\QU \^ ^\S»

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

l&ilM 125

■so ^^" •■■

u Kit

£f US 12.0

IL25 HU

1.6

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

:^^^^

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. UStO

(716) •73-4503

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHIVi/iCIVIH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas

TIM
tot

The Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat
original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of this
copv which may ba bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.

□ Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

I I Covers damaged/

D
D

Couverture endommagte

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture reataurAe et/ou pellicula

I I Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

Coloured maps/

Cartas giographiquas en couleur

□ Coloured Ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encra da couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

nn Coloured plates and/or illustrations/

Planchaa et/ou illustrations an couleur

Bound with other material/
RaliA avac d'autras documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La re liura serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion la long de la marge intArieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certainas pages blanches ajouties
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas At A filmtes.

Additional comments:/
Commentairas supplimantairas:

L'Institut a microfilm^ la meilleur axemplaire
qu'il lui a M possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaira qui sont peut-Atre uniques du
point de vue bibliographiqua, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger una
modification dans la mAthoda normale de f ilmage
sont indiquis ci-dassous.

I I Coloured pages/

Pages de couleur

Pages damaged/
Pages endommagias

Pages restored and/oi

Pages restaurAes et/ou pellicul6es

Pages discoloured, stained or foxe<
Pages dicolories, tacheties ou piquies

Pages detached/
Pages d^tachies

Showthrough/
Transparence

Quality of prir

Qualiti inigaia de I'impression

includes supplementary matarii
Comprend du material supplimantaire

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

I — I Pages damaged/

r~n Pages restored and/or laminated/

Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/

I I Pages detached/

r~71 Showthrough/

r~| Quality of print varies/

nn Includes supplementary material/

r~1 Only edition available/

TIM
pot
oft

fllR

Orii

tho
•ioi
otK
fir*
•Ioi
ori

Th«
•ha
TIN

whi

Mai
diff
•ntl
bag
righ
raqi
mat

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc., ont M filmies A nouveau de fapon d
obtenir la mailleure image possible.

This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous.

10X im 18X 22X

26X

30X

12X

16X

20X

28X

32X

tails
;du
odifier
une
mage

TiM copy filmMl her* haa b««n r«produc«d thanks
to tha ganarosity of:

Library Division

Provincial ArcMvat of British Columbia

Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast quality
poasibia considaring tha condition and lagibility
of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha
filming contract spacif ications.

Original copiaa in printad papar covars ara fiimad
baglnning with tha front covar and anding on
tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras-
sion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All
othar original capias ara fiimad baglnning on tha
first paga with a printad or illustratad impras-
sion. and anding on tha last paga with a printad
or illustratad imprassion.

Tha last racordad f rama on aach microf icha
shall contain tha symbol -h^ (moaning "CON-
TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"),
whichavar applias.

Maps, platas, charts, ate. may ba fiimad at
diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba
antiraiy includad in ona axposura ara fiimad
baglnning in tha uppar laft hand corner, laft to
right and top to bottom, as many framas as
raquirad. Tha following diagrams illustrata tha
mathod:

L'axamplaira fllm4 fut raproduit griea k la
g^Aroait* da:

Library Division

Provincial Arehivtt of British Columbia

Laa imagas auhrantaa ont 4t* roprodultaa avac la
plua grand soin, compta tanu da la condition ot
da la nattat* da raxamplaira film*, at an
conformity avac las conditions du coQtrat da
fllmaga.

Las axamplairas orlginauR dont la couvartura an
papiar ast ImprimAa sont filmte an oomman^nt
pir la pramiar plat at an tarminant salt par la
darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta
d'imprassion ou d'illustration. solt par la aacond
plat, salon la cas. Toua laa autraa axamplairas
originaux sont f ilmte an commandant par la
pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta
d'iniprassion ou d'illustration ot mn tarminant par
la darniAra paga qui comporto una talla
amprainta.

Un das symboias suivants apparattra sur la
darniAra imaga da chaqua microficha. salon la
cas: la symbols -^ signifia "A 8UIVRE". la
symbols y signifia "FIN".

Las cartas, planchas. tablaaux. ate. pauvant Atra
fiimte i das taux da rMuction diffArants.
Lorsqua la documant ast trap grand pour Atra
raproduit an un saui ciichA. 11 ast filmA A partir
da I'angla supAriaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita.
at da haut an bas. wn pranant la nombra
d'imagas nAcassaira. Las diagrammas suivants
iliustrant la mAthoda.

rrata
o

)elure.

1 2 3

32X

I I

Saiony A Major Lith .

117 FuhoSt.ye»Ytrk.

KING HENDRICK.

"'&^'

W-^'

9rA. .

THE

■m

AMERICAN INDIANS,

THtilR HISTORY, "

CONDITION AND PROSPECIS,^

mox

ORIGINAL NOTES ANJ) MANUSCRIPTS.

BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

TOGETHER WITH AN APPENDIX. CONTAINING THRILLING
KARRATIVES. DARING EXPLOITS, ETC. ETC.

1^.

NEW REVISED EDITION.

BUFFALO-
GEORGE H. DERBY AND CO.

1851.

-W4.

■:tr

f' -I

'.fc /

dWA M.t

il : :.■ ^

-••'Si-

Entered according lu Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by

GEO. H. DERBY A CO.,

In the Clerk's Office of tlie District Court of the United States for the

Northern District of New York.

71^

JKWETT, THOltAB « CO., PUNTEB8, BUFFALa

;v » '

/ -.-rt .«

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

<' v, f ■ .1,

It is now twenty-six years since I first entered the area of the Missis*
<ippi valley, with the view of exploring its then but imperfectly known
features, geographical and geological. Twenty-two years of this period
have elapsed since I entered on the duties of an Executive Agent for the
United States Government in its higher northern latitudes among the In
dian tribes in the west. Having devoted so large a portion of my life in
an active sphere, in which the intervals of travel left me favourable oppor-
tunities of pursuing the languages and history of this branch ol the
race, it appears to be a just expectation, that, in sitting down to give some
account of this people, there should be some preliminary remarks, to ap-
prise the reader how and why it is, that his attention is recalled to a topic
which he may have supposed to be well nigh exhausted. This it is pro-
posed to do by some brief personal reminiscences, beginning at the time
above alluded to.

The year 1814 constituted a crisis, not only in our political history,
but also in our commercial, manufacturing, and industrial interests. The
treaty of Ghent, which put a period to the war with England, was a
blessing to many individuals and classes in America : but, in its conse-
quences, it had no small share of the effects of a curse upon that class of
citizens who were engaged in certain branches of manufactures. It was
a peculiarity of the crisis, that these persons had been stimulated by
double motives, to invest their capital and skill in the perfecting and estab-
lishment of the manufactories referred to, by the actual wants of the
Country and the high prices of the foreign articles. No pains and no cost
had been spared, by many of them, to supply this demand ; and it was
another resuh of the times, that no sooner had they got well established,
and were in the high road of prosperity than the peace came and plunged
them headlong from the pinnacle of success. This blow fell heavier
upon some branches than others. It was most fatal to those manufacturers
who had undertaken to produce fabrics of the highest order, or which
belong to an advanced state of the manufacturing prosperity of a nation.
Be this as it may, however, it foil withcrushingforce upon that branch in
which I was eng^aged. As soon as the American ports were opened to
these fabrics, the foreign makers who could undersell us, poured in cargo
on cargo ; and when the first demands had been met, these cargoes were
ordered to be sold at auction ; the prices immediately fell to the lowest
point, and the men who had staked in one enterprise their zeal, skill and
money, were ruined at a blow.

Every man in such a crisis, must mentally recoil upon himself Habits

9 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

of application, reading, and an early desire to bo useful, had sustained
me at a prior period of life, through the dangers and fascinations of jovial
company. There was in this habit or temper of room-soclusion, a pleas-
ing resource of a conservative character, which had filled up the intervals
of my busiest hours ; and when business itself came to a stand, it had
the effect to aid me in balancing and poising my mind, while I pre-
pared to enter a wider field, and indeed, to change my whole plan of life.
If it did not foster a spirit of right thought and self-dependence, it, at
least, gave a degree of tranquillity to the intervals of a marked pause, and,
perhaps, flattered the ability to act.

Luckily I was still young, and with good animal spirits, and a sound
constitution I resolved I would not go down so. The resu t of seven
years of strenuous exertions, applied with persevering diligence and suc-
cess, was cast to the winds, but it was seven years of a young man's life,
and I thought it could be repaired by time and industry. What the east
withheld, I hoped might be supplied by another quarter. I turned my
thoughts to the west, and diligently read all I could find on the subject.
The result of the war of 1812, (if this contest had brought no golden
showers on American manufacturers, as I could honestly testify in my
own case,) had opened to emigra'Jon and enterprise the great area
west of the Alleghanies. The armies sent out to battle with Indian,
and other foes, ou the banks of the Wabash, the Illinois, the Detroit, the
Raisin and the Miami of the Lakes, had opened to observation attractive
scenes for settlement ; and the sword was no sooner cast aside, than emi-
grants seized hold of the axe and the plough. This result was worth the
cost of the whole contest, honour and glory included. The total prostra-
tion of the moneyed system of the country, the eflTects of city-lot and other
land speculations, while the system was at its full flow, and the very
backward seasons of 1816 and 1817, attended with late and early frosts,
%vhich extensively destroyed the corn crop in the Atlantic states, all lent
their aid in turning attention towards the west and south-west, where seven
new states have been peopled and organized, within the brief period to
which these reminiscences apply : namely, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi,
Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas and Michigan, besides the flourishing terri-
tories of Wisconsin and Iowa, and the more slowly advancing territory
of Florida. It appeared to me, that information, geographical and other,
of such a wide and varied region, whose ^boundaries were but ill defined,
must be interesting at such a period ; and I was not without the hope that
the means of my future advancement would be found in connexion with
the share I might take in the exploration of it. With such views I resolved
to go west. This feeling I find to be expressed on the back of an old slip
of an account of the period :

"I will go by western fountain,
I will wander far and wide ;

VER80NAL REMlNIBCENCBI.

that
nth
ved

Till some sunny spot invite me,
Till some guardian bid me bide.

" Snow or tempest — plain the drearest

Shall oppose a feeble bar,
Since I go from friends the dearest,

'Tis no matter then how far. ' •

" On ! — ^"tis useless here to dally ;

On 1 — I can but make or mar ;
Since my fortune leads to sally,

'Tis no matter then how far."

Of the ^ seven years" to which allusion has been made I had spent
four in New England aland, which is endeared to me at this distance of
time, by recollections of hospitality, virtue, and manly intelligence.

While engaged in the direction of the business above named, I had pre*
pared the notes and materials for my first publication, in which I aimed
to demonstrate the importance of an acquaintance with Chemistry and
Mineralogy in the preparation and fusion of numerous substances in the
mineral kingdom, which result in the different conditions of the various
glasses, enamels, &.c. I had, from early youth, cultivated a taste for
mineralogy, long indeed it may be said, before I knew that mineralogy
was a science ; and, as opportunities increased, had been led by my in
quiries, (which I followed with ardour but v;ith very slight helps,) to add
to this some knowledge of elementary chemistry and experimental philos
ophy, and to supply myself, from Boston and New York, with books,
apparatus, and tests. I do not know that there were any public lectures
on mineralogy, &c. at this time, say from 1810 to '16 ; certainly, there
were none within my reach. I gleaned from the best sources I could,
and believe that the late Professor Frederick Hall was the only person to
whom I was indebted even for occasional instructions }r\ these depart*
ments. He was a man strongly devoted to some of the » j.-iral sciences,
particularly mineralogy ; and was erudite in the old authors on the sub-
ject, whom he liked to quote ; and I may say that I continued to enjoy
his confidence and friendship to the time of his death, which happened in
1843. From such sources, from the diligent reading of books, and
from experiments, conducted with the advantage of having under my
charge extensive works, at various times, in the states of New York, Ver-
mont and New Hampshire, I drew the principles which formed the basis
of my treatise on Vitreology. With this work in hand, I left Keene, in
New Hampshire, early in the winter of 1817 ; and, crossing the Con-
necticut river at Brattleboro,' proceeded over the Green Mountains, by tlje
route of Bennington, to Albany, and thence returned to my father's house
in western New York. No time was lost in issuing proposals for the
work ; and I had the satisfaction to find that the portions published, and

PEUSONAL AEBIINISCENCES.

the entire plan and merits of it were warmly approved by the pen of the
late Mr. Maynard of Utica, and by several liberal minded and intelligent
persons. Before quitting Ne^ England, I had determined to go to the
Mississippi valley, and had begun to study its geography ; and I now
resolved to proceed, without unnecessary delay.

Means constitute the first object of solicitude in all such undertakings.
The ebbing tide of manufacturing prosperity to which I have referred, had
left me very poor. From the fragments of former acquisitions, for which,
however, I was exclusively indebted to my own industry, I raised a small
sum of money — much smaller I think than most men would be willing
to start with, who had resolved to go so far. I had, in truth, but sixty
dollars in the world ; but I possessed a very good wardrobe, and some
other personal means, such as it nuty be supposed will adhere to a man
who has lived in abundance for many years. I put up a miniature col-
lection of mineralogical specimens, to serve as a standard of comparison
in the west, a few implements for analysis, some books which I thought it
would be difficult to meet with in that region, and some drawing mate-
rials. I had connected these things in some way with my future success.
In other respects, I had the means, as above hinted, of making a respect-
able appearance. Thus prepared, I bade adieu to my father and mother,
and also to three sisters and a brother, all younger than myself, an4 set
forward. The winter of 1818 had opened before I reached my brother'*
house at Geneva, in western New York. From this point I determined
to leave the main track, through the Oenessee county west, and to strike
the head waters of the Alleghany river, so as to descend that stream with
the spring flood.

My brother drove me in his own sleigh, as far as Angelica. By the
time we reached that place, being no traveller and much fatigued with
the intricacies and roughness of the road, he was fain to give over his
undertaking, and I parted from him, sending back the sleigh from Glean,
to take him home.

The Alleghany river was locked with ice when I reached it. I had
an opportunity to cross it on foot, and to examine in the vicinity those
evidences of the coal formation which are found in masses of bituminous
shale, slaty coal and petroleum. The river began to open about the middle
of March. I left Olean in the first ark for the season, borne onwards down-
the sweeping Alleghany at the top of the flood, often through winding
channels, and once in danger of being precipitated over a mill dam, by
taking the wrong channel.

On anotiiei occasion, just as we were coming to the division of the
channel, at the head of a group of islands, a tall Seneca Indian, standing
in the bow of a very long pine canoe, cried out, in a tone of peculiar em-
phasis, " Keep to the right — I speak it." This direction we followed, and
were saved from another mishap. We tied the ark to the shore at nijht,

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. ■ ' M

built a fire on the bank and evoked a supper. On passing the Conowonga,
it was at the height of its flood, and appeared to bring in as much water as
the Alleghany. We stopped at the noted chief Cornplanter's village, and
also to gratify a reminiscent curiosity, at the mouth of French Creek^
connected with Washington's perilous adventure in visiting Fort de Boef,
now Erie. At Kittaning, a great scow ferry boat was rowed and man-
aged by two women or girls with a degree of muscular exertion, or rather
ease, which would put to the blush many a man east or west of the AUe-
ghanies. The tone, air, and masculine strength of these girl-boatmen,
reminded me of nothing this side of RoUin's description of the Amazons
— save that the same provision was not apparent for drawing the bow.
Bold hills line both banks of the river along its upper parts, and continue,
indeed, at farther intervals apaM, to very near the junction of the Monon-
gahela ; but long before this point, the stream is one of noble dimensions,
clear, broad, and strong. After a voyage of exciting and vivid intere«t|
I reached and landed at Pittsburgh

'■■ -i '

*i ^ - <:* >'

>■»;, -V

' -^'.* <

NO. II.

."r

It is Dr. Johnson, I think, who says, that we take slight occasions to
be pleased. At least, I found it so, on the present occasion ; the day of
my arrival was my birth day, and it required but little stretch of imagi*
nation to convert the scene upon which I had now entered, into a new
world. It was new to me. — I was now fairly in the great geological
valley of the west, the object of so many anticipations.

The ark, in which I had descended the Allegany, put ashore near the
point of land, which is formed by the junction of the Monongahela with
this fine clear stream. The dark and slowly moving waters of the one,
contrasted strongly with the sparkling velocity of the other. L felt a
buoyancy of spirits as I leapt ashore, and picked up some of its clean
pebbles to see what kind of geological testimony they bore to the actual
character of their parent beds in the Apalachian range.

" What shall I pay you, for my passage, from Olean," said I, to the
gentleman with whom I had descended, and at whose ark-table I had
found a ready seat with his family. " Nothing, my dear sir," he replied
with a prompt and friendly air, — " Your cheerful aid in the way, taking
the oars whenever the case required it, has more than compensated for
any claims on that score, and I only regret that you are not going further
with us."

Committing my baggage to a carman, I ascended the bank of diluvial
earth and pebbles with all eagerness, and walked to the point of land
where Fort Pitt (old Fort Du duesne) had stood. It is near this point
that the Alleghany and Monongahela unite, and give birth to the noble
Ohio. It is something to stand at the head of such a stream. The
charm of novelty is beyond all others. I could realize, in thought, as I
stood here, gazing on the magnificent prospect of mingling waters, and
their prominent and varied shores, the idea, which is said to be embodied
in the old Mingo substantive-exclamation of 0-he-o ! a term, be it remem-
bered, which the early French interpreters at once rendered, and truly, it
is believed, by the name of La Belle Riviere.

So far, I said to myself, all is well, — ^I am now west of the great
spinal chain. All that I know of America is now fairly east uf me-—
bright streams, warm hearts and all. I have fairly cast myself loose

rCRSONAL REMINIICRNCei.

on the wide waters of the west I have already come as many hundred
miles, as there are days fn the week, but I begin my travels here. I
have, as it were, taken my life in my hand. Father and mother, I may
never see more. Qod wot the result. I go to seek and fulfil an unknown
destiny. Come weal or woe, I shall abide the resuh. All the stream!
run south, and I h.ive laid in, with " time and chance" for a journey with
them. I am but as a chip on their surface — nothing more I Whether
my bones are to rest in this great valley, or west of the Cordilleras, or the
Rocky Mountains, I know not. I shall often think of the silver Iosco,
the farther I go from it. To use a native metaphor, My foot is on the
path, and the word, is onward ! " The spider taketh hold with her
hands," Solomon says, " and is in king's palaces." Truly, a man should
accomplish, by diligence, as much as a spider.

Pittsburgh was, even then, a busy manufacturing town, filled witn
working machinery, steam engines, hammers, furnaces, and coal smoke.
I visited Mr. O'Hara, and several other leading manufacturers. They
made gloss, bar iron, nails, coarse pottery, castings, and many other
articles, which filled its shops and warehouses, and gave it a city-like
appearance. Every chimney and pipe, perpendicular or lateral, putTeJ
out sooty coal smoke, and it required some dexterity to keep a clean collar
half a day. I met ladies who bore this impress of the city, on their morning
toilet. I took lodgings at Mrs. McCullough's, a respectable hotel on Wood
street, and visited the various manufactories, for which the place was then,
and is now celebrated. In these visits, 1 collected accurate data of the cost
of raw material, the place where obtained, the expense of manufacture, and
the price of the finished fabric. I had thus a body of facts, which enabled
me, at least to converse understandingly on these topics, to give my
friends in the east, suitable data, and to compare the advantages of manu-
facturing here with those possessed by the eastern and middle states. Every
thing was, in the business prospects of the west, however, at a compara-
tively low ebb. The prostrating efiepts of the war, and of the peace, were
alike felt. We had conquered England, in a second contest, but were
well exhausted with the efilbrt. The country had not recovered from the
sacrifices and losses of a series of military operations, which fell most
heavily on its western population. Its agricultural industry had been
crippled. Its financial affairs were deranged. Itb local banks were
broken ; its manufactories were absolutely ruined. There was little con-
fidence in business, and never w^as credit, public and private, at a lower
ebb. There was however, one thing, in which the west held out a
shining prospect. It had abundance of the finest lands in the world,
and in fact, it promised a happy home to the agricultural industry of half
the world. It was literally the land of promise, to the rest of the union,
if not to Europe.

Having seen whatever I wished in Pittsburgh, I hired a horse and

PERSONAL REMINISCUMCES.

crossing the Monongahela, went up its southern banks, as high as Wil-
liamsport. I found the country people were in the habit of calling the city
" Pitt" or " Fort Pitt," a term dating back doubtless to the time of the sur-
render, or rather taking possession of Fort Du Q,uesne, by Gen. Forbes.
Mineral coal (bituminous) characterizes the entire region, as far as m^
excursion reached. By a happy coincidence in its geological structure,
iron ores are contained in the series of the c"..! deposits. On returning
from this trip, night set in, very dark : on the evening I approached the
summit of the valley of the Monongahela, called Coal Hill. The long and
winding road down this steep was one mass of moving mud, only varied
in its consistence, by sloughs, sufficient to mire both man and horse. I was
compelled to let the animal choose his ovn path, and could only give
him aid, when the flashes of lightning lit up the scene with a momentary
brilliance, which, however, had often no other effect but to remind me of
my danger. He brought me, at length, safely to the brink of the river,
and across the ferry.

To be at the head of the Ohio river, and in the great manufacturing
city of the West, was an exciting thought, in itself. I had regarded
Pittsburgh as the alpha, in my route, and after I had made myself familiar
with its characteristics, and finding nothing to invite my further attention
I prepared to go onn-ard. For this purpose, I went down to the bankt
of the Monongahela, one day, where the arks of that stream usually
touch, to look for a passage. I met on the beach, a young man from Massa
chusetts, a Mr. Brigharri, — who had come on the same errand, and being
pleased with each other, we engaged a passage together, and getting our
baggage aboard immediately, set off the same evening. To float in an ark,
down one of the loveliest rivers in the world, wai,, at lec.st, a novelty, and
m all novelty gives pleasure, we went on charmingly. There were some
ten or a dozen passengers, including two married couples. We prome-
naded the decks, and scanned the ever changing scen,er\, at every bend,
with unalloyed delight. At night we lay down aero, s the boat, with
our feet towards the fire-place, in a line, with very little diminution
of the wardrobe we carried by day, — the married folks, like light
infantry in an army, occupying the flanks of our nocturnal array. The
only objection I found to the night's rest, arose from the obligation,
each one was tacitly under, to repair on deck, at the hollow night-cry
of "oars!" from the steersman. This was a cry which was seldom
uttered, however, except when we were in danger of being shoved, by
the current, on the head of some island, or against some frowning "snag,"
so that we had a mutual interest in being punctual at this cry. By it,
sleep was to be enjoyed only in sections, sometimes provokingly short, and
our dreams of golden vallies, studded with pearls and gems, were oddly
jumbled with the actual presence of plain matter of fact things, such as
running across a tier of "old monongahela" or getting one's fingers

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

"6J

and
ddly
as
Igers

trod on, in scrambling on d^jk. We took our meals on our laps, sitting
around on boxes and barrels, and made amends for the want of style or
elegance, by cordial good feeling and a practical exhibition of the best
principles of " association." There was another pleasing peculiarity in
this mode of floating. Two or more arks were frequently lashed
together, by order of their commanders, whereby our conversational circle
was increased, and it was not a rare circumstance to find both singers
and musicians, in the moving communities for <' the west," so that tnose
who were inclined to, might literally dance as they went. This was
certainly a social mode of conquering the wilderness, and gives some
idea of the bouyancy of American character. How different from the
sensations felt, in floating down the same stream, by the same means, in
the era of Boon, — the gloomy era of 1777, when instead of violin, or
flageolet, the crack of the Indian rifle was the only sound to be anticipated
at every new bend of the channel.

Off Wheeling the commander of our ark made fast to a larger one
from the Monongahela, which, among other acquaintances it brought,
introduced me to the late Dr. Sellman of Cincinnatti, who had been a
surgeon in Wayne's army. This opened a vista of reminiscences, which
were wholly new to me, and served to impart historical interest to the scene.
Some dozen miles below this town, we landed at the Grave Creek Flats,
for the purpose of looking at the large mound, at that place. I did not
then know that it was the largest artificial structure of this kind in t*:e
western country. It was covered with forest trees of the native growth,
some of which were several feet in diameter, and it "-zd indeed, essen-
tially the same look and character, whic). I found it to present, twenty-
five years afterwards, when I made a special visit to this remarkable
mausoleum to verify the character of some of its antiquarian contents.
On ascending the flat summit of the mound, I found a charming prospect
around. The summit was just 50 feet across. There was a cup-shaped
concavity, in its centre, exciting the idea that there had been some internal
sub-structure which had given way, and caused the earth to cave in.
This idea, after having been entertained for more than half a century,
was finally verified in 1838, when Mr. Abelard Tomlinson, a grandson
of the first proprietor, caused it to be opened. They discovered two
remarkable vauhs, built partly of stone, and partly of logs, as was judged
from the impressions in the earth. They were situated about seventeen
feet ap?.rt, one above the other. Both contained bones, the remains of
human skeletons, along with copper bracelets, plates of mica, sea shells,
heads of wrought conch, called " ivory" by the muUitude, and some other
relics, most of which were analogous to articles of the same kind occur-
ring in other ancient mounds in the west. The occasio.i would not indeed
have justified the high expectations which had been formed, had it not been
for the discovery, in one of the vaults, of a small flat stone of an oval form,

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

containing an inscription in ancient characters. This inscription, which
promises to throw new light on the early history of America, has not
been decyphered. Copies of it have been sent abroad. It is thought,
by the learned at Copenhagen, to be Celtiberic. It is not, in their view,
Runic. It has, apparently, but one hieroglyphic, or symbolic figure.

A good deal of historical interest clusters about this discovery of the
mscribed stone. Tomlinson, the grandfather, settled on these flats in 1772,
two years before the murder of Logan's family. Large trees, as large as
any in the forest, then covered the flats and the mound. There stood in
the depression I have mentioned, in the top of the mound, a large beech
tree, which had been visited earlier, as was shewn by several names and
dates cut on the bark. Among these, there was one of the date of A. D.
1734. This I have seen stated under Mr. Tomlinson's own hand. The
place continued to be much visited from 1770 to 1790, as was shewn
by newer names and dates, and indeed, continues to be so still. There
was standing at the time of my first visit in 1818, on the very summit
of the mound, a large dead or decayed white oak, which was cut down,
it appears, about ten years afterwards. On counting its cortical layers,
it was ascertained to be about 500 years old. This would denote the
desertion of the mound to have happened about the commencement of
the 13th century. Granting to this, what appears quite clear^ that the in-
scription is of European origio, have we not evidence, in this fact, of
the continent's having been visited prior to the era of Columbus?
Visited by whom? By a people, or individuals, it may be said, who had
the use of an antique alphabet, which was much employed, (ahhough
corrupted, varied and complicated by its spread) among the native priest-
hood of the western shores and islands of the European continent, prior
to the introduction of the Roman alphabet.

The next object of antiquarian interest, in my descent, was at Gallipolis
— the site of an original French settlement on the west bank, which is
connected with a story of much interest, in the history of western
migrations. It is an elevated and eligible plain, which hud before been
the site of an Indian, or aboriginal settlement. Some of the articles found
in a mound, such as plates of mica and sea shells, and beads of the wrought
conch, indicated the same remote period for this ancient settlement, as
the one at Grave Creek Flats ; but I never heard of any inscribed articles,
or monuments bearing alphabetic characters.

All other interest, then known, on this subject, yielded to that which
was felt in witnessing the antique works at Marietta. Like many others
who had preceded me and many who have followed me, in my visit, I felt
while walking over these semi-military ruins, a strong wish to know,
who had erected works so different from those of the present race of In-
dians, and during what phasis of the early history of the continent ?
A covered way had, evidently, been constructed, from the margin of

PERSONAL RFMINISCENCE8.

the Muskingum to the elevdted square, evincing more than the ordi*
nary degree of military skill exercised by the Western Indians. Yet
these works revealed one trait, which assimilates them, in character, with
others, of kindred stamp, in the west. I allude to the defence of the open
gate-way, by a minor mound ; clearly denoting that the passage was to be
disputed by men, fighting hand to hand, who merely sought an advantage
in exercising manual strength, by elevation of position. The Marietta
tumuli also, agree in stylo with others in the Ohio valley.

A leaden plate was found near this place, a few years after this visit, of
which an account was given by Gov. Clinton, in a letter to the American
Antiquarian Society, in 1827, but the inscription upon it, which was in
Latin, but mutilated, proved that it related to the period of the French
supremacy in the Canadas. It appeared to have been originally deposited
at the mouth of the river Venango, A. D. 1749, durirg the reign of
Louis XV.

While at Marietta, our flotilla was increased by another ark from the
Muskingum, which brought to my acquaintance the Hon. Jesse B. Thomas,
of Illinois, to whose civilities I was afterwards indebted, on several occa-
sions. Thus reinforced, we proceeded on, delighted with the scenery of
every new turn in the river, and augmenting our circle of fellow travellers,
and table acquaintance, if that can be called a table acquaintance which
assembles around a rustic board. One night an accident befel us, which
threatened the entire loss of one of our flotilla. It so happened, at the
spot of our landing, that the smaller ark, being outside, was pressed by the
larger ones, so far ashore, as to tilt the opposite side into the stream below
the caulked seam It would have sunk, in a few minutes, but was held
up, partly by its fastening to the other boats. To add to the interest felt,
it was filled with valuable machinery. A congress of the whole travelling
community assembled on shore, some pitching pebble-stones, and some
taking a deeper interest in the fate of the boat. One or two unsuccessful
efibrts had been made to bail it out, but the water flowed in faster than
it cotrid be removed. To cut loose the rope and abandon it, seemed all
that remained. " I feel satisfied," said I, " to my Massachusetts friend,
that two men, bailing with might and main, can throw out more water,
in a given time, than is let in by those seams ; and if you will step in
with me, we will test it, by trying again." With a full assent and ready
good will he met this proposition. We pulled off our coats, and each
taking a pail, stepped in the water, then half-leg deep in the ark, and
began to bail away, with all force. By dint of determination we soon
had the satisfaction to see the water line lower, and catching new spirit
at this, we finally succeeded in sinking its level below the caulked seam.
The point was won. Others now stepped in to our relief The ark
and its machinery were saved. This little incident was one of those
which served to produce pleasurable sensations, all round, and led pei

•^

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

haps, to some civilities at a subsequent date, which were valuable to me.
At any rate, Mr. Thomas, who owned the ark, was so well pleased, that
he ordered a warm breakfast of toast, chickens, and cofTee on shore
for the whole party. This was a welcome substitute for our ordinary
breakfast of bacon and tea on board. Such little incidents serve as new
points of encouragement to travellers: the very shores of the river
looked more delightful, after we put out, and went on our way that morn-
ing. So much has a satisfied appetite to do with the aspect of things,
both without, as well as within doors.

The month of April had now fairly opened. The season was delight-
ful. Every rural sound was joyful — every sight novel, and a thousand
circumstances united to make the voyage one of deep and unmixed
interest. At this early season nothing in the vegetable kingdom gives
a more striking and pleasing character to the forest, than the frequent
occurrence of the celtis ohioensis, or Red Bud. It presents a perfect
bouquet of red, or rose-coloured petals, while there is not a leaf exfoliated
upon its branches, or in the entire forest.

No incident, further threatening the well being of our party, occurred
on the descent to Cincinnatti, where we landed in safety. But long before
we reached this city, its outliers^ to use a geological phrase, were encoun*
tered, in long lines and rafts of boards and pine timber, from the sources
of the Alleghany, and arks and flat-boats, from all imaginable places,
with ail imaginable names, north of its latitude. Next, steamboats lying
along the gravel or clay banks, then a steam-mill or two, puffing up
its expended strength to the clouds, and finally, the dense mass of brick
and wooden buildings, jutting down in rectangular streets — from high
and exceedingly beautiful and commanding hills in the rear. All was
suited to realize high expectations. Here was a city indeed, on the very
spot from which St. Clair set out, on his ill-fated expedition in 1791,
against the hostile Indians. Twenty-five years had served to transform
the wilderness into scenes of cultivation and elegance, realizing, with no
faint outlines, the gay creations of eastern fable,

-l-f

NO. III.

Cincinnati had, at this time, (1818,) the appearance of a rapidly grow*
ing city, which appeared to have, from some general causes, been suddenly
checked in its growth. Whole rows of unfinished brick buildings had
betm left by the workmen. Banks, and the offices of corporate and manu-
fiicturing companies, were not unfrequently found shut. Nor did it re-
quite long looking or much inquiry to learn that it had seen more pros-
perous times. A branch bank of the U. S. then recently established there,
was much and bitterly, but I know not how justly, spoken against. But if
there was not the same life and air in all departments, that formerly ex-
isted, there was abundant evidence of the existence of resources in the city
and country, which must revive and push it onward in its career and
growth, to rank second to no city \"est of the AUeghanies. This city owes
its origin, I believe, to John Cleves Symes, father-in-law of the late Presi-
dent Harrison, a Jerseyman by birth, who, in planning it, took Philadel-
phia as his model. This has imparted a regularity to its streets, and
squares, that visitors will at once recognize, as characteristic of its paren-
tage. It stands on a heavy diluvial formation of various layers of clay,
loam, sand, and giavel, disposed in two great plateaux, or first and second
banJ.£S, the lowest of which is some thirty or forty feet above the common
summer level of the Ohio. Yet this river has sometimes, but rarely, been
known to surmount this barrier and invade the lowermost streets of the
city. These diluvial beds have yielded some curious antiquarian relics,
which lead the mind farther back, for their origin, than the Indian race.
The most curious of these, if the facts are correctly reported to me, was
the discovery of a small antique-shaped iron horse-shoe, found twenty-five
feet below the surface in grading one of the streets, and the blunt end,
or stump of a tree, at another locality, at the depth of ninety-four feet, to-
gether with marks of the cut of an axe, and an iron wedge. I have
had no means to verify these facts, but state them ns credible, from the cor-
roborative testimony afforded them by other discoveries in the great geolo-
gical basin of the west, examined by me, which denote human occupancy
m America prior to the deposition of the last of the unconsolidated and
eocene series.

Our flotilla here broke up, and the persons who had formed its floating

8 "

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

community separated, each to pursue his several way, and separate viewf.
I made several acquaintances, whose names are recollected with pleasure.
Dr. S. invited me to dine with him, introduced me to his young partner,
Dr. Moorhead, and put me in the way of obtaining eligible private lodg-
ings. The three weeks I spent in this city were agreeably passed, varied
as they were, by short excursions in the vicinity, including the Licking
valley — a stream which comes in, on the Kentucky side, directly opposite
the city. I went, one day, to see an experimental structure, built at the
foot of the Walnut hills, with a very long pipe, or wooden chamber lead-
ing up their sides, and rising above their tops. This was constructed by
an ingenious person, at the expense of the late Gen. Lyttle, under the con-
fident hope of bis realizing a practical mechanical power from the rari-
faction of atmospheric air. There was confessedly a power, but the diffi-
culty was in multiplying this power, so as to render it practically appli-
cable to the turning of machinery. The ratio of its increase, contended for,
namely, the length of the pipe, appeared to me to be wholly fallacious, and
the result proved it so. The thing was afterwards abandoned. There
was an ancient mound here, which had not then been opened, but which
has since yielded a curious ornamented stone, bearing a kind of arabesque
figures, not dissimilar, in the style of drawing, to some of the rude sculp-
tured figures of Yucatan, as recently brought to light by Mr. Stephens
and Mr. Catherwood.

I received, one day, a note from one of the directors of the White Lead
Works, above the city, requesting me to visit it, and inspect in detail the
processes of the manufacture. The latter I found to be defective in the
mode of corroding the lead by the acetic acid ; there was also an unneces-
sary complication and amount or* machinery in bringing the oxide into
the condition of a good pigment, and putting it into kegs, which had been
very onerous in its cost, and was perpetually liable to get out of order.

It was during my stay here that I first felt the effects of the western
limestone waters m deranging the stomach and bowels, and paid for my
initiation into the habit, as all strangers must, by some days confinement.
Dr. M. brought me about, and checked the disease, without any perma-
nently injurious effects on my general health.

When I was ready to proceed down the river, I went to seek a passage
along the landing, but found no boat (steamboats were few and far be-
tween in those days.) While pacing the beach, I met a man of gentle-
manly appearance, who had experienced the same disappointment, and
was desirous to go forward in his journey. He told me, that he had
found a small row boat, well built, and fitted with seats, which could be pur-
chased for a reasonable sum ; that it would hold our baggage very well,
and he thought we could make a pleasant trip in it as far as Louisville at
the Falls, where the means of communication by steamboats were ample.
On examining the boat, and a little inquiry, I acceded to this proposition,

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

pur-

[ell,

jle.

«nd I had no cause to regret it This gentleman, whose name I have for<i
gotten, but which is somewhere among my papers, was a native of the
city of Nancy, but a resident of Baltimore. He was, like the city itself
I believe, Franco-German, speaking the two languages very well, and the
English with peculiarities. He had a benevolent and honest countenance
and social, agreeable manners, not two free, nor stiffly reserved ; and we
performed the trip without accident, although we had a narrow escape one
day from a sawyer, one of that insidious cast of these river pests, called in
western parlance, a sleeping sawyer. It was now the month of May ; the
atmosphere was mild and balmy, loaded ^ith the perfumes of opening
vegetation ; we took the oars and the helm alternately ; we had a constant
succession of pretty views ; we put ashore to eat and to sleep, and the whole
trip, which occupied some three or four days at the farthest, was perfectly
delightful

We put ashore at Vevay, where the Swiss had then newly introduced
the cultivation of the vine, to see the vineyards and the mode of cultivation.
I have since witnessed this cuhure on the banks of the Rhine, and found
it to be very similar. The vines are closely pruned and kept from becoming
woody, and are trained to slender sticks, which, are arranged with the
order of a garden bean-bed, which at the proper season, they much re*
semble. We also tasted the wine, and found it poor.

On the last day of the voyage, we took into our boat a young physician
— a Hollander, recently arrived in the country, telling him, that by way
of equivalent, we should expect him to take his turn at the oars. He was
a man of small stature — well formed, rather slovenly, yet pretty well
dressed, with blue eyes, a florid face, and very voluble. Of all that he
said, however, by far the most striking part, was his account of his skill
in curing cancer. It was clear that he was an itinerating cancer-doctor.
He said, amid other things, that he had received an invitation to go and
cure the Governor of Indiana. We now had Indiana on our right hand^
and Kentucky on our left.

These are the principal incidents of the trip. We reached our destina-
tion in safety, and landed on the superb natural sylvan wall, or park,,
which is formed by the entrance of Beargrass Creek with the Ohio, just
in front of, or a little above, Louisville. Here we sold our boat, took
separate lodgings, and parted. I found in a day or two, that my friend
from Nancy had a flourishing school for military tactics and the sword
exercise, where, at his invitation, I went to visit him. From this man, I
learned, as we descended the Ohio, that the right and left banks of a river,
in military science, are determined by the supposed position of a man
standing at its head, and looking dowmoards.

I found in the lime-stone rocks which form the bed of the river between
the town and Corn Island, the cornu ammonis and some other species of
organic remains ; and while I remained here, which was several weeks,

PERSONAL nEMINISCENCEa.

I wrote a notice for one of the papers, of a locality of manganese on Sand j
rirer^ Ky., and others of some other objects of natural history in the
west, which I perceived, by their being copied at the eastward, were well
taken. It was my theory, that there was a general interest felt in the
Atlantic States for information from the west, and this slight incident served
to encourage me.

The steamboat canal since constructed around the falls at this place, was
then a project only spoken of, and is here alluded to for no higher purpose
than to mentioi, that in its actual subsequent execution, we are informed
the workmen came, at the depth of fourteen feet below the surface of the
calcareous rock, to a brick hearth, covered with what appeared to be the
remains of charcoal and ashes. ■ ''

I took walks almost daily, on the fine promenade, shaded with lofty
trees, festooned with their native vines, along the Beargrass Creek, which
is the common place of landing for arks and boats. . On one of these oc-
casions, there came in a large ark, which had been freighted at Perryo-
polis, on the Yioughagany, some thirty miles from Pittsburgh. The two
proprietors were K. and K., Marylanders, both young men, or verging to
middle life, who had clubbed together the necessary funds, and in the spirit
of adventure, resolved on a trading voyage. There was something in the
air and manners of both, which 1 thought I could trust in for an agree*
able voyage, especially as they saw in me, not a rival in commerce of any
kind, but a mere observer, — a character which I found, on more than one
occasion, placed me on grounds of neutrality and advantage. Steamboats
are the worst vehicles ever invented by the ingenuity of man to make ob-
servations on a country, always excepting the last improvement on loco-
motive rail-roads. To a naturalist, especially, they are really horrible.
Not a tree or plant can be examined ; not a shell, or a rock certainly iden-
tified. Hundreds of miles are passed in a few hours ; the effect of speed
is to annihilate space ; town succeeds town, and object object, with such
rapidity, that there is no distinct time left for observation or reflection ; and
after the voyager has reached his point of destination, he is often seriously
in doubt, what he has seen, and what he has not seen, and is as much puz-
zled to put together the exact feature of the country's geography, as if he
were called to re-adjust the broken incidents of a night's dream. I had
yet another objection to this class of boats, at the era mentioned. Their
boilers and machinery were not constructed with elaborate skill and
strength ; their commanders were often intemperate, and a spirit of reckless
rivalry existed, -vhose results were not infrequently exhibited in exploded,
Slink, or grounded boats, and the loss of lives.

It is a regulation of law that pilots are provided for all boats, descending
the falls — a descent, by the way, which can only be made on the Indiana
aide. When this officer came on board, the owners thought best to go by
land to Shippingport. I had less at stake in its safety than they, ytt felt a

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

^o're to witness this novel mode of descent; nor did the result disappoint
me. Standing on the deck, or rather flat roof of the ark, the view was
interesting and exciting. The first point at which the mass of water
breaks was the principal point of danger, as there is here a powerful re-
flux, or eddy current, on the right hand, while the main velocity of the
current drives the vessel in a direction which, if not checked by tha large
sweeps, would inevitably swamp it. The object is to give this check, and
shoot her into tiie eddy water. This was done. The excitement ceased
in a few moments, and we passed the rest of the way with less exertion
to the men, and got down the leuiuinder of the fulid Jn perfect safety. All
this danger to the growing commerce of the west, is now remedied by the
Louisville canal, which, by a work of but two miles in length, which holds
the relative position of a string to the bow, connects the navigable waters
above and below those falls, and permits all river craft of the largest bur-
den to pass.

It was about the falls of the Ohio, or a little above, that I first saw the
gay and noisy paroquet, or little parrot of the west ; a gregarious bird,
whose showy green and yellow plumage makes it quite an object to be
noticed and remembered in a passage on the lower Ohio. One of these
birds, which had been wounded, was picked up out of the river, a few
miles below the falls. It was evident, from the occurrence of this species,
and other features in the natural history of the country, that we were now
making a rapid southing. The red-bud, the papajv, the buckeye, and the
cucumber tree, had all introduced themselves to notice, among the forest
species, below Pittsburgh ; although they are all, I think, actually known
to extend a little north of that latitude ; and we now soon had added to the
catalogue, the pecan and cypress, and the cane, with the constant attendant
of the latter, the green briar. I had no opportunity to examine the pecan,
until we reached the mouth of the Wabash and Shawneetown, Avhere I
went on a shooting excursion with a young Kentuckian, who gave me
the first practical exhibition of bringing down single pigeons and other
small game with the rifle, by generally striking the head or neck only.
[ had heard of this kind of shooting before, and witnessed some capital
still shots, but here was a demonstration of it, in brush and brier — catching
a sight as best one could. The ball used on these occasions was about
the size of a large buckshot.

Shawneetown is a word which brings to mind one of the North Ame-
rican tribes, who, between 1632 and the present time, figure as one of the
frontier actors in our history. They have, in this time, with the ubiquity
of one of their own genii, skipped over half America. They were once, cer-
tainly dwellers on the Savannah, if not, at a still earlier day, on the Suanee, in
Florida ; then fled north, a part coming down the Kentucky river, and a
part fleeing to the Delaware, and thence west. They are now on the
Konga, west of the Missouri. So much for the association of name&

PERSONAL REMINI8CEXCB8.

History never remembers any thing which she can possibly forget, and 1
found at least, one high-feeling personage here, who did not like the man>
ner in which I associated the modern town with reminiscences of the
savages. "Why, sir," said he, as we walked the deck of the ark, floating
down the Ohio, and getting nearer the place every moment, " we have n
bank there, and a court house ; it is the seat of justice for Gallatin county ;
— «nd a printing press is about to be established ; — it is a very thriving
place, and it bids lair to remain second to none below the Wabash." "All
this, truly," I responded, willing to reprove pride in an easy way, " is a great
improvement on the wigwam and the council-Are, and wampum coin-beads."
It is sometimes better to smile than argue, and I found it so on the present
occasion. I did not wish to tread on the toes of rising greatness, or pour
upon a love of home and locality, honorable ond praise-worthy in my
fellow traveller, the chilling influence of cold historical facts. My allu-
sions were the mere effect of the association of ideas, resulting from
names. If the residents of Shawne«>Tn'vn do not like to be associated with
the native race, who would not have exchanged a good bow and arrows
for all the court houses in Christendom, they should bestow upon the
place some epithet which may sever the ti»-

r-.i <^

■ I.

NO. IV.

After stopping a day or more at Shawneetown, and reconnoitenng its
▼icinity, I proceeded to the mouth of the Cumberland, and from thence,
after many days detention at that point waiting for a boat, to the mouth of
the Ohio. I found this to be a highly interesting section of the river, from
its great expanse and its fine water prospects. The picturesque calcareous
cliflls on the west banks, disphy a novel and attractive line of river scenery.
The Ohio had, from its commencement, well sustained the propriety of its
ancient appellation of the Beautiful River ; but it here assumed something
more than beautiful — it was majestic. Let it be borne in mind that this
stream, in the course of some seven or eight hundred miles flow from
Pittsburg to Shawneetown, had been swelled on the right and left hand by
the Scioto, the Muskingum, the Kentucky, the Miami, Green River, Wa-
bash, and other rivers of scarcely inferior size. It is still further aug-
mented, from the left bank, with those noble tributaries, the Cumberland
and Tennessee, which bring in the gathered drain of the middle ranges
of the AUeghanies. It is below Shawneetown, too, that the clifis of the
Cave-in-Rock-Coast present themselves on the west shore — with their as-
sociations of the early robber-era which has been commemorated by the
pen of fiction of Charles Brockden Brown. These clifis are cavernous^
and assume varied forms. They rise in bold elevations, which bear the
general name of the Knobs, but which are well worthy of the name of moun-
tains. Distinct from the interest they have by casting their castle-like
shadows, at sunset, in the pure broad stream, they constitute a kind
of Derbyshire in their fine purple spars, and crystalized galena and other
mineralogical attractions. I was told that a German of the name of Storch,
who pretended to occult knowledge, had, years before, led money and
mineral diggers about these Knobs, and that he was the discoverer of th«
fine fluates of lime found here.

One can hardly pass these broken eminences, ^yith the knowledge that
they tally in their calcareous structure and position with the rock forma-
tion of the Missouri state border, lying immediately west of them, without
rej[arding them as the apparent monuments of some ancient geological
change, which afTected a very wide space of country north of their posi-
tion. A barrier of this nature, which should link the Tennessee and Mis-

PERSONAL RKMIMftCENOES.

soari coaats, at Grand Tower, would have converted into an inland
the principal area of the present states of Illinois, Indiana, and Southern
Ohio. The lino of separation in this latitude is not great. It constitutes
the narrowest point between the opposing rock formations of the east and
west shores, so far us the latter rise through and above the soil.

I was still in a floating Monongahela ark as we approached this coast
of cliffs. The day was one of the mildest of the month of June, and the
surface of the water was so still and calm that it presented the appearance
of a perfect mirror. Our captain ordered alongside the skiff, which served
as his jolly boat, and directed the men to land me at the Great Cave. Its
wide and yawning mouth gave expectations, however, which were not
realized. It closes rapidly as it is pursued into the rock, and never could
have afforded a safe shelter for gangs of robbers whose haunts were
known. Tradition states, on this point, that its mouth was formerly closed
apd hid by trees and foliage, by which means the unsuspecting voyagers
with their upward freight were waylaid. We overtook the slowly float*
ing ark before it had reached Hurricane Island, and the next land we
made was at Smithiield, at the mouth of the Cumberland. While here,
several discharged Tennessee militiamen, or volunteers from the still un-
finished Indian war in the south, landed on their way home. They were
equipped ailer the fashion of western hunters, with hunting shirts and
rifles, and took a manifest pride in declaring that they had fought under
" old Hickory" — a term which has, since that era, become familiar to the
civilized world. I here first saw that singular excrescence in the vegeta-
ble kingdom called cypress knees. The point of land between the
mouth of the Cumberland and Ohio, was a noted locality of the cypress
tree. This tree puts up from its roots a blunt cone, of various size and
height, which resembles a sugar loaf. It is smooth, and without limb or
foliage. An ordinary cone or knee would measure eight inches in diam-
eter, and thirty inches high. It would seem like an abortive effort of the
tree to put up another growth. The paroquet was exceedingly abundant
at this place, along the shores, and in the woods. They told me that this
bird rested by hooking its upper mandible to a limb. I made several
shooting excursions into the neighbouring forests, and remember that I
claimed, in addition to smaller trophies of these daily rambles, a shrike
and a hystrix.

At length a keel boat came in from the Illinois Saline, commanded by
a Captain Ensminger — an Americo-German — a bold, frank man, very
intelligent of things relating to river navigation. With him I took passage
for St. Louis, in Missouri, and we were soon under weigh, by the force
of oars, for the mouth of the Ohio. We stopped a short time at a new
hamlet on the Illinois shore, which had been laid out by some speculators
of Cincinnati, but was remarkable for nothing but its name. It wai
called, by a kind of bathos in nomenclature, " America." I observed on

PERSONAL REMINISCENCE!.

the shores of the river at this place, a very recent formation of pudding*
stone, or rather a local stratum of indurated pebbles and clay, in which
the cementing ingredient wub )hu oxyde of iron. Chalybeate waters per*
colated over and amongst this mass, This was the last glimpse of consol*
idated matter. All below, and indeed far above, was alluvial, or of recent
origin. Nothing couiJ exceed thu fertile chaiacler of the soil, or its rank
vegetation and forest growth, as we appi niched the point of junction; but
it was a region subject to periodical overflows, the oras of which were very
distinctly marked by tufts and bunches of grass, limbs, and other floating
matter which had been lodged and left in the forks and broncbes of trees,
now fifteen or twenty feet above our heads. It was now the first day of
July, ^nd I felt the most intense interest as we approached and came to the
point of confluence. I had followed the Ohio, in all its sinuosities, a thou*
sand miles. I had spent more than three months in its beautiful and va*
ried valley ; and I had something of the attachment of an old friend for its
noble volume, and did not well like to see it about to be lost in the mighty
Mississippi. Broad and ample as it was, however, bringing in the whole
congregated drain of the western slopes of the AUeghanics and the table
lands of the Great Lakes, the contest was soon decided. The stream had,
at that season, sunk down to its summer level, and exhibited a transparent
blue volume. The Mississippi, on the contrary, was swelled by the melt*
ing snows of the Rocky Mountains, and was in its vernal flood. Coming
in at rather an acute angle, it does not immediately arrest the former, but
throws its waters along the Tennessee shores. It runs with prodigious
velocity. Its waters are thick, turbid, and replete with mingled and float*
ing masses of sand and other comminuted rock and floating vegetation,
trees, and rubbish. For miles the line of separation between the Ohio and
Mississippi waters was visible by its colour ; but long before it reaches the
Iron Banks, the modern site of Memphis — the Father of Waters, as it
is poetically- not literally, called — had prevailed, and held on its way to
make new conquests of the St. Francis, the White, the Arkansas, and
other noble streams.

Our captain, although he had no lack of self-confidence, did not seem to
be in haste to grapple with this new foe, by plunging at once into the tur*
bid stream, but determined to try it next morning. This left me, a good
part of the day, in a position where there was not much to reward inquiry.
I fished awhile from the boat's side, but was rewarded with nothing
besides a gar, a kind of sword, or rather billed fish, which appears to be
provided with this appendage to stir up its food or prey from a muddy
bottom. Its scales and skin are nearly as hard and compact as a shark's,
and its flesh is equally valueless. It is at this point that the town of Cairo
has since been located. There were, at the period mentioned, several
arks and flat*boats lying on the higher banks, where they had been moored
in high water. These now served as dwellings, and by cutting doors in

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

their sides they formed rude groceries and provision stores. Whatever
else, however, was to be seen at so low and nascent a point, the mosquito,
as night came on, soon convinced us that he was the true magnate of those
dominions.

The next morning at an early hour our stout-hearted commander put
his boatmen in motion, and turned his keel into the torrent ; but such was
the velocity of the water, and its opacity and thick turbidness, that I
thought we should have been precipitated down stream, and hurled against
sunken logs. Those who have ascended this stream in the modern era
of steamboats, know nothing of these difficulties. It seemed impossible to
stem the current. A new mode of navigation, to me at least, was to be
tried, and it was evidently one which the b'-st practised and stoutest-hearted
men by no means relished. These boats are furnished with a plank walk
on each side, on which slats are nailed to give a foothold to the men.
Each man has a pole of ash wood about 16 feet long, with a wooden knob
at the head to rest against the shoulder, and a blunt point at the other end
shod with iron. Planting these upon the bottom near shore, with their
heads facing down stream, the men bend all their force upon them, pro
pelling the boat by their feet in the contrary direction. This is a very
laborious and slow mode of ascent, which has now been entirely super
seded on the main rivers by the use of steam.

Such is the fury and velocity of the current, that it threatens at every
freshet to tear down and burst asunder its banks, and run lawless through
the country. Often whole islands are swept away in a short time. We
had an instance of this one night, when the island against which we were
moored, began to tumble into the channel, threatening to overwhelm us by
the falling earth and the recoil of the waves, and we got away to the main
shore Avith much effort, for night was set in, the current furious, and the
shore to which we were going entirely unknown. To have struck a
sunken log on such a traverse, under such circumstances, must have been
fatal. We got at length upon a firm shore, where we moored and turned
in at a late hour ; but a curious cause of alarm again roused us. Some
animal had made its appearance on the margin of the stream, not far below
us, which in the dimness of the night appeared to be a bear. All who
had arms, got them, and there was quite a bustle and no little excitement
among the cabin passengers. The inost knowing pronounced it to be a
white bear. It produced a snorting sound resembling it. It seemed furi-
ous. Both white and furious it certainly was, but after much delay, com-
mendable caution, and no want of the display of courage, it turned out to
be a large wounded hog, which had been shot in the snout and head, and
came to allay its fevered and festered flesh, by night, in the waters of the
Mississippi.

To stem the current along this portion of the river required almost
superhuman power. Often not more than a few miles can be made with

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

a hard daVs exertions. We went the first day six miles, the second about
the same distance, and the third eight miles, which brought us to the first
cultivated land along a low Hi"*- lot of the west shore, called the Tyewapety
Bottom. There were six or eight small farms at this spot ; the land rich,
and said to be quite well adapted for corn, flax, hemp, and tobacco. I ob-
served here the papaw. The next day we ascended but three miles and
stopped, the crew being found too weak to proceed. While moored to the
bank, we were passed by several boats destin" for St. Louis, which were
loaded with pine boards and plank from 01* t, on the sources of the Al-
leghany. They told us that sixty dollars }>t : thousand feet could be ob-
tained for them.

Additional men having been hired, we went forward the next day to a
point which is called the Little Chain of Rocks, where, from sickness In
some of the hands, another hah became necessary. It is at this point that
the firm cherty clay, or diluvial soil of the Missouri shore, first presents
itself on the banks of the river. This soil is of a sterile and mineral cha-
racter, I noticed beneath the first elevated point of it, near the river's edge,
a locality of white compact earth, which is called chalk, and is actually
used as such by mechanics. On giving a specimen of it, after my return
to New York in 1819, to Mr. John Griscom, he found it completely desti-
tute of carbonic acid ; it appears to be a condition of alumine or nearly
pure clay. Large masses of pudding-stone, disrupted from their original
position, were seen lying along the shore at this locality, being similar in
their character to that seen on approaching the mouth of the Ohio.

We ascended the river this day ten miles, and the next five miles, whiih
brought us to Cape Girardeau, at the estimated distance of fifty miles above
the mouth of the Ohio. At this place I was received wuh attention by one
of the principal residents, who, on learning that my object was to examine
the natural history of the country, invited me to his house. In rambling
the vicinity, they showed me a somewhat extra but dilapidated and
deserted house, which had been built by one Loramee, a Spanish trader,
who has left his name on one of the branches of the river St. Mary's of
Indiana. This old fabric excited a strong interest in my mind as I walked
through its open doors and deserted rooms, by a popular story, how true I
know not, that the occupant had been both a rapacious and cruel man,
siding with the Indians in the hostilities against our western people ; and
that he had, on one occasion, taken a female captive, and with his own
hands cut off her breasts.

The journey from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis occupied nineteen days,
and was fraught with scenes and incidents of interest, which I should de-
tail with pleasure were it compatible with my limits. Indeed, every day's
voyage along this varied and picturesque shore presented objects of remark,
which both commended themselves to my taste, and which the slow mode
of ascent gave me full means to improve. This might be said particularly

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

of its geological structure and its niine|aIogical productions — themes which
were then fresh and new, but which have lost much of their attractions by
the progress which natural science has made in the country during six
and twenty years. To these topics it is the less necessary to revert, as
they were embraced in the results of my tour, given in my " View of the
Mines;' published in 1819.

The article improperly called pumice, which floats down the Missouri
during its floods, from the burning coal banks in the Black Hills, I first
picked up on the shore in the ascent above Cape Girardeau, and it gave
me an intimation that the waters had commenced falling. We came to,
the same night, at a well known fountain, called the Moccasin Spring, a
copious and fine spring of crystal water, which issues from an elongated
orifice in the limestone rock.

While lying at the mouth of the river Obrazo, where we were detained
on account of hands, several boats touched at the place, carrying emigrants
from Vermont and New York, whose destination was the most westerly
settlements on the Missouri. At higher points in the ascent we encoun-
tered emigrants from Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina,
and Kentucky, which denotes the wide range of the spirit of migration at
the era. The ends of the Union seemed to be brought together by this
general movement towards the west. It was not uncommon to find rep-
resentatives from a great number of the states in these accidental meetings ;
they were always of a social and highly friendly character, and the eflect
of such a system of intercommunication and residence, from districts widely
separated, could not but be highly auspicious in promoting uniformity of
manners and opinions, and assimilating customs, dress, and language.
If long contmued it must destroy provincialisms, and do muck to annihilate
local prejudices.

Every one who has ascended this stream will recollect the isolated cliflf*,
standing in its waters, called Grand Tower, with the corresponding de-
velopments of the coast on the contiguous shores, which tell the traveller
plainly enough that here is the site of some ancient disruptive process in
the physical history of the valley. The current has an increased velocity
in sweeping around this obstacle ; and we found, as the waters fell, that
there were numerous eddies and strong jets or currents along this precipi-
tous coast, which it required extra force to surmount. We saw one day a
number of pelicans standing on a sand bar. The wild turkey and quail
were daily encountered on shore.

Our approach to St. Genevieve was preceded by a sight of one of those
characteristic features in all the early French settlements in this quarter —
the great public field extending several miles, five miles I think, along the
banks of the river. St. Genevieve itself lies about a mile from the river,
and is concealed by irregularities in the surface. It is a highly charac-
teristic antique French town, and reminds one strongly of the style and

PERSONAL RKMINISCENCES.

manner of building of the provincial villages and towns of the parent
country, as still existing. Three miles above this place we came to a noted
point of crossing called the Little Rock Ferry ; a spot worthy of note at
that time as the residence of a very aged Frenchman, called Le Breton.
Statements which are believed to be true, made him 109 years old. From
his own account he was at the seige of Bergen-op-zoom, in Flanders; at
the seige of Louisburg; at the building of Fort Chartres, in Illinois; and
at Braddock's defeat. After his discharge, he discovered those extensive
lead mines in Washington county, about forty miles west of the river,
which still bear his name.

The coast between St. Genevieve and Herculaneum is almost one con-
tinuous clifTof precipitous rocks, which are broken through chiefly at the
points where rivers and streams discharge. Herculaneum itself is seated
on one of these limited areas, hemmed in by cliffs, which, in this case,
were rendered stiil more picturesque by their elevated shot towers. I
landed at this place about noon of my twenty-secoAd day's ascent, and find-
ing it a convenient avenue to the mine district, determined to leave my
baggage at a hotel till my return from St. Louis, and pursue the rest of the
journey to that place on foot. It was at this point that I was introduced to
IVIr. Austin, the elder, who warmly approved my plan of exploring the
mines, and offered every facility in his power to further it. Mr. Austin
was, he informed me at a subsequent stage of our acquaintance, a native
of Connecticut. He had gone early into Virginia and settled at Richmondi
where his eldest son was born, and afterwards removed to Wythe county.
In 1778 he went into Upper Louisiana, enduring severe sufferings and
the risk of life, in crossing the country by way of Vincennes to St. Louis,
'vhere he was well received by the Spanish local governor. He obtained
a grant of land in the present area of Washington county, the principal
seat of the older mines. About the time I went to Missouri, or soon after
it, he resolved to visit San Antonio, in Texas, with a view of introducing
a colony of Americans into that quarter. This plan he carried into execu-
tion, I think, in 1820, and returned with an ample grant; but he did not
live to carry its stipulations into effect, having died suddenly after his
return, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. Bryant, at Hazel Run.

Mr. Austin was a man of great vceal and fervour of imagination, and en-
tered very warmly into all his plans and views, whatever they were. He
was hospitable, frank, intelligent, and it is with feelings of unmixed plea-
sure, that I revert to my acquaintance with him, no less than with his talented
son, Stephen, and the excellent, benign, and lady-like Mrs. Austin, and
Other members of this intelligent family.

NO. V.

Herculaneum had nothing in common with it9 sombre Itahan proto-
type, which has been dug out of dust and ashes in modern times, but its
name. Instead of buried palaces and ruins of a hixurious age of marble,
bronze and silver, most of tlic houses were buih of squared oak loo-s, and
had bulky old fashioned chimneys, built outside with a kind of castelated
air, as they are seen in the old French and Dutch settlements in Canada,
and along the vallies of the Hudson and Mohawk. The arts of painting
and gilding and cornices, had not yet extended their empire here. Mr.
Austin's residence, was the only exception to this remark, I remember.
The Courts of Justice were content to hold their se.ssions in one of tho
oaken timber buildings named ; the county jail had a marvellous re-
semblance to an ample smoke-house, and my kind host, Ellis, who was a na
live of South Carolina, was content to serve up substantial and good cheer
in articles, not exhumed from a city buried in volcanic a.ihes, but in plain
fabrics of Staffordshire and Birmingham. In addition to the host-like and
agreeable resort, which travellers unexpectedly found at his hands, in a
mansion whose exterior gave no such signs, he presided over the depart-
ment of a public ferry, established at this place, across the wild and fluc-
tuating Mississippi; and had he kept note book, he could have given
account of many a one, from other lands, with golden hopes of the far
west, whom he had safely conducted, against the most adverse floods, to
the Missouri shore. I found a few old books at his house, which showed
that there had been readers in his family, and which helped to while
away moments, which every traveller will find on his hands.

I have intimated that there was nothing in the way of the antique, in
Herculaneum, but its name. To this I might add, that there was no ex-
ception, unless it be found in the impressions of objects, in the structure
of the rocks, in this quarter, denoting a prior age of existence. I was
shown an impression, in the surface of a block of limestone, quarried here,
which was thought to resemble a man's foot. It did not appear to me to
bear this similitude, but was rather to be referred to some organic extinct
forms, which are not yet well understood.

Having passed a couple of days here, I set out early one moining,

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

on foot, for St. Louis, accompanied by two young men from Pennsylvaaiaj
with whom I had become acquainted on prior parts of my route. They
had come with an adventure of merchandize from the waters of the
Yioughagany, and were desirous of seeing the (then) capitol of the Terri-
tory. Nothing untoward occurred, until we reached and crossed the
river Merrimack, where night overtook us, and set in with intense dark-
ness, just as we reached the opposite shore. There was but one house in
the vicinity ; and nut distant more than a mile, but such was the intensity
of the darkness, owing to clouds and a gathering storm, that we lost the
road, wandered in the woods for some hours, during which the rain com-
menced, and were at length directed to the house we sought, by the faint
and occasional tinkling of a cow bell.

We travelled the next morning twelve miles, to breakfast at the antique
6oking village of Carondalet. The route lies over an elevated tract of
uplands, eligibly situated on the right bank of the Mississippi, in which
a growth of wild prairie grass and flowers, filled up the broad spaces be-
tween the trees. There was no habitation visible on the route — a stand-
ing spring under a ledge of rocks, about half way, was the only spot
where we could get a drop of water to allay our thirst — for it was a hot
August day. We encountered several deer, and from the frequent occur-
rence of their tracks, deemed such an occurrence to be common. It is on
this elevated and airy tract, that the site of Jeflerson Barracks, has since
been judiciously established by the government.

Beyond Carondalet, the country has the appearance of a grown-up
heath. It is a bushy uninviting tract, without mature forest trees. The
most interesting feature we saw, consisted of a number of regular depres-
sions, or cup-shaped concavities in the soil, caused by the passage of
springs over a clay basis, upon which there is deposited a heavy diluvial
stratum of sand, mixed earth and pebbles. Within about three miles of the
city, this heathy and desolate tract began to assume a cultivated character ;
dwellings and gardens soon succeeded, and we found ourselves, by almost
imperceptible grades, introduced into the city, which we reached about
four o'clock m the afternoon. On entering its ancient Spanish barriers,
we noticed one of the old stone towers, or defences, which constituted a
part of the enclosure. This town, I afterwards learned, had been regu-
larly walled and fortified, during the possession of the country by the/
Spanish crown. As soon as I had taken lodgings, I called on R. Petti-
bone Esq., a friend formerly of Vernon, in western N. Y. who had estab-
lished himself in this central city of the west, in the practice of the law;
he was not in, at the moment, but his family received me with cordiality.
He returned my visit in the evening, and insisted on my taking up my
quarters at his house. The time that I spent here, was devoted to the
most prominent objects which the town and its vicinity presented to in-
terest a stranger, such as the private museum of the late Gea. Wm. Clark,

PERSONAL RBBflNISCENCES.

containing many articles of rich and valuable Indian costume ; the large
natural mounds above the city, and the character of the rock formation
along the shores of the river, which w is said to have had the impressions
of human feet, on its original surface. The latter I did not see till the
summer of 1821, when the block of stone containing them was examined
in Mr. Rapp's garden, at Harmony, on the Wabash.

My inclinations having led me, at this time, to visit the extensive lead
mines, southwest of this city, on the waters of the Merrimack, I lost no
time in retracing my way to Herculaneum, by descending the Mississippi.

When 1 was prepared to descend the river, the two gentlemen who
had been my travelling companions, on the journey up, had completed
the business of their adventure, and offered me a seat, in a small boat,
under their control. It was late in the afternoon of the day that this
arrangement was proposed, and it was dusk before we embarked ; but it
was thought the village of Cahokia, some five or six miles below, could
be reached in good season. A humid and misty atmosphere rendered the
night quite dark, and we soon found ourselves afloat on the broad current
of the stream, without knowing our position, for it was too intensely dark
to descry the outlines of either shore. Being in a light open boat, we
were not only in some peril, from running foul of drifting trees, but it
became disagreeably cold. On putting in for the Illinois shore, a low
sandy bar, or shoal was made, but one of my companions who had landed
came running back with an account of a bear and her cub, which caused
us to push on about a mile further, where we passed the night, without
beds or fire. Daylight disclosed to us the fact that we had passed Caho
kia: we then crossed over to the Missouri shore, and having taken break
fast at Carondalet, continued the voyage, without any further misadvei*
ture, and reached Herculaneum at noon.

I lost no time in preparing to visit the mines, and having made arrang*
ments for my baggage to follow, set out on foot for Potosi. The first daj
I proceeded eighteen miles, and reached Steeples, at the head of th*
Zwoshau, or Joachim river, at an early hour. The day was excessively
hot, and the road lay for the greater part of the distance, over a ridge of.
land, which afforded no water, and very little shelter from the sun's rays.
I met not a solitary individual on the route, and with the exception of the
small swift footed lizard, common to the way side, and a single wild turkey,
nothing in the animal kingdom. The antlers of the deer frequently seen
above the grass, denoted it however to abound in that animal. I was con-
strained while passing this dry tract, to allay my thirst at a pool, in a ru',
not, however, without having (Ksconcerted a wild turkey, which had cou-s
apparently for the same purpose.

Next day I crossed the valley of Grand or Big river, as it is commonly
called, and at the distance of twelve miles from the Joachim, I entered the
mining village of Shibboleth — the feudal seat, so to say, of the noted

DA COT AH WOMAN AND CHILD.

mil
>n

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

"John Smith T." of whose singularities rumour had already apprized me.
Here was a novel scene. Carts passing with loads of ore — smehing fur
naoes, and fixtures, and the half-hunter, half-farmer costumes of the ptoup
of men who were congregated about the principal store, told mt Ty
plainly, that I was now in the mining region. Lead digging and dis-
covering, and the singular hap-hazards of men who had suddenly got rich
by finding rich beds of ore, and suddenly got poor by some folly or extra-
vagance, gave a strong colouring to the whole tone of conversation at thiir
spot, which was carried on neither in the mildest or most unobtrusive way ;
quite a vocabulary of new technical words burst upon me, of which it was
necessary to get the correct import. I had before heard of the pretty
term, " mineral blossom," as the local name for radiated quartz, but here
were tiff (sulphate of barytes), glass-tiff (calcareous spar); " mineral sign,"
and a dozen other words, to be found in no books. At the head of these
new terms stood the popular word "mineral," which invariably meant
galena, and nothing else. To hunt mineral, to dig mineral, and to smell
mineral, were so many operations connected with the reduction of th«
ores of galena.

I soon found the group of men about the village store, was a company
of militia, and that I was in the midst of what New Yorkers call a " train-
ing," which explained the hunter aspect I had noticed. They werit
armed with rifles, and dressed in their every day leather or cotton hunting
shirts. The officers were not distinguished from the men, either because
swords were not easily procured, or more probably, because they did not
wish to appear with so inefficient and useless an arm. " Food for powder,"
was the first term that occurred to me on first surveying this group of men,
but nothing could have been more inapposite ; for ahhough like " lean
Jack's" men, they had but little skill in standing in a right line, never
were men better skilled for personal combat, — from the specimens given, I
believe there was hardly a man present, who could not drive a bullet into
the size of a dollar at a hundred yards. No man was better skilled in this
art, either with rifle or pistol, than the Don of the village, the said John
Smith T, or his brother, called "the Major," neither of whom travelled,
or eat, or slept, as I afterwards witnessed, without their arms. During
my subsequent rambles in the mine country, I have sat at the same table,
slept in the same room, and enjoyed the conversation of one or the other,
and can say, that their extraordinary habit of going fully armed, was
united in both with courteous manners, honourable sentiments, and high
chivalric notions of personal independence ; and I had occasion to notice,
that it was none but their personal enemies, or opponents in business, thai
dealt in vituperation against them. John Smith T. was doubtless a man
of singular and capricious humours, and a most fiery spirit, when aroused;
of which scores of anecdotes are afloat. He was at variance with several

of his most conspicuous neighbours, and, if he be likened to the lion of

■W§ PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

the forest, it will be perfectly just to add, that most of the leanei animals
stood in fear of him.

My stop here had consumed some time, but thinking I could 'Still reach
Mini a Burton, I pushed on, but had only proceeded a couple of miles
when I was hastily compelled to seek shelter from an impending shower.
As it was late, and the storm continued, I remained at a farm house, at
Old Mines during the night. They gave me a 5>upper of rich fresh
milk and fine corn bread. In the morning, a walk of three miles brought
me to Potosi, where I took lodgings at Mr. Ficklin's, proprietor of the
principal inn of the place. Mr. F. was a native of Kentucky, a man of
open frank manners, and most kind benevolent feelings, who had seen
much of frontier life, had lived a number of years in Missouri, and now
at a rather advanced period of life, possessed a fund of local knowledge
and experience, the communication of which rendered the time I spent at
his house both profitable and pleasing.

I reached Potosi on the second of \ugust. The next day was the day
of the county election*, which brought together the principal miners and
agricultural gentlemen of the region, and gave me a favourable oppor^
tunity of forming acquaintance, and making known the object of my visit.
I was particularly indebted to the civilities of Stephen F. Austin, Esq.
for these introductions. During my stay in the country he interested
himself in my success, omitted no opportunity of furthering my views, and
extending my acquaintance with the geological features and resources of
the country. He offered me an apartment in the old family mansion of
Durham Hall, for the reception and accumulation of my collections.
Mr. Bates and sons, Mr. Jones and sons, Mr. Perry and brothers, Mr.
Elliot, Mr. Brickey, Mr. Honey and others, seconded these civilities. In*
deed the friendly and obliging disposition I uniformly met with, from the
inhabitants of the mines, and the mine country generally, is indelibly im-
pressed on my memory

I was now at the capital of the mines, and in a position most favour-
able for obtaining true information of their character and value.
Three months devoted to this object left scarcely a nook of the country
which I had not either personally explored, or obtained authentic
information of I found forty-five principal mines, or mineral diggings
as some of them are called, within a circumference of less than forty
miles. Potosi, and its vicinity yielded annually about three millions
of pounds of lead, and furnished employment to the estimated num-
ber, of eleven to twelve hundred hands. The business was however de-
pressed, like almost every other branch of domestic arts or industry,
aAcr the peace of 1814, owing to the great influx and low prices of

* About 70 votes were polled in the town of Potosi.
ntnmed by the county to the Territorial Legislature.

Mr. Austin, the younger, w«w

I..

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

foreign products, and the general derangement ot currency and credit
Prepared ore, delivered at the furnaces, was worth two dollnrs per cwt.,
paid chiefly in merchandize. Pig lead sold at four dollars, at the mines ;
and but half a dollar higher on the banks of the Mississippi, and was
quoted at seven dollars in the Atlantic cities. Judged from these data,
there appeared no adequate cause for ihe alleged depression ; for in addi-
tion to the ordinary merchant's profit, in the disposition of his stock to the
operative miner or digger of ore, a profit of one cent and a half pnr pound
was left, over and above the cost of transportation to an eastern market ;
besides, the difference in exchange, between the south western and eastern
cities. And it was evident, from a view of the vvl'olo subject, that the
business could not only be profitably pursued, with economical arrange-
ments, but that the public domain, upon which most of the mines are
seated, might be made to yield a revenue to the treasury, at least equal to
the amount of this article required for the national consumption, over the
expenses, the superintendence and management. Besides which, there
was groat room for improved and economical modes of mining; and there
was hardly one of the manipulations, from the making of a common drill
or pick, to the erection of a smelting furnace, which did not admit of salu-
tary changes for the better. The recovery of the mere waste lead, in its
sublimated form, around the open log furnaces of the country, promised to
add a valuable item to the profit of the business. The most wasteful, hurried^
and slovenly of all systems is pursued in exploring and raising the ore, by
A'hich the surface of the country is riddled with pit holes, in the most
random manner ; the loose and scattered deposits in the soil hastily gathered
up, and the real lead and vems of metal left, in very many cases, untouched.
Thousands of square acres of land were thus partially rifled of their
riches, and spoiled, and condemned, without being exhausted. By having
no scientific knowledge of minerol veins and geological structure, as prac-
tically adopted in Europe, all rule in the process of mining and raising
the ore had degenerated into mere guess work, and thousands of dollars
had been wasted, in some places, where the application of some of the
plainest mining principles, would not have warranted the removal of n
shovel full of earth. In short, there was here observed, a blending of the
miner and farmer character. Almost every farmer was a miner. Plan-
ters who had slaves, employed them part of the year in mining; and
every miner, to some extent was a farmer. Because the ore found in the
clay beds did not occur in east and west, or north and south lines, or its
rules of deposition had not been determined by careful observation, all
success in the exploration was supposed to be the result of chance. And
whoever surveys the mineral counties of Missouri, \vL\ be ready to con-
clude, that more labour has been thrown away in the helter-skelter sys-
tem of digging, than was ever applied to well directed or profitable

|| riCRSONAL RA.MINISCENCEa

mining. Had an absolute monarch called for this vast an.ount of labour
from his people to build some monument, he would have been declared
the greatest tyrant Indend, I know of no instance in America, of the
misapplication of so great on amount of free labour — labour cheerfully
bestowed, and thrown away without a regret. For the losers in mining,
like the adventurers in a lottery, have no one to blame but themselves.

It appeared to me that a statement of the actual condition of the mines,
would be received with attention at Washington, and that u system for the
better management of them could not but bo approved, were it properly
brought forward. I determined to miiko the attempt. It did not, how-
ever, appear to me, that nature had limited the deposits of ore to one spe-
cies, or to so limited an area, nnd I sought means to extend my personal
* examinations farther west and south. To bring this about, and to collect
the necessary information to base statements on, in a manner correspondent
to my wishes, required time, and a systematic mode of recording facts.

To this object, in connexion with the natural history of the country, I
devoted the remainder of the year, and a part of the following year. I
soon found, after reaching the mines, that I had many coadjutors in the
business of collecting specimens, in the common miners, some of whom
were in the habit of laying aside for me, any thing they found, in their
pits and leads, which assumed a new or curious character. Inquiries and
applications relative to tho mineralogy and structure of the country were
made, verbally and by letter, from many quarters. I established my resi-
dence at Potosi, but made excursions, from time to time, in various direc-
tions. Some of these excursions were fruitful of incidents, which would
be worth recording, did the cursory character of these reminiscences per-
mit it. On one occasion, I killed a horse by swimming him across the
Joachim river, at its mouth, whilst he was warm and foaming from a hard
day's ride. He was put in the stable and attended, but died the next day,
as was supposed, from this sudden transition. There was scarcely
a mine or digging in the country, for forty miles around, which I did not
personally examine ; and few persons, who had given attention to the
subject, from whcm I did not derive some species of information.

The general hospitality and frankness of the inhabitants of the mine
country could not but make a favourable impression on a stranger. The
custom of riding on- horseback, in a region which affords great facilities
for it, makes every one a horseman and a woodsman, and has generated
something of the cavalier air and manners. But nothing impressed me
more, in this connexion, than the gallant manner, which I observed here,
of putting a lady on horseback. She stands facing you, with the bridle
in her right hand, and gives you her left. She then places one of her feet
in your left hand, which you stoop to receive, when, by a simultaneous
exertion and spring, she is vaulted backwards into the saddle. Whether

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

Ihu be a transmitted Spanish custom, I know not, but I havo not observed
it in the French, or American settlements west of the Allcghanies.

The earth(|iinlce8 of 1812, which were so disastrous in South America,
are known to have propagated themselves towards the north, and they ex-
erted some striking effects in the lower part of the valley of the Missis-
sippi, sendini^r down into the channel of the latter, large areas of deluvial
ea.th, as was ir-^tanced, in a remarkable manner, at New Madrid. Por-
tions of the furi'St, back of this town, sunk, and gave place to lakes and
lagoons. These effects were also witnessed, though in a milder form, in
the more solid formations of the mine country. Soon oAer reaching
Potosi, I visited the Mineral Fork, a tributary of the Merrimack, where
some of these effects had been witnesscil. I descended into the pit and
crevices of the Old Mines. These mines were explored in the metallifer-
ous rock. Every thing had an old and ruinou.s look, for they had been
abandoned. Large quantities of the ore hud been formerly raised at this
mine, which was pursued into a deep fissure of the limestone rock. I de-
scended into this fissure, and found among the rubbish ond vein stones,
large elongated and orbicular masses of calc spur, the outer surfaces of
which bore strong marks of geological abrasion. They broke into rhombs
very transparent, and of a honey-yellow colour. Mr. Elliot, the intelli-
gent proprietor of this mine, represented the indications of ore to have beeu
flattering, although every thing was now at a stand. Masses of sulphiuel
of zinc, in the form of blende, were noticed at this locality. Mr. Elliot
invited me to dine, and he filled up the time with interesting local remin-
iscences. He stated, among other facts, that a copious spring, nt these
mines, dried up during the remarkable earthquakes of 1812. These
earthquakes appear to have discharged their shocks in the direction of the
stratification from the southwest to the northeast, but they spent their force
west of the Mississippi. Their chief violence was at Natchitoches and
New Madrid, at the latter of which they destro) ed an immense area of
alluvial land. Their effects in the Ohio valley, lying exactly in the direc-
tion of their action, were slight. A Mr. Watkins, of Cincinnati, occom-
panied me on this examination, and rode back with me to Potosi.

On the 9th of August, I had dined with Samuel Perry, Esq., at Mine
a Burton, one of the principal inhabitants of the county, and was passing
the evening at Mr. Austin's, when Mr. and Mrs. Perry came suddenly in.
They had hardly taken seats, when a rabble of persons with bells and
horns sur^-ounded the house, and kept up a tumult that would have done
honor to one of the wildest festivals of Sl Nicholas, headed by Brom Bones
himself. This, we were told, was a Chlra 'iri. And what is a Chiraviri?
I am not deep enough read in French local customs to give a satisfactory
answer, but the custom is said to be one that the populace may indulge in,
whenever a marriage has taken place in the village, which is not in exact
accordance with their opinions o ' its propriety. I was, by this incident, in-

I'KIISOXAL RliailNlSCENCES.

formed of Mr. Perry's recent marriage, and should judge, moieovcr, that
he had exercised both taste and judgment in his selection of a partner.
The afiair of the Chiraviri is said to have been got up by some spiteful
persons.

Towards the middle of the month (12th,) I set out, accompanied by Mr.
James B. Austin, on horseback, for Herculaneum, by the way of Hazel
Run, a route displaying a mor > southerly section of the mine country than
I had before seen. A ride on horseback over the mine hills, offers one
of the most delightful prospects of picturesque sylvan beauty that can be
well conceived of The hills are, with a few exceptions, not precipitous
enough to make the ride irksome. They rise in long and gentle swells,
resembling those of the sea, in which the vessel is, by an easy motion, al-
ternately ui the top of liquid hills, or in the bottom of liquid vales. From
these hills the prospect extends over a surface of heath-grass and prairie
flowers, with an open growth of oaks, giving the whole country rather
the aspect of a park than a wilderness. Occasionally a ridge of pine
intervenes, and wherever there is a brook, the waters present the trans-
parency of rock crystal. Sometimes a range of red clay hillocks, put-
ting up rank shrubs and vines of species which were unhiawn before,
indicates an abandoned digging or mine. Farms and farm houses were
then few j and every traveller we met on horseback, had more or less the
bearing of a country cavalier, with a fine horse, good equipments, per-
haps holsters and pistols, sometimes a rifle, and always something of a
military air, betokening manliness and independence. Wherever we
stopped, and whoever we met on the way, there was evinced a courteous
and hospitable disposition.

We did not leave Poto i till afternoon. It was a hot August day, and it
was dusk before we entered the deep shady valley of Big River. Some
delay arose in waiting for the ferryman to put us across the river, and it
was nine o'clock in the evening when we reached Mr. Bryant's, at Hazel
Run, where we were cordially received. Our host would not let us leave
his house, next morning, till after breakfast. We rode to McCormick's,
on the Platten, to dinner, and reached Herculaneum before sunset. The
distance by this route from Potosi is forty-five miles, and the road, with
the exception of a couple of miles, presented a wholly new section of the
country.

The Mississippi was now low, displaying large portions of its margin,
and exhibiting heavy deposits of mud and slime, which broke into cakes,
as they dried in the sun. I know not whether these exhalations affected
me, but I experienced a temporary illness for a few days during this visit.
I recollect that v/e had, during this time, some severe and drenching rain
storms, with vivid and copious lightning, and heavy pealing thunder.
These drenching and rapid showers convert the brooks and rills of the
mine country to perfect torrents, and this explains one cause of the wash*

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

;the

gin.
Ices,

;ted

isit.

the
ish-

ing away and gullying of roads and streets, so remarkable on the west
bank of the Mississippi. My illness induced me to give up returning on
horseback ; and I set out, on the 1 8th of the month, in a dearborn, accom-
panied by Mrs. Austin. On descending the long hill, near Donnell's, be-
yond the Joachim, the evening was so dark that I became sensible I must
have got out of the road. I drove with the more care a few moments,
and stopped. Requesting Mrs. Austin to hold the reins, I jumped out
and explored the ground. I found myself in an abandoned, badly gullied
track, which would have soon capsized the wagon ; but leading the horse
by the bridle, I slowly regained my position in the direct road and got
down the hill, and reached the house without further accident. Next day
we drove into Potosi hy four o'clock in the afternoon. This was my
second visit, and 1 now accepted a room and quarters for my collection,
at their old homestead called Durham Hall.

From this period till the middle of September, I pursued with unre-
mitting assiduity, the enquiry in hand, and by that time had made a cabi-
net collection, illustrating fully the mineralogy, and, to some extent, the geo-
logical structure of the country. I erected a small chemical furnace for
assays. Some of the clays of the country were found to stand a high
heat, and by tempering them with pulverized granite, consisting largely
of feldspar, I oDiauied crucibles that answered every purpose. Some of
the specimens of lend treated in the dry way, yielded from 75 to 82 pel
trni.

r»o.MiiHnt TtiTP'^' ;i, ^;,y way, on the 25th of August, a fact which led to
me discovery of a primitive tract, on the southern borders of the mine
country, the true geological relation of which to the surrounding second-
ary formations, formed at the outset rather a puzzle. I rode out on horse-
back on that day, with Mr. Stephen F. Austin, to Miller's, on the Mineral
Fork, to observe a locality of manganese, and saw lying, near his mills,
some large masses of red syenitic granite, which appeared to have been
freshly blasted. He remarked that they were obtained on the St. Francis,
and were found to be the best material at hand for millstones. On exami-
nation, the rock consisted almost exclusively of red feldspar and quartz.
A little hornblend'^ was present, but scarcely a trace of mica. This
species of syenitic granite, large portions of which, viewed in the field,
are complete syenite, and all of which is very barren of crystals, I have
smce found on the upper Mississippi, and throughout the northwestern
regions above the secondary latitudes. The hint, however, was not lost.
I took the first opportunity to visit the sources of the St. Francis : having
obtained letters to a gentleman in that vicinity, I set out on horseback
for that region, taking a stout pair of saddle-bags, to hold my collections.
I passed through Murphy's and Cook's settlements, which are, at the
present time, the central parts of St. Francis county. Mine a la Motte
ufibrde'l some new facts in its mineralogical features. I first saw this red

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.

syenite, in place, on Blackford's Fork. The westernmost limits of this
ancient mine extends to within a mile or two of this primitive formation.
The red clay formation extends to the granitic elevations, and conceals
their junction with the newer rock. The nearest of the carboniferous
series, in place, is on the banks of Rock Creek, at some miles' distance.
It is there the crystalline sandstone. How far this primitive district of
the St. Francis extends, has not been determined. The St. Francis and
Grand rivers, both have their sources in it. It is probable the Ozaw Fork
of the Merrimack comes from its western borders. Not lees than twenty
or thirty miles can be assigned for its north and south limits. The Iron
mountain of Bellvieu is within it. The vicinity of the pass called the
Narrows, appears to have been the locality of former volcanic action. A
scene of ruder disruption, marked by the vast accumulation of broken
rock, it would be difficult to find. Indeed the whole tract is one of high
geological, as well as scenic interest. Had the observer of this scene
been suddenly dropped down into one of the wildest, broken, primitive
tracts of New England, or the north east angle of New York, he could
not have found a field of higher physical attractions. Trap and green-
stone constitute prominent tracts, and exist in the condition of dykes in
the syenite, or feldspathique granite. I sought in vain for mica in the
form of distinct plates. Some of the greenstone is handsomely porpho-
rytic, and embraces green crystals of feldspar. Portions of this rock art
sprinkled with masses of bright sulphuret of iron. Indeed iron in several
of its forms abounds. By far the largest portion of it is in the shape of
the micaceous oxyde. I searched, without success, for the irridescen
specular variety, or Elba ore. In returning from this trip, I found Wolf
river greatly swollen by rains, and had to swim it at much hazard, with
my saddle-bags heavily laden with the results of my examination. It was
dark when I reached the opposite bank : wet and tired I pushed for the
only house in sight As I came to it the doors stood open, the fences
were down, a perfect air of desolation reigned around. There was no
living being found ; and the masses of yawning darkness exhibited by
the untenanted rooms, seemed a fit residence for the genius of romance.
Neither ny horse nor myself were, however, in a temper or plight for an
adventure of this kind, and the poor beast seemed as well pleased as I
was, to push forward from so cheerless a spot. Four miles' riding through
an untenanted forest, and a dark and blind road, brought us to a Mr.
Murphy s, the spons:ir of Murphy's «ettlement.

SCENES AND ADVENTURES

IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.
A. D. 1818 AND 1819.

FROM THE OKIOIN'AL NOTES AND JOURNAL.

igh

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

Very little, it is conceived, is necessary to enable the reader to determine
thj writer's position on the extreme south western frontiers, in the year
IS18. He had spent the summer of that year in traversing the mine dis-
trict, which extends along the right bank of the Mississippi, between the
mcnth of the Maromeg and the diluvial clifls south of Cape Girardeau,
extendinff west and south westward to the sources of the St. Francis. In
these mineralogical rambles, which were pursued sometimes on foot, and
sometimes on horseback, or wheels, he made acquaintance with many
estimable men, amongst whom he may name the Austins, father and son,
the late Col. Ashley, John Rice Jones, Esq., and many others who are
etill living, by all whom, his object in visiting the country was cordially
approved and encouraged, at all time.s. He also became acquainted with
practical miners, and persons of enterprize who were not only familiar
with the settled frontiers, but who had occasionally penetrated beyond
them, into the broad expanse of highlands, now geographically known
under the term of, the Ozark Chain. Geologically considered, the mine
country is but the eastern flanks of this chain, which e.xtends flush to the
banks of the Mississippi, and has its terminus in that elevated range of
mural cliffs, which form so striking and often picturesque a display, be-
tween St. Genevieve and St. Louis. There was, at the time, a general
apprehension felt and expressed, by hunters and others who had pene-
trated those. wilds in quest of deer and buffiilo, or of saltpetre-earth in the
limestone caves, of the predatory tribe of theOsages. — a people who had for
years enjoyed the bad reputation of being thieves and plunderers. All
concurred, however, in the interesting character of the country extending
in a general course, south-westwardly, from the junction of the Missouri
with the Mississippi. He felt an ardent desire to penetrate this terra
incognita. He could not learn that any exploratory journey had been
made towards the Rocky Mountains, since the well known expeditions of
Lewis and Clark, up the Missouri, and of Lieut. Pike, across the upper
region of the Arkansas, to Sante Fe and Chihuahua. Breckenridge had

ADVENTURES IN THE OZAUK MOUNTAINS.

subsequently published an account of a trip to Council Bluffs.* But nei-
ther of these routes crossed the wide and mountanious tracts referred to, or
gave any definite information respecting them. Viewed on the map, these
routes formed the general exterior outlines, but they left the interior filling
up to be supplied, — or, if supplied at all, it was too often with such vague

phrases as these — " Here are salt mountains." " The is supposed to

take its rise here." " Volcanic hills," and so forth. The geology of the
country furnished no indications whatever of the probability of the latter
remark. The kind of pseudo-pumice found floating down the Missouri,
in high water, had been stated by Lewis and Clarke, to have a far more
ren.ote. and local origin. The description of rock salt, in mountain mass,
had long been numbered by popular belief, among the fanciful creations
of an exciting political era ; and together with vi^estern volcanoes, had
settled down among those antiquarian rumours, which hold up, as their
prime item, the existence of the living mammoth " beyond the big lakes."

If the writer of the notes and journal which furnish these sketches,
was not swayed by any particular theories of this nature, yet was he not
free from the expectation of finding abundant materials, in the natural pro-
ductions and scenery and incidents of the journey, to reward him amply for
its perils. He had received from hunters several objects of the minerological
and geological collection which he made, while living at Potosi, and Mine a
Burton: from these wild borders, and, without pretending to estimate the
force of each parti, ular object which made up the sum of his motives, he
resolved to organize an expedition, with all Jie means he could muster,
and explore the region. The Austins, vyho had treated him with marked
kindness and attention, from the hour nf hip fim iunaiiin ;ii ,Viis5()(ir«,
were then preparing ' »i.-»ki- '.hor first movr>nirint into Tcxiis, and neld
out to him a fine thei..*,. ior cnierprise; but it was one not suited to his
particular means or taste. He recoiled from the subtlety of the Spanish
character ; and is free to confess, that he deemed it a far more attractive
latitude for the zea maize and the cotton plant, than for those pursuits
which led him to prefer the more rugged eminences of the Ozarks.
They, in the end, founded a republic, and he only made an adventurous
journey.

Having thus recalled the era and the motive of the following sketches,
the purport of these remarks is accomplished.

New York, 1844.

•
• The United States government, the ve'y next year, 18'9, Bent out Col. Long to the
VaUaw Stone.

ADVENTURES IX THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

CHAPTER I.

Things to be thought of before plungbg into the woods — Composition of the party, and
reasons why it was not more numerous — First night's encampment — Preliminaries
— Sleep in a deserted Indian lodge — A singular variety of the Fox Squirrel — The
Pack Horse escapes — Cross the elevation called the Pinery — Reach the outskirts of
the settlements in the valley of the Fourche A'Courtois.

Whoever would venture into the wilderness, should provide himself
with such articles of personal comfort or safety, as habits, forecast, or the
particular object of pursuit or observation, require. Every one will think
of arms and ammunition, but there are other things required to make life
pleasant, or even tolerable in the woods. This, prior excursions had
already taught me, but the lesson was repeated by those of greater expe-
rience. There were two persons who had agreed to go with me, and
stick by me, to the end, — the one a native of Massachussets, and the other,
of Connecticut, both like myself, new in the field, and unacquainted with
life in the woods. What they lacked in this art, they more than made up,
I thought, in intelligence, enterprise and resource. The name of the first
was Brigham. The other, I shall allude to, under the name of Enobitti.
Some three or four other persons, natives of the region, had consented to
go as hunters, or adventurers into a new field for emigration, but it so
happened, that when all was ready — when every objection to the tour had
been obviated, and every want supplied, and when my two eastern friends
came on to the ground, these persons all quietly, and with an easy flow of
reasons, backed out. In fact, my friend Brigham, was also obliged to
relinquish, the journey, after he had reached the point of rendezvous, i. e.
Potosi. A residence on the American bottom, in Illinois, the prior sum-
mer, had exposed him to the malaria of that otherwise attractive agricul-
tural area, and an intermittent fever, which he had thus contracted, forbade
his venturing beyond the settlements. So that when the appointed day
arrived, Enobitti and myself and my good landlord, Ficklin — a warm
hearted Kentuckian, who had been a hunter and border spy in his youth,
were all the persons I could number, and the latter, only went a short dis-
tance, out of the goodness of his heart, and love of forest adventure, to set
us, as it were, ori the way, and initiate us into some necessary forest arts.
It was a bright balmy day, — the 6th of November, 1818. The leaves were
rapidly falling from the trees, and strewed the road and made n musical
rustling among the branches, as we passed the summits of the mine hills,
which separated the valley of Mine d Burton from the next adjoining
stream. The air had just enough of the autumn freshness in it, to make
it inspiring ; and we walked forward, with the double animation of health

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS

and hope. As we passed through forests where the hickory abounded,
the ibx and grey squirrel were frequently seen preparing their winter's
stores, and gave additional animation to the scene. It was early in the
afternoon when we came into the valley of Bates' Creek — it was indeed
but a few miles from our starting point, where our kind Mentor told us, it
was best to encamp ; for, in the first place, it was the only spot where we
could obtain water for a long distance, and secondly, and more important
than all, it was necessary that we should re-arrange the load of our pack-
horse, take a lesson in the art of encamping, and make some other prepa-
rations which were proper, before we plunged outright into the wilderness.
This was excellent advice, and proper not only to novices, but even to the
initiated in the woodsman's art. It is always an object, to make, by this
initiatory movement, what is technically called a start.

I had purchased at Potosi, a horse — a low priced animal, rather old and
bony, to carry our blankets, some light cooking utensils and a few other
articles of necessity, and some provisions. He bore the not very appro-
priate name of" Butcher," whether from a former owner, or how acquired
I know not, but he was not of a sanguinary temper, or at least, the only
fighting propensity he ever evinced was to get back to Potosi, as quick as
possible, for he ran off the very first night, and frequently, till we got quite
far west, repeated the attempt. The poor beast soemed to know, irocmc-
tively, that he was going away from the land of corn fodder, and weald
have to sustain himself by picking up his meals out of sere-grass, often in
stony pkices, or in some dense and vine-bound cane bottom, where his hind
legs would often be bound fast by the green briai, while he reached for
ward in vain, to bite off a green leaf.

Here we took the first lesson in duly hobbling a horse — a very neces-
sary lesson : for if not hobbled, he will stray away, and cause great deten-
tion in the morning, and if not well hobbled he will injre his legs. We
found, near the banks of the stream, a deserted Indian lodge, which ap-
peared susceptible, by a little effort, of affording us a very comfortable
night's lodging, and would furthermore, should it rain, prove an effectual
shelter. This arrangement we immediately set about : the horse was un-
packed, his burden stowed in the lodge, the horse hobbled and belled, and
a fire lit. While my companion arranged the details of the camp, and
prepared to boil a cup of tea, I took my gun, and, with but little ado, shot
a number of fine fox and grey squirrels — beingthe first fruits of our exertions
in the chace. Among them, there was one of decidedly mongrel species.
If not, the variety was peculiar. He had a grey body, and a red foxy
tail, with the belly, nose, and tips of the cars black, thus uniting charac-
terestics of three varieties. One or two of these were added to our supper,
which we made with great satisfaction, and in due time spread out our
blankets, and slept soundly till day break.

On sallying out, I found the horse was gone, and set out in pursuit of

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

» i

him. Although his fore feet were tethered, so that he must lift up both
together, he made his way back, in this jumping manner, to his former
owner's door, in the village of Mine Si Burton. He had not, however,
kept the path, all the way, and losing his track after he got on the herbage,
my ear caught the sound of a bell far to the left, which I took to be his,
and followed. I pursued the sound of this bell, which was only heard
now and then, till afler crossing hill and dale, without deviation from the
line of sound, I came out at a farm yard, four miles below Potosi ; where
I found the bell to be attached to the neck of a stately penned ox. The
owmer, (who knew me and the circumstance of my having set out on the
expedition,) told me, that Butcher had reached the mines, and been sent
back, by a son of his former owner, to my camp. I had nothing left, but
to retrace my way to the same spot, where I found the fugitivs, and sat
down to a breakfast of tea, bread, ham and squirrel. The whole morning
had been lost by this misadventure. It was ten o'clock before we got the
animal packed and set forward.

Our second day's journey yielded but little to remark. We travelled
diligently along a rough mountainous path, across a sterile tract called the
Pinery. This tract is valuable only for its pine timber. It has neither
farming land nor mineral wealth. Not a habitation of any kind was
passed. We saw neither bird nor animal. The silence of desolation
seemed to accompany us. It was a positive relief to the uniform sterility
of the soil, and monotony of the prospect, to see at length, a valley before
us. It was a branch of the Maromeg, or Merrimack, which is called by
its original French term of Fourche a Courtois. We had travelled a dis-
tance of fourteen miles over these flinty eminences. The first signs of
human habitation appeared in the form of enclosed fields. The sun sunk
below the hills, as we entered this valley, and we soon had the glimpse of
a dwelling. Some woodcock flew up as we hastened forward, and we
were not long in waiting for our formal announcement in the loud and
long continued barking of dogs. It required the stern commands of their
master, before they slunk back and became quiet. It was a small log
tenement of the usual construction on the frontiers, and afibrded us the
usual hospitality and ready accommodation. They gave us warm cakes
of corn bread, and fine rich milk. We spread our blankets before an
evening's fire, and enjoyed a good night's rest. Butcher here, I think,
had his )ast meal of corn, and maue no attempt to return. With the
earliest streaks of day light, we re-adjusted his pack, and igain set
forward.

40 ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

CHAPTER II.

Roach a hunter's cabin on the outskirts of the wilderness — He agrees to accompany

us Enter the Ozark Hills — lliicoiuiter an encampment of the Delaware IndiantK^

Character of the country — Its alpine air, and the purity of its waters. — Ascend to
the source of the Merrimack— Reach a game country — Deserted by the hunter and
guide, and abandoned to individual exertioro in these arts.

Every joint labour, which proceeds on the theory, that each person en-
gjiged in it is to render some personal service, must, in order that it may
go on pleasantly and succeed well, have a definite order, or rule of pro-
gress ; and this is as requisite in a journey in the wilderness as any where
else. Our rule was to lead the pack horse, and to take the compass and
guide ahead, alternately, day by day. It was thought, I had the best art
in striking and making a fire, and when we halted for the night, always did
this, while my companion procured water and put it in a way to boil for
tea. We carried tea, as being lighter and more easy to make than coffee.
In this way we divided, as equally as possible, the daily routine of duties,
and went on pleasantly. We had now reached the last settlement on the
frontier, and after a couple of hours' walk, from our last place of lodging,
we reached the last house, on the outer verge of the wilderness. It was
a small, newly erected log hut, occupied by a hunter of the name of Ro-
berts, and distant about 20 miles from, and south-west of Potosi. Our ap-
proach here was also heralded by dogs. Had we been wolves or pan-
thers, creeping upon the premises at midnight, they could not have
performed their duty more noisily. Truly this was a very primitive
dwelling, and as recent in its structure as it was primitive. Large fallen
trees lay about, just as the axeman had felled them, and partly consumed
by fire. The effect of this partial burning had been only to render these
huge trunks black and hideous. One of them lay in front of the cottage.
In other places were to bo seen deer skins stretched to dry ; and
deers' feet and antlers lay here and there. There was not a foot of
land in cultivation. It was quite evident at first sight, that we had
reached the dwelling of a border hunter, and not a tiller of the ground.
But the owner was absent, as we learned from his wife, a spare, shrewd
dark-skinned little woman, drest in buckskin, who issued from the dooi
before we reached it, and welcomed us by the term of " Strangers." Al
though this is a western term, which supplies the place of the word
'• friend," in other sections of the union, and she herself seemed to bo
thoroughly a native of these latitudes, no Yankee could have been
more inquisitive, in one particular department of enquiry, namely the de-
partment relative to the chace. She inquired our object — the course and
distance we proposed tf travel, and the general arrangements of horse-

ADVENTUEES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

I
d

gear, equipage, &c. She told us of the danger of encountering the
Osages, and scrutinized our arms. Such on examination would indeed,
for its thoroughness, have put a lad to his trumps, who had come
prepared for his first quarter's examination at a country academy. She
told us, con amore, that her husband would be back soon, — as soon indeed
as we could get our breakfast, and that ho would be glad to accompany
us, as far as Ashley's Cave, or perhaps farther. This was an opportunity

not to be slighted. We agreed to wait, and prepare our

mornmga

meal, to which she contributed some well baked corn cakes. By this
time, and before indeed we had been long there, Roberts came in. It is
said that a hunter's life is a life of feasting or fasting. It appeared to be
one of the latter seasons, with him. He had been out to scour the
precincts, for a meat breakfast, but came home empty handed. He was
desirous to go out in the direction we were steering, which he represented
to abound in game, but feared to venture far alone, on account of the ras-
cally Osages. He did not fear the Delawares, who were near by.
He readily accepted our offer to accompany us as hunter. Roberts, like
his forest help-mate, was clothed in deer skin. He was a rathjr chunky,
stout, middle sized man, with a ruddy face, cunning features, and a
bright unsteady eye. Such a fellow's final destination would not be a
very equivocal matter, were he a resident of the broad neighbourhood of
Sing Sing, or "sweet Auburn:" but here, he was a man that might,
perhaps, be trusted on an occasion like this, and we, at any rate, were glad to
have his services on the terms stipulated. Even while we were talk-
in^he began to clean his rifle, and adjust his leathern accoutrements : he
then put several large cakes of corn bread in a sack, and in a very
short time he brought a stout little horse out of a log pen, which
served for a barn ; and clapping an old saddle on his back and mounting
him, with his rifle in one hand, said, " I am ready," and led off. We
now had a guide, as well as a hunter, and threw this burden wholly
on him. Our course lay up a long ridge of hard bound clay and chert
soil, in the direction of the sources of the Marameg, or, as it is now uni-
versally called and written, Merrimc.ck. After travelling about four
miles we suddenly descended from an acclivity into a grassy, woodless
valley, with a brisk clear stream winding through it, and several lodges
of Indians planted on its borders. This, our guide told us, was the Ozaw
Fork of the Merrimack, (in modern geographical parlance Ozark.) And
here we found the descendants and remainder of that once powerful
tribe of whom William Penn purchased the site of Philadelphia, aind
whose ancient dominion extended, at the earliest certain historical era
along th6 banks the Lennapihittuck, or Delaware river. Two of them
were at home, it being a season of the year, and time of day, when the
men are out hunting. Judging from peculiarity of features, manners and
dress, it would seem to be impossible that any people, should have re-

l:i

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

mained so long in contact with or juxtaposition to the European racei
and changed so little, in all that constitutes nationtl and personal identity.
Roberta looked with no very friendly eye upon these ancient lords of the
forest, the whole sum of his philosophy and philanthropy being measured
by the very tangible circle of prairie and forests, which narrowed his own
hunting grounds. They were even then, deemed to have been injudici-
ously located, by intelligent persons in the west, and have long since re-
moved to a permanent location, out of the corporate limits of the States
and Territories, at the junction of the river Konga with the Missouri. 1
should have been pleased to have lengthened our short halt, but the word
seemed with him and Encjitti to be '• onward," and onward we pushed.
We were now fairly in the Ozark chain — a wide and almost illitnitable
tract, of which it may be said, that the vallies only are susceptible of fu-
ture cuhivation. The intervening ridges and mountains are nearly desti
tute of forest, often perfectly so, and in almost all cases, sterile, and unfit
for the plough. It is probable shee,") might be raised on some of these
eminences, which possess a sufHciency of soil to permit the grasses to be
sown. Geologically, it has a basis of limestones, resting on sandstones.
Unfortunately for its agricultural character, the surface has been co-
vered with a foreign diluvium of red clay filled with chips of horstone, chert
and broken quartz, which make the soil hard and compact. Its trees are
few and stunted ; its grass coarse. In looking for the origin of such a soil,
it seems probable to have resulted from broken down slates and shists on the
upper Missouri and below the range of the Rocky Mountains, in which
these broken and imbedded substances originally constituted veins. It is
only in the vallies, and occasional plains, that a richer and more carbo-
naceous soil has accumulated. The purest springs, however, gush out of
its hills ; its atn^osphere is fine and healthful, and it constitutes a theatre
of Alpine attractions, which will probably render it, in future years, th«
resort of shepherds, lovers of mountain scenery, and valetudinarians
There is another remark to be made of the highland tracts of the Ozark
range. They look, in their natural state, more sterile than they actuallj
are, from the effects of autumnal fires. These fires, continued for ages b)
the natives, to clear the ground for hunting, have had the effect not only
to curtail and destroy large vegetation, but all the carbonaceous particles ol
the top soil have been burned, leaving the surface in the autumn, rough,
red, dry and hard. When a plough comes to be put into such a siuface,
it throws up quite a different soil; and the effects of light, and the sun's
heat are often found, as I have noticed in other parts of the west, to pro-
duce a dark and comparatively rich soil.

We occupied the entire day in ascending and crossing the ridge of
land, which divides the little valley of the Oza from that of the Merrimack.
When getting near the latter, the soil exhibited traces of what appeared
to be iron ore, but somewhat peculiar in its character, and of dark hue.

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

This 80on revealed itself, in passing a short distance, in an abundant lo-
cality of black and coloured oxide of manganese — lying in masses in the
arid soil. The Indian trail which we were pursuing led across the val-
ley. We forded the river on foot. No encampments of Indians were
found, nor any very recent traces of them; and we began to think that
the accounts of Osage depredations and plundering, must be rather exag-
gerated. The river pours its transparent mountain waters over a wide
bed of pebbles and small boulders, and, at this season, oflfered but little im-
pediment to the horses or ourselves in crossing it. The sun was getting
low, by the time we reached the opposite side of the valley, and we en-
camped on its borders, a mile or two above. Here we took due care of
our horses, prepared our evening's meal, talked over the day's adven-
tures, enjoyed ourselves sitting before our camp fire, with the wild wide
creation before us and around, and then sank to a sound repose on our
pallets.

Novices in the woodman's art, and raw in the business of travelling,
our sleep was sounder and more death-like, than that of Roberts. His
eye had shown a restlessness during the afternoon and evening. We
were now in a game country, the deer and elk began to be frequently
seen, and their fresh tracks across our path, denoted their abundance.
During tlie night they ventured about our camp, so as to disturb the ears
of the weary hunter, and indeed, my own. He got up and found both
horses m^^sing. Butcher's memory of Mine d Burton corn fodder had
not deserted him, and he took the hunter's horse along with him. I jumped
up, and accompanied him, in their pursuit. They were both overtaken
about three miles back on the track, making all possible speed homeward,
that their tethered fore legs would permit. We conducted them back,
without disturbing my companion, and he then went out with his rifle,
and quickly brought in a fine fat doe, for our breakfast. Each one cut
fine pieces of steaks, and roasted for himself! We ate it with a little salt,
and the remainder of the hunter's corn cakes, and finished the repast, with
a pint cup each, of Enobitti's best tea. This turned out to be a finale
meal with our Fourche a Courtois man, Roberts: for the rascal, a few
hours afterwards, deserted us, and went back. Had he given any intima-
tion of dissatisfaction, or a desire to return, we should have been in a
measure prepared for it. It is probable his fears of the then prevalent bug-
bear of those frontiersmen, the Osages, were greater than our own. It is
also probable, that he had no other idea whatever, in leaving the Fourcho h,
Courtois, than to a\ail himself of our protection till he could get into a
region where he could shoot deer enough in a single morning to load
down his horse, with the choicest pieces, and lead him home. This the
event, at least, rendered probable ; and the fellow not only deserted us
meanly, but he carried ofl .ny best new hunting knife, with scabbard and

belt — a loss not easily repaired in such a place.

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

To cloak his plan, he set out with us in the morning: it hod rained a little,

during the latter part of the night, and was lowering and dark all the

morning. AAer travelling about ten miles, we leA the Osage trail, which

began to bear too far north-west, and struck through the woods in a south

course, with the view of reaching Ashley's Cave on one of the head

streams of the river currents. Soon after leaving this trail, Roberts, who

was in advance on our left, about half a mile, fired at, and killed, a deer,

and immediately re-loaded, pursued and fired again ; telling us to continue

on our course, as he, being on horseback, could easily overtake us. We

neither heard nor saw more of him. Night overtook us near the banks of

a small lake, or rather a series of little lakes or ponds, communicating

with each other, where we encamped. After despatching our supper, and

adjusting, in talk, the day's rather eventful incidents, and the morrow's plan

of march, we committed ourselves to rest, but had not sunk into forgetful-

ness, when a pack of wolves set up their howl in our vicinity. We had

been told that these animals will not approach near a fire, and are not t(^

be dreaded in a country where deer abound. They follow the track of

the hunter, to share such part of the carcass as he leaves, and it is their

nature to herd together and run down this animal as their natural prey. We

slept well, but it is worthy of notice, that on awaking about day break, the

howling of the wolves was still heard, and at about the same distance.

They had probably serenaded us all night. Our fire was nearly out ;

wo felt some chilliness, and determined to rekindle it, and prepare our

breakfast before setting forward. It was now certain, that Roberts was

gone. Luckily he had not carried off our compass, for that would have

been aa accident fatal to the enterprise.

CHAPTER III.

A deeper view of the Ozark Chain. Pass along the flanks of the highlands whksh
■end out the sources of the Black, Eleven points, Currents and Spring rivers. Reach
8 romantic glen of caves. Birds and animals seen. Saltpetre earth ; stalactitea.
Cross the alpine summit of the western Ozarka. Source of the Gasconde river
Accident in fording the Little Osage river. — Encamp on one of its tributaries.

It was found, as we began to bestir ourselves for wood to light our fire
that we had reposed not far from a bevy of wild ducks, who had sought
the grassy edge of the lake during the night, and with the first alarm be-
took themselves to flight. With not so ready a mode of locomotion, we
followed their example, in due time, and also their course, which was
south. At the distance of a couple of miles, we crossed a small stream^
running south-east, which we judged to be the outlet of the small lakes
referred to, and which is, probably the source of Black River, or the
Eleven points. Our course led us in an opposite direction, and we soon
found ourselves approaching the sterile hills which bound the romantic
valley of the currents. There had been some traces of wheels, on the
softer soil, which had been driven in this direction towards the saltpetre
caves, but we completely lost them, as we came to and ascended these arid
and rugged steeps. Some of these steeps rose into dizzy and romantic
cliffs, surmounted with pines. We wound our way cautiously amongst
them, to find some gorge and depression, through which we might enter the
valley. For ourselves we should not have been so choice of a path, but
we had a pack horse to lead, and should he be precipitated into a gulf, we
must bid adieu to our camp equipage. Our arms and a single blanket,
would be all we could carry. At length this summit was reached. The
view was enchanting. A winding wooded valley, with its clear bright
river, stretched along at the base of the summit. Rich masses of foliage,
hung over the clear stream, and were reflected in its pellucid current, with a
double beauty. The autumnal frost, which had rifled the highland trees
of their clothing, appeared to have passed over this deeply secluded valley

ADVENTURES IN THE OZAHK MOUNTAINS.

with but little effect, and this effect, was only to highten the interest of the
scene, by imparting to portions of its foliage, the liveliest orange and crim-
son tints. And this was rendered doubly attractive by the contrast. Be-
hind us lay the bleak and barren hills, over which we had struggled,
without a shade, or a brook, or even the simplest representative of the ani-
mal creation. For it is a truth, that during the heat of the day, both birds
and quadrupeds betake themselves to the secluded shades of the streams
and vallies. From these they sally out, into the plains, in quest of food
at early dawn, and again just before night fall. All the rest of the day,
the plains and highlands have assumed the silence of desolation. Even-
ing began to approach as we cautiously picked our way down the cliffs,
and the first thing we did, on reaching the stream was to take a hearty
drink of its crystal treasure, and let our horse do the same. The next ob-
ject was to seek a fording place — which was effected without difficulty.
On mounting the southern bank, we again found the trail, lost in the
morning, and pursued it with alacrity. It was my turn this day to be in
advance, as guide, but the temptation of small game, as we went up the
valley, drew me aside, while Enobitti proceeded to select a suitable spot
for the night's encampment. It was dark when I rejoined him, with my
squirrel and pigeon hunt. He had confined himself closely to the
trail. It soon led him out of the valley, up a long brushy ridge, and then
through an open elevated pine grove, which terminated abruptly in a per-
pendicular precipice. Separated from this, at some eight hundred yards
distance, stood a counter precipice of limestone rock, fretted out, into pin-
nacles and massy walls, with dark openings, which gave the whole the
resemblance of architectural ruins. The stream that ran between these
cliffs, was small, and it lay so deep and well embrowned in the shades of
evening, that it presented vividly from this elevation, a waving bright line
on a dark surface. Into this deep dark terrific glen the path led, and here
we lit our fire, hastily constructed a bush camp, and betook ourselves,
after due ablutions in the little stream, to a night's repose. The sky be-
came rapidly overcast, before we had finished our meal, and a night of
intense darkness, threatening a tempest, set in. As we sat by our fire, its
glare upon huge beetling points of overhanging rocks, gave the scene a
wild and picturesque cast ; and we anticipated returning daylight with an
anxious wish to know and see our exact locality. By the restless tramp-
ing of our horse, and the tinkling of his bell, we knew that he had found
but indifferent picking.

Daylight fulfilled the predictions of the evening. We had rain. It
also revealed our position in this narrow, and romantic glen. A high wall
of rocks, encompassed us on either hand, but they were not such as would
have resulted in a volcanic country from a valley fissure. Narrow and
deep as the glen was, it was at once apparent, that it was a valley of de-
nudation, and had owed its existence to the wasting effects of the trifling

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

Stream within it, carrying away, particle by particle, the matter loosened
by rains and frosts, and mechanical attrition. The cliffs are exclusively
calcareous, and piled up, mason like, in horizontal layers. One of the
most striking pictures which they presented, was found in the great num-
ber, size and variety of caves, which opened into this calcareous formation.
These caves are of all sizes, some of them very large, and not a few of
them situated at elevations above the floor of the glen, which forbade ac-
cess.

One of our first objects, after examining the neighbourhood, was to re-
move our baggage and location up the glen, into one of these caves,
which at the distance of about a mile, promised us an effectual shelter from
the inclemency of the storm. This done, we determined here to wait for
settled weather, and explore the precincts. By far the most prominent
object, among the caverns, was the one into which we had thus uncere-
moniously thrust ourselves. It had evidently been visited before, by per
sons in search of saltpetre earth. Efflorescences of nitric earth, were
abundant in its fissures, and this salt was also present in masses of reddish
diluvial earth, which lay in several places. The mouth of this cave pre-
sented a rude irregular arc, of which the extreme height was probably
thirty feet, and the base line ninety. The floor of this orifice occurs, at
an elevation of about forty feet above the stream. And this size is held for
about two hundred feet, when it expands into a lofty dome, some eighty or
ninety feet high, and perhaps, three hundred in diameter. In its centre a
fine spring of water issues from the rock. From this dome several pas-
sages lead oflfin different directions.

One of these opens into the glen, at an inaccessible point, just below.
Another runs back nearly at right angles with the mouth, putting out
smaller passages, of not much importance, however, in its progress. So
splendid and noble an entrance gave us the highest hopes of finding it but
the vestibule of a natural labyrinth ; but the resuU disappointed us. These
ample dimensions soon contract, and after following the main or south
passage about five hundred yards, we found our further entrance barred,
by masses of fallen rock, at the foot of which a small stream trickled
through the broken fragments, and found its way to the mouth. Have we
good reason to attribute to this small stream, a power sufficient to be re-
garded as the effective agent in carrying away the calcareous rock, so as
to have in a long period produced the orifice? Whence then, it may be
asked, the r^asses of compact reddish clay and pebble diluvium, which
exist ? These seem rather to denote that these caves were open orifices,
during th(? period of oceanic action, upon the surface of the Ozarks, and
that a mass of waters, surcharged with such materials, flowed into pre-
existing caverns. This diluvium is, in truth, of the same era as the wide
spread stream of like kind, which has been deposited over the metalliferous
region of Missouri. If these, however, be questions for geological doubt.

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

we had lit upon another inquiry, very prominent on our minds in
making this exploration, namely, whether there were any wild beasta
shehered in its fissures. Satisfied that we were safe on this score, we re-
traced our footsteps to our fire, and sallied out to visit other caves. Most
of these were at such heights as prevented access to them. In one in-
stance, a tree had fallen against the face of the cliff, in such a manner,
that by climbing it to its forks, and taking one of the latter, the opening
might be reached. Putting a small mineral hammer in my pocket, I as-
cended this tree, and found the cave accessible. It yielded some wax-
yellow and white translucent stalactites, and also very delicate white crys-
tals of nitre. The dimensions of this cave were small, and but little
higher than to enable a man to stamd upright.

In each of the caves of this glen which I entered, during a halt of
several days in this vicinity, I looked closely about for fossil bones, but
without success in any instance. The only article of this kind observed
was the recent leg and foot bones and vertebra of the bos musarius,
which appeared to be an inhabitant of the uppermost fissures in these cal-
careous cliffs, but I never saw the living species, although I ranged along
their summits and bases, with my gun and hammer, at various hours.
Some of the compact lime stone in the bed of the creek exhibited a striped
and jaspery texture. The wood-duck and the duck and mallard some-
times frequented this secluded strean?, and it was a common resort for the
wild turkey, at a certain hour in the evening. This bird seemed at such
times to come in thirsty, from its ranges in quest of acorns on the up-
lands, and its sole object appeared to be to drink. Sitting in the mouth
of our cave, we often had a fine opportunity to see flocks of these noisy
and fine birds flying down from the cliffs, and perching on the trees below
us. If they came to roost, as well as to slack their thirst, a supposition
probable, this was an ill-timed movement, so long as we inhabited the glen,
for they only escaped the claw and talons of one enemy, to fall before the
fire-lock of the other. This bird, indeed, proved our best resource on the
journey, for we travelled with too much noise and want of precaution
generally, to kill the deer and elk, which, however, were abundant on the
highland plains.

We passed three days at the Glen Cave, during which there were se-
veral rains ; it stormed one entire day, and we employed the time of this
confinement, in preparing for the more intricate and imknown parts of
our journey. Hitherto we had pursued for the most of the way, a trail,
and v/ere cheered on our way, by sometimes observing traces of human
laboui. But, from this point we were to plunge into a perfect wilderness,
without a trace or track. We had before us, that portion of the Ozark
range, which separates to the right and left, the waters of the Missouri
from those of the Mississippi. It was supposed, from the best reports, that
by holding south-west, across these eminences, we should strike the valley

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

of the White River, which interposed itself between our position there
and the Arkansas. To enter upon this tract, with our coippass only as a
guide, and with the certainty of finding no nutritious grass for our horse,
required that we should lighten and curtail our baggage as much as pos-
sible, and put all our effects into the most compact and portable form.
And having done this, and the weather proving settled, we followed a
short distance up the Glen of Caves ; but finding it to lead too directly
west, we soon left it and mounted the hills which line its southern border.
A number of latter valleys, covered with thick brush, made this a labour
by no means slight. The surface was rough j vegetation sere and dry,
and every thicket which spread before us, presented an obstacle which was
to be overcome. We could have penetrated many of these, which the
horse could not be forced through. Such parts of our clothing as did not
consist 'of buckskin, paid frequent tribute to these brambles. At length
we got clear of these spurs, and entered on a high waving table land where
travelling became comparatively easy. The first view of this vista of
nigh land plains was magnificent. It was covered wjth moderate sized
sere grass and dry seed pods, which rustled as we passed. There was
scarcely an object deserving the name of a tree, except, now and then, a
3^'-' ary trunk of a dead pine, or oak, which had been scathed by light-
."it: The bleached skull of the buffalo, was sometimes met, and proved
t\ : i animal had once existed here. Rarely we passed a stunted oak;
sometimes a cluster of saplings crowned the summit of a sloping hill ; the
deer often bounded before us ; we sometimes disturbed the hare from its
sheltering bush, or put to flight the quail or the prairie hen. There was
no prominent feature for the eye to rest upon. The unvaried prospect
produced satiety. We felt in a peculiar manner the solitariness of the
wilderness. We travelled silently and diligently. It was a dry and thirsty
barren. From morning till sun set we did not encounter a drop of water.
This became the absorbing object. Hill after hill, and vale after vale
were patiently scanned, and diligently footed, without bringing the ex-
pected boon. At length v.'e came, without the expectation of it, to a small
running stream in the plain, where we gladly encamped. There was
also some grass which preserved a greenish hue, and which enabled our
horse also to recruit himself.

< Early the next morning' we repacked him, and continued our course,
travelling due west south-west. At the distance of five or six miles, we
reached the banks of a clear stream of twenty feet wide, running over a
bed of pebbles and small secondary boulders. This stream ran towards
the north west, and gave us the first intimation we had, that we had
crossed the summit and were on the off drain of the Missouri. We sup-
posed it to be the source of the Gasconade, or at farthest some eastern tri-
butary of the Little Osage.
A few hours travelling brought us to the banks of another stream of

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

much larger size and depth, but running in the same direction. This
stream we found it difficuk to cross, and spent several hours in heaping
piles of stone, and connecting them with dry limbs of trees, which had
been carried down by floods. It had a rapid and deep current, on each
side of which was a wide space of shallow water and rolled bouldors of
lime and sand stone. We succeeded in driving the horse safely over.
Enobitti led the way on our frail bridge-work, but disturbed the last link
of it as he jumped off on the south bank, so that it turned under my tread
and let me in. There was no kind of danger in the fall as it was in the
shallow part of the stream, but putting out my hands to break the fall, it so
happened that my whole weight rested on my gun, which was supported
on two stones, merely on its butt and muzzle ; the effect was to wrench the
barrel. I gave it a counter wrench as soon as we encamped, but I never
afterwards could place full confidence in it. We had not gone over three
or four miles beyond this river, when we came to the banks of a third
stream, running west, but also sweeping off below, towards the north-
west. This stream was smaller than the former and opposed no dif-
ficulty in fording it. Having done this we followed it up a short distance^
and encamped on its south bauic*.

CHAPTER IV.

Hearsay information of the huntere turns out false — ^We alter our course — A bear
hunt — An accident — Another rencontre with bears — Strike the source of the Great
North Fork of White River — Journey down this valley — Its character and productions
— A great Spring — Incidents of the route — Pack horse rolls down a precipice — Plunges
in the river — A cavern — Osage lodges — A hunter's hut.

It was now manifest, from our crossing the last two streams, that we
were going too far north — ^that we were in fact in the valley of the Mis-
souri proper ; and that the information obtained of the hunters on the source
of the Merrimack, was not to be implicitly relied on. It is not probable that
one of the persons who gave this information had ever been here. It was
a region they were kept out of by the fear of the Osages, as our own ex-
perience in the case of Roberts denoted. Willing to test it farther, how-
ever, we followed down the last named stream a few miles, in the hope of
its turning south or south-west, but it went off in another direction. We
then came to a halt, and after consulting together, steered our course due
soiUh south-west, thus varying our general course from the caves. This
carried us up a long range of wooded highlands. The forest here as-
sumed a handsome growth. We passed through a track of the over-cup
oak, interspersed with hickory, and had reached the summit of an elevated
wooded ridge, when just as we gained the highest point, we discovered
four bears on a large oak, in the valley before us. Three of the number
were probably cubs, and with their dam, they were regaling themselves
on the ripe acorns without observing us. We had sought no opportunities
to hunt, and given up no especial time to it, but here was too fair a chal-
lenge to be neglected. We tied our horse securely to a sapling, and then
examining our pieces, and putting down an extra ball, set out to descend
(he hill as cautiously as possible. An unlucky slip of Enobitti threw him
with force forward and sprained his ankle. He lay for a short time in
agony. This noise alarmed the bears, who one after the other quickly
ran in from the extremities of the I'mbs to the trunk, which they descended

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

head first, and scampered clumsily off up 'he valley. I pursued tnem
without minding my companion, not knowi i-j indeed how badly he was
hurt, but was compelled to give up the chase, s the tall grass finally pre-
vented my seeing what course they had taken. I now returned to my
companion. He could not stand at first, nor walk when he arose, and the
first agony had passed. I proposed to moupt him on the pack horse, and
lead him slowly up the valley, and this plan was carried into effect. But
he endured too much suffering to bear even this. The ankle began to in-
flame. There was nothing but rest and continued repose that promised
relief. I selected a fine grassy spot to encamp, unpacked the horse, built
a fire, and got my patient comfortably stretched on his pallet. But little
provision had been made at Potosi in the medical department. My whole
store of pharmacy consisted of some pills and salves, and a few simple
articles. The only thing I could think of as likely to be serviceable, was
in our culinary pack, — it was a little sack of salt, and of this I made a
solution in warm water and bathed the ankle. I then replenished the
fire and cut some wood to renew it. It was still early in the day, and
leaving my companion to rest, and to the effect of the remedy offered, I
took my gun and strolled over the adjoining hills, in hopes of bringing
in some pigeons, or other small game. But it was a time of day when
both birds and quadrupeds have finished their mornings repast, and retired
to the groves or fastnesses. I saw nothing but the little grey bunting,
and the noisy jay. When I returned to our camp in the vale I found my
companion easier. The bathing had sensibly alleviated the pain and
swelling. It was therefore diligently renewed, and the next morning he
was so far improved, that he consented to try the pack horse again. We had
not, however, travelled far, when two large bears were seen before us play-
ing in the grass, and so engaged in their sport, that they did not perceive us.
We were now on the same level with them, and quickly prepared to give
them battle. My companion dismounted as easily as possible, and having
secured the horse and examined our arms, we reached a stand within firing
distance. It was not till this moment that our approach was discovered by
them, and the first thing they did after running a few yards, was to sit up in
the grass and gaze at us. Having each singled his animal, we fired at the
same instant. Both animals fled, but on reaching the spot where my
mark had sat, blood was copiously found on the grass, and a pursuit was
the consequence. I followed him up a long ridge, but he passed over the
summit so far before me, that I lost sight of him. I came to a large hol-
low black oak, in the direction he had disappeared, which showed the nail
marks of some animal, which I believed to be his. While exa-
mining these signs more closely my companion made his appear-
ance. How he had got there I know not. The excitement had well
nigh cured his ancle He stood by the orifice, while I went for
the axe to our camp, and when I was tired chopping, he laid hold.

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

We chopped alternately, and big as it was, the tree at last came down
with a crash that made the forest ring. For a few moments we looked at
the huge and partly broken trunk as if a bear would start from it ; but all
was silence. We thoroughly searched the hollow part but found nothing.
I went over another ridge of forest land, started a noble elk, but saw
nothing more of my bear. Here terminated this adventure. We retraced
our footsteps back to the valley, and proceeded on our route. This inci-
dent had led us a little south of our true course ; and it so turned out that
it was at a point, where a mile or two one way or the other, was calculated
to make a wide difference in the place of our exit into the valley of White
River ; for we were on a hiph broken summit ridge, from which several
important streams (^^-v ina The pursuit of the bear had carried us

near to the head of lu. /alley, 1 by crossing the im >•' ^^ ..ing summit, we
found ourselves at the head springs of an important stream, which in due
time we learned was the Great North Fork of White River. This stream
begins to develope itself m pools, or standing springs, which soak through
the gravel and boulders, and it is many miles before it assumes the cha-
racter of a continuous stream. Even then it proceeds in plateaux or
steps, on which the water has a level, and the next succeeding level below
it has its connection with it, through a rapid. In fact, the whole stream,
till near its mouth, is one series of these lake-like levels, and short rapids,
each level sinking lower and lower, till, like the locks in a canal, the last
flows out on a level with its final recipient. But however its waters are
congregated, they are all pure and colourless as rock crystal, and well vin-
dicate the propriety of their original name of la Riviere Blanc. They all
originate in mountain springs, are cool and sparkling, and give assurance
in this featurcj that they will carry heahh to the future inhabitants of the
valley through which they flow. With the first springs begins to be seen
a small growth of the cane, which is found a constant species on its bot-
tom lands. This plant becomes high in more southern latitudes, and being
intertwined with the green briar, renders it very difficult, as we soon found,
to penetrate it, especially with a horse. Man can endure a thousand ad-
ventures and hardships where a horse would die ; and it would require no
further testimony than this journey gave, to convince me, that providence
designed the horse for a state of civilization.

We followed the course of these waters about six miles, and emcamped.
It was evidently the source of a stream of some note. It ran in the re-
quired direction, and although we did not then know, that it was the
valley of the Great North Fork of White River, we were satisfied it was
a tributary of the latter stream, and determined to pursue it. This we
did for twelve days, before we met with a human being, white or red. It
rapidly developed itself, as we went, and unfolded an important valley, of
rich soil, bearing a vigorous growth of forest trees, and enclosed on either
hand, by elevated limestone cliffs. Nothing could exceed the purity of

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

its waters, which bubbled up in copious springs, from the rock, or pebble
stratum. For a long distance the stream increased from such accessions
alone, without larga and independent tributaries. On the second day's
travel, we came to a spring, of this crystal c^ acter, which we judged to
be about fifty feet across, at the point of its issue from the rock and soil.
Its outlet after running about a thousand yards, joined the main stream, to
which it brings a volume fully equal to it. This spring I named the Elk
Spring, from the circumstance of finding a large pair of the } rrns of this
animal, partly buried in the leaves, at a spot '^'heie I stooped down to
drink. I took the horns, and hung t7iem in the forks of a young oak
tree.

We found abundance of game in this valley. There was not an entire
day, I think, until we got near the, hunters' camps, that we did not see
either the bear, elk, or deer, or their recent signs. Flocks of the v/ild tur-
key were of daily occurrence. The gray squirrel frequently sported on
the trees, and as the stream increased in size, we found the duck, brant
and swan.

There were two serious objections, however, in travelling down a
wooded valley. Its shrubbery was so thick and rank that it was next to
impossible to force the pack horse through it. Wherever the cane abounds,
and this comprehends all its true alluvions, it is found to be matted to*
gether, as it were, with the green briar and grape vine. So much noise
attended the effort at any rate, that the game generally fled before us, and
had it not been for small game, we she 'd have often wanted a meal.
With every effort, we could not make an orage of more than fourteen
miles a day. The river was so tortuous too, that we could not count,
on making more than half this distance, in a direct line. To remedy
these evils we sometimes went out of the valley, on the open naked plains.
It was a relief, but had, in the end, these difficulties, that while the plains
exposed us to greater heats in travelling, they afforded no water, and we
often lost much time in the necessity, we were under, towards night-fall, of
going back to the valley for water. Neither was it found to be safe
to travel far separated, for there were many causes of accident, which
rendered mutual assistance desirable. One day, while Enobitti led the
horse, and was conducting him from a lofty ridge, to get into the
valley, the animal stumbled, and rolled to the bottom. We thought
every bone in his body had been broke, but he hud been protected by his
pack, and we found that he was but little injured, and when repacked,
still capable of going forward. On another occasion, I had been leading
him for several hours, along a high terrace of cliffs on the left banks
where this terrace was, as it were, suddenly cut off by the intersection of
a lateral valley. The view was a sublime one, standing at the pinna-
cle of junction ; but there was no possible way of descent, and it was neces-
sary to retrace my steps, a long — long way. As an instance of the very

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

tortuous character of this stream, I will mention that a rocky peninsula,
causing a bend which it took my companion some two hours to pass,
with the horse, I had crossed in less than twenty minutes, with my
hammer and gun. When we had, as we supposed, become familiar
with every species of impediment and delay, in descending the valley, a
new, and very serious and unexpected one, arose one day, in crossing the
stream, from the left to the right bank. It was my turn to be muleteer
that day, and I had selected a ford where the river was not wide, and the
water, apparently, some two or three feet deep. I judged from the clearness
of the pebbles at the bottom, and their apparent nearness to the surface.
But such was the transparency of the water, that a wide mistake was
made. We had nearly lost the horse, he plunged in over head, could not
touch bottom, and when with great ado, we had got him up the steep bank
on the other side, he was completely exhausted. But this was not the extent
of the evil. Our sugar and salt were dissolved. Our meal, of which a little
still remained, was spoiled. Our tea was damaged, — our blankets and cloth-
ing wetted, — our whole pack soaked. The horse had been so long in
the water, in our often fruitless efforts to get him to some part of the bank
depressed enough, to pull him up, that nothing had escaped its effects.
We encamped on the spot, and spent the rest of the day in drying our
effects, and expelling from our spare garments the superfluous inoisture.
The next day we struck out into the high plains, on the right bank, and
made a good day's journey. The country was nearly level, denuded of
trees, with sere autumnal grass. Often the prairie hen started up, but
we saw nothing in the animal creation beside, save a few hares, as even-
ing came on. To find water for the horse, and ourselves, we were
again compelled to approach the valley. We at length entered a dry and
desolate gorge, without grass or water. Night came on, but no sound
or sight of water occurred. We were sinking deeper and deeper into the
rocky structure of the country at every stop, and soon found there were
high cliffs on either side of us. What we most feared now occurred. It
became dark, the clouds had threatened foul weather and it now began to
rain. Had it not been for a cavern, which disclosed itself, in one of
these calcareous cliffs, we must have passed a miserable night. On enter-
ing it, we found a spring of water. It was too high in the cliff to get the
horse in, but we carried him water in a vessel. He was afterwards hob-
bled, and left to shift for himself On striking a fire, in the cave, its rays
disclosed masses of stalactites, and a dark avenue into the rocks back.
Having made a cup of tea and finished our repast, we determined to ex-
plore the cave before lying down to rest, lest we might be intruded on by
jBome wild animal before morning. A torch of pine wood was soon made,
which guided our footsteps into the dismal recess, but we found nothing
of the kind. On returning to our fire, near the mouth of the cave, we
found the rain had increased to a heavy shower, and the vivid flashes of

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS.

lightning, illumined with momentary brilliancy, the dark and frowning
precipices of this romantic gorge. The excitement and novelty of out po-
sition, served to drive away sleep, notwithstanding a long day's march, and
it was late before we sought repose.

Morning brought a clear sky, but the horse was gone. He had fol-
lowed on the back track, up the glen, in search of something to feed upon,
and was not found till we reached the skirts of the plains. The whole
morning was indeed, lost in reclaiming him, and we then set forward
again and returned to the North Fork valley. We found it had assumed
a greater expanse, at the point of our re-entry, whici it maintained, and
increased, as we pursued it down. Wide open oak plains extended
on the left bank, which appeared very eligible for the purposes of set-
tlement. On an oak tree, at this spot, we observed some marks, which
had probably been made by some enterprising land explorer. With these
improved evidences of its character for future occupation, we found the
travelling easier. Within a few miles travel, we noticed a tributary com-
ing in on the left bank, and at a lower point another on the left. The
first stream had this peculiarity, that its waters came in at a right angle,
with the parent stream, and with such velocity as to pass directly across
its channel to the opposite bank. In this vicinity, we saw many of the
deserted pole camps of the Osages, none of which appeared, however, to
have been recently occupied. So far, indeed, we had met no hindrance, or
annoyance from this people ; we had not even encountered a single mem-
ber of the tribe, and felt assured that the accounts we had received of their
cruelty and rapacity, had been grossly exaggerated, or if not wholly
overcoloured, they must have related to a period in their history, which
was now well nigh past. We could not learn tliat they had hunted on
these lands, during late years, and were afterwards given to understand
that they had ceded them to the United States by a treaty concluded at St.
Louis. From whatever causes, however, the district had been left free
from their roving parties, it was certain that the game had recovered un-
der such a cessation of the chase. The black bear, deer and elk, were
abundant. We also frequently saw signs of the labours of the beaver
along the valley. I had the good luck, one day, while in advance with
my gun, of beholding two of these animals, at play in the stream, and ob-
serving their graceful motions. My position was, within point blank shot
of them, but I was screened from their gaze. I sat, with gun cocked,
meaning to secure one of them after they came to the shore. Both ani-
mals came out together, an.d sat on the bank at the edge of the river, a
ledge of rocks being in the rear of them. The noveUy of the sight led
me to pause, and admire them, when, all of a sudden, they darted into a
crevice in the rock.

On the second day after re-entering the valley, we descried, on descend-
ing a long slope of rising ground, a hunter's cabin, covered with narrow

ai
ri
ii
w
ai

ADVENTURES IN THE OZARK MOUNTAINS. Vf

oak boards, split with a frow ; and were exhilarated with the idea of find-
ing it occupied. But this tu.ned out a delusive hope. It had been de-
serted, from appearance, the year before. We found, among the surround-
ing weeds, a few stems of the cotton plant, which had grown up from
seeds, accidentally dropped. The bolls had opened. I picked out the
cotton to serve as a material in lighting my camp fires, at night, this be-
ing a labour which I had taken the exclusive management of The site
of this camp, had been well chosen. There was a small stream in front,
and a heavy rich cane bottom behind it, extending to the banks of the
river. A handsome point of woodlands extended north of it, from the
immediate door of the camp. And although somewhat early in the day,
we determined to encamp, and soon made ourselves masters of the fabric,
and sat down before a cheerful fire, with a title to occupancy, wMcb there
was no one to dispute.

THE BIRD.

VERSIFIED FROM THE GERMAN OF OESSNER! 1812.

A swain, as he strayed through the grove,
Had caught a young bird on a spray —

What a gift, he exclaimed, for my love,
How beautiful, charming, and gay.

With r4|)ture he viewed the fair prize.
And listened with joy to its chat.

As with haste to the meadow he hies
To secure it beneath his straw hat.

I will make of yon willows so gay,
A cage for my prisoner to mourn,

Then to Delia, the gift I'll convey,
And beg for a kiss in return.

She will grant tne that one, I am sure,
For a present so rare and so gay,
, And I easily can steal a few more
And bear them enraptured away.

He returned : but imagine his grief.
The wind had his hat overthrown.

And ♦he bird, in the joy of relief.
Away with his kiss ss had flown.

H. K &

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS OF THE INDIAN RACE,
DRAWN FROM NOTES OF TRAVEL AND RESIDENCE IN THEIR
TERRITORIES.

