Having remained about a fortnight at Harmony, we made the necessary
arrangements, and, accompanied by B----, set out for St. Louis, in
Missouri. We crossed the Wabash into Illinois, and proceeded to Albion,
the settlement made by the late Mr. Birkbeck.
Albion is at present a small insignificant town surrounded by prairies, on
which there are several handsome farms. Messrs. Birkbeck and Flowers
purchased large tracts of land in this neighbourhood, for the purpose of
re-selling or letting it to English or other emigrants. These two
gentlemen were of the class called in England, "gentlemen farmers," and
brought with them from that country very large capitals; a considerable
portion of which, in addition to the money laid out on purchase, they
expended on improvements. They are both now dead--their property has
entirely passed into other hands, and the members of their families who
still remain in this country are in comparative indigence.
The most inveterate hostility was manifested by the backwoods people
towards those settlers, and the series of outrages and annoyances to which
they were exposed, contributed not a little to shorten their days. It at
length became notorious that neither Birkbeck nor Flowers could obtain
redress for any grievance whatever, unless by appealing to the superior
courts,--as both the magistrates and jurors were exclusively of the class
of the offenders; and the "Supreme Court of the United States" declared,
that the verdicts of the juries, and the decisions of the magistrates
were, in many cases, so much at variance with the evidences, that they
were disgraceful to the country. A son of the latter gentleman, a lad
about fourteen years old, was killed in open day whilst walking in his
father's garden, by a blow of an axe handle, which was flung at him across
the fence. The evidence was clear against the murderer, and yet he was
acquitted. Whilst I was at Vandalia, I saw in a list of lands for sale,
amongst other lots to be sold for taxes, one of Mr. Flowers'. The fate of
these gentlemen and their families should be a sufficient warning to
persons of their class in England, not to attempt settling _in the
backwoods_; or if they have that idea, to leave aside altogether refined
notions, and never to bring with them either the feelings or the habits of
a _gentleman farmer_. The whole secret and cause of this _guerre à mort_,
declared by the backwoodsmen against Messrs. Birkbeck and Flowers, was,
that when they first settled upon the prairies, they attempted to act the
_patron_ and the _benefactor_, and considered themselves _entitled_ to
some respect. Now a west-country American would rather die like a cock on
a dunghill, than be patronized after the English fashion; he is not
accustomed to receive benefactions, and cannot conceive that any man would
voluntarily confer favours on him, without expecting something in return,
either in the shape of labour, or goods;--and as to respect, that has
totally disappeared from his code since "the Declaration."
Mr. Birkbeck was called "Emperor of the Prairies;" and notwithstanding the
hostility of his neighbours, he seems to have been much respected in the
other parts of Illinois, as he was chosen secretary of state; and in that
character he died, in 1825. He at last devoted himself entirely to gaining
political influence, seeing that it was the duty of every man in a free
country to be a politician, and that he who "takes no interest in
political affairs," must be a bad man, or must want capacity to act in the
common occurrences of life.
From Albion we proceeded towards the Little Wabash; but had not got many
miles from that town, when an accident occurred which delayed us some
time. We were driving along through a wood of scrub-oak, or barren, when
our carriage, coming in contact with a stump that lay concealed beneath
high grass, was pitched into a rut--it was upset--and before we could
recover ourselves, away went the horse dashing through the wood, leaving
the hind wheels and body of the vehicle behind. He took the path we had
passed over, and fortunately halted at the next corn-field. We repaired
the damage in a temporary manner, and again set forward.
After having crossed the Little Wabash, we had to pass through three miles
of swamp frequently above our ancles in the mire, for the horse could
scarcely drag the empty waggon. We at length came out on "Hardgrove's
prairie." The prospect which here presented itself was extremely
gratifying to our eyes. Since I had left the little prairie in the
Wyandot reserve, I had been buried in eternal forests; and,
notwithstanding all the efforts one may make to rally one's spirits, still
the heart of a European sickens at the sameness of the scene, and he
cannot get rid of the idea of imprisonment, where the visible horizon is
never more distant than five or six hundred yards. Yet this is the delight
of an Indian or a backwoodsman, and the gloomy ferocity that characterizes
these people is evidently engendered by the surrounding scenery, and may
be considered as indigenous to the forest. Hardgrove's is perhaps the
handsomest prairie in Illinois--before us lay a rich green undulating
meadow, and on either side, clusters of trees, interspersed through this
vast plain in beautiful irregularity--the waving of the high grass, and
the distant groves rearing their heads just above the horizontal line,
like the first glimpse of land to the weary navigator, formed a
combination of ideas peculiar to the scene which lay before us.
