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TO THE
CHEVALIER C. C. J. BUNSEND, D. C. L., &c.,
OF PRUSSIA
AUTHOR OF THE "PHILOSOPHY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY;"
RECENT MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA AT
THE COURT OF LONDON,
&c. &c. &c.

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Letter to James Buchanan.

TO JAMES BUCHANAN, ESQ., PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR:
The first part of this work having been addressed to the President of the United States, and by him communicated to the Senate, it is deemed proper that the generalizations of the volumes should take the same direction.

The Indian tribes constitute an anomalous feature in our history. Recognised as a strongly-marked variety of mankind, they appear to be branches of oriental stocks, who relapsed into the nomadic state at primeval periods, and of whom no records, either oral or written, can now be found, to guide the labors of the historian. We are, in truth, better acquainted with the history of the antediluvians than with that of these tribes. Their geographical position, and their prior occupation of the continent, constitute the basis of an appeal to our benevolence; and they have a just claim on our nationality, which it were wrong to deny, and cruel to reject.

In 1847, Congress recognising this relation, and being desirous of giving certitude to the scanty information then possessed respecting them, directed the statistics of the tribes to be collected and published, together with such other facts as might serve to illustrate their history, condition, character and prospects; thus presenting them to the public in their true light — neither overrated by exaggeration, nor underrated by prejudice.

Whatever relates to their actual history, as distinguished from their traditions, oral imageries, and cosmologies, must necessarily be of modern origin. The detailed narrative of aboriginal modern history has been traced, in chronological order, from the

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earliest debarkations of white men in Florida, Louisiana, and New Mexico, to the marked epoch of 1776; thence, through the twelve years, comprised within the revolutionary epoch and confederation, to 1789; and from the adoption of the present Constitution, through the consecutive thirteen presidential terms, of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and Van Buren.

As a slight introduction to the details of their statistics, a sketch of their ancient status has been attempted. With the Indian the past has ever been a conjectural era: he regards it as a golden age; it is the dream-land of his fertile imagination; and his ideas of it are generally found, upon analyzation, to be derived from oral traditions, reminiscences, or fabulous inventions. Success in the pursuit of inquiries in this ancient historical field can only be attained through the medium of the languages and antiquities, and the study of the mental constitution and general ethnological phenomena of the race — all demanding the most mature labor and research.

Trusting that the desiderata here offered may have the tendency to direct public attention to the tribes, and merit and receive your consideration,

I am, with high respect,
Your obt. servant,
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

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Report.

TO THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.

WASHINGTON, October 30th, 1857.

SIR:
Conformably to a provision contained in the act of March 3d, 1855, I now report to you that the generalizations required by that act have, so far as time permitted, been completed. Owing to inherent difficulties the statistical inquiry has, from its inception, been one of ora et labora. Both the Indian and the local officials have been either adverse to the object, imprecise in their statements, or generally indifferent to the investigation, but yet, notwithstanding every discouragement, the tables now submitted, which are the result of elaborate researches, are believed to be more accurate and comprehensive than any previously obtained. They are entirely freed from those duplications of synonyms, and exaggerations of estimates, which have been inseparably connected with the topic during the lapse of two centuries. By my letter of the 10th of February last, the office was apprized of the impossibility of compressing all the necessary condensations and synoptical papers within the present limits; nor has it been practicable, notwithstanding the elisions, abridgements, and segregations made, to present more than a sketch of their ethnography.

It was essential that a summary narrative of the modern history of the tribes should be submitted, which carries this subject down from the earliest times to the period of the annexation of Texas, when a more completely nomadic and predatory class of tribes were brought into intercourse with the government. The admission of Texas was but the prelude to the subsequent acquisition of New Mexico, California, and the Pacific coasts, to the Straits of Fuca; thus extending the national jurisdiction over the wide area of the Indian territory, from Oregon east to the Missouri river. Most of these tribes furnish but trifling information that could be embraced under the head of statistics. Roaming over vast areas, cultivating little, and often failing by their exertions to secure the scant means of subsistence, their very existence as tribal communities presents a problem which is somewhat difficult of solution. White men, who possessed industry, care, and foresight in such a limited degree, would certainly perish. Destitute of arts or agriculture, possessing no domestic animals, and nothing at all that deserves the name of a government, it should excite no surprise that public sympathy is frequently appealed to on their behalf, to avert from them the impending horrors of pestilence or starvation. Nearly all the tribes who shelter themselves in

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the gorges, or wander over the summits of the Rocky Mountain chain, are, to a greater or less extent, robbers, thieves, and bandits.

With this class of tribes our intercourse has ever been imperfect and tardy; and we are mainly indebted to the potency of the military arm, for the power to resist their fierce inroads, and keep them in actual check. The difficulties of a system of management, so perplexing at all times, is increased at such remote points, on a continually progressive frontier, by the fluctuations incident to the organization of the department, and the changes in its subordinate officials. Much of the country is a terra incognita, and some of the agents located at remote points have not been in a position to report at all. Most of the tribes, conscious of having but little to exhibit, have been unwilling to report their condition.

If but scanty information regarding their resources and means has been obtained from the nomades of the prairies and mountains, it may tend to relieve the disappointment, to say, that but little was expected from these predatory and furtive tribes. From the other class, comprising the older tribes of the Union, whose appellatives have been the familiar by-words in our frontier history during two centuries, and who have fled from the Atlantic to the Alleghanies, and thence to the Mississippi, as civilization pressed on in their rear, very different details have been gleaned. Participating in the benefits derivable from attention to labor and the arts, from equal laws and general instruction, they have, as the enlarging circle of civilization advanced, embarked in agricultural life with more or less avidity and success, adopted pastoral habits, and accepted education, as well as the principles of social life. They now prominently stand forth as a body of firm and sober-minded men, ready to move forward in the path of progress, and to enter on the noble career of civil and social life. Such are the Choctaws and Chickasaws, the Creeks and Cherokees.

Reference to details will denote the distinguishing classes of the aboriginal tribes. All the most advanced tribes have passed through the trying ordeal of our colonial history, subject to the triple discouragements of indulgence, and the cupidity and contempt of European races. Foremost in the band of reclaimed aborigines stands the Appalachian group above named; and there is no just reason to conclude that the Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, and other advanced members of the three great ethnologic groups, may not attain equal prominence in morals and industry.

It is desirable that the hiatus in the history, from 1841 to the present time, should be supplied. It would also tend to fulfil a high object, interesting alike to America and Europe, if curt vocabularies and grammars of the several languages were prepared, by means of which their ancient history, and former connection with other races of the globe, might be investigated.

Very respectfully, sir,
Your obedient servant,
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

To J. W. DENVER, ESQ.

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Preface.

THE Indians have been prejudged, misjudged, and subjected to harsh judgments in various ways. Respecting the origin of the tribes, and the manner in which the continent may have been peopled, Charlevoix, in 1721, after an elaborate examination of all that had been written on the subject, expresses the opinion that "we seem to be just where we were before this great and interesting question began to be agitated." He thus affirms the universality of their manners: "To see one, is to see all."

A century later, viz: in 1826, an astute observer and fluent writer, who has since attained eminence as a statesman, lays especial stress on that general uniformity of traits and character, and rigid adherence to preconceived standards of manners, customs, and institutions, which so characteristically marks the race. At their discovery, he remarks.

"From Hudson's Bay to Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, the country was possessed by numerous petty tribes, resembling each other in their general features, separated into independent communities, always in a state of alarm and suspicion, and generally on terms of open hostility. These people were in the rudest state of society, wandering from place to place, without science, without arts (for we cannot dignify with the name of arts the making of bows and arrows, and the dressing of skins). They were without metallic instruments, without domestic animals; raising a little corn by the labors of their women, with a clam-shell, or the scapula of a buffalo; devouring it with savage improvidence, and subsisting, during the remainder of the year, on the precarious supply furnished by the chase, or by fishing. They were thinly scattered over an immense extent of country, fixing their summer residence upon some little spot of fertile land, and roaming with their families, or their mat, or skin houses, through the forests, in pursuit of the animals necessary for food and clothing.

"Of the external habits of the Indians, if we may so speak, we have the most ample details. Their wars, their amusements, their hunting, and the most prominent facts connected with their occupation and condition, have been described with great prolixity, and, doubtless, with much fidelity, by a host of persons, whose opportunities for observation have been as different as the times and places, and the eras in which they have written. Eyes have not been wanting to see, tongues to relate, nor pens to record, the incidents which from time to time have occurred. The eating of fire, the swallowing of daggers, the escape from swathed buffalo skins, and the juggling incantations

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and ceremonies by which the lost is found, the sick is healed, and the living killed, have been witnessed by many, who believed what they saw, but who were grossly deceived by their own credulity, or by the skill of the Indian wabeno. But, of the moral character and feelings of the Indians, of their mental discipline, and their peculiar opinions, mythological and religious, and of all that is most valuable to man, in the history of man, we are about as ignorant as when Jacques Cartier first ascended the St. Lawrence."

Such was the state of society in which the aborigines were found, and such have the wild foresters remained to the present day. To enlarge the record from which the tribes must be judged; to ascertain their names, numbers, position, and statistics; to mitigate error, and induce precision; and to bring into one comprehensive view a body of fresh and authentic facts, derived from personal observation, which might be useful alike to the statist and moralist, appeared, in the year 1837, to be an object worthy the attention of the national legislature. Congress did not merely require a record of arithmetical figures, to decide the relative numbers between the sum total and the divisor of a tribe's annuity — but sought also to control its appropriation, and to direct it to objects suited at once to arrest their extinction, to promote their well-being, and advance in the scale of life.

No general history of the tribes has been written. The numerous local histories, prolix in themselves, commonly begin and end with a limited geographical boundary, or the hunting-grounds of a tribe, or family of analogous bands. The New England tribes have been most frequently associated in this view. The Indian is a man who has but little respect for artificial boundaries, or indeed for any kind of limits to his freedom of geographical action; while all observers bear testimony that he exhibits, over vast areas, the same features, manners, customs, and physical traits of a national race.

Of the numerous local publications referred to, Mr. Colden's History of the Five Nations is by far the most comprehensive, clear, and exact. It is only to be regretted that the narrative terminates in 1698, with the period of the treaty of Ryswick, at which time William and Mary were seated on the British throne. The opening of the eighteenth century was, in fact, the period from which these confederated tribes assumed their most formidable power. In 1712, they were joined by the Tuscaroras from North Carolina, who constituted the sixth member of the confederacy. During a period of forty years, while the head-quarters of the British superintendency of Indian affairs in North America was located in their territories, they were most important auxiliaries to the British armies in their contests with New France, and served reputably in the final conquest of it in 1760.

The Iroquois power had virtually predominated over all the tribes from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Mississippi, with the exception of the Appalachian group. This power had apparently originated in extensive ancient Indian wars, and in the overthrow of populous tribes, considerably advanced in arts and industry,

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who were located in the Mississippi valley. The influence acquired during three centuries prior to the landing of the English in Virginia, had placed them in such an impregnable position, that no single tribe could cope with them. Their power was strengthened and their influence extended by the deference paid to them by the colonies, which became most obvious during the long-protracted contest for supremacy in America, waged between England and France. The brief period which elapsed between 1760 and 1776, was employed to invigorate and consolidate their confederacy by a closer alliance with the British, with whose commanders and their forces they became favorites. When they had reached the culminating point of their history, they were, with the exception of one tribe, namely, the Oneidas, impelled, with bitter and desolating force, against the Americans. The triumph of the Revolution was, however, the tocsin of their defeat, and resulted in the tacit dismemberment of the time-honored Onondaga league. A few decades they lingered on in a state of political inaction, dwelling on reminiscences of the glory of former days. The war of 1812, in which they were urged to participate by Great Britain, found them indisposed to engage in a second contest. Tecumseh had no aid from the Iroquois. The war-paths of olden times were obliterated; symbolically speaking, their ears were sealed; and, when that contest closed, they forever laid aside the warlike hatchet, and turned their attention to agriculture. The tomahawk was exchanged for the plough, the school-house, and the Gospel.

The other stocks of Indians who, next in order to the Iroquois, figured prominently on the continent, were the Algonquins and Appalachians. The Algonquins were ever the staunch friends and allies of the French. They defeated Braddock on the Monongahela, and secured success for the arms of Montcalm on the waters of Lake George. The Appalachians, who had successfully opposed De Soto, maintained their position in the south. Clinging to the coast lines of the Gulf of Mexico as their inheritance, they, by their activity and bravery, repelled the repeated Spanish invasions. There was still another stock, residing on the banks of the Gila and of the Rio Grande del Norte, who made vigorous, though, as events proved, unavailing efforts to oppose the domination of the Spaniards. The Dakotah history is of modern date.

The causes which brought the Indians into conflict with the colonies were general in their operation, and founded on the same principles. They loved their hunting-grounds, highly prized their independence, exulted in their freedom from all the restraints of labor, and spurned the maxims of civilization. It imported not what were the originating causes of hostility, nor the sources of misunderstandings; the Indians were sure, in the end, to find national maxims to defend their conduct, if they did not sustain their policy.

The ruins of Checheticali, of Peos, of the platform mounds of Florida, and of the Mississippi valley, bearing evidences of cultivation and arts beyond that now possessed, supply archaeological materials which invite learned research. The tribes on this

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ample field, spreading from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior, create an impression that these regions were once occupied by others possessing similar manners, who far exceeded in numerical strength, resources, and energy of character, the tribes actually occupying the country at the period of the discovery. Traditions of the Kaskaskia and Tuscarora Indians make direct reference to ancient Indian wars and contentions.

There are evidences also in minor monumental reliquiae, that a foreign people had trod the American shores before the era of Columbus, or the planting of Virginia. These are purely topics of literary research.

We are, perhaps, at fault in attaching less interest to the remote origin of an unfortunate family of the human race, and to their ancient history, than should be felt. Better results could be hoped for, were as much enthusiasm displayed in regard to this subject as a naturalist evinces respecting the color, geometrical shape, rays, macula, or formation of a leaf, the angles of a crystal, or the organic structure of a fish, an insect, a shell, or a lobster. Could this intense predominancy of physical over moral investigations be reversed, the archaeologist might not despair of being able to penetrate through the intensity of the gloom overshadowing their ancient history.

Compared to the Indian tribes who occupied the southern parts of the continent, the Vesperic families of North America were characterized by greater personal energy, manliness, eloquence, and power of thought. If they evinced the pristine traits of nomadic habits, in the chase and war, and by relying on the spontaneous products of the forest, they were also remarkable for greater vigor of constitution and character than the southern tribes. Nationality had not exerted, as it did in the tropics, such unpropitious influences on individuality. They were bold and free. Private, and not municipal, or public works, absorbed their energies. No imperial cacique, or Inca, had arisen to place on their necks the dynastic yoke of either ecclesiastical or civil despotism. The voluntary labor expended on the construction of an earth-mound by the population of a village, and the compulsory toil exacted by the erection of a teocalli, or pyramid, are the examples of the two extremes of the Indian polity.

The Indian of these latitudes is an instance of the inherent love of liberty; in his breast the passion for independence subduing every other. This, as the tribe increased in numbers, and extended its domain, was favored by the magnificence and fresh exuberance of the immense forests and fertile valleys of the temperate latitudes — forests which yielded spontaneously all the necessary means for the support of life. The aborigines roved over domains which monarchs might be proud to own, and satraps and rajahs covet. They made voluntary offerings to gods of the elements, whom they regarded as subject to the rule of a cosmic Great Spirit. Horrific idols there were none, from the capes of Florida to the St. Lawrence — from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. Neither a Brahma, nor a Siva, a Gunga or a Juggernaut, received the

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knee-worship of millions. No victim of superstition plunged himself into a sacred stream; no widow sacrificed herself on the funereal pyre of her husband; no mother was the cruel murderess of her own female infant. The Great Spirit was adored as the giver and the taker of life.

Such were our Indians. They neither raised costly temples to false gods, nor paid taxes to man. Power was wielded upon the model of the patriarchal system. The father of a family was the head of his clan, and the ruler of his country. No frightful image of Teoyaomiqui, or of the sanguinary Huitzilopochtli, stood on the banks of the Ohio, the Susquehanna, the Mississippi, or the Niagara. No ruins like those of Papantla, of Cholula, or of the valley of Oaxaca, were found, to serve as monuments of past times, and indicate to posterity where the domestic circle of the hunter had been rudely invaded, his hearth-stone desecrated, and the liberties of a people utterly crushed.

Powhatan and Tamanund, Massasoit and Atatarho, were but the presiding chiefs of sachemdoms and bashabaries, the people of which were living in their primal state. Power and custom had not then degenerated into tyranny; religion required no human sacrifices. The prescriptive laws of war left to each tribe and clan the choice of its own totemic banner of skin or feathers, and, by leaving the hunter tribes untrammelled in their actions, secured to them the power of effectively refusing their assent to wars and conquests not approved. Their very mythology possessed a social feature in such imaginative creations as Iagoo, Quasind, Papukwis, and Pauguk. Even their demi-gods, Manabo and Hiawatha, were the impersonations of kindness and benevolence, and were regarded as having come down among the human race, with the feelings of men, to teach them arts and knowledge.

Such a people had some noble elements in their character. Fearless of death, brave in war, and eloquent in council, they were exemplifications of the highest perfection of the forester's state; and when, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, they endeavored to oppose the growth and spread of European colonization, their efforts were but attempts to cement more closely the links which had bound them together for unnumbered centuries. The hunter-state was symbolically the golden age, which it was deemed essential to guard with jealous vigilance. Around the frontiers they displayed a united front against the introduction of civilization, with its attendant arts, laws, industry, letters, and religion; the details of this opposition to the onward progress of the European race constitute materials for a voluminous and elaborate history.

A hurried collation of the incidents of their history during the long period of three centuries and a half, has necessarily rendered this view brief and summary. Attention was perpetually called from minutiae to results. The acts and principles of the Indian, like the symbolic characters of his pictography, must frequently be judged of by implication. Armies enter the field, or conceal themselves in ambush, and chiefs and sachems take a seat at the council-fire, to defend principles which the Indian feels are necessary

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to the preservation of his independence, but his conclusions he does not so much arrive at, by the power of ratiocination, as the dreams of fanatical delusions. If these minutiae should be traced up to every Indian battle-field, the narrative would become verbose, and the events perhaps possess but little general interest. The Indian race wastes away without regret, and without sympathy.

In forming an estimate of the man, in ascertaining his faults and virtues, studying his physical and mental development, and inquiring into his history, the author has spent many years of active life on the American frontier. To this object the exploration of its geography and mineralogy became, at length, subordinate; and if assiduity merited success, he might claim it. In presenting the results thus far obtained, he has availed himself of an extensive correspondence with residents in the Indian country, reaching, it is believed, to every prominent tribe between the Atlantic and the Pacific. To these observers in the field, acknowledgments are made passim. But personal inquiries, however efficiently made, are alone inadequate to the compilation of Indian history. Books are required; and whoever endeavors to trace the subject, will find many of these to be rare, and only extant in foreign libraries. The government, under whose liberal auspices these inquiries have been pursued, has not in any manner withheld these prerequisites; nor has the author failed, in one single instance, to obtain ready access to the leading libraries of the country. To no source, however, is he more indebted in this respect, than to Peter Force, Esq., of Washington, who, with his characteristic comity, placed his large and distinctive American library at all times freely at the disposal of the author.

To Capt. S. Eastman, who has illustrated the first four volumes of the work, and to the other eminent artists employed on it, painters and engravers, the public rest under obligations.

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
WASHINGTON, October 24th, 1857.

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Division First. — A Condensed View of the Post-Columbian; or, Modern Indian History.

Section First. — Introductory Considerations.

Chapter I. — The Indian Viewed as a Man Out of Society.

SAVAGE and civilized society have been regarded as presenting a necessary state of conflict. There is a perpetual opposition of thoughts, manner, and opinion — a perpetual struggle of races. It is not just to suppose that the civilization of Europe, at the settlement of this country, required more of the aborigines than it ought to have done. The very reverse is true. Civilization required him to quit hunting — religion required him to quit idolatry, and virtue required him to quit idleness. The Indian was gazed at with wonder, as a man without history, but he was not hated. Civilization combated only his errors and his moral delinquencies. Letters, labor, art, morals, Christianity, demanded no more of him, than they had previously demanded, fifteen centuries before, of the Britons, Celts, Franks, Danes, and Goths, and the predatory Angles and Saxons, from the banks of the Iser and the Weser. Man was created, not a savage, a hunter, or warrior, but a horticulturist and a raiser of grain, and a keeper of cattle — a smith, a musician — a worshipper, not of the sun, moon, and stars, but of God. The savage condition is a declension from this high type; Greece and Rome were in error on this point. The civil and social state was the original type of society for man, and it was just, therefore, to require a return to it. Those who pronounce the Indian a "noble race," only mean some gleams of a noble spirit, shining through the thick moral oxydation of barbarism. The exaltation of thought that sometimes bursts out from him is ennobling, because it represents in him

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a branch of original humanity — of man in ruins. A noble subject of philosophical and moral inquiry the Indian truly is, and this constitutes the animus of these investigations.

In any comprehensive view of the transference of civilization into the boundaries of savages, we must regard it, in every phasis, as a contest between two bitterly opposing elements. The one aiming to advance by the peaceful arts of the loom and plough; the other, by the tomahawk. It was ever as much a conflict of principle against principle, as of race against race. It was not the white man against the red man, but of civilization against savageism. It is a war of conditions of society. When the English landed in America, the hunter and the agricultural state grappled in deadly combat. It has been a perpetual struggle between labor and idleness, education and ignorance, sobriety and indulgence, truth and error. Safety was ever the result of caution and manual power during the early ages of the colonies; and this struggle, often fearful and of doubtful issue, continued till the population of the new or intrusive element reached its equilibrium. The lower orders of Hindoos are hated as a caste, the Indian only as the representative of a condition — and, as in all conflicts of a superior with an inferior condition, the latter must in the end succumb. The higher type must wield the sceptre. This is true in a moral as well as a political sense. The prophet announces that the nation and kingdom that will not serve the Lord shall perish. It is a useless expenditure of sentimental philanthropy to attribute the decadence of the Indian race to anything else. When the fiat had been uttered, "Thou shalt live by the sweat of thy brow," the question was settled. We sympathize with him, truly, but we do so with our eyes open.

The Indian tribes never appreciated the landing of Europeans in America as an advent of propitious omen. Far from it. "You are robbers and plunderers," said Vittachucco. They were, it is true, glad of its indulgences, and the products of arts and commerce. But they underrated its refinements and promises. They hated its schools and religion. At the call of commerce, they sprang with new vigor to the chase; but this soon became destructive of the very state they contended for, as it destroyed the animals upon which they subsisted.

The Indians having produced no historian, have never had the advantage of stating their side of the question. The native born philosopher of the woods averred, that God had made him exactly as he ought, and had given him arts and knowledge suited to his sphere. He was prone to refer to his past history as a golden age. The Great Spirit in his view, was exclusively a God of kindness, not of holiness. All the Red man's elaborate cogitations were of the past. His sages represented the future as a sphere of rewards, not of punishments; deeming this life to be a scene of such vicissitude, that the future was designed to be a theatre of compensations. It never entered into the Indian

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theory that justice was an attribute of the Deity. He did not fear, but rather loved death, and he sang his funeral song at the stake, with an assurance that he was on the eve of departing to a land of bliss. It is necessary to comprehend the Indian before we declare him to be void of reason. The Christian philosophy stood counter to all this. He hated Christianity, because he neither understood nor believed it. He denied that he had worshipped stocks and stones, the sun, moon, and stars, but affirmed that he had employed them merely to exhibit his offerings to a higher power. He avowed his belief in the Great I AM — the great IAU. Such were the teachings to be gathered from the words of Opechanganough, Tamenend, Sassacus, Passaconawa, Pontiac, Achinwa, and other eminent chiefs.

Resting in the conviction that his state was, in every respect, precisely that which the Overruling Power had designed, he turned a deaf ear to other theories, and modes of life, and obligations. He did not believe that his forefathers were not wise, and had not worshipped the Great Spirit aright. He could not comprehend that he himself was a savage. There is no word in the Indian language that means savage. They had no use for such a word. Christian philosophy taught that he lived in a state of very great declension from his original state; and that knowledge and ignorance, instead of being prejudged or fated conditions of men, as he believed, were but the mere results of human exertion, under the benign and universal law of original mental freedom of act and thought. Gall and sweetness could not be more opposite than these two theories. A war of conditions was the consequence. In this conflict the parties never more than half comprehended each other. Misunderstandings and dissatisfactions continued through centuries. Both parties were suspicious of each other to the last degree. The Indians were often cruel and treacherous. Arms were appealed to, when reason would have been better. But the teacher and the philanthropist, the humanitarian and the Christian, plied their cares with renewed vigor whenever the pauses in the contest rendered it practicable. For centuries together, councils and treaties, war and peace, succeeded each other with fitful and uncertain periods.

But whatever they thought of the advent of the Europeans, they by no means believed that the severe toil and high standard required in all moral, intellectual, and legal accountability between man and man, and God and man, were any equivalents for the idleness, the spasmodic pleasures, and the wild independence of the chase. Least of all, did they think it an improvement to give up their Jossakeeds and seers for Christian pastors. They adhered with tenacity to the power of a Great Manito, or a Wahconda — an Owayneo, or an Aba Inca. Such were, in an emphatic degree, the ideas and the Vesperic families of the United States Indian tribes.

The history is one, of an unfortunate and benighted branch of the human race, in which there is more cause of pity than blame. In narrating it, there is a perpetual

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and unavoidable conflict between barbarism and civilization. Sombre traits in the narration will sometimes be relieved by bright ones. The fiend will often change places with the hero and the noble minded. But there are no ruins of arts, no monuments of bygone thoughts and labors, to decorate the way. A rude piece of pictography on a rock, alike perpetuates, in doubtful characters, his triumphs over man and over beasts. A scroll of bark, inscribed with hieroglyphics, serves his memory to awaken his magic, or medicine songs. His consecrated meda sack, embraces those charmed articles which he supposes to be proof against disease; to render him invulnerable to the darts of his enemy; to draw the wild animals to his path; and to secure, in fine, the great objects of prosperity in life. He puts a pine stick, with marks, at the head of his loved and honored dead, not regarding its perishable nature, for he too, soon expects to perish and rejoin the person interred, in blissful scenes, to which he has been privileged first to go.

But in depicting such a history the survey can borrow no charm from arts, letters, or refinements. Even the semi-civilization to which some of the tribes had reached in southern latitudes, he had not attained. But it cannot fail to be perceived, in the references we shall make to these tribes, that if he had not reached their attainments in agriculture, and the erection of buildings and temples, he had also escaped their brutal idolatry, loss of all personal independence, and loose and corrupt manners. The only merit, therefore, to which the narrative can aspire, will be to depict things in their true light and true order, with simplicity and clearness. The task itself has not been voluntarily undertaken, nor would it have been assumed as one of public duty, had it not been for the occasion it presented of throwing around the subject a body of authentic materials, illustrative of their mental habitudes, and their present condition and prospects; and thus, promising to furnish a true basis for the governmental policy to be pursued with them as tribes and nations, and for the pursuit of the momentous object of their reclamation and salvation as men.

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CHAPTER II. — Geographical Area Occupied — Ethnographical Position of the Principal Stocks.

THE tribes, on the planting of the colonies, rather roved over than occupied the continent. To hunt the deer and go to war were their prime employments. Powhattan called himself a king in Virginia, and Massasoit in Massachusetts. But the governing power of their kingdoms was a rope of sand, and the Indian society so many camps of anarchy. This was a necessary result of the hunter-state, which is bound together by slight cords, and always requires large districts of forest to lie in the wilderness condition, that wild animals may multiply.

Another striking trait in the Indians was, that they existed in an infinite variety of tribes and septs. Every great valley, lake, or mountain-range, had its separate tribe, although, when closely examined, the languages proved them to be only speaking dialects of a few parent stocks. In all the range of the North Atlantic there were not over three or four generic stocks, and not apparently more than seven in the entire area east of the Mississippi river. These were the Algonquins, Iroquois, and Floridians or Appalachians, and the Cherokees, Utchees, and Natchez or Chigantualguas.

The era assumed for this survey is 1512. De Leon had landed in Florida. Cabot and Cortereal had seen the Indians of the North Atlantic shores, ten or fifteen years earlier. Casting the eye over the map of North America, from the influx of the St. Lawrence, along the indentations of the coast, successively settled by the British colonies, reaching to the latitude of Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, the country was occupied by the multiplied and affiliated tribes of the Algonquin stock. Hence, appeared a family of littoral tribes, who extended along the coasts of the Carolinas, of whom not a soul is known to be living. In the latitude of St. Helena, Broad river,

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and the Combahee, the Spanish called them Chicoreans, but they are known to English history as Yamassees.

Tradition assigns the next place to the Utchees, but they had been, at the earliest dates, subdued by the Muscogees or Creeks, and the remainder, who had escaped the calamities of war, had been adopted into the Creek confederacy, which is a prominent member of the Appalachian group.

Geographical names, still existing, denote that the Muscogees extended, at the colonization, from the Coosahatchee, in South Carolina, through Georgia to the Appalachicola, embracing both its branches, to the Tallapoosa, and the Alabama. Their most ancient seat of power was on the Altamaha, whence, about the settlement of South Carolina, it was removed to Wetumpka. The Seminole tribe of this people extended down to the peninsula of Florida. The Muscogees were conquerors coming from the west, and they had, past doubt, subdued or driven out prior occupants.

The coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Mobile bay, the lower parts of the Alabama, Tombigbee, and the Pascagoula, to the Mississippi, were occupied by the Choctaws. The Natchez, a people of apparently Toltec origin, occupied a position along the banks of the Mississippi, from a point nearly opposite the Red river to the mouth of the Yazoo. North of the territory of the Natchez, began the boundary of the Chicka-saws, reaching east to the head of the Tombigbee, and extending up the left banks of the Mississippi, and into the Ohio, through the present States of Tennessee and Kentucky.

The Cherokees occupied the termination of the Appalachian, neither reaching to the Atlantic, the Gulf, or the Mississippi. In this secluded position, abounding in pure streams of water and fertile valleys, they had lived from ante-historical times. The Cumberland river anciently bore their name, and appears to have been their outlet to the Ohio valley.

At the point where the jurisdiction of the Chickasaws ceased, a professedly neutral war-ground existed, which has received the name of Kentucky, and which was in part occupied at a subsequent time by the Shawnees, an Algonquin tribe. From this point, eastwardly and north-westwardly, the Algonquin group extended over the Alleghanies to the Powhatanic tribes of lower Virginia, the Susquehannocks of Maryland, and the Lenni Lenapees of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Munsees of New Jersey, and the Manhattans and Mohicans of New York and all New England.

The Algonquins, thus widely spread and divided into septs and tribes, also extended

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west of the Ohio under the name of Shawnees, Kaskaskias, and Illinois, along the banks of the Mississippi to a point near the entrance of Rock river. There the Chippewas, Ottowas and Pottawattamies, Miamies, and kindred tribes, spread eastwardly and northerly to the shores of Lake Michigan, the Straits of Michilimackinac, the basins of Lake Huron, St. Clair, the Straits of Detroit, the Miami, the Muskingum, and the Wabash. This group of tribes also extended, under the name of Chippewas and Kelistenos, through the straits and river St. Mary, to and around the borders of Lake Superior, and thence, west and northwest, to the sources of the Mississippi. Under the name of Crees, or Kelistenos, they extended their conquests along the line of the Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, and through the great Lake Winnepek, to the waters of the Churchill or Missi-neepi [much water] river. They pushed their conquests west of the Suscatchewine to its falls, where, as we perceive from comparisons of language, they acquired the name of Blood Indians, and finally of Black feet, with which name they reached the banks of the Missouri. Under the name of Mushkeags, Gens de Terre, and other nicknames, they extend to the Nelson, and the lower part of Churchill, river, of Hudson's Bay, and thence through the broken and sphagnous regions to the St. Lawrence, and by its northern shores, through the Lake Nepissing, to the great chain of the upper lakes. The whole of New England was covered with tribes of this generic stock. Such a diffusion and dispersion of a group of tribes, has no parallel in North America, and it indicates an original energy of character which is noteworthy. There were not less than twenty degrees of latitude along the north Atlantic, occupied by the Algonquins in their divisions, covering the entire area between the Mississippi river and the Ocean. Within the immense area of Algonquin and Appalachian occupancy, the Iroquois had intruded themselves before the country was discovered. The Iroquois were the Goths of North America. Where the point of their original growth to nationality was, it is difficult to determine, as well as to account how the Indian mind developed that power of confederation and combination, both civil and military, which made them the terror of the Indian tribes of North America. Writers have not been wanting to suggest the existence of a Grecian element in their languages and character. Their own traditions (vide Vol. V., p. 631) deduce their origin from the waters of the great Kanawaga, or St. Lawrence. But language discloses the fact that, at the earliest dates, tribes of this stock occupied upper Virginia and North Carolina, under the names of Mohicans and Tuscaroras. This subject will be examined in its proper place. However they may have wandered, their

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seats of power at the opening of the sixteenth century were in western New York. They were not littoral, but interior tribes, although they had, at ante-historical dates, carried their conquests down the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna, and the Alleghany.

The Iroquois, by occupying this central position on a broad summit of fertile tableland, favorable for raising the zea maize and abounding in game, had a position of unrivalled advantages. The leading rivers towards the north, the east, west, and south, originated on this summit, which gave them the power of descending rapidly into the enemy's country, and, by abandoning their water craft, or leaving it at a fixed point, returning scatheless by land. Thus they had conquered the Mohicans, the Delawares, Susquehannocks, and others, spreading the fame and the fear of their arms from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi.

West of the Mississippi there were two generic stocks of great importance. They were the Dakotahs or Sioux, and the Shoshonees. The geographical limits of these tribes were also immense; and they were divided into languages, and dialects, and clanships, even more numerous than the Algonquins, Iroquois, and Appalachians.

First in influence of these two stocks, and in the savage energies, manners, and customs, are the Dakotahs, or Sioux. Like the Algonquins, the Iroquois and the Appalachians, who had crossed the Mississippi at different points, at early epochs, they appeared to have come from the south and south-west. At the era denoted for these researches, they spread from the Red river, and the Arkansas, up the valley of the Mississippi, on its western borders, to its sources, having, at early dates, extended themselves eastward to the head of the great lake chain. They embraced the Arkansas, Quappas, Cadrons, Witchetaws, Osages, Kanzas, Pawnees, Iowas, Ottoes, Omahaws, and Missourians, Arickarees, Minatarees, Tetons, Yanktons, and other known Sioux tribes. The Assinaboins, a Sioux tribe with an Algonquin name, were the most northerly tribal element of this ethnographic horde. One of their tribes, the Issati, were found on the head of Lake Superior in Hennepin's day; another, the Winnebagoes, also a Dakotah tribe with an Algonquin cognomen, were seated at Green Bay, at La Salle's first visit, and have but recently retraced their steps, under the removal movement, to the west of the Mississippi.

The Shoshonees have, from the remotest times, occupied the plateaux, and summits, and valleys, of the Rocky Mountains. Lewis and Clark found them to possess its summits in latitude 48° in 1805. Fremont found them spread over the latitude of 42° in 1840. Under the name of Bonacks, and Root Diggers, they have excited compassion, being often reduced to live on roots and larva. Under the name of Niunas, or Cumanches, they cover Texas. The Utahs are, linguistically, Shoshonees. Under this name they are the scourge of New Mexico, and constitute the unreliable and

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perfidious of the tribes of the Territory of Utah. California and Oregon have numerous bands and clans of the Bonacks.

Besides the five prominent stocks of Algonquins, Iroquois, Appalachians, Dakotahs and Shoshonees, there existed, intercalated as it were at wide points, the small tribes of Natchez, Utchees, and the ancient Corees and Chicoras, of Georgia and the Carolinas. The Eries and Andastes, the Mundwa, the Attuckapas, the Mascotins, and Allegans, occupied minor positions.

To the entire groups of tribes, east, west, north, and south, the name Vesperic may be applied, as a term geographically limited to the exact area of the United States.

36 Section Second. — First European Acquaintance With the Indian Tribes.

Chapter I. — Original Continental Point of Observation.

THE first Indian tribe recognised in America was the Caribs. They revealed themselves to the wondering eyes of Europeans with that peculiar set of physiognomical features and traits, physical and mental, which have been found to be generic throughout the continent. The Caribs were a mild and indolent people, who, living in a delightful tropical climate, were nearly in a state of nudity. They subsisted on spontaneous fruits, and the productions of the sea coasts. They were without anything which deserve the name of industry, arts, or government. The island of Hayti, the central point of their location, was but one of the Caribbean group, which stretches, in the form of a bow, from the capes of Florida, over seven degrees of latitude, to near the mouth of the Orinoco; and their residing in the beautiful district of Xaraqua, the elysium of the Antilles, and the memory of their thoughtless lives of pastoral ease, singing and dancing, and the fate and fortunes of their beautiful Queen Annacoand, wreathed in flowers, are the only mementoes we have that the Carib nation existed.

If history has awarded the just meed to Columbus of having first, in 1492, displayed the flag of civilization to the Caribbean group of tribes, it has been equally ready to ascribe to Cabot, in 1497, the merit of unfolding the British type of it to the Vesperic groups of hunter tribes between the St. Lawrence and the capes of Florida. No attempt at colonization was made by the latter. Nearly an entire century passed away

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before the English began to colonise. Meantime Spain had early discovered Florida, a name once covering the whole continent from the tropics to the Arctic; and it is to her that history must ascribe the first discovery of a more vigorous and formidable class of tribes, who existed north of the Gulf of Mexico, namely, the Appalachians, Chicoreans, and Cherokees. Against these tribes, supposing the country to conceal those treasures of gold and silver which Mexico had so abundantly yielded, she commenced that series of extraordinary expeditions, which almost equal the Crusades for the spirit and enthusiasm which they generated. A few details will suffice to show this.

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Chapter II. — The Landing of Ponce de Leon in Florida, and of Lucas Vasquez in the Ancient Chicora.

1512.

IT had required but twenty years to spread the Spanish power from St. Domingo, through the Caribbean islands and around the Cuban shores, to the straits of Florida. Ponce de Leon, in 1512, landed on the peninsula of Florida, as if he was about to realise the long-taught fable of the garden of the Hesperides. To his imagination its crystal fountains appeared, as the natives had depicted them, as the fountains of youth. It is known that the vast tertiary deposits of marine sands of this peninsula yield copious springs of the most transparent water. That these pure springs should excite the admiration and superstition of the Indians, and lead them to believe in extravagant notions of their sanative qualities, is not strange, nor that reports of their extraordinary virtues should be carried to the neighboring coasts of Cuba. But it is amazing that such stories should gain belief, even in the low state of medical knowledge at the opening of the sixteenth century.

With such notions, however, De Leon landed. The balmy airs of a tropical spring, redolent with the aroma of flowers, which met and saluted his senses on landing, was not calculated to dispel his prior notions of an elysium. But from the fact of the day of his discovery being Easter Sunday, and the luxuriance of the vegetation, he named the country Florida. He was informed that some of their limpid springs were of such wonderful virtue, that they would restore the vigor of youth to the person who bathed in them. In search of these fountains of youth he roved over the country. By these excursions the suspicions and animosity of the Indians were excited, and he at last paid the forfeit of his life for his credulity, having died in Cuba from wounds received. Geographical truth is of slow growth. From this time Florida appears to have been regarded as a garden of Hesperides. It chanced that a Spanish mariner named Miruela, visited the sea coasts of Georgia and Carolina in quest of traffic with the natives. In this traffic he received some small quantity of gold. The incident created a sensation on his return to St. Domingo, where a commercial company was formed to

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prosecute the discovery thus made. Several men in official positions engaged in this, the principal of whom, was Lucas Vasquez D'Allyon. Two vessels were dispatched to the coast, prepared for the trade. These reached the mouth of the river Combahee, in South Carolina, where a profitable traffic ensued. The coast is called Chicora, and the Indians Chicoreans. When the trade was finished the natives were invited to gratify their curiosity to go below decks, but they were no sooner got below than the hatches were closed, and the vessels immediately hoisted sail for St. Domingo. One of them foundered on the way, and all were lost. The other reached St. Domingo, and the Indians were sold as slaves.

In the meantime Vasquez D'Allyon had visited the court of Spain, and made such representations of the regions of Chicora and its natives, that he returned with the commission of Adalantado of the newly discovered country, with authority to found a colony. On reaching St. Domingo, a squadron of three ships, with Miruela for chief pilot, was fitted out for the purpose, and guides taken to conduct them to the scene. Entering by the straits of Helena, he proceeded to the mouth of the Combahee, where the largest of the three vessels was stranded. Here he resumed the traffic with the Indians. During this time nothing was revealed on their part, to indicate that they had any remembrance of, or resentment for, the carrying off of their countrymen. Having finished his trade, Vasquez went to seek a suitable site for his colony, and pitched on a spot on the waters of Port Royal sound, at, or perhaps a little south of, the present town of Beaufort, South Carolina. A part of his crews had landed, to prepare for the new town, a small number still remaining on board the vessels at anchor in the roadstead. They had hardly commenced their labors, when a deputation of the Combahee Indians arrived to invite the men to attend a great feast at the village at the mouth of the Combahee. Two hundred persons accepted this invitation, and were received and treated with the most friendly hospitalities. They were feasted for three days. When the feast was over and the men were sunk into a sound sleep, the Indians arose, near the break of day, and massacred the whole party. Not a man was spared. The Indians then proceeded, in hot haste, to the selected site of the new town of Vasquez, where they knew there was lax discipline. They fell on the parties of men in their disorganized state, and put many to death. A terrific tragedy ensued. Indian clubs, spears, and arrows, were arrayed against swords and matchlocks. Vasquez escaped, wounded, to his vessels, and died. Thus failed the first attempt to found a colony in the area of the United States. This incident furnishes a dark spot in Spanish colonial history, that has been but little dwelt on by historians.

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Chapter III. — France Enters the Field of Discovery. Verrazani, an Italian in Her Service, Discovers the Coast from the Latitude of Tropical Plants to New York and New England. He Lands in the Great Bay of Manhattan.

1524.

THE next reconnoissance of the Vesperic Atlantic coast tribes was made by John De Verrazani. France was not unobservant of events passing in the West Indies and Florida, and determined to share North America with Spain. Florida was then a geographical term, which comprehended all North America north of the Gulf of Mexico. Verrazani was a noted mariner in her service, an Italian, a native of Florence, who had been employed by France for some time, with four public vessels, in cruising against the Spanish commerce. Separated from his consorts in a tempest, he resolved to undertake a voyage of discovery, and reconnoissance, of the then unbounded region of Florida, on the North Atlantic. He left the outer isle of the Madeira group of barren isles, called the Deserters, on the 17th January, 1524. About the middle of March he made the coast, in latitude 34°, which is about the present position of Wilmington, North Carolina. Thence he sailed south in search of a harbor, to the appearance of "Palm trees," consequently to the area of South Carolina or Georgia. He then changed his course, holding towards the north, and, running down the coast, with occasional landings, till he reached his former latitude, found himself passing a flat diluvial coast of sand hills and islets, peopled with Indians, but without a harbor; he anchored off the coast, and landed. The Indians were in the greatest excitement, running to and fro in wonder and fear. Having, by signs of friendship, induced some of them to approach, they were gradually quieted, and brought him some provisions. They were naked, save an azian, or small apron of furs. They ornamented their heads with bunches of feathers.

They were well shaped, with black eyes, and straight black hair, and were very swift of

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foot. It is impossible, from so generic a description, to tell what group of tribes he was among, or what latitude he was in. If he saw, at this landing, "cypress, laurels, and palm trees," he had but hardly retraced his steps to latitude 34°, and, from the descriptions, was off the low sandy coasts of North Carolina, not remote from Cape Hatteras. Still sailing on, and coming to a part of the coast trending east, and seeing many fires ashore, and the natives friendly, he sent his boat ashore, but the surf was too violent to permit landing. One of the sailors here offered to swim ashore with some presents, but when he came near his fears prevailed, and, throwing out his presents, he attempted to return to the ship; but the waves cast him on the strand half-dead, and quite senseless. The Indians immediately ran to his assistance, carried him ashore, dried his clothes before a fire, and did everything to restore him. His alarm, however, was excessive. When they pulled off his clothes to dry them, he thought they were going to sacrifice him to the sun, which then shone prominent over the hills. He trembled with dread. As soon as he was restored, they gently led him to the shore, and then retired to a distance, until the ship's boat had been sent for him, and they saw him safely get on board.

Verrazani now went on, and observed the coast still trending northward. After a run of fifty leagues, he anchored off a fine forest country, where twenty of his men landed, and went two leagues into the interior. The Indians fled into the forest. The sailors caught an old woman and a young woman, hid in the grass. The old woman carried a child on her back, and had, besides, two little boys. The young woman had charge of three female children. Both shrieked vociferously as soon as they were discovered. The elder gave them to understand that the men had fled to the woods. She accepted something to eat at their hands, but the young woman refused it with scorn. She was a tall and well shaped person, and they tried to take her with them, but she made such cries and struggles, it was impossible. They took one of the boys.

These coast Indians had nets. Their canoes were made from solid trees, burned out with fire. Their arrows were pointed with bone. They were partly clothed with a vegetable tissue. No houses were seen. The trees denoted a more northerly climate, but had vines climbing to their very tops. Three days were spent in the reconnoissance of these manifestly ichtheopagi. He was now, evidently, on the coasts north of the capes of the Chesapeake, or of the Delaware, which were inhabited by numerous small tribes of the Algonquin family, who were without forest meats; subsisting chiefly on the productions of the sea coasts; who navigated the inlets and shores with log canoes, and used bone, and not flint, or hornstone, or jasper, as the material of fishing, hunting, and war. These bands stretched, apparently, along the entire Maryland and New Jersey coasts, to the Navasink mountain, and the Metoacs.

He continued his voyage along these coasts, until he came to the out-flow of a "large river," and, entering it, found a good harbor in north latitude 41°. This,

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historians determine to have been the bay of New York. It was thus an Italian footstep that was first planted on these shores. the surrounding country is described as being very pleasant. The Indians, who are pronounced a very fine race, showed him where the deep water was. A storm coming up, they landed on a well-cultivated island (probably Staten Island), beyond which spread the harbor, where they observed numerous canoes. We are indebted to Hackluyt, for preserving Verrazani's description of this harbor.

"This land is situated in the parallel of Rome, in forty-one degrees, two tierces, but somewhat more cold by accidental causes. The mouth of the haven lieth open to the south, half a league broad, and, being entered within it, between the east and the north, it stretcheth twelve leagues, when it weareth broader and broader, and maketh a gulf about twenty leagues in compass, wherein are five small islands, very fruitful and pleasant, full of high and broad trees, among the which islands any great navy may ride safe, without any fear of tempest or other danger."

In this ample harbor he remained fifteen days, during which he frequently sent his boat and men, and went ashore himself, to obtain supplies and examine the country. Some of the men stayed two or three days on one of the islands. Their excursions extended five or six leagues into the interior, which was found to be "pleasant, and well adapted to the purposes of agriculture."

With the natives, who were, as we now know, of the Mohican family of the Algonquins, he had frequent intercourse, and he speaks of them with kindness. They were uniformly friendly, and always accompanied his parties, in more or less numbers, ashore. He describes them as of a russet color, with large black eyes, black hair, of a good stature, well favored, of a cheerful look, quick witted, nimble and athletic. He compared them to Saracens and Chinese. The women wore ornaments of wrought copper; wood only was used in the construction of their wigwams, which were covered with coarse matting, called by him "straw."

This is the first description we have, of the great Algonquin family of the shores of the north Atlantic. Verrazani appears to have had an aptitude for observing the character and condition of the natives, and the geographical features of the country. The strong physical traits noticed by him, were confirmed by the observations, a hundred years later, of the respective landings in Virginia, under Raleigh, by Hudson in New York, and the English in Massachusetts.

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Having refreshed himself, and recruited his provisions at this point, on the 5th of May he continued his voyage northward; after a run of one hundred and fifty leagues, he discovered high lands overgrown with forests. The Indians were found to be of savage habits. They lived on roots and other spontaneous products. A large party of the crew, who landed here, were received with a volley of arrows. He continued his voyage to north latitude 56°, which, Forster observes, is about the position of Nain, on the coast of Labrador, and, having given the name of New France to his discoveries, he returned to Dieppe, whence he writes his letter to Francis I., bearing date 8th July, 1524.

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Chapter IV. — Spain Explores Florida. Narvaez Invades the Indian Territory, and Brings the Appalachian, or Floridian, Group of Tribes to Our Notice.

We are informed that the northern coasts of the Mexican gulf had been explored as early as 1516. Cordova discovered Yucatan in 1517, and, the following year, Grizalba commenced an exploration of the Mexican coasts. During the year which witnessed the fall of the Mexican empire, (1521), Garay received a royal patent to colonize the coasts of the Mexican gulf, stretching north of Panuco.

Pamphilio de Narvaez had been defeated, in 1520, by Cortez, at Zempoala, in an attempt to arrest him in his unauthorized career. After seven years' attendance at the court of Spain, expended in vain efforts to obtain redress for a gross civil and military wrong, he returned to Cuba, with the appointment of Adalantado of Florida, and the grant of full powers to conquer and govern the country. It is affirmed by De Vaca, that he left Spain in July, 1527, with six hundred men, well officered by cavaliers and gentlemen. Owing to incidental delays, at St. Domingo and Cuba, it was not until the 13th of April, 1528, that he landed at Tampico Bay, in Florida. His force had then been reduced to four hundred men, and forty-two horses. With this small army he entered a country, the geographical features of which opposed great obstacles to a direct march. It was covered with alternate thickets, lagoons, and swamps, and was soon found to be unable to yield an adequate subsistence for either the men, or the horses. Beside this, Narvaez had no interpreter through whom he could communicate with the Indians. This was the more to be regretted, because he was of a haughty and imperious temper, and aimed to strike terror into the natives by acts of tyranny and cruelty. He was thus continually exposed to be misunderstood and misapprehended. To ferret the Indians out of their impenetrable jungles and fastnesses, he carried bloodhounds along with him. He did not appear to know that the Indians, inured to the severest vicissitudes from infancy, and fortified by savage maxims, from age to age, are not possessed of very vivid sensibilities; and that acts of harshness, cruelty, and injustice, only served to infuriate and embitter their minds. Within a few leagues of his point of departure from the coast, he came to the village of a chief,

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named Hirrihagua, whom, for some non-performance, it would seem, of a former agreement, he mutilated by cutting off his nose, and also caused his mother to be torn in pieces by bloodhounds. The prestige of this act, spreading among the natives, caused the name of Spaniard to be hated.

Caba de Vaca represents the toil, and privations endured on this march, to be beyond all precedent in civilized warfare. When the soldier had journeyed through blind paths all day, he had nothing to refresh him at night; and, at every defile, he was subject to be harassed by a concealed foe, who fled when attacked, and no body of whom could be encountered together. The army was forty-seven days in marching to the Sawanee river.

But toilsome marches were the least of the difficulties Narvaez encountered. It does not seem possible for a commander to have evinced less knowledge of the geography and resources of the country. He had parted from Caba de Yaca, who did not like him, and had, after the first fifteen days, absolutely no commissariat. He was buoyed up with the prospect of soon arriving at some populous town, where he might find resources; but in this he was deceived by rumors and by the guides, whom he took, and compelled to serve him, beyond the Sawanee. The Indian name of one town after another was constantly used, as some catchword to inspire hope. At length expectation was centred on the name of "Apalache." For this point the army marched with renewed exertions, and thither it eventually arrived. It appears to have been an Indian village, on the waters of the Appalachicola river, called by Narvaez "Madalena." It consisted of forty humble Indian abodes, covered with cane or thatch. A dense forest of high trees, and several large bodies of water, surrounded it. The adventurers found fields of maize fit for plucking. There was also some ripe as well as dried maize, and stone mortars wherein to pound it. There were dressed deer skins in the lodges, and some woven mantalets of thread, made from a species of hemp. At first, the men had fled precipitately, leaving the women and children; but, opening negotiations, they returned to beg leave to carry off their families. Narvaez granted this, but detained the chief, to serve as a hostage for their good conduct. Next day they made a fierce attack on his camp, but he repulsed them, killing one man.

At Apalache he remained twenty-five days, recruiting the strength of his men, and of his horses. During this time, he procured some information respecting the country. The Indians represented it as abounding in great lakes and solitudes; that its population was small and scattered, there being no place at all equal to Apalache, where they then were. They stated that it was but nine days' march south, to the sea, and that there was a wealthy town in that direction, called "Aute."

For this location Narvaez therefore directed his course, but it soon appeared that the Indians' estimate of a day's march was widely different from his. After travelling

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fifteen days, he arrived at "Aute;" but his journey thither was obstructed by large bodies of water, in the passage through which, the Indians attacked the Spaniards with arrows, killing and wounding some of the men and horses. These Indians were men of fine stature, great activity, and expert and accurate bow-men. In these skirmishes two of the natives were killed. The town was found to have been abandoned, but the neighboring fields yielded an abundant supply of maize, beans, and pumpkins.

By this time, enough was ascertained to convince Narvaez that a part of his followers were engaged in a conspiracy. Nothing had transpired as had been expected. There were neither rich towns, nor mines, nor evidences of any high or respectable art, or civilization. They had found hostile tribes, separated by impassable fastnesses, and a country destitute of resources. Narvaez was unwell himself, his men dispirited, his horses reduced to skeletons, and everything presenting the worst aspect. In this exigency he resolved to find the sea, by journeying along the banks of the river, and, having done this without finding his fleet, he encamped at its mouth, designing to build boats with which to explore the coast towards the west. But how was this to be done without means, or tools? While pondering over his difficulties, a soldier came to him, and said, he could make pipes of wood, and convert them into bellows by the aid of deer skins. The idea was instantly acted on. It was only necessary to construct a blacksmith's forge, and immediately stirrups, spurs, cross-bows, &c., were converted into nails, saws, and axes. The pine yielded pitch. A kind of oakum was obtained from the palmetto. Hair from the tails of horses was twisted into ropes, and the shirts of the men supplied sails. The horses were killed, and their flesh used for food. The men searched the bays for oysters, while others were sent on perilous trips to forage for Indian corn. All worked so diligently that, in sixteen days, they had constructed five boats, each of which was twenty cubits long, and capable of containing fifty-six men; the remnant of the army comprising two hundred and eighty-one men.

Narvaez had now proceeded about two hundred and eighty miles along the gulf coast, from his point of debarkation. He had reason to believe that his ships could be found in the vicinity of the coast, and that, by putting his troops into boats, he could continue the exploration, which he had found it impossible to complete by land. The energy manifested in the construction and equipment of his flotilla, without artisans, or materials suitable to the work, manifests a capacity for conquest which no other part of his conduct so well sustained. No sooner were the boats completed than the adventurers eagerly embarked. The season had now so far advanced that the high winds began to prevail, added to which the gunwales of his boats were too low to sustain the shock of the seas. He proceeded, therefore, with embarrassment, the men often wading through sands and shallow bays, to avoid the heavy waves. This close and careful

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hugging of the shore was continued for seven days, before they put out to sea. The capture of five Indian canoes enabled them to lighten the boats, which were also protected by waste boards. They suffered greatly from the failure of both water and provisions, and were compelled to coast along the shores and islands, as the best position for obtaining supplies. All this time they had, in the Indians, a fierce enemy to contend against on shore, who never omitted an opportunity to annoy them with arrows.

Agreeably to Caba de Vaca, for thirty days they proceeded by slow stages, down the gulf coast, toward the Mississippi. But nothing was seen of the vessels. The miseries of the men were every day augmented, and, meantime, the winds increased in severity. Some of the soldiers became delirious from drinking sea water, and four of their number died. One night they were attacked by Indians, while sleeping in camp, or on an island; but the assailants, having but few arrows, were repulsed. In the contest, Narvaez received a severe blow in the face from a stone. Tortured with hunger, and parched by thirst, they continued their course until the 1st of November, when the boats separated in a storm. One of them soon foundered. The last that was seen of the boat of Narvaez was in the vicinity of the Perdido. The storm was blowing off the coast, and during its continuance the whole flotilla perished. The next morning nothing was seen of it. The boat in which Caba de Vaca embarked was cast on the shore of a little island, where the survivors were kindly treated by the natives; for, when they saw that their enemies had not the power to inflict further injury, their enmity was at an end, and they treated with humanity the few castaways whom the tempest had spared.

The expedition of Narvaez is important, as embracing the materials of Indian history, inasmuch as it gives us the first view, however unpremeditatively, of the Appalachian group of tribes, who may be regarded as the extreme southern outcrop (to use a geological term) of the wide-spread Vesperic class.

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Chapter V.— France Resumes Her Discoveries. The Algonquins are Found to Inhabit the Atlantic Coast, North, Up to the River St. Lawrence. They are Succeeded in Position, in Ascending That Valley, by the Iroquois.

1534.

THE voyage of Verrazani, under the French flag, promising but trifling, or no advantage to the revenues of France, attracted little attention, and was, for some time, forgotten. In 1534, the admiral, Philip Chabot, represented to the king the advantages to be derived from sharing, with Spain, the rich prize of North America, by establishing a colony. In accordance with this suggestion, Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo, in Normandy, was presented to the king, and approved as a person suitable for the undertaking.

He sailed from the port of St. Malo on the 20th of April, 1534, with two ships, and one hundred and twenty two men. His crew took a solemn oath, before sailing, "to behave themselves truly and faithfully, in the service of the most Christian king, Francis I." The excitement concerning American discoveries was still the order of the day in the European courts. The conquest of Mexico had been completed but thirteen years before, and Pizarro was now in the height of his triumphs at Truxillo, Guanuco, and Caxamarca.

After an unusually prosperous voyage, of twenty days, Cartier made Cape "Buona Vista" in Newfoundland, which he states to be in north latitude 48° 30'. Here, meeting with ice, he made the haven of St. Catherine's, where he was detained ten days. This coast had been known since the voyage of Cabot in 1497, and had been frequently resorted to by fishing vessels. Jean Denis, a native of Rouen, one of these fishermen, is said to have published the first chart of it in 1506. Two years afterwards, Thomas Aubert brought the first natives from Newfoundland to Paris, and this is the era, 1508, commonly assigned as the discovery of Canada. The St. Lawrence remained, however, undiscovered; nor does it appear that anything, beyond a general and vague knowledge of the coast, and of its islands, had then been ascertained. The idea was still entertained (indeed, it will be seen, by subsequent facts), that America was an island, and that a passage to the Asiatic continent existed in those latitudes.

On the 21st of May, Cartier continued his voyage, sailing "north and by east" from

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cape Buona Vista, and arrived at the Isle of Birds, so named on account of the unusual abundance of sea-fowl found upon it, with the young of which the men filled two boats; "so that," in the quaint language of the journal, "besides them which we did eat fresh, every ship did powder and salt five or six barrels." He also observed the godwit, and a larger, but vicious bird, which received the name of margaulx. While at this island, they descried a polar bear, which, in their presence, leaped into the sea, and thus escaped. Subsequently, while crossing to the main land, they encountered, as supposed, the same animal, swimming towards land, and, "by main strength overtook her, whose flesh was as good to be eaten as the flesh of a calf two years old." This bear is described to have been, "as large as a cow, and as white as a swan."

On the 27th, Cartier reached the harbor of "Carpunt," in the bay of "Les Chasteaux," latitude 51°, where, on account of the accumulation of ice, he was constrained to lay by until the 9th of June. The narrator of the voyage describes certain parts of the coast of Newfoundland, and adjoining seas, the islands of St. Catherine, Blanc Sablon, Brest, the Isle of Birds, and a numerous group of islands, called The Islets; but these memoranda are unconnected with any important observations or discoveries. Speaking of the island of Brest and Bird island, he says, they afford "great store of godwits, and crows with red beaks and red feet," which "make their nests in holes underground, even as conies." Near this locality "there is great fishing."

On the 10th of June, he entered a port in the newly discovered island of Brest, to procure wood and water. Meantime, boats were despatched to explore the islands, which were found to be so numerous "that it was not possible they might be told, for they continued about ten leagues beyond the said port." The explorers slept on an island, and the following day continued their discoveries along the coast. Having passed the islands, they found a haven, which was named St. Anthony, and, one or two leagues beyond, discovered a small river named St. Servansport, where they reared a cross. Distant about three leagues from the last mentioned, another river of larger size was discovered, in which salmon was found. Upon this stream they bestowed the name of St. Jacques.

While at St. Jacques, they descried a ship from Rochelle, on a fishing cruise, and, rowing out in their boats, directed it to a port near at hand, in what is called "Jacques Cartier's Sound," "which," adds the narrator, "I take to be one of the best in all the world." The face of the country examined by the explorers was, however, of the most sterile and forbidding character, being little else than "stones and wild crags, and a place fit for wild beasts; for in all the north island," he continues, "I did not see a cart-load of good earth. Yet went I on shore, in many places, and in the island of White Sand (Blanc Sablon) there is nothing else but moss and small thorns, scattered here and there, withered and dry. To be short, I believe that this was the land that God allotted to Cain."

Immediately following this, we have the first account of the natives. The new

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are described as being "of an indifferent good stature and bigness, but wild and unruly. They wear their hair tied on the top, like a wreath of hay, and put a wooden pin within it, or any other such thing, instead of a nail, and with them they bind certain birds' feathers. They are clothed with beast skins, as well the men as women, but that the women go somewhat straiter and closer in their garments than the men do, with their waistes girded. They paint themselves with certain roan colours; their boats are made of the bark of birch trees, with which they fish, and take great store of seals. And, as far as we could understand since our coming thither, that is not their habitation, but they came from the main land, out of hotter countries, to catch the said seals, and other necessaries for their living."

From this exploratory trip, the boats returned, on the 13th, to the newly styled harbor of Brest. On the 14th, being the Sabbath, service was read, and the following day Cartier continued his voyage, steering southerly, along the coast, which still wore a most barren and cheerless aspect. Much of this part of the narrative is occupied with the details of distances and soundings, as well as the denomination of capes and islands, of very little interest at the present day. On the 18th, the voyagers saw a few huts upon the cliffs, and named this part of the coast "Les Granges," but they did not stop to form any acquaintance with their tenants. Cape Royal was passed, and duly named, on the 17th, and is described as "the greatest fishery of cods there possibly may be, for in less than an hour we took an hundred of them." On the 24th, the island of St. John was discovered. Myriads of birds were seen upon the group of islands named "Margaulx." five leagues westward of which they discovered a large, fertile, and well-timbered island, to which the name of "Brion" was given. The contrast presented by the soil and productions of this island, compared with the bleak and waste shores they had previously visited, aroused their warm admiration; and, under the influence of this excitement, they here saw "wild corn," peas, gooseberries, strawberries, damask roses, and parsley, "with other sweet and pleasant herbs." Here, also, they observed the walrus, bear, and wolf.

Very little can be gleaned from the subsequent details of the voyage, until the arrival of the expedition in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Mists, head winds, barren rocks, sandy shores, storms, and sunshine, alternate in the landscape presented to view. Much caution was observed in tacking back and forth, on an iron-bound coast, and the boats were frequently made use of in exploring the shores of the main land. While thus employed near a shallow stream, called the "River of Boats," they saw natives crossing it in their canoes, but the wind commencing to blow toward the land, they were compelled to retire to their vessels without opening any communication with them. On the following day, while the boats were traversing the coasts, they saw a native running

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after them along the beach, who made signs directing them, as they supposed, to return toward the cape they had left. As soon as the boats turned, however, he fled, but, notwithstanding, they landed, and fastening a knife and a woollen girdle to an upright staff, as a good-will offering, returned to their vessels.

This part of the Newfoundland coast impressed them as being greatly superior, both in soil and temperature, to the portions which they had before seen. In addition to the productions previously found at Brion's island, they noticed cedars, pines, white elm, ash, willow, and what are denominated "ewe trees." Among the feathered tribes, the "thrush and stockdove" are mentioned; the latter, without doubt, being the passenger pigeon. The "wild corn," here again mentioned, is said to be "like unto rye," from which it may be inferred that it was the zizania, although the circumstance of its being an aquatic plant is not mentioned.

While running along this coast, Cartier appears to have been engrossed with the idea, so prevalent among the mariners of that era, of finding a passage to India, and it was probably on this account, that he made such a minute examination of every inlet and bay, as well as of the productions of the soil. Whenever the latter afforded anything favorable, there appears to have been a strong predisposition to admiration, and to derive inferences therefrom correspondent with the pre-existing theory. It must be recollected that, seventy-five years later, Hudson entertained similar notions, while sailing up the North River. Hence, the application of several improper names to the animals, as well as to the productions of these latitudes, and the apparently constant expectation of beholding trees laden with fruits and spices, "goodly trees," and "very sweet and pleasant herbs." That the barren and frigid shores of Labrador, and the northern parts of Newfoundland, should have been characterized as a region subject to the Divine curse, is not calculated to excite so much surprise, as the disposition evinced, with every considerable change of soil and verdure, to convert the favored region into a land of oriental fruitfulness. It does not appear to have been sufficiently understood, that the increased verdure and elevation of temperature were, in a great measure, owing to the advancing state of the season. Cartier arrived off the coast on the 10th of May, and prolonged his stay through July. Now, however, it is very generally known, that the summers in high northern latitudes, although short, are attended with a great degree of heat.

On the 3d of July, Cartier entered the gulf, to which, during a subsequent voyage, he gave the name, St. Lawrence, the centre of which he states to be in latitude 47° 30'. On the 4th, he proceeded up the bay to a creek called St. Martin, near Baie du Chaleur, where he was detained eight days by stress of weather. While at anchor there, one of the ship's boats being sent off to make explorations in advance, proceeded seven or eight leagues, to a cape of the bay, where two parties of Indians, "in about forty or fifty canoes," were observed crossing the channel. One of the parties landed, and beckoned to the explorers to follow their example, "making a great noise," and showing

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"certain skins upon pieces of wood," i. e. fresh-stretched skins; but, fearing their numbers, the seamen kept aloof. The Indians in two canoes prepared to follow them, in which movement they were joined by five canoes of the other party, "who were coming from the sea side." They approached in a friendly manner, "dancing, and making many manifestations of joy, saying, in their tongue, Napew tondamen assuatah." The seamen, however, suspecting their intentions, and finding it impossible to elude them by flight, discharged two shots among them, by which they were so terrified, that they fled precipitately to the shore, "making a great noise." After pausing some time, the "wild men" re-embarked and renewed the pursuit, but, after coming alongside, they were so terrified by the thrusts of two lances, that they again fled in haste, and made no further attempt to follow.

This appears to have been the first rencontre of the ship's crews with the natives. On the following day, by the approach of said "wild men" in nine canoes, an interview was brought about, which is thus described: "We being advertised of their coming, went to the point, where they were with our boats; but so soon as they saw us they began to flee, making signs that they came to traffic with us, showing us such skins as they clothed themselves withal, which are of small value. We likewise made signs unto them that we wished them no evil, and in sign thereof, two of our men ventured to go on land to them and carry them knives, with other iron wares, and a red hat to give unto their captain. Which, when they saw, they also came on land, and brought some of their skins, and so began to deal with us, seeming to be very glad to have our iron wares and other things, still dancing, with many other ceremonies, as with their hands to cast sea water on their heads. They gave us whatever they had, not keeping anything, so that they were constrained to go back again naked, and made signs that the next day they would come again, and bring more skins with them."

Observing a spacious bay, extending beyond the cape where this interview had been opened, and the wind proving adverse to the vessels quitting the harbor, Cartier despatched his boats to examine it, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it might not afford the desired passage; for it must be kept in mind, that he was diligently seeking the long-sought passage to the Indian Ocean. While engaged in this examination, his men discovered "the smokes and fires" of wild men" (the term constantly used in the narrative to designate the natives). These signs were observed upon the shores of a small lake, communicating with the bay. An amicable interview resulted, the natives presenting to the navigators cooked seal, and the French making a suitable return "in hatchets, knives and beads." After these preliminaries, which were conducted with considerable caution, by deputies from both sides, the male natives approached in their canoes, for the purpose of trafficking, leaving most of their families behind. About 300

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Indian men, women, and children, were estimated to have been congregated at this place. They evinced their friendship by singing and dancing, as also by rubbing their hands upon the arms of their European visitors, and then lifting them up towards the heavens. An opinion is expressed that these people (who were in the position assigned to the Micmacs, in 1600, in Mr. Gallatin's ethnological map,) might very easily be converted to Christianity. "They go," says the narrator, "from place to place. They live only by fishing. They have an ordinary time to fish for their provisions. The country is hotter than the country of Spain, and the fairest that can possibly be found; altogether smooth and level." In addition to the productions before noticed, as indigenous on Brion's island, &c., and which were likewise found here, he enumerates "white and red roses, with many other flowers of very sweet and pleasant smell." "There be also," says the journalist, "many goodly meadows full of grass, and lakes wherein plenty of salmon be." The natives called a hatchet, Cochi, and a knife, Bacon. It was at this time near the middle of July, and the degree of heat experienced on the excursion induced Cartier to name the inlet, Baie du Chaleur; a name it still retains.

On the 12th of July, Cartier left his moorings at St. Martin's creek, and proceeded up the gulf; but encountering bad weather, he was forced into a bay, which appears to have been Gaspe, where one of the vessels lost her anchor. They were forced to take shelter in a river of that bay, and were there detained thirteen days. Meanwhile, they opened an intercourse with the natives, who were found in great numbers, engaged in fishing for mackerel. Forty canoes, and two hundred men, women, and children, were estimated to have been seen during their detention at this place. Presents of "knives, combs, beads of glass, and other trifles of small value," were made to the Indians, for which they expressed great thankfulness, lifting up their hands, and dancing and singing.

These Gaspe Indians are represented as differing, both "in nature and language," from those before mentioned, being abjectly poor, but partially clothed in "old skins," and possessed of no tents to protect them from the weather. "They may," says the journalist, "very well and truly be called wild, because there is no poorer people in the world; for, I think, all they had together, besides their boats and nets, was not worth five sous." They shaved their heads, with the exception of a tuft on the crown; sheltered themselves at night under their canoes, on the bare ground, and ate their provisions but partially cooked. They were unacquainted with the use of salt, and "ate nothing that had any taste of salt." On Cartier's first landing among them, the men expressed their joy, as those at Baie du Chaleur had done, by singing and dancing; but they had sent all their women, except two or three, into the woods. A comb and a tin bell, given to each of the women who had ventured to remain, excited the avarice

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of the men, who quickly brought their women, to the number of about twenty, from the woods, to each of whom the same present was made. They caressed Cartier by touching and rubbing him with their hands, and also sung and danced. Their nets were made of a kind of indigenous hemp; and they also possessed a species of "millet" called "Kapaige," beans called "Sahu," and nuts called "Cahehya." If anything was exhibited with which they were unacquainted, they shook their heads, saying, "Nohda." It is added that they never come to the sea, except in fishing time; which, we may remark, was probably the reason why they had no lodges, or much other property about them. They would naturally desire to disencumber their canoes as much as possible, in these summer excursions, that they might carry a large return freight of dried fish. The language spoken by these Gaspe Indians is manifestly of the Iroquois type. "Cahehya" is, with a slight difference, the term for fruit in the Oneida.

On the 24th of July, Cartier erected a cross, thirty feet high, bearing the inscription, "Vive le Roy de France." The natives, who were present at the ceremony, seem, on a little reflection, to have conceived the true intent of it, and their chief complained of it in a "long oration," saying, in effect "that the country was his, and that he should not set up any cross without his leave." Having quieted the old chief's fears, and used a little duplicity to induce him to come alongside, Cartier seized two of the natives, named Domaigaia and Taignoagny (Iroquois), with the view of conveying them to France, and, on the following day, set sail up the gulf. After making some further explorations, and being foiled in an attempt to enter the mouth of a river, Cartier began to think of returning. Being alarmed by the rapidity of the tide setting out of the St. Lawrence river, and the weather becoming remarkably tempestuous, he assembled his captains and principal men in council, "to put the question as to the expediency of continuing the voyage." The result of their deliberations was as follows: Considering the easterly winds began to prevail, "that there was nothing to be gotten;" the impetuosity of the tides was such "that they did but fall," and storms and tempests beginning to reign, it was evident that they must either promptly return home, or else remain where they were until spring. Under these circumstances it was decided to be expedient to return; and with this counsel Cartier complied. No time was lost in retracing their route along the Newfoundland coast, and they arrived at the port of "White Sands" on the 9th of August. On the 15th, being "the feast of the Assumption of our Lady," after the religious services of the day were concluded, Cartier set sail for France. "About the middle of the sea" he encountered a heavy storm of three days' continuance, and arrived at the port of St. Malo, on the 5th of September, after an absence of four months and sixteen days.

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Chapter VI. — Further Explorations in the St. Lawrence Valley, by the French.

1535.

THE account which Cartier gave of his discoveries, and the prospective benefits therefrom promised to the future commerce of France, verified as the narrative was, by the presence of Domaigaia and Taignoagny, the two Iroquois captives, induced the Vice-Admiral Melleray to recommend him to the king for further employment. Accordingly, early in the spring of 1535, he was placed in command of another squadron, consisting of three ships, well provisioned and manned, for the purpose of still further prosecuting his researches in those latitudes. On the 6th of May, he, together with the crews of his vessels, attended divine service at the cathedral of St. Malo, where they received the ecclesiastical benediction. He sailed from St. Malo on the 19th of May, taking with him a number of young gentlemen, who were ambitious to seek their fortunes under his auspices. On the outward passage a severe tempest was encountered, during the continuance of which the vessels parted company. Cartier arrived at Newfoundland on the 7th of July, where, after waiting until the 26th, he was rejoined by the rest of his squadron. The succeeding day he carefully continued his voyage along the coast, taking soundings, with the view of finding good-anchor-ground, and tracing out the bays and harbors of this dangerous locality. Onthe 8th of August he entered the gulf visited by him the previous year, and now named it the St. Lawrence. After some preliminary reconnoissances of the capes, as also of the main land, and obtaining more definite information concerning the geography of the country, from Domaigaia and Taignoagny, who accompanied him, he sailed up the river, and, on the 1st of September, anchored at the mouth of the Saguenay river, which locality appeared to be familiar to the two captives. At this point the explorers met four canoes containing Indians, who evinced their usual caution and shyness; but, being hailed by the captive Iroquois, they came freely alongside of the ships, and a friendly interview took place.

As Cartier continued to advance up the river, the tides attracted his notice, as being very swift and dangerous. Tortoises were found in this vicinity, and for the first time they here observed the sturgeon, which is pronounced "savoury and good to be eaten." After ascending for seven days, the vessels reached the island of Orleans, where,

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having cast anchor, he ordered the boats to be manned, and went ashore, taking with him Domaigaia and Taignoagny as interpreters, through whose influence the fears of the Indians were appeased, and a friendly feeling established. The latter evinced their joy by dancing, and loaded him with presents, comprising several sorts of fish, and a large quantity of the zea maize, called "great millet." On the following day, the chief Donnaconna, accompanied by his entire band, arrived in twelve canoes, ten of which he directed to stop at a distance, and with the other two he pulled toward Cartier's ship. Donnaconna stood up as he approached, and, with violent gesticulations, addressed Cartier in a long speech. The captives related to him what they had seen abroad, and how kindly they had been treated, with which Donnaconna was so much pleased, that he desired Cartier to extend his arm over the side of the vessel, that he might kiss his hand. He then laid Cartier's arm fondlingly about his neck, whereupon the latter descended into the chief's canoe, and, having ordered bread and wine to be brought, they ate and drank together, and parted mutually gratified with the interview. Thus happily commenced the intercourse of the French with the Iroquois.

Cartier, having determined to ascend the river to Hochelaga, the present site of Montreal, anchored his larger vessels in the entrance of a small river, on the north shore, opposite the head of the island called by him Santa Cruz, and, on the 19th of September, in his smallest vessel, accompanied by two boats, and fifty men, he commenced the undertaking. To prevent this movement the Indians had in vain employed all their arts, and resorted to the most extravagant demoniacal dances; but all this served no other purpose than to encourage him in his design. A voyage of ten days' continuance brought him to an expansion of the river, named by him Lake Angolisme, but which is now called St. Peters. Finding the river was becoming shallow, he left his vessel at anchor, and proceeded forward with the two boats, and twenty-eight armed men. He was charmed with the scenery, the fertility of the soil, and the luxuriant productions of the new country. Every where above this point the Indians received him with friendship, and brought him presents of fish, corn, and game. When he anchored for the night, the natives assembled on shore, built fires, danced, and uttered shouts of joy; in this manner making his voyage resemble a triumphal journey. He arrived at Hochelaga on the 2d of October, where a multitude of the natives, of both sexes, old and young, awaited his arrival, and expressed their joy by dancing. Cartier having arrayed himself in gorgeous clothing, landed on the following morning, accompanied by a band of twenty mariners. Following, for four or five miles, a well-beaten path through the forest, he came to an open spot where a bright fire was burning. Here he was received by a deputation from the town, and desired to rest himself. A speech of welcome was then addressed to him, after which the procession advanced, without further interruption, to the town of Hochelaga, which was situated amidst cultivated fields, and surrounded with rude ramparts, constructed for defence. Mats having been spread for him, he was ceremoniously seated, and was soon joined by

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the chief, Agouhanna, an old man afflicted with palsy, who, sitting on a stag skin, was borne on the shoulders of men. Around his forehead he wore a band, or frontlet, of red-colored hedgehog skins, but, in other respects, he was not dressed better than his people. As neither Domaigaia or Taignoagny would accompany Cartier, he had no interpreter, and, during the interview, communication was principally carried on by signs. After the close of the conference he ascended to the top of the neighboring mountain, accompanied by natives. It afforded an extensive view of all the surrounding rivers, rapids, plains, and mountains. Transported by the scene, he bestowed on this elevation the name of Mount Royal. Having asked the Indians the name of the adjacent country, they replied, "Canada;" having, without doubt, understood him as referring to the town.

Thus having, on the 3d of October, 1535, terminated this eventful interview, Cartier hastened to return. Favored by both wind and tide, he reached his vessel in Lake St. Peters on the following day, and the post of the Holy Cross on the 11th. At this place he endured a cold winter, from the middle of November to the middle of March; the ice in the St. Lawrence is said to have been "two fathoms thick," and the snow four feet deep. Twenty-five of his men died of scurvy. He was detained in the river of the Holy Cross until the 6th of May, when he sailed for France, carrying with him the chief Donnaconna, and his two former captives, Domaigaia and Taignoagny. He reached the French coast, and cast anchor in the harbor of St. Malo, on the 6th of July, 1536.

Speaking of the Iroquois, he says: "They possess all property in common, and are clothed in skins during the winter. The men perform but trifling labor, and are addicted to smoking. The condition of the women is one of servitude and drudgery. Polygamy is tolerated; the young women are dissolute, and married women condemned to remain widows after the death of their husbands. Both sexes are very hardy."

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Chapter VII. — Expedition of De Soto to Florida. Appalachian Group of Tribes.

1538.

UP to this period all attempts to found colonies in America had proved complete failures. De Leon, Vasquez, Narvaez, and Cartier, had each added their quota to geographical knowledge, and recorded details of the manners and customs of the Indians, but no one of them had established even the first outlines of a colony. Nine years after the disastrous termination of the expedition of Narvaez, Ferdinand de Soto determined to effect the conquest and colonization of Florida. As the origin of this expedition cannot be well understood, without reference to events which occurred on the north-western confines of Mexico, it becomes necessary to enter into some details respecting them.

In 1530, an Indian, named Tezon, a native of New Gallicia, told the governor of that province a wonderful tale, about the existence of seven cities in the terra incognita, north and east of the river Gila, each of which cities were as large as Mexico. He stated that the country so abounded in the precious metals, that entire streets in these cities were occupied by goldsmiths. In confirmation of what he asserted, he said that his father, then dead, had been a trader in ornamental feathers, and, in return for his goods, had brought from that quarter large quantities of gold and silver. This was the germ of the long prevailing myth of the seven golden cities of Cibola.

It so happened that, while this story was yet credited, Caba de Vaca, with three companions, one of whom was an African, arrived at Compostella, the capital of New Gallicia, after having been nine years traversing the continent. De Vaca had been the treasurer of Narvaez, and was the only officer of his army who had escaped the fury of the waves, and the vengeance of the Indians, on the Florida coast. The very fact of his safe passage over vast territories, occupied by hostile tribes, was of itself a wonder; but yet, not more so than the extraordinary tales he related, of the state of semi-civilization in which he had found some of the tribes whom he had encountered, andof the arts and wealth they possessed. These disclosures rekindled the latent cupidity in the imaginations of the Spanish adventurers, who were seeking their fortune in Mexico. All classes believed in the new land of golden promise, and fresh vitality was imparted to the stories of Tezon. De Vaca was summoned to the vice-regal court of Mexico,

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where his presence created a great excitement. The Viceroy, Mendoza, questioned him respecting the strange incidents of his escape, and as to the state of arts and civilization among the Indians. De Vaca represented the tribes on the Rio Grande and Gila, as wearing woven stuffs, living in large houses, built of stone, and possessing rich mines. From Mexico his fame preceded him to the court of Charles V., where he arrived in 1537, and where he was lionized on account of his adventures, sufferings, and the tales of golden wealth to be found in America. Nothing was too extravagant for the credulity of his audiences. Sufferings and perils he had indeed encountered; but, instead of plainly telling the Spaniards that Florida was a country containing no gold mines, destitute of cities, possessing no agriculture, roads, bridges, or any traces, either of high art, or semi-civilization, and that it was solely inhabited by savages, who cherished determined hostility to the Spanish race, he conformed to the preconceived notions of the court, the nobility, and the people, and represented, if he did not himself believe, that it was another Mexico — another Peru. The public mind was engrossed with the idea. Prominent among the believers of this tale was Ferdinand de Soto, who had been the most valuable assistant of Pizarro, in Peru, and had shared largely in the plunder of the Inca, Atahualpa.

De Soto determined to organize a new expedition for the conquest of Florida; one which should, and which in reality did, exceed in means and splendor anything of the kind which, at that period, had ever visited the New World. Gentlemen, and noblemen of rank and means, vied with each other for the honor of participating in the scheme. The finest horses of Andalusia and Estremadura, the most chivalric and enthusiastic cavaliers, and the bravest footmen, all armed and equipped in the most ample manner, as well as in the most glittering style, and well provided with drums, trumpets, and banners, formed the materiel of the army of De Soto. He received from the king the commission of Adalantado, together with the most ample powers for the establishment of a government.

During his transit to Cuba, where he spent a year, and augmented his forces, nothing occurred to dampen the ardor of his followers. Meantime, four natives, who were captured on the Floridian coast, were taught Spanish, that they might serve as interpreters. All his preparations having been completed, he embarked with his entire force, and arrived in the Bay of Espirito Santo, now Tampa, about the middle of May, 1539, having been twelve or thirteen days on the passage. He remained at anchor six days, while making reconnoissances. It was evident that the Indians designed meeting him in a hostile manner, for, though they had abandoned the coast, they had kindled fires to alarm the neighboring tribes.

On leaving the Spanish coast his force numbered 900 men, accompanied by twelve priests, and eight inferior clergy. At Cuba, numbers of adventurers joined him, who possessed many of the finest blood horses. At this time, his entire army must have exceeded 1000 men, a large body of whom were mounted. On the 31st of May, 300

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men were landed to take possession of the ground, and serve as a cover for the general debarkation. No enemy appearing, they bivouacked unmolested; but, just before daybreak on the 1st of June, they were aroused by the horrid yells of the Indians, who suddenly attacked them with arrows and clubs. Many of the Spaniards were wounded, notwithstanding their bodies were protected by armor. Panic-struck, they fled to the shore in confusion, where they were reinforced from the ships, but by that time the Indians had gained the shelter of the forest. In this engagement the Spaniards lost only a single horse, which was pierced by an arrow, which, after passing through the saddle and housings, buried one-third of its shaft in the body of the animal. The whole army then debarked.

The antipathy of the Indians to the Spaniards, and their apparent determination to contest, with all their natural ferocity, the invasion of their territory, could be judged of by this attack. Fired with the spirit of adventure, flushed with the hope of finding mines of the precious metals, and having a large body of the most spirited cavaliers of Spain and Portugal to lead his squadrons, De Soto pushed forward with extraordinary energy. The natives could not mistake his object: he came to conquer and rule, not with the peaceable design of seeking to obtain wealth from the earth by the aid of the plough. They fled before him, awed by the presence of such a large force, and by the evil prestige of the Spanish name; which nation had, from the advent of De Leon, sent military expeditions into the country, with no other objects than conquest and plunder.

Soon after entering Florida, De Soto heard that a white man was detained in captivity at one of the Indian villages. By negotiation with the chief, this man was surrendered, and proved to be John Ortez, one of the adherents of Narvaez, who had taken shelter in an Indian lodge, married, and learned the language. Owing to the similarity in the dialects of the Appalachian group, Ortez succeeded in holding communication with the Indians until the army reached the eastern shores of the Mississippi river; although, on some occasions, it had been found necessary to make use of several dialects, or languages, in order to communicate (as it were, through a succession of links), with particular tribes.

De Soto was a man of energy and decision of character, capable of directing a great enterprise. He had enacted no insignificant part in the overthrow of the Indian empire of the South, and in Florida he had expected to encounter a race of Indians equally unfitted for making a bold and determined resistance. But, instead of the mild Peruvians, he had to deal with an implacable race, whose policy was a subtle one. They fled before him, and again rallied their forces in his rear, occupying the country through which he had passed. They continually harassed his flanks, and waged a guerilla warfare, peculiar to themselves. In their negotiations with him, the most

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profound concealment and dissimulation was practised. They amused him with false reports of mines, which kept him marching and countermarching over immense districts, in pursuit of this golden ignis fatuus. He penetrated dense forests, crossed rivers, traversed valleys, skirted swamps, and marched over open and dry plains, parched with thirst and tormented with hunger, until he had explored the whole breadth of northern Georgia, and reached Cofatchequi, now Silver Bluffs, in South Carolina; but, not finding any gold mines there, he determined to seek them elsewhere. Diverging west and northwest for the Appalachian mountains, he entered a part of the Cherokee country, whence he descended in a southerly direction, to the waters of the Flint, Coosa, and Alabama, following the latter to its junction with the Tombigbee. In this march he carried with him an influential chief, called Tuscaloosa, or Black Warrior, who eventually induced him to encamp, with all his baggage, in a formidable timber fort, called Mauvilla; but, before the remainder of his army arrived at this place, the Indians attacked him with desperate fury, and drove his garrison out of the fortification. They then closed the gates, lowered themselves down from the walls, and attacked him. The contest was maintained for three hours with great obstinacy on both sides; but at length De Soto, having been reinforced by a body of cavalry which had been left at his last encampment, ordered the gates to be hewn down with battle-axes, and entered the fort. The fight was here renewed, on the part of the natives, with a courage and desperation such as Spaniards had never before witnessed in America. To prevent the Indians from retaining possession of certain buildings within the area of the fort, of which they had obtained control, some Spanish soldiers fired them. The result of this act was most disastrous; the entire fortification was soon in flames, and with it were consumed the Spanish baggage, commissariat, medicines, camp stores, and supplies of every kind. In this battle and siege the Spaniards acknowledge a loss of eighty-two men, among whom were several distinguished officers. They had also forty-two horses killed. But the casualties among the Indian warriors present a vast disparity, being stated at 2500 by the historian.

Toilsome marches, insufficient food, and hard fighting, having by this time cooled the ardor of some of the officers, they had arrived at the sage conclusion that the auriferous prize, which had lured them from their homes, was not easily attainable. The results of the last battle were so dispiriting, that De Soto accidentally overheard conversations which he deemed treasonable. Some of his cavaliers expressed a strong desire for a re-union with the fleet, which was supposed to be at that time in what is now called Mobile Bay. Nothing, however, could dampen his ardor or spirits. Stung by the remarks, of which he had been an auditor, he determined to proceed northward in his career of exploration. The blow struck by the Appalachian tribes at Mauvilla, could

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not fail to be very severely felt; but, had it not been for the disclosure of dissatisfaction on the part of his followers, it is doubtful whether he would have determined to proceed towards the north and west. Instead, therefore, of descending the Mobile river to the Bay, meeting his vessels, and establishing his colony there, as he had intended, he directed his march toward the north. He crossed the rivers Black Warrior, Tombigbee, and Yazoo, though not without strong opposition, and directed his course in a northwesterly direction to the town of the Chicaza, which was found to have been deserted on his approach. It being at this time late in December, and the weather assuming a wintry aspect, he determined to encamp his army and pass the winter at this place. During two months the army enjoyed comparative repose, making no movement, except when necessity required them to forage for provisions, or to repulse the guerilla attacks, to which they were subjected night and day. At length the Chickasaws resolved to burn the encampment; the buildings having been constructed of poles, canes, reeds, and other inflammable materials. A dark and windy night having been chosen, the camp was fired in several places, the savages at the same time uttering furious yells, and making a desperate attack. The high winds fanned the flames into irresistible fury, and for a time the confusion rendered it impossible to resist the impetuosity of the assailants. Discipline and courage, however, regained the ascendency, and the enemy was repulsed. But the camp was totally destroyed, together with all the arms, saddles, accoutrements, and provisions belonging to the army. All that had been spared by the conflagration at Mauvilla, was here annihilated. The droves of hogs which had formed their main resource for provisions, were burned in their pens. The temper of their swords had been impaired by the action of the fire, and almost every valuable article of equipage was consumed. Forty Spaniards had fallen, and fifty horses had been slain. The effects of this conflagration were even more disastrous than that at Mauvilla. But nothing could diminish the zeal, or divert the purpose, of De Soto, who may truly be styled, a hero in disaster as well as in victory. He formed a new camp, on an eligible spot, distant four leagues from his former one, naming it Chickasilla.

