
the Spaniards being introduced to him, imdertook to
conduct them to his father. They were, however,
warned to be on their guard, as he had the reputa-
tion of })eing fierce, proud, and turbulent.

Aftor travelling three days, the Spaniards came to
the village wliere Tascaluca waited their arrival.
They discovered him seated on an eminence, attended
by a hundred of his chiefs. He was a handsome man
of about forty, with a proud and nolle air, and so
tall, that he rose two feet above any of his attendants.
He did not deign the slightest notice to any of the in-
ferior Spanish cliiefs who preceded Soto ; but when
the general himself appeared, Tascaluca rose and ad-
vanced fifteen or twenty steps to meet him. His recep-
tion was courteous, though stately ; and he even propos-
ed to accompany the army as it passed through his ter-
ritory. It was necessary, however, to place him on
horseback, and there was great difficulty in finding a
horse large enough. At length one huge animal
was found, which he could bestride without his feet
actually touching the ground. On the road they
missed two of their comrades, who were indeed too
much in the habit of straggling ; but the Indians, on
being questioned on the subject, rudely replied, tliat
the men had not been put into their keeping, and they
were not bound to give an account of them. This
was a very suspicious affair ; but Soto thought it
best not to bring matters to an open quarrel.

The Spaniards did not stop at the caj)ital, but pro-
ceeded on to Mauvila (Mobile), a frontier town strong-

! id

,1 t

II'.

144 SPANISH KXI'EDITIOXS INTO 1 LOU IDA.

ly iialisaded, and containing only eighty lumses in-
deed, but each of these divided into various apart-
ments, and containing- numerous families. Soto, it is
said, was advised by one of his officers against enter-
ing the i)lace ; but he thought his men stocwl in need
of the refreshment of being for some time under a
roof. On their arrival they were entertained with
every show of rejoicing ; their horses were sent to a
commodious place without the city, and they were en-
tertained with the dances of some beautiful Indian fe-
males, wlio in Florida peculiarly excel in this exercise.
Quedrado, however, who liad been directed to recon-
noitre the place, brought a very alarming report, —
that tlie houses were filled with armed warriors, col-
lected from different parts of he country, — that all
the children had })een removed, and also the women,
except those who were young and " fit for the l)attle."
Soto, however, determined to avoid any overt act
which might excite or indicate hostility, and merely
sent round a warning to all his countrymen to be on
their guard. Dinner being ready, notice was sent to
Tascaluca, who usually sat down with the Spaniards ;
but, being deeply engaged in council with liis chiefs,
he sent for answer, that he would come j)resently.
An interval elapsing, a second notice was sent, and
received a similar answer ; but as he still did not ap-
pear, Ortiz was sent to say that the dinner was on
the table, and that he might come or not as he chose.
This message was received by a chief who came out
of the council, and who rei)lied, — " Base robbers, is
it thus you speak of the great Tascaluca ?" He follow-
ed up this sj)eech by giving tlie signal for a general

lERXANDO DE SOTO.

145

attack. All the Indians rushed forth, and poured in
one mass upon the Spanish station. Soto instantly
determined to retreat without the city to the spot
where the horses were stationed, hoth to give his
men the advantage of fighting mounted, and to
secure those valuahle animals, which might otherwise
have heen seized and killed. The troops retreated
with their faces turned towards tlie enemy, and yet
hardly maintained their ground amid clouds of ar-
rows, which killed several and wounded many. The
Indians pursued beyond the walls, and succeeded in
killing several horses, and taking a considerable
booty. When the Spaniards, however, were mount-
ed, and ranged in order of battle, the undisciplined
natives could not withstand their shock, but were
driven back, and souglit refuge within the walls.
There, however, being placed under cover, they pour-
ed such clouds of arrows and missiles, that it behoved
the Sj)aniards to fall back in their turn. By a i'e\^-
tition of feigned flights, they drew the enemy out of
their shelter, and gave them a succession of little de-
feats. When the Indians were thus considerably
weakened, and a Spanish division, which was behind
the rest, had come up, Soto nnistered his strength, and
determined to attempt storming the place. He caused
the cavalry, as the best armed, to dismount, buckle
their armour close rouiu! them, and, stooping their
heads, to rush forward and force open the gate.
They succeeded, and entered Mauvila ; while the foot-
soldiers, not to be behind, broke dowii part of the pa-
rapet, and rushed in along with them. I'he Spa-
niards were soon masters of all the streets and open
VOL. I. K

':t V

i ■ •

ft!

146

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLOUIDA.

places ; but tlie enemy from the houses annoyed them
to such a degree, that they at length resolved on the
dreadful expedient of setting fire to the place. The
effect was immediate in a town Imilt wholly of reeds
and timber ;— in a few minutes both armies were in-
volved in vast volumes of flame and smoke. Many
Indians, especially females, perished amid the fhunes,
presenting a spectacle which, it is said, deeply affect-
ed the conquerors. A number of the Indians rushed
out, and endeavoured to renew the combat in the
fields, but without success. In the last extremity,
they now called on their females to come forward. A
number of these heroines had not waited the call, l)ut
had fought side l)y side with their husbands ; and
now at the general summons they rushed forth in one
body against the Spanish troops. The latter felt
their Castilian gallantry revolt considerably against
this species of combat ; — they merely, it is said, ward-
ed off" the blows of their fair assailants, whose fury
soon evai)orated, and by sunset the whole force of
the Indians was in a state of final rout.

Thus closed the dreadful battle of Mauvila. The
Indians who fell are stated by \'ega at 11,000, but
by the more probable estimate of a Portuguese narra-
tor, at 2500. The number of the Spaniards killed on
the spot was only eighteen ; but of tiie wounds u])-
wards of seven hundred were dangerous, besides num-
berless slight injuries, which scarcely any one had es-
caped. The treatment of these, without medicines or
bandages, and with only one slow and unexperienced
surgeon, was very unfavourable. It was necessary that
those slightly wounded sho\iUl dress the wounds of

iiieii

TEUNANUO Di: SOTO.

the rest, making bandcages of their shirts. Of those
who fell, two were deeply lamented. One was Don
Carlos, who had married a nieee of the general, and
whose generous and amiable qualities had made him
peculiarly beloved. His horse being wounded, he
stooped to extract the arrow, and tlius exposed a part
of his neck, which another arrow instantly j)ierced,
and he fell. His cousin, Diego de Soto, who was
passionately attached to him, eager to revenge his
death, rushed into the thickest of the enemy, when
an arrow entered his eve, and came out at the back
of the head. It could not be extracted, and he died
next day.

It is difficult to discover what could have excited
in the mind of Tascaluca so bloody an enmity, which,
so far as can be jiulged from any of the narratives,
the Spaniards had done nothing to nieHt. It seems
probal)le that, })eing near the coast, he had ])een im-
bued with those terrible recollections of their former
misdeeds, which elsewhere, as we have seen, rendered
them the objects of such execration.

Besides men, the Spaniards lost in this battle their
most precious effects. The pearls, and every thing
else collected in the course of the expedition, were
burned or destroyed in this catastroj)lie. Hut nothing
was more lamented than the robes of the j)riests, and
the j)ortion of wheaten flour and wine whicli was
carried about ibr the celebration of mass. A meeting
of ecclesiastics was held, to consider whether millet-
bread could be sid)stituted ; but it was uni\ersally de-
cided, that wheat only could constitute a )..al sacra-
ment. They were obliged to be content with a lefithern

;r '(

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" { ''

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148

Sl'AN'ISlI KXl'Knri'IONS TO FLORIDA.

robe and some prayers, which made what tliey called
a dry mass, and afforded but slender consolation.*

Soto here learned with joy, that his port of Achussi
was not more than thirty leagues distant, and that
Maldonado was there. His plan was to build a town
on this spot, which he might make the basis of his
operations, and, after obtaining suj)plies from the Ha-
vanna, t(< proceed to the regular subjection of the
interior countries. Amid these designs, he was roused
by the alarming report of what was passing among
his troops. It appeared, that, confidentially to each
other, they were declaring themselves completely sick
of an exi)editi()n, in which they had met with such
dreadful hard fighting and scanty fare, witliout any of
those golden treasures, in the tond hope of which they
had abandoned tiieir native land. They were con-
stantly tantalized by hearing the relations of their
companions, who liad snared in the conquest of Peru,
where they had found every thing so extremely ojjpo-
site. Each, therefore, began to assure the other, that,
as soon as they 'mid reach tiie coast and find a vessel,
they would sail for New Spain in search of abetter for-
tune. It was but too probable that this jnirpose would
be executed. Soto could not wholly conceal froni him-
self the gloomy j)rospects and sinister aspect of the
expedition, in which lie had embarked all his hopes
and fortiuies. But he could not endure the thought
of appearing again in Si)ain luider a guise so different
from that brilliant one in which he 'ad formerly re-

Vo<?a. part ii. 1). 1, eh. it-i). I'lircha-*, iv. 1542-3.

^:;:„'-^-

IKUNANDO I)F. SO'IO.

turnetl and last departed from it. In the |)<M)r and
reduced state to which he was sunk, and with all the
disgrace of a signal failure, he could not hoi)e to escape
the contempt of his countrymen. Any alternative
seemed preferal)le to this, and he chose a most desper-
ate one. lie resolved, even in the weakened and ex-
hausted state of his army, to push again into some
other (quarter of the interior, in the forlorn hope that,
by some unexpected event, he might retrieve his for-
tunes. He seems still to have possessed such a com-
mand over his followers as to prevent them from
openly mutinying against this jnirpose ; and surround-
ed as they were by hostile nations, they could not at-
tempt, in any single or scattered manner, to reach the
coast.

Soto proceeded to the north-west, into countries
which, being yet unexplored, seemed still to afford a
gleam of hcjpe. Depressed and irritated, however, he
appears no longer to have emj)loyed the same means
of conciliating the natives,* and met nowhere with a
friendly rece[)tion. On approaching the territory of
Chica^a (the warlike nation of the Chickasaws), and
sending an envoy to the nearest village with proposals
of alliance, the answer was, that they wished for war.
Their vanguard was soon repulsed ; but it was not
without great difficulty that, after constructing several
large boats, he could pass the broad and rapid river
which formed the boundary of their country. The
Spaniards advanced directly uim>u 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.

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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.

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FKIINAXDO I)K SOTO.

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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)ri<le of the Spaniards caused many of them to <lis-
dain usinp^ remedies which cured savaffes, find they
<lied in consequence. In the spring, Soto marciied
alonjj^ an extensive <lesert to Chisca, wliich he carried
by surprise, all the inhabitants takin«j^ to flight. They
were mustering their forces ; but on his apprising them
that he only asked lodging and provisions, witli jiermis-
sion to ])ass on, and that he would restore the l)ooty he
had made, they agreed to make jjcace on these terms.
Tlieir next arrival was at Cas(piin, where they were
received with every coiu'tesy. 'J'he C'aci(pie expressed
the liighest admiration of their valour, and even de-
clared his belief of their God being more jMiwerful
than his. He caused his subjects to join in a grand
procession in honour of the cross, after whicli Soto
considered the nation as liaving become converts to
the faitii. The object «)f all this was, that they might
obtain aid against their neighlxmrs, the Capahas, with
whom they carried on constant war, but generally
with disadvantage. Tiie Caci(]ue levied a force of
5000 men, who formed the vanguard of a force which,
with the Spaniards in the rear, marched upon Capaha.
Soto made overtuies to the Cacique of the latter; but,
wholly dissatisfied with liis companions, the prince
abandoned the city, and retired to a strongly-fortified
island in the large river Chucagua. The Casquins
not only plundered the town, but gave full scope to the
long-rooted enmity which had reigned between the
two tribes. They proceeded to the great temple, broke

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.SPANISH r.xrr.DiTioNs ro ii.ouida.

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the cheHtH in wliirh thoir aiK't'st(>rs 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<le hy si<le with their hus-
bands, and rivalled them in \alour. After a hard
contest, they were driven into the town, where they
still continued tlie contest. Reinoso, one of the Spa-
nish officers, havin«f in the mciee mounted into an
U])))er chamber, five Indian ladies rushed uj)on him,
seized him by the legs and arms, and began beating
Iiim with all their might. Keinoso, though his men
were below, deemed it unbecoming a soldier to call
out for aid against such {issailants ; yet he was wholly
unable to resist, and tlie blows descended with such
force and rajiidity, that he could not have long sur-
vived. Luckily in the struggle his leg forced its
way through the thin wicker partition which formed
the floor, and appeared to a Spaniard who was in the
room below, and who, thinking this an odd adventure,
and that it had nuich the appearance of a Spjuiish leg,
got two or three of his companions, and, riuniing up,
delivered Reinoso out of the hands of those fair furies.
Juan Serrano having got hold of one of these heroines,
endeavoiu'ed to use her as a domestic servant ; but
she was continually calling upon him either to kill her
or set her at liberty, and throwing at him pots, pans,
and other domestic implements, so that he was not
sorry at last when she made her escape.*

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154

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA.

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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

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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.

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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-

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

I I

IBI- ruKXcn kxi'Kdition's into ri.oinnA.

npi)eare<l in si^bt, liy which tht-y were taken up ami
t'oiivcyi'd to their native f<)untry.*

Coligni, mean time, involved in tlie violent eivil
war wliieh followed the massaerc of Vassy, Iiad been
unal)le to thiid< of Florida ; hut as soon as the death
of the Duke of (iuise had led to a peace between
the two relifi^ions, he apj)eared again at court, and
succeeded in fitting o\it a fresh ex[)edition, luaN'r an
officer of merit, called Rene Laudonniere. This
captain received three vessels, well manned and ap-
pointed, and with every thing whicli could minister
to the wants of a new colony. On tlie 22d June,
15(54', they arrived at the river of May. Laudonniere
here learned the calamitous breaking up of the former
colony, and, on proceeding to its site, judged it les8
inviting than that in wliich he had first landed. He
proceeded thither, and founded the fort of La Caro-
lina. He was extremely active, and sent parties who
penetrated into the country as far as tlie Apala-
chians, continuing, notwithstanding all experience, to
be cheated, as the Spaniards had been, by vain appear-
ances of gold and silver. He was equally unable,
also, as his predecessor, to maintain discipline among
a band who came out with the exi)ectation both of
full license and boundless wealth. Some young
men of rank, impatient of the restraint in which
he held them, formed a plot against his life. It
was discovered, and they were sent back to France.

-K

* Benzo, Novus Orbis, 434-8. Hist. Gen. des Voyages, xiii.
416-19. De Biy, part ii.

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165

But (Hie plot iiistantly succocmUmI aiiotlior, and at
length a groat body ainiouiu'cd tlu'ir (It'ti'rmiiiatioii
to set out oil a ])ii'ati('ai ex]>e(litioii against tiie
Hpanianls. In vain did Lau<lonniere remonstrate,
that sufli conduet was contrary to tlie most express
instriu'tions ot* his nwister, and would involve them
in dangers beyond what they couhl now estimate.
They equipped two vessels, seized his j)erson, and,
holding a dagger to his breast, compelled him to sign
a commission to them to cruise in the Gulf of Mexico.
They were wonderfully successful, and at last made a
capture of a rich vessel, in which were the governor of
Jamaica and his two sons. Tlie governor, however,
overreached them so far as to gain permission to
transmit a letter to his wife, in wliich he was to
instruct her to send a large sum as his ransom ;
instead of which he gave instructions, in consequence
of which the j)irates were enveloj)ed by the armed
force of the enemy, and only the smallest Frencli
brigantine, l)y cutting her cables, was able to escape.
Being ol^liged, however, to apj)roach the coast of
Florida to obtain provisions, slie fell into tlie hands of
Laudonniere, who executed four of the chief mutineers.
But famine, the perpetual foe of the settlement, again
began to rage, and was the more severe, as the expe-
ditions of Laudonniere had involved him in complete
hostility with the surrounding natives. Sir John
Hawkins having touched at the port, afforded them
a temporary supply of bread and wine, which they
had not tasted for some months ; but Laudonniere,
disgusted with his situation, purchased from him a
vessel, for the purpose of conveying the whole re-

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166 VllENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA.

mains of the colony to Europe. Just as they had
raised anchor, sails were descried in the distance, and
seven armed barks were seen ai)proaching, which
proved to be a new expedition under Ribaut. That
officer now superseded Laudonniere, of whose severity
heavy complaints had been made. A few days after
his arrival the vessels in the road were saluted hy
six Spanish ships, the causes of whose appearance
must be now pointed out.

Don Pedro Menendez had received a commission
fi'om Philip II. to survey the coasts of Florida ; in
addition to which he had been allowed, at his own
expense, to undertake the often abortive design of
forming a settlement in that country. Amid the
preparations, tidings arrived of the establishment
formed in Florida by the French Huguenots ; when
Philii), sending for Menendez, told him, that, besides
his former object, the holy and glorious task was
now reserved for him of extirpating the heretics
from the new world ; for the due accomplishment of
which high purpose there would be added to his
armament, out of the royal revenue, a considerable
force both of ships and men. Thus re-enforced, he
sailed from San Lucar, with eleven vessels, a thousand
men, and a large train of artillery. The fame of this
" holy war" having spread throughout Spain, numer-
ous vokmteers, many of the best families, flocked to
join it, and at leaving the Canaries, it had swelled to
a force of 2600, among whom were twenty-six ecclesi-
astics. A severe tempest shattered and diminished
the armament ; so that at Porto Rico it became a ques-
tion whether they should proceed or wait for succours ;

lad

it'll

liat

•ity

•ter

ince

KIBAUT AND I.AUDONNIEllE.

167

I)ut the ardent spirit of Menendez prompted him to
advance and surprise the heretics before they could
be re-enforced and established. In sailing along
Florida he came upon three French vessels, which
were lying out at sea, and on being asked his object,
replied with more frankness than prudence, that he
came to attack the Lutherans with fire and sword,
and to extirpate them out of Florida. The French
instantly cut their cables and made for the shore,
nor could the Si)aniards overtake them. Menendez
reconnoitred the river and the position of the French,
when it appeared to him that he could not, with-
out rashness, attempt a landing. He determined,
therefore, to retire, and form a settlement on the
neighl)ouring river of St Augustine, where, by uniting
with the natives, whom the French had made their
enemies, he might organize the means of a successful
attack.

Ribaut, finding himself exposed to so formidable
and bitter an enemy, deliberated on the means of
crushing him before he had time to strengthen him-
self in the country. He determined to embark on
board the fleet nearly the whole of his effective force,
and, sailing direct upon the Spanish position in the
river St Augustine, endeavour to carry it before it
could be put in any state of defence. He sailed on
the 6th September, and on the 10th appeared at the
entrance of the river. Menendez saw and made the
best preparations he could to meet the imminent peril
to which he was exposed. The enemy were retarded
by the tide for two hours, and before the end of that
period a tempest, or rather hurricane, arose, so dread-

168 FRENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FLORIDA.

ful, that the whole French fleet was driven out to
sea, and exposed to the most imminent peril.

Meiiendez began to consider what advantage he
could take of this state of affairs. It was easy to
judge that Ribaut must have brought to this grand
attack all the flower of his troops, leaving for the
defence of the fort only a handful, probably quite off
their guard, and free from any apprehension of
attack on the land-side. It appeared to him, that by
pushing aci'oss the country, favoured and guided as
he would be by the natives, he would have every
chance of reaching the fort before the storm would
admit of Ribaut's return. He set forth immediately
with five hundred of his best troops. Formidable
obstacles were presented by the swamps, the thick
forests, and the broad rivers which were to be cross-
ed ; and the rain falling in torrents, greatly aggra-
vated the distress. The soldier^ were several times
on the point of mutinying, and exclaimed, that it was
a disgrace for brave men to suffer themselves to be
led blindly by an Asturian mountaineer, who knew
nothing of war. Menendez, with great address, took
no notice of their murmurs, but cheered them on by
every motive, both of religion and valour. On the
evening of the fourth day they arrived within view
of the fort, and spent the night behind a hill, exposed
to a dreadful tempest, which rendered their own
sufferings extreme, but at the same time lulled the
vigilance of the French. At daybreak Menendez
mounted the hill, and saw no apjjearance of any watch.
A single Frenchman was seen straggling ; he was al-
lured into the camp, and then killed. The Spanish

LAUDONNIERE AND RIBAUT.

169

commander now caused his men to rush full speed
upon the fort, calling out, — " Follow me, my friends,
— God is for the Spaniards !" A soldier, who had
accidentally mounted the rami)art, gave the alarm ; but
before Laudonniere could muster his little garrison
the Spaniards had rushed in by the three open gates,
and began an indiscriminate massacre of men, women,
and children. Laudonniere's own narrative reports
some attempt at resistance, but there is no mention of
it in any other account ; and soon, it appears, he and the
few who could escai)e by leaping over the ramparts
thought themselves happy in finding a hiding-place
among neighbouring woods and swamps. The Spaniards
boast that Menendez, after a certain interval, gave or-
ders to spare the women and the children under fif-
teen, and that about seventy were saved. Laudon-
niere, with the few other fugitives, wandered for some
time among the woods, till at length they found means
to unite and get on board a little ship at the mouth of
the river. In this they undertook to reach their na-
tive country ; on the way to which they encountered
want, cold, hunger, thirst, and, worst of all, the dan-
ger of being thrown upon the coast of Sjiain ; but at
length they entered, in a miserable state, the port of
Bristol, where they met a hospitable reception.

The most tragical part of the story yet remains to
be told. Ribaut, after being tossed about for some
days, had all his vessels dashed to pieces against the
rocks in the canal of Bahama. The crews, however,
with the exception of one man, succeeded in reaching
the shore. In this distressful state, Ribaut saw no
resource but to find his way back })y whatever means

.nil! M

; - ■ !!''>;

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]

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

172 FRENCH EXPEDITIONS INTO FI.ORIDA.

1;^ /

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

(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

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.

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<l his political
sagacity, was yet unable to aj)preciate the vast and
solid advantages which might arise to the nation from
*' ships, colonies, and commerce." More miglit have
been expected from the bustling temper of Henry
VIII. ; but, engrossed by the continual care of marry-
ing and lunnarrying himself, of breaking with the
church of Rome, dictating successive forms of wor-
ship, and persecuting all who did not change at tlie
same moment with himself; lastly, engaged in hold-

KNtJMSir MAllITIMK DISCOVP.UY.

179

iu^ the halaiu-f even, as lie supjiosed, In'twceu the
great continental rivals, he had neither leisure nor in-
cii/mtion to embark in distant enterprises. All that
♦vfts douc liuring his long reign was done by the na-
tion it«(t'lf. Sebastian C.'abot was sent on an expedi-
tion to the coast of IJrazil ; but, finding no farther en-
couragement, lie left tlie English service, and took uj»
his residence at Seville. Other ex])editions, liowever.
were sent towards Newfoundland, and two for tht?
discovery of the north-west passage ; but the issue of
these last being very disastrous, a ]muse ensued to all
further exertion.

The reign of Edward VI. seemed likely to form a
brilliant era in the annals of maritime discovery.
That promising young j)rince, guided by able coun-
sellors, ai)j)lied himself witli ardour to promote the
commercial interests of the nation. Under his aus-
pices were incorporated the company of merchant ad-
venturers for the discovery of regions, dominions,
islands, and places unknown. Sebastian Cabot was
invited back to England, and, at the advanced age of
upwards of seventy, was invested with the rank of
governor of the company and grand 2)ilot of Eng-
land. He did not, however, undertake any voyage in
person, but drew up a series of instructions for those
employed, wliich justify his high reputation for nauti-
cal skill. It happened, rather unfortunately, that the
English concentrated their hopes and enterprises al-
most exclusively in the discovery of a northern j)ass-
age to India. This object, alike hopeless and perilous,
they sought first to accomplish by an easterly <•' 'vse
along the north of Asia, — a route which proved wlioUy

ill

180

DISCOVERY OF VIRGINIA.