With the exception of one or two miles of wood, occasionally, the whole of
our journey through Illinois lay over prairie ground, and the roads were
so level, that without any extraordinary exertion on the part of our
horse, he carried us from thirty to forty miles a day.
We next crossed the "grand prairie," passing over the Indian trace.
Although this is by no means so picturesque as Hardgrove's, yet the
boundless prospect that is presented on first entering this prairie is far
the more sublime--the ideas expand, and the imagination is carried far
beyond the limits of the eye. We saw some deer scouring the plains, and
several "prairie wolves" skulking in the high grass--this animal is
sometimes destructive to sheep. The size is about that of our fox. Most
farmers keep three or four hounds, which are trained to combat the wolf.
The training is thus--a dead wolf is first shewn to a young dog, when he
is set on to tear it; the next process is to muzzle a live wolf, and tie
him to a stake, when the dog of course kills him; the last is, setting the
dog on an unmuzzled wolf, which has been tied to a stake, with his legs
shackled. The dog being thus accustomed to be always the victor, never
fails to attack and kill the prairie wolf whenever he meets him.
Within thirteen miles of Carlisle, we stopped at an inn, a solitary
establishment, the nearest habitation being more than six miles distant.
The landlord, Mr. Elliot, told us that he was unable to accommodate us
with beds, as his house was already quite full; but that if we could
dispense with beds, he would provide us with every thing else. Having no
alternative, we of course acceded to his proposal. There was then holding
at his house what is termed an "inn fair," or the day after the wedding.
The marriage takes place at the house of the bride's father, and the day
following a party is given by the bridegroom, when he takes home his wife.
The people here assembled had an extremely healthy appearance, and some
of the girls were decidedly handsome, having, with fine florid
complexions, regular features and good teeth. The landlord and his sons
were very civil, as indeed were all the company there assembled.
A great many respectable English yeomen have at different periods settled
in Illinois, which has contributed not a little to improve the state of
society; for the inhabitants of these prairies, generally speaking, are
much more agreeable than those of most other parts of the western country.
When the night was tolerably far advanced, the decks were cleared, and
three feather beds were placed _seriatem_ on the floor, on which a general
scramble took place for berths--we wrapped ourselves in our cloaks, and
lay seventeen in a bed until morning, when we arose, and went out to "have
a wash." The practice at all inns and boarding-houses throughout the
western country, excepting at those in the more considerable towns, is to
perform ablutions gregariously, under one of the porches, either before or
behind the house--thus attendance is avoided, and the interior is kept
free from all manner of pollutions.
An abundance of good stone-coal is found all through this state, of which
I saw several specimens. Were it not for this circumstance, the difficulty
of procuring wood for fuel and fencing, would more than counterbalance the
advantages, in other respects, presented to settlers on the prairies.
The average crops of Indian corn are about fifty bushels per acre, which
when planted, they seldom plough or hoe more than once. In the bottom
lands of Indiana and Ohio, from seventy to eighty bushels per acre is
commonly produced, but with twice the quantity of labour and attention,
independent of the trouble of clearing. There are two denominations of
prairie: the upland, and the river or bottom prairie; the latter is more
fertile than the former, having a greater body of alluvion, yet there are
many of the upland prairies extremely rich, particularly those in the
neighbourhood of the Wabash. The depth of the vegetable soil on some of
those plains, has been found frequently to be from eighteen to twenty
feet, but the ordinary depth is more commonly under five. The upland
prairies are much more extensive than the river prairies, and are
invariably free from intermittent fever--an exemption, which to emigrants
must be of the utmost importance.
Previous to our leaving Elliott's inn, we witnessed a chase of two wolves,
which had the boldness to come to the sheep-pens close to the house.
Unfortunately the dogs were not at hand, and the wolves escaped among the
high grass. Mr. Elliott positively refused accepting of any compensation
in lieu of our supper and lodging: he said he considered our lodging a
thing not to be spoken of; and as to our supper--which by-the-by was a
capital one--he had invited us to that. We merely paid for the horse,
thanked him for his hospitality, and departed. During our journey through
Indiana we had invariably to use persuasion, in order to induce the
farmers to take money for either milk or fruit; and whenever we stayed at
a farm-house, we never paid more than what appeared to be barely
sufficient to cover the actual cost of what we consumed.