CHARACTER CF THE RED MAN OF AMERICA.

Inquiry I. — What kind of a being is the North American Indian 7 — Have we judged
rightly of him ? — What are his peculiar traits, his afTections, and his intellectual
qualities 7 — Is he much influenced by his religion, his mode of government, and his
complicated language.

My earliest impressions of the Indian race, were'tirawn from the fire-
side rehearsals of incidents which had happened during the perilous
times of the American revolution ; in which my father was a zealous actor,
and were all inseparably connected with the fearful ideas of the Indian
yell, the tomahawk, the scalping knife, and the fire brand. In these reci-
tals, the Indian was depicted as the very impersonation of evil- — a sort of
wild demon, Avho delighted in nothing so much as blood and murder,
Whether he had mind, was governed by any reasons, or even had any
soul, nobody inquired, and nobody cared. It was always represented as a
meritorious act in old revolutionary reminiscences, to have killed one of
them in the border wars, and thus aided in ridding the land of a cruel and
unnatural race, in whom all feelings of pity, justice, and mercy, were
supposed to be obliterated. These early ideas were sustained by printed
narratives of captivity and hair-breadth escapes of men and women from
their clutches, which, from time to time, fell into ray hands, so that long
before I was ten years old, I had a most definite and terrific idea impressed
on my imagination of what was sometimes called in my native precincts,
" the bow and arrow race."

To give a definite conception of the Indian man, there lived in my na-
tive valley, a family of Indians of the Iroquois stock, who often went off

PERGONAL INCIDENTS AXU IMPRESSIONS.

der,

any

s a

Kof

ited

sed

:t8,
la-

their people in the west, and a^ nftrn returned again, as if they were a
Iroop of genii, or the ghosts of the departed, who came to haunt the nut
■vood forests, and sub-vallies of the sylvan Tawasenthaw, which their an*
icstors had formerly possessed, and to which they still claimed some right.
In this family, which was of the Oneida tribe, and consisted of the hus-
band and wife, with two grown up sons, I first saw those characteristic
features of the race, — namely, a red skin, with bright black eyes, and
black straight hair. They were mild and docile in their deportment, an(j
were on friendly terms with the whole settlement, whom they furnished
with neatly made baskets of the linden wood, split very thin, and coloured
to impart variety, and with nice ash brooms. These fabrics made
them welcome guests with every good housewife, who had forgotten tha
horrific stories of the revolution, and who was ever ready to give a chair
and a plate, and a lodging place by the kitchen fire, to poor old Isaac aud
Anna, for so they had been named. What their oriq;inal names wer^ ,
nobody knew ; they had lived so long in the valley .hat they spo'.e the
Dutch language, and never made use of their own, except when talking
together; and I recollect, we thought it a matter of wonder, whea they
discoursed in Indian, whether such a guttural jargon, could po..c:ibly bo
the medium of conveying any very definite ideas. It seemed to be or**
undistinguished tissue of hard sounds, blending all parts of speecU
together.

Had the boys of my own age, and I may say, the grow n people,
stopped to reflect, and been led to consider this family and their race in
America, independently of their gross acts, under the strong excitements
of war and revenge, goaded by wrongs, and led on by the class ol' revo-
lutionary tories, more implacable than even themselves, we must have
seen, in the peaceable lives, quiet manners, and benevolent dispositions of
these four people, a contradiction to, at least, some part, of the sweeping
conclusions above noticed. But no such thoughts occurred. The word
" Indian," was synonymous then, as perhaps now, with half the opprobri-
ous epithets in the dictionary. I recollect to have myself made a few lines,
m early life, on the subject, which ran thus : —

Indians they were, ere Colon crossed the ^.n
And ages hence, they shall but Indians be.

Fortunately I was still young when my sphere of observation was en-
larged, by seeing masses of them, in their nativt forests ; and I, after a few
years, assumed a position as government ngf ni to one of the leading tribes,
at an age when opinions are not too firmly rooted to permit change. My
opinions were still, very much however, what they had been in boyhood.

1 looked upon them as very cannibals and blood-thirsty fellows, who were
only waiting a good opportunity to knock one in the head. But I regarded
tnem as a curious subject of observation. The remembrance of poor old
Isaac, had shown me that there was some feeling and humanity in theix

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

■■■■■ --it.

breasts. I had seen many of them in my travels in the west, and I felt
inclined to inquire into the traits of a people, amon^f whom my duties had
placed me. I had, from early youth, felt pleased wiu^ the study of natural
history, and I thought the Indian, at least in his languages, might be
studied with something of the same mode of exactitude. I had a strong
propensity, at this time of life, for analysis, and I believed that something
like an analytical process might be applied to enquiries, at least in the
department of philology. Whenever a fact occurred, in the progress of
my official duties, which I deemed characteristic, I made note of it, and in
this way preserved a sort of skeleton of dates and events, which, it was
believed, would be a source of useful future 3ference. It is, in truth,
under advantages of the kind, that these remarks are commenced.

The author has thrown out these remarks, as a starting point. He has
made observations which do not, in all respects, coincide with the com-
monly received opinions, and drawn some conclusions which are directly
adverse to them. He has been placed in scenes and circumstances of
varied interest, and met with many characters, in the course of four and
twenty years' residence and travel in the wilds of America, who would
have struck any observer as original and interesting. With numbers of
them, he has formed an intimate acquaintance, and with not a few, con-
tracted lasting friendships. Connected with them by a long residence, by
the exercise of official duties, and by still more delicate and sacred ties, he
has been regarded by them as one identified with their history, and received
many marks of their confidence.

The Indians, viewed as a distinct branch of the human race, have some
peculiar traits and institutions, from which their history and character may
be advantageously studied. They hold some opinions, which are not
easily discovered by a strangor, or a foreigner, but which yet exert a pow-
eif'il iiiiliience on their conduct and life. There is a subtlety in some of
their modes of thought and belief, on life and the existence of spiritual and
creative power, which would seem to have been eliminated from some
intellectual crucible, without the limits of their present sphere. Yet, there
is much relative to all the common concerns of life, which is peculiar to
it. The author has witnessed many practices and observances, such as
travellers have often noticed, but like others, attributed them to accident,
or to some cause widely different from tlie true one. By degrees, he has
been admitted into their opinions, and if we may so call it, the philosophy
of their minds ; and the life of an Indian no longer appears to him n.
mystery. He sees him acting, as other men would act, if placed exactly
in his condition, prepared with the education the forest has given hun, and
surrounded with the same wants, temptations and dangers.

The gentler afp.ctions are in much more extensive and powerful exer-
cise among the Indian race, than is gencraiiy believed, ul'.hough necessa-
rily developed with less refinement than in civilized society. Theii pater-

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

xer-
!ssa-
itei-

nal and fraternal affections, have long been known to be very strong, as
well as their veneration for the dead. It has been his province in these
departments, to add some striking examples of their intensity of feeling
and affection, and truthfulness to nature.

The most powerful source of influence, with the Red man, is his religion.
Here is the true groundwork of his hopes and his fears, and, it is believed,
the fruitful source of his opinions and action.s. It supplies the system of
thought by which he lives and dies, and it constitutes, indeed, the basis
of Indian character. By it he preserves his identity, as a barbarian, and
when this is taken awajr. and the true system substituted, he is still a Red
Man, but no longer, in the popular sense, an Indian — a barbarian, a
pagan.

The Indian religion is a peculiar compound of rites, and doctrines, and
observances, which are early taught the children by precept and example.
In this respect, every bark-built village is a temple, and every forest a
school. It would surprise any person to become acquainted with the
variety and extent to which an Indian is influenced by his religious views
and superstitions. He takes no important step without reference to it.
It is his guiding motive in peace and in war. He follows the chace under
its influence, and his very amusements take their tincture from it. To the
author, the facts have been developing themselves for many years, and
while he is able to account for the peculiar differences between the con-
duct of Indians and that of white men, in given cases, he can easily per-
ceive, why liie latter have so often been unable to calculate the actions of
the former, and even to account for them, when they have taken place.
It may be here remarked, that the civilized man, is no less a mysterious
and unaccountable being to an Indian, because his springs of action are
alike unintelligible to him.

If the following pages shall afford the public any means of judging of
the Red Race, with greater accuracy, he hopes they may lead to our
treating them with greater kindness and a more enlarged spirit of justice.
The change which has been wrought in his own mind, by the facts he has
witnessed, has been accompanied by a still more important one, as to their
intellectual capacities and moral susceptibilities, and their consequent
claims on the philanthropy of the age. As a class of men, it is thought
their native speakers, without letters or education, possess a higher scope
of thought and illustration, than the corresponding class in civilized life.
This may be accounted for, perhaps, from obvious e.xternal causes, with-
out impugning the actual native capacity of the lower, although educated
classes of civilized life. Still, it is a very striking fact, and one which has
very often forced itself on the attention of the author. The old idea that
the Indian mind is not susceptible of a high, or an advantageous develope-
ment, rests upon questionable data. The two principal cnuscs, which
have prolonged their continuance in a state of barbaripm, on this continent.

ii:!*'.

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

ibr so long a perwd, are a false religion, and false vie^s of government.
The first has kept back social prosperity and impeded the rise of virtue.
With respect to government, during all the time we have had them for neigh-
bours, they may be said to have had no government at all. Personal inde-
pendence, has kept the petty chiefs from forming confederacies for the com-
jnon good. Individuals have surrendered no part of their original private
rights, to secure the observance of the rest. There has been no public
aodial organization, expressed or implied. The consequence has been that
the law of private redress and revenge prevailed. In the only two cases
where this system was departed from, in North America, namely that of
the Azteek empire, and of the Iroquois confederacy, there was no lack of
vigour to improve. The results were a constantly increasing power, and
extending degree of knowledge up to the respective eras of their conquest.
It was not want of mental capacity, so much as the non-existence of moral
power, and of the doctrines of truth and virtue, that kept them back ; and
left our own wandering tribes, particularly, with ti>e bow and the spear in
their hands. He believes, that their errors, in these particulars, may be
pointed out, without drawing conclusions adverse to their political or
social prosperity, under better . auspicies, and without attributing such
failures to mental imbecility.

The mode of recording thought, among these tribes, by means of pic-
torial signs, and mnemonic symbols, has attracted particular attention, and
gives the author hopes, that he has been enabled to collect, and bring for-
tvard, a body of facts, in this department, which will recommend them-
selves by their interest and novelty. Confidence, inspired by long resi-
dence in their territories, revealed to him another trait of character, in the
existence among them of a traditionary imaginative lore, which is repeated
from father to son, and has no small influence upon their social condition.
It is in these two departments, that, he believes, he has opened new and
important means of judging of the Indian character, and discovered the
sources of views and opinions, on many subjects, vvhich had escaped pre-
vious inquirers.

There is one more point, to which he will here invite a momentary at-
tention, and which, although not usually enumerated as among the prac-
tical causes that influenced Indian society and character, is yet believed to
exercise a strong, though ^lent sway, both upon the question of the mental
character, and its true development. The author alludes to the topic of
their languages. Some of the most venerated writers present a theory of
the origin of national government languages and institutions, difficult or
impossible to be conformed with the nature of man in society, and un-
supported by such evidence as their doctrines require. Such, he regards,
ihe theory of the " social compact," except it be viewed in the most un-
defined and general sense possible. Such, also, is the theory of the
•rigin and improvement of languages The system of government gene-

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

rally prevailing among the Indian tribes, is indeed so simple and natural,
under their circumstances, that it is thought no person would long seek
for the traces of any great legislator, giving them laws in any past period.
When, however, we consider the curious structure of their languages,
we find an ingenuity and complexity, far surpassing any theory to be
discovered in that of the modern languages of Europe, with, perhaps, some
exceptions in the Basque and Majyer, and even beyond any thing exist-
ing in the Greek. As the latter has long been held up as a model, and
the excellencies of its plan attributed to some unknown, but great and sa-
gacious, learned and refined mind, we might feel justified in assigning
the richness of forms, the exceeding flexibility, and the characteristic beau-
ties and excellencies of the Indian tongues, to a mind of far superior wis-
dom, ingenuity, and experience. Yet how perfectly gratuitous would this
be ! All history bears testimony against the human invention and de-
signed alteration of language ; and none but a mere theorist can ever em-
brace the idea that it is, or ever was, in the power of any man, to fabricate
and introduce a new language, or to effect a fundamental change in the
groundwork of ati existing one. This, at least, is the decided opinion
of the author ; and he firmly believes, that whoever will contemplate
the subject, amidst such scenes as he has been accustomed to, will inevita-
bly come to the same conclusion. He has seen changes in dialects
commenced and pro^^ressive, and indications of others going on, but these
owed their origin and impulse to accidental circumstances, and were not
the result of any plan or design. They were the result of necessity,
convenience, or caprice. These three causes, that is to say, necessity
convenience and caprice, if properly examined and appreciated in their
influence, and traced with care to their effects, will develop the origin
of many things, whose existence has been sought at too great a distance,
or amidst too much refinement.

Books, and the readers of books, have done much to bewilder and per-
plex the study of the Indian character. Fewer theories and more obser-
vation, less fancy and more fact, might have brought us to much more
correct opinions than those which are now current. The Indian is,
after all, believed to be a man, much more fully under the influence of
common sense notions, and obvious every-day motives of thought and
action, hope and fear, than he passes for. If he does not come to the
same conclusions, on passing questions, as we do, it is precisely be-
cause he sees the premises, under widely different circumstances. The
admitted errors of barbarism and the admitted truths of civilization, are two
very different codes. He is in want of almost every source of true know-
ledge and opinion, which we possess. He has very imperfect notions
on many of those branches of knowledge in what we suppose him best
informed. He is totally in the dark as to others. His vague and
vast and dreamy notions of the Great Author of Existence, and the mode

!i!l

PEIlSOrfAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

of his i.ianifestations to the human race, and the wide and complicated
system of superstition and transcendental idolatry which he has reared
upon this basis, place him, at once, with all his sympathies and theories, out
of the great pale of truth and civilization. This is one of the leading
circumstances which prevents him from drawing his conclusions as we
draw them. Placed under precisely similar circumstances, we should
perhaps coincide in his opinion and judgments. But aside from these er-
roneous views, and after making just allowances for his ignorance and
moral depression, the Indian is a man of plain common sense j idg-
ment, acting from what he knows, and sees, and feels, of objeciS imrri ;di-
ately before him, or palpable to his view. If he sometimes emploj > a
highly figurative style to communicate his thoughts, and even stoops as
we now know he does, to amuse his fire-side circle with tales of extra a-
gant and often wild demonic fancy, he is very far from being a man wl o,
in his affairs of lands, and merchandize, and business, exchanges the sobor
thoughts of self preservation and subsistence, for the airy conceptions of
fancy. The ties of consanguinity bind him strongly. The relation of
the family is deep and well traced amongst the wildest tribes, and this
fact alone forms a basis for bringing him back to all his original duties,
and re-organizing Indian society. The author has, at least, been thrown
into scenes and positions, in which this truth has strongly presented itself
to his mind, and he believes the facts are of a character which will
interest the reader, and may be of some use to the people themselves,
so far as affects the benevolent plans of the age, if they do not constitute
an increment in the body of observational testimony, of a practical natura
from which the character of the race is to be judged.

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS OF THE RED RACE,
DRAWN FROM NOTES OF RESIDENCE AND TRAVEL IN THE IN-
DI AN TERRITORIES.

DOMESTIC CONDITION OF THE TRIBES AND CONSTUTION OP THE

INDIAN FAMILY.

brauiRY II.— What is the domestic condition and organization of the Indian family t
Is the tie of consanguinity strong, and what characteristic facts can be stated of it?
How are the domestic duties arranged ? W^hat are the rights of each inmate of the
lodge ? How is order maintained in so confined a space, and the general relations
of the family preserved ? Are the relative duties and labours of the hunter and his
wife, equally or unequally divided ? Who builds the lodge, and how is it constructed?

There is a very striking agreement, in the condition, relative duties
and obligations, of the Indian family, among all the tribes of whom I
have any personal knowledge, in North America. Climate and positionf,
the abundance or want of the means of subsistence and other accidental
causes, have created gradations of condition in the various tribes, some of
whom excel others in expertness, in hunting and war, and other arts, but
these circumstances have done little to alter the general characteristics, or to
abridge or enlarge the original rights and claims of each inmate of the
lodge. The tribes who cultivated maize in the rich sub-vallies and plains
of the Ohio and Mississippi, had fuller means of both physical and mental
development, than those who were, and still are, obliged to pick a scanty
•ubsistence, among the frigid, and half marine regions in the latitudes
north of the great lakes. There are some peculiar traits of manners, in
the prairie-tribes, west of the Mississippi, who pursue the bison on horse
back, and rely for their subsistence greatly, on its flesh, and the sale of its
skin. The well fed Muscogee, Cherokee, or Choctaw, who lived in the
sunny vallios of upper Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, the robust
Osage, revelling in the abundance of corn and wild meat, south of the

7«

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

Missouri, and the lean and rigid Montaignes, Muskeego, and Kenisteno,
who push their canoes through waters choked with aquatic weeds, and
wild rice, present very different pictures of home and comfort, within their
k)dge doors. But they really present the same idea, the same sentiments,
and the same round of duties and obligations, of father and mother, sister
and brother, wife and husband. The original type of the human family
among them, is well preserved, better, indeed, than wis to have been ex-
pected in a state of barbarism, and among branches of the race who have
been so long separated, and subjected to such severe vicissitudes. It
would be useless, in this view, to draw a parallel between the relative con-
dition of the members of a family, within, and without the pale of civiliza-
tion. Nothing of the kind could be done, without showing up pictures
of want in the hunter-life which are wholly unknown in the agricultural
state. It cannot perhaps, in fair justice, be said that the tie of consan-
guinity, in the man of the woods, is stronger, than in civilized life. But
It is in accordance with all observation to say, that it is very strong, that
its impulses beat with marked force, and are more free from the inter-
twined ligaments of interest, which often weakens the tie of relationship in
refined and affluent society.

The true idea of matrimony, in Indian life, is also well set forth and
acknowledged, although it has come down through ages of plunder and
wandering, degraded in its condition, shorn of its just ceremonies, and
weakened in its sacred character. I have observed that polygamy, among
the northern tribes, is chiefly to be found, among bands who are favour-
ably located, and have the best means of subsistence. But even here it is
not reputable ; it may often increase a man's influence in the tribe or nation,
but theie are always persons in the wildest forests, who do not think the
practice right or reputable. In the worst state of Indian society, there are
ilways some glimmerings of truth. If the conscience of the Red man
may be compared to a lamp, it may be said to have rather sunk low into its
socket, than actually to have expired. The relation between husband
»nd wife, in the forest, are formed under circumstances, which are genii-
rally uniform. Various incidents, or motives determine a union. Somo-
times it is brought about by the intervention of friends ; sometimes from
a sudden impulse of admiration ; sometimes with, and sometimes against
the wishes of the graver and more prudent relatives of the parties.
Where the husband is acceptable, and has not before been married,
which covers the majority of cases, he comes to live for a while after mar-
riage, in the lodge of his mother-in-law ; and this relation generally lasts
until the increase of children, or other circumstances determine his setting
up a lodge for himself Presents are still a ready way for a young hun-
ter to render himself acceptable m a lodge. There are some instances,
where considerable ceremony, and the invitation of friends, have attended
the first reception of the bridegroom, at the lodge ; but these are in most

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

cases, what we should denominate matches of state, or expediency, in
which the bravery, or other public services of a chief or leader, has in-
clined his village to think, that his merits deserve the reward of a wife.
Generally, the acceptance of the visitor by the party most interested, and
her mother and father, and their expressed, or tacit consent, is the only
preliminary, and this is done in a private way. The only ceremonial
observance, of which I have ever heard, is the assigning of what is called
an abbinos, or permanent lodge seat, to the bridegroom. When this has
been done, by the mother or mistress of the lodge, who governs these
things, he is received, and henceforth installed as a constituent member of
the lodge and family. The simple rule is, that he who has a right to sit
by the bride, is her husband.

The lodge itself, with all its arrangements, is the precinct of the rule
and government of the wife. She assigns to each member, his or her or-
dinary place to sleep and put their effects. These places are permanent,
and only changed at her will, as when there is a guest by day or night.
In a space so small as a lodge this system preserves order, and being at all
times under her own eye, is enforced by personal supervision. The hus-
band has no voice in this matter, and I have never heard of an instance in
which he would so far deviate from his position, as to interfere in these
minor particulars. The lodge is her precinct, the forest his.

There is no law, nor force, to prevent an Indian from decreeing his
own divorce, that is to say, leaving one wife and taking another whenever
he sees cause. Yet it often occurs that there is some plausible pretext for
such a step, such as if true, would form some justification of the measure.
The best protection to married females arises from the ties of children,
which by bringing into play the strong natural aflfections of the heart, and
appeals at once to that principle in man's original organization, which is
the strongest. The average number of children borne by the women, and
which reach the adult period is small, and will scarcely exceed two. On
the pay rolls it did not exceed this. Much of this extraordinary result is
owing to their erratic mode of life, and their cramped means of subsis-
tence. Another cause is to be found in the accidents and exposure to
which young children are liable, but still more to their shocking ignorance
of medicine. I once* knew a child at three years of age to be killed by
an attempt to restore a deranged state of the bowels, by a strong overdose
of an astringent tincture of hemlock bark administered by her father.
This man, who was called Attuck, had strong natural affections, but he
was very ignorant even in the eyes of the Indian race, being one of that
people living N. E. of lake Superior, who are called variously Gens de
Terres, Mountaineers, and Muskeegoes. Wherever the laws of reproduc
tion are relieved from these depressing circumstances, the number of chil-
dren is seen to be increased.

The chief laba-Waddick, who lived on a small bay at the foot of lake

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

Superior, and had abundance of means of subsistence, had fourteen chil-
dren by one wife. He was an excellent hunter, and of habits for the
most part of his life, strictly temperate ; he had married young, and had
always had the means of providing his family with adequate clothing and
food. Not one of these children died in infancy. He lived himself to be
old, and died rather from a complaint induced by constitutional structure,
than from a natural decay of vital power.

The duties and labours of Indian life, are believed to be equally, and
not, as has been generally thought, unequally divided between the malo
and female. This division is also the most natural possible, and such us
must ever result from the condition of man, as a mere hunter. It is the
duty of the male to provide food, and of the female to prepare it. This
arrangement carries with it to the share of the male, all that relates to ex-
ternal concerns, and all that pertains to the internal to the care of the female
as completely as is done in civilized life. To the man belongs not only the
business of hunting, for this is an employment and not a pastime, but the
care of the territory, and keeping off intruders and enemies, and the pre-
paration of canoes for travel, and of arms and implements of war. The
duties of cooking and dressing meats and fowl, and whatever else the
chase affords, carries on the other hand, to the share of the hunter's wife,
the entire care and controul of the lodge, with its structure and removal,
and the keeping it in order, with all its utensils and apparatus. A good
and frugal hunter's wife, makes all this a point of ambitious interest, and
takes a pride in keeping it neat and proper for the reception of her hus-
band's guests. She sweeps the earth clean around the fire, with a broom
of branches of the cedar constructed for this purpose. This lodge it is tc
be remembered, is made not of beams and posts, and heavy carpentry,
but out of thin poles, such as a child can lift, set in the ground in a circle,
bent over and tied at thetop,and sheathed with long sheets of the white birch
bark. A rim of cedar wood at the bottom, assimilates these birch bark
sheets to the roller of a map, to which in stormy wep.ther a stone is at-
tached to hold it firm. This stick has also the precise use of a map-
roller, for when the lodge is to be removed, the bark is rolled on it, and
in this shape carried to the canoe, to be set up elsewhere. The circle
of sticks or frame, is always left standing, as it would be useless to en-
cumber the canoe with what can easily be had at any position in a forest
country.

Such at least is the hunting lodge, and indeed, the lodge generally
used by the tribes north of lattitude 42°. It is, in its figure, a half globe,
and by its lightness and wicker-like structure, may be saiJ to resemble an
inverted bird's nest. The whole amount of the transportable materials of
it, is often comprehended in some half a dozen good rolls of bark, and as
many of rush mats which the merest girl can easily lift. The mats which
are the substitute for floor cloths, and also the under stratum of the sleep-

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESaiONS.

lly

ing couch, are made out of the common lacustris or bulhush, or the
flag, cut at the proper season, and woven in a warp of fine hemp net
thread, such as is furnished by traders in the present state of the Indian
trade. A portion of this soft vegetable woof, is dyed, and woven in vari-
ous colours. Lodges thus constructed are to be still abundantly seen,
by the summer visitor, in the upper lakes, at all the principal points, to
which the Indians resort, during the height of summer. Such are the
posts of Michilimackinac, Sault Ste. Marie, and Green Bay. At Michili-
mackinac, where it is now difficult to get fresh lodge poles, without going
some distance, or trespassing on private rights, the natives who resort thi*
ther, of late years, have adopted an ingenious change, by which two ob-
jects are accomplished at the same time, and the labour of the females dis-
pensed with in getting new poles. It is known, that the bark canoe, be-
ing itself but an enlarged species of wicker work, has not sufficierU
strength to be freighted, without previously having a number of poles laid
longitudinally, in the bottom, as a kind of vertebral support. These poles
on landing upon the gravelly shores of that island, are set up, or stacked
to use a military phrase, that is tying the tops together and then drawing
out the other ends so as to describe a circle, and thus making a perfect
cone. The bark tapestry is hung around these poles very much as it
would be around the globular close lodges ; and by this arrangement, an
Indian lodge is raised, and ready for occupation, in as many minutes,
after ' mding, as the most expert soldiers could pitch a tent in.

Before we can affirm that the labour of preparing these barks and mat«
and setting up, and taking down, the lodge, is disproportionately great,
or heavy on the females, it will be necessary to inquire into other particu-
lars, both on the side of the male and female. Much of the time of an In-
dian female, is passed in idleness. This is true not only of a part of every
day, but is emphatically so, of certain seasons of the year. She has not
like the farmer's wife, her cows to milk, her butter and cheese to make,
and her flax to spin. She has not to wash and comb and prepare her
children every morning, to go to school. She has no extensive or fine
wardrobe to take care of She has no books to read. She sets little value
on time, which is characteristic of all the race. What she does, is either
very plain sewing, or some very pains taking ornamental thing. When
the sheathing and flooring of the lodges a-re once made, they are
permanent pieces of property, and do not require frequent renewal.
When a skin has been dressed, and a garment made of it, it is worn,
till it is worn out. Frequent ablution and change of dress, are eminently
the traits of high civilization, and not of the hunter's lodge. The
articles which enter into the mysteries of the laundry, add but little to
the cares of a forest housekeeper. With every industrial efllbrt, and
such is, somtimes the case, there is much unoccupied time, while her hus-
band is compelled by their necessities, to traverse large tracts, and endure

PKR80NAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

great fatigues, in all weathers in quest of food. He must defend his hunt*
ing grounds, in peace and war, and has his life daily in his hands-
Long obsences are often necessary, on these accounts. It is at such times,
during the open season, thot the Indian femole exerts her industry. In
the fall season, she takes her children in a canoe, or if she have none in-
vites a female companion to go with her, along the streams, to cut the
rush, to be manufactured into mats, at her leisure, in the winter. It is
also a part of her duty, at all seasons, to provide fuel for the lodge fire,
which she is careful to do, that she may suitably receive her husband, on
his return from the chase, and have the means of drying his wet mocca-
sins, and a cheerful spot, where he may light his pipe, and regain his mental
equilibrium, while she prepares his meals. The very idea of a female's
chopping wood, is to some horrifHc. But it is quite true that the Indian
female does chop wood, or at least, exert an undue labour, in procuring
this necessary article of the household. In speaking of the female, we, at
once, rush to the poetic idea of the refinement of lady like gentleness, and
delicacy. Not only does the nature of savage life and the hardiness of
muscle created by centuries of forest vicissitude, give the hunter's wife,
but a slender claim on this particular shade of character, but the kind ot
labour implied, is very difforent from the notion civilized men have of
"wood chopping." The emigrant swings a heavy axe of six pounds
weight, incessantly, day in, and day out, against immense trees, in the
heaviest forest, until he has opened the land to the rays of the sun, and
prepared an amount of cyclopean labours for the power of fire, and the
ox. The hunter clears no forests, the limits of which on the contrary, he
carefully cherishes for his deer to range in. He seats himself down, with
his lodge, in the borders of natural glades, or meadows, to plant his few
hills of maize. He had no metallic axe, capable of cutting down a tree,
before 1492, and he has never learned to wield a heavy axe up to 1844.
His wife, always made her lodge fires by gathering sticks, and she does
so still. She takes a hatchet of one or two pounds weight, and after
collecting dry limbs in the forest, she breaks them into lengths of about
18 inches, and ties them in bundles, or faggots, and carries them, at her
leisure, to her lodge. Small as these sticks are, in their length and diame-
ter, but few are required to boil her pot. The lodge, being of small cir
cumference, but little heat is required to warm the oir, and by susp«nding
the pot by a string from above, over a small blaze, the object is attained,
without that extraordinary expenditure of wood, which, to the perfect
amazement of the Indian, characterizes the emigrant's roaring fire of logs.
The few fields which the Indians have cleared and prepared for corn fields,
in northern latitudes, are generally to be traced to some adventitious opening,
and have been enlarged very slowly. Hence, I have observed, that when
t ey have come to be appraised, to fix their value as improvements upon
the land, under treaty provisions, that the amount thereof may be paid the

PERSONAL INCIDENTS AND IMPRESSIONS.

otvner, they havo uniformly set a high estimate upon these ancient clear*
mgs, and sometimes regarded their value, one would think, in the inverse
proportion of these limits. As if, indeed, there were some merit, in having
but half an acre of cleared ground, where, it might be supposed, the owner
would have cultivated ten acres. And this half acre, is to be regarded as
the industrial sum of the agricuhurul labours of all ages and sexes, during
perhaps, ten generations. Could the whole of this physical effort, there-
fore, be traced to female hands, which is doubtful, for the old men and
boys, will often do something, it would not be a very severe imposition.
There is at least, a good deal, it is believed, in this view of the domestic
condition of the women to mitigate the severity of judgment, with which
the proud and labour-hating hunter, has sometimes been visited. He has.
in our view, the most important part of the rekiivcj duties of Indian life,
to sustain. In the lodge he is a mild, considerate man, of the non-interfering
and non-scolding species. He may indeed, be looked upon, rather as the
guest of his wife, than what he is often represented to be, her tyrant, and
he is often only known as the lord of the lodge, by the attention and res-
pect which she shows to him. He is a man of few words. If her temper
is ruffled, he smiles. If he is displeased, he walks away. It is a pro-
vince in which his actions acknowledge her right to rule ; and it is one,
in which his pride and manliness have exalted him above the folly of al-
tercation.

: ^'1

THE MANITO TREE.

There is a prominent hill in the vicinity of Sault Ste. Marie, at the ou»-
let of luko Superior, called by the French La Butte des Tents. An In-
dian footpath formerly connected this hill with the old French scttlenrjcnt
at those /iills, from which it is distant about a mila. In the intermediate
apace, near the path, there formerly stood a tree, a large mountain ash,
from which, Indian tradition says, there issued a sound, resembling that
produced by their own war-drums, during one of the most culm and
cloudless days. This occurred long before the French appeared in the
country. It was consequently regarded as the local residence of a spirit,
and deemed sacred. *

From that time they began to deposit at its foot, an offering of small
green twigs and boughs, wi)cnever they passed the path, so that, in pro
cess of lime, a high pile of these offerings of the forest was accumulated
It seemed as if, by this procedure, the other trees had each made an offer
ing to this tree. At length the tree blew down, during a violent storm
and has since entirely decayed, but the spot was recollected and the offer
ings kept up, and they would have been continued to the present hour
had not an accidental circumstance put a stop to it.

In the month of July 18'^2, the government sent a military force to take
post, at that ancient point of French settlement, at the foot of the falls, and
one of the first acts of the commanding officer was to order out a fatigue
party to cut a wagon road from the selected site of the post to the hill. This
road was directed to be cut sixty feet wide, and it passed over the site of
the tree. The pile of offerings was thus removed, without the men's
knowing that it ever had had a superstitious origin ; and thus the practice
itself came to an end. I had landed with the troops, and been at the place
but nine days, in the exercise of my appropriate duties as an Agent on the
part of the government to the tribe, when this trait of character was men-
tioned to me, and I was thus made personally acquainted with the locality,
the cutting of the road, and the final extinction of the rite.

Our Indians are rather prone to regard the coming of the white man,
as, fulfilling certain obscure prophecies of their own priests ; and that they
arO; at best, harbingers of evil to them ; and with their usual belief in
fatal.'ty, they tacitly drop such rites as the foregoing. They can excuse
themselves to their consciences in such cases, in relinquishing the wor-
ship of a local manito, by saying: Jt is the tread of the white man that
has desecrated the ground.

TALES OF A WIGWAM.

THE WHITE STONE CA]JOE.

Thkre was once a very beautiful young girl, wjio died suddenly on the
day she was to have been married to a handsome young man. He was
also bravo, but his heart was not proof against this loss. From the
hour she was buried, there was no more joy or peace for him. He went
often to visit the spot where the women had buried her, and sat musing
there, when, it was thought, by some of his friends, he would have done
better to try to amuse himself in the chase, or by diverting his thoughts in
the war-path. But war and hunting had both lost their charms for him.
His heart was already dead within him. He pushed aside both his
war-club and his bow and arrows.

He had heard the old people say, that there was a path, that led to the
land of souls, and he determined to follow it. He accordingly set out,
one morning, after having completed his preparations for the journey.
At first he hardly knew which way to go. He was only guided by the
tradition that he must go south. For a while, he could see no change in
the face of the country. Forests, and hills, and vallies, and streams had
the same looks, which they wore in his native place. There was snow
on the ground, when he set out, and it was sometimes seen to be piled
and matted on the thick trees and bushes. At length, it began to dimin-
ish, and finally disappeared. The forest assumed a more cheerful ap-
pearance, the leaves put forth their buds, and before he was aware of
the completeness of the change, he found himself surrounded by spring,
He had left behind him the land of snow and ice. The air became
mild, the dark clouds of winter had rolled away from the sky ; a pure
field of blue was above him, and as he went he saw flowers beside his
path, and heard the songs of birds. By these signs he knew that he was
going the right way, for they agreed with the traditions of his tribe. At
length he spied a path. It led him through a grove, then up a long and
elevated ridge, on the very top of which he came to a lodge. At the
door stood an old man, with white hair, whose eyes, though deeply sunk,
had a fiery brilliancy. He had a long robe of skins thrown loosely

around his shoulders, and a staff in his hands. _

' 79

THE WHITE STONE CANOE.

The youno- Chippewayan began to tell his story ; but the venerable chief
arrested him befoni he had proceeded to speak ten words. I li.ive expected
yoii, he replied, and had just risen to bid you we.'come to my abode. She,
wnom you seek, passed here but a few days since, and being fatigued with
her journey, rested herself here. Enter vr>y lodge and be seated, and I
will then satisfy your enquiries, and give you directions for your journey
from this point. Having done this, they both issued forth to the lodge door.
"You see yonder gulf, said he, and the wide stretching blue plains be
yond. It is the land of souls. You stand upon its borders, and my lodge
is the ffate of entrance. But you cannot take your body along. Leave it
here with your ha/k and arrow:, your bundle and your dog. You will
find them safe on your return." So saying, he re-entered the lodge, and
the freed traveller bounded forward, as if his feet had suddenly been endow-
ed with the power of wings. But all things retained their natural colours
and shapes. The woods and leaves, and streams and lakes, were only
more bright and comely than he had ever witnessed. Animals bounded
across his path with a freedom and a confidence which seemed to tell
him, there was no blood shed here. Birds of beautiful plumage inhabit-
ed the groves, an i sported in the waters. There was but one t'ling, in
which he saw a very unusual effect. He noticed that his passage was
not stopped by trees or other objects. He appeared to walk directly
through them. They were, in fact, but the souls or shadows of material
trees. He became sensible that he, was in a land of shadows. When
he had travelled half a day's journey, through a country which was con-
tinually becoming more attractive, he came to the banks of a broad lake,
in the centre of which was a large and beautiful is'ind. He found a
canoe of shining white stone, tied to the^hore. He was now sure that
he had come the right path, for the aged man had told him of this. There
were also shinmg paddles. He immediately entered the canoe, and took
the paddles in his hands, when to hij joy and surprise, on turning round,
he beheld the object of his search in another canoe, exactly its counter-
part in every thing. She had exactly imitated his motions, and they were
side by side. They at once pushed out from shore and began to cross
the lake. Its waves seemed to be rising and at a distance looked ready to
swallow them up; but just as they entered the whitened edge of them
they seemed to melt away, as if they were but the images of waves. But
no sooner was one wreath of foam passed, than another, more threaten-
ing still, ro.se up. Thus they were in perpetual fear; and what added to
it, was the clearness of the water, through which they could see heaps of
beings who hid perished before, and whose bones laid strewed on the
bottom of the lake. The Master of Life had, however, decreed to let them
pass, for the actions of neither of them had been bad. But they saw many
others stniirgling and sinking in the waves. Old men and young men,
males and females of all o'^es ard ranks, were there; some passed, and

I 4i

THE WHITE STONE CANOE.

some sank. It was only the little children whose canoes seemed to meet
no waves. At length, every difficulty was gone, as in a moment, and
they both leapt out on the happy island. They felt that the very air
was food. It strengthened and nourished them. They wandered to-
gether over the blissful fields, where every thing was formed to please the
eye and the ear. There were no tempests — there was no ice, no chilly
winds — no one shivered for the want of warm clothes: no one suffered
for hunger — no one mourned for the dead. They saw no graves. They
heard of no wars. There was no hunting of animals ; for the air itself
was their food. Gladly would the young warrior have remained there
forever, but he was obliged to go back for his body. He did not see
the Master of Life, but he heard his voice in a soft breeze: "Go back,
said this voice, to the land from whence you came. Your time has not
yet come. The duties for which I made you, and Avhich you are to per-
form, are not yet finished. Return to your people, and accomplish
the duties of a good man. You will be the ruler of your tribe for many
days. The rules you must observe, will be told you by my messenger,
who keeps the gate. When he surrenders back your body, he will tell
you what to do. Listen to him, and you shall afterwards rejoin the spirit,
which you must now leave behind. She is accepted and will be ever
here, as young and as happy as she was when I first called her from the
land of snows." When this voice ceased, the narrator awoke. It was
the fancy work of a dream, and he was still in the bitter land of snows,
snd hunger and tears.

THE

LYNX AND THE HARE,

A FALLE FROM THE OJIBWA-ALGONQUIN.

A LYNX almost famished, met a hare one day in the woods, in the winter
season, but the hare was separated from its enemy by a rock, upon which
It stood. The lynx began to speak to it in a very kind manner. " Wa-
bose ! Wabose •" * said he, " come here my little white one, I wish to talk
to you." " O no," said the hare, " I. am afraid of you, and my mother
told me never to go and talk with strangers." " You are very pretty,"
replied the lynx, " and a very obedient child to your parents ; but you must
know that I am a relative of yours ; I wish to send some word to your
lodge ; come down and see me." The hare was pleased to be called pretty,
and when she heard that it was a relative, she jumped down from the
place where she stood, and immediately the lynx pounced upon her and
tore her to pieces.

• Tliis word appears to be a derivation from th« radix Wawb, white,
nation in o is the objective sign. The term is made diminutive in a.

The termi-

THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN.
AN OTTOWA TRADITION,

A LONG time ago, there lived an aged Odjibwa and his wife, on tha
shores of Lake Huron. They had an only son, a very beautiful boy,
whose name was 0-na-wut-a-qut-o, or he that catches the clouds. Th«
family were of the totem of the beaver. The parents were very proud
of him, and thought to make him a celebrated m»«, but when he reached
the proper age, he would not submit to the We-koon-de-win, or fast.
V/hen this time arrived, they gave him char-vjal, instead of his brenkfast,
but he would not blacken his face. If they denied him food, he would
seek for birds' eggs, along the shore, or pick up the heads of fish that had
been cast away, and broil them. One day, they took away violently the
food he had thus prepared, and cast him some coals in place of it. This
act brought him to a decision. He took the coals and blackened his face,
and went rut of the lodge. He did not return, but slept without; and
during the night, he had a dream. He dreamed that he saw a very
beautiful female come down from the clouds and stand by his side. "O-
no-wut-a-qut-o," said she, "I am come for you — step in my tracks." The
young man did so, and presently felt himself ascending above the tops of
the trees — he mounted up, step by step, into the air, and through the
clouds. His guide, at length, passed through an orifice, and he, following
her, found himself standing on a beautiful plain.

A path led to a splendid lodge. He followed her into it. It was large,
and divided into two parts. On one end he saw bows and arrows, clubs
and spears, and various warlike implements tipped with silver. On the
other end, were things exclusively belonging to females. This was the
home of his fair guide, and he saw that she had, on the frame, a broad
rich belt, of many colours, which she was weaving. She said to him:
"My brother is coming and I must hide you." Putting him in one cor-
ner, she spread the bek over him. Presently the brother came in, very
richly dressed, and shining as if he had had points of silver all over him.
He took down from the wall a splendid pipe, together with his sack of a-
pa-ko-ze-gun, or smoking mixture. When he had finished regaling him-
self in this way, and laid his pipe aside, he said to his sister : " Nemissa,'
(which is, my elder sister,) "when will you quit these practices? Do you
forget that the Greatest of the Spirits has commanded that you should not

THE WORSHIP OP THE SUN.

take away the children from below? Perhaps you suppose that you have
concealed 0-na-wut-a-qut-o, but do I not know of his coming? If you
would not offend me, send him back immediotely." But this address did
not alter her purpose. 3he would not send him back. Finding that she
was purposed in her mind, he then spoke to the young lad, and called him
from his hiding place. "Come out of your concealment," said he, "and
walk about and amuse yourself You will grow hungry if you remain
there." He then prr^ented him a bow and arrovvs, and a pipe of red stone,
richly ornamented. This was taken as the word of consent to his mar-
riage ; so the two were considered husband and wife from that time

0-no-wut-a-qut-o found every thing exceedingly fair and beautiful around
him, but he found no inhabitants except her brother. There were flowers
on the plains. There were bright and sparkling streams. There were
green vallies and pleasant trees. There were gay birds and beautiful
animals, but they were not such as he had been accustomed to see. There
was also day and night, as on the earth ; but he observed that every morn-
ing the brother regularly left the lodge, and remained absent all day ; and
every evening the sister departed, though it was commonly but for a part
of the niarht.

ii» «'>uno8ity was aroused to solve this mystery. He obtained the
brothe/> consent to accompany him in one of his daily journies. They
travelled vfer a smooth plain, withotit boundaries, until 0-no-wut-a-qut-o
felt the gnawin^s of appetite, and asked his companion if there were no
game. "Patieiv'-e! my brother," said he, "we shall soon reach the spot
where I eat my 4mner, and you will then see how I am provided." After
walking on a long time, they came to a place which was spread over with
fine mats, where they sat -iown to refresh themselves. There was, at this
place, a hole through the sky : and O-no-wut-a-out o, looked down, at the
bidding of his companion, '■■oon the earth. He sa'v below the great lakes,
and the villages of the Ind.-^ns. In one place, he .'".u, a war party steal-
ing on the carap of their enemies. In another, iie sa^ • ; rastiog and dancing.
On a green plain, young men were engaged a* ball. Along a stream,
women were employed in gathering the a-pukv/a for mats.

"Do you see," said the brother, "that grr*!, of' children piayin.o beside
a lodge. Observe that beautiful and active boy," said he, at the same time
darting something at him, from his hand. The child ii!nnedi.''Uelv fell,
and was carried into the lodge.

They looked again, and saw the people gathering abou .c lodge.
They heard the she-she-gwan of the meeta, and the song he sung, asking
that the child's life might be spared. To this request, the comnanion of
0-no-wut-a-qut-o made answer — "send me up the sacrifice of a white dog."
Immediately a feast was ordered by the parents of the child, the ^^hite dog
was killed, his carcass was roasted, and all the wise men and medicine
men of the village assembled to witness the ceremony " There are many

« ifl

Sl^ THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN.

below," continued the voice of the brother, "whom you callgreit in med-
ical skill but it is because their ears are open, and tbey listen to my
voice that they are able to succeed. When I have struck one with sick-
ness, they direct the people to look to me: and when they send me the
offering I ask, I remove my hand from off them, and they are well."
After he had said thi?, th./ saw the sacrifice parcelled out in dishes, for
those who were at the feast. The master of the feast then said, "wc send
this to thee, Great Manito," and immediately the roasted animal came up.
Thus their dinner was supplied, and after they had eaten, they returned
to the lodge by another way.

After this manner they lived for some time; but the place became
wearisome at last. 0-no-wut-a-qut-o thought of his friends, and wished
to go back to them. He had not forgotten his native village, and his
father's lodge ; and he asked leave of his wife, to return. At length
she consented. " Since you are better pleased," she replied, with the
cares and the ills, and the poverty of the Avorld, than with the peaceful
delights of the sky, and its boundless prairies, go! I give you permission,
and since I have brought you hither, I will conduct you back; but re-
member, you are still my husband, I hold a chain in my hand by which
I can draw you back, whenever I will. My power over you is not, in any
manner, diminished. Beware, therefore, how you venture to take a wife
among the people below. Should you ever do so, it is then that you shah
feel the force of my displeasure."

As she said this, her eyes sparkled — she raised herself slightly on her
toes, and stretched herself up, with a majestic air; and at that moment, O
no-wut-a-quto awoke from his dream. He found himself on the ground,
near his father's lodge, at the very spot where he had laid himself down
to fast. Instead of the bright beings of a higher world, he found himself
surrounded by his parents and relatives. His mother told him he had
been absent a year. The change was so great, that he remained for some
time moody and abstracted, but by degrees, he recovered his spirits. He
began to doubt the reality of all he had heard and seen above. At last,
he forgot the admonitions of his spouse, and married a beautiful young
woman of his own tribe. But within four days, she was a corpse. Even
the fearful admonition was lost, and he repeated the offence by a
second marriage. Soon afterwards, he went out of the lodge, one night,
but never returned. It was believed that his wife had recalled him to the
region of the clouds, where the tradition asserts, he still dwells, and walks
on the daily rounds, which he once witnessed.

The native tribes are a people without ma.\ims : One of the few which
have been noticed is this : Do not tell a story in the summer ; if you do,
the toads will visit you.

SHINGEBISS.

10,

,>l THE ODJIBWA-ALGONQUIN,

There was once a Shingebiss, [the name of a kind of duck] living alone,
in a solitary lodge, on the shores of the deep bay of a lake, in the coldest
winter weather. The ice had formed on the water, and he had but four
logs of wood to keep his fire. Each of these, would, however, burn a
month, and as there were but four cold winter months, they were sulHcient
to carry him through till spring.

Shingebiss was hardy and fearless, an'' cared for no one. He would
go out during the coldest day, and seek for places where flags and rushes
grew through the ice, and plucking them up with his bill, would dive
*hrough the openings, in quest of fish. In this way he found plenty of
food, while others were starving, and he went home daily to his lodge,
dragging strings of fish after him, on the ice.

Kabebonicca * observed him, and felt a little piqued at his perseverance
and good luck in defiance of the severest blasts of wind he could send
from the ncrlhwest. " Why ! this is a wonderful man," said he ; " he does
not mind the cold, and appears as happy and consented, as if it were the
month of June. I will try, whether he cannot be mastered." He poured
forth ten-fold colder blasts, and drifts of snow, so that it was next to impos-
sible to live in the open air. Still the fire of Shingebiss did not go out :
he wore but a single strip of leather around his body, and he was seen, in
the worst weather, searching the shores for rushes, and carrying home fish.

" I shall go and visit him," said Ktibebonicca, one day, as he saw Shin-
gebiss dragging along a quantity of fish. And accordingly, that very
night, he went to the door of his lodge. Meantime Shingebiss had cooked
his fish, and finished his meal, and was lymg, partly on his side, before
the fiio singing his songs. After Kabebonicca had come to the door, and
stood listening there, he sang as follows :

Ka Neej Ka Neej

Be In Be In

Bon In . Bon In

Oc Ee. Oc Ee.

m We-ya! Cft We-ya !

The number of words, in this song, are few and simple, but they are
made up from compounds wliich carry the whole of their original mean-
ings, and are rather suggestive of the ideas floating in the mind, than
actual expressions of those ideas. Literally he sings :

Spirit of the North West — you are but my fellow man.
* A personitioation of the North West

-f

SBINGERISS.

By being broken into syllables, to correspond with a simple chant, nnd
by the power of intonation and repetition, with a chorus, these words are
expanded into melodious utterance, if we may be allowed the term, and
may be thus rendered :

Windy god, I know your plan,
You are but my fellow man.
Blow you may your coldest breeze,
Shingebiss you cannot freeze.
Sweep the strongest wind you can,
Shingebiss is still your man,
Heigh I for life — and ho ! for bliss.
Who so free as Shingebiss ?

The hunter knew that Kabebonicca was at his door, for he feh his cold
anc* strong breath ; but he kept on singing his songs, and affected utter
indilierence. At length Kabebonicca entered, and took his seat on the
opposite side of the lodge. But Shingebiss did not regard- or notice him.
ti(? got up, as if nobody were present, and taking his poker, pushed the
bg, which made his fire burn brighter, repeating as he sat down agtiin :

You are but my fellow man.

'/fTy soon the tears began tq^flow down Kabebonicca's cheeks, which
increased so fast, that, presently, he said to himself, " I cannot stand this —
I must go out." He did so, and left Shingebiss to his songs ; but resolved
to freeze up all the flag orifices, and make the ice thick, so that he could not
get any more fish. Still Shingebiss, by dint of great diligence, found
means to pull up new roots, and dive under for fish. At last Kabebon-
icca was compelled to give up the contest. " He must be aided by some
Monedo," said he, '' I can neither freeze him, nor starve him, he is a very
singular being — I will let him alone."

The mtroduction of the Saxon race into North America, has had three
determined opponents, the life of each of whom forms u distinct era. They
were Powhatan, Metakom, and Pontiac. Each pursued the same method
to accomplish his end, and each was the indominitable foe of the race. —
Sassaci!s ought, perhaps, to l.> add. 1 to the number. Brant, was but a
partisan, imd fought for orie branch, against another. Tecumseh, was
also, rather the foe of the Aiaerican type of the race, than the whole race.
The same can be said of lesser men, such as Little Turtle, Buckanjaheela,
and Black Hawk. Uncas was also a partisan, not a hater of the white
race, and like Waub Ojeeg in the north, fought, that one tribe might
prevail over another. If the Saxon race profited by this, he rould not
help it. Tuscaloosa fought for his tribe's supremacy ; Osceola fo?
revenge.

EARLY INDIAN BIOGRAPHY.

PISKARET.

There lived a noted chief on the north banks of the St. Lawrence in
.he latter part of the 16th century, who was called by the Iroquois, Piskaret,
but the true pronunciation of whose name, by his own people, was Bisco-
nace, or the Little Blaze. Names are often arbitrarily bestowed by the
Indians, from some trivial circumstance in domestic life, or hunting, as
mere nick names, which take the place of the real names : for it is a prac-
tice among this people to conceal their real names, from a subtle, supersti-
tious notion, that, if so known, they will be under the power of priestly
incantation, or some other evil influence.

What the real name of this man was, if it differed from the above, is not
known, as this was his only appellation. He was an Adirondak : that
is to say, one of the race of people who were called Adirondaks by the
Iroquois, but Algonquins by the French. And as the Algonquins and
Iroquois, had lately became deadly enemies and were so then, the distinction
to which Bisconace rose, was in the conducting of the war which his peo-
ple waged against the Iroquois, or Five Nations.

It seems, from the accounts of both English and French authors, that
the Algonquins, at the period of the first settlement of the St. Lawrence,
were by far the most advanced in arts and knowledge, and most distin-
guished for skill in war and hunting, of all the nations in North America.
This at least is certain, that no chief, iir or near, enjoyed as high a repu-
tation for daring valor and skill as Bis 'onace. He is spoken of in this
light by all who name him ; he was so lerce, subtle and indomitable that
he became the terror of his enemies, who were startled at the very
mention of his name. Bisconace lived on the north banks of the St. Law-
rence, below Montreal, and carried on his wars against the Indians inhabit-
ing the northern parts of the present state of New York, often proceeding
by the course of the River Sorel.

The period of \\u\ Adinniihik supremacy, embraced the close of the
l5th century and the brgiiuiiiiji of ihu lOth, and at this time the people be-
gan to derive great power nml liulilucss, iVnin llio possession of fire arms,
with which tho Frt'iioh supplied thoin, before their southern and western
neighlm\iis cauie to participate in this great improveniont, this striking era
of tlio Red man, in the art of war. Colden is thought to be a little out,
in the great estimate he furnishes of the power, influence, and advfinces
of this great family of the Red Race. The French naturally puffed them
up a good deal ; but we may admit that they were most expert Avarriors,
and hunters, and manufactured arms and canoes, with great skill. They

! . «

Ai!<Mt(t^TtMt^i

EARLY INDIAN BIOGRAPHY.

were the prominent enemies of the Five Nations ; and like all enemies at
a distance had a formidable name. The word Adirondak is one of Iro-
quois origin; but the French, who always gave their own names to the
Tribes and had a policy in so doing, called them Algonquins — a term
whose origin is involved in some obscurity. For a time, they prevailed
affainst their enemies south of the St. Lawrence, but the latter were soon
furnished with arms by the Dutch, who entered the Hudson in 1609, and
their allies, the Iracoson, or Iroquois, soon assumed that rank in war
which, if they had before lacked, raised them to so high a point of pre-
eminence. It was in that early period of the history of these nations that
Bisconace exerted his power.

Where a people have neither history nor biography, there is but little
hope that tradition will long preserve the memory of events. Some of
the acts of this chief are known through the earlier colonial writers. So
great was the confidence inspired in the breast of this chief, by the use of
fire arms, that he pushed into the Iroquois country like a mad man. and
performed some feats against a people armed with bows only, which are
astonishing.

With only four chiefs to aid him, he left Trois Rivieres, on one occa-
sion, in a single canoe, with fifteen loaded muskets, thus giving three
pieces, to each man. Each piece was charged with two balls, joined by a
small chain ten inches long. Soon after entering the Sorel river, he en-
countered five bark canoes of Iroquois, each having ten men. To cloak
his ruse he pretended to give himself up for lost, in view of such a dis-
parity of numbers ; and he and his companions began to sing their death
song They had no sooner got near their enemies, however, than they
began to pour in their chain-shot, riddling the frail canoes of the enemy,
who tumbled into the water, and sunk under the active blows of their
adversaries. Some he saved to grace his triumphant return, and these
were tortured at the stake.

On another accasion he undertook an enterprize alone. Being well
acquainted with the Iroquois country, he set out, about the time the snow
began to melt, taking the precaution to put the hinder part of his snow-
shoes forward to mislead the enemy, in case his track should be discovered.
As a further precaution, he avoided the plain forest paths, keeping along
the ridges and high stony grounds, where the snow was melting, that his
track might be often lost. When he came near to one of the Villages of
the Five Nations, he hid himself till night. He then crept forth, and en-
tered a lodge, where he found every soul asleep. Having killed them all,
he took their scalps, and went back to his lurking place. The next day
the people of the village searched in vaiu fci the perpetrator. At night
he again sallied forth, and repeated the act, on another lolge, with equal
secrecj' and success. Again the villagers searched, but could find no
traces of hi.? footsteps. They determined, however, to set a watch. Pis-

EARLY INDIAN BIOGRAPHY.

karet, anticipating this, gathered up his scalps, and stole forth slyly, but
found the inhabitants of every lodge on the alert, save one, where the sen-
tinel had fallen asleep. T'lis man he despatched and scalped, but alarmed
the rest, who rose in the pursuit. He was, however, under no great
fears of being overtaken. One of the causes of his great confidence in
himself was found in the fact that he was the swiftest runner known.
He eluded them often, sometimes, however, lingering to draw them on,
and tire them out. When he had played this trick, he hid himself His
pursuers, finding they had let him escape, encamped, thinking themselves
in safety, but they had no sooner fallen asleep, than he stole forth from
his lurking place, and despatched every one of them. He added their
scalps to his bundle of trophies, and then returned.

Recitals of this kind flew from village to village, and gave him the
greatest reputation for courage, adroitness and fleetness.

The Five Nations were, however, early noted for their skill in stratagem,
and owed their early rise to it. They were at this era engaged in their
long, fierce and finally triumphant war against the Algonquins and Wy-
andots, or to adopt the ancient terms, the Adirondaks and Gluatoghies.
These latter they defeated in a great battle, fought within two miles of
Cluebec. In this battle the French, who were in reality weak in number,
were neutral. Their neutrality, on this occasion, happened in this way.
ITiey had urged the reception of priests upon the Five Nations, through
whose influence, they hoped to prevail over that people, and to wrest
western New York from the power of the Dutch and English. As soon
as a number of these missionaries of the sword and cross had insinuated
themselves among the Five Nations, the latter seized them, as hostages ;
and, under a threat of their execution, kept the French quiet in this deci-
sive battle. This scheme had succeeded so well, that it taught the Five
Nations the value of negociation ; and they determined, the next year, to
try another. Pretending that they were now well satisfied with their tri-
umph on ihe St. Lawrence, they sent word that they meant to make a
formidable visit to Yonnendio, this being the official name they bestowed
on the governor of Canada. Such visits they always made with great
pomp and show ; and on this occasion, they came with 1000 or 1200 men.
On the way to Quebec, near the river Nicolet, their scouts met Piskaret,
whom they cajoled, and kept in utter ignorance of the large force behind
until they had drawn out of him an important piece of information, and
then put him to death. They cut off" his head, and carried it to the Iro-
quois army. To have killed him, was regarded as an assurance of ulti-
mate victory. These scouts also carried to the army the information,
which they had obtained, that the Adirondaks were divided into two
bodies, one of which hunted on the river Nicolet, and the other at a place
called Wabmeke, on the north side of the St. Lawrence. They immedi-

EARLY INDIAN BIOGRAPHY.

ately divided their forces, fell upon each body at unawares and cut ihera
both to pieces.

This is the great triumph to which Charlevoix, in his hist(.vry of New
France, alludes. It was the turning point in the war against the confiedRrated
Wyandots, and Algonquins, and, in effect, drove both nations, in the end,
effectually out of the St. Lawrence valley. The former fled to Lake Hu-
ron, to which they imparted their name. Some of the Adirondaks took
shelter near Gluebec, under the care of the Jesuits ; the larger number
went up the Utawas, to the region of Lake Nipising ; the Atawairos fled
to a larire chain of islands in Lake Huron, called the Menaloulins ; other
bands scattered in other directions. Each one had some local name; and
all, it is probable, were well enough pleased to hide their defeat by tho
Five Nations, under local and geographical designations. But they had
no peace in their refuge. The spirit of revenge burned in the breast of the
Iroquois, particularly against their kindred tribe, the Wyandots, whom
they pursued into Lake Huron, drove them from their refuge at Michili-
mackinac, and pushed them even to Lake Superior, where for many years,
this ancient tribe continued to dwell.

The pernicious examples of white men, who have conducted the Indian
trade, their immoral habits, injustice, and disregard of truth, and open
licentiousnes 3, have created the deepest prejudice in the minds of the Red
men against the whole European race.

The Indian only thinks when he is forced to think, by circumstances.
Fear, hunger and self-preservation, are the three prominent causes of his
thoughts. Affection and reverence for the dead, come next.

Abstract thought is the characteristic of civilization. If teachers could
induce the Indians to think on subjects not before known to them, or but
imperfectly known, they would adopt one of the most efficacious means
of civilizing them.

Christianity is ultraism to an Indian It is so opposed to his natural
desires, that he, at first, hates it, and decries it. Opposite states of feeling,
however, affect him, precisely as they do white men. What he at first
hates, he may as suddenly love and embrace.

Christianity is not propagated by ratiocination, it is the result of feelings
and affections on the will and understanding. Hence an Indian can be-
come a christian.

THE SAUSTAWRAYTSEES,

THE ORIGIN OF THE WYANDOT AND SENECA TRIBES.

' his

iral
ii:st

igs
I be.

A WYANDOT TRADITION.

Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, a body of Indians, com-
posed of the Wyandots (or as they Avere then called the Saus-taw-ray-
tsee) and Seneca tribes inhabited the l>ordL =; of Lake Ontario. The pre-
sent Wyandots and Senecas are the reinai f this community, and of
the cause of their separation and of the i . ss hostilities by which it

was succeeded, the following details are given in the traditionary history
of the Wyandots.

A Wyandot girl, whose name for the sake of distinction shall be Oon-
pay-slee, and in whom appeared united a rare combination of moral attrac-
tions', and of e.xtraordinary personal beauty, had for her suitors, nearly
all the young men of her tribe. As insensible however, as beautiful, the
attentions of her lovers were productive of no favorable effect, for though
none were rejected, yet neither was any one distinguished by her partiality.
This unaccountable apathy became, in time, a subject not only of general,
but of common interest to the young Wyandots. A council composed of
those interested in the issue of these many and importunate applications
for her favor, was held for the purpose of devising some method, by which
her intentions in relation to them might be ascertained. At this, when
these amourists had severally conceded, each, that he could boast of no in-
dication of a preference shown by Oon-yay-stee to himself, upon which to
found a reasonable hope of ultimately succeeding, it was finally deter-
mined, that their claims should be withdrawn in favor of the War Chief
of their lodge. This was adopted, not so much for the purpose of advan
cing the interests of another to the prejudice of their own, as to avoid the
humiliating alternative of yielding the object of so much competition to
some more fortunate rival not connected with their band.

It may be here necessary to remark that nearly all the suitors belonged
to one lodge, and that each of these was a large oblong building, capable
of containing 20 or 30 families, the domestic arrangements of which were
regulated by a war chief, acknowledged as the head of that particular sub-
ordinate band.

Many objections to the task imposed on him by this proposition were

! "J

T V,

iMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

1.1

128

ISO

■2.5

^ m

12.2

■ip iWlZO

LLi

|l.25 |||U ,,,.6

►

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 873-4503

• t

98 HISTORICAL TRADITIONS.

interposed by the chief, the principal of which were, the great disparity of
age and the utter futility of any further attempt, upon the affections of one
so obdurate of heart. The first was obviated by some well applied com-
mendations of his person, and the second yielded to the suggestion that
women were oflen capricious, were not always influenced by considera-
tions the most natural, or resolvable to reasons the most obvious.

The chief then painted and arrayed himself as for battle, bestowing
some little additional adornment upon his person, to aid him in this species
of warfare, with which he was pot altogether so familiar as that in which
he had acquired his reputation ; his practice having been confined rather to
the use of stone-headed arrows than love darts, and his dexterity in the
management of hearts displayed rather in making bloody incisions, than
tender impressions. Before he lefl the lodge, his retainers pledged them-
selves, that if the prosecution of this adventure should impose upon their
chief the necessity of performing any feat, to render him better worthy the
acceptance of Oon-yay-stee, they would aid hun in its accomplishment,
and sustain him against its consequences to the last extremity. It was re-
served for so adventurous a spirit that it should be as successful in love, as
it had hitherto been resistless in war.

After a courtship of a few days, he proposed himself and was condition-
ally accepted, but what the nature of this condition was, further than that
it was indispensable, Oon-yay-stee refused to tell him, until he should
have given her the strongest assurances that it should be complied with.
Afler some hesitation and a consultation with the lovers who urged him
to give the promise, he declared himself ready to accept the terms of the
compact. Under her direction he then pledged the word of a warrior,
that neither peril to person, nor sacrifice of affection should ever prevail
with him to desist, imprecating the vengeance of Hau-men-dee-zhoo, and
the persecution of Dairk-shoo-oo-roo-no upon his head if he failed to
prosecute to the uttermost, the enterprise, if its accomplishment were
only possible.

She told him to bring her the scalp of a Seneca chief whom she desig-
nated, who for some reason she chose not to reveal, was the object of her
hatred.

The Wyandot saw too late, that he was committed. He besought her
to reflect, that this man was his bosom friend, they had eaten and drank
and grown up together — and how heavy it would make his heart to think
that his friend had perished by his hand. He remonstrated with her on
the cruelty of such a requisition, on the infamy of such an outrage of con-
fidence and the execration which would forever pursue the author of an
action so accursed. But his expostulations were made to deaf ears. She
told him either to redeem his pledge, or consent to be proclaimed for a
lying dog, whose promisej were unworthy ever to be heard, and then lefl
him. '■'"■ ^

h
ai
n
1(
a
n
a
e

HISTORICAL TRADITIONS.

An hour had hardly elapsed, before the infuriated Wyandot blackened
his fkce, entered the Seneca Village, tomahawked and scalped his friend,
and an he rushed out of the lodge shouted the scalp-whoop. In the dark-
ness of the night his person could not be distinguished, and he was chal-
lenged by a Seneca to whom he gave his name, purpose, and a defiance
and then continued his flight. But before it had terminated, the long
mournful scalp-whoop of the Senecas was resounding through the Wy-
andot Village ; and the chief had hardly joined in the furious conflict thit
ensued between the avengers of his murdered victim and his own retain-
ers, before he paid with his life the forfeit of his treachery.

After a deadly and sustained combat for three days and nights, with
alternate success, the Wyandots were compelled to retire, deserting their
village and abandoning their families to such mercy as might be granted
by an infuriated enemy. Those who were left, sunk under the tomahawk
and scalping knife — ^the village was devastated — and the miserable author
of the bloody tragedy herself perished amid this scene of indiscriminate
slaughter and desolation.

This war is said to have continued for a period of more than 30 years,
in which time, the Wyandots had been forced backwards as far as Lakes
Huron and Michigan. Here they made an obstinate stand, from which all
the efforts of their relentless enemies to dislodge them were ineflfectual.
Their inveterate hatred of each other was fostered by the war parties of
the respective tribes, whose vindictive feelings led them to hunt and de-
stroy each other, like so many beasts of the forest. These resulted gene-
rally in favor of the Wyandots, who, inspirited by these partial successes,
prepared for more active operations. Three encounters took place, on the
same day, two being had on Lake Michigan and one on Lake Erie, and
which from their savage and exterminating character, closed this long and
merciless contest. It is somewhat remarkable, as no other tradition makes
mention of an Indian battle upon water, that one of these, said to have
occurred on Lake Erie, between Long Point and Fort Talbot, was fought
in canoes. Of this the following detail is given.

A large body of Wyandots accompanied by two Ottawas left Lake Hu-
ron in birch canoes, on a war excursion into the country of the Senecas,
who had settled at this time, near the head of the Niagara river. They
put ashore at Long Point to cook, when one of the Ottawas and a Wyan-
dot were sent out as spies to reconnoitre. They had proceeded but a short
distance from the camp, when they met two Senecas, who had been de-
spatched by their party for the like purposes, and from whom they instantly
fled. The Ottawa finding his pursuers gaining upon him, hid himself in
the branches of a spruce tree, where he remained till the Seneca had
passed. The Wyandot, fleeter of foot, succeeded in reaching his camp
and gave the alarm, when the whole body embarked and pushed out intc
the lake. In another moment a party of Senecas was discovered, turnia

EARLY SKETCHES OP INDIAN WOMEN.

the nearest point of land in wooden canoes. Immediately the war-whoops
were sounded and the hostile bands began to chant their respective songs.
As they slowly approached each other, the Wyandots struck a fire, and
prepared their gum and bark to repair any damage which might occur to
the canoes. The battle was fought with bows and arrows, and after a
furious and obstinate contest of some hours, in which the carnage was
dreadful, and the canoes were beginning to fill with blood, water and man*
gled bodies, the Senecas began to give way. The encouraged W^yandots
fought with redoubled ardor, driving the Senecas to the shore, where the
conflict was renewed with unabated fury. The Wyandots were victorious,
and few of the surviving Senecas escaped to tell the story of their defeat.
One of the prisoners, a boy, was spared and adopted by the nation. Two
Wyandots are now living who profess to have seen him, when very fai
advanced in years.

The two other attacks to which allusion has been made, as occurring
on the borders of Lake Michigan, were not more fortunate in their issue.
The Senecas were repulsed with great slaughter.

Thus, say the Wyandots, originated this long, bloody and disastrous
war, and thus it terminated after proving nearly the ruin of our nation.

HO-TSHUNQ-RAH.

Upper Sandusky, March 1st, 1827. e'

EARLY SKETCHES OF INDIAN WOMEN.

The oldest books we possess written by the first observers of our In*
dians abound in interest. Among these is a small work by William Wood,
who visited Plymouth and Massachusetts soon after their settlement, and
published his '•^ New England! s Pro<p«e/," in London, in 1634. i

The following extract from this book, (now very scarce,) we make
here, partly for the purpose which the author declares he had in view in
writing it, viz. : to excite the special interest of our female readers, though
the good humour and wit, as well as the benevolence of the writer, will
doubtless commend it to persons of both sexes. That we may not run
the risk of losing any of the efiTect of the quaint, old-fashioned style of
the original, we have been careful to preserve the author's orthography
and punctuation, together with the long sentences, for which, as well as
many of his contemporaries, he was remarkable. We havt> omitted short
and unimportant passages in a few places, marked with asterisks. E,

-»t

-■,. ■., : -'z i ,,v

■■fJ 'W, I ■

WASBASHAS;

OE,

THE TRIBE THAT GREW OUT OF A SHELL

vi ,

AN OSAGE LEGEND. v >^

There was a snail living on the banks of the river Missouri, where he
found plenty of food, and wanted nothing. But at length the waters be*
gan to rise and overflow its banks, and although the little animal clung
to a.log, the flood carried them both away : they floated along for many
days. When the water fell, the poor snail was left in the mud and slime^
on shore. The heat of the sun came out so strong, that he was soon fixed
in the slime and could not stir. He could no longer get any nourish-
ment He became oppressed with heat and drought. He resigned him-
self to his fate and prepared to die. But all at once, he felt a renewed
vigour. His shell burst open, and he began to rise. His head gradually
rose above the ground, he felt his lower extremities assuming the charac-
ter of feet and legs. Arms extended from his sides.. He felt their ex-
tremities divide into fingers. In fine he rose, under the influence of one
day's sun, into a tall and noble man. For a while he remained in a dull
L.nd stupid state. He had but little activity, and no clear thoughts.
These all came by degrees, and when his recollections returned, he re-
solved to travel back to his native land.

But he was naked and ignorant. The first want he felt was hunger.
He saw beasts and birds, as he walked along, but he knew not how to
kill them. He wished himself again a snail, for he knew how, in that
form, to get his food. At length he became so weak, by walking and
fasting, that he laid himself down, on a grassy bank, to die. He had not
laid long, when he heard a voice calling him by name. " Was-bas-has,"
exclaimed the voice. He looked up, and beheld the Great Spirit sitting
on a white horse. His eyes glistened like stars. The hair of his head
shone like the sun. He could not bear to look upon him. He trembled
from head to foot. Again the voice spoke to him in a mild tone*
is-bas-has I Why do you look terrified ?" " I tremble," he replied,
because 1 stand before Him who raised me from the ground. I am faint

WA8BASHA8.

and hungry) — I i^^ye eaten nothing since the floods left me upon the shore
-a little shell."

The Great Spirit here lifted up his hands and displaying a how and
arrows, told him to look at him. At a distance sat a bird on a tree. He
put an arrow to the string, and pulling it with ft)rce, brought down the
beautiful object. At this moment a deer came in sight. He placed ano-
ther arrow to the string, and pierced it through and through. " These"
said he, "are your ft)od, and these are your arms," handmg him the bdw
and arrows. He then instructed him how to remove the skin of the deer,
and prepare it for a garment. " You are naked," said he, " and must be
clothed ; it is now warm, but the skies will change, and bring rains, and
snow, and cold winds." Having said this, he also imparted the gift of fire,
and instructed him how to roast the flesh. He then placed a collar of
wampum around his neck. " This," said he, " is your authority over all
beasts." Having done this, both horse and rider rose up, and vanished
from his sight.

Was-bas-has refreshed himself, and now pursued his way to his native
land. He had seated himself on the banks of the river, and was medita-
ting on what had passed, when a large beaver rose up from the channel
and addressed him. " Who art thou ;" said the beaver, " that comest here
to disturb my ancient reign ?" "la m a man" he replied ; " I was once a shelly
a creeping shell ; but who art thou ?" " I am king of the nation of beavers,"
he answered : " I lead my people up and down this stream ; we are a busy
people, and the river is my dominion." " I must divide it with you," re-
torted Was-bas-has. " The Great Spirit has placed me at the head of
beasts and birds, fishes and fowl ; and has provided me with the power
of maintaining my rights." Here he held up the bow and arrows, and
displayed the collar of shells around his neck. " Come, come," said the
Beaver, modifying his tone, " I perceive we are brothers. — Walk with me
to my lodge, and refresh yourself after your journey," and so saying he
led the way. The Snail-Man willingly obeyed his invitation, and had
no reason to repent ol nis confidence. They soon entered a fine large vil*
lage, and his host led him to the chiefs lodge. It was a well-built room,
of a cone-shape, and the floor nicely covered with mats. As soon as
they were seated, the Beaver directed his wife and daughter to prepare
food for their guest. While this was getting ready, the Beaver chief
thought he would improve his opportunity by making a fast friend of so
superior a being ; whom he saw, at the same time, to be but a novice.
He informed him of the method they had of cutting down trees, with their
teeth, and of felling them across streams, so as to dam up the water, and de-
scribed the method of finishing their dams with leaves and clay. He also
instructed him in the way of erecting lodges, and with other wise and
seasonable conversation beguiled the time. His wife and daughter now
entered, bringmg in rsssat of fresh peeled poplar, and willow, and sassa*

\i.

Inuian Maiden

\'.

ORIGIN OF THE DOEMOVSE.

fras, and alder bark, which is the most choice food known to them. Of
this, Was-bas-has made a merit of tasting, while his entertainer devoured
't with pleasure. He was pleased with the modest looks and deportment of
.he chiefs daughter, and her cleanly and neat attire, and her assiduous
attention to the commands of her father. This was ripened into esteem
by the visit he made her. A mutual attachment ensued. A union was
proposed to the father, who was rejoiced to find so advantageous a match
for his daughter. A great feast was prepared, to which all the beavers,
and other animals on good terms with them, were invited. The Snail-
Man and the Beaver-Maid were thus united, and this union is the origin
oftheOsages. So it is said by the old people.

THE BOY WHO SET A SNARE FOR THE SUN;

-. 1

THE OMQIN OF THE KUG-E-BEENG-WA-KWA,* OR DORMOUSE.

FROM THE ODJIBWA ALGONQUIN.

At the time when the animals reigned in the earth, they had killed ^^.U
but a girl, and her little brother, and these two were living in fear aiid se-
clusion. The boy was a perfect pigmy, and never grew beyond the stature
of a small infant ; but the girl increased with her years, so that the labor
of providing food and lodging devolved wholly on her. She went out
daily to get wood for their lodge-fire, and took her little brother along that
no accident might happen to him ; for he was too littlo to leave alone. A
big bird might have flown away with him. She made him a bow and
arrowa, and said to him one day, " I will leave you behind where I have
been chopping — you must hide yourself, and you will soon see the Git-
shee-gitshee-gaun, ai see-ug or snow birds, come and pick the worms out of
the wood, where I have been chopping," (for it was in the winter.) " Shoot
one of them and bring it home." He obeyed her, and tried his best to kill
one, but came home unsuccessful. She told him he must not despair, but
try again the next day. She accordingly left him at the place she got
wood, and returned. Towards nightfall, she heard his little footsteps on
the snow, and he came in exultingly, and threw down one of the birds,
which he had killed. " My sister," said he, " I wish you to skin it and
stretch the skin, and when I have killed more, I will have a coat made
out of them." " But what shall we do with the body ?" said she : for as yet
men had not begun to eat animal food, but lived on vegetables alcne.
" Cut it in two " he answered, " and season our pottage wiUi one half of it

• Blind Woman.
7

"$■

98 ORIGIN OF THE DORMOVSK.

at a time." She did so. The boy, who was of a very smaU stature, coH'
tinued his efforts, and succeeded in kiliing ten birds, out of the skins of
which his sister made him a little coat.

"Sister," said he one day, "are we all alone in the world ? Is there nobody
else living?" She told him that those they feared and who had destroyed
their relatives lived in a certain quarter, and that he must by no means go
in that direction. This only served to inflame his curiosity and rai^e his
ambition, and he soon after took his bow and arrows and went in that
direction. After walking a long time and meeting nothing, he became
tired, and lay down on a knoll, where the sun had melted the snow. He
fell fast asleep ; and while sleeping, the sun beat so hot upon him, that it
singed and drew up his bird-skin coat, so that when he awoke and
stretched himself, he felt bound in it, as it were. He looked down and
saw the damage done to his coat. He flew into a passion and upbraided
the sun, and vowed vengeance against it. " Do not think you are too
high," said he, *' I shall reverge myself."

On coming home he related his disaster to his sister, and lamented bit-
terly the spoiling of his coat. He would not eat. He lay down as one
that fasts, and did not stir, or move his position for ten days, though she
tried all she could to arouse him. At the end of ten days, he turned over,
and then lay ten days on the other side. When he got up, he told his
sister to make him a snare, for he meant to catch the sun. She said she
had nothing ; but finally recollected a little piece of dried deer's sinew, that
her father had left, which she soon made ioto a string suitable for a noose.
But the moment she showed it to him, he told her it would not do, and
bid her get something else. She said she had nothing — nothing at all.
At last she thought of her hair, and pulling some of it out of her head,
made a string, ^t he instantly said it would not answer, and bid her,
pettishly, and with authority, make him a noose. She told him there
was nothing to make it of, and went out of the lodge. She said to her-
self, when she had got without the lodge, and while she was all alone,
" neow obewy indapin." This she did, and twisting them into a tiny
cord she handed it to her brother. The moment he saw this curious
braid he was delighted. " This will do," he said, and immediately put ft
to his mouth and began pulling it through his lips ; and as fast as he drew
it changed it into a red metal cord, which he wound around his body and
shoulders, till he had a large quantity. He then prepared himself, and
set out a little after midnight, that he might catch the sun before it rose.
He fixed his snare on a spot just where the sun would strike the land, as
it rose above the earth's disc ; and sure enough, he caught the sun, so that
it was held fast in the cord, and did not rise.

The animals who ruled tho earth were immediately put into a great
commotion. They had no liglit. They called a council to debate upon
the matter, and to appoint some one to go and cut the. cord — for thig

AMPATA 8APA.

waa a very hazardous enterprize, as the rays o' the sun would burr who>
ever came so near to them. At last the dormouse undertook it — for at
this time the dormouse was the largest animal in the world. When it
stood up it looked like a mountain. When it got to the place where the
sun was snared, its back began to smoke and burn, with the intensity of
the heat, and the top of its carcass was reduced to enormous heaps of
ashes. It succeeded, however, in cutting the cord with its teeth, and free-
ing the sun, but it was reduced to a very small size, and has remained
io ever since. Men call it the Kug-e-been-gwa-kwa.

AMPATA SAPAj

OB,

THE FIRST-WIPE.

rcat
pon
Ithii

A TRADITION OP THE DACOTAHS.

Amfata Sapa was the wife of a brave young hunter and warrior, by
whom she had two children. They lived together in great happiness,
which was only varied by the changes of a forest life. Sometimes they
lived on the prairies ; sometimes they buih their wigwam in the forest,
near the banks of a stream, and they paddled their canoe up and down the
rivers. In these trips they got fish, when they were tired of wild meats.
In the summer season they kept on the open grounds ; in the winter, they
fixed their camp in a sheltered position, in the woods. The very change
of their camp was a source of pleasure, for they werelilways on the look-
out for something new. They had plenty, and they wanted nothing.

In this manner the first years of their marriage passed away. But it so
happened, that as years went by, the reputation of her husband in the tribe
increased, and he soon came to be regarded as a Weetshahstshy Atapee, or
chief This opened a new field for his ambition and pride. The fame
of a chief, it is well known, is often increased by the number of his wives.
His lodge was now thronged with visitors. Some came to consult him ;
some to gain his favour. All this gave Ampata Sapa no uneasiness, for
the Red People like to have visitors, and to show hospitality. The first thing
that caused a jar in her mind, was the rumour that her husband was about
to take a new wife. This was like a poison in her veins ; for she had a big
heart. She was much attached to her husband, and she could not bear
the idea of sharing his aflfections with another. But she found that the
idea had already got strong hold of her husband's mind, and her remon-
strances did little good. He defended himself on the ground, that it would
give him greater influence in the tribe if he took the daughter of a noted

100

AMPATA 8APA.

chief. But before he had time to bring her to hjB lodge, Ampata Sapa
had fled from it, taking her two children, and returned to her father's
lodge. Her father lived at some distance, and here she remained a short
time in quiet. The whole band soon moved up the Mississippi, to their
hunting ground. She was glad to go with them, and would, indeed, have
been glad to go any where, to get farther from the lodgtf of her faithless
husband.

Here the winter wore away. When the Spring opened, they came
back again to the banks of the river, and mended and fitted up the canoes,
which thoy had left in the fall. In these they put their furs, and de-
scended to the Falls of St. Anthony. Ampata Sapa lingered behind a
short time the morning of their embarkation, as they began to draw near
the rapids which precede the great plunge. She then put her canoe in
the water, and embarked with her children. As she approached the falls,
the increasing velocity of the current rendered the paddles of but little
use. She rested with her's suspended in her hands, while she arose, and
uttered her lament :

"It was him only that I loved, with the love of my heart It was for
him that I prepared, with joy, the fresh killed meat, and swept with
boughs my lodge-fire. It was for him I dressed the skin of the noble deer,
and worked, with my hands, the Moccasins that graced his feet.

I waited while the sun ran his daily course, for his return from the
chase, and I rejoiced in my heart when I heard his manly footsteps ap*
proach the lodge. He threw down his burden at the door — it was a
haunch of the deer ; — I flew to prepare the meat for his use.

My heart was bound up in him, and he was all the world to me. But
he has left me for another, and life is now a burden which I cannot tear.
Even my children add to my griefs — they look so much like him. How
can I support life, when all its moments are bitter I I have lifted up my
voice to the Master of life. I have asked him to take back that life, which
he gave, and which I no longer wish. I am on the current that hastens
to fulfil my prayer. I see the white foam of the water. It is my shroud.
I hear the deep murmur from below. It is my funeral song. Farewell.

)t was too late to arrest her course. She had approached too near the
abyss, before her purpose was discovered by her friends. They beheld
her enter the foam — they saw the canoe for an instant, on the verge, and
then disappear for ever. Such was the end of Ampata Sapa ; and they say
her canoe can sometimes be seen, by moonlight, plunging over the falls.

Internal dissention has done more to destroy the Indian power in
America, than the white man's sword. Could the tribes learn the w^is-
dom of confederation, they might yet be saved. This is a problem now
undergoing an interesting process of solution.

MUKAKEE MINDEMOEA;

OR,

, I ■ «>

% THE TOAD-WOMAN.

AN ODJIBWA TALE.

Great good luok once happened to a young woman who was living all
%lone in the woods, with nobody near her but her little dog, for, to her aur-
yrise, she found ftetih raeht every morning at her door. She felt very
anxious to know who it wab that supplied her, and watching one morning,
very early, she saw a handboinu young man deposit the meat. After his
being seen by her, he became her husband, and she had a son by him.
One day not long after this, the man did not return at evening, as usual,
from hunting. She waited till late at night, but all in vain. Next day
she swung her baby to sleep in its tikenagun, or cradle, and then said to
her dog: " Take care of your brothei whilst I am gone, and when he
cries, halloo for me." The cradle was tnade of the finest wampum, and
all its bandages and decorations were ot the same costly material. After
a short time the woman heard the cry of her faithful dog, and running
home as fast as she could, she found her child gone and the dog too.
But on looking round, she saw pieces of the wampum of her child's cradle
bitofTby the dog, who strove to retain the child and prevent his being
carried off by an old woman called Mukakee Mindemoea, or the Toad-
Woman. The mother followed at full speed, and occasionally came to
lodges inhabited by old women, who told her at what time the thief had
passed ; they also gave her shoes, that she might follow on. There were
a number of these old women, who seemed as if they were all prophetesses.
Each of them would say to her, that when she arrived in pursuit of her
stolen child at the next lodge, she must set the toes of the moccasins they
had loaned her pointing homewards, and they would return of themselves.
She would get others from her entertainers farther on, who would also
give her directions how to proceed to recover her son. She thus followed
in the pursuit, from valley to valley, and stream to stream, for months and
years : when she came, at length, to the lodge of the last of the friendly old
Nocoes, or grandmothers, as they were called, who gave her final instruc.
tions how to proceed. She told her she was near the place where her son
was, and directed her to build a lodge of shingoob, or cedar boughs, near
the old Toad- Woman's lodge, and to make a little bark dish and squeeze
her milk into it. " Then," she said, " your first child (meaning the dog)
will come and find you out " She did accordingly, and in a short time

ill

102

MUKAKEE MINOEMOEA.

she hear' Ler son, now grown, going out to hunt, with his dog, calling on
to him, "Monedo Pewaubik (that is, Steel or Spirit Iron,) Twee.
Twee!" She then set ready the dish and filled it with hei milk. The
dog soon scented it and came into the lodge ; she placed it before him.
" See my child," said she, addressing him, " the food you used to have
from me, your mother." The dog went and told his young master that
he had found his real mother ; and informed him that the old woman, v/hom
he called his mother, was not his mother, that she had stolen him when an
infant in his cradle, and that he had himself followed her in hopes of get-
ting him back. The young man and his dog then went on their hunting
excursion, and brought back a great quantity of meat of all kinds. He
said to his pretended mother, as he laid it down, "Send some to the
stranger that has arrived lately." The old hag answered, " No ! why
should I send to her — the Shecgowish."* He insisted ; and she at last
consents .1 to take something, throwing it in at the door, with the remark,
" My son gives you, or feeds you this." But it was of such an offensive
nature, that she threw it immediately out after her.

After this the young man paid the stranger a visit, at her lodge of cedar
boughs, and partook of her u i^h of milk. She th<:;n told him she was his
real mother, and that he had been stolen away from her by the detestable
Toad-Woman, who was a witch. He was not quite convinced. She
said to him, " Feign yourself sick, when you go home, and when the
Toad-Woman asks what ails you, say that you want to see your cradle ;
for your cradle was of wampum, and your laithful brother, the dcg, bit a
piece off to try and detain you, which I picked up, as I followed in your
track. They were real wampum, white and blue, shining and beautiful."
She then showed him the pieces. He went home and did as his real
mother bid him. " Mother," said he, " why am 1 so different in my
looks from the rest of your children ?" " Oh," said she, " it was a very
bright clear blue sky when you were born ; that is the reason." When
the Toad- Woman saw he was ill, she asked what she could do for him.
He said nothinjj would do him good, but the sight of his cradle. She ran
immediately and got a cedar cradle ; but he said " That is not my cradle."
She went and got one of her own children's cradles, (for she had four,) but
he turned his head and said, " That is not mine." She then produced the
real cradle, and he saw it was the same, in substance, with the pieces the
other had shown him ; and he was convinced, for he could even see the
marks of the dog's teeth upon it.

He soon got well, and went out hunting, and killed a fat bear. He and
his dog-brother then stripped a tall pine of all its branches, and stuck the
carcass on the top, taking the usual sign of his having killed an animal —
the tongue. He told the Toad- Woman where he had left it, saying, " It
is very far, even to the end of the earth." She answered, " It is not so far
* Sheegowiia, a widow, and movoigh, Bomething nasty.

MUKAK6E MINDEMOEA.

103

but I can get it," so ofTshe set. As soon as she was gone, the young man
and his dog killed the Toad-Woman's children, and staked them on each
side of the door, with a piece of fat in their mouths, and then went to his
real mother and hastened her departure with them. The Toad- Woman
spent a long time in finding the bear, and had much ado in climbing the
tree to get down the carcass. As she got near home, she saw the children
looking out, apparently, with the fat in their mouths, and was angry at
them, saying, " Why do you destroy the pomatum of your brother." But
her fury was great indeed, when she saw they were killed and impaled.
She ran after the fugitives as fast as she could, and was near overtaking
them, when the young man said, " We are pressed hard, but let this stay
her progress," throwing his fire steel behind him, which caused the Toad-
Woman to slip and fall repeatedly. But still she pursued and gained on
them, when he threw behind him his flint, which again retarded her, for
it made her slip and stumble, so that her knees were bleeding ; but she
continued to follow on, and was gaining ground, when the young man
said, " Let the Oshau shaw go min un (snake berry) spring up to detain
her," and immediately these berries spread like scarlet all over the path
for a long distance, which she could not avoid stooping down to pick and
eat. Still she went on, and was again advancing on them, when the
young man at last, said to the dog, " Brother, chew her into mummy, for
she plagues us." So the dog, turning round, seized her and tore her to
pieces, and |hey escaped.

i f

Death is frightful, or welcome, according to the theories men have of it.
To the Indian, it is a pleasing and welcome event. He believes a future
state to be one of rewards, and restitutions, and not of punishments.

The Indian idea of paradise is the idea of the orientals. It consists of
sensualities, not spiritualities. He expects the scene to furnish him ease
and plenty. Ease and plenty make the Indian's happiness here, and his
heaven is but a bright transcript of his earth.

Paganism and idolatry, require more mysteries for their support than
Christianity. Tlie Christian has but one God, existing in three hypostases.
It would be below the truth to say that the Indian has one hundred thou-
sand gods.

The Hindoos worship their multiform gods of the earth, air and sea.
The North American Indian only believes in them. He worships the
Great Spirit.

Wild thoughts are often bright thoughts, but like the wild leaps of a
mountain torrent, they are evanescent and unequal. We are dazzled
by a single figure in an Indian speech, but it is too often like a spark
amid a shower of ashes.

'i'4

/' 'Vt, ,y:-

■'■■ .>*^ ■'•'

THE FLIGHT OF THE SHAWNEES FROM
THE SOUTH.

A MOHEOAN TRADITION.

Metoxon States, that the Shawnees were, in ancient times, while they
lived in the south, defeated by a confederacy of surrounding tribes, and in
danger of being totally cut off and annihilated, had it not been for the in-
terference of the Mohegans and Dekwares. An alliance between them
and the Mohegans, happened in this way. Whilst the Mohegans lived
at Schodack, on the Hudson river, a young warrior of that tribe visited
the Shawnees, at their southern residence, and formed a close friendship
with a young warrior of his own age. They became as brothers, and
vowed for ever to treat each other as such.

The Mohegan warrior had returned, and been some years living with
his nation, on the banks of the Ghatimac, or Hudson, when a general war
broke out against the Shawnees. The restless and warlike disposition of
this tribe, kept them constantly embroiled with their neighbours. They
were unfaithful to their treaties, and this was the cause of perpetual troubles
and wars. At length the nations of the south resolved, by a general ef-
fort, to rid themselves of so troublesome a people, and began a war, in
which the Shawnees were defeated, battle after battle, with great loss. In
this emergency, the Mohegan thought of his Shawnee brother, and re-
solved to rescue him. He raised a war-party and being joined by the Le«
napees, since called Delawares, they marched to their relief, and brought
off the remnant of the tribe to the country of the Lenapees. Here they
were put under the charge of the latter, as their grand&ther.

They were now, in the Indian phrase, put between their grandfather's
knees, and treated as little children. Their hands were clasped and tied
together — that is to say, they were taken under their protection, and
fopned a close alliance. But still, sometimes the child would creep out

104

FLIGHT OF THE SHAWNEES.

105

under the old man's legs, and get into trouble — implying that the Shaw*
nees could never forget their warlike propensities.

The events of the subsequent history of this tribe, after the settlement
of America are well known. With the Lenapees, or Delawares, they mi-
grated westward.

The above tradition was received from the respectable and venerable
chief, above named, in 1827, during the negotiation of thctreaty oiButtes
des MortSf on Fox river. At this treaty his people, bearing the modern
name of Stockbridges, were present, having, within a few years, migrated
from their former position in Oneida county. New York, to the waters of
Fox river, in Wisconsin.

Metoxon was a man of veracity, and of reflective and temperate habits,
united to urbanity of manners, and estimable qualities of head and heart,
OS I had occasion to know from several years' acquaintance with him, be-
fore he, and his people went from Vernon to the west, as well as after he
migrated thither.

The tradition, perhaps with the natural partiality of a tribesman, lays
too much stress upon a noble and generous act of individual and triba.
friendship, but is not inconsistant with other relations, of the early south-
ern position, and irrascible temper of the Shawnee tribe. Their name it-
self, which is a derivative from 0-sha-wan-ong, the place of the South, is
strong presumptive evidence of a former residence in, or origin from, the
extreme south. Mr. John Johnston, who was for many years the govern-
ment agent of this tribe at Piqua, in Ohio, traces them, in an article in the
Archselogia Americana (vol. 1, p. 273) to the Suwanee river in Florida.
Mr. Gallatin, in the second volume of the same work (p. 65) points out
their track, from historical sources of undoubted authority, to the banks
of the upper Savannah, in Georgia ; but remarks that they have only been
well known to us since 1680. They are first mentioned in our scattered
Indian annals, by De Laet, in 1632.

It may further be said; in relation to Metoxon's tradition, that there is
authority for asserting, that in the flight of the Shawnees from the south,
a part of them descended the Kentucky river west, to the Ohio valley,
where, in after times, the Shawnees of Pennsylvania and New Jersey,
rather formed a re-union with this division of their kindred than led the
way for them.

To depart one step from barbarism, is to take one step towards civiliza-
tion. To abandon the lodge of bark — ^to throw aside the blanket — to dis-
continue the use of paints — or to neglect the nocturnal orgies of the wa-
beno, are as certain indications of incipient civilization, as it unquestion-
ably is, to substitute alphabetical characters for rude hieroglyphics, or to
prefer the regular cadences of the gamut, to the wild chanting of the chi-
chigwun.

ft m

' "> M

Ai?."t. Xi ^., £r;i ','

BOSH-KWA-DOSH,

THE QUADRUPED WITH THE HAIR BLOWN OFF ITS SKIN.

There was once a man who found himself alone in the world. He
knew not whence he came, nor who were his parents, and he wandered
about from place to place, in search of something. At last he became
wearied and fell asleep. He dreamed that he heard a voice saying,
"Nosis," that is, my grandchild. When he awoke he actually heard
the word repeated, and looking around, he saw a tiny little animal
hardly big enough to be seen on the plain. While doubting whether the
voice could come from such a diminutive source, the little animal said to
him, " My grandson, you will call me Bosh-kvva-dosh. Why are you so
desolate. Listen to me, and you shall find friends and be happy.
You must take me up and bind me to your body, and never put me
aside, and success in life shall attend you." He obeyed the voice, sewing
up the little animal in the folds of a string, or narrow belt, w^hich he tied
around his body, at his navel. He then set out in search of some one like
himself, or other object. He walked a long time in woods without seeing
man or animal. He seemed all alone in the world. At length he came
to a place where a stump was cut, and on going over a hill he descried a
large town in a plain. A wide road led through the middle of it ; but
what seemed strange was, that on one side there were no inhabitants in
the lodges, while the other side was thickly inhabited. He walked boldly
into the town.

The inhabitants came out and said ; " Why here is the being we have
heard so much of — here is Anish-in-a-ba. See his eyes, and his teeth in
a half circle— see the Wyaukenawbedaid ! See his bowels, how they are
formed ;" — for it seems they could look through him. The king's son, the
Mudj6kewis, was particularly kind to him, and calling him brother-in-law,
commanded that he should be taken to his father's lodge and received with
attention. The king gave him one of his daughters. These people,
(who are supposed to be human, but whose rank in the scale of being is
left equivocal,) passed much of their time in play and sports and trials of
various kinds. When some time had passed, and he had become re*

106

B08H-KWA-D0SH.

107

freshed and rested, he was invited to join in these sports. TJAe first test
which they put him to, was the trial of frost. At some distance was a
large body of frozen wator, and the trial consisted in lying down naked
on the ice, and seeing who could endure the longest. He went out with
two young men, who began, by pulling off their garments, and lying
down on their faces. He did likewise, only keeping on the narrow magic
belt with the tiny little animal sewed in it ; for he feh that in thi ulone was
to be his reliance and preservation. His competitors laughed and tittered
during the early part of the night, and amused themselves by thoughts of
his fate. Once they called out to him, but he made no reply. He felt a
manifest warmth given out by his belt. About midnight finding they were
still, he called out to them, in return, — "What!" said he, "are you be-
numbed already, I am but just beginning to feel a little cold." All was si-
lence. He, however, kept his position till early day break, when he got
up and went to them. They were both quite dead, and frozen so hard,
that the fiesh had bursted out under their finger nails, and their teeth
stood out. As he looked more closely, what was his surprise to find them
both transformed into buffalo cows. He tied them together, and carried
them towards the village. As he came in sight, those who had wished
his death were disappointed, but the Mudj6kewis, who was really his
friend, rejoiced. " See !" said he " but one person approaches, — it is my
brother-in-law." He then threw down the carcasses in triumph, but it
was found that by their death he had restored two inhabitants to the
before empty lodges, and he afterwards perceived, that every one of these
beings, whom he killed, had the like effect, so that the depopulated part
of the village soon became filled with people.

The next test they put him to, was the trial of speed. He was chal-
lenged to the race ground, and began his career with one whom he
thought to be a man ; but every thing was enchanted here, for he soon
discovered that his competitor was a large black bear. The animal
outran him, tore up the ground, and sported before him, and put out its
large claws as if to frighten him. He thought of his little guardian spirit
in the belt, and wishing to have the swiftness of the Kakake, i. e.
sparrow hawk, he found himself rising from the ground, and with
the speed of this bird he outwent his rival, and won the race, while
the bear came up exhausted and lolling out his tongue. His friend the
MudjSkewis stood ready, with his war-club, at the goal, and the
moment the bear came up, dispatched him. He then turned to the
assembly, who had wished his friend and brother's death, and after re-
proaching them, he lifted up his club and began to slay them on every
side. They fell in heaps on all sides ; but it was plain to be seen, the
moment they fell, that they were not men, but animals, — foxes, wolves,
tigers, lynxes, and other kinds, lay thick around the Mudj^kewis.

Still the villagers were not satisfied. They thought the trial of frost,

%\\

108

fiOSH-KVA-DO0H.

had not been fairly accomplished, and wished it repeated. He agreed to
repeat it, but being fatigued with the race, he undid his guardian belt, and
laying it under his head, fell asleep. When he awoke, he felt re-
freshed, and feeling strong in his own strength, he went forward to
renew the trial on the ice, but quite forgot the belt, nor did it at all occur
to him when he awoke, or when he lay down to repeat the trial.
About midnight his limbs became stifi) the blood soon ceased to circulate,
and he was found in the morning, a stiff corpse. The victors took
him up and carried him to the village, where the loudest tumult of vic-
torious joy was made, and they cut the body into a thousand pieces, that
each one might eat a piece.

The Mudjdkewis bemoaned his fiate, but his wife was inconsolable. She
lay in a state of partial distraction, in the lodge. As she lay here, she
thought she heard some one groaning. It was repeated through the night,
and in the morning, she carefully scanned the place, and running her fingers
through the grass, she discovered the secret belt, on the spot where her hus-
band had last reposed. <' Aubishin !" cried the belt — ^that is, untie me, or
unloose me. Looking carefully, she found the small seam which enclosed
the tiny little animal. It cried out the more earnestly " Aubishin I" and
when she had carefully ripped the seams, she beheld, to her surprise, a mi-
nute, naked little beast, smaller than the smallest new born mouse, without
any vestige of hair, except at the tip of its tail, it could crawl a few inches,
but reposed from fatigue. It then went forward again. At each movement
it would pupowee, that is to say, shake itself, like a dog, und at each shake it
became larger. This it continued until it acquired the strength and size of
a middle sized dog, when it ran off

The mysterious dog ran to the lodges, about the village, looking for the
bones of his friend, which he carried to a secret place, and as fast as he
found them arranged all in their natural order. At length he had formed all
the skeleton complete, except the heel bone of one foot. It so happened that
two sisters were out of the camp, according to custom, at the time the body
was cut up, and this heel was lent out to them. The dog hunted every
lodge, and being satisfied that it was not to be found in the camp, he sought
it outside of it, and found the lodge of the two sisters. The younger sister
was pleased to see him, and admired and patted the pretty dog, but the elder
sat mumbling the very heel-bone he was seeking, and was surly and sour,
and repelled the dog, although he looked most wistfully up in her face,
while she sucked the bone from one side of her mouth to the other. At last
she held it in such a manner that it made her cheek stick out, when the dog,
by a quick spring, seized the cheek, and tore cheek and bone away and
fled.

He now completed the skeleton, and placing himself before it, uttered a
hollow, low, long-drawn-out-howl, when the bones came compactly toge-
ther. He then modulated his howl, «rhen the bones knit together and

BOSH-KWA-DOSH.

109

became tense. The third howl brought sinews upon them, and the fourth,
flesh. He then turned his head upwards, looking into the sky, and gave
a howl, which caused every one in the village to startle, and the ground
itself to tremble, at which the breath entered into his body, and he first
breathed and then arose. "Hy kow!" 1 have overslept myself, he
exclaimed, " I will be too late for the trial." "Trial !" said the dog, " I told
you never to let me be separate from your body, you have neglected this.
You were defeated, and your frozen body cut into a thousand pieces, and
scattered over the village, but my skill has restored you. Nc w I will de-
clare myself to you, and show who and what I am !"

He then began to fvfowee, or shake himself, and at every shake, he
grew. His body became heavy and massy, his legs thick and long, with
big clumsy ends, or feet He still shook himself, and rose and swelled.
A long snout grew from his head, and two great shining teeth out of his
mouth. His skin remained as it was, naked, and only a tuft of hair
grew on his tail. He rose up above the trees. He was enormous. " I
should fill the earth," said he, " were I to exert my utmost power, and all
there is on the earth would not satisfy me to eat. Neither could it fatten
me or do me good. I should want more. It were useless, therefore, and
the gift I have, I will bestow on you. The animals shall henceforth be
your food. They were not designed to feed on man, neither shall they
hereafter do it, but shall feed him, and he only shall prey on beasts. But
you will respect me, and not eat my kind.

[The preceding is a traditionary tale of Maidosegee, an aged and respected hunter,
of Sault-ste-Mairie, who was the ruling chief of the band of Chippewa: bt those falla,
and the progenitor of the present line of rulmg chiefs. It is preserved through the
Johnston family, where he was a frequent guest, prior to 1810> and was happy to while
away many of his winter's evenings, in return for the ready hospitaUties which were
rare to await him at the house of the Indian's friend.]

MASH-KWA-SHA-KWONG,

THE TRADITIONARY STORY OF THE RED HEAD AND HIS

TWO SONS.

BY NABINOI, AN AOED ODJIBWA CHIEF.

Mash-kwa-sha-kwong, was a first rate hunter, and he loved the chase
exceedingly, and pursued it with unceasing vigilance. One day, on hi»
return home, arriving at his lodge, he vras informed by his two sons, who
were but small then, that they were very lonesome, because their mother
was in the habit of daily leaving them idone, and this occurred so soon as

110

MASH-KWA-8HA-KWONO.

he started upon his daily chase. This circumstance was not unknown to
Mash-kwa-sha-kwong, but he seemed fully aware of it ; he took his boys
in his arms and kissed them, and told them that their mother behaved
improperly and was acting the part of a wicked and faithless woman.
fiut Mdsh-kwa-sha-kwong behaved towards his wife as if ignorant of her
vile course. One morning rising very early, he told his sons to take cou-
rage, and that they must not be lonesome, he also strictly enjoined them
not to absent themselves nor quit their lodge ; after this injunction was
given to the boys, he made preparations, and starting much earlier than
usual, he travelled but a short distance from his lodge, when he halted and
secreted himself. After waiting a short time, he saw' his wife coming out
of their lodge, and immediately after a man made his appearance and
meeting Mash-kwa-sha-kwong's wife, they greeted one another. His
suspicions were now confirmed, and when he saw them in the act of car-
rying on an illegal intercourse, his anger arose, he went up to them and
killed them with one blow ; he then dragged them both to his lodge, and
tying them together, he dug a hole beneath the fire-place in his lodge and
buried them. He then told his sons that it was necessary that he should
go away, as he would surely be killed if he remained, and their safety
would depend upon their ability of keeping the matter a secret He gave
his eldest son a small bird, (Kichig-e-chig-aw-na-she) to roast for his small
brother over the ashes and embers where their mother was buried, he also
provided a small leather bag, and then told his sons the necessity of his im-
mediate flight to heaven, or to the skies. And that it would be expedient
for them to fiy and journey southward, and thus prepared their minds for
the separation about to take place. " By and bye," said MSsh-kwa-sha-
kwong to his sons, " persons will come to you and enquire for me and for
your mother, you will say to them that I am gone hunting, and your little
brother in the mean time will continually point to the fire place, this will
lead the persons to whom I allude, to make inquiries of the cause of this
pointing, and you will tell them that you have a little bird roasting for
your brother, this v/ill cause them to desist from further inquiry at the
time. As soon as they are gone escape! While you are journeying
agreeably to my instructions, I will look from on high upon you, I will
lead and conduct you, and you shall hear my voice from day to day."
Mash-kwa-sha-kwong at this time gave his sons an awl, a beaver's tooth,
and a hone, also a dry coal, and directed them to place a small piece of
the coal on the ground every evening, so soon as they should encamp,
from which fire would be produced and given to them ; he told his eldest
son to place his brother in the leather bag, and in that manner carry him
upon his back ; he then bade them farewell.

The two boys being thus left alone in the lodge, and while m the act
of roasting the little bird provided for them, a man came in, and then
another, a/id another, until they numbered ten in all ; the youngest boy

MA8H-KWA-SUA-KWONO.

Ill

would from time to time point at the fire, and the men enquired to know
the reason, the eldest boy said that he was roasting a bird for his brother,
and digging the n»!>es produced it. They enquired, where their
father and mother v ■:;;,, the boy answered them saying, that their father
was absent hunting, and that their mother had gone to chop and collect
wood ; upon this information the men rose and searched around the out>
skiits of the lodge, endeavouring to find traces of the man and his wife,
but they were not successful, and returned to the lodge. Before this, how-
ever, and during the absence of the ten men, Melsh-kwa-sha-kwong's
eldest son placed his little brother in the leather bag, (Ouskemood,) and ran
away southward.

One of the ten men observed, that the smallest boy had repeatedly
pointed to the fire place, and that they might find out something by dig-
ging ; they set to work, and found the woman and the man tied together.
On this discovery their wrath was kindled, they brandished their weapons,
denouncing imperoations upon M&sh-kwa-sha-kwong, who was of course
suspected of having committed the deed.

The ten men again renewed their search in order to avenge themselves
upon the perpetrator of this dark deed, but M&sh-kwa-sha-kwong, in order
to avoid instant death, had sought a large hollow tree, and entering at the
bottom or root part, passed through and reached the top of it, from whence
he took his flight upwards to the sky. His pursuers finally traced him,
and followed him as far as the tree, and into the sky, with loud and un-
ceasing iinpercations of revenge and their determination to kill him. The
spirit of the mother alone followed her children. About mid-day the
boys heard, as they ran, a noise in the heavens like the rolling of distant
thunder.* The boys continued their journey south, when the noise
ceased ; towards night they encamped ; they put a small piece of the coal
on the ground, then a log of fire-wood was dropped down from the
skies to them, from whence a good blazing fire was kindled. This was
done daily, and when the fire was lit, a raccoon would fall from on high
upon the firo, and in this manner the boys were fed, and this over-ruling
care they experienced daily. In the evenings at their camping place,
and sometimes during the day, the Red Head's voice was heard speaking
to his children, and encouraging them to use their utmost exertions to fly
from the pursuit of their mother. To aid them in escaping, they were
told to throw away their awl, and immediately there grew a strong and
almost impassable hedge of thorn bushes behind them, in their path, which
the pursuing mother could scarcely penetrate, and thus impeding her pro-

ill

'■'J

* Note by Mr. George Johnston, from whom this tale was received. — Any thing of
the kmd, or a sunilar noise heard, is attributed by the Indian, to this day, as an indica-
tion of the contention between Miish-kwa-sha-kwong and his pursuers, and hence a
prelude to wara and contentions among the nations of the world.

112

BIASH-KWA-SBA-KWO!fO.

gress, tearing away her whole body and leaving nothing but the heaa
So they escaped the first day.

The next day they resumed their march and could distinctly hear the
noise of combat in the sky, as if it were a roaring thunder ; they also
heard the voice of their mother behind them, desiring her eldest son to
stop and wait for her, saying that she wished to give the breast to his
brother ; then again Mdsh-kwa-sha-kwong's voice, encouraging his sons to
fly for their lives, and saying that if their mother overtook them she Would
surely kill them.

In the evening of the second day the boys prepared to encamp, and the
noise of combat on high ceased ; on placing a small piece of the coal on
the ground, a log and some fire-wood was let down as on the preceding
night, and the fire was kindled, and then the raccoon placed on it for
their food. This was fulfilling the promise made by their father, that they
would be provided for during their flight. The beaver's tooth was here
thrown away, and this is the cause why the northern country now abounds
with beaver, and also the innumerable little lakes and marshes, and con*
sequently the rugged and tedious travelling now experienced.

On the third day the boys resumed their flight, and threw away their
hone, and it became a high rocky mountainous ridge, the same now seen
on the north shore of these straits, (St. Mary's) which was a great obstacle
in the way of the woman of the Head, for this was now her name, be-
cause that part alone remained of her whole frame, and with it she was
incessantly uttering determinations to kill her eldest son ; the boys finally
reached the fishing place known as the eddy of Wah-zah-zhawing, at the
rapids of Bawating, situated on the north shore of the river. Here Mash*
kwa-sha-kwong, told his sons that he had himself been overtaken in his
flight by his pursuers and killed, and ho appeared to them in the shape of
a red headed wood-pecker, or a mama. This is a bird that is seldom or
never attacked by birds of prey, for no vestiges of his remains are ever seen
or found by the Indian hunter. " Now my sons," said the red headed
wood-pecker, " I have brought you to this river, you will now see your
grand father and he will convey you across to the opposite side." Then
the boys looked to the southern shore of the river, and they saw in the
middle of the rapid, an Oshuogay standing on a rock ; to the Oshuggay
the boys spoke, and accosted him as their grand father, requesting him
to carry them across the river Bawating. The Oshuggay stretching his
long neck over the river to the place where the boys stood, told them to
get upon his head and neck, and again stretching to the southern shore,
he landed the boys in safety, upon a prairie : the crane was seen walking
in state, up and down the prairie.

The persevering mother soon arrived at Wah-zah-hawing, and im*
mediately requested the Oshuggay to cross her over, that she was in pur*

MASH-KWA-SHA-KWONO.

ittit of her children and stating that she wished to overtake them ; but the
Oshuggay seemed well aware of her character, and objected to conveying
her across, giving her to understand that she was a lewd and bad wo-
man ; he continued giving her a long moral lecture upon the course she
had pursued and the bad resuhs to mankind in consequence, such as
quarrels, murders, deaths, and hence widowhood.

The woman of the Head persisted in her request of being conveyed
°cros8. Objections and entreaties followed. She talked as if she were still
a woman, whose favour was to be sought ; and he, as if he were above
such favours. After this dialogue the Oshuggay said that he would
convey her across, on the condition that she would adhere strictly to
his injunctions ; he told her not to touch the bare part of his head, but to
get upon the hollow or crooked part of his neck ; to this she agreed, and
got on. The Oshuggay then withdrew his long neck to about half way
across, when feeling that she had forgotten her pledge he dashed her head
upon the rocks, and the small fish, that were so abundant instantly fed
upon the brain and fragments of the skull and became large white fish.
" A fish " said the Oshuggay, " that from this timf foiiii shall be abundant,
and remain in these rapids to feed the Indicns and their issue, from genera-
tion to generation."*

After this transaction of the Oshuggay's, landing the boys safely across,
and dashing the woman's head upon the rocks, he spake to the Crane and
mutually consulting one another in relation to M&sh-kwa-sha-kwong'ssons
they agreed to invite two women from the eastward, of the tribe of the Was-
sissiG, and the two lads took them for wives. The Oshuggay plucked one
of his largest wing feathers and gave it to the eldest boy, and the Crane
likewise did the same, giving his feathers to the youngest ; they were told
to consider the feathers as their sons afler this, one feather appeared like
an Oshuggay and the other like a young Crane. By and by they appeared
like human beings to the lads. Thus the alliance was formed with the Was-
sissig, and the circumstance of the Oshuggay and Crane interesting them-
selves in behalf of the boys and the gift to them of their feathers and the
result, is the origin of the Indian Totem.

Here Mash-kwa-sha-kwong's sons were told that they would be con-
sidered as chieftains and that this office would be hereditary and continue
in their generations. After this, they multiplied exceedingly and became
strong and powerful. About this time the Obinangoes, (or the Bears*
Totem) came down from Shaugah-wah-mickong, near the extremity of
Lake Superior. On their way eastward they were surprised on reaching
Bawating to find such a numerous population of human beings : they were

* The small white shells that the white fish live upon, and the white substance found
m its gizzard are to this day considered by the Indians, the brain and skull of the womu
cf the Head.

MASH-KWA-8BA-KW0N0.

not aware of ita oeing in exUtence ; fear came upon the Obinangoe*, and
they deviaed the plan of securing friendship with the Oshuggays and
Cranes, by adopting and claiming a relationship with them, and calling
them their grandsons. This claim was yielded, and they were permitted to
remain at Bawaiting upon the score of relationship thus happily attained.
The Obenangoes eventually emigrated eastward and settled upon the
northern coast of Lakes Huron and Ontario.

Population increased so rapidly at Bawaiting, that it was necessary to
form new villages, some settling on the Garden River, some upon the
Pflkaysaugauegan River, and others upon the island of St. Joseph's, and
upon the Menashkong Bay and Mashkotay Saugie River.

About this time, a person in the shape of a human being came down
from the sky ; his clothing was exceedingly pure and white ; he was seated
as it were in a nest, with a very fine cord attached to it, by which this
mysterious person was let down, and the cord or string reached heaven.
He addressed the Indians in a very humane, mild, and con.pasionate tone,
saying that they were very poor and needy, but telling them that they
were perpetually asleep, and this was caused by the Mache Monedo who
was in the midst of them, and leading them to death and ruin.

This mysterious personage informed them also that above, where he
came from, there was no night, that the inhabitants never slept, that it was
perpetually day and they required no sleep ; that Kezha Monedo was their
light. He then invited four of the Indiana to ascend up with him promiS'
ing that they would be brought back in safety ; that an opportunity would
thereby present itself to view the beauty of the sky, or heavens. But the
Indians doubted and feared lest the cord should break, because it appeared
to them so small. They did not believe it possible it could bear theii
weight. With this objection they excused themselves. They were, however,
again assured that ths cord was sufRciently strong and that Kezha Monedo
had the power to make it so. Yet the Indians doubted and feared, and
did not accompany the messenger sent down to them. After this re-
fusal the mysterious person produced a small bow and arrows with which
he shot at the Indians in different parts of their bodies : the result was,
ihe killing of multitudes of small white worms, which he showed to them ;
telling them that they were the Mache Monedo which caused them to
sleep, and prevented their awakening from their death-like state.

This divine messenger then gave to the Indians laws and rules, where-
by they should be guided : first, to love and fear Kezha Monedo, and next
that they must love one another, and be charitable and hospitable ; and
finally, that they must not covet their neighbours property, but acquire it
by labour and honest industry. He then instituted the grand medicine or
metay we win dance : this ceremony was to be observed annually, and
with due solemnity, and the Indians, said Nabinoi, experienced much good
from it ; but unfortunately, the foolish young men were cheated by Mache

MA8H-RWA-SHA.KW0NO.

115

Moncdo, who caused them to adopt the Wabano dance and its ceremoniei.
This latter is decidedly an institution of the sagemaus, or evil spirits,
and this was finally introduced into the metay we wining, (i. e. medicine
dance) and thereby corrupted it.

The old chief continued his moral strain thus : While the Indians were
instructed by the heavenly messenger they v ere told ihnt it would snow
continually for the space of five years, winttr and summer, and the end
would then be nigh at hand ; and again that it would min incessantly as
many winters and summers more, which would cii use the wall i f- to rise and
overflow the earth, destroying trees and all manner of vegetation. After
this, ten winters and summers of drought would follow, drying up the
land, and mostly the lakes and rivers ; not a cloud would be seen during
this period. The earth would become so dry, that it will then burn up with
fire of itself, and it will also burn the waters to a certain depth, until it at-
tains the first created earth and waters. Then the good Indians will rise
from death to enjoy a new earth, filled with an abundance of all manner
of living creatures. The only animal which will not be seen is the beaver
The bad Indians will not enjoy any portion of the new earth ; they will be
condemned and given to the evil spirits.

Four generations, he went on to say, have now passed away, since that
brotherly love and charity, formerly known, still existed among the In-
dians. There was in those ancient times an annual meeting among the In-
dians, resembling the French New Year's Day, which was generally ob-
served on the new moon's first appearance, Gitchy Monedo gesus. The
Indians of our village would visit these of another, and sometimes meet
one another dancing ; and on those occasions they would exchange bows
and arrows, their rude axes, awls, and kettles, and their clothing. This
was an annual festival, which was duly observed by them. In those
days the Indians lived happy ; but every thing is now changed to the In-
dian mind, indicating the drawing near and approach of the end of time.
The Indians who still adhere to the laws of the heavenly messenger ex-
perience happiness ; and, on the contrary, concluded the old man, those
who are wicked and adhere to the Wabano institution, generally meet
with their reward; and it is singular to say that they generally come
to their end by accidents, such as drowning, or miserable deaths.

He then reverted to the former part of his story. The Oshuggays, and
the Cranes quarrelled, and this quarrel commenced on a trivial point. It
appears that the Cranes took a pole, without leave, from the Oshugga3rs,
and they broke the pole ; this circumstance led to a separation. The
Oshuggays emigiuted south, and are now known as the Shawnees.

■I" I

WA-WA-BE-ZO-WIN,

THE SWING ON THE LAKE SHORE.

fROH THE TKADITIONS OF THE ODJIBWA8.

There was an old hag of a womarj living with her daughter-m-Iitw
and son, and a little orphan boy, whom she was bringing up. When
her son-in-law came home from hunting, it was his custom to bring
his wife the moose's lip, the kidney of the bear, or some other choice
bits of different animals. These she would cook crisp, bo as to make a
sound with her teeth in eating them. This kind attention of the hunter
to his wife, at last, excited the envy of the old woman. She wished
to have the same luxuries, and in order to get them she Rnally resolved to
make way with her son's wife. One day, she asked her to leave her in-
fant son to the care of the orphan boy, and come out and swing with
her. She took her to the shore of a lake, where there was a high range
of rocks overhanging the water. Upon the top of this rock, she erected
a swing. She then undressed, and fastened a piece of leather around her
body, and commenced swinging, going over the precipice at every swing.
She continued it but a short time, when she told her daughter to do the
same. The daughter obeyed. She undressed, and tying the leather
string as she was directed, began swinging. When the swing had got
in full motion and well a going, so that it went clear beyond the precipice,
at every sweep, the old woman slyly cut the cords and let her daughter
drop into the lake. She then put on her daughter's clothing, and thus dis*
guised went home in the dusk of the evening and counterfeited her ap-
pearance and duties. She found the child crying, and gave it the breast,
but it would not draw. The orphan boy asked her where its mother was.
She answered, " She is still swinging." He said, " I shall go and look
for her." " No !" said she, " you must not — what should you go for ?"
When the husband came in, in the evening, he gave the coveted morsel
to his supposed wife. He missed his mother-in-law, but said nothing.
She et :7erly ate the dainty, and tried to keep the child still. The hus-
band looked rather astonished to see his wife studiously averting her face,
and asked her why the child cried so. She said, she did not know — that
It would not draw.

In the meantime the orphan boy went to the lake shores, and found no
one. He mentioned his suspicions, and while the old woman was out
getting wood, he told him all that he had heard or seen. The man then

116

WA-WA-BE-ZO-WIN.

117

painted his face black, and placed his spear upside down in the earth and
requested the Great Spirit to send lightning, thunder, and rain, in the
hope that the body of his wife might arise from the water. He then
began to fast, and told the boy to take the child and play on the lake
shore.

We must rfivf go back to the swing. After the wife had plunged into
the lake, she found herself taken hold of by a water tiger, whose tail
twisted itself round her body, and drew her to the bottom. There she
found a fine lodge, and all things 'ready for her reception, and she became
;he wife of the water tiger. Whilst the children were playing along the
shore, and the boy was casting pebbles into the lake, he saw a gull com-
ing from its centre, and flying towards the shore, and when on shore, the
bird immediately assumed the human shape. When he looked again he
recognized the lost mother. She had a leather belt around her loins, and
another belt of white metal, which was, in reality, the tail of the water
tiger, her husband. She suckled the babe, and said to the boy — " Come
here with him, whenever he cries, and I will nurse him."

The boy carried the child home, and told these things to the father.
When the child again cried, the father went also with the boy to the
lake shore, and hid himselT in a clump of trees. Soon the appearance
of a gull was seen, with a long shining belt, or chain, and as soon as it
came to the shore, it assumed the mother's shape, and began to suckle the
child. The husband had brought along his spear, and seeing the shining
chain, he boldly struck it and broke the links apart. He then took his
wife and child home, with the orphan boy. When they entered the
lodge, the old woman looked up, but it was a look of despair, she instantly
dropped her head. A rustling was heard in the lodge, and the next mo-
ment, she leaped up, and flew out of the lodge, and was never heard of
more.

The name of God, among the ancient Mexicans, was Teo, a word sel
dom found, except in compound phrases. Among the Mohawks and
Onondagas, it is Neo. With the western Senecas, as given by Smith,
Owayneo. With the Odjibwas, Monedo ; with the Ottowas, Maneto.
Many modifications of the word by prefixes, to its radix Edo, appear
among the cognate dialects It is remarkable that there is so striking a
similarity in the principal syllable, and it is curious to observe that Edo,
is, in sound, both the Greek term Deo, and the Azteek Teo, transposed.
Is there any thing absolutely ^a;ed in the sounds of languages?

''. f

TAKOZID,

«•

THE SHORT-FOOT.

A BIOQRAPHICAL SKETCH.

Most of the individuals who have figured amongst the Red Race in
America, have appeared under circumstances which have precluded any
thing like a full and consistent biography. There is, in truth, but little in
savage life, to furnish materials for such biographies. The very scanti-
ness of events determines this. A man suddenly appears among these
tribes as a warrior, a negociator, an orator, or a prophet, by a name that
nobody ever before heard of. He excites attention for a short time, and
then sinks back into the mass of Indian society, and is no more heard of.
His courage, his eloquence, or his diplomatic skill, are regarded as evi-
dences of talent, and energy of thought or action, which, under better au-
spices, might have produced a shining and consistent character. But he
has been left by events, and is sunk in the mass. He appeared rather like
an erratic body, or flash, than a fixed light amid his people. The circum
stances that brought him into notice have passed away. A victory has
been won, a speech made, a noble example given. The afiair has been
adjusted, the tribe resumed its hunting, or corn-planting, or wandering,
or internal discords, and the new name, which promised for a while to raise
a Tamerlane, or Tippoo Saib in the west, settles down in the popular
mind ; and if it be not wholly lost, is only heard of now and then, as one
of the signatures to some land treaty. There is not, in fact, sufficient, in
the population, military strength, or importance of the affairs of most of
our tribes, to work out incidents for a sustained and full biography. Even
the most considerable personages of past times, who have been honoured
with such full notices, have too much resemblance to a stout boy in his
father's regimentals. They hang loosely about him. The most that can
be done — all indeed which the occasion requires in general — is a
sketch of such particular events, in aboriginal history, as the individual
has connected his name with. It is proposed in the progress of this work,
to furnish some of such sketches from the unwritten annals of the west
and the north.

Among that class of aboriginal chiefs and actors, who have not risen to
the highest distinction, or attained general notoriety out of the circle of
their own tribes, was Takozid, or the Short-Foot ; a Mukundwa, or pil-
bger; a fierce, warlike, and predatory tribe of the Odjibwa Algonquin

118

TAKOZID, OR THE SHORT-FOOT.

119

Stock, who, at an early time seated themselves on the sources of the Mis-
sissippi, making their head quarters at Leech Lake. To this place, their
traditions assert, they came from Chagoimegon, or still farther east, prior
to the discovery of the country by Europeans. They were consequently
intruders in, or conquerors of the country, and drove back some other
people. It seems equally probable that .this people were the Dacotahs, the
Naddowassies, or as it is abbreviated, Sioux, of early French writers. The
Sioux are a numerous and warlike stock, who occupy portions of the banks of
the Missouri and the Mississippi, at, and about the latitude of St. Anthony's
Falls, A hereditary war of which " the memory of man runneth not to
the contrary," was the consequence of this ancient inroad. Of all this
region of country we can speak from personal knowledge, having tra-
versed it at sundry times, and in various directions. It is in local remi*
niscence, little more than a widely extended scene of Indian battles, ambus-
cades and murders. There is hardly a prominent stream, plain or forest,
which is not referred to, as the traveller proceeds, as the particular locality
of some fight, tragedy, or hair-breath escape among the Red Men. The
Olympic games were not a surer test of fame in successful rivalry, than is
this wide area of aboriginal warfare, for the opposing nations of the Sioux
and Chippewas. War is the prime avenue to distinction to the Indian
mind. As soon as a hunter has acquired any distinction, and begins to
look upon himself as a person of courage and address, he turns his efforts
to the war path. Whatever else he is famous for, this is the crowning
test and seal of his reputation. And none have pursued it with more in-
cessant devotion than the Chippewas.

Takozid determined from his earliest youth to take a part in the strife
for barbaric glory. He early joined the war parties going into the great
plains. He learned their arts, repeated their songs, and became expert in
all the warrior's arts. He established the reputation of a brave young
man. The next step was to lefid a war party himself. He courted popu-
larity by generosity, self denial, and attention to their religious rites and
ceremonies. These things may be done on a smaller scale, as effectually
among a band of savages, as in the hall or forum. He succeeded. He
raised a war party, conducted it into the plains, discovered his enemies,
approached them slily, fell upon them, defeated them, and returned in tri-
umph with their scalps to his village. His deep and hollow che kwan
DUM, or death-cry ol victory as he came to the eminence which overlooked
his village, annotinced all this before he set foot in his village: and the
number of his scalps.

These exploits placed him on the pinnacle of fame. It is a curious fact,
m the lives of our Red men, to observe that war is a stimulus to poligamy.
One of the first things he thought of, as a proper reward for his bravery,
was to take another wife. In this, his friends and partizans concurred,
although he had no cause of dissatisfaction with his first wife, to whom he

120

TAKOZIOi OR THE 8H0RT-F00T.

had been married but a short time, and who had borne him a son. Time
added confirmation to this plan. It was talked of, and even debated by the
chiefs. It was conceded to be due to his bravery. All, indeed, appeared
to approve ff it, but his wife. She heard of the rumor with alarm, and
received the account of its confirmation, with pain. It could no longer be
doubted, for the individual who was to share, nay, control the lodge
with her was named, and the consent of her parents had been obtained.

Monon, or the Little-Iron-Wood-Tree, as she was called, was a female
of no ordinary firmness of character. She was ardently attached to her
husband, not the less so for his rising fame, jealous of her rights, and
prompted by strong feelings to maintain them. In all these points she
was above the generality of her country women. Like others, however,
in a community where poligamy was common, she might have submitted
at length, to her fate, had not her rival in the affections of Takozid, ap-
pealed to a deeper seated principle, and waked up, in the breast of the in-
jured wife, the feeling of revenge : a principle reckless enough, in com-
munities where there are the safeguards of education and Christianity
to restrain and regulate it ; but horrible in wild and roving bands of bar-
barians. Monon's fidelity was slandered. She was a pure and high
minded woman, and the imputation goaded her to the quick.

When this slander first reached her ears, through the ordinary chan-
nel of village gossip, a chord was struck, which vibrated through every
throe, and steeled her heart for some extraordinary act ; although none
could anticipate the sanguinary deed which marked the nuptial night.
An Indian marriage is often a matter of little ceremony. It was not so,
on this occasion. To render the events imposing, many had been invited.
The bride was dressed in her best apparel. Her father was present.
Many young and old, males and females were either present or thronged
around the lodge. The broad clear blue waters of the lake, studded with
green islands, spread before the door. A wide grassy lawn, which was
the village ball and play ground, extended down to its margin. It was
a public event. A throng had gathered around. Takozid was to be
married. He was to take a second wife, in the daughter of Obegwud.
Takozid himself was there. Hilarity reigned within and without. All
indeed, were there, but the dejected and deserted Monon, who had been
left with her child, at the chieftain's own lodge.

But a spirit had been aroused in her breast, which would not permit
her to rem:iin absent. She crossed the green silently, stealthily. She
stood gazing awhile at the lake. She approached the bridal lodge. She
passed easily among tlie group. She entered the lodge. Nor had any
one, at that moment, a thought of suspicion or alarm. The bride was
seated on her envied abbinos ; her affianced husband was at her side.

All at once, there arose a shrill cry^ in the Chippewa tongue. " This,
vociferated the enraged Monon, This for the bastard!" and at each repeti

TAKOZID, OR THE SHORT-FOOT.

121

tion of the words, she raised an Indian poignard, in her hand. The sud-
denness of her movement had paralyzed every attempt to arrest her.
Amazement sat in every face. She had plunged a pointed knife into the
oreast of her rival.

There is little to be added to such a catastrophe. Its very suddenness
and atrocity appalled every one. Nobody arrested her, and nobody pur-
sued her. She returned as she came, and re-entered her lodge. Her
victim never spoke.

From this moment the fame of Takozid declined. The event appeared
to have unmanned him. He went no more to war. His martial spirits
appeared to have left him. He sank back into the mass of Indian society,
and was scarcely ever mentioned. Nor should we, indeed, have recalled
his name from its obscurity, were it not associated in the Indian reminis-
cences of Leach lake, with this sanguinary deed.

I 'ad this relation a few years ago, from a trader, who had lived at
Leech lake, who personally knew the parties, and whose veracity I
had no reason at all, to call into question. It is one of the elements that
go into the sum of my personal observations, on savage life, and as such I
cast it among these papers. To judge of the Red race aright, we must
view it, in all its phases, and if we would perform our duty towards them,
as christians and men, we should gather our data from small^s well as
great events, and from afar as well as near. When all has been done, m
the way of such collections and researches, it will be found, we think,
that their errors and crimes, whatever they are, assume no deeper dye
than philanthropy has had reason to apprehend them to take, without a
knowledge of the principles of the gospel. Thou shall not kill, is a law,
yet to be enforced, among more than two hundred thousand souls, who
bear the impress of a red skin, within the acknowledged limits of the
American Union.

MACHINITO, THE EVIL SPIRIT;

f;;oh the legends of iagou.
BY MRS. E. OAKES SMITH.

" The Pagan world not only believes in a myriad of gods, but worships them also
It is the peculiarity of the North American Indian, that while he helievea in as many,
he vomraUfs but one, the Great Spirit." — {Schoolcraft.)

Chemanitou, being the master of life, at one time became the origin of
a spirit, that has ever since caused himself and all others of his creation

IJH INDIAN MYTHOLOGY. ; ^^

a gre^ deal of disquiet His birth was owing to an accident It was m

this wise.

AlETdWAO, or as the white people now call it, Long Island, was origi
nally a vast plain, so level and free from any kind of growth, that it looked
like a portion of the great sea that had suddenly been made to move back
and let the sand below appear, which was the case in fact.

Here it was that Chemanitou used to come and sit, when he wished to
bring any new creation to the life. The place being spacious and solitary,
the water upon every side, he hod not only room enough, but was free
from interruption.

It is well known that some of these early creations were of very great
size, so that very few could live in the same place, and their strength made
it difficult for GhemTanitou, even to controul them ; for when he has given
them certain elements, they have the use of the laws that govern these ele-
ments, till it is his will to take them back to himself Accordingly, it was
the custom of Chemanitou, when he wished to try the effect of these crea-
tures, to set them in motion upon the island of Met6wac, and if they did
not please him, he took the life out before they were suffered to escape.
He would set up a mammoth or other large animal, in the centre of the
island, and build him up with great care, somewhat in the manner that a
cabin or a canoe is made.

Even to tnis day may be found traces of what had been done here in
former years ; and the manner in which the earth sometimes sinks down
[even wells fall out at the bottom here,] shows that this island is
nothing more than a great cake of earth, a sort of platter laid upon the sea,
for the convenience of Chemanitou, who used it as a table upon which he
might work, never having designed it for anything else ; the margin of the
Chatieiiac, (the stately swan,) or Hudson river, being better adapted to
the purposes of habitation.

When the master of life wished to build up an elephant or mammoth he
placed four cakes of clay upon the ground, at proper distances, which
were moulded into shape, and became the feet of the animal.

Now sometimes these were left unfinished ; and to this day the green
tussocks, to be seen like little islands about the marshes, show where these
cakes of clay had been placed.

As Chemanitou went on with his work, the Neebanawbaigs (or water
spirits,) the PucK-^vuD-JINNIES, (Fairies *) and indeed all the lesser manit-
toes, used to come and look on, and wonder what it would be, and how it
would act.

When the animal was quite done, and had dried a long time in the sun,
Chemanitou opened a place in the side, and entering in, remained there
many days.

Literally, little men, who vanish.

INDIAN MTTHOLOGT.

123

When he came forth, the creature began to shiver and sway from side
to side, in such a manner as shook the whole island for many leagues.
If his appearance pleased the master of life he was suffered to depart, and
it was generally found that these animals plunged into the sea upon the
north side of the island, and disappeared in the great forests beyond.

Now at one time Chemanitou was a very long while building an ani-
mal, of such great bulk, that it looked like a mountain upon the cen-
tre of the island ; and all the manittoes, from all parts, came to see what it
was. The Puck-wud-jinnies especially made themselves very merry,
capering behind his great ears, sitting within his mouth, each perched
upon a tooth, and running in and out of the sockets of the eyes, think-
ing Chemanitou, who was finishing off other parts of the animal, could not
see them.

But he can see right through every thing he has made. He was glad
to see them so lively, and bethought himself of many new creations while
he watched their motions.

When the Master of Life had completed this large animal, he was fear-
ful to give it life, and so it was left upon the island, or work-table of Che^
manitou, till its great weight caused it to break through, and sinking
partly down it stuck fast, the head and tail holding it in such a manner
as to prevent it from going down.

Chemanitou then lifted up a piece of the back, and found it made a
very good cavity, into which the old creations, which failed to please him,
might be thrown.

He sometimes amused himself by making creatures very small and ac-
tive, with which he disported awhile, and finding them of very little use
in the world, and not so attractive as the little Vanishers, he would take
out the life, holding it in himself, and then cast them into the cave made
by the body of the unfinished animal. In this way great quantities of
very odd shapes were heaped together in this Roncomcomon, or " Place of
Fragments."

He was always careful to first take out the life.

One day the Master of Life took two pieces of clay and moulded them
into two large feet, like those of a panther. He did not make four — there
were two only.

He stepped his own feet into them, and found the tread very light and
springy, so that he might go with great speed, and yet make no noise.

Next he built up a pair of very tall legs, in the shape of his own, and
made them walk about awhile — he was pleased with the motion. Then
followed a round body, covered with large scales, like the alligator.

He now found the figure doubling forward, and he fastened a long
black snake, that was gliding by, to the back part of the body, and let it
wind itself about a sapling near, which held the body upright, and made
a very good tail.

S t

124

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY.

The shoulders were broad and strong, like those of the bufialoe, and
covered with hair— the neck thick and short, and full at the back.

Thus far Chemanitou had worked with little thought, but when he
came to the head he thought a long while.

He took a round ball of clay into his lap, and worked it over with great
care. While he thought, he patted the ball upon the top, which made it
very broad and low; for Chemanitou was thinking of the panther feet,
and the buflaloe neck. He remembered the Puck-wud-jinnies playing
in the eye sockets of the great unfinished animal, and he bethought him
to set the eyes out, like those of a lobster, so that the animal might see
upon every side.

He made the forehead broad and full, but low ; for here was to be the
wisdom of the forked tongue, like that of the serpent, which should be in
his mouth. He should see all things, and know all things. Here Che-
manitou stopped, for he saw that he had never thought of such a creation
before, one with but two feet, a creature who should stand upright, and
see upon every side.

The jaws were very strong, with ivory teeth, and gills upon either side,
which arose and fell whenever breath passed through them. The nose was
like the beak of the vulture. A tuft of porcupine quills made the scalp-lock.

Chemanitou held the head out the length of his arm, and turned it first
upon one side and then upon the other. He passed it rapidly through
the air, and saw the gills rise and fall, the lobster eyes whirl round, and
the vulture nose look keen.

Chemanitou became very sad ; yet he put the head upon the shoulders.
It was the first time he had made un upright figure.

It seemed to be the first idea of a man.

It was now nearly night ; the bats were flying through the air, and the
roar of wild beasts began to be heard. A gusty wind swept in from the
ocean, and passed over the island of Metowac, casting the light sand to
and fro. A heavy scud was skimming along the horizon, while higher
up in the sky was a dark thick cloud, upon the verge of which the moon
hung for a moment, and then was shot in.

A panther came by and stayed a moment, with one foot raised and
bent inward, while he looked up at the image, and smelt the feet, that
were like his own.

A vulture swooped down with a great noise of its wings, and made a
dash at the beak, but Chemanitou held him back.

Then came the porcupine, and the lizard, and the snake, each drawn by
its kind in the image.

Chemanitou veiled his face for many hours, and the gusty wind swept
by, but he did not stir.

He saw that every beast of the earth seeketh its kind ; and that which
is like draweth its likeness unto himself

s-if

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY.

13ft

Tho Master of Life thought and thought. The idea grew into his mind
that at some tune he would create a creature who should be made not
after the things of the earth, but afler himself

He should link this world to the spirit world, — being made in the like*
ness of the Great Spirit, he should be drawn unto his likeness..

Many days and nights, whole seasons, passed while Chemanitou
tnought upon these things. He saw all things.

Then the Master of Life liAed up his head ; the stars were looking
down upon the image, and a bat had alighted upon the forehead, spreading
its great wings upon each side. Chemanitou took the bat and held out its
whole leathery wings, (and ever since the bat, when he rests, lets hia
body hang down,) so that he could try them over the head of the image.
He then took the life of the bat away, and twisted off the body, by which
means the whole thin part fell down over the head, and upon each side,
making the ears, and a covering for the forehead like that of the hooded
serpent.

Chemanitou did not cut off the face of the image below, he went on
and made a chin, and lips that were firm and round, that they might shut
in the forked tongue, and the ivory teeth ; and he knew that with the lips
and the chin it would smile, when life should be given to it.

The image was now all done but the arms, and Chemanitou saw that
with a chin it must have hands. He grew more grave.

He hgd never given hands to any creature.

He made the arms and the hands very beautiful, after the manner of his
own.

Chemanitou now took no pleasure in his work that was done — it was
not good in his sight.

Ho wished he had not given it hands ; might it not, when trusted with
life, might it not begin to create ? might it not thwart the plans of the
master of life himself I

He looked long at the image. He saw what it would do when life
should be given it. He knew all things.

He now put fire in the image : but fire is not life.

He put fire within, and a red glow passed through and through it
The fire dried the clay of which it was made, and gave the image an ex-
ceedingly fierce aspect. It shone through the scales upon the breast, and the
gills, and the bat-winged ears. The lobster eyes were like a living coal.

Chemanitou opened the side of the image, btct he did not enter. He
had given it hands and a chin.

It could smile like the manittoes themselves.

He made it walk all about the island of Metowac, that he might see
how it would act. This he did by means of his will.

He now put a little life mto it, but he did not take out the fire. Che-
manitou saw the aspect of the creature would be very terrible, and yet that

i )

id6

INDIAN MYTHOtOOT.

he could smile in such a manner that he ceased to be ugly. He thought
much upon these things. He felt it would not be best to let such a
creature live; a creature made up mostly from the beasts of the field, but
with hands of power, a chin liAing the head upward, and lips holding all
things within themselves.

While he thought upon these things, he took the image in his hands
and cast it into the cave.

But Chemanitou forgot to take out the life !

The creature lay a long time in the cave and did not stir, for his fall
was very great. He lay amongst the old creations that had been thrown
in there without life.

Now when a long time had passed Chemanitou heard a great noise in
the cave. He looked in and saw the image sitting there, and he was try-
ing to put together the old broken things that had been cast in as of no value.

