Summer on the Lakes, in 1843

a tribes are here to receive their annual payments from the American government. As their habits make travelling easy and inexpensive to them, neither being obliged to wait for steamboats, or write t

encamped on the island alread

was perfectly dark, and my sensations as I walked with a stranger to a strange hotel, through the midst of these shrieking savages, and heard the pants and snorts of the departing steamer, which carr

one, and was obliged to take up my rest in the common parlor and

he young men playing on their pipes. I had been much amused, when the strain proper to the Winnebago courting flute was played to me on another instrument, at any one fancying it a melody; but now, when I heard the notes in their true tone and time, I thought it not unworthy comparison, in its graceful sequence, and the light

t of long secluded walks through its gentle groves. You can go round it in your boat; or, on foot, you can tread its narrow beach, resting, at times, beneath the lofty walls of stone, richly wooded, which rise from it in various architectural

OCK FROM

ended, no very easy matter, the steep and crumbling path, and rested at the summit, beneath the trees, and at the foot upon the cool mossy stones beside the lapsing wave. Nature has carefully decorated all this architectu

path. The rock itself may be ascended by the bold and agile. Halfway up is a niche, to which those, who are neither, can climb by a ladder. A very handsome young officer and lady who were with us d

foliage, and, in August, showed the tender green and pliant leaf of J

nac, which means the Great Turtle. One person whom I saw, wished to establish another etymology, which he fancied to be more refined; but, I doubt not, this is the true one, both because the shape might suggest such a name, and that the existence of

else to be met in this country, an old French town, mellow in its coloring, and with the harmonious effect of a slow growth, which assimilates, naturally, with objects round it. The people in its stree

re mellow. The Indians were grouped and scattered among the lodges; the women preparing food, in the kettle or frying-pan, over the many small fires; the children, half-naked, wild as little goblins, were playing both in and out of the water. Here and there lounged a young girl, with a baby at her back, whose bright eyes glanced, as if born into a world of courage and of joy, instead of ignominious servitude and slow decay. Some girls were cutting wo

ing so at home in it. All seemed happy, and they were happy that day, for th

dwellings. The women ran to set up the tent-poles, and spread the mats on the ground. The men brought the chests, kettles, &c.; the mats were then laid on the outside, the cedar boughs strewed

h romantic sketches were suggested to him, by the sight of a few gipsies, not a group near one of these fires but would have furnished him material for a separate

hatever the Indian may be among the whites, he is anything but taciturn with his own people. And he often would declaim, or narrate at length

han that of the white woman. Why will people look only on one side? They either exalt the Red man into a Demigod or degrade him into a beast. They say that he compels his wife to do all the drudgery, while he does nothing but hunt and amuse himself; forgetting that, upon his activity and power of endurance as a hunter, depends the support of his family; that this is labor of the most fatiguing kind, and that it is absolutely necessary that he should keep his frame unbent by burdens and unworn by toil, that he may be able to obtain the means of subsistence. I have witnessed scenes of conjugal and parental love in the Indian's wigwam from which I have often, often thought the educated white man, proud of his superior

f the position of woman

ents considered beneath the dignity of the men. These walked before erect and graceful, decked with ornaments which set off to advantage the symmetry of their well-formed persons, while the poor women followed, meanly attired, bent under the weight of the children and utensils, which they carried everywhere with them, and disfigured and degraded by ceaseless toils. They were very early married, for a Mohawk had no other servant but his wife, and, whenever he commenced hunter, it was requisite he should have some one to carry his load, cook his kettle, make his moccasons, and, above all, produce the young warriors who were to succeed him in the honors of the chase and of the tomahawk. Wherever man is a mere hunter, woman is a mere slave. It is domestic intercourse that softens man, and elevates woman; and of that there can be but little, where the employments and amusements are not in common; th

of these two, Mrs. Grant's seems much nearer the truth than Mrs. Schoolcraft's, because, though her op

queens, one nominally so, like Queen Victoria; the other inv

sachem. He adds, that, in some tribes, the descent is given to the female line in preference t

bago queen, reminded me fo

with the supreme authority, and then it is not customary for them to make any formal speeches, as the chiefs do. She was a very ancient woman, small in stature, and not much distinguished by her dress from seve

make her escape, and the tribe were so struck with admiration at the courage and c

uropean civilization. The habits of drudgery expressed in their form and gesture, the soft and wild but melancholy expression of their eye, reminded me of the tribe mentioned by Mackenzie, where the women destroy their f

ity accommodate themselves more or less to any posture. Perhaps they suffer less than their white sisters, who have more aspiration a