At Carlisle, a village containing about a dozen houses, we got our vehicle
repaired. We required a new shaft: the smith walked deliberately out--cast
his eye on a rail of the fence close by, and in half an hour he had
finished a capital shaft of white oak.
The next town we came to was Lebanon, and we determined on staying there
that evening, in order to witness a revival. They have no regular places
of worship on the prairies, and the inhabitants are therefore subject to
the incursions of itinerant preachers, who migrate annually, in swarms,
from the more thickly settled districts. There appeared to be a great
lack of zeal among the denizens of Lebanon, as notwithstanding the
energetic exhortations of the preachers, and their fulminating
denunciations against backsliders, they failed in exciting much
enthusiasm. The meeting ended, as is customary on such occasions, by a
collection for the preachers, who set out on horseback, next morning, to
levy contributions on another body of the natives.
From Lebanon we proceeded across a chain of hills, and came in on a
beautiful plain, called the "American bottom." Some of those hills were
clear to the summit, while others were crowned with rich foliage. Before
us, to the extreme right, were six or seven tumuli, or "Indian mounds;"
and to the left, and immediately in front, lay a handsome wood. From the
hills to the river is about six miles; and this space appears evidently to
have been a lake at some former period, previous to the Mississippi's
flowing through its present deep channel. Several stagnant ponds lay by
our road; sufficient indications of the presence of disease, which this
place has the character of producing in abundance. The beauty of the spot,
and the fertility of the soil, have, notwithstanding, induced several
English families to settle here. Their houses are built of brick, and
their gardens and farms are laid out and fenced tastefully.
After traversing the wood, we at length came in sight of the Mississippi,
which is here about three quarters of a mile broad. There is a steam
ferry-boat stationed at this point, (opposite St. Louis), the construction
of which is rather singular. It is built nearly square, having in the
middle a house containing two spacious apartments, and on each side decks,
on which stand horses, oxen, waggons and carriages of every description.
St. Louis is built on a bluff bank. The _principal_ streets rise one above
the other, running parallel with the river; the houses are mostly built of
stone, the bank being entirely composed of that material, the walls
whitewashed, and the roofs covered with tin: from the opposite side it
presents a very gay appearance. The ascent from the water's edge to the
back of the town is considerable, but regular. The streets intersect each
other at right angles, as do those of most American towns. They are much
too narrow, having been laid down and built on from a plan designed by the
Spanish commandant, previous to the Missouri territory becoming part of
the United States. The population is estimated at six thousand, composed
of Creole-French, Irish, and Americans.
St. Louis must, at some future period, become decidedly the most important
town in the western country, from its local and relative situation. It is
seated on the most favourable point below the mouths of two noble rivers,
the Missouri and the Illinois,[5] having at its back an immense tract of
fertile country, and open and easy communication with the finest parts of
the western and north-western territories. These advantages, added to the
constant and uninterrupted intercourse which it enjoys with the southern
ports, must ultimately make St. Louis a town of wealth and magnitude.
We visited General Clarke's museum, which chiefly contains Indian costumes
and implements of war, with some minerals and fossils, a portion of which
he collected while on the expedition to the Rocky mountains with Lewis;
and also, two sods of good black turf, from the bogs of Allen, in Ireland.
A sight which was quite exhilarating, and reminded me so strongly of the
fine odour which exhales from the products of illicit distillation, that
guagers and potteen, like the phantoms of hallucination, were presenting
themselves continually to my imagination for the remainder of that day.
General Clarke is a tall, robust, grey-headed old man, with beetle-brows,
and uncouthly aspect: his countenance is expressive of anything but
intelligence; and his celebrity is said to have been gained principally by
his having been the _companion_ of Lewis to the Rocky mountains.
The country around St. Louis is principally prairie, and the soil
luxuriant. There are many excellent farms, and some fine herds of cattle,
in the neighbourhood: yet the supply of produce seems to be insufficient,
as considerable quantities are imported annually from Louisville and
Cincinnati. The principal lots of ground in and near the town are at the
disposal of some five or six individuals, who, having thus created a
monopoly, keep up the price. This, added to the little inducement held out
to farming people in a slave state, where no man can work himself without
losing _caste_, has mainly contributed to retard the increase of
population and prosperity in the neighbourhood of St. Louis.