Chemanitou gathered together a vast heap of stones and sand, for large
rocks are not to be had upon the island, and stopped the mouth of the cave.
Many days passsed and the noise grew louder within the cave. The
earth shook, and hot smoke came from the ground. The Manittoes
crowded to Metdwac to see what was the matter.

Chemanitou came also, for he remembered the image he had cast in
there, and forgotten to take away the life.

Suddenly there was a great rising of the stones and sand — the sky
grew black with wind and dust. Fire played about the ground, and
water gurhed high into the air.

All the Manittoes fled with fear ; and the image came forth with a great
noise and most terrible to behold. His life had grown strong within
him, for the fire had made it very fierce.

Everything fled before him and cried — Machinito— MACHrmro— which
means a god, but an evil god !

The above legend is gathered from the traditions of lagou, the great
Indian narrator, who seems to have dipped deeper into philosophy than
most of his compeers. The aboriginal language abounds with stories re-
lated by this remarkable personage, which we hope to bring before tho
public at some future time. Whether subsequent events justify the Indian
in making Long Island the arena of the production of Machinito or the
Evil Spirit, will seem more than apocryphal to a white resident. How-
ever we have nothing to do except to relate the fact as it was related. '

As to these primitive metaphysics, they are at least curious ; and the cool-
ness with which the fact is assumed that the origin of evil was accidental
in the process of developing a perfect humanity, would, at an earlier day,
have been quite appalling to the schoolmen. £. O. S.

REPOSE OP THE SOUL.

When an Indian corpse is put in a coffin, among the tribes of the Lake>
Algonquins, the lid is tied down, and not nailed. On depositing it in the
grave, the rope or string is loosed, and the weight of the earth alone
relied on, to keep it in a fixed position. The reason they give for this, is,
that the soul may have free egress from the body.

Over the top of the grave a covering of cedar bark is put, to shed the
rain. This is roof-shaped and the whole structure looks, slightly, like a
house in miniature. It has gable ends. Through one of these, being the
head, an aperture is cut. On asking a Chippewa why this was done, he
replied, — " To allow the soul to pass out, and in."

" I thought," I replied, " that you believed that the soul went up from
the body at the time of death, to a land of happiness. How, then, can it
remain in the body ?"

" There are two souls," replied the Indian philosopher.

" How can this be ? my friend."

" It is easily explained," said he.

" You know that, in dreams, we pass over wide countries, and see hills
and lakes and mountains, and many scenes, which pass before our eyes,
and affect us. Yet, at the same time, our bodies do not stir, and there is
a soul left with the body, — else it would be dead. So, you perceive, it must
be another soul that accompanies us."

This conversation took place, in the Indian country. I knew the In-
dian very well, and had uoticed the practice, not general now, on the fron*
tiers, of tying the coffin-lid, in burials. It is at the orifice in the bark
sheeting mentioned, that the portion of food, consecrated in feasts for the
dead, is set. It could not but happen, that the food should be eaten by the
hystrix, wolf, or some other animal, known to prowl at night ; nor that,
Indian superstition, ever ready to turn slight appearances of this kind to
IGCOunt, should attribute its abstraction to the spirit of the deceased.

THE LITTLE SPIRIT, OR BOY-MAN.

AN ODJIBWA FAIRY TALE.

*y.

WEITTEN OUT FROM THE VERBAL NARRATIVE BY THE LATE
MRS. H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

There was once a little boy, remarkable for the smallness of his stature.
He was living alone with his sister older than himself. They were orphans,
th^y lived in a beautiful spot on the Lake shore ; nany large rocks were

127

12B

THE LITTLE SPIRIT, OR BOY-MAN.

■cattered aiound their habitation. The boy never grew larger as he
advanced in years. One day, in winter, he asked his sister to make him
a ball to ploy with along shore on the clear ice. She made one for him,
but cautioned him not to go too far.—Off he went in high glee, throwing
his ball before him, and running after it at full speed ; and he went as fast
as his ball. At last his ball flew to a great distance : ho followed it as fast
as he could. After he had run for some time, he saw four dark substances
on the ice straight before him. When ho came up to the spot he was sur-
prised to see lour large, tall men lying on the ice, spearing fish. When he
went up to them, the nearest looked up and in turn was surprised to see
such a diminutive being, and turning to his brothers, he said, " Tia! look !
see what a little fellow is here." After they had all looked a mo-
ment, they resumed their position, covered their heads, intent in searching
for fish. The boy thought to himself, they imagine me too insignificant
for common courtesy, because they are tall and large ; I shall teach them
notwithstanding, that I am not to be treated so lightly. After they were
covered up the boy saw they had each a large trout lying beside them.
He slyly took the one nearest him, and placing his fingers in the gills, and
tossing his ball before him, ran off at full speed. When the man to
whom the fish belonged looked up, he saw his trout sliding away as if of
itself, at a great rate — the boy being so small he was not distinguished from
the fish. He addressed his brothers and said, " See how that tiny boy
has stolen my fish ; what a shame it is he should do so." The boy
reached home, and told his sister to go out and get the fish he had brought
home. She exclaimed, " where could you have got it? I hope you have
not stolen it." " O no," he replied, " I found it on the ice." " How" per-
sisted the sister, "could you have got it there ?" — " No matter," said the boy,
" go and cook it." He disdained to answer her again, but thought he
would one day show her how to appreciate him. She went to the place
he left it, and there indeed she found a monstrous trout. She did as she
was bid, and cooked it for that day's consumption. Next morning he went
off again as at first. When he came near the large men, who fished every
day, he threw his ball with such force that it rolled into the ice-hole of
the man of whom he had stolen the day before. As he happened to raise
himself at the time, the boy said, " Neejee, pray hand me my ball." " No
indeed," answered the man, " I shall not," and thrust the ball under the
ice. The boy took hold of his arm and broke it in two in a moment, and
threw him to one side, and picked up his ball, which had bounded back
from under the ice, and tossed it as usual before him. Outstripping it in
speed, he got home and remained within till the next morning. The
man whose arm he had broken hallooed out to his brothers, and told them
his case, and deplored his fate. They hurried to their brother, and as
loud as they could roar threatened vengeance on the morrow, knowing

THE LITTLE SPIRIT, OR BOY-MAN.

129

the boy'e speed that they could not ovortfike him, and he was neat out of
sight ; yet he heard their throats and awaited their coming in perfect in-
difference. The four brothers the next morning prepared to take their
revenge. Their old mother begp^^d iliem not to go — " Better" said she "that
one only should suffer, than that nil should perish , for he must be a
monedo, or ho could not perfonn such feats." But her sons would not lis-
ten ; and taking their wounded brother along, started for the boy's lodge,
having loarnt that he lived at liic place of rocks. The boy's sister thought
she heard the noise of snow-shoos on the crusted snow at a distance ad-
vancing. She saw the large, tall men coming straight to their lodge, or
rather cave, for they lived in a largo rock. She ran in with great fear, and
told her brother the fact. He said, " Why do you mind them? give me
something to eat." " How can you think of eating at such a time," she
replied, — " Do as I request you, and be quick." She then gave him his
dish, which was a large mis-qua-dacc shell, and he commenced eating. Just
then the men came to the door, and were about lifting the curtain placed
there, when the boy-man turned his dish upside-down, and immediately
the door was closed with a stone ; the men tried hard with their clubs to
crack it ; at length they succeeded in making a slight opening. When one
of them peeped in with one eye, the boy-mnn shot his arrow into his eye
and brain, and he dropped down dead. The others, not knowing what had
happened their brother, did the same, and all fell in like manner; their
curiosity was so great to see what the boy was about. So they all shared
the same fate. After they were killed the boy-man told his sister to go
out and see them. She opened the door, but feared they were not dead, and
entered back again hastily, and told her fears to her brother. He went out
and hacked them in small pieces, saymg, "henceforth let no man be
larger than you are now. So rnen became of the present size. When
spring came on, the boy-man said to his sister, " Make me a new set of
arrows and bow." She obeyed, as he never did any thing himself of a na-
ture that required manual labour, though he provided for their sustenance.
After she made them, she again cautioned him not to shoot into i.e lake;
but regardless of all admonition, he, on purpose, shot his arrow into the
lake, and waded some distance till he got into deep water, and paddled
about for his arrow, so as to attract the attention of his sister. She came
in haste to the shore, calling him to return, but instead of minding her
he called out, " Ma-mis-quon-je-gun-a, be-nau-wa-con-zhe-shin," that is,
" you, of the red fins come and swallow me." Immediately that monstrous
fish came and swallowed him ; and seeing his sister standing on the shore
in despair, he hallooed out to her, " Me-zush-ke-zin-ance." She wondered
what he meant. But on reflection she thought it must lo an old mockesin.
She accordingly tied the old mockesin to a string, and fasteTied it to a tree.
The fish said to the boy-man, under water, "What is that fiouting?" the
boy-man said to the fish, " Go, take hold of it, swallow it as fast as yovt

!t!l

130

THE LITTLE SPIRIT, OR BOY-MAN.

cac." The fish darted towards the old shoe, and swallowed it The bojr*
man laughed in himself, but said nothing, till the fish was fairly caught ;
he then took hold of the line and began to pull himself and fish to
shore. The sister, who was watching, was surprised to see so large a fish ;
and hauling it ashore she took her knife and commenced cutting it open.
When she heard her brother's voice inside of the fish, saying, " Make
haste and release me from this nasty place," his sister was in such haste
that she almost hit his head with her knife ; bu. succeeded in making an
opening large enough for her brother to get out. When he was fairly out,
he told his sister to cut up the fish and dry it, as it would last a long time
for their sustenance, and said to her, never, never more to doubt his ability
in any way. Sc ends the story. ^

AINGODON AND NAYVADAHA.

rrORT OF A FAMILY OF NADOWA8, Ml PEOPLE OF THE SIX NATIONS OF TORONTO,
CONSISTING OF SIX BROTHERS, THEIR YOUNGEST SISTER, AND TWO AUNTS. THEIR
FATHER AND MOTHER HAYING DIED, THEY WERE LEFT ORPHANS, THEIR ORIGIN,
BOWBYER, WAS FROM THE FIRST CLASS OF CHIEFTAINS IN THEIR NATION.

NARRATED PROM THE ORAL RELATION OP NABANOI, BY
MR. GEORGE JOHNSTON.

In the days of this story, wars, murders, and cruelty existed in the
country now comprising the province of Upper Canada, or that portion
bordering upon Lakes Simcoe, Erie, and Ontario, which was claimed and
belonged to the powerful tribe of the eight nations of the Nawtovvays.
The young men had, on a day, started for a hunting excursion : in the
, evening five only of the brothers returned, one was missing. Upon search
being made the body was found, and it appeared evident that he had been
killed : this gave a great blow to the family, but particularly causing great
affliction to the sister, who was the youngest of the family. She mourned
and lamented her brother's death, and she wept incessantly.

The ensuing year another was killed, and so on till four were killed.
The remaining two brothers did all they could to afibrd consolation to
their pining sister, but she would not be consoled : they did all they could
to divert her mind from so much mourning, but all their endeavours
proved ineffectual: she scarcely took any food, and what she ate was
hardly sufficient to sustain nature. The two brothers said that they
would go hunting, which they did from day to day. They would bring

AINGODON AND NATWADAHA.

131

ducks and birds of every description to their sister, in order to tempt her
appetite, but she persisted in refusing nourishment, or taking very little.
At the exp'ration of the year when the fourth brother had been killed,
the two young men set out upon the chase ; one of them returned in the
evening, the other was missing, and found killed in like manner as the
others had been. This again augmented the afflictions of the young girl ;
she had been very delicate, but was now reduced to- a mere skeleton. At
the expiration of the year the only and last of her brothers, taking pity
upon his pining sister, said to her that he would go and kill her some fresh
venison, to entice her to eat. He started early in the morning, and his sister
would go out from time to time, in the course of the day, to see if her bro-
ther was returning. Night set in, and no indications of his coming — she
sat up all night, exhibiting fear and apprehension bordering upon despair —
day light appeared, and he did not come — search was made, and he was
finally found killed, like all the other brothers. After this event the girl be-
came perfectly disconsolate, hardly tasting food, and would wander in the
woods the whole day, returfting at nights. One of her aunts had the care
of her at this time. One day in one of her rambles she did not return ;
her aunt became very anxious, and searched for her, and continued her
search daily. On the tenth day, the aunt in her search lost her way and
was bewildered, and finally was benighted. While lying down, worn with
fatigue, she thought she heard the voice of some one speaking : she got up,
and directing her course to the spot, she came upon a small lodge made
of bushes, and in it lay her niece, with her face to the ground. She pre-
vailed upon her to return home. Before reaching their lodge the girl stopt,
and her aunt built her a small lodge, and she resided in it. Here her
aunt would attend upon her daily.

One day as she lay alone in her little lodge, a person appeared to her
from on high : he had on white raiment that was extremely pure, clean and
white : he did not touch the earth, but remained at some distance from it.
He spoke to her in a mild tone and said. Daughter, why do you remain
here mourning ? I have come to console you, and you must arise, and I
will give you all the land, and deliver into your hands the persons who
have killed your brothers. All things living and created are mine, I give •
and take away. Now therefore arlje, slay and eat of my dog that lays
there. You will go to your village and firstly tell your relatives and na-
tion of this vision, and you must act conformably to my word and to the
mind I'll give you, and your enemies will 1 put into your hands. I will
be with you again.

After this, he ascended on high. When the girl looked to the place
where the heavenly being pointed, she saw a bear. She arose and went
home, and mentioned to her relatives the vision she had seen, and made
a request that the people might be assembled to partake of her feast. She
directed her relations to the spot where the bear was to be found ; it wai

132

AINOODON AND NAYWADAHA.

IsilM and brought to the village, and singed upon a fire, and the feast
was made, and the nature of the vision explained. Preparations were im-
mediately set on foot, messengers were sent to each tribe of the six nations,
and an invitation given to them, to come upon a given day to the village
of Toronto. Messengers were also sent all along the north coast of lake
Huron to Bawiting, inviting the Indians to form an alliance and fight
against the enemies of the young girl who had lost so many brothers.

In the midst of the Nadowas. there lived two chieftains, twin brothers.
They were Nadowas also of the Bear tribe, perfect devils in disposition,
cruel and tyrannical. They were at the head of two nations of the Na-
dowas, reigning together, keeping the other nations in great fear and awe,
and enslaving them ; particularly the Indians of the Deer totem, who re-
sided in one portion of their great village. Indians in connection with
the Chippewas were also kept in bondage by the two tyrants, whose names
were Aingodon and Naywadaha. When the Chippewas received the
young girl's messengers, they were told that they must rescue their re-
latives, and secretly apprize them of their intention, and the great
calamity that would befall Aingodon and Naywadaha's villages and towns.
Many therefore made their escape ; but one remained with his family,
sending an excuse for not obeying the summons, as he had a great quan-
tity of corn laid up, and that he must attend to his crops. The Indians all
along the north shore of lake Huron and of Bawiting, embarked to join
the general and common cause; they passed through the lakes, and
reached Toronto late in the fall. In the beginning of the winter the aijsem-
bled allies marched, headed by the young girl. She passed through lake
Simcoe, and the line covered the whole lake, cracking the ice as they
marched over it. They encamped at the head of the lake. Here the young
girl produced a garnished bag, and she hung it up, and told the assembled
multitude 'hat she would make chingodam ; and after this she sent hunters
out directing them to bring in eighteen bears, and before the sun had
risen high the bears were all brought in, and they were singed, and the
feast of sacrifice oiTered. At this place the person from on high appeared
to the girl in presence of the assembled multitude, and he stretched
forth his hand and shook hands with her only. He here directed her to
send secret messengers into the land, to warn the Indians who had the
deer totem to put out their totems on poles before their lodge door, in
order that they might be known and saved from the approaching destruc-
tion ; and they were enjoined not to go out of their lodges, neither man,
woman, or child ; if they did so they would be surely consumed and de-
aitroyed ; and the person on high said — Do not approach nigh the open plain
until the rising sun, you will then see destruction come upon your
enemies, and they will be delivered into your hands.

The messengers were sent to the Deer Totems, and they entered the
town at night, and communicated their message to them. After this all

AINGODON AND NAYWADAHA.

133

the Indians bearing that mark were informed of the approaching calamity,
and they instantly made preparations, setting >ut poles before their lodge
doors, and attaching deer skins to the poles, as marks to escape the ven-
geance that was to come upon Aingodon and Nawadaha, and their tribes.
The next morning at daylight the Aingodons and Nawadahas rose, and
seeing the poles and deer skins planted before the doors of the lodges,
said in derision, that their friends, the Deer Totems, had, or must have had,
bad d reams, thus to set their totems on poles. The Indians of the deer totems
remained quiet and silent, and they did not venture out of their lodges. The
young girl was nigh the skirts of the wood with her host, bordering upon
the plain ; and just as the sun rose she marched, and as she and her allied
forces neared the village of the twin tyrants, it became a flame of fire, de-
stroying all its inhabitants. The Deer Totems escaped. Aingodon and Na-
wadaha were not consumed. The allied Indians drew their bows and shot
their arrows at them, but they bounded ofl^, and the blows inflicted upon
them were of no avail, until the young girl came up and subdued them,
and took them alive, and made them prisoners.

The whole of Aingodon's and Nawadaha's towns and villages were
destroyed in the same way ; and the land was in possession of the young
girl and the six remaining tribes of the Nadowas. After this signal ven-
geance was taken the young girl returned with her host, and again en-
camped at the head of lake Simcoe, at her former encamping place ; and
the two tyrants were asked, what was their object for making chingodam,
and what weight could it have? They said, in answer, that their imple-
ments for war, were war axes, and if permitted they would make chingodam,
and on doing so they killed each two men. They were bound immediately,
and their flesh was cut off from their bodies in slices. One of them was
dissected, and upon examination it was discovered that he had no liver,
and his heart was small, and composed of hard flint stone. There are
marks upon a perpendicular ledge of rocks at the narrows, or head of lake
Simcoe, visible to this day, representing two bound persons, who are re-
cognized by the Indians of this generation as the two tyrants, or twin
brothers, Aingodon and Nawadaha. One of the tyrants was kept bound,
until the time the French discovered and possessed the Canadas, and he
was taken to duebec. After this the young girl was taken away by the
god of light.

GEO. JOHNSTON.
Sault Ste. Marie, Map I2th, 1838.

The Indian warriors of the plains west of the sources of the Mississippi,
chew a bitter root, before going into battle, which they suppose impartc
courage, and renders them insensible to pain. It is called zhigowak.

««

SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OP

lOTED EED MEN AND WOMEN

WHO HAVE APPEARED ON THE WESTERN CONTINENT.

WABOJEEG, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

This individual kas indelibly interwoven his name with the history of
the Chippewa nation, during the latter half of the 18th century. His an-
cestors had, from the earliest times, held the principal chieftainship in lake
Superior. His father, Ma-mongazida, was the ruling chief during the
war of the conquest of the Canadas by the British crown. In common
with his tribe and the northern nations generally, he was the fast friend
of the French government, and was present with his warriors, under Gen.
Montcalm, at the loss of duebec, in 1759. He carried a short speech from
that celebrated officer to his people in the north, which is said to have
been verbally delivered a short time before he went to the field.

The period of the fall of the French power in the Canadas, is one of
the most marked events in Indian reminiscence throughout all northwest
America. They refer to the days of French supremacy as a kind of
golden era, when all things in their affairs were better than they now are ;
and I have heard them lament over the change as one which was
in every respect detrimental to their power and happiness. No European
nation, it is evident from these allusions, ever pleased them as well. The
French character and manners adapted themselves admirably to the exist-
ing customs of forest life. The common people, who went up into the in'
terior to trade, fell in with their cu oms with a degree of plasticity and
an air of gaiety and full assent, whicli no other foreigners have, at least to
the same extent, shown. These Couriers du Bois had not much to boast
of on the score of rigid morals themselves. They had nearly as much su-
perstition as the wildest Indians. They were in fact, at least nine-tenths
of them, quite as illiterate. Very many of them were far inferior in their
mental structure and capacity to the bold, eloquent, and well formed and
athletic northern chiefs and hunters. They respected their religious and
festive cSremonies. They never, as a chief once told me, laughed at
them. They met their old friends on their annual returns from Montreal,
with a kiss. They took the daughters of the red men for wives, and
reared large families, who thus constituted a strong bond of union between

Um two races, which remains unbroken at this day.

^ 134

WABOJEEO, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

135

This is the true secret of the strenuous efforts made by the nortnern and
western Indians to sustain the French power, when it was menaced in the
war of 1744, by the fleets and armies of Great Britain. They rallied
freely to their aid at Detroit, Vincennes, the present sites of Pittsburg and
Erie, at Fort Niagara, Montreal, and Quebec, and they hovered with m-
furiated zeal around the outskirts of the northern and western settlements,
during the many and sanguinary wars carried on between the English
and French. And when the French were beaten they still adhered
to their cause, and their chiefs stimulated the French local commanders to
continue and renew the contest, even after the fall of Niagara and duebec,
with a heroic consistency of purpose, which reflects credit upon their fore-
sight, bravery, and constancy. We hope in a future number to bring for-
ward a sketch of the man who put himself at the head of this latter effort,
who declared he would drive the Saxon race into the sea, who beseiged
twelve and took nine of the western stockaded forts, and who tor four years
and upwards, maintained the war, after the French had struck their colours
and ceded the country. We refer to the great Algic leader, Pontiac.

At present our attention is called to a cotemporary chief, of equal per-
sonal bravery and conduct, certainly, but who lived and exercised his au-
thority at a more remote point, and had not the same masses and means
at his command. This point, so long hid in the great forests of the north,
and which, indeed, has been but lately revealed in our positive geography,
is the AREA OF Lake Superior. It is here that we And the Indian tradition
to be rife with the name of Wabojeeg and his wars, and his cotemporaries.
It was one of the direct consequences of so remote a position, that it with-
drew his attention more from the actual conflicts between the French and
English, and fixed them upon his western and southern frontiers, which
were menaced and invaded by the numerous bands of the Dacotahs, and
by the perfidious kinsmen of his nation, the Outagamies and Saucs. He
came into active life, too, as a prominent war leader, at the precise era
when the Canadas had fallen into the British power, and by engaging
zealously in the defence of the borders of his nation west, he allowed time
to mitigate and adjust those feelings and attachments which, so far as pub-
lic policy was concerned, must be considered to have moulded the Indian
mind to a compliance with, and a submission to, the British ajuthority.
Wabojeeg was, emphatically, the defender of the Chippewa domain against
the efforts of other branches of the Red Race. He did not, therefore, lead
his people to fight, as his father, Ma-mongazida, and nearly all the great
Indian war captains had, to enable one type of the foreign race to triumph
over another, but raised his parties and led them forth to maintain his tribal
supremacy. He may be contemplated, therefore, as having had a more
patriotic object for his achievement.

Lake Superior, at the time of our earliest acquaintance with the region,
was occupied, as it is at this day, by the Chippewa race. The chief seat

188

WABOJEEO, OR THE WHITE FISHEB.

of their power appeared to be near the southwestern extremity of the lake,
' at Chagoimegon, where fathers Marquette and AUoez found their way,
and established a mission, ao early as 1668. Another of their principal,
and probably more ancient seats, was at the great rapids on the outlet of
that lake, which tbey named the Sault de Ste. Marie. It was in allusion
to their residence here that they called this tribe Saulteur, that is to say
people of the leap or rapid.

Indian tradition makes the Chippewas one of the chief, certainly by fac
the most nujnerous and widely spread, of the Algonquin stock proper. It
represents them to have migrated from the east to the west. On reaching
the vicinity of Michiiimackinac, they separated at a comparatively mo-
derate era into three tribes, calling themselves, respectively, Odjibwas,
Odawas, and Podawadumees. What their name was before this era, is
not known. It is manifest that the term Odjibwa is not a very ancient one,
for it does not occur in the earliest authors. They were probably of the
Nipercinean or. true Algonquin stock, and had taken the route of the Utawas
river, from the St. Lawrence valley into lake Huron. The term itself is
clearly from Bwa, a voice ; and its prefix in Odji, was probably designed
to mark a peculiar intonation which the muscles are, as it were, gathered
up, to denote.

Whatever be the facts of their origin, they had taken the route up the
straits of St. Mary into lake Superior, both sides of which, and far beyond,
they occupied at the era of the French discovery. It is evident that their
course in this direction must have been aggressive. They were advanc-
ing towards the west and northwest. The tribe known as Kenistenos,
had passed through the Lake of the Woods, through the great lake Nipe-
sing, and as far as the heads of the Saskatchewine and the portage of the
Missinipi of Hudson's bay. The warlike band of Leech Lake, called
Mukundwas, had spread themselves over the entire sources of the Missis-
sippi and extended their hunting excursions west to Red River, where they
came into contact with the AssinaboineS, or Stone Sioux. The central
power, at this era, still remained at Chagoimegon, on Superior, where in-
deed, the force of early tradition asserts there was maintained something
like a frame of both civil and ecclesiastical polity and government.

'It is said in the traditions related to me by the Chippewas, that the Ou-
tagamies, or Foxes, had preceded them into that particular section of coun-
try which extends in a general course from the head of Fox River, of Green
Bay, towards the Falls of St. Anthony, reaching in some points well nigh
to the borders of lake Superior. They are remembered to have occupied
the interior wild rice lakes, which lie at the sources of the Wisconsin, the
Ontonagon, the Chippewa, and the St. Croix rivers. They weVe associated
with the Saucs, who had ascended the Mississippi some distance above the
Falls of St. Anthony, where they lived on friendly terms with the Dacotahs
or Sioux. This friendship extended also to the Outagamies, and it was

s-X"-

WABOJEEG, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

137

(he means of preserving a good understanding between the Dacotahs and
Chippewas. - -

The Fox tribe is closely afRliated with the Chippewas, They call
each other brothers. They are of the same general origin and speak the
same general language, the chief difTerence in sound being that the Foxes
use the letter 1, where the Odjibwas employ an n. The particular cause of
their disagreement is not known. They are said by the Chippewas to
have been unfaithful and treacherous. Individual quarrels and trespasses
on their hunting grounds led to murders, and in the end to a war, in which
the Menomonees and the French united, and they were thus driven from
the rice lakes and away from the Fox and upper Wisconsin. To main-
tain their position they formed an alliance with the Sioux, and fought by
their side.

It was in this contest that Wabojeeg first distinguished himself, and vin-
dicated by his bravery and address the former reputation of his family,
and laid anew the foundations of his northern chieftaindom. Having
heard allusions made to this person on my first entrance into that region,
many years ago, I made particular enquiries, and found living a sister,
an old white-headed woman, and a son and daughter, about the age of
middle life. From these sources I gleaned the following facts. He was
born, as nearly as I could compute the time, about 1747. By a singular
and romantic incident his father, Ma-mongazida, was a half-brother of the
father of "W ibashaw, a celebrated Sioux chief, who but a few years ago
died at his village on the upper Mississippi. The connexion happened in
this way.

While the Sioux and Chippewas were living in amity near each other,
and frequently met and feasted each other on their hunting grounds and
at their villages, a Sioux chief, of distinction, admired and married a Chip*
pewa girl, by whom he had two sons. When the war between these two
nations broke out, those persons of the hostile tribes who had married
Chippewa wives, and were living in the Chippewa country, withdrew,
some taking their wives along and others separating from them. Among
the latter was the Sioux chief. He remained a short time after hostilities
commenced, but finding his position demanded it, he was compelled, with
great reluctance, to leave his wife behind, as she could not, with safety,
have accompanied him into the Sioux territories. As the blood of the
Sioux flowed in the veins of her two sons, neither was it safe for her to
leave them among the Chippewas. They were, however, by mutual
agreement, allowed to return with the father. The eldest of these sons
became the father of Wabashaw. •

The mother thus divorced by the mutual consent of all parties, re-
mained inconsolable for some time. She was still young and handsome,
and after a few years, became the wife of a young Chippewa chief of
Chagoimegon, of the honoured totem of the Addick or reindeer. Her

138

WABOJEEG, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

first child by this second marriage, was Ma Mongazida, the fathei of
Wabojeeg. In this manner, a connexion existed between two families,
of separate hostile nations, each of which distinguished itself, for bravery
and skill in war and council. It has already been stated that Ma Monga-
zida was present, on the side of the French, in the great action in which
both Montcalm and Wolf fell, and he continued to exercise the chieftain-
ship till his death, when his second son succeeded him.

It was one of the consequences of the liostility of the Indians to the
English rule, that many of the remote tribes were left, for a time, without
traders to supply their wants. This was the case, tradition asserts, with
Chagoimegon, which, for two years after the taking of old Mackinac, was
left without a trader. To remonstrate against this, Ma Mongazida visited
Sir William Johnsonj the superintendant general of Indian affairs, by
whom he was well received, and presented with a broad wampum belt and
gorget This act laid the foundation of a lasting peace between the Chip-
pewas and the English. The belt, it is added, was of blue wampum,
with figures of white. And when Wabojeeg came to the chieftainship, he
took from it the wampum employed by him to muster his wai parties.

In making traditionary enquiries I have found that the Indian narra-
tors were careful to preserve and note any fact, in the early lives of their
distinguished men, which appeared to prefigure their future eminence, or
had any thing of the wonderful or premonitory, in its character. The
following incident of this sort, was noticed respecting this chief Ma
Mongazida generally went to make his fall hunts on the middle grounds
towards the Sioux territory, taking with him all his near relatives, amount-
ing usually to twenty persons, exclusive of children. Early one morning
while the young men were preparing for the chase, they were startled by
the report of several shots, directed towards the lodge. As they had
thought themselves in security, the first emotion was surprise, and they
had scarcely time to fly to their arms, when another volley was fired,
which wounded one man in the thigh, and killed a dog. Ma Mongazida
immediately sallied out with his young men, and pronouncing his name
aloud in the Sioux language, demanded if Wabasha or his brother, were
among the assailants. The firing instantly ceased — a pause ensued, when
a tall figure, in a war dress, with a profusion of feathers upon his head,
stepped forward and presented his hand. It was the elder Wabasha, his
half brother. The Sioux peaceably followed their leader into the lodge,
upon which they had, the moment before, directed their shots. At the in-
stant the Bioux chief entered, it was necessary to stoop a little, in passing
the doir. In the act of stooping, he received a blow from a war-
club wielded by a small boy, who had posted himself there for the pur-
pose. It was the young Wabojeeg. Wabasha, pleased with this early
indication of courage, took the little lad in his arms, caressed him, and

WABOJEEQ, OR THE WHITE FIBHER.

139

pronounced that he would become a brave man, and prove an inveterate
enemy of the Sioux.

The border warfare in which the father of the infant warrior was con-
stantly engoged, early initiated him in the arts and ceremonies pertaining
to war. With the eager interest and love of novelty of the young, he lis-
tened to their war songs and war stories, and longed for the time when
he would be old enough to join these parties, and also make himself a
name among warriors. While quite a youth he volunteered to go out
with a party, and soon gave convincing proofs of his courage. He also
early learned the arts of hunting the deer, the bear, the moose, and all the
smaller animals common to the country ; and in these pursuits, he took
the ordinary lessons of Indian young men, in abstinence, sufiering, dan-
ger and endurance of fatigue. In this manner his nerves were knit and
formed for activity, and his mind stored with those lessons of caution
which are the result of local experience in the forest. He possessed a tall
and commanding person, with a full black piercing eye, and the usual
features of his countrymen. He had a clear and full toned voice, and
spoke his native language with grace and fluency. To these attractions,
he united an early reputation for bravery and skill in the chase, and at
the age of twenty-two, he was already a war leader.

Expeditions of one Indian tribe against another, require the utmost
caution, skill, and secrecy. There are a hundred things to give informa-
tion to such a party, or influence its action, which are unknown to civilized
nations. The breaking of a twig, the slightest impression of a foot print,
and other like circumstances, determine a halt, a retreat, or an advance.
The most scrupulous attention is also paid to the signs of the heavAis, the
flight of birds, and above all, to the dreams and predictions of the jossakeed,
priest, or prophet, who accompanies them, and who is entrusted with the
sacred sack. The theory upon which all these parties are conducted, is
secrecy and stratagem : to steal upon the enemy unawares ; to lay in am-
bush, or decoy ; to kill and to avoid as much as possible the hazard of
being killed. An intimate geographical knowledge of the country, is also
required by a successful war leader, and such a man piques himself, not
only on knowing every prominent stream, hill, valley, wood, or rock, but
the particular productions, animal, and vegetable, of the scene of opera-
tions. When it is considered that this species of knowledge, shrewdness
and sagacity, is possessed on both sides, and that the nations at war watch
each other, as a lynx for its prey, it may be conceived, that many of these
border war parties are either light skirmishes, sudden on-rushes, or utter
failures. It is seldom that a close, well contested, long continued hard
battle is fought. To kill a few men, tear off their scalps in haste, and
retreat with these trophies, is a brave and honourable trait with them, and
may be boasted of, in their triumphal dances and warlike festivities.

To glean the details of these movements, would be to acquire the

140

WABOJEEO, OR THE WHI TE FISHER.

modern history of the tribe, which induced me to direct my enquiries to

the subject ; but the lapse of even forty or fiAy years, had shorn tradition

of most of these details, and often left the memory of results only. The

Chippevvas told me, that this chief had led them seven times to successful

battle against the Sioux and the Outagamies, and that he had been

wounded thrice — once in the thigh, once in the right shoulder, and a

t^ird time in the side and breast, being a glancing shot. His war parties

consisted either of volunteers who had joined his standard at the war

dance, or of auxiliaries, who had accepted his messages of wampum and

tobacco, and come forward in a body, to the appointed place of rendezvous.

These parties varied greatly in number ; his first party consisted of but

forty men, his greatest and most renowned^ of three hundred, who were

mustered from the villages on the shores of the lake, as far east as St.

Mary's falls.

It is to the incidents of this last expedition, which had an important in-
fluence on the progress of the war, that we may devote a few moments.
The place of rendezvous was La PoirUe Chagomikq^on, or as it is called
in modern days. La Pointe of Lake Superior. The jcene of the conflict,
which was a long and bloody one, was the falls of the St. Croix. The
two places are distant about two hundred and fifty miles, by the most di-
rect route. This area embraces the summit land between Lake Superior
and the upper Mississippi. The streams flowing each way interlock,
which enables the natives to ascend them in their light canoes, and after
carrying the latter over the portages, to descend on the opposite side. On
this occasion Wabojeeg and his partizan army, ascended the Muskigo, or
MauvailS river, to its connecting portage with the Namakagon branch of the
St. Croix. On crossing the summit, they embarked in their small and
light war canoes on their descent westward. This portion of the route
was passed with the utmost c&ution. They were now rapidly approach-
ing the enemy's borders, and every sign was regarded with deep attention.
They were seven days from the time they first reached the waters of the
St. Croix, until they found the enemy. They went but a short distance
each day, and encamped. On the evening of the seventh day, the scouts
discovered a large body of Sioux and Outagamies encamped on the lower
side of the portage of the great falls of the St. Croix. The discovery was
a surprise on both sides. The advance of the Chippewas had linded at
the upper end of the portage, intending to encamp there. The Siou.x
and their allies had just preceded them, from the lower part of the stream
with the same object. The Foxes or Outagamies immediately fired, and
a battle ensued. It is a spot indeed, from which a retreat either way is
impracticable, in the face of an enemy. It is a mere neck of rugged rock.
The river forces a passage through this dark and solid barrier. It is
equally rapid and dangerous for canoes above and below. It cannot be
crossed direct After the firing began Wabojeeg landed and brought up

WABOJEEG, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

1^1

hi8 men. He directed a port of them to extend themselves in the wood
around the small neck, or peninsula, of the portage, whence alone escape
was possible. Both parties fought with bravery ; the Foxes with despera-
tion. But they were outnumbered, overpowered, and defeated. Some
attempted to descend the rapids, and were lost. A few only escaped.
But the Chippewas paid dearly for their victory. Wabojeeg was slightly
wounded in the breast : his brother was killed. Many brave warriors fell.
It was a most sanguinary scene. The tradition of this battle is one of the
most prominent and wide spread of the events of their modern history.
I have conversed with more than one chief, whe dated his first military
honours in youth, to this scene. It put an end to their feud with the
Foxes, who retired from the intermediate rice lakes, and fled down the
Wisconsin. It raised the name of the Chippewa leader, to the acme of
his renown among his people : but Wabojeeg, as humane as he was
brave, grieved over the loss of his people who had fallen in the action.
This feeling was expressed touchingly and characteristically, in a war song,
which he uttered after this victory which has been preserved by the
late Mr. Johnston of St. Mary's, in the following stanzas.

, On that day when our heroes lay low — lay low,

On that day when our heroes lay low,
I fought by their side, and thought ere I died,
Just vengeance to take on the foe.
Just vengeance to take on the foe. .

On that day, wheu our chieftains lay dead — lay dead, '

On tha* da-/ when our chieftains lay dead,
I fougnt hand to hand, at the head of my band.

And here, on my breast, have 1 bled, ' '

And here, on my breast, have I bled.

Our chiefs shall return no more — ^no more,

Our chiefs shall return no more, ^

Nor their brothers of war, who can show scar for scar,

Like women their fates shall deplore^-deplore.

Like women their fate shall deplore.

Five winters in hunting we'll spend — we'll spend.

Five winters in hunting we'll spend,
Till our youth, grown to men, we'll to war lead again.

And our days, like our fathers, we'll end.

It is the custom of these tribes to go to war in the spring and
summer, which are, not on^y comparatively seasons of leisure with them.

142

WABOJEEO, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

but it is at these seasons that they are concealed and protected by th«
foliage of the forest, and can approach the enemy unseen. At these annual
returns of warmth and vegetation, they also engage in festivities and dances,
during which the events and exploits of past yean are sang and recited :
and while they derive fresh courage and stimulus to renewed exertions,
the young, who are listeners, learn to emulate their fathers, and take their
earliest lessons in the art of war. Nothing is done in the summer months
in the way of hunting. The small furred animals are changing their
pelt, which is out of season. The doe retires with her fawns, from the
plains and open grounds, into thick woods. It is the general season of
reproduction, and the red man for a time, intermits his war on the
animal creation, to resume it against man.

As the autumn approaches, he prepares for his fall hunts, by retiring
from the outskirts of the settlements, and from the open lakes, shores, and
streams, which have been the scenes of his summer festivities ; and pro*
ceeds, after a short preparatory hunt, to his wintering grounds. This
round of hunting, and of festivity and war, fills up the year ; ail the tribes
conform in these general customs. There are no war parties raised in
the w^inter. This season is exclusively devoted to securing the means of
their subsistence and clothing, by seeking the valuable skins, which are
to purchase their clothing and their ammunition, traps and arms.

The hunting grounds of the chief, whose life we are considering, ex-
tended along the southern shores of Lake Superior from the Montreal
River, to the inlet of the Misacoda, or Burntwood River of Fond du Lac.
If he ascended the one, he usually made the wide circuit indicated, and
came out at the other. He often penetrated by a central route up the
Maskigo. This is a region still abounding, but less so than formerly, in the
bear, moose, beaver, otter, martin, and muskrat. Among the smallei
animals are also to be noticed the mink, lynx, hare, porcupine, and par*
tridge, and towards its southern and western limits, the Virginia deer. In
this ample area, the La Pointe, or Ghagoimegon Indians hunted. It is a rule
of the chase, that each hunter has a portion of the country assigned to him,
on which he alone may hunt ; and there are conventional laws which de-
cide all questions of right and priority in starting and killing game. In
these questions, the chief exercises a proper authority, and it is thus in the
power of one of these forest governors and magistrates, where they happen
to be men of sound sense, judgment and manly independence, to make
themselves felt and known, and to become true benefactors to their tribes.
And such chiefs create an impression upon their followers, and leave a
reputation behind them, which is of more value than their achievements
in war.

Wabojeeg excelled in both characters ; he was equally popular as a
civil ruler and a war chief ; and while he administered justice to his peo-
ple, he was an expert hunter, and .made due and ample provision for his

WABOJEEO, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

143

family. He usually gleaned, in a season, by his traps and carbine, four
packs of mixed furs, the avails of which were ample to provide clothing
for all the members of his lodge circle, as well as to renew his supply of
ammunition and other essential articles.

On one occasion, he had a singular contest with a moose. Ho had
gone out, one morning early, to set martin traps. He had set about forty,
and was returning to his lodge, when he unexpectedly encountered a
largo moose, in his path, which manifested a disposition to attack him.
Being unarmed, and having nothing but a knife and small hatchet,
which ho had carried to make his traps, he tried to avoid it. But the ani-
mal came towards him in a furious manner. He took shelter behind a
tree, shilling his position from tree to tree, retreating. At length, as he
fled, he picked up a pole, and quickly untying his moccasin strings, he
bound his knife to the end of the pole. He then placed himself in a
favourable position, behind a tree, and when the moose came up, stabbed
him several times in the throat and breast. At last, the animal, exhausted
with the loss of blood, fell. He then dispatched him, and cut out his
tongue to carry home to his lodge as a trophy of victory. When they
went back to the spot, for the carcass, they found the snow trampled
down in a wide circle, and copiously sprinkled with blood, which gave it
the appearance of a battle-field. It proved to be a male of uncommon
size.

The domestic history of a native chief, can seldom be obtained. In the
present instance, the facts that follow, may be regarded with interest, as
having been obtained from residents of Chagoimegon, or from his descen-
dants. He did not take a wife till about the age of thirty, and he then
married a widow, by whom he had one son. He had obtained early
notoriety as a warrior, which perhaps absorbed his attention. What
causes there were to render this union unsatisfactory, or whether there
were any, is not known ; but after the lapse of two years, he mar-
ried a girl of fourteen, of the totem of the bear, by whom he had a family
of six children. He is represented as of a temper and manners afTec-
tionate and forbearing. He evinced thoughtfulness and diligence in the
management of his aflairs, and the ordet and disposition of his lodge.
When the hunting season was over, he employed his leisure moments in
adding to the comforts of his lodge. His lodge was of an oblong shape,
ten fathoms long, and made by setting two rowS' of posts firmly in the
ground, and sheathing the sides and roof with the smooth bark of the
birch. From the centre rose a post crowned with the carved figure of
an owl, which he had probably selected as a bird of good omen, for it was
neither his own nor his wife's totem. This figure was so placed,
that it turned with the wind, and answered the purpose of a weather-
cock.

In person Wabojeeg was tall, being six feet six inches, erect in carriage,

144

WABOJEEG, OR THE WHITE FISHER.

and of slender make. He possessed a commanding cou-ntenance, united
to ease and dignity of manners. He was a ready and fluent speaker,
and conducted personally the negotiations with the Fox and Sioux nations.
It was perhaps twenty years after the battle on the St. Croix, which es-
I tablished the Chippewa boundary in that quarter, and while his children

' ^ were still young, that there came to his village, in the capacity of a trader,

a young gentleman of a respectable family in the north of Ireland, who
formpd an exalted notion of his character, bearing, and warlike exploits.
This visit, and his consequent residence on the lake, during the winter,
became an important era to the chief, and has linked his name and me-
mory with numerous persons in civilized life. Mr. Johnston asked the
northern chief for his youngest daughter. Englishman, he replied, my
daughter is yet youtig, and you cannot take her as white men have too often
, taken our daughters. It will be time enough to think of complying with

your request, when you return again to this lake in the summer. My
daughter is my favourite child, and I cannot part with her, unless you
will promise to acknowledge her by such ceremonies as white men use.
You must ever keep her, and never forsake her. On this basis a union
was formed, a union it may be said, between the Erse and Algonquin
races — and it v. as faithfully adh-^red to, till his death, a period of thirty-
seven years.

Wabojeeg had impaired his health in the numerous war parties which
he conducted across the wide summit which separated his hunting grounds
from the Mississippi valley. A slender frame, under a life of incessant
exertion, brought on a premature decay. Consumption revealed itself at
a comparatively early age, and' he fell before this insidious disease, in a
few years, at the early age of about forty-5ve. He died in 1793 at his
native village of Chagoimegon.

The incident which has been named, did not fail to make the forest
chieftain acquainted with the leading truth of Christianity, in the revela-
tion it makes of a saviour for all races. On the contrary, it is a truth
which was brought to his knowledge and explained. It is, of course, not
known with what particular ejects. As he saw his end approaching, he
requested that his body might not be buried out of sight, but placed, ac-
cording to a custom prevalent in the remoter bands of this tribe, on a form
supported by posts, or a scaffold. This trait is, perhaps, natural to the
hunter state. . , . ' .

My friends when my spirit is fled — iS fled
My friends when my spirit is fled,

Ah, put me not bound, in the dark and cold ground,
Where light shall no longer be shed — be shed,
Where day-light no more shall be shed.

•40

u
s
a
li

E
II

n
fc

WABOJEEG. OR THE V, HITE FISHER

But lay me up scaffolded high— all high,

Chiefs lay me up scaffolded high,
Where my tribe shall still say, as they point to my clay,

He ne'er from the foe sought to fly— to fly,

He ne'er from the foe sought to fly.

And children, who play on the shore — the shore,

And children who play on the shore,
As the war dance they beat, my name shall repeat,

And the fate of their chieftan deplore— deplore.

And the fate of their chieftain deplore.

145

MODE OP WRiriNO AN INDIAN LANGUAOE..

The rules of utterance of these tribes, after all that has been said ana
written on the subject, are very simple, and determine the orthography, so
iar, at least, as relates to distinctions for the long and short vowels. If, in
writing Indian, the syllables be separated by hyphens, there need be no
uncertainty respecting their sounds, and we shall be saved a world of
somewhat over nice disquisition. A vowel preceded by a consonant, is
always long, a vowel followed by a consonant is always short. A vowel
between two consonanis, '. ^hort. A vowel standing by itself is always
full or long. A few exr ^. of well known words will denote this.

On ta' ri o.
Ni ag' ar a.
O we' go.
Ti 6 ga.
Os we go.
I'-o-wa.
Wis con' sin.
Chi cd go.

Wabash.
Pe 6 ri a.
Tf con de rd ga.
Mis siss ip pi.
O nef da.
AI ab d ma
O tis' CO.
Or e gon.

Write the words by whatever system of orthography you will, French,
English, or German, and the vowel sounds will vindicate this distinction.
If diphthongs have been used, for simple vowels, through early mistake or
redundancy, the rule is the same. If they appear as proper diphthongs, they
follow the rule of diphthongs. This principal of utterance appears to be a
general and fixed law in the Indian languages as respects the sounds
of e, i, 0, u, aud the two chief sounds of a, 1 and 3 of Walker's Key. A«
the letter a 'jas four distinct sounds, as in English, the chief discrepancies,
Men abova, will appear in the use of this letter.

■4

SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF

NOTED RED MEN AND WOMEN,

WHO HAVE APPEARED ON THE WESTERN CONTINENT.

i. ■

BRANT, RED JACKET, UNCAS, MIONTONIMO.

A NOTICE OF THE BIOORAFHIE8 OF THE LATE COI. WILLIAM L. ITONE, niBPABSD FOR TMI

DEMOCRATIC KEyfEW — 1843.

The Egyptians embalmed their dead in myrrh and spices, IfQt the
blessed art of printing has given us a surer and less revolting method of
preserving and transmitting to posterity, all that is truly valuable in the
plaudits of virtue, worth, and honor. Books thus become a more perma-
nent memorial than marble, and by their diffusion scatter those lessons
among all mankind, which the age of mounds and hieroglyphics, stone
and papyrus, had confined to the tablet of a shafl, or the dark recesses of
a tomb or a pyramid. It is never to be forgotten, that m the development
of this new phasis in the history of the human race, it was printing that
first lit the latap of truth, and has driven on the experiment, till the boun-
daries of letters have well nigh become co-extensive with the world. If
we do not widely err, there is no part of the globe, where books of all de-
scriptions have become so cheap and abundant as they are at this time in
the United States, and, laying aside all other considerations, we may find
a proof of the position stated in the fact, that our vernacular literature is no
longer confined to the production of school books, the annals of law and
divinity, the age of muddy pamphlets, or the motley pages of the newspa
per. We have no design to follow up these suggestions by showing how
far the study of the natural sciences, the discussion of political economy,
or the advances of belles-lettres, have operated to produce this result ; far
less to identify those causes, in the progress of western arts and commerce,
which have concurred to bring down the price of books, and scatter the
blessings of an untrammelled press, among all classes. It is sufficient for
our purpose to say that even the lives of our distinguished native chieilains
have come in for a share of modern notice, and, we feel proud to add, of
a notice which, so far as it reaches, is worthy of the subject. And should
our contributions on this head, for the last few years, be equally well fol-
lowed up fo? a few years to come, even the despohding strains of one of

146

INDIAN RULERS.

147

their own impersonated heroes can no longer be repeated with perfect
truth :

" They sink, they pass, they fly, they go,
Like 8 vapor at morning's dawn.
Or a flash of hght, whose sudden glow
- Is seen, admired, and gone.

" They died ; but if a brave man bleeds,
And fills the dreamless grave.
Shall none repeat his name, his deeds,
Nor tell that he was brave ?"

To no one in our literary annals is the public so much indebted for res^
cuing from oblivion the traits and character of the four celebrated chiefs
whose names stand at the head of this article, as to the able author of these
biographies, William L. Stone. Gifted with a keen perception of the ques-
tions of right and wrong, which turn upon the planting of the colonies
among barbarians, who more than idled away their days upon a soil
which they did not cultivate — with a deep sympathy in their fate and for-
tunes, on the one hand, and the paramount claims of letters and Christian-
ity on the other, he has set himself to the task of rendering justice to whom
justice belongs, with the ardor of a philanthropist, and the research of a
historian. He appears to have planned a series of biographies which, if
completed, will give a connected view of the leading tribes who occupied
New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, with a range
in the examination of contemporary men and collateral topics, which em-
braces a wide circle. And he has filled up the outlines of his plan, thus
far, in a manner which leaves but little to glean in the path which he has
trod. If the extension of this circle, and the large amount of contempo-
raneous matter brought in, has, in the minds of some, abstracted too large
a share of attention, and left the biographies with less unity and compact-
ness than they would otherwise have assumed, this is exclusively the fault
of their plan, so far as it is acknowledged, and not of the execution. And
for this course of extension there is a plea to be found m the nature of the
subject, in the treatment of which, scantiness of material was often sought
to be supplied by the introduction of collateral and sometimes extraneous
matter.

We propose briefly to notice the series of these biographies in their
order of publication. In his first work on Brant, he has presented, in liv-
ing colors, the great Mohawk of 1776, who rose up to crush that confea<
eracy which Washington and his compeers had pledged their lives to
maintain. Brant was a man of power and capacities, mental and physical
beyond his tribe ; and was so situated, in the actual contest, as to throw a
greater weight into the scale against us, than any other, or all of the hos-
tile chiefs of the Red Race put together. If he could not, like Ariel, call

gl48 INDIAN RULERS.

up the "spirits of the vasty deep," he could, at his bidding^ summm
together the no less malignant spirits of the woods, who feH upon our
sleeping hamlets with the fury of demons. And whether at ^ iinson Hall
or Niagara, at Cherry Valley or Schoharie, on the waters of ih Oriskany
or the Chemung, he was the ruling and informing spirit of the contest.
Such was the power he wielded as commander of a most effective body
of light troops (for such are all Indian warriors), who were supported by
large and well appointed armies, that, like the electric flashes of the boding
storm, he preceded the heavier outbreak by sounding aloud the wild notes
of terror and dismay. It was in this manner that his name became
a talisman on the frontiers, to conjure up deeds of evil, and in this way
also, doubtless, it became loaded with reproaches, some of which, as the
author has denoted, were due to other actors in the contest. It is difficult,
however, to disturb the judgments of a preceding age, on the character of
individuals who have long passed off the stage of action, whether those
judgments be favorable or unfavorable ; and it is, in fact, impossible to re-
verse them. It is only necessary to glace backward a short way, on the
track of biography, to perceive that posterity never revises the opinions
once put on individual character, heroic or literary. It tries to forget all
it can, and every body it can, and never remembers a long time any name
which it is possible to forget It is willing, we should infer, to concede
something to the great men among barbarian nations, whose names have
often burst upon civilized society with the fearful attractions of the meteor,
or the comet, producing admiration in the beholders, without stopping to
inquire the true cause. Such were the Tamerlahes, and the Tippoo Saibs
of the eastern world, of a prior age, as well as the Mehemet Alis and
Abdel Kaders of the present. And such were, also, with reduced means
of action, numbers of the American aboriginal chiefs, who, between the
days of Manco Capac and Micanopy have figured in the history of the
western world. Most of these men owe their celebrity to the mere fact of
their having dazzled or astounded, or like Brant himself, excited the terror
of those who opposed them. In the case of the latter, a change of opin-
ion in those particular traits which affect his humanity, is less readily
made, from the fact, yet generally remembered, that he had received
a Christian education ; that he was, while a mere boy, received into the
best society, acquired the English language, and had been instructed, first
at a New England academy, and afterwards at one of its most practically
efficient colleges. Posterity holds the Mohawk chief responsible to have
carried the precepts thus obtained into the forest, and to have diffused their
blessings among those who had perhaps his bravery, without his talents
or his knowledge. Those who fought against him were ill qualified, we
confess, to be his judges. He had not only espoused the wrong cause,
wrong because it was adverse to the progress of national freedom and
those very principles his people contended for \ but he battled for it with a

INDIAN RULERS.

149

master's hand, and made the force of his energy felt, as the author has
more fully indicated than was before known, from the banks of the Mo-
hawk and the Niagara, to the Ohio, the Miami, and the Wabash. Yet,
if there was error in the extent to which he failed to carry the precepts of civ-
ilization and Christianity, it was meet it should be pointed out, although it
will also be admitted, the public have a right to look for the strongest of these
proofs of a kind and benevolent feeling towards his open enemies, out of
the range of his domestic circle. His family had carried the incipient
principles of civilization, which he gave them, too high — they had exhib-
ited to the next age, a too prominent example of cultivation and refinement
in every sense — not to feel deeply the obloquy cast upon his name, by the
poetic spirit of the times ; and not to wish tha* one who had, in verity, so
many high and noble qualities, both ' th^ ncil and the field, sh '^"''^.
ilso be without a spot on his humanity. We ... .m the feeling as ho >-
ible to all who have the blood of the chieftain in their veins as it is praise-
worthy in his biographer. We cannot, however, consent to forget, that
historical truth is very severe in its requisitions, and is not to be put off, by
friend or foe, with hearsay testimony, or plausible surmises.

Brant cannot, like Xicotencal, be accused of having joined the invaders
of his country, who were recklessly resolved upon its subjugation ; but he
overlooked the fact, that both the invader and the invaded in the long and
bloody border warfare of the revolution, were, in all that constitutes charac*
ter, the same people. They were of the same blood and lineage, spoke
the same language, had the same laws and customs, and the same litera-
ture and religion, and he failed to see that the only real point of difference
between them was, who should wield the sceptre. Whichever party
gained the day in such a contest, letters and Christianity must triumph,
and as the inevitable result, barbarism must decline, and the power of the
Indian nation fall.

In Brant, barbarism and civilization evinced a strong and singular con-
test. He was at one moment a savage, and at another a civilian, at one
moment cruel, and at another humane ; and he exhibited, throughout all
the heroic period of his career, a constant vacillation and struggle between
good and bad, noble and ignoble feelings, and, as one or the other got the
mastery, he was an angel of mercy, or a demon of destruction. In this re-
spect, his character does not essentially vary from that which has been
found to mark the other leading red men who, from Philip to Osceola,
have appeared on the stage of action. Like them, his reasoning faculties
were far less developed than his physical perceptions. And to attempt to
follow or find anything like a fixed principle of humanity, basing itself on
the higher obligations that sway the human breast, would, we fear, be-
come a search afler that which had no existence in his mind ; or if the
germ was there, it was too feeble tc become predominant. We do not
think it necessary, in commenting on his life, to enter into any nice

,^50

INDIAN RULERS.

train of reasoning or motives to account for this characteristic, or to recon
cile cruelties of the most shocking kind, when contrasted with traiti
of mildness and urbanity. They were diflerent moods of the man, and
in running back over the eventful years of his life, it becomes clear, that
civilization had never so completely gained the mastery over hio nind and
heart, as not to desert him, without notice, the moment he heard the sound
of the war-whoop. The fact that he could use the pen, supplied no in-
superable motive against his wielding the war club. His tomahawk and
his Testament lay on the same shelf. The worst trait in his character is
revealed in his tardiness to execute acts of pwposed mercy. T. .re was
too often some impediment, which served as an excuse, as when he had
a ploughed field to cross to save Wells and his family, or a lame heel, or
gave up the design altogether, as in the case of Wisner, whom he con-
strued it into an act of mercy to tomahawk.

That he was, however, a man of an extraordinary firmness, courage
and decision of character, is without doubt. But his fate and fortunes
have not been such as to give much encouragement to chiefs of the native
race in lending their influence to European, or Anglo-European powers,
who may be engaged in hostilities against each other on this continent.
Pontiac had realized this before him, and Tecumtha realized it after him.
Neither attained the object he sought. One of these chiefs was a^isassi*
nated, the other fell in battle, and Brant himself only survived the defeat
of his cause, to fret out his latter days in vain attempts to obtain justice
from the power which he had most loyally served, and greatly benefited.
Had he been knighted at the close of the contest, instead of ing shuffled
from one great man to another, at home and abroad, it wou have been
an instance of a noble exercise of that power. But George III. seemed
to have been fated, at all points, neither to do justice to his friends nor his
enemies.

Such was Brant, or Thayendanegea, symbollically, the Band of his
tribe,* to whose lot it has fallen to act a more distinguished part in the
Colonies, as a consummate warrior, than any other aboriginal chieftain
who has arisen. And his memory was well worthy of the elaborate work
in which his biographer has presented him, in the most favourable points
of view, amidst a comprehensive history of the border wars of the revolu-
tion, without, however, concealing atrocities of which he was, perhaps
sometimes unvyillingly, the agent. -

A word, and but a word, will be added, as to some points connected
with this chief's character, which are not in coincidence with the generally
received opinion, or are now first introduced by way of palliation, or vin-
dication. We confess, that so far as the presence or absence of the Great
Mohawk in the massacre of Wyoming, is concerned, the statements are

* The name is usually translated, two-sticks tied, or united.

INDIAN RULERS.

151

either inconclusive, or less satisfactory than could be wished. There was
quite too much feeling sometimes evinced by his family, and particularly
his son John, to permit us to revive the new version of the statement with-
out some grains of allotvance. An investigation is instituted by Col. Stone
as to the immediate ancestry of Brant, and much Importance is attached
to the inquiry, whether he was descended from a line of hereditary chiefs.
We think the testimony adverse to such a supposition, and it affords no
unequivocal proof of talents, that notwithstanding such an adventitious
circumstance, certainly without being of the line of ruling chiefs, he ele-
vated himself to be, not only the head chief and leader of his tribe, but of
the Six Nations. Courtesy and popular will attach the title of chief or
sachem to men of talents, courage or eloquence among our tribes gene-
rally ; and while mere descent would devolve it upon a chiefs son, what-
ever might be his character, yet this fact alone would be of little import,
and give him little influence, without abilities : whereas abilities alone are
found to raise men of note to the chieftainship, among all the North
American tribes, whose customs and character are known.

It has constituted no part of our object, in these general outlines, to ex-
amine minor points of the biography or history, upon which the information
or the conclusions are not so satisfactory as could be wished, or which may,
indeed, be at variance with our opinions. One fact, however, connected
with this name, it is not deemed proper to pass sub silentio. Brant is
made to take a part in the Poniiac wtir, a contest arising on the fall of the
French power in Canada in 1759, and which closed in 1763. Brant
was at its close but twenty-one years of age, and had not, it is probable,
finally returned from his New England tutors. At any rate, there is no
reason to su{.^.ose, that, at that early period of his life and his influence,
he could have had any participation in the events of that war.

In the life of Red Jacket, or Sagdyewata, we have a different order of In-
dian intellect brought to view. He was an orator and a diplomatist, and was
at no period of his life noted for his skill as a warrior. Nay, there are
indubitable proofs that his personal courage could not always be " screwed
up to the sticking point." But in native intellect, he was even superior
to Brant. He was, indeed, the Brant of the council, and often came down
upon his opponents with bursts of eloquence, trains of argument, or rhap-
sodies of thought, which were irresistible. And of him, it may be sym-
bolically said, that his tongue was his tomahawk, and the gvandiloquent
vocabulary of the Seneca language, his war-club. Nor has any native
chieflain wielded the weapon to more purpose, or with a longer continued
effect than the great Seneca orator. The specimens of his eloquence
which have appeared in our newspapers for forty years or more, are still
fresh in the memory, and it was due and meet that these should be col-
lected and preserved in a permanent shape, together with such particulars
of his life and career as could be obtained. This task has been performed

162

IMDIAn RVLBBa

by Col. Stone, in a manner which leaves nothing more to be attempted on
the subject. Much zeal and industry have been evinced in eliciting facts
from every quarter where it was probable<inforroation could be had. And
he has brought together a body of contemporaneous proofs and reminis-
cences, touching this chief, which a few years would have put beyond the
power of recovery, and which a position less prominent than he occupied
as a public journalist, might have rendered it difficult for another to collect
We need only refer to the names of Gen. P. B. Porter, Rev. J. Brecken-
ridge, Mr. Parish, and Mr. Hosmer, to show the character of this part of
his materials.

Other chiefs of the native stock, have produced occasional pieces c^ elo-
quence, or admired oratory, but Red-Jacket is the only prominent individual
who has devoted his whole career to it. That he did, indeed, excel, pro-
ducing eflfects which no reported speech of his ever equalled or did justice
to, there are still many living to attest. In the question of land sales,
which arose between the white and red races, there were frequent occa-
sions to bring him out. And these, in the end, assumed a complicated
shape, from either the vague nature, or ill understood conditions of prior
grants. In all these discussions, he preserved a unity and consiatency in
the set of opinions he had adopted. He was ojiposed to further sales, to
removal, to civilization, and to the introduction of Christianity among his
people. What Brant had done in politics, Red-Jacket repeated in morals.
Both took the wrong side, and both failed. But it is to be said of the Sen«
eca orator, that he did not live to see the final defeat of that course
of policy which he had so long and so ably advocated.

It was remarked by Mr. Clinton, and the fact had impressed others, that
the Iroquois, or Six Nations, excelled the other natives in eloquence. Of
this, their history, during the Supremacy of Holland and England in New
York, as given by Colden, furnishes ample proofs. The speech of Gar
anguln, against the Governor General of Canada and his wily policy, is
unexcelled, as a whole, by anything which even Red-Jacket has left in
print, though much of the effect of it is due to the superior and heroic po-
sition occupied by the tribes for whom he spoke. Logan, unexcelled by
all others for his pathos and simplicity, it must be remembered, was also
of this stock, — Mingo, or Mengwe, as th^ Deljwares pronounced it, being
but a generic term for Iroquois ; so that the transmission of this trait, from
the proud era of the Iroquois confederacy down to modern days, is quite
in keeping with the opinion quoted.

It is to be wished that Col. Stone would supply another link in the
chain of Iroquois history, by favoring the public with the life of the noted
Oneida chief, Shenandoah, for which materials must exist in the Kirkland
femily.

The lives of the two men, Uncas and Miontonimo, whose leading a?.ts

INDIAN RULBRS.

153

ire described in one of the volumes named in our caption, belong to an
earlier period of history, and a different thea'.re of action. The scene
changes from western New York to the seaboard of Connecticut, Ithode
Island, and, to some extent, Massachusetts. Uncas was the good genius,
the tutelary spirit, if we may so say, of the colony of Connecticut ; and
the best monument which that State could erect to his memory, would be
to change the unmeaning and worn out name of one of her counties, New
London, for that of the noble and friendly chief, of whose forest kingdom
it once formed a part. From the first day that the English colonists set
foot within it, to the hour of his death, Uncas was the unwavering " friend
of the white man," as his biographer justly calls him. He was of that
race, whom history has, without making a particle of allowance for sav-
age ignorance and hereditary prejudice, branded under the name of Pe-
quods. They were of that type of languages and lineagOr^ which was
very well characterized generically, at least as far south as the original
country of the Delawares ; but which assumed a sub-type after crossing
the Hudson, and was known east of that point under one of its superin-
duced forms, as the Mohegan. This term had been dropped by the Pe-
quods, if it r-as ever their 'pecific cognomen, but it is a proof, and we think
a very conclusive proof, of the yet freshly remembered afHiiation with
Taminund* and the Manhattans, that Uncas, the moment he revolted from
King Sassacus, assumed the name of a Mohegan, and put himself at the
head of that tribe, as it then existed within the boundaries of Connecticut
Or rather, he constituted the revoked Pequods a new tribe, under an old
and respected name, and he thus laid the foundation of the Uncas dynasty.
Placed thus by circumstances in a position in which he sought an alliance
with the early colonists, and finding his security in theirs, he was in fact
the only leading chief of the times who, really, heartily, and faithfully
sought their prosperity and growth to the end. The rise of Uncas and
Connecticut thus began at one era ; and as the alliance was founded on
mutual interest and safety, it only grew stronger with time. A man of
less force of character ui nuiuia! sagacity than Uncas, would have vacillated
when he saw the colonists becoming more powerful and himself more
weak as years rolled on, and would have been seduced to enter into alli-
ances for arresting the white man's power, as other native chiefs had done.
But all history concurs in showing that, under every circumstance, and
there were many of the most trying kind, he carried hunself well, and
avoided even a suspicion of his fidelity.

Uncas was well qualified for a ruler both in mind and person. He pos-
sessed a fine figure, over six feet in height, a commanding voice, and a
noble bearing. He was mild yet dignified in his manners. He was not

* The name of thii chief ki Anglicieed in the word Tanunan]|b

154

INDIAN RVLERS.

only wise in council, but brave* in war, as he evinced in many instances,
but particularly in the battle of Sachem's Plain, in which ho proved him-
self the bravest and most chivalrous of the brave. Yet his wisdom and
moderation in governing his people, and the well balanced justice and con-
sistency of his character, give him a still higher reputation, and establish
his best claim to remembrance. In all the trials in which he was placed,
in all the temptations he had to fly into a rage, and act out the savage, he
sustained this character for wise deliberation ; and by adhering to his first
covenant with the English, and laying all his plans and grievances before
the colonial courts, he raised himself in strength and reputation, and finally
triumphed, first over Sassacus, and then over Miontonimo, the two great-
est and most powerful of his immediate contemporaries.

If Uncas was the patron of Connecticut, Miontonimo, with his family
of tho Narragansett chiefdom, was equally so of Rhode Island. And it is
from this obvious fact, probably, in part, that we find the historical notices
of him, from the last quarter, decidedly more favorable to his general
character than those emanating from the land of his enemy and his con-
queror, Uncas. While there is no disagreement as to any historical fact
of note, it is natural that some little shade of feeling of this nature should
remain. We have noticed a similar feeling with respect to existing tribes
and chiefs, in the western world, where the inhabitants never fail to be
imbued with those peculiar notions and traditions of the particular tribe
about them, which represent the latter as the principal nation, and invest
them with tribal traits of superiority. It is a feeling which leans to the
better side of one's nature, and does honor to men's hearts ; but the histo*
rian is obliged to look at such questions with a colder eye, and can never
abate a tittle of the truth, although he may run counter to this local sym-
pathy and bias. We could name some remarkable instances of this preju-
dice, if we were willing to digress.

If Miontonimo be compared to Uncas, it will at once be seen that
he lacked the latter's sagacity and firmness of character. Had the Nar-
ragansett listened to Sassacus, and formed a league with him, he would
have crushed, for a time, the infant colony of Connecticut. This he de-
clined, apparently, because it had the specific character of enabling Sassa-
cus to put down Uncas. After the Pequod king had been defeated and

• The terma "brave" and "braves" used in a substantive sense, in this work, are
neither English nor Indian. The Indian term should be translated strong-heart, its
literal import ; for it is one of the general rules of these languages, that the operation
of the adjective, as well as action of the verb, is uniformly marked upon the substan-
thre — there being, indeed, different inflections of each substantive, to denote whethei
this operation or action be caused by a noble or ignoble, or an animate or inanimate ob-
ject. Still the general use of the Canadian term Brave, on our Indian border, may
give it some poetic claims to introduction mto our vernacular, burtheued as it ak«ady ia
with more objectionable Americanisms.

INDIAN RULERS.

160

that

fled to the Mohawks, Miontonimo was left in a position to assume the Pe-
quod's policy, and then tried to bring Uncas into just such a combination
to fall on the colonists, as he had himself refused, when the proposition
came from Sassacus. As Uncas not only refused, but laid the scheme be-
fore his allies, Miontonimo went to war against him, with a large army.
Uncas hastily prepared to meet him, with a smaller force They met on
Sachem's Plain, on the banks of the Shawtucket. Uncas, unwilling to
see so many of his people slain in battle, nobly stepped forward and pro-
posed a personal combat, to decide the question of who should rule, and
who obey. It was declined, but the moment the reply was made, he
threw himself on the plain, a signal, it seems, for his men to advance, and
they came on with such an impulse, that he won the day and took Mion-
tonimo prisoner. This capture was the act of one of his mirtor chiefs ;
but when his enemy was brought before him, he declined exercising his
right of putting him to death, but determined to refer the matter to the au*
thorities of Hartford. There it was found to be a knotty question, anu
finally referred to the General Court at Boston. The Court strengthened
itself with the opinions of six distinguished clergymen and several eminent
civilians ; and then decided, that the Narragansett chief had justly forfeited
his life, by violating his political covenants with the colonies, but it might
not be taken away by them. He must be remanded to Uncas, within his
jurisdiction, and by him be executed ; but it was enjoined, with a very
poor compliment to the known mildness of the character of Uncas, that no
needless cruelty should be practised. Here, then, the white man evinced
less mercy than the red had done. Miontonimo was now released from
his confinement, and conducted back to the very spot where he had first
been taken prisoner, as he approached which, one of the Mohegans who
accompanied him, keeping him in entire ignorance of his fate, raised his
tomahawk as he walked behind him, and laid him dead at a blow.

Whether the moral responsibility of this execution rests with the court,
ox the executioner, we do not propose particularly to inquire, nor to ascer-
tain to what degree it was shuffled off, by directing an Indian to commit
an act which it was unlawful for a white man and a Christian to perC rrr?.
Had Uncas slain his adversary in cold blood, after the action, the lU; <g
would have been in perfect accordance with Indian law. Had Mionton-
imo been a subject of either of the colonies of Connecticut, Rhode Island
or Massachusetts, and levied war, or committed any overt act of treason,
his execution would have been in accordance with the lawa of civilized
nations. Neither condition happened. It was, however, felt, that the
great disturber of the colonies, after Sassacus, hac! now been caught. He
had violated his covenant by going to war without apprising them. They
did not believe he would keep any future covenants. The moral sense
of the community would not be shocked, but rather gratified by his exe-
cution. This point was strongly signified to the court. But they could

K--

■:l

156

INDIAN RULERS.

not legally compass it. English law opposed it. The customs of civii
ized nations, in warring with each other, opposed it. Should a iiflferen'
rule be observed towards the aborigines ? Did the dictates of souna judg-
ment and common sense, did the precepts of Christianity, — aye, " there
was the rub,"— did the precepts of Christianity sanction it? On full de-
liberation, — for the question was not decided in haste, — ^neither of these
points could be affirmatively answered. But while policy — the policy of
expediency, the lust of power, and the offended moral sense of an exposed
and suflfering community demanded, as it was thought, the death of the
sachem, still it was not found that one whom they had ever treated, and
then viewed, as a foreign prince, legally considered, coulU be thus de-
prived of his life. Imprisonment was not, as a permanent policy, resolved
on. There was one course left to escape both dilemmas, and to avoid all
censure. It was to restore things to the precise footing they had before
his surrender. It was to hand him back to Uncas, without the expression
of any decision, leaving that chieftain to act as he deemed fit. They re-
manded him indeed, but went one step too far, by first deciding in a formal
court, after months of deliberation, in the course of which the clergy and
gentry, (this is a term that would be proper to the times) had been form
ally consulted, and directed his death, stipulating only that he should net
be killed with cruelty. If there was not something that smacks of the
want of true and noble dealing in this — if it accorded with the bland pre-
cepts of Christianity, to do unto others as you would that others should do
unto you — if the act did not, in fine, partake of the very spirit of Jesuitism
in the worst sense in which the word has been adopted into the language
we have, we confess, formed a totally wrong idea of its meaning.

A case, in some respects similar to this, happened in modern times
which may be thought to contrast rather strongly with the above example
of Puritan mercy. The reasons for a capital punishment, were, indeed,
far more cogent, and the community called out strongly for it, and would
have sustained it. It was the capture of Black Hawk, which, it will be
recollected, took place during the first Presidential term of General Jack-
son. Black Hawk had levied war within the boundaries of one of the
States, on lands ceded by treaty, and organized a confederacy of Indian
tribes, which, though broken up in part, chiefly through the failure of the
other tribes to fulfil their engagements with him, yet required for its sup-
pression the entire disposable force of the Union. The Sac chief was
finally captured on Indian territory, in the act of fleeing west of the Mis-
sissippi. He was imprisoned, and the case referred to the Government
for decision. He had broken his treaty covenants. He had not only
made war, but in its outbreak and its continuance, had been guilty of coun-
tenancing, at least, the most shocking barbarities. He had, indeed, opened
the scene by cruelly murdering the agent of the Government, the repre-
sentative of the President, in the person of Mr. St. Vrain. The commu

INDIAN RULERS.

157

nity, the western States particularly, called loudly for hia execution.
There could be no security, it was said, if such a bloody fellow was al-
allowed to roam at large. He had forfeited his life a thousand times.
There was, indeed, the same popular feeling against him, which had ex-
isted in New England, one hundred and ninety years before, against
Miontonimo. But could he have been legally executed ? And if so, was
it, indeed, the true policy 1 Was it noble — was it high-minded ? Was
it meting out exact and equal justice to men with red skins, as well as
white? It was thought that all these questions must be negatively
answered ; and the bold Sac insurgent was sent home, accompanied by an
officer of the army, to secure his comfort and safety, and thus to see that a
wise and merciful decision should be faithfully carried out, and popular
indignation be prevented from wreaking itself, in the assassination of the
chief.

In closing these remarks, it may appear selfish to express the hope, that
Mr. Stone, to whom we are already indebted for these spirited, compre-
hensive, and well written volumes, should still further employ his pen in
adding to the sum of these obligations. But he has so well studied the
field in its historical bearing, so far at least as relates to the eastern depart-
ment of the Union, that we know of no one to whom the labour would
present less of the character of a task. We are in want of a good account
of Philip, or Metacom, the energetic sachem of the Pokenokets, who im-
personated so fully the wild Indian character, and views, and battled so
stoutly against the occupancy of New England by the Saxon race. In
showing up to modern times such a man, we think a biography would de-
rive very deep interest, and it would certainly be a new experiment, to
take up the aboriginal views and opinions of the invading race, and thus
write, as it were, from within, instead of without the circle of warlike ac-
tion. In this way, their combinations, eflforts and power, would better ap-
pear, and redound more to the credit of the aboriginal actors, as warriors
and heroes. As it is, history only alludes to them as conspirators, rebels,
traitors, or culprits ; as if the fact of their opposing the egress of civilized
nations, who were in all respects wiser and better, were sufficient to blot
out all their right and claim to the soil and sovereignty of the land of their
forefathers, and they were in fact bound to stand back, and give it up noleiu
volens.

We had designed to subjoin a few remarks on the biographical labors
of other writers in this department, particularly those of Thatcher and
Drake, but our limits are already exhausted, and we must abandon, or at
least, defer it

." J^

THE RABID WOLF.

A VEBITABtE TRADITION OF THE VALLEY OF THE TAWA8ENTRA.

The great Pine Plains, beginning not far south of the junction of the
Mohawk with the North River, are still infested by wolves, who harbour
in its deep gorges, from which they sally out at night, on the sheep-folds
of the farmers, and often put a whole neighbourhood in fear. The rail-
road track from Albany to Schenectady, passes over a part of these plains,
which stretch away in the direction of the blue outlines of the Hel-
derberg mountains. It is many miles across the narrowest part of them,
and they reach down to the very outskirts of the city of Albnny, where
they have of late years, and since Buel's day, begun to cultivate them by
sowing clover, planting fruit trees, and in other ways. They constitute
the table land of the county, and send out from beneath their heavy mass
of yellow sand and broken down sand stones, mica slates, and granites,
man^ springs and streams of the purest and most crystalline waters, which
find their outlets chiefly into the valley of the Tawasentha, or, as the river
is called in popular language, the Norman's Kill, and are thus contributed
to swell the noble volume of the Hudson. These springs issue at the pre-
cise point where the arenaceous mass rests on a clay or impervious basis.
The efiect, in ancient years, has been that the sand is carried ofl*, grain by
grain, till a deep ravine or gorge is formed. The sides of this gorge
being composed of mixed earth and some mould, and free from the aridity
of the surface, bear a dense and vigorous growth of hard wood trees and
shrubbery, and are often found to be encumbered with immense trunks of
fallen pines and other forest rubbish, which renders it very difficult to
penetrate them. It is into these dark gorges that the wolves retreat, after
scouring the plains and neighbouring farms for prey ; and here they have
maintained their ancient empire from time immemorial. Such, at least,
was the state of things between the settlers and the wolves, at the date of
this story, in 1807.

Sometimes the whole country armed nd turned out en masse, to ferret
them out of their fastnesses and destroy them ; and truly the forces
assembled on some of these wolf-hunts were surprising, and, in one
respect, that is to say, the motley and uncouth character of their arms,
they would have put both Bonaparte and Wellington to flight. There
was nothing, from a pitchfork to a heavy blunderbuss, which they did not
carry, always excepting a good rifle, which I never remember to have
seen on these occasions. Indeed, these formal turn-outs were better suited
to frighten away, than to kill and capture the foe j so that there was no

158

VILLAGE TRADITION.

169

^here
d not
have
uited
IS no

just cause of surprise why the wolves remained, and even increased.
They still kept masters of the Plains — sheep were killed hy dozens, night
liter night, and the alarm went on.

It was at other times tried to trap them, and to bait them in sundry ways.
I recollect that we all had implicit faith in the village schoolmaster, one
Cleanthus, who knew some Latin, and a little of almost every thing ; and
among other arts which he cherif hed, and dealt out in a way to excite
wonder for his skill, he knew how to make the wolves follow his tracks,
by smeaiing his shoes with sesofcedita, or some other substance, and then
ensconcing himself at night in a log pen, where he might bid defiance to
the best of them, and shoot at them besides. But I never could learn that
there were any of these pestiferous animals killed, either by the school-
master and his party, or any other party, except it was the luckless poor
animal I am about to write of, which showed its affinities to the canine
race by turning rabid, and rushing at night into the midst of a populous
manufacturing village.

Iosco was eligibly seated on the summit and brow of a picturesque
series of low crowned hills, just on the southern verge of these great
Plains, where the tillable and settled land begins. It was, consequently,
in relation to these wolves, a perfect frontier ; and we had not only fre-
quent alarms, but also the privilege and benefit of hearing all the won-
derful stories of wolf-adventure, to mau and beast, for a wide circle. In-
deed, these stories often came back with interest, from the German and
Dutch along the Swarta Kill, and Boza Kill settlements, away up to the foot
of the Helderberg mountains. A beautiful and clear stream of sparkling
cold water, called the Hungerkill, after gathering its crystal tributaries from
the deep gorges of the plains, ran through the village, and afl!brded one
or two seats for mills, and after winding and doubling on its track a mile
or two, rendered its pellucid stores into the Norman's Kill, or, as this
stream was called by the ancient Mohawk race, in allusion to their sleep-
ing dead, the Tawasentha. No stream in the country was more famous
for the abundance of its fine brook trout, and the neighbouring plains
served to shelter the timid hare, and the fine species of northern partridge,
which is there always called a pheasant.

The village was supported by its manufacturing interests, and was
quite populous. It had a number of long streets, some of which reached
across the stream, and over a spacious mill pond, and others swept at
right angles along the course of the great Cherry Valley turnpike. In
its streets were to be heard, in addition to the English, nearly all the dia-
lects of the German between the Rhine and the Danube ; the Low Dutch
as spoken by the common country people on the manor of Rensselaer-
wyck, tRe Erse and Gaelic, as not unfrequently used by the large pro-
portion of its Irish and Scotch, and what seemed quite as striking to one
brought up in seclusion from it, the genuine Yankee, as discoursed by

160

VILLAGE TRADITION.

Um mereuing class of factory wood choppers, teamsters, schoolmasters,
men out at the elbows, and travelling wits. The latter were indeed but a
sorry representation of New England, as we have since found it. No
small amount of superstitions were believed and recited in the social meet-
ings of such a mixed foreign population. Accounts of instances of the
second sight, death-lights on the meadows and in the churchyard, the
low howling of premonitory dogs before funerals, and other legendary
'vares, to say nothing of the actual and veritable number of downright
spooks, seen on various occasions, on the lands of the Veeders, the Van
Valkenburgs, the Truaxes, and the Lagranges, rendered it a terror to all
children under twelve to stir out of doors after dark. There were in the
annals of Iosco, several events in the historical way which served as per*
feet eras to its inhabitants; but none, it is believed, of so striking and
general importance as the story of the Mad 'W olf, of which I am about
to write.

There had been found, soon after the close of the revolutionary war,
in a dark wood very near the road, pieces of a cloth coat and metallic
buttons, and other things, which rendered it certain that a man had been
murdered at that spot, in consequence of which the place was shunned,
or hurried by, as if a spirit of evil had its abode there. On another oc-
casion, the body of a poor old man of the name of Homel, was found
drowned deep in the Norman's Kill, clasped in the arms of his wife, both
dead. A gentleman of standing, who ventured alone, rather groggy,
one dark night, over the long unrailed bridge that crossed the mill pond,
pitched upon some sharp pallisadoes in the water, and came to a melan-
choly end. Horma^n, an Iroquois, who haunted the valley, had killed,
it was said, ninety-nine men, and was waiting an opportunity to fill his
count, by dispatching his hundredth man. This was a greatly dreaded
event, particularly by the boys. There was also the era, when a Race
Course had been established on a spot called tbe " Colonel's Farm," and
the era of the " Deep Snow." There were many other events celebrated
in Iosco, such as the De Zeng era, the Van Rensselaer era, and the Van
Kleeck era, which helped the good mothers to remember the period
when their children were born ; but none, indeed, of so notable a cha-
racter to youthful minds as the adventure of the mad wolf

Wolf stories were in vogue, in fact, in the evening and tea party circles
of Iosco for many years ; and if one would tal:e every thing as it was
given, there bad been more acts of bravery, conduct, and firm decision of
character and foresight, displayed in encountering these wild vixens of
the plains and valleys by night, than would, if united, have been suffi-
cient to repel the inroads of Burgoyne, St. Leger, or Sir John Johnson,
with Brant, and all his hosts of torios and Indians, during the American
reTolution.
I chanced one night to have left the city of Albany, in company with

VILLAGE TRADITION.

161

rcles
was
on of
(IS of
sufE-
nson,
ncan

one of these heroic spirits. We occupied my father's chaise, an oid
fiishioned piece of gentility now out of vogue, drawn by a prime horse,
one which he always rode on parades. It was late before we got out of
the precincts of the city, and up the hill, and night overtook us away in
the pine woods, at Billy McKown's, a noted public-house seated half way
between the city and Iosco, where it was customary in those days to halt ;
for besides that he was much respected, and one of the most sensible and
mfluential men in the town, it was not thought right, wh' /er the traveller
might require, that a horse should be driven eight miles without drawing
breath, and having a paU of water. As I was but young, and less of a
charioteer than my valiant companion, he held the whip and reins thus
far ; but after the wolf stories that poured in upon us at McKown's that
evening, he would hold them no longer. Every man, he thought, was
responsible' to himself. He did not wish to be wolfs meat that night, so
he hired a fleet horse from our host, and a whip and spurs, and set off
with the speed of a Jehu, leaving me to make my way, in the heavy
chaise, through the sandy plains, as best I could.

In truth we had just reached the most sombre part of the plain, where
the trees were more thick, the sand deep and heavy, and not a house but
one, within the four miles. To render it worse, this was the chief locality
of wolf insolence, where he had even ventured to attack men. It was on
this route too, that the schoolmaster had used his medical arts, which made
it better known through the country as the supposed centre of their power.
Nothing harmed me, however ; the horse was fine, and I reached home
not only uneaten, but unthreatened by a wolf's jaw.

But I must confine myself to the matter in hand. A large and fierce
wolf sallied out of the plains one dark summer's night, and rushed into
the midst of the village, snapping to the right and left as he went, and
bitmg every animal that came in his way. Cows, swine, pigs, geese —
every species, whether on four legs, or two legs, shared its malice alike.
The animal seemed to have a perfect ubiquity — it was every where, and
seemed to have spared nothing. It is not recollected that there was a
single house, or barn-yard in the village, where something had not been
bitten. If L^ had come on an errand of retribution, for the great and
threatening wolf-parties which had gone out against his race, and all the
occult arts of the schoolmaster in trying to decoy them at Barrett's hollow,
he could not have dealt out his venomous snaps more indiscriminately.

It must have been about midnight, or soon after, that the fearful visiter
came. Midnight, in a country village, finds almost every one in bed, but
*uch was the uproar among the animal creation, made by this strange in-
terloper, that out of bed they soon come. The cattle bellowed, the pigs
squealed, the poultry cackled — there must be something amiss. Santa
Claus himself must be playing his pranks. " A wolf!" was the cry— "a
woif is committing havoc." " It is mad !" came next on the voices of th«

162

TILLAGE TRADITION.

night "A mad wolf! — a mad wolf I" Nothing but a mad wolf could ven
ture alone into the heart of the village, and do so much mischief. Out
ran the people into the streets, men, women and all. Some caught up
guns, some clubs, some pitchforks. If the tories and Indians, in the old
French war, had broke into the settlement with fire and sword, there
could not have been a greater tumult, and nothing but a mad wolf would
have stood his ground. Where is he ? which way did he run ? who
saw him ? and a thousand like expressions followed. He had gone south,
and south the mob pushed after him. He was away over on the street
that leads up fi om the middle factory. It was a cloudy night, or the moon
only came out iStfully, and threw light enough to discern objects dimly,
as the clouds rolled before it. Indistinct murmurs came on the breeze,
and at length the scream of a woman. The cause of it soon followed.
The wolf had bitten Mrs. Sitz. Now Mrs. Sitz was a careful, tall, rigid-
faced, wakeful housewife, from the dutchy of Hesse D'Armstadt, who
had followed the fortunes of her husband, in trying his mechanical skill
in the precincts of Iosco ; but while her husband Frank laid fast asleep,
under the influence of a hard day's labour, her ears were open to the
coming alarm. It was not long before she heard a tumuU in her goose
pen. The rabid animal had bounded into the midst of them, which
created as great an outcry as if Rome had a second time been invaded.
Out she ran to their relief, not knowing the character of the disturber,
but naturally thinking it was some thief of a neighbour, who wished to
make provision for a coming Christmas. The animal gave her one snap
and leapt the pen. " Mein hemel !" screamed she, " er hat mein gebis-
sen !" Sure enough the wolf had bit her in the thigh.

The party in chase soon came up, and while some stopt to parley and
ttympathize with her, others pushed on after the animal — the spit/bug, as
she spitefully called him. By this time the wolf had made a circuit of
the southern part of the village, and scampered down the old factory road,
i)y the mill dam, under the old dark bridge at the saw mill, and up the
hill by the old public store ; and thus turned his course back towards thp
north, into the thickest part of the village, where he had first entered.
He had made a complete circuit. All was valour, boasting, and hot speed
behind him, but the wolf had been too nimble for them. Unluckily for
him, however, while the main group pushed behind, just as he was scam
pering up the old store hill, he was suddenly headed by a party coming
down it. This party was led by old Colonel S., a revolutionary soldier
a field-officer of the county militia, and the superintendent of the exten
sive manufacturing establishment from which the village drew its pros
perity. He was armed with a fusil of the olden time, well charged, and
having been roused from his bed in a hurry, could not at the moment find
his hat, and clapt on an old revolutionary cocked hat, which hung in the
vpom. His appearance was most opportune ; he hahed on the brow of

VILLAGE TRADITION.

163

the hill; and as the wolf bounded on he levelled his piece at the passing
fugitive, and fired. He had aimed at the shoulders ; the fleetness of its
speed, however, saved its vital parts, but the shot took effect in the ani-
mal's hind legs. They were both broken at a shot. This brought him
down. The poor creature tried to drag himself on by his fore paws,
but his pursuers were too close upon him, and they soon dispatched him
with hatchets and clubs.

Thus fell the rabid wolf, to be long talked of by men and boys, and
put down as a chief item in village traditions. But the effects of his visit
did not end here. In due time, symptoms of madness seized the cattle
and other animals, which had come within the reach of his teeth. Many
of the finest milch cows were shot. Calves and swine, and even poultry
went rabid ; and as things of this kind are generally overdone, there was
a perfect panic in the village on the subject, and numbers of valuable
animals were doubtless shot, merely because they happened to show some
restiveness at a very critical epoch.

But what, methinks the reader is ready to ask, became of Mrs. Sitz ?
Whether it was, that she had brought over some mystical arts from the
Wild Huntsman of Bohemia, or had derived protection from the venom
through the carefully administered medicines of Dr. Grouse, who duly
attended the case, or some inherent influence of the stout hearted woman,
or the audacity of the bite itself, had proved more than a match for the
wolf, I cannot say ; but certain it is, that while oxen and kine, swine and
fatlings, fell under the virus and were shot, she recovered, and lived
many years to scold her dozing husband Frank, who did not jump up
immediately, and come to her rescue at the goose pen.

tuV:

Indian Possessions. — The Ottoes own, at the latest accounts, a large
tract of country on the Big Platte, west of the Missouri ; they are a poor
race of people, and receive a small annuity of $2,500. The Pawnees are
a powerful body, and number about 6,500 persons, divided into bands un-
der the names of Pawnee Loups, Grand Pawnees, Republican Pawnees,
Pawnee Pics, «&.c. ; they are wild and furtive' in their habits, and receive
provisions and goods. The Grand Nation is the Pottowattomies, or the
" united bands of the Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottowattomies." They
own five millions of acres of prairie lands, along the Missouri river to
the Little Sioux, number about 2,000, and receive $42,000 a year for
their lands sold in Illinois and Michigan. They are a respectable body
of Indians, are good farmers, and educate their children. The payment of
the annuities is always a season of great hilarity and festivity. — iV. O. Pic

It is a characteristic of some of the Indian legends, that they convey a moral which
■eems clearly enough to denote, that a part of these legends were invented to convey
instruction to the young folks who listen to them. The known absenpie of all harsh
methods among the Indians, hi bringing up their children, favours this idea. The fol-
lowing tale addresses itself plainly to girls ; to whom it teaches the danger of what we
denominate coquetry. It would seem from this, that beauty, and its concomitant, a
passion for dress, among the red daughters of Adam and Eve, has the same tendency
to create pride, and nourish self-conceit, and self-esteem, and assume a tyranny over the
human heart, which writers tell us, these qualities have among their white-skinned,
auburn-haired, and blue-eyed progeny the world over. This tale has appeared in the
" Columbian." The term Moowis is one of the most derogative and ofieusive possible.
It is derived from the Odjibwa substantive, mo. fifth, or excrement.

MOOWIS,

THE MAN MADE UP OF RAGS AND DIRT.

A TRADITIONARY LEGEND OF THE ODJIBWAB.

In a large village, there lived a noted belle, or Ma mon dd go kwa, who
was the admiration of all the young hunters and warriors. She was
particularly admired by a young man, who from his good figure, and the
care he took in his dress, was called the Beau-Man, or Ma mon dd gin in-e.
This young man had a friend and companion, whom he made a confidant
of his afllairs. " Come," said he, one day in a sportive mood, " let us go a
courting to her who is so handsome, perhaps she may fancy one of us."
But she would listen to neither of them, and when the handsome young
man rallied from the coldness of her air, and made an efibrt to overcome
her indiflference, she put together her thumb and three fingers, and raising
her hand gracefully towards him, deliberately opened them in his face.
This gesticulatory mode of rejection is one of the highest contempt, and
the young hunter retired confused and abashed. His sense of pride was
deeply wounded, and he was the more piqued, that it had been done ia
the presence of others, and the aflfair was soon noised about the village,
and became the talk of every lodge circle. Besides, he was a very sen-
sitive man, and the thing so preyed upon him, that he became moody,
and at last took to his bed. He was taciturn, often lying for days withoul
uttermg a word, with his eyes fixed on vacancy, and taking little or no
food. From this state no efforts could rouse him ; he felt abashed and dis
honoured, even in the presence of his own relatives, and no persuasions
could induce him to rise. So that when the family prepared to take
down the lodge to remove, he still kept his bed, and they were compelled
to lift it over his head, and leave him upon his skin couch. It was a time
of general removal and breaking up of the camp, for it was only a win-
ter's hunting camp, and as the season of the hunt was now over, and

1C4

TRADITIONARY LEGENDS.

165

•pring began to appear, they all moved off, aa by one impulse, to the plaw
of their summer village,'and in a short time, all were gone, and he was
left alone. The last person to leave him was his boon companion, and
cousin, who has been mentioned as also one of the admirers of the
forest belle. But even his voice was disregarded, and as soon as his steps
died away on the creaking snow, the stillness and solitude of the wilder-
ness reigned around.

As soon as all were gone, and he could no longer, by listening, hear the
remotest sounds of the departing camp, the Beau-Man arose. It is to be
understood that this youug man was aided by a powerful guardian spirit,
or personal Moneto ; and he resolved to make use of his utmost power to
punish and humble the girl. For she was noted in the tribe for her co-
quetry, and had treated others, who were every way her equals, as she
had done him. He resolved on a singular stratagem, by way of revenge.
For this purpose, he walked over the deserted camp, and gathered up all
the bits of soiled cloth, clippings of finery, and cast off clothihg, and
ornaments which had either been left or lost. These he carefully picked
out of the snow, into which some of them had been trodden and
partially buried, and conveyed them to one place. The motly heap of
gaudy and soiled stuffs, he restored to their original beauty, and deter-
mined to make them into a coat and leggins, which he trimmed with
beads, and finished and decorated after the best fashion of his tribe. He
then made a pair of mocasins and garnished them with beads, a bow and
arrows, and a frontlet and feathers for the head. Having done this, he
searched about for cast out bones of animals, pieces of skins, clippings of
dried meat, and even dirt, and having cemented them together with snow, he
filled the clothes with these things, and pressed the mass firmly in, and
fashioned it externally in all respects, like a tall and well framed man.
He put a bow and arrows in his hands, and the frontlet on his head. And
having finished it, he brought it to life, and the image stood forth, in the
most favoured lineaments of his fellows. Such was the origin of Moowis,
or the birt and Rag Man.

, " Follow me," said the Beau-Man, " and I will direct you, how you shall
act." He was indeed, a very sightly person, and as they entered the new
encampment, the many colours of his clothes, the profusion of ornaments
which he had managed to give him, and his fine manly step, and animated
countenance, drew all eyes. And he was received by all, both old and
young, with marks of attention. The chief invited him to his lodge, and
he was feasted on the moose's hump and the finest venison.

But no one was better pleased with the handsome stranger than Ma mon
da go kwa. She fell in love with him at the first sight, and he was an
invited guest at the lodge of her mother, the very first evening of his ar
rival. The Beau-man went with him, for it was under his patronage that
he had been introduced, and, in truth, he had another motive for accom-
panying him, for he had not yet wholly subdued his feelings of admira

.Vf

166

TRADITIONARY LEOHMDS.

tion for the object, against whom he had, nuvertheless, exerted all his
necromantic power, and he held hirself subjifet to any favourable turn,
which he secretly hoped the visit might take, in relation to himself. But
no such turn occurred. Moowis attracted the chief attention, and every
eye and heart were alert to entertain him. In this effort on the part of
his entertainers, they had well nigh revealed his true character, and dis-
solved him into his original elements of rags, and snow, and dirt ; for he
was assigned the moat prominent place before the fire : this was a degree
of heat which he could by no means endure. To ward it off he put a
boy between himself and the fire. He shifted his position frequently, and
evaded, by dexterous mancsuvres, and timely remarks, the pressing invi-
tation of his host to sit up, and enjoy it. He so managed these excuses, as
not only to conceal his dread of immediate dissolution, tut to secure the
further approbation of the fair forest girl, who could n' t ..".t admire one
who had so brave a spirit of endurance against the pai alysing effects of
cold.

The visit proved that the rejected lover had well calculated the effects
of his plan. He withdrew from the lodge, and Moowis triumphed.
Before he went, he saw him cross the lodge to the coveted abinos, or bride-
groom's seat. Marriage in the forest race, is a simple ceremony, and
where the impediments of custom are small, there is but little time de
raanded for their execution. The dart which Ma mon da go kwa had so
often delighted in sending to the hearts of her admirers, she was at length
fated herself to receive. She had married an image. As the morning
begun to break, the stranger arose and adjusted his warrior's plumes, and
took his forest weapons to depart. " I must go," said he, " for I have an
important business to do, and there are many hills and streams between
me and the object of my journey." " I will go with you," she replied,
" It is too far," he rejoined, " and you are ill able to encounter the perils
of the way." " It is not so far, but that I can go," she responded, " and
there are no dangers which I will not fully share for you."

Moowis returned to the lodge of his master, and detailed to him the
events we have described. Pity, for a moment, seized the breast of the
rejected youth. He regretted that she should thus have cast herself away
upon an image and a shadow, when she might have been mistress of the
best lodge in the band. " But it is her own folly," he said, " she has
turned a deaf ear to the counsels of prudence, and she must submit to her
fate"

The same morning the Image-man set forth, and his wife followed him,
according to custom, at a distance. The way was rough and intricate,
and she could not keep up with his rapid pace ; but she struggled hard,
and perseveringly to overtake him. Moowis had been long out of sight,
when the sui arose, and commenced upon his snow-formed body the
work of dissolution. He began to melt away, and fall to pieces. Aa
ahe followed him, piece after piece of his clothing were found in the path.

TRADITIONARY LEGENDS.

167

She first found his mittens, then his moccasins, then his leggins, then hit
coat, and other parts of his garments. As the heat unbound them, they
had all returned also to their debased and filthy condition. The way led
over rocks, through wind falls, across marshes. It whirled about to all
points of the compass, and had no certain direction or object. Rags,
bones, leather, beads, feathers, and soiled ribbons, were found, but she
never caught the sight of Moowis. She spent the day in wandering ; and
when evening came, she was no nearer the object of her search than in
the morning, but the snow having now melted, she had completely lost
his track, and wandered about, uncertain which way to go, and in a state
of perfect despair. Finding herself lost, she begun, with bitter cries, to
bewail her fate.

" Moowis, Moowis," she cried. " Nin ge won e win ig, ne won e win ig "
—that is — Moowis, Moowis, you have led me astray — you are leading me
astray. And with this cry she continued to wander in the woods.

Sometimes the village girls repeat the above words, varying the expres-
sions, till they constitute an irregular kind of song, which, according to
the versions of a friendly hand, may be set down as follows : —

Moowis I Moowis I

Forest rover, •

, ♦ Where art thou ?

Ah my bravest, gayest lover,
Guide me now.

Moowis ! Moowis !

Ah believe me.
List my moan,

Do not— do not, brave heart, leave me
All alone.

Moowis I Moowis t

Foot-prints vanished,
Whither wend I,

Fated, lost, detested, banished,
:0t Must I die.

Moowis ! Moowis 1

Whither goest.
Eye-bright lover.

Ah thou ravenous bird that knowest,
I see you hover.

Circling — circling,

As I wander,
But to spy

Where I fall, and then to batten,
On my breast.

THE LONE LIGHTNING. r

AN OOSnWk TALB.

A LiTTLK orphan boy who had no one to care for him, was once living
with his uncle, who treated him very badly, making him do hard things
and giving him very little to eat ; so that the boy pined away, be never
grew much, and became, through hard usage, very thin and light. At
last the uncle felt ashamed of this treatment, and determined to make
amends for it, by fattening him up, but his real object was, to kill him
by over-feeding. He told his wife to give the boy plenty of bear's meat,
and let him have the fat, which is thought to be the best part. They
were both very assiduous in cramming him, and one day came near
choking him to death, by forcing the fat down his throat. The boy
escaped and fled from the lodge. He knew not where to go, but wan-
dered about. When night came on, he was afraid the wild beasts would
eat him, so he climbed up into the forks of a high pine tree, and there
ne fell asleep in the branches, and had an aupoway, or ominous dream.

A person appeared to him from the upper sky, and said, " My poor little
lad, I pity you, and the bad usage you have received from your uncle
has led me to visit you : follow me, and step in my tracks. " Immediately
his sleep left him, and he rose up and followed his guide, mounting up
higher and higher into the air, until he reached the upper sky. Here
twelve arrows were put into his hands, and he was told that there were
a great many manitoes in the northern sky, against whom he must go to
war, and try to waylay and shoot, them. Accordingly he went to that
part of the sky, and, at long intervals, shot arrow after arrow, until he
had expended eleven, in vain attempt to kill the manitoes. At the
flight of each arrow, there was a long and solitary streak of lightning in
the sky — then all was clear again, and not a cloud or spot could be seen.
The twelfth arrow he held a long time in his hands, and looked around
keenly on every side to spy the manitoes he was after. But these mani-
toes were very cunning, and could change their form in a moment. All
they feared was the boy's arrows, for these were magic arrows, which
had been given to him by a good spirit, and had power to kiV them, if
aimed aright. At length, the boy drew up his last arrow, settled in his
aim, and let fly, as he thought, into the very heart of the chief of the
manitoes ; but before the arrow reached him, he changed himself
into a rock. Into this rock, the head of the arrow sank deep and stuck
fast.

" Now your gifts are all expended," cried the enraged manito, " and I

will make an example of your audacity and pride of heart, for lifting

your bow against me" — and so saying, he transformed the boy into the

Nazhik-a-wa wa sun, or Lone Lightning, which may be observed in the

northern sky-, to this day.

^ 168

SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OP

NOTED RED MEN AND WOMEN

WUO HAVE APPEARED ON TUB WESTERN CONTINENT.

CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE OGEE WYAN AKWUT OKWA;
OR THE WOMAN OP THE BLUE-ROBED CLOUD,

TUE PaOFKETESS OF CHEOOIMKOON.

[These confessions of the Western Pythoness were made after she had relin-
quished the prophetic office, discarded all the ceremonies of the Indian iUct/dwtnand
Jetukeiwin, and united herself to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which, up to
our latest dates, she remained a consistent member. They are narrated in her own
words.]

When I was a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, my mother
told me to look out for something that would happen to me. Accordingly,
one morning early, in the middle of winter, I found an unusual sign, and
ran off, as far from the lodge as I could, and remained there until my
mother came and found me out. She knew what was the matter, and
brought me nearer to the family lodge, and bade me help her in making
a small lodge of branches of the spruce tree. She told me to remain
there, and keep away from every one, and as a diversion, to keep myself
employed in chopping wood, and that she would bring me plenty of pre-
pared bass wood bark to twist into twine. She told me she would come
to see me, in two days, and that in the meantime I must not even taste
snow.

I did as directed ; at the end of two days she came to see me. I
thought she would surely bring me something to eat, but to my disap-
pointment she brought nothing. I suffered more from thiratj than hun-
ger, though I felt my stomach gnawing. My mother sat quietly down
and said (after ascertaining that I had not tasted anything, as she
directed), " My child, you are the youngest of your sisters, and none are
now left me of all my sons and children, but you four^^ (alluding to her
two elder sisters, herself and a little son, still a mere lad). " Who,"
she continued, " will take care of us poor women ? Now, my daughter,
listen to me, and try to obey. Blacken your face and fast really j that
the Master of Life may have pity on you and me, and on us all. Do
not, in the least, deviate from my counsels, and in two days more, I

169

170

THE PROPHETESS OF CHEGOIMEGON.

will come to you. He will help you, if you are determined lo do what
is right, and tell me, whether you are favored or not, by the true Great
Spirit ; and if your visions are not good, reject them." So saying, she

departed.

I took my little hatchet and cut plenty of wood, and twisted the cord
that was to be used in sewing ap puk way oon un, or mats, for the use of
the family. Gradually, I began to feel less appetite, but my thirst con-
tinued ; still I was fearful of touching the snow to allay it, by sucking it,
as my mother had told me that if I did so, though secretly, the Gi-eat
Spirit would see me, and the lesser spirits also, and that my fasting
would be of no use. So I continued to fast till the fourth day, when my
mother came with a little tin dish, and filling it with snow, she came to
my lodge, and was well pleased to find that I had followed her injunc-
tions. She melted the snow, and told me to drink it. I did so, and
felt refreshed, but had a desire for more, which she toM me would
noi, do, and I contented myself with what she had given me. She again
told me to get and follow a good vision — a vision that might not only do
us good, but also benefit mankind, if I could. She then left me, and for
two days she did not come near me, nor any human being, and I was
left to my own reflections. The wight of the sixth day, I fancied a voice
called to me, and said ; " Poor chJd ! I pity your condition ; come, you
are invited this way ;" and I thought the voice proceeded from a certain
distance from my lodge. I obeyed the summons, and going tQ|^the spot
from which the voice came, found a thin shining path, like a silver cord,
which I followed. It led straight forward, and, it seemed, upward.
No. 3. After going a short distance I stood still, and saw on my right
hand the new moon, with a flame rising from the top like a candle,
which threw around a broad light. No. 4. Oc the left appeared tiie
sun, near the point of its setting. No. 11. I went on, and I beheld on
my right the face of Kau gc gag be qua, or the everlasting woman. No.
5, who told me her name, and said to me, " I give you my name, and
you may give it to another. I also give you that which I have, life ever-
lasting. I give you long life on the earth, und skill in saving life in
others. Go, you are called on high."

! went on, and saw a man standing with a large circular body, and
rays from his head, like horns. No. 6. He said, " Fear not, my name is
Monedo Wininees, or the Little man Spirit. I give this name to your
first son. It is my life. Goto the place you are called to visit." I fol-
lowed the path till I could see that it led up to an opening in the sky,
when I heard a voice, and standing still, saw the figure of a man standing
near the path, whose head was surrounded with a brilliant halo, and his
hreast was covered with squares. No. 7. He said to me : " Look at
me, my name is Shau wau e geeghicky or the Bright Blue Sky. I am
the veil that covers the opening into the sky. Stand and listen to me.

'i''^

•4

CONFESSIONS OF THE

171

Do not be afraid. I am going to endow you with gifts of life, and put
you in array that you may withstand and endure." Immediately I saw
myself encircled with bright points which rested against me like ncedleS)
but gave me no pain, and they fell at my feet. No. 9. This was repeat-
ed several times, and at each time they fell to the ground. He said,
" wait and do not fear, till I have said and done all I am about to do."
I then felt different instruments, first like awls, and then like nails stuck
into my flesh, but neither did they give me pain, but like the needles, fell
at my feet, as often as they appeared. He then said, " that is good,"
meaning my trial by these points. " You will see length of days. Ad-
vance a little farther," said he. I did so, and stood at the commence-
ment of the opening. " You have arrived," said he, " at the limit you can-
not pass. I give you my name, you can give it to another. No^, re-
turn ! Look around you. There is a conveyance for you. No. 10. Do not
be afraid to get on its back, ana when you get to your lodge, you must
take that which sustains the human body." I turned, and saw a kind of
fish swimming in the air, aud getting upon it as directed, was carried
back with celerity, my hair floating behind mc in the air. And as soon
bs I got back, my vision ceased.

In the morning, being the sixth day of my fast, my mother came with
a little bit of dried trout. But such was my sensitiveness to all sounds,
and my increased power of scent, produced by fasting, that before she
came in sight I heard her, while a great way off", and when she came in, I
could not bear the smell of the fish or herself either. She said, " I have
brought something for you to eat, only a mouthful, to prevent your dy-
ing." She prepared to cook it, but I said, " Mother, forbear, I do not
wish to eat it — the smell is offensive to me." She accordingly left off
preparing to cook the fish, and again encouraged me to persevere, and try to
become a comfort to her in her old age and bereaved state, and left me.
I attempted to cul wood, as usual, but in the effort I fell back on the
snow, from weariness, and lay some time ; at last I made an effort and
rose, and went to my lodge and lay down. I again saw the vision, and
each person who had before spoken to me, and heard the promises of
differen Vinds made to me, and the songs. I went the same path which
I had puisued before, and met with the same reception. I also had
another vision, or celestial visit, which I shall presently relate. My
mother came again on the seventh day, and brought me some pounded
corn boiled in snow water, for she said I must not drink water from lake
or river. After taking it, I related my vision to her. She said it was
good, and spoke to me to continue my fast three days longer. I did so ;
at the end of which she took me home, and made a feast in honor of my
success, and invited a great many guests. I was told to eat sparingly,
and to take nothing too hearty or substantial ; but this was unnecessary,
for my abstinence had Uiade my senses so acute, that all animal food had
a gross and disagreeable odor.

'/I

172

PROPHETESS OF CIIEOOIMEOON.

After the seventh day of my fast (she continued), vrhile I was
lying in my lodge, I saw a dark round object descending front the sky
like a round stone, and enter my lodge. As it came near, I saw that
it had small feet and hands like a human hody. It spoke to me and said,
" I give you the gift of seeing into futurity, that you may use it, for the
benefit of yourself and the Indians — your relations and tribes-people."
It then departed, but as it went away, it assumed wings, and looked to
me like the red-headed woodpecker.

In consequence of being thus favored, I assumed the arts of a medicine
woman and a prophetess ; but never those of a Wabeno. The first
time I exercised the prophetical art, was at the strong and repeated soli-
citations of my friends. It was in the winter season, and they were then
encamped west of the VVisacoda, i^r Brule river of Lake Superior, and
between it and the plains west. There were, besides my mother's
family and relatives, a considerable number of families. Th*rj had
been some time at the place, and were near starving, as tiaey could find
no game. One e ening the chief of the party camp into n^y mother's
lodge. I had lain down, and was supposed to be asleep, and he request-
ed of my mother that she would allow me to try my skill to relieve them.
My mother spoke to me, and after some conversation, she gave her con-
sent. I told them to build the Jee suk aun, or prophet's lodge, strong,
and gave particular directions for it. I directed that it should consist of
ten posts or saplings, each ^>i a different kind of wood, which I named.
When it was finished, and tightly wound with skins, the entire population
of the encampment assembled around it and I went in, taking only a
small drum. I inimediately knelt down, and holding my head near the
ground, in a position as near as may be prostrate, began beating my
drum, and reciting my songs or incantations. The lodge commenced
shaking violently, by supernatural means. I knew this, by the com-
pressed current otair above, and the noise of motion. This being regard-
ed by me, and by all without, as a proof of the presence of the spirits I
consulted, I ceased beating and singing, and lay still, waiting for questions,
in thr; position I had at first assumed.

The first question put to me, was in relation to the game, and where
it was io be found. The response was given by the orbicular spirit,
who had appeared to me. He said, " How short-sighted you are ?
If you will go in a ivcst direction, you will find game in abundance."
Next day the camp was broken up, and they all moved westward, the
hunters, as usual, going far ahead. They had not proceeded fiir beyond
the bounds of their former hunting circle, when they came upon tracks
of moose, and that day, they killed a female and two young moose,
nearly full-grown. They pitched their encampment anew, and had
abundance of animal food in this new positior.

My reputation was established by this success, and I was after-

THE PROPHETESS OF CHEGOIMEOON.

173

waros noted in the tribe, in the art of a medicine woman, and sung
the songs which 1 have given to you. About four years after, I was
married to Mush Kow Egeezhick, or the Strong Sky, who was a
very active and successful hunter, and kept his lodge well supplied
with food ; and we lived happy. After I had had two children, a girl
and a boy, we went out, as is the custom of the Indians in the spring, to
visit the white settlements. One night, while we were encamped at the
head of the portage at Pauwating (the I alls of St. Mary's), angry words
passed between my husband and a half Frenchman named Gaultier, who,
with his two cousins, in the course of the dispute, drew their knives and a
tomahawk, and stabbed and cut him in four or five places, in his body, head
and thighs. This happened the first year that the Americans came to
that place (1H22). He had gone out at a late hour in the evening, to
visit the tent of Gaultier. Having been urged by one of the trader's
men to take liquor that evening, and it being already late, I desired him
not to go, but to defer his visit till next day ; and after he had left the
lodge, I felt a sudden presentiment of evil, and I went after him, and re
newed my otf'orts in vain. He told me to return, and as I had two chil
dren in the lodge, th« youngest of whom, a boy, was still in his cradle,
and then ill, I sat up v»^<^ him late, and waited and waited, till a late
hour, and then fell asleep from **xhaustion. I slept very sound. The
first I knew, was a violent tf^yakitt^ from a girl, a niece of Gaultier's,
who told me my husband and Gaultier were all the time quarrelling. I
arose, and went up the stream to Gaultier's camp fire. It was nearly
out, and I tried in vain to make it bMw. I looked into his tent, but all
was dark and not a soul there. Th<y had sHwldenly fled, although 1 did
not at the moment know the cause. I trie-! to make a light to find my
husband, but could find nothing dry, for it had rained very hard thp ("ny
before. After being out a while my vision b'^^ame clearer, and turnj'jg
toward the river side, I saw a dark object 1; ng near the shore, on a
grassy opening. I was attracted by something ^listening, whicli turntid
out to be his ear-rings. I thought he was asi-pp, and in .-jtoopu;"; to
awake him, I slipped and fell on my knees. I had slipped in hii blood
on the !>;rass, and putting my hand on his face, found him dea'J In the
morning the Indian agent came with soldiers from the fort, to see what
had happened, but the murderer and all his bloody gang of relatives had
fled. The agent gave orders to have the body buried in the old Indian
burial ground, below the Falls.

My aged mother was encamped about a mile off, at this time. I took
my two children in the morning, and fled to her lodge. She had just
heard of the murder, and was crying as I entered. I reminded her that
it was an act of providence, to which we must submit. She said it was
for me and my poor helpless children that she was crying — that I was
Ifft as she ha<i been, years before, with nobody to provide for u«.

174

RULING CHIEF OF THE MIAMIS-

With her I returned to my native country at Chegoimegon on Lal'3

Superior.

Thus far, her own narrative. We hope, in a future number, to give
further particulars of her varied, and rnther eventful life ; togeth^/ with
specimens of her medicine, and prophetic songs.

RULING CHIEF OF THE MIAMIS.

Died, on the 13th inst. (August, 1841), at his residence on the St
Mary's, four and a half miles south-we^t of this city, John B. Richardville,
principal chief of the Miami nation of Indians, aged about eighty years.

Chief Richardville, or " Piskewah" (which is an Indian name, mean-
ing in English " wild-cat"), was born on the point across the Maumee
river, opposite this city, under or near a large apple tree, on the farm of
the late Colonel Coles ; and at a very early age, by succession, became
the chief of the tribe, his mother being chieftainess at the time of his
birth. His situation soon brought him in contact with the whites, and he
was in several engagements, the most important of which was the cele-
brated slaughter on the St. Joseph River, one mile north of this city,
designated as " Harmar's Defeat," where several hundred whites, under
General Harmar, were cut off in attempting to ford the river, by the In-
dians, who lay in ambush on the opposite shore, by firing upon the
whites when in the act of crossing ; which slaughter crimsoned the river
a number of days for several miles below with the blood of the un-
fortunate victims.

The Chief is universally spoken of as having been kind and humane to
prisoners — far more so than most of his race ; and as soon as peace was
restored, became a worthy citizen, and enjoyed the confidence of th«
whites to the fullest extent. He spoke good French and English, a^
well as his native tongue ; and for many years his house, which is pleas-
antly situated on the banks of the St. Mary*s, and which was always
open for the reception of friends — was a place of resort for parties of
pleasure, who always partook of the hospitality of his house.

The old man was strictly honest, but remarkably watchful of his in-
terest, and amassed a fortune exceeding probably a million of dollars,
consisting of nearly $200,000 in specie on hand, and the balance in the
most valuable kind of real estate, which he has distributed by " will"
among his numerous relations with " even-handed justice." He had
always expressed a great anxiety to live, but when he became conscious
that the time of his departure was near at hand, [,e resigned himself with
perfect composure, saying that it was ordered, that all must die, and he
was then ready tnd willing to answer the call of the " Great Spirit."
His roinairjs were deposited in the Catholic burying-ground with reli-
giouy ceremonies. — Fort Wayne (/«</.) Sentinel.

THE MAGICIAN OF

-ii HURON.

AM OTTOWA TALK BELATED BT NABUNWA IN THE IMSIAN TOMOUB, TO HB.

OEOBQE JOHNSTON.

At the time that the Ottowas inhabited the Manatoline Islands,
in Lake Huron, there was a famous magician living amongst them whose
name was Masswaweinini, or the Living Statue. It happe.uod, by the
fortune of war, that the Ottowa tribe were driven off that chain of
islands by the Iroquois, and obliged to flee away to the country lying
between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi, to the barks of a
lake which is still called, by the French, and in memory of this migra-
tion, Lac Courtorielle, or the lake of the Cut-ears, a term which is their
nom de guerre for this tribe. But the magician Masswaweinini re-
mained behind on the wide-stretching and picturesque Manatoulins, a
group of islands which had been deemed, from the earliest times, a fa-
vorite residence of the manitoes or spirits. His object was to act as a
sentinel to his countrymen, and keep a close watch on their enemies, the
Iroquois, that he might give timely information of their movements.
He had with him two boys ; with their aid he paddled stealthily around
the shores, l^^pt himself secreted in nooks and bays, and hauled up his
canoe everji night, into thick woods, and carefully obliterated his tracks
upon the sand.

One day he rose very early, and started on a hunting excursion, leav-
ing the boys asleep, and limiting himself to the thick woods, lest he
should be discovered. At length he came unexpectedly tc the borders
of an extensive open plain. After gazing around him, a^d seeing no
one, he directed his steps . loss it, intending to strike the opposite side
of it ; while travelling, he discovered a man of small stature, who ap-
peared suddenly on the plain before him, and advanced to meet him.
He wore a red feather on his head, and coming up with a familiar air,
accosted Masswaweinini by name, and said gaily, " Where are you
going ?" He then took out his smoking apparatus, and invited him to
smoke. " Pray," said he, while thus engaged, " wherein does your
strength lie." " My strength," answered Masswaweinini, "is similar
to the human race, and common to the strength given to them, and no
stronger." " We must wrestle," said the man of the red feather. " If
you should make me fall, you will say to me, I have thrown you, Wa
ge me na.^^

As soon as they had finished smoking and put up liieir pipe, the wrest-
ling began. For a long time the strife was doubtful. The strength of

175

wife

■m

176

TALES OF A WIOWAM.

Masswaweinini was every moment growing fainter. The man of the red
feather, though small of stature, proved himself very active, but at
length he was foiled and thrown to the ground. Immediately his adver-
sary cried out, " I have thrown you : wa ge me na ;" and in an instant
his antagonist had vanished. On looking to the spot where he had fallen,
he discovered a crooked ear of mondamin^ or Indian corn, lying on the
ground, with the usual red hairy tassel at the top. While he was gaz-
ing at this strange sight, and wondering what it could mean, a voice ad-
dressed him from the ground. " Now," said the speaking ear, for *hw
voice came from it, " divest me of my covering — leave nothing to hide
my body from your eyes. You must then separate me into parts, pull-
ing off my body fiom the spine upon which I grow. Throw me mto
different parts of the plain. Then break my spine and scatter it in small
pieces near the edge of the woods, and return to visit the place, after
one moon.^^

Masswaweinini obeyed these directions, and immediately set out on his
return to his I' ig- . On the way he killed a deer, and on reaching his
canoe, h'> found xJu' boys still asleep. He awoke them and told them to
cook his ven'501:, Suf. he carefully concealed from them his adventure.
At the xplratio'.) of the moon he again, alone, visited his wrestling
ground, and to 1\' I'lrprise, found the plain filled with ♦he spikes and
blades of new gro\i u corn. In the place where he had thrown the pieces
of cob, he found pumpkin vines growing in great luxuriance. He con-
cealed this discovery also, carefully from the young lads, and after his
return busied himself as usual, in watching the movements of his enemies
along the coasts of the island. This he continued, till summer drew
near its close. He then directed his canoe to the coast of that part
of the island where he had wrestled with the Red Plume, drew up his
canoe, bid the lads stay by it, and again visited his wrestling ground.
He found the corn in full ear, and pumpkins of an immense size. He
plucked ears of corn, and gathered some of the pumpkins, when a voice
again addressed him from the cornfield. " Masswaweinini, you have
conquered me. Had you not done so, your existence would have been
forfeited. Victory has crowned your strength, and from henceforlh you
shall never be in want of my body. It will be nourishment for the hu-
nan race." Thus his ancestors received tb;' i ift ct corn.

Masswaweinini now returned to his canoe, and informed thc^ young
men of his discovery, and showed them specimens. They were aston-
ished and delighted with the novelty.

There were, in those days, many wonderful things done on these
islands. One night, while Masswaweinini was lying down, ho heard
voices speaking, but he still kept his head covered, as if he had not
board them. One voice said, " This is Masswaweinini, and we munt get
his heart." " In what way can we gel it .'" said another voice. '* You

TALES OF A WIGWART.

177

must put your hand in his mouth," replied the first voice, " and draw it
out that way." Masswaweinini still kept quiet, and did not stir. He
soon felt the hand of a person thrust in his mouth. When sufficiently
far in, he bit off the fingers, and thus escaped the danger. The voices
then retired, and he was no further molested. On examining the fingers
in the morning, what was his surprise to find them long wampum beads,
which arie held in such high estimation by all the Indian tribes. He had
slf^pt, as was his custom, in the thick woods. On going out to the open
shore, at a very early hour, he saw a canoe at a small distance, tempora-
rily drawn up on the beach ; on coming closer, he found a man in the
bows and another in the stern, with their arms and hands extended in a
fixed position. One of them had lost its fingers : it was evidently the
man who had attempted to thrust his arm down his throat. They were
two Pukwudjininees, or fairies. But on looking closer, they were found
to be transformed into statues of stone. He took these stone images on
shore, and set them up in the woods.

Their canoe was one of the most beautiful structures which it is possi-
ble to imagine, four fathoms in length, and filled with bags of treasures
of every description and of the most exquisite workmanship. These
bags were of different weight, according to their contents. He busied
himself in quickly carrying them into the woods, together with the canoe,
which he concealed in a cave. One of the fairy images then spoke to
him and said : " In this manner, the Ottowa canoes will hereafter be
loaded, when they pass along this coast, although your nation are driven
away by their cruel enemies the Iroquois." The day now began to dawn
fully, when he returned to his two young companions, who were still
asleep. He awoke them, and exultingly bid them cook, for he had
brought abundance of meat and fish, and other viands, the gifts of the
fairies.

After this display of good fortune, he bethought him of his aged father
and mother, who were in exile at the Ottowa lake. To wish, and to
accomplish his wish, were but the work of an instant with Mass-
waweinini.

One night as he lay awake, reflecting on their condition, far away
from their native fields, and in exile, ho rosolvrd to visit them, and
bring them back to behold and to participnto in hia abundance. To
a common traveller, it would bo a journei'^ jf tweiily or thirty d»y»|
but Masswavvoinini was at their lodge befoio dn|llglil. llu tuuial them
asleep, and took them up softly ir his arms and flew away with them
through the air, and brought thein to l\iN camp on the Manatolines, or
Spirit's Islands. When they awoke, their astonishment was at its high-
est pitch ; and was only equalled by their delight in finding themselves
in thoir son's lodge, in their native country, and surrounded with abuu-

rE fj

dance.

i<. *

178

TALES OF A WIOWAM.

Masswaweinini went and built them a lodge, near the corn and wreat-
ling plain. He then plucked some ears of the corn, and taking some of
the pumpkins, brought them to his father and mother. He then told
them how he had obtained the precious gift, by wrestling with a spirit in
red plumes, and that there was a great abundance of it in his fields. He
also told them of the precious canoe of the fairies, loaded with sacks of
the most costly and valuable articles. But one thing seemed necessary
to complete the happiness of his father, which he observed by seeing
him repeatedly at night looking into his smoking pouch. He compre-
hended his meaning in a moment. " It is tobacco, my father, that yoq
want. You shall also have this comfort in two days." " But where,"
replied the old man, " can you get it — away from all supplies, and sur<
rounded by your enemies .?" " My enemies," he answered, " shall sup-
ply it — I will go over to the Nadowas of the Bear totem, living at
Penetanguishine , "

The old man endeavored to dissuade him from the journey, knowing
their blood-thirsty character, but in vain. Masswaweinini determined
immediately to go. It was now winter weather, the lake was frozen
over, but he set out on the ice, and although it is forty leagues, he reach-
ed Penetanguishine the same evening. The Nadowas discerned him
coming — they were amazed at the swiflness of his motions, and thinking
him somewhat supernatural, feared him, and invited him to rest in their
lodges,, but he thanked them, saying that he preferred making a fire
near the shore. In the evening they visited him, and were anxious to
know the object of his journey, at so inclement a season. He said it was
merely to get some tobacco for his father. They immediately made a
contribution of the article and gave it to him. During the night they
however laid a plot to kill him. Some of the old men rushed into his
lodge, their leader crying out to him, " You are a dead man." " No, I
am not," said Masswaweinini, " but you are," accompanying his words
with a blow of his tomahawk, which laid the Nadowa dead at his feet.
Another and another came, to supply the place of their fallen comrade, but
he despatched them in like manner, as quickly as they came, until he had
killed six. He then took all the tobacco from their smoking pouches.
By this time, the day began to dawn, when he set out for his father's
lodge, which he reached with incredible speed, and before twilight,
spread out his trophies before the old man.

When spring returned, his cornfield grew up, without planting, or
any care on his part, and thus the maize was introduced among his
people and their descendants, who have ever been noted, and are at this
day, for their fine crops of thi,^ grain, and their industry in its cultiva-
tion. It is from their custom of trading in this article, thai, this tribe are
called Otto was.

CORN-PLANTING, AND ITS INCIDENTS.

The zea, mais, originally furnished the principal article of subsistence
among all the tribes of this race, north and south. It laid at the founda-
tion of the Mexican and Peruvian types of civilization, as well as the in-
cipient gleamings of it, among the more warlike tribes of the Iroquois,
Natchez, Lenapees, and others, of northern latitudes. They esteem it so
important and divine a grain, that their story-tellers invented various tales,
in which this idea is symbolized under the form of a special gift from the
Great Spirit. The Odjibwa-Algonquins, who call it Mon-da-min, that is,
the Spirit's grain or berry, have a pretty story of this kind, in which the
stalk in full tassel, is represented as descending from the sky, under the
guise of a handsome youth, in answer to the prayers of a young man at
his fast of virility, or coming to manhood.

It is well known that corn-planting, and corn-gathering, at least among
all the still uncolonized tribes, are left entirely to the females and children,
and a few superannuated old men. It is not generally known, perhaps,
that this labour is not compulsory, and that it is assumed by the females
as a just equivalent, in their view, for the onerous and continuous labour
of the other sex, in providing meats, and skins for clothing, by the chase,
and in defending their villages against their enemies, and keeping intruders
off their territories. A good Indian housewife deems this a part of her
prerogative, and prides herself to have a store of corn to exercise her hos-
pitality, or duly honour her husband's hospitality, in the entertainment of
the lodge guests.

The area of ground planted is not. comparitively, large. This matter
is essentially regulated by the number of the family, and other circum-
stances. Spring is a leisure season with tliem, and by its genial and re-
viving influence, invites to labour. An Indian female has no cows
to milk, no flax to spin, no yarn to reel. Even those labours, which, at
other seasons fall to her share, are now intermitted. She has apukwas to
gather to make mats. Sugar-making has ended. She has no skins to
dress, for the hunt has ended, the animals being out of season. It is at
this time that the pelt grows bad, the hair becomes loose and falls off, and
nature itself teaches the hunter, that the species must have repose, and be
allowed a :istle time to replenish. Under these circumstances the mistress

179

'■1 B.

■tl

fV}

'.. \ ■'. 1

l''^'i

' 'W

^nBvJ

.2J

i'rVY

180

CORN, PLANTING, AND ITS INCIDENTS.

of the lodge tnd her train, sally out of the lodge into the corn-field, and
with the light pemidge-ag akwut, or small hoe, open up the soft ground
and deposit their treasured mondamin.

The Indian is emphatically a superstitious being, believing in all sorts
of magical, and secret, and wonderful influences. Woman, herself, comes
in for no small share of these supposed influences. 1 shrewdly suspect
that one half of the credit we have been in the habit of giving the war-
rior, on the score of virtue, in his treatment of captives, is due alone to his
superstitions. He is afraid, at all times, to spoil his luck, cross his fate,
and do some untoward act, by which he might, perchance, fall under a
bad spiritual influence.

To the w6wnn, or wife — the equd, or woman, to the guh or mother, —
to the equiizas, or girl, and to the danis, or daughter, and shema, or
sister, he looks, as wielding, in their several capacities, whether kindred
or not, these mystic influences over his luck. In consequence of this, the
female never walks in the path before him. It is an unpropitious sign. If
she cross his track, when he is about to set out on a hunting, or war ex-
cursion, his luck is gone. If she is ill, from natural causes, she cannot
even stay in the same wigwam. She cannot use a cup or a bowl without
rendering it, in his view, unclean.

A singular proof of this belief, in both sexes, of the mysterious influence
of the slops of a woman on the vegetable and insect creation, is fouri'l in an
ancient custom, which was related to me, respecting corn-planting. It
was the practice of the hunter's wife, when the field of corn had been
p'anted, to choose the first dark or overclouded evening, to perform a
secret circuit, sans habil'un'.nt, around ihe field. For this purpose she
siipt out of the lodge in th« evening, unoliserved, to some obscure nook,
where she completely disrobed. Then taking her matchecota, or princi-
pal garment in one hand, she dragged it around the field. This wa&
t- /lught to ensure a prolific crop, and to prevent the assaults of insects and
v/r>i Tis upon the grain. It was supposed they could not creep over the
■ imed line.

But if corn-planting be done in a lively and satisfied, and not a slavish
spirit, corn- gathering and husking is a season of decided thankfulness and
inerriment. At these gatherings, the chiefs and old men are mere specta-
tors, although they are pleased spectators, the young only sharing in the
sport. Who has not seen, the sedate ogema in such a vicinage, smoking
a dignified pipe with senatorial ease. On the other hand, turning to the
group of nature's red daughters and their young cohorts, it may be safe-
ly aflirnied that laughter and garrulity constitute no part of the character-
istics of civilization. Whatever else custom has bound fast, in the do-
mestic female circle of forest life, the tongue is left loose. Nor does it re-
quire, our observation leads us to think, one tenth part of the wit or
drollery of ancient Athens, to set their risible faculties in motion.

If one of ilie young female buskers finds a red ear of corn, it is typicai
of a brave admirer, and is regarded as a fitting pres«nt to some young
warrior. But if the ear be crooked, and tapering to a point, no matter what
colour, the whole circle is set in a roar, and wa ge min is the word shouted
aloud. It is the symbol of a thief in the cornfield. It is considered as the
image of an old man stooping as he enters the lot. Had the chisel
of Praxiiiles been employed to produce this image, it could not more vi-
vidly bring to the minds of the merry group, the idea of a pilferer of their
favourite monddmin. Nor is there any doubt on these occasions, that the
occurrence truly reveals the fact that the cornfield has actually been thus
depredated on.

The term wagemin, which unfolds all these ideas, and revr by a

talisman, all this information, is derived in part, from the tn-inoral term
Waweau, that which is bent or crooked. The termination in g, is the
animate plural, and denotes not only that there is more than one object,
but that the subject is noble or invested with the importance of animated
beings. The last member of the compound, min, is a shortened sound
of the generic meen, a grain, or berry. To make these coalesce, agreea-
bly to the native laws of euphony, the short vowel i, is thrown in, between
the verbal root and substantive, as a connective. The literal meaning of
the term is, a mass, or crooked ear of grain ; but the ear of corn so called,
is a conventional type of a little old man pilfering ears of corn in a corn-
field. It is in this manner, that a single word or term, in these curious
languages, becomes the fruitful parent of many ideas. And we can thus
perceive why it is that the word wagemin is alone competent to excite
merriment in the husking circle.

This term is taken as the basis of the cereal chorus or corn song, as
sung by the northern Algonquin tribes. It is coupled with the phrase
Paimosaid, — a permutative form of the Indian substantive made from the
verb, pim-o-sa, to walk. Its literal meaning is, he who walks, or the
walker ; but the ideas conveyed by it, are, he who walks at night to pilfer
corn. It offers, therefore, a kind of parallelism in expression, to the pre-
ceding term. The chorus is entirely composed of these two terms, vari-
ously repeated, and may be set down as follows :

Wagemin,

Paimosaid.

Wagemin,

Paimosaid.

181

■m

'■'fi

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0 l^i^ 1^

^s^ lU lU 122

Silt ■—

1.1 \^ la

1.25 11.4 16

^ 6"

►

^/.

^ >^'^

♦V^

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY USSO

(716) B73-4S03

182

CORN PLANTING AND ITS INCIDENTS.

When this chant has been sung, there is a pause, during which some
one who is expert in these things, and has a turn for the comic or ironic,
utters a short speech, in the manner of a recitative, in which a peculiar in*
tonation is given, and generally interrogates the supposed pilferer, as if he
were present to answer questions, or accusations. There can be no pre-
tence, that this recitative part of the song is always the same, at different
times and places, or even that the same person should not vary his phrase-
ology. On the contrary, it is often an object to vary it. It is a perfect
improvisation, and it may be supposed that the native composer is always
actuated by a desire to please, as much as possible by novelty. The
whole object indeed is, to keep up the existing merriment, and excite fun
and laughter.

The following may be taken as one of these recitative songs, written out,
on the plan of preserving the train of thought, and some #^ose peculiar
interjections in which. these languages so much abound.' The chorus
alone, it is to be observed, is fixed in its words and metrt^, however trans-
posed or repsated, and, unlike an English song, prece^ *h the stanza or
narrative. , '•

CORN SONG.

Cereal chorus.

WageminI wagemini
Thief in the blade.
Blight of the cornfield

Paimosaid. j^-

ReciUitive. See you not traces, while pulling the leaf,
Plainly depicting the taker and thief?
See you not signs by the ring and the spot,
How the man crouched as he crept in the lot 9
Is it not plain by this mark on the stalk.
That he was heavily bent in his walk?
Old man be nimble ! the old should be good,
But thou art a cowardly thief of the wood. -

Cereal Chorus.

Wagemin I wagemin I
Thief in the blade,
Blight of the cornfield
Paimosaid.

Recitative. Where, little taker of things not your own —

Where is your rattle, your drum, and your bone?
Surely a Walker so nimble of speed.
Surely he must be a Meta* indeed.

* A Juggler.

CORN PLANTING AND ITS INCIDENTS.

See how he stoops, as he breaks oflfthe ear,
Nushka I* he seems for a moment in fear ;
Walker, be nimble— oh I walker be brief,
Hooh If it is plain the old man is the thief.

Cereal chorus. Wagemin I wagemin !

Thief in the blade.
Blight of the cornfield
Paimosaid.

Wabuma !:|: corn-taker, why do you lag 1
None but the stars see you — fill up your bag }
Why do you linger to gaze as you pull,
Tell me, my little man, is it most full?
A-tial^ see, a red spot on the leaf,
Surely a warrior cannot be a thief!
Ah, little night-thief, be deer your pursuit,
And leave here no print of your dastardly foot

183

Recitative.

TO HEALTH.

BT THE UktS JOHN JOHNSTON, ItQ.

Health i dearest of the heavenly powers,
With thee to pass my evening hours.

Ah I deign to hear my prayer ;
For what can wealth or beauty give.
If still in anguish doomed to live

A slave to pain and care.

Not sovereign power, nor charms of IotOi
Nor social joys the heart can move,

If thou refuse thy aid ;
E'en friendship, sympathy divine 1
Does, in thy absence, faintly shine,

Thou all-inspiring maid.

Return then, to my longing soul.
Which sighs to feel thy sweet control
Transfused through every pore ;
My muse, enraptured, then shall sing
~> Thee — gift of heaven's all bounteous king.
And gratefully adore.
Febma/ry 4, 1807.

* A sharp exclamation quickly to behold something striking.

t A derogatory exclamation.

§ A masculine exclamation, to express surprise

t Behold thoo.

184

v-?V<ilr- ..=

DOMEdTIO AND SOCIAL

DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL MANNERS OF THE INDIANS,
WHILE ON THEIR WINTERING GROUNDS.

The Indian, who takes his position as an orator, in front of his people,
and before a mixed assemblage of white men, is to be regarded, in a
measure, as an actor, who has assumed a part to perform. He regards
himself as occupying a position in which all eyes are directed upon him,
in scrutiny, and he fortifies himself for the occasion, by redoubled
efforts in cautiousness and studied stoicism. Rigid of muscle, and
suspicious of mind by nature, he brings to his aid the advantages of
practised art, to bear him out in speaking for his tribe, and to quit him
manfully of his task by uttering sentiments worthy of them and of him-
self This is the statue-like and artistic phasis of the man. It is here
that he is, truly

" A man without a fear — a stoic of the wood."

AH this is laid aside, so far as it is assumed, when he returns from the
presence of the " pale-faces," and rejoins his friends and kindred, in his
own village, far away from all public gaze, in the deep recesses of the
forest. Let us follow the man to this retreat, and see what are his
domestic manners, habits, amusements, and opinions.

I have myself visited an Indian camp, in the far<off area of the North-
west, in the dead of winter, under circumstances suited to allay his sus-
picions, and inspire confidence, and have been struck with the marked
change there is in his social temper, character, and feelings. And I have
received the same testimony from Indian traders, who have spent years
among them in these secluded positions, and been received by them as
friends and kindred. All indeed, who have had frequent and full oppor-
tunities of witnessing the red man on his hunting grounds, concur in
bearing evidence to his social, hospitable, and friendly habits and man-
ners. Viewed in such positions, the most perfect sincerity and cheer-
fulness prevail ; and their intercourse is marked with the broadest princi-
ples of charity and neighborly feeling. The restraint and ever watchful
suspicion which they evince at the frontier post, or in other situations
exposed to the scrutiny and cupidity of white men, is thrown aside and
gives way to ease, sociability and pleasantry. They feel while thus
ensconced in the shades of their native forests, a security unknown to
their breasts in any other situations. The strife seems to be, who shall
excel in offices of friendship and charity, or in spreading the festive
board. If one is more fortunate than the other, in taking meat, or
wielding the arrow or spear, the spoil is set apart for a feast, to which

MANNERS OF THE INDIANS.

186

all the adults, without distinction, are invited. When the set time of
the feast arrives, each one, according to ancient custom, takes his dish
and spoon, and proceeds to the entertainer's lodge. The victuals are
served up with scrupulous attention that each receives a portion of the
best parts. While at the meal, which is prolonged by cheerful conver-
sation, anecdote, and little narrations of personal adventure, the females
are generally listeners ; and none, except the aged, ever obtrude a re-
mark. The young women and girls show that they partake in the fes-
tivity by smiles, and are scrupulous to evince their attention to the elder
part of the company. Conversation is chiefly engrossed by the old men
and chiefs, and middle-aged men. Young men, who are desirous to
acquire a standing, seldom offer a remark, and when they do, it is with
modesty. The topics discussed at these public meals relate generally
to the chace, to the news they have heard, or to personal occurrences
about the village ; or to deeds, " real or fabulous," of " old lang syne ;'*
but the matters are discussed in a lively, and not in a grave style.
Business, if we may be allowed that term for what concerns their trade
and government intercourse, is never introduced except in formal coun-
cilSf convened specially, and opened formally by smoking the pipe. It
seems to be the drift of conversation, in these sober festivities (for it
must be recollected that we are speaking of the Indians on their winter-
ing grounds and beyond the reach, certainly beyond the free or ordinary
use of ardent spirits), to extract from their hunts and adventures, what-
ever will admit of a pleasant turn, draw forth a joke, or excite a laugh.
Ridiculous misadventures, or comical situations, are sure to be applauded
in the recital. Whatever is anti-social, or untoward, is passed over, or
if referred to by another, is parried off, by some allusion to the scene
before them.

Religion (we use this term for what concerns the great spirit, sacred
dreams, and the ceremonies of the Meda or medicine dance), like busi-
ness, is reserved for its proper occasion. It does not form, as with us,
a free topic of remark, at least among those who are professors of the
dance. Thus they cheat away the hours in pleasantry, free, but not
tumultuous in their mirth, but as ardently bent on the enjoyment of
the present moment, as if the sum of life were contained in these
three words, " eat, drink, and be merry." When the feast is over, the
women return to their lodges, and leave the men to smoke. On their
return, they commence a conversation on what they have heard the
men advance, and thus amuse themselves till their husbands return.
The end of all is generally some good advice to the children.

