1 '/ " /// / THE ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS; WITH A FAITHFUL DESCRIPTION OF THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, BOTH CIVIL AND MILITARY, THEIR RELIGIONS, LANGUAGES, DRESS, . AND ORNAMENTS: INCLUDING VARIOUS SPECIMENS OF INDIAN ELOQUENCE, AS WELL AS HISTOB ICAL AND tfjOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ALMOST ALL THE DISTINGUISHED NATIONS AND CELEBRATED WARRIORS, STATESMEN AND ORATORS, AMONG THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA. NEW EDITION, IMPROVED AND ENLARGED. BY JOHN McINTOSH. NEW YORK: CORNISH, LAMPORT & CO., PUBLISHERS No. 8 PARK PLACE. 1853. MIT .fcrr.ereci according to Act of Congress, ,n the year 1843, BY NAFIS & CORNISH, the Clerk's Office for the Southern District df New-Yorl Bancroft Library CONTENTS. Preface, ....... Introduction, . . .. . . ]3 Creation of the World, . . ... l8 Situation of Paradise, . 20 Antedeluvians, . . . .25 Delude, ....... 2V The Foundation of Nations by the Posterity ol Noah, . . 29 Mago?, the Progenitor of the North American Indians, . 31 The Posterity of Shera, . . , . .34 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, ..... 39 ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, . . 73 Persons, Features and Colour of the North American Indians, 87 Persons, Features and Complexion of the Tongusi of Siberia in Asia, 91 Particularities of the Indian Language, ... 93 Particularities of the Language of the Tongusi and Coriaks of Siberia, ...... 98 Comparative View of the Indian and Asiatic Languages, . 101 Religion of the North American Indians, . . . 104 Religion of the Tongusi, Coriaks, and Kamschadales, . . 109 Dress and Ornaments of the North American Indians, . 112 Dress and Ornaments of the Tongusi, Coriaks, and Kamschadales, 115 Marriage among the North Amercan Indians, . . 119 Marriage among the Tongusi, Coriaks, and Kamschadales, . 127 War among the North American Indians, . . . 129 War among the Tongusi, Coriaks, Kamschadales, Yakutsi, and Okotsi of Siberia, . . . . .148 The Dance of the Calumet among the North American Indians, 155 The Dance of the Potoosi, or Calumet, among the Tongusi, &c. , 159 Sacrifices among the North American Indians, . . 160 Sacrifices among the Tongusi, ..... 161 Funeral Rites among the North American Indians, . . 162 Funeral Rites among the Coriaks, Tongusi, and Kamschadales, . 168 Festival of Dreams among the North American Indians, . 170 Festival of Dreams among the Tongusi, Coriaks, and Kamscha dales, . . . . . . .173 VI CONTENTS. Game of the Dish, or Little Bones, among the North American Indians, . . . . 175 Game of the Patooni among the Kamschadales, . ; 177 The Naming of Children among the North America Indians, . 178 The Naming of Children among the Kamschadales, . . . ','- 179 Jugglers among the North American Indians, . . . .180 The Ponomoosi, or Prophets, among the Kamschadales, Coriaks,&c. 181 Orators among the North American Indians, , .182 Orators among several Asiatic Tribes, . . . 183 The Councils and Government of Villages among the North Ameri can Indians, ..... 185 Councils and Government among Asiatic Tribes, . . 187 Shapes which the North American Indians give to their Children, 189 What Strengthens and Shapes the Indians so well, . . 190 Their first Exercises, . ., , . . . ib. In what consists their Education, . . 191 Works of the Women, . . . . ib. Works of the Men, 9 . ib. Their Hatchets, 192 The Form of their Villages, . . . . . ib. Their Notion of the Origin of Man, . . 195 Their Vestals, . . . . . .196 Their Vows, . . . . . ib. Their Fasts, . . . . . . . ib. Their Thoughts on the Immortality of the Soul, . . 197 Of the Country of Sou A, . . . . . ib. An Indian Chief's Account of the Origin of the North American Indians, . . . . .199 Indian Eloquence, ... . . . . 215 Indian System of Government Democratic, . . . 225 Powhattans of Virginia, ..... 227 King Powhattan, .... . 228 Indian Nations of New-England, . . . 229 Massasoit their Grand Sachem His Character, . . 231 Alexander, his son His Character and Murder, . / . 232 King Philip, his brotherHis Character and Death, . . 233 Commencement of the War, ... 234 The Peqnods Their Sachems, . . . . 240 The Pawtuckets, ...... 242 Six Nations Their Warriors and Orators, . . . 243 Logan, ....... 245 Mohawks, ..... r .247 Seminoles, ...... 248 Mohegans, . . . . (- , A ^ ib . Delawares, 4 250 CONTENTS. yii PAQE Ottawas, .... . 251 Pontiac Their Celebrated Chieftain and Orator, . 252 Californians, ....... 254 Creeks, . . . . . . . 255 Cherokees, . . . . . . .256 Shawanees, . . . . . 258 Tecumseh, . . . . . . .259 Red Jacket His Eloquence and Character, . . 262 Indian Speeches, . . . . 267 Speech of Logan, . . . V . % 268 Speech of the Five Iroquois Chiefs, . . . .269 Speech of Half King, . ... . .270 Speech of Petchenanalas, . . . 271 Speech of Captain Pipe, . ... 272 The Answer of Little Turtle, . . . 274 Speech of Red Jacket to a Missionary, , 275 Speech of Red Jacket about the Witch Doctrine, . . 278 Speech of Farmer's Brother, . . . 279 Speech of Corn Planter, . . . 280 Speech of Tecumseh, . . . . .282 Speech of Black Thunder, . - . . 283 Speech of Metea, ... . 285 Speech of Keewatagoushkum, . ... 287 Speech of Black Hawk, . ... 289 Speech of the Onondagas and Cayugas, .' . . 291 Speech of Canassatiego, ..... 295 Speech of Gachradodow, . ... 299 Character of the Five Nations, by Colden, . 301 America Peopled by a more Civilized Race than the present Red Indians, ...... 307 Indian Antiquities, according to Governor Clinton, . . 314 The Mexicans are the Remains of a more Polished Nation than- the North American Indians, , . . 322 Conclusion, .... . . 340 PREFACE. To trace the descent of nations and travel through the regions of antiquity, is universally admitted to be a difficult task, and consequently not unworthy the attention of the lovers of science. Our present subject, it is true, has fre quently attracted the curiosity of the learned, both of the old and new world ; and although their researches have been both plausible and ingenious, yet the result of their inquiries is evidently so adverse and inconsistent, that a wide field is still open to the antiquary and historian. Nay, the obscuri ty in which the origin of the Aborigines of America has, hitherto, been involved, demands and calls forth all the in genuity which the most enlightened philosophy can bring to its aid, in order to satisfy the public mind on so intricate a subject. In this arduous undertaking, therefore, it becomes us to solicit the indulgence of our readers, especially of those who may not, perhaps, feel disposed to reason on matters, which, as they might likely imagine, exceed so far the reach and testimony of authentic history, that the origin of the North American Indians muse, as a matter of course, remain for PREFACE. ever hidden from the curiosity of mankind. The RED MEN, it is true, nad not, when first visited by Europeans, any his tory of themselves, either written or traditional, which could throw any light on their national affairs. With re gard to oral tradition, which consists of recitals made by the first men to their children, of whatever happened worthy of notice during their lifetime, so that these recitals are multi plied in every generation, and, transmitted down to posterity, without the assistance of writing, we must candidly acknow ledge that the Indians were found to be miserably destitute, even of this errant vehicle of knowledge. Hence, amidst the clouds which envelop the history of this ill-fated race, we are furnished by themselves with nothing bat uncertain ty. We shall not then, venture to affirm, on their testimony, either what is true or what is false, or seek for certainty among such uncertain authorities. On the contrary, our witnesses are of the most unimpeachable character, while the testimony of travellers of undoubted veracity, and mis sionaries no less distinguished for their learning than reli gious zeal, who dwelt for many years in the north-eastern regions of Asia, and among the Indian tribes of North America, shall form our principal guides in this inquiry. In the absence, therefore, of written or traditional history, however erroneous the latter may frequently prove, but neither of which the Indians possessed, it seems to us, that there cannot be a more rational way of arriving, with any degree of accuracy and certainty, at the original source, whence, in the remoteness of time, those numerous and powerful tribes first migrated to the Western Continent, than to offer a faithful comparison of the Indians with the Asiatics, in religion, language, manners, habits and custom? PREFACE. XI On the authority of wiiters and travellers, ancient and modern, and of distinguished ability, whose observations, in Asia, and America, written at different periods, should merit the greatest confidence and attention from the scientific and the curious, we have ventured to prove beyond the possibili ty of doubt, that the North American Indians are of Asiati origin. As it is generally allowed that the uniformity or agree ment of the manners and customs of two nations, is the most authentic monument of their original connection, we have offered an extensive catalogue of coincidences, so singular and indicative of the identity of people, that we will, at once, be induced to believe this theory to be the most rational of all the systems that have been formed on the subject. If we meet, therefore, with many customs, religious, military, and civil, practised only by some nations in Asia, and followed up by the earliest inhabitants of the Western Continent, we may fairly conclude that the Aborigines of this country must have derived their origin from those Asiatic tribes to whom they bear the greatest resemblance in language, reli gion, manners, habits and customs. INTRODUCTION. NATIONS, like mankind, advance insensibly from in fancy to youth. The scenes of puerility are forgotten or neglected in the pride of riper years. Few, indeed, feel inclined to look back on antiquity. The regions which we behold are remote. Beyond a certain line every thing disappears in shades, and the distant land in which we travel, seems to be inhabited by phantoms and strange forms. An inquiry after the origin of nations is certainly an obscure, but yet an interesting labyrinth to perambu late. Weak and unphilosophic minds may, no doubt, deem this a barren subject, which their taste or curiosity leads them not to examine with that degree of interest which its importance evidently deserves. But nothing can prove more beneficial and amusing to the studious and inquisitive mind, than a proper knowledge of the various races of men, which constitute the great human family, for it is only in this way that a man can know himself. When we take even a superficial view of the surface of the globe which we inhabit, we evidently perceive, that, at some unknown remote periods, various revolutions have happened, which not only affected materially the superficial structure of the earth, but the state and condition of its in habitants. 2 INTRODUCTION. Although we may fairly boast of the pre-eminence of the human species, over all other animals in arts of inge nious contrivance, and in mental capacities, which elevate our hopes beyond terrestrial enjoyments, yet we find the earth inhabited by different races of men, who do not only vary in complexion, manners and customs, but their rules of conduct, sentiments and opinions, are apparently so con trary and inconsistent, that the minds of the curious are at once struck with a degree of surprise, which naturally ex cites a desire of consulting those extensive sources of in formation, which have been laid open to the antiquary, by the travels and researches of modern travellers. The in tellectual faculties of man, as well as his bodily frame and complexion, exhibit so various an aspect among different races of mankind, as would seem to authorise an arrange ment of the human species into different classes, marked by a specific diversity of powers, both mental and cor poreal. The revival of critical learning, however, has induced the learned and the intelligent to examine with some in terest, the early state of mankind, as well as the striking diversity in the human species throughout the regions of the earth. The whole human race, when compared with the present generation, were in a state of infancy, for many^ centuries after the deluge, as well as in the antediluvian world. To observe mankind leaving the first rude stages of society, and advancing gradually in the provinces of civilization and refinement, till they came to cultivate the arts and sciences, and to form wise regulations for the better government of communities, is a contemplation in which every man should indulge, in order to know what man really is, and what he has been. The wonderful re volutions which every age and every year have produced in the mental regions of man, go to prove that the human race have not yet attained their manhood. But how much soever men may seem to be diversified by manners and customs, opinions and sentiments, shape and size of body, colour complexion, the organization of INTRODU ;TION. xv the human frame, throughout the world, proves an unifor mity of species, which makes it appear probable, that the whole human race have been descended from one original pair, as we are assured by sacred history. On discovering, therefore, such a contrariety in the bodily frame and features of man, as well as in his mental capacities, we are led to attribute this diversity in the human species, to that general revolution which happened at the confusion of Babel. From Holy Writ we are as sured that, for several centuries after the deluge, mankind continued together and composed only one nation, seated in that country which was watered by the rivers Euphra tes and Tigris, sometimes called in general Syria, but more particularly distinguished by the several names of Armenia, Assyria, and Chaldea. Being the children of one family, (of Noah and his sons) their language was the same, notwithstanding the early difference which appeared betwixt Ham and his two brothers ; and doubtless their religion, customs and manners, could not be very different so long as they continued together. During their abode in the plains of Shinar, the sons of Noah conceived the project of building " A City and a Tower," in order to make themselves " a name," or rather a sign lest they should " be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." This tower, says Moses, they impious ly designed should reach to heaven : and various are the conjectures that have been made as to the motive that could have suggested so vain a thought. But whatever it might be, it was displeasing in the eyes of God, and he ac cordingly obliged them to abandon their enterprise by con founding their language, so that, unable to understand each other, they named the city Babel, which signifies Confusion, and dispersed. Some writers have imagined that the tower of Babel was undertaken out of fear of a second deluge, and there fore, the projectors resolved to raise a structure of sufficient height to fly to in case of danger ; among them may be classed Josephus. Others, who, knowing beforehand they Xvi INTRODUCTION. should be dispersed through all the countries of the world they built this tower to defeat the design of the Almighty ; because, having a tower of such vast height as they pro posed, those who were at a distance, might easily find their way back again so thinks Usher. But had either of these been their real design, they would rather have chosen some high mountain, such as Ararat, for their mark, than have built any tower whatever ; for it can scarcely be sup posed, that they were so foolish as to imagine they could really reach heaven with their structure ; and though Moses so expresses himself, his words ought not to convey any other idea than to those of the same historian and his countrymen, which describe cities (Deut. i. 28. ix. 1.) as walled up to heaven, when they speak of very strong places. A third class of writers suppose that the top of this tow er was not designed to reach to heaven, but to be conse crated to the heavenly bodies ; in other words, that on its top was to be raised a temple for the worship of the sun, moon, stars, fire, air, &c., and that, therefore, the true Deity interposed his presence to prevent a total and irre- con-cileable defection ; such is the opinion of Tenison. But whatever might have been the scheme of these build ers, it is sufficiently evident that the project was displea sing to the Almighty, who finally confounded their airy plans by miraculously introducing different languages, or at least different dialects of the former universal language. By this confusion, those who- spoke the same dialect, cojasorted together, and separated themselves from the families or tribes whose language they no longer could un derstand. Thus was mankind reduced to the necessity of forming as many different parties as they had languages among them. As those different tribes dispersed themselveg into many countries, and had no intercourse with each other, it was necessary that the essentials of their religion, man ners and customs, should also undergo a change. This was actually the case, for mankind, immediately after the confusion of tongues, was split into many distinct nations, INTRODUCTION. XVII speaking a variety of dialects, while they also adopted modes of living quite different from those which they prac tised on the plains of Shinar, where they lived together. Thus, therefore, was the tower of Babel, memorable for the great event of the confusion of languages, consequent upon its projection, as well as by its being the original of the temple of Belus, deemed among the ancients as one of the seven wonders of the world. But, such is the transitory nature of all that pertains to man, that it is now a heap of ruins, and so utterly defaced, that the people of the country are not certain of its real site. As mankind increased and multiplied in the different countries which they inhabited, several bodies were sent out to seek their fortune in strange lands. Finding that they were fine and delightful countries, which promised them great felicity, they were soon induced to separate and form new settlements. Others, by reason of civil and domestic quarrels, were driven abroad, and passed into distant regions far beyond the encroachment of an enemy. Thus they spread themselves over almost the greater part of Asia; but their roving and wandering disposition was not yet satisfied, until, by continued migrations, they extended their discoveries throughout Africa, Europe, and finally America. We shall now proceed to view, as briefly as possible, the Creation, the site of Paradise, the Antediluvians, the Deluge, and the foundation of Nations by the posterity of Noah, in order to descend gradually to the dispersion of mankind and the settlement of countries, so that we may thus discover which of the three sons of Noah, the Amer ican Indians should claim as the founder of their nation. Although this inquiry might, at first sight, appear as some what foreign to the subject which we have undertaken to illustrate, namely the origin of the Indians, still a concise account of these great events in the history of man may not prove useless to many of our readers, who might not have, hitherto, paid any particular attention to these sub jects. We ,hope, therefore, that the novelty of our plan, 2* XV111 INTRODUCTION. while it tends, not only to trace the origin of the RKD MEN of America, but that of almost all other nations likewise, will be equally gratifying to the scientific and the curio as. CREATION OF THE WORLD. In order to arrive at the particular era, when the mat ter of this earth was called into existence, philosophers have amused themselves in various ways. The materials of which it was composed, and the means whereby they were disposed in the order in which we behold them, is a subject also, which, though far beyond the reach of human sagacity, has nevertheless originated theories and controversies almost without number, among the learned of all ages and countries. Many imagine that the world had no beginning, but existed from all eternity, while others are of opinion that it did exist at some particular time unknown to man and that it was destroyed at different times by some great revolution in nature. With regard to the opinion, that the world existed from eternity, none of the ancient philosophers seem to have had the least idea of its being possible to produce some thing out of nothing, not even by the power of the Deity itself; hence must have arisen the erroneous opinion that the world had no beginning. Next to this system, came the doctrine, that, though the matter of the world be eter nal, its form is mutable. The learned have observed, calculated, and commemor ated the appearances and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, to the system of which this orb belongs ; they have penetrated into the bowels of the earth and the depths oi the ocean, to trace the irregular dispositions of these strata, and the strange confusion in which their materials are often intermingled together ; yet their researches hav INTRODUCTION. XIX ended only with suggestions, that these spheres have con tinued to roll through countless ages. While some have asserted, that the idea of creating a world out of nothing, is at once a contradiction to reason, which is sufficient to overthrow the doctrine of revelation, others have boldly stood forth and maintained, in support of the sacred writings, that the fact of creation out of nothing, by an INFINITELY powerful and wise self-existent God, so far from being repugnant to reason, to say nothing of revela tion, is highly probable, and demonstrably certain. If we refer to sacred writing for the ascertainment of truth or knowledge on this point, we only learn that the world had a beginning, without stating any particular period ; for Moses, in alluding to the commencement of things, goes no farther than to say, that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. From this general language of the Divine lawgiver, we cannot evi dently ascertain the particular period at which the world began to exist. Indeed all the philosophical inquiries which have been made in all ages, concerning the beginning of the crea tion, have not as yet been able to enlarge the testimonies of sacred history, or refute its authority by showing any inconsistency or contradiction in its venerated narratives. With all the ingenuity, therefore, of the scientific, either ancient or modern, no evidence has been produced, by which we can reasonably doubt or improve the Mosaic account INTRODUCTION. SITUATION OF PARADISE. We have thought proper to allude to this subject, in order to controvert the theory, that in America Adam and Eve first drew the breath of life ; for few can be ignorant of the fact, that a treatise has been written, showing how the whole world is indebted to America for its inhabit ants. This, as well as every other subject of antiquity, has originated a variety of speculative opinions. Those who entertained the most extravagant notions concerning a local paradise, have placed it within the orb of the moon, in the moon itself, in the middle regions of the air, and in many other places which their fancy might point out. Such, however, have wandered without the province of reason and probability. Many have denied that there did exist such a place as the garden of Eden, interpreting that part of scripture which alludes to it, in an allegorical sense, and alleging that the ancients, and especially the Eastern nations, had a peculiar and a mysterious mode of delivering their divinity and philosophy, and that the latter is frequently adopted in scripture, in explaining natural things, sometimes to accommodate the capacities of the people, and at others, to describe the real, but more hidden truth. But though it is admitted, that some of the ancient philosophers affected such an allegorical way of writing, to conceal their notions from the vulgar ; ve* it is apparent, that Moses had no such design ; and as ne assumes to relate matters of fact, just as they occured, without disguise or art, it cannot be supposed that the history of the fall is not to be taken in a literal sense, as well as the rest of his writings. Some who conceded its reality, ha\e rambled through countries unknown to ftian; while others discovered it, under the north pole, and in that place which is now INTRODUCTION. XXI occupied by the Caspian Sea. It has also been boidiyand stubbornly maintained, that the site of paradise was to be discovered in America, that it was here that Adam and Eve first drew the breath of life ; and that it is to America the whole world is indebted for its inhabitants. The opinions, even of the more rational inquirers, are very strangely divided. Tartary, China, Persia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Ethiopia, and even Sweden, have been ransacked in search of this wonderful garden. The opinion has likewise prevailed, that the whole earth was originally in a paradisaical state of beauty, although Moses, say they, has put a part for the whole, that man might better conceive the primitive appearance of the earth, which was afterwards destroyed by the violent con cussions of nature, caused by the general deluge. If we consider the general habit which prevailed in the early ages of allegorizing every obscure passage of scrip ture, we need not at all be surprised at the diversity of opinions. There is a certain portion of mankind, the Jews, who are more immediately connected with the his tory of Moses than any other people, and from them we would naturally expect to receive some information on the subject ; yet they are so utterly ignorant of the geography of the sacred history, and of the situation of Paradise, that there is no wonder why this question should not be easily solved. Josephus, their historian, supposes that the Nile and the Ganges w T ere two of its four rivers ; and in this opinion he is supported by some of the Christian fathers. Near Tripoli, there is a place called Eden ; the river Tigris has an island of the name of Eden; and near Tarsus in Cilicia, there is a city still going under the name of Adena or Aden. In Syria, there is Eden ; and in Chaldea, about T'elassar, there is another. These two are mentioned in the Mosaical account, the latter of which may, very probably, be the famous garden. It may here be observed, that Eden or Aden signifies, INTR.ODUCTIOI*. in the Hebrew, pleasure ; and hence any delightful situa tion would sometimes receive this name. But let us now attend, for a moment, to the description of Moses himself. " And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden ; and a river went out of Eden to water that garden ; and from thence it was parted and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison : That is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyxstone. And the name of the second river is Gihon ; the same is it which compasses the whole land of Ethiopia, or Cush, And the name of the third river is Hiddekel, that is it which goes toward the east of (or eastward to) Assyria. And the fourth river is Eu phrates." From this particular geographical description of Eden, it is not possible that Moses could be speaking in an al legorical language- If this be an imaginary paradise which he describes so minutely, it follows that his lan guage was also figurative, when he tells that the ark rested on Mount Ararat, and that the sons of Noah removed to the Plains of Shinar : for the three scenes are described by the sacred historian, as immediately succeeding one another. Eden, then, according to Moses, was bounded by countries and rivers well known in his time, and some of them go to this very day, under the same names which he gives them. It must, evidently, therefore, have been his intention to point out to the post-diluvian world, where Eden and Paradise were situated in the former world. We also see, that he does not make use of antediluvian names in his description of this garden ; but, as we have already said, of names of later date than the flood. The deluge, it is true, has greatly disfigured the face of the earth ; but we are aware, at the same time, that the con vulsion has been more fatal in some places than others ; and if there had been no indication or marks of it remain ing, Moses would not surely be so confident in describing its particular situation INTRODUCTION. Without examining here all the opinions which have been entertained on this subject we shall pass on to the more rational conjectures of various eminent men. They consist of three schemes; the first is espoused by the learned Heidegger, Le Clere, Pere Abraham, and Pere Hardouin, who place Paradise near Damascus, in Syria, about the springs of Jordan. Notwithstanding, however, the reputation of these men, this opinion appears to have no foundation. We must first discover those marks which are mentioned in the Mosaic description, before we can admit its probability. Sanson, Reland, and Calmet, who w r ere no less renowned for learning, come next with their opinions. According to them, Eden was situated in Armenia, between the sources of the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Araxes, and the Phasis. Although the diligent and learned Strabo, and other ancient geographers, have informed us that the Phasis rises in the mountains of Armenia, near the springs of the Euphrates, the Araxes and the Tigris ; yet from modern dfscoveries we are led to assign it a different source, by going to Mount Caucasus, where it takes its rise. Besides, the Phasis does not flow from south to north, but from north to south. According to this supposition, we want a whole river, which joins the Araxes before it falls into the Caspian Sea. This hypothesis, however, is supported by Mr. Tournefort, an authority, certainly worthy of some notice. Huet, ,bishop of Soissons and Avranches, Stephanus Morinus, Bochart, and several others highly versed in the geography of that country, stand forth in defence of the third scheme, which certainly seems the least objectionable of the three. By them Eden is placed upon the united streams of the Tigris and Euphrates, called by the Arabs, Shat-al-Arab, which signifies the river of the Arabs. It begins two days' journey above Bassora, and divides again into two channels about five leagues below. These channels empty themselves in the Persian Gulf. Thus, the Shat-al-Arab must, consequently, be the river going INTRODUCTION. out of Eden, which river, considered according to the disposition of its channel, and not according to the cp/irse of its stream, divides into four heads or different branches, which make the four rivers mentioned by Moses ; twc be low, viz., the two branches of the Shat, which serve for the Pison and Gihon ; and two above, viz., the Euphrates and Tigris; the latter whereof is called Dijlat by the Arabs, and is now allowed to be the Hiddekel of Moses. By this disposition, the western branch of the Shat will be the Pison, and the adjoining part of Arabia, bordering on the Persian Gulf, will be the Havilah ;. and the eastern branch will be the Gihon, encompassing the country of Cush or Chuzestan, as it is called by the Persians. We see not, therefore, why this last opinion should not coincide with the account of Moses, who tells us, that a " river went out of Eden to w r ater the garden, and from thence it w r as parted, and became into four heads." Moses cannot be misunderstood here, for he expressly says, that in Eden there was but one river, and that, having gone out, it was parted and became four streams or openings, two upwards and two downwards. If .we suppose the Shat-al-Arab to be the common centre, by looking towards Babylon, we may see the Tigris and Eu- j phrates coming into it, and by looking down towards the Persian Gulf, we may see the Pison and Gihon running out of it. Whatever objection may be made against this hypothe sis, none appears to be more consistent- with the descrip tion of Moses. By this supposition, Eden is reasonably placed in the great channel formed by the united streams of the Tigris and Euphrates ; besides, the fertility of the neighboring country, Mesopotamia and Chaldea, should, in a great measure, tend to confirm this belief. We are as sured by several modern travellers, that there is not a finer nor a richer country in all the dominions of the Grand Signior, than that which lies between Bagdad and Bas- sora, being the very tract which, according to this scheme, was anciently called the Land of Eden. INTRODUCTION. XTT THE ANTEDILUVIANS. A single pair were the first progenitors of the whole human race, but their primitive innocence and felicity were quickly lost in misery and guilt ; and the unfortunate circumstances which produced the fatal change in their own condition as well as in that of their posterity, are al ready too well known to receive the slightest comment froiu us. In the progress of their lives, however, their offspring became numerous. Dissension and mutual hatred increased as they multiplied in numbers. Crimes and vices were introduced among men from the very moment that Cain imbued his hands in the blood of his brother Abel. In the mean time the posterity of Cain improved the arts taught them by Jabal and his brothers.- They built cities -their various degrees of strength or of industry had produced inequality of condition ; opulence had sub stituted artificial and extravagant luxuries for the simple and pure pleasures of nature; and, notwithstanding the interruption of peace, which was caused by the growing depravity of the age, they still pursued a connubial union, which so rapidly multiplied their numbers, that many dif ferent generations were contemporary upon the earth. Josephus relates, that the children of Seth, by the con templation of the heavenly bodies, laid the foundation of the science of astronomy ; and, understanding from a pre diction of Adam, that the earth was to be destroyed, once by water, and once by fire, they engraved their observa tions on two pillars, called the pillars of Seth the one of stone to preserve them from the effects of the flood ; the other of brick, to resist the violence of fire. There is every reason, however, to believe that the beginning of the general corruption arose from the unhappy marriages of the sons of Seth with the daughters of Cain, so that 3 INTRODUCTION. their manners w?re soon depraved, and at length they had degenerated so far, that " the wickedness of man was very great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually " The wickedness of the antediluvian world may be ac counted fqr in various ways. They had a hereditary pro pensity to evil, derived from Adam, their common apostate father ; and this degeneracy was soon discovered in the murder of Abel. Vice, like contagion, spread, and so quickly did it contaminate the whole family of mankind, that " it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth." The longevity which the inhabitants of the world attained, contributed, in a great measure, to intro duce those vicious practices which 'the present short du ration of human life can seldom imbibe. In the course of eight or nine hundred years, the usual age of antediluvi ans, the same person could obtain immense wealth, which should naturally tend to the enjoyment of splendour, ele- gance and luxury, so that a lust after sensual pleasures would wholly occupy the hearts of those uncultivated people. Living together, as they did in the early ages of the world, and speaking the same languages, we may naturally suppose that the vice of the one would be rea dily imparted to the other, until the whole community was tainted with the common malady. INTRODUCTION. XXVll THE DELUGE. Amid this general perversion of the human heart, when mankind were running headlong into all manner of vice, Noah, the son of Lamech, was born. Of all the numerous population, by which the earth was inhabited at this time, Noah aloift was found perfect in the sight of God ; he, therefore, found grace before the Almighty, who declared to him his determination of bringing a deluge of watei upon the earth, to destroy all who dwelt thereon. Lament ing this sad state of society, and knowing the impend ing judgment with which God had threatened to visit a sinful world, Noah stood forth, without fear or dismay, as " a preacher of righteousness," to bring his fellow-men to a recollection of their impiety, and a just sense of their danger; yet his Divine admonitions were of no a\ 7 aiJ. The haughtiness, the incorrigible obstinacy, and the uni versal depravity which pervaded all ranks and sexes were not to be easily affected by the preaching, counsel, and authority of this one righteous man. During all that period which expired in the building 01 the ark, Noah never ceased to warn and remind a guilty people of the approaching desolation. Carelessly and in dependently they proceeded in the commission of sin, and often amused themselves with Noah's folly in his vain at tempt to construct the means of preserving the human race from general ruin. > Although God had allotted 120 years for men to repent and escape, yet all was in vain ! The heart of man, depraved and ruined by the fall was deaf to the awful warning, and the whole was treated with derision. The' vengeance of Heaven was not, how ever, to be much longer restrained. The great fabric 01 salvation was at last finished. The awful period was at hand; yet Noah and his family were akne to be saved INTRODUCTION. The other particulars appertaining to this catastrophe are already too well known to require any notice here. In departing from the antediluvian world, it might be inquired, how it came to pass, that, in those days, people attained *to so extraordinary a longevity. In order to reply to this question of curiosity, we must form various conjectures. Some writers, to reconcile the matter with probability, have asserted that the antediluvians computed their ages by lunar months, and not by solar years : but this expedient would reduce the length of their lives to a shorter period than our own. If this hypothesis Fe admitted as probable, it must necessarily follow, that some of them were fathers at the absurd age of six or seven years. Be sides, the whole interval between the Creation and the Deluge would then be contracted to less than two hundred years. This supposition, therefore, we shall, at once, re ject as incredible. For this longevity there are, however, reasons suffici ently obvious. In the first place, we must suppose, that, while the earth was inhabited by a scanty population, commencing with a single pair, it would be necessary to endow men with a stronger frame, and to allow them a longer continuance on earth, for peopling it with inhabit ants. Philosophers, likewise, contend, and in our opinion, on very reasonable grounds, that the qualities, of the air, and consequently the stamina of the human constitution, were greatly altered for the worse by the several changes which the world must have undergone at the flood. We are, indeed, convinced, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the Deluge affected, most materially, the whole body of nature; but, whether that alteration has tended to contract the duration of human life, we cannot possibly ascertain. We are, likewise aware, from daily experience, that cli mate, food, and mode of living, have a tendency to length en or shorten the days of man. INTRODUCTION. XXIX THE FOUNDATION OF NATIONS BY THE POSTERITY OF JAPHET. By the sacred historian we are informed, that Noah, soon after landing from the ark, betook himself to hus bandry, and planted a vineyard. Of the juice of the grape he drank so freely, it seems, that he lay in a state of in ebriety, carelessly uncovered in his tent. In this condition he was discovered by his youngest son Ham, who, on seeing him, called to his brethren Japhet and Shem, tnat they might witness his unbecoming situation. But they, mindful of their filial duty, and the respect due to their parent, in place of exposing and ridiculing their father's nakedness, as Ham did, took a garment between them, and, walking in backward, covered Noah and retired. Having awoke from his sleep and wine, and become ac quainted with what had happened, he pronounced a pro phetic epitome of the history of his posterity. " Cursed -be Canaan," said he, " a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." The extirpation of the Canaanites, the subjugation of the i Phoenicians and Carthagenians, the slavery of the African negroes would seem to be fulfilments of the curse pro nounced on Canaan, the son of Ham, as these people were evidently his descendants. Japhet was the common progenitor of almost the one half of the human race, through his son Gomer. All European nations were desdended from the Gomarians, or Gomerites. The Lesser Asia, or Asia Minor, with the " isles of the Gentiles," and some of the vast regions an ciently inhabited by the Scythians were peopled by the descendants of Japhet. 3* XXX INTRODUCTION. At a very early period, numerous migrations from Greece poured into the western parts of Asia Minor, on the coasts of which many powerful kingdoms or common wealths were established, under the names of .^Eolia and Ionia. In the north-west part of this peninsula was also the famous kingdom of Troy ; but the whole now forms part of Turkey in Asia. The writers of ancient history generally agree, that the descendants of Gomer, the eldest son of Japhet, settled in the northern parts of Europe, whence they spread them selves to the adjacent regions, and the isles qfthe Gcn- tileSj by which expression Europe is generally understood, as it contained those countries to which the Hebrews were obliged to go to by sea, such as the lesser Asia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul, and the islands in the JEgean and Mediterranean seas. In the process of time, the descendants of Gomer assumed different national appellations. They were first know T n to the Greeks under the name of Cimmerii, or Cimbri, which is still preserved by the inhabitants of Wales, in the words Cimbrian or Cambrian. But the Cimbri of the ancients, or rather Cimmerii, was evidently a modification of the Greeks and Latins, from the more original term Cymro and Cumeri, representing the still more original appellation Comer. In their various migrations and subsequent settle ments in different countries, they were called Sacse, Titani, Celto-Scyths, Celt-Iberi, Galatai, Galli, and Celtce ; that is the people of Sacastena, Titans, Celto-Scythians, Celt- Iberians, Galatians, Gauls, and Celts. To Gomer, there fore, we may attribute the origin of all the primitive in habitants of Europe and a great part of Asia, including the Ancient Briton ; and Irish. The Irish and Scots of the present day, who speak the Celtic language, once so universal over Europe, are beyond any possibility of doubt, the only pure remnants of Gomer. With regard to the assertion of one of the most elevated and influential English peers, " that the Irish were aliens in language, nation, &c.," we have only to say, that, if the INTRODUCTION. XXXI present race of Celtic Irish are the descendants of the aborigines of Britain and Ireland, as undoubtedly they are, it mast sound strange in their ears, to hear themselves called strangers in the land which they have inherited and inhabited from time immemorial MAGOG, THE PROGENITOR OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Magog, the second son of Japhet, founded those who were, after him, called the Magogites, but whom the Greeks named Scythians. According to Josephus, St. Jeronymus, the majority of the Christian fathers, and some of the most eminent historians and geographers, ancient and modern, Magog was the founder and father of the Scythians, Tartars, and Moguls, and consequently of the Siberians, and all these north-eastern tribes. The Arabs place Magog, whom they call Majuj, to the farther end of Tartary, towards the north and north-east. There is not the least doubt, therefore, but the posterity of Ma gog were those who wandered north and north-eastward, after the dispersion of the children of Noah from their primeval seats ; and the Scythians were, perhaps, the first and the most numerous. At this early state of society, when mankind were but loosely combined together in social union, every quarrel, every crime, every fond fancy or moody disgust, continu ally prompted emigration; and even the most remote and inhospitable parts of the earth w^ere beginning to receive human inhabitants. For nearly thirty years, after having harassed and broken the monarchies of the south, the Scythians were the lords also of western Asia. At the time when the Assyrian empire was at its highest pitch INTRODUCTION. of greatness they advanced with a destructive career, through the kngdoms of the south. As last, luxury, disunion, and the effects of a climate and habits of life to which they were unaccustomed, v/asted the Scythian forces, until at last the reins of the empire of Asia dropped from their enfeebled hands and they retired with diminished numbers, to the desolate plains of the north and north-east. With regard, -more particularly to our subject, we must admit that almost all the northern countries of Asia were colonized by Scythians, the descendants of Magog. We are also to look upon these bleak regions of the north as the quarter from whence America must have received, at a very early period, a great portion of its aboriginal inhab itants. But, whether the South American Indians, and other tribes who must have had possession of North Amer ica, prior to the arrival of the present race, inasmuch as they were certainly more civilized, came from Tartary, and Siberia, in the north, is a question which we may, hereafter, have occasion to examine. Now as to the opin ion, that Siberia, Calmuck Tartary, and the peninsula of Kamschatska, owe their inhabitants to the ancient Scy thians, we believe it to be beyond a mere conjecture. In confirmation of this, we may here refer to the testimony of Eugenius Cabolski, and Monsieur Piston. The former was a missionary in Siberia for seven years, and wrote a treatise in the Latin tongue, on the origin of the Tartars and other northern tribes ; the latter was a French travel ler under the patronage of the Russian government. ".All those" says Cabolski, "who are acquainted with ancient history, may know, that the Scythians, both with in and without the mountains of Imaus, inhabited those countries which -are now called North Siberia and Kam schatska ; for we may understand so, because the name Magog is still preserved in many families, towns, an-1 fortifications."* *Lib. ii. cap. 10. Omnes qui historic antiq use sunt periti, Scythas intra Imaum, nee non extra Imaum, has regiones qua? nunc Siberia et INTRODUCTION. XXX111 Mansie or Piston is still more clear on this point ; but, as we shall refer to him again these brief observations may suffice at present. " As I have already endeavoured," he says, " to point out the different modes in which these nations of the North resemble each other, every one can make his own conclusions." " If a person," he adds in another place, " pays attention to the striking circumstance, that names of mountains, towns, and rivers, can be discovered in Tartary, and in Siberia, which indicate their antiquity and their origin from those whom the Greeks called Scythians, it appears to me just, that no one should, any longer, doubt the genealogy of this people."* From these authorities, as well as many others, it would appear, that Tartary and Siberia were originally colonized or peopled by the Scythians, the posterity of Magog ; and that Kamschatska and the north of Siberia being the nearest point f Asiato America, whence migrations could easily take place. The Indians of North America should also claim the Scythians as their progenitors, and, conse quently, Magog as the founder of their nation. Kamschatska appellantur, vetustissimis temporibus Scythas incoluisse cognoscant. Sic enim intelligere Possimus, quod nomen Magog in multis, civitatibus et Castellis adhuc servatur. * Liv. v. Comme j'ai eu deja soin de marquer les modes differentes, dans lesquelles ces nations du Nord se resemblent, chacun pourra tirer ses conclusions en consequence. Si Fon fait attention a la fameuse circonstance, qu'on trouvera dans la Tartarie., et dans la Siberie, des noms de montagnes, de villes, et de rivieres qui indiquentleur antiquite, et leur origin e des Scythes, il me seinble qu'il soit juste de ne plus douter la genealogie de ce pe iple. XXXIV INTRODUCTION. THE POSTERITY OF SHEM, SUPPOSED TO BE THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF AMERICA. Shem, the second son of Noah, had five sons who inhab ited the land that began at the Euphrates and reached to the Indian Ocean ; and their names were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. Salah, the son of Arphaxad, was the father of Eber, whose elder son was called Joktan. This Joktan was the father of thirteen sons, who were heads of as many nations. With regard to the countries which they possessed, very little can be said with any certainty ; but most of the an cients were of opinion, that the East Indies, China, and Japan, must have been peopled by the descendants of Shem, through Joktan, his great great grandson. As the North and South American Indians are reason ably believed to be of different origin, inasmuch as the natives of the South were found to be not only more civilized than the rude tribes of the North, when first dis covered by Europeans, but their personal appearance, reli gion and language, exhibited so striking a diversity, which should at once, authorise this belief, many have supposed that Jucatan, or Yucatan, a province of Mexico, derives its name from Jokt in. Among these Arius Montanus is the foremost, and he thinks that Joktan himself either pas sed into America, or that this continent was peopled by his posterity. As far as the origin and identity of nations can be traced by a similarity of names, Arius Montanus and his followers seem to offer a plausible conjecture, as Yucatan, Juckatan, or Juck L an, in its contracted state, bears a very great resemblance to Joktan. We leave, however, this opinion as we fourd it, a mere conjecture ; still, while we are under the necessity of giving to the Mexican, and the INTRODUCTION. XXXV inhabitants of the other southern regions, a different origin from that of the present RED MEN of the North, it is quite reasonable to suppose, that the earliest colonies that set tled in America were of the line of Shem, and came, no doubt, from the eastern or north-eastern parts of Asia, such as China or Corea ; and from the latter the journey could easily be performed, as we shall afterwards see. The descendants of Shem were certainly the first of the poster ity of Noah that arrived at a state of civilization, and consequently might be looked upon as the authors of the innumerable monuments of antiquity which are scattered over the vast continent ; for the present Indians of North America were utterly unacquainted with the art of con structing them, as well as with their history, even by tradition. Of Ham, the third son of Noah, we have nothing to say as his posterity are not considered to have anything to do with the early peopling of America, except inas much as refers to the claims of the Cartha'genians, by passing through the straits of Gibraltar, at a very remote period, when, according to some historians, they discover ed this continent ; but this we shall examine in its proper place ; suffice it to say now, that Ham was the founder ol almost all African nations, and of the Philistines and Canaanites in Asia. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. THAT the ancients had an imperfect notion of this quarter of the globe, should not, perhaps, be reasonably doubted, when we consider the very early period at which the sciences of geometry, cosmography, astronomy, and drawing, were studied in the schools of Greece and Kome, as well as in Egypt, Carthage, and Babylon. It is, how ever, generally agreed, that the Greeks, who first among the Europeans cultivated the science of geography, derived their knowledge of it from the Egyptians or Babylonians, But which of those two nations had *he honour of the in vention, it is impossible to determine. In those days, the spherical figure of the earth might be known, and its magnitude also ascertained with some accuracy. With this knowledge, geographers would, no doubt, naturally suppose, that Europe, Asia, and Africa, as far as they were then known, could form but a small portion of the terraqueous globe. It was also suitable to the ideas of man, concerning the wisdom and beneficence of the author of nature, to believe that the vast space still unexplored was not covered entirely by an unprofitable ocean, but occupied by countries fit for the habitation of man. It might appear to them, likewise, equally probable, that the continents on one side of the globe were balanced by a proportional quantity of land in the other hemisphere. From these conclusions, arising solely from theoretical principles, the existence of the Western Continent might 40 DISCOVERY OF have been concieved by the ancients. But whether they had the sagacity to form such conjectures, we are not authorized to say. Of the two hemispheres, which comprise the whole ter raqueous globe, the ancients had certainly no practical knowledge of more than what we now denominate the Eastern, containing the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. They supposed the pillars of Hercules, consisting of the Rock of Gibraltar on one side, and Mount Calpe on the other, to be the western boundaries of the earth ; and on the east they carried their ideas no farther than the Ganges. In the south, they had some confused notions of Africa, extending into the torrid zone ; but they scarcely believed it possible that men could exist in those sultry climes. With regard to the north, their notions were sometimes ridiculously strange concerning the inhabitants of the terra incognita, (the unknown country) of Europe and Asia. Although we have no reason to believe that the ancients ever ventured to explore the continent of America by prac tical observation, whatever might have been their ideas respecting the existence of such a country ; yet, there are some historians who would seem to favour t opinion, that the Carthagenians, the Welsh, and the Noi ^escians discovered this country at a very early period, and prior, of course, to the famous voyage of Columbus. Those who contend for the Carthagenians have no other support than a few obscure passages from the ancients, who would really seem to be but little acquainted, with this island, which they describe and place at a short dis tance beyond the pillars of Hercules, or the straits of Gibraltar. We shall first notice Diodorus Siculus, a Sici lian historian and a Stoic philosopher, in the time of Julius Caesar. " Phoanices vetustissimis temporibus extra columnas Herculis navigantes ingentibus ventorum procellis ad longinquos Oceani tractus ftiisse abreptos, ac multis diebus vi tempestatis jactatos, tandem ad ingentem . insulam in AMERICA. 41 Oceano Atlantico, eomplurium dierum navfgatione a Lybia in occasum reraotam venisse ; cujus solum fructife- rum, amnes navigabiles, sumptuosa aedificia fuerint. Inde Carthaginienses et Tyrrhenes harum terrarum notitiam accepisse. Postea Carthaginienses, cum saepe a Tyriis et Mauritanis bello premerentur, Gadibus praeter navigatis, et Atlantico provectos oceano, tandem ad novas has regio- nes appulisse, et coloniam duxisse ; eamque rem diu taci turn servasse, ut si rursum sedibus ejicerentur, haberent locum in quern se cum suis reciperent. Repertam a Car- thaginiensibus fortuito insulam ; et in earn injussu Ma- gistratus commigrasse plurimos : quod disfluente paulatim pop.ulo coeperit postea Capitale esse." Here we are told by Diodorus, that the Phoenicians were, at a very early period, driven by the violence of the winds far beyond the pillars of Hercules or the straits of Gibral tar, into the ocean : that they discovered to the west of Lybia or Africa, at the distance of a few days' sailing from that continent, a large and fertile island and finely watered with navigable rivers; that this discovery was soon made known to the Carthagenians, a Phoenician colony in Africa, and to the Tyrrhenians or Tuscans in Italy : that the Carthagenians sometime after undertook, on account of hostile invasions made by the Moors and Ty- rians, a voyage in which they passed the straits of Gibral tar and advanced beyond Cadiz without the pillars 01 Hercules, till they arrived in those new regions, where they made a settlement ; but the policy of Carthage dis lodged the colony, and laid a strict prohibition on all the subjects of the State not to attempt any future establish ment. It is truly suprising that historians of considerable re nown should have mistaken the American continent for the fertile and beautiful island which is mentioned in this passage from Diodorus. This geographical sketch of the new country which the Phoenicians discovered, and the Carthagenians afterwards colonized, corresponds in every respect with the situation and fertilitv of Ireland, being 4* 42 DISCOVERY OF distant only a few days' sailing from the straits, of Gibral tar, while few countries can surpass it in beauty. Ireland is also supplied with navigable rivers. In the researches of eminent antiquarians, we are taught to believe beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the Phoenicians were about the first of the human race that visited Ireland, where they established a colony. The chronicles of Ireland bear testi mony to this fact j and when we collate the Irish language with the Punic or Phoenician, we find so striking an affinity, that the Irish or Celtic language may be said to have been, in a great degree, the language of Hannibal, Hamilcar, and Asdrubal. This opinion will at once be con firmed by having recourse to Plautus, where we see a Car- thagenian speaking the Punic, which is no other than almosc the pure Celtic or Irish language. In a forthcoming work, however, to be entitled " The Origin of the Primitive In habitants of Great Britain and Ireland," we shall prove this point so clearly, that to doubt it would be denying the most glaring truth. "The Phoenicians," says Diodorus, in the first part of the passage which we have transcribed, " after a few days' sailing beyond the pillars of Hercules, discovered a large and fertile island in the ocean; and its beauty induced the discoverers to settle there." It is certain that the inven tion of the mariner's compass cannot be dated from a much earlier period than the beginning of the fourteenth century ; and that towards the close of the same century, the navigation of Europe was not extended beyord the limits of the Mediterranean It is not reasonable, there fore, to think that the Carthagenians should venture from the sight of land and stretch out into unfreqented and un known seas, without the help of this sure guide, however prompted they might have been by the most ardent spirit of discovery, and encouraged by the patronage of princes. Such a bold enterprise is not at all congenial to the cau tious and timorous minds of the ancient navigators. We $ee also in the same passage, that they performed their voyage in a few days, so that the land which they dis- AMERICA. 43 covered could not have been America, seeing that Colum bus, the most skilful navigator of the age in which he lived, consumed seventy-one days in accomplishing his noble undertaking. The second part is no less inconsist ent, when we learn that the policy of Carthage dislodged, the colony, and laid a strict prohibition on all the subjects of the State not to attempt any future establishment. This is certainly^ a line of policy, which could not have been pursued by any ambitious state, that wished to extend its power and enlarge its territories, by the discovery of so valuable an island as is described in Diodorus, and at so short a distance from the pillars of Hercules. It has never been satisfactorily proved, that there exists in America any tribe, whose language, manners, and customs, bears any resemblance to those of the Carthagenians. Were we even to grant, that the Carthagenians visited America prior to the discovery of Columbus, it would certainly ap pear very extraordinary, that the existence of this portion of the globe, should not have been revealed by the Car- thageniais to some of their neighbouring nations, especial ly to the Spaniards ; for in Spain the Carthagenians found ed several cities. It is no less surprising that the Car thagenians themselves had never attempted, at a future period, to make a second settlement in America. The opinion, therefore, that the western continent was dis covered by the Carthagenians, seems to have no other support, except the passage which we have quoted from Diodorus and a few others. Next comes Plato, who, according to Mr. Chamber's abridged account of this island, from Plato's Timaeus, gives us the following description : u The Atalantis was a large island, in the Western ocean, opposite to the west of Cadiz. Out of this island there was an easy passage into some others, which lay near a continent, exceeding in extent all Europe. Neptune settled in this island, from whose son, Atlas, its name was derived, and he divided it among his ten sons To the youngest fell the extremity of the island, called Gadir, which, in the language of the 44 DISCOVERY OF country, signifies fertile, or abundant in sheep. The de scendants of Neptune reigned here from father to son, for a great number of generations, in the order of primogeni ture, during the space of nine thousand years. They also possessed several other islands ; and passing into Europe and Africa, subdued all Lybia as far as Egypt, and all Europe to Asia Minor. At length the island sunk under water, and for a long time afterwards, the sea thereabouts was full of rocks and shelves." This description of Plato, that of Diodorus, and a pas- sage in Seneca's Medcea., with some others, scarcely worthy of notice, have given rise to many arguments among mod ern writers. Some have maintained that this continent, mentioned above as lying behind the island Atalantis, must have been another island extending from the Azores to the Canaries ; but that, being swallowed up by an earthquake, as Plato asserts, those small islands are the remains of it. From supposition only, it has been assert ed that America was known to the ancients, that is, to the Phoenicians and Carthagenians, who, after 'he exter mination of their power and the destruction of all their records, lost all recollection of it. Be this, however, as it may, this account of Plato appears to us as somewhat fab-, bulous, without believing, for a moment, that America was the continent lying behind that island. Fables of much the same complexion also possessed the minds of the ancients, as to the inhabitants of the north of Europe and Asia, and many incredible tales were current among them relative to the Scythians ; and Strabo, though in most respects a good geographer, blamed Pythias Massilirensis, who had surveyed the utmost parts of Europe, for endeavouring to turn the popular opinion ; yet subsequent experience has shown, that, for the most part, Pythias was right. The Phoenicians, and after them the Carthagenians, traded to Britain for tin ; and we have also, as already observed, every reason to believe that Ireland was likewise known to them. After the destruction, however, of the Cartha AMERICA. 45 gemans, the knowledge of Britain was lost among the an cients, till Julius Caesar saw it from the coasts of Gaul, and added it to the conquests of Rome. It appears, therefore, that scarcely one-half of the world was known to the ancients, and even of that, with the exception of Egypt, the north coast of Africa, Greece, and Italy, and the countries immediately connected with them, they had a very imperfect idea. To confirm us in our opinion, we shall here attend to Vesputius, a learned Latin author, who made able research es, de origine gentium. His manuscripts, which have not as yet been published, are still preserved in the Vati can library at Rome. " Extra columnas Herculis quam vastissimus est oceanus, in quo site sunt insulse duae quae Albion, et lerna apellan- tur. Ex Gallia saepenumero colonos acceperunt, quamo- brem lingua Gallica aut Celtic incolae loqui dicuntur Illuc neque dubitari potest, quin Cathaginienses coloniam olim miserint, lingua enim Punica quam simillima est eorum sermoni." This learned antiquary contends that Albion and Erin, which are situated according to him, in a vast ocean, without the pillars of Hercules, received col onies not only from Gaul, as their inhabitants speak the language of the Gauls, but that the Phoenicians also con tributed at some remote period to the colonization of these two islands, on account of the affinity between the Celtic and the Phoenician languages. Vesputius is supported by Monsieur Boullet, a French etymologist, in his Mem. sur la Langue Celtique : " La langue Celtique etant de la plus haute antiquite (says Boullet) n'etant meme, ainsi qu'on la prouve, qu'un dia- lecte de la primitive, elle a du etre la mere de celles qui se sont formees par la succession des temps dans les pays qu'ont occupes les Celtes, ou Celto-Scythes. Le Latin, le Go- thique, 1' Anglo-Saxon, le Theuton, Flrlandois, le Prunique, le Suedois, le Danois, 1'Allemand, 1'Anglois, 1'Italien, 1'Espagnol, le Francois, ayent ete formes immediatement, ou immediatement, en tout, ou en partie, du Celtique, on 46 DISCOVERY OF doit regarder cet ouvrage comme un diction aire etimolo gique de ces langues dans lequel on trouvera 1'origine des termes qui les composent. Il-y-a encore tant de similitude entre la langue Carthaginoise, qu'on doit regarder les Irlandois et les Carthaginois comme deux nations de la meme origine." The learned Boullet says, that the Celtic language is so % ancient, that it is, as has been often proved, no less than a dialect of that language which was first spoken in paradise ; and that it must be the mother of all those languages which had been formed in those countries which were formerly occupied by the Celts or Celto-Scythians. Therefore, he concludes, that the Latin, the Gothic, the Anglo-Saxon, the Teutonic, the Icelandic, the Prunic, the Swedish, the Danish, the German, the English, the Italian, the Spanish, and French languages must have been derived, directly or indirectly, from the Celtic, which is no other than an etymological dictionary of the terms of which those several languages are composed. There is also, he continues, such- a similarity between the Celtic and the Carthagenian language, that the Irish and Carthagenians are to be consid ered as two nations of the same origin. We could offer the testimony of several other learned men who are not only convinced that the Carthagenians visited and coloni zed Ireland prior to the arrival of any other colony, but are also of opinion that Diodorus Siculus alludes to Ireland, while he describes that fertile island which the Carthage nians discovered beyond the pillars of Hercules. As we do not, however, intend, on the present occasion, to trace the origin of the Irish nation, but merely to shew from the national connexion, which evidently exists between the Irish and Carthagenians, that Ireland must, and undoubted ly, be that country which the Carthagenians, according to Diodorus, discovered in the Atlantic Ocean. The most reasonable mode, therefore, of accounting for this ancient consanguinity, is to conclude that, at some remote period, the Carthagenians, after a few days' sailing from Cadiz, a +own which was built by the Phrenicians in Andalusia a AMERICA. 47 province in the south of Spain, arrived fortuitously in Ire land, where they made settlements. The Welsh also fondly imagine, that their country con tributed, in 1170, to people the new world, by the ad ventures of Madoc, son of' Owen Guyneyd, who they say, on the death of his father, sailed there, and colonized a part of the country. All that is advanced in proof of this discovery, is a quotation from one of the British poets, who proves no more, than that he had distinguished himself both by sea and land. This compliment was immediately perverted by the Welsh bards. They pretend that he made two voyages ; that sailing west, he left Ireland so far to the north, that he came to a land unknown, where he saw many strange things ; that on returning home, and making report of the fruitfulness of the newly discovered country, he prevailed on numbers of the Welsh of each sex to accompany him on a second voyage, from which he never returned. Without commenting on these assertions, for they do not wear the visage of truth, we need only en quire who the Welsh bards were. It is clearly stated by Strabo and Ammjan what they were, anciently, in their day; but Lucanhas more briefly, and distinctly enough for the present purpose, informed us in the following verses : " Nos quosque, qui fortes animas, belloque peremptas, Lau'dibus in longum vates demittis acvum, Plurima securi fudistus carmii bardi." e The brave who fell in war, ye poets, praise, In strains that shall descend to distant times, And spread their fame, ye bards, in many songs." The bards, therefore, were retained by the chiefs of ancient families as minstrels, w T ho, by their songs, perpet uated to posterity the memory of their patrons. Next come the senachies, another description of minstrels, who recited, from memory, the genealogies of their chiefs and other men of property. But these, too, were generally destitute of learning, and, besides, no reliance could be placed on men whose expectations and subsistence depend- 48 DISCOVERY OF ed on adulation. If to this be added, as it often must, thai national partiality which usually perverted their judgment, who would venture to affirm upon their testimony either what is true or. what is false, or seek for certainty amoug such uncertain authorities, The Welsh, then, "have no other testimony except the fabulous relations of bards and senachies ; and as such were ever liable to delusion and error, their claim must ever be pronounced as entirely destitute of support. Besides the Welsh were never known as a people who were skilful in naval affairs, and even the age in which Madoc lived was particularly igno rant in navigation, so that the most which they attempted, could not have been more than a mere coasting voyage. The Norwegians claim their share of the glory, on grounds rather better than the Welsh. By their settle ments in Iceland and Greeenland, they had arrived within so small a distance of the new world, that there is at least a possibility of its having been touched at by a people so versed in maritime affairs, and so adventurous as the ancient Normans were. The proofs are much more nu merous than those produced by British ^historians, for the discovery is mentioned in several Icelandic manuscripts. The period was about the year 1002, when, according to their own records, it was visited by one Biron ; and the discovery pursued to greater effect by Leif, the son of Eric, the discoverer of Greenland. It does not appear that they reached farther than Labrador ; on which coast they met with the Esquimaux, on whom they bestowed the name of IScroelings, or dwarfish people, from their small stature. They were armed with bows and arrows, and had leathern canoes, such as they have at present. All this is probable, although the following tale of the German, called Tyrker, one of the crew, does not tend to prove the discovery. He was one day missing ; but soon returned, leaping and singing with all the extravagant marks of joy a bon vivant could shew, on discovering the inebriating fruit of his own country, the grape ; Torfseus even says, that he returned in a state of intoxication. To convince AMERICA. 