There are two fur companies established here. The expeditions depart early
in spring, and generally return late in autumn. This trade is very
profitable. A person who is at present at the head of one of those
companies, was five years ago a bankrupt, and is now considered wealthy.
He bears the character of being a regular Yankee; and if the never giving
a direct answer to a plain question constitutes a Yankee, he is one most
decidedly. We had some intention of crossing to Santa Fé, in New Mexico,
and we accordingly waited on him for the purpose of making some inquiries
relative to the departure of the caravans; but to any of the plain
questions we asked, we could not get a satisfactory answer,--at length,
becoming tired of hedge-fighting, we departed, with quite as much
information as we had before the interview.
A trapping expedition is being fitted out for the Rocky mountains, on an
extensive scale. The number of persons intended to be employed on this, is
about two hundred. Teams for the transportation of merchandize and
luggage are preparing, which is an accommodation never enjoyed before by
trappers, as pack-horses have always hitherto been substituted. These
waggons may also be found useful as _barricades_, in case of an attack
from the Indians. The expedition will be absent two or three years.
A trade with Santa Fé is also established. In the Spanish country the
traders receive, in exchange for dry goods and merchandize of every
description, specie, principally; which makes money much more plentiful
here than in any other town in the western country.
The caravans generally strike away, near the head waters of the Arkansas
and Red rivers, to the south-west, close to the foot of the Rocky
mountains--travelling above a thousand miles through the Indian country
before they reach the Mexican boundary. These journeys are long and
tedious, and require men of nerve and muscle to undertake them; the
morasses and rivers which they have to cross--the extensive prairies and
savannahs they have to traverse, and the dense forests to penetrate, are
sufficient to subdue any but iron constitutions.
The countries west of the Mississippi are likely to be greatly enriched by
the trade with Mexico; as, in addition to the vast quantities of valuable
merchandize procured from that country, specie to a very large amount is
put in circulation, which to a new country is of incalculable advantage.
The party which lately returned to Fayette in Missouri, brought 200,000
dollars in specie.
The lead-mines of Galena and Potosi inundate St. Louis with that metal.
The latter mines are extensive, consisting of forty in number, and are
situated near the head of Big-river, which flows into the Merrimac: a
water transportation is thus effected to the Mississippi, eighteen miles
below St. Louis. This, however, is only in the spring and fall, as at
other seasons the Merrimac is not navigable for common-sized boats, at a
greater distance than fifty miles from its mouth. The Merrimac is upwards
of 200 miles in length, and at its outlet it is about 200 yards in
breadth.
The principal buildings in St. Louis are, the government-house, the
theatre, the bank of the United States, and three or four Catholic and
Protestant churches. The Catholic is the prevalent religion. There are two
newspapers published here. Cafés, billiard tables, dancing houses, &c.,
are in abundance.
The inhabitants of St. Louis more resemble Europeans in their manners and
habits than any other people I met with in the west. The more wealthy
people generally spend some time in New Orleans every year, which makes
them much more sociable, and much less _brusque_ than their neighbours.
We visited Florissant, a French village, containing a convent and a young
ladies' seminary. The country about this place pleased us much. We passed
many fine farms--through open woodlands, which have much the appearance
of domains--and across large tracts of sumach, the leaves of which at this
season are no longer green, but have assumed a rich crimson hue. The
Indians use these leaves as provision for the pipe.
We stayed for eight days at a small village on the banks of the
Mississippi, about six miles below St. Louis, and four above Jefferson
barracks, called Carondalet, or, _en badinage, "vide poche."_ The
inhabitants are nearly all Creole-French, and speak a miserable _patois_.
The same love of pleasure which, with bravery, characterizes the French
people in Europe, also distinguishes their descendants in Carondalet.
Every Saturday night _les garçons et les filles_ meet to dance quadrilles.
The girls dance well, and on these occasions they dress tastefully. These
villagers live well, dress well, and dance well, but have
miserable-looking habitations; the house of a Frenchman being always a
secondary consideration. At one of those balls I observed a very pretty
girl surrounded by gay young Frenchmen, with whom she was flirting in a
style that would not have disgraced a belle from the _Faubourg St. Denis_,
and turning to my neighbour, I asked him who she was; he replied, "Elle
s'appelle Louise Constant, monsieur,--c'est la rose de village." Could a
peasant of any other nation have expressed himself so prettily, or have
been gallant with such a grace?