The company in these ordinary feasts is as general, with respect to
the rank, age or standing of the guests, as the most unlimited equality
of rights can make it. All the aged and many of the young are in-
vited. There is, however, another feast instituted, at certain times

186

DOMBflTIO AND SOCIAL

during the season, to which young persons only are it vited, or admitted,
except the entertainer and his wife, and generally two other aged per-
•ons, who preside over the feast and administer its rites. The object of
this feast seems to be instruction, to which the young and thoughtless
are induced to listen for the anticipated pleasure of the feast. Before
this feast commences, the entertainer, or some person fluent in speech|
whom he has selected for the purpose, gets up and addresses the youth
of both sexes on the subject of their course through life. He admo*
nishes them to be attentive and respectful to the aged and to adhere to
their counsels : never to scoff at the decrepid, deformed, or blind : to
obey their parents : to be modest in their conduct : to be charitable and
hospitable : to fear and love the great Spirit, who is the giver of life
and every good gift. These precepts are dwelt upon at great length,
and generally enforced by examples of a good man and woman and a
bad man and woman, and after drawing the latter, it is ever the custom
to say, " you will be like one of these." At the end of every sentence,
the listeners make a general ciy of had. When the advice is finished,
an address, or kind of prayer to the great Spirit is made, in which he
is thanked for the food before them, and for the continuance of life.
The speaker then says, " Thus the great Spirit supplies us with food ;
act justly, and conduct well, and you will ever be thus bountifully sup-
plied." The feast thtia commences, and the elders relax their manner
and mix with the rest, but are still careful to preserve order, and a de-
cent, respectful behavior among the guests.

Let it not be supposed, however, that the Indian's life, while on his
wintering grounds, is a round of feasting. Quite the contrary ; and hi*
feasts are often followed by long and painful fasts, and the severity ot
the seasons, and scarcity of game and fish, oflen reduce himself and
family to the verge of starvation, and even death. When the failure of
game, or any other causes, induce the hunter to remove to a new circle
of country, the labor of the removal falls upon the female part of the
family. The lodge, utensils and fixtures of every kind, are borne upon
the women's backs, sustained by a strap of leather around the forehead.
On reaching the intended place of encampment, the snow is cleared
away, cedar branches brought and spread for a flooring, the lodge set up,
the moveables stowed away, wood collected, and a fijre built, and then,
and not until then, can the females sit down and warm their feet and
dry their moccasins. If there be any provisions, a supper is cooked.
If there be none, all studiously strive to conceal the exhibition of the
least concern on this account, and seek to divert their thoughts by con-
versation quite foreign to the subject. The little children are the only
part of the family who complain, and who are privileged to complain,
but even they are taught at an early age to suffer and be silent. Gene-
rally, something is reserved by the mother, when food becomes scarce,

MANNERS OF THE INDIANS.

to satisfy their clamors, and they are satisfied with little. On such occa>
sloDs, if the family have gone supperless to rest, the father and elder
sons rise early in the morning in search of something. If one has the
luck to kill even a partridge or a squirrel, it is immediately carried to
the lodge, cooked, and divided into as many parts as there are members
of the family. On these occasions, the elder ones often make a merit
ofrelinquishing their portions to the women and children. If nothing
rewards the search, the whole day is spent by the father upon his snow-
shoes, with his gun in his hands, and he returns at night, fatigued, to his
couch of cedar branches and rush mats. But he does not return to com-
plain, either of his want of success, or his fatigue. On the following
day the same routine is observed, and days and weeks are often thus
consumed without being rewarded with anything capable of sustaining
life. Instances have been well authenticated, when this state of wretch-
edness has been endured by the head of a family until he has become so
weak as to fall in his path, and freeze to death. When all other means
of sustaining life are gone, the skins he has collected to pay his credits,
or purchase new supplies of clothing or ammunition, are eaten. They
are prepared by removing the pelt, and roasting the skin until it acquires
a certain degree of crispness. Under all |heir sufferings, the pipe of
the hunter b his chief solace, and is a solace often resorted to. Smoking
parties are frequently formed, when there is a scarcity of food not tend-
ing, as might be supposed, to destroy social feeling and render the
temper sour. On these occasions the entertainer sends a message to
this eflfect : " Come and smoke with me. I have no food ; but we can
pass away the evening very well without it." All acknowledge their
lives to be in the hand of the great Spirit ; feel a conviction that all
comes from him, and that although he allows them to suffer, he will again
supply them. This tends to quiet their apprehensions ; they are fatal-
ists, however, under long reverses, and submit patiently and silently to
what they believe to be their destiny. When hunger and misery are
past, they are soon forgotten, and their minds are too eagerly intent on
the enjoyment of the present good, to feel any depression of spirits from
the recollection of the past, or to hoard up anything to provide against
want for the future. No people are more easy, or less clamorous under
sufferings of the deepest dye, and none more happy, or more prone to
evince their happiness, when prosperous in their a&irs. ..

October 29th, 1826.

PUGASAINGj

OK.

THE OAHE OF THE BOWL.

This is the principal game of hazard among the northern tribes. It is
played with thirteen pieces, hustled in a vessel called onagun, which is a
kind of wooden bowl. They are represented, and named, as follows.

•^.

"in..

Tl.

OOO

•v.

■v:

JMC

The pieces marked No. 1, in this cut, of which there are two, are called
Ininewug, or men. They are made tapering, or wedge-shaped in thick-
ness, so as to make it possible, in throwing them, that they may stand on
their base. Number 2, is called Gitshee Kenabik, or the Great Serpent.
It consists of two pieces, one of which is fin-tailed, or a water-serpent, the

188

PUOASAINO.

189

Other truncated, and is probably designed as terrestrial. They are formed
wedge-shaped, so as to be capable of standing on their bases length-wise.
Each has four dots. Number 3, is called Pugamdgun, or the war club.
It has six marks on the handle, on the red side^ and four radiating from
the orifice of the club end ; and four marks on the handle of the white side ;
and six radiating marks from the orifice on the club-end, making ten on
each side. Number 4 is called Keego, which is the generic name for a
iSsh. The four circular pieces of brass, slightly concave, with a flat sur-
face on the apex, are called Ozawdbiks. The three bird-shaped pieces,
Sheshebwug, or ducks.

All but the circular pieces are made out of a fine kind of bone. One
side of the piece is white, of the natural colour of the bones, and polished,
the other red. The brass pieces have the convex side bright, the concave
black. They are all shaken together, and thrown out of the onagun, as
dice. The term pugasaing denotes this act of throwing. It is the parti-
cipial form of the verb. — The following rules govern the game :

1. When the pieces are turned on the red side, and one of the Inine-
wugs stands upright on the bright side of one of the brass peces, it
counts 158.

2. When all the pieces turn red side up, and the Gitshee Kenabik
with the tail stands on the bright side of the brass piece, it counts 138.

3. When all turn up red, it counts 58 whether the brass pieces be bright
or black side up.

4. When the Gitshee Kenabik and his associate, and the two Ininewugs
turn up white side, and the other pieces red, it counts 58, irrespective of
the concave or convex position of the brass pieces.

5. When all the pieces turn up white, it counts 38, whether the Ozawd-
biks, be bright or black.

6. When the Gitshee Kenabik and his associate turn up red, and the
other wAue, it counts 38, the> brass pieces immaterial.

7. When one of the Ininewugs stands up, it counts 50, without regard
to the position- of all the rest

8. When either of the Gitshee Kenabiks stands upright, it counts 40,
irrespective of the position of the others.

9. When all the pieces turn up white, excepting one, and the Ozawabiks
dark, it counts 20.

10. When all turn up red, except one, and the brass pieces bright, it
counts 15.

11. When the whole of the pieces turn up white, but one, with the
Ozawabiks bright, it counts 10.

12. When a brass piece turns up dark, the two Gitshee Kenabiks and
the two men red, and the remaining pieces white, it counts 8.

13 When the brass piece turns up bright, the two Gitsheci Kenabiks
and one of the men red, and all the rest white, it is 6.

190

PUOASAINO.

14. When the Gitshee Kenabik in chief, and one of the men turn up
red, the Ozaw&biks, bright, and all the others white, it is 4.

15. When both the Kenabiks, and both men, and the three ducks, turn
up red, the brass piece black, and either the Keego, or a duck white,
it is 5.

16. When all the pieces turn up red, but one of the Ininewugs, and the
brass piece black, it counts 2.

The limit of the game is stipulated. The parties throw up for the
play.

This game is very fascinating to some portions of the Indians. They
stake at it their ornaments, weapons, clothing, canoes, horses, every thing
in fact they possess ; and have been known, it is said, to set up their wives
and children, and even to forfeit their own liberty. Of such desperate
stakes, I have seen no exaaples, nor do I think the game itself in com*
mon use. It is rather confined to certain persons, who hold the relative
rank of gamblers in Indian society — men who are not noted as hunters or
warriors, or steady providers for their families. Among these are per*
sons who bear the term of lenadizze-wug, that is, wanderers about the
country, braggadocios, or fops. It can hardly be classed with the popular
games of amusement, by which skill and dexterity are acquired. I have
generally found the chiefs and graver men of the tribes, who encouraged
the young men to play ball, and are sure to be present at the customary
sports, to witness, and sanction, and applaud ihem, speak lightly and dis*
paragingly of this game of hazard. Yet, it cannot be denied, that some
of the chiefs, distinguished in war and the chase, at the west, can be refei'
red to, as lending their example to its fascinating power.

An analysis of this game, to show its arithmetical principles and powers
might be gone into ; but it is no part of the present design to take up such
considerations here, far less to pursue the comparison and extension of cus-
toms of this kind among the modern western tribes. It may be sufficient
to say, from the foregoing rules, that there seems to be no unit in the
throw, and that the count proceeds by decimals, for all numbers over 8.
Doubtless these rules, are but a part of the whole series, known to ex-
perienced players. They comprise, however, all that have been revealeu
tome.

" Gambling is not peculiar to our race.
The Indian gambles with as fixed a face."

Herodotus says of the ancient Thracians — that "the most honourable
life, with them, is a life of war and plunder ; the most contemptible that of
a husbandman. Their supreme delight is war and plunder." Who might
not suppose, were the name withheld, that this had been said by some
modern writer of the Pawnees, or the Camanches %

REVERENCE AND AFFECTIOTT FOR PARENTS.

TuER^ived a noted chief at Michilimackinac, in days past, called Oitshe
Naygow, or the Great-Sand-Dune, a name, or rather nick-name,
which he had, probably, derived from his birth and early residence at a
spot of very imposing appearance, so called, on the southern shore of
Lake Superior, which is east of the range of the Pictured Rocks. He
was a Chippewa, a warrior and a counsellor, of that tribe, and had
mingled freely in the stirring scenes of war and border foray, which
marked the closing years of French domination in the Canadas. He
lived to be very old, and became so feeble at last, that ho could not
travel by land, when Spring came on and his people prepared to move
their lodges, from their sugar-camp in the forest, to the open lake shore.
They were then inland, on the waters of the Manistee river, a stream
which enters the northern shores of Lake Michigan. It was his last win-
ter on earth; his heart was gladdened by once more feeling the ge-
nial rays of Spring, and he desired to go with them, to behold, for the
last time, the expanded lake and inhale its pure breezes. He must
needs be conveyed by hand. This act of piety was performed by his
daughter, then a young woman. She carried him on her back from
their camp to the lake shore, where they erected their lodge and
passed their spring, and where he eventually died and was buried.

This relation I had from her own lips, at the agency of Michili-
mackinac, in 1833. I asked her how she had carried him. She re-
plied, with the Indian apekun, or head-strap. When tired she rested, and
again pursued her way, on-wa-be-win by on-wa-be-win, or rest by rest, in
the manner practised in carrying heavy packages over the portages. Her
name was Nadowdkwa, or the female Iroquois. She was then, perhaps,
about fiily-five years of age, and the wife of a chief called Saganosh,
whose home and jurisdiction were in the group of the St. Martin's Islands,
north of Michilimackinac.

The incident was not voluntarily told, but came out, incidentally, in
some inquiries I was making respecting historical events, in the vicinity.
One such incident goes far to vindicate the affections of this people,
and should teach us, that they are of the same general lineage with
ourselves, and only require letters and Christianity, to exalt them in the
scale of being.

The first words of men, says Harris in his Hermes, like their first ideas,
had an immediate reference to sensible objects ; in after days, when they
began to discern with their intellect, they took those words which they
found already made, and transferred .hem by metaphor, to intellectual con-
ceptions.

191

ANDAIG WEOS, OR CROWS-FLESH.

Many persons among the Indian race, have attracted notice from their
exploits on the war-path. Andaig Weos was not among the num*
ber of these, or if ho had mingled in such events, his deeds of daring
are now lost amid the remembrance of better qualities. He was a chief
of the once prominent and reigning band of Odjibwa Algonquins, who
are called Chippewas, located at Chcgoimgon, on Lake Superior, where
his name is cherished in local tradition, for the noble and disinterested
deeds which he performed in former days. He lived in the latter part of
the 18th century.

It was perhaps forty years ago — said my informant, it was while the
late Mr. Nolin, of Sault Ste. Maries wa6 a trader in the Chippewa country,
between lake Superior and the Mississippi, that he wintered one year low
down on the Chippewa river. On his way down this stream, and while
he was still on one of its sources, cold weather set in suddenly, the ice
formed, and he was unable to get on with his goods. He consequently
put them en cache, according to the custom of the country, and proceeded
on foot, with his men to the lower part of the river, to the spot at which
he had determined to winter. Here he felled trees, and built his house,
and having made all things ready, he set out with his men on his return
to his cache, in order to bring down his goods.

On the way he fell in with an Indian hunter and his wife, who followed
him to the place where he had secreted his goods. On reaching this, he
filled a bottle with spirits and gave a glass to each of his men, took one
himself, and then filling the glass presented it to the Indian. This was
done after the camp had been made for the night. It so happened that
the Indian was taken suddenly ill that night, and before day light died.
Nolin and his men buried him, and then proceeded back to his wintering
house below, each man carrying a pack of goods ; and the widow rejoined
her friends.

Afber the Indians had taken their credits, and dispersed to their sovcial
vnntering grounds, it was rumoured amongst them, that the trader hid

192

ANDAIO WeOS, OR CROWS-FLESH.

193

adminiBtered poison to the Indian who ited so suddenly after taking the
gfass of spirits. And this opinion gained ground, although the widow wo*
man repeatedly told the Indians, that the liquor given to her deceased
husband was from the same bottle and glass, that all the French people
had drank from. But it was of no avail ; the rumour grew, an^ Mr.
Nolin began to be apprehensive, as he had already learnt that the Indians
meant to kill him. To confirm this suspicion a party of forty men, soon
after, entered his house, all armed, painted black, and with war dresses
on. They were all presented with a piece of tobacco, as was customary,
when each of them threw it into the fire. No alternative now appeared
to remain to avert the blow, which he was convinced must soon follow.
Almost at the same instant, his men intimated that another party, of six
men more, were arriving.

It proved to be the chief Andaig Weos, from near Lac du Flambeau,
n search of a trader, for a supply of tobacco and ammunition. On entering,
the chief eyed the warriors, and asked Mr. N. whether he had given them
tobacco. He replied that he had, and that they had all, to a man, thrown
it in the fire, and, he added, that they intended to kill him. The chief
asked for some tobacco, which he threw down before the warriors, telling
them to smoke it, adding in an authoritive voice, that when Indians visited
traders, it was with an intention of getting tobacco from them to smoke and
and not to throw into the fire ; and that, for his part, he had been a long
time without smoking, and was very happy to find a trader to supply him
with that article. This present from him, with the rebuke, was received
with silent acquiescence, — no one venturing a reply.

The chief next demanded liquor of the trader, saying, " that he in-
tended to make them drink." The politic Frenchman remonstrated,
saying, " that if this was done, he should surely he killed." " Fear not.
Frenchman," replied the chief, boldly. " These are not men who want
to kill you : they are children. I, and my warriors will guard you." On
these assurances, a keg of liquor was given, but with the greatest reluc-
tance. The chief immediately presented it to the war-party, but cautioned
them to drink it at a distance, and not to come nigh the trader during the
night. They obeyed him. They took it a short distance and drank it,
and kept up a dreadful yelling* all night, but did not molest the house.

The next morning Andaig Weos demanded tobacco of the still uneasy
narehand voyageur, and ordered one of his young men to distribute it to
the Indians in the war-dress. He then rose and addressed them in an
energetic and authoritative speech, telling them to march off, without tasting
food; that they were warriors, and needed not any thing of the kind ;
and if they did, they were hunters, — ^they had guns, and might hunt, and
kill and eat. " You get nothing more here," he added. " This trader
has come here to supply your wantB, and you seek to kill him — a poor re-
ward for the trouble and the anxiety he has undergone! This is no waj'

194

ANDAIO ITEOS, Oil CROWS->FI.ESH.

of requiting white people." TJiey all, to a man started, and went off, and
gave the trader no farther molestation while he remained in the country.

On another occasion Andaig Wcos was placed in a situation which
aflbrded a very different species of testimony to his principles and integrity.
A French trader had entered lake Superior so late in the season, that
with eVery effort, he could get no farther than Pointe La Petite Filk, be-
fore the ice arrested his progress. Here he was obliged to bi.< Id his winter-
ing house, but he soon ran short of provisions, and was obliged to visit La
Pointe, with his men, in order tc obtain fish — leaving his house and store-
room locked, with his goods, ammunition, and liquors, and resolving to
return immediately. But the weather came on so bad, that there was n(>
possibility of his immediate return, and the winter proved so unfavourabhv
that he was obliged to spend two months at that post.

During this time, the chief Andaig Weos, with fifteen of his men, camfk
out from the interior, to the shores of the lake, for the purpose of trading ,
each carrying a pack of beaver, or other furs. On arriving at the poin*.
La Petite Fille, they found the trader's house locked and no one there.
The chief said to h's followers. — It is customary for traders to invif* In-
dians into their house, and to receive them politely ; but as there is no
one to receive us, we must act according to circumstances. He then
ordered the door to be opened, with as little injury as possible, walked in,
with his party, and caused a good fire to be built in th^j chimney. On
opening the store-door he found they could be supplied with all they
wanted. He told his party, on no account to touch, or take away any
thing, but shut up the door, and said, " that he would, on the morrow, act
the trader's part."

They spent the night in the house. Early the next morning, he arose
and addressed them, telling them, that he would now commence trading
with them. This he accordingly did, and when all was finished, he care-
fully packed the furs, and piled the packs, and covered them with an oil-
cloth. He then again addressed them, saying that it was customary for
a trader to give tobacco and a keg of spirits, when Indians had traded
handsomely. He, therefore, thought himself authorized to observe this
rule, and accordingly gave a keg of spirits and some tobacco. " The
spirits," he said, " must not be drank here. We must take it to our
hunting camp," and gave orders for returning immediately. He then
caused the doors to be shut, in the best manner possible, and the outer
door to be barricaded with logs, and departed.

When the trader returned, and found his house had been broken open,
he began to bewail his fate, being sure he had been robbed ; but on enter-
ing his storr room and beholding the furs, his fears were turned to joy.
On examinmg his inventory, and comparing it with the amount of his
furs, he declared, that had he been present, he could not have traded to
better advantage, nor have made such a profit on his goods.

ANDAIG WEOS, OR CROWS-FLESH.

195

act

These traits are not solitary and accidental. It happened at another
.ime, that a Mr. Lamotte, who had wintered in the Folle-avoine country,
unfortunately had a quarrel with the Indians, air the close of the season,
just when he was about to embark on his return with his furs. In the
heat of their passion the Indians broke all his canoes in pieces, and con-
fined him a prisoner, by ordering him to encamp on an island in the St.
Croix river.

In this situation he remained, closely watched by the Indians, till all
the other traders had departed and gone out of the country to renew their
supplies, when the chief Andaig Weos arrived. He comprehended the
case in an instant, and having found that the matter of offence was one of
no importance, he immediately went to the Indian village, and in a loud
and authoritative tone of voice, so as to be heard by all, commanded suit-
able canoes to be taken to the imprisoned trader — a summons which was
promptly obeyed. He then went to Mr. Lamotte and told him to embark
fearlessly, and that he himself would see that he was not further hindered,
at the same time lamenting the lateness of his return.

The general conduct of this chief was marked by kindness and ur-
banity. When traders arrived at Chagoimegon, where he lived, it was
his custom to order his young men to cover and protect their baggage lest
any thing should be injured or stolen. He was of the lineage of the
noted war-chief, Abojeeg, or Wab Ojeeg. He lived to be very old, so that
he walked nearly bent double — using a cane. The present ruling chief of
that place, called Pezhickee, is his grandson. These anecdotes were re-
lated by Mr. Cadotte, of Lapointe, in the year 1829, and are believed to
be entitled to full confidence.

The Tartars cannot pronounce the letter b. Those of Bulgaria pro-
nounce the word blacks as if written ilacs. It is noticeable; that the Odji-
bwas and their cognate tribes at the north, not only make great use of the
letter b, in native words, but when they come to pronounce English
words, in which the letter v occurs, they invariably substitute the b for it,
as in village, and vinegar. *

There are three letters in the English alphabet which the above tribes
do not pronounce. They are f, r, and 1. For f, they substitute, in their
attempts to pronounce foreign words, p. The sound of r, they change to
broad a, or drop. L is changed to n.

Singing and dancing are applied to political and to religious purposes
by the Indians. When they wish to raise a war-party, they meet to sing
and dance : when they wish to supplicate the divine mercy on a sick per-
son, they assemble in a lodge, to sing and dance. No grave act is per*
formed without singing and dancing.

PRIGIN

AND

HISTORY OF THE RACE.

WYANDOT TRADITIONS OF THE CREATION,
/ . AND OTHER EPOCHS. ,

The foHowing traditions of the creation of man, and of the Red Race ;
of the order of precedence and relationship among the tribes, and the no-
tice of the first arrival of Europeans on the continent, together with the
allegories of Good and Evil, and of Civilization and Barbarism, are ex-
tracted from a private journal, kept during the period of my official inter-
course with the various tribes.

Superintendency Indian Afiairs,

Detroit, January 30th, 1837.

A delegation of three Wyandot chiefs visited me, this day, from their
location near Amherstburg in Canada, with their interpreter, George C.
Martin. Their names were 0-ri-wa-hen-to, or Charlo, On-ha-to-tun-youh,
or Round Head, son of Round Head, the brother of Splitlog, and Ty-er-
on-youh, or Thomas Clark. They informed me, in reply to a question,
that the present population of their band, at that location, was eighty-six
souls. After transacting their business, I proposed several questions to
them respecting their origin and history.

1. What is the origin of the Indians ? We believe that all men sprang
from one man and woman, who were made by God, in parts beyond the
sea. But in speaking of the Indians w^e say, how did they cross the sea
without ships? and when did they come? and from what country)
What is your opinion on the subject ?

Oriwahento answered : " The old chief, Splitlog, who could answer
you, is not able to come to see you from his age and feebleness ; but he
has sent us three to speak with you. We will do the best we can. We
are not able to read and write, like white men, and what you ask is not
therefore to be found in black and white." (This remark was probably
made as they observed I took notes of the interview.)

" There was, in ancient times, something the matter with the earth, it
has changed. We think so. We be.ieve God created it, and made men
out of it. We think he made the Indians in this country, and that they
did not come over the sea. They were created at a place called Morn-

196

WTANDOT TRADITIONS OF THE CREATION.

197

TAINS. It was eastward. When he had made the earth and those moun-
tains, he covered something over the earth, as it were, with his hand.
Below this, he pu^man. All the different tribes were there. One of the
young men found his way out to the surface. He s%w a great light, and
was delighted with the beauty of the surface. While gazing around, he
saw a deer running past, with an arrow in his side. He followed it, to
the place where it fell and died. He thought it was a harmless looking
animal. He looked back to see its tracks, and he soon saw other tracks.
They were the foot prints of the person who had shot the deer. He soon
came up. It was the creator himself. He had taken this method to show
the Indians what they must do, when they came out from the earth.
The creator showed him how to skin and dress the animal, bidding
him do so and so, as he directed him. When the flesh was ready,
he told him to make a fire. But he was perfectly ignorant. God made
the fire. He then directed him to put a portion of the meat on a stick,
and roast it before the fire. But he was so ignorant that he let it stand till
it burned on one side, while the other was raw.

Having taught this man the hunter's art, so that he could teach it to
others, God called the Indians forth out of the earth. They came in
order, by tribes, and to each tribe he appointed a chief He appointed
one Head Chief to lead them all, who had something about his neck, and
he instructed him, and put it into his head what to say to the tribes.
That he might have an opportunity to do So, a certain animal was killed,
and a feast made, in which they were told to eat it all. The leader God
had so chosen, told the tribes what they must do, to please their maker,
and what they must not do.

Oriwahento further said : God also made Good and Evil. They were
brothers. The one went forth to do good, and caused pleasant
things to grow. The other busied himself in thwarting his brother's
work. He made stony and flinty places, and caused bad fruits, and made
continual mischief among men. Good repaired the mischief as fast as it
was done, but he found his labour never done. He determined to fly
upon his brother and destroy him, but not by violence. He proposed to
run a race with him. Evil consented, and they fixed upon the place. But
first tell me, said Good, what is it you most dread. Bucks horns ! replied
he, and tell me what is most hurtful to you. Indian grass braid ! said
Good. Evil immediately went to his grandmother, who made braid, and
got large quantities of it, which he put in the path and hung on the limbs
that grew by the path where Good was to run. Good also filled the path
of his brother with the dreaded horns. A question arose who should run
first. I, said Good, will begin, since the proposition to try our skill first
came from me. He accordingly set out, his brother following him. But
as he began to feel exhausted at noon, he took up the grass braid and eat
it This sustained him, and he tired down his brother before night, who

198

WYANDOT TRADIliONS OF THE CREATION.

entreated him to stop. He did not, however, cense, till he had successful ty
reached the goal.

The next day Evil started on his path. He wai^encountered every
where by the horns, which before noon had greatly weakened him. He
entreated to be relieved from going on. Good insisted on his running the
course. He sustained himself .'till sunset, when he fell in the path, and
was finally dispatched by one of the horns wielded by his brother.

Good now returned in triumph to his grandmother's lodge. But she
was in an ill humour, as she always was, and hated him and loved his
brother whom he had killed. He wanted to rest, but at night was awoke
by a conversation between her and the ghost of Evil. The latter pleaded
to come in, but although he felt for him, he did not allow his fraternal
feelings to get the better, and resolutely denied admission. Then said
Evil " I go to the north-west, and you will never see me more, and all who
follow me will be in the same state. They will never come back. Death
will for ever keep them."

Having thus rid himself of his adversary, he thought he would walk
out and see how things were going on, since there was no one to oppose
his doing good. After travelling some time he saw a living object a-head.
As he drew nearer, he saw more plainly. It was a naked man. They
began to talk to each other. " I am walking to see the creation, which I
have made," said Good, " but who are you ?" " Clothed man," said he, " I
am as powerful as you, and have made all that land you see." " Naked
man," he replied, " I have made ail things, but do not recollect making
you." " You shall see my power," said the naked man, " we will try
strength. Call to yonder mountain to come here, and afterwards I will do
the same, and we will see who has the greatest power." The clothed man
fell down on his knees, and began to pray, but the effort did not succeed, or
but partially. Then the naked man drew a rattle from his belt, and be*
gan to shake it and mutter, having first blindfolded the other. After a
time, now said he, " look I" He did so, and the mountain stood close be-
fore him, and rose up to the clouds. He then blindfolded him again, and
resumed his rattle and muttering. The mountain had resumed its former
distant position.

The clothed man held in his left hand a sword, and in his right hand
the law of God. The naked man had a rattle in one hand, and a war
club in the other. They exchanged the knowledge of the respective uses
of these things. To show the power of the sword, the clothed man cut
off a rod, and placed it before him. The naked man immediately put the
parts together and they were healed. He then took his club, which was
flat, and cut ofif the rod, and again healed the mutilated parts. He relied
on the rattle to answer the same purpose as the other's book. The clothed
man tried the use of the club, but could not use it with skill, while the
Baked man took the sword and used it as well as the other.

WYANDOT TRADITIONS 3P THE CREATION.

199

Oriwahento continued: — It is said that Evil killed his mother at his
birth. He did not enter the world the right way, but bursted from the
womb. They took the body of the mother and laid it upon a scaffold.
From the droppings of her decay, where they fell on the ground, sprang
up corn, tobacco, and such other vegetable productions as the Indians
have. Hence we call corn, our mother. And our tobacco propagates it-
self by spontaneous growth, without planting ; but the clothed man is re-
quired to labour in raising it.

Good found his grandmother in no better humor when he came back
from the interview with the naked man. He therefore took and cast her
up, and she flew against the moon, upon whose face the traces ot her are
•till to be seen.

This comprised the first interview ; after a recess during which they
were permitted to refresh themselves and smoke their pipes, I returned to
the office and resumed the inquiries.

2. Where did your tribe first see white men on this continent? The
French say you lived on the St. Lawrence, and afterwards went to the
north, from whence you afterwards came down to the vicinity of Detroit
That you possess the privilege of lighting up the general council fire for
the Lake tribes ; and that you were converted to the catholic faith. Ori-
wahento again answered.

When the tribes were all settled, the Wyandots were placed at the head
They lived in the interior, at the mountains east, about the St. Lawrence.
They were the first tribe of old, and had the first chieftainship. The
ciiief said to their nephew, the Lenapees, Go down to the sea coast and
look, and if you see any thing bring me word. They had a village near
the sea side, and often looked, but saw nothing except birds. At length
they espied an object, which seemed to grow and come nearer, and nearer.
When it came near the land it stopped, but all the people were afraid, and
fled to the woods. The next day, two of their number ventured out to
look. It was lying quietly on the water. A smaller object of the same
sort came out of it, and walked with long legs (oars) over the water.
When it came to land two men came out of it. They were different from
us and made signs for the others to come out of the woods. A conference
ensued. Presents were exchanged. They gave presents to the Lenapees,
and the latter gave them their skin clothes as curiosities. Three distinct
visits, at separate times, and long intervals, were made. The mode in
which the white men got a footing, and power in the country was this.
First, room was asked, and leave given to place a chair on the shore.
But they soon began to pull the lacing out of its bottom, and go inland
with it ; and they have not yet come to the end of the string. He
exemplified this original demand for a cession of territory and its re-
newal at other epochs, by other figures of speech, namely, of a bull's
hide, and of a man walking. The first request for a seat on the

200

WYANDOT TRADITIONS OF THE CREATION.

shore, was made he said of the Lenapees ; alluding u> the cogiuttt
branches of this stock, who were anciently settled at the harbour of New
York, and that vicinity.

To the question of their flignt from the St. Lawrence, their settlement in
the north, and their subsequent migration to, and settlemeut on, the straits
of Detroit, Oriwahento said :

The Wyandots were proud. God had said that such should be beaten
and brought low. This is the cause why we were followed from the
east, and went up north away to Michilimackinac, but as we had the
right before, so when we came back, the tribes looked up to us, as hold-
ing the council fire.*

3. What relationship do you acknowledge, to the other western
tribes? , •■■,-.■ ;; ,, ^ ■■ r .' ■ ■> "

Answer by Oriwahento : We call the Lenapees, nephews ; we call ihe
Odjibwas (Chippewas) Ottawas, Miamis &c. Younger Brother. We call
the Shawnees, the Youngest Brother. The Wyandots were the first tribe
in ancient times. The first chieftainship was in their tribe.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS TO THE INTERPRTER.

1. Are the Wyandot and Mohawk languages, alike in sounds. You
say, you speak both.

Ans. Not at all alike. It is true there are a few words so, but the two
languages do not seem to me more akin than English and French. You
know some English and French words are alike. The Mohawk lan-
guage is on the tongue., the Wyandot is in the throat.

2. Give me some examples : Read some of this translation of the Mo-
hawk, (handing him John's Gospel printed by the American Bible So-
ciety in 1818.) He fomplied, reading it fluently, and appearing to have
been acquainted with the translation.

Further conversation, in which his attention was drau-n to particular
facts in its structure and principles, made him see stronger analogies be-
tween the two tongues. It was quite evident, that he had never reflected
on the subject, and that there were, both grammatically, and philologically,
coincidences beyond his depth.

* This is cortainly a dignified and wise answer ; designed as it was, to cover their
disastrous defeat and fliglit from the St. Lawrence valley to the north. The prece-
dence to which he alludes, on reaching the straits of Detroit, as having been theirs be-
fore, is to be understood, donbllcss, of the era of their residence on the lower St. I.Jiw-
renee, where they were at the head of the French and Indian confederacy against th«
Iroquois. Among tlie latter, they certainly had no precedency, so far as history
reaches. Their council tiro was kept by the Onondagas.

TRADITIONS OF THE ARCTIDES.

There are some curious traditions related by the race of people living
OQ that part of the continent lying north and west of Athabasca lake, and
the river Unjigah. Mackenzie has described that branch of them, who
are called by the trivial name of Che-pe-wyans. This is an Algonquin
term, meaning puckered blankets, and has reference only to the most
easterly and southerly division of the race. They are but the van of an
extensive race. All that gives identity to their general traditions, and dis-
tinctive character and language, relates as well to the Dogribs, the Cop-
permines, the Strongbows, the Ambawtawoots, the Hares, the Brush-
woods, the Sursees, the TacuUies, the Nateotetains, and other tribes lo-
cated north of them, extending to the Arctic Ocean, and west through the
Peace river pass of the Rocky Mountains. Philology brings into one
groupe all these dialects of a wide spread race, who extend from the bor-
ders of the Atnah nation on the Columbia, across the Rocky Mountains
eastwardly to the Lake of the Hills and the Missinipi or Churchill river,
covering many degrees of latitude and longitude. In the absence of any
generic name for them, founded on language or character, I shall allude
to them under the geographical phrase of Arctides.

This stock of people have proceeded from the direction of the North
Pacific towards the Atlantic waters, in a general eastern direction, in
which respect, their history forms a striking exception to the other great
stocks of the eastern part of the United States, the Canadas, and Hudson's
bay, who have been in a continual progress towards the west and north-
west. The Arctides, on the contrary, have proceeded east and southeast.
They may be supposed, therefore, to bring their traditions more directly
from opposite portions of the continent, and from Asia, and it may be in-
ferred, from more unmixed and primitive sources. Some of these tradi-
tions are, at least, of a curious and striking character. They believe, like
the more southerly tribes, in the general tradition of a deluge, and of a
paradise, or land of future VUss. They y>avr3 apparently, veiled the Great

201

S02

TRADITIONS OF THE ARCTIDES.

Spirit, or creator of the globe, under the allegory of a gigantic bird. They

believe, that there was originally nothing visible but one vast ocean.

Upon this the bird descended from the sky, with a noise of his wings

which produced sounds resembling thunder. The earth, as he alighted,

immediately rose above the waters. This bird of creative power, then

made all the classes of animals, who were made out of earth. They all

had precedency to man. Man alone, the last in the series, was created

from the integument of a dog. This, they believe, was their own origin,

and hence, as Mackenzie tells us, they will not eat the flesh of this animal,

as is done by the other tribes of the continent. To guard and protect

them, he then made a magic arrow, which they were to preserve with

great care, and hold sacred. But they were so thoughtless, they add, as

to carry it away and lose it, upon which the great, bird took his flight, and

has never since appeared. This magic arrow is doubtless to be regarded

as a symbol of something else, which was very essential to their safety

and happiness. Indian history is often disguised under such symbolic

forms.

They have also a tradition that they originally came from a foreign
country, which was inhabited by a wicked people. They had to cross a
great lake, or water, which was shallow, narrow, and full of islands.
Their track lay also through snow and ice, and they suffered miserably
from cold. They first landed at the mouth of the Coppermine river.
The earth thereabouts was then strewed with metallic copper, which has
since disappeared.

They believe that, in ancient times, meti lived till their feet were worn
out with walking, and their throats with eating. They represent their
ancestors as living to very great ages. They describe a deluge, in which
the waters spread over the whole earth, except the highest mountains, on
which their progenitors were saved.

Their notions of a future state coincide generally with the other stocks.
But their paradise is clothed with more imaginative traits. They oelieve,
that at death they pass immediately to another world, where there is a large
river of water to cross. They must embark in a stone canoe, and are
borne along into a wide lake, which has an island in its centre. This is
the island of the blest, and the object of the disembodied soul is to reach it
If their lives have been good, they will be fortunate, and make it If bad,
they will sink ; but they will only sink to the depth of their chins, so that
they may be permitted to behold the happy land, and strive in vain to
reach it Eternity is passed in this vain endeavour.

They have also some notion of the doctrine of transmigration. Such
are the traditionary notions of this numerous family of the Red Race,
which are sufficiently distinctive and peculiar, — and while they resemble
in many traits, yet in others they contradistinguish them from the great
Algic race of the eastern part of the continent. The most ^advanced

TRADITIONS OF THE ARCTIDE8

203

branch of these a'es in their geograghical position, call themselves, as
reported by Capt FrankHn, People of the Rising Sun, or Smo-eesato-
dinneh.

It seems singular, that the farther north we go, the greater evidences do
we behold of imagination, in the aboriginal race, together v/ith some fore-
shadowings of future punishment.

HISTORICAL TRADITIONS OF THE CHIPPEWAS, ODJIB-
WAS, OR ODJIBWA-ALGONaUINS.

Of all the existing branches of the Algonquin stock in America, thit
extensive and populous tribe appears to have the strongest claims to intel-
lectual distinction, on the score of their traditions, so far, at least, as the
present state of our inquiries extends. They possess, in their curious
fictitious legends and lodge-tales, a varied and exhaustless fund of tradition,
which is repeated from generation to generation. These legends hold,
among the wild men of the north, the relative rank of story-books ; and
are intended both to amuse and instruct. This people possess also, the
art of picture writing, in a degree which denotes that they have been,
either more careful, or more fortunate, in the preservation of this very an-
cient art of th*j human race. Warriors, and the bravest of warriors, they
are yet an intellectual people.

Their traditions and belief, on the origin of the globe, and the existence
of a Supreme Being, are quite accordant with some things in our own
history and theory. They believe that the Great Spirit created material
.nutter, and that he made the earth and heavens, by the power of his will.
He afterwards made animals and men, out of the earth, and he filled space
with subordinate spirits, having something of his own nature, to whom he
gave a part of his own power. He made one great and master spirit of
evil, to whom ho &lso gave assimilated and subordinate evil spirits, to
execute his will. Two antagonist powers, they believe, were thus placed
in the world who are continually striving lor cne mastery, and who have
power to aiTect the fortunes and lives of men. This constitutes the ground-
work of their religion, sacrifices and worship.

They believe that animals were created before men, and that they orif't>
nally had rule on the earth. By the power of I'tcromancy, some of
these animals were transformed to men, who, as soon as they assumed this
n»^ form, began to hunt the animals, and make war against them. It iB

904

INDIAN TRADITION!.

expected that these animala will resume their human shapes, in a future
state, and hence their hunters, feign some clumsy excuses, for their
present policy of killing them. They believe that all animals, and birds
and reptiles, and even insects, possess reasoning faculties, and have souls.
It is in these opinions, that we detect the ancient doctrine of transmigration.

Their most intelligent priests tell us, that their forefathers worshipped
the sun ; this luminary was regarded by them, as one of their Medas told
me, as the symbol of divine intelligence, and the figure of it is drawn in
their system of picture writing, to denote the Great Spirit. This symbol
very often occurs in their pictures of the medicine dance, and the wabeno
dance, and other sacred forms of their rude inscriptions.

They believe, at least to some extent, in a duality of souls, one of which
is fleshly, or corporeal, the other is incorporeal or mental. The fleshly sdu.
goes immediately, at death, to the land of spirits, or future bliss. The
mental soul abides with the body, and hovers round the place of sepul-
ture. A future state is regarded by them, as a state of rewards, and not
of punishments. They expect to inhabit a paradise, fllled with pleasures
for the eye, and the ear, and the taste. A strong and universal belief in
divine mercies absorbs every other attribute of the Great Spirit, except his
power and ubiquity ; and they believe, so far as we can , gather it,
that this mercy will be shown to all. There is not, in general, a very
discriminating sense of moral distinctions and responsibilities, and the faint
out-shadowings, which we sometimes hear among them, of a deep and
sombre stream to be crossed by the adventurous soul, in its way to the
land of bliss, does not exercise such a practical influence over their lives,
as to interfere with the belief of universal acceptance after death. So
firm is this belief, that their proper and most reverend term for the Great
Spirit, is G^zha Monedo, that is to say, Merciful Spirit. Gitchy Monedo,
which is also employed, is often an equivocal phrase. The term W&z-
he&ud, or Maker, is used to designate the Creator, when speaking of his
animated works. The compound phrase W&osemigdyan, or universal
Father, is also heard.

The great spirit of evil, called Mudje Monedo, and Matche Monito, is
regarded as a created^ and not a pre-existing being. Subordinate spirits of
evil, are denoted by using the derogative form of the word, in sk by
which Moneto is rendered Monetosh. The exceeding flexibility of the
language is well calculated to enable them to express distinction of this
nature.

This tribe has a general tradition of a deluge, in which the earth was
covered with water, reaching above the highest hills, or mountains, but
not above a tree which grew on the latter, by climbing which a man was
saved. This man was the demi-god of their fictions, who is called Mana-
bozho, by whose means the waters were stayed and the earth re-created.
He employed for this purpose various animals who were sent to dive

INDIAN TRADITIONS.

S05

4own for some of the primordial earth, of which a little was, at length,
brought up by the beaver, and this formed the germ or nucleus of the new,
or rather rescued planet. What particular allegories are hid under this
story, is not certain ; but it is known that this, and other tribes, are much
in the habit of employing allegories, and symbols, under which we may
suspect, they have concealed parts of their historical traditions and be-
liefs. This deluge of the Algonquin tribes, was produced, as their
legends tell, by the agency of the chief of the evil spirits, symbolized by a
great serpent, who is placed, throughout the tale, in an antagonistical posi-
tion to the demi-god Manabosho. This Manabozho, is the same, it is
thought, with the Abou, and the Michabou, or the Great Hare of elder
writers.

Of their actual origin and history, the Chippewas have no other certain
tradition, than that they came from Wabenong, that is to say, the land of the
EAST. They have no authentic history, therefore, but such remembered
events, as must be placed subsequent to the pia of the discovery of the conti-
nent. Whether this tradition is to be interpreted as an ancient one, having
reference to their arrival on the continent, or merely to the track of their mi-
gration, after reaching it, is a question to be considered. It is only certain,
that they came to their present position on the banks of Lake Superior, from
the direction of the Atlantic seaboard, and were, when discovered, in the
attitude of an invading nation, pressing westward and northward. Their
distinctive name sheds no light on this question. They call themselves
Od-jib-wdg, which is the plural of Odjibwa, — a term which appears to
denote a peculiarity in their voice, or manner of utterance. This word
has been pronounced Chippewa by the Saxon race in America, ^nd is
thus recorded in our treaties and history. They are, in language,
manners and customs, and other characteristics, a well marked type of
the leading Algonquin race, and indeed, the most populous, important,
and wide spread existing branch of that family now on the continent.
The term Chippewa, may be considered as inveterately fixed by popular
usaQ-e. but in all disquisitions which have their philology or distinctive
cnaracter m view, me true vernacular term of Od-jib-wa, will be found to
possess advantages to writers. The word Algonquin is still applied to a
small local band, at the Lake of Two Mountains, on the Utawas river,
near Montreal, but this term, first bestowed by the French, has long been
a generic phrase for the entire race, who are identified by the ties of a
common original language in the United States and British America.

One of the most curious opinions of this people is their belief in the
mysterious and sacred character of fire. They obtain sacred fire, for all
national and ecclesiastical purposes, from the flint. Their national pipes
are lighted with this fire. It is symbolical of purity. Their notions of
the boundary between life and death, which is also symbolically the limit
of the material verge between this and a future state, are revealed in con-

206

IlTDIAlf TRADITIONt.

nection with the exhibition of flamea of fire. They also make lacrificet
by fire of iome part of the first fruits of the chase. These traiu are to be
viewed, perhaps, in relation to their ancient worship of the sun, above no-
ticed, of which the traditions and belief, are still generally preserved.
The existence among them of the numerous classes of jossakeeds, or mut-
terers — (the word is from the utterance of sounds low on the earth,) is a
trait that will remind the reader of a similar class of men, in early ages,
in the eastern hemisphere. These persons constitute, indeed, the Magii
of our western forests. In the exhibition of their art, and of the peculiar
notions they promulgate on the subject of a sacred fire, and the doctrine
of transmigration, they would seem to have their affiliation of descent
rather with the disciples of Zoroaster and the fruitful Persian stock, than
with the less mentally refined Mongolian hordes.

MYTHOLOGY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIGION
OF THE ALGONQUINS.

TUBIR 8rST£H OP MANITO WOKSHIP, AS XKOENTT.Y DISOLOSKD BY THX OOMPBS-
SIONS OF ONE OP THEIR prophets; THEIR LANQUAOEH, A ND CHARACTER OP TUB
tBANSr.ATIONS OP THE GOSPEL HADE INTO THESE DIALECTS; AND TUB LEAD*
IMO MOTIVED OF CHRISTIANS AND PHILANTHROPISTS TO PBRSBVBBB IN TBBIB
WVILISATION AND CONVERSION.*

It is known that the Indian tribes of this continent live in a state ot
mental bondage to a class of men, who officiate as their priests and
soothsayers. These men found their claims to supernatural power on
early fastings, dreams, ascetic manners and habits, and often on some
real or feigned fit of insanity. Most of them affect a knowledge of
charms and incantations. They are provided with a sack of mystic im-
plements, the contents of which are exhibited in the course of their cere-
monies, such as the hollow bones of some of the larger anseres, small
carved representations of animals, cowrie and other sea-shells, &c. Some
of these men acquire a character for much sanctity, and turn their influ-
ence to political purposes, either personally or through some popular
warrior, as was instanced in the success of the sachems Buchanjahela,
Little Turtle and Tecumthe.

We have recently had an opportunity of conversing with one of this
class of sacred person, who has within late years embraced Christianity ;
and have made some notes of the interview, which we will advert to for
the purpose of exhibiting his testimony, as to the true character of thia

• Nev York Lit & Theo. Review.

MYTHOLOOY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIOIOlf

207

olaM of impostors. Chusco, the person referred to, is an Ottawa Indian
who has long exercised the priestly office, so to say, to his brethren on
the northern frontiers. He is now a man tui ned of seventy. He is of
small stature, somewhat bent forward, and supports the infirmities of
age by walking with a staff His sight is imp^iired, but his memory ac-
curate, enabling him to narrate with particularity events which transpired
more than half a century ago. He was pr( "nt at the great convocation
of northern Indians at Greenville, which followed Gen. Wayne's victories
in the west — an event to which most of these tribes took back, as an
era in their history. He afterwards returned to his native country in
the upper lakes, and fixed his residence at Michilimackinac, where in
late years, his wife became a convert to the Christian faith, and unit-
ed herself to the mission church on that island. A few years after,
the old prophet, who despised this mode of faith, and thought but little
of his wife's sagacity in uniting herself to a congregation of believers, felt
his own mind arrested by the same truths, and finally also embraced
them, and was propounded for admission, and afterwards kept on trial
before the session. It was about this time, or soon after he had been
received as an applicant for membership, that the writer visited his
lodge, and entered into a full examination of his sentiments and opinions,
contrasting them freely with what they had formerly been. We requested
him to narrate to us the facts of his conversion to the principles of Chris-
tianity, indicating the progress of truth on his mind, which he did insub-
stancejthrough an interpreter, as follows :

" In the early pari of my life I lived very wickedly, following the
Meta, the Jebsukan, and the Wabeno, the three great superstitious ob-
servances of my people. I did not know that these societies were made
up of errors until my wife, whose heart had been turned by the mission-
aries, informed me of it. I had no pleasure in listening to her on this
subject, and often turned away, declaring that I was yrell satisfied with
the religion of my forefathers. She took every occasion of talking to
me on the subject. She told me that the Indian societies were bad, and
that all who adhered to them were no better than open servants of the
Evil Spirit. She had, in particular, /our long talks with me on the sub-
ject, and explained to me who God was, and what sin was, as it is writ-
ten in God's book. I believed before, that there was One Great Spirit
who was the Master of life, who had made men and beasts. But she
explained to me the true character of this Great Spirit, the sinfulness of
the heart, and the necessity of having it changed from evil to good by
praying through Jesus Christ. By degrees I came to understand it.
She told me that the Ghost of God or Holy Spirit only could make the
heart better, and that the souls of all who died, without having felt this
power, would be burned in the fires. The missionaries had directed her
to speak to me and put words in her mouth ; and she said so much that,

OF THE ALGONQUINS.

at lengthj I did not feel satisfied with my old way of life. Amongst other
things she spoke against drinking, which I was very fond of.

" I did not relish these conversations, but I could not forget them
When I reflected upon them, my heart was not as fixed as it used to be.
I began to see that the Indian Societies were bad, for I knew from my
own experience, that it was not a good Spirit that I had relied upon, j
determined that I would not undertake to jeesukA or to look into futurity
any longer for the Indians, nor practice the Mela's art. After a while I
began to see more fully that the Indian ceremonies were all bad, and I de-
termined to quit them altogether, and give heed to what was declared in
God's book.

" The first time that I felt I was to be condemnpd as a sinner, and that I
was in danger of being punished for sin by God, is clearly in my mind.
I was then on the Island of Bois Blanc, making sugar with my wife. I
was in a conflict of mind, and hardly knew what I was about. I walked
around the kettles, and did not know what I walked for. I felt some-
times like a person wishing ♦o cry, but I thought it would be unman-
ly to cry. For the space of two weeks, I felt in this alarmed and
unhappy mood. It seemed to me sometimes as if I must die. My
heart and my bones felt as if they would burst and fall asunder. My
wife asked me if I was s^ick, and said I looked pale. I was in an agony
of body and mind, especially during one week. It seemed, during this
time, as if an evil spirit haunted me. When I went out to gather sap,
I felt conscious that this spirit went with me and dogged me. It ap-
peared to animate my own shadow.

" My strength was failing under this conflict. One night, after I had
been busy all day, my mind was in great distress. This shadowy influ-
ence seemed to me to persuade me to go to sleep. I was tired, and I
wished rest, but I could not sleep. I began to pray. I knelt down and
prayed t^> God. I continued to pray at intervals through the night ; I
asked to know the truth. I then laid down and went to sleep. This
sleep brought me rest and peace. In the morning my wife awoke me,
telling me it was late. When I awoke I felt placid and easy in mind.
My distress had left me. I asked my wife what day it was. She told
me it was the Sabbath (in the Indian, prayer-day). I replied, ' how I
wish I could go to the church at the mission ! Formerly I used to avoid
it, and shunned those who wished to speak to me of praying to God, but
now my heart longs to go there.' This feeling did not leave me.

" After three days I went to the mission. The gladness of my heart
cOi^Mnued the same as I had felt it the first morning at the camp. My
first feeling when I landed, was pity for my drunken brethren, and I
prayed that they might also be brought to find the true God. I spoke
to the missionary, who at subsequent interviews explained to rpe the
truth, th»^ rite of baptism, and other principles. He wished, however, to

MYTHOLOGY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIGION

209

try me by my life, and I wished it also. It was the following autumn,
that I was received into the church."

We now turned his mind to the subject of intemperance in drinking,
understanding that it had been his former habit. He replied that he
had been one of the greatest drunkards. He had not been satisfied with
a ten days' drink. He would go {>nd drink as long as he could get it.
He said, that during the night in which he first prayed, it was one of the
first subjects of his prayers, that God would remove this desire with his
other evil desires. He added, " God did so." When he arose that
morning the desire had left him. The evil spirit then tempted him by
suggesting to his mind — " Should some one now enter and offer you
liquor, would you not taste it .'" He averred he could, at that moment,
firmly answer No ! It was now seven years since he had tasted a drop
of strong drink. He remarked that when he used first to visit the
houses of Christians, who gladly opened their doors to him, they were in
the habit of asking him to drink a glass of cider or wine, which he did.
But this practice had nearly ruined him. On one occasion he felt the
effects of what he had thus been prevailed on to drink. The danger he
felt himself to be in was such, that he was alarmed and gave up this prac-
tice also.

He detailed some providential trials which he had been recently ex-
posed to. He had observed, he said, that those of his people who had
professed piety and had subsequently fallen off, had nevertheless pros-
pered in worldly things, while he had found it very hard to live. He
was often in a state of want, and his lodge was so poor and bad, that it
would not keep out the rain. Both he and his wife were feeble, and
their clothes were worn out. They had now but a single blanket be-
tween them. But when these trials came up in his mind, he immedi-
ately resorted to God, who satisfied him.

Another trait in the character of his piety, may here be mentioned.
The autumn succeeding his conversion, he went over to the spot on the
island Avhere he had planted potatoes. The Indian method is, not to
visit their small plantations from the time that their corn or potatoes are
hilkd. He was pleased to find that the crop in this instance promised
to yield abundantly, and his wife injmediately commenced the process of
raising them. " Stop !" exclaimed the grateful old man, " dare you dig
these potatoes until we have thanked the Lord for them V They then
both knelt in prayer, and afterwards gathered the crop.

This individual appeared to form a tangible point in the intellectual
chain between Paganism and Christianity, which it is felt important to
examine. We felt desirous of drawing from him such particulars respect-
ing his former practice in necromancy and the prophetic art, as might lead
to correct philosophical conclusions. He had been the great juggler of

his tribe. He was now accepted as a Christian. What were his own

I 1 ■

■fki-r W!if. i

210

or THE AL.GO\(.iL'lN8.

conceptions of the power and arts he had practised ? How did these
things appear to his mind, after a lapse of several years, during which
his opinions and feelings had undergone changes, in many respects so
striking ? We found not the slightest avoiding of this topic on his part.
He attributed all his ability in deceptive arts to the agency of the Evil
Spirit ; and he spoke of it with the same settled tone that he had manifest*
ed in reciting other points in his personal experience. He believed that he
had followed a spirit whose object it was to deceive the Indians and
make them miserable. He believed that this spirit had left him and
that he was now following, in the affections of his heart, the spirit o£
Truth.

Numerous symbols of the classes of the animate creation are relied
on by the Indian metays and wabcnos, to exhibit their affected power of
working miracles and to scrutinize the scenes of futurity. The objects
which this man had appealed to as personal spirits in the arcanum of his
lodge, were the tortoise, the swan, the woodpecker and the crow. He
had dreamed of these at his initial fast in his youth, during the period
set apart for this purpose, and he believed that a satanic influence was
exerted, by presenting to his mind one or more of these solemnly appro-
priated objects at the moment of 'his invoking them. This is the theory
drawn from his replies. We solicited him to detail the modus operandi^
after entering the juggler's lodge. This lodge resembles an acute pyra-
mid with the apex open. It is formed of poles, covered with tight-
drawn skins. His replies were perfectly ingenuous, evincing nothing of
the natural taciturnity and shyness of the Indian mind. I'he great ob-
ject with the operator is to agitate this lodge, and cause it to move and
shake without uprooting it from its basis, in such a manner as to induce
the spectators to believe that the power of action is superhuman. Af-
ter this manifestation of spiritual presence, the priest within is prepared
to give oracular responses. The only articles within were a drum and
rattle. In reply to our inquiry as to the mode of procedure^ he stated
that his first essay, after entering the lodge, was to strike the drum and
commence his incantations. At this time his personal manitos assumed
their agency, and received, it is to be inferred, a satamc energy. Not
that he affects that there was any visible form assumed. But he felt
their spirit-like presence. He represents the agitation of the lodge to
be due to currents of air, having the irregular and gyratory power of a
whirlwind. He does not pretend that his responses were guided by
truth, but on the contrary affirms that they were given under the influ-
ence of the evil spirit.

We interrogated him as to the use of physical and mechanical means
in effecting cures, in the capacity of a meta, or a medicine man. He
referred to various medicines, some of which he thinks were antibilious
or otherwise sanatory. He used two bones in the exhibition of his

MYTHOLOGV, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIGION

211

physical skill, one of which was white and the other green. His arca-
num also embraced two small stone images. He affected to look into
and through the flesh, and to draw from the body fluids, as bile and blood
He applied his mouth in suction. He characterized both the meta or
medicine dances and the wabeno dances by a term which may be trans-
lated deviltry. Yet he discriminated between these two popular insti*
tutions by adding that the meta included the use of medicines, good and
bad. The wabenOj on the contrary, consisted wholly in a wild exhibi-
tion of mere braggadocio and trick. It is not, according to him, an an-
cient institution. It originated, he said, with a Pottawattomie, who was
sick and lunatic a month When this man recovered he pretended that
he had ascended to heaven, and had brought thence divine arts, to aid his
countrymen.

With respect to the opinion steadfastly maintained by this venerable
subject of Indian reformation, that his deceptive arts were rendered effec-
tual in the way he designed, by satanic agency ^ we leave the reader to
form his own conclusions. In his mode of stating the facts, we concede
much to him, on the score of long established mental habits, and the
peculiarities arising from a mythology, exceeding even that of ancient
Greece, for the number, variety and ubiquity of its objects. But we per-
ceive nothing, on Christian theories, heterodox in the general position.
When the truth of the gospel comes to be giafted into the benighted
heart of a pagan, such as Chusco was, it throws a fearful light on the
objects which have been cherished there. The whole system of the
mythological agency of the gods and spirits of the heathen world and its
clumsy machinery is shown to be a sheer system of demonology, refera-
ble, in its operative effects on the minds of individuals, to the " Prince
of the power of the air." As such the Bible depicts it. We have not
been in the habit of conceding the existence of demoniacal possessions,
in the present era of Christianity, and have turned over some scores of
chapters and verses to satisfy our minds of the abrogation of thete things.
But we have found no proofs of such a withdrawal of evil agency short
of the very point where our subject places it — that is, the dawning of
the light of Christianity in the heart. We have, on the contrary, found in
the passages referred to, t' » declaration of the full and free existence of
such an ff,°ncy in the general import, and apprehend that it cannot be
plucked > at of the sacred writings.

The la iguage of such an agency appears to be fully developed among
the northern tribes. Spirit-ridden they certainly are ; and the mental
slavery in which they live, under the fear of an invisible agency of evil
spirits, is, we apprehend, greater even than the bondage of the body.
The whole mind is bowed down under these intellectual fetters which
circumscribe its volitions, and bind it as effectually as with the hooks of
steel which pierce a whirling Hindoo's flesh. Whatever is wonderful,

212

OF THE ALOONQUINS.

or past comprehension to their minds, is referred to the agency of a spirit
This is the ready solution of every mystery in nature, and of every re
finement of mechanical power in art. A watch is, in the intricacy of its
machinery, a spirit. A piece of blue cloth — cast and blistered steel— a
compass, a jewel, an insect, &c., are, respectively, a spirit. Thunder
consists, in their transcendental astronomy, of so many distinct spirits.
The aurora borealis is a body of dancing spirits, or rather ghosts of the
departed.

Such were the ideas and experiences of Chusco, after his union with
the church ; and with these views he lived and died, having given
evidence, as was thought, of the reception of the Saviour, through
faith.

To give some idea of the Indian mythology as above denoted, it is
necessary to conceive every department of the universe to be filled with
invisible spirits. These spirits hold in their belief nearly the same rela-
tion to matter that the soul does to the body : they pervade it. They
believe not only that every man, but also that every animal, has a soul;
and as might be expected under this belief, they make no distinction
between instinct and reason. Every animal is supposed to be endowed
with a reasoning faculty. ■ The movements of birds and other animals
are deemed to be the result, not of mere instinctive animal powers im-
planted and limited by the creation, without inherent power to exceed or
enlarge them, but of a process of ratiocination. They go a step farther,
and believe that animals, particularly birds, can look into, and are fami-
liar with the vast operations of the world above. Hence the great re-
spect they pay to birds as agents of omen, and also to some animals,
whose souls they expect to encounter in another life. Nay, it is the
settled belief among the northern Algonquins, that animals will fare bet-
ter in another world, in the precise ratio that their lives and enjoyments
have been curtailed in this life.

Dreams are considered by them as a means of direct communication
with the spiritual world ; and hence the great influence which dreams
exert over the Indian mind and conduct. They are generally regarded
as friendly warnings of their personal manitos. No labor or enterprise
is undertaken against their indications. A whole army is turned back
if the dreams of the officiating priest are unfavorable. A family lodge
has been known to be deserted by all its inmates at midnight, leaving the
fixtures behind, because one of the family had dreamt of an attack, and
been frightened with the impression of blood and tomahawks. To give
more solemnity to his office the priest or leading meta exhibits a sack
containing the carved or stuffed images of animals, with medicines and
bones constituting the sacred charms. These are never exhibited to the
common gaze, but, on a march, the sack is hung up in plain view. To
profane the medicine sack would be equivalent to violating the atlar.

MYTHOLOGY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIGION

918

Dreams are carefully sought by every Indian, whatever be their rank,
at certain periods of youth, with fasting. These fasts are sometimes
continued a great number of days, until the devotee becomes pale and
emaciated. The animals ^at appear propitiously to the mmd during
these dreams, are fixed on and selected as personal manitos, and are
ever after viewed as guardians. This period of fasting and dream-
ing is deemed as essential by them as any religious rite whatever em-
ployed by Christians. The initial fast of a young man or girl holds the
relative importance of baptism, with this peculiarity, that it is a free-
will, or self-dedicatory rite.

The naming of children has an intimate connection with the system of
mythological agency. Names are usually bestowed by some aged per-
son, most commonly under the supposed guidance of a particular spirit.
They are often derived from the mystic scenes presented in a dream, and
refer to aerial phenomena. Yellow Thunder, Bright Sky , Big Cloud, Spirit
Sky, Spot in the Sky, are common names for males. Females are more
commonly named from the vernal or autumnal landscape, as Woman of
the Valley, Woman of the Rock, &c. Females are not excluded from par-
ticipation in the prophetical office or jugglership. Instances of their hav-
ing assumed this function are known to have occurred, although it is
commonly confined to males. In every other department of life they
are apparently regarded as inferior or inclusive beings. Names bestowed
with ceremony in childhood are deemed sacred, and are seldom pro-
nounced, out of respect, it would seem, to the spirit under whose favor
they are supposed to have been selected. Children are usually called
in the family by some name which can be familiarly used. A male child
is frequently called by the mother, a bird, or young one, or old man, as
terms of endearment, or bad boy, evil-doer, &c., in the way of light re-
proach ; and these names often adhere to the individual through life.
Parents avoid the true name often by saying my son, my younger, or
my elder son, or my younger or my elder daughter, for which the language
has separate words. This subject of a reluctance to tell their names is
very curious and deserving of investigation.

The Indian " art and mystery" of hunting is a tissue of necromantic
or mythological reliances. The personal spirits of the hunter are invok-
ed to give success in the chace. Images of the animals sought for are
sometimes carved in wood, or drawn by the metas on tabular pieces of
wood By applying their mystic medicines to these, the animals are
supposed to be drawn into the hunter's path ; and when animals have
been killed, the Indian feels, that although they are an authorized and
lawful prey, yet there is something like accountability to the animal's
suppositional soul. An Indian has been known to ask the pardon of an
animal, which he had just killed. Drumming, shaking the rattle, and
dancing and singing, are the common accompaniments of all these super-

214

Of TH£ ALUONQUtNSt

stitious observances, and are not peculiar to one class alone. In the
xrabeno dance, which is esteemed by the Indians as the most latitudina-
rian co-fraternity, love songs are introduced. They are never heard in
the medicine dances. They would subject one to utter contempt in the
war dance.

The system of manito worship has another peculiarity, which is illus-
trative of Indian character. During the fasts and ceremonial dances by
which a warrior prepares himself to come up to the duties of war, every-
thing that savors of effeminacy is put aside. The spirits which preside
over bravery and war are alone relied on, and these are supposed to be
offended by the votary's paying attention to objects less stern and manly
than themselves. Venus and Mars cannot be worshipped at the same
time. It would be considered a complete desecration for a warrior,
while engaged in war, to entangle himself by another, or more tender
sentiment. We think this opinion should be duly estimated in the gen-
eral award which history gives to the chastity of warriors. We would
record the fact to their praise, as fully as it has been done ; but we would
subtract something from the mo/toe, in view of his paramount obligations
of a sacred character, and also the fear of the ridicule of his co-warriors.

In these leading doctrines of an oral and mystic school of wild philo-
sophy may be perceived the ground-work of their mythology, and the
general motive for selecting familiar spirits. Manito, or as the Chippe-
was pronounce it, mone'do, signifies simply a spirit, and there is neither
a good nor bad meaning attached to it, when not under the government
of some adjective or qualifying particle. We think, however, that so far
as there is a meaning distinct from an invisible existence, the tendency
is to a bad meaning. A bad meaning is, however, distinctly conveyed
by the inflection, osh or ish. The particle wee, added in the same rela-
tion, indicates a witch. Like numerous other nouns, it has its diminu-
tive in OS, its plural in wug, and its local form in ing. To add " great,"
as the Jesuit writers did, is far from deciding the moral character of the
spirit, and hence modern translators prefix gezha, signifying merciful.
Yet we doubt whether the word God should not be carried boldly into
translations of the scriptures. In the conference and prayer-room, the
native teachers use the inclusive pronominal form of Father, altogether.
Truth breaks slowly on the mind, sunk in so profound a darkness as the
Indians are, and there is danger in retaining the use of words like those
which they have so long employed in a problematical, if not a deroga-
tive sense.

The love for mystery and magic which pervades the native ceremo-
nies, has affected the forms of their language. They have given it a
power to impart life to dead masses. Vitality in their forms of utter-
ance is deeply implanted in all these dialects, which have been examin-
ed ; they provide, by the process of inflection, for keeping a perpetual

MYTHOLOGY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RELIGION

216

distinction between the animate and inanimate kingdoms. But where
vitality and spirituality are so blended as we see them in their doctrine
of animal souls, the inevitable result must be, either to exalt the princi-
ple of life, in all the classes of nature, into immortality, or to sink the lat-
ter to the level of mere organic life. Indian word-makers have taken
the former dilemma, and peopled their paradise not only with the souls
of men, but with the souls of every imaginable kind of beasts. Spir-
ituality is thus clogged with sensual accidents. The human soul
hungers, and it must have food deposited upon the grave. It suffers
from cold, and the body must be wrapped about with cloths. It is in
darkness, and a light must be kindled at the head of the grave. It wan-
ders through plains and across streams, subject to the providences of
this life, in quest of its place of enjoyment, and when it reaches it, it
finds every species of sensual trial, which renders the place not indeed
a heaven of rest, but another experimental world — very much like this.
Of punishments, we hear nothing ; rewards are looked for abundantly,
and the idea that the Master of life, or the merciful Spirit, will be alike
merciful to all, irrespective of the acts of this life, or the degree of moral
turpitude, appears to leave for their theology a belief in restorations or
universalism. There is nothing to refer them to a Saviour ; that idea
was beyond their conception, and of course there was no occasion for the
offices of the Holy Ghost. Darker and more chilling views to a theolo-
gian, it would be impossible to present. Yet it may be asked, what
more benign result could have been, or can now be, anticipated in the
hearts of an ignorant, uninstructed and wandering people, exposed to
sore vicissitudes in their lives and fortunes, and without the guidance oi
the light of Revelation ?

Of their mythology proper, we have space only to make a few re-
marks. Some of the mythologic existences of the Indians admit of
poetic uses. Manabozho may be considered as a sort of terrene Jove,
who could perform all things whatever, but lived some time on earth,
and excelled particularly in feats of strength and manual dexterity. All
the animals were subject to him. He also survived a deluge, which the
traditions mention, ha vin^ climbed a tree on an extreme elevation during
the prevalence of the waters, and sent down various animals for some
earth, out of which he re-created the globe. The four cardinal points
are so many demi-gods, of whom the West, called Kabeun, has priority
of age. The East, North and South are deemed to be his sons, by a
maid who incautiously exposed herself to the west wind. Iagoo
(lagoo) is the god of the marvellous, and many most extravagant tales
of forest and domestic adventure are heaped upon him. Kwasind is
a sort of Samson, who threw a huge mass oi rock such as the Cy-
clops cast at Mentor. Weeng is the god of sle^p, who is represented to
have numerous small emissaries at his service, reminding us oi Pope's

216

OF THE ALOONQUINS.

creation of gnomes. These minute emissaries climb up the foreheady
and wielding a tiny club, knock individuals to sleep. Pauouk is death,
in bis symbolic attitude. He is armed with a bow and arrows. It would
be easy to extend this enumeration.

The mental powers of the Indian constitutes a topic which we do not
design to discuss. But it must be manifest that some of their peculiari-
ties are brought out by their system of mythology and spirit-craft. War,
public policy, hunting, abstinence, endurance and courageous adventure,
form the leading topics of their mental eiTorts. These are deemed the
appropriate themes of men, sages and warriors. But their intellectual
essays have also a domestic theatre of exhibition. It is here that the
Indian mind unbends itself and reveals some of its less obvious traits.
Their public speakers cultivate a particular branch of oratory. They
are careful in the use of words, and are regarded as standards of purity
in the language. They appear to have an accurate ear for sounds, and
delight in rounding off a period, for which the languages afford great fa-
cilities, by their long and stately words, and multiform inflexions. A
drift of thought — an elevation of style, is observable in their public speak-
ing Nvhich is dropt in private conversation. Voice, attitude and motion,
are deemed of the highest consequence. Much of the meaning of their
expressions is varied by the vehement, subdued, or prolonged tone in
which they are uttered. In private conversation, on the contrary, all is
altered. There is an equanimity of tone, and easy vein of narration
or dialogue, in which the power of mimicry is most strikingly brought
out. The very voice and words of the supposed speakers, in their ficti-
tious legends, are assumed. Fear, supplication, timidity or boasting,
are exactly depicted, and the deepest interest excited. All is ease and
freedom from restraint. There is nothing of the coldness or severe for-
mality of the council. The pipe is put to its ordinary use, and all its
symbolic sanctity is laid aside with the wampum belt and the often reiter-
ated state epithets, " Nosa" and " Kosinan," i. e. my father and our father.

Another striking trait of the race is found in their legends and tales.
Those of the aboriginal race who excel in private conversation, become to
their .tribes oral chroniclers, and are relied on for historical traditions
as well as tales. It is necessary, in listening to them, to distinguish
between the gossip and the historian, the narrator of real events, and
of nursery tales. For they gather together everything from the fabu-
lous feats of Manebozho and Misshozha, to the hair-breadth escapes
of a Pontiac, or a Black Hawk. These narrators are generally men of
a good memory and a certain degree of humor, who have experienced
vicissitudes, and are cast into the vale of years. In the rehearsal of their
tales, transformations and transmigrations are a part of the machinery
relied on ; and some of them are as accurately adapted to the purposes
of amusement or instruction, as if Zoroaster or Qv\A himself had been

MYTHOLOGY, SUPERSTITIONS, AND RULIGION

217

the

ztual

the

consulttsd in their production. Many objects in the inanimate creation,
according to these tales, were originally men and women. And nume>
rous animals had other forms in their first stages of existence, which
they, as well as human beings, forfeited, by the power of necromancy and
transmigration. The evening star, it is fabled, was formerly a woman.
An ambitious boy became one of the planets. Three brothers, travel-
ling in a canoe, were translated into a group of stars. The fox, lynx,
hare, robin, eagle and numerous other species, retain places in the In-
dian system of astronomy. The mouse obtained celestial elevation by
creeping up the rainbow, which Indian story makes a flossy mass of
bright threads, and by the power of gnawing them, he relieved a captive
in the sky. It is a coincidence, which we note, that ursa major is called
by them the bear.

These legends are not confined to the sky alone. The earth also is a
fruitful theatre of transformations. The wolf was formerly a boy, who,
being neglected by his parents, was transformed into this animal. A
shell, lying on the shore, was transformed to the raccoon. The brains
of an adulteress were converted into the addikumaig^ or white fish.

The power of transformation was variously exercised. It most com-
monly existed in magicians, of whom Abo, Manabosh or Manabozha, and
Mishosha, retain much celebrity. The latter possessed a magic canoe
which would rush forward through the water on the utterance of a charm,
with a speed that would outstrip the wind. Hundreds of miles were
performed in as many minutes. The charm which he uttered, consisted
of a monosyllable, containing one consonant, which does not belong to
the language ; and this word has no definable meaning. So that the
language of magic and demonology has one feature in common in all
ages and with everv nation.

Man, in his common shape, is not alone the subject of their legends.
The, intellectual creations of the Indians admit of the agency of giants
and fairies. Anak and his progeny could not have created more alarm
in the minds of the ten faithless spies, than do the race of fabulous
VVeendigos to the Indian tribes. These giants are represented as canni-
bals, who ate up men, women and children. Indian fairies are of two
classes, distinguished as the place of their revels is either the land or
water. Land-fairies are imagined to choose their residences about pro-
montories, water-falls and solemn groves. The water, besides its appro-
priate class of aquatic fairies, is supposed to be the residence of a race of
beings called Nibanaba which have their analogy, except as to sex, in
the mermaid. The Indian word indicates a male. Ghosts are the ordi-
nary machinery in their tales of terror and mystery. There is, perhaps,
a glimmering of the idea of retributive justice in the belief that ghosts
and spirits are capable of existing in fire.

INDIAN ARROW HEADS, &c.

By far the most ni merous relics of the Red Race, now found in those
parts of our country from which it has disappeared, are the small stoner
with which they headed their arrows. Being made of the most durable
substances, they have generally remained in the soil, unaffected by time
and the changes of season. They most abound in those rich meadows
which border some of our rivers, and in other spots of peculiar fertility,
though of less extent, where the pasture, or other attractions, collected
game for the Red men. The stones most commonly used were quartz
and flint, which were preferred on account of the facility of shaping
them, the keenness of the points and edges, which they readily present
under the blows of a skilful manufacturer, as well as their superior hard-
ness and imperishable nature. Multitudes of specimens still exist, which
show the various forms and sizes to which the Red men reduced stones of
these kinds : and they e::cite our admiration, by their perfect state of pre-
servation, as well by the skilfulness of their manufacture.

Other stones, however, were not unfrequently used : and a collection
which we have been making for many years, presents a considerable
variety of materials, as well as of sizes, shapes and colors. Hard sand-
stone, trap or graacke, jasper and chalcedony, appear occasionally;
some almost transparent. One of the larger size is made of steatite, and
smooth, as if cut or scraped with a knife, contrary to the common method^
of gradually chipping off small fragments of more brittle stone, by i.y^ht
blows often repeated. These arrow heads were fastened to the shaft, by
inserting the butt into the split end, and tying round it a string of deer's
sinews. A groove or depression is commonly observable in the stone,
designed to receive the string. But it is sometimes difficult to imagine
how the fastening was effected, as some perfect arrow-heads show no such
depressions, and their forms are not well adapted to such a purpose. This
peculiarity, however, is most frequently to be observed in specimens of
small size, the larger, and especially such as are commonly supposed to
have been the heads of spears, being usually well shaped for tying.

It is remarkable that some spots have been found, where such relics
were surprizingly numerous. In Hartford, Connecticut, about thirty
years ago, many were picked up In a garden, at the corner of Front and
Mill streets. The spot was indeed on the bank of the Little River, pro-
bably at the head of Indian Canoe navigation : but yet no rational con-
jecture could be formed, to account for the discovery, except one. It was con-
cluded that the place was an ancient burying ground. Many bits of coarse
earthen-ware were found, such as are common in many parts of the coun-
try. About two ^iles below Middletown, Connecticut, on the slope of a

218

INDIAN ARKOW HEADS, ETC.

219

hill on the southern side of the Narrows, we discovered, some years since,
a great number of small fragments of white quartz, scattered thickly over
the surface of the ground, perhaps for half an acre. Among them were
several arrowheads of various forms, most of them imperfect, and many
pieces of stone, which at first sight resembled them, but, on closer inspec-
tion, seemed to have been designed for arrow heads, but spoiled in the
making. Some had one good edge, or a point or barb, while the other parts
of the same stones showed only the natural form and fracture. In many in-
stances, it was easy to see that the workman might well have been discour-
aged from proceeding any farther, by a flaw, a break or the nature of the
stone. Our conclusion was, that the spot had long been a place where
Indian arrow heads were made, and that we saw around us the refuse
fragments rejected by the workmen. Other spots have been heard of
resembling this.

If such relics were found nowhere else but in our own country, they
would be curious, and worthy of preservation and attention : but it is an
interesting fact, not however generally known, that they exist in many
other parts of the world. Stone arrow and spear heads have been found
in England for hundreds of years, and are believed to have been made
and used by the Britons, who, in respect to civilization, were nearly on a
level with our Indians. These relics are called by the common people
Celts, from the race whose memory they recal ; and particular accounts
of them are given, with drawings, in several antiquarian works. They
bear a striking resemblance to our Indian arrow heads ; and many of
them could be hardly, if at all, distinguished from those of America.

African arrows have been brought to this country, in which the points
were of the same forms and materials, and fastened in the same manner.
About twelve years ago a vessel from Stonington was attacked by a party
of Patagonians, who threw arrows on board. One of these which we
procured, was pointed with a head of milky quartz, exactly corresponding
with specimens picked up in New England.

Among the relics found in excavating the low mounds on the plain of
Marathon, as we were informed by one of our countrymen, who was at
Athens some years ago, there were spear heads made of flint, which, he
declared, were like those he had often seen ploughed up in his native
fields. These, it was conjectured, might have been among the weapons
of some of the rude Sc3rthians in the Persian army, which met its defeat
on that celebrated battle ground.

A negro, from an obscure group of islands, just north of New Guinea,
in describing the weapons in use among his countrymen, drew the forms
of spear heads, which he said were often made of stones ; and, when
shown specimens from our collection, declared that they were very much
like them. *

It has been thought, that certain instruments would naturally be inven

'I ' I,

' b

220

INDIAN ARROW HEADS, ETC.

ted by men in particular states of society and under certain circumstancei,
as the result of their wants and the means at hand to supply them. It if
not, however, always easy to reconcile this doctrine with fonts. For ex-
ample, the black race of the islands north of New Holland, (of which so
little is yet known,) appear to require the use of the bow as much as any
other savage people, yet they are entirely ignorant of it, though it hai
been thought one of the simple, most natural and most indispensable
instruments in such a condition of society.

We are therefore left in doubt, in the present state of our knowledge,
whether the manufacture and use of stone arrow heads have been so ex-
tensively diffused over the globe by repeated inventions, or by an inter-
course between portions of the human race long since ceased, or by both
causes. To whichever of these opinions we may incline, the subject
must still appear to us worthy of investigation, as the history of these
relics must necessarily be closely connected with that of different families
and races of men in every continent and in every zone.

We would invite particular attention to the position and circumstances
of Indian remains which may hereafter be found ; and would express a
wish that they might be recorded and made known. Our newspapers
offer a most favorable vehicle for the communication of such discoveries
and observations, and our editors generally must have taste and judgment
enough to give rootn for them.

It was remarked in some of our publications a few years ago, that no
unequivocal remains of the Red men had yet been discovered in the earth,
below the most recent strata of soil, excepting cases in which they had
been buried in graves, &c. Perhaps later observations may furnish evi-
dence of the longer presence of that race on our continent than such a
statement countenances.

One of the most interesting objects of enquiry, with some antiquaries,
is whether there are any ancient indications of Alphabetical writing in
our continent. A small stone found in the Grave-Creek Mound, and
others of a more doubtful character, are quite sufHcient to awaken interest
and stimulate enquiry.

A few specimens of rude sculpture and drawing have been found in
different parts or the U. States ; and shells, ornaments, &.c., evidently
brought from great distances. There may be others, known to individu-
als, of which antiquaries are not aware. After perusing the foregomg
pages, It will be easy to realize that all such remains may be worthy of
attention. Not only copies should be made and dimensions taken, but
descriptions should be written, local information and traditions collected,
measures taken to preserve the originals, and some notice given which
may reach persons interested in such subjects. — E.

INDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND POKTRY.

No. I.

The North American tribes have the elements of music and poetry.
Their war songs frequently contain flights of tho finest heroic sentiment,
clothed in poetic imagery. And numbers of the addresses of the speak-
crs, both occasional and public, abound in eloquent and poetic thought
" We would anticipate eloquence," observes a modern American writer,
" from an Indian. He has animating remembrances — a poetry of lan-
guage, which exacts rich and apposite metaphorical allusions, even for
ordinary conversation — a mind which, like his body, has never been
trammelled and mechanized by the formalities of society, and passions
which, from the very outward restraint imposed upon them, burn more
fiercely within." Yet, it will be found that the records of our litera-
ture, scattered as they are, in periodicals and ephemeral publications,
rather than in works of professed research, are meagre and barren, on
these topics. One of the first things we hear of the Indians, after their
discovery, is their proneness to singing and dancing. But however char-
acteristic these traits may be, and we think they are eminently so, it has
fallen to the lot of but few to put on record specimens, which may be ap-
pealed to, as evidences of the current opinion, on these heads. With fa-
vourable opnortunities of observation among the tribes, we have but to
ada our testimony to tne difficulties of making collections in these depart-
ments, which shall not compromit the intellectual chaiecter of the tribes,
whose efforts are always oral, and very commonly extemporaneous.
These difficulties arise from the want of suitable interpreters, the remote-
ness of the points at which observations must be made, the heav demands
made upon hours of leisure or business by such inquiries, and the incon-
venience of making notes and detailed memoranda on the spot. The
little that it is in our power to offer, will therefore be submitted as contri-
butions to an inquiry which is quite in its infancy, and rather with the
hope of exciting others to future labours, than of gratifying, to any extent,
an enlightened curiosity on the subject.

Dancing is Both an amusement and a religious observance, among the
American Indians, and is known to constitute one of the most wide spread
traits in their manners and customs. It is accompcniod, in all cases, with
singing, and, omitting a few cases, with the beating of time on instru-
ments. Tribes the most diverse in language, and situated at the greatest
distances apart, concur in this. It is believed to be the ordinary mode of
e.vpressing intense passion, or feeling on any subject, and it is a custom

221

222

INDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND POETRY.

v/hicii 1ms been persevered in, with the least variation, through all the
phases of their history, and probably exists among the remote tribes, pre-
cisely at this time, as it dick in the era of Columbus. It is observed to be
the last thing abandoned by bands and individuals, in their progress to
civilization and Christianity. So true is this, that it may be regarded as
one of the best practical proofs of their advance, to find the native in-
struments and music thrown by, and the custom abandoned.

Every one has heard of the war dance, the medicine dance, the wabeno
dance, the dance of honour (generally called the begging dance,) and
various others, each of which has its appropriate movements, its air, and
its words. There is no feast, and no religious ceremony, among them,
which is not attended with dancing and songs. Thanks are thus ex-
pressed for success in hunting, for triumphs in war, and for ordinary
providential cares. Public opinion is called to pressing objects by a
dance, at which addresses are made, and in fact, moral instructions and
advice are given to the young, in the course of their being assembled at
social feasts and dances. Dancing is indeed the common resource, when-
ever the mass of Indian mind is to be acted on. And it thus stands
viewed in its necessary connection with the songs and addresses, in the
room of the press, the newspaper, and the periodical. The priests and
prophets have, more than any other class, cultivated their national songs
and dances, and may be regarded as the skalds and poets of the tribes.
They are generally the composers of the songs, and the leaders in the
dance and ceremonies, and it is found, that their memories are the best
stored, not only with the sacred songs and chants, but also with the tradi-
tions, and general lore of the trib'^s.

Dancing is thus interwoven throughout the whole texture of Indian so-
ciety, so that thei'e is scarcely an event important or trivial, private or
public, which is not connected, more or less intimately, with this rite.
The instances where singing is adopted, without dancing, are nearly con-
fined to occurrences of a domestic character. Among these, are wails for
the dead, and love songs of a simple and plaintive character. Maternal
affection evinces itself, by singing words, to a cheerful air, over the slum-
bers of the child, which, being suspended in a kind of cradle receives, at
the same time avibratory motion. Children have likewise certain chants,
which they utter in the evenings, while playing around the lodge door,
or at other seasons of youthful hilarity. Some of the Indian fables ai*e
in the shape of duets, and the songs introduced in narrhting their ficti-
tious tales, are always sung in the recital.

Their instruments of music are few and simple. The only wind in-
strument existing aniong them is the Pibbegwon, a kind of flute, resem-
bling in simplicity the Arcadian pipe. It is commonly made of two semi-
cylindrical pieces of cedar, united with fish glue, and having a snake skin,
in a wet state, drawn tightly over it, to prevent its cracking. The holes

|l I!

INDIAN MUSIC,

SONGS, AND POETRY.

223

are eight in number, and are perforated by means of a bit of heated iron.
It is blow n like the flagolet, and has a similar orifice or moutn piece.

The Tayvva'egun, (struck-sound-instrument,) is a tamborine, or one-
headed drum, and is made by adjusting a skin to one end of the section
of a moderate sized hollow tree. When a heavier sound is required, a
tree of larger circumference is chosen, and both ends closed with skins.
The latter is called Mittigwukeek, i. e. Wood-Kettle-Drum, and is appro-
priately used in religious ceremonies, but is not, perhaps, confined to this
occasion.

To these may be added a fourth instrument, called the Sheshegwon, or
Rattle, which is constructed in various ways, according to the purpose or
means of the maker. Sometimes it is made of animal bladder, from
which the name is derived, sometimes of a wild gourd ; in others, by at-
taching the dried hoofs of the deer to a stick. This instrument is em-
ployed both to mark time, and to produce variety in sound.

ORAL COMPOSITION.

Common as the Indian songs are, it is found to be no ordinary acqui-
sition to obtain accurate specimens of them. Even after the difficulties
of the notation have been accomplished, it is not easy to satisfy the re-
quisitions of a correct taste and judgment, in their exhibition. There is
always a lingering fear of misapprehension, or misconception, on the part
of the interpreter — or of some things being withheld by the never sleep-
ing suspicion, or the superstitious fear of disclosure, on the part of the
Indian. To these must be added, the idiomatic and imaginative peculiari-
ties of this species of wild composition — so very different from every no-
tion of English versification. In the first place there is no unity of theme,
or plot, unless it be that the subject, war for instance, is kept in the singer's
mind. In the next place both the narration and the description, when
introduced, is very imperfect, broken, or disjointed. Prominent ideas
flash out, and are dropped. These are often most striking and beauti-
ful, but we wait in vain for any sequence. A brief allusion — a shinin g
symbol, a burst of feeling or passion, a fine sentiment, or a bold assertion,
come in as so many independent parts, and there is but little in the com-
position to indicate the leading theme which is, as it were, kept in mental
reserve, by the singer. Popular, or flivourite expressions are often re-
peated, often transposed, and often exhibited with some new shade of
meaning. The structure and flexibility of the language is highly favour-
able to this kind of wild improvisation. But it is difficult to translate, and
next to impossible to preserve its spirit. Two languages more unlike in
all their leading characteristics, than the English and the Indian were
never brought into contact. The one monosyllabic, and nearly without
inflections — the other polysyllabic, polysynthetic and so full of inflections

■|.i;..,]

224

INDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND POETRY.

of every imaginative kind, as to be completely transpositive — the one
from the north of Europe, the other, probably, from Central Asia, it would
seem that these families of the human race, had not wandered wider
apart, in their location, than they have in the sounds of their language,
the accidence of their grammar and the definition of their words. So
that to find equivalent single words in translation, appears often as hope-
less as the quadrature of the circle.

The great store-house of Indian imagery is the heavens. The clouds,
the planets, the sun, and moon, the phenomena of lightning, thunder, elec-
tricity, aerial sounds, electric or atmospheric, and the endless variety pro-
duced in the heavens by light and shade, and by elemental action, — these
constitute the fruitful themes of allusion in their songs and poetic chants.
But they are mere allusions, or broken description, like touches on the
canvass, without being united to produce a perfect object. The strokes
may be those of a master, and the colouring exquisite ; but without the
art to draw, or the skill to connect, it will still remain but a shapeless mass
In war excursions great attention is paid to the flight of birds, particularly
those of the carnivorous species, which are deemed typical of war and bra-
very, and their wing and tail feathers are appropriated as marks of honor, by
the successful warrior. When the minds of a war party have been roused
up to the subject, and they are prepared to give utterance to their feelings
by singing and dancing, they are naturally led to appeal to the agency
of this class of birds. Hence the frequent allusions to them, in their
songs. The following stanza is made up of expressions brought into con-
nection, from different fragments, but expresses no more than the native
sentiments :

The eagles scream on high,

They whet their forked beaks,
Raise — raise the battle cry,

'Tis fame our leader seeks. ■ • -

Generally the expressions are of an exalted and poetic character, but
the remark before made of their efllbrts in song, being discontinuous and
abrupt, apply viih peculiar force to the war songs. To speak of a brave
man — of a battle — or the scene of a battle, or of the hovering of birds of
prey above it, appears suflicient to bring up to the warrior's mind, all the
details consequent on personal bravery or heroic achievement. It would
naturally be expected, that they should delight to dwell ou scenes of car-
nage and blood : but however this may be, all such details are omit'.ed or
suppressed in their war songs, which only excite ideas of noble daring.

The birds of the brave take a flight rouad the sky,

They cross the enemy's line,
Full happy am I — that my body should fall,

Where brave men love to die.

Very
ments, '
form, ai

The
grave ii
note,
tuation
manent
but, alv
startling
dian m
a subje(
act in n
observa
is it les!
are ext
remark
in their
served,
sung,
body oi
perhaps
not obv
this he
ruses ai
ities to
out, ari
chants \
larly.
have fo
ion, or
system
sic in a
native i
remark
of the
degree,
Indian
more s
minds i
evident
that th
have si
effected

INDIAN MUSIC, SOI^GS, AND POETRT.

225

Very little effort in the collocation and expansion of some of their senti-
ments, would impart to these bold and unfettered raphsodies, an attractive
form, among polished war songs.

The strain in which these measures are sung, is generally slow and
grave in its commencement and progress, and terminates in the highest
note. While the words admit of change, and are marked by all the fluc-
tuation of extempore composition, the air and the chorus appear to be per-
manent, consisting not only of a graduated succession of fixed sounds,
but, always exact in their enunciation, their quantity, and their wild and
startling musical expression. It has always appeared to me that the In-
dian music is marked by a nationality, above many other traits, and it is
a subject inviting future attention. It is certain that the Indian ear is ex-
act in noting musical sounds, and in marking and beating time. But little
observation at their dances, will be sufficient to establish this fact. Nor
is it less certain, by attention to the philology of their language, that they
are exact in their laws of euphony, and syllabical quantity. How this
remark may consist with the use of unmeasured and fluctuating poetry
in their songs, it may require studied attention to answer. It is to be ob-
served, however, that these songs are rather recited, or chanted, than
sung. Increments of the chorus are not unfrequently interspersed, in the
body of the line, which would otherwise appear deficient in quantity ; and
perhaps rules of metre may be found, by subsequent research, which are
not obvious, or have been concealed by the scantiness of the materials, on
this head, which have been examined. To determine the airs and cho-
ruses and the character of the music, will prove one of the greatest facil-
ities to this inquiry. Most of the graver pieces, which have been written
out, are arranged in metres of sixes, sevens, and eights. The lighter
chants are m threes or fours, and consist of iambics and trochees irregu-
larly. Those who have translated hymns into the various languages,
have followed the English metres, not always without the necessity of elis-
ion, or employing constrained or crampt modes of expression. A worse
system could not have been adopted to show Indian sentiment. The mu-
sic in all these cases has been like fetters to the free, wild thoughts of the
native singer. As a general criticism upon these translations, it may be
remarked that they are often far from being literal, and often omit parts
of the original. On the other hand, by throwing away adjectives, in a great
degree, and dropping all incidental or side thoughts, and confining the
Indian to the leading thought or sentiment, they are, sometimes, rendered
more simple, appropriate, and effective. Finally, whatever cultivated
minds among the Indians, or their descendants may have done, it is quite
evident to me, from the attention I have been able to give the subject,
that the native compositions were without metre. The natives appear to
have sung a sufficient number of syllables to comply with the air, and
eflfected the necessary pauses, for sense or sound, by either slurring over,

I I

>,i

226

INDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND POETRY.

and thus shortening, or by throwing in floating particles of the language,
to eke out the quantity, taken either from the chorus, or from the general
auxiliary forms of the vocabulary.

Rhyme is permitted by the similarity of the sourds from which the vo-
cabulary is formed, but the structure of the language does not appear to
admit of its being successfully developed in this manner. Its forms are
too cumbrous for regularly recurring expressions, subjected at once to the
laws of metre and rhyme. The instances of rhyme that have been ob-
served in the native songs are few, and appear to be the result of the for-
tuitous positions of words, rather than of art. The following juvenile
see-saw is one of the most perfect specimens noticed, being exact in both
particulars :

Ne osh im aun
Ne way be naun.

These are expressions uttered on sliding a carved stick down snow
banks, or over a glazed surface of ice, in the appropriate season ; and they
may be rendered with nearly literal exactness, thus :

My sliding stick
1 send quick — quick.

Not less accurate in the rhyme, but at lines of six and eight feet, whic!i
might perhaps be exhibited unbroken, is the following couplet of a war
•ong:

Au pit she Mon e t6g

Ne mud wa wa wau we ne g6g.

The Spirit on high,
Repeats my warlike name.

In the translation of hymns, made during the modern period of mis-
sionary effort, there has been no general attempt to secure rhyme ; and as
these translations are generally due to educated natives, under the inspec-
tion and with the critical aid of the missionary, they have evinced a true
conception of the genius of the language, by the omission of this acci-
dent. Eliot, who translated the psalms of David into the Massachusetts
language, which were first printed in 1661, appears to have deemed it im-
portant enough to aim at its attainment : but an examination of the work,
now before us, gives but little encouragement to others to follow his ex-
ample, at least while the languages remain in their present rude and un-
cultivated state. The following is the XXIII Psalm from this version :

1. Mar teag nukquenaabikoo
shepse nanaauk God.
Nussepsinwahik ashkoshqut
nuttinuk ohtopagod

INDIAN MU8IC, SONGS, AND POETRY.

227

3. Nagum nukketeahog kounoh
wutomohkinuh wonk
NutuM oounuk ut sampoi may
newutch oowesnonk.

3. Wutonkauhtamut pomushaon

muppooonk oonauhkoe
Woskehettuonk mo nukqueh tamoo
newutch koowetomah:

4. Kuppogkomunk kutanwohon

nish noonenehikquog
Koonochoo hkah anquabhetUt
wame nummatwomog

6. Kussussequnum nuppuhkuk
weetepummee nashpea
Wonk woi God nootallamwaitch
pomponetupohs hau

6. QOniyeuonk monaneteonk
nutasukkonkqunash
Tohsohke pomantam wekit God
michem nuttain pish *.

This appears to have been rendered from the version of the psahns ap-
pended to an old edition of King James' Bible of 1611, and not from the
versification of Watts. By comparing it with this, as exhibited below,
there will be found the same metre, eights and sixes, the same syllabical
quantity, (if the notation be rightly conceived,) and the same coincidence
of rhyme at the second and fourth lines of each verse ; although it re*
quired an additional verse to express the entire psalm. It could therefore
be sung to the ordinary tunes in use in Eliot's time, and, taken in con-
nection with his entire version, including the Old and New Testament,
evinces a degree of patient assiduity on the part of that eminent mission*
ary, which is truly astonishing :

The Lord is my shepherd, I'll not want ;

2. He makes me down to lie
In past^'.res green : he leadeth me

the quiet waters by.

3. My soul he doth restore aga.p
and me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness
E'en for his own name's sake.

Eliot employed the figure 8, set horizontally, to express a peculiar Bound . otherwa*
he used the English alphabet in itiT ordinary powers.

■H

2^ .NDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND POETRY.

4. Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,

yet will I fear none ill ;
For thou art with me and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.

5. My table thou hast furnished '

in presence of my foes ;
My head thou dost with oil annoint,
and ray cup overflows.

6. Goodness and mercy all my life

shall surely follow me ;
And in God's house forevermore
my dwelling plage shall be.

The harmony of numbers has always detracted from the plain sense,
and the piety of thought, of the scriptures, which is the probable cause of
so many failures on the subject. In the instance of this Psalm, it will be
observed, by a comparison, that Watts, who has so generally succeeded,
does not come up, in any respect, to the full literal meaning of the origi-
nal, which is well preserved, with the requisite harmony, in the old ver<
sion.

There is one species of oral composition existing among all the tribes^
which, from its peculiarities, deserves to be separately mentioned. I al-
lude to the hieratic chants, choruses and incantations of their professed
prophets, medicine men and jugglers— constituting, as these men do, a dis-
tinct order in Indian society, v;ho are entitled by their supposed skill, wis*
dom or sanctity, to exercise the offices of a priesthood. Affecting mys-
tery in the discharge of their functions, their songs and choruses ar»
couched in language which is studiously obscure, oftentimes cabalistic,
and generally not well understood by any but professed initiates.

Nothing, however, in this department of my inquiries, has opened a
more pleasing view of society, exposed to the bitter vicissitudes of Indian
life, than the little domestic chants of mothers, and the poetic see-saws of
childreni of which specimens are furnished. These show the universal-
ity of the sentiments of natural aflfection, and supply another proof, were
any wanting, to demonstrate that it is only ignorance, indolence and pov-
erty, that sink the human character, and create the leading distinctions
among the races of men. Were these affections cultivated, and children
early taught the principles of virtue and rectitude, and the maxims of in-
dustry, order and cleanliness, there is no doubt that the mass of Indian
society would be meliorated in a comparatively short period ; and by a
continuance of eflforts soon exalted from that state of degradation, of
which the want of letters and religion have been the principal causes.

In presenting these specimens of songs, gathered among the recesses
of the forest, it is hoped it will not be overlooked, by the reader, that they

INDIAN MUSIC, SONGS, AND TOETRT.

229

are submitted as facts or materials, in the mental condition of the tribes,
and not as evidences of attainment in the arts of metre and melody, which
will bear to be admitted or even criticised by the side of the refined poetry
of civilized nations. And above all, not as efforts to turn Indian senti-
ments to account, in original composition. No such idea is entertained.
If materials be supplied from which some judgment maybe formed of the
actual state of these songs and rude oral compositions, or improvisations,
the extent of the object will have been attained. But even here, there is
less, with the exception of a single department, i. e. versification and com
position by cultivated natives, than it was hoped to furnish. And this
little, has been the result of a species of labour, in the collection, quite dis-
proportionate to the resuh. It is hoped at least, that it may indicate the
mode in which such collections may be made, among the tribes, and be-
come the means of eliciting materials more worthy of attention.

This much seemed necessary to be said in introducing the following
specimens, that there might not appear, to the reader, to be an undue esti-
mate placed on the literary value of these contributions, and translations,
while the main object is, to exhibit them in the series, as illustrations of
the mental peculiarities of the tribes. To dismiss them, however, with a
bare, frigid word for word translation, such as is required for the pur-
poses of philological comparison, would by no means do justice to them,
nor convey, in any tolerable degree, the actual sentiments in the minds of
the Indians. That the opposite error might not, at the same time, be run
into, and the reader be deprived altogether of this means of comparison,
a number of the pieces are left with literal prose translations, word for
word as near as the two languages will permit. Others exhibit both a
literal, and a versified translation.

All the North American Indians know that there is a God ; but their
priests teach them that the devil is a God, and as he is believed to be very
malignant, it is the great object of their ceremonies and sacrifices, to
appease him.

The Indians formerly worshipped the Sun, as the symbol of divine
intelligence.

Fire is an unexplained mysterylo the Indian ; he regards it as a con-
necting link between the natural and spiritual world. His traditionary
lore denotes this.

Zoroaster says : " When you behold secret fire, without form, shining
flashingly through the depths of the whole world — ^hear the voice of
fire." One might suppose this t^ have been uttered by a North Ameri-
can Indian.

lit

•*'l.:;',

m'^'

CHANT TO THE FIRE-FLY.

In the hot summer evenings, the children of the Chippewa Algon-
quins, along the shores of the upper lakes, and in the northern latitudes,
frequently assemble before their parents' lodges, and amuse themselves by
little chants of various kinds, with shouts and wild dancing. Attracted
by such shouts of merriment and gambols, I walked out one evening, to
a green lawn skirting the edge of the St. Mary's river, with the fall in
full view, to get hold of the meaning of some of these chants. The air
and the plain wore literally sparkling with the phosphorescent light of the
fire-fly. By dint of attention, repeated on one or two occasions, the fol-
lowing succession of words was caught. They were addressed to this
insect:

Wau wau tay see I

Wau wau tay see 1

£ mow e shin

Tshe bwau ne baun-e wee I

Be eghaun — be eghaun— ewee I

Wa Wau tay see I

Wa wau tay see I

Was sa koon ain je gun

Was sa koon ain je gun.

LITERAL TRANSLATION.

Flittmg-white-fire-insect I waving-white-fire-bug I give me light before
I go to bed I give me light before I go to sleep. Come, little dancing *•
white-fire-bug ! Come little flitting-white-fire-beast I Light me with youi
bright white-flame-instrument — your little candle t-

Metre there was ncr>e, at least, of a regular character : they were the
wild improvisations of children in a merry mood.

• In giving the particle wa, the various meanings of " flitting," " waving," and
" dancing," the In^an idiom is fully preserved. The final particle se6, in the term
wa wa tai see, is from the generic root aaee, meaning a living creature, or created form,
not man. By prefixing Ahw to the root, we have the whole class of quadrupeds, and
by pen, the whole class of birds, &c. The Odjibwa Algonquin term for a candle, was
sa koon ain je gun, is literally rendered from its elements — " bright— wliite — flamed —
instrument." It is by the very concrete character of these compounds that so much
meaning results from a few words, and so considerable a latitude in tranilation ia given
to Indian words generally.

[+ Fire-fly, fire-fly ! bright little thing,

liight me to bed, and myilbng I will sbg.

Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head,

That I may merrily go to my bed.

Give me your light o'er the grass as you creep,

That I may joyfully go to my sleep.

Come little fire-fly — come little beast —

Come .' and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.

Come little candle that flies as I sing,

Bright little fairy -bug — night's little king ;

Come, and I'll danca as you guide me along.

Come, uiid I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.]

230

ETHNOLOGY.

SCHOOLCRAFT'S AMERICAN CYCLOPAEDIA, OR ETHNOLOGICAL
GAZETTEER OF THE INDIAN TRIBES OF THE AMERICAN
CONTINENT, NORTH AND SOUTH, COMPRISING THEIR HISTORY,
GEOGRAPHY, AND NOMENCLATURE, FROM THE DISCOVERY IN
1492, TO THE PRESENT PERIOD.

ADVERTISEMENT.

A PROSPECTUS for this work was issued in 1842. While the title is
slightly modiBed, the design and plan of its execution have not been
essentially changed. The principal object aimed at, under the general
idea of the history and geography of the Aboriginal Race, is to furnish a
general and standard reference-book, or short encyclopaedia of topics rela-
tive to the entire race, alphabetically arranged. By the insertion of the
name of each family of tribes, nation, sub-tribe, or important clan, the
occasion will be presented of noticing the leading or characteristic events,
in their history, numbers, government, religion, languages, arts or distinc-
tive character. *

Where the .scene or era of their expansion, growth and decay has
been so extensive, embracing as it does, the widest bounds and remotest
periods, their antiquities have also called for a passing notice. Nor could
any thing like a satisfactory accomplishment of the plan be effected,
without succinct notices of the lives and achievements of their principal
chiefs, rulers, and leading personages.

Language is an important means of denoting the intricate thread of
history in savage nations. Mr. Pritchard considers it more important than
physiological structure and peculiarities. It is, at least, found often to
reveal ethnological affinities, where both the physical type, and the light
of tradition, afford but little aid. The words and names of a people, are
so many clues to their thoughts and intellectual structure ; this branch of
the subject, indeed, formed the original germ of the present plan, which
was at first simply geographical, and has been rather expanded and built
upon, than, if we may so say, supplied the garniture of the edifice. In a
class of transpositive languages, wh^ch are very rich in their combinations,
and modes of concentrated description, it must needs happen, that the names
of places would oflen recall both associations and descriptions of deep

231

jit. I :

S32

ETHNOLOGY.

interest in contemplating the fate and fortunes of this unfortunate ruce.
Without intruding upon the reader disquisitions which would be out of
place, no opportunity has been omitted, from the consideration of their
names, to throw around the sites of their former or present residence, this
species of interest.

But half the work would have been done, it is conceived, to have con-
fined the work to North America ; and it must necessarily have lost, by
such a limitation, more than half its interest. We are just beginning in
truth to comprehend the true character and bearing of that unique type of
civilization which existed in Mexico, Peru, and Yucatan. The rude hand
with which these embryo kingdoms of the native race wee overturned,
in consequence of their horrid idolatries, necessarily led to the destruction
of much of their monumental, and so far as their picture writing reached,
some of their historical materials, of both of which, we now feel the
want. It is some relief, to know, as the researches of Mr. Gallatin,
which arc now in progress, demonstrate, that by far the greatest amount
of the ancient Mexican picture writings, as they are embraced in the
elaborate work of Lord Kingsborough, relate to their mythology and
superstitions, and are of no historical value whatever. And if the portions
destroyed in the Mexican and Peruvian conquests, were as liberally inter-
spersed with similar evidences of their wild polytheism, shocking man-
ners, and degraded worship, neither chronology nor history have so much
to lament.

The early, strong and continued exertions which were made by the
conquerors to replace this system of gross superstition and idolatry, by
the Romish ritual, filled Mexico and South i^merica with missiunr
of the Catholic Church, which were generally under the charge of zealous^
and sometimes of learned and liberal-spirited superintendants, who hav6
accumulated facts respecting the character and former condition of the
race. These missions, which were generally spread parallel to the sea
coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific, reaching inland along the banks of tha
great rivers and plains, have confessedly done much to ameliorate the
manners and condition of the native race, to foster a spirit of industiy, anit
to enlighten their minds. Still, it is scarcely known, that numerous and
powerful tribes, stretching through wide districts of the Andes and the
Cordilleras, never submitted to the conqueror, and yet exist in their origi-
nal state of barbarism.

In this department of inquiry, the geographical and historical work of
De Alcedo, which, so far as the Spanish and Portuguese missions are
concerned, is both elaborate and complete in its details, has been taken as
a basis. No one can wril«? of South America and its native tribes, without
reference to Humboldt. Oiher standard writers have been consulted, to
give this part of the work as, much value as possible, not excepting the
latest voyages and travels. TLe design has been, without aiming at too

ETHNOLOGY.

S33

much, to compress a body of leading and characteristic facts, in the shortest
practicable compass, which should, at the same time, present an ethnologi-
cal view of the various families and groups of the race.

In each department of inquiry, which admitted of it, the author has
availed himself of such sources and opportunities of personal observation
and experience, as his long residence in the Indian territori >8, and his
study of the Indian history have afTorded. And he is not without the hope,
that his inquiries and researches on this head may be found to be such as
to merit approval.

Ab, oi\en pronounced with the sound of we, before it, — a particle which,
in geographical names, in the family of the Algonquin dialects, denote*
light, or the east. It is also the radix of the verb wab, to see, as well as of
the derivatives, a-ab, an eye-ball, and wabishka, a white substance, &c.,
— ideas which either in their origin or application, are closely allied.

Abacaris, a settlement of Indians in the Portuguese possessions of the
province of Amazon. These people derive their name from a lake, upon
which they reside. It is a peculiarity of this lake, that it has its outlet
into the river Madiera which, after flowing out of the province turns about
and again enters it, forming, in this involution, the large and fertile island
of Topanambes. This tribe is under the instruction of the Carmelites.
They retain many of their early peculiarities of manners and modes of
of life. They subsist by the cuhivation of maize, and by taking fish in the
waters of the Abacaris ; or Abacactes in addition to these means, they
rely upon tropical fruits. The latest notices of them come down to 1789.
But little is known of their numbers, or present condition.

Abaches, or Apaches, an erratic tribe of Indians, who infest the prairies
of western Texas and New Mexico. They are supposed by some, to con-
sist of not less than 15,000 souls. They are divided into petty bands,
known under various names. They are the most vagrant of all the wild
hunter tribes of the general area denoted. They do not live in fixed abodes,
but shift about in search of game or plunder, and are deemed a pest by
the Santa Fe traders. They raise nothing and manufacture nothing.
Those of them who are east of the Rio del Norte, subsist on the baked
root of the mauguey, and a similar plant called Mezcal, and hence they
are called Mezcaleros.

Another division of them, and by far the greatest, rove west of that
stream, where they are called Goyoteros, from their habit of eating the
coyote, or prairie wolf. They extend west into California and Sonora.
They bear a bad charactei wherever they are known. If on the outskirts

ill

S34

ETHNOLOGY.

of the ranchos and haciendas, they steal cattle and sheep. If on the wide
and destitute plains which they traverse, they thieve and murder. Some-
times they are pursued and punished ; more frequently, they escape. The
Mexican authorities keep some sort of terms with them by treaties, which
the vagrants, however, break and disregard, whenever they are excited by
hunger, or the lust of plunder. For Indians bearing the name, formerly
from the U. States, see Apaches.

Abaco, one of the Bahama islands. The native inhabitants of this, and
the adjacent groupes of islands, were, early after the discovery, transported
to the main, to work in the mines. In 1788 this island, known to nautical
men as the locality of the Hole in the Wall, had a population of 50 whites,
and 200 Africans.

Abacooche, or Coosa, a stream rising in Georgia. It flows into
Alabama, and after uniting with the Tallapoosa, a few miles below We-
tumpka it forms the Alabama river. The word is, apparently, derived
from Os'.ooche, one of the four bands into which the Muscogees, were
anciently divided.

Abanakee, or Eastlanders, a distinct people, consisting of a plurality
of tribes, who forme^^'y occupied the extreme north eastern part of the
United States. The word is variously written by early writers. See
Abenakies, Abernaquis, Wabunakies.

Abancay, the capital of a province of the same name 20 leagues from
Cuzco, in Peru. It is memorable for the victories gained in the vicinity
by the king's troops in 1542 and 1548 against Gonzalo Pizarro. It lies
in a rich and spacious valley, which was inhabited by the subjects of the
Inca, on the conquest.

Abasca, or Rabasca, a popular corruption, in the northwest, of Atha-
basca, which see.

Abanes, an unreclaimed nation of Indians, living in the plains of St
Juan, to the north of the Orinoco, in New Grenada. They are of a docile
character, and good disposition, lending a ready ear to instruction, but
have not embraced the Catholic religion. They inhabit the wooded
shores of the river, and shelter themselves from the effects of a tropical sun,
in the open plains, by erecting their habitations in the small copse-wood.
They are bounded towards the west, by the Andaquies and Caberras, and
east by the Salivas.

Abangoui, a large settlement of the Guaxani nation of Indians, on the
shores of the river Taquani, in Paragiiay. This stream and its inhabi-
tants were discovered by A. Numez, in 1541.

Abecoochi, see Abacooche.

Abeicas, an ancient name for a tribe of Indians, in the present erea of
the United States, who are placed in the earlier geographies, south of the
Alabamas and west of the Cherokees. They dwelt at a distance from the
large rivers, yet were located in the districts of the cane, out of the hard

8Ut

prini
quoi

ETHNOLOGY.

235

substance of which they made a kind of knife, capable of answering the
principal purposes of this instrument. They were at emnity with the Iro*
quois.

Abenakies, a nation formerly inhabiting a large part of the territorial
area of the states of New Hampshire and Maine. There were several
tribes, of this nation the principal of which were the Pcnob^ots, the Nor-
redgewocks, and the Ameriscoggins. They were at perpetual hostilities
with the New England colonists. They had received missionaries, at an
early day, from the French in Canada, and acted in close concert with
the hostile Indians from that quarter. At length in 1724, the government
of Massachussetts organized an effective expedition against them, which
ascended the Kennebec, attacked the chief town of the Norredgewocks, and
killed a large number of their bravest warriors. Among the slain, was
found their missionary Sebastian Rasle, who had taken up arms in their
defence. There was found, among his papers, a copious vocabulary of
the language, which has recently been published under the supervision of
Mr. Pickering. In the year 1754, all the Abenakies, except the Penob-
scots, removed into Canada. This nation had directed their attention, al-
most exclusively, to hunting. At the mouth of the Kennebec they absolute-
ly planted nothing. Their lauguage, as observed by Mr. Gallatin, has
strong affinities with those of the Etchemins, and of the Micmacs, of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; there are fewer resemblances in its vocabu-
lary to the dialects south of them. This nation appears to have beea
called Tarrenteens, by the New England Indians. Their generic name
for themselves, if they had one, is unknown. The term Abenakie, is one
manifestly imposed by Algonquin tribes living west and south of them.
It is derived from wabanung, the east, or a place of light, and akee, land.

Abekas, a name applied, so late as 1750, to a band of the Muscogees,
living on the river Tombigbee, within the present area of Alabama.

Abernaquis, a settlement of the expatriated Abenakies of New Eng-
land, in Lower Canada. They subsist themselves at this time in a great
measure by agriculture, and manifest a disposition to improve. From a
report made in 1839 by the American Board of Foreign missions of Bos-
ton who employ a missionary and teacher among them, sixty persons
attend Protestant worship, of which number, 24 are church members.
Twenty of the youth attend a daily school.

Abioiras, an Indian mission formerly under the charge of the order
of Jesuits, in the governmental department of Cluito. It is situated on the
river Curasari, 30 leagues from its mouth, and 240 from Cluito. It was
founded in 1665 by father Lorenzo Lucero.

Abingas, or Wabingas, a name for a band, or sub-tribe of the River
Indians, of the Mohegan, or Mohekinder stock, who formerly inhabited
the present area of Dutchess county, N. Y., and some adjacent parts of the
eastern shores of the Hudson, above the Highlands.

236

ETHNOLOGY.

Abifones, an unreclaimed nation of Indians, who inhabit the south
shores of the river Bermejo, in the province of Tucuman, Buenos Ayres.
This nation is said, perhaps vaguely, to have formerly numbered 100,000
souls, but was, at the last accounts, about A.D. 1800, much reduced.
They present some peculiar traits, living as nearly in a state of nature as
possible. The men go entirely naked, subsisting themselves by hunting
and fishing, and passing much of their time in idleness or war. The wo-
men wear little ornamented skins called queyapi. Physically, the people
are well formed, of a lofty stature and bearin<j, robust and good featured.
They paint their bodies profusely, and take great pains to inspire hardi-
hood. For this purpose they cut and scarify themselves from childhood ;
they esteem tiger's flesh one of the greatest dainties, believing its proper-
ties to infuse strength and valor. In war they are most cruel, sticking
their captives on the top of high poles, where, exposed to the scorching
rays of the sun, they are left to die the most horrid death.

They have no knowledge of God, of laws, or of policy, yet they believe
in the immortality of the soul, and in a land of future bliss, where dancing
and diversions shall prevail. Widows observe celibacy for a year, during
which time they abstain from fish. The females occupy themselves in
sewing hides, or spinning rude fabrics. When the men are intoxicated —
a prevalent vice — they conceal their husbands' knives to prevent assassi-
nations. They rear but two or three children, killing all above this
number.

Abisca, an extensive mountainous territory of Peru, lying between the
Yetau and Amoramago rivers, east of the Andes, noted from the earliest
times, for the number of barbarous nations who occupy it. It is a wild
and picturesque region, abounding in forests, lakes and streams, and af-
fording facilities for the chase, and means of retreat from civilization, so
congenial to savage tribes. An attempt to subjugate these fierce tribes
made by Pedro de Andia in 1538, failed. The same result had attended
the efibrts of the emperor Yupanqui.

Abitanis, a mountain in the province of Lipas, in Peru. In the duet-
chuan tongue, it signifies the ore of gold, from a mine of this metal, which
is now nearly abandoned.

Abittibi, the name of one of the tributaries of Moose River, of James'
Bay, Canada. Also a small lake in Canada West, near the settlement of
Frederick, in north latitude 48°, 35' and west longitude 82° : also, a lake
north of lake Ncpissing, in the direction to Moose Fort. It is a term, ap-
parently derived from nibee, water, and wab, light.

Abitigas, a fierce and warlike nation of Indians, in the province of
Tarma in Peru, of the original duetche stock. They are situated 60
leagues to the east of the Andes. They are barbarians, roving from place
to place, without habits of industry, and delighting in war. They aro
numerous, as well as warlike ; but like all the non-agriculturol tribes of

ETHNOLOGY.

237

the region, they are often in want and wretchedness. They are bounded
on the south by their enemies the Ipilcos.

Abo, Abouor MicHABo,or the Great Hare, a personage rather of mytholo-
gical, than historical note, in the traditions of the Lake Algonquin tribes.
It is not clear, although probable, that he is to be regarded as identical
with Manabosho, or Nanabosho.

Abojeeg, a celebrated war and hereditary chief of the Chippewa nation,
who flourished during the last century ; more commonly written Wabo-
jeeg, which see.

Abrahaai, a chief of the Mohawks, who, after the fall of king Hendrick,
so called, at the battle of lake George, in 1755, between the English and
French armies, became the ruling chief of that nation. He was the
younger brother of Hendrick, and lived at the lower Mohawk Castle.
He was of small stature, but shrewd and active, and a fluent speaker.
Numbers of his speeches are preserved, which he delivered, as the ruling
chief of his tribe, in various councils, during the stormy era of 1775,
which eventuated in the American revolution. In the events of that era,
his name soon disappears : as he was then a man of advanced years, he
probably died at his village. It is not known that he excelled in war, and,
at all events, he was succeeded, about this time, in fame and authority, by
a new man i.i ii. ^ cliieftainship, who rose in the person of Thyendanegea,
better known . « u ,ih Brant. Abraham, or little Abraham, as he was
generally call ■., ■ ; jars from his speeches and policy, to have thorough-
ly adopted the sentiments and policy of Sir William Johnson, of whom,
with his tribe generally, he was the friend and admirer. He was, as his
speeches disclose, pacific in his views, cautious in policy, and not in-
clined, it would seem, to rush headlong into the great contest, which was
then brewing, and into which, his popular successor. Brant, went heart
and hand. With less fame than his elder brother Hendrick, and with no
warlike reputation, yet without imputation upon his name, in any way, he
deserves to be remembered as a civilian and chieftain, who bore a respect-
able rank ; as one of a proud, high spirited, and important tribe. Little
Abraham was present at the last and final council of the Mohawks, with
the American Commissioners, at Albany, in September 1775, and spoke for
them on this occasion — which is believed to have been the last peaceable
meeting between the Americans and the Mohawk tribe, prior to the war.

[Non.^ — Accents are placed over all words of North American origin, when knnwn
Vowels preceding a consonant, or placed between two consonants, are generally short:
followmg a consonant, or endmg a syllable or word, they are generally long. Diphthongs
are used with theirordinary power.]

Absecon. a beach of the sea coast of New Jersey, sixteen miles south-
west of Little Egg Harbor, The word is a derivative from Wabisee, a
Swan, and Ong, a Place.

Absoroka, a name for the Minnetaree tribe of Indians on the river Mis*
souri. They are philologically of the Dacotah family. See Minnetaree.

Abucees, a mission of the Sucumbias Indians, in the province of Quixos,
Cluito, which was founded by the order of Jesuits. It is situated on the
shores of a small river, which enters the Putumago, in north latitude 0°
36' longitude 79° 2' west

Aburra, a town, in a rich valley of the same name, in New Grenada,
discovered in 1540, by Robledo. In its vicinity are found many huacas,
or sepulchres of the Indians, in which great riches, such as gold ornaments,
are found deposited. There are, in the vicinity, some streams of saline
water, from which the Indians manufacture salt.

Abwoin, or BwoiN, a name of the Chippewas, Ottawas, and other mod-
em Algonquin tribes of the upper Lakes, for the Dacotah or Sioux na-
tion. It is rendered plural in ug. The word is derived from abwai, a
stick used to roast meat, and is said to have been given to this tribe, in re-
proach from the ancient barbarities practised towards their prisoners taken
captive in war. For an account of this tribe, see Dacotah and Sioux.

Abwoinac ; Abwoina : Terms applied to the general area between the
Mississippi and Missouri, lying north of the St. Peter's, occupied by Sioux
tribfcd. In the earlier attempts of Lord Selkirk, to plant a colony in parts
of this region, the compound term Assinaboina, was, to some extent, but
unsuccessfully employed. The two former terms are derivatives from
Abwoin, a Sioux, and akee, earth ; the latter has the prefix assin, (ossin,)
a stone.

AcAQUATo, a settlement of Indians in the district of Tancitars, in Peru,
reduced in 1788, to fifteen families, who cultivated maize and vegetables.

Aoambabo, a settlement of 490 families of Indians, and 80 of Musteetf

238

ETHNOLOGY.

339

belonging to the order of St. Francis, in the district of Zelaya, in the
province anii bishopric of Mechoacan, seven leagues S. of its capital.

AcAMiSTLAHUAC, a Settlement of 30 Indian families in the district of Tas
CO, attached to the curacy of its capital, from whence it is two leagues E.
N. E.

AcHAMUCHiTLAN, 8 Settlement of 60 families of Indians in the district of
Texopilco, and civil division of Zultepec. They sell sugar and honey—
the district also produces maize and vegetables. It is 5 leagues N. of its
head settlement.

AcANTEPEc. The head settlement of Tlapa, embracing 92 Indian fami
lies, including another small settlement in its vicinity, all of whom mala*
tain themselves by manufacturing cotton stufTs. '

AcAPETLAHUALA, a Settlement of 180 Indian families, being the principal
settlement of the district of Escateopan, and civil district of Zaquaepa.

AcARi, a settlement in a beautiful and extensive valley of Camana, in
Peru, noted for a lofty mountain called Sahuacario, on the skirts of which
the native Indians had constructed two fortresses, prior to their subjuga*
tion by the Spanish. This mountain is composed of " misshapen stones,
and sand," and is reported, at certain times of the year to emit loud
sounds, as if proceeding from pent up air, and it is thought to have, in
consequence, attracted! the superstitious regard of the ancient Indian inhab*
itants.

AcATEPEC. There are five Indian settlements of this name, in Spanish
"America.

1. A settlement comprising 860 Indian families, of the order of St.
Francis, in the district of Thehuacan. Forty of these families live on
cultivated estates stretching a league in a spacious valley, four leagues S.
S. W. of the capital.

2. A settlement in the district of Chinantla, in the civil jurisdiction of
Cogamaloapan. It is situated in a pleasant plain, surrounded by three
lofty mountains. The number of its inhabitants is reduced. The In-
dians who live on the banks of a broad and rapid river, which intercepts
the great rond to the city of Oxaca, and other jurisdictions, support
themselves by ferrying over passengers in their barks and canoes. It
is 10 leagues W. of its head settlement.

3. A settlement of 100 Indian families, in the same kingdom, situated be-
tween two high ridges. They are annexed to the curacy of San Lorenzo,
two leagues off

4. A settlement of 39 Indian families annexed to, and distant one league
and a half N. of the curacy of TIacobula. It is in a hot valley, skirted by
a river, which is made to irrigate the gardens and grciunds on its borders.

5 A settlement of 12 Indian families in the mayor ate of Xicayun of the
same kingdom.

AoATEPEQUE, St. Francisco, De, a settlement of 140 Indian families in

240

ETHNOLOGY.

the mayorate of St. Andres de Cholula, situated half a league S. of its
capital.

AcATLAN, six locations of Indians exist, under thi lame, in Mexico.

1, A settlement of 850 families of Indians in the at 'dia of this name,
embracing some 20 Spaniards and Mustecs. In the vicinity are some ex-
cellent sah grounds. The climate is of a mild temperature, and the
surrounding country is fertile, abounding in fruits, flowers, and pulse, and
is well watered. It is 55 leagues E. S. E. of Mexico.

2. A settlement of 180 Indian families in Xalapa of the same kingdom,
(now republic.) It occupies a spot of clayey ground of a cold moist tem-
perature, in conseqvtence of which, and its being subject to N. winds,
fruits, in this neighbourhood, do not ripen. Other branches of cultiva-
tion succeed from the abundance of streams of water, and their fertili-
zing effects on the soil. This settlement has the dedicatory title of St.
Andres.

3. San Pedro, in the district of Malacatepec, and alcaldia of Nexapa.
It contains 80 Indian families, who trade in wool, and the fish called boho^
which are caught, in large quantities, in a considerable river of the dis«
trict.

4. ZiTLALA. It consists of 198 Indian families, and is a league and a
half N. of its head settlement of this name.

5. Sentepec, a settlement 15 leagues N. E. of its capital. The tempe
Tature is cold. It has 42 Indian families.

6. Atotonilco, in the alcaldia mayor of Tulanzingo. It contains 115
Indian families, and has a convent of the religious order of St. Augus-
tine. It is 2 leagues N. of its head settlement.

AcATLANZiNGo, a Settlement of 67 Indian families of Xicula of the al-
cadia mayor of Nexapa, who employ themselves in the culture of cochi-
neal plants. It lies in a plam, surrounded on all sides by mountains.

AcAXEE, a nation of Indians in the province of Topia. They are re-
presented to have been converted to the catholic faith by the society of
Jesuits in 1602. They are docile and of good dispositions and abilities.
One of their ancient customs consisted of bending the heads of their dead
to their knees, and in this posture, putting them in caves, or under a rock
and at the same time, depositing a quantity of food for their supposed
journey in another state. They also exhibited a farther coincidence with
the customs of the northern Indians, by placing a bow and arrows with
the body of the dead warrior, for his defence. Should an Indian woman
happen to die in child-bed, they put the surviving infant to death, as hav-
ing been the cause of its mother's decease. This tribe rebelled against the
Spanish in 1612, under the influence of a native prophet, but they were
subdued by the governor of the province, Don Francisco de Ordinola.
AcAXETE, Santa Maria de, the head settlement of the district of Tepcaca,
on the slope of the sierra of Tlascala. It col sists of 1 76 Mexican Indians,

ETHNOLOGY.

241

7 Spanish families, and 10 Mustees and Mulatoes. In its vicinity there
is a reservoir of hewn stone, to catch the waters of the mountain, which
are thence conducted to Tepcaca, three leagues N. N. W.

AcAXUCHiTLAN, a curacy consisting of 406 Indian families of the
bishopric of La Peubla de los Angelos. It is in the alcaldia of Tulanzingo,
I^'^ing 4 leagues E. of its capital.

AcAYUCA, the capital of a civil division of New Spain, m the province
of Goazacoalco, embracing, in its population, 296 families of Indians, 30
of Spaniards, and 70 of mixed bloods. It lies a little over 100 leagues S.
E. of Mexico, in lat. 17° 53' N.

AcAZiNoo, St. Juan de, a settlement of the district of Tepcaca, consist-
ing of 700 families of Indians, 150 of Spaniards, 104 of Mustees, and
31 of Mulatoes. It is situated - a i of mild temperature, well
watered, and has a convent and lo^.tain, i a number of " very ui >. nt
buildings."

Acc6cESAWS, a tribe of Indians of erratic habits, of Texas, whose prin-
cipal location was formerly on the west side of the Colorado, about 200 miles
S. W. of Nacogdoches. At a remoter period they lived near the gulf of
Mexico : they made great use of fish, and oysters. Authors represent the
country occupied, or traversed by them, as exceedingly fertile and beautiful,
and abounding in deer of the finest and largest kind. Their language is
said to be peculiar to themselves ; they are expert in communicating ideas by
the system of signs. About A. D. 1750 the Spanish had a mission among
them, but removed it to Nacogdoches.

• AccoMAC, a county of Virginia, lying on the eastern shores of Chesa-
peak bay. This part of the sea coast was inhabited by the Nanticokes,
who have left their names in its geography. We have but a partial vo-
cabulary of this tribe, which is now extinct. It has strong analogies,
however, to other Algonquin dialects. Aco, in these dialects, is a generic
term, to denote a goal, limit, or fixed boundary. Ahkee, in the Nanticoke,
is the term for earth, or land. Auk, is a term, in compound words of
these dialects, denoting wood. The meaning of accomac, appears to be
as far as the tooods reack, or, the boundary between meadow and wood-
lands.

AccoMACs, one of the sub tribes inhabiting the boundaries of Virginia
on its discovery and first settlement. Mr. Jeflferson states their numbers
in 1607 at 80. In 1669, when the legislature of Virginia directed a cen-
sus of the Indian population, within her jurisdiction, there appears no no-
tice of this tribe. They inhabited the area of Northampton county. They
were Nanticokes — a people whose remains united themselves or at
least took shelter with the Lenapees, or Delawares.

AccoHANocs, a division or tribe of the Powhetanic Indians, numbermg
40, in 1607. They lived on the Accohanoc river, in eastern Virginia.

242

ETMNOLOOT.

Act'oMKNTAS, a Dand, or division of the Pawtuckct Indians inhabitmj?
the northerly part of Massachusetts, in 1674. (Gookin.)

AcHAGUA, a nation of Indians of Now Grenada, dwelling in the plainr
of Gazanare and Meta, and ir. the woods of the river Ele. They are bold
and dexterous hunters with the dart and spear, and i. heir contests with
their enemies, they poison their weapons. They are fond of horses, and
rub their bodies with oil, to make their hair shine. They go naked
except a small azeaun made of the fibres of the aloe. They anoint their
children with a bituminous ointment at their birth, to prevent the gro- :h
of hair. The brows of females are also deprived of hair id immediately
rubbed with the juice ofjaguaj which renders them bald ever after. They
are of a gentle disposition but addicted to intoxication. The Jesuits for-
merly reduced many of them to the Catholic faith, and formed them into
settlements in 1661.

AcHAFALAYA, the principal western outlet of the Mississippi river. It is
a Choctaw word, meaning, " the long river," from hncha, river, and falat/a,
long. (Gallatin.)

AcKowAYS, a synonym for a band of Indians of New France, now
Canada. See Acouez.

AcKEEKSEEBE, a remote northern tributary of the stream called Rum
river, which enters the Mississippi, some few miles above the falls of St.
Anthony, on its left banks. It is a compound phrase, from Akeek, a
kettle, and seebe, a stream. It was on the margin of this stream, in a
wide and spacious area, interspersed with beaver ponds, that a detachment
of Gen. Cass's exploring party in July 1820, enc iped j and the next
morning discovered an Indian pictorial letter, wr. i on bark, detailing
the incidents of the march.

AcKEEKo, or the Kettle chief, a leading Sauc chief Avho exercised his
authority in 1820, at an important Indian village, situated on the right
banks of the Mississippi, at Dubuque's mines.

AcHQUANCHicoLA, the name of a creek in Pennsylvania ; it signifies in
the Delaware or Lenapee language, as given by Heckewelder, the brush-
net fishing creek.

AoHWicK, a small stream in central Pennsylvania. It denotes in the
Delaware language, according to Heckewelder, brushy, or difficult to
pass.

AcoBAMBA, a settlement in the province of Angaraes in Peru, near
which are some monumental remains of the ancient race, who inhabited
the country prior to its conquest by the Spanish. They consist, chiefTy,
of a pyramid of stones, and the ruins of some well sculptured stone couches,
cr benches, now much injured by time.

AcoLMAN, San Augustin de, a settlement of 240 families of Indians of
Tezcoco in Mexico. It is situated in a pleasant valley, with a benign tenv
peraiure, and has a convent o( Augustine monks.

ETHNOLOGY.

243

AcoMES, a fall in the river Amariscoggin, Maine, denoting, in the Indian,
•8 is supposed, a rest, or place of stopping. From aco, a bound or point

AroMULoo, a village of 12 Indian families in Zochicoatlan, New Spain,
two leagues W. of its capital.

AcoNicHi, the name of a settlement of Indians formerly living on the
river Fno, in North Carolina.

AcoTiTLAN, a settlement of 15 Indian families, in the alcaldia oi Authn,
Mexico. They employ themselves in raising cattle, making sugar and
honey, and extracting oil from the cacao fruit.

AcouEz, a name formerly applied by the French to a band of Indians
in New France. Believed to be identical with Ackoways.

AcQUACKiNAC, or AcQUACKiNUNK, the Indian name of a town on the W.
side of the Passaic river. New Jersey, ten miles N. of Newark and 17
from New York. From aco, a limit, misquak, a red cedar, and auk, a
stump or trunk of a tree.

AcQaiNosHioNEE, Or United People, the vernacular name of the Iroquois
for their confederacy. It appears, from their traditions, communicated to the
Rev. Mr. Pyrlaus, a Dutch missionary of early date, that this term had
not been in use above 50 years prior to the first settlement of the country :
and if so, we have a late date, not more remote than 1559 for the origin
of this celebrated union. But this may be doubted. Cartier discovered
the St. Lawrence in 1534, and found them at the site of Montreal ; Verri-
zani, is said to have entered the bay of New York ten years before. Hud-
son ftntered the river in 1609. Jamestown was founded the year before.
The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 14 years later. It is more probable
that the 50 years should be taken from the period of the earlier attempts
of the )^ rench settlements, which would place the origin of the confederacy
about A. D. 1500. (See Iroquois.)

AcTOPAN, or OcTTjpAN, a town and settlement of the Othomies Indians,
situated 23 leagues N. N. E. of Mexico. Its population is put by Alcedo
in 1787, at 2750 families. These are divided into two parties, separated
by the church. It also contains 50 families of Spaniards, Mustees, and
Mulatoes. The temperature is mild, but the ground is infested with the
cactus, thorns and teasel, which leads the inhabitants to devote their atten-'
tion to the raising of sheep and goats. In this vicinity are found numbers
of the singular bird, called zenzontla by the Mexican Indians.

AcTUPAN, a settlement of 210 families of Indians in the district of Xoci-
milco, Mexico.

AcuiAPAN, a settlement of 58 Indian families, in the alcaldia mayor of
Zultepec, annexed to the curacy of Temascaltepec. They live by dress-
bg hides for the market — ib.

AcuiLPA, a settlement of 92 Indian families, in the magistracy of Tlapa,
Mexico. It is of a hot and moist temperature, yielding grain, and the
white medicinal earth called chia^ in which they carry on a trade.

344

ETHNOLOGY.

Acvio, a considerable settlement of Spaniards, Mustees, Mulntoes, and
Negroes, 30 leagues W. of Cinaqua, in the curacy of Tauricato, Mexico ;
embracing 9 Indian families.

AcuLA, San Pedro de, an Indian settlement of 305 families, four

leagues E. of Cozamaloapan, its capital. It is situated on a high hill,

bounded by a large lake of the most salubrious water, called Pcutla by the

natives. This lake has its outlet into the sea through the sand banks of

» Alvarado, and the lake is subject to overflow its banks in the winter season.

AcuTiTLAN, an Indian settlement of 45 families, in the district of

Tepuxilco, Mexico, who trade in sugar, honey, and maize. It is five

leagues N. E. of Zultepec, and a quarter of a league from Acamuchitlan.

AcuTzio, an Indian settlement of Tiripitio, in the magistracy of Valla-

dolid, and bishopric of Mechoacan, Mexico. It contains 136 Indian

families, and 1 1 families of Spaniards and Mustees. Six cultivated estates

in this district, producing wheat, maize, and other grains, employ most of

this population, who also devote part of their labour to the care of large

and small cattle.

Adaes, or Adaize, a tribe of Indians, who formerly lived forty miles
south west from Natchitoches, in the area of country, which now consti-
tutes a part of the republic of Texas. They were located on a lake,
which communicates with the branch of Red-river passing Bayou Pierre.
This tribe appears to have lived at that spot, from an early period. Their
language is stated to be difficult of acquisition, and difllerent from all
others, in their vicinity. They were at variance with the ancient Natchez,
and joined the French in their assault upon them in 179S. They were
intimate with the Caddoes, and spoke their language. At the last dates,
(1812) they were reduced to twenty men, with a disproportionate number
of women. The synonyms for this now extinct tribe are, Adayes ; Adees ;
Adaes; Adaize.

Adakio, a celebrated chief of the Wyandot nation, who was at the
height of his usefulness and reputation, about 1690. He was able in the
councils of his tribe, shrewd and wily in his plans, and firm and courage-
ous in their execution. The Wyartdots, or Hurons as they are called by
the French, were then living at Michilimackinac, to which quarter they
had been driven by well known events in their history. The feud be-
tween them and their kindred, the Iroquois, still raged. They remained
the firm allies of the French ; but they were living in a state of expatri-
ation from their own coimtry, and dependant on the friendship and cour-
tesy of the Algonquins of the upper lakes, among whom they had found
a refuge. Adario, at this period, found an opportunity of making him-
self felt, and striking a blow for the eventual return of his nation.

To understand his position, a few allusions to the history of the period
are necessary.

In 1687, the English of the province of New- York, resolved to avail

ETHNOLOGY.

245

themselvca of a recent alliance between the two crowns, to attempt a par*
ticipation in the fur trade of the upper lakes. They persuaded the Iro-
quois to set free a number of Wyandot captives to guide them through the
lakes, and open an intercourse with their people. Owing to the high
price and scarcity of goods, this plan was favored by Adario and his peo-
ple, and also by the Ottowas and Pottowattomis, but the enterprise failed.
Major McGregory, who led the party, was intercepted by a large body
of French from Mackinac, the whole party captured and their goods were
distributed gratuitously to the Indians. The lake Indians, who had, co«
vertly countenanced this attempt, were thrown back entirely on the French
trade, and subjected to suspicions which made them uneasy in their coun-
cils, and anxious to do away with the suspicions entertained of their fidel-
ity by the French. To this end Adario marched a party of 100 men
from Mackinac against the Iroquois. Stopping at fort Cadarackui to get
some intelligence which might guide him, the commandant informed him
that the governor of Canada, Denonville, was in hopes of concluding a
peace with the Five Nations, and expected their ambassadors at Montreal in
a few days. He therefore advised the chief to return. Did such a peace
take olace, Adario perceived that it would leave the Iroquois to push the
war against his nation, which had already been driven from the banks of
the St. Lawrence to lake Huron. He dissembled his fears, however, be-
fore the commandant, and left the fort, not for the purpose of returning
home, but to waylay the Iroquois delegates, at a portage on the river where
he knew they must pass. He did not wait over four or five days, when
the deputies arrived, guarded by 40 young warriors, who were all sur-
prised, and either killed or taken prisoners. His next object was to shift
the blame of the act on the governor of Canada, by whom he told his pri-
soners, he had been informed of their intention to pass this way, and he
was thus prepared to lie in wait for them. They were much surprised at
this apparent act of perfidy, informing him at the same time, that they
were truly and indeed on a message of peace. Adario affected to grow
mud with rage against Denonville, declaring that he would some time be
revenged on him for making him a tool, in committing so horrid a trea-
chery. Then looking steadfastly on the prisoners, among whom was
L)ekanefora, the head chief of the Onondaga tribe, " Go," said he, " my
Irothers, I untie your bonds, and send you home again, although our
nations be at war. The French governor has made me commit so blacic
an action, that I shall never be easy after it, until the Five Nations have
taken full revenge." The ambassadors were so well persuaded of the
perfect truth of his declarations, that they replied in the most friendly
terms, and said the way was opened to their concluding a peace between
their respective tribes, at any time. He then ( ismissed his prisoners, with
presents of arms, powder and ball, keeping but a single man (an adopted
Sk^Awnee) to supply the place of the only man he had lost in the engage-

sssa

246

ETHNOLOGY.

ment. By one bold effort he thus blew up the Are of discord between the
French a.-id their cnemica, at the moment it was about to expire, and Inid
the foundation of a peace with his own nation. Adario delivered his
slave to the French on reaching Mackinac, who; to keep up the old en-
mity between the Wyandots and the Five Nations, ordered him to be shot.
On this Adario called up an Iroquois prisoner who was a witness of this
scene, and who had long been detained among them, and told him to es-
cape to his own country, and give an account of the cruelly of the
French, from whom it was not in his power to save a prisoner he had
himself taken.

This increased the rage of the Five Nations to such a pitch, that when
Mons. Denonville sent a message to disown the act of Adario, they put no
faith in it, but burned for revenge. Nor was it long before the French
felt the effects of their rage. On the 26th of July, 1688, they landed with
1200 men on the upper end of the island of Montreal, and carried des-
truction wherever they went. Houses were burnt, plantations sacked, and
men, women and children massacred. Above a thousand of the French
inhabitants were killed, and twenty-six carried away prisoners, most of
whom were burnt alive. In October of the same year, they renewed their
incursion, sweeping over the lower part of the island as they had previ-
ously done the upper. The consequences of these inroads were most dis-
astrous to the French, who were reduced to the lowest point of political
despondency. They burnt their two vessels on Cadarackui lake, aban-
doned the fort, and returned to Montreal. The news spread far and wide
among the Indians of the upper lakes, who, seeing the fortunes of the
French on the wane, made treaties with the English, and thus opened the
way for their merchandise into the lakes. — [Golden.]