49 his commander, he brought several bunches of grapes, who from that circumstance named that country Vinland. It is not to be denied, that North America produces the true vine ; but it is found in far lower latitudes than our adventurers* could reach in the time employed in their voy ages, which was comprehended in a very small space. However, be this as it may, there appears no reason to doubt the discovery; but as the landwas never colonized, nor any advantages made of it by the Norwegians, it may fairly be conjectured, that they reached no farther than the coast of Labrador. In short, it is from a much later pe riod that we must date the real discovery of America The mariners of the seventeenth century acquired great applause by sailing along the coast of Africa and dis covering some of the neighbouring islands ; and although the Portuguese were decidedly the most skilful navigators of the age, still, with all their industry and perseverance, they advanced southward no farther than the equator. The rich commodities of the East had for several ages been brought into Europe by the way of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean ; and it had now become the object of the Portuguese to find a passage to India by sailing round the southern extremity of Africa, and then taking an eastern course. This great object engaged the general attention of mankind, and drew into the Portuguese service adventurers from every maritime nation in Europe. Every year added to their experience in navigation and seemed to promise a reward to their industry. The prospect, however, of arriving at the Indies was extremely distant Fifty years' perseverance in the same track had brought them only to the equator ; and it was probable that as many more would elapse before they could accomplish their purpose, had not Columbus, by an uncommon exer tion of genius, formed a design no less astonishing to the age in which he lived, than beneficial to posterity. Among the foreigners whom the fame of the discoveries made by the Portuguese had allured into their service was 5 50 DISCOVERY OF Christopher Columbus or Colon, a subject of the republic of Genoa. It has been generally asserted by those who have given us a biographical sketch of Columbus, that the place of his birth is not known with certainty ; but Father Lerafini, a learned Italian historian, speaks as follows of the famous navigator. " Christofero Colombo era nato nella citta di Genoa, Pan- no millequattro cento e quaranta due. II suo padre, un marinaro Portuguese, era nominato, di commun consenso, per condottiere principale in un viaggio di scoperta sulla costa Africana. Christofero, il secondo figlio, volendo se- guire la medesima occupazione, commincio a studiare le lingue, la navigazione, e le a\tre scienze che erano neces- sarie per scoprire nuovi paesi." According to Lerafini, who was also a Genoese by birth, Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, in the year one thousand four hundred and forty-two. His father, he says, a native of Portugal, was so skilful a mariner, that by the common consent of his followers he was appointed to the chief command of a small Genoese squadron, which had been fitted out for a voyage of discovery on the coast of Africa. Christopher, the second son, wishing to pursue the same course of life, to which his father had been train ed, applied himself with the greatest industry and perse verance to the study of the Latin tongue, the only lan guage in which science was taught at that time: he was also instructed in all those branches, which are connected with navigation, such as Geometry, Cosmography, As tronomy, and the art of Drawing. Thus qualified, he went to sea at the age of fourteen, and began his career on that element, which conducted him to so much glory, and proved so interesting to mankind in general and to the inhabitants of Europe in particular. As his early voyages were confined to those ports in the Mediterranean, which were frequented by his countrymen, the Genoese, his active mind could not be satisfied, until he had made an excursion to the nothern seas and visited AMERICA. 51 the coasts of Iceland, to which the English and other na tions had begun to resort on account of its fisheries. The fame which was now acquired in navigation, excited such emulation among the more enterprizing mariners, that Columbus ventured to proceed several degrees within the polar circle and advanced beyond that island, which is called the Thule of the ancients. Having satisfied his curiosity by this voyage, which tended more to enlarge his knowledge of naval affairs, than to improve his fortune, he entered into the service of a famous sea captain of his own name and family. This man who commanded a small squadron, with which he cruised sometimes against the Mahometans, sometimes againt the Venetians, the rivals of his country in trade. With him Columbus con tinued several years, no less distinguished for his courage, than for his experience as a sailor. At length, in an ob stinate engagement off the coast of Portugal, with some Venetian caravals, returning richly laden from the Low Countries, the vessel on board w T hich he served took fire, together with one of the enemy's ships to which it was fast grappled. In this dreadful extremity his intrepidity and presence of mind did not forsake him. He threw himself into the sea, laid hold of a floating oar, and by support of it, and his own dexterity in swimming, he reach ed the shore, though above two leagues distant, and saved a life reserved for great undertakings. Columbus immediately rep aired to the court of Portugal, where they conceived such a favourable opinion of his merit, as well as his talents, that they warmly solicited him to remain in that kingdom. Columbus listened with a favourable ear to the advice of his friends, and, having gained the esteem of a Portuguese lady, whom he married, he fixed his residence in Lisbon. As his father-in-law, Bartholomew Perestrello, was one of the captains who were employed by Prince Henry, when the islands of Porto Santo and Maderia were discovered and planted, Columbus got possession of the journals and charts of Perestrello, who was an experienced navigator. The 52 nrscovERY OF more he contemplated the maps and read the description of the new countries which Perestrello had discovered, the more impatient he became to visit them. In order, there fore, to indulge his favourite passion, he made a voyage to Madeira, and continued during several years to trade with that island, with the Canaries, the Azores, the settlements in Guinea, and all the other places which the Portuguese had discovered on the continent of Africa. During such a variety of voyages to almost every part of the globe with which, at that time, any intercourse was carried on by sea, Columbus was now become one of the most skilful navigators in Europe. But not satisfied with that praise, his ambition aimed at something more. The successful progress of the Portuguese navigators had awa kened a spirit of curiosity and emulation, which set every man of science upon examining all the circumstances that led to the discoveries which they had made, or that afforded a prospect of succeeding in any new and bolder undertaking. The mind of Columbus, naturally inquisitive, capable of deep reflection, and turned to speculations of this kind, was so 'often employed in revolving the princi ples on which the Portuguese had founded their schemes of discovery, and the mode in which they had carried them on, that he gradually began to form an idea of improving on their plan, and of accomplishing discoveries which hitherto they had attempted in vain. To find out a passage by sea to the East Indies, was the grand object in view at that period. From the time that the Portuguese doubled Cape de Verd, this was the point at which they aimed in all their navigations, and in com parison with it all their discoveries in Africa appeared in considerable. The fertility and riches of India had been known for many ages ; its spices and other commodities were in high reputation throughout Europe, and the vast wealth of the Venetians arising from their having engros sed this trade, had raised the envy of all nations. More than half a century had been employed by the Portuguese in advancing from Cape Non to the equator, in hopes of AMERICA. 53 arriving at India by steering towards the south and turn ing to the east, after they had sailed round the farther extremity of Africa. Even although they could succeed in arriving at India by pursuing this ^course, they were at last convinced that the remaining part of the navigation from the equator to India was extensive, that it could not but be attended with uncertainty, danger, and tediousness. These difficulties naturally led Columbus to consider wheth er a shorter and more direct passage to the East Indies might not be found out. After revolving long and seriously every circumstance suggested by his superior knowledge, in the theory as well as practice of navigation, and com paring attentively the observations of modern pilots, with the hints and conjectures of ancient authors, he at last concluded that by sailing directly towards the west across the Atlantic Ocean, new countries which probably formed a part of the great cotinent of India must infallibly be discovered. Columbus was confirmed in his opinion by the accounts of a certain Portuguese pilot, who having stretched farther to the west than was usual at that time, took up a piece of timber, artificially carved, floating on the sea ; and as it was driven towards him by a westerly wind, he concluded that it came from some unknown land situated in that quarter. Pieces of timber fashioned in the same manner, and floating on the waves, were seen by several Portuguese pilots, to the west of the Maderia isles, and thither they were brought by a westerly wind. Canes of an enormous size had been found, which resembled those described by Ptolemy as productions peculiar to the East Indies, After a course of westerly winds, trees torn up by the roots were often" driven upon the coasts of the Azores, and at one time the dead bodies of two men, with singular features, resembling neither the inhabitants of Europe nor of Africa, were cast ashore there. As the force of this united evidence, arising from the oretical and practical observations, led Columbus to expect the discovery of new countries in the western ocean, other 5* 54 / DISCOVERY OF reasons induced him to believe that these must be connect ed with the continent of India. Though the ancients had hardly ever penetrated into India farther than the banks of the Granges, yet some Greek authors had ventured to des cribe the provinces beyond that river. As men are prone, and at liberty, to magnify what is remote or unknown, they represented them as regions of an immense extent. Cesias affirmed that India was as large as all the rest of Asia. Onesicritus, whom Pliny, the naturalist, follows, contended that it was equal to a third part of the inhabitable earth. Nearchus asserted, that it would take four months to march in a straight line from one extremity of India to the other. The journals of Marco Polo, who had proceeded towards the east, far beyond the limits to which any European had ever advanced, seemed to confirm these exaggerated ac counts of the ancients. From the magnificent descriptions which Marco Polo gave of Carthay and Cipango, and of many other countries on that continent, it appeared to Columbus that India was a region of vast extent. He concluded, that in propor tion as the continent of India stretched out towards the east, it must, in consequence of the spherical figure of the earth, approach nearer to the islands which had lately been discovered to the west of Africa ; that the distance from the one to the other was probably not very considerable, and that the most direct, as well as the shortest course, to the remote regions of the East, .was to be found by sailing due west. Although he was supported in this opinion by some of the most eminent writers among the ancients, still, not wishing to rest with absolute assurance, either upon his own arguments or upon the authority of the an cients, he consulted such of his contemporaries as he con sidered capable of comprehending the nature of the evidence which he had produced. At that time, as the most distinguished astronomer and cosmographer was one Paul, an eminent physician of Florence, Columbus failed not to' communicat > to him his ideas concerning the pro bability of discover, ng new.countries by sailFhg westward. AMERICA. 55 The learned physician highly approved of the plan, and exhorted Columbus to persevere in so laudable an under taking. Columbus, being fully satisfied with respect to the truth of his system and a successful issue, was impa tient to bring it to the test ; and, wishing that his native country should first reap the fruits of his labours, he laid the scheme before the senate of Genoa. But the Genoese, unfortunately for their commonwealth, were unacquainted with the abilities and character of the projector, by reason of his having resided so long in foreign countries, that they rejected his plan as a chimerical undertaking. The coun try which had the second claim to his service was Portugal, where he had been long established. To John the Second, king of Portugal, therefore, he made the next tender of his service, by offering to sail under the Por tuguese flag, in quest of the new regions which he expect ed to discover. At first he met with a favourable reception from the king, to whom the professional skill and personal good qualities of Columbus were well known. As King John was a monarch of an enterprising ' spirit, and no incompetent judge in naval affairs, he listened to Columbus in a most gracious manner, and referred the consideration of his plan to Diego Ortiz, bishop of Cereta, and two Jewish physicians, eminent cosmographers, whom he was accustomed to consult in matters of this kind. Here Co lumbus had to combat with prejudice, an enemy no less formidable than the ignorance of the Genoese, who were so little accustomed to distant voyages, that they could form no just idea of the principles on which he founded his hopes of success. The persons, according to 1 whose de cision his scheme was to be adopted or rejected in Portugal, had been the chier directors of the Portuguese navigations, and contended with great confidence that India could be arrived at by pursuing a course directly opposite to that which Columbus recommended. Under these circumstan ces they could not approve of his proposals, without sub mitting to the double mortification of condemning their own theory, and of acknowledging his superior sagacity 56 DISCOVERY OF After Columbus had giv x en such a particular explanation of his system, as might lead them into a knowledge of its nature, they declined passing any judgmen tin its favour. On the contrary they endeavonred to undermine him by advising the king to despatch a vessel, secretly, in order to attempt the discovery, by following exactly the course which Columbus seemed to point out. John, forgetting on this occasion the sentiments becoming a monarch, meanly adopted this perfidious counsel. But the pilot chosen to execute Columbus's plan, had neither the genius nor the fortitude of its author. Contrary winds arose, no sight of approaching land appeared, his courage failed, and he returned to Lisbon execrating the project as equally extravagant and dangerous. On learning this dishonourable transaction, Columbus immediately quitted Portugal and landed in Spain in order to court the protection of Ferdinand and Isabella, who at that time governed the united kingdoms of Castile and Arragon. Spain was now engaged in a dangerous war with Granada, the last of the Moorish kingdoms in that country ; and as Columbus had already experienced the uncertain issue of applications to kings and ministers, he took the precaution, at that critical juncture, of sending into England his brother Bartholomew, to whom he had fully communicated his ideas, in order that he might ne gotiate with Henry VIL, who was reputed one of the most sagacious as well as opulent princes in Europe. Ferdinand and Isabella, though fully occupied by their operations against the Moors, paid so much regard to Columbus as to remit the consideration of his plan to the queen's confes sor, Ferdinand de Talavera. This prelate consulted such of his countrymen as he considered the most skilful in navigation. But Spain could not at that time boast of having pro duced men who were versed in true science, so that those who were selected to decide a matter of such moment, did not comprehend the first principles upon which Columbus founded his conjectures. Some of them, from mistaken . AMERICA. 57 notions concerning the dimensions of the globe, contended ' that a voyage to ';hose remote parts of the east which Columbus expected to discover, could not be performed in less than three years. Others concluded that he would either find the ocean to be of infinite extent, according to the opinion of some ancient philosophers, or if he should persist in steering towards the west beyond a certain point, that the convex figure of the globe would prevent his return, and that he must inevitably perish, in the vain at tempt to open a communication between the tw T o opposite hemispheres, which nature had for ever disjoined. They maintained that if such countries existed, as Co lumbus represented, they could not have remained so long concealed, to be at last discovered by an obscure Genoese. He was, therefore, looked upon as a presumptuous man, who pretended that he alone possessed knowledge superior to all the rest of mankind. Here, also, Columbus had to contend with the same ignorance and pride of false know ledge which counteracted his plans in Portugal. Five years had now elapsed in fruitless endeavours, when Talavera, to whom the decision was referred, made such an unfavourable report to Ferdinand and Isabella as in duced them to acquaint Columbus, that until the war with the Moors should be brought to a period, it would be im prudent to engage in any new and expensive enterprise. Columbus's hopes of success were, however, so sanguine that his enthusiasm was not to be cooled by delays, nor damped by disappointment. He next applied to persons of inferior rank, and addressed successively the Dukes ol Medina Sidonia, and Medina Celi, who though subjects, were possessed of power and opulence more than equal to the enterprise which he projected. Columbus met with the same mortifying disappointment from these noblemen, who either from their ignorance, of the force of his argu ments, or a dread of offending the pride of a sovereign who w^ould not countenance the scheme, rejected the plan us the invention of a chimerical projector. Among these disappointments, Columbus had also the 00 DISCOVERY OF mortification to be unacquainted with the fate of his brother, who, as has been said by some Spanish historians, fell into the hands of pirates on his way to England ; and having been stripped of everything, was detained a pris oner for several years. At length he made his escape and arrived in London, but in such extreme indigence, that he wa,s obliged to employ himself during a considerable time, in drawing and selling maps, in order to pick up as much money as would purchase a decent dress, in which he might venture to appear at court. He then laid before the king the proposals with which he had been entrusted by his brother, and notwithstanding Henry's excessive caution and parsimony which rendered him averse to new or expensive undertakings, he received Columbus' s over tures with more approbation than any monarch to whom they had hitherto been presented. At this time Columbus seeing that he had no prospect of encouragement in Spain, was preparing to follow his brother to England. But Juan Perez, the guardian of the monastery in which Columbus's children had been educated, and a man 01 some credit with Isabella, prevailed on him to., defer his journey for a short time. This learned monk, being a considerable proficient in mathematical knowledge, soon became acquainted with the abilities and integrity of Co lumbus, to whom he was so warmly attached, that he ven tured to write to Queen Isabella, conjuring her to consider the matter anew with the attention which it merited. As there was now a certain prospect that the war with the Moors might be brought to a happy issue by the re duction of Granada, which would leave the nation at liber ty to engage in new undertakings, the queen, moved by the representation of Juan Perez, a person whom she re spected as a competent judge to decide in matters of this description, countenanced, for the second time, the grand schemes of Columbus. Accordingly, she desired Perez to repair to the village of Santa Fe, in which, on account of the siege of Granada, the court resided at that time, that she might confer with him on this important subject. This AMERICA. 59 interview proved so favourable, that Columbus received a warm invitation to return to court. His former friends, therefore, Alonzo de Quintanilla, comptroller of the finances in Castile, and Louis de Santangel, receiver of the eccle siastical revenues in Arragon, seeing this happy change in favour of Columbus, appeared with greater confidence lhan ever to support his scheme. Although Isabella ex pressed her approbation, still Ferdinand pronounced the scheme to to be impracticable. Columbus, however,- as if determined to surmount every obstacle that could be thrown in his way, appeared before them with the same confident hopes of success as formerly, and insisted upon the same high recompense. Columbus proposed that a small fleet should be fitted out under his command, to at tempt the discovery ; that he should be appointed hered itary admiral and viceroy of all the seas and lands which he should discover ; and that he should have the tenth part of the profits arising from them settled irrevocably upon himself and his descendants. At the same time he offered to advance the eighth pait of the sum necessary for accomplishing his design, on condition that he should be entitled to a proportional share of benefit from the ad venture. If the enterprise should totally fail, he made no stipu lation for any reward or emolument whatever. But the persons with whom Columbus was treating, began to calculate the enormous expense of the expedition, and the exorbitant reward which he demanded for himself. In this imposing garb of caution and prudence, they misrep resented everything to Ferdinand, w r hj opposed the ad venture from the commencement, Isabella, though more generous and enterprising, was under the influence of her husband in all her actions, and declined again giving any countenance to Columbus. Thus Columbus almost des paired of success, and withdrew from court in deep anguish, with an intention of prosecuting his voyage to England, as his last resource. About that time, Granada surrendered, and Ferdinand and Isabella, in triumphal pomp, took pos- 60 DISCOVEKY OF session of a city, the reduction of which extirpated a sovereign power from the heart of their dominions, and rendered them masters of all the provinces extending from the bottom of the Pyrenees to the frontiers of Portugal. As the flow of spirits which accompanies success elevates the mind, and renders it enterprising, Quintanilla and Santangel, the vigilant and discerning patrons of Colum bus, took advantage of this favourable situation, in order to make one effort more in behalf of their friend. They addressed themselves to Isabella, and represented Colum bus as a man of sound understanding and virtuous charac- acter, well qualified by his experience in "navigation, as well as his knowledge in geometry to form just ideas with respect to the structure of the globe and the situa tion of its various regions. The sum requisite, they skid, for equipping such an armament as he demanded, was inconsiderable, and the advantages which might accrue from his undertaking were immense. They also con vinced her that his offer to risk his life and fortune in the execution of his scheme, gave the most satisfying evidence both of his integrity and hope of success. These forcible arguments, urged by persons of such authority, and at a juncture so well chosen, produced the desired effect. They dispelled all Isabella's fears and doubts. She ordered Columbus to be instantly recalled, and declared her resolution to employ him on his own terms. The state of her finances were at that time so low, that she offered to pledge her own jewels, in order to raise as much money as might be required to accomplish his design. Santangel, however, lest she might have recourse to such a mortifying expedient engaged to ad vance immediately the sum that was requisite. Colum bus, upon hearing this unexpected revolution in his fa vour, returned to Santa Fe,for he was now several leagues on his journey to England. The negotiation now went forward with facility and despatch, and a treaty of ca pitulation with Columbus was signed on the seventeenth of April, 1492. AMERICA. 61 The chief articles of it were : 1. Ferdinand and Isa bella, as sovereigns of the ocean, constituted Columbus their high admiral in .all the seas, islands, and continents which might be discovered by his industry ; and stipulated, that he and his heirs forever should enjoy this office, with ' the same powers and prerogatives which belonged to the high admiral of Castile, within the limits of his jurisdic tion. 2. They appointed Columbus their viceroy in all the islands and continents which he should discover ; but if, for the better administration of affairs, it should here after be necessary to establish a separate governor in any of those countries, they authorized Columbus to name three persons, of whom they would choose one, for that office j and the dignity of viceroy, with all its immunities, was likewise to be hereditary in the family of Columbus. 3. They granted to Columbus, and his heirs forever, the tenth part of the free profits accruing from the pro ductions and commerce of the countries he should discover. 4. They declared that if any controversy or lawsuit should arise, with respect to any mercantile transaction in the countries which should be discovered, it should be de termined by the sole authority of Columbus, or of judges to be appointed by him. 5. They permitted Columbus to advance oneeighth part of what should be expended in preparing for the ex pedition, and in carrying on commerce with the countries he should discover, and entitled him in return to one eighth part of the profit. As soon as the treaty was signed, Isabella, by her at tention and activity in forwarding the preparations for the voyage, endeavoured to make some reparation to Columbus for the time he had lost in fruitless solicitation. By the 12th of May, all that depended upon her was ad justed. After Columbus hal waited on the king and queen, and received his final instructions, Isabella ordered the ships of which Columbus was to take the command, to be 6 62 DISCOVERY OF fitted out in the port of Palos, a small maritime town in the province of Andalusia. Fortunately for Columbus, Juan Perez, who always interested himself in behalf of this enterprising navigator, resided in the neighbourhood of this place, arid by the influence of this good ecclesiastic, Columbus not only procured the sum he was bound by treaty to advance, but also engaged several of the in habitants to accompany him in the voyage. The chief of these associates were three brothers of the name of Pinzon, of considerable wealth and of great experience in naval affairs, who were willing to hazard their lives and fortunes in the expedition. But after all the efforts of Isabella and Columbus, the armament was not suitable, either to the dignity of the nation by which it was equip ped, or to the importance of the service for which it was destined. The small squadron consisted of three vessels. The largest, a ship of no considerable burden, was commanded by Columbus as admiral, who gave it the name of Santa Maria, out of respect for the Virgin Mary. The second, which was called the Pinta, was commanded by Martin Pinzon. Of the third, named the Nigna, Vincent Yanez was, captain. This squadron was victualled for twelve months, and had on board ninety men, mostly sailors, to gether with a few adventurers who followed the fortune of Columbus, and some gentlemen of Isabella's court, whom she appointed to accompany him. Though the expense of the undertaking was one of the circumstances which chiefly alarmed the court of Spain, and retarded so long the negotiation with Columbus, the sum employed in fitting out this squadron did not exceed four thousand pounds. As the art of ship building in the fifteenth century was extremely rude, and the bulk of the vessels was accommoda ted to the short and easy voyage along the coast, which they were accustomed to perform, it is a proof of the courage as well as the enterprising genius of Columbus, that he ventured, with a fleet so unfit for a distant navigation, to (I .-- AMERICA. 63 explore unknown seas, where he had no chart to guide him, no knowledge of the tides and currents, and no ex perience of the dangers to which he might be exposed. His eagerness to accomplish the great design which had so long engrossed his thoughts, made him overlook or disregard every circumstance that would have intimidated a mind less adventurous. He pushed forward the prep arations with such ardour, and was seconded so effect ually by the persons to w r hom Isabella had committed the superintendance of this business, that every thing was soon in readiness for the voyage. But as Columbus was deeply impressed with sentiments of religion, he would not set out on an expedition so arduous, and of which one great object was to propagate the Christian faith, without imploring publicly the protection and guidance of Heaven. "With this vjew, he, together with all the persons under his command, marched in solemn procession to the monas tery of Rabida, w r here, having confessed their sins, they received the holy sacrament from the hands of the guar dian, Juan Perez, who joined his prayers to theirs for the success of an enterprise which he had so zealously patro nized. Next morning, being Friday the 3d of August, in the year 1492, Columbus set sail, a little before sun rise, in presence of a vast crowd of spectators, who sent up their supplications to Heaven, for the prosperous issue of the voyage, w T hich they wished rather than expected. Colum bus steered directly for the Canary Islands, and arrived there, August 13, 1492, without any occurrence that would haye deserved notice on any other occasion. But, in a voyage of such expectation and importance, every circum stance was the object of attention. The rudder of the Pirtta broke loose, the day after she left the harbour, and that accident alarmed the crew r , no less superstitious than unskilful, as a certain omen of the unfortunate destiny of the expedition. Even in the short run to the Canaries, the ships were found to be so crazy and ill- appointed, as to be very im- 61 DISCOVERY OF proper for a navigation, which was expected to be both long and dangerous. Columbus refitted them, however, to the best of his power, and having supplied himself with fresh provisions, he took his departure from Gomera, one of the most westerly of the Canary Islands, on the sixth day of September. Here the voyage of discovery may probably be said to begin ; for Columbus, holding his course due west, left im mediately the usual track of navigation, and stretched into unfrequented and unknown seas. The first day, as it was very calm, he made but little way; but on the second, he lost sight of the Canaries ; and many of the sailors, deject ed already and dismayed, when they contemplated the boldness of the undertaking, began to beat their breasts and to shed tears> as if they were never more to behold land. Columbus comforted them with assurances of suc cess, and the prospect of vast wealth, in those opulent re gions whither he was conducting them. This early discovery of the spirit of his followers taught Columbus, that he must prepare to struggle, not only with the unavoidable difficulties which might be expected from the nature of his undertaking, but with such as were like ly to arise from the ignorance and timidity of the people under his command ; and he perceived that the art of gov erning the minds of men would be no less requisite for ac complishing the discoveries which he had in view, than naval skill and undaunted courage. Happily for himself and the country by which he was employed, he joined to the ardent temper and inventive genius of a projector, vir tues of another species, which are rarely united with them. He possessed a thorough knowledge of mankind, an insin uating address, a patient perseverance in executing any plan, the perfect government of his passions, and the ta lent of acquiring an ascendant of those of other men. All these qualifications which formed him for command, were accompanied with that superior knowledge of his profession which begets confidence in times of difficulty and danger. To unskilful Spanish sailors, accustomed AMERICA. 65 only to coasting voyages in the Mediterranean, the mari time science of Columbus, the fruit of thirty years' ex perience, improved by an acquaintance with all the inven tions of the Portuguese, appeared immense. As soon as they put to sea he regulated everything by his sole authority ; he superintended the execution of every order ; and allowing himself only a few hours for sleep, he was at all other times on deck. As his course lay through seas which had not formerly been visited, the sounding line or instruments for observation were continually in his hands. After the example of the Portuguese discoverers, he attend ed to the motion of tides and currents, watched the flight of birds, the appearance of fishes, of see weeds, and of every thing that floated on the waves, and entered every occur rence with a minute exactness in the journal which he kept. As the length of the voyage could not fail of alarming sailors habituated only to short excursions ; Columbus en deavoured to conceal from them the real progress which they had made with this view, though they had run eighteen leagues on the second day after they had left Gomera, he gave out that they had advanced only fifteen, and he uniformly employed the same artifice during the whole voyage. By the 14th of September the fleet was above two hundred leagues to the west of the Canary isles, at a greater distance from land than any Spaniard had been be fore that time. There they were struck with an appear ance no less astonishing than new. They observed that the magnetic needle, in their compasses, did not point ex actly to the polar star, but varied towards the west ; and as they proceeded, this variation increased. This appear ance which is now familiar, though it still remains one of the mysteries of nature, filled the companions of Columbus with terror. They were now in a boundless unknown ocean, far from the usual course of navigation ; nature itself seemed to be altered, and the only guide which they had left was about to fail them. Columbus, with no less quickness than ingenuity, invented a reason for this ap pearance, wh ch, though it did not satisfy himself, seemed * 66 DISCOVERY OF so plausible to them, that it dispelled their fears and silenced their murmurs He still continued to steer due west, nearly in the same latitude with the Canary Islands. In this course he came within the sphere of the trade wind, which blows invari ably from east to west, between the tropics and a few degrees beyond them. He advanced before this steady gale, with such uniform rapidity that it was seldom neces sary to shift a sail. When about four hundred leagues to Ihe west of the Canaries he found the sea so covered with weeds, that it resembled a meadow of vast extent ; and in some places they were so thick as to retard the motion of the vessels. This strange appearance occasioned new alarm and disquiet. The sailors imagined that they had now arrived at the utmost boundary of the navigable ocean ; that these floating weeds would obstruct their far ther progress, and conceal dangerous rocks, or some large tract of land, which had sunk, they knew not how, in that place. Columbus endeavoured to persuade them, that what had alarmed, ought to have encouraged them, and was to be considered as a sign of approaching land. At the same time a brisk gale arose, and carried them for ward. Several birds were seen hovering about the ships, and directed their flight towards the west. The despond ing crew resumed some degree of spirit, and began to en tertain fresh hopes. Upon the first of October they were, according to the Admiral's reckoning, seven hundred and seventy leagues to the west of the Canaries ; but lest his men should be intimidated by the prodigious length of navigation, he gave out that they had proceeded only five hundred and eighty-four leagues ; and fortunately for Columbus, neither his own pilot, nor those of the other ships, had skill suffi cient to correct this error and discover the deceit. They had now been above three weeks at sea, and had advanced far beyond what former navigators attempted or deemed possible. All their prognostics of discovery, drawn from the flight of birds and other circumstances proved falla- AMERICA. 67 clous. This disappointment made first and impression on the minds of the timid and ignorant ; but by degrees the contagion spread from ship . to ship. From secret whis perings and murmurings, they proceeded to open cabals and public complaints. They taxed their sovereign with inconsiderate credulity, in paying such regard to the vain promises and rash conjectures of an indigent foreigner They affirmed that they had done their duty, by venturing so far in an unknown and hopeless course, without any probability of discovering those new countries which their commander described. Columbus was now fully sensible of his perilous situa tion. He had observed with great uneasiness the fatal operation of ignorance and fear. He saw to his great mortification, that the disaffection among the crew was ready to burst out into an open mutiny. Notwithstanding the agitation and solicitude of his mind, Columbus pre tended to be ignorant of their machinations, and appeared before them with a cheerful countenance, like a man satisfied with the progress he had made. Sometimes he employed all the arts of insinuation to soothe his men. Sometimes he endeavoured to work upon their ambition or avarice, by magnificent descriptions of the fame and wealth which they were about to acquire. On other oc casions, he assumed a tone of authority and threatened them with vengeance from their sovereign, if by their dastardly behaviour, they would defeat this noble effort to exalt the Spanish name above that of every other nation Even with seditious sailors, the words of a man whom they had been accustomed to reverence, were weighty and persuasive, and not only restrained them from violent ex cesses, which thej meditated, but prevailed on them to accompany him for some time longer. As they proceeded, the indications of approaching land seemed to be more certain, and excited some in proportion. The birds began to appear in flocks, making towards the south-west. Columbus, in imitation of the Portuguese navigators, who had been guided in several of their 1 dis- 68 DISCOVERY OF coveries, by the motion of birds, altered his course from due west towards that quarter whither they pointed their flight. But, after holding on for several days in this new direction, without any better success than formerly, the hopes of his companions subsided faster than they had risen. Impatience, rage, and despair appeared on every countenance ; all sense of subordination was lost, and the officers who had formerly concurred with Columbus in opinion, and supported his authority, now took part with the private men; they assembled tumultuously on the deck, expostulated with the commander, mingled threats with expostulations, and required him instantly to tack about and return to Europe. Columbus perceived that it would be of no avail to have recourse to his former arts, which having been tried so often, had lost their effect ; and that it was impossible to rekindle any zeal for the success of the expedition among men, in whose hearts' fear had extinguished every generous sentiment. He saw that it would be no less vain to think of employing either gentle or severe measures, to quell a mutiny so general and violent. At this critical juncture, he promised solemnly that he would return, provided they would accompany him three days longer. Enraged as the sailors were, this proposition did not appear unreasonable. The presages of discovering land became now more numerous. The flocks of birds increased, and were composed not only ot sea fowl, but of such land birds as could not be supposed fly far from the shore. The c 1 ew of the Pinta observed a cane floating, which seemed to have been newly cut, and. likewise a piece ot timber artificially carved. The sailors aboard the Nigna took v,p the b'ranch of a tree with red berries perfectly fresh. The clouds around the setting sun assumed a ne*w apperance ; the air was more mild and warm, and during night, the wind became unequal and variable. From all these symptoms, Columbus was so confident of being near land, that on the evening of the eleventh of October, after public prayers for success, he ordered the sails to be furled. AMERICA. 69 and the ships to lie to, keeping strict watch, lest they should be driven ashore in the nig.ht. During this inter val of suspense and expectation, no man shut his eyes, all kept upon deck, gazing intently towards that quarter where they expected to discover the land, which had been so long the object of their wishes. About two hours before midnight, Columbus, standing on the forecastle, observed a light at a distance, and privately pointed it out to Pedro Gutherez, a page of the queen 's wardrobe. Gutherez per ceived it, and calling to Salcedo, comptroller of the fleet, all three saw it in motion, as if it were carried from place to place. A little after midnight, the joyful sound of land, land, was heard from the Pinta, which kept always ahead of the other ships. But, having been so often deceived by fallacious appearances, every man was now become slow of belief, and waited in all the anguish of uncertainty and impatience, for the return of day. As soon as morning dawned, Friday, October 12, all doubts and fears were dispelled. From every ship an island was seen about two leagues to the north, whose flat and verdant fields, well stored with wood, and watered with many rivulets, pre sented the aspect of a delightful country. The crew of the Pinta instantly began the Te Deum, as a hymn ol thanksgiving to God, and were joined by those of the other ships, with tears of joy and transports of congratulation. This office of gratitude to heaven, was followed by an act of justice to their commander. They threw themselves at the feet of Columbus, with feelings of self-condemnation, mingled with reverence. They implored him to pardon their ignorance, incredulity, and insolence, which had created him so much unnecessary disquiet, and had so often obstructed the prosecution of his well-concerted plan : and passing in the warmth of their admiration, from one ex treme to another, they now pronounced the man, whom they had so lately reviled and threatened to be a person sent by heaven with sagacity and fortitude more than human, in order to accomplish a design, so far beyond the ideas and conceptions of all former ages. 70 DISCOVERY OF As soon as the sun arose, all their boats were manned and armed. They rowed towards the islands with their colours displayed, with warlike music, and other martial pomp. As they approached the coast, they saw it covered with a multitude of people, whom the novelty of the spec tacle had drawn together, whose attitudes and gestures expressed wonder and astonishment at the strange objects w r hich presented themselves to their view. Columbus was the first European who set foot in the new world which he had discovered. He landed in a rich dress, and with a naked sword in his hand. His men followed, and knee ling down, they all kissed the ground which they had so long desired to see. They next erected a crucifix, and prostraiting themselves before it, returned thanks to God for conducting their voyage to such a happy issue. They then took solemn possession of the country for the crown of Castile and Leon, with all the formalities which the Portuguese were accustomed to observe in acts of this kind, in their own discoveries. The Spaniards, while thus employed, were surrounded by many of the natives, who gazed in silent admiration upon actions which they could not comprehend, and of which they did not foresee the consequences. The dress of the Spaniards, the whiteness of their skins, their beards, their arms appeared strange and surprising. The vast machine in which they had traversed the ocean, that seemed to move in the water with wings, and uttered a dreadful sound resembling thunder, accom panied with lightning and smoke, struck them with such terror, that they began to respect their new guests as a superior order of beings, and concluded that they were children of the sun, who had descended to visit the earth. The Europeans where hardly less amazed at the scene now before them. .Every herb, and shrub, and tree was different from those which flourished t in Europe. The soil seemed to be rich, but bore few marks of cultivation. The climate, even to Spaniards, felt warm, though ex- AMERICA. 71 tremely delightful. The inhabitants appeared in the simple innocence of nature, entirely naked. Their black hair, long and uncurled, floated upon their shoulders, or was bound in tresses around their heads. They had no beards, and every part of their bodies was perfectly smooth. Their complexion was of a dusky copper col our, their features singular, rather than disagreeable, their aspect gentle and timid ; though not tall, they were well shaped, and active. Their faces and several parts of their bodies were fantastically painted with glaring colours. They were shy at first, through fear, but soon became familiar with the Spaniards, and with transports of joy received from them hawk's-bills, glass beads, or other baubles in return, for which they gave such provisions as they had, and some cotton yarn, the only commodity of value they could produce. Towards evening Columbus returned to the ships, accompanied by many of the islanders in their boats, which they called canoes, and, though rudely formed out of the trunk of a single tree, they rowed them with surprising dexterity. Thus in the first interview between the inhabitants of the old and new worlds, every thing w r as conducted amicably, and to their mutual satisfaction. The former, enlightened and am bitious, formed already vast ideas with respect to the advantages \vhich they might derive from the regions which began to open to their view. The latter, simple and undiscerning, had no foresight of the calamities and deso lation which were approaching their country. Columbus, who now assumed the title and authority of admiral and viceroy, called the island which he* discovered San Salvador. It is better known by the name of Guanahani, which the natives gave it, and is one of that large cluster of islands called the Lucaya or Bahama Isles. Thus Columbus, by his superior sagacity and fortitude had conducted the Span iards, by a rout concealed from past ages, to the know ledge of the new world. No event ever proved so interest ing to mankind in general, and to the inhabitants of 72 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA- Europe in particular, as the discovery of America and the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope : it at once gave rise to a revolution in the commerce and in the power of nations, as well as in the manners, industry, and gov ernment of almost the whole world. At this period new connexions were formed by the inhabitants of the most distant regions, for the supply of wants they had never be fore experienced. The production of climates situated under the equator were consumed in countries bordering on the pole; the industry of the north was transplanted to the south ; and the inhabitants of the west were clothed with the the manufactures of the east ; in short, a general intercourse of opinions, laws, and customs, diseases and remedies, virtues and vices, were established among them. Such is a brief account of the discovery of America by Columbus ; and with respect to the voyage itself and what relates to the famous navigator and his vicissitudes of for tune at the court of Spain, we have chiefly followed Winterbotham, frequently verbatim. ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS HAVING given an account of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, we shall now proceed to ac count for the peopling of this continent. When America was discovered, it was found habited by a race of people, no less different from the inhabitants of Europe, Africa, and the greater part of Asia, than the climate and natural productions of the new world are different from those of the old. To trace the descent of the red men who are melting, as was said by one of their most celebrated war riors,* " like snow before the sun/'' and perpetuate their national character on the page of history, before they totally disappear as a portion of the human race, will, we have no doubt, be no less gratifying to the scientific than to the curious. In perambulating, this labyrinth of obscurity and antiquity, no safer guide can be offered us, than a portrait of the characteristical features of the In dians, which, when compared with the national charac ter of some Asiatic tribes, will, by the resemblance which, * The noted Miami chief Mishikinakwa, or Little Turtle, who con tributed most to the defeat of St. Clair. 7 74 ORIGIN OF THE in their manners, habits, and customs, they bear to each other, lead us to the original scource whence sprang the North American Indians. The European colonies in America have now become too numerous and too power ful to fear- the effects of savage barbarity, and when fear ceases, contempt is the natural consequence. While the Indians are thus despised and forgotten as the original proprietors of this vast continent, which has served as a refuge to the oppressed inhabitants of Europe, in general they are by many deemed unworthy the attention of the antiquary. The Indians, it is true, cannot be classed among civilized nations, who cultivated the arts, agricul ture, and commerce ; still, leading a barbarous life as they did, it cannot be denied but that the lofty notions of hon our and independence, with which the minds of some Indian tribes were imbued and urged them to deeds of admirable heroism and striking generosity, is a proof of elevation of mind and refinement of sentiment ; qualities, perhaps, which are seldom to be found among those who charge the Indians with an inferiority of species. The greatest part of them had truly a nobleness and an equal ity of soul, which we seldom attain, with all the helps we can obtain from philosophy and religion. They were always masters of themselves, in the most sudden mis fortunes, arid the least alteration could not be perceived in their countenances. A prisoner who knew in what his captivity would end, or what, perhaps, is more sur prising, who was uncertain of his fate, did not lose on this account a quarter of an hour's sleep; even the first emotions did not find them at a fault. It is no less astonishing to see men whose whole out ward appearance proclaimed nothing but barbarity, be have to each other with such kindness and regard, that are not perhaps to be experienced among" the most civi lized nations. This doubtless proceeded in some measure from the words mine and thine being as yet unknown to those savages. Those cold words, as St. Chrysostom calls them, which, extinguishing in our hearts the fire of NORTH -AMERICAN INDIANS. 75 charity, light np that of covetousness. We are equally charmed with that natural and unaffected gravity which reigned in all their behaviour, in all their actions, in the greatest part of their diversions, as likewise with the civility and deference they showed to their equals, and the respect of the young pfople to the aged ; and, lastly, to see that they never quarrelled among themselves with those indecent expressions, and the oaths and curses so common among the whites. All these are proofs of good sense and a great command of temper. The Indians have been frequently misrepresented by writers, who have been either prejudiced against them from some impure motives, or who had been too tran siently resident amongst them, to ascertain with any ac curacy the real character of the Indians ; for the Indians are not communicative in relation to their national peculi arities, or original descent. It requires, therefore, a good deal of familiar, attentive, and unsuspecting observation to obtain any knowledge respecting them, as they have neither records nor oral tradition to throw any degree of satisfactory light on their character and descent. The speculative opinions of several historians who wrote concerning the 'religion of the Indian tribes of America, and the question, whence America might have been peopled, led to many misrepresentations of the re ligious rites, language, and customs of its original inhab itants. They discovered affinities which existed no where, but in the fanciful invention of the discoverers. Gomara, Lerius, and Lescarbot inferred, from some re semblance of this kind, that America had been peopled by the Canaanites, when they were expelled by Joshua. The celebrated Grotius, adopting the opinion of Martyr, imagined that Yucatan, a province of New Spain, was first colonized by the Ethiopians, and that those Ethio pians were Christians. The human mind derives plea sure from paradox, for the same reason that it delights in wit. Both produce new and surprising combinations ef thought, and the judgment being overpowered by the 76 ORIGIN OF THE fervours of imagination, becomes for a time insensible to their extravagance. The opinion extensively prevails, that the North American Indians are descendants of the tribes of Israel. This so possessed the mind of Adair, that, although he had the greatest opportunity of obtaining knowledge, his book is comparatively of little use. We are constantly led to suspect the fidelity of his statements, because his judgment had lost its equipoise, and he saw every thing through a discoloured medium. It is impossible for the religious man not to take partic ular interest in the history of the Hebrews ; and while he reads of the extermination of the kingdom of Israel, when the blindfolded tribes were torn from the land of their prerogative, his soul must be filled with compas sion for their misfortunes. Their subsequent history is attended with such impenetrable darkness, that this sentiment of compassion naturally combines with curios ity, to penetrate even the forests of the western continent, in order to identify the lost tribes of Israel. This has ac tually been the case, for the idea of tracing to America the long lost tribes of Israel rose before the imagination f many with captivating splendour. In the establish ment however of this theory, the judgments of those who endeavoured to make researches this way were so much perverted, that resemblances were imagined which had no existence in reality.* The affinity, it is true, of languages tends in some measure to point out the connexion of nations ; but this depends on the high or low degree of similarity which we find when we collate the one lan guage with the other. In the Celtic language, for ex ample, we find several words which bear so radical re semblance to the Indian, especially to that language which is spoken by the Algonquins : but hence, it would not be reasonable to conclude a consanguinity between the Irish and the North American Indians. It is, there- * See Jarvis On the Religion of the Indians. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 77 fore, on the resemblance which a few words in the lan guages of the Indians of North America bear to the He brew, that some authors have contended with a great deal of confidence, that the lost tribes of Israel are the red men of North America. On the continent of America three radical languages are spoken by the Indians, exclusive of the Karalit or Esquimeaux. Mr. Hecke welder denominates them the Iroquois, the Lenape, and the Florid ian ; the Iroquois is spoken by the six nations, the Wyandots or Hurons, the Naudowessies, the Assiniboils, and other tribes beyond the St. Lawrence. The Lenape, which is the most widely extended lan guage on this side of the Mississippi, was spoken by the tribes now extinct, who formerly inhabited Nova Scotia and the present State of Maine, the Abenakis, Micmacs, Cannibas, Openangos, Soccokis, Etchemiris, and Souri- . quois ; dialects of it are now spoken by the Minmis, the Potanotamies, Mississagoos, and Kickapoos, the Cones- togos, Nariticokos,.Sriawanese, and Mohicans, the Algon- quins, the Knistewans, and Chippeways. The Floridian includes the languages of the Creeks or Muscohgees, Chickesaas, Choctaws, Pascagoulas, the Cherokees, Se- mlnoles, and several others in the southern parts of Flo rida. These three languages are primitive, that is to say, are so distantly related, as to have no perceivable affinity. . Seeing therefore that there are three primitive lan guages spoken by the North American Indians, which have no radical connexion the one with the other, it would be absurd to countenance for a moment the asser tion, that the red men of America are the lost tribes of Israel, without having a better proof than a similarity, as we have already mentioned, between a few Indian and Hebrew words. The distant relation itself between these three primitive languages of America is enough to over throw the argument ; for, if the Indians are the descen dants of the Hebrews, it would certainly follow that al most all the dialects, especially the three primitive Ian- 78 ORIGIN OF THE guages, would not only bear a most striking resemblance to the Hebrew, but would also be more nearly allied among themselves. Besides there is one striking peculi arity in the construction of American languages, which has no counterpart in the Hebrew. Instead of the ordi nary division of genders, they divide them into animate and inanimate. But this is not the only instance, in which the He brew and the Indian languages differ in their idioms. To enumerate, however, all the idiomatical discordances of the Indian and Hebrew languages, will not be neces sary on the present occasion, as- we shall prove in the following pages, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the Indians are descended from a different source. Those, therefore, who con tend from merely a slight affinity of languages, that they have discovered the long lost tribes of Israel on the western continent, might as well say that the Arabians and Abyssinians are the lost tribes of Israel, for their languages have a very strong affinity with the Hebrew. Were we even to allow the affinity of lan guages in its fullest extent, the only legitimate inference would be, that the languages of America are of Oriental origin, and consequently that America was peopled from Asia. But the affinity between the Hebrew and the Indian languages of America, is so slight and imperceptible that we could scarcely be induced, on this ground alone, to believe even the Asiatic origin of the North American Indians. However much the language of the primitive inhabitants of the western continent became altered by the revolutions, which are incident to communities and na^ tions, it is not to be presumed, that the original language was totally extinguished ; some vestiges would still re main, as a monument of its original descent. Pere Leveque, who paid the strictest attention to the national peculiarities of all the tribes of North American Indians, among whom he had a chance to dwell during his mis sionary travels in North America, has given us much NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 79 useful information respecting the early condition of the Aborigines of this country. Although his researches are neither so extensive nor so valuable as those of Charlevoix his countrymen, still, it would appear that his travels were not at all confined to the French Colony, as was generally the case with the missionaries of Canada.' While he describes the red man in his original state as minutely and as correctly as any other who had gone be fore him or come after him, his judgment inclines neither to the right, nor to the left, as he had but one object in view, which was a fair and an honest statement of facts, as may easily be seen from his candour and impartiality without the slightest prejudice, either for or against the race of people whose characteristic he endeavours to de lineate. " Nothing can be more absurd,"* says our author, li than to believe for a moment, that the western continent had been peopled by the lost tribes of Israel, or at least that the present Indians- of America are the lost Israelites. Adair, as every person knows, has ^assumed an extraordi nary and singular position on this subject, while he finds, or rather pretends to find, .an affinity between the Jews and the American Indians, in all those respects which can be called national. This author is said to have lived forty years among the Aborigines of the country, which may be true for all we know, but it is certainly true, that few or none have gone before, or come after him, who witnessed what he witnessed, or viewed the Indians as he viewed them. In this assertion, all those who are in the least acquainted with the manners and customs of the red men, will, no doubt, concur with me. Is it not strange, that, after discovering the Mosaic law, or at least the leading statutes of it, he had not also observed a Sy nagogue ! If he had at once the audacity to tell us that he was in the habit of attending Divine Worship with * Pere Leveque sur 1'origine des Aborigenes du nouveau monde, p. 58. 80 ORIGIN OF THE them on the Sabbath day, who could dare deny but Adair made out his point! notwithstanding this deficiency, our author's book is furnished with sufficent evidence to show, that he is himself a most superficial observer, or a huge impostor. ' 11 ne lui appartcnoit que de con- aaitre la vcrite, et de la dire ; s'il etoit fascine' par V esprit de parti, il ne devenoit que V organe deserreurs? What influenced Adair to lose his equilibrium in weigh ing so unfairly his observations and arguments, we cannot pretend to know. This author, it is true, stands not alone in this theory, but the most of his supporters bear witness to him, on whose system they have generally built their arguments. If Julius Caesar had been a lover of the Jews, or if he felt, in any way, interested in their affairs he could equally well have discovered the lost tribes of Israel among the ancient, Gauls and Britons in his Bel- lum Gallicum. But Caesar was a different historian, not only from Adair. but many others of our own day, whose religion teaches them the profession of truth as this gen eral was, perhaps, one of the most candid and impartial historians that ever wote. With regard, then, more par ticularly to the real origin of the North American Indians. I have only to say, that we must look to the numerous tribes scattered over the dreary regions in the north-east parts of Asia, as their progenitors. And if it be said, that the lost Israelites might have wandered thither, and thence have migrated to America by Beering's Straits, we can reply that the Jewish features, so peculiar to that nation, the Hebrew language, the Jewish religion, and the customs of the Jews have never been traced among the Aborigines of America." Religion, customs, the shape and size of the body, the tinge of skin, and the features of the visage are, as well as language, indicative of the original connexion of nations. ' But in this view also, the relation between the Indians and tribes of Israel, is equally distant, as will be seen when we delineate the red Indian in that original state in which he was found by the first visiters from Europe. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 81 By the discoveries of Captain Cook in his last voyage, it has been established beyond a doubt, that at Kamschatka, in about latitude 66 north, the continents of Asia and America are separated by a strait only eighteen miles wide, and that the inhabitants on each continent are similar, and frequently pass and repass in their canoes, from the one continent to the other. It is also certain, that, during the winter season, Beering's straits are frozen from the one side to the other. Captain Williamson, who was lieutenant to Cook in those voyages, has also as serted that, from, the middle of the channel between Kamschatka and America, he had discovered land on either side. This short distance, therefore, he says, should account for the peopling of America from the north-east parts of Asia. The same author farther as serts, that there is a cluster of islands interspersed be- tvven the two continents ; and that he frequently saw canoes passing from one island to the other. From these circumstances we may fairly conclude that America was peopled from the north-east parts of Asia ; and, during our inquiry, we shall endeavour to *point out facts, which tend to prove the particular tribe in Asia, from whom the North American Indians are directly descended. The Esquimeaux on the coast of Labrador are evidently a separate species of men, distinct from all the nations of the American continent, in language, disposition, and habits of life ; and in all these respects, they bear a near resemblance to the Northern Europeans. Their beards are so thick and large, that it is with difficulty the fea tures of their face can be discovered, while all the other Indian tribes of America are particularly distinguished for the want of beards. The North American Indians re semble each other, not only in mental and bodily frame, but generally in their manners, habits, and customs. The Esquimeaux are a very diminutive race ; but the other tribes are generally tall, athletic, and well propor tioned. It is believed by many that the Esquimeaux In dians emigrated from the north-west parts of Europe. In 82 ORIGIN OF THE this belief we are confirmed from several circumstances. Low stature and long beards are peculiar to some coun tries in the north-west parts of Europe. As early as the ninth century the Norwegians discov ered Greenland, and planted colonies there. The com munication with that country, after a long interruption, was renewed in the twelfth century. Some missionaries, prompted by zeal for propagating the Christian faith, ven tured to settle in this frozen region. From them we have learned that the north-west coast of Greenland is separa ted from America, but by a very narrow strait, if separa ted at all ; and that the Esquimeaux of America perfect ly resemble the Greenlanders in their aspect, dress, mode of living, and probably language. The following passage, which we have quoted from Senor Juan Perez, will tend in a great measure to identify the Esquimeaux as the descendants of the Greenlanders. Juari Perez, a Spaniard, remained for several years in Greenland and on the coasts of Labrador, as missionary for the propagation of the Christian religion : " Los nativos de Greenland y los Indies de Labrador parecen los mismos. La identidad no consiste solamente en la forma de las personas, que no exceden cinco pies de altura, mas tambien en la complexion, que es el color amaril lo. Los Indies de Labrador y los nati vos de Green land son carianchos. romos, bezudos, y tengon losojos y los cabellos negros. La lengua de los Esquimeaux no es que un dialecto de aquella que se hablaen Greenland. Esta lengua abunda en largas pplisilabas. Las canoas de los dos pueblos son construidas de la misma manera. Adoran ambos al Grande Espiritu con otros inferioresque residen en todas partes. De estas y otras coincidencias que no es posible numener al presente, son convericido que la tierra de Labrador habia sido problada por los nativos de Greenland, antes del arribo de otras naciones." The inhabitants of Greenland, says Juan Perez, have a striking resemblance to the Esquimeaux, not only in person, which seldom exceed five feet, but in complex- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 83 ion, which is yellow. The Esquimeaux and the inhab itants of Greenland have broad faces, flat noses, thick lips, with black eyes and hair. The language of the Esqui-. meaux is no other than a dialect of that language which is spoken in Greenland, abounding in polysyllables of great length. The canoe used by the Esquimeaux are exactly built of the same materials, and in the same form as those of the Greenlanders. Both these people have their Great Spirit, as well as several other inferior ones, residing, according to their belief, in every part of the country. From these and other circumstances, continues Juan Perez, I am convinced that the Esquimeaux are the descendants of the Greenlanders. The coasts of Labrador, on the Atlantic, are inhabited by tribes of those people, who have been called Esqui meaux. This name has been given them by the tribes of American Indians, from whom they seem to be a peo ple entirely different. The name signifies eaters of raw flesh, which the Esquimeaux are observed to do frequent ly. These tribes are said to be distinguished from the other American Indians by many characteristics. Their colour is not that of copper, but the tawny brown which distinguishes the inhabitants of the more nothern parts of Europe : they all have beards, and some of them have been observed with hair of different colours, some fair and others red. These marks by which they are so evi dently distinguished from the American Indians, have in clined several philosophers to believe that they are of European descent; their colour is similar to that of the inhabitants of the north of Europe. Their red and fair hair, found in the north of Europe, more frequently than, in any other part of the world ; but, above all, their lan guage, which is said to be a dialect of that spoken in East Greenland, the inhabitants of which are believed to have emigrated from Europe, seem to give this conjecture a considerable appearance of probability ; besides, their re ligious notions are exactly the same as those of the Green- landers. On the whole, it appears rational to believe, ORIGIN OF THE that the progenitors of all the American nations from Cape Horn to the southern limits of Labrador, from the similarity of their aspect, colour, language, and customs, migrated from the north-east parts of Asia ; and that the nations that inhabit Labrador, Esquimeaux, and the parts adjacent, from their unlikeness to the rest of the Ameri cans, and their resemblance to the northern Europeans, came over from the north-west parts of Europe. Such are the most rational conjectures which we have been able to form respecting the origin of the Esqui meaux, who are evidently a different race from all the other North American Indians. It remains now to trace the descent of these other tribes, who are scattered over that country which extends from Cape Horn to the south ern limits of Labrador. We shall here quote the folio wing passage from Brere- wood, a very learned author, who paid much attention to the present subject, and lived in the time of Q,ueen Eliza beth. " It is very likely that America received her first in habitants from the east border of Asia; so it is altogeth er unlike that it received them from any othor part of all that border, save from Tartary. Because, in America there is not to be discerned any token or indication at all of the arts or industry of China, or India, or Cataia, or any other civil region, along all'that border of Asia : but, in their gross ignorance of letters and of arts, in their idolatry, and the specialities of it, in their incivility, and many barbarous properties, they resemble the old and rude Tartars above all the nations of the earth. Which opinion of mine, touching the Americans descending from the Tartars, rather than from any other nation in that border of Asia, after the near vicinity of Asia to America, this reason, above all others, may best establish and per suade ; because it is certain, that that north-east part of Asia possessed by the Tartars, is, if not continent with the west side of America, which yet remaineth somewhat doubtful, certainly, and without all doubt, the least dis- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 8& joined by sea, of all that coast of Asia, for that those parts of Asia' and America are continent the one with the other, or, at most, disjoined but by some narrow channel of the ocean, the ravenous and harmful beasts, wherewith America is stored, as Bears, Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Foxes, &c. (which, then, as is likely, men would never to their own harm transport out of the one continent to the other) may import. For from Noah's ark, which rested after the deluge, in Asia, all those beasts must of necessity fetch their beginning, seeing they would not proceed by the course of nature, as the imperfect sort of living creatures do, of putrefaction : or if they might have putrefaction for their parentage, or receive their original by any other sort of generation of the earth, without a special procreation of their own kind, then I see no ne cessity why they should, by God's special appointment, be so carefully preserved in Noah's ark (as they were) in time of the deluge. Wherefore, seeing it is certain, that those ravenous beasts of America, are the progeny of those of the same kind in Asia, and that men, as is likely, con veyed them not (to their own prejudice) from 'the one continent to the other, it carrieth a great likelihood and appearance of truth, that if they join not together, yet are they near neighbours, and but little disjoined the one from the other, for even to this day, in the isles of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Burichena, and all the rest, which are so far removed from the firm land, that these beasts cannot swim from it to them, the Spaniards record, that none of these are found."* The potrait painter, Mr. Smibert, who accompanied Dr. Berkeley, then Dean of Derry, and afterwards Bish op of Cloyne, from Italy to America in 1728, was employ ed by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, while at Florence, to paint two or three Siberian Tartars, presented to the Duke by the Czar of Russia. This Mr. Smibert, upon his landing at Narraganset Bay with Dr. Berkeley, in- * Brerewood's Enquiries, p. 117, 118. 8 86 ORIGIN OF THE stantly recognized the Indians here to be the same people as the Siberian Tartars whose pictures he had taken.