P m

impracticable. Sir Hugh Willoughby, with his gal-
lant crew, were arrested in a Norwegian port, and
frozen to death. Although, therefore, Chancelor dis-
covered and opened an intercourse with Russia by the
way of Archangel, a gloomy impression was felt by
the nation upon this subject. Soon after, the premature
death of Edward, and the accession of Mary, forced
the people of England into a different train of ideas.
The persecutions to which their religion was exi)osed
engrossed all their attention ; and Mary, blindly de-
voted to the views of Philip, checked every thing
which could interfere with those unbounded claims
which Spain advanced to the dominion of the western
world.

The accession of Elizabeth produced a grand and
auspicious change. That prudent princess, though
not lavish of her treasure, inspired and seconded the
enterprising spirit of her people, which, combining
with antipathy against Spain, impelled them specially
to American adventure. The first efforts were again
directed to an Indian passage, now sought by the north
of Amei'ica ; but notwithstanding the utmost exertions
of the most eminent naval characters, — Frobisher,
Davis, Hudson, — they proved, as we shall hereafter see,
entirely abortive. At length, Sir Humphrey Gilbert
of Compton, in Devonshire, distinguished by his rank
and military reputation, formed first the design of
leading a colony into America. If the queen did not
furnish any funds, she gave, at least, a patent, con-
veying to Sir Humphrey the most ample gifts and
powers. He, his heirs and assignees for ever, were to
have, hold, and occupy all such heathen and barbarous

SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.

181

lands as he iright discover. No one, without their
permission, was to approach within two hundred mibs
of their settlement. The said Sir Humphrey, his
heirs and successors, had full power and authority to
correct, punish, pardon, govern, and rule, both in
civil and criminal matters, both by sea and land,
" according to their good discretions and policies."
The queen reserved for herself only homage, and the
fifth part of all the gold and sii 'ir which might be
discovered and worked.*

The first equipment of Sir Humphrey failed, even
before it set out. Being composed in a great mea-
sure of " voluntary men of diverse dispositions," there
was a great failure when it came to the push. Many
lost coui'age and deserted the cause, others broke into
quarrels, and Sir Humphrey was at last obliged to set
out with only a few of his own tried friends. He
encountered the most adverse weather, and was obliged
to return with the loss of " a tall ship, and, more to his
griefe, of a valiant gentleman. Miles Morgan." This
was a severe blow, as Sir Humphrey had embarked
a large mass of substance in this undertaking. How-
ever, his determination continued unshaken ; and by
the aid of Sir George Peckham, Sir Walter Raleigh,
and other persons of distinction, he was enabled to
equip another, with which, in the year 1583, he again
put to sea.f

The equipment with which Sir Humphrey set forth
to take possession of an empire greater than that

* Hackhiyt, iii. 135-8.

t Ibid. iii. 14G.

182

DISCOVEUV or VIRCilNTA,

f' i

:^' M

f ri'^

i' '

I I

of Caesar and Alexander, appeared very inadequate to
such mighty projects. The largest vessel, furnished
by Sir Walter Raleigh, was only of 200 tons. The De-
light, in which the admiral mounted his own flag,
was only 120; the Golden Hind and the Swallow
were of 40 tons each ; and the Squirrel of 10 tons.
The crew consisted only of 260 men, " skilled in
every faculty," masons, carpenters, and particularly
those learned in working and refining metals. The '
zeal, however, of English seamen had been so faint,
that it was necessary to eke out the crews from those
of pirates captured in the narrow seas, and who, as
will be seen, by no means dropt entirely their original
vocation. They carried also musicians, toys, as " mor-
ris-dancers, hobby-horses, and many like conceits, to
delight the savage people," as well as some petty
haberdashery for traffic.

The expedition sailed from Concert Bay on the 11th
May, 1538. On the 1 3th, the Delight intimated, that
there was much sickness on board of her, and in the
course of the following night she was found to have
turned back. This loss of the most powerful vessel
in the fleet was a severe blow ; and gentle hints are
given, that this sickness was j)artly of the heart.
Raleigh surely could not be much edified with such a
prompt retreat of the vessel which he had been
at great pains to equip ; but it does not appear that
any proceedings were ever held on the subject. The
expedition had its course retarded by westerly winds
and heavy fogs, in the course of which the Swallow
and Squirrel were separated from the rest. About
the end of July, the English came to the famous bank,

SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.

183

which they knew without sounding, by the incredible
number of sea-fowls which darkened the air. The
English were variously affected by the first view of
this unknown world, of which they were to become
the denizens. Most of the narrators seek to present
it under the most flattering colours. According to
Hayes, " nothing appeared but nature itselfe without
art ; who confusedly hath brought forth roses abun-
dantly, wilde, but odoriferous, and to sense very com-
fortable." He also doubts not that there are and may
be made " divers commodities both for support and
traffic," though without specifying any. Sir George
Peckham also reports it as somewhat Avarmer than
England at this season, replenished with beasts and
great store of fowls ; and he promises hereafter to re-
count sundry other commodities. But Parmenius, a
learned correspondent of Hackluyt, roundly writes,
— « My good Hackluyt, what shall I say of the man-
ner of this country, when I see nothing but a very
wilderness ?" He agrees, however, with others as to
the abundance of goodly fish, both salt water and fresh,
which, according to Sir George, might suffice to victual
an army.

On this coast the ships met r.jain their companion,
the Swallow. Its deck presented a somewhat sur-
prising sight. The crew, mostly gleaned from the
rovers of the narrow seas, had been very scantily at-
tired and equipped, but now they appeared all newly
and handsomely clad ; in joy of which they were
dancing and waving their caps in the air. The ge-
neral hastened to trace the origin of so sudden a trans-
formation, for which this part of the world seemed to

184

DISCOVERY OF vihginia.

I !

i ' v

afford so little materials. The explanation was most
unsatisfactory. They had met a bark returning to
Europe from the fishery, on which the men, " follow-
ing still their kind," cast a longing eye. Knowing,
however, the captain as a man who would not sanction
any piratical conduct, they merely solicited and obtain-
ed permission to go on board for a short time, to bor-
row a few things of which they stood in need, solemn-
ly promising not to commit the slightest outrage. In
pursuance of this engagement, as soon as they got on
board, they began stripping the men of clothes, food,
sails, tackle, and every thing that could be found on
board ; they then had recourse to a peculiar process
of winding cords around their heads, by which torture
they comjielled them to give up every thing of value
in their possession. Having effected all this with sin-
gular expedition, " like men practised in such matters,"
they returned to the ship : " but' God took vengeance
of them not long after."

Sir Humphrey found thirty-six vessels, twenty of
which were foreigners, busily emjiloyed in this great
fishery. Over these he immediately began to exercise
that authority, which he conceived to be vested in
him by the royal patent. His first use of it was in
remedying those deficiencies which could not but be
felt at the end of so long a voyage. Each ship was
desired to make out a list of its wants, which was
delivered to the Portuguese and other fishing-vessels,
that they might divide among themselves the task of
supplying them. This task, it is said, they not only
undertook with the utmost alacrity, but, over and
u.hove their assigned quota, presented wines, marma-

'■i»<P^,'^_(ajr.

SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.

185

lades, fine biscuit, and sundry other delicacies. That
the Portuguese, however, should feel such ardent
gratitude for being stripped of their property, does
not seem very consonant to the ordinary laws of
human nature. I am apt to think that Hackluyt's
correspondent again lets out the real state of the case,
when he says, " They being not able to match us,
suffer us not to be by hunger starved." However,
be this as it may, Hayes tells us, " we were supplied
as if we had been in a country, or some city, populous
and plentiful of all things."

Sir Humphrey now proceeded to fulfil his mission,
by establishing his own and the queen's authority
over this portion of the western world. A general
meeting was called of the masters and merchants
in the different vessels, both English and foreign ;
the queen's commission was read and interpreted ;
and notice was given, that this harbour of St John's,
with a space of two hundred miles in every direc-
tion, was to be considered as appertaining entire to
her majesty. To himself earth and wood were then
delivered, in token of possession, vested in him, his
heirs, and assignees, for ever, of this extensive terri-
tory. This announcement, it is said, was listened to
with an applauding assent on the part of all present,
both English and foreign, — the motives of which we
leave the reader to conjecture. This measure was
followed up by several statutes, among which were
the following, — That if any thing were attempted pre-
judicial to her majesty's right and possession of these
territories, the parties offending should be " adjudged
and executed ;" and that if any person should utter

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186

DISCOVERY or VIRGINIA.

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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,

■*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.

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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

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190

DISCOVERY or VIRGINIA.

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gone al)r()a<l, as if he was a coward at sea, and that
he foolislily preferred " the wind of a vain report to
the weight of his own life." They jn'oceeded, how-
ever, in safety for three liundred leagues, till they
came into tlie meridian of the Azores. They were
then overtaken by a storm so violent, that " men,
which all their lifetime had occupied the sea," never
saw the like. The waves " broke short and high,
pyramid-wise," which is supposed to have been occa-
sioned by conflicting tides and currents. In the
afternoon of 9th September the frigate was seen in
evident danger, struggling with these terrible waves ;
but as the two vessels approached each other, Sir
Humphrey appeared on deck, with a book in his
hand, and called out to those on board the Hind,
" We are as near to heaven by sea as by land."
Darkness soon fell, and the storm continuing, the
two crews kept their eyes fixed on each other's lights
as the signal of safety. A little after midnight, the
lights of the Irigate suddenly disappeared, and neither
Sir Humphrey nor his crew were ever heard of more.
The Golden Hind, reduced almost to a wreck, re-
turned alone, of that gay and flourishing armament
which had so lately set forth to occupy and rule the
nothern regions of the new world.*

Notwithstanding the gloomy issue of this expedi-
tion, and its total failure in making any discovery of
importance, the nation continued strongly bent upon
enterprises of this nature. Sir George Peckham

fi m ii '

* Hackluyt, iii. 147-163.

SIR Gl. )IUJJ Pi:( vHAM.

the

wrote a long discoiirsf, in wh, -h, with u great aiu'
somewhat superfluous display ot' learii. ig, he s j[iit**»
in tlieir favour. He sjieeially oeeupi' hinisel with
her majesty's right to the entire sovereignty of the
new world, whieh he does not estahlish in a very sa-
tisfactory maimer. He rests ehiefly on the exj)edition
of Madoe, and on some words in the American lan-
guage, which he insists are Welsh. He quotes also
with triumph the speech of Montezuma, in which
that prince is reported to have reminded the Mexi-
cans that their forefathers had come from a far coun-
try under a leader who returned, promising to send
others to rule over them, — " all which sufficiently
proves the undouhted title of her majesty." He then
recounts the various and rich commodities produced
by this country, and endeavours to obviate the diffi-
culties which were raised against his design.

The queen, though she liberally patronized every
scheme for American discovery, and was ready to
grant the most ample privileges to the adventurers,
held her purse very close, and would not contribute
the slightest aid of that nature. It was a doctrine,
however, maintained by many, that without such
princely aid success could not be hojied ; — that " it
was not for the merchant's jiurse to undertake the
charges of transporting and planting." Against such
" malicious persons, who would neither be actors in
any good action themselves, nor so much as afford a
good word to the setting forward thereof," Sir George
strenuously argues. God, he says, had provided the
means ; for that, through his great mercy in preserv-
ing the people for so many years from slaughter,

192

DISCOVERY OF VIIIGINIA.

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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.

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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

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:

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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 !

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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

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,

nt^ll

WKY MOUTH.

207

might be formed into tlie most beautiful meadow.
Weymouth might have foun<l opportunity for trade ;
but he would not '* hazard ho hopeful a business,"
and regarded nothing liut " a public good, and pro-
mulgating God's Holy Churcli."

The nation were now prepared to make an eflbrt,
on a nmch greater stale than ever, to possess and
colonize the new world. Equal ardour was felt in
London and in the western ports of Plymouth and
Bristol, — tlie quarters whicli then nearly concentra-
ted the maritime resources of the kingdom. To Sir
Thomas Gates, Sir George Summers, Richard Hack-
luyt, and otlier Londoners, was graiited the patent
for the south colony, which was supposed to afford
the greatest scope for capital and commercial enter-
prise ; while the merchants of the west, which was
supposed to contain the hardiest sailors and most
skilful fishers, received the pateiit for northern Vir-
ginia. The limits were somewhat oddly adjusted ;
those of the first colony being from 34" to 41°. N.
latitude, and those of the latter from 38° to 45° ; so
that three degrees were common to both ; however,
it was ordained, that when one had taken his station,
the other should take care to be a liundred miles
distant from it. Wherever that station was, each
company was to have fifty miles of coast on each side
of it, or a hundred in all. They were also to have a
hundred miles out to sea, and a hundred miles inland.
They were not, however, invested with any of that
high jurisdiction which had made Gilbert and Raleigh
almost nominal kings of the new world. James I.,
faithful to his arbitrary principles, did not even al-

mmi'i

208

SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA.

'' ' 'I*

\i =f

'ft

low any form of representative government, but vest-
ed the whole power in a council nominated by the
crown.

The southern, or London company, whose steps
we are first to follow, were those who first put forth
an expedition on a considerable scale. The year
1606 was employed in collecting emigrants, and on
the 19th December an expedition of three vessels
sailed from London. Captain Newport had the
naval command, and it comprised a number of per-
sons of distinction, among whom was even George
Percy, brother to the Earl of Northumberland. But
the person who afterwards contributed most to the
welfare of the settlement was Captain John Smith, who
possessed all those qualities of firnmess, intrei^idity,
and perseverance, which could fit him for the arduous
task of founding a colonial establishment. He had
been appointed one of the council ; but, as he was
taking that leading part to which his talents entitled
him, a mean jealousy seized the rest, who asserted
that he had it in view to take possession of the country,
and make himself king of Virginia. Upon this vague
charge he was arrested, and kept thirteen months in
close confinement. Various accidents protracted their
voyage till nearly the end of April. On approaching
the coast of Virginia, they encountered a violent
storm, which carried them out of their reckoning,
and they sailed three days without any view of the
expected land. So disconsolate were they, that se-
veral began to urge the necessity of steering their
course direct towards England. At length they
descried a hitherto unknown cape, forming the en-

PEllCY

209

trance into a spacious gulf. This was Cape Henry,
opening into the magnificent Bay of the Chesapeake,
the beauty and fertility of whose shores surpassed
all that they had yet seen of the American continent.
Mr Percy says, " I was almost ravished at the sight
thereof." They were not long, however, of experi-
encing the enmity, which by this time seems to have
been deeply rooted in tlie minds of the savages
against every thing English. A party having gone
on shore for recreation, " came the savages creeping
upon all four, from the hills, like bears, with their
bows in their mouths." These they discharged in
the faces of the English, severely wounding Captain
Archer and a sailor, till, " having felt the sharpness of
our shot," they fled with loud cries into the woods.*
However, when the fleet came to Cape Comfort, they
saw five savages, who were only " timersome," and
on the captain laying his hand on his heart, they
laid down their arrows, and made signs to come
ashore to their town. The English reached it by
rowing over a river, while the savages swam across,
holding their bows and arrows in their mouths. The
reception was singular. They made a doleful noise,
laying their faces to the ground, scratching the earth
with their nails. " We did think they had been at
their idolatry." However, they then spread mats on
the ground, and covered them with such dainties as
the country afforded, crowned with tobacco, smoked
out of long ornamented pipes. They then entertained

. s

I' ':

* Percy in Purchas, iv. 1G87-

VOL. 1.

210

DISCOVKUY OF VIRfUXIA.

, t

the strangers with a dance, which consisted in heating
their hands, shouting, howling, and stamping, " like
so many wolves, or devils." After all this done for
their entertainment, the English took leave.

As the expedition proceeded higher up the bay,
among people who had probably never before seen
Euroj)eans, they were received still more cordially.
The Werrowannee of Rappahana met them with all
his train ; '* as goodly men," says Mr Percy, " as I
have seen of savages or Christians. His body was
painted all of crimson, with a chain of beads about
his neck, his face painted blue, besprinkled with
silver ore, as we thought, his ears all beliung with
bracelets of pearle, and in either ear a bird's claw,
beset with fine copper or gold : he entertained us in
so modest a proud fashion as though he ha.l ' een a
prince of civil government." He invited the , lis
palace on the top of a hill, watered by some ])eautiful
rivulets, and covered \\'ith the finest corn-fields, and
entertained them " in good humanity." A gentle-
man having a very strong target, which could resist
even small shot, set it up for an Indian to shoot at.
The Indian took his arrow of cane, an ell long, head-
ed with very sharp stones, and pierced the target
through and through. Tliey then set up a steel
target, against which the arrow was l)roken in pieces,
upon which the Indian took out another, bit it in
rage and went away.

The English having found a fine river, which they
called James's River, ascended it forty miles, and built
James's Town, the most ancient inhabited place in the
United States, though it has never risen to very great

CAPTATX S^riTII.

211

importance. They were soon, however, involved in
unexpected distress. Sir Thomas Smith, as one of
the leading members of the company, having been
intrusted with supplying provisions, had shamefully
furnished tliem of very bad quality ; and the grain,
" having funked for six and twenty weeks in the
ship's hold," was little better than bran, and had as
many worms as grains. Want was soon followed by
disease, wliich, before September, carried off fifty of
the company. In this distressful condition, all eyes
were turned towards Smith, as the only man who
could provide a remedy for so many evils, and with
one consent they vested in him the supreme com-
mand.

Smith having i)rovided as well as he could for the
interior comfort of the colony, set forth to collect pro-
visions in the surrounding country. The Indians,
however, received his party with derision, " as fa-
mished men," and, holding out morsels of ])read, asked
for them swords, muskets, and whatever was most
valuable. Smith, seeing nothing could be done by
" trade or courtesy," deemed it a matter of necessity
to discharge his muskets, upon which they all fled in-
to the woods. The English then entered a village,
which was found well stocked with provisions, and
they were anxious to have carried these off at once ;
but he (we do not well know why) insisted upon
remaining till the Indians returned, as he doubted
not they would soon do. Soon, accordingly, was
heard an hideous noise, and there issued forth from
the woods sixty or seventy, painted black, white, and
red, singing, dancing, and bearing in front their okee,

iH: i

212

DISCOVERY OF VIRGINIA.

hi li:!

(T .' i

or idol, an image of skins stuffed with moss, painted,
and hung with chains of copper. In this guise,
they made a furious assault on the English, who,
however, received them so hmdly " that down fell
their god," several lay stretched on the ground, and
the rest fled screaming into the woods. Their spirit
was now humbled, and there soon came out a vener-
able personage, a quionghkasouk, to make overtures
of peace, and treat for their god. Smith assured
them that they should have okee and every thing of
theirs he had, with beads and hatchets besides, pro-
vided they would hold friendly intercourse, and assist
in loading his boat with provisions. They closed
with the offer, and an intercourse, of at least outward
cordiality, succeeded to the deadly hostility of the
two parties.

Smith, after having made some farther excursions,
returned to James's Town only in time to arrest a plot
which had arisen among what he oddly calls the
*•' tuftaffety" part of the colony, to break up and re-
turn to England. Having managed matters as he
best could among this turbulent race, he again set out
to explore the Chickahominy, the chief tributary of
James's River, and whose banks were singularly rich
in corn. He sailed so high, that he could get forward
his barge only by cutting the trees by which the stream
was overhung, and at last was obliged to leave it, and
proceed up in a canoe with four of the party, of
whom two were Indians. His caution now forsook
him. Twenty miles up, having reached the marshes
at the head of the river, he left his men at the canoe,
and began shooting in the desert. All this time the

CAPTAIN SMITH.

i>13

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

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214

DlSCOVKltV Ol VIIUJINIA.

H' ?! IV

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^H^m

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

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11 iM

* Smith np. Pinkertoiij xiii. ol-').

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216

UISCOVEllY 01' VIUCilNlA.

1. I

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■ - ;.i

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

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

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S218

DISCOVEIIY Ol- VlllGINIA.

■;^'''

'f' -4

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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-

riUNC'KSS POL AHONTAS.

219

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 ••'

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

'•!•

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.

'i. !•:'»

II Ilk
ItT

J I, . ( 3 .

lim

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

.1
if

III ^

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* '

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-

! 1

ill

Mr 11 '

III

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 <larkness.
^^'ith some hesitation he ventured into tliis wonder-
ous sanctuary, where he found the materials, which,
on being put together, made up Okee, Kiwasee, or
Quioccos, the mighty Indian idol. The main body
consisted of a large plank, to whose edges were nailed
Iialf-h()oj)s, to reju'esent the breast and belly. Long
rolls of blue and red cotton cloth, variously twisted,
made arms and legs, the latter of which were repre-
sented in a bent position. The reputation of the god
was chiefly supported by the very dim religious light
under which he was viewed, and which enabled also
the conjuror to get behind him, and move his jierson
in such a manner as might be favoiu'able to the ex-
tension of his influence ; while the priest in front, by
the most awful menaces, deterred any from approach-
ing so near, as might lead to any revelation of the
interior mvsteries.*

Smith alleges against the Virginians, that they made
a yearly sacrifice of a certain number of children ; but
it appears clear, from the statements of Beverley, that
he misunderstood in this sense the practice of hufthen-
(twing, a species of severe probation througli which
those were required to pass who aspired either to be
chiefs or priests. On this occasion, after various
preparatory ceremonies, the children are led naked
through two lines of men, all armed with bastinadoes.

' *i

Beverley, 1()G-70.1.

ru :

1^84

SKTTl.KMENT <>l VIU(;INI.\.

whiiii art' employed with great rigour against the
victims, who, after running through tliis gauntlet, are
more dead than alive, an<l are covered with boughs
and leaves of trees. If any expire under this trial, it
is esteemed that the Okee has fixed Jiis heart upon
liim, and carried him off. The rest are conveyed into
the (k'])th of a wood, and shut up in a sjiecies of cage
or j)en, where they are plied with intoxicating drugs,
till they are said to become for several weeks abso-
lutely deranged. By this jn'ocess they are supposed
completely to lose all memory of what they have seen
and known in their form,.r life, and to begin a new
and brighter era. They nmst not, on their return
home, recognize their nearest friends and comrades,
the most conmion objects, nor even know a word of
their own language ; all must be to be learned afresh.
If any indications of memory ejicape, the youth nmst
pass afresh through the dreadful ordeal. Above all,
he must be careful not to have retained the slightest
recollection of any property he may have possessed,
and which the neighbours usually Judge this a fa-
vourable opportunity to appropriate.*

The Indians had not the least tincture of science,
nor, of course, used any form of writing. They made,
however, i>aintings 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<I with the steam raised hy water
poiu'ed over hot stones. After eiglit or ten persons
liad heen thus stewed together, tliey ran out, and,
after the Russian and Finnish fashion, plunged into
tlie nearest l)rook of cold water ; and tliis system,
which, according to every English idea, ought to have
killed them on the spot, was found refreshing in the
extreme. In case of wounds, sucking and scarifying
were the chief remedies.

236

DISCOVERY OF NEW ENGLAND.

CHAPTER V.

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

M , . i

First Discovery by Gosnold. — Voyage of Challons. — Captain John
Smith. — Unsuccessful Alteinpts. — ReUgious Persecution in Eng-
land. — The Brownists. — Their Colony at New Plymouth. — Per-
secution of the Puritans. — Numerous Emigrations. — Settlement
of Salem and Boston. — First Arrangements of the Colony. —
Schism occasioned by Williahis. — The Red Cross. — Rise of the
Antinomian Sect. — Mrs Hutchinson. — Violent Ferment in the
Colony. — Proceedings against the Antinoviians. — The Ana-
baptists. — The Quakers. — Accounts of their Conduct. — Violent
Proceedings against them. — Invasion of the Colonial Charter. —
Andros Governor. — Revolution of 1688. — Alarm about Witch-
craft. — Trials. — Singular Confessions. — Dreadful Slate of the
Colony. — Close of the Proceedings. — The Native Indians. —
Dreadful IVars with them. — Measures taken for their Conver-
sion.

- 1

1-i i

GosNOLD, as we have already seen, in Iiis prosperous
voyage to Virginia, touched first upon a part of the
coast of what lias since been termed New England,
and sailed thence southward to the Cliesai)eake. In
this course he discovered that the continent, which
was still called \'^irginia, took a much wider range

i;i

(;osxoi,i).