Such were the consequences of a single enterprise, shrewdly planned
and vigorously executed. The fame of its author spread abroad, and he
was every where regarded as a man of address, courage and abilities.
And it is from this time, .that the ancient feud between the Wyandots and
their kindred, the Five Nations, began to cool. They settled on the straits
of Detroit, where they so long, and up to the close of the late war (1814,)
exercised a commanding influence among the lake tribes, as keepers of the
general council fire of the nations.

La Hontan, in his Travels in New France, relates some conversations
with this chief, on the topic of religion, which may be regarded, almost
exclusively, as fabulous.

Adayes, Adaes, and Adees, forms of orthography, occurring in various
writers, for the Adaize Indians, which see.

Adequatangie, a tributary of the eastern head waters of the river Sus-
quehaona in New- York. The word is Iroquois.

Addees, the number of this tribe, residing on the waters of Red River,

ETHNOLOGY.

247

in Louisiana, in 1825, is stated, in an official report, from the war depart*
ment of that year, at twenty-seven.

Ad6les, a settlement of Indians m the province of Orinoco. They
were of the Saliva nation. The settlement was destroyed by the Cariba
in 1684.

Adir6ndack8, the name of the Iroquois tribes for the Algonquins. The
consideration of their history and characteristics, as i family of tribes, will
be taken up, under the latter term.

AmnoNDACK Moi:ntains, a name bestowed, in the i;,'eoIogical survey of
New York, upon the mountains at the source of the Hudson River.

Adik, li-BA. See laba Wadik.

AdikIminisi, or Cariboo Island ; an island situated in the north eastern
part of lake Superior, which is invested with no other importance than it
derives from Indian mythology and superstition. It is siaall and has sel-
dom been visited. The Chippewas believe that this is one of the places
of residence of their local manitoes, and that it was formerly inhabi»pd by
Michnbo or Manabosho. Early travellers, who notice this belief, repre-
sent its shores to be covered with golden sands, but that these sands are
guarded by powerful spirits, who will not permit the treasure to be carried
away. Many fanciful tales are told of its having been once attempted,
when a huge spirit strode into the water, and reclaimed the shining trea-
sure. This is Carver's version, who, however, confounds it with another
contiguous island. Henry, who visited it in his search after silver mines,
in 1765, says that the Indians told him that their ancestors had once
landed there, being driven by stress of weather, but had great difficulty
in escaping from the power of enormous snakes. He calls it the Island
of Yellow Sands. It abounded certainly with hawks in his day, one of
whom was so bold as to pluck his cap from his head. He found nothing
to reward his search but a number of Cariboos, which is the American
reindeer, of which no less than 13 were killed, during his stay of three
days. He represented it to be 12 miles in circumference, low, and covered
with ponds, and to be sixty miles distant from the north shore of the lake.
He thinks it is perhaps the same island which the French called Isle de
Pontchartrain.

Affagoula, a small village of Indians, of Louisiana, whc. n ore located
in 1783 near Point Coup6, on the Mississippi.

Agaces, a nation of Indians of the province of Part^rruay. They are
numerous, valiant, and of a lofty stature. They wero, in ancient times,
masters of the banks of the Paraguay, waging war against the Guavanies,
and keeping the Spaniards at bay, but were at last subjugated in 1542, by
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, governor of the province.

Agariata, an Iroquois chief, who, having gone on an embassy of peaoe
about 1688, to Canada, the governor. Monsieur Course!, being exaspe-

BfiBtttt

248

ETHNOLOGY.

rated against him, on account of bad faith and a violation of a trealy, caused
him to be hanged in the presence of his countrymen.

Ac.AMENTiGis, a mountain of considerable elevation, c.'ght miles from
York harbour, Maine; also, a river of the same vicinity, which derives
Its waters chiefly from the influx of Piscataqua bay. The termination
of the name in us^ is foreign, and not in accordance with the Abenakie
dialects of this coast.

Agamuntic, the name of a small lake, or pond, of Maine, which dis-
charges its waters through the west branch of the Chaudiere river.

Agawams, a band of Indians of the Pokenoket, or Wampanoag type,
who formerly lived at various periods, in part in Sandwich, in part in
Ipswich, and in part in Springfield, Massachusets. The word is written
with some variety, in old authors, the chief of which, are, the addition of
another g, and the change of the penultimate a to o.

Agiocochook, a name of the Indians, for the White Mountains of New-
Hampshire ; of which the penultimate ok, is the plural. This group is
also called, according to President Allen, Waumbek — a word, which in
some of the existing dialects of the Algonquin, is pronounced Waubik,
that is, White Rock.

Agnalos, a tribe of infidel Indians, inhabiting the mountains north of
the river Apure, in New Grenada.

Agkias, a tribe of Indians, formerly very numerous, of the govern-
ment of Santa Maria, to the north of the Cienegra Grande. They are, at
present, considerably reduced.

Agua de Cllebra, San Francisco Xavier De La, a rcdwccion of Indians
of the Capuchins, of the province of Venezuela. The vicinity produces,
in abundance, cacao, yucao, and other vegetable productions. •

Aguacagua, an Indian mission, on a branch of the Oronoco, called
Caroni.

Aguacatlan, an Indian mission of Xala, in Mexico. In 1745, it
contained 80 families of Indians, who cultivated maize and French beans.

Agualuix'O, the capital of the jurisdiction of Izatlan, New Galicia, which
m 1745, contained 100 Indian families.

Aguanos, a settlement in the province of Mainas, Uuito, so called from
the Indians of whom it is composed.

Aguauico, an Indian mission of the Jesuits, on the shores of the river
Napo, of the province of Mainus, Quito.

Aglarixgua, an ancient and large settlement of Indians of the Taironas
uation, in Santa Marta.

Aguilusco, a settlement of the district of Arantzan, in the province of
Mechoacan, which contains 36 Indian families. They subsist by sowuig
seed, cutting wood, making saddle trees, and manufacturing vessels of fine
earthen ware.

ing,

ETHNOL.OGY.

249

Ahapopka, a lake of Florida, having its outlet through the Oclawaha
liver of the St. John's.

Ahasimus, an ancient Indian name, for the present site of Jersey city,
Hudson county, New Jersey.

Ahome, or Ahoma, a nation of Indians, living on the banks of the river
Zaque, in the province of Cinaloa, of California. They are located four
leagues from the gulf, in extensive and fertile plains, and are said to be su-
perior, by nature, to the other Indians of New Spain. Some of their
customs denote this. They abhor poligamy, they hold virginity in the
highest estimation. Unmarried girls, by way of distinction, wear a small
shell suspended to their neck, until the day of their nuptials, when it is
taken off by the bridegroom. They wear woven cotton. They bewail
their dead a year, at night and morning. They are gentle and faithful in
their covenants and ensrao-ements.

Ahouandate, a name for the tribe of the Wyandots, which is fourd on
ancient maps of the Colonies.

AiiUACATLAN, the name of four separate settlements of Mexico, contain-
ing, respectively, 51, 13, 450, and 160 families of Indians.

Ahuacazalca, Nueva Espana. At this place, 50 families of Indians
live by raising rice and cotton. It is in the district of San Luis de la
Costa.

Ahuacazingo, in the district of Atengo, Nuevp. Espana, contains 46
Ind'in families.

Ahualican, of the same province, has 36 Indian families.

Ahuatelco, ib. Has 289 families, who cultivate wheat and raise cattle.

Ahuatempa, ib. Has 39 families.

Ahuatepec, ib. Has 32 families.

Ahuazitla, ib. Has 36 families, who trade inchia, a white medicinal
earth, grain and earthen-ware.

AiiWAHAWA, a tribe of Indians who wrere found in 1 805 to be located
a few miles above the Mandans, on the south west banks of the Missouri.
They are believed to have been a band of the Minnitares. They numbered
at that date 200. They were at war with the Snake Indians. They claim
to have once been a part of the Crow nation. They professed to have been
long residents of the spot occupied. The name has not been kept up,
and does not appear in recent reports from that quarter. Their history
is, probably, to be sought in that of the Mandans and the Minnetares.

AiAHUALTEMPA, a Settlement of Chalipa, Mexico, containing 36 Indian
families.

AuHUALULco, ib. Two settlements of this name, contain, respectively,
70 and 42 Indian families.

AiAPANc-o, ib. contains 100 Indian families.

AiATE?£c, ib. has 45 families of natives.

AuryrLA, ib. has 100 families.

i P I:

250

ETHNOLOOT.

AicHES, a settlement of Indians of Texas, situated on the main road to

Mexico.

AiECTiPAC, Mexico. Twenty-one Indian families reside here.

AiNSE, a Chippewa chief of Point St. Ignace, Mechilimackinac county,
Michigan. The population of this band, as shown by the government
census rol's in 1840, was 193, of whom 33 were men, 54 women, and 106
children. They support themselves by the chase and by fishing. They
cultivate potatoes only. They receive, together with the other bands, an-
nuities from the government, in coin, provisions, salt, and tobacco, for
which purpose they assemble annually, on the island of Michilimackinac.
The name of this chief is believed to be a corruption from Hans.

AiocuEsco, an Indian settlement of Chalipa, Mexico. Has 400 Indian
families.

AiocTiTLAN, ib. Has 76 ditto.

AioziNAPA, ib. Has 34 ditto.

AioziNGO, ib. Has 120 ditto.

AiRicos, a nation of Indians inhabiting the plains of Cazanare and
Meta in the new kingdom of Grenada, to the east of the mountains of
Bogota. They inhabit the banks of the river Ele. They are numerous
and warlike, and feared by all their neighbours, for their valour and dex-
terity in the use of arms. In 10G2 Antonio de Monte verde, a Jesuit, es-
tablished a mission among them, and baptized numbers.

AisiiQt'AGONAiJEE. A Chippewa chief, of some note, of a mild and dig-
nified carriage, living on Grand Traverse Bay, on the east shores of lake
Michigan. In 1836 he formed a part of the delegation of Chippewa and
Ottowa chiefs, who proceeded to Washington city, and concluded a treaty
ceding their lands to the U. S. from Grand river on lake Michigan, to
Chocolate river on lake Superior. The name signifies, the first feather, or
feather of honour. The population of his village in 1840, as shown by
the census rolls, was 207, of whom 51 were men, or heads of families, 49
women, and 107 children. They receive annuities annually at Michili-
mackinac, They subsist by the chase, by planting corn, beans and pota-
toes, and by fishing.

AisHKEEUGFKozH, or the Flat Mouth, called Guelle Platte, in the patois
of the Fur Trade. The Head chief of the band of the Chippewas, called
Mukundwas or Pilligcrs, who are situated at Leech Lake, on the sources
of the Mississippi. This band, ii is estimated, can furnish 200 warriors,
they are a brave and warlike people, and are at perpetual war with their
western neighbours, the Sioux. They subsist by the chnse, and by tak-
ing white fish in the lake. Some corn and potatoes are also raised by the
women and the old and superannuated men of the band. They are a fierce,
wild, untamed race, strong in their numbers, and proud and confident in
their success in war, and the comparative ease with which they procure a
subsistence from the chase. They adhere to their ancient religious cere-

monies anc
priests, jossi
cised the p(
presiding,
observation
large, rath(
a somewha
city to com
prominent
characteris
it is rathei
have prese

AlUINOS,

They live
lofty moun
the Jesuits
clined, anc

AlUTLA,

Another 1(
Ajoues,
existed un
English
head.

Ak6sa,

Bay, lake

Wished nf

periods of

at that sta

bestows a

erected a

of plain 1

and appri

lization c

or eloque

but little

stable, te

physical!

souls, on

and 89 c

Akan

Alab

from a t

the sani

Mobile.

ETHNOLOGY.

251

monies and incantations, and are under the government of their native
priests, jossakeeds and seers. Aishkebugekozh, has for many years exer-
cised the political sway over them, leading them, isometimes to war, and
presiding, at all times, in their councils. He is a shrewd man, of much
observation and experience in the affairs of the frontiers. He is of a
large, rather stout frame, broad shoulders and chest, and broad face, with
a somewhat stern countenance, denoting decision of character and capa-
city to command. Thin and extended lips, parted in a right line over a
prominent jaw, render the name, which his people have bestowed on him,
characteristic. By the term Kozh, instead of Odoan, the true meaning of
it is rather muzzle, or snout, than mouth, a distinction which the French
have preserved in the term Guelle.

AiuiNos, a nation of Indians, of the government of Cinaloa, New Spain.
They live in the north part of the province. They formerly dwelt in
lofty mountains, to escape the effects of war with other nations. In 1624,
the Jesuits established a mission amongst them. They are docile, well in-
clined, and of good habits.

AruTLA, a settlement of New Spain, containing 187 Indian families.
Another location of the same name contains 23 families.

Ajoues, a tribe of Indians of Louisiana, in its ancient extent, while it
existed under the government of the French. The word, as expressed in
English orthography, is lowas, and the tribe will be considered under that
head.

Ak6sa, an Odjibwa chief, living on the peninsula of Grand Traverse
Bay, lake Michigan, );nown for his good will towards the mission esta-
blished near his village, by the American Board, in 1839. In the recess
periods of hunting, he is attentive on the means of instruction furnished
at that station. He enjoins on his children attendance at the school. He
bestows a punctual care in planting his corn-field and garden. He has
erected a good dwelling house of logs, and supplied it with several articles
of plain household furniture. He is of a mild and pleasing character,
and appreciates and acknowledges the superiority of agriculture and civi-
lization over the uncertainties of the chase. Without distinction in war,
or eloquence, or a genealogy of warriors to refer to, and consequently, of
but little general note or fame in his tribe, he is an active hunter, and
stable, temperate man, and may be regarded as a fair average specimen,
physically and mentally, of the race. The band of Akosa mustered 160
souls, on the pay rolls of 1840, of which number, 37 were men, 42 women,
and 89 children. They receive their annuities at Michilimackinac.

Akansa, a synonym of Arkansas.

Alabama, one of the United States of America. The name is derived
from a tribe of Indians, who formerly inhabited the banks of the river of
the same name. This river, on its junction with the Tombigbee, forms the
Mobile. The Alabama Indians, were succeeded in the occupancy of this

i i

■afe w ^fc JM ^ J r Jitj.i<M» i

252

ETHNOLOGY.

river by the Creeks, or Muscogees. They withdrew towards the weBt
In 1700 their descendants lived in a village, eligibly situated, on several
swelling green hills on the banks of the Mississippi. No accounts of them
are given in recent reports. They appear to have continued their route
westward by the way of Red River. The precise period of their cross-
ing the Mississippi is not known. They came to Red River about the
same time as the Bolixies and Appalaches. Their language is represented
to be the Mobilian, as denominated by Du Pratz, that is the Chacta. Pan
of them lived, at the end of the 18th century, on Red River, sixteen miles
above Bayou Rapide. Thence they went higher up the stream, and set
tied near the Caddoes, where they raised good crops of corn. An-
other party, of about 40 men, lived in Apalousas district, where they
cultivated corn, raised and kept horses, hogs and cattle, and exhibited a
quiet and pacific character. From a statement published in a paper, at
Houston, the seat of government of Texas, in 1 840, their descendants
were then settled on the river Trinity, in that republic, where they are as-
sociated with the Coshattas, forming two villages, numbering two hundred
warriors, or about 1000 souls. They preserve, in this new location, the
pacific and agricultural traits noticed during their residence in Lousiana.

Alachua, an extensive level prairie, in Florida, about 75 miles west of
St. Augustine. The ancient Indian town of Alachua, stood on its bor-
ders, but its inhabitants removed to a more healthful position at Cusco-
willa.

Alaclatzala, a settlement in the district of St. Lewis, New Spain, con-
taining 125 Indian families.

Alahuitzlan, ib. a settlement having 270 Indian families.

Alapah* one of the higher tributary streams of the Suwannee river, in
Florida.

Alaske, or Onalaska, a long peninsula on the N. W. coast of America.
At its termination, are a number of islands, which form a part of the clus-
ter called the northern Archepelago.

Albarrada, a settlement of Indians in the kingdom of Chile, situated
on the shores of the river Cauchupil. Also a settlement of New Spain,
containing 22 Indian families.

Alempigon improperly written for Nipigon, a small lake north of lake
Superior.

Alfaxaiuca, a settlement of. New Spain, containing 171 Indian fami-
lies.

Algansee, a township of the county of Branch, Michigan. It is a
compound derivative from Algonkin, gan, a particle denoting a lake, and
mushcodainse, a prairie.

Algic, an adjective term used by the writer, to denote a genus or family
of tribes who take their characteristic from the use of the Algonquin Ian-

guage.
land.

Aloonqi
Canada, w
tween Q.u(
itself is bel
in Kebic,
fifteen hur
Sillery. T!
ful people
intelUgenc
rival of C
the true fc
fire arms
mies, the
ous ways
arms to\A
with the
Hurons,
Lawrenc
the Iroqi
use, the
combinei
fought \
strike ar
called A
nada, th
when, i
Nicolet.
and del
sings) t
St. Lav
gonqui
The A
Hutori
until t
preser
same
flight
Of
are s
Abov;
near
the <

KTHNOLOOT.

253

guage. It is a derivative from the words Algonquin, and Aket, earth, or
land. V

Algonquin, a nation of Indians who, on the discovery and settlement of
Canada, were found to occupy the north banks of the St. Lawrence be-
tween Quebec, Three Rivers, and the junction of the Utawas. Quebec
itself is believed to be a word derived from this language, having its origin
in Kebic, the fearful rock or cliff When the French settled at Quebec,
fifteen hundred fighting men of this nation lived between that nation and
Sillery. They were reputed, at this era, to be the mos* warlike and powef-
ful people in North America, and the most advancou in their policy and
intelligence. Golden speaks of them as excelling all others. On the ar
rival of Champlain, who, aUhough not the discoverer of the country, was
the true founder of the French power in Canada, they were supplied with
fire arms, and even led to war, by that chivalric officer, against their ene-
mies, the Iroquois. They were stimulated to renewed exertions in vari-
ous ways, by the arrival of this new power, and carried the terror of their
arms towards the soutk and south-west. They were in close alliance
with the Wyandots, a people who, under the names of Quatoghies and
Hurons, on Cartier's arrival in 1534, were seen as low down the St.
Lawrence as the island of Anticosti, and bay Chaleur. But as soon as
the Iroquois had been supplied with the same weapons, and learned their
use, the Algonquins were made to feel the effects of their courage, and
combined strength. The Wyandots were first defeated in a great battle
fought within two leagues of Quebec. The Iroquois next prepared to
strike an effective blow against the collective tribes of kindred origin,
called Algonquins. Under the pretence of visiting the Governor of Ca-
nada, they introduced a thousand men into the valley of the St. Lawrence,
when, finding their enemies separated' into two bodies, the one at the river
Nicolet, and the other at Trois Riviere, they fell upon them unawares,
and defeated both divisions. In this defeat the Niperceiinians (Nipes-
sings) and the Atawawas (Ottowas) who then lived on the banks of the
St. Lawrence, participated. The former, who were indeed but the Al-
gonquin?, under their proper name, drew off towards the north-west.
The ^-tawavvas migrateu lO the great chain of the Manatoulines of lake
Huton, whence they have still proceeded further towards the west and south,
until they reached L'arbre Creche and Grand River of Michigan, their
present seats. The Quatoj^hies or Wyandots fled to the banks of the
same Lake (Huron) wntcn nas (ierived its name from the celebrity of theii
flight to, and residence on its banks.

Of the Algonquins proper who remained on the St. Lawrence, and who
are specifically entitled to that name, but a limited number survive.
About the middle of the 1 7th century, theyAvere reduced to a few villages
near Quebec, who were then said to be " wasted, and wasting away undei
the effects of ardent spirits." Subsequently, they were collected, by the

awtsiftar^sdaa-ju-maa

254

ETHNOLOOY.

Catholic Church, into a mission, and settled at the Lake of Two Moun
tains, on the Utawas or Grand River of Canada, where they have been
instructed in various arts, and effectually civilized. There, their descend
ants still remain. They are a tall, active, shrewd, lithe,- energic race.
Parties of them have been engaged as voyagers and hunters, within mo-
dern times, and led in the prosecution of the fur trade into the remote for
ests of the north-west. In these positions, they have manifested a degree of
energy, hardihood, and skill in the chase, far beyond that possessed by
native, unreclaimed tribes. The Algonquin women, at the Lake of Two
Mountains, make very ingenious basket and bead work, in which the
dyed quills of the porcupine, and various coloured beads of European
manufacture, are employed. They also make finger rings out of moose
hair, taken from the breast tuft of this animal, in which mottoes or devices
are worked. They have molodious soft voices, in chanting the hymns
sung at the mission. This tribe is called Odishkuaguma, that is, People-
at-the-endof-the-waters, by the Odjibwas. They were called Adiron-
dacks, by the Six Nations. The term Algonquin, which we derive from
the French, is not of certain etymology. It appears at first to have been a
nom de guerre, for the particular people, or tribe, whose descendants are
now confined to the position at the Lake of Two Mountains. It was early
applied to all the tribes of kindred origin. And is now a generic term foi
a family or primitive stock of tribes in North America, who either speak
cognate dialects, or assimilate in the leading principles of their languages.
The number of these tribes still existing, is very large, and viewed in
the points of their greatest difference, the variatio is in the consonantal and
diphthongal sounds of their languages, are considerable. As a general
geographical area, these tribes, at various periods from about 1600, to the
present time, ethnographically covered the Atlantic coast, from the
northern extremity of Pamlico-sound to the Straits of Bellisle, extending
west and north-west, to the banks of the Missinipi of Hudson's Bay, and
to the east borders of the Mississippi, as low as the junction of the Ohio.
From this area, the principal exceptions are the Iroquois of New York,
the Wyandots west, and the Winnebagoes and small bands of the Doco-
tahs. The grammatical principles of these dialects, coincide. As a gene-
ral fact, in their lexicography the letters f, r and v are wanting. The
dialects derive their peculiarities, in a great measure, from interchanges
between the sounds of 1 and n, b and p. d and t, g and k, in some of which,
there is a variance even in distant bands of the same tribe. The language
is transpositive. In its conjugations, the pronouns are incorporated with
the verb, either as prefixes or suffixes. Its substantives are provided with
adjective inflections, denotinir size and quality. Its verbs, on the other
hand, receive substantive inflections. Gender is, as a rule, lost sight of,
in the uniform attempt, to preserve, by inflections, a distinction between
aumate and inanimate, and personal or impersonal objects. It is remark*

able for

manifestl

admit of

adjectives

There is

distinctio

or exclus

singular

dancies,

and labi;

culiarly

their mo

variety

describe

colours,

It is fror

taken.

It is
languag
as well
the Brit:
result of
in relati
each of
names.
The
ference!
consist
ploy ki'
sis, is u
for the
The W'
writer
extent i
Lenap(
own ni
particu
peak-b
prefixf
over tl
this sti
eomm
Th

ETHNOLOGY.

255

able for the variety of its compounds, although the vocabulary itself, ii
manifestly consUucted from monosyllabic roots. All its substantives
admit of diminutives, but, in no instance, of augmentatives. They also
admit of derogative and prepositional inflections. The compaiison of
adjectives, is not, on the contrary, made by inflections, but by separate words.
There is no dual number, but in all the dialects, so far as examined, a
distinction is made in the plural of the first person, to denote the inclusion
or exclusion of the object. There is no distinction between the pronoun,
singular and plural, of the third person. The language has some redun-
dancies, which would be pruned off" by cultivation. It has many liquid
and labial sounds. It has a soft flow and is easy of attainment. It is pe-
culiarly rich and varied, in its compound terms for visible objects, and
their motions or acts. Streams, mountains, vallies, and waters, in all their
variety of appearance, are graphically described. It is equally suited to
describe the phenomena of the heavens, the air, tempests, sounds, light,
colours, motion, and the various phases of the clouds and planetary bodies.
It is from this department, that a large portion of their personal names are
taken.

It is true that many of the grammatical principles of the Algonquin
languages, are also developed in other stocks. Yet these stocks are not
as well known. It was chiefly in the area of the Algonquin tribes, that
the British and French, and Dutch and Swedish colonists settled, and the
result of enquiry, through a long period, has accumulated most materials
in relation to this type of the American languages. Specific notices of
each of the subdivisions of this stock, will be given under the appropriate
names.

The general synonyms for this nation are but few. The principal dif-
ferences in the orthography, between the French and English writers
consist in the latter's spelling the last syllable quin, while the former em-
ploy kin. In old '^pcyclopfedias and gazetteers, the phrase Algonquinen-
sis, is used. The term Abernaquis, is also a French mode of annotation
for the same word, but is rather applied at this time to a specific band.
The word Algic, derived from the same root, has been applied by the
writer to the entire circle of the Algonquin tribes, in their utmost former
extent in North America. Mr. Gallatin has proposed the term " Algonkin-
Lenape," as a philological denomination for this important family. Their
own name for the race, is a question of some diversity of opinion. Those
particular tribes, who were found on the Atlantic coast between the Chesa-
peak-bay and the Hudson, called themselves Lenapes, generally with the
prefixed or qualifying noun of Linno, or Lenno. Other tribes extending
over the largest area of the union, and of British America, inhabited by
this stock, denote themselves as a race, by the term Anishinaba, that is, the
common people.

The term Lendpe, signifies a male, and is identical in sense with the

MPP

256

ETHNOLOGY.

Algonquin word I&ba. If Lenno, or Linno be, as some contend, a term
denoting original, they must be conceded to have had more forethought,
and a greater capacity for generalization, than other stocks have mani-
fested, by calling themselves, Original Men. If, however, it only implies,
•IS others acquainted with this language, assert, common or general, then is
here perceived to be a perfect identity in the meaning of the two terms.

Aloonac, a village of the county of St. Clair, Michigan, which is
pleasantly situated on the banks of the river St. Clair. It is a term de-
rived from the word Algonqum, and akee, earth or land.
Algonquinensis, a term used in old gazetteers and geographical die

.lonaries, for the Algonquins.

Alietans, a name for the Shoshones, or Snake Indians. See letans.

Alibamons, or Alibamis, ancient forms of orthography for the tribe of
the Alabamas.

Alina, a settlement of Pinzandarc, New Spain, containing 20 Indian
families, who have a commerce in maize and wax.

Alifkonck, an Indian village which, in 1659, stood on the east banks
of the river Hudson, between the influx of the Croton, then called by the
Dutch Saehkill, and the Indian village of Sing Sing. [Osinsing.] Anee-
bikong? place of leaves, or rich foliage.

Alloa, an ancient province of the kingdom of Peru, south of Cuczo, in-
habited by a race of natives, who made a vigorous stand against Manco
Capac, the fourth emperor of the Incas, and called the conqueror. In
this defence, they were favoured by the rugged character of the country,
which abounds in woods, mountains, lakes, and gold and silver mines.

Allegan, an agricultural and milling county of the state of Michigan,
bordering on the east shores of lake Michigan. It is a derivative word,
from Algonkin, and gan the penultimate syllable of the Odjibwa term
Sa-gi-6-gan, a lake.

Alleghany, the leading chain of mountains of the United States east
of the Mississippi, also one of the two principal sources of the Ohio river.
Indian tradition attributes the origin of this name to an ancient race of In-
dians who were called Tallegewy, or AUegewy. This nation, tradition
asserts, had spread themselves east of the Mississippi and of the Ohio.
They were a warlike people, and defended themselves in long and bloody
wars, but were overpowered and driven south by a confederacy of tribes,
whose descendants still exist in the Algonquin and Iroquois stocks. Such
is the account of the Delawares.

Almoloia, a settlement of Zultepec in New Spain, of 77 Indian families ;
also, in Metepec, in the same kingdom, of 156 families.

ETHNOLOGY.

267

Almololo4Ian, a settlement in the district of'Colima, New Spain, of
60 Indian families. ^ '

Alotepeo, ib. has 67 families.

Alozozinoo, ib. has 110 families.

Alpizaoua, ib. has 36 families.

Alfoieca, ib. has 42 families. Another, same name, of 1 15 families.

Alpoiecazingo, ib. has 140 families.

Alfoneca, ib. has 30 families. Another, same name, 77 families.

Altamaha, a river of Georgia.

Altotonoa, the name of a settlement of Xalapa, in New Spain. Th«
word signifies in the Mexican language, hot and saltish water, and this
comes from the intermingled qualities of two streams which originate in
a mountain near to each other, and form by their junction a river which
runs into the lake of Alchichica.

Alzoui, a settlement of 190 Indian families, of Tlapa, in New Spain,
or Mexico. They are industrious, cuhivating maize, cotton, French
beans and rice.

ALMotJCHico, the Indian name for New England, on the map of
"Novi Belgii," published at Amsterdam in 1659.

Amacaches, a nation of Indians of Brazil, of the province of Rio
Janiero. They inhabit the mountains south of the city. They are
numerous, and much dreaded, on account of the desperate incursions they
have mad into the Portuguese settlements. Their weapons are darts,
and macanaw, a kind of club made of a very heavy wood. They poison
their arrows and lances.

Ahalistes, a band of Algonquins, living on the St. Lawrence, and num-
bering 500 in 1760.

Amanalco, an Indian settlement of the district of Metepeque, Mexico,
of 1224 families.

Amapaes, a barbarous nation of Indians in New Andalusia, to the west
of the river Orinoco, near the mountains of Paria. They ave valiant and
hardy ; sincere and faithful in their engagements. They live by the
chace and by fishing. They make arms, which are tipped by vegetable
poisons. They are at war with the Isaperices. Their territory is called,
after them, Amapaya.

Amapilcan, a settlement of Tlapa, Mexico, containing 15 Indian
families.

Amatepec, an Indian settlement of Zultepec, Mexico, situated on the
top of a mountain, consisting of 80 families. Another settlement, of the
same name, in the district of Toltontepec, has 15 Indians families. Both
have a cold temperature.

AuATicLAN, a settlement of Huitepec, in Mexico, containing 43 Indian
fiimilies. ,

258

ETHNOLOGY.

settlement of Tlapa, Mexico, containing G2 Indian

Amatinohan, a

families.

Amatlan, a settlement of Tanzitaro, Mexico, containing 60 Indian
families. Another settlement of San Louis, hus 380 families. Another,
in the district of Cordova, has 220. Another, in Zacatlan 248. Ano-
ther, in Cozamaopan has 150. All these bear the same name, with the
prefix of the dedicatory patron, Santa Ana.

Amboy, a bay of New Jersey, This part of the state was occupied, in
ancient time, by a tribe or band of the Minci, who were called Sauhl-
kans.

Amealco, a settlement of Cluerataro, Mexico, containing 38 Indian
families.

Ameoa, a settlement of Autlan, Mexico, containing 43 Indian families.

Amgcameca, a settlement of Chalco, Mexi">, containing 570 Indian
families.

Amecaque, a settlement of Calpa, Mexico, containing 275 Indian
families.

America ; no nation of Indians on this continent, had, so far as we know,
ever generalized sufficiently to bestow a generic name on the continent.
The Algonquin terms " Our Country," Aindanukeyan, and " The West,"
Kabean, were probably the most comprehensive which their intercourse
or ideas required. Equivalents for these phrases might be, perhap6, suc-
cessfully sought among all the most advanced tribes. The instances here
given are from the Odjibwa dialect.

Amicways, or Amicawaes, a tribe or family of Indians, who are spoken
of by the French writers as having formerly inhabited the Manatonline
chain of islands in lake Huron. The term is from Amik, a beaver. The
Ottowas settled here, after their discomfiture, along with the Adirondacks,
on the St. Lawrence.

Amik-eminis, the group of Beaver islands of Lake Michigan, The east-
ernmost of this group is called Amik-aindaud, or the Beaver-house. These
islands are inhabited by Chippewas, In 1840, they numbered 199 souls,
of whom 39 were men, 51 women, and 109 children. All were engaged
in the chase, or in fishing, and none in agriculture. Their chief was
called Kinwabekizze,

Amikwvg, a wild roving nation northwest of the sources of the Missis-
sippi. See Beaver Indians.

Amilpa, a settlement of Xochimilco, in Mexico, containing 730 Indian
families, who nve by agriculture,

Amiltepec, a settlement of Juquila, M., containing 14 Indian families.

Amixocores, a barbarous nation of Indians of Brazil, They inhabit
the woods and mountams south of Rio Janerio. They are cruel and
treacherous. They are at continual war with the Portuguese. Very little
is kni^wn of the territory they inhabit, or of their manners.

KTHNOLOGT.

369

Ammouokauobn, a name used in 1659, for the southern branch of the
Piscataqua river.

Amola, or Amula, a judicial district in Ouadaxalora, Mexico. In the
Mexican tongue, it signifies the land of many trees, as it abounds in trees
The change from o to u in the word, is deemed a corruption.

Amoltepkc, a settlement of Teozaqualco, Mexico, containing 96 Indian
families.

Amonoosuck, an Indian name which is borne by two rivers of New
Hampshire. Both take their rise in the White Mountains. The upper
Amonoosuck enters the Connecticut River, at Northumberland, near
upper Coos. The lower, or Great Amonoosuck, enters the same river
above the town of Haverhill, in lower Coos.

Amopocan, a settlement of Indians of Cuyo, in Chili, situated along the
shores of a river.

Amozaque, a settlement of Pueblo de los Angelos, in a hot and dry tem-
perature, containing 586 Indian families.

Ampones, a barbarous nation of Indians, in Paraguay. They inhabit
the forest to the south of the Rio de la Plata. They are of small
stature. They are divided into several tribes. They are courageous.
They live on wild tropical fruits, and on fish which are taken in certain
lakes. They preserve these by smoking. They enjoy a fine country and
climate. They find gold in the sand of their rivers, and have some traffic
with the city of Conception. Some converts have been made to the Cath
olic faith.

Amues, a settlement and silver mine of San Luis de la Paz, in Mexico.
It has 43 Indian families, besides 93 of Mustees and MuUatoes. They
subsist by digging in the%nine8.

Amurcas, a nation of barbarous Indians, descended from the Panches,
in New Grenada. They live in the forests to the south of the river Mag-
dalena. But little is known of them.

Amuskeag, the Indian name of a fall m the river Merrimack, New
Hampshire, 16 miles below Concord, and 7 miles below Hookset falls.

Ana, Santa. Of the fifty-five names of places in Mexico, or New Spain,
mentioned by Alcedo, which bear this name, seven are the seat of a joint
population of 544 Indian families. Of these, 3 1 are in Zaqualpa ; 117 in
Zultepec; 124 in Toluca; 134 in Cholula ; 18 iti Yautepec ; 25 in
Mitia; 70 in Amaqueca; and 149 in Huehuetlan.

Anahuac, the ancient Indian name of New Spain, or Mexico. The
valley of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, is, according to Humboldt, situated in
the centre of the cordillera of Anahuac. This valley is of an oval form.
Its length is 18J leagues, estimating from the entry of the Rio Tenango
into lake Chalco to the foot of the Cerro de Sincoque, and 12^ leagues in
breadth, from St. Gabriel to the sources of the Rio de Escapusalco. Its
territorial extent is 24 4| square leagues, of which only 22 square leagues

S60

KTHNOLOOT.

are occupied by bket, being lest than a tenth of the whole surface. Tlii.
circumference of the valley, estimating around the crest of the mountaini,
is 67 leagues. This crest is very elevated in most parts, and embraces the
great volcanoes of La Puebla, Popocatepetl, and Iztacchihuatl. There
are five lakes in this valley, of which, that of Te/cuco is the largest. All
are much diminished in the quantity of water they yield, since the 16th
century, which is owing, in part, to the destruction of trees by the Span-
iards, but most directly to the canal of Huehuetoco, cut through a moun-
tain, by which the waters are drawn into the river Panuco, and thus find
their way into the Atlantic. By this work, the city of Mexico itself was
freed from all eflfects of periodical inundation, and the site enlarged and
rendered better suited to streets and carriages. The waters of lake Tez-
cuce are impregnated with muriate and carbonate of soda. Those of
Xochimilco are the most pure and limpid. Humboldt found their specific
gravity to be 1.0009, when distilled water at the temperature of 54°
Fahrenheit, was 1.000, and that of Tezcuco 1.0215.

Of the five lakes mentioned, Xochimilco and Chalco contain 6^ square
leagues; Tezcuco, lO^^; San Christoval, 3^; and Zumpango, l-^.
The valley is a basin, surrounded by an elevated wall of porphyry moun>
tains. The bottom of this basin is 2,277 metres, or 7,468 feet above
the sea.

Analco, a settlement of Ouadalaxara, in Mexico, containing 40 Indian
families.

Anasaountakook, a band of the Abenaki, on the sources of the Andros-
coggin, in Maine.

Ancamares, a nation of Indians inhabiting the shores of the river Ma-
dera. They are very warlike and robust. lA 1683 they attacked the
Portuguese, and compelled them to give up the navigation of the river.
They are divided into different tribes. The most numerous are the An-
camares, who inhabit the shores of the river Cayari.

Ancas, a nation of Indians in Peru, who, on the 6th January, 1725,
were overwhelmed and destroyed by the ruins of a mountain which burst
forth by an earthquake. Fifteen thousand souls perished on that occasion.
Ance, or Hance's band of Chippewas, living at Point St. Ignace, on
the straits of Michilimackinac, in Michigan. This band, in 1840, as de-
noted by the annuity pay rolls, numbered 193 ; of whom, 33 were men,
54 women, and 106 children. They subsist in part by hunting the small
furred animals still existing in the country, and in part by fishing. They
migrate from place to place, as the season varies, plant very little, and are
addicted to the use of ardent spirits.

Anclote, an island on the southwest coast of Florida ; also, a river
flowing into the gulf at that locality, which is also called, in the Seminole
dialect, the Est-has-hotee.

ETHNOLOGY.

261

Anouteres, a nation of infidel Indians inhabiting the forests of the river

Napo, in Quito. They are numerous, savage, treacherous, and inconstant.

Andastes, a nation formerly inhabiting the territory on the southern

shores of lake Erie, southwest of the Senecas. They were extirpated by

the Irjquois.

Anjdaig Weos, or Crow's Flesh, a hereditary chief of the Chippewa
nation, living towards the close of the last century at the ancient Indian
village of La Pointe Chegoimegon, on lake Superior. He possessed quali-
ties, which, under a different phasis of society, would have developed
themselves in marked acts of benevolence. Numbers of anecdotes, favour-
able to his character, are related of him, and have been handed down by
tradition among the French residents on that remote frontier. Although
a warrior, engaged. in frequent expeditions against the enemies of his tribe,
he opposed the shedding of the blood of white men who were encountered,
in a defenceless state, in the pursuits of trade. He also resisted the plun-
der of their property. He had a strong natural sense of justice, accom-
panied with moral energy, and gave utterance to elevated and ennobling
sentiments in his intercourse.

Andreas, San. A settlement of Texupilco, in Mexico, containing 77
Indian families ; another of Toluco, of 134 ; another in Tlatotepec, of 33 j
another in Tuxtla, of 1170; another in Guejozingo, of 15; another in
Papalotepec, of 20 ; another in Hiscoutepec, of 68 ; another in Tepehua-
can, of 40 ; all under the same dedicatory name.

Androscoggin, the main western source of the river Kennebec, in
Maine.

Angagua, Santiago De ; a settlement of Valladolid, Mexico, containing
22 Indian families.

Angamocutiro, a s^tlement of the same district with the prA:eding, con-
taining 1 06 Indian families.

Angaraes, a province of Peru, containing six curacies or parishes of
Indians.

Angeles, Puebla De Los, the capitol of the province of Tlaxcala, in New
Spain, or Mexico, founded in 1533. The entire number of Indian fami-
lies within this important jurisdiction is 3,200, which, at the ordinary rate
of the estimation of Indian population here, thot is, five souls to a family,
gives an aggregate of 16,000. These are descendants of the ancient
Azteecs, who inhabited the country on its conquest.

This is, however, but the population of the chief town or capital. The
entire intendency of Pueblos de los Angeles contained, in 1793, 508,098
souls. Of this number, 373,752 were Indians of pure blood, divided into
187,531 males, and 186,221 females. There were also 77,908 of the
mixed race, divided into 37,318 males, and 40,590 females. But 54,980
were Spaniards, or whites, exclusive of 585 secular ecclesiastics, 446
monks, and 427 nuns.

262

ETHMOLOQY.

This preponderance of the native Indian population is still more strik*
itiT in the government of liaxcala, which, of course, includes the capital
above named. In 1793, it contained a population of 59,177 souls; of
which, 42,878 -vere Indians, divided into 21,849 males, and 21,029
females. The town is governed by a Cacique, and four Indian Alcaldes,
who represent the ancient heads of the four quarters, still called Teepecti-
pac, Ocotelalco, duiahtuitztlan, and Tizatlan. By virtue of a royal cedula
of 16th April, 1585, the whites have no seat in the municipality. The
Cacique, or Indian Governor, enjoys the honors of an alferez real Not-
withstanding the zeal of a Spanish intendant general, the progress of the
inhabitants in industry and prosperity has been extremely slow. The se-
cret of this is, perhaps, revealed in the fact that four fifths of the whole
property belongs to mort-main proprietors, ihat is to say, to communities
of monks, to chapters, corporations, and hospitak. Their trade is also de-
pressed by the enormous price of carriage from the table lands, and the
want of beasts of burden.

The geology and antiquities of this part of Mexico, are equally interest-
ing. The intendenc y of Puebla is traversed by the high cordilleras of
Anahuac, which, beyond the 18th degree of latitude, spreads into a plain,
elevated from 1,800 to 2,000 metres above the level of the ocean, or from
5,905 to 6,561 feet. In this intendency is also the Popocatepetl, the high-
est mountain in Mexico. Humboldt's measurement of this volcano makes
it 600 metres (1,968 feet,) higher than the most elevated summit of the
old continent. It is, indeed, only exceeded between Panama and Behring'a
Straits, by Mt. St. Elias.

The table land of Puebla exhibits remarkable vestiges of ancient civil-
ization. The fortifications of Tlaxcala are posterior in the date of theii
construction to the great pyramid of Cholula. This pyramid, or teocalli,
is the most stupendous monument erected by the race. Its squares are
arranged in exact accordance with the astronomical parallels. It is con-
structed in stages or terraces, the highest of which is 177 feet above the
plain. It has a base of 1423 feet. By a passage excavated into the north
side of it, a few years ago, it is found to be solid, and to consist of alternate
layers of brick and clay. Its centre has not, however, been reached, itf
height exceeds the third of the great Egyptian pyramids of the group ol
Ghiza. In its base, however, it exceeds that of all other edifices found by
travellers in the old continent ; it is almost double that of the great pyra-
mid of Cheops. To conceive of the vastness of the structure, let the tra-
veller imagine a square four times the size of the Place Vendome, piled
up with brick, in terraces, twice the utmost height of the palace of the
Louvre.

The Indians of the province of Tlaxcala speak three languages, differ-
ing from one another, namely : the Mexican, Totonac, and Tlapanac.
The first is peculiar to the inhabitants of Puebla, Cholula, ahd Tlascalla ;

ETHNOLOGY.

263

the second to the inhabitants of Zacatlan ; and the third is preserved in
the environs of Tlapa. The population of the entire intendency of Pue-
bla, in 1803, that is, ten years after the census above noted, had advanced
to 813,300 in an extent of 2,696 square leagues, giving 301 inhabitants to
the square league. Small as this may appear, it is four times greater than
that of Sweden, and nearly equal to that of the Kingdom of Arragon.

Anialis, a barbarous nation of South American Indians, in the llanos
of Casanare and Meta, in the new kingdom of Grenada. They are de-
scended from the Betoyes. They are very numerous, and of a gentle
nature. The Jesuits established a mission among them in 1722.

Annaciois, or Annacous, a barbarous nation of Indians, of the province
of Puerto Seguro, in Brazil. They inhabit the woods and mountains to
the west, and near the rivers Grande and Yucara. They are in a con-
stant state of warfare, night and day. They are irreconcileable enemies
of the Portuguese, whose colonies and cultivated lands they continually
infest, and which they destroyed in 1687.

Annemosing, the name of the Ottowas, and Chippewas, for the Fox
Islands, of lake Michigan. It is derived of Annemose, a young dog or
fox, and i7ig, a partich denoting place, or locality.

Annemikeens, a Chippewa hunter of Red River, in Hudson's bay,
who survived a conflict with a grisly bear. After being terribly lacerated,
in his face and limba, but not deprived of consciousness, he affected death.
The animal then feized him gently by the neck, and dragged him to a
thicket, where ho was left, as it was thought, to be eaten when the calls
of hunger shoui.' demand. From this position he arose, first setting up,
and binding jiViiis of his lacerated flesh down, and afterwards rose, and
succeeded ir reaching his wigwam, where, by skill in the use of simples,
his wounds v/ere entirely healed. The name signifies little thunder, be-
ing a coTfyonnd from Annimikee, thunder, and the diminutive inflection
in ui

ANNUTrELiGo, a hammock brought to notice in the late war with the
Seniinoles, in Florida. It is situated east of the Withlacooche river.

Anolaima, a settlement of locaima, in New Granada, containing a
small, but indefinite population of Indians.

Antalis, a barbarous and warlike nation of Indians, in the kingdom
of Chile, to the west of Coquimbo. They valorously opposed the pro-
gress of the Inca Yupanqui, compelling him, in the end, to terminate
his conquests on the other side of the river Maule, the last boundary of
Peru.

Antiquities. See the articles Grave Creek, Marrietla, Circleville, &c.

Antiiony St. ; the falls of, being the fourth and lowermost of the per-
pendicular, or prominent falls of the Mississippi, and by far the greatest.

rhe first fall of this stream is the Kakabika, situated about half a day's
journey below Itasca lake ; the second is called Pukagama, and occurs be-

264

ETHNOLOGY.

low the influx of the Leech lake bi^anch. The third is below Elk river
and is passable in boats and canoes. St. Anthony's is the most consider
able of the series, and the only one which presents an abrupt plunge of
the stream from horizontal rocks. They were thus named by Hennepin^
about 1680. By the Dacotah Indians, who inhabit the country, they are'
called Haha. It is at this point, that the Mississippi, which gathers its
waters from high table lands, and has its course, for several hundreds of
miles, through diluvions superimposed on the primitive, first plunges into
the great secondary formation. For more than a thousand miles, in its
way southward, its banks are rendered imposing and precipitous by this
formation. At or near the Grand Tower, and its adjunct precipice, on the
Missouri shore, this formation ceases, and ihe river enters the great delta,
which still confines it, for a like distance, before it expands itself, by its
bifurcations, and final exit, in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Balize.

Antonio, San. The following statistical facts, deno<« the Indian popu-
lation, of sundry settlements, bearing this name, within the former govern-
ment ;f New Spain, now Mexico. In the limits '/ Tollman, 32 families ;
in Tampolomon, 128; in Toluca 51 ; in Metepec261; in Coronango,
44 ; in Huehuetlan, 140; in Chapala, 27.

Apacahund, or White Eyes, a Delaware chief of note, of the era of
the American revolution, who is frequently mentioned in documents of
the times.

Apaces, San Juan Bautista De, a settlement of Zelaga in the province
and bishopric of Mechoacan, containing 135 Indian families. Another
settlement, of the same name, with the dedicatory title of Santa Maria, in
the district of Zitaguaro, contains 24 families.

Apaches, a nation of Indians, located between the Rio del Norte and the
sources of the Nuaces, who were reported, in 1817, at 3,500. In an
official report submitted to Congress, in 1837, their numbers " within
striking distance of the western frontier," are vaguely put at, 20.280.

Apallachians ; a nation of Indians who formerly inhabited the ex-
treme southern portion of the United States, and have left their name in
the leadin^range of the Apallachian mountains. In 1539 De Soto found
them in Florida, a term at that era comprehending also the entire area of
the present states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and other portions
of the southern territory. They were numerous, fierce, and valorous.
They were clothed in the skins of wild beasts. They used bows and
•rrows, clubs and spears. They did not, as many nations of barbarians do,
poison their darts. They were temperate, drinking only water. They
did not make wars on slight pretences, or for avarice, but to repress at-
taek-s, or remedy injustice. They treated their prisoners with humanity,
and like other persons of their households. They were long lived, some
persons reaching a hundred years. They worshipped the sun, to which
they sang hymns, morning and evenitig. These facts are to be gleaned
from the umraiive. What were their numbers, how far they extended
their jurisdnetion, what were their affiliations by language, customs, and
institutions wi#» other tribes, cannot be accurately decided. Much that
is said of th«nr cjvil and military polity, buildings, ceremonies and other
traits, applies to th*' Kloridian Indians generally, and may be dismissed as
either vague, or not characteristic of the Appalachians. A quarto vol-
ume was published in London in 1666, by John Davies, under the title
of a " History of the Caribby Indians," in which he traces the caribs of
the northern groups of the West Indies, to the Apcllachians, and relates
many incidents, and narrates a series of surprisii""/ v^ars and battles,
reaching, in their effects, throi.gh the Mississippi, va'lv.y up to the great
lakes, which have the appearauce of fable. Fcvmu. *> jf this account,
which speaks of " cattle" and •' herds," may be grafieu; on ancient tra-
ditions, it is impossible to tell. There are some proofs of such an an-
cient civilisation in the Ohio valley and other sections of the country, bnt
they are unconnected with any Indian traditit/iN, which have survivt .,
unless we consider the mounds and remains of antique forts as mr-uu-
mental evidences of these reputed «rars. The Lenapee accu'jvits c\ tiicse
ancient wars with the Tallagees or AUegewy, may be thought t"^ v. for to
this ancient people, who had, if this conjecture be correct, * aded
their dominion to the middle and northern latitudes of the present area
of the United States, prior to the appearance of the Algonquin and Iro
quies races. Mr. Irving has suggested the name of Apallachia, ur Alle
gania, derived from the stock, for this division of the continent

265

LAIGUAGE.

LECTURES ON THE GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE

OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGE.

The course of lectures, of which the following are part, were delivered
before the St. Mary's committee of the Algic Society. Two of them only
have been published. They are here continued from the article " Indian
Languages," at page 202 of the "Narrative of the Discovery of the actual
Source of the Mississippi, in Itasca Lake," published by the Harpers, in
1834. The family of languages selected as the topic of inquiry, is the
Algonquin. All the examples employed are drawn from that particular
type of it which is called Chippewa, in our transactions with them, but
which they uniformly pror ounce themselves, Od-jib-wa. These terms
are employed as perfect synonyms. The phrase " Odjibwa-Algonquin,"
wherever it occurs, is intended to link, in the mind of the inquirer, the
species and the genus (if we may borrow a term from natural history) of
the language, but is not fraught with, or intended to convey, any additional
idea. The three terms relate to one and the same people.

LECTURE III.

Observations on the Adjective — Its distinction into tw^ clisses denoted by the presence
or absence of vitality — Examples of the animates and inanimates — Mode of their
conversion into substantives — How pronouns are applied to these derivatives, and the
manner of forming compound terms from adjective bases, to describe the various natu>
ral phenomena — The application of tiiese principles in common conversation, and in
the description of natural and artificial objects — Adjectives always preserve the dis-
tinction of number — Numerals — Arithmetical capacity of the language — The unit
exists in duplicate.

1. It has been remarked that the distinction of words into animates and
inanimates, is a principle intimately interwoven throughout the structure
of the language. It is, in fact, so deeply imprinted upon its grammatical
forms, and is so perpetually recurring, that it may be looked upon, not
only as forming a striking peculiarity of the language, but as constituting
the fundamental principle of its structure, from which all other rules have
derived ;heir limits, and to which they have been made to conform. No
class of w ords appears to have escaped its impress. Whatever concords

266

LANGUAGE.

267

other laws impose, they all agree, and are made subservient in the estab-
lishment of this.

It might appear to be a useless distinction in the adjective, when the
substantive is thus marked ; but it will be recollected that it is in the
plural of the substantive only, ' * the distinction is marked. And we
shall presently have occasion t .hat redundancy of forms, are, to

considerable extent, obviated in e.

For the origin of the principle oil, we need look only to nature, which en-
dows animate bodies with animate properties and qualities, and vice versa.
But it is due to the tribes who speak this language, to have invented one set of
adjective symbols to express the ideas peculiarly appropriate to the former,
and another set applicable, exclusively, to the latter ; and to have given
the words good and bad, black and white, great and small, handsome and
ugly, such modifications as are practically compe'. nt to indicate the ge-
neral nature of the objects referred to, whether provided with, or destitute
of the vital principle. And not only so, but by the figurative use of
these forms, to exalt inanimate masses into the class of living beings, or
to strip the latter of the properties of life — a principle of much importance
to their public speakers.

This distinction is shown in the following examples, in which it will be
observed, that the inflection izzi, generally denotes the personal, and am,
un^ or wild, the impersonal forms.

Adj

: I/ianmate.

dj : Animate.

Bad

Monaud

izzi.

Ugly

Gushkoonaug

wud

Gushkoonaug

oozzi

Beautiful

Bishegaindaug

wud

Bishegaindaug

oozzi.

Strong

Sdng

unr

Song

izzi.

Soft

Nok

izzi.

Hard

Mushkow

izzi.

Smooth

Shoiskw

Shoisk

oozzi.

Black

Mukkuddaw

iVTukkuddiiw

izzi.

White

Waubishk

izzi.

Yellow

Ozahw

O^ahvv

izzi.

Red

Miskw

izzi.

Blue

Ozhahwushkw

izzi.

Sour

Sheew

izzi.

Sweet

Weeshkob

izzi.

Light

Naung

izzi.

It is not, hovvever, in all cases, by mere modifications of the adjective,
.hat these distinctions are expressed. Words totally different in sound,
and evidently derived from radically different roots, are, in some few instan-
ces, employed, as in the following examples :

268

LANGUAGE.

Adj: Inanimate.

Adj

Animate.

Good

Onisheshin

Minno.

Bad

Monaudud

Mudjee.

Tjarge

Mitshau

Mindiddo.

Small

Pungee

Uggaushi

Old

Geekau

Gitizzl.

It may be remarked of these forms, that although the impersonal will, in
some instances, take the personal inflections, the rule is not reciprocated, and
minno, and mindiddo, and gitizzi, and all words similarly situated, remain
unchangeably animates. The word pungee, is limited to the expression
of quantity, and its correspondent uggaushi, to size, or quality. Kishe-
da, (hot) is restricted to the heat of a fire ; keezhauta, to the heat of the
sun. There is atill a third term to indicate the natural heat of the body,
Kizzizoo. Mitshau (large) is generally applied to countries, lakes, riv-
ers, tfec. Mindiddo, to the body, and gitshee, indiscriminately. Onishi-
shin. and its correspondent onishishsha, signify, handsome or fair, ns well
as gool Kwonaudj a. a. and kwonaudj ewun a. i. mean, strid'y, hand-
soaie, oud imply nothing further. Minno, is the appropriate personal
Jo^m f: V good. Mudgee and monaudud, may reciprocally change gen-
it-:a, tiij lirst by the addition of i-e-e, and the second by aUering ud to
izzi

Distinciions of this kind are of considerable; importance in a practical
point of view, and their observance or neglect, are noticed with scrupulous
exactness by the Indians. The want of inanimate forms to such words as
happy, sorrowful, brave, sick «kc. creates no confusion, as inanimate nouns
cannot, strictly speaking, take upon themselves such qualities, and when
they do — as they sometimes do, by one of those extravagant figures of
speech, which are used in their tales of transformations, the animate forms
answer all purposes. For in these tales the whole material creation may
be clothed with animation. The rule, as exhibited in practice, is limited,
with sufficient accuracy, to the boundaries prescribed by nature.

To avoid a repetition of forms, were the noun and the adjective both to
be empLyed in the;/ usual relation, the latter is endowed with a pronomi-
nal, or substantive inflection. And the use of the noun, in its separate
form, is thus wholly superceded. Thus onishishin, a. i. and onishishsba,
a. a. becomo Wanishishing, tha' vhich is good, or fair, and Wanish-
ishid, he who is good or lair. Ta«. following examples will exhibit this
rule, under each of its fornis.

Compound or Noun-Adjective Animate.
Black Mukkuddaw i?:/i Makuddaw izzid.

White Waubishk izzi Wyaubishk izzid.

Yellow Ozahw izzi Wazauw izzid.

Red Miskw izzi Mashk oozzid.

Strong Song izzi Song izzid.

LANGUAGE.

269

Noun-Adjective Inanimate.

Black Mukkuddaw au Mukkuddftw aug.

White Waubishk au Wj'aubishk aug.

Yellow Ozahvv au Wazhauw aug.

Red Mishkw au Mishkw aug.

The animate forms in these examples will be recognized, as exhibiting
a further extension of the rule, mentioned in the preceding chapter, by
which substantives are formed from the indicative of the verb by a permu-
tation of the vowels. And these A)rms are likewise rendered plural in
the manner there mentioned. They also undergo changes to indicate the
various persons. For instance onishisha is thus declined to mark the
person.

Wanishish-eyaun I (am) good, or fair.

Wunishish-eyun Thou (art) good, or fair.

Wanishishid He (is) good or fair.

V7anishish-eyang We (are) good or fair (ex.)

Wanishish-eyung We (are) good a fair (in.)

Wanishish-eyaig Ye (are) good or fair.

Wanishish-idigj They (are) good or fair.

The inanimate forms, being without person, are simply rendered plural
by i?i, changing maiskwaug, to maiskwaug-in, &c. &c. The verbal sig-
nification which these forms assume, as indicated in the words am, art, is,
are, is to be sought in the permutative change of the first syllable. Thus
o is changed to wS,, muk to mak, waub to wy-aub, ozau to wazau, misk
to maisk, &c. The pronoun, as is usual in the double compounds, is
formed wholly by the inflections eyaun, eyun, &.c.

The strong tendency of the adjective to assume a personal, or pronom-
ico-substantive form, leads to the employment of many words in a par-
ticular, or exclusive sense. And in any future practical attempts with the
language, it wil» be found greatly to facilitate its acquisition if the adjec-
tives are arranged in distinct classes, separated by this characteristic prin-
ciple of their application. The examples we have given are chiefly those
which may be considered strictly animate, or inanimate, admit of double
forms, and are of general use. Many of the examples recorded in the
original manuscripts dinployod in those lectures, are of a more concrete
character, and, at the saiiid lime, ii more limited use. Thus shau^wewe,
is a weak person, niikuuiiiuninc, u weak ilnnk, nnkangwud, a weak, or
soft piece of wood. Siisulgiiii, is lino, Imt ("i»n (inly bo applied to per-
sonal appcMimiice : beesau, indiciiles fine grains. Keewushkwa is giddy,
and keesvuslikwiibmi, f^idily with drink, both beirg restricted to the third
person. SOngun and songizzi, are the personal and itnpersonal forms of
strong, as given above. But Mushkowaugumme, is strong drink. In
like manner the two words for hard, as above, are reiliietod to solid sub-

270

LANGUAGE.

Stances. Sunnuhgud is hard (to endure,) waindud, is easy (to perform.)
Sdnged^a is brave, ShaugedM cowardly, keezhinzhowizzi, active, kizhe*
kau, swift, onaunegoozzi lively, minwaindum happy, gushkwaindum, sor-
rowful, but all these forms are confined to the third person of the indica-
tive, singular. Pibbigwau, is a rough or knotted substance. Pubbiggo-
ozzi, a rough person. Keenwau is long, or tall, (any solid mass.) Kay-
nozid is a tall person. Tahkozid a short person. Wassayau is light ;
wassaubizzoo, the light of the eye ; wasshauzha,the light of a star, or any
luminous body. Kecnau is sharp, keenaubikud, a sharp knife, or stone.
Keezhaubikeday, is hot metal, a hot stove, &c. Keezhaugummeda, is hot
water. AubudgeetiJn, is useful, — a useful thing. Wauweeug is frivolous,
any thing frivolous in word, or deed. Tubbushish, appears to be a gene-
ral term for low. Ishpimming is high in the air. Ishpau, is applied to
any high fixture, as a house, ^c. Ishpaubikau is a high rock. Taush*
kaubikau, a split rock.

These combinations and limitations meet the inquirer at every step.
They are the current phrases of the language. They present short,
ready, and often beautiful modes of expression. But as they shed light,
both upon the idiom and genius of the language, I shall not scruple to add
further examples and illustrations. Ask a Chippewa, the name for rock,
and he will answer awzhebik. The generic import of aubik, has been ex-
plained. Ask him the name for red rock, and he will answer miskwau-
bik, — for white rock, and he will answer vvaubaubik, for black rock
mukkuddawaubik, — for yellow rock, ozahwaubik, — for green rock, oz-
hahwushkwaubik, — for bright rock, wassayaubik, for smooth rock, shois-
hkwaubik, <Stc. compounds in which the words red, white, black, yellow,
<fec. unite with aubik. Pursue this inquiry and the following forms will
be elicited.

Impersonal.

Miskwaubik-ud.

Waubaubik-ud.

Mukkuddawaubik-ud.

Ozahwaubik-ud.

Wassayaubik-ud.

Shoiskwaubik-ud.

Miskvvaubik-izzi.

Waubaubik-izzi.

Mukkuddiiwaubik-izzi.

Ozahwaubik-izzi.

Wassayaubik-izzi.

Shoiskwaubik-izzi.

Add bun to these terms, and

It (is) a red rock.
It (is) a white rock.
It (is) a black rock.
It (is) a yellow rock.
It (is) a bright rock.
It (is) a smooth rock.

Personal.

He (is) a red rock.
He (is) a. white rock.
He (is) a black rock.
He (is) a yellow rock.
He (is) a bright rock.
He (is) a smooth rock.

they are made to have passed away, — pre-

LANGUAGE.

271

fix tah to them, and their future appearance is indicated. The word "ia"
in the translations, although marked with brackets, is not deemed wholly
gratuitous. There is, strictly speaking, an idea of existence given to these
compounds, by the particle au in aubic, which seems to be indirectly n
derivative from that great and fundamental root of the language iau. Bik,
is, apparently, the radix of the expression for " rock."

Let this mode of interrogation be continued, and extended to other ad-
jectives, or the same adjectives applied to other objects, and results equally
regular and numerous will bo obtained. Minnis, we shall be told, is an
island : miskominnis, a red island ; mukkaddaminnis, a black island ; wau-
beminnis, a white island, &c. Annokwut, is a cloud ; miskwaunakwut, a
red cloud ; mukkuddawukwut, a black cloud ; waubahnokwut, a white
cloud ; ozahwushkwahnokwut, a blue cloud, &c. Neebe is the specific
term for water ; but is not generally used in combination with the adjec-
tive. The word guma, like aubo, appears to be a generic term for water,

potable liquids. Hence the following terms : —

Gitshee,

Great.

Gitshiguma,

Great water

Nokun,

Weak.

Ndkauguma,

Weak drink.

Mushkowau,

Strong.

Mushkowauguma

Strong drink.

Weeshkobun

, Sweet.

Weeshkobauguma, Sweet drink.

Sheewun,

Sour.

Sheewauguma,

Sour drink.

Weesugun,

Bitter.

Weesugauguma,

Bitter drink.

Minno,

Good.

Minwauguma,

Good drink.

Monaudud,

Bad.

Mahnauguma,

Bad drink.

Miskwau,

Red.

Miskwauguma,

Red drink.

Ozahwau,

Yellow.

Ozahwauguma,

Yellow drink.

Weenun,

Dirty.

Weenauguma,

Dirty water.

Peenud,

Clear.

Peenauguma,

Clear Water.

From minno, and from monaudud, good and bad, are derived the fol-
lowing terms. Minnopogwud, it tastes well; minnopogoozzi, he tastes
well. Mauzhepogwud, it tastes bad ; mawzhepogoozzi, he tastes bad.
Minnomaugwud, it smells geod ; minnomaugoozzi, he smells good ; mag-
ghemaugawud, it smells bad ; mawhemaugoozzi, he smells bad. The in-
flections gwud, and izzi, here employed, are clearly indicative, as in other
combinations, of the words it and him,

Baimwa is sound. Baimwawa, the passing sound. Minwawa, a
pleasant sound. Minwawa, a pleasant sound. Maunwawa, a disagree-
able sound. Mudwayaushkau, the sound of waves dashing on the shore.
Mudwayaunnemud, the sound of winds. Mudvvay au kooskau, the
sound of falling trees. Mudwakumigishin, the Sound of a person falling
Hpon the earth. Mudwaysin, the sound of any inanimate mass falling on
the earth. These examples might be continued ad infinitum. Every mo-
dification of circumstances — almost every peculiarity of thought is ex-

272

LANGUAGE.

pressed by some modification of tho orthography. Enough has been ^<ive»i
to prove that the adjective combines itself with the substantive, the verb
and the pronoun — that the combinations thun produced are numerous,
afford concentrated modes of conveying ideas, and oftentimes happy terms
of expression. Numerous and prevalent as these forms are, they do not,
however, preclude the use of adjectives in their simple forms. The use
of the one, or of the other appears to be generally at the option of the
speaker. In most cases brevity or euphony dictates the choice. Usa^,
results from the application of these principles. There may be rules re^t*
ing upon a broader basis, but if so, they do not appear to be very obviouf,
Perhaps the simple adjcrtives are oftenest employed before verbs and nouns,
in the first and second persons singular. , ....

Ningee minno neebau-nabun,
Ningee minno weesin,
Ningee minno pimmoossay,
Kagat minno geeghigud,
Kwunaudj ningodahu, *•
Ke minno iau nuh ?
Auneende ain deyun ?
Keezhamonedo aup^ushsh^-

wainenik,
Aupiidush Shawaindaugoozze-

yun,
Aupadush nau kinwainzh pirn

maudizziyun,
Onaunoegoozzin,
Ne miuv/aiprl'im waubumaun,
Kwanaudj Kwtewcezaius,
Kagiit Soiigeedaa,
Kagat onishishsha,
Gitshee kinOzee,
Uggausau bawizzi,
Gitshee sussaigau,
Bishegaindaugooziwug meeg-

wunug,
Ke daukoozzinuh ?
Monaudud maundun muskeekee,
Monaudud aindauyun,
Aindauyaun mitshau,
Ne mittigwaub onishishsha,
Ne bikwukOn monaududOn,
Ne minwaindaun appaukooz- {

zegun, '

I have slept well.

I have eaten a good meal.

I have walked well, or a good distance

It (is) a very pleasant day.

I have a handsome garment

Are you well ?

What ails you ?

God prosper you.
Good luck attend you.

May you live long. . ,

Be (thou) cheerful.

I (am) glad to see you.

A pretty boy. ' . *

He (is) a brave man.

She (is) handsome.

He (is) very tall.

She (is) slender.

He (is) fine dressed.

They (are) beautiful feathert.

Are you sick.

This (is) bad medicine.

My place of dwelling (is) bad.

My place of dwelling is large.

My bow (is) good.

But my arrows (are) bad.

I love mild, or mixed, tobaeca

LANGUAGE.

273

But I never smolce pure tol)acca

> The Great Spirit made water.

ICauweekau neezhikay ussii-

mau ne sun;guswaunausee,
Monaiulud mait-likowauguinig, Strong drink (is) bad.
Keeguhgce baudjeegonaun, It makes us foolish.
Gitshee Monedo nebee ogee

Dzhetiin,

Inineewugdush\veenishkiidil.>„ * , ,.,

„ , 1 u ,■• u ^ "Ut '^i"! made whiskey,

waubo ogeo ozhetonahwaun. ) ^

These expressions are put down promiscuously, embracing verbs and
nouns as they presented themselves; and without any effort to suppoit the
opinioa — which may, or may not be correct — that the elementary forms
of the adjectives are most commonly required before verbs and nouns in
the first and second persons. The English expression is thrown into In-
dian in the most natural manner, and of course, without always giving
adjective for adjective, or noun for noun. I'hus, God is rendered, not
" Monedo," but, " Geezha Monedo," Merciful 'tit. Good luck, is ren-
dered by the compound phrase " Shdwainda; .izeyun," indicating, in a
very general sense the influence of khuLness or benevolence on success in
life. " Songediia, is alone, a brave man ; and the word " Kiigut," prefixed,
is an adverb. In the expression " mild tobacco," the adjective is entirely
dispensed with in the Indian, the sense being sufficiently rendered by the
compound noun "appaukoozzegun," which always means the Indian
weed, or smoking mixture. " Ussamau," on the contrary, without the
adjective, signifies, " pure tobacco." '' Bikwakdn," signifies blunt, or
lumpy-headed arrows. Assowaun is the barbed arrow. Kvvonaudj
kweeweezains, means, not simply " pretty boy," but 'pretty little boy ; and
there is no mode of using the word boy but in this diminutive form — the
the word itself being a derivative, from kewewe, conjugal with the regular
diminutive in ams. '• Onaunegoozzin" embraces the pronoun, verb and
adjective, be thou cheerful. In the last phrase of the examples, *' man," 18
rendered men (inineewug) in the translation, as the term man cannot be
employed in the gemral plural sense it conveys in this connection, in the
original. The word " whiskey," is rendered by the compound phrase
ishkodawaubo, literally, fine-liquor, a generic for all kinds of ardent
spirits.

These aberrations from the literal term, will convey some conceptions
of the difference of the two idioms, although, from the limited nature and
object of the examples, they will not indicate the full extent of this differ-
ence. In giving anythinglike the spirit of the original, much greater de-
viations, in the written forms, must appear. And in fact, not only the
Btructure of the language, but the mode and vrder of thought of the Indians
is so essentially different, that any attempts to preserve the English idiom
— to give letter for letter, and word for word, must go far to render the

translation pure nonsense.

.^. ir

^f^^.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

K.
^

.7"

«./.

1.0

I.I

U£ 1^ 12.2

1.8

- 6"

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

1.25 IIIIII.4 ill.6

73 WfiST MAIN STf.ifT

WMSTM.N.Y. M580

(716) 872-4S03

274

LANGUAGE.

2. Varied as the adjective is, in its changes it has no compurative in*
flection. A Chippewa cannot say that one substance is hotter or colder
than another ; or of two or more substances unequally heated, that this, or
that is the hottest or coldest, without employing adverbs, or accessory ad<
iectives. And it is accordingly by adverbs, and accessory adjectives, that
the degrees of comparison are expressed.

Pimmaudizziwin, is a very general substantive expression, in indicating
the tenor of being or life. Izzhewftbizziwin, is a term near akin to it, but
more appropriately applied to the acts, conduct, manner, or personal deport-
ment of life. Hence the expressions :

Nin bimmaudizziwin,
Ke bimmaudizziwin,
O Pimmaudizziwin,
Nin dizekewgbizziwin,
Ke dizhewabizziwin,
O Izzhew&bizziwin,

My tenor of life.
Thy tenor of life.
His tenor of life, &c.
My personal deportment
Thy personal deportment.
His personal deportment, &c.

To form the positive degree of comparison for these terms minno, good,
and mudjee, bad, are introduced between the pronoun and verb, giving
rise to some permutations of the vowels and consonants, which affect the
sound only. Thus: —

Ne minno pimmaudizziwin,
Ke minno pimmaudizziwin,
Minno pimmaudizziwin,
Ne mudjee pimmaudizziwin,
Ke mudjee pimmaudizziwin,
Mudjee pimmaudizziwin.

My good tenor of life.
Thy good tenor of life.
His good tenor of life.
My bad tenor of life.
Thy bad tenor of life.
His bad tenor of life.

To place these forms in the comparative degree, nahwudj, more, is pre-
fixed to the adjective ; and the superlative is denoted by mahmowee, an ad*
verb, or an adjective as it is variously applied, but the meaning of which,
is, in this connexion, most. The degrees of comparison may be therefore
set down as follows : —

Positive, Kisheda, Hot, (restricted to the heat of a fire.)

Comp. Nahwudj Kisheda, More hot.
Super. Mahmowee Kishedft, Most hot. *

Your manner of life is good,
Your manner of life is better,

Your manner of life is best,

His manner of life is best,
Little Turtle was brave,

Ke dizzihewabizziwin onishishin.

Ke dizzhewabizziwin nahwudj onis*
hishin.
{ Ke dizzhewabizziwin mahmowe^
( onishishin.

( OdizzhewQ uizziwin mahmowee onish*
f ishinine.

MikkenokOns sOagedaabuD.

LANGUAGE.

Tecumseh was braver, Tedlimaeh nahwidj tOngedAftbun.

Pontiac was bravest, Pontiac mabmowee sOngedft&bun.

3. The adjective assumes a nega^ve form when it is preceeded by tho
adverb. Thus the phrase sOngeda&, he is brave, is changed to, Kah*
ween sdnged&cUee, he is not brave.

Positive.
Neebwaukah,

Ho is wise.
Kwonaudjewe,

She is handsome,
Oskineegee,

He is young.
Shaugweewee,

He is feeble.
Geekkau,

He is old.
Mushkowizzi,

He is strong.

Negative.

Kahween neebwaukah-see,
He is not wise.
': Kahween kwonaudjewe-seet
She is not handsome.
Kahween oskineegee-see.

He is not young.
Kahween Shaugweewee-se^,

He is not feeble.
Kahween Geekkau-see,

He is not old.
Kahween Mushkowizzi-see,

He is not strong.

From this rule the indeclinable adjectives — by which is meant those ad«
jwctives which do not put on the personal and impersonal forms by inflec-
tion, but consist of radically diflferent roots — form exceptions.

Ke dahkoozzi nuh?

Kahween ke dahkoozzi-see I

Ne minwaindum.

Kahween ne minwuinduz-see

Mudjee izzhewabizzi.

Kahween mudjee a izzhewabizzirsee.

Mitshau muggud.

Kahween mitshau-seendn.

Are you sick?

You are not sick I

I am happy.

I am unhappy.

His manner of life is bad.

His manner of life is not bad.

It is large.

It is not large.

In these examples the declinable adjectives are rendered negative in see.
The indeclinable, remain as simple adjuncts to the verbs, and the latter
pui on the negative form.

4. In the hints and remarks which have now been furnished respect-
ing the Chippewa adjective, its powers and inflections have been shown
to run parallel with those of the substantive, in its separation into animates
and inanimates, — in having the pronominal inflections, — in taking an in-
flection for tense — (a topic, which, by the way, has been very cursorily
passed over,) and in the numerous, modifications to form the compounds.
This parallelism has also been mtimated to hold good with respect to
number — a subject deeply interesting in itself, as it has its analogy only in
the ancient languages, and it was therefore deemed best to defer giving ex-
amples till they could be introduced without abstracting the attention from
other points of discussion.

276

LANOVAGE.

Minno and mudjee, good and bad, being of the limited number of per-
sonal adjectives, which modern usage permits being applied, although
often improperly applied, to inanimate objects, they as well as a few other
adjectives, form exceptions to the use of number. Whether we say a good
man or a bad man, good men or bad men, the words minno and mudjee,
remain the same. But all the declinable and coalescing adjectives — adjec-
tives which join on, and, as it were, melt into the body of the substantive,
take the usual plural inflections, and are governed by the same rules in
regard to their use, as the substantive, personal adjectives requiring per-
sonal plurals, &,c.
/ Adjectives Animate.

Singular.

Onishishewe mishemin,
Kwonaudjewe eekwa,
Songeddd inine,
Bishegaindaugoozzi peenasee,
Ozahwizzi ahmo,

Plural.

Onishishewe-wug mishemin -ug,
Kwonaudjewe-wug eekwa-wug,
Songed&a-wug inine-wug,

Bishegaindaugoozzi-wug peenasee-wug, Beautiful birds.
Ozahwizzi'Wug ahm-Og, Yellow bees.

Adjectives Inanimate.
Singular.
Onishishin mittig, Good tree.

Kwonaudj tshemaun, Handsome canoe.

Monaudud ishkoda. Bad fire.

Weeshkobun aidetaig. Sweet fruit.

Plural.

Good apple.
Handsome woman.
Brave man.
Beautiful bird.
Yellow bee.

Good apples.
Handsome women.
Brave men.

Onishishin-dn mittig-6n,
Kwonaudjewun-On tshemaun-un,
Monaudud-dn ishkod-^n,
Weeshkobun-On aidetaig-in.

Good trees.
Handsome canoes.
Bad fires.
Sweet fruits.

Peculiar circumstances are supposed to exist, in order to render the
use of the adjective, in this connexion with the noun, necessary and
proper. But in ordinary instances, as the narration of events, the noun
would precede the adjective, and oftentimes, particularly where a second
allusion to objects previously named became necessary, the compound ex-
pressions would be used. Thus instead of saying the yellow bee, way-
zahwizzid, would distinctly convey the idea of that insect, had the species
been before named. Under similar circumstances kainwaukoozzid, agau-

LANGUAGE.

277

per-
•ugh
>ther

ijee,
djec-
itive,
s in
per-

the
and
oun
9nd
ex-
ay-
xies
:au-

sheid sdngaunemud, mushkowaunemud, would respectively signify, a tall
tree, a small fly, a strong wind, a hard wind. And these terms would be-
come plural in jig, which, as before mentioned, is a mere modification of
ig, one of the five general animate plural inflections of the language.

Kagalt wahwinaudj abbendjeeug, is an expression indicating theif are
very handsome children. Bubbeeweezheewug monetdsug, denotes small
insects. Minno neewugizzi, is good tempered, he is good tempered.
Mawshininewugizzi, is bad tempered, both having their plural in loug.
Nin nuneenahwaindum, I am lonesome. Nin nuneenahwaindaumin, we
(excluding you) are lonesome. Waweea, is a term generally used to
express the adjective sense of round. Kwy, is the scalp. ( Weenikwy his
scalp.) Hence Weewukwon, hat ; Wayweewukwonid, a wearer of the
hat ; and its plural Wayeewukwonidjig, wearers of the hats — the usual
term applied to Europeans, or white men generally. These examples
go to prove, that under every form in which the adjective can be traced,
whether in its simplest or most compound state, it is susceptible of number.

The numerals of the language are converted into adverbs, by the in-
flection ing, making one, once, &>c. The unit exists in duplicate.

Pazhik, One, general unit) . , ,. ^^
, ' "* . , . J Aubedmg, Once.

Ingoot, One, numerical unit) "'

Neesh, Two.
Niswee, Three.
Neewin, Four.
Naunun, Five.
N'goodwaswa, Six.
Neeshwauswa, Seven.
Shwauswe, Eight.
Shongusswe, Nine.
Meetauswee, Ten.

Neeshing, Twice.

Nissing, Thrice.

Neewing, Four-times.

Nauning, Five-times.

N'goodwautshing, Six-times.

Neeshwautshing, Seven-times.

Shwautshing, Eight-times.

Shongutshing, Nine-times.

Meetaushing, Ten-times.
These inflections can be carried as high as they can compute numbers.
They count decimally. After reaching ten, they repeat, ten and one, ten
and two, &c. to twenty. Twenty is a compound signifying two tens,
thirty, three tens, ifcc, a mode which is carried up to one hundred nl good-
wok. Wak, then becomes the word of denomination, combining with the
names of the digits, until they reach a thousand, meetauswauk, literally, ten
hundred. Here a new compound term is introduced made by prefixing
twenty to the last denomination, neshtonnah duswak, which doubles the
last term, thirty triples it, forty quadruples it, Slc, till the computation
reaches to ten thousand, n'goodwak dushing n'goodwak, one hundred
times one hundred. This is the probable extent of all certain computation.
The term Gitshee, (great,) prefixed to the last denomination, leaves the
number indefinite.

There is no form of the numerals corresponding to second, third, fourth,
&c. They ccn only further say, nittum first, and ishkwaudj, last.

LECTURE IV.

Nature and principles of the pronoun — Its diatinction into preformative and subfor
mative claaBea — Personal pronouns — ^The distinction of an inclusive and exclusive form
in the number of the first person plural — Modifications of the personal pronouns to im-
ply existence, individuality, possession, ownership, position and other accidents — Declen-
sion of pronouns to answer the purpose of the auxiliary verbs — Subformatives, how
employed, to mark the persons — Relative pronoims considered — Their application to the
causative verbs — Demonstrative pronouns — theur separation into two classes, auiniatea
and inanimates — Example of their use.

Pronodns are buried, if vre may so ray, in the structure of the verb.
In tracing them back to their primitive forms, through the almost infinite
variety of modifications which they assume, in connexion with the verb,
substantive and adjective, it will facilitate analysis, to group them into
preformative and subformative, which include the pronominal prefixes
and suffixes, and which admit of the further distinction of separable and
inseparable. By separable is intended those forms, which have a mean-
ing by themselves, and are thus distinguished from the inflective and
subformative pronouns, and pronominal particles significant only, in con-
nection with another word.

1. Of the first class, are the personal pronouns Neen (I,) Keen (thou,)
and Ween or O (he or she.) They are declined to form the plural per
•mis in the following manner :

% Neen. We

Thou, Keen. Ye

He or She, Ween or O. , They

Here the plural persons are formed by a numerical inflection of the
singular. The double plural of the first person, of which both the rule
and examples have been incidentall}* given in the remarks on the substan-
tive, is one of those peculiarities of the language, which may, perhaps,
serve to aid in a comparison of it, with other dialects, kindred and foreign.
As a mere :onventional agreement, for denoting whether the person ad-
dressed, be included, or excluded, it may be regarded as an advantage to
the language. It enables the speaker, by the change of a single conso-
Mtnt, to make a fall and clear discrimination, and relieves the narration

278

Keen owind (in.)
Neen owind (ex.)
Keen owau.
Ween owau.

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

279

fcom doubts and ambiguity, where doubts and ambiguity would otherwise
often erJst. On the other hand, by accumulating distinctions, it loads the
memory with grammatical forms, and opens a door for improprieties of
speech. We are not aware of any inconveniencies in the use of a gene-
ral plural. But in the Indian it would produce confusion. And it it
perhaps to that cautious desire of personal discrimination, which is so ap-
parent in the structure of the language, that we should look for the rea^
son of the duplicate forms of this word. Once established, however, and
both the distinction, and the necessity of a constant and strict attention to
it, are very obvious and striking. How shall he address the Deity ? If
he say — " Our father who art in heaven" the inclusive form of " our"
makes the Almighty one of the suppliants, or family. If he use the ex-
clusive form, it throws him out of the family, and may embrace every liv-
ing being but the Deity. Yet, neither of these forms can be used well in
prayer, as they cannot be applied directly to the object addressed. It is
only when speaking of the Deity, under the name of father, to other per-
sons, that the inclusive and exclusive forms of the word " our" can be
used. The dilemma may be obviated, by the use of a compound descrip-
tive phrase — Wa 6 se mig o yun, signifying — thou who art the fa-
ther OF ALL. Or, universal father.

In practice, however, the question is cut short, by those persons who
have embraced Christianity. It has seemed to them, that by the use of
either of the foregoing terms, the Deity would be thrown into too remote
a relation to them, and I have observed, that, in prayer, they invariably ad-
dress Him, by the term used by children for the father of a family, that is,
NosA, my father.

The other personal pronouns undergo some peculiar changes, when
employed as preformatives before nouns and verbs, which it is important
to remark. Thus neen, is sometimes rendered ne or nin, and sometirttes
nim. Keen, is rendered ke or kin. In compound words the mere signs
of the first and second pronouns, N and K, are employed. The use of
ween is limited ; and the third person, singular and plural, is generally in-
dicated by the sign, O.

The particle suh added to the complete forms of the disjunctive pro-
nouns, imparts a verbal sense to them ; and appears in this instance, to be
a succedaneum for the substantive verb. Thus Neen, I, becomes Neensuh,
it is I. Keen, thou, becomes Keensuh, it is thou, and Ween, he or she,
Weensuh, it is he or she. This particle may also be added to the plural
forms.

Keenowind suh.
Neenowind suh.
Keenowa suh.
Weennwau suh.

It is we (in.)
It is we (ex.)
It is ye, or you.
It is they.

280

INDIAN LANOUAOES.

If the word aittah be subetiluted for suh^ a set of adverbial phrases are
formed.

Neen aittah, I only.

Keen aittah, Thou only.
Ween aittah, He or she only.

Neen aittah wind, We dec. (ex.)

Keen aittah wind. We &c. (lu. )

Keen aittah wau. You Sec.

Ween aittah wau. They &c.

In like manner niltum first, and ishkwaudj last, give rise to the follow*
in£: arrangement of the pronoun :

Neen nittum.
Keen nittum,
Ween nittum,
Keen nittum ewind,
Neen nittum ewind,
Keen nittum ewau.
Ween nittum ewau.

I first

You or thou first.
He or she first.
We first, (in.)
We first, (ex.)
Ye or you first
They first

ISHKWAUDJ.

Neen ishkwaudj.
Keen ishkwaudj,
Ween ishkwandj,
Keenowind ishkwaudj,
Neenowind ishkwaudj,
Keenowau ishkwaudj,
Weenowau ishkwaudj.

I last.
Thou last.
He or she last
We last (in.)
We last (ex.)
Ye or you last.
They last.

The disjunctive forms of the pronoun are also sometimes preserved be*
fore verbs and adjectives.

NEEZHIKA.

Neen neezhika.
Keen neezhika.
Ween neezhika,
Keenowind neezhika,
Neenowind neezhika,
Keenowau neezhika,
Weenowau neezhika,

Alone, (an.)

I alone.
Thou alone.
He or she alone.
We alone (in.)
We alone (ex.)
Ye or you alone.
They alone.

To give these expressions a verbal form, the substantive verb, with its
pronominal modifications, must be superadded. For instance, / am alone,
&.C., is thus rendered :

Neen neezhika nindyau, I am alone, x aumin.

Keen neezhika keedyau, Thou art alone, x aum.

Ween neezhika lyau. He or she is alone, &c. x wug.

In the subjoined examples the noun ow, body, is changfed to a verb, by

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

381

the permutation of the vowel, changing ow to auw, which last takei the
letter d before it, when the pronoun is prefixed. . ,

I am a man,
Thou art a man.
He is a man,
We are men, (in.)
We are men, (ex.)
Ye are men.
They are men,

Neen nin dauw. '
Keen ke dauw.
Ween ah weeh.
Ke dauw we min.
Ne dauw we min.
Ke. dauw min.
Weenowau ah weeh wug.

In the translation of these expressions "man" is used as synonomous
with person. If the specific term inine, had been introduced in the origi-
nal, the meaning thereby conveyed would be, in this particular connexion.
I am a man with respect to courage &c., in opposition to effeminacy. It
would not be simply declarative of corporeal existencCf but of existence in
a particular state or condition.

In the following phrases, the modified forms, or the signs only, of the
pronouns are used :

N' debaindaun,
Ke debaindaun,
O debaindaun,
N' debaindaun-in,
Ke debaindaun-in,
Ke debaindaun-ewau,
O debaindaun-ewau.

I own It.
Thou ownest it.
He or she owns it.
We own it (ex.)
We own it (in.)
Ye own it.
They own it.

These examples are cited as exhibiting the manner in which the pre-
fixed and preformative pronouns are employed, both in their full and con-
tracted forms. To denote possession, nouns specifying the things pos-
sessed, are required ; and, what would not be anticipated, had not full
examples of this species ol tc -lension been given in another place, the
purposes of distinction are not >. ffected by a simple change of the pronoun,
as / to mine, &c., but by a subformative inflection of the noun, which is
thus made to have a reflective operation upon the pronoun-speaker. It is
believed that sufficient examples of this rule, in all the modifications of
inflection, have been given under the head of the substantive. But as the
substantives employed to elicit these modifications were exclusively specific
in their meaning, it may be proper here, in further illustration of an im-
portant principle, to present a generic substantive under their compound
forms.

I have selected ior this purpose one of the primitives. Ie-au, is the abstract
term for existing n'latter. It is in the animate form and declarative. Its inani-
mate correspondent is ie-ee. These are two important roots. And they are

SS2

INDIAN LANOUAOEB.

found m combination, in a very great number of derivatiye wordc. It will
be sufficient here, to show thoir connexion with the pronoun, in the pro-
duction of a class of terms in very general use.

Animate Forms.

Poss.

Obj.
r

Singular.
Nin dye aum, Mine.

Ke dyd aum,
O dyd aum-un,

Thine.
His or Hers.

Plural.

Nin dyd auminaun, Ours, (ex.)

Ke dyd auminaun, Ours, (in.)

Ke dye aumewau. Yours.

O dy6 aumewaun, Theirs,

Inanimate Forms.
Singular. Plural.

f Nin dyg eem. Mine. Nin dyd eeminaun, Ours, (ex.)

Poss. < Ke dyd eeminaun. Ours, (in.)

f Ke dy6 eem. Thine. Ke dyfi eemewau, Yours.

Obj. O dyd eem-un, His or Hers. O dyii eemewaun, Theirs. Poss. tn.

In these forms the noun is singular throughout. To render it plural,
as well as the pronoun, the appropriate general plurals ug and un or ig
and in, must be superadded. But it must be borne in mind, in making
these additions, "that the plural mflection to inanimate nouns (which have
no objective case,) forms the objective case to animates, which have no
number in the third person," fp- 30.] The particle un, therefore, which
is the appropriate plural for the inanimate nouns in these examples, is only
the objective mark of the animate.

The plural of I, is nau?t, the plural of thou and he, wau. But as these
inflections would not coalesce smoothly with the possessive inflections, the
connective vowels i. and e. are prefixed, making the plural of I, inaun^
and of thou, &c. ewau.

If we strike from these declensions the root ie, leaving its animate and
inanimate forms au, and ee, and adding the plural of the noun, we shall
then, — taking the animate declension as an instance, have the following
formula of the pronominal declensions.

Pron.
Sing.

Place of the
Noun.

Posessive
inflection.

Obj. inflec.

to the
noun sing.

Connect,
vowel.

Plu. inflec.

of the
pronoun.

Obj.
inflec.
n.plu.

Plural
of the
Noun.

Ne
Ke

aum
aum
aum
aum

- i -
-e -

- e-

- naun

- wau

-n

- ig.

- g-

To render this formula of general use, six variations, (five in addition

INDIAN LANOUAOE0.

283

to the above) of the possessive inflection, are required, corresponding to
the six classes of substantives, whereby aum would be changed to am,
eem, im, drn, and oom, conformably to the examples heretofore given in
treating of the substantive. The objective inflection, would also be some*
times changed to een and sometimes to oan.

Having thus indicated the mode of distinguishing the person, number,
relation, and gender — or what is deemed its technical equivalent, the mu-
tation words undergo, not to mark the distinctions of sex, but the presence
or absence of vitality, I shall now advert to the inflections which the pro-
nouns take for tense, or rather, to form the auxiliary verbs, have, had,
shall, will, may, &c. A very curious and important principle, and one,
which clearly demonstrates that no part of speech has escaped the trans-
forming genius of the language. Not only are the three great modi-
fications of time accurately marked in the verbal forms of the Ghippe-
was, but by the inflection of the pronoun they are enabled to indicate
some of the oblique tenses, and thereby to conjugate their verbs with ac-
curacy and precision.

The particle gee added to the first, second, and third persons singular of
the present tense, changes them to the perfect past, rendering I, thou, He,
I did— have— or had. Thou didst,— hast— or hadrt. He, or she did—
have, or had. If gah, be substituted for gee, the first future tense is
formed, and the perfect past added to the first future, forms the conditional
future. As the eye may prove an auxiliary in the comprehension of
forms, which are not familiar, the following tabular arrangement of them,
is presented.

First Person, I.
Nin gee, ' I did — have — had.

Nin gah, I shall — will.

Nin gah gee, I shall have — will have.

Ke gee,
Ke gah,
Ke gah gee.

Second Person, Thou.

Thou didst — hast — hadst.

Thou shalt— wilt.

Thou shalt have — wilt have.

Third Person, He, or She.

He or she did — has — had.
He or she did — has — baa.
He or she shall have — will have.

Ogee,
O gah,
O gah gee,

The present and imperfect tense of the potential mood, is formed by
dau, and the perfect by gee, suffixed as in other instances.

First Person, I.

Nin dau,
Nin dau gee.

I may — can, &c.

I may have — can have, See.

384

INDIAN LANOUAOSa.

. , Second Person, Thou,

Ke dau, Thou mayst — canit, dec.

Ke dau gee, Thou mayst have— canst have, dfcc

>' Third Person, He, or She.

O dau. He or she may — can, &c.

< ' ' O dau gee, He or she may have — can have, &c.

In conjugating the verbs through the plural persons, the singular
terms for the pronoun remain, and they are rendered plural by a retro-
spective action of the pronominal inflections of the verb. In this manner
the pronoun-verb auxiliary, has a general application, and the necessity
of double forms is avoided.

The preceding observations are confined to the formative or prefixed
pronouns. The inseparable suffixed or subformative are as follows —

Yaun, My.

Yun, Thy.

Id, or d, His, or hers.

Yaung, Our. (ex.)

Yung, Our. (in.)

Yaig, Your.

Waud, Their.

These pronouns are exclusively employed as suffixes, — and as suffixes
to the descriptive compound substantives, adjectives and verbs. Both
the rule and examples have been stated under the head of the substantive,
p. 43. and adjective, p. 81. Their application to the verb will be shown,
as we proceed.

2. Relative Pronouns. In a language which provides for the distinc-
tions of person by particles prefixed or suffixed to the verb, it will
scarcely be expected, that separate and independent relative pronouns
should exist, or if such are to be found, their use, as separate parts of
speech, must, it will have been anticipated, be quite limited — limited to
simple interrogatory forms of expression, and not applicable to the indica-
tive, or declaratory. Such will be found to be the fact in the language
under review ; and it will be perceived, from the subjoined examples, that
in all instances, requiring the relative pronoun who, other than the simple
interrogatory forms, this relation is indicated by the inflections of the verb,
or adjective, &c. Nor does there appear to be any declension of the sep-
arate pronoun, corresponding to whose, and whom.

The word Ahwaynain, may be said to be uniformly employed in the
sense of who, under the limitations we have mentioned. For instance.
Who is there? Ahwaynain e-mah ai-aud?

Who spoke? Ahwaynain kau keegoedood?

Who tcld you ? Ahwaynain kau ween dumoak ?

INDIAN LANQUAOES.

985

Who are you ?
Who sent you 9
Who is your father ?
Who (lid it?
Whoso (log is it ?
Whose pipe is that ?
Whose lodge is it ?
Whom do you seek ?

Ahwaynain iau we yun 1
Ahwaynain wayn6nik?
Ahwaynain kOs?
Ahwaynain kau tAdung?
Ahwaynain way dyid?
Ahwaynain dOpwaugunid en-cu t
Ahwaynain way weegewomid ?

Ahwaynain nain dau wau bumud?
Whom have you here ? Ahwaynain oh omau ai auwaud ?

Not the slightest variation is made in these phrases, between who, whose,
tutd whom.

Should we wish to change the interrogative, and to say, he who is there ;
ha who spoke ; he who told you, &c., the separable personal pronoun ween
(he) must be used in lieu of the relative, and the following forms will be
elicited.

Ween, kau unnOnik,
Ween, kau geedood.
Ween, ai-aud e-mah.
Ween, kau weendumoak.
Ween, kau to dung.

He (who) sent you.
He (who) spoke.
He (who) is there.
He (who) told you.
He (who) did it, &c.

If we object that, that in these forms, there is no longer the relative pro*
noun who, the sense being simply, he sent you, he spoke, &c., it is replied
that if it be intended only to say, he sent you, &c., and not he who sent
you, &c., the following forms are used.

Ke gee unnOnig. He (sent) you.

AinnOzhid, He (sent) me.

AinnOnaud, He (sent) him, &c.

Iau e-mau. He is there.

Ke geedo. He (spoke.)

Kegeeweendumaug, He (told) you.

Ke to dum. He did it.

We reply, to this answer of the native speaker, that the particle kau
prefixed to a verb denotes the past tense, — ^that in the former series of terms,
in which this particle appears, the verbs are in the perfect indicative, —
and in the latter, they are in the present indicative, marking the dif
ference only between sent and send, spoke and speak, &c. And that there
is absolutely no relative pronoun, in either series of terms. We further
observe, that the personal pronoun ween, prefixed to the first set of terms,
may be prefixed with equal propriety, to the second set, and that its use
or disuse, is perfectly optional with the speaker, as he may wish to give
additional energy or emphasis to the expression. To these positions,
after reflection, discussion and examination, we receive an assent, and thus
the uncertainty is terminated.

286

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

sons are made happy, and, in like manner, the suffixed personal pronouns
plural, mark the distinctions between we, ye, they, &c. For it is a rule
of the language, that a strict concordance must exist between the number
of the verb, and the number of the pronoun. The termination of the verb
consequently always indicates, whether there be one or many objects, to
which its energy is directed. And as animate verbs can be applied only
to animate objects, the numerical inflections of the verb, are understood to
mark the number of persons. But this number is indiscriminate, and
leaves the sense vague, until the pronominal suffixes are superadded.
Those who, therefore, contend for the sense of the relative pronoun
" who," being given in the last mentioned phrase, and all phrases similarly
formed, by a succedaneum, contend for something like the following form
of translation : — He makes them happy — him I or Him — he (meaning
who) makes them happy.

The equivalent for what, is Waygonain.

What do you want ?
What have you lost?
What do you look for ?
Wha* is this ?
What will you have ?
What detained you ?
What are you making?
What have you there ?

Waygonain wau iauyun ?
Waygonain kau wonetOyun ?
Waygonain nain dahwaubundamun t
Waygonain ewinain maundun ?
Waygonain kau iauyun ?
Waygonain kau oon dahme egOyun ?
Waygonain wayzhetOyun?
Waygonain e-mau iauyun ?

The use of this pronoun, like the preceding, appears to be confined to
simple interrogative form i. The word auneen, which sometimes supplies
its place, or is used for want of the pronoun which, is an adverb, and has
considerable latitude of meaning. Most commonly it may be considered
as the equivalent for how, iu what manner, or at what time.
What do you say? Auneen akeedOyun ?

What do you call this? Auneen aizheneekaudahmun maun*

dun?(l.)
What ails you ? Auneen aindeeyun ?

What is your name ? Auneen aizheekauzoyun?

Which do you mean ; this or that? (an.) Auneen ah-owainud, vvoh-owgamau

ewiddc ?
Whichdoyoumean; this or that? (in.) Auneen eh eu ewaidumun oh-oo

giimau ewaidde?
Which boy do you mean ? Auneen ah-ow-ainud ?

By adding to this word, the particle de, it is converted into an adverb of
place, and may be rendered where.

Where do you dwell? Auneende aindauyun?

Where is your son ? Auneende ke gwiss ?

Where did you see him? Auneende ke waubumud?

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

287

Mainvvaindumey<iug,
Mainwaindumeinnaig,

We now wish to apply the principle thus elicited to verbs causative, and
other compound terms — to the adjective verbs, for instance — and to the
other verbal compound expressions, in which the objective and the nomi-
native persons, are incorporated as a part of the verb, and are not prefixes
to it. This may be shown in the causative verb. To make Happy.

Mainwaindumeid, He (who) makes me happy.

Mainvvaindumeik, He (v. ho) makes thee happy.

Mainwaindumeaud, He (who) makes him happy.

Mainwaindumeinung, He (who) makes us happy, (inclusive.)

He (who) makes us happy, (exclusive.)
He (who) makes ye or i/ou happy.

MainwaindumSigowaud, He (who) makes them happy.
And so the forms might be continued, throughout all the objective
persons. —

Mainwaindumeyun, Thou (who) makest me happy, &c.

The basis of these compounds is mimio, good, and aindum, the mind.
Hence minwaindum, he happy. The adjective in this connexion, can-
not be translated "good," but its effect upon the noun, is to denote that
state of the mind, which is at rest with itself The first change from this
simple compound, is to give the adjective a verbal form; and this is
effected by a permutation of the vowels of the first syllable — a. rule of very
extensive application — and by which, in the present instance, the phrase
he happy, is changed to he makes happy, (mainwaindum.) The next step
IS to add the suflix personal pronouns, id, ik, aud, &c., rendering the ex-
pressions, he makes me happy, &c. But in adding these increments, the
vowel e, is thrown between the adjective-verb, and the pronoun suffixed,
making the expression, not mainwaindum-yun, but mainwaindumeyun.
Generally the vowel e in this situation, is a connective, or introduced
merely for the sake of euphony. And those who maintain that it is here
employed as a personal pronoun, and that the relative who, is implied by
the final inflection ; overlook the inevitable inference, that if the marked
e, stands for me in the first phrase, it must stand for thee in the second, he
in the third, us in the fourth, &c. As to the meaning and office of the
final inflections id, ik, &c. — whatever they may, in an involuted sense
imply, it is quite clear, by turning to the list of suffixed personal pronouns
and animate plurals, that they mark the persons, 1, thou, he, &c., we, ye,
they, &c.

Take for example, minwaindumfiigowaud. ' He (who) makes them
happy. Of this compound, minwaindum, as before shown, signifies he
makes happy. But as the verb is in the singular number, it implies that
but one person is made happy, and the suffixed personal pronouns singular^
mark the distinctions between me, thee, and he, or him.

Minwaindum-e-ig is the vero plural, and implies that several per

S88

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

becomes quite necessary in writing the language. And in the following
sentences, the substantive is properly employed after the pronoun.

This dog is very lean,
These dogs are very lean,

Those dogs are fat,
That dog is fat, •

This is a handsome knife,
These are handsome knives.
Those are bad knives,
Give me that spear.
Give me those spears.
That is a fine boy.
Those are fine boys,

This boy is larger than that.

That is what I wanted.

Gitshee bukaukdoozo woh-ow annemoosh.
Gitshee bukauddoozowug o-goo annem*

ooshug.
Ig-eu annemooshug ween-in-oawug.
Ah-ow annemoosh ween-in-ao.
Gagait onishishin maundun mokomahn.
Gagait wahvvinaudj o-noo mokomahnun.
Monaududdn in-euwaidde mokomahnun.
Meezhishin eh-eu ahnitt.
Meezhishin in-eu unnewaidde ahnitteen.
Gagait kvvonaudj ah-ow kweewezains.
Gagait wahwinaudj ig-euwaidde kwee-

wezainsug.
Nahwudj mindiddo woh-ow kweewezains

ewaidde dush.

Meeh-eu wau iauyaumbaun. %

This is the very thing I wanted, Mee-suh oh-oo wau iauyaumbaun.

In some of these expressions, the pronoun combines with an adjective,
as in the compound words, ineuwaidde, and igeuwaidde, those yonder, (in.)
and those ponder (an.) Compounds which exhibit the full pronoun in co-
alescence with the word Ewaidde yonder.

CHRONOLOGY.

Columbus discovered the West Indies Oct. 12, 1492.

Americo Vespucio, discovered the coast of South America, 1497.

Cabot discovered the North American coast 1497.

De Leon discovered Florida 1512.

Cortes, enters the city of Mexico, after a seige, Aug. 13, 1521.

Verrizani, is said to have entered the bay of New York, 1524.

Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence, 1534.

Jamestown, in Virginia, is founded, 1608.

AcknowledTCd date of the settlement of Canada, 1608.

Hudson discovers the river bearing his nt. e, 1609.

The Dutch build a fort near Albany, 1614.

The Pilgrims land at Plymouth Dec. 22, 1620.

New Amsterdam taken from the Dutch by the Duke of York and Albany

and named New York 1664.
La Salle discovers the Illinois in upper Louisaina 1678.
discovers Lower Louisiana, and is killed 1685.

THE ERA OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH IN
THE UPPER LAKES.

Ke-wa-kons, a chief of the straits of St. Mary's, told me, during an in-
terview, in 1327, that but seven generations of red men had passed away,
since the French first appeared on those straits. If we take the date of
Cartier's first visit to the St. Lawrence, as the era of their acquaintance
with this nation, A. D. 1534, wo should have 56 years as the period of an
Indian generation. Should we take, instead of this, the time of La Salle's
first arrival on the upper lakes, 1778, there would, on the contrary, be but
a fraction over 22 years for a generation. But neither of these periods,
can be truly said to coincide with the probable era of the chief's historical
reminiscences. The first is too early, the last too late. An average of
the two, which is required to apply the observation properly, gives 38
years as the Indian generation. This nearly assimilates it to the results
among Europeans, leaving 8 years excess. Further data would probably
reduce this ; but it is a department in which we have so little material,
that we must leave it till these be accumulated. It may be supposed that
the period of Indian longevity, before the introduction of ardent sprits,
was equal, perhaps, a little superior, to that of the European ; but it did
not exceed it, we think, by 8 years.

Ke-wa-kons, whom I knew very well, was a man of shrewd sense, and
respectable pov-srs of observation. He stated, at the same interview, that
his tribe, who were of the Odjibwa type of the Algonquins, laid aside their
Akeeks, or clay cooking-vessels, at that time, and adopted in lieu of th«m,
the light brass kettle, which was more portable and permanent. And
from that time, their skill in pottery declined, until, in our day, it is en-
tirely lost. It is curious to reflect, that within the brief period of 150
years, a living branch of coarse manufacture among them, has thus been
transferred into an object of antiquarian research. This fact, should make
historians cautious in assigning very remote periods of antiquity to the
monumental evidences of by-gone generations.

It is by such considerations that we get a glimpse of some of the gene-
ral principles which attended the early periods of discovery and settlement,
in all parts of the continent. Adventurers came to find gold, or furs, to amass
wealth, get power, or to perform mere exploits. Nobody cared much for
the native race, beyond the fact of their being the medium to lead to these

19 289

,* I

290

FLIGHT OF THE SHAWNEES.

specified objects. There were none, to record accurately, their arts, and
other peculiarities, which now excite intense interest. They died away
very fast, whole tribes becoming extinct within a generation or two. The
European fabrics, then introduced, were so much superior to their own,
that they, at once, discontinued such rude arts as they practised, at least in
our northern latitudes. New adventurers followed in the track of Colum-
bus, Amerigo, Cabot, and their compeers and followers, who, in the lapse
of time, picked up, from the soil, pieces of coarse pottery, pestles and such
like things, and holding them up, said, — " See these ! — here are evidences
of very great skill, and very high antiquity."

It is not the intention by any means, to assert, that there were not anti-
quities of a far higher era, and nobler caste, but merely to impress upon in-
quirers, the necessity of discriminating the different eras in the chronology
of our antiquities. AH Indian pottery, north of the capes of Florida and
the Gulf of Mexico, is of, or preceding the era of the discovery ; but there
is found in graves, a species of pottery, and vitrified ware, which was in-
troduced, in the early stages of traffic, by Europeans. Of this transition
era between the dying away of the Indian arts, and the introduction of the
European, are the rude pastes, enamel and glass beads, and short clay
pipes of coarse te.xture, found in Indian cemeteries, but not in the tumuli.
In place of these, our ancient Indians used wrought and unwrought sea
shells of various species, and pipes carved out of seatites and other soft
materials.

'■ i

Mr. Anderson remarks in his biography of Catharine Brown, that
" the Cherokees are said to possess a language, which is more precise and
powerful than any into which learning has poured richness of thought, or
genius breathed the enchantments of fancy and eloquence."

David Brown, in one of his letters, in the same volume, terms his peo-
ple the Tsallakee, of which we must therefore take "Cherokee," to be a
corruption. It is seen by the Cherokee alphabet, that the sound of r does
not occur in that language.

FAITH.

When Chusco was converted to Christianity at the mission of Michi-
linackinac, he had planted a field of potatoes on one of the neighbouring
islands in lake Huron. In the fall he went over in his canoe, with his
aged wife, to dig them — a labour which the old woman set unceremoni-
ously obout, as soon as they got into the field. " Stop !" cried the little old
man, who had a small tenor voice and was bent nearly double by age, —
" dare you begin to dig, till we have thanked the Lord for their growth."
They then both knelt down in the field, while ho lifted up his voice, in
his native language, in thanks.

SUING ^BA-WOSSINS, OR IMAGE STONES.

The native tribes who occupy the borders of the great lakes, are very
ingenious in converting to the uses of superstition, such masses of loose
rock, or boulder stones, as have been fretted by the action of water into
shapes resembling the trunks of human bodies, or other organic forms.

There appears, at all times, to have been a ready disposition to turn
Buch masses of rude natural sculpture, so to call them, to an idolatrous
use ; as well as a most ingenious tact, in aiding the effect of the natural
resemblance, by dots or dabs of paint, to denote eyes, and other features,
or by rings of red ochre, around their circumference, by way of orna-
ment.

In the following figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, some of these masses are repre-
sented.

^^^H^Ta^^^H

MHHI

^^ ^iM^B

^H^^^l

^^^K& <o^B

^^^ '^^^^R i

-SB

feoa

^^^^^^^^^^^1

^m^

Number 3. was brought to the office of the Indian Agent at Michili-
mackinac in 1839, and placed among objects of pnalagous interest to
visiters. It consisted of a portion of a vein or mass of gneiss or granite,
from which both mica and feldspar were nearly absent, existing only in
trace, while the quartzy portion predominated, and had, by its superior
hardness, resisted the elemental action. The mode of the formation of such
masses is very well known to geologists, resulting, in almost every case,
from the unequal degree of hardness of various parts of a mass, sub-
mitted to an equal force of attrition, such as is ordinarily given by the
upheaving and rolling force of waves on a lake, or ocean beach. To the
natives, who are not pione to reason from cause to effect, such productions
appear wonderful. All that is past comprehension, or wonderful, is
Wtrihutcd by them to the supernatural agency of spirits. The hunter or

292

SHINGABA WOSSINS, OR IMAGE STONES.

,1 1

warrior, who is travelling along the coast, and finds one of these self-
sculptured stones, is not sure that it is not a direct interposition of his
God, or guardian Manito, in his favour. He is habitually a believer in
the most subtlo forms of mysterious power, which he acknow^ledges to be
often delegated to the native priests, or necromancers. He is not stag-
gered by the most extraordinary stretch of fancy, in the theory of the
change or transformation of animate into inanimate objects, and vice
versa. All things, " in heaven and earth," he believes to be subject to
this subtle power of metamorphosis. But, whatever be the precise ope-
rating cause of the respect he pays to the imitative rolled stones, which
he calls Shingaba-wossins, and also by the general phrase of Muz-in-in-
a-vvun, or images, he is not at liberty to pass them without hazarding
something, in his opinion, of his chance of success in life, or the fortune
of the enterprize in hand.

If the image be small, it is generally taken with him and secreted in
the neighborhood of his lodge. If large and too heavy for this purpose,
it is set up on the shore, generally in some obscure nook, where an offer-
ing of tobacco, or something else of less value, may be made to it, or
rather through it, to the spirit.

In 1820 one of these stones (No. 2.) wag met by an expedition of the
g'overnmcnt sent north, that year, for the purpose of interior discovery
and observation, at the inner Thunder Bay island, iu Lake Huron. It was
a massy stone, rounded, with a comparatively broad base and entablature
but not otherwise remarkable. It was set up, under a tree on the island,
which was small, with the wide and clear expanse of the lake in plain
view. The island was one of those which were regarded as desert, and
was probably but seldom stopped at. It was, indeed, little more than a few
acres of boulders and pebbles, accumulated on a limestone reef, and bear-
ing a few stunted trees and shrubs. The water of the lakp must, in high
fitorms, have thrown its spray over this imaged stone. It was, in fine, one
of those private places which an Indian might be supposed to have se-
lected for his secret worship.

In No. 3. is figured an object of this kind, which was found in 1 832,
in the final ascent to the source of the Mississippi, on the right cape, in
ascending this stream into lac Traverse — at the distance of about 1000
miles above the falls of St. Anthony. I landed at the point to see it, hav-
ing heard, from my interpreter, that such an object was set up and dedi-
cated to some unknown Manito there. It was a pleasant level point of
land shaded with trees, and bearing luxuriant grass and wild shrubbery
and flowers. In the middle of this natural parterre the stone was placed,
and was overtopped by this growth, and thus concealed by it. A ring of
red paint encircled it, at the first narrowed point of its circumference, to
give it the resemblance of a human neck ; and there were some rude
dabs to denote other features. The Indian is not precise in the matter of

SHINOABA WOSSINS, OR IMAGE STONES.

293

proportion, either in his drawing, or in his attempts at statuary. He seizes
upon some minute and characteristic trait, which is at once sufficient to de-
note the species, and he is easily satisfied about the rest. Thus a simple
cross, with a strait line from shoulder to shoulder, and a dot, or circle
above, to serve for a head, is the symbol of the human frame ; and without
any adjunct of feet, or hands, it could not have been mistaken for any
thing else—certainly for any other object in the animal creation.

MNEMONIC SYMBOLS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

CHAPTER I.

pe, m
1000

PRELIMINARY REMARKS. — bl'MBOLICAL REPRESENTATIONS AND HIEROOLYPRICB, ONE Or THE
EARLIEST OBSERVED TRAITS IN THE CUSTOMS AND ARTS OF THE AMERICAN ABORI-
GINES ; BUT THIS ART NOT SUSPECTED TO HAVE A SYSTEMATIC FORM AMONG THE RUDE
HUNTER TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA, UNTIL THE YEAR 1820, WHEN IT WAS DIS-
COVERED ON THE SOURCE OF THE UIB8I88IPPL THIS INSTANCE GIVEN, WITH A DRAW-
ING: THE HINT PURSUED.

The practice of the North American tribes, of drawing figures and
pictures on skins, trees, and various other substances, has been noticed
by travellers and writers from the earliest times. Among the more north-
erly tribes, these ^.figures are often observed on that common substitute for
the ancient papyrus, among these nations, the bark of the betula pappracea,
or white birch: a substance possessing a smooth surface, easily impressed,
very flexible, and capable of being preserved in rolls. Often these devi-
ces are cut, or drawn in colours on the trunks of trees, more rarely on
rocks or boulders. According to Golden and Lafitou records of this rude
character were formerly to be seen on the blazed surface of trees, along some
of the ancient paths and portages leading from the sources of the Atlan-
tic rivers into the interior, or in the valley of the St. Lawrence ; but
these, after satisfying a transient curiosity, have long since yielded to the
general fate of these simple and unenduring monuments. Pictures and
symbols of this kind are now to be found only on the unreclaimed bor-
ders of the great area west of the AUeghanies and the Lakes, in the
wide prairies of the west, or along the Missouri and the upper Missis-
sippi. It is known that such devices were in use, to some extent, at the era
of the discovery, among most of the tribes, situated between the latitudes
of the capes of Florida, and Hudson's Bay, although they have been
considered as more particularly characteristic of the tribes of the Algon-
quin type. In a few instances, these pictorial inscriptions have been found
to be painted or stained on the faces of rocks, or on loose boulders, and
still more rarely, devices were scratched or pecked into the surface, as is
found to be the case still at Dighton and Venango. Those who are intent

294

ART OP PICTURE WRITING.

on observations of this kind, will find figures and rude hieroglyp'i ' m
variably at thj present time, on the grave posts which mark the places
of Indian sepulchre at the west and north. The nations who rove over
the western prairies, inscribe them on the skins of the buffalo. North of
latitude 42°, the bark of the birch, which furnishes at once the mate-
rial of canoes, tents, boxes, water-dippers, and paper, constitutes the com-
mon medium of their exhibition. Tablets of hard wood arc confined to
cuch devices as are employed by their priests and prophets, and medicine-
men ; and these characters uniformly assume a more mystical or sacred
import. But the recent discovery, on one of 'the tributaries of the Sus-
quehanna, of an Indian map, drawn on stone, with intermixed devices, a
copy of which appears in the 1st volume of the collections of the Histor-
ical Committee of the American Philosophical Society, proves that stone
was also employed in that branch of inscription. This discovery was on
the area occupied by the Lenapees.

Golden, in his history of the Five Nations, • informs us that when, in
1696, the Count de Frontenac marched a well appointed army into the
Iroquois country, with artillery and all other means of regillar military
offence, he found, on the banks of the Onondaga, now called Oswego
river, a tree, on the trunk of which the Indians had depicted the French
army, and deposited two bundles of cut rushes at its foot, consisting of
1434 pieces — an act of defiance on their part, which was intended to in-
form their invaders, that they would have to encounter this number of
warriors. In speaking in another passage of the general traits of the
Five Nations, he mentions the general custom prevalent among the Mo-
hawks going to war, of painting, with red paint, on the trunk of a tree,
such symbols, as might serve to denote the object of their expedition.
Among the devices was a canoe pointed towards the enemies' country.
On their return, it was their practice to visit the same tree, or precinct,
and denote the result: the canoe being, in this case, drawn with
its bows in the opposite direction. Lafitou, in his account of the nations
of Canada, makes observations on this subject to which we shall more
particularly refer hereafter, which denote the general prevalence of the
custom in that quarter. Other writers, dating as far back as Smith and
de Brc, bear a passing testimony to the existence of this trait among the
northern tribes. Few have however done more than notice it, and none
are known to have furnished any amount of connected details.

A single element in the system attracted early notice. I allude to the
institution of the Totem, which has been well known among the Al-
gonquin tribes from the settlement of Canada. By this device, the early
missionaries observed, that the natives marked their division of a tribe
into clans, and of a clan into families, and the distinction was thus very
clearly preserved. Affinities were denoted and kept up, long after tradi

• London, 1747, p. 190.

THE ART OF PICTURE WRITING.

295

tion had fa;Ied in its testimony. This distinction, which is marked with
much of the certainty of heraldic bearings in the feudal system, was seen
to mark the arms, the lodge, and the trophies of the chief and warrior.
It was likewise employed to give identity to the clan of which he was a
member, on his ad-je-da-teg or grave-post. This record went but little
farther ; a few strokes or geometric devices were drawn on these simple
monuments, to denote the number of men he had slain in battle.

It has not been suspected in any notices to which I have had access,
that there was a pictorial alphabet, or a series of homophonous figures, in
which, by the juxtaposition of symbols representing acts, as well as objects
of action, and by the introduction of simple adjunct signs, a series of dis-
junctive, yet generally connected ideas, were denoted ; or that tlie most prom-
inent incidents of life and death could be recorded so as to be transmitted
from one generation to another, as long at least as the monument and the
people endured. Above all, it was not anticipated that there should have
been found, as will be observed in the subsequent details, a system of sym-
bolic notation for the songs and incantations of the Indian meta* and
priests, making an appeal to the memory for the preservation of language.

Persons familiar with the state of the western tribes of this continent,
particularly in the higher northern latitudes, have long been aware that
the songs of the Indian priesthood, and wabenoes, were sung from a kind
of pictorial notation, made on bark. It is a fact which has often come to
the observation of military officers performing duties on those frontiers,
and of persons exercising occasional duties m civil life, who have passed
through their territories. But there is no class of persons to whom the
fact of such notations being made, is so well known, as the class of Indian
traders and interpreters who visit or reside a part of the season at the
Indian villages. I have never conversed with any of this latter class of
persons to whom the fact of such inscriptions, made in various ways, was
not so familiar as in their view to excite no surprise or even demand re-
mark.

My attention was first called to the subject in 1820. In the summer
of that year I was on an exploring jo'irney through the lake country. At
the mouth of the small river Huron, on the banks of Lake Superior,
ihere was an Indian grave fenced around with saplings, and protected
with much care. At its head stood a post, or tabular stick, upon which
was drawn. the figure of the animal which was the symbol of the clan to
nrhich the deceased chief belonged. Strokes of red paint were added to
ienote, either the number of war parties in which he had been engaged,
or the number of scalps which he had actually taken from the enemy.
The interpreter who accompanied us, and who was himself tinctured with
Indian blood, gave the latter, as the true import of these marks.

On quitting the river St. Louis, which flows into the head of the lake
at the Fond du Lac, to cross the summit dividing its waters from those of

296

THE ART OF PICTURE WRITING.

the Mississippi, ttie way led through heavy and dense woods and swijnpa,
and the weather proved dark and rainy, so that, for a couple d days to
gether, we had scarcely a glimpse of the sun.

The party consisted of sixteen persons, with two Indian guides ; but
the latter, with all their adroitness in threading the maze, were completely at
fault for nearly an entire day. At night we lay down on ground elevated
but a few inches above the level of the swamp. The next morning af
we prepared to leave the camp, a small sheet of birch bark containing de-
vices was observed elevated on the top of a sapling, some 8 or 10 feet
high. One end of this pole was thrust firmly into the ground leaning in
the direction we were to go. On going up to this object, it was found,
with the aid of the interpreter, to be a symbolic record of the circum>
stances of our crossing this summit, and of the night's encampment at this
spot. Each person was appropriately depicted, distinguishing the soldiers
from the officer in command, and the latter from the scavans of the party.
The Indians themselves were depicted without hats, this being, as we no-
ticedf the general symbol for a white man or European. The entire
record, of which a figure is annexed, accurately symbolized the circum-
stances, and they were so clearly drawn, according to their conventional
rules, that thu intelligence would be communicated thereby to any of their
people who might chance to travel or wander this way. This was the
object of the inscription.

A /i ^\ i

V\A

t 'V^'\M/--'A

'/ V 'V

/\A-

X A

7 "^' '<M.

-r \ . Vv

, Fig. No. 1. represents the subaltern clHcer in command of the party
of the U. S. troops. He is drawn with a sword to denote his officio!

THE ART OP PICTURE WRITING.

297

rank. No. 2 denotes the person who officiated in quality of Secretary.
He is represented holdings a book. No. 3 denotes the geologist and min-
eralogist of the party. He is drawn with a hammer. Nos. 4 and 5 are
attaches ; No. G, the interpreter.

The group of figures marked 9 represents eight mfantry soldiers, each
cf whom, as shown in group No. 10, was armed with a musket. No. 15
denotes that they had a separate fire, and constituted a separate mess.
Figures 7 and 8 are the two Chippewa guides, the principal of whom,
called Chamees, or the Pouncing-hawk, led the way over this dreary sum-
mit. These are the only human figures on this unique bark letter, who
are drawn without a hat. This was the characteristic seized on, by them,
and generally employed by the tribes, to distinguish the Red from the white
race. Figures 1 1 and 12 represent a prairie hen, and a green tortoise,
which constituted the sum of the preceding day's chase, and were eaten
at the encampment. The inclination of the pole, was designed to show
tilt) course pursued from that particular spot : there were three hacks in
it, below the scroll of bark, to indicate the estimated length of this part
of the journey, computing from water to water, that is to say, from the
head of the portage Aux Couteaux on the St. Louis river, to the open shores
of Sandy lake, the Ka-ma-ton-go-gom-ag of the Odjibwas.

The story was thus briefly and simply told ; and this memorial was
set up by the guides, to advertise any of their countrymen, who might
chance to wander in that direction, of the adventure — for it waa evident,
both from this token, and from the dubiousness which had marked the
prior day's wanderings, that they regarded the passage in this light, and
were willing to take some credit for the successful execution of it.

Before we had penetrated quite to this summit, we came to another
evidence of their skill in this species of knowledge, consisting of one of
those contrivances which they denominate Man-i-to-wa-teg, or Manito
Poles. On reaching this our guides shouted, whether from a supersti-
tious impulse, or the joy of having found a spot ttey certainly could rec-
ognize, we could not tell. We judged the latter. It consisted of eight
poles, of equal length, shaved smooth and round, painted with yellow
ochre, and set so as to enclose a square area. It appeared to have been
one of those rude temples, or places of incantation or worship, known to
the metas, or priests, where certain rites and ceremonies are performed.
But it was not an ordinary medicine lodge. There had been far more
care in its construction.

On reaching the village of Sandy lake, on the upper Mississippi, the
figures of animals, birds, and other devices were found, on the rude cof-
fins, or wrappings of their dead, which were scaffolded around the pre-
cincts of the fort, and upon the open shores of the lake. Similar devices
were also observed, here, as at other points in this region, upon their

298

THE ART OP PICTURE WRITING.

arms, war-clubs, canoes, and other pieces of moveable property, as well
as upon their grave posts.

In the descent of the Mississippi, we observed such devices painted on
a rock, below and near the mouth of Elk river, and at a rocky island
in the river, at the Little Falls. In the course of our descent to the Falls
at St. Anthony, we observed another bark letter, as the party now began
to call these inscriptions, suspended on a high pole, on an elevated bank
of the river, on its west shore. At this spot, where we encamped for the
night, and which is just opposite a point of highly crystalized hornblende
rock, called the Peace Rock, rising up through the prnirio, thnro wero left
standing the poles or skeletons of a great number of Sioux lodges, It ii
near and a little west of the territorial boundary of the Sioux nation ; and
on inspecting this scroll of bark, we found it had reference to a negocia-
tion for bringing about a permanent peace between the Sioux and Chippe-
was. A large party of the former, from St. Peter's, headed by their chief,
had proceeded thus far, in the hope of meetings the Chippewa hunters,
on their summer hunt. They had been countenanced, or directed in this
step, by Col. Leavenworth, the commanding officer of the new post, just
then about to be erected. The inscription, which was read off at once, by
the Chippewa Chief Babesacundabee, who was with us, told all this ; it
gave the name of the Chief who had led the party, and the number of
his followers, and gave that chief the first assurance he had, that his mis*
sion for the same purpose, would be favourably received.

After our arrival at St. Anthony's Falls, it was found that this system
of picture writing was as familiar to the Dacotah, as we had found it
imong the Algonquin race. At Prairie du Chien, and at Green Bay,
the same evidences were observed among the Monomonees, and the Win-
nebagoes, at Chicago among the Pottowottomies, and at Michilimukinac,
among the Chippewas and Ottavvas who resort, in such numbers, to that
Island. While at the latter place, on my return, 1 went to visit the grave
of a noted chief of theJVIonomonee tribe, who had been known by his
French name of Toma, i. e. Thomas. He had been buried on the hill
west of the village ; and on looking at his Ad-je-da-tig or grave post,
it bore a pictorial inscription, commemorating some of the promment
achievements of his life.

These hints served to direct my attention to the subject when I returned
to the country in 1822. The figures of a deer, a bear, a turtle, and a crane,
according to this system, stand respectively for the names of men, and
preserve the language very well, by yielding to the person conversant
with it, the corresponding words, of Addick, Muckwa, Mickenock, and
Adjeejauk. Marks, circles, or dots, of various kinds, may symbolize the
number of warlike deeds. Adjunct devices may typify or explain adjunct
acts. If the system went no farther, the record would yield a kind of in-
formation both gratifying and useful to one of his countrymen who had

THE ART OP PICTURE WRITING.

299

BO letters and was expert in the uao of symbols ; and the interpretation
of it, would be easy and precise in proportion as the signs were general,
conventional, and well understood. There was abundant evidf nee in my
first year's observation, to denote that this mode of communication was in
vopriie, and well understood by the northern tribes ; but it hardly seemed
8usc(;ptihle of a i'urther or extended use. It was not till I had made a
personal .u '|iiaintance with one of their Medas — a man of much intelli-
gence, and well veried in their customs, religion, and history, that a more
enlarged application of it appp^ired to be practicable. I observed in the
hands of this man a tabular piece of wood, covered over on both sides,
with a series of devices cut between parallel lines, which he referred to,
as if they were the notes of his medicine and mystical songs. I hoard
him sing these songs, and observed that their succession was fixed and
uniform. By cultivating his acquaintance, and by suitable attention and
presents, such as the occasion rendered proper, he consented to explain
the meaning of each figure, the object symbolized, and the words attached
to each symbol. By this revelation, which was made with closed doors,
I became a member or initiate of the Medicine Society, and also of the
Wabeno Society. Care was taken to write each sentence of the songs
and chants in the Indian language, with its appropriate devices, and to
subjoin a literal translation in English. When this had been done, and
the system considered, it was very clear that the devices were mnemonic —
that any person could sing from these devices, very accurately, what he
had previously committed to memory, and that the system revealed a cu-
rious scheme of symbolic notation.

All the figures thus employed, as the initiatory points of study, related
exclusively to either the medicine dance, or the wabeno dance ; and each
section of figures, related exclusively to one or the other. There was no
intermixture or commingling of characters, although the class of subjects
were sometimes common to each. It was perceived, subsequently, that
this classification of symbols extended to the songs devoted to war, to
hunting, and to other specific topics. The entire inscriptive system, reach-
ing from its first rudimental characters, in the ad-je-da-tig, or grave board,
to the extended roll of bark covered with the incriptions of their magi-
cians and prophets, derived a new interest from this feature. It was easy
to pevceive that much comparative precision was imparted to interpreta-
tions in the hands of the initiated, which before, or to others, had very
little. An interest was thus cast over it distinct from its novelty. And
in truth, the entire pictorial system was thus invested with the character
ofa subject of acurate investigation, which promised both interest and in-
struction.

It has been thought that a simple statement of these circumstances,
would best nnswer the end in view, and might well occupy the place ofa
more hrnwil or profound introduction. In bringing forward the elements

300

THE ART OF PICTURE WRITING.

of the system, after much reflection, it is thought, however, that a few re-
marks on the general character of this ait may not be out of place. For,
simple as it is, we perceive in it the native succedaneum for letters. It is
not only the sole graphic mode they have for communicating ideas, but it
is the mode of communicating all classes of ideas commonly entertained
by them — such as their ideas of war, of hunting, of religion, and of
magic and necromancy. So considered, it reveals a new and unsuspected
mode of obtaining light on their opinions of a deity, of the structure or
cosmogony of the globe, of astronomy, the various classes of natural ob
jects, their ideas of immortality and a future state, and the prevalent no
tions of the union of spiritual and material matter. So wide and varied,
indeed, ib the range opened by the subject, that we may consider the In-
dian system of picture writing as the thread which ties up the scroll of
the Red man's views of life and death, reveals the true theory of bin
hopes and fears, and denotes the relation he bears, in the secret chambers
of his ovvn thoughts, to his Maker. What a stoic and suspicious tempei
would often hold him back from uttering to another, and what a limited
language would sometimes prevent his fully revealing, if he wished,
symbols and figures can be made to represent and express. The Indian
is not a man prone to describe his god, but he is ready to depict him, by a
symbol. He may conceal under the figures of a serpent, a turtle, or a
wolf, wisdom, strength, or malignity, or convey under the picture of the
sun, the idea of a supreme, all-seeing intelligence. But he is not pre-
pared to discourse upon these things. What he believes on this head, he
will not decliire to a white man or a stranger. His happiness and success
in life, are thought to depend upon the secrecy of that knowledge of the
Creator and his system in the Indian view of benign and malignant
agents. To reveal this to others, even to his own people, is, he believes,
to expose himself to the counteracting influence of other agents known
to his subtle scheme of necromancy and superstition, and to hazard suc-
cess and life itself This conduces to make the Red man eminently a
man of fear, suspicion, and secrecy. But he cannot avoid some of these
disclosures in his pictures and figures. These figures represent ideas —
whole ideas, and their juxtaposition or relation on a roll of bark, a tree, or
a rock, discloses a continuity of ideas. This is the basis of the system.

Picture writing is indeed the literature of the Indians. It cannot be
interpreted, however rudely, without letting one know what the Red man
thinks and believes. It shadows forth the Indian intellect, it stands in the
pl;irp of letters for the Unishinaba. * It shows the Red man in all pe-
riods of our history, both as he u-n<:, and as he is ; for there is nothmg
more true than that, save and except the comparatively few instances
where they have truly embraced experimental Christianity, there has not

* 4 «reneric term denoting the common people of the Indian race.

Iif

GRAVE CREEK MOUND.

This gigantic tumulus, the largest in the Ohio valley, was opened some
four or five years ago, and found to contain some articles of high antiquarian
value, in addition to the ordinary discoveries of human bones, Alc. A
rotunda was built under its centre, walled with brick, and roofed over, and
having a long gallery leading into it, at the base of the mound. Around
this circular wall, in the centre of this heavy and damp mass of earth, with
its atmosphere of peculiar and pungent character, the skeletons and other
disinterred articles, are hung up for the gratification of visiters, the whole
lighted up with candles, which have the effect to give a strikingly sepul-
chral air to the whole scene. But what adds most to this effect, is a kind
of exuded flaky matter, very white and soft, and rendered brilliant by
dependent drops of water, which hangs in rude festoons from the ceiling.
To this rotunda, it is said, a delegation of Indians paid a visit a year or
two since. In the " Wheeling Times and Advertiser" of the 30th August
1843, the following communication, respecting this visit, introducing a
short dramatic poem, was published.

" An aged Cherokee chief who, on his way to the west, visited the ro-
tunda excavated in this gigantic tumulus, with its skeletons and other
relics arranged around the walls, became so indignant at the desecration
and display of sepulchral secrets to the white race, that his companions
and interpreter found it difficult to restrain him from assassinating the
guide. His language assumed the tone of fury, and he brandished his
knife, as they forced him out of the passage. Soon after, he w£is found
prostrated, with his senses steeped in the influence of alcohol.

" 'Tis not enough ! that hated race

Should hunt us out, from grove and place

And consecrated shore — where long

Our fathers raised the lance and song —
Tis not enough ! — that we must go

Where streams and rushing fountains flow

Whose murmurs, heard amid our fears.

Fall only on a stranger's ears —

'Tis not enough ! — that with a wand.

They sweep away our pleasant land,

And bid us, as some giant-foe,

Or willing, or unwilling go !

But they must ope our very graves

To tell the dead — ^they too, are slaves."

^ ' 301

NAMES OF THE AMERICAN LAKES.

'< ! ii

> i

Ontario, is a word from the Wyandot, or, as called by the Iroquois,
duatoghie language. This tribe, prior to the outbreak of the war against
them, by their kmdred the Iroquois, lived on a bay, near Kingston, which
was the ancient point of embarkation and debarkation, or, in other words,
at once the commencement and the terminus of the portage, according to
the point of destination for all, who passed into or out of the lake. From
such a point it was natural that a term so euphonous, should prevail among
Europeans, over the other Indian names in use. The Mohawks and their
confederates, generally, called it Cadaracqui — which was also their name
for the St. Lawrence. The Onondagas, it is believed, knew it, in early
times, by the name of Oswego* Of the meaning of Ontario, we are left
in the dark by commentators on the Indian. Philology casts some light
on the subject. The first syllable, o», it may be observed, appears to be
the notarial increment or syllable of Onondio, a hill. Tarak, is clearly,
the same phrase, written darac, by the French, in the Mohawk compound
of Cadaracqui; and denotes rocks, i. e. rocks standing in the water. In
the final vowels io, we have the same term, with the same meaning whicl;
they carry in the Seneca, or old Mingo word Ohio.f It is descriptive of
an extended and beautiful water prospect, or landscape. It possesses all
the properties of an exclamation, in other languages, but according to the
unique principles of the Indian grammar, it is an exclamation-substan-
tive. How beautiful I [the prospect, scene present.]

Erie is the name of a tribe conquered or extinguished by the Iroquois.
We cannot stop to inquire into this fact historically, farther than to say,
that it was the policy of this people to adopt into their different tribes of
the confederacy, the remnants of nations whom they conquered, and that
it was not probable, therefore, that the Eries were annihilated. Nor is it
probable that they were a people very remote ni kindred and language
from the ancient Sinondowans, or Senecas, who, it may be supposed, by
crushing them, destroyed and exterminated their name only, while they
strengthened their numbers by .this inter-adoption. In many old maps,
this lake bears the name of Erie or "Oskwago."

Huron, is the nom de guerre of the French, for the '-Yendats," as
they are called in some old authors, or the Wyandots. Charlevoix tolls
us that it is a term derived from the French word hure, [a wild boar,] and
was applied to this nation from the mode of wearing their hair, "duelles
Hures!" said tlic first visiters, when they saw them, and hence, according
to this respectable author, the word Huron.

• Vide a Reminiscence of Oswego.

t The sound of i in this word, as in Ontario, is long e in the Indian.

302

oquois,
against
, which
words,
rding to
From
I among
nd their
ir name
in early
! are left
ne light
irs to be
I clearly,
impound
Iter. Irs
isf whicl!
iptive of
sesses all
ng to the
i-substan-

Iroquois.
in to say,

tribes of
, and that

Nor is it
language
iposed, by
vhile they
old maps,

ndats," as
evoix tolls
boar,] and
"auelles
according

NAMES OP THE AMERICAN LAKES. gQj

When this nation, with their confederated, the Algonquins, or Adiron-
daks, as the Iroquois called them, were overthrown in several decisive
battles on the St. Lavi'rence, between Montreal and Quebec, and compelled
to fly west; they at first took shelter in this lake, and thus transferred their
name to it. With them, or at least, at the same general era, came some
others of the tribes who made a part of the people called by the French,
Algonquins, or Nipercineans, and who thus constituted the several tribes,
speaking a closely cognate language, whose descendants are regarded by
philologists, as the modern Lake-Algonquins.

The French somethnes called this lake Mer douce, or the Placid sea.
The Odjibwas and some other northern tribes of that stock, call it Ottowa
lake. No term has been found for it in the Iroquois language, unless it
be that by which they distingiiished its principal seat of trade, negociation
and early rendezvous, the island of Michilimackinac, which they called
Tiedonderaghie.

Michigan is a derivative from two Odjibwa- Algonquin words, signify-
ing large, i. e. large in relation to masses .n the inorganic kingdom, and
a lake. The French called it, generally, during the earlier periods of
their transactions, the lake of the lUinese, or Illinois.

Superior, the most northwesterly, and the largest of the series, is a term
which appears to have come into general use, at a comparatively early
era, after the planting of the English colonies. The French bestowed
upon it, unsuccessfully, one or two names, the last of which was Traci,
after the French minister of this name. By the Odjibwa-Algonquins,
who at the period of the French discovery, and who still occupy its
borders, it is called Gitch-Igomee, or The Big Sea-water; from Gitchee,
great, and guma, a generic term for bodies of water. The term IGOMA,
is an abbreviated form of this, suggested for adoption.

The poetry of the Indians, is the poetry of naked thought. They
have neither ryhme, nor metre to adorn it.

Tales and traditions occupy the place of books, with the Red Race. —
They make up a kind of oral literature, Avhich is resorted to, on long
winter evenings, fc^r the amusement of the lodge.

The love of independence is so great with these tribes, that they have
never been willing to load their political system with the forms of a regu-
lar government, for fear it might prove oppressive.

To be governed and to be enslaved, are ideas which have been con-
founded by the Indians.

I I !l

n in

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMINOLOGY OF THE U. STATES,

DERIVED PROM THE INDIAN LANGUAGE.
Titte Extracts are made from " Cydapadia Indiaensis " a MS. work in proration.

No. I. ■

Hudson River. — By the tribes who inhabited the area of the present
County of Dutchess, and other portions of its eastern banks, as low down
as Tappan, this river was called Shatemuc — which is believed to be a de-
rivative from Shata, a pelican. The Minisi, who ir ';abited the west banks,
below the point denoted, extending indeed over all the east half of New
Jersey, to the flills of the Raritan, where they joined their kindred the
Lenni Lenape, or Delawares proper, called it Mohicanittuck — that is to
say. River of the Mohicans. The Mohawks, and probably the other
branches of the Iroquois, called it Cahohatatea — a term of which the in-
terpreters who have furnished the word, do not give an explanation. The
prefixed term Caho, it may be observed, is their name for the lower and
principal falls of the Mohawk. Sometimes this prefix was doubled, with
the particle ha, thrown in between. Hatatea is clearly one of those de-
scriptive and affirmative phrases representing objects in the vegetable and
mineral kingdoms, which admitted as we see, in other instances of their
compounds, a very wide range. By some of the more westerly Iro-
quois, the river was called Sanataty.

Albany. — The name by which this place was known to the Iroquois,
at an early day, was Schenectady, a term which, as recently pronounced
by a daughter of Brant, yet living in Canada, has the still harsher sound
of Skoh-nek-ta-ti, with a stress on the first, and the accent strongly on
the second syllable, the third and fourth being pronounced rapidly and
short. The transference of this name, to its present location, by the Eng
lish, on the bestowal on the place by Col. Nichols, of a new name, derived
from the Duke of York's Scottish title, is well known, and is stated,
with some connected traditions, by Judge Benson, in his eccentric memoir
before the New York Historical Society. The meaning of this name, as
derived from the authority above quoted, is Beyond the Pines, having
been applied exclusively in ancient times, to the southern end of the
ancient portage path, from the Mohawk to the Hudson. By the Minci,
who did not live here, but extended, however, on the west shore above
Coxackic, and even Coeymans, it appeal* to have been called Gaislitinic.
The Mohegans, who long contin\ied to occupy the present area of Rens-
Belear and Columbia counties, called it Pempotawuthut, that is to say, the
City or Place of the Council Fire. None of these terms appear to have

304

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMINOLOGY OP THE U. STATES.

305

found favour with the European settlers, and, together with their prior
names of Beaverwyck and Fort Orange, they at once gave way, in 1664,
to the present name. A once noted eminence, three miles west, on
the plains, i. e. Trader's Hill, was called Isutchera, or by prefixing the
name for a hill, Yonondio Isutchera. It means the hill of oil. Norman's
Kill, which enters the Hudson a little below, the Mohawks called
Towasentha, a term which is translated by Dr. Yates, to meauj a place
of many dead.