The 1st of April had arrived before he could repair his losses, and place his army in condition to continue his march; it was only, however, to encounter renewed opposition. A hostile spirit was aroused in every direction, which expended its fury in guerilla attacks, no body of the enemy being willing to encounter De Soto in the field. He soon came to a strongly stockaded and well defended fort, called Alabama, erected on the banks of a stream. This he carried by a desperate assault, in which he lost fifteen men. He then moved on, through tangled paths, to a village called Chisca, which was immediately stormed. It had been deserted by the warriors, but all the women,

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children, and old men were captured, and retained as hostages for the good behavior of the Chickasaws. De Soto then continued his course to the north, by easy marches, during four days, when, to the joy of the entire army, they deployed on an elevated plain of cleared ground, having bluff banks, which were washed by the rushing waters of a great river, which De Soto named Rio Grande. It was the Mississippi river. He had probably reached the lower Chickasaw Bluffs, in north latitude, about 32°.

On this elevated and eligible spot, De Soto rested for twenty days, while engaged in making preparations to cross that magnificent stream, and pursue his explorations to the west of it, in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. By a most eccentric line of march, he had traversed the area of the present States of Florida, Georgia, a part of South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee, and at every point had encountered, either an open or secret enmity from the Indians, especially the Muscogees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, who had fought with unexampled ferocity. They were a poor, but brave and warlike people, determined to protect their country and their natural liberties. Tribes which had formerly been at variance, united to repel this formidable invasion. They were, ethnologically speaking, branches of one great stock. During the previous twenty-five years they had acquired bitter experience of Spanish invasion, and hence hated the race with such intensity, that they determined to die rather than surrender the country. That the Spanish character had been well weighed by them, and that their dislike was deep-rooted, as well as general, may be gathered from the following quotation from Garcellaso de la Vega.

"Others of your accursed race," said Acuera, a Muscogee chief, to De Soto's messengers, "have, in years past, poisoned our peaceful shores. They have taught me what you are. What is your employment? To wander about like vagabonds, from land to land, to rob the poor, to betray the confiding, to murder the defenceless in cold blood. No, with such a people, I want no peace — no friendship. War, never-ending war, exterminating war, is all the boon I ask."

Two younger brothers of the Micco of Vitachucco, a Muscogee chief, having been captured, sent messages to him, speaking favorably of the Spaniards, and imploring submission. "It is evident enough," he replied, "that you are young, and have neither judgment nor experience, or you would never have spoken as you have done, of these hated white men. You extol them greatly as virtuous men, who injure no one. You say that they are valiant, that they are children of the sun, and merit all our reverence. The vile chains which they have hung upon you, and the mean and dastardly spirit which you have acquired during the short period you have been their slaves, have caused you to speak like women, lauding what you should censure and abhor.

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"You remember that these strangers can be no better than those who formerly committed so many cruelties in our country. Are they not of the same nation, and subject to the same laws? Do not their manners of life prove them to be children of the Evil Spirit, and not of the sun and moon — our gods? Go they not from land to land, plundering and destroying? taking the wives and daughters of others, instead of bringing their own with them — and, like mere vagabonds, maintaining themselves by the labor of others?"

All the Indians encountered in Florida, from Tampa Bay to the Mississippi river, were characterized by a very decided spirit of independence, and the most deep hostility to all foreign aggression.

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Chapter VIII. — De Soto Crosses the Mississippi River, and Traverses the Present Area of Missouri and Arkansas. Family of Dakotahs, or Prairie Tribes.

1540.

DE SOTO, having recruited his army on the high and beautiful elevation of the Chickasaw Bluffs, and restored its failing strength, every means which an able commander could adopt, were resorted to for repairing his losses. Forges were erected, where the swords and spears of his soldiers were re-tempered. Buckskin was ingeniously employed in repairing the burnt saddles and accoutrements. The horses regained their strength when pastured on the rich prairie grass, and all the arms were re-burnished. Once more the squadrons of De Soto were able to assume a martial bearing. Plumes nodded, and glittering steel again flashed before the eyes of the wondering natives. The gallant men, and fine horses, lost at Mauvilla, at Fort Alabama, on the Yazoo, and at Chickaza, were at the moment forgotten, and the old chivalric character of the Spaniard shone forth with renewed lustre, as he marched down to the margin of the Mississippi, and prepared to pass that boundary, which he was destined never again to recross, but, like another Alaric, to make its bed his mausoleum. The month of May had but just manifested its arrival by its mild airs, and the expanding vegetation, combined with the increased flow of the waters, which served to give life and animation to the scene.

Boats had been constructed to convey the whole army over in divisions, at the old Indian crossing above the mouth of the St. Frances. The Indians presented themselves on the opposite banks in a hostile attitude. The horse and infantry were embarked in as proud array, and as compact masses as possible. To protect the debarkation of the troops, a body of picked men, with their horses, had been ferried over before daybreak, and effected a landing without meeting with any opposition. The river was estimated to be half a league in width, but pronounced swift and deep. Two hours before sunset the whole army had crossed; the Indians not having made any combined effort to oppose it, not a man was lost. De Soto immediately made arrangements to put his columns in motion for the high grounds. But his position was one of embarrassment. He had rid himself of the Chickasaws, and their affiliated tribes, on the east banks of the river, but was surrounded by others, characterized by more savage manners and

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customs, and actuated by a still fiercer spirit of enmity. Their language, also, being entirely different, John Ortez could no longer make himself understood, and the tedious circumlocution in the translation, sometimes made four different renditions imperative. These tribes were of the Issati, or Dakotah, lineage.

Dense forests, rearing their towering growth on swampy lands, surrounded him; but onward he marched, following the Indian footpath. After a journey of five days' length, he reached the table lands of Missouri, and encamped near a village of the Casqui (Kaskaski), on the St. Francis. The Casqui received him joyfully, and entered into a treaty with him. But it was a league which had nearly proved fatal to De Soto, as they were a weak tribe, and at war with the Kiapaha (Quappas). The latter had their strong-hold on the right banks of the Mississippi, apparently near the present site of New Madrid. The Casqui offered to accompany them in full force, ostensibly for the purpose of carrying the baggage of the army, but they had no sooner arrived in the vicinity of the Quappa villages, than they slily advanced and furiously attacked them. The latter, who were temporarily absent from the principal village, soon rallied, and proved themselves to be most brave and determined enemies. They at last fled to a strong position on an island in the Mississippi, where the Spaniards, having followed them, were, in the end, compelled to retreat. This was the first tribe of the great prairie group, or Dakotahs, that De Soto had encountered.

While at the Kiapaha village, he sent messengers westward to inquire into the truth of rumors of mineral wealth; but they found nothing but copper. They, however, penetrated into the western plains, and discovered the Buffalo.

De Soto then returned to the country of the Casqui, where he spent many days, to allow the army time to recruit their forces. This vicinity afforded plenty of food, and had the advantage of being an open country, where cavalry could manoeuvre. His army having been refreshed, he moved south to Qiquate, where rumors of mineral wealth reaching him, drew him north to a spot called Caligoa, at the sources of the St. Francis. He was at this time in the granite tract of St. Michael's, Missouri, celebrated for its volcanic upheavals, and pinnacles of Azoic rocks, its iron mountains, its lead mines, and its ores of cobalt.

Reports of new and tempting mineral regions in the south, soon led him in search of a country called Cayas. He crossed the Unica, or White river, at Tanico, and allowed

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his troops to rest for twenty days in a fine valley, at a place called Tula. The Indian residents of this place were "ill-favored, tattooed, and ferocious." The army then marched five days toward the west, over an elevated, uninhabited region, comprising the broad and rugged district of the modern Ozark Mountains. Beyond this broken chain De Soto entered the country of the Quipano (Pani, or Pawnee), which has a comparatively level surface. A few days' farther march westward, he found himself in a territory abounding in game, well supplied with grass, and dotted over with prairies. Having discovered the Arkansas river, he here determined to establish his winter quarters. Ordering stalls to be constructed for his horses, and a regular encampment to be formed, on this spot he passed the winter of 1541-42. The site of this camp appears to have been on the banks of the Neosho, and was in the midst of beautiful natural meadows.

When spring had opened sufficiently to warrant him in moving forward, he proceeded down the Arkansas, crossing that stream near the present site of Van Buren, or Fort Smith, and, following its southern plains down to Little Rock, again crossed to the north, and directed his course along the banks of the stream, till he reached its mouth, notwithstanding he was greatly embarrassed by the deep inlet of White river. Being in a feeble state of health, and a fever beginning to prostrate him, De Soto here encamped, and calmly contemplated his approaching end. After having appointed Moscoso, his camp-master, to succeed him, surrounded by his officers, who had followed him through scenes of danger and trial, over nearly half the continent of North America, he calmly yielded up his spirit. At first his body was interred in the vicinity, great precautions being taken to conceal the spot, lest the Indians should exhume, and mutilate his remains. Finally, his followers placed the corpse in a sarcophagus, formed from the hollowed trunk of a tree, which they conveyed in a boat at midnight to the centre of the Mississippi river, and sunk beneath its turbid waters.

With the death of De Soto, that intrepid daring and noble emulation, which had been called into action by his master mind, began to flag; but, though the enterprise was, in fact, crushed, the truth did not immediately appear.

1543.

As soon as the sad funereal rites were finished, Moscoso prepared to lead a new expedition toward the west. He ascended the southern banks of the Arkansas, directing his course in a southwesterly line, across the Washita,and the smaller affluants of the Arkansas and Red rivers. He encountered the most determined opposition from all the tribes he met. They fought with a desperation which was extraordinary, and were repulsed with that chivalrous and dashing bravery which had, from the first, characterized the entire operations of the expedition. He eventually reached the buffalo plains, which stretch from the Canadian fork of the Arkansas to the sources of the Red river. Though it was expected that they should,

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somewhere in this vicinity, meet parties of Spanish military explorers from the south, this hope was at last relinquished, and the army retraced its steps to the mouth of the Arkansas, amid great perils, and with unparalleled toil.

To found a colony at a point so remote from the sea, with the crippled and inadequate means in their possession, and subject to the active hostility of all the Indian tribes, both east and west of that stream, appeared to be so impracticable, that Moscoso resolved to build boats, and descend the Mississippi in them to its mouth. As soon as they were completed, the whole force embarked, the horses being placed in long, narrow boats, with their fore feet in one, and their hind feet in another. The Indians exulted on seeing the Spaniards making preparations to leave their country, and, embarking in their canoes, pursued the retiring troops with the utmost boldness and energy. Sometimes they attacked the flotilla in front, sometimes from the bank. Their arrows could be impelled with such force, that they had been known to pierce a horse, after passing through the skirts of a saddle. The retreating forces were often obliged to deploy and defend themselves, and in these skirmishes the Spaniards suffered the most severely. The armor of the soldiers was proof against the arrows of the foe, but the flanks of the poor horses being exposed, these noble animals were thinned off, day by day, until, on arriving at the mouth of the river, there was not a single horse left alive.

As soon as Moscoso entered the gulf, he steered for the coast of Panuca, where he finally arrived, after encountering great perils, both from the warring elements and the disagreement of the pilots. Thus terminated an expedition, which had been organized with extraordinary fame and splendor, and the members of which comprised some of the most chivalrous and able officers of the age. Nearly three years had been spent, in traversing the immense plains and forests intervening between the peninsula of Florida and the plains of Arkansas. Everywhere the Indians had been found to be inimical to the Spanish race, and had manifested a spirit and daring, in repelling the invaders, which well merited the appellation of heroic.

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Chapter IX. — Coronado's Expedition into the Territory which has Acquired the Name of New Mexico. The Zuni, Moqui, Navajo, and Cognate Tribes.

1541.

THE enthusiasm of all who credited the story of Tezon received a new impulse, and large accessions were made to the number of believers, by the accounts given by Caba de Vaca, of the Indian tribes he had seen during his extraordinary peregrinations, extended through a term of eight or nine years, between the point where he was wrecked, on the Florida coast, and New Gallicia, on the Pacific. Not only did his presence in Spain give origin to the expedition of De Soto, but, at the same time, to the almost equally renowned one organized by Mendoza, the Viceroy of Mexico, and placed under the command of Coronado. This expedition had been preceded by one sent by Guzman, the Governor of New Gallicia, in search of the seven cities of Cibola; but this party penetrated no farther than Culiacan, whence it returned with accounts of the difficulties attending the enterprize. This effort only tended to stimulate the equipment of the more formidable organization of the Viceroy.

As a preliminary step, Mendoza had despatched Marcos de Niza, accompanied by two friars, and Estevan, the African brought to Mexico by De Vaca, to make explorations of the country. On reaching Culiacan, De Niza and his companions rested a few days. Meantime, Estevan pushed forward, crossed the Gila, and entered the valley of Cibola, while De Niza was still sixty leagues behind. The first thing he did at this place, after the caziques assembled, was to demand their gold and their wives. After questioning him as to his authority for making such a demand, having reason to suspect him as a spy of some invading force, they determined to put him to death, which sentence was immediately executed. De Niza, on learning the fate of Estevan, returned to Compostella, and thence to Mexico, where, however, both in his reports, and in an account of his discoveries, which he published, he greatly exaggerated the resources and the value of the country. These statements secured his appointment as the guide for the expedition, to which he devoted all his energies. Mendoza appointed Francisco Vasquez Coronado as commander, who was, at the same time, nominated the successor of Guzman, in the government of New Gallicia. Three hundred men were

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enlisted, of whom an extraordinary large proportion consisted of cavaliers and gentlemen. Mendoza, himself, went as far as Compostello with the troops, where they were joined by 800 Indians, whose duties were to carry baggage, and act as guides, as well as pioneers. It is somewhat remarkable that this expedition set out at the same time that De Soto was traversing the broad plains of Florida, and actually reached the waters of the Rio Gila, when he crossed the Mississippi. Both armies eventually explored portions of the great buffalo plains of Arkansas. Coronado met De Niza at Chiametta, on his return from making reconnoissances. He reported that they had penetrated 200 leagues, as far as Chichiticala, but gave so vague an account, that, between his representations of its being "barren," and a "good" country, Coronado and his army were completely bewildered. On, however, they marched. Reaching Chichiticala, they discovered the ruins of a large house, built of dry clay, surrounded by the remains of a population, which had evident claims to be regarded as belonging to a higher type of civilization than any of the existing tribes. Crossing the Gila, Coronado led his army onward over a desert, until they reached a small stream, by following the valley of which, they soon arrived before the lofty natural walls of Cibola (Old Zuni). On the top of this stood the town, composed of high, terraced buildings, whose first stories could only be reached by movable ladders, the natural defence of semi-civilization against savage incursions. The Indians cultivated corn in the valleys below, wove coarse stuffs for clothing, manufactured assaulted the town. The natives rolled down stones, one of which struck Coronado and knocked him down. The place being taken, after an hour's struggle, the troops found provisions, but no gold; and so great did the excitement become against De Niza, for his falsehoods, that he was obliged to flee.

1542.

It is not necessary to enter into a further detail of the incidents attending Coronado's invasion of New Mexico, to denote that he was resisted at every point by the native tribes. He passed one winter in the country, and then returned to New Gallicia, leaving the troops under the command of subordinates. The following year was devoted to an exploration of this territory, extending to the Colorado on the west, and to the Rio Grande on the east. The expedition crossed this stream, passing the head waters of the Pecos, and pursued their route to the buffalo plains of the Arkansas. If De Soto was amused by Indian rumors, which led him from place to place, in Florida, Coronado and his officers were equally misled by reports of towns, cities, and mines, said to exist throughout New Mexico, including the extreme western portions of Texas, and the southwestern part of Louisiana and Arkansas. The country was only conquered while the Spaniards remained. They found no large

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or well-built towns; neither roads, nor bridges, nor elaborate temples; and no mines of the precious metals. Discovering it to be but a barren conquest, difficult of maintenance, and destitute of resources, the Spanish army prepared to abandon it to its original owners, and, after passing their second winter in the high and bleak elevations west of the Rio Grande, they returned to Mexico.

Thus terminated the celebrated expedition of Coronado, by which we first acquired a knowledge of the manners, customs, 58

72 Section Third. — Contention of France and Spain for the Occupation of Florida.

Chapter I. — Voyages of Ribault and Laudonniere.

THUS far our information regarding the Indian tribes had been derived, in direct sequence, from incidental notices of the operations of De Leon and Vasquez, in the south; of Cartier and Roberval in the north; of Verrazani in the area of the central littoral tribes; of Narvaez and De Soto among the Appalachian and the Issati, or Great "Western family; and of Caba de Vaca and Coronado among the Querchos, or Buffalo Hunters, and the house building tribes of the high plains of New Mexico. The year 1542 witnessed the failure of the last three principal attempts at colonization, those of Cartier, De Soto, and Coronado.

Twenty years, of comparative inaction and quiet, succeeded these energetic efforts to found territorial sovereignties in the extensive country possessed by the Indians. In the meantime, the Reformation had made such progress in Europe, as to engender a new and bitter source of discord between the subjects of the colonizing powers. Loyola had taught the ancient Christian faith to the natives of East India, and Las Casas was selected to perform the same service for the benighted, and, as he thought, ill-used aborigines of America. Religious instruction was considered to be an essential adjunct of every attempt to explore, conquer, and colonize; an ecclesiastical force always accompanying those expeditions, whose duty it was to divert the attention of the native tribes, from their gross daemonology and idolatry, to God.

Prominent among the converts in France, to the new doctrines promulgated by Luther and Calvin, was Admiral Coligni, a man of much influence, one of the nobility, and holding a high rank. The narrow-minded Charles IX., then a mere boy, and his

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more famed, but bigoted mother, Catherine de Medicis, were then in power in France. Coligni, being desirous of providing an asylum for his persecuted countrymen, professing the Protestant faith, turned his attention to the New World. He first made an experiment in Brazil, which failed, through the treachery of Villegagnon, his agent, who renounced his faith; he next directed his thoughts to Florida, then a geographical term, having an almost continental extent, but which, in 1524, had been named New France, by Verrazani. He received a patent from the king for founding a colony in this quarter, and provided two ships, which were placed under the command of John Ribault, a skilful and resolute Huguenot, who set sail from Havre de Grace on the 18th of February, 1562. Steering a nearly direct course across the Atlantic, without touching at any of the West India islands, he made the coast of Florida on the last day of April, the voyage having occupied a little over two months, owing to the delay caused by tempestuous weather. The following day he cast anchor off the mouth of the St. John's river, naming it the river of May; then, entering it with his boats, he ascertained that there was a good depth of water in the channel.

Ribault took possession of the country in the name of the king, and erected a stone monument, which he had brought with him from France for that purpose. Having established a friendly, as well as pleasant intercourse with the natives, and spent a few days with them, he re-embarked, and, during "four weeks" continued his voyage along the coast, until he arrived at Port Royal, within the present limits of South Carolina. Finding, on exploring it by means of his boats, that the harbor was spacious, the water deep, and the anchorage excellent, he entered it with his largest ships, and dropped his anchors in a good position. The territory in which he then was, had been named Chicora by the natives, as also by the early Spanish adventurers. Magnificent scenery, both land and water, was spread before him in every direction. Delighted with the prospect, he took formal possession of the surrounding territory by erecting an engraved monumental stone, bearing the king's arms. Having determined to found a settlement at this place, a suitable spot was selected, which is supposed to have been near to, or on the site of the present town of Beaufort, where he erected a fortification called Fort Charles. Leaving thirty men, well provided with arms, tools, and supplies, to begin operations, he placed them under the command of Albert de Peirria, and then returned to France. Being a strictly conscientious man, Ribault did not follow the example of the Spanish mariners, and abduct the natives of the country, that he might exhibit them in Europe as specimens of the Indian race.

The Chicora Indians, having naturally very gentle manners, were kind in supplying the colonists with the zea maize, and rendering them other services. In these offices of kindness, the local chief, Andasta, took a prominent part, and was

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seconded by others at more southerly points, who were respectively entitled Ouade, Couexes, Maccoa, Outina, Satouriona, Wosta, Oleteraca, Timagoon, and Potanon, the orthographical elements of which names do not coincide with the Muscogee, Cherokee, or any known number of the Floridian stock.

The colonists themselves, however, being idle and factious, planted nothing, and had no idea of directing their attention to the real business before them. Peirria having no proper conception of the authority delegated to him, became an inflated tyrant, hanged one of the men as a measure of discipline, and performed other arbitrary acts. Eventually the colonists rebelled against his authority, and put him to death; after which, having appointed another leader in his stead, they determined to build a vessel and return in it to France. This plan was carried out, and the entire party embarked, abandoning the fort. The voyage having been long, as well as tempestuous, and the vessel, weak and miserable, they suffered horribly. Most of them died of starvation and exposure. At length, when near the coast of France, an English vessel hove in sight, by which the few survivors were saved.

At this period, events were equally as transitory in the Old World as in the New. When Ribault returned to France, after establishing his little colony at Fort Charles, and giving it promises of assistance, he found the contest between the Catholics and the Reformers raging with greater violence than ever, and Coligni to be so much involved in this struggle, that he applied to the king in vain for succor for the colony. As soon, however, as the warfare against the Huguenots had subsided, three ships were fitted out to convey assistance to the colony in Chicora, and placed under the orders of Rene de Laudonniere, who, in addition to the ordinary outfit of men and supplies, was provided with an artist, who had orders to sketch the features, as also the costumes of the natives, and other curiosities.

1564.

Laudonniere sailed from Havre de Grace on the 22d of April, 1564, being one year and nine months subsequent to the first departure of Ribault from the same port. Intelligence of the sad fate of those left at Fort Charles, had, evidently, been received in France prior to this time, although the fact is not distinctly stated. However, be that as it may, Laudonniere did not proceed to Fort Charles, but, on the 25th of June, cast anchor off the mouth of the river of May, the St. John's, in Florida. On entering the river, he was received by Satouriona, and his tribe, who shouted in French, ami, ami. By them he was guided to the monument of possession erected by Ribault, which he found crowned with garlands, and surrounded by little baskets of zea maize. There was, indeed, a warmth and cordiality in the reception of the French by these aborigines, which, whatever may have occasioned it, has marked the intercourse of the French with the Indians, from that day to the present;

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which friendly feelings have not been manifested by them toward any other nation whatever.

Laudonniere was entranced, not only with the picturesque beauty of the country, but also with its fertility, and its fragrant, as well as luxuriant vegetation. Quitting the St. John's, he sailed northwardly along the coast until he entered a river, which he named the Somme, where he was also received in a friendly manner by the Indians. A few days subsequently he returned again to the St. John's, and built a fort on its southern banks, about three leagues from its mouth, which he named Caroline, in honor of Charles IX. The events connected with the history of this fort — the meeting, the improvements, the buccaneering and the executions, the visit to the friendly chief, Andasta, at Port Royal, Indian negotiations, fights, and other occurrences — impart a deep interest to this portion of the narrative; but they can only be thus incidentally noticed. Their result was the transmission of false reports to France, in consequence of which, Laudonniere was recalled.

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Chapter II. — Second Visit of Ribault to Florida. Treacherous Massacre of Himself and His Men.

1565.

THE intestine dissensions in France having been in a measure allayed, Admiral Coligni renewed his representations to the king, in favor of his plan of colonization in Florida. Early in January, 1565, authority was granted him to equip seven vessels for another voyage thither, with all possible despatch. This squadron was placed under the command of Ribault, who found no difficulty in procuring as many volunteers as he deemed necessary for the service, some of whom carried with them their wives and children. Whatever reports may have reached France concerning the untoward events at Fort Charles, they do not appear to have dampened the energy with which this expedition was equipped. Ribault sailed from Dieppe on the 27th of May, and arrived at the river St. John's, Florida, on the 28th of August. Ascending the river to Fort Caroline, he was welcomed by Laudonniere, whose conduct he approved. A few days subsequently, September 4th, a Spanish squadron, under the command of Menendez, a narrow-minded, and cruel bigot, arrived at the same place, with a comparatively large force of men, and more substantial and larger vessels. He held a commission from Philip II., to make discoveries and found a colony, and had explicit instructions to expel the Huguenots and Lutherans, who had fled from France under the patronage of Coligni.

A struggle for sovereignty ensued, which was rendered more rancorous by the admixture of religious elements in the strife. The crowned heads of Spain and France were still involved in the struggles of a contest between Catholicity and Protestantism — between the ancient form of worship, and the more modern one, originated by Luther and his co-laborers in the field of religion.

On the 8th of September, Menendez landed a few leagues south of the St. John's, at a point where laborers had been set to work, a day or two previous, to erect a fortification, which he named St. Augustine. Ribault, having determined to put to sea and attack the squadron, assembled his officers to deliberate on the measure. Objections were made to it by Laudonniere, but the voices of the majority concurred in the plan. At this time an Indian chief arrived, with the news that the Spaniards were digging trenches, and erecting breastworks, at the place where they had landed. By attacking

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their shipping, Ribault thought he would most effectually frustrate their design. Flushed with this idea, he took nearly all the available force of the fort, and set sail to encounter the enemy. At first calms, and, subsequently, a storm, prevented the contest, and drove the French out to sea. Menendez, learning the defenceless condition of Fort Caroline, determined to march against it with 500 men. Heavy rains, and the intervention of marshes, protracted his movements; but, after three days' march, across the country, under the direction of Indian guides, his army reached the environs of the fort. The Spaniards advanced cautiously, and were not seen until they were close to the fort, which, taking advantage of some breaches, they at once assaulted. The contest was short; the works were soon stormed, and the survivors were nearly all immediately put to the sword; bigoted zeal adding its incitement to the perpetration of these horrors. It is stated that, on the 20th of September, when it was attacked, Fort Caroline had but eighty-six persons within its walls, a part of whom were women and children. Only nine or ten had ever borne arms, and but seventeen soldiers were fit for service, including some who were still confined, from the effects of wounds received in a battle with the Indians. The fort itself was found to be in a dilapidated state, Laudonniere having used the timber of one angle to build a vessel, when he had determined to abandon it. Laudonniere escaped into the woods, together with some others. Several of the prisoners were reserved to be hanged, and, having been taken to a tree standing near the fort, were all suspended on its limbs. The following inscription was then affixed to the trunk, "Not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans."

Meantime the squadron of Ribault was wrecked on the Florida coast, without, however, the loss of any lives. The commander, after organizing his force, began his march back to Fort Caroline, following the coast line. Starvation soon reduced the men to mere skeletons. At length, on the banks of a stream, they were confronted by Menendez, with superior forces. A parley, negotiations, and a surrender ensued, the French delivering up their arms. They were then conveyed across the river in squads, and, as soon as each squad reached the other side, their hands were tied behind their backs, after which they were marched off to a distance and shot. When Ribault at last discovered the treachery, he was almost immediately deprived of life by a Spanish soldier, who stabbed him with a poniard; and Ortez, his junior in command, shared the same fate.

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Chapter III. — The Chevalier Gourgues Retaliates Upon the Spanish Settlement in Florida.

INTELLIGENCE of the horrid treachery of the Spaniards was received in France with one universal burst of indignation. The relatives of the persons massacred in Florida petitioned the king for redress, alleging that they had gone thither by his authority, and that, consequently, it was his crown that had been insulted. The nation demanded that the king of Spain should be required to make atonement for the atrocities of his subjects. But Charles IX. cared no more for these events than did Philip II. Protestantism being a heresy loathed by both monarchs, nothing was done. The blood of Ribault, and of his 900 followers, vainly appealed to the French government for vengeance.

1567.

At length the matter was taken in hand by the Chevalier Dominico Gourgues, a Gascon gentleman, descended from an ancient family. He possessed an enviable reputation for courage, influence, and moral character, and stood high in public estimation for his military services, both in France and in foreign countries. His success and skill in naval affairs were also of a high order.

At his own cost, Gourgues equipped three vessels, of moderate tonnage, adapted to the navigation of small rivers and shallow bays. In calling for volunteers, both soldiers and sailors, he told no one his precise object, the prestige of his name being sufficient. He mustered 100 soldiers having fire arms, among whom were gentlemen, and eighty mariners armed with cross-bows, who designed also to act with the military force. He carried with him provisions for one year. It was the 22d of August before he left the coast of France. He appeared to meditate a descent on the shores of Africa, which he really visited, but, finally, steering across the Atlantic, he made the shores of Brazil, whence he directed his course to Cape St. Antonio, or the west cape of Cuba. At this place he called his men together, and revealed to them the object of the expedition. He stated the injuries inflicted upon their country, the insult to their king, the gross violation of all recognised laws of war, and, above all, the

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outrages upon humanity. Having aroused their enthusiasm, and excited their feelings and sense of justice, he sailed into the river Somme, now St. Mary's, the coast boundary between Florida and Georgia.

Nearly a year had elapsed in the performance of the long and circuitous voyage, and in the delays incident to the landings which had been made. Spring had again clothed the Florida coasts in verdure. It was early in the month of April, when Gourgues entered the river St. Mary's. The Indians were assembled in considerable numbers, and evinced signs of hostility, until they ascertained that the new comers were French. The chief, Satouriona, was there to welcome him, and restored to him a young Frenchman (Pierre Delre), who had escaped to the Indians after the massacre of the garrison of Fort Caroline, and who, subsequently, became very serviceable to the French as an interpreter. Satouriona soon gave Gourgues to understand that the Indians hated the Spaniards, whose domination was irksome, and at once agreed to aid Gourgues in an attack on the three Spanish forts, then located on the St. John's. The movements of Gourgues were very rapid. Finding the Indians ready to second him, he determined to attack the enemy immediately. In three days the Indians, to the number of 300, armed with bows, and led on by experienced warriors, set out by land for a rendezvous on the St. John's. Gourgues, intending to proceed by water, embarked his men in boats; but the winds being adverse, when half way thither, he landed and marched across the country. When he arrived at the rendezvous, all the Indians were there, ready and eager for the fray.

A conference having been held with the Indian chiefs, they marched forward, and just at night-fall reached the river. It was decided to attack the fort on the south bank at daybreak, the Indians being skilful guides; but it happened that the tide in a creek near the fort was up, making it then too deep to ford. This caused a delay, during the continuance of which they lay in ambush, in the forest, to avoid discovery. When the tide flowed out, the allies crossed the creek unobserved, stormed and carried the fort, sword in hand, retaining but few prisoners.

The feelings of Gourgues and his men were much excited by the capture of a culverine, having the arms of Henry IV. engraved on it, which had been mounted in Fort Caroline. Ordering his boats around, he determined immediately to assault the north fort. He embarked his men in military order; but the Indians, too impatient to wait for the return of the boats, plunged into the river and swam across. Seeing so great an array, the garrison, sixty in number, made no show of defence, but fled, with the intention of seeking shelter in another fort, situated three miles above. But they were met by another strong party of French, and, being hemmed in by the Indians in the rear, were completely cut to pieces, with the exception of fifteen men, who were detained, that they might be hanged.

Fort Matheo, the strongest of the three, which the Spaniards had erected after the capture of Fort Caroline, was still unharmed. While meditating on the best mode of

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attack, they were informed by one of the Spanish prisoners, a soldier from Fort Matheo, of the exact height of its walls, to scale which, ladders were at once prepared. At this time the Indians discovered a Spaniard in camp, in the disguise of an Indian, who proved to be a spy. From him Gourgues learned that the garrison consisted of 260 men, that the fort was large, and that it was believed that Gourgues had a force of 2000 men. He instantly determined on his plan of attack, and, after two days spent in preparation, he directed the Indians to conceal themselves in the forest, on both sides of the river, near the fort. He then crossed in boats with his whole force, merely leaving behind him fifteen men as a guard. As soon as his army was seen from the fort, the Spaniards opened their culverines on him, to avoid the effects of which, he landed and took possession of an eminence, overlooking the fort and the movements of its garrison, while his own troops were concealed and protected. He designed taking the work by escalade the following morning, but the Spaniards precipitated matters by ordering a sally of sixty men. Gourgues ordered an officer and twenty men to get between the fort and the sallying party, by a circuitous route, which being accomplished, he marched rapidly forward, directing his forces to reserve their fire for a close contest, and, after the first discharge, to rush on sword in hand. Many of the foe fell, and, though the rest fought bravely, they were at length obliged to retreat; but, encountering the force in their rear, every man was slain, no quarter being given.

Seeing the flower of their force thus cut down, the garrison, crediting the exaggerated reports of the French strength, fled across the river, where the Indians, lying in ambush, rose upon them with overwhelming fury. Such was their skill in the use of the arrow, that one of them passed through the buckler of a Spanish officer, and entered his body, killing him dead on the spot. The French, having again crossed the river, assaulted the Spaniards in the rear, killing all who escaped the Indians; and thus the entire garrison perished, with the exception of a few, reserved for the gallows, as a retaliation for the cruelty of the Spaniards, after the surrender of Ribault.

Fort Matheo was entered triumphantly, and was found to contain a large quantity of arms, nine culverines, of all sizes, and eighteen casks of powder. The following day the boats were freighted with the artillery; but the magazine was blown up by a secret train, left by the enemy, which was unwittingly fired by an Indian, while cooking fish.

The work of retribution was not, however, as yet, fully completed. Drawing up his men, and the auxiliary Indians who had taken so active a part in the short campaign, and placing all the Spanish prisoners whom he had taken, in the centre, Gourgues addressed the latter, recounting to them the atrocities committed by Menendez, and finished by condemning them to immediate execution, in the same manner as that adopted by the Spaniards. They were then taken to the same tree which had served as the Tyburn of Menendez, and upon which he had placed the inscription — "Not as

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Frenchmen, but as Lutherans." The thirty prisoners having been suspended upon its limbs, Gourgues, with a red-hot pointed iron, inscribed upon a strip of pine board — "Not as Spaniards, but as traitors, robbers, and murderers;" which was fastened to the natural gallows.

Immediately returning with his cavaliers, Satouriona, and his native allies, to St. Mary's river, where he had left his ships, and, having distributed presents to the Indians, who were in ecstacies with his martial exploits, Gourgues exchanged the most friendly salutations and civilities with them, and then, on the 3d of May, set sail for France, arriving at the port of Rochelle on the 6th of June, after a very prosperous voyage.

82 Section Fourth. — The English Element of Civilization in America.

Chapter I. — Discovery of Virginia, and its Aborigines.

No man, living during the reign of Elizabeth, acquired greater celebrity for military exploits, naval skill, enthusiastic pursuit of trans-Atlantic discoveries, and the furtherance of colonization, than did Sir Walter Raleigh. He was equally renowned for his wit, learning, eloquence, and accomplishments. Descended from a noble family in Devonshire, he was educated at Oxford, and, after serving with distinguished credit in France, under Coligni and Conde; in the Netherlands, under the Prince of Orange; and in Ireland, against the rebels; he was received at Elizabeth's court with marked favor. The world is indebted to Raleigh for the discovery of Virginia. His plans for promoting colonization on the Atlantic coast were early developed, and he was, beyond all others, the zealous, as well as steadfast, advocate of the policy of extending the power and civilization of England to the wild, but beauteous shores of America. He commanded an expedition which explored Guiana, in South America, and ascended the Orinoco to the distance of 400 miles from its mouth. Subsequently, he wrote an account of the countries visited by him, which is celebrated for its truthful, glowing, and graphic descriptions. Having been one of the originators of the expedition of Sir Humphrey Gilbert (his half-brother), to Newfoundland, when that attempt to found a colony failed, he obtained letters patent from Elizabeth, authorizing him to renew the effort in a more southerly latitude, on the Atlantic. These letters were dated on the 25th of March, 1584, nearly six years after the failure of Gilbert's attempt. The authority to make discoveries, and found a colony, was plenary, but the government did not undertake to defray any part of the cost. It was, strictly

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speaking, a private, or associate adventure, the crown conferring upon the projectors the proprietorship of the country discovered, merely stipulating for the usual acknowledgment of sovereignty, by the surrender of one-fifth of the proceeds of all mines. Some grants of licenses on wines, and other emoluments, were at the same period bestowed upon Raleigh, to enable him to liquidate the charges of his equipment; in addition to which he associated with him other persons possessing means and influence, among whom were included blood relations. Two vessels were provided, and placed under the respective commands of Philip Amidas, and Arthur Barlow, the latter of whom had served under Raleigh in Ireland, as an officer of the land forces. On the 2d of April the ships sailed out of the Thames, and, following the usual circuitous route, via the Canaries and the West Indies, arrived off the coast of Florida on the 2d of July. The Virginia coasts were occupied by clans of Algonquins, of the Powhatanic type. Each clan obeyed the authority of its own chief, but all were associated in a general confederacy, which was ruled by Powhatan, whose council fire and residence were located on the James river. Those who lived on the coasts relied on fish as one of the means of their subsistence. The hunting-grounds extended west to the general line of the falls of the Virginia rivers, where a diverse stock, as well as language, supervened, extending to the Alleghanies. Whatever occurrence of moment happened on the borders, as the appearance of enemies, or strangers, was immediately communicated to the central administration. In this way a sort of inchoate republic was governed.

Amidas and Barlow approached a low shore, covered with trees, fringed with an outer line of islands and islets. Having cast anchor, Barlow landed in his yawl at the island of Wococon, where he admired the handsome trees, indigenous fruits, and vigorous vegetation. But no Indians appeared until the third day, when, three of the natives approaching in a canoe, a friendly intercourse ensued. The following day, the ships were visited by several canoes, in one of which was Granganameo, Powhatan's brother. At this interview, friendly salutations and presents were exchanged. The Indians are described as "a proper well-proportioned people, very civil in their manners and behaviour." After this interview, reciprocal confidence being established, a traffic was commenced.

Amidas then proceeded to enter Pamlico Sound, and the following day, at evening, anchored near the island of Roanoke, which he estimated to be seven leagues distant from Occoquon, the first place of landing.

At Roanoke the English found a small village comprising nine houses, one of which was occupied by the family of Granganameo, the chief being absent. His wife received Amidas with courtesy and hospitality. She was an energetic woman, and ordered

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their boats to be drawn ashore, and the oars to be carried up to the village, to guard them from thieves. The feet of the English having been washed in warm water, she then invited them to partake of hominy, boiled venison, and roasted fish, with a dessert of "melons and other vegetables."

Fearing treachery, Amidas embarked in his boat at evening, and, pushing it out into the sound, anchored off the village, intending thus to pass the night. The wife of Granganameo, divining the reason for this precaution, and evidently regretting his mistrust, sent down the evening's meal, in pots, to the shore. She also ordered mats to be carried to the boat, to shelter the English from the night dews, and directed several men, and thirty women, to remain there all night, as a guard.

This constituted the extreme limit of their discoveries. Returning to their anchorage, the explorers spent two months and a half on the coast, when, having finished their traffic, they set sail for England, about the middle of September, carrying with them two natives, called Manteo and Wasechoe. The safe return of the ships, and the narration of the discoveries made, created a strong sensation, and Elizabeth was so much pleased with the description of the country, and the prospect of extending her sovereignty which it presented, that she named it Virginia, in allusion to her own state of single-blessedness.

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Chapter II.— The Powhatanic Tribes of Virginia, as they are Reported on the Second Voyage.

1585.

THE desire to found colonies was effectually aroused in England, by the results of this discovery, which was the germ of the British colonial establishments. It needed not the prophetic bard to pen the exclamation, "Visions of glory, spare my aching sight!" nor the voice of the Indian sage, Opechan, to bid his countrymen fear, and fly before the footsteps of a people, who brought in their train the subtle genii of labour, letters, and Christianity.

The pioneer ships had scarcely returned from Virginia, when a second voyage was resolved on. Sir Richard Grenville, who had been one of the promoters of the first effort, originated this second adventure, and determined to lead it. For this enterprize, seven ships were equipped in the harbor of Plymouth, and fully provided with all necessary supplies. Raleigh was deeply interested in this new effort, and to render it successful, nothing was omitted, which, at that era, was deemed essential. The presence of Manteo, and his companion, had excited a lively interest in the public mind respecting the aborigines, and, in order to acquire correct ideas of their features, manners, and customs, Raleigh sent out Mr. With, or Wyth, a skilful writer. A gentleman of his household, Thomas Harriot, a noted mathematician and scholar, also accompanied the expedition, for the purpose of describing their character. Manteo returned to Virginia as guide and interpreter.

The ships sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April, and, after crossing the Atlantic, on the 26th of May anchored off the island of Occoquon, having made the passage in forty-seven days. At this time the principal local ruler on the coast was Wingina, who resided on the island of Roanoke. To him a deputation was immediately despatched, under the guidance of Manteo, who is uniformly praised for his fidelity.

Other parties were sent off in different directions, to acquire a knowledge of the geography, and make inquiry concerning the productions, of the country. Sir Richard, himself, crossed to the main land, and explored the villages on the Chowan river, where he involved himself and attendants in hostilities with the natives. The manner

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in which this difficulty arose was as follows: The Indians had stolen a silver cup from his mess furniture, in revenge for which, after his return to the island of Occoquon, he burned their village and destroyed their corn. After perpetrating this impolitic and cruel outrage, he suddenly determined to return to England. He left a colony of 180 persons on the island of Occoquon, over whom he appointed Mr. Ralph Lane, governor. On his route home he visited the West Indies, with the expectation of encountering Spanish vessels; and, having captured a large ship, returned with his prize to Plymouth, which he reached on the 18th of September, after an absence of a little more than six months.

Lane and his companions immediately located the colony on the island of Roanoke. Under his directions they continued the reconnoissance of the country, exploring the coasts to the southward, as far as an Indian village called Secotan, near the mouth of Neus river, and northward as far as the village of the Chesapeake Indians, who resided on Elizabeth river. To the northwest, they ascended the Chowan river 130 miles, to the territory occupied by a nation called Chowanocks, a branch of the Iroquois stock. At Cape Hatteras, whither they went, by water, under the guidance of the friendly Manteo, they had an interview with Granganameo, which is the last mention we have of this chief, in Virginia history.

Richard Grenville's exploratory trip, and his severity toward the Indians, seconded as it was by the aggressive policy pursued by his successors, had the effect of keeping the settlers in a state of confusion, and continual dread of the aborigines. The colonists soon found that they were regarded by the Indians with suspicion and mistrust. Finesse was retaliated by finesse, deception by deception. In one of their numerous broils with the natives, the colonists killed Wingina. About the same time, Granganameo, their best friend, died, and his death was followed by that of his aged father, Ensenore. A general state of unfriendly feeling at this time existed towards the English. The colonists planted nothing, and, with great reluctance, the Indians partially supplied them with corn, game, and fish, which, at length, they withheld altogether. The result of this non-intercourse policy was, that parties of the colonists were necessitated to forage for supplies on the islands, and some on the main land. Finally, they were compelled to subsist on roots and shell-fish. A party of twenty men, while thus employed at Croatan, on the southern part of Cape Lookout, descried a squadron of twenty-three ships, standing in. This fleet proved to be that of Sir Francis Drake, returning from an expedition against the Spaniards. They had taken, and plundered, Carthagena and Hispaniola, and burned the towns of St. Anthony and St. Helena, on the Florida coast.

Drake had orders from Queen Elizabeth to visit and succor the Virginia colony.

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He furnished them with a ship of seventy tons burthen, 100 men, and four months' provisions, but the vessel was driven off the coast by a tempest. He then supplied them with another vessel of 120 tons burthen, manned and provisioned, but it was found to be impossible to get her over the bar at the entrance to the sound. Then the colonists at Roanoke, considering that they had already suffered "much misery and danger," and had not received the expected supplies, promised by Grenville, solicited permission to return to England in the fleet of Drake. To this request Sir Francis gave his ready assent, and they were all safely landed at Portsmouth, about the close of July, 1586. On this trip, Governor Lane first carried the tobacco plant from Virginia to England.

Of the customs, rites, creed, and opinions of the Indians, Mr. Herriot gives the following account: "They believe in one God, who is self-existent and eternal, and the creator of the world. After this he created an order of inferior gods, to carry out his government. That then the sun, moon, and stars, were created as instruments of the secondary gods. The waters were then made, becoming the vital principle of all creatures. He next created a woman, who, by the congress of one of the gods, brought forth children, and thence mankind had their beginnings. They thought the gods were all of human shape, and worshipped them, by their images, dancing, singing, and praying, with offerings. They believed in the immortality of the soul, which was destined to future happiness, or to inhabit Popagussa, a pit, or place of torment, where the sun sets; and this doctrine they based on the assertion of persons who had returned after death." These doctrines are said to have had much weight with the common Indians, but to have made but little impression on their Weroances, or rulers, and priests. How accurately they were reported, and how much they were colored by Christian predilections, may be judged of by the known repugnance of the native sages to give information on such points; by their soon being on ill terms, or at open war, with the English; and by the probability that some of the more striking characteristics of this alleged Indian creed had been derived from traditions, related by Manteo and Granganameo — the first a baptised convert, and the latter a politic friend of the English, and an admirer of their manners.

Wingina, himself, would often be at prayers with the English, it having been their practice to read the service publicly in the presence of the Indians. But it was evident that they deemed the English great necromancers, possessing almost unlimited influence with the gods; firmly believing that they could inflict diseases, ensure death, and impart vigor to the growth of, or destroy, their corn crops. The Bible, which was read by the English, and regarded as the exponent of the purest doctrines, the Indians considered to be a talisman, whose virtues resided in the material of the book, and not in its spiritual teachings. They deemed it a favor to handle, hug, and kiss it, passing it over their faces, and rubbing it over their breasts.

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Mr. Herriot observed that they had great esteem and veneration for a plant — a spontaneous growth of the country — which they called Uppowoc, but which was even then better known by the name of tobacco. The leaves of this, cured and dried, they smoked in earthen tubes, drawing up the smoke by inhalation. The fumes of this plant were offered to their gods with ceremonial rites, and extravagant genefluxions. They threw its dust on nets to consecrate them for use, and into the air as a thanksgiving for dangers past. But its most sacred use was casting it into fires kindled for sacrifice, to produce a kind of incense to heaven. This eminent mathematician, and pious scholar, as he is termed, has been severely criticised for defending those rites; nor has Sir Walter Raleigh escaped the charge of infidelity, for the interest with which he received, and his example in introducing the use of tobacco into gay and fashionable society. The great value which the North American Indians place upon tobacco, is one of the most universal and well known of their traits. There is nothing in more esteem in their social, ceremonial, and religious circles, every solemnity being opened with its use. In their religious rites it is the most highly venerated thing on their altars. In social life it is the first requisite inquired for, and (as I have frequently noticed in travelling through the Indian territories) it is valued above food. Were there nothing else to identify the present race with the inhabitants of the Virginia coasts in 1586, the general use of, and the value attached to tobacco, would supply irrefragable evidence of their propinquity. The lapse of nine generations has not, in the least, diminished their extraordinary attachment to this narcotic production.

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Chapter III. — Perturbed State of the Virginia Indians During the Voyages Subsequently Made to that Coast, in the Sixteenth Century.

1586.

THE early intercourse of the English with the Virginia tribes partook of an entirely friendly character. The interests of both parties were subserved. The Indians were delighted to exchange their commodities for European fabrics, of which they stood more in need; while this new branch of commerce promised to be very remunerative to the adventurers. The friendship of Powhattan's brother, Granganameo, who resided on the island of Roanoke, was secured by the first voyagers, and, through the means of Manteo and Wasechoe, who accompanied the first ships on their return to England, considerable advance was made in the study of the habits and tribal relations of the Indians, and of the geography of their country. The first event which disturbed these friendly relations, was the extraordinary course taken by Sir Richard Grenville, in retaliation for the theft of a silver cup from his mess furniture. Manteo, having made some progress in English, returned from England with the colonists, and was of great service to them as an interpreter, guide, and adviser. So great was the sense Sir Walter Raleigh entertained of the merits and morals of Manteo, that he directed him, when baptised, to be given the title of "Lord of Roanoke." Granganameo, who had welcomed Amidas, continued to be friendly, but this friendship was incited by a motive which did not at first appear. He expected the English to aid him against Wingina, his elder brother, or half-brother — a powerful and ambitious party sachem, who, unfortunately for the English, appears not to have yielded to the sway of Powhattan, and against whom he was, consequently, at war. This hope, and policy of Granganameo, was gratified. In a short time the colonists began to regard Wingina with great suspicion. They watched his motions, and, in the end accused him of concocting a plot to exterminate them. Amidas had been abundantly supplied by Granganameo, with venison, herring and other fish; and he had been received by his wife at Roanoke, during the absence of the chief, with great attention and hospitality; but it appeared that he did not consider the island to be a safe permanent residence, for, on a subsequent voyage, Sir Richard Grenville found him located at Cape Hatteras. One of the first acts of Sir Richard, on reaching

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Occoquon, was to send to the island of Roanoke, and announce his arrival to Wingina, who is styled "the King." Manteo kept up friendly relations with both chieftains. He accompanied an agent to visit the tribes on the main land, and proved himself a very trustworthy person. Sir Richard was so much pleased with this reconnoissance, that, accompanied by a select body of men, he repeated the visit to the main land, and discovered several Indian towns. During this excursion the loss of the silver cup occurred, in revenge for which he burned an Indian town, and destroyed the corn-fields of its inhabitants.

After committing this imprudent action, he, with some precipitancy, returned to England, consigning the government of the colony to Mr. Ralph Lane, and the charge of the ships to Captain Amidas. Mr. Thomas Harriot was directed to continue his observations on the manners and customs of the Indians. Lane immediately removed the colony to Roanoke, at the entrance to Albemarle Sound, and, employing persons to make a thorough survey of the coast, thus made himself acquainted with the geography and resources of the country. These researches extended southwardly eighty leagues, to the Neus river, and northwardly to the territory of the Chesapeakes, an Indian tribe located on a stream, named by the English, Elizabeth river.

These explorations were extended towards the northwest, up the Albemarle Sound and Chowan river, a distance of 130 miles. Lane personally directed the exploring party, and was accompanied by Manteo. The Chowan is formed by the junction of the Meherrin and Nottaway. At this point Lane entered the country of the Chowanocks.

The ruling chief, a lame man, named Menatonon, possessing an excellent understanding, told Mr. Lane a notable story of a copper mine, and a pearl fishery, the latter of which he located on the coast. He intermingled his narrative with a strange tale, that the head of the Maratuc, now called Roanoke river, sprang out of a rock which was so close to the sea, that, when high winds prevailed, the "foam from the waves was driven over into the spring." Presuming this sea to be an arm of the Gulf of Mexico, or the South Sea (Pacific), Lane undertook a very chimerical voyage to find it. Every hardship was endured while prosecuting this hazardous undertaking, with the hope of making golden discoveries. At last the explorers were compelled to subsist on a pint of corn per day, and, when this was exhausted, they boiled two mastiff dogs, with sassafras leaves. After some days spent in a fruitless search, the adventurers were glad to return to their quarters at Roanoke.

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At this time Granganameo died. He had been the tried friend of the English, and was at all times seconded in his good offices by his father, Ensenore. Their joint influence had been sufficient to restrain Wingina's malice and perfidy. But after Granganameo's death, being afforded a free scope for the pursuit of his machinations, he at once changed his name from Wingina to Pemissapan, and became the inveterate enemy of the Virginia colonists. By his representations he had been instrumental in entailing much suffering and hardship upon Mr. Lane, in his explorations of the Chowan river; but when the governor returned, bringing with him the son of Chowanock as a prisoner, and Manteo, and others, related the bravery and power of endurance of Lane's company, his haughty aspect was changed, and the bravado speeches made during their absence, were heard no more. These reports of the capacity of the colonists to sustain themselves, were confirmed by a present of pearl sent to Mr. Lane from Menatonon, the king of the Chowanocks, and another present from Okisco, the chief of Weopemcoka, a powerful coast tribe. These friendly demonstrations had such an effect upon Wingina, that he directed weirs to be constructed, for the supply of the colonists with fish, and caused them to be taught how to plant their fields of corn. But this friendship was speedily interrupted by the death of the venerable and wise chief, Ensenore. The two best political friends of the English being now dead, Wingina, under pretence of celebrating his father's funeral, invited a large number of Indians to assemble, with the intention of annihilating the colony at one blow. The plot was revealed by Skico, the son of Menatonon, who had been taken prisoner by the expedition to the head of the Chowan river.

The colonists immediately seized all the Indian canoes on the island, thinking thus to entangle the Indians in their own toils. But the latter took the alarm, and, after a skirmish, in which five or six of their number were slain, the remainder made good their escape to the forest. Both parties now maintained the closest watch over each other's movements; but, after much manoeuvring, Wingina was at length entrapped and slain, together with eight of his principal warriors.

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Chapter IV. — Hostilities with the Dessamopeak, Sicopan, and Aquoscojos Tribes. Successive Abandonment of the Roanoke and Hatteras Colonies.

1586.

ALTHOUGH the death of Wingina seemed to have prepared the way for a more peaceful occupation of the country, yet, a general scarcity of food, combined with a most singular concurrence of untoward events, finally led to the abandonment of the island. The stringent position of affairs at Roanoke had, despite the efforts of industrious individuals, been increased by the withdrawal and hostility of the Indians, who had been chiefly relied upon for supplies of food. To relieve the colony, Captain Stafford, a prominent and energetic man, was despatched, with nineteen men, to the friendly Indian village of Croatan, on Cape Lookout, with the twofold purpose of enabling them to provide their own subsistence, and of keeping a watch for ships expected with relief from England. They had not been there more than seven days, when twenty-three sail of ships made their appearance. This fleet was commanded by Sir Francis Drake, who was returning from an expedition against the Spaniards in the West Indies, and on the Spanish main. He had taken Carthagena, plundered the capitol of Hispaniola, and burnt the towns of St. Anthony and St. Helena, on the Florida coast. Having received orders to succor the Virginia colony, he offered them a ship of seventy tons burthen, 100 men, and four months' provisions, as well as four smaller vessels. But these vessels were all driven to sea in a storm. Drake then tendered them a ship of 120 tons, but, unfortunately, it could not be navigated into the harbor of Roanoke. Under these circumstances, and in view of their having suffered much misery, and their dangerous position, the colonists, after some discussion, determined to solicit Sir Francis to convey them to England in his fleet. This favor was granted, and they arrived at Portsmouth in July, 1586. Drake was not more than a few days' sail from Roanoke on his homeward passage, when a ship of 100 tons burthen arrived from England with the expected supplies. The commander having made search for the colonists in vain, returned home with his vessel. About a fortnight after the departure of the latter ship, Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three ships, and ample supplies. Receiving no intelligence of the colony, he landed fifty men on the island of Roanoke, furnished them with provisions for two years, and then returned. To these successive arrivals and departures, the Indians

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remained silent spectators; but they could not fail to be impressed with the idea, that a nation which could furnish such resources, was not only affluent, but also in earnest.

During the month of July, of the following year (1587), three ships arrived, which had been sent out under the command of Governor John White, with the design of reinforcing and permanently establishing the colony. Making Cape Hatteras, Governor White immediately proceeded to the island of Roanoke, to seek for the fifty men, but there he found nothing but the skeleton of one man. The buildings were not destroyed, but the fort was dilapidated, and the ground in its vicinity overgrown with weeds. Governor White refitted the houses, resumed the occupancy of the spot, and established his government. Mr. Howe, one of the newly-appointed council, having wandered into the woods, was shot by one of Wingina's men. Captain Stafford, with twenty men, accompanied by Manteo, who had sailed to England with Drake, and again returned, was sent to Croatan, to make inquiries as to the fate of the fifty colonists. He was told that the colony had been attacked by 300 Secotan, Aquoscojos, and Dessamopeak Indians; and that, after a skirmish, in which but one Englishman was slain, the rest had retreated to their boat, and fled to a small island near Hatteras, where they staid some time, and then departed they knew not whither.

Governor White took immediate steps to renew and maintain a good understanding with the Indians; but he found them sullen and revengeful. Determining to evince the national indignation for the loss of the fifty colonists, by attacking the Dessamopeaks, who occupied the coast opposite Roanoke, he detailed for this purpose twenty four men, under Captain Stafford, and, with Manteo for his guide, left the island at twelve o'clock at night. At day-break they landed on the main shore, beyond the town, and assaulted four Indians sitting at a fire, killing one of them. On examination, these proved to be friendly Croatans, who had come thither to gather their corn; the Dessamopeak Indians having fled, as they then ascertained, after killing Howe. This act was much regretted by Manteo.

On the 13th of August, 1587, Manteo, who had, it is believed, made three voyages to England, and acquitted himself satisfactorily as the Mentor of the colony, was baptized in the Christian faith, receiving, the title of Lord of Roanoke. Another event signalized this month; the daughter of Governor White, married to a member of the council, was, on the 18th, delivered of a female child, which received the name of Virginia.

It now became necessary to select a person to visit England and solicit supplies. The Indians being generally hostile, the colonists could not cultivate sufficient ground to sustain themselves. England was at this time convulsed with alarm, in expectation of the descent of the Spanish Armada, and it was justly feared that the interests of the distant little colony would be overlooked. White being selected, he, before leaving the coast, established a colony of 100 men on an island off Cape Hatteras. Nothing was subsequently heard of this party. Whether they perished by the Indian tomahawk, or from starvation, has never been ascertained.

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On arriving in England, White found the nation in such great turmoil that nothing could be done. The company underwent a change, and an abortive attempt was made to send two barques from Biddeford, in 1588. Renewed efforts were made to succour the colony, but March, 1590, had arrived, before relief could be despatched to them. It was the 2d of August, before the ships under Governor White reached the latitudes of Croatan and Hatteras. At the latter place a smoke was observed; but, after diligent search where the governor had three years previously left a colony of 100 men, no traces of them could be found. Cannon were fired, but produced no other response than their own reverberations, and trumpets were sounded in vain. It appeared that the smoke arose from Indian fires, hastily or carelessly left. While prosecuting their search, they found the word "Croatan" written on a post, and, hence presumed that the Hatteras colony had gone to that place, where friendly Indians lived. No subsequent search developed any further trace of them; their fate had become identified with the mysteries of Indian history and of Indian crime. The attempts made to find this colony were, however, of a very puerile character. In the effort first made, under Governor White, two boats were despatched with a competent commander; but, in passing a bar on the Hatteras coast, one of the boats was half filled with water, and the other having been upset, the captain and six men were drowned. This accident exercised a depressing influence on the spirits of all concerned; but, at length, two other boats were fitted out, and sent off with nineteen men, on the same service. It was by the second expedition that the inscription before mentioned was found, together with the evidences of the hasty abandonment of the place by the colonists. Following the index of this inscription, the commander ordered the ships to weigh anchor and sail for Croatan on Cape Lookout. While proceeding thither, one of the vessels parted its cable, losing, not only the anchor attached, but also another, which had, in some manner, become entangled with it, and before they could drop a third anchor, they were in imminent peril of being driven on the strand. Discouraged by these attempts, and influenced by fallacious hopes of profit to be derived from a trip to the West Indies, whence they proposed to return in the spring and resume the search, they bore away for these western islands, an ever-attractive spot to those who coveted the wealth of the Spaniards. But the commander of the ships, after he had finished his cruise in the West Indies, would not again visit the Virginia coast, announcing his intention to return to England, which he did, despite all remonstrances. Nothing was ever heard of the colony supposed to have gone to Croatan, and the return of Governor White to England was a virtual abandonment of Virginia; after six years fruitless toil, resigning it again to the possession of its aboriginal rulers.

95 Section Fifth. — The Littoral Tribes of the North Atlantic, Within Whose Territories the Colonies were Planted.

Chapter I. — Virginia is Successfully Colonized. Jamestown is Founded in the Central Part of the Powhatanic Confederacy.

1600.

ENGLISH history, at the opening of the seventeenth century, records two great events — the death of Queen Elizabeth, which occurred in 1603, and the immediate and peaceable accession of James I. to the throne. During the same year which witnessed this change, Raleigh, the true friend of Virginia, and of American colonization, was tried for the crime of high treason, and unjustly condemned to death, though his execution did not take place until fifteen years afterwards. In 1590 Virginia had been abandoned; but, although not entirely forgotten, the attempts made to ascertain the fate of the colonists left at Hatteras, were feeble, and proved to be altogether futile. The Indian tribes may be supposed to have achieved a triumph in driving the English from their shores; but the state of discord and anarchy in which they lived, the feeble nature of the ties existing between them as tribes, and their absolute want of any stable government, was not calculated to fit them for successful resistance to the power of civilized nations. More than twelve years elapsed before the project of establishing a colony on these shores, which had been the scene of the former ineffectual struggles for colonial existence, was again broached. The most important efforts, made by the proprietors of the Virginia company, comprised the voyages of Bartholomew Gosnold, in 1602, in which he discovered Cape Cod, Martha's

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Vineyard, and Elizabeth island; and that of Captain Pring and Mr. Saltern, in 1603, who followed nearly the same track as that pursued by Gosnold. Two years subsequently George Weymouth visited a part of the eastern coast, in latitude 41° 20', and it is conjectured, from his descriptions, that he entered either Narragansett Bay, or the Connecticut river. On every side were found tribes of the Algonquin lineage, speaking their language, and having identical manners and customs. They were mild, affable, and fond of traffic, but opposed to white men, as well as to their maxims, and very treacherous. Nothing, however, more conclusively settles the question of their nationality than their language. They obeyed chiefs who were called sagamores, and they had also a higher class of rulers, denominated Bashabas.

Captain Gosnold made such favorable reports of the beauty and fertility of the countries he had visited, and of its many advantages, that renewed interest was imparted to the subject of colonization. After some years spent in advocating the plan of a colony, Gosnold induced several gentlemen to engage in it, among whom were John Smith, Edward Maria Wingfield, and the Rev. Robert Hunt. A charter was procured from King James, bearing date the 10th of April, 1606, in which Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and Richard Hackluyt, &c., were constituted the recipients of the necessary authority. Two ships were provided, and placed under the command of Christopher Newport, who sailed from England on the 19th of December. After a long and tedious voyage, which was rendered more disagreeable by violent dissensions among those on board, the ships arrived off the coast on the 26th of April, 1607, at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, the right cape of which was named Henry, and the left, Charles.

How the Indian tribes would receive the new colony, then a point of deep interest, was not long involved in doubt, for thirty men having landed on Cape Henry to recreate themselves, were attacked by Indians of the Chesapeake tribe, who wounded two of them. This might have been regarded as an indication that the colony was destined to be founded by the aid of the sword; and such, literally, has been its history. After passing the capes of the Chesapeake, the magnificent beauty of the surrounding country, the great fertility of its soil, and its numerous fruits and productions, were found to surpass every anticipation. A contemporary historian, in speaking of it, says: "Heaven and earth seems never to have agreed better to frame a place for man's accommodation and delightful habitation, were it fully cultivated and inhabited by an industrious people." The vessels entered the waters of the noble Powhatan river, to which the name of James was given, and the voyagers, after making diligent search for a location for the colony, at length selected a small peninsula on the north shore of the river, about forty miles from the ocean. The town which was here founded, was called Jamestown.

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The English were now surrounded by an almost innumerable host of wild men, who implicitly obeyed the behest of their forest monarch. They were the proprietors of a country abounding in game, fish, fowl, and every provision of nature for the sustenance of man, and cultivated a fertile soil, from which they gathered abundant crops of corn. No part of America abounds in more magnificent scenery than may be here found along the rivers, or in the beautiful grouping of mountains, forests, and plains. Powhatan had raised himself to this kingly eminence by his bravery, energy, and wisdom in council. In addition to his claim to the dignity by hereditary right, he also derived a title by the conquest of the surrounding tribes; and his position had been greatly strengthened by the practice of polygamy, which surrounded the chief with a numerous kindred, both lineal and collateral. At the time of the settlement of Virginia, Powhatan was about sixty years of age, and though the era of his personal prowess had passed away, he still wielded undiminished sway as the reigning chief, both in his lodge, and at the council fire. His head was then somewhat hoary, which, together with his stature, carriage, and countenance, gave him an air of savage majesty. The confederacy, of which he was the ruler, comprised thirty tribes, numbering about 24,000 souls. It was then estimated that there were 5000 persons residing within sixty miles of Jamestown, of whom 1500 were warriors. The whole of these tribes not only had no relish for, but detested civilization in all its forms, and despised labour, arts, letters, and Christianity. The conduct of Powhatan, as well as that of his stalwart chiefs and followers, presents an instance of that Indian duplicity, which conceals the reality of hatred under the most mild, docile, dignified, and respectful bearing. It soon, however, became evident that the calmness of the Indians too much resembled the lull of the tempest. The policy of the Wingina, on the sandy coast of Albemarle Sound, which developed itself a few years later, was the same as that which governed Powhatan. The milder tone and language of Granganameo, as also the affection evinced by Manteo, were but secondary forms of character, which, subsequently, often appeared in Indians of various tribes. Surrounded by thirty tribes, and 5000 warriors, how long could the colonists have reasonably expected to remain unmolested? When the first ship returned to England, it left but 100 men in Virginia. The dissensions which soon originated among them, were aggravated by sickness, improvidence, and the exhaustion of their supply of provisions. The Indians, who at first appeared to be friendly, now assumed a hostile attitude, and attacked the town. No more corn being delivered, speedy ruin impended; and, had it not been for John Smith, who stepped forward in this emergency, utter destruction to the colony must have resulted.

We do not here propose to enter into a detail of that remarkable instance of heroism, displayed by Pocahontas, when she offered her life as a ransom for that of the intrepid captive, and thus unwittingly placed herself in the position of guardian angel of the colony. The narrative is familiar to all, and history nowhere records a stronger case of spontaneous sympathy, elicited under parallel circumstances. But the redemption

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of the life of Smith was the salvation of the colony; and from this period we may date the exercise of that influence, which at first induced Powhatan to assume a neutral position, and then a friendly one. But this influence, although it enabled the colony to pass through its incipient trials, was soon withdrawn. Pocahontas lived only eight years (1616) after the foundation of Jamestown, and Powhatan but ten (1618). At the age of seventy, his mortal remains were laid beside those of his fathers, and nothing remained of him, who was once the terror of the coast-tribes and the colonists, but his name. Properly estimated, Powhatan was not a great man. Bravery, energy, and prudence, he evidently possessed; and, among the tribes, he had enjoyed a high name, was treated with much respect, and was obeyed as a prince.

But, there was one of his brothers who possessed a more comprehensive mind, more firmness of character, and greater power of combination, and was equally courageous and active. This was Opechanganough, who captured Smith on the hill sources of the Chickihominy. Opechanganough was six feet high, had a large frame, and possessed great physical power and activity. He was a most unflinching enemy of the colony, and, if we may rely upon descriptions, after his capture, he had a head whose anatomy would have honored Solon, with a countenance as grave, severe, and inflexible as that of Hiokato. Pometakom or Osagwatha were not more inflexibly bent on preventing the progress of the Saxon race. While Powhatan lived, Opechanganough was under his influence, but the former was no sooner dead than he plotted the destruction of the colony. Secresy, however, being his policy, his plans were carefully concealed for several years after the decease of his distinguished brother; nor were they ever revealed until the night preceding the very day on which the massacre took place, on the 22d of March, 1622. Four years had elapsed after the death of Powhatan, before Opechanganough could consummate the plot. It was preceded by a striking incident. Among the warriors who had attracted the notice of their brethren, was Nemattanow, who deemed himself invulnerable. He had been engaged in many battles, but, having escaped without a wound, his vanity was inflated by the knowledge, that the Indians regarded him as a person who could not be killed. Owing to some peculiarity of his head-dress, he was known as Jack of the Feather. This man called on a trader, named Morgan, and, coveting some of the goods belonging to the latter, Nemattanow desired his company to a place where, he stated, a good traffic could be conducted. While journeying together through the woods, the Indian murdered Morgan, and, within a few days thereafter, re-appeared at Morgan's store, wearing the cap of the deceased. Two stout and fearless lads, who had charge of the store, asking him for tidings of their master, Jack replied that he was dead. Thereupon they seized him, with the intention of conveying him before a magistrate, but the Indian captive struggled and made such resistance, after being placed in the boat, which was used as

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the means of conveyance, that the boys shot him. He was not immediately killed, but, knowing the close of his career to be near at hand, he begged they would not tell his tribesmen that he was killed by an English bullet, and desired them to conceal his body by interring it in an English burial-ground.

Opechanganough affected to be much grieved at the death of this man; but he was really gratified that he was out of the way, and made use of the circumstance as a cloak to cover his own deception. He had previously attempted to convene a large assemblage of Indians, under the pretence of doing honor to the remains of Powhatan; but his design had been frustrated. In order the more effectually to accomplish his object, he resolved to observe and enforce strict secresy among his followers, and to make no manifestation of hostility until the time chosen for a general attack. He counselled the Indians, in every part of the country, to fly to arms on an appointed day, and at the same hour, when they were to spare no one with an English face, neither man, woman, nor child. At the time designated the Indians suddenly rose, and perpetrated the most cruel and sanguinary massacre. Three hundred and forty seven men, women, and children, fell during one morning, and six of the colonial council were numbered with the slain. One of the first victims was Mr. George Thorp, the benefactor, teacher, counsellor, and friend of the natives. He had left England with the hope of effecting their conversion to Christianity, and he had, on all occasions, been their most kind, undeviating friend. He had built a house for the chief, and was about to found a college for the instruction of Indian youth. The slaughter would have been still greater, had not an Indian convert, named Chanco, chanced to sleep the previous night with a friend, and revealed to him the plot, by which incident the people of Jamestown and its environs, being immediately apprized of it, were able to take the necessary precautions for their own security.

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Chapter II. — Discovery of the Hudson River. Manhattans, Mohicans, and Mohawks.

THE colonization of New York followed soon after the discovery of the Cohahatea, or Hudson river. While Virginia, with manly efforts, was strengthening the foundations of her colony, among the powerful and hostile Powhatanic tribes of the Algonquin stock, another settlement of whites sprang into existence among the more northerly sea-coast families. Only two years subsequent to the founding of Jamestown, Hendrick Hudson entered the bay of New York, which was first discovered by Verrazani, in 1524, although the large river, of which it is the recipient, still continued unexplored. Hudson appears to have crossed the bar, now called Sandy Hook, on the third day of September, 1609. He remained in the bay several days, making surveys, and trafficking with the Indians. From the notes of his surveys, he appears to have kept close along the southern parts of the bay, the natives of which appeared to be friendly. These shores were occupied by the Navisinks, Sanhikins, and other bands of the Mississa totem, of the Lenno Lenapi Algonquin family. The northern shores of the bay, and Manhattan Island, were occupied by the Mohicans, or Wolf totem, of the same subgenus, to use a phrase of natural history, of the original stock. The Metoacs of Long Island were of the same type. Between these two totemic types, there existed either smothered hostility or open war. They kept Hudson in a state of perpetual perplexity and suspicion; for, regarding all red men with equal mistrust, he was ever on his guard against treachery. Of all the bands, however, he found that of Hell Gate, or the Manhattans, to be the fiercest. On the third day after sailing up the bay, he sent out a boat in charge of his mate, Colman, to examine the East river. An open sea was found beyond. While returning to the vessel, the Manhattans attacked the exploring party, and killed the mate, who received an arrow in his throat. These Indians possessed implements of copper, and earthen cooking utensils, the art of making which was, at this period, common to all the coast tribes; but the use of the brass kettle having been introduced among them by Europeans, they very soon ceased to manufacture earthenware. They offered Hudson green tobacco, as the most valuable present, and had an abundance of the zea maize, which he called Indian wheat. They also brought him oysters, beans, and

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some dried fruits. These Indians dressed in deer skin robes, and possessed mantles made of feathers, and also of furs. There is no evidence to prove that they did not live in a state of anarchy — no government existing but petty independent chieftainships, the curse of all savage and barbarous tribes. On the afternoon of the 7th of September, Hudson began to ascend the river, but progressed only two leagues the first day, sailing with extreme caution during the day, sounding frequently, and casting anchor at night. Twelve days elapsed before he reached a point opposite to, or above, the existing city of Hudson. The general features of the country in that part of the valley are mentioned by him. Having arrived, on the 22d, at a place where the soundings denoted shoal water, Hudson dispatched his boat to make further explorations. It returned the following night at 10 o'clock, having only progressed eight or nine leagues, and the crew reported finding but seven feet seven inches soundings, which would seem to indicate that they had reached the present site of Albany. The Indians, as high as they had proceeded, were, by the names, apparently, of the Algonquin family. If the explorers really ascended in their boat as far as the present position of Albany, they entered the country of the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois nation, whose summer residence was on the island. The tribes maintained a hostile attitude until Hudson had passed the Highlands; but those he subsequently encountered evinced great friendliness, as well as mildness of manners; hence they are called by him "a loveing people." The Indians visited the strangers on board their ship, and several excursions were made by the crew on the shore; on one occasion, two venerable chiefs, accompanied by their sons and daughters, were entertained by Hudson in his cabin. These interchanges of civility characterize this part of the voyage, and furnish striking evidence of the beneficial effects of civility and comity of manners. On the 20th of the month, while the ship lay at anchor at one of the highest points attained, Hudson tried the experiment of giving his aboriginal guests a taste of alcoholic drinks. The description of this event may be entertaining for its quaintness: "Our master and his mate determined to try some of the chiefest men of the country, whether they had any treachery in them, so they took them into the cabin, and gave them so much wine and aqua vita, that they were all merrie, and one of them had his wife with him, which sat as modestly as any of our country women could do in a strange place. In the end one of them was drunk, which had been on board of our ship all the time that we had been there, and that was strange to them, for they could not tell how to take it. The canoes and folks all went on shore, but

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some of them came again, and brought strings of beads, (wampum), some had six, seven, eight, nine, ten, which they gave the inebriate. The drunken man slept all night quietly."

If the Hudson Indians, below the highlands, were found to be hostile on the ascent, they proved doubly so during the descent. The narrowness of the channel in some places, gave them the opportunity of using their arrows with effect, and they assembled on several of the most prominent headlands in great force. But the intrepidity of Hudson foiled every effort. By his musketry, and by the discharges from a culverine, he killed several of them, and dispersed the rest. He got through the mountains on the 1st of October. Below this, one of their canoes, containing one man, pertinaciously followed the ship. This individual having climbed up the rudder, crept into the cabin window, and stole two bandaliers, a pillow, and two shirts, for which theft the mate shot him dead. The Indians followed the vessel, and a running skirmish ensued, in which several of the pursuers were killed. On the 4th he reached the bay, where, being favored by the wind, he made no attempt to land, but put out to sea, arriving at Dartmouth, England, on the 7th of November.

The only name bestowed on the stream appears to have been The Great river.

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Chapter III. — Settlement of Massachusetts, and the New England Colonies.

1620.

THE idea of migrating to America, to escape the intolerance of the House of Stuart, had been, for a long time, entertained by the English exiles in Holland. Intelligence of the discoveries in Virginia, and in the region of New York, probably had the effect of reviving the agitation of the project, as well as of demonstrating its practicability, and, in effect, they were, in a short time thereafter, on their way to the New World. The first colony which landed in Massachusetts Bay, late in the autumn of 1620, was surrounded by small tribes and bands of the Algonquins. During the years immediately preceding this period, fatal epidemics had much thinned, and, in some instances, nearly annihilated, the coast tribes. Whole villages appeared to have been depopulated, and deserted fields everywhere met the view. This decadence of the race was a favorable circumstance for the colonists, whose utmost efforts were required to combat the difficulties of their position.

The principal personage amongst the aboriginal chieftains was Massasoit, the ruler of the Pocanokets, or Wampanoags, living at Montauk, on the waters of the Narragansett Bay. He had been a noted warrior, but was at that time a man far advancedin life. He was of good stature, full and fleshy; and, possessing a manly mien, mild manners, a moderate temper, and a noble spirit, amicable relations with him were soon established. The jurisdiction of the Massachusetts coast appears to have belonged to him, in quality of his office of Bashaba, or presiding chief-holder, as is more certainly evinced by the authority assumed, after his death, by his sons, Alexander and Pometacom. The first interview with this potentate was conducted with equal ceremony by the colonists and by the semi-imperial chief. A pacific course of policy was established, and from this era the aboriginal words, Manito, wigwam, powwow, samp, moose, and others from their vocabulary, began to be incorporated into the English language.

The country had been first explored by the English, in 1583, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert visited the coast. In 1602 Gosnold bestowed names on Cape Cod, Elizabeth's

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Island, and Martha's Vineyard; and, in 1614, Captain Smith, of Virginia notoriety, gave the name of New England to this part of the continent. The coast had been explored by Dutch navigators, subsequent to the discoveries made by Hudson, and is designated, in an ancient map, by the name of Almochico. The Indians being deficient in generalization, had no generic name for it, unless it be that of Abinakee, which they subsequently made use of. The first colony landed on the banks of a river, which, we are informed, the natives called Accomac, but which the English named Plymouth. One hundred and one persons debarked, on the confines of twenty tribes, whose exact numbers were unknown, but whose hostility to the colony was undoubted. Prince says, these "hundred and one" were the persons "who, for an undefiled conscience, and the love of pure Christianity, first left their native and pleasant land, and encountered all the toils and hazards of the tumultuous ocean, in search of some uncultivated region in North Virginia, where they might quietly enjoy their religious liberties, and transmit them to posterity, in hopes that none would follow to disturb or vex them."

Within a few years thereafter, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, were successfully colonized. To endure and to hope, amidst every ill, were primary principles with the colonists, and, as soon as they came into contact with the Indians, they aimed, both by precept and example, to teach them the advantages of thrift, over the precarious pursuit of the chase. Among a people characteristically idle, listless, and prone to regard with favor the rites of daemonology, and the practice of magic, nothing could be more unpalatable, or more certainly productive of hostilities; for the priests and sages, powwows and necromancers, clung to their ceremonies and orgies with a desperate tenacity. To live on the products of the bow and arrow, and not by the use of the plow, had been the practice of the people for untold centuries; and they regarded the new comers with a feeling of distrust and hatred, which grew stronger and more intense with every succeeding decade of colonial existence.

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Chapter IV. — The Northern Indians are Offended at the Introduction of Civilization and the Gospel, because of Their Tendency to Subvert Indian Society.

THE introduction of the principles of civilization among the New England tribes, who were half hunters and half icthyophagi, is a standpoint from which we may contemplate the Indian character in a new and instructive phasis. When, in 1586, the scholar Harriot showed the Virginia Indians the Bible, and explained to them its contents, they imagined it to be some great talisman, and handled, hugged, and kissed it with great reverence, rubbing it against their heads and breasts. They were strongly impressed with the belief that it was the material of the book, and not its doctrines, which was the embodiment of its virtues. In 1608, when the shores of the Chesapeake were explored by Smith, the English were accustomed to have prayers recited daily, and a psalm sung, at which the Susquehannocks, who were spectators, greatly wondered, regarding the rites and ceremonies with deep interest — feeling animated by the vocal sounds, but profoundly ignorant of the language, and of its true import. Being themselves ceremonialists to an almost unlimited extent, in the worship they offered to the gods of the air, hills, and valleys, and also ready interpreters of symbols, the ritual was to them an object of wonder. Similar ideas of mysticism prevailed among the northern tribes; and, though the Reformation may be thought to have exercised but little influence upon the history, fate, and condition of the American Indians, yet very different was the result. Its ultimate effects upon them, through the teaching of those colonists practising its strictest principles, were very momentous. To hunt deer and bears, to idle away time, and to worship dryads and wood demons, were acts equally subversive of the principles of civilization and of Christianity. Prior to the settlement of the English colonies, the mode by which the Romish church had attempted to engraft Christianity upon the Indians, was almost entirely symbolical and ceremonial. This agreed generally with the character of their ancient system. It made physical signs, rites, and genuflexions, the object of their religion; and the Romish church, substituting true for false symbols of religion, and, at the same time, prescribing ceremonial observances which were not onerous, placed before them an acceptable system, and

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taught them the first principles of morality and industry. Those who renounced the old, and accepted the new, system of symbols were denominated converts. Hence, the Romish missionaries were represented as having been very successful among the natives who, it is apprehended, had but imperfect notions on the subject, and were allowed to dance around the Christian altar, beating their drums and clanging their rattles, at the same time chanting their ancient mystical choruses. But the Protestant colonists, who had embraced the Reformed doctrines, expected something more, and desired that, when the worship of the true Deity superseded that of the false, it should be accompanied by those tests of faith and holiness enjoined by God's law. In verity, Jehovah was required to take the place of Manito, Owayneo, and Wacondah. This brought the English missionaries into direct conflict with the entire body of the Indian priests, powwows, seers, and jossakeeds; a struggle which yet exists with the tribes.

Harriot informs us that the Virginia Indians believed in the existence of one God; yet, in the same sentence, he also says that the sun, moon, and stars were subordinate gods; that the gods were all of human shape; and that offerings were presented to their images.

Very similar to this were the declarations of the northern Indians; but yet, while they acknowledged God as riding on the clouds, the images they worshipped in secret and in their assemblies were, in fact, demons and devils. To disseminate the doctrines of the gospel, amid such an embodiment of dark superstition, was not an easy task, yet it was zealously and firmly pursued. Cotton Mather informs us that, within thirty years from the time when the first formal efforts were made to preach the gospel to the Indians, there were six churches and eighteen assemblies of catechumens, or converted natives, within the boundaries of Massachusetts, and, in 1682, the entire Bible was made accessible to them by means of the translations of Eliot.

Within the space of a few years, the English population spread themselves over the entire country, enterprise having been a marked characteristic of all the early settlements. The Indians, divided into innumerable small tribes and bands, occupied the interior territory, and a great part of the immediate coast line. Wherever the colonists located themselves, the natives watched their movements with an evident, though jealous interest. Industrious, thrifty, cautious, courageous, and temperate, the more reflecting sagamores could hardly fail to be impressed with the idea, that the colonists were the mere heralds of a people destined to increase rapidly, both in number and in power, and to occupy the whole country, to the detriment of the Red man, whose dominion must decline as the influence of the white man increased.

It would be erroneous to suppose that such a striking moral effect could have been produced, without exciting the strong antipathy of the Indian priesthood. On the contrary, a virulent, secret, deep-seated, and, so far as their influence extended, universal

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opposition was developed among the native powwows, from the waters of the Connecticut to those of the Penobscot. Bitter indeed was this revelation to the Indians, and truly bitter to them was every phase in their experience of civilization. They detested a life of labor, and had no relish for the standard of its stern virtues and personal responsibility, or its maxims of exact justice, as announced by the decalogue. The idea that such members of the wandering tribes as were guilty of theft, murder, prevarication, and covetousness, would be brought to judgment therefor, was indeed fearful to them; but when, to this doctrine, was enjoined the requirement that they should relinquish their system of worship, their necromancy, their magic ceremonies, and all their forest rites, their deepest ire was aroused.

In this missionary labor, Eliot, commonly called the Apostle to the Indians, first distinguished himself. He emigrated from England in 1631, and was chosen minister at Dorchester, where, in the exercise of his pastoral duties, his attention was directed to the Indian tribes, of whom numerous clans and villages then overspread the territory, and were thus interspersed among the settlements of the whites. Being a graduate of Cambridge, and a person of considerable learning, Eliot began the study of the Indian languages under the no small stimulus, it is inferred, of finding therein some elements of the Hebrew. In this important inquiry into the affinities of nations, a research far in advance of the age in which he lived, Eliot's principal aid and pundit was Nasutan, a descendant of the Massachusetts stock, who had learned to speak the English language, and who was pronounced, by a divine of that period, "a pregnant-witted young man."

1646.

In 1646, the subject of the conversion of the Indians was discussed by the Association of Colonial Ministers, who adopted a resolution, strongly urging the expediency and necessity of immediate action. In accordance with this view, Mr. Eliot appointed a time and place for an assemblage of the Indians, which was convened on the 28th of October of the same year. His text was, "Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." The place was called Nonantum (God's word displayed), and a strong impression was made upon the Indian mind by this appeal.

Another convocation of the Indians took place a fortnight subsequently, at the same place, where Eliot addressed them in their own language. Other meetings followed thereafter. The Indians who attended agreed to settle at that place, as also to adopt the rules, observe the practices of civilization, and faithfully adhere to the precepts of Christianity. Thus was established the first settlement of praying Indians. They received instruction gladly, labored diligently at husbandry, and became very expert in the use of farming tools. Being regularly catechised and instructed, a congregation

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of converts was, in the end, established. The Indians being carefully watched over, with the aid of native helps, the new principles spread rapidly among them. A second meeting was held at Nepoaset, in Mr. Eliot's parish, and others at Pawtucket, at Concord, and on the peninsula of Cape Cod, which were all equally successful. These proceedings elicited strong opposition among the native priests, and powwows, who, seeing their ancient power over the Indians about to depart, struck their necromantic drums, at their secret meetings, with greater energy.

Accounts of the successful propagation of the gospel in America, were published and circulated throughout England, where they excited so much interest during the two following years (1647 and 1648), that, when an appeal was made to Parliament to second their efforts, that body passed an act to incorporate a Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England. In 1661, Eliot published a translation of the Old Testament, in the Indian dialect of Massachusetts, which was called by him the Natic, manifestly because he deemed that to be the generic language. This volume was a work of great labor, and had received the most careful attention. After a long interval it was followed by a translation of the Gospels, and, in 1684, the two parts were reproduced together, in one volume, at Cambridge. This was, in every way, a gigantic work, and could not have been accomplished without the aid of the London Society for Propagating the Gospel, under whose auspices it was executed. Eliot and Nasutan had spent many long years upon it; as it progressed, the several parts of each, book being practically employed in the dissemination of the truths they contained. It still retains its position, as the most considerable and important monument of our Indian philology.

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Chapter V. — Manners and Customs of the Mohicanic Group of the New England Algonquins.

When the Pilgrims established themselves on the coast of New England, they determined that one platform of religious freedom should serve for both the Red and the White men. Having themselves suffered much, under a weak and intolerant prince, through the importance attached to ritual observances, they made no attempts to impose a ritual on the aborigines. It was noticed that these tribes were under the religious rule of self-constituted priests, powwows, and ecclesiastical sagamores, who directed them in the appalling worship of evil spirits, and of elementary gods, whose names were emphatically "legion." In the words of a quaint historian of that period, "the whole body of the multiplied tribes and septs who cover the land are the veriest ruins of mankind."

This writer observes: "Their wigwams consist of poles, lined with mats, where a good fire supplies the warmth of bed-clothes in cold seasons. The skins of animals furnish exclusively their clothing. Sharp stones are used for knives and tools. Wampum, a kind of bead, made from sea-shells, is a substitute for money. Indian corn constitutes their staple of vegetable food; the forest supplies them precariously with meat. Fish are taken in their streams. The hot-house is their catholicon for a large class of their diseases. Their religion is a confused and contradictory theism, under the rule of a class of priests called powwows, who offer incense by the fumes of tobacco." There was absolutely nothing, in their plan of dwelling, that deserved the name of architecture; but they had considerable skill in manufacturing arrows, bows, war-clubs, bowls, pipes, fishing-rods, and nets. The women made clay pots, tempered with siliceous stones, which, when used for the purposes of cooking, were suspended from a tripod, formed of three poles, tied together at top, and spread over the fire. They wove mats of flags, baskets of the split cortical layers of wood, and nets from a species of native hemp. The clam-shell was frequently used as a spoon, but these were also carved out of wood, as also were onagons, or bowls. Darts were chipped from hornstone, as well as from other species of siliceous rock; and frontlets, ornamented with

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birds' feathers, were employed for head dresses. The cawheek, and succatash, or pounded corn, were their favorite dishes; when the hunter was successful, he had deer, or other meat. Fish was abundant, even in the interior streams, as were also oysters and other shell-fish, on the sea coasts. Canoes were made from solid trees, hollowed by the aid of fire, and a peculiar axe, which is frequently found among Indian relics. The aborigine was ingenious in setting snares for birds and beasts, and sometimes large animals were entrapped, by bending down saplings, which would rebound when any beast trod on the string which held them in place. The Indian buried his dead in outer wrappings of bark, placing, at the head of the corpse, a wooden post, on which was carved the totem of the clan, and some other hieroglyphics. His successes in war and hunting were, also, sometimes rudely sculptured on the face of rocks or boulders; some of these muzzinabiks remaining to this day. Regarding the religion practised by the aborigines, the great difficulty with historians has been in tracing out any fixed system. Though the Indian professedly worshipped the Great Spirit, yet he assigned the power of the Deity to the subordinate forms of demons and local manitos, to which he offered sacrifice. Simples were used to heal the sick by professed doctors, and much skill was exhibited in curing external wounds. Another class, called Medas, affected to add to their medicines the charm of magic, and trusted as much to the monotonous thump of the drum, used in incantations, and to the Indian song, as to the effect of any of the articles enumerated in their materia medica.

With manners and customs thus entirely opposed to everything like civilization, it needed but slight incitement to arouse the deadliest feelings of hostility. Very little difference existing, either in dress or manners, between individual Indians, or between the various tribes, all looking and acting very much alike, the innocent were frequently mistaken for the guilty.