237

Irous
the
land,
III
[hich

than the English government had yet been aware of.
It appeared now too great to be the object of one
grant, or the adventure of one company. While
Southern Virginia, therefore, was assigned to a Lon-
don association, the northern part was bestowed up-
on the Plymouth Company, formed by merchants of
Bristol, and of other towns in the West of England.
Although that part of the kingdom could not boast
the wealth and extensive resources which have so
long centered in the British metropolis, there were
not wanting capital and enterprise sufficient to fit
out expeditions on a considerable scale.

The first colony was sent l)y Sir John Popham,
chief justice, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, governor of
Plymouth, and " diverse other worshipful knights
and merchants of the west." These great person-
ages, however, produced nothing but a little bark of
55 tons, on board of which they put twenty-nine
Englishmen, and two savages who had been brought
from that quarter. Challons, it does not appear wliy,
took the old route by the Canaries and the West
Indies. While near the coast of Hispaniola they
were overtaken by thick and tempestuous fogs, on
the clearing up of which they found themselves in
the midst of a fleet of eight Spanish vessels. The
Spaniards immediately fired and called on them to
stop; then rushed on board with drawn swords.
" We in peace stood ready to entertain them in
peace," but they instantly began beating the whole
crew, and wounding several, among whom was one of
the poor Indians, who vainly cried out, " It is King
James's ship, it is King James's ship !" The vessel

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V'll

•.i-^t3> ran » »«

238

DIJSCOVEIIY OF NEW ENGLAND.

■ill

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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.

■■•«

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.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.

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

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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^

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-

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248

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

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tance so deeply felt to quit their native country, and
cross the ocean to the shore of the great western wil-
derness, was thus overcome. An association, com-
posed of several gentlemen of rank and property, with
a number of substantial farmers and tradesmen, and
accompanied by several eminent ministers, applied
for a grant of land in the new world. In their pro-
posals they intimate other motives as at least of second-
aiy influence. " The land," they say, " grows weary
of her inhabitants, insomuch that man, which is the
most precious of all creatures, is here more vile and
base than the earth he treads upon ;" that " no mean
estate almost will suffice a man to keep sail with his
equals, and it is almost impossible for a good upright
man to maintain his constant charge."*

The council and the court united in forwarding
the design. The adventurers received a grant of
land extending from the Charles to the Merrimak ri-
ver, and across from the Atlantic Ocean to the South
Sea, — a dimension of the extent of which the donors
were little aware. Robertson is astonished at Neale
asserting that freedom of religious worship was grant-
ed, when the charter expressly asserts the king's su-
premacy. But this, in fact, was never the article on
which they demurred,! for the spirit of loyalty was
then very strong. It seems quite clear, from the con-
fidence with which they went, and the manner in
which they acted when there, that, though there was
no formal or written stipulation, the most full under-

INIather, book i. I7. I Sec Nealc, p. 56.

y, and
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PUllITAN COLONIES.

249

standing existed, that very ample latitude was to be
allowed in this respect. We have seen on every occa-
sion the vast sacrifices which kings were willing to
make, in order to people their distant possessions ;
and the necessity was increased by the great back-
wardness hitherto visible. It was probably also cal-
culated, that a few of the most discontented spirits
being thus ejected and allowed " ilia se jactare in au-
la," the nation in general might fall into a more con-
tented and submissive state.

The expedition consisted of six vessels, on board of
which were 350 passengers and 115 head of cattle.
The sailors were surprised and edified by the new
scene which their ships presented ; prayer and expo-
sition of the word two or three times a-day, — the Sab-
bath spent in preaching and catechizing, — repeated
and solemn fasts for the success of the voyage.* They
arrived in the end of June, 1629, and selected a settle-
ment, to which they gave the name of Salem.

The colony suffered much dvu'ing the first winter,
and even lost a considerable part of its numbers. Yet
the spirit of emigration continued as strong as ever.
In the following year a new expedition was planned,
led by persons of still higher distinction. Among
those were Winthrop and Dudley, the future gover-
nors of the colony. They succeeded without difficul-
ty in purchasing and carrying out with them the pa-
tent of the grand Plymouth company, who had found
it a very unprofitable concern. Mr Chalmers admits,

* Mather, i. 7-

'1'

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It
If-

250

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

I I

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that every chartered body may buy and sell, but ques-
tions if they have a right to sell themselves ; however,
no party concerned made any objection.* The fleet
consisted of ten sail, one of which was of 350 tons,
and from Lady Arabella Johnson, who sailed in her,
was called the Arabella. The passengers were esti-
mated at 1500, among whom were a number of emi-
nent nonconformist ministers. The most highly-
esteemed was Mr Wilson, who had been the son of a
dignitary of the cliurch, and, by his connexions and
talents, might have aspired to its highest honours, but
chose to renounce all, in order to suffer with those
whom he accounted the people of God. His wife, a
lady of rank, was very reluctant to leave England,
but was at length persuaded to accompany her hus-
band.f

But the circumstance which threw a greater lustre
on the colony than any other, was the arrival of Mr
John Cotton, the most esteemed of all the Puritan mi-
nisters in England. He had distinguished himself at
the university by his learning, and by a brilliant and
figurative eloquence ; but, on becoming impressed with
more serious views of religion, he adopted, in prefer-
ence, a plain and earnest address, which threw him
out of the circle of his former admirers. Being set-
tled, however, at Boston, in Lincolnshire, he obtained
the unbounded esteem of his congregation by his
learning, his persuasive preaching, and especially the
mildness of his demeanour. Several of his meek re-

!«! I

* Annals, 151.

+ Mather, book i. ch. 4. b. iii. ch. 3.

Mil COTTON.

251

ut ques-
owever,
he fleet
>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-

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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

l^i:

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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.

S56

SETTLEMENT 01' NEW ENGLAND.

f ■ M

i'ii

t ii

■; '

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.

258

SETTI-KMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

« I

-1' K

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

I •'

260

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

P. «> <

;ii:

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

262

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

!| i

II;. 1

-■'»■)):,'

1 1: 'I'

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

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

V If

1 1

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.

. 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
■ \

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).

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SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

to raise their heads. They were therefore not a little
dismayed to find that nil things, after the synod, went
on exactly as !)efore. Mrs Hutchinson's disciples re-
sorted to her house in as great crowds, and listened
to her doctrines with unabated veneration. Mr Wheel-
wright's cha])el was still a thronged as ever ; while
Mr Wilson, formerly the most popular and beloved
minister in the colony, no sooner entered a pulpit,
than half the congregation rose and went out.*

The governor and ministers having thus exhausted
in vain every legitimate means of influence, formed
the unjust resolution of having recourse to the civil
arm. Mr Wheelwright was the first who felt the
weight of their indignation. He had already been
cited before the council on account of his famous fast
sermon ; but, as the synod was approaching, proceed-
ings were stayed till its effect should appear. He was
now again summoned, called upon to acknowledge his
offence, and come under an engagement not to repeat
it. He replied, that he had been guilty neither of se-
dition nor contempt; he had done nothing but de-
clared the truth of Christ ; and, if it went against
them, the application was of their own making. Up-
on this answer he was allowed a fortnight to quit the
colony. The next persons dealt with were those who,
to the number of sixty, had, at the last proceedings
against Wheelwi'ight, signed a remonstrance, in which
they declared, that his sermon appeared to them to be
strictly according to Scripture, and to have no ten-

* Neale, i. 190.

.•»v

iti

ANTINOMIANS.

273

a little
i, went
>lea 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-

<lency to disturb the jniblic peace, which, acconlingly,
it had not done. Tliey warned, therefore, the court
to take care " how they iiieddleil with the ])rophets of
God." Two ringleaderH in this trunaaction were ba-
nished, two others were fined and distf/mchised, seve-
ral were deprived of th« places which they held under
government.

All these steps were only preliminary to the attack
of Antinomianism in its main hold, in the person of
Mrs Hutchinson. That lady was sunnnoned before tlie
court, and called upon to renounce and ai)()logize for
those heretical opinions which she had been the in-
strument of spreading so widely. Mrs Hutchinson
replied in the most lofty terms. She considered her-
self in the situation of Daniel, against whom, when
his wicked enemies could find no other matter of ac-
cusation, they sought it in the law of his God. She
assured them that an express revelation had been
vouchsafed to her, according to which she would be
saved miraculously out of their hands, while destruc-
tion would fall upon themselves and their posterity, if
they continued to persecute the saints. Neither her
sex, nor her prophetic threats, nor her respectable
place in society, moved the stern judges before whom
she was placed. She was declared guilty of twenty-six
out of the eighty-two errors condemned at the synod,
and ordered to depart the colony within six months.

Some time now elapsed, and poor Mrs Hut-
chinson, when she saw all human aid fail, and
that the celestial interposition, on which she had so
fondly calculated, was not like to appear, felt her
courage begin to sink. She gave in an explanatory

VOL. I. s

274

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

' i!

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f • '*

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statement of her sentiments, from which even the mi-
nisters were obliged to own that the heretical taint
was in a great measure expunged. Her pride, how-
ever, still deterred her from owning this as a recanta-
tion. She represented it only as a statement of the
doctrines she had all along held. The ministers, we
really think, might have accepted this virtual sub-
mission, provided her future behaviour had corre-
sponded ; but their minds were in too inflamed a
state. Witnesses were called to prove that she had
formerly promulgated doctrines altogether opposite.
She was then pronounced to have added the sin of
lying to that of heresy, and to be more than ever de-
serving of banishment. She removed to the newly-
formed settlement in Rhode Island, where her hus-
band, through her influence, was elected governor,
and many of her adherents followed her ; insomuch,
that this persecution, like that of the mother country,
had the effect of spreading wider the colonial system.
We are sorry to conclude with stating, that having,
after her husband's death, removed to a neighbour-
ing Dutch plantation, she was surprised by the In-
dians, and murdered, with all her family. This tra-
gical catastrophe variously affected men's minds, —
some being willing to receive it as an additional
judgment against heresy, while others represented it
as involving the government in the guilt of actual
murder.*

It was not without difficulty and peril that the go-

* Hutchinson, 69-75. Neale, i. 191-4.

s I

VARIOUS RELIGIOUS SECTS.

275

lie mi-
[ taint
, how-
jcanta-
of the
ers, we
al sub-

corre-
amed a
5he had
►pposite.
3 sin of
ever de-
! newly-
her hus-
rovernor,
Qsomuch,

country,
1 system.

having,

ighbour-
y the In-
This tra-

minds, —

dditional
lesented it

of actual

lat the go-

vernor had effected the execution of thi>' 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.

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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.

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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

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280

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

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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 .

^•\.

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•: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-

96-205.

-»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.

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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

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

280

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

:( 1 1

ih h

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 <leprived of liis command and
seat on the bench,* and the court proceeded, with
unanimous purpose, to the execution of their design.
The first who made themselves obnoxious to the
law were Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson,
Mary Dyar, and William Leddra, who returned from
their respective quarters of banishment. Being called
before the coiu't, and interrogated as to the reason of
their contumacy, they gave none, but that they acted
" in obedience to the call of the Lord." They were
told that the court did not wish their death, and
would hear any thing farther they had to say for
themselves. Stevenson gave in a paper, in which he
said, that, " while following his plough in the eastern
part of Yorkshire, he was in a sort of rapture, and
heard a secret voice in his conscience saying, ' / have
ordained thee a prophet to the nations ;' and now, for
yielding obedience to this command of the everlasting
God, and not obeying the commands of men, did he
suffer these bonds near unto death." He signed
" Marmaduke Stevenson," adding, " But have a new
name given to me, which the world knows not of,
written in the book of life." Robinson made a simi-
lar statement ; declaring, that the motion of God
within him was his only motive for returning. Here-

* Neale, i. 336-40.

■H

m'AKKIlS.

287

upon sentoiuc was passed upon all tlit* tlirt'c, and ex-
t't'uted af^ainst Stevenson and Robinson. Mary re-
feiveil a pardon on the hulder, and was sent back to
Illiode Island ; but afterwards returned, and sudered
the sentence of the law. Home time after, William
Leddra huH' red, for bearing, as he asserted, his testi-
mony for ihe Lord against deceivers and the de-
ceived. Wenlock Christison had been also condemn-
ed ; but argued with such force against the injustice
of the proceeding, that, on the day appointed for his
execution, lie was merely seized, and thrust out of the
jurisdiction.*

The report of these executions filled England with
horror, and raised a general outcry against the colo-
nial government. Charles II. sent out a warrant,
dated September 9, 1661, absolutely prohibiting the
putting the Quakers to death, but directing that they
should be sent home to be tried in Britain. f They
were thenceforth secure against capital punishment,
but suffered sundry and great severities of a minor
description. Some years after they addressed a hum-
ble and doleful petition for farther redress. Neale
inveighs against their complaints, as now wholly
unreasonable, when the worst they could state was
the being tied to a cart's tail, and whipped out of the
colony ; but really this was not such a delightful re-
creation as to make us wonder that the poor Quakers
should be anxious to dispense with it. They com-

* Neale, i. 325-9, 332-4. Hutchinson, 200-2.
t Neale, i. 334.

i • !

• ."(

Hl'i

288

DISCOVERY OF NEW ENGLAND.

t V

plain of " whipping of young and old at posts, at the
wheels of great guns, and at carts' tails ; of dragging
through divers long towns, of having the clothes taken
off their backs, and the bed from under them." They
do not indulge in any extravagant prophecy, but
merely make a solemn appeal to the future tribunal,
calling upon the king to deliver them, " that so the
blood of the innocent may not be laid to your charge
in the terrible day of the Lord, in which day the Lord
will make known, in the sight of all his enemies, his
mighty power for the saving of his beloved ones, and
for the delivering and helping of them who had no
helper on the earth."* That prince, however, amid
his gay round of dissipation, paid no attention to
these less tragical sufferings of the poor Quakers. The
New Englanders themselves, in compliance with ge-
neral opinion, had begun to relax, when, happening,
unfortunately, to encounter some disasters in the war
with the Indians, they unhappily took up the idea that
this was a judgment on them for their toleration of
the Quakers, and renewed all their severe edicts.f
The Anabaptists having again reared their heads,
were exposed to fresh severities, which were the
more ill-timed, as the nonconformists in England
were suffering under a fresh persecution, raisvid by
the government of Charles II., which was justified,
and themselves bitterly reproached, on account of
similar conduct in their brethren in New England.
Several letters were written to the ministers there by

* Neale i. 375-8. + Hutchinson, 320.

Mil

I'i

rilESH EMIGRATION.

289

Ur Owen, Dr Goodwin, and other eminent dissenting
ministers in England, in which they entreat them " to
trust God with his truths and ways," observing, that
" truth is not to be propagated or maintained by ex-
ternal force or violence, but by the gentle methods of
argument and persuasion ; that it is an encroachment
on the Divine prerogative, and the undoubted rights of
mankind, to pvuiish any for their conscientious and
peaceable dissent from the established way of religion,
and that truth can never be injured by securing it the
liberty to speak for itself."* These judicious letters
did not produce all the effect that might have been
desired.

The colony derived a considerable accession from
the fresh persecution commenced by Charles II. against
the nonconformist party, by which two thousand mi-
nisters were ejected in one day. Dr Owen even had
made arrangements for coming out to take the presi-
dency of Harvard College, but was stopped by special
order of the king. The resort to New England, how-
ever, was the less frequent, as the royal party at home
had viewed it for some time with a very evil eye ; and
when Charles began his attempt to establish absolute
power by wresting the charters from all the corpora-
tions, that of New England did not escape his notice.
Overtures were therefore made to the legislature of
that country for a voluntary surrender of their char-
ter, with the intimation, that, in case of refusal, a
writ of quo warranto would be issued, the result of

* Neale, i. 372-3.

VOL. 1.

290

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

i'v

M'i'i

which would not be doubtful. The governor and
council, after serious and doleful consideration, con-
ceived this step as so imperative, that they drew up an
humble address, acquiescing in the demand, and only
soliciting a new charter, as little different from the
former as might be consistent with the king's service
and the good of the colony. The assembly of deputies,
however, on being summoned, though sensible of their
inability to resist, formed the spirited resolution, " that,
since they were to die, it should be by the hands of
others, and not by their own." They declined, there-
fore, to found any proceedings upon the royal in-
timation, but waited such as his majesty might be
pleased to take. The quo warranto was therefore
issued, and the colony, not appearing for itself, was
condemned, and its charter forfeited.

The colony, in general, submitted to its fate, as to an
inevitable necessity. Sir Edmund Andros, who came
out as governor, made such high professions of regard
for the public good, and so few innovations in the
general train of administration, that the change was
scarcely felt. Only a short time, however, was re-
quired to manifest the tyrannical propensities of the
new governor. A remonstrance being presented
against some illegal proceedings, he told them that
" they must not expect the laws of England were to
follow them to the end of the world." This speech
rung through the colony, and inspired the most dis-
mal forebodings. Next an English church was esta-
blished, whose pompous ritual struck consternation
into the settlers, almost all of whom were too young
to have ever before witnessed it. The governor then be-

? 'i

INVASION OF THE CHARTER.

^91

nor and
on, con-
jw up an
and only
rom the
s service
deputies,
e of their
m, " that,
hands of
sd, there-
royal in-
might be
therefore
itself, was

e, as to an
fvho came
of regard
ns in the
ange was
L', was re-
ies of the
presented
;hem that
d were to
lis speech
most dis-
was esta-
sternation
too young
or then be-

gan to intimate, that he considered all the present
clergy as mere laymen ; and the most gloomy antici-
pations arose that the churches would be shut, and
that they would be exposed to the same persecution
from which their ancestors had fled. At this mo-
ment, however, James's proclamation came out in fa-
vour of a general toleration ; and though some were
aware of this as only a prelude to popery, the majori-
ty hailed it as a great present relief. The governor,
however, soon called their attention to their temporal
concerns by announcing, that all the grants of land,
having been made under the forfeited charter, convey-
ed no real right to their present holders ; but it was
intimated, that if they would acknowledge this, and
allow that the lands were in no respect theirs, the
king might be graciously pleased to make a new grant,
emanating from his free will. Several accordingly
followed this course, and obtained the new grant, but
bm'dened with fees so exorbitant, that it was calculated
there was not money in the colony to pay them for all
its lands. The boc' / of the proprietors therefore kept
back; upon which writs of intrusion began to be
raised. New and arbitrary taxes were also imposed ;
and, when the colony earnestly applied for a house of
representatives, the answer was, that they would fare
as well as old England ; but to those who knew what
was going on there, this answer was the reverse of en-
couraging.* As matters, however, were drawing to-
wards the worst, rumours began to arrive of the

* Hutchinson, 322-01. Neale, ii. 42-57-9.

1?^

292

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

': mm h I

I hi

.!:'/;

J* r

^ % ■'

ill.

movements of the Prince of Orange. These were
studiously stifled hy the executive ; hut, in the spring
of 1689, one Winslow brought from Virginia a copy of
the prince's proclamation. AVinslow was imprisoned as
the bearer of a treasonable libel ; but it told upon the
people, who rose tumultuously, imprisoned the govern-
or and his principal officers, and re-established their old
magistrates. The New Englanders were now in a very
critical situation. They had committed themselves
against James beyond hope of forgiveness ; yet, should
the event upon which they had proceeded deceive their
expectations, they would be wholly unable to with-
stand the effects of his resentment. There could not,
therefore, be a greater Jubilee than when, on the 26th
May, a vessel arrived from England with advice of
the proclamation of William and Mary. All their
proceedings were approved and sanctioned, and they
were allowed to act upon their former charter till a
new one should be issued. They seemed well en-
titled to expect that this should contain a reinstate-
ment in all their former jirivileges ; but William,
though established by circumstances as the champion
of liberty, cherished the same love of power that is
usual with monarchs. The former government, sin-
gular as it may seem, was neither more nor less than a
pure republic, — the governor and his principal officers
being chosen by the people, all laws enacted, and all tax-
es imposed by their representatives. William evaded
all the demands made by the American deputies for the
re-establishment of this system, and would grant only a
new charter, upon a materially different basis. The
king hac'. now the appointment of the governor and

PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO WITCHCRAFT. 293

se were
le spring
a copy of
isoned as
upon the
e goveni-
i their old
in a very
lemselves
et, should
!eive their
I to with-
could not,
n the 26th
advice of
All their
, and they
arter till a
[1 well en-
reinstate-
William,
3 champion
ver that is
nment, sin-
less than a
:ipal officers
and all tax-
iam evaded
uties for the
^rant only a
jasis. The
)vernor and

principal officers. The governor had a negative on
the laws passed by the assembly, and the king had an
ulterior negative, provided he exercised it before the
end of three years. With the exception of this last
feature, the constitution was similar to that of the old
country, and the New Englanders were therefore
fain, since nothing better could be done, to be tole-
rably content.*

The colony seemed now to have a fair prospect of
enjoying a respite, not only from external dangers,
but from its long train of interior agitations. The
inhabitants were fully secured in the possession of
their property, and the toleration introduced by the
Prince of Orange became henceforth a law, which
nothing could disturb. Instead, however, of enjoy-
ing the immunity which these circumstances appeared
to promise, it was suddenly shaken, and its very
existence almost compromised, by a wild and frantic
delusion, from which the progress of knowledge ap-
peared by this time to have delivered all the sane
and civilized portion of mankind.

A belief in the direct and sensible agency of super-
natural beings has universally prevailed in ages of
ignorance and superstition. It formed the life of the
Pagan mythology ; and it has not been wholly effaced
among the less enlightened professors of Christianity,
especially amid those superstitious forms which de-
faced it during the dark ages. Even the first re-
formers, who displayed such vigour and independence

Hutchinson, 372-92. Neale, i. \0\.[l

S94

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

-i

r-|f "1

III"

of mind, and bronght to light so mcany important
truths, could not wholly shake off the delusions of the
age. Luther's enemies are able to produce from his
writings some comments of this nature, which appear
almost incredible. The New Englanders brought
with them this belief, still in a very prevailing state ;
and all the circumstances of their situation tended to
stamp on their minds solemn and supernatural im-
pressions. " They had an ocean, a thousand leagues
in extent, between them and all the delights of life
they had once enjoyed. On their backs they had a
wilderness without limits. As soon as it was dark,
their ears were filled with the roaring of wolves and
other savage beasts, or, which was worse, the yells of
savage men. Where there was any gloom upon the
mind, such a scene must tend t increase it." Modern
superstition had a character peculiarly gloomy. It
rested upon the supposition, that the powers of evil
had a certain range, within which they might act
and become visible. The prince of darkness had a
species of outward empire, of which many of the
human race, tempted by various lures, were so in-
fatuated as to become the subjects. These persons
were invested with a portion of the powers of their
infernal master, which they employed to torment, in
an extraordinary manner, all whom they regarded
with enmity, or who did not become members of
their impious community. Mather, after Hale, de-
fines a witch to be " a person who, having the free
use of reason, doth knowingly and willingly seek and
obtain of the devil, or of any other besides the true
God, an ability to do or know strange things, or

^ 1

PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO WITCHCRAFT. 295

portant
I of the
•om his
appear
)rought
r state ;
nded to
ral im-
leagvies
3 of life
Y had a
as dark,
[ves and
yells of
ipon the
Modern
my. It

of evil
ight act
s had a

of the
e so in-

persons

of their
ment, in
regarded
abers of
lale, de-

the free
seek and

the true

lings, or

things Avhic'h he cannot by bis own human abilities
arrive unto. This person is a witch."