Niagara.— It is not in unison, perhaps, with general expectation, to find
that the exact translation of this name does not entirely fulfil poetic pre
conception. By the term 0-ne-aw-ga-ra, the Mohawks and their co-tribes
described on the return of their war excursions, the neck of water which
connects lake Erie with Ontario. The term is derived from their name
for the human neck. Whether this term was designed to have, as many
of their names do, a symbolic import, and to denote the importance of this
communication in geography, as connecting the head and heart of the
country, can only be conjectured. Nor is it, in this instance, probable.
When Europeans came to see the gigantic falls which marked the strait,
it was natural that they should have supposed the name descriptive of that
particular feature, rather than the entire river and portage. We have
been assured, however, that it is not their original name for the waler-fall,
ahhough with them, as with us, it may have absorbed this meaning.

Buffalo. — The name of this place in the Seneca, is Te-ho-sa-ro-ro. Its
import is not stated.

Detroit. — By the Wyandots, this place is called Teuchsagrondie ;
by the Lake tribes of the Algic type, Wa-we-d-tun-ong : bqth terms sig-
nify the Place of the turning or Turned Channel. It has been remarked
by visiters who reach this place at night, or in dark weather, or are other-
wise inattentive to the courses, that owing to the extraordinary involutions
of the current the sun appears to rise in the wrong place.

Chicago. — This name, in the Lake Algonquin dialects, to preserve the
same mode of orthography, is derived from Chicagowunzh, the wild
onion or leek. The orthography is French, as they were the discoverers
and early settlers of this part of the west. Kaug, in these dialects is a
porcupine, and She kaug a polecat. The analogies in these words are
apparent, but whether the onion was named before or after the animal,
must be judged if the age of the derivation be sought for.

Tuscaloosa, a river of Alabama. From the Chacta words iushka, a
warrior, and lusa black. — [Gallatin.]

Aragiske, the Iroquois name for Virginia.

AssARiGOA, the name of the Six Nations for the Governor of Virginia.

OwENAGUNGAS, a general name of the Iroquois for the New England
Indians.

Otsseonteo, a spring which is the head of the river Delaware.

306

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMINOLOGY OF THE V. STATES.

Ontonagon ; a considerable river of lake Superior, noted from earljr
times, for the large mass of native copper found on its banks. This name
is said to have been derived from the following incident. It is known
that there is a small bay and dead water for some distance within its
mouth. In and out of this embayed water, the lake alternately flows, ac-
cording to the influence of the winds, and other causes, upon its level.
An Indian woman had left her wooden dish, or Onagon, on the sands, at
the shore of this little bay, where she had been engaged. On coming
back from her lodge, the outflowing current had carried ofT her valued
utensil. Nia Nin-do-nau-gon ! she exclaimed, for it was t curious piece
of workmanship. That is to say — Alas ! my dish !

Chuah-nah-whah-iiah, or Valley of the Mountains. A new pass in the
Rocky Mountains, discovered within a few years. It is supposed to be
in N. latitude about 40''. The western end of the valley gap is 30 miles
wide, which narrows to 20 at its eastern termination, it then turns oblique
to the north, and the opposing sides appear to close the pass, yet there is
a narrow way quite to the foot of the mountain. On the summit there is
a large beaver pond, which has outlets both ways, but the eastern stream
dries early in the season, while there is a continuous flow of water west.
In its course, it has several beautiful, but low cascades, and terminates in a
placid and delightful stream. This pass is now used by emigrants.

Aquidneck. — The Narragansett name for Rhode Island. Roger Wil-
liams observes, that he could never obtain the meaning of it from the na
tives. The Dutch, as appears by a map of Novi Belgii published at Am*
sterdam in 1659, called it Roode Eylant, or Red Island, from the autum-
nal colour of its foliage. The present term, as is noticed, in Vol. III. of
the Collections of the R. I. Hist. Soc. is derived from this.

Incafatchow, a beautiful lake in the mountains at the sources of the
river Hudson. — [Charles F. Hoffinan, Esq.]

HousATONic ; a river originating in the south-western part of Massa-
chusetts, and flowing through the State of Connecticut into Long Island
Sound, at Stratford It is a term of Mohegan origin. This tribe on retiring
eastward from the banks of the Hudson, passed over the High-lands, into
this inviting valley. We have no transmitted etymology of the term,
and must rely on the general principles of their vocabulary. It appears
to have been called the valley of the stream beyond the Mountains, from
oil, the notarial sign of wudjo, a mountain, atun, a generic phrase for
stream or channel, and ic, the inflection for locality.

Wea-nud-nec. — The Indian name, as furnished by Mr. O'Sullivan,
[D. Rev.] for Saddle Mountain, '.iass ivjhusetts. It appears to be a deriva-
tive from Wa-\ve-a, round, i. e. any thing round or crooked, in the inani-
mate creation.

Ma-hai-we ; The Mohegan term, as given by Mr. Bryant [N. Y. E. P.]
for Great Barrington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMINOLOOl OP THE U. STATES. 307

m early
lis name
I known
ithin ite
lows, ac-
its level,
sands, at
I coming
r valued
us piece

18S in the
sed to be
30 miles
s oblique
t there is
it there is
rn stream
Eiter west,
nates in a
nts.

)ger Wil«
no the na
id at Am-
le autum-
3l. III. of

:es of the

if Massa-

ng Island
n retiring
mds, into
the term,
t appears
lins, from
hrase for

'Sullivan,

a doriva-

the inani-

Y. E. P.]

Massachusetts. — This was not the name of a particular tribe, but a
geographical term applied, it should seem, to that part of the shores of the
North Atlantic, which is swept by the tide setting into, and around tho
peninsula of Cape Cod, and the wide range of coast trending southerly.
It became a generic word, at an early day, for the tribes who inhabited this
coast. It is said to be a word of Narragansett origin, and to signify the
Blue Hills. This is the account given of it by Roger Williams, v;ho
was told, by the Indians, that it had its origin from the appearance of
an island off the coast. It would be more in conformity to the general
requisitions of ethnography, to denominate the language the New Eng-
land-Algonquin, for there are such groat resemblances in the vocabulary
and such an identity in grammatical construction, in these tribes, that we
are constantly in danger, by partial conclusions as to original supremacy,
of doing injustice. The source of origin was doubtless west and south
west, but we cannot stop at the Narragansetts, who were themselves deriva-
tive from tribes still farther south. The general meaning given by Wil-
liams seems, however, to be sustained, so far as can now be judged. The
terminations in ett, and set, as well as those in at and ak, denoted locality
in these various tribes. We see also, in the antipenultimate Chu, the root
of Wudjo, a mountain.

Ta-ha-wus, a very commanding elevation, several thousand feet above
the sea, which has of late years, been discovered at the sources of the
Hudson, and named Mount Marcy. It signifies, he splits the sky. —
[Charles F. Hoffman, Esq.]

Mono, the name of a distinguished chief of New England, as it appears
to be recorded in the ancient pictorial inscription on the Dighton Rock,
in Massachusetts, who flourished before the country was cofcnized by the
English. He was both a war captain, and a prophet, and employed the
arts of the latter office, to increase his power and influence, in the former.
By patient application of his ceremonial arts, he secured the confidence
of a large body of men, who were led on, in the attack on his enemies,
by a man named Piz-hu. In this onset, it is claimed that he killed forty
men, and lost three. To the warrior who should be succesful, in this en-
terprize, he had promised his younger sister. [Such are the leading events
symbolized by this inscription, of which extracts giving full details, as in-
terpreted by an Indian chief, now living, and read before the Am. Ethno-
logical Society, in 1843, will be furnished, in a subsequent number.]

Tioga. — A stream, and a county of the State of New- York. From
Teoga, a swift current, exciting admiration.

DioxDEROGA, an ancient name of the Mohawk tribe, for the site at the
mouth of the Schoharie creek, where Fort Hunter was afterwards built
[Col. W. L. Stone.]

Ai-MoucHico, a generic name of the Indians for New England, as printed

308

AMERICAN ANTIdLITIES, ETC.

on the Amsterdam map of 1659, in which it is stated that it was thus " by
d inwoonders genaemt." (So named by the natives.)

Irocoisu, a name bestowed in the map, above quoted, on that portion of
the present state of Vermont, which lies west of the Green Mountains,
stretching along the eastern bank of Lake Champlain. By the applica-
tion of the word, it is perceived that the French were not alone m the use
they made of the apparently derivative term "Iroquois," which they
gave 10 the (then) Five Nations.

Snow.

Running water.

A leaf.

The radix of behind &c.

NAMES OP THE SEASONS.

The following are tne names of the four seasfons, in the Odjibwa
tongue:

Pe-bon, Winter, From Kone,

Se-gvvun, Spring, '* Seeg,

Ne-bin, Summer, " Anib,

Ta-gwd-gi, Autumn, " Gvvag,

By adding the letter g to these terms, they are placed in the relation of

verbs in the future tense, but a limited future, and the terms then denote

next mrUer, &c. Years, in their account of time, are counted by winters.

There is no other term, but pe-boan, for a year. The yenr consists of

twelvQ lunar months, or moons. A moon is called Geezis, or when

spoken of in contradistinction to the sun, Dibik Geezis, or night-sun

The cardinal points are as follows.

J»J North,

South,

id)

East,
West,

Ke wd din-ung.
O shd wan-ung.
Wd bun-ung.
Kd be un-ung.

a. Kevvadin is a compound derived from Ke-wa, to return, or come
home, and nodin, the wind. b. Oshauw is, from a root not apparent, but
which produces also ozau, yellow, &c. c. Waban is from ab, or wab, light.
d. Kabeun, is the name of a mythological person, who is spoken of, in
their fictions, as the father of the winds. The inflection ung, or oong, in
each term, denotes course, olace, or locality.

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE
WESTERN COUNTRY,

A9SRI8SKD TO THE LATX WILLIAM L. STONE, EDITOR O* THE MEW TORE

COMMERCIAL ADVERXIBEE.

Wheeling (Va.), August 19th, 1843.

I HAVE just accomplished the passage of the Alleghany mountains, in

the direction from Baltimore to this place, and must say, that aside from

the necessary fatigue of night riding, the pass from the Cumberland

mountains and Laurel Hill is one of the easiest and most free from

danger of any known to me in this vast range. An excellent railroad

now extends from Baltimore, by Frederick and Harper's Ferry, up the

Potomac valley and its north branch quite to Cumberland, which is

seated just under the mountains, whose peaks would seem to bar all

farther approach. The national road finds its way, however, through a

gorge, and winds about where " Alps on Alps arise," till the whole vast

and broad-backed elevation is passed, and we descend west, over a

smooth, well constructed macadamized road, with a velocity which is

some compensation for the toil of winding our way up. Uniontown is

the first principal place west. The Monongahela is crossed at Browns- ■

ville, some forty miles above Pittsburgh, whence the road, which is

everywhere well made and secured with fine stone bridges, culverts and

viaducts, winds around a succession of most enchanting hills, till it

enters a valley, winds up a few more hills, and brings the travellers out,

on the banks of the Ohio, at this town

309

310

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

The entire distance from the head of the Chesapcnke to the waters
of the Ohio is not essentially different from three hundred miles. We
were less than two days in passing it, twenty-six hours of which, part
night and part day, were spent in post-coaches between Cumberland and
this place. Harper's Ferry is an impressive scene, but less so than it
would be to a tourist who had not his fancy excited by injudicious
descriptions. To me, the romance was quite taken away by driving
into it with a tremendous clattering power of steam. The geological
structure of this section of country, from water to water, is not without
an impressive lesson. In rising from the Chesapeake waters the strati-
fied rocks are lifted up, pointing west, or towards the Alleghanies, and
after crossin.^ the summit they point east, or directly contrary, like the
two sides of the roof of a house, and leave the inevitable conclusion
that the Alleghanies have been lifted up by a lateral rent, as it were, at
the relative point of the ridge pole. It is in this way that the granites
and their congeners have been raised up into their present elevations.

I did not see any evidence of thai wave-like or undulatory structure,
which was brought forward as a thoory last year, in an able paper for
warded by Professor Rogers, and read at the meeting of the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science at Manchester. No organic
remains are, of course, visible, in this particular section, at least until
we strike the coal and iron-stone formation of Pittsburgh. But I have
been renewedly impressed with the opinion, so very opposite to the
present geological theory, that less than seven thousand years is suffi-
cient, on scientific principles, to account for all the phenomena of fossil
plants, shells, bones luJ organic remains, as well as the displacements,
disruptions, subsidences and rising of strata, and other evidences of
extensive physical changes and disturbances on the earth's surface. And
' I hope to live to see some American geologist build up a theory on just
philosophical and scientific principles, which shall bear the test of truth.

But you will, perhaps, be ready to think that I have felt more interest
in the impressions of plants in stone, than is to be found in the field of
waving corn before the eye. 1 have, however, by no means neglected
the latter ; and can assure you that the crops of corn, wheat and other
grains, throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania and Western Virginia, are
excellent. Even the highest valleys in the Alleghanies are covered
with crops of corn, or fields of stacked wheat and other grains. Gene-
rally, the soil west of the mountains is more fertile. The influence of
the great western limestones, as one of its original materials, and of the
oxide of iron, is clearly denoted in heavier and more thrifty cornfields
along the Monongahela and Ohio valleys.

Of the Ohio River itself, one who had seen it in its full flow, in April
and May, would hardly recognize it now. Shrunk in a volume far
below its noble banks, with long spits of sand and gravel running almost

OP THE W TBBS COUNTRY.

311

amboaU f a
><khich v^ ,uld

across it, and level sandy mar" once cove (\ by water, where armHn

might now mancEuvre, it is but i. *keleton itself

hundred tons burden now scarcely creep along its ch.

form cockboats for the floating palaces to be seen hm m the dt^a of

its vernal and autumnal glory.

Truly yours,

HENRY R. COLCRAFT

II.

Grave Creek Flats (Va.), August 23, 1843.

I HAVE devoted several days to the examination of the antiquities of
this place and its vicinity, and find them to be of even more interest
than was anticipated. The most prominent object of curiosity is the
great tumulus, of which notices have appeared in western papers ; but
this heavy structure of earth is not isolated. It is but one of a series
of mounds and other evidences of ancient occupation at this point, of
more than ordinary interest. I have visited and examined seven mounds,
situated within a short distance of each other. They occupy the summit
level of a rich alluvial plain, stretching on the left or Virginia bank of
the Ohio, between the junctions of Big and Little Grave Creeks with
that stream. They appear to have been connected by low earthen
entrenchments, of which plain traces are still visible on some parts of
the commons. They included a well, stoned up in the usual manner,
which is now filled with rubbish.

The summit of this plain is probably seventy-five feet above the
present summer level of the Ohio. It constitutes the second bench, or
rise of land, above the water. It is on this summit, and on one of the
most elevated parts of it, that the great tumulus stands. It is in the
shape of a broad cone, cut off at the apex, where it is some fifty feet
across. This area is quite level, and commands a view of the entire
plain, and of the river above and below, and the west shores of the
Ohio in front. Any public transaction on this area would be visible to
multitudes around it, and it has, in this respect, all the advantages of the
Mexican and Yucatanese teocalli. The circumference of the base has
been stated at a little under nine hundred feet ; the height is sixty-nine
feet.

The most interesting object of antiquarian inquiry is a small flat stone,
inscribed with antique alphabetic characters, which was disclosed on the
opening of the large mound. These characters are in the ancient rock
alphabet of sixteen right and acute angled single stokes, used by the
Pelasgi and other early Mediterranean nations, and which is the parent

312

LETTBRI ON THE ANTIQUITIES

h ;

I lii

of the modern Runic as well as the Bardic. It is now some four or firs
years since the completion of the excavations, so far as they havo been
made, and the discovery of this relic. Several copies of it soon got
abroad, which differed from each other, and, it was supposed, from the
original. This conjecture is true ; neither the print published in the
Cincinnati Gazette, in 1839, nor that in the American Pioneer, in 1843,
is correct. I have terminated this uncertainty by taking copies by a
scientific process, which does not leave the lines and figures t( the
uncertainty of man's pencil.

The existence of this ancient art here could hardly be admitted, other-
wise than as an insulated fact, without some corroborative evidence, in
habits and customs, which it would be reasonable to look for in the
existing ruins of ancient occupancy. It is thought some such testimony
has been found. I rode out yesterday three miles back to the range of
high hills which encompass this sub-valle} , io see a rude tower of stone
standing on an elevated point, called Parr's point, which commands a
view of the whole plain, and which appears to have been constructed
as a watch-tower, or look-out, from which to descry an approaching
enemy. It is much dilapidated. About six or seven feet of the work
is still entire. It is circular, and composed of rough stones, laid with-
out mortar, or the mark of a hammer. A heavy mass of fallen wall lies
around, covering an area of some forty feet in diameter. Two similar
points of observation, occupied by dilapidated towers, are represented to
exist, one at the prominent summit of the Ohio and Grave Creek hills,
and another on the promontory on the opposite side of the Ohio, in
Belmont county, Ohio.

It is known to all acquainted with the warlike habits of our Indians,
that they never have evinced the foresight to post a regular sentry, and
these rude towers may be regarded as of cotemporaneous age with the
interment of the inscription.

Several polished tubes of stone have been found, in one of the lesser
mounds, the use of which is not very apparent. One of these, now on
my table, is 12 inches long, 1^ wide at one end, and 1-^ at the other. It
is made of a fine, compact, lead blue steatite, mottled, and has been
constructed by boring, in the manner of a gun barrel. This boring is con-
tinued to within about three-eighths of an inch of the larger end, through
which but a small aperture is left. If this small aperture be looked
through, objects at a distance are more clearly seen. Whether it had
this telescopic use, or others, the degree of art evinced in its construc-
tion is far from rude. By inserting a wooden rod and valve, this tube
would be converted into a powerful syphon, or syringe.

I have not space to notice one or two additional traits, which serve to
awaken new interest at this ancient point of aboriginal and apparently
mixed settlement, and must omit them till my next.

i!!

or THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

313

III.

Grave Cbeek Flats, August 24, 1843.
The great mound at these llats was upeneJ as a place of public resort
about four years ago. For this purpose a horizontal gallery to its centre
was dug and bricked up, and provided with a door. The centre was
wuUed round as u rotunda, of about twcnty-flvc feet diameter, and a
shaft sunk from the top to intersect it ; it waa in these two excavations
that the skeletons and accompanying relics and ornaments were found.
All these articles are arranged for exhibition in this rotunda, which is
lighted up with candles. The lowermost skeleton is almost entire, and
in a good state of preservation, and is put up by means of wires, on the
walls. It has been ovorstretclied in the process so as to measure six
feet ; it should be about live feet eight inches. It exhibits a noblo ''^ame
of the human species, bearing a skull with craniological developments
of a highly favorable charcter. The face bones are elongated, with a
long chin and symmetrical jaw, in which a full and fine set of te'^:th,
above and below, are present. The skeletons in the upper vault, where
the inscription stone was found, are nearly all destroyed.

It is a damp and gloomy repository, and exhibits in the roof and walls
of the rotunda one of the most extraordinary sepulchral displays which
the worM aflbrds. On casting the eye up to the ceiling, and the heads
of the pillars supporting it, it is found to be encrusted, or rather fes-
tooned, with a white, soft, flaky mass of matter, which had exuded from
the mound above. This apparently animal exudation is as white as
snow. It hangs in pendent masses and globular drops ; the surface is
covered with large globules of clear water, which in the reflected light
have all the brilliancy of diamonds. These drops of water trickle to the
floor, and occasionally the exuded while matter falls. The wooden
pillars are furnished with the appearance of capitals, by this substance.
That it is the result of a soil highly charged with particles of matter,
arising from the decay or incineration of human bodies, is the only
theory by which we may account for the phenomenon. Curious and
unique it certainly is, and with the faint light of a few candles it would
not require much imagination to invest the entire rotunda with sylph-
like forms of the sheeted dead.

An old Cherokee chief, who visited this scene, recently, with his
companions, on his way to the West, was so excited and indignant at
the desecration of the tumulus, by this display of bones and relics to the
gaze ot" the white race, that he became furious and unmanageable ; his
friends and interpreters had to force him out, to prevent his assassinating
the guide ; aiid soon after he drowned his senses in alcohol.

That this spot was a veiy ancient point of settlement by the hunter

814

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

[:i

race in the Ohio valley, and that it was inhabited by the present red
race of North American Indians, on the arrival of whites west of the
Alleghanies, are both admitted facts ; nor would the historian and anti«
quary ever have busied themselves farther in the matter had not the
inscribed stone come to light, in the year 1839. I was informed, yes-
terday, that another inscription stone had been found in one of the
smaller mounds on these flats, about five years ago, and have obtained
data sufficient as to its present location to put the Ethnological Society
on its trace. If, indeed, these inscriptions shall lead us to admit that
the continent was visited by Europeans prior to the era of Columbus, it
is a question of very high antiquarian interest to determine who the
visitors were, and what they have actually left on record in these antique
tablets.

I have only time to add a single additional fact. Among the articles
found in this cluster of mounds, the greater part are commonplace, in
our western mounds and town ruins. I have noticed but one which
bears the character of that unique type of architecture found by Mr.
Stephens and Mr. Catherwood in Central America and Yucatan. With
the valuable monumental standards of comparison furnished by these
gentlemen before me, it is impossible not to recognize, in an ornamental
stone, found in one of the lesser mounds here, a specimen of similar
workmanship. It is in the style of the heavy feather-sculptured orna-
ments of Yucatan — the material being a wax yellow sand-stone, dark-
ened by time. I have taken such notes and drawings of the objects
above referred to, as will enable me, I trust, in due time, to give a* con*
nected account of them to our incipient society.

IV.

Massillon, Ohio, August 27th, 1843.
Since my last letter I have traversed the State of Ohio, by stage, to
this place. In coming up the Virginia banks of the Ohio from Mounds-
ville, I passed a monument, of simple construction, erected to the
memory of a Captain Furman and twenty-one men, who were killed by
the Indians, in 1777, at that spot. They had been out, from the fort at
Wheeling, on a scouting party, and were waylaid at a pass called the
narrows. The Indians had dropped a pipe and some trinkets in the
path, knowing that the white men would pick them up, and look at
them, and while the latter were grouped together in this act, they fired
and killed every man. The Indians certainly fought hard for the pos-
session of this valley, aiming, at all times, to make up by stratagem what
they lacked in numbers. I doubt whether there is in the history of the

OP THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

315

ent red

of the

nd anti-

not the

id, yes-

of the

)btained

Society

mit that

mbus, it

who the

e antique

articles
place, in
Qe which
by Mr.
1. With
by these
rnamental
of similar
red orna-
jne, dark-
le objects
ive a*con«

h, 1843.

>y stage, to
n Mounds-
tcd to the
re killed by
I the fort at
called the
kets in the
Eind look at
t, they fired
OT the pos-
itagem what
story of the

spread of civilisation over the world a theatre so rife with partisan
adventure, massacre and murder, as the valley of the Ohio and the
country west of the Alleghany generally presented between the break-
ing out of the American revolution, in '76, and the close of the Black
Hawk war in 1832. The true era, in fact, begins with the French war,
in 1744, and terminates with the Florida war, the. present year. A
work on this subject, drawn from authentic sources, and written with
spirit and talent, would be read with avidity and possess a permanent
interest.

The face of the country, from the Ohio opposite Wheeling to the
waters of the Tuscarawas, the north fork of the Muskingum, is a series
of high rolling ridges and knolls, up and dowu which the stage travels
slowly. Yet this section is fertile and well cultivated in wheat and
corn, particularly the latter, which looks well. This land cannot be
purchased under foity or fifty dollars an acre. Much of it was originally
bought for seventy-five cents per acre. It was over this high, wavy land,
that the old Moravian missionary road to Gnadenhutten ran, and I pur-
sued it to within six miles of the latter place. You will recollect this
locality as the scene of the infamous murder, by Williamson and his
party, of the non-resisting Christian Delawares under the ministry of
Heckewelder and Ziesberger. »

On the Stillwater, a branch of the Tuscarawas, we first come to level
lands. This stream was noted, in early days, for its beaver and other
furs. The last beaver seen here was shot on its banks twelve years
ago. It had three legs, one having probably been caught in a trap or
been bitten off. It is known that not only the beaver, but the otter,
wolf and fox, will bite off a foot, to escape the iron jaws of a trap. It
has been said, but I know not on what good authority, that the hare
will do the same.

We first struck the Ohio canal at Dover. It is in every respect a
well constructed work, with substantial locks, culverts and viaducts. It
is fifty feet wide at the top, and is more than adequate for all present
purposes. It pursues the valley of the Tuscarawas up to the summit,
by which it is connected with the Cuyahuga, whose outlet is at Cleve-
land. Towns and villages have sprung up along its banks, where before
there was a wilderness. Nothing among them impressed me more than
the town of Zoar, which is exclusively settled by Germans. There
seems something of the principles of association — one of the fallacies of
the age — in its large and single town store, hotel, &c., but I do not
know how far they may extend. Individual property is held. The
evidences of thrift and skill, in cultivation and mechanical and mill work,
are most striking. Every dwelling here is surrounded with fruit and .
fruit trees. The botanical garden and hot-house are on a large scale,
and exhibit a favorable specimen of the present state of horticulture.

316

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

One of the assistants very kindly plucked for me some fine fruit, and
voluntarily offered it. Zoar is quite a place of resort as a ride for the
neighboring town^, I may remark, en passanty that there is a large
proportion of German population throughout Ohio. They are orderly,
thrifty and industrious, and fall readily into our political system and
habits. Numbers of them are well educated in the German. They
embrace Lutherans as well as Roman Catholics, the latter predomi-
nating.

Among the towns which have recently sprung up on the line of the
canal, not the least is the one from which I date this letter. The name
of the noted French divine (Massillon) was affixed to an uncultivated
spot, by some Boston gentlemen, some twelve or fourteen years ago.
It is now one of the most thriving, city-looking, business places in the
interior of Ohio. In the style of its stores, mills and architecture, it
reminds the visitor of that extraordinary growth and spirit which marked
the early years of the building of Rochester. It numbers churches for
Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians, and also Lu-
therans and Romanists. About three hundred barrels of flour can be
turned out per diem, by its mills. It is in the greatest wheat-growing
county in Ohio (Stark), but is not the county-seat, which is at Canton

Detroit, Sept. 15th, 1843.
In passing from the interior of Ohio toward Lake Erie, the face of the
country exhibits, in the increased size and number of its boulder stones,
evidences of the approach of the traveller toward those localities of
sienites and other crystalline rocks, from which these erratic blocks and
water-worn masses appear to have been, in a remote age of our planet,
removed. The soil in this section has a freer mixture of the broken
down slates, of which portions are still in place on the shores of Lake
Erie. The result is a clayey soil, less favorable to wheat and Indian
corn. We came down the cultivated valley of the Cuyahoga, and
reached the banks of the lake at <he fine town of Cleveland, which is
elevated a hundred feet, or more, above it, and commands a very ex-
tensive view of the lake, the harbor and its ever-busy shipping. A day
was employed, by stage, in this section of my tour, and the next carried
me, by steamboat, to this ancient French capital. Detroit has many
interesting historical associations, and appears destined, when its railroad
is finished, to be the chief thoroughfare for travellers to Chicago and the
Mississippi valley. As my attention has, however, been more taken

OF THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

317

up, on my way, with the past than the present and future condition of
the West, the chief interest which the route has excited must necessarily
arise from the same source.

Michigan connects itself in its antiquarian features with that charac-
tfr of pseudo-civilisation, or modified barbarianism, of which the works
«nd mounds and circumvallations at Grave Creek FlatSj at Marietta, at
Circleville and other well known points, are evidences. That this
improved condition of the hunter state had an ancient but partial con-
nection with the early civilisation of Europe, appears now to be a fair
inference, from the inscribed stone of Grave Creek, and other traces of
European arts, discovered of late. It is also evident that the central
American type of the civilisation, or rather advance to civilisation, of the
red race, reached this length, and finally went down, with its gross idol-
atry and horrid rites, and was merged in the better known and still ex-
isting form of the hunter state which was found, respectively, by Cabot,
Cartier, Verrezani, Hudson, and others, who first dropped anchor on our
coasts.

There is strong evidence furnished by a survey of the western coun-
try that the teocalli type of the Indian civilisation, so to call it, devel-
oped itself from the banks of the Ohio, in Tennessee and Virginia, west
and north-westwardly across the sources of the Wabash, the Musking-
um and other streams, toward Lake Michigan and the borders of Wis-
consin territory. The chief evidences of it, in Michigan and Indiana,
consist of a remarkable series of curious garden beds, or accurately fur-
rowed fields, the perfect outlines of which have been preserved by the
grass of the oak openings and prairies, and even among the heaviest for-
ests. These remains of an ancient cultivation have attracted much atten-
tion froir observing settlers on the Elkhart, the St. Joseph's, the Kala-
mazoo and Grand river of Michigan I possess some drawings of these
anomalous remains of by-gone industry in the hunter race, taken in for-
mer years, which are quite remarkable. It is worthy of remark, too,
that no large tumuli, or teocalli, exist in this particular portion of the
West, the ancient population of which may therefore be supposed to
have been borderers, or frontier bands, who resorted to the Ohio valley
as their capital, or place of annual visitation. All the mounds scattered
through Northern Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, are mere barrows, or re-
positories of the dead, and would seem to have been erected posterior to
the fall or decay of the gross idol worship and the offer of human sacri-
fice. I have, within a day or two, received a singular implement or or-
nament of stone, of a crescent shape, from Oakland, in this State, which
connects the scattered and out-lying remains of the smaller mounds,
and traces of ancient agricultural labor, with the antiquities of Graye
Creek Flats

318

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

VI.

Detroit, Sept. 16th, 1843.

The antiquities of Western America are to be judged of by isolat'
ed and disjointed discoveries, which are often made at widely distant
points and spread over a very extensive area. The labor of comparison
and discrimination of the several eras which the objects of these discov-
eries establish, is increased by this diffusion and disconnection of the
times and places of their occurrence, and is, more than all, perhaps, hin*
dered and put back by the eventual carelessness of the discoverers, and
the final loss or mutilation of the articles disclosed. To remedy this evil)
every discovery made, however apparently unimpoptant, should in this
era of the diurnal and periodical press be put on record, and the objects
themselves be either carefully kept, or given to some public scientific in-
stitution.

An Indian chief called the Black Eagle, of river Au Sables (Michigan), .
discovered a curious antique pipe of Etruscan ware, a few years ago, at
Thunder Bay. This pipe, which is now in my possession, is as remark-
able for its form as for the character of the earthenware from which it
is made, differing as it does so entirely from the coarse earthen pots and
vessels, the remains of which are scattered so generally throughout
North America. The form is semi-circular or horn^shaped, with a qua-
drangular bowl, and having impressed in the ware ornaments at each angle.
I have never before, indeed, seen any pipes of Indian manufacture of
baked clay, or earthenware, such articles being generally carved out of
steatite, indurated clays, or other soft mineral substances. It is a pecu-
liarity of this pipe that it was smoked from the small end, which is rounded
for the purpose of putting it between the lips, without the intervention
of a stem.

The discoverer told me that he had taken it from a very antique grave.
A large hemlock tree, ho said, had been blown down on the banks of the
river, tearing up, by its roots, a large mass of earth. At the bottom of the
excavation thus made he discovered a grave, which contained a vase,
out of which he took the pipe with some other articles. The vase, he
said, was broken, so that he did not deem it worth bringing away. The
other articles he described as bones.

Some time since I accompanied the chief Kewakonce, to get an an-
cient clay pot, such as the Indians used when the Europeans arrived on
the continent. He said that he had discovered two. such pots, in an en-
tire state, in a cave, or crevice, on one of the rocky islets extending
north of Point Tessalon, which is the northern cape of the entrance of
the Straits of St. Mary's into Lake Huron. From this locality he had
removed one of them, and concealed it at a distant point. We travelled

OP THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

319

in canoes. We landed on the northern shore of the large island of St.
Joseph, which occupies the jaws of those expanded straits. He led me
up an elevated ridge, covered virith forest, and along a winding narrow
path, conducting to some old Indian cornfields. All at once he stopped
in this path. " We are now very near it," he said, and stood still, look-
ing toward the spot where he had concealed it, beneath a decayed trunk.
He did not, at last, appear to be willing to risk his luck in life — such is
Indian superstition — by being the actual discoverer of this object of vene-
ration to a white man, but allowed me to make, or rather complete, the
re-discovery.

With the exception of being cracked, this vessel is entire. It corres-
ponds, in material and character, with the fragments of pottery usually
found. It is a coarse ware, tempered with quartz or feld-spar, and such
as would admit a sudden fire to be built around it. It is some ten inches
in diameter, tulip-shaped, with a bending lip, and without supports be-
neath. It was evidently used as retorts in a sand bath, there being no
contrivance for suspending it. I have forwarded this curious relic entire
to the city for examination. I asked the chief who presented it to me,
and who is a man of good sense, well acquainted with Indian traditions,
how long it was since such vessels had been used by his ancestors. He
replied, that he was the seventh generation, in a direct line, since the
French had first arrrived in the lakes.

Detroit, Sept. 16th, 1843.

There was found, in an island at the west extremity of Lake Huron,
an ancient repository of human bones, which appeared to have been gath-
ered from their first or ordinary place of sepulture, and placed in thb
rude mausoleum. The island is called Isle Ronde by the French, and is
of small dimensions, although it has a rocky basis and affords sugar ma-
ple and other trees of the hard wood species. This rep'^ ory was first
disclosed by the action of the lake against a diluvial shore, in which the
bones were buried. At the time of my visit, vertebrse, tibiae, portions of
crania and other bones were scattered down the fallen bank, and served
to denote the place of their interment, which was on the margin of the
plain. Some persons supposed that the leg and thigh bones denoted an
unusual length ; but by placing them hip by hip with the living speci-
men, this opinion was not sustained.

All these bones had been placed longitudinally. They were arranged in
order, in a wide grave, or trench. Contrary to the usual practice of the pre-
sent tribes of red men, the skeletons were laid north and south. I asked

320

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

several of the most aged Indian chiefs in that vicinity for information re-
specting these bones — by what tribe they had been deposited, and why
they had Veen laid north and south, and not east and west, as they uni-
formly bury. But, with the usual result as to early Indian traditions,
they had no information to offer. Chusco, an old Ottawa prophet, since
dead, remarked that they were probably of the time of the Indian bones
found in the caves on the island of Michilimackinac.

In a small plain on the same island, near the above repository, is a long
abandoned Indian burial-ground, in which the interments are made in the
ordinary way. This, I understood from the Indians, is of the era of the
occupation of Old Mackinac, or Peekwutinong, as they continue to call
it — a place which has been abandoned by both whites and Indians, sol-
diers and missionaries, about seventy years. I caused excavations to be
made in these graves, and found their statements to be generally verified
by the character of the articles deposited with the skeletons ; at least
they were all of a date posterior to the discovery of this part of the coun-
try by the French. There were found the oxydated remains of the brass
mountings of a chief's fusil, corroded fire steels and other steel imple-
ments, Vermillion, wampum, and other cherished or valued articles. I
sent a perfect skull, taken from ''r.c of these graves, to Dr. Morton, the
author of " Crania," while ne was preparing that work. No Indians
have resided on this island within the memory of any white man or In-
dian with whom I have conversed. An aged chief whom I interrogated,
called Sajanosh, who has now been dead some five or six years, told me
that he was a small boy when the present settlement on the island of
Michilimackinac was commenced, and the English first took post there,
and began to remove their cattle, &c., from the old fort on the peninsula,
and it was about that time that the Indian village of Minnisains, or Isle
Ronde, was abandoned. It had before formed a link, as it were, in the
traverse of this part of the lake (Huron) in canoes to old Mackinac.

The Indians opposed the transfer of the post to the island of Michili-
mackinac, and threatened the troops who were yet in the field. They
had no cannon, but the commanding officer sent a vessel to Detroit for
one. This vessel had a quick trip, down and up, and brought up a
gun, which was fired the evening she came into the harbor. This pro-
duced an impression. I have made some inquiries to fix the date of this
transfer of posts, and think it was at or about the opening of the era of the
American revolution, at which period the British garrison did not feel
itself safe in a mere stockade of timber on the main shore. This stock-
ade, dignified with the name of a fort, had not been burned on the taking
of it, by surprise, and the massacre of the English troops by the Indians,
during Pontiac's war. This massacre, it will be recollected, was in 1763
—twelve years before the opening of the American war.

,'4

;*■

OP THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

321

ion re-
id why
ey uni-
ditions,
t, since
a bones

s a long
le in the
a of the
3 to call
ms, sol-
as to be
verified
at least
tie coun-
the brass
1 imple-
icles. I
rton, the
I Indians
an or In-
rrogated,
, told me
island of
3st there,
)eninsula,
IS, or Isle
re, in the
kinac.
[• Michili-
d. They
Detroit for
ight up a
This prO'
ate of this
era of the
d not feel
Phis stock-
the taking
he Indians,
ras in 1763

-r

VIII. '

Detroit, Oct. 13th, 1843.

The so-called copper rock of Lake Superior was brought to this place,
a day or two since, in a vessel from Sault Ste-Marie, having been trans-
ported from its original locality, on the Ontonagon river, at no small labor
and expense. It is upwards of twenty-three years since I first visited
this remarkable specimen of native copper, in the forests of Lake Supe-
rior. It has been somewhat diminished in size and weight, in the mean-
time, by visitors and travellers in that remote quarter ; but retains, very
well, its original character and general features. »

I have just returned from a re-examination of it in a store, in one of
the main streets of this city, vk here it has been deposited by the present
proprietor, who designs to exhibit it to the curious. Its greatest length
is four feet six inches ; its greatest width about four feet ; its maximum'
thickness eighteen inches. These are rough measurements with the rule.
It is almost entirely composed of malleable copper, and bears striking
marks of the visits formerly paid to it, in the evidences of portions which
have from time to time been cut off. There are no scales in the city
large enough, or other means of ascertaining its precise weight, and of
thus terminating the uncertainty arising from the several estimates here-
tofore made. It has been generally estimated here, since its arrival, to
weigh between six and seven thousan'l pounds, or about three and a half
tons, and is by far the largest known and described specimen of native
copper on the globe. Rumors of a larger piece in South America are
apocryphal.

The acquisition, to the curious and scientific world, of this extraordi-
nary mass of native metal is at least one of the practical results of the
copper-mining mania which carried so many adventurers northward, into
the region of Lake Superior, the past summer (1843). The person who
has secured this treasure (Mr. J. Eldred) has been absent, on the busi-
ness, since early in June. He succeeded in removing it from its diluvial
bed on the banks of the river, by a car and sectional railroad of two links,
formed of timber. The motive power was a tackle attached to trees,
which was worked by men, from fourteen to twenty of whom were
emnloyed upon it. These rails were alternately moved forward, as the
car passed from the hindmost.

In this manner the rock was dragged four miles and a half, across a
rough country, to a curve of the river below its falls, and below the
junction of its forks, where it was received by a boat, and conveyed to
the mouth of the river, on the lake shore. At this point it was put on
board a schooner, and taken to the falls, or Sault Ste-Marie, and thence,
having been transported across the portage, embarked for Detroit. The

Mtum

322

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

entire distance to this place is a little within one thousand miles ; three
hundred and twenty of which lie beyond St. Mary's.

What is to be its future history and disposition remains to be seen. It
will probably find its way to the museum of the National Institute in the
new patent office at Washington. This would be appropriate, and it is
stated that the authorities have asserted their ultimate claim to it, probably
under the 3d article of the treaty of Fond du Lac, of the dth of August^
1826.

I have no books at hand to refer to the precise time, so far as known,
when this noted mass of copper first became known to Europeans.
Probably a hundred and eighty years have elapsed. Marquette, and his
devoted companion, passed up the shores of Lake Superior about 1668,
which was several years before the discovery of the Mississippi, by that
eminent missionary, by the way of the Wisconsin. From the letters of
D'Ablon at Sault Ste-Marie, it appears to have been known prior to the
arrival of La Salle. These allusions will be sufficient to show that the
rock has a historical notoriety. Apart from this, it is a specimen which
is, both mineralogically and geologically, well worthy of national p^e-
iservation.

It is clearly a boulder, and bears marks of attrition from the action
of water, on some parts of its rocky surface as well as Ihe metallic
portions. A minute mineralogical examination and description of it are
required. The adhering rock, of which there is less now than in 1820,
is apparently serpentine, in some parts steatitic, whereas the copper ores
of Keweena Point on that lake, are found exclusively in the amygdaloids
and greenstones of the trap formation. A circular depression of opaque
crystalline quartz, in the form of a semi-geode, exists in one face of it ;
other parts of the mass disclose the same mineral. Probably 300 lbs. of
the metal have been hacked off, or detached by steel chisels, since it has
been known to the whites, most of this within late years.

IX.

Detroit, Oct. 16th, 1843.
In the rapid development of the resources and wealth of the West,
there is no object connected with the navigation of the upper lakes of
more prospective importance than the improvement of the delta, or flats
of the St. Clair. It is here that the only practical impediment occurs to
the passage of heavy shipping, between Bufialo and Chicago. This
delta is formed by deposits at the point of discharge of the river St. Clair,
into Lake St. Clair, and occurs at the estimated distance of about thirty-

OP THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

323

ttiree

six miles above the city. The flats are fan-shaped, and spread, I am
inclined to think, upward of fifteen miles, on the line of their greatest
expansion.

There are three principal channels, besides sub-channels, which carry
a depth of from four to six fathoms to the very point of their exit into
the lake, where there is a bar in each. This bar, as is shown by the
chart of a survey made by officers Macomb and Warner, of the topogra-
phical engineers, in 1842, is very similar to the bars at the mouths of the
upper lake rivers, and appears to be susceptible of removal, or improve-
ment, by similar means. The north channel carries nine feet of water
over this bar, the present season, and did the same in 1842, and is the
one exclusively used by vessels and steamboats. To the latter this tor-
tuous channel, which is above ten miles farther round than the middle
channel, presents no impediment, besides the intricacies of the bar, but
increased distance.

It is otherwise, and ever must remain so, to vessels propelled by sails.
Such vessels, coming up with a fair wind, find the bend so acute and
involved at Point aux Chcnes, at the head of this channel, as to bring the
wind directly ahead. They are, consequently, compelled to cast anchor,
and await a change of wind to turn this point. A delay of eighjt or ten
days in the upward passage, is not uncommon at this place. Could the
bar of the middle channel, which is direct, be improved, the saving in
both time and distance above indicated would be made. This is an
object of public importance, interesting to all the lake States and Territo-
ries, and would constitute a subject of useful consideration for Con-
gress. Every year is adding to the number and size of our lake
vessels. The rate of increase which doubles our population in a given
number of years must also increase the lake tonnage, and add new
motives for the improvement of its navigation.

Besides the St. Clair delta, I know of no other impediment in the
channel itself, throughout the great line of straits between Bufialo and
Chicago, which prudence and good seamanship, and well found vessels,
may not ordinarily surmount. The rapids at Black Rock, once so formi-
dable, have long been obviated by the canal dam. The straits of Detroit
have been well surveyed, and afford a deep, navigable channel at all
times. The rapids at the head of the river St. Clair, at Port Huron,
have a sufficiency of water for vessels of the largest class, and only
require a fair wind for their ascent.

The straits of Michilimackinac are believed to be on the same water
level as Lakes Huron and Michigan, and only present the phenomenon
of a current setting east or west, in compliance with certain laws of the
reaction of water driven by winds. Such are the slight impediments on
this extraordinary line of inland lake navigation, 'which is carried on at
an average altitude of something less than 600 feet above the tide level

HWWP^—

324

LETTERS ON THE ANTIQUITIES

of the Atlantic. When this line of commerce requires to be diverted
north, through the straitH of St. Mary's into Lake Superior, a period rap-
idly approaching, a short canal of three-fourths of a milo will be required
at the Sault Ste-Marie, and some excavation made, so as to permit ves-
seb of heavy tonnage to cross the bar in Lake George of those straits.

DuNDAs, Canada West, Oct. 26th, 1843.

Fortunately for the study of American antiquities the aborigines
have, from the earliest period, practised the interment of their arms,
uttnsils and ornaments, with the dead, thus furnishing evidence of the par-
ticular state of their skill in the arts, at the respective eras of their history.
To a people without letters there could scarcely have been a better in-
dex than such domestic monuments furnish, to determine these eras ; and
it is hence that the examination of their mounds and burial-places
assumes so important a character in the investigation of history. Here-
tofore these inquiries have been confined to portions of the continent
south and west of the great chain of lakes and the St. Lawrence ; but
the advancing settlements in Canada, at this time, are beginning to dis-
close objects of this kind, and thus enlarge the field of inquiry.

I had, yesterday, quite an interesting excursion to one of these ancient
places of sepulture north of the head of Lake Ontario. The locality is
in the township of Beverly, about twelve miles distant from Dundas.
The rector of the parish, the Rev. Mr. McMurray, had kindly made
arrangements for my visit. We set out at a very early hour, on horse-
back, the air being keen, and the mud and water in the road so com-
pletely frozen as to bear our horses. We ascended the mountain and
passed on to the table land, about four miles, to the house of a worthy
parishioner of Mr. McM., by whom we were kindly welcomed, and after
giving us a warm breakfast, he took us on, with a stout team, about six
miles on the Guelph road. Diverging from this, about two miles to the
left, through a heavy primitive forest, with occasional clearings, we came
to the spot. It is in the 6th concessica of Beverly.

We were now about seventeen miles, by the road, from the extreme
head of Lake Ontario, at the town of Hamilton, Burlington Bay ; and on
one of the main branches of the bright and busy mill-stream of the valley
of Dundas. As this part of the country is yet encumbered with dense
and almost unbroken masses of trees, with roads unformed, we had fre-
quently to inquire our way, and at length stopped on the skirts of an
elevated beech ridge, upon which the trees stood as large and thickly as

OF THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

325

in other parts of the forest. There was nothing at first sight to betoken
that the hand of man had ever been exercised there. Yet this 'wooded
ridge embraced the locality we were in quest of, and the antiquity of
interments and accumulations of human bones on this height is to be
inferred, from their occurrence amidst this forest, and beneath the roots
of the largest trees.

It is some five or six years since the discovery was made. It happened
from the blowing down of a large tree, whose roots laid bare a quantity
of human bones. Search was then made, and has been renewed at sub-
sequent times, the result of which has been the disclosure of human ske-
letons in such abundance and massive quantities as to produce astonish-
ment. This is the characteristic feature. Who the people were, and
how such an accumulation should have occurred, are questions which
have been often asked. And the interest of the scene is by no means
lessened on observing that the greater part of these bones are deposited,
not in isolated and single graves as the Indians now bury, but in wide
and long trenches and rude vaults, in which the skeletons are piled lon-
gitudinally upon each other. In this respect they resemble a single de-
posit, mentioned in a prior letter, as occurring on Isle llonde, in Lake
Huron. And they would appear, as is the case with the latter, to be
re-interments of bodies, after the flesh had decayed, collected from their
first places of sepulture.

No one — not the oldest inhabitant — remembers the residence of In-
dians in this location, nor does there appear to be any tradition on the
subject. It is a common opinion among the settlers that there must
have been a great battle fought here, which would account for the accu-
mulation, but this idea does not appear to be sustained by an examina-
tion of the skulls, which, so far as I saw, exhibit no marks of violence.
Besides, there are present the bones and crania of women and children,
with implements and articles of domestic use, such as are ordinarily depo-
sited with the dead. The supposition of pestilence, to account for the
number, is subject to less objection ; yet, if admitted, there is no imagi-
nable state of Indian population in this quarter, which could have pro-
duced such heaps. The trenches, so far as examined, extend over the
entire ridge. One of the transverse deposits, I judged, could not include
less than fifteen hundred square feet. The whole of this had been once
dug over, in search of curiosities, such as pipes, shells, beads, &c., of
which a large number were found. Among the evidences of interments
here since the discovery of Canada, were several brass kettles, in one of
which were five infant skulls.

Could we determine accurately the time required for the growth of a
beech, or a black oak, as they are found on these deposits, of sixteen,
eighteen and twenty inches and two feet in diameter, the date of the
abandonment or completion of the interments might be very nearly fixed.

326

ANTIQUTTIES OF THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

The time of the growth of these species is, probably, much less, In the
temperate latitudes, and in fertile soils, than is commonly supposed. I
am inclined to think, from a hasty survey, that the whole deposit is the
result of the slow accumulation of both ordinary interment, and the peri-
odical deposit or re-interment of exhumed bones brougiit from contigu-
ous hunting camps and villages. To this, pestilence has probably added.
The ridge is said to be the apex or highest point of the table lands, and
would therefore recommend itself, as a place of general interment, to the
natives. Bands, who rove from place to place, and often capriciously
abandon their hunting villages, are averse to leaving their dead in such
isolated spots. The surrounding country is one which must have afforded
all the spontaneous means of Indian subsistence, in great abundance.
The deer and bear, once very numerous, still abound.

We passed some ancient beaver dams, and were informed that the
country east and north bears similar evidences of its former occupation by
the small furred animals. The occurrence of the sugar maple adds
another element of Indian subsistence. There are certain enigmatical
walls of earth, in this vicinity, which extend several miles across the
country, following the leading ridges of land. Accounts vary in repre-
senting them to extend from five to eight miles. These I did not see,
but learn that they are about six feet high, and present intervals as if for
gates. There is little likelihood that these walls were constructed for
purposes of military defence, remote as they are from the great waters,
and aside from the great leading war-paths. It is far more probable that
they w^ere intended to intercept the passage of game, and compel the deer
to pass through these artificial defiles, where the hunters lay in wait for
them.

Ancient Iroquois tradition, as preserved by Golden, represents this
section of Canada, extending quite to Three Rivers, as occupied by
the Adirondacks ; a numerous, fierce, and warlike race, who carried on
a determined war against the Iroquois. The same race, who were
iparked as speaking a difierent type of languages, were, at an early day,
called by the French by the general term of Algonquins. They had
three chief residences on the Utawas and its sources, and retired north-
westwardly, by that route, on the increase of the Iroquois power. Who-
ever the people were who hunted and buried their dead at Beverly, it is
manifest that they occupied the district a*^ and prior to the era of the dis-
covery of Canada, and also continued to occupy it, after the French had
introduced the fur trade into the interior. For we find, in the manufac-
tured articles buried, the distinctive evidences of both periods.

The antique bone beads, of which we raised many, in situ, with crania
and other bones, from beneath the roots of trees, are in every respect
similar to those found in the Grave Creek mound, which hove been im-
properly called " Ivoiy." Amulets of bone and shell, and pipes of fine

THE LONE LIOIITNIXO.

927

•tentito and indurated red clay, arc also of this early period, and are
Bucli lis were generally made and used by the ancient inhabitants prior to
the introduction of European wrought wampum or seawan, and of beads
of porcehiin and glass, and omament«id pipes of coarse pottery. I also
examined several large marine shells, much corroded and decayed, which
had been brought, most probably, from the shores of the Atlantic.

Having made such excavations as limited time and a single spado would
permit, we retraced our way to Dundas, which wc reached after nightfall,
a little fatigued, but well rewarded in tlie examination of an object
which connects, in several particulars, the antiquities of Canada with those
of the United States. ,

ERA OF THE SETTLEMENT OF DETROIT, AND THE
STRAITS BETWEEN LAKES ERIE AND HURON.

The following papers, relative to the early occupancy of these straits,
were copied from the originals in the public archives in Paris, by Gee
Cass, while he exercised the functions of minister at the court of France.
The first relates to an act of occupancy made on the banks of a tributary
of the Detroit river, called St. Deny's, probably the river Aux Canards.
The second coincides with the period usually assigned as the origin of the
post of Detroit. They are further valuable, for the notice which is inci-
dentally taken of the leading tribes, who were then found upon these straits.

It will be recollected, in perusing these documents, that La Salle had
passed these straits on his way to " the Illinois," in 1679, that is, eight
years before the act of possession at St. Deny's, and twenty-two years
before the establishment of the post of Detroit. The upper lakes had
then, however, been extensively laid open to the enterprise of the mis-
sionaries, and of the adventurers in the fur trade. Marquette, accom-
panied by AUoez, had visited the south shore of Lake Superior in 1668,
and made a map of the region, which was published in the Lettres Edi-
fiantes. This zealous and energetic man established the mission of St.
Ignace at Michilimackinac, about 1669 or 1670, and three years after-
wards, entered the upper Mississippi, from the Wisconsm. Vincennes,
on the Wabash, was established in 1710 ;* St. Louis, not till 1763.-|-

Canada, 7th June, 1687.
A renewal of the taking possession of the territory upon the Straits [De-

troit] between Lakes Erie and Huron, by Sieur de la Duranthaye
Oliver Morel, Equerry, Sieur de la Duranthaye, commandant in the name

of the King of the Territory of the Otlatoas, Miamis, Pottawatamies,

Sioux, and other tribes under the orders of Monsieur, the Marquis de

Denonsville, Governor General of New France.

This day, the 7th of June, 16S7, in presence of the Rev'd Father An-
geleran, Head of the Missions with the OttawasJ of Michilimackinac, the

♦ Nicollet's Report. t Law's Historical Dis,

X This is, manifestly, an error. The writer of this act of possession appears to
have mistviken tho l)ank of the St. Mary's, one of the tributaries of the Miami of the
Lakes, in the Miami country, for the Sault de Ste-M.irie, at tho outlet of Lake Su-
perior. The latter position was occupied, at the earliest dates, to which tradition
roaches, by a brancli of the Ali^onciuins, lo whom the French gave the name, from
the falls of the river at that locality, of Smdtetix. They are better known, at this day
under the name of Chippewas and Odjibwas.

328

SETTLEMENT OF DETROIT, ETC.

I of the

accom-

Miainis of Sault Ste-Marie, the Illinois, and Green Bay, and of the
Sioux of Mens, de Ja Forest, formerly commandant of Fort St. Louis on
the Illinois, of Mons. de Lisle, our Lieutenant, and of Mons. de Beau-
vais, Lieutenant of Fort St. Joseph, on the Straits [Detroit] between
Lakes Huron and Erie. We declare to all whom it may hereafter con-
cern, that we have come upon the banks of the river St. Deny's, situat
ed three leagues from Lake Erie, in the Straits of the said Lakes Erie
and Huron, on the south of said straits, and also at the entrance on the
north side, for and in the name of the King, that we re-take possession
of the said posts, established by Mons. La Salle for facilitating the voy-
ages he made or caused to be made in vessels from Niagara to Michili-
mackinac, in the years ****** at each of which we have taused to
be set up anew a staff, with the arms of the King, in order to make the
said renewed taking possession, and ordered several cabins to be erected
for the accommodation of the French and the Indians of the Shawnees
and Miamis, who had long been the proprietors of the said territory,
but who had some time before withdrawn from the same for their greater
advantage.

The present act passed in our presence, signed by our hands, and by
Rev. Father Angeleran, of the society of Jesuits, by MM. De la Forest,
De Lisle and De Beauvais, thus in the original : '

Angeleran, Jesuite.

De la Duranthaye [laGarduerJ.

De Beauvais, and

De la Forest.

Compared by me with the original in my hands. Councillor Secretary
of the King, and Register in Chief of the Royal Council at Quebec, sub-
scribed, and each page paraphe.

Collated at Quebec, this Uth September, 1712.

[Signed] , Byon kt Vandbeuil.

Memoir of Monsieur de la Mothe Cadillac^ relative to the establishment of
Detroit, addressed to the Minister of Marine, \4th September, 1704 ;

La Mothe Cadillac renders an account of his conduct relative to the esta-
blishment of Detroit, by questions and answers. It is the Minister wha
questions, and La Mothe who answers : -
Q. Was it not in 1699 that you proposed to me an establishment in

the Straits which separate Lake Erie from Lake Huron .''
A. Yes, my Lord.
Q. What were the motives which induced you to wish to fortify a

place there, and make an establishment }
A. I had several. The first was to make a strong post, which should

not be subject to the revolutions of other posts, by fixing there a number

330

THE CHOCTAW INDIANS.

of French and Savages, in order to curb the Iroquois, who had coDstanU
ly annoyed our colonies and hindered their prosperity.

Q. At what time did you leave Quebec to go to Detroit ?

A. On the 8th of March, 1701. I reached Montreal the 12th,
when we were obliged to make a change. • • • • I left La Chine the 5th
of June with fifty soldiers and fifty Canadians — Messrs. De Fonty, Cap-
tain, Duque and Chacornach, Lieutenants. I was ordered to pass by the
Grand River of the Ottawas, notwithstanding my remonstrances. I
arri<'ed at Detroit the 24th July and fortified myself there immediately ;
had the necessary huts made, and cleared up the grounds, preparatory to
its being sowed in the autumn.

Compare these data, from the highest sources, with the Indian tradi-
tion of the first arrival of the French, in the upper lakes, recorded at
page 107, Omeota, No. 2.

THE CHOCTAW INDIANS.
The Vicksbui^ Sentinel of the 18th ult., referring to this tribe of
Indians, has the following : — " The last remnant of this once pov -^rtul
tribe are now crossing our ferry on their way to their new home. '■ 5
far West. To one who, like the writer, has been familiar to thei u za
inexpressive faces from infancy, it brings associations of peculiar sadness
to see them bidding here a last farewell perhaps to the old hills which
gave birth, and are doubtless equally dear to him and them alike. The
first playmates of our infancy were the young Choctaw boys of the then
woods of Warren county. Their language was once scarcely less fami-
liar to us than our mother- English. We know, we think, the character
of the Choctaw well. We knew many of their present stalwart braves
in those days of early life when the Indian and white alike forget dis-
guise, but in the unchecked exuberance of youthful feeling show the real
character that policy and habit may afterwards so much conceal ; and
we know that, under the stolid stoic look he assumes, there is burning in
the Indian's nature a heart of fire and feeling, and an all-observing keen-
ness of apprehension, that marks and remembers everything that occurs,
and every insult he receives. Cunni-at a hah ! They are going away !
With a visible reluctance which nothing has overcome but the stern
necessity they feel impelling them, they have looked their last on the
graves of their sires — the scenes of their youth — and have taken up their
slow toilsome march, with their household gods among thern, to their
new home in a strange land. They leave names to n:any of our rivers,
towns and counties ; and so long as our State remains, the ChoctawS)
who once owned most of her soil, will be remembered."

A SYNOPSIS OP CARTIER'S VOYAGES OF DISCOVERV
AT NORTH AMERICA.

FIRST VOYAGE.

Forty-two years had elapsed from the discovery of America by Colum-
bus, when Jacques Cartier prepared to share in the rnaratime enterprise
of the age, by visiting the coast. Cartier was a native of Norniandy, and
sailed from the port of St. Malo, in France, on the 20th April, 1534. It
will be recollected that the conquest of Mexico had been completed 13
years previous. Cartier had two small vessels of 60 tons burden and 61
men each. The crews took an oath, before sailing, " to behave them-
selves truly and faithfully in the service of the most christian king," Fran-
cis I. After an unusually prosperous voyage of 20 days, he made cape
"Buona Vista" in Newfoundland, which he states to be in north latitude,
48° 30'. Here meeting with ice, he made the haven of St. Catherine's,
where he was detained ten days. This coast had now been known since
the voyage of Cabot, in 1 497, and had been frequently resorted to, by
fishing vessels. Jean Denis, a native of Rouen, one of these fishermen,
is said to have published the first chart of it, in 1506. Two years after
wards, Thomas Aubert, brought the first nativer from Newfoundland to
Paris, and this is the era, 1508, commonly assigned as the discovery of
Canada. The St. Lawrence remained, however, undiscovered, nor does
it appear that any thing was known, beyond a general and vague know-
ledge of the coast, and its islands. The idea was yet entertained, indeed,
it will be seen by subsequent facts, that America was an island, and that a
passage to the Asiatic continent, existed in these latitudes.

On the 21st May, Cartier continued his voyage, sailing " north and by
east" from cape Buona Vista, and reached the Isle of Birds, so called
from the unusual abundance of sea fowl found there, of the young of
which the men filled two boats, " so that" in the quaint language of the
journal, " besides them which we did eat fresh, every ship did powder
and salt five or six barrels." He also observed the god wit, and a larger
and vicious bird, which they named margaulx. While at this island,
they descried a polar bear, which, in their presence leapt into the sea, and

331

332

CAnTIERS VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY.

thus escaped. On their subsequent passage to the main land, they
again encountered, as they supposed, the same animal swimming towards
land. They manned their boats, and " by main strength overtook her,
whose flesh was as good to be eaten, as the flesh of a calf two years
old." This bear is described '.o be, " as large as a cow, and as white as a
5wan."

On the 27th he reached the harbour of " Carpunt" in the bay " Les
Chastaux," latitude 51°, where he was constrained to lay by, on account
of the accumulation of ice, till the 9th of June. The narrator of the voy-
age takes this occasion to describe certain parts of the coast and waters of
Newfoundland, the island of St. Catherine, Blanc Sablon, Brest, the Isle
of Birds, and a numerous group of Islands called the Islets. But
these men;oranda are not connected with any observations or discoveries
of importance. Speaking of Bird and Brest Islands, he says, they afford
" great store of god wits, and crows, with red beaks and red feet," who
" make their nests in holes underground, even as conies." Near this lo-
cality " th^re is great fishing."

On the 10th June, he entered a port in the newly named island of
Brest, to procure wood and water. Meantime, boats were dispatched to
explore among the islands, which were found so numerous " that it was not
possible they might be told, for they continued about 10 leagues beyond
the said port." The explorers slept on an island. The next day they
continued their discoveries along the coast, and having passed the islands,
found a haven, which they named St. Anthony : one or two leagues be-
yond, they found a small river named St. Servansport, and here set up a
cross. About three leagues further, they discovered another river, of
larger size, in which they found salmon, and bestowed upon it the name
of St. Jacques.

While in the latter position, they descried a ship from Rochelle, on a
fishing voyage, and rowing out in their boats, directed it to a port near at
hand, in what is called "Jaques Cartier's Sound," "which," adds the nar-
rator, " I take to be one of the best, in all the world." The face of the
cour^ry they examined, is, however, of the most sterile and forbidding char-
acter, being little besides " stones and wild crags, and a place fit for wild
beasts, for in all the North Island," he continues," I did not see a cart load
of good earth, j'et went I on shore, in many places, and in the Island
of White Sand, (Blanc Sablon,) there is nothing else but moss and smull
thorns, scattered here and there, withered and dry. To be short, I be-
lieve that this was the land that God allotted to Cain."

Immediately following this, we have the first description of the natives.
The men are described as being "of an inditTerent good stature and big-
ness, but wild and unruly. They wear their hair tied on the top, like a
wreath of hay, and put a wooden pin within it, or any other such thing, in-
stead of a nail, and withthem, they bind certain birds feathers. They are

CARTIERS VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY.

333

clothed with beast skins, as well the men as women, but that the women go
somewhat straiter and closer in their garments, than the men do, with their
waists girded. They paint themselve* with certain roan colours ; their
boats are made of the bark of birch trees, with the which they fish,<ind take
great store of seals. And as far as we could understand, since our coming
thither, that is not their habitation, but they come from the main land, out of
holler* countries to catch the said seals, and other necessaries for their liv-
ing." • '

From this exploratory trip, the boats returned to their newly named har-
bour of Brest, on the 13th. On the 14th, being the Sabbath, service was
read, and the next day Cartier continued his voyage, steermg southerly,
along the coast, which still wore a most barren and cheerless aspect.
Much of this part of the narrative is taken up with distances and sound-
ings, and the naming of capes and islands of very little interest at tho
present day. They saw a few huts upon the cliffs on the 18th, and
named this part of the coast " Les Granges," but did not stop to form any
acquaintance with their tenants. Cape Royal was reached and named
the day prior, and is said to be the " greatest fishery of cods there possibly
may be, for in less than an hour we took a hundred of them." On the
24th they discovered the island of St. John. They saw myriads of birds
upon the group of islands named " Margaulx," five leagues westward
of which they discovered a large, fertile, and well-timbered island, to
which the name of " Brion" was given. The contrast presented by the
soil and productions of this island, compared with the bleak and waste
shores they had before encountered, excited their warm admiration ; and
with the aid of this excitement, they here saw " wild corn," peas, goose-
berries, strawberries, damask roses, and parsley, " with other sweet and
plfeasant herbs." They here also saw the walrus, bear, and wolf.

Very little is to be gleaned from the subsequent parts of the voyage,
until they reached the gulf of St. Lawrence. Mists, head winds, barren
rocks, sandy shores, storms and sunshine, alternately make up the land-
scape presented to view. Much eaution was evinced in standing off
and on an iron bound coast, and the boats were often employed in ex-
ploring along the main land. While thus employed near a shallow
stream, called the " River of Boats," they saw natives crossing the stream
m their canoes, but the wind coming to blow on shore, they were com-
pelled to retire to their vessels, without opening any communication with
them. On the following day, while the boats were traversing tfie coast,
they saw a native running along shore after them, who made signs as they
supposed, directing them to return towards the cape they had left. But
as soon as the boat turned he fled. They landed, however, and putting a

*I underscore the word " hotter," to denote the prevalent theory They were search -
ing for China or the East India.

334

cartier's voyages op discovert.

Knife and i woollen girdle on a atafT, as a good-will ofiering, returned to
their ve& 's. .

The chu icter of this part of the Newfoundland coast, impressed them as
being greatly superior to the portions which they had previously seen,
both in soil and temperature. In addition to the productions found at
Brion's Island, they noticed cedars, pines, white elm, ash, willow, and what
are denominated " ewe-trees." Among the feathered tribes they mention
the " thrush and stock-dove." By the latter term the passenger pigeon is
doubtless meant. The " wild corn" here again mentioned, is said to be
" like unto rye," from which it may be inferred that it was the zizania,
akhough the circumstance of its being an equatic plant is not mentioned.

In running along the coast Cartier appears to have been engrossed with
the idea, so prevalent among the mariners of that era, of finding a pas-
sage to India, and it was probably on this account that he made such a
scrupulous examination of every inlet and bay, and the productions of the
shores. Wherever the latter offered anything favourable, there was a
strong disposition to admiration, and to make appearances correspond with
the theory. It must be recollected that Hudson, seventy-five years later,
in sailing up the North River, had similar notions. Hence the application
of several improper terms to the vegetable and animal productions of the
latitudes, and the constant expectation of beholding trees bending with
fruits and spices, " goodly trees" and "very sweet and pleasant herbs."
That the barren and frigid shores of Labrador, and the northern parts of
Newfoundland, should have been characterised as a region subject to the
divine curse, is not calculated to excite so much surprise, as the disposition
with every considerable change of soil and verdure, to convert it into a
land of oriental fruitfulness. It does not appear to have been sufficiently
borne in mind, that the increased verdure and temperature, were, in a great
measure, owing to the advancing state of the season. He came on this
coast on the iOth of May, and it was now July. It is now very well
known that the summers in high northern latitudes, although short, are at-
tended with a high degree of heat.

On the 3d of July Cartier entered the gulf to which the name of 8t.
Lawrence has since been applied, the centre of which he states to be in
latitude 47° 30'. On the 4th he proceeded up the bay to a creek called
St. Martin, near bay De Chaleur, where he was detained by stress of wea-
ther eight days. While thus detained, one of the ship's boats was sent
a-head to explore. They went 7 or 8 leagues to a cape of the bay, where
they descried two parties of Indians, " in about 40 or 50 canoes," crossing
the channel. One of the parties landed and beckoned them to follow
their example, "making a great noise" and showing "certain skins upon
pieces of wood" — i. e. fresh stretched skins. Fearing their numbers, the
seamen kept aloof The Indians prepared to follow them, in two canoes,
in which movement they were joined by five canoes of the other party,

i'!

CARTIER S VOYAGES OP DISCOVERY.

335

urned to

I them aa
[sly seen,
found at
and what
■ mention
pigeon is
laid to be
B zizania,
entioned.
(ssed with
ing a pas-
de such a
ons of the
ire was a
pond with
ears later,
ipplication
ons of the
iding with
nt herbs."
n parts of
)ject to the
disposition
rt it into a
iufRciently

in a great
me on this

very well
lort, are at-

ime of St.

to be in
cek called
ess of wea-

was sent
)ay, where

' crossing

to follow
skins upon
inbers, the
wo canoes,
ther party,

•* who were coming from the sea side." They approached ih a friendly
manner, " dancing and making many sig^B of joy, saying in their tongue
Nape tondamen assuath."* The seamen, however, suspected their in-
tentions, and finding it impossible to elude them by flight, two shots were
discharged among them, by which they were so terrified, that they fled
precipitately ashore, " making a great noise." After pausing awhile, tho
" wild men" however, rc-embarked, and renewed the pursuit, but after
coming alongside, they were frightened back by the strokes of twc
lances, which so disconcerted them that they fled in haste, and made no
further attempt to follow.

This appears to have been the first rencontre of the ship's crew with
the natives. On the following day, an interview was brought on, by the
approach of said " '- •' .nen" in nine canoes, which is thus described.
" We being advertised of their coming, went to the point where they were
with our boats ; but so soon as they saw us they began to flee, making
signs that they came to traffic with us, showing us such skins as they
clothed themselves withal, which are of small value. We likewise made
signs unto them, that we wished them no evil, and in sign thereof, two of
our men ventured to go on land to them, and carry them knives, with
other iron wares, and a red hat to give unto their captain. Which, when
they saw, they also came on land, and brought some of their skins, and so
began to deal with us, seeming to be very glad to have our iron wares and
other things, dancing, with many other ceremonies, as with their hands to
cast sea water on their heads. They gave us whatever they had, not
keeping any thing, so that they were constrained to go back again naked,
and made us signs, that the next day, they would come again and bring
more skins with them."

Observing a spacious bay extending beyond the cape, where this inter-
course had been opened, and the wind proving adverse to the vessels quit-
ting their harbour, Cartier despatched his boats to examine it, under an ex-
pectation that it might aflford the desired passage — for it is at all times to
be observed that he was diligently seeking the long sought passage to the
Indies. While engaged in this examination, his men discovered " the
smokes and fires" of " wild men" (the term constantly used in the narrative
to designate the natives.) These smokes were upon a small lake, connnuni-
cating with the bay. An amiable interview took place, the natives presenting
cooked seal, and the French making a suitable return " in hatchets, knives
and beads." After these preliminaries, which were conducted with a good
deal of caution, by deputies from both sides, the body of the men ap-
proached in their canoes, for the purpose of trafficking, leaving most of

* In Mr. Gallatin's comparative vocabulary, " Napew" means man, in the Shesh-
atapoosh or Labrador. It is therefore fair to conclude that these were a party of Shesh'
atapoosh Indians, whose language proves them to be of the kindred of the great Algou*
quin family.

336

CARTIEll's VOYAGES OP DISCOVERY.

their families behind. About 300 men women and children were esti-
mated to have been seen at this place. They evinced their friendship by
singing and dancing, and by rubbing their hands upon the arms of iheir
European vio.tors, then lifting them up towards the heavens. An opinion
is expressed that these people, (who were in the position assigned to the
Micmacs in 1600 in Mr. Gallatin's ethnological map,) might very easily
bo converted to Christianity. " They go," says the narrator, " from place
to place. Th'^v live only by fishing. They have an ordinary time to fish
for their provisions. The country is hatter than the country of Spain, and
the fairest that can possibly be found, altogether smooth and level." To
the productions before noticed, as existing on Brion's island &c., and which
were likewise found here, he adds, " white and red roses, with many other
flowers of very sweet and pleasant smell," " There be also," says the
journalist, "many goodly mea'iows, full of grass, and lakes, wherein
plenty of salmon be." The natives called a hatchet cochi., and a knife
bacon* It was now near the middle of July, and the degree of heat ex-
perienced on the excursion induced Cartier to name the inlet, Baie du
Chaleur — a name it still retains.

On the 12th of July Cartier left his moorings at St. Martin's creek, and
proceeded up the gulf, but encountering bad weather he was forced into a
bay, which appears to have been Gaspe, Avhere one of the vessels lost her
anchor. They were forced to take shelter in a river of thaX bay, and
there det "ned thirteen days. In the mean while they opened an inter-
course 1 the natives, who were found in great numbers engaged in
fishing for makerel. Forty canoes, and 200 men women and children
were estimated to have been seen, during their detentio... Presents of
" knives, combs, beads of glass, and other trifles of small value," were
made to them, for which they expressed great thankfulness, lifting up their
hands, and dancing and singing.

These Gaspe Indians are represented as differing, both in nature and
.anguage, from those before mentioned They presented a picture of
abject poverty, were partially clothed in " old skins," and lived without the
use of tents. They may, says the journalist, "very well and truly be
called u-Udi because there is no poorer people in the world, for I think,
all they had together, besides their boats and nets, was not worth five
sous." They shaved their heads, except a tuft at the crown ; shehered
themselves at night under their canoes on the bare ground, and ate their
provisions very partially cooked. They were wholly without the use of
salt, and " ate nothing that had any taste of salt." On Cartier's first land-
ing among them, the men expressed their joj', as those at bay Chaleur had
done, by singing and dancing. But they had caused all their women,

* Koshee and Bahkon. These are not the terms for a hatchet and a knife in the MIe«
maci nor in the old Algonquin, nor in the Wyandot.

cartier's voyages of discovert.

re estt-
ship by
jf iheir
opinion
1 to the
y easily
m place
e to fish
ain, and
1." To
d which
ny other
says the
wherein
a knife
heat ex-
Baie du

reelf, and
;ed into a
s lost her
bay, and
an inter-
gaged in
children
esents of
le," were
T up their

iture and
jicture of
ithout the
truly be
r I think,
vorth five
sheltered
ate their
he use of
first land-
alcur had
ir women,

lintheMlc-

except 2 or 3, to flee into the woods, By giving a comb and a tin bell to
each of the women who had ventured to remain, the avarice of the men was
excited, and they quickly caused their women, to the number of about 20,
to sally from the woods, to each of whom the same present was made.
They caressed Cartier by touching and rubbing him with their hands ;
Ihey also sung and danced. Their nets were made of a species of indi-
genous hemp ; they possessed also, a kind of " millet" called " kapaige,"
beans called *' Sahu," and nuts called " Cahehya." If any thing was
exhibited, which they did not know,i oit understand, they shook their
heads saying " Nohda." It is added that they never come to the sea, ex-
cept in fishing time, which, we may remark, was probably the cause of
^heir having no lodges, or much other property about them. They would
naturally wish to disencumber their canoes as much as possible, in these
lummer excursions, that they might freight them back with dried Rsh.
The language spoken by these Gaspe Indians is manifestly of the Iroquois
type. " Cahehya," is, with a slight difference, the term for fruit, in the
Oneida.

On the 24th July, Cartier set up a cioss thirty feet high, inscribed,
" Vive le Roy de France.^* The natives who were present at this cere-
mony, seem, on a little reflection, to have conceived the true intent of it,
and their chief complained of it, ia a " long oration," giving them to under*
stand " that the country was his, and that we should not set up any cross,
without his leave." Having quieted the old chief's fears, and made use
of a little duplicity, to get him to come alongside, they seized two of the na-
tives for the purpose of taking them to France, and on the next day set sail,
up the gulf. A fter making some further examinations of the gulf, and being
foiled in an attempt to enter the mouth of a river, Cartier turned his thoughts
on a return. He was alarmed by the furious tides setting out of the St.
Lawrence ; the weather was becoming tempestuous, and under these cir-
cumstances he assembled his captains and principal men, " to put the ques-
tion as to the expediency of continuing the voyage." They advised him
to this effect . That, considering that easterly winds began to prevail — " that
there was nothing to be gotten" — that, the impetuosity of the tides was such
" That they did but fall," and that storms and tempests began to reign — and
moreover, that they must either promptly return home, or else remain where
they were till spring, it was expedient to return. With this counsel he
complied. No time was lost in retracing their outward track, along tho
Newfoundland coast They reached the port of " White Sands," on t'ae
9th of August. On the 15th, being " the feast of the Assumption of Our
Lady," after service, Cartier took his departure from the coast. He en-
countered a heavy storm, of three days continuance, " about the middle of
the sea," and reached the port of St. Malo, on the 5th of September, after an
absence of four months and sixteen days.

This comprises the substance of the first voyage of discovery, of which

338

CARTIER's VOTAOE8 OF DISCOVERY.

we have knowledge, ever made within the waters of the St. Lawrence
The Newfoundland and Nova Scotia coasts, together with the shores of
the North Atlantic generally, had heen discovered by Cabot, 37 years befora
The banks of Newfoundland had been resorted to, as is known pretty freely
for the purpose of fishing, for 26 years of this period, and the natives had
been at least, in one instance, taken to Europe. But the existence of the
St. Lawrence appears not to have been known. Cartier, is, therefore, the
true discoverer of Canada, although he was not its founder. The latter hon*
our was reserved for another. In the two succeeding voyages made by Car-
tier, of which it is proposed to make a synopsis, his title as a discoverer, is
still more fully established.

SECOND VOYAGE.

A. D. 1535, May, 19th, Cartier left St. Malo, on his second voyage of
discovery, " to the islands of Canada, Hochelaga, and Saguenay," with
three ships— the "Hermina" of 100 to 120 tons— the "little Hermina"
of 60 tons, and the " Hermerillon" of 40 tons, commanJed by sepo ate
masters, acting under his orders as " General." He was accom^riried by
several gentlemen and adventurers, among whom the narrbior^ J the
voyage mentions, " Master Claudius de Pont Briand, son to the Lord of
Montceuell, and cup-bearer to the Dauphin of France ; Charles of Pome-
rais, and John Powlet." He suffered a severe gale on the outward
passage, in which the ships parted company. Cartier reached the coast
of Newfoundland on the 7th July, and was not rejoined by the other ves-
sels till the 26th, on which day the missing vessels entered " the port of
White Sands" in the bay des Chasteaux, the place previously designated
for their general rendezvous.

On the 27th he continued his voyage along the coast, keeping in
sight of land, and consequently running great risks, from the numerous
shoals he encountered in seeking out anchorages. Many of the islands
and headlands named in the previous voyage, were observed, and names
were bestowed upon others, which had before escaped notice. Soundings
and courses and distances, are detailed with the tedious prolixity, and pro-
bably, with the uncertainty of the era. Nothing of importance occurred
until the 8th of August, when Cartier entered the gulf, where he had pre-
viously encountered such storms, and which he now named St. Law-
rence. From thence on the 12th, he pursued his voyage westward
" about 25 leagues" to a cape named " Assumption," which appears to
have been part of the Nova Scotia coast. It is quite evident that the idea
of a continuous continent was not entertained by Cartier at this period,
although the Cabots had discovered and run down the coast nearly 40
years before (1497.) He constantly speaks of his discoveries as "islands"

¥\

h
e

ti
k

w
w

Hi
re

tie

laij

re-

the

ten

tiv<

pro

swi

spe

hea

vag

fish

goo

Mai

Car

thai

cartier's voyages of discovert.

339

ipre-
Law-
ivard
irs to
i idea
eriod,
ly40
ands"

and the great object of anxiety seems to have been, to find the long
Bought " passage" so often mentioned in his journals.

The two natives whom he had seized on the previous voyage, now told
him, that cape Assumption was a part of the " southern coast," or main,
— that there was an island north of the passage to " Honguedo" where
they had been taken the year before, and that " two days journey from
the said cape, and island, began the kingdom of Saguenay."

In consequence of this information, and a wish to revisit " the land he
had before espied," Cnrtier turned his course towards the north, and re-
entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, came to the entrance of the river,
which is stated to be " about thirty leagues" across. Here, the two na-
tives told him, was the commencement of " Saguenay," — that it was an
inhabited country, and produced " red copper." They further informed
him, that this was the mouth of the " great river of Hochelaga, and ready
way to Canada," — that it narrowed in the ascent towards Canada, the
waters becoming fresh ; that its sources were so remote that they had
never heard of any man who had visited them, and that boats would be
required to complete the ascent.

This informatioi^ippears to have operated as a disappointment on Car-
tier and he dei^tJtKied to explore northward from the gulf, " because he
would know'<|P>use the quaint langaagwuf the narrntor, " if between the
lands towarus the north any passr^^might j^aiscovied." No such
passage could however be found, and after devuimg ten or melve days to
re-examinations of points and islands before but imperfectly discovered, or
to the discovery of others, he returned to the river St. Lawrence, which
he began to ascend : and on the 1st Sept. he came to the entrance of the
Saguenay river, which is described as a bold and deep stream, entering
the St. Lawrence, between bare, precipitous rocks, crowned with trees.
Here they encountered four canoes of Indians, who evinced their charac-
teristic caution and shyness. On being hailed, however, by the two cap-
tive natives, who disclosed to them, their names, they came along side.
But the journal records no further particulars of this interview. They
proceeded up the river next day. The tides are noticed as being " very
swift and dangerous," and the " current" is described as equalling that at
Bordeaux. Many tortoises were seen at the " Isle of Condres," and a
species of fish, which are described of equalling a porpoise in size, with a
head resembling a greyhound's, and of unspotted whiteness. It may be
vague to offer a conjecture from such a description as to the species of
fish intended, but as the natives reported them to be " very savoury and
good to be eaten," it may be inferred, that the sturgeon was meant.
Many of the descriptions of the animal productions of America, given by
Cartier, appear to be drawn up, rather with a view to excite wonder, in
an age when wonders wore both industriously sought, and readily credited,
than to convey any accurate idea of their true characters and properties.

340

CABTIERa VOYAGES OP DI0COTBBT.

On the 7th of Sept. they reached the island now called Orleaui, where,
it is said " the country of Canada beginneth." This island is stated to be
t«fi leagues long, and fire broad, being inhabited by natives who lived ex-
clusively by fishing. Having anchored his vessels in the channel, he
made a formal landing in his boats, taking the two captives, Domaigaia,
•nd Taignoagny, as interpreters. The natives at first fled, but hearing
themselves addressed in their own tongue, and finding the captives to be
their own countrymen, friendly intercourse at once ensued. The natives
evinced their joy by dancing, and " showing many sorts of ceremonies."
They presented Cartier, " eels and other sorts of flshes, with two or three
burdens of great millet, wherewith they make their bread, and many
great mush mellons." This " great millet" appears to have been xea
rnais, which is here for the first time noticed, amongst the northern In-
dians. The report of the arrival of their lost countrymen D. and T.
seemed to have put all the surrounding villages in commotion, and Car*
tier found himself thronged with visitors, to whom he gave presents,
trifling in themselves, but of much value in the eyes of the Indians. The
utmost harmony and good feeling appear to have prevailed.

On the following day Oonnacona, who is courteously styled the Lord of
Agouhanna, visited the ships, with 12 boats, or canoes — ten of which how*
ever, he directed to stay at a distance, and with the other two and 16 men
approached the vessels. A friendly conference ensued. The chief, when
he drew near the headmost vessel began "to frame a long oration,
moving all his body and members after a strange fashion." When he
reached Cartier's ship, the captives entered into free discourse with him,
imparting the observations they had made in France, and the kind treat-
ment they had experienced. At this recital Donnacona was so much
pleased, that he desired Cartier to reach him his arm. that he might
kiss it. He not only kissed it, but " laid it about his neck, for so they use
to do, when they will make much of one." Cartier then entered into the
chief's boat, " causing bread and wjj; % i# >| ^i i b'^rtklit," and aftor rating
and drinking with him and ! ■'•'l^ovYerR, lh<. mlervk"^.^^^!!^'^ J'V
mutual satisfaction.

The advanced state of the season, and the determination to visit Hoche-
laga (now Montreal) before the ice formed, admonished Cartier to look
for a harbour, which would aflbrd a safe anchorage for his largest ves-
sels during the winter. He selected " a little river and haven," opposite
the head of the island, to which he gave the name of " Santa Croix,"
being in the vicinity of Donnacona's village. No time was lost in bring-
ing up and mooring the vessels, and driving piles into the harbour for
their better security. While engaged in this work, further acquaintance
was made with the natives, and their opinion of Cartier's visit, began to
manifest itself, by which it appeared, that the friendship established with
bim was rather apparent, than real About this time Taignoagny and

CARTIER's VOYAOEa OF DISCOVERY.

341

Mre,
u>be
1 ex-
l, he
gaia,
uing
to be
ktivei
niei."
three
many
in xea
rn In-
indT.
[ Cat-
esents,
The

jordof
ih how-
16 men
f, when
oration,
hen he
Lh him,
id. treat-
j much
might
hey use
into the
• ratinjr

Hoche-

to look

rest ves-

opposite

Croix,"

in bring-

rbour for

laintance

)egan to

bed with

gny and

Domaigaia were suflfered to return to their villages, and it soon became
apparent, that the knowledge they had acquired of the French, would be
wielded to put their countrymen on their guard against encroachments
upon their soil. Taignoagny, in particular, rendered himself obnoxious
to the French, by his sujien and altered conduct, nnd the activity he aller-
wards manifested in thwarting Cartier's design of visiting the island of
FIcc'aelaga, although it appears, he had, pievious to leaving the vessels,
promised to serve as a guide on the expedition.

Donnacona himself opposed the projected visit, by argument, by artifice,
and finally, by the extraordinary resource of human gids. His aversion
to it first evinced itself by keeping aloof, and adopting a shy and suspicious
demeanour. Cartier finding this chief, with T. and D. and a numerous
retinue in his vicinity, " under a point or nook of land," ordered a purt of
his men to follow him, and suddenly presented himself in the midst of
them. After mutual salutations, Taignoagny got up and addressed him,
in behalf of Donn: :ona, complaining; that they came armed, to which
Cartier replied that, it was the c istom of his country, and a custom he
could not dispense with. The bustle and heat of the introduction being
over, Cartier played the part of a politic diplomritist, and was met by Don-
nacona and his counsellors on i^iis own f,'uunds, and the whole interview,
though it resulted in what is called '' a inarvellous steadfast league of
friendship" can only be looked upon, as a strife, 'i which it is the object
of both parties to observe >h:: must profonhd dissimulation. This
" league" was ratified by the natives, with three loud crie<<, " a most hor-
rible thing to hear" says the narrator.

On the very next day Donnacona, attended with T. and D. and 10 or
12 " of the chiefest of the country, with more than 500 persons, men, wo-
men and children," came or board of the vessels, at their mooringa, to
protest against the intended voyage of exploration. Taignoagny opened
the conference, by saying to Cartier, that Donnacona regr etted h is design
of visiting Hpchelaga, and had forbid any of his peor^«<F '*'f *S(^ uipanj^
ing Kiif'TjJJr.toP the river itself " -.va^f'iio impoi'j.i '„. ' L-artier r'^^/lied
thai >' *^ecisiop I0ki made, aiid^'^ou the '^^.div.itv to go with him, as he
hud promis-^j'iiu'ing to r , .e the voyage every way advantageous to
him. A prompt. > .^fusal, on the part of T. and the sudden withdrawal of
the whole collected muhitude, terminated this interview.

On the next day Donnacona re-appeared with all his followers, bring-
ing pre8«'ots of fish, singing and dancing. He then caused all his people
to puss to one side, and drawing a circle in the sand, requested Cartier
and his followers, to enter into it. This arrangement concluded, he be-
gan an address, " holding in one of his hands a maiden child ten or
twelve years old," whom he presented to Cartier, the muhitude at
the same time giving three shouts. He then brought forward two male
children, separately, presenting them in the same manner, and his people

342

cartier's voyages of discovery.

at each presentation, expressing their assent by shouts. Taignoagny, who
by this time had drawn upon himself the epithet of " crafty knave" told
the " captain" (as Gartier is all along termed,) that one of the children
was his own brother, and that the girl was a daughter of Donnacona's
' own sister," and that this presentation, was made to him, solely with a
view of dissuading him from his expedition. Gartier persisted in saying,
that his mind was made up, and could not be altered. Here, Domai-
gaia interposed, and said, that the children were offered as " a sign and
token of good will and security," and not with any specific purpose of
dissu. 'ing him from the expedition. High words passed between the two
liberated captives, from which it was evident that one, or the other, had
either misconceived or misrepresented the object of the gift. Gartier how-
ever, took the children, and gave Donnacona " two swords and two cop-
per basins," for which he returned thanks, and " commanded all his peo-
ple to sing and dance," and requested the captain to cause a piece of
artillery to be discharged for his gratification. Gartier readily improved
this hint, to show them the destructive effects of European artillery,
and at a signal, ordered twelve pieces, charged with ball, to be fired into the
contiguous forest, by which they were so astounded that they " put them-
selves to flight, howling, crying, and shrieking, so that it seemed hell
was broke loose."

These attempts to frustrate the purposed voyage, having failed, the na-
tives endeavoured to put the captain's credulity to the test, and operate
upon his fears. For this purpose three natives were disguised to play the
part of " devils," wrapped in skins, besmeared, and provided with horns.
Thus equipped they took advantage of the tide, to drop down along side
Gartier's vessels, uttering words of unintelligible import as they passed,
but keeping their faces steadfastly directed toward the wood. At the
same time Donnacona, and his people rushed out of the wood to the
shore, — attracting the attention of the ships' crews in various ways, and
finally seized the mock "devils" at the moment of their landing, and
carried them into the woods, where their revelations were uttered.

.The result of this clumsy trick, was announced by Taignoagny and
Domaigaia, who said, that their god " Cudruaigny had spoken in Hoche-
laga" — importing ill tidings to the French, and that he had sent these
three men to inform them that, there was so much ice and snow in the
country, that whoever entered it, must die. After some interrogatives
pro and con, in the course of which the power of " his Priests" #as oddly
contrasted by the French commander with that of the "devils," both
Taignoagny and Domaigaia coincided in finally declaring that Donna-
cjna, "would by no means permit that any of them should go with him
iO Hochelaga," unless he would leave hostages in his hands.

All these artifices appear to have had but little effect on Gartier's plan.
He told his freed interpreters, that if they would not go willingly, they

CARTIERS VOYAGES OP DISCOVERT.

might stay, and he would prosecute the voyage without them. Accord-
ingly, having finished mooring his vessels, on the I9th September he set
out to explore the upper portions of the river, taking his smallest vessel
and two boats with fifty mariners, and the supernumerary gentlemen of hia
party. A voyage of ten days brought him to an expansion of the river,
which he named the lake of Angolesme, but which is now known under
the name of St. Peter. Here the shallowness of the water, and rapidity
of the current above, induced him to leave the " Hermerillon," and he
proceeded with the two boats and twenty-eight armed men. The fertility
of the shore, the beauty and luxuriance of the forest trees, mantled as
they often were, with the vine loaded with clusters of grapes, the variety
of water fowl, and above all the friendly treatment they every where re-
ceived from the Indians, excited unmingled admiration. One of the
chiefs whom they encountered presented Cartier with two children, his
son and daughter, the latter of whom, being 7 or 8 years old, he accepted.
On another occasion he was carried ashore by one of a party of hunters,
as " lightly and easily as if he had been a child of five years old."
Presents of fish were made, at every point, where he came in contact
with the natives, who seemed to vie with each other in acts of hospitality.

These marks of welcome and respect continued to be manifested during
the remainder of the journey to Hochelaga, where he arrived on the 2d
of October. A multitude of both sexes and all ages had collected on the
shore to witness his approach, and welcome his arrival. They expressed
their joy by dancing, " clustering about us, making much of us, bringing
their young children in their arms only to have our captain and his com-
pany touch them." Cartier landed, and spent half an hour in receiving
their caresses, and distributed tin beads to the women, and knives to some
of the men, and then " retured to the boats to supper." The natives
built large fires on the beach, and continued dancing, and merry making
all night, frequently exclaiming Aguiaze, which is said to signify " mirth
and safety."

Early the next morning Cartier having " very gorgeously attired him-
self," and taking 20 mariners, with his officers and supernumeraries,
landed for the purpose of visiting the town, taking some of the natives for
guides. After following a well beaten path, leading through an oak
forest, for four or five miles, he was met by a chief, accompanied by a re-
tinue, sent out to meet him, who by signs gave him to understand, that
he was desired to rest at that spot, where a fire had been kindled, a piece
of civility, which it may be supposed, was something more than an empty
compliment on an October morning. The chief here made " a long dis-
course," which, of course, was not understood, but they inferred it was
expressive of " mirth and friendship." In return Cartier gave him 2
hatchets, 2 knives and a cross, which he made him kiss, and then put it
around his neck.

344

cartier's voyages of discovert.

This done the procession advanced, without further interruption, to the
" city of Hoch^laga," which is described as seated in the midst of culti-
vated fields, at the distance of a league from the mountain. It was secured
by three ramparts " one within another," about 2 rods in height, " cun
ningly joined together after their fashion," with a single gate " shut with
piles and stakes and bars." This entrance, and other parts of the walls,
had platforms above, provided with stones for defensive operations. The
ascent to these platforms was by ladders.

As the French approached, great numbers came out to meet them.
They were conducted by the guides, to a large square enclosure in the
centre of the town, " being from side to side a good stone's cast." They
were first greeted by the female part of the population, who brought their
children in their arms, and rushed eagerly to touch or rub the faces and
arms of the strangers, or whatever parts of their bodies they could ap-
proach. The men now caused the females to retire, and seated them-
selves foraally in circles upon the ground; as if, says the narrator,
"some comedy or show" was about to be rehearsed. Mats were then
brought in by the women, and spread upon the ground, for the visitors to
sit upon. Last came the " Lord and King" Agouhanna, a palsied old
man, borne upon the shoulders of 9 or 10 attendants, sitting on a " great
stag skin." They placed him near the mats occupied by Cartier and his
party. This simple potentate " was no whit better apparelled than any of
the rest, only excepted, that he had a certain thing made of the skins
of hedgehogs, like a red wreath, and that was instead of his crown."

After a salutation, in which gesticulation awkwardly supplied the place
of language, the old chief exhibited his palsied limbs, for the purpose of
being touched, by the supposed celestial visitants. Cartier, although he
appeared to be a man of sense and decision, on other occasions, was not
proof against the homage to his imputed divinity ; but quite seriously fell
to rubbing the credulous chiefs legs and arms. For this act, the chief
presented him his fretful "crown." The blind, lame, and impotent, of
the town were now brought in, and laid before him, " some so old that the
hair of their eyelids came down and covered their cheeks," all of whom
he touched, manifesting his own seriousness by reading the Gospel of
St John, and " praying to God that it would please him to open the
hearts of this poor people, and to make them know his holy word, and
that they might receive baptism and Christendom." He then read a por-
tion of the catholic service, with a loud voice, during which the natives
were " marvellously attentive, looking up to heaven and imitating us in
gestures." Some presents of cutlery and trinkets were then distributed,
trumpets sounded, and the party prepared to return to their boats. When
about to leave their place, the women interposed, inviting them to partake
of the victuals they had prepared — a compliment which was declined,
" because the meats had no savour at all of salt." They were followed

CARTIER'S VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY.

345

out of the town by "divers men and women," who conducted the whole
party to the top of the mountain, commanding a wide prospect of the plain,
the river and its islands, and the distant mountains. Transported with a
scene, which has continued to afford delight to the visitors of all after times,
Cartier bestowed the name of " Mount Royal " upon this emmence— a
name which has descended, with some modifications, to the modern city.
Having satisfied their curiosity, and obtained such information respecting
the adjoining regions, as their imperfect knowledge of the Indian lan-
guage would permit, they returned to their boats, accompanied by a pro-
miscuous throng of the natives.

Thus ended, on the 3rd Oct. 1535, the first formal meeting between the
French and the Indians of the interior of Canada, or what now began to
be denominated New France. As respects those incidents in it, in which
the Indians are represented as looking upon Cartier in the light of a
divinity, clothed "'ith power to heal the sick and restore sight to the blind,
every one will yield the degree of faith, which his credulity permits.
The whole proceeding bears so striking a resemblance to " Christ heal-
ing the sick," that it is probable the narrator drew more largely upon his
New Testament, than any certain knowledge of the faith and belief of a
savage people whose traditions do not reach far, and whose language,
granting the most, he but imperfectly understood. As respects the de-
scription of a city with triple walls, those who know the manner in which
our Indian villages are built, will be best enabled to judge how far the
narrator supplied by fancy, what was wanting in fact. A "walled
city" was somewhere expected to be found, and the writer found no better
place to locate it. Cartier no sooner reached his boats', than he hoisted
sail and began his descent, much to the disappointment of the Indians.
Favoured by the wind and tide, he rejoined his " Pinnace" on the follow-
ing day. Finding all well, he continued the descent, without meeting
much entitled to notice, and reached the " port of the Holy Cross," on
the 1 1th of the month. During his absence the ships' crews had erected
a breastwork before the vessels, and mounted several pieces of ships* can-
non for their defence. Donnacona renewed his acquaintance on the fol-
lowing day, attended by Taignoagny, Domaiga, and others, who were
treated with an appearance of friendship, which it could hardly be ex-
pected Cartier could sincerely feei. He, in return visited their village
of Stadacona, and friendly relations being thus restored, the French pre-
pared for the approach of winter.

Winter came in all its severity. From the middle of Nov. to the
middle of March, the vessels were environed with ice " two fathoms
thick," and snow upwards of four feet deep, renching above the sides of
the vessels. And the weather is represented as being " extremely raw
and bitter." In the midst of this severity, the crews were infected with
<* a strange and cruel disease," the natural consequence of a too licentioui

! ,

^i:

r V.

346

carrier's rOTAGES OF OISCOTERV.

intercourse with the natives. The virulence of this disorder exceeded
any thing that they had before witnessed, though it is manifest, from the
journal, that it was in its virulence only, that the disease itself presented
any new features. A complete prostration of strength marked its com-
mencement, the legs swelled, the " sinews shrunk as black as any coal."
The infection became general, and excited the greatest alarm. Not more
than 10 persons out of 110 were in a condition to afford assistance to the
sick by the middle of February Eight had already died, and 50 were
supposed to be past recovery.

Cartier, to prevent his weakni s being known, as well as to stop further
infection, interdicted all intercc irse with the natives. He caused that
" every one should devoutly pre are himself by prayer, and in remem-
brance of Christ, caused his ima. e to be set upon a tree, about a flight
shot from the fort, amid the ice ai 1 snow, giving all men to understand
that on the Sunday following, service should be said there, and that whoso-
ever could go, sick or whole, should go thither in procession, singing
the seven psalms of David, and other Litanies, praying, &c."

The disorder, however, continued to spread till there were not " above
three sound men in the ships, and none was able to go under hatches
to draw drink for himself, nor for his fellows." Sometimes they were
constrained to bury the dead under the snow, owing to their weakness
and the severity of the frost, which rendered it an almost incredible labour
to penetrate the ground. Every artifice was resorted to by Cartier, to
keep the true state of his crews from the Indians, and he sought unremit-
tingly for a remedy against the disorder.

In this his efforts were at last crowned with success, but not till he had
lost 25 of his men. By using a decoction of the bark and leaves of a cer-
tain tree, which is stated to be "the Sassafras tree,"* the remainder of his
crews were completely recovered. The decoction was drank freely, and
the dregs applied externally, agreeably to the directions of Domaigaia, to
whom he was indebted for the information, and who caused women
to bring branches of it, and " therewithal shewed the way how to use it."

The other incidents of the winter were not of a character to require no-
tice. Mutual distrust existed. Cartier was in co"^tant apprehension
of some stratagem, which the character and movements of his savage
neighbours gave some grounds for. He was detained at the bay of the
i^Joly Cross till the 6th May, 1536. The narrator takes the opportunity
of this long season of inaction to give descriptions of the manners and cus-
toms, ceremonies and occupations of the Indians, and to detail the informa-
tion derived from them, and from personal observations respectmg the geo-
graphical features and the productions of the country.

* As the tree is afterwards stated to be " as big as any oak in France," it was pi '>ba
bly the hox tlder, and not the sassafras, which never attained to much size.

cartier's voyages of discovert.

347

Touching the faith of the Indians, it is said, they believed no ^hit in
God, but in one whom they call Cudruiagni," to whom, they say, they
are often indebted for a foreknowledge of the weather. And when he is
angry, his displeasure is manifested by casting dust in their eyes. They
believe that, after death, they go into the stars, descending by degrees to-
wards the horizon, and are finally received into certain green fields,
abounding in fruits and flowers.

They are represented as possessing all property in common, and as
•ing " indifferently well stored" with the useful "commodities" of the
country — clothing themselves imperfectly in skins, wearing hose and shoes
of skins in winter, and going barefooted in summer. The men labour
little, and are much addicted to smoking. The condition of the women Uf
one of drudgery and servitude. On them the labour of tilling the grounds,
&c., principally devolves. The young women live a dissolute life, until
marriage, and married women, after the death of their husbands, are con
demned to a state of perpetual widowhood. Polygamy is tolerated. Both
sexes are represented as very hardy, and capable of enduring the most in"
tense degree of cold. In this there is little to distinguish the native
of 1536 from that of the present day, if we substitute the blanket for the
muttaios* and except the remark respecting the condition of widows, the
accuracy of which, as it was made upon slight acquaintance, may be rea
sonably doubted. It may also be remarked, that the condition of young
women, as described by Cartier, was more degraded and vitiated than it is
now known to be among any of the North American tribes.

The geographical information recorded respecting the St. Lawrence
and its tributaries is generally vague and confused. But may be referred
to as containing the first notice published by the French of the Great
Lakes. Cartier was told by Donnacona and others that the river origi-
nated so far in the interior, that " there was never man heard of that found
out the end thereof," that it passed through " two or three great lakes," and
that there is " a sea of fresh water," alluding, probably, to Superior.

At what time the ice broke up, is not distinctly told. It is stated that
" that year the winter was very long," and a scarcity of food was felt
among the Indians, so much so, that they put a high price upon their ven
ison, &.C., and sometimes took it back to their camps, rather than pait with
it " any thing cheap." Donnacona and many of his people withdrew
themselves to their hunting grounds, under a pretence of being absent
a fortnight, but were absent two months. Cartier attribuf - this long
absence to a design of raising the country, and attacking him in his fortified
positions — a design which no cordiality of friendship on the part of D.
would prevent his entertaining, and which the latter gave some colour to

* Roue of beaver skins. Eight skins of two year old beaver are requ'red to mak
■uch a robe.

11 i

348

cartier's voyages of disccvbrt.

by neglecting to visit Cartier on his return with great numbers of natires
not before seen, and by evading the attempts made to renewr an intercourse,
by feigning sickness as the cause of his neglect. Cartier felt his ovm
weakness, from the death of so many of his crew and the sickness of others,-
and has recorded for his government on this occasion the proverb, that
" he that takes heed and shields himself from all men, may hope to escape
from some." He determined to abandon one of his vessels, that he might
completely man and re-fit the others, and appears to have been diligent in
making early preparations to return. While thus engaged, Donnacona
(April 22,) appeared with a great number of men at Stadacona, and John
Powlet, " who being best believed of those people," he sent to reconnoitre
them in their principal villages, reported that he saw so many people, that
" one could not stir for another, and such men as they were never wont to
see." Taignoagny, whom he saw on this occasion, requested him to be-
seech Cartier to take off " a lord of the country," called Agonna, who
probably stood in the way of his own advancement. Cartier availed him-
self of this request to bring on an interview with Taignoagny, and by flat-
tering his hopes, Anally succeeded in the execution of a project he appears
to have previously entertained. This was nothing less than the seizure
of Donnacona, Taignoagny, Domaigaia, (his previous captives,) and " two
more of the chiefest men," whom, with the children before received, mak-
ing ten persons in all, he conveyed to France.

This seizure was made on the 3d of May, being " Holyrood day," at a
time when Cartier had completed his preparations for sailing. He took
formal possession of the country, under the name of New France, by
erecting a cross " thirty-five feet in height," bearing a shield with the arms
of France, and the following inscription :

" Franciscus primum dei gratia Francorum Rex regnat,"

a sentence upon which this unjustifiable outrage formed a practical con-
ment. Three days afterwards he sailed from the port of the Holy Cross,
leaving crowds of the natives to bewail the loss of their chiefs. And
whose kindness led them to send on board a supply of provisions, when
they found they could not effect their liberation. Finding the current of
the St. Lawrence much swoln, he came to anchor at the isle of Filberds,
near the entrance of the Sagnenay, where he was detained nine days. In
the meantime many of the natives of Sagnenay visited the ships, and find
ing Donnacona a prisoner, they presented him three packs of beaver. Or
the 17th May, he made an unsuccessful attempt to proceed, but was for:ed
back and detained four days longer, waiting "till the fierceness of the wa
ters" were past. He entered and passed out of the gulph on the 21st, bu)
encountering adverse winds, did not take his final departure from the New-
foundland coast till the 19th June. He then took advantage of a favorable

CARTIERS VUVAOES OF DISCOVERY.

349

irind, and performed the homeward voyage in 17 days. He entered the
port of St. Malo, July 6, 1536, ftaving been absent less than 14 months, 8
of which had been passed in the St. Lawrence.

THIRD TOTAOE.

The reports and discoveries of Cartier were so well received by the
King of France (Francis I.), that he determined to colonize the newly
discovered country, and named John Francis de la Roche, Lord of Rob-
erval, his " Lieutenant and Governor in the countries of Canada and
Hochelaga." Cartier retained his former situation as " Captain General
and leader of the ships,'* and to him was entrusted the further prosecution
of discoveries. Five vessels were ordered to be prepared at St. Malo, and
measures appear to have been taken to carry out settlers, cattle, seeds,
and agricultural implements. Much delay, however, seems to have
attended the preparations, and before they were completed, Donnacona
and his companions, who had been baptized, paid the debt of nature. A
little girl, ten years old, was the only person surviving out of the whole
number of captives.

It is seldom that a perfect harmony has prevailed between the leaders
of naval and land forces, in the execution of great enterprises. And
though but little is said to guide the reader in forming a satisfactory opi-
nion on the subject, the result in this instance proved that there was a
settled dissatisfaction in the mind of Cartier respecting the general ar-
rangements for the contemplated voyage. Whether he thought himself
neglected in not being invested with the government of the country he
had discovered, or felt unwilling that another should share in the honors
of future discoveries, cannot now be determined. It should be recollected
that the conquest of Mexico had then but recently been accomplished
(1520), and it is not improbable that Cartier, who had taken some pains
to exalt Donnacona into another Montezuma, thought himself entitled
to receive from Francis, rewards and emoluments in some measure cor-
responding to those which his great rival, Charles, had finally bestowed
upon Cortez.

Whatever were the causes, four years elapsed before the ships were
prepared, and M. La Roche, on visiting the vessels in the road of St.
Malo, ready for sea, then informed Cartier that his artillery, munitions,
and " other necessary things" which he had prepared, were not yet arriv-
ed from Champaigne and Normandy. Cartier, in the meantime, had
received positive orders from the King to set sail. In this exigency, it
was determined that Cartier should proceed, while the King's Lieuten-
ant should remain " to prepare a ship or two at Honfleur, whither he
thought his things were come."

This arrangement concluded, La Roche invested Cartier with full

350

OARTIER'S VOYAOES OF DISCOVERY.

powers to act until his arrival, and the latter set sail with five shipSi
" well furnished and victualled for two years," on the 23d of May, 1540.
Storms and contrary winds attended the passage. The ships parted com-
pany, and were kept so long at sea, that they were compelled to watei
the cattle, &c., they took out for breed, with cider. At length, the ves*
sels re-assembled in the harbor of Carpunt in Newfoundland, and after
taking in wood and water, proceeded on the voyage, Cartier not deem-
ing it advisable to wait longer for the coming of La Roche. He reached
the little haven of Saincte Croix (where he wintered in the former voy-
age), on the 23d of August. His arrival was welcomed by the natives,
who crowded around his vessels, with Agona at their head, making
inquiries after Donnacona and his companions in captivity. Cartier
replied, that Donnacona was dead, and his bones rested in the ground
— that thfe other persons had become great lords, and were married, and
settled in France. No displeasure was evinced by the intelligence of
Donnacona's death. Agona, on the contrary, seemed to be well pleased
with it, probably, as the journalist thinks, because it left him to rule in his
stead. He took off his head-dress and bracelets, both being of yellow
leather edged with wampum, and presented them to Cartier. The lat-
ter made a suitable return to him and his attendants in small presents,
intimating that he had brought many new things, which were intended
for them. He returned the chieftain's simple " crown." They then
ate, drank, and departed.

Having thus formally renewed intercourse with the natives, Cartier
sent his boats to explore a more suitable harbor and place of landing.
They reported in favor of a small river, about four leagues above, where
the vessels were accordingly moored, and their cargoes discharged. Of
the spot thus selected for a fort and harbor, as it was destined afterwards
to become celebrated in the history of Canada, it may be proper to give
a more detailed notice of Cartier's original description. The river is
stated to be fifty paces broad, having three fathoms water at full tide,
and but a foot at the ebb, having its entrance towards the south, and its
course very serpentine. The beauty and fertility of the lands bordering
it, the vigorous growth of trees, and the rapidity of vegetation, are highly
and (I believe) very justly extolled. Near it, there is said to be " a high
and steep clifF," which it was necessary to ascend by " a way in manner
of a pair of stairs," and below it, and between it and tho river, an inter-
val sufficiently extensive to accommodate a fort. A work of defence
was also built upon the cliff, for the purpose of keeping the " nether
fort and the ships, and all things that might pass, as well by the great, as
by this small river." Upon the cliff a spring of pure water was discov-
ered near the fort, " adjoining whereunto," says the narrator, " we found
good store of stones, which we esteemed to the diamonds" (limpid
quartz). At the foot of the cliff, facing the St. Lawrence, they found

OARTIER'S VOYAOEB OF DISCOVERY.

iron, and at the water's edge " certain leaves of fine gold (mica) as thick
ks u man's nail."

The ground was so favorable for tillage, that twenty men labored at
an acre and a half in one day. Cabbage, turnip, and lettuce seed, sprung
up the eighth day. A luxurious meadow was found along the river, and
the woods were clustered with a species of the native grape. Such were
the natural appearance and advantages of a spot which was destined to
be the future site of the city and fortress of Quebec,* " but to which
he gave the name of * Charlesbourg Royal.' "

Cartier lost no time in despatching two of his vessels to France, under
command of Mace Jollobert and Stephen Noel, his brother-in-law and
nephew, with letters to the king, containing an account of his voyage
and proceedings, accompanied with specimens of the' mineral treasures he
supposed himself to have discovered ; and taking care to add " how
Mons. Roberval had not yet come, and that he feared that by occasion
of contrary winds and tempests, he was driven back again into France."
These vessels left the newly discovered town and fort of " Charlesbourg
Royal" on the 2d of September. And they were no sooner despatched,
than Cartier determined to explore the " Saults" or rapids of the St.
Lawrence, which had been described to him, and partly pointed out, dur-
ing his ascent to the mountain of Montreal. Leaving the fort under the
command of the Viscount Beaupre, he embarked in two boats on the 7th
of September, accompanied by Martine de Painpont and other *' gentle*
men," with a suitable complement of mariners. The only incident re-
corded of the passage up, is his visit to " the Lord of Hochelay" — a chief
who had presented him a little girl, on his former visit, and evinced a
friendship during his stay in the river, which he was now anxious to
show that he preserved the recollection of. He presented the chief a
cloak " of Paris red," garnished with buttons and bells, with two basins
of " Laton" (pewter), and some knives and hatchets. He also left with
this chief two boys to acquire the Indian language.

Continuing the ascent, he reached the lower " Sault" on the 11th of
the month, and, on trial, found it impossible to ascend it with the force
of oars. He determined to proceed by land, and found a well-beaten
path leading in the desired course. This path soon conducted him to an
Indian village, where he was well received, and furnished with guides
to visit the second " Sault." Here he was informed that there was
another Sault at some distance, and that the river was not navigable — a
piece of information that meant either that it was not navigable by the
craft Cartier had entered the river with, or was intended to repress his
further advance into the country. The day being far spent, he returned
to his boats, where four hundred natives awaited his arrival. He ap-

^ Queiy — Is not the word Quebec a derivative from the Algonquin phrase JTebte—
a term uttered in passing by a dangerous and rocky coast ?

■IH

362

CARTIBRl VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY.

peased their curiosity, by iDterchanging civilities, and distributing smal]
presents, and made all speed to return to Charlesbourg Royal, where ha
learned that the natives, alarmed by the formidable defences going oUf
had intermitted their customary visits, and evinced signs of hostility
This inference was confirmed by his own observations on the downward
passage, and he determined to use the utmost diligence and precaution
to sustain himself in his new position.

The rest of this voyage is wanting. Hackluyt has, however, pre-
served two letters of Jacques Noel, a relative of Cartier, written at St
Malo in 1587, with the observations of latitude, courses, and distances,
made by " John Alphonso of Xanctoigne," who carried out La Roche,
Lard of Roberval, to Canada, in 1542, and a fragment of Roberval's nar*
rat . ?, which indicated ihe sequel of Cartier's third and last voyage.
F ;om the latter, it appears that Roberval entered the harbor of Bello
Isle in Newfoundland, on the 8th of June, 1542, on his way to Canada ;
and while there, Cartier unexpectedly entered the same harbor, on his
return to France. He reported that he was unable " with his small
company" to maintain a footing in the country, owing to the incessant
hostility of the natives, and had resolved to return to France. He pre-
sented the limpid quartz, and gold yellow mica, which he had carefully
cherished, under a belief that he had discovered in these resplendent
minerals, the repositories of gold and diamonds. An experiment was
made the next day, upon what is denominated " gold ore," by which
term the journalist does not probably refer to the " mica," considered,
in an age in which mineralogy had not assumed the rank of a science, as
" leaves of gold," but to pieces of yellow pyrites of iron, which it is men-
tioned in the description of the environs of <' Charlesbourg Royal" Cartier
had discovered in the slate rock. And the ore was pronounced " good"
— a proof either of gross deception, or gross ignorance in the experi-
menter. Cartier spoke highly of the advantages the country presented
for settlement, in point of fertility. He had, however, determined to
leave it. He disobeyed Roberval's order to return, and " both he and
his company" secretly left the harbor, and made the best of their way to
France, being *' moved," as the journalist adds, " with ambition, be-
cause they would have all the glory of the discovery of these parts to
themselves."

January 21st, 1829. . • ^ . . ^ : .- „;

M
■4

o
H

t»

a
>

Ctf

V )

::!i

THB IlfFLUBNOE OF ARDENT 8PIRITB.

363

THE INFLUENCE OF ARDENT SPIRITS ON THE CONDI-
TION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

411 AODMM ftlAD BBrOKI THB OHIPriWA COUNTY TIMPBBAIIOI •OOIITT, AT
■AULT ITB-MARIK, MAY 8th, 1839.

The effects of intemperance on the character of nations and individu-
als have been often depicted, within a few years, in faithful colors, and
by gifted minds. " Thoughts that breathe and words that burn" were
once supposed to be confined, exclusively, to give melody to the lyre,
and life to the canvass. But the conceptions of modem benevolence
have dispelled the illusion, and taught us that genius has no higher ob-
jects than the promotion of the greatest amount of good to man — that
these objects come home to the " business and bosoms" of men in their
every day avocations — that they lie level to every capacity, and never
assume so exalted a character, as when they are directed to increase the
•um of domestic happiness and fireside enjoyment —

" To mend the morals and improve the heart"

It is this consideration that gives to the temperance effort in our day,
a refined and expansive character —

" Above all Greek, above all Roman fame"— lU

which has enlisted in its cause sound heads and glowing hearts, in all
parts of our country — which is daily augmenting the sphere of its influ-
ence, and which has already carried its precepts and examples from the
little sea-board village,* where it originated, to the foot of Lake Superior.
And I have now the pleasure of seeing before me a society, assembled on
their first public meeting, who have " banded together," not with such
mistaken zeal as dictated the killing of Paul, or assassinating Ceesar, but
for giving their aid in staying the tide of intemperance which has been
rolling westward for more than three centuries, sweeping away thou-
sands of white and red men in its course — ^which has grown with the
growth of the nation, and strengthened with its strength, and which
threatens with an overwhelming moral desolation all who do not adopt
the rigid maxim —

" Touch not, taste not, handle not." '

The British critic of the last century little thought, while moralizing
upon some of the weaknesses of individual genius, that he was uttering
maxims which would encourage the exertions of voluntary associations
of men to put a stop to intemperance. It wds as true then as now, that
" in the bottle, discontent seeks for comfort, cowardice for courage, and
bashfulness for confidence." It was as true then, as now, that the " neg-

* Andover.
23

354

THE INFLUBNCE OF ARDENT SPIRITS

ligence and irregularity'* which are the fruits of this habit, " if long con-
tinuedf will render knowledge useless, wit ridiculous, and genius con-
temptible." "Who," he exclaims, "that ever asked succors from
Bacchus, was able to preserve himself from being ensl^.ved by his aux-
iliary ?"* And is there a species of servitude more pernicious in its in-
fluence, more degrading in its character, more destructive of all physical
and intellectual power, than the slavery of inebriation 1 The rage of
the conflagration — the devastation of the flood — the futyofthe tempest,
are emblematic of the moral fury of the mind under the influence of
alcohol. It is equally ungovernable in its power, and destructive in its
effectei. But its devastations are more to be deplored, because they are
the devastations of human faculties — of intellectual power — of animal
energy — of moral dignity— of social happiness — of temporal health— of
eternal felicity.

Intemperance is emphatically the parent of disease, mental and phy-
sical. Its direct effects are to blunt the faculty of correct thinking, and
to paralyze the power of vigorous action. Nothing more effectually
takes away from the human mind, its ordinary practical powers of dis-
crimination and decision, without which man is like a leaf upon the tem-
pest, or the chaff before the wind. Dr. Darwin has aptly compared the
effects of spirituous liquors upou the lungs to the ancient fable of Pro-
metheus stealing Are from heaven, who was punished for the theft by
a vulture gnawing on the liver.^ A striking allegory : but one which is
not inaptly applied to characterize the painful and acute diseases which
are visited upon the inebriate. Dr. Rush was an early advocate of the
cause. He likened the effects of the various degrees of alcohol, in spir-
ituous drinks, to the artificial mensuration of heat by the thermometer,
and took a decided stand in pointing out its poisonous effects upon the
system, in the generation of a numerous class of diseases, acute and
chronic.

If unhealthy food had been the cause of such disorders, the article
would be rigidly shunned. No man would choose to eat twice of the
cicuta ; to use bread having a portion of lime in : ; or to drink frequently
of a preparation of sugar of lead. Even the intemperate would fear to
drink of alcohol, in its state of chemical purity, for its effects would cer«
tainly be to arrest the functions of life. Yet he will drink of this pow-
erful drug, if diluted with acids, saccharine and coloring matter, water
and various impurities, under the disguised names of wine, brandy, rum,
malt liquors, whisky, cordials, and mixed potations, which all tend to
pamper the natural depravity of the human heart, and poison its powers
of healthful action.

Alcohol is one of the preparations which were brought to light in the

* Dr. Joboion.

t Zoonomia*

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

855

•ge of the Alchemysts — when the human mind had run mad in a philo-
sophic research after two substances which were not found in nature — the
philosopher's stone, and the universal panacea. One, it was believed,
was to transmute all substances it touched into gold, and the other, to cure
all diseases. The two great desires of the world — wealth and long Kftj
were thus to be secured in a way which Moses and the Prophets had
never declared. A degree of patient ascetic research was devoted to the
investigation of natural phenomena, which the world had not before wit-
nessed ; and modern science is indebted to the mistaken labors of this
race of chemical monks, for many valuable discoveries, which were, for
the most part, stumbled on. So far as relates to the discovery of the
alcoholic principle of grains, a singular reversal of their high anticipa-
tions has ensued. They sought for a substance to enrich mankind, but
found a substance to impoverish them : they sought a power to cure all
diseases, but they found one to cause them. Alcohol is thus invested
with great talisman ic power : and this power is not to create, but to
destroy— not to elevate, but to prostrate — not to impart life, but death.

How extensive its uses are, as a re-agent and solvent, in medicine and
the arts — or if its place could be supplied, in any instances, by other sub-
stances — are questions to be answered by physicians and chemists. But
admitting, what is probable to my own mind, that its properties and uses
in pharmacy and the arts are indispensable in several operations, in the
present state of our knowledge— does this furnish a just plea for its ordi-
nary use, as a beverage, in a state of health 1 No more than it would,
that because the lancet and the probe are useful in a state of disease,
they should be continued in a state of health. And do not every class
of men who continue the use of ardent spirits, waste their blood by a diur-
nal exhaustion of its strength and healthy properties, more injurious than
a daily depletion ; and probe their flesh with a fluid too subtle for the
physician to extract ?

The transition from temperate to intemperate drinking, is very easy.
And those who advocate the moderate use of distilled spirits are indeed
the real advocates of intemperance. No man ever existed, perhaps, who
thought himself in danger of being enslaved by a practice, which he, at
first, indulged in moderation. A habit of relying upon it is imperceptibly
formed. Nature is soon led to expect the adventitious aid, as a hale
man, accustomed to wear a stafl*, may imagine he cannot do without it,
until he has thrown it aside. If it communicates a partial energy, it is
the energy of a convulsion. Its joy is a phrenzy. Its hope is a phan-
tom. And all its exhibitions of changing passion, so many melancholy
proofs of

" the reasonable loul run mad."

Angelic beings are probably exalted above all human weaknesses.—

356

THE INFIiUENOE OF iBDKN': SI 1KIT8

But if there be anything in their survey of out actions which causes
them to weep, it is the sight of a drunken father in the domestic circle.
Instructed reason, and sound piety, have united their voices in .decry-
ing the evils of intemperance. Physicians have described its effects in
deranging the absorbent vessels of the stomach, and changing the heal-
thy organization of the system. Moralists have portrayed its fatal influ-
ence on the intellectual faculties. Divines have pointed out its destruc-
tive powers on the soul. Poetry, philosophy and science, have mourned
the numbers who have been cut down by it. Common sense has raised
up its voice against it. It is indeed —

" a monster of so frightful mien,

That to be hattd, intmA* but to be ttm.^'

Like the genie of Arabic table, it has risen up, where it was least

expfxjted, and stalked through the most secret and the most public

apartments. And wiierever it has appeared, it has prostrated the human

mind. It has silenced the voice of eloquence in the halls of justice and

legislation. It has absorbed the brain of the scientific lecturer. It has

caused the sword to drop from the hand of the military leader. It has

stupefied the author in his study, and the pastor in his ueak. It has

made the wife a widow in her youth, and caused the innocent 'Jnld to

weep upon a father's grave. We dare not look beyond it. Hop* . ^w'ho

has attended the victim of intemperance through all the changes of im

downward fortune, and not forsaken him in any other exigency, h«f

forsaken here. Earth had its vanities to solace him, but eternity has

none.

" Wounds of the heart— care, disappointment, loss,
Love, joy, and friendship's fame, and fortune's cross,
The wound that mare the flesh — the instant pain
That racks the palsied limb, or fever'd brain,
All— all the woes that life ca.n feel or miss,
All have their hopes, cures, palliatives, but this—
This onlij — mortal canker of the mind.
Grim Belial's last attempt on human kind."

If such, then, are the effects of ardent spirits upon the condition of civi-
lized man, who has the precepts of instructed reason to enlighten him,
and the consolations of Christianity to support him, what must be the
influence of intemperate habits upon the aboriginal tribes ? I propose
to offer a few considerations upon this subject. And in so doing I dis-
claim all intention of imputing to one nation of the European stock, more
than the other, the national crime of having introduced ardent spirits
among the American Indians. Spaniards, Portuguese, Swedes, Dutch,
Italians, Russians, Germans, French and English, all come in for a share
of the obloquy. They each brought ardent spirits to the New World—
a proof, it may be inf»rred, of their general use, as a drink in Europe, at
the era of the discovery. Whatever other articles the first adventurers
took to operate upon the hopes and fears of the new found people, distilled

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

357

or fermented liquor appears to have been, in uo instance, overlooked or for-
gotten. It would be easy to show the use made of them in the West In-
dies, and in the southern part of our hemisphere. But our object is con-
fined to the colonies planted in the North. And in this portion of the
continent the English and French have been the predominating powers.
It had been well, if they had predominated in everything else — if they
had only been rivals for courage, wisdom and dominion. If they had
only fought to acquire civil power — conquered to spread Christianity-
negotiated to perpetuate peace. But we have too many facts on record
to show, that they were also rivals in spreading the reign of intempe-
rance among the Indians ; in gleaning, with avaricious hand, the furs from
their lodges ; in stimulating them to fight in their battles, and in leaving
them to their own fate, when the battles were ended.

Nor do we, as Americans, affect to have suddenly succeeded to a better
state of feelings respecting the natives than our English ancestry pos-
sessed. They were men of sterling enterprise ; of undaunted resolution ;
of high sentiments of religious and political liberty. And we owe to them
and to the peculiar circumstances in which Providence placed us, all that
we are, as a free and a prosperous people. But while they bequeathed to
us these sentiments as the prep Miatives of our own national destiny, they
also bequeathed to us their peculiar opinions respecting the Indian tribes.
And these opinions have been cherished with obstinacy, even down to
our own tiiiies. The noble sentiments of benevolence of the 19th century
had not dawned, when we assumed our station in the family of nations.
If they were felt by gifted individuals, they were not felt by the body of
the nation. Other duties — the impevious duties of self-existence, national
poveity, wasted resources, a doubtful public credit, a feeble population,
harassing frontier wars, pressed heavily upon us. But we have seen
all these c.ia.«:"» of national depres;:'. n passing away, in less than half a
century. V\ iJi hem, it may be hoped, have passed away, every obsta-
cle to >h:; exercise oi the most enlarged ( 'larity, and enlighianed philan
thropy, res^f I til g the native tribes.

Nationalit}" is sometimes as well characterized by small as by great
things- -1 V names, as hy cus as. And this may be observed in the
treatment of the Iri li^as, s^y ff.v as respects the subject of ardent spir-
its. Under i\:e French gov?rnmept they were liberally supplied with
brandy. Under the Engl* ;h, with Jamaica rum. Under the Americans,
with whisky. Tliese 00/;!=' .u'te the fire, the gall, and the poison ages of In-
dian history. Under this aiple curse thej* have maintained an existence
in the face of a white population. But it has been an existence merely.
Other nations are said to } ive had a golden age. But there has been no
golden age for them. If there ever was a state of prosperity among
them, which may be Ilk ^w^A to it, it was when their camps were crowned
with temporal abundance — when the races of animals, furred and unfjir-

358

THE INFLUENCE OF ARDENT SPIRITS

red, placed food and clothing within the reach of all — and when they
knew no intoxicating drink. To counterbalance these advantages, they
wete, however, subject to many evils. They were then, as they are
now, indolent, improvident, revengeful, warlike. Bravery, manual
strength, and eloquence, were the cardinal virtues. And their own feuds
kept them in a state of perpetual insecurity and alarm. The increased
value given to furs, by the arrival of Europeans, created a new era in
their history, and accelerated their downfall. It gave an increased energy
and new object to the chase. To reward their activity in this employ-
ment, ardent spirits became the bounty^ rather than the price. A two-
fold injury ensued. The animals upon whose flrv^h they had subsisted
Decame sc;\rce, and their own constitutions were undermined with the
subtle stimulant.

Historical writers do not always agree : but they coincide in their tes-
timony respecting the absence of any intoxicating drink among the north-
ern Indians, at the time of the discovery. It is well attested that the
Azteeks, and other Mexican and Southern tribes, had their pulque, and
other intoxicating drinks, which they possessed the art of making from
various native grains and fruits. But the art itself was confined, with
the plants employed, to those latitudes. And there is no historical evi-
dence to prove that it was ever known or practised by the tribes situated
north and east of the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Robertson, an able and faith-
ful describer of Indian manners, fully concurs with the Jesuit authors, in
saying that no such beverage was known in the north, until Europeans
found it for their pecuniary inf:erest to supply it. Aftev which, intoxica-
tion became as common among the northern as the southern tribes.*

Three hundred and forty years ago there was not a white man in
America. Columbus discovered the West India Islands ; but Cabot and
Verrizani were the discoverers of North America. Cartier and Hudson
followed in the track. The first interview of Hudson with the Mohegan
tribes, took place at the mouth of the river which now bears his name.
It is remarkable as the scene of the first Indian intoxication among t'.fji.
He had no sooner cast anchor, and landed from his boat, and passed a
friendly salutation with the natives, than he ordered a bottle of ardent
spirits to be brought. To show that he did not intend to offer them
what he would not himself taste, an attendant poured him out a cup of
the liquor, which he drank off. The cup was then filled and passed to
the Indians. But they merely smelled of it and passed it on. It had
nearly gone round the circle untasted, when one of the chiefs, bolder
than the rest, made a short harangue, saying it would be disrespectful to
return it untasted, and declaring his intention to drink off the potion, if he
•hould be killed in the attempt. He drank it off. Dizziness and stu-

♦ Robertson's History of America.

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

359

por immediately ensued. He sank down and fell into a sleep — the sleep
of death, as his companions thought. But in due time he awoke— de-
clared the happiness he had experienced from its effects — asked again
for the cup, and the whole assembly followed his example.*

Nor was the first meeting with the New England tribes very dissimi-
lar. It took place at Plymouth, in 1620. Massasoit, the celebrated
chief of the Pokanokets, came to visit the new settlers, not long after
their landing. He was received by the English governor with military
music ard the discharge of some muskets. After which, the Governor
kissed his hand. Massasoit then kissed him, and they both sat down
together. " A pot of strong water," as the early writers expressed it,
was then ordered, from which both drank. The chief, in his simplicity,
drank so great a draught that it threw him into a violent perspiration
during the remainder of the interview."!"

The first formal interview of the French with the Indians of the St.
Lawrence is also worthy of being referred to, as it appears to have been
the initial step in vitiating the taste of the Indians, by the introduction of
a foreign drink. It took place in 1535, on board one of Cartier's ships,
lying at anchor near the Island of Orleans, forty-nine years before the
arrival of Amidas and Barlow on the coast of Virginia. Donnaconna, a
chief who is courteously styled the '* Lord of Agouhanna," visited the
ship with twelve canoes. Ten of these he had stationed at a distance,
and with the other two, containing sixteen men, he approached the ves-
sels. When he drew near the headmost vessel, he began to utter an
earnest address, accompanied with violent gesticulation. Cartier hailed
his approach in a friendly manner. He had, the year before, captured
two Indians on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and he now addressed the chief
through their interpretation. Donnaconna listened to his native lan-
guage with delight, and was so much pleased with the recital they gave,
th.it he requested Cartier to reach his arm over the side of the vessel,
that hi might kiss it. He was not content with this act of salutation,
but fondled it, by drawing the arm gently around his neck. His watch-
ful caution did not, however, permit him to venture on board. Cartier,
willing to give him a proof of his confidence, then descended into the
chiefs canoe, and ordered bread and wine to be brought. They ate and
drank together^ all the Indians present participating in the banquet,
which appears to have been terminated in a temperate manner. J

But like most temperate beginnings in the use of spirits, it soon led to
intemperance in its most repulsive forms. The taste enkindled by wine,
was soon fed with brandy, and spread among the native bands like a
wildfire. It gave birth to disease, discord, and crime, in their most

♦ Heckewelder's Account of th« Indians,
t Purchas' Pilgrims, Part iv., book x.
i Hackluyt's Voyages.

: =!
^1

360

THE INFLUENCE OF ARDENT SPIRITS

shocking forms. Too late the government and the clergy saw their
error, and attempted to arrest it j but it was too deeply seated among
their own countrymen, as well as among the Indians. Every effort
proved unsuccessful ; and the evil went on until the Canadas were
finally transferred to the British crown, with this " mortal canker"
burning upon the northern tribes. Those who have leisure and curiosity
to turn to the early writers, will see abundant evidence of its deep and
wide-spread influence. It became the ready means of rousing to action
a people averse to long continued exertion of any kind. It was the
reward of the chase. It was the price of blood. It was the great bar to
the successful introduction of Christianity. It is impossible that the
Indian should both drink and pray. It was impossible theuj and it is
impossible now : and the missionary who entered the forest, with the
Bible and crucifix in one hand, and the bottle in the other, might say,
with the Roman soliloquist, who deliberated on self-murder,

"Myk'!-! and antidote are both before me :
While tnia informs me { £ihall never die,
2Vrt» in a moment brings me to ray end."

National rivalry, between the English and French governments, gave
a character of extreme bitterness to the feelings of the Indians, and served
to pr( .note the passion tor strong drink. It added to the horrors of war,
and accumulated the miseries of peace. It was always a struggle be-
tween these nations which should wield the Indian power ; and, so far
as religion went, it was a struggle between the Catholic and Protestant
tenets. It was a power which both had, in a measure, the means of
putting into motion : but neither had the complete means of controlling it,
if we concede to them the perfect will. It would have mitigated the
evil, if this struggle for mastering the Indian mind had terminated with a
state of war, but it was kept up during the feverish intermissions of
peace. Political influence was the ever-present weight in each side of the
scale. Religion threw in her aid ; but it was trade, the possession of
the fur trade, that gave the preponderating weight. And there is noth-
ing in the history of this rivalry, from the arrival of Roberval to the
death of Montcalm, that had so permanently pernicious an influence as
the sanction which this trade gave to the use of ardent spirits.

We can but glance at this subject ; but it is a glance at the track of a
tornado Destruction lies in its course. The history of the fur trade is
closely interwoven with the history of intemporance among the Indians.
We know not how to efll'ct the separation. Look at it in what era you
will, the barter in ardent spirits constitutes a prominent feature. From
Jamestown to Plymouth — from the island of Manhattan to the Lake of
the Hills, the traffic was introduced at the earliest periods. And we
cannot now put our finger on the map, to indicate a spot where ardent
spirits is not known to the natives. Is it at the mouth of the Columbia,

^^'^'

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

361

the sources of the Multnomah, or the Rio del Norde — the passes of the
Rocky Mouataius on Peace River, or the shores of the Arctic Sea ? it is
known at all these places. The natives can call it by name, and they
place a value on its possession. We do not wish to convey the idea that
it is abundant at these remote places. We have reason to believe it is sel-
dom seen. But we also believe that in proportion as it is scarce — in pro-
portion as the quantity is small, and the occasion of its issue rare, so is
the price of it in sale, and the value of it in gift, enhanced. And just so
far as it is used, it is pernicious in effect, unnecessary in practice, unwise
in policy.

The French, who have endeared themselves so much in the affections
of the Indians, were earlier in Canada than the English upon the United
States' coast. Cartier's treat of wine and bread to the Iroquois of the
St. Lawrence, happened eighty-five years before the landing of the Pil-
grims. They were also earlier to perceive the evils of an unrestrained
trade, in which nothing was stipulated, and nothing prohibited. To pre-
vent its irregularities, licenses were granted by the French government
to individuals, on the payment of a price. It was a boon to superannu-
ated officers, and the number was limited. In 1685, the number was
twenty-five. But the remedy proved worse than the disease. These
licenses became negotiable paper. They were sold from hand to hand,
and gave birth to a traffic, which assumed the same character in tempo-
ral affairs, that " indulgences" did in spiritual. They were, in effect,
licenses to commit every species of wrong, for those who got them at
*ast, were generally persons under the government of no high standard
of moral responsibility ; and as they may be supposed to have paid well
for them, they were sure to make it up by excessive exactions upon the
Indians. Courier du hois, was the term first applied to them. Merchant
voyageurj was the appellation at a subsequent period. But whatever
they were called, one spirit actuated them — the spirit of acquiring wealth
by driving a gainful traffic with an ignorant people, and for this purpose
ardent spirits was but too well adapted. They transported it, along with
articles of necessity, up long rivers, and over difficult portages. And
when they had reached the borders of the Upper Lakes, or the banks of
the Sasketchawine, they were too far removed from the influence of
courts, both judicial and t'cclosiastical, to be in much dread of them.
FguiIh, sUifcs, and murdi-rs ensued. Crime strode unchecked through
lint iuitd. I'lvfiy linlian trader became a legislator and a judge. His
word was not only a law, but it was a law which possessed the property
of undergoing as many repeals and mutations as the interest, the pride,
or the passion of the individual rendered expedient. If M'ealth was ac-
cumulated, it is not intoyvdtul to infer that the pressing wants of the In-
dians wore not vtlicvod — that the trade was not a very acceptable and
irapoitivnl i>no to them, and that great peril and expense were not encoun-

iv- ' 1

362

TUB INFLUENCE OF ARDENT SPIRITS

tered, and a high degree of enterprise displayed in its prosecution. But
it is contended, that if real wants were relieved, wrtificial ones were cre-
ated — that if it substituted the gun for the bow, and shrouds and blan-
kets in the place of the more expensive clothing of beaver skins, it also
substituted ardent spirits for water — intoxication for sobriety — disease
for health.

Those who entertain the opinion that the fall of Quebec, celebrated in
England and America as a high military achievement, and the conse-
quent surrender of Canada, produced any very important improvement
in this state of things, forget that the leading principles and desires of the
human heart are alike in all nations, acting under like circumstances.
The desire of amassing wealth — the thirst for exercising power — the
Dride of information over ignorance — the power of vicious over virtuous
principles, are not confined to particular eras, nations, or latitudes. They
belong to mankind, and they will be pursued with a zeal as irrespective
of equal and exact justice, wherever they are not restrained by the enno-
bling maxims of Christianity.

Whoever feels interested in looking back into this period of our com-
mercial Indian affairs, is recommended to peruse the published statistical
and controversial volumes, growing out of the Earl of Selkirk's schemes
of colonization, and to the proceedings of the North West Company.
This iron monopoly grew up out of private adventure. Such golden
accounts were brought out of the country by the Tods, the Frobishers,
and the M'Tavishes, and M'Gillvrays, who first visited it, that every
bold man, who had either talents or money, rushed to the theatre of
action. The boundary which had been left to the French, as the limit
of trade, was soon passed. The Missinipi, Athabasca, Fort Chipewyan,
Slave lake, Mackenzie's and Copper Mine Rivers, the Unjigah and the
Oregon, were reached in a few years. All Arctic America was penetrated.
The British government is much indebted to Scottish enterprise for the ex-
tension of its power and resources in this quarter. But while we admire the
zeal and boldness with which the limits of the trade were extended, we
regret that a belief in the necessity of using ardent spirits caused them to
be introduced, in any quantity, among the North West tribes.

Other regions have been explored to spread the light of the gospel.
This was traversed to extend the reign of intemperance, and to prove
that the love of gain was so strongly implanted in the breast of the white
man, as to carry him over regions of ice and snow, woods and waters,
where the natives had only been intruded on by the Musk Ox and the
Polar bear. Nobody will deem it too much to say, that wherever the
cUiTPnt of the fur trade set, the nations were intoxicated, demoralized,
depopulated. The terrible scourge of the small pox, which broke out
in the country north west of Lake Superior in 1782, was scarcely more
fatal to the natives, though more rapid and striking in its effects, than the

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

363

power of ardent spirits. Nor did it produce so great a moral affliction.
For those who died of the varioloid, were spared the death of ebriety.
Furs were gleaned with an iron hand, and rum was given out with an iron
heart. There was no remedy for the rigors of the trade ; and there was no
appeal. Beaver was sought with a thirst of gain as great as that which
carried Cortez to Mexico, and Pizarro to Peru. It had deadened the
ties of humanity, and cut asunder the cords of private faith.* lake the
Spaniard in his treatment of Capolicon, when the latter had given him
the house full of gold for his ransom, he was himself basely executed.
So the northern chief, when he had given his all, gave himself as the vic-
tim at last. He was not, however, consumed at the stake^ but at the
bottle. The sword of his executioner was spirits — his gold, beaver skins.
And no mines of the nrecious metals, which the world has ever produced,
have probably been more productive of wealth, than the fur-yielding
regions of North America.

But while the products of the chase have yielded wealth to the white
man, they have produced misery to the Indian. The latter, suffering for
the means of subsistence, like the child in the parable, had asked for
bread, and he received it ; but, with it, he received a scorpion. And it
is the sting of the scorpion, that has been raging among the tribes for
more than two centuries, causing sickness, death, and depopulation in its
track. It is the venom of this sting, that has proved emphatically

" the blight of human bliss !

Curse to all states of man, but most to this."

Let me not be mistaken, in ascribing effects disproportionate to their cause,
or in overlooking advantages which have brought along in their train, a
striking evil. I am no admirer of that sickly philosophy, which looks
back upon a state of nature as a state of innocence, and which cannot
appreciate the benefits the Indian race have derived from the discovery
of this portion of the world by civilized and Christian nations. But
while I would not, on the one hand, conceal my sense of the advantages,
temporal and spiritual, which hinge upon this discovery, I would not, on
the other, disguise the evils which intemperance has caused among
them ; nor cease to hold it up, to the public, as a. great and destroying
evil, which was early introduced — which has spread extensively — which
is in active operation, and which threatens yet more disastrous conse«
quences to this unfortunate race.