* The learned traveller Mr. John Bell of Antermony makes the following observation. " Prom all the accounts I have heard and read of the natives of Canada, there is no nation in the world which they so much resemble as the Tongusians. The distance between them is not so great as is commonly imagined." Great question, says Mr. Jefferson, has arisen whence came those aboriginal inhabitants of America. Discover ies, long ago made, were sufficient to show that a passage from Europe to America was always practicable, even to the imperfect navigation of ancient times. In going from Norway to Iceland, from Iceland to Greenland, from Greenland to Labrador, the first traject is the widest ; and this having been practised from the earliest times of which we have any account of that part of the earth, it is not diffi cult to suppose that the subsequent trajects may have been sometimes passed. Again the late discoveries by Captain Cook, coasting from Kamschatka to California, have pro ved that, if the two continents of Asia and America be separated at all, it is only by a narrow strait. So that from this side also, inhabitants may have passed into America; and the resemblance between the Indians of America and the eastern inhabitants of Asia, would in duce us to conjecture, that the former are the descend ants of the latter, or the latter of the former ; excepting indeed the Esquimeaux, who, from the same circum stance of resemblance, and from the identity of language, must be derived from the Greenlanders, and these pro bably from some of the nothern parts of the old conti nent." Dr. Swinton in his learned contributions to ancient universal history, after having examined the theory by * " The United States elevated to Glory and Honour." A Sermon preaehed before his excellency Jonathan Trumbull, Esq. L. L. D. &c. fee. By Ezra Stiles, D. D. L. L. D., President of Yale College, p. 16 md 17. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 87 which the Phenicians are supposed to have been the first colony that peopled America, observes. " that, therefore the Americans, in general, were descended from some people, who inhabited a country not so far distant from them as Egypt and Phenicia, onr readers will, as we ap prehend, readily admit. Now, no country can be pitch ed upon so proper and convenient for this purpose as the north eastern part of Asia, particularly great Tartary, Siberia, and more especially the Peninsula of Kam- schatka. That probably was the tract through which many Tartarian colonies passed into America and peo- pled'the most considerable part of the New World." The most unequivocal mode, therefore, as we have al ready said, of throwing any satisfactory light on this ob scure subject, is to compare the personal appearance, reli gion, and the manners, habits, and customs of Indians, with those of Asiatic nations ; and when we find a stri king similarity between them, we may fairly conclude that the North American Indians are connected with them, and that they are the descendants of those to whom they bear the greatest resemblance. PERSONS, FEATURES, AND COLOUR OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. The North American Indians have a striking simi larity in their external appearance. Their bodies though slight, are strong, tall, and straight, but this strength is ra ther suited to endure the exercise of the chase, than hard labour, by which they are soon consumed. In some na tions it is riot uncommon to see the middle stature; the smallest degree of deformity, however, is rarely seen among any of them. The strength of their bodies, the extraordinary suppleness of thei/ limbs, and the height which they attain may fairly be attributed to liberty and 88 ORIGIN OF THE exercise to which the children are accustomed from their earliest youth. There is also a conformation of features as well as person, which, more or less characterises them all. The face is round, and farther removed than that of any other people from an oval shape. Theireheek-bones are a little raised, for this peculiarity the men are more distinguish ed than the women. Their forehead is small : the extre mity of the ears far from the face ; their lips thick ; their noses are generally broad, with wide nostrils ; their eyes are black, or of a chestnut colour, small, but capable ot discerning objects at a great distance ; their hair is thick and strong, without any tendency to curl ; their ears large ; their legs well formed, and the feet small. They have little or no beards on the face, which is not a natu ral deficiency, as some travellers have asserted but an artificial deprivation, for they carefully eradicate the hair from every part of the body, except the head, and they confined that ; in ancient times, to a tuft on the top. One great peculiarity in the native Americans is their colour, and the identity of it throughout the whole ex tent of the continent, except the coasts of Labrador, as we have already mentioned. Their colour is that of copper; a colour which, as has been frequently observed, is pecu liar to the Americans. " They are all," says Chevalier Pinto, " of a copper colour, with some diversity of shade, not in proportion to their distance from the equator, but according to the degree of the elevation of the country in which they reside. Those who live in a high country are fairer than those in the marshy low lands on the coast." It is said, however, and it is probable enough, that two small tribes have been lately discovered in Mexico, who differ considerably from all the other In dian nations in colour and mode of living. We there fore, quote the following article from the Western Dem ocrat : "It is a fact not generally known, that there do exist in the far west at least two small tribes or bands of white NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 89 people. One of these bands is called Mawkeys. They reside in Mexico on the south-west side of the rocky mountains, and between 300 and 500 miles from Santa Fe, towards California, and in a valley which makes a deep notch into the mountain, surrounded by high and impassible ridges, and which can only be entered by a narrow pass from the south-west. They are represented by trappers and hunters of the west, known to th'e writer of this to be men of veracity, as an innocent and inoffen sive people, who live by agriculture, while they also raise a great number of horses and mules, both of which are used by them for food. They cultivate maize, pump kins, and beans in large quantities. These people are frequently depredated upon by their more warlike red neighbours, to whom they submit without resorting to deadly weapons in order to repel them. Not far distant from the Mawkeys, and in the same range of country, is another band of the same description, called Nabbehoes, a description of either of these tribes will answer for both. They have been described to the writer by two men in whose veracity the fullestconfidence may be pla ced : they say the men are of the common stature, with light flaxen hair, light blue eyes, and that their skin is of the most delicate whiteness. One of my informants, who saw seven of these people at Santa Fe in 1830, in describing the Mawkeys says, * they are as much whiter than I am whiter than the darkest Indian in the Creek nation,' and my informant was of as orood a complexion as white men generally are. A trapper on one occasion in a wandering excursion, arrived at a village of the Mawkeys. He was armed with a rifle, a pair of belt pis tols, knife and tomahawk ; all of which were new to them, and appeared to excite their wonder and surprise. After conversing sonic lime by signs, he fired one of the pistols, when the whole group around him instantly fell to the ground in ihe utmost consternation. They entreated lum not to hurt them, and showed in various ways that 8* 90 ORIGIN OF THE they thought him a supernatural being 1 . He saw vast number of horses and mules about the village." Being fully convinced that America as well as the old continent had been peopled by different races, and at different times, we hesitate not a moment to believe that tribes of this description exist in the west ; neither do we doubt but several more could be discovered who would exhibit a higher degree of civilization, than has been wit nessed among the red Indians. Asia, no doubt, contri buted at different periods to the peopling of America with tribes of different degrees of civilization. The Tartars, Siberians and Kamschadales ; are of all the Asiatic nations with whom travellers are acquainted, those who bear the greatest resemblance to the North American Indians, not only in their manners and customs, but also in their fea tures and complexion. The Tartars have always been known as a race whose disposition led them to rove and wander in quest of conquest and plunder. While the present Indians can be identified as the descendants of the Tartars or Siberians, and when it can be proved be yond a doubt that America was inhabited by a more civi lized people than the present, it may fairly be conjectured that the original and more civilized inhabitants were ex terminated by some great revolution, which had, very probably, been effected by a Tartar invasion, similar to that which under Gengis Khan devastated the Chinese empire, and to that also which overwhelmed the Roman empire. But as we shall hereafter have a more favour able opportunity of discussing this subject in its proper place, we shall now pass over into Asia, in order to show how far the persons, features, and complexion of some Asiatic tribes coincide with those of the North American Indians. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 91 PERSONS, FEATURES, AND COMPLEXION OF THE TONGUSI OF SIBERIA, IN ASIA. " I Tongusi," says the learned Padre Santini, a native of Italy, and a missionary in Chinese Tartary and Siberia, " sorio generalmente, alti, fortiflessibili eben stretti; cor- rono con tanta velocita, che li ho veduto sovente volte sopragiungere i piu veloci animali della foresta. La cor- pulenza e la deformita di porsona sono vizii, che si vedo- no rarissime volte fra questa gente. perche dalla loro gio- ventu si avvezzano alia caccia e alia guerra." Here we are told by Santini, that the Tongusi are gene rally tall, athletic, and straight; that they run with such velocity that he frequently saw them overtake the swift est animal in the forest. Corpulency and deformity of person, he says, are blemishes which are seldom seen among them, because from their youth they are trained to the chase and war. In speaking of the Coriacks and Kamschadales, Santini gives us the following description : "I Coriacki di Siberia, I Tongusi e i Kamschadali han- no, mi sembra, la medesima origine ; poiche, sebbene le loro lingue nori sono simili intieramente, nulladimeno hanno un legamento radicale, che e si chiara, che bisogna chetutte le tre siano stato le figlie della medesima madre. La somiglianza della figura del eorpo e della fatezza del viso, e tanto evidente, che 1'identita di stirpe non si puo dubitare, come si vedra adesso. II viso .e rotundo, le mascelle alzate, i labri grassi, gli occhi picoli e neri, la fronte non e grande; 1'orechi son grandi, i denti bianchi e i capelli son neri. Gli Indiani dell' America setten- trionale, che aveva veduto a Q,uebec 1'anno 1748 sono della stessa stirpe perche hanno il medesimo colore, viso e iloro costumi, lingua ereligione sono assai somigliantL" The Coriacks, Tongusi, and Kamschadales, says San tini, it seems to me, have had the same origin ; for, al- 92 ORJGIN OF THE though their languages are not altogether the same, still their connexion is so radical that they must be mediately or immediately, the daughters of the same mother. The similarity of person and visage is so striking, that the identity of person cannot be doubted. Their faces are round, the cheek bones high, the lips thick, the eyes small and black, the forehead small, the ears large, the teeth white, and the hair black. The Indians of North America, (the same author con tinues), whom I saw at Quebec in 1748, must be of the same origin as the Asiatic tribes I have now described : they have the same complexion and visage; and their customs, religion, and language are also very similar. Of this resemblance in external appearance we are ful ly convinced ; for, in 1826, two young princes of the Tongusi tribe were taken to Rome by two Jesuits, who had converted them to the Christian faith in their native country. Their complexion, we must acknowledge, was fairer than that of the Indians, but, in every other respect, there Was a singular coincidence. The diligent antiqua ry, Count Rosetti, who travelled, some years since, in the United States, was so perfectly satisfied with their identity, that he published, on the arrival of the young princes at Rome, an able article for the Society of Anti quaries, proving the Asiatic origin of the North American Indians. To confirm his assertions, he brought before the Society of Antiquaries the two Asiatic princes and an Indian who had accompanied him from America to Italy. During this inquiry, some of the most literary men in Italy were present, and among them we observed two or three foreign ambassadors. The sameness of people was at once acknowledged by the society, not only on account of their similarity in external appearance, but the affinity of languages, and the agreement of manners, habits, and customs, as was satisfactorily proved from the researches of Count Rosetti, and the Jesuit missionaries who had ar rived in Italy from Siberia in Asia. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 93 PARTICULARITIES OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGES. Although it is generally allowed that all the dialects which are spoken in North America, are derived from the three primitive languages which we mentioned above, still it does not follow that these three are original, or of the first institution of languages. The discourse of the Indian is so marked with those figurative expressions, for which some languages spoken in the north-east parts of Asia are particularly noted. Upon this ground alone some persons stood forward to derive the origin of the North American Indians from Asia, and this clue should be sufficient without any other proof to satisfy the philo sophic mind, in the absence of a surer guide. The Hu ron language has a copiousness, an energy, and a sublim ity perhaps not to be found united in any of the finest languages that we know. It has frequently been asser ted, that those, whose native tongue it is, are endowed with an elevation of soul, which agrees with the majesty of their language. Some have fancied they found in it some similitude with the Hebrew : others have said that it had the same origin as the Greek ; but nothing could be more trifling than the proofs they bring forward. Gabriel Saghard imagined he had made wonderful dis coveries in his vocabulary ; James Cartier and Baron de la Hontan were equally enthusiastic in their researches. These three authors took at random some terms, some of which were Huron and others Algonquin, signifying quite different from what they asserted. They pretended from a similarity of sound in a few words, to have dis- coverecl a radical connexion between the Indian languages and the Hebrew. The Algonquin language has not so much force as the Huron^ but it has more sweetness and elegance, and may with great propriety be denominated the Italian of the western continent ; for it abounds with vowels, which renders it soft, musical, and harmonious. Both M4, ORIGIN OF THE the Algonquin and the Huron have a richness of expres sion, a variety of turns, a propriety of terms, and a regu larity which seldom prevails in some of the more cultiva ted languages of Europe. In the Huron all is conjugated ; a certain device, which cannot be well explained, distinguishes the verbs, the nouns, the pronouns, the adverbs, &c. The simple verbs have a double conjugation, one absolute, and the other reciprocal : the third persons have the two genders, for there are but two in these languages ; that is to say, the noble and the ignoble gender. As to the number and tenses, they have the same differences, as the Greek and some languages spoken in the north-east of Asia; for instance, to relate travels, they express themselves differ ently according as it was by land or water. The verbs active multiply as often as there are things^ which fall under action j as the verb which signifies to eat vanes as there are things to eat. The action is expressed differ ently in respect to any thing that has life, and an inani mate thing : thus, to see a 'man, and to see a stone, are two different verbs ; to make use of a thing that belongs to him who uses it, or to him to whom we speak, are also two different verbs. It may be said, and it is certainly true, that these lan guages from their richness and variety are attended with considerable difficuly in learning them, and it is no less certain that their poverty and barrenness, on the other hand, render them equally so. When we speak of their poverty and barrenness, we must not be understood as alluding to the sterility of the languages ; for the richness or poverty of a language depends on the knowledge or ig norance of the people who speak it. The Indians, for in stance, seldom gave names to things which they did not use, or which did not fall under their senses, so that when Europeans conversed with them on subjects with which they were unacquainted, they were naturally in want of terms to express their ideas. Even the refined languages of Greece and Rome, when we speak of modern inven- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 95 tions and things which were not known in ancient times, are labouring under the same disadvantage ; still they are 11 not to be pronounced as barren, for it is not to be expect ed that man is to give names to things which he neither saw nor heard. In sneaking to an Indian in his savage state, concerning religious worship, Heaven and the Deity ; about virtues, vices, and the cultivation of the arts, or other subjects of our common conversation, nothing could be expected but confused ideas and such a ;i vacuity in his language as would require circumlocutions in order to throw any information within the compass of his understanding. Such, then, is the barrenness of the Indian languages, but as far as they have been cultivated, they are found to be not only rich in expressions but full of harmony and melody. Travellers have differed in giving names to the three primitive languages which are spoken in North America ; they generally go, however, under the names of the Siouxs, the Huron and the Al gonquin. That of the Hurons is more copious and better cultivated than those spoken by the Algonquins and Siouxs, by reason of their having attained a higher de gree of civilization ; for the Hurons have always applied themselves, more than any other tribe, to the cultivation of the land. They have also extended themselves much less, which has produced two effects. In the first place, they are better settled, better lodged, and better fortified. Under these circumstances they could more easily culti vate the arts, and form, fixed rules for their govern ment. These would inevitably be the means of supplying their language with terms which, otherwise, would never have been introduced. In the second place, tfiey became more industrious, more dexterous in managing their affairs ; these improvements cannot be attributed but to a spirit of society, which they have preserved better than others. Notwithstanding the difference which evidently exists between these three primitive languages, it cannot be denied that a radical connexion exists, which is not 96 OillGIN OF THE easily perceived but by those who are well versed in them. Although we are fully satisfied from several other cir- circumstances, as well as the affinity of languages, that the North American Indians are descended from the north-east parts of Asia, still we do not at all imagine that they are descendants of one and the same Asiatic tribe who spoke the same language. It may appear singular that there should exist such a dissimilarity in the lan guages which the north-east Asiatics carried with them to America; but the surprise will at once vanish when we consider that the north-east parts of Asia had been peopled by different races of men from different parts of Asia. The Highlanders of Scotland, it is well known, are of a different origin with their more southern neigh bours ; and their language, which is likewise radically different, they have preserved in its purity, notwithstand ing their union by local situation and intermarriages. In every part of the new world where these Highlanders have made settlements, the Gaelic is spoken as purely al most as it came from the lips of Ossian ; under similar circumstances, therefore, the Indians have been able to retain the languages of their respective progenitors. The same can be said of the Irish, Germans, and Dutch who have emigrated to America. It is not then to be wonder ed at, that there should exist among the Indians three primitive languages, which are very distantly connected, although they all came latterly from the north-east parts of Asia. Here we may quote the following from the learned re searches of Mr. Du Ponceau, who, in speaking of the In dian languages, says ; " If I have shown it to be, at least, sufficiently probable, that Poly synthetic forms are the general characteristic of the American Indian languages, I need only refer to Mr. Heckewelder's correspondence, to prove that those forms, as exemplified by him in the Delaware, are such as I have described them ; that they are rich, copious, expressive, and, particularly, that the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 97 greatest order, method, and analogy reign through them, To endeavour to give better proof of this fact, than those which that learned gentleman has given, would be a waste of labour and time. Indeed from the view which he offers of the Lenni-Lenape idiom, it would rather ap pear to have been formed by philsophers in their closets, than by savages in the wilderness. If it should be asked how this can have happened, I can only answer, that I have been ordered to collect and ascertain facts, not to build theories. There remains a great deal yet to be as certained, before we can venture to search into remote causes." With regard to the Polysynthetic form or construction, the same author thus explains it. " The Polysynthetic construction is that in which the greatest number of ideas are comprised in the least num ber of words. This is done principally in two ways. 1. By a mode of compounding locutions, which is not con fined to joining words together, as in the Greek, or varying the inflection or termination of a radical word as in most European languages, but by interweaving to gether the most significant sounds or syllables of each single word so as to form a compound that will awaken in the mind at once all the ideas singly expressed by the words from which they are taken. 2. By an analagous combination of the various parts of speech, particularly by means of the verb, so that its various forms and in flections will express not only the principal action, but the greatest possible number of the moral ideas and physical objects connected with it, and will combine itself to the greatest extent with those conceptions which are the sub ject of other parts of speech, and in other languages requi red to be expressed by separate and distinct words. Such I take to be the general character of the Indian languages." These, then, are the declarations of Mr. Du Ponceau concerning the Indian languages. 1st. That the Ameri can languages, in general, are rich in words and in grammatical forms, and that, in their complicated con- 9 98 ORIGIN OF THE struction, the greatest order, method, and regularity pre vail. 2d. That these complicated forms, called by him Polysynthetic, appear to exist in all these languages from Greenland to Cape Horn. 3d. That these forms appear to differ essentially from those of the ancient and modern lan guages of the old hemisphere. PARTICULARITIES OF THE ASIATIC LANGUAGES. Santini, after collating the Indian language with those spoken by the Coriacks and Tongusi, gives us the fol io wing particularities of these Asiatic dialects. "Le lingue che si parlario dai Tongusi e i Coriaki di Siberia, sono priginalmente uscitedalla medesima fonte ; perche, avendo studiato tutte le due, sono capace di ye- dere 1' affinita ; oltrequesto, ho osservato sovente volte che i Tongusi e Coriaki potevano parlare insieme senza alcuna interpretazione ; e ciascheduno parlava nella lingua sua. Q,ueste lingue hanno due generi, uno che si applica all' animante, e un altro all' in an i ma to. I verbi sono senza numero, e si aumeritano secondo la varieta delle cose che si fanno e si vedono. Per esempio, un Coriako non si serve del medesimo verbo, quando vuoi dire che ha veduto un uccello e un albero. Nella medesima ma- niera, si varia il verbo, quarido dice, che ha bevuto dell' acqna o del vino. II medesimo idiomasi puo vederenelle lingue che parlano gli Iridiani Americani. Padre Chia- ratesta, che era restato due anni in Kamschatka, ha detto e non si puo dubitare le sue parole, che quelli dall' altra parte del stretto di Beering, comprendevano la lingua dei Kamschadali, e che si vedevano frequentemente passare e ripassare da un continente all' altro."* The languages which are spoken by the Tougusi and * Libro secondo, cap. settimo. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Coriaks of Siberia, says Santini, have originally sprung from the same fountain. Having studied them both, the affinity appears to me to be very evident. Besides, I frequently observed the Tongusi and th.e Coriaks conver sing together, while each used that language which was spoken in his own country. They could not, certainly, understand each other easily, from the repetitions, ges tures, and circumlocutions which I observed during their conversation. Both languages have two genders : the one is called the noble, and is applied to animate things ; and the other the ignoble, of which gender are inanimate things. The verbs are without number, and are increased according to the variety and quality of the action. For example, a Coriak does not use the same verb, when he says he saw a bird or a tree. In the same manner the Co riaks alter their verb, when they say they drank wine or water. The same idiom, continues Santini, is peculiar to some languages which are spoken by the North Ameri can Indians. Father Chiaratesta, who remained two years in Kamschatka, has said, and his word should not be doubted, that those on the American side of the Straits of Beering understood the language of the Kamschadales, and were seen frequently to pass and repass from the one cpntinent to the other. According to this author, the language of the Kam schadales is not much different from that spoken on the other side of Beering's straits. He alludes to the land ing of Caesar in Britain from Gaul, where the passage be tween Calais and Dover is as wide as that of Beering's straits in one place, and much more difficult to cross, by reason of the cluster of islands that is interspersed in this narrow channel between Asia and America. As Caesar found the ancient Britons to resemble, in a most striking manner, the Gauls whom he had left behind him on the continent, in their dress, language and mode of fighting, so Chiaratesta discovered the Indians of America to be equally similar to the Kamschadales of Asia, in language and dress. " Eadem lingua,'' he says, "/ere utebantur 100 ORIGIN OF THE atque eodem modo fere vestiti, quamobrem dubitari non potest quin propinquitatibus ajjinitatibusque conjunct* sint'''* From this assertion it would appear, that Chia- ratesta feels convinced of the sameness of people, as he observed them use almost the same language, and dress almost in the same manner. These are his very words, and he hesitates not a moment to conclude the Asiatic origin of the North American Indians, especially of those whom he met on crossing the Straits of Beering. We are assured by all those travellers who made any inquiries after the nature and construction of the lan guages or dialects spoken in the regions of the north-east of Asia, that they partake, in an eminent degree, of the idiom of American languages. A most singular coinci dence in the formation of verbs in the Tongusian lan guage is noticed by Abernethy. Nothing can indicate more clearly or more decidedly the connexion of the In dian and Aaiatic dialects than this circumstance. To kill a deer and to kill a bear is expressed by the Tongusi with two different verbs. To eat flesh and to eat fish, just in the same manner as x the American languages vary, is likewise expressed by two different verbs. This cir cumstance alone is sufficient to prove their similarity. We shall now offer the reader a comparative table of the Asiatic and Indian languages, taken chiefly from Dr. Barton, Abernethy, and Santini, where the identity of languages is evident at first sight. * Chiaratesta, De terra incognita, p. 96. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 101 A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE INDIAN AND ASIATIC LANGUAGES. INDIAN. ASIATIC. GOD. Lenni-Lennape, or DelaTcares, Kitschimanitto. Kamschadales, [Kotcham and Kitchi Manoa. Algonquins and Chippewas, Kitchi-maniton, and Manitoa. Onondagas, &c., Nioh. Kikkapoos, Kishek. Narragansets, Kepshuk. Lenni-Lennape, Nooch. Chippewas, noosach, noosah. Pottawatameh, noosah. Miamis, nonsah, nosah. Algonquins, nousce. Naudowessies, otah, ottah. Darien Indians, tautoh. Poconchi, tat. Caraibees, baba. HEAVEN. FATHER. Semoyads, noob and niob. Tartars, Koek. Semoyads, Koosoek. Semoyads, Niysce, neezee. Kamschadales, noeseck. Olonetzi, or Fins, tauto. Wallachians, tat. Tartars on the Jenisea, baba. MOTHER. Lenni-Lennape, Gahowees. Pottawatameh, nanna. Indians of Pennsylvania, ) according to W. Penn. S Darien Indians, nannah. SON. Indians of Penobscot, St. } Johns, and Naragan- > namun. Morduani, dwaee. Tartars of Casan, ana, anawee. Tartars of Orenburg, > Siberia, $ Tartars near Tobolsk, ana. Tooshetti, nana. Pottawatameh, sesah. Miamis, sheemaJi. Narragansets, wasick. Miamis, neeweewah. Pottawattameh, neowah. BROTHER. HUSBAND, WIFE. Semoyads, nioma. Kamasthini, neem. Tongusi, nioman. Tchionski, sezoee. Kamschadales, seezomeh. Semoyads, waesacko. Tchoukti, neeweegan. Semoyads, new. 102 ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN. CHILD. Lenni-Lennape, nitsch, nitschaan. Chippewas, bobeloshin. Piankashaws, pappooz. Narragansets, pappoos. NOSE. Algonkins, yaka. Acadians, chikon. Indians of Penobscot and St. Johns, keetor. EYES. Chilese, ne. FOREHEAD. Indians of Pennsylvania, hakalu. HAIR. Chippewas, lissis, lissey. Tuskaroras, wooaara. MOUTH. Pottawattameh, indoun. Miamis, endonnee. HAND. Lenni-Lennape, nahk. Indians of Pennsylvania, nach. FLESH. Shawnees, ^o^othe. Chippewas, weas. ASIATIC. Macicanni, pucakan. Chilese, moollbuen. Brasilians, tagui. Lenni-Lennape, ktee. Chippewas, michewah. Chippewas, kesis, kischis. Machicanni, keesogh. BLOOD. HEART. SUN. Semoyads, mtschoo. Suanetti, bohsch. Kottowi, poop. Koriaks, keka. Kamschadales, kaikan. Tongusi, kaiton. Tcherkessi, ne. Tooshetti, haka. Koriaks, lisseh. Ostiaks, warras. Koriaks, andoon. Karassini, ende. Akashini, nak. Tongusi, neakka and naila. Ostiaks, wede, wotee. Koriaks, weosi. Tartars, kagan. Koriaks, moollyomool. Dugorri, toog. Taweeguini, keet. Tongusi, michewan. Koriaks, keeaschis. Kamschadales, keosan J.TXCH-lJLl.V-'a.llllAj fl/C'OOVgfl'* JUkCiJLUOV>Xi.C4.UCiJ^O^ fVtxL/Ot*/* Indians of Penobscot and St. Johns, keesoose. Tartars, kooaisch Indians of New England, kesus. Coreans, kaesee Chikasah, hasche. Algonkins* kisis, fccsw. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 103 MOON. Some Indians of North Carolina, keshuse, Indians of Pennsylvania, keshow. New Englanders, kesus. Miamis, kelsoa. Carabies, noonum. Naudowessies, oweeh. Lenni-Lennape, alank. Algonkins, alan, alank. Miamis, alanqua. Shawnees, alaqua. Chippe^was, kimmawan. Shawnees, kimmewane. Algonkins, kimiowan. Lenni-Lennape, tundew. Muskohge, toatka. Brasilians, tata. Chippewas, mittie. Muskoghe, etoh. Cherakee, attoh. Lenni-Lennape, me-kanne Cherakee, keera. Darien Indians, isi. STAR. RAIN. FIRE. WOOD. DOG. THERE. Lenni-Lennape, icka. Lenni-Lennape has also, taUi. Chippewas, woity. ASIATIC. Tongusi, kashoe. Kamschadales, koolsowah. Koriaks, noonoee. Tartars, oee, aee. Kottowi, alagan. Assani, alak. Koriaks, agalan. Kamschadales, lawkwah. Lesghis, kema. Kamschadales, kemasee m Koriaks, komoseh^ Semoyads, tun. Vogouliichi, taoot. Koriaks, tatoeh. Semoyads, meete Koriaks, oottoo. Tartars, otook. Semoyads, kannak. Tchiochonski, koera. Pumyocolli, tzee. Kartalini, ecka, eck. Tongusi, talai. Koriaks, wooateh. The first personal pronoun I, (ego in Latin.) Lenni-Lennape, ni. Chippewas, nee. Miamis, nee. Wyandots, dee. Maudowessies, meoh. Indians of Penobscot & St. Johns, neah.. Kamschadales, rneah Koriaks, neah. Tongutani, nai. Lesghis, dee. Tchonski, mia. Motouri, ne. 114 ORIGIN OF THE These sources of information are certainly worthy of credit ; for they are distinguished as men of the highest veracity, as well as profound judgment and acute imagi nation. It is likewise generally known that no person can contract a greater intimacy with barbarous nations, than missionaries, who, by the dignity of tfceir sacred of fice, the affability of their manners, and their brotherly counsel, have always succeeded in endearing themselves to the rudest of nations. We have the testimony of other travellers, to corroborate the assertions of the learned Santiniand Chiamtesta, while they endeavour to prove a similarity between the Indian languages and those of the Tongusi and Coriaks. Hennepin, who travelled among the Indians of North America, says, that the Huron lan guage partakes in a high degree of the idiom of Asiatic tongues, that it abounds with those figurative expressions, sublimity of thought and sweetness, which are so char acteristic of some Asiatic languages. Abernethy collated two hundred Indian words with the Coriack language, and the identity is so evident that every person who is acquainted with the derivation and formation of lan guages, will at once acknowledge the Asiatic origin of the Indian languages. RELIGION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Among the most savage nations in the world, the opinion prevails, that there are beings superior to them selves, who manage by their power and wisdom, the af fairs of this world. The religion of the Indians is very simple, for it consists of few doctrines and fewer ceremo nies. The Supreme Deity, they call the Great Spirit, whose power they believe to be infinite'; to him they as cribe their victories in the field of battle and their suc cess m /-ho chase. They believe also in an inferior 8pi>Jt -v ';m they consider as a malevolent being and NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 105 the author of all their misfortunes. They more frequent ly adore him, that he may remove the evils by which they are oppressed ; still they are sometimes prompted by gratitude to perform an act of devotion to the Great Spirit, that he may continue his favours. They believe in a future state, where they are to enjoy in a more com plete manner those pleasures in which they have here delighted ; a mild climate, a fertile soil, abounding with game, whose flesh never cloys the appetite, nor surfeits by excess; the intercourse of all their friends and rela tions, in short, all their temporal enjoyments unmixed with any of their troubles. The following concise account of the religion of the In dians as given by Jarvis, according to Charlevoix may not perhaps be unworthy of attention. " But, besides the Supreme Being, they believe in an infinite number of subaltern spirits, who are the objects of worship. These they divide into good and bad. The good spirits are called by the Huron s, Okkis, by the Al- gonquins, Manitous. They suppose them to be the guardians of men, and that each has his tutelary Deity. In fact, every thing in nature has its spirit, though all have not the same rank nor the same influence. The animals they hunt have their spirits. If they do not un derstand any thing, they immediately say, it is a spirit. (f any man performs a remarkable, exploit, his tutelary deity is supposed to be of more than ordinary power. " It is remarkable, however, that these tutelary deities are not supposed to take men under their protection till something has been done to merit their favour. A parent who wishes to obtain a guardian spirit for his child, first blackens his face, and then causes him to fast for several days. During this time it is expected that the spirit will reveal himself in a dream ; and on this account, the child is anxiously examined every morning with regard to the visions of the preceding night. Whatever the child hap pens to dream of most frequently, even if it happens to be the head of a bird, the foot of an animal, or any thing of 106 ORIGIN Ol? THE the most worthless nature, becomes the symbol or figure under which the Okki reveals himself. With this figure, in the conceptions of his votary, the spirit becomes identified ; the image is preserved with the greatest care is the constant companion on all great important occa sions, and the constant object of consultation and wor ship."* As soon as a child is informed what is the nature or form of his protecting deity, he is carefully instructed in the obligations he is under to do him homage to follow his advice communicated in dreams to deserve his fa vours to confide implicitly in his care and to dread the consequences of his displeasure. For this reason, when the Huron or the Iroquois goes to battle, or to the chase, the image of his Okki is as carefully carried with him as his arms. At night each one places his guardian idol on the palisades surrounding the camp, with the face turned from the quarter to which the warriors, or hunters, are about to march. He then prays to it for an hour, as he does also in the morning before he continues his course. This homage performed, he lies down to rest, and sleeps in tranquility, fully persuaded that his spirit will assume the whole duty of keeping guard, and that he has nothing to fear for that day. L'Abbe Perrin tells us that they have also their priests, who are similar to the Druids of the ancients. These pretend to have a more intimate correspondence with the Deity than any other mortal. They are, there fore, held in the highest estimation, because they can either coinciliate the favour of the Great Spirit, or avert the wrath of the malevolent or inferior Deity. The Abbe observes, that as the Indians seldom engage in the solem nities of religion, the priesthood is not a lucrative profess ion ; by professing, however, the gift of prophecy and the science of physic, they are seldom reduced to a state of indigence or want. Whenever the cures, which they * Charlevoix, Journal, &c. let. xxiv. p. 345-6. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 107 prescribe as physicians, prove unsuccessful, they have the policy to ascribe this failure to the Evil Spirit, whose wrath, they say, is implacable from some motives which they are not allowed to divulge. The only valuable part of their skill consists in their knowledge of simples, chiefly salubrious herbs, with which their country abounds. We are told by medical men who stand high in their profession, that these In dian herbists have, to their own knowledge, cured diseases of which they despaired. In administering these medi cines, the Indians are said to use many ceremonies which are ridiculous, and sufficiently mysterious to acquire fame and veneration among the superstitious, especially if the patient recover, but if he die, the Evil Spirit is blamed. The offices of priest, physician, and prophet or conjurer are generally hereditary. This belief is inculcated by those who profess these sciences ; for they impose on the credulity of the people, by telling them, that their families have been particularly pointed out by the Great Spirit, who threatens vengance against those who might intrude on professions so sacred. It has seldom or never been observed by travellers, that the Indians offered human sacrifices to either of the dei ties. It has, however, been frequently asserted, that when an offering was made, it consisted generally of a dog ; and this took place at no other time, except in the times of calamity, scarcity, and sickness. Having pro cured a suitable animal, generally a dog, they tie his mouth, without killing him, and singe him at the fire. They then affix him to a pole with a bundle of beaver skins. When the pole is erected, the priest approaches, addresses the Spirit, deprecates his wrath, and implores a mitigation of their troubles. The tribe at the conclu sion of his speech shout their concurrence. They then leave the dog and the pole, never touching them till they rot and fall. This ridiculous mode of offering a sacrifice was witnessed on many occasions among the Hurons by Hennepin, Perrin, and several other travellers. 108 ORIGIN OF THE The Indians have their God of war also, but this being is no other than the Great Spirit, to whom we have al ready alluded, and who is particularly invoked in their war songs. The Hurons call him Areskoui, and the Iroquois call him Agreskoui. How he is styled in the Algonquin, we have not been able to ascertain. But it is somewhat strange, that Ares in the Greek language is Mars, or the God of war ; from this it would appear that Ares in Greek is the root whence Areskoui of the Hurons, and Agreskoui of the Iroquis must have been derived. * Although we are not warranted from this similarity alone to pronounce an affinity between the Greek and In dian languages, still it appears probable enough that the Greek and Indian terms for the God of war had one common origin, if we allow that the early progenitors of the Greeks and Indians might have been intimately allied at some unknown remote period, previous to the establish ment of colonies in the Grecian isles, and long before the arrival of any Asiatic tribe on the continent of America. If this opinion be well founded, and we do not see how it could be doubted, whatever alterations these languages may have undergone in the course of ages, by the multi plication of ideas, and consequently of words, or by the revolutions which the languages of civilized nations must undergo, it would be very unjust to deny the probability of some affinity between the Greek, Hebrew, and Indian language. After the dispersion of Babel, for instance, they might have set off together in quest of settlements. Notwithstanding this probability, we are far from believe- ing that the Indians areconsanguineously related to those Greeks, whose language rose into a fabric of the most ex- * Chaiievoix, Journal, p. 344. II paroit que dans ces chansons (de guerre) on invoque le Dieu de la guerre que les Hurons appellent ^reskoui } et let Iroquois Agreskoui. Je ne sais pas quel nom on lui donne dans les langues Algonquines. Mais n'est il pas un peu etonnant que dans le mot Grcc Ares qui est le Mars, et le Dieu de la guerre dans tous les pays, ou Fon a suivi la Theologie d' Homere, ou trouve la racine d'ou semblent deriver plusieurs termes de la langue Huronne et Iroquoise qui ont rapport a la guerre ? NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 109 qnisite and astonishing art, or to any of the tribes of Israel whose language was the Hebrgw. Let us now, however, return to the Indian God of war. Before the battle and in the height of the engagement, his name is the v,ar cry ; upon the march also they often repeat it, by way of encour agement to each other, and to implore his assistance. L' Ab be Perrin says, that before an Indian engagement, the war riors raise a most hideous yell, with which they address their God of battles, looking at the same time upwards, as if in the greatest solicitude to behold his mightiness in the heavens. L'Abbe de la Fontaine says, that when they are afraid of being conquered in battle, they senn their supplications also to an Evil Spirit, that he may be pleased to prevent their utter destruction ; this they do with the greatest humility and submission, accompanied with rosolutions and promises never to incur his wrath for the time to come. De la Fontaine admires and eulogizes the sub lime language which they make use of on these solemn occasions : he compares their poetical and martial ideas to the lofty strains of Ossian, the famous bard of the an cient Celts. THE RELIGION OF THE TONGUSI, CORIAKS, AND KAJMSCHADALES. The most barbarous nations in the world believe in the existence of a being who is superior to themselves. Na ture has never failed to indicate to the human mind, the existence of some Deity, who presides over the human race. Although man sees not his superior, yet the vari ous revolutions which he sees take place around him in culcate the idea that there exists a Sovereign Lord, at whose control te world revolves. The Mahometans, who borrowed their religious notions from the Jews and Christians, pretend that they are the 10 110 ORIGIN OF THE great supporters of the doctrine of the unity of the Deity. Under a pretence of improvement, they impeach both the Jew and Christian with a plurality of Deities. But it is well known, that the Jews and Christians make the unity of the Deity a fundamental doctrine of their religion. From these three sects, however, the doctrine of the unity of the Deity has been imparted to almost every nation and tribe with whom we are acquainted. We do not, however, mean to say, that they have been solely the means of propagating this doctrine, for we are no less certain, that several nations with whom we are utterly unacquainted and who never, perhaps, heard of Revela tion, entertain ideas of one Supreme Deity, with many inferior agents, similar to each other. Among those rude nations, the notion of a Supreme Being appear to have arisen from the force of human reason : the idea of his numerous inferior ministers seems to have originated in the imbecility of the human imagination. Notwithstan ding this general belief of the unity of the Deity, which prevails almost every where, however rude the nation may be, every country has its own peculiarities in reli gion, as well as in their language and modes of living. In no part of Asia has the fancy multiplied more infe rior Spirits, than in Hindostan. The spiritual agents of the Deity are there innumerable, and each of them is rep resented under different aspects ; but to enumerate the whole would be impossible and superfluous on the present occasion. From the researches of the most veracious travellers in Asia, we are informed, that of all the Asiatic nations whose religious tenets they could ascertain with any ac curacy, the Tongusi, Coriaks, and Kamschadales re semble most the North American Indians, in their ideas concerning the Deity. " The Tongusi," says Abernethy, "believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, according to whose will they shall either conquer or die. They call him the God of hosts, because on him, they imagine, the fate of their warlike expeditions depend. They worship NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. HI likewise an infernal Demon, whose attributes are wrath and vengeance ; while they invoke him, they ar influen ced solely by fear, lest he may afflict or toment .hem, for they believe that from him all their calamities and mis fortunes proceed. As to a future state, they are as chari table as the Universalist, for they cannot bear to hear of a future state of torments and damnation. On the other hand, they imagine that they are to enjoy all the pleasures after which they aspired in this world. They have their priests, prophets, and physicians : and their sacrifices con sist generally of those brute animals which they consider the greatest favourites of the Evil Spirit, for they seldom supplicate the Great Spirit, except before battle, as they deem hima benevolent Deity, who is disposed to favour, rather than torment them.'' The Coriaks have a God of war, whcse aspect they imagine to be fierce and sour, while terror is in his looks as well as in his dress. This Mars of the Romans, and the Ares of the Greeks, they call Arioski, a name which not only resembles the Ares of the Greeks, but is almost the very same as the Areskoui of the Hurons of America, an appellation which they apply to the same martial Deity. It appears rather singular that the same term for the God of war should be found in the Coriak of Siberia, the Greek and the Huron languages of America. We cannot, however, account for this identity of terms, more reasonably than we have already done. The Greeks cal led him Ares, either from the destruction and slaughter which he caused ; or from the silence which is kept in war, where actions, not words, are necessary. This term may, very probably, have been derived from the Greek verb airein, to take away, or anairein, to kill. But from whatever words this name is deriv< 1, it is certain that those famous names, Areopagus ana Areopagita, are de rived from Ares. The Areopagi/s, that is, the " hill," or " mountain" of Mars, was a plar;e at Athens, according to the Greek mythology, in wh.ch Mars being accused of murder, &c., was forced tr defend himself before 112 ORIGIN OF THE twelve gods, and was acquitted by six voices ; from which time that place became a court wherein were tried capital causes and the things belonging to religion. The Kamschadales, according to Santini, coincide with the Coriaks and Tongusi, almost in every point of reli gion, except the offering of sacrifices. They believe in a Supreme and benevolent Being, whose sole care it is to watch over their interests, provided they do not incur the displeasure of the Evil Spirit, who is always disposed to punish them when they offend him. DRESS AND ORNAMENTS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. It has always been observed that all the various tribes have a close resemblance in their dress ; that of the North American Indians in their original state, consists entirely of furs and hides ; one piece is fastened round the waist, which reaches the middle of the thigh, and another larger piece is thrown over the shoulders. Their stock ings are of skins, fitted to the shape of the leg ; the seams are ornamented with porcupines' quills ; their shoes are of the skin of the deer, elk, or buffalo, dressed for the most part with the hair on ; they are made to fasten about the ancles, where they have ornaments of brass or tin, about an inch long, hung by thongs. The women are all covered from the knees upwards. Their shifts cover their body, but not the arms. Their petticoats reach from the waist to the knees ; and both are of leather. Their shoes and stockings are not different from those of the men. Those men who wish to appear gay. pluck the hair from their heads, except a round spot of about two inches diameter on the crown of the head ; on this are fastened plumes of feathers with quills of ivory or silver. The peculiar ornaments of this part are the dis tinguishing marks of the different nations. They some- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 113 times paint their faces black, but oftener red ; they bore their noses and slit their ears, and in both they wear vari ous ornaments. The higher ranks of women dress their hair sometimes with silver in a peculiar manner ; they sometimes paint it. They have generally a large spot of paint near the ear, on each side of the head, and not un- frequently a small spot on the brow. The Indians, it is true, have made several improvements in their dresses, since they commenced to receive European commodities. The picture, however, which we have given, is not so rfect an image of the Indians as the following portrait y the Bishop of Meaux : " The colours with they paint their faces, and the grease with which they rub all their bodies, produce the same advantages, and, as they fancy, give them the same good appearance as pricking, of which we shall speak hereafter. The warriors paint themselves when the*" take the field, to intimidate their enemies, perhaps also to hide their fear, for we must not think that they #re all exempt from it. The young people do it to conceal an air of youth, or a paleness remaining after some distem per, which may, they are apprehensive, be taken for the want of courage : they do it also, no doubt, to make them look handsome, but on this occasion the colours are more lively and more varied. It is said that they paint the prisoners who are going to die, and for what purpose we have not been informed ; it has been thought, however, by some, that it is to adorn the victim, who is to be sacrificed to the God of war. The dead are also painted, in order, no doubt, to hide the paleness of death which disfigures them, for they are at the same time dressed in their finest robes to meet the Great Spirit, with whom they are to live for ever. " The colours which they use on these occasions are the same they employ to dye skins, and they make their, from certain earths and barks of trees. They are not very lively, still they are not easily worn out. The men add to this ornament the down of rrans or other birds, which 10* 114 ORIGIN OF THE they strew on their hair, after it has been greased, like powder. They add to this feathers of all colours and bunches of hair of divers animals, all placed in an odd manner. The placing of the hair, sometimes standing up like bristles on one side, and flattened on the other, or dress ed in a thousand different ways pendants ; in their ears and sometimes in their nostrils ; a great shell of porcelain hanging about tl^r neck, or in their breast ; some crowns made of the puimage of scarce birds, the claws, the feet, or heads of birds of prey, little horns of roebucks, and in numerable other things constitute their finery. " The men. we see, take little pains to adorn any othei part of the body but their heads, which is just the re verse with the women, for they scarcely wear any thing on it. They are certainly fond of their hair, and they would consider themselves disgraced if any part of it was cut off. To preserve their hair they grease it often and powder it with the dust of spruce bark, and sometimes with vermillion ; then they wrap it up in the skin of an eel or serpent, in the fashion of whiskers which hang down to their waist. As to their faces, they are satisfied with tracing some lines on them with vermillion or other colours. " Their nostrils are never bored, and it is only among some nations that they bore their ears ; then they wear in them, pendants as do also the men, made of beads of porcelain. When they are dressed in all their finery, they have, robes painted with all sorts of figures, with little Collars of porcelain, set on without any order or symmetry, with a kind of border tolerably worked with porcupines' hair, which they paint also with various col ours. They adorn in tne same manner the cradles of their children and they load them with all sorts of trin kets: these cradles are made of light wood, and have at the upper end one or two semicircles of cedar, that they may co^er them without touching the head of the child. " Many ,nen make various figures all over their bod- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 115 ies, by pricking themselves, others only in some parts. They do not do this merely for ornament, for they find also, as it is said, great advantages by this custom. It serves greatly to defend them from the cold, renders them less sensible of the other injuries of the air. and Trees them from the persecution of the gnats. But it is only in countries possessed by the English, especially in Virginia, that the custom of pricking themselves all over the body, is very common. In New France the greater part are satisfied with some figures of birds, serpents, or other animals, and even of leaves, and such like figures, without order or symmetry, but according to every one's fancy, often in the face, and sometimes even on the eye lids. Many women are marked in the parts of the fac that answer to the jaw-bones, to prevent the tooth-ache. " This operation is not painful in itself. It is perform ed in this manner : .they begin by tracing on the skin, drawn very tight, the figure they intend to make ; then they prick little holes close together with the fins of ** fish, or with needles, all over these traces, so as to draw blood. Then they rub them with charcoal dust, and other colours, well ground and powdered. These pow ders sink into the skin, and the colours are never effaced ; but soon after the skin swells, and forms a kind of scab, accompanied with inflammation. It commonly excites a fever ; and if the weather is too hot, or the operation has been carried too far, there is a hazard of life." These are the observations of the Bishop of Meaux who travelled in North America, at the request of the Clueen of France. DRESS AND ORNAMENTS OF THE TONGUSI, CORTAKS AND KAMSCHADALES. * The Tongusi, Coriaks, Kamschadales, and other tribes in the north-east parts of Asia," says Abernethy, " are 116 ORIGIN OF THE differently attired from what they were a century ago Like every other rude nation in their original state, they covered themselves with furs and hides like the shep herds of Spain and Italy; the upperg armerit consisted oi one piece, with a hood and sleeves ; it bears also some resemblance to the dress of Capuchin monks, though not so long, for it reaches not farther than the knee. From the knees downward, they are covered with leggins of deer or buffalo skin ; their shoes also are made of the same. These robes were formerly dressed with the hair on, but the Tongusi especially, and the Coriaks, have made themselves so well acquainted with the art of tan ning, that hair is not seen in any part of their dress, ex cept the hood, the neck, and the cuffs of the sleeves of the upper garment. The tanned covering is generally painted with considerable taste. The figures represent those animals which have been chosen by each tribe as their distinguishing marks. In the summer season, they wear a kind of petticoat round the waist which comes down to the knees; it is made of coarse linen or cotton, which they manufacture themselves. At this time they paint their bodies with a variety of colours. The pro cess of thus adorning themselves, consists of pricking those parts of the body which are not covered, and rub bing them over with different colours. " The warriors paint their faces that they may appear more warlike. Others who are not engaged in hostili ties do the same, because, I suppose, they imagine they look more handsome. " They take great pains to dress their hair, which is generally long and oily, by reason of being smeared with grease. The pendants in their ears and nostrils are usually shells, which are painted on one side with a red and on the other with a blue colour ; but they never con sider themselves in their full uniform without a crown made of the plumage of a bird called the rotoo. Their women may be said to follow the same practices, al though they pay very little attention to the hair." NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 117 " The inhabitants of Kamschatka," the same author continues, " have preserved their ancient dress better than any of their neighbouring tribes, because, although they are tributary to the Russian empire, they are farther re moved from civilized society. Without alluding partic ularly to their dress, I have only to say, that they were anciently clad in the same manner, as the Coriaks and Tongusi, notwithstanding the difference which has been effected, by the novelty of the fashions of modern times." Santini says almost the same : " Q,uanto all' abito del Tongusi, eglino e tutte le altre nazioni barbare hanno quasi il medesimo vestito, che consiste delle pelle di bes- tie fiere. Quest' abito e semplicemente accomodato al corpo, o adornato con ornamenti secondo il grado di ci- vilizazione fra quella gente. I Tongusi andavano, una volta, vestiti in pelli; depingevano il corpo e la faccia con differenti colori. Pertuggiavano il naso e gli orechii, dove si impicavano dei nichii coloriti. Hanno una coro na fatta delle piume dei pin belli e rari uccelli, special- mente i pavoni. Ogni parte del loro vestito era abellato colle penne del porco spinoso. Le loro scarpe per Pinverno sono due piedi di lunghezza : son fatte percam- minare sulla neve ; la loro figura e ovale : con questo fanno Inngi viaggii ; sono leggieri perche il suolo di queste scarpe e composto d' una rete di cordicelle che son fatte della pelle di qualche animale." Santini tells us here that the dress of every barbarous nation, as well as that of the Tongusi, is generally made of the skins of wild beasts. This dress is simply fitted to the form and shape of the body, or it is adorned with various ornaments according to the degree of civilization which these nations have arrived at. The Tongusi in thoir original state of barbarity were dressed in skins; they painted their bodies and faces with various colours ; they bored their noses and ears whence hang coloured shells. For their head covering they had crowns made of the skin of a young deer, ornamented with the plu mage of rare birds, especially the peacock. Every part 118 ORIGIN OF THE of their dress was embellished with coloured porcupine quills : they had shoes particularly suited for the winter, in order to traverse the snowy plains more easily ; their length was about two feet. Prom the lightness and structure of these shoes they were able to perform long journies. The soles consisted of a net made of strings of a raw hide." The Asiatic snow shoes are to be seen in the museum of St. Ignatius's college at Rome ; for Santini took sev eral pair of them with him from Siberia. La Perouse and Lisseps found the snow shoe in Tartary. Count Buonaventura observes how serviceable they are to the Siberians. Rosetti has a pair of them in his collection of antiquities ; these he found among the Hurons of North America. Rosetti compared his Indian dress, in which he appeared once at a masquerade ball at Rome, with the dresses of the two Tongusian princes, the converts of Santini, and the resemblance was striking. Santini, in speaking of the shirts which are introduced I in the modern dress of the Tongusi, make,' the following observation : " Ho sempre osservato, che i Tongusi, almeno la mag- gior parte degli uomini, hanno due camicie nell' abito moderno, una che sta sempre presso alia pelle, e un' altra copre il primo vestimento. La raggione di questo cos tume non conosco, nulladimeno alcuni mi hanno detto che era originate d' un motivo di vanita." According to Santini, the Tongnsi, in their modern dress, wear two shirts, one next their skin and another over their waistcoat. How this custom originated he could not ascertain ; but he says he was told by some that they did it through pride or vanity. Those who are acquainted with the manners, habits and customs of the North American Indians, must be aware of their attachment also to wear a shirt over their waistcoat. NORTH AMERICAN NDIANS 119 HARRIAGE AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. None of the North American tribes, however rude, were unacquainted with the institution of marriage. They generally are contented with one wife, they sometimes take two, and seldom more than three. The women are under the direction of their fathers in the choice of a hus band, arid very seldom express a predilection for any par ticular person. Their courtship is short and simple. The lover makes a present, generally of game, to the head of that family to which belongs the woman he fan cies. Her guardian's approbation being obtained, an ap probation w-hich, if the suitor is an expert hunter, is sel dom refused, he next makes a present to the woman, and her acceptance of this signifies her consent. The con tract is immediately made, and the match concluded. Assoonas,he chooses he is admitted to cohabitation; but the time of the consummation is always a secret to every one but themselves. All this is transacted without ceremony, without even a feast. The husband generally carries his wife among his own relations, where he either returns to the tent which he formerly inhabited, or con structs a new one for their own use. They sometimes, but seldom, remain with the wife's relations. When the wife is removed, if the game be plentiful, he gives an entertainment to her relations. These contracts are binding no longer than both par ties are willing. If they do not agree they separate; the woman returns to her relations, and if they have any children, she takes them along with her; but after they have children, a separation very seldom takes place. If a woman be guilty of adultery, and her husband be un willing to divorce her, he cuts her hair which is the highest female disgrace. On the woman is devolved every domestic charge. She erects the tent, procures wood for the fire, manages the agricultural affairs, dresses the provisions, catches fish, 120 ORIGIN OF THE mafces traps for small animals. The husband only employs himself in the chase. When a woman is with child, she works at her ordina ry occupations, convinced that work is advantageous both for nerself and child ; her labour is easy, and she may be seen on the day after her delivery with her child at her back, avoiding none of her former employments. They suckle their children till they are at least two years of age. Their cradle was anciently a board, to which they laced their children, after having wrapped them in furs, to preserve them in heat. This is set down in a corner, or hung up in the tent, and without loosen ing it from its cradle, the mother often takes it on her back, and in that manner carries it about. Among the Indians, widows cannot contract a second marriage without the consent of those on whom they de pend, in virtue of the laws of widowhood. If they can find no husband for the widow, she finds herself under no difficulties ; if she has any sons of an age to support her, she may continue in a state of widowhood, without danger of ever wanting any thing; if she is willing to marry again, she may, and the man she marries becomes the father of her children ; he enters into all the rights and obligations of the first husband. The husband does not weep for his wife, because, ac cording to the savages, tears do not become men ; but this is not general among all nations. The women weep for their husbands a year ; they call him without ceasing, and fill their village with cries and lamentations, especi ally at the rising and setting of the sun, at noon, in some places when they go out to work, and when they return. Mothers do much the same for their children. The chiefs mourn only six months, arid may afterwards marry again. La Roche was once entertained in the following mari ner, at the nuptials of a Huron chief: " Next morning the father and his sons proposed to conduct us down the river in their canoes to a certain NORTH AMERICAN INDL. NS. 121 place, where they assured us, we would be entertained with all the ancient amusements of the Indians ; because their chief, a young man of about nineteen years of age, was to take to himself a wife from among the white peo ple. To this proposal we gave our consent, a small fleet of canoes were now riding on the river and waiting our arrival. The ladies who accompanied us were at first as timorous as the mountain shepherd, when first he em barks on the billows of a fathomless ocean. They insist ed that #ie Indians should set off alone for a short dis tance, before they would venture into skiffs so fragile and so apparently insecure. " The athletic youths no sooner heard the word start, than a well contested race ensued ; a boy of about four teen years came off victorious ; he was the son of him by whom we were entertained the night previous to our ex cursion. Having witnessed the extraordinary dexterity which the Indians displayed in managing their canoes, the ladies were so satisfied with the skill of the Indian mariners, that they hesitated not a moment to embark. " The morning was clear and serene, and the water smooth as a sheet of glass. The count, in order to ap prise the settlement of our arrival, as they were notified the previous night to assemble in a certain place on the banks of the river, sounded the key bugle, which had a charming effect on the water and re-echoed from hill to hill. Soon a vocal concert was commenced by the Ve netian dames, which ravished our ears with the most me lodious harmony. The paddling oars now stood motion less, as if the Indians were enchanted with the song; but the gentle stream bore us down amid hills and dales. Still sweeter were the autumnal strains of the warblers of the grove, which cheered the birchen fleet as they pass ed by their choir. As we glided along the verdant banks of the mumuring stream, where the vaired beauties ot nature graced the neat cottages which peeped through the grove, we soon observed the favoured spot, where the Indians had assembled. A universal cheer pervaded the 11 122 ORIGIN OF THE assemblage as we landed. The bride and bridegroom stood alone ; she was dressed in silken robes, the dress of modern days, for she was a Canadienne, while he in the fierceness of ancient times wore the garb of an Indian chief. " The mountain dew had no sooner gone round than the celebration of the nuptials commenced with the war dance. Four songsters or bards were selected from among them, and two drummers who formed their music al band. As the songs commenced and the drums were beaten, the ring was all in motion. The happy couple were now in the centre of the ring and performed the same motions. Twenty-five couples moved in a circular line. Their dance resembled a trotting cheval, while that of the squaws is not very unlike a favourite dance among the Europeans, called the Hornpipe ; for they move onwards and keep their toes and heels alternately close together, without leaping to the cadence of the music. After the dance was over, they began to practice their national athletic exercises, as if celebrating the Olympic games of the Greeks. In running they display ed an extraordinary agility of limbs. They would, I have no doubt, excel the swiftest that ever ran on the Grecian sands. In leaping they would not be inferior to Diomedes, for I saw them leap, with a run, seven-and- twenty feet. But what most astonished us, was their celerity in gaining 1 the summit of a very steep hill, almost perpendicular. The squirrels themselves could scarcely surpass them in climbing the lofty and branchless pine. Like an Arabian charger, they ran at full speed towards the river, and stopt instantly at the very brink of an eleva ted bank. When all the performances were ended, they sat down on the green turf to feast on the venison which the bridegroom had procured : for it is usual among the Indians, that the bridegroom must furnish on his wedding game sufficient to entertain his friends. " The mountain dew was circulated in abundance, and more enthusiastic cheers than those with which they NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 123 drank the healths of the newly married couple, I never witnessed. Having signified our departure after dinner, an elderly man, the chief of a tribe, stepped put of the ranks and addressed us with a mournful but rnanly air, in the following tender manner, which he ordered to be interpreted to us : " ' Take with you our hearts' warm thanks and bless ings, for you are possessed of liberal and generous souls. May the journey of your life be in the sunshine and smiles of fortune. May soft breezes waft your bark on a smooth sea ,to your native shore. May your footsteps tread on the green grass, and may the violet and the rose spring up under your feet whithersoever you go.' " We took our leave of the grateful Indians, congratu lating ourselves o-n our successful adventures. This ex cursion will, I am sure, form a golden subject for the conversazioni of Venice ; for Donnabella failed not to de pict every scene. In the evening we retired to the house of an English gentleman. His elegant cottage stood on a lofty cliff which commanded a pleasing prospect at even tide. When the last ray of the golden light was illumi nating the west, we took our seat on the side of a hill ; here we sat and mused till the pale moon broke through the clouds and tipped the waters beneath with its soft and silvery light, while the forest tops were tinged with the light moonshine. Before us opened in a contracted view, the dark and lonely woods ; through them whisp ered a gentle breeze, such as the mournful echo of some distant flute. Beneath we beheld a serpentine stream which broke through the shade of a dark and distant forest ; on its limpid waters were mirrored the silver moon and the celestial orbs. As if greeted with a mur muring voice the height whence we gazed, and rolled along in the silence of night, to pursue its nocturnal course, we were reminded of the journey of our life and the time which glides along, never to return. The nup tial feast was still continued on the plains beneath, and well might we say with the poet. ORIGJN OF THE " ' Blest are those* feasts with simple plenty crown d, Where the rural family around, Boast of the blessings of the lowly tram, Which the rich deride and the proud disdain, To them more dear, congenial to their hearts, One native charm, than all the gloss of art : Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play, The soul adopts and owns their first born sway ; Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind, Unenvy'd, unmolested, unconfin'd.' "Between the hours of nine and ten we hastened home by the light of the moon, to muse on the excursion of the day and the pleasures of the evening view.'' It appears, therefore, that the Indians have also their merriments on occasions of this sort ; although their marriages go off more commonly without any ceremony. There are in all nations some considerable families, which cannot marry but among themselves, especially among the Algonquins. In general, the stability of mar riages is sacred in this country, and for the most part they consider, as a great disorder, those agreements which some persons make to live