Mr Paris, the minister of Salem, had a daughter
and niece, children of nine and eleven years of age,
who were afflicted in a singular manner. The symp-
toms — choaking in the throat, suppression of speech,
twisting of the limbs, sensation as if pins were
stuck into them, — seem to point at hysterical affections,
communicated perhaps by sympathy from one to the
other. All the physicians in the neighbourhood
were called, but without effect, till one of them, after
much consideration, gave it as his judgment, " that
they were under an evil hand." From this time
spiritual remedies were alone resorted to. Mr Paris
held several days of fasting and prayer, in which he
was joined by liis brother ministers ; and at last the
whole town of Salem joined in one general day of
humiliation. No progress, however, was thus made,
either in discovering the nature of the disease, or find-
ing any remedy. At length, an Indian domestic and
his wife baked a cake of some strange materials, the
result of which was, the denouncing of Tituba, an-
other Indian female servant, as the author of tho
mischief. Thenceforth the eyes of the children were
wonderfully cleared, and even in Tituba's absence
they saw her image or spectre, pinching, sticking
pins into them, or otherwise tormenting their bodies.
Herei\pon Mr Paris fell upon Tituba, whom he beat
and tortured, till she confessed that she alone was
the author of all the mischief. She did not stop
here, but soon professed to have become herself a
sufferer, being tormented by the spectres or shapes of

r>M

I . ii

kit n

'ill :

nvi

'■SI , ;
Ji n, I , . l,:,f

'ii'i I

' !i:

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 aM<l happy ineetinp^ in heaven."*

Of all who suffered during this dreadful period,
there was not one who did not to the very last make
the most solenm jirotestations of innocence. One of
the most affecting was that of Mary Easty, who, on
the day before her death, presented a petition, not for
herself, but for those whom slie saw about to mei»t
the same fate upon the same unjust and delusive
charges. She writes, " I was confined before a
whole month on the same account I am now con-
demned for. Tlie Lord above knew my innocence
then, and likewise does now, as will be known at the
great day to men and angels. I i)etition your ho-
nours, not for my own life, for I know I must die,
and my appointed time is come, but if it be possible
that no more innocent blood may be shed, which
undoubtedly cannot be avoided in the way and course
you go on. By my own imiocency I know you are
in the wrong way ; the Lord in his infinite mercy
direct you in this great work, if it be his blessed will
that innocent blood be not shed. They say myself
and others have made a league with the devil ; we
cannot confess ; the Lord alone, who is the searcher
of all hearts, knows that, as I shall answer it at
the tribunal seat, I know not the least thing of
witchcraft ; therefore I cannot, I dui'st nx)t, belie my
own soul."f

The advocates of witchcraft being afterwards call-

* Neale, ii. 146-7.

t lb. ii. 148-50.

r'U

[ilf, jumI

•

period,
st make
One of
vlio, oil
not for
to mfc{*t
[lelusive
efore a
>w 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 calle<l W. H.,
a man alxnit forty, who, after public confession, wrote
a spontaneous letter to tlie magistrates, more fully
confirming his former acknowledgment. Hut he had
still before his eyes l)oth the fear of death and the
liope of lil)eration to induce him to court the reign-
ing frenzy. Ik'sides, on considering tiie measure
which this letter contains of connnon sense and in-
telligible English, the adherents of the opposite side
seem to think that tliey may make their adversaries
welcome to any benefit it can aflbrd them. Tlie
following extnict may give some idea both of this
and perhaps of other similar confessions : —

'* God having called me to confess my sin and
apostacy in that fall, in giving the devil advantage
over me, ap])earing in the shape of a black man, in
the evening, to set my name to his book, as I have
owned to my shame, he told me that I should not
want, so doing. At Salem village, there being, a little
off the meeting-house, about a hundred fine blades,
some with rapiers by their sides, which was called,
and n»ight be for ought I know, by B. and Bu, and
the trumpet sounded, and bread and wine, which they
called the Sacrament ; but I had none, being carried
over all on a stick, and never was present at any
other meeting. I being at cart last Saturday all the
day of hay and English corn, the devil brought my
shape to Salem, and did afflict M. S. and R. F. by
ditching my hand. And on Sabbath-day my shape
afflicted A. M., &c. The design was to destroy

t ■ '

302

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

.. y-

111

: iV

S-i

Salem village, and to begin at the minister's house,
and to destroy the churches of God, and to set uj)
Satan's kingdom, and then all will be well," Sec.

A regular trial, according to English law, was given
to all the accused ; but, in the present teini)er both of
judges and jury, it was always easy to foresee the re-
sult. The panels were made answerable, not merely
for any thing which they themselves were even al-
leged to have committed in person, but for what their
shapes or spectres, called up by the crazed imagina-
tion of their accusers, had done in their stead. The
following is a specimen of the testimony which was
accepted : —

" John Lauder. — As he was sitting in his room, a
black hobgoblin jumped into the room, which spake to
him these words : — ' I understand you are troubled in
mind ; be ruled by me, and you shall want nothing in
this world.' But when he endeavoured to strike it,
there was nothing. Upon this he ran out of the
house, and saw the prisoner in her orchard ; but had
not power to speak to her, but concluded his trouble
was all owing to her."* The slightest circumstances
in the deportment of the prisoner were laid hold of.
Thus, when Rebecca Nurse saw Deliverance Hobbes
brought in as a witness, she exclaimed, — " Why do
you bring her, she is one of us ?" upon which sentence
was immediately pronounced, it being interpreted as
meaning that they were joint witches ; and itwasin vain
that she declared herself only to mean that they were

*Neale, 143-0.

;*«

house,
set up

'»
^»

s given
iH)th of
the re-
merely
/en al-
it their
uigiiia-
. The
di was

oom, a
pake to
ibled in
liing in
rike it,

of the
)ut had
trouble
istances

old of.
Hobbes
^hy do
entence
reted as
sin vain
ty were

I'llOrEEDINGS ivEI-ATIVE TO WITCHCRAFT. 303

fellow-prisoners. The following may be given as a
specimen of their mode of interrogation. The afflicted
being once for a long time prevented by fits from
speaking, the chief judge asked the prisoner, " Who
he thought hindered these witnesses from giving in
their testimonies ? and he answered, he supiK)sed it
was the devil. The judge replied, How comes the
devil so loth to have any testimony given against
you ?" which is said to have covered the prisoner
with confusion.* There appear, indeed, some occa-
sional symptoms of an equitable and even liberal spi-
rit. Thus, though the children of Martha Carryer
bore testimony that she had initiated them into the
most profoiuid mysteries of witchcraft, and that the
devil even lay under promise to make her the queen
of hell, yet, on account of their tender age, this evi-
dence was not made use of.f It appears, indeed, that
before giving it, the poor little Carryers had been tied
by the feet, and hung with the head downwards till
the blood began to burst from their nose and mouth. |
It is lamentable to think that there appears to have
been as much of guilt as of madness in these dreadful
proceedings. As soon as a confession had been ex-
torted from any of the unhappy accused persons, they
were immediately called upon to bear witness against,
and be the means of taking away the lives of others ;
and though this was done under the fear of, and as
the only means of escape from impending death, still
their conduct was not the less marked by entire want

* Neale, i. 132. t lb. ii. 147.

X lb. 103.

304

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

i;'J( ■,;

of principle. But there seem clear evidences of a still
deeper guilt on the part of the afflicted. Many doubt-
less acted under the mere influence of a crazed ima-
gination ; but there are admitted proofs in others of
the most deliberate and diabolical falsehood. Thus,
the following was considered as affording the most sa-
tisfactory evidence of witchcraft : — When the afflicted
reported himself tormented by a spectre, he was made
to point out the place where it stood, which place was
then struck with a rapier. A shriek was usually heard,
and the afflicted named the part of the body which
had received the wound. A warrant was immediate-
ly taken out against the person whose spectre it was,
and that part of his or her body searched, when, if
there appeared marks of a wound, the certainty was
supposed to rise as high as the nature of the case ad-
mitted. But, in several instances, the persons were
able to establish, that these hurts had arisen from ac-
cidents long prior to the alleged injury sustained by
their spectre, and of which the accusers were aware.
Even Mather mentions a man who, being tormented
by a number of cats, chose to imagine that one of
them was a poor widow in his neighbourhood. He
provided, therefore, a sword, with which he struck
the cat on the back. He immediately called for an
inquest on the poor woman's person, and found a severe
corresponding hurt. The widow, however, saved her
life by establishing that this wound, caused by the
gore of a cow, had been under treatment during some
months by a respectable surgeon. Another who,
when appearing in spectre, received a large rent in
her green gown, which was found actually sewed up

i li i'

PROCEEDINGS llELATIVE TO WITCHCRArT. 305

f a still

doubt-
id ima-
Lliers of

Thus,
nost sa-
afflicted
as made
lace was
y heard,
y which
mediate-
} it was,
when, if
inty was

case ad-
3ns were
I from ac-
ained by
aware,
armented
one of
)od. He

le struck
for an
a severe

iaved her
by the

ing some

ler who,
rent in

sewed up

at the very place, proved that both the damage and
the repair had taken place long prior to the pretended
blow with the rapier * Mather and Hale, indeed, are
willing to conclude, that these were deep stratagems
of Satan, who, knowing of these previous hurts by a
secret agency, guided the rapier to the place, with the
view of raising an unjust suspicion against the inno-
cent. But much faith was required to accept of this
solution, and there appeared the most reasonable
ground of doubt, that both the stratagem and its Sa-
tanic purpose lay at the door of the afflicted them-
selves. In other cases this was still clearer. At the
trial of Sarah Good, an afflicted girl showed a knife,
which she said the spectre of the panel had stuck
into her, and broke it in her body ; but an honest
young fellow stepped forward, and, at the risk of his
l'*^. I- >wed 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

* Mather, vi. 83. * Neale, i. 12«.U.

VOL. I. U

306

SF.TTLEMEXT OF NEW ENGLAND.

muh

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

f*'t;

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.

; 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\

SETTLEMENT OF NEW EX(;EAN'D.

'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

* Ilutcliinson, 408.

t Mather, vi. 51.

iiwi

! ii

i I

^•;! ■'

1. A

;'«!•

n ■ ■ ■■' it.

ill > Jlr

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 <i

I'll

1 1 '

^: . ''.

i-rM

.'iU

SETTLKMENT OF NEW E\(JI.ANl).

1 '•;

frightful cries. Their first step was to set fire to
the houses, which, heing of wood, instantly cauglit
the flame ; and when the alarmed inmates rushed out,
they killed the men, and carried away the women and
children, with all their effects.* The honour of the
females was not in any danger, })ut they were treated
with the most dreadful cruelty. Wlien the Indians
were annoyed by tlie crying of the children, they
would seize them, dash out their brains against a
tree or stone, and throw them away. When the
females, from fatigue or sickness, were unable to
keep pace with them, they threatened them witli
death if they lagged behind, and when this did not
produce the effect, would i)liuige the tomahawk in
their brains, tear off the scalp, and march on. Al-
though they took no concern in the spread of their
own religion, they made it a sort of religious war,
viewing the God of their enemiCvS with the same
enmity as themselves. On entering a village they
hastened to burn the meeting-house, and then taunt-
ingly asked the English where they would now go
to pray. They bvu'ned all the bibles they could find,
and while they were torturing their captives, uttered
blasphemies against the objects of Christian worship,
" bidding Jesus come and deliver them if he could."f
The English might have found it difficult to with-
stand them, but for an alliance with the Naragansets,
the second most powerful people, whose ancient en-
mity to the Pequods prevailed over their jealousy of

* Hubbard, ()2- no.

t Ibid.

INDIAN WAHS.

315

: fire to
r caught
slied out,
irien and
r of the
e treated
Indians
•en, they
igainst a
/^hen the
nahle to
em with
IS did not
ihawk in
on. Al-
of their
[0U9 war,
the same
hige they
en taunt-
now go
ould find,
s, uttered
worship,
3 could."t
to with-
ragansets,
icient en-
alousy of

the foreigners. A treaty was tlierefore drawn up,
signed l)y tlie marks of Agamaug, Wainpsh, Tawa-
geron, and other chiefs, hinding themselves to the
most active co-operation with the hingli.^h, into
wliose hands \Vol)eqnop, Weowthim, and Wcenew,
their kinsmen, were i)laced as hostages. The Eng-
lish, however, found it necessary, in the active field-
operations, to rely chiefly on their own strength.
Some of the captains at first committed the error
of imagining that the Indians should he fought in
their own way, hy small j)arties lyiir: in and)ush
t'md seeking to surprise them ; hut the} we^e fomd
quite an overmatch for the English in this liiod j of
fighting, and, in consequence, a hody of seventy, the
dower of the county of Essex, were entirely cut t*'
pieces, filling the country with mourning, n( t < aly
that they were so misera})ly lost, hut hy so pdpt.Me
an error. But, when the English marched in a close
and regular body, the Indians did not venture to
face them, and could only wound a few by firing out
of the bushes and hollows. The difficulty was how
to reach them, and strike a decisive blow. This
could only be effected by storming their forts, — an
enterprise of difficulty and danger ; and when these
were successively carried, they lodgt ' ^hemselves in
the marshes, and it was found " ill iigliting a wild
beast in his own den." Yet the war was conducted
with such vigoiu*, that the Pf ,aods were partly ex-
terminated, partly reduced to submission. Other
tribes, however, rose behind them ; and even the
Naragansets, the original allies of the English, when
they saw the power of these strangers becoming

KLPi™

316

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

iMi i'i

H V ,i' 1

•M' ;*

• I

m lit?

paramount, began to side witli their enemies. The
Indian chiefs began to imitate the English mode of
fighting, and even to assume Englisli names, with
some characteristic epithet. One-eyed John, Stone-
wall John, and Sagamore Sam, kept the colony in
perpetual alarm. But their most deadly and formid-
able enemy was Philip Sachem of the Wompanoags,
who kept them for years in constant alarm, till his
death established them completely paramount over all
this range of territory.

All the European nations had made a very solemn
profession, that a leading, if not the most leading ob-
ject of their settlement had been to communicate the
light of the Gospel to the savage and ignorant natives.
In many cases, indeed, the action of very different mo-
tives had been conspicuous, and the one alleged had
served chiefly to lull their conscience under conduct
the most opposite to that which the Gospel would
have sanctioned. The New England settlers were
perhaps the most really and earnestly concerned for
the eternal welfare of that untaught race among whom
they were established. Such had not been the case
in the earlier and more northern settlements, where
Mather mentions a clergyman, who, from the pulpit,
alluded to this as the main object of his flock's coming
out, when one of the principal members rose and said,
" Sir, you are mistaken, — our main object was to catch
fish." The Massachusets settlers, on the contrary,
from the first, applied themselves to this important
undertaking ; they set apart for it several j)ious and
zealous ministers, and they established a seminary for
the education of the Indians, especially to the work of

fi I

CONVEllSION OF INDIANS.

317

the ministry. They could not indeed boast of the
crowds of converts which were apparently made by the
Catholic missionaries ; but the latter, it is observed,
were often content with a very nominal profession, and
the mere performance of some outward rites. Thus
a whole tribe in the vicinity is mentioned as having
been baptized by the French in one day, in considera-
tion of a shirt preser f<. d to each ; but as the shirt, in
the course of a few weeks, got excessively dirty, they
came in a body, and intimated their intention to re-
nounce their baptism, unless they were supplied with
a change.* The Massachusets ministers, on the con-
trary, were perhaps rather too rigid in the proofs which
they demanded of a regenerate and believing state
previous to reception into church communion. In-
stead of making any allowance for the weakness of
the Indians, they only increased their rigour. A day
was appointed, called Natootomnpteackesiik^ or " the
day of asking questions," when a large body were
jointly catechized, their answers taken down, and
circulated through the most spiritual persons of the
colony, by whom their fitness might be judged of.f
The missionaries judiciously preached only short ser-
mons, and then asked the Indians if they understood
what had been said, and invited them to ask questions.
This invitation was readily accepted, and they often
spent several hours in conversation. Some of their
questions were rather irrelevant, and even puzzling,
as, " why sea-water was salt and river-water fresh ?

* Neale, i. 284.

t Mather, iii, p. li)7-«.

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318

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

why the ocean did not rise and overflow the earth ?"
They asked also if God could understand them when
they prayed in the Indian language ? how there were
so many people in the world when they had been all
drowned by the flood ? and why the English should
know so much more of God, when all were the chil-
dren of the same father ? After they had been satisfied
on all these points, there remained the question, what
the Sachems would think ? and this was followed by
the higher and deeper question, what the Powaws
would think? The Powaws were the priests and
oracles of America ; when any one was sick, when he
had lost any thing, when he wished to know the lucky
time and manner of doing any thing, he had recourse
to them. Deadly were the denunciations of these gift-
ed persons against the apostate Indian who should
forsake their creed for English gods and an English
priesthood. Not only would he be deprived of their
aid in every emergency, but he might expect from
their wrath the most deadly evils ; death itself could
and would be inflicted by magical influence, if he
should continue obstinate. Several circumstances,
however, combined to raise a doubt of the infallibili-
ty of the Powaws. It was observed in their magico-
medical capacity, that, after they had spent hours in
howling, dancing, leaping, and blowing upon the pa-
tient, and all being in vain, had pronounced that his
hour was come, an English doctor, by a very simple
application, would restore him to health. The Indians
never indeed could raise their minds to the idea, that
the divinities of the Powaws had not a real existence ;
they only considered them as less powerful than those

CONVERSION OF INDIANS.

319

of the English, from whom, consequently, the need-
ful protection might be expected ; but indeed this can-
not be wondered at, when we find the same to have
been the opinion of the gravest and most learned di-
vines of the colony, who never doubted of the super-
natural powers of the Indian priesthood.* Several,
therefore, observed, that, notwitiistanding the inferi-
ority of the gods of the Powaws, their obligations to
them had been so great, that they could not hand-
somely desert them ; and to this the ministers do not
seem to have known very well what to answer. Po-
litical opposition was also encountered ; " the devils,"
it is said, " having the Sachems on their side," who
dreaded that " their little kingdoms and glories"f
would be shaken, if a new doctrine were introduced
among their people. They even used threats to deter
the missionaries from proceeding in the work of con-
version. Philip, on being addressed by Mr Elliot,
took hold of his button, telling him, " he cared as little
for his Gospel as for that button."

Notwithstanding these obstacles, Mr Elliot, Mr Ex-
perience Mayliew, and several other excellent persons,
succeeded in prevailing on a number of the Indians in
different quarters to form themselves into villages,
and follow a civilized and Christian life. The chief
settlements were at Concord, Nantucket, and particu-
larly at Martha's Vineyard, where the ecclesiastical
establishment was entirely Indian. Hiacomes, a
young native chief, having embraced Christianity, and

Mather, vi. i}2.

t Ibid. li)8-J).

320

SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND.

Mil

li ' '■

t '.)

Si i

t.. I

' ?

'! 'I

attained a competent knowledge of religion, was ap-
pointed pastor, while John Tockinosh and Joshua
Mummeechegs were named as his elders.* It was
made an object, not only to instruct them in their re-
ligious duties, and wean them from their roving and
turbulent mode of life, but generally to banish the
rude and unseemly habits in which they were wont to
indulge ; and they were persuaded to impose fines upon
delinquencies of this nature. It was contracted under
heavy penalties, that they should not kill lice between
their teeth, that they should not besmear their bodies
with grease, nor set up the dreadful bowlings to which
they were accustomed. Women who appeared with
their hair hanging loose, or their bosom uncovered,
had a fine levied on them. The Indian who beat his
wife had his hands tied behind his back, and was car-
ried in this state to the tribunal, where he was punish-
ed at the pleasure of the judge.f The Indian females
made considerable efforts to obtain an opinion from
the ministers, that if a man beat his wife, all his
prayers would be vain ; but however bent on i)utting
down the practice, they do not seem to have been pre-
pared to commit themselves altogether to this extent.
In a few yi -irs, matters were so far advanced, that
there were formed in Massachusets alone, thirty
congregations of " i)raying Indians," whose numbers
amounted to about three thousand. From that time
the progress seems to have been rather retrograde.
After the first novelty, the old habits of the Indians,

* Mather, vi. 524.

+ NeaU', i. 245-50.

:t r

CONVERSION or INDIANS.

321

was ap-

Josliua

It was
their re-
viug and
iiiish the
3 wont to
ines upon
ted under
i between
eir bodies
1 to which
ared with
incovered,
o beat his
d was ear-
as punish-
an females
nion from
fe, all his

m putting

been pre-
|his extent.

need, that
|ne, thirty
numbers

that time

retrograde.

e Indians,

and particularly their sloth and love of strong liquors,
began again to strive for the mastery. There is stated,
indeed, to have been a most strict observance of that
clause in the Fourth Commandment, which says, " In
it thou shalt not do any work ;" but as no regard was
paid to the preceding clause, " Six days shalt thou
labour," much doubt was felt as to the purity of the
motives by which they were swayed. The attempt to
organize an Indian priesthood failed altogether, the
converts possessing neither the steadiness nor sobriety
requisite for the holy office. The duty, therefore, de-
volved upon European teachers, who, in many cases,
scarcely obtained the wages of a day-labourer, and
that very precariously. The formation, however, of
a society in England for the propagation of the Gospel
in this settlement, and pretty liberal contributions
raised in the principal towns, in some degree reme-
died this evil.

245-50.

VOL. 1.

322

^riilEIl SETTLEMENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

.<r'

Fp *!m

■I '

SETTLEMENT OF THE OTHEll COLONIES.

Secondary Slates of New England. — Connecticut — Rhode Island
—New Hampshire. — New York ; settled hy the Dutch ; Trans-
ference to England. — Maryland. — Carolina ; its Constitutions ;
various Vicissitudes. — Georgia. — Pennsylvania ; Account of
Venn ; Treaty with the Indians ; its rapid Increase.

t .1

., ■

I I

The settlement of Virginia and that of New Eng-
land, or, more strictly speaking, Massachusetts, have
exhibited on the greatest scale, and under the most
striking features, that series of early and daring ad-
venture, by which the vast Indian desert was con-
verted into the seat of great and flourishing nations.
The other states were peopled in a great measure out
of these two ; they found a path already marked out
for them, and trod nearly in the same footsteps. To
enter, therefore, into a similar detail of their fortunes
and progress would be inconsistent with our limits,
and would involve a wearisome monotony. Each,
however, had some characters peculiar to itself, which
will be found deserving of a brief survey.

The secondary states of New England were most-
ly peopled out of the original and central colony of

' H

CONNECTICUT.