Writers have not been wanting, who are prone to lay but little stress
upon the destructive influence of ardent spirits, in diminishing the native
population, and who have considered its effects as trifling in comparison
to the want of food, and the enhanced price created by this want.f The

* The murder of Wadin, the cold-blooded assassination of Keveny, and the shoot*
iog of Semple, are appealed to, as justifying the force of this remark.

t The North American Review. Sanford's History of the United States, before
the Revoluticn.

if I

364

THE IKPLUFNOB OK ARDENT 8P^«> T8

abundance or scarcity of foo(^ is a principle in political economy, which
is assumed as the primary cause of depopulation. And, us such, we see
no reason to question its soundness. If the value of la>>or, the price of
clothing and other necessary commodities, can be referred to the varying
prices of vegetable and animal food, we do not see liiat the fact of a
people's being civilized or uncivilized, should invalidate the principle ;
and when we turn our eyea ii^ion the forest we see that it does not. A
pound of beaver, which in 1/30, when animal food was abundant, was
worth here about a French crown, is now, when food is scarce and
dear, worth from five to six dollars ; and consequently, one pound of
beaver now will procure as much food and clothing as five pounds of the
like quality of beaver then. It is the failure of the race of furred ani-
mals, and the want of industry in hunting them, that operate to produce
depopulation. And what, we may ask, has so powerful an effect in
destroying the energies of the hunter, as the vice of intemperance ?
Stupefying his mind, and enervating his body, it leaves him neither the
vigor to provide for his temporary wants, nor the disposition to inquire
into those which regard eternity. His natural affections are blunted, and
all the sterner and nobler qualities of the Indian mind prostrated. His
family are neglected. They first become objects of pity to our citizens,
and then of disgust. The want of wholesome food and comfortable
clothing produce disease. He falls at last himself, the victim of disease,
superinduced from drinking.

Such is no exaggerated picture of the Indian, who is in a situation to
contract the habit of intemperance. And it is only within the last year
or eighteen months — it is only since the operation of Temperance princi-
ples has been felt in this remote place, that scenes of this kind have be-
come unfrequent, and have almost ceased in our village, and in our set-
tlement. And when we look abroad to other places, and observe the
spread of temperance in the wide area from Louisiana to Maine, we may
almost fancy we behold the accomplishment of Indian fable. It is related,
on the best authority, that among the extravagances of Spanish enter-
prise, which characterized the era of the discovery of America, the na-
tives had reported the existence of a fountain in the interior of one of the
islands, possessed of such magical virtues, that whoever bathed in its
Waters would be restored to the bloom of youth and the vigor of man-
hood. In search of this wonderful fountain historians affirm, that Ponce
de Leon and his followers ranged the island. They only, however, drew
upon themselves the charge of credulity. May we not suppose this tale
of the salutary fountain to be an Indian allegory of temperance ? It
will, at least, admit of this application. And let us rejoice that, in the
era of temperance, we ha'e found the spring which will restore bloom
to the cheeks of the young man, and the panacea that will remove dis-
ease from the old.

ON THE INDIAN RACE.

365

When we consider the effects which our own humble efforts as inha-
bitants of a distant post have produced in this labor of humanity, have
we not every encouragement to persevere ? Is it not an effort sanctioned
by the noblest affections of our nature — by the soundest principles of
philanthropy — by the highest aspirations of Christian benevolence ? Is
it not the work of patriots as well as Christians ? of good citizens as well
as good neighbors ? Is it not a high and imperious duty to rid our land
of the foul stain of intemperance ? Is it a duty too hard for us to accom-
plish ? Is there anything unreasonable in the voluntary obligations by
which we are bound ? Shall we lose property or reputation by laboring
in the cause of temperance ? Will the debtor be less able to pay his
debts, or the creditor less able to collect them ? Shall v injure man,
woman or child, by dashing away the cup of intoxicatuii-, r Shall we
incur the charge of being denominated fools or madmen i Shall we vio-
late nM\ inciples of morality, or any of the maxims of Christianity ?
Shall M ihe risk of diminishing the happiness of others, or putting

our own .u jeopardy ? Finally, shall we injure man — shall we offend
God?

If neither of these evils will result — if the highest principles of virtue
and happiness sanction the measure — if learning applauds it, and religion
approves it — if good must result from its success, and injury cannot
accrue from its failure, what further motive need we to impel us onward,
to devote our best faculties in the cause, and neither to faint nor rest
till the modern hydra of intemperance be expelled from our country ?

I ■

VENERABLE INDIAN CHIEF.

The Cattaraugus (N. Y.) Whig, of a late date, mentions that Gov.
Blacksnake, the Grand Sachem of the Indian nation, was recently in that
place. He resides on the Alleghany Reservation, about twenty miles
from the village ; is the successor of Corn Planter, as chief of the Six
Nations — a nephew of Joseph Brant, and uncle of the celebrated Red
Jacket. He was born near Cayuga Lake in 1749, being now ninety-six
years of age. He was in the battle of Fort Stanwix, Wyoming, &c., and
was a warm friend of Gen. Washington during the Revolution. He was
in Washington's camp forty days at the close of the Revolution — was
appointed chief by him, and now wears suspended from his neck a beau-
tiful silver medal presented to him by Gen. Washington, bearing dato
1796.

\i\

^!^v!:..

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (M*-3)

1.0

I.I

1^128 |2.5

1^ Uii |2.2

114

2.0

1.8

L25 IIIU IIIIII.6

Ph.

^ ^■'v

> V

Photographic

Sciences

Coiporation

•>^

23 WEST MAIN STRfiT

WEBSTER, NY. MS80

(716) 873-4503

FATE OF THE RED RACE IN AMERICA:

THE POLICY PURSUED TOWARDS THEM BY OOVERNMBNT| AND

THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE TRIBES WHO HAVE

REMOVED WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.*

The removal of the Indian Tribes within our State boundaries, to the
west of the Mississippi, and their present condition and probable ulti-
mate fate, have been the topic of such frequent speculation, misunder-
standing, and may we not add, misrepresentation, within a few years
past, both at home and abroad, that we suppose some notice of them,
and particularly of the territory they occupy, and the result, thus £eur,
of their experiment in self-government, drawn from authentic sources,
may prove not unacceptable to the public.

The nomadic and hunter states of society never embraced within
themselves the elements of perpetuity. They have ever existed, in-
deed, like a vacuum in the system of nature, which is at every moment
in peril, and subject to be filled up and destroyed by the in-rushing of
the surrounding element. Civilisation is that element, in relation to
non -agricultural and barbaric tribes, and the only question with respect
to their continuance as distinct communities has been, how long they
could resist its influence, and at what particular era this influence
should change, improve, undermine, or destroy them. It is proved by
history, that two essentially different states of society, with regard to
art and civilisation, cannot both prosperously exist together, at the same
time. The one which is in the ■ ascendant will absorb and destroy the
other. A wolf and a lamb are not more antagonistical in the system
of organic being, than civilisation and barbarism, in the great ethno-
logical impulse of man's difiusion over the globe. In this impulse, bar-
barism may temporarily triumph, as we see it has done by many striking
examples in the history of Asia and Europe. But such triumphs have
been attended with this remarkable result, that they have, in the end,
reproduced the civilisation which they destroyed. Such, to quote no
other example, was the efiect of the prostration of the Roman type of
civilisation by the warlike and predatory tribes of Northern Europe,
Letters and Christianity were both borne down, for a while, by this irre*
nstible on-rush ; but they were thereby only the more deeply implanted

* Democratic Review, 1844.

366

INDIAN POLICY.

367

in the strattun of preparing civilisation ; and in due time, like the grain
that rots before it reproduces, sprang up with a vigor and freshnesS}
which is calculated to be enduring, and to fill the globe.

Civilisation may be likened to an absorbent body, placed in contact
with an anti-absorbent, for some of the properties of which it has
strong affinities. It will draw these latter so completely out, that, to
use a strong phrase, it may be said to eat them up. Civilisation is found
to derive some of the means of its perfect development from letters and
the arts, but it cannot permanently exist without the cultivation of the
soil. It seems to have been the fundamental principle on which the
species were originally created, that they should derive their sustenance
and means of perpetuation from this industrial labor. Wherever agri-
cultural tribes have placed themselves in juxtaposition to hunters and
erratic races, they have been found to withdraw from the latter the
means of their support, by narrowing the limits of the forest and plains,
upon the wild animals of which, both carnivorous and herbivorous, hun-
ters subsist. When these have been destroyed, the grand resources of
these hunters and pursuers have disappeared. Wars, the introduction of
foreign articles or habits of injurious tendency, may[accelerate the period
of their decline — a result which is still further helped forward by inter-
nal dissensions, and the want of that political foresight by which civil
nations exist. But without these, and by the gradual process of the
narrowing down of their hunting grounds, and the conversion of the
dominions of the bow and arrow to those of the plough, this result
must inevitably ensue. There is no principle of either permanency or
prosperity in the savage state.

It is a question of curious and philosophic interest, however, to ob-
serve the varying and very unequal effects, which different types of
civilisation have had upon the wild hordes of men with whom it has
come into contact. And still more, perhaps, to trace the original effici
ency, or effeminacy of the civil type, in the blood of predominating
races, who have been characterized by it. In some of the European
stocks this type has remained nearly stationary since it reached the
chivalric era. In others, it had assumed a deeply commercial tone, and
confined itself greatly to the drawing forth, from the resources of new
countries, those objects which invigorate trade. There is no stock,
having claims to a generic nationality, in which the principle of progress
has, from the outset, been so strongly marked, as in those hardy, brave
and athletic tribes in the north of Europe, for whom the name of Teu-
tons conveys, perhaps, a more comprehensive meaning, than the com-
paratively later one of Saxons. The object of this race appears con-
tinually to be, and to have been, to do more than has previously been
done ; to give difiusion and comprehension to designs of improrement,
and thus, by perpetually putting forth new efforts, on the globe, to cany

368

INDIAN POLI0T*

on man to nis highest destiny. The same impulsive aspirations of tht
spirit of progress, the same energetic onwardness of principle which
overthrew Rome, overthrew, at another period, the simple institution!
of the woad-stained Britons ; and, whatever other aspect it bears, we
must attribute to the same national energy the modern introduction of
European civilisation into Asia.

When these principles come to be applied to America, and to be tested
by its native tribes, we shall clearly perceive their appropriate and distinc-
tive effects. In South America, where the type of chivalry marked the
discoverers, barbarism has lingered among the natives, without being
destroyed, for three centuries. In Canada, which drew its early
colonists exclusively from the feudal towns and seaports, whose inhabit-
ants had it for a maxim, that they had done all that was required of
good citizens, when they had done all that had been previously done, the
native tribes have remained perfectly stationary. With the exception
of slight changes in dress, and an absolute depreciation in morals, they
are essentially at this day what they were in the respective eras of Car-
tier and Champlain. In the native monarchies of Mexico and PerU|
Spain overthrew the gross objects of idolatrous worship, and intercalated
among these trib s the arts and some of the customs of the 16th century.
With a very large proportion of the tribes but little was attempted be-
yond military subjugation, and less accomplished. The seaboard tribes
received the ritual of the Romish church. Many of those in the inte
rior, comprehending the higher ranges of the Andes and Cordilleras, re-
main to this day in the undisturbed practice of their ancient superstitions
and modes of subsistence. It is seen from recent discoveries, that there
are vast portions of the interior of the country, unknown, unexplored
and undescribed. We are just, indeed, beginning to comprehend the
true character of the indigenous Indian civilisation of the era of the disco-
very. These remarks are sufficient to show how feebly the obligations
of letters and Christianity have been performed, with respect to the red
men, by the colonists of those types of the early European civilisation,
who rested themselves on feudal tenures, m'litary renown, and an eccle-
siastical system of empty ceremonies.

It was with very different plans and principles that North America
was colonized. We consider the Pilgrims as the embodiment of the
true ancient Teutonic type. Their Alaric and Brennus were found in
the pulpit and in the school-room. They came with high and severe
notions of civil and religious liberty. It was their prime object to sus-
tain themselves, not by conquest, but by cultivating the soil. To escape
an ecclesiastical tyranny at home, they were willing to venture them-
selves in new climes. But they meant to triumph in the arts of peace.
They embarked with the Bible as their shield and sword, and they laid
its principles at the foundation of all their institutions, civil, literary, in-

INDIAN POLICY.

369

dustrial, and ecclesiastic. They were pious and industrious themselTM,
and they designed to make the Indian tribes so. They bought their
lands and paid for them, and proceeded to establish friendly neighbor-
hoods among the tribes. Religious truth, as it is declared in the Gos-
pel, was the fundamental principle of all their acts. In its exposition
and daily use, they followed no interpretations of councils at variance
with its plain import. This every one was at liberty to read.

Placed side by side with such an enlightened and purposed race, what
had the priests of the system of native rites and superstitions to expect f
There could be no compromise of rites — no partial conformity — no giving
up a part to retain the rest — as had been done in the plains of Central
America, Mexico and Yucatan. No toleration of pseudo-paganism, as
had been done on the waters of the Orinoco, the Parana and the Para-
guay. They must abandon the system at once. The error was gross
and total. They must abjure it. They had mistaken darkness for light ;
and they were now offered the light. They had worshipped Lucifer
instead of Immanuel. This the tribes who spread along the shores of
the North Atlantic were told, and nothing was held back. They
founded churches and established schools among them. They trans-
lated the entire Bible, and the version of David^s Psalms, and the
Hymns of Dr. Watts, into one of their languages. Two types of the
human race, more fully and completely antagonistical, in all respects,
never came in contact on the globe. They were the alpha and omega
of the ethnological chain. If, therefore, the Red Race declined, and
the white increased, it was because civilisation had more of the prin-
ciples of endurance and progress than barbarism ; because Christianity
was superior to paganism ; industry to idleness ; agriculture to hunting ;
letters to hieroglyphics ; truth to error. Here lie the true secrets of
the Red Men's decline.

There are but three principal results which, we think, the civilized
world could have anticipated for the race, at the era of the discovery.
1. They might be supposed to be subject to early extermination on the
coasts, where they were found. A thousand things would lead to this,
which need not be mentioned. Intemperance and idleness alone were
adequate causes. 2. Philanthropists and Christians might hope to re
claim them, either in their original positions on the coasts, or in agri-
cultural communities in adjacent parts. 8. Experience and forecast
might indicate a third result, in which full success should attend
neither of the foregoing plans, nor yet complete failure. There was
nothing, exactly, in the known history of mankind, to guide opinion.
A mixed condition of things was the most probable result. And this,
it might be anticipated, would be greatly modified by times and seasons,
circumstances and localities, acting on particular tribes. Nothing less
could have been expected but the decline and extinction of some tribe,

370

INDIAN P0L:CY.

whilft the removftl of others, to less exposed position i, would be found
to tell upon their improvement. The effects of letters and Christianity
would necessarily be slow ; but they were effects, which the history of
discovery and civilisation, in other parts of the world, proved to be
effective and practical. What was this mixed condition to eventuate
in ?— how long was it to continue ? Were the tribes to exercise sove-
reign political jurisdiction over the tracts they lived on ? Were they to
submit to the civilized code, and if so, to the penal code only, or also
to the civil ? Or, if not, were they to exist by amalgamation with the
European stocks, and thus contribute the elements of a new race ?
These, and many other questions, early arose, and were often not a little
perplexing to magistrates, legislatures, and governors. It was evident
the aboriginal race possessed distinctive general rights, but these existed
contemporaneously, or intermixed with the rights of the discoverers.
How were these separate rights to be defined ? How were the weak
to be protected, and the strong to be restrained, at points beyond the
ordinary pale of the civil law ? If a red man killed a white, without
the ordinary jurisdiction of the courts, could he be seized as a criminal .'
And if so, were civil offences, committed without the jurisdiction of
either territory, cognizable in either, or neither ? Could there be a
supremacy within a supremacy ? And what was the limit between
State and United States laws ? Such were among the topics entering
into the Indian policy. It was altogether a mixed system, and like most
mixed systems, it worked awkwardly, confusedly, and sometimes badly.
Precedents were to be established for new cases, and these were per-
petually subject to variation. Legislators, judges, and executive officers
were often in doubt, and it required the wisest, shrewdest, and best meii
in the land to resolve these doubts, and to lay down rules, or advice, for
future proceeding in relation to the Red Race. It will be suffic'vnt to
Dear cut the latter remark, to say, that among the sages who leemed
this subject important, were a Roger Williams, a Penn, a Franklin, a
Washington, a Jefferson, a Monroe, a Crawford, and a Calhoun.

It must needs have happened, that where the Saxon race went, the
principles of law, justice, and freedom, must prevail. These principles,
as they existed in England at the beginning of the sixteenth century,
were transferred to America, with the Cavaliers, the Pilgrims, and the
Quakers, precisely, as to the two first topics, as they existed at home.
Private rights were as well secured, and public justice as well avrarded
here, as there. But they also brought over the aristocratic system,
which was upheld by the royal governors, who were the immediate re-
presentatives of the crown. The doctrine was imprescriptible, that the
fee of all public or unpatented lands was in the crown, and all inhabit-
ants of the realm owed allegiance and fealty to the crown. This doc-
trine, when applied to the native tribes of America, left them neither

INDIAN POLICY.

371

fee-simple in the soil, nor political sovereignty over it. It cut them
down to vassals, but, by a legal solecism, they were regarded as a sort
of free vassals. So long as the royal governments remained, they had
the usufruct of the public domain — the right of fishing, and hunting, and
planting upon it, and of doing certain other acts of occupancy ; but this
right ceased just as soon, and as fast, as patents were granted, or the public
exigency required the domain. The native chiefs were quieted with
presents from the throne, through the local officers, and their ideas of in-
dependence and control were answered by the public councils, in which
friendships v ere established, and the public tranquillity looked after.
Private purchases were made from the outset, but the idea of a public
treaty of purchase of the soil under the proprietary and royal governors,
was not entertained before the era of William Penn.

It remained for the patriots of 1775, who set up the frame of our pre-
sent government, by an appeal to arms, to award the aboriginal tribes
the full proprietary right to the soil they respectively occupied, and to
guarantee to them its full and free use, until such right was relinquished
by treaty stipulations. So far, they were acknowledged as sovereigns.
This is the first step in their political exaltation, and dates, in our re-
cords, from the respective treaties of Fort Pitt, September 17, 1778,
and of Fort Stanwix, of October 22, 1784. The latter was as early
after the establishment of our independence, as these tribes — the Six
nations, who, with the exception of the Oneidas, sided with the parent
country — could be brought to listen to the terms of peace. They were
followed by the Wyandots, Delawares, and Chippewas, and Ottowas,
in January, 1785 ; by the Cherokees, in November of the same year ;
and by the Choctaws and Shawnees, in January, 1786. Other western
nations followed in 1789 ; the Cieeks did not treat till 1790. And from
this era, the system has been conLiuued up to the present moment. It
may be affirmed, that there is not an acre of land of the public domain
of the United States, sold at the land offices, from the days of General
Washington, but what has been acquired in this manner. War, in which
we and they have been frequently involved, since that period, has con-
veyed no territorial right. We have conquered them, on the field, not
to usurp territory, but to place them in a condition to observe how much
more their interests and permanent prosperity would be, and have ever
been, promoted by the plough than the sword. And there has been a
prompt recurrence, at every mutation from war to peace, punctually, to
that fine sentiment embraced in the first article of the first treaty ever
made between the American government and the Indian tribes, namely,
that all ofiences and animosities " shall be mutually forgiven, and buried
in deep oblivion, and never more be had in remembrance."*

• Treaty of Fort Pitt, 177&

372

INDIAN POLIOT.

The first step to advance the aboriginal man to his nataral and just
political rights, namely, the acknowledgment of his right to the «ot7, we
have mentioned ; but those that were to succeed it were more difficult
and complex in their bearings. Congress, from the earliest traces ot
their action, as they appear in their journals and public acts, confined the
operation of the civil code to the territory actually acquired by negotia-
tion, and treaties duly ratified by the Senate, and proclaimed, agreeably
to the Constitution, by the President. So much of this public territory
as fell within the respective State lines, fell, by the terms of our politi-
cal compact, under State laws, and the jurisdiction of the State courts ;
and as soon as new tracts of the Indian territory, thus within State boun-
daries, were acquired, the State laws had an exact corresponding exten-
sion until the whole of such Indian lands had been acquired. This pro-
vided a definite and clear mode of action, and if it were sometimes the
subject of doubt or confliction, such perplexity arose from the great ex-
tension of the country, its sparsely settled condition, and the haste or
ignorance of local magistrates. And these difficulties were invariably
removed whenever the cases came into the Supreme Court of the United
States.

Without regard to the area of the States, but including and having
respect only to the territories, and to the vast and unincorporated wil-
derness, called the " Indian country," Congress provided a special code
of laws, and from the first, held over this part of the Union, and holds
over it now, full and complete jurisdiction. This code was designed
chiefly to regulate the trade carried on at those remote points between
the white and red men, to preserve the public tranquillity, and to provide
for the adjudication of offences Citizens of the United States, carrying
the passport, license, or authority of their government, are protected by
their papers thus legally obtained ; and the tribes are held answerable for
their good treatment, and if violence occur, for their lives. No civil
process, however, has efficacy in such positions ; and there is no com-
pulsory legal collection of debts, were it indeed practicable, on the Indian
territories. The customs and usages of the trade and intercourse,
as established from early times, prevail there. These customs are
chiefly founded on the patriarchal system, which was found in vogue on
the settlement of the country, and they admit of compensations and
privileges founded on natural principles of equity and right. The Indian
criminal code, whatever that is, also prevails there. The only excep-
tion to it arises from cases of Americans, maliciously killed within the
" Indian country," the laws of Congress providing, that the aggressors
should be surrendered into the hands of justice, and tried by the nearest
United States courts. ' .• •

These preliminary facts will exhibit some of the leading features of
the mixed system alluded to. Its workings were better calculated for

INDIAN POLICY.

873

the early stages of society, while population was sparse and the two
racej), as bodies, kept far apart, than for its maturer periods. As the in-
tervening lands became ceded, and sold, and settled, and the tribes them-
selves began to put on aspects of civilisation, the discrepancies of the sys-
tem, and its want of homogeneousncss and harmony, became'more appa-
rent. Thi oughout the whole period of the administrations of Washington,
and John Adams, and Jefferson, a period of twenty years, the low state of
our population, and the great extent and unreclaimed character of the
public domain, left the Indians undisturbed, and no questions of much
importance occurred to test the permanency of the system as regards
the welfare of the Indians. Mr. Jefferson foresaw, however, the effect
of encroachments beyond the Ohio, and with an enlightened regard for
the race and their civilisation, prepared a new and consolidated code of
all prior acts, with some salutary new provisions, which had the effect to
systematize the trade and intercourse, and more fully to protect the rights
of the Indians. This code served, with occasional amendments, through
the succeeding administrations of Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy
Adams, into that of General Jackson, when, in 1834, the greatly ad-
vanced line of the frontiers, the multiplied population, and necessarily
increased force of the Indian department, and the large amount of Indian
annuities to be paid, called for its thorough revision, and a new general
enactment was made.

Previously, however, to this time, during the administration of Mr.
Mor.ioe, it was perceived that the Indian tribes, as separate communi-
ties, living in, and sui^rounded by, people of European descent, and gov-
erned by a widely different system of laws, arts, and customs, could not
be expected to arrive at a state of permanent prosperity while thus lo-
cally situated. The tendency of the Saxon institutions, laws, and juris-
prudence, was to sweep over them. The greater must needs absorb
the less. And there appeared, on wise and mature reflection, no rea-
sonable hope to ths true friends of the native race, that they could sus-
tain themselves ■5-i ;«idependency or success as foreign elements in the
midst of the State communities. It was impossible that two systems of
governments, so diverse as the Indian and American, should co-exist on
the same territory. All history proved this. The most rational hope
of success for this race, the only one which indeed appeared practical
on a scale commensurate with the object, was to remove them, with
their own consent, to a position entirely without the boundaries of the
State jurisdictions, where they might assert their political sovereignty,
and live and develope their true national character, under their own
laws.

The impelling cause for the action of the government, during Mr
Monroe's administration, was the peculiar condition of certain tribes, liv-
ing on their own original territories, within the State boundaries, and

374

INDIAN POLICY.

who were advene to further ceasions of such territory. The question
asBumpd its principal interest in the State of Georgia, within which por*
tiona of the Creek and Cherokee tribes were then living. About ten
millions of acres of lands were thus in the occupancy of these two tribei.
As the population of Georgia expanded and approached the Indian set-
tlements, the evils of the mixed political system alluded to began strong-
ly to evince themselves. In the progress of the dispersion of the human
race over the globe, there never was, perhaps, a more diverse legal, po-
litical, and moral amalgamation attempted, than there was found to ex-
ist, when, in this area, the descendants from the old Saxons, north-men
and Hugenots from Europe, came in contact with the descendants (we
speak of a theory) of the idle, pastoral, unphilosophic, non-inductive race
of central Asia, living in the genial climate and sunny valleys of Georgia
and Alabama.

The American government had embarrassed itself by stipulating at an
early day, with the State of Georgia, to extinguish the Indian title with-
in her boundaries, at the earliest practicable period, when it could be done
" peaceably and on reasonable conditions." The Indians, as they ad-
vanced in agriculture, became averse to sell. The Georgians, as they
increased in numbers, became importunate for the territory to which they
had, in this event, the reversionary right. The President was frequently
importuned by the State authorities. The Indians were frequently
brought to consider the subject, which was one that increased its impor-
tance with years.

We have deemed it proper to put this matter in its right attitude in
relation to the great question of Indian removal ; and as furnishing, as it
did, reasons for the early consideration and action of the government.
It is not our intention to pursue the Georgia question disjunctively— -we
have neither time nor space for it here, and will only further premise,
that it is susceptible of some very different views from those often pre-
mised of it.* That it was one of the prominent considerations which
led the administration of Monroe to take up betimes the general question
of the Indian tribes, is well known and remembered, and apparent from
a perusal of the public documents of the era.

Governed by such considerations, Mr. Monroe communicated a spe-
cial message to Congress on the 27th of January, 1S25, recommending
the removal of all the tribes within the States and Territories, and pro-
viding for their future "location and government." This is the official
date and foundation of the plan of removal, which has been so generally,

* We have only space to say here, that the cession of the Georgia lands was suh-
seq icntly made by the Lower Creeks under the' chieftaincy cf General M'Intosh,
who was the first to affix his signature to it. For this act he paid the penalty of hia
life ; the Upper Creeks and their adherents, having assembled in arms, surrounded
his house, and fired three hundred balls into it, killing its unhappy, but distinguish*
ed inmate.

INfilAN ^OLiOT.

376

aticl may we not add, so successfully and propitiously to the best inte-
rests of the tribes, carried into effect. " Being deeply impressed with
the opinion," observes this venerated statesman, who has, years since,
gone to join the patriot spirits who achieved our independence — " that
the removal of the Indian tribes from the land which they now occu-
py, within the limits of the several States and Territories, to the coun*
try lying westward and northward thereof, within our acknowledged
boundaries, is of very high importance to the Union, and may be accom-
plished on conditionit, and in a manner, to promgte the interests and hap-
piness of those tribes, the attention of the government has been long
drawn, with great solicitude, to the object.

** For the removal of the tribes within the limits of the State of Geor-
gia, the motive has been peculiarly strong, arising from the compact with
that State, whereby the United States are bound to extinguish the In-
dian title to the lands within it, whenever it may be done peaceably, and
on reasonable conditions.

" In the ftilfilment of this compact, I have thought that the United
States should act with a generous spirit, that they should omit nothing
which should comport with a liberal construction of the instrument, and
likewise be in accordance with the just rights of those tribes. From the
view which I have taken of the subject; I am satisfied that, in the dis-
charge of these important duties, in regard to both the parties alluded to,
the United States will have to encounter no conflicting interests with
either : on the contrary, that the removal of the tribes from the Territo-
ries which they inhabit, to that which was designated in the message at
the commencement of the session, which would accomplish the object
for Georgia, under a well digested plan for their government and civili-
sation, in a mode agreeable to themselves, would not only shield them
from impending ruin, but promote their welfare and happiness. Experi
ence has clearly demonstrated thatj in their present state^ it is impossibi *o
incorporate them, in such masses, in any form whatever, into our system. It
has also demonstrated, with equal certainty, that without a timely anticipa-
tion of, and provision against, the dangers to which they are expostd, under
causes which it will be difficult, if not impossible, to control, their degrada-
tion and extermination will be inevitable.^^

We have underscored the last two sentences, because they express
in forcible and just language, the experience of the American govern-
ment, in relation to the subject, afler an experiment of fifty years, doting
from *75, and lie, indeed, at the foundation of the present Indian policy.
It is also the experience of sound and calm observers, who have watch-
ed the operation of our laws and customs upon the isolated Indian com-
munities in the States. Every year has exemplified thefutility of rais-
ing them up to the European standard in industry, in intelligence of cha-
racter, while thus situated ; nor, indeed, has it been practicable to shield

376

INDIAN POLICY.

them efiectually againiit the combined efiecU of intemperance^ personal
■loth, and of popular and vulgar contumely.

Mr. Calhoun, whose report on the subject was transmitted to Con-
gress, with the message above named, communicates the details essen-
tial to the execution of the proposed plan. He states the whole num-
ber of Indians to be removed from the States and territories, excluding
those located west and north of Lake Michigan and the Straits of St.
Mary's, at 97,000 souls, who occupy about 77 millions of acres of land.
The country proposed for their location is that stretching immediately
west, beyond the bouncfaries of the States of Missouri and Abkansas,
haying the River Arkansas running through its centre from west to east,
the Missouri and Red rivers respectively as the northern boundary, and
the vast grassy plains east of the Rocky Mountains, as its western
limit.

The map which we publish of this territory, is drawn on the basis of
one which was published by Congress in 1834, in illustration of the re-
port of the committee on Indian affairs of May 30th of that session. It
embraces all the locations of tribes to that period.

The plan proposed the gratuitous grant of the country to the respec-
tive tribes, and their removal to it at government expense. It embraces
the transference to it, of their schools established by religious societies, and
supported, in part, by the civilisation fund, and all their means of moral
and religious culture. It is based on the pursuit of agriculture, the me-
chanic arts, and the raising of cattle and stock. It invests the tribes
with full power of making and executing all their laws and regulations,
civil and criminal. It stipulates military protection, to keep the sur-
rounding tribes at peace. It leaves them their political sovereignty ;
being without the boundary of the States, under their own chiefs and
local governors, with such aids as are necessary to enable the various
tribes to associate and set up the frame of an associated government to
be managed by themselves, and as subsequently proposed in Congress,
to be represented in that body whenever the system shall be perfected
so as to justify this measure. It proposed, as the basis of removal, a
solemn act of Congress, guaranteeing the country to them, and exclud-
ing its future incorporation into the States. A second location, in the
northern latitudes, was proposed for the Indians west of Michigan, where
a further body of 32,266 souls were estimated to reside.

Such were the general principles of Mr. Monroe's plan, submitted in
1825, and subsequently adopted by Congress, in its essential features.
It has now been in operation eightben years, and it is proposed, in
bringing this paper to a close, briefly to examine the condition and pros-
pects of the expatriated tribes, in the country to which they have been
transferred.

By a report from the proper department, transmitted to Congress with

INDIAN POLIOT.

377

the Presidont'i message in 1836, the result of the first ten years' expe-
rinient is shown to have been the actual migration of 40,000 from
their original seats, east, to the allotted Indian territory, west of the Mis-
sissippi. Of this number, 18,000 were Creeks, 15,000 Choctaws, 6,000
Cherokees, 2,000 Chippewas, Oltawas, and Pottowattomies, 1,300
Shawnees, 800 Delawares, 500 Quapaws, 400 Seminoles, 600 Kicka-
poos, 400 Senecas, and an average of, say 250 each, of Appalachicolas,
Weas, Piankashaws, Peorias and Kaskaskias. In this statement, small
fractions over or under, are omitted. A location and permanent home
has been provided for seventeen tribes and parts of tribes ; a number
which, in the succeeding seven years, we speak from documents before
us, has been largely augmented. The whole body of the Cherokees, of
the Creeks, or Muscogees, of the Chickasaws and Choctaws, &c., and
also, with the exception of one principal band, of the Seminoles, have
been removed. Portions of other tribes, not then full, have joined their
kindred ; and some whole tribes, who had not before come into the ar-
rangement, and ceded their lands east, as the Miamas of the Wabash,
and the Wyandots of Sanduskcy, have since accepted locations in the
Indian territory. The Chickasaws are all located with their affiliated
countrymen, the Choctaws ; and numbers of the ancient Iroquois con-
federacy, the Six Nations of New York, as well as the ancient Mohe-
gans and Munsees, have, within a few years, selected locations south of
the Missouri. The entire number of red men now concentrated on those
plains and valleys, where winter scarcely exerts any severity of power,
may be set down at 77,000 souls, leaving, from the official report of
1841, but 21,774 of the original estimated number of 1825, to be remov-
ed ; exclusive of those west of the straits of MichilimAchinac and St.
Mary's.

From the documents accompanying the annual report transmitted to
Congress by the President, in December, 1840, the amount of funds
invested by the government in stocks, for the Indians, was $2,580,000,
on which the annual interest paid to them was $131,05. Twenty-four
of the tribes had permanently appropriated, by treaty, $60,730 per an-
num, for the purpose of education. The number of schools maintained,
and the number of pupils actually taught, are not furnished. It is grati-
fying to know, from this source, that civilisation, agriculture, and the
mechanic arts, are making a rapid progress, and that education and
Christianity are walking hand-in-hand. Planting and raising cattle are
adopted generally. Portions of the most advanced tribes have devoted
themselves to the mechanic arts, supplying themselves, to a limited ex*
tent, with smiths, wheelwrights, carpenters, and joiners, and some other
oranches. Spinning and hand-loom weaving are practised to some ex-
tent. There are native merchants, among the three principal southern
tribes, who ship thei/ own cotton and other products to market, and sup-

378

INDIAN POLICY.

ply their people, in return, with such products of the East and West In-
dies, and other parts of the world, as they require. A large part of the
contracts, particularly for Indian corn, required to subsist the United
States troops in that quarter of the Union, is furnished by native con-
tractors. Their legislation is performed in representative council^, and
is well adapted to the actual and advancing state of society. Many of
th?ir leading men are well educated ; some of them classically; and the
general moral and intellectual tone and habits of the tribes, are clearly
and strikingly on the advance. It requires, it is believed, but time and
perseverance in civil associations, to lead them to the same results ar-
rived at by other barbarous nations, and to demonstrate to them the
value and importance of a general political confederation, founded on the
principles of equal rights and equal representation, supported by public
virtue and intelligence.

Having sketched the cause of the decline of that portion of the North
American Indians, who were seated along the Atlantic, and the plan
proposed for checking it, we shall now, with the map and documentary
evidence before us, devote a few moments to the present condition and
prospects of the more prominent tribes.

1. The Choctaws, beginning at the extreme south of the territory, are
the first in position. They occupy the country above the State of Ar-
k2.nsas, extending from the Arkansas to the Red river, following up the
Canadian branch of the former, comprising an area of about 150 miles
in breadth, by 200 in length. They are bounded by Texas south-west.
The country is well adapted for grain and the raising of stock, in its
middle and northern parts, and for cotton on the south. Many of the
nati> !S have large fields, where, but a few years since, the forest was
untouched. Saw mills, grist mills, and cotton gins, are either erecting
or erected throughout the country. Salt is manufactured by an intelli-
gent Choctiw. Iron ore has been found, and specimens of gold have
been pickfl 'ip in various places.

This tribe is governed by a written constitution and laws. Their ter-
ritory is diviled into three districts, each of which elects, once in four
years, a ruling chief, and ten representatives. The general council,
thus constituted, and consisting of thirty councillors, meets annually, on
the first Monday in October. Voters must be Choctaws, of age, and
residents of the districts. The three chiefs have a joint veto power
on all laws passed ; but two-thirds of the council may re-pass them after
such rejection.

The council of thirty appoint their own speaker and clerk, and keep
a journal. They meet in a large and commodious council-house, fitted
up with seats for members and spectators, and committee rooms. Their
sessions are, usually, about ten days in duration. They are paid two
dollars per diem for their services, out of public funds.

INDIAN POLICY.

379

In addition to this evidence of capacity for self-government, there are
judicial districts established, the right of trial by jury is secured, and
there is an appeal to the highest tribunal. All the males, of a special
age, are subject to do military duty : for this purpose the territory is
subdivided into thirty two captaincies, the whole being placed under the
orders of a general. The council has passed many good and wholesome
laws ; among them, one against intemperance and the sale of ardent
spirits. The collection of lebts is at present not compulsory, being
regulated by questions of credit, punctuality, and honor, which are to be
adjusted between the buyer and seller. The country is too sparsely
settled, and the popular odium against incarceration too strong, to permit
a resort to it. Thus, it will be seen, this tribe exhibit in their frame
of government the elements of a representative republic, not a pure
democracy, with perhaps sufficient conservative power to guard against
sudden popular effervescence.

The Choctaws have twelve public schools, establislicd by treaty
stipulations with the United States. There are several missionaries
amongst them, of the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations, whose
labors are reported by the public agents to be beneficial, and calculated
to advance their condition. There are four public blacksmith shops,
two of which are exclusively workt ' by the natives. The strikers, or
assistants, at all the shops, are natives. Shops have also been erected,
in various parts of the nation, which are occupied only in the spring and
summer, in planting and crop time. The mechanics in these are na-
tives, who are paid, not by the individuals requiring aid, but out of public
funds. The nation has an academy located in Scott county, Kentucky,
at which 125 students were taught in 1839 and 1840. This institution
is now in the process of being established in their own territory. This
tribe we learn by the Secretary of War's report, appropriated $18,000
of their annuities, in 1843, to educational purposes.

2. Chickasaws. This tribe is of the same lineage as the Choctaws ;
and, by a compact with the latter, they occupy the same territory, and
live intermixed with them. It constitutes a part of this compact, that
the Chickasaws are to concentrate their population, and form a fourth
election district, v/hich shall be entitled to elect ten representatives, and
three senatorial chiefs, to the national Council. The aggregate amount
of the vested funds of this tribe, in 1840, was $515,230 44 ; of which
$146,000 is devoted to orphans. The annual interest paid by the gov-
ernment is $27,063 83. They participate equally in the advantages of
the Choctaw academy, and have had many of their youth educated at
that institution.

3. Next, in geographical position, to the united Choctaws and Chick-
asaws, are the Muskogees, who are more generally known under the
name of Creeks. They occupy a territory one hundred and fifty miles

380

INDTAN POLICY.

in length, by ninety Jn breadth. They are bounded on the south by the
Canadian fork of the Arkansas, and by the district of the Seminoles,
which lies between the main branch of this stream and its north fork.
Their territory reaches to a point opposite the junction of the Neosho,
and is protracted thence north to the Cherokee boundary. It is a rich
tract, well adapted to the growth of corn, vegetables, and esculents,
and the raising of stock. It is not as abundantly watered by running
streams as some of the tractis, or rather, it is a characteristic of its
smaller streams that they run dry, or stand in pools, during the latter
part of summer. In place of these, it has some good springs. The
main and the north fork of the Canadian are exemptions from the effects
of summer drouth. In point of salubrity, the country is not iaferior to
other portions of the Indian territory.

The government of the Creeks is still essentially the same which
they exercised on the banks of the Chattahoochee and the plains of
Georgia. They exist in chieftainships, each head of which has his own
local jurisdiction, civil and criminal. Each ruling chief has his village
and his adherents ; and the condition of things partakes of what we shall
be understood by designating feudal traits. They have no written con*
stitution ; their laws are, however, now reduced in part to writing.
General councils, or conventions, not exact in the period of their occur-
rence, consider and decide all general questions. At these, the chief-
tainships are all entitled to representation. Local questions, of right
and police, come before the local chiefs, and are settled according to
usage. They adhere to the original mode of working common or town
fields, at which it is the duty of all to assist, both in the original clear-
ing and in the annual labor of planting and reaping. There are also in-
dividuals, possessing slaves, who manage pretty extensive plantations.
More corn is raised by this tribe than by any other now located West.
Over and above their own wants, they have for several years had a
large amount for sale and exportation. Less attention has been paid to
the raising of stock, for which, indeed, the country has been deemed less
propitious ; but this branch of industry has of late years attracted more
attention.

The Creeks had, for many years prior to their removal, been divided
into upper and lower towns — a distinction which has been transferred to
the West. Opothleyoholo is the chief of the Upper, and Roly Mcin-
tosh of the Lower Creeks. These two chieftainships embrace the lesser
ones, and divide the nation 'o two parties. It was the Lower towns,
headed by the father of the present chief (whose tragic death we have
mentioned), that ceded the Georgian territory, and thus sided in the
policy of that State. The condition in which this tribe existed, in por-
tions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, was, in other respects, pecu-
liar. In emerging, as they were well in the process of doing, from the

INDIAN POLICY.

381

hunter to the agricultural state, the institution of slavery, by which they
were surrounded, and in which they participated, gave a peculiar de«
velopment to their industry. Chiefe, who were averse to work them-
r>elves, employed slaves, and thus the relation of planter and slave
was established long before the question of their removal occurred. The
effects of this were to exalt a portion of the nation above, and to depress
others below, the average standing. The disparity which took place in
laborious habits and in wealth, also impressed itself on education, dress,
manners, and information generally. Although the idea of slavery was
well known to the red race from the earliest times, and they all have a
word for it, in their native vocabularies, and practised it on their pri-
soners, yet the result we are considering was accelerated by an admix-
ture of European blood in their chieftains. Hence it is that this
tribe, and one or two others in the south, have for years been able to
put forth intelligent chiefs to transact their public business, who have
astonished the circles at Washington. Yet, if they were followed to
the huts of the common people, at home, there was a degree of igno-
rance and barbarity, even below the standard of our leading northern
tribes. Two kinds of testimony, respecting the condition of the southern
tribes, both very different, and both true, could therefore be given.

The Creeks came west, soured and disappointed, and but little dis-
posed for the effort before them. They had suffered in various ways,
and they had left the southern slopes and sunny valleys of the southern
Alleganies with " a longing, lingering look." They had never mani-
fested a general interest in schools, and none whatever in religion. The
latter is still the prevalent feeling. It is believed there is not a mission-
ary now tolerated among them. There is a more friendly reeling towards
education. Neither had they made much advance in mechanic arts.
The chiefs were too proud, the common people too indolent, to learn the
use of the saw or the hammer. Some change, in this respect, is
thought to have ensued. Mechanics are employed for their benefit and
at their charges, by the government, which must introduce the elements
of mechanical industry. They dress in a rather gaudy, but picturesque
manner. Th^ live in comfortable houses of squared or scored logs,
fitted up with useful articles of furniture, and they employ beasts of
burthen and of pleasure. It is the evidence of the government agents,
that the signs of advancing thrift and industry are among them. Time
alone, it is believed, is necessary, with a perseverance in present efforts,
to carry them onwards to civilisation and prosperity.*

4. Seminoles. This tribe is of the language and lineage of the
Creeks. They are appropriately placed on a tract within the general

♦ This tribe has, the past year (1843), passed a law expelling all white men
who play at cards, from the limits of the nation, whether they have Indian
wives or not. ''

INDIAN POLICY.

area of the latter, bounded on the south by the Canadian fork of the
Arkansas, and by the lands of the Choctaws and Cliickasaws. The
tract has an extent of seventy miles from east to west, and is fully ade-
quate to their wants. A blacksmith's shop is maintained for them ;
they are furnished with agricultural implements, and have been gratui-
tously subsisted, as olher tribes, one year, at the public expense. It is
thought to be unfavorable to their progress, that they have been allowed
to migrate, with their slaves, who are averse to labor and exert a para-
lysing influence on their industry. This tribe is far behind the othei
louthern tribes in civilisation and manners. They occupied, while in
Florida, a region truly tropical in its climate, and which yielded spon-
taneously no unimportant part of their subsistence, in the arrowroot and
in sea fish. Their chief product thus far, in the west, has been corn.
They live under the authority of local chiefs, who, as in all their past
history, exercise influence in proportion to their talents and courage.
Their withdrawal from scenes and situations which served as nurseries
of idle, savage habits, and their association with the other leading tribes,
who are now bent on supporting themselves exclusively by agriculture,
have been favorable. They have been at peace since their arrival on
the waters of the Arkansas ; and it is anticipated that they will, by ex-
ample and emulation, assimilate themselves in industry with the pre-
existing tribes. It has already been demonstrated that they will sus-
tain themselves in their new field of labor. But few of their numbers
— from the last accounts not exceeding 100* — now remain in Florida.

5. Cherokees. This tribe is prominent among the native stocks in
the United States, and is foremost in the efforts it has made to take rank
among civilized nations. In this eflbrt it has passed through some
severe and tragic ordeals from internal dissensions, from which it would
seem, that in proportion as the prize is brought within their grasp, are
the trials multiplied which delay its seizure. And, notwithstanding its
strong claims to consideration on this head, they have, it must be ad-
mitted, much to attain. The original position of the Cherokees, in
the valleys and the western spurs of the Alleganies, and remote from
the disturbing causes which agitated the other tribes, was highly favor-
able to their increase and advance. No tribe in North America had
remained so completely undisturbed, by red or white men, up to the
year 1S36. They were early, and to a considerable extent, cultiva-
tors ; and whatever they were in ancient times, they have been a
nation at peace, for a long period. Soon after the close of the late
war of 1812, a portion of this tribe went over the Mississippi, and, by
a compact with governmen-t, placed themselves between the waters of
the White river and the Arkansas. This advance formed the nucleus

• Secretary of. War's report, 1843.

* INDIAN POLICY.

383

of that political party, who have mingled in their recent assemblies
under the name of Western Cherokees, and who deemed themselves
to be entitled to some rights and considerations above the Eastern
Cherokees. The principal dissensions, however, grew out of the
question of the cession of the territory east of the Mississippi. This
was a broad question of salt or no sale, emigration or non-emigration.
At the head of the affirmative party was Ridge ; at the head of the
negative, Boss. The latter, in addition to his being the leading chief
and most prominent man, was in a large majority, and, for a time,
successfully resisted the measure. The former drew a number of
the best educated chiefs and men to his side. Availing himself of
the temporary absence of his antagonist, Ross, from the country, he
ceded the country, and sealed the fate of his tribe east of the Mis-
sissippi. It was a minority treaty, but the consideration was ample ;
it secured large prospective advantages, besides a large and rich domain
in the West. It was, therefore, sustained by the government ; the U. S.
Senate ratified it, adding sonie further immunities and further compensa-
tion, at the instance of Ross, The tribe was removed, but it went west
with a deadly feud. In the end. Ridge, like Mcintosh, paid for his
temerity with his life. A representative government was set up, consist-
ing of a house of delegates or representatives, annually chosen by dis-
tricts ; a senatorial council, with powers of revision or co-action, and an
executive elective head. A code of laws has been adopted, and a
judiciary created to carry them into effect. This system, which has been
in operation some six or seven years, has been found adequate to
sustain itself through scenes of severe trial ; and it must be regarded
as one which, modified as it may be, is destined to endure.

The territory of the Cherokees is between that of the Creeks and
Osages. It is ample beyond their wants, fertile, and generally well
watered. The Arkansas crosses it centrally ; it has the Neosho and
the State of Arkansas as its eastern boundary. It is well adapted to
the cereal grains. Corn, wheat and oats succeed well, together with
melons and culinary vegetables of all descriptions. The Cherokees
have been long accustomed to husbandry. They own large stocks of
horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. They occupy substantial and comforta-
ble houses. Many of their females spin and weave, and numbers of
their people are clothed in their own manufactures. Well improved
farms extend through their settlements. A number of their merchants
are natives, who buy and sell produce, and import foreign merchandise.
Reading and writing are common attainments. They have schools and
churches. They have mills for grinding grain. They manufacture salt
to a limited extent. The country yields stone coal and gypsum. The
prairies, which are interspersed through the tract, yield a fine summer
range for ca';tle, and produce a species of grass, which, when properly

* ['

384

INDIAN POLtCy.

cured, is little inferior to timothy. With a country which has thus the
elements of prosperity in itself, and an intelligent and industrious popu-
lation, this tribe must, ere long, present the gratifying spectacle of a
civilized race.

6. The Osages. This tribe is indigenous, and formerly owned a
large part of the territory which is now assigned to others. Their habits
and condition have been, however, but little benefited by the use which
they have made of their annuities. Great exertions have been made by
the local r.gents to induce them to give up their erratic mode of life,
and become agriculturists. To this end stock and agricultural imple-
ments have been furnished them, and other facilities given, but without
any general effects. Among these may be named the building of millsi
and the erection of well built cabins for their chiefs. There is no tribe
to which the term predatory may be so appropriately applied as to the
Osagps. They have, from an early day, been plunderers on that fron-
tier, among red and white men. Possessing a large territory, formerly
well supplied with the deer, elk and buffalo, powerful in numbers, cou-
rageous in spirit, and enjoying one of the finest climates, these early
predatory habits have been transmitted to the present day. They are
loth to relinquish this wild license of the prairies — the so-called free-
dom of the roving Indian. But it is a species of freedom which the
settlement of Missouri and Arkansas, and the in-gathering of the semi-
civilized tribes from the south and the north, has greatly restricted.
Game has become comparatively scarce. The day of the hunter is well
nigh past in those longitudes. When to this is added the example of
the expatriated Indians, in tillage and grazing, their field labors in
fencing and erecting houses, their improved modes of dress, their
schools, and their advanced state of government and laws, the hope
may be indulged that the Osages will also be stimulated to enter for the
prize of civilisation.

Such are the six principal tribes who form the nucleus, or, to use a
military phrase, the right wing of the expatriated aboriginal population,
as the bands are arranged in their order from south to north, in the
trans-Ozark or Indian territory. It would afford us pleasure to devote
some separate Considerations to each of the remaining nineteen tribes and
half tribes, or remnants and pioneers of tribes, who make up this impos-
ing and interesting colony, where, for the first time since the settlement
of the Continent, the Indian race is presented in an independent, com-
pact, and prosperous condition. But it would manifestly extend this
article beyond its just limits, and we must therefore generalize our re-
maining notices.

We still, however, adhere to a geographical method. The Senecas
from Sandusky, and the mixed Senecas and Shawnees, are situated
northeast of the Cherokees, and between the latter and the western

INb.AN POLICY.

JOU

boundary of Missouri. They possess a hundred thousand acres of choice
lands. The Sanduskies number 251 souls ; the mixed band, 222. They
are represented as farooers and stock-raisers, frugal, industrious, and less
addicted to intemperance than their neighbors. They cultivated, in
1839, from two hundred and fifty to three hundred acres of com. They
have a blacksmith':! shop, under treaty stipulations, and possess good
stocks of horses, cattle, and hogs. The Quapawsiadjoin the Senecas
and Shawnees on the north, and, as the latter, have their kinds fronting
on the Neosho. This band formerly owned and ceded the south banks
of the Arkansas from its mouth as high as the Canadian fork. They are
indolent, much addicted to the use of ardent spirits, and depressed in
numbers. They have a tract of 96,000 acres. They cultivate, generally,
about one hundred acres of com, in a slovenly manner. Part of their
numbers are seated on the waters of Red River, and the Indian predilec-
tion for rowing is nourished by the frequent habit of passing to and fro.
This erratic habit is an unerring test of the hunter state.

The Piankashaws ; nd Weas are of the Miami stock, and came from
the waters of the Wabash. They are located on 255 sections, immedi-
ately west of the western boundary of Missouri, and about 40 miles
south of the Konza. Their population is 384, of which 222 are Weas.
Immediately west of them are the Peorias and Kaskaskias of the Illinois
family. They number 132, and possess 150 sections, which gives an
average of more than a square mile to each soul. Still west of these,
are the Ottowas of Ohio, about 200 in number, and above them, a small
band of 61 of the Chippewas of Swan Creek and Black River in Michi-
gan. These locations are all on the sources of the Osage River. The
lands are fine, partly woods and partly prairie, and are easily cultivated.
These six fragmentary bands are not dissimilar in their habits of living
and the state of their advance in agriculture. They subsist themselves
by raising corn and cattle and hogs. They evince an advancing condi-
tion, and are surrounded by circumstances eminently favorable to it.

The Shawnees are placed at the junction of the Konza with the Mis-
souri, extending south and west. They number a little short of 1300,
and own a territory of ten thousand square miles, or 6,400,000 acres.
They are cultivators and graziers in an advanced state of improvement.
Hunting may be occasionally resorted to as a sport or amusement, but it
has, years since, been abandoned as a source of subsistence. Indeed,
the failure of the game in that region would have rendered the latter im-
perative, had not their improved habits of industry led to it. This tribe
have essentially conquered their aversion to labor. They drive oxen
and horses trained to the plough. They split rails and build fences.
They erect substantial cabins and barns. They have old corn in theii
eribs from year to year They own good saddle-horses and saddles, and

,il

!i:it

886

INDIAN POLIOT.

odier articles of capariaoiiy and a traveller or visitor will find a good naeal,
» dean bed, and kind treatment in their aettlemenV

Next in position to the Shawnees are the Delawares, the descend-
ants of the ancient Lenno Lenapees of Pennsylvania. Allies and kin-
dred in their ancient position, they are still in juxtaposition in their new
Their tract begins at the junction of the Konza and Missouri on the
north, and after running up the former to the Konza reserve, extends
north and west so »s to embrace it on the north. It contains about
2450 square miles, or 2,308,000 acres. They number, at the last dates
to which we have referred, 826 souls, and are on the increase. In point
of habite, industry, and improvement, they are perluqps not inferior to
any of the northern stocks. Shielded from intemperance by their posi-
tion, out of the State limits, where they are exclusively under the influ-
ence and protection of Congress laws, this tribe, together with the entire
circle of Indian communities on that frontier, has been for some years
in a favourable position for recovering and developing their true energies.
They have, within a few years, received into their protection a small
band (182) of the Monceys, smd a smaller one, of 74, of the Stockbridges :
the latter, we need hardly inform the intelligent reader, are descendants
oS the ancient Mohegans, and the former of the Minsi and Minnisinks,
who, at the era of the coIonizaClon of " No^ Belgica" and New York,
were respectively located on the east and the west bac^ of (he Hudson.
The Stockbridges are civilized ; the Munsees less so, but industrious.
Both are poor, and without funds.

Immediately succeeding the Delawares are the Kickapoos, an erratic
race, who, under various names, in connection with the Foxes and Sacs,
have, in good keeping with one of their many names,* skipped over half
the continent, to the manifest discomfort of both German and American
philologists and ethnographers, who, in searching for the so-called " Mas-
cotins," have followed, so far as their results are concerned, wn ignis
faiwu. The Kickapoos have 12,000 square miles, or 768,000 acres.
It is a choice, rich tract, and they are disposed, with the example (^ the
Delewares and Shawnees, to profit by it. They raise corn and cattle,
hogs and horses, and are {Nrosperoos. Their numbers, in 1840, were
470. There is a tract of 200 square miles, on the Great and Little
Namaha, assigned to the metifs, or descendants of mixed blood, of the
lowas, Otoes, and Missouris. These separate the removed and semi-
civilized tribes, south and west of the Missouri, fsom the wild indige-
nes — we mean the Otoes, the Pawnees, the Omahaws, and the Sioux,
who extend over vast tracts, and exist without any sensible improve-
ment in their condition. The same remark may be applied to the Kon-
aaa, who are, however, hemmed in between the Delawares and the

* This is said, by one inteipretation, to mean Rabbit's Ghost

INDIAN POLICY.

387

the

Shawnees, except on their western borders. It is no part of oar purpose
to consider these tribes, as, over and above the influence of contiguoov
examples, they constitute no part of the evidence affecting the genend
question of the plan of removal.

That this evidence, as now briefly sketched, is &vorable, and indeed
highly fitvorable, to the general condition and prosperity of the removed
tribes, is, we apprehend, clearly manifest. Not only liave they been
placed beyond the wasting influence of causes which oppressed them,
within the circle of the State communities ; but they have received in
exchange for their eastern lands, a territory which, as a whole, is highly
fertile and salubrious. It is a territory which has required little conipa*
rative labor to cultivate, made up as it is of mixed forests and prairies.
It is also, viewed in extensoy well watered, having those noble streams,
the Red River, the Arkansas, the Konza, the Platte, and the Missouri,
with their tributaries, running through it. The range which it affords
for cattle and stock, and the abundance of wild hay, of a nutritious qual-
ity, has proved very favorable to an incipient agricultural population, and
greatly mitigated the ordinary labors of farming in northern climates.
There are no latitudes in North America more favorable to the growth
of corn. The cotton plant has been introduced by the Choctaws and
Ghickasaws, on the banks of Red river. It is a region abounding in salt
springs and gypsum beds, both which must hereafter be fully developed,
and will prove highly advantageous. It is above the first or principal
rapids of the great streams runnmg down the plateau of the Rocky Moun-
tains, and consequently affords sites for water-mills, which are scarce
end almost unknown on the lower Arkansas. There is, indeed, a com-
bination of circumstances, which are calculated to favor the General
Government plan, and foster the Indians in a general attempt at civilisa-
tion and self-government. And we look with interest, and not without
anxiety, at the result of the experiment.

We are aware that there are trials before them, arising from great
diversity of feelings and opinions, and states of civilisation. Some of
the tribes are powerful, advanced, and wealthy ; some feeble and poor.
Education has very unequally affected them. Laws are in their embryo
state. The Gospel has been but partially introduced. In clothing the
native councils with some of the powers of a congress, and regulating
their action by constitutional fixity, there is great care and deliberation
required, not, at once, to grasp too much. There is perhaps yet greater
danger in enlarging the authority of the chiefs and sagamores into some-
thing like presidential dimensions. The natives have great powers of
imitation ; and it is to be feared that they will content themselves by
imitating things which they do not fully understand or appreciate. The
national character of the Indians is eminently tuspicious. There is a
fisar to trust others, even themselves. Delegated power is narrowly

388

INDIAN POLICY.

watched, and often begrudged when given. The acts of their public
men are uniformly impugned. The thought seems hardly to be enter-
tained by the common Indians, that an officer may be guided by right
and honest motives. The principle of suspicion has, so to say, eaten out
the Indian heart. The jealousy with which he has watched the white
man, in all periods of his history, is but of a piece with that with which he
watches his chiefs, his neighbors, and his very family. Exaltation of
feeling, lifberality of sentiment, justness of reasoning, a spirit of conces-
sion, and that noble faith and trust which arise from purity and virtue,
are the characteristics of civilisation ; and we should not be disappointed
if they do not, all at once, grow and flourish in these nascent communi-
ties. Still, our hopes predominate over our fears. Where so much has
been accomplished as we see by the Cherokees, the Choctaws, and
Chickasaws, and our most advanced northern tribes, we expect more.
From the tree that bean blossoms, we expect fruit.

We have no expectation, however, that without some principles of
general political association, the tribes can permanently advance. To
assume the character and receive the respect of a commonwealth, they
must have the political bonds of a commonwealth. Our Indian tribes have
never possessed any of these bonds. They are indeed the apparent rem-
nants of old races, which have been shivered into fragments, and never
found the capacity to re-unite. The constant tendency of all things,
in a state of nature, has been to divide. The very immensity of the con-
tinent, its varied fertility and resources, and its grand and wild features,
led to this. Hitherto, the removed tribes in the West have opposed an
associated government. They have stoutly and effectually resisted and
rejected this part of the government scheme. They fear, the agents
say, it is some plan to bring them under the civil yoke. Time, reflec-
tion, and education must tend to correct this. More than all, their civil
dissensions must tend to show the necessity of a more enlarged and gen-
eral frame of government, in which some individual rights must be yield-
ed to the public, to secure the enjoyment of the rest. We think there
is some evidence of the acknowledgment of this want, in their occasional
general councils, at which all the tribes have been invited to be present.
During the last year (1843) such a convocation was held at Tahlequah,
the seat of the Cherokee government. At this, there were delegates
present from the Creeks, Chickasaws, Delawares, Shawoees, Pianka.
shaws, Weas, Osages, Senecas, Stockbridges, Ottowas, Chippewas,
Peorias, Pottowattomies, and Seminoles. The^esult of these delibera-
tions, we are informed, was a compact in which it was agreed : —

1 . To maintain peace and friendship among each other.

2. To abstain from the law of retaliation for offences.

3. To provide for improvements in agriculture, the arts, and manu*
&ctttres.

INDIAN POLIOT.

389

4. To provide against any cession of their territory, in any form.
6. To punish crimes, committed by one tribe, in the bounds of
another.

6. To provide for a general citizenship among the contracting parties.

7. To suppress the use or introduction of ardent spirits.

These are very mixed principles, containing no basis of a government ;
yet, futile as they are, we apprehend they contain no effective power
for their enforcement. A law without a penalty is like a rope of sand.
Any of these parties might nullify either of these acts, by neglecting
to enforce it. It is, we apprehend, the mere expression of the popular
will, in a council, without any binding obligation of the whole, or a ma-
jority of the tribes, to compel obedience from the delinquent members.
It may, however, lead to further deliberations ; and we cannot but regard
the movement as one which betokens political forethought and purpose.

Our greatest apprehensions, we must confess, before closing this paper,
arise from the peculiar geographical position of the Indian territory with
relation to our own. And this could not, perhaps, have been anticipated
twenty years ago, when the plan was formed. Our population is on the
broad move west. Nothing, it is evident, will now repress them this side
of the Pacific. The snowy heights of the Rocky Mountains are already
scaled ; and we but apply the results of the past to the future, in saying
that the path which has been trod by a few, will be trod by many. Now,
the removed tribes are precisely in the centre of this path. From the
mouth of the Platte, or the Konza, the great highway to the Oregon
must run west. Whether this new tide of emigration will bo successful
or unsuccessful, will those who compose it spare to trample on the red
man ? Will they suddenly become kind to him, to whom they have
been unkind ? Will they cease to desire the lands which their children
want ? Will they consent to see the nation separated by an Indian
state ? Will they award honors, nay, justice, to that state ? Twenty
years will answer these questions.

Choctaws. — An appropriation of $113,000 has been made by Con-
gress for the removal and subsistence of the Choctaws now in Missis-
sippi. There are upwards of six thousand in our state, comprising
about eleven hundred families. These are under Colonels Johnson and
Fisher. The half of the money due the Indians, and to be paid after
their landing in their new homes in the West, is to be funded. This
will effectually prevent all speculation, and enable the Indians to obtain
and hold what is due them. Those now in the state are guarded against
all coercive measures for their removal, and left free to go West or
remain in their homes in Mississippi. — Southern Reformer.

NURSERY AND CRADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

The tickenagun, or Indian cradle, is an ubject of great pride with an
ladiun mother. She geta the finest kind of broad cloth she possibly can
to muko an outer swathing band for it, and spares no pains in ornament-
ing it with beads and ribbons, worked in various figures. In the lodgei
of those who can aflbrd it, there is no article more showy and pretty than
the full bound cradle. The frame of the cradle itself is a curiosity. It
consists of three pieces. The vertebral board, which supports the back,
the hoop or foot-board, which extends tapering up each side, and the arch
or bow, which springs from each side, and protects the face and head.
These are tied together with deer's sinews or pegged. The whole struc*
ture is very light, and is carved with a knife by the men, out of the linden
or maple tree.

Moss constitutes the bed of the infant, and is also put between the child's
feet to keep them apart and adjust the shape of them, according to custom.
A one-point blanket of the trade, is the general and immediate wrapper of
the infant, within the hoop, and the ornamented swathing band is wound
around the whole, and gives it no little resemblance to the case of a small
mummy. As the bow passes directly above the face and eyes, trinkets
are often hung upon this, to amuse it, and the child gets its first ideas of
ornament from these. The hands are generally bound down with the
body, and only let out occasionally, the head and neck being the only part
which is actually free. So bound and laced, hooped and bowed, the little
fabric, with its inmate, is capable of being swung on its mother's back, and
carried through the thickest forest without injury. Should it sven fall no
injury can happen. The bow protects the only exposed part of the frame.
And when she stops to rest, or enters the lodge, it can be set aside like any
other household article, or hung up by the cradle strap on a peg. Nothing,
indeed, could be better adapted to the exigencies of the forest life. And in
such tiny fabrics, so cramped and bound, and bedecked and trinketed,
their famous Pontiacs and King Philips, and other prime warriors, were
once carried, notwithstanding the skill they afterwards acquired in wield-
ing the lance and war club.

The Indian child, in truth, takes its first lesson in the art of endurance,
in the cradle. When it cries it need not be unbound to nurse it. If the
mother be young, she must put it to sleep herself If she have younger
listers or daughters they share this care with her. If the lodge be roomy
and high, as lodges sometimes are, the cradle is suspended to the top poles

390

CRADLE SONOS Or THE rOREIT.

391

to be iwung. If not, or the weather be fine, it is tied to the limb of a
tree, with i mall cordt made from the inner bark of the linden, and a ri*
bratory motion given to it from head to foot by the mother or some atlcn>
dant. The motion thui communicated, is that of the pendulum or com*
mon swing, and may be supposed to be the easiest and most agreeable
possible to the child. It is from this motion that the leading idea of the
ciadlo song is taken.

I have often seen the red mother, or perhaps a sister of the child, lei*
surely 3winging a pretty ornamented cradle to and fro iu this way, in
order to put the child to sleep, or simply to amuse it. The following spa
cimens of these wild-wood chaunts, or wigwam lullabys, are taken from
my notes upon this subject, during many years of familiar intercourse with
the aboriginals. If they are neither numerous nor attractive, placed side
by side with the rich nursery stores of more refined life, it is yet a plea-
sant fact to have found such things even existing at all amongst a people
supposed to possess so few of the amenities of life, and to have so little
versatility of character.

Meagre as these specimens seem, they yet involve no small degree of
philological diligence, as nothing can be more delicate than the inflexions
of these pretty chaunts, and the Indian woman, like her white sister, gives
a delicacy of intonation to the roughest words of her language. The
term wa-wa often introduced denotes a ivave of the air, or the circle des-
cribed by the motion of an object through it, as we say, swing, swing, a
term never applied to a wave of water. The latter la called tegoo, or if it
be crowned with foam, beta.

In introducing the subjoined specimens of these simple see saws of the
lodge and forest chaunts, the writer felt, that they were almost too frail of
structure to be trusted, without a gentle hand, amidst his rougher materials.
He is permitted to say, in regard to them, that they have been exhibited to
Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, herself a refined enthusiast of the woor^s,
and that the versions from the original given, are from her chaste aiA
truthful pen.

In the following asch little song, the reader has only to imagine a play-
ful girl trying to put a restless child to sleep, who pokes its little head, with
black hair and keen eyes over the side of the cradle, and the girl sings,
imitating its own piping tones.

Ah wanain?
Ah wa nain?
Wa yau was sa-
Ko pwasod.

(Who is this?)

(Giving light — ^meaning the light of the eye)

(Ou the top of my lodgs.)

Who IS this? who is this? eye-light bringing
To the roof of the lodge ?

392

CBADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

And then she assumes the tone of the little screech owl, and answen~-
, ., Kobkobkob (It is I— the little owl)

Nim be e zhau (Coming,)

Kob kob kob (It is I— the little owl)

Nim bee zhau (Coming,)

Kitche — kitche. ; (Downl down!) -

It is I, it is I, hither swinging, (wa wa)
Dodge, dodge, baby dodge ;

And she springs towards it and down goes the little head. This m
repeated with the utmost merriment upon both sides.

Who is this, who is this eye-light bringing '

To the roof of my lodge ?
It is I, it is I, hither swinging, t

Dodge, dodge, baby dodge. ^

Here is another, slower and monotonous, but indicating the utnuMt
maternal content :

Swinging, swinging, lul la by, i

Sleep, little daughter sl^ep, , . |^

'Tis your mother watching by.
Swinging, swinging she will keep,

Little daughter lul la by.

'Tis your mother loves you dearest.

Sleep, sleep, daughter sleep,
Swinging, swinging, ever nearest,

Baby, baby, do not weep;
Little daughter, lul la by.

Swinging, swinging, lul la by,

Sleep, sleep, little one.
And thy mother will be nigh —

Swinn;, swing, not alone — ,'

Little daughter, lul la by.

This of course is exceedingly simple, but be it remembered these
chaunts are always so in the most refined life. The ideas are the same,
that of tenderness and protective care only, the ideas being few, the lan-
guage is in accordance. To my mind it has been a matter of extreme
interest to observe how almost identical are the expressions of afieciion in
all states of society, as though these primitive elements admit of no pro-
gress, but are perfect m themselves. The e-we-yea of the Indian woman
is entirely analogous to the lul la by of our language, and will be seen to
be exceedingly pretty In itself.

8(
tl

in
(I

bj
la

Btl

til
in
n
cv

CRADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

393

»—

'hia it

tttmoU

2. The original words of this, with their literal import, are also added,
to preserve the identity.

{^)

• Wa wa— wa wa — wa we yea, (Swinging, twice, lullaby.)
Nebaun — nebaun — nebaun, (Sleep thou, thrice.)
Nedaunis-ais, e we yea, (Ldttle daughter, lullaby.)
Wa wa — wa wa — wa wa, (Swinging, thrice.)
Nedaunis-ais, e we yea, (Little daughter lullaby.)

(b.)
Keguh, ke gun ah wain e ma, (Your mother cares for you.)
Nebaun — nebaun — ^nebaun, e we yea, (Sleep, thrice, lullaby.)
Kago, saigizze-kain, nedaunis-ais, (Do not fear, my little daughter.)
Nebaun — nebaun — nebaun, (Sleep, thrice.)
Kago, saigizze-kain, wa wa, e we yea, (third line repeated.)

(c.)

Wa wa — wa wa — wa we yea, (Swinging, twice, lullaby.)
Kaween neezheka kediausee, (Not alone art thou.)
, Ke kan nau wai,ne me go, suhween, (Your mother is caring for you.)
Nebaun — nebaun — nedaunis-ais, (Sleep, sleep, my little daughter.)
Wa wa — wa wa — wa we yea, (Swinging, &c. lullaby.)
Nebaun — nebaun — nebaun, (Sleep! sleep I sleep.*)

these
same,
le lan-
ctreme
ion in
pro-
iToman
een to

THE HARE AND THE LYNX.

3. The story of the Wabose, (Hare,) and the Pighieu, (Lynx,) will at
once remind the reader of the so often recited tale of little Red Riding
Hood, in which the reciter imitates the tones of the wolf, and the little nur-
sery listener hears with a growing amazement, and starts as if he felt
the real wolf's teeth at the close.

This story is partly spoken and partly sung. The Teller imitating al-
ternately the Hare, and its enemy, the Lynx.

There was once, she says, a little Hare living in the lodge with its grand-
mother, who was about to send it back to its native land. When it had
gone but a little way, a Lynx appeared in the path, and began to sing,

• These translations are entirely literal — the verbs to "sleep" and to " fear," requir-
ing the imperative mood, second person, present tense, throughout. In rendering the term
" wa-wa" in the participial form some doubt may exist, but this has been terminated by the
idea of the existing motion, which is clearly implied, although the word is not marked
by the usual form of the participle in ing. The phrase lul-la-by, is the only one in our
language, which conveys the evident meaning of the choral term e-we-yea. The sub-
stantive verb is wanting, in the first line of b. and the third of c. in the two forms o'
the verfj, to care, or take care of a person ; but it is present in the phrase " kediausee"
in the second line of c. These facts are stated, not that they are of the slightest inte-
rest to the common reader, but that they may be ezam<ned by philologists, or persona
ourioua in the Indian grammar.

iil

394

CBADLE 80N0S OF THE FOREST.

Where pretty white one ?
Where little white one,
Where do you go ?

Tshwee! tshweel tshwee! tshwee! cried the Hare, and ran back to
its grandmother. "See, grandmother," said the timid little creature,
« what the Lynx is saying to me," and she repeated the song. " Ho I
Nosis," that is to say, courage my grandchild, run along, and tell him you
are going home to your native land: so the Hare went back and be-
gan to sing,

To the point of land I roam,
For there is the white one's home, —
Whither I go.

Then the Lynx looked at the trembling Hare, and began to sing,

Little white one, tell me why
Like to leather, thin and dry,
Are your pretty ears ?

Tshwee! tshwee I tshwee I tshwee I cried the Hare, and she ran back,
to her grandmother, and repeated the words. " Go Nosis, and tell him
your uncles fi.xed them so, when they came from the South." So
the Hare ran back and sang,

From the south my uncles came,
And they fixed my ears the same, —
Fixed my slender ears.

and then the Hare laid her pink ears upon her shoulders, and was about
to go on, but the Lynx began to sing again, —

Why, why do you go away ?
Pretty white one, can't you stay 1
Tell me why your little feet,
Are made so dry and very fleet?

Tshwee ! tshwee ! tshwee ! tshwee ! said the poor little Hare, and she
ran back again to the lodge to ask again. "Ho ! Nosis !" said the grand-
mother, who was old and tired, " do not minu h\m, nor listen to him, nor
answer him, but run on."

The Hare obeyed, and ran as fast as she could. When she came to
the spot where the Lynx had been, she looked round, but there was no
one *here, and she ran on. But the Lynx had found put all about the
little Hare, and knew she was going across to the neck of land ; and he
had nothing to do but reach it first, and waylay her ; which he did : and
when the innocent creature came to the place, and had got almost home,
*he Lynx sprang out of the thicket and eat her up.

about

CRADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

396

The original chant, omitting the narrative part as given above, runs in
this fashion, word for word.

Lynx. Tab kau

Tab hau

Wa bose

Ke te e zha
Hare. Na kwa oushing

Ain dah nuk e autn baun

In de e zha
Lynx. Au neen

Au neen

A nau be kaus o yun aig

Kish ke mun ing

Ish o tow VLg a una,
Hare. Nish ish sha ug

sha wun e nong
Ke e zha waud
Ningee aizh e goob un eeg

Lynx. Tab kau
Tab kau
Wa bose
Wa bose
Ke de e zha
Au neen

Na naub o kos o yun
Kish ke mun a,

1 izh e zida una.

(where ah !)
(where ah I)
(little white one)
(little white one)
(are you going ?)
(to the point of land)
(in my native country)

(I go)
(what!)

(what!)

(causes it,)

(why like stripes of leather)

(are your ears ?)

(my uncles,)

(when from the south)

(they came,)

(they did fix me so.)

(where ah!)

(where ah I)

(little white one,)

(are you going?)

(why ?)

(look they so,)

(like dry bits of leather,)

(your feet ha!)

4. THK KTTE AND THE EAGLE.

This is a specimen of Indian satire. The coward is boasiful when
there is no danger : pretension succeeds in the absence of real merit 1 A
Kite was boasting how high he could fly, and ventured to speak dis-
paragingly of the eagle, not knowing that the latter overheard him. He
began to sing in a loud voice,

I upward fly
1 1 I alone disdain the air
Till I hang as by a hair

Poised in the sky.

The Eagle answers disdainfully, looking down from a branch fiur
above the Kite,

396

CRADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

Who moun^f the sky ?
Who is this, with babbling tongue
As he had on the storm-cloud hung,

Who flies so high? ^

The Kite in a shrinking, feeble voice,

The great Khakake
I've sometimes thought he flew so high .
That he must see within the sky

The dawn awake.

The Eagle despises him, and yet cannot forbear to answer*

I spurn you all ye prating throng
How often have I passed ye by
When my broad pinions fleet and strong,
Soared up where leapt the thunder cry I
Nor ye with feeble wing might dare,
Those hill-tops high, to mount in air.

and he soared off, up, up into the sky till the boaster could not behold
him. But no sooner was the Kite left alone to himself than he began to
aing again so as to be heard on every side,

I upward fly
I, I alone disdain the air
Till I hang as by a hair

Poised in the sky.

Literally thus.
Kite.

(I alone)
(I alone)
(can go up)

(so as to seem as if hanging
by a hair

Neen a
Neen a
Ta wa e ya
Bai bwau
As shau dau
Wa ke ge naun
O shau wush ko geezhig oong a (from the blue sky.)
Eagle. Auwanain (Who is this?)

Au wa nain (Who is this ?)

Tshe mud je wa wa (with babbling tongue, who boasts)
Ke pim o saing. (of flying so high ?)

Kite (shrinkingly) replies, « Oh I was only singing of the great Kha-
kake, it is he who is said to fly so high."

Eagle disdainfully replies, "Tshe mud je wa wa, that is great bab-
bler, or bad-tongue, you are below my notice," &,c., and soars aloft.

Kite, resuming its boasting tone, as soon as the eagle is out of hearing,

%'-

CRADLE SONGS OF THE FOREST.

397

(I alone &c., the whole being a
repetition of the first part.)

Neen a
Neen a
Ta we )ra
Bai bwau
As shau dau
Wa ke ge naun,
. O shau wush ko, geezhig oong a.

'I 5. THE KAVEN AND WOODPECKER.

A still farther view of Indira manners and opinions is hid under this
simple chant. Opinion among the forest race, makes the whole animated
creation cognizant and intelligent of their customs.

A young married woman is supposed to go out from the lodge, and
busy herself in breaking up dry limbs, and preparing wood, as if to lay
in a store for a future and approaching emergency.

A raven, perched on a neighbouring tree, espies her, at her work, and
begins to sing ; assuming the expected infant to be a boy.

In dosh ke zhig mun
In dosh ke zhig o mun
In dosh ke zhig o mun

My eyes I my eyes 1 my eyes I Alluding to the boy (and future man)
killing aninrals as well as men, whose eyes will be left, as the singer anti-
cipates, to be picked out by ravenous birds. So early are the first notions
of war implanted.

A woodpecker, sitting near, and hearing this song, replies ; assummg
the sex of the infant to be a /ema/e.

Ne mos sa mug ga
Ne mos sa mug ga
Ne mos sa mug ga.

My worms I my worms ! my worms I Alluding to the custom of the
female's breaking up dry ana dozy wood, out of which, it could pick its
favourite food, being the mdsa or wood-worm.

Want of space induces the writer to defer, to a future nUmber, the re
mainder of his collection of these cradle and nursery chants. They con-
stitute in his view, rude as they are, and destitute of metrical attractions,
a chapter in the history of the human heart, in the savage phasis, which
deserves to be carefully recorded. It has fallen to his lot, to observe more
perhaps, in this department of Indian life, than ordinary, and he would not
acquit himself of his duty to the race, were he to omit these small links
out of their domestic and social chain. The tie which binds the mother
to the child, in Indian life, is a very strong one, and it is conceived to
admit of illustration in this manner. It is not alone in the war-path and

398

OBADLE BONOS OF THE FOREST.

the council, that the Red Man is to be studied. To appreciate his whole
character, in its true light, he must be followed into his lodge, and viewed
in his seasons of social leisure and retirement. If there be any thing
wurm and abiding in the heart or memory of the man, when thus at ease,
surrounded by his family, it must come out here ; and hence, indeed, the
true value of his lodge lore, of every kind.

It is out of the things mental as well as physiological, that pertain to
maternity, that philosophy must, in the end, construct the true ethnological
chain, that binds the human race, in one comprehensive system of unity.

LANGUAGES OF THE FACIFIO ISLANDS.

The Polynesian languages, like those of the Algonquin group of North
America, have inclusive and exclusive pronouns to express the words
toe^ ours, and us. They have also causative verbs such as, to make afraid,
to make happy, &c., but while there appears this analogy in grammatical
principles, there are some strong points of disagreement, and there appears
to be no analogy whatever in the sounds of the language. There are
eight well characterized dialects in the Polynesian family. They are the
Tahitian, the Owyhee, [Hawaiian] Marquesan, or Washingtonian, Aus-
tral island, Hervey island, Samoan, Tongatabu, and New Zealand. In
seven of these, the name for God is Atua, in the eighth, or Tongua dialect,
it is Otua. Great resemblances exist in all the vocabularies. Much of
the actual difierence arises from exchanges of the consonants r and 1,
h and s, and a few others. They pofisess the dual number. The scheme
of the pronouns is very complete, and provides for nearly all the recondite
distinctions of person. Where the vocabulary fails in words to designate
objects which were unknown to them before their acquaintance with
Europeans, the missionaries have found it to fall in better with the genius
of the language, to introduce new words from the Greek, with some modi-
fications. Thus they have introduced hipo for horse, arenio for lamb,
areto for bread, and bapiizo for baptism.

To continue faithful during a course of prosperity, says Xenophon, hath
nothing wonderful in it, but when any set of men continue steadily attached
to friends in adversity, they ought, on that account, to be eternally re-
membered.

There are but t .vo s purees only, says Polybius, from whence any real
benefit can be derived, our own misfortunes and those that have happened
to other men.

One wise counsel, says Euripides, is better than the strength of many.

with

[y real
])peaed

Ift^

EABX.T ■KBTCHEiJ JF INDIAN WOMKM. 399

Prom '^ New England Prospect."
CHAPTER XIX. •

•r f HSia WOHIN, THin DIBFOIITIONB, EMPLOTMINTB, UBAOK BT TBIU IiraBAMM, Tiun

ArPAXBLL, AND MODXSTY.

To satisfie the curious eye of women-readers, who otherwise might
thinke their sex forgotten, or not worthy a record, let them peruse these
few lines, wherein they may see their owne happinesse, if weighed in the
womans baliance of these ruder Indians, who scorne the tuterings of their
wives, or to admit them as their equals, though their qualities and indua*
irious deservings may justly claime the preheminence, and command bet-
ter usage and more conjugall esteeme, their persons and features being
every way correspondent, their qualifications more excellent, being more
loving, pittifuU, and modest, milde, provident, and laborious than their
lazie husbands. Their employments be many : First their building of
houses, whose frames are formed like our garden-arbours, something
more round, very strong and handsome, covered with close-wrought mats
of their owne weaving, which deny entrance to any drop of raine, though
it come both fierce and long, neither can the piercing North winde, finde
a crannie, through which he can conveigh his cooling breath, they be
warmer than our English houses ; at the top is a square hole for the
smoakes evacuation, which in rainy weather is covered with a pluver *
these bee such smoakie dwellings, that when there is good fires, they are
not able to stand upright, but lie all alon^ under the smoake, never using
any stooles or chaires, it being as rare to see an Indian sit on a stoole at
home, as it is strange to see an English man sit on his heels abroad.
Their houses are smaller in the Summer, when their families be dispersed,
by reason of heate and occasions. In Winter they make some fiitie or
thereescore foote long, fortie or fiftie men being inmates under one roofe ;
and as is their husbands occasion these poore tectonists are often troubled
like snailes, to carrie their houses on their backs sometimes to fishing-
places, other times to hunting places, after that to a planting-place, where
t abides the longest : an other work is their planting of come, wherein
they exceede our English husband-men, keeping it so cleare with their
Clamme shell-hooes, as if it were a garden rather than a corne-field, not
sufllering a choaking weede to advance bis audacious head above their in-
fant come, or an undermining worme to spoile his spumes. Their come
being ripe, they gather it, and drying it hard in the Sunne, conveigh it to
their barnes, which be great holes digged in the ground in forme of a
brasse pot, seeled with rinds of trees, wherein they put their come, cover-
ing it from the inquisitive search of theij gurmandizing husbands, who
wouU eate up both their allowed portion, and reserved seede, if they
knew where to finde it. But our hogges having found a way to un-
hindge their barne doores, ana robbe their garners, they are gl&d to im

■ 4 I!

■n^^

400

EARLY SKETCHES or INDIAN WOMEN.

ploro their husbands heipe to route the bodies of trees over their holes, to
prevent those pioners, #hose theeverie they as much hate as their flesh.
An other of their employments is their Summer processions to get Lob*
sters for their husbands, wherewith they baite their hookes when they goe
a fishing for Basse or Codfish. This is an every dayes walke, be the
weather cold or hot, the waters rough or calme, they must dive sometimes
over head and eares for a Lobster, which oflen shakes them by their hands
with a churlish nippe, and bids them adiew. The tide being spent, they
trudge home two or three miles, with a hundred weight of Lobsters at
their backs, and if none, a hundred scoules meete them at home, and a
hungry belly for two days after. Their husbands having caught any fish,
they bring it in their boates as farre as they can by water, and there leave
it ; as it was their care to catch it, so it must be their wives paines to fetch
it home, or fast : which done, they must dresse it and cooke it, dish it, and
present it, see it eaten over their shoulders ; and their loggerships having
filled their paunches, their sweete lullabies scramble for their scrappes.
In the Summer these Indian women when Lobsters be in their plenty
and prime, they drie them to keepe for Winter, erecting scafiblds in the
hot sun-shine, making fires likewise underneath them, by whose smoake
the flies are expelled, till the substance remains hard and drie. In this
manner they drie Basse and other fishes without salt, cutting them very
thinne to dry suddainely, before the flies spoile them, or the raine moist
them, having a speciall care to hang them in their smoakie houses, in the
night and dankish weather.

In Summer they gather flagges, of which they make Matts for housei^
and Hempe and rushes, with dying stuffe of which they make curious
baskets with intermi.ted colours and portractures of antique Imageries
these baskets be of all sizes from a quart to a quarter, in which they carry
their luggage. In winter time they are their husbunds Caterers, trudging
to the Clamm bankes for their belly timber, and their Porters to lugge
home their Venison which their lazinesse exposes to the Woolves till they
impose it upon their wives shoulders. They likewise sew their husbands
shooes, and weave coates of Turkic feathers, besides all their ordinary
household drudgerie which daily lies upon them. * •

• • • • • [Of the treatment of

babes the writer says] : The young Infant being greased and sooted, wrapt
in a beaver skin, bound to his good behaviour with his feete upon a board
two foote long and one foote broade, his face exposed to all nipping
weather ; this little Pappouse travells about with his bare footed mother
to paddle in the ice Clammbanks after three or foure dayes of age have
sealed his passeboard and his mothers recoverie. For their carriage it is
very civill, smiles being the greatest grace of their mirth ; their musick
M lullabies to quiet their children, who generally are as quiet as if they
had neither spleene or lungs. To hear one of these Indians unseene, a

EARLY SKETCHES OP INDIAN WOMEN.

401

they

good eare might easily mistake their untaught voyce for the warbling of

a well tuned instrument. Such command have they of their voices.
• • • • • •

Commendable is thf ' milde carriage and obedience to their husbands, not-
withstanding all th).. their customarie churlishnesse and salvage inhu-
manitie, not seeming to delight in frownes or offering to word it with their
lords, not presuming to proclaime their female superiority to the usurping
of the least title of their husbands charter, but rest themselves content un-
der their helplesse condition, counting it the womans portion : since the
English arrivall comparison hath made them miserable, for seeing the
kind usage of the English to their wives, they doe as much condemns
their husbands for unkindnesse, and commend the English for their love.
As their husbands commending themselves for their wit in keeping their
wives industrious, doe condemne the English for their folly in spoyling
good working creatures. These women resort often to the English
houses, where pares cum paribus congregata •, in Sex I meane, they do
somewhat ease their miserie by complaining and seldome part without a
releefe : If her husband come to seeke for his Squaw and beginne to blus-
ter, the English woman betakes her to her armes which are the war-
like Ladle, and the scalding liquors, threatening blistering to the naked
runnaway, who is soon expelled by such liquid comminations. In a word
to conclude this womans historic, their love to the English hath deserved
no small esteeme, ever presenting them some thing that is either rare or
desired, as Strawberries, Hurtleberries, Rasberries, Gooseberries, Cher-
ries, Plummes, Fish, and other such giAs as their poore treasury yeelds
them. But now it may be, that this relation of the churlish and inhu-
mane behaviour of these ruder Indians towards their patient wives, may
confirme some in the beliefe of an aspersion, which I have often heard
men cast upon the English there, as if they should learne of the Indians
to use their wives in the like manner, and to bring them to the same sub-
jection, as to sit on the lower hand, and to carrie water and the like
drudgcrie : but if my own experience may outballance an ill-grounded
scandalous rumour, I doe assure you, upon my credit and reputation, that
there is no such matter, but the women finde there as much love, respect,
and ease, as here in old England. I will not deny, but that some poore
people may carrie their owne water, and doe not the poorer sort in Eng-
land doe the same ; witnesse your London Tankard-bearers, and your
countrio-cottagers ? But this may well be knowne to be nothing, but the
rancorous venome of some that beare no good will to the plantation. For
what neede they carrie water, seeing every one hath a Spring at his
doore, or the Sea by his house? Thus much for the satisfaction of
women, touching this entrenchment upon their prerogative, as also con
ceming the relation of these Indians Squawes.

* Equals assembled with equals.
26

*|:'

PAWNEE BARBARITY.

That the tribes west of the Missouri, and beyond the pale of the
ordinary influence of civilization, should retain some shocking customs,
which, if ever prevalent among the more favoured tribes east of the Mis-
sissippi and the Alleghenies, have long disappeared, may be readily con-
ceived. Wild, erratic bands, who rove over immense plains on horseback,
with bow and lance, who plunge their knives and arrows daily into the
carcasses of the buflalo, the elk and the deer, and who are accustomed to
sights of blood and carnage, cannot escape the mental influence of these
sanguinary habits, and must be, more or less, blunted in their conceptions
and feelings. Where brute life is so recklessly taken, there cannot be the
same nice feeling and sense of justice, which some of the more favoured
tribes possess, with respect to taking away human life. Yet, it could
hardly have beea artticipated, that such deeds as we are now called upon
to notice, would hcvo their place even in the outskirts of the farther "Far
West," and among u people so sunk and degraded in their moral propen-
sities, as the Pawnees, But the facts are well attested.

In the fierce predatory war carried on between the Pawnees and Sioux,
acts of blood and retaliation, exercised on their prisoners, are of frequent
occurrence. In the month of Febuary, 1838, the Pawnees captured a
Sioux girl only fourteen years of age. They carried her to their camp
on tl<? west of the Missouri, and deliberated what should be done with
her. It is not customary to put female captives to death, but to make
slaves of them. She, however, was doomed to a harder fate, but it wai
carefully concealed from her, for the space of some sixty or seventy dayt
During all this time she was treated well, and had comfortable lodging i
and food, the same as the rest enjoyed. On the 22nd of April, the chiefs
held a general council, and when it broke up, it was announced that 1 er
doom was fixed, but this was still carefully concealed from her. This
doom was an extraordinary one, and so far as the object can be deduced,
from the circumstances and ceremonies, the national hatred to their ene.nies
was indulged, by making the innocent non-combatant, a sacrifice to the
spirit of corn, or perhaps, of vegetable fecundity.

When the deliberations of the council were terminated, on that day,
she was brought out, attended by the whole council, and accompanied on
a visit from lodge to lodge, until she had gone round the whole circle.
When this round was finished, they placed in her hands a small billet of
wood and some paints. The warriors and chiefs then seated themselves
in a circle. To the first person of distinction she then handed this billet
of wood and paint; he contributed to this ofiering, or sort of sacrificial

402

r^^NEE BARBARITY.

408

cbnrity some w a and pair, hen ha <4itU>thr ,ext, who did Ukewiie,
and he passed it to the next, until it gone th' ^tire rounds, and each
one had contributed some wood and t ae paint, ^le was then conducted
to the place of execution. For tim xirpose tki. y had chosen an open
grassy glade, near a cornfield, where ihero wen a few trees. The spot
selected was between two of these trees, standing about five feet apart, in
Jie centre of which a small fire was kindled, with the wood thus ceremo-
niously contributed. Three bars had been tied across, from tree to tree,
above this fire, at such a graded height, that the poinds of the blaze,
when at its maximum, might just reach to her feet. Upon-this scafibld
she was compelled to mount, when a warrior at each side of her held fire
under her arm pits. When this had been continued as long as they sup-
posed she could endure the torture, without extinguishing life, at a g^ven
signal, a band of armed bow-men let fly their darts, and her body, at
almost the same instant, was pierced with a thousand arrows. These
were immediately withdrawn, and her flesh then cut with knives, from
hef thighs, arms and body, in pieces not longer than half a dollar, and put
into little baskets. All this was done before life was quite extinct.

The field of newly planted corn reached near to this spot. This corn
had been dropped in the hill, but not covered with earth. The principal
chief then took of the flesh, and going to a hill of com, squeezed a drop
of blood upon the grains. This was done by each one, until all the
grains put into the ground, had received this extraordinary kind of sprink-
ling.

This horrible cruelty took place in the vicinity of Council Blufis.
Offers to redeem the life of the prisoner had been made by the traders, in
a full council of eighty chiefs and w^arriors, but they were rejected. The
original narrator was an eye witness. He concludes his description by
adding, that his wife's brother, a Pawnee, had been taken prisoner by the
Sioux, in the month of June following, and treated in the same manner.
Truly, it may be said that the precincts of the wild roving Red man, are
"full of the abodes of cruelty."

'i^^fj

': >.

Hunting and war are arts which require to be taught. The Indian
youth, if they were not furnished with bows and arrows, would never
learn to kill. The same time spent to teach them war and huntmg, if
devoted to teach them letters, would make them readers and writers. Ed*
ucation is all of a piece.

Example is more persuasive than precept in teaching an Indian. Tell
him that he should never touch alcohol, and he may not see clearly why ;
but show him, by your mvariable practice, that you never do, and he may
be led to confide in your admonitions.

404

*'thb loon upon the lakb."

''THE LOON UPON THE LAKE.

BT B. V. HOrmAlf.

Uhtm Iha Ohlpp«WK.*J

I LOOKBD acroM the water,

I bent o'er it and liitened,
I thought it was my lover,
My true lover's paddle glistened.
JoyouB thus his light canoe would the silver ripples wake.—
But no !— it is the Loon alone — the loon upon the lake.
Ah me ! it is the loon alone— the loon upon the lake.

i s<!e the fallen maple

Where he stood, his red scarf waving,
Though waters nearly bury
Boughs they then were newly laving.
I hear his last farewell, as it echoed from the brake.—
But no, it is the loon alone— the loon upon the lake.
Ah me ! it is the loon alone — the loon upon the lake.

* Nenemoihain nindenaindum
Meengowflugith abowaugoda
Anewahwaa mongoduga,&c.,8ce.

TO A BIRD, SEEN Xn^DER MT WINDOW IN THE GARDEN.

By the late Mn. H. R. Sohoolcrait, who waa a grand daughter of the war eliief

Wabojkeo.

Sweet little bird, thy notes prolong, '

And ease my lonely pensive hours ;
I love to list thy cheerful song,

And hear thee chirp beneath the flowers.

The time allowed for pleasures sweet.

To thee is short as it is bright,
Then sing 1 rejoice t before it fleet.

And cheer me ere you take your flight

»'»

ODJIBWA SONG.

The following song, taken from the oral traditions of the north, is con
nected with a historical incident, of note, in the Indian wars of Canada.
[n 1759, great exertions were made by the French Indian deportment^
under Oen. Montcalm, to bring a body of Indians into the valley of the
lower St. Lawrence, and invitations, for this purpose reached the utmost
shores of Lake Superior. In one of the canoes from that quarter, which
was leA on their way down, at the lake of Two Mountains, near tne
mouth of the Utawas, while the warriors proceeded farther, was a Chip-
pewa girl called Paig-wain-e-osh-e, or the White Eagle, driven by the
wind. While the party awaited there, the resuU f events at Cluebec, she
formed an attachment for a young Algonquin belonging to the French
mission of the Two Mountains. This attachment was mutual, and gave
origin to the song, of which the original words, with a literal prose trans-
lation, are subjoined:

la indenaindum
la indenaindum
Ma kow we yah
Nin denaindum we.
Ah met when I think of him — when I think of him — my sweetheaiti
my Algonquin.

Pah bo je aun
Ne be nau be koning
Wabi megwissun
Nene moosliain we

Odishquagumee.

As I embarked to return, he put the white wampum around my neck
— a pledge of truth, my sweetheart, my Algonquin.

ni.

Keguh wejewin
Ain dah nuk ke yun
Ningee egobun
Nene mooshain we

Odishquagumee.

I shall go with you, he said, to your native country — I shall go with
you, my sweetheart — my Algonquia

405

40ti

ODJIBWA SUNG.

IV.

Nial nin de nah dush
Wassahwud gushuh
Aindahnuk ke yaun
Ke yau ninemooshai yiee

Odishquagiunee.
Alas I I replied — my native country is far, far away — ^my sweetheart;
my Algonquin.

Kai aubik oween
Ain aube aunin
Ke we naubee
Ne ne mooshai we

Odishquagmnee.

When I looked back again — ^wbere we parted, he was still lookmg
after me, my sweetheart ; my Algonquin.

VI.

Apee nay we ne bow
Unishe bun
Aungwash agushing
Ne ne mooshai we

Odishquagumee.

He was still standmg on a fallen tree — that had fallen into the water
my sweetheart ; my Algonquin.

VII.

Nia 1 indenaindum
Nia I in denaindum
Ma kow we yuh
Nin de nain dum we

Odishquagumee.

Alas ! when I think of hun — when I think of him — ^It is when I
think of him ; my Algonquin. ^

Eloquence on the part of the speakers, is not so much the result of
superior force of thought, as of the strong and clear positions of right, in
which they have been placed by circumstances. It is the force of truth,
by which we are charmed.

An Indian war song, sung in public, by the assembled warriors on the
outbreak of hostilities, is a declaration of war.

407

NIAGARA, AN ALLEGORY.

An old grey man on a mountain lived,

He had daughters four and one,
And a tall bright lodge of the belula bark

That glittered in the sun.

He lived on the very highest top,

For he was a hunter free,
Where he could spy on the clearest day,

Gleams of the distant sea.

Come out— come out ! cried the youngest one,

Let us off to look at the sea,
And out they ran in their gayest robes.

And skipped and ran with glee.

Come Su,* come Mi,t come Hu,{ come Sa,§

Cried laughing Utile Er,||
Let us go to yonder broad blue deep,

Where the breakers foam and roar.

And on they scampered by valley and wood.

By earth and air and sky,
Till they came to a steep where the bare rocki (rtoodf

In a precipice mountain high.

Inya !1f cried Er, here's a dreadful leap,

But we are gone so far,
That if we flinch and return in fear,

Nos,** he will cry ha ! ha !

Now each was clad in a vesture light,

That floated far behind,
With sandals of frozen water drops,

And wings of painted wind.

And down they plunged with a merry skip,

Like birds that skim the plain ;
And hey ! they cried, let us up and try

And down tlie steep again.

And up and down the daughters skipped.

Like girls on a holiday,
And laughed outright, at the sport and foam.

They called Niagara.

If ye would see a sight so rare,

Where nature's in her glee,
Go. view the ppot in the wide wild west.

The land of the brave and free.

But mark — their shapes are only seen

In fancy's deepest play.
But she plainly shews their wings and flset

In the dancing sunny spray.

• Superior. t Michigan. t Huron.

t An exclamation of wonder and surprize. — Odj. km.

§ St. Claro. II Enck

** My father.— 16

A FSALH.

m SVPPLIOATION FOa MEKCT, AND A CONFESSION OF SIN, ADDRESSED
TO THE AUTHOR <1F LIFE, IN THE ODJIBWA-ALOONQUIN TONGUE.

BY THE LATE MRS. HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

II I
II

1. Gaitshe minno pimaudizzeyun, Gezha Monedo, gezhigong aibeyun

2. Keen, maumauwaikumig waozhemigoyun.

3. Keen, kah ozhi^eyong, keen gaugegaikumig, kai nuhwauneme<
yong, aikoobemaudizzeyong.

4. Keen, kainuhwaubaimeyong, geezhig tibbikuk tibishka

5. Keen, Keozheahn-geezhik-geezis, dibbik-geezis, aunungug gia.

6. Keen, kegeozhetoan tshe kimmewung, gia tshe annimikeeaug, tshe
8ai sai yung, tshe sogepoog gia.

7. Keen kau ozheiyong tshe unnewegauboweyaung, kakinnuk kau

ozheudjig akeeng.

8. Kee, gemishemin odjechaugwug, wekaukaine bosigoog. Kee

gemishemin kebauzhigo kegwiss Jesus Christ, tshe oonjenebood neeno-
wind.

9. Mozhug issuh nemudjeeinaindumin, kagait mozhug nemudjee^ki-
domin ; nahwudj neminwaindumin tshe mudjee-dodumaung.

10. ICagaitego me kaisoondje izhauyaungebun mudjee Moneto.

11. Showainemishinaum, Gezha Monedo.

12. Showainemishinaum, Jesus Christ.

13. Maishkoodjetoan ne mudjee-odai-enaunin.

14. Meezhishenaun edush oushke odaiyun.

15. Apaidush nah saugeigsayun, gia dush todumaung kau izhe gugeek-
wayun.

16. Me ozhissinaum odaiyun tshe minwaindumaung, tshe annahme
autogoyun.

17. Showainim ncendunahwaitmaugunenaunig unishenaubaig.

18. Showainim kukinnuh menik pemaudizzejig akeeng.

19. Showainemishenaum kaidokoo pemaudizzeyong, appe dush nee-
boyong.

20. Showainemishenaum neen jeechaugonaunig tshe izhowaud keen.

21. Kaugegaikumig edush tshe menawaunegooz eyong ozaum ne
mudje-pemaudizzewin auno unnahmeyauyongin.

22. Kauween edush kevvee pemaudizzewin, kisbpin aitah appainemo
yong KegwisS Jesus Christ.

23. Aioetainemud kegwiss showainemishenaum. Kunnah gai kunnab

408

A PSALM.

409

TRANSLATION.

1. Great good author of Life, Gezha Monedo, abiding in the heavens

2. Thou hast made all things.

3. Thou art the giver, — Thou, the everlasting preserver of life.

4. Thou hast guarded me, by day and by night.

5. Thou hast made the sun and moon, and the stars.

6. Thou makest the rain, the thunder, the hail, and the snowa.

7. Thou didst make man to stand upright, and has placed him over all
that is on the earth.

8. Thou hast given us souls, that will never die. Thou hast sent thy
son Jesus Christ to die for us.

9. Continually are our thoughts evil, and truly, our words are evil con-
tinually.

10. Verily, we deserve punishment with the Spirit of Evil

11. Show pity on us, Gezha Monedo.

12. Show pity on us, Jesus Christ.

13. Reform our wicked hearts.

14. Give us new hearts.

15. May we love thee with all our hearts, and by our acts obey thy
precepts, (or sayings.)

16. Give us hearts to delight in prayer.

17. Show mercy to all our kindred, unishenaubaig, or common people,
(means exclusively the Red Men.)

18. Show mercy to all who live on the earth.

19. Pity us, and befriend us, living and dying.

20. And receive our souls to thyself.

21. Ever to dwell in thine abiding place of happiness.

22. Not in our own frail strength of life, do we ask this ; but alone in
the name of Jesus Christ.

23. Grant us thy mercy, in the name of thy Son. So be it ever.
Those who take an interest in the structure of the Indian languages,

may regard the above, as an improvised specimen of the capacity of this
particular dialect for the expression of scripture truth. The writer, who
from early years was a member of the church, had made a translation of
the Lords prayer, and, occasionally, as delicate and declining health per-
mitted, some other select pieces from the sacred writings, and hymns, of
which, one or two selections may, perhaps, hereafter be made.

The distinction between the active and passive voice, in the Odjibwa
language, is formed by the inflection ego.

Ne sageau, I love.

Ne sageau-ef 0, I am loved.

■11

TRADITIONARY WAR SONGS

or TBX

ODJIBWA ALGONCtUINS.

Whoever has heard an Indian war song, and witnessed an Indian war
dance, must be satisfied that the occasion wakes up all the fire and energy
of the Indian's soul. His flashing eye — his muscular energy, as he
begins the dance — his violent gesticulation as he raises his war-cry — the
whole frame and expression of the man, demonstrate this. And long
before it comes to his turn to utter his stave, or portion of the chant, his
mind has been worked up to the most intense point of excitement : his
imagination has pictured the enemy — the ambush and the onset — ^the vic-
tory and the bleeding victim, writhing under his prowess: in imagination
he has already stamped him under foot, aiul torn off his reeking scalp :
he has seen the eagles hovering in the air, ready to pounce on the dead
carcass, as soon as the combatants quit the field.

It would require strong and graphic language to give descriptive ut-
terance, in the shape of song, to all he has fancied, and seen and feels on
the subject. He, himself, makes no such effort. Physical excitement
has absorbed his energies. He is in no mood for calm and connected
descriptions of battle scenes. He has no stores of measured rhymes to
fall back on. All he can do is to utter brief, and often highly symbolic
expressions of courage — of defiance — of indomitable rage. His feet
stamp the ground, as if he would shake it to its centre. The inspiring
drum and mystic rattle communicate new energy to every step, while
they serve, by the observance of the most exact time, to concentrate his
energy. His very looks depict the spirit of rage, and his yells, uttered
quick, sharp, and cut off by the application of the hand to the mouth, are
startling and horrific. ^

Under such circumstances, a few short and broken sentences are
enough to keep alive the theme in his mind ; and he is not probably con-
scious of the fact, that, to an unimpassioned' and calm listener, with note
book in hand, there is not sufficient said to give coherence to the song.
And that such a song, indeed, under the best auspices, is a mere wild
rhapsody of martial thought, poured out from time to time, in detached
sentences, which are, so to say, cemented into lines by a flexible chorus
and known tune. The song and the music are all of a piece. Vivid
and glowing, and poetic pictures will float in such a train, and often strike

410

TRADITIONARY WAR 80NO8.

411

the imagination by their graphic truth and boldness ; but the poet must
look elsewhere for finished melody, and refined and elaborate composition.
The Indian is to be viewed here, as elsewhere, as being in the highest
state of his physical, not of his mental phasis. Such glimmerings may
however be picked out of these warlike rhapsodies, as denote that he is of
a noble and independent tone of thinking. We shall at least enable the
reader to judge. The following specimens, which have been derived from
actors in the depths of the forest, consist of independent songs, or stanzas,
each of which is sung by a different or by the same warrior, while the
dance is in progress. The words have been taken down from a young
Chippewa warrior of lake Superior, of the name of Che che-gwy-ung.
It will be perceived that there is a unity in the theme, while each warrior
exercises the freest scope of expression. This unity I have favoured by
throwing out such stanzas as mar it, and afterwards arranging them
together.

WAR SONG.
a. In beginning this song the warrior has turned his eyes to the clouds.

shd wan ong
Un dos' e wug,
Pe na' se wug,
Ka bairn wai wa dung-ig.

(From the place of the south)
(They come,) repeat.
(The birds, i. e. the warlike birds.)
(Hear the sound of their passing screams
on the air.)

i !

h. The idea of ravenous birds hovering in the sky, still prevails^-

Tod of to be (I wish to change myself to be)

Pe na' se. (A bird.)

Ka dow we & we yun*. (His swift body — to be like him.)

c. The warrior now rises above all thoughts of fear.

Ne wa be na, (I cast it away.)

Ne ow a. (My body.)

Ne wa be na, (Repeats.) This is a high symbolical boast of pez^

N6 ow a. sonal bravery.

d. He appeals to the Great Spirit for extraordinary power.

(On the front part of the earth,)
(First shines [strikes] the light.)
(Such power to me,)
(My God,)
(In thy mercy give!)
By the boldness of this figure he claims the omnipotent pother of th«
8* Q to see and discover his enemies.

Na bun & kum ig,
Tshe h& be wish' em ug.
In do main' em ik,
Mon' e do,
Ehawa nemid.

iiil

412

TRADITIONARY WAR SONGS.

e. He upbraids such of his people as hold back, and do not join in the
dance— that is to say, enlist in the war.

Wa go nain', e win ? (Why do ye, warriors,)

A be yun ah, (Stand back ?)

Wa wos is se, we yun. (Ye who bear the mark of the Awasees.)

The Avvasee is a kind of fish, which is the totem of a clan.

/ He declares his full purpose to enter into the war.

Ne md je, e yeh !
Ne mdje, e yehl
Ne me kun ah, e yeh I
Ge zhig neen wa tin,

Hoh I Ne monedo netaibua-
tum win.

(I go to the spot — the war path 1)

{Repeals.)

(My war path!)

(My sky is fair and clear.) The com-
mon phrase to denote good fortune.

(Let others linger. Onward 1 my
God! — my right!)

In presenting these specimens of the original words of some of our
western warriors, we are permitted to give the annexed versions of them
from the pen of o^., of our most gifted writers.

WAR-SONG— «Pe-na' se-wug."

(From the Algonquin of Schoolcraft.)

BY C. F. HOFFMAN.

Hear not ye their shrill-piping

screams on the air ?
Up I Braves for the conflict

prepare ye — prepare !
Aroused from the canebrake,

far south by your drum,
With beaks whet from carnage,

the Battle Birds come.

Oh God of my Fathers,

as swiftly as they,
I a^k but to swoop

from the hills on my prey :
Give this frame to the winds,

on the Prairie below,
But my soul — like thy bolt —

I would hurl on the foe I

TRADITIONARY WAR 80NG8.

413

m.
On the forehead of Earth

strikes the Sua in his might,
Oh gift me with glances

as searching as light.
In the front of the onslaught,

to single each crest,
Till my hatchet grows red

on their bravest and best

rv.
Why stand ye back idly,

ye Sons of the Lakes i
Who boast of the scalp-locks,

ye tremble to take.
Fear-dreamers may linger,

my skies are all bright —
Charge — charge— on the War-Path,

FOR God and the Right.

Take the foUowmg additional example, of a death song. These stan*
zas have all been actually sung on warlike occasions, and repeated in my
hearing. They have been gleaned from the traditionary songs of the
Chippewas of the north, whose villages extend through the region of lake
Superior, and to the utmost sources of the Mississippi. Those bands are
the hereditary foes of their western neighbours, the Dacotahs or Sioux,
who are generally called by them, by way of distinction, Na do wa' sees,
that is to say, oua enemies. The allusions in the songs are exclusively to
them. In writing the original, I omit the chorus, as it is not susceptible
of translation, and would increase considerably the space occupied.

DEATH SONG.

1. In opening this song the warrior is to be contemplated as lying
jvounded on the field of battle.

A' be tuh ge' zhig, (Under the centre of the sky,)

Ne ba baim w&' wft. (I utter my baim wft wA.

Baimwawa, is the sound of passing thunders, which will convey a
just idea of the violence of this figure.

2. His thoughts revert to the star of his destiny.

Ain dah' so gezhig (Every day, thou star 1}

Ke g& gun wd bom in. (I gaze at you.)

It is tho morning star that is here alluded to.

414

TBAOITIONARY MTAR ■ONOS.

8. He sees the birds of carnage hovering over the field.

A' be tuh ge^zhig (The half of the day)

Ai be yaun (I abide — gazing)

Pe na se wug (Ye warlike birds.)

4. He keeps the flight o/ these birds before his mind and hears their
fhrill cries.

Pe nusk wosh e wug

Pe n&' se wug

A' be tuh geezh ig oag.

(They fiy round the circuit of the sky.)

(The birds — circling)

(Round half the circuit of the sky.) The
meaning is, approaching him m circle
more nearly, as life becomes fiiinter in
him.

6. This figure is continued. He lies bleeding.

A' zha waush e wug (They cross the enemy% line)

Pe n& se wug. (The birds.)

6. He feels that he is called to another world.

A pit she Mon e doag
Ne mud w& w&
Wi we ne goag.

7. He is content and willing to go.

Ka gait', ne min wain' dum
Ne bun ai kum ig
Tshe h& be wish e naun.

(The high gods)
(My praise)
(They sound.)

(Full happy— I)

(To lie on the battle-field)

(Over the enemy's line.)

DEATH-SONG— « A' be tuh g6 zhig."

(From the Algonquin of Sdioolcraft.)

BT C. r. HOFFMAN.

Under the hollow sky,
Stretched on the Prairie lonci

Centre of glory, I
Bleeding, disdain to groan,

But like a battle cry
Peal forth my thunder moan,
Baimrwd-iod I

Star — Morning-Star, whose ray
Still with the dawn I see,

i their

ky.)

The
circle
iter in

TBADITIONABY WAR SONGS.

auenchless through half the day
Gazing thou seest me—

Yon birds of carnage, they
Fright not my gaze from thee i
Baim-wd^d I

m.
Bird, in thine airy rings
Over the foeman'a line,

Why do thy flapping wingt
Nearer me thus incline ?

Blood of the Dauntless brings*
Courage, oh Bird to thine !
Baitn-icd-iDd I

Hark to those Spirit-notes I
Ye high Heroes divine,

Hymned from your god-like throats
That Song of Praise is mine I

Mine, whose grave-pennon floatit
Over the foeman's line I
Baim-^/id'tDti t

416

WAR-SONd.

WAR BONO.

Where are my foes? say, warriors, where? No forest is so blaek|
That it can hide from my quick eye, the vestige of their track :
There is no lake so boundless, no path where man may go,
Can shield them from my sharp pursuit, or save them from my blow.
The winds that whisper in the trees, the clouds that spot the sky,
Impart a soft intelligence, to show me where they lie,
The very birds that sail the air, and scream as on they gOf
Give me a clue my course to tread, and lead me to the foe.

The sun, at dawn, lifts up his head, to gaide me on my way,
The moon, at night, looks softly down, and cheers me with her ray.
The war-crowned stars, those beaming lights, my spirit casts at nigh(
Direct me as I thread the maze, and lead me to the fight.
In sacred dreams within my lodge, while resting on the land,
Bright omens of success arise, and nerve my warlike hand,
Where'er I turn, where'er I go, there is a whispering sound,
That tells me I shall crush the foe, and drive him from my ground.

The beammg west invites mo on, with smiles of vermil hue.
And clouds of promise fill the sky, and deck its heavenly blue,
There is no breeze — there is no sign, in ocean, earth or sky,
That does not swell my breast with hope, or animate my eye.
If to the stormy beach I go, where heavy tempests play.
They tell me but, how warriors brave, should conquer in the fray.
All nature fills n-y heart with fires, that prompt me on to gOf
To rush with rage, and lifted spear, upon my country's foe.

MA N I) AN (' lllEF

APPENDIX.

NARRATIVE

0» THI OAPTIVITT OF

ALEXANDER HENRY, Ebq.

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

'.' V

When I reached Michilimackinac I found several other traders,
who had arrived before mc, from different parts of the country, and
who, in general, declared the disposition of the Indians to be hostile
to the English, and even apprehended some attack. M. Laurent Lu-
charme distinctly informed Major Ethcrington that a plan was absolutely
conceived for destroying him, his garrison, and all the English in the
upper country; but the commandant believing this and other reports
to be without foundation, proceeding only from idle or ill-disposed
persons, ar d of a tendency to do mischief, expressed much displeasure
against M. Ducharme, and threatened to send the next person who
should bring a story of the same kind, a prisoner to Detroit

The garrison, at this time, consisted of ninety privates, two subal-
terns and the commandant; and the English merchants at the fort
were four in number. Thus strong, few entertained anxiety concern-
ing the Indians, who had no weapons but small arms.

Meanwhile, the Indians, from every quarter, were daily assembling,
in unusual numbers, but with eveiy appearance of friendship, fre-
quenting the fort, and disposing of their peltries, in such a manner as
to dissipate almost every one's fears. For myself, on one occasion, I
took the liberty of observing to Major Etherington that, in my judgment*
no confidence ought to be placed in them, and that I was in-
formed no less than four himdrcd lay around the fort
27

!': It
1 tl

418

ALRZANOER BEMBT'S OAPTIVITT.

In return the major only rallied me on my timidity; and it is to

be confessed that if this officer neglected admonition on his part, so

did I on mine. Shortly after my first arrival at Michilimackinac, in

the preceding year, a Chippeway, named Wawatam, began to . come

often to my house, betraying in bis demeanor strong marks of personal

regard. After this had continued some time, he came, on a certain

day, bringing with him his whole family, and, at the same time, a large

present, consisting of skins, sugar, and dried meat Having laid these

in a heap, he tommenced a speech, in which he informed me that

some years before he had observed a fast, devoting himself, according

to the custom of his nation, to solitude, and to the mortification of his

body, in the hope to obtain, from the Great Spirit, protection through

all his days ; that on this occasion he had dreamed of adopting an

Englishman as his son, brother and friend; that, from the moment in

which he first beheld me, he had recognized me as the person whom the

Great Spirit had been pleased to point out to him for a brother ; that

he hoped that I would not refuse his present; and that he should

forever regard me as one of hb family.

I could not do otherwise than accept the present, and declare my
wilhngness to have so good a man as this appeared to be for my
friend and brother. I offered a present in return for that which I
had received, which Wawatam accepted, and then, thanking me for
the favor which he ssiid that I had rendered him, he left me, and
soon after set out on his winter's hunt

Twelve months had now elapsed since the occurrence of this in-
cident, and I had almost forgotten the person of my brother, when on
the second day of 4lJae, Wawatam came again to my house, in a
temper of mi^ vSibly melaficLoly and thoughtful. He told mc that
he had h^t. returned 'lUn^i'L wintering ground, and I asked after
his health; but without answering my question, he went on to say,
that he was sorry to find me returned from the Sault; that he intended
to go to that place himself, immediately after his arrival at Michili-
mackinac; and that he wished me to go there along with him and
his family the next morning. To all this he joined an inquiry,
whether or not the commandant had heard bad news, adding that
during the winter he had himself been frequently disturbed with the
noiae of evil birds; and further suggesting that there were nu-
merous Indians near the fort, many of whom had never shown
themselves within it Wawatam was about forty-five years of age, of
an excellent character among his nation, and a chief.

Referring much of what he heard to the peculiarities of the Indian

ALBZANDBR HBNRT's OAPTIVITr.

410

character, I did not pay all the attention which they will be found to
have deserved to the entreaties and remarks of my visitor. I answered
that I could not think of going to the Sault so soon as the next morning,
but would follow him there after the arrival of my clerks. Finding
himself unable to prevail with me, he withdrew for that day; but
early the next morning he came again, bringing with him his wife,
and a present of dried meat At this interview, after stating that he
had several packs of beaver, for which he intended to deal with me,
he expressed a second time his apprehensions, from the numerous In-
dians who were around the fort, and earnestly pressed me to consent
to an immediate departure for the Sault As a reason for this parti-
cular request, he assured me that all the Indians proposed to come
in a body, that day, to the fort, to demand liquor of the command-
ant, and that he wished me to be gone before they should grow
intoxicated.

I hid made, at the period to which I am now referring, so much
progress in the language in which Wawatara addressed me, as to be
able to hold an ordinary conversation in it; but the Indian manner
of speech is so extravagantly figurative that it is only for a perfect
master to follow and comprehend it entirely, Had I been further
advanced in this respect, I think that I should have gathered so much
information, from this my friendly monitor, as would have put me into
possession of the design of the enemy, and enable me to save, as well
others, as myself ; as it was, it unfortunately happened that I turned
a deaf ear to every thing, leaving Wawatam and his wife, after long
and patient, but ineffectual effbrts, to depart alone, with dejected jjj^iu-"
tenances, and not before tJkuy hm. each let fall some t-^urff*

In the coMise of the sajn', day, 1 observed tha. tne inair,-a,-. came in
great -;.i3!&bers into the iort, purchasing tomahawks, (small axes of one
pound weight) and frequently desiring to see silver arm-bands, and
other valuable ornaments, of which I had a large quantity for sale.
The ornaments, however, they in no instance purchased, but, after
turning them over, left them, saying that they would call again the next
day. Their motive, as it afterward- appeared, was no other than the
very artful one of discovering, by requesting to see them, the particular
places of their deposit, so that they might lay their hands on them in the
moment of pillage with the greater certainty and dispatch.

At night, I turned in my mind the visits of Wawatam ; but, though
they were calculated to excite uneasiness, nothing induced me to believe
that serious mischief was at hand. The next day, being the fourth of
June, was the king's birth-day.

420

ALEXANDER HENRT'S OAFTIYITT.

The morning was sultry. A Chippeway came to tell me that his
nation was going to play at baggatiwag, with the Sacs or Saakies, another
Indian nation, for a high wager. He invited me to witness the sport,
adding that the commai.aant was to be there, and would bet on the
side of the Chippeways. In consequence of this information, I went to
the commandant, and expostulated with him a little, representing that
the Indians might possibly have some sinister end in view; but the
commandant only smiled at my suspicions.

Baggatiway, called by the Canadians le jeu de la crosse, is played
with a bat and ball. The bat is about four feet in length, curved, and
terminating in a sort of racket Two posts are planted in the ground,
at a considerable distance from each other, as a mile or more. Each
party has its post, and the game consists in throwing the ball up to the
post of the adversary. The ball at the beginning is placed in the
middle of the course, and each party endeavors as well to throw the
ball out of the direction of its own post, as into that of the adver-
sary's.

I did not go myself to see the match which was now to be played
without the fort, because, there being a canoe prepared to depart, on
the following day for Montreal, I emp^DVi ' myself in writing letters
to my friends; and even when a fellow *- r, Mr. Tracy, happened
to call upon me, saying that another cf. <' Lad just arrived from
Detroit, and proposing that I should go with him to the beach, to
inquire the news, it so happened that I still remained, to finish my
letters; promising to follow Mr. Tracy in the course of a few minutes.
Mr. Tracy had not gone more than trventy paces from the door, vhm
i heard an Indian war-cry, ».r^ t* noise of general confusion.

Gk)ing instantly to my window, I saw a crowd of Indians within the
fort, furiously cutting down and scalping every Englishman they found.
In particular, I witnessed the fate of Lieutenant Jemette.

I had in the room in which I was a fowling piece, loaded with swan-
shot This I immediately seized, and held it for a few minutes, waiting
to hear the drum beat to arms. In this dreadful interval I saw
several of my countrymen fall, and more than one struggling between
the knees of an Indian, who, holding him in this manner, scalped him
while yet living.

At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing resistance made to
the enemy, and sensible of course that no effort of my own unassisted
arm could av.iil against four Iiuii Ired Indians, I thought only of seeking
shelter. Amid the slaughter which was raging, I observed many of
the Canadian inhabitants of the fort calmly looking on, neither opposing

swan-

US'

▲LBXAin>BR henry's OAPTIYITT.

the Indians nor suflfering injury ; and from this circumstance I conceived
a hope of finding security in their houses.

Between the yard door of my own house and that of M. Langlade,
my next neighbor, there was only a low fence, over which I easily
climbed. At my entrance I found the whole family at the windows,
gazing at the scCi e of blood before them. I addressed myself immedi-
ately to M. Langlade, begging that he would put me into some place
of safety, until the heat of the affair should be over ; an act of charity
by which he might perhaps preserve me from the general massacre ; but
while I uttered my petition, M. Langlade, who had looked for a moment
at me, turned again to the window, shrugging his shouldei-s, and
intimating that he could do nothing for me: " Que voudriez-vovs gw
j'cn ferain ? "

This was a moment for despair ; but the next, a Pani woman,* a slave
of M. Langlade's, beckoned to me to follow her. She brought me to
a door, which she opened, desiring me to enter, and telling me that it
led to the garret, where I must go and conceal myself. I joyfully
obeyed her directions; and she, having followed me up to the garret-
door, locked it after me, and with great presence of mind took away
the key.

This shelter obtained, if shelter I could hope to find it, I was natu-
rally anxious to know what might still be passing without. Through
an aperture, which afford(^ me a view of the area of the fort, I beheld,
«i^ shanf.*||j^^\c foulc-'. and ro«:V terrible, the ferocious triumphs oi
b'.»..an;iii conquerors, llie dead were scalped and mangled; the
dying were writhing and shrieking under the unsatiated knife and
tomahawk; and from the bodies of some, ripped open, their butchers
were drinking the blood, scooped up in the hollow of joined hands,
and quaffed amid shouts of rage and victory. I was shaken not only
with horror, but with fear. The sufferings which I witnessed, I seemed
on the point of experiencing. No long time elapsed before, every one
being destroyed who could be found, there wiis a general cry of " All is
finished!" At the same instant I heard some of the Indians enter the
house in which I was.

The garret was separated from the room below only by a layer of
single boards, at once the flooring of the one and the ceiling of the
other. I could therefore hear every thing that passed ; and the Indians
no sooner came in than they inquired whether or not any Englishmen
were in the house. M. Langlade replied that " he could not say ; he did

* The Panies are an Indian nation of the SoutL

4a»

ALEXANDER UBNRT's OAFTiyiTT.

not know of any ;" answers in which he did not exceed the truth ; for
the Pani woman had not only hidden me by stealth, but kept my secret
and her own. M. Langlade was therefore, as I presume, as far from a
wish to destroy me as he was careless about saving me, when he added
to these answers, that " they might examine for themselves, and would
soon be satisfied as to the object of their question." Saying this, he
brought them to the garret-door. ,

The state of my mind will be imagined. Arrived at the door,
some delay was occasioned by the absence of the key, and a few mo-
ments were thus allowed me in which to look around for a hiding
place. In one corner of the garret was a heap of those vessels of
birch bark, used in maple sugaa* making, as I have recently des-
cribed.

The door was unlocked and opened, and the Indians ascending the
stairs, before I had completely crept into a small opening which pre-
sented itself at one end of the heap. An instant after, four Indians
entered the room, all armed with tomahawks, and all besmeared with
blood upon every part of their bodies.

The die appeared to be cast I could scarcely breathe ; but I
thought the throbbing of my heart occasioned a noise loud enough to
betray me. The Indians walked in every direction about the garret,
and or-: ot them approached me so closely that at a particular mo-
ioent, hatl he put forth liis hand, he miyst have touched me. Still I
remained undiscovered ; a circumstance to Avhich the dark color of my
clothes, and the want of light in the room, which had no window,
and in the corner in which I was, must have contributed. In a word,
after taking several turns in the room, during which they told M.
Langlade how many they had killed, and how many scalps they had
taken, they returned down stairs, and I, with sensations not to be
expressed, heard the door, which was the barrier between me and
my fate, locked for the second time.

There was a feather-bed on the floor ; and on this, exhausted as
I was by the agitation of my mind, I threw myself down and fell
asleep. In this state I remmned till the dusk of the evening, when I
was awakened by a second opening of the door. The person that
now entered was M. Langlade's wife, who was much surprised at find-
ing me, but advised me not to be uneasy, observing that the Indians
had killed most of the English, but that she hoped I might myself
escape. A shower of rain having begun to fall, she had come to stop
a hole in the roof. On her going away, I begged her to send me
a Httlc water to drink ; which, she did.

MSZANDSR HBHirr'S CAPTIVnT.

423

stop
me

Ab night was now advancing, I continued to lie on the bed, rumi-
nating on my condition, but unable to discover a resource from which
I could hope for life. A flight to Detroit had no probable chance of
success. The distance from Michilimackinac was four hundred miles ;
I was without provisions ; and the whole length of the road lay
through Indian countries, countries of an enemy in arms, where the
first man whom I should meet would kill me. To stay where I was
threatened nearly the same issue. As before, fatigue of mind, and
not tranquility, suspended my cares, and procured me further sleep.

The game of baggatiway, as from the description above, will have
been perceived, is necessarily attended with much violence and noise.
In the ardor of contest, the ball, as has been suggested, if it cannot
be thrown to the goal desired, is struck in any direction by which it
can be diverted from that designed by the adversary. At such a
moment, therefore, nothing could be less liable to excite premature
alarm, than that the ball should be tossed over the pickets of the
Fort, nor that, having fallen there, it should be followed on the instant
by all engaged in the game, as well the one party as the other, aU
eager, all struggling, all shouting, all in the unrestrained pursuit of a
rude athletic exercise. Nothing could be less fitted to excite prema-
ture alarm ; nothing, therefore, could be more happily devised, under
the circumstances, than a stratagem like this ; and this was, in fact»
the stratagem which the Indians had employed, by which they had
obtained possession of the Fort, and by which they had been enabled
to slaughter and subdue its garrison, and such of its other inha-
bitants as they pleased. To be still more certain of success, they
had prevailed upon as many as they could, by a pretext the least
liable to suspicion, to come voluntarily without the pickets ; and par*
ticularly the commandant and garrison themselves.

The respite which sleep aflforded me, during the night, was put an
end to by the return of morning. I was again on the rack of appre-
hension. At sunrise, I heard the family stirring ; and presently after
Indian voices, informing M. Langlade that they had not found my
hapless self among the dead, and they supposed me to be some-
where concealed. M. Langlade appeared, from what followed, to be
by this time acquainted with the place of my reti-eat, of which, no
doubt, he had been informed by his wife. The poor woman, as
soon as the Indians mentioned me, declared to her husband, in the
French tongue, that he should no longer keep me in his house,
but deliver me up to my pursuers; giving as a reason for this
neasure, that should the Indians discover his instrumentality in my

424

ALIXANDBR HSimT'S OAFTIYITT.

concealinent, they might revenge it on her children, and that it vraa
better that I should die than they. M. Langlade resisted at first
this sentence of his wife's, but soon suffered her to prevail, informing
the Indians that he had been told I was in his house, that I had
come there without his knowledge, and that he would put me
into their hands. This was no sooner expressed than ho began to
ascend the stairs, the Indians following upon his heels.

I now resigned myself to the fate with which I was menaced ;
and regarding every attempt at concealment as vain, I arose from the
bed, and presented myself full in view to the Indians who were enter-
ing the room. They were all in a state of intoxication, and ent"'»ly
naked, except about the middle. One of them, name(' Veu. %
whom I had previously known, and who was upward oi six feet ^
height, had his entire face and body covered with charcoal and grease,
only that a white spot, of two inches in diameter, encircled either eye.
This man walked up to me, seized me with one hand by the collar
of the coat, while in the other he held a large carving knife, as if to
plunge it in my breast ; his eyes meanwhile were fixed steadfastly on
mine. At length, after some seconds of the most anxious suspense,
he dropped his arm, spying, "I won't kill you !" To this he added,
that he had frequently engaged in wars against the English, and had
brought away many scalps ; that on a certain occasion he had lost a
brother, whose name was Musinigon, and that I should be called after him.

A reprieve upon any terms placed me among the living, and gave
me back the sustaining voice of hope ; but Wenniway ordered me
down stairs, and there informed me that I was to be taken 'to his
cabin, where, and indeed every where else, the Indians were all mad
with liquor, death again was threatened, and not as possible only, but
as certain. I mentioned my fears on this subject tC' M. Langlade,
begging him to represent the danger to my master. M. Langlade, m
this instance, did not withhold his compassion, and Wenniway immedi-
ately consented that I should remain where I was, until he found
another opportunity to take me away.

Thus far secure, I reascended my garret stairs, in order to place
myself the furthest possible out of the reach of insult from drunken
Indians; but I had not remained there more than an hour, when I
was called to the room below, in which was an Indian, who said that
I must go with him out of the Fort, Wenniway having sent him to
fetch me. This man, as well as Wenniway himself, I had seen before.
In the preceding year, I had allowed him to take goods on credit,
for which he was still in my debt ; and some short time previous to

AUtZAlTDIR HKKRT'S OAFTITITT.

426

the Burprise of the Fort, ho had said, upon my upbraiding him with
want of honesty, that "he would pay me before long!" This speech
now came fresh into my memory, and led me to suspect that the fellow
had formed a design against my life. I communicated the suspicion
to M. Langlade ; but he gave for answer that " I was not now my
own master, and must do as I was ordered."

The Indian, on his part, directed that before I left the house, I
should undress myself, declaring that my coat and shirt would become
him belter than they did me. His pleasure in this respect being
complied with, no other alternative was left me than either to go out
naked, or put on the clothes of the Indian, which he freely ga\e me
in exchange. His motive for thus stripping me of my own apparel
V iio other, as I afterwards learned, than this, that it might not be
stained with blood when he should kill me.

I was now told to proceed; and my driver followed me close, until
I had passed the gate of the Fort, when I turned toward the spot
where I knew the Indians to be encamped. This, however, did not
suit the purpose of my enemy, who seized me by the arm, and drew
me violently in the opposite direction, to the distance of fifty yards
above the Fort Here, finding that I was approaching the bushes and
sand hills, I determined to proceed no further, but told the Indian thi'.i
I believed he meant to murder me, and if so he might as wel! itrike
where I was as at any greater distance. He replied with coolness,
that my suspicions were just, and that he meant to pay me in this
manner for my goods. At the same time he produced a knife, and
held me in a position to receive the intended blow. Both this and
that which followed were necessarily the aflfsur of a moment By some
eflfort, too sudden and too little dependent on thought to be explained
or remembered, I was enabled to arrest his arm, and give him a sud-
den push, by which I turned him from me, and releped myself from
his grasp. This was no sooner done than I ran toward the Fort,
with all the swiftness in my power, the Indian following me, and I
expecting every moment to feel his knife. I succeeded ui my flight;
and, on entering the Fort, I saw Wcnniway standing in the midst of
the area, and to him I hastened for protection. Wenniway desired
the Indian to desist ; but the latter pursued me round him, making
several strokes at me with his knife, and foaming at the mouth with
rage at the repeated failure of his purpose. At length Wenniway
drew near to M. Langlade's house ; and the door being open, I ran
into it The Indian followed me ; but on my entering the house, he
voluntarily abandoned the pursuit

ALBXANDsn BMrRT's oArnnrTk

Preserved so often, and so unexpectedly, as it had now been my lot to
be, I returned to my garret, with a strong inclination to believe that,
through the will of an overruling power, no Tndiau enemy coiild do me
hurt ; but new trials, as I believed, were at hand, when, at ten o'clock in
the evening, I was roused from sleep, and once more desired to descend
the stairs. IS'ot less, however, to my satisfaction than surprise, I was
summoned only to meet Major Etherington, Mr. Bostwick, and Lieu-
tenan Lcsslie, who were in the room below.

These gentlemen had been taken prisoners, while looking at the game,
without the Fort, and immediately stripped of all their clothea They
were now sent into the fort, under the charge of Canadians, because, the
Indians havbg resolved on getting drunk, the chiefs were apprehensive
that they would be murdered if they continued in the camp. Lieutenant
Jemette and seventy soldiers had been killed ; and but twenty English-
men, including soldiers, were still alive. These were all within the fort,
together with nearly three hundred Canadians belonging to the canoes, <fec.
These being our numbers, myself and others proposed to Maj. Ether-
ington to make an effort for regaining possesion of the fort, and maintain-
ing it against the Indians. The Jesuit missionary was consulted on the
project ; but he discouraged us, by his representations, not only of the
merciless treatment which we must expect from the Indians, should they
regain their superiority, but of the little dependence which was to be
placed upon our Canadian auxiliaries. Thus the fort and prisoners
ierifiiiricd in the hand? of the Indiana^iltoii^vh^ tiirough the whole night,
the prisoners aiid whites wero Li -''xtuai possession, and they were. -jiiu-
out the gates.

That whole night, or the greater part of it, was passed in mutual
condolence ; and my fellow-prisoners shared my garret In the morn-
ing, being again called down, I found my master, Wenniway, and was
desired to follow him. He led me to a small house, within the fort,
where, in a narrow room, and almost dark, I found Mr. Ezekiel Solo-
mons, an Englishman from Detroit, and a soldier, all prisoners. With
these, I remained in painful suspense, as to the scene that was next
to present itself, till ten o'clock in the forenoon, when an Indian ar-
rived, and presently marched us to the lake side, where a canoe
appeared ready for departure, and in which we found that we were
to embark.

Our voyage, full of doubt as it was, would have commenced imme-
diately, but that one of the Indians, who was to be of the party, was
absent His arrival was to be waited for ; and this occasioned a very
long delay, during which we were exposed to a keen north-east wind.

AUXAHDBB BIKRT'B OAPnTITT.

487

An old shirt was all that covered me ; I suffered much from the
cold ; and in this extremity, M. Langlade coming down to the beaoh,
I asked him for a blanket, promising if I lived to pay him for it, at
any price ho pleased ; but tlio answer I received was this, that he
could let me have no blanket unless there were some one to be sccu>
rity for the payment For myself, he observed, I had no longer any prop-
erty in that country. I had no more to say to M. Langlade ; but
presently seebg another Canadian, named John Cuchoise, I addressed
to him a similar request, and was not refused. Naked as I was, and
rigorous as was the weather, but for the blanket I must have perished.
At noon, our party was all collected, the prisoners all embarked, and we
steered for the Isle du Castor, [Beaver Island,] in Lake Michigan. '

The soldier, who was our companion in misfortune, was made fast to
a bar of the canoe, by a rope tied round his neck, as is the manner
of the Indians in transporting their prisoners. The rest were left
unconfined ; but a paddle was put into each of our hands, and we
were made to use it The Indians in the canoe were seven in num-
ber, the prisoners four. I had left, as it will be recollected. Major
Ethcrington, Lieutenant Lesslie and Mr. Bostwick, at M. Langlade's, and
was now joined in misery with Mr. Ezekiel Solomons, the soldier, and
the Englishman who had newly arrived from Detroit This was on
the sixth day of June. The Fort was taken on the fourth ; I surren-
dered myself to Wenniway on the fifth ; and this was the third day
of our distress.

We were bound, as I have stud, for the Isles du Castor, which lie
iu the mouth of Lake Michigan ; and we should have crossed the
lake, but that a thick fog came on, on account of which the Indians
deemed it safer to keep the shore close under their lee. We there-
fore approached the lands of the Ottawas, and their village of
L'Arbre Croche, already mentioned as lying about twenty miles to the
westward of Michilimackinac, on the opposite side of the tongue of
land on which the Fort is built

Every half hour, the Indians gave their warwhoop, one for every
prisoner in their canoe. This is a general custom, by the aid of
which, all other Indians, within hearing, are apprised of the number
of prisoners they are carrying. • ^

In this manner we reached Wagoshense, Fox-point, a long point,
stretching westward into the lake, and which the Ottawas make a
carrying place, to avoid going round it It is distant eighteen miles
from Michilimackinac. After the Indians had made their warwhoop,
as before, an Ottawa appeared upon the beach, who made signs that we

4S8

ALKZANDER HXNRT'B OAPTIVITT.

should land. In consequence, we approaclicd. The Ottawa asked the
news, and kept the Chippeways in further conversation, till we were
within a few yards of the land, and in shallow water. At this mo-
ment, a hundred men rushed upon us, from among the bushes, and
dragged all the prisoners out of the canoe, amid a terrifying shout.
We now believed that our last suflferings were approaching ; but
no sooner were wc fairly on shore, and on our legs, than the chiefs
of the party advanced, and gave each of us their hands, telling us that they
were our friends, and Ottawas, whom the Chippeways had insulted,
by destroying the English without consulting with them on the aflTuir.
They added that what they had done was for the purpose of saving
our hves, the Chippeways having been carrying us to the Isles du
Castor only to kill and devour us.

The reader's imagination is hero distracted by the variety of our
fortunes, and he may well paint to himself the state of mind of those
who sustained them, who were the sport or the victims of a series
of events, more like dreams than realities, more like fiction than truth!
It was not long before we weri, embarked again, in the canoes of
the Ottawas, who, the same evening, relanded us at Michilimackinac,
where they marched us into the Fort, in view of the Chippewas,
confounded at beholding the Ottawas espousing a side opposite to
their own.

The Ottawas, who had accompanied us in sufficient numbers, took pos-
session of the Fort We, who had changed masters, but were still prisoners,
were lodged in the house of the commandant, and strictly guarded.

Early the next morning, a general council was held, in which the
Chipp||(i||,-^^/;ompk/ncd^'vach of the conduct of the Ottawi<psi rob-
bi'i ■ ihoo 'T!f liii ';"piisonois ; alleoiny that all the In:'- ais, the Otta-
was ali)ue excepted, were at wai'^with the Engli^'r. , that Pontiac had
taken Detroit ; that the King of France had awoke, and repossessed
himself of Quebec and Montreal ; and that the English were meeting
destruction, not only at Michilimackinac, but in every other part of the
world. From all this they inferred that it became the Ottawas to
restore the prisoners, and to join in the war ; and the speech was
followed by large presents, being part of the plunder of the Fort, and
which was previously heaped in the center of the room. The Indians
rarely make their answers till the day after they have heard the argu
ments offered. They did not depart from their custom on this occasion ;
and the council therefore adjourned.

Wc, the prisoners, whose fate was thus in controversy, were unacquainted
at the time with this transaction ; and therefore enjoyed a night of

ALUCAITDSR HimtT'S OAPTIVTrr.

429

asked the
1 we were
t this mo-
ishes, and
ing shouL
hing ; but
the chiefs
t that Ihcy

1 insulted,
the affair,
of saving

2 Isles du

ty of our
i of those
)f a series
han truth!
canoes of
liniackinac,
Hhippewas,
opposite to

I, took pos-
I prisoners,
dcd.

which the
aijpiiti rob-
the Otta-
)ntiac had
cpossessed
e meeting
irt of the
)ttawas to
leech was

Fort, and
le Indiana

the argu
i occasion;

acquainted
night of

■

tolerable tranquility, not in tho least suspecting the reverse which wan
preparing for us. Which of the arguments of the Chippeways, or
whether or not all were deemed valid by tho Ottawos, I cannot say ;
but the council was resumed at an early hour in the morning, and,
after several speeches had been made in it, the prisoners were sent
for, and returned to the Chippewaya

The Ottawas, who now gave us into the hands of the Chippeways,
had themselves declared that the latter designed no other than to kill
us, and make broth of ua. The Chippeways, as soon as we were re-
stored to them, marched us to a village of their own, situate on the
point which is below the Fort, and put us into a lodge, already the
prison of fourteen soldiers, tied two and two, with each a rope about
his neck, and made fast to a pole which might bo called the supporter
of the building.