together as long as they like, and to separate when they are tired of each other. A husband who should forsake his wife, without any lawful cause, must expect many insults from her rela tions ; and a woman who should leave her husband with out being forced to it by his ill conduct, would pass her time still worse. Among the Miamis, the husband has a right to cut off his wife's nose if she runs away from him ; but among the Iroquois and the Hurons, they may part by consent. This is done without noise, and the parties thus separa ted may marry again. They cannot even conceive that there can be any crime in this. " My wife and I cannot agree together," said one of them to a missionary who endeavoured to make him comprehend the indecency of such a separation ; " my neighbour's case was the same, we changed wives and we were all happy; for nothing is more reasonable than to make each other happy, when NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 125 it is so cheaply done without wronging any body." Nevertheless, this custom, as we have already observed, is looked upon as an abuse, and is not ancient, at least among the Iroquois. Among some nations of the Indians, treaties of mar- rages are carried on by the parents alone. The parties interested do not appear at all ; they give themselves up entirely to the will of those on whom they depend ; how ever, the parents come to no conclusion without the con sent of those who are to be married. If a girl continues too long without being courted, her family generally contrive to find her a suitor. On this occasion they act with a great deal of precaution. In some places the women are not in haste to be married, because they are allowed to make trials of it when they can, and the ceremony of marriage only changes their condition for the worse. In general there is a great deal of modesty observed in the behaviour of the young people whilst they treat of their marriages ; and they say that it was quite otherwise in ancient times. But what is almost incredible, al though it has been attested by good authors, is, that in many places the new nmrried couple are together a whole year, living in a perfect continence. This they do in order to show that they married for friendship, and not to gratify a sensual passion. A young woman, they say, would even be pointed at, who should happen to be with child the first year of her marriage. After this it will be easier to believe what is said of the behaviour of the young people during their courtship, in the places where they are allowed to see one another in private. For though custom allows them to hold very private meetings, yet in the greatest danger that chastity can be exposed to, and even under the veil of night, they jay, that nothing passes against the rules of the strictest decorum, arid that not even a word is spoken that can give the least offence to modesty. Although we have already alluded to the ceremonies 11* 126 ORIGIN OF THE of marriages, still, perhaps, it may not oe improper to offer the following observations of a missionary who resided a long time amongst the Indians : " I find in all that has been written of the preliminaries and ceremonies ot the marriages of these people, various accounts proceed ing either from the different customs of divers nations, or from the little care the authors of relations took to be well informed. The intended husband must make pre sents, and in this, as in every thing else, nothing can ex ceed the discretion with which he behaves, and the re spectful behaviour which he shows to his future spouse. In some places the young man is contented to go and sit by the side of the young woman in her cabin, and if she suffers it and continue in her place, it is taken for her consent, and the marriage is concluded. But in the midst of this deference and respect, he gives some tokens that he will soon be master. In fact among the presents she receives, there are some which ought less to be regard ed as marks of friendship, than as symbols and notices of the slavery to which she is going to be reduced ; such are the collar, which is a long and broad band of leather which serves to draw burdens, the kettle and a billet which are carried to her cabin. This is to let her know, that she is to carry the burdens, dress the provisions, and get wood for firing. The custom is also in some places for her to bring before hand into tjie cabin, where she is to dwell after marriage, all the wood that will be wanted next winter. And it is to be observed, that in all I have just said, there is no difference between the nations, where the women have all the authority, and those where they have nothing to do with the affairs of govern ment. These same women who are in some degree the mistresses of the state, at least for form, and who make the principal body of it, when they have attained a cer tain age, and have children in a condition to make them respectable, are not at all respected before this and are in their domestic affairs the slaves of their husbands." NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 127 MARRIAGE AMONG THE TONGUSI. CORIAKS, AND KAMSCHADALES. " In the marriage of the Tongusi," says Abernethy, " many ceremonies are used, but the principal and indis pensable one is, the offering- of a plate of corn or some game to the bride by her intended husband. Among several tribes of the Tongusi, marriage is attended with dancing, music, and a variety of games and sports which sometimes continue for several days. There are others who do not exhibit any mark of rejoicing on these oc casions. Among some, the contract is conducted by their parents, while others allow the lovers to choose and come to an agreement. They frequently bestow presents on each other, in order to ascertain each other's minds, for the acceptance of these gifts is a sure mark of their consent. The husband generally takes his wife among his own relations, where she spends several weeks, and is entertained with kindness and hospitality. "If the husband be a hunter, which is generally the case, for the greater part of them procure their subsistence either by hunting or fishing, everydomestic charge is de volved on the wife ; still there are some who attend to agriculture and the rearing of cattle. Nothing can ex ceed the modesty which both the bride and bridegroom assume on the night they are wedded ; and I have also been told that a separation frequently takes place a week or two after they are married, by reason of her desire to live four weeks in perfect continence. This, however, is not generally true, for I observed that chastity was very often violated, among them, before they are legally united. Among the Coriaks there are many tribes or families who never marry but among themselves. Here the woman signifies her consent by keeping the present which he sends her ; if she returns it, he never sends it to another. Although the women are the slaves of their husbands in the domestic affairs, still they are very much respected when they attain a certain age, 128 ORIGIN OF THE and they even contribute to conduct the affairs of govern ment, under the title of the Mistresses of the State. Their contracts of marriage are binding no' longer than both parties are willing. If a separation takes place, the mother takes the children with her to her relations ; however, it is not a common thing to see them separate after they have children." Santini tells us that he was once entertained by the Kamschadales at the celebration of the nuptials of a Kamschadalian chief. His description of the merry fes tivities corresponds with the Olympic games which were observed among the Hurons of North America on a sim ilar occasion : "Era annuriciato fra tutte le famiglie chi apparteneva- no al principe, che le nozze del loro principaie fossero ce lebrate il giorno seguente. Tutte le signore e signori del paese si apparechiavano all' allegrezza sopraunmonte vicino al capo del la nazione. Nella mattina del giorno nominato vi era una grande compagnia nel luogo dove si devono radunare. Avevano dei musici e dei cantatori di guerra. Danzavano con movimenti circoluri. II sposo e la sposa stavano nel mezzo e cantavano una canzone per la loro futura felicita. Dopo questo comminciavano a correre, saltare, e scoccare dei dardi. Questa scena mi ridusse alia memoria gli esercizii dei Greci antichi. Q,uest' usanza di festeggiamenti ai sposaiizii non si trova per tutto questo paese. Soventemente vanno insieme senza alcun ceremonio, dopo che si ottene il consenso dei parenti. Q,uando fanno I'amore, che non sara lungo tempo, si regala qualche cosa dall' uomo alia donna, e 1'accettazione di questo e un certo indizio deli' approba- zione." " It was announced," says Santini, " among the rela tions of the prince, that his nuptials were to be celebrated the following day. All the damsels and young men, and the old of both sexes prepared themselves for the ap proaching festivities. Agreeably to the request, crowds were seen repairing to the favoured spot, which was the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 129 summit of a beautiful hill in the immediate vicinity of the residence of the chief, the intended spouse. Musicians and singers of war were there to inspire their minds with mirth and sentiments of bravery and heroism. Having formed a ring round the wedded couple, who at the time sang a song for their own future happiness and prosperity, they danced and moved in a circular way. The dance was then superseded by their athletic exercises, which consisted in running, leaping, and shooting arrows. The scene at once reminded me of the Olympic games of the ancient Greeks. These rejoicings and amusements at the marriages of the Kamschadalesare not at all general. In some parts of this country they frequently go together without any ceremony, if the consent of their parents be obtained. Their courtship commonly lasts no longer than the time which is consumed in sending a present to the woman, which, if she accepts of it, is a mark of her approbation." WAR AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. The youth of these various tribes are much addicted to war. While we thus express ourself in the present tense, let us be understood as describing the Indian some centuries ago. Accustomed to hear the exploits of their forefathers related with admiration, they become impa tient to signalize themselves in the same career. The usual avowed causes of war among the Indians, are to secure their right of hunting within certain bounds ; to maintain their claims to their own territories ; or to avenge the death of such of their tribe as may have fallen in former conflicts. Every tribe has a band of warriors. This consists of all the males of the nation, from fifteen years of age to sixty. Their arms are bows and arrows, and war clubs. The head of this club is about three inches and a half in 130 OXIGIN OF THE diameter, with an edge of flint or steel fixed in one side of it. Since their intercourse with Europeans, they have sub stituted the musket, for their bows and arrows, and the toma hawk for their war club ; to these they have now added a scalping knife, and a dagger. These warriors are under the command of the war chief. When the assembly of chiefs and elders have determined that war is necessary, they endeavour to persuade the warriors to take arms. " The bones of our deceased coun trymen," they say, "lie uncovered; they cry to us to avenge their wrongs; their spirit must be appeased. The invisible guardians of our honour inspire us with a resolution to seek the murderers of our brothers. Let us go and devour those by whom they were slain. Sit not, therefore, in active. Give way to your valour. Annoint your hair. Paint your faces. Fill your quivers. Make the forests re sound with your songs. Console the spirit of the dead, and tell them they shall be avenged." The warriors immediately raise the war song, and de mand to be led against the enemy. The chief who is to be their leader paints himself black : fasts several days and avoids all conversation with those of the tribe. By this means he hopes to conciliate the favour of the Great Spirit and to avert the malevolence of the evil one. He carefully observes his dreams, which generally portend success. Some people have fancied that this fasting arose from a desire to accustom themselves to hunger ; but according to their own notions, we are informed, that they do it purely from a religious motive. It is no less certain also that they esteem their dreams as real oracles and notices from heaven. Those Indians who are in any trouble of mind, it is said, frequently lie down to sleep in order to communicate with these oracles. Having fasted the appointed time, he takes a belt of wampum in his hand, and addresses his warriors, informing them of all the motives for the war, and of the success which the Great Spirit has promised to their arms. He then lays down the belt, and he who takes it up is second in com- NORTH AMERICAN IN'DIANS. * 131 mand. The chief removes -the black paint, and is painted red. He sings the war song and makes a devotional address to the Great Spirit, in which he is joined by all the war riors. They then perform the war dance, and conclude with a feast of dogs' flesh. The chief, though he has fasted so long, seldom partakes of this feast ; he recounts the valiant actions of himself and his ancestors. From this time till their departure on their expedition, every day ". spent in preparation, and every night in feasting. A hatchet painted red is sent to the nation which they are to attack. This is the declaration of war ; a dangerous commission, which is generally discharged by a slave, and often proves fatal to him. When the Indians set out on their march, a mat is all they take besides their; arms. They maintain themselves on their way by hunting. If not near the enemy's country, they are quite unguarded, separating in small parties during the day, for the convenience of hunting ; but taking care at night, to return to their camp, which is pitched before sun set. By the sun and their knowledge of the country, they direct their different routes so well that they never fail of meeting at the appointed place. When they have entered the enemy's country, a very different conduct is observed ; circumspection now attends the minutest actions. The game is no longer pursued ; they are not even permitted to speak ; they converse by signs ; they are sensible that they themselves have much sagacity in discovering an enemy, and they rightly conclude that enemies have no less. The Indians, indeed, possess a degree of sagacity, in this respect, which can scarcely be conceived by civilized nations. At a very great distance, they discover habitations by the smell of the fire. They perceive the track of a foot on the smoothest grass, and on the hardest substance. From the track they discover, with amazing certainty, the nation, the sex, the stature of the person who has passed, and the time tl at has elapsed since the track was formed. It is not easy to avoid an enemy so sagacious. It becomes the great con cern of both parties, therefore, to conceal their own traces 132 ORIGIN OF THE and discover those of their opponents. For the former purpose they use all precautions ; they follow each other in a single line, each treading in the footsteps of those before him; while the last carefully conceals their track by throw ing leaves upon it. If they discover a rivulet on their way, they march in it, the more effectually to deceive their enemies. Their precautions increase as they approach their adversaries ; they march only during the night, and during the day form a continual ambuscade. If they succeed in discovering their enemies without themselves being dis covered, they immediately hold a council, in which they only whisper, and thus plan the dreadful scene which is to be acted. Immediately before daybreak, at the time when their adversaries are supposed to be immersed in the sound est sleep, they approach them o-n their hands and knees, till within bow-shot. The chief gives a signal ; they start up, and with a horrid yell discharge their arrows. Taking advantage of the confusion, they rush forw y ard, and w y ith their tomahawks complete the carnage. Without some evident advantage of this kind, an Indian seldom engages ; for he expects no praise for a victory which is purchased with the lives of any of his party. Having secured the victory, and despatched all who w r ould be troublesome to them on their return, they make the rest prisoners. They then scalp the dead and wounded ; twisting the hair round their left hand and setting their foot on the person's neck, with a few strokes of the scalp- ing-knife, they dexterously separate the scalp from the head, and preserve it as a monument of their victory. They never dispute about the division of their prisoners. He who is apprehensive of being wronged, with his toma hawk soon despatches the unhappy cause of their contest. They now turn their faces towards their own country, and if apprehensive of being pursued they use the same precau tions with which they advanced. If all these precautions do not conceal them, they slay all their prisoners and each taking a separate road homewards, they put an effectual stop to the searches of an enemy. If they proceed in NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 133 security, they are very careful to watch their prisoners; who during the. day are constantly held by some of their conquerors, and during the night are fastened to the ground by the arms, the legs, and the neck, and cords from all these places are held by an Indian, who is instantly awaked by the smallest motion. The prisoners often during the night time sing their death song. " I am going to die," they ex claim, " but will not shrink from the tortures inflicted by my enemies. I will die like a warrior, and go to join those chiefs who have suffered before me." When they approach their tents, they announce their arrival by different cries. The number of war whoops indicate how many prisoners they have taken. The number of death cries, indicate how many of their companions they have lost. The whole village meets them to learn the particulars. They form a line through which the prisoners are obliged to pass ; and they beat them with sticks from one end to the other. By a council which is immediately held, their fate is soon determined. Those who are condemned to die are delivered to the war chief ; those who are spared are to be given to the chief of the nation. A prisoner is no sooner condemned than he is led to execution. He is bound to the stake/while, for the last time, he sings his death song. He is then burned and expires with that ferocious courage which distinguishes an Indian warrior. If he be a chief who has given proofs of his prowess in former engagements with his enemies, they frequently give his fortitude a severe trial, by the infliction of the most dreadful torments. Ter ror finds no place on the one hand, nor pity on the other. The victim glories in his torments as unequivocal marks of the opinion entertained of him by his tormentors. He boast of the victories he has obtained over their nation : he enumerates the scalps which, he possesses; he recapitulates the manner in which he has treated his prisoners, and re proaches them with ignorance in the act of torture. This scene, it is said, sometimes continues with little intermission for several days, till the prisoner is exhausted, but not humbled, expires without a sigh, or till his taunts provoke 12 134 ORIGIN OF THE his tormentors to frustrate their own designs by putting a speedy end to his existence. The tortures made use of on these occasions are of various kinds, but all of them are such only as a savage heart could conceive, or a savage hand could inflict, and that only when prompted by that deadly animosity which cannot exist, but among barbarous tribes. It is not to be imagined that these tortures are often in flicted. None ever suffer them but a chief, who has distin guished himself in war. Burning is the general way of putting prisoners to death, and but few of them suffer even in that manner. A great part are delivered to the chief of the nation, and distributed to those who have lost their husbands, sons or other relations in the war. They are by them generally adopted into their respective families ; and if they conduct themselves properly and seem contented with their condition, they experience that tenderness and regard which belong to those whose places they fill. They have no chance of returning to their own tribe, for the Indians esteem all who permit themselves to be made pris oners as being unworthy of life, and would not receive them, could they make their escape. The prisoners who are not adopted into some family, are made slaves, and are often disposed of to Europeans for spirituous liquors ; a custom introduced by the French missionaries for the purpose of preventing the torturing of prisoners of war. The animosity of savages is hereditary, and can seldom be extinguished 5 when peace becomes necessary, therefore, it is not easy to bring about the preliminaries. Even when an Indian is brought to the last extremity, he will seldom confess that peace is necessary for him ; he tries to show that it is the interest of his adversary ; and generally employs a mediator who is a friend to both parties. A few of the most respectable heads of the tribe, attended by those chiefs who have undertaken to be mediators, proceed to that nation with which they are to treat. Before them is carried the )ipe of peace, a sacred symbol, the rights of which no lian will presume to violate. This pipe is about four NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 135 feet long ; its bowl is of red marbel ; its stem of wood adorn ed with feathers, and painted with hieroglyphics. From the variety of these ornaments an Indian can immediately judge to what nation it belongs. Having reached the en campment of the hostile nation, an inferior chief fills the pipe of peace with tobacco, and having lighted it, presents it first to heaven, then to earth, and lastly, in a cirele to all parts of the horizon ; thereby invoking all the spirits that dw T ell in heaven, in earth and air, to be present at the treaty. He next presents it to the hereditary chief, who takes a few quiffs, blowing the smoke, first towards heaven, and then around him towards the earth. In their turns, it it is presented to all the chiefs in gradations, none pre suming to touch it but with their lips. A council is imme diately held, and if the parties agree, a red hatchet is buried as a symbol of the promised oblivion of their animosity. A belt made of a kind of shells, commonly called a belt of wampum, is made use of on this occasion; and by the arrangement of the shells, records to posterity every stipu lation of the treaty. With this account, which is given us in an eminent Geography, the following observations by the Bishop of Meaux, are concordant : " As soon as all the warriors are embarked, the canoes at first go a little way and range themselves close together upon a line ; then the chief rises up, and holding a Chichi- coue in his hand, he thunders out his song of war, and his soldiers answer him by a treble He, drawn with all their strength from the bottom of their breasts. The elders and chiefs of the council who remain on the shore, exhort the warriors to behave well, and especially not to suffer them selves to be surprised. Of all the advices that can be giv en to a savage, this is the most necessary. This exhorta tion does not interrupt the chief who continues singing. Lastly the warriors conjure their relations and friends not to forget them. Then sending forth all together hideous howl- ings, they set off directly, and row with such speed that they are soon out of sight 136 ORIGIN OF THE " The Hurons and the Iroquois do not use the Chichicoue, but they give them to their prisoners ; so that these instru ments, which among others is an instrument of war, seem among them to be a mark of slavery. The warriors seldom make any short marches, especially when the troop is nu merous ; but on the other hand, they take presages from every thing ; and the jugglers, whose business it is to ex plain them, hasten or retard their march at their pleasure. Whilst they are not in a suspected country, they take no precaution, and frequently one shall scarce find two or three warriors together, each taking his own way to hunt ; but how far soever they stray from the route, they all return punctually to the place, and at the hour appointed for their rendezvous. They encamp a long time before sunset, and commonly they leave before the camp a large space sur rounded with palisades, or rather a sort of lattice, on which they place their Ma?iitous, turned towards the place they are going to. They invoke them for an hour, and they do the same every morning before they decamp. After this they think they have nothing to fear, they suppose that the spirits take upon them to be sentinels, and all the army sleeps quietly under their supposed safeguard. Experience does not undeceive these barbarians, nor bring them out of their presumptuous confidence. It has its source in an indo lence and laziness which nothing can conquer. Every one is an enemy in the way of the warriors, but nevertheless, if they meet any of their allies, or any parties nearly equal in force of people, with whom they have no quarrel they make friendship with each other. If the allies they meet are at war with the same enemy, the chief of the strongest party, or oi that which took up arms first, gives some scalps ( to the other, which they are always pro\ided with for these oc- cassions, and says to him, " You have done your hisiness /' that is to say, " you have fulfilled your engagement, your honour is safe, you may return home." But this is to be understood when the meeting is accidental, when they have not appointed them, and when they have no occassion for a reinforcement. When they are just entering on an enemy's NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 137 country, they stop for a ceremony which is somewhat singular. " At night they make a great feast, after which they lie down ; as soon as they are awake, those who have had any dreams go from fire to fire, singing their song of death, with which they intermix their dreams in an enigmatical manner. Every one racks his brains to guess them, and if nobody can do it, those who have dreamt are at liberty to return home. This gives a fine opportunity to cowards. Then they make new invocations to the Spirits ; they ani mate each other more than ever to do wonders ; they swear to assist each other, and then they renew their inarch ; and if they come thither by water, they quit their canoes, which they hide very carefully. If every thing was observed that is prescribed on these occasions, it would be difficult to surprise a party of war that is entered into an enemy's country. They ought to make no more fires, no more cries, nor hunt any more, nor even speak to each other but by signs. But these laws are sometimes violated. Every savage is born presumptuous, and incapable of the least re straint. They seldom neglect, however, to send out every evening some rangers, who consume two or three hours in looking round the country ; if they have seen nothing they go to sleep quietly, and they leave the guard of the camp again to the Manitous. " As soon as they have discovered an enemy, they send out a party to reconnoitre them, and on their report they hold a council. The attack is generally made at day -break. They suppose the enemy is at this time in their deepest sleep, and all night they lie on their bellies, without stirring. The approaches are made in the. same posture, crawling on their feet and hands, till they come to the place ; then all rise up, the chief gives the signal by a loud cry, to which all the troops answer by real bowlings, and they make at the same time their first discharge of their arrows; then, without giving the enemy any time to look about, they fall upon them with their clubs. In latter times these people have substituted litLe hatchets instead of these wooden head- 12* 138 ORIGIN OF THE breakers, which they call by the same name ; since which, their engagements are more bloody. When the battle is over, they take the scalps of the dead and the dying ; and they never think of making prisoners till the enemy makes no more resistance. " If they find their enemy on their guard, or too well in- . trenched, they retire, if they have time for it; if not, they take the resolution to fight stoutly, and there is sometimes much blood shed on both sides. " The attack of a camp is the image of fury itself, the barbarous fierceness of the conquerors, and the despair of the vanquished, who know what they must expect if they fall into the hands of their enemies, produce on either side such efforts as pass all description. The apperance of the com batants all besmeared with black and red, still increases the horror of the fight ; and from this pattern one might make a true picture of hell. When the victory is no longer doubtful, they directly despatch all those whom it would be troublesmome to carry away, and seek only to tire out the rest whom they intend to make prisoners. "The savages are naturally intrepid, and notwithstanding their brutal fierceness, they yet preserve in the midst of action much coolness. Nevertheless they never fight in the field, only when they cannot avoid it, their reason is, that a victory marked with the blood of the conquerors, is not properly a victory, and the glory of a chief consists in bringing back all his subjects safe and sound. I have been told, that when two enemies who are acquainted, meet in the fight, there sometimes passes between them dialogues much like that of Homer's heroes. I do not think this hap pens in the height of engagement ; but it may happen that in little rencountres,' or perhaps before passing a brook, or forcing an entrenchment, they say something by way of defiance, or to call to mind some such rencountre. " War is commonly made by a surprise, and it generally succeeds, for as the savages very frequently neglect the precautions necessary to shun a surprise, so are they active and skilful in surprising. On the other hand these people NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 139 have a wonderful talent, I may say, an instinct, to know if any person has passed any place. On the shortest grass, or the hardest ground, even upon stones, they discover some traces, and by the way they are turned, by the shape of their feet, by the manner they are separated from each other, they distinguish, as they say, the footsteps of different nations, and those of men from those of women. I thought a long time there was an exaggeration in this matter but the reports of those who have lived long among the savages are so unanimous herein, that I see no room to doubt of their sincerity. Till the conquerors are in a country of safety, they march forward expeditiously, and lest the wounded should retard them, they carry them by turns on litters, or draw them on sledges in winter. When they re-enter their canoes they make their prisoners sing, and they practice the same thing when they meet any allies ; an honour jvhicl: costs them a feast who receive it, and the unfortunate cap tives something more than the trouble of singing ; for they invite the allies to caress them, and to caress the prisoners is to do them all the mischief they can devise, or to maim them in such a manner that they are lamed for ever ; but there are some chiefs who take some care of these wretches, and do not sutler them to be too much abused. But nothing is equal to the care they take to keep them ; by day they are tied by the neck and by the arms to one of the bars of the canoes. When they go by land there is always one that holds them; and at night they are stretched upon'tjie earth quite naked ; some cords fastened to pickets, fixed in the ground, keep their legs, arms, and necks so confined that they cannot stir, and some long cords confine also their hands and feet, in such a manner that they cannot make the least motion without waking the savages who lie on these cords. " If among the prisoners there are any, who by their wounds are not in a condition to be carried away, they burn them directly ; and as this is done in the first heat, and when they are in haste to retreat, they are, for the most 140 ORIGIN OF THE part, more fortunate than the others who are reserved for a slower punishment. " In order to leave on the field a mark of their victory, the chief of the victorious party sticks in the ground his fight ing club, on which he had taken care to trace the mark of of his nation, that of his family, and his own picture ; that is to say, an Oval, with all the figures he had in his face. Others painted all these marks on the trunk of a tree, or on a piece of bark, with charcoal pounded and rubbed, mixed with some colours. They add some hieroglyphic characters, by means of which, those who pass by may know even the minutest circumstances, not only of the action, but also of the whole transactions of the campaign. They know the chief of the party by all the marks I have mentioned ; the number of his exploits by so many mats; that of his soldiers by lir^es ; that of the prisoners carried away by little Mar mosets placed on a stick or on a Chichicoue ; that of the dead by human figures without heads, with differences to distinguish the men, the women, and the children. But these marks are not always set up near the place where the action happened, for when a party is pursued, they place them out of their route, in order to deceive their pursuers. " When the warriors are arrived at a certain distance from the village whence they came, they halt, and the chiei sends one to give notice of their approach. Among some nations, as soon as the messenger is within hearing, he makes various cries which give a general idea of the prin cipal adventures and success of the campaign ; he marks the number of men they have lost by so many cries of death. Immediately the young people come out to hear the par ticulars ; sometimes the whole village comes out, but one alone addresses the messenger, and learns from him the de tails of the news which he brings. As the messenger relates a fact, he repeats it aloud, turning towards those who ac companied him by acclamations, or dismal cries, according as the news are. mournful o-r pleasing. The messenger is then conducted to a cabin, where the elders put to him the same questions as before ; after which, a public crier invites NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 141 all the young people to go to meet the warriors, and the women to carry them refreshments. In some places they only think of mourning for those they have lost ; then the messenger makes only cries of death. They do not go to meet him ; but at his entering the village, he finds all the people assembled, he relates in a few words all that has passed, then retires to his cabin, where they carry him food ; and for some time they do nothing but mourn for the dead. " When this time is expired, they make another cry to proclaim the victory. Then every one dries up his tears, and they think of nothing but rejoicing. Something like - this is practiced at the return of the hunters : the women who remained in the village go to meet them as soon as they are informed of their approach, and before they inquire of the success of their hunting, they inform them by their tears of the deaths that have happened since their departure. To return to the warriors, the moment when the women join them, is, properly speaking, the beginning of the pvnishment of the prisoners ; and when some of them are intended to be adopted, which is not allowed to be done by all nations, their future parents, whom they take care to in form of it, go and receive them at a little distance, and conduct them to their cabins by some round-about ways. In general, the captives are a long time ignorant of their fate, and there are few who escape the iirst fury of the women. " All the prisoners who are destined to die, and those whose fate is not yet decided, as I have already said aban doned to the fury of the women, who go to meet the war riors ; and it is surprising that they resist all the evils they make them suffer. If any one, especially, has lost either her son or husband, or any other person that was dear to her, though this loss had happened thirty years before, she is zfury. She attacks the first who falls under her hand ; and one can scarcely imagine how far she is transported with rage she has no regard either to humanity or decency, and on every wound she gives him, one would" expect to see him fall dead at her feet, if we did not know how ingenious 142 ORIGIN OF THE these barbarians are in prolonging the most unheard of punishments. All the night passes in this manner in the camp of the warriors. " The next day is the day of the triumph of the warriors. The Iroquois and some others effect a great modesty, and a still greater disinterestedness on these occasions. The chiefs enter alone into the village, without any mark of victory, keeping a profound silence, and retire to their cab ins, without showing that they have the least pretensions to the prisoners. Among other nations the same custom is not observed : the chief marches at the head of his troops with the air of a conqueror ; his lieutenant comes after him, and a crier goes before, who is ordered to renew the death cries. The warriors follow by two and two, the prisoners in the midst, crowded with flowers, their faces and hair painted, holding a stick in one hand and a Chichicoue in the other, their bodies almost naked, their arms tied above the elbows with a cord, the end of which is held by the warriors, and they sing without ceasing their death song to the sound of the Chichicoue. " This song has something mournful and haughty at the same time; and the captive has nothing of the air of a man who suffers, and that is vanquished. This is pretty near the sense of these songs ; " I am brave and intrepid ; I do not fear death nor any kind of tortures ; those who fear them are cowards; they are less than women; life is nothing without courage ; may my enemies be confounded with despair and rage ; Oh ! that I could devour them and drink their blood to the last drop. 5 ' From time to time they stop them ; the peo ple gather round them and dance ; they seem to do it with a good will ; they relate the finest actions of their lives , they name all those they have killed or burnt ; and they make particular mention of those for whom the people pres ent are concerned ; one w r ould say that they only seek to animate more and more against them the masters of their fate. In fact, these boastings make those who hear them quite furious, and they pay dear for their vanity but by NORTH AMEEICAN INDIANS. 143 the most cruel treatment, one would say, that they take a pleasure in being tormented. " Sometimes they oblige the prisoners to run through two ranks of savages, armed with stones and sticks, who fall upon them as if they would knock them in the head at the first blow ; yet it never happens that they kill them ; so much care do they take, even when they seem to strike at random, that their hand, which is guided by fury alone, does not touch any part that would endanger life. In this march every one has a right to torment them. They are indeed allowed to defend themselves ; but they would, if they were to attempt it, soon be" overpowered. As soon as they are arrived at the village, they lead them from cabin to cabin, and every where they make them pay their welcome. In one place they pull off one of their nails in another place they bite off one of their fingers, or cut it off with a bad knife which cuts like a saw. An old man tears their flesh to the very bone; a child with an awl wounds, them where he can ; a woman whips them without mercy, till she is so tired that she cannot lift her hand; but none of the warriors lay their hands on them, although they are still their masters ; and no one can mutilate the prisoners without their leave, which they seldom want ; but this ex- cepted, they have an entire liberty to make them suffer ; and if they lead them through several villages, either of the same nation, or their neighbours or allies who have desired, they are received every where in the same manner. " After these preludes they set about the distribution of the captives, and their fate depends on those to whom they are delivered. At the rising of the council where they have consulted of their fate, a crier invites all the peo ple to come to an open place, where the distribution is made without any noise or disturbance. The women who have lost their children or husbands in the war, generally receive the first lot. In the next place they fulfil the promises made to those who have given the collars. If there are not captives enough for this purpose, they supply the want of them by scalps, with which those who receive them 144 ORIGIN OF THE adorn themselves on rejoicing days; and at other times they hang them up at the doors of their cabins. On the contrary, if the number of prisoners exceeds that of the claimants, they send the overplus to the village of their allies. A chief is not replaced but by a chief, or by two or three ordinary persons who are always burnt, although those whom they replace had died of diseases. " The Iroquois never fail to set apart some of their pris oners for the public, and these the council dispose of as they think proper. But the mothers of families may set aside their sentence, and are the mistress of the life and death even of those who have been condemned or absolved by the council. " In some nations the warriors do not entirely deprive themselves of the right of disposing of their captives, and they to whom the council give them are obliged to put them again into their hands if they require it ; but they do it very seldom ; and when they do it they are obliged to return the pledges or presents received from those persons. If on their arrival they have declared their intentions on this subject, it is seldom opposed. In general, the greatest number of the prisoners % of war are condemned to death, or to very hard slavery, in which their lives are never secure ; some are adopted ; and from that time their condition differs in nothing from that of the children of the nation. They enter into all the rights of those places which they supply ; and they often acquire so far the spirit of the nation of which they are become members, that they make no difficulty of going to war against their own countrymen. The Iroquois would have scarcely supported themselves hitherto but by this policy. Having been at war many years against all the other nations, they would at present have been reduced almost to nothing, if they had not taken great care to naturalize a good part of their prisoners of war. " It sometimes happens that instead of sending into the other villages the surplus of their captives, they give them to private persons, who had not asked for any ; and, in this NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 145 case, either they are not so far masters of them, as not to be obliged to consult the chiefs of the council how they shall dispose of them, or else they are obliged to adopt them. In the first place he to whom they make a present of a slave, sends for him by one of his family ; then he fastens him to the door of his cabin, and assembles the chief of the council, to whom he declares his intentions and asks their advice This advice is generally agreeable to his desire. In the second place the council, in giving the prisoners to the person they have determined on, say to hiuD,' It is a long time we have been deprived of such an on*; your relation, or your friend, who was a support of our village.' Or else, * we regret the spirit of such an one you hare lost ; and who, by his wisdom, maintained the public tranqmlity ; he must appear again this day ; he was too dear to us, and too precious to defer his revival any longer ; we p ] ace him again on his mat, in the person of this prisoner.' " There are nevertheless, some private persons that are in all appearance more considered than others, to whom they make a present of a captive without any conditions, and with full liberty to do what they please with him ; and then the council express themselves in these terms, when they put him in their hands : ' This is to repair the, loss of such a one, and to cleanse the heart of his father, of his mother, of his wife, and of his children. If you are either willing to make them drink the broth of this flesh, or that you had rather replace the deceased on his mat, in the per son of this captive, you may dispose of him as you please.' " When a prisoner is adopted, they lead him to the cabin where he must live, and the first thing they do is to untie him ; then they warm some water and wash him ; they dress his wounds, if he has any, and if they were even putrified, and full of worms, he is soon cured ; they omit nothing to make him forget his suffering ; they make him eat, and clothe him decently. In a word, they would not do more for their own children, nor for him whom he raises from the dead ; this is their expression. Some days after, they make a feast, during which they solemnly give him 146 ORIGIN OF THE the name of the person whom he replaces, and whose rights he not only acquires from that time, but he lays himself also under the same obligation. " Amongst the Hurons and Iroquois, the prisoners they intend to burn, are sometimes as well treated at first, and even till the moment of execution, as those that have been adopted. It appears as if they were vic-tims they had fattened for the sacrifice, and they are really a sacrifice to the god of war. The only difference they make between these and the others, is, that they blacken their faces all over ; after this, they entertain them in the best manner they are able ; they always speak kindly to them ; they give them the names of sons, brothers, or nephews, accor ding to the person whose names they are to appease by their death. They also sometimes give them young women, to serve them for wives all the time they have to live. But when they are informed of their fate, they must be well kept, to prevent their escaping. Therefore this often times is concealed from them. " When they have been delivered up to a woman, the moment they inform her every thing is ready for execution, she is no longer a mother, she is a fury, who passes from the tenderest caresses to the greatest excess of rage ; she begins by invoking the spirit of him she desires to revenge. 6 Approach,' says she, c you are going to be appeased ; I prepare a feast for thee ; drink great draughts of this broth which is going to be poured out to thee; receive the sacrifice I am going to make to thee in sacrificing this warrior ; he shall be burnt and put in the kettle ; they shall apply red hot hatchets to his flesh ; they shall pull of his scalp ; they shall drink in his skull ; make therefore no more complaints, thou shalt be fully satisfied.' " This form of speech, which is properly the sentence of death, varies much as to the terms ; but for the meaning, it is always the same. Then a crier makes the captive come out of the cabin, and declares in a loud voice the intention of him or her to whom he belongs, and finishes by exhorting the young people to behave well. Another succeeds, who NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 147' addresses him that is. to suffer, and says, brother, take courage, thou art going to be burnt? And he answers coolly, < that is well, I give thee thanks.' Immediately there is a cry through the whole village, and the prisoner is led to the place of his punishment. For the most part they tie him to a post by tjje hands and feet ; but in such a manner that he can turn round it. But sometimes when the execu tion takes place in a cabin whence there is no danger of escaping, they let him run from one end to the other. Be fore they begin to burn him, he sings for the last time his death song. Then he recites his achievements, and almost always in a manner the most insulting to those he perceives around him. Then he exhorts them not to spare him, but to remember that he is a man and a warrior. During these tragical and barbarous scenes the sufferer sings aloud, and with such seeming carelessness, that hereby he offers the greatest insult to his executioners. In short, the thought that there are no hopes of mercy, gives resolution and inspires boldness. " As to the causes that should produce in the savages such inhumanity, which we could never have believed men to have been guilty of, I believe they acquire it by degrees, and have been used to it insensibly by custom ; but a desire of seeing their enemy behave manly, the insults which the sufferers do not cease to make to their tormentors, the desire of revenge, which is the reigning passion of this people, and which they do not think sufficiently glutted, whilst the courage of those who are the object of it, is not subdued, and lastly superstition, have a great share in it, for what excesses are not produced by a false zeal, guided i by so many passions." 148 ORIGIN OF THE WAR AMONG THE TONGUSI, CORIAKS, KAMSCHADALES, YAKUTSI, OKOTSI, OF SIBERIA. When war is declared among the Tongusi, according to Abernethy, Santini, and others, the first ceremony, which is the very same among the North American Indians, is to hang the kettle mi the fire. This preliminary, no doubt, origiated from the barbarous custom of eating the prison ers of war, and those who had been killed, after they had been boiled. We find, however, no authentic proof addu ced by any European writer or traveller, which will induce us to believe that it was customary, either among the North American Indians or the tribes inhabiting the north east part of Asia, to eat human flesh ; still it is acknowledg ed by themselves on both continents. Some eminent trav ellers have asserted that the terms to drink the blood or b)'oth of the flesh of their enemies, were only an allegorical way of speaking among the Asiatics, and consequently among the Indians of North America. These figurative expres sions are often found in the scripture. The enemies of David did not, as it appears, make it a custom to eat the flesh of their, enemies, when he said Psalm xxvii. 5, ii. " When the wicked, even mine enemies came upon me to eat up my flesh" In after times, however, we are convinced that nations substituted the fact in room of the figure. Although the expressions which the Asiatics of Siberia and the North American Indians made use of, when they ad dressed their prisoners of war would in their literal sense induce us to believe that cannibalism was common among them on certain occasions, yet, we have no better proof than their own allegorical expressions, we must not be rash enough to accuse them of such inhumanity. " The motives," says Abernethy, " which engage the barbarous tribes of north-east Asia to make war, are gene rally trifling, and often founded on some old or new injury. Under these circumstances, nations which were once ene mies are seldom at peace with each other. Before they set NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 149 out on any warlike expedition, they must first obtain the approbation and sanction of their elders and chiefs who constitute the council. Among the Yakictsi and Okotsi, fast ing for several days is deemed indispensably necessary, es pecially for their chiefs or leaders. Some tribes among the Tongusi and Coriaks paint themselves black the day before they depart ; this colour, however, is changed into red on setting off. " The chief among the Kamschadales fasts longer than the other warriors, and during that time he scarcely con verses with any person, and is besmeared with black. This painting themselves with black arises, I suppose, from some notions of the death or slaughter which they are about to inflict on their enemies. Dreams are also carefully ob served, and more favourably interpreted, for they are gene rally auspicious mens. After they have performed many ridiculous ceremonies the chief assembles his warriors, and tells them that the Great Spirit and the spirits of their mur dered brethren demand revenge. Having delivered an en thusiastic and figurative speech of no great length, in which he reminds them of the bravery and heroism of their fathers and of the injuries done them and their brethren, they heat w T ater with which they wash the black colour from his face. They set his hair in order, grease it and repaint it with red and various other colours. After he is dressed in his finest robes he begins to sing the song of death in a low tone. His warriors then who are to accompany him, sing one after another their war song ; for every man has his own, which is not to be sung by another. Some families have also songs peculiar to themselves. They now proceed to he-ar the final decision of the council, who are for two or three days secluded from society. ' Go,' says the elders, ' and wipe away the blood of your brethren ; their bodies are not covered : destroy your enemies and eat all your captives.' This sentence is received with acclamations, bowlings, and yells, and they depart to make a feast, which is called the feast of the dog; for the dogs are generally the only dish. Before the dog is put into the kettle, they offer him to the 13* 150 ORIGIN OF THE god of war. Sometimes they declare war openly by sending a painted tomahawk to their enemies ; and at other times they take them by surprise without giving the least notice of their hostile intentions. Among the Coriaks a second feast is given by the chief before their departure, to which he invites all the village. Before they partake of any thing, the chief stands up and delivers a longer speech than usual. " We have been slain,' says he, < the bones of our brethren remain uncovered, their spirits cry against us, and we must satisfy them. The Great Spirit tells us to take re venge. Take therefore courage and dress your hair ; paint your faces and fill your quivers.' " After this discourse he is applauded with deafening yells. He then advances into the midst of the assembly to sing with his war club in his hand. The warriors swear or promise to follow him and support him till they die. They put themselves in the position of fighting, and their gestures would almost make one believe that they are actually fighting among themselves. This they do that their chieis and family may understand their intrepidity and firm resolu tions of not flying from the enemy. Songs and dances follow these assurances, and the feast puts an end to these ceremonies. " The Tongusi, in order to ascertain the courage, pa tience, and perseverance of their warriors, inflict many in juries and insults on the young people who never faced an enemy. They first reproach them with the names of cowards ; they beat them with their clubs, and even throw boiling water on them ; and if they show on these oc casions the least impatience and sensiblity, they are reckon ed as dastards who are not worthy of the name of warriors. They carry this practice of trying the young men so far that it would be too tedious to relate them. " When the day of departure is arrived, they are not at all void of those tender feelings, which are always found among any civilized nation on occasions of this sort. They give mutual pledges as assurances of a perpetual remem brance. At their departure the whole village meets at the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 151 cabin of the chief, which is now surrounded by warriors. On coming out of his cabin, he addresses them for the last time. His speech is much the same as I have already said. After his speech he again sings the song of death, and they all take their leave of their families, friends and relations. " Their arms are bows and arrows, a javelin and a head- breaker. Their defensive armour consists of the hides of Duffaloes and sometimes a coat of pliable sticks, woven and pretty well wrought. They have now however, substituted swords and muskets for their offensive weapons and defen sive armour, which prove more fatal and destructive. " The Coriaks have their tutelar deities which they carry with them on these expeditions. These symbols under which every one represents his familiar spirit, are painted with various colours and carried in sacks. When they travel by water they place the sacks which contain them, their presents, and other valuable articles, in the fore part of their canoes where the chief sits with no other intention, I suppose, than that of honouring him. " When they encamp, which is always about sunset, they construct tents of mats which they cany along with them. During the night they divide their watches after the man ner of the Romans. Sometimes, however, they all sleep, except two or three on whom they have the greatest dependance. But their principal safeguard are their deities, whom they imagine to be their surest protectors. On the following morning, if they are not in any hurry to arrive in the country of their enemies, small parties separate into different directions to hunt, and in the evening all return to their camp about the same time. Thus they pro cure their subsistence as they go along without being at the trouble of carrying burdens of provisions. " It is generally about day break that they attack their enemies, because about this time they imagine that they are asleep. The chief gives the signal, and they all rush forward, discharging their arrows, and preparing their more deadly weapons, their tomahawks. Slaughter and destruction are now committed without mercy or compas- 152 ORIGIN OF THE sion, and the vanquished frequently undergo the painful operation of scalping. "In retreating, they use the greatest precaution, by inarching forward expeditiously ; and pursuing a differed route from what the enemies would suppose. They also conceal the marks of their steps by covering them with the leaves of the trees. Those who have been taken prisoners are doomed to the most cruel treatment, much worse than the torments which the Christians endured from the Pagans. " The Yakutsi conduct their prisoners to their villages where they are immediately slaughtered, except to those who are ransomed by their respective chiefs. Many of them are also given to those widows who have lost their husbands in war. The Okotsi are again more merciful, for they seldom put to death any of their captives, unless they attempt to escape. The same treatment towards prisoners of war has been often observed among the various tribes of north-east Asia. "Innumerable ceremonies attend the entrance of the warriors into their villages, on their return from the field of battle. The Tongusi enter in great triumph. They send two messengers before to announce their approach, and relate their success, if they come off conquerors. All their friends of both sexes are summoned to meet them, at some distance from the village, with provisions and other refresh ments. Here they make a feast, during which every one recounts his own exploits and hereoic actions. After they amuse themselves with dancing and singing, they return home, where they aje entertained with more sumptuous festivities which last for several days. The prisoners are contented with singing mournful airs, in which they im plore the compassion of their conquerors. When captives are adopted among them, they fail not to show them that they are no less humane than they are ferocious when they inflict punishment." Santini has observed almost the same as Abernethy ; but he has noticed more particularly the Poloosi of the Coriaks, which is held so sacred among the North American Indians, NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 155 under the name of Calumet. Thus speaks Santini :- " Quando si vuol dischiarare la pace, si accende la Sacra Pipa di tobacco. Allora uno dei principi 1'ofFerisce al commandante degli inimici, la quale se riceve, la guerra e iinita. Si dice che da tutta questa gente, il contratto della Pipa e stimato inviolabile. II concavo e fattod'argilla e il tubo d' una canna. II tubo e ornato di piume di varii colori : Ma hanno different! pipe per different! contratti." When a nation is inclined to make peace, according to Santini, they light the sacred pipe, and it is offered by a chief to the chief commander of the hostile tribe ; if he receives and smokes it, peace is immediately proclaimed; and so sacred do they consider this agreement, that they have been seldom or never violated. The bowl is made of clay, and the tube of a reed three or four feet long ; it is decorated with feathers of various colours. They have their different pipes for their different sorts of contracts. THE DANCE OF THE CALUMET AMONG THE NORTH 4 AMERICAN INDIANS. When the dance of the ealumet is intended, as it gen erally is, to conclude a peace, or a treaty of alliance against a common enemy, they grave a serpent on the tube of the pipe, and set on one side of it a board, on which is repre sented two men of the two confederate nations, with the enemy under their feet, distinguished by the mark of his nation. In the centre are placed three of their most beautiful females, in order to make the treaty more solemn and binding, as the number three is by them considered the most sacred. Sometimes, instead of a calumet, they set up a fighting club. But if it concerns only a single alliance, they represent two men joining one hand and holding in the other a calumet of peace, and having each at his side the mark of his nation. In all these treaties they give mutual pledges, necklaces, calumets, slave? ; sometimes elks 156 ORIGIN OF THE and deer skins, well dressed, and ornamented with figures made with porcupines' hair; and then they represent on these skins the things which have been mentioned, either with porcupines, hair, or plain colours. During this treaty, which is contracted by means of the pipe, the greater part of them join in dancing, which is called the calumet dance. The chief carries the grand pipe in his hand and leads the circular dance, sometimes uttering sentiments of joy, as ii congratulating his tribe on obtaining confederates, and at other times howling revenge against the common enemy. The chief, who was the means of reconciling the two tribes to each other, first smokes the pipe and then offers it to the chief of his confederates, who also fumes in his turn. Then the whole assembly join in one common cry of congratu lation. " This ceremony," says the Bishop of Meaux, " is properly a military feast. The warriors are the actors, and one would say, that it was instituted only to give them an op portunity of publishing their great achievements in war. I am not the author of this opinion, which does not agree well with theirs, who have maintained that the calumet took its origin from the Caduceus of Mercury, and that in its institution it was esteemed as a symbol of peace. All those I saw dance, sing, shake the chichicoue, and beat the drum, were young people equipped as when they prepare for the march ; they had painted their faces with all sorts of colours, their heads were adorned with feathers, and they held some in their hands like fans. The calumet was also adorned with feathers, and was set up in the most conspic uous place. The band of music and the dancers were round about it ; the spectators divided here and there in little companies; the women separated from the men, all seated on the ground, and dressed in their finest robes, which at some distance made a pretty show. " Between the music and the commandant, who sat before the door of his lodging, they had set up a post, on which, at the end of every dance, a warrior came and gave a stroke with his hatchet. At this signal there was a great NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 157 silence, and this man repeated with a loud voice, some of his great feats, and then received the applauses of the spectators. Afterwards he went to his place and the sport began again. This lasted two hours for each of the nations ; and I acknowledge that I took no great pleasure in it, not only on account of the same tone and the un pleasantness of the music, but because all the dances con sisted in contortions, which seemed to me to express nothing and were no way entertaining. " The dance of the discovery is more entertaining, because it has more action, and expresses better than the foregoing the subject it represents. It is a natural representation of all that passes in an expedition of war ; and, as I have before observed, that the savages, for the greatest part only, endeavour to surprise the enemy, this is no doubt the reason why they have given this dance the name of the discovery. " However that may be, only one single man performs this dance. At first he advances slowly into the midst of the place, where he remains for some time motionless, after which he represents, one after another, the setting out of the warriors, the march, and the encamping ; he goes on the discovery, he makes his approach, he stops as if to take breath, then all on a sudden he grows furious, and one would imagine he was going to kill every body, then he appears more calm, and takes one of the company as if he had him a pris oner of war; he makes a show of knocking another person's brains out ; he levels his gun at another;' and, lastly, he sets up a running with all his might, and he stops in stantaneously and recovers himself. This is to represent a retreat, at first precipitate and afterwards less so. Then he expresses by different cries the various affections of his mind, during his last campaign, and finishes by reciting all the brave actions he has performed in the war. " In the western parts there is another dance used which is called the dance of the bulL The dancers form several circles or rings, and the music, which is always the drum or the chichicoue^ is in the midst of the place. They never sep- 14 ORIGIN OF THE arate those of the family ; they do not join hands, and every one carries in his hand his arms and his buckler. All the circles do not turn in the same way ; and though they caper much, and very high, they always keep time and measure. " From time to time a chief of a family presents his shield ; they all strike on it, and at every stroke he repeats some of his exploits. Then he goes and cuts a piece of tobacco at a post, where they have fastened a certain quan tity and gives it to one of his friends. If any one can prove that he has done greater exploits, or had a share in those the other boasts of, he has a right to take the piece of to bacco that was presented, and give it to another. This dance is followed by a feast ; but I do not see well from whence it derives its name unless it be from the shields, on which they strike, which are covered with bulls' hides. " There are dances which are prescribed by the phy sicians for the cure of the sick, but they are generally very lascivious. There are some that are entirely for discussion, that have no relation to anything. They are almost al ways in circles, to the sound of the drum and the chichicoue, the men apart from the women. The men dance with their arms in their hands, and though they never take hold of each other, they never break the circle. As to what I said before, that they are always in time, it is difficult thing to believe, that the music of the savages was but two or three notes which are repeated continually. This makes their feasts very tiresome to a European after he has seen them once, because they last a long time, and you hear always the siime thing " NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 159 THE DANCE OF THE POTOOSI, OR CALUMET, AMO" * THE TONGUSI, CORIAKS, KAMSCHADALES, YAKUSTI, AND OKOTS1. Abernethy, in speaking of the Potoosi dance among tae Tongusi, gives us the following description of it : "On the night previous to their departure, a very singular enter tainment is given by the chief, in which the Potoosi, or the sacred pipe, is introduced, for the purpose of binding the warriors to fidelity and bravery. The Potoosi, among all the Tongusian tribes, is considered a sacred instrument, which their fathers received from the Great Spirit, or God of War, to make vows by fuming tobacco. On the evening, therefore, before they depart, the warriors are summoned to appear before the chief, in their martial uniforms. The women also attend, and they are attired in their richest robes. Having formed a circle, trie musicians stand in the midst. Their music is very simple ; for it consists only of two instru ments, which produce neither harmony nor order. The dancers, however, keep time to the cadence of the music. This dance, as usual, was a ring or circle in which they moved roundwards incessantly, till it was announced to seat themselves on the ground to partake of the feast, the principal dish of which consists of the flesh of a white dog. Before the dog is put into the kettle, they perform several ceremonies in offering him while alive to the Great Spirit ; for they imagine that no animal is more pleasing, in a sacrifice, than a white dog. All their feasts are supplied with the flesh of the dog, and they might as well be called sacrifices as feasts ; because the offering of the dog to their Suprerre Deity always precedes the feast. After the dogs are consumed, they rise and renew their dances. The first thing, however, after the feast, is the offering of the Potoosi, to the Great Spirit, by the senior chief. The fumes of the pipe are directed upwards towards the Great Spirit. This ceremony resembles, in a great measure, the Asiatic offering of incense. When the chief imagines that the Deity is fully satisfied with this act of adoration, every 160 ORIGIN OF THE warrior in his tirn, takes the pipe, which is decorated with various ornaments, and, at every puff, promises to adhere to his commander, and never flee from his enemy. At the same time he relates what he has done in favour of his nation; and he foretells his future achievements. The chief takes the Potoosi, a second time, and at every puff he enumerates the various engagements in which he conquered his enemies. The whole assembly then join in applauding his bravery and undaunted spirit. The feast of the Potoosi is concluded with the song of death, in which they swear vengeance against their enemies. Then they retire to their cabins or huts, to prepare for their departure on the follow ing morning. They have several other dances on various occasions, and to describe them now is not necessary, because the same ceremonies are used almost on every occasion." Santini, whom we have so often quoted, describes very minutely all their dances; but the observations of Aber- nethy, will, we hope, suffice to give the reader an idea of them all. Without alluding particularly to the Coriaks, Kamschadales, Yakutsi, and the Okotsi, we shall only say, that dances of a similar nature are common among them as well as the Tongusi. SACRIFICES AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. The North American Indians make to all their spirits different sorts of offerings, which may be called sacrifices. They throw into the lakes tobacco or birds that have had their throats cut, to render the gods of the waters propitious to them. In honour of the sun, and sometimes also of the inferior spirits, they throw into the fire a part of every thing they use, and which they acknowledge to hold from them. It is sometimes out of gratitude, but oftener through interest. Their acknowledgment is also interested ; for these people have no sentiments of the heart towards their NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 161 deities. There have been observed also on certain occasions some libations, and all this is accompanied with invocations in mysterious terms, which the savages could never explain to the Europeans, either that in fact they have no meaning, or that the sense of them has not been transmitted by tradition with the words ; perhaps also they keep it as a secret from us. We learn also that collars of porcelain, tobacco, ears of maize, skins, and whole animals, especially dogs, were found on the sides of .difficult and dangerous ways, on rocks, or by the side of the falls ; and these were so many offerings made to the spirits which presided in these places. We have already said that a dog is the common victim which they offer them ; sometimes they hang him up alive on a tree by the hind feet, and let him die there raving mad. The war feast, which is always of dogs, may very well pass for a sacrifice. In short, they render much the same honours to the mischievous spirits, as to those that are beneficent, when they have anything to fear from their malice. SACRIFICES AMONG THE TONGUSI. " These tribes," says Abernethy, " have their sacrifices as 'veil as the Jews, but in a very inferior manner ; because when they make an offering to a deity, it is not on account of their reverence or veneration towards that being. They imagine that if they sacrifice the dog, or any other animal which is agreeable to the spirits, they can conquer th' '.