The spirit of opposition to the entire constitution and system of civil society, and of Christianity, originated early, and led to repeated combinations of the Indians to exterminate the white race. The first general and alarming effort of this kind, against the peace and welfare of the New England colonists, developed itself in the area of Connecticut, among the Pequots. The primary settlements in the Connecticut valley were made in 1633. Within four years from that time, the Pequots evinced their hostility, for which there was an additional and highly irritating cause.

Prior to the settlement of New England, feuds had existed in the Pequot tribe. This was a numerous organization, extending from the western boundary of the Narragansetts, on the Pawcatuck river, to the banks of the Pequot, or Thames river. It is evident that their extreme western boundary originally extended to the Connecticut. They were under the rule of the powerful, brave, and ambitious Sassacus, there being

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no evidence that Uncas occupied the valley by right of conquest. But, at the era of the founding of the Connecticut colony, this valley was occupied by the Mohicans, who were ruled by the sachem Uncas. The Pequots and the Mohicans spoke the same language, which was a secondary and more modern form of the generic Algonquin; Uncas had married a daughter of Tatobana, a Pequot, of the blood line, and was, according to the general principles of descent, regarded as one of the hereditary line. Uncas was himself a wise, brave, and politic chieftain. Whatever the causes of tribal discord were, his separation from the parent tribe, and removal westwardly, had occurred prior to the settlement of either Windsor or Hartford, the oldest towns, for the enmity between these two rival native chiefs, became at once apparent to the English. Uncas, with the view of strengthening his position against Sassacus, and the larger body of the tribe, hailed the arrival of the colonists with joy, became their protector against the inroads of the Pequots, and remained their firm and consistent friend. This line of policy served rather to irritate, than to allay the Pequot enmity to the English. At length, after the lapse of a few years, marked by bitter hostilities, murders, and cruelties, from which outrages the English, and their Mohican allies, were alike sufferers, a formidable expedition was organized against Sassacus and his two forts. It is not necessary here to speak of the cruel murders, the breaches of treaty stipulations, or of the depredations and other outrages committed; suffice it to say, that excitement being at its height, forbearance had ceased to be a virtue, and all were compelled either to fight or die. Four years of agonizing strife thus passed away, during which, at least thirty English had been put to death; some with the addition of cruel tortures. The existence of the colonies was at stake; it was a contest between civilization and barbarism. If Connecticut succumbed, Massachusetts and Rhode Island must necessarily follow. Sassacus, at that period, being on the best terms with the Narragansetts, who then acknowledged the dominion of the aged Canonicus. and of his more efficient son, Miontonimo, he aimed in vain, by negotiations, to obtain their aid against the Mohicans and the English. As a ruler, Sassacus was greatly feared and respected by his people, as well as by the Narragansetts. He was a brave warrior and an eloquent speaker. Mason tells us an Indian saying, that "Sassacus is all one god; no man can kill him." The views he expressed with respect to the English settlements in New England, prove the expansion and forecast of his mind. He regarded the white man as destined to supersede the Indian race, and said that when they had exterminated the Pequots, they would then turn their attention to the Narragansetts. He urged an alliance for general purposes, and argued that it would not be necessary to fight great battles, as the whites could be destroyed one by one. The Indians could lie in ambush for the colonists, could burn their dwellings, could kill their cattle. Every view we can take of the character of Sassacus, only serves to

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confirm the impression that he was a man of uncommon energy, as well as forecast, and he occupies a prominent position among the bold aboriginal chiefs who so resolutely resisted the occupancy of their country by Europeans. He clearly foresaw, and pointed out to his countrymen, that, with arts and energies such as their invaders had already demonstrated the possession of, they must extinguish the light of their council and altar fires; one after another the tribes must succumb; and he warned the Narragansetts that, if they did not aid him in his contest with the English, they would be the next to feel the weight of their power. The history of the great internal conflicts of ante-historical periods, by which the Pequot nation had been divided, and Uncas expelled, being involved in obscurity, we are unable to furnish any accurate details. We know, however, that the feud was yet existing in all its original intensity, when the colonists first entered the country, and, unfortunately for the perpetuation of his power, Sassacus, like many others of the aboriginal chiefs and leaders, lacked the spirit of conciliation, aiming to achieve by force, what he might have attained by delay and negotiation; placing too low an estimate on the value of union and co-operation with the surrounding tribes. He was feared and suspected by the numerous tribe of the Narragansetts, on the east; while the unfriendly Mohicans lined the boundary of his dominion on the west. The small bands of the Ninantics, and Ninegret's men, he evidently controlled, and the interior country to the north was open to him. Two of his strongest positions were stockaded villages, which assumed the character of forts; and had the English been less prompt or bold in their movements, and given him more time to consummate his arrangements, the result might have been protracted, although it certainly could not have been averted.

113 Section Sixth. — Synopsis of the History of the New England Indians.

Chapter I. — History of the Pokanoket Tribe and Bashabary.

1630.

WHEN the New England colonies were established, the Pokanoket tribe was in the ascendency. The coast tribes, indeed, if not almost annihilated, had been decimated by a pestilential disease; but there is every reason to believe that the chiefs who sat in the council lodges, surrounding the great and noble waters of Massachusetts Bay, acknowledged fealty to the reigning sachem of Mount Hope. Such was the complexion of political affairs, when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, in 1620.

The Pokanokets were descended from an ancient stock, and, it is believed, they established themselves on the peninsula, with the aid of their friends and allies, the Narragansetts and Pequots, after conquering the tribes which then held possession. Evidences of their ancient triumphs have, it is believed, been found, in the rude and simple pictographs of the country — a few heads and cross-bones, or clubs, sculptured on a boulder, or on a cliff, as mementoes of battle. These simple historical memorials were more common among the hills and valleys of the country, when it was first occupied, than they are at the present day. It is to be regretted that a wanton spirit should have led the yeomanry, and their playful children, to mutilate, alter, or destroy, many of the primitive monuments of the Indian nations. The most noted, as also the largest of these pictographs, yet legible, is on the Massachusetts borders of the Taunton, or Assonet river. Foreign archaeologists have attempted to give this inscription an unmerited historical value, as a Scandinavian monument. Having visited the locality, and made it a study, with the aid of an Indian interpreter, I have no hesitation in

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pronouncing it an Algonquin pictographic record of an Indian battle. This was also the interpretation given by an intelligent Indian jossakeed, and Indian pictographist, to whom I exhibited a copy of it on the island of Michilimacinack. Agreeably to the Indian creed and practices, he identified it with priestly skill in necromancy, thus attributing the success here pictured, partly to the expertness of the priest in that art. The amazement of the vanquished at the sudden assault of the victors, is symbolically depicted by their being deprived of both hands and arms, or the power of making any resistance. The name of the reigning chief of the tribe, is likewise described by a symbol to have been Mong, or the Loon, and his totem the sun. (See Plate.)

The Pokanokets, who may be considered to have been allied with the Narragansetts in the victory, represented in the above pictograph, had preserved friendly relations with that powerful coast tribe from the earliest dates. It is evident that they were also allied with the Pennacooks of the Merrimac in the north, and with the Pequots, who, under Sassacus, were so unfortunate as to wage war against Uncas and his Mohicans, protected, as the latter were, by the aegis of the infant Connecticut colony.

The name of Wampanoag, by which the Pokanokets were also designated, appears to denote the fact that they were, from early times, the custodians of the imperial shell, or medal. They were so brave and warlike, that the surrounding tribes regarded them as the most powerful organization on the coast, from the Narragansett to the Massachusetts Bay.

When the Plymouth colony was founded, the Pokanoket tribe was governed by Massasoit, then a venerable man, numbering, probably, seventy years. Though the fire of youth had departed from his eye, yet his step was firm and dignified, and he bore himself with an air that betokened he not only had a vivid remembrance of the achievements of his tribe, but also deemed himself the true monarch of the land. The colonists found the vicinity of their location unoccupied; old cornfields, deserted lodges, and graves hastily covered, denoting the ravages of the pestilence which had depopulated this region. They made it their early endeavor to seek an interview with Massasoit, and establish friendly relations with him, the conference being managed carefully, with a view to effect; musicians and soldiers, armed with muskets, accompanied the English governor, and the negotiations afforded a fair specimen of both Indian and colonistic diplomacy. It was characterized, also, by the introduction to the Indians of that element, which has since proved a source of so much injury to the race. Here the Indians first learned to drink alcoholic liquors. (Plate VI.)

Political power among the Indians of New England was, at this time, wielded principally by two influential bashabaries; namely, by the Pokanoket and by the Pennacook tribal leagues. Both confederations comprised a union of the religious and

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political elements. A simple sagamore appears only to have wielded a local geographical power, while the bashaba also filled the priestly office of chief jossakeed, powwow, or prophet. The Pennacook bashabary was confined almost exclusively to the country north of the Merrimack, extending through New Hampshire into Maine, and gave the early colonists but little trouble. But the Mount Hope government included the territory immediately around the new homes of the colonists. Every foot of land they added to their possessions was by permission of, agreement with, or purchase from, the chiefs and sagamores of this confederacy. Neither the Narragansetts nor the Pequots in the west, nor the Pennacooks in the north, having made grants in the territory of Massachusetts, is conclusive proof that the authority of Massasoit was supreme. One of the first objects of the colonists was to secure peace on their frontiers, by concluding treaties of amity with the Indians. Considering the influence of this central organization, it is not at all as surprising as it has been frequently represented, that, for so long a period, they kept the storm of open Indian warfare from their continually progressing settlements; Massasoit being in allegiance with the three great powers around him, namely, the Narragansetts, the Pequots, and the Pennacooks. These barbarians and their component septs and bands, all originally spoke one language, practised one religion, were conversant with precisely the same arts, and under the influence of identical customs and manners. According to Prince (p. 202), the news of the massacre in Virginia, in March, 1622, perpetrated by Opechanganough, reached Plymouth in May, and made the colonists more fearful of Indian treachery. By great vigilance, and caution in circumventing the little schemes, and diverting the animosities of the petty chiefs, the colonists succeeded in securing some twenty years of undisturbed peace. It was not until about the year 1640, when John Eliot began to preach the gospel to the Indians, and held his religious conference with them under the old oaks at Natic, that the Indian jossakeeds began to be seriously alarmed.

Massasoit died previous to this period. He was an old man when the first colony was founded, and the administration of that powerful bashabary had been conducted by his son, Pometakom, a chief of great subtlety, profound dissimulation, and entertaining a strong secret hostility to the English race, to their manners, and particularly to their (to him) hateful gospel. On account of some fancied resemblance to the Macedonian heroes, the colonists named him Philip, and his brother, Alexander. Philip was observed to keep up a clandestine confidential communication with the Indian priesthood, and, by his energy, he soon obtained the popular title of king. A short time thereafter, he became the most dreaded secret enemy of New England.

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Chapter II. — History of the Pequot Tribe, and of the Pequot War.

1633.

THE name of this tribe, which appears to mean an arrow — a wooden arrow, reveals its Algonquin origin. In a map, published at Amsterdam, in 1659, these Indians are called Pequatoas, on what account, or when the title was conferred upon them, is unknown. Most of the subdivisions of our aboriginal tribes have trivial names assigned them, on account of some event, important or otherwise, the history of which has not been transmitted to us by tradition. It is certain, both from their language and traditions, that the Lenapee-Algonquins, after crossing the Hudson towards the north-east, divided into a multiplicity of clans and tribes. In this ancient migration, the Wolf totem, or Mohicans, was the first to cross the Hudson, and they appear to have regarded its valley, from the sea to the present site of Albany, as their rightful domain. The Iroquois penetrated into it from the north, and, subsequently, continued their conquests down the river.

The Mohican language and blood still constituted a tie of affiliation, but each class and sept either adopted some distinctive appellation themselves, or received one from their neighbors. Thus, the tribe whose totem included the whirlpool of Hellgate, called themselves Manhattans; the Long Island Indians, whose shores abounded in the prized sea-shells of which wampum is made, denoted themselves, or were named by others, Metoacs; those living near the stone cliffs of Westchester, were called Singsings; and those residing on the wide expanse of the Hudson, below the Highlands, Tapanses. The early colonists, finding the tribes of this valley to be of one species and lineage, called them Mohikander, a compound, formed from the Mohican and Belgic languages. The clans located nearest to Albany retained the name of Mohicans; and when they were, eventually, driven over the Hoosic and Taconic ranges into the valley of the Housatonic, they carried with them their primitive appellation. That the Pequots, who once held possession of the territory along the East River, and on the Connecticut shores, also bore this name, is very probable, from the recurrence of Uncas to the parent term, when he became involved in a political feud with Sassacus. At what time this dissension commenced, is unknown; the first intimation of it dates from the era of the primary settlement of Connecticut, in 1633. The colonists were necessarily

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dispersed over a wide surface, unprotected, and exposed to the caprices, as well as to the incursions, of the Indians. The oldest settlement had been located but a few years, when the inhabitants found a contest was being waged for the Indian sovereignty, between Uncas and Sassacus.

Uncas held possession of a beautiful point of land, now called Norwich, at the source of the river Pequot (now the Thames), and, it is evident, had but recently segregated from the Pequots. His comprehensive mind immediately discerned the advantages that would result to his cause from an alliance with the Connecticut settlers, and it was as clearly the policy of the latter to form such an alliance. Their very safety depended on it, and wisdom was evinced in their choice. Uncas became the protector of the colonists; his scouts watched over the infant settlement, and not only reported the advance of hostile parties, but hastened to repel them. This alliance was never broken by either White or Red man, and affords one of the most complete and satisfactory evidences to be found in history, of the beneficial effects produced on Indian character by unwavering justice, and uniform kindness and good will. Half a century later, it was not in the power of Penn, with equally benevolent views, to maintain the Delawares in their position; yet, through every change in their affairs, the tribe of Uncas was protected and cherished, by the people, and by the authority of the state of Connecticut. Even after the venerated chief had passed from the stage of life, his successor and family were regarded with kind interest, and a monument has been erected to mark the resting place of the great aboriginal sage of Norwich.

At the time we have indicated, 1637, the Pequots had the prestige of being a powerful and warlike people. They had escaped the great pestilence which had desolated the Massachusetts coast, about the year 1617, could bring 600 fighting-men into the field, and might then have numbered a population of about 3000 souls. They were expert bowmen, and possessed sixteen guns, purchased from the traders. The military strength of Connecticut was then estimated at 200 men. If the Pequots had obtained the ascendency, the question of the very existence of the colony would have been settled forever.

John Mason, the man selected to conduct this war, was a veteran soldier, who, with Miles Standish, and Underbill, had learned the art of war in the Lowlands, under that renowned military tactician, William, Prince of Orange. The infant colonies required men possessing his decision of character, and unflinching nerve, to baffle the wiles of their savage enemies. It was evident that the Pequots meant to annihilate the colonists. Recent and most shocking murders having been perpetrated in the settlements, energetic and prompt action was necessary to enable the colony to maintain its ground. To begin the war, Mason could muster but ninety men, which force is stated to have been half the militia of the colony. Uncas joined him with seventy Mohicans,

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who were chiefly useful as guides and scouts. The auxiliaries promised by the Plymouth colony, and from other quarters, were slow in making their appearance.

Mason, however, pushed forward with energy, as, in his opinion, their operations must be conducted with vigor; delay only furnishing Sassacus an opportunity to mature his plans. With the hope that the expected reinforcements would arrive in season to be of service, on the 10th of May he embarked his force at Hartford, in three small vessels, and, dropping down the Connecticut river to Port Saybrook, was there joined by Underbill, his second in command. After coasting along the shore to the entrance of the Narragansett Bay, he landed in the vicinity of the village ruled by Conanicut, whose permission he obtained to march across his territory, and attack the Pequots. The old chief thought his force too small for such a purpose, but, though he evidently did not expect much from the auxiliary Mohicans, he yet allowed 200 of his men, under his son, Miontonimo, to accompany them, without, however, engaging to take an active part. The Pequots had two forts, the principal of which, located on the Mystic river, was occupied by Sassacus in person. A march of eighteen or twenty miles, through the forest, brought Mason to a fort of the Nehantics, on the borders of the Pequot territory. These people were tributaries and covert allies of the Pequots. The chief treated Mason haughtily, and would not allow him to enter the fort. Fearing that intelligence of his arrival might be transmitted by runners, during the night, Mason encamped his men around the fort, giving them strict orders to intercept every person who attempted to leave it.

The following morning, several of Miontonimo's men tendered their services as auxiliaries, making many professions of their anxiety to aid in carrying on the war. The number of Indians who now accompanied Mason, being 500, made a great display; but not much dependence could be placed in their courage on the battle-field, notwithstanding their lavish professions. Although Mason placed but little, or no reliance on them, he was yet willing to avail himself of the effect their appearance would produce on the enemy. Uncas, when questioned as to how many of his Indian allies would run away when the battle commenced, answered, "Every one but myself;" and such proved to be the result.

After a tedious march of twelve miles from the Nehantic borders, the army arrived at Pawcatuk Ford (now Stonington), weary, hungry, and foot-sore. Resting themselves there for some time, they continued their march with Uncas and Wequa, a recreant Pequot, for their guides, sometimes passing through corn-fields. Warm weather having set in unusually early, these marches, conjoined with the scarcity of food, were very irksome to men unaccustomed to the toil. Yet they pressed onward energetically, and, one hour after midnight, encamped on the head waters of the Mystic river. They had now been two days on the march. Their guides informed them that the Pequots held two strong forts in the vicinity, but four or five miles asunder. Although Mason had resolved to make simultaneous attacks on both forts, yet the fatigues and sufferings

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endured by the men, while threading the mazes of the forest, without provisions or tents, and exposed to every inconvenience, induced him to concentrate his efforts on the nearest position, within the present bounds of Groton. They reposed but a short time, and then, taking up their line of march, arrived before the fort, which was distant two miles, about two hours before daybreak. The moon was shining brightly when they reached the foot of the eminence on which the fort was situated; and, by this time, their boastful red allies had fallen in the rear, quaking at the very name of Pequot.

The walls of the fortification enclosed one or two acres of ground, and consisted of trunks of trees, cut in lengths of twelve feet, sunk three feet deep in the ground, and embanked with earth. These palisades were placed so far apart that missiles could be discharged through the interstices, yet not so much so as to admit a man. Twelve small gates, or sally-ports, placed at opposite ends, were closed with trees and brush. The tops of the palisades were bound together with withes, and within, on a level esplanade, were about seventy lodges, constructed of thick matting, covering a light frame-work. These lodges, arranged in parallel rows, were surrounded by a ronda, or circular line of lodges next to the palisades. Mason had approached within a rod of the north-east sally-port, without arousing suspicion, when he heard a dog bark within the fort. Instantly an Indian cried out, Owanux! Owanux! Englishmen! Englishmen! which brought the Pequots to their feet, some of whom were thought to be laboring under the effects of previous revels. Mason, removing the obstacles, entered the fort, with sixteen followers, at one end, while Underhill did the same at the opposite sally-port, before the Pequots had time to oppose them. Surprised and confused, they ran about, foaming with rage. The fight became desperate, the superiority of fire arms and swords over arrows and clubs, being signally demonstrated. Many of the Indians took shelter in the wigwams, covering themselves with the thick mats, from which it was impossible to dislodge them. Wearied with pursuing them, Mason, at length, exclaimed, "We must burn them." Suiting the action to the word, he applied a brand to the windward side of the lodges, and Underhill immediately followed his example. The fire spread with great rapidity through the combustible materials, soon filling the whole area with roaring flames. The living and the dead together were roasted in heaps. The English, being themselves expelled by the furious flames, formed a circle outside the palisades, to prevent any of the enemy from effecting their escape. Their Indian auxiliaries, having recovered their courage, now came up, and completed the work. Forty of the Pequots, who attempted to scale the palisades, were shot as they emerged from their flaming prison. How many hundred men, women, and children were roasted on this gigantic funeral pyre, has never been estimated.

Though the Pequots had, with dreadful cruelty, massacred the unsuspecting Oldham, and Sleeping Stone and his companions, though they had invaded the sanctity of dearly-loved homes with the fury of the tiger and the hyena, yet this was a dreadful

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retribution, the severity of which could not have been premeditated, and for which we have not a word to offer in palliation. Having inflicted this terrible blow upon the Pequots, Mason deemed his position to be a perilous one. He anticipated the speedy vengeance of Sassacus, who was but a few miles distant, at the upper fort; and many of his men were wounded, although but two had been killed in the conflict. It was necessary to carry the wounded on biers, and the soldiers were unprovided with either food or ammunition. In this emergency, not a moment was lost in returning to the vessels, which had sailed round to the neighboring port of Pequot harbor; and all speed was made toward the Connecticut.

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Chapter III. — Death of Sassacus, and Extinction of the Pequots.

1637.

THE capture and burning of the Pequot fort on the Mystic, exercised a controlling influence on the future prosecution of the war. It was a blow more terrible, even, than at first appeared. The night previous to the attack, the post had been reinforced by a hundred and fifty warriors from the upper fort, as Sassacus was conscious of the perils of this position. More than half of his available force had certainly been destroyed; and the warriors he had despatched from his own fortification to reinforce the other, had so diminished his strength, that he did not deem himself able to sustain another attack. The war had now assumed the acme of bitterness on both sides. Spring, the season of planting, was passing away, and, though food was equally as scarce with the Indians as with the English, not a grain of corn could be planted in the Connecticut valley, without incurring the danger of being pierced by a Pequot arrow. With the English, it was a struggle for existence; and the name of Pequot was to them identified with that of fiend. Delay would only enhance the danger of the whites, while, on the other hand, the situation of the Pequots was equally as perilous.

Sassacus, realizing his hazardous position, determined to abandon his country, and fly westward. Although the Mohawks had been his most dreaded enemies for untold years, he hoped to find some friendly shelter in the small unoccupied valleys of the tributaries to the Hudson, or among the western affluents of the Mohawk. With the energy of a man whose necessities are pressing, he resolved to throw himself on the mercy of his Indian foes, and fly immediately. Collecting his people, he crossed the Connecticut, on his passage killing three Englishmen, who were found descending the river, on their way to Fort Saybrook.

The capture of Fort Mystic occurred on the 26th of May, and the 15th of the following June was observed, by the colonists, as a day of thanksgiving for the victory. About a fortnight after the return of the victors to their homes, one hundred and

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twenty men, under Captain Staughton, landed at Pequot harbor, to prosecute the war, and, on the 26th of June, Mason descended the river, with forty men, to join him. The allies having resolved to pursue Sassacus, Uncas accompanied them, with an effective force of Mohicans, this species of warfare requiring the exercise of that peculiar skill in following a trail, for which the minute observation and knowledge of Indian habits has so admirably adapted the aborigines.

Sassacus, being encumbered with a large body of women, children, and invalids, marched slowly, and kept near the open coast, in order to avail himself of the abundant supply of shell-fish to be found on these shores. The allies, while pursuing the fugitives, sometimes came to localities where clams had been dug up. The duty of scouting along these shores being committed to Uncas and his men, they captured a Pequot sachem, who was beheaded at a place now called Guilford harbor, and his head placed in the forks of an oak tree. From this circumstance, a promontory in the vicinity received the name of Sachem's Head.

After passing the Quinnipiak river, now the site of New Haven, they espied a large body of Pequots, and pursued them. From an eminence they beheld, in the distance, a cluster of wigwams, situated between the foot of a hill and a swamp, within the present boundaries of the township of Fairfield. A straggling Pequot, who had been captured, guided them to this retreat. But Sassacus, and Mononotto, his principal war captain, suspecting the design of the English, fled towards the Mohawk country, taking with them most of their active warriors. About eighty of the Pequots, with a few Indian residents of the place, who were vassals of the latter, and nearly 200 old men, women, and children, took refuge in this swamp, which occupied the area of a mile. Portions of it were impassable quagmires, and tangled bushes, but running into it, and nearly subdividing it, was a dry passage.

Being doubtful how to approach it, some of the men waded in, stuck fast in the mud, were wounded severely, and were with difficulty extricated. The assailants then formed a circle around the margin of the swamp. Not wishing to punish the feeble and innocent, alike with the guilty, a negotiation was opened, which resulted in the surrender of 180 old men, women, and children, to the English. The warriors, however, refusing to capitulate, were still closely besieged.

A night thus passed away, and was followed by a foggy morning. As the besiegers stood nearly a rod apart, about three o'clock in the morning the Pequots made a sally to pass the circle, which proved unsuccessful. Another attempt at a different point resulted in the same manner. Shifting their ground, a third and desperate dash was attended with such success, that about seventy of the enemy escaped. The number of Pequots killed on this occasion, and in the other struggles immediately preceding, was twenty.

But the stern foe of the English, he who had been dignified by the title of the tyrant

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of Connecticut, was yet at liberty. Sassacus approached the upper Hudson by a point in possession of Indians, linked, in the ancient ties of affinity, with the Mohicans, dwelling beyond the mountain range of the Taconic. Sassacus having been at variance with the race residing in New England, it is not improbable that the sympathies of the Mohicans of the Hudson leaned towards Uncas. However this may be, the Mohicans of the Hudson, from its head waters to its mouth, were the vassals of the Mohawks. In throwing himself upon the mercy of his enemies, the Mohawks, as a defeated and ruined sachem, who was obliged to forsake his country, Sassacus adopted a course sanctioned by the previous example of wiser and greater men. But he did not reflect that the Mohawks were a merciless race, at least, they so appeared in this instance, for the fugitive chief was no sooner recognised by them, than an arrow was driven through his heart. With him fell the Pequots; the power, once the terror of the New England colonies, was destroyed, and from this time forth, they ceased to be known as a tribe.

1638.

With Sassacus fell his brother, and Mononotto, his second in command, who, at first, only wounded, was finally killed, together with five other sachems, all of whom were scalped, and the reeking trophies sent to the English, with the hope of receiving a reward. From the statement of the Indians, it being apparent that there were nearly 200 Pequots dispersed among the various tribes, a price was set upon their heads. They were hunted throughout the country in all directions, any one being not only permitted, but encouraged, to shoot them down at sight. This remnant of the tribe, at last having offered to surrender themselves as vassals to the English, the proposition was considered and accepted. A council convened for this purpose at Hartford, September 21, 1638, at which Uncas and Miontonimo were present. It was decided that eighty of the captives should be assigned to Uncas, eighty to Miontonimo, and twenty to Ninegret, chief of the Nihantics.

Some members of the non-combatant families, who surrendered at the swamp, were dispersed, as domestics, over the country which had been the scene of the conflicts. Forty-eight women and children came to Boston. A portion of those distributed as domestics, fled from servitude, but, being retaken by the Indians, they were branded on the shoulder. The best authorities state that they were very restive under the yoke of slavery, and were valueless to their masters. One of the males was given to a gentleman to take to England; fifteen boys, and two girls, were sold as slaves to a resident of the Bermudas. The superannuated old men, mournful witnesses of the terrible retribution visited on their country, were allowed to descend into the grave unmolested.

Those of the tribe who accompanied Sassacus to the Hudson, or followed the seventy warriors who broke through the cordon militaire at the swamp, after reaching the

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valley of the Hudson, sent a messenger to the Mohawks, requesting their permission to settle on this unclaimed territory. They were assigned the position of Scaghticoke, whence they eventually fled to Missisqui Bay, near the foot of Lake Champlain, in Lower Canada.

For a long time the name of Pequot was a hated epithet, and twenty years after the occurrence of these events, viz.: in March, 1658, the Connecticut court passed an act changing the name of the Pequot river to the Thames, and that of Pequot Point, or harbor, to New London.

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Chapter IV. — The Narragansetts. War Between Uncas and Miontonimo.

1644.

DURING the greater part of the seventeenth century, the three most potent tribes of southern and western New England, were the Pokanokets, or Wainpanoags, the Pequots, and the Narragansetts. The bands who claimed the name of Massachusetts Indians, may be deemed to have been represented at that period by the Natics. These were the bands to whom the gospel was especially preached, and over whom all the elements of civilization had obtained more or less influence, and the natural result of their progress in civilization was, non-interference in the Indian wars. The Pennacooks and Abenakies, powerful tribes on its northern borders, did not come into collision with the colony, and their history more properly belongs to that of New Hampshire and Maine.

By the displacement of the Pequots, the Mohicans, a minor branch of that tribe, under the government of Uncas, were placed in antagonism to the Narragansetts. After the death of their first chief, Canonicus, the power devolved on his son, Miontonimo, a more talented, energetic, intrepid, and wily individual. Uncas, having sustained the English with all his power in their contest with the Pequots, under Sassacus, against whose domination he had rebelled, was henceforth regarded as the guardian spirit of Connecticut. His bravery in war, his decision of character, his wisdom, and his amenity of manners, won praises from every lip. But in the field, as well as in the council, he found a rival in Miontonimo, who ruled the more numerous and powerful nation of the Narragansetts. At that period, this tribe possessed, probably, a greater numerical strength than any other of the New England tribes. They were located on the large islands in and along the fertile shores of Narragansett Bay, having, a few years earlier, sold Aquidneck, now Rhode Island, to Roger Williams. Their principal position was on the large island of Canonicus, which afforded all the requisites for a people, who, being most expert in the use of the canoe, levied contribution alike upon the game of the neighboring forests, and the fish in the surrounding waters.

The Narragansetts had never been hearty friends of the English, and, although they seemed to be amicably inclined, they pursued a devious line of policy, holding an apparently neutral position between the colonists, the Pequots, the Mohicans, and the Pokanokets. The pacific influence exercised by Williams, who had located himself at

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an Indian village on the head waters of the west fork of the bay, called by him Providence, kept them in check. But no sooner were the Pequots defeated, and the power of Sassacus destroyed, than a secret enmity against the Mohicans, under Uncas, developed itself. The details of this feud are too unimportant to be stated at length. A few years passed over, characterized only by a surly and suspicious intercourse between the two rival chiefs. The sympathies of the English inhabiting the three central positions of Hartford, Boston, and Plymouth, were undoubtedly with Uncas and the Mohicans. They negotiated treaties with the Narragansetts, with the expectation that this powerful Indian tribe would execute their agreements, with the precision, and under the operation of the same moral principles which govern civilized nations. The compact entered into with the English, bound the Narragansetts not to engage in hostilities against Uncas, without apprizing the then united colonies.

In 1644, after some six or seven years of mutual distrust had elapsed, the Narragansetts, eluding even the sleepless vigilance of Roger Williams, suddenly marched a body of nine hundred warriors into the Mohican territories, with the design of attacking Uncas at a disadvantage; but it happened that some of the Mohican hunters discovered them, and, with all speed, conveyed the intelligence to their chief. The tribal seat of Uncas was then located, as it had been from time immemorial, at the head of the Pequot River, now the Thames, on the site of the present city of Norwich.

Collecting a force of five or six hundred warriors, Uncas determined not to await the onset of his adversary, but to advance and attack him. After marching five or six miles, he encountered Miontonimo and his army on a plain, stretching along the banks of the Shetucket, whereupon he halted his force. There appeared to be no choice of position on either side, the plain being level and spacious. Uncas, who had become somewhat versed in English strategy, and understood the advantage to be gained by prompt movements, perceived, at once, that, if he could, by a sudden attack, produce confusion, and drive Miontonimo down the banks of the Shetucket, he would be able to overcome his foe's superior numbers. This is the only explanation that can be given of the course he adopted. No sooner had he halted within speaking distance, than he stepped forward, and tendered his adversary the choice of deciding the fate of the day by personal combat. Miontonimo replied, that his men had come to fight, and fight they should. Oh the instant, Uncas, who was a very tall man, threw himself on the ground, that being a concerted signal for his troops to advance, which they did with such ardor and fury, that they drove the enemy down the escarpment of the river, and pursued them so vigorously that some of the swift Mohican runners, knowing Uncas to be near at hand, caught Miontonomi by some portion of his dress, temporarily impeding his flight, which enabled the former to make the capture himself. Uncas then sounded the whoop of victory, to recall his men, and to signify that Miontonimo was a prisoner, as if his capture had been alone the object of the Mohicans.

Not a look of the Narragansett sachem, far less a word, evinced any dread of his

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enemies. He bore himself before his captor with unflinching dignity and pride. "Had you taken me," said Uncas, with some of that suavity of manner derived from his English associations, "I should have asked you to spare me." Not a word, however, was deigned in reply. Notwithstanding, Uncas spared his life, the usual privilege of an Indian victor; but he carried him with him to Norwich, as a trophy of his victory, whence he conducted him to Hartford. The question of his fate was submitted to the English for their advice, as being one requiring grave deliberation. It had been felt, ever since the close of the Pequot war, that the Narragansetts exercised an influence adverse to the growth and prosperity of the settlements. The very war in which they had just been engaged, was in violation of a solemn agreement made with commissioners formally appointed, and was waged against the worthiest and most trusty sachem who had befriended the colonies. Yet, they considered the case to be beyond their jurisdiction; the territory being Indian, they decided that aboriginal customs and laws must be allowed to take their course.

Miontonimo was, therefore, conducted back to the battle-field, on the banks of the Shetucket, escorted by two Englishmen, to shield him from any attempt at cruelty. The retinue traversed the plain of the late conflict with all the impressive dignity of an official cortege. Uncas, who knew the chief personally, determined to have no hand in the execution, and, therefore, deputed the duty to one of his war captains, enjoining him to leave the Narragansett in entire ignorance of his fate. He only knew that he was remanded to the spot of his capture. Ere reaching this point, the warrior entrusted with the task, and who walked immediately behind him, suddenly drew a tomahawk, and, with one blow, laid him dead at his feet. The scene of this tragedy has since been called SACHEM'S PLAIN.

128 Section Seventh. — Indian Tribes of Maryland.

Chapter I. — Aboriginal Population on the Shores of the Chesapeake.

1634.

DURING the year immediately following the establishment of the settlements in the Connecticut valley, the tribes of Maryland, proper, as distinguished from those of Virginia, were particularly introduced to historical notice. On the 27th of March, 1634, Leonard Calvert landed on the banks of a river, to which he gave the name of St. Mary, situated on the western shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Captain John Smith, who visited, and circumnavigated the bay, in 1608, furnishes the first account of the Susquehannocks — a bold, stalwart, and athletic tribe, who spoke in a hollow tone, with a full enunciation, and acquired his respect. The Indians located on the St. Mary's river, within whose precincts Calvert landed, were called Yaocomicos. Friendly relations were cultivated with the natives, who sold him a tract of land thirty miles in extent, for which they received axes, and other necessary articles.

In their manners, customs, and general character, these Indians closely resembled the Virginia tribes. They built their lodges in the same manner, as well as of the same materials, and in all respects practised the same arts, general rites and religious ceremonies. Like them, they acknowledged a great God, but also offered sacrifices to local Okees. They smoked tobacco, holding it in the highest estimation, cultivated the zea maize, hunted the deer, and snared water-fowl. Ethnologically they were descendants of the same race with the Powhatanic tribes, and spoke dialects of the great Algonquin language. Indeed, Powhatan claimed jurisdiction over the Patuxent, but it is doubtful whether his claims were much respected, or very efficiently enforced.

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This colony was founded under a charter granted by Charles I., through the influence of his consort, Mary, and appears to have been intended as a refuge for persons professing the same religion with the queen. Without entering into a dissertation on the subject, we need only say that, under the protectorate of Cromwell, who soon after gained the ascendency in England, Maryland became the resort of men holding various creeds, and the country obtained a wide-spread notoriety, as the land of tolerance. However men differed in their religious faith, they agreed, generally, in their mode of treatment of the Indians. Barbarism and Christianity could not exist in close proximity. Catholic and Protestant, alike, had united labor, virtue, temperance, arts, and letters together, as the corner-stone upon which they erected the superstructure of their colonies; and all the different sects taught their own doctrines with various degrees of success. It was impossible for people who worshipped God, and had been educated to revere his revealed word, to witness unmoved, the idolatry of savages, who made offerings to demons, regarded heaven as a place of sensual enjoyments, and deemed Christianity a myth, of equal credibility with that of Micabou, or of Hiawatha.

A good understanding, however, was maintained with this people, who, apparently, possessed mild and gentle manners, in the hope that their eyes might be so far morally and intellectually opened, that they might be brought under the influence of the gospel. The accounts of the Maryland Indians, generally, state that "they were a simple race; open, affectionate, and confiding; filled with wonder and admiration of their new visitants, and disposed to live with them as neighbors and friends, on terms of intimacy and cordiality. To the Europeans they seem to have been quite as much objects of curiosity, as the Europeans were to them. To Englishmen coming from the midst of a civilization, which had been steadily progressive for a thousand years, the persons, manners, habits and sentiments of the savages of North America must have been objects of lasting astonishment."

The following testimony respecting the Chesapeake Bay Indians is from the pen of Father White, who accompanied Calvert. "This race is endowed with an ingenious and liberal disposition, and what may surprise you when stated — an acuteness of taste, smell and sight, that even surpasses Europeans. They live mostly on a pap, which they call Pone, or Omini (hominy). They add, sometimes, a fish, or what they have taken, either beast or bird, in hunting. They keep themselves, as much as possible, from wine and warm drinks, nor are they easily induced to taste them, except in cases where the English have infected them.

"Ignorance of their language makes it, as yet, impossible for me to assert what are their religious opinions, for we have not full confidence in Protestant interpreters. These few things we have learned at different times. They recognise one God of heaven, whom they call our God; they pay to him no external worship, but endeavor

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to propitiate by every means in their power, a certain evil spirit, which they call Okee. They worship corn and fire, as I am informed, as gods wonderfully beneficent to the human race.

"Some of our people relate that they have seen the ceremony at Barcluxor. On an appointed day, all the men and women, from many villages, assembled around a great fire. Next to the fire stood the younger people; behind them the men advanced in life. A piece of deer's fat being then thrown into the fire, the hands and voices being lifted towards heaven, they cried out, Taho! Taho ! They then cleared a small space, and some one produced a large bag; in the bag was a pipe and a kind of powder, which they called Potu. The pipe was such as our countrymen use, but larger. Then the bag was carried around the fire, the boys and girls singing with an agreeable voice, Taho! Taho! The circle being ended, the pipe and powder were taken from the pouch. The potu was distributed to each of those standing round, which he put into the pipe and smoked, breathing the smoke over his limbs, and sanctifying them, as the smoker supposes. I have not been able to learn more than that they appear to have some knowledge of the flood, by which the world perished, because of the sins of men."

There is nothing, either in these ceremonial rites of Taho, and offerings of the fumes of the fat of animals, and of the nicotiana from consecrated pouches, to the god of fire, or in the traditions of a flood, or in the very language employed, to denote that the Maryland tribes differ essentially from others of the great Algonquin stock.

When Calvert landed, he was imbued with the most friendly feelings towards the Indians, for they were regarded with much interest in Europe, as a wild, but unknown race of men. As with the rulers of all the new colonies, a knowledge of the policy which controlled the Indian tribes was, with him, a subject of primary importance. It soon became evident that a great aboriginal nation, in the interior, was alike the terror and the aversion of all the midland and coast tribes. This governing power was the Iroquois, the dreaded Massawonacks of the native Virginia tribes, before the crushing force of whose prowess, the noble Susquehannocks, and their feeble allies, were, eventually, compelled to succumb.

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Chapter II. — Susquehannocks, Nanticokes, and Conoys.

THE Chesapeake Bay appears to have derived its name from a tribe, which occupied Cape Henry and the surrounding country, now included in Princess Anne county, Virginia. From the geographical position of the bay, in a part of the Powhatanic territory, as well as the etymology of the word, its termination in peak being of the same import as beag, waters, the name is unquestionably of Algonquin derivation.

When, in 1608, Captain Smith made a voyage to the head of this bay, and entered the magnificent river which debouches into it, he found that the Susquehannocks, who were located on its western shores, comprised 600 warriors, which would denote a population of 3000 souls; and he was struck with admiration of their fine physical proportions and manly voices. At that time, twenty-three years had elapsed from the date of the first voyage to Virginia. Whether a change had taken place in their location, or the Virginia band had been but an outlying branch, cannot now be determined; but it is more than probable, that the Susquehanna river was their original residence.

Along the Eastern shores of the bay, from Cape Charles up, Smith mentions the location of the Accomacs and the Accohanocs, tribes who retained this general position during the greater part of colonial history; and who, certainly, down to the period of the Northampton massacre, when they became mingled with the negroes, were still, in part, represented. Next in position, north, he places the Nanticokes, under the name of Tockwaghs, which may readily be inferred to apply to that tribe, when we learn that they were called Tawackguano by the Delawares. Thence, in succession, the Ozimies, the Huokarawaocks, and the Wighcomocos, the latter of whom are called Wicomocos by Calvert.

The entire eastern shore, above Virginia, has, in later days, been regarded as the Nanticos or Conoy country, synonymous names for the same people. An adverse fate befell that scattered tribe. From the earliest dates, they were at variance with the Iroquois, whose war canoes swept down the Susquehanna, from their inaccessible fastnesses in Western New York. We learn, from a competent authority, that the

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Nanticos were forced into a league with the Iroquois, who finally adopted them, holding out the flattering idea, and, perhaps, promise, of admitting the tribe into their confederacy; but if so, and there is evidence of it in a declaration, made in 1758, by Tokais, a Cayuga chief, their fate was not unlike the stag who falls into the power of the anaconda. They helped to minister to the pride of the Iroquois, as did also the Tutelos from Virginia.

The Nanticokes and Conoys, wearied with strife, abandoned their residences in lower Maryland, and moved up the Susquehanna, pursuing its western branches into the territories of their conquerors, the Iroquois. Eventually, they settled down beside fragmentary bands of Shawnees and Mohickanders, at Otsiningo, the present site of Binghampton, with whom they formed a league, in the hope of recovering their former position by this policy. This league was called the "Three Nations." During the month of April, 1757, Owiligascho, or Peter Spelman, a German, who had resided seven years among the Shawnees, on one of the western branches of the Susquehanna, and married a Shawnee wife, arrived at Fort Johnson, where resided the Indian superintendent for the northern colonies, and reported that this new confederacy would visit him, in a short time, with a body of nearly two hundred men, and that they were now on the road, Their object was to smoke a friendly pipe with Sir William Johnson, after the manner of their fathers, and to offer him assistance in the war against the French. He presented two strings of wampum from the chiefs, as the credentials of his authority.

On the 19th of April following, these Indians arrived on the opposite bank of the river, which was then swelled by the spring flood. The chiefs, having crossed in canoes, were admitted to a council. The Shawnees were represented by Paxinosa, and fifty-two of his warriors ; the Mohickanders by Mammatsican, their king, with one hundred and forty-seven of his nation; and the Nanticokes by Hamightaghlawatawa, with eight of his people.

Having been addressed in favorable and congratulatory terms by Sir William, who explained to them the true position of the English, as contrasted with that of the French, respecting the Indians, two days subsequently the chiefs replied, accepting the offer of the chain of friendship, and promising to keep "fast hold of it, and not quit it, so long as the world endured." In this address, allusion is incidentally made to a belt sent the previous year, to the unfriendly Delaware and Ohio Indians, in the vicinity of Fort Du Quesne; and also, to a similar belt, sent to the Delaware chief Tediscund, residing at Tioga. They formally apprize him of the league formed between the Nanticokes, Mohickanders, and Shawnees, of which he had been previously informed

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by Owiligascho, and, also, that they had concentrated at Otsiningo, on the Susquehanna, where messages are directed to be sent to them in future.

There is a trait of Indian shrewdness observable, at the conclusion of their reply to Sir William Johnson, in a curious allusion to an event which occurred while the Mohickanders still resided on the Hudson. "'Tis now nine years ago," said the speaker, "that a misfortune happened near Reinbeck, in this province; a white man there, shot a young man, an Indian. There was a meeting held thereon, and Martinus Hoffman said, ‘Brothers, there are two methods of settling this accident; one according to the white people's customs, the other according to the Indians. Which of them will you choose? If you will go according to the Indian manner, the man who shot the Indian may yet live. If this man's life is spared, and, at any time hereafter, an Indian should kill a white man, and you desire it, his life shall also be spared.’ You told us, he added, two days ago, that when a man is dead, there is no bringing him to life again. We understand there are two Indians in jail, at Albany, accused of killing a white man. They are alive, and may live to be of service, and we beg you, as the chief of the Great King, our Father, that they may be released."

The alliance thus formed with the British government, in 1757, was unquestionably fostered, and remained unbroken, during the progress of the Revolution. The larger part of these Indians probably returned to Canada, with the Munsees and Delawares, where, it is known, numbers of the latter tribe were located. A few of them, however, who lingered within the precincts of New York, probably became absorbed in the Brothertons, comprising fragments of Algonquin tribes, who dropped their own dialects, and adopted the English language.

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Chapter III. — Sequel of the History of the Susquehannocks.

1634.

At the era of the settlement of Jamestown, the Susquehannocks claimed the country lying between the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers — an area comprising the entire western margin of Maryland. This was their hunting-ground, and marked the boundary line between their jurisdiction and that of the Powhatanic forest kingdom. Whatever were the local names of the bands occupying the banks of the several intermediate rivers, they were merely subordinate to the reigning tribe, primarily located on the shores of the Susquehanna. Subsequently they transferred their council fire, down the western shore to the Patuxent, in a position less open to the incessant inroads of the Iroquois.

The lower class of adventurers and settlers who emigrated to Virginia and Maryland at this early period, was composed of persons who were liable to become embroiled with the Indians, whose character they invariably misjudged, and whose lives they held to be valueless. By these persons the natives were regarded only as the medium, through whom they could pursue a profitable traffic in skins and furs, which was unrestrained and free to every one who chose to engage in it, or possessed the requisite capital. Unfortunately for the Indians, they could not restrain their appetite for ardent spirits; and, consequently, it should excite no surprise that a tribe, thus pressed on one hand, by a powerful and infuriated enemy, and on the other enticed by temptation to indulgence, should rapidly decline.

The effects of commerce with the whites on the condition of the aboriginal tribes of Maryland, located on the shores skirting the open waters of the Chesapeake, alternately stimulating and relaxing their energies, were of such a baneful character, as necessarily to destroy their power and importance within fifty years after the landing of Calvert. Without any strong political organization, or any permanent union among themselves, ever anxious to obtain the benefits of commerce and trade, and wanting the firm moral purpose to resist the resulting evil effects, they were placed in precisely the same position as the coast tribes of Virginia, who wasted away with a degree of rapidity which surprised her statesmen. They exchanged their furs and fish, the only

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available product of their forests and streams, for the means of indulgence; and when this resource failed, they sold their lands to obtain the same destructive stimulants. Whether gunpowder, which annihilated the animals, performed its work more effectually than alcohol, which thinned the ranks of the Indians, may well be doubted. Jealous of their tribal sovereignty, the Susquehannocks added, by intestine wars, to the natural deaths produced by decay and intemperance, and when, like the other tribes, they began to assert their rights and sovereignty, and resist the encroachments of Europeans, they had already diminished so much in population, that they lacked the ability to maintain their ground. They were outwitted in diplomacy by a civilized nation, and if they did not disappear before the steady progress of arts, industry, and genius, among the colonists, they were enervated during peace, and conquered in war.

One cause operated powerfully to hasten the downfall of the Susquehannocks; the neglect, or mismanagement of their relations with the settlers of Virginia. The Virginians, on the southern banks of the Potomac, for some reason, believed the Susquehannocks to have been guilty of committing depredations and foul murders on their frontiers. In 1675, some of the inhabitants of the most northerly county of Virginia, while on their way to attend church, on a Sabbath-day, found the nearly lifeless body of a settler lying across the threshold of his own door, and an Indian, lying dead on the ground near him. The white was mortally wounded, but lived long enough to inform them that the Indians came from the Maryland shore.

The sensation produced by this outrage was extreme. Two spirited officers of the militia, Mason and Brent, accompanied by thirty men, promptly pursued the murderers. Ascending the valley of the Potomac some twenty miles, they crossed its channel to the Maryland shore, where they found two Indian paths. Dividing their force, Mason took one trail, and Brent the other. A short pursuit, by each party, terminated in the discovery of two Indian wigwams. Brant having accused one of the occupants of the lodge which he found, as the murderer, he tremblingly denied the fact, and attempted to escape, but was shot down by a pistol-ball, which lodged in his back. The other inmates then fired, and made a spring for the door of the wigwam; but the unerring rifle laid ten of the number dead on the spot. Meantime Mason had arrived at the other lodge, the Indians in which, hearing the firing at the first lodge, hastened to effect their escape. Fourteen of them were shot, when one of the survivors, having rushed up to Mason, and declared that they were Susquehannocks, and friends, the firing was instantly stopped.

The Susquehannocks subsequently accused the Senecas of having committed the murders in Virginia. Whoever the perpetrators really were is unknown; but other massacres immediately followed on those borders, which so excited the people of Maryland as well as of Virginia, that they united in mustering 1000 men to march against the Susquehannocks. This force was placed under the command of Colonel John

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Washington. Meanwhile the Susquehannocks had taken possession of an old abandoned fort, which, having been used by the whites in previous wars, was singularly well calculated for defence. It was encompassed by ample earthen walls, containing a gate and surrounded by a ditch, the counterscarp of the latter being planted with trees, closely wattled, which presented an impenetrable curtain.

The Maryland and Virginia forces appeared before this fort on the 23d of September. Conferences were held, in which the Indians, although boldly accused of the murders, as confidently denied their complicity, notwithstanding three of the bloody deeds had been identified as their acts. They agreed to deliver Harignera, and five others of their principal chiefs, to the English, as hostages for the security of their frontiers. The morning after the consummation of this treaty, one Captain John Allen, a leader of the Maryland rangers, having reported the circumstance of the murder of Randolph Hanson, among the recent outrages, was sent with a guard, to ascertain whether it had been the work of Indians. It so occurred that, during the final conference for the conclusion of the treaty, by the terms of which the six chiefs had been delivered over to the custody of the military, Allen returned from this examination, bringing with him the mangled remains of the victims, the appearance of which left no doubt that they had been foully murdered by the Indians. The whole camp was instantly a scene of excitement; every one imagining he saw his nearest friend, or some loved one in the cruel gripe of savages. Five of the hostages, comprising the leading sachems and wise men of the Susquehannocks, were immediately condemned to death, and were accordingly executed. During the night the Indians secretly, dexterously, and silently evacuated the fort, and fled, taking with them all their women and children. The warriors of this party attacked, with savage fury, the white residents on the frontiers of Virginia, killing many, and committing numerous depredations; in which forays they themselves were finally exterminated, or became scattered among other bands.

This was not, however, the severest blow that the Susquehannocks received. It appears, from the relation of Evans, that a body of troops, led by a Marylander, attacked thern at a position east of the Susquehanna, about three miles below Wright's Ferry, now known as Columbia, killing several hundred men. It is proved by Colden, from data produced at the treaty of Lancaster, negotiated in 1744, that they formed a part of the Canostogas, an original Oneida tribe, and that they were finally conveyed to the territory of that nation in western New York. Oneida tradition ascribes the birth and origin of the celebrated chief Shenandoa, to Canostoga, whence, in early life, he came to Oneida castle.

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Chapter IV. — The Andastes.

The synonyms of the Indian tribes in the United States, have operated greatly to complicate or retard the development of their true history. This subject has been a stumbling-block to writers, as well at home as abroad, where some of the ablest historians have been misled by it, mistaking the several names of the same tribe for those of different tribes. The Indian history of Maryland, and of its leading tribe, the Susquehannocks, has been obscured in this manner. The early French writers in Canada, and those who, on their authority, have since written of that country, constantly mention a tribe, whose name, in the softest form, is given as Andastes. Although residing in well-known limits of the United States, the name is not to be found in the works of any of our historians. Fortunately, however, there existed, between them and the Indian allies of the French, sufficient intercourse to give us data, whereby to determine their location, language, numbers, and power.

Friends of the Swedish colony on the Delaware, friends of the Hurons in Upper Canada, friends, at a later date, of Maryland and Pennsylvania, they were repeatedly at war with the powerful Iroquois. Like the latter, and the Neuters, they were a branch of the great Huron-Iroquois family. According to Bressani, they were located 500 miles, or, as the Relation of 1647-8 has it, 150 leagues southwest by south of the Hurons, inclining a little eastward. This measurement was in a direct line, the road usually taken being somewhat longer, and at least 200 leagues. A large river rising near Lake Ontario led to the town. They resided quite near the Swedish settlement, and were on friendly terms with the Scandinavian colonists.

Quite naturally, we turn to Swedish accounts to find some traces of this people. Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, and the Historical Collections also, actually locate a tribe called Andastakas on Christiana creek, but I have not found on what authority. The name does not appear in Swedish accounts; and this is natural, as the

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surrounding tribes were Algonquin, and the Swedish name would of course be Algic. A band of the Akwinoshioni existed near the Swedes, whom they called Mengwe, a term that Mr. Heckewelder tells us is the same as Mingo. Campanius has preserved a vocabulary of their language, which is a dialect of the Huron Iroquois, as Duponceau long since observed. This word is not to be confounded with Minqua. Minqua was the Dutch and Swedish name for the Susquehannocks. A creek running into the Delaware bore the name of Minqua kill, not that the Minqua lived on it, but because it led to their country. This would place them on the Susquehanna, where the French locate the Andastes. Their town is thus described by Campanius: "The Minques, or Minckus, lived at the distance of twelve (fifty-four English) miles from New Sweden, where they daily came to trade with us. The way to their land was very bad, being rocky, full of sharp, gray stones, with hills and morasses; so that the Swedes, when they went to them, which happened once or twice a year, had to walk in the water up to their armpits. . . . They live on a high mountain, very steep and difficult to climb; there they have a fort or square building, in which they reside. They have guns and small iron cannon, with which they shoot, and defend themselves, and take with them when they go to war. They are strong and vigorous, both old and young; they are a tall people, and not frightful in their appearance."

There can be little doubt as to the identity of these Swedish Minqua and the Andastoe, or Gandastogué, of the French. Let us now see what we can elicit from European annals, regarding their history. Toward the close of the seventeenth century, they had, in a ten years' war, almost exterminated the Mohawks. The Minquas were a warlike people, and, as usual with the Huron-Iroquois, were a superior race to their Algic neighbors. "They made the other Indians," says Campanius, "subject to them, so that they dare not stir, much less go to war against them." In 1633, De Vries found them at war with the Timber Creek Indians. A short time thereafter, the Swedes purchased a portion of their territory, and, in 1645, under the name of Susquehanna, or Conestogue, Indians, they ceded to Maryland a tract, beginning at the Patuxent river on the west, and terminating at the Choptank river on the east. The Andastes, or Gandastogués, who are evidently these Conestogues, were, from time immemorial, friends and allies of the Hurons, and not over friendly to the Iroquois. In 1647, when the former were on the brink of ruin, the Andastes, then able to send from their single town 1300 warriors, "who, when fighting, never fled, but stood like a wall, as long as there was one remaining," despatched an embassy to Lake Huron,

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with an offer to espouse their quarrel, and a request that the Hurons would call on them when they needed aid.

An embassy, headed by the Christian, Charles Ondaaiondiont, soon after set out from the villages of the Wyandots. In ten days they reached the Andaste town, and, on their appeal, the Andastes resolved to interfere. An embassy, loaded with rich presents, was sent to Onondaga to demand why the Iroquois struck the Wyandots, and to ask them to be wise and bury the hatchet. Charles, meanwhile, leaving a person to await the return of the deputies, set out for Huronia, which he reached only after a long and tedious march of forty days, made necessary by the war parties which the Senecas sent out to intercept him. His journey to Andaste had occupied but ten days. While at Andaste, he visited the churchless settlement of the Swedes, where was lying a Dutch ship from Manhattan, by which he received tidings of the murder of his old friend, Ondessonk, the Jesuit Father Joques, whom the Mohawks had mercilessly butchered near Albany.

The Iroquois accepted the presents of the Andastes, but, nevertheless, continued the war. The Hurons, however, never required the Andastes to enter the field, and they seem to have taken no further part in the war.

Yet, in 1652, the Journal of the Superior of the Jesuits at Montreal, which gives as synonymous the names Andastoe and Atrakwer, mentions a report that 600 of the Andastes had been taken by the Iroquois. This report was probably unfounded; they were at peace in 1656, although, in that year, we learn that some Andastoe hunters were robbed by the Onondagas on Lake Ontario, and war expected in consequence.

In 1660, the successors of the Swedes still continued their friendly intercourse with the Andastes, or Minquas. In the following year, we find their town ravaged by the small-pox; and, as Campanius tells us, their loss by that scourge of the Indians was such as to weaken them greatly as a nation. Yet, under this affliction, their spirit remained unbroken: In 1661, some of their tribe were cut off by the Senecas, and they, in return, killed three Cayugas in the same year. In the following year, they defeated the western cantons, who then supplicated the French for aid. The Senecas soon after renewed their request; and we find that, in May, 1663, an army of 1600 Senecas marched against the Minquas, and laid seige to a little fort, defended by 100 warriors of that tribe, who, confident in their own bravery, and of receiving assistance from their countrymen, as well as from their white friends in Maryland, held out manfully. At last, sallying out, they routed the Senecas, killing ten, and recovering as many of their own countrymen. For a time, this victory gave them a preponderance; and, such was the terror of their arms, that a portion of the Cayugas, being hard pressed, and harassed by their inroads, removed to Quinté, north of Lake Ontario.

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The war was continued in a desultory manner. In 1668, the missionary resident at Onondaga, beheld a Gandastogué girl tied to the stake; and, in 1669, the Oneidas sent out parties against them. In 1670, prisoners were again brought to Seneca and Oneida, where they were tortured. During the previous autumn, the Gandastogués had again attacked the Cayugas; but at last they sent an ambassador to the latter, who, contrary to usage, was imprisoned, and, in the spring, put to death, together with his nephew.

About this time, an Iroquois medicine-man, when dying, ordered his body to be interred on the road to the country of the Andastes, promising to prevent, even in death, the inroads of that waning, yet terrible tribe. He also promised that Hochitagete, the great chief of the Andastes, should fall into their hands. Notwithstanding his prophesy, despite the potency of his bones, the Andastes carried off three Cayuga women; and, when a party of Senecas took the field, with promises of support from a reserve of Cayugas, they were met, attacked, and defeated by a party of sixty Andastes youth, or, rather boys, who, having killed several, and routed the rest, then started in pursuit of the Cayugas, whom, however, they failed to overtake.

This victory was needed: the Andastes had suffered greatly in point of numbers. "God help them," says the missionary who relates the preceding victory, "they have only three hundred warriors!"

The war continued, but the Marylanders became the enemies of the Andastes or Conestogoes, and, by the year 1675, they had at length yielded to the Iroquois, who removed a portion of them, at least, from their old position, to one higher up, perhaps to Onoghquage.

Some of the Conestogoes, however, remained at the place which still bears their name. They made a treaty with Penn in 1683; but, when that proprietor became aware of their dependent state, he applied to the Iroquois through Dongan. When a subsequent treaty was concluded with them, in 1701, a deputy from Onondaga was present, and ratified the acts of Conoodagtoh, "the king of the Susquehanna Menquays, or Conestogo Indians." At this period, other Indians had joined the survivors, and Shawnese, as well as Ganawese, also appear among them. Subsequently, when a treaty was negotiated with Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordon, four chiefs of the Conestogoes, one the somewhat celebrated interpreter, Civility, were present, and, also, the same number of Algonquin chiefs, headed by Tiorhaasery. Colden represents them as

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speaking Oneida, and, in fact, their dialect approximates it greatly. Besides the Algonquins, there were some kindred Nanticokes at Conestogoe; yet they still formed but a small village, destined soon to perish, as all know who have read the classic page of Parkman.

In 1763, they numbered only twenty souls, living in a cluster of squalid cabins, and all dependent on the industry of the female portion. The men were wild, gipsy-like beings, and, in the troubled state of the country, while Pontiac was encircling the colony with an ever narrowing hedge of burning dwellings, excited suspicion by their careless, if not threatening language. In their vicinity was the town of Paxton, settled by Irish Presbyterians, who had imbibed, in their native country, a fanatical spirit, and hatred of Pagan institutions. These men, having suddenly resolved to destroy the last distinct remnant of the Andastes, Minquas, or Conestogoes, armed themselves, and, in mid-winter, attacked the little village, in which they found only six persons, whom they butchered, and then fired their log huts. The sheriff of Lancaster, when cognizant of the outrage, hurried the survivors to the jail of that town, as a place of security; but even here, they could not escape the fury of the Paxton boys. On the 27th of December, while the townsfolk were in church, they entered the town, broke open the jail, and massacred the survivors, who fought desperately with billets of wood, thus maintaining to the last their ancient renown.

Such was the close of the history of the Andastes. The remnant of a nation which had, during fourteen years, engaged the victorious Iroquois hand to hand, were massacred by a band of lawless whites.

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Chapter V. — Summary of the Cotemporary Evidencecs of the Susquehannock History.

It will not be deemed improper, before closing the history of one of the most prominent and characteristic tribes existing during the early days of the central colonies of the United States, a brave, proud, and high-spirited race, to collate, in a brief form, the principal evidences of the times which constitute the basis of their history.

According to a tradition, narrated in the Jesuit Relation for 1659-60, the Andastes had, prior to 1600, during a ten years' war, almost exterminated the Mohawks, and so completely humbled that bold and warlike tribe, that, after the period mentioned, they seldom dared to provoke them.

However, in 1608, Smith found them still contending with each other, equally resolute and warlike; the Susquehannas, or Andastes, being impregnable in their palisaded town, and ruling over all the Algonquin tribes.

Soon after the Dutch settled New York, they visited the Delaware river, and became acquainted with the dominant tribe, the Minquas, who came from the Susquehanna, by Minquaskill, to trade with them. In 1633, De Vries found them at war with the Timber Creek Indians, and ruling with an iron hand the tribes located on the banks of the Delaware. Five years subsequently, Minuit, at the head of a colony of Swedes, founded New Sweden, purchasing the land from the Minquas. A strong friendship grew up between the settlers and this tribe, and a lucrative trade was carried on, which excited the jealousy of the Dutch, who made repeated endeavors to obtain a share of it. "The Minquas, or Minckus," says Campanius, "lived at the distance of twelve (fifty-four English) miles from New Sweden, where they daily came to trade with us. The way to their land was very bad, being stony, full of sharp, gray stones, with hills and morasses; so that the Swedes, when they went to them, which happened generally once or twice a year, had to walk in the water up to their arm-pits..... They live on a high mountain, very steep and difficult to climb; there they have a fort, or square

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building, in which they live, in the manner that has been described. They made the other Indians subject to them, so that they dare not stir, much less go to war against them; but their numbers are, at present, greatly diminished by wars and sickness." Of this trade of the Swedes with the Susquehannas, and, especially, of their supplying the latter with firearms, we have another proof in Plowden's New Albion. "The Swedes hired out three of their soldiers to the Susquehannocks, and have taught them the use of our arms and fights."

In 1647, the Hurons were on the brink of ruin. The Iroquois had pursued them, after their alliance with the French, with the utmost fury. By stratagem, the whole district of country, from the Oswego, Genesee, and Niagara rivers, to the very skirts of Montreal, was covered by war parties, who waylaid every path. Themselves of the Iroquois lineage, they were pursued with the desperation of a family quarrel. There was no pity and no mercy in the Iroquois mode of warfare. They have been known to travel a thousand miles, and then conceal themselves near the cabin of some unsuspecting foe, that they might deprive him of his scalp. During their war with the Iroquois, the Andastes or Susquehannas, then able to send 1300 warriors from their single town, despatched an embassy to the shores of Lake Huron, to offer their aid to their ancient allies, promising to take up arms whenever called upon. The infatuated Hurons relied on their own strength, and seem to have slighted the preferred assistance till it was too late. Still, an embassy was sent from Huronia, headed by the Christian warrior, Charles Ondaaiondiont. In ten days, they reached the Andaste town, and solicited merely the intervention of the Susquehannas. He left the Huron towns on the 13th of August, and reached them again on the 5th of October.

The Dutch still continued to struggle for the Minqua or Susquehanna trade, from which the Swedes, no less zealously, endeavored to exclude them; but, in 1651, the Dutch purchased of the Minquas all the land between the Minquaskill and Bomties Hook, in the name of the States-General and the West India Company.

At the epoch of Calvert's colonization, the Susquehannas had been at war with the Piscataways, as well as with other Maryland tribes, and seem to have cut off a missionary settlement. In 1642 they were declared enemies of the colony, and as they still continued their ravages with the Wycomeses, and, apparently, the Senecas, Captain Cornwallis was sent against them, and a fort erected on Palmer's Island, to check their inroads. The war continued, however, and an effort made to bring about a conference in May, 1644, with a view to establishing peace, failed. The new settlements of the Puritans on the Severn, in the very territories of the Susquehannas,

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having given fresh umbrage, the frontier was ravaged by predatory bands. In 1652 peace was firmly established by a treaty signed at the river Severn, on the 5th of July, by Richard Bennett, Edward Lloyd, William Fuller, Leonard Strong, and Thomas Marsh, on behalf of the colony; and Sawahegeh, Auroghtaregh, Scarhuhadigh, Rutchogah, and Natheldianeh, Susquehanna "war captains and councillors" of Susquehanagh, in the presence of "Jafer Peter for the Swedes Governor."

By this treaty all past grievances were forgiven on both sides, peace was established, and provision made to prevent future hostilities. The Susquehannas thereby ceded to the colony all the territory between Patuxent river and Palmer's island, on the west, and from Choptank river to the branch above Elk river, excepting Palmer's island, on which both parties were at liberty to have trading houses.

In 1652, a war broke out between the Andastes and the Senecas, which continued as late as 1673, for, in the still unpublished manuscript, Relation for 1672-3, we find the following remark of Father Lamberville: "Two Andastogues, taken by the Iroquois, were more fortunate; they received baptism immediately before the hot irons were applied. One of them having been burnt in a cabin during the night from the feet up to the knees, prayed with me the next day, when bound to a stake in the square of the castle. I need not repeat here, what is already known, that the tortures inflicted on these prisoners of war are horrible. The patience of these poor victims is admirable; but it is impossible to behold, without horror, their flesh roasted and devoured by men, who act like famished dogs.

"Passing one day by a place where they were cutting up the body of one of these victims, I could not refrain from going up to inveigh against this brutality. One of these cannibals was calling for a knife, to cut off an arm; I opposed it, and threatened, if he would not desist, that God would sooner or later punish his cruelty. He persisted, however, giving as his reason that he was invited to a dream-feast, where nothing was to be eaten but human flesh, brought by the guests themselves. Two days after, God permitted his wife to fall into the hands of the Andastogues, who avenged on her the cruelty of her husband."

Of the two following years we have no definite account, but, in 1675, the "Etat Present of Monseigneur de St. Valier, Bishop of Quebec," speaks of the pride of the Iroquois, since the defeat of the Andastes. When, or where the decisive battle was fought, I have been utterly unable to trace; from what can be gleaned from the annals of Maryland and Virginia, it seems most probable that their stronghold was taken, and that the survivors fled south.

According to the historians of Maryland and Virginia, the Senecas had, in 1674,

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conquered the Susquehannas, and driven them from their abode, at the head of the Chesapeake, to the vicinity of the Piscataways. The fugitives had taken refuge in an old fort which had belonged to their former antagonists, and there resolutely defended themselves against the Senecas, who still pursued them, ravaging without much concern, the lands of the whites. Some of the colonists were actually cut off, and, as the Susquehannas had, in the olden time, been enemies, and were now apparently invading the colonies, it was agreed to send a joint Maryland and Virginia force against them. On the 25th of September, 1675, the Maryland troops, under Major Trueman, appeared before their fort. He was apparently satisfied with their protestations of innocence; but, being joined on the following day by the Virginians, under Colonels Washington and Mason, under the strong provocations before stated, he caused five of the chiefs, who came out to treat with them, to be seized and bound. To prove their friendship, they showed a silver medal, and papers given them by governors of Maryland; but, in spite of all, they were, under false impulses, put to death. Many fell in the fight, the rest evacuated the fort, commenced a retreat, and a war of revenge, and, being joined by other tribes, the whole border was deluged in blood. Bacon's rebellion, in Virginia, grew out of this act of treachery, and the war was finally ended, it would seem, by the aid of the Iroquois, who, joining the Maryland and Virginia army, forced the surviving Susquehannas to return to their former post, where a number of Iroquois were incorporated with them.

The Susquehannas were finally exterminated as a nation; but their name will be perpetuated by their noble river, which is a more enduring memorial than the perishable monuments erected by man.

146 Section Eighth. — Occupancy of New York by the English, and Sequel to the Indian Wars of New England.

Chapter I. — New Netherlands Surrendered to the English, and Named New York.

1664.

Whilst a foreign power held sway over the entire territory bordering New England on the west and south, facilities were offered for the escape of Indian marauders into that province; and the impression prevailed, whether well or ill founded, cannot be determined, that such persons received countenance from the Dutch authorities, or, at least, that the Indians under their jurisdiction, received and sheltered the aboriginal fugitives. But this state of affairs ceased, after the province was taken by the English, in 1664, twenty years after the close of the Pequot war. The British flag then waved in triumph from the utmost boundaries of New England to those of Florida. It was an unquestionable fact that, when the Pequot war terminated, in 1644, many of this indomitable tribe, after escaping from the massacre at Fairfield, sought shelter in the territory of the Mohawks. Some individuals of it, also, as well as of the Nanticokes, appear to have been incorporated with the Scoharie band of the Mohawks; but, by far the greater number, were permitted to locate themselves on a branch of the North river, called Scaghticoke, in a valley equally as fertile as it was beautiful, which was granted to them by the authorities of Albany. These

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fugitives, among whom were some other fragments of the sea-coast Algonquins, never resumed their original tribal appellation, but settled down under the government of the Iroquois cantons, who sheltered the remnants of the despoiled and conquered tribes. Delegates from these Indians attended some of the Mohawk councils, but they retained none of their former independent character, and were not much respected. Some years after the establishment of the English supremacy in New York, the entire Scaghticoke band precipitately fled, and located themselves under the protection of the French, at Missisqui bay, on the northern waters of Lake Champlain. To this course they were impelled by one or other of several reasons; either because less countenance was shown them by the New York authorities, on account of the repeated complaints of the Connecticut colonists; or that the whites infringed too much on the land assigned them; or that the Canadian authorities, who were in communication, and sympathy with them, exercised a persuasive influence; or, it is more probable, that they feared the New Yorkers were about to avenge the wrongs inflicted on the Connecticut settlers.

At the period when the English and Celtic elements of population were introduced into New York, there were, as there had been previously, but two Indian powers contending for the sovereignty in this colony, the Algonquin and the Iroquois. The Algonquins, divided into numerous bands, under local names, had, from an early date, occupied the valley of the Hudson, below the site of Albany; and the right bank of that river, as high up, at least, as the influx of the Wallkill, was occupied by the second totemic class of the Lenno Lenapees, who bore the name of Munsees, the various tribes of which, known as the Raritans, Sanhikans, &c., covered the entire surface of New Jersey. On the right banks of the Hudson were the Mohicans proper, known under the tribal appellations of Wappengers, Tappensees, and Wequa-esgecks, and other bands of the Westchester Algonquins. These latter extended their possessions into the boundaries of Connecticut. The Manhattans were the band residing on the island of the same name, and the Long Island tribes, descriptively called Sewan-akies, or shell-land bands, were known by the generic name of Metoacs. Nearly every prominent bay, island, or channel, of which the great bay of New York is the recipient, possessed its local name, derived often from that of a tribe, and often from geographical features.

In the middle and western parts of the State, between the Tawasentha valley of Albany county, and the Niagara river, resided the Iroquois, consisting of the five tribes of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, who, after the formation of their confederacy, filled by far the most important position in the history of the North American, or, to be more precise, Vesperic Indians. According to some authorities, this league had been formed but a short time anterior to the discovery of

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the Hudson river. Others, among whom is the Indian annalist, Cusic, whose chronology is not, however, reliable, aver that the date of the confederacy is far more ancient. From all accounts, during the first half century after the settlement of Virginia, the Algonquins were the most numerous in population along the sea coasts, and for more than a century and a half, in the interior. This numerical supremacy continued until the European population, crossing the Alleghenies, passed the great lake basins, and scattered freely over the Mississippi Valley. Agreeably to Colden, the supremacy of the Algonquins had, in more ancient times, been acknowledged, not only as hunters and warriors, but also in manners and arts. This early development, however, had evidently declined before the foot of the white man trod these shores; and it is certain that, so far as it related to policy and warlike achievements, it had passed away before the era of the Dutch, and long before the English became identified with New York history. These assertions are deducible from the fact, that the Algonquins, both of the Hudson and of the Delaware rivers, had been conquered by the Iroquois, and were then in a state of vassalage to that confederacy, either paying tribute, or deprived of the sovereign right of ceding lands. When the latter power was attempted to be exercised, some forty years after the advent of Penn, the unmercifully severe and contemptuous rebuke, and insolence, of Canissatego may be cited, to show that the power of their club and tomahawk was ready to enforce their ancient potency.

About ten years previous to the conquest of New York by the English, say in 1653, the Seneca Iroquois, with the aid of the other tribes of the league, began a war against the Eries, as well as against the neuter nation of the Niagara river, and their allies, the Andastes of the Erie shore. When Le Moyne first visited Onondaga in 1655, this war against the Eries was then in progress. Cusic denominates them the Cat Nation, meaning the wild-cat, as the domestic animal was probably unknown. They were evidently affiliated in language with themselves. No one can peruse the writings of the missionary fathers, and not perceive this. The following account of the origin of this war against the Neuter Nation, is furnished by Cusic: Delegates from a northern nation, with whom the Iroquois were at war, having been received by the Eries, Yagowanea, the female ruler of the tribe, at Kienuka, on the Niagara Ridge, betrayed the Seneca deputation to their concealed enemies from the north, by whom they were killed. As they claimed to hold a neutral position towards the belligerant tribes, the inevitable result of this treachery was, that the Iroquois indignantly flew to arms.

The early French writers call this tribe the Neuter Nation, owing to their apparently pacific character. This name, however, is not derived from the Indian, and has only served to mystify modern inquirers, as no such nation of neuters can be found in any position, except solely in the area occupied by the Eries, on the Niagara. The name

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by which the Senecas designate the Eries, is Kahqua. The Andastes occupied the shores of Lake Erie. As previously denoted, they were Susquehannocks.

The war, fiery, short, and bloody, resulted in the overthrow of the Eries and their allies, and produced their subsequent incorporation into other tribes, or expulsion from the country. From this time, the tribal name of Erie, as, in a prior case, with the Pequots, disappears from history. Mr. Evans, in his map and memoir, published at Philadelphia, in 1755, avers that the refugee Eries took shelter in the Ohio valley, whence they eventually crossed the Onosiota, or Alleghany chain, to rejoin kindred tribes. Mr. Jefferson repeats this fact in his Notes on Virginia, in 1780. The evidence that these fugitive Eries are the brave and indomitable people known to us as Catabas, has been elsewhere produced.

To conciliate the Iroquois, who were thus rapidly raising themselves to a position of power and influence among the Indians of the colonies, became immediately a measure of English policy, and to secure this result, the most wise and prudent steps were taken. The fur trade, which had been established upon a firm and satisfactory basis by the Dutch, was continued; and the bonds of friendship with the Iroquois cemented by an offensive and defensive alliance. Their enemies became the enemies of the English, and the friends of the former the friends of the latter. Thus, the Iroquois were constituted the defenders of the territory of western New York, against the French. If the latter could succeed in driving them from, or acquiring their forests, western New York would be added to New France; if they failed, it was a gem in the British crown. Who can read the details of an hundred years' sanguinary contests, without perceiving that it was the undying vigilance, the unerring accuracy of their geographical knowledge of the wilderness, and the manly bravery of the Iroquois, which, up to the year 1775, preserved western New York to the English crown.

The annexed map, Plate VII., published at Amsterdam, in 1659, denotes the position of the several tribes, who occupied Manhatania, on the transfer of the Dutch authority in New York to the English.

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Chapter II. — The War with Philip, of Pokanoket.

While the English were making themselves acquainted with the character, positions, and wants of the Indians of New York, the causes of discord between the New England tribes and the colonists still continued; but, like a smouldering fire, they were, as much as possible, concealed from public view. The severity with which the Pequots were treated, secured the peace of the country for some thirty years; though at no time during this period could the colonists relax their vigilance for one moment. The war between the Mohicans and Narragansetts, under Uncas and Miontonimo, demonstrated to the tribes that, however fiercely discord and war might rage among themselves, the great and vital objects of the colonists were not retarded, but rather promoted, by the extinction of the petty Indian sovereignties.

At length, in 1675, those smothered discords burst forth into a flame. Massachusetts having been, in truth, the mother of the British colonies in the north, she now became the principal object against which the long pent-up wrath of the aborigines was directed. The majority of her sea-coast and inland tribes, had, indeed, yielded to the influences of civilization and gospel teachings, and had engaged in the pursuits of agriculture, but in her assemblies of neophytes, there were disciples of the native Indian priesthood, who sometimes maintained their view of the questions at issue with great boldness. The larger part of the Indian population of the interior, and towards the south, southwest, and west, hated a life of labour, as also the gospel, and secretly banded together to make another combined effort for the extinction and expulsion of the English. This combination was headed by the Pokanokets, whose council-fires burned on Mount Hope.

It has been previously stated that this tribe had very extensive affiliations with the principal Indian families of the country. They were the leading tribe of the Pokanoket Bashabary, a kind of aboriginal hereditary presidency. The benevolent Massasoit held this office at the period of the landing of the Plymouth colony, and both he and

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his descendants were, up to the close of the war, deemed the legitimate sovereigns, and possessing power to alienate laud. Massasoit, who, by his equanimity and conservative character, had maintained a good understanding with the colonists, died in 1662, and was succeeded, at alternate periods, by his sons Popquit and Metakom; or, according to the researches of Mr. Drake, more correctly, Pometakom. The colonial court, at one of its sittings, gave them the names of Alexander and Philip, in compliment to their martial bearing. Alexander, who possessed a high spirit, ruled but a short time, dying of a fever suddenly contracted while on a visit to the Plymouth colony. Pometakom, who was better known as King Philip, succeeded him. He was a man who, if we can place any reliance on the prints of the time, inclined to the middle size, was not over five feet nine or ten inches; had a large and finely-developed head, and possessed great resolution, activity and powers of endurance. He may be regarded as the true representative of the Indian hunter. He was familiar with every foot of ground between Mount Hope and Massachusetts Bay; had witnessed the foundation and rise of the colonies; was well known to the colonists, and they to him; loved the independence of savage life and rule; took great pride in his ancestry; loved the old Indian rites, and retained in his service a numerous priesthood, or body of prophets, sagamores, and powwows; daemonology and idolatry, magic and soothsaying, being regarded by him as the religion of his ancestors. He loved hunting and fishing and despised the life of labor recommended to him. He may be said to have detested civilization in all its forms, and to have abhorred the doctrines of Christianity. At the head of his Bashabary, he ruled both civil and priestly chiefs; by his office he was, in fact, a supreme chief of chiefs. Such appears to be the meaning of the term BASHABA.

During twelve years Philip had been a silent observer of the growth of New England. Twenty years had elapsed since the close of the native war between the Narragansetts and Mohicans, of which the colonists had been passive, though deeply interested, spectators, merely employing their influence with the tribes to keep them at peace with the colonies and with each other. For several years prior to the breaking out of the Pokanoket war, Philip had been regarded with suspicion, and a close eye was kept on his subtle political movements. It appeared evident that, in addition to his authority amongst the eight or ten tribes who acknowledged his supremacy, his influence was also exerted among the Narragansetts, his immediate neighbors on the south, whose possessions extended northwardly to those of the Pennacooks of the river Merrimac, and of other tribes of the Pawtuckets.

Philip's plan for uniting all the border Indians in a general war against the colonies, is supposed to have been revealed by a friendly Christian Indian, called Sausaman. For this act he was made to pay the forfeit of his life, by three emissaries of Philip.

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While fishing on a pond through an orifice in the ice, he was approached without suspicion, by his foes, who knocked him on the head, and then thrust his body through the opening.

The Pequot war was but the struggle of a single tribe, in which, though the sympathies of other tribes were, more or less, enlisted, they took no active part. But the plot of Philip had been maturely deliberated upon, and had received the sanction of all the Indian councils, both political and religious, in which the native feeling of repugnance to the whites prevailed, fully comprehending, as they did, that the leading objects of the colonists were to force the arts of civilization, and the teachings of Christianity, on the Indians. Wherever the Indians were assembled for moral instruction, every argument was adduced to impress them with the importance of the practice of virtue, industry, and temperance; and to inculcate the doctrines of the Christian faith. To the number of willing listeners, who had been gathered into separate but small isolated congregations, under the name of "praying Indians," during these forty years, no truths were more acceptable; on the contrary, to the pagan portion, who were, by far, the largest number among the tribes, these truths were like so many sharp goads to the Indian heart. The Indian powwows gnashed their teeth while listening to the English preachers declaring such truths, which, as it were, with gigantic strength, overthrew the entire system of the Indian meda-theology and wigwam political necromancy.

It is estimated that, in 1673, the entire white population of New England was 120,000 souls, of whom 16,000 were capable of bearing arms. About this time, Massachusetts alone mustered twelve troops of cavalry, comprising sixty men each, who were armed, and stationed at various points, to punish any sudden aggressions. The white population had, within forty years, spread from its original nucleus at Plymouth, more than 100 miles westward, and, in some places, the same distance to the north. But owing to this very expansion, it presented, on every frontier, a broken, unconnected line, continually subject to the depredations of the hostile Indians. At these exposed points in the line of the advancing settlements, every man was the daily guardian of his own life, untiring vigilance being the only guaranty of safety.

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Chapter III. — Philip Developed his Plot: His Attacks on the Weak Frontier Line of the New England Colonies.

It was these settlements, weakened by their geographical position, though strengthened by the energy of character innate in their inhabitants, that Philip plotted to destroy. It was his design that the onslaught should have taken place on the same day, and that the war-cry should have been simultaneously raised, from the shores of the Piscataqua to the steeps of Mount Hope. Had such a combination been effected in the days of Sassacus, the hopes of the New England colonies might have been extinguished in blood. But the revelations of Sausaman had placed the colonists on their guard. Battles and experience had made them familiar with the Indian mode of warfare, and had taught them that sleepless watchfulness and caution are essential to the prosperity of settlements bordering on Indian frontiers. They numbered among them several men, noted for their skill and tact in repelling the Indians in their guerilla warfare. Every settler was, in fact, on the alert; fire-arms were kept in every family. The assumed tranquil air, and calm manner, of the Indian, in his ordinary visits, his studied secresy, and his deep deception, were closely observed, and the horrid cruelty of the Indians was well known to all, both young and old.

The Indian has lost America through discord, procrastination, and deliberation, without decision; action being postponed from time to time, and period to period, until it became, in effect, a dream of something to be done, something that it was pleasing to the natives to deliberate upon, to think about, to powwow over. There have occurred a few striking exceptions in the course of their history, and these are precisely the cases which developed extraordinary men. Two of these exceptions have already been mentioned; the one was Uncas, who determined to divide the ancient Pequot sovereignty, and to range himself under the banner of the English; the other was Sassacus, who, finding his affairs in a desperate condition, after the flower of his forces had been consumed by what was, clearly, the result of a mere accident (Mason never having premeditated that tragical and revolting sacrifice), determined instantly to forsake his country, and flee to the west. A third instance of decision, conjoined with ability to combine the power of united action, and, probably, the most remarkable of the three, in point of intellectual vigor, was that of Pometacom, whose acts we are about to narrate.

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To qualify himself for his great effort against the New England colonies, and to relieve his men from domestic cares, he sent his own family, and all the women and children of his nation, into the country of his friends and neighbors, the Narragansetts. Canonchet, the son of Miontonimo, who had been the reigning sachem since the death of his father, by this course involved himself deeply with the colonies, and it ultimately cost him his life; for the colonists could now no longer doubt, that the Narragansetts not only sympathized deeply with Philip, but had acceded to his plans. They, therefore, organized a strong force against this tribe, and, after the capture of Canonchet, in a conflict, which occurred near Sekonk, the tribe succumbed, and formed a new treaty with their conquerors. Canonchet himself was sent to the Mohicans, under Uncas, and by them executed.

Political wisdom is of very slow growth among the Indians. Having no records, tradition performs its duty very defectively; much being forgotten, disbelieved, or imperfectly understood; and, where the ruling passions are so strong, as they are in all the tribes, that they all take one direction only, namely, hatred to the whites, imagination obtains the mastery over facts. These inferences regarding the race are forced upon us by the notorious fact, that past experience exercises but little influence over their future actions, and none whatever on the present of their history. Had Canonchet reflected that the fate of his father Miontonimo had been the result of the supposed or real hostility of the Narragansetts to the colonists, he would have avoided the offence of allowing his territory to become a shelter for the refugee Pokanokets; and the renowned sachem of the latter might have foreseen that the fate of Sassacus, incurred by opposing himself openly to the colonists, was likely to presage his own destiny. They knew nothing, it is true, of English history, except what had occurred before their own eyes; but, had they been cognisant of even more, they could have formed no other conclusion, than that a class of stern men, who had abandoned their homes and country, in support of deeply cherished opinions, would not be easily hurled back, or driven into the Atlantic, by a wild and undisciplined horde of savage hunters.

Philip had endeavored to lull suspicion by keeping up his communications with the central powers of the colonies, particularly by two personal visits to Plymouth, in 1662 and 1671, during which time he renewed the fealty, first pledged by his father Massasoit. After the disclosure made by Sausaman, his intentions could no longer be concealed; and, when it became known that he had abandoned his ancestral seat, at Mount Hope, and sent the women and children to a place of safety, it was supposed, and with truth, that he was ranging up and down among the tribes, like some eastern Mongol chief, in the central plains of Asia, arousing his followers, and exciting in them a desire for war, blood, and plunder. The tragedy soon opened along the entire line of the New England frontiers, and was, indeed, much the severest ordeal the New England colonies passed through.

Philip's energies appeared to be almost superhuman, for it was either his voice which

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animated, or his hand which directed every attack. The war commenced near Mount Hope, on the 24th of June, 1675. A party of Philip's warriors, being sent to the English settlement at Mattapoisett, Swanzey, they plundered the houses, and killed some of the cattle. In this foray, an Indian being shot, the others rushed forward, and murdered eight or nine of the English. Intelligence of the affray was quickly spread, and the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies immediately sent troops into the field. Within four days thereafter, one company of horse and two of infantry were on the spot. Several skirmishes ensued, and a few Indians, as well as English, were killed. The force of the latter being soon recruited, they proceeded to Mount Hope, which was found to be deserted, and the enemy to have fled. The dragoons, while reconnoitering the vicinity, discovered a small party of Indians, and killed four or five of the number. The troops then received orders to march into the country of the Narragansetts, to bring them to an account, but were met with many professions of a desire for peace. Negotiations having been opened, the Narragansetts signed a treaty, binding themselves "as far as was in their power," to oppose Philip. At this time, a price was placed on Philip's head, delivered "dead or alive."

Meantime, Church had penetrated Pocasset Neck, where he found and engaged some straggling parties; but, not meeting with the success he desired, he soon after returned to the same locality, with fifty men. Dividing these, for the purpose of more effectually pursuing the search, Fuller led one party towards the open bay, while Church, with the other, penetrated the interior, where, encountering the enemy in force, he was driven back. Fuller was also attacked by superior numbers, and, after reaching the shore, both parties were only saved from destruction by the fortunate proximity of a Rhode Island sloop. As soon as the English force could be concentrated, another expedition was sent to Pocasset, and several desultory engagements resulted in the killing of fourteen or fifteen Indians. On the arrival of the entire allied force, Philip, after some slight skirmishing, retired to that favorite natural fortress of the Indians — a swamp. With the approach of night, the English retired; but, being reinforced the following day by 100 men, and observing that Philip occupied a narrow peninsula, seven miles in length, having an impenetrable swamp in the interior, they resolved to cut off his communications, and starve him out. The chief, seeing his critical position, took advantage of a dark night, and, constructing rafts of timber, escaped across the Assonet, or Taunton river, to his allies, the Nipmucks, an erratic tribe, whose segregated bands occupied a large area of territory. When, the following morning, it was discovered that Philip had fled, the allies hotly pursued him, and, tracing his trail, by the aid of the Mohicans, they overtook him at night, and captured thirty of his warriors; the wily chief, with the rest of his force, succeeding in making good their escape. Philip had fled to the quarter where he had the greatest number of allies. His plan, apparently, was, if defeated in New England, to retire toward the territory occupied by the Baron de Castine, an influential trader, or Indian factor, who resided in

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Maine, had intermarried with the Penobscots, and sympathized with the effort of Philip, with whom he is said, by all the authorities of that period, to have been in league. There is no doubt of his friendship for, and alliance with, the Pennacooks, and their affiliated bands of the Merrimac, extending northward to the Penobscot, Canada, and Acadia, where an adverse political element existed. France was regarded by the aborigines, in all respects, as the friend of the Indian race; and the destruction of the English colonies was truly as much of an object to the French, as it ever could have been considered by Philip. The Indians acting under Philip had been, without doubt, supplied with fire-arms and ammunition from the commercial depot of the Baron de Castine; and the powerful effect of this species of aid and sympathy, connected with the fact, that many years had been spent by Philip in maturing his plans, accords very well with the energy of character, secresy of purpose, and power of combination, which all writers have ascribed to him, and goes far towards relieving the war, in which he engaged with the colonies, of the desperate character of some of its general features.