323

[ES.

ode Island
h; Trans-
stituiions ;
icconnt of

[ew Eng-
itts, have
Itlie most
Ting ad-
|was con-
nations,
asure out
arked out
eps. To
fortunes
Lir limits,
Each,
;lf, which

jre most-
I colony ot

Massachusetts ; and, as may have heen observed, the
emigration was, in several instances, connected with
circumstances not very highly meritorious on its part.
Connecticut, however, did not owe its existence to any
such equivocal cause. It arose merely out of tlie
overflowing of the surplus population of Massachusetts
proceeding in search of new and unoccupied lands.
In this pursuit, Mr Chalmers remarks, that they
made no inquiry, either of the Plymouth Company,
in whom the whole of this coast had been originally
vested, or of the Marquis of Hamilton, to whom it
had been afterwards conveyed, or of the Dutch, who,
from their strong settlement on the Hudson, had
spread themselves in this direction. Finding the
territory one vast unoccupied forest, they very coolly
divided it among themselves, nor was any one present
able to start any o^bjection. The company, somewhat
surprised to hear that its territories were occupied
without even the trouble of giving them notice, sent
out a code of instructions for the regulation of the
settlers. But that body declined paying any atten-
tion to them, and undertook the entire management
of its own concerns. Its only formidable annoyance
arose from the Indians, of whose attacks, from its ad-
vanced position, it was obliged to stand the first brunt ;
and till the Pequods and Philip were finally humbled,
Connecticut enjoyed only short intervals of tranquil-
lity. It prospered, however, being recruited by se-
veral Puritans of distinction, who came direct from
England ; nor did it, even after the accession of
Charles II., meet the fate which its daring courses
might seem likely to have prepared for it. That

'324'

OTII F-H SF/i'TLKM KXTS.

h ii

• I

prince, amid the joy of the Restoration, granted to
Connecticut a cliarter on the most liberal terms. The
colonists were erected into a corporate body, having
a right to all the lands extending across to the Pacific
Ocean. Connecticut, therefore, conducted itself en-
tirely as an independent state ; and even the regicides
lived there in security. As Charles and his parlia-
ment, however, began, in the leisure of peace, to turn
their attention to the regulation of these rising colo-
nies, they were not a little mortified to find that they
had divested themselves of all power to regulate or
control them. At length Charles began to take a
more daring course, and to break down all the bar-
riers which obstructed his progress to absolute power.
Massachusetts was the first point beyond the Atlantic
upon which this system was brought to bear ; and it
has been seen, that, after an honourable struggle, that
state was obliged to yield to superior power, and to
see its rights wrested from it. While this contest
was pending, Connecticut was allowed to stand by,
each party foreseeing that its lot would be ruled by
that of its greater neighbour. Massachusetts fell, and
Connecticut behoved to follow. The people, on see-
ing that this issue could not be escaped, resigned
themselves to their fate with somewhat of an abject
submission. They wrote, professing their loyalty,
desiring to continue in their present station ; but, were
it the royal purpose to dispose otherwise of them,
submitting to the royal commands. They even pro-
fessed their willingness to be united to any other go-
vernment, with only a humble preference of that over
which Andros had been placed. This pliancy had

IlIIODE ISLAND.

anted to
IS. The
, having
le Pacific
itself en-
regicides
is parlia-
e, to turn
ling colo-
that they
giilate or
to take a
I the bar-
ite power,
e Atlantic
ir ; and it
\ggle, that
IV, and to
lis contest
stand by,
ruled by
;s fell, and
e, on see-
resigned
an abject
ir loyalty,
but, were
of them,
even pro-
other go-
f that over
liancy had

the effect, whether foreseen or not, of securing to
them a very unmerited advantage over Massachu-
setts. The king contented himself with directing An-
dros to receive their submission, and did not extort
from the courts any legal sentence of forfeiture.
^Vhen, tlierefore, the happy era of the Revolution ar-
rived, the charter was not judged to liave lost its va-
lidity, and was restored to them entire. They cont'-
nued to enjoy a plenitude of liberty, and an independ-
ence on the government at home, which was denied to
Massachusetts, solely on account of the spirited stand
which she made for these rights.*

Rhode Island, unlike Connecticut, rested its found-
ation solely on the schisms of Massachusetts, and
was peopled by the heretics ejected from that seat
of Puritan orthodoxy. Williams was foremost, whose
proceedings at Salem the reader probably has not
forgotten ; and though his treatment was unmerit-
ed and unjust, yet Burke and Chalmers seem to go
too far in making him suffer merely for advocating
the rights of conscience. Whatever might have been
his faults at Salem, his conduct at Providence, to
which he retired, has been the theme of universal pa-
negyric. The toleration, and, indeed, equality esta-
blished with regard to all religious professions, Ro-
man Catholics only excepted, was a new feature in
that age, and secured an ample influx of refugees.
The next band consisted of Mrs Hutchinson, with her
train of Antinomian converts ; and, notwithstanding

* Chahners's Annals, ch. xil.

ff' *

l\ 'l

■I I I

ti,')

'■ 'ill

. , ■ ■

\ t

,/.t

:^i mi !

B-..^

111 ,

326

OTHER SETT LE M ENTS.

the remov.'il and tragical fate of herself and family,
the persecuted adherents to her cause brouglit a great
accession to the colony. The Anabaptists, the Quak-
ers, all the successive suffering sects, found a refuge
here. They composed a medley very offensive to the
pure eyes of the Boston ministers. Mather describes
them as " a generation of libertines, familists, Anti-
nomians, and Quakers, whose posterity, for want of
schools and a public ministry, are become so barbar-
ous as not to be ca2)able of either good English or
good sense." There does seem to have been, from first
to last, rather a want of erudition in the society of
Rhode Island ; but in other respects they might have
taught valuable lessons to these their severe censors ;
for we read of none of those furious dissensions which
kept the Massachusetts colony in a state of such per-
petual distraction.

Rhode Island shared nearly the political career of
Connecticut. It was left long to govern itself unmo-
lested ; and Williams, when he came over to England
during the time of the Commonwealth, met the most
cordial reception from Cromwell and the other Inde-
pendent leaders. At the Restoration, also, they were
as fortunate as their neighbour in obtaining a very
republican constitution, almost entirely independent of
the mother country. Yet the state continued always
so loyal and even submissive to the government at
home as repeatedly to call forth the applauses of Charles.
All these merits could not shelter it from the deter-
mination of James II. to crush every corporate body
both at home and abroad. The fatal writ of quo
warranto was issued ; and it was oidy hy a submis-

NEW HAMrSIIIRK.

327

sion still more abject and implicit than that of Con-
necticut that they could stop its procedure. They
presented an address, in which " they humbly pro-
strated themselves, their privileges, their all, at the
gracious feet of his majesty." The king approved
and accepted their submission, attached them to Mas-
sachusetts, and sent Andros, who dissolved the go-
vernment, broke its seal, and assumed the entire ad-
ministration. ^Vlien the Revolution came, Rhode
Island, like Connecticut, not having lost its charter by
legal sentence, was considered as entitled to resume
it ; and the colony continued tlius to enjoy what it
scarcely merited, — a more independent government
than any other of the American states.*

New Hampshire and Maine, differing wholly in this
respect from the rest of New England, were founded
upon strictly loyal and church of England principles.
These tracts were divided by the Plymouth Company
between Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason ; of
whom Mr Chalmers declares, that no American adven-
turers were so conspicuous for the energy of their exer-
tions. It does not appear how he reconciles this with
the admission made immediately after, that they totally
neglected the colony, ruled it in a tyrannical manner,
and gave no encouragement to settlers.f It never,
therefore, made any progress till it began to be recruit-
ed by the religious dissensions at Boston. Mr ^V^leeI-
wright, the distinguished Antinomian orator, with his
adherents, formed the first arrival. They seated them-

Chalmers's Annals, ch. xii.

+ Annals, p. 471-4.

328

OTHER SETTLEMENTS.

. I i

n- » :ii\

»ftB

.' ' .

selves in the midst of the forest which skirts the banks
of the great river Piscataqua, and immediately establish-
ed a form of church and civil government agreeable
to their own views. Being soon mixed, however,
with persons of opposite character and religious pro-
fession, violent dissensions arose, which stained the
early annals of the colony with blood. This aftbrded
to the general court of Massachusetts an opening to
extend their i)retensions to New Hampshire ; the pro-
prietors of which being then eagerly engaged in the civil
wars, no opposition was made to the act by which this
region was declared to be comprehended within their
patent. The regular government which they esta-
blished, and the encouragement afforded to settlers,
enabled the colony soon to reach a degree of prosperi-
ty before unknown. A few, also, flying before their
severe sway, increased the still scanty population of the
outer district of Maine, till Massachusetts, daily extend-
ing its views, comprehended that territory also within
its range. Gorges and Mason, as soon as they began to
breathe from the civil war, were not a little dismayed
to find that the whole of their large American posses-
sions had been quietly occupied by a neighbouring state,
and by persons whom they hated and despised. Their
loud complaints met with very little notice under the
Commonwealth, when Massachusetts was favoured
and cherished, and they themselves viewed with en-
mity by the ruling power. On the accession of
Charles II. a more favourable ear was afforded, and a
commission was sent out, with full power to make a
final arrangement. The commission decided in favour
of Gorges and Mason ; but the general court, holding

is i

'r^H:

1'f

NEW YORK.

S29

the actual i)osse88ion, contrived, partly by anna, part-
ly by solicitation, and partly by legal proceedings, to
keep the question pending for more tlian seventeen
years, though it cost them during that time mucli
more than any benefit derived from the settlement.
At length a decision was obtained in favour of Gorges ;
but the court, still intent on their object, imme-
diately purchased up his claim. The validity of the
sale, however, was disputed, and this colony conti-
nued still the object of contest and litigation till the
fatal era when, Massachusetts being deprived of her
charter, her rights upon the countries to the south
were considered to have droj)ped along with it, and
she was restricted to her original limits. A royal go-
vernment was established in New Hampshire, which
subsisted to the period of the last revolution. The
colony does not seem to have been very deserving of
so lengthened a contest, since Mr Chalmers found its
public revenue in 1680 to amount only to £131, and
a tax of a penny in the pound producing only £89, 4s.

m I

New York experienced an early destiny materially
differing from that of any of the other colonies. For
a long period it was Dutch, bearing the title of New
Belgium or New Netherlands, having New Amster-
dam for its capital. The discovery of this region, and
of the noble river by which it is watered, is due to
Hudson, the celebrated navigator. Hudson, in 1609,
followed almost in the steps of Cabot.* He coasted

* Purclias, ill. 5tU-95.

fl-l

k '

"it

if '> ? >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-

* Chalmers, ch. xix. Brit. Enip. Amer. i. 243.

( V

if. ' I

I ^il

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:

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

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

f.'

I »

Jii^l

lii' I

1
' i

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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.

?.'\ n

daring the best of the hiws void by proehuuntioii,
though aHsente<l to in his name hy tlie governor ; of
a law wliich punishe<l all speeches against his Lord-
ship's government, that sliould be thought nmtinous
by the provincial court, with imi>risornnent, 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

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

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:%^#i

C/a

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.

SI'

346

OTHER SETTLEMENTS.

I 'Jiff

i; <i

j. ^ , m'

new and better population. The principle of religious
freedom had been made the basis both of the charter
and the fundamental constitutions, and, amid all their
evils, had been preserved entire to the people of Caro-
lina. Although,, therefore, any little religion which
the first settlers brought with them consisted in a
somewhat vehement zeal for the English church, the
country was perfectly open to sectaries of every deno-
mination. Many, driven by persecution from New
England, or finding the best lands of that country oc-
cupied, repaired to Carolina, and got into their hands
almost the whole trade of that province. Here, also,
the English Puritans, exposed under Charles II. to a
persecution as severe as ever, sought refuge. They
soon became as numerous, more substantial, and more
wealthy, than any other part of the community.
This prosperity was viewed with a very evil eye by
the original settlers, who saw themselves thus eclipsed
by a body whom they alike despised and hated. Co-
vering this jealousy under a pretext of zeal for the
church, they contrived, by the most violent measures,
to pack an assembly, in which, by a majority of one,
they carried a law excluding all dissenters from it,
and from every office of trust and profit under govern-
ment. They even passed another for deposing the
dissenting clergy, and appropriating their churches
to the English form of worship. Of these de-
vout churchmen, most, it is stated, had never partak-
en of the sacrament either in their own or any other
communion, and led the most dissolute lives. There is
quoted of Governor Moor, one of their chief leaders,
a commission to Anthony Dodsworth and others, " to

CAROLINA.

347

set upon, assault, kill, destroy, and take as many In-
dians as they possibly could." The British parlia-
ment listened to the heavy complaints sent home by
the suffering party. On the 12th March, 1705, they
voted an address to the queen, bearing, that these laws
were contraiy to the charter granted to the colony,
and the laws of England ; that they were destructive
to trade, and tended to depopulate and ruin the pro-
vince. This address wus referred to a committee of
the Lords of Trade ;* who thereupon reported, that the
proprietors, in sanctioning such laws, had been guilty
of an abuse of the power granted by their charter,
which involved its forfeiture. They humbly submit-
ted, therefore, that her majesty should take the same
into her own hands. Yet this recommendation was not
immediately followed, nor was any thing effectual done
for the relief of the Carolineans till 1721, when the
people rose in insurrection, established a provisional
government, and entreated the king to take the go-
vernment into his own hands. George I. acquiesced ;
and in a few years after the colony was secured to
the public, by purchase from the proprietors, for about
the sum of twenty thousand pounds.f

We shall here introduce the account of a colony de-
tached from Carolina, and naturally connected with
it, though its origin was later than that of Pennsylva-
nia, which yet remains to be mentioned. The terri-
tory to the south of the Savannah, more remote from

* British Emp. 487-0. t Histor. Account, &c., i. 255-321.

348

OTHER SETTLEMENTS.

t '•

;.t' I

i ii;

;1H*

the other settlements, and in a somewhat debateable
state in relation to Spain, had remained still unoccu-
pied. In 1732, the usual pressure in regard to sub-
sistence being felt at home, a scheme was formed for
relieving the mother country, by leading out a colony
to this new region, which, in honour of the reigning
monarch, was called Georgia. Twenty-three trus-
tees were appointed, among whom were the Earl of
Shaftesbury, Lords Percival, Tyrconnel, and Lime-
rick, and a number of gentlemen of good family. It
was announced as a charitable object, to which par-
liament contributed ten thousand pounds, and collec-
tions were made in various parts of the kingdom. A
sum of fifteen thousand pounds was placed at the disposal
of the trustees, who employed it in transporting 370
British and 115 foreigners ; besides which 127 per-
sons went over at their own expense. The colony,
having to apprehend attacks from various quarters,
was established on quite a military basis.* Each
planter, along with his plough and his spade, was
bound to provide musket and shot, and lands were
granted as military fiefs, on the condition of taking
the field whenever an enemy should approach the
frontiers. As the inhabitants of the English towns,
however, were not found likely to prove very mighty
warriors, a body of 130 Highlanders were drawn from
Inverness, and several bands of old German soldiers
were also induced to embark. Amid these prepara-
tions, Mr Oglethorpe, a person of much mildness and

|ili;:.il'

* Brit. Em|). Amer. i. 526. Historical Account of Carolina

and Georgia, Ii. 42-45.

l^i,

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GEORGIA.

349

debateable
till uiioccu-
ird to sub-
formed for
ut a colony
le reigning
three trus-
the Earl of
and Lime-
family. It
which par-
and collec-
igdom. A
the disposal
(orting 370
^h 127 per-
;^he colony,
IS quarters,
is.* Each
spade, was

lands were
I of taking
proach the
^lish towns,
ery mighty
3rawn from
lan soldiers
se prepara-
ildness and

t of Carolina

discretion, made it his primary object to conciliate
the Indian nations. Those who immediately border-
ed on Georgia were the different tribes of the Upper
and Lower Creeks. Through the medium of an In-
dian female of some distinction, who had married a
Carolinean trader, he was able to negotiate a general
congress at Savannah. Yahoulakee, Tatchi-quatchi,
Essaboo, and nearly fifty other great war-kings and
captains attended. Mr Oglethorpe presented to each
a laced coat and hat, and a shirt, and, rejwesenting
to them the instruction and the wealth which they
and their subjects might derive from intercourse with
the English, proposed that they should cede some
part of that immense territory which was lying at
present waste. The Indians came prepared upon
this subject, and Oueeka-chumpa, their spokesman,
advanced and presented a buffalo's skin, adorned on
the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle.
This was a type of the English, who were swift as
the eagle and strong as the buffalo, and, like the
former, flew over vast seas to the uttermost ends of
the earth. He, however, who gave the English
breath had given the Indians breath also, though he
had bestowed more wisdom on white men. i'hey
were persuaded that the great power which dwc't in
Heaven, which had given breath to all men, had sent
the English for the instruction of them, their wives,
and children. They therefore freely gave them the
lands which they did not vise themselves. This was
not only their own opinion, but the opinion of all the
eight towns of the Creeks. Tomichichi, the chief
or king, and who lived nearest to the settlement, was

I
1 r

J: f

ff,f

% '

p. , ■*

m^-'a

350

OTHER SETTLEMENTS.

prevailed upon to come over to London, and being
duly ecjuipped, was introduced into the king's pre-
sence. He said, " This day I see the majesty of
your face, the greatness of your house, and the num-
ber of your people. I am come in my old dnys, not
expecting to see any advantage to myself, but for the
good of the children of all tlu; nations of the Lower
and Upper Creeks. Tliese are feathers of the eagle,
which are a sign of peace in our land. We have
brought them over to leave them with you, oh great
king ! as a token of everlasting peace. O great king !
whatever words you shall say unto me, I will faith-
fully tell them to all the kings of the Creek nation."
The king made a gracious and suitable answer; and the
chief, with his attendants, after being feasted by the
principal nobility, returned to America loaded with
presents.

The progress of the colony was slow, being fetter-
ed by regulations enacted by the trustees from the
best motives, but which were alleged to be unsuitable
to the infant circumstances of the colony. The im-
portation and use of negroes were prohibited ; no
rum was allowed to be introduced, and no one was
permitted to trade with the Indians without special
license. The colonists complained, that without
negroes it was impossible to clear the grounds and
cut down the thick forests ; though the honest High-
landers always reprobated the practice, and denied
any necessity to exist for it. The rum was the ob-
ject for which they could most readily have exchang-
ed their surplus produce ; and the moderate use of
which, in this hot and humid climate, was almost

\ : 'ii.i

ti >

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\\

i; 1

'*: I

■•

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.

''fj

I' I

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.

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-

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.

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

\.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

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.

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^.lrM

.h'' I

366

FllENClI SETTLEMENTS.

chief direction, and became the real founder of Cana-
<la, or New France. He removed the seat of settle-
ment higher up the river, to Quebec, which, seated
tm a hill, conmianded the passage, here only a mile
broad. Having built and fortified a town, and brought
the surrounding territory into tolerable cultivation, he
made it his next object to push into the interior. The
southern bank both of the river and liU<es wa.s found
occupied by two powerful people, the Algonnneciuins
(Algonquins),and theEntou!ionorons(Hurons). These
were engaged in deadly and almost ceaseless warfare
with the Iroquets (Iroquois), a still fiercer and more
warlike tribe, occupying all the southern shore of the
St Lawrence and of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Cham-
plain, to promote his objects of discovery and interior
intercourse, determined, with wisdom somewhat dubi-
ous, to take an active part with the two former. He
inarched with them southward along the banks of
the Sorel, and of the considerable lake which still
bears his name. He was delighted with the ap-
pearance of the country, and of the immerous isles by
which the river and lake were diversified. Game and
fish were remarkably abundant; and the beavers, under
favour of the wars which reigned continually among
mankind, enjoyed an undisturbed peace, and multi-
plied in an extraordinary degree. To the south and
west rose lofty mountains covered with snow, called
now Savage Mountains, between which fine and fer-
tile valleys were interspersed. Here they found the
Iroquois, a fierce and proud race, accustomed to tri-
umph over all the other occupants of these savage de-
serts. Th y marched intrepidly to meet the Strang-

?r of Cana-
t of settle-
ich, Heated
•Illy a mile
1(1 firoiight
ivation, he
?rior. The
was found
urmiequiris
lis). These
ss warfare
and more
lore of the
o. Cham-
id interior
i^hat dubi-
mer. He

banks of
^hich still
1 the ap-
is isles by
Game and
ers, under
ly among
id multi-
outh and
w, called

and fer-
ound the
;d to tri-
avage de-
le strang-

CHAMPLAIN. — CANADA.

3()7

ers ; but when they saw the (lash of tlie giuis, lu'iutl
the balls wluKzing in their ears, and witnessed their
fatal effects, a panic seizt'd them, and they took to
flight. Several captives were slain, and Champlain
had then an opportunity of witnessing a scene new to
the civilized world, and which stmck him with the
deepest horror. A selection was made of one ca[)tive,
\\\um whom were to be vented all the concentrated
furies of savage vengeance. The whole f)o<ly of al-
lied Indians joined in inflicting that train of studied,
lengthened, and exquisite torture, of which so many
dreadful examples have since been seen. Amid these
tortures, the victim was heard, in tones of proud de-
fiance, raising his songs of war and death, boasting
the superior prowess of his countrymen, recounting
their victories, and the captives of the detested race of
the Hurons whom they had taken and tortured.
Chami)laiii, shocked beyond measure at a scene in
which he had almost a share, implored in vain that
they would put an end to it ; till at length some one
hinted, that though they could never consent to this,
yet he himself might terminate the sufferings of the
victim. Champlain gladly loaded his gun, and shot
the poor creature dead, when a new scene opened.
After tearing and mangling his limbs, they pulled off
the skin of the head, which, including the hair, form-
ed the scalp, and was treasured as their grand war-
trophy. They carried it home along with those of the
other prisoners, and, on approaching their native vil-
lage, bore these precious spoils, fastened at the end of
long pikes, in full view before them. Their wives

mmmmm*

\C-H

^■m

i.i

m w m

(

! ,

•

if:

1 ,

! i

;(

■

1 ''

1 )

1 Ci

368

FRENCH SETTLEMENTS.

came swimming across the river to meet their lords,
and, on seeing these signals of victory, raised loud
shouts of exultation. They received them from the
hands of the warriors, and tied them round their neck,
as the most precious ornaments.

Champlain, in his next expedition, pursued a due
westerly course towards the great lakes. He appears
to have proceeded along the Ottawa to the lake of
Nipisierini (Nipissing), and then to that of Atti-
gononton, a vast body of water, extending fom* hun-
dred leagues from east to west, and resembling an in-
land sea of fresh water. Such a description can apply
only to Lake Superior ; the shores of which, how-
ever, he represents as so rude and rocky, that he
could scarcely find ten acres of land fit for cultiva-
tion. Thence, turning to the lake of the Entouhono-
rons, he was again engaged by his allies in a war
with the Iroquois. The Hm'ons furnished two thou-
sand five hundred warriors, well fitted with bow and to-
mahawk ; but when Champlain sought to place them
in line with his European troops, he could make next
to nothing of them. The chiefs could maintain no
sort of authority ; all the troops made a rule of stead-
ily following their own inclination, and doing exactly
what they pleased, — a system, he says, which ruins
all their affairs. Yet the whizzing of the French
balls alone drove the enemy to flight ; and several
prisoners were taken. As the Hurons were begin-
ning the work of torture on an Iroquois female, Cham-
plain could not help bitterly reproaching them with
such an unmanly and uncivilized proceeding. They

*tr

;heir lords,
raised loud
1 from the
L their neck,

sued a due
He appears
the lake of
at of Atti-
; four hun-
bliiig an in-
in can apply
i^hich, how-
ky, that he
for cultiva-
Entouhono-
s in a war
d two thou-
bow and to-
place them
make next
maintain no
ale of stead-
)ing exactly
ivhich ruins
the French
and several
i^ere begin-
flale, Cham-
them with
[ng. They

replied that it was no more than their enemies did to
them ; but, since it displeased him, they would desist,
reserving only in full plenitude the right of torturing
their male captives. Champlain now led them to the
attack of a strong palisaded fort, into which the ene-
my had retreated ; but he found his auxiliaries as
little helpful here as in the field. The object was to
set fire to the fort ; but as they kindled the fire
against the wind, it had no efficacy. The enemy
mean time showed the utmost activity, both in ex-
tinguishing the fire, and in pouring clouds of ar-
rows, by which the French chief received two severe
wounds, and his whole party were obliged to sound a
retreat. Champlain was packed up like a bundle,
and thrown over the back of an Indian, tied so exces-
sively tight, that he could not stir hand or foot, and
the pain of his wounds, though severe, was less
than he suffered from this dreadful position. How-
ever, by this painful process they effectually car-
ried off" their wounded, which he considers a^s the
only laudable part of their tactics. Champlain now
found that he had embarked on the weaker side ;
and the deadly enmity of a nation so powerful and
extended as that of the Iroquois became a material
bar to his designs. On his return, his allies endea-
voured to revive his spirits by the view of a stag-
hunt. Two lines of palisades were made to approach
each other, till they united at an angular point. The
Indians then imitated the cry of the wolf, — a sound of
all others the most justly terrible to the stags, which
were thus impelled into the wide opening of the an-
gular space. Thence they continued to be driven

VOL. I.

2 A

370

FRENCH DISCOVERIES.

li'l

Pi':7

i'i ,..

U i

II' 1

along the interior of the palisades, till they were
hedged into its extremity, and easily caught.*

By this expedition, however, Champlainwas enabled
to form an accurate idea of the extent and situation
of Canada. He estimated it to contain foiu* hundred
and fifty leagues, which, enclosed by noble rivers and
lakes, and opening into vast interior regions, seemed
to afford almost indefinite scope both for trade and
settlement. The Company, however, intent only upon
commercial transactions, which did not yield all the
fruit they expected, failed to second the ardour of Cham-
plain, who represented so strongly to the court their
supine and dilatory proceedings, that he procured the
abrogation of their charter. From its ashes rose ont^
on a much grander scale, and which aimed to convert
New France into a colony of the first magnitude.
Cardinal Richelieu placed himself at its head, and its
hundred and seventy associates included many persons
of rank as well as rich merchants and citizens. The
first results answered very ill to these mighty demon-
strations. The English, animated by that hostile
feeling which was inspired by the persecution of the
Protestants, and the siege of Rochelle, not only drove
the French completely out of Acadia, but besieged and
took Quebec ; so that this boasted colony seemed for
ever lost to the mother country. Many even iu*ged
that France ought to give herself no concern on the
subject, since she never had derived, and, according
to all appearance, never would derive any benefit from

Cham plain, Voyages.

rlilr

COUNT rnONTENAC.