< enemies in battle, and shun all those calamities wh : ^ are inflicted on the human species in this world. AS for a future state, they imagine that no person can be unhappy. By offering sacrifices to the malevolent spirits- for it is seldom that they worship the benevolent deity -they think that they can avert his wrath* ^ I have often observed that theTongusi, of all the other tribes of Siberia, are those who pay the greatest attention 162 ORIGIN OF THE to this religious ceremony ; for whenever they labour under diseases, or scarcity of food, they first offer a sacrifice and then set out to hunt, fully convinced of their success. Their mode of offering sacrifices is attended with many ceremonies which are performed by their bravest warriors. Having lighted a fire, they take a dog, and sometimes a bear, which they suspend above the fire by several poles, till the animal is totally consumed. It is customary among some Tongusian tribes to dance during the sacrifice ; there are others, however, who stand silent and motionless till the offering is completed ; then a dance commences which lasts for several hours, as if rejoicing for appeasing the angry demon. Before they go to battle, they never fail to make an offering. Then all their villages are assembled and they form a kind of procession. The women walk one after another, till they arrive at the spot where the sacrifice is to be offered. This place is generally some elevated ground, at some distance from the village. The warriors march in full uniform, with their faces painted. Before the dog is committed to the flames, they whisper something in his ear, telling him, as I have been told, to obtain for them the assistance of the great or benevolent spirit in battle, and prevent the evil or mischievous one from punishing them. 3 ' Santini says that the Coriaks and Kamschadales offer sacrifices of the same kind, and in the same manner. El- phinstone observed sacrifices among other Siberian tribes. La Roche, in describing the religion of certain tribes in Tartary, says, that dogs, bears, and sometimes sheep are offered by them to their Great Spirit. FUNERAL RITES AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. " As soon as the sick person dies," says the Bishop of Meaux, " the place is filled with mournful cries ; and this lasts as long as the family is able to defray the expense. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 163 for they must keep an open table all this time. The dead body, dressed in the finest robe, with the face painted, the arms and all that belonged to the deceased by his side, is exposed at the door of the cabin in the posture it is to be laid in the tomb ; and this posture is the same in many places, as that of the child in the mother's womb. The custom of some nations is for the relations of the deceased to fast to the end of the funeral ; and all this interval is passed in tears and cries, in treating their visiters, in prai sing the dead, and in mutual compliments. In other places they hire women to weep, who perform their duty punctu ally ; they sing, they dance, they weep without ceasing, always keeping time ; but these demonstrations of a bor rowed sorrow do not prevent what nature requires from the relations of the deceased. They carry the body without ceremony to the place of interment; at least, 1 find no mention about it in any relation ; but when it is in the grave, they take care to cover it in such a manner, that the earth does not touch it ; it lies in a little cave lined with skins, much richer and better adorned than their cabins. Then they set up a post on the grave, and fix on it every thing that may show the esteem they had for the deceased. They sometimes put on it his portrait and everything that may serve to show to passengers who he was, and the finest actions of his life. They carry fresh provisions to his tomb every morning ; and as the dogs and other beasts do not fail to reap the benefit of it, they are willing to persuade themselves that these things have been eaten by the souls of the dead. " It is not strange after this, that the savages believe in apparitions ; and in fact, they tell stories of this sort all manner of ways. I knew a poor man, who, by continually hearing these stories, fancied that he had always a troop of ghosts at his heels ; and as people took a pleasure to in crease his fears, it made him grow foolish ; nevertheless, at the end of a certain number of years, they take as much, care to efface out of their minds the remenbrance of those 164 ORIGIN OF THE they have lost, as they did before to preserve it ; and this is solely to put an end to the grief they felt for their loss. " Some missionaries one day asking their new converts, why they deprived themselves of their most necessary things in favour of the dead. They replied, ( It is not only to show the love we bore to our relations, but also that we may not have before our eyes, in the things they used, objects which would continually renew our grief.' It is also for this reason that they forbear, for some time, to pronounce their names ; and if any other of the family bears the same name, he quits it all the time of mourning. This is probably also the reason why the greatest outrage that can be done a person, is to say to him, your father is dead, or, your mother is dead. " When any one dies in the time of hunting, they expose his body on a very high scaffold, and it remains there till the departure of the troop, who carry it with them to the village. There are some nations who practice the same with regard to all their dead ; and I have seen the same practised by the Missisaguez of Detroit. The bodies of those who die in war are burned, and their ashes brought back to be laid in the burying-place of their fathers. These burying places, among the most settled nations, are places like our churchyards, near the village. Others bury their dead in the woods, at the foot of a tree, or dry them and keep them in chests till the festival of the dead, which I shall presently describe ; but in some places they observe an odd ceremony for those that are drowned or are frozen. Before I describe it, it is proper to tell that the savages believe, when these accidents happen, that the spirits, are in censed, and that they are not appeased till the body is found. Then the preliminaries of tears, dances, songs, and feasts being ended, they carry the body to the usual burying-place ; or if they are too far off, to the place where it is to remain till the festival of the dead : they dig there a very large pit, and they make a fire in it ; then, some young persons ap proach the corpse, cut out the flesh in the parts which had been marked out by a master of the ceremonies, and throw NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 165 them into the fire with the bowels ; then they place the corpse, thus mangled, in the place destined for it. During the whole operation, the women, especially the relations of the deceased, go continually* round those that are at it, ex horting them to acquit themselves well of their employment, and put beads of porcelain in their mouths, as we would give sugar-plums to children to entice them to do what we desire. "The interment is followed by presents, which they make to the afflicted family ; and this is called covering the dead. These presents are made in the name of the village and sometimes in the name of the nation. Allies also make presents at the death of considerable persons. But first the family of the deceased make a great feast in his name,and this feast is accompanied with games, for which they propose pri zes, which are performed in this manner. A chief throws on the tomb three sticks about a foot long ; a young man, a woman, and a maiden, take each of them, and those of their age, their sex, and condition, strive to wrest it out of their hands. Those with whom the sticks remain are conquerors. There are also races, and they sometimes shoot at a mark. In short, by a custom which we fhid established in all the times of Pagan antiquity, a ceremony entirely mournful is terminated by songs and shouts of victory. " It is true that the family of the deceased take no part in these rejoicings ; they observe even in his cabin after the obsequies, a mourning, the laws of which are very severe ; they must have their hair cut, and their faces blacked : they must stand with their faces wrapped in a blanket ; they must not look at any person, nor make any visits, nor eat anything hot ; they must deprive themselves of all pleasures, wear scarcely anything on their bodies, and never warm themselves at the fire, even in the depth of winter. " After this deep mourning, which lasts two years, they begin a second more moderate, which lasts two or three years longer, and which may be softened by little and little ; m but they dispense with nothing that is prescribed, without * the consent cf the cabin to which the widow or widower 166 ORIGIN OF THE belongs. These permissions, as well as the end of the mourning always cost a feast. " The first and often the only compliment which the Indians make to a friend, and 'even to a stranger whom they receive in their cabins, is to weep for those of his own relations, whom he has lost since they saw him last. They put their hands on his head, and they give him to un derstand who it is they weep for, without mentioning his name. All this is founded in nature and has nothing in it of barbarity. But what I am going to speak of does not appear to be any way excusable ; that is, the behaviour of these people towards those who die by a violent death, even though it is in \var, and for the service of their country. " They have got a notion that their souls, in the other world, have no communication with the others ; and on this principle they burn them, or bury them directly, some times even before they expire. They never lay them in the common burying-place, and they give them no part in the great ceremony which is renewed every eight years among some nations, and every ten years among the Huron and Iroquois. " They call it the festival of the dead, or the feast of souls ; and here follows what I could collect that was most uni form and remarkable concerning this ceremony, which is the most singular, and the most celebrated of the religion of the savages. They begin by fixing a place for the as sembly to meet in ; then they choose the king of the feast, whose duty it is to give orders for everything, and to invite the neigbouring villages. The day appointed being come, all the savages assemble, and go in procession two and two to the burying-place. There every one labours to uncover the bodies; then they continue some time contem- it plating in silence a spectacle so capable of exciting the most serious reflections. The women first interrupt this religious silence, by sending forth mournful cries, which [j , increase the horror with which everyone is filled. " This first act being ended they take up the carcasses, and pick up the dry and separated bones, and put them in NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 167 parcels ; and those who are ordered to carry them, take them on their shoulders. If there are any bodies not entirely decayed, they wash them ; they clean away the corrupted flesh, and all the filth, and wrap them in new robes of beaver skins ; then they return in the same order they came; .and when the procession is come into the village, every one lays in his cabin the burden he was charged with. During' the march, the women continue their lamentations, and the men show the same signs of grief as they did on the day of the death of those whose remains they have been taking up. This second act is folio wed by a feast in each cabin, in honour of the dead of the family. " The following days they make public feasts ; and they are accompanied, as on the day of the funeral, with dances, games, and combats, for which there are also prizes pro posed. From time to time they make certain cries, which they call the cries of the souls. They make presents to strangers, among whom there are sometimes some who come an hundred and fifty leagues, and they receive presents from them. They also take advantage of these op portunities to treat of common affairs, or for the election of a chief. Every thing passes with a great deal of order, decency, and modesty ; and every one appears to entertain sentiments suitable to the principal action. Every thing, even in the dances and songs, carries an air of sadness and mourning ; and one can see in all hearts pierced with the sharpest sorrow. The most insensible would be affected at the sight of this spectacle. After some days are past, they go again in procession to the great council room, built for the purpose ; they hang up against the walls the bones and the carcasses in the same condition they took them from the burying-place, and they lay forth the presents designed for the dead. If among these sad remains there happens to be those of a chief,* his successor gives a great feast in his name, and sings his song. In many places the bones are carried from village to village, and they are received every where with great demonstrations of grief and tenderness 168 ORIGIN OF THE Whithersoever they go, they receive presents. Lastly, they carry them to the place where they are to remain always But I forgot to mention that ,all these marches are made to the sound of their instruments, accompanied with their best voices, arid that every one in these marches keeps time to the music. " This last and common burial-place is a great pit, which hey line with their finest furs and the best things they have. The presents designed for the dead are set by them selves. By degrees as the procession arrives, each family ranges themselves on a kind of scaffold set up round the pit ; and the moment the bones are laid in, the women renew their weeping and wailing. Then all present go down into the pit, and every one takes a little of the earth, which they keep carefully. They fancy it procures luck at play. The bodies and the bones, ranged in order, are covered with entire new furs, and over that with bark, on which they throw stones, wood, and earth. Every one returns to his own cabin ; but the women come for several days after, and pour Sagamitty on the place." FUNERAL RITES AMONG THE CORIAKS, TONGUSI, AND . KAMSCHADALES. We are told by several travellers that mourning for the dead is common among the various tribes that inhabit Siberia; and that they have their funeral ceremonies, which are very ridiculous. They meet their fate with a degree of fortitude which is inspired by hopes of being rendered more happy after their departure from this world. Whenever the dying person breathes his last, they dress the corpse in the finest robes they can procure. Their presents to the deceased are also innumerable. In carrying their dead bodies to the grave, women are hired to weep, mourn, and sing melancholy airs. The corpses are, how ever, exposed for several days on scaffolds before they are NORTH AMERJCAN INDIANS. 169 interred. " The Tongusi," says Abernethy, " evince a great deal of tenderness at the death of any of their family ; their mourning sometimes lasts for a whole year. For several days they are commonly exposed on scaffolds 'within their cabins, and at other times near the place of interment. They bring them presents and food, which is consumed, they imagine, by their spirits. The Coriaks have a practice of embalming their dead in caves where the earth does not touch the corpse. I have seen among them several bodies in a good state of preservation, after being dead for several years. In accompanying the remains of the deceased to the burying ground, the women form a procession, in which they walk one after another ; but these are the women who are hired to weep and sing ; the rest move onwards irregu larly. All the brave deeds of the deceased are enumerated publicly by a crier, who is generally a near relation of him whose memory and fame he endeavours to perpetuate. The Kamschadales use almost the same ceremonies, but among them the female mourners paint themselves black, and remain so for ten days, during which time they reside with the friends and relations of those whose death they lament." Santini and La Roche say that the Tongusi and Coriaks mourn for the deceased for a considerable time ; that the pits and caves where the dead are to be carried, must first be fumigated or incensed by burning rosin or some dried aromatic herb. La Roche observed in Kamschatka several women who sang, wept, and danced at the interment of their dead. Santini was informed that it was customary among the Tongusi and Coriaks to bury, along with the dead, everything that was dear to them while alive, especi ally their arms and family distinctions. 15 170 ORIGIN OF THE THE FESTIVAL OF DREAMS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. We know not if religion has ever had any share in what they generally call the festival of dreams, and which the Iroquois, and some others, have more properly called the turning of the brain. This is a kind of Bacchanal, which commonly lasts fifteen days, and is celebrated about the end of winter. They act at this time all kinds of fooleries, and every one runs from cabin to cabin, disguised in a thousand ridiculous ways ; they break and overset everything, and nobody dares to contradict them. Whoever chooses not to be present in such a confusion, nor be exposed to all the tricks they play, must keep out of the way. If they meet any one, they desire him to guess their dreams, and if they do, it is at their expense, for he must give the thing he dreamed of. When it ends, they return everything, they make a great feast, and they only think how to repair the sad effects of the masquerade, for most commonly it is no trifling business ; because this is also one of those oppor tunities which they wait for, without saying anything, to give those a good drubbing who, they think, have done them any wrong. When the festival, however is over, all injuries are forgotten The following description of one of these festivals is found in the journal of one of the missionaries, who was forced to be a spectator of it, much against his will, at Onontague : " The approaching festival was proclaimed on the 22nd of February, by the elders, with as much gravity as if it had been a weighty affair of state. They had no sooner re-entered their cabin, than there came forth instantly, men, women, and children, almost quite naked, though the weather was excessively cold. They entered directly into all the cabins, then they went raving about on every side, without knowing whither they went or what they would NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 171 have One would take them for people who were drunk or mad. " Many returned immediately to their cabins after ut tering some howlings. Others were resolved to make use of the privilege of the festival, during which they are re puted to be out of their senses, and of conseqence not respon sible for what they do, and revenge their private quarrels. They do so to some purpose, for they threw whole pails full of water on some people, and this water, which froze imme diately, was enough to chill them with cold. Others they covered with hot ashes, or all sorts of filth ; others took light ed coals, or firebrands, and threw them at the head of the first they met ; others broke every thing in the cabins, falling on those they bore a grudge to, and beating them unmercifully. To be freed from this persecution, one must guess dreams, which often no one can form any conception of. "A missionary and his companion were often on the point of being more than witnesses of these extravagan cies ; one of these madmen went into a cabin, where he had seen them take a shelter at the first. Being disap pointed by their flight, he cried 'out that they must guess his dream, and satisfy it immediately: as they were too long about it, he said, ' I must kill a Frenchman. 9 Im mediately the master of the cabin threw him a French coat, to which this madman gave several stabs. " Then he that had thrown the coat, growing furious in his turn, said he would revenge the Frenchman, and burn the whole village down to the ground. He began, in fact, by setting fire to his own cabin, where the scene was first acted ; and when all the rest were gone out, he shut him self up in it. The fire which he had lighted up in several places, did not yet appear on the outside, when one of the missionaries came to the door. He was told what had hap pened, and w r as afraid that his host could not get out, though he might be willing ; then he broke open the door and laid hold of the savage, turned him out and extinguish ed the fire. His host, nevertheless, ran through the village, crying out that he would burn it. They threw a dog to 172 ORIGIN OF THE him, in hopes that he would glut his fury on that animal ; he said it was not enough to repair the affront he had re ceived by the killing of a Frenchman in his cabin. They threw him a second dog, which he cut in pieces. His fury was then instantly over. " This man had also a brother who would play his part. He dressed himself up nearly as painters represent the satyrs, covering himself from head to foot with the leaves of maize. He equipped two w r omen like real Megarai, their heads blacked, their hair dishevelled, a wolf's skin over their bodies, and a club in their hands. Thus attended, he goes into all the cabins, yelling and howling with all his strength. He climbs on the roof and plays as many tricks there as the most skilful dancer could perform ; then he made most terrible outcries, as if he had got some great hurt ; then he came down and marched on gravely, preceded by his two Bacchantes, who, growir or furious in their turn, overset with their clubs everything that met them in their way. They were no sooner out of this frenzy, or tired with acting their parts, than another woman took their place and entered the cabin in which were the two missionaries. She was armed with a blunderbuss, which she had just got by having her dream guessed. She sang the war song, making a thousand imprecations on herself, if she did not bring home some prisoners. " A warrior followed close after this Amazon, with a bow and arrow in one hand, and a bayonet in the other. After he had made himself hoarse with bawling, he then threw himself all at once on a woman, who was standing quietly by, not expecting it, and lifting up his bayonet to her throat, took her by the hair, cut off a handful and went away. Then a juggler appeared, holding a stick in his hand adorned with feathers, by means of which he boasted that he could reveal the most secret things. A savage ac companied him, carrying a vessel I know not of what liquor, which from time to time he gave him to drink ; the juggler had no sooner taken it in his mouth, than he spit it out again, blowing on his hands and his stick, and at every NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 173 time he explained all the enigmas that were proposed to him. " Two women came afterwards, and gave to understand that they had some desires, one directly spread a mat on the ground ; they guessed that she desired some fish, which were given her. The other had a hoe in her hand, and they judged that she desired a field to cultivate ; they car ried her out of the village and set her to work. A chief had dreamed, as he said, that he saw two human hearts they could not explain his dream, and at this every body was greatly concerned. It made a great noise, they even pro longed the festival for a day, but all was in vain and he was obliged to make himself easy without. Sometimes there were troops of people that made shamfights; sometimes companies of dancers who acted all sorts of farces. This madness lasted four days, and it appeared that it was out of respect to the two missionaries that they had thus short ened the time. " But there were as many disorders committed in this space of time, as they used to do in fifteen days ; neverthe less they had this regard for the missionaries, that they did not disturb them in their functions, and did not hin der the Christians from discharging themselves of their re ligious duties. Let this suffice to give the reader some idea concerning their festivals of dreams " FESTIVAL OF DREAMS AMONG THE TONGUSI, CORIAKS, AND KAMSCHADALES. Several travellers who visited the north-east parts of Asia mention several festivals, and among them rejoicings called the 'Nokoosi or interpretations of dreams. In a cer tain season of the year, we are told by Santini that all the young people of both sexes among the Coriaks assemble in order to guess dreams. These merriments and entertain ments, he tells us, continue for several days, during which 15* 174 ORIGIN OF THE time dances, songs, and music, form the principal part of the entertainment. According to Abernethy, they paint and disguise themselves when they go abroad without pay ing any respect either to morality or decency. Many of them, especially among the Tongusi, ftiys the same author, consider this a favourable opportunity of revenging insults and injuries, because they imagine that they are not known to the sufferer. La Roche compares the 'Nokoosi of the Kamschadales with the Carnivali of the continent of Europe, whi^ch takes place yearly in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and in some parts of France before lent commences. During the celebration of the Carnivali, which lasts for fourteen days, those who join it masquerade themselves and are at full liberty to play all tricks with impunity which cannot be considered criminal. The Kamschadales, as well as the North American Indians, may do the same without punish ment ; because, according to their custom, every person makes himself as foolish as he can. Abernethy speaks of his having distinguished himself on one of these occasions among the Coriaks for the sole purpose, as he himself tells us, of saving his life ; because he considered them actually deranged, and consequently his life in danger on account of being a stranger and a foreigner. Santini found himself in the same predicament among some tribes of the Tongusi, and would most likely have been grossly insulted, had not his converts, the Tongusian princes, interfered in his behalf. Without describing the barbarous scenes which these travellers witnessed during these festivals among certain tribes in north-east Asia, we assure our reader that they were not much different from those which have been ob served among the North American Indians on similar oc casions. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS 175 THE GAME OF THE DISH, OR OF LITTLE BONES AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. The game of the dish, which they also call the game of the little bones, is only played by two persons, each has six or eight little bones, which resembje apricot stones in their shape and bigness." On viewing them closely, however, a person can perceive six unequal surfaces, the two principal of which are painted, one black and the other white, in clining to yellow. They make them jump up, by striking the ground, or the table, with a round and hollow dish, which contains them, and which they twist round first When they have no dish, they throw the bones up in the air with their hands ; if, on falling, they come all of one colour, he who plays w T ins five. There is forty up, and they substract the numbers gained by the adverse party. Five bones of the same colour win, but one for the first time, but the second time they win the game, while a less number wins nothing. He that wins the game continues playing. The loser gives his place to another, who is named by the markers of his side ; for they make parties at first, and often the whole village is concerned in the game ; oftentimes also one vil lage plays against another. Each party chooses a marker; but he withdraws when he pleases, which never happens, but when his party loses. At every throw, especially if it happens to be decisive, they make great shouts. The play ers appear like people possessed with an evil spirit, and the spectators are not more calm. They all make a thousand contortions, talk to the bones, load the spirit of the adverse party with imprecations, and the whole village echoes with nowlings. If all this does not recover them back, the losers may put off the party till the next day ; it costs them only a small treat to the company. Then they prepare to return to the engagement, each 176 ORIGIN OF THE invoking his genius, and throwing some tobacco in the fire to his honour. They ask him, above all things, for lucky dreams. As soon as day appears they go again to play ; but if the losers fancy that the goods in their cabins made them unlucky, the first thing they do is to change them all. The great parties commonly last five or six days, and often continue all night. In the mean time, as all the persons present, at least those who are concerned in the game, are in an agitation that deprives them of reason, as they quarrel and fight, which never happens among the savages, but on these occasions, and in drunkenness, one may judge, if when they have done playing, they do not* want rest. The Indians are so superstitious, that these parties of play are often made by order of the physicians or at the re quest of the sick. There needs no more for this purpose than the dream of the one or the other. This dream is always taken for the order of some spirit, and then they prepare themselves for play with a great deal of care. They assemble for several nights to try and to see who has the luckiest hand. They consult their Genii, they fast, the married persons observe continence ; and all this to obtain a favourable dream. Every morning they relate what dreams they have had, and all those things which they dreamed of, were those which they thought lucky. They make a collection of all, and put them into little bags which they carry about with them. If any one has the reputation of being lucky, that is in the opinion of these people, of having a familiar spirit more powerful, or more inclined to do good, they never fail to make him keep near him who holds the dish. They even go to a great way sometimes to fetch him ; and if, through age or any infirmity, he cannot walk, they will carry him on their shoulders. They have often pressed the missionaries to be present at these games, as they believe their guardian Genii are more powerful. It happened one day in a Huron village, that a sick person having sent for a juggler, this quack NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 177 prescribed the game of the dish, and appointed a village, at some distance from the sick person's residence, to play at- They immediately sent to ask the leave of their chief; it was granted, and they played. When the game was end ed, the sick person returned many thanks to the players for having cured her, as she said. But there w r as nothing of truth in all this ; on the contrary, she was worse. The ill humour of this women and her relations fell on the missionaries, who had refused to assist at the game not withstanding all the importunities they used to engage them ; and in their anger for the little complaisance they showed them on this occasion, they told them by way of reproach, that since their arrival in this country the Genii of the savages had lost their power. Such are the obser vations of a French missionary who resided a long time among the Hurons. GAME OF THE PATOONI AMONG THE KAMSCHADALES. The game of the Patooni, which La Roche briefly de scribes, was, from every appearance, originally the same as that of the little bones among the American Indians, although in Kamschatka sticks were substituted for bones. " It is surprising," says La Roche, " to witness the simpli city and superstition of some of these people while they play some games. Before they set out to hunt, they frequently form a party to play the Patooni, which consists in throwing up in the air small sticks about the size of an orange, with four sides, and resembling the dice of the Europeans, because each side has a certain number. He who has the greatest number upwards, when they fall on the ground, is conqueror, and 'expects to be the most suc cessful in the chase. It is considered, therefore, a great favour to belong to the winner's party when they separate themselves into different companies, because they imagine 173 ORIGIN OF THE that they cannot be utterly disappointed while they are the associates of him who is to kill the most." Abernethy observed this and other frivolous games, which he did not deem worthy of any notice. Santini, in speaking of a certain game which he does not describe, says, that the Tongusi, when they played, resembled mad men more than rational beings, from the way in which their feelings were excited. THE NAMING OF CHILDREN AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. This ceremony is performed at a feast where no persons are present but those of the same sex with the child that is to be named. While they are eating, the child is upon the knees of the father or mother, who continually recommend it to the spirits, especially to that which is to be its guardian genius ; for every person has their own, but not at their birth. They never make new names ; each family has a certain number, which they take by turns, sometimes also they change their names as they grow up, and there are some names which they cannot go by after a certain age ; this, however, is not the custom every where. They never call a man by his proper name, when they talk to him in common discourse ; this, they imagine, would be impolite. They always give him the quality he has with respect to the person that speaks to him ; but when there is between them no relation or affinity, they use the term of brother or uncle, nephew or cousin, according to each other's age, or accord ing to the value they have for the person whom they address. Farther, it is not so much to render the names immortal, that they revive them, as to engage those to whom they are given, either to imitate the brave actions of their prede cessors, of to revenge them if they have been killed or burned, or, lastly, to comfort and help their families. Thus NORTH AV.KIUCAN INDIANS. 179 a woman who has lost her husband, or her son, and finds herself without the support of any person, delays as little as she can to transfer the name him she mourns for, to some person capable of supplying his place. They change their names on many other occasions to give the particulars of which would take up too much time. There needs no more for this purpose than a dream, or the order of a physician, or some such trifling cause. THE NAMING OF CHILDREN AMONG THE KAMSCHADALES. " Si prepara," says, Santini, " dai Coriaki, un banchetto, quando vogliono nominare i fanciulli. Se sara una fan- ciulla, bisogna che tutta la compagnia, eccetto il padre, sia composta di donne, e d'uomini solamente, eccetto il padre, madre, se sara un ragazzo. Ogni famiglia ritiene gli stessi nomi che avevano ricevuti da loro antenati. Sovente volte pero, quando una vedova e maritata un altra volta, il nuovo marito prende v il nome di lui chi e morto. I vecchii si chiamano dai giovani, i loro padri, e quelli della medesima eta, i loro fratelli." According to Santini, the Coriaks and other tribes of Siberia, prepare a feast, when they are to name a child. If it be a boy, the ceremony is performed in the presence of men alone, excepting the mother of the child, and in the presence of women only, excepting the father, if it be a firl. Every family have retained the names which have een delivered down to them by their ancestors ; sometimes, however, when a widow is married again, the name of the deceased is transferred to her new husband. Old men are generally by the young called fathers, and those of the same age brothers. La Roche tells us that the children of some Tartar tribes, who had been converted to Christianity, were allowed to go only a week by the names which they receiv ed at the baptismal font ; because they dreamed that the spirits of their fathers were offended at the changing of their names. 180 ORIGIN" OF THE JUGGLERS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. These jugglers, according to the Bishop of Meaux, make a profession of corresponding only with what they call the beneficial Genii, and who boast of knowing by their means whatever passes in the most distant countries, and whatever shall come to pass in the most distant ages. They pretend to discover the use and nature of the most hidden diseases, and to have the secret of curing them ; to discern in the most intricate affairs what resolution it is best to take ; to explain the most obscure dreams ; to obtain success in the most difficult undertakings, and to render the gods propiti ous to warriors and hunters. These pretended good Genii are, like all the Pagan deities, real devils, who receive ho mages that are due only to the true God, and whose deceits are still more dangerous than those of the evil Genii, be cause they contribute more to keep their worshippers in blindness. It is certain, that among their* agents the boldest are more respected. With a little artifice, therefore, they easily impose on those who are brought up in superstition. Although they might have seen the birth of these impostors, if they take a fancy to give themselves a supernatural birth, they find people, who believe them on their word, as much as if they had seen them come down from heaven, and who take it for a kind of enchantment and illusion, that they thought them born at first like other men. Their artifices are, in general, so gross, and so common, that there are none but fools and children who are imposed upon by them. But when they act as physicians, their skill is never doubted : for the greatest credulity is found in every coun try, concerning the recovery of health. It has been asserted by persons whose words could not be suspected, that when these impostors shut themselves up in their stoves to sweat, and this is one of their most common preparations to perform their tricks, they differ very little from the Pythonesses, as the poets have represented them on NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 18 1 the Tripod. They are seen to become convulsed, and pos sessed with enthusiasm, to acquire tones of the voice, and to do actions which appear to be beyond the strength of nature. It is also asserted, that they suffer much on these occa sions ; so that there are some who do not readily engage, even when they are well paid, to give themselves up in this manner to the spirit that agitates them. After coming out of these violent sweats, they go and throw themselves into cold water, even when it is frozen, without receiving any damage. This is a matter which physic cannot account for ; however, it is certain that there is nothing supernatural in it. THE PONOMOOSI OR PROPHETS AMONG THF KAMSCHA- DALES, CORIAKS, &c. We are assured by Santini, Abernethy, and La Roche that several tribes in the north-east parts of Asia have their prophets whom they call Ponomoosi. This deceitful order, they tell us, predict their fate in battle and their suc cess in the chase; and this knowledge they pretend to have received from their deities. They retire into the forest, where they fast for several days. During this time they beat a drum, cry, howl, sing, and smoke. This prepara tion is accompanied with so many furious actions that one would take them for evil spirits. These fortune-tellers are visited at night by their rela tions, who bring them intelligence of every thing that happens in the villages during their absence. By these means they are enabled, on their return from their dens, to impose upon the credulous ; because the first part of their prophecy consists of giving an account of all those who married, died, and returned from the chase since they departed. They seldom fail in giving a correct statement of these and other things, as their private informants are 16 182 ORIGIN OF THE equally interested in the success of their prophecy, irom an expectation of being remunerated. " The Ponomoosi of the Coriaks," says Abernethy, " are an inferior order of priests, who declare the will of their deities, and act as their interpreters ; but in offering sacrifices, the Ponomoosi are never their priests. Their chief employment is to practice physic, in which they are sometimes success ful, and to foretell the consequence of their wars and the chase. They practice physic on principles founded on the knowledge of simples, on experience, and on circumstances, as they do in other countries. To this knowledge they al ways join a great deal of superstition and imposture." The following account of a conjurer is given us by Cap tain Lyon. This is also another sort of impostors, no less ridiculous than the former, and differing merely in name : " All light being excluded, the sorcerer began chanting with great vehemence. He then, as far as I could perceive, began turning himself rapidly round, and in a loud, power ful voice vociferated for Tornga (the name of his familiar spirit) with great impatience, at the same time blowing and snorting like a walrus. His noise, impatience, and agita tion, increased every moment, and he at length seated him self on the deck, varying his tones, and making a rustling with his clothes. Suddenly, the voice seemed smothered, and was so managed as to sound as if retreating beneath the deck, each moment becoming more distant, and ulti mately giving the idea of being many feet below the cabin, when it ceased entirely. His wife now informed me, that the conjurer had dived under the ship, and that he would send up Tornga. Accordingly in about a minute, a distant blowing was heard, very slow in approaching, and a voice, which differed from that we had at first heard, was at times mingled with the blowing, until at length both sounds became distinct, and the old women told me Tornga was come to answer my questions. I accordingly asked several questions of the sagacious spirit, to each of which I received an answer by two loud slaps on the deck, which I NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 183 was given to understand were favourable. A very hollow, yet powerful voice, certainly much different from that of the conjurer's, now chanted for some time ; a jumble of hisses, groans, shouts, and gobbling like a turkey, succeeded in rapid order, when the spirit asked permission to retire. The voice then gradually sank from our hearing as at first and a very indistinct hissing succeeded, (in its advance it sounded like the tone produced by the wind on the base chord of an Eolian harp,) this was soon changed to a rapid hiss like that of a rocket, and the "conjurer with a yell an nounced his return." Santini tells us that prophets of the same kind are held in great veneration among different tribes in Tartary ; bur that they do not use so many ridiculous ceremonies in their predictions. ORATORS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Among the Indians every tribe and every village have their orators as well as priests, physicians, and jugglers. In the public Councils and in the general assemblies they have a right to plead the cause of criminals and plaintiffs An European would scarcely believe their fluency of speech and the loftiness of their ideas. They speak for a long time and to the purpose. Nothing can be more pleasing than to witness the interest which the orator takes in de fending those who employ him. On some occasions the women employ an orator who speaks in their names, if they imagine that their liberties are encroached on. No person would think that the Indians in their original state, when they had no possessions, either public or private, nor any ambition to extend their power, should have so many affairs to be thus adjusted. It is true, that the In dians, as well as the rest of the human family negociated and carried on a kind of trafic among themselves, and especially with the Europeans since they became acquaint- 184 ORIGIN OF THE ed with each other. Under such circumstances, therefore,, we need not feel astonished that they had also their courts of justice. They had, besides, some new treaties to conclude, to renew offers of service and mutual civility, to court al liances, and to join invitations in making war. Any business of this description, we are told, was conducted with dignity, great attention, and ability. ORATORS AMONG SEVERAL ASIATIC TRIBES. " I have seen no tribe in Siberia," says Abernethy, " who had not their councils, and courts of justice, with their orators, and public pleaders, who are by them called Periotsi-Kalosi, that is, men of justice. The orators of the Makouri, a tribe of the Tongusian nation, displayed no small degree of talents and eloquence on a certain occasion when a young man, the son of their respective chief, ap peared before one of their courts of justice, accused of having murdered his uncle. His own father presided with as much dignity and pomp, as usually attend the judges and courts of more civilized nations. The venerable chief evinced a firm determination to administer justice, even although oy the law his son should be put to death, if found guilty. The heads of every family were seated round the chief, whom he addressed briefly in the following manner : ' My brother has been murdered ; my son stands before you now, and for you it is to find out whether he is guilty or not. The law of your nation demands blood for blood ; because such were the laws of our forefathers.' An orator, tall and grave, fluent and rather eloquent, stood in the centre of the circle and harangued for an hour to de fend the young chief; and if I recollect well, he commenced with these words : ' Ponyong is gone to his fathers he is dead, but not murdered ; for who would take the life of him who bore the wounds of fifty battle! His nephew stands before you as if he had spilt the blood of his own NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 185 kindred ; they say, it is true, that he is the murderer ; but who are they that accuse him ? Are they not they whose words should not be believed ? Have they fought either for you or their country ? They never saw the face of an enemy. Has he not fought already 1 Has he not led you to the field 1 Has he not conducted you victorious from the battle in the absence of his father f If you destroy him you destroy an innocent man, the pride of your nation, and the conqueror of your enemies/ This, however, will suffice as a specimen of Siberian oratory. His feelings appeared to be very much excited as his innumerable but natural gestures expressed. Whether it was through his eloquence, or their regard for the life of the accused, I know not, but the young chief was not found guilty." La Roche mentions the natural eloquence of the orators of the Kamschadales. Santini says, that among different nations in Tartary and Siberia, orators plead at their ?ouncils and courts of justice. THE COUNCILS AND GOVERNMENT OF VILLAGES, AM<"l,cr THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. We are told by travellers and missionaries that the In dians, even when they were first visited by Europeans, conducted themselves in their assemblies with such pru dence, maturity, and ability, as would do honour to the Areopagus of Athens, and the Senate of Rome, in the most flourishing times of those republics. Nothing is concluded hastily, and that self-interest which so often corrupts the senator of civilized nations, never prevailed in the Indians when they discussed affairs which related to the public good. It is also true, that they possess, in the highest degree, the art of concealing their proceedings. For the most part, the glory of the nation, and the motives of honor, are the chief objects at which they aim. But which cannot oe excused, is that almost all the time, during which they 16* 186 ORIGIN OF THE sit in council, is consumed in concocting plans in order to revenge them on their enemies ; this, however, can only be remedied by the Christian religion, although some Christians are as vindictive as any savages. "As to what relates to private persons," says the Bishop of Meaux, " and the particular concerns of the village, these things are soon decided among some nations ; but among other tribes they are referred to higher courts, and consider able time may elapse before they are settled.* A single affair, however trifling it may be, is sometimes a long time under deliberation. Every thing istreated with a great deal of circumspection, and nothing is decided till they have heard the opinion of all their elders. If they have made a present to an elder, in order to secure his vote, they are sure of his interest, when the present is accepted. It was never heard that an Indian failed in an engagement of this kind ; but he seldom accepts it, and when he does, he never receives it with both hands. The young people enter early into the knowledge of business, which renders them serious and mature in an age in which they are yet children. This interests them in the public good from their early youth, and inspires them with an emulation which is cherished with great care, and from which there is reason to expect great benefits. " The most apparent defect of their government is the want of punishment for crimes. But this defect has not the same effect among them which it would inevitably have with European nations. The great spring of our passions, and the principal source of the disorders which most disturb civil society, which is self-interest, have scarcely any power over people who never think of laying up riches, and who take little thought for the morrow. They may also be re- proa'ched for their manner of bringing up their children. They know not what it is to chastise them. Whilst they are little they say they have no reason ; neither are they of opini6n that punishment promotes understanding. When they are old enough to reason, they say that they ar* the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 187 masters of their own actions, and that they are accountable to no person for them. " In a word, the American Indians are entirely convinced that mah is born free ; that no power on earth has any right to make any attempts against his liberty ; and that nothing can make him amends for its loss. We have even had much pains to undeceive those converted to Christianity on this head, and to make them' understand, that in conse quence of the corruption of our nature, which is the effect of sin, an unrestrained liberty of doing evil differs little from the necessity of doing it, considering the strength of the inclinations, which carries us to it ; and that the law which restrains us, brings us nearer to our first liberty, in seeming to deprive us of it. Happy for them experience does not make them feel in many material articles all the force of this bias, which it produces in other countries. As their knowledge is more confined than ours, so are their desires still more so. Being used only to the simple ne cessaries of life, which Providence has sufficiently provided for them, they have scarcely any idea of superfluity." COUNCILS AND GOVERNMENT AMONG ASIATIC NATIONS. " Tutte le nazioni," says Santini, " che si trovano fra i Tongusi, Coriaki, Kamschadali, e molte altre in quella parte d' Asia settentrionale hanno dei conciglii, che sono composti del principe e dei maggiornati. Tutti gli affari che appartengono alia guerra, alia pace, alle regole della caccia, ed altre cose domestice, sono qui esaminate. " Quanto al loro governo, ogni cosa e regolata in questi conciglii. II loro principe ancora regola molte querele da se stesso, senza andar al conciglio. L'omicidio e punko, pero, dagli amici di quello chi era stato ammazzato, e al loro piacere. Molti mi hanno detto che, benche 1'omicido secondo le loro leggi, e proibito sotto pena della vita,'! * * 188 ORIGIN OF THE assassino e rarissime volte castigate colla morte ; perche credono che 1'omicido era ordinato dallo spirito cattivo." Here we see, that, according to Santini, all the different tribes among the Tongusi, Coriaks, Kamschadales and many others inhabiting the north-east parts of Asia, have councils composed of the chief and the elders. All the affairs which appertain to war, peace, the chase, and their domestic laws are here discussed and decided. As to their government, I may say that these councils constitute their legislative assemblies ; for in them their laws civil, and military, are framed and administered. The chief also decides many private quarrels on his own author ity without referring to council. The punishment of a mur derer is at the mercy of the relations of the murdered. We are often told, that although murder, according to law should be punished with death, the murderer is seldom put to death, because they believe that it was the desire of their evil Genii, that such a thing should come to pass. This has been confirmed by Abernethy and La Roche. Abernethy, however, observes that the Kamschadales and some Tartar tribes have war chiefs who preside at their coun cils of war, and lead their warriors to battle ; and others who govern their villages, never leaving home. La Roche says, that the chief who remains at home, is the hereditary one ; and that the war chief is elected by the warriors ; however, he observed, that if the hereditary one was of a military and heroic disposition, he would insist upon going to battle. We shall now proceed to give a promiscuous ac count of the manners and customs of the Indians, according to the journals of the Bishop of Meaux, Rosetti, Claude Allouez, Paul du Ru, M. de St. Cosme, and others, who were the first missionaries that ever preached Christianity to the red men of North America when the Canadas were in the possession of the French. After that, we shall offer a general sketch of the manners and customs of different nations in north-east Asia, which will also in ho small de gree tend, by their coincidence, to prove the identity of the people that is to say that the North American Indians NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 189 and these Asiatic tribes were once united. The foregoing comparative views of the different customs of the American and Asiatic tribes will, no doubt, satisfy the reader ; how ever, as we wish not only to prove an affinity between the inhabitants of both continents, but also to deliver down to posterity their national peculiarities before they disappear, it is but right, we think, to impart as much information as we possibly can. VARIOUS CUSTOMS AMONG THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. SHAPES WHICH THEY GIVE TO THEIR CHILDREN. There are, on the continent of America, some nations which they call Flat Heads. These have their foreheads very flat, and the top of their heads lengthened. This shape is not the work of nature ; it is the mothers who give it to their children as soon as they are born. For this end, they apply to their foreheads and the back part of their heads, two masses of clay, or some other heavy sub stance, which they bind by little till the skull has taken the shape they desire to give it. It appears that this opera tion is very painful to the children, whose nostrils emit some whitish matter ; but neither this circumstance nor the cries of these little innocents, alarm their mothers, as they are desirous of procuring them a handsome appearance, without which they cannot conceive how others can be satisfied. It is quite the reverse with certain Algonquins, named Round Heads or Bowl Heads ; for they make beauty consist in having their heads perfectly round : and mothers take care also very early to give them this shape. 190 ORIGIN OF THE WHAT STRENGTHENS AND SHAPES THE INDIANS SO WELL. The children of the Indians when they leave the cradle, are not confined in any manner ; and as soon as they can crawl upon their hands and feet, they let them go where they will, quite naked, into the water, into the woods, and into the snow, which makes their bodies strong, their limbs very supple,* and hardens them against the injuries of the air ; but it makes them also subject to distempers of the sto mach and lungs which destroy them early. In Summer, they ran as soon as they are up to the river, or into the lakes, and continue there a part of the day, playing like fish when it is fine weather at the surface of the water. It is certain that nothing is better than this exercise to make their joints free, and to render them nimble. THEIR FIRST EXERCISES. They put a bow and arrow into their hands betimes , and in order to excite in them that emulation, which is the best teacher of the arts, there is no need to set their breakfasts on the top of a tree, as they did with the young Lacedemonians. They are all born with that passion for glory that has no need of a spur ; and indeed they shoot with a surprising exactness, and with a little practice, they acquire the same dexterity in the use of fire arms. They make them also w T restle, and they pursue this exercise so eagerly, that they would often kill one another, if they I* were not parted. Those who are defeated, are so enraged at it, that they do not take the least repose till they have their revenge. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 191 IN WHAT CONSISTS THEIR EDUCATION. In general their fathers and mothers neglect nothing to inspire their children with certain principles of honour, which they preserve all their lives, but which they often abuse ; and in this their whole education consists. When they give their instructions on this head, it is always in an indirect way ; the most common is to relate to them the brave actions of their ancestors, or of their countrymen. These young people are fired at these stories, and are never easy till they find an opportunity of imitating the examples they have made them admire. Sometimes, to correct them for their faults, they use prayers and tears, but never menances. They would make no impression on spirits, prepossessed with an opinion that no person has a right to use compulsion. WORKS OF THE WOMEN. The little works of the women, and which are their com mon employment in the cabins, are to make thread of the inner membranes of the bark of a tree, which they call the white wood. They work it pretty nearly as Europeans do the hemp. The women also dye everything. They make several works with bark, on which they work small figures with porcupine's quills. They make little cups or other utensils of wood ; they embroider roebuck skins, and they knit girdles and garters with the hair or wool of the buffalo. WORKS OF THE MEN. As for the men, they glory in their idleness ; and, in reality, they pass above half of their lives in doing nothing, in the persuasion that daily labour disgraces a man, which, they imagine, should be the duty of the women. Man, they 192 ORIGIN OF THE say, is only made for war, hunting, and fishing. Neverthc less it belongs to them to make all things necessary foi these three exercises ; therefore, making arms, nets, and all the equipage of the hunters and fishers, chiefly belong to them, as well as the canoes and their rigging, the raquets or snow shoes, and the binding and repairing of cabins ; but they often oblige the women to assist them in all these things. THEIR HATCHETS. These people, before they had been furnished with hatchets and other tools by Europeans, were greatly embar rassed in cutting down their trees and fitting them for use. They burned them at the foot, and to split and cut them they used hatchets made of flints, which did not break, but took up a great deal of time to sharpen. To fix them in the handle, they cut off the head of a young tree, and, as if they would have grafted it, they made a notch in it, into which they thrust the head of the hatchet. After some time the tree, by growing together, kept the hatchet so fixed that it could not come out ; then they cut the tree to such a length as they would have the handle. THE FORM OF THEIR VILLAGES. Their villages have generally no regular form. The greatest part of the French missionaries represent them as being of a round form and perhaps their authors had not seen any but of this sort. These villages consisted of a heap of cabins without order ; some like cart houses, others like tunnels, built of bark, supported by posts, sometimes plastered on the outside with mud in a coarse manner ; in a word, built with less art, neatness, and solidity than the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 195 cabins, of the beaver. These cabins are about fifteen and twenty feet in breadth, and sometimes a hundred in length ; then they contain several fires ; for a fire never takes up more than twelve feet. When the floor is not sufficient for all the inhabitants to sleep on, the young people lay on a wide bench, about five or six feet high, that runs the whole length of the cabin. The furniture and provisions are over this, placed on pieces of wood put across under the roof. For the most part there is before the door a sort of porch, where the young people sleep in the summer, and which serves for a wood house in the winter. The doors are nothing but bark, fixed like the umbrella of a Window, and they never shut close. These cabins have neither windows nor chimneys ; but they leave an opening in the midle ol the roof, by which part the smoke goes out ; and they are obliged to cover it, when it rains or snows, and then they must extinguish the fire less they be blinded with smoke. THEIR NOTION OF THE ORIGIN OF MAN Nothing is more certain than that the American Indians have an idea of a First Being, but, at the same time, nothing is more obscure. They agree, in general, in making him the First Spirit, the Lord and Creator of the world, but when they are pressed a little on this article, to explain what they mean by the First Spirit, we find nothing but odd fancies, fables so ill conceived, systems so little digested, and so little uniformity, that one can say nothing regular on this subject. It has been said that the Sious came much nearer than the rest to what we think of this first principle. Almost all the Algonquin nations have given the name of the Great Hare to the First Spirit ; some call him Michab&u 9 others Jltahocan. The Jlreskoui of the Hurons, and the Jlgrescoue of the Iroquois, is, in the opinion of these people, the Supreme Being and the God of War. 196 ORIGIN OF THE VESTALS AMONG THE INDIANS. In some memoirs we are told, that many nations of this continent had formerly young maids, who never had any conversation with man, and consequently never married ; but we shall neither warrant nor contradict this assertion, because our authors appear somewhat doubtful on this point. It is true, however, that the Indians show us some plants which, they say, are very salutary, but which have no virtue unless they are administered by virgin hands. It has also been related with greater confidence, that among the Hur&ns and Iroquois there were hermits, who observed continence. THEIR VOWS. It cannot be doubted that the vows of the Indians were pure acts of religion, and that they performed them on the same occasions as Christians do. For instance, when they were out of provisions, as it often happened in their journeys and huntings, they promised their Genii, to give, in honour of them, a portion of the first beast they should kill to one of their chiefs, and not to eat till they should have perform ed their promise. If they find this impossible, because the chief is at a great distance, they burn what was designed for him, and make a sort of sacrifice. THEIR FASTS. Some have fancied that their fasts were only intended to accustom them to bear hunger, and it may partly be designed for this end ; but all the circumstances which accompany them, leave no room to doubt that religion is the principal motive. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 137 THEIR THOUGHTS OF THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. When we ask the Indians what they think of their souls, they tell us that they are, as it were, the shadows and the animated images of the body ; and it is in consequence of this principle that they believe everything is animated in the universe. Therefore it is entirely by tradition that they hold that our souls do not die. In the different ex pressions they use to explain themselves on this subject, they often confound the soul with its faculties, and the fac ulties with their operations, though they very well know how to make the distinction when they choose to speak correctly. OF THE COUNTRY OF SOULS. The Indians believe that the souls, when they die, are to part for ever from their bodies, and that they go to a region which is appointed to be their everlasting abode. This country, say the Indians, is far to the west, and the souls are several months travelling thither. They have also great difficulties to surmount, and the} run through great dangers before they go there. They speak especially of a river they have to pass where many have been wrecked ; of a dog, from which it is not easy to defend one's self; of a place of torments, where they expiate their faults ; of another where the souls of the prisoners of war who had been burned, are tormented. This notion is the reason why, after the death of these wretches, for fear their souls should stay about the cabins to revenge their sufferings, they very carefully visit all places, striking continually with a stick, and sending forth hideous cries, to drive away these souls. Without entering into details of other customs peculiar to the Asiatic tribes, to whom we have already so often al- 17* 198 ORIGIN OF THE hided, we need only say, that the different practices which we have latterly described among the North American Indians, are common in Asia, especially among the Coriaks, Kamschadales, and others. Abernethy tells us that among the Coriaks, the mothers give, as they imagine, a decorous form to their children, when infants, by applying three boards, one on the top to give them a flat head, and one on each side to give them a sharp forehead. Whenever their children arrive at twelve years of age, they are to accompany the hunters into the forest, in order to imbibe while young a desire of excelling in that exercise. He who excels among these youths, receives presents from the village on their return home. Their education consists solely in hearing the brave actions of their forefathers. The women are generally employed in making dresses, both for themselves and their family ; they procure fuel and cultivate the. soil; in short, they provide all the furniture which is required in their cabins. The men are generally en gaged in war, hunting or fishing. They deem labor beneath the dignity of man. Their hatchets, which they call Marooski, were anciently much the same as those which were originally used among the North American Indians : they were made of hard flint : sometimes they were obser ved to fell huge trees with them. Th Tongusi observe fasts ; they also perform vows as well as the North Ameri can Indians. They believe that the soul shajl never die, and that it has to perform a long journey before it reaches its destination. These, and many other customs among the Asiatics, co incide in a striking manner with the inhabitants of the west ern continent. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 199 AN INDIAN CHIEF'S ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. The following journey of an Indian chief across the con tinent of North America during the middle of last century, will in some measure tend to prove the Asiatic origin of the North American Indians. It has been reduced to writing by M. Le Page du Pratz, and communicated to the Literary Society of Quebec by Andrew Stuart, Esq. " It has been often conjectured, that America was originally peopled from Siberia or Tartary, and that these Asiatic tribes entered this continent by the way of Kam- schaika. There are many reasons for believing that the new continent as well as the old has been peopled by differ ent races at different times, and that the last great change which took place, was produced by a great Siberian or Tartar invasion, similar to that which under Gengiskhan devastated the Chinese empire, and to that which over whelmed the Roman empire. The exterminating character of these Asiatic tribes is well known, and it is probable that the whole race which built the forts, the vestiges of which are found between Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico, was utterly destroyed by these Siberian invaders, whose descendants we now see scattered over the North American continent. I do not mean here to enter on the grounds and reasons on which this opinion rests, but beg leave to lay before the public, facts relating to this subject, that seemed to me to be of interest to be found in a work not so generally known as it ought to be ; this is the history of Louisiana by M. Le Page du Pratz, who gives the fol lowing account of the peopling of America : ' When the Natchez retired to this part of America, where I saw they were "found to be several nations, or rather the remains of several nations ; some on the east, and some on the west of the Mississippi. These are the people who are distinguish ed among the natives by the name of the Red Men ; and their origin is so much the more obscure, as they have no tradition, nor arts and sciences like the Mexicans, from 200 ORIGIN OF THE whence we might draw some satisfactory inferences. All that I could learn from them was, that they came from the north and the sun setting. This account they uniformly adhered to whenever they gave an account of their origin. This lame tradition did not at all satisfy the desire I had of being informed on this subject. I made great inquiries to 'mow if there was any old wise man among the neighbour ing nations, who could give me further intelligence about the origin of the natives. I was happy enough to discover one, named Moneacht-ape among the Yazons, a nation about forty leagues north of the Natchez. This man was remarkable for his understanding and elevation of senti ments ; and I may justly compare him to those first Greeks who travelled chiefly into the East to examine the manners and customs of different nations, and to communicate to their fellow citizens on their return, the knowledge which they had acquired. Moneacht-ape, indeed, never executed so noble a plan; but he had, however, conceived it. He was by the French called the Interpreter, because he understood several of the North American languages ; but the other name which I mentioned was given him by his own nation, and signifies the killer of pain and fatigues. This name was indeed most justly applicable to him ; for to satisfy his curiosity he made light of the most dangerous and painful journies in which he had spent several years of his life. He stayed two or three days with me, and on my desiring him to give me an account of his travels, he very readily complied with my request and spoke to the fol lowing effect : " < I had lost my wife and all the children I had by her. When I undertook my journey towards the sun rising, I set out from my village contrary to the inclination of all my relations. I went first to the Chicasaws, our friends* and neighbours. I continued several days among them, to in form myself whether they knew whence we all came, or at least whence they came themselves ; they who were our elders, since from them came the language of the country. As they could not inform me, I proceeded on my journey. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 201 I reached the country of the Chasunous, and afterwards went up the Wabash or Ohio, almost to its source, which is in the country of the Iroquoisor five nations. I left them however, towards the north, and during the winter, which is in that country very severe and long, I lived in a village of the Abenaquis, where I contracted an acquaintance with a man somewhat older than myself, who promised tc conduct me the following spring to the great water. Ac cordingly when the snows wer^e melted and the weather was settled, we proceeded eastward, and after several days' journey, I at length saw the great water, which filled me with such joy and admiration, that I could not speak Night drawing on, we took up our lodging on a high baisk above the high water, which was sorely vexed by the wind, and made so great a noise that I could. not sleep. Next day the ebbing and flowing of the water filled me with great apprehension ; but my companion quieted my fears by assuring me that the water observed certain bounds both in advancing and retiring. Having satisfied our curiosity in viewing the great water, we turned to the village of the Jlbenaquis, where I continued the following winter ; and after the snows were melted, my companion and I went and viewed the great fall of the river St. Lawrence at Niagara, which was distant from the village several day's journey. The view of this great fall at first made my hair stand on end, and my heart almost leap out of its place ; but after wards before I left, I had the courage to walk under it. Next day we took the shortest road to Ohio, and my com panion and I cutting down a tree on the bank of the river, we formed it into a Pettiaugre, which served to conduct me down the Ohio and the Mississippi, after which, with much difficulty, I went up our small river ; and at length arrived safe among my relations, who were rejoiced to see me in good health. " 4 This journey instead of satisfying only served to excite my curiosity. Our old men for several years, had told me that the ancient speech informed them that the red men of the north came originally much higher and much farther 202 ORIGIN OF THE than the source of the river Missouri; and as I had longea to see, with my own eyes, the land whence our first fathers came, I took my precautions for my journey westwards. Having provided a small quantity of corn, I proceeded up along the eastern bank of the river Missouri, till I came to the Ohio. I went up along the bank of this last river about the fourth part of a day's journey, that I might be able to cross it without being carried into the Mississippi. There I formed a Caugeux, or raft of canes, by the assist ance of which I passed over the river ; and next day meet ing with a herd of buffaloes in the meadows, I killed a fat one, and took from it the fillets, the bunch, and the tongue. Soon after I arrived among the Tamaroas, a \illage of the nation of Illinois, where I rested several days and then pro ceeded northwards to the mouth of the Missouri, which after it enters the great river runs for a considerable time without intermixing its muddy waters with the clear stream of the other. Having crossed the Mississippi, I went up the Missouri along its nothern bank, and after several days' journey I arrived at the nation of the Missouri, where I staid a long time to learn the language that is spoken be yond them. In going along the Missouri I passed through meadows a whole day's journey in length which were quite covered with buffaloes. " c When the cold was past, and the snows were melting I continued my journey up along the Missouri, till I came to the nation of the west, or the Cawras. Afterwards, in consequence of directions from them, 1 proceeded in the same course, near thirty days, and at -length I met with some of the nation of Otters, who were hunting in that neighbourhood, and were surprised to see me alone. I con tinued with the hunters two or three days, and then accom panied one of them and his wife, who was near her time of lying in, to their village, which lay far off betwixt the north and west. We continued our journey along the Missouri for nine days, and then we marched directly north for five days, and met more of the Otters, who received me with as much kindness as if I had been of their own nation NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 203 A few days after, I joined them, when we came to the fine river which runs westward in a direction contrary to that ot the Missouri, we proceeded down this river a whole day and arrived at a village, a party of the Otters, who were go ing to carry a calumet of peace to a nation beyond them, and we embarked in a pettiaugre and went down the river for eighteen days, landing now and then to supply ourselves with provisions. When I arrived at the nation who were at peace with the Otters, I stayed with them till the cold was past, that I might learn their language, which was common to most of the nations that lived beyond them. The cold was hardly gone when I embarked on the fine river, and in my course I met with several nations with whom 1 generally stayed but one night, till I arrived at the nation which is but one day's journey from the great water in the west. This nation lives in the wood about the distance of a league from the river, from the apprehen sion of bearded men, who come on their coasts in floating villages and carry off their children and make slaves of them. These men are described to be white, with long white beards that came down to their breasts. They were thick and short, and had large heads covered with cloth ; they were always dressed, even in the greatest heats ; their clothes fell down to the middle of their legs, which with their feet were covered with red or yellow stuff. Their arms made a great fire and a great noise ; and when they saw themselves outnumbered by red men, they retired on board their large pettiaugres ; and their number sometimes amounted to thirty, but never more. " ' Those strangers came from the sun-setting, in search of a yellow; stinking wood, which dyes a fine yellow colour; but the people of this nation, that they might not be tempt ed to visit them, destroyed all those kinds of trees. Two other nations in their neighbourhood, however, having no other wood, could not destroy them, and were still visited by these strangers; and -being greatly incommoded by them, had invited their allies to assist them in making an attack upon them the next time they would return. The 204 ORIGIN OF THE following summer I accordingly joined in this expedition, and after travelling five long days' journey, we came to the place where the bearded men usually landed ; there we waited seventeen days for their arrival. The red men, by my advice, placed themselves in ambuscade to surprise the strangers, and accordingly, when they landed, we were so successful as to kill eleven of them ; the rest immediately escaped on board two large pettiaugres and fled westward on the great water. " ' Upon examining those whom he had killed, we found them much smaller than ourselves, and rather fairer ; they had a large head, and in the middle of the crown the hair was very long ; their heads were wrapt in great many folds of stuff, and their clothes seemed to be made neither of wool or silk, they were very soft, and of different colours ; two only of those who were killed had fire-arms, powder, and ball. I tried their pieces and found that they were much heavier than ours, and did not kill at so great a dis tance. After the expedition, I thought of nothing but proceeding on my journey, and with that design I let the red men return home, and joined myself to those who lived more westward on the coast, with whom I travelled along the coast of the great river, which bends directly be twixt the north and the sun-setting. When I arrived at the village of my fellow-travellers, where I found the days very long and the nights very short, I was advised by the old men to give up every thought of continuing my journey. They told me that the land extended a long way between the north and the sun-setting ; after which it ran directly west and at length was cut by the great water from north to south. One of them added that, when he was young, he 1 knew a very old man who had seen that distant land before it was cut away by the great water, and that when the great water was low, many rocks still appeared in those parts. Finding it therefore impracticable to pro ceed much farther on account of the severity of the climate and the want of game, I returned by the same route by which I had set out ; and reducing my whole travels west NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 205 ward to two days' journey, I compute that they would not have employed me thirty-six moons ; but on account of my frequent delays it was five years before I returned to my relations among the Yazons.' "The remarkable difference I observed between the Natchez, including in that name the nations whom they as brethren, and the other people of Lousiana, made me ex tremely desirous of knowing whence both of them originally came. We had not then, that fall, the information which we have since received from the travels and discoveries of M. De Lisle in the eastern part of the Russian empire. I therefore applied -myself one day to put the .keeper of the temple in good humour, and having succeeded in that without much difficulty, I then told him that from the little resemblance I observed between the Natchez and the neighbouring tribes, I was of the opinion that they were not originally from the same country, and that if the ancient speech taught him anything on that subject, he woulcj do me a great pleasure to inform me of it. At these words he leaned his head on his two hands with which he covered his eyes, and having remained in that posture for a quarter of an hour, as if to recollect himself, he answered to the fol lowing effect : " ' Before we came to this island we lived yonder under the sun (pointing with his finger nearly south-west by which I understood he meant Mexico), we lived in a fine country where the earth is always pleasant; there our sons had their abode, and our nation maintained itself for a long time against hostile strangers, who conquered some of our villages in the plains, but never could force us from the mountains. Our nation extended itself along the great water where this large river losjes itself; but as our enemies were become very numerous and very wicked, our sons sent some of our subjects who lived near this river, to examine whether we could retire into the country through which it flowed. The country on the east side being found ex tremely pleasant, the great son upon the return of those who had examined it, ordered all his subjects who lived in 18 206 ORIGIN OF THE plains, and who still defended themselves against the enemies of their country, to remove into this land, here to build a temple, and to preserve the eternal fire. " ' A great part of our nation accordingly settled here, where they lived in peace and abundance for several generations; the great son and those who had remained with him, never thought of joining us, being tempted to continue where they were by the pleasantness of the country, which was very warm, and by the weakness of their enemies who had fallen into civil dissensions by the ambi tion of one of their chiefs who wanted to raise himself from a state of equality with the other chiefs of the villages, and to treat all his people as slaves. During those discords among our enemies, some of them even entered into an al liance with the great son, who still remained in our old country, that he might assist some other brethren who had settled on the banks of the great w r ater to the east of the large river, and extended themselves so far on the coast, and among the isles that the great son did not hear ol them, sometimes for five or six years together. " ( It was not till after many generations that the great son came to join us in this part of the country, where from the fine climate and peace we had enjoyed, we had multi plied like the leaves of the trees. Warriors of fire who made the earth tremble had arrived in our old country, and having entered into alliance with our brethren, conquered our ancient enemies ; but attempting afterwards to make slaves of our sons, they, rather than submit to them, left our brethren who refused to follow them, and came hither at tended only with their slaves.' " Upon my asking him who those warriors of fire w T ere, he replied that they were bearded white men, somewhat of a brownish colour, who carried arms which started fire with a great noise, and killed at a great distance, that they had likewise heavy arms which killed many men at once, and like thunder made the earth tremble, and that they came from the sun rising in floating villages. " ' The ancients of the country, he said, were numerous NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS 207 and inhabited from the western coast of the great water to the northern countries on this side the sun, and very far up on the same coast beyond the sun. They had a great num ber of Iarg6 and small villages, which were all built of stone, and in which there were houses large enough to lodge a whole village. Their temples were built with great labour and art, and they made beautiful works of all kind of ma terials. " ' But ye yourselves, said I, whence are ye come ? The ancient speech, he replied, did not tell whence we came ; all that we know T is, that our fathers, to come hither, fol lowed the sun and came with him from the place where he rises ; that they w r ere a long time onthe journey, were all on the point of perishing, and were brought into the coun try without seeking.' " As to those whom the Natchez," says Stuart, " call their ancient enemies, or the ancients of the country of Mexico, I am of opinion, that they had a different origin from the Natchez and the North American Indians. Their temples, their sacrifices, their buildings, their form of government, and their manner of making war, all denote a people who had transmigrated in a body, and brought with them the arts, the sciences, and the customs of their country. Those people had also the art of painting and writing. Their archives consisted of cloths of cotton, whereon they had painted or drawn those transactions which they thought worthy of being transmitted to posterity. " It were greatly to be wished that the first conquerors of this new world had preserved to us the figures of those drawings ; for, by comparing* them with the characters used by other nations, we might perhaps have discovered the origin of the inhabitants. The knowledge we have of the Chinese characters, which are rather irregular drawings than characters, would probably have facilitated such a discovery ; and perhaps those of Japan would have been found to have greatly resembled the Mexican ; for I am strongly of opinion that the Mexicans are descended from one of those nations. In fact, where is the impossibility 208 ORIGIN OF THE that some prince in one of those countries, upon failing in an attempt to raise himself to the sovereign power, should leave his native country with all his partisans and look for some new land, where, after he had established himself, he might drop all foreign correspondence. The easy naviga tion of the South Sea renders the thing probable ; and the new map of the eastern bounds of Asia and the western of North America, lately published by M. De Lisle, makes it still more probable. This map makes it plainly appear, that between the Island of Japan, or northern coasts of China, and those of America, there are other lands which to this day have remained unknown ; and who will take on him self to say, that there is land because it has not been dis covered ? I have therefore good grounds to believe that the Mexicans came from China or Japan especially when I consider their reserved and uncommunicative disposition, which to this day prevails among the people of the eastern parts of Asia. The great antiquity of the Chinese nation, likewise, makes, it possible that a colony might have gone from there to America, early enough to be looked on as the ancients of the country. As a farther corroboration of my conjectures, I was informed by a man of learning in 1752, that in the king's library there is a Chinese manuscript which positively affirms that America was peopled by the inhabitants ofCorea. " Monacht Ape, after giving me an account of his travels, spent four or five days visiting among the Natchez and then returned to take leave of me when I made him a present of several wares of no value, among which was a concave mirror about two inches and a half diameter, which had cost me three pence and one half-penny : as this magnified the face to four or five inches its natural size, he was wonderfully delighted with it, and would not have ex changed it for the best mirror in France. After ex pressing his regret for parting with me, he returned highly satisfied to his own nation. " Monacht Ape's account of the junction of America with the eastern part of Asia, seems confirmed from the following NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 209 remarable fact : ' Some years ago the skeletons of two large elephants and two small ones were discovered in a marsh near the Ohio River, and as they were not much consumed it is supposed that the elephants came from Asia not many years before. If we also consider the form of government, and the manner of living among the northern nations of America, there will appear a great resemblance between them and the Tartars or Siberians in the north-east part of Asia.' " The foregoing story has in it many internal marks of truth. Some of the more prominent of them may be here succinctly stated. Indians who have never seen the ebbing and flowing of the tide, are wonderfully struck with this phenomenon. Many of the inhabitants of Quebec must still remember, that the great deputation of the Indian chiefs from the Mississippi, who came to Quebec during the administration of Sir George Provost, and had in their company the sister of Tecumseh, were often to be seen sit ting in a row upon a wharf in the lower town of Quebec, contemplating in silence, and evidently under the deepest impression of awe, the rising and falling of the waters of the St. Lawrence "The white men here described, correspond in every partic ular with the Chinese, who, there is reason to believe, held commercial intercourse with the south of Africa a long time before Vasco de Gama discovered and doubled the Cape of Good Hope. The Chinese are rather smaller than we are, and have the palest complexion indigenous to Asia. Their muskets are matchlocks, and heavier than ours, their powder is inferior in quality. " The stinking wood mentioned by the Indian chief is probably fustic, yielding a yellow dye, which is the prevail ing colour of the garments of the superior classes in China. None of these things could have been known to the Indian chief, and the general tone and character of M. Du Pratz's work excludes the idea of his having fabricated the story." The learned Winterbotham, who wrote the history of 18* ' 210 ORIGIN OF THE North America, confirms us also in the opinion that America was entered from Asia by Kamschatka. " In the strait," says he, " which separates America from Asia, many islands are found, which probably were the mountains belonging to that tract of land, which we suppose to have been swallowed up by earthquakes ; which is made more probable by the multitude of volcanoes which we know of in the Peninsula of Kamschatka. It is imagined, however, that the sinking of that land, and the separation of the two continents, by those great and extraordinary earthquakes mentioned in the histories of the Americans, which formed an era almost as memorable as that of the deluge. The histories of the Toltecas fix such earthquakes in the year I Tecpatl ; but as we know not to what century that belonged, we can form no conjecture of the time that great calamity happened. If a great earthquake should overwhelm the Isthmus of Suez, and there should be at the same time as great a scarcity of historians as there were in the first ages after the deluge, it would be doubted, in 300 or 400 years after, whether Asia had ever been united by that part to Africa ; and many would firmly deny it. " Whether that great event, the separation of the conti nents, took place before or after the population of America, is as impossible as it is of little moment for us to know ; but we are indebted to Cook and his successor Clerke for settling a long dispute about the point from which it was effected. Their observations prove, that in one place the distance be tween continent and continent does not exceed thirty miles. This narrow strait has also in the middle two islands which would greatly faciliate the emigration of the Asiatics into the new world, supposing that it took place in canoes after the convulsion which rent the two continents asunder. Be sides, it may be added, that these straits are, even in sum mer often filled with ice ; and in winter often frozen. In either case mankind might find an easy passage; in the last the way was extremely ready for quadrupeds to cross arid stock the continent of America. Where, but from the vast expanse of the north-eastern world, to fix on the first tribes NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 211 contributed to people the new world, now inhabited almost from end to end, is a matter which has drawn forth the most ingenious conjectures. " As mankind increased in numbers, they naturally pro truded one another forward. Wars might be another cause of emigrations. There appears no reason why the ndrth Asiatics might not be an offidna virorum, as well as the Europeans. The overteeming country to the east of the Riphoean mountains, must have found it necessary to dis charge its inhabitants ; the first great wave of people was forced forward by the next to it, more powerful than itself; successive and new impulses continually arising, short rest was given to that which spread over a more eastern tract ; disturbed again and again, it covered fresh regions; at length, reaching the farthest limits of the old world, found a new one, with ample space to occupy unmolested for ages ; till Columbus cursed them by a discovery, which brought again new sins and new deaths to both worlds." " The inhabitants of the new world, (the diligent anti quary M. Pennant observes,) do not consist of the offspring of a single nation ; different people at different periods ar rived there ; and it is impossible to say that any one is now to be found on the original spot of its colonization. It is impossible, with the lights which we have so recently received, to admit that America could receive its 'in habitants (at least the bulk of them) from any other place than eastern Asia. A few proofs may be added, taken from customs or dresses common to the inhabitants of both worlds ; some have been long extinct in the old, but others remain in both in full force. " The custom of scalping was a barbarism in use with the Scythians, who carried about them at all time this sav age mark of triumph. They cut a circle round the neck, and strippped off the skin, as they would that of an ox. A little image found among the Calmucks, of a Tartarian deity, mounted on a horse, and sitting on a human skin, with scalps pendant from the breast, fully illustrates the custom of the Scythian progenitors, as described by the 212 ORIGIN OF THE Greek historian. This usage, as the Europeans know by horrid experience, is continued to this day in America. The ferocity of the Scythians to the prisoners extended to the remotest part of Asia. The Kamschadales, even at the time when they were discovered by the Russians, put their pris oners to death by the most lingering and excruciating in ventions ; a practice in full force till this day among the aboriginal Americans. A race of the Scythians were styled Anthropophagi, from their feeding on human flesh. " The people of Nootka Sound still make a repast on their fellow creatures ; but what is more wonderful, the sav age allies of the British army have been known to throw the mangled limbs of the French prisoners into the horrible cauldron, and devour them with the same relish as those of a quadruped. " The Scythians were said, for a certain time, annually to transform themselves into wolves, and again to resume the human shape. The new discovered Americans about Nootka Sound, at this time, disguise themselves in the dresses made of the skins of wolves and other w r ild beasts, and wear even the heads fitted to their own. These habits they use in the chase, to circumvent the animals of the field. But would not ignorance or superstition ascribe to a super natural metamorphosis, these temporary expedients to de ceive the brute creation ? " In their marches the Kamschadales never went abreast but followed one another in the same track. The same custom is exactly observed by the Americans. " The Tongusi, the most numerous nation resident in Siberia, prick their faces in small punctures with a needle in various shapes ; then rub into them charcoal, so that the marks become indelible. This custom is still ob served in several parts of America. The Indians on the back of Hudson's Bay, to this day, perform the operation exactly in the same manner, and puncture the skin into various figures ; as the natives of New Zealand do at pre sent, and as the ancient Britons did with the herb glastum f NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 213 or woad, and the Virginians .on the first discovery of that country by the English. " The Tongusi use canoes made ot birch bark, distended over ribs of wood, and nicely sewed together. The Cana dian and many other American nations, use no other sort of boats. The paddles of the Tongusi are broad at each end ; those of the people near Cook's River and of Onslascha, are of the same form. " In the burying of the dead, many of the American na tions place the corpse at full length, after preparing it ac cording to their customs. Others place it in a sitting pos ture, and lay by it the most valuable clothing, wampum, and other matters. The Tartars and Coriaks did the same as well as the Tongusi and Kamsthadales. They all agree in covering the w r hole with earth, so as to form a tumulus, bar row, or earned. " Some of the American nations hang their dead in trees. Certain of the Tongusi observe a similar custom. "We can draw some analogy from dress ; conveniency in that article must have been consulted on both continents, and originally the materials must have been the same, the skins of birds and beasts. It is singular that the conic bon net of the Chinese should be found among the people of Nootka. " In respect to the features and form of the human body, almost every tribe found along the western coast has some similitude to the Tartar and Siberian nations, and still retain the little eyes, small noses, high cheeks, and broad faces. They vary in size from the lusty Calmucks to the little Nogains. The internal Americans, such as the five Indian nations, who are tall of body, robust in make, and of oblong faces, are derived from a variety among the Tartars and Si berians themselves. " The continent which stocked America w'th the human race poured in the brute creation through the same passage. Very few quadrupeds continued in the Peninsula of Kams- chatka ; M. Pennant enumerates only twenty -five which are inhabitants of that land ; all the rest persisted in their emi- 214 ORIGIN OF THE gration, and fixed their residence in the new world. Sev enteen of the quadrupeds of Kamschatka are found in Amer ica; others are common to Tartary or Siberia, having for unknown causes entirely evacuated Kamschatka, and divided themselves between America and the parts of Asia above cited." The reader is now at liberty to judge whether these obser vations and researches of modern travellers will serve as in controvertible proofs of the Asiatic origin of the North American Indians, or as mere conjectures, which are liable to delusion and error. Conjectures, hypothesis, and specu lative opinions are, it is true, frequently to be considered as unwary guides, and false clues which will not lead us, in a labyrinth of obscurity and antiquity, to the original source of a nation. In the present inquiry, however, there is no room for suspicion, because the manners and customs, the in tellectual faculties as well as the external appearance and complexion of the Asiatics and the aborigines of North America, have been depicted faithfully and impartially by several persons of veracity and erudition, without reference to the descent of either the aboriginal Americans or those Asiatic tribes which they described, from any particular na tion, or country. When, therefore, the characteristical fea tures, as well as the external appearance, bodily frame, and the manners and customs of the American Indians, and cer tain tribes in Asia coincide so singularly, and differ so con siderably from the national' peculiarities of the rest of the human race, an ancient consanguinity will at once be ac knowledged even by the most incredulous or suspicious. In the absence of true and faithful traditions, records, and his tory, a comparative view of the manners and customs of two nations, and a collation of their languages aie the only means by which the antiquary can discover an affinity be tween them. This we have done with as m^di fidelity as the importance of the inquiry evidently re ^uires. Our re searches, therefore, are founded on the Liercourse of modern travellers with the inhabitants of both continents ; and the reader will not, we hope, hesitate to believe not only the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANA. 215 Asiatic origin of the North American Indians, but their im mediate descent from the Siberians, Kamschadales, and Tartars INDIAN ELOQUENCE. Their natural eloquence is acknowledged by every person who heard their orators speak. In order, therefore, that the reader may be convinced of these, facts, we shall offer the following able observations of one of our public journals, on Indian eloquence : " A few suns more and the Indian will live only in history. A few centuries and that history will be coloured with the mellow romantic Lght in which time robes the past, and, contrasted with the then present wealth and splendour of America, may seesm so impossible, as to elicit from the historian a philosophic doubt of its authenticity. The period may arrive when the same uncertainty which hangs over the heroic days of every people may attend its records, and the stirring deeds of the battle field and council- fire may be regarded as attractive fictions, or at the best as beautiful exaggerations. " This is but in the nature of things. Actions always lose their reality and distinctness in the perspective 0f ages * time is their charnel house. And no memorials are to be lost or forgotten, as soon as those of conquered nations. Of the Angels and Saxons little more than a name has survived, and the Indian may meet no better fate. Even though our own history is enveloped in theirs, it is somewhat to be feared, that, from neglect, the valuable cover will be suf- things the wild legend be forgotten ; they are but exhibitions of a savage life, teeming with disgusting excess, and brutal passion. They portray man in no interesting light ; for 216 ORIGIN OF THE with every redeeming trait, there rises on some a revolting characteristic in horrid contrast Was he grateful 1 so was his revenge bloody and eternal. Was he brave ? so was he treacherous. Was he generous ? so was he crafty and cruel. " But a more philosophical mind would say, no ! he presents a part of the panorama of humanity, and his exter mination is an embodiment of a great principle the same retreat of the children of the wilderness before the wave of civilization; hence arises a deep interest in his fortune, which should induce us to preserve, carefully and faithfully, the most trifling record of his greatness and degradation. At a time when barbarous nations elsewhere had lost their primitive purity, we find him the only true child of nature the best specimen of man in his native simplicity. We should remember him as a study of human nature -as an instance of a strange mixture of good and evil passions. We perceive in him fine emotions of feeling and delicacy, and unrestrained systematic cruelty, grandeur of spirit and hypocritical cunning, genuine courage and fiendish treach ery. He was like some beautiful spar, part of which is regular, clear, and sparkling, while a portion, impregnated with clay, is dark and forbidding. " But above all, as being an engrossing subject to an American, as coming ,to us the only relic of the literature of the aborigines, and the most perfect emblem of their character, their glory and their intellect, we should dearly cherish the remains of their oratory. In these we see developed the motives which animated their actions, and the light and shadows of their very soul The iron encase ment of apparent apathy in which the savage had fortified himself, impenetrable at ordinary moments, is laid aside in the council room. The genius of eloquence bursts the swathing bands of custom, and the Indian stands forth ac cessible, natural, and legible. We commune with him, listen to his complaints, understand, appreciate, and even feel his injuries. " As Indian eloquence is a key to his character, so is it a NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 217 noble monument of their literature. Oratory seldom finds a more auspicious field. A wild people, and region of thought, forbade feebleness ; uncultivated, but intelligent and sensi tive, a purity of idea, chastely combined with energy of ex pression, ready fluency and imagery now exquisitely delicate, now soaring to the sublime, all united to rival the efforts of any ancient or modern orator. " What cam be imagined more impressive, than a warrior rising in the council-room to address those who bore the same scarred marks of their title to fame and the chieftain ship ? The dignified stature, the easy repose of limbs the graceful gesture, the dark speaking eye, excite equal admira tion and expectation. We would anticipate eloquence from an Indian. He has animating remembrances a poverty of language, which exacts rich and apposite metaphorical allusions, even for ordinary conversation a mind which, like his body, has never been trammeled and mechanized by the formalities of society, and passions which, from the very outward restraint imposed upon them, burn more fiercely within. There is a mine of truth in the reply of Red Jacket, when called a warrior : ' A warrior /' said he ; ' I am an orator I was born an orator.' "There are not many speeches remaining on record, but even in this small number there is such a rich yet varied vein of all the characteristics of true eloquence, that we even rise from their perusal with regret that so few have been preserved. No where can be found a poetic thought clothed in more captivating simplicity of expression, than in the answer of Tecumseh to Governor Harrison, in the conference at Vincennes. It contains a high moral rebuke, and a sar casm heightened in effect by an evident consciousness of loftiness above the reach of insult. At the close of his ad dress, he found that no chair had been placed for him, a ne glect which Governor Harrison ordered to be remedied as soon as discovered. Suspecting, perhaps, that it was more an affront than a mistake, with an air of dignity, elevated almost to haughtiness, he declined the seat proffered, with the words, < Your father requests you to take a chair/ and 218 ORIGIN OF THE answered as he calmly disposed himself on the ground : c My father ? The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother. / will repose upon her bosom.' " As they excelled in the beautiful, so also they possessed a nice sense of the ridiculous. There is a clever strain of irony, united with the sharpest taunt, in the speech of Ga- rangula to De la Barre, the Governor of Canada, when that crafty Frenchman met his tribe in council, for the purpose of obtaining peace, and reparation for past injuries. The Eu ropean, a faithful believer in the maxim that En guerre ou la peau du lion ne pent suffire il y faut coudre un lupin de celle du regnard,' attempted to over-awe the savage by threats, which he well knew he had no power to execute. Garangula, who also was well aware of his weakness, re plied, ' Yonondia, you must have believed when you left Quebec, that the sun had burned up all the forests which render our country inaccessible to the French, or that the lakes had so overflowed their banks, that they had surround ed our castles, and that it was impossible for us to get out of them. Yes, surely you must have dreamed so, and curiosity of seeing so great a wonder has brought you so far. Hear, Yonondia : our wom.en had taken their clubs, our children and old men had carried their bows and arrows into the heart of your camp, if our warriors had not disarmed them, and kept them back when your messengers came to our castle.' We cannot give a better idea of the effect of their harangues upon their own people, and at the same time a finer instance of their gratefulness when skilfully touched, than in the address to the Wallah Wallahs by their young chief, the Morning Star. In consequence of the death of several of their tribe, killed in one of their predatory excur sions against the whites, they had collected in a large body for the purpose of assailing them. The stern, uncomprom ising hostility with which they were animated, may be imagined from the words they chaunted on approaching to the attack : ' Rest, brothers, rest ! You will be avenged. The tears of your widows will cease to flow, when they be hold the blood of your murderers, and on seeing their scalps, NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 219 your children shall sing and leap with joy. Rest, brothers, in peace ! Rest, we shall have blood !" The last strains of the death-song had died away. The gleaming eye, burn ing with the desire of revenge the countenance, fierce even through an Indian's cloak the levelled gun and poised ar row, forbade promise of peace, and their superior force as little hope of successful resistance. At this moment of aw ful excitement, a mounted troop burst in between them, and its leader addressed his kindred : ' Friends and relations ! Three snows have only passed over our heads, since we were a poor, miserable people. Our enemies were numer ous and powerful ; we were few and weak. Our hearts were as the hearts of children. We could not fight like warriors, and were driven like deer about the plain. When the thunder rolled, and the rains poured, we had no place save the rocks, whereon we could lay our heads. Is such the case now ? No ! We have regained possession of the land of our fathers, in which they and their fathers' fathers lie buried ; our hearts are great within its, and we are now a nation. Who has produced this change 1 The white man ! And are we to treat him with ingratitude 1 The warrior with the strong arm and great heart will never rob a friend.' The result was wonderful. There was a complete revulsion of feeling. The angry waves were quieted, and the savage, forgetting his enmity, smoked the calumet with those whom the eloquence of Morning Star alone had saved from his scalping knife. " Fearlessness and success in battle were the highest titles to honour, and an accusation of cowardice was a deadly in sult. A reproach of this kind to a celebrated chief received a chivalric reply. Kognethagecton, or, as he was more generally called, White Eyes, at the time his 'nation was solicited to join in the war against the, Americans, in our struggle for liberty, exerted his influence against hostile measures. His answer to the Senecas, who were in the British interest, and who, irritated by his obstinate adhe- rance to peace, attempted to humble him, by reference to an old story of the Delawares being a conquered people, is a 220 ORIGIN OF THE manly and dignified assertion of independence. It reminds one of the noble motto of the Frenchman ; ' Je n'estime un autre plus grand que moi lorsqae fai mon epee. 9 ' I know well,' said he, ' that you consider us a conquered nation as women as your inferiors. You have, say you, shortened our legs, and put petticoats on us. You say you have given us a hoe and a corn-pounder, and told us to plant and pound for you you men you warriors. But look at me am I not full grown ? And have I not a warrior's dress ? Ay ! I am a man and these are the arms of a man and all that country is mine !' What a dauntless vindication of man hood, and what a nice perception of Indian character, is this appeal to their love of courage, and their admiration for a fine form, vigorous limbs, complete arms, and a proud de meanor ! How effective and emphatic the conclusion, ' all that country is mine !' exclaimed in a tone of mingled de fiance and pride, and accompanied with a wave of the hand over the rich country bordering on the Allegheny. " This bold speech quelled for a time all opposition, but . the desire to engage against the Americans, increased by the false reports of some wandering tories, finally became so vehement, that, as a last resort, he proposed to the tribe to wait ten days before commencing hostilities. Even this was about to J)e denied him, and the term traitor beginning to be whispered around, when he rose in council, and began an animated expostulation against their conduct. He de picted its inevitable consequences, the sure advance of the white man, and the ruin of his nation ; and then, in a gen erous manner, disclaimed any interest or feelings separate from those of his friends ; and added : ' But if you will go out in this war, you shall not go without me. I have taken peace measures, it is true, with a view of saving my tribe from destruction. But if you think me in the wrong if you give more, credit to runaway vagabonds than to your own friends to a man to a warrior to a Delaware if you insist upon fighting the Americans go ! And I will go with you. And I will not go like the bear hunters, who sets his dogs upon the animal, to be beaten about ivith his paws, NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 221 while he keeps himself at a safe distance. No ! I will lead you on. I will place myself in the front. I will fall with the first of you. You can do as you choose. But as for me, I will not survive my nation. I will not live to bewail the miserable destruction of a brave people, who deserved, as you do, a better fate !' " The allusion to their greater confidence in foreigners than in their own kindred, is a fine specimen of censure, wonderfully strengthened by a beautiful climacteric arrange ment. Commencing with a friend and who so grateful as an Indian ? it passes to a man and who so vain of birth right as an Indian 1 then to a warrior ; and who more glorious to the savage than the man of battle ? and lastly to a Delaware a word which rings through the hearts of his hearers, starts into life a host of proud associations, and while it deepens their contempt for the stranger and his falsehoods, imparts a grandeur to the orator, in whom the friend, the man, the warrior, the Delaware are personified. " The spirit of the. conclusion added to its force. It was the out-bursting of that firm determination never to forsake their customs and laws that brotherhood of feeling which have ever inspired the action of the aborigines a spirit which time has strengthened, insult hardened to obstinacy, and oppression rendered almost hereditary. It bespeaks a bold soul, resolved to die with the loss of its country's liberties. " We pass by the effect of this speech, by merely stating that it was successful, to notice a letter much of the same character as the close of the last, sent to General Clinch, by the chief who is now setting our troops at defiance in Florida. ' You have arms,' says he, l and so have we ; you have powder and lead, and so have we ; you have men, and so have we ; your men will fight, and so will ours, till the last drop of the Seminole's blood has moistened the dust of his hunting ground? This needs no comment. Intrepidi ty is their character. " View these evidences of attachment to the customs of their fathers, and of heroic resolution to leave their bones 19* 222 ORIGIN OF THE in the forests where they were born, and which were their inheritance, and then revert to their unavailing, hopeless resistance against the march of civilization; and though we know it is the rightful natural course of things, yet it is a hard heart which does not feel for their fate. Turn to Red Jacket's graphic description of the fraud which purloined their territory, and shame mingles somewhat with our pity. 6 Brothers, at the treaties held for the purchase of our lands, the white men, with sweet voices and smiling faces, told us they loved us, and they would not cheat us, but that the king's children on the other side of the lake, would cheat us. When we go on the other side of the lake, the king's children tell us your people will cheat us. These things puzzle our heads, and we believe that the Indians must take care of themselves, and not trust either in your people or in the king's children. Brothers, our seats were once large, and yours very small. You have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. 9 True, and soon their graves will be all they shall retain of their once ample hunting grounds. Their strength is wasted, their countless warriors dead, their forest laid low, and their burial-places upturned by the ploughshare. There was a time when the war-cry of a Powhattan, a Delaware, or an Abenaquis, struck terror to the heart of a pale-face ; but now the Seminole is singing his last song. " Some of the speeches of Shenandoah, a celebrated Oneida chief, contain the truest touches of natural eloquence. He lived to a great age ; and in his last oration in council, he opened with the following sublime and beautiful sen tence : ( Brothers I am an aged hemlock. The winds of a hundred winters have whistled through my branches, and I am dead at the top. 9 Every reader who has seen a tall hemlock, with a dry and leafless top surmounting its dark green foliage* will feel the force of the simile. ' I am dead at the top.' His memory, and all the vigorous powers of youth, had departed for ever. " Not less felicitous was the close of a speech made by Pushmataha, a venerable chief of a western tribe, af a NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 223 council held, we believe, in Washington, many years since. In alluding to his extreme age, and to the probability that he might not even survive the journey back to his tribe, he said : ' My children will walk through the forests, and the Great Spirit will whistle in the tree-tops, and the flowers will spring up in the trails but Pushmataha will hear not he will see the flowers no more. He will be gone. His people will know that he is dead. The news will come to their ears, as the sound of the fall of a mighty oak in the stillness of the woods. 9 " The most powerful tribes have been destroyed ; and as Sadekanatie expressed it, ' Strike at the root, and when the trunk shall be cut down, the branches shall fall of course V The trunk has fallen, the branches arc slowly withering, and shortly the question, Who is there lo mourn for Logan, may be made of the whole race, and find not a sympathi zing reply. " Their actions may outlive, but their oratory, we think, must survive their fate. It contains may attributes of true eloquence. With a language too barren, and minds too free for the rules of rhetoric, they still attained the power of touching the feeling, and a sublimity of style which rivals the highest productions of their more cultivated enemies. Expression apt and pointed language strong and figurative comparisons rich and bold descriptions correct and picturesque and gestures energetic and graceful, were the most striking peculiarities of their oratory. The latter rations, accurate mirrors of their character, their bravery immoveable stoicism, and a native grandeur, heightened as they are in expressiveness by the melancholy accompaniment of approaching extermination, will be as enduring as the swan-like music of Attica and Roman eloquence, which was the funeral song of the liberties of those republics." These remarks, which allude to the state of the Indians of America, are evidently too true to require any comments ; and as to Indian eloquence, we cannot hesitate a moment to admit the fact, when we consider that ever}' rude nation whose languages are original, yet barren, use a style sub- 224 ORIGIN OF THE lime and figurative, full of bold and beautiful expressions ; and such was the style of Ossian ; yet his language has never been cultivated, but left in its original grandeur and simplicity. As we intend to offer in anotner part of this work a co- [ pious selection of Indian Orations which will speak for themselves, and at the same time show, that their reasoning was just and their language frequently sarcsatic, however void of our refined sophistry, the foregoing observations may may suffice for the present. HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED INDIAN NATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA. AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF THEIR MOST CELEBRATED WARRIORS, ORATORS AND STATESMEN. HAVING now offered to the reader the most plausible as well as the most rational arguments that can be used in tra cing the origin of the Red Men of the western continent, and having likewise presented a faithful description of their national peculiarities, we have deemed it proper to conclude with brief and separate sketches of the history of the various nations which formed those powerful confederacies of former times, and which are now disappearing so fast, that no traces of their greatness, or even of their existence can be discov ered at the present day, except their name alone, and that on the page of history only. It is not, however, our inten tion to inquire after all the different tribes that must have once inhabited North America, but those only whose martial prowess on the field of battle, eloquence and political prudence in the Indian council, entitle them to the respect ful notice of Indian biographers. One nation or one confederacy included several tribes, who were considered as members of the same family, in which they were all united. This union was generally na med after the original stock. Such was the case in Virginia, during the days of the celebrated Captain Smith. The confederacy of the famous Powhattan, the father of the still more illustrious Pocahontas, consisted of thirty tribes, known in the history of that countrv generally by the name of Powhattans. The family of Powhattan was the most an- 226 ORIGIN OF THE cient of the whole, but certainly not the most numerous, hence the name became the national appellation of all the united tribes. The Mohawks were the head of the Six Nations, and the whole confederacy was frequently known by that name. The Indians of New England adopted the same rule of sty ling the whole nation according to the senior tribe ; those who resided in the north, on the borders of the lakes, were combined and united after the same policy. The grand sachem belonged to the ancient and original stock, from which the rest were said to be descended. To him all the inferior chiefs of the subordinate tribes were subject. This form of government was evidently no other than the repub lican system of the present day, so that democracy was the basis of their political institutions, however rude and imper fect their mode of self government may appear to us. Tribes and nations frequently formed an alliance of friend ship with each other, without being in any particular way related in blood ; intermarriages and local circumstances led to this union, in order, . no doubt, to protect themselves against the common enemy. The murder of one individual member of this combination was often a sufficient cause for the declaration of war, when the most bloody massacre en sued, according to the savage warfare of Indians. At the arrival of Europeans, strange to be told, there were, indeed, few or no Indian tribes, who could be said, to be at that time, inhabiting the original territory of their ancestors. They had all of them certain traditions which accounted for their migrations from the north, the south, the west, and the east; and what is still more strange, many of those tribes have been known to retrace their steps to the place whence they at first started. This they are continuing to do, at the present time ; but we may presume, that they are now actuated more by compulsory means than by any vo luntary motives of their own. The Red Men, may, there fore in the process of time, and in the lapse of a century, be seen approaching the coasts of Asia, to seek an asylum in J NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 227 the bleak regions of Tartary and Siberia, to which America was first indebted for its red population. As those warlike nations had produced eminent menj no less celebrated in time of peace than in war, whose talents as orators, statesmen, and warriors have been the admiration of the philosopher as well as the historian, we shall devote some few pages to the memory of their noble and magnani mous chieftains. POWHATTANS. The Powhattans were once a powerful nation of Indians, which occupied the whole tract of country (now called Virginia) between the sea shore and the falls of the rivers ; the nation consisted of thirty tribes ; and the chief sachem was called Powhattan, at the time of the effectual settlement from Europe, in 16 10. In the early progress of the settlement, Captain John Smith, a distinguished founder of the colony of Virginia, was captured by the savages, and brought be fore their old sachem Powhattan, who received him in royal state. He was seated on a kind of royal throne, elevated above the floor of a large hut, in the midst of which was a fire ; and was clothed in a robe of racoon skins. On each hand of the sachem sat his daughters, two beautiful girls ; and along each side of the house, a row of his counsellors, painted, and adorned with feathers and shells. Upon the entrance of Smith, a great shout was made ; water was brought to wash his hands, and he was served with a bunch of feathers for a towel. Having feasted him, after their manner, a long consultation was held, which being ended, two large stones were brought in, on one of which his head was laid and clubs were lifted up to beat out his brains. At this critical moment, Pocahontas, a girl about sixteen, and the favourite daughter of the sachem, sprang from her seat at her father's side, flew to the prisoner, took his head in her arms, and laid her own ORIGIN OF THE upon it. Her tender entreaties prevailed ; the old sachem consented that Smith should live to make hatchets for him, and ornaments for her. In 1613, Pocahontas was married to John Rolfe, an Englishman who soon after visited England, with his wife, where she publicly professed the Christian faith, was baptized, and died in 1617, aged 22, leaving a son from whom some of the most respectable families of Virginia are descended. POWHATTAN, THE EMPEROR. With regard to the character of Powhattan himself, generally styled emperor, the subjection in which he kept, not only his own subjects, but all the surrounding nations, must speak highly of his political knowledge. In confirma tion of this, we have the following account, from an ancient writer. " When he listeth, his will is a law, and must be obeyed : not only as a king, but as half a god, they esteem him. What he commandeth they dare not disobey in the least thing. At his feet they present whatsoever he commandeth, and at the least frown of his brow, their greatest spirits will tremble with fear." But the native shrewdness and sly cunning which the emperor manifested in many of his transactions with the first English settlers in Virginia, prove, beyond a doubt, that his talents were adequate to the unlimited sway which he exercised over his countrymen. There were, perhaps, few or none of the Indian nations, who could be considered equally versed in military tactics. The warriors of Powhattan are said to have been regularly disciplined, insomuch that, at one of their first interviews with the English, during a military review for the entertainment of their white guests, the Europeans declared their astonishment at the regularity of their evolutions in this sham-fight. Powhattan has evidently been misrepresented by historians viewed in different lights and opposite ways, but they have NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 229 all agreed, that he was a man of great talents, while his self-command and chivalrous courtesy would do credit to any civilized prince or monarch ; and while some have branded him with the epithets of tyrant and barbarian, these same authors, as well as others, acknowledge that he was a great warrior, a statesman, and a patriot. According to the ex cellent historian, Burke, his title to greatness, though his op portunities were fewer, is to the full as fair as that of Tamerlane or Kowli Khan, and several others whom history has immortalized ; while the proofs of his tyranny are by no means so clear. NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. The New England Indians may be divided into several confederacies, which may be reduced to five principal na tions, the Pequots of the eastern part of Connecticut, the Narragansetts of Rhode Island, and other islands to the eastward of Connecticut, the Pawtucket tribes of New Hampshire, the Massachusetts Indians of the bay of the same name, and the Pokanokets of Bristol county, in Rhode Island, while some of their tribes were also scattered around Barnstable and Plymouth. Each of those confederacies consisted of different tribes subject to one grand sachem or king, and each tribe had its respective chief. After the settlement of Plymouth by the English in 1620, we first begin to become acquainted with the Indians of New Eng land. In the following year Massasoit, the sachem of the Wampanoag tribe, belonging to the Pokanoket confederacy, had an interview with the Pilgrims, when a treaty was con cluded between himself and the governor of the colony, the articles of which are as follow: 1. That neither he, (the governor) nor any of his (Mas- saso it's) should injure or do hurt to any of their people. 2. That if anything were taken away from any of theirs, 20 230 ORIGIN OF THE he should cause it to be restored, and they should do the like to his. 3. That if any of his did any hurt to any of theirs, he should send the offender that they might punish him. 4. That if any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him, and if any did war against them, he should aid them. 5. That he should send to his neighbour confederates, to inform them of this, that they might not wrong them, but might be likewise comprised in these conditions of peace. 6. That when his came to them upon any occasion, they should leave their arms behind them. 7. That by so doing, their sovereign lord, King James, would esteem him as his friend and ally. To the credit of Massasoit and the Wampanoagas, histo rians assure us that those honest Indians did not violate any of the provisions of that treaty for fifty years, which, no ioubt, must be attributed to the amicable disposition of Massasoit. The colonists, on the other hand, it is too true, were not equally faithful in its fulfilment. As they increas ed and grew strong, many were the outrages which they committed on the good natured Wampanoagas, their best friends, when they were helpless, weak, and few, on a for eign shore. The Massachusetts and Narragansett's Indi ans were not so quiet nor so friendly ; as we see that the sachem of the latter sent to the colony, as early as 1622, his compliments in the shape of a bundle of arrows, tied up with a rattle snake's skin. About the first negotiation of the pilgrims with the Indians of New England, an immense tract of country was transferred or sold to the colonists for the trifling sum of a pair of knives, and a copper chain with a jewel in it for the grand sachem ; and a knife and a jewel to hang in his ear, a pot of strong water, and a quantity of biscuit. In this manner have the poor Indians been robbed of their own country for toys and baubles and strong water. We may censure our forefathers for such acts of dishonesty ; but is not this disgraceful system of robbery carried on to the present day 1 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 231 MASSASOIT, SACHEM 01' THE POKANOKET CONFEDERACY. This great and wise chieftain, unlike many other Indian commanders, was always on the side of peace, not only with the whites but even with other hostile Indian tribes. He was brave, it is true, when occasion required him to be so, but as long as his own territories were not molested, or invaded he saw no reason why he should trouble others. The colonists, very prudently, gave him but little vexation ; and it was after his death that their avarice, ambition, in solence and cruelty, began to excite the jealousy, ill feeling, and disaffection of his countrymen. He foresaw, doubtless, that the whites would soon become powerful, and that all the injuries which he might inflict on them at that time, would sooner or later be avenged, perhaps in the total ex termination of his tribe. If he had predicted so, he pro phesied rightly ; as was the case with the Pequots, who were almost exterminated in 1637. But how many other tribes have nearly disappeared in like manner from the face of the country, by perpetual contentions among themselves as well as by the sword and musket of the whites ? Be this, however, as it may, this sachem was naturally possessed of some excellent qualities, which can seldom be found among his superiors in education and refinement. No better proof of his fidelity and attachment to the whites, of his compas sionate spirit, and m .ignanimity of soul, can be adduced, than his conduct toward ^the colonists shortly after their settlement at Plymouth, wh en he provided them with provisions, and protected them, while, with the exception of six or seven, they were all reduced to a most desperate state by sickness, so that they were unable to help themselves in any way. In fine, we may safely assert, that the friendship and fidelity of Massasoit, were alone the means of saving the colonists from utter destruction. His name should ever be revered, even by those who most despise the savage Indian. 232 ORIGIN OF THE ALEXANDER* THE ELDEST SON OF MASSASOIT. We have very little to say concerning the character of this sachem, who succeded to the government of the Pokano- ket confederacy on the death of his father. The extraordinary manner in which he came to his death certainly deserves notice ; but in whatever way we view it, the colonists of New England seem to have an indelible stain on their character. Were he any other man, but the son of Massa- soit, who for about half a century defended and protected them against the neighboring tribes, our surprise should not be so great. Some historians have endeavoured to hold this disgraceful affair in a light that would reflect no dis credit on the colonists, while others who have recorded it, place very little confidence in the humanity of the New Eng- landers. That he was murdered by them, on mere suspicion of having attempted to rebel against them, is a fact which cannot be contradicted. The facts are as follow : The Plymouth government, on hearing certain idle rumors from Boston, tending to show that the sachem Alexander had solicited the Narragansets to join him in taking up arms against the colony, despatched Mr. Winslow with ten armed men to Sowaws to capture him. In this expedition, it is said, he succeeded, after having first seized the arms of the sachem's attendants. Having threatened him with instant death, if he refused, Alexander reluctantly obeyed. There have been n.any reports respect ing the ill treatment which he received on the way, but whether his usage was good or bad, it signifies nought, for he lost his life by some foul means. Two days after he was dragged away from his family, his lifeless corpse was car ried home on the shoulders of his warriors. Thus ended the mortal career of the son of Massasoit, the best friend the New England colonists ever had. As long as nothing was proved against him, the colonists have done their character an immortal injury by this one act alone. * In the Indian, he was called Moamam or Mamsutta. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 233 KING PHILIP. We now come to the most celebrated of all the emperors, kings, and sachems of North America. King Philip, as he was, indeed, very appropriately styled, succeeded his elder brother, the unfortunate Alexander, whose untimely and mysterious death caused the most violent emotions of sorrow in the deep recesses of Philip's breast. He concealed them, it is true, for it was dangerous to express them ; still he expected the day should soon arrive, when he could avenge himself of all the wrongs which were daily inflicted on his nation. On the most groundless suspicion and the most frivolous report, Philips was summoned to appear before the court at Plymouth to render an account of himself. As they could not however support their charges, he was then almost compelled to sign treaties of submission and grant lands, until he saw it was high time to adopt some plan for destroying or expelling the English from those prov inces. We must not be understood as speaking with the least partiality for King Philip, as we shall advance nothing more than what we are told in history as well as in the records of the Plymouth colony. The territories of Philip were rapidly diminishing, while the whites were constantly .increasing, and, consequently, his enemies were accumulating strength. Their haughty conduct towards him indicated nothing less than a desire to go to war and exterminate himself and his race, the Wampanoagas. Those faithful allies, who never broke their word for more than forty years. This ungrateful breach of promise on the part of the colony could not but exasperate the spirit of such a genius as King Philip. In the mean time,. while these things were going on, Philip was secretly and busily engaged in reconciling hostile tribes and uniting them for one common project, which he assured them, would be attended with universal blessing to all who would assist him. He conducted the whole of this conspiracy with the 234 ORIGIN OF THE greatest caution, prudence and silence, and we may easily perceive that he was a man of no ordinary talents, when his plans were successfully progressing for years, even among tribes who had hitherto been inimical to Philip, not only to him, but even to each other. The first discovery of his plot, is generally attributed to his secretary, John Sassamon. This individual who is so conspicuous in the history of New England was an Indian, converted to Christianity, and educated among the whites. Having as they say, renounced his new religion, he betook himself among the Indians, and became the secretary of King Philip ; but deserted him through the importunities of the whites, at which interference, the king was greatly enraged, knowing, no doubt, that Sassamon would soon divulge all the secrets to which he was privy, and which from every ap- perance he did, for King Pnilip was, shortly after this, com manded to appear before the court of justice at Plymouth. They could not, however, prove charges. The whites were now becoming more suspicious every day, and their suspi cions, might, indeed, be well founded. Amid all these jealousies on both sides, Sassamon disappeared ; and in a few days his dead body was found in a pond. Three Pokanoket Indians were immediately seized by the Plymouth government, tried and executed for the murder, on a very doubtful evidence of one man. Hence arose open hos tilities. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR. From the date of the execution of the above mentioned Indians, the Pokanokets appeared to be utterly ungovernable, while Philip, who understood and saw every thing far and near, was sorely grieved at the sudden and unexpected muster of his young warriors at Mount Hope in 1675. He was not, however, less intent on revenge, than any of his countrymen ; but he awaited the maturity of his plans, as NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 235 well as the alliance and allegiance of many other tribes whose friendship he had been so long courting and solicit ing. Let the blame be where it may, an Englishman was the first who commenced hostilities, by discharging his musket at one of the Indians and wound'ng him. Whatever might have been the former policy of Philip, he was now inevit ably involved in the bloody war which ensued, and which he certainly meditated, conceived, and planned, but not at that unfavourable juncture. His sagacity and foresight w T ell knew that the undertaking of a war at that time, when his newly formed allies were not aware of it, and when even his own more sober subjects did not approve of it, must be rash and dangerous. Such, indeed, was the result of the war, which, after having lasted for more than one year, ended in the death of Philip and almost the extermination of the New England Indians. The Narragansetts, the Indians on the Connecticut River and the Niprnucks who joined him, suf fered most severely, having, perhaps, lost on each side nearly 1000 men. The Plymouth and Massachusetts governments combined and raised as strong a force as the state of the colonies would permit. Captain Church was the most dis tinguished officer on the English side ; and, if we believe his own account, he committed the most savage brutalities and cruelties on the poor Indians whom they dragged and forced to take up arms. As the Indians cannot speak for themselves and tell their own story, we can only draw in ferences from what the English have recorded of themselves. From June and October of 1676, this gallant Captain Church slaughtered from 700 to 1000 Indians, while most of those who were captured, were sent out of the country and sold for slaves. . It is needless for us to enter into a detairof this war, which has been so often and so minutely described by those who made it the subject of their treatise. Philip and the warriors under his command fought most bravely, but they were inferior in numbers, arms and ammunition. More In dians, it is said, perished by disease and famine, than by the sword of the enemy. They were frequently driven into 236 . ORIGIN OF THE swamps, where nourishment could not be procured ; hence sickness and starvation. Philip himself was a hundred times on the eve of being captured and killed, but, as the English assert, he was always foremost 'in the flight, when resistance was of no avail. As a warrior he is allowed to have no equal, either in courage or tactics. His most pre judiced enemies among the English, acknowledge his gen erosity and humanity to his prisoners of war ; and, indeed Philip has not been considered as a mere barbarian in his feelings, for he manifested the most ample proofs of an exalted mind. His mode of living was certainly savage, but we cannot infer from that circumstance that his own manners and sentiments were barbarous. Where is the patriot of the present day, who would not do what Philip did, if he saw his own countrymen sold as slaves abroad, or tortured and hanged at home, as the En glish served the Pokanokets 1 If, after the commencement of hostilities, he resisted his enemies to the last, and killed whenever he could, it was only acting in self defence, to make the worst of it. As long as the English were the aggressors, they were then, of course, the cause of all the calamities which followed. His father Massasoit, and his ill fated brother Alexander were merely allies and not sub jects to the English, as their treaties can prove; and Philip very rightly contended that he should be equally independ ent. There w r as, however, a great change in the affairs of the colony, since the time of Massasoit to that of Philip. The colonists are now strong, numerous and ambitious. They want no more the alliance of an Indian chief, but his allegiance, and with this policy they acted towards Philip, who preferr^l the war dance to the humiliating terms which they proposed to him. We come now to his death, which he so often evaded, even when he was chased and fired on, without either a tribe, or a single companion. At his last hour, however, he was surrounded by a faithful band of followers, whom he advised to desert him, as he foresaw from his dream the night previous, that his end was at hand. In a few minutes after- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 237 wards he was surprised by the English, and shot through the heart. This brief sketch of that great man who shall ever live in the history of America, is far from being sufficient to give the reader a correct idea of his real character. He was persecuted even unto death, for two cowardly ruffians fired at him twice, while he was lying down carelessly in a swamp, musing in deep silence and sorrow, over the misfortunes which had befallen himself and his nation through the treachery of the white man, whom his father and brother protected in their infancy and pov erty, when they were attacked by famine and sickness. We shall now conclude this brief article, by mentioning the fate of his son. His boy was only nine years of age, when he was sold as a slave. He was destined to be sent to Bermuda ; but some scruples having arisen among some members of the government, they consulted their pious clergymen, as to what course they should pursue. A Mr. Cotton gave as his opinion that he should be put to death, on the ground, that he was the son of a rebel. Dr. Mather supported the same opinion, but as there was a little more humanity in the government, the child was spared. Finally, we have only to say on this point, that the present enlight ened people of Massachussets, distinguished as they certain ly are for their generosity, humanity and refinement, would be the last in our opinion to persecute a. Red Man or violate a treaty with another Philip. THE NARRAGANSETTS. As we have already said, this nation or confederacy in habited a part of Rhode Island, and the islands bf the bay called after them. Besides, there were many other tribes tributary or subject to them. They could, without a doubt, bring two or three thousand warriors to the field. They were usually the inveterate enemies of the Pokanokets; but through the influence of Philip, they buried the hatchet 238 ORIGIN OF THE and became his best supporters and his most powerful allies. There has been some misunderstanding among annalists and historians respecting their chief sachem at the time of the English settlement in that country. The most rational conclusion that we can come to, is, that Canonicus, the elder prince, associated with him in the government, Mian- tonomo, his nephew; the former, being advanced in years, and unable to superintend the affairs of their extensive territories. That they both ruled jointly, we have every reason to believe. Of this we are assured by Roger Williams, so well know T n in the early history of New England. This gentleman, on account of his religious prin ciples was persecuted, both by the government of Plymouth and Massachussets ; Mr. Williams therefore crossed over among the Narragansetts, and, as he himself acknowledges, Canonicus, not only received him with with kindness, but granted himself and followers from Salem, a considerable portion of land, where they might worship their God as they pleased. These were certainly strange proceedings, on the part of people, who, in order to enjoy liberty of conscience, left their native country, and landed as pilgrims on the Plymouth rocks. The Narragansetts were always jealous of the English colony ; still, Williams and his disciples received the hand of friendship from the rulers. On one occasion, Canonicus sent a messenger to Plymouth, with a bundle of arrows, enclosed in a rattle-snake's skin, the customary challenge to war. In reply the Plymouth governor returned the same skin containing gunpowder and bullets. The Indian chief tain, no doubt, dreading even to handle this strange and complimentary present,declined to have any thing at all to do with it ; so he ordered the powder and balls to be taken immediately back to Plymouth. Canonicus, having previ ously witnessed the effects of gunpowder, came to the con clusion, that bows and arrows were helpless weapons against what the Indians called the " anger of the Great Spirit." After the combined forces of the English and the Narragansetts had completely defeated the Pequots, in 1638, NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 239 it was covenanted that the Mohegans and the Narragan- setts should make peace, and bury in oblivion all their former animosities. At this time Miantonomo, the royal associate of Canonicus, appears as the principal leader of the Nar- ragansetts. Uncas was the chief of the Mohegans, who are said to have been a branch of the Pequots. Owing to this connexion, and the rivalry between Uncas and Mian tonomo, the treaty was violated by the latter. After seve ral unsuccessful attempts on the part of the Narra- gansett chief to take the life of Uncas, by hiring even some of the Mohegan and Pequot tribe to do it, he resolved to invade his country. Having raised about 1000 warriors, he inarched into the territories of Uncas, who, on hearing his. approach, prepared himself for the attack, and went out to meet him with 500 men. Having encountered each other, Uncas defeated his adversary by stratagem and led him captive to the Mohegan country. He carried his prisoners to Hartford and laid the whole affair before the magistrates. As the English and Mohegans were leagued together, they advised Uncas to put Miantonomo to death, because they considered that the life of Uncas could not be safe as long as Miantonomo lived. Uncas, accordingly, marched off with his royal captive to the very spot where he had made him prisoner. Immediately, on arriving at that place, a Mohegan came behind Miantonomo and split his head with an axe. This was undoubtedly a refined advice on the part of the civilized and religious pilgrims. To despatch a man from behind without a moment's warning, speaks highly of those religious times. Governor Hopins, the learned and eminent patriot, speaks in the following terms of this disgraceful tragedy. " This was the end of Miantonomo, the most potent Indian prince the people of New England had ever any concern with ; and this was the reward he received for assisting them seven years before, in their war with the Pequots. Surely a Rhode Island man may be permitted to mourn his unhappy fate, and drop a tear on the ashes of Miantonomo; who, with his uncle Canonicus, were the best 240 ORIGIN OF THE friends and greatest benefactors the colony of Rhode Island ever had. They kindly received, fed, and protected the first settlers of it, when they were in distress, and were strangers and exiles, and all mankind else their enemies ; and by this kindness to them drew upon themselves the resentment of the neighbouring colonies, and hastened the untimely end of the young king." THE PEQUOTS. This was another numerous and powerful nation, inhabit ing principally that part of Connecticut where New London now stands. The Nipmucks to the north of them, as well as many other tribes, were tributary to them. Among all the nations of New England, the Pequots are said to have been able to bring more warriors to the field, than any other. The number of 4000 men is no small or inconsiderable force, everi at the present day ; still that confederacy mustered on one' occasion as many. It would have been a strange and terrific sight to a' European, on his first arrival on this continent, to witness four or five thousand of those savages dance the war dance, yelling out the war whoops, and attired at the same time in their barbarous costume, and having their visage disfigured with a variety of paints, and their heads ornamented with a crown of plumage of various colours. Their appearance certainly indicated nothing less than the height and extremes of barbarity. In time of peace, however, the Indians were to be considered in a different light. They were often found to be honest, intelligent, magnani mous, faithful, and generous. The present mode of warfare practised by the most refined nations in the world is equally barbarous, and in our opinion more so. The Indians knew nothing better than to take life; and, indeed, their religion taught them that it was highly meritorious and pleasing to the Great Spirit. Our religion, on the contra ry, condemns the shedding of blood, even of our enemies; NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 241 and still we, with our powder and ball, destroy more lives in one day, than almost all the Indians of New England could do in one century. Thus far we have deviated from our subject, which we must now resume. When the Pequots were in their power and glory, the Narragansetts alone would dare resist them, and between the two nations the most bloody battles were fought. The Narragansetts were scarcely or never able to defeat them until the English, under Mason, joined the former ; then, and not till then, the Pequots were subdued and vanquished. The first Pequot sachem with whom the English became acquainted was Pekoath, a warrior of great renown; the next was Sassacus, another great warrior. These two, are said, by historians, to have always borne the most inveterate hatred against Europeans. Whether the whites had given the Pequots any reasonable grounds for this animosity, it is hard to say ; but, we may reasonably suppose that they abused the friendship of the Pequots as well as that of all the other Indian nations with whom they had any inter course or dealing. As the English were going on conquer ing and exterminating the Red Men all around them, the Plymouth government, that of Massachusetts and Connec ticut, aided by the Narragansetts, under the noted Mason, completed the final subjugation of the Pequots. They burned sixty or seventy Indian villages, with their, women and children who had no time, nor even the possibility of esca ping. This scene of slaughter, carnage, and burning alive helpless women and babes, is described by the English themselves as horrid and dreadful; still these civilized and pious men delight in handing down to posterity their exe crable deeds. Sassacus, was at last compelled to take refuge among the Mohawks with a few followers. Thus has an independent warrior wandered for weeks and months, alone in the swamps of Connecticut, exhausted, desolate, and at last so desperate, that his life was a burden to him. In place of being protected among the Mohawks he and a few warriors 21 242 ORIGIN OF THE who followed him, were put to death on account of former hostilities. PAWTUCKETS. We shall now proceed with a short notice of this confederacy and their grand sachem Passaconaway. This veteran, for such we may call him, having been far advanced in years when the English first knew him, is generally said to have died at the extreme old age of 120 years. This chieftain was known among tlie Indians, as the " Great sagamore of Pannuhog," or Penacook, which was the original name of an Indian tribe in what is now called the state of New Hampshire. It seems, however, that he had many tribes subject to him, some in New Hampshire and some in the present state of Massachusetts. He resided sometimes on the Merrimack River which flows through New Hampshire, through a part of Massachusetts, into the Atlantic ; hence he has been frequently styled by the early historians of New England, the chief sachem of Merrimack. Pawtucket, however, was the national name of all the con federates. About 1642 the most summary measures were taken by the Massachusetts government to disarm the great sagamore of Pannuhog, for no other reason, than the idle re port that the Indians of the country had conspired against the life of the English, for which there was not the least foundation, as they afterwards discovered to their shame. Not being able to arrest him, they dragged his son, a squaw and her child to Boston and imprisoned them. His son however escaped from them, but not until they had* fired on him. Some historians find great fault with those sages of New England for this extraordinary proceeding against Passaconaway, w T ho had hitherto been friendly to the English, and moreover, who had maintained his inde pendence. The New Englanders, have had, of course, advo cates to apologise for this rash conduct and the like, by a NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 243 reference to the excitement of the times in which they lived, but this excitement should never induce them to declare war against, and exterminate a friendly and inof fensive people. This plea will not satisfy modern poli ticians. The sagacity and self command of this grand sagamore overlooked the ill treatment which he and his family had received from the English ; and they were soon perfectly reconciled. His conversion to Christianity has often been questioned, while others affirm it as a positive fact. Whatever might have been his own belief, it is true, how ever, that he was friendly to that religion. Passaconaway has been represented as the greatest conjuror of the age in which he lived. He excelled in the arts of legerdemain so much, that the Indians believed he could make water burn, trees dance, metamorphose himself into a flame, raise in winter a green leaf from a dry one, and a living serpent from the skin of one which was dead. In one of his last speeches, he cautioned the Indians not to quarrel with the English. Without detailing the different good qualities of the grand sagamore of Penacook, we may class him among the first warriors and statesmen of the Indian race. FIVE NATIONS, AFTERWARDS THE SIX NATIONS. This confederacy, commonly called by the English, the Five Nations, consisted originally, or when first known to Europeans, of the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, the Onondagas and the Senecas. In the process of time, how ever, they were joined by the Tuscaroras ; and from that period they were known as the Six Nations. Among the French they had the appellation of Iroquois, among the Dutch, that of Maquas, but by the Indians of Virginia, they were generally called Massawomekes, and by themselves Mingoes. According to Smith as well as Morse, each na tion of the Iroquois, otherwise the Five or Six Nations, was 244 ORIGIN OF THE divided into three families of different ranks, bearing for their arms, and being distinguished by the names of the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. Their instruments of conveyances were signed by signatures, which they made with a pen, representing the figures of those animals. Hence there appears to have been three orders of state among them. When the Dutch began the settlement of New-York, all the Indians on Long Island and the northern shore of the Sound, on the banks of Connecticut River, Hudson, Delaware, and Susquehannah Rivers, were in sub jection to the Five Nations, and acknowledged it by paying tribute to them annually. In the war with Great Britain these nations (inhabiting the northern and western parts of New-York) were allies of that power; and in 1779 they were entirely defeated by the American troops, and their towns all destroyed. The Mohawks and the greater part of the Cayugas have removed into Canada. The residue now live on grounds called the State Reservations; the state of New-York having taken these Indians under its protection. At the time of the French settlement in Canada, the Five Nations were the proprietors of that territory on the banks of the St. Lawrence, where Montreal now stands, which pe riod was about the year 1603. When the French became acquainted with them, they were engaged in a desperate war with another nation, called the Adirondacks. With out alluding here to the various victories which the one nation obtained over the other during a long struggle, it may suffice to say, that the most bloody battles were fought between them with alternate success, until the brave Adi rondacks were completely overthrown by the Iroquois. One victory followed the other, and the Iroquois or Five Nations swept every thing before them. The Eries inhab iting the south side of Lake Erie, the Anderstez, the Show- anous, the Hurons and Ottawas, of the upper Mississippi, the Illinois of the west, with the Miaraies and Shawanees were totally subdued by them.* Such was the terror which the Mohawk name spread abroad, that from east to west, NORTH AMEU1CAN INDIANS. 245 from north to south, almost all the tribes of Indians who heard of the victorious career of the Iroquois, dreaded the approach of so dangerous a foe. As the character of the Five Nations has already been given, it is needless for us to say much more concerning that powerful confederacy, whose oratory and martial dis position should ever immortalize them among the other rude tribes of North America ; it is to be sincerely regretted that those unfortunate people had not experienced a different treatment from their first white visitors from Europe, who in place of coming with the mild and conciliatory spirit of Christianity, came as wolves and devouring lions to kill and exterminate the simple and ignorant natives of America, who might otherwise with the help of civilization and re ligion, be ranked among the other refined nations of the earth. LOGAN. As the immortal Logan was a chief of the Six Nations, we shall not proceed farther, without noticing a man so famous in American history. The Cayugas having been one of the Six Nations that formed that powerful confede racy, that swept every thing before them, like a torrent rushing from the mountain top, Logan is generally styled the Cayuga chief. He was the second son of Shikellimus, whom Heckewelder represents, as a respectable chief of the Six Nations, who resided at Shamokin, (Pennsylvania) as an agent, to transact business between them and the government of the state. We first became acquainted with Logan through the Mo ravian missionaries, whom his father invited to settle in his own vicinity. They describe him as an hospitable, shrewd and temperate man, never taking part with the riots, and quarrels of the other Indians. Shikellimus was a convert to Christianity, in which he firmly believer], according to 21* 246 ORIGIN Ot THE the Moravian missionaries. " In the year 1749," says Los- kiel, " he fell happily asleep in the Lord." Our notice of Logan must, inevitably, be short. His po litical career was not of long duration. It is not, however, his martial exploits, that entitle him to a place on the page xrf history. Yet Logan was a warrior and an orator. His memorable speech which is contained in this work, has ex cited the admiration of our most refined scholars, and shall be preserved for ages, as a specimen of Indian oratory, brief as it is. In this speech he declares, that he had al ways been the friend 'of the White Man, until his family was utterly destroyed, so that not one drop of his "blood ran through the veins of any one living. Logan inherited all the good qualities of his father ; but Logan was unfortu nately placed in different circumstances, which compelled him to seek revenge; he sought and found it, as he himself candidly acknowledges. His people were plundered and killed by the banditti, who at that time scoured the country in quest of spoils. They were neither guided by law nor any sense of humanity. The persecuted and ex iled Indians \vere their prey. They spared nothing that came in their w r ay, until the family of Logan became their victims. In their lawless excursions, a certain Colonel Cresap headed a band of those freebooters, and proceeded in their lawless career down the Kenhawa, seeking revenge of some Indians whom they accused of having committed a robbery and murder on the Ohio. Having spyed a canoe crossing the river, with one man and some women and chil dren, they fired on them, whenever they landed, and killed them all, and unfortunately this was the family of Logan Another massacre soon followed near Wheeling, Virginia. Here the whites again fell on a party of unsuspecting Indians and destroyed them all except one girl ; and among them were also a brother and sister of Logan. Our hero could no longer contain himself within his usual self-com mand, although he had witnessed scenes which should arouse the feelings of a man less patriotic than he w r as. A bloody war was therefore the consequence of those siiameful NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 247 outrages on the Indians. On the 10th of October, of the year 1774, an obstinate battle was fought on Point Plea sant, at the mouth of the great Kenhawa, in West Virginia, between the conbined Shawanees, Mingoes, and Delawares, on the one side, and the Virginians, on the other. It lasted six or seven hours. The Virginians came off victorious, but not without the loss of many of their superior officers, inclu ding two colonels, and fifty privates. The loss of the Indians has not been ascertained. It was after this battle that the celebrated speech of Logan was delivered at a treaty which ensued. The melancholy history of Logan is now closed. Shortly after this treaty he was murdered by a party of whites, on his way from Detroit to his own country, so that at last he paid dearly for his friendship and services to the whites. MOHAWKS. This was a famous tribe of Indians, who inhabited along the Mohawk River in the state of New York, and were the head tribe of the Six Nations. The Mohawk language which is the language of the Six Nations, is wholly des titute of labials, or has no words which require the lips to be closed in pronouncing them. In this respect, it is per haps different from any other language. The strength of mind and memory which the Mohawks possessed, will ap pear from the following fact. In the year 1689, commision- ers from Boston, Plymouth, and Connecticut, had a confer ence with the Five Nations, (afterwards Six Nations) at Albany. A Mohawk sachem in a long oration answered the English message, and repeated all that had been said the preceding day. The art that they had to assist their memories was this. The sachem who presided, had a bundle of sticks prepared for the purpose, and at the close of every principal article of the message delivered to them, gave a stick to another sachem, charging him 248 ORIGIN OF THE with the remembrance of it. By this means the ora tor, after a previous conference with the other sachems, was prepared to repeat every part of the message, and give it its proper reply. As the Mohawks were strongly at tached to the Johnson family, on account of Sir William Johnson, so they emigrated to Canada with Sir John Johnson, about the year 1776. The principal part of the tribe settled on Grand River, in Upper Canada, in the vicinity of the flourishing town of Brandtford, called after the Indian chief of the name of Brandt. MOHEGANS. The Mohegans was a numerous tribe of Indians, who possessed a considerable part of the present territory of Connecticut, at the time of the first arrival of the English. According to Dr. Edwards, their language abounded with labials ; had no diversity of gender, either in nouns or pro nouns, and no adjectives ; and seemed to be radically dif ferent from the language of the Mohawks of New- York. Although these nations of Indians lived at no great distance apart, there was not to be found one word in either lan guage, which had any analogy to the corresponding word in the language of the other. The Mohegans were distin guished by their friendship to the white people. The rem nant of this tribe, together with the Stockbridge Indians, migrated and settled near Lake Oneida, in the state of New-York* SEMINOLES. The Seminoles, or Lower Creeks, inhabited formerly East and West Florida. They enjoyed a superabundance * Sampson. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 249 of the necessaries of life ; contented and undisturbed they appeared as blithe and free as the birds of the air, and like them as volatile and active, tuneful and vociferous. The visage, action and deportment of a Seminole is the most striking picture of happiness in this life. Joy, contentment, love, and friendship without guile or affectation, seem in herent in them, or predominant in their vital principle ; for it leaves them but with the last breath of life. On one hand you see among them troops of boys ; some fishing, some shooting with the bow, some enjoying one kind of di version and some another; on the other hand >are seen bevies of girls, wandering through orange groves and over fields and meadows, gathering flowers and berries*, in their bask ets, or lolling under the shades of flowery trees, or chasing one another in sport, and striving to paint each other's faces with the juice of the berries. CHOCTAWS, OR FLATHEADS. The Choctaws were a cunning, courageous and powerful nation of Indians, inhabiting a fertile country between Ala bama and Mississippi rivers. They were called by the tra ders, Flatheads. All the males having the fore and hind part of their skulls actually flattened ; which is done in the following manner : soon after the child is born, he is laid on his back, in a case ; the part where the head is placed having the form of a brick mould. Then there is laid on the forehead of the infant a bag of sand, which, by a con tinual gentle pressure, gives the head somewhat the form ot a brick, from the temples upwards ; and by these means they have lofty foreheads, sloping off backwards. The Choctaws are slovenly, but industrious; they had large plantations, where they employed much of their time in ag ricultural improvements. 250 . ORIGIN OF THE DELAWARES. On whatever portion of this continent the first European settlers might have found an Indian settlement, every tribe had among them a tradition, that they migrated thither, either from the east or the west, or from the north or the south, which goes to prove what little knowledge they have of their own origin or descent. It is also a singular fact, that, ever since the arrival of Europeans on the coasts of America, many of the numerous tribes who once covered this extensive country, have been found to retrace their steps to their starting-places, so far as tradition and memory can assist them in so doing. This is nature itself: for how often do we see quadrupeds, which may have strayed from home, or been driven from it for many miles, return in the same manner ? The original name of the Delawares (from Lord de la War) was Lenni Lenape, signifying in their own Indian language, original people. They are said to have emigrated in company with the Five Nations from beyond the Mississippi, in the course of which migration the Delawares divided themselves into three tribes, called the Turtle, the Turkey, and the Wolf. In the time of William Penn they were the principal inhabitants of Pennsylvania, so that their settlements extended from the Potomac to the Hudson. As the white population began to increase in these territories, the Delawares, as a matter of course, were compelled to withdraw and make room for their conquerors. While a great portion of this nation has settled in Ohio, on the banks of the Muskingum, others have been gradually moving to wards the western banks of the Mississippi, whence, their tradition tells them, they originally started. The Delawares were once a powerful, numerous and for midable nation, and frequently a terror to the Five Nations. During the revolutionary war, they happened to be divided in their politics, whence arose two parties, the one for peace and the other for war. Captain Pipe, of the Wolf tribe, joined NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 251 the British interests; while Captain White Eyes strove with all his might to prevent the Delawares from interfering on either side. The influence of Captain White Eyes had certainly been the sole cause of pacifying and quelling the wh 'le nation ; at last he succeeded so far as to hinder any active interference. On the death, however, of White Eyes, his antagonist Captain Pipe acquired the ascendancy, which at once enabled them to join the British and fight against the Americans. OTTAWAS. In speaking of the tribes, in the north their early history is generally furnished by the first French settlers in Canada. We are told therefore by these sources that the Ottawas, the Chippewas and the Pottawattamies resided on the borders of the upper lakes, between Ontario, Erie and Huron. Whence these tribes came originally, that is, from what Indian stock, they might have separated themselves, according to Indian migration, w r e cannot, with any accuracy, say; but, the common opinion is, that they were once members of the great Algonkin nation, who, in the time of the earliest French colonists, were so widely spread over the greater part of the lower province of the Canadas. Thence, it is said, they moved towards the upper lakes. Here, during the war between France and England, the Ottawas, under Pontiac, one of the greatest Indian captains, of whom there is any record in the history of the aborigines, soon convin ced both parties, of the important service, they could render to whatever side they would adhere. After the foundation of Detroit by the French, 1701, the Ottawas soon offered them battle ; but, being few in number, they were defeated, and became in future a firm ally of the French people ; and indeed as we shall soon see, in our notice of Pontiac, their rioted chieftain, the Ottawas in com bination with several other tribes, proved themselves almost 252 ORIGIN OF THE the most dangerous Indian foe against whom the English had ever contended on the continent of America. The Indians in general, of North America, have always been more attached to the French nation than to the English There is evidenly good reason for believing this, when we observe, that the leading policy of the French, was to trade with the Indians in a peaceable and friendly manner, and not to subdue nor conquer them ; but from this course, how ever, they frequently deviated. It is also equally manifest, that the French have intermarried among the Indians, or amalgamated with them more than any other foreign peo ple, which will account still more clearly for Indian parti ality towards them. " When the French arrived at these falls," said a Chippewa chief at a council held some years since, " they came and kissed us. They called us children, and we found them fathers. We lived like brethren in the same lodge." We have merely introduced these observations, in order to show their motives for protecting the French during the war with the English, until the latter obtained and wrested the Canadas out of the hands of the former. But even after the surrender of those provinces by the French to the English, the Ottawas distinguished themselves on various occasions for their attachment and loyalty to the French government, as may be seen when we come to Pontiac. PONT1AC. Among the most distinguished of modern or ancient Indian chieftains we may fairly place Pontiac, the Ottawa chieftain. He is said to have exceeded all and every thing since the days of King Philip ; and if the English were " sorely vexed" by the New England sachem, they were no less troubled by this northern warrior. His character, of course, has been the theme of different writers. He has had both friends and foes. He has been both admired and NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 25? detested. His virtues have been extolled, and his cruelty exaggerated. Notwithstanding all this difference of opinion, Pontiac has never been denied an extraordinary share oi natural talents. He exercised an unlimited influence over most of the northern tribes, residing at that time on the bord ers of the lakes. He had neither a brother like that of Te- cumseh, to support him by religion and sorcery in whatever he proposed or planned, nor did he really resort, in general, to means which could be strictly ascribed to gross imposition or deception. His mind was lofty and magnanimous within him. Independent feelings were the source of his actions. The Indian mode of warfare, no doubt, has subjected him to many calumnies ; but his usual rule was, that no prisoner should be liberated or ransomed without his knowledge ; and then fie most frequently set his captives at liberty with out recompense or remuneration. It is also a known fact, that, on many occasions, when his sachems, without his consent, gave up their prisoners of war, for a trifling reward, he compelled the same men to fetch them back to him, that he himself might give them their freedom without a price. Pontiac was a faithful friend to the French, both before and after the government of the Canadas was surrendered to the English. There are very few of his speeches extant from which we can learn his oratorical power, but the following may suffice to give some idea of his greatness. It was delivered at a conference with the French at Detroit, on the 23d of May, 1763. " My Brothers ! I have no doubt but this war is very troublesome to you, and that my warriors, who are contin ually passing and repassing through your settlements, frequently kill your cattle, and injure your property. I am sorry for it, and hope you do not think I am pleased with this conduct of my young men. And, as a proof of my friendship, recollect the war you had seventeen years ago, (1746) and the part I took in it. The northern na tions combined together, and came to destroy you. Who defended you 1 Was it not myself and my young men ? 22 254 ORIGIN OF THE Why do you think I would turn my arms against you ? Am I not the same French Pontiac, who assisted you seventeen years ago ? I am a Frenchman, and I wish to die a French man. " I did not wish to ask you to fight with us against the English, and I did not believe you would take part with them. You will say you are not with them. I know it ; but your conduct amounts to the same thing, you will tell them all we do and say. You carry our counsels and plans to them. Now take your choice. You must be entirely French, like ourselves, or entirely English. If you are French, take this belt for yourselves, and your young men, and join us. If you are English we declare war against you." This brief and pointed address speaks volumes for the character of Pontiac, and describes the hero better than the pen of any historian. CALIFORNIANS. The Californians, according to Perouse, inhabit a large peninsula of North America, lying eastward of New Mexi co, between the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean ; extending in length from the tropic of Cancer, to the 28th degree of north latitude, about 300 leagues, and in breadth, from sea to sea, not more than 40 leagues. The Califor nians draw the bow with inimitable skill ; and will bring down the smallest birds with unerring aim. One of these Indians will fix upon his own, the head with the horns of a stag ; will walk on all fours ; brouse the grass ; and by this, and other means, so deceive herds of these animals, that they shall, without alarm, permit him to approach near enough to kill them with his arrows NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 255 CREEKS. These people, otherwise called Muskogees, are a power ful nation of Indians inhabiting the middle parts of Geor gia, along the River Mobile. They are called Creek Indi ans, by reason of the creeks and rivulets, which abound in their country. Their soil is extremely fruitful, and the cli mate delicious ; they are cultivators of the soil ; they per mit no kind of spiritous liquors to be used or brought into their towns. They are faithful friends, but inveterate ene mies ; hospitable to strangers, and honest and fair in their dealings. Their women are very small, their hands and feet being no larger than those of Europeans of nine or ten years of age. They are well formed ; their visage round, features regular and beautiful ; the eye large, black and languishing. The men are a full size, larger than Euro peans. Their mode of marrying is this : the bridegroom takes a cane, or reed, and fixes it upright in the ground ; then the bride sticks down another reed by the side of his, which finishes the marriage ceremony. This, however, must be done in the presence of company. The couple then exchange reeds, which are laid by as evidences or cer tificates of marriage. They allow of polygamy, but always punish adultery with cropping or cutting off the ears. Even a white man who should debauch one of their married wo men, could not escape the punishment of cropping, if he were detected and caught. However much the Creeks may have changed in many respects, for the last few years, the above description is according to Bartram. We are furnished by the same author with the following account of the calumet or Indian pipe, as used among the Creeks. Our readers are already aware that the calumet is a symbolical instrument of great importance among the Indians of North America. By it peace or war is decided, so that scarcely any national affair is transacted among them without the Indian pipe. In the greatest heat of bat- 256 ORIGIN OF THE tie, if the calumet is offered, accepted and smoked by the hostile nation, peace is proclaimed. " Among the Creeks," says Bartram, " a stranger, on entering the house of an Indian chief, is first presented with food, the best that the house affords. After which, the chief, filling a pipe, whose stem is about four feet long, sheathed in a speckled snake-skin, and adorned with feath ers and strings of wampum ; he lights it, and smokes a few whiffs, puffing the smoke first towards the sun, and then to the four cardinal points, and, lastly, over the breast of the stranger ; then hands the pipe to him, who takes it and smokes. This done, conversation begins; the chief asks his guest, whence he came, together with such other questions as happen to occur." CHEROKEES. The Cherokees, a once celebrated, but now declining, na tion of Indians, inhabited the northern parts of Georgia and the southern parts of Tennessee. In their disposition and manners they are grave and steady ; they are dignified and circumspect in their deportment; rather slow and re- servecj in conversation, yet frank, cheerful and humane; te nacious of their natural rights and liberties ; secret, delibe rate and determined in their councils ; honest, just and liber al, and are always ready to sacrafice every pleasure and gratification, even their blood and life, to defend their ter ritory, and maintain their rights. They do homage to the Creeks with reluctance. The Creeks, their conquerors, have been heard to tell them, that they are old women, and that they have long ago obliged them to wear the petticoat. This insulting language the Cherokees are constrained to bear, although it cuts them to the heart. The Cherokees had many chiefs and warriors no less dis tinguished for magnanimity, wisdom and moderation, than bravery and military prowess. As an instance of sterling NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 257 fidelity to a quondam friend, but at this time a prisoner among this tribe, Attakallakulla, or the Little Carpenter, we offer the following incident from Thatcher's Indian Bi ography. " On the occasion of the capture of a Captain Stuart by a party of Indians, a gentleman for a long time ago favour ably known to the Cherokees, Attakallakulla hastened to the fort where this gentleman was imprisoned, and purchased him of his Indian master giving, him his rifle, clothes, and all he could command as a ransom ; and then took him into his own family, and shared with him the provisions which his table afforded." At another time, when Captain Stuart expressed some fear about the safety of his life among the Indians who again became his masters, the same magnanimous and grateful chieftain, for Stuart was formerly his friend, took him by the hand and addressed him in the following man ner ; be calm,' said he, ' be calm, my son, I am your friend trust me.' He went forward and claimed the Englishman for his prisoner ; and then gave out word among his country men, that he intended to go out a ( hunting,' for a few days, and to take his Englishman with him. They set out together, accompanied by the warrior's wife, his brother, and two others. For provisions they depended on what they could kill by the way. The distance to the frontier settlements was great, and the utmost ex pedition was necessary to prevent any surprise from the Indians pursuing them. They travelled nine days and nine nights through a dreary wilderness, shaping their course for Virginia, by the light and guidance of the heavenly bodies. On the tenth, they arrived at the banks of Holstein River ; where they fortunately fell in with a party of three thousand men, sent out by Colonel Bird for the relief of such soldiers as might make their escape that way from fort Loudon. Here the chieftain was content to relinquish his charge. He bade his friend farewell, and as composedly as if the whole transaction were a matter oi course, turned 22* 258 ORIGIN OF THE back into the wilderness, and retraced his long and wea risome journey. It is said also that Captain Stuart often expressed himself n the most grateful expressions to this Indian chief, frequent ly admiring, not only his faithfulness to him during his captivity, but also his loftiness of soul, a quality which he tfas not always prepared to meet with among rude tribes of Indians. These and many other acts of kindness were performed by Attakallakulla towards the whites ; but as this work must be brief in noticing the tribes of North America and their leading men, we have only to say of this magnanimous and brave warrior that his martial character and generous spirit would do credit to more refined nations than the Indians. SHAWANEES. I There are indeed few tribes of Indian nations who claim a higher title to notice than those from whom the celebrated Fecumseh was descended. According to their own tradition, the Shawanees came originally from the south, and dwell in the neighbourhood of Savannah, in Georgia, and also in the Floridas. They were always considered a warlike, independent, and restless people. On account of their martial and wandering disposition they were compelled to move towards the north, as they were frequently inferior in numbers to their neighbouring tribes, such as the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks and others. Having migrated northward, their main body settled upon the Ohio, some in that place which is now called Pittsburg, and others in different parts of Pennsylvania. Having become very numerous in the course of a few years, and formed a confederacy between themselves and the Delawares, they soon commenced hos tilities against the Cherokees. Many bloody battles ensued, in which the Shawanees were often successful. They NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 259 t afterwards turned their arms against the white settlers of Virginia, when these Indians proved to be more dangerous and troublesome than all the other tribes of Indians. We are assured by Marshall and Loskiel that the Shawanees were *he most mischievous, the most active, as well as the most savage of Indian nations. Every American whi 4 'S acquainted with the history of his country must be well iware of the troubles which the tribe of Tecumseh have *iven us from time to time ; but these warfares we must )ver]ook as the results of mutual hostilities. Who was ight and who was wrong, that is to say, who the agressors *vere we can scarcely tell at the present time ; for, no doubt, there were cruelties and barbarities on both sides. In speaking of the Shawanee tribe it would certainly ap pear rather ungenerous to pass over the name of their great warrior, statesman and orator, without devoting a few ob servations to the name of Tecumseh. When we speak of this singular and extraordinary chief tain, who struck terror into the breasts of our bravest soldiers, and was even on the point of almost overthrowing the government of our country, both by his moral and physical courage, in whom they were both equally blended, we should not treat of Tecumseh as a mere Indian warrior, who in a general point of view is seldom more than a savage and barbarian. TECUMSEH. Perhaps there never did exist on this continent a more warlike or hostile people than the Shawanees, the tribe of Tecumseh ; and fully did this hero inherit all the qualities of a warrior. There have really been few chieftains of the Indian race superior or even equal to that soldier and orator. We may speak as long as we please about natural gifts, education, refinement and all such accomplishments ; but some of the speeches of Tecumseh contain as much good 260 ORIGIN OF THE sense and wit as any sensible, intelligent, and educated man could produce. His eloquence was " strong, stern, senten tious, pointed, and perfectly undisguised." His native country was on the banks of the Scioto near Chilicothe. His father is said to have been for certainty, a Shawanee, and his mother a Cherokee, who was carried off a prisoner of war, by the Shawanees. The year of his oiith is not exactly known, but some suppose it to have been about the year 1780. No other Indian leader ever gave more trouble to the whole of the frontier of the states than he ; and it was Tecumseh that revived and rekindled the spirit of revenge in the breasts of the Shawanees and their allies, after they had been driven to the west by the American troops. The Kentuckians likewise suffered more depreda tion from the incursions of this hero and banditti, than from any other Indian foe. Tecumseh, had evidently greater advantages in acquiring popularity with his countrymen than most other leaders had with theirs. He had a brother who assumed a religious character and that of a prophet. All their plans were conceived and formed at a very early period. They de nounced and condemned all connexion with the whites, from whom the Red Men had learned all their bad habits. The use of liquors they forebade as the most destructive enemy they had. There was a regular understanding and communication between the two in all their movements. They advanced gradually and cautiously in the execution of their plans, the one aiding the other. The prophet overawed with religion, while the other convinced with oratory, they were both very temperate in eating and drink ing, and exemplary throughout their whole conduct. All their sayings and actions were said and done for the im provement and elevation of their countrymen. They de picted in lively colours the general degradation of the Indians. Even in their plundering excursions, they showed the greatest disinterestedness in claiming their share of the booty ; they appeared to be utterly careless about even an equal portion : their whole system of operation was a per- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 261 feet and regular machinery, never to be found out of order ; a radical reform in the manners of his people, was what they wanted, without which they never could rise to their primitive greatness. In this manner they could not but gain the respect and confidence of their nation, which, being once obtained, they would find but little difficulty in accom plishing their designs ; for it was easy then to impose on In dian superstition. For the amusement of the reader, we shall here offer a specimen of the doctrine propagated among the tribe of Tecumseh, on a certain occasion, by a Shawanee chief. " The master of life" said he, " who was himself an Indian, made the Shawanees before any others of the human race and they sprang from his brain. That after he had made the Shawaneese, he made the French and English out of his breast ; he made the Dutch out of his feet." These and many other ridiculous doctrines were taught by the Shawaneese prophets among their own people, so that the tribe of Tecumseh were wrought at last into a belief of their own superiority over all other tribes of Red Men. What ever might have been the measures and plans which the prophet and the orator adopted in arriving at their object, which was, no doubt, their own elevation, as well as the independence of their nation, both of them evinced an ex traordinary degree of self command, moderation and saga city, as well as cunning, and superior talents. If their schemes did not succeed, they certainly did their best ; their motives were good, which no person can deny ; they fought for the lands and liberty of the Red Man. This was patriotism, without a doubt. Tecumseh, therefore, may well be placed among the most disinterested patriots that ever fought for Indian rights. But he was not only a warrior, a statesman, but an orator of the first order, if Indians are allowed to be eloquent ORIGIN OF THE RED JACKET, THE SENECA CHIEF. There have been already so many compliments paid to this chief for his eloquence as an orator, that it might perhaps seem superfluos to say any thing in this work re specting his power of oratory. Red Jacket, however, has greater claims to praise and admiration for natural genius than any other Indian chief that we can mention. His Indian name, was Saguaha, or the Keeper-awake. The great rival of Red Jacket for the chieftainship among the Senecas was Cornplanter, some of whose speeches are still extant, and reflect no ordinary credit on his talents. Seeing himself on the decline of popularity among his countrymen, like the illustrious TecumSeh, he persuaded his brother to announce himself a prophet. The contention was between himself and Red Jacket, who was rising fast in the estima tion of the Senecas as Cornplanter was declining. One of the extraordinary efforts in oratory on the part of Red Jacket was to vindicate himself against the accusation, of the prophet, Cornplanter's brother, at a great Indian council, near Buffalo Creek. " At this crisis" says an eminent writer, " he well knew that the future colour of his life depended upon the powers of his mind. He spoke in his defence for near three hours. The iron brow of superstition relented under the magic of his eloquence ; he declared the prophet an impostor and a cheat; he prevailed; the Indians divided, and a small majority appeared tn his favour. Per haps the annals of history cannot furnisji a more conspicu ous instance of the triumph and power of oratory, in a bar barous nation, devoted to superstition, and looking up to the accuser as a delegated minister of the Almighty."* On another occasion, when a treaty was held with the Six Nations in the vicinity of Lake Canandaigua, Red Jack et is said to have been no less felicitous. " Two days," says our Indian biographer, " had passed away in negotiation * Governor Clinton's discourse. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 263 n with the Indians for a cession of their lands.* The con tract was supposed to be nearly completed, when Red Jacket arose. With the grace and dignity of a Roman senator, he drew his blanket around him, and with a piercing eye, surveyed the multitude, all was hushed. Nothing interposed to break the silence, save the gentle nestling of the tree-tops, under whose shade they were gathered. After a long and solemn, but not unmeaning pause, he commenced his speech in a low voice, and a sententious style. Rising gradually with his subject, he depicted the primitive simplicity and happiness of his nation, and the wrongs they had sustained from the usurpations of white men, with such a bold but faithful pencil, that every auditor was soon roused to vengeance or melted into tears. The effect was inexpressible. But ere the emotions of admiration and sympathy had subsided, the white men became alarmed. They were in the heart of an Indian country, surrounded by more than ten times their number, who were inflamed by the remembrance of their injuries, and excited to indignation by the eloquence of a favourite chief. Appalled and terrified, the white men cast a cheer less gaze upon the hordes around them. A nod from the chiefs might be the onset of destruction. At that portentous moment, Farmer's brother interposed. He replied not to his brother chief; but with a sagacity truly aboriginal, he caused a cessation of the council, introduced good cheer, com mended the eloquence of Red Jacket, and before the meeting had re-assembled, with the aid of other prudent chiefs, he had moderated the fury of his nation to a more salutary review of the question before them." We might here cite numerous instances of the eloquence of Red Jacket ; but as his oratory is universally admitted to be of the highest order, we shall now only refer the reader to some of his speeches contained in this work. At one time Red Jacket was hostile to American interests ; and to peace he was inveterately opposed, until some wrongs done his nation had been redressed. He afterwards became warmly attached to the Americans. There were indeed few 264 ORIGIN OF THE Indian chiefs, who exerted themselves with so much zeal against the introduction of Christianity among his people as he did. ' The Black coats,' as he called the missionaries, completely failed in effecting the least change in his Pagan principles, yet many of his tribe and nation had been con verted to the Christian religion. This brave warrior and eloquent orator, died at the Seneca village, near Buffalo, in January, 1830. i I 3 INDIAN SPEECHES, &C. The following is an extract from " Jefferson's Notes on Virginia." and speaks highly of the Indian character, so far as moral courage and national abilities are concerned. " Of their bravery and address in war," he says, " we have multiplied proofs, because we have been the subjects on which they were exercised. Of their eminence in oratory, we have fewer examples, because it is displayed chiefly in their own councils. Some we have, however, of very superior lustre. " I may challenge the whole orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and of many more eminent orators (if Europe has furnished more eminent,) to produce a single passage superior to the speech of Logan, a Mingo chief, to Lord Dunmore, when Governor of Virginia ; and as a testimony of their talents in this line, I beg leave to introduce it, first stating the incidents necessary for understanding it. " In the spring of the year 1774, a robbery was committed by some Indians on certain land adventurers on the River Ohio. The whites in that quarter, according to their custom, undertook to punish this outrage in a summary way. Captain Michael Cresap, and a certain Daniel Greathouse, leading on these parties, surprised, at different times, travel ling and hunting parties of the Indians, having their women and children with them, and murdered many. Among these were unfortunately the family of Logan ; a chief, celebrated 268 ORIGIN OF THE in peace and war, and long distinguished as the friend 01 the whites. This unworthy return provoked his vengeance : he accordingly signalized himself in the war which ensued. In the autumn of the same year, a decisive battle was fought at the mouth of the great Kenhawa, between the collected* forces of the Shawanese, Mingoes, and Delawares, and a detachment of the Virginia militia; the Indians were defeat ed and sued for peace " Logan, however, disdained to be seen among the sup plicants. But, lest the sincerity of a treaty should be dis turbed from which so distinguished a chief absented himself, he sent, by a messenger, the folio wing speech, to be deliver ed to Lord Dunmore :" SPEECH OF LOGAN. " 1 appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed and said, ' Logan is the friend of the white men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man, Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. " This called on me for revenge, I have sought it ; I have killed many: I have glutted my vengeance; for my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbour a thought that mine is the Joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? Not one ! " NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 269 The speech of the five Iroquois chiefs,* who visited England in the reign of Queen Anne. The following excellent address was delivwed by them before her majesty : SPEECH OF THE IROQUOIS CHIEFS. " GREAT QUEEN. We have undertaken a long and tedious, voyage, which none of our predecessors could be prevailed upon to undertake. The motive that induced us was, that we might see our great queen, and relate to her those things we thought absolutely necessary, for the good of her, and us, her allies, on the other side the great water. We doubt not but our great queen has been acquainted with our long and tedious war, in conjunction with her children, against her enemies the French ; and that we have been as a strong wall for their security, even to the loss of our best men. The truth of which our brother Queder, Colonel (Peter) Schuyler, and Anadagarjaux, Colonel Nicholson, can testify; they having all our proposals in writing. We were might- ly rejoiced when we heard by Anadagarjaux, that our great queen had resolved to send an army to reduce Canada from whose mouth we readily embraced our great queen's instruc tion ; and, in token of our friendship, we hung up the kettle, and took up the hatchet ; and with one consent joined our brother Queder, and Anadagarjaux, in making preparations on this side the lake, by building forts, stone houses, canoes, and batteaux ; whilst Aundiasia, Colonel Vetch, at the same time raised an army at Boston, of which we were informed by our ambassadors, when we sent thither for that purpose, we waited long in expectation of the fleet from England, to join Aundiasia, to go against Quebec by sea, whilst Anadagarjaux, Queder, and we, went to Port Royal by land ; but at last we were told, that our great queen, by * They arrived in London from the West Indies with the English fleet. With the four chiefs or kings of the Six nations ? was also the Ganajoh-hore Sachem. The names of the four others, were, Te yee Neen Ho Ga Prow, and Sa Ga yean Qua Prah Ton, of the Maquas ; Elow oh Ream, and Oh Nee Yeath Ton no Prow, of the river Sachem. 23* SPEECH OF HALF-KING. The speech of Half-King to the believing Indians and their teachers, otherwise the Moravian Indians, while he engaged to take them to Canada. " Cousins ; ye believing Indians in Gnaden brethren, Schaenfrunn, and Salem, I am much concerned on your account, perceiving that you live in a very dangerous spot. Two powerful, angry, and merciless gods stand ready, opening their jaws wide against each other ; you are sitting down, between both, and thus in danger of being devoured and ground to powder by the teeth of either the one, or the other, or both. It is therefore not advisable for you to stay here any longer. Consider 270 ORIGIN OF THE some important affair was prevented in her design for that season. This made us extremely sorrowful, lest the French, who had hitherto dreaded us, should now think us unable to make war against them. The reduction of Canada is oi such weight, that after the effect ing thereof, we should have free hunting, and a great trade with our great queen's children ; and as a token of the sincerity of the Six Nations, we do here, in the name of all, present our great queen, with the belts of wampum. We need not urge to our great queen more than the necessity we really labour under obliges us, that in case our great queen should not be mindful of us, we must, with our families, forsake our country, and seek other habitation, or stand neuter ; either of which will be much against our inclinatons. Since we have been in alliance with our great queen's children we have had some knowledge of the Saviour of the world; and have often been importuned by the French, both by the insinua tions of their' priests, but have always esteemed them men of falsehood ; but if our great queen will be pleased to send over some person to instruct us, they shall find a hearty welcome ; we now close, with hopes of our great queen's favour, and leave it to her most gracious consideration." NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 271 your own people, your wives, and your children, andpfeserve their lives ; for here they must all perish. I therefore take you by the hand, lift you up, and place you in or near my dwelling, where you will be safe and dwell in peace. Do not stand looking at your plantations and houses, but arise and follow me; Take also your teachers (priests) with you, and worship God in the place to which I shall lead you, as you have been accustomed to do. You shall likewise have fine provisions, and our father beyond the lake (the governor at Detroit) will care for you. This is my message, and I am come hither purposely to deliver it." SPEECH OF PETCHENANALAS. ' s( Friends and kinsmen : listen to what I say to you. You see a great and powerful nation divided. You see the father fighting against the son, and the son against the father. The father has called on his Indian children to assist him in punishing his children, the Americans, who have become refractory. I took time to consider what I should do ; whether or not I should receive the hatchet of my father, to assist him. At first I looked upon it as a family quarrel in which I was not interested, at length it appeared to me, that the father was in the right, and his children deserved to be punished a little. That this must be the case, I concluded from the many cruel acts his offspring had committed, from time to time, on his Indian children in encroaching on their lands, stealing their property shooting at and murdering without cause, men, women, and children ; yes, even murdering those who at all times had been friendly to them, and were placed for protection under the roof of their father's house ; the father himself standing sentry at the door, at the time. Friends and relatives, often has the father been obliged to settle and make amends for the wrongs a,ul mischiefs done us by his refractory children ; yet these do not grow better. No ! 272 ORIGIN OF THE they remain the same, and will continue to be so, as long as we have any land left us. Look back at the murders committed by the Long Knives on many relations, who Ined peaceable neighbours to them on the Ohio! Did they not kill them without the least provocation ? Are they, do you think, better now, than they were then ? No, indeed not ; and many days are not elapsed, since you had a number of these very men near your doors, who attempt ed to kill you, but, fortunately, were prevented from so doing by the Great Sun, who, at that time, had by the Great Spirit been ordained to protect you !" SPEECH OF CAPTAIN PIPE. The Speech of Captain Pipe, or Hopocan, which signi fies, in the Indian, tobacco-pipe, before, the British com mandant, in the council-house at Detroit, whither he was invited to give an account of past transactions in his left hand was a short stick to which was fastened a scalp. He arose, and spoke as follows : " Father, I have said Father, although, indeed, 1 do not know why I am to call him so, having never known any other father than the French, and considering the English only as brothers. But as this name is also imposed upon us, I shall make use of it, and say, Father, some time ago, you put a war hatchet into my hands, saying, ' Take this weapon and try it on the heads of my enemies, the Long Knives, and let me afterwards know if it was sharp and good.' Father, at the time when you gave me this weapon, I had neither cause nor inclina tion to go to war against a people who had done me no injury ; yet in obedience to you, who say you are my father, and call me your child, I received the hatchet ; well know ing, that if I did not obey, you would withold from me the necessaries of life, without whicb I could not subsist, and which are not elsewhere to be procured, but at the house of my father. Yc i may perhap think me a fool, for NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. risking my life at your bidding, in a cause, too, by which I Vave no prospect of gaining anything ; for it is your cause and not mine. It is your concern to fight the Long Knives ; you have raised a quarrel amongst yourselves, and you ought yourselves to fight it out. You should not compel your children, the Indians, to expose/ themselves to danger for your sakes. "Father; many lives have already been lost on your account ; nations have suffered, and been weakened : children have lost parents ! brothers and relatives ! wives have lost husbands ! It is not known how many more may perish before your \var will be at an end ! Father, I have said, that you may perhaps, think me a fool, for thus thoughtlessly rushing on your enemy! Do not believe this, father ; think not that I want sense to convince me, that although you now pretend to keep up a perpetual enmity to the Long Knives, you may before long conclude a peace with them. Father, you say you love your children, the Indians ; this you have often told them, and indeed it is your interest to say so to them, that you may have them at your service. But, father, who of us can believe that you love a people of a different colour from your own, better than those who have a white skin like yourselves 1 Father, pay attention to what I am going to say. While you, father, are setting me (meaning the Indians in general), on your enemy, much in the same manner, as a hunter sets his dog on the game ; while I am in the act of rushing on that enemy of your's, with the bloody, destructive weapon you gave me, I may, perchance, happen to look back to the place from whence you started me ; and what shall I see 1 Perhaps I may see my father shaking hands with the Long Knives ; yes with these very people he now calls his enemies. I may there see him laugh at my folly, for having obeyed his orders ; and yet I am now risking my life at his command ! Father, keep what I have said in .emembrance. Now, Father, here is what has been done with the hatchet you gave me, (with these words he handed le stick to the commandant, with the scalp upon it, above 274 ORIGIN OF THE mentioned) I have done with the hatchet what you ordered me to do, and found it sharp. Nevertheless I did not do all that I might have done. No, I did not, my heart failed within me, I felt compassion for your enemy. Innocence (helpless women and children) had no part in your quar rels ; therefore I distinguished I spared, I took some live flesh, which while I was bringing to you, I spied one of your large canoes, on which I put it for you. In a few days you will recover this flesh, and find that the skin, is of the same colour with your own. Father, I hope you will not destroy what I have saved. You, father, have the means of pre serving that which with me would perish for want. The warrior is poor, and his cabin is always empty ; but your house, father, is always full." THE ANSWER OF LITTLE TURTLE THE CHIEF OF THE MIAMIS TO M. VOLNEY. The answer of Little Turtle the chief of the Miamis to M. Volney, who asked him what prevented him from living among the whites, and if he were not more comfortable in Philadelphia, than upon the banks oftheWabash. " Taking all things," he said, " together, you have the advantage over us ; but here I am deaf and dumb, I do not talk your language ; I can neither hear, nor make myself heard. When 1 walk through the streets, I see every per son in his shop employed about something : one makes shoes, another hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labour. I say to myself, which of all these things can you do : not one. I can make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game, and go to war ; but -none of these is of any use here. To learn what is done here would require a long time, old age comes on. I should be a piece of furniture useless to my natiou, useless to the whi- j, useless to myself. I must return to my own country." NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 2 5 THE SPEECH OF RED JACKET, THE SENECA CHIEF, TO A MISSIONARY. Governor De Witt Clinton, in his most valuable dis course before the Historical Society of New York, thus notices Red Jacket : " Within a few years, an extra ordinary orator has risen among the Senecas; his real name is Saguaha. Without the advantages of illustrious descent, and with no extraordinary talents for war, he has attained the first distinctions in the nation by the force of his eloquence." After the missionary had done speaking, the Indians conferred together about two hours by themselves, when they gave an answer by Red Jacket, which follows, anc which is, perhaps, the chef d'ceuvre of Indian oratory. " Friend and Brother, it was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things, and he has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness on us. Our eyes are opened, that we see clearly : our ears are unstopped, that we have been able to hear distinctly the words that you have spok en ; for all these favours we thank the Great Spirit, and him only. " Brother, this council fire was kindled by you ; it was at your request that we came together at this time ; we have listened with attention to what you have said ; you requested us to speak our minds freely ; this gives us great joy, for we now consider that we stand upright before you, and can speak what we think ; all have heard your voice, and all speak to you as one man ; our minds are agreed. " Brother, you say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish to detain you ; but we will first look back a little and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard from the white people. " Brother, listen to what we say There was a time 276 ORIGIN OF THF. when our forefathers owned this great land. Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of the Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He had 'made the bear and the beaver, and their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread, all this he had done for his red children, because he loved them. If we had any disputes about hunting grounds, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood ; but an evil day came upon us ; your forefathers crossed the great wa ters, and landed on this island. Their numbers were small ; they found tribes, and not enemies ; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religions. They asked for a small seat; we took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down among us ; we gave them corn and meat ; they gave us poison in return. " The white people had now found our country, tidings were carried back, and more came among us, yet we did not fear them, we took them to be friends ; they called us brothers ; we believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased ; they want ed more land ; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place ; Indians were hired to fight against Indians ; and many of our people were destroyed. They also brought strong liquors among us; it was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands. "Brother, our seats were once large, and yours were very small ; you have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets; you liave got our country, but are not satisfied ; you want to force your religion upon us. " Brother, continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agree able to his mind, and if we do not take hold of the reli- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 277 gion you white people teach, we shall be unhappy here after ; you say that you are right, and we are lost ; how do we know this to be true ? We understand that your re ligion is written in a book ; if it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given.it to us, and not only to us, but why did he not give to our fore fathers the knowledge of that book, with the means *. f understanding it rightly ? We only know what you tell \& about it ; how shall we know when to believe, being Si often deceived by the white people 1 " Brother, you say there is but one way to worship ant serve the Great Spirit ; if there is but one religion, why dc you white people differ so much about it. Why not ki, agree, as you can all read the book ? " Brother, we do not understand these things ; we arc told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, ,and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favours we receive ; to love each other, and to be united ; we never quar rel about religion. " Brother, the Great Spirit has made us all ; but he has made a great difference between his white and red chil dren ; he has given us a different complexion, and different customs ; to you he has given the arts ; to these he has not opened our eyes ; we know these things to be true. Since " he has made so great a difference between 'us in other things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a different religion according to our understanding ; the Great Spirit does right ; he knows what is best for his children ; we are satisfied. " Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you ; we only want to enjoy our own. " Brother, you say, that you have not come to get our land or our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now ell you that I* have been at your meetings, and saw vou collecting money from the meeting. I cannot tell what I. 278 ORIGIN OF THE this money was intended for, but suppose it was for your minister, and if we should conform to your way of think ing, perhaps you may want some from us. " Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to white people in this place ; these people are our neigh bours, we are acquainted with them ; we will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them." In alluding to the crucifixion of our Saviour he said, on some other occasion, " Brother, if your white men murdered the son of the Great Spirit, we Indians had nothing to do with it, and it is none of our affair. If he had come among us we woul not have killed him ; we would have treated him well, yo\ must make amends for that crime yourselves." SPEECH OF RED JACKET. The witch doctrine of the Senecas was much ridiculed by some of the Americans, to which Red Jacket thus aptly alludes in a speech which he made while on the stand giving evidence against a woman who was believed to be a witch, and who for that crime was put to death by the Indians themselves : " What ! do you denounce us as fools and bigots, because we still continue to believe that which you yourselves sedu lously inculcated two centuries ago ? Youi divines have thundered this doctrine from the pulpit, yoo judges have pronounced it from the bench, your courts of justice have sanctioned it with the formalities of law, and you would now punish our unfortunate brother (he that killed the wo man) for adherence to the superstitions of his fathers ! Go to Salem ! Look at the records of your government, and you will find hundreds executed for the very crime which has called forth the sentence of condemnation upon this wo man, and drawn down the arm of vengeance upon her What have your brothers done more than the rulers of your people have done ? and what crime has this man commit- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 279 1 by executing, in a summary way, r, and the injunctions of his God ?" ^ the laws of hk ~ whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stop- pedi He can do no more. He is near his end His sun if setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk" NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 291 SPEECH OF THE ONONDAGAS AND CAYUGAS TO THE TWO GOVERNORS OF VIRGINIA AND NEW YORK. " Brother Corlear Your Sachem (meaning the king) is a great Sachem, and we are but a small people : when the English came in first to Manhattan (New York) Aragiske (Virginia) and to Yakokranogary, (Maryland) they were then but a small people, and we were great then ; because we found you a good people, we treated you kindly and gave you- land; we hope therefore now that you are great and we small, you will protect us from the French. If you do not we shall lose all our hunting and beavers, the French will get all our beavers. The reason they are now angry with us, is because we carry our beaver to our brethren. We have put our lands and ourselves under the protection of the great Duke of York, the brother of your great Sachem who is likewise a great Sachem. We have annexed the Sus- quehanna River, which was won by the sword, to their gov ernment ; and we desire it may be a branch of the great tree that grows in this place; the top of which reaches the suh, and its branches shelter us from the French and all other na tions. Our fire burns in your houses, and your fire burns with us ; we desire it may be so always. But we will not that any of the great Penn's people settle upon the Susquehanna River, for we have no other land for our children ; our young men are soldiers, and when they are provoked they are like wolves in the woods, as you Sachem of Virginia, very well know. We have put ourselves under the great Sachem Charlen, that lives on the other side of the great lake (the Atlantic Ocean ;) we give these two w T hite dressed deer skins to send to the great. Sachem, that he may write on them, and put a great red seal to them, to confirm what we now do, and put the Susquehanna River and all the rest of our land under the great Duke of York, and give that land to none else. Our brethren, his people, have been like fa thers to our wives and children, and have given us bread when we were ir need of it; we will not therefore join ov 292 ORIGIN OF THE selves or our *and to any other government but this. "We desire Corlear,* our governor, may send this our proposition to the great Sachem Charles" who dwells on the other side of the great lake, with this belt of wampum, and this other small belt, to the Duke of York his brother, and we give you Corlear this beaver that you may send over the proposition. " You great man of Virginia, we let you know that the great Penn did speak to us here, in Corlear's house, by his agents, and desirH to buy the Susquehanna River of us ; but we would not hearken to him, for we had fastened it to this government. " We desire you therefore to bear witness of what we do now, and that we now confirm what we have done before ; let your friend that lives on the other side of the great lake, know this, that we, being tree people, though united to the English, and may give our land to the Sachem we like best ; we give this beaver to remember what we say." On the arrival of the Senecas they addressed Lord Howard in the following manner : " We have heard and understood what mischief has been don.e in Virginia; we have it perfect as if it were on our finger's end. Corlear! we thank you for having been our intercessor, so that the axe has not fallen on us ; and you Assarigoa, Great Sachem of Virginia, we thank you for burying all evil in the pit. We are informod that the Mohawks, Oneydoes, Onondagas, and Cayugas, have buried them already. Now we that live remotest off, are come to do the same, and to include in the chain the Cahnowas your friends. We desire therefore that an axe on our part may be buried w r ith one of Assarigoa's. O Corlear, O Corlear ! we thank you for laying hold of one end of the axe ; and we thank you, great Governor of Virginia, not only for throw ing aside the axe, but more especially for you putting all evil from your heart. Now we have a new chain, a strong and a straight chain that can not be broken ; the tree of peace is planted so firmly, that it cannot be removed ; let u * The name they gave the Governor car &*w 1'orK. i NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 293 on both sides hold the chain fast. We understand what you said of the great Sachem that lives on the other side of the great water. You tell us that the Cahnowas will come hither to strengthen the chain ; let them not make any ex cuse that they are old and feeble, or that their feet are sore. If the old Sachem cannot, let the young men come ; we shall not fail to come hither, though we live farthest off, and then the new chain will be stronger and brighter. We under stand that because of the mischief that has been -done to the people and castles of Virginia and Maryland, we must not come to the heads of your rivers, nor near your planta tions, but keep on the foot of the mountains, for there we laj down our arms as friends ; we shall not be trusted for the fu ture, but looked on as robbers. " W^e agree, however, to the proposition, and shall wholly stay away from Virginia. And then we do no gratitude to Corlear, who has been at so great pains to persuade your great Governor of Virginia to forget what is past; you are wise in giving ear to Corlear's advice, for we shall now go a path which was never trod before. We have now done speaking to Corlear and the governor of Virginia, let the chain be forever kept clear and bright by him, and we shall do the same. " The other nations from the Mohawk's country to the Cayugas have delivered up the Susquehanna River, and all the country to Corlear's government : we confirm what they have done by giving this belt." On another ocasion the Senecas replied to Lord Howard at Albany, when messengers had arrived from the governor of Canada with complaints against them, as follows : " We were sent for and are come, and have heard what you said to us, that Corlear has great complaint of us, both from Virginia and Canada; what they complain of from Canada may possibly be true, that some of our young me r have taken some of their goods, but Younendio, the gover nor of Canada, is the cause of it. He not only permits his people to carry ammunition, guns, powder, lead, and axes, to the Ticebticebr 07100ns, our enemies, but send? them truth*" 25* 94 OIUGIN ur rr,.. on purpose ; these guns which he sends, knock our oeaver- hunters on the head, and our enemies carry the beaver to Canada, thaj; we would have brought our brethren. Our beaver-hunters are soldiers, and could bear this no longer They met some French in their way to our enemies, and very near them, carrying ammunition, which our men took from them. This is agreeable to our custom in wars ; and we may therefore openly own it, though we know not wheth er it be practised by the Christians in such like cases. " When the governor of Canada speaks to us of the chain, he calls us children, and saith, I am your father, you must hold fast the chain, and I will do the same, I will protect you as a father doth his children. Is this protection, to speak thus with his lips, and at the same time to knock us on the head, by assisting our enemies with ammunition 1 He always says I am your father, and you are my children ; and yet he is angry with his children, for taking these goods. But O Corlear ! O Assarigoa, we must complain to you ; you Corlear are a lord, and govern this country ; is it j'ist that our father is going to fight with us for these things, or is it well done? We i ejoice when La Sal was sent over the great water ; and when Perot was removed, because they had furnished our enemies with ammunition ; but we are disappointed in our hopes, for we find our enemies are still supplied. Is this well done ? Yea he often forbids us to make war on any of the nations with whom he trades ; and ac the same time furnishes them with all sorts of ammunition , to enable them to destroy us. " Thus far, in answer to the complaint, the governor of Canada has made of us to Corlear. " Corlear said to us, that satisfaction must be made to the French, for the mischief we have done them. " This he said before he had heard our answer. Now let him that has inspection over all our countries, on whom ou^ eyes are fixed, let him, even Corlear, judge and determine If you say that it must be paid, we shall pay it but we can not live without free beaver hunting. Corlear, hear what vte say ; we thank you for the duke's arms, which you have NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 295 given us to put in our castles, as a defence to them. You command them. Have you wandered out of the way, as the governor of Canada says 1 We do not threaten him with war, as he threatens us. What shall we do 1 Shall we run away, or shall we sit still in our houses ? What shall we do ? We speak to him that governs and commands us " Now Corlear and Assarigoa, and all good people here present, remember what we have announced to the complaints of the Governor of Canada ; yea, we wish that what we here said, may come to his ears." CANASSATIEGO'S SPEECH. At a council held in Philadelphia, July, 1742, attended by sundry chiefs from the Six Nations, the Dela wares and Folk Indians he thus spoke : % " Brethren, the Governor and Council, the other day you informed us of the misbehaviour of our cousins, the Dela- warcs, with respect to their continuing to claim and refu sing to remove from some land on the river Delaware, not withstanding their ancestors had sold it by deed, under their hands and seals to the proprietors for a valuable consider ation upwards of fifty years ago, and that notwithstanding that they themselves had also not many years ago, after a long and full examination ratified that deed of their ances tors, and gave a fresh one under their hands and seals ; and then you requested us to remove them, enforcing your re quest with a string of wampum. Afterwards we laid on the table our own letters of Conrad Weiser, some of our cou sins' letters, and the several writings to prove the charge against our cousins, with a draft of the land in dispute. We now tell you we have perused all these several papers. We see with our own eyes that they have been a very un ruly people, and are altogether in the wrong in their deal ings with you. " We have concluded to remove them, and oblige them to 296 ORIGIN OF THE go over the river Delaware, and quit all claim to any lands on this side for the future, since they have received pay for them, and it is gone through their guts long ago. To con firm to you that we will see your request executed, we lay down this string of wampum in return for yours." Then turning to the Delawares, holding a belt of wampum in his hand, he spoke to them as follows : " Cousins, Let the belt of wampum serve to chastise you. You ought to be taken by the hair of the head and shaken severely, till you recover your senses and become sober. You don't know what ground you stand on, nor what you are doing. Our brother Onas's* cause is very just, and plain, and his intentions are to preserve friendship ; on the other band, your cause is bad, your heart far from being upright ; and you are maliciously bent to break the chain of friend ship with our brother Onas and his people. We have seen with our eyes a deed signed by nine of our ancestors about fifty years ago, for this very land, and a release signed rtbt many years since by some of yourselves and chiefs now liv ing, to the number of fifteen or upwards. But how come you to take upon you, to sell land at all ? We conquered you, we made women of you ; you know you are women, and can no more sell land than women ; nor is it fit you should have the power of selling land, since you would abuse it. This land that you claim has gone through your guts. You have been furnished with clothes, meat, and drink, by the goods paid for it % and now you want it again like children as you are. But what matters ? You sell land in the dark. Did you ever tell us that you had sold tliem land 1 Did we ever receive any part, even the value of a pipe shank from you for it ? You have told us a blind story, that you sent a messenger to us, to inform us of the sale ; but he never came among us, nor we never heard any thing about it : this is acting in the dark, and very different from the conduct our Six Nations observe in the sale of lands ; *Name of the Governor of Pennsylvania. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 297 on such occasions they give public notice, and invite all the Indians of the united nations, and give them all a share of the presents they receive for their lands. This is the beha viour of the wise nations. But we find you are none of our blood ; you act a distant part, not only in this but in other matters ; your ears are even open to slanderous reports about our brethren ; you receive them with as much greediness as lewd women receive the embraces of bad men ; and for all these reasons we charge you to remove instantly. We. don't give you the liberty to think about it. You are women, take the advice of a wise man, and remove immediately. You may remove to the other side of the Delaware, where you came from ; but we do not know whether, considering how you have demeaned yourselves, you will be permitted to live there, or whether you have not swallowed that land down your throats, as well as the land on this side. We therefore assign you two places, to go either to Uzoman or Shamokin ; you may go to either of these places, and then w T e shall have you more under our eye, and shall see how you behave ; don't deliberate, but remove away and take the belt of wampum. After our just reproof, and absolute order to depart from the land, you are now to take notice of what we have further to say to you. "This string of wampum serves to forbid you, your chil dren, and grandchildren to the latest posterity, for ever, meddling in land affairs ; neither you, nor any who shall de scend from you, are ever hereafter to presume to sell any land ; for which purpose you are to preserve this string, in memory of what your uncles have this day given you in charge. We have some* other business to transact with our brothers ; and therefore depart the council, and collider what has been said to you." Canassatiego then spoke to the Council : " Brethren, We called at oar old friend James Logan, in our way to the city, and to our grief we found him hid in the bushes, and#retired through infirmities from public bu siness ; we pressed him to leave his retirement, and prevail ed with hirn to assist once more on our account at your coun- 298 ORIGIN OF THE cils. We hope, notwithstanding his age and the effect of a fit of sickness, which we understand has hurt his constitu tion, that he may yet continue a long time to assist the pro vinces with his counsels. He is a wise man and a fast friend to the Indians ; and we desire when his soul goes to God, you may choose in his room just such another person, of the same prudence and ability in counselling, and of the same tender disposition and affection for the Indians. In testi mony of our gratitude for all his services, and because he was so good as to leave his country-house, and follow us to town, and be at the trouble in this his advanced age to at tend the council, we present him with this bundle of skins. Brethren, It is always our way at the conclusion of a treaty to desire you will use you endeavours with the traders, that they may sell their goods cheaper, and give us better price for our deer skins. Whenever any particular sort of Indian goods is scarce, they constantly make us pay the dearer on that account. We must now use the same argu ment with them. Our deer are killed in such quantities, and our hunting countries growing less every day, by the settle ment of white people, that game is now difficult to find, and we must go a great way in quest of it ; they therefore ought to give us a better price for our skins, and we desire you would speak to them to do so. We have been stinted in the article of rum in town, we desire you will open the rum bottle, and give to us in greater abundance on the road ; to enforce this request, we present you a bundle of skins. Brethren, When we first came to you houses, we found them clean and in order, but we have staid so long as to dirty them, which is to be imputed to our different way of livingjjfrom the white people ; and therefore, as we cannot but have been disagreeable to you on this account, we pre sent you with some skins to make your houses clean, and put them in the same condition they were in when we came among you. Brethren, The business of the Five Nations is of great consequence, and requires a skilful, honest person to go be tween us ; one in whom both you and me can place confi- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 299 dence. We esteem our present interpreter to be such a person, equally faithful in the interpretation of whatever is said to him by either of us, equally allied to both ; he is of our nation, and a member of our council, as well as of yours. When we adopted him, we divided him in two equal parts ; one we kept for ourselves, and one we left for you. He had a great deal of trouble with us, wore out his shoes in our messages, and dirtied his clothes by being among us ; so that he has become as nasty as an Indian. In re turn for these services we recommend him to your gener osity ; and on our own behalf we give him* five skins to buy him clothes and shoes. Brethren, We have still one favour to ask ; one treaty and all we have to say about public business is now over, and to-morrow we design to leave you. We hope, as you have given us plenty of good provisions whilst in the town, that you will continue your goodness so far as to supply us on the road. And we likewise desire you will provide us with wagons to carry our goods to the place where they are to be conveyed by water GACHRADODOW'S SPEECH. At a council, held at Lancaster, June 30th, 1744, when the Gover nor observed that certain lands belonged to the great King. Gachradodow, of the Six Nations, thus spoke Great Assaragoa* The world at the first was made on the other side of the great water, different from what it is on this side, as may be known from the different colours of our skins and of our flesh ; and that which you calljustice may not be so among us; you have your laws and outlaws, and so have we. The great King might send you over to conquer the Indians ; * Such was the name of the Governor of Virginia. 300 ORIGIN OF THE but it looks to us that God did not approve it; if he had, he would not have placed the sea where it i, as the limits between us and you. Brother Jlssaragoa, Though great things are well re membered among us, yet we don't remember that we were ever conquered by the great King, or that we have been em ployed by that great King to conquer others ; if it was so, it is beyond our memory. We do remember we were em ployed by Maryland to conquer the Conestogoes, and that the second time we were at war with, them, we carried them all off Brother Jlssarccgoa, You charge us with not acting agree ably to our peace with the Catawbas. We will repeat to you truly what was done ; the Governor of New- York at Al bany, in behalf of Assaragoa, gave us several belts of wam pum from the Cherokees and Catawbas, and we agreed to a peace, if those nations would send some of their great men to us to confirm it face to face, and that they would trade with us ; and desired that they would appoint a time to meet at Albany for that purpose, but they never came. Brother Assaragoa, We then desired a letter might be sent to the Catawbas and Cherokees, to desire them to come down and confirm the peace. It was long before an answer came, but we met the Cherokees and confirmed the peace, and sent some of our people to take care of them until they returned to their own country. The Catawbas refused to come, and sent us word that we were but women, and that they were men, and double men ; and that they would make women of us, and would be always at war with us ; they are a deceitful people ; and brother Assaragoa is deceived by them ; we don't blame him for it, but are sorry he is so de ceived. Brother Jlssaragoa, We have confirmed the peace with the Cherokees, but not with the Catawbas ; they have been treacherous and know it, so that the war must continue till one of us is destroyed ; thus we think proper to tell you, that you may not be troubled at what we do to the Catawbas. Brother Mssaragoa, We will now speak to the point be- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 301 tween us. It is always a custom among brethren and stran gers to use each other kindly ; you have some very ill na- tured people living there ; so we desire the persons in pow er may know that we are to have reasonable victuals when we want. You know very well when the white people came first here, they were poor ; but now they have got lands and are by them become rich, and we are now poor ; what little we have had for the land goes soon away, but the land lasts for ever. You told us you had brought with you a chest of goods, and that you have the key in your pockets; but we have never seen the chest, nor the goods that are in it ; it may be small and the goods may be few ; we want to see them and are desirous to come to some conclusion. We have been sleeping here these two days past, and have not done any thing to the purpose. THE CHARACTER OF THE FIVE INDIAN NATIONS OF CANADA, BY LORD CADWALLADER COLDEN.* " The Five Nations are a poor and generally called a bar barous people, bred under the darkest ignorance ; and yet a bright and noble genius shines through these clouds. None of the greatest Roman heroes have discovered a greater love of country or contempt of death, than these people called barbarians have done, when liberty came in competition. Indeed I think our Indians have outdone the Romans in this particular. Some of the greatest of those Roman heroes have murdered themselves to avoid shame or torments ; but our Indians have refused to die meanly, or with but little pain when they thought their country's honour would be at sfyake by it ; but have given their bodies willingly to the most cruel torments of their enemies, to show, as they said, that the Five Nations consisted of men, whose courage and One of his Majesty's consuls, Surveyor General of New-Yo/k. 26 302 ORIGIN OF THE resolution could not slacken. But what, alas ! have we Christians done to make them better, we have indeed rea son to be ashamed that these infidels by our conversation and neighbourhood, are become worse than they were before they knew us. Instead of Virtue we have only taught them Vice, that they were entirely free from before that time. The narrow vices of private interest, have occasion ed this and will occasion greater, even public mischief, if the governors of the people do not put a stop to these grow ing evils, If these practices be winked at, instead of faith ful friends that have manfully fought our battles for us, the Five Nations will become faithless thieves and robbers, and join with every enemy that can give hope of plunder. " If care were taken to plant and cultivate in them that general benevolence to mankind, which is the true first principles of virtue, it would effectually eradicate those hor rid vices occasioned by their unbounded revenge ; and then they no longer would deserve the name of barbarians, but would become people whose friendship might add honour to the British nation. " The Greeks and Romans were once as much barbarians as our Indians are now, and deified the heroes that first taught them those virtues, from whence the grandeur of those renowned nations wholly proceeded. A good man however, will feel more real satisfaction and pleasure from the sense of having in any way forwarded the civilizing of a barbarous nation, or having multiplied the number of good men, than from the fondest hopes of such extravagant hon ours. " The Five Nations consist of so many tribes or nations joined together, without any superiority of one over the other The union has continued so long that nothing is known to Europeans of the origin of it. They are known by the names of Mohawks, Oneidoes, Onondagas, Cayugas, andjSennekas. Each of these nations is again divided into three tribes or families, who distinguish themselves by three different names or ensigns ; the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf; and the Sachems, or old men of these families put NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 303 their ensign or marks of their family to every public paper, when they sign it. " Each of these nations is a republic of itself, and is gov erned in all public affairs by its own Saehems, the authority of these rulers is gained by and consists wholly in the opin ion the rest of the nation have of their wisdom and integrity. They never execute their resolutions by force upon any of their people. Honour and esteem are their principal re wards ; as shame and being despised their punishments. These leaders and captains in like manner obtain their au thority by the general opinion of their courage and conduct ; and lose it by a failure in those virtues. These great men, both Sachems and captains, are generally poorer than the common people, for they uniformly give away and distri bute all the presents or plunder they get in their treaties or in war, so as to leave nothing to themselves. " There is not a man in the ministry of the Five Nations, who has gained his office otherwise than by merit ; there is not the least salary or any sort of profit annexed to any office to tempt the covetous or sordid ; but on the comrary, every unworthy action is unavoidably attended with the for feiture of their commission, for the authority is only the es teem of the people, and ceases the moment that esteem is lost. " The Five Nations think themselves superior to man kind, and call themselves Ongue honwe, that is, men sur passing all others. All the nations round them have for many years entirely submitted to them, and pay a yearly tribute to them of wampum."* * Wampum is the current money among the Indians ; it is of two sorts, white and purple : the white is worked out of the insides of the great Congues into the form of a bead, and perforated, so as to be strung on leather ; the purple is worked out of the inside of the muscle shell. They are wove as broad as one's hand, and about two feet long : these they call belts, and give and receive them at their treaties, as the seals of friendship. For lesser motives a single string is given ; every head is of a known value ; and a belt of a less number is made to equal one of a greater, by so many as are Avanted being fastened to the belt by a string. 304 ORIGIN OF THE The following continuation of their character is by James Buchannan, Esq., of New- York : " They dare neither make war nor peace without the con sent of the Mohawks. Two old men of this tribe common ly go about every year or two, to receive this tribute ; and 1 have had opportunity to observe what anxiety the poor Indians were under while these two old men remained in that part of the country where I was. An old Mohawk Sachem, in a poor blanket and dirty shirt, may be seen issu ing his orders with as arbitrary authority as a Roman dic tator. It is not, however for the sake of tribute they make war, but from notions of glory, which they have ever most strongly imprinted on their minds ; and the further they go to seek an enemy, the greater glory is gained. The Five Nations in their love of liberty and of their country, in their bravery in battle, and their constancy in enduring labour and torments, equal the fortitude of the most renowned Ro mans. " I shall finish their character by what their enemy Mon sieur De la Potherie in his history of North America, says of them ; ' when we speak in France of the Five Nations, they are thought, by a common mistake, to be mere bar barians, always thirsting after human blood ; but their true character is very different. They are indeed the fiercest and most formidable people in North America, and at the same time are a polite and judicious as can well be conceiv ed ; and this appears from the management of all the af fairs which they transact, not only with the French and English, but likewise with almost all the Indian nations of this vast continent.' " They strictly form a Roman maxim, to increase their strength by encouraging other nations to incorporate with them, and adopt many captives taken in battle, who after wards have become Sachems and Captains. The cruelty the Indians use in war, is deservedly held in abhorrence ; but who ever has read the history of the far famed heroes of Greece and Rome, will find them little, if at all better, even NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 305 in this respect. Does the behaviour of Achilles to Hector's dead body appear less savage ! But Achilles had a Homer to blazon forth his virtues ; not so with the unlettered In dian ; every pen is dipped in gall against him. Witness the Carthagenians, and Phoenicians offering their children in sacrifice, and in latter days behold men professing Chris tianity, outstripping all true or fabled cruelty, blasphemously or impiously, under the idea of honouring God. " Previous to setting out on any warlike expedition, they have a feast, to which all the noted warriors of the nation are invited ; when they have the war dance to the beat of kettle drums. The warriors are seated on two rows ; each rises in turn, and sings the deeds he has performed; so that they work up their spirits to a high degree of enthusiasm. They come to these dances with faces painted in a frightful manner to make themselves look terrible to their enemies. By these war songs they preserve the history of their great achievements.* The solemn reception of these warriors, and the acclamations of applause which they receive at their return, cannot but have on their hearer the same effect in raising an emulation for glory, that a triumph had on the old Romans. After their prisoners are secured, they never offer them the least bad treatment, but on the contrary will rather starve themselves than suffer them to want; and I have been always assured that there is not one instance of their offering the least violence to the chastity of any woman that was their captive. The captives are generally distri buted among those who have lost a member of their family in battle. If they are accepted, they enjoy all the privi leges the person had; but if otherwise, they die in torment to satiate the revenge of those who refuse them. " They use neither drum nor trumpet, nor any kind of musi cal instruments in their wars ; their throats serve them on * It is worthy of remark, that all nations have used the same mean to record and bear in mind their history. 26* 306 ORIGIN OF THF all occasions. We find the same was practised by Homer*! heroes : Thrice to its pitch, his lofty voice he rears, O friend ! Ulysses' shouts invade my ears. The hospitality of these Indians is no less remarkable than their other virtues. As soon as any stranger comes among them, they are sure to offer him victuals; if a number arrive, one of their best houses is cleaned for their accommodation, and not unfrequently they are accommodated with female society while they remain ; but this latter mark of simple hospitality is not now to be found among any of the Indian tribes who have had much intercourse with the whites. The two following traits of character in the Mohawks, M Golden states as having come under his own knowledge ; he states that when last in their country, the Sachems told him they had an Englishman who had run from his master in New -York : that they never would deliver him up to be punished, but that they would pay the value to the master. Another man made his escape from Albany Jail, where he was in prison for debt ; the Mohawks received him, and, as they protected him against the sheriff, they not only paid the debt for him, but gave him land over and above suffi cient for a good farm whereon he lived when M. Golden was last there.' " Polygamy is not usual among them, and in case of sep aration according to the natural course of all animals, the children follow the mother. The women bring forth their Children with much ease, and without any help, and soon after delivery return to their usual employment. They alone perform all the drudgery about the house, plant the corn, labour at it, cut the firewood, carry it home and on their marches bear the burdens. The men, disdaining all kind of labour, employ themselves alone in hunting ; at times when it is not proper to hunt, the old men are found in companies in conversation, the young men at their exer cises, shooting at marks, throwing the hatchet, wrestling NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 307 or running : anc the women all busy at labour in the fields. The ancient state of Lacedomon resembles that of the Five Nations, their laws and customs being formed to render the mind and bodies of the people fit for war. Theft is very scandalous and rare. There is one vice which they have acquired since they became acquainted with the Europeans, of which they knew nothing before, drunkenness, all, males and females, are awfully given to this vice ; they have not been taught to abhor it ; on the contray, the traders encour age it for the profit they gain on the Suque, and the bar gains they obtain while intoxicated ; and this imported vice, from men professing Christianity, has destroyed greater numbers than all their wars and diseases put together. " As to what religion they have it is difficult to judge of them, because the Indians that speak English and live near us, have learned many things of us, and it is not easy to distinguish the notions they had originally among them, from those they have learned of the Christians. It is certain they have no kind of public worship, and I am told they have no radical word signifying God ; that is, one sim ple expression for the Deity, but use a compound word that signifies preserver, sustainer, or master of the universe. Their funeral rites seem to infer an idea of a future existence. They make a large hole in which the body can be placed upright, or upon its haunches ; they dress the corpse in all their finery, and put wampum and other things into the grave with it and the relations suffer not grass or any weeds to grow on the grave or near it, and frequently visit it with lamentations." AMERICA PEOPLED BY A MORE CIVILIZED RACE THAN THE PRESENT RED INDIANS. s At what period the continent of America was originally peopled, is a question which has not as yet been satisfac torily proved ; in fact all the sources of information which 308 ORIGIN OF THE have been hitherto exhibited to the philosophic mind, will not be sufficient to form any probable conjecture on this head. If the geological constitution of America be atten tively examined, the opinion that it is a continent more re cently formed than the rest of the globe, will not stand. " The same succession of stony strata" says a learned author, " is found no less in the new world than in the old world. At a height superior to Mount Blanc petrified sea shells are found on the summit of the Andes. The fossil bones of elephants, are spread over the equinoctial regions of a continent where living elephants do not exist ; and these bones are not found merely in low plains, but in the coldest and most elevated regions of the Cordilleras. There, as well as in the old world, generations of animals long ex tinct, have preceded those which now exist on the surface of the earth. There is no reason to believe, because America has been but recently discovered, that therefore, it has been but recently peopled. The comparative thinness of its popu lation is no proof to the contrary, for the regions of Central Asia are as thinly peopled as the Savannahs of New Mexico and Paraguay. The fact is, that the problem of the first population of most countries, is nearly as difficult to solve as that of America. The reason is plain, because the first population of a country is generally far beyond the period of its history. The problem, therefore, of the population of the new world, is no more within the province of history, than questions on the origin of plants and animals are in that of natural science." It has been frequently proved beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the remains of a more polished and cultivated people than the present Red Indians of North America do still exist in different parts of the western continent. In the absence of these remains the vestiges of civilization w r hich are every year discovered between Lake Ontario and Gulf of Mexico, and even towards the north-west should sufficiently prove the fact. Mr. Barton, in his Observations on some Parts of Natural History, part L, has collected the NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 309 scattered hints of Kalm, Carver, and others, and has added a plan of a regular work, which had been discovered on the banks of the Muskingum, near its junction with the Ohio. These remains are principally stone walls, large mounds of earth, and a combination of these mounds with the walls, suspected to have been fortifications. In some ph ces the ditches and the fortresses are said to have been plainly seen ; in others, furrows, as if the land had been ploughed. The mounds of earth are of two kinds ; they are artificial tumuli, designed as repositories for the dead ; or they are of a great er size for the purpose of defending the adjacent countiy; and with this view they are artificially constructed, or advant age is taken of the natural eminences, to raise them into a fortification. The remains near the banks of the Muskingum, are sit uated about one mile above the junction of that river with the Ohio, and a hundred and sixty miles below Fort Pitt. They consist of a number of walls and other elevations of ditches, &c., altogether occupying a space of ground about three hundred and fifty to twenty-five or twenty feet broad. The town, as it has been called, is a large level, encom passed by walls, nearly in the form of a square, the sides of which are from ninety-six to eighty-six perches in length. These walls are, in general, about ten feet in height above the level on which they stand, and about twenty feet in diameter at the base, but at the top they are much nar rower ; they are at present overgrown with vegetables of different kinds, and among others, with trees of several feet in diameter The chasms, or opening in the walls, were pro bably intended for gateways ; they are three in number on each side, besides the smaller openings in the angles. Within the walls there are three elevations six feet in height, with re gular ascents to them. These elevations considerably resem ble some of the eminences already mentioned, which have been discovered near the river Mississippi. This author's opinion is, that theTolticas, or some other Mexican nation, were the people to whom the mounds and fortifications, which 310 ORIGIN OF THE has described, owe their existence. This conjecture is thought probable, from the similarity of the Mexican forti fications described by the Abbe Clavigero, and other authors, to those described by our author; and from the tradition of the Mexicans that they came from the north west ; for if we can rely on the testimony of late travellers, fortifications similar to those mentioned by Mr. Barton have been discov ered as far to the north as Lake Pepin ; and we find them as we approach to the south, even as low as the coasts of Florida. To enumerate the antiquities of America and the differ ent places where they are found, would only be a repetition of what has already appeared before the public ; and these discoveries are evidently so much attended with the exag geration of enthusiasts, that it would ill become any person, who was not an actual observer, to present to the public what, perhaps never existed. It is, however, an undenia ble fact, that several vestiges of civilization have been found in different parts throughout the western continent, which will at once prove that a people more versed in the arts and sciences than the present North American Indians, inhabited the western continent at some remote period. The venerable Bishop of Meaux, who addressed a series of letters to the Queen of France during his travels in North America, mentions the remains of several well built forts in the country of Natchez, whom he supposes to be descen dants of the Mexicans or the survivors of some nation which must have been somewhat acquainted with the arts, and might have been exterminated by war and, pestilence, or famine. "This fortification," he says, " which is large and square, might contain several hundred cabins. The walls which are built of stone, are seven or eight feet high. Round them runs a broad ditch, six feet deep, into which they could, in time of danger, draw the waters of a creek or small river that runs by the town, at the distance of thirty yards. Not far from thence I observed the remains of a tower, built with some taste and art ; and on inquiring at the great temple of the Natchez, what it was intended NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 311 for I was told by the priest, that it was a repository for the dead, or the tomb of their chiefs." Monsieur de la Sale, who first discovered the country of the Natchez, speaks of fortifications, temples, and cultivated fields, where he assured us the plough had been in use, from the fact that, on one occasion, when they were digging to make a well, they discovered the remains of a plough and the bone of an elephant along with it, which from the shape they gave it, could not have been intended for any other purpose than a ploughshare. Another learned author makes the following observations : " That North America was formerly inhabited by a nation more civilized and more versed in science, than the present, is certain from the late discoveries of M. Verandrier and his companions, who travelled westward from Montreal in order to reach the south sea. When they had traversed many nations, of which no European had any knowledge before, they met with large tracts every where covered with furrows, which had formerly been ploughed ; it is to be observed that the people who now inhabit. North America, never make use of oxen, horses, or ploughs. In several places they met on the plains and in the woods great pillars of stone, which, to all appearance, had been erected by human hands, and with considerable taste. They found a stone, in which was fixed a smaller one, measuring twelve inches by five, on which was an inscription in unknown characters ; this they brought to Canada, from whence it was sent to France, to the Count de Maurepas, the Secretary of State." Count Rosetti found a helmet among the Natchez, made of tortoise-shell, on which some Asiatic hieroglyphics were engraved. On his return to Italy they were explained by some missionaries who remained several years in China, and purported the God of War and the Great Sun, or the Great Chief. The helmet is still preserved in the count's collec tion of antiquities. L'Abbe de la Ville discovered, during his mission in Ohio, a vlefensive armour of tortoise-shell, with inscriptions 312 ORIGIN OF THE in the Chinese language. These he sent to Paris, and are to be seen in the national museum, with the following ob servations : " I have often heard among the present Indians, that, before they arrived in this countary from the north west, they met the remains of a nation whose language they could not understand, and whose external appearance, man ners, customs, and religion, were not the same with theirs. They represented them as a people who had a different origin, but who, they said, had entered this continent by Kamschatka, as they did themselves. This information I have not only acquired from those Indian tribes which I found in Ohio, but also from the Great Sun of the Natchez, who assured me that he was the descendant of those who were the original proprietors of the American soil, previous to the migration of the barbarous tribes by which he found himself then surrounded. At the same time he told me, that a part of his nation survived the almost utter extermination of his tribes by that barbarous horde, and that they still lived towards the south." " Innumerable fortifications," says Mons. du Chateau, " are to be found throughout America ; but all these vestiges of civilization, and their monuments or pillars and the tumuli of the dead are now so overgrown with trees, that it is with some difficulty, they can be discerned." That several monuments of antiquity are very probably concealed from us by the overgrowth of the forest cannot at all be denied, when we exhibit to the view of the public, a certain fact which recently came to light in the township of Beverly, county of Halton, Upper Canada. A tumulus was discovered containing the remains of about a thousand Indians, with arms and cooking vessels. This golgotha was, when discovered, overgrown with trees of two hundred years growth. It is, therefore, reasonable to believe tnat several marks of civilization have, under similar circumstan ces, escaped our notice. M, Sinclair, who travelled in North America in the year 1748, has made the following observations respecting the civilization of the aboriginal inhabitants of this continent: NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 313 " That architecture and painting," he says, a were known among the ancients of America cannot be denied, when we examine the art which they displayed in building fortifica tions and towers ; and the taste which their paintings in relievo exhibit. It would be equally absurd to deny that iron tools were in use ; for how could they break and shape into different forms large stones almost as hard as the flint which the present Red Men use as hatchets. But, without any conjecture, we may easily arrive at a conclusion by considering the fact, that the French missionaries found several iron tools and warlike weapons ; and these tools, are said to resemble, in a striking manner, those of the Coreans, formerly a Chinese colony." Count Rosetti says that they are not unlike those in use among the Chinese, according to the observations of the Jesuit, who lived for several years in China. How these tools and weapons have disappeared can easily be accounted for, by supposing that this Asiatic colony, which was un doubtedly more polished than the present Indians, buried along with the dead, as is well known to have been the custom, those tools and weapons which were dear to them when living. This ridiculous and superstitious custom would certainly contribute, through time, to the utter annihilation of those instruments, which, though evidently in use among them, were not made by them since they arrived in America, but brought along with them from whatever part of Asia they migrated, and consequently the supply could not be otherwise than scanty. The Mexicans, who are supposed, and on very good grounds, to be the descendants of this more civilized race of Indians, were acquainted with the arts when first visited by the Europeans ; and this we shall endeavour to prove hereafter. The following article appeared some time ago, in the United Service Journal, in reference to the Greek antiquities which have been recently discovered in South America : " A recent discovery seems to afford strong evidence that the soil of America was once trodden by one of Alexander's subjects. A few years since there was found, near Monte 27 314 ORIGIN OF THE Video, in South America, a stone with the following words in Greek upon it : ' During the reign of Alexander, the son of Philip, king of Macedon, in the 63rd Olympiad, Ptolemy' the remainder of the inscription could not be deciphered. This stone covered an excavation, which contained two very ancient swords, a helmet, a shield, and several earthen amphorae of large capacity. On the handle of one of the swords was a portrait of a man, and on the helmet there was sculptured work representing Achilles dragging the corpse of Hector round the walls of Troy. This was a favourite picture among the Greeks. Probably this Ptolemy was overtaken by a storm in the great ocean, as the ancients termed the Atlantic, and driven on the coast of South Ame rica. The silence of Greek writers in relation to this event may easily be accounted for, by supposing that on attempt ing to return to Greece he was lost, together with his crew, and thus no account of his discovery ever reached them." How these Greek antiquities came to America, we can not at all conjecture ; and it is equally dubious, whether such things have been discovered or not. It would, however, appear presumptuous on our part to contradict it, when we can prove nothing to the contrary. INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. (From Governor Clinton's Discourse.) " It would be an unpardonable omission, not to mention, while treating on this subject, that there is every reason to believe, that previous to the occupancy of this country by the progenitors of the present nation of Indians, it was in habited by a race of men much more populous, and much farther advanced in civilization. The numerous remains of ancient fortifications, which are found in this country, com mencing principally near the Onondaga River, and from thence spreading over the military tract, the Genesee coun- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 315 try, and the lands of the Holland Land Company, over the territory adjoining the Ohio and its tributary streams, the country on Lake Erie, and extending even west of the Mis sissippi, demonstrate a population far exceeding that of the Indians when this country was first settled. "I have seen several of these works in the western parts of this state. There is a large one in the town of Onondaga ; one in Pompey, and another in Manlius ; one in Camillus, eight miles from Auburn ; one in Scipio, six miles : another one mile, and one, half a mile from that village. Between the Senecca and Cayuga Lakes there are. several ; three within a few miles of each other. Near the village of Canadaigua there are three. In a word they are scattered all over that country. " These forts were, generally speaking, erected on the most commanding ground. The walls or breastworks were earthen. The ditches were on the exterior of the works. On some of the parapets, oak trees were to be seen, which, from the number of the concentric circles, must have been standing one hundred and fifty, two hundred and sixty, and three hundred years ; and there were evident indications, not only that they -had sprung up since the erection of those works, but that they were at least a second growth. The trenches w r ere in some cases deep and wide, and in others shallow and narrow ; and the breastworks varied in altitude from three to eight feet. They sometimes had one, and sometimes two entrances, as was to be inferred from there being no ditch at those places. When the works were pro tected by a deep ravine, or a large stream of water, no ditch was to be seen The areas of these forts varied from two to f AX acres; and the form was generally an irregular ellip sis ; and in some of them fragments of earthenware and pul verized substances, supposed to have been originally human bones were to be found. " These fortifications, thus diffused over the interior of our country, have been generally considered as surpassing the skill, patience, and industry of the Indian race ; and various 316 ORIGIN OF THE hypotheses have been advanced to prove them of European origin. " An American writer of no inconsiderable repute pro nounced some years ago, that the two forts at the conflu ence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, one covering forty and the other twenty acres, were erected by Ferdinand de Soto, who landed with one thousand men in Florida in 1539, and penetrated a considerable distance into the interior of the country. He allotted the large fort for the use of the Spanish army ; and after being extremely puzzled how to dispose of the small one in the vicinity, he at last assigned it to the swine, that generally, as lie said, attended the Spaniards in those days ; being in his opinion very necessary, in order to prevent them from becoming astray, and to pro tect them from the depredations of the Indians. " When two ancient forts, one containing six and the other three acres, were found near Lexington in Kentucky, another theory was propounded, and it was supposed that they were erected by the descendants of a Welch Colony, who are said to have migrated under the auspices of Madoc to this country, in the twelfth century ; that they formerly inhabited Kentucky ; but being attacked by the Indians, were forced to take refuge near the sources of the Missouri. " Another suggestion has been made, that the French in their expeditions from Canada to the Mississippi, were the authors of these works ; but the most numerous are to be found in the territory of the Senecas, whose hostility to the French was such, that they were not allowed for a long time to have any footing among them.* The fort at Nia gara was obtained from them by the intrigues and eloquence of Joncaire, an adopted child of the nation.f " Louis Denmie, a Frenchman, aged upwards of seventy, and who has been settled and married among the confede rates for more than half a century, told me that according to the traditions of the ancient Indians, these forts were erected by an army of Spaniards, who were the first Euro- Golden, vol. I,,p. 61. f Charlevoix, vol. III. letter 15. p. 2. 27. NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 317 peans ever seen by them; the French the next; then the Dutch ; and finally the English ; that this army first appeared at Oswego in great force, and penetrated through the in terior of the country, searching for the precious metals j that they continued there two years, and went down the Ohio. " Some of the Senecastold Mr. Kirkland,the Missionary, that those in their territory were raised by their ancestors in their wars with the Western Indians, three, four, or five hundred years ago. All the Cantons have traditions, that their ancestors came originally from the west; and the Senecas say that theirs first settled in the country of the Creeks. The early histories mention that the Iroquois first inhabited on the north side of the lakes ; that they were driven to their present territory in a war with the Algon- quins or Adirondacks, from whence they expelled the Sata- nas. If these accounts are correct, the ancestors of the Senecas did not, in all probability, occupy their great ter ritory, at the time they alledge " I believe we may confidently pronounce, that all the hypotheses which attribute those works to Europeans, are incorrect and fanciful. 1st. Our account of the present number of the works. 2nd. Our account of their antiquity ; having from every appearance, been erected a long time before the disc6very of America ; and finally their form and manner are totally variant from European fortifications, either in ancient or modern times. " It is generally clear that they were not the work of the' Indians. Until the Senecas, who are fenowned for their national vanity, had seen the attention of the Americans attracted to these erections, and had invented the fabulous account of which I have spoken, the Indians of the present day did not pretend to know any thing about their origin. They were beyond the reach of all their traditions, and were lost in the abyss of unexplored antiquity. " The erection of such prodigious works must have been the result of labour, far beyond the patience and persever ance of our Indians ; and the forms and materials are entirely different from those which they are known to make. These 27* 318 ORIGIN OF THE earthern walls, it is supposed, will retain their original form much longer than those constructed with brick and stone. They have undoubtedly been greatly diminished by the washing away of the earth, the filling up of the interior, and the accumulation of fresh soil : yet their firmness and solidity indicate them to be the work of some remote age. Add to this, that the Indians have never practised the mode of for tifying by entrenchments. Their villages or castles were protected by palisades ; which afforded a sufficient defence against Indian weapons. When Cartier went to Hochelaga, now Montreal, in 1535 he discovered a town of the Iroquois, or Hurons, containing about fifty huts. It was encompassed with three lines of palisades, through which was one entrance, well secured with stakes and bars. On the inside was a rampart of timber, to which were ascents by ladders ; and heaps of stones were laid in proper places to cast at an enemy. Charlevoix and other writers agree, in representing the Indian fortresses, as fabricated with wood. Such also were the forts of Saascus, the great chief of the Pequots ; and the principal fortress of the Narragansetts was on an island in a swamp, of five or six acres of rising land ; the sides were made with palisades set upright, encompassed with a hedge, of a rod in thickness. " I have already alluded to the argument for 'the great antiquity of those ancient forts, to be derived from the nun> ber of concentric circles. On the ramparts of one of the Muskingum forts, four hundred and sixty-three were ascer tained on a tree, decayed at the centre ; and there are like wise the strongest marks of a former growth of a similar size. This would make those works near a thousand years old. " But there is another consideration which has never be fore been urged, and which appears to me to be not unwor thy of attention. It is certainly novel, and I believe it to be founded on a basis, which cannot easily be subverted. " From near the Genesee River to Lexington, on the Niagara River, there is a remarkable ridge or elevation of land, running almost the whole distance, which is seventy- NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 319 eight miles, and in a direction from east to west. Its gene ral altitude above the neighbouring land is thirty feet, and its width varies considerably ; in some places it is not more than forty yards. Its elevation above the level of the Lake Ontario is perhaps one hundred and sixty feet, to which it descends by a gradual slope, and its distance from that water is between six and ten miles. This remarkable strip of land, would appear as if intended by nature for the purpose of an easy communication. It is in fact a stupendous natural turnpike, descending gently on each side, and covered with gravel ; and but little labour is requisite to make it the best road in the United States. When the forests between it and the lakes are clearejl, the prospects and scenery which will be afforded from a tour on this route to the Cataract of Niagara, will surpass all competition for sublimity and beauty, variety and number. "There is every reason to believe, that this remarkable ridge was the ancient boundary of this great lake. The gravel with which it is covered, was deposited there by the waters ; and the stones every where indicate by their shape, the abrasion and agitation produced by that element. All along the borders of the western rivers and lakes, there are Small mounds or heaps of gravel, of a conical form, erected by the fish for the protection of their spawn ; these fish banks are found in a state that cannot be mistaken, at the foot of the ridge, on the side toward the lake ; on the op posite side none have been discovered. All rivers and streams which enter the lake from the south, have their mouths affected with sand in a peculiar way, from the pre valence and power of the north-westerly winds The points of the creeks which pass through this ridge, correspond ex actly in appearance with the entrance of the streams into the lakes. " These facts evince, beyona doubt, that Lake Ontario has, perhaps one or two thousand years ago, receded from this elevated ground. And the cause of this retreat must be ascribed to its having enlarged its former outlet, or to its 320 ORIGIN OF THE imprisoned waters (aided probably by an earthquake) for cing a passage down the present bed of the St. Lawrence \ as the Hudson did at the Highlands, and the Mohawk at the Little Falls On the south side of this great ridge, in its vicinity, and in all directions through this country, the remains of numerous forts are to be seen ; but on the north side, that is, on the side toward the lake, not a single one has been discovered, although the whole ground has been carefully explored. Considering the distance to be, say, seventy miles in length, and eight in breadth, and that the boarder of the lake is the very place that would be selected for habitation and consequently for works of defence, on account of the facilities it would afford for subsistence, for safety, for all domestic accommodations and military pur poses ; and that on the south shores of Lake Erie, these ancient fortresses exist in great number, there can be no doubt but that these woiks were erected, when this ridge was the southern boundary of Lake Ontario, and, conse quently, that their origin must be sought in a very remote age. " A great part of North America was then inhabited by populous nations, w r ho had made considerable advances in civilization. These numerous works could never have been supplied with provisions without the aid of agriculture. Nor could they have been constructed without the use of iron or copper ; and without a perseverance, labour, and design which demonstrate considerable progress in the arts of civil ized life. A learned writer has said, ' I perceive no reason why the Asiatic North might not be an Offidna vironim as well as the European. The overtceming country to the east of the Riphcean Mountains must find it necessary to dis charge its inhabitants. The first great wave of people'was forced forward by the next jp it, more restless and more powerful than itself. Successive and new impulses continu ally arriving, short rest w r as given to that which spread over a more eastern track ; disturbed again and again, it covered fresh regions. At length, reaching the farthest NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 321 limits of the old world, it found a new one, with ample space to occupy unmolested for ages.'* " After the north of Asia had thus exhausted its exhube- rant population by such a great migration, it would require a very long period of time to produce a co-operation of causes, sufficient to effect another. The first mighty stream of people that flowed into America, must have remained free from external pressure for ages. Availing themselves of this period of tranquility, they would devote themselves to the art of peace, make rapid progress in civilization, and acquire an immense population. In course of time, discord and war would rage among them, and compel the establish ment of places of security. At last, they became alarmed by the irruption of a horde of barbarians, who rushed like an overwhelming flood from the north of Asia. \ A multitude, like which the populous North Poured from her frozen loins, to pass Rhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous sons Came like a deluge on the South, and spread Beneath Gibraltar to the Lybian Sands.f " The great law of self-preservation compelled them to stand on their defence, to resist these ruthless invaders, and lo construct numerous and extensive works for protection. And for a long series of time the scale of victory was sus pended in doubt, and they firmly withstood the torrent ; but like the Romans in the decline of their empire, they were finally worn down and destroyed, by successive inroads, and renewed attacks. And tjie fortifications of which we have treated, are the only remaining monuments of these ancient and exterminated nations. This is, perhaps, the airy nothing of imagination, and maybe reckoned the extravagant dream of a visionary mind ; but may we not, considering the won derful events of the past and present times, and the inscru table dispensations of an overruling Providence, may we not look forward into futurity, and without departing from * Pennant's Artie Zoology, vol. I, p. 260. f Milton's Paradise Lost, book I, p. 62. 322 ORIGIN OF THE the rigid laws of probability, predict the occurrence of similar scenes, at some remote period of time. And perhaps in the decrepitude of our empire, some transcendent genius, whose powers of mind shall only be bounded by that im penetrable circle which prescribes the limits of human nature,* may rally the barbarous nations of Asia, under the standard of a mighty empire. Following the track of the Russian colonies anil commerce towards the North-west coast, and availing himself of the navigation, arms, and military skill of civilized nations, he may, after subverting the neighbouring despotisms of the old world, bend his course toward European Ameiica. The destinies of our country may then be decided on the waters of the Missouri, or on the banks of Lake Superior. And if Asia shall then revenge on our posterity, the injuries we have inflicted on her sons, a new, a long, and a gloomy night of Gothic darkness will set in upon mankind. And when, after the efflux of ages, the returning effulgence of intellectual light shall again gladden the nations, then the wide-spread ruins of our cloud-capped towers, of our solemn temples, and of our magnificent cities, will, like the works of which we have treated, become the subject of curious research and elaborate investigation." THE MEXICANS ARE THE REMAINS OF A MORE POLISHED NATION THAN THE PRESENT NORTH AMERICAN INDI ANS. It must be observed, however, that the history o'f nations and the progress of civilization does not, at this moment, offer a greater enigma worthy of solution than the origin of the Toltec, Chichimec, and Aztec tribes, which compose at present those properly denominated Mexicans. Their mi grations are not hid in the obscurity of far distant ages, like * Roscoe's Lorenzo De Medicis, p. 241 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 323 those of the Celts, the Hellenes, or the Pelasgi, but at a period comparatively modern, when all the movements on the continent of Asia are at least possible to be traced. If we may judge from the number of languages, the number of native tribes must be great. These languages exceed twenty, fourteen of which have grammars and dictionaries. The Mexican, or Aztec language, spoken by the Toltecs, Chichiraecs, Acoluchecs, Nahuatlacs, and Aztecs, thus in dicating an identity of origin. This language is the most widely diffused of all the Mexican languages, extending from 37 N. Lat. as far south as the lake of Nicaragua, a distance of more than 1200 miles. The other languages, indicating as many diiferent tribes, are the Otomite, Tarasc, Zapotec, Mistece, Maye, or Yucatan, Totonac, Papolouc, Matlazing, Huaste, Mixed, Caquiquil, Taranmar, Tepehuan, and the Cors. The most part of these languages are, un doubtedly, different from each other ; but the intermixture of one tribe with the other, their separation into new coun tries, and their formation into different nations, would, in evitably, produce, in the process of time, new and strange languages ; so that if we can trace the origin of theanost ancient and universal language, which is the Mexican or Aztec, we may fairly conclude that the Mexican is the common source of all the other dialects, and that the Mexi cans must consequently be the progenitors of all the other tribes. Of the five tribes which constitute the present Mexican nation the Toltecs first made their appearance fifty miles to the east of the city of Mexico, in 648. They de clared themselves expelled from a country lying to the north-west of the Rio Gila, and called by them Huehuetla- pallan. The date of their emigration is fixed in the Mexi can paintings, which describe year by year the events of this migration, which commenced in 544 of our era, or 104 years before their settlement in Mexico ; and it is very re markable that this epoch of 544, correspond* with the ruin of the dynasty of Tsin, in China, which caused such grear commotions among the nations of eastern Asia. About one hundred years after the Toltecs had left Huehuetlapallan, 324 ORIGIN OF THE the Chichimecs took possession of it. These were a much more rude and unpolished tribe than the Toltecs, and came from an unknown country, called by 'them Amaque Mecan, far to the north of Huehuetlapallan, where they had resided for a long time. They took eighteen months in their mi gration to the ancient seat of the Toltecs. After remaining five centuries in Huehuetlapallan, they migrated to the south and appeared in Mexico in 1170, and mingled with the Toltecs. The Nahuatlacs made their first appearance from the north, in 1196 in Mexico. The Aztecs, the immediate progenitors- of the Mexicans, dwelt in a country called Aztlan, to the north of the Californian Gulf in 1160. How far to the north of this parallel Aztlan lay, it is impossible to determine; but we are certain that it lay to the north of the Rio Colorado of California. It is probable that the original abode of the Aztecs, or Aztlan, lay beyond Nootka Sound, between it and Cook's River, especially under the 57th degree of N. Lat. in Norfolk Bay and new v Cornwall, where the natives have a strong predilection for hierogly- phical painting, like the Mexicans. After a migration of 56 years, distinguished into three grand periods, the Aztecs arrived in the valley of Mexico in 1216. The first stage of their migration was to the south of the Rio Nabajoa, in 35 deg. N. Lat. and one of the branches of the Colorado. The second stage, was to the south of the Rio Gila, in N. Lat. 33 deg. 30 min., where the ruins of an ancient city, called Las Casas Grandes, by the Spaniards, was discovered in 1773, in the midst of a vast and beautiful, plain, a league to the south of the Gila. These ruins occupy the space of three square miles. The whole surrounding plain is filled with fragments of Mexican stone-ware, beautifully painted in red, white, and, blue. The third station was in the vicinity of Yanos, in the new Biscay, in N. Lat. 30 deg. 30 min., and 350 miles S. E. of Las Casas Grandes. They Soved hence t country, by advancing towards the east into unknown regions not only in Asia, but likewise on the con tinent of America. " These the Russians imagined to be part of America ; NOttTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 343 and several circumstances concurred not only in confirming them in this belief, but in persuading them that some por tion of that continent could not be very remote. Trees of various kinds unknown in those naked regions of Asia were driven upon the coast by an easterly wind. By the same wind, floating ice was brought thither in a few days; flights of birds arrived annually from the same quarter ; and a tra dition obtained among the inhabitants, of an intercourse formerly carried on with some countries situated to the east. " After weighing all the particulars,- and comparing the position of the countries in Asia which had been discovered, with such parts in the north-west of America as were already known, the Russian court formed a plan, which would have hardly occurred to a nation less accustomed to engage in arduous undertakings, and to contend with great difficulties. Orders were issued to build two vessels at the small village of Ochotz, situated on the sea of Kamschatka, to sail on a voyage of discovery. Though that dreary uncultivated region furnished nothing that could be of use in constructing them, but some large trees ; though not only the iron, the cordage, the sail, and all the numerous articles requisite for their equipment, but the provisions for victualling them were to be carried through the immense deserts of Siberia, down rivers of difficult navigation, and along roads almost impassible, the mandate of the sovereign, and the persever ance of the people, at last surmounted every obstacle. Two vessels were finished, and, under the command of the Cap tains Behring and Tschirikow, sailed from Kamschatka, in quest of the new world in a quarter where it had never been approached. They shaped their course towards the east ; and though a storm soon separated the vessel, which never rejoined, and many disasters befell them, the expectations from the voyage were not altogether frustrated. Each of the commanders discovered land, which to them appeared to be part of the American continent ; and according to their observation, it seemed to be situated within a few de grees of the north-west coast of California, Each set some 344 ORIGIN OF THE of his people ashore , but in one place the inhabitants fled as the Russians approached ; in another, they carried off those who landed, and destroyed their boats. The violence of the weather, and the distress of their crews, obliged both captains to quit this inhospitable coast. In their return they touched at several islands which stretched in a chain from east to west between the country which they had dis covered and the coast of Asia. They had some intercourse with the natives, who seemed to them to resemble the North Americans. They presented to the Russians the calumet, or pipe of peace, which is a symbol of friendship universal among the people of North America, and a usage of arbi trary institution peculiar to theYn. "Again, in the year 1768 discoveries in that quarter were resumed, which not only confirmed the Russian government in the belief that America was not far removed from the north eastern parts of Asia, but discovered various islands interspersed in those straits, which would inevitably tend to facilitate an intercourse between the inhabitants of the old and new world. " Thus the possibility of a communication between the continents in this quarter rests no longer upon mere conjec ture, but is established by undoubted evidence. Some tribe, or some families of wandering Tartars, from the restless spirit peculiar to their race, might migrate to the nearest islands, and, rude as their knowledge of navigation was, might, by passing from one to the other, reach at length the coast of America, and give a beginning to population in that continent. " Though it be possible that America may have received its first inhabitants from our continent, either by the north west of Europe, or the north-east of Asia, there seems to be good reason for supposing that the progenitors of all the American nations from Cape Horn to the southern confines of Labrador, migrated from the latter rather than the for mer. The Esquimeaux are the only people in America, who in their aspect or character, bear any resemblance to the northern Europeans. They are manifestly a race of NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 345 men distinct from all the nations of the American continent, in language, in disposition, and habits of life. Their original, then, may warrantably be traced up to ,that source which I have pointed out. But among all the other inhabitants of America, there is such a striking similitude in the form of their bodies and the qualities of their minds, that notwith standing the diversities occasioned by the influences of cli mate or unequal progress in improvement, we must pro nounce them to be descended from one source. There may be a variety in the shades, but we can every where trace the same original colour Each tribe has something peculiar which distinguishes it, but in all of them we discern certain features common to the whole race. It is remarkable, that in every peculiarity, whether in their persons or. dispositions, which characterize the Americans, they have some resem blance to the rude tribes scattered over the north-east of Asia, but almost none to the nations settled in the northern extremities of Europe. We may, therefore, refer them to the former origin, and conclude that their Asiatic progeni tors, having settled in those parts of America where the Russians have discovered the proximity of the two conti nents, spread gradually over its various regions. This ac count of the progress of population in America coincides with the traditions of the Mexicans concerning their own origin, which, imperfect as they are, were preserved with more accuracy, and merit greater credit, than those of any people in the new world. According to them, their ances tors came from a remote country situated to the north-west of Mexico. The Mexicans point out their various stations as they advanced from this into the interior provinces, and it is precisely the same route which they must have held if they had been emigrants from Asia. The Mexicans, in describing the appearance of their progenitors, their manners and habits of life at that period, exactly delineate those of the rude Tartars from whom J suppose them to have sprung." FINIS fllill I