In after years, when the Pennacooks, and the Indians generally, of southern New Hampshire, fled to the north, and allied themselves with the Abinakies, it was this very French influence upon which they relied. After a few years spent in various employments in the west, subsequent to the year 1689, Sebastian Rasle established himself at Norridgwock, on the Kennebec, when this illicit connection with the New England Indians became more fully apparent. The fugitive Indians were encouraged in their hostility to the English, and became expert in the use of fire-arms, which, at that era, had entirely superseded bows and arrows. Returning in detached parties, like hyenas in search of prey, they fell upon the people of the new and isolated settlements, from whose precincts they had previously fled, with the exterminating knife and tomahawk, marking their course with scenes of arson and murder, which are heart-rending, and horrible to contemplate.

But, to return to the Baron de Castine; it is affirmed that he was a French nobleman of distinction, a colonel in the king's body guard, and a man noted for his intrigue, as well as his enterprise, who had formed an alliance with the Abinakies and other Indians of this part of the country, the object of which was to impede the progress of the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and other parts of New England. He had married, and had living with him, at one time, six Indian wives. Several Roman Catholic priests also resided with him in his palace, which formed a sort of aboriginal court, and was located on the eastern bank of the Penobscot, near its mouth, where the present town of Castine, in Maine, now stands. By these means, as well as by his genius and enterprize, he had acquired a vast influence over the natives; not only furnishing them with, but also instructing them in the use of, fire-arms. He began his career among the Penobscots in 1661, and followed it up with such success that,

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at the commencement of Philip's war, the knowledge of the use of gunpowder and fire-arms was universal among the Indians.

It must not, however, be forgotten that Philip, independently of his expectations from the sympathy of the French, was actuated by his own natural antipathies in his attempt to drive the English out of New England, and that, when he abandoned Mount Hope, he threw himself among his Indian friends and allies, with the purpose of inciting them to make incessant attacks on the settlements. To do this effectually, it was necessary to surprise them in detail. Places known to be in the occupancy of the militia were avoided, unless when a small force could be suddenly attacked by a larger one. The Indians have seldom been willing to meet a large regular force in the field; they prefer the guerilla system, which is pursued in the same manner in Oregon, at the present day, as it was in New England 180 years since.

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Chapter IV. — Philip Carries the War into the Plymouth Colony. It Assumes a Wider and More Sanguinary Aspect. The Narragansetts are Involved in the Conspiracy.

1675.

After Philip's flight from Pocasset, the war assumed a fiercer character. Five or six laborers were waylaid and killed in a field in Mendon; Middleborough and Dartmouth, in the Plymouth plantations, were attacked; no agricultural labor could be pursued; every clump of bushes hid an enemy, and every fence and wall served as an ambuscade. The Nipmucks who had, heretofore, occupied a doubtful position, now commenced open hostilities, spreading the alarm westward. At Lancaster, a man and his wife were killed on the Lord's day; a boy, tending sheep, in Marlborough, was fired at; non-combatant Indians were arrested and committed for trial; and no Indian was safe, or free from the suspicion of treachery, no matter how good his conduct had previously been, except those of the communities of praying Indians, who were also closely watched. A short time subsequent to the alarm at Lancaster, a detachment of soldiers was sent out to make reconnoissances as far as Hadley.

The authorities at Boston, still entertaining the idea that the Nipmucks could be restrained by negotiation, the latter agreed to meet commissioners at Brookfield; but it proved to be a mere ruse on the part of the Indians. The officers sent thither were accompanied by twenty horsemen, and were joined on the route by a considerable number of the citizen soldiery. Finding no Indians at Brookfield, they marched four or five miles further, to a narrow defile, flanked by a swamp, where 300 Indians rose from an ambuscade, and poured upon them a heavy fire. Eight of the men were killed by the first discharge, and the commander, as well as several others, wounded. They then retreated to Brookfield, whither they were pursued by the Indians, who set the town on fire in several places. The inhabitants retired to a log-house, slightly fortified, where they defended themselves. The Indians surrounded it, keeping up an incessant fire, and attempted to burn it by discharging blazing arrows upon it, and by thrusting combustibles against it, placed on the ends of long poles. They then filled a cart with hemp, and, setting it on fire, backed it up to the house. Had this effort succeeded, seventy men, women, and children, who were huddled together within, would have

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been roasted alive; but, fortunately, a shower of rain, which fell at this moment, extinguished the flames. The Indians were eventually frightened off by the reported arrival of reinforcements, which they supposed to be very large, from their being preceded by a drove of frightened cattle. Only one man was killed, and one wounded, in this tumultuary siege.

The affair was scarcely over, when four separate bodies of troops, under different commanders, reached Brookfield. But the Indians had fled westward, effecting a union with the Poemtucks, at Deerfield and at Northfield. Being pursued in that direction, a battle was fought near Sugar-loaf Hill, in which ten English, and twenty-six Indians fell; the rest of the Indians then joined Philip's forces. Hadley was now occupied by the troops, the natives in the vicinity having begun to show a hostile disposition, and to menace the towns above it in the Connecticut valley. On the 1st of September (1675), they attacked Deerfield, burned several dwellings to ashes, and killed one man. Nine or ten men were killed by them in the woods, at Northfield, two or three days subsequently. The day after the latter occurrence, a reinforcement of thirty-six mounted infantry, with a convoy of provisions for the garrison at Northfield, fell into an Indian ambuscade within two miles of their destination; Beers, the commander, with sixteen men, being killed, and the baggage and wounded captured by the enemy.

On the 18th of September, a force of eighty men, convoying a train of teams, loaded with grain, left Deerfield, to proceed to Hadley; but, while passing through a dense forest, in the vicinity of a place now called Muddy Brook, some seven hundred Indians, who had been screened from view by the bushes of a morass, rushed furiously upon them. The troops, being thrown into complete confusion, broke their ranks, and attempted to fight the enemy, from behind trees, in their own customary manner. But it was to no purpose; they suffered an utter and most appalling defeat; Lathrop and ninety men, including the teamsters, being slain. The firing being heard at Deerfield, four or five miles distant, a reinforcement was hurried forward, but did not reach the scene until after the close of the action, when the victors were engaged in stripping the dead, and mangling their bodies. Rushing on boldly, without breaking their ranks, they drove the enemy from the field, killing many, and compelling the survivors to seek safety in flight. The loss of the Indians, in the several actions fought on this day, is reported to have been quite heavy.

It is to be inferred that, in these systematic attacks, Philip himself was either the leader, or the inciting spirit of the Indians. Throughout a large extent of country, the Indians were actuated by one motive and one policy; for, like his own fabled Hobbamok, Philip appeared to be ubiquitous, shifting his position with inconceivable rapidity, from one point to another. From information subsequently obtained, he is believed to have led the attack at Muddy Brook. The following day, he displayed his forces, in numbers, on the west banks of the Connecticut, at Deerfield, which was garrisoned by only

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twenty-seven men. This circumstance led to the abandonment of that post, as being too distant to secure proper support, and it was soon after destroyed by the enemy.

Emboldened by these successes, the Indians, in the vicinity of Springfield, attacked that town, killed an officer and one man, who were out reconnoitering, and burned twenty-two dwelling-houses, together with a valuable library, as also twenty-five barns, including their contents; a loss which reduced the inhabitants to great straits during the winter.

Flushed with his triumphs, Philip ascended the valley, with the determination of attacking the English headquarters. On the 19th of October, he appeared, with seven or eight hundred warriors, near the town of Hatfield, and, having cut off several scouting parties in the woods, made a rapid attack on the town, from various quarters. It was defended with great resolution, having been reinforced a short time previous, and, after a severe contest, Philip was compelled to withdraw his forces. This he effected during the night, not without some confusion, as he was encumbered with his dead and wounded. He also lost some of his guns in the river. He succeeded, however, in firing several dwellings, which were consumed, and in driving off a number of cattle and sheep belonging to the colonists.

Autumn now drawing to a close, it became necessary for the large mass of the Indians to disperse to places where they could readily obtain their wonted supplies. Philip had determined to pass the winter with the Narragansetts; but, in a short time, his guerilla parties were kept busy on the waters of the Connecticut. Late in October, some unprotected teams, near Northampton, were attacked; three men were killed in a meadow near that town; and the Indians attempted to burn a mill. Three men were also killed between Springfield and Westfield, and four houses burned at the latter place. Other depredations were committed at Longmeadows, and, likewise, at Springfield.

While the knife, club, gun, and incendiary brand were thus actively wielded on the waters of the Connecticut, Philip's warriors were busy in the east and south-east. Two separate companies of militia marched from Boston and Cambridge, to repress Indian hostilities at Mendon, Groton, and other places. In effecting this, several encounters occurred, in one of which, an officer, named Curtiss, and one soldier fell. A considerable quantity of corn was destroyed, and one poor captive was released.

Prior to the last-mentioned action, an affair occurred at Wrentham. One of the colonists, having one evening discovered a party of Indians on their march, silently followed their trail, and saw them encamp near a precipice. Returning, and giving immediate notice of his observations, thirteen men accompanied him to the spot, where they concealed themselves until the Indians arose at daybreak, when they fired upon them, and, driving them over the precipice, killed twenty-four. The rest effected their escape.

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Chapter V. — The Ccolonists March to the Relief of the Frontiers. They Wage War Against the Narragansetts, Who are Defeated in a Stongly Fortified Position.

WITHOUT the details being given, it is impossible to conceive the harassing nature of this war. The English were ever on the alert, ever vigilant, active, brave, and enterprising. They were ready, at a moment's warning, to pursue the enemy, and retaliate his attacks; and, whenever they suffered defeat, it was owing to their impulsive bravery, and a disposition to underrate and despise their enemy. This induced them to make rash movements, in which they frequently neglected the ordinary rules of military caution. Bodies of men were suddenly aroused and inarched boldly into the forests and defiles, without sending out scouts to ascertain the position of the foe. Besides, it always required a large force to watch a smaller one, when the latter were secreted in the woods, ready to spring upon them when least expected.

Indian history demonstates that, in this guerilla warfare, the advantage is, generally, at first on the side of the natives, who are more intimately acquainted with the local geography, as well as with the natural resources of a wilderness country, and, also, with their own capacity for endurance; which circumstances generally determine their mode of attack and defence. Solid columns of men, encumbered with heavy baggage and a commissariat, when marching through a forest, must, necessarily, progress slowly. They soon become fatigued, and harassed by their encumbrances, while the light-footed Indians dart around them, and before them, like the hawk toying with its prey, until a suitable opportunity occurs for them to strike. If it be merely a war of skirmishes and surprises, these are their favorite and, generally, successful modes of attack. Another error, committed by the whites, in this war, was the employment of a multiplicity of separate commanders, frequently exercising discordant powers, and wanting in unity of action.

The good sense of the commissioners of the New England colonies, now confederated for defence, convinced the country of this. The war had been in progress scarcely three fourths of a year, during which time many valuable lives had been lost by Indian ambuscades, and a large amount of property had been destroyed. Although the settlers were kept in a state of perpetual alarm, no effective blow had been struck;

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nothing, in fact, had been done to subdue the daring spirit of the Indians, and their entire force was still in motion. In a council held at Boston, it was determined, therefore, to adopt more general and effective measures for the prosecution of the ensuing campaign. Agreeably to a scale then established, Massachusetts colony was directed to furnish 527 men; Plymouth colony, 158; and Connecticut, which now included the New Haven colony, 315; making a total force of 1000 men.

It was subsequently determined to fit out a separate expedition against the Narragansetts, whose hostility to the colonies, and complicity with Philip, could no longer be doubted. They were designated as the first object of attack. One thousand men were also mustered for this service, officered by experienced captains, and placed under the command of Josiah Winslow. Advanced as the season was, this force was marched in separate bodies through Seekonk and Providence, and over Patuxent river to Wickford, the place of rendezvous. On the route a system of wanton destruction of person and property was followed up, it being their design to make the Indians feel the effects of the war. The latter, being apprized of the movement, burned Pettiquanscott, killing fifteen of the inhabitants, and concentrated their forces on an elevation, several acres in extent, surrounded on all sides by a swamp — a position located in the existing township of South Kingston, Rhode Island.

At this place they had fortified themselves by a formidable structure of palisades, surrounded by a close hedge curtain, or rude abattis, leaving but one passage to it, which led across a brook, and was formed of a single log, elevated four or five feet above the surface of the water. At another point of the fortification was a low gap, closed by a log four or five feet high, which could be scaled. Close by was a blockhouse, to defend and enfilade this weak point. The whole work was ingeniously constructed, and well adapted to the Indian mode of defence. The authorities do not mention that Philip was present, but there appears to be no doubt that he had given every aid in his power to his allies. It was a death struggle for the Narragansetts, and their fate would determine his; for they were far superior in numbers.

By the destruction of Pettiquanscott and its little garrison, the troops composing Winslow's army, who had expected to take up their quarters there, were deprived of all shelter. They had no tents, and were, consequently, obliged to pass a very uncomfortable night in the open air. It was late in December, and bitter cold, with snow on the ground. On the next day (19th) Winslow put his army in motion at an early hour, as they had sixteen miles to march, through deep snow. At one o'clock in the afternoon, guided by an Indian, they reached the vicinity of the swamp, where a party of the enemy had been stationed as a corps of observation. They were immediately attacked, but fled to their citadel. A detachment, comprising four companies, immediately rushed through the swamp, at a venture, and accidentally reached the log-gap, which they began to scale; but they were compelled to fall back before the destructive fire from the Indian block-house. They were reinforced by two other companies, when,

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pressing gallantly forward, in the face of a severe fire, they scaled the log sally-port, and entered the fort, maintaining themselves in their position under a terrible fire.

While victory thus hung in suspense, the remainder of the army succeeded in crossing the swamp, and entered the works at the same gap, after which the contest was maintained with great obstinacy, during three hours. The Indians had constructed coverts in such a manner that the place could only be taken in detail. Driven from one covert after another, the Indians kept up a galling fire, most resolutely contesting every inch of ground. At length they were compelled to abandon the fort, and effect their retreat by the log-gate, across the narrow bridge, which, though well adapted to them, must have proved a difficult feat to the English. During the contest it was observed that a large body of the Indians had assembled behind a certain part of the fort, whence they kept up a most annoying fire. Captain Church, the aid of General Winslow, having the command of a volunteer company, led them out against these Indian flankers, whom he silenced or dispersed, when, charging again with great gallantry, he re-entered the fort through the oft-contested gap, driving the Indians before him. He encountered them on every side, hunted from their coverts, and falling fast before the English musketry. The Narragansetts finally gave up the struggle and fled into the wilderness.

Six hundred lodges were found in this fortified enclosure. Being the winter season, and placing great reliance on the strength of their position, as well as on the long established custom of suspending operations during the winter months, the Narragansetts had conveyed their women and children to this place for shelter. It has been stated, and there is no reasonable doubt of the fact, that some of the most bold, daring, and reckless of the English officers, had been formerly sea-captains, and, probably, buccaneers, in the West Indies. Nothing short of the diabolical spirit, innate in men of that class, could have suggested the cruel scene that followed the flight of the warriors. The wigwams, containing the aged and superannuated, the wounded, who were unable to escape, and about 300 women and children, were set on fire. The miserable inmates ran shrieking in every direction, as the flames advanced; but there being no chance for flight, they were all consumed in this inhuman holocaust. This was not only an act of most barbarous cruelty, in General Winslow, but was also a mistaken policy.

The Indians who escaped took shelter in a swamp, near by, where they passed the night in the snow, and where many of their number died from exposure, and the want of both fire and food. The Narragansetts afterwards asserted that they lost about 700 warriors at the fort, besides 300, who subsequently died of their wounds. The entire number assembled at the fort has been computed at 4000; and, if we allow but five persons only to a lodge, it would sum up a total of 800 families.

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The conflagration of the lodges, after the Indian warriors had fled, was not merely unnecessary, cruel, and inhuman, but it was also an unwise measure on the part of General Winslow; for the Indian wigwams might have afforded shelter during the night for the wounded and exhausted soldiery. But the English were themselves driven out by the flames, and were compelled to retrace their way through a severe snow storm, carrying with them many of their dead and wounded. The intensity of the cold, added to the pangs of hunger, occasioned the death of many of the latter, whom ordinary care might have saved. They reached the desolate site of Pettiquamscott after midnight, and, the following day, thirty-four of their number were buried at that place, in one grave. Many were severely frost-bitten, and 400 were so much disabled as to be unfit for duty. Had the Indians rallied and attacked them at Pettiquamscott, not over 400 of the army could have handled a gun or a sword. Two hundred of the English were killed in the storming of the fort, including eight captains and several subalterns.

This severe blow crippled the power of the Narragansetts, but did not humble them. On the contrary, the survivors cherished the most intense hatred against the English, from this period becoming the open and fearless allies of Philip; and the majority of them, under Canonchet, a short time subsequently, joined the Nipmucks, and Philip's allies, near Deerfield and Northfield. Driven from their villages and their country, they turned their backs on their once happy homes, with a feeling akin to that which had, at a prior period, animated Sassacus. It might naturally be supposed that many of them must have suffered greatly from want of food; but the forests were still filled with game, and they also frequently seized the cattle which were straying about, on the borders of the settlements. Early in February, they made a descent upon Lancaster, and captured forty-two persons; and a short time thereafter, they killed twenty of the inhabitants of Medford, at the same time burning half the town. Seven or eight buildings shared the same fate in Weymouth. On the 13th of March, four fortified houses were reduced to ashes in Groton; a few days later, Warwick, in Rhode Island, was burned; and, before the close of the month, the largest portion of the town of Maryborough was likewise consumed.

The Indians had been taught the efficacy of fire by their bitter experience at Kingston fort, and they soon became expert in using it against the English. The torch was now their most potent weapon. This novel mode of warfare created such a panic, that a large force was kept on the alert, both day and night. Before the depredations could be checked in one direction, they were duplicated at another, and, frequently, distant point. Captain Pierce, of Scituate, and fifty men, together with twenty Cape Cod Indians, were suddenly attacked on the Patuxent, and almost entirely annihilated. Two days subsequently, forty dwelling houses and thirty barns were burned at Rehoboth, Rhode Island. Eleven persons were killed, and their bodies consumed, in the flames of one house, at Plymouth. Chelmsford, Andover, and Marlborough suffered

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by the torch early in April, and Sudbury experienced the next visitation. On this occasion a party of colonists, who pursued the Indians, were all waylaid and killed.

The Indian army which committed these depredations numbered some five hundred men. Finding that they were not closely pursued, after their attack upon Sudbury, they encamped in the neighboring forest. Meantime, a force of fifty men, under Captain Wadsworth, who were marching to protect other towns, learning that a body of Indians was concealed in the woods near Sudbury, determined to find them. Seeing a small number of the enemy returning, they instantly started in pursuit of them, and were thus led into an ambush, from which the entire force of the Indians issued, and commenced a fierce attack. Flight being out of the question, the English fought bravely, and finally gained an eminence. But nothing could withstand such numerical odds, and Wadsworth and all his command were killed, not a man escaping. The same day, a provision-train was attacked in Brookfield, and three men killed, or captured. The ire of the Indians was next directed against the old Plymouth colony, which they probably hated on account of its having been the nucleus of the colonists. Nineteen buildings were burned at Scituate, seventeen at Bridgewater, and eleven houses and five barns in Plymouth itself. A short time subsequently, several buildings were consumed at Namansket, in old Middleborough. Very few persons were killed in these depredations; but the Indian fire-brand was constantly in operation against every isolated house, or unguarded village. Their marauding parties stealthily traversed miles of territory every night; and no man could step out into his field to look at his farm or stock, without incurring the danger of being pierced by the swiftwinged arrow, or the unerring ball of a savage foe. The hills and valleys of New England resounded anew with the terrible war-whoop.

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Chapter VI. — Capture and Death of Canonchet. Overthrow of the Narragansetts.

1676.

WHILE the eastern townships presented a scene of universal devastation, the English inhabitants on the western borders experienced but little disturbance from the Indians. But, when the latter were driven from the eastern section, they commenced a series of attacks, by night and by day, on the scattered settlements of the west. To repress these outrages, Massachusetts and Plymouth sent a considerable force into that quarter.

After the storming of his principal fort, in the swamp of South Kingston, Canonchet, the reigning chieftain of the Narragansetts, fled to another intricate position; but there is no evidence that defeat had humbled him. His grandfather, Canonicus, had been the ruling chief of his tribe, and had sold Aquidnec, now Rhode Island, to the English. His son, Miontonimo, equally noted for his politic character and personal bravery, had acted a distinguished part in the war which followed the overthrow of the Pequots. Canonicus, himself, could look back to no period of the Narragansett history, which did not afford him cause for pride. Though the Narragansetts may not have defeated the tribes of the Dighton Hock League, who had, at an early period, occupied parts of New England, probably Maine, they had, at least, been confederated with the great magician and warrior, Mong, who drove them from the banks of the Assonet. Whatever course the reflections of Canonchet took, he appears only to have been hardened in feeling, and more than ever incited to hatred of the English, by the contest with Winslow.

As spring advanced, he issued from his place of retreat, and, accompanied by a party, came to Seekonk to procure seed-corn for planting. This movement was revealed by two Indian females who were captured, and who also informed the colonists that his place of refuge was on Black river. The army of Massachusetts, which happened to be in the vicinity at the time, proceeded to make search for him, and succeeded in finding some of his party. They then immediately scattered, with the view of intercepting him, each squad taking different routes. Canonchet had adopted a similar policy, dividing his followers into separate parties. He was accidentally seen by a

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person who recognised him, and hotly pursued. The sachem, in order to expedite his flight, threw off his laced coat and wampum belt, and would have escaped, had he not made a false step and fell into the water, wetting his gun. A swift-footed Pequot, who was in the English army, immediately seized and held him, until some of the soldiers arrived. He was desired to indicate his submission, but refused, maintaining, both in his air and manner, a proud, unconquered aspect, and disdaining to make any answers compromising his honor.

He was taken, under a strong guard, to Stonington, where he was allowed the formality of a trial. This local tribunal condemned him to be shot, which sentence was executed by the Mohicans and Pequots.

With Canonchet the Narragansett power in reality expired. The Narragansett nation had, doubtless, produced greater chiefs than the last named, but none who had possessed a higher or a firmer sense of his power and authority, or who had entertained a greater repugnance to the influx of the English race. Canonicus dreaded the approach of the foreign race; but he saw some advantages in that commerce, which supplied a market for what the natives could most easily procure, and furnished them with articles of which they stood in great need. These circumstances, coupled with the influence of Roger Williams, induced him to adopt a conservative course, and to prevent his tribe from committing hostile acts. His son, Miontonimo, was greatly his superior, both in mental and personal endowments; but he possessed a fiery, ungovernable spirit. Impatient under the pressure of wrongs he could not redress, he was too eager to avenge injuries received from his kinsmen, the Mohicans, by a sudden, impulsive movement, the object of which might have been attained by more deliberation. His unjustifiable death, on Sachem's Plain, is not so remarkable as an act of savage cruelty, as it is of English casuistry. An Indian hand was made to strike the executionary blow, which Indian clemency, or diplomacy, had withheld. Canonchet, also, fell by the same questionable system.

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Chapter VII. — Philip Renews the War with Success, but is Finally Forced to Take Shelter with His Chief Captain, Annawon, in an Oasis of a Morass, in Pocasset. Final Overthrow of the Bashabary of Pokanoket

WINTER is not usually a season of warfare among the forest Indians, who can be traced in the snow, and cannot camp without fires; but where the plunder of barns and cattle is at hand to afford them sustenance, the rule is violated. Philip resolved that neither cold nor hunger should stay his onset; he had engaged in a death-struggle with New England, and, it may truly be said, that she never had so energetic and desperate an Indian enemy to cope with.

After the capture of Canonchet, the party which had been led by him fled in the direction of Deerfield and Northfield, in which vicinity Philip's Indians had been, for some time, collected, committing depredations on the inhabitants. Philip made this part of the country his head-quarters, and, agreeably to accounts then current, he had received countenance from the French in Canada, who had sent, and continued to send, Indian marauding parties into this part of the Connecticut valley. He had, himself, visited Canada, and he purposed, in case of final defeat, to retire into that province. A Natic Indian who had been sent out as a spy, reported that Philip had visited Albany, to obtain assistance from the Mohawks. The Mohawks might have been inclined to aid him, but for a piece of treachery which unexpectedly came to light. Philip's men had killed a few Mohawk hunters, on their hunting-grounds in the Connecticut valley, and the chief had adroitly laid the blame on the English. But, one of the men, supposed to be dead, had recovered, and revealed the true state of the case.

It soon became evident that Philip entertained no idea of giving up the contest, but was preparing to carry on the campaign of 1676 with renewed vigor. As the spring advanced, his central position appeared to be at, or about Turner's Falls, on the Connecticut; a noted locality for the catching of shad, and other species of fish abounding in this river. At Longmeadow, on the 26th of March, an armed cavalcade, while proceeding to church, was attacked, and two men killed and a number wounded. On another similar occasion, two women and their children became so much frightened that they fell from their horses, and were dragged by the Indians into a swamp.

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These, and many other affairs of a similar character, in which men were killed on both sides, rendered it clear that Philip's main force harbored in this vicinity, and thither, therefore, the English troops were marched, corps after corps, both horse and foot, under approved leaders, until the force swelled to a considerable number. The Indians were camped around the falls on both banks, in detached bodies, and were also congregated on its cliffs and on the neighboring islands. As the English force in this quarter was not, at this time, very numerous, the Indians were not in much fear, and consequently became careless. Two captives, who had escaped, reported this supineness and described their position. About 160 mounted men marched for the falls under Captain Turner, whose gallantry was commemorated by giving to them his name They were joined by militia from Springfield and Northampton, and then led by skilful guides to within half a mile of the spot, where Turner dismounted his men and fastened his horses, leaving a small guard to protect them. Having been previously joined by parties under the command of Holyoke and Lyman, the whole force proceeded with silence and caution toward the Indian camp. Daylight had not yet dawned, and the enemy, deeming themselves secure, kept no watch. They were yet asleep, and scattered around at several points, mostly above the falls, where the river poured, at one leap, over a precipice of forty feet. A well-directed fire gave them the first indication that the detested English — shouting Mohawks — were upon them. Seizing their arms, they fought distractedly. A large number of them leaped into their canoes to cross the river; some of which, having no paddles, were soon swept over the falls, and all who were in them, with one exception, drowned. It is estimated that the entire loss of the Indians was 300 warriors. One hundred and forty were swept over the falls, but one of whom was saved. Those who succeeded in escaping across the river, joined the others in their flight. It was a complete surprise and a disastrous defeat. The slaughter was so great, that 100 dead were counted on the field.

After their flight, the Indians again rallied, crossed below the falls, and attacked the guard which had been left with the horses. An Indian captive reported that Philip had arrived with a reinforcement of 1000 men. This news produced a panic, and a separation of the English forces. A thickly-wooded morass flanked the left banks of the falls, extending nearly to Green river. Those who retreated by this route were subjected to repeated attacks, and one of the parties, which attempted to cross it, was entirely cut off, the men taken prisoners, and burnt at the stake. Turner beat back the party which attacked his camp, remounted his horses and vigorously pursued the enemy, who, dividing as he advanced, closed in behind, and pursued him in turn. He fell, pierced by a bullet, while crossing Green river. Holyoke, who had killed five men with his own hand, now assumed the command, and crossing the plains and Deerfield

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river, he entered that town, closely pressed by the Indians. In this retreat he lost thirty-eight men.

This action, however, was the turning point of the war. The Indians, who were thrice the number of their assailants, had been posted in a country where they could obtain ready subsistence, and keep the surrounding territory in alarm by their secret attacks. Believing themselves invincible, they had at last become careless, and, when they least expected it, had been surprised by a comparatively small force, a large number killed, and the rest dispersed. They had never before experienced so decided an overthrow, and, notwithstanding they rallied and fought desperately, the dreaded combination was broken up, and was never afterwards re-formed.

After this affair, Philip, who had during many months made this place his headquarters, determined, it appears, to retreat towards the north. This chief, the various authorities state, had kept himself somewhat in retirement after a price had been placed upon his head. In the course of a few years, he had seen Sassacus, Miontonimo, and Canonchet, fall, certainly the two former, without manifesting much sympathy for their fate, denying them the aid which he now needed himself. He had also seen the colonies spread, instead of diminish. Whether he meditated the practicability of striking another blow at the settlements, after the action at Turner's Falls, or had relinquished the idea of a retreat to Canada, through the territory of the great Iroquois nation, and across the waters of Lake Champlain, is not known. He never again, however, attained to the power he had once possessed, and his fortune and influence appear to have henceforth deserted him. But, though his warlike prospects and his fate were now hopelessly obscured, he was not sensible of it, and he determined to retaliate the assault which had occasioned him so much loss, and wreak his vengeance on the settlements; several hundred warriors being still at his command.

The action at Turner's Falls occurred on the 18th of May. On the 30th of the same month, 600 Indians attacked Hatfield with great fury, burned twelve buildings, assaulted several palisaded dwellings, and killed a number of the inhabitants; but the latter being reinforced from Hadley, succeeded in saving the town from complete destruction, and in driving the Indians out of it. The loss of the colonists was five men, and that of the Indians twenty-five. The latter, in their retreat, drove off a large number of sheep and cattle.

Early on the morning of the 12th of June, the Indians assaulted Hadley with their entire force, reported at 700 warriors. An ambuscade was formed by them, at night, at one end of the town, into which they endeavored to decoy the inhabitants the following day. Not succeeding in this, they secured possession of a house, which afforded them shelter during the assault, and also fired a barn. They were, at length, repulsed with but little loss. In this action the concealed regicide, General Goff, appeared among the colonists like an apparition, marshalling the forces in the hottest of the conflict, and, after it was over, again retired to his place of concealment.

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Philip next turned his attention to Plymouth, the old thorn which rankled in his heart. To this quarter he repaired personally, at the head of a large force, and harassed the surrounding settlements by his marauding attacks, but effected nothing of importance. It had the effect, however, of inducing the colonists to send fresh troops into the field, who were animated with the warmest zeal against their common enemy. Distinguished among these, was the veteran Captain Benjamin Church, who was indefatigable in scouring the country, destroying the lodges of the Indians, capturing their women and children, and killing their warriors. He spread the terror of his name far and wide. The hunted bashaba and sachem, although he had no longer a fixed point at which to convene his council, and could not count upon a place where his person would be safe, still maintained a haughty mien, and evinced no signs of submission, but, on the contrary, a persevering spirit of hostility and hatred.

While Church was in Rhode Island, Pometakom was driven from his covert like a hunted lion; his wife, children, and others of his household, being surprised and killed. The chief himself, however, escaped, and fled from place to place. At length, the brother of an Indian whom Philip had unjustly killed, brought intelligence that the haughty Pokanoket had taken refuge in a swamp, located on Mount Hope neck. Church proceeded to the peninsula with a number of volunteers, and a party of friendly Indians, guided by the informer. They crossed the Taunton, or Assonet river, in perfect secresy, and reached the swamp after nightfall. Church then formed his men in segments of a circle, in open order, and marched them upon the swamp, as radii to a centre. Having placed a friendly Indian, alternately, next to a white man, he issued orders to fire on any person who attempted to escape through the closing circle. They waited for daybreak in intense anxiety and profound silence. A small select party, under Golding, was detailed to advance and rouse up the Pokanoket chief. While these arrangements were being perfected, and the attacking party was still behind, a shot whistled over Church's head, followed by a volley, fired by a party of Indians sent out by Philip. Daylight had now appeared. The report of guns attracted the attention of the chief, and, seizing his petunk, powder-horn, and gun, he started immediately to sustain his advanced party. An Englishman, not knowing the man, levelled his piece at him on a venture, but it missed fire. The Indians followed Philip in files. The same man again discharged his musket at him, sending two balls through his body, and laying him dead on the spot. Ignorant of the fate of the chief, an Indian voice was heard, thundering through the swamp, "Iootosh! Iootosh! Onward! Onward!" which cry proceeded from Annawon, Philip's principal war captain, who was urging his men to maintain their ground. The result was a bloody conflict, in which the Indians fought like tigers. Church finally made a determined charge through the

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oasis, with all his force, killing 130 men; but Annawon, with about sixty followers, escaped.

The death of Philip was, in effect, the termination of a war which had threatened the very existence of the colonies; for, although the Pokanokets had been the prime instigators of it, the powerful tribe of the Narragansetts, and other auxiliaries, one after another, had joined the league; and, although scarcely two years had elapsed since the commencement of the war, the entire Indian power of the country was openly or secretly enlisted on the side of the Mount Hope sachem. Notwithstanding his rooted hatred of the whites, and of the whole scheme of civilization, it cannot be doubted that he was a man who took a comprehensive view of his position, and of the destiny of the New England tribes; much less can it be questioned that he possessed great energy of character, persuasive powers suited to enlisting the sympathy of the Indians, and very considerable skill in planning, as well as daring in carrying his projects into effect. Gookin calls him "a person of good understanding and knowledge in the best things." We may lament that such energies were misapplied, but we cannot withhold our respect for the man who, though lacking the motives that lead Christian martyrs to the stake, and civilized heroes to the "imminent deadly breach," was yet capable of combining all the military strength and political wisdom of his country, and placing the colonies in decidedly the greatest peril through which they ever passed.

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Chapter VIII. — The Merrimac Valley, and Abinaki Tribes.

AT the period of the first settlement of New England by the English, the principal Indian powers located in that territory, were, the Pokanokets, under Massasoit; the Narragansetts, under Canonicus; the Pequot-Algonquins of Connecticut; and the Merrimack, or Pennacook, bashabary of Amoskeag. Each of these comprised several subordinate tribes, bearing separate names, and, although bound, by both lingual and tribal affinities, to the central tribal government, yet yielding obedience to it in the ordinary loose manner of the local Indian tribes. Each of these tribal circles was ruled by its particular chief, who, although he arrogated to himself the powers and immunities of hereditary descent, yet exercised no absolute controlling influence, beyond what the popular voice allowed him. The colonists were not long in ascertaining who were the principal rulers, nor in taking the necessary measures to conciliate them.

Their mode of treating with the Indians was, to assert that the sovereignty and fee simple of the soil were vested in the English crown; but yet to acknowledge the possessory right of the aborigines, by presents, or by purchase, in order to conciliate the local chiefs. When collisions were occasioned by disputed boundaries, or by questions of trade, they were adjusted in councils of both parties. No difficulties of any general moment occurred until the origination of the Pequot war. The bloody feud between the Mohicans, under Uncas, and the Narragansetts, under Miontonimo, was a consequence of the Pequot outbreak. The colonies endeavored, as much as possible, to abstain from any participation in this struggle; but in a very short time they became involved in open warfare with the Narragansetts. It could not be supposed that the Pokanokets or Wampanoags, who, under the benevolent Massasoit, had lived in amity with the English for such a lengthy period, could sit calmly by, and see a foreign people, whose manners, customs, and opinions differed so widely from their own, attain the possession of power, and spread over their country, without experiencing feelings of jealousy and animosity. The impatient spirit which Alexander evinced during his short reign, and the more deliberate, secret, and crafty policy of Philip, developed this latent Indian feeling. These events have, however, been previously related in detail.

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The Merrimack tribes, among whom the Pennacooks appear to have held the highest position, had located the seat of their government at the Amoskeag Falls, a name denoting the abundance of beaver on that stream. The ruling sachem was Passaconaway, a celebrated magician, a distinguished war captain, an eloquent speaker, and a wise ruler. Few aboriginal chiefs ever surpassed him in mental or magisterial qualifications. For a long period, he prudently maintained friendly relations with the Massachusetts and New Hampshire colonies; and his interviews with John Eliot denote that he possessed a mind, capable of grasping and comprehending the truths of religion. It is manifest that his most earnest desires were, to make the vicinity of his beloved Amoskeag his home in old age, and that his bones should be deposited on one of the beautiful islands in the Merrimack. But the spirit of aggression frustrated his wishes. There was a strong prejudice in the English mind against the natives, which brought the colonists and the Merrimacks into collision in many different ways. Injury was retaliated by injury, and blood was avenged by blood. Murders were followed by wars, in which the English were invariably successful, and, finally, Passaconaway and his Pennacooks were driven from their homes. New Hampshire and Maine, from the Merrimack to the Penobscot, were drenched with Indian, as well as English blood. The time will arrive, when the history of these sanguinary strifes will become a fruitful theme for the pen of the author, and the pencil of the artist; and then the bold and heroic men, whose lot it was to act the part of their country's defenders in these perilous scenes, will receive their due meed of praise. The deeds of valor enacted at Kennebec, Norridgewock, Castine, Monhagan, and Sagadehock, and on the lofty Wambec, will thenceforth constitute subjects to interest the mind of the reader, and excite his imagination.

The Abinaqui tribe also acted an important part in the Indian history of Maine and New Hampshire. This word is of French origin, and is too vague for any ethnological purpose, being the mere translation of the Indian term for Eastlander. The language of this people designates their Algonquin lineage, the latter being distinguished by some orthographical peculiarities, the principle of which is the use of the letter r. The early colonists called them Tarranteens; but, among the Iroquois, they were known by the name of Onagunga.

About 1692, while the colonies were contending with the refractory tribes on their western borders, Sebastian Rasle, a Jesuit missionary from Quebec, who had previously visited some of the western tribes, made his appearance among the Abinakies. He located himself at Norridgewock, and earnestly devoted his attention to the task of teaching them the truths of Christianity. It must be remembered, that the French

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residents in Canada aimed to construct an empire in America, by obtaining influence amongst the Indian tribes, east, west, north, and south, which might be turned to political account in the hour of emergency. To a great extent, the new system of instruction, introduced by Rasle, had not only a religious character, but also a powerful political tendency. The people of New England and New York, nay, of all the colonies, deemed it such; and numerous and protracted negotiations between the colonists and the tribes, as well as between the respective authorities of the two countries, were the consequence. Every movement was, either in reality, or was conceived to be, the result of Canadian jealousy of the British colonies, or of British animosity against Canada. If the Indians committed a murder, or perpetrated a massacre, it was alleged that the French authorities had incited them to the act, or countenanced them in its performance. Squadrons of ships sailed from England to avenge these reported injuries, and, for a long period, the country, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Mississippi, was the battle-ground of the contending nations.

This position of affairs caused Rasle to be regarded by the colonists as a partisan. Throughout New England, his labors were deemed to be directed toward perverting the Indians, and implanting in their minds the seeds of error, and of hatred to the colonies. He was cited before the authorities of Boston; but the negotiations only resulted in mutual misapprehension, and ended in vituperation. The Catholics and Protestants were so directly at variance with each other, and so many worthy men and women had been slain by the tomahawk and the scalping-knife, that the colonies determined, by a coup de main, to rid themselves of what they considered the grand exciting cause of all their evils. With the caution and celerity, resulting from long practice in Indian wars, they marched a body of troops to the site of Norridgewock, and made a descent upon the village. The Indians were roughly handled in an engagement, which took place on the green, were driven thence to their wigwams, and cut down wherever discovered. Among the rest, Rasle was slain, while boldly defending his flock. His chapel was burned, and the village entirely destroyed.

176 Section Ninth. — Lenno Lenapi of Pennsylvania, and Chicora Tribes of the Carolinas.

Chapter I. — The Colony of Pennsylvania is Located in the Territory of the Lenno Lenapi. Their History.

Tradition assigns to this people an organization anterior to that of most of the other Indian tribes. Mr. Heckewelder informs us that they came from the west, and that, from their ancient traditions, it is gathered that they crossed the Mississippi river, in their migration to the east. Authors have attempted to prove that their ola walum has reference to a very ancient migration from foreign countries. But these are merely ordinary pictographs, denoting a simple mode of ideographic communication, which is common among the entire Algonquin family, of which the Lenno Lenapi assert they were the head.

It is mentioned that, after crossing the Mississippi river, they were opposed by the Allegans, or Allegewi, who occupied the principal ranges of the Alleghany mountains. At this epoch, the tradition adds, they discovered the Iroquois, their apparent precursors, towards the north, who became their allies, and aided them in driving the Allegans out of the Ohio valley towards the south. The vestiges of tribal strife, still extant in that valley, are the evidences of this ancient war. If the term any, in the word Allegany, denote a stream or river, as it appears to do, and the river has prior right to the name over the mountains, then it may be said the Yoghagany, in which the same

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word for stream is employed, is also a term of Allegewi origin. These appear to be the only words of that language which have survived the lapse of time.

The name of this tribe has been said to imply "original men;" but the orthography does not sustain this assertion. Lenno is the same as illini in the Illinese, and innini in the Chippewa; the letters l and n, and the vowels o and i, being interchangeable in the Algonquin. Lenapi (ee) is in the same language, and, under the same rule, the equivalent of inabi and iabi, a male. The true meaning is "manly men;" a harmless boast to be made by a savage tribe, and which, in the history of Europe, has the sanction of more advanced races. No reliable philological or ethnological proofs can be produced in this direction. There is no tribal name, in the Vesperic group of tribes, which has the least reference to their origin. The Iroquois, by the term ongwe honwe, only declared themselves to be superior men. To be men was, symbolically, to be brave; and bravery was the glory to which they all aspired.

We must rest satisfied with the Indian traditions, bare as they are of details. Even this much is an important contribution to their ancient history, which we should carefully cherish, and for which we are indebted to the meritorious labors of a pious follower of Zinzendorf, who thought far more of saving their souls, than of recording the history of this people.

But, wherever the Lenapi originated, and whatever were the details of the history of their migration from the Mississippi eastward, they were found, at the earliest dates, to be located in the valley of the Delaware. In a revised map, published at Amsterdam, in 1659 (Plate herewith), they are represented as occupying that valley, from its source to its mouth, extending westward to the Minqua, or Susquehannocks, and to the sources of the rivers flowing into the Delaware, which separate them from the latter; and eastward, under the names of various local and totemic clans, across the entire area of New Jersey, to the Hudson. The Dutch, who entered the Hudson in 1609, found affiliated tribes of their stock along both banks of that river, to near the point of influx of the Tawasentha. "When they extended their settlements to the waters of the Delaware, they discovered themselves to be in the central position of the original stock. The fact of their aboriginal occupancy was known to the Swedes, who first entered the Delware river in 1643. The events attending these colonial extensions into the domains of the Delawares, furnish no incidents of history which present new traits in the character of this tribe, warranting any lengthy detail in this

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place. European colonization opened to them a commerce in the skins of animals, stimulating them to unusual exertions, which, however, exposed them to the perils of luxury and indulgence. It furnished them with the new and superior products of arts and manufactures, which at once took the place of their former imperfect implements and utensils of wood, bone, clay, and flint. It taught them the use of gunpowder, the firelock, and the steel-trap, by which the prowess of their young men on the war-path was made more severe and destructive, and the species of fur-bearing animals were more speedily annihilated. Depopulation, which had long previously begun to undermine the prosperity of the Indian tribes, was greatly accelerated by the advent of the Europeans. This was the position of affairs when William Penn landed on the shores of the Delaware, in 1682. The idea of forming a colony of refuge in America for the poor, suffering, and oppressed people of some parts of Europe, had been broached at an early day. The Puritan refugees from the exactions of an English hierarchy, were the first, in 1620, to open the way to the wilderness, where savages stood ready to assail them. A similar necessity for a land of refuge was felt by the Catholics, who emigrated to Maryland under the guidance of Lord Baltimore, in 1634. In 1682, Penn provided a like haven of safety for the persecuted Quakers, who came thither, professing principles of peace and love towards men of every hue. He was especially desirous to protect the Indian race, and to treat them with the most enlarged philanthropy and charity. In the hands of William Penn, civilization was rendered mild and enticing. Christianity, as taught by those who understand its precepts, has ever been a law of good will toward all mankind. Penn did not attempt any rude interference with the principles and practices of the natives. Persuasion and example were his only weapons; and strict justice in all transactions with them, was his cardinal rule. Indian Females, as well as males, were taught the virtue of household industry. Time was deemed to be necessary, to enable the principles of the new system to take root in such dark and bewildered minds. He approached the natives in their councils, as at their lodge-fires, in an open, simple, straightforward manner, which gained him their confidence, and made them receive him as a Friend indeed.

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Chapter II. — The Tribal Relations of the Carolina Indians to the Leading Ethnographic Families of the Country.

South Carolina was occupied, in 1670, ten years before Pennsylvania. North Carolina dates from the year 1664. Before bringing to a close our narrative of the transactions which occurred during the seventeenth century, it will be important to take a cursory glance at the families of Indian tribes located along the sea-coasts, and in the interior of the Carolinas. The Indians informed the Spaniards who visited their shores early in the sixteenth century, that the name of the country was Chicora, whence their visitors called them Chicoreans, at present supposed to have been identical with the people now known as Corees, Catawbas, &c. Of the ancient existence of the elements of such a group, we have, however, but little evidence beyond their geographical names. The most important of the tribes who resided in South Carolina, at the time of its settlement, were the Catawbas, and the Cherokees. The Catawbas could muster nearly 1500 warriors, indicating a population of about 7500 souls. They were a fierce, subtle, warlike, and brave people, and comprised twenty-eight subordinate tribes: the Westoes, Stonoes, Coosaws, Sewees, Yamasees, Santees, Congarees, &c. The Cherokees occupied the upper parts of the State, extending their possessions to the head waters of the Savannah, Coosahatchee, Alabama, Tennessee, and Cumberland.

North Carolina was included in the general, but undefined area of Virginia, which was first discovered by the parties sent out under the grant made to Raleigh in 1586, and may, at an earlier period, have contained some portions of the adventurous population of southern Virginia, who, it is conjectured, might have retired thither after its successful colonization. But the Indian residents of the Carolinas appear to have been regarded as little more than incumbrances upon the land, to be evicted as easily and as speedily as possible. The earliest accounts scarce make any mention of them, which may be, in some measure, attributed to the fact, that in those historical sketches published in London, with the view of directing attention to emigration, the inducements for it would not have been enhanced by the introduction of such a topic. The age of

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philanthropy for aboriginal or savage tribes, in any part of the globe, had hardly yet arrived. At any rate, but little can be gleaned from the details of the political and commercial plans of colonization of the period.

The Carolina tribes eagerly availed themselves of the conveniences, luxuries, and indulgences, introduced from Europe; and in an almost incredibly short time, the little clans and chieftainships, which stretched along the shores, became extinct.

Dr. Hewit, an early historian, remarks that, attempts were made to shield them against unjust encroachments, and to protect their rights. He thus writes: "Plans of lenity were, with respect to those Indian tribes, likewise adopted by government, and every possible precaution was taken to guard them against oppression, and prevent any rupture with them. Experience had shown that rigorous measures, such as humbling them by force of arms, were not only very expensive and bloody, but disagreeable to a humane and generous nation, and seldom accompanied with any good effects. Such ill treatment rendered the savages cruel, suspicious and distrustful, and prepared them for renewing hostilities, by keeping alive their ferocious and warlike spirit. Their extirpation, even though it could easily be completed, would be a cruel act, and all the while the growth and prosperity of the settlements would be much retarded by the attempt. Whereas, by treating Indians with gentleness and humanity, it was thought they would by degrees lose their savage spirit, and become more harmless and civilized. It was hoped that, by establishing a fair and free trade with them, their rude temper would in time be softened, their manners altered, and their wants increased; and, instead of implacable enemies, ever bent on destruction, they might be rendered good allies, both useful and beneficial to the trade of the nation.

"It has been remarked, that those Indians on the continent of America, who were, at the time of its discovery, a numerous and formidable people, have, since that period, been constantly decreasing, and melting away like snow upon the mountains. For this rapid depopulation many reasons have been assigned. It is well known, that population everywhere keeps pace with the means of subsistence. Even vegetables spring and grow in proportion to the richness of the soil in which they are planted, and to the supplies they receive from the nourishing rains and dews of heaven; animals flourish or decay according as the means of subsistence abound or fail; and, as all mankind partake of the nature of both, they also multiply or decrease as they are fed, or have provision in plenty, luxury excluded. The Indians being driven from their possessions near the sea, as the settlements multiplied, were robbed of many necessaries of life, particularly of oysters, crabs, and fish, with which the maritime parts furnished them in great abundance, and on which they must have considerably subsisted, as is apparent from a view of their camps, still remaining near the sea shore. The women are not only much disregarded and despised, but also naturally less prolific among rude than

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polished nations. The men being often abroad, at hunting or war, agriculture, which is the chief means of subsistence among a civilized people, is entirely neglected by them, and looked upon as an occupation worthy only of women or slaves. That abstinence and fatigue, which the men endure in their distant excursions, and that gluttony and voraciousness in which they indulge themselves in the times of plenty, are equally hurtful to the constitution, and productive of diseases of different kinds. Now that their territories are circumscribed by narrower bounds, the means of subsistence, derived even from game, is less plentiful. Indeed, scanty and limited are the provisions they raise by planting, even in the best seasons; but, in case of a failure of their crops, or of their fields being destroyed by enemies, they perish in numbers by famine. Their natural passion for war the first European settlers soon discovered, and, therefore, turned the fury of one tribe against another, with a view to save themselves. When engaged in hostilities, they always fought, not so much to humble and conquer, as to exterminate and destroy. The British, the French, and Spanish nations, having planted colonies in their neighborhood, a rivalship for power over them took place, and each nation having its allies among the savages, was zealous and indefatigable in instigating them against the allies of its neighbor. Hence a series of bloody and destructive wars has been carried on among these rude tribes, with all the rage and rancor of implacable enemies.

"But famine and war, however destructive, were not the only causes of their rapid decay. The small-pox having broken out among them, proved exceedingly fatal, both on account of the contagious nature of the distemper, and their harsh and injudicious attempts to cure it, by plunging themselves into cold rivers during the most violent stages of the disorder. The pestilence broke out among some nations, particularly among the Pemblicos in North Carolina, and almost swept away the whole tribe. The practice of entrapping them, which was encouraged by the first settlers in Carolina, and selling them for slaves to the West India planters, helped greatly to thin their nations. But, of all other causes, the introduction of spirituous liquors among them, for which they discovered an amazing fondness, has proved the most destructive. Excess and intemperance not only undermined their constitutions, but also created many quarrels, and subjected them to a numerous list of fatal diseases, to which, in former times, they were perfect strangers. Besides, those Europeans engaged in commercial business with them, generally speaking, have been so far from reforming them, by examples of virtue and purity of manners, that they rather served to corrupt their morals, and render them more treacherous, distrustful, base, and debauched, than they were before this intercourse commenced. In short, European avarice and ambition have not only debased the original nature and stern virtue of that savage race, so that those few Indians that now remain, have lost, in a great measure, their primitive character; but European vice and European diseases, the consequences of vice, have exterminated this people, insomuch that many nations, formerly populous, are totally extinct, and their names entirely forgotten."

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The South Carolina tribes have left but few traces or monuments of their existence, except the heaps of oyster shells, which are still observable along the alluvial margins of the rivers. From their ancient places of sepulture, the remains of stone pipes, amulets, and other relics of the arts peculiar to a hunter age, are, from time to time, disinterred. There are some mounds still existing on the waters of the Coosahatchee, as at Poketaligo, and on some other streams, which have been but little examined, or the researches have developed nothing of a new character. On the alluvial banks of the Congaree, Mr. Howe has discovered some curious evidences of ancient metallurgic operations, which were, apparently, carried on by the ancient Indians, who also appear to have deposited the bones and ashes of their dead in vases. Mr. Lawson, in his Travels (1700), notices some of the rites and customs, manners and opinions, common to the Santees, and other bands, which convince us that their beliefs and superstitions were similar to those of the more advanced tribes. We are indebted to the same gentleman, also, for our most complete vocabulary of their languages. Their history, however, gives no evidence that they differed from the leading Vesperic groups, except in their names, and in some peculiarities of their dialect, which may be more readily observed in the geographical terminology.

New and interesting details of the history of the Catawbas, have been furnished in a preceding volume, which furnish evidence of our, as yet, imperfect acquaintance with the past emigrations, and interchanges of position among our leading tribes.

When North Carolina was first settled by the whites, there were many small tribes located along the coasts, who numbered, collectively 10,000 souls. The Tuscaroras principally occupied the valley of the Neuse, extending from the sea to the mountains. The unfortunate attempt they made, at a subsequent period, to annihilate the colony by a simultaneous rising, forms one of the most thrilling chapters in North Carolina history. This bold, cruel, and partially unsuccessful, movement, appears to have been a renewal of the project originated by Opechanganough, of Virginia, in 1622; and one cannot help feeling that it was but a rehearsal of the same tragedy enacted in 1590, of which the unfortunate, but lost, colony left at Cape Hatteras, were the victims; the proximity of the Tuscaroras to that location, giving additional countenance to the suggestion. Cusic, in his traditional sketches of the Iroquois, which indicate his profound ignorance of chronology, appears to allude to this, or possibly to some prior event, which occurred in the ante-historical period of American history, wherein a Manteo and his English companions, or a Madoc and his Cambrian followers, may be symbolized.

The archaeological remains on Mr. Calhoun's plantation, at Fort Hill, in Pendleton District, and also those of Fort Kienuka, attest the power of the ancient Iroquois in this quarter, and are yet, probably, in a condition to admit of satisfactory examination.

183 Section Tenth. — Progressive Intercourse with the Tribes, During the Epoch, from 1700 to 1750.

Chapter I. — Impressions of the Race, After the Lapse of a Century from the First Landing in Virginia.

1700.

England attained at once the acme of both her political and literary fame, during the reign of Queen Anne; while her American colonies, within the gloomy shadows of a distant and savage wilderness, were defending themselves from the horrors of impending starvation on the one hand, and aboriginal treachery on the other.

European intercourse with the Indians had, during a period of one hundred years, produced no appreciable good effects on their general manners, opinions, and modes of life. The tribes located nearest the settlements dressed in blankets and strouds, instead of skins; used metallic cooking-vessels, instead of the clumsy clay akeek, implements of iron and steel, instead of stone and bone; and the European fire-lock, instead of the flint arrow. The fur trade was, in their imagination, the great benefit which had resulted from the influx of civilized races. They hunted deer and beaver with increased vigor, indulging in luxuries of which their fathers had never even thought, and more particularly in the use of intoxicating liquors. They did not, however, in reality appreciate anything else which came from Europe. They still detested and discouraged the introduction of schools, letters, labor and the gospel, preferring to live, as their forefathers had previously done, by the chase, and not by

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agriculture. Game was still plenty; their hunting-grounds being so vast, that they appeared as if of almost illimitable extent; and the tribes from Maine to Georgia, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the borders of the great lakes, feasted, danced and sung, rioted and warred with each other, precisely as their ancestors had done a century previous. When more sombre views of their existing condition were forced upon them, when the plow of the white man encroached so rapidly on their wigwams and hunting-grounds that difficulties resulted, they plotted against the settlers, making sudden attacks upon them, or enticing them into ambuscades. These fitful efforts were succeeded by a relapse into their primitive state of idleness and inaction, without having derived, from their spasmodic effort, any permanent advantage to themselves, or having inflicted any permanent injury upon the settlements.

During the establishment of the colonies, the impressions created by this feverish and changeful policy of the natives, were unfavorable to their sincerity of character. Wherever attempts had been made to introduce education and the gospel, and to graft it, as it were, on the original stock, they had submitted to it, as if in expectation of deriving therefrom ulterior advantages, with such mildness of manner, accompanied by such deep duplicity, as to deceive the guileless settlers; but, in the end, their real nature developed itself in the commission of cruel and treacherous acts. Such were the results of colonial experience in Virginia, between the period of the earliest successful establishment of the settlement at Jamestown, and the perpetration, in 1622, of that terrible massacre, under Opechan, or Opechanganough, when over 400 persons were killed in one day; among whom, the first victims were those who, with the aid afforded them by the benevolent in England, had labored most zealously and efficiently to teach the Indians, and to found a seminary of education for the tuition of the youth. Almost equally horrific was the plot concocted and successfully executed, in Massachusetts, in 1675, by Pometacom, after more than thirty years had been spent by Eliot, and his missionary compeers, in zealous and effective teaching of the tribes. These repulsive traits in the Indian character, did much towards repelling, and, for a time, may be said to have extinguished that benevolent and humane spirit with which they had been previously regarded. In Virginia, as in the entire South, these acts may be said to have originated a thorough detestation of the whole Indian race. Indeed, the details of these early deeds of sanguinary treachery, having been widely spread, throughout America and Europe, by means of newspapers and magazines, exercised an adverse influence, which is felt, even at the present day. It has been frequently asked, Who shall benefit such a people, and what good can arise therefrom? Unaided human reason tacitly acknowledges its inability to solve the problem; the gospel alone furnishes a motive for the efforts of the philanthropist.

Thus far, twelve of the original thirteen colonies had been established; Georgia, the thirteenth, being delayed for some time longer. Events, which followed each other in rapid succession, furnished us with a knowledge of Indian character, besides becoming

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the main inducement for the establishment of our intercourse with, and the development of our policy towards, the entire group of tribes, located in the east, west, north, and south. The beginning of the eighteenth century was marked by three events in the history of the colonies, which exercised an important influence on the Indian policy. 1. Penn, who had entered the Delaware in 1682, selected a site for the capital of his colony, in the heart of the Lenno Lenapi territories, and, in 1701, laid out the city of Philadelphia. 2. Frontenac, the Governor-General of New France, to the chagrin of the Iroquois, directed a post to be established in the country of the Wyandots and their allies, in the vicinity of the lakes. M. de la Motte Cadillac, who was entrusted with this duty, arrived, with a military force, at the straits between lakes Erie and Huron, in July of the same year, and founded Detroit, that central point of Indian influence, whose baleful effects were felt upon the western frontiers, during that long and bloody period of sixty years, marked by captivities and murders, previous to the fall of Quebec. 3. The founding of Louisiana. The first settlement was made, in 1699, at Bolixi, in the country of the Choctaws; but the province was not ceded to Crozat until 1712; nor was New Orleans founded until 1719. It was the policy of the French to establish trading and missionary posts first, and, subsequently, cities. Michilimackinac, the earliest point of fixed occupancy in Michigan, was the central position of the western Algonquins in 1662; as was also Kaskaskia, in the same generic group of families, at least from the first visits of the priests of La Salle, in 1683. Vincennes, in Indiana, the Au Post of early writers, was first occupied in 1610. The primary impulses were thus given to that Franco-Indian power, which, like a gigantic serpent, coiled its folds around, and, for a period, threatened to crush the British colonies.

Meantime, the Indians, true to their instincts, did not abandon their system of massacre. The opening of the century was characterized by the South Carolina war with the Creeks or Appalachians; the daring and successful expedition of Colonel Moore against them, within the Spanish territories, in 1704; the wide-spread and startling massacre of the Tuscaroras, in North Carolina, in 1712; and the Yamasee massacre, in 1715.

The Tamasees were a portion of some twenty-eight small tribes, of the group of Chicoras, who occupied the coasts and islands, as well as the banks of the rivers, of South Carolina, and of whom the Catawbas appear to be the only remaining, but rapidly diminishing tribe. It was the Yamasees, reputed for their gentle manners, but bitterly revengeful disposition, who had encountered the early Spanish visitors to this coast with such intrepidity, retorting treachery by treachery. The Tuscaroras belonged to the Iroquois group; a fact that would clearly appear from philology, were it not also affirmed by their traditions, and by the fact that, after their final defeat at Kienuka,

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they fled to their kindred, the Five Nations, of western New York, and were admitted as the sixth canton.

Up to this period, there had been no attempt made at colonization in the country occupied by the confederacy of the Creeks, or Muscogulges. This people, agreeably to their traditions, having immigrated from the west, crossed the Mississippi, the Alabama, the Chattahootche, and the Appalachicola, extending themselves towards the east, north, west, and south. At the earliest period of their settlement, and kindling of a council fire, or establishment of a government, they were located on the river Altamaha. There is no doubt that they conquered, and either killed, incorporated with themselves, or ejected, the prior aboriginal inhabitants. Hawkins informs us, that they conquered and carried the Uchees, as prisoners, from the southern part of South Carolina. Ogelthorpe, who originated the plan of the Georgia colony, about the year 1730, established it in the Creek territory, lying between the Savannah and Altamaha. Like those of the Puritans, the Marylanders, and the followers of Penn, the Georgia colony was designed for, and became, a refuge for oppressed or needy Europeans. The plan followed was, as had been the case in all previous instances of colonization, to bestow lands upon, and afford employment to, the colonists, to enable them to improve their condition, and, also, to sustain their high anticipations; always, however, paying a due regard to the rights and condition of the aborigines. The sovereignty and the fee simple of the territory was held to be vested in the crown; but the right to their usufruct, until settled by presents, or by actual purchase, was absolutely held by the Indians. The question was reserved as one for settlement by the administration, through the usual medium of treaty, as all the colonies had previously done. All had promised them justice, kindness, fair dealing; and all had urged upon them the benefits to be derived from the promotion of agriculture, arts, letters, temperance, and every other adjunct of civilization. Ogelthorpe offered the Indians similar terms to those tendered them by the Pilgrims of New England; by the Duke of York in New York and New Jersey; by Lord Baltimore in Maryland; and by Penn in Pennsylvania. The rewards arising from a life of labor and virtue, and the evils attendant upon error, were, in their estimation, in the hands of the Indians themselves. If the natives preferred idleness, inebriation, and vice; if, through neglect, they became the victims of disease, death, and depopulation, it must be considered part of that great physical and moral law, which entails the punishment as a sequel to the offence. Good men could but regret it. If an Indian would hunt deer, instead of guiding the plow; if he preferred alcohol to water as a beverage; and to idle away his time, instead of improving it, the political economist regretted, without having the power to deter him from pursuing his erroneous course. The moral and industrial law proclaimed to the Indians their mistaken policy, announcing to them, in accents of momentous potency,

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the ordinary maxims which govern society, "Labor and thrive; be idle and dissolute, and die." "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." The frequent errors and delinquencies of the Indians did not, however, dry up the springs of human charity and benevolence. Every decade had its philanthropists; and their beneficent deeds shine brightly, even at the present day.

Each new colony established in America gave to the Indian the same lesson which had been taught him by its predecessors. At the outset, civilization had apprized him of its requirements, and, though the Indian learned its lessons slowly, yet it was hoped that he did learn, and that he made some progress in the right direction. Hope induced perseverance, furnished an apology for ignorance, and forgave repeated injury. The baptism of Manteo, which was performed in Virginia, in 1586, may be regarded as indicating the outpouring of light at Cresswicks, in 1744. Such was the state of the Indians when the Anglo-Saxons first found them, and located on their borders.

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Chapter II. — The Aquinoshioni, or Iroquois.

The close of the seventeenth century appears to be a suitable opportunity for taking some notice of a people, whose power had then culminated. There were but two tribes of those which ranged the land east of the Mississippi, north of the Cherokees, and east of the Chippewas of Lake Superior, over whom they did not, at this early day, exercise a primary or a secondary influence; and, even of these excepted tribes, one was seated 1000 miles to the north-west, and the other 1000 miles to the south-west of their council-fire at Onondaga. The name of Aquinoshioni, under the figure of a long house, or council lodge, is indicative of their confederate character. Tradition refers the origin of their nationality and advancement to Tarenyawagon, a divinity, who, in his social state, while on earth, assumed the name of Hiawatha, and taught them the knowledge of all things essential to their prosperity. By a hyperbole, they are also called Ongwi Honwi, or a people surpassing others. The French, agreeably to their system, gave them the name of Iroquois, a term founded on two Indian radicals, with the Gallic terminal, ois, suffixed.

We are informed by Golden, who wrote their history to the period of the conclusion of the peace of Ryswick (1697), that the tribes composing this confederacy were not originally deemed superior to their neighbors. He commences their history at the epoch of the settlement of Canada (1608); at which time, he depicts them as being inferior to the Adirondacks, or Algonquins. They did not equal the northern group of tribes, either in hunting, war, or forest arts, though they possessed an element of subsistence in the cultivation of the zea maize. By ceasing to war against each other, and confederating for their common defence, they laid the corner-stone of their national establishment. They first successfully tried their united strength against the Satanas, a cruel people, located on their borders, which so raised their spirits, that they, at length, went to war against the Adirondacks, who had been, primarily, their tutors in forest arts. After some reverses, they proved themselves an overmatch for the latter in stratagem, and, finally, obtained decisive victories over them in the St. Lawrence valley.

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Mr. Colden furnishes us the history of the Iroquois during the period of about a century (1609 to 1697), in so clear and precise a manner, that our only regret is, that he carries it no farther. He perceives in this people a love of liberty, and a spirit of independence, which particularly mark them; but is at a loss which most to admire, their military ardor, their political policy, or their eloquence in council. The union of the cantons, each possessing equal powers, in one council, was the cause of their triumph among hunters in the east, west, and north, who acknowledged no government but that of opinion, and followed no policy but that actuated by revenge, or undefinable impulse. All the weighty concerns of the Iroquois were the subject of full deliberation, in open council; and their diplomatic negotiations were managed with consummate skill. When the question of peace or war was decided, the counsellors united in chanting hymns of praise, or warlike choruses, which, at the same time, gave expression to the public feeling, and imparted a kind of natural sanctity to the act. The majority of those who have given their attention to Iroquois history, have recognised, in their public acts, the germs of a national policy, which was suited to concentrate in their hands an imperial sway, which would have been characterized by greater subtlety and strength, than that of the Aztecs under Montezuma, or of the Peruvians under Atahualpa.

Their tribal relations being conducted according to fixed principles, so also were their commercial affairs, and under a system equally stable. A short time subsequently to the arrival of Hudson, and the building of Fort Orange, they formed a close alliance with the Dutch, who regarded the gains of commerce as the most decided advantage to be derived from their colony. They furnished the Indian warriors with guns, powder, flints, shrouds, blankets, hatchets, knives, pipes, and all other articles necessary for the successful prosecution of the fur trade, which was conducted on a basis so advantageous to both, that the mutual friendship then contracted was never broken. With the river Indians, of the Algonquin type, who lived in the same state of discord and anarchy as the other tribes, there occurred several, and some very serious, quarrels; but the union of the Iroquois and Dutch was intimate, and never more so than when the province was surrendered to the Duke of York, in 1664. By the terms of this surrender, the good will of the Iroquois was secured to the English. The trade with the Indians was wholly in the hands of Dutch merchants and traders, and their interpreters, who continued to conduct it. They had extended this traffic through western New York to the so-called "Far Indians," at Detroit, Saganaw and Michilimackinac, where there are still some of their descendants. As the Iroquois had, for a long period, held the balance of power in America, this influence became very important to the English, and was analogous to the Algonquin alliance with the French, which, after the fall of Quebec, was also transferred to the English.

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The attachment of the Iroquois to the English, alone saved western New York from becoming a French colony. From the time of the action with Champlain, that commander having supplied his Indian allies with guns, the Iroquois had been prejudiced against the French nation. At sundry periods they repelled the invasions of La Barre, Denonville, and Frontenac, and, also, resisted the establishment of missions at Oneida, Onondaga, and Ontario. Their delegates frequently stood in the presence of the Governor-General at Quebec, with wily dexterity counteracting plot by counter-plot. In truth, they defended the territory till the English colonies became strong enough to protect it themselves.

The French had found themselves so severely taxed to resist the Iroquois, that the conclusion of the peace of Ryswick was most welcome news at the castle of St. Louis. Colden observes, that the French commissioners who conveyed the intelligence of this peace to the Onondaga county, and, by negotiation, secured their assent to it, likewise esteemed it a blessing. To the French, heaven could not have sent a greater. "For nothing," it is remarked, "could be more terrible to Canada than the last war with the Five Nations. While this war lasted, the inhabitants ate their bread with fear and trembling. No man was sure, when out of his house, of ever returning to it again. While they labored in the fields, they were under perpetual apprehensions of being seized, or killed, or carried to the Indian country, there to end their days in cruel torments. They, many times, were forced to neglect both seed-time and harvest. The landlord often saw all his land plundered, his houses burned, and the whole country ruined, while they thought their persons not safe in their fortifications. In short, all trade and business was often at an entire stand, while fear, despair, and misery appeared on the face of the poor inhabitants."

Governor Clinton calls the Iroquois the Romans of the West. Charlevoix, who visited the shores of Lake Ontario, in 1721, says, that he perceived a Greek element in their language. While forming some Iroquois vocabularies, in western New York, in 1845, I found it to possess a dual.

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Chapter III. — The Indian Tribes, North and South, Slowly Arrive at an Apparently General Conclusion, that they Possess the Power to Crush the Colonies.

AT the time of the settlement of Georgia, not only had all the colonies of the crown of Great Britain been established, but every element, both foreign and domestic, necessary to their future expansion, had been introduced. Thus, the power and energies developed subsequently in the States of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota, and Oregon, as, also, in New England, of Vermont and Maine, were then all shadowed forth in the future. These States did not spring into existence until decades of years subsequently; but when they did culminate and put forth strength, they eliminated no new principles for adoption by the Indian tribes within their respective boundaries. As colony after colony was incorporated, the Indians were unceasingly urged to imitate the usages and manners, of European society, to practise the duties of men, to abandon the uncertain pursuit of the chase, to renounce the seductions of indulgence, and to turn a deaf ear to the doleful rites and enchantments of the soothsayers, jossakeeds, and jugglers. There was one exception on their part, to their lack of vigor in that typical appreciation, required by no small part of the early teachings of the ecclesiastics in the colonies; and that was the symbolical religion introduced by the Catholic communities, founded by Spain and France. The use of signs and symbols was quite in accordance with the ideas of the natives, who regarded the sun and moon as the symbols of the Deity, and represented person and passions by types of birds and animals, which included the entire range of species in the great classes of animated nature. But subsequent observers have been unable to discover that any very permanent moral impressions, as to personal accountability, were made on the Indian minds.

The French peasantry, who were in constant intercourse with the Indians, did not, themselves, profess or practice a very high standard of morality, and were, therefore,

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the more acceptable to the natives, whose customs, manners, and opinions, they at once adopted. They never ridiculed their religious rites, and freely selected their wives from the tribes among whom they pursued their vocation, as boatmen, "merchant voyageurs," and runners to collect credits in the fur trade.

The courier du bois and the Indians resembled each other in a thousand little notions, regarding tastes, food, and dress. The Frenchman did not think the wigwam a dirty or a disgusting place; he went to gaze with complacency at the Indians' wabeno and medicine dances. He was not sure that necromancy and spirit worship were altogether wrong; readily learned the Indian language; fabricated canoes of the finest pattern; became a perfect adept in these arts; and soon acquired a reputation, superior to the Indians, for navigating these light and beautiful vessels. He smoked the nicotiana, the Indian's most sacred weed, as they socially travelled together; and the native, under the guidance of his bourgeois, chanted one of the Frenchman's gay songs with the liveliest emotion. In his social chats he represented the "Grande Monarque" as superior to all sovereigns, and contrasted the relative power of the kings of England and France, with a partiality that placed the latter above all comparison. To interest and affect the Indian, conversation must be plain, simple, and adapted to his comprehension; and in these characteristics no class of persons have ever surpassed, or even equalled, the French.

The social teachings and manners of the French, so opposite to those of the English, furnish a true means of estimating the relative positions held by the two leading races of Europe who were so long opposed to each other on this continent, and are in some measure an apology for the Indian. They are believed, also, to have exerted a strong influence on the course of the Indians, in the great contest against the Anglo-Saxon race. Another apology may be made for the part which the Indians took in the wars so long existing between the European races. It would have required strong presence of mind and great forecast, to have resisted the influences and seductions which, from time to time, induced them to enter the field as auxiliaries, first on this side, then on the opposite. Those who could exert the strongest powers of persuasion, and most deeply interest the savages, were most sure of their services. It was the dark age of Indian history. The Indian was not the only one who lacked moral powers; the uncouth frontiers-man, as well as the mere buyer and seller of beaver and musk-rat, were not overstocked with it. Had the aborigines always been taught that, between nation and nation, as between man and man, duplicity was wrong; finesse and trickery, contemptible; deception, dishonorable; and treachery, abominable; there might have been better results. With him, war was a passion; he loved to see blood flow. But when he warred for others, he did so for nothing: a dupe at the outset, he was doubly a dupe at the close.

He embarked in these foreign contests with an entire blindness to his true interests,

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fighting not for himself, but for others. Whether Louis or George prevailed, was not the true question. Others could laugh, but he suffered, whichever party succeeded. Take up his melancholy history for the half century we have under review, nay, for a whole century, and there are too many evidences that he played the part of a tool, a drunkard, or a madman. There was no battle in which he was engaged as a flank auxiliary, in which he did not lose men; but, for every one killed in action, he lost ten by camp diseases, by hardships, and by the unskilful medical treatment of his muskikinines. "Will these paltry presents pay," said the venerable Wabisha, "for the lives we have lost in battle, and for our warriors who died on the road?"

The Yamasees and the Tuscaroras in the South were not the only tribes which, about the beginning of the seventeenth century, evinced a spirit of hostility, and commenced a series of massacres, and a war of extermination against the whites. Partial as the Indians were to the French, there were two nations whom the latter could not control. These were the Iroquois, and the Outagamies, or Foxes.

Who the Outagamies were is not known, and their early history is a blank. It has been inferred, from their language, that they were Algonquins, who used the Lenno Lenapi pronunciation, in which an l is substituted for n, giving to their speech a more liquid flow. They appear, at an early day, to have been ejected from, or forsaken by, the Algonquin family and political organization. Their traditions refer to a primitive residence at the site of Cataraqui, where, it may be supposed, they formed an intimacy with the Iroquois; and, if so, that they were one of the vengeful instruments of those immense piles of bones, and gigantic ossuaries, spread over the interior of Upper Canada.

In 1712, this tribe, swayed probably by the Iroquois influence, attempted to destroy Detroit, and, as in all similar cases, their movements were secret, and the attack sudden. There were then but twenty soldiers in the fort. Under various pretences they gathered in that vicinity; but the plot was revealed in time to save the fort. The assault was made on the 13th of May, but, on the same day, the commandant was greeted by the voices of a numerous party of friendly Wyandots, Ottowas, and Pottawattamies, who routed the assailants. The Outagamies then retreated to an entrenched camp, near at hand, but, becoming finally straitened for food and water, they were forced to sally out and take possession of a house nearer the fort, whence they discharged a most destructive shower of lighted arrows, which set fire to the houses within the works. Eventually defeated, they retired to a peninsula jutting out into Lake St. Clair, where they repelled a furious assault of the French and their savage

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allies. After several days' preparation, during which artillery was brought from the fort, their position was stormed, very many killed, and the rest forced to flee to the upper lakes, and locate themselves on Fox river, flowing into Green Bay. Here the sequel of their history fully accords with the account given by the French, of their cunning and perfidious character. They harassed traders at all the portages leading to the Mississippi river, and spread war and alarm in all directions, as far as Lake Superior; but, being at length besieged by the French commander, De Louvigney, with a competent force, at a selected position, since called, on account of this event, Butte des Morts, or Hill of the Dead, they were overcome, and suffered immense slaughter, after which, the survivors fled to the banks of the Wisconsin. They were nearly destroyed, and received no further notice in our Indian history, until within the nineteenth century.

In 1712, at the time of the Fox assault on the fort of Detroit, the Iroquois nation comprised five tribes, or cantons; namely, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. The same year they were joined by the Tuscaroras from North Carolina, making the sixth canton. The latter, once a powerful tribe, had been nearly annihilated by the North Carolina forces, assisted by a chivalrous body of men under Colonel Barnwell of South Carolina. The accession of the Tuscaroras, however it might have pleased the cantonal government, could have added but little to the efficiency of a people, who had, from the earliest times, been the terror of the Indian tribes. Colden informs us that the Iroquois cantons had first attained power by their confederation, their wisdom in council, their policy in the adoption of conquered tribes, and their superior bravery in war. Governor Clinton tells us that their acquisition of power was much facilitated by their advantageous location in western New York, in a region abounding in game, of unsurpassed fertility of soil, and situated at the head of many large and leading streams, down which they could suddenly make their forays, after the successful execution of which they might return by land.

All the tribes in an east and west line, between Lake Champlain, the Connecticut, and the Illinois, acknowledged the supremacy of the Iroquois. North and south their sway extended from the mouths of the Hudson, the Delaware, and the Susquehanna, to the great lakes; thence, northwardly to the Ontawis, or Grand river, of Canada, to Michilimackinac, and to the entrance of Lake Superior. In 1608, under the name of Masawomacks, they were the terror of the Powhatanic tribe of Virginia; as Mingoes, they spread their dominion over Ohio; and, as Nado-wassies, they were the foes of all the Algonquin, or Adirondack races. At periods anterior to the arrival of

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the colonists, they had prevailed over the once proud and powerful Lenno Lenapi, and placed them sub jugo. They threatened the very existence of Canada. Tribes, whom they could not subject to their stern policy, were exterminated by the club and the tomahawk.

It became a part of the policy of all the colonies to conciliate such a people; consequently, they were in fact parties to all important Indian treaties formed during the period of our early history, and, until the colonies finally assumed their independence. In every negotiation involving the question of boundaries, or the termination of a war, the first demand was, What will the Iroquois do? They still, in reality, held the balance of power.

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Chapter IV. — In the Contest for the Indian Power, between France and England, the Possession of the Mississippi Valley and of the Great Lake Basins became, in the End, the Prize Contended for.

THE close of the seventeenth century was marked by events which excite in us a more than usual degree of interest in the aboriginal policy. The settlements made at Bolixi, and on other parts of the open shores of the Gulf of Mexico, during the latter years of this century, were followed by the location of others in the Mississippi valley. New Orleans was founded in 1799. La Salle, by his discovery of the Mississippi river, had developed an important fact in North American geography. Such a river, and such a valley, could only be paralleled, in the history of the Old World, by the Nile and the Niger; and, in the New, only by the Amazon, the La Platte, and the Orinoco, of South America. But, unlike those streams, although passing through a region possessing an equally fertile soil, the climate and sanitary advantages of the country in its vicinage far transcended them.

The foundation of the city of New Orleans furnished a depot for the products of a region, whose extent and resources could scarcely be estimated. This entire territory, extending to the sources of the Arkansas, the Ohio, and the Missouri, as well as to the great chain of lakes, was filled with Indians, of various names and families, who roved in wild independence over its plains and through its forests, contributing to a new and most attractive branch of commerce, the fur trade. To wield political influence amongst them was, in fact, to secure the most direct means of promoting colonial success. The fine sylvan country of the Illinois had, from the period of its first discovery, been the universal theme of admiration. At an early day, posts were established, not only at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, but, having become the headquarters of mild ecclesiastical and commercial functionaries, they were continued up the Wabash, the Ohio, the Illinois, and the Wisconsin, where they were met by similar establishments, diverging from Quebec and Montreal. From this period may be dated the renewed prosperity of New France.

Fort Niagara, which commanded the Iroquois borders, had been founded as early as 1678; Michilimackinac, on the peninsula, was erected in 1668; Fort Oswego, the

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ancient Gliuna, was built in 1727; Detroit in 1701; Vincennes in 1710; and, a short time subsequently, a series of minor posts, extending along the lake shores, from Green Bay and St. Joseph's to the Miami of the Lakes, and the Sandusky, and thence to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie. Among all the Indian tribes inhabiting these regions, the French king, French power and liberality, and French manners, were spoken of with praise, and regarded with admiration.

Such was the progress made by the new ecclesiastical establishments, that a commissioner, of high sacerdotal standing, was deputed by the Court of France to visit the western posts and tribes. Charlevoix, who performed this task, and whose journal and history furnish proofs of the zeal and learning he displayed, journeyed from Quebec, through the chain of lakes, to the Mississippi, which, in 1721, he descended to New Orleans. He made many valuable inquiries respecting the history and condition of the tribes, the results of which he reported to his government. In his era, the worship of an eternal fire, the great dogma of the Ghebir system, was still found to exist among the Natchez, or Chigantualga Indians, who accompanied its rites with imposing ceremonies.

The possession of the Mississippi valley was, in reality, the prize for which all these exertions were made; and the British colonies soon became aware, that a chain of military posts, extending from New Orleans to Quebec, was about to environ them.

In 1687, the Canadian authorities, with great formality, repossessed themselves of the Straits of Detroit, commemorating the event by the issue of a protocol. In 1749, the Governor-General of Canada caused leaden plates, bearing suitable inscriptions, to be nailed to trees, and also others to be buried beneath the earth, in the Ohio valley, as a testimony of the re-occupancy of that valley by the French. They aimed, at least, to make the record strong. But a fraction over fifty years elapsed, when these posts were extended up the Ohio to its source, at the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany, where Fort Du Quesne was built, in 1753. The comprehensive and vigorous movements of the French secured the influence of the tribes, whom they supplied with goods, wares, and merchandise at all the posts. Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, were the first to take the alarm. The French assumed the sovereignty of the country by right of its discovery by La Salle, and a long period had not elapsed when the western tribes attacked the southern and western frontiers, with a vigor which threatened the annihilation of the colonies.

In 1728, the Shawnees and Delawares, pressed by the Iroquois, and feeling the encroachments of the advancing settlements, fled across the Alleghanies to the Ohio valley. The Iroquois power had long previously driven the Lenno Lenapi in the same direction.

In 1736, the French local authorities reported to their home government, in Paris,

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that they exercised a control over 103 tribes, comprising a total of 16,403 warriors, representing a population of 82,000 souls. It no longer admitted of a doubt, that the object of the French was, by drawing this line around the colonies, to prevent them from extending their possessions to the westward beyond the summits of the Alleghany mountains. Such, indeed, was the boast of some of the leading Indian chiefs, who regarded the English as the nation which designed to infringe on their forest domains, to impose upon them the yoke of labor and letters, and to tread out their very existence. The sanguinary inroads of the French and their savage allies on the frontiers, first brought the youthful Washington into the field. He was but sixteen years of age when, in 1748, he made his first exploratory trip in that direction. Five years subsequently, he undertook his perilous official journey to the French post on Lake Erie, thus obtaining his first knowledge of the habits of a subtle foe, whose instability of purpose, and cruelty of character, required perpetual vigilance.

With respect to the great lake basins, they were, at an early date, in possession of the French. Lake Ontario was commanded by Forts Cataraqui, Niagara, and Oswego; Erie was secured by the location of Fort Le Nou, on the Straits of Detroit, and Lake Huron by Fort St. Joseph (the site of the modern Gratiot), situated at the head of the river St. Clair, as also by the old peninsular fort of Michilimackinac. Lake Superior was overlooked by the fort of St. Mary's, on the straits of St. Mary, and by that of Madaline, at Chegoimegon; Michigan by a Fort on Green Bay, another at the mouth of the St. Joseph's river, and by the post at Chicago. Small vessels transported arms and supplies to the various posts, and the heavy batteaux of the French, or the light Algonquin canoe, kept up a constant intercourse between the posts and missions, both by night and day. The English colonial governors, accustomed to the dilatory movements of their own regular soldiers and sailors, could scarcely conceive with what celerity intelligence was communicated.

199 Section Eleventh. — Momentous Period of Indian History, Preceding the Conquest of Canada.

Chapter I. — The French Policy Regarding the Tribal, or International, Movements of the Indians.

THE jealousy and hatred existing between the tribes, prevented extensive hostile combinations against the English, and proved the salvation of the colonies. Every large tribe, from the era of the settlement of Virginia, to that of Georgia, deemed itself superior to all others, vaunted of its prowess, and despised its enemies. Wingina, Powhatan, and Opechanganough, were but prototypes of Sassacus, Pometacorn, and Attakullakilla. The continent had been overrun by predatory bands long before its discovery by Europeans, and, at that period, the tribes were living in a state of intestine anarchy, and outward war. When the colonists landed and began to hold intercourse with them, every little tribe exercised an independent sovereignty, sold lands, and prosecuted wars. Of the several stocks who claimed to live in a state of association or confederation, the Iroquois alone possessed anything like a fixed system. The Muscogees, or Creeks, assumed to be a confederacy of seven tribes, but their association was so loosely organized, so destitute of governmental power, that it could not make levies, procure volunteers, meet out punishments, or grant rewards. The Algonquins assimilated in their tribal character and peculiar customs, but every tribe acted as it pleased, without respect to any governmental rule. The seven tribes of the Dakotas styled themselves a united people; the Pokanokets went to war, single-handed, against all New England; the Tuscaroras determined to destroy North Carolina, at a blow; the Yamasees undertook

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took to brave, if not to cope with, South Carolina; and the tribe of the Foxes insolently resolved, without any auxiliaries but the Sauks, or original occupants of Saganaw, to drive the French out of Michigan.

The refractory tribes of New England, who had either submitted to the colonists, or had been conquered by them and fled, derived sympathy and efficient aid from the Canadian authorities. The Pequot refugees who had found shelter from the Mohawks, and been permitted to settle on a tributary of the North river, under the name of Scagticokes, finally fled to Lower Canada. The entire canton of St. Regis originally comprised refugees of the Iroquois, who had either refused to submit to the religious teachings, or to the political influence of the English.

The tribal and international movements, throughout the entire country, were controlled, with the sole exception of those of the important cantons of the Iroquois, by the general policy and influence of the French, and tended to the furtherance of the French colonial interests. It was observed at an early day by the English governors, and by the commanders on the frontiers, that a cordon of tribes, friendly to the French, occupied the whole of the immense line extending from Quebec to New Orleans; and every decade of the existence of the British colonies appeared to increase the apprehensions of evil impending from this quarter. This policy of the French was not a recent one, but can be traced back to the earliest times. From the period when Donnaconna was taken to France, and Agahonna greeted as the forest monarch of Hochelaga, it had been a primary policy of the Gallic authorities, to secure the influence of the Indian tribes. Two great stocks of tribes constituted the leading executors of the French policy.

Along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, from the Three Rivers as far as the entrance of the Great Otawa river, the coast was occupied by tribes of the generic stock, to whom was given the name of Algonquins. The southern, as well as the northern, shores of the St. Lawrence, below the point denoted, as far down as Gaspe Bay, including Tadousac and the island of Orleans, were covered by parties of the Iroquois of the Wyandot branch. The governmental seat, and council-fire of this tribe were located on the mountain island of Hochelaga, to which Carter gave the name of Montreal. A close alliance was formed with the Algonquin tribes, and also with the Wyandots, or Hurons, a French soubriquet for this tribe. The Wyandots affirm themselves to have been the parent tribe of the Iroquois, and, although they do not appear to have been a member of the confederacy of the Five Nations, they were, then, on the most amicable terms with them. Their offence against the Five Nations was, that they had not only offered their aid to the French, but also to the Algonquins,

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their enemies. As soon as this alliance with the French was understood, the Five Nations, at first moderately, but afterwards peremptorily and violently, ordered them to leave the island of Hochelaga, and remove to New York. The Wyandots having refused to obey this mandate, the Iroquois made war upon them, and so harassed them that they were compelled to seek shelter under the guns of Quebec; in which place even, they were not safe, but were finally expelled from the valley of the St. Lawrence. The French themselves were fiercely attacked, and at one time became seriously afraid that they would be driven from the country.

The flight of the Wyandots from the St. Lawrence valley, in 1659, produced a great displacement of tribes. They passed up the great Ontawas river, and across Lake Nepissing, to the Manatouline chain of islands, of Odawa lake, which thence received the appellation of Huron, their French nomme de guerre. But the New York Iroquois having pursued them thither, they fled to the rocky island of Tiedonderoga, called Michilimackinac by the Algonquins, with whom they were in close alliance, as they had originally been in Lower Canada. Remarkable evidences of their residence in the interior of this island, and also of their agricultural habits, may still be traced in the large spaces which were cultivated, and which are yet very conspicuous. Of these, the area called by the French, Le Grand Jardin, and the ground about Sugar Loaf, and Arched Rocks, will amply repay a visit from the curious. But, being also followed hither by the Iroquois, they took shelter on Lake Superior. Pursuing them to that retreat, they were defeated by the Algics at Point Iroquois in the Chippewa country. A sanguinary battle, followed by a massacre, was fought on the cape at the left-hand entrance into that lake, which has since been called Point Iroquois.

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Chapter II. — Inter-epochal History of the Lake Tribes, and of the Expulsion of Indians who Preceded the Algonquins.

PRIOR to the flight of the Wyandots from the St. Lawrence, a nation, of Algonquin lineage, called by old writers Utawawas, and Atawawas, and by modern ones, Odawas, and Ottawas, resided on the chain of islands, in Lake Huron, called Manatoulines, or Islands of the Great Spirit. Portions of this nation participated in the early wars in Lower Canada, and were taught the truths of the Christian religion by the missionaries. The parent tribe had, for a long period, dwelt on the islands of the Great Spirit, and the lake itself was, in consequence, called Odawa lake. At the same period, another leading tribe, of adverse lineage, called the Assegun, or Bone, Indians, resided on the upper parts of the lake. Their council fire and tribal seat were established on the island of Michilimackinac. They occupied Point St. Ignace, and also the north shores of the lake, as low down as the influx of the St. Mary's river; and they likewise extended their possessions westward and northward along the shores and islands of Lake Michigan.