371

ley were
*

IS enabled
situation
: hundred
rivers and
IS, seemed
trade and
: only upon
eld all the
ir of Cham-
court their
rocured the
les rose on^
1 to convert
magnitude,
ead, and its
lany persons
izens. The
ity demon-
that hostile
ition of the
t only drove
Desieged and
seemed for
even iu*ged
icern on the
d, according
benefit from

this rude and distant possession. The feeling of na-
tional honour, however, was paramount ; the most
urgent representations were made to the court of Eng-
land relative to this violent and unprovoked aggres-
sion. That court, then altogether inclined for peace,
especially with France, agreed, on 29th March, 1632,
to a convention, by which France was reinstated both
in Acadia and Quebec.

The improvement and extension of the colony was
now undertaken with more vigour than ever. A nu-
mez'ous fleet was sent out, and Champlain, who had
given such repeated proofs of his zeal and capacity,
was invested with the functions of governor-general.
In 1642, Montreal, destined to become so flourishing
a seat of the fur-trade, assumed the character of a
town, and a continued chain of settlement was formed
between it and Quebec. For fifty years the attention
of government was rather directed to the consolida-
tion and internal improvement of the colony than to
exploring tbe expanse of interior America. The
Count de Frontenac was seized with a more enter-
prising spirit. He extended the range of settlement
to the shores of Lake Ontario, built there the fort
that bears his name, and opened an intercourse with
the tribes who roam over the boundless plains west-
ward of the Alleghany. Here he learned that, afar
along the western plain, there rolled a river so mighty,
that even the hitherto unequalled stream of the St
Lawrence could not come into competition with it.
This river poured its stupendous waves not in any of
the directions hitherto recognized in those of Ameri-
ca, but towards some distant ocean, that lay far in

372

FRENCH DISCOVERIES.

/ '

m:\ 1

lim

the south and the west. In the present darkness as
to the boundaries and details of the continent, it was
concluded that this could only be the Mer Vermeio^ or
Gulf of California, by which it was hoped that the
long-sought-for passage might be found to the golden
regions of India. Every motive, therefore, impelled
the Count to strain every effort for its discovery.
Frontenac found no want of bold and fitting instru-
ments. M. Jolyet undertook, with two little Indian
bark canoes, and three men in each, to explore these
great and unknown secrets of interior America. He
had an attendant, of whom Catholic expeditions of
discovery were never in want. Father Marquette,
with that courageous devotion which, though not al-
ways guided by enlightened views, uniformly inspired
the Jesuit missionaries, accompanied him, in the hope
of effecting the conversion of the numberless yet un-
known tribes of savages whom they were to encoun-
ter. Having been long employed in missionary la-
bours among the Canadian Indians, he had acquired
a thorough knowledge of their character and the
mode of dealing with them. The Indians on the
lakes, however, communicated intelligence which
was the reverse of encouraging. They warned the
French, that perils, other and greater than mortal,
awaited the daring bark which should be launched
on these immense waters ; that monsters of strange
form and huge dimensions opened their mouth and
received in one morsel the canoe with its entire crew.
If they escaped this danger, they would come to a
place where a mighty demon bestrode the stream, by
whom the daring bark which approached within a cer-

JOLYET AND MARQUETTE.

37a

rkness as
it, it was
ermeiOf or

that the
;he golden
, impelled
discovery,
ng instru-
:tle Indian
>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!' \ '}

Ij i|iifii*

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-

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-

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

37«

FllENCH DISCOVERIES.

.'■ij

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-

* 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

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

:**-.,

'■•i:\

382

rilKNCH DISCO Vi:i{ IKS.

:if ^'

f :

),.

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,

384

FRENCH DISCOVERIES.

:fi

r^iUti* '!l

' 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

■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 ■■ *

Ml^i III!

V!, )(

i- i^'^i !

i'i't

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

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'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

i: l!i|

1 '

■f

Ik;

ill

11' i

1 '

m^^

wLl

|! '

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

mi
iff.' f,

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

^■^'

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

»,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

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

■^r

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ifr

-1

''4

lif^t

l|j:

^: 1

n:.

■ ff ' '

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

408

THE AMEKICAN INDIANS.

n , i

!!''

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 eonsi<ler that the
desire of power and of esteem are more powerful
principles than the desire of wealth, which is itself
chiefly valued from the consideration which is attach-
ed to it in a commercial state of society. Jiut hy the
naked tenant of the Indian wigwam the invitation to
do hard work at a guinea a-day would be rejected as
tho foulest insult. It would sink him at once from
a statesman and warrior, the highest characters in the
eyes of mankind, to the humble station of a peasant
and a meclianic.

It might liave been supposed, that nations which
possessed nothing, which never aimed at conquest,
and which never exercised an internal i)olice or juris-
diction, would have little subject on which to con-
sider or debate. This is so far from being the case,
that the Britisli senate is not more crowded with busi-
ness than the Mohawk or Oneyda councils. Sur-
rounded by other tribes, with whom they are in a state
of perpetual enmity, they have to negotiate treaties of
peace, to form alliances, to learn every movement of
the enemy, and, above all, to mature the plans and
organize the resources of war. It was by their deep
and deliberate policy as much as by their arms that
the Iroquois acquired such an ascendant throughout
America. The French and English, who went to
treat with them, found them as well acquainted with
the interest of their own tribes, and of all those for
more than a thousand miles round, as the best instruct-
ed European cabinet. All the warriors are present

GOVKUNMENT WAllS.

40i)

at the imtioiuil couiic-il ; but each family names an
orator, who alone is permitted to speak ; ami their
oratory is mueh extolled. They have a liereditary
chief, to wliom some form of respeet is paid, and a
war-ehief, who, by personal influence and the opinion
of his valour, usually leads them to battle. Neither
chief nor council, however, can exercise the smallest
control over the actions of any individual, or punish
him for the most enornums crime of which lie may be
guilty. Even if one murders another, the right of
exacting blood for blood rests entirely with the rela-
tions of the deceased. The p\d)lic ne'er interfere,
unless as mediators, that the national tra. quiliity may
not be disturbed ; with which view, instead of tcr-
warding the ends of justice, they endea^'our to per-
suade the injured party to compound matters on the
easiest possible terms ; they will even provide a com-
pensation out of the public funds. Outrages ,,i ' his
nature, however, are rendered very rare, by he at-
tachment which unites the members of these commu-
nities to each other, cemented by fear and hatre<l of
all the surrounding tribes ; and, in general, th"re is
much internal peace and courtesy.

But war is the graml occupation of savage life ; and,
though waged with frantic fury, is prepared with the
same deep and solemn deliberation which is bestowed
upon all their other concerns. Ch?;:'i»' abriand seems
to suppose, that the protection of their hunting-
grounds affords the most frequert pretext of hostility ;
but almost all other autho 'iMc? agree in considering
this a very secondary motive, and revenge as altoge-
ther the ruling one. . Doubtless they are secretly and

i'j-;

m,*

»*?'i?

410

THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

powerfully predisposed to it, by a longing after its
fierce and terrible excitement, by the hope of glory
which it offers, and by the maxims instilled into them
from their infancy that they are to exist only for war.
It is the nature of man, as Dr Ferguson observes, " to
pine in the lap of ease, and to exult in the midst of
alarms that seem to threaten his being." The call to
arms, therefore, though it cannot be made with any
authority, is instantly, and by all, obeyed with ala-
crity.* When the war-chief wishes to call out his
countrymen, his first movement is to march three
times round his winter-house, spreading the great
bloody flag, deeply variegated with tints of black.
As soon as the young warriors see flying this grand
signal of blood and death, they crowd round him to
listen to the oration by which he is to rouse their
courage. " Brethren," says he, ** the blood of our coun-
trymen is yet unavenged ; their bones lie uncovered ;
their spirits cry out to us from the tomb, and must be
heard. Youths, arise ! anoint your hair, paint your
faces, cause the forests to resound with your songs,
console the spirits of the dead, by the assurance that
they shall be avengeti Youths ! follow me while I
march through the wrr-path to surprise our enemies,
to eat their flesh, to ilrink their blood, to tear them
limb from limb ! We will return in triumph, or, if we
perish, this belt will be the monument of our valour."
He then throws down on the floor the belt, or collar
of wampum, the grand symbol of Indian policy.

* Adair, 380.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.

411

Many a hand would wish to lift it up ; but this were
presumptuous in any one, except a warrior of high
fame, who thereupon becomes second in command of
the expedition. Then begin the preparations, which
consist, not, as with us, of arms, funds, or ammunition,
but of solemn observances to propitiate the great
spirit and the genii who preside over the Indian des-
tinies. The chief is prii ted black from head to foot,
and commences a fast of several days, not the luxuri-
ous abstinence of the Catholic devotee, but a thorough
and genuine fast. Lest this should not sufficiently
extenuate his frame, he drinks the great war-medi-
cine, consisting of a decoction of consecrated herbs
and roots, and operating as a brisk emetic. During
this period his attention is exclusively fixed on his
dreams, which are to portend all that is hid in the
secrets of fate respecting the approaching conflict.
The whole train of his slumbers is therefore sub-
mitted to the sages and old men, and according to
them it is fixed whether war shall be, and in what
shape or scale. In almost every instance the deci-
sion is made in favour of the projected hostilities.
The chief then, having passed through this important
train of trial, washes off the deep coating of black in
which he has been invested. A huge fire is kindled
in the centre of the village, and the great war-caul-
dron placed on it, into which every warrior throws
something ; and each of the allies, who have been pre-
vailed upon to join the expedition, sends something to
be thrown into it. Lastly, the sacred dog is loosened
from the post to which he had been bound, and, being
sacrificed to Areskoui, the god uf war, is boiled in the

,1 *

.,!';'! 1^ t

Ir- !

lii

412

THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

cauldron, to form the chief tlish at tlie great war-fes-
tival. To it are admitted only the warriors and coun-
sellors, all females being excluded ; and the dog is
eaten in deep silence. During this succession of cere-
monies, the experienced members are in a state of inces-
sant and watchful anxiety, well knowing, that omis-
sion or irregularity in the slightest particular will
draw down the wrath of the great spirit, and convert
this hopeful enterprise into a source of the deepest ca-
lamity. But if the omens continue good, they begin
at last to fit themselves for immediate departure.
The chief jiaints himself, not as before, in one deep
gloomy tint of black, but in various colours, at once
brilliant and terrible. He, and each warrior after
him, sings his war-song, and then dances his war-
dance, in which they at once narrate and act over
again those deeds of their former life in which they
place their glory. It is now time for the final equip-
ment. The bow and quiver, or carbine, is suspended
from the left shoulder, the tomahawk from the left
hand, and the scalping-knife is stuck in the girdle.
The manitouSy or objects chosen by each warrior for
his guardian power, are collected and placed in a box,
which has been considered as a species of ark, and in-
trusted to the guardianship of one of the most distin-
guished chiefs. The women, mean time, have been
busily negotiating the means of gratifying their ven-
geance and appeasing the manes of their lost relations.
More tender feelings arise as the moment comes when
the warriors are to depart, perhaps to return no more,
})ut to become victims of the same dreadful fate which
they are imprecating on others. The chief having

i\\

CONDUCT OF WAR.

413

made a short final harangue, each warrior departs
singing his death-song ; after which they proceed in
deep silence. The women follow to a considerable
distance. When the separation comes, they exchange
the most tender names, with ardent wishes for their
return and success ; and each i ecoives some object,
which has been long worn by the other, to serve as a
memorial, should this be the final parting.

Before commencing operations, the Indians fulfil
one of tlie laws of nations, by making an open decla-
ration of war. This can be transmitted by none of
the channels usual among civilized nations ; but they
have one of their own. A herald, painted black,
bears a red tomahawk, on one side of which are re-
presented figures, indicating the cause for which war
has been undertaken. He reaches the principal vil-
lage, enters at midnight, throws it down, and disap-
pears like a phantom. Fair warning being thus given
to the threatened party, there is an end to all frank
and open proceedings, — the war is henceforth one
continued stratagem, in which each party seeks only
to circumvent and surprise the other.

While the Indians continue in their own country,
they straggle in small parties for the convenience of
hunting, still holding coHiinunication by loud cries of
birds and beasts, which they can imitate in perfection.
None ever fail of joining the rendezvous on the frontier.
The skill with which they trace their path through the
trackless woods has been particularly noted. The
slightest indications, such as would never attract the
notice of an European, enable them to find a sure
l)ath through the boundless monotony of the western

. ■ 1 i 1

414

THE AMEllICAN INDIANS.

16-lr^i,:

f '

forests. Equal is their skill in tracing the print of
each other's steps, even over the yielding grass, where
scarcely a trace of them remains. They even lx)ast,
that they can know by inspection the impression
made by the feet of each nation and tribe. No less
art is used to evade the discoveries thus made.
They walk as much as possible in the water, along
the margin of marshes or rivers, on the trunks of
fallen trees, or wherever the foot makes the least im-
pression. To conceal, at least, their numbers, a large
body walks in file, one behind the other, each placing
his foot on the print made by his forerunner ; while
the largest foot of the company brings up the rear ;
by which management a large body appears as if only
one man. They sometimes fix on their feet the hoof of
the buffalo and the paw of the bear, and run for miles
the winding course usual with those animals. Their
efforts are now incessant to surprise and cut off their
enemies. They send forth from the depth of woods
the cries of the animals which are the favourite ob-
jects of national hunting. When they have taken a
prisoner, they paint his body, and set him against a
tree in the attitude of a spy, lying in wait for the
enemy coming to siu'prise him in this position.

These little movements are only preliminary to the
grand object of surprising a village, and, if possible,
the principal village of the enemy. Towards it all
their steps tend, as they steal, like silent ghosts,
through the darkest depth of the most unfrequented
forests. Having approached it, they cast a hasty
glance from the top of a tree, and then shroud them-
selves in the thickest cover. Amid repeated and fa-

--ij*' ■

ill r

■■

CONDUCT OF WAR.

415

tal experience, the Indians have never adopted the
obvious precaution of stationing nightly sentinels.
The ma ni tons, or guardian powers, enclosed in the
holy ark of war, are held strictly responsible that the
midnight peace of the camp or village shall not be
disturbed. Their frequent and flagrant failures,
though they cause individual manitous to be discard-
ed and exchanged for others, never shake the general
trust reposed in them. The enemy, therefore, when
they have reached a covert spot unseen during the
day, have the satisfaction of beholding the village be-
fore them sunk into the deepest slumber. They con-
tinue in close watch till the hour just before day-
break, when all is usually sunk into the deepest si-
lence. At this moment they begin slowly, flat on
their faces and guarding carefully against the slight-
est noise, to creep towards their enemies. When they
fortunately reach the spot without any alarm being
given, the chief, by a shrill cry, gives the signal, and,
after a general discharge of arrows, they rush on with
the war-club and tomahawk. The air echoes with
the sound of the death-whoop and the war-whoop.
The savage aspect of the combatants ; their faces
painted black and red, and soon streaming with
blood ; their frightful and united yells, soon make it
seem as if the tenants of the infernal world had arisen.
The victims, too late aroused, spring from their fatal
slumber; and, having before their eyes that most
dreadful of human fates which awaits the captive,
make almost superhuman struggles for deliverance.
The horrible contest rages with all the fury of re-
venge and despair ; Imt it is short. The surprised

:ii'

416

THr. AMERICAN INDIANS.

party, amazed and confounded, seldom seek to rally,
but fly with wild speed to the nearest marsh, and
seek shelter in its most inaccessible depths. With
the victors, the first and favourite object is to take
prisoners alive, — it is well known for what fatal pur-
pcse ; but, if this is impossible, the tomahawk or the
club despatches them on the spot. Then, placing a
foot on the neck of his fallen enemy, the Indian draws
out his scalping-knife, which is carefully kept in high
condition. He cuts round the head ; and, by a few
movements, in little more than a miiuite he has de-
tached the skin and hair, and lodged in his bag that
proudest war-trojihy.

Their piu'pose now fulfilled with greater or less
success, the warriors return to their native village,
where the women and aged men await them in long-
ing expectation. Even in approaching, they announce,
by well-known sounds, the fate of the expedition.
The evil tidings come first. A herald in front, for
every warrior who has fallen, sounds the death-
whoop, a shrill lengthened note rising at the end into
an elevated key. An interval is then allowed to
elapse, that the sad tidings may reach the village, and
communicate the grief which they naturally tend to
excite. Then rises the loud inspiring note of the
war-whoop, which, by each repetition, announces the
number of captives whom they are bringing in tri-
umph. The dreadful joy which these signals excite
banishes for the moment all trace of the preceding la-
mentation. The inhabitants form themselves into
two rows, through which the prisoner is led, with his
face painted, and crowned with flowers, as for a fes-

TREATMENT OF I'lUSONERS.

417

to rally,
arsh, and
IS. With
IS to take

fatal pur-
\vk or the

placing a
lian draws
ipt in high

by a few
le has de-
3 bag that

ter or less
ive village,
m in long-
announce,
expedition.
1 front, for
the death-
he end into
allowed to
village, and
illy tend to
lote of the
nounces the
jing in tri-
rnals excite
receding la-
iselves into
ed, with his
s for a fes-

tival. As he passes, every one studiously beats and
torments him, only taking care that no vital part
shall be struck. A council is now held on his fate,
whether he shall expire in the most frightful tortures,
or shall be adoi)ted into the nation, and saluted as a
brother. The last alternative is usually atlo])ted in
regard to youthful prisoners, or such as are new to
the field. These are distributed to the women, that
they may supi)ly out of them the blanks Avhicli war
has made in tiieir family ; that they may make the
youth a husband or a son, as circumstances require.
He is then treated with the utmost tenderness, his
wounds are cured, — no distinction is ever after nuide
between him and the rest of the tribe. He even goes
out to war against Iiis former countrymen ; and to go
over to them and desert his new ties is considered
an act of peculiar baseness. But if he be a veteran
warrior, on whose breast and arms there has been
painted, in blue tints, with ])()inted fish-bone, a record
of slaughtered enemies, a darker puri)ose is formed.
He is invested in mocassins of black bear's-skin, and
a flaming torch j)laced over his head, — the sure seals
of his death-warrant. He is now intrusted to the
female members of the tribe, who seem transformed
into so many raging furies ; yet, that their conduct
may not appear wholly without a parallel, Adair re-
fers to that of the most delicate ladies of rank at Lis-
bon, led by their priests to a religious auto daj'e ;
when their shouts of infernal triumph appeared to
him to match those of their sister-savages in the
west. The victim, however, before the fatal scene
begins, is allowed a short interval to sing his death-
voi,. I. 2d

%^ '

iJiSlilf

418

THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

ii'

III

Mil ' i

song, which he begins cool and triumi)hant. With
joy he goes to the world of souls, to join his great an-
cestors, who set to him the high example of fighting
and suffering. He recounts liis heroic exploits ; he
recounts, above all, those members of the hostile tribe
around liim who have fallen under his hand ; and, if
he has been present and an actor in a similar scene of
torture against them, he proudly recalls it. His ha-
tred against them is inextinguishable. He laments
that he cannot devour their flesh and drink their
blood to the last drop. The song is then taken up by
the female, to glut whose vengeance he has been es-
pecially consigned. She invokes the spirit of her
husband or her son, who has fallen in battle or died
amid tortures, to come now, and be at last appeased.
A feast should be prepared for him ; the blood of a
warrior should be poured out ; his scalp should be
torn from his head ; he should be thrown into the
war-caldron ; let the dead, therefore, cease to complain.
The captive is then tied to a post, and allowed a cer-
tain range, within which, while the brand, the hatchet,
and every studied engine of torture, are applied to
him, he may repel, and even attack. He struggles
fiercely in the unequal strife, and, while his frame is
consuming in agony, he still defies his tomientors,
and outbraves even death itself. Some even tell their
tormentors that they are old women, who know not
how to torture a warrior, and boast how much more
effectually they themselves have done so to T'arious
individuals of their tribe. A very few, by almost in-
credible efforts, break through the circle, and effect
their escape. Nor are instances wanting when na-

TREATIES.

419

It. With

s great an-
f fighting
)loits ; he
ostile tribe
d ; and, if
ar scene of
His ha-
le laments
Irink their
aken up by
as been es-
irit of her
tie or died
; appeased,
blood of a
should be
i^n into the
to complain,
owed a cer-
the hatchet,
( npi)lied to
[e struggles
tiis frame is
tonnentors,
/en tell their
y know not
much more
to ^'arious
y almost in-
, and effect
»• when na-

ture prevails, and symptoms of agony, and even
shrieks, escape from the overwhelmed sufferer ; where-
ui)on shouts of exulting laughter burst from the sur-
rounding circle. At length the dreadful tragedy
closes ; and the scalp, if it remain, is taken off, and
lodged among their military tro])hies. The victims
are not, however, eaten ; thougii this has been as-
serted by authors of note, and expressions are even
current among them which seem to indicate such a
purpose ; but they are either the remnants of ancient
usage, or vague threats of total destruction.*

Neighbouring tribes may be considered as nearly
in a state of permanent war. Nevertheless they
conclude occasionally what they call peace, though it
is more proi)erly to be considered as a " hollow truce."
Pride, however, makes them disdain to make the first
advances. These are usually managed by the ciiiefs
of a neutral power, who set out along with those of
one of the belligerents. The sacred j)ipe of peace is
the grand instrument of negotiation among the In-
dians, who remain impressed with the salutary belief,
that the Great Spirit never forgives those who violate
its pledge. The negotiation consists rather in pre-
sents, speeches, and ceremonies, than in any demands
which they have to make ujion each other ; for they
have no property out of which a tribute can be de-
manded ; nor is it customary, even in cases of the
most decided victory, to require any cession of terri-
tory, or change of hunting ground. It has some-

* Adair. Charlevoix. Carver, 331, Sec. Chateaubriand.

V20

TlIK AMKIUCAX INDIANS.

times indeed been deinande<l that tlie vaiiquislied
party should put on petticoats, and wear them for a
certain period, in token of a subjug'ation which has
sunk them heh)W the level of manhood. When,
however, the nation thus humbled retains any por-
tion of energy, the hiuniliation of this apparel usually
rouses them to extraordinary exertions, whicli render
them often more terril)le than ever to their once vic-
torious neighbours.

The first travellers among tlie interior Indians
received tlie imi)ression that they were a people with-
out religion, because they saw neitlier priests, tem-
ples, images, nor sacrifices. This imjiression, which
has often been suggested by a first view of savage
life, was comjiletely refuted by more intimate obser-
vation. It was then discovered that their whole life
and all their actions were under the entire guidance
of what they think religion. They have a supreme
deity, whom they call the Great Spirit, or the Master
of Life, to whose favour or anger they impute all the
good or evil which life presents to them.* They
address him for their daily support ; they suppose
themselves to derive from him their presence of mind
in battle ; at the stake they thank him for the
courage with which lie inspires them. Their pre-
paration for war, as we have seen, is one continued
round of religious ceremony, and their march is
equally imder the guidance of superior sj)irits. When
they depart on a hunting party, the same course of

LonfT, 131).

n'.i^

HKI.KIION,

|.i>l

: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<l oiittTs upon all the
privileges and dignity of that ehuraeter.

When the Indians liave been overtaken by any
disaster, which appears to them to be the work of
the Great Spirit, or the Great Mare, they subnnssive-
ly resign themselves to it, and only inquire wbat dire
omission in the long nmnd of trifling observances
has drawn down his displeasure. Hut if the Mani-
tou is believed to })e implicated, the whole blame is
hiid upon him, and very sharp remonstrances are ad-
dressed to him on the subject. It is demanded of
him what benefit he expects in thus neglecting the
interest of the person who has chosen him as a guar-
dian, and from whom alone he receives food, worship,
and offerings. He is told of the disgrace which nuist
fall upon him from every mishap which lie allows to
overtake the person luider his protection. Finally,
warning is given, that, uidess more satisfaction be ob-
tained in future, another Manitou will be chosen in
his place, and who then will supi)ly him with food,
worship, and offerings ? If the Manitou continues
incorrigible, this threat is fulfilled. A new course of
fasting and dreaming is gone through ; in the course
of which the vision is obtained of another Manitou,
which, being painted in red and blue on the breast of
the warrior, and the former as much as possible ef-
faced, l)ecomes henceforth the object of his veneration
and confidence.