They used to crowd round me, to inspect little things I had to show them, but never press near; on the contrary, would reprove and keep off the children. Anything they took from

oking upon it as the most luxurious superfluity a person can possess, and therefore a badge of great wealth. I used to see an old squaw, whose sullied skin and coarse, tanned locks, told that she had braved sun and storm, without a doubt or care, for sixty

, and then to show her how to open it. Then she put it into her baby's hand, and held it over its head, looking at me the while with a sweet, mischievous laugh, as much as to say, "y

dal, was struck, in the same way, by the delicacy of manners in the women. He says, "Notwithstanding the life they lead, which would make most women rough and masculine, they are as soft

sort." The conduct of her son, when, many years after her death, he saw her picture at Washington, is unspeakably affecting. Catlin gives anecdotes of the grief of a chief for the loss of a daughter, and the princely gifts he offers in exchange for her portrait, worthy not merely of European, but of Troubadour sentiment. It is also evident that, as Mrs. Schoolcraft says, the women have great power at home. It can never be otherwise, men being dependent upon them for the comfort of their lives. Just, so among ourselves, wives who are neither esteemed nor loved by their husbands, have great power over their conduct by the friction of every day, an

ress of the lost grandeur of the race. They are no longer strong, tall, or finely proportioned. Yet as you see

you may still see a remnant of the noble blood. The Pillagers-(Pilleu

eagles of their

was a great marvel in the eyes of my lady acquaintance; indeed, I wonder why they did not quite give me up, as they certainly looked on me with great distaste for it. "Get you gone, you Indian dog," was the felt,

rateful. The savage cannot be washed out of them. Bring up an Indian child and see if you can attach it to you." The next moment, she expressed, in the presence of one of those children whom she was bringing up, loathing at the odor left by one of her peo

r disturb their minds merely to corrupt them. The French they loved. But the stern Presbyterian, with his dogmas and his task-work, the city circle and the college, with their niggard concessions and unfeeling stare, have never tried the experiment.

ng and degrading the Indian with rum mixed with red pepper, and damaged tobacco, kneels with him on Sunday before a common altar, to

old fat priest, you must, abo

tian church. Better their own dog-feasts and bl

e Great Spirit, in this shape, to man, as his most intelligent companion. Therefore we sacrif

man sacrifices his own brother, and to Mammo

ionary, "that Christianity is pleasing to God. How

ans, and the Indian is to be deemed less like the Son of

iments expressed in the following lines, when a deputation of the Sacs and Foxes visited Bos