To their position on the Manitoulines, the Ottawas refer, as the oldest traditional point in their history. Personal bravery, united with the power of performing miraculous or extraordinary feats, through the influence of necromancy, were the great objects of attainment, and formed a theme for boasting among their heroes. The origin of the tribe they attribute to a renowned personage, whom they called Sagirna. Sagima had been celebrated, during his prime, for deeds of prowess and wisdom, and for his great spiritual power. But he was now tottering under the weight of accumulated years; his brethren had classed him as an Akiwazi, or one long above ground; and he was soon destined to take his long anticipated journey to the symbolical land of the dead, or Indian paradise. Sagima resided with his wife, and had four sons, namely, Wau-be-nace, Wauba, Gitchey Wedau, and the youngest, named after himself, Sagima. It is of the feats of the latter, who was the favorite son, that tradition speaks; for he was not only the pride of his parents, but was also endowed with all the intrepidity, wisdom, and magical power of his father. In his youth, he was noted for his eccentricities, and fool-hardy exploits; when he reached the period of manhood, he evinced great powers of endurance, frequently fasting ten days, and,

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after tasting a little food, again renewing his fast; and, when his future guardian spirit was revealed to him, it was the Great Serpent, or Gitchie Kinabik, who lives under the ground and water.

At this time, the Asseguns began to trespass on the territory of the Manatoulines, and killed some of their people. A war with this tribe was the result. Accompanying the warriors, at first as a young volunteer, and concealing the great powers he felt conscious of possessing, Sagima performed feats which drew all eyes upon him. He soon became an efficient warrior, and, in the end, the deliverer of his country. In this contest, the Manatoulines were aided by the Odjibwas, or Chippewas of English history. The first great battle with the Bone Indians, was fought on the peninsula, called by the French, Detour. Sagima then pursued his enemies westward to their entrenchments, on the north shore, near some mounds and bivouacks, the remains of which are still to be seen, northward of St. Ignace. From this position he dislodged them, and took possession of the territory up to Point St. Ignace, where the war terminated, and the Asseguns, crossing the strait to the headland, called Piqutinong, the locality where old Fort Michilimackinac was subsequently built by the French, there formed a village. Having conquered the country of St. Ignace, the Odawas gradually withdrew from the Manatoulines, and located their tribal seat at St. Ignace. The following spring, the Asseguns crossed over and killed an Ottawa woman, who was planting corn. Sagima raised a war party, and crossed the strait to the Assegun village, which was found to contain only old men, women, and children, the warriors having gone up the Sheboigan, a river ten miles to the eastward. Sagima followed their trail, discovered their canoes hid in the overhanging bushes, and waylaid them in a shallow, sandy bay. The returning Asseguns were attacked at a disadvantage, and a dreadful massacre followed.

After this defeat, the Asseguns fled to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan; but they were finally pursued south to the banks of the Washtenau, called by the French, Grand river. This formed the limit of the Ottawa conquests, and thence they returned to their tribal seat at St. Ignace. The Chippewas, who had been their confederates in this war, settled on Grand Traverse Bay, and at some other locations to the westward, where the two tribes still reside in intercalated villages.

During the prosecution of this war, on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Ottawas and Chippewas became involved in a quarrel with a tribe called, by early writers, Mascoutins, a term, apparently, derived from the phrase Mush-co-dains-ug, or Little Prairie Indians. These Indians appear to have allied themselves with the Bone Indians. Chusco, an aged Ottawa, conversant with their traditions, attributes to them the old cleared fields, and the mounds on the Michigan coast, particularly those on Grand river. From this period the Asseguns and Mascoutins were confederates. The Ottawas and Chippewas, as soon as practicable, pursued them beyond Washtenau river to Chicago, whence they

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fled towards the south and west; hence, no further trace of them can be found in the Indian traditions.

In an official report of the Indian tribes, made to the government of Canada, in 1736, the Mascoutins are designated as occupying the locality south of Green Bay, and are rated at eighty warriors, which would indicate a population of 400 souls. Bouquet and Hutchins, in their tables, formed in 1764, report them as occupying the same locality, and state their numbers at 500. Modern estimates make no mention of the tribe. In traits and habits, the Mascoutins closely resembled the Kickapoos, and they may possibly have been absorbed in that very nomadic, prairie-loving tribe.

Regarding the Asseguns, referred to in their traditions, as the predecessors of the Algonquins on the upper waters of Lake Huron, it would be hazardous to offer any conjecture, except it be founded on philology, their name appearing to assimilate with the French term, Osages, and they being evidently of the Dakotah or Iroquois stock.

To the events preceding the Assegun wars, we can add no chronology. It seems certain that they occurred prior to the flight of the Wyandots to the lakes, in 1649; for when, in this year, the latter reached the Manatouline group, they found it vacated by the Ottawas, and located their residence on it; hence, as before mentioned, the lake received the name of Huron. Having been allies of the Ottawas, and other Algonquins in the St. Lawrence valley, they were welcomed as friends. Their residence on the island of Michilimackinac, under Adario, in 1688, is mentioned by all the early writers; and, although they were obliged, for a time, to take shelter among the Chippewas of Lake Superior, the growth of the French colony of Detroit enabled the latter to invite them to locate themselves in that vicinity, where, for so long a period, they have occupied a conspicuous place, as the umpire tribe.

By this transfer of the Wyandots to the Lakes, the Algonquin tribes were, in reality, strengthened; for they came thither as friends. By the prior expulsion of the Asseguns and Mascoutins, the wide lake basins had been cleared of all tribes who were adverse to their rule; and they had secured the free use of their lakes, as well as of their hunting grounds. They now began fearlessly to cross the broad waters in their canoes, and soon felt themselves established in the magnificent geographical empire of the great lakes. From the northern limits of Lake Huron, through the straits of St. Mary to Lake Superior, and from Michilimackinac, around the far-spreading shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan, thence, eastwardly to Detroit, and southwardly to the Ohio, there were no languages spoken but those which were derived, more or less recently, from the Algonquin. This generic language was of mild and easy utterance, and possessed a full vocabulary, containing but few sounds not readily enunciated by either the French or the English. The members of these tribes were people of good stature, and pleasing

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manners, who readily adopted European modes of conducting their traffic, and of transacting business. They borrowed from the French the complimentary term, Bon jour, on meeting, having, in their own language, no equivalent for that of good-day. If we consider the Algonquin group, which extended south from the site of Chicago to Kaskaskia, and the junction of the Ohio, and north to the Crees, or Kelistenos, of the Lake of the Woods, we find a singular agreement of character. There was no tribe, in all the broad expanse of country named, which did not, with equal ardor, recognise the French manners as the type of civilization and religion.

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Chapter III. — The Algonquins side with the French in the Great Struggle for Supremacy.

THE French now attempted, by taking formal possession of the Ohio valley, to unite the extreme boundaries of New France, and prevent the extension of the English colonies.

The expulsion of the Asseguns, or Bone Indians, and of the Mascoutins, from the Lake region, in all probability, occurred before the close of the fifteenth century, being prior, at least, to the first landing of Europeans. No notice of it can be found in the works of the earliest writers; the Wasbashas, a tall, bold, turbulent tribe, who may be thought to correspond in character with that people, being, at a primeval period, located in the north, but, after their flight to the south, always on an affluent of the Missouri. Their traditions furnish nothing but an allegory, representing that their origin was derived from a beaver and a shell. If these be symbols, they denote that they lived in a region abounding in trees (the bark of which was their food), and fish; and that their state of life was fortuitous and feeble, from natural, and not from historical causes.

It is uncertain at how early a period the French visited Lake Huron, and the upper lakes, but their first journey thither probably occurred between the year 1608, and Champlain's surrender of Quebec to Kirk, in 1629. Whatever the period was, the Algonquins appear to have then exercised dominion in the country. The Mascoutins, who, by the name, appear to have been of Algonquin lineage, were then located in that territory. The Illinese occupied the valley of the Illinois, and also the left banks of the Mississippi, from its outlet to the influx of the Ohio. The Miamies were seated in the St. Joseph's, or Grand river, valley of Michigan, and the various bands called Michigamies, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Menomonees occupied the northern shores of Green Bay, and, even as early as 1636, the Mascoutins had been driven to the country lying south of the banks of Fox river. The only acknowledged trans-Mississippian Indian tribe residing on Green Bay was that of the Winnebagoes, which, although of Dakotah origin, had an Algonquin name, and lived in amity with the Algonquins.

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That the French succeeded in arraying the numerous and scattered tribes of the Algonquins against the English colonies, is well known to every reader of Americo-Indian history. Intercourse and habits made them one in feeling and policy. Although it has been suggested that the Indian tribes appeared to feel a sense of their ability to crush the primitive English colonies, yet they lacked the power of combination, to make any general movement for that purpose. At every phasis of their history, they felt the necessity of having a European basis of power upon which to lean. In other words, they sought to be allies, and not principals, in the great contests with the colonies; and were, in reality, the flankers, and rarely, or never, the main body of fighting men. From this preference for the French by the Algonquin family of the Lenno Lenapi, the oldest member of it, agreeably to some authorities, may be excepted prior to 1742. In a public council held at Lancaster, during this year, they were ordered by the Iroquois, in a very harsh manner, to remove from the lands they occupied, because they had sold them to Penn, or to other persons, without having received authority. They were directed to take up their residence in the west, and from this date the Delawares were, and have been, regarded as being under French influence. Such reports and suspicions gathered strength from year to year, and this influence followed them westward, until they became residents of the Muskingum river, where the Christian converts were at length massacred.

It was the early developed policy of New France, to employ against the frontier settlements the Indian forces at their command; a power so eminently calculated to annoy and harass, and, without which it does not seem probable they could have so long maintained their ground against the British colonies. Indian warfare is conducted by a species of guerilla force, which, in efficacy, exceeds all others, not only on account of its sanguinary character, but also the suddenness of its attacks, its entire freedom from the annoyances of baggage, and the alacrity with which the warriors charge and disperse. There is no military arm which can at all cope with, or successfully check, these guerilla parties, as it is their policy never to risk an open battle; consequently, when the clumsy infantry and dragoon soldier is sent into the woods to cope with such a supple, and nearly invisible enemy, he appears to be little more than a target for a ball or an arrow.

A review of the French colonial policy, from the days of Champlain to those of Montcalm, develops the fact that the Indian power was one of their most effective means of offence. The great conflicts on land and ocean did not produce the most intense results; for, during all this period, extending over 150 years, it was the Indian war parties and marauding expeditions, which infested the frontiers from Virginia to the small towns of New England, that committed deeds thrilling upon the senses, and frequently making the heart sick. Men, women, and children, sent unheralded into eternity, at midnight, by the war-club and scalping-knife; blazing

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tenements, cruel and prolonged captivities, death at the stake, and murder in its most horrid forms, constituted the main incidents of this epoch.

An Indian considers 100 miles but a short distance, and 1000 miles as not a long one to march, when the purpose he has in view is to glut his vengeance, or gratify himself. He is not a man who pines for the enjoyments of home, there is not much to attach him to it; to camp in the woods is his delight, and the wilderness is, comparatively, his dwelling. Time passes lightly with him, its pace never wearies him; and anything which cheats him of the very idea of its passage, is pleasant. He is always at leisure, and death itself receives a rather friendly welcome. To journey to Fort Du Quesne, Erie, Oswego, Niagara, or Quebec, for the trifling present of a gun, a blanket, or a kettle, a pound of powder, a gorget, or a flag, was, in point of enterprise, considered as nothing for an Indian chief. To him, to whom time is nothing, and wandering a pleasure, the toil is ten times overpaid by the reward. He naturally esteems gifts, and habitually loves the giver. France was, to the Indian, the beau ideal of all that was admirable in a foreign power, combining generosity with amiable manners and kindness of demeanor.

The French, by multiplying forts on the frontiers, most surely extended their influence. They had, from an early period, occupied positions on every important western river or lake; and, by taking formal possession of the Ohio valley, in 1753, they consummated a long cherished scheme, and environed the western colonies with a cincture of scorpions. Western Virginia and Pennsylvania groaned under the new inflictions of savage vengeance; and, from this time, the Indian forays on the western frontiers became incessant, being perfectly unexampled in our history for their frequency, and the cruelty, or, rather, barbarous inhumanity which characterized them; murders, ambuscades, and tortures, becoming the terror of the settlers. Not the least important feature in the policy which directed these Indian wars, was the countenance that they received from the French officials at Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Fort Chartres, Detroit, Miami, Sandusky, and other minor posts. It was these depredations, and the policy which directed them, that first brought Washington into the field.

The Gallic and Anglo-Saxon powers were now fairly pitted against each other, and it was evident that this new phasis of French aggression must soon lead to a general conflict. France or England must rule America. The British ministry had, in some measure, prepared for this struggle. The local commerce had necessitated the erection of Fort London, in the valley of Virginia. Fort Cumberland had been previously built on the Potomac, Fort Stanwix at the head of the Mohawk, Forts Anne and Edward on the sources of the Hudson, and Fort William Henry on Lake George. These formed the chief defences in the middle of the eighteenth century; and, from the close of Queen Anne's war, they were supported by occasional detachments of veteran troops, who had served under the Duke of Marlborough, and other distinguished officers. These forts served as defences to the frontiers, enabling the colonies to preserve their existence; but they were not sufficiently powerful to roll back the tide of aggression.

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Chapter IV. — The Iroguois Adhere to the English.

To counteract this policy, the English found it necessary to call in the aid of the Iroquois cantons. The Indian is more gratified with a present of ten dollars' worth of merchandise, than if he had received twenty times the value in money, as a permanent annuity. Early partakers of the benefits resulting from Anglo-Saxon proximity of settlement and commerce, they became firm friends to all who belonged to that race. The warlike Mohawks were the most prominent tribe in the confederacy, at the time of the discovery of the Hudson. They found a very good market for their furs, which rendered them affluent in every comfort of Indian life; and they adhered to their early relations with a perfectly unabated and unchanging steadiness. After being furnished with guns, the Mohawks revisited Lake Champlain, where they encountered the renewed energies of Canada, and, in a short time, induced all the cantons to join them. Another great advantage accrued to them, at this period, in the employment of fire-arms against their enemies at the south and west. The introduction of gunpowder into America revolutionized the entire Indian mode of life. The expeditions became not only more lengthy, but were also characterized by greater frequency; and, in a short time, no tribe could withstand them. Ambition stimulated every canton, and, before the surrender of the province to the English, in 1664, the council fire, at Onondaga, burned still brighter and more fiercely. Unaided by this influence, New York, as well as the northern and central British colonies, could not have protected so wide a frontier without any extraneous aid. They frustrated the plan for establishing a mission at the old French fields, in Madison county, as also at Onondaga, in western New York. They likewise defeated the armies of Frontenac, and of Denonville.

An agency was also established in the Iroquois country, which, from little beginnings, at length systematically controlled this power for the protection and furtherance of the interests of the English colonies. This was the one which became so celebrated under the management of Sir William Johnson. Johnson emigrated to America in 1734, and, having undertaken the management of an estate in the Mohawk valley, for

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Sir Peter Warren, embarked in the fur trade, and learned the Indian language. He frequently accompanied the Iroquois delegates, who went to Albany to transact business with the government; and therein evinced so much tact, and such an intimate knowledge of the Indian dialects, that, in a few years, the superintendency of this department of government in the British colonies was committed to his care. The Iroquois had been constantly gaining in power during the previous century, and the authority which they now exercised over the tribes in the north, south, and west, enabled Johnson, through their means, to exert a controlling influence. He combined within himself the faculties of close observation, great prudence, judgment, decision, energy, and courage. By his judicious management of affairs and of a large private estate, he acquired a just appreciation of Indian character, and great popularity with the Iroquois. His Indian policy imitated, and even surpassed in efficiency, that of the French. He paid the utmost deference to their ancient ceremonial, not to say oriental, mode of transacting public business. He received their delegates and foreign ambassadors with great ceremony, listened to them patiently, and answered them carefully; made them liberal and judicious presents; and ordered every attention to be paid to their personal wants. No Indian who came to him, ever went away hungry, or in want, from his agency; and no one ever complained that he had not received an audience. The Indian is always greatly influenced by the respect with which he is received; no European can be more so. He has a high opinion of himself, of his position, and of his destiny; he does not know that he is a savage; he does not feel the want of our knowledge, our letters, our religion; he is a patient, courteous, dignified listener; he regards the features and expression of a man with great attention, and is a good judge of general character; he is prone to approbativeness, values approval, appreciates kindness, and is altogether reliable as a personal friend.

Such were the materials of the power which Johnson undertook to control. He regarded the proud, noble, but untutored Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca sachems, with their principle of cantonal representation, and confederate unity, as, in some measure, a reproduction of the Amphyctionic council. He sent formal messages to them, desiring their attendance, whenever occasion required it. This careful attention greatly pleased them, and, if it was ever delayed, they refused to obey it. Distance was immaterial to him, as he found it was nothing to them. Meeting together in council, they transmitted the message to the most distant places. Under the honored title of Mingoes, portions of the Iroquois stock resided in the Ohio valley, and served as diplomatic agents, to communicate intelligence. The most distant valleys of the west, and the remotest lakes of the north, were thus made accessible; and the relations of the Illinois, and of the tribes of Michilimackinac, Detroit, Niagara and Oswego, were as well understood at his nominal seat, on Tribes' Hill, in the Mohawk valley, as those of Genesee. Albany, and the Cahöatatea. The high rank which he held in the New York militia, caused him to be employed on some of the

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most important services, and he achieved several momentous victories in the war with the French. No one can peruse the history of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Virginia, nay, even of the States further south, from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the era of the Revolutionary War, without observing how intimately the Indian policy of these colonies was connected with the Iroquois supremacy, and how completely Sir William controlled it, through a well-established system of subordinates. Governors of States thought it no derogation from their dignity to meet the delegated Iroquois sachems in general council, and their sanction was deemed essential to all purchases of land, and questions of boundary, even to the utmost limits of Virginia and Kentucky.

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Chapter V. — The Western Indians Unite to Sustain France in the Possession of the Ohio Valley.

THE Indians never understood the benefit of combination sufficiently to resist, alone and in their own strength, the inroads of the European powers; although, in all the early epochs, they held the balance of power between them. The struggle which was at this period brewing on the western frontiers, was not only for the possession of supremacy on the Ohio, but, in fact, as became apparent in a few years, for the control of the entire Mississippi valley. It was a contest which would decide whether France or England should govern in America. The Indians were so far a party to the contest, that it was necessary for each nation to pay their court to them, and there was no surer method of acquiring their good will than by respecting their ancient mode of holding councils, and paying due reverence to their ceremonial rites and customs. To smoke a national pipe, to deliver a belt of wampum beads, to present a chief with a medal or a flag, were, in their eyes, acts of the most momentous importance. To do nothing in a hurry, to deliberate slowly, to measure, as it were, the importance of events by the time devoted to the performance of their ceremonies, were to the Indians very pleasing evidences of capacity for negotiation. When an Indian orator arose and pointed to the zenith, to the nadir, to the place of the sun and moon, and to the cardinal points, he fancied himself to be surrounded by a pantheon of supernal and spiritual influences. He loved this pomp of ceremonies, and he felt complimented to see an European official respect them. Trifles lead to success.

Light talk and frivolous manners never failed to be estimated by the old Indian sages at their true worth. They are considered as evidences of the want of sober thought and fixed purpose. It has been mentioned that the inroads of the Indians, which either preceded, or succeeded the occupation of the Ohio valley by the French, had the effect to bring Washington into that field of adventurous action. We are informed that he was but sixteen, when he first began his explorations on the Alleghany chain. Five years of manly exercise, and experience in the life of woodcraft, surveying, and exploration, had given him a shrewd insight into Indian character, and prepared

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him for further and more important trusts in a department of service, requiring, above all others, perpetual vigilance and precaution. And if, in the estimation of the Indians and the pioneers, he surpassed the others engaged with him, it was doubtless owing to the Indians' appreciation of the solidity of his character. Tanacharisson, who was the head sachem of the Mingo-Iroquois of the Ohio valley, was the presiding chief in the first council, or consultation, in which Washington took part. In fact, he was well known among the tribes, and performed, at the place of his residence, the duties of a Charge d'Affairs in modern diplomacy, as the half king, Scarooyadi, did on the Juniata, and Skilelamo on the Susquehanna. Favorably impressed, from the first, the Indian remained a firm friend of the enterprising Virginian to the day of his death.

The double interest created by the fine soil and climate of Ohio, and by apprehension of the hostility of its native tribes, strongly directed the minds of Virginians to that quarter, and, at sundry times, they despatched agents to visit the country, and report its position, resources, and the feelings of the Indians. Among these reconnoissances, those of Croghan, Gist, and Trent, constitute marked epochs in the history of Indian policy and sentiments. The result of these missions, which extended to the Wabash and the Scioto, denoted that French influence was predominant; and that the Algonquin tribes generally, were in close alliance with that power, while the Mingoes expressed friendly opinions of the English. From a remark made by a Delaware sachem to one of their agents, it appeared to be a question, not whether Indians possessed, or wished to occupy any part of the country, but simply whether the French or English should have possession of it. A year or two passed in rather fruitless efforts to obtain a better knowledge of Indian affairs in the Ohio, and in endeavors to adjust matters on a better footing. Governor Dinwiddie, at length deeming it proper to send an agent to the French authorities at the post of Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, committed the trust to Washington, whose experience on that frontier, together with his judgment and discretion, well qualified him for the task. Accompanied by a French interpreter, Washington left Williamsburg, the seat of government, on the 30th of October, 1753. He rode on horseback across the Alleghanies. At Cumberland, Mr. Gist joined him as Indian interpreter, and, at another point, a second interpreter and four experienced woodsmen were added to his cavalcade. All the rivers were so swollen, that he was compelled to swim the horses across. He reached the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers (now the site of Pittsburg) without accident, and pointed out that spot as a suitable and desirable location for a fort. In that vicinity he found a Delaware sachem, named Shingiss, who gave him directions for finding Logstown, the residence of Tanacharisson, the half king. He reached that place after sunset in the evening, but the chief was absent. He immediately sent runners to invite him to an interview, and the chief arrived at his lodge the next day. He discovered

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him to be intelligent, patriotic, and tenacious of his territorial rights. He received him with courtesy, and despatched messengers to some of the other chiefs to invite them to a council. They arrived the following day, when he laid before them the purport of his instructions from the governor of Virginia, and requested guides to conduct him to the French posts, and a safe conduct on the way. A pause then ensued. The council having deliberated formally on the matter, the half-king arose, assumed an oratorical attitude, and gave his assent, declaring that the English and themselves were one people, and that he intended to return the French belts; thus, in the usual form of Indian diplomacy, rejecting their overtures. A delay of three days was required to summon the Indians from their camps, and secure their compliance, after which Washington was furnished with the required guides and aids. He was accompanied, also, by the half-king, by Jeskakake, a Shawnee, and by another chief, named the Belt-keeper, or White Thunder. They reached the post of Venango, a distance of seventy miles, in four days. This was but an outpost of the fortress near Presque Isle. After witnessing some of the peculiar manoeuvrings and intrigues of both French and Indian diplomacy, Washington proceeded to the latter, where he was received with ceremonious politeness by the commandant, St. Pierre. The purport of these details is merely to demonstrate how the Indian character fluctuated, under the operation of two diverse sets of counsels. Tanacharisson, the Mingo sachem, remained faithful to his professions, and informed Washington of the result of a secret council with St. Pierre, in which it was decided that a present of goods should be sent to secure the good will of his village at Logstown. The entire journey was fraught with unusual peril and hardship, being performed amid the severity of winter; and its results furnish, us with a good view of Indian character, as swayed by the alternating emotions of hope and fear, and by the operation of motives of self-interest on the Indian mind. The result of the mission was, however, unsuccessful. Early in the spring of 1754 the French took possession of the point at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, dislodging a party of men engaged in the same work, under Captain Trent, of the Virginia militia, and erected Fort Du Quesne. The English had been overreached, and a fixed point established, whence to control Indian action. The spirits of the Indian allies of the French had been raised to the highest pitch, and the power of the English colonists defied.

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Chapter VI. — Nationality of the Indians in Braddock's Defeat.

CIVILIZED communities regard success as the result of superior judgment; but, with the Indians, it is the effect of an impulsive, irresistible movement, under the operation of which judgment gives place to hope, and they are incited to such infuriate action as to produce confusion in the ranks of the enemy. Fort Du Quesne had no sooner been established, than it became a centre for the direction of Indian movements in the west. Far and near they resorted to it. Feasts, dances, and the distribution of presents, were the order of the day, and the vicinity resounded with shouts and songs. The frontiers of the English colonies were speedily subjected to Indian inroads and attacks. Dinwiddie, by his tardy movements, had lost his vantage-ground, and Virginia enterprise, though directed by its best men, failed to recover its former position. The year 1754 was characterized by alarms, murders, apprehension, the formation of plans, and their failure. There was no security on the frontiers, from Carolina to Pennsylvania, nor in western New York. The Catawbas and Cherokees had not been employed to counteract the movements of the western Indians; this measure was not thought of in the zeal of the Ohio company to effect settlements, or in the efforts of the local military forces to dislodge the French. Washington defeated Jumonville by a brisk movement, displaying great enterprise and decision; but he was himself compelled to surrender to a vastly superior force, at Fort Necessity.

The year 1755 afforded but a gloomy prospect for the cause of the colonies. Never before, perhaps, had they been so boldly threatened by the combined power of the Indians and the French. The Alleghanies were the natural barriers between the east and the west. To retrieve their position in the west, and to open the way for future emigration beyond the Alleghanies, where there are, at present, fifteen new States, the British cabinet sent out two regiments of veteran troops, under the command of General Braddock, who was a proud, high-disciplined soldier, despising the very name of an Indian, and deeming him incapable of making any impression on the solid columns of a regular army. Braddock had learned the art of war on the battle-fields of Europe, and disdained all skulking and dodging, which is the real art of Indian warfare. He underrated the colonial troops and frontiersmen, not only because they were not highly disciplined, but because they had, to some extent, adopted the hunter mode of warfare. His landing at Alexandria, the glitter and parade of war which pervaded his movements,

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his councils with the colonial governors, and the wide-spread fame of the expedition, which was designed to cross the Alleghanies, filled the entire country. Braddock was clothed with the fullest powers by the king. Colonial governors waited upon him, and expectation had reached the highest pitch of excitement. At no previous period had such an army been landed in America. Among those who waited on him at Alexandria, was General William Johnson, charged by the New York colonial government with the control of Indian affairs in the Mohawk valley, and among the Iroquois. Braddock appointed him Superintendent-General of Indian affairs in America, clothed him with ample powers, and provided him with funds. Braddock completed his arrangements. Filling up his regiments with the best recruits, having an ample military chest, a well-arranged quartermaster's department, the most experienced guides and pioneers, and Washington himself as an aid in his personal staff, it is not strange that he conquered every delay, and surmounted difficulties of a semi-Alpine character, in conveying his troops and cannon over the intricate passes of the Alleghany range, and in reaching the dark and turbid, yet placid waters of the Monongahela. But it is wonderful that, after this long and laborious march, during which a passage for his platoons had been cut through forests of thick trees, tangled with brushwood, and the artillery had been sometimes lowered over steep precipices by sailors, with ropes; and, although he was aware that a wild, Arab-like enemy was shouting around him; it is wonderful that, under these circumstances, he should not have proposed to meet this subtle foe in the manner best calculated to defeat them, and that he turned a deaf ear to all the counsels of experience. Up to the fatal 9th of July, the army marched through a narrow vista, twelve feet wide, cut through a dense forest, into which the eye could scarce penetrate. But, in such a forest, it would have been strange, if eight hundred warriors, led by French commanders, and concealed behind trees, from the shelter of which they took sure and steady aim, should not, in a short time, shoot down every officer, whose cockade and sword were distinctive marks, and also quickly annihilate the common soldiers. This was, indeed, fencing against flails, and fighting against hope. The forest itself seemed to be armed; "Birnam wood" was advancing, and filled with hostile foes. In an almost incredibly short time, 700 men and their officers lay dead on the field; the advanced columns, panic-struck, commenced a flight, which nothing could check; the General himself fell, and that proud army which, in early morning had crossed the Monongahela in gallant array, with drums beating and colors flying, fled like sheep before wolves, abandoning their cannon, their ammunition, and their wounded to their implacable foes. Washington, who became the guardian angel of the remnant of the troops left on the field, had two horses shot under him, and four bullets driven through his clothes. This defeat was effected by the western and northern Indians, the

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Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, and Wyandots, who were chiefly of Algonquin lineage. The French Indians, from the lakes, were present in great force; and it has been surmised that Pontiac himself was their leader. The Iroquois were not on the field in their tribal character, although some Mingoes and Senecas were present. Johnson had urged the necessity of sending the warriors with Braddock, but they declined. The utmost result of his efforts was, that they promised not to oppose him.

It is an error to suppose that Braddock was the only one who placed no faith in the efficiency of Indian guerilla warfare. Educated military men, in all ages of our history, have been prone to undervalue the Indian system; and these opinions are held by officers at the present day. If the battle is not always to the strong, it cannot be expected that David, with his sling, will always kill Goliath; but well-drilled armies must be efficiently protected on their flanks, and an accurate adaptation of means to ends must ever be preserved in the tangled forest, which cannot be penetrated, as well as on the level plain, where the view is uninterrupted. The heavy, camp-fed, clumsy-footed soldier is never a match, in the forest, for the light, active Indian warrior. A review of our Indian history, from Braddock's day to the present era, proves that a small Indian force in ambuscade, is an equivalent for, or will overmatch, ten times its number of regular troops, who adhere to the system of fighting in platoons. The regulars are either thrown into confusion, become panic-struck, are slaughtered in large numbers, or are totally defeated. Such was the result of Colonel Harmer's attempt to ford the Miami, and of St. Clair's to penetrate the Wabash woods. General Wayne, who was like a lion, where there was an opportunity to fight, as at Stony Point, was obliged to abandon the ground on which Fort Recovery was subsequently built. During two entire years he contended against tribes of active warriors, whose fathers, nay, some among themselves, had fought against Braddock. It was not until caution had made him wise, and he attained a true knowledge of Indian wood-craft, that he finally prevailed against them, on the Miami of the Lakes. It was there that he met the Miamis, Piankashaws, and Weas, under Little Turtle, and the same leaders who had opposed Harmer and St. Clair. They were leagued with the Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, Delawares, Shawnees, and other Algonquin tribes, who, with the Wyandots, had overthrown Braddock. It is not, however, certain that, if the ambuscade so successfully and warily constructed, in a wide field of heavy grass, at the Miami rapids, had been laid in a dense forest, where horses would have been useless, the result would not have been very different.

What, but the neglect of caution, or temerity in underrating Indian prowess and

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aboriginal tactics, can be assigned for the occurrence of the dreadful massacre of Major Dade and his command, by the Seminoles?

It has been asserted, that there were but 637 Indians engaged in the action which resulted in Braddock's defeat. These consisted principally of Ottawas, Odjibwas, and Pottawattainies, from Michigan; Shawnees, from Grave Creek and the river Muskingum; Delawares from the Susquehanna; Abinakis and Caughnawagas from Canada; and Hurons, or Wyandots, from the mission of Lorette and the Montreal falls, under Athanase, a Canadian. The whole were commanded by the popular Beaujeau, who was killed early in the action. This force, including the recreant Abinakis, was, as may be seen, entirely of the Algonquin family, with the exception of the Hurons, a segregated Iroquois tribe, who had always sided with the French, and a few "scattered warriors from the Six Nations." To this force were added 146 Canadian militia, and 72 regular troops, who fought according to the Indian mode. It is impossible that such a defeat could have occurred under ordinary circumstances; and the fact conclusively attests the efficacy of an Indian auxiliary force as a vanguard to regular troops, in a wild forest country, where they can screen themselves from observation, and bid defiance to the death-dealing artillery, or the attacks of dragoons. No event in American military annals cast such a blight on American hopes, as this defeat. After the lapse of a full century, a thrill of horror still creeps through the veins at the recital.

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Chapter VII. — The Iroquois Policy Favors the English.

THE sachem commissioner, Tanacharisson, and his successor, Scarooyadi, had evinced a firm friendship for the English on the Ohio border, in conformity with the general policy of the New York Iroquois tribes, while they at the same time freely condemned the English for their tardy movements, and their non-adoption of the Indian mode of warfare.

The ultimate consequences of the defeat on the Monongahela were most disastrous. Rumor rapidly disseminated the news in every direction, and all the colonies felt the effects of the blow. The dread of Indian massacres disturbed the quiet of every hamlet; nor was their alarm without due foundation. A band of 150 savages crossed the Alleghanies, and ravaged the frontiers of Virginia and Maryland. Foremost in these forays were the Delawares, under Shingiss, whose ire appeared to have received an additional stimulus from the recent triumph of the Gallic-Indian forces. The Delawares had long felt the wrong which they suffered in being driven from the banks of the Delaware and the Susquehanna, although it was primarily owing to their ancient enemies and conquerors, the Iroquois, whose policy had ever been a word and a blow. The Shawnees, friends and relatives of the Delawares, had been, from the first, a revengeful, warlike, roving people. Originating in the extreme south, they had flitted over half the continent, fighting with every tribe they encountered, until they reached the extreme shores of Lake Erie, where, under the ominous name of Satanas, they were defeated by the Iroquois, and thence fled to the Delaware, and subsequently to the Ohio valley. From an early period they were avowed enemies of the colonies, and this enmity never ceased, until after the overthrow, in 1814, of the wide-spread conspiracy of Tecumseh. Both tribes, in lineage, as well as in language, were Algonquins, and adopted their policy; from first to last being cruel enemies in war, in peace, treacherous friends.

While the gloom caused by the defeat of Braddock, and the evidences of Indian hostility, which assumed a tangible shape during the autumn and winter of 1753, still

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hung like a cloud on the western frontier, an auspicious sign appeared in the East. The Iroquois threw the weight of their influence in the English scale. It having been a part of the original plan of the campaign to take Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, this enterprise was entrusted to General William Johnson, an officer of the New York militia, whose settlement in the Mohawk valley, and influence with the Indians, have been previously mentioned. Johnson was placed in command of 5000 or 6000 New York and New England militia, and a chosen body of Mohawk warriors under Soiengarahta, locally called King Hendrick. After laying the foundations of Fort Edward, he proceeded to the southern shores of Lake Sacramento, which he re-named Lake George, in compliment to the reigning house of Hanover. He there located his camp in such a manner as to have the lake in his rear, a breastwork of felled trees in front, and some impassable low grounds, or swamps, on his flanks. In the intervals of his hastily-constructed breastworks, he planted some heavy pieces of ordnance. The Count de Deiskau, who opposed him, was a brave, dashing officer, possessing great spirit and strength of purpose, who, had he led men of similar metal, would have readily taken the English camp. He had left Crown Point to attack the new fort, Edward, with 3000 men, of whom 200 were drilled grenadiers, and 800 Canadians. He had also some 700 Algonquin Indians, of various tribes. Being apprised by his scouts, that the enemy was within the distance of a few miles, Johnson dispatched Colonel Williams, with 300 men, to reconnoitre. This brought on an action; the militia retreating, pursued by the entire force of howling Indians; and, in their rear, Deiskau appeared at the head of his compact and disciplined troops. The action was, at first, carried on at long range, and confined to rattling volleys of small arms. Deiskau then advanced with his grenadiers, and maintained a brave, but fruitless contest; the English artillery made such great havoc in his ranks, that finally the fire of the French began to slacken, and they fled in confusion. Deiskau was wounded, and killed, during the retreat. Soiengarahta, who, with his Mohawks, had fought valiantly outside the works, also fell. Soiengarahta was a chief of high standing among the Mohawks, of approved wisdom, undoubted intrepidity, and a firm friend of the English. He had visited England, and had been presented at court, where the annexed portrait of him was taken. He united great amenity of manners, dignity of bearing, and mild features, to the most determined courage and energy. He led 200 Mohawks, who are described by the gazettes of the day, to have, on this occasion, "fought like lions." This victory aroused the spirits of the colonies, and occasioned a feeling of joy far above its real merits or importance. Johnson was created a knight baronet, and voted Å5000 by the English Parliament. He was, however, censured for not pursuing the enemy and capturing Crown Point; but he contented himself with building Fort William Henry, on the site of his camp.

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Chapter VIII. — Taking of Forth William Henry, on Lake George, and the Plunder and Murder of Prisoners by the French Indians, Contrary to the Terms of Capitulation.

A SLIGHT review of events will enable us to appreciate the existing position of affairs. The colonists struggled on, through periods of terror which followed in close succession. The defeat of Braddock, by an Indian ambuscade, was still fresh in the memory of all, not a twelvemonth having elapsed, when the announcement of the disastrous capture of Fort William Henry rang through the colonies with startling effect. In 1757, Montcalm, the active Governor-General of Canada, crossed Lake Champlain, the Andiatora of the Iroquois, with a reputed force of 4000 or 5000 men, accompanied by a very large body of diverse tribes of northern and western Indians, of the Algonquin family, collected from the great lakes, and from the valley of the St. Lawrence. A person present when this force approached the fort, represents Lake George to have been entirely covered with batteaux and canoes, which, combined with their banners and music, formed a scene of military display and magnificence, heightened by the wild and picturesque brilliance of the Indian costume, that has seldom been equalled.

The soldiers anxiously gazed over the walls of the fort at the approaching force, as at a panorama. During five days the fort was defended with intrepidity, by Colonel Munro, who had a garrison of 500 regular troops, supported by a body of provincials. It was closely besieged, while the Indians, encamped on the surrounding fields, made the forest ring with their shouts and war songs, and illuminated the obscurity of night with their numerous camp-fires. About 3000 provincials, who were encamped outside the fort, took refuge within the works, as soon as the enemy arrived. The siege was stoutly maintained, a hope being entertained that reinforcements, which had been demanded, would arrive from Fort Edward. But, unfortunately, a letter from General Webb, the commandant of the latter post, apprising Munro that no reinforcement could be sent, and advising him to surrender, fell into the hands of Montcalm's Indians; and, with this letter in his possession, Montcalm summoned the garrison to surrender.

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One of the terms of the capitulation was that the army should march out with their arms, but without ammunition, and, with all the camp followers, should have a safe-conduct to Fort Edward. Fatal error! The wolves were to behold their prey and not gloat.

Circumstances would seem to indicate, that not only Braddock, but the British officers generally, were slow in obtaining a knowledge of the character of the Indians in time of war; when they are governed by hopes of plunder and impulse; the desire to obtain scalps and booty being the great and only motive which ever induces them to accompany European armies, and force alone exercising any restraint upon their fiendish instincts. No sooner had the English columns marched out of the gates, and reached the plain, than the Indians began to plunder them of their effects, and, finally, to strip both officers and men of their clothing. Resistance was followed by blows, and many, stark naked, were glad to escape with their lives. In vain did the troops, destitute of ammunition, claim protection from this outrage. Colonel Munro, after the pillage commenced, took shelter in the fort, and demanded that the terms of the capitulation should be enforced. But the French, who were powerless, have been blamed, perhaps justly, for not efficiently complying with their engagements; yet, it is no easy matter to restrain marauding Indians. It has been estimated, that a large number of the force which surrendered on this occasion, perished subsequently; although it is probable, that the fears of an officer, who narrowly escaped from this scene of pillage, far exceeded his capacity of cool judgment. His statements of the carnage are, certainly, not sustained by any historical authority to which we have had access.

Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey, in a letter, written August 24, 1757, observes: — "Montcalm, under his own eyes, and in the face of about 3000 regular troops, suffered the Indians to rob and strip them, officers as well as men, of all they had, and left most of them naked."

To strip the clothes from a man's back, and not to cleave his head with the tomahawk, was remarkable forbearance on the part of the Indians.

The nation that employs Indians in war, places itself in the position of a person who taps a broad lake, leading the waters, by a little stream, through a sand-bank. When the current swells, he cannot control it, and the augmented flood sweeps everything before it.

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Chapter IX. — State of Indian Affairs in the Interior, during the Period Between the Defeat of Deiskau, and the Capture of Fort du Quesne.

AFTER the defeat of Braddock, the British interest with the Indians rapidly declined. As Indians judge alone from appearances, it was not an easy task to convince them that the English power had not permanently failed. Johnson, who had, in the spring of 1755, been appointed by Braddock the Superintendent-General of British Indian affairs, began his new duties as soon as he reached New York, and labored earnestly to restore confidence among the Iroquois and Algonquin tribes. No one can carefully examine the records of his proceedings without being convinced that he labored zealously. He was thoroughly acquainted with the geography of the country, as also with the Indian power and resources in America, from north to south, and as intimately conversant with the true character of the aborigines. In his speeches, he stripped them of their guises, laid bare their secret impulses, and pointed out to them their interests in clear and bold terms. During sixty years, commencing with the foundation of New Orleans, in 1699, the French influence among the Indians had been on the increase. The noble enterprise of La Salle, and his followers, who passed through the great lakes, and down the Mississippi, singing as they went; the gay and sprightly manners of the French; their ready adaptiveness to a nomadic course of life, replete with novelty and breathing the spirit of personal independence; together with their entire political and religious policy, impressed the Indians with almost indelible emotions of pleasure and approbation. The French required no cessions of land, built no factories, traded with them in a free and easy way, and did not fill the Indian mind with the idea of the coming of a people who, by the progressive inroads of labor and letters, would eventually sweep them from the earth. Whatever was the cause, certainly no other European nation ever acquired such an ample and wide-spread influence over them.

Immediately after returning from Alexandria, Sir William Johnson assembled a very

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large number of Indians, some accounts say 1200, at his place on the Mohawk, to whom he communicated the fact of his new appointment. He made them offers in this assembly, for the purpose of restoring their lost confidence in the English, and detach them from the French interests, to inspire them with a just estimation of the power of Britain, and to interest them in the British cause — objects in which he, by perseverance, succeeded. He eloquently plead for their assent to his proposal to send a body of warriors with General Braddock, but in this he was unsuccessful. Good diplomatists at all times, they met him by a declaration that the governor of Virginia, who was not a favorite, had, as in the case of the Ohio company, intruded on their lands in the Ohio valley, where their sachem, Tanacharisson, resided; and that it was a suddenly originated proposal, which required deliberation. They also, for reasons stated, declined accompanying General Shirley, to Oswego; but agreed to assist him in the contemplated attack on Crown Point, to the command of the forces detailed for which purpose he had been appointed. The latter promise was promptly fulfilled, and, at the defeat of Deiskau, on the banks of Lake George, the Mohawks, under Hendrick, acquitted themselves in such a manner as to gain a high reputation.

The victory at Lake George was the turning point in the ascendency of the British influence with the Iroquois and their allies, which had been at a very low ebb at the commencement of the French war, in 1744. The fame which followed this victory aided greatly in raising Johnson in the estimation of the Indians, and from this date the Indian political horizon began to brighten. In a letter to the Lords of Trade, dated September 28, 1757, Johnson points out their true policy, while he warns them of the deep-rooted dislike which the Indians entertained against the reckless conduct of the colonial patentees, who had made the encroachments on their lands, of which the Indians complain. "By presents and management, we may be able to keep some little interest yet alive, and induce some nations to a course of neutrality; but I am apprehensive that more expense, speeches and promises (so often repeated and so little regarded), will never be able to effect a favorable revolution in our Indian interests, and deprive the French of the advantages they have over us by their Indian alliances. I would be understood, my Lords, that there is no alternative, by which we may possibly avail ourselves, so as to keep an even hand with the Indians, — BUT REDUCING THE FRENCH TO OUR TERMS, WOULD ENABLE US TO GIVE LAW TO THE INDIANS."

This became the British policy; belts and speeches were inadequate to the result. It was a contest between England and France, which must be settled, and the nation that gained it would control the Indians. The triumph at Lake George, in which action Soiengarahta lost his life, seemed to presage events which were soon to transpire. The

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taking of Fort William Henry, and the conduct of Montcalm, only gave a new impulse to the vigor with which England prepared to contest the supremacy.

No one understood better than Johnson the position of the two parties contending for the Indian sway, and, in a very general council, convened at his Hall on the Mohawk, April 19, 1767, at which the Shawnees, and other Algonquin tribes, as well as the Iroquois, were present, he handled the French without gloves.

"Brethren, listen, and I will tell you the difference between the English and French. The English desire and labor to unite all Indians into one general bond of brotherly love and national interest. The French endeavor to divide the Indians and stir up war and contention amongst them. Those who intend to destroy or enslave any people or nation, will first endeavor to divide them. This you and all the Indians upon this continent know has always been, and continues to be, the endeavors of the French. But though this is a fact which I think all the Indians must certainly see, yet the French have found means, somehow or other, so to bewitch their understandings, as to make many of them believe they love the Indians, and mean well towards them. 'Tis very strange, brethren, that any one man, much more any number of men, who are not either mad or drunk, can believe that stirring up brethren to spill each other's blood, dividing them from one another, and making parties among them, are proofs of love, and marks of friendly design towards them. Not less unaccountable is it, brethren, that the French should be able to persuade the Indians, that building forts in the middle of their country and hunting-grounds, is for their interest and protection. I tell you, brethren, and I warn you, that whatever good words the French may give you, how much soever they may now smile upon you, whatever presents they may now make you, your chains are in their pockets, and when their designs are ripe for execution, they will take the axe out of their bosom and strike it into your heads. But this they know they cannot do until you have broken the Covenant Chain with your brethren, the English, and taken up the axe against them. 'Tis for this reason the French are always endeavoring, by lies, by presents, by promises, to stir up all Indians to fall upon the English settlements, and destroy their best friends and faithful brethren; and many Indians have been so wicked and so foolish, as, in spite of treaties and ancient friendship, to become the dogs of the French, and come and go as they commanded them.

"Brethren, if the Indians do not return to their senses, they will see and feel when it is too late, that they have ruined themselves, enslaved their posterity, and lost their country. They will find their country fortified by the French, not against the English, but against the Indians themselves.

"Brethren, what I have said, and am going to say, I say not to you only, but to all Indians; and I desire you will, with this belt, make it known amongst all the nations you have any acquaintance or connections with.

"Tell them, from me, to look at the French forts, built, and building through the

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middle of their country, and on their best hunting lands. Let them look at the French flags, flying in their forts at all the great lakes, along the great rivers, in order to oblige them to trade with the French only, sell their skins, and take goods for them at what prices the French please to put on them. And it is a thing well known to all Indians, that the French cannot sell them goods near as cheap as the English can, nor in such assortments and plenty."

To renew the attempt of Braddock had been the original plan of General Shirley, but the following year elapsed in merely concerting measures. The plan of the campaign of 1758, contemplated the reduction of Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, and of Fort Du Quesne, on the Ohio. General Abercrombie, who undertook the former, aided by a large army, suffered a repulse. Lord Howe fell while leading an attack, and when, in a few days, it was renewed against an impregnable breastwork of horizontal trees, they were compelled to retreat to Fort Edward. The Mohawks who were present at this assault, looked on with amazement at this exhibition of heroic but injudicious bravery. As an episode to this siege, Colonel Bradstreet proceeded by a sudden march to Oswego, with the Iroquois in his train, and crossing Lake Ontario in batteaux, surprised and took Fort Frontenac, capturing a large amount of supplies, as well as arms, and returned triumphantly.

The reduction of Fort Du Quesne was intrusted to General Forbes. He marched from Philadelphia, with an army of 5800 regulars and provincials, and a commissary and quartermaster's force of 1000 wagoners. Washington joined him at Fort Cumberland, with his regiment of Virginians. At Raystown, Forbes sent Colonel Bouquet forward with 2000 men; but, in a spirit of confidence, Bouquet dispatched 800 of this force, under Colonel Grant, to make observations in advance. The latter commander was surprised on hills overlooking the fort, by M. Aubrey, with 700 or 800 Frenchmen, and an unnumbered force of Indians, his troops defeated and dreadfully slaughtered. Retreating to Bouquet's position, with the baggage, the camp was attacked with great fury and obstinacy, but by a ruse that officer sustained himself, and retreated successfully with his forces, after much severe fighting and many casualties. The loss at Grant's defeat, was numerically greater in proportion to those engaged, than was sustained at Braddock's. Thirty-five officers were killed or wounded. The prisoners taken by the Indians, served, as it were, to surfeit their barbarity and cruelty, and deter them from proceeding further, for, after reaching Du Quesne, they soon dispersed, and deserted the fort. On the arrival of General Forbes, the combined force moved on with regularity, exciting apprehension and alarm. On the 24th of November, the army reached, and encamped at, Turtle Creek, within twelve miles of the fort.

No Indians were descried by the scouts, and the night passed away without alarm. On the 25th, at an early hour, the army was put in motion, and, as the advance-guard approached the location of the fort, they observed large columns of smoke, and, at intervals, heard heavy explosions. The indications could not be mistaken. The fort

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had been abandoned after being set on fire — its artillery being embarked for the Illinois, and its infantry for Lake Erie. The defeat of Grant, and the prisoners captured, had proved an escape valve for Indian barbarity. After practising the most inhuman tortures upon the prisoners, whose bleached skeletons lined the approach to the fort, and after rioting in debauch, they had, with their usual impatience, returned to their forest homes, leaving General Forbes to advance unmolested, and abandoning De Legneris, the French commander. On the 25th, the column advanced in force, and the British flag was triumphantly planted on the fort by General Forbes, who bestowed upon it the name of the celebrated British minister, Pitt. The western line of the colonial frontiers was thus advanced to the river Ohio. From this period, Indian warfare found its principal field of development west of, and beyond that border, truly called the River of the Beautiful, by the Indian tribes.

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Chapter X. — The Iroquois Abandon their Neutral Position in the War Between the English and French.

AT the victory obtained on Lake George, in 1755, a year so disastrous to the British army, the Mohawks alone, of the six Iroquois cantons, were present, with Johnson, their beloved Warraghiyagay, and two hundred warriors, headed by the great Soiengarahta. A far greater force had been expected from, and promised by, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Senecas; but, owing to the influence of General Shirley, whose act appears to have been dictated by no higher motive than personal envy of Johnson's rising power with that people, these tribes withheld their respective quotas of warriors. A vacillating and indecisive policy had been pursued by them for some years, and while they were, to use symbolic language, in the chain of friendship with the English, and held the other tribes in check, in conformity with their own and the British interests, they were lukewarm in taking the field as the auxiliaries of the English armies. Johnson had endeavored, soon after his return from his conference with Braddock, to induce a body of the confederates to cross the Alleghanies with that officer; but they evaded the proposal. Cherishing, from ancient times, an ill feeling towards Assaragoa, their name for the Governor of Virginia, they regarded Braddock's advance as a Virginia movement. They deemed the Virginians land robbers, who coveted the Ohio valley; and they were sufficiently good diplomatists to bring forward several weighty considerations on the subject. It happened, while this negotiation was pending, that they furnished Johnson with messengers to the authorities at Fort Cumberland. These Indian runners were there informed that a party of six of the warriors sent out by the Mohawks against the Catabas, had all been killed. This news exercised such a bad effect on the council, that they neither promised nor furnished aid to Braddock, although they did not join the Indian forces on the Ohio to oppose him. Not a man of their people, who bore the honored title of Mingoes, was in the battle of the Monongahela. Tanacharisson, called the Half-King, and Scarooyadi, his successor, evinced throughout a firm friendship for the English, first locally pledged to Washington, during his perilous journey, in 1753.

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The Iroquois had, from the remotest antiquity, enjoyed the reputation of eloquent orators, and expert diplomatists. But Johnson was not a man to be dazzled by words and speeches, while the weightier matter of action was in abeyance. In a general conference with the Onondaga and more westerly tribes, held June 16th, 1757, nearly two years subsequent to his victory on Lake George, in which the Mohawks had so nobly supported him, he alluded to this matter, and proceeded to dispose of some of their diplomatic subterfuges.

"Brethren, you tell me the reason you did not make use of the hatchet I sharpened for you last summer, when I was at Onondaga, and at which time I also painted and feathered your warriors for action, was, because you found yourselves in danger from the Missisagas, and, therefore, were obliged to let my hatchet lay by you, and take care of yourselves.

"Brethren. This is the first time I have heard the Missisagas were your enemies, and I am surprised how it came about. It is but two years ago, at the great meeting here, that you brought down the chief man amongst the Missisagas, and introduced him to me as your great friend and ally, and told me that he and his people were determined to follow the example of the Five Nations. You then desired I would treat and consider him accordingly, which I did, and gave him presents to his satisfaction, and he took belts from me to his people. For what reason, therefore, you think yourselves in danger from the Missisagas, I cannot comprehend, unless it is from some misunderstanding, which, I hear, happened in the woods, some few days ago, between some of your people and them.

"Brethren, another reason you give me for your inactivity is, that you are few in number, and you daily hear yourselves threatened by your enemies. As to your numbers, had you taken my advice, given you many years ago, and often repeated, you might now have been a strong people. I should be glad to know who these enemies are, and what grounds you have for these fears.

"Brethren, you say that the English would first make a trial against their enemies, and that, if we found we could not do without you, that then we would call on you for your assistance. I have looked over the records, where all public speeches and business with the Nations are faithfully wrote down, and I find no such thing there, and I am very positive you must be mistaken; for, from the first meeting I had with the Six Nations, after my return from Virginia, to this day, I have been constantly calling and exhorting them, as children of the Great King of England, as brothers and allies to the English, to join and assist His Majesty's arms against our common enemy, the French; and the Six Nations have as frequently assured me, they would act with us, and for us; and, you must know, you have a great number of belts from me on this subject, now in your possession. You tell me, though you don't know from what quarter, that you expect, in a few months, to be attacked by some enemy, and that, therefore, you think your own preservation requires you to stay at home, and be on

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your guard. What foundation you have for all these fears, so lately come upon you, you have not thought proper to inform me, and, therefore, I am at a loss about it, especially as I understand several parties of your young men are gone a fighting to the southward. Formerly, you told rne that, if you had forts built at your towns, and some men to garrison them, you might then go to war with your brethren, the English, and not be afraid of your old men, your wives and children, during your absence. These forts, though very expensive to the King, your Father, were accordingly built for you, and, if you had applied, you might have had men to garrison them. Brethren, your conduct will, in my opinion, appear very ungrateful, and your reasonings very inconsistent to the King, your Father, and to all your brethren, the English, when they come to their knowledge, as they soon will do; wherefore I would advise you to reconsider the matter, and take it into your most serious consideration.

"Brethren. You say Captain Montour and Captain Butler brought you a message in my name, that I expected you would use the hatchet I had put in your hands against the French; that the message was laid before the council of Onondaga, who said they did not expect such a message from you, as the Covenant Chain was for the common safety, both of us and you, and that, if you were to leave your country unguarded, it might end in your destruction.

"Brethren. It is certain the Covenant Chain was made for our common good and safety, and it is well known to you all that it speaks in this manner: That the English and the Six Nations shall consider themselves as one flesh and blood, and that, whenever any enemy shall hurt the one, the other is to feel it and avenge it as if done to himself. Have not the French hurt us? Is not their axe in our heads? Are they not daily killing and taking our people away? Have not some of your nations, both to the southward and northward, joined the French against us? Nay, some of you, by your own confession, have gone out by yourselves, and struck the English. Have you not now several of our people prisoners amongst you, whom you conceal from me? Have you not, lastly, suffered the Swegachie Indians to come through your habitations, and take one of our people from the German Flats? Let me ask you now if all this is behaving like brethren, and whether you ought not to be ashamed when you put us in mind of the Covenant Chain? Surely you dream, or think I have forgot the old agreement between us, when you talk in this manner. I take you by the head, and rouse you from your lethargy, and bring you to your senses.

"Brethren. You say you must take care of yourselves, and not leave your country unguarded. When our brother's house is on fire, will another brother look quietly on, smoke his pipe at his own door, and say he can't help him, because, perhaps, his own house may take fire? Does the Covenant Chain speak this language? Did your forefathers talk after this manner? Did I talk so to you when the Onondagas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras sent me word, last year, that they expected the enemy were coming upon them? Did not I and your brethren run through the ice and snow, at two or

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three different times, to their assistance? Where, and who, are those enemies you so much dread? Let us know, do you want our assistance? if you are in danger, we know the Covenant Chain, and will be ready to defend or die with you. We won't tell you, make one trial by yourselves, and that we must stay home, and take care of our own preservation.

"You always tell me 'tis for our mutual interest you go so often to Canada; I am apt to think you have brought these alarms and these fears with you from thence.

"Brethren. I must tell you, that my orders from the King, your Father, are, to take care of and supply with necessaries such good and faithful Indians as will go out and fight for him and his people; and that such and their families, only, has he empowered me to arm, clothe, and provide for, which I shall continue to do to all such as will go out upon service; and those, I dare say, will, in the end, find they have acted more for their honor and interest, than those who stay at home, and smoke their pipes.

"Brethren. You have assured me, that it is the unanimous resolution of the Five Nations to hold fast the ancient Covenant Chain, made by our forefathers and yours. Brethren, our end of this chain is bright and strong, and we shall not be the first to let it go; but it seems to me that your end is grown very rusty, and, without great care, will be in danger of being eaten through, which I should be very sorry to see, as it would be the means, also, of extinguishing the fire here, and oversetting the Tree of Shelter."

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Chapter XI. — Close of the War by the Conquest of Canada.

IT was the policy of the British colonial government, in establishing a general and central superintendency at Fort Johnson, on the Mohawk river, not only to attach the Six Nations strongly to its interests, but to govern the entire Indian country through their extensive influence over the other groups of tribes. This general policy had been understood and carried out by the colonial governors of New York, from the beginning of the century, and, indeed, dates back to the Dutch, as it was pursued by them in 1664. Trade was principally conducted at the central point, Albany, but traders were allowed to visit remote places. The French traders, from Canada, obtained their best supplies from Albany, and the intercourse thus established upon, and cemented by, a triple interest — that of the tribes, the merchants, and the governing power — became a very firm bond of union, and one that gained strength by the lapse of time. The metals, woollens, and other articles of real value, which they received in exchange for their furs, were so much superior to the products of the rude arts Hudson found in their possession in 1609, that it is doubtful even, whether at this period, many remembered that the Iroquois had ever used stone knives, axes, and pipes; made fishhooks of bones, awls of deer's horns, or cooking pots out of clay.

But, although a trade so mutually beneficial established a firm friendship, and the growth of every decade of the colonies added to its strength, yet it was not, in fact, until the abolition of the power of the Indian Commissioners, at Albany, who were frequently traders themselves, and the transfer of the superintendency of Indian affairs to the hands of Johnson, that an elevated and true national tone was given to the system. When Johnson was placed in the possession of power, he visited their remotest villages and castles, and built stockades in each of their towns, to serve as places of refuge if suddenly attacked. In his anxiety to control the Algonquins, and the Dionondades, or Quaghtagies, he had visited Detroit, and his agents had scoured the Illinois, the Miami, the Wabash and the Ohio, before the French built Fort

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Du Quesne. When he could send them messages by the power of the king, or speak to them in his council-room, with the voice of a king, he had, also, as we may readily perceive from the records, published at this late day, the judgment, firmness, and prudence of a king. No one, it would seem, could be better adapted to give solid advice to the Indians of all the tribes.

Johnson did not limit his attentions to the Six Nations. After the defeat of Braddock, the entire frontier line of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, was left unprotected. Invasion, rapine, and murder, were the common inflictions, under which groaned the entire interior country, from the Ohio to the Susquehanna; and not a farm could be settled, or a team driven on the road, without incurring the risk of death, or captivity. These murders having been chiefly attributed to the Shawnees, and Delawares, who were still located on the sources of the Susquehanna, Johnson employed the Iroquois, who, from an early period, exacted allegiance from them as a conquered people, to summon their chiefs before him. A delegation of the principal men of these tribes attended in his council early in the spring of 1758, to whom he gave a detail of the acts complained of, placing them before them in their just light, and forewarning them of the inevitable consequences which would result from a repetition of such nefarious acts, and that, not only Pennsylvania and Maryland, but all the neighboring colonies would be aroused against them. At this council, a delegation of Nanticokes, Conoys, and Mohikanders attended, who informed him that they lived at Otsiningo, on the Susquehanna, where his messengers would always find them.

Addressing these nomadic members of the disintegrated and fast-decaying Algonquin group, as he did the Iroquois in the full strength of their confederacy, Johnson adopted a line of argument and diplomacy founded on high principles of national polity, and guided by a true estimate of the Indian character. He frequently moved their sympathy by an Indian symbol, where an argument would have failed. All causes of disaffection, whether arising from questions of trade, the encroachments of settlers, inhuman murders, or from any other of the irregularities so common in the Indian country, were handled by him with calm judgment; and good counsels, and the most efficient practical remedies, through the means of agents, presents, and money, were judiciously dispensed.

The year 1759 was a brilliant period for the British arms. Braddock, Loudoun, Shirley, and Abercrombie, had, respectively, exercised their brief authority as commanders of the British forces in America, and passed from the stage of action, leaving a clear field for the induction of a new military policy. Amherst, if not surpassing his predecessors in talent and energy, was, at least, more fortunate in the disposition of his forces, more successful in the execution of his plans, and especially so in the

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election of his generals. The military spirit of the British nation was roused; its means were ample; and its commanders men of the highest capacity. France was about to be subjected to a combined attack on all her strongholds, which would surpass anything previously attempted. The colonial struggle, which had been protracted through a century and a half, was about to terminate. The first successful onset was made on Niagara, which was regularly besieged by General Prideaux, who was killed in one of the trenches, while encouraging his men to more active exertions. Through this casualty Sir William Johnson succeeded to the chief command, and vigorously prosecuted the plans of his predecessor. Learning that reinforcements, accompanied by a body of Indians from the lakes, had entered the Niagara valley, and were inarching to the relief of the fort, he sent against them a detachment of troops, together with a large force of Iroquois, who valiantly met and defeated the enemy. He then summoned the garrison to surrender, which opened the gates of the fort on the 20th of July. Within a week from this time, Louisburg, which had been invested by Admiral Boscawen, succumbed to the military prowess and heroism of General Wolfe, who, having been promoted for his gallantry in this siege, ascended the St. Lawrence, and by a series of masterly movements, conducted with great intrepidity, captured Quebec, losing his own life on the plains of Abraham, where, also, ebbed out that of his brave and able foe, Montcalm. The city surrendered on the 13th of September. De Levi, from the opposite point of the river, vainly attempted its recovery. In the spring of 1760, General Murray followed De Levi up the valley of the St. Lawrence to Montreal, and effected a landing at the lower part of the island, while General Arnherst and a large regular force, together with Sir William Johnson and his Iroquois, disembarked at La Chine. The troops on the island made no resistance, and, with its conquest that of Canada was completed. Its retention by the English was one of the chief results of the treaty of peace, soon after concluded between France and England. The terms of the capitulation included the smaller posts of Le Boeuf, Detroit, and Michilimackinac, which were surrendered in the year 1761.

235 Section Twelfth. — Period Intervening from the Conquest of Canada to the Commencement of the American Revoloution.

Chapter I. — Changes in the Relations of the Indian Tribes.

THE ensuing fifteen years of Indian history are crowded with the records of interesting events. The great question among the Indian tribes had been, "Is England or France to rule?" In a memorial to the States-General of Holland, dated October 12th, 1649, it is quaintly said: "The Indians are of little consequence." Whichever power prevailed was destined to rule them, and the controversy was now drawing to a close. As the termination of the struggle approached, the agents of the government had lost their patience.

"Be not any longer wheedled, and blindfolded, and imposed on," said Sir William Johnson to the Iroquois, "by the artful speeches of the French; for their tongues are full of deceit. Do not imagine the fine clothes, &c., they give you, is out of love or regard for you; no, they are only as a bait to catch a fish; they mean to enslave you thereby, and entail that curse upon you; and your children after you will have reason to repent the day you begot them; be assured, they are your inveterate and implacable enemies, and only wish for a difference to arise between you and us, that they might pot you all out of their way, by cutting you from the face of the earth."

Champlain founded the city of Quebec in 1608, adopting the Algonquin catch-word,

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Kebik, "take care of the rock," as the appellative for the nucleus of the future empire of the French. One hundred and fifty-two years, marked by continual strifes and negotiations, plots and counterplots, battles and massacres, all having for their object supremacy over the Indian tribes, had now passed away. Wolfe and Montcalm were both dead. The empire of New France, reaching from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, would, thenceforth, only have a place on the pages of history. But had the Indians derived any advantage from the contest? Had they, in fact, struggled for any definite position, or had they only fought on the strongest side, anticipating better usage, more lucrative trade, greater kindness, or more even-handed justice, from one party, than was to be obtained from the other? Was this hope well defined and permanent, or did it fluctuate with every change of fortune, with the prowess of every warlike, or with the tact of every civic, character who trod the field? Did they not vacillate with every wind, being steady only in the preservation of their chameleon-like character, true when faithfulness was their only, or supposed, interest, and false or treacherous when, as frequently happened, the current of success changed?

Two prominent genera of Indian tribes existed in the north and west from the earliest settlement of the colonies, namely, the Algonquins and the Iroquois. The Algonquins trusted to the French to enable them to prevent the English from occupying their lands. The Iroquois looked to the English for aid to keep the French off their possessions. When, after the long struggle was over, and the English finally prevailed, the Indian allies of the French could hardly realize the fact. They did not think the king of France would give up the contest, after having built so many forts, and fought so many battles to maintain his position. They discovered, however, that the French had been defeated, and they, at length, became aware that, with their overthrow, the Indian power in America had also departed. The tribes of the far west and north were required to give their assent to what was done, which they did grudgingly. The name of SAGANOSH had been so long scouted by them, that it appeared to be a great hardship to succumb to the English. NADOWA, the Algonquin name for Iroquois, had also, from the earliest times, been a word of fearful import to the western Indians, and their shout was sufficient to make the warriors of the strongest villages fly to arms, while their families hid in swamps and fastnesses. Both the English and the Iroquois were now in the ascendant.

In a review of the history of this period, it will be found that nine-tenths of the western Indians were in the French interest. The Shawnees, ever, during their nomadic state, a vengeful, restless, perfidious, and cruel people, had left central Pennsylvania, as early as 1755-9, in company with, or preceding the Delawares. After the defeat of Braddock, and down to the close of Wayne's war, in 1793, their tracks, in the Ohio valley, had been marked with blood. The Delawares, during the year 1744, and

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subsequently, were, in truth, driven from central Pennsylvania, not by the Quakers, but by the fierce and indomitable Celtic and Saxon elements. Unfortunately for this people, they had the reputation of siding with the French. After the massacre of Conastoga, the Iroquois, who had once held sway over the whole course of the Susquehanna, fled back to Oneida, and other kindred cantons. That portion of the western Iroquois who bore the name of Mingoes, and were once under the rule of Tanacharisson, the half-king, and, subsequently, of Scarooyadi, were suspected of, and charged with, unfriendliness, after the stand taken by Logan. The numerous Miamies, Piankashaws, and Weas of the Wabash, were, ab initio, friendly to the French. The Wyandots, or Hurons, of Sandusky and Detroit, who had been driven out by the Iroquois with great fury, and who took shelter among the French and the French Indians, had always been hostile to the English colonies. The numerous and wide-spread family of the Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawattamies, had exerted a very varied influence on the English frontiers.

Turning our inquiries to the Illinois tribes, had they not, from the remotest times, found their worst foes in the Iroquois? For this information, consult La Salle and Marquette. The Peorias, the Cahokias, and the Kaskaskias, had, from the first discovery of the country, dealt with French traders, and were thought to be imbued with French principles. The Winnebagoes of Green Bay, representing the bold prairie tribes of the Dakotah stock, west of the Mississippi, at no period were not the friends of the French. Intimate relations had been maintained with the Kickapoos, and with the wandering tribes of the Maskigoes, by the French missionaries and traders. Among all the Algonquin tribes, the Foxes and the Sauks, who had, in 1712, assailed the French fort at Detroit, were the only enemies of the French; and they, previous to the conquest of Canada, had been driven to the Fox river of Wisconsin. On the west, the French were in alliance with the Osages, Missouries, Kansas, Quappas, and Caddoes; and, on the south, with the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Muscogees.

All the necessary arrangements for taking possession of the military posts lately occupied by the French, were promptly and efficiently made by General Amherst. Niagara having been garrisoned from the time of the conquest, Captain Rodgers was sent thence to Detroit, in 1761. This detachment was followed by Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent-General of Indian affairs, who placed the intercourse with the Indians on a proper footing. Rodgers afterwards proceeded to Michilimackinac, where his proceedings subjected him to severe censure. Forts Chartres, Vincennes, Presque Isle, and the other minor posts, were garrisoned by English troops. The Indians were still numerous, although they had suffered greatly in the war. The Indian trade yet required arrangement, and the commanding officers of these isolated western posts, at all times had far more need of the counsels of wisdom, than of military strength, and required more skill in the arts of Indian diplomacy, than in the active duties of the field.

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Chapter II. — War with the Cherokees.

1760.

While these fundamental changes were taking place in the relations and prospects of the northern tribes, those of the south remained quiescent, relying for security on the power of the French. The Cherokees, at that time, occupied the interior of South Carolina, extending from the head waters of the Savannah, and its principal branch, the Keowee, across the Appalachian chain to the Tennessee, then called the Cherokee river. Either instigated by wrong counsels, or indulging their natural proclivities for rapine and murder, these Indians had comitted several outrages on the frontier settlements of this province. At the close of the year 1759, Governor Littleton, having obtained from the legislature authority to raise a large body of men, with which to bring the tribe to terms, promptly marched into the Cherokee country at the head of 800 provincials, and 300 regular troops. This incursion, succeeding, as it did, a long period of inactivity and supineness, so much intimidated and surprised the tribe, that, being then entirely unprepared for open war, they did not hesitate to sue for peace, which was granted them in too much haste, without understanding the tru nature of the Indian character and policy.

At this time the territory of the Cherokees extended from Fort Ninety-Six, on the Carolina frontiers, and Fort Prince George, on the Keowee branch of the Svannah, to the main sources of that river, and across the Appalachian chain to, and down the Cherokee, or Tennessee, river, and its sourthern branches — a country replete with all the resources requisite in Indian life, possessing a delightful climate, and abounding in fertile, sylvan valleys, The tribe has been accused of operating against the southern frontier under the influence of the French, who supplied them with arms and ammunition.

The treaty concluded with Governor Littleton, refers to certain articles of amity and commerce entered into with these people, at Whitehall, September, 7, 1730, as well as to another pacification of November 19, 1758, and then proceeds, with the precision of the legal phraseology of the old black-letter lawyers, to rehearse grievances of a later date, for all which transgressions the tribe stipulates to make amends, and promises future good conduct. They actually delivered up two Cherokees who had committed murders, promised the surrender of twenty more, and gave twenty of their principal

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chiefs, as hostages for the due performance of the terms of the treaty. To this formal document the great chief of the nation, Attakullakulla, and five other principal chiefs, subsequently affixed their assent and guaranty. This matter being accomplished, Governor Littleton returned with his army to Charleston, and the Indians, after a short time, recommenced their depredations. It has been remarked by Major Mante, that "the Indians are of such a disposition, that unless they really feel the rod of chastisement, they cannot be prevailed on to believe that we have the power to inflict it; and, accordingly, whenever they happened to be attacked by us, unprepared, they had recourse to a treaty of peace, as a subterfuge, which gave them time to collect themselves. Then, without the least regard to the bonds of public faith, they, on the first opportunity, renewed their depredations. Negotiations, and treaties of peace, they despised; so that the only hopes to bring to reason their intractible minds, and of making them acknowledge our superiority, and live in friendship with us, must arise from the severity of chastisement."

Littleton has scarcely returned home, when the Cherokees renewed their ravages. They attacked with great fury the settlement of Long Canes, sparing neither planter, cattle, buildings, women, nor children. There were particularly severe on English traders. This attack was subsequently repeated by a party of 200 warriors, who extended their depredations to the forks of the Broad river, where they surprised and killed forty men. Inspirited by their success they made an attack on Ninety-Six, but the fort proving too strong, they proceeded to the Congaree, spreading devastation both by fire and sword around them. Littleton, on the receipt of the earliest news of these irruptions, sent an express to General Amherst, asking for reinforcements.

On the 18th of February, 1760, the Cherokees assembled around Fort Prince George, on the Keowee river, and attempted to surprise it. While the garrison was gazing at the force from the ramparts, a noted cheif, called Ocunnasto, approached, and desired to speak to Lieutenant Coytmore, the commandant, who agreed to meet him on the banks of the Keowee river, whither he was acoompanied by Ensign Bell, and Mr. Coharty, the interpreter. Ocunnasto siad he wished to go down and see the Governor, and requested that a white man might be allowed to accompany him. This request being assented to, he said to an Indian, "Go and catch a horse for me." This was objected to; but the chief, making a feint motion, carelessly swung a bridle which he held, three times around his head. This being a secret signal to men lying concealed, a volley was instantly poured in, which mortally wounded Coytmore, who received a ball in his breast, and inflicted deep wounds on the others.

This treachery aroused the indignation of Ensign Miln, commanding the garrison of the fort, who determined to put the twenty Cherokee hostages, and also the two murderers, in irons. But the first attempt to seize the assassins was instantly resisted;

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the soldier who was deputed to effect it was tomahawked and killed, and another one wounded. This so exasperated those within the fort, that all the hostages were immediately put to death. In the evening the Indians fired two signal guns before the fort, and, being ignorant of the manner in which the hostages had been disposed of, shouted to them, "Fight strong and you shall be aided." The works were then invested, and an irregular fire maintained all night, with but little effect. On searching the room which had been occupied by the hostages, several tomahawks were found buried in the ground, which had been stealthily conveyed to the prisoners by their visiting friends.

Meantime, Amherst, immediately on the receipt of Governor Littleton's express, had despatched to his relief 600 Highlanders, and an equal number of Royals, under Colonel Montgomery. On reaching Charleston, Montgomery immediately took the field. The celerity of his movements against the Cherokees took them completely by surprise. On the 26th of May he reached Fort Ninety-Six, and, June 1, passed the Twelve mile branch of the Keowee, with his baggage and stores, and, conveying them up amazingly rocky steeps, he pushed on, night and day, marching eighty-four miles before taking a night's rest. Having progressed forty miles further, he constructed a camp on an eligible site, and leaving his wagons and cattle, with his tents standing, under a suitable guard of provincials and rangers, he took the rest of his troops, lightly-armed, and directed his course toward the Cherokee towns. Thus far his scouts had discovered no enemy, and his rapid advance had been unheralded. His first object was to attack Estatoe, a town some twenty-five miles in advance, and for this purpose he set out at eight o'clock in the evening. After marching sixteen miles, he heard a dog bark on the left, at the town of Little Keowee, about a quarter of a mile from the road, of the location of which his guides had not informed him. He immediately detached a force with orders to surround it, and to bayonet every man, but to spare the women and children. This order was strictly executed; the men being found encamped outside the houses, were killed, and their families captured, unharmed. In the mean time the main force marched forward to Estatoe, in which they found but ten or twelve men, who were killed. This town comprised about 200 houses, which were well supplied with provisions and ammunition. Montgomery, determining to make the nation feel the power of the colonies, immediately attacked the other towns in succession, until every one in the lower nation had been visited and destroyed. About seventy Cherokees were killed, and, including the women and children, forty were taken prisoners. Only four English soldiers were killed, and two officers wounded. Montgomery then returned to Fort Prince George, on the Keowee, where he awaited proposals of peace from the Cherokees, but hearing nothing from them, he resolved to make a second incursion into the middle settlements of the nation. He marched his army from the fort on the 24th of June, and using the same despatch as on the previous occasion, in three days he reached the town of Etchowee.

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The scouts having discovered three Indians as they approached this place, took one of them prisoner, who attempted to amuse the colonel with the tale of their being ready to sue for peace; but he, not crediting the story, marched cautiously forward for a mile, when his advanced guard was fired on from a thicket, and in the melee its captain was killed. Montgomery, hearing the firing, ordered the grenadiers and light infantry to advance; who steadily pushed forward through an ambuscade of 500 Indians, rousing them from their coverts. As they reached more elevated and clearer ground, the troops drove the Indians before them at the point of the bayonet. Placing himself at the head of his force, he proceeded toward the town, following a narrow path, where it was necessary to march in Indian file, the surrounding country being well reconnoitered in advance by his scouts. On reaching Etchowee it was found to have been abandoned. After encamping on the open plain, Montgomery ordered out detachments in several directions, who performed gallant services, driving the enemy across a river, killing some, and taking several prisoners, when, scattering their forces, they inflicted upon the Indians a severe chastisement. He then returned to Charleston, by way of the fort on the Keowee, and rejoined Amherst in the north.

The Cherokees being disposed to retaliate these severe irruptions of Colonel Montgomery, the month of August had not elapsed before they began to give unmistakeable proofs of unabated hostility. Fort Prince George they had found too strong for them, but the garrison of Fort Loudon, on the confines of Virginia, being reduced in numbers, and in great want of provisions, was immediately besieged. After sustaining the siege until reduced to extremity, the commanding officer, Demere, with the concurrence of all his subordinates, very unwisely surrendered the fortification to his savage foe, August 6, 1760. The result of this ill-advised capitulation soon became apparent; the garrison and men being ruthlessly attacked before they had proceeded any distance from the fort, and both officers and privates cruelly massacred. Captain Stuart was the only officer who escaped, his salvation being due to the intervention of Attakulla-kulla himself, the leader of the attacking party.

Notwithstanding the reduction of Canada, the Indians in remote districts still continued their opposition to the English power. This was particularly the case with the Cherokees. To curb this tribe, Colonel Grant was, in 1761, ordered to march against them with an adequate body of troops, who soon compelled them to sue for peace. Nothing further of note marked the military operations of this year. Major Rodgers was sent to take possession of the forts at Presque Isle and Detroit. General Monckton commanded at Fort Pitt.

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Chapter III. — The Confederate Algonquins and Hurons of the Upper Lakes, Under the Direction of Pontiac, Dispute the Occupation of that Region by the English.

OTHER tribes besides the Cherokees, manifested dissatisfaction, or broke out into open hostility. The Shawnees and Delawares of the Ohio valley had been inimical to the colonies ever since their migration, or, in effect, expulsion from Pennsylvania, in 1759. The entire mass of the Algonquin tribes of the upper lakes, and to the west of the Ohio, deeply sympathized with the French in the loss of Canada. They hoped that the French flag would be once more unfurled on the western forts, and this feeling, we are assured by Mante — a judicious historian of that period — had been fostered by the French, whose mode of treatment of the Indians he, at the same time, commends.

"For," he continues, "it soon appeared that, at the very time we were representing the Indians to ourselves completely subdued, and perfectly obedient to our power, they were busy in planning the destruction, not only of our most insignificant and remote forts, but our most important and central settlements." Under this impression, General Amherst had ordered to the west, to keep the Indians in check, the regular forces which had been employed against Niagara, Quebec, and Montreal. Little more was done, in 1761, than supplying garrisons to the forts at Presque Isle, Detroit, and Michilimackinac, by which, though the country was occupied, its native inhabitants were not overawed. Fort Pitt had been occupied from the period of its capture, in 1758; but its garrison having been reduced by the Indian wars in the west, it was, early in 1763, invested by the Shawnees, Delawares, and their confederates. The defection of the western tribes was found to be very great, extending from the Ohio valley to, and throughout, the whole series of lakes, into the valleys of the Illinois, Miami and Wabash.

At this time, there was living, in the vicinity of Detroit, a chief possessing more than ordinary intelligence, decision of character, power of combination, and great personal energy, named Pondiac, or Pontiac. He appears to have been the originator of this scheme of a western confederation against the English; for, in 1761, on the

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first advance of the relief of the French garrison, when Major Rodgers, who led the troops, had reached the entrance to the straits of Detroit, Pontiac visited his encampment, and, employing one of those bold metaphors which the Indians use to express much in a few words, assuming an air of supremacy, he exclaimed, "I stand in the path." "To form a just estimate of his character, we must judge him by the circumstances in which he was placed; by the profound ignorance and barbarism of his people; by his own destitution of all education and information; and by the jealous, fierce, and intractable spirit of his compeers. When measured by this standard, we shall find few of the men whose names are familiar to us, more remarkable for all things proposed and achieved, than Pontiac." To him the conduct of the plot had been left. It had been secretly discussed in their councils for about two years, during which time he brought the principal tribes of the region into the scheme. The tribes which formed the nucleus of this plot were the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawattamies, and the two bands of Hurons residing on the river Detroit. From facts gleaned after the submission of the tribes to General Bradstreet, in 1764, it appears that this combination was more extensive than has been supposed, and that the Miamies, Piankashaws, and Weas, had also been compromitted. The time appointed for a general rise having arrived, the whole line of posts on that frontier, comprising twelve in number, extending from Forts Pitt and Niagara to Green Bay, were simultaneously attacked, and, either by open force, or by finesse, nine of them taken. The most singular mode of attack among the whole, was that practised at Fort Michilimackinac. The fortress, at that period, occupied the apex of the peninsula of Michigan, where it juts out into the strait in a headland (called Picwutinong). It consisted of a square area, having bastions, built of stone, surmounted with pickets, which were closed by gates; and was capable of being defended against any attack. But stratagem was resorted to. The king's birthday (June 4th) having arrived, the Ottawas and their confederates engaged in a game of ball on the level boulevard, which led from the landing, up by the fort, into the village. The gates were open, and the officers attended the sport. While moving up and down this boulevard, the players struggling and rushing, the ball was dextrously thrown into the fort, and the contending parties rushed in after it. This was the signal for an attack. The war whoop was raised, and the tomahawk applied so rapidly, that not a drum was beat, or a rank formed, and the place became the scene of one of the most startling massacres. One officer and seventy soldiers were killed; but, of three hundred Canadians in the fort, not one was molested. For a view of the ruins of this fort, with the island of Michilimackinac in the distance. (See Plate LIII., Vol. II.)

Detroit was selected by Pontiac for the display of his own arts of siege and attack.

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Having, in a previous volume, given a copy of a journal of this siege, kept within the fort, it is only necessary to furnish here a succinct abstract of the events which transpired. The fort was under the command of Major Gladwyn, who had a garrison of two complete companies of infantry, numbering one hundred and twenty-two privates, and eight officers. There were also, within its walls, forty French traders and engagées. Pontiac invested the place, May 8th, 1763, with a total force of 450 warriors, who had been instructed at the councils, drilled under his own eye, and painted and feathered for battle. But an attack was not his first move; he aimed to take the fort by a deeply laid plot, which was, in effect, to visit the commandant at his quarters, accompanied by a limited number of assassins, bearing concealed weapons, to smoke with him the pipe of peace, and to present him with a formal address, which was to be accompanied by a belt of wampum, the most solemn and honored custom in Indian diplomacy. This belt was worked on one side with white, and on the other with green beads. Having finished his speech, with the white side turned towards his auditor, the reversal of it in his hands to the green side, was to be the signal of attack. The plan was well devised, and must have succeeded, had it not been revealed to the commandant, in a manner which it is unimportant to our purpose to state.

On the day appointed, Pontiac appeared at the gates with his aboriginal fellow-conspirators, demanding an audience. He was freely admitted, but, in passing the esplanade, observed an unusual display of the military. The garrison was under arms, and the sentinels doubled, which aroused Pontiac's fears; but his covert inquiries were met by a ready answer, that "it was to keep the young men to their duty, and prevent idleness." The language employed by one who has collated the local traditions on the subject, while they were still within reach, may here be quoted. "The business of the council then commenced, and Pontiac proceeded to address Major Gladwyn. His speech was bold and menacing, and his manner and gesticulations vehement, and they became still more so, as he approached the critical moment. When he was on the point of presenting the belt to Major Gladwyn (and turning it in his hands) and all was breathless expectation, the drums at the door of the council suddenly rolled the charge, the guards levelled their pieces, and the officers drew their swords from their scabbards. Pontiac was a brave man, constitutionally and habitually. He had fought in many a battle, and often led his warriors to victory. But this unexpected and decisive proof that his treachery was discovered and prevented, entirely disconcerted him. Tradition says he trembled. At all events, he delivered his belt in the usual manner, and thus failed to give his warriors the concerted signal of attack. Major Gladwyn immediately approached the chief, and, drawing aside his blanket, discovered the shortened rifle, and then, after stating his knowledge of the plan, turned him out of the fort."

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Chapter IV. — Pontiac Holds Detroit in a State of Siege During the Summer of 1763.

FOILED in his attempt to take the garrison by stratagem, Pontiac commenced an open attack. He had no sooner left the walls of the fort, than he fired upon it, and his followers began to assail the scattered English settlers in its vicinity, while on every side could be heard the startling sassaquon, or war-whoop. A widow woman, and her two sons, were immediately murdered on the common. A discharged sergeant and his family, cultivating lands on Hog Island, were the next victims. Taking shelter behind buildings contiguous to the fort, an incessant fire was maintained against it, which was continued for several days; blazing arrows being discharged by the Indians, which set fire to some buildings within the walls. Determination of purpose marked every act, while the savage yells of the natives, and the continual reports of murders and outrages filled the garrison with apprehensions. The abandonment of the fort and embarkation of the troops for Niagara was contemplated, but the plan was opposed by the prominent French inhabitants, who were better acquainted with the true character of Indian demonstration and bluster, and particularly with the real dangers of such a voyage. A small vessel was, however, dispatched to Niagara on the 21st of May, soliciting aid both in provisions and men, through a country entirely occupied by Indians. The Indians unabatedly continued their attacks, absolutely confining the garrison within the walls, and preventing them from obtaining supplies of wood and water. Pontiac, meantime, conceived the idea of decoying Major Campbell into his camp, under the pretence of renewing pacific negotiations. This gentleman was favorably known to the Indians, as the immediate predecessor of Major Gladwyn, who had but recently relieved him in the command of the fort. By the advice of those most conversant with the Indian character, Pontiac's request was acceded to, and Campbell went to his camp, accompanied by Lieutenant McDougal. But all the projects of Pontiac were set at nought by an unforeseen occurrence. In one of the sorties from the fort, an Ottawa of distinction, from Michilimackinac, had been killed, and his nephew, who was present, determined to revenge his death. Meeting Major Campbell one day, as he was walking in the road near the camp of Pontiac, the savage immediately felled him to the earth with his war-club, and killed

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him. This act was regretted and disavowed by Pontiac, who, by the detention of Major Campbell, sought only to secure ulterior advantages through the person of his hostage.

Anticipating succors to be on their way to the fort, the Indians kept vigilant watch at the mouth of the river. This duty appears to have been committed to the Wyandots. On one of the last days of May, a detachment of troops from Niagara, having charge of twenty-three batteaux, laden with provisions and supplies, encamped at Point Pelée, on the north shore, near the head of Lake Erie, wholly unconscious that any danger awaited them. Their movements had, however, been closely reconnoitered by the Indians, who, having formed an ambuscade at this place, furiously attacked them near daybreak. During the resulting panic, the officer in command leaped into a boat, and, accompanied by thirty men, crossed the lake to Sandusky. The rest of the detachment were killed, or taken prisoners, and all the stores fell into the enemy's hands. The prisoners were reserved to row the boats. On the 30th of May, the first of the long line of batteaux was seen from the fort, as it rounded Point Huron, on the Canada shore. The garrison crowded the ramparts to view the welcome sight, and a gun was fired as a signal to their supposed approaching friends. But the only response was the gloomy war cry. As the first boat came opposite to the little vessel anchored off the fort, the soldiers rowing it determined to recapture it. While the steersman headed the boat across, another soldier threw overboard the Indian who sat on the bow. In the struggle both were drowned, but the boat was rowed under the guns of the fort. Lest the other captive rowers should imitate this example, they were landed by the Indians on Hog Island, and immediately sacrificed.

News of the treaty of peace concluded at Versailles, February 10, 1763, between France and England, reached Detroit on the 3d of June, while these events were in progress. From the French who were assembled on this occasion, the intelligence received a full and prompt acquiescence, as a conclusive sovereign act; but the Indians continued the siege. Pontiac finding he could not take the fort, proposed to the French inhabitants to aid him, but they refused. About this time, the vessel which had been dispatched to Niagara, by Major Gladwyn, arrived at the mouth of the river with supplies and some sixty men. The winds being light and baffling, the Indians determined to capture her, and a large force left the siege and proceeded to Fighting Island for that purpose. While the vessel was lying at the mouth of the river, the Indians had endeavored to annoy her by means of their canoes, but the wind had forced her to shift her anchorage to this spot. The captain had ordered his men below decks, to keep the Indians in ignorance of his strength, having apprized them that a loud stroke of a hammer on the mast, would be a signal for them to come up. As soon as darkness supervened, the Indians came off in their canoes in great force, and

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attempted to board her; but a sudden discharge of her guns disconcerted them. The following day the vessel dropped down to the mouth of the straits, where she was detained six days by calms. Meantime, Pontiac determining to destroy her, for this purpose floated down burning rafts, which were constructed of the timbers from barns destroyed by the Indians, dry pine, and a quantity of pitch added, to make the whole more combustible. Notwithstanding two such rafts were constructed and sent down the river, the vessel and boats escaped them. A breeze springing up on the 30th of June, the vessel was enabled to hoist sail, and reached the fort in safety.