A future life, the fond hope of man, even under
the tuition of nature, M'as an idea familiar to the In-
dians. They firmly believed in a country of souls,
which they were to inliabit hereafter. Man, even the

llF.LUilON.

4S3

)<))i all the

11 by any

I' work of

iihiiiisHive-

wliat <lire

bsorvniices

the Maui-

e blame is

ces are ad-

inaiided of

loctiiig the

as a giiar-

d, worship,

ivhich must

e allows to

P^iiially,

:'tion be ob-

e chosen in

with food,

I continues

w course of

the course

T Manitou,

!ie breast of

possible ef-

veneration

even under
• to the In-
y of souls,
an, even the

most uninstructed, cannot contemplate the thiiikiiig*
principle within him, without feeling that it is Home-
thing wholly diU'erent from that material world which
he sees lU'ound him. Vet, when he begins to form a
distinct idea of this soul or spirit, he cannot escape
being re-entangled in sensible images. When jiressed
to explain, they describe it as a shadow or image of
the body ; but, when examined as to its occupations
and enjoyments, they are all the same which belong
to its present form and sphere of existence. The
land of souls is a fair country, far in the west, with
wide plains and extensive forests, and alxmnding in
all the animals which are the objects of the chase.
Happily they do not transport their wars and venge-
ance to it. The souls, before they can arrive at this
coiuitry, must perform a journey of several months,
must pass over some very lofty mountains, cross a
broad river, and often deicnd themselves against a
furious dog. These two last images must recall Styx
and Cerberus ; but the mountains are i)robably the
Rocky Chain, the western boundary of the great
plain of interior America.

Superstitious ideas, excited by natural impressions,
are connnon to the Americans, with other unenlight-
ened races. All the mighty features of nature are
deemed to have a genhifi loci which presides over
them. On arriving at the immense expanse of Lake
Superior, the mighty roar of the Niagara, and even
the smaller falls of St Anthony, offerings are made
of objects deemed costly or valuable. Even difficult
and dangerous passes are covered with skins, bones,
pieces of metal, and bodies of dogs killed and hung

424

THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

' .. (

1> . :

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

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

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

J 1^ .

430

THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

•"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 <lis-
grace her; and so powerful is this appeal, that girls
have been known after it to go away and drown
themselves. In general, the y<mths, from what they
see find hear, imbibe all the sentiments of this savage
community, and re(piire no invitation to tread with
ardour in the steps of their fathers. Charlevoix ac-
cuses them of a want of filial duty ; but the instances
given are only those in which chance throws them
into the ranks of opposite tribes, when the national
seems to prevail over the domestic tie. One having
met his father in battle, was alxmt to pierce him, till,
recognizing who he was, he said, — " You once gave
me life, and I have returned the obligation ; we are
quit ; take care liow you meet me again." (ieiieral-
ly, Iiowever, their aged and sick relations are kindly
treated, and supported with tender care It is only
among the northern tribe of the Chippeways tliat they
come to the very opposite extremity of jmttiiig them to
death. Although this conduct has doubtless for its mo-
tive at bottom the difficulty of maintaining and convey-
ing them from j)lace toi)lace, it is carried through with
much show of kindness and many solemn religious
ceremonies. After a course of sweating, smoking,
and fasting, followed hy n great dog-feast, they say,
— " We devote our father to the Master of Life, that
he may find himself young in another countr}, and
be able to hunt."

Among all the nations of Canada and the Upper
Mississippi, the forms and ideas were strictly repub-

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THE AMiaiKAN INDIANS.

lican, and the dependence of one man upon another
was held in utter contempt. Hut the emotions and
feelings of the savage are all in extremes ; and when
he has bent the knee to a chief, he serves with an en-
tire and devoted veneration unknown to the subject
of the most absolute civilized monarchy. Tlie most
complete example, and on the greatest scale, was af-
forded by the nation of the Natchez, on the Lower
Mississippi. The entire disposal which the chief pos-
sessed of the lives, properties, and all that belonged
to the nation, was not at all the result of force, — the
submission was spontaneous and religious. ^I'he sun,
whose orb in these southern regions blazed so bright,
had been raised to the rank of supreme deity ; it waa
in his name and a,s his children that the chiefs of the
Natchez were venerated, not as earthly but divine
rulers. The grand chief, when he left his cabin in tlie
morning, saluted his great parent with three howls,
and the calumet being put into liis hand, lie blew
its smoki) in the face of that high luminary. Every
time he met any of his subjects, they saluted him with
a similajT triple howl, and either ranged themselves in
rows as he passed, or retired with their faces always
turned towards him. But they had a still deeper and
thoroughly savage mode of expressing their devotion
to him. At his death a certain favourite number
obtained, by long solicitation, the right of ^iccompa-
nying and continuing to serve him in the land of
souls. The victims thus favoiyed danced on the scaf-
fold with their faces painted, and with every sign of
festive rejoicing. Those who executed the sentence
drew the cord in unison with a song, in which they

OOVEKNMENT.

435

uiiottier
)tionH and
and when
itii an eii-
le siihject
The iiioHt
e, was af-
lie Lower
chief po8-

belonged
orce, — the

'J'he sun,
so !)right,
ty ; it was
liefs of the
)ut divine
[ibin in the
iree liowls,
1, he blew
y. Every
d him with
;niselves in
L'es always
deeper and
ir devotion
te number
:* aceompa-
\ie land of
>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

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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

ill

■I'll

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

''- I'ti li

I !. k I

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

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

' ■ ,

' '

I I . ' 1

h 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.

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<l a number of
colonists from Germany and Ireland. After first
letting the lands at one dollar, he raised the rate
gradually to three, and acknowledged, tliat on
80(),()0() acres he ha<l cleared \:50,{m)*

Manufactures thnmghout the ljiiite<l States, dur-
ing the whole of this jieriod, could scarcely be said
to exist, even in an infant state. The dearness of
labour, the general preference for the possession and
occupation of land, the cheapness and excellence with
wliich every article could be furnished from the mo-
ther country, were all circumstances which would
have rendered premature any attempt to establish
native fabrics on a great scale. Even the domestic
habit in each family, of working up plain cloth for
its own use, was luifavourable to the rise of large
manufactures. The only attempt of this nature had
been made at Hartford, in Connecticut ; but though
considerable sums had been invested in it, and it wore
at one time a promising appearance, Rochefoucault
found it in a state of decided decline, and threatening
ruin to those who had embarked their capital in
it. One exception was the trade of shoemaking at
Lynn, where, even in 1795, four hundred thousand
pairs of that useful article of dress were annually
made. In ship-building also the price of labour was

* Rochefoucault, 128-32.

h %i

'■>. 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

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 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, appeare<l nuu-h
to intrench on the ease and enjoyment of tlie com-
j)any. The managers decided with what lady each
gentleman was to dance, and recpiired him to remain
attached to her during the wliole nigiit ; they fixed
the tune, tlie tigure of the dance, the station which
eacb was to hold ; they exercised an almost despotic
sway. One of them, seeing a young lady engaged in
conversation, and neglecting the figure of the dance,
indignantly called out, " Pray, madam, do you think
you came here for your pleasure ?" New York,
though j)rosperous and llourisbing, and adorned with
many elegant buildings, liad not yet taken (piite the
]>rominent 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 accounte<l jileasure ; gaming,
hunting, horseracing, and with peculiar ardour
cock-fighting. Some, however, made a better use of
their leisure, and became men of enlarged and en-
lightened minds, Jis was fully proved by the eminent
statesmen whom V^irginia jn'oduced, and who took
the lead in managing the alfairs of the Union. An
hospitable and liberal spirit prevailed to a remark-
able <legree, and iriuch more than in the north. If
any one, even a slave, was passing an orchard, he
was welcome to ])luck the fruit, and the proprietor,
if he chanced to pass by, instejid of showing any dis-
pleasure, would assist him to pick out tlie best. As
soon as the j)lanter learned that a gentleman of any
decent appearance had pitched Fiis quarters in the
neiglibouring inn, lie seldom failed to bring or send
a pressing tender of the su])erior accommodations
under his own roof; to which he cheerfully added,
ample opportunity of liard drinking. The curiosity
of the Virginians was extreme luid annoying ; yet it
did not amount altogether to that rigid and merci-

VOL. I.

2 1'

ill

sis

I IM

M.'

450 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION.

less inquisition, as to the name, calling, destination,
and tidings of the traveller, which was so fully esta-
blished in the northern states.

The manners now described were those of the
coast, of cities and towns, or of their not very remote
vicinity. In the back-settlements, especially of Vir-
ginia and Carolina, the occupants, destitute of reli-
gious and moral instruction, and remote from every
scene of social refinement, had sunk into a state of
barbarism, and almost of brutality. Smith, who
spent some time among them, was perfectly disgust-
ed by the coarse practical jokes in which their sole
delight consisted. Seeing that he had a favourite
cat, they cut off its ears and tail. This they called
Jhn ; and when it chanced to kitten, they cut off the
ears and tail of all its young. This they called high.
The females in this neighbourhood were extremely
handsome ; but could not, he conceives, be considered
otherwise than as beautiful savages. Among other
frolics he mentions, that, living once with a Mr Glen,
he went to bathe with him in the river, when his
wife and her sister, both young and handsome, ran
and carried off the clothes of the two gentlemen, and
kept them hid for a considerable time. As the Brit-
ish were observed not to enjoy these sallies of wit,
they considered them as raw and outlandish people,
whom, however, they liked, and undertook to polish.
In a remoter district still, Smith found only cottages
scattered at several miles' distance ; miserable hovels,
where even the hospitality usually characteristic of
remote settlements was no longer found. They re-
fused even the shelter of their roofs, intimating that

■ i

:.UTION.

TRAVELLING.

451

jstination,
Fully esta-

se of the
iry remote
[y of Vir-
te of reli-
rom every
a state of
nith, who
y disgust-
their sole
L favourite
hey called
cut off the
called high.
extremely
considered
long other
I Mr Glen,
when his
Isome, ran
emen, and

the Brit-
ies of wit,
ish people,

to polish.
ly cottages
ible hovels,
cteristic of

They re-
lating that

he must be a strange person who came there where
nobody came. However, all pointed to a Mr Tyers,
who received all sorts of singular persons, and, ac-
cordingly, this gentleman was found keeping a plenti-
ful and hospitable table in the wilderness, and directing
that all the few strangers who came within twenty
miles should be sent to him as his guests. Still lower
in the scale stood the back-woods rifleman, who had
ranked himself as a semi-Indian, wearing only a large
hunting-shirt like a waggoner's frock, leather breech-
es made of elk-skins dressed by the Indians, Indian
boots, or leggings of coarse woollen cloth.* By his
side hung the tomahawk, serving every purpose of
defence or convenience, — a hammer at one end and a
sharp hatchet at the other ; a bag and powder-horn
carved with whimsical devices, which, with the fringes
on his shirt, formed all his armament. Thus ac-
coutred, the rifle procured him food, the tomahawk cut
his wigwam, he wandered without a guide through
the boundless forest, and was independent of every
human being.

Travelling and its accommodations in such a soci-
ety were naturally in a very rude and imperfect state.
The only paths through the woods were those which
were called blazedy being formed by notches cut in a
tree at every thirty or forty yards, and renewed from
time to time ; while a larger notch every mile indi-
cated that distance. The economy of inns was very
ill understood even in the most advanced districts.

* Smith, 178-B2.

452 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION.

1[ '' \^J

No distinction, even in the towns, was known of ho-
tel, tavern, or ordinaiy, — one house sufficed for every
purpose. In the country, the innkeepers, though
sometimes men of property, usually followed some
other calling, and made their inn only a secondary
concern. A separate bed, and sheets not previously
used, were not considered as accommodations with
which it behoved the traveller to be furnished. On
some of the outer borders the accommodation was
truly miserable. The Marquis de Chastellux came to
an inn kept by a miller, in which the only food con-
sisted of cakes, to be baked after their arrival, while
the only liquor was drawn from the stream by which
the mill was turned. At a Mrs Tease's, the marquis
found no vessel capable of containing liquid, except a
solitary tin bowl, which thus necessarily served every
purpose of drinking and washing, both to the family
and to strangers ; and, at night, what was his horror
at having it presented to him for a purpose which he
dares not to name. Near Halifax, Mr Smith found a
landlady six feet two inches high, and of such extra-
ordinary powers of frame that she had worsted the most
potent bruisers and boxers for fifty miles round. Mr
Smith was careful not to dispute her reckoning, though
it was somewhat exorbitant, being instructed that in
such a case she was wont to make proof of her prow-
ess on the persons of her customers.*

On other occasions, however, the taverns were kept
by persons in a higher rank of life than is usral else-

.-'I

* Rochef. 105. Chastellux, ii. 76-80. Smith, i. 111.

Kl I 'i

LUTION.

HOSTILITY OF PARTIES.

453

wn of ho-
l for every
rs, though
)wed some

secondary
previously
tions with
ished. On
lation was
[ux came to
T food con-
ival, while
1 by which
he marquis
d, except a
;rved every

the family
I his horror
e which he
lith found a
such extra-
ed the most
ound. Mr
ing, though
3ted that in
f her prow-
is were kept

usral else-

1, i. 111.

where. Chastellux, in the interior of Virginia, on
being shown into his bed-room, was surprised to find
a magnificent harpsichord, with a guitar, belonging to
the young lady of the house, who performed with
skill on these instruments. Many innkeepers, from
the information which they obtained, and the exten-
sive acquaintances they formed, were enabled to take
a prominent part in the revolution. Sumner and
Weeden, from this rank, rose to be generals, and made
a considerable figure in the war of independence. At
the termination of hostilities, several majors, and even
colonels, scrupled not to resume their place at the bar
of the tavern. One innkeeper exhibited to Chastel-
lux a piece of his skull as a trophy of his exploits and
sufferings in the cause of liberty.

The hostility between the different parties during
this eventful struggle was, as in every such instance,
very furious and imbittered. Smith tells a most dole-
ful tale of the persecutions which he endured, as be-
ing from the first a declared and determined loyalist.
He was early proclaimed " an enemy to the Ameri-
cans," in virtue of which every man could sue him
for debt and damage, and he could sue nobody. He
became thus, as it were, a proscribed man, interdicted
from all the ordinary business of life. As he persist-
ed in his contumacy, a warrant was issued to appre-
hend him. He fled into the back territory, and took
refuge in the extensive swamp called " the great dis-
mal," the whole of which lay under a depth of from
two to six feet of water, with the exception of some
ridges covered with so dark and thick a vegetation

"Al

ii.i

a I!

{'■'

:\ii

llfll

454 AMERICA BEFORE AND AFTER REVOLUTION.

that the earth beneath could not be perceived. Emerg-
ing from this dreary refuge, he made his way down
to the coast, and liad an interview at Norfolk with
the Earl of Dunmore, who there commanded his ma-
jesty's forces. Here he undertook to guide Colonel
Connolly into the interior, and assist him in endea-
vouring to call out a loyalist force. He led him up
the Potowmack, through a cultivated and thickly-
settled country, where he was well known, yet with-
out being discovered. They were already among the
mountains, when they met a little hatter who knew
Colonel Connolly, and by whose information they were
pursued and overtaken. The Germans, who had oc-
cupied all this territory, and were admitted to be an
industrious and improving race, but without any idea
of the gentle and social virtues, were enthusiasts in
the cause of liberty, and treated him with the utmost
rigour. The party were confined in an upper room,
exposed to constant insult, and in dread if not dan-
ger of their lives. At the end of six weeks it was an-
nounced that they were to go to Philadelphia ; but
Smith, looking with extreme dread to this removal,
had been maturing plans of escape. The night be-
fore they were to set out, he caught a moment when the
sentinels had fallen asleep, and made off along with one
Barclay, whom he had prevailed upon to accompany
him. He formed the daring project, in the depth of
winter, of traversing the Alleghany and the whole range
of the back-settlements, to reach the English posts
on Lake Ontario. He had to wander through a re-
gion almost pathless, buried in deep snow, which fell

LUTION.

1. Eirierg-
way down
folk with
id his ma-
le Colonel
in endea-
>d 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

'■'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.

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'

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

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

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

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

« ;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

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 excee<ls
£'j()(),()()() sterling. Ad<l to these the numerous
stages, loaded to the utmost, and the innumerable
travellers on horsel)ack, on foot, and on light wag-
gons, and you liave i)efore you a scene of bustle and
business, extending over a sj)ace of three hundred
miles, whicli is truly wonderful."

Through the movements now described, Ohio,
which, in 17H7, <lid not num])er .'JOOO inhabitants, con-
tained, in 1802, the number of ()0,000 ; upon attaining
whicli it was admitted to form a constitution for itself.
Its increase became now still more wonderful. After
eight years, in 1810, it had grown to 220,000 ; in
1820, to 581,000. Since that time the population
has been ascertained to amount to nearly 800,000,
and it is not doubted that the census of 1830 will
give a million.

Ohio })eing thus rapidly filled up, the best of its
lands and situations were now occupied, and the bold
enterprise of the American emigrant pushed him for-
ward into new regions, where greater choice might
be found. By the treaty of 1795, the Americans
had obtained some tracts beyond the Miami. In
1804, 1805, and 1809, fresh treaties conveyed over
to them the best of the lands between that river and
the Wabash, the lowest and largest tributary of the
Ohio. This was erected into a territory under the
name of Indiana, and the population was not thought

^inw''

1 m^

474

WESTERN SETTLEMENTS.

worthy of being numbered in 1805, which in 1820
had risen to 147,000. In 1816, Indiana was admit-
ted to the privileges of a state-government, and allow-
ed to frame a constitution for itself.

By a similar process was formed Illinois, com-
posing the region included between the Wabash and
the great tributary of the Mississippi, bearing the
name of the Illinois, which it derived from a dis-
tinguished nation of Indian warriors, who had long
inhabited its banks. Large purchases, in 1804 and
1805, were made from the Sacks, Foxes, and Piank-
ashaws ; to which were added others in 1816 from
more northern tribes. Illinois, in 1820, contained
55,000, and had in 1818 been admitted to the privi-
leges of a state-government.

There were some daring spirits who sought to
range even beyond these limits. To the north of all
these settlements, in an angle enclosed between the
lakes Michigan and Huron, is a large expanse of
territory, in which the French had established the
forts of Detroit and Mahimillimae, the principal seats
of the Canadian fur-trade. Here the Americans made
purchases of five millions of acres, and in 1805 a go-
vernment was established ; but the grand movement
being to the westward, the increase of Michigan was
not very rapid, and in 1820 it did not contain quite
nine thousand inhabitants. The north-west territory
forms a wide region between the Canadian lakes
on the east and the Mississippi on the west, and
extends to the northern boundary of the United
States. It belongs to them, so far as relates to any
other state of European origin ; but scarcely as re-

li:

MISSISSIPPI.

475

spects the Indians, who remain still in the undiRput-
ed possession of this vast domain. If a few posts
have been established for tlie fur-trade, most of them
belong to the north-west company at Montreal.
Though this tract does not want some fertile and
agreeable spots, iie general rigour of the climate will
probably rendei it among the last to which emigrants,
who have such ample choice elsewhere, will think of
resorting.

The acquisition of Loulsiann afforded to the States
an opportunity of framing some new and important
settlements to the east of the Missisfiippi. To the
first was given simply the name of that great river,
which it has for its boundary along a line of 572
miles. From the reports of the travellers who mere-
ly sailed up and down that river, and observed its flat,
sandy, and inundated banks, some prejudice was felt
against it. But when the interior districts, particularly
on the banks of the long parallel stream of the Yazoo,
came to be surveyed, they were judged to be almost
the garden of North America. The valuable i)ro-
ductions of the tropical and temjierate climates are
here afforded in equal abundance. It is fitted, above
all, for the culture of maize and cotton and the rear-
ing of cattle. Amid the present ardent spirit of emi-
gration, therefore, it could not fail to be of speedy
increase, and having, in 1820, reached a population of
75,000, had, in 1817, been admitted to the privileges
of a separate State.

There remained still a large portion of Eastern
Louisiana, having for its basis the varied and deejjly-
embayed coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and extending

i>i

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-

•;(

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

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

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

\H2

HKCIIONS ni'.VONl) IMINSISSH'1'I.

obliged sometimes to wjide, sometimes to force the
bouts over roeks iiinl shoals, and <h*ag them through
tlie i)reeipitous current. The water would now be
not a foot above the rocks, and the next step would
be over their heads. At length, about two hundred
and thirty miles above tiie falls, in hit. 45", it be-
came necessary to unload tlie boats and betake them-
selves to sledges, leaving the l)ulk of the ]>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-

«;

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 ' 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 woo<len fort,
and sent back to collect his suffering stragglers. He
was, however, altogether mistaken as to his position.
The river was the Rio del Norte, which flows through
the Spanish territory into the Gulf of Mexico, and he
was already in the dominion of a people the most
jealous of all others of foreign encroachment. Ac-
cordingly, as soon as Major Pike's position was learn-
ed, a party was despatched from Santa F^, which made
prisoners of all the Americans. Major P. instant-
ly took down his flag, and professed the most perfect
innocence of any design of violating the Si)anish ter-
ritory ; he was told, however, that he must repair to
Santa F^. The party were treated on the road not
only well, but with tlie greatest hospitality and hu-
manity. The men would invite them into their
houses, cause their daughters to dress their wounded
feet, and give them the best bed. On arriving at
Santa Fe, their military vanity was somewhat morti-
fied by the appearance they made, with their clothes
all in rags, and without a hat on their heads ; and
they found, in fact, that they were taken for a band
of savages. Some of the common people even asked

'■ M .' \

LEWIS AND CLAllKl'..

487

if they had ever been in a house before, and if tlieir
tribe wore nothing on their lieads. After tiieir trunks
Inid been searehed, they were sent forward to the mi-
litary connnander at ('hihnaiiua, in the j)r()vinee of
New FJiseay. At length, after a long route through
the Spanish territory, Pike was allowed to proeeed
to the Anieriean frontier, jnid on the 1st of July
arrived at Natehitoehes, where, he says, " Lan-
guage eannot express the gaiety of my heart when
I onee more behehl the standard of my eountry
waving. All liail ! ericd I, the ever-sacred name
of country, in which is embraced that of kindred,
friends, and every other tie which is dear to the soul
of man."

This expedition was only subordinate to another
on a grander scale, and with a greater object, destin-
ed to cross the entire breadth of the continent, to pe-
netrate ihto regions known hitherto only by the faint-
est rumour, and to reach the Pacific, tlie grand west-
ern boundary of America. Tlieir first destination
was to ascend to its source the Missouri, alreatly
known as the greatest tributary of the Mississipjii, or
ratlier as the primary river to which the Mississijipi
itself is subordinate. This expedition was planned
by President Jefferson, a zealous promoter of interior
discovery ; and it was led by Cajjtain Meriwether
Lewis, his private secretary, and by Captain William
Clarke, with a band of troops and attendants, amount-
ing in all to forty-five ; of which sixteen, however,
were only to proceed to a certain distance. They had
a keel-boat 55 feet long, accompanied by two open
boats, called perioques.

(

488

llECilONS BEYOND MlSSISSim.

1 m m

On the lOth May, 1801', after a winter spent in
preparation, they were afloat on the Missouri. Some
miles up that river, the French had ah'eady founded
the villaf^e of St Charles, still peopled hy their nation to
the number of 450, — a race imiting the careless gaiety
and amiable hosj)itality of the best times in France,
ready even to undertake long and laborious liunting
excursions ; yet, wanting that systematic and perse-
vering industry which is necessary to the prosperity
of n yoimg colony. Farther \\\) was found a remark-
able cavern, 220 feet wide, which the traders called
the Tavern, on which they had caived their names
and drawn various figures ; and considerable difficulty
was then found in j)assing a series of rapids, called
the Devil's Kace-ground. At the moutli of tlie Os-
age Woman River is a settlement of thirty or forty
families; and at the junction of Wood's River, nearly
a hundred miles up, is La Charette, a little village,
the highest white settlement on this river.