T RECEIVING THE

BER,

at Poesy is

uses tune thei

treasures of

s fresh and fan

found out a

hadow, or mor

the scene, sket

paper colum

mance is so

atchet, and t

lumets and fo

ctive, now be

gawisca plea

idealized

taster scribb

tic oak his st

tire us, and t

in which so

e wood," and "me

ever buoyant

will sing as

circumstance g

e, erewhile pu

ount of Romanc

hades of contras

rength, the Sam

rom the feast h

e not claim wh

n his herita

rm shall soon

father's land, t

n, to us so ki

each day our

ld,-we do as

t here, but God

rama hastens

cene awhile yo

reek and Scyth

ife is lived

ough our busy

uched grandeur

ll our gaiet

me can touch h

he marvels we

dels from whence

temples he ha

to the natura

e's flight, the mutt

ve him to a w

ees that all

d to the mind t

mple sentime

an your arts h

etty triumphs

iar with the

een-dock, rail

bridge, colleg

pital, and

he lighthouse,

ch novelty, r

n growled out t

me is come, 't

thought so much, a t

b have thronged t

res throng the

calm through

anket with a m

re and shrug,

orms and blam

irit their mora

e their mental

e, at least, pe

ither Combe nor S

g trees invite

deer allure h

seen it! That d

s enjoyed all

force or fraud,

he white man's

ns in their pro

realms, now decke

school, the rail

easure to thei

eirs-earth, oce

oy in what now

ion has unloc

earned to glor

ink, so strange

the Great Spi

rder to which t

up in trust to t

tales doth eve

it sleeps-whe

turn, and th

clouds a hand w

race, with al

ices, must resi

ture rolls it

plains steeped

eady our faith; y

tears into th

re forest prin

aping crowd

ne seems where

ith the forest

ed, who, for t

ad held an h

day, had shone a po

stened to his

magic of his

ces which life

the justness

eam of lavish,

by passion's

assive style,

granite class

nge of excel

arms to soft pe

le we admire him-"

words, so exqu

es the tones

ound enough wou

ts Elysium a

ual paleness

ids and slow,

ps from which t

ke to win o

so well chosen,

eetness as our

en pearls, or rad

t did I admi

lustrous every

Lafayette on

ly Fourth coul

I behold him

dignity which

ourtesy the wh

very hue of

ents show the t

naiveté of

attle seem sti

n with tact un

shone, a simple

he woods his s

ther answered

ark the silve

ut a tear a t

ept, hadst thou

sentiment m

amp, the city

's heart, you need

scene-and act

alth to Indian

r and Bosto

ade to meet the Indian in his own way, and catch the tone of his mind. It was said, in the newspapers, that Keok

TT'S

Sauks and Foxes, you are we

rom home to visit your white brethre

, who have travelled into the West, have told us a great deal of the Sauks

once lived here. Their wigwams filled yonder field; their council fire was kin

and drowned them. But he stretched out his arm to our fathers and said, "Welcome, white men!" Our fathers were hungry, and the red men gave them corn and venison. Our fathers were cold, and

but our hearts are alike. The Great Spirit has made h

far West in the Rocky Mountains; but they flow together at last into one great stream, and run down together into the sea. In like manner, the red m

k. But he was the friend of the red man, and bad his children live in peace with their red brethren. He is gone to the world of sp

sapling by the side of the mighty oak. May the oak and the sapling flourish a long time together. And when the mighty oak is falle

t talk, and again bid you w

t frequently been persons intellectually too narrow, too straightly bound in sects or opinions, to throw themselves into the character or position of the Indians, or impart to them anything th

scerning observer, on the methods used by

ingratitude, killing their cattle and swine, and robbing them of their harvests, which they wantonly destroyed. He had abandoned the idea of effecting any general good to the Indians. He had conscientious scruples, as to promoting an enterprise so hopeless, as that of missions among the Indians, by sending accounts to the east, that might induce philanthropic individuals to contribute to their support. In fact, the whole experience of his intercourse with them, seemed to have convinced him of the irremediable degradation of the race. Their fortitude under suffering, he considered the result of physical and mental insensibility; their courage, a mere animal excitement, which they found it necessary to inflame, befor

he red man that a heavenly mandate takes from him his broad lands. He bows his head, but does not at heart acquiesce. He cannot. It is not tr

is fated to perish. Those of mixed blood fade early, and are not generally a fine race. They lose what is best in either type, rather

asian lungs; and it is, perhaps, in part, an instinct of this, which causes the hatred of the new settlers towards trees. The Indian breathed the atmosphere of the

superiority, which enabled our Wisconsin friend to throw away the gun, and send the Indian to fetch it, he had need to be very good, and very wise, not to abuse his position. But the white man, as yet, is a half-tamed pirate, and avails himself

offences must come, yet we them by whom they come." Yet, ere they depart, I wish there might be some masterly attempt to reproduce, in art or literature, what is proper to them, a kind of beauty and grandeur, which few of the every-day crowd have hearts to feel, yet which ought to