General Amherst, the commander-in-chief, though weakened by the force withdrawn for the Indian war in the west, was fully sensible of the perilous position of the western posts, in consequence of the Indian hostility, and prepared to send at the earliest period, reinforcements to Forts Pitt, Niagara, and Detroit. The relief destined for the latter post was placed under the orders of his secretary, Captain Dalzell, who, after relieving Niagara, proceeded to Detroit in armed batteaux, at the head of a force of 300 men. To the joy of all concerned, this reinforcement arrived at Detroit on the 30th of July, when the place had been besieged upwards of fifty days. Captain Dalzell, who brought this timely accession to the garrison, proposed a night assault on Pontiac's camp, which the commandant assented to, not, however, without some misgivings. Two hundred and fifty men were selected for this duty, and, with this force Captain Dalzell left the fort, as secretly as possible, at half-past two o'clock on the morning of the 31st. At the same time, two boats were despatched to keep pace with the party, and, if necessary, take off the wounded. The darkness of the night rendered it somewhat difficult to discern the way, and made it a task for them to keep the proper distance between the platoons. After marching about two miles, when the vanguard had reached the bridge over the stream, which has since been known as Bloody Brook, a sudden fire was poured in by the Indians, which created a temporary panic among the troops, from which, however, they recovered. The intense darkness completely obscuring the enemy, a retreat was ordered; when it appeared that there was a heavy force in the rear, through which the column had been allowed to pass. The English were, in fact, in the midst of a well-planned ambuscade. Dalzell displayed the utmost bravery and spirit in this emergency, but was soon shot down and killed. Grant, on whom the command devolved, was severely wounded. The Indians were concealed behind the wooden picketing, which lined the fields, and sheltered the buildings of the habitans; but as the day began to dawn, the troops were enabled to discern their perilous position. They then embarked some of their wounded in the boats which had accompanied them, and, concentrating their forces, retreated toward the gates of the fort, which they entered in compact order. The loss in this attack was seventy men killed, including the commander, and forty wounded; being

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nearly one-half of the sallying party. It was a decided triumph for the Indians, who thenceforth pressed the siege with renewed vigor.

As the season for hunting approached, the Indians gradually dispersed; the siege languished, and was finally abandoned. There is no previous record in Indian history of so large a force of Indians having been kept in the field for so long a period; and this effort of the Algonquin chief to roll back the tide of European emigration, was the most formidable that was ever made by any one member of the Indian race. Rodgers styles Pontiac an emperor. He certainly possessed an energy of mind and powers of combination exceeding those of any other antecedent or contemporary chief. Opechanganough possessed great firmness, and was a bitter enemy of the white race; Sassacus only fought for tribal rights and supremacy; the course of Uncas was that of a politician; Pometacom battled, indeed, to repel the people whose education, industry, and religion, foredoomed his own; but Pontiac took a more enlarged and comprehensive view, not only of the field of contest, but also of the means necessary for the retention and preservation of the aboriginal dominion. At a later period, Brant merely fought for, and under the direction of a powerful ally; and Tecumseh but re-enacted the deeds of Pontiac, after the lapse of fifty years, when the scheme of repelling the whites was, in reality, preposterous.

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Chapter V. — The Western Indians Continue Their Opposition to the English Supremacy. Colonel Bouchet Marches to the Relief of Fort Pitt. The Battle of Brushy Run.

THE struggle of the Indians, in conjunction with the French, for supremacy in America, may be stated to have commenced in 1753, when Washington first originated the idea among the western tribes, that the Virginians were taking preliminary steps to cross the Alleghanies, and open the route for the influx of the entire European race. This notion may be perceived in the addresses of Pontiac. "Why," he exclaimed, repeating, as was alleged, the words of the Master of Life, "why do you suffer these dogs in red clothing to take the land I gave you? Drive them from it, and, when you are in distress, I will help you." The policy of driving back the English accorded well with the views of the French, who carefully encouraged it, and first developed it at the repulse of Washington, before Fort Necessity, and again gave to it a new impetus the following year, at Braddock's total defeat and overthrow, which had the effect of arousing the passions of the Indians. From this date, they became most determined opponents to the spread of British power, and always formed a part of the French forces in the field. Such was their position under Montcalm, at Lake George, in 1757, and also at the sanguinary defeat of Major Grant, in 1758. The epoch for making this struggle could not have been better chosen, had they even been perfectly conversant with the French and English policy; and the result was, ten years of the most troublesome Indian wars with which the colonies were ever afflicted. As time progressed, it became evident that the long colonial struggle between the two crowns must terminate. If the English were defeated, not only the French, but the Indians would triumph; while it was equally true that, if the French failed, the Indian power must succumb. Pontiac perfectly understood this, and so informed his confederates. This question was, in effect, settled by the peace of Versailles; but the Indians did not feel disposed to drop the contest. Detroit was still closely invested; Fort Pitt was also beleagured; and the only road by which relief could reach it, passed through weary tracts of wilderness, and over high mountains. It was likewise located on a frontier, the inhabitants of which lived in a continual dread of the Indians.

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General Amherst ordered Colonel Bouquet to relieve this post with the remnants of regiments, which had returned, in a feeble and shattered condition, from the siege of Havana. The route lay through Pennsylvania, by the way of Carlisle and Port Bedford, and many discouragements were in the way. His troops and supplies came forward slowly. He reached Fort Bedford on the 25th of July, and, pushing on to Fort Legonier, relieved that post from a threatened siege. As soon as the Indians, who besieged Fort Pitt, heard of his approach, they left that place, and prepared to oppose his march. Bouquet had disencumbered himself of his wagons, as also of much heavy baggage, at Fort Legonier, and moved on with alacrity, conveying his provisions on horses. On entering the defile of Turtle Creek, his advance had proceeded but a short distance, when they were briskly attacked on both flanks. A severe and desperate battle ensued, which admitted of several manoeuvres, and developed some instances of Bouquet's gallantry. Captains Graham and McIntosh, of the regulars, were killed, and five officers wounded. As the day closed, an elevation was gained, on which the troops bivouacked. At daybreak the following morning, August 6th, the Indians surrounded the camp, and commenced a lively fusilade, making frequent sallies, alternately attacking and retreating. This became very annoying to the troops, who were greatly fatigued, and destitute of water. They fought in an extended circle. At length, the Colonel resorted to the ruse of withdrawing two companies from the outer line, and made a feint of retreating. By this movement, he decoyed the Indians into a position, where they were promptly charged with the bayonet, and repelled. Their retreat then became a rout, which also involved a part of the Indian forces hitherto unengaged. Bouquet then retired to Brushy Run, where there was abundance of water; but he had hardly posted his troops, when the Indians again commenced an attack, which was, however, speedily repulsed. The loss in these actions amounted to fifty men killed, and sixty wounded.

After these battles, the Indians did not renew the siege of Fort Pitt, but withdrew beyond the Ohio; and, four days subsequent to the action at Brushy Run, Bouquet entered Fort Pitt.

While these events were transpiring, the Indians were yet closely besieging Detroit, and the garrison began to suffer from fatigue and want of provisions. A vessel, manned by twelve men, and in charge of two masters, was despatched from Port Niagara, during the latter part of August, with stores for its relief. It reached the entrance to Detroit river on the 3d of September; but the wind being adverse, the crew dropped the anchor. About nine o'clock in the evening, the boatswain discovered a fleet of canoes approaching, containing about 350 Indians. The bow gun was fired, but too late, as the canoes had, by this time, surrounded the vessel. The Indians immediately cut the cable, and began to board her, notwithstanding the fire from the small arms, and also from a swivel. The crew then seized their pikes, a new weapon of defence with which they were provided, and, fighting with great bravery and determination,

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killed many of the foe. The Indians feared an explosion on board the ship, which, swinging around, disconcerted and confused the savages, who thought she was about to drift ashore: this enabled the crew to use their guns effectively. The master and one man were killed, and four men wounded; but a breeze springing up, the other seamen hoisted sail, and brought the vessel safely to Detroit. For this brave act, each of the crew was presented with a silver medal.

The garrison being thus provided with supplies, the further efforts of the Indians proved of no great consequence. As the season for hunting approached, the Indians mostly dispersed, except some small parties, who watched the fort, and prevented any egress from it. Open war never being carried on by the Indians during the winter, Major Gladwyn made such a judicious disposition of his means, as prevented any surprise during that season.

Fort Niagara had not been attacked, although its garrison was weak; but its precincts were continually infested by hostile Indians, which made it necessary to send out large escorts with every train despatched from it. To rid the Niagara valley of this annoyance, and open the route to Schlosser, a detachment of ninety men was directed to scour the surrounding country. Owing to the inconsiderate ardor of the officer in command, and, also, to his ignorance of Indian subtlety in time of war, the detachment was decoyed into an ambuscade, in which he, and all his men, with the exception of three or four, were killed.

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Chapter VI. — General Pacifcation Between the English, and the Indian Tribes, East and West. Treaty of Peace with the Senecas, Wyandots, Ottowas and Chippewas, Mississagies, Pottawattamies, and Miamies.

THE campaign of 1763 had the effect rather to inspire than to depress the hopes of the Indians. The English forces had been withdrawn to further projects of conquest in the West Indies; thus leaving but few troops on the frontiers. Forts Pitt and Detroit had, for many months, both been closely invested by the tribes, who completely impeded ingress and egress. The determination evinced by the forces of Pontiac at Detroit, his attacks on the shipping sent to its relief, the sanguinary encounter at Bloody Bridge, in which Dalzell was slain, and at Brushy Run, where Colonel Bouquet was so actively opposed, together with the utter destruction of a detachment of ninety men and its officers, on the Niagara portage, afforded an additional stimulus to the wrath of the Indians. These successes not only served to inflate the Indian pride, but likewise denoted a feeble military administration on the part of the British commander.

General Amherst was of opinion that more vigorous action, and a more comprehensive and definite plan were required for the campaign of 1764, while, at the same time, the ministry had crippled his abilities by withdrawing nearly all his regular troops. Under these circumstances, he called for aid from the colonies, determining to send Colonel Bouquet with an efficient army against the western tribes, who beleaguered Fort Pitt, and overawed the valleys of the Ohio, Miami, Scioto, and Wabash, and at the same time to direct Colonel Bradstreet to proceed with a large force, in boats, against the northwestern tribes, at Detroit. To enable him to carry out his plans, he appealed earnestly to the respective colonial legislatures for troops, which were cheerfully supplied. Sir William Johnson determined to hold a general convention of the tribes at Fort Niagara, in connection with the Bradstreet movement, and to endeavor to induce as many Indians as possible to accompany that officer, on his expedition to the vicinage of the upper lakes. Having made these arrangements, Amherst, who had zealously and efficiently prosecuted the war against Canada, solicited leave to return to

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England, and was succeeded in the command by General Gage, an officer of very inferior character.

It being necessary to conduct the operations of Bradstreet's detachment by water, that officer superintended the work of constructing a flotilla of batteaux at Schenectady, on a plan of his own invention, each boat having forty-six feet keel, and being sufficiently capacious to contain twenty-seven men, and six weeks' provisions. As soon as this immense flotilla was ready, it was ordered to Oswego, where Sir William Johnson had also directed the Indians to assemble. His force, of all descriptions, on reaching Oswego, numbered about 1200. Three vessels were employed to transport the heavy stores to the mouth of the Niagara, and the Indians, in their canoes, followed the extended train of batteaux along the Ontario coasts, making the usual landings at the Bay of Sodus, and Irondequot. They arrived at Fort Niagara in the beginning of July. This concourse of boats and men was, however, in reality, the smallest part of the display.

A large number of the Indian tribes had been summoned to a council by Sir William Johnson, who had collected 1700 Indians at Niagara. Never had such a body of Indians been congregated under his auspices. The council was held in Fort Niagara. He had brought with him the preliminary articles of a treaty of peace, amity, and alliance, which had been prepared by him at Johnson Hall, where it had received the signatures of several of the leading chiefs. Major Gladwyn had sent Indian deputies from Detroit, and various causes had combined to swell the attendance at this great convention. Henry relates that one of Sir William's messages reached Sault Ste. Marie, at the foot of Lake Superior, and induced the tribe there located to send a deputation of twenty persons. The Senecas, however, whose conduct had been equivocal during the war, did not make their appearance, although their deputies had signed the preliminary articles at Johnson Hall. Sir William sent to their villages on the Genesee, repeated messages for them, which were uniformly answered by promises. But promises would not serve, and, consequently, Colonel Bradstreet authorized the Baronet to send a final message, announcing that, if they did not present themselves in five days, he would send a force against them, and destroy their villages. This brought them to terms; they immediately attended the convention, and, at the same time, surrendered their prisoners. A formal treaty of peace was then concluded.

Colonel Bradstreet desired to depart immediately, but Sir William begged him to postpone his march until he had finished with the tribes, and given them their presents; for, although he had just concluded a treaty of peace with them, he had no faith in their fidelity, and feared that, if the troops were withdrawn, they would attack the

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fort. With this request Bradstreet complied. He at length departed, taking with him 300 Indian warriors as auxiliaries, although he was conscious they accompanied him rather in the character of spies. Sir William, having accomplished this important pacification returned home; and, on the 6th of August, Colonel Bradstreet proceeded on his protracted expedition along the southern coasts of Lake Erie. His intentions, as publicly announced, were, to conclude peace with such tribes as solicited it, and to chastise all who continued in arms. Being detained by contrary winds at l'Ance aux Feuilles, he there received a deputation from the Wyandots of Sandusky, the Shawnees and Delawares of the Ohio, and the bands of the Six Nations, residing on the Scioto Plains. The sachems deputed by these tribes, presented four belts of wampum as an earnest of their desire for peace, and, in their speeches to Bradstreet, excused their respective nations for the murders and outrages committed, on the usual pretext of not being able to restrain their young warriors, or of not being aware of the real state of facts, at the same time soliciting forgiveness for the past, and promising fidelity for the future. Variable weather having delayed Bradstreet, he was at length enabled to proceed forward, and, on the 23d of August, reached Point le Petit Isle, where intelligence was brought to him that the Indians, collected on the Miami of the lakes, were resolved to oppose his progress. He immediately determined to attack them in that position, whither Pontiac had then retired, but while yet on Lake Erie, pursuing his course to the mouth of the Miami, he received a deputation from the Indians of that stream, who requested a conference at Detroit. Visiting the Bay of Miami, and finding the Indian camp abandoned, he again returned to Point Petit Isle, and from this position detached Captain Morris, at the head of a body of men, with directions to march across the country and take possession of the territory of the Illinois, which had been ceded to England by the treaty concluded at Versailles, in 1763. Bradstreet then proceeded to the head of Lake Erie, and, entering the straits of Detroit, reached the town and fort on the 26th of August. Never previously had such a large force, accompanied by so much military display, been seen in that vicinity. The long lines of batteaux and barges, filled with their complement of military, with their glittering arms, their colors flying, drums beating and bugles sounding, were followed by those containing the attaches of the quartermaster's and commissary's departments, and by the fleet of canoes containing the 300 auxiliary Mohawks and Senecas, together with the deputies of the surrounding tribes. Indians always judge from appearances, and every attendant circumstance indicated that the British government, which could send so numerous and well-appointed a force, to such a distant point, must in itself be strong. Bradstreet determined to land his army on the plain, extending from the fort along the banks of the river, and, as detachment after detachment filed past with military exactitude, to its position in the extended camp, the gazing multitudes of red men realized the peril of their past position, and trembled for the future. The commander

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did not take up his quarters in the fort, but directed his marquée, on which the red cross of England was displayed, to be pitched in the centre of this vast encampment. The 7th of September was appointed for the meeting of the council, when the aboriginal deputies were received, decked out with all their oriental taste, and bearing their ornamented pipes of peace. The first tribes on the ground were the Ottawas and Chippewas, who had been the head and front of Pontiac's offending. They were represented by Wassong, attended by six other chiefs, whose respective names were Attowatomig, Shamindawa, Ottawany, Apokess, and Abetto. Wassong made his submission in terms that would not have been discreditable to a philosopher or a diplomatist, He excused his nation for their participation in the war, laid the blame where it properly belonged, and then, appealing to the theology which recognises God as the great ruler of events, who orders them in wisdom and mercy, promised obedience to the British crown. While speaking, he held in his hand a belt of wampum, having a blue and white ground, interspersed with devices in white, green, and blue, which, at the close of his speech, he deposited as a testimonial of the truth of his words. He then, holding forth a purple and mixed belt, in the name of the Miamies, tendered their submission, depositing this belt also as their memorial. Shamindawa then addressed the council in the name of Pontiac, saying that he regretted what had happened, and requested it should be forgiven, adding that it would give him pleasure to co-operate with the English. He concluded by praying for the success of the Illinois mission, as though he considered it a perilous undertaking. The Hurons, who had been actively engaged in the war, next presented their submission, and affixed to the treaty the emblematic signature of a deer and a cross. A Miami chief, whose signature was a turtle, next presented himself in the name of his nation, to concur in the terms acceded to by the Ottawas and Chippewas. The Pottawattamies and Foxes then affixed their signature by the pictograph of a fox, an eel, and a bear. The Mississagies were represented by Wapacomagot, and signified their acquiescence by tracing the figure of an eagle with a medal round its neck. The entire number of Indians present at the conclusion of the treaty with Colonel Bradstreet, has been estimated at 1930.

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Chapter VII. — Re-occupation of the Lake Posts. The Indian Trade Extended Westward and Northward Under Bristish Auspices.

BRADSTREET, having successfully closed his negotiations with the Indians, reorganized the militia, and established the civil government in the French settlements on a firm basis, prepared to return to Sandusky, with the view of complying with his instructions from General Gage, directing him to bring the Shawnees and Delawares to terms. On reaching Sandusky, he received letters from General Gage, censuring him for offering terms of peace to the Shawnee and Delaware delegates, and for his general course in concluding treaties of peace with the Indians, without consulting Sir William Johnson, who was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs; and with whom he was directed to put himself in communication. This is the first instance of a collision of authority between the officers of the military and Indian service, of which the entire subsequent history of our Indian affairs affords abundant evidence, down to the present day. Prior to this period, he left a relief of seven companies in the fort at Detroit, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell. Two companies, under Captain Howard, together with a detachment of artillery, and two companies of the recently organized militia, were, at the same time, ordered to re-occupy Michilimackinac. To supply the post effectually, a vessel, under command of Lieutenant Sinclair, of the fifteenth regular infantry, was directed to enter Lake Huron. This, it is declared, was the first English vessel that ever attempted the passage, and the voyage appears to have been considered an intrepid feat, from which we may reasonably infer, that the name of the lake and river Sinclair was thus derived. Sinclair, tradition asserts, was the commandant of Michilimackinac, prior to the arrival of Captain Robinson, who held the command on the island, in 1783, when a facade of its mural precipices fell down.

The post of Michilimackinac was, in 1764, situated on a northern headland of

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the peninsula of Michigan, jutting into the straits, opposite to, and in sight of the island, and also of Point St. Ignace. This was the point which had been selected by Marquette, as the site of a mission; and to its simple graveyard his remains were conveyed and interred, after his decease at the little river bearing his name, on the east shores of Lake Michigan. By order of General Amherst, the French garrison was relieved, after the capture of Montreal, and the troops sent for that purpose were led by Major Rodgers, of ante-Revolutionary memory, who had been succeeded by Major Ethrington, at the time of the massacre, in 1763. At the date of the massacre, the Indians did not burn the fort, which, as the traders lived within it, would have destroyed their goods; and it was, therefore, reoccupied in 1664, the walls, bastions, and gates remaining entire. Tradition asserts, that this fort was visited and supplied by vessels for seven years subsequently. The alarm produced by the American Revolution appears to have caused the transfer of the fortification to the island, which, tradition affirms, was made about the year 1780. The Michilimackinac of the French was, therefore, located on the apex of the peninsula; that of the English, on the island.

Michilimackinac had, from an unknown period, been regarded by the aborigines as a sacred island, consecrated both by their mythology and history. It was believed to be the local residence of important spirits of their pantheon; and its caverns, as well as its cliffs, were calculated to favor this idea. They landed on it with awe, and its precincts were preserved from the intrusion of European feet. The bones found in its caves, its deep subterranean passages, the regular heaps of superimposed boulders, and the evidences of cultivation, still to be seen in many isolated spots, surrounded with impenetrable foliage, denote that it had not only been occupied from very early times, but that its occupancy was connected with their earliest history, superstitions, and mythology.

Traditions which have been carefully sought out, mention that the English were the first nation who were permitted to occupy its sacred shores with troops, by whom a fort, in the form of a tailus, owing to the shape of the cliff, was placed on its edge. A village was laid out on the narrow gravel plain below. The harbor, though small, possessed a good anchorage, and was sheltered from all winds, except those from the east. Merchants, who supplied the traders to a wide extent of country, east, west, and north, located their places of business on the island. The traders fitted out annually by these merchants held intercourse with the tribes of Lake Superior, Michigan, Green Bay, the Mississippi, and the Illinois. British capital and enterprise established this trade on a new footing, and, from this time forth, it became a centre for a vast country, the

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Indians travelling thither, a distance of 1000 miles, in their canoes, bearing with them their weapons and the tokens of their bravery, and decorated with all their feathers and finery. Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, St. Louis, Prairie du Chien, St. Peters, Chegoimegon, the vicinity of the Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winnipeg, as well as the valley of the Saskatchawin, became but dependencies of the new metropolis of Indian trade, Michilimackinac.

The great object of the campaign of 1764 was, however, not yet accomplished. The north was safe, but, in order to establish a permanent and general peace with the Indians, it was requisite that the war should be vigorously and successfully prosecuted in the south and west. Both the British commanders entrusted with the pacification must be triumphant. They must prove to the Indians, not only the ability of the English to take, but also to hold Canada. Pontiac was not the only aboriginal chief who had doubted this ability.

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Chapter VIII. — Peace Cconcluded with the Delawares, Shawnees, Miamies, Weas, Piankshaws, and Mingoes, or Trans-Ohio Members of the Six Nations in the West.

THE plan of Sir Jeffrey Amherst to bring the western Indians to terms, after the final conquest of Canada, was well devised. Had he directed but a single operation against them, both the southwestern and northwestern tribes would have united to oppose it; but, by sending a respectable and controlling force, under Bradstreet, to the northwest, through the great lakes, to Detroit, and, at the same time, another under Bouquet, from the present site of Pittsburg to the Tuscarawas and the Muskingum, against the tribes of the southwest, he effectually divided their force, and demonstrated to them the power and energy of the government claiming their submission, whose military prowess had caused the time-honored French flag to be struck at Quebec, Montreal, Niagara, and Du Quesne. His successor, General Gage, merely carried out this plan, but, if we may credit the testimony of a cotemporary officer, without much appreciation of the necessary precision in his orders.

The offer of terms of peace, to the Shawnees and other southwestern tribes, dubiously represented in the month of August, 1764, as made by Colonel Bradstreet while on his way to Detroit, was deemed to be a vainglorious assumption of power by the other officers in the field, and an unnecessary interference with the civic duties of Sir William Johnson. But his ardor and promptitude as a commander created a very favorable impression on the Indians in the region of the lakes; and his expedition to that, then remote point, inaugurated one of the soundest features of the British Indian policy.

Bradstreet did not leave Detroit until the 14th of September, and on the 18th he reached Sandusky Bay, where he detached a party with orders to destroy a settlement of Mohicans in that vicinity, under Mohigan John; but the Indians eluded them. Single delegates from the Delawares, Shawnees, and Scioto-Iroquois, accompanied by a Tuscarora Indian, here met him, and made statements which, it is conceived, were not entitled to any weight, but were dictated by the spirit of Indian subtlety, which anticipated coming evil. He then proceeded with his army to Upper Sandusky, where

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a Wyandot village had been destroyed the previous year by Captain Dalzell. Here he received letters from General Gage, disapproving of his offers of peace to the Delawares and Shawnees. He had been directed to attack the Wyandots of Sandusky, and also the Delawares and Shawnees, then residing on the Muskingum and Scioto. The route to the former river, he was correctly informed, was up the Cuyahoga; and to the latter up the Sandusky. Both the carrying places were stated to be short, and the choice of either was left to him. But on making trial of the Sandusky, the water appeared to be too low, and his guides led him to think that, from the shortness of the portage, his provisions could be transported on men's shoulders. The portage between the Cuyahoga and the Tuscarawas fork of the Muskingum, was found to be, at that season, equally impracticable. In this dilemma, and to enable him to act as a check on the Delawares and Shawnees, against whom Bouquet was marching, Bradsteet determined to encamp on the Sandusky Portage. He opened a communication with Colonel Bouquet, who was advancing from Pittsburg, at the head of his army; and, by occupying this position he likewise exerted a favorable influence toward concluding a general peace with the western Indians, which effect resulted from that movement. From Indians who visited his camp he learned, that the Delawares and Shawnees were already tired of the war, and sought to make a peace on the best terms they could obtain. They were the more anxious on this point, because of the threat of the Six Nations, who were strongly in the English interest, to make war on them. To them, such a war was far more to be dreaded than the English armies, for they trembled at the very mention of the Iroquois. Everything, indeed, foreshadowed a favorable termination of the war.

Bouquet, who had attempted, in 1763, "to snatch a grace beyond the reach of art," at Brushy Run, and came near annihilation in the effort, had remained in garrison at Fort Pitt during the autumn and winter of 1763-64, where the Indians did not molest him. But experience had demonstrated that the subtlety and agility of the Indian movements, and their superior knowledge of the topographical features of the wilderness, required a degree of caution, on the march, beyond what would have been necessary in opposing civilized troops. The force destined for Bouquet reached Fort Pitt on the 17th of September, while Bradstreet was on his way from Detroit to Sandusky; but the former did not leave Fort Pitt until the 3d of October. He had under his command 1500 men, furnished with every needful supply. Having become an adept in the use of field maps, guides, and forest arts, he marched slowly and surely, his army covering a large space in the forest, and indicating great strength of purpose, as well as confidence of success. All this was observed and duly reported by Indian spies. The Indians, moreover, were aware that Bradstreet was on the Sandusky, at the head of even a larger force. To employ an Indian simile, these armies appeared like two converging clouds, which must soon overwhelm them.

On the 6th of October the army reached Beaver river, where they found a white

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man, who had escaped from the Indians. He stated that the latter were in much alarm, and those located along Bouquet's line of march had concealed themselves. On the 8th, the troops crossed the Little Beaver river, and on the 14th, encamped on the Tuscarawas. A competent observer, who visited the country in 1748, reported the number of Indian warriors in the Ohio valley, at 789. Of these there were Senecas, 163; Shawnees, 162; Wyandots, 140; Mohawks, 74; Mohicans, 15; Onondagas, 35; Cayugas, 20; Oneidas, 15; and Delawares, 165. These figures would indicate an aggregate population of a fraction under 4000, and it is not probable that the number had varied much in sixteen years. While encamped on the Tuscarawas, two men arrived who had been sent by Bouquet from Fort Pitt as messengers to Colonel Bradstreet. On their return they had been captured by the Delawares, and conveyed to an Indian village, sixteen miles distant, where they were detained until the news arrived of Bouquet's advance with an army. From information subsequently received through Major Smallwood, one of the captives was finally surrendered by the Indians, a report being circulated that Bouquet was advancing to extirpate them. The effect of this news on the Indians implicated, was to determine them, with the connivance of a low-minded French trader, to massacre all the prisoners in their hands. The two messengers, however, were liberated, and commissioned to tell Colonel Bouquet, that the Shawnees and Delawares would visit him for the purpose of proposing terms of peace. Accordingly, their deputies arrived two days subsequently, and brought information that all their chiefs were assembled at the distance of about eight miles. The following day was appointed for a conference at Colonel Bouquet's tent. The first delegation which advanced comprised twenty Senecas, under the direction of their chief, Kigaschuta; next came twenty Delawares marshalled by Custaloga and Amik; and then six Shawnees, led by Keissnautchta, who appeared as the representative of several tribes. Each chief tendered a belt of wampum, accompanying its presentation by a speech, which embraced the usual subjects of Indian diplomacy; excusing what had been done during the war, placing all the censure on the rashness of their young men, promising to deliver up all their captives, soliciting a cessation of hostilities, and pledging future fidelity to their agreements.

Bouquet realized the advantage of his position, and a future day was appointed for his answer, which, when given, embraced all the points in question. He spoke to them as one having full authority; accused them of perfidy; upbraided them for having pillaged and murdered English traders; and charged them with killing four English messengers who carried a commission from the king. He also spoke to them of the audacity of their course in besieging the king's troops at Fort Pitt. The whole tone of his address was elevated, truthful, and manly. He concluded by informing them that, if they would deliver up to him all the prisoners, men, women, and children, then

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in their possession, not even excepting those who had married into the tribes, furnish them with clothing, horses, and provisions, and convey them to Fort Pitt, he would grant them peace; but, by no means, on any other terms.

He then broke up the conference, and put his army in motion for the Muskingum, it being a more central position, and one from which, if the Indians faltered in carrying out their engagements, he could the more readily direct his operations against them. While the army was encamped on the Tuscarawas, the Delawares brought in eighteen white prisoners, and also eighty small sticks, indicating the number still in their possession. The army broke ground on the Muskingum on the 25th of October, and on the 28th, Cocknawaga Peter arrived, with letters from Colonel Bradstreet. During the ensuing week the camp was a scene of continual arrivals and excitement. During the month of November, the Indians of the various tribes delivered up their captives. Such a scene was, perhaps, never before, and, certainly, has never since, been witnessed. They surrendered, of Virginians, thirty-two men and fifty-eight women and children; and of Pennsylvanians, forty-nine men and sixty-seven women and children. Major Smallwood, an officer who had been captured the previous year, near Detroit, by the Wyandots, was likewise restored to his friends. These comprised all who had escaped the war-club, the scalping-knife, and the stake; old and young were indiscriminately mingled together in the area. A solemn council ensued, at which Custaloga represented the Delawares, and Kigashuta the Senecas. The latter began:

"With this belt," (he opened the wampum) "I wipe the tears from your eyes. We deliver you these prisoners, the last of your flesh and blood with us. By this token we assemble and bury the bones of those who have been killed in this unhappy war, which the evil spirit excited us to kindle. We bury these bones deep, never more to be looked or thought on. We cover the place of burial with leaves, that it may not be seen. The Indians have been a long time standing with arms in their hands. The clouds have hung in black above us. The path between us has been shut up. But with this sacred emblem we open the road, clear, that we may travel on as our fathers did. We let in light from above to guide our steps. We hold in our hands a silver chain, which we put into yours, and which will ever remain bright, and preserve our friendship."

Similar sentiments were expressed by the other speakers, and a general cessation of hostilities resulted; the terms of pacification were agreed on, hostages were demanded and furnished, and six deputies appointed to visit Sir William Johnson. On the 18th of October, Bouquet set out on his return to Fort Pitt, which he reached on the 28th. From this point the rescued captives were sent to their respective homes. Bradstreet also returned, by way of Lake Erie, to Fort Niagara and Albany, a part of his army having marched thither by land. An effectual termination was thus put to the hostilities of the Indians against the British government, resulting from the conquest of Canada.

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Chapter IX. — Lord Dunmore's Expedition to the Scioto Against the Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, and Mingoes. Incident of Logan.

THE peace concluded with the Indians, influenced as they were by the presence of large armies, and compelled thereto by the force of circumstances, not being consonant to their feelings, exercised only a temporary restraint upon their actions. Canada having submitted to the British arms, they had no longer their ancient ally to rest on, and they had finally submitted, in 1764, to a power they could not continue to oppose; assuming the garb of peace, and breathing words of submission, while their hearts still glowed with their native predilection for war and plunder. The fire was merely smothered. This state of quasi amity and friendship continued for several years subsequent to the expeditions of Bradstreet and Bouquet. These expeditions had, however, been the means of making geographical explorations, which had developed districts of country so inviting in all their natural characteristics, the alluvions, called "bottoms," possessing a deep and fertile soil, surrounded by sylvan scenery of an enchanting character, that the desire for their acquisition by an agricultural people, became equally ardent and absorbing. The Indians were very soon regarded as a mere incumbrance on the land, and life was freely ventured in its acquisition.

The project for the settlement of Kentucky originated in 1773. A resolution was formed to make the attempt early the following spring, notwithstanding it was occupied by Indians, who had committed some mischief, and were suspected of hostile intentions. The mouth of the Little Kenawha was selected as the place of rendezvous. Reports of a very alarming nature deterred several persons from joining in the attempt. About eighty or ninety fearless and enterprising men met at the rendezvous, amongst whom was George Eodgers Clarke, the future conqueror of Illinois. The explorers remained encamped at this point for several days, during which time, a small party of hunters, who had gone out to obtain supplies of meat for the camp, were fired on, at a point on the Ohio below their camp. This act betokened a state of hostile feeling among the Indians. It being deemed necessary to select a commander, Captain Michael Cresap was chosen, who had acquired a reputation the previous year, and who, was known to he then on the Ohio, above, with a party. They had purposed attacking a Shawnee

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town, located on the Scioto river, at a place called Horsehead Bottom; but Cresap opposed it, on the ground that, although appearances on the part of the Indians were very suspicious, there was no open war, and that, being yet early in the spring, it was most prudent to await further developements. This advice was followed, and the whole party accompanied him up the river to Wheeling, at which place they established their headquarters. The numbers of the armed explorers were quickly augmented by the surrounding settlers; a fort was erected, and, after some negotiations with the commander, at Pittsburg, acting under the authority of Lord Dunmore, the existence of a state of war was publicly announced.

This period of Indian history requires a moment's further attention, as a war with the Shawnees, Delawares, and Mingoes was on the point of commencing. A foul deed was committed a few days subsequently, by some reckless and unprincipled traders, or vandal scouts, who, according to Colonel Sparks, unknown to Cresap, stole on Logan's lodge, and cruelly murdered his family. This crime introduced on the scene of action the celebrated chieftain, Logan, whose misfortunes have excited wide-spread sympathy, and whose simple eloquence has electrified the world.

Logan was born at Shamoken, on the Susquehanna, a spot whose precincts have been hallowed by the good deeds of the benevolent Count Zinzendorf and his followers, who there founded the mission of Bethlehem. Logan's father, whose name was Shikelimo, was an Iroquois, of the Cayuga tribe. The murder of his family and his relations, on the Ohio, in 1774, was not the result of the expedition from Virginia, which has just been described, but was attributable to the inordinate desire for acquisition, on the one part, and of exasperation of the races on the other, which has so long characterized the Indian trade on remote sections of the frontiers. The event occurred two days after the final decision at Wheeling, and at a time when uncommonly great excitement existed between the Indians and the whites. Two canoes from the west bank of the Ohio stopped at a trader's station, at the mouth of Yellow river, some twenty miles below Wheeling. There is no evidence that the armed frontiersmen at the station knew that either Logan's wife, sister, or any relative of his, was among the number of these trading visitors, and the atrocious act must be regarded as a result of the then prevalent and rancorous hatred of the Indian race. The victims were shot down in their canoes, while crossing the Ohio, not because they were obnoxious as individuals; not because they were of the family of Logan; but simply on account of their affinity with the wild Turanian race. Such is the generally acknowledged version of this base

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transaction. Colonel Sparks, while exonerating Cresap from complicity in this dark transaction, either personally, or through any orders or permission given to his men, reveals an entirely new feature in the case. No member of Logan's family was in the two canoes which stopped at Baker's Bottom; but they were killed in Logan's own lodge, on Mingo Bottom, during his absence on a hunting excursion. The cowardly deed was done by some of Cresap's men, who had stolen away from his camp, contrary to his wishes, while he was journeying from Wheeling to Pittsburg, and against his express orders, which were, to respect Logan's residence, and not to attack it. Not only was this so, but, when Cresap heard the firing, he immediately ran in the direction whence the sounds proceeded, and interposed his authority to stop the massacre. There is also another misstatement which requires correction. The pusillanimous attack on the canoes at Yellow Creek was not committed by the men of Cresap's command, then on the Ohio, far less by Cresap himself, or by his orders. On the contrary, not only was Cresap a brave and worthy man, distinguished for his services in the Indian wars of that period, as well as during that of the Revolution, which succeeded it, but he was also a friend of Logan, and, according to George Rodgers Clarke, opposed an attack on Logan's house, at Mingo Bottom. In this exoneration of Cresap, Colonel Sparks, who was a private in Lord Dunmore's army, at the date of the delivery of Logan's speech, in Camp Charlotte, on the Scioto, concurs.

The force congregated at Wheeling soon became engaged in a struggle with the Indians. A day or two after their arrival at that place, some canoes containing Indians were discovered descending the river, under shelter of the island. They were pursued for fifteen miles, when a battle ensued, in which a few men were killed and wounded on each side. Hostilities having thus commenced, the entire country soon swarmed with armed Indians; and the settlers, to ensure their own safety, were compelled to huddle together in block houses.

An express was despatched to Governor Dunmore, at Williamsburg, with information as to the position of affairs on the frontiers. The legislature being then in session, measures were at once adopted for repelling the Indians. Early in the month of June, a force of 400 men, collected in eastern Virginia, reached Wheeling, whence they descended the river to the Indian town of Wappatomica, but without effecting anything, as the town was deserted, and the Indians had fled. In this expedition, the men suffered much for want of food; the Indians were not intimidated. After various manoeuverings, and much countermarching, during which several Indian towns were burned, and a few men killed, Indian subtlety proving more than a match for English discipline and rash confidence, the army returned to Wheeling, and was disbanded.

A more formidable expedition, however, was organized at the seat of the Virginia

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government, of which Governor Dunmore announced his determination to assume the command. By the 1st of September, a force, numbering from 1000 to 1200 men, was organized, under the immediate command of General Andrew Lewis. After marching nineteen days through the wilderness, General Lewis reached Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, where he was to have been joined by Dunmore; but, instead thereof, he received despatches from him, changing the plan of operations, and directing him to proceed to the Scioto river. While preparing to comply with this order, his camp was suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by a body of Shawnees and their allies, led on by the Shawnee chief, Monusk, or Cornstalk, and a fiercely-contested battle ensued. The Indians exhibited great daring, rushing to the encounter with a boldness and fury which has seldom been equalled, and accompanying their onslaught with tremendous noise and shouting. Colonels Lewis and Fleming were killed, and the troops were obliged to give ground for a time; but a reinforcement being ordered up, the Indians were, in turn, compelled to fall back. The battle raged from eleven o'clock in the morning until four in the afternoon, when the natives retreated. The Indians engaged were Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, and Mingoes. Among the leaders of the latter was the celebrated Tah-ga-yu-ta, or Logan, whose eloquence has thrilled so many hearts. The Virginians acknowledge a loss of 150 men, and the Indians are estimated to have lost 200 warriors. Indian history nowhere records such an obstinately contested battle. The loss of the Virginians would have been much greater, had they not adopted the system of the natives, darting from tree to tree with the spring of a cougar, and taking aim with the precision of woodsmen and hunters.

Having properly interred the dead, and erected and garrisoned a temporary fort, General Lewis moved forward to the Scioto; but, in the meantime, Lord Dunmore had reached that stream by way of Pittsburg, and had established a camp, which he called Charlotte, at the mouth of a small stream, known as the Sippi. At this camp, the Indians were collected, and a treaty of amity was concluded. In the council, Cornstalk spoke with a manly tone and demeanor, which excited remark; all the tribes which had been engaged in the battle, were there represented, except the Mingoes. The latter, being under the influence of Logan, who had entered into this war with the most revengeful feelings, were restrained by him from coming forward. Lord Dunmore sent for the chief; but he declined attending, and transmitted to him the noted speech, which has given to his name a literary immortality.

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Chapter X. — The Indian Trade Under British Rule.

THE subjugation of the Indians being at length effected, from this period we may trace the progress of the British toward a monopoly of the Indian trade, which tremendous engine of power was destined ultimately to operate in elevating or depressing the tribes, in accordance with the will of those who directed its movements. The trade with the Indians was a boon at which commerce clutched with an eager hand. To secure the coveted prize, no hardship was considered too severe, no labor too onerous; dangers and difficulties were laughed at, and life itself regarded as of little value. The Indians were incited to new exertions in pursuing the chase, little heeding that they were, in reality, destroying their main resource for the sustenance of life; for, when the fur-bearing animals were annihilated, their lands became in a great measure valueless to them. In the hands of the English, Quebec, Montreal, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and the Mississippi towns, not only equalled their progress under the French, but became still greater centres of trade. Though New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston contributed their capital to the extension of this trade, yet the above-named original interior towns of the traders still held their prominent position. The tribes, scattered over the continent, felt most severely the effects of this ever-extending empire of trade; they were literally driven from the face of the earth, by the rabid and uncontrolled pursuit of wealth, through the medium of the fur trade, which so long promised riches to those who engaged in it.

Sir William Johnson, who had been during forty years the Maecenas of the Indians, and knew the disastrous effects which unlicensed trade would have on Indian society, early saw the importance of so systematizing and controlling it, that it might become an element, not only of power, but of prosperity to the colonies and to the Indians. His letters and memoirs on this subject, furnish abundant proof of his comprehensive views and of his integrity of character. Indeed, his activity during his entire management of Indian affairs, gave evidence that he shrank from no duty. In 1761 he visited Detroit, for the purpose of placing matters there on a proper basis, and his agents had, for years, traversed the Ohio, the Scioto, the Maumee, and other districts of the west,

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collecting information, and transmitting to him the details of every occurrence. To him the British government owes a heavy debt of gratitude.

Nothing was more important in the re-adjustment of Indian affairs, and for securing their good will, than a proper organization of the fur trade. Prior to the conquest of Canada, the English traders had been principally confined to the sources of the streams flowing into the Atlantic; but after this era their operations were extended indefinitely, west and north. Under the French authority, a variety of regulations and limitations had been enforced, extraordinary privileges, and monopolies of particular districts having been specially granted. Something of the same kind was attempted at the commencement of the English domination, after the fall of Canada; the power of granting licenses to trade on the frontiers, having been at first exercised by the commanding officers of posts. From the time of the capture of Quebec, the Indian trade had been in a state of confusion, and, before the final surrender of the remote districts, the Indians had been prevented from obtaining their regular supplies of goods, wares, and merchandise, which had now become necessary to their comfort. They had long previously lost their old arts, and had become familiarized to the use of metallic cooking vessels, woollens, arms, and ammunition.

The several memoirs and letters which Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, addressed to the Lords of Trade, on the subject before referred to, are good indications of the importance he attached to the correction of irregularities in the fur trade, of his care in placing before them the elements on which an equable system could be established, and of his solicitude for its early formation. When the Canadas were added to the area of his jurisdiction, it required some time to establish, on a proper footing, the new relations with all the distant tribes, which the occasion required. His great object was to secure political influence with the tribes, and for this purpose he had personally visited Detroit, Oswego, and Niagara. He kept in pay three deputies, who traversed a great part of the West, reporting to him the result of their observations and inquiries; and in the New York publications now before us, there is abundant evidence that he omitted no occasion of keeping the government advised concerning the true position of Indian affairs. It was not until after the return of the successful armies of Bradstreet and Bouquet, in the autumn of 1764, that an Englishman could, with any safety, carry goods into the newly-conquered districts. The very appellation, "English trader," was detested by the northern tribes, and instances occurred where Englishmen were obliged to conduct their operations in the names of the Canadian guides and interpreters in their employ. Even the mere uniform of an English officer or soldier was loathed by them. "Why," said Pontiac, in 1763, "do you suffer those dogs in red clothing to remain on your land."

We are told that trade at Michilimackinac began in 1766. In 1765, Alexander

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Henry, who had escaped the massacre at Michilimackinac, obtained a license granting him the monopoly of the trade on Lake Superior, and, after one year's sojourn there, returned, bringing with him 150 packs of beaver, each weighing 100 pounds, besides other furs. Mr. J. Carver, on his arrival there, in 1766, found this place to be the great centre of the English trade. At first it was limited to Chegoimegon and Comenistequoia on Lake Superior, until Thomas Curry, obtaining guides and interpreters, penetrated as far as Fort Bourbon, on the Saskatchewine, and returned the following year with his canoes so amply filled with fine furs, that he was enabled to retire from the business. James Finley followed his track, the next year, to Nipawee, reaping equal profits, and was succeeded in the enterprise by Joseph Frobisher. The way being thus opened, others recklessly braved the attendant dangers and hardships, and ardently pursued the business. Thus was inaugurated the North-west trade, which, during half a century has proved of more real value than any gold mines. It is no marvel that every toil was encountered in its pursuit, and health, as well as life itself, freely sacrificed to it.

The fur trade in the West also vigorously commenced about this period. It had been carried on, by the aid of pack-horses, across the Alleghanies, from Philadelphia and Baltimore to Fort Pitt, from the period of its capture; but, until after the return of the expedition of Bouquet in 1764, the territory beyond the Ohio could not be penetrated without incurring the greatest risks. At length, under the treaty of Versailles, British authority was established on the Mississippi, and, in September, 1765, Captain Sterling left Fort Pitt for the Illinois, with 100 men of the 42d regiment, in boats, and relieved the French garrison of Fort Chartres. The trading posts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, and Peoria, were thus brought within the defined limits for trading operations. The following year, Matthew Clarkson, whose journal is contained in a former volume of this work, opened a trading station at Fort Chartres, under the auspices of a mercantile house in Philadelphia.

A line of British posts at this period extended from Fort Chartres, in Illinois, by way of Pittsburg to Niagara, Oswego, and Fort Stanwix, and thence, pursuing the line of trade, up the lake to Detroit and Michilimackinac. The tribes being thus restrained, made no further efforts to originate hostile combinations. They had lost many men in the war which began in 1755; they had been foiled in all their schemes, from South Carolina to the Straits of Michigan; and, although they had evinced great energy and activity under the direction of Pontiac, their efforts invariably resulted in defeat. Such evidences of the possession of power on the part of the British were also developed, as to prove to them that, though slow in action, and sometimes erring in their movements, yet the latter had perseverance, energy, and ability, sufficient to baffle all their efforts. The Indians had likewise suffered greatly, within a few years, in their trade, which had been purposely interrupted.

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Chapter XI. — Census of the Numbers, Names, and Position of the Indian Tribes, Taken After the Conquest of Canada.

HAVING conquered Canada, one of the first things necessary for the management of Indian affairs by Great Britain was, to ascertain the names and numerical strength of the Indians who had been transferred to her jurisdiction; which task was undertaken by Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs. As a central point, he began with the population of the Iroquois, who were then, and had long been, the objects of his special care. In a census table prepared by him, in 1763, for the Lords of Trade, he represents the number of men capable of bearing arms among the Mohawks, at 160; the Oneidas, at 250; the Onondagas, at 150; the Cayugas, at 200; the Senecas, at 1050; and the Tuscaroras, at 140. He places the outlying band of Oswegachys (Ogdensburg), at 80, and the Caghnawagas (St. Regis), at 300; making a total of 2330 warriors, who, agreeably to the usual rules of computation, would represent an aggregate population of 11,650 souls. He computes that, of Conoys, Tuteloes, Saponeys, Nanticokes, and other conquered and dismembered tribes, then living in the Iroquois country, agreeably to their policy, there were, at that period, 200 men, or 1000 souls.

After leaving the area of New York, there is less reliance to be placed on the census, which was made up, not from actual enumeration, but from the reports of persons journeying amongst, or trading with, the tribes, and from the statements of parties supposed to be best informed on the subject. Sir William Johnson estimates the Algonquins, or Adirondaks, at 150 men, or 750 souls; the Abinakies, at 100 men, or 500 souls; and the various tribes of Hurons, or Wyandots, of Canada, at 240 men, representing a population of 1200 souls. This enumeration would allow to the Indians of Canada below Lake Ontario, and to the Iroquois of New York, including the nations conquered by them, and residing among them, 2820 fighting men, or 14,100 souls, a total which is believed to be a little above the actual numbers.

But, if the population of the region with which Sir William was least acquainted, namely, the lower St. Lawrence valley, was sometimes over-estimated by his informants,

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that of the great west, beyond the Alleghanies and along the upper lakes, if we except errors of synonymes, is conceived to have been returned with excellent judgment.

The attempt to estimate the numerical force of the Pontiac confederacy, during that year, must be considered to have been made under great disadvantages. The Baronet had himself visited Detroit, the seat of this confederacy, in 1761, and gathered the elements of his estimates from persons resident there.

The Wyandots, or Hurons, of Michigan, are rated at 250 men, or 1250 souls; the Ottawas, dispersed in various localities, at 700 men, or 3500 souls; the Chippewas, among whom are included the Mississagies, of the region of Detroit, at 320 men; and those of Michilimackinac, at 400 men, together making an aggregate of 8350. The Pottawattamies of Detroit are set down as comprising 150 warriors, and those of St. Joseph, 200; both, conjoined, representing a population of 1750 persons.

In the valley of the Ohio, and the region of country immediately west of it, the means for making an enumeration were more ample and reliable.

The Shawnees are estimated, with apparently good judgment, at 300 men, or 1500 souls; and the Delawares, with nearly the same probable accuracy, at 3000 persons, which would give them 600 fighting men.

The Miamies of the Wabash valley, under their Iroquois name of Twightwees, are numbered at 230 men; the Piankashaws, at 100 men; and the Weas, at 200 men, making 2650 souls. In the same general district, there are enumerated 180 Kickapoos, and 90 Mascoutins, a tribe of prairie Indians, who appear in all the earliest estimates, but who have since lost that designation. The name would indicate that they were Algonquins. These add to the estimate 1350 persons.

In the region of Green Bay, comprising the present area of Wisconsin, the Monomonies are computed at 110 men, or 550 souls. This estimate is duplicated under their French synonyme of Folsavoins. But, irrespective of this mistake, the number of Monomonies, at that time, would not seem to have been overrated at 1100 souls. The Winnebagoes, called by the French, Puanis, are rated at 360 men, or an aggregate of 1750 individuals, which is not excessive. The Sauks are enumerated as having 300 fighting men, or a population of 1500 souls, a probable excess; and the Outagamies, or Foxes, 320 warriors, or 1600 souls. These two tribes had united their fortunes, after their unsuccessful attack, in 1712, on the fort of Detroit, which act procured them the hatred of the French.

The aggregate of these enumerations and estimates of the western and northern tribes, reaches 24,050 individuals. Add to this the 14,100 of the eastern or home table of Sir William's superintendency, and there is presented a gross population of 38,150 souls. This does not include the southern tribes, or those residing on the west banks of the Mississippi, both of which groups of tribes were beyond his jurisdiction, and, also, outside of the limits of the territory ceded by the treaty of Versailles, concluded February 10th, 1763.

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Means for testing this estimate were furnished by the respective expeditions of Bradstreet and Bouquet, in 1764. The estimate of the former, as given by Major Mante, p. 526, only related to the tribes assembled at, or living within, a circle of five or six days' march from his camp. This computation furnished data for an aboriginal population of some 9500 persons, of which number, 1930 are set down as warriors.

The statistics of the Indian population collected by Colonel Bouquet, and published at Philadelphia, in 1766, proceed to the other extreme, and, instead of confining the enumeration to tribes which were visited, contiguous, or known, he not only extended it to tribes residing beyond the region, and outside of the limits of the British territory, but, also, frequently, under various synonymes, or soubriquets, duplicated or triplicated the same tribes.

After discarding these redundancies, limiting the estimate of the tribes to the ratio of that of Sir William, and correcting the evident confusion existing between the number of fighting men and the gross population of the tribes, as in the note, the table of Bouquet does not exhibit, on the same area, a gross variance from the corresponding parts of the Superintendent's list. He does not show that the entire Indian force in the west, residing east of the Mississippi river, numbered over 30,950 souls, or 6210 fighting men. To these he has added (see note below) 11,350 southern Indians, comprising the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and the small tribes of the Catabas and Natchez,

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who are estimated at 2250 warriors. As if to evidence the peril from which he had escaped, or to show the force that could be brought against the British frontiers, the Sioux, Kansas, and wild prairie tribes of upper Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, are introduced into the estimates. Thus, the entire number of fighting men in his estimates is set down at 56,500, which, by the data he furnishes, would indicate a gross population of 283,000 souls, a most extravagant computation.

274 Section Thirteenth. — History of the Indian Tribes During the American Revoloution.

Chapter I. — The Indian Force to be Encountered.

OHIO was the first of those talismanic names which, dating back as early as 1750, in the days of Franklin and Washington, influenced the spread of the American population over the entire West. But the country so attractive to a civilized people was in possession of fierce savage tribes, who flitted through the wilderness like the genii of Arabic fable, acknowledging neither the laws of God, nor those of man. England was the first to teach to such of these western tribes as hovered around her colonies, the principles of industry, arts, and letters, and the incalculable advantages of the habits of civilization over barbarism. She was the first also, by the aid of her fleets and armies, to bring these savage hordes to effectual terms; and, adopting their own figurative style, to make them aware that the plow was superior to the tomahawk. She exercised a just supervision over a wide and exposed frontier, through the medium of lines of forts and agencies, and re-established, on better principles, the fur trade, that powerful stimulus to energetic action among the Indians, which has had a much greater influence on the early and middle ages of their history, than anything else. But, after effecting this object by a lavish expenditure of blood and treasure, and after having compelled the savages to acknowledge the British sway, this power would seem to have only been acquired by Britain, and strengthened, that it might be wielded against the Americans; for, after controlling this Indian influence during the brief period of fifteen years, it was directed against the colonies by the mother country, and

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proved, if not one of the most potent, at least one of the most inhuman and cruel auxiliaries of a despotic government, in its efforts to coerce and crush a brave and liberty-loving people.

To ascertain the precise strength of this Indian force, had been an object with the British government after the conquest of Canada, and it also became a point of much moment to the colonies on the breaking out of the Revolution. The results of the efforts made by the British authorities to determine their numbers, have just been stated. The first reliable estimates obtained by the colonies, were made under the auspices of the War Department, while the government was located at Philadelphia. The elements of the following schedule are extant in the handwriting of Mr. Madison.

FORCE OF THE INDIAN NATIONS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
I. IROQUOIS.
Tribes.	Warriors.	Gross Pop.	Locality.
Mohawks	100	500	Mohawk Valley.
Oneidas and Tuscaroras	400	2000	Oneida County, western New York.
Onondagas	230	1150	Onondaga Castle, &c., western New York.
Cayugas	220	1100	Cayuga Lake, &c., western New York.
Senecas	650	3250	Seneca Lake to Niagara, New York.
	1600	8000

II. IROQUOIS OF THE WEST.
Wyandots	180	900	Detroit and Sandusky.

III. ALGONQUINS.
Ottowas	450	2250	Miami river to Michilimackinac.
Chippewas	5000	25,000	Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior.
Mississagies	250	1250	North of lakes.
Pottawattamies	450	2250	Detroit, St. Joseph's, and Wabash.
Miamies	300	1500	St. Joseph's of Miami, &c.
Piankashaws, Weas, under the name of Musketoons, &c.	800	4000	Wabash river, &c.
Monomonies	2000	10,000	West of Lake Michigan, &c.
Shawnees	300	1500	Ohio, &c., have been exceedingly active.
Delawares, Munsees	600	3000	Muskingum, &c.
	10,150	50,750

IV. DAKOTAS.
Sioux	500	2500	Upper Mississippi.

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V. APPALACHIANS.
Tribes.		Warriors.	Gross Pop.	Authorities.
Cherokees		500	2500	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
Chickasaws		150	750	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
Choctaws		900	4500	Smith, Vol. III., p. 555.
Catawbas		150	750	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
Natchez		150	750	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
Muscogees	Alabamas	600	3000	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
Muscogees	Cowetas	700	3500	Hutchins, Vol. III., p. 555.
		3150	15,750

RECAPITULATION.
	Warriors.	Gross Population.
1. Iroquois of New York	1600	8000
2. Iroquois of the West	180	900
3. Algonquins	10,150	50,750
4. Dakotahs	500	2500
5. Appalachians, southern tribes	3150	15,750
	15,580	77,900

It is evident, from scanning these details, that access had been obtained to persons conversant with the locations and population of the Indian tribes. Compared to the wild general estimates of Bouquet, made in 1764, they present a schedule evincing judgment and a commendable approach to accuracy. If the strength of some tribes is overrated, others are correspondingly underrated, leaving the average of the Indian force that could, by any probability, be brought into the field, very near the true standard. The Sioux, for instance, might, with a much nearer approach to accuracy, have been rated at 10,000, but there was no probability that more than 500 warriors could, under the most favorable circumstances, have been brought into action. In fact, it is believed that not a man of that stock ever drew a bow against the Americans, unless it be possible that one or two stray warriors of their ethnological connection, the Winnebagoes, can be conjectured to have wandered to Wyoming, or Stanwix. The Iroquois Six Nations are enumerated as having 350 warriors less than they are rated in the estimate of Sir William Johnson, made in 1763, which probably a little more than underrates their actual decline in thirteen years, under the combined influence of trade and alcohol. The Chippewas are over-estimated at 5000 men, on a limited area, and without tracing their scattered bands over a very wide and remote field. The enumeration of the Menomonies, who occupied the present area of Wisconsin, is also, under any circumstances, in excess; but this very nomadic people were in the habit of hunting over an extended territory on the upper Mississippi, where they were accompanied by their intimate associates, the Sauks, who have no place in the estimate. The Foxes, the Kickapoos, and their allies, the Mascotins, the aggregate population of which three tribes is computed at 2950, in Johnson's tables, are also entirely left out in this estimate, so that what was overrated on the one hand, was, with a considerable approach to accuracy, counterbalanced on the other. Nor is it probable, as Mr.

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Madison has stated, in a note attached to the estimate, that his aggregate of 12,430 warriors was above the truth, or that this force was employed in the contest. It has been estimated that the number of fighting men employed by Great Britain during the war, was 770.

Congress, after its primary organization, placed the subject of the Indian intercourse in the hands of commissioners, under the direction of the Secretary of War. The trust was an arduous one, perpetually fluctuating in its aspects, and requiring great knowledge of the Indian character, as well as an accurate conception of the geographical features and natural resources of the country. It was evident, from the first, that the Six Nations would side with the mother country, from whom it was earnestly desired to detach them, and to persuade them to remain neuter in the contest. This was the policy prescribed by Washington, and was urged upon them by Mr. Samuel Kirkland, who resided among the Oneidas. He was charged personally by the President, to impress upon them the importance of pursuing a neutral line of policy; for then, no matter which party proved triumphant, the Indian interests would not receive injury; but if they were involved in the struggle, their interests would be likely to suffer. This reasoning prevailed with the Oneidas and Christian Indians under the energetic and popular chief, Skenandoah. A part of the Tuscaroras also sided with the Americans.

The ancient tribe of Mohicans of the Housatonic, whose history has been impressed upon popular memory by their long residence at Stockbridge, Mass., had been for a long period classed among the followers of the gospel; but, as the martial spirit of the era aroused all their warrior feelings, they enlisted themselves on the side of the colonies, and furnished an efficient company of spies and flankers for the American army. Directing the view to the west, there was but little encouragement in the prospect. The Delawares, who had finally abandoned central Pennsylvania, in 1749, influenced thereto partially by annoyance at the continued encroachments of the settlers, but more by fear of the Iroquois tomahawk, were arrayed in opposition to the colonies.

The Shawnees, who claim a remote southern origin, appear to have divided in their primary emigration to the north; a part of the tribe pursuing the route within the range of the Alleghanies, to the territory of the Lenno Lenapi, or Delawares, directly north, and a part descending the Kenawha, to the Ohio valley, whence they ascended the Scioto river to Chillicothe, which became their western centre. Others located themselves a little below the influx of the Wabash, at a spot hence called Shawneetown.

There is a circumstance of much interest connected with the history of this tribe. According to the account of the Mohican chief, Metoxon, that tribe was originally

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connected with the Delawares, but being a restless and quarrelsome people, had involved themselves in inextricable troubles while in the south, and, in the chief's language, had returned to sit again between the feet of their grandfather.

Those of the tribe who had reached their closely ethnological affiliated relatives, the Delawares, had either preceded the latter, or accompanied them, across the Alleghanies.

That portion of the Senecas, and of other tribes of the Iroquois, who had emigrated west, or who possibly held a footing there from remote times, were called Mingoes. They were regarded as generally taking part with the western Indians in their hostilities. When Washington visited their chief, Tanacharisson, at Logstown, in 1753, this sachem expressed himself as being friendly to the Virginians; and it is believed that this particular branch of them were not included among those who formed the ambuscade against General Braddock, three years subsequently.

Of the Chippewas, Ottowas, Mississagies, and other Algonquin nations, embraced in the preceding estimate, it is not known, or believed, that any of them were friendly to the American cause. They had been firm friends of the French, but, after the offence which has been mentioned, they transferred their allegiance to the British. It requires to be noticed, however, that, being more remote from the scene of conflict than any other tribe, if we except the Mississagies of Canada, there was only one point from which they might or could have been employed against the Americans, viz: from the central location of Fort Niagara, which was officially visited by the western tribes, even from Michilimackinac and Lake Superior. Sir William Johnson died in 1774, about the time of the occurrence of the tea riot in Boston. The title and office descended to his son John, whose hall, at Johnstown, having been taken during the following year by the revolutionists, and himself placed on his parole, he fled to Canada, carrying with him the Mohawk tribe. Subsequently, Fort Niagara became the seat of the royal influence, where marauding, plundering, and scalping-parties were organized, and, to use the expressive epithet of Sir John's father, "painted and feathered" for war.

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Chapter II. — Unfriendly State of Feeling, and Erroneous Opinions of the Tribes, During the Contest.

THE 770 tomahawks, and the like number of scalping-knives, which, agreeably to the estimate, the British Indians could wield, in this war with the colonies, were actively employed on the frontier settlers of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The savages were incited to greater activity in their bloody deeds by rewards paid for the scalps of the unfortunate victims, thus establishing a certain relation between dollars and blood. For a handful of energetic but undisciplined militia to oppose a powerful nation on the seaboard, possessing, as she did, every means of offence that ships and armies could furnish, was a great and hazardous undertaking; but to encounter the Indians at the same time, on the frontiers, required a skilful policy. There was a two-fold enemy to cope with. It had occupied England, with all her influence and political tact, backed by all her means, a period of fifteen years to wean the affections of the tribes from the French, and to attach them to the British crown. All this the colonies now attempted to undo. The Indians were told that the colonies had taken up the mace, and had begun to wield the sovereignty against the mother country; that it was a contest of son against father. By the British party, the Americans were represented as being weak in numbers, as well as impoverished in finances, and that their generals and leaders were destined to pay the forfeit of their rebellion on the gallows. The Indian, being no casuist, no statesman, no judge of the justice, or of the rights of nations, thought that the oldest, the strongest, and the wisest, should prevail; and, therefore, he resolved to fight on the side of Britain. Fifteen years had elapsed, after the fall of Canada, before the English were enabled to secure the friendship of the Indians, and to cement their interests: it was, consequently, impossible to effect a sudden rupture between them. They neither understood nor appreciated the principles involved in the contest, which was represented to them, by those whose interest it was to do so, as a family quarrel between a father and a son; and, so far as we can collate their expressed opinions, they contended that the father was in the right. But, whether in the right or wrong, they believed the British to be

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the strongest, the most wealthy, and the most willing and able to benefit them. The Americans, it was urged, would be very likely to trench upon their rights by locating themselves upon their lands; though the Indians had need of but little for the purpose of cultivation, which they regarded as one of the heresies of civilization. They merely required the domain, that on it might be raised deer, bears, and beaver, which animals the migrations from the Atlantic shores, already beginning to cross the Alleghanies, would drive away. They lived on the flesh of these animals, and, by the sale of the skins and furs, they procured all else that was necessary to their subsistence. This was a popular strain, on which their speakers could dilate. They had frequently spoken to Warrahiagey on the subject, and opposed the concessions of lands on the banks of the rivers flowing into the Atlantic, made to the colonists by the British governors. They asserted that these patented lands were theirs, and had never been sold. It was an old theme, which had now been invested with renewed vitality.

The Indian mode of warfare gives them an advantage over mercenary troops, as their fierce and loud screams and whoops seem to presage immediate destruction. But this is a delusion; a hundred Indians, scattered through a forest, might, by their noise, be thought a thousand, such is the celerity of their movements, and the piercing shrillness of their screams and sassaguons. To a people in the habit of making use of similes, they appear to partake of the character of the wolves of their own forest and prairie; for they not only intimidate by their howls, but, no matter who starts and wounds the animal, they all come in for a share of the spoils, and riot on the plunder of the weak, the exhausted, and the defenceless. Though they occasionally commit murder only for the purpose of securing success in an assault, yet they seem to gather rage in proportion as the prey is weak, when they rival their prototypes in wild cruelty, and in their appetite for blood. Such were their distinguishing traits at Ulster, at Oriskany, at Cherry Valley, and Wyoming.

To conciliate the tribes, therefore, became the cherished policy of the revolted Colonies. The Americans represented to them that they were not parties to the contest, and that, no matter who succeeded, they could only be subordinates. They were, therefore, counselled to neutrality, which, however, required a stretch of ratiocination beyond their ability. The Indian character is formed by war; war is the high path to honor and renown; and, even those tribes which had professed their belief in the truths of Christianity, could not be restrained, or but partially, from taking up the tomahawk.

The Mohicans, of Stockbridge, ranged themselves on the side of the Americans, and performed good service, as scouts, throughout the contest. The Oneidas did the same. The voice of the popular chief, Skenandoah, was heard in favor of the rising colonies; and the watchful attention and quick eye of Attatea, known as Colonel Louis, carefully noted the approach of evil footsteps during the great struggle of 1777, and gave every

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day the most reliable information of the march and position of the enemy. The residue of the Six Nations acted the part of fierce foes along the frontiers. The Shawnees and Delawares were also cruel enemies. Their fealty to the British cause it was asserted, was further cemented by a promise, that their allies would stand by them, and never consent to a peace which did not make the Ohio river the boundary of the colonies.

Fortunately for the cause of humanity, the great battles of the Revolution were fought on the open plains and cultivated parts of the country, which, being denuded of forests, were unfavorable to the employment of Indian auxiliaries. The battles of Concord and Bunker Hill, Guilford, Long Island, White Plains, Saratoga, Monmouth, Trenton, Camden, King's Mountain, the Cowpens, Brandywine, Germantown, and Yorktown, were the great features of the conflict. But, wherever a detached column was marched through forests, or occupied an isolated fort, the war-cry resounded, and the details of the war give evidence that there were other and more dreaded enemies to be encountered than the sword and the bayonet, the cannon and the bomb.

The superior military skill and success of the Iroquois gave them a prominent position in Indian warfare. At the period of the Revolution, circumstances had placed them under the sway of the noted and energetic chief, Thyendanagea, more familiarly known as Joseph Brant. We have perused the speculations of an ingenuous and ready writer, who labors to prove that Brant was, by the regular line of descent, a Mohawk chieftain. It is, however, undoubted, that he was not the son of a chief, and that, agreeably to the Iroquois laws of descent, he could not be a chief if the son of a chief, the right of inheritance being exclusively vested in the female line. Brant was, in fact, a self-made man, owing his position to his own native energy, talents, and education. The Mohawks had lost their last and greatest sachem, Soiengarahta, called King Hendrick, in 1755, at the battle of Lake George. Little Abraham, who succeeded him in authority, was a man of excellent sense and fine talents, but exclusively a civilian, and possessing no reputation as a warrior. The institutions of the Iroquois were guarded by many rules and regulations, prescribed by their councils and customs; but they were, nevertheless, of a democratic character, and, under the sway of popular opinion, recognised and rewarded great talent and bravery. In 1776, no one could compete with Brant in these qualifications. In addition to his natural physical and mental energy, he had been well educated in early life, could read fluently, and was a ready writer. Raised within the purlieus of the Hall of Sir William Johnson, he never dreamed of questioning the fact, that Great Britain was, beyond all other nations, powerful, strong, and wise, and must prevail.

Brant's hatred of the Americans assimilated to that of Attila for the Romans.

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Chapter III. — Contests in Which the Indian Force was Engaged. Invasion of St. Leger, with the Combined Iroquois.

SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON died suddenly, from the effects of an attack of apoplexy, in the year 1774, at a time when reflecting minds deemed a speedy rupture between the colonies and the British crown inevitable. This gentleman had been forty years in rising to that position in Indian affairs which left him no rival or peer in America. During about twenty years of this period, he had been the official head of that department in America, so commissioned by the crown, and acknowledged by all the commanding generals. Intimately acquainted with the mental characteristics, the wants, the wishes, and the fears of the Indians, he had, as it were, with one hand wielded the power of government, in keeping them in order and subjection to the laws, and, with the other, exercised the duties of a Mentor, in teaching them how to promote their own best interests. No man, in the whole scope of our colonial history, can be at all compared to him. He had a presentiment of his death. He disappeared from the scene of action at a critical period, when, to employ an Indian allegory, two thunder-clouds, black with anger, seemed rushing into conflict, leaving no one of sufficient capacity to cope with or control the storm. Great Britain had lavished on him the highest honors, and he was held in the highest respect by the Indians.

Those who have investigated the proceedings and the character of Sir John Johnson, of Guy Johnson, his deputy, of Colonel Claus, and of the various subordinates, who thenceforth controlled the direction of Indian affairs, have arrived at the conclusion, that this important interest was managed in a bad way, if their object was to serve the crown. The encouragement of murders and massacres was well calculated to arouse the deepest hostility of the colonists, and to cement them in the closest bonds of unity against the oppression of the British yoke. Numbers of persons, previously lukewarm in their cause, were driven to take an active part in the contest by deeds of blood and Indian atrocity. The several conferences, held in the office of the British Indian Department,

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during the years '75 and '76, proved the incapacity of Sir William's successors to control great events. The Six Nations were, as a body, the friends of the British, and did not like to see their officials, in public councils, and by public letters to committees and corporations, palliating or denying acts which they had secretly approved, and had stimulated them to perform.

When, in the year 1776, Sir John's residence, at Johnstown, was surrounded and captured by the militia, under General Schuyler, the Highlanders disarmed, and himself liberated on parole, he manifested his lack of honorable principles by breaking his parole, and fleeing to Canada. Guy Johnson, the Deputy Superintendent, and his subordinates, tampered with the authorities, and became involved in inextricable difficulties, thereby evincing more confidence in the justice of the contest than sound discretion or devotion to the best interests of the Mohawks. The jarring elements of that period could not be pacified by duplicity, and Sir John fled with the Indians, first to Fort Stanwix, then to Oswego, and, finally, to Niagara, which became the active headquarters of the Indian superintendency, and the rendezvous for their marauding and scalping parties.

The colonial public was, at this time, in a furor of excitement, the people impelling their local governments to vigorous action. The error of the British government, from first to last, was its rigid adherence to the rights of sovereignty, conceding nothing itself, but demanding from the colonies the most unqualified submission. It was ready to forgive and pardon; but never to redress grievances while possessing the power to coerce. The policy adopted at St. James's palace, was carried out at Johnson Hall, and at every intermediate point; the British maxim being, that the weak must submit to the strong, and that might makes right. No sooner had the Mohawks, Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and Cayugas migrated to western New York with the fugitive Indian Department, and rallied, with the powerful Senecas, around their superintendent, in Fort Niagara, than efforts were made to induce the Iroquois to attack the border settlements. During a conference with the Indians at Oswego, Guy Johnson had excited them to take up the hatchet against the Americans, by inviting them to come and drink the blood of an American, and feast on his roasted body. This, although but an Indian figure of speech for an invitation to a feast of an ordinary character, furnished a formidable weapon to the Revolutionists, who construed its meaning literally, and represented that functionary as a monster of cruelty, in thus rousing these savages to action.

The first incursion of this kind was, the expedition of Colonel St. Leger against the inhabitants of the Mohawk valley. It is not our purpose to notice all the occurrences of a long and bloody war, extending through a period of seven years, in which the Indians were employed; or even to describe at length the principal events. The objects

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of this rapid survey do not admit of it. But we may infer, from the circumstances previously mentioned, what was the character of the contest then impending.

The year 1777 has been made ever memorable by the expedition of General Burgoyne, whose coming was heralded by a threat to march through the country, and crush it at a blow. A fine and well-appointed army of 10,000 men, indeed, appeared to be sufficient to make the people quail; but it was accompanied by hordes of the long-separated, but now reconciled, Algonquins and Iroquois, who ranged over the country, not as auxiliaries on the field of battle, but to destroy the quiet of domestic life by their devastations, and to chill the heart's blood of the colonists by their atrocities. The fate of Miss Jane M'Crea may serve as an incident to illustrate the singular barbarity of this warfare, and its effects on the popular mind.

Simultaneously with the invasion of the north-eastern borders of New York by Burgoyne, St. Leger, accompanied by a compact body of regulars, a park of artillery, and a large number of Indians, under Sir John Johnson, entered it from the west. He left Oswego with a total force of 1700 men, Indians included; the latter consisting chiefly of Senecas, Tuscaroras, Mississagies, an Algonquin tribe, nearly identical with the Chippewas, from the northern end of Lake Ontario, and of fugitive Mohawks, from the Mohawk valley, under Thyendanagea, or Brant, who now began to take a more active part in the contest. In his youth he had been a pupil at Dr. Wheelock's school, was employed as an interpreter and translator at the missionary station at Fort Hunter, and also as an under-secretary at Johnson Hall. As the active and influential brother of the Indian wife of Sir William, he had been constantly rising in the esteem of his people, until he assumed the position of popular leader; he must thenceforth be considered as the hero of the Iroquois. He combined, with great personal activity and a fine manly figure, a good common education, undoubted bravery, and an intimate acquaintance with the manners and customs of civilization; and, what was of still more importance to his success, he possessed a thorough knowledge of the geographical features, and population of the Mohawk valley and its environs, together with a good idea of their power, disposition and resources. He was thus by no means a feeble enemy. Although lacking that comprehensive judgment which was necessary to form an estimate of the true character of the contest, and the unflinching nerve and decision requisite for the control of events, yet he was, after the death of Sir William, fully equal in these particulars to Sir John Johnson, and the other managers of British Indian affairs. But he possessed, in perfection, all the subtlety, subterfuge, art, and, when he grasped the tomahawk in active war, all the cruelty, of the forest savage.

St. Leger pursued his route up the Oswego river to the junction of the Seneca and Oneida, at Three River Point; thence up the Oneida river, through the lake of that name, along Wood Creek and across the portage, to Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk.

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As he progressed, his forces were augmented by the Cayugas and the Onondagas. Fort Stanwix was the only point at which there was any probability this invading force would be stopped; and this fortification was not only in a dilapidated condition, but was garrisoned by only 400 State troops, which force was subsequently increased to some 700. The enemy entertained no doubt that the fort would surrender at discretion, and, as the formal array deployed before the eyes of the garrison, column after column, with banners flashing in the sun, followed by battalions of light artillery, and hordes of Indians, the Americans experienced a feeling similar to that which moved David, when he laid aside his armor and stepped down into the valley to meet Goliath.

"The 3d of August was a day of deep scenic interest, and revealed a military pageant, which made a striking impression. It was a calm and beautiful morning when the enemy took up their line of march from Wood Creek. The intervening ground was an open plain of wide extent, most elevated towards its central and southern edge. Gansevoort's men were paraded on the ramparts looking in the direction whence the Oneida sachem had told them the enemy would appear. Music soon was heard; the scarlet color of their uniforms next showed itself. They had taken their standards from their cases that morning, and as color after color came into view, and they unfurled them to the breeze, an intense degree of interest was felt, but scarcely a word, uttered. To many of the men who had newly enlisted, the scene was novel. Some of them had served the year before under Montgomery; others in the movements at Ticonderoga and Crown Point under St. Clair. Some veterans dated their service in prior wars, under Sir William Johnson, Prideaux, and Bradstreet; there were others who were mere lads of seventeen. The Indians, spreading out on the flanks, gave the scene an air of Asiatic gorgeousness, mixed with terror; for their loud yells were heard above the British drum and bugle. The whole display, the exactitude of the order of march, the glitter of banners, the numbers present, and the impending danger of the contest, were designed for effect upon the American garrison. Not a gun was, however, fired; the panorama was gazed at in silence."

Never was an investment more complete. The artillery deployed on the south, and took up their position within cannon-shot. The Royal Greens and Loyalists, under Sir John, lined one bank of the Mohawk, the shores and woods being occupied by Brant and his myrmidons. Every avenue was watched by the Indians. Death was the penalty of every attempt to venture a distance of over 200 yards from the works. Many atrocities were committed by the Indians on officers, men, and even on children, who were captured outside the pickets. The sentinels soon became expert in watching for every cannon fired, and by a warning cry announced the coming of shot or shell. It became evident that the calibre of the enemy's guns was too light to make an

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impression on the fort, but they made up in diligence what they lacked in power. Sometimes a shell exploded in the hospital, scattering destruction around; and occasionally a man was shot down on the ramparts, or on the esplanade. The garrison had not sufficient ammunition to return a brisk fire; but there was one thing they never lacked — a heroic determination to defend the work at all hazards. The striped flag, which had been hastily made, partly out of a camblet cloak, was duly hoisted and lowered every morning and evening, with the firing of the gun that marked the reveille and the close of day. There was not a heart that quailed; they well knew that, in addition to the ordinary casualties of war, if the garrison was taken, the Indians would perpetrate the most inhuman massacre. The fort was bravely defended by Colonel Gansevoort, with a corps of new recruits and militia, veterans, whose intrepidity, firmness, and military endurance had been previously tested.

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Chapter IV. — Ambuscade and Battle of Oriskany.

THE siege of Fort Stanwix had continued but three or four days, when an American scout entered it, with the intelligence that General Herkimer, at the head of an army of militia, was on his way to relieve it.

Consternation had paralyzed the inhabitants of the Mohawk valley while the danger was yet distant, but the peril seemed to diminish the moment it came near. A desire for security compelled men to take up arms. If Fort Stanwix fell, the Mohawk valley would be swept with fire and sword; and General Herkimer, who commanded the militia, issued his proclamation, summoning them to arms. Three regiments, the entire strength of the valley, promptly responding, followed that determined prototype of Blucher to Oriskany, which was distant but a few miles from the fort.

Brant, who figured as the leader of the Iroquois, had called into requisition all his local knowledge of the route, and all the peculiar art of the Indians in war, that he might decoy General Herkimer and his army into an ambuscade. The system of tactics pursued by the Indians is, not to engage in a battle in compact ranks, but to seek to screen themselves, either under the darkness of night, or through the intervention of forests; and if in this way a good assault can be made, their courage sometimes becomes equal to a contest in very open order, or even to a charge on the field of battle. But, in this instance, the chief evidently only sought to serve on the flanks, and to fall on the Americans unawares, or at a disadvantage. Such is the Indian idea of military triumph. General Herkimer reached the valley of the Oriskany, August 6, at ten o'clock in the morning. The crossing at this stream was surrounded by low grounds, traversed by a causeway, and beyond it were elevated plateaus, covered with forests, which overlooked it. The Americans saw nothing to excite suspicion. Herkimer had entered this pass, and two regiments had descended into the valley, but his vanguard

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had not reached the opposite elevation, when a heavy fire was suddenly poured in from all sides, accompanied by horrid yells, and the pass in his rear was immediately closed by the enemy. He was completely entrapped in an ambuscade, and for a few moments there was nothing but confusion and panic; the men fell thickly, and the army was threatened with utter annihilation; but they flew to the encounter like tigers; patriot and tory grappled with each other in deadly struggle. The dark eye of the Indian flashed with delight at the prospect of revelling in human blood, and the tory sought to immolate his late neighbor, who had espoused the hated cause of the Revolution. General Herkimer was wounded, and fell from his horse early in the action; a ball had pierced his leg below the knee, and killed his horse under him. His men were falling thickly around him; Colonel Cox was killed, and the yells of the savages resounded in every direction; but yet the firmness and composure of the General were undisturbed. His saddle was placed near a tree, and he was seated on it, his back being supported by the tree. Here he issued his orders; and drawing from his pocket his tobacco-box, and lighting his pipe, he smoked calmly while the battle raged around. After some forty-five minutes had elapsed, the men began to fight in small circles — a movement worthy of notice, since it was the only mode of contending successfully with the surrounding enemy. From this time, the Americans gained ground. A slight cessation in the firing was taken advantage of by the enemy, who ordered a charge. Bayonets were crossed, and a desperate struggle ensued, which was arrested by a sudden and heavy shower of rain, which fell in a massive sheet during one entire hour. The combatants were thus separated. Herkimer's men then, under his direction, chose a more advantageous position, and formed in a large circle. They were, from the first, as expert as the Indians in firing from behind trees; but the latter, as soon as they saw the smoke of the discharge, ran up and tomahawked the soldier before he could reload. The Americans then placed two men behind each tree, and after one fired, the other was ready to shoot down the advancing savage. The fire of the militia becoming more effective, the enemy began to give way, when Major Watts came on the ground, with another detachment of the Royal Greens, chiefly composed of fugitive tories, and the fight was renewed with greater vigor than before. The contending parties sprang at each other from the lines with the fury of enraged tigers, charging with bayonets, and striking at each other with clubbed muskets.

A diversion was now made which became the turning point in the contest. One of Herkimer's scouts having reached the fort with the news of his position, its commander immediately resolved to make a sally for the relief of the army. The troops were paraded in a square, and the intelligence communicated to them. Colonel Willett then descended to the esplanade and addressed the men in a patriotic manner, concluding with the words: "As many of you as feel willing to follow me in an attack, and are not afraid to die for liberty, will shoulder your arms, and step out ONE PACE in

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front." Two hundred men volunteered almost at the same moment; and fifty more, with a three-pounder, were soon after added to the force. The rain storm, which came up suddenly, hindered their immediate march, but as soon as it ceased they issued from the sally-port at a brisk pace, and, rushing down upon the camp of Sir John, carried it at the point of the bayonet, drove the enemy through the Mohawk, and captured all their camp equipage and public stores, at the same time killing a large number. Colonel Willett then turned his arms against the Mohawk camp, and swept through it. The sound of this rapid and severe firing arrested the attention of the belligerants, after the cessation of the rain. By a change of caps with a company of men, whose dress in this respect resembled that of the Americans, Major Watts attempted to palm off on the patriots a detachment of his troops as an American reinforcement; but the subterfuge being quickly discovered, the fight was resumed with bitter enmity. The Indian exclamation of Oonah! was at length heard, and the enemy retired, leaving Herkimer in possession of the field. Those who have most minutely described this battle, relate instances of personal heroism which would not disgrace the Iliad.

The Indians, who had suffered severely, fought with great desperation. One hundred of their number lay dead, thirty-six of whom, comprising several chiefs, were Senecas, who had been present in the greatest numbers. The fighting had become desultory, when suddenly the Senecas, who feared the arrival of American reinforcements, shouted their word for retreat, and commenced to move off, followed by the loyalists; whilst the reviving shouts, and more spirited firing of Herkimer's men, resounded in every direction. Thus ended one of the most severely-contested battles of the Revolution. It was, in reality, a victory for the Americans, and not a defeat, as it has been usually called, for they were left in undisputed possession of the field, which was not visited again by the enemy, either white or red. The victors constructed forty or fifty litters, on which they conveyed the wounded to their homes. Among the number was General Herkimer, who reached in safety his own house, where he died, about ten days after the battle, from the result of an unskilful amputation of his leg.

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Chapter V. — Termination of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.

THE siege of Fort Stanwix was prosecuted during sixteen days after the 1777 battle of Oriskany. There appearing to be no further prospect of relief from the militia, it was resolved to send information of the condition of the fortress to the commandant of the army at Saratoga. Colonel Willet volunteered, with a single companion, to undertake this perilous duty. Creeping through the closely-guarded Indian lines, at night, he picked his way through woods and unfrequented paths to Fort Dayton (now Herkimer), whence he proceeded to Saratoga. General Schuyler immediately ordered Arnold, with a detachment of 900 men, and two pieces of artillery, to march to its relief. But before this force reached its destination, an apparently trivial circumstance caused St. Leger to break up his encampment, and suddenly retreat. Among a company of tories who had been captured, one night, in an unlawful assembly at Little Falls, was one Hon Yost, a Mohawk half-breed, who had, with others, including the noted Butler, been condemned to death by a court-martial. When Arnold arrived at Fort Dayton, the mother of this man, who was a simpleton, but on this account regarded with more favor by the Indians, besought him, with piteous supplications, to avert his doom. Arnold was at first inexorable; but eventually said, that if Hon Yost would, in glowing terms, announce his approach, in St. Leger's camp before Fort Stanwix, he would grant him a reprieve from the gallows. The event proved Arnold's sagacity. Hon Yost represented to St. Leger that he had narrowly escaped, and had been hotly pursued; in proof of which assertion he exhibited his coat, that he had hung up, fired at, and perforated with bullet-holes. He exaggerated the force of Arnold's detachment in every particular, and, as he spoke Mohawk fluently, he advised the whole Indian force to fly instantly. A perfect panic prevailed. The morning after his arrival, which was the 22d of August, the men on the ramparts of the fort beheld, with surprise, a sudden movement in the enemy's camp. Not only were the Indians in full retreat, but also St. Leger, Sir John Johnson, and Brant, with all their host of Indians and tories. The tents were left standing, and the whole train of artillery, including the mortars, was abandoned. The following day General Arnold marched into the fort, with General Larned of the Massachusetts line, and was

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received with salutes and huzzas. During twenty-one days had the siege been closely maintained, and as closely contested. The firmness and endurance of the garrison excited admiration throughout the country, and imparted new spirits to the friends of the Revolution, who had been so recently depressed by Burgoyne's invasion. It was the first of a series of victories, beginning in the most gloomy period of the contest, the year 1777. When the smoke of the Revolution cleared away, and memory reverted back to the times that tried men's souls, the site of this fort was named, and has since been called, ROME, in allusion to the bravery of its defence.

This triumph was followed, in October, by the surrender of Burgoyne. Early the following year, on the 6th of February, France joined the colonies, entering into a treaty of amity, commerce, and alliance with them, and, from this moment, the success of the patriots was no longer problematical.

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Chapter VI. — Policy of Employing the Indians in War.

No contest which occurred during the struggle of the Revolution, was of so much importance to a wide extent of country, as that of Fort Stanwix, in which the Indians were relied on by the British as auxiliaries, and possessed in reality so much power to control the result. It is doubtful if, of the 1700 men, announced at Oswego as comprising the besieging force, more than 1000 were regular troops. Of these, the royalists, commanded by Sir John Johnson, formed one regiment; while the Senecas, the Mississagies, from the northern shores of Lake Ontario, the fugitive Mohawks, under Brant, and the Cayugas and Onondagas, should not be estimated at less than 700 warriors. A patriot, present at that siege, who was likewise a close observer on the frontiers throughout the war, has asserted that, in rancor and cruelty, a rabid royalist was equal to two ordinary Indians; for, while he was actuated by the same general spirit of revenge, he possessed an intimate knowledge of neighborhoods and families, which he attacked in the assumed guise of a savage.

The policy of employing savages at all in war, admits of no defence. The act of scalping, depicted in the plate presented herewith, and the indiscriminate slaughter of both sexes, are the most horrid traits of savage life. None but a weak and bigoted prince, counselled by a short-sighted and narrow-minded premier, would have adopted this system as a part of the extraneous means of reducing the colonies to subjection. The Indians could never be relied on by British generals, or employed for any other purpose than that of covering their flanks, and imparting to the contest a more bitter and vindictive character. If the latter was the object sought, the end was fully answered. The men of the present generation have not forgotten the acts of fiendish cruelty perpetrated by the class of Revolutionary tories.

It is not designed to enter into a minute detail of the occasions, other than the one just described, when the Indians were employed, either as flankers of their armies, in separate expeditions, or, as the accompaniment of a small nucleus of British or royalist provincial troops.

From the beginning of the contest, Congress had made strenuous efforts to persuade

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the Indian tribes to remain neutral. Commissioners were entrusted with the management of Indian affairs in the North and South. Active and influential men were delegated to visit the savages in their own country, and instructed to reason with them on the subject. These visits were repeated in the years SEVENTY-FIVE, SEVENTY-SIX, and SEVENTY-SEVEN, with what partial effects has been seen; the Oneidas and their guests and allies, the Tuscaroras and Mohicans, who had long previously acknowledged the good results of Christian teaching, being the only tribes which acquiesced. There was some reason to expect that the Shawnees and Delawares would preserve a neutral position; the object was not one to be relinquished, so long as a hope of success remained. The defeat the Indians had suffered at Fort Stanwix, appeared to open the way for another formal conciliatory effort. With this view, on the 3d of December, the Committee on Indian Affairs reported the following address, which, while couched in terms suited to the comprehension of the Indians, at the same time, appeals to their ancient pride and best interests, reviewing the grounds of controversy between the two powers; and presenting, in a proper light, the principles by which they should be guided:

"BROTHERS OF THE SIX NATIONS: The great council of the United States now call for your attention. Open your ears that you may hear, and your hearts that you may understand.

"When the people on the other side of the great water, without any cause, sought our destruction, and sent over their ships and their warriors to fight against us, and to take away our possessions, you might reasonably have expected us to ask for your assistance. If we are enslaved, you cannot be free. For our strength is greater than yours. If they would not spare their brothers, of the same flesh and blood, would they spare you? If they burn our houses, and ravage our lands, could yours be secure?

"But we acted on very different principles. Far from desiring you to hazard your lives in our quarrel, we advised you to remain still in ease, and at peace. We even entreated you to remain neuter: and, under the shade of your trees, and by the side of your streams, to smoke your pipe in safety and contentment. Though pressed by our enemies, and when their ships obstructed our supplies of arms, and powder, and clothing, we were not unmindful of your wants. Of what was necessary for our own use, we cheerfully spared you a part. More we should have done, had it been in our power.