The Osage river is the first gi'and tributary. It
nms west and south-west through a fertile country.
The people of the same name, comprising three tribes,
of upwards of twelve hundred warriors, appeared
lai'ge and well-formed, but less warlike than the north-
ern Indians, who have also the advantage over them
of using the rifle. We need not dwell on the fantas-
tic derivation of their race from the intermarriage
of a snail and a beaver ; as, unluckily, the high price
which the skins of their mother now bear has dimin-
ished much of their filial veneration.

After passing a number of rivers and creeks, not
designated by very poetical names, as Bignmddy
River, Littleniuddy River, Cupboard Creek, Good

LEWI8 AND CLARKE.

489

fipent in
•i. Some
' founded
nation to
288 gaiety

1 France,
}iuuting

id perse-
rosperity
L remark-
Ts called
ir names
difficulty
ds, called
f the Os-
or forty
T, nearly

2 village,

tary. It
country,
ee tribes,
appeared
lie nortli-
ver them
le fantas-
marriage
igh price
IS diniin-

eeks, not
igniuddy
k, Good

Woman's River, Big Manitou Creek, Hay Cabin
River, they came to the important tributary of tho
Kansas, flowing from the westward, and whicli, at
the junction, is more than half the breadth of the
Missouri. The Indians of the same name, on ita
banks, have been reduced to three hundred, — as,
though equally fierce and warlike, they were unable
to withstand the fire-arms with which their enemies,
the Sauks and Ayauways have been supplied by the
European traders.

In ascending, they passed the mouth of the Nema-
ha, not a large river, but rolling through most beau-
tiful meadows, adorned v/ith copses of fine fruit-trees,
vines, cherries, and plums of species peculiar to
America. Higher up they came to the great estuary
of the Platte, coming from sources far in the west, and
rolling a more ra})id stream than the Missouri itself.
This river is occupied ]>y 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

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.

492

HEGIONS BEYOND MISSISSIPPI.

: M

III

l:li

%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

♦. .^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

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

111

: 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

502

REGION DKYONH MISSTSSTPPI.

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,

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-

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.

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

1^ \

rip

I.KWIS AND CrAllKK.

509

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.

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.

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<led by
Major Long, and the narrative has ])een written
l)y Mr James, the botanist. A steam-i)acket, the
Western Engineer, was prei)ared {it Pittsl)urg, per-
haps the first time that this important instrument of
conveyance had been used for the jnu*i)oses of dis-
covery. The exi)edition sailed on the 5th JSIay,
1819, and on the 30th entered the Mississijjpi.
Having, however, to ascend the stream of that great
and now rapid riv^er, it did not reach St Louis, at the
mouth of the Missoiu'i, till the 9th June.

At St Louis, al)out a month was employed in pre-
parations, and it was July before the AV'^estern En-
gineer was launched on the mighty waters of the
Missouri. Mr Say, the geologist, went by land
along the coiu'se of the river as far as Fort Osage,
where he was joined by the steam-packet. Another
party was now sent out to survey the coimtry be-

LONG AND JAMES.

511

L'lJgth,

tween the Kansas and the Platte ; but they had
scarcely j}assed tlie Kansas viHage, when they were
set upon by a party of Pawnees, who phuidered thenj,
carried of!' their horses, and ol)liged them to return.
Vet even here Ihe rudiments of settlement were
bej^inning to be formed. The human materials, in-
deed, consisted chiefly of squatters, back-wood men,
and others, who fled before every approach of civiliza-
tion and neighbourhood. Yet, even of such there had
been located, at thejiuiction of theOsage and Missouri,
a town bearing the magnificent title of JSlissourio-
polis, to which, perhaps, it is destined one day to
correspond. Still higher up is Franklin, another
infant city. At several points, and j)articalarly be-
fore and after the confluence of Grand River, the
steam-vessel had the greatest obstacles to encounter
from the rapidity of the current and the munerous
sand-bars. It worked its way across them, however;
and on the 19th Septend)er, having passed the mouth
of the Platte riv^er, they arrived near the heights
called Council lilufTs, Avhere it was determined to
make dispositions for passing the winter. Major
Long set out for Washington, to receive farther
instructions, and return in the ensuing spring.

The winter was calamitous. The camj) was at-
tacked by the scurvy, in its most malignant form ;
three hundred were ill of it, of whom it proved
fatal to one hundred. Considering how comjdetely,
in siaiations much more unfavourable than the pre-
sent, this dreadful scourge of distant and maritime
expeditions has been overcome, it seems impossible
to acquit the management of some failure in foresight

> A

■ -I

'-. 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-

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

) .

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 <leafeninpf eries ; rattlesnakes an<l seolopeiulras
crawled ahout on all sides; and in the room of mos-
quitoes, a species of wood-ticks inflicted lar^e and
j)ainful swellings in tlu' flesh. Large heds of salt
here occurred, rendi-ring all the waters of this region
hrackish, and scarcely potahle, till they are mixe<i
with those of their lower trihutaries. In descending
the rivers they divided, one party following tiie course
of the Arkansaw, wliile tlie otlier meant to descend
tlie lied River ; hut a fatality seemed to attend every
effort to fual that river from its head. In its stead tliey
pitched on the Canadian, a southern trihutary of the
Arkansjiw, into which it falls after a course of alxmt
a thousand miles. They were confirnied in this
helief hy a i)arty of 250 Kaskaia, or IJad-hearted In-
dians, with whom they encountered. They were
much dissatisfied with the conduct of these Indians,
nnd especii'dly with learning that they had never till
now heard of such a peo])le as their sovereigns of
the United States. These Indians were well-formed,
an<l managed tlieir liorses with great dexterity ; hut
they were extremely fdtliy, and some mothers were
seen giving suck to their children while hoth stood
erect on the ground. Red Mouse, the cliief, inform-
ed them that this was the Red River ; hut perhaps
there might not he a very exact understaiuling on

i,o\(; ANh r A MI'S.

.517

t'itluT side of what tlio word iiu'iint. As tlir partit's
<k>sct>iMl('<l, tile pasturage bccoiiiiiig inoiv alaiiMiant,
fi^avi' support to herds of wild animals, from which
tlu-y iU'rived a supply of food. It was not till they
rcachi'd the mouth of the Canadian, an<l foun<l them-
selves actually in the Arkansaw, that Major f^ong's
party discovereil the error under which they had all
along lahoured. Ca])tain Hell, meantime, in de-
.scending the Arkansaw, met with a still more serious
disaster. Four soldiers <leserted, carrying with them
a nund)er of valuahle articles, and several of the
officers' journals. 'JMie most remarkalUe ohject dis-
covere<l upon this river consiste<l in six chalyheate
springs, of which one is so satnrate<I with carhonic
Jicid gas, and the other with sul|)hurette<l hy<lrogen,
that the smell was felt at a considerahle <listance.

The ditlerent parties rendezvoused at Port Smith, on
the Mississipj)i, whence they jwoceeded to Washing-
ton. They hrought with (hem sixty skins of new or
rare animals, many thousand preserved insects, of
which seven or eight hundred were helieved to !)e
new; an herbal of four or five hundred new ])lants ;
a great number of river and other shells, among
which were found twenty new s])ecies ; a hundred
and twenty drawings of objects of natural history,
and a hundred and fifty picturesc^ue views.

Meantime another expedition under Governor
Cass, for the narration of which we are indebted to
Mr Schoolcraft, was exploring the Upper Mississipj)i.
He proceeded first along the southern coast of Lake
Superior, till he came to the bay at its extremity,
which the French have called Fond de Lac. 'i^hence

51S

HEUION BKYONl) MISSISSIPPI,

Ik MA

nt--i

''' i\

(

I mm '"

kijiflli

ascending the St Louis River, he came to that hirge
assemblage of what in America may be called small
lakes, from ami<l which the Mississippi derives its
origin. The Red Cedar Lake was fixed upon as the
original source, and was named Cassina, in coinpli-
ment to General Cass ; but as the branch from Leech
Lrke is admitted to have a longer course by sixty
miles, wc sfiould be disposed with Pike to consider
it as the principal. 7^he height of this source was
estimated at 1330 feet, which, allowing a course of
3000 miles, gives an average descent of only about
five inches to the mile.

Tlie Mississippi, for 230 miles of its early course,
iIU it reaches the falls of Peckagama, is about eighty
feet broad, flowing vrith a gentle current of a mile in
tlie hoiu', and bordered by extensive savcinnahs, co-
vered Avith ruslies and other aquatic plants. While the
party were sitting in then* canoes, the rank growth of
these j)lnnts completely hid from their view the ad-
joining forests, and they appeared to be lost in a
boundless field of waving grass. The extreme mo-
notou)'^ of the view was only relieved by the birds
and waterfowl, wliich had chosen this region for their
abode. A Frenchman, who liad here located himself
for tlie purpose of carrying on the fur-trade, was
found reduced to a most calamitous situation. Be-
ing cauglit in a severe snow-storm, his feet were
frozen in such a manner, that they dropped off on his
return to his wigwam. In this lielpless state lie was
for some time supported ])y .an Indian wife whom he
had married, but who then deserted Iiim. For
some months lie had been fed only by the meagre

CASS AM> 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<l delight the eye
with the richness and variety of their colours. On
these meadows also the buffalo, the moose-deer, and
other animals, appear in great numbers. In the
course of about 700 miles, the river, bv the influx of
juimerous tributary streams, is widened to HOO feet
f)efore it precij)itates itself down the falls of St An-
thony ; but in the course of this sj)ace ihirty-fivc
raj)ids and nineteen rijiples occur to impede the navi-
gation.

After the Falls of Si Anthony, which throw them-
selves <lown a perpendicular height of forty feet, the
river assumes again a new aspect. The prairies are
broken and bordered by ranges of tliose variegated
limestone hills which the Americans call IJlufls, and
which rise to the height of between one and four
hundred feet. These bluffs, now shooting into spiral

520

IlECilON BKYOND MISSISSIPPI.

columns, now presenting- the fantastic shapo of anti-
quated battlements, and now streteliin^ as far as the
eye can reach in the form of a perpendicuhir wall, in-
tersj)erse(' with valleys, prairies, and forests, gave an
extraordinary p^randeur (uid magnificence to tlie valley
of the Uj)per Mississijipi. Swelled now by numerous
tributaries, particularly the St Peter's, St Croix,
Towa, Cliippeway, and Ouiscousin, it attains, at the
junction with the latter, a l)readth of two miles, and
rolls southward to obtain still mightier accessions
from the Illinois, the Ohio, and the Missouri,

The Mississij)pi had thus been pretty thoroughly
surveyed ; but there was still an outer range be-
longing to the United States, which remained for
them a species of fcrrff inco^'nita, The mosl ])ro-
minent feature here v/as the St Peter's, the greatest
western tributary of the Mississippi above the Mis-
souri, and whicii joins the former river inmiediately
below the Falls of St Anthony. Mr Keating supjxises
it never to have been visited by any traveller, excejit
Carver ; but, as already stated, notwithstanding the
sce])ticism of Charlevoix, I am j)ersuaded that it was
the same which Lahontan ascended, under the name
of the Long River. ^No othvr could have afforded
the length of course which he describes, nor the lake
which he found at its head. From a contiguous
source, another river, known under the name of the
Red River, flowed in an opposite direction, north-
ward into the frozen regions, and, after spreading
into the large exj)anse of Lake Winnipeg, held on its
course northward towards Hudson's Bay. The )ine
of the 49th degree of latitude, wliich fornjs here the

tmmm

I-C)N(J AND KKATINC;.

521

northern bound.ary of the United States, was to be
strictly surveyed, and every observation made whieli
couhl throw lij^ht on this region and its iidiai)itants.
In the expedition fitted out for this oliject, the eom-
inand was again given to Major Long ; while Mr
Say was to be zoologist and antiquary, and Mr Keating
mineralogist. The two latter were to make the ge-
neral observations, and to draw uj) the narrative ;
but the services of Dr James, as bota.iist, couhl not
be procureil, in consequence of his accidental absjnce.
The expedition proceeded down to \\'heiling, on
the Ohio, whence they struck across the head of its
tributary streams towtards Lake RHchigaii. In this
route they had o])portunities of continually observing
the Potowatomies, a lea<ling Indian nation in this
quarter. They j)resented the same qualities which
characterize the other nations on the hikes. They
display, it is said, many of the virtues and finer feel-
ings which adorn mankind in all situations. I'heir
careful tendance of the aged and of the j)ermanently
infirm forms a favoural)le contrast to tiie jn-actice of
tliose nations who, in sucli circumstances, abandon or
consign to deatli their aged j)arents ; this })arbarous
deed being observed among them only in u 'V'ery few
occasional instances. There is a still deeper blot, how-
ever, from which the North American nations have
been generally believed to be free, but which Mr
Keating considers as fixed upon the Potowatomies ;
not only that they treat their captives witli the same
frightful inhumanity as the other native tribes, but that
they procee<i often to the most revolting extremity,
that of actually devouring their flesh. The travellers

522

llKCaON BKVOXl) MISSISSIIMM.

li. -it

f m

u' M

ill

* i

admit that they have been asked wliether they ever
were present at such infamous orp^ies, and have been
told, tliat nothing but ociUar demonstration couhl
amount to proof of a fact so horrible. ^J'o this it is
answered, that the state of j)eace in which these na-
tions then were {ifforded no room for such an exhi-
bition ; but the fact had been acknowledged by the
Indians themselves, by those who had j)erpetrated
the deed, by the interpreters mid travellers who had
long resided among them, who were connected with
them by intermarriages, and were themselves partly
Indians, and who declared that they had been present
at the time it took place ; that individuals could be
named who became victims to it, and that names ex-
pressive of this custom are given to certain j)laces by
the Indians themselves ; in short, that the most
incredulous of the party were at length compelled to
acknowledge that all doubt was removed from their
minds. The allegations against the Sioux do not
seem to be duly made out ; but against the Poto-
watomies, Mianus, and Chippeways, it is considered
as fully established. It is admitted, however, in
many cases, to have sprung only from those dire ex-
tremities of hunger to wliich savages are liable, espe-
cially in these severe northern climates, where there
can be no regular supply, even of the most coarse
vegetable food, and the dei)endence is placed solely on
the precarious product of the chase. In other cases,
it seems to take place chiefly in a momentary paroxysm
of fury, which j)rompts them, amid the ju'ocess of
torture, to cut out and devour portions from liie flesh
of the victim.

I,ON(i AND KKATlNCi.

52.'J

The party now passed Fourteen-mile Prairie, wliich
was found to form the dividing ridge between tlie
streams which fell into Lake Michigan and the Ohio.
As it was intersected by marshes, boats could often
in the wet season pass across to the heads of the op-
posite rivers. They turned aside to view the mission-
liouse formed by Mr Cary, the great apostle of tlie
Indians. It was now in the management of a Mr
M*Coy, and ap})eared to be well conducted. About
fifty acres had been cleared, and six log-houses built,
one of which served as a school. The i)rinciple was
to instruct the natives in the arts and knowledge of
civilized life before attempting to initiate tliem in
the mysteries of religion. The school was attended
by from forty to sixty cliildren, and there was an ex-
pectation of raising the number to a hundred. Many
Indians, and particularly Ispaneba, their great chief,
encouraged and visited the school. These good works,
however, are much counteracted l)y tlie traders, not
so nuich from their cheating the Indians, though
they do so in the most unconscionable manner, as
from the introduction of ardent s})irits, which produce
the most pernicious effects.

Lake Michigan, at which the party soon after arriv-
ed, presented a striking change from the green prairies,
interchanged with swampy plains, through which
they Iiad lately passed. They found themselves on
the shore of an ocean. I'o the north was nothing
but a boundless expanse of water, tlien crlm and
unruffled like a sheet of ice. I'o the soutli the view
is abruptly limited by v. range of low sand-hills,
crowned with a scanty growtli of pine and furze, and

524

IlKGION BEYOND MISSISSIPPI.

s't

II '!J

i ,.A

beyond which was a wooded phiin extended. When
the sun shone bright, its reflection from the sand and
water was da/zling and painful to the eyes. The
sand is h)ose, and {i])])ears to liave been blown from
the beacli hy the strong north-west winds which pre-
vail in winter. The })each is strewed with fragments
of granite and other primitive rocks, and the bed con-
sists of an immense accumulation of sand and i)ebbles.
The party, in proceeding to the Mississij)pi, passed
the Rock River, one of its secondary tributaries,
which deserves that name only in the upi)er i)art of
its course. Then a large tract, over which trees
were thinly scattered, was followed by an almost
boundless prairie, wliere there was not a tree. In
approaching the Father of "Waters, however, they
found tliat bold interchange of hill, forest, and valley,
which renders this the most sublime and beautiful
part of its course. It is said, " the first day's voy-
age on the Mississippi is delightful to those who have
never been on that river before. The magnificence
of the scenery is such, its characters differ so widely
from those of the landscapes wh-'ch we are accustom-
ed to behold in our tame regions ; its features are so
bold, so wild, so majestic, that they impart new sen-
sations to the mind. The very rapidity of the
stream, although it opposes our progress, delights us
by conveying the idea of the extensive volume of
water which this river carelessly rolls towiirds the
ocean ; while the immense number of islands which it
embosoms contribute to the variety of the scenery."

We shall pass the voyage up the Mississippi till
the party arrived at the mouth of the St Peter's,

LONG AND KEATINd.

525

where tlie real tract of discovery began. Here the
Americans had, in 1819, at the junction of tlie two
rivers, built Fort Anthony, in an elevated position,
commanding both, and had surrounded it with a stone
wall. Being commanded by a greater elevation
within reacli of cannon-shot, it is of no value in re-
ferenc<» to an enemy provided with artillery, but is
completely proof against an Indian foe. In this
centre of tlie savage world the garrison enjoyed
many of the comforts of civilized life. They had
brought under cultivation upwards of two hundred
acres, of which twenty being in gardens, supplied an
abundance of wholesome vegetables.

The j)arty now l)egan to ascend the river, the
banks of which were found to be low and covered
with a fine rich vegetation ; the immediate border
was adorned with lofty trees, which did not extend
far into the interior. The bluffs or heights, which
bordered the Mississippi, gradually sunk, but reap-
peared thirty miles up, on a smaller scale. 7'he
tumuli, or artificial mounds, were niunerous, and
some of great extent. At the head of the river, after
passing the Lac qui Parle^ which has nothing ap-
propriate to its name, they came to the long narrow
expanse of Big-Stone Lake, which is in close conti-
guity with Lake Travers, out of which flows the great
northern stream of the Red River. The entire course
of the St Peter's is about 375 miles ; but the naviga-
tion is attended with diflSculties which it is thought
can never be overcome.

The expedition now found themselves in the midst
of that n^gion of swamps and lakes out of which

saC)

RF-(iION BKYONI) MISSISSIIM'I.

n»^i

II '

w •

flow all tlie mi^lity rivers that water this part of
the continent. Those ^rcat head-waters of America
present plienomena which ilhistrate the variety in
which nature delights, and baffle all the theories
which we have been accustomed to hold as to the
early direction of river-courses. It is common for
tlie great rivers of a continent, though flowing to-
wards opposite oceans, to rise in the close vicinity of
each other ; but it is supposed to be always in a Very
elevated tract, and separated by a dividing ridge,
which bars ail connnunication between them. Jiut
the whole of this country is a dead swampy level,
without ri<lge of any kind, and the heads of all the
rivers have canals communicating with each other.
Canoes pass from the St Lawrence to the Mississippi,
and from the Mississii)pi to the Red Uiver, with
fewer obstacles than are encountered in the lower
portions of each respective river.

AVe cannot here enter into the verv extensive
details given resj)ecting the Sioux or Dacotas, who
are not distinguished by any very remarkable features
from the other Americans. The expedition now
descended the important stream of the Red River,
Avliich they found throughout navigable for Ctinoes of
two tons burden, and visite<l the colonies of Pend)ina
and Fort Douglas, founde<l there by Lord Selkirk. The
climate, as compared with that of similar latitudes in
other j)arts of the world, and esj)ecially of America,
is remarkably favourable. Wheat, maize, and even
tobacco, are grown with ease and of good quality.
The great disadvantage of the colony seems to be
the distance from any market, Pembina })eing 845

LONC, AND Kr,ATIN(i.

5^7

miles from York Fort, u very anliious route both
by land and by sea, while it is 2800 miles from
New Orleans, and 1900 from Hallalo. 'J'ill, there-
fore, the distriets which ean supply the same eom-
nmdities, burdened with a nuu'h smaller land-rarria^e,
are filled up, it does not aj)pear that the remote settle-
ment on the Red Kiver ean arrive at any magnitude.
The population consists of a confused mixture of
Knglish, Scotch, French, Italians, (lermans, Swiss,
combined with Chippewas, Crees, Dacotas, and other
Indian tribes ; and the intercourse between these
parties lias given rise to a munerous body of the Hois
liruU\ a swift, active, black-haired, olive-coloured,
cunning and fierce race of mixed European and In-
dian extraction.

The termination of the Red River brought the mis-
sion into the great and winding expanse of Lake ^Vin-
nipeg, called by the older travellers the Lake of the
Assiniboins. It is about 280 miles long, and from
80 to 15 broad. Situated in the centre of America,
it receives many of its largest streams, and j)erhaps
no piece of water enjoys such an extensive canoe-com-
munication, it holds a remarkable place in the geo-
logical structure of America, as forming the boundary
between the primitive rocks on the east and the
secondary on the west, Corresj^aiiding to this variety
is the contrasted aspect of the shores ; the western
presenting vast prairies, variegated hills, and a fertile
soil ; while the other exhibits only a scene of austere
and naked grandeur.

From Winnipeg Lake they began to ascend

528

llEGION BEYOND MISSISSIPPI.

\ln

Winnipeg River, which !)rouglit them back in the
direction of Canada. The scenery on this riv^er
surpassed all that they had yet seen of the wild and
the sublime. The rapidity and innnense volume
of the waters, the variety of form in the falls and cas-
cades, and the singular wildness of the dark water-
worn granite and primitive rocks which produce them.
and whose <lark and unchanging aspect contrasts
with the continual movement and glitter of the
waters ; — these features give to tlie long series of
Winnipeg Falls a jiicturescpie effect, compared to
which Nigara itself is uniform and monotoncms. In
what are accoiuited the lower falls, the river, being
received into a basin enclosed by high rocks, assumes
the character of a troubled ocean, dashing furiously
against the surrounding sliores and rocky islands.
The ui)per falls, forming successive cascades of 10 or
15 feet, thougli not on a great scale, are also very pic-
turesque.

Ascending the Winnipeg, the party came to the
Lcike of the Woods, an extensive piece of water,
about three hundred miles in circumference. The
scenery is wild and romantic in a high degree, the
shores being faced hy precipices crowned with thick
fol'age, and the surface studded with countless islands.
The region, however, bordering on these waters is
the mo-^t dreary that can be imagined. The climate
is so rigorous, the surface so rujs^ged, that it has never
been claimed as a residence by man or beast. It is only
occasionally that a moose-deer or bear is to be seen,
or that a half-starved family of savages endeavour to

LONG AND KFATTNO.

521)

pick a scanty subsistence by fishing on some of tlie
water-courses. They are often reduce<l, however, to
dreadful extremities ; and one woman was heard of
who had killed and eaten her own husband and chil-
dren.

From the Lake of the Woods the party proceeded
by Rainy River to Rainy Lake, thence by Had River
to Lake La Croix, and afterwards throuf>;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)

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I.I

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2.2

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Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

•I

530

REGION BEYOND MISSISSIPPI.

possessions ; whereas, by a very slight detour, the
Winnipeg River and Lake, the Red River, and the
Assiniboils, might have afforded a natural limit,
stretching across a great part of the continent.

END OF VOLUME I.

Oliver & Boyd, Prlnler».

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and the
1 limit,