world is to be found in such books as Catlin's and some storie

rted by the white man over the savage in a trying case

and said "I want to get for this ten pounds of sugar, and some flour and cloth," adding, "I am not like other Indians, I want to pay for what I get. Mr. B. found that he must either be robbed of all he had by submitting to these exactions, or take a stand at once. He thought, however, he would try to avoid a scrape, and told his customer he had not so much sugar to spare. "Give me then," said he, "what you can spare," and Mr. B. thinking to make him back out, told him he would give him five pounds of sugar for his skin. "Take it," said the Indian. He left the skin, telling Mr. B. to take good care of it. Mr. B. took it at once to the trader's store, and related the circumstance, congratulating himself that he had got rid of the Indian's exactions. But, in about a month, Key-way-no-wut appeared bringing some dirty Indian sugar, and said "I have brought back the sugar that I borrowed of you, and I want my otter skin back." Mr. B. told him, "I bought an otter skin of you, but if you will return the other articles you have got for it, perhaps I can get it for you." "Where is the skin?" said he very quickly, "what have you done with it?" Mr. B. replied it was in the trader's store, where he (the Indian) could not get it. At this information he was furious, laid his hands on his knife and tomahawk, and commanded Mr. B. to bring it at once. Mr. B. found this was the crisis, where he must take a stand or be "rode over rough shod" by this

n the white and the red man; the white man looks to the future and paves the way for posterity." This is a statement uncommonly refined for an Indian; but one of the gentlemen present, who understood the Chippeway, vouched for it as a literal rendering of

me give some notices of writings upon it,

the only white man who knew how to regard with due intelligence and nobleness, his connexion with the race. Neither French or English, of any powers of sympathy, or poetical apprehension, have lived among the Indians without high feelings of enjoyment. Perhaps no luxury has been gre

and record it. The very faculties that made it so easy for them to live in the present moment, were likely to unfit them for keeping its chronicle. Men, whose life is full and instinctive, care little for the pen. But the father of Mrs. S

coin a series of medals for the history of this ancient people. We might have known in clear outline, as now we shall not, the growths of religion

r upon this earth; also that the dynasty of animals has yielded to that of man. With these animals they have profound sympathy, and are always trying to restore to them their lost honors. On the rattlesnake, the beaver, and the bear, they seem to look with a

is special companion. He is therefore to them a sacrifice of peculiar worth: whether to a guardian spirit or a human friend. Yet nothi

he familiar walks of many men; his virtues form the theme of poetry and history; the nobler races present grand traits, and

l for the embodiment of the modern devil, who, in

d sagacity observable in his eye. The baying the moon, I have been inclined to set down as an unfavorable indication; but, since Fourier has found out that the

iental mythos. Adair states that they believe this fabulous gem m

"the grandfather of all beavers;" to them, who do not know the elephan

their human way of looking on these animals, even when engaged in their pursuit. To me such stories give

, OR T

, and makes the tender buds put forth for our subsistence. I will give you my daughter for a wife, and we will live happily together." Muckwa was inclined to accept the old bear's offer; but when he saw the daughter, who came and took off his wet moccasons, and gave him dry ones, he thought that he had never seen any Indian woman so beautiful. He accepted the offer of the chief of the bears, and lived with his wife very happily for some time. He had by her two sons, one of whom was like an Indian, and the other like a bear. When the bear-child was oppressed with heat, his mother would take him into the deep cool caves, while the Indian-child would shiver with cold, and cry after her in vain. As the autumn advanced, the bears began to go out in search of acorns, and then the she-bear said to Muckwa, "Stay at home here and watch our house, while I go to gather some nuts." She departed and was gone for some days with her people. By-and-by Muckwa became tired of staying at home, and thought that he would go off to a distance and resume his favorite bear-hunting. He accordingly started off, and at last came to a grove of lofty oaks, which were full of large acorns. He found signs of bear, and soon espied a fat she-bear on the top of a tree. He shot at her with a good aim, and she fell, pierced by his unerring arr

ter of Life was not consulted. Is it not pathetic; the picture of the mother carrying off the child that was like herself into the deep, cool caves, while the other, shivering with cold,

e and holding intercourse with them on terms as free as Muckwa did. So, perhaps, the child

and paintings; even so did they love to look upward and people the atmosphere that enfolds the earth, with fairies and manitoes. Th