"CAYUGAS, SENECAS, TUSCARORAS, AND MOHAWKS: Open your ears and hear our complaints. Why have you listened to the voice of our enemies? Why have you suffered Sir John Johnson and Butler to mislead you? Why have you assisted General St. Leger and his warriors from the other side of the great waters, by giving them a free passage through your country to annoy us; which both you and we solemnly

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promised should not be defiled with blood? Why have you suffered so many of your nations to join them in their cruel purpose? Is this a suitable return for our love and kindness, or did you suspect that we were too weak or too cowardly to defend our country, and join our enemies that you might come in for a share of the plunder? What has been gained by this unprovoked treachery? what but shame and disgrace! Your foolish warriors and their new allies have been defeated and driven back in every quarter; and many of them justly paid the price of their rashness with their lives. Sorry are we to find that our ancient chain of union, heretofore so strong and bright, should be broken by such poor and weak instruments as Sir John Johnson and Butler, who dare not show their faces among their countrymen; and by St. Leger, a stranger, whom you never knew! What has become of the spirit, the wisdom, and the justice of your nations? Is it possible that you should barter away your ancient glory, and break through the most solemn treaties for a few blankets, or a little rurn or powder? That trifles such as these should prove any temptation to you to cut down the strong tree of friendship, by our common ancestors planted in the deep bowels of the earth, at Onondaga, your central council-fire! That tree which has been watered and nourished by their children until the branches had almost reached the skies! As well might we have expected that the mole should overturn the vast mountains of the Alleghany, or that the birds of the air should drink up the waters of Ontario!

"CAYUGAS, SENECAS, ONONDAGAS, AND MOHAWKS: Look into your hearts, and be attentive. Much are you to blame, and greatly have you wronged us. Be wise in time. Be sorry, and mend your faults. The great council, though the blood of our friends, who fell by your tomahawks at the German Flatts, cries aloud against you, will yet be patient. We do not desire to destroy you. Long have we been at peace; and it is still our wish to bury the hatchet, and wipe away the blood which some of you have so unjustly shed. Till time should be no more, we wish to smoke with you the calumet of friendship around your central fire at Onondaga. But, Brothers, mark well what we now tell you. Let it sink deep as the bottom of the sea, and never be forgotten by you or your children. If ever again you take up the hatchet to strike us — if you join our enemies in battle or council — if you give them intelligence, or encourage or permit them to pass through your country, to molest or hurt any of our people — we shall look on you as our enemies, and treat you as the worst of enemies, who, under a cloak of friendship, cover your bad designs, and, like the concealed adder, only wait for an opportunity to wound us when we are most unprepared.

"BROTHERS: Believe us who never deceive. If, after all our good counsel, and all our care to prevent it, we must take up the hatchet, the blood to be shed will lie heavy on your heads. The hand of the thirteen United States is not short. It will reach to the farthest extent of the country of the Six Nations; and, while we have right on our side, the good Spirit, whom we serve, will enable us to punish you, and put it out of your power to do us farther mischief.

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"ONEIDAS AND TUSCARORAS: Hearken to what we have to say to you in particular. It rejoices our hearts that we have no reason to reproach you in common with the rest of the Six Nations. We have experienced your love, strong as the oak, and your fidelity, unchangeable as truth. You have kept fast hold of the ancient covenant chain, and preserved it free from rust and decay, and bright as silver. Like brave men, for glory you despised danger; you stood forth in the cause of your friends, and ventured your lives in our battles. While the sun and moon continue to give light to the world, we shall love and respect you. As our trusty friends, we shall protect you, and shall, at all times, consider your welfare as our own.

"BROTHERS OF THE SIX NATIONS: Open your ears, and listen attentively. It is long ago that we explained to you our quarrel with the people on the other side of the great water. Remember that our cause is just; you and your forefathers have long seen us allied to those people in friendship. By our labor and industry, they flourished like the trees of the forest, and became exceedingly rich and proud. At length, nothing would satisfy them, unless, like slaves, we would give them the power over our whole substance. Because we would not yield to such shameful bondage, they took up the hatchet. You have seen them covering our coasts with their ships, and a part of our country with their warriors; but you have not seen us dismayed; on the contrary, you know that we have stood firm, like rocks, and fought like men who deserved to be free. You know that we have defeated St. Leger, and conquered Burgoyne and all their warriors. Our chief men and our warriors are now fighting against the rest of our enemies, and we trust that the Great Spirit will soon put them in our power, or enable us to drive them all far beyond the great waters.

"BROTHERS: Believe us, that they feel their own weakness, and that they are unable to subdue the thirteen United States. Else, why have they not left our Indian brethren in peace, as they first promised and we wished to have done? Why have they endeavored, by cunning speeches, by falsehood and misrepresentations, by strong drink and presents, to embitter the minds and darken the understandings of all our Indian friends on this great continent, from the north to the south, and to engage them to take up the hatchet against us without any provocation? The Cherokees, like some of you, were prevailed upon to strike our people. We carried the war into their country, and fought them. They saw their error, they repented, and we forgave them. The United States are kind and merciful, and wish for peace with all the world. We have, therefore, renewed our ancient covenant chain with their nation.

"BROTHERS: The Shawanese and Delawares give us daily proofs of their good disposition and their attachment to us, and are ready to assist us against all our enemies. The Chickasaws are among the number of our faithful friends. And the Choctaws, though remote from us, have refused to listen to the persuasions of our enemies, rejected all their offers of corruption, and continue peaceable. The Creeks are also our steady friends. Oboylaco, their great chief, and the rest of their sachems and

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warriors, as the strongest mark of their sincere friendship, have presented the great council with an emblem of peace. They have desired that these tokens might be shown to the Six Nations and their allies, to convince them that the Creeks are at peace with the United States. We have therefore directed our commissioners to deliver them into your hands. Let them be seen by all the nations in your alliance, and preserved in your central council-house at Onondaga.

"BROTHERS OF THE SIX NATIONS: Hearken to our counsel. Let us who are born on the same great continent love one another. Our interest is the same, and we ought to be one people, always ready to assist and serve each other. What are the people who belong to the other side of the great waters to either of us? They never come here for our sakes, but to gratify their own pride and avarice. Their business now is to kill and destroy our inhabitants, to lay waste our houses and farms. The day, we trust, will soon arrive, when we shall be rid of them forever. Now is the time to hasten and secure this happy event. Let us, then, from this moment, join hand and heart in the defence of our common country. Let us rise as one man, and drive away our cruel oppressors. Henceforward let none be able to separate us. If any of our people injure you, acquaint us of it, and you may depend upon full satisfaction. If any of yours hurt us, be you ready to repair the wrong or punish the aggressor. Above all, shut your ears against liars and deceivers, who, like false meteors, strive to lead you astray, and to set us at variance. Believe no evil of us till you have taken pains to discover the truth. Our council-fire always burns clear and bright in Pennsylvania. Our commissioners and agents are near your country. We shall not be blinded by false reports or false appearances."

This overture produced no change in the policy of the Indians; in public councils, as well as in private, their ears were filled with reasonings and persuasions of a very different character. Ever judging from mere appearances, and from what was tangible and visible, they were impressed with the power, means, and ability of the British Government to subdue the colonies. They contrasted their resources with those of the Thirteen States, struggling, as it were, in the grasp of a giant; and from that comparison, drew the conclusion that, however courageous and resolute the colonists were in battle, they were few in numbers, and lacking in means. It being a cardinal principle with the Indians to adhere to the strongest party, they remained unmoved by arguments which they hardly understood, and refused to believe.

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Chapter VII. — Progress of the Revoloution, as Affected by the Aboriginal Tribes. Massacres of Wyonming, Cherry Valley, and Ulster.

1778.

IT does not coincide with the plan of the present work, to describe in detail the scenes of Indian outrage and massacre which marked the Revolutionary contest; the object being, to present a condensation of facts. The character of the Indians did not appear in any new light; as the war advanced, they swept over the country like a pestilence; frequently, like infuriated tigers, springing across the borders, and spreading death and devastation where domestic happiness had previously reigned. Any hope that might have been entertained of mollifying their hatred, proved to be a delusion. The Iroquois, who were the principal actors in this murderous warfare, were, in nearly every instance, led on by their hero chieftain, Brant. Sometimes, however, parties of the various tribes of Algonquin lineage, from the West, were in the practice of visiting the then temporary headquarters of the British Indian Department at Fort Niagara. At this place, most of the war-parties were formed, supplied, and equipped. Thither they also returned to report their success; bringing their prisoners with them, to pass through the terrible ordeal of the gauntlet; and there, likewise, they received the rewards for the scalps they had taken.

It was at Niagara that the plan of the incursion into the Valley of Wyoming originated. Towards the close of June, Colonel John Butler, the commanding officer of that post, ordered 300 men, principally loyalists, to set out on an expedition to the Susquehanna, accompanied by a body of about 500 Indians, of diverse tribes. Arriving at Tioga point, they embarked in floats, or on rafts, and reached the scene of conflict on the first day of July. After much countermarching and manoeuvring, they succeeded in surrounding and defeating a body of 400 militia, of whom only 60 escaped the rifle, the tomahawk, and the scalping-knife. The following day, this marauding force appeared before Fort Wyoming, then containing only a small garrison, but crowded with fugitive women and children. The American commandant agreed to the prescribed terms of a capitulation; but, either because he could not, or did not, comply with them,

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they were basely violated. It was then believed, and it has since been frequently asserted, that Brant led the Indians on this occasion; but it is doubtful whether he was actually present, though he probably approved of the movement, if he was not the original instigator of it. This chief was known to cherish such a deadly hatred of the revolutionists, and had been so frequently connected with the incursions, and midnight massacres perpetrated on the frontiers, that, in the popular estimation, no injustice has been done to his bad reputation, in the use which has been made of his name by the poet, Campbell. A melancholy catalogue, indeed, would be a detail of the enterprises in which Brant was the leader and principal actor. Though the voice of cotemporary history might be stifled, regarding his conduct as the leader of the massacre in Cherry Valley, yet his sanguinary attacks upon Saratoga, German Flatts, Unadilla, and Schoharie, as well as the murder of the wounded Colonel Wisner, and the inhuman butchery of the wounded at Ulster, will, during all future time, serve to prove that he hovered around the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, like the genius of Evil, with the enraged Acwinoshioni in his train. If the responsibility for acts committed depends upon the cultivated moral perceptions of the individual, then the great partisan Mohawk will have much more to answer for than his kindred generally, as he not only received a scholastic and religious education, but was for a long time domiciliated in the family of Sir William Johnson, in which he officiated as an assistant-secretary, and there became familiar with the maxims and usages of refined society in the colonies.

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Chapter VIII. — Congress Authorizes Movements to Check the Hostility of the Western Indians.

ALTHOUGH the Iroquois formed, as it were, the "tenth legion," of the hostile Indians employed in the war, yet the western savages had, from the beginning, evinced their hostility, and were implicated, to a greater or less extent, in the contest against the colonies. This was more especially the position of the important tribes of the Delawares and Shawnees, then occupying the present area of the State of Ohio. These tribes had originally emigrated west of the Alleghanies with embittered feelings against the English colonists generally. They had accepted the treaty of peace offered them, in rather a vaunting spirit, by Colonel Bradstreet, on Lake Erie, in 1764; but subsequently renewed their hostile inroads, and, in the autumn of the same year, on the banks of the Muskingum, again submitted to the army under Colonel Bouquet, delivering up, as a test of their sincerity, a very large number of prisoners, men, women, and children.

The Delawares had not held a definite political position for a long period, even from the middle of the eighteenth century. They were supposed to be in league with the French, and it was an erroneous policy in Count Zinzendorf and the Moravian Brethren, not to set the colonies right on this subject, laboring, as they did, from their advent in 1740, for the benefit of the Delawares, and knowing that there was a suspicion resting on them of being favorable to the French interests. This was the cause of the expulsion of this tribe from Chicomico, in southern New York, in 1744, and of their removal to the Susquehanna. It was likewise the occasion of their ultimate flight westward to the banks of the Muskingum, and of the unfortunate massacre of their people at Gnadenhutten. But though the proclivities of the Delawares were uncertain, those of the Shawnees were not; they assumed an openly hostile attitude. The latter tribe had, at an early period, been inimical to the English colonies; but, being vanquished, they had transferred their hatred to the Americans the moment the revolutionary contest commenced. In 1755, they were the most bitter assailants of Braddock; in

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1758, they massacred the garrison of Sybert's fort on the Potomac; they had, from the year 1763, most strenuously opposed the settlement of Kentucky; they had, in 1764, taken the most prominent part in resisting the expedition of Lord Dunmore; and, according to the best local authorities, between the years 1770 and 1779, the activity and bitter hostility of this celebrated tribe converted the left banks of the Ohio, along the borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia, into an aceldema. Brave and dauntless, but vacillating, their ruling passion was a love of war, blood, and plunder. Tradition affirms that, in ancient times, they had fought their way from Florida to Lake Erie, and desperately did they oppose the advance of the Anglo-Saxon race into the Ohio valley. Their central location was at Chillicothe, on the Scioto river — which appears to have been, from a period long antecedent, a metropolis of Indian power. Their influence controlled the entire valley, and they lived on strict terms of amity with the Delawares, the Mingoes, or Ohio Iroquois, the Hurons, Ottowas, Chippewas, and Miamies.

The Ohio valley, with its beautiful scenery, its genial climate, and its exuberant fertility, had been, from its earliest discovery, a subject of contention between the Indians and the white race. Red men had, originally, fought for it, as is proved by its antiquities, and the whites succeeded to the controversy. The feet of Washington trod its soil as early as 1753, when the charter of George II. was granted for its occupancy. Although the primary object of its exploration, and of the commissioners and armies which crossed the Alleghanies, and entered its borders, was the furtherance of governmental policy, yet it is very evident that there were aboriginal minds of sufficient penetration to foresee, that the acquisition of the territory, and the spread of the arts and commerce of civilized life, were the ultimate ends in view. This may readily be perceived in the harangues of Pontiac to the tribes of the north-west, in the year 1763; of Tenuskund, at Wyoming, and of Buckangaheela, at Kaskaskia. Every movement of the whites towards the west was regarded, by thinking Indian minds, as having the same object in view.

Prior to the expedition of M'Intosh, a friendly Delaware chief, Koquathaheelon, or White Eyes, had used his influence to prevent the tribes from raising the hatchet; but an opposite influence was exercised by Captain Pipe, and the nation became divided. Such was the state of affairs among the Delawares, in the spring of 1778. About this time, three noted loyalists, M'Kee, Elliot, and Girty, fled from Fort Pitt to the Delawares, and used their utmost efforts against the American cause. Captain Pipe was so much influenced by their counsel, that, in a large assemblage of warriors, he concluded a harangue by declaring "every one an enemy who refused to fight the Americans, and that all such ought to be put to death." Koquathaheelon boldly opposed him, denounced the policy, and sent a formal message to the Scioto, warning the Indians

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against the counsels of the fugitives, Girty and M'Kee. This, for a while, had the effect of keeping the Delawares neutral; but the tribe finally decided to raise the hatchet against the struggling colonies.

Both the Delawares and Shawnees were greatly influenced in their councils by the Wyandots of Sandusky, a reflective, clear-minded people, who had once been at the head of the Iroquois, while that nation resided on the Kanawaga, and still held a kind of umpirage in western Indian councils. It was against the local residence of this tribe, at Sandusky, that General M'Intosh was directed to proceed. He had, during the spring, with a small force of regulars and militia, descended the Ohio, from Fort Pitt to the Beaver river, where he erected, on a commanding position, a fort called M'Intosh. It intercepted Indians ascending or descending the Ohio, as well as interior marauding parties, who reached the river at this point. The force assigned him for the expedition against Sandusky was 1000 men. But, such were the delays in organizing it, and in marching through a wilderness to the Tuscarawas, that, after reaching its banks, he there constructed a fort, called Laurens, and, garrisoning it, returned to Fort Pitt.

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Chapter IX. — Virginia Sends an Expedition Against the Western Indians, and Conquers Southern Illinois.

THE erection of Forts M'Intosh and Laurens, on the banks of the Beaver and the Tuscarawas rivers, demonstrated to the Indians that they would be held accountable for their actions. But a more important military movement, one which has had a permanent and predominant influence on the history of the West, was originated in the year 1778. Western Virginia having suffered dreadfully from the inroads of the Shawnees, Delawares, and Mingoes, General George Rogers Clarke was commissioned by the State authorities to invade the country of the Illinois. His enterprise, courage, and tact, would not have been derogatory to a Hannibal. He descended the western slope of the Alleghanies by the River Kenawha, which was his point of rendezvous, with a force not exceeding 200 men. The fort, at this point, was then invested by Indians, whom he successfully routed, with the loss of only one man. His next object of attack was Kaskaskia, from which he was separated by a wilderness of 1000 miles in extent. But he had a force of picked men, whom no lack of means could discourage, and whose heroic ardor no opposition of natural impediments could dampen. Descending the Ohio to its falls, he erected a small fort on Corn Island, in their vicinity, which he garrisoned with a few men, and then continued his course down the river to within sixty miles of its mouth, where he landed his men, and, with only four days' provisions, commenced his march across the wilderness to the Illinois country. He was six days in reaching Kaskaskia, during two of which his little army was destitute of provisions. Reaching the town at midnight, and finding the garrison and inhabitants asleep, he carried it by surprise, taking the commandant, Rocheblave, prisoner, whom he immediately sent under guard to Richmond, together with important letters and papers, implicating persons in power. The fort was found to be sufficiently strong to have been defended against a force of one thousand men. The following day, finding horses in the vicinity, General Clarke mounted about thirty of his men, under Captain Bowman, and sent them against the upper towns on the banks of the Mississippi. They took possession of the French towns and villages, as high up as Cahokia; and, in the course of three days thereafter, no less than 300 of the French inhabitants took the oath of allegiance to the American government. Leaving a

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garrison at Kaskaskia, General Clarke then proceeded across the country to Vincennes, on the Wabash, which he also surprised and captured. This post was in the heart of the Miami country, which had been the seat of French trade, and had, according to Mr. Law, been established as a mission in 1710. Its importance was so much felt by Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, that he suddenly mustered a force, and recaptured the place. General Clarke, who was at Point Pleasant, on hearing of this, although it was then winter, determined to retake the post, and, with a resolute party of men, who, during their march, frequently waded through water breast high, executed his purpose; also making Hamilton prisoner. This man was a rough, bad-tempered, and cruel officer, who had excited the ire of the Indians by his malignancy.

The effect of these movements on the mass of the Indians was more important in a political view than it appeared to be. Kaskaskia and Vincennes had been mere outposts to Detroit, which was a depot for the prisoners taken by the Indians, and where they received the rewards for the scalps they brought in.

The effect upon the Delaware Nation of the operations during this year, of which Fort Pitt was the centre, was to promote the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which was signed, on the 17th of September, 1778. by the chiefs Koquathaheelon, or White Eyes, Pipe, and Kellbuck, before Generals Andrew and Thomas Lewis. This was the first of a long list of treaties with the Indian tribes, in which the nations, when pressed by war, sometimes made a virtue of necessity, and conceded points which, on some occasions, the want of popular support, and again, the lack of power in their governments, did not enable them to comply with, although the aboriginal delegates who gave their assent to them did so with full integrity of purpose. It is certain that the Delaware Nation was soon after engaged in hostilities against the United States; for, besides the recognition of this fact by the treaty of Fort M'Intosh, dated June 21st, 1785, a supplementary article to that treaty provided that the chiefs Kelelamand, White Eyes, and one or two other persons of note, who took up the hatchet for the United States, should be received back into the Delaware Nation, and reinstated in all their original rights, without any prejudice.

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Chapter X. — Subtlety of the Indians Investigating Port Laurens.

FORT LAURENS, erected on the Tuscarawas in 1778, by General M'Intosh, at the terminus of his march against Sandusky, was left in command of Colonel Gibson, with a garrison of 150 men. It was the custom of the garrison to put bells on their horses, and send them out to graze in the vicinity, where they were visited and looked after. This being observed by the Indians who infested the surrounding forests, they stole all the animals, first removing the bells from their necks, which they retained. Selecting a spot suitable for an ambuscade, the bells were tied to the stalks of stout weeds, or flexible twigs, and the Indians, lying down on the ground, carefully shook them, so as to simulate the noise they would make while the horses were cropping grass. The ruse succeeded. Of a party of sixteen men, sent to catch the animals, which were supposed to have strayed, fourteen were shot dead, and the other two taken prisoners; one of whom returned after the termination of the war, but his comrade was never more heard of. Flushed with the success of this manoeuvre, the entire body of Indians, towards evening, marched across the prairie, in full view of the garrison, but at a safe distance Eight hundred and forty warriors were counted from one of the bastions, painted and feathered for war, and appearing to make this display as a challenge to combat. They then crossed the Tuscarawas, and encamped on an elevated site, within view of the fort, where they remained for several weeks, watching the garrison. While located at this spot, they affected to keep up a good understanding with the officers of the fort, through one of those speaking go-betweens, whom we shall call HI-OK-A-TO, who have been so fruitful of mischief in our military history. At length, their resources failing, they sent word that, if a barrel of flour was supplied to them, they would, on the following day, submit proposals of peace. The flour being duly delivered, the whole gang immediately decamped, removing to some part of the forest where so considerable a body could readily obtain subsistence.

It has ever been a fatal mistake, to put trust in Indian fidelity under such circumstances. A party of spies were left by the Indians in the woods. As the supplies of the garrison began to diminish, the invalids, amounting to ten or a dozen men, were

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sent to Fort M'Intosh, under an escort of fifteen men, commanded by Colonel Clark, of the line. This party had proceeded but two miles, when they were suddenly surrounded by the Indians, and all killed except four; one of whom, a captain, succeeded in effecting his escape to the fort.

The garrison now experienced severe suffering from hunger, the fort being in a remote position, which could be supplied only by the aid of trains of pack-horses, convoyed through the wilderness by expensive escorts. Fortunately, General M'Intosh arrived with supplies, and 700 men; but the joy produced by his arrival well nigh proved a fatal misfortune, as the salute of musketry fired from the ramparts caused a stampede among the horses of the pack-trains, which, running affrighted through the forest, scattered their burdens, of provisions and flour, on the ground. When M'Intosh departed from the fort, he left Major Vernon in command, who, being finally reduced to great straits, and finding himself surrounded by a powerful and treacherous enemy, and occupying a post which could not be maintained, abandoned the fort, and returned with his command to Fort M'Intosh. These transactions furnish material for a good commentary on the treaty of Fort Pitt, concluded on the 17th of the preceding September. The Delawares, who signed this treaty, occupied the entire Muskingum valley, of which the Tuscarawas is a branch, and, being generally under the sway of the Wyandots of Sandusky, had, in fact, no power to carry out, even if they possessed the authority to conclude, such a treaty.

The erection of Fort Laurens was, in truth, a monument of the failure of the military expedition against Detroit, projected with so much ceremony at that time; and its abandonment may be regarded as an admission of the uselessness of the position as a check upon the Indians.

While these movements were going forward on the Tuscarawas, and in the forests surrounding Fort Laurens, the Indians perpetrated a series of most heart-rending murders along the borders of the Monongahela. A recital of these atrocities would only serve to prove that no trust could be placed in any public avowal of friendship by the savages, whether professed in conferences or by formal treaties.

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Chapter XI. — Battle of Minnisink.

THE frequency and severity of the attacks made by the Iroquois on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, induced the Americans to make a sudden descent, during this year, on the Onondagas. The execution of this enterprise was committed to Colonel Van Schaick, by General James Clinton, the commanding officer in that district. Five hundred and fifty-eight men, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Willett, and furnished with every necessary supply, embarked in thirty batteaux, on Wood Creek, west of the Fort Stanwix summit, and passing rapidly through Oneida lake and river, landed, during the night, at the site of old Fort Brewington, whence they pressed swiftly forward, using every precaution to prevent an alarm. The surprise would have been complete, but for the capture of a warrior near the castle. As it was, however, thirty-three warriors were killed, and the rest fled in the utmost consternation, leaving behind them all their stores, arms, and provisions. The castle and village were burned, and the country devastated within a circuit of ten miles. The army then returned to Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, without the loss of a man.

It is doubtful whether such retributive measures are attended by any resulting advantages. The Onondagas determining to retaliate, Brant placed himself at the head of 300 warriors of that, and other tribes, who attacked Schoharie and its environs, which had so frequently, since the commencement of the Revolution, been the scene of every species of Indian outrage; — the property of the inhabitants plundered, their houses burned, and themselves murdered and scalped. It appeared as if the Mohawk Indians, and their beau ideal, Brant, could never forgive the sturdy patriotism of the people of that valley.

Palatine, in the Mohawk valley, was, at the same time, attacked by parties of Indians from the Canada border, and many persons killed; but no event which occurred during this year, made so deep an impression on the public mind, as the battle and massacre at Minnisink, a fertile island in the Delaware river, which had long been the camping and council-ground of the Lenapi, and of the southern Indians, in their progress to the Hudson valley, by way of the Wallkill. Few places have better claims to antiquity, than the town of Minnisink, or "The Place of the Island."

Having reached the vicinity of this town on the night of July 19, with sixty warriors

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and twenty-seven tories, disguised as Indians, Brant attacked it while the inhabitants were asleep, burned two dwelling-houses, twelve barns, a small stockade-fort, and two mills, killed several of the inhabitants, took others prisoners, and then ravaged the surrounding farms, driving off the cattle and horses. When intelligence of this outrage reached Goshen, the excitement became intense. A militia force of 149 men instantly marched from Orange county, in pursuit, and overtook the enemy on the second day. The advantage was on the side of Brant, who, by marching through a narrow ravine, placed his force in a strong position. The contest was long and desperately maintained, during which Brant received a ball through his girdle. The battle raged from eleven o'clock in the morning until sunset, when the ammunition of the Orange county men failed. They had lost 102 men; and seventeen, who were wounded, were placed under the care of a surgeon, behind a rocky point. The Indians rushed upon these unfortunate men like infuriated tigers, and tomahawked them all, notwithstanding their appeals for mercy. Brant, himself, "the monster, Brant," sunk his tomahawk in the head of Colonel Wisner, one of the wounded. Only thirty men escaped to relate the fate of their comrades.

It is probable that this atrocity was one of the immediate causes of the expedition under General Sullivan, which marched against the Iroquois cantons during the following year.

While these events were occurring in New York, a body of 200 Indians and 100 refugee royalists, under the command of M'Donald, appeared on the borders of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where they burned many houses, and committed several murders. A few days subsequently, they invested Freeland's fort, on the Susquehanna, the garrison of which was too weak to defend the works, which had served principally as a shelter for women and children, while the men were attending to the duties which they owed their country. Captain Hawkins Boon, who, with thirty men, was stationed in the vicinity, marched to the relief of the fort; but, finding that it had been surrendered, he valiantly attacked the besiegers, and was killed, together with eighteen of his men. This affair happened about the same time as the tragic events of Minnisink.

There were some contemporaneous movements in the West, which deserve attention. The feud between the Virginians and Shawnees still raged as fiercely as ever. In July, Colonel Bowman, who had served under Clark, led a force of 160 men against the Shawnees at Chillicothe. Although he took them by surprise, they fought bravely during several hours, and finally compelled him to retreat. The Shawnees pursued him thirty miles, with augmented numbers, and forced him to a second engagement. This fight having continued two hours with no advantage to the patriots, Colonel Harrod proposed to mount a number of men on horses, and make a cavalry charge. The suggestion was adopted, and succeeded admirably. The Indians fought with great desperation; but, being finally routed, they fled.

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Chapter XII. — Formal Expedition Against the Iroquois Cantons.

THE war had now continued nearly five years, and the operations of the British army during that period, north, south, east, and west, had proved a severe tax on the military resources and strength of the country. But these sacrifices to patriotism and high principles were considered as nothing, compared to the sufferings caused by the savage auxiliaries of the British armies, who were utter strangers to the laws of humanity. The Americans bitterly reproached their foes for paying their Indian allies a price for the scalps they took; but whether the censure was most justly deserved by the employer or the employee, is a question for casuists to decide. Whether the coveted prize, for which the savage watched around private dwellings night and day, was the bleeding scalp, torn from the head of the infant in its cradle, of the wife in her chamber, of the sire in his closet of prayer, or of the laborer in the field, was not the question; that which produced a thrill of horror in the hearts of a civilized people, was the fact that these bleeding trophies of savage atrocity were made an article of merchandise. The scalp had been, in primeval periods, an Indian's glory; and the test of his bravery and prowess had now, as with the touch of Midas, turned into gold.

It was the opinion of Washington, that the cheapest and most effectual mode of opposing the Indians, was to carry the war into their country. These tribes, nurtured in the secret recesses of the forest, were thoroughly acquainted with every avenue through their depths, and thence pounced upon the unguarded settlements when least expected; but, like the nimble fox, they fled back to their lairs in the wilderness before an effective military force could be concentrated to pursue them. By these inroads, Washington observes, the Indians had everything to gain, and but very little to lose; whereas the very reverse would be the case, if their towns and retreats were visited with the calamities of war.

Conformably to these views, the year 1779 witnessed the march of the well-organized army of General Sullivan into the heart of the country occupied by the Iroquois

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confederacy. Sullivan had gallantly aided Washington in the capture of Trenton, and was selected for this service after mature consideration. His entire force consisted of two divisions, one of which, under General James Clinton, marched from central New York northwardly through the Mohawk valley, and the other, from Pennsylvania, ascended the Susquehanna. Clinton, with five brigades, proceeded with great rapidity across the country from Canajoharie, his point d'appui on the Mohawk, to Otsego lake, carrying with him 220 batteaux, all his stores, artillery, and a full supply of provisions. From this point, he followed the outlet of the lake into the Susquehanna, joining General Sullivan and the Pennsylvania troops at Tioga Point. Their total force amounted to 5000 men. After the delays incident to the collection and regulation of such a body of troops, the army proceeded up the river, late in August, and ascended the Chemung branch to Newtown, at present called Elmira. The enemy, anticipating the movement, had prepared to oppose the army by erecting a breastwork across a peninsula, in front of the place of landing, thus occupying a formidable position. Brant commanded the Iroquois, mustering 550 warriors, who were supported by 200 regular British troops and rangers, under Colonel John Butler, Sir John Johnson, and some of the other noted royalist commanders of that period. This force was so disposed among the adjoining hills, and screened by brush, thickets and logs, as to be entirely concealed. The army landed on the 29th of August, and the enemy's position was discovered by the advance guard, under Colonel Poor, at eleven o'clock in the morning. General Hand immediately formed the light infantry in a wood, within 400 yards of the Indian breastwork, where he remained until the rest of the troops came up. While these movements were in progress, small parties of Indians sallied from their entrenchments, and began a desultory firing, as suddenly retreating when attacked, and making the woods resound with their savage yells. Their intention evidently was, to induce the belief that they were present in very great numbers, and were the only force to be encountered. Judging truly that the hill on his right was occupied by the Indians, Sullivan ordered Colonel Poor, with his brigade, to attempt its ascent, and to endeavor to turn the enemy's left flank, while the artillery, supported by the main body of the army, attacked them in front. Both orders were promptly executed. The ascent being gained, the Americans poured in their fire, while the enemy, for two hours, withstood a heavy fire directly in front. Both the Indians and their allies fought manfully; but the Americans pressed on with great determination. Every tree, rock, and thicket sheltered an enemy, who sent forth his deadly messengers. The Indians yielded slowly, and, as it were, inch by inch; being frequently driven from their shelter at the point of the bayonet. Such obstinacy had not been paralleled since the battle of Oriskany. Brant, the moving and animating spirit of the Indians, urged on the warriors with his voice; and their incessant yells almost drowned the

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noise of the conflict, until the quickly-succeeding and regular reverberations of the artillery overpowered all other sounds. It was remarked by an officer, who was present, that the roar of this cannonade was most commanding and "elegant." The Indians still maintained their ground in front, though the tremendous fire from Colonel Poor's brigade had so terribly thinned their flank, that a reinforcement of a battalion of rangers was ordered up to sustain it. In vain did the enemy contest the ground from point to point, endeavoring to maintain a position; this officer at length ascended the hill, and attacked them in flank, which decided the fortunes of the day. Observing that they were in danger of being surrounded, the yell of retreat was sounded by the Indians, and red and white men, impelled by one impulse, precipitately fled across the Chemung river, abandoning their works, their packs, provisions, and a quantity of arms. The action had been protracted, and, on their part, sanguinary. Contrary to the Indian custom, some of their warriors who had fallen were left on the battle-field, and others were found hastily buried by the way. The American loss was but six killed and fifty wounded.

This battle, as subsequent events proved, decided the result of the campaign. It vindicated the opinion of Washington, that the Indians must be encountered in their own country; and, as aboriginal history proves, it effectually destroyed the Iroquois confederacy.

The results of the campaign may be easily demonstrated. The Indians, having fled in a panic, never stopped until they reached the head of Seneca Lake; whence they scattered to their respective villages. They did not rally, as they might have done, and oppose Sullivan's forces at defiles on the route. The American army pursued them vigorously, with four brass three-pounders and their entire disposable force. They encamped at Catherine's Town on the 2d of September, and began to burn and destroy villages, corn-fields, and orchards in the surrounding country, continuing their devastations through the Genesee country and the Genesee valley. On the 7th of the month, the army crossed the outlet of Seneca Lake, and moved forward to the capital of that tribe, Kanadaseagea, now Geneva. This place contained about sixty houses, surrounded with gardens, orchards of apple and peach trees, and luxuriant corn-fields. Butler, the commandant of the defeated rangers, had endeavored to induce the Senecas to rally here, but in vain. They fled, abandoning everything; and the torch and destroying axe of their foes were employed to level every tenement and living fruit-tree to the ground.

From this point the army proceeded to Canandaigua, where they found twenty-three large and "elegant" houses, mostly frame, together with very extensive fields of corn, all of which were destroyed. The next point of note in the march was Honeoye, a village containing ten houses, which were burnt. Here a small post was established,

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as a depot. As General Sullivan advanced towards the valley of the Genesee, the Indians determined again to oppose him; and having organized their forces, presented themselves in battle array between Honeoye and Canesus Lake. They attacked the advance-guard in mistake, supposing it to be the entire force; but having seen it fall back on the main army, they did not await the approach of the latter. In this affray they took a friendly Oneida prisoner, who was inhumanly butchered by a malignant chief, named Little Beard. At this time, also, occurred the dreadful tragedy which befell Lieutenant Boyd, who, going out with twenty-six men, to reconnoitre Little Beard's town, was captured, and most inhumanly tortured, notwithstanding his appeal to Brant as a Masonic brother.

The army moved forward to the flats of the Genesee, where the Indians made a show of resistance. General Clinton immediately prepared to attack and surround them, by extending his flanks; but, observing the object of his movement, they retreated. The army then crossed the Genesee, to the principal town of the Indians, containing 128 houses, which were burned, and the surrounding fields destroyed. It was these fertile fields which had furnished the savages with the means of carrying on their predatory and murderous expeditions. General Sullivan had been instructed to make them feel the strength of the American arms, with the bitterness of domestic desolation; for which purpose, detachments were sent out at every suitable point, to lay waste their fields, cut down their orchards, destroy their villages, and cripple them in their means. In carrying out these orders, not less than forty Indian towns were burned; and the tourist, who, after the lapse of seventy years, visits the ruins caused by these acts of military vengeance, is forcibly reminded of the spirit of destruction which descended upon the Indian villages and orchards. Having accomplished the object of the expedition, the army recrossed the Genesee on the 16th of September, passed the outlet of the Seneca Lake on the 20th, reached the original rendezvous at Tioga on the 30th, and within a fortnight returned to their respective points of departure.

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Chapter XIII. — The Indians Continue Their Inroads on the Western and Northern Frontiers.

TOWARD the close of this year, a detachment of seventy men from the Kentucky district of Virginia, under Major Rodgers, was surprised by the Shawnees, while ascending the Ohio river. On approaching the mouth of the Licking river, they discovered a few hostile Indians standing on a sand-bar, whilst a canoe was being propelled towards them, as if its occupants desired to hold friendly intercourse. Rodgers, who was on the alert, immediately made his boat fast to the shore, and went in pursuit of the Indians he had seen. They proved to be only a decoy to lead him into an ambuscade. The moment he landed and commenced an assault on the small party, an overwhelming number of the enemy issued from their concealment, poured in a heavy and deadly fire, and then rushed forward with their tomahawks, instantly killing Rodgers and forty-five of his men. The remainder fled towards the boat, but the Indians had anticipated them by its capture. Retreat being thus cut off, they faced the foe, and fought desperately as long as daylight lasted, when a small number succeeded in escaping, and finally reached Harrisburg. The details of the escape of Benham, who was shot through the hips on this occasion, possess a thrillingly romantic interest.

The expedition of Sullivan against the Iroquois proved so destructive to them, that they were compelled to seek food and shelter from the British authorities at Niagara. The adherence to the American cause, of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, living on their lands, had occasioned ill feelings to be entertained by the Iroquois against them. Every persuasion had been used in vain to induce them to join the royal standard. Their conduct at Oriskany, and their hospitality to the missionary Kirkland, had been the subject of sharp remonstrances by Guy Johnson, who peremptorily ordered Kirkland to leave the country. Although but few of these tribes joined General Clinton's division in the Genesee campaign, and those only as guides, yet, when the Senecas captured the faithful guide, Honyerry, at Boyd's defeat, in their rage they literally hewed him in pieces. General Haldiman, of Canada, had, in

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a special, written message, threatened vengeance on the Oneida tribes for deserting, as he termed it, the British cause, and thus forgetting the wise counsels of their old and respected, but deceased friend, Sir William Johnson. This purpose, notwithstanding the severity of the winter, he executed, with the assistance of Brant and a force of tories. Suddenly attacking the village of Oneida castle, they drove the Indians from this ancient seat, burned their dwellings, their church, and their school-house, and destroyed their corn, as well as every means of subsistence. The Oneidas fled to the Lower Mohawk, where they were protected and supported during the rest of the war.

In the month of May, Sir John Johnson entered Johnstown, with 500 regulars, a detachment of his own regiment of Royal Greens, and about 200 Indians and tories. Marching from the direction of Crown Point, through the woods to the Sacandaga, they entered the valley of the Mohawk at midnight, entirely unheralded. This foray was one of the most indefensible and shocking transactions of the whole war. The Indians roved from house to house, murdering the inhabitants, plundering, destroying, and burning their property. Among the number of those slain by the savages were four octogenarians, whose locks were silvered by age, including the patriot Fonda, of the Mohawk valley. Cattle and sheep were driven off, and horses stolen from their stalls. Sir John recovered the plate which had been buried in his cellars in 1776, and then retraced his steps to Canada, after having left a lasting mark of his vengeance on the home and familiar scenes of his childhood, and the country of his youth, notwithstanding his father had there risen to power and greatness from an obscure original, and that his bones were there buried. The Mohawk valley had been subjected to the two-fold vengeance of the Indians and the tories, who rivalled each other in their deeds of cruelty and vandalism, until it presented as denuded an appearance as a swept threshing-floor. The flail of warfare had beaten out everything but that sturdy patriotism, which increased in strength in proportion to the magnitude of its trials. This attack was conducted in a stealthy and silent manner. No patriotic drum had sounded the call to arms. The enemy advanced with the noiseless tread of the tiger, and returned to their haunts with the tiger's reward — blood and plunder.

Some allowance must be made for the complicity of the aborigines in this predatory warfare, on account of their ignorance, and their natural lack of humane feelings. This will not, however, apply to men educated in the principles of civilization. Even Thyendanagea, the typhoon of the Revolution, found industrious apologists for the greatest of his enormities; and we have, certainly, high authority for the palliation of crime in those who know not what they do. But nothing can excuse the conduct of those who perpetrate crimes, with a clear moral perception of the enormity of their deeds.

Scarcely had Sir John Johnson and his myrmidons returned in safety to Canada, than

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the nefarious business of plunder, murder, and arson, was resumed in the Schoharie valley, which had ever been deemed one of the richest agricultural regions in the vicinity of the Mohawk. From the year 1712, the period of its first settlement by Europeans, it had been celebrated for the beauty and fertility of its lands, and the rich abundance of its cereals; the crops of which, during the year 1780, had been more than ordinarily profuse.

The troops designed for this foray, and collected at La Chine, were landed at Oswego, and marched across the country to the Susquehanna. They consisted of three companies of Royal Greens, 200 rangers, a company of yagers, armed with short rifles, and the effective force of the Mohawks. They were joined at Tioga by the Senecas, under Cornplanter. The whole force has been estimated to number from 800 to 1500 men, with three pieces of artillery; each man was supplied with eighty rounds of ammunition. Sir John commanded the regulars, and Brant the Iroquois. Their appearance in the Schoharie valley was heralded by the smoke of burning dwellings, barns, and haystacks, and by the wild tumult of savage warfare. Three small stockaded forts were erected in the valley, which were but feebly garrisoned, and rather destitute of ammunition. The principal attack was made on the central fort, but the resolution of its garrison, weak though it was, supplied the place of military skill. A flag of truce, sent forward by the enemy, with a summons to surrender, was fired upon; which act appeared to be conclusive evidence to the marauders that every preparation had been made to give them a warm reception. The enemy ravaged the entire valley with fire and sword. Families were murdered; the houses, barns, and church burned; cattle and horses driven off; while the air resounded with the screams and war-whoops of the savages. Of wheat alone, 80,000 bushels were estimated to have been destroyed; 100 persons were killed, some of them in the most cruel manner; and many were carried into captivity. Brant was the ruling spirit among the Indians. The enemy, after committing all the devastation possible, sped on to the Mohawk valley, where his operations embraced a still wider range. On reaching their destination, the forces of Sir John were augmented by trained parties of loyalists; and the march through the valley became a scene of rapine and plunder, the forces being divided, one portion taking the north, and the other the south side of the river, thus leaving no part of the doomed section unvisited, or free from the ruthless inroads of the Indians.

While the northern Indians were thus kept employed in plundering and destroying the frontier settlements, those at the south also required to be restrained. In 1781, the Cherokees again became restive, and made incursions into South Carolina. General

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Pickens mustered a body of 400 horsemen, advanced rapidly into their country, sword in hand, killed forty Indians, and destroyed thirteen of their towns. Even the speed and decision of Montgomery was excelled. The Indians could not withstand the terrible onset of the cavalry, who charged them with their sabres, but fled in consternation, and immediately sued for peace.

The years 1780 and 1781 were characterized by these inroads, which could always be traced to the machinations of the tories, whose chief object was to make the patriots of the Revolution suffer, not only all the evils of civilized, but also all the horrors of savage, warfare. But the Revolution could not be suppressed by acts of savage vengeance, to which the barbarian allies of British despotism were impelled by the Indian prophet at his midnight orgies, by unwise counsels in high places, or by the desire of winning the price offered for deeds of blood and cruelty. Civilization might assume the garb of barbarism, and urge on savage minds, really less cruel than their own, to the commission of horrible atrocities; but every act of this kind only incited the colonies to make a more protracted and effective resistance. The motives for entering into this contest were well-grounded, and the people had a firm and true appreciation of its cost and consequences. Every patriot who fell, whether by the scalping-knife, or by the sword, was but an additional evidence of that strength of purpose and devotion to liberty, which could not be subdued. His demise, it is true, abstracted one from the numerical force; but this loss resulted in a gain of two to the principles avowed by his compatriots.

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Chapter XIV. — Fate of the Delawares who Adopted the Moravian Faith, and Emigrated West.

BEFORE the close of this year, it became evident to every one except the Indians, who neither understood nor studied cause and effect, that the chances of ultimate success preponderated in favor of the colonies; but, after the surrender of Cornwallis, this surmise became an absolute certainty. To every one but this infatuated race, it was apparent that the struggle had been maintained at the cost of national exertions, which even the British crown could not maintain; and the words of Lord Chatham were regarded in England as but little less than the words of inspiration.

While the negotiations preliminary to the formation of a treaty of peace were in progress, there existed a state of Indian excitement on the frontiers, which made it the duty of every settler to deem his log-cabin a castle, and constitute his wife and children the custodians of an armory. The Lowlands of Scotland were never more completely devastated by the raids of their fierce neighbors, the Celts, than were the unfortunate frontiers of Virginia by the tomahawk. These details are, however, the appropriate theme of local history: our attention is required by another topic.

The Mohicans, and their relatives, the Delawares, were at an early period benefited by the benevolent labors of the Moravian Brethren. Unfortunately, as we have previously mentioned, this excellent society, even for twenty years before the conquest of Canada, had held the reputation of being politically identified with the French; and still more unfortunately for the peace of the Delawares, this preference was alleged to have been transferred to the British crown after the conquest. There does not appear to be a particle of reliable evidence of either the former or the latter preference; but the populace had formed this opinion while the Delawares lived east of the Alleghanies, and the impression became still stronger after they migrated to the Ohio valley. Although these Delaware converts resided permanently in towns located on the Muskingum, they were peremptorily ordered, by the Indians in the British interest, encouraged thereto by the local authorities, to abandon their habitations, and remove to

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Sandusky and Detroit; under the evident apprehension that these converts would imbibe American sentiments. It was very manifest that they neither engaged in war nor were ever encouraged thereto by their teachers; but expressly the contrary. The Munsees, a Delaware tribe, however, took refuge on the River Thames, in Canada, and the so called "Christian Indians," pure Delawares, of the Moravian persuasion, did the same. This appears to have been the result of political necessity; and if originally at the solicitation, or through the counsel of men in authority, that motive soon ceased to have much effect. In 1735, the "Christian Indians" migrated through the Straits of Michilimackinac, to rejoin their parental tribe in the West. Some of the Munsees had previously united with the Stockbridges at Green Bay, in Wisconsin, and others followed them. The majority of the Delawares in the West were enemies to the Americans; which made it the more easy to convey the impression that the Muskingum Delawares were also inimical.

But, however the question of political preference of the Moravian Delawares may be decided, it is certain that, in 1782, the common opinion among the people of western Virginia and Pennsylvania was, that they were strongly in the British interest. Nothing short of this could have justified — if anything could be alleged, even at that excited period, in palliation of that action — the expedition of Williamson against the Muskingum towns. It was to no purpose that the hardy forester was told that these Delawares were taught and professed the Christian doctrine of non-resistance, and peace toward all men. A majority of them had no faith in such a doctrine, and the rest could not realize the fact that an Indian, whose natural element was war, whose very nature was subterfuge, subtlety, and duplicity, could subscribe to the doctrines of peace and good-will, without danger of relapsing into his original condition at the sight of blood, or the sound of a rifle.

It happened that some hostile Indians from Sandusky made an incursion into the settlements on the Monongahela, committing a series of most shocking murders. Infuriated at these outrages, a body of 100 or 200 men, all mounted and equipped, set out from the Monongahela, under command of Colonel D. Williamson, in quest of the murderers. They directed their march to the settlements of Salem and Gnadenhutten, on the Muskingum. The vicinity of the latter place was reached after two days' march; and on the morning of the following day, the party divided into three sections, entering the town simultaneously at different points. They found the Indians laboring peaceably and unsuspiciously in the fields, gathering up their bundles preparatory to their return to Sandusky. A message from the commander at Pittsburg had apprized them of the march of Williamson's force, and warned them to be on their guard; but, conscious of their innocence, no alarm had been excited by this intelligence. Williamson

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approached the settlement with friendly professions, proposed to the Indians a plan of deliverance from their oppressors, the Wyandots, of Sandusky, and induced them to deliver up their arms, axes, and working implements, as well as to collect at a place of rendezvous, preparatory to a proposed march to Pittsburg. At this rendezvous they found themselves completely in the power of their enemies, who began to treat them roughly; but resistance or flight were now alike impossible. They were next accused of horse-stealing, and other acts of which they were entirely guiltless. It was then determined, in a council composed of Williamson's followers, to decide their fate. He paraded his men in line, and then put the question, "Whether they should be sent to Pittsburg, or shot," requesting those who were in favor of their removal to step in front. The majority condemned them to death: sixteen or eighteen decided in favor of mercy. The Delawares, whose fate had thus been summarily decided, knelt down, prayed, and sung a hymn, whilst a consultation was being held as to the mode of putting them to death. Not an imploring word was uttered, nor a tear shed. They submitted silently to their fate, and were successively struck down with a mallet. Ninety unarmed Indians were thus slain. Sixty-two of the number were adults, one of them a woman, and the remaining thirty-four children. The demoniacal troop then returned to their homes, giving plausible but false reasons for the atrocities committed, which were inserted in the newspapers.

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Chapter XV. — The Creeks Make a Midnight Attack on the American Camp, Near Savannah, Under Command of General Wayne.

THE last blow which the Indians inflicted upon the regular troops of the colonies, was dealt by the Creeks of Georgia. As the contest was progressing to its close, the troops of both parties moved towards the South. During the occupation of Savannah, General Wayne was encamped with an army about five miles from that city, engaged in watching the motions of the enemy. Guristersigo, a distinguished Creek leader of western Georgia, projected a secret expedition against the resolute hero of Stony Point, who anticipated no danger from an Indian foe, distant from him nearly the entire breadth of Georgia. The Indian chief, undiscovered, reached a point near the object of attack before daybreak, on the 24th of June.

General Wayne, who was a cautious and watchful officer, had been on the alert against the enemy from Savannah, whence he expected an attack; and his men, who had been harassed by severe duty, slept on their arms on the night of the 23d, so as to be ready for action. They were suddenly aroused at midnight by the war-whoop, and the warriors of Guristersigo attacked them with such fury, and in such numbers, that the troops seemed to be unable to withstand their onset. General Wayne and Colonel Posey, who had lain down in the General's tent, instantly arose, and proceeded to the scene; the latter leading his regiment of infantry to the charge, thereby restoring confidence and order in the line. General Wayne, at the same time, charged at the head of the cavalry, who cut down the naked warriors with their broadswords, and, by turning their flank, put them to flight. The Creeks fought with desperation, and none with greater courage than Guristersigo, who, by his voice and example, gave animation to his men, seventeen of whom fell around him. He continued to fight with heroic desperation, until he finally fell, pierced with two bayonet wounds, and one from the thrust of an esponton. Many of the Indians were killed by the bayonets of the troops, and the loss on both sides was very considerable. The Creeks never rallied after the fall of their chief, and gave the army no further trouble.

320 Section Fourteenth. — Events From the Definitive Treaty of Peace, In 1783, to the Surrender of the Lake Posts by the British, in 1796, and the Close of Washington's Administration.

Chapter I. — The Indian Policy.

A DEFNITIVE treaty of peace was signed at Versailles, January 14th, 1783. As the Indians had fought for no national object, they received no consideration in this instrument. It contained no provision for their welfare, a fact of which they had been forewarned by the Americans; as it would have contravened the policy of Europe to have recognised the national character of a people, whom they had so long regarded as mere savages. The Americans, who succeeded to their guardianship, treated them as quasi nationalities, devoid of sovereignty, but having an absolute possessory right to the soil, and to its usufruct; power to cede this right, to make peace, and to regulate the boundaries to their lands, by which the aboriginal hunting-grounds were so defined, that they could readily be distinguished from the districts ceded. Thus was at once laid the foundation of that long list of Indian treaties, which form a perfect record of our Indian history, and accurately mark the progress of our settlements between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Under this policy commenced that system of annuities by which, as their exhausted hunting-grounds were ceded, they were supplied with the means of subsistence; and this system promoted their

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gradual advance in agriculture and arts, as well as their improvement in manners, morals, education, and civilization.

The proper management of Indian affairs had been an object of deep and constant concern to Congress, and, North and South, the duty was, for many years, entrusted to a board of commissioners, composed of men of the highest experience, judgment, and wisdom. Nor were the means of the provisional government lightly tasked for the accomplishment of this object. By reference to the records of the treasury department, during this time, we have ascertained that, between the period of the Declaration of Independence and the 4th of March, 1789, embracing the era of the Revolution, $580,103.41 were disbursed on account of the expenses of treaties with, and of presents to, the Indian tribes; and this was done while, during part of the time, the army had neither shoes nor clothing. There was then no means of obtaining an accurate account of their numbers; but an estimate, prepared by Mr. Madison, rates their total force during the contest at 12,430 fighting men, a very large part of whom were under British influence. This estimate may, as the author says, have been above the truth; but it was far more reliable than the exaggerated enumeration, published only ten or eleven years previous, by Colonel Bouquet, who reported the warriors at 56,500.

The policy to be pursued with tribes who contemned all the maxims and principles of civilized life, was a question presenting many difficulties. History had demonstrated the instability, cruelty, and treachery of their character. Ever subject to be influenced by those whose interest it was to mislead them; to mistake their rights and true position; and to be turned aside from the pursuit of noble and permanent objects, to those that, were temporary and illusive; civilization itself appeared to them as one of the most intolerable evils; and they were as much opposed to the labors of the plow and the loom, as they were to the science of letters and the doctrines of Christianity. The instructions of an Eliot, an Edwards, a Brainard, and a Kirkland, were distasteful to the Indian masses; nay, ten times more so than the most elaborate lessons in arts, commerce, and agriculture; and there existed not a tribe which, as such, through all the long period of our history, had sufficient moral firmness to exalt itself above the slavery of the intoxicating bowl.

Although the task was difficult, it was neither hopeless nor discouraging, and whether pleasant, or otherwise, it became one of the earliest subjects for the exercise of governmental powers. The true principles of the fundamental policy were at once adopted. To acknowledge their sovereignty in the vast territories over which they roamed, rather than occupied, would have been simply ridiculous; but the recognition of their inchoate right to the soil, replaced in their hands the means of advancing to prosperity and happiness, after the game, its only worth to them, had failed. As this would be a gradual process, supplying, from decade to decade, the loss suffered from the depreciation

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in value of their hunting-grounds, by the resources arising from their voluntary cession, the system was one suited to their wants, and to secure permanent peace on the frontiers. The principal, and, indeed, the only real difficulty encountered, was in the adjustment of its details; and this difficulty was complicated by the removals of the tribes; by infelicity of situation, owing to advancing settlements; and by the temptations to indulgence in idleness, dissipation, and savage manners and customs. Frequently the very accumulation of their annuities became the means of their depression, and of accumulated perplexities. Civilization has ever been regarded as an intrusive element by the Indians, and they have fled to the West to avoid its importunities. It is perceived, by scanning the statistics of the tribes in the West, that the members of many of those tribes which possess the largest funds in government securities, and particularly of those small tribes which receive, per capita, the largest annuities in coin, are the most idle, intemperate, and demoralized.

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Chapter II. — Change of Position of the Iroquois. Cessions of Territory by them to the State of New York. Treaty of Canandaigua.

THE treaty of Versailles having ignored the national existence of the Indians, they were compelled to negotiate directly with the Republic. The Iroquois. or Six Nations, who had been the most determined enemies of the Americans, made the first treaty in which the question of territory was mooted, which was concluded and signed at Fort Stanwix, October 22, 1784, in presence of the commissioners, Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee. By the terms of this instrument they ceded a strip of land, beginning at the mouth of Oyonwaye creek on Lake Ontario, four miles south of the Niagara portage path, and running southerly to the mouth of the Tehosaroro, or Buffalo creek, thence to the Pennsylvania line, and along its north and south boundary, to the Ohio river, They relinquished any claim by right of conquest, to the Indian country west of that boundary. Their right of property in the territory situate in the State of New York, eastward of the Oyonwaye line, embracing the fertile region of western New York, remained unaffected, and the territory of the Oneidas was guaranteed to them. By this treaty, the tribes who had fought against the colonies covenanted to deliver up all prisoners, white and black, taken during the war; and as a guaranty that this should be done, six chiefs were held as hostages. This treaty was finally confirmed by all the Iroquois sachems in a council held by General St. Clair, at Fort Harmer, on the Ohio, January 9, 1789.

New York had been the arena of the entire Iroquois development. According to the earliest traditions, they entered it in trans-historical times, by way of the Oswego river, and assumed separate names and tribal distinctions after their geographical dispersion over it. Their confederation, under the title of Akquinashioni, is by far the most interesting problem in the history of the Vesperic groups of the North American tribes. This combination enabled them to attain the prominent position, as military tribes, which they held when the country was discovered. By it they had maintained

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the integrity of their territory against the persevering attempts of the French, after the settlement of Canada, to encroach upon their rights; and hence they united the more readily with the English in the Revolutionary struggle.

It is here necessary to notice the treaties concluded with the State of New York by the Iroquois, as communicated by General George Clinton. The revolutionary war, having, in effect, dissolved the confederation, left the sovereignty of the individual States intact, therefore, to New York alone could cessions of territory be rightfully made. These cessions began shortly after the negotiation of the initial national treaty at Fort Stanwix, in 1784. On the 28th of June, 1785, at a convocation of the chiefs and sachems, held at Herkimer, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, in consideration of the payment in hand of a sum of money and goods, ceded a tract of land on the New York side of the Susquehanna river, including Unadilla.

At a council, held with the Onondaga sachems, by George Clinton, Esq., and his associate commissioners, September 12th, 1788, the Onondaga tribe ceded all their lands within the State, making such reservations as covered their castle and residences. By a separate article of this treaty, they ceded to the State the salt spring tract. Large payments were made in coin and goods, and a perpetual annuity of $500 in silver granted.

By the terms of a treaty, concluded with the Oneida sachems, at Fort Stanwix, before the same commissioner, September 22d, 1788, the Oneidas ceded all their lands within the State, with the exception of ample reservations for their own use, and the right to lease part of the same. Five thousand dollars, in money, goods, and provisions were then paid to them, and a perpetual annuity of $600 granted.

This treaty with the Oneidas contained an important provision, sanctioning the arrangements previously made by them in behalf of the expatriated Indians of New England, and others of the Algonquin group, who had been allowed to settle on their lands. The title to a tract of land, two miles in breadth, and three in length, in the Oriskany valley, was confirmed to the tribes which assumed the name of Brothertons, and were under the care of Rev. Samson Occum. Another tract, six miles square, located in the Oneida creek valley, was confirmed to the Mohicans of the Housatonic, bearing the name of Stockbridges, who were under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Sargeant.

On the 25th of February, 1789, the Cayuga sachems assembled at Albany, and ceded all their lands within the State, with the exception of one hundred square miles, exclusive of the area of Cayuga lake, a reserve of a fishing site at Scayes, and one mile square at Cayuga ferry. One mile square was granted to the Cayuga chief, Oojaugenta, or Fish Carrier. Two limited annuities, amounting to $500 and $625, respectively, and a permanent annuity of $500, were granted by the State.

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Evidence exists that these agreements to pay the tribes, in coin, goods, and provisions, were scrupulously complied with, and have been continued to the present day; every attention and respect having been manifested by New York for the habits and wants of the Indians, who have, likewise, received special gratuities. These transactions constituted the first practical lesson in civil polity, and the details of public business, which the Iroquois received. The respect paid to their sachems; the care and accuracy with which the titles of the respective tribes to their lands were inquired into; and the good faith with which the State at all times fulfilled its engagements, rendering and requiring even-handed justice, formed an example which was not lost on a people, celebrated, from early days, for their political position and influence. Civil life was regarded by them with greater respect than heretofore, and its influence caused them to act with a stricter sense of responsibility than they had done in past times.

Hitherto, their chiefs and sachems had, as independent representatives of free and proud tribes, visited the social districts of eastern and southern New York, either for political or commercial purposes, without paying much regard to a state of society which did not suit their preconceived ideas. But, from this period, the aspect of things changed. They resided exclusively on small reservations, which were soon surrounded by farmers, merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, and professional men, who presented to them, daily and hourly, an example of the beneficial effects of thrift, and demonstrated that only the idle and vicious lagged behind in the general race to the goal of prosperity. Private rights were strictly protected, and those over whom the aegis of the law was extended were taxed for its support. The debtor had his choice, either to meet his obligations, or be placed in durance until his creditor was satisfied. There was but one rule and one law for all. Little attention was given to the Indians. Wise in their own conceits, regarding proficiency and excellence in the arts of war and hunting as the limit of all attainments, they hated education, deemed voluntary labor as equivalent to slavery, and despised morality, as well as the teachings of the gospel. If such a people rapidly disappeared, the magistrates felt but little or no sympathy for their fate; the merchants merely sold them what they could pay for, and the majority of the citizens, who remembered their cruel and treacherous conduct during the Revolution, were glad to see them pass away, and give place to a superior race.

The public functionaries of the State Government, however, regarded their condition from a higher point of view. They were deemed an unfortunate, yet not criminal people, who had been misled, but could not be condemned, for lacking political or moral wisdom. Their title to the territories was undisputed, and was freely, as well as fully, acknowledged and respected by all. Another aspect of the position of the Iroquois after the Revolution might likewise be presented. That contest had produced a disastrous effect on them; having, by means of its continual alarms and excitements,

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diverted their attention for an extended period from their usual pursuits. They had so long waylaid the farmer at his plow, and the planter in his field, that their cornfields were, in retaliation, devastated, their orchards felled to the ground, their villages burned, and themselves often reduced to extreme poverty and destitution. The State authorities, however, interfered in their behalf, and, under the treaties just mentioned, rescued them from want, by the payment to them of annuities in money and goods.

The General Government also took this view, and a commissioner of high standing was appointed to meet the tribes, during the autumn of 1794, at Canandaigua, in western New York. This convocation was numerously attended by all the tribes who had been actors in the war (except the Mohawks), including the Stockbridges. The noted Oneida chief, Skenandoa, attended, with a delegation of his people. The war chief, Little Beard, or Sequidongquee, marked for his cruelties during Sullivan's campaign, represented the Genesee Senecas. The celebrated orator, Assoggoyawauthau, or Red Jacket, first distinguished himself at this council. Honayawus, or Farmer's Brother, represented the central Niagara Indians, and Kiantwauka, or the Cornplanter, those of the upper Alleghany. The Tuscaroras sent the Indian annalist, Nicolas Cusic; the Housatonics, Hendric Aupumut.

The treaty was concluded, November 11, and recognised the principles of all prior treaties. It provided for the payment of a gratuity of $10,000 in money and goods, which were delivered on the ground. A permanent annuity of $4500, payable in coin, clothes, cattle, implements of husbandry, and in the services of artificers, was likewise stipulated for. All the attendant circumstances of this convocation were imposing, and its results auspicious, being marked by the development of a kindly feeling for the Union by the Indians.

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Chapter III. — Treaties with the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas, and Ottowas.

THE organization of a territorial government north-west of the Ohio, exercised a favorable influence on Indian affairs. The majority of the tribes on that border were tired of war, having lost as many warriors by disease, as by casualties in battle. The marching of armies had frightened away the large game, and disorganized the Indian trade. They had been fighting, also, as they now began to see, for a phantom; for, granting that they imagined themselves to have been engaged in preventing the colonies from progressing beyond the Ohio (an early device of foreign traders, whose interests in the West would have suffered by the extension of the settlements), they could not fail to understand that it had never constituted an object with the British Government, as it received no consideration in the treaty concluded at Versailles. The Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas, and Ottowas, were the first of the western tribes to express sentiments of peace. They united in a treaty concluded with the commissioners, George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, at Fort M'Intosh, on the Ohio, January 21, 1785. This treaty was important, principally, as inaugurating a system of dealing with the tribes by written contracts; evincing the disposition of the Government to treat them with friendly consideration, and at the same time demonstrating that it possessed the means of enforcing its mandates. Boundaries were established between the Wyandots and Delawares, who designated the Cuyahoga and the Tuscarawas as the division line, thus giving them an idea of the necessity of establishing and respecting geographical locations and limitations.

None of the southern tribes had been so much involved in the hostile proceedings of the western Indians, as the Cherokees, who resided nearest the scene of conflict, and had participated in some of the forays and outrages committed on the Ohio. They, also, at an early period, expressed a desire for peace.

On the 25th of November, 1785, a treaty was concluded with them at Hopewell, on the Keowa fork of the Savannah. The commissioners were Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph Martin. By this treaty a firm friendship was established,

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the surrender of prisoners and negroes stipulated for, and a definite boundary line established, within which the fur trade should be conducted, exclusively under an American system of license, or authority. A similar policy governed the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The former tribe entered into negotiations with the same commissioners, on the 3d of January, 1786, and the latter on the 10th of the same month. The southwestern frontiers were thus placed in a condition of security, by the proceedings of a commission composed of active and energetic men, well acquainted with the character of the Indians, by whom they were held in great respect.

There was still another tribe which had been the scourge of the frontiers; no one organization having evinced such unmitigated hatred, and unrelenting cruelty as the Shawnees. Bearing a name indicating a southern origin, they had, from the first, resisted with desperate fury all attempts of the frontiersmen of North Carolina and Virginia, to extend their settlements beyond the Ohio river. With the agility and subtlety of the panther, they crept stealthily through the forests, and sprang suddenly on their victims. They fought at the battle of Kenawha with an intrepidity previously unknown in Indian warfare; though Virginia had, in every decade of her existence as a colony, successfully repelled their incursions. After the lapse of twelve years from the conclusion of their treaty with Lord Dunrnore, on the Scioto, in 1774, their chiefs assembled at the mouth of the Great Miami, signified their submission, and, January 31, 1786, signed a treaty of peace. By its terms they stipulated to surrender all the prisoners in their possession, and were assigned a territorial position south of the line fixed for the Wyandots and Delawares, by the treaty of Fort M'Intosh, of January 21, 1785.

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Chapter IV. — Hostilities in the West. War with the Miamies and their Confederates.

ONE of the earliest objects of attention on the part of the Government, under the old articles of confederation, had been the incorporation of the Indian territory northwest of the Ohio. No sooner had the war terminated, than all eyes began to be directed to that quarter, as the future land of promise to the Union; which expectations have been most amply fulfilled; for it has been, emphatically, the Mother of States, the most prominent among them being the stalwart commonwealths of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. General Arthur St. Clair was appointed by Washington the first governor of the territory. The most important topic which called for his attention was the state of the Indian tribes, which question he found to be surrounded with peculiar difficulties. None of the tribes had suffered so little by the war as the Miamies, Weas, and Piankashaws, of the Wabash. On the tribes who had signed treaties of amity, but little reliance could be placed. For several years the Indians exceeded in numbers the settlers, who were located at prominent points, and, consequently, these frontier settlements were entirely at the mercy of the savages. It was, therefore, necessary to strengthen the bonds of amity with the Indians by treaty stipulations. Treaties furnish the very highest evidence of civilization among intellectual and polished nations; and, when the system was introduced in negotiations with the Indian tribes, who could neither read nor write, an expectation of security and advantage from such instruments was indulged, far beyond what the moral character of the aborigines, and their actual political appreciation of them, justified. Still, this system promised the surest means of attaining success. From the earliest traditionary times, it had been the custom of the Indians to hold formal meetings of their chiefs, for the purpose of adjusting their affairs, to which the greatest ceremony and solemnity was given, by smoking the sacred weed, and by the exchange of wampum belts. The like ceremony and solemnity was used by the commissioners and commanders, to whom these negotiations were entrusted, on concluding the treaties, by exchanging the muzzinieguns, on

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which the verbal agreements had been written. To renew and extend these obligations was, according to Indian phraseology, to tighten the chain of friendship.

On the 9th of January, 1789, nearly three months before the adoption of the present constitution, General St. Clair concluded a treaty with a large delegation of the Six Nations, assembled at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum. The chief object of this treaty was to renew and confirm that entered into at Fort Stanwix, in 1784. To secure order, a body of United States troops was encamped there, under Colonel Harmer, and the treaty of Fort M'Intosh, of January 21st, 1785, was re-confirmed by the original parties to it, to whom was added a delegation from the Pottawattamies and Sacs.

From an explanatory article appended to this treaty, it appears that the Wyandots accused the Shawnees of having laid claim to lands that did not belong to them; these lands being a part of the Wyandot domain. The respected Wyanclot chief, TARHE, was present at the negotiation of this treaty. It was affirmed by the Wyandots, that the Shawnees, who signed the treaty of peace concluded at the Miami, had been guilty of injustice; and they further averred, that "the Shawnees have been so restless, and caused so much trouble, both to them and the United States, that if they will not now be at peace, they (the Wyandots) will dispossess them, and take the country into their own hands; for that the country is theirs of right, and the Shawnees are only living upon it by their permission."

In 1789, General St. Clair also negotiated a treaty with the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Sacs, and Pottawattamies, through the chiefs assembled at Fort Harmer. This treaty has been called "a piece of Indian diplomacy, saying the Indians never intended to abide by it any longer than suited their convenience." These assemblages, however, were convened in pursuance of the pacific policy of Washington, and had their effect.

The position of the Indian relations was at this time very critical. Emigration flowed over the Alleghanies with great rapidity, and the lands to which the Indian title had been extinguished were daily filling up. The nucleus of the future State of Ohio had been established at Marietta, in 1788. Collision could not be avoided between two races so antagonistic in habits and feelings as the Anglo-Saxon and the Indian. Murders were committed, which were retaliated by similar outrages. It became evident that an open Indian war must speedily ensue. The Delawares, the Shawnees, and the Wyandots having measured swords, to their cost, with the British, as also with the colonies, it was clear that the issue would not be with either of these tribes. Hostile demonstrations were apprehended from the Miamies, and their co-tribes, the Weas and Piankashaws. The residence of this tribe was located in the Wabash valley, one of the most favorable and genial regions in the West. Possessing an extraordinarily

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fertile soil, which yielded large quantities of corn, grain, and fruit, an exuberant forest, abounding in deer, bears, and other animals, their population was remarkably vigorous, while their insolence knew no bounds. Colonel Harmer was directed to advance into their country, and endeavor to bring them to terms. Such a march, encumbered with stores and supplies, through a wilderness destitute of roads, was, in itself, an arduous undertaking. The pioneer work of an army has always been one of the severest duties of a western campaign; it is the toil and the triumph of the quartermaster's department. Roads must be made, bridges built, provisions packed, arms and ammunition carried; every delay must be endured, every difficulty overcome. Colonel Harmer reached the eligible and elevated grounds, forming the present site of Fort Wayne, which are washed by the River Miami, of the Lakes, whose swift, but shallow rapids, are easily forded. Observations, made on the rising grounds beyond the stream, detected the presence of the enemy, whose demonstrations were intended to convey the idea that they were in force in that quarter. But this proved to be only a decoy; they had crouched down in the thick undergrowth and weeds, and were concealed along the western shore. The army was directed to cross the stream at this rapid, but had not proceeded far, when a heavy fire of musketry was poured in, accompanied by the most frightful cries. The men were rallied by spirited officers; Major Wyllis, and other brave officers, being killed in this effort. The Indian fire was continued, and well sustained, they being plentifully supplied with guns and ammunition. The line having faltered, and. fallen back, the retreating columns were marched to an elevated position, where they were reorganized. The loss among the regular troops amounted to 75 killed, and three wounded. Of the militia, 108 were killed, and 28 wounded. So severe a defeat could not be repaired without a reinforcement; and Harmer determined to return to the banks of the Ohio, which he did without further molestation from the Indians.

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Chapter V. — The Muscogees, or Creeks, Negotiate a Treaty of Peace.

Two disturbing elements exercised an influence on the powerful Creek nation during the entire Revolutionary contest; and, after pursuing a fluctuating policy, requiring perpetual vigilance on the part of the authorities of Georgia and South Carolina, their hostility was finally evinced by the formidable night attack, made, under Guristersigo, on the camp of General Wayne, near Savannah, in 1782. The disturbing causes alluded to, were, the influence of the Spanish in Florida, and of the French in Louisiana. But, when the issue of the Revolutionary contest became a fixed fact, they expressed a wish to enter into friendly relations with the Union. For this purpose, in the year 1790, a delegation, comprising twenty-four of their most distinguished chiefs, visited the seat of government, then located at the city of New York. This delegation represented all the principal towns and septs, from the Coosahatchee and Chattahooche to the sources of the Altamaha; it also embraced a delegation of the Seminoles, and was headed by Alexander M'Gillevray, who had, during many years, exercised a controlling influence over this nation. The distinctions of Upper, Middle, and Lower Creeks, were insisted on, they being regarded as so many septs. General Washington received the delegates with comity, and deputed General Knox, Secretary of War, to treat with them. After a full discussion of all the questions involved, the terms were agreed on, and the treaty signed, August 7, 1790. The most important of its provisions was the establishment of boundaries. It contained the usual professions of amity, and stipulated for the surrender of prisoners taken during the war, whites and negroes, many of the latter being refugees. To induce them to make greater advances toward civilization, a clause was inserted, providing that they should be furnished, from time to time, with cattle and agricultural implements. In that genial climate, where cattle, horses, and sheep require neither feeding nor housing, this wise

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provision has rendered the nation wealthy in animals and stock; thus enabling them to make further progress in the social scale.

After all the negotiations were concluded, the Government appointed a special agent to accompany the delegates to their homes, and report on their condition. This agent performed his task skilfully, being a cautious and shrewd observer; and, after his return, he communicated to General Knox a valuable report, accompanied by a map of the country, a detailed account of their principal places of residence, and a carefully prepared and comprehensive view of their manners and customs. He gave the names and designated the locations of fifty-two towns, which were estimated to contain from 25,000 to 30,000 souls. Of these, between 5000 and 6000 were reported to be gunmen, or warriors. It may be remarked, en passant, that the confederacy of the Creeks is well deserving of study, as an element of Indian history.

By some of the older writers, they are called Muscogulges, a term which has, apparently, been shortened to Muscogees; the English appellation of Creeks having been derived from a geographical feature of the country, which is remarkable for its numerous streams. The appellations of Alabama and Okechoyatte, have been borne by them at an early period. Their language is one of the most musical of the Indian tongues, but agrees with the other languages in its principles of synthesis, its coalescence of the pronoun with the noun, and its power of combination.

Politically speaking, they possess a standing and influence second to none of the other tribes, being one of the most strongly characterized families of the aboriginal race, and one from whom we may expect great development.

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Chapter VI. — Expeditions of General Charles Scott, of Kentucky, and of General St. Clair, Against the Western Indians.

BUT three tribes aided the colonies in the revolutionary contest: the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and Mohicans. Thus far, treaties of peace had been concluded with the recreant Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, in the north; the Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Cherokees, in the south; and with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Ottowas, Pottawattamies, and Sacs, in the west; but the seven latter, who bore a very questionable character, could not be relied on, while the Miamies, Weas, and Piankashaws of the Wabash, were in open hostility. They had, during the previous year, defeated Harmer, at the joint sources of the Great Miami of the Ohio and the Miami of the Lakes. The River Miami of the Lakes formed the grand medium of northern Indian communication with the Ottowas of the lower part of that valley, the Wyandots of Sandusky, and eastern Michigan, and the Chippewas of Detroit, as well as other lake Algonquin tribes, who were in the practice of joining the Wyandots, Delawares, and Shawnees, in their inroads on the Ohio frontiers.

The Miamies were an active, bold, and numerous race, who, under the name of Tweetwees, had been the objects of special attack by the Iroquois, ever since the era of the French occupancy. They had been driven by them to more southerly and westerly locations than those which they had formerly inhabited, and were now the undisputed masters of the Wabash valley. During the fierce and sanguinary warfare of 1782, when so many expeditions were sent against the Shawnees, Wyandots, and Delawares, the Miamies received no specific notice, but appear to have been included in the widely-diffused Ottowa and Chippewa race, whom they resemble in features, manners, customs, and language. General James Clinton, during the campaign against the Six Nations, in 1778, observed that the sympathy existing between the races, even where they were placed in antagonistic positions, was so great that but little reliance could be placed on them in exigencies. When war broke out, it required close observation to discriminate very particularly between the grades of hostility, if

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there was any at all, existing among the different members of affiliated tribes. Nor did the Indians make any distinction between the various races of the whites. It was, in truth, a war of races; an attempt, if we may so term it, of the descendants of Japhet to shackle the wild sons of Shem, and to "dwell in his tents."

The earliest movement of any note, in the campaign of 1791, against the Wabash Indians and their allies, was made by the expedition entrusted to General Charles Scott, of Kentucky. On the 23d of May in that year, General Scott set out from the banks of the Ohio, with a total force of 850 men, a part of whom were regulars, under command of Colonel James Wilkinson; but far the largest part of his army consisted of brave and experienced mounted volunteers. The month of June was passed in traversing the vast extent of exuberant forest watered by the tributaries of the Wabash river. On the 1st of August, he reached the vicinity of Ouiattonon, the largest of the Miami towns. This place was promptly attacked, several warriors killed, and the Indians, under a severe fire from the riflemen, were driven across the Wabash, their landing being covered by the warriors belonging to a village of Kickapoos, who maintained a constant fire. A detachment, under Colonel Hardin, having been ordered to cross the river at a point lower down, did so unobserved by the Indians, and stormed the Kickapoo town, killing six warriors, and taking fifty-two prisoners. The following morning, 500 men were directed to capture and destroy the important town of Kithlipecanuk, located on the west banks of the Wabash, at the mouth of Eel river, a distance of eighteen miles from the camp. After demolishing the Indian towns and villages, devastating their cornfields and gardens, and killing thirty-two warriors, beside taking fifty-eight prisoners, General Scott returned to the Ohio, which he reached on August 14th, without the loss of one man, and with but five wounded.

This detail is but a necessary preface to what follows. The Indians being a people of imperturbable character, are not much affected by those lessons of military warfare which are not fraught with calamities of a continuous character. They dexterously avoid the danger they cannot resist, and, when no longer threatened, they as quickly return to their former acts of pillage and atrocity. Some more formidable and permanent efforts were evidently necessary to bring the tribes to terms. For this purpose, Arthur St. Clair was commissioned a major-general in the army of the United States, early in March, 1791. General Washington was very anxious on the subject, and urged on the veteran General the importance of proceeding with all practicable promptitude.

St. Clair was a disciplined soldier, who, having served under Wolfe, Monckton, and Murray, enjoyed the confidence of Washington, as a man of undoubted bravery

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and prudence. On the 15th of May, he reached Fort Washington, now the site of Cincinnati. The delays attending the arrival of troops and supplies, and the organization of the army, gave rise to complaints, the whole summer being passed away in this manner. Fort Hamilton, the point of support on the Great Miami, was not completed until the 13th of September, and the month of October had arrived before the different corps of troops and levies were all mustered into service. On the 13th of October, the army had advanced forty-four miles from Fort Hamilton, and encamped on an eligible spot, where St. Clair built Fort Jefferson. Then advancing with caution and order, on the 3d of November he arrived at the St. Mary's river, a stream twelve yards in width, one of the principal sources of the Miami of the Lakes. It being four o'clock in the afternoon when the army reached this stream, St. Clair proceeded up its banks nine miles, and encamped on an eligible piece of ground, in military order. He had designed constructing a breastwork at this place, for the security of his baggage; but, before he could effect this purpose, the Indians, at half an hour before sunrise the following morning (4th), made a furious attack on his lines. They were in great force, consequent upon the slowness of St. Clair's march up the Maumee, thus allowing them an opportunity to concentrate all the forces of their allies. Unfortunately, the Indians, who were led into action by the valiant Wapacomegat, a Mississagie, first encountered the militia and raw troops, who immediately fled through the line, pursued by the Indians, thus producing the most irremediable confusion. The Indians were checked, however, by a spirited fire from the front line; but, in a few moments, that and the second line were vigorously attacked, and the soldiers of the artillery corps, who formed the centre, shot down at their guns. The slaughter was terrific on every side, and the confusion extended to the centre. At this moment, St. Clair ordered the second line to charge, which they did very gallantly, under the command of Colonel Darke. The Indians fled several hundred yards, but again rallied when the troops returned to their position. At this time, the second line also charged with effect; but the fire of the Indians was very galling, and produced greater confusion, because of the large number of officers killed and wounded. General St. Clair attributes much of the disorder to this fact. The artillery were silenced, all the officers being killed but one, and he was wounded. The Indians simultaneously attacked front, flanks, and rear. General Butler, the second in command, was killed, as also Colonel Oldham, and Majors Hart, Ferguson, and Clarke. General St. Clair attempted to mount three different horses, which were shot before he could do so. More than one-half the rank and file of the army were killed, and the extermination of the rest seemed inevitable.

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The combat had lasted from about 6 o'clock to 9, A. M., when General St. Clair led a charge through the Indian line in the rear, under cover of which the remains of the army retreated in disorder, until they reached Fort Jefferson. The army had originally consisted of about 1200 men, of whom it was reported that 600 were killed, including 64 officers, a loss equal to that experienced at Braddock's defeat.

The effects of this defeat were most disastrous to the western settlements. Immigration was checked, and dismay prevailed along the entire frontier.

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Chapter VII. — Campaigns of General Wayne Against the Western Indians.

THE effect produced in Philadelphia, then the capital, by the intelligence of this defeat, was electric. Washington had never counselled half-way measures with the Indians, and this result had disappointed his expectations. Knox, his Secretary of War, had no personal experience in Indian warfare. It was of the utmost moment to make another effort, as early the following spring as possible, to gain the ascendency in the West. An examination of the list of officers experienced in savage military manoeuvres, resulted in the choice of General Wayne, whose decision of character was well known. He had, in 1782, led a successful cavalry charge against a night attack of the Creeks, near Savannah. Firm and cautious, but of chivalrous daring, nature had bestowed on him the talents and energy necessary to cope with the western Indians.

Prior to the march of General Wayne, Washington resolved to make another attempt to bring the hostile Indians of the West to terms by negotiation. For this purpose, Colonel Hardin and Major Trueman, two experienced men, were appointed commissioners, and directed to visit the towns on the Scioto. But these gentlemen were both waylaid and killed while descending the Ohio, and thus the overture failed. General Wayne's movements were also delayed by another object of pressing moment, which was to intercept a threatened invasion of Louisiana from Kentucky. For this purpose, he was detained at Fort Massac during a portion of the year '93; after which, he contented himself with ascending the Miami valley, six miles above Fort Jefferson, where he established himself in a fortified camp, called GREENVILLE.

It will be unnecessary to detail the process of organizing the new army, or the difficulties and delays it encountered. Wayne was determined not to be defeated; and this, when operating against an enemy so subtile as the Indians, and so intimately acquainted with the peculiar geographical features of the surrounding country, could only be guarded against by the most untiring vigilance, prudence, and caution. The season for active operations elapsed in collecting the forces, on a remote frontier, and bringing them into the field. It was necessary to proceed slowly, as roads must

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be opened, bridges built, and blockhouses erected, to serve as points of supply and communication. A large corps of pioneers was required to be constantly employed, which it was necessary to protect by a strong force of cavalry and riflemen. The delays arising from these causes were the subject of unjust complaint in the diurnal press of that period. Two armies had been defeated in endeavors to penetrate the great wilderness to the Wabash; a country well suited to the operations of a savage foe, but abounding in obstacles to the progress of a civilized army, encumbered with baggage, cannon, and stores; who must have a passable road, and could not cross a stream of even the third magnitude without a bridge. The army was systematically employed in this difficult and laborious service, ever distasteful to volunteers, who composed a part of the forces. This labor, however, was the forerunner of success. Every day devoted to these toils, and to the discipline of the army, rendered it more active, efficient, and fit for the purpose in view. Wayne then took possession of the grounds on the banks of the St. Mary's, where St. Clair had been defeated in 1791, and having built Fort Recovery, there wintered his army.

On the 30th of the following June, this fort was invested by a large body of Indians, whose spies had closely reconnoitred it, while the main force lay near by, under cover. They had noticed that, at certain times, the horses of the officers were admitted into the fort through the sally-port, and on one of these occasions they followed them with a desperate onset, knowing that the outer gates would be opened. The troops, however, being well disciplined, repelled this assault of a prodigious force of the hitherto concealed Indians. The following day they made the forest echo with their whoops, renewing the attack in greater force, and with greater violence; but they were again repulsed with loss.

Fort Recovery was located at the head of the Miami of the Lakes, and formed the key of the route to the north-west, this valley being, at that time, the great thoroughfare of the north-western Indians, from Detroit and the upper lakes, through which, with great vindictiveness, they had so long poured their infuriated hordes over the fertile regions of the Ohio valley, and the settlements west of the Alleghany chain. The area of attack embraced not only the present limits of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, but all western Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and part of Tennessee. It was from these States that Wayne drew all his levies and volunteers, who were imbued with such hatred of the savages, consequent upon a vivid remembrance of Indian cruelties, that it required a man like Wayne to restrain them. Rash courage and vindictiveness are but poor qualifications for an encounter with Indians in a forest, as many a partisan commander has realized to his cost.

A fortnight after the last Indian attack, Wayne continued his march down the Miami valley. An impenetrable forest lay before him, through which nothing but an Indian footpath, or a trader's trail could be discerned. But every company of his men was in itself a phalanx; and the order of march was such as to set surprise at defiance.

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In four days he reached the junction of the river Au Glaize with the Miami, where he built Fort Defiance. Crossing the Miami at this point, to its west banks, he continued his march to the head of the first rapids, called Roche du Bout, or the Standing Rock. At this place a temporary work was constructed, wherein to deposit the heavy stores and baggage; and he then pushed forward in the same order, and with like vigilance, for the principal Indian towns at the lower rapids.

Using the figurative language of the Indians, General Wayne's army resembled a dark cloud moving steadily and slowly forward. He had driven them 150 miles from their successful fighting-ground on the River St. Mary's, and the sources of the Wabash, and it appeared impossible for them to oppose him in battle. At every point of attack they had found him prepared. They said of him that he was a man who never slept, and they named him the STRONG WIND. They had found it impossible to stay the impetuosity of his march, and it was doubted, in their councils, whether a general battle should be hazarded, but after much discussion, this measure was resolved on. The place selected was Presque Isle, a thickly-wooded oasis, such as is common to prairie districts in the West, encompassed by low and grassy meadow-lands, the upper part of which was encumbered by old, fallen timbers, where horses could not be employed. On the 20th of August the Indians arranged their forces in three lines, within supporting distance, and at right angles with the river. Wayne knew not whether they would fight, or negotiate, as offers of peace had been made to them. His army marched in compact columns, in the usual order, preceded by a battalion of volunteers, so far in advance that timely notice could be given to the troops to form, in case of an attack. This corps had progressed about five miles, when they received a heavy fire from the concealed enemy, compelling them to fall back on the main army, which immediately formed in two lines. General Charles Scott, with his mounted volunteers, was directed to turn the right flank of the enemy by a circuitous movement, while Captain Campbell, with the legionary cavalry, effected the same object on the left flank, by following an open way close to the banks of the river, and between it and the cliffs of Presque Isle. The first line of infantry was ordered to advance with trailed arms, rouse the Indians from their coverts in the grass, at the point of the bayonet, and then deliver a close, well-directed fire. These troops were promptly followed by the second line; the martial music of drums and trumpets giving animation to the scene. The whole of these movements were executed with alacrity and entire success. The Indians fled precipitately, and could not be rallied by their leaders. The army pursued them for two miles through the woods, and the victory obtained was complete. Wayne had about 2000 men under his command in this contest, not one half of whom were engaged. His loss in killed and wounded was 133

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men. Captain Campbell was killed at the head of his legion, and Captain Van Renselaer was shot through the body, but recovered. For a distance of two miles, the forest was strewed with the dead bodies of the enemy, among which were recognised some of their white allies. They were denied entrance into the British fort at Maumee, the officers of which were compelled to witness the burning of the towns, and the destruction of the Indian settlements in the valley. General Wayne was highly incensed against the garrison of Fort Maumee, and sought to give them cause to open hostilities. There being a fine spring near the fort, the conversations at which could be overheard on the ramparts, the general rode around the fort to it with his staff, dismounted, took off his hat, and drank of the water, at the same time using expressions of indignation against the allies of the Indians, who had first incited them to attack him, and then closed their gates against them. Those who are aware of the general's enthusiastic character, need not be told that he expressed himself energetically. The savages made no further effort to oppose the course of the victorious army, which, finally, returned to Greenville, where it went into winter quarters.

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Chapter VIII. — The Post-Revolutionary War with the Western Indians is Terminated by the Victory of Maumee.

THE object for which the Indians had fought had proved to be illusory, and their defeat on the Miami of the Lakes terminated their struggle for the possession of the country north-west of the Ohio. This result could not, under any possible circumstances, have been averted. Had they possessed leaders who understood the effects of combination and discipline, and been supplied with the necessary means, they might have protracted for several years this contest against the white race. With ample supplies, and under competent leaders, this defeat would only have added fresh strength to their determination, and would have been succeeded by other battles, triumphs, and defeats; but, as the war was, in fact, a direct issue between civilization and barbarism, the ultimate result would have been precisely similar. The reasoning powers of the Indians did not, probably, enable them to arrive at this conclusion; but they appear to have intuitively deduced the truth of this fact from their late reverses, as, in a short time thereafter, they determined to bury the hatchet and smoke the pipe of peace.

It had been the recognised policy of Washington's administration, to use force against the Indians only when absolute necessity required it; and compulsory measures were never adopted until after every other means of accommodating existing differences had failed. They were, to a certain extent, regarded as public wards. The assassination of Harden and Trueman on the Ohio, with the olive-branch in their hands, after the defeat of St. Clair, and previous to the expedition of Wayne, is irrefragable evidence of this conciliatory policy. Even after Wayne had reached Roche du Bout, and but a day or two antecedent to the decisive battle, he tendered overtures of peace to the Indians, of which, it is affirmed, they were kept in ignorance by foreign agents.

In response to the renewal of these overtures, the Indians crowded to Wayne's camp, at Greenville, during the summer of 1795. The entire area embraced between the banks of the Ohio and Lake Erie, luxuriant with indigenous vegetation, had been

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trodden down, by the marching and countermarching of war parties and armies, from the period of the conclusion of the sham treaty made with Lord Dunmore, in 1774, and the no less unreliable one signed at Fort M'Intosh, in 1785; but, during the five years which had just closed, it had been beaten with hostile feet until it had become like one of their own chunk-yards. The bitter chalice which they had so long held to the lips of the people of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, was now being drained by themselves. After the demonstration at the Maumee Kapids, they fled to their wintering-grounds, and to the extensive forests of Lake Erie, Michigan, and Canada. The local foreign traders of these precincts, the very commandants of the posts, who had counselled them to war, could no longer be regarded by them as oracles. They had been unable to keep the whites east of the Ohio; nay, it began to be perceived, by these subtile sons of the forest, that the race could not, eventually, be confined within the limits fixed by the treaty of Versailles. Spring succeeded these desolating military movements of General Wayne; the genial warmth of May and June caused the wild flowers to raise their heads from the war-path, on which they had been crushed by the feet of contending partisans. The Indian derives many of his ideas from the mild teachings of Nature; and, at this time, wherever the eye turned, all its productions inculcated peace. Before the month of July arrived, the savage, with altered feelings, entered on the forest-paths that led to Greenville, where the American chief was seated, surrounded by all the panoply of war, with the emblems of peace intermingled. Wayne now impersonated their own Hiawatha.