I was left untied ; but I passed a night sleepless and full of wretch-
edness. My bed was the bare ground, and I was again reduced to an
old shirt, as my entire apparel ; the blanket which I had received,
through tho generosity of M. Cuchoise, having been taken from me
among the Ottawas, when they seized upon myself and the others, at
Wagoshense. I was, besides, in want of food, havbg for two days
eaten nothing.

I confess that in the canoe with the Chippeways I was offered
bread; but, bread, with what accompaniment? They had a loaf, which
they cut with tho same knives that they had employed in the massa-
ere — knives still covered with blood. The blood they moistened with
spittle, and rubbing it on the bread, offered tliis for food to their pris-
oners, telling them to eat Che blood of theur countrymen. .^^

Such wa.s my r;*wt»';ut)n on the morning of the scventjj oi June, in the
year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three ; but a few hours
produced an event which gave still a new color to my lot

Toward noon, when the great war-chief, in company with Wenniway
was seated at the opposite end of the lodge, my friend and brother, Wa-
watam, suddenly came in. During the four days preceding, I had often
wondered what had become of him. In passing by he gave me his hand
but went immediately toward the great chief, by the side of whom and
Wenniway, he sat himself down. The most uninterrupted silence pre-
vmled ; each smoked his pipe ; and this done, Wawatam arose, and left
the lodge, saying to me, as he passed, " Take courage ! "

An hour elapsed, diiring which several chiefs entered, and prepara-
tions appeared to be making for a council At length, Wawatam
re-entered the lodge, followed by his wife, and both loaded with

AtRrAKttVR ntimT*8 OAVnvitr.

mcrclinndisc, which thoy cnrried up to thb chittfn, and laid in a hoap
before them. Some moments of silence followed, at the end of
which, Wawutam pronounced a Hpeech, every word of which, to n>e,
was uf extraordinary interest:

"Friends and relations," he began, "what is it that I shall say?
You know what I feel. You all have friends and brothers and chil-
dren, whom as yourselves you- love ; and you, what would y(»u expc»
ricnce, did you, like me, behold your dearest friend — your brother — in
the condition of a slave ; a slave exposed every moment to insult, and to
menaces of death ? This case, as you all know, is mine. See there,
{^pointing to rmj9ef/,) my friend and brother among slaves, himself a
slave !

" You all well know that long before the war began, I adopted him as
my brother. From that moment he became one of my family, so that
no change of circumstances could break the cord which fastened us
together.

"He is my brother; and, because I am your relation, he is therefore
your relation, too : and how, being your relation, can ho be your
slave ? " '

" On the day on which the war began, you were fearful, lest on
this vciy account, I should reveal your secret You requested, there-
fore, that I would leave the Fort, and even cross the lake. I did so,
but did it with reluctance. I did it with reluctance, notwithstanding
tliat you, Mcnehwehna, who had the command in this enterprise, gave
me your promise that you would protect my friend, delivering him
from all danger, anil giving him safely to mc.

" The performance of this promise I now claim. I come not with
empty hands to ask it. ^-u, Menehwehna, best know whether or not,
as it respects yours'li, you have kept your word; but I bring these
goods, to buy off every claim which any man among you all may have
on my brother, as his prisoner."

Wawatam having ceased, the pipes were again filled ; and, after they
were finished, a further period of silence followed. At the end of
this, Menehwehna arose and gave his reply:

" My relation and brother," said he, " what you have spoken is the
truth. We were acquainted with the friendship which subsisted between
yourself and the Englishman, in whose behalf you have now addressed
us. We knew the danger of having our secret discovered, and the
consequences which must follow ; and you say truly that we requested
you to leave the Fort This we did out of regard for you and your
family; for, if a discovery of our design had been made, you would

'<-

MBZAHDKR HXNRT's OAFTtVITT.

431

have been blnihcd, whothcr guilty or not ; and you would thus have
been involved in difficulties from which you could nut hnvu extri-
cated your8el£

"It is alst) true that. I promised you to take care of your friend;
and this promise I performed, by desiring my son, at the moment of
assault, to seek him out, and bring him to my lodge. Ho went
accordingly, but could not find him. The day after I sent him to
Langlade's, when ho was informed that your friend was safe ; and hud
it not been that tho Indians were then drinking the rum which had
been found in tho Fort, he would havo brought him home with him,
according to my orders.

" I am very glad to find that your friend has escaped. We ac-
cept your present; and you may take him homo with you."

V iwatam thanked the assembled chiefs, and taking rac by the
hand, led mo to Lis lodge, which was at the distance of a few yards
only from I'lc pr'sun lodge. My entrance appeared to give joy to the
whole family; .""od was immed'lxtely prepared for mc; and I now ato
the first hearty meal ^^ ''•-h I had made since my capture. I found
myself one of the uui ly; and but that I had still my fears, as to
the other In'''.ins, I felt as hripy as tho situation could allow.

In the coji'ce of the next morning, I was alarmed by a noise in
the prison lodge ; and looking through tho openings of the lodge in
which I was, I saw seven dead bodies ol' white men dragged forth.
Upon my inquiry into the occasion, I was informed that a certain
chief, called by the Canadians Lo Grand Sable, had not long before
arrived from iiis winter's hunt; and that he having been absent when
the war begun, and being now desirous of manifesting to the Indiana
at large his hearty concurrence in what they had done, had gone
into the prison lodge, and there, with his knife, put the seven men,
whose bodies I had seen, to death.

Shortly after, two of the Indians took one of the dead bodies, which
ih' ;.• chose as being the fattest, cut off the head, and divided the whole
mto five parts, one of which was put into each of five kettles, hung over
as many fires kindled for this purpose, at the door of tho prison lodge.
Soon after things were so far prepared, a message came to our lodge,
with an invitation to Wawatam to assist at the feast.

An invitation to a feast is given by him who is the master of it Small

cuttings of cedar wood, of about four inches in length, supply the

place of cards ; and the bearer by word of mouth states the particulars.

Wawatam obeyed the summons, taking with him, as usual, to the

place of entertainment, his dish and spoon.

432

AlBZANOER HKNRT'S OAPTIVlTr.

After an absence of about half an hour, he returned, bringing in his
dish a human hand, and a large piece of flesh. He did not appear to
relish the repast, but told me that it was then, and always had been
the custom among all the Indian nations, when returning from war, or
on overcoming their enemies, to make a war-feast from among the slain.
This he said inspired the warrior with courage in attack, and bred him
to meet death with fearlessness.

In the evening of the same day, a large canoe, such as those which
came from Montreal, was seen advancing to the fort It was full of
men, and I distinguished several passengers. The Indian cry was made
in the village ; a general muster' ordered ; and to the number of two
hundred they marched up to the fort, where the canoe was expected
to land. The canoe, suspecting nothing, came boldly to the fort, where
the passengers, as being English traders, were seized, dragged through
the water, beat, reviled, marched to the prison lodge, and there stripped
of their clothes and confined.

Of the English traders that fell into the hands of the Indians at
the capture of the Fort, Mr. Tracy was the only one who lost his life.
Mr. Ezekiel Solomons and Mr. Henry Bostwick were taken by the Otta->
was, and after the peace carried down to Montreal, and there ransomed.
Of ninety troops, about seventy \'ere killed; the rest, together with those
of the posts in the Bay des Puants, and at tl^ river St Joseph, were
also kept in safety by the Ottawas till the peace, and then either freely
restored, or ransomed at Montreal. The Ottiwas never overcame their
disgust at the neglect with which they had been treated, in the be-
ginning of the war, by those who afterwards desired then* assistance
as allies.

In the morning of the ninth of June, a general council was held,
at which it was agreed to remove to the island of Michiliraackinac, as a
more defensible situation in the event of an attack by the English. The
Indians had begun to entertain apprehensions of want of strength. No
news had reached them from the Potawatamies, in the Bay des Puants ;
and they were uncertain whether or not the Monomins would join
them. They even feared that the Sioux would take the English side.

This resolution fixed, they prepared for a speedy retreat At noon
the camp was broken up, and we embarked, taking with us the pris-
oners that were still undisposed of. On our passage we encountered
a gale of wind, and there were some appearances of danger. To avert
it, a dog, of which the legs were previously tied together, was thrown
into the lake ; an offering designed to soothe the angry passions of some
offended Manito.

AUBXANDER REITBT'S OAPTIVITT.

433

held,

as a

The

, No

uants;

jom

side.

nooQ

pris-

fitered

» avert

hrown

some

As we approached the island, two women in the canoe in which I
was, began to utter melancholy and hideous cries. Precarious as my
condition still remained, I experienced some sensations of alarm from
these dismal sounds, of which I could not then discover the occasion.
Subsequently, I learned that it is customary for the women, on pjissing
near the burial places of relations, never to omit the practice of whicli
I was now a witness, and by which they intend to denote their grief.

By the approach of evening we reached the island in safety, and the
women were not long in erecting our cabins. In the morning, there
was a muster of the Indians, at which there were found three hundred
and fifty fighting men.

In the course of the day, there arrived a canoa from Detroit, with
ambassadors, who endeavored to prevail on the Indians to repair thither
to the assistance of Pontiac ; but fear was now the prevailing passion.
A guard was kept during the day, and a watch by night, and alarms
were very frequently spread. Had an enemy appeared, all the pris-
oners would have been put to death ; and I suspec^d that, as an
Englishman, I should share their fate.

Several days had now passed, when one morning a continued alarm
prevailed, and I saw the Indians running in a confused manner toward
the beach. In a short time I learned that two large canoes from
Montreal were in sight

All the Indian canoes were immediately manned, and those from
Montreal were surrounded and seized, as they turned a point behind
which the flotilla had been concealed. The goods were consigned to
a Mr. Levy, and would have been saved if the canoe men had called
them French property ; but they were terrified and disguised nothing.

In the canoes was a large proportion of liquor, a dangerous acqui-
sition, and which threatened disturbance among the Indians, even to
the loss of their dearest friends. Wawatam, always watchful of my
safety, no sooner heard the noise of drunkenness, which in the evening
did not feul to begin, than he represented to me the danger of remaining
in the village, and owned that he could not himself resist the temptation
of joining his comrades in the debauch. That I might escape all mischief
he therefore requested that I would accompany him to the moimtain,
where I was to remain hidden till the liquor should be drank.

We ascended the mountain accordingly. It is this mountain which
constitutes that high land in the middle of the island, of which I have
spoken before, as a figure considered as resembUng a turtle, and therefore
called Michilimackinac. It is thickly covered with wood, and very
toward the top. After walking more than half a mile, we came

rocky

4f4

iXKZANDKR HBNRT'S OAFTIVITT.

to a large rock, at the base of which was an opening, dark within, and
appearing to be the entrance of a cave.

Here, Wawatam recommended that I should take up my lodging, and
by all means remain till he returned. '

On going into the cave, of which the entrance was nearly ten feet
wide, I found the further end to be rounded in its F-hape, like that of
an oven, but with a further aperture, too small, however, to be explored.

After thus looking around me, I broke small branches from the
trees, and spread them for a bed; then wrapped myself in my blanket
and slept till daybreak.

On awaking I felt myself incommoded by some object upon which
I lay ; and removing it, found it to be a bone. This I supposed to be
that of a deer, or some other animal, and what might very naturally
be looked for in the place in which it was; but, when daylight visited
my chamber, I discovered, with some feelings of horror, that I was
lying on nothing less than a heap of human bones and skulls, which
covered all the floor!

The day pasted without the return of Wawatam, and w^ithout food.
As night approached, I found myself unable to meet its darkness in
the charnel-house, which, nevertheless, I had viewed free from uneasi-
ness during the day. I chose, therefore, an adjacent bush Tor this night's
lodging, and slept under it as before ; but in the morning, I awoke hun-
gry and dispirited, and almost envying the dry bones, to the view of
wliich I returned. At length the sound of a foot reached me, and my
Indian friend appeared, making many apologies for his long absence,
the cause of which was an unfortunate excess in the enjoyment of his
liquor.

This point being expMned, I mentioned the extraordinary sight that
had presented itself in the cave to which he had commended my slum-
bers. He had never heard of its existence before; and, upon exam-
ining the cave together, we saw reason to believe that it had been
anciently filled with human bodies.

On returning to the lodge, I experienced a cordial reception from
the family, which consisted of the wife of my friend, his two snos, of
whom the eldest was married, and whose wife, and a daughter of
thirteen years of age, completed the list

Wawatam related to the other Indians, the adventure of the bones.
All of them expressed surprise at hearing it, and declared that they had
never been aware of the contents of this cave before. After visiting it,
which they immediately did, ahnost every one offered a different opinion
as to its history.

ALBXAKDER BXVKT'b OAPTIVITT.

495

Some advanced, that at a period when the waters orerflowed tho
land, (an evejit which makes a distinguished figure in the history of their
world,) the inhabitants of this island had fled into the cave, and been
there drowned; others, that those same inhabitants, when the Hurons
made war upon them, (as tradition says they did,) hid themselves m
the cave, and being discovered, were there massacred. For myself, I
am disposed to believe that this cave was an ancient receptacle of the
bones of prisoners, sacrificed and devoured at war-feasts. I have always
observed that the Indians pay particular attention to the bones of sac-
rifices, preserving them unbroken, and depositing them in some place
kept exclusively for that purpose.

A few days after the occurrence of the incidents recorded above,
Menehwehna, whom I now found to be the great chief of the village
of Michilimackinac, came to the lodge of my friend ; and when the usual
ceremony of smoking was finished, he observed that Indians were now
daily arriving from Detroit, some of whom had lost relations or friends
in the war, and who would certainly retaliate on any Englishman they
found ; upon which accoimt, his errand Avas to advise that I should bo
di-essed Uke an Indian, an expedient whence I might hope to escape all
future insult

I could not but consent to the proposal, and the chief was so kind
as to assist my friend and his family in effecting that very day the
desired metamorphosis. My hair was cut off, and my head shaved,
with the exception of a spot on the crown, of about twice the diameter of
a crown-piece. My face was painted with' three or four different colors;
some parts of it red, and others black. A shirt was provided for me,
painted with vermilion, mixed with grease. A large collar of wampum
was put round my neck, and another suspended on my breast Botli
my arms were decorated with large bands of silver above the elbow,
besides several smaller ones on the wrists ; and my legs were covered
with mitascs, a kind of hose, made, as is the favorite fashion, of scarlet
cloth. Over all, I was to wear a scarlet blanket or mantle, and on my
head a large bunch of feathers. I parted, not without some regret,
with the long hair which was natural to it, and which I fancied to be
ornamentjil ; but the ladies of the family, and of the village in general,
appeared to think my person improved, and now condescended to call
me handsome, even among Indians.

Protected, in a great measure, by this disguise, I felt myself more at
liberty than before; and the season being arrived in which my clerks
from the interior were to be expected, and some part of my property,
as I had a right to hope, recovered, I begged the favor of Wawatam

480

AUCZANDER HENRT'S CAPTIVITT.

that he would enable me to pay a short visit to Michilimackinac. He
did not fail to comply, and I succeeded in finding my clerks ; but, either
through the disturbed state of the country, as thoy represented to be
the case, or through their misconduct, as I had reason to think, I ob-
tained nothing; and nothing, or almost nothing, I now began to think
would be all that I should need during the rest of my life. To fish
and to hunt, to collect a few skins, and exchange them for necessaries,
was all that seemed destined to do, and to acquire, for the future.

I returned to the Indian village, where at this time much scarcity
of food prevai d. We were often for twenty-four hours without eating;
and when in t e morning we had no victuals for the day before us, the
custom was to black our faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit,
through resign, ion, a temper as cheerful as if in the midst of plenty.

A repetition of the evil, however, soon induced us to leave the island in
search of food ; and accordingly we departed for the bay of Boutchitaouy ;
distant eight leagues, and where we found plenty of wild fowl and fish.

While in the bay, my guardian's daughter-in-law was taken in labor
of her first child. She was immediately removed out of the common
lodge; and a small one, for her separate accommodation was begun
and finished by the women in less than half an hour.

The next morning we heard that she was very ill, and the family
began to be much alarmed on her account; the more so, no doubt,
because cases of difficult labor are very rare among Indian women. In
this distress, Wawatara requested me to accompany him into the woods ;
and on our way informed me that if he could find a snake, he should
socn secure relief to his daughter-in-law.

On reaching some wet ground, we speedily obtained the object of our
search, in a small snake, of the kind called the garter snake. Wawatam
seized it by the neck, and holding it fast, while it coiled itself round
his arm, he cut off its head, catching the blood in a cup that he had
brought with him. This done, he threw away the snake, and carried
home the blood, which he mixed vith (^ quantity of water. Of this
mixture he administered first one table-spoonful, and shortly after a
second. Within an hour the patient was safely delivered of a tine child;
and Wawatum subsequently declared that the remedy, to which he had
resorted, was one that never failed.

On the next day, we left the bay of Boutchitaouy ; and the young
mother, in high spirits, assisted in loading the canoe, barefooted, and
knee-deep in the water.

The medical information, the diseases, and the remedies of the Indians,
often engaged my curiosity during the period through which I was

ALEXANDER HENRT'S CAPTIVITT

487

familiar with these nations ; and I sliall take this occasion to introduce
a few particulars connected with their history.

The Indians are in gencial free from disorders; and an instance of
their being subject to dropsy, gout, or stone, never came within my
knov^ledge. Inflammations of the lungs are among their most ordinary
complaints; and rheumatism still more so, especially with the aged.
Their mode of life, in which they are so much exposed to the wet
and cold, sleeping on the ground, and inhaling the night air, sufficiently
accounts for their liability to these diseases. The remedies on w^hich
they most rely are emetics, cathartics, and the lancet; but especially
the last Bleeding is so favorite an operation among the women that
they never lose an occasion of enjoying it, whether sick or wclL I have
sometimes bled a dozen women in a morning as they sat in a row, along
a fallen tree, beginning with the first, opening the vein, then proceeding
to the second, and so on, having three or four individuals bleeding at
the same time.

In most villages, and particularly in those of the Chippeways, this
service was required of me; and no persuasion of mine could ever
induce a woman to dispense with it

In all parts of the country, and among all the nations that I have seen,
particular individuals arrogate to themselves the art of healing, but
principally by means of pretended sorcery; and operations of this sort
are always paid for by a present made before they arc begun. Indeed,
whatever, as an impostor, may be the demerits of the operator, his
reward may generally be said to be fairly earned by dint of corporeal
labor.

I was once present at a performance of this kind, in which the patient
was a female child of about twelve years of age. Several of the elder
chiefs Avere invited to the scene; and the same compUment was paid
to myself, on account of the medical skill for which it was pleased to
give me credit

The physician (so to call him) seated himself on the ground; and
before him, on a new stroud blanket, was placed a basin of water,
in which were three bones, the larger ones, as it appeared to me, of a
swan's wing. In his hand he had his shishi 'loi, or rattle, with which
he beat time to his medicine song. The sick cliild lay on a blanket, near
the physician, she appeared to have much fever, and a severe oppression
of the lungs, breathing with difficulty, and betraying symptoms of the
last stage of consumption.

After singing for some time, the physician took one of the bones out
af the basin: the bone was hollow; and one end being applied to the

438

AUBXANDKR HENRt'S OAFTrVITT.

breast of the patient, ho put the other into his mouth, in order to
remove the disorder bv suction. Having persevered in this as long as
he thought proper, he suddenly seemed to force the bono into his
mouth, and swallow it He now acted the part of one suflFerhig severe
pain ; but, presently, finding relief, he made a long speech, and after
this returned to singing, and to the accompaniment of his rattle. With
the latter during his song, he struck his head, breast, sides, and back,
at the same time straining, as if to vomit forth the bone.

Relinquishing this attempt, he applied himself to suction a second
time, and with the second of the three bones; and this also he soon
seemed to swallow.

Upon its disappearance, he began to distort himself in the most fright-
ful manner, using every gesture which conld convey the idea of pain ;
at length he succeeded, or pretended to succeed, in throwing up one
of the bones. This was handed about to the spectators, and strictly
examined; but nothing remarkable could be discovered. Upon this,
he went back to his song and rattle ; and after some time threw up the
second of the two bones. In the groove of this, the physician upon
examination, found, and displayed to all present, a small white substance,
resembling a piece of the quill of a feather. It was passed round the
company from one to the other; and declared, by the physician, to
be the thing causing the disorder of his patient

The multitude believe that these physicians, whom the French call
jongleurs, or jugglers, can inflict as well as remove disorders. They
believe that by drawing the figure of any person in sand or ashes,
or on clay, or by considering any object as the figure of a person, and
then pricking it with a sharp stick, or other substance, or doing, in any
other manner, that which done to a living body vould cause pain or
injury, the individual represented, or supposed to be represented, will
suffer accordingly. On the other hand, the mischief being done, another
physician, of equal pretensions, can by suction remove it Unfortunately
however, the operations which I have described were not successful in
the instance referred to; for, on the day after they had taken place,
the girl died.

With regard to flesh-wounds, the Indians certainly effect astonishing
cures. Here, as above, much that is fantastic occurs; but the success
of their practice evinces something solid.

At the Sault de Sainte-Marie I knew a man who, in the result of a
quarrel, received the stroke of an axe in his side. The blow wiis so
violent, and the axe driven so deep, that the wretch who held it could
not withdraw it, but left it in the wound, and fled. Shortly after, the

ALEXANDER HENRY'b CAPTIVITY.

430

man was found, and brought into the fort, where several other Indians
came to his assistance. Among these, one, who was a physician im-
mediately withdrew, in order to fetch his penegu^an, or medicine bag,
with which he soon returned. The eyes of the suflFerer were fixed,
his teeth closed, and his case apparently desperate.

The physician took from his bag a smaU portion of a very white
substance, resembling that of a bone ; this he scraped into a little water,
and forcing open the jaws of the patient with a stick, he poured the
mixture down his throat What followed was, that in a very short
space of time the wounded man moved his eyes: and beginning to vomits
threw up a small lump of clotted blood.

The physician now, and not before, examined the wound, from which
I could see the breath escape, and from which a part of the omentum
depended. This the physician did not set about to restore to its place,
but, cutting it away, minced it into small pieces, and made his patient
swallow it

The man was then carried to his lodge, where I visited him dtuly. By
the sixth day he was able to walk about; and withm a month he grew
quite well, except that he was troubled with a cough. Twenty years
after his misfortune he was still alive.

Another man, being on his wintering-ground, and from home, hunt-
ing beaver, was crossing a lake, covered with smooth ice, with two
beavers on his back, when his foot slipped, and he fell At his side,
in his belt, was his axe, the blade of which came upon the joint of
his wrist; and, the weight of his body coming upon the blade, his
hand was completely separated from his arm, with the exception of a
small piece of the skin. He had to walk three miles to his lodge, which
was thus far away. The skin, which alone retained his hand to his
arm, he cut through, with the same axe which had done the rest; and
fortunately having on a shirt, he took it off, tore it up, and made a
strong ligature above the wrist, so as in some measure to avoid the loss
of blood. On reaching his lodge, he cured the wound himself, by the
mere use of simples. I was a witness to its perfect healmg.

I have said that these physicians, jugglers, or practitioners of pre-
tended sorcery, are supposed to be capable of inflicting diseases; and
I may add, that they are sometimes themselves suflFerers on this
account In one instance I saw one of them killed, by a man who
charged him with havuig brought his brother to death by malefic arts.
The accuser, in his rage, thrust his knife into the belly of the accused,
and ripped it open. The latter caught his bowels m his arms, and thus

440

AtBXANDBR HENRY'S OAPTIVITT.

walked toward his lodge, gathering them up, from time to time, as they
escaped his hold. His lodge was at no considerable distance, and he
reached it alive, and died in it

Our next encampment was on the island of Saint-Martin, off Cape
Saint- Ignace, so called from the Jesuit mission of Saint Ignatius to the
Plurons, formerly established there. Our object was to fish for sturgeon,
which we did with great success; and herfe, in the enjoyment of a
plentiful and excellent supply of food, we remained until the twentieth
day of August At tliis time, the autumn being at hand, and a sure
prospect of increased security from hostile Indians afforded, Wawatam
proposed going to his intended wintering-ground. The removal was a
subject of the greatest joy to myself, on account of the frequent insults,
to wliich I had still to submit, from the Indians of our band or village,
and to escape from which I would freely have gone almost anywhere.
At owjr wintering-ground we were to be alone ; for the Indian families,
in the countries of which I write, separate in the winter season, for the
convenience as well of subsistence as of the chase, and re-associato in
th^ spring and summer.

In preparation, our first business was to sml for Michilimackinac, where
being arrived, we procured from a Canadian trader, on credit, some tri-
fling articles, together with ammunition, and two bushels of maize. This
done, we steered directly for lake Michigan. At L'Arbre Crocho we
stopped one day on a visit to the Ottawas, where all the people, and
particularly Okinochiwiaki, the chief, the same who took me from the
Chippeways, behaved with great civility and kindness. The chief pre-
sented me with a bag of maize. It is the Ottawas, it will be remem-
bered, who raise this grain for the market of Michilimackinac.

Leaving L'Arbre Croche, we proceeded direct to the mouth of the
river Aux Sables, on the south side of the lake, and distant about a
hundred and fifty miles from fort Michilimackinac. On our voyage we
passed several deep bays and rivers, and I found the banks of the lake
to consist in mere sands, without any appeai'ance of verdure ; the sand
drifting from one hill to another, like snow in winter. Hence, all the
rivers, which here entered the lake, are as much entitled to the epithet
of sandy as that to which we were bound. They are also distinguished
by another particularity, always observable in similar situations. The
current of the stream being met, when the wind is contrary, by the
waves of the lake, it is driven back, and the sands of the shore arc at
the same time washed into its mouth. In consequence, the river is able
to force a passage into the lake, broad only in proportion to its utmost

AUZAKDBB BSITRt's OAFTIVITr.

strength ; while it hollows for itself, behind the sand-banks, a basin of
one, two, or three miles across. In these rivers we killed many wild-
fowl and beaver.

To kill beaver, we used to go several miles up the rivers, before the
approach of night, and after the dusk came on suffer the canoe to drift
gently down the current, without noise. The beaver in this part of
the evening come abroad to prociu-c food, or materials for repairing their
habitations ; and as they are not alarmed by the canoe, they often pass
i» within gun-shot

While we thus hunted rilong our way, I enjoyed a personal freedom
of which I had been long deprived, and became as expert in the
Indian pursuits as the Indians themselves.

On entering the river Aux Sables, Wuwatam took a dog, tied its feet
together, and threw it into the stream, uttering, at the same time, a long
prayer, which he addressed to the Great Spirit, suppUcating his bless-
ing on the chase, and his aid in the support of the family, through the
dangers of a long winter. Our lodge was fifteen miles above the mouth
of the stream. The principal animals which the country afforded were
the stag or red deer, the common American deer, the bear, raccoon,
beaver and marten.

The beaver feeds in preference on young wood of the birch, aspen,
and poplar tree, [popiUus nigra called by the Canadians liard^ but in
defect of these on any other tree, those of the pine and fir kinds ex-
cepted. These latter it employs only for building its dams and houses.
In wide meadows, where no wood is to be found, it resorts, for all its
purposes, to the roots of the rush and water hlly. It consumes great
quantities of food, whether of roots or wood; and hence often reduces
itself to the necessity of removing into a new quarter. Its house has an
arched dome-like roof, of an elliptical figure, and rises from three to four
feet above the surface of the water. It is always entirely surrounded
by water; but, in the banks adjacent, the animal provides holes or
washes, of which the entrance is below the surface, and to which it
retreats on the first alarm.

The female beaver usually produces two young at a time, but not
unfrequently more. During the first year the young remain with their
parents. In the second they occupy an adjoining apartment, and assist
in building, and in procuring food. At two years old, they part, and
build houses of their own ; but often rove about for a considerable time,
before they fix upon a spot There arc beavers, called by the Indians
old bachelors, who live by themselves, build no houses, and work at no
dams, but shelter themselves in holes. The usual method of taking

442

ALXXAWDIR BsmiT'g (lAfTiymr.

thcfle is by traps, formed of iron, or logs, and baited witb branches
of poplar.

According to the Indians, the beaver is much given to jealousy. If a
Htrange mnlu nppronchcs the cabin, a battle immediately ensues. Of tliis
the femiile remains an unconcerned spectator, careless to which party
the law of conquest may assign her. Among the beaver which w«
killed, those who were with mo protended to show demonstrations of
this fact; some of the skins of the males, and almost all of the older
ones, bearing marks of violence, while none were ever to be seen on
the skins of the females. Tht; Indinns add, that the male is as constant
as he is jealous, never attaching himself to more than one female; while
the female, on her side, is always fond of strangers.

The most common way of taking the beaver is that of breaking up
its house, which is done with trenching tools, during the winter, when
the ice is strong enough to allow of approaching them; and when, also,
the fur is in its most valuable state.

Breaking up the house, however, is only a preparatory step. During
this operatioij, the family make their escape to one or more of their
washes. These are to be discovered by striking the ice along the bank,
and where the holes are, a hollow sound is returned. After discovering
and searching many of these in vain, we often found the whole family
together in the same wash. I was taught occasionally to distinguish a
full wash from iin empty one, by the motion of the water above its
entrance, occasioned by the breathing of the animals concealed in it
From the washes they must be taken out with th^ hands; and in doing
this, the hunter sometimes receives severe wounds from their teeth.
While a hunter, I thought, with the Indians, that the beaver flesh was
very good; but after that of the ox was again within my reach, I could
not relish it The tail is accounted a luxurious morsel.

Beavers, say the Indians, were formerly a people endowed with speech,
not less than with the other noble faculties they possess ; but the Great
Spirit has taken this away from them, lest they should grow superior
in understanding to mankind.

The raccoon was another object of our chase. It was my practice to
go out in the evening, with dogs, accompanied by the youngest son
of my guardian, to hunt this animal. The raccoon never leaves its
hiding place till after sunset

As soon as a dog falls on a fresh track of the raccoon, he gives notice
by a cry, and immediately pursues. His barking enables the hunter
to follow. The raccoon, which travels slowly, and is soon overtaken,
makes for a tree, on which he remains till shot

AUCXANDBR nVVRT'S OIPTIVITT.

448

After the falling of the snow, nothing more is necessary, for taking
the raccoon, than to follow the track of his feet In this season, he
seldom leaves his habil.ition; and he never lays up any food. I have
found six at a time, in the hollow of one tree, lying upon each other,
and nearly in a torpid state. In more than one instance, I have ascer-
tained that they have lived six weeks without food. The mouse is their
principal prey.

Raccoon hunting was my more particular and daily employ. I usually
went out at the first dawn of day, and seldom returned till sunset, or
till I had ladon myself with as many animals as I could carry. By
degrees I became familiarized with this kind of life; and had it not
I. on for the idea, of which I could not divest my mind, that I was
living among savages, and for the whispers of a lingering hope, that I
should one day be released from it — or if I could have forgotten that
I had ever been otherwise tha.i as I then was — I could have enjoyed
as much happiness in this as in any other situation.

One evening, on my return from hunting, I found the fire put out,
and the opening in the top of the lodge covered over with skins; by
this means excluding, as much as possible, external light. I further
observed that the ashes were removed from the fire-place, and that
dry sand was spread where they had been. Soon after, a fire was
made withoutside the cabm, in the open air, and a kettle hung over
it to boil.

I now supposed that a feast was in preparation. I supposed so only,
for it would have been indecorous to inqiiire into the meaning of what
I saw. No person, among the Indians themselves, would use this
freedom. Good breeding requires that the spectator should patiently
wait the result

As soon as the darkness of night had arrived, the family, including
myself, were invited into the lodge. I was now requested not to speak,
as a feast was about to be g^ven to the dead, whose spirits delight in
unii^terrupted silence.

As we entered, each was presented with his wooden dish and spoon,
after receiving which we seated ourselves. The door was next shut,
and we remained in perfect darkness.

The master of the fomily was master of the feast Still in the dark,
he asked every one, by turn, for his dish, and put into each two boiled
ears of maize. The whole being served, he began to speak. In his
discourse, which lasted half an hour, he called upon the manes of his
deceased relations and friends, bestoching them to be present, to assist
him in the chase, and to partake of the food which he had prepared

444

ALBXAWDIR HliniT'S OAPTIVITT.

for them. ''iVhcn lie l\!*tl ended, wo proceeded to (!ut our maize, which
wc did <wuu outer nui^\) than what was occiuiiutied by our teeth.
The miii^t; > no., ht it' boiled, and it took mo, an hour to conaumu my
■liiire. I \s<t» re({ue8te(l n<<t to break the Hpikes, [cob,J U8 this would be
displeasing to th«t departed spirils of their iViendH.

When all was eaten, Wuwatum made another Hpcech, with which the
ct'rem(»ny ended. A new lire was kindli'd, with fresh sparks, from flint
and steel ; and the pipes being smoked, the 8pik(>s were carefully buried,
in u hdlo made in the ground for that purpose, within the lodge. This
done, th(! whole family began u dance, Wawatara singing, and beating
a drum. The dance continued the greater part of the night, to the
great pleasure of the lodge. The night of the feast was that of the
lirst day of November.

On the twentieth of December, wc took an account of the produce
of our hunt, and found that we had a hundred b«'aver skins, as many
raccotms, and a large quantity of dried venison; all which was secured
from the wolves, by beuig placed upon a scaffold.

A hunting excursion, into the interior of the country, was resolved
on; and early ne.vt morning the bundles were made up by the women
for each person to carry. I remarked that the bundle given to mc was
the lightest, and those carried by the women the largest and heaviest
of the whole.

On the first day of our march, wc advanced about twenty miles, and
then encamped. Being somewhat fatigued, I could not hunt ; but Wa-
watiim killed a stag, not far from our encampment The next morning
we moved our lodge to the carcass. At this station we remained two
days, employed in drying the meat The method was, to cut it into
slices, of the thickness of a steak, and then hang it over the fire in
the smoke. On the third day wc removed, amd marched till two o'clock
in the afternoon.

While the women were busy in erecting and preparing the lodges,
I took my gun and strolled away, telling Wawatam that I intended to
look out for some fresh meat for supper, lie answered that lie would
do the same; and on this we both left the encampment, in diflPercnt
directions.

The sun being visible, I entertained no fear of losing my way ; but
in following several tracks of animals, in momentary expectation of
falling in with the game, T proceeded to a considerable distance, and
it was not till near sunset that I thought of returning. The sky, too,
had become overcast, and I was therefore left without the sun for ray
guide. In this situation, I walked as fitst as I could, always supposing

AUtXAlTDIR nNRT'B OAFTTVITT.

445

myacif to be approacliing our encampment, till at length it became lo
diirk that I ran agninst the trcca

I hccamo convinced that I was lost; and T was alarmed by the
rt'llt^ction that I was in a country entirely strange to me, and in danger
from strange Indians. With the flint of my gun I made a fire, and
then laid mo down to sleep. In the night, it rained hard. I awoke cold
and wet; and as soon as light appeared, I recommenced my journey,
sometimes walking and sometimes running, unknowing where to go,
bewildered, and like a madman.

Toward evening, I reached the border of a largo lake, of which I
could scarcely discern the opposite shore. I had never heard of a lake
in this part of the country, and therefore felt myself removed further
than ever from the object of my pursuit To tread back my steps
appeared to be the most likely means of delivering myself; and I ac-
cordingly determined to turn my face directly from the lake, and keep
this direction as nearly as I could.

A heavy snow began to descend, and night soon afterward came
on. On this, I stopped and made a fire; and stripping a tree of its
sheet of bark, loy down under it to shelter mo from the snow. All
nigltt, at small distances, the wolves howled around, ond to me seemed
to bo acquainted with my misfortune.

Amid thoughts the most distracted, I was able at length to fall asleep ;
but it was not long before I awoke, refreshed, and wondering at the
terror to which I had yielded myself. That I could really have wanted
the means of recovering my way, appeared to me almost incredible, and
the recollection of it like a dream, or as a circumstance which must
have proceeded from the loss of my senses. Had this not happened, I
could never, as I now thought, have suflFered so long, without calling to
mind the lessons which I had received from my Indian friend, for the
very purpose of being useful to me in difficulties of this kind. These
were, that, generally speaking, the tops of pine trees lean toward the
rising of the sun ; that moss grows toward the roots of trees on the side
which faces the north ; and that the limbs of trees are most numerous,
and largest on that which faces the south.

Determined to direct my feet by these marks, and persuaded that I
should thus, sooner or later, reach lake Michigan, which I reckoned to
be distant about sixty miles, I began my march at break of day. I had
not taken, nor wished to take, any nourishment since I left the encamp-
ment; I had with me my gun and ammunition, and was therefore
under no anxiety in regard to food. The snow lay about half a foot
in depth.

446

AUBXAKDKR HENRT'B OAPTIVITT.

My eyes were now employed upon the trees. When their tops
leaned different ways, I looked to the moss, or to the branches; and
by connecting one with another, I found the means of traveling with
some degree of confidence. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun,
to my inexpressible joy, broke from the clouds, and I had now no
further need of examining the trees.

In going down the side of a lofty hill, I saw a herd of red deer
approaching. Desirous of killing one of them for food, I hid myself in
the bushes, and on a large one coming near, presented my piece,
wliich missed fire, on account of the priming having been wetted.
The animals walked along, without taking the least alarm; and,
having reloaded my gun, I followed them, and presented a second
time. But now a disaster of the heaviest kind had befallen me; for,
on attempting to fire, I found that I had lost the cock. I had pre-
viously lost the rcrew by which it was fastened to the lock; and to
prevent this from being lost also, I had tied it in its place, with a
leather string. The lock, to prevent its catching in the boughs, I had
carried under my molton coat.

Of all the sufferings which I had experienced, this seemed to me
the most severe. I was in a strange country, and knew not how for
I had to go. I had been three days without food; I was withou
the means of proouiing myself either food or fire. Despair had almost
orerpowered me; but I soon resigned myself into the hands of that
Providence, whose arm had so often saved mo, and returned on my
track, in search of Avhat I had lost. My search was in vain, and I
resumed my course, wot, cold, and hungry, and almost without clothing.
The sun was setting fast, when I descended a hill, at the bottom
of which was a small lake, entirely frozen over. On drawing near, I
saw a beaver IoJj^t in the middle, offering some faint prospect of food;
but I found it already broken up. While I looked at it, it suddorjly
occurred to me that I had seen it before; and turning my eyes round
the place, I discovered a s , ill tree which I had myself cut down,
in the autumn, when, in company with my friends, I had taken the
beaver. I was no longer at a loss, but knew both the distance and
the route to the encampment. The latter was only to follow the
course of a small stream of water, which ran from the encampment
to the lake on which 1 stood. An hour before, I had thought myself
the most miserable of men; and now I leaped for joy, and called
myself the happiest

The whole of the night, and through all the succeeding day, I
walked up the rivulet, and at sunset reached the encampment, where

ALSXANOSS HKNRT'8 CAFTIVITT.

447

and

I was received with the warmest expressions of pleasure by the family,
by whom I had been given up for lost, after a long and vain search
for me in the woods.

Some days elapsed, during which I rested myself, and recruited
my strength ; after this, I resumed the chase, secure that, as the snow
Had now fallen, I could always return by the way I went

In the course of the month of January, I happened to observe that
the trunk of a large pine tree was much torn by the claws of a bear,
made both in going up and down. On further examination, I saw
that there was a large opening in the upper part, near which the
smaller branches were broken. From these marks, and from the
additional circumstance that there were no tracks on the snow, there
was reason to believe that a bear lay concealed in the tree.

On returning to the lodge, I communicated my discovery; and it
was agreed that all the family should go together in the morning, to
assist in cutting down the tree, the girth of which was not loss than
three fathoms. The women at first opposed the undertaking, because
our axes, being only of a pound and a half weight, were not well
adapted to so heavy a labor; but the hope of finding a large bear,
and obtaining from its fat a great quantity of oil, sn article at the
time much wanted, at length prevailed.

Accordingly, in the morning, we surrounded the tree, both men and
women, as many at a time as could conveniently work at it ; and here
we toiled like beavers till the sun went down. This day's work carried
us about half way through the trunk ; and the next morning we
renewed the attack, continuing it until about two o'clock in the after-
noon, when the tree fell to the ground. For a few minutes, every thing
remiuned quiet, and I feared that all our expectations were disappointed ;
but as I advanced to the opening, there came out, to the great satisfaction
of all our party, a bear of extraordinary size, which, before she had
proceeded many yards, I shot.

The bear being dead, all my assistants approftched, and all, but more
particularly my old mother, (as I was wont to call her,) took her head
in her hands, stroking and kissing it several times ; begging a thousand
pardons for taking away her life ; calling her their relation and grand-
mother; and requesting her not to lay the fault upon thetn, since it was
truly an Englishman that had put her to death.

This ceremony was not of long duration ; and if it was I that killed
their grandmother, they were not themselves behindhand in what remained
to be performed. The skin being taken oiF, we found the fat in several
places six inches deep. This being divided into two parts, loaded two

448

ALBZAKDBR BENRT'S OAPTiyiTT.

persons ; and the flesh parts were as much as four persons could carry ;
In all, the carcass must have exceeded five hundred weight

As soon as we reached the lodge, the bear's head was adorned with
all the trinkets in the possession of the family, such as silver arm bands
and wrist bands, and belts of wampum, and then laid upon a scaflfold,
set up for its reception, within the lodge. Near the nose was placed a
large quantity of tobacco.

The next morning no sooner appeared than preparations were made
for a feast to the manes. The lodge was cleaned and swept; and the
head of tlie bear lifted up, and a new stroud blanket, which had never
been used bffi/f<', ftproad under it The pipes were now lit; and Wawa-
tam blew tobacco smoke into the nostrils of the bear, telling me to do
the same, and thus appoase the anger of the bear, on account of my
having killer', her, I endeavored to persuade my benefactor and friendly
adviser that sh' no longer liad any lit^, and assured him that I was
under no apprehension from Iht displeasure ; but the first proposition
obtained no credit and the seconc' gave but little satisfaction.

At length, the feast being r^ady, Wawatam commenced a speech,
resembling in many things his address to th*^ ^aanes of Jiisrelations and
departed companions ; but having this peculiarity, that be here deplored
the necessity under which men labored thus to ^atroy their friends.
He represented, however, that the misfortune vvas unavoidable, since
without doing so they could by no means subsist Tlw speech ended,
we all ate heartily of the bear's flesh ; and even the h("nA itself, after
remaining three days on the scaffold, was put into the kettle.

It is only the female bear that makes her winter lodging in the app«r
parts of trees, a practice by which the young are secured from the
attacks of wolves and other animals. 8hc brings forth iu the winter
season ; and remains in her lodge till the cubs have gained some strength.

The male always lodges in the ground, under the roots of trees. He
takes to this habitation {js soon as the snow falls, and remains there until
it has disappeared. The Indians remark that the bear comes out in the
spring witli the same fat which he carried in in the autumn, but after
exercise of only a few days becomes lean. Excepting for a short part
of the season, the male lives constantly alone.

Tiie fat of our bear was melted down, and the oil filled six porcupine
skins. A part of the meat was cut into strips and fire-dried, after which
it was put into the vessels contJiining the oil, where it remained in perfect
preservation until the middle of summer.

I'cbruary, in the country and by the people where and among whom
I was, Is called the Moon of Hard or Crusted Snow; for now the snow

AUXANDEB HENBY'S QAFTIVITT. 4^9

can bear a man, or at least dogs, in pursuit of animals o; the- chase. At
this season, the stag is very successfully hunted, his feet breaking through
at every step, and the crust upon the snow cutting his legs with its sharp
edges to the very bone. He is consequently, in this distress, an easy
prey ; and it frequently happened that we killed twelve in the short space
of two hours. By this means we were soon put into possession of four
thousand weight of dried venison, which was to be carried on our backs,
along with all the rest of our wealth, for seventy miles, the distance of
our encampment from that part of the lake shore at which in the autumn
we left our canoes. This journey it was our next business to perform.

Our venison and furs and peltries were to be disposed of at Michili-
mackinac, and it was now the season for carrying them to market The
women, therefore, prepared our loads ; and the morning of departure
being come, we set off at daybreak, and continued our march till two
o'clock in the afternoon. Where we stopped, we erected a scaffold, on
which we deposited the bundles we had brought, and returned to our
encampment, which we reached in the evening. In the morning, we
carried fresh loads, which being deposited with the rest, we returned a
second time in the evenhig. This we repeated till all was forwarded
one stage. Then, removing our lodge to the place of deposit, we
carried our goods, with the same patient toil, a second stage ; and so
on, till we were at no great distance from the shores of the lake.

Arrived here, we turned our attention to sugar making, the manage-
ment of which, as I have before related, belongs to the women, the
men cutting wood for the fires, and hunting and fishing. In the midst
of this, we were joined by several lodges of Indians, most of whom
'v.«re of the family to wliich I belonged, and had wintered near us.
T-ie lands belonged to this family, and it had, therefore, the exclusive
riuh., to l^unt on them. Thit is according to the custom of the people; for
c icI; ^omliy has its own lanvU. I w s treated very civilly by all the lodges.

Our society had been a short time enlarged by this arrival of our
friends, yihen a; accident occurred which filled the whole village with
anxletv iLd .-onow. A little cliild, belonging to one of our neighbors,
f. 11 into a ketlle of boiling syrup. It was instantly snatched out, but
with little hojte of its recovery.

So Ion?, r jwe\cr, as it lived, a continual feast was observed ; and

this was made- to the Great Spirit and Master of Life, that he might be

pleased to ^^ave and heal the child. At this feast I was a constant

guest; and o' en found difficulty in eating the large quantity of food

which, on such occasions as these, is put upon each man's dish. The

Indians accusu 'u themselves both to eat much and to fast much with facili^.

29 ■'

460

AUEZAKDBB HKNBT'S OAPTinTr.

Several sacrifices were also offered; among which were dogs, killed
and hung upon the tops of poles, with the addition of stroud blankets
and other articles. These also were given to the Great St '* in
humble hope that he would give efficacy to the medicines emplo

The child died. To preserve the body from the wolves, it w; d

upon a scaffold, where it remmned till we went to the lake, ^u the
border of which was the burial ground of the family.

On our arrival there, which happened in the beginning of April, I did
not fail to attend the funeral. The grave was made of a large size,
and the whole of the inside lined with birch bark. On the bark was
laid the body of the child, accompanied with an axe, a pair of snow
shoes, a small kettle, several pairs of common shoes, its own strings of
beads, and because it was a girl, a carrying belt and a paddle. The kettle
was filled with meat

All this was again covered with bark ; and at about two feet nearer
the surface, logs were laid across, and these again covered with bark, so
that the earth might by no means fall upon the corpse.

The last act before the burial performed by the mother, crying over
the dead body of her child, was that of taking from it a lock of hair
for a memorial While she did this I endeavored to console her, by
offering the usual arguments : that the cliild was happy in being released
from the miseries of this present life, and tliat she should forbear to
grieve, becaiise it would be restored to her in another world, happy and
everlasting. She answered that she knew it, and that by tht, lock of
hair she should discover her daughter, for she would take it with her
In this she alluded to the day when some pious hand would place in her
own grave, along with the carrying belt and paddle, this httle relic,
hallowed by maternal tears.

I have frequently inquired into the idoiis and opinions of the Indians
in regard to futurity, and always founds that '■cy were somewhat dif-
ferent in different individuals.

Some suppose their souls to remain in this world, although invisible
to human eyes; and capable, themselves, of seeing and hearing their
friends, and also of assisting them, in moments of distress and drnger.
Others dismiss from the mortal scene the unembodied spirit, and send
it to a distant world or country, in which it receives reward or punish-
ment, according lo the life which it has led in its prior state. Those
who have Uved virtuously, are transported into a place abounding with
every luxury, with deer and all other animals of the woods and water, and
where the earth produces, in their greatest perfection, all its sweetest
fruits. While, on the other hand, those who have violated or neglected

ALEXANDER HENRt'S CAPTIVITY.

461

the duties of this life, are removed to a barren soil, where they wander
up and down, among rocks and morasses, and are stung by gnats as
large as pigeons.

While we remained on the border of the lake, a watch was kept every
night, in the apprehension of a speedy attack from the English, who
were expected to avenge the massacre of Michilimackinac. The imme-
diate grounds of this apprehension were the constant dreams, to tliis
effect, of the more aged women. I endeavored to persuade them that
notliing of the kind would take place ; but their fears Avere not to be
subdued.

Amid these alarms, there came a report concerning a real, though less
formidable enemy discovered in our neighborhood. This was a panther,
which one of our young men had seen, and which onvmal sometimes
attacks and carries away the Indian children. Our camp was immedi-
ately on the alert, and we set off into the Avoods, about twenty in num-
ber. We. had not proceeded more than a mile before the dogs found
the panther, and pursued him to a tree, on which he was shot He was
of a large size.

On the twenty-fifth of April, we embarked for Michilimackinac. At
La Grande Traverse we met a large j irty of Indians, who appeared to
labor, like ourselves, under considerable alarm ; and who dared proceed
no further, lest they should be destroyed by the English. Frequent
councils of the united bands were held ; and interrogations were contin-
ually pui to myself as to whether or not I knew of any design to attack
them. 1 found that they believed it possible for me to have a fore-
knowledge of events, and to be informed by dreams of all tliing-s doing
at a distance.

Protestations of my ignorance were received with but little satisfaction,
and incurred the suspicion of a design to conceal my knowledge. On
this account, therefore, or because I saw them tormented with fears which
had nothing but imagination to rest upon, I told them, at length, that I
knew theiv was no enemy to insult them ; and that they might proceed
to Michilimackinac without danger from the English. I further, and
with more contidence, declared, that if ever my countrymen relumed to
Michilimackinac I would recommend them to their favor, on account of
the good treatment which I had received from them. Thus encouraged,
they embarked at an early hour the next morning. In crossing the bay
we experienced a st(;rm of thunder and lightning.

Our port was the village of L'Arbre Croche, whi^.h we reached in
safety, and where we staid till the following day. At this village we
found several persons who had been lately at Michilinackinac, and from

■ •'■iii

452

ALEXANDER HENRY's CAPTIVITY.

them we had the satisfaction of learning that all was quiet there. Tho
remainder of our voyage was therefore performed with confidence.

In the evening of the twenty-seventh we Itmded at the fort, which now
contained only two French traders. The Indians who had arrived before
us were very few in number ; and by all, who were of our party, I was
used very kindly. I had the entire freedom both of the fort and camp.

Wawatam and myself settled our stock, and paid our debts ; and this
done, I found that my share of what was left consisted in a hundred
beaver skins, sixty raccoon skins, and six otter, of the total value of about
one hundred and sixty dollars. With these earnings of ray winter's toil
I proposed to purchase clothes, of which I was much in need, having
been six months without a shirt; but, on inquiring into the prices of
goods, I found that all my means would not go far. I was able, however,
to hv>Y two shirts, at ten pounds of beaver each; a pair of leggins, or
pjintaloons, of scarlet cloth, which, Avith th(i ribbon to gaming them fash-
ionably, cost nic fifteen pounds of beaver; a blanket, at twenty pounds
of beaver; and some other articles, at proportionable ratea In this
manner my wealth was soon reduced ; but not before I had laid in a good
stock of ammunition and tobacco. To the use of the latter 1 had become
much attached during the winter. It was my principal recreation after
returning from the chase ; for my companions in the lodge were unaccus-
tomed to pass the time in conversation. Among the Indians the topics of
conversation are but few, and liuiited, for the most part, to the trans-
actions of the day, the number of animals which they have killed, and of
those which have escaped their pursuit, and other incidents of the chase.
Indeed, the causes of taciturnity among the Indians may be easily under-
stood, if we consider how many occasions of speech, which present them-
selves to us, are utterly unknown to them; the records of history, the
pursuits of science, the disquisitions of philosophy, the systems of politics,
the business and the amusements of the day, and the transactions of the
four corners of the world.

Eight days had passed in tranquillity, when there arrived a band of
Indians from the bay of Sagucaiiunn. Titey had assisti'd at thn siege of
Dctidit, and came to muster as many recruits i'ur that ser\icc hh they
could. For my own part, 1 was soon informed that, as I was the only
Englisliman in the place, they proposed to kill ni(>, in order tt» glv»i lljulj
friends a mess of English broth to raise their courage.

This intelligence was not of the most agreeable kind ; and ill conse-
quence of receiving it, I requested my friend to carry me to the Sault do
Saint-Marie, at which place 1 knew the Indians to b(? peaceably inclined,
and that M. Cadotte enjoyed a powerful influence over their conduct.

AUEXANDER HBNRT's OAFTIYITT.

They considered M. Cadotte as their chief; and he was not only my
friend, but a friend to the English. It was by him that the Chippewaya
of Lake Superior were prevented from joining Pontiac.

Wawatam was not slow to exert himself for my preservation, but, leav-
ing Michilimackinac in the night, transported himself and all his lodge to
Point Saint-Ignace, on the opposite side of the strait Here we remained
till daylight, and then went into the Bay of Boutchitaouy, in which we
spent three days in fishing and hunting, and where we found plenty of
wild fowl. Leaving the bay, we made for the Isle aux Outardes, where
we were obliged to put in, on account of the wind coming ahead. We
proposed sailing for the Sault the next morning.

But when the morning came, Wawatam's wife complained that she was
sick, adding that she had had bud dreams, and knew that if we went to
the Sault Ave should all be destroyed. To have argued, at this time,
against the infjdlibility of dreams, would have been extremely unadvisable,
since I should have appeared to be guilty, not only of an odious want of
feith, but also of a still more odious want of sensibility to the possible
calamities of a family which had done so much for the alleviation of mine.
I was silent, but the disappointment seemed to seal my fate. No pros-
pect opened to console me. The return to Michilimackinac could only
insure my destruction ; and to remain at the island was to brave almost
equal danger, since it lay in the direct route between the fort and the
Missisaki, along which the Indians from Detroit were hourly expected to
pass, on the business of their mission. I doubted not but, taking advan-
tage of the solitary situation of the family, they would carry into execution
their design of killing me.

Unable, therefore, to take any part in the direction of our course, but
a prey, at the same time, to the most anxious thoughts as to my own con-
dition, I ptissed all the day on the highest part to which I could climb, of
a tall tree, from whence the lake, on both sides of the island, lay open to
my view. Here I might hope to l(;arn, at the earliest possible, the
approach of canoes, and by this means be warned in time to conceal
myself

On the second morning I returned, as soon as it was light, to my
watch t^iwiM', on which I had not been long before 1 discovered a sail
cominu- from Michilimackinac.

The sail was a white one, and much larger than tliose usually em-
ployed by the northern Indians. I therefore indulged a hope that it
might be a Can.idian canoe, on the voyage to Montreal ; and that I might
be able to prevail upon the crew to take me with them, and thus release
mf iVoin all my troubles.

m
m

454

ALEXANDER IIBNRT'S OAPTIVITT.

My hopes continued to gain ground ; for I soon persuaded myself
that the manner in which the paddles were used on board the canoe was
Canadian, and not Indian. My spirits were elated ; but disappointment
bad become so usual with me, that I could not suffer myself to look to
the event with any strength of confidence.

Enough, however, appeared at length to demonstrate itself to induce
mc to descend the tree, and repair to the lodge, with my tidings and
schemes of liberty. The family congratulated mo on the approach of so
fair an opportunity of escape ; and my father and brother, (for he was
altoiniitely each of these) lit his pipe, and presented it to me, saying,
" My son, this may be the last time that ever you and I shall smoke out
of the same pipe ! I am sorry to part with you. You know the affection
which I have always borne you, and the dangers to which I have exposed
myself smd family, to preserve you from your enemies ; and I am happy
to find that my efforts promise not to have been in vain." At this time
u boy came into the lodge, informing us that the canoe had come from
Michilimackinac, and was bound to the Sault de Saint-Marie. It was
manned by three Canadians, and was carrying home Madame Cadotte,
the wife of M. Cadotte, already mentioned.

My hopes of going to Montreal being now dissipated, I resolved on
accompanying Madame Cadotte, with her permission, to the Sault On
communicating my wishes to Madame Cadotte, she cheerfully acceded to
them. Madame Cadotte, as I have already mentioned, was an Indian
woman of the Chippeway nation, and she was very generally re-
spected.

My departure fixed upon, I returned to the lodge, where I packed up
my wardrobe, consisting of my two shirts, pair of leygins, and blanket
Besides these, I took a gun and ammunition, presenting what remained
further, to my host I also returned the silver arm bands with which the
family had decorated me the year before.

We now exchanged farewells with an emotion entirely reciprocal. I
did not quit the lodge without the most grateful sense of the many acts
of goodness which I had experienced in it nor without the sincerest
respect for the virtues which I had witnessed among its members. All
the family accompanied me to the beach ; and the canoe had no sooner
put off than Wawatam commenced an address to the Kichi Manito, be-
seeching him to take care of me, his brother, till we should next meet.
This, he had told me, would not be long, as he intended to return to
Michilimackinac for a short time only, and would then follow me to the
Sault. We had proceeded to too great a distance to allow of our hearing
his voice, before Wawatam had ceased to offer up his prayers.

ALBZjINDSB HKNRT'S OAPTIVITT.

455

Being now no longer in the society of the Indians, I put aside the
dress, putting on that of a Canadian : a molton, or blanket coat, over my
shirt, and a handkerchief about my head, hats being very little worn in
this country.

At daybreak, on the second morning of our voyjige, we embarked, and
presently perceived several canoes behind us. As they approached, we
ascertained them to be the fleet, bound for the Missisaki, of which I had
been so long in dread. It amounted to twenty sail.

On coming up with us, and surrounding our canoe, and amid general
inquiries concerning the news, an Indian challenged me for an English-
man, and his companions supported him by declaring that I looked very
like one ; but I affected not to understand any of the questions which
they asked me, and Madame Cadottc assured them that I was a Ca-
nadian, whom she had brought on his first voyage from M'>:\trcal.

The following day saw us safely landed at the Sault, wL^ lo. I experi-
enced a generous welcome from M. Cadotte. There were thi ty ^vorriors
at this place, restrained from joining in the war only by M. Cadotte 'a
influence.

Here, for five days, I was once more in possession of tranquillity ; but,
on the sixth, a young Indian came into M. Cadotte's, saying that a canoe
full of warriors had just arrived from Michilimackinac ; that they had
inquired for me ; and that he believed their intentions to be bad. Nearly
at the same time, a message came from the good chief of the village,
desiring me to conceal myself until he should discover the views and
temper of the strangers.

A garret was the second timq my place of refuge ; and it was not long
before the Indians came to M. Cadotte's. My friend immediately in-
formed Mutchikiwish, their chief, who was related to his wife, of the
design imputed to them, of mischief against myself. Mutchikiwish frankly
acknowledged that they had had such a design ; but added that, if dis-
pleasing to M. Cadotte, it should be abandoned. He then further stated,
that their errand was to raise a party of warriors to return with them to
Detroit ; and that it had been their intention to take me with them.

In regard to the principal of the two objects thus disclosed, M. Cadotte
proceeded to assemble all the chiefs and warriors of the village ; and
these, after deliberating for some time among themselves, sent for the
strangers, to whom both M. Cadotte and the chief of the village addressed
a speech. In these speeches, after recurring to the designs confessed to
have been entertained against myself, who was now declared to be under
the protection of all the chiefs, by whom any insult I might sustain would
be avenged, the ambassadors were peremptorily told that they might go

:>i\

ALIXAKDIR nENRT'S ..viTIVmr.

back as they came, none of the young men of this villago being foolish
enough to join them.

A moment after, a report was brought that a canoo had just arrived
from Niagara. As this was a place from which every one was anxious to
hear news, a message was sent to these fresh strangers, requesting thum
to come to '^e council.

The str^riflvTU came accordingly, and being seated, a long silence en-
sued. At length, one < <( them, taking up a belt of wampum, addressed
himself thus to the assembly : " My friends and brothers, I am come,
with this belt, from our great father, Sir William Johnson. lie desired
me to come to you as his ambassador, and tell you that he is making a
great feast at Fort Niagara ; that Ids kettles arc all ready and his fires
lit He invites you to partake of the feast, in common with your friends,
the Six Nations, who have all made peace with the English. He
advises you to seize this opportunity of doing the same, as you cannot
otherwise fml of being destroyed ; for the English are on their march with
a great army, which will be joined by different nations of Indians. In a
word, before the fall of the leaf, they will be at Michilimackinac, and the
Six Nations with them."

The tenor of this speech greatly alarmed tlif^ Indians of the Sault
who, after a very short consultation, agreed to send twenty deputies tc
Sir WiUiam Johnson, at Niagara This was a project highly interesting
to me, since it offered me the means of leaving the country. I intimated
this to the chief of the village, and received his promise that I should
accompany the deputation.

Very little time was proposed to be lost, in setting forward on the
voyage ; but the occasion was of too much magnitude not to call
for more than human knowledge and discretion ; and preparations were
accordingly made for solemnly invoking and consulting the Great Turtle.

For invoking and consulting the Great Turtle, the first thing to be
done was the building of a large house or wigwam, within w hich was
placed a species of tent, for the use of the priest and reception of the
spirit The tent was formed of moose sKins, hung over a framework
of wood. Five polos, or rather pillars, of five different species of timber,
about ten feet in height, and eight inches in diameter, were set in a
circle of about four feet in diameter. The holes made to receive them
were about two feet deep ; and the pillars being set, the holes were
filled up again, with the earth which had been dug out At top the
pillars were bound together by a circular hoop, or girder. Over the
whole of this edifice were spread the moose skins, covering it at top and
around the sides, and made fast Avith thongs of the same ; except that on

AUtZAirnKR HKinir's oAPrivnT.

one mde a psrt was left unfastened, to admit of the entrance of the
priest

The ceremonies did not commence but with the approach of night
To give light within the house, several fires were kindbtd round tl«»
tent Nearly the whole village assembled in the house, and myself
among the rest. It was not long before the priest appeared, almost in
a state of nakedness. As he approached the tent the skins were lifted
up, as much as was nocessary to allow of his creeping under them on
his hands and knees. His head was scarcely withinside, when the editice,
massy as it has been described, began to shake; and the skins were no
sooner let fall, than the sounds of numerou? noes were heard beneath
them, some yelling, some barking as dogs, sin'j howling like wolves, and
in tliis horrible concert were mingled scnm.ns and sobs, as of despair,
anguish, and the sharpest pain. Articulate sprn-ch was also uttered, as
•*■ from human lips, but in a tongue unknown to any of the audience.

After some time, these confused and frightful noises were succeeded
by a perfect silence; and now a voice, not heard before, seemed to
manifest the arrival of a new character in the tent This was a low
and feeble voice, resembling the cry of a young puppy. The sound
was no sooner distinguished, than all the Indians clapped their hands
for joy, exclaiming, that this was the Cliief Spirit, the Turtle, the spirit
that never li«id ! Other voices, which they had discriminated from time
to time, tlic} bad previously hissed, as recognizing them to belong to
evil and lying spirits, Avhich deceive mankind.

New sounds came from the tent During the space of half an hour,
a succession of songs were heard, in which a diversity of voices met the
ear. li'rom his first entrance, till these songs were finished, we heard
nothing in the proper voice of the priest ; but now, he addressed the
multitude, declaring the presence of the Great Turtle, and the spirit's
readiness to answer such questions as should be proposed.

The questions were to come from the chief of the village, who was
silent, however, till after he had put a large quantity of tobacco into
the tent, introducing it at the aperture. This was a sacrifice offered to
the spirit ; for spirits are supposed by the Indians to be as fond of tobacco
as themselves. The tobacco accepted, he desired the priest to inquire
whether or not the English were preparing to make war upon the
Indians ; and whether or not there were at fort Niagara a large number
of English troops.

These questions having been put by the priest, the tent instantly
shook ; and for some seconds after it continued to rock so violently that
I expected to see it leveled with the ground All this was a prelude,

' <?A

ill

1 i!i

ml
il

Wmi

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

^ .^ .^\

{./

^^.^

■J

1.0

1.1

■ 2.5

1^ mt

12.2

i. ,.

12.0

1.25 1 1.4

1—

6" —

^' A

^^^V

.1-^

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. MSSO

(716) 873-4503

■^"-^^^^f^

458

AUXAKDIR IHRRT'S OAPTIVITr.

as I suppofled, to the answers to be given; but a terrific cry announced,
with sufficient intelligibility, the departure of the Turtle.

A quarter of an hour elapsed in silence, and I waited impatiently to
discover what was to be the next incident in this scene of imposture. It
consisted in the return of the spirit, whose voice was again heard, and
who now delivered a continued speech. The language of the Great
Turtle, like that which we had heard before, was wholly unintelligible
to every ear, that of his priest excepted ; and it was, therefore, not till
the latter gave us an interpretation, which did not commence before the
spirit had finished, that we learned the purport of this extraordinary
commimication. -^ '

The spirit, as we were now informed by the priest, had, during his
short absence, crossed lake Huron, and even proceeded as far as fort
Niagara, which is at the head of lake Ontario, and thence to Montreal.
At fort Niagara, he had seen no great number of soldiers; but on
descending the St Lawrence, as low as Montreal, he had found the
river covered with boats, and the boats filled with soldiers, in number
like the leaves of the trees. He had met them on their way up the
river, coming to make war upon the Indians.

The chief had a third question to propose, and the spirit, without a
fresh journey to fort Niagara, was able to give an instant and most
favorable answer. "If," s^d the chief, "the Indians visit Sir William
Johnson, will they be received as friends?"

"Sir William Johnson," said the spirit, (and after the spirit the priest,)
" Sir William Johnson will fill their canoes with presents, with blankets,
kettles, guns, gunpowder and shot, and large barrels of rum, such as
the stoutest of the Indians will not be able to lift; and every man will
return in safety to his family."

At this, the transport was universal ; and, amid the clapping of hands,
a hundred voices exclaimed, " I will go, too ! I will go, too ! "

The questions of public interest being resolved, individuals were now
permitted to seize' the opportunity of inquiring into the condition of their
absent friends, and the fate of such as were sick. I observed that the
answers, given to these questions, allowed of much latitude of inter-
pretation. ^ ^

Amid this general inquisitiveness, I yielded to the solicitations of my
own anxiety for the future; and having first, like the rest, made my
offering of tobacco, I inquired whether or not I should ever revisit my
native country. The question being put by the priest, the tent shook
as usual; after which I received this apswer: "That I should take
courage, and fear no danger, for that nothing would happen to hurt me ;

AUZAHDKB HBHRT'S OAPTiyiTT.

460

my
my
my
look
take
me;

and that I should, in the end, reach my friends and country in safety."
These assurances wrought so strongly on my gratitude, that I presented
an additional and extra offering of tobacca

The Great Turtle continued to be consulted till near midnight, when
all the crowd dispersed to their respective lodges. I was on the watch,
through the scene I have described, to detect the particular contrivances
by which the fraud was carried on ; but such was the skill displayed in
the performance, or such my deficiency of penetration, that I made no
discoveries, but came away as I went, with no more than those general
surmises which will naturally be entertained by every reader.

On the 10th of June, I embarked with the Indian deputatiosi, com-
posed of sixteen men. Twenty had been the number originally designed;
and upward of fifty actually engaged themselves to the council for the
undertaking; to say nothing of the general enthusiasm, at the moment
of hearing the Great Turtle's promises. But exclusively of the degree
of timidity which still prevailed, we are to take into account the various
domestic calls, which might supersede all others, and detain many with
their families. ^

In the evening of the second day of our voyage, we reached the
mouth of the Missisaki, where we found about forty Indians, by whom
we were received with abundant kindness, and at night regaled at a
great feast, held on account of our arrival. The viand was a preparation
of the roe of the sturgeon, beat up, and boiled, and of the consistence
of porridge.

After eating, several speeches were made to us, of which the general
topic was a request that we should recommend the village to Sir William
Johnson. This request was also specially addressed to me, and I pro-
mised to comply with it

On the 14th of June, we passed the village of La Cloche, of which
the greater part of the inhabitants were absent, being already on a visit
to Sir William Johnson. This circumstance greatly encouraged the
companions of my voyage, who now saw that they were not the first to
run into danger.

The next day, about noon, the wind blowing very hard, we were
obliged to put ashore at Point aux Grondines, a place of which some
description has been given before. While the Indians erected a hut, I
employed myself in making a fire. As I was gathering wood, an
unusual sound fixed my attention for a moment; but, as it presently
ceased, and as I saw nothing from which I could suppose it to proceed,
I continued my employment, till, advancing further, I was alarmed by
a repetition. I imagined that it came from above my head; but after

400

▲UBXAHDSR mmtT's OAPtlVRT.

looking that way in vain, I cast my eyes on the ground, and there
discovered a rattlesnake, at not more than two feet from my naked legs.
The reptile was coiled, and its head raised considerably above its body.
Had I advanced another step before my discovery, I must have trodden
upon it

I no sooner saw the snake than I hastened to the canoe, in order to
procure my gun ; but the Indians, observing what I was doing, inquired
the occasion, and being informed, begged me to desist At the sume
time they followed mc to the spot, with their pipes and tobacco pouches
in their hands. On returning, I found the snake still coiled.

The Indians, on their part, surrounded it, all addressing it by turns,
and calling it their grandfather; but yet keeping at some distance. Du-
ling this part of the ceremony they filled their pipes; and now each
blew the smoke toward the snake, who, as it appeared to me, really
received it with pleasure. In a word, after remaining coiled, and re-
ceiving insence, for the space of half an hour, it stretched itself alung
the ground in visible good humor. Its length was between four and
five feet Having remained outstretched for some time, at last it moved
slowly away, the Indians following it, and still addressing it by tlie title
of grandfather, beseeching it to take care of their families during their
absence, and to be pleased to open the heart of Sir William Johnson,
80 that he might show them charity, and fill their canoes with rum.

One of the chiefs added a petition that the snake would take no notice
of the insult which had been offered him by the Englishman, who would
even have put him to death but for the interference of the Indians,
to whom it was hoped he would impute no part of the offense. They
further requested that he would remain and inhabit their country, and
not return among the English, that is, go eastward.

After the rattlesnake was gone, I learned that this was the first time
that an individual of the species had been seen so far to the northward
and westward of the river Des Frangais ; a circumstance, moreover, from
which my companions were disposed to infer that this manito had come
or been sent on purpose to meet them ; that his errand had been no
other than to stop them on their way ; and that consequently it would be
most advisable to return to the point of departure. I was so fortunate,
however, as to prevail with them to embark; and at six o'clock in the
evening we again encamped. Very UtUe was spoken of through the
evening, the rattlesnake excepted.

Early the next morning we proceeded. We had a serene sky and
rery little wind, and the Indians therefore determined on steering acroiis
the lake to an island which just appeared in the horizon; saving, by

there

1 legs.

body.

roddcn

▲UBXAin>BR HXHRT'S OAFnVITT.

4ft]

this course, a distance of thirty miles, which would be lost in keepbg the
shore. At nine o'clock, A. M., we had a light breeze astern, to enjoy
the benefit of which we hoisted sail. Soon after the wind increased, and
the Indians, be^nning to be alarmed, frequently called on the rattle-
snake to come to then: assistance. By degrees the waves grew high;
and at eleven o'clock it blew a hurricane, and we expected every moment
to be swallowed up. From prayers the Indians now proceeded to sacri-
fices, both alike offered to the god rattlesnake, or manito kinibk. One
of the chiefs took a dog, and after tying its fore legs together, threw it
overboard, at the same time calling on the snake to preserve us from
being drowned, and desiring him to satisfy his hunger with the carcass
of the dog. The snake was unpropitious, and the wind increased.
Another chief sacrificed another dog, with the addition of some tobacco.
In the prayer which accompanied these gifts, he besought the snake, as
before, not to avenge upon the Indians the insult which he had received
from myself, in the conception of a design to put him to death. He
assured the snake that I was absolutely an Englishman, and of kin
neither to him nor to them.

At the conclusion of this speech, an Indian who sat near me observed,
tha* if we were drowned it would be for my fault alone, and that I ought
myself to be sacrificed, to appease the angry manito; nor was I without
apprehensions that in case of extremity this would be my fate ; but happily
for me, the storm at length abated, and we reached the island safely.

The next day was calm, and we arrived at the entrance of the navi-
gation which leads to lake Avx Claies. (This lake is now called lake
Simcoe.) We presently passed two short carrying-places, at each of
which were several lodges of Indians, (these Indians are Chippeways, of
the particular description called Missisakies; and from their residence
at Matchedash, or Matchitashk, also called Matchedash or Matchitashk
Indians,) containing only women and children, the men being gone to
the council at Niagara From this, as from a former instance, my
companions derived new courage.

On the 18th of June, we crossed lake Aux Claies, which appeared to
be upwards of twenty miles in length. At its further end we came to
the carrying-place of Toronto. Here the Indians obliged me to carry a
burden of more than a hundred pounds weight The day was very
hot, and the woods and marshes abounded with musquitoes; but the
Indians walked at a quick pace, and I could by no means see myself
left behind. The whole country was a thick forest, through which our
only road was a foot-path, or such as, in America, is exclusively termed
an Indian path.

462

Auiriin»R niniT's oApmnrr.

Next morning at ten o'clock, we reached the shore of lake Ontario
Here we were employed two dajs in making canoes out of the bark
of the elm tree, in which we were to transport ourselves to Niagara.
For this purpose the Indians first cut down a tree ; then stripped off
the bark in one entire sheet of about eighteen feet in length, the incision
being lengthwise. The canoe was now complete as to its top, bottom,
and sides. Its endfe were next closed by sewing the bark together; and
a few ribs and bars being introduced, the architecture was finished. In
this manner we made two canoes, of which one carried eight men and
the other nine.

On the 21st, we embarked at Toronto, and encamped in the even-
nig four miles short of fort Niagara, which the Indians would not
approach till morning. ■.

At duwn, the Indians were awake, and presently assembled in council,
still doubtful as to the fate they were to encoimter. I assured them of
the most friendly welcome; and at length, after painting themselves
with the most lively colors, in token of their own peaceable views, and
after sin^ng the song which is in use among them on going into danger,
they embarked, and made for point Missisaki, which is on the north side
of the mouth of tlie river or strait of Niagara, as the fort is on the sojith*
A few minutes after I crossed over to the fort: and here I was received
by Sir William Johnson, in a manner for which I have ever been gyrate-
fully attached to his person and memory.

Thus was completed my escape from the sufferings and dangers which
the capture of fort Michilimackiiiac brought upon me; but the property
which I had carried into the upper country was left behind. The reader
will therefore be far from attributing to me any idle or unaccountable
motive, when he finds me returning to the scene of my misfortunes.

■•«3»

NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY

FRANCES NOBLE.

Jambs Whidden, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Shute, was a cap-
tain in the army at the taking of Gape Breton in 1745. He owned a
tract of land on Swan Island, in the river Kennebec, where he Uved with
his family. One of his daughters married Lazarus Noble, of Portsmouth,
who lived on the island with her father. The Indians had been accus-
tomed to visit Capi Whidden for the purposes of trade. There was a
garrison on the island to secure the innbitants from the attacks of the
enemy in time of war.

One morning, about the year 1755, a little after daybreak, two boys
went out of the garrison and left the gate open. The Indians were on
the watch, and, availing themselves of the opportunity, about ninety
entered the garrison. The inhabitants immediately discovered that the
enemy was upon them ; but there was no escape. Captain Wliidden and
his wife retreated to the cellar, and concealed themselves. Noble and
his hired man met the Indians at the head of the stairs, and fired upon
them, wounding one of them in the arm. The Indians did not return
the fire, but took Noble, his wife and seven children, with Timothy
Whidden and Mary Holmes, prisoners. The hired man and two boys
escaped. The captives were carried to the water's side and bound;
excepting such as could not run away. The Indians then retomed to
the garrison, burnt the bam and plundered the house, cut open the
feather beds, strewed the feathers in the field, and carried ofif all the
silver and gold they could find, and as much of the provisions as they
chose. It was supposed they omitted to burn the house from the suspi-
cion that the captain and his wife, from whom they had, in times of peace,
received many favors, were concealed in it Captain Whidden, after
the destruction of his property on the island returned to Greenland, in
this state, which is supposed to hare been his native place, and there
died.

464

CAPTIVITY OF FRANCES MOBUB.

The
name

Indians also took, in a wood on the island, an old man by the
)f Pomeroy, who was employed in mak

making shingles. Having
collected their captives and plunder, they immediately left the island,
and conmienced their return to Canada to dispose of their prey. Pome-
roy was old and feeble, and unable to endure the fatigue of the march,
without more assistance than the savages thought fit to render him, and
they killed him on the journey. They were more attentive to the chil-
dren, as for them they undoubtedly expected a higher price or a greater
ransom. Abigail, one of the children, died among the Indians. The
other captives arrived safe in Canada, and were variously disposed of.
Mr. Noble was sold to a baker in Quebec, and his wife to a lady of the
same place as a chambermaid. They were allowed to visit each other
and to sleep together. Four of the children were also sold in Quebec,
as were Timothy Whidden and Mary Holmes. The captives m that city
were exchanged within a year, and returned to their homea Mr. Whid-
den and Miss Holmes were afterward united in marriage.

Fanny Noble, the principal subject of this memdr, at the time of her
captivity, was about thirteen months old. She was carried by a party
of Indians to Montreal In their attempts to dispose of her, they took
her one day to the house of Monsieur Louis St Auge Charlec, an
eminent merchant of that place, who was at that time on a journey to
Quebec. His lady was called into the kitchen by one of her maids
to see a poor infant crawling on the tile floor in dirt and rags, picking
apple peelings out of the cracks. She came in, and on kindly noticing
the child,. Fanny immediately caught hold of the lady's gown, wrapped
it over her head, and burst into tears. The lady could not easily resist
this appeal to her compassion. She took up the child, who clung about
her neck and repeatedly embraced her. The Indians offered to sell her
their little captive, but she declined buying, not choosing probably in
the absence of her husband to venture on such a purchase. The Indians
left the house, and slept that night on the pavements before the door.
Fanny, who had again heard the voice of kindness, to which she had
not been accustomed from her savage masters, could not be quiet, but
disturbed the slumbers and touched the heart of the French lady by
her incessant cries. This lady had then lately lost a child by death,
and was perhaps more quick to feel for the sufferings of children, and
more disposed to love them, than she would otherwise have been. Early
the next morning the Indians were called into the house ; Fanny was
purchased, put into a tub of water, and having been thoroughly washed,
was dressed in the clothes of the deceased child, and put to bed. She
awoke smiling, and seemed desirous of repaying her mistress' kindness

OAPTIVITT or FRAKOIS KOBUB.

465

hj her infantile pratdo and fond caresses. Fanny could never learn for
what price she was bought of the Indians, as her French mother de-
olmed answering her questions upon that subject, telling her to be a good
girl, and be thankful that she was not still in their power.

M. and Madam St Augc took a lively interest in their little captive,
and treated her with much tenderness and affection. She felt for them
a filial attachment When her parents were exchanged, her mother,
on her return home, called upon Fanny, and took the child in her arms,
but no instinct taught her to rejoice in the maternal embrace, and she
fled for protection to her French mamma. Mrs. Noble received many
presents from the French lady, and had the satisfaction to see thdt her
daughter was left in affectionate hands.

Fanny was taught to call and consider M. and Madam St Auge as
her parents. They had her baptized by the name of Eleanor, and
educated her in the Roman Catholic religion. She learned her Pater
Kosters and Ave Marias, went to mass, crossed herself with holy water,
and told her beads with great devotion.

When four or five years old, she was enticed away from her French
parents by Wheelwright, who had been employed by the government
of Massachusetts to seek for captives in Canada. He carried her to the
Three Rivers, where he had several other captives, and left her, as he
pretended, with a relation of her French father for a few ''.ays, when she
expected to return to Montreal. But she had not been to the Three
Rivers more than twenty-four hours, when the old squdw who had sold
her to Madam St Auge came along in a sleigh, accompanied by a young
sanop, seized upon Fanny, and carried her to St Francois, where they
kept her about a fortnight She had now attdned an age when she
would be sensible of her misfortunes, and bitterly lamented her sep-
aration from her French parents. The Indians endeavored to pacify
and please her by drawing on her coat or frock the figures of }i:"ir,
wolves, bears, fishes, &c.; and once, probably to make her look as harl-
somely as themselves, they painted her cheeks in the Indian fashion,
which very much distressed her, and the old squaw made them wipe
off the paint At one time she got away from the savages, and sought
refuge in the best looking house in the village, which belonged to a
French priest, who kissed her, asked her many questions, and treated
her kindly, but gave her up to the claim of her Indian masters. While
at St Francois, her brother, Joseph Noble, who had not been sold to the
French, but still lived with the Indians, came to see her, but she had a
great aversion to him. He was in his Indian dress, and she would not

believe him to be a relation, or speak to him if she could avoid it She

406

OAPmriTT or niANG^s vcblb.

was at last turned back by the Indians to Montreal, and to her great
satisfaction was delivered to her French father, who rewarded the In-
dians for returning her. It was doubtless the expectation of much
reward which induced the old squaw to seize her at the Three Rivers,
as the Indians not unfrcquently stole back captives, in order to extort
presents for their return from the French gentlemen to whom the same
captives had before been sold. Before this time she had been hastily
carried from Montreal, hurried over mountains and across waters, and
concealed among flags, while those who accompanied her were evidently
pursued, and in great apprehension of being overtaken; but the occasion
of this flight or its incidents she was too young to understand or distinctly
to remember, and she was unable afterward to satisfy herself whether
her French father conveyed her away to keep her out of the reach
of her natural friends, or whether she was taken by those friends, and
afterward retaken, as at the Three Rivers, and returned to Montreal
The French parents cautiously avoided informing her upon this subject,
or upon any other which should remind her of her captivity, her country,
her parents, or her friends, lest she shoiild become discontented with her
situation, and desirous of leaving those who ha ^ adopted her. They kept
her secreted from her natural friends, who were in search of her, and
evaded every question which might lead to her discovery. One day,
when M. St Auge and most of his family were at mass, she was sent
with another captive to the third story of the house, and the domestics
were required strictly to watch them, as it was known that some of her
relations were then in the place endeavoring to find her. Of this cu:-
cumstance she was then ignorant, but she was displeased with her
confinement, and with her little companion found means to escape from
their room and went below. Wliile raising a cup of water to her mouih,
she saw a man looking at her through the window, and stretching out
his arm toward her, at the same time speaking a language which she
could not understand. She was very much alarmed, threw down her
water, and ran with all possible speed to her room. Little did she
suppose that it was her own father, from whom she was flying in such
fear and horror. He had returned to Canada to seek those of his chil-
dren who remmned there. He could hear nothing of his Fanny ; but
watching the house, he perceived her, as was just stated, and joyfully
stretching his arms toward her, exclaimed, " There 's my daughter ! !
that's my daughtr.r!" But she retreated, and he could not gmn ad-
mittance, for the ^aouse was guarded and no stranger permitted to enter.
How long he continued hovering about her is unknown, but he left
Canada without embracing her or seeing her agaia

tfAPTiniT Of fii>iros8 iroiru.

she

her

she

such

left

Her French parents put her to a boarding school attached to a nun-
nery in Montreal, where she remained several years, and was taught all
branches of needle-work, with geography, music, painting, Ac. In the
same school were two Misses Johnsons, who were captured at Charlestown,
in 1764, and two Misses Phipps, the daughters of Mrs. Howe, who was
taken at Hinsdale, in 1765. Fanny was in school when Mrs. Howe came
for her daughters, and long remembered the grief and lamentatiorut
of the young captives when obliged to leave their school and mates to
return to a strange, though their native country, and to relatives whom
they had long forgotten.

While at school at Montreal, her brother Joseph agwn visited her. He
still belonged to the St Francois tribe of Indians, and was dressed re-
markably fine, having forty or fifty broaches in his shirt, clasps on his
arm, and a great variety of knots and bells about his clothing. He
brought his little sister Ellen, as she was then called, and who was then
not far from seven years old, a young fawn, a basket of cranberries and
a lump of sap sugar. The little girl was much pleased with the fawn,
and had no great aversion to cranberries and sugar, but she was much
frightened by the appearance of Joseph, and vrovid receive nothing from
his hands, till, at the suggestion of her friends, he had washed the paint
from his face and made some alteration in his dress, when she ventured
to accept his offerings, and immediately ran from his presence. The next
day, Joseph returned with the Indians to St Francois, but some time
afterward M. St Auge purchased him of the savages, and dressed him b
the French style ; but he never appeared so bold and majestic, so spirited
and vivacious, as when arrayed in liis Indian habit and associating with his
Indian friends. He however became much attached to St Auge, who put
him to school ; and when his sister parted with him upon leaving Canada, he
gave her a strict charge not to let it be known where ho was, lest he too
should be obliged to leave his friends and return to the place of hb birtL

When between eleven and twelve years of age, Fanny was sent to
the school of Ursuline nuns in Quebec, to complete her education.
Here the discipline was much more strict and solemn than in the school
at Montreal. In both places the teachers were called half nuns, who,
not being professed, were allowed to go in and out at pleasure ; but at
Quebec the pupils were in a great measure secluded from the world*
being permitted to walk only in a small garden by day, and confined by
bolls and bars in their cells at night This restraint was irksome to
Fanny. She grew discontented; and at the close of the year was
permitted to return to her French parents at Montreal, and agun enter
the school in that city.

468

OAPTIVITT OW FRAirOBa MOBUk

While Fanny was in the nunnery, being then in her fourteenlh year,
she was one day equally surprised and alarmed by the entrance of a
stranger, who demanded her of the nuns as a redeemed captive. Her
father had employed this man, Arnold, to seek out his daughter and
obtain her from the French, who had hitherto succeeded in detaining
her. Arnold was well calculated for this employment He was secret,
subtle, resolute and persevering. He had been some time in the city
without exciting a suspicion of his business. He htul ascertained where
the captive was to be found — he had procured the necessary powers to
secure her, and in his approach to the nunnery was accompanied by a
sergeant and a file of men. The nuns were unwilling to deliver up their
pupil, and required to know by what right he demanded her. Arnold
convinced them that his authority was derived from the governor, and
they durst not disobey. They, however, prolonged the time as much as
possible, and sent word to M. St Auge, hoping that he would be able in
some way or other to detain his adopted daughter. Arnold, however, was
not to be delayed or trifled with. He sternly demanded the captive by
the name of Noble in the governor's name, and the nuns were awed into
submission. Fanny, weeping and trembling, was delivered up by those
who wept and trembled too. She accompanied Arnold to the gate
of the nunnery, but the idea of leaving forever those whom she loved
and going with a company of armed men, she knew not whither, was too
overwhelming, and she sank upon the ground. Her cries and lamen-
tations drew the people around her, and she exclaimed bitterly against
the cruelty of forcing her away, declaring that she could not and would
not go any further as a prisoner with those frightful soldiers. At this
time an English officer appeared in the crowd; he reasoned with her,
sootlicd her, and persuaded her to walk with him, assuring her the guard
should be dismissed and no injury befall her. As they passed by the
door of M. St Auge, on their way to the inn, her grief and exclamations
were renewed, and it was with great difficulty that she could be per-
Huadod to proceed. But the guard had merely fallen back, and were
near enough to prevent a rescue, had an attempt been made. Captain
M'Clure, the English officer, promised her that she should be permitted
to visit her French parents the next day. She found them in tears, but
they eould not detain her. M. St Auge gave her a handful of money,
and embraced her, blessed her, and rushed out of the room. His lady
supplied her with clothes, and their parting was most affectionate and
affecting. She lived to a considerably advanced age, but she could never
speak of this scene without visible and deep emotion.

She was carried down the river to Quebec, where she tarried a few

oinnriTT or nkvonn nobli.

46t

days, and tben stulcd with Captain Wilson for Boston. Sho arrived at
that port in July, one month before hIio was fourteen yours of age. Sho
was joyfully received by her friends, but her father did not long survive
her return. After his death sho resided in the family of Captain Wilson,
at Boston, until she had acquired the English language, of wlxich before
she was almost entirely ignorant. She then went to Newbury, and
lived in the family of a relative of her father, where she found a homo,
and that peace to which she had long been a stranger. Her education
had qualified her for the instruction of youth, and she partially devoted
herself to that employment She was engaged in a school at Hampton,
where sho formed an acquaintance with Mr. Jonathan Tilton, a gentleman
of good property in Kensington, whom she married about the year 1776.
He died in 1798. In 1801, she married Mr. John Shu to, of New Market,
and lived in the village of Newfields, in that town, till her death, in
September, 1819. She was much respected and esteemed in life, and
her death was, as her life had been, that of a Christian.

a few

NARRATIVE OP THE CAPTIVITY

QUINTIN STOCKWELL.

I» the year 1677, September the 19th, between sunset and dark, the
Indians came upon us.* T and another man, being together, we ran away at
the outcry the Indians made, shouting and shooting at some others of the
English that were hard by. We took a swamp that was at hand for our
rufuge; the enemy espying us so near them, ran after us, and shot
many guns :it us ; throe guns were discharged upon me, the enemy being
within three rods of me, besides many others before that Being in this
swamp, which was miry, I slumped in and fell down, whereupon one of
the enemy stepped to me, with his hatchet Ufted v.p to knock me on the
head, supposing that I had been wounded and so unfit for any other
travel. I, as it happened, had a pistol by me, which, though uncharged,
I presented to the Indian, who presently stepped back, and told me if I
would yield I should have no hurt; he said, which was not true, that
they had destroyed all Hatfield, and that the woods were lull of Indians,
whereupon I yielded myself, and falling into their hands, was by three
of them led away unto the place whence first I began to make my flight
Here two other Indians came running to us, and the one 'ii'ting up the
butt end of his gun, to knock me on the head, the other with his hand
put by the blow, and sjiid I was his friend. I was now by my own house,
which the Indians burnt the last year, and I was about to build up again ;
and there I had some hopes to escape from them. There was a horse
just by, which they bid me take. I did so, but made no attempt to
escape thereby, because the enemy was near, and the beast was slow and
dull. Then was I in hopes they would send me to take my own horses,
which they did; but they were so frightened that I could not come near
to them, and so fell still into the enemy's hands. They now took and
bound me and led me away, and soon was I brought into the company

•At Deerficld, Mass.

QUINTIK STOOKWEIX'S CAPTIVITT.

ill

of other captives, who were that day brought away from Hatfield, who
were about a mile oflf ; and here methought was matter of joy and sorrow
both : joy to see company, and sorrow for our conditioa Then were we
pinioned and led away in the night over the mountains, in dark and hideous
ways, about four miles further, before we took up our place for rest,
which was in a dismal place of wood, on the east side of that mountain.
We were kept bound all that night The Indians kept waking, and we
had little mind to sleep in this night's travel The Indians dispersed, and
as they went made strange noises, as of wolves and owls, and other wild
beasts, to the end that they might not lose one another, and if followed
they might not be discovered by the English.

About the break of day we marched again, and got over that great
river at Pecomptuck [Decrfield] river mouth, and there rested about two
hours. Here the Indians marked out upon tho trees the number of their
captives and slain, as their manner is. Now was I again in great danger,
a quarrel having arose about me, whose captive I was ; for three took me.
I thought I must be killed to end the controversy, so when they put it to
me, whose I was, I said three Indians took me ; so they agreed to have
all a share in me. I had now three masters, and he was my chief master
who laid hands on me first; and thus was I fallen into the hands of tho
worst of all the company, as Asphclon, the Indian captain, told me
which captain was all along very kind to me, and a great comfort to the
English. In this place they gave us some victuals, which they had
brought from the English. This morning also they sent ten men forth
to the town of Deerfield to bring away what they could find. Some
provision, some corn out of the meadow, they brought to us on horses,
which they had there taken.

From hence we went up about the falls, where we crossed that river
again ; and whilst I was going, I fell right down lame of my old wounds,
which I had in the war, and whilst I was thinking I should therefore bo
killed by the Indians, and what death I should die, my pain was suddenly
gone, and I was much encouraged again. We had about eleven horses
in thai company, which the Indians used to convey burdens, and to carry
women. It was afternoon when we now crossed that river. We traveled
up it till night, and then took up our lodging in a dismal place, and were
staked down, and spread out on our backs ; and so we lay all night, yea,
BO we lay many nights. They told me their law was that we should lie
so nine nights, and by that time it was thought we should be out of our
knowledge. The manner of staking down was thus : our arms and legs
stretched out, were staked fast down, and a cord about our necks, so that
we could stir noways. The first night of staking down, being much tired,

■

i
I

1.'

472

QtriMTiN stookwell's oAPTivrrr.

I slept as comfortable as ever. The next day we went up the river, and
crossed it, and at night lay in Squakheag [Northfield] meadows. Our
provision was soon spent, and while we lay in those meadows the Indians
went a hunting, and the English army came out after us. Then tho
Indians moved again, dividing themselves and the captives into many
companies, that the English might not follow their tracks. At night,
having crossed the river, we met again at the place appointed. The next
day we crossed it again on Squakheag side, and there we took up our
quarters for a long time. I suppose this might be about thirty miles
above Squakheag ; and here were the Indians quite out of all fear of the
English, but in great fear of the Mohawks. Here they built a long
wigwam, and had a great dance, as they call it, and concluded to burn
three of us, and had got bark to do it with ; and, as I understood afterward,
I was one that was to be burnt, sergeant Plimpton another, and Benjamin
Waite's wife the third. Though I knew not which was to be burnt, yet
I perceived some were designed thereunto; so much I understood of their
language. That night I could not sleep for fear of next day's work. The
Indians being weary with the dance, lay down to sleep, and slept soundly.
The English were all loose ; then I went out and brought in wood, and
mended the fire, and made a noise on purpose, but none awakened. I
thought if any of the English would awake, we might kill them all
sleeping. 1 removed out of the way all the guns and hatchets, but my
heart failing me, I put all the things where they were again. The next day,
when we were to be burnt, our master and some others spoke for us, and
the evil was prevented in this place. Hereabouts we lay three weeks
together. Here I had a shirt brought to me to make, and one Indian
said it should be made this way, a second another way, a third his way.
I told them I would make it that way my chief master said ; whereupon
one Indian struck me on the face with his fist. I suddenly rose up in
anger, ready to strike again ; upon this happened a great hubbub, and the
Indians and English came about me. I was fain to humble myself to
my master, so that matter was put up. Before I came to this place, my
three masters were gone a hunting; I was left with another Indian, all
the company being upon a march ; I was left with this Indian, who fell
sick, so that I was fain to carry his gun and hatchet, and had opportunity,
and had thought to have dispatched him and run away ; but did not, for
that the English captives had promised the contrary to one another;
because, if one should run away, that would provoke the Indians, and
endanger the rest that could not run away.

Whilst we were here, Benjamin Stebbins, going with some Indians to
Wachuset Hills, made his escape from them, and when the news of bis

QUINTIN STOCKWKLL's CAPTIVITY.

473

ind

to
Ibis

escape came we were all presently called in and bound; one of the
Indians, a captain among them, and always our great friend, met me
coming in, and told me Stebbins was run away ; and the Indians spake
of burning us; some, of only burning and biting off our fingers, by and
by. He said there would be a court, and all would speak their minds,
but he would speak last, and would say, that the Indian who let Steb-
bins run away was only in fault, and so no hurt should be done us, and
added, " fear not," so it proved accordingly. Whilst we lingered here-
about, provision grew scarce; one bear's foot must serve five of us a
whole day. We began to eat horse-flesh, and eat up seven in all ; three
were left alive and not killed. After we had been here, some of the
Indians had been down, and fiiUen upon Hadley, and were taken by the
English, agreed with and let go again. They were to meet the English
upon such a plain, there to make further terms. Ashpalon was much for
it, but Wachuset sachems, when they came, were much against it, and
were for this : that wc should meet the English, indeed, but there fall
upon them and fight them, and take them. Then Ashpalon spake to us
English, not to speak a word more to further that matter, for mischief
would come of it When those Indians came from Wachuset there came
with them squaws and children, about four score, who reported that the
English had taken Uncas, and all his men, and sent them beyond sea&
They were much enraged at this, and asked if it were true ; we said, no.
Then was Ashpalon angry, and said he would no more believe English-
men. They examined us every one apart, and then they dealt worse
with us for a season than before. Still provision was scarce. We came
at length to a place called Squaw Maug river; there we hoped for sal-
mon; but we came too late. This place I account to be above two
hundred miles above Deerfield. We now parted into two complies;
some went one way, and some went another way ; and we went over a
mighty mountain, it taking us eight days to go over it, and traveled very
hard too, having every day either snow or rain. We noted that on this
mountain all the water run northward. Here also we wanted provision ;
but at length we met again on the other side of the mountain, viz : on
the north side, at a river that runs into the lake ; and we were then half
a day's journey off the lake.

We stfiid there a great while, to make canoes to go over the lake.
Here I was frozen, and again we were like to starve. All the Indians
went a hunting, but could get nothing ; divers days they powwowed, and
yet got nothing ; then they desired the English to pray, and confessed
they could do nothing ; they would have us pray, and see what the Eng-
lishman's God could do. I prayed, so did sergeant Plimpton, in another

^'!

y l\

n !

474

Qinim>y btookwiu.'s oAmvrrr.

place. The Indians reverently attended, morning and night Next isf
they got bears ; then they would needs hare us desire a blessing, and
return thanks at meals; after a while they grew weary of it, and the
sachem bid forbid ua When I was frozen they were very cruel toward
me because I could not do as at other times. When we came to the
lake we were again sadly put to it for provision. We were fain to eat
touchwood fried in bear's grease. At last we found a company of rac-
coons, and then we made a feast ; and the manner was that we must eat
all. I perceived there would be too much for one time, so one Indian
who sat next to me bid me slip away some to him under his coat, and he
would hide it for me till another time. This Indian, as soon as he had
got my meat, stood up and made a speech to the rest, and discovered
me ; so that the Indians were very angry and cut me another piece, and
gave me raccoon grease to drink, which made me sick and vomit I told
them I had enough ; so ever after that they would give me none,
but still tell me I had raccoon enough. So I suffered much, and
being frozen, was full of pain, and could sleep but a little, yet
must do mywork. When they went upon the lake, and as they came
to it they lit of a moose and killed it and staid there till they had
eaten it all up.

Aftci" entering upon the lake, there arose a great storm, and we
thought we should all be cast away, but at last we got to an island, and
there they went to powwowing. The powwow said that Benjamin Waite
and another man was coming, and that storm was raised to cast them
away. This afterward appeared to be true, though then I believed them
not Upon this island we lay still several days, and then set out again,
but a storm took us, so that we lay to and fro, upon certain islands, about
three weeks. We had no provision but raccoons, so that the Indians
themselves thought they should be starved. They gave me nothing;
so that I was sundry days without any provision. We went on upon
the lake, upon that isle, about a day's journey. We had a Httle sled
upon wliich we drew our load. Before noon, I tired, and just then the
Indians met with some Frenchmen ; then one of the Indians that took
me, came to me, and called me all manner of bad names, and threw me
down upon my back. I told him I could not do any more ; then he
sold he must kill me. I thought he was about to do it for he pulled
out his knife and cut out my pockets, and wrapped them about my face,
helped me up, and took my sled and went away, giving me a bit of
biscuit as big as a walnut which he had of the Frenchman, and told
me he would give me a pipe of tobacco. When my sled was gone,
I could run after him, but at last I could not run, but went a foot-pace.

Qunmir 8T0CNKwau.'8 cApnyirr.

The Indians were soon out of sight I followed as well as I could, <uid
had many falls upon the ice.

At last, I was so spent, I had not strength enough to rise again, hut
I crept to a tree that lay along, and got upon it, wd there I lay. It
was now night, and very sharp waather : I counted no other but that I
must die here. Whilst I was thinking of death, an Indian halloed, and
I answered him ; he came to me, and called me bad names, and told
me if I could not go, he must knock me on the head. I told him he
must then do so ; he saw how I had wallowed in the snow, but could
not rise ; then he took his coat and wrapt me in it, and went back and
sent two Indians with a sled. One smd he must knock me on the head,
the other said no, they would carry me away and bum me. Then they
bid me stir my instep, to see if that were frozen ; I did so. When they
saw that, they said that was Wurregen. There was a chirurgeon
among the French, they said, that could cure me ; then they took me
upon a sled, and carried me to the fire, and made much of me ; pulled
oflF my wet and wrapped me in my dry clothes, and made me a good
bed. They had killed an otter, and gave me some of the broth made
of it, and a bit of the flesh. Here I slept till toward day, and then
was able to get up and put on my clothes. One of the Indians awaked,
and seeing me walk, shouted, as rejoicing at it As soon as it was light,
I and Samuel Russell went before on the ice, upon a river. They said
I must go where I could on foot, else I should freeze. Samuel Russell
slipt into the river with one foot ; the Indians called him back, and dried
his stockings, and then sent us away, and an Indian with us to pilot ua>
We went four or five miles before they overtook us. I was then pretty
well spent Samuel Russell was, he smd, faint, and wondered how I
could live, for he had, he said, ten meals to my one. Then I was laid
on the sled, and they ran away with me on the ice ; the rest and Samuel
Russell came softly after. Samuel Ilussell I never saw more, nor know
I what became of him. They got but half way, and we got through to
Shamblee about midnight Six miles oflF Shamblee, (a French town,)
the river was open, and, when I came to travel in that part of the ice, I
soon tired ; and two Indians ran away to town, and one only was left ;
he would carry me a few rods, and then I would go as many, and then
a trade we drove, and so were long in going the six miles. This Indian
was now kind, and told me that if he did not carry me I would die, and
80 I should have done, sure enough ; and he said I must tell the English
how he helped me. When we came to the first house, there was 90

470

QuiKfTfir iTOc«wiil.'(i CAntytrt.

inhabitant The Indian was also spent, and both were discouraged ; he
said we must now die together. At last he left me alone, and got to
another house, and thence came some French and Indians, and brought
me in. The French were kind, and put my hands and feet in cold
water, and gave me a dram of brandy, and a little hasty pudding and
milk ; when I tasted victuals, I was hungry, and could not have for-
borne it, but I could not get it Now and then they would give me a
little, as they thought best for me. I laid by the fire with the Indian
that night but could not sleep for pain. Next morning, the Indians and
French fell out about me, because the French, as the Indians said, loved
the English better than the Indians. The French presently turned the
Indians out of doors, and kept me.

They were very kind and careful, and gave me a little something now
and then. While I "was here, all the men in that town came to see me.
At this house I was three or four days, and then invited to another, and
after that to another. In this place I was about thirteen days, and
received much civility from a young man, a bachelor, who invited me to
his house, with whom I was for the most part of the time. He was so
kind as to lodge me in the bed with himself, gave me a shirt and would
have bought me, but could not, as the Indians asked one hundred pounds
for me. We were then to go to a place called Sorel, and that young
man would go with me, because the Indians should not hurt me. This
niian carried me on the ice one day's journey, for I could not now go at
all, and there was so much water on the ice we could go no farther. So
the Frenchman left me, and provision for me. Here we staid two
nights, and then traveled again, for now the ice was strong, and in two
days more we came to Sorel. When we got to the first house, it was
late in the night ; and here again the people were kind. Next day,
being in much pain, I asked the Indians to carry me to the chirurgeons,
as they had promised, at which they were wroth, and one of them took
up his gun to knock me, but the Frenchman would not suffer it but set
upor. him and kicked him out of doors. Then we went away from
thence, to a place two or three miles off, where the Indians had wigwams.
When I came to these wigwams, some of the Indians knew me, and
seemed to pity me.

While I was here, which was three or four days, the French came to
see me ; and it being Christmas time, they brought cakes and other
provisions with them and gave to me, so that I had no want The
Indians tried to cure me, but could not Then I asked for the chirur-
geon, at which one of the Indians in anger struck me on the face with
his fist A Frenchman being by, spoke to him, but I knew not what he

QvnmK stookwill's oAPTiyirr.

477

said, and then went his way. By and by came the captain of the place
into the wigwam, with about twelve armed men, and asked where the
Indian was that struck the Englishman. They took him and told him
he should go to the bilboes, and then be hanged. The Indians were
much terrified at this, as appeared by their countenances and trembling.
I would have gone too, but the Frenchman bid me not fear ; that the
Indians durst not hurt me. When that Indian was gone, I had two
masters stilL I asked them to carry me to that captain, that I might
speak for the Indian. They answered, "You are a fool. Do you think
the French are like the English, to say one thing and do another ? They
are men of their words." I prevmled with them, however, to help me
thither, and I spoke to the captain by an interpreter, and told liim I
desired him to set the Indian free, and told him what he had done for
me. He told me he was a rogue, and should be hanged. Then I spoke
more privately, alledging this reason, that because all the English captives
were not come in, if he were hanged, it might fare the worse with them.
The captain said " that was to be considered." Then he set him at
liberty upon this condition, that he should never strike me more, and
every day bring me to his house to cat victuals. I perceived that the
common people did not like what the Indians had done and did to the
English, When the Indian was set free, he came to me, and took me
about the middle, and said I was his brother ; that I had saved his life'
once, and he had saved mine thrice. Then he called for brandy and
made me drink, and had me away to the wigwams agtiin. When I came
there, the Indians came to me one by one, to shake hands with me,
saying Wurregen Netop, and were very kind, thinking no other but
that I had saved the Indian's life.

The next day he carried me to that captain's house, and set me
down.f They gave me my victuals and wine, and being left there a
while by the Indians, I showed the captain my fingers, which, when he
and his wife saw, they ran away from the sight, and bid me lap it up
again, and sent for the chirurgeon ; who, when he came, said he could
cure me, and took it in hand, and dressed it The Indians toward night
came for me ; I told them I could not go with them. They were dis-
pleased, called me rogue, and went away. That night I was full of pain;
the French feared that I would die ; five men did watch with me,
and strove to keep me cheerly, for I was sometimes ready to faint
Oftentimes they gave me a little brandy. The next day the chirurgeon
came agab, and dressed me ; and so he did all the while I was

I
I

(Kmrm BrowwMU.'6 oASffmt.

among the French. I came in at ChristmM, and went thenee on the
second of May.

Being thus in the captain's house, I was kept there till Benjamin Waite
camo ; and now my Indian master, being in want of money, pawned mo
to the captain for fourteen beavers' skins, or the worth of them, at such
a day ; if he did not pay, he must lose his pawn, or else sell me for
twenty-one beavers, but he could not get beaver, and so I was sold.
By being thus sold, adds Dr. Mather, he was in God's good time set at
liberty, and returned to hia friends in New England again.

»■ ' ' *■* .; ,..</-■'

■*-tI

/' t

NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY

PETER WILLIAMSON.

I was born within ten miles of the town of Aberdeen, in the north of
Scotland, of reputable parents. At eight years of age, being a sturdy
boy, I was taken notice of by two fellows belonging to a vessel, employed
(as the trade then was) by some of the worthy merchants of Aberdeen
in that villanous and execrable practice of stealing young children from
their parents, and selling them as slaves in the plantations abroad, and
on board the ship I was easily cajoled by them, where I was conducted
between decks, to some others they had kidnapped in the same manner,
and in about a month's time set sail for America When arrived at Phila-
delphia, the captain sold us at about sixteen pounds per head. What be-
came of my unhappy companions I never knew ; but it was my lot to be
sold for seven yeai-s, to one of my countrymen, who had in his youth been
kidnapped hke myself but from another town.

Having no children of his own, and commiserating my condition, he
took care of me, indidged me in going to school, where I went every win-
ter for five years, and made a tolerable proficiency. With this good
master I continued till he died, and, as a reward for my faithful service,
he left me two hundred pounds currency, which was then about on
hundred and twenty pounds sterling, his best horse, saddle, and all his
wearing apparel.

Being now seventeen years old, and my own master, having money in
my pocket, and all other necessaries, I employed myself in jobbing for
near seven years ; when I resolved to settle, and married the daughter
of a substantial planter. My father-in-law made me a deed of gift of a
tract of land that lay (unhappily for me, as it has since proved) on the
frontiers of the province of Pennsylvania, near the forks of Delaware,
containing about two hundred acres^ thirty of which were well cleared and
fit hs immediate um^ oa which were a good house and bam. The place

OIPTIVITT OT PBTKR WIUJAII80H.

p^onsing mo well, I settled on it My money I expended in buying stock,
iiouschold furniture, and implements for out-of-door work ; and being
happy in a good wife, my felicity was complete : but in 1764, the Indians,
who had for a long time before ravaged and destroyed other parts of
America unmolested, began now to bo very troublesome on tho frontiers
of our province, where they generally appeared in small skulking parties,
committing great devastations.

Terrible and shocking to human nature were the barbarities daily com*
mittcd by these savages ! Scarce did a day pass but some unhappy
family or other fell victims to savage cruelty. Terrible, indeed, it proved
to me, as well as to many others. I, that was now happy in an easy
sUitc of life ; blessed with an aflfectionate and tender wife, became on a
sudden one of the most unhappy of mankind : scarce can I sustain the
shock which forever recurs on recollecting the fatal second of October,
1754. My wife that day went from home, to visit some of her relations ;
as I staid up later than usual, expecting her return, none being in the
house besides myself, how great was my surprise and terror, when, about
eleven o'clock at night, I heard the dismal war-whoop of the savages, and
found that my house was beset by them. I flew to my chamber window,
and perceived them to be twelve in number. Having my gun loaded, I
threatened them with death, if they did not retire. But how vain and
fruitless arc the efforts of one man against the united force of so many blood-
thirsty monsters ! One of them, that could speak English, threatened me
in return, "That if I did not come out they would burn me alive," adding,
however, " that if I would come out and surrender myself prisoner, they
would not kill me." In such deplorable circumstances, I chose to rely on
their promises, rather than meet death by rejecting them ; and accordingly
went out of the house, with my gun in my hand, not knowing that I had
it Immediately on my approach they rushed on me like tigers, and in-
stantly disarmed me. Having me thus in their power, they bound me to
a tree, went into the house, plundered it of every thing they could carry
off, and then set fire to it, and consumed what was left, before my eyes.
Not satisfied with this, they set fire to my barn, stable, and out-houses,
wherein were about two hundred bushels of wheat, six cows, four horses,
and five sheep, all of which were consumed to ashes.

Having thus finished the execrable business about which they came,
one of the monsters came to me with a tomahawk and threatened me
with the worst of deaths if I would not go with them. This I agreed to,
and then they untied me, gave me a load to carry, under which I traveled
all that night, full of the. most terrible apprehensions, lest my unhappy
wife should likewise have fallen into their cruel power. At daybreak my

CAPTIVITT or FBTBll WnxiAlMOll.

481

infernal masters ordered me to lay down my load, when, tying my handi
agnin round a tree, tliey forced the blood out at my fingen' ends. And
then kindling a fire near the tree to which I was bound, the most dreadful
agonies seized me, concluding I was to be made a sacrifice to their barbar-
ity. The fire being made, they for some time danced round me after their
manner, whooping, hollowing and shrieking in a frightful manner. Being
satisfied with this sort of mirth, they proceeded in another manner : taking
the burning coals, and sticks flaming with fire at the ends, holding them
to my face, head, hands, and feet, and at the same Ume threatening to
bum me entirely if I cried out Thus, tortured as I was, almost to death,
I suffered their brutalities, without being able to vent my anguish other-
wise than by shedding silent tears ; and these being observed, they took
fresh coals and applied them near my eyes, telling me my face was wel;
and that they would dry it for me, which indeed they cruelly did. Mow
I underwent these tortures has been matter of wonder to me, but God
enabled me to wait with more than corr^mon patience for the deliverance
I daily prayed for.

At length they sat down round the fire, and roasted the meat, of wbich
they had robbed my dwelling. When they had supped, they offered some
to me ; though it may eaaly be ima^ned I had but little appetite to eat,
after the tortures and miseries I had suffered, yet was I forced to seem
pleased with what they offered me, lest by refusing it they should re-
sume their hellish practices. What I could not eat I contrived to hide^
they having unbound me till they imagined I had eat all; but then they
bound me as before ; in which deplorable condition I waa forced to con-
tinue the whole day. When the sun was set, they put out the fire, and
covered the ashes with leaves, as is their usual custom, that the white
people might not discover any traces of their having been there.

Going from thence along the Susquehanna, for the space of six miles,
loaded as I was before, we arrived at a spot near the Apalachian moun-
tains, or Blue hills, where they hid their plunder under logs of wood.
From thence they proceeded to a neighboring house, occupied by (me
Jacob Snider and his unhappy family, consisting of his wife, five children,
and a young man his servant They soon got admittance into the unfor-
tunate man's house, where they immediately, without the least remorse,
scalped both parents and children; nor could the tears, the shrieks, or
cries of poor innocent children prevent their horrid massacre. Having thus
scalped them, and plundered the house of eveiy thing that was mov-
able, they set fire to it, and left the distressed victims amidst the flames.
Thinking the young man belonging to this unhappy fiEunily would be
of service to them in canying part of their plunder, they spared bb li£^

iM OArmriTr or rvnu wiuiambow.

•nd loaded him and myielf with what they had here got, and again
marched to the Blue hills, where they stowed tlieir goods as before. My
fellow sufferer could not support the cruel treatment which we were
obliged to suffer, and complaining bitterly to me of his being unable to
proceed any farther, I endeavored to animate him, but all in vain, for he
still continued his moans and tears, which one of the savages perceiving,
as we traveled along, came up to us, and with his tomahawk gave him a
blow on the head, which felled the unhappy youth to the ground, whom
they immediately scalped and lefL The suddenness of this murder
shocked me to that degree, that I was in a manner motionless, expecting
my fate would soon be the same: however, recovering my distracted
thoughts, I dissembled my anguish as well as I could from the barbarians ;
but still, such was my terror, that for some tim?. I scarce knew the days
of the week, or what I did.

They still kept on their course near the mountains, where tliey lay
skulking four or 6ve days, rejoicing at the plunder they had got When
provisions became scarce, they made their way toward Susquehanna, and
passing near another house, inhabited by an old man, whose name was
John Adams, with his wife and four small children, and meeting with no
resistance, they immediately scalped the mother and her children before
the old man's eyes. Inhuman and horrid as this was, it did not satisfy
them ; for when they had murdered the poor woman, they acted with her
m such a brutal manner as decency will not permit me to mention. The
unhappy husband, not being able to avoid the sight, entreated them to
put an end to his miserable being ; but they were as deaf to the tears and
entreaties of this venerable sufferer as they had been to those of the
others, and proceeded to bum and destroy his house, bam, corn, hay,
cattle, and every thing the poor man a few hours before was master of.
Having saved what they thought proper from the flames, they gave the
old man, feeble, weak, and in the miserable condition he then was, as well
as myself, burdens to carry, and loading themselves Ukewise with bread
and meat, pursued their journey toward the Great Swamp. Here they
lay for eight or nine days, diverting themselves, at times, in barbarous
craelties on the old man: sometimes they would strip him naked, and
paint him all over with various sorts of colors ; at other times they would
pluck the white hairs from his head, and tauntingly tell him he was a fool
for living so long, and that they would show him kindness in putting him out
of the world. In vain were all his tears, for daily did they tire them-
selves with the various means they tried to torment him ; sometimes tying
him to a tree, and whipping him ; at other times, scorching his furrowed
cheek with red hot coals, and burning his legs quite to the knoca One

OAPnriTT or pitbr wiluamson.

488

night, after he had been thus tormented, while ho and I were condoling
eaeh other at the miseries we doily suffered, twenty-five other Indians
arrived, bringing with them twenty bcii1j>f> and three prisoners, who had
unhappily fallen into their hands in (.'onogocht iguc, a Bmoll town near
the river Susquehanna, chiefly inhabited \>y the Irish. These prisoners
gave us some shocking accounts of the murders and devastations com-
mitted in their parts; a few instances u'' which will enable the reader to
guess at the treatment the provincials have Huff<ro(l for years pust. Tliis
party who now joined us, had it not, I found, in their power to begin
their violences so soon as those who visited my habitutio.i; the tirsi
of their tragedies being on the 25th of October, 1764, when John Lewis,
with his wife and three small children, were inhumanly scalped and
murdered, and his house, barn, and every thinij he possessed burnt and
destroyed. On the 28th, Jacob Miller, with his wife and si.\ of his family,
with every thing on his plantations, shared the same fate. The 30th, the
house, mill, barn, twenty head of cattle, two teams of horses, and every
thing belonging to George Folkc, met with the hkc treatment, himself
wife, and all his miserable family, consisting of nine in number, being
scalped, then cut in pieces and given to the swine. One of the substan-
tial traders, belonging to the province, having business that called him
some miles up the country, fell into the hands of these ruffians, who not
only scalped him, but immediately roasted him before he was dead ; then,
like cannibals, for want of other food, eat his whole body, and of Ills head
made, what they called, an Indian pudding.

From these few instances of savage cruelty, the deplorable situation
of the defenseless inhabitants, and what they hourly suffered in that part
of the globe, must strike the utmost horror, and cause in every breast
the utmost detestation, not only against the authors, but against those
who, through inattention, or pusillanimous or erroneous principles, suffered
these savages at first, unrepellcd, or even unmolested, to commit such
outrages, depredations and murders.

The three prisoners that were brought with these additional forces,
constantly repining at their lot, and almost dead with their excessive hard
treatment, contrived at last to make their escape : but being far from
their own settlements, and not knowing the country, were soon after met
by some others of the tribes or nations at war with us and brought back.
The poor creatures, almost famished for want of sustenance, having had
none during the time of their escape, were no sooner in the power of the
barbarians than two of them were tied to a tree, and a great fire made
round them, where they remained till they were terribly scorched and
burnt; when one of the villains with his scalping knife ripped open their

484

CAPnyiTT OF PITIR WILLUMBOir.

Dellies, took out their entrails, and burned them before their eyes, while
the others were cutting, piercing, and tearing the flesh from their breasts,
bands, arms and legs, with red-hot irons, till they were dead. The third
unhappy victim was reserved a few hours longer, to be, if possible, sac-
rificed in a more cruel manner : his arms were tied close to his body, and
a hole being dug deep enough for him to stand upright, he was put into
it, and earth rammed and beat in all round his body up to his neck, so
that liis head only appeared above ground; they then scalped him, and
there let him remain for three or four hours in the greatest agonies;
.. after which they made a small fire near his head, causing him to suffer
the most excruciating torments ; while the pr>or creature could only cry
for mercy by killing him immediately, for his brains were boiling in his
head. Inexorable to all he said, they continued the fire till his eyes
gushed out of their sockets. Such agonizing torments did this unhappy
creature suffer for near two hours before he was quite dead. They then
cut off his head, and buried it with the other bodies ; my task being to
dig the graves ; which, feeble and terrified as I was, the dread of suffering
the same fate enabled me to do.

A great snow now falling, the barbarians were fearful lest the white
people should, by their tracks, find out their skulking retreats, which
obliged them to make the best of their way to their winter quarters,
about two hundred miles farther from any plantations or inhabitants.
After a long and painful journey, being almost starved, I arrived with
this infernal crew at Alamingo. There I found a number of wigwams
full of their women and children. Dancing, singing and shouting were
their general amusements. And in all their festivals and dances they
relate what successes they have had, and what damages they have sus-
tained in their expeditions; in which I now unhappily became a part
of their theme. The severity of the cold increasing, they stripped me
of my clothes for their own use, and gave me such as they usually wore
themselves, being a piece of blanket, and a pair of moccasons, or shoes,
with a yard of coarse cloth, to put round me instead of breeches.

At Alamingo, I remained near two months, till the snow was off the
ground. Whatever thoughts I might have of making my escape, to
carry them into execution was impracticable, being so far from any plan-
tations or white people, and the severe weather rendering my limbs in a
manner quite stiff and motionless ; however, I contrived to defend myself
against the inclemency of the weather as well as I could, by making
myself a little wigwam with the bark of the trees, covering it with earth,
which made it resemble a cave ; and to prevent the ill effects of the cold,
I kept a good fire always near the door. My liberty of going about was»

CAFTIVITr OF FETSR WII.I.IAMS05.

485

indeed, more than I could have expected, but they well knew the im-
practicability of my escaping from them. Seeing me outwardly easy
and submissive, they would sometimes give me a little meat, but my
chief food was Indian corn. At length the time came when they were
preparing themselves for another expedition against the planters and
white people ; but before they set out, they were joined by many other
Indians.

As soon as the snow was quite gone, they set forth on their journey
toward the back parts of the province of Pennsylvania; all leaving then:
wives and children behind in their wigwams. They were now a formi-
dable body, amounting to near one hundred and fifty. My business was
to carry what they thought proper to load me with, but they never en-
trusted me with a gun. We marched on several days without any thing
particular occurring, almost famished for want of provisions ; for my part,
I had nothing but a few stalks of Indian corn, which I was glad to eat
dry ; nor did the Indians themselves fare much better, for as we drew
near the plantations they were afraid to kill any game, lest the noise of
their guns should alarm the inhabitants.

When we again arrived at the Blue hills, about thirty miles from the
Irish settlements before mentioned, we encamped for three days, though
God knows we had neither tents nor any thing else to defend us from
the inclemency of the air, having nothing to lie on by night but the grass ;
their usual method of lodging, pitching, or encamping, by night, being in
parcels of ten or twelve men to a fire, where they lie upon the grass or
brush wrapped up in a blanket, with their feet to the fire.

During our stay here, a sort of council of war was held, when it was
agreed to divide themselves into companies of about twenty men each;
after which every captain marched with his party where he thought
proper. I still belonged to my old masters, but was left behind on the
mountains Avith ten Indians, to stay till the rest should return; not
thinking it proper to carry me nearer to Conogocheague, or the other
plantations.

Here I began to meditate an escape, and though I knew the country
round extremely well, yet I was very cautious of giving the least suspi-
cion of any such intention. However, the third day after the grand body
left, my companions thought proper to traverse the mountains in search
of game for their sustenance, leaving me bound in such a manner that I
could not escape. At night, when they returned, having unbound me, we
all sat down together to supper on what they had killed, and soon after
(being greatly fatigued with their day's excursion) they composed them-
selves to rest, as usual. I now tried various ways to try whether it was a

486

CAPTIVITT OF PSTER WILLIAMSOH.

scheme to prove my intentions or not; but after making a noise and
walking about, sometimes touching them with my feet, I found there was
no fallacy. Then I resolved, if possible, to get one of their guns, and,
if discovered, to die in my defense, rather than be taken. For that pur-
. pose I made various efforts to get one from under their heads, (where they
always secured them,) but in vain. Disappointed in this, I began to
despair of carrying my design into execution ; yet, after a little recollec-
tion, and trusting myself to the divine protection, I set forward, naked
and defenseless as I was. Such was my terror, however, that in going
from them I halted, and paused every four or five yards, looking fearfully
toward the spot where I had left them, lest they should awake and miss
me ; but when I was two hundred yards from them, I mended my pace,
and made as much haste as I possibly could to the foot of the mountains ;
when, on a sudden, I was struck with the greatest terror at hearing the
wood cry, as it is called, which the savages I had left were making upon
missing their charge. The more my terror increased the faster I pushed
on, and scarce knowing where I trod, drove through the woods with the
utmost precipitation, sometimes falling and bruising myself, cutting my
feet and legs against the stones in a miserable manner. But faint and
maimed as I was, I continued my flight till daybreak, when, without hav-
ing any thing to sustain nature but a little com left, I crept into a hollow
tree, where I lay very snug, and returned my prayers and thanks to the
divine Being that had thus far favored my escape. But my repose was
in a few hours destroyed at hearing the voices of the savages near the
place where I was hid, threatening and talking how they would use me
if they got me again. However, they at last left the spot where I heard
them, and I remained in my apartment all that day without further
molestation.

At night I ventured forward again, frightened; thinking each twig
that touched me a savage. The third day I concealed myself in like
mann^ as before, and at night traveled, keeping off the main road as
much as possible, which lengthened my journey many miles. But how
shall I describe the terror I felt on the fourth night, when by the rustling
I made among the leaves, a party of Indians, that lay round a small fire,
which I did not perceive, started from the ground, and seizing their arms,
ran from the fire amonsf the woods. Whether to move forward or rest
where I was, I knew not, when to my great surprise and joy, I was
relieved by a parcel of swine that made toward the place where I guessed
the savages to be; who, on seeing them, imagined they had caused the
alarm, very merrily returned to»the fire, and lay again down to sleep.
Bruised, crippled, and terrified as I was, I pursued my journey till break

OAPTIVITT or PBTKR WOXIAMSOH.

487

of day, when, thinking myself safe, I lay down tinder a great log, and
slept till about noon. Before erening I reached the summit of a great
hill, and looking out if I could spy any habitations of white people, to
my inexpressible joy I saw some, which I guessed to be about ten miles
distant

In the morning, I continued my journey toward the nearest cleared
lands I had seen the day before, and, about four o'clock in the afternoon,
arrived at the house of John Bell, an old acquaintance, where, knocking
at the door, his wife, who opened it, seeing me in such a frightful condi-
tion, flew from me screaming, into the house. This alarmed the whole
family, who immediately fled to their arms, and I was soon accosted by
the master with his gun in his hand. But on making myself known, (for
he before took "ne to be an Indian,) he immediately caressed me, as did
all his family, with extraordinary friendship, the report of my being mur-
dered by the savages having reached them some months before. For
two days and nights they very affectionately supplied me with all neces-
saries, and carefully attended me till my spirits and limbs were pretty
well recovered, and I thought myself able to ride, when I borrowed of
these good people (whose kindness merits my most grateful returns) a
horse and some clothes, and set forward for my father-in-law's house in
Chester county, about one hundred and forty miles from thence, where I
arrived on the 4th of January, 1755, (but scarce one of the family could
credit theur eyes, believing, with the people I had lately left, that I had
fallen a prey to the Indians,) where I was received and embraced by the
whole family with great affection. Upon mquiring for my dear wife, I
foimd she had been dead two months! This fatal news greatly lessened
the joy I otherwise should have felt at my deliverance from the dreadful
state and company I had been in.

/» .

NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY

JONATHAN CARVER.

Obh. Webb, who commanded the English army in North America,
which was then (ll5l) encamped at fort Edward, having intelligence
that the French troops, under Monsieur Montcalm, were making some
morements toward fort William Henry, he detached a corps of ahout
fifteen hundred men, consisting of English and provincials, to strengthen
the garrison. In this party I went as a volunteer among the latter.

The apprehensions of the English general were not without foundation ;
for, the day after our arrival, we saw lake George, (formerly lake Sacra-
ment,) to which it Ues contiguous, covered with an immense number of
boats; and, in a few hours, we found our lines attacked W the French
general, who had just landed with eleven thousand regulars and Canadi-
ans, and two thousand Indians. Colonel Monro, a brave officer, com-
manded the fort, and had no more than two thousand three hundred men
with him, our detachment included.

With these, he made a gallant defense, and probably would have been
able, at last, to preserve the fort, had he been properly supported, and
permitted to continue his efforts. On every summons to surrender, sent
by the French general, who offered the most honorable terms, his answer
repeatedly was, that he yet found himself in a condition to repel the most
vigoroiis attack his besiegers were able to make ; and, if he thought his
present force insufficient, he could soon be supplied with a greater niuiber
from the adjacent army.

But the colonel ha\ing acquainted General Webb with his situation,
and desired that he would send him some fresh troops, the general dis-
patched a messenger to him with a letter, wherein he informed liim that
it was not in his power to assist him, and, therefore, gave him orders to
surrender up the fort, on the best terms he could prociu-e. This packet

OAFTIVIIT OF CAPTAIN OABVXB.

489

M into the hands of the French general, who immediately sent a flag of
truce, desiring a conference with the governor.

They accordingly met, attended only by a small guard, in the center
between the lines; when Monsieur Montcalm told the colonel that he was
come in person to demand possession of the fort, as it belonged to the
king his master. The colonel replied, that he knew not how that could
be, nor should he surrender it up, while it was in his power to defend it

The French general rejoined, at the same time delivering the packet
into the colonel's hand, " By this authority do I make the requisition."
The brave governor had no sooner read the contents of it, and was con-
vinced that such were the orders of the commander-in-chief, and not to
be disobeyed, than he hung his head in silence, and reluctantly entered
into a negotiation.

In consideration of the gallant defense the garrison had made, they
were to be permitted to march out with all the honors of war, to be
allowed covered wagons to transport their baggage to fort Edward, and a
guard to protect them from the fury of the savages.

The morning after the capitulation was signed, as soon as day broke,
the whole garrison, now consisting of about two thousand men, besides
women and children, were drawn up within the lines, and on the point of
marching off, when great numbers of the Indians gathered about, and
began to plunder. We were at first in hopes that this was their only
view, and suffered them to proceed without opposition. Indeed, it was
not in our power to make any, had we been so inclined ; for though we
were permitted to carry off our arms, yet we were not allowed a single
round of ammunition. In these hopes, however, we were disappointed ;
for presently some of them began to attack the sick and wounded, when
such as were not able to crawl into the ranks, notwithstanding they endea-
vored to avert the fury of their enemies by their shrieks or groans, were
soon dispatched.

Here we were fully in expectation that the disturbance would have
concluded ; and our little army began to move ; but in a short time we
saw the front division driven back, and discovend that we were entirely
encircled by the savages. We expected every moment that the guard,
which the French, by the articles of capitulation, had agreed to allow us,
would have arrived, and put an end to our apprehensions; but none
appeared. The Indians now began to strip every one, without exception,
of their arms and clothes, and those who mude the least resistance felt
the weight of their tomahawks.

I happened to be in the rear division, but it was not long before I
shared the fate of my companions Three or four of the savages laid

400

OAPmnXT OF OAPTAIH OABYKR.

hold of me, and while some held their weapons over my head, the others
soon disrobed me of my coat, w^stcoat, liat, and buckles, omitting not to
take from me what money I had in my pocket. As this was transacted
close by the passage that led from the lines on to the plain, near which a
French sentinel was posted, I ran to him and claimed his protection ; but
he only called me an English dog, and thrust mo with violence back
again into the midst of the Indians.

I now endeavored to join a body of our troops that were crowded
together at some distance ; but innumerable were the blows that were
made at me with different weapons, as I passed on ; luckily, however, the
savages Avere so close together that they could not strike at me without en-
dangering each other. Notwithstanding which, one of them found means to
make a thrust at me with a spear, which grazed my side, and from
another I received a wound, with the same kind of weapon, in my ankle.
At length I gained the spot where my countrymen stood, and forced
myself into the midst of them. But before I got thus far out of the
hands of the Indians, the collar and wristbands of my shirt were all that
remained of it, and my flesh was scratched and torn in many places by
their savage gripes.

By this time the war-whoop was given, and the Indians began to
murder those that were nearest to them, without distinction. It is not
in the power of words to give any tolerable idea of the horrid scene that
now ensued; men, women, and children were dispatched in the most
wanton and cruel manner, and immediately scalped. Many of these
savages drank the blood of their victims, as it flowed warm £r(yn the fatal
wound.

We now perceived, though too late to avail us, that we were to expect
no relief from the French ; and that, contrary to the agreement they had
so lately signed, to allow us a sufficient force to protect us from these
insults, they tacitly permitted them; for, I could plainly perceive the
French officers walking about at some distance, discoursing together with
apparent unconcern. For the honor of human nature, I would hope that
this flagrant breach of everj^ sacred law proceeded rather from the savage
disposition of the Indians, which, I acknowledge, it is sometimes almost
impossible to control, and which might now unexpectedly have arrived to
a pitch not easily to be restrained, than to any premeditated design in the
French commander. An unprejudiced observer would, however, be apt
to conclude, that a body of ten thousand christian troogs — most christian
troops — had it in their power to prevent the massacre from becoming r- <
general. But, whatever was the cause from which it arose, the conse-
quences of it were dreadful, and not to be paralleled in modern history.

OAFnvrrr or captain oarybk

As the circle in which I stood inclosed, was by this time much thinned,
and death seemed to be approaching with hasty strides, it was proposed by
some of the most resolute, to make one vigorous effort, and endeavor to
force our way tlirough the savages, the only probable method of preserv-
ing our lives, that now remained. This, however desperate, was resolved
on, and about twenty of us sprang at once into the midst of them.

In a moment we were all separated, and what was the fate of my com-
panions I could not learn till some months after, when I found that only
six or seven of them effected their design. Intent only on my own
hazardous situation, I endeavored to make my way through my savage
enemies in the best manner possible. And I have often been astonished
since, when I have recollected with what composure I took, as I did,
every necessary step for my preservation. Some I overturned, being at
that time young and athletic, and others I passed by, dexterously avoiding
their weapons ; till at last two very stout chiefs, of the most savage tribes,
as I could distinguish by their dress, whose strength I could not resist,
laid hold of me by each arm, and began to force me through the crowd.

I now resigned myself to my fate, not doubting but that they intended
to dispatch me, and then to satiate their vengeance with my blood, as I
found they were hurrying me toward a retired swamp that lay at some
distance. But, before we had got many yards, an English gentleman of
some distinction, as I could discover by his breeches, the only covering
he had on, which were of fine scarlet velvet, rushed close by us. One
of the Indians instantly relinquished his hold, and springing on this new
object, endeavored to seize him as his prey; but the gentleman being
strong, threw him on the ground, and would probably have got away,
had not he who held my other arm quitted me to assist his brother.
I seized the opportunity, and hastened away to join another party of Eng-
lish troops that were yet unbroken, and stood in a body at some distance.
But before I had taken many steps, I hastily cast my eye toward the gen-
tleman, and saw the Indian's tomahawk gash into his back, and heard
him utter his last groan. This added both to my speed and desperation.

I had left this shocking scene but a few yards, when a fine boy, about
twelve years of age, that had hitherto escaped, came up to me, and
begged that I would let him lay hold of me, so that he might stand some
chance of getting out of the hands of the savages. I told him that I
would give him every assistance in my power, and to this purpose, bid
him lay hold ; but in a few moments he was torn from my side, and by
his shrieks I judge was soon demolished. I could not help forgetting my
own cares for a minute, to lament the fafe of so young a sufferer; but it
was utterly impossible for me to take any methods to prevent it

411

OAPTITITT Oy OAPTAIir OARTSB.

I now got once more into the midst of friends, but we were unable to
afford each other any succor. As this was the division that had advanced
the furthest from the fort, I thought there might be a possibility (though
but a bare one) of my forcing my way through the outer ranks of the
Indians, and getting to a neighboring wood, which I perceived at some
distance. I was still encouraged to hope by the almost miraculous pre*
servation I had already experienced.

Nor were my hopes in vain, or the eflforts I made inefifectual. SuiBce
to say, that I reached the wood ; but by the time I had penetrated a
little way into it, my breath was so exhausted that I threw myself into a
break, and lay for some minutes apparently at the lost gasp. At length
I recovered the power of respiration; but my apprehensions returned
with all their former force, when I saw several savages pass by, probably
in pursuit of me, at no very great distance. In this situation I knew not
whether it was better to proceed, or endeavor to conceal myself where I
lay till night came on ; fearing, however, that they would return the same
way, I thought it most prudent to get further from the dreadful scene
of my distresses Accordingly, striking into another part of the wood, I
hastened on as fast as the briers and the loss of one of my shoes would
permit me ; and after a slow progress of some hours, gained a hill that
overlooked the plain which I had just left, from whence I coiild discern
that the bloody storm still raged with unabated fury.

But, not to tire my readers, I shall only add, that after passing three
days without subsistence, and enduring the severity of the cold dews for
three nights, I at length reached fort Edward ; where, with proper care
my body soon recovered its wonted strength, and my mind, as far as
the recollection of the late melancholy events would permit, its usual
composure.

It was computed that fifteen hundred persons were killed or made
prisoners by these savages during this fatal day. Many of the latter
were carried ofiF by them and never returned. A few, through favorable
accidents, found their way back to their native country, after having
experienced a long and severe captivity.

The brave CoL Monro had hastened away, soon after the confusion
began, to the French camp, to endeavor to procure the guard agreed by
the stipulation; but his application proving ineffectual, he remained there
till General Webb sent a party of troops to demand and protect him back
to fort Edward. But these unhappy occurrences, which would probably
.have been prevented had he been left to pursue his own plans, together
with the loss of so many brave fellows, murdered in cold blood, to whose
valor he had been so lately a witness, made such an impression on his

oApnynr ow oavtatb oarvkr.

493

mind that he did not long survire. He died in about three months, of a
broken heart, and with truth might it be said, that he was an honor to
his country.

I mean not to point out the following circumstance as the immediate
judgment of Heaven, and intended as an atonement for this slaughter,
but I cannot omit that very few of those different tribes of Indians that
shared in it ever lived to return home. The small-pox, by means of their
communication with the Europeans, found its way among them, and
made an equal havoc to what they themselves had done. The methods
they pursued on the first attack of that malignant disorder, to abate the
fever attending it, rendered it fatal While their blood was in a state of
fermentation, and nature was striving to throw out the peccanl. matter,
they checked her operations by plunging into the water ; the consequence
was that they died by hundreds. The few that survived, were trans-
formed by it into hideous objects, and bore with them to the grave deep
indented marks of this much dreaded disease.

Monsieur Montcalm fell soon after en the plains of Quebec.

That the unprovoked cruelty of this commander was not approved of
by the generality of his countrymen, I have since been convinced of by
many proofs. Only one, however, which I received from a person who
was witness to it, shall I at present give. A Canadian merchant, of some
consideration, having heard of the surrender of the English fort, cele-
brated the fortunate event with great rejoicings and hospitality, according
to the custom of that country ; but no sooner did the news of the mas-
sacre which ensued reach his ears, than he put an immediate stop to
the festivities, and exclaimed in the severest terms against the inhuman
permission ; declaring at the same time that those who had connived at it
had thereby drawn down on that part of their king's dominions the
vengeance of Heaven. To this he added, that he much feared the total
loss of them, would deservedly be the consequence. How truly this
prediction has been verified, we well know.

■m

NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY

MRS. SCOTT.

Mrs. Scott, a resident of Washington county, Virginia, was taken
captive by Indians on the night of the twenty-ninth of June, 1786. Her
husband and all her children were slain ; and before morning she was
forced to commence her march through the wilderness.

On the eleventh day of her captivity, while in charge of four Indians,
provision becoming scarce, a halt was made, and three of the number
went on a hunting excursion. Being left in the care of an old man, she
made him believe she was reconciled to her condition, and thus threw
him off his guard. Anxious to escape, and having matured her plans,
she asked him, in the most disinterested manner possible, to let her go to
a small stream, near by, and wash her apron, which was besmeared witli
the blood of one of her children. He gave her leave, and v, ii'le he wtis
busy in " graining a deer-skin," she started off. Arriving at the stream,
without a moment's hesitation, she pushed on in the direction of a moun-
tain. Traveling till late at night, she came into a valley where she hoped
to find the track along which slie had been taken by her captors, and
thereby be able to retrace her stops. Hurrying across the valley to the
margin of a river, which she supposed must be the eastern branch of the
Kentucky, she discovered in the sand the tracks of two men who had
followed the stream upward and returned. Thinking them to be the
prints of pursuers, and that they had returned from the search, she took
courage, thanked God, and was prepared to continue her flight.

On the third day she came very near falling into the hands of savages,
a company Avhom she supposed had been sent to Clinch river on a pilfer-
ing excursion. Hearing their approach before they came in sight, she
concealed herself, and they passed without noticing lier. She now
became greatly alarmed, and was so bewildered as to lose her way and
to wander at random for several daya

I. Boon's OAPTXYITT.

At length, coming to a stream that seemed to flow from the
concluded it must be Sandy river; and resolving to trace it to its soutc#
which was near a settlement where she was acquainted, she pushed on
for several days, till she came into mountainous regions and to craggy
steeps. There, in the vicinity of a " prodigious waterfall," she was forced
to leap from a precipice, upon some rocks, and was so stunned as to be
obliged to make a short delay in her journey.

Soon after passing through the mountain, (Laurel mountain,) she was
bitten by a snake which she supposed was venomous. She killed it, and
expected her turn to die would come next; but the only injury she
received was some pain and the slight swelling of one foot A writer,
whose narration we follow, and whose facts are more reliable than his philo-
sophy, thinks that, being "reduced to a mere skeleton, with fatigue,
hunger and grief," she was probably, on that account, " saved from the
eflFects of the poisonous fangs." *

Leaving the river, Mrs. Scott came to a forked valley, and watching the
flight of birds, took the branch they did, and in two days came in sight of
New Garden, the settlement on Clinch river, before referred to. Thus,
after wandering in the wilderness for six long weeks, almost destitute of
clothing, without a weapon of defense or instrument for obtaining pro-
vision ; exposed to wild beasts and merciless savages ; subsisting a full
month on the juice of young cane stalks, sassafras leaves and similar food,
looking to God in prayer for guidance by day, and for protection by nighl;
shielded from serious harm, and led by an unseen Hand, on the eleventh
of August, the wanderings of the widowed and childless cap%e were
brought to a close. J. C.

THB BRa