, which, however ignorant, are always elevating. See as instances in this kind,

e lakes, glittering in the sun, come stories of enchantresses combing, on the shore, the long golden hair of a beautiful daughte

a romantic narrative, connected with a spot at Mackinaw, called Robinson's Folly. This, no less than the other, was unknown to those persons I saw on the island; but as they see

the loneliness is broken by the voice of sweet music from the water. The Indian knows well that to break the fast, which is the crisis of his life, by turning h

ms of the Lorelei, he looks, like them beholds a maiden

together unlike any other form, and with all the peculiar expression we see lurking in the Indian eye. The demon is not frightful and fantastic, like those that haunt the German forest;

ward and vice its punishment. Their moral code, if not refined as that of civilized nations, is clear and noble in the stress laid upon truth and fidelity. And all unprejudiced observers bear testimony that the Indians, until broken from their

ify their manifold ritual, and customs connected with it, with that of the Jews. His narrative contains much that is worthless, and is written in the most tedious manner of the folios. But his devotion to the records of a

accursed speech;" a religious man, "one who has shaken hands with the beloved

ting and prayer they make ready for all important decisions and actions. Even for the war path, on which he is likely

s given on a former page, the testimony of one, who k

heir courage, fortitude, and resource in time of

superior, as when he headed his gallant countrymen against them. That, although he had fallen into their hands, in forfeiting the protection of the divine power, by some impurity or other, yet he had still so much virtue remaining, as would enable him to punish himself more exquisitely than all their despicable, ignorant crowd could possibly do, if they gave him liberty by untying him, and would hand to him one of the red hot gun-barrels out of the fire. The proposal, and his method of address, appeared so exceedingly bold and uncommon, that his request was gra

it, he sat down, naked as he was, on the women's burning torches, that were within his circle, and continued smoking his pipe without the least discomposure. On this a head warrior leaped up, and said they had seen, plain enough, that he was a warrior, and not afraid of dying; nor should he have died, but that he was both spoiled by the fire, and devoted to it by their laws; however, though he was a very dangerous enemy, and his nation a treacherous people, it should

of the Israelites seem to have. But the Christians of the first centuries, may justly be said to exceed even the most heroic American Indians, for they bore the bitterest persecution with steady patience, in imitation of their divine leader Messiah, in full confidence of divine support and of a glorious recompense of reward; and, instead of even wishing for revenge on their cruel enemies and malicious tormentors, (which is the chief principle that

Indian life. That of Yowanne, especially, takes my fancy much, by its wild and subtle air, and the old-nurse fashion in which every look and gesture is detailed. His enjoyment, too, at outwitting the Indians in their own fashion is contagiou

can treat them, and view his barbarity as a joke. It is not then so much wonder, if the trader, with this same feeling that they may be treated, (as h

entitled to judge by its best fruits of the goodness of the tree, Adair's Red Shoes, and Henry's Wawatam, should make us respect the first possessors of our countr

endent qualities had arrived at th

empted by the high reward of the French for killing him, officiously pretended to take great care of him. While Red Shoes kept his face toward him, the barbarian had such feelings of awe and pity that he had

e, he recommends that the tribes be stimulated as much as possible to war with each other, that they may the more easily and comple

en I ate, and then very moderately; but though I loved it, if his heart was very poor for it, I should be silent, and not the least grudge him for pleasing his mouth. He said, 'your heart is honest, indeed; I thank you, for it is good to my heart, and makes it greatly to rejoice.' Without any further ceremony he seized the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed a large quantity of the burning liquid, till he was nearly strangled. He gasped for a considerable time, and as soon as he recovered his breath, he said Hah, and soon after kept stroking his throat with his right hand. When the violence of this burning draught was pretty well over, he began to flourish away in praise of the strength of the liquor and bounty of the giver.

wn before him, I declared I did not on any account choose to part with it, but as his speech had become very long and troublesome, he might do just as his heart directed him concerning it. He took it up, saying, his heart was very poor for physic, but he would cure it, and make it quite straight. The bottle contained three gills of strong spirits of turpentine, which, in a short time he drank off. Such a quantity would have demolished me or any white person. The Indians, in general, are either capable of suffering exquisite pain longer than we are, or of showing more constancy and composure in their torments. The troublesome visiter soon tumbled down and foamed prodig

resolutely resisted the encroachments of Key-way-no-wut

after that, colics prevailed among them to an alarming extent, till Mrs. B. made a strong decoction of flag

if he will have tolerance for its intolerable prolixity and dryness, he will find, on rising from the book, that he has partak