Foremost among the tribes who turned their steps to his camp, were the proud and influential Wyandots, who had so long been regarded as wise men and umpires among the tribes of the West. Driven from the St. Lawrence valley, in 1659, by the Iroquois, they had, for a century and a half, held a high position in the West; sustained a part of the time by France, their earliest and most constant friend, and after the conquest of Canada, by the English. They were astute, reflective, and capable of pursuing a steady line of policy, which had been, with some lapses, the stay of the western tribes, who were willing to tread in their footsteps. This tribe was the last to assent to the scheme of Pontiac; and when the confederation was broken up by the British, they adhered to that power with extraordinary devotion.

In this train, also, followed the Delawares, who had been, since the time they first fled from Pennsylvania and crossed the Alleghanies, bitter enemies of the settlers in the West. There also came the Shawnees; the most vengeful and subtile of all the western tribes. Every day witnessed the arrival in the surrounding forests of delegates, decked off with all their peculiar ornaments, of feathers, paint, silver gorgets, trinkets, and medals. The Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatamies, Miamies, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankashaws, and Kaskaskias, were all present. The entire official power of the

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Algonquins was on the ground. Each delegation carried the pipe of peace, and expressed pacific desires. The whole camp presented a gorgeous display of wild and savage magnificence; and, for the number and variety of costumes, the scene has, probably, never since been equalled in America. All came bending to Wayne.

A treaty was signed on the 3d of August, and constitutes our first reliable date in the history of treaty stipulations with the Indians. The draft of this treaty, sent to General Wayne from the War Department, was drawn up under the supervision of Washington, and appears to have been full and elaborate. It established the system of boundaries and reservations, and introduced the fundamental regulations as to trade and intercourse with the tribes, which have been embodied in all subsequent treaties. A donation of $20,000 in goods, and a permanent annuity of $9000, payable in merchandise, at invoice prices, to be divided pro rata among the different nations, were granted to the Indians.

Having traced the negotiation of treaties from their first inception under the American Government to this important period, when the Indians buried the hatchet, it will not be necessary to pursue the subject further. Subsequent negotiations with the tribes are connected with a lengthy detail of dates, names, and figures, which are readily accessible in the volumes containing the treaties between the United States and the Indians. The treaty of Greenville forms a definite era in the Indian history, from which the tribes may be viewed. Both parties regarded this peace as a final conclusion of the aboriginal war, which, following the close of the Revolution, had spread, as it were, a bloody mantle over not only the Ohio valley, but over the entire region to the north-west of it. The position attained by the United States through this treaty, had been the result of at least a decade of years, characterized by wars and negotiations, in which the sword and the olive-branch had either failed of effect, or only produced temporary results; and the length of time the treaty was observed by the aborigines, is, in part, attributable to the full assent it received from the united judgment of the principal chiefs of all the leading tribes, who were parties to it. On the part of the Wyandots, it received the signature of the venerated Tarhe, or the Crane; on that of the Delawares, it was subscribed to by the gifted Bukongehelas; the Shawnees assented to it through the venerable Cutthewekasaw, or Black Hoof, and Weyapiersenwaw, or Blue Jacket; Topinabi, or Thupenebu, signed it for the Pottawattarnies, and for the Miamies it was signed by Meshekunnoghquoh, or the celebrated Little Turtle; the latter of whom, with the Shawnee chief, Blue Jacket, had been the marshals or leaders of the Indians at the final battle on the Maumee. As long as these chiefs, the last of the forest kings, lived, this peace was observed.

The lake posts were surrendered by the British in 1796, and American garrisons replaced those of the English at Niagara, Presque Isle, Maumee, Detroit, Michilimackinack,

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and Green Bay. The Indians, who are quick at recognising the nationality of a flag, began to accommodate their visits and addresses to this new state of affairs. The Government also sought, as much as possible, to divert the Indian trade from foreign hands into those of the Americans; but this was a difficult matter, and required time to effect it. Along the Georgia and Carolina borders, this trade had been concentrated in the hands of, and continued to be carried on principally by, enterprising and talented Scotchmen, who intermarried with the Indians. The most noted of these were M'Intosh, M'Gillivray, Ross, and Rutherford; the latter somewhat better known as the Black Warrior of 1818. Throughout Louisiana, in all its amplitude of extension north and west, the French exercised the controlling influence; and this was especially the case in the territory now constituting the States of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The same fact was true respecting the trade carried on in the basins of the upper lakes, and at the sources of the Mississippi river, where the British and Scotch factors for many years controlled the trade and influenced the tribes.

346 Section Fifteenth. — Perturbed State of the Tribes, and their Political Relations, During the Growth and Expansion of the Union Westward, From 1800 to 1825.

Chapter I. — Government and Law Essential to Indian Civilization.

DIVINE prescience having determined, through the instrumentality of Moses, to elevate the Hebrews from their depressed and servile state, and to liberate them from the bondage under which they had so long groaned, the prophet had no sooner guided them to a locality suitable for the experiment, than he taught them the principles of law and government. Private rights and duties were accurately prescribed, and these were again distinguished from political and religious obligations. Among a people so long estranged from the true objects of society, and who had lived in a country where they were surrounded by the symbols, as well as examples, of idolatry and heathenism in many of their most repulsive forms, it was essential to prescribe laws for the protection of personal property; for compensation and compromise in cases of depredations of cattle, or accidental murders; to guard the rights of servants; and to establish other political and social rules. The public tithes, or governmental taxes, and the scale of valuation for animals used in sacrifice, were fixed. Nothing of practical importance was left to the operations of chance. It was not deemed sufficient to teach them general moral maxims and principles, or to merely place before them the decalogue. It was followed out by the application of its precepts in society; and its observance was

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enjoined by a tender of the highest rewards, on the one hand, and a denunciation of the most severe punishments on the other. To the supremacy of the law and the government the very highest testimony was borne. The Jew could not be exalted in the scale of society by a miracle. For a period of forty years were they isolated from the rest of mankind, and subjected to these severe teachings, before they were permitted to enter the promised land, the soil of which was to be tilled by their husbandmen, and the cities occupied by their people. During all this time, the law was unflinchingly and rigidly supported and enforced. Death was inflicted for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, and assuming the duties of the priesthood. The power of government was never, for an instant, wielded by any other than God, who had, from the first revelation to Moses, placed himself at the head of it. It was strictly a theocracy; but, from an early period, it embraced a representative system for the choice of tribal rulers. The temple service and the Sanhedrim were united in this system, but never conflicted. The policy of the state and that of the church were distinct and clearly defined, concurring only in the great purpose of a government, designed to exalt the nation in its industrial and economical wealth, as well as in the scale of high morality.

Can we expect the Indian tribes to be reclaimed without similar means are employed? Or are they expected to spring perfect, as it were, from the brain of Jupiter, without any established governments, courts, schools, churches, and without, at least, forty years' tuition, in their wilderness of barbarism? Is this the true signification of the promises? or is it not a contradiction of them? Can the Indian be elevated in the social scale while he remains a hunter? or can civilization be put on, like a garment, while the tribes are in a nomadic state? Is the waste of large annuities on a nation of idlers, a means of advancing them? and are idleness and intemperance conjoined calculated to improve a people? Do the nations of Europe expect such a miracle from America? Is it not, on the contrary, through their persevering industry, in husbandry, arts, mechanics, letters, and science, that Europe has risen? It is by means of their enterprise and virtue, and by a system of approved political economy, that the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic races in this Union have advanced and diffused themselves over the country.

Mr. Jefferson, on being called to occupy the Presidential chair, in 1801, felt the importance of the claim which the existing state of Indian society had upon his attention; all his letters and communications, private as well as public, demonstrate this. Even in alluding to their history and origin, his views were of the most comprehensive character. To him we owe the passage of the fundamental act to preserve peace on the frontiers, and regulate intercourse with the Indian tribes. By this act, the boundaries of the Indian country, and the operations of the laws in it, are clearly defined.

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Regulations are established for the government of the Indian trade. The territory of the tribes is protected from depredations by the whites, who are permitted to visit it for no other purpose than trade, or mere transit through it. The jurisdiction of courts is established, and the methods of proceeding particularly pointed out. In fine, a system of policy is laid down, calculated to advance the prosperity of the Indians, and at the same time secure a just public economy.

The act establishing the North-west Territory, was the first step towards the induction of this practical mode of teaching among the Indians — teaching by example. However slight the effect its lessons may have been on the remote tribes and bands, yet they were not wholly inoperative, even there; while at points within the civil jurisdiction, they carried with them a monition which caused them to be obeyed.

The commonwealth of Ohio was the first organization of public territory in the West, and the extension of State sovereignty over the once sanguinary boundary, west of the Ohio river, ensured to that area an expansion which has no parallel in history. Whether the Indians of the West will become participants in the benefits of civilization, is a proposition depending solely on themselves, their strength of purpose and energy of character; for its price, alike to red or white men, is knowledge, industry, temperance, and virtue.

While Ohio heralded to the western tribes the rule of government and law, Louisiana, by a wise forecast of executive policy, came in, at this critical time, to confirm and greatly extend the system. In fifty years the limits of the Union had reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Neither men nor States practice what is not conceived to be best suited to promote their prosperity. By offering to the Indians the protection of the laws, and the benefits of intercourse with civilized society, the highest assurances were given that we were sincere, and sought only to advance them in the scale of knowledge and happiness. But, as the Indian is an extraordinarily suspicious being, the good faith of this offer has ever been doubted by him, and some sinister purpose has been supposed to be concealed. He has affirmed that the so-much prized civilization of the white man contains elements which are not suited to his nature; but what these elements are, neither philosophy nor revelation has informed us. Persian education consisted in learning to ride a horse, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth. If the former comprised a military education, the latter did a moral one.

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Chapter II. — Geographical Explorations of Upper Louisiana, and the Country Destined to be the Future Refuge of the Indian Race.

TO ascertain the character and extent of Lousiana, and the numbers of the Indian tribes within its area, Mr. Jefferson despatched expeditions up the Missouri and Mississippi. The first was led by Merriwether Lewis and William Clark, captains in the army, both of whom were commissioned for that purpose. They left St. Louis, May 14, 1804, and ascended the Missouri through the territories of the Osages, Kansas, Otoes, and Sioux, to that of the Mandans, where they wintered. The following year they continued their route through the countries of the Tetons, Crows, and Blackfeet, to the source of the Missouri, in the Rocky Mountains, and, crossing this range, descended the valley of the Columbia to the point where it empties into the Pacific. Retracing their steps from this remote position, they descended the Missouri to St. Louis, where they landed, September 23, 1806. This was the first exploratory expedition sent, out by the Government; and its results, while they evinced the great personal intrepidity of the explorers, were suited to convey an exalted opinion of the value and resources of this newly-acquired section of the Union. It was found to be a difficult task to enumerate the Indian population of the Columbia valley, owing to the confusion of synonymes and other causes; consequently, over-estimates were inevitable. The aboriginal population was rated at 80,000 and the distance travelled, from the mouth of the Missouri to that of the Columbia, on the Pacific, at 3555 miles. The observations made by Mr. Lewis on the Indian trade, disclosed gross irregularities, which were directly traceable to the era of Spanish rule, and such modifications were suggested as would tend to place the natives in a better position, as well as to improve the system. The amount of information obtained by the officers of this expedition constituted a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Indians and their country; and the observations of General William Clark, joined to his acquired experience,

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admirably qualified him for the duties of the office to which he was, in after time, appointed, that of Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, on this frontier.

At the same period, Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, U. S. A., was commissioned to explore the sources of the Mississippi. He started from St. Louis with his expedition, August 5th, 1805, and, according to his own estimate, reached a point 233 miles above the falls of St. Anthony, where the accumulated snow and ice prevented his further progress by water. He then proceeded, on snow shoes, to Sandy Lake, and was thence drawn by teams of dogs to Leech Lake, the largest southerly source of the Mississippi river. Commerce with the Indians was found to be entirely in the hands of the British traders, who wielded an influence adverse to the institutions of the United States. Early in the spring of 1806, Lieut. Pike descended the Mississippi river, arriving at his place of departure on the 30th of April. His estimates of the Indian population of the Upper Mississippi, comprise a total of 11,177 souls, including the Sioux, Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, lowas, Winnebagoes, Menomonees, and the various scattered bands of Dakotahs, called Yanctons, Sessatons, and Tetons.

A considerable addition was thus made to our knowledge of the character and habits of the extreme western and northern Indians, and the duties of the Indian Department thereby greatly increased. The State of Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1803, at which period the territory of Indiana was organized, and General William Henry Harrison appointed its Governor, as well as, ex officio, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Harrison had served as an aid to General Wayne, in his Indian campaigns, and entered upon the duties of his office with the additional experience acquired under this redoubtable chief; his skill in military tactics being fully equalled by his knowledge of the aboriginal character, which, combined with his address and activity, soon made him respected as a plenipotentiary at their council fires. For many years he shared with General Clarke, of St. Louis, the onerous and responsible duty of preserving peace on the frontiers.

Two or three elements of discord had existed in the Indian communities located along the frontiers, from the outbreak of the Revolution, which were not extinguished by its successful termination, and still smouldered, after the close of the Indian war, in 1795. Among these, was the preference of the western tribes for the British nation, arising, perhaps, from the conquest of Canada, but kept up by political fallacies, England had secured the good will of the French residents, in whose hands the important commerce with the Indians was concentrated, and still remained. The possession of the Indian trade has ever exercised a controlling influence on the policy of the Indians; which is wielded, not by ministers plenipotentiary, or high secretaries of state, but by the little local traders on the frontiers, petty clerks,

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interpreters employed by commercial houses, and couriers du bois, who never fail to make their principles square with their interests; and it is a matter of little moment to the limited ambition of this class, who influence the destinies of courts or of nations, provided they be permitted to control the traffic in beaver skins.

While the French held Louisiana, no counter-interests disturbed the harmony of their intercourse with the natives; but, when the government was vested in the Spanish crown, the rival interests of the Spanish and French merchants had produced discord between their subordinates, which extended also to the Indians. The cession of Louisiana to the United States calmed these troubles; all differences were forgotten, and the contending parties readily accommodated themselves to the American system. But in Florida there was never the least abatement in this strife for commercial supremacy; the thirst for gain acknowledging no nationality. On the contrary, during the short period when Florida was held by the British crown, a new feature was developed in the character of the Indian trade, which imparted to it additional vigor and system. We have, in a preceding page, alluded to this fact, which was the introduction of the Scottish element among the aboriginal population. One of its most important results was the intermarriage of the Scotch traders with the native females, thereby giving a permanent character to their influence, and exercising a beneficial ethnological effect on the chiefs and ruling families of the native race. Though it produced, or rather precipitated, the previously existing tendency to the formation of two classes in Indian society, it gave a definite direction to the Indian mind; and, while the Galphins, the Millidges, and their compeers, reaped the harvest of trade, the M'Intoshes, the M'Gillivrays, and other chiefs of their race, by infusing their blood into the aboriginal current, gave to the Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles, a higher social and national character. The fact that this intermixture of the races was coincident with the employment of African slave labor by the higher Indian class, was merely incidental. The negroes fled into the Indian territory to escape servitude in the Southern States, and voluntarily assumed the performance of labor, as an equivalent for the shelter, support, and comparative ease and enjoyment Indian life afforded them.

Along the entire northern borders, southward to the line of demarcation designated by the treaty of Versailles, and throughout Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the present areas of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, British capital and enterprise were the great basis and stimulus of the Indian traffic. The limits of this trade had receded very far to the north-west after the victories of Wayne; Maumee, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Detroit, and Michilimackinac, no longer formed centres for the trade. There had been, up to the commencement of Mr. Madison's administration, no public effort made to prevent foreigners from pursuing their traffic with the Indians

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north of the shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan. One of the peculiar characteristics of the Indians is, that they are wont to give their attention to the lowest order of counsellors; not because of any preference they have for an inferior grade of intellect, but from a natural suspicion that persons in higher positions are always governed by sinister motives; and suggestions from these subordinate sources would appear, sometimes, to be invested with importance, in the precise ratio that they are removed from plausibility or truth. Whoever has, either as a plenipotentiary or a commissioner, passed through the ordeal of an Indian council, controlled by the diverse interests of the trade, and of the half-breed relations and protégées of the tribes, will appreciate the force of this remark.

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Chapter III. — Ire of the Indian Priesthood as a Disturbing Political Element. Battle of Tippecanoe.

ANOTHER power was, at this period, in the rapid process of development, through the influence attained by the Shawnee prophet, Ellksattawa, over the entire body of tribes. This person, though belonging to the reservation of his tribe, at Wappecanotta, had located his residence principally on the Wabash, in the vicinity of the mouth of the Tippecanoe river, which became the centre of his power, and whence emanated his oracular revelations. By the recital and interpretation of dreams, by fasting, and by an assumed indifference to all worldly considerations and rewards, he had attained a high position and influence. Ellksattawa had lost one eye, which defect he concealed by wearing a black veil or handkerchief over the disfigured organ. He affected great sanctity; did not engage in the secular duties of war or hunting; was seldom in public; devoted most of his time to fasting, the interpretation of dreams, and offering sacrifices to spiritual powers; pretended to see into futurity, and to foretell events, and announced himself to be the mouthpiece of God. The Indians flocked to him from every quarter; there was no name that carried such weight as his. They never ceased talking of his power, or expatiating on the miracles he wrought; and the more extraordinary the revelations he made, the more readily were they believed and confided in. He possessed a remarkably clear conception of the Indian character, great shrewdness, and astuteness. It being essential to his purposes that he, who was the concentrated wisdom of the Indian race, should have no rivals, the minor priests and powwows became but the retailers of his words and prophecies; and, when one was found who disputed his authority, or resisted his power, he did not proceed against him in a direct manner, but insidiously operated upon the superstitions of the Indian mind. In this way, he disposed of Tarhe, the wise and venerable sachem king of the Wyandots, who, being accused of witchcraft, was condemned to be burnt at the stake. The very knowledge that he possessed such an indomitable will, increased the fear and respect entertained for him by the Indians; which was, however, based on an implicit belief in his miraculous gifts. It has been mentioned that the prophet was not a warrior; his sole

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object was to employ his power in furtherance of the projects of his brother Tecumseh.

There was a higher purpose concealed under these manifestations of Ellksattawa. He told the Indians that their pristine state, antecedent to the arrival of the Europeans, was most agreeable to the Great Spirit, and that they had adopted too many of the manners and customs of the whites. He counselled them to return to their primeval simple condition; to throw away their flints and steels, and resort to their original mode of obtaining fire by percussion. He denounced the woollen stuffs as not equal to skins for clothing; he commended the use of the bow and arrow. Like Pontiac, who, however, had made no pretensions to priestly power, he professed a profound respect for the ancient manners and customs of the Indians; whether influenced thereto by his knowledge, derived from tradition, of the potency of this argument, as made use of by that renowned chief; or, which might have been the case, the idea originated with himself. Fifty years only had passed since the era of Pontiac, and young men who had been engaged in that bold attempt to resist British power, might yet be on the stage of action. Now, however, the real purpose was not to resist, but to invite the co-operation of British power. This was the secret of his actions. This was the argument used by the subordinate emissaries of the Indian trading agencies located in Canada, who visited the Miami of the Lakes, the Wabash, the Scioto, the Illinois, and the upper Mississippi. In the course of a few years, the doctrines of Ellksattawa had spread among the tribes in the valley of the Missouri, over those located on the most distant shores of Lake Superior, and throughout all the Appalachian tribes of the South. They were as current on the Ockmulgee, the Chattahootchee, and the Alabama, as they were on the Wabash, and the Miami. He was himself a half-Creek.

The speeches of the Indians in their assemblages had, for some time, savored of these counsels, and the name of the Shawnee prophet was known, and the influence of his teaching disseminated throughout the country. In 1811, the congregation of large masses of Indians around the residence of this oracular personage, on the banks of the upper part of the Wabash, created considerable alarm, and General Harrison, who had closely watched this secret movement, reported it to the government, by which he was authorized to march a military force from Vincennes, up the Wabash. This army, comprising one regiment of regular infantry, an auxiliary body of mounted Kentucky volunteers, and also volunteer militia from other Western States, left Vincennes in October, 1811, and, in November, reached the Indian villages located on eligible open grounds near the confluence of the Tippecanoe. A preliminary conference was immediately held with the Indians, who recommended a locality at a moderate distance inland, as a suitable one for an encampment. General Harrison had no reason to

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suspect Indian treachery, nor is it quite clear that any was originally intended. But that night the prophet was observed practising his secret rites of divination; and he reported that the omens were favorable for an immediate attack. The army was encamped with the skill and precaution indicated by the teachings of Wayne; and, agreeably to his rigid rules, General Harrison had arisen to order the reveille, and was in his tent engaged in drawing on his boots, when the chief musician stepped in to ask whether he should commence the beat. "Not yet; but presently," was his reply. The expression had scarcely passed his lips, when the Indian war-cry was heard. One of the sentinels on post had observed an arrow fall on the grass, which did not it seems reach its destination; and, his curiosity being aroused, he was endeavoring to peer through the intense darkness in the direction whence the arrow came, when the Indians made a sudden onslaught. A thousand wolves could not have produced a more horrific howl. The lines were driven in; the horses of the officers, fastened to stakes in the square, broke loose; confusion everywhere prevailed; and the army was assailed from all points. General Harrison gallantly mounted his horse, and endeavored to restore order at the principal points of attack. The mounted volunteers from Kentucky and Indiana charged, as well as they could, through the darkness. The fourth regiment of United States infantry, which was in a high state of discipline, restored confidence to the foot, and as soon as the dawn of day permitted them to act, they repulsed the Indians. At the same time the volunteer cavalry drove the enemy across the prairie to their coverts. There had been, however, a most severe and lamentable slaughter. Daylight rendered visible the dead bodies of the chivalric Colonel Davies, of Kentucky, Colonel Owens, of Indiana, a Senator in Congress, and of a vast number of brave officers and men. The army was only saved from destruction by the rising of the sun, which rendered the enemy visible. Such a battle had not been fought since St. Clair's defeat, and the sensation produced throughout the Union was immense. Numbers of the Indians had been slain by the broadsword, in their retreat. This battle was not, however, fought by Tecumseh, who was then absent on a mission to the Creeks, his relatives by his mother's side. Thus commenced a new Indian war.

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Chapter IV. — The Indians Recklessly Engage in the War of 1812.

ON the 18th of the June following this battle, Congress declared war against Great Britain. This war, according to the newly announced oracular view, appeared to the Indians as the manifestation of the power of the Great Spirit, and was regarded as the means employed to disenthral them from the hated rule of the white race. Their great Shawnee prophet had announced to the tribes, from his oracular jesukean, or prophet's lodge, on the banks of the Wabash, the approaching epoch of their deliverance, and the news had been diffused far and wide. The intimate political relations of his brother, Tecumseh, with the British authorities of Canada, as now fully disclosed, formed the nucleus of their power; and, hence, they could depend on the British for arms, provisions, and clothing. Was it any wonder that they flocked to the British standard as soon as it was displayed? Twenty-seven days after the declaration of this war by Congress, the Indians were in possession of Michilimackinac; and, on the same day, their tomahawks were red with the gore of the slaughtered garrison of Chicago, who had abandoned the fort walls, and sought safety on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan. It is not designed to create an impression that our Indian relations had had, originally, any controlling influence on this question. The war resulted mainly from long-pending disputes concerning maritime rights and national injustice. The concurrent Indian hostilities on the frontiers, were but a sequence of the original cause of complaint. Tet the assumption that they were originated by British emissaries was clearly deducible from the events which transpired on the frontiers, and it derived additional confirmation, in a short time, from the fact, that these Indian tribes were engaged to "fight by the side of white men," and to serve as auxiliaries to the British army in the West. It was the threat of the Indian tomahawk and scalping-knife that unstrung the already weak nerves of General Hull, at Detroit; and the employment of these barbarous weapons lent an additional horror to the massacres perpetrated on the River Raisin, and at Chicago. In the war of 1812, Great Britain made the same unjustifiable use

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of the Indians as she had previously done in that of 1776; they were her cruel and bloody satellites. Thyendanagea had gone to the hunting grounds of the spirit land; but his counterpart still existed in Tecumseh, who possessed greater energy of purpose, equal bravery, and had more deeply enlisted the warmest sympathies of the Indians. The former, it is hoped, had, ere his death, overcome his violent prejudices against the Americans; but the latter fell in defence of rights and of a cause which he believed to be just, while his dishonest adviser and auxiliary in command, General Proctor, fled ingloriously from the field.

The Indians believed that, in the war of 1812, they had an opportunity of regaining possession of the western country, perhaps to the line of the Illinois, while the British thought to secure a more southerly line of boundary than that prescribed by the treaty of 1783; a motive which, in the minds of sober-thinking people, hardly redounded to their credit. Their conduct in this war, as in that of the Revolution, served only to add to its horrors, and, by acts of cruelty, incited the Americans to greater exertions. It is but sorry testimony to the intellectual calibre of British statesmen, to say that they supposed the fury of savages, however demoniac, could produce permanent national apprehension, or exert any practical influence on a people inured to hardships, and educated for centuries in the principles of political self-reliance, and faith in God. If the Indians were in error as to the possibility of recovering their lands, or limiting the westward progress of civilization, those who led them into this error were certainly not deceived, and could not have supposed this probable, or even possible. That the Indians had been told that they would be able to recover their territory north-west of the Ohio, is evident from the speech of Tecumseh, made to General Proctor, at Amhertsburg, in 1813. "When the war was declared," said the great Indian captain, "our Father stood up, and gave us the tomahawk, and told us that he was now ready to strike the Americans; that he wanted our assistance; and that he would certainly get us our lands back, which the Americans had taken from us."

After reciting the long course of maritime injustice and wrong, the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs emphatically say, "Forbearance has ceased to be a virtue." "Whether the British Government has contributed, by active measures, to excite against us the hostility of the savage tribes on our frontiers, your Committee are not disposed to occupy much time in investigating. Certain indications of general notoriety may supply the place of authentic documents, though these have not been wanting to establish the fact in some instances. It is known that symptoms of British hostility towards the United States have never failed to produce corresponding symptoms among those tribes. It is also well known that, on all such occasions, abundant supplies of the ordinary munitions of war have been afforded by the British commercial companies, and even from British garrisons, wherewith they were enabled to commence that

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system of savage warfare on our frontiers, which has been, at all times, indiscriminate in its effect on all ages, sexes, and conditions, and so revolting to humanity."

"Summer before last," [i. e., 1810,] says Tecumseh, "when I came forward with my red brethren, and was ready to take up the hatchet in favor of our British Father, we were told not to be in a hurry; that he had not yet determined to fight the Americans." This impatience on the part of the Indians was so great, that it appears they took the initiative at the battle of Tippecanoe. That action thrilled through the nerves of the Americans like an electric shock, and was the first intimation that the frontiers were about to become the scene of another severe contest with the bloodthirsty and infuriated savages. But, though the impatient Indians chafed at the delay, it served to give a degree of unanimity to their hostility which even the war of the Revolution had not witnessed. From the termination of the Appalachian chain to the great lake basins of Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and onward to the Falls of St. Anthony, the Indians assumed an attitude of determined hostility; and, as soon as the key-note was sounded in Canada by the British bugle, an answering yell of discord resounded through the land, which electrified the people on the frontiers, made the mother quake with dread in her nursery, and the patriotic militiaman fly to arms.

During the winter following the action on the Wabash, Ellksattawa continued his incantations, delivering his oracular responses with more than Ephesian authority; while his distinguished brother continued those negotiations with the tribes, which were necessary to prepare them for conflict; and we would not have known they were ready to take up the hatchet two years previously, had not Tecumseh stated it in his celebrated speech.

Early in the spring of 1813, the forests surrounding every military post in the West were, at nearly the same time, filled with armed warriors, who watched the gates with the keen eyes of a panther ready to spring upon its prey. Their central rendezvous, and the depot whence they drew their supplies, was Fort Maiden, at Amhertsburg, near the mouth of the Detroit river. They had watched the movements of Hull in Michigan with the accuracy of a vulture, or of an eagle on its perch; and with the same rapacious vigilance, had permitted no one to escape who ventured from the gates of a fort, or of any guarded enclosure. When the apprehensions of Hull had reached their climax, and the British flag was hoisted on the ramparts of Fort Shelby, their exultation was extreme. The Chippewas and Ottawas, with delegations of the Menomonees, Winnebagoes, and Sioux, had, on the 17th of July preceding, enabled Captain Roberts, with a trifling force, to surprise and capture Michilimackinac. On the 4th of August, a large body of Wyandots and other Indians, lying in ambuscade at

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Brownston, defeated Major Van Horn, with a force of 200 riflemen, driving him back to Detroit with great loss. On the 9th of August, after Hull had re-crossed Detroit river, Colonel Miller also encountered at Brownston the same force of Indians, led by Tecumseh, and supported by a large body of British regulars, located behind temporary breastworks, whom he gallantly charged with the bayonet, and defeated. On the 16th of the same month, Detroit was surrendered to an inconsiderable army, hastily mustered by General Brock, who officially intimated that the Indians could, not be restrained. General Hull observes that "the history of barbarians in the north of Europe does not furnish examples of more greedy violence than these savages have exhibited;" and thus consoles himself, by a historical truism, for a surrender which is a lasting stigma on the military history of the Union.

Decision and address were alone required for the maintenance of that post. The Indians had neither the disposition, capacity, nor will to contend with the garrison of a strong fortification; and this fort mounted eight brass guns, beside twenty-five pieces of iron ordnance, and likewise contained four hundred rounds of twenty-four pound shot.

On the 15th of August, the garrison of Chicago, under Captain Heald, was surrounded by Pottawattamies, while on its march to Detroit, along the open shores of Lake Michigan, and all but about fifteen massacred, including the women and children who followed the camp. The stock of stores and baggage was captured.

On the 8th of September, the Wabash Indians invested fort Harrison, then garrisoned by a few men, under command of Captain Zachary Taylor. They killed several persons outside of the fort, and invested it closely for two days. Finding they could not force an entry, they fired one of the blockhouses, the lower part of which contained the provisions of the garrison. Attempts to save it proving unsuccessful, it was burned down, leaving an opening about eighteen feet in width. With great self-possession and cool courage, Captain Taylor caused the breach to be repaired, though subjected to an incessant fire from the enemy, and finally beat them off.

On the 5th of the month, the savages laid siege to Fort Madison, of Missouri, on the Upper Mississippi, commencing their operations by shooting and scalping a soldier near the gate. They then opened a brisk attack with ball and buckshot, killed the cattle in an outer enclosure, fired at the flag-staff, and cut the rope which held the flag, causing it to fall, and also made several bold and dexterous attempts to set the works on fire.

On the 28th of September, a series of severe skirmishes took place on the St. John's river, between the Creeks and Seminoles and a party of 250 Georgia volunteers, in

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which both parties suffered a loss in killed and wounded. The principal bands engaged were those of the Lotchnoay and Alligator Indians. Early in October, Governor Edwards, of Illinois, marched against the Indian town of Peoria, and the savages in its vicinity. He was attacked by the Indians in their usual manner, but succeeded in burning their towns and destroying their corn, losing only a few men. In the month of November, the hostilities of the Wabash Indians became so troublesome, that a force of about 1250 volunteers, under General Hopkins, was marched from Vincennes against them. On the 20th, 21st, and 22d, he applied the torch to several of their villages, utterly destroyed the prophet's town, and drove the enemy from their strongholds, who, however, avoided any decisive battle. On the 12th of December, a party, comprising 260 or 300 Indians, assaulted the camp of Colonel Campbell, on the Mississinaway branch of the Wabash, killing eight men and wounding thirty-five or forty. General Harrison commended the intrepidity with which this attack was repulsed.

This event closed the campaign of 1812.

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Chapter V. — Events of the Indian War of 1813.

FACTS demonstrate that the Indians throughout the Union, from south to north, had entered into the war with the greatest unanimity and spirit. They believed, as Tecumseh declared to Proctor, in 1813, that they were about "to get back their lands;" that it was, in a great measure, a contest between themselves and the United States; and that the crisis rendered it necessary that they should endure every hardship and privation for the purpose of securing victory. Indeed, it must be confessed that, admitting their sincerity, the stand they made was heroic. Of the Duke of Marlborough, his panygerist exclaims:

"Rivers of blood appear, and hills of slain,
An Iliad rising out of one campaign;"

If the Indians did not perform equal feats, it could not be denied that they caused not only the frontiers, but also the entire territorial area of the Union, to realize the perfidy and cruel carnage, with which a savage foe disgraced the military movements of an ally, in which they participated.

The year 1812 closed very inauspiciously. In wars with his own race, the Indian never continues hostile operations during the winter season. The trees have then lost their foliage, and do not hide his movements; the snows, at that season, present a complete map of his track; the cold is too intense for him to dispense with fire, the light of which would reveal the position of his encampment. But, when an Indian is quartered among civilized troops, he is protected in the use of camp-fires; he builds huts to ward off storms; draws his provisions from a commissary; and clothes himself in woollens, which are not paid for by beaver skins. Under these circumstances, a winter campaign can be endured, and does not become distasteful.

The River Detroit had been, from the earliest period, the principal entrance to the Indian territory in the north-west, and the area of lower or eastern Michigan consequently became the meeting-place of Indian councils, and the grand rendezvous of war parties. The surrender, by Hull, of this territory, appeared to have abandoned it to

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them, under the protection of their allies. It was renowned in their mythology as having been trod by the fabled heroes and demigods, Enigorio, Manabsoho, and Hiawatha; and celebrated, in their traditional history, by the deeds of a Pontiac and a Minnavivina. The great object of the manoeuvres of the United States troops was, to regain possession of Michigan. Tecumseh, whose headquarters were located near Amhertsburg, separated from it only by the River Detroit, had, as has been already mentioned, defeated Major Van Horn at Maguaga, on the 4th of August, 1812, and, likewise, aided in the determined resistance made to Colonel Miller, at the same place, on the 9th. He was in himself a host, and might well have exclaimed, in the symbolical language used by his prototype, Pontiac, "I stand in the path!"

General Winchester, in his eagerness to consummate the purpose of the campaign, marched through the snows in mid-winter, from the rapids of the Miami, at the head of a gallant army, and reached the River Raisin on the 22d of January. He encamped there in a hurried and confused manner, and was defeated by a considerable force of British regulars and Indians, commanded by Tecumseh. The citizens of the Union were horrified with the details of the massacre, by the Indians, of the wounded prisoners taken on this occasion. This scene of diabolical cruelty was, it is alleged, the result of the lack of a proper controlling power in the white victors, for which they are generally held to be responsible.

On the night of the 27th of January, a large body of Creeks stealthily seized the sentinels, and then attacked the army of General Floyd, some forty miles west of the Chattahootchee river. They were perfectly wild with fury, and rushed to within fifty yards of the artillery, evincing a courage which the Indians had but once previously displayed, viz., in the action against St. Clair, on the St. Mary's. They were encountered with firmness, and, as soon as day dawned, successfully charged with the bayonet and the broadsword. General Floyd gained a complete victory: thirty-seven dead bodies were found on the field, of which fifteen had been sabred.

The northern Indians assembled, under British colors, around Fort Meigs, on the Miami of the Lakes, aided materially in effecting the defeat, on the 5th of May, of 1200 volunteers, under General Green Clay and Colonel Dudley. On the 30th of August, the Creeks and southern Indians made an attack on a fort at Tensaw, commanded by General Claiborne. They stormed one of the gates, after a desperate struggle, killing many men, as well as several brave officers, and set fire to and consumed some of the buildings. Their force is estimated to have been from 500 to 700 warriors, of whom at least 150 are claimed to have been killed.

The north-western Indians, who were under the influence of Tecumseh, and of the Shawnee prophet, his brother, had manifested considerable restlessness and dissatisfaction

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at the course pursued by the British generals during the spring, summer, and autumn of 1813. Their decided and unexpected defeat by Croghan, in the sharp action at Upper Sandusky, their abandonment of the siege of Fort Meigs, on the Miami, and withdrawal from the American shores of Lake Erie, and, above all, the capture of the British fleet by Perry, had appeared to the Indians to be presages of evil. As early as the 18th of August, only eight days after Perry's victory, Tecumseh had protested against these retrograde movements. He was then in ignorance of the result of the naval battle, which had been concealed from him; but he feared the worst. "We have heard the guns," he said, "but know nothing of what has happened to our father with one arm. Our ships have gone one way, and we are very much astonished to see our father tying up everything and preparing to run away another, without letting his red children know what his intentions are. You always told us to remain here, and take care of our lands; it made our hearts glad to hear that was your wish. Our great father, the King of England, is the head, and you represent him. You always told us that you would never draw your foot off British ground. But now, father, we see you are drawing back, and we are sorry for our father doing so without seeing the enemy."

The victory obtained by Perry was the turning-point in the campaign. A fleet being now at the command of General Harrison, he could at once transport his entire army, with its artillery and baggage, across the lake; thus avoiding long and perilous marches, through more than serbonian bogs, such as that of the Black Swamp, and the peril of ambuscades in the forests. General Harrison landed his army on the shores of the lake, a few miles below Amhertsburg, on the 23d of September; and, in less than one hour, he marched into the town, where not a single British soldier was to be found. General Proctor, the commandant, had fled, with all his troops and the Indian auxiliaries, after burning the fort, barracks, navy-yard, and public stores. He was pursued the following day, and, on the 5th of October, overtaken at the Moravian town on the river Thames, when a general action ensued, in which he was utterly defeated. In this battle the Indians occupied low grounds, behind a dense forest of beech trees, which could not be penetrated by horsemen. The position was well chosen, and evinced the judgment of their great captain, Tecumseh, who commanded the Indians, and, by word and example, animated them to a vigorous resistance. The defeat of Proctor in front, by a well-planned charge of General Harrison, left Tecumseh unprotected, and he would necessarily have been compelled to retreat, had not the action in this quarter, which was fiercely maintained by the dismounted Kentuckians, under Colonel Richard Johnson, terminated in the death of the Indian chief. With the fall of Tecumseh, the Indian league was virtually broken; the Indians abandoned the

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contest, and dispersed. On the 16th of October, General Harrison issued a proclamation, granting an armistice to the Miamies, Pottawattamies, Weas, Eel River Indians, Chippewas, Ottawas, and Wyandots; each of these tribes having delivered into his custody hostages for the faithful performance of their agreement. The same tribes, together with the Kickapoos, had previously sent delegates to Generals M'Arthur and Cass, commanding at Detroit, offering to conclude a peace.

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Chapter VI. — Hostilities with the Creeks. Massacre at Fort Mimms. Battles of Tullushatches, Talladega, Hillabee, and Attasee.

WE must now turn our attention to the southern tribes. The fallacy of concluding treaties with an ignorant, wild, and nomadic people, destitute of sound moral principles, was never more fully demonstrated, than in the case of the Appalachian group of tribes. The Creeks, a full delegation of whom, with M'Gillivray at its head, visited New York, in 1790, and, amid great ceremony, entered into solemn compacts with General Washington, renewing the same in 1796, and again in 1802, as well as in 1805, were, all the while, only carrying out a diplomatic scheme. They hated the Americans, and the more so, it seems, because they had, as colonies, prevailed over the British. This great tribe had, in early days, subdued the once proud Utches and Natches, and other Florida tribes, and in truth wielded the power of a confederacy, which they averred to consist of seven tribes or elements. But in a confederacy of savages, it was necessary to keep the tomahawk ever lifted. Destitute of political compactness, and its leaders lacking the power of mental combination, as well as moral steadiness, this league was powerful only against savages like themselves, but proved to be an utter failure when opposed to the policy of industrial and civilized nations.

Tecumseh had harangued in their councils early in his career. His mother having been a Creek, they listened to his words with peculiar favor, more especially as he was fresh from the banks of the Wabash, where he had heard the voice of inspiration. In common with the western tribes, the Creeks believed they were on the eve of a great revolution, through which the Indians would once more regain their ascendency in America. At the commencement of hostilities with them in 1815, the residents along the Mobile and Alabama rivers sought protection within the walls of Fort Mimms. A battalion of militia garrisoned it; and its huts and stockades formed a refuge for a large number of families. It, was not a position of much military strength, and such laxity of discipline was tolerated in its garrison, that in a few months after its erection, the Indians observing the carelessness with which it was guarded, suddenly surrounded

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the fort and captured it by stratagem. A frightful scene ensued; men, women, and children being indiscriminately butchered. Such an incident, so early in the war, betokened the sanguinary character of the rest of the contest.

The northern tribes were, to a considerable extent, controlled by climatic influences. They could not continue together in large bodies, without being furnished with regular supplies of food, and some of the requisites of a military camp. When, therefore, their white allies and supporters were defeated, they were dismayed; but when their own great leaders and captains were killed, they were placed entirely "hors du combat." There were no reserves from which to recruit defeated Indian armies; there was, in truth, no recuperative power in the Indian character. To some extent, the tribes south of latitude 40° north, were an exception to this rule. From 40° to 46° north, the snow falls to a greater or less depth between the months of November and March. North of 46°, corn, on which the Indian relies for his supply of vegetable food, must be purchased from the Indian traders who visit his villages during the winter; but a war with Europeans, whose armies can operate either in winter or summer, is adverse to hunting and destructive of his means, as the northern Indian can neither raise corn in summer, nor hunt deer, nor search the streams for beaver in winter. It is far otherwise with the tribes located between the latitudes of the capes of Florida and the Appalachian Mountains. A large part of this territory, lying between the longitudes of the Atlantic coasts of Georgia and Florida, and the banks of the Mississippi, have a tropical climate, and produce tropical vegetation. Here is produced not only the indigo plant, cotton, rice, and sugar (transplanted species), but also the orange, banana, plum and other native fruits. The forests are redolent with the aromatic odors of "groves of illicium, myrtle, laurel, and bignonia." The Indian spreads his simple mantle here, and lies down on the ground without a tent, or a fire. The forests are filled with the deer and wild turkey. Its soil yields the arrow-root, and betata; and its sea-coasts, as well as its lakes, abound with the most delicious shell-fish, and the various species of water-fowl. These tribes had not yet been circumscribed in their movements by the onward progress of the emigrant; and no such idea had mingled in their dreams, as that the fertile and extensive territories on the Chattahootchee, the Alabama, and the Tuscaloosa, were designed for nobler pursuits than the mere hunting of deer. Antiquity of opinion, manners, and arts, is what the native, unsophisticated Indian loves; novelty is distasteful, progress unwise, agriculture regarded as servitude, letters and religion detested, and Christ not considered as comparable to Manito, Aba Inka, Owayneo, Wakondah, or Hiawatha.

In effect, the laying down of the war-club by the northern tribes, who had been led on by Tecumseh in their crusade against civilization, had little or no effect on the Southern tribes. On the 3d of November, within one month after the decisive battle

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of the Thames, in the north, the Creeks assumed such an attitude of hostility at Tullushatches, on the Coosa river, that General John Coffee marched against them with a brigade of cavalry and mounted riflemen. The Indian town was reached at sunrise, when the beating of the drums of the savages indicated that they were prepared to meet them. A sham attack and retreat, by a single company, effectually succeeded in decoying them from their houses in close pursuit. This sally was checked by their encountering the main body of Coffee's command, which charged them, and drove them back to their shelter, where they were in a very short time surrounded by superior numbers. They fought with great desperation, without "shrinking, or complaining; not one asked to be spared, but fought as long as they could stand or sit." One hundred and eighty-six dead bodies were counted on the field, and eighty prisoners were taken, chiefly women and children. General Coffee's brigade lost five killed, and forty-one wounded.

Only a few days elapsed when the Creeks appeared in great force, at Talladega; but General Andrew Jackson advanced against them, and, by great exertions and night marches, reached the vicinity of that place at sunrise, on the 7th of November. He formed his militia in line on the left, his volunteers on the right, and his cavalry on the wings in a curve, so as to enclose the enemy, giving directions to pour in four or five rapid discharges, and then fall back. The Indians pursued them, and had well nigh thrown the entire force of infantry into confusion. The militia fled; but Jackson immediately ordering a corps of reserved cavalry, under Colonel Dyer, to dismount and fill up the gap, confidence was restored. The militia seeing this, rallied, and the fire became so hot, general, and destructive, that the Creeks fled. The right wing pursued them for three miles, until they reached the mountains. Two hundred and ninety dead bodies of the enemy, left behind on the field, proved that they had made a spirited resistance. Jackson had seventeen killed, and eighty-three wounded.

On the 11th of November, Brigadier-General James White marched against the Hillabee Creeks, a distance of about 100 miles from Fort Armstrong. He captured five Creeks on the Little Oakfuskee, and burned a town comprising thirty houses. The town of Genalgo, consisting of ninety-three houses, shared the same fate. Having arrived at a point within five or six miles of the Hillabee town, where, he was informed, the Indians would make a stand, he dismounted part of his forces, and prepared to make a night attack. It was, however, daylight, on the 18th, before the troops reached the town, which they succeeded in surrounding and surprising. Sixty were killed on the spot, and 256 persons taken prisoners.

On the 29th of November, Brigadier-General John Floyd fought a general battle with the Creeks at Attasee, some eighteen miles from the Hickory Ground, on the

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waters of the Tallapoosa. His force was composed of 950 Georgia militia, between 300 and 400 friendly Cowetas, under M'Intosh, and the Tookabatchians, under their chief, Mad Dog. These fought with intrepidity when incorporated with the line of the troops. After some changes of plan, induced by ignorance of the local geography, the army approached the upper town, where the action became general. "The Indians presented themselves at every point, and fought with the desperate bravery of real fanatics." By the use of artillery and the bayonet, the enemy were obliged to retreat, and take shelter in houses, thickets, and caves in a high bluff, on the river. The action terminated at nine o'clock in the morning, when the town was burned. The loss of the enemy is not definitely stated; but 400 buildings are estimated to have been consumed. Floyd's loss was 7 killed, and 54 wounded.

On the 23d of December, General Claiborne, with a brigade of volunteers, and a part of the 3d regiment of United States troops, attacked the Creek town of Eccanachaca, on the Alabama, about eighty miles above the mouth of the Cahaba. Being advised of his approach, they were prepared for him, and immediately commenced an attack; but they were quickly repulsed, with the loss of thirty warriors killed.

On the northern frontier the Indians effected little, except as flankers and guerilla parties, in connection with the British armies. The most noted movement of this kind was the attack on Buffalo. A strong party of them, accompanied by the British troops, crossed the Niagara before daybreak on the 30th of December, and laid the village of Buffalo in ruins.

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Chapter VII. — Battles of Emucfau, Enotochopco, and Tohopeka. The Horse-shoe Creeks Subdued.

THE determination with which the Creeks had entered into this war has no precedent in Indian contests. They had been five times defeated in battle; they had lost several hundred men on the battle-field; and upwards of forty of their towns, some of them comprising ninety houses, had been consigned to the flames. The Choctaws and Chickasaws did not assist them; and the Cherokees, being remote, either stood entirely aloof, or only sent out small parties of friendly scouts and spies. A limited number of the Creeks themselves, the tribes of the Cowetas and Tuckabatches, were friendly; yet the main body of the nation fought as if their salvation depended on defeating the Americans. If, as may naturally be conjectured, they opposed Narvaez and De Soto in 1628 and 1641 with this determined spirit, no wonder need be expressed that the former proceeded no farther than the mouth of the Appalachicola, or that the latter was driven out of the Mississippi valley. The numerous population of the tribe, located in a genial climate, in which all the productions necessary for the subsistence of Indians grew spontaneously, constituted them a powerful enemy. Their intellectual development and stability of character had also been promoted by intermixture with the Scotch race. It is not improbable, when we consider their heavy losses in battle, that we have never possessed anything like an accurate enumeration of their strength. Major Swan, who visited the country as an official agent in 1791, enumerates fifty-two towns; and, with our knowledge of their fecundity and means of subsistence, they could not well be estimated at less than 200 souls to each town; which would give an aggregate population of 10,400. There could not have been less than 3000 Creek warriors in the field during the greater portion of the years 1812 and 1813, and a part of 1814. The tribe appears to have possessed an active military element, and the spirit to conquer other tribes. According to Bartram, they had been involved in wars and contests, before they crossed the Mississippi on their route to the present area of Florida;

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and, having progressed to the Altamaha, still fighting their way, they first "sat down," to use their metaphor, at the "old fields," on that river. While their council-fire was located at this place, they subdued the Savannas, the Ogeetches, the Wapoos, Santees, Yamas, Utinas, Icosans, Paticas, and various other tribes, always making it a rule to incorporate the remnants with themselves; and within the period of our own history, they have thus absorbed the Utchees and Natchez.

By a scrutiny of the official documents of that period, we are led to infer that the Creek war had been carried on by spirited and gallant leaders, who were, however, deficient in an accurate knowledge of the geography of the country. Military expeditions were led into the interior, under the guidance of ignorant men, who frequently misled the officers; and the latter were occasionally content to escape from perilous positions, with the éclat of a victory which neither secured the possession of the country, nor humbled the tribe. Tennessee, however, presented an officer of a very different character, in Andrew Jackson, a general of her State militia. He despised fair-weather soldiers and mouthing patriots. His observations of Indian life had given him better defined views of their character; and, like Washington, he saw at a glance that half-measures would not do. The Indian is not a sensitive man, but a stoic, by nature as well as by education, and quickly recovers from calamities which are not of long continuance. The Indian's alertness, and quickness at the adoption of expedients, must be opposed by a similar course of policy. The general who operates against them must be willing and ready to fight by night, as well as by day; should not encumber himself with baggage; must occasionally run the risk of losing all his camp equipage for the purpose of defeating his enemy, and must endure hardships and fatigue like an Indian. Jackson's first march to, and victory at, Talladega, taught him all this. The system of rapid movements and impetuous charges, introduced by Napoleon, which overthrew the old military tactics of Europe, also gave success to Jackson's operations against the Indians. His attacks were quick, and terribly effective.

The battle of Talladega occurred on the 7th of November, 1813, just four days after that of Tullushatches, fought by Coffee, and was followed in quick succession by those of Hillabee, Attasee, and other successful actions, in different parts of the country, occurring at various intervals until the 23d of December. No signs of submission, however, appeared, but instead thereof, they assumed rather an attitude of defiance. The Creeks inhabiting the valley of the Tallapoosa maintained a resolute mien; and even those of the town of Talladega were in no manner intimidated. Very early in January (1814), General Jackson having been authorized to march against the hostile bands, designated the 10th of that month for the assembling of his new levies of volunteers, including cavalry and infantry, who amounted, in the aggregate, to 1950 men. They were not, however, finally mustered until the 17th; and on the

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18th Jackson reached Talladega fort, where he was joined by between 200 and 300 friendly Indians, of whom 65 were Cherokees, and the remainder Creeks. Learning that the entire force of warriors of the Oakfuskee, New Yarcau, and Ufauley towns, was concentrated at a creek called Emucfau, in a bend of the Tallapoosa, he determined to proceed thither. The march was a hazardous one, being over a varied surface, and through many defiles, which presented great difficulties to raw and undisciplined troops. On the 20th he encamped at Enotochopco, a Hillabee village, twelve miles from Emucfau, where he was much chagrined at ascertaining the geographical ignorance of his guides, as well as by discovering the insubordination and want of skill which became apparent in his troops. They were, however, spirited and courageous men; and the following day he pushed on with them to the banks of the Tallapoosa, where he struck a new and well-beaten trail, which disclosed his proximity to the enemy. Being late in the day, he encamped his troops in a square, doubled his pickets, and made preparations to reconnoitre the enemy's camp the same night. At eleven o'clock his spies returned, with the information that the Indians were encamped in great force at the distance of three miles, and either preparing for a march, or an attack, before daylight. At six o'clock, the following morning, the Indians commenced a desperate onslaught on Jackson's left, both in front and rear, which was vigorously met. The contest raged with great violence for half an hour, and was participated in by the most efficient of the field and staff officers, as well as by a reinforcement of infantry, which immediately marched to the relief of the troops attacked. As soon as it was sufficiently light to discern surrounding objects, a charge was ordered, which was led by General Coffee; and the enemy being routed at every point, were pursued with great slaughter for two miles. Jackson then ordered their town to be burned, if practicable; but General Coffee, after marching thither, deemed it unadvisable, and returned. The Indians here evinced some skill in manoeuvring, for, after Coffee's return, they attacked Jackson's right, thinking to draw to that point reinforcements from the left, which had been weakened by the battle in the morning: having made this feint, they immediately prepared to renew their onslaught on the left. This movement had been anticipated by Jackson, who prepared for it by ordering a cavalry charge on the Indians' left, and by strengthening his own left with a body of infantry. The entire line met the enemy with great intrepidity, and, after discharging a few rounds, made a general charge, the effect of which was immediate — the enemy fled with precipitation, and were pursued by the troops, who poured upon them a galling and destructive fire. In the meantime, Coffee, who had charged the left of the Indians, was placed in considerable jeopardy; some of his force not having joined him, and a part, comprising the friendly Creeks, having left their position. As soon as the front was relieved, the

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Creeks, who had taken part in the first charge, rejoined Coffee, and enabled him to make another charge, which accomplished his purpose. The enemy fled in confusion, and the field was left in possession of the Americans.

Jackson passed the night in a fortified camp, and on the 23d, at ten o'clock in the morning, commenced his return march to camp Strother, whence he set out. He encamped on the Enotochopco before dark, having been unmolested on his route, which lay through a dangerous defile, caused by a windfall. Having a deep creek and another dangerous defile before him, he decided to avoid it by making a detour; but the next morning, while in the act of crossing the creek, the enemy, who, from signs observed during the night, had been expected, commenced a furious attack. The vanguard, a part of the flank columns, as well as all the wounded, had passed over, and the artillery were about to follow, when the alarm-gun was fired. He refaced his whole line for a backward movement; but, while the columns were manoeuvring to gain a position, a part of the rear of both the right and left columns gave way, causing a great deal of confusion. There then remained but a part of the rear guard, the artillery, and the company of spies, with which the rout was checked, and the attack repulsed. It was on this occasion that Lieutenant Armstrong (the late General Armstrong) performed deeds of heroic valor, by ascending an eminence with his gun, under a hot fire, and driving back the enemy with volleys of grape-shot. This battle was fought on the 24th of January. In these actions the loss on each side was very great, and several brave officers fell. There were 24 Americans killed, and 75 wounded, and the bodies of 189 Indian warriors were found on the field.

The Indians of the Tallapoosa did not, however, drop the tomahawk; but, having determined to make a more effective stand, they assembled on a peninsula of the Tallapoosa river, called by them Emucfau, or Tohopeka, and the Horse-Shoe, in conformity to the name given it by the whites. On this point, surrounded on all sides but one by the deep current of the river, 1000 persons assembled. Across the connecting neck of land they had erected a solid breastwork of earth, from six to eight feet high, which afforded a perfect covert. This breastwork was so sinuous in its form, that it could not be raked even by a cannon placed at one angle.

General Jackson, who approached it with his army on the 27th of March, thought the position had been admirably selected for defence, and well fortified. He began his approaches by directing General Coffee to so occupy the opposite sides of the river with his mounted men, as to prevent the Indians from crossing in canoes. He then proceeded slowly, and in complete order, to move towards the breastwork in front, at the same time opening a cannonade, at the distance of 150 to 200 yards, with one six, and one three-pounder, using muskets and rifles where an opportunity offered. This demonstration having produced no striking effects, a detachment was then sent from the troops on the opposite banks of the Tallapoosa, to burn some buildings located on the apex of the peninsula, which having been accomplished, they then bravely attacked

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the Indian forces behind the breastwork. But this manoeuvre also, though gallantly executed, proved ineffective. Jackson then ordered his troops to storm the breastwork. Colonel Williams led on the right, and Colonel Montgomery the left column, who performed this duty with great alacrity, mounted the wall in the face of a tremendous discharge, and poured in a destructive fire on the backs of the Indians, who were defeated with immense slaughter; 557 dead bodies being found on the peninsula. Among the killed was Monahooe, the Creek prophet, who had received a grape-shot in his mouth. Many Indians were found secreted under the banks, and shot. Two hundred and fifty prisoners were taken, all of whom were women and children, except two or three. Twenty warriors escaped. "The power of the Creeks," observes General Jackson, in his despatch, "is forever broken."

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Chapter VIII. — Foreshadowings of Peace.

THE war with the Creeks was now drawing rapidly to a close; the entire extent of the valleys of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, their strongholds, having been scoured, and their ablest chiefs defeated. Wethersford, the indomitable Black Warrior, on whose head a price had been fixed, having, after the memorable defeat at Emucfau, or the Horse-Shoe, surrendered himself to the commanding general, had been allowed to return to his nation unharmed; the object of the war being to convince them that the counsels of their prophets were only evil, and destructive to their best interests. Reason having failed to make them acquainted with this fact, the sword was the only resort left. Fortunately for the country, this duty was entrusted to a man noted for his decision, and who also possessed a just conception of the Indian character, capacity, and resources. Had it been otherwise, the war would have been protracted in the same manner as the subsequent contest with the Seminoles of Florida, and, like that war, would, possibly, have cost the treasury millions of dollars.

One of the most atrocious acts committed by the Creeks, was the massacre at Fort Mimms; and many of the negroes taken at that time, as also a woman and her children, were now liberated. Tustahatchee, king of the Hickory-Ground band, followed the example of Black Warrior, by delivering himself up; and Hillishagee, their jossakeed and prophet, absconded. During the month of April the army swept, like a resistless whirlwind, over the Creek country; and, by the early part of May, all its operations were closed, excepting the cautious retention of garrisoned posts.

It must be noticed, that the Indian priestly influence was the real origin of the Indian wars which raged from the extreme north to the south, between the years 1812 and 1816. Tecumseh had, through the wily arts of Ellksattawa, incited this new crusade against the Americans. He had visited the southern tribes, and was received with particular favor by his relatives, the Creeks. From the oracular teachings of Ellksattawa, on the Wabash, Monahooe and Hillishagee then received their clue, and, thenceforward, became active agents in the dark mysteries. War had sealed with death two of the principal originators of these hallucinations, these servants of the

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western Chemosh, and disciples of Baal and Moloch, whose magic incantations and shouts sounded as dolefully at the solemn midnight hour, on the waters of the Appalachian slopes, as they ever did on the banks of the Euphrates, or along the rivers and plains of Palestine.

As the American armies acquired better discipline and greater experience, the assistance of Indian auxiliaries on the flanks of the enemy became less a subject of interest or apprehension; the most important tribes in the South, West, and North having also suffered such defeats as caused them rather to keep aloof from the contest. Still, though defeated whenever they fought without the aid of their British allies, they were, as a mass, unfriendly, and ill concealed their secret hostility under the guise of neutrality. They did not, however, fail to rally in their strength, whenever the presence of a detachment of regular troops promised them protection. In the sharp action fought by Major A. H. Holmes, on the 4th of March, 1814, within twenty miles of the River Thames, and near Detroit, the Indians formed a part of the forces which he had to encounter. Also, in the attempt to retake the fort at Michilimackinac, in the month of August of the same year, the Chippewa, Ottawa, Menomonee, Winnebago, Sac, and Sioux Indians occasioned the defeat of the army under the orders of Colonel Croghan. The troops employed on this service comprised a regiment of infantry and a detachment of artillery, with a supply of ordnance and ammunition adequate to the reduction of the place, had not the plan of attack been ill advised. Instead of sailing directly for the harbor and post located on this cliff-crowned Gibraltar of the lakes, time was wasted in making an excursion up the St. Mary's strait and river, for the purpose of burning the empty fort on St. Joseph's Island, and detaching a party to plunder the North-west Factory. This force likewise pillaged some private property, and committed other acts of questionable public morality. When the fleet of Commodore St. Clair, with the army on board, made the white cliffs of the island, it manoeuvred and sailed around it, thus expending some days uselessly, instead of promptly entering the harbor and assaulting the town, which, being but feebly garrissoned, would have been easily captured. On first descrying the fleet, the populace were in the wildest confusion. Meantime, the Indians thronged on to the island from the contiguous shores, filling the woods which extended back of the fort. On the margin of this dark forest the attack was made. Major Holmes, who had recently displayed such intrepidity in the engagement on the River Thames, landed with the infantry and artillery, and led them successfully through the paths which wound among the thick foliage of the undergrowth on that part of the island, and deployed his men on the open ground of Dousman's farm.

Meantime, Colonel M'Dowell, who had but sixty regulars in the fort, recruited as many of the Canadian militia as he could muster and equip, marched out to Dousman's, and commenced firing with a six-pounder from an eminence which overlooked the battle-field.

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Not less than 500 warriors were on the island, who opposed the landing from their coverts; entirely surrounding the field, and crouching behind clumps of trees on the plain, from which they poured an effective fire. Major Holmes, as soon as his men were formed, pushed forward with great gallantry, waving his sword, and had progressed some hundred yards, when he was shot by an Indian who was concealed behind a bush. When this officer fell, the troops faltered, and then retreated to the landing-place. Mr. Madison, in his message of September 20th, 1814, observes of Major Holmes, in alluding to this expedition, that "he was an officer justly distinguished for his gallant exploits."

The general battles of the Thames and Emucfau, having in reality, broken up the Indian combination in the North and South, they played only a secondary part in those events of the war, which occurred subsequently. A few of the friendly Iroquois valiantly aided General P. B. Porter's regulars and militia, in the severe and triumphant sortie made from Fort Erie against the British camp on the 17th of September. There were also parties of friendly Creeks, of the Cowetas, under M'Intosh, as well as of the Cherokees and Chickasaws, who performed good service on the side of the Americans. The hostile Creeks, who had been expelled from the southern plains, having taken shelter at Pensacola, in Florida, General Jackson deemed it essential to the preservation of peace on the frontiers, that the governor of that town, and the commander of the fort there located, should have an opportunity of making an explanation of his policy in furnishing protection and supplies to the Indians. With this view, he appeared in that vicinity on the 6th of November, at the head of the army which had traversed the Creek country, and forthwith dispatched a field-officer to the town, with a flag, desiring a conference; but, the bearer of it being fired on by the cannon of the fort, Jackson immediately determined upon storming it; and, having made some preliminary reconnoissances, he attacked the town with his entire force on the 7th. He was assailed by a fire of musketry from the houses and surrounding gardens, and a battery of two guns opened on his front. This battery was immediately stormed by Captain Lavall's company; and, after sustaining a heavy and continuous fire of musketry, the garrison of the fort submitted unconditionally. The Choctaws were highly commended by Jackson for their bravery on this occasion. The following day, the Barancas was abandoned and blown up by the enemy, and Colonel Nichols, the governor, retreated to the vessels of the British squadron lying in the bay, which then put to sea.

This action was the closing event of the Indian war in that quarter. "It has convinced the Red Sticks," remarks the General, "that they have no stronghold or protection except in the friendship of the United States."

377 Section Sixteenth. — Effects of the Expansion of the Population Westward, and of the Creation of New States on the Exhausted Indian Hunting-grounds of the Mississippi Valley.

Chapter I. — A New Phasis in Indian History.

THE close of the war of 1812 not only ended the Indian hostilities, but also initiated a thorough geographical exploration of the Mississippi valley; the extent, fertility, and resources of which, were then fully ascertained. Noble rivers, the names of which had been for years only known by their connection with romantic tales, and the narratives of adventurous exploits, now attracted attention by the facilities they afforded for navigation. The entire valley seemed to be one vast series of plains, reticulated by streams, which poured their resistless currents into the Mexican gulf. These plains, once the haunts of uncounted herds of deer, elk, and buffalo, were now deserted by them, and elicited interest only by their fertility, and by their adaptiveness to the purposes of agriculture.

Changes of such a striking character, and apparently fraught with such disastrous consequences to the Indian tribes, produced, however, a favorable effect. It was the triumph of the arts of peace. This was the beginning of a new era in their history. The chase, it was seen, must, perforce, be abandoned, and agricultural and industrial pursuits adopted. But the question was, how could this be done by a people so reduced

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in circumstances, so destitute of all apparent means as the Indians? At this time, the population of the Eastern States began to emigrate to the West in renewed force, creating a demand for those fertile lands, which, being denuded of their game, were no longer useful to hunter tribes. By the cession of these lands to the United States Government, the Indians were provided, through the medium of money annuities, with the means of procuring the requisites necessary to their advancement in the social scale. They became, in a few years, permanently possessed of cattle, implements of husbandry, and schools: a life of industry was commenced. Thus, what appeared, at first, to have sealed their destruction, was in reality, the means of their elevation and deliverance.

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Chapter II. — Condition of the Tribes at the Conclusion of the War.

THE ninth article of the treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, left the Indian tribes to make their own terms with the United States. They had fought in vain, and received so little consideration from their late ally at the close of the contest, that they were not even accorded a national position in the treaty of peace concluded between the belligerent powers; consequently, the year 1815 was to them the commencement of a period in their history, of very self-reliant interest. Misled by the false theories of their prophets, and defeated in numerous battles, they had yet believed that they were fighting to preserve intact their ancient territorial limits. They had lost great numbers of their warriors in battle; the Creeks alone, in the contests at Talladega, Tullushatches, Hillabee, Attasee, and Emucfau, or the Horse-Shoe, had suffered to the extent of not less than 1000 men. The losses experienced in battle by all the tribes, constituted, however, but a fraction of what they suffered from diseases engendered in camps, superinduced by unsuitable, bad, or scanty supplies of food, as well as by the toils and accidents incident to forced marches. Fevers, colds, and consumptions, to which they are liable, had been fearfully prevalent; chicken-pox and the varioloid had nearly decimated them. In addition to this, their families had been left in an unprovided and starving condition at home. In 1812, the numbers summoned by the voice of the Shawnee prophet to the banks of the Wabash were immense. They abandoned everything else for the purpose of participating in this new revolution, and many who left their western and northern homes, on this errand, never returned. The writer has walked over the sites of entire villages thus desolated, which had been in a few years covered by weeds, and a young forest growth.

This was not, however, the worst of their misfortunes. Their hunting-grounds had been rendered valueless by the operations of the contending armies. The deer, elk, and bear always precede the Indians to more dense forests; the cunning beaver immediately abandons a stream into which he cannot, by gnawing, make the trees fall,

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on the bark of which he subsists; the otter, which lives on fish, remains for a longer period. But the entire species of furred animals, whose skins form the staple of the Indian trade, were greatly diminished, and the vast region of country extending from 38° to 44° north, between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, had been rendered useless as a hunting-ground. Another result of the passage of troops through remote parts of the Indian country, was the discovery of tracts of arable land, of great value to the agriculturist; of water-powers, mines, and resources, offering tempting inducements to the mill-wright, manufacturer, and miner. Coal, iron, and lead, were found in abundance, and, subsequently, copper and gold. War, bad seasons, and the depreciation of a very extended and inflated paper currency, with a resulting decline in the prices of all merchantable articles, had alarmed thousands of persons in the Atlantic States, who sought to repair their fortunes, or find a field for the exercise of their ingenuity and talents, by emigrating to the West; so that, by a singular coincidence, when the Indians began to part freely with their exhausted hunting-grounds, by sales to the Government, the emigrant masses clamored for new and ample farms on these ceded tracts, where both they and their children might lay the foundations of happy homes. This was the germ of new States.

We have placed the commencement of this era in the year 1816; which was as early, indeed, as the full cessation of Indian hostilities rendered it safe for the emigrant to enter remote districts. The Creeks had signed the treaty of Fort Jackson as early as August 9, 1814; and they were followed by other tribes, both in the North and South. On the 8th of September, 1815, an important treaty was concluded with the Wyandots, Senecas, Shawnees, Miamies, Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawattamies, by which these tribes were restored to all the immunities accorded them by the treaty entered into at Greenville in 1795; and the three latter tribes reinvested with all the territorial rights which they possessed at the outbreak of Tecumseh's war, in 1811. Treaties were also concluded during this year with the Kickapoos, Weas, Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, Sioux, Osages, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and other tribes. These treaties were negotiated by commissioners appointed by the United States, who were well acquainted with the territories, character, resources, local history, and feelings of the tribes. Some of these commissioners had been military commanders, or had occupied high civil stations on the frontiers. No one of them was so celebrated for his knowledge, experience, and standing, as General William Clark, of St. Louis, the companion of the intrepid Lewis in his adventurous journeys to the mouth of the river Columbia, in 1804, and in 1805 and '6. He had succeeded Lewis as governor of the Missouri Territory, in 1806, and had acquired the respect and confidence of the southwestern and western tribes, who were located on the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. He was a man possessed of great sagacity, amenity of manners, and a

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comprehensive knowledge of the geography of the country. In many respects, he was comparable to Sir William Johnson, who so long exercised a similar power in the North. Indian disputes were frequently referred to him for settlement by the tribes themselves; and the number of Indian treaties he negotiated in the course of his long administration of Indian affairs on the frontiers, is a proof of his abilities in this department.

Reference is particularly made to the era commencing with 1816, when an extensive system of changes and movements, the long smouldering effects of the by-gone wars, difficulties, and mutations of past years, began to develop itself prominently in the West. The war of 1812, on the north-western frontiers, had brought into notice another man, who was destined to exercise, for many years, an important influence on our Indian relations. Lewis Cass was a brigadier-general in the United States army, and had served in the war of 1812 with great credit to himself. A lawyer by profession, marshal of the State of Ohio at the commencement of the war, he united civil with military talent, and, on the conclusion of peace, held the commission of commandant of Detroit. Succeeding to the executive chair of Michigan, after the disastrous rule of Governor William Hull, and the subsequent interregnum, great energy was required to revive and reinstate, on their former basis, its civil and social institutions. Six years of wild wars and turmoils had left the territory without either civil or military organization. It might have been justly compared to a region submerged by a sudden deluge in the geological systems, in which the evidences of its former condition were to be sought in boulders, drifts, and heaps of ruins. Society was literally down-trodden.

Michigan had been, more or less, occupied by the French from the days of La Salle. A fort was first erected at Detroit in 1701; in 1760 it was surrendered to the British; and did not come into the possession of the United States until 1796. Hull surrendered it in 1812. A fierce and sanguinary war, beginning at that time, had so desolated the territory, that to resuscitate its energies was no ordinary task, which any person of less strength of character and foresight than the newly-appointed executive, would probably have failed to accomplish. It was a work of time to restore the Indian relations to a permanent footing; to induce the inhabitants to return to their old locations; to apply the civil code to an almost anarchical condition of society; and, above all, to ascertain and develop the true resources of the territory.

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Chapter III. — Indian Tribes of Michigan, Exploration of its Boundaries, Reaching to the Upper Mississippi.

MICHIGAN had been the strongest rallying point for the Indians, from the days of Denonville. It was first visited by La Salle in 1679, and formal possession was taken of the straits between Lakes Erie and Huron, in the month of June, 1687; but Detroit was not occupied by an authorized agent of the French government, at Quebec, until the year 1701. One hundred and twenty years had served to spread its fame and importance in Indian wars, Indian trade, and Indian affairs. But the hand of time had still left it, a remote outpost, surrounded by the original French settlements, among which might, here and there, be found an adventurous American. The houses of the French habitans were surrounded with cedar palings, as if to resist an attack; and, in their orchards, they raised apple trees, the parent stocks of which were originally brought from Normandy. In their dress, manners, suavity, nonchalance, gaiety, and loyalty to the governing power, the French of Michigan presented a striking similitude to the peasantry under Francis I. and Louis XIII. It was at this ancient seat of French dominion on the Lakes, that Pontiac formed his confederacy, in 1760, and Tecumseh convened the natives, in 1810-11. The failure of the latter scheme, stoutly backed as it was by the British army and navy, convinced the Indians that their efforts to resist the onward march of civilization were vain, and that education, arts, and labor must triumph. This was the language of Ningwégon, in 1812.

This low position of their affairs, in a politico-economical point of view, in strength, numbers, power of combination, and every thing like national capacity, we regard as their zero point; for it now became evident that their whole system was a congeries of errors; that the pursuit of the chase only sunk them in barbarism and want; and that if they were ever elevated in the scale of society, it must be by the practice of industry, temperance, virtue, the dissemination of education, and the

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adoption of moral truth. Though this view did not strike the Indian mind at once, it was only necessary to take a wider, broader, and more comprehensive retrospect of their state to render it manifest; and the lapse of a few years made the truth apparent. The Indian tribes had been thoroughly defeated; their political institutions were but "as a rope of sand;" their fury but the rage of a madman. To learn this truth, two centuries had been necessary. The contests with Virginia, New England, and the West, had not been waged in vain; persuasion, as well as blows, had been used to produce this great result. The voices of John Eliot and Brainerd, had not been thrown to the winds; nor the sword of a Wayne, a Harrison, and a Jackson, drawn for nought. To convince the Indian of his weakness, was the first step toward his attaining strength; and herein he may be said, mentally, to have advanced.

In 1816 President Monroe appointed General Lewis Cass governor of this territory, the condition of which has been shown to have been one of extreme prostration. Desolated by wars, its inhabitants decimated by appalling murders and massacres, with but few resources, some fragments of disconnected population, and neither enterprise, nor capital, another such forlorn district could not have been pointed out in America. It had neither roads, nor bridges, and its very soil was considered so worthless, that it was deemed unfit to be given in bounty lands to the surviving soldiers of the war of 1812. The Indian tribes who had rallied under Proctor, and other weak and inhuman officers, were yet unfriendly and vindictive. By the interposition of a friendly hand, Cass' life was once saved from being taken by a rifle-ball, aimed by an Indian from behind a tree; and most of the tribes hovered around Detroit, destitute of everything, daily besieging the doors of the territorial executive. The tide of emigration had not, at that period, set strongly in that direction, and the business of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs on that frontier was, for some years, the most important function of the gubernatorial office. He commenced his negotiations with the sons of the forest at the rapids of the Miami of the Lakes, on the 29th of September, 1817. This event was followed in 1818 by an important assemblage of various Algonquin tribes at St. Mary's, on the sources of the Miami; and in 1819 by the conclusion of an important treaty with the Chippewas of Saganaw, in Michigan, which gave an impetus to settlements in that territory. The wide area over which the Chippewa tribe extended; its multiplicity of bands, or tribal communities, each of which professed to be independent; and the imperfect knowledge of their location and stastistics, as well as of the geographical features and resources of their territory, induced him to call the attention of the War Department to their examination. The cherished policy of Mr. Calhoun being to keep the military posts in the West in advance of the settlements, that they might cover the progress of the new emigrants, and shield them from Indian depredations, that gentleman cordially approved of this

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measure; to carry out the objects of which, an expedition composed of a corps of scientific observers, under the escort of a small detachment of infantry, was organized at, and despatched from, Detroit in the spring of 1820. This enterprise first brought Mr. Schoolcraft into the new field of observation on Indian life and manners. Being appointed geologist to the expedition, he became its historiographer, and, during the following year, published a journal of its progress. Its mineralogy and geology were examined, and the copper mines on the Ontonagon river and Lake Superior explored. A detached expedition visited the lead mines of Dubuque. The fresh-water conchology of the country was examined; collections made of the flora and fauna; an elaborate report of its geology presented, accompanied with a map; and conchology, as well as other departments of science considerably augmented by the addition of new species. From this source was obtained an accurate knowledge of the tribes, their location, strength, and character, and also of the natural history, climatology, resources and physical geography of that region. The expedition left Detroit on the 24th of May, in large and well-constructed canoes, of the Indian model; and the explorers circumnavigated the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. Prom the head of the latter lake, they crossed the intervening highlands to the valley of the Upper Mississippi, which they entered at Sandy Lake, and, ascending it in search of its true source, they passed its upper falls, at Pakagama, as well as the source of Leech Lake, laid down by Lieutenant Pike, in 1806, and thence through Lake Winnebeegoshish to the large body of water in lat. 47° 25' 23", since denominated Cass Lake. This point is, following the course of the river, 2755 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and was reached on the 21st of July. The Mississippi was then descended to the falls of St. Anthony, and Prairie du Chien, and the chain of the great lake basins again reached through the Wisconsin and Fox river valleys, at Green Bay, on the western shores of Lake Michigan. The extent of Indian hunting-grounds traversed was nearly 4000 miles, and at only one point, namely, St. Mary's Falls, at the lower end of Lake Superior, was there any demonstration of hostile feelings. The effect resulting from this extensive exploratory tour was, to convince the Indians that a wise government sought to ascertain the extent of their territory and its resources, as well as to bring the tribes into friendly communication with it. The Chippewas were found, with some slight change of name, to occupy the entire borders of Lakes Huron and Superior, together with the eastern side of the valley of the Upper Mississippi, above lat. 44° 53' 20" north. On the west banks, in about lat. 46°, the frames of Sioux lodges were still standing, which had evidently been but recently occupied. On the 30th of July they reached the falls of St. Anthony (Plate XY.); between which and Prairie du Chien, but nearer to the latter, the Sioux inhabited both banks of the river. The Sacs and Foxes occupied the

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Mississippi valley between Prairie du Chien and Rock Island, at the entrance to the river Des Moines. The Winnebagoes were in possession of the Wisconsin and Rock river valleys. The Menomonees were scattered along the Fox river to Buttes des Morts and Winnebago Lake, thence quite to Green Bay, and, with interchanges of location with the Winnebagoes, to Milwaukie on Lake Michigan. The Pottawattamies, Chippewas, and Ottowas, were located at Chicago, as also in northern Illinois and southern Michigan. The Ottowas lived in Grand River valley, as well as on Little Traverse Bay; and the Chippewas on the peninsula and shores of Grand Traverse Bay. An escort of infantry having accompanied this expedition, the flag of the Union was thus displayed in regions where, previously, it had seldom or never been seen.

This expedition had the effect, not only to attract the attention of the Indians to the power and vigilance of the Government, but also to direct popular enterprise to this hitherto unceded part of the Union; the value and importance of which can already be attested by an examination of Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. An instance of the interest excited in the Indian mind by this visit, occurred at Winnebago Lake. When the party halted on its shores, the geologist broke off several specimens of some novel rocky formations, with a view of determining their character. A very aged Winnebago observing this, said to his companions: "This is remarkable. Our country was long occupied by the French and the English, who were satisfied to trade with us; but no sooner have the Americans come, than they must examine our very rocks. What can they possibly expect to get from them?"

During the progress of this memorable exploration, several instances were observed of the Indian mode of communicating ideas by pictographic inscriptions on scrolls of bark. Statistics of their population and trade were obtained, and accurate knowledge acquired of their manners and customs, feelings, and disposition. One of the peculiar customs observed while in the Dakotah country, was that of offering the first ears of the green corn to the Great Spirit; of which ceremony the party were, by permission of the chiefs, allowed to be spectators. Plate XV.

In the Chippewa territories, extending from the precincts of Rock Island to the sources of the Mississippi, the ruling power was found to be exercised by certain totemic families, who claimed the right by descent. This right, however, was ascertained to be nugatory when not supported by the popular voice of the clans; which act virtually bestowed upon it all the force of a representative system. The ancient seat of the Chippewas, located at Sault Ste. Marie, at the lower end of Lake Superior, had for its ruling chief Shingabawassin, a tall, well-made, grave man, who possessed an easy, dignified, and pleasing manner. (Plate XVI.) The Indians residing on the upper shores of the lake were ruled by a chief called Pezhikee, or Buffalo, and Sappa. At Sandy

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Lake, on the Upper Mississippi, Katawabeda, Babesikundabay, and Guele Plat, were the presiding chiefs. The Mendawakantons, or Dakotahs of the river, acknowledged the government of the younger Wabasha. The Winnebagoes were ruled by De Corrie and Tshoop, the quatre jamb, or "Four Legs," of the French. The Pottawattamies acknowledged the sway of Topinabee, an aged man, who had signed the treaty of peace concluded at Greenville by General Wayne in 1794. At Grand river, presided the Ottowa chief, Nawagizhi, or Noon-Day; at Grand Traverse Bay, Aishquagonabi, or the Feather of Honor; and at the Ottowa towns of L'Arbre Croche, the very old chief, Nishcaudjinine, or the Angry Man, and Pauskooziegun, or the Smoker.

The Indian government being founded on certain established customs and prescriptions, was clearly controlled by popular opinion, which changed with the passage of time and the occurrence of events. Although the totemic sovereignty was hereditary, yet the tribal succession could be set aside at any time when it was thought necessary to reward with the chieftancy bravery on the war-path, great energy of character, talent as a speaker, or skill as a magician; and the tribes were thenceforth ruled by the newly-installed chief.

Treaties were concluded with the Indians at L'Arbre Croche, and at Sault Ste. Marie. An incident occurred at the latter which for a time foreboded serious difficulty. The negotiations for this treaty were commenced about the middle of June; at which period of the year, the hunting season being ended, the Indians crowd to the towns nearest the frontiers, to enjoy themselves in dancing, feasting, and the celebration of ceremonies. But four or five years having elapsed since the conclusion of the war, there was still a vivid feeling of hostility existing among them towards the Americans. It chanced that, among the large number assembled, was the war-captain who had led the Chippewas into action, and an ambitious chief, called Sassaba, of the reigning totem of the Crane, whose brother had been killed fighting beside Tecumseh, at the battle of the Thames. An attempt was made to deter the party from carrying the American flag through the Chippewa country. Sassaba, having broken up a public council, raised the British flag on a brow of the height where the Indians were encamped, and it was observed that, at the same moment, women and children were precipitately sent from the lodges, across the river, to the Canada shore. Vivid apprehensions were entertained of a hostile encounter; the party grasped their rifles, and stood ready for conflict. General Cass, by his knowledge of the Indian character, his cool self-possession, and decision, disconcerted their plans, and averted the danger. Unarmed, and accompanied only by an interpreter, he ascended the elevated plain on which the Indians were encamped, and, proceeding to the lodge of Sassaba, he pulled down the flag, and addressed the Indians in terms of just reproof for this act of bravado. This rebuke was received without any further demonstration of hostility. On the following day, negotiations were renewed, and the treaty concluded, which recognised the old grant to the French by a cession of territory four miles square.

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Chapter IV. — War Between the Chippewas and Sioux. A Peculiar Mode of Negotiation Between Them by Means of Pictography, or Devices Inscribed on Bark.

WHEN the French traders and missionaries first visited the head of Lake Superior, which event may be placed as early as the year 1620, the Chippewas and Sioux were at war. The most ancient local traditions, both of the red and white men, represent the Chippewas to have migrated from the east towards the west, and to have conquered the pre-existing Indian tribes, from whom they wrested the territories lying west of those waters. Traditional testimony, attesting the early existence of hostility between these two prominent tribes, was obtained in 1820, by the expedition through their territory to the sources of the Mississippi. The history of the contest, as well as its origin and cause, were investigated, as a preliminary step towards effecting a pacification between the contending tribes. In an official communication to the government, Governor Cass makes the following observations regarding this hereditary war, which are worthy of notice, not only as embodying the views of aged and respectable chiefs then living, with whom he conversed, but because they reveal the existence of a means of communication between them, through the interchange of ideographic notes, by devices inscribed on slips of the inner bark of the betula papyracea:

"An incident occurred upon my recent tour to the north-west, so rare in itself, and which so clearly shows the facility with which communications may be opened between savage nations, without the intervention of letters, that I have thought it not improper to communicate it to you.

"The Chippewas and Sioux are hereditary enemies, and Charlevoix says they were at war when the French first reached the Mississippi. I endeavored, when among them, to learn the cause which first excited them to war, and the time when it commenced. But they can give no rational account. An intelligent Chippewa chief informed me that the disputed boundary between them was a subject of little importance,

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and that the question respecting it could be easily adjusted. He appeared to think that they fought because their fathers fought before them. This war has been waged with various success, and, in its prosecution, instances of courage and self-devotion have occurred, within a few years, which would not have disgraced the pages of Grecian or of Roman history. Some years since, mutually weary of hostilities, the chiefs of both nations met and agreed upon a truce. But the Sioux, disregarding the solemn compact which they had formed, and actuated by some sudden impulse, attacked the Chippewas, and murdered a number of them. Babisikundabi, the old Chippewa chief, who descended the Mississippi with us, was present upon this occasion, and his life was saved by the intrepidity and generous self-devotion of a Sioux chief. This man entreated, remonstrated, and threatened. He urged his countrymen, by every motive, to abstain from any violation of their faith, and, when he found his remonstrances useless, he attached himself to this Chippewa chief, and avowed his determination of saving, or perishing with him. Awed by his intrepidity, the Sioux finally agreed that he should ransom the Chippewa, and he accordingly applied to this object all the property he owned. He then accompanied the Chippewa on his journey, until he considered him safe from any parties of the Sioux who might be disposed to follow him.

"The Sioux are much more numerous than the Chippewas, and would have overpowered them long since, had the operations of the former been consentaneous. But they are divided into so many different bands, and are scattered over such an extensive country, that their efforts have no regular combination.

"Believing it equally consistent with humanity and sound policy, that these border contests should not be suffered to continue; satisfied that you would approve of any plan of pacification which might be adopted; and feeling that the Indians have a full portion of moral and physical evils, without adding to them the calamities of a war which had no definite object, and no probably termination, on our arrival at Sandy Lake, I proposed to the Chippewa chiefs that a deputation should accompany us to the mouth of the St. Peter's, with a view to establish a permanent peace between them and the Sioux. The Chippewas readily acceded to this proposition, and ten of their principal men descended the Mississippi with us.

"The computed distance from Sandy Lake to the St. Peter's, is six hundred miles; and, as I have already had the honor to inform you, a considerable proportion of the country has been the theatre of hostile enterprises. The Mississippi here traverses the immense plains which extend to the Missouri, and which present to the eye a spectacle at once interesting and fatiguing. Scarcely the slightest variation in the surface occurs, and they are entirely destitute of timber. In this debateable land, the game is very abundant; buffaloes, elks, and deer range unharmed and unconscious of harm. The mutual hostilities of the Chippewas and Sioux render it dangerous for either, unless in strong parties, to visit this portion of the country. The consequence has been, a great increase of all the animals whose flesh is used for food, or whose fur is

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valuable for market. We found herds of buffaloes quietly feeding upon the plains. There is little difficulty in approaching sufficiently near to kill them. With an eagerness which is natural to all hunters, and with an improvidence which always attends these excursions, the animal is frequently killed without any necessity, and no other part of them is preserved but the tongue.

"There is something extremely novel and interesting in this pursuit. The immense plains, extending as far as the eye can reach, are spotted here and there with droves of buffaloes. The distance, and the absence of known objects, render it difficult to estimate the size or the number of these animals. The hunters approach cautiously, keeping to the leeward, lest the buffaloes, whose scent is very acute, should observe them. The moment a gun is fired, the buffaloes scatter, and scour the fields in every direction. Unwieldy as they appear, they move with considerable celerity. It is difficult to divert them from their course, and the attempt is always hazardous. One of our party barely escaped with his life from this act of temerity. The hunters, who are stationed upon different parts of the plain, fire as the animals pass them. The repeated discharge of guns in every direction, the shouts of those who are engaged in the pursuit, and the sight of the buffaloes at full speed on every side, give an animation to the scene which is rarely equalled.

"The droves which we saw were comparatively small. Some of the party, whom we found at St. Peters, and who arrived at that place by land from the Council Blufls, estimated one of the droves which they saw to contain two thousand buffaloes.

"As we approached this part of the country, our Chippewa friends became cautious and observing. The flag of the United States was flying upon all our canoes, and, thanks to the character which our country acquired by the events of the last war, I found, in our progress through the whole Indian country, after we had once left the great line of communication, that this flag was a passport which rendered our journey safe. We consequently felt assured that no wandering party of the Sioux would attack even their enemies while under our protection. But the Chippewas could not appreciate the influence which the American flag would have upon other nations; nor is it probable that they estimated with much accuracy the motives which induced us to assume the character of an umpire.

"The Chippewas landed occasionally, to examine whether any of the Sioux had recently visited that quarter. In one of these excursions, a Chippewa found, in a conspicuous place, a piece of birch-bark, made flat by being fastened between two sticks at each end, and about eighteen inches long by fifteen broad. This bark contained the answer of the Sioux nation to the proposition which had been made by the Chippewas for the termination of hostilities. So sanguinary has been the contest between these tribes, that no personal communication could take place. Neither the sanctity of the office, nor the importance of the message, could protect the ambassadors of either party from the vengeance of each other. Some time preceding, the Chippewas, anxious

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for the restoration of peace, had sent a number of their young men into these plains with a similar piece of bark, upon which they had represented their desire. The scroll of bark had been left hanging to a tree in an exposed situation, and had been found and taken away by a party of the Sioux.

"The propositions had been examined and discussed in the Sioux villages, and the bark which we found contained their answer. The Chippewa who had prepared the bark for his tribe was with us, and on our arrival at St. Peter's, finding it was lost, I requested him to make another. He did so, and produced what I have no doubt was a perfect fac simile. We brought with us both of these projets, and they are now in the hands of Captain Douglass. He will be able to give a more intelligible descrip