, and by a person neither of large mind nor prepared for various inquiry, is Carver's Travels,

Albany and Niagara, to Michilimackinac, a fort situated between

footsteps in these localities, t

ted, and covered with bark so compactly as to keep out the most penetrating rains. Before the doors are placed comfortable sheds, in which the inhabitants sit, when the weather will permit, and smoke

d on the Mohawk. It was of such that the poor Indian was thin

aters, by a tide of three feet, once in sev

n every feature Romans, as described by Carver, and patriotism their leading impulse. He deserves the more credit for the justice he is able to do them, that he had undergone the terrors of death at their hands, when present at the s

influence their advice, or

mportant measure, they go into them, thus cleansing the skin and carrying off any peccant h

es, on the opposite principle to the whites, who make them drunk before bargaining with

d of delicacy, which, if different from

f love till the dayl

s intended, and the rest of the family, immediately retiring to the other end of the hut or ten

rested with the woman. The reason given is indeed contemptuous

fter her. The reason they give for this is, that, 'as their offspring are indebted to the father for the soul, the invisible part of their essence, and to the mother for t

tions made by Ovid, as the father sees

erna Vulcanum

m est a me quod

cis, nullaqe do

nd, the Indian girl, that those splendid flowers, the Wickapee and the root of the Wake-Robin, afford valuable medic

with some of these tribes, of shaving all the head except a tuft on the crown. Catlin says this is intended, to afford a convenient means by which to take away the scalp;

acrificing the dog; and among the Kamschatkans was

who had been sent over by one of the missions, and observed that, in features, complexion, and gestur

estowed on each region, as the lion on one latitude and the white bear on another. As man has two natures-one, like that of the plants and animals, adapted to the uses and enjoyments of this planet, another, which presages and demands a higher sphere-he is con

oth; not, as so many of these adventurers do, the rapaciousness and cunning of the white, with the narrowness and ferocity of

Mackinaw and the Sault St. Marie, and remained in those region

irst, the omens were threatening, and before many months passed, the discontent ended in the seizing of the fort a

obtaining a promise that his brother should not be injured. The reason he was obliged to go, was, that his tribe felt his affections were so engaged, that his self-command could not be depended on to keep their secret. Their promise was not carefully observed, and, in consequence of the baseness of a French Canadian in whose house Henry took refuge,-baseness such as has not, even by their foes, been recorded of any In

the aspect of natural objects and of the feelings thus inspired, and the mental change after a good night's sleep, form a little episode worthy the epic muse. He stripped off the entire bark of a tree for a coverlet in the snow-storm,

y before us, the custom was to black our faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit, through resignation, a temper as cheerful as in the midst of plenty." This wise and dignified pr

of them as, on the whole, taciturn, because their range of topics is so limited, and seems to have seen nothing of their talent for narration. Catlin, on the contrary, describes them as lively and garrulous, and says, that their appa

a trader, the traits of his biography and intercourse with the Indians, are told in t

creted some chocolate. When he saw his companions ready to lie down and die, he would heat water, boil in it a square of this, and give them. By the heat of the water and the fancy of nourishment, they would be revived, and induced to proceed a little further. At last they saw antlers sticking up from the ice, and found the body of an elk, which had sunk in and been frozen there, and

"The Weepers," on account of the rites with which th

notice of a chief, ca

ather darker than that of the Indians in general. His appearance was greatly injured

all his safety in this portion of his proper substance! His hair was the fountain of all his happiness; it was his strength and his weapon-his spear and his shield. It preserved him in battle, directed him in the chase, watched over him in the march, and gave length of days to his wives and children. Hair, of a quality like this, was not to be profaned by the touch of human hands. I was assured that it n

him at Mackinaw, with a design to frighten him, and one to Carv

eir bodies were naked, from the waist upwards, except in a few examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over the shoulders. Their faces were painted with charcoal, worked up with grease; their bodies with white clay in patterns

far the handsomest I had ever seen, coming towards me, and dancing as they approached to the m

d perceived that some parts of the war-dance were intermixed with their other movements, I doubted not but they were set on by the hostile chief who refused my salutation. I therefore determined to se

elf have carried terror to the firmest heart; at the end of every period they struck their war-clubs against the poles of my tent with such violence, that I expected every moment it would have tumbled upon us. As each of them in dancing round passed by me, they placed their ri

, however, in the

here he was pilot of an unknown course for twenty days, as Murray and Henry have of theirs. There is nothing mor

uable work. The portraits of the chiefs alone woul

rake's Book of the Indians; which will afford

few of them, as especia

recall, was said of that of the Seeress of Prevorst, and the circumstance presents pleasing analogies. Intellect dawning through features still simple and nationa

he face that of a Madonna, but the forehead is still savage; the perceptive faculties look so sharp, and the forehead not moulded like a European forehead.

, as if on a distant object. That is half the romance of it, th

when considered as mad by his tribe, while bent on the invention of his alphabet,

thing can better represent the sort of unfeelingness the whites have towards the Indians, than their conduct towards his remains. He had steadily opposed the introduction of white religion, or manners, among the Indians. He believed that for them to break down the barriers was to perish. On many occasions he had expresse

there." In defiance of this last solemn request, and the invariable tenor of his life, the missionaries seized the body and

ase he should be crowned with success. When he was so, he first went through a fast, and sacrificial dance, involving great personal torment, and lasting several day

though not in motive, less noble, because this great chief propos

Plant of his earl

fs, father and son, who had the wisdom to see the true

if they ever got out, he would kill him, and did so. The son, then a boy, came in his rage and sorrow, to this Indian, and insulted him in every way. The squaw, angry at this, urged her husband "to kill

a great brave, and the anecdotes about h

ew solitary and useless days, than he a young existence full of promise. But he could not abide by this view, and after suffering awhile all the anguish of remorse, he put himself solemnly to death in the

ill subsisted. The fire was kindled, the victim, a young female captive, bound to the stake, the tribe assembled round. The young brave darted throug

one ventured a word of resentment or question. His father, struck by truth, endeavored, and with success, to abolish th

these acts. His reply deserves sculpture: "When I did it, I knew not that it

ng to the civilized Good, shows himself sensible to the grand simplicity of heroic i

wever handsome, look vulgar beside the pure

aking leave with kindness, as a private friend, of the American officers; but, as a foe in national

h his eye turned to the greatness of the past, rather than the scanty promise of the future. Hearing of the wampum belts, supposed to have been sent to our tribes by

shall be well contented if we can have a collection of genuine fragments, that will in

the truth, if made in a sympathizing spirit. Adair's Red Shoes, Murray's old man, Catlin's noble Mandan chief, Henry's Wa-wa-tam, with what we k

by official intercourse at Washington, Catlin's collection, and a picture gallery as complete as can be made, with a co

simple narrative. Let what will happen, or who will go back, he cannot; he must find the sea, along those frozen rivers, through those starving countries, among tribes of stinted men, whose habitual interjection

o lived on fish, and held them in such superstiti

just what we want to hear, and no more. The traits given of Indian generosity are as characteristic as those of Indian cruelty. A lady, who was saved by a friendly chief holding her under the waters of the lake, while the balls were whizzing around, received also

untry, felt themselves justified by their superior civilization and religious ideas. Had they been truly civilized or Christianized, the conflicts which sprang from the collision of th

which sprang, from terror and suffering, on the European sid

t of heroic and patriotic self-defence, according to the standard of right and motives prescribed by his religious faith and education. Looked at by his own standard, he is virtuous when he most injures his enemy, and the white, if he be

gent men be left to act unimpeded in their behalf, they would do far better for them than the white thinker, with all his general knowledge. But we dare not hope the desi

owers of Cain, in a sphere where the accents of purity and love come on the ear more decisively than in ours. Let every legislator take the subject to heart, and if he cannot undo the effects of past sin, try for that clear view and ri