Accompanied by our landlord, we visited Jefferson barracks. The officer to
whom we had an introduction not being _chez-lui_ at that time, we were
introduced to some other officers by our host, who united in his single
person the triple capacity of squire, or magistrate, newspaper proprietor,
and tavern-keeper. The officers, as may be expected, are men from every
quarter of the Union, whose manners necessarily vary and partake of the
character of their several states.
The barracks stand on the bluffs of the Mississippi, and, with the river's
bank, they form a parallelogram--the buildings are on three sides, and
the fourth opens to the river; the descent from the extremity of the area
to the water's edge is planted with trees, and the whole has a picturesque
effect. These buildings have been almost entirely erected by the soldiers,
who are compelled to work from morning till night at every kind of
laborious employment. This arrangement has saved the state much money; yet
the propriety of employing soldiers altogether in this manner is very
questionable. Desertions are frequent, and the punishment hitherto
inflicted for that crime has been flogging; but Jackson declares now that
shooting must be resorted to. The soldiers are obliged to be servilely
respectful to the officers, _pulling off_ the undress cap at their
approach. This species of discipline may be pronounced inconsistent with
the institutions of the country, yet when we come to consider the
materials of which an _American_ regular regiment is composed, we shall
find the difficulty of producing order and regularity in such a body much
greater than at first view might be apprehended. In this country any man
who wishes to work may employ himself profitably, consequently all those
who sell their liberty by enlisting must be the very dregs of society--men
without either character or industry--drunkards, thieves, and culprits who
by flight have escaped the penitentiary, and enlisted under the impression
that the life of a soldier was one of idleness; in which they have been
most grievously mistaken. When we take these facts into consideration, the
difficulty of managing a set of such fellows will appear more than a
little. Yet unquestionably there are individuals among the officers whose
bearing is calculated to inspire any thing but that respect which they so
scrupulously exact, and without which they declare it would be impossible
to command. The drillings take place on Sundays.
Near Carondalet we visited two slave-holders, who employed slaves in
agriculture; which practice experience has shewn in every instance to be
unprofitable. One had thirteen; and yet every thing about his house rather
indicated poverty than affluence. These slaves lived in a hut, among the
outhouses, about twelve feet square--men, women, and children; and in
every respect were fully as miserable and degraded in condition as the
unfortunate wretches who reside in the lanes and alleys of St. Giles' and
Spitalfields, with this exception, that _they_ were well fed. The other
slave-holder, brother of the former, lived much in the same manner;--but
it is necessary to observe that both these persons were hunters, and that
hunters have nothing good in their houses but dogs and venison.
T---- having gone on a hunting excursion with our host, and some of his
friends, B---- and I drove the ladies to the plantation of the latter
gentleman. He had a farm on the bluffs, which was broken and irregular, as
is always the case in those situations. Large holes, called "sink-holes,"
are numerous along these banks; the shape of them is precisely that of an
inverted cone, through the apex of which the water sinks, and works its
way into the river. Cedar trees grow on the rocks, and the scenery is in
many places extremely grand. Wild-geese congregate in multitudes on the
islands in the Mississippi, and at night send forth the most wild and
piercing cries.
Our hostess was one of those sylvan Amazons who could handle any thing,
from the hunting-knife to the ponderous axe; and she dressed in the true
sylph-like costume of the backwoods. Her _robe_, which appeared to be the
only garment with which she encumbered herself, fitted her, as they say at
sea, "like a purser's shirt on a handspike," and looked for all the world
like an inverted sack, with appropriate apertures cut for head and arms;
she wore shoes, in compliment to her guests--her hair hung about her
shoulders in true Indian style; and altogether she was a genuine sample
of backwoods' civilization. We were placed in a good bed--the state-bed of
course--and as we lay, paid our devotions to Urania, and contemplated the
beauties of the starry firmament, through an aperture in the roof which
would have admitted a jackass.
The proprietor assured us that his slaves produced him no more than the
bare interest of the money invested in their purchase, and that he was a
slave-holder not from choice, but because it was the prevailing practice
of the country. He said he had two handsome Mulatto girls hired out at the
barracks for six dollars per month each.
In St. Louis there were seven Indian chiefs, hostages from the Ioway
nation. Their features were handsome--with one exception, they had all
aquiline noses--they were tall and finely proportioned, and altogether as
fine-looking fellows as I ever saw. The colour of these Indians was much
redder than that of any others I had seen; their heads were shaven, with
the exception of a small stripe, extending from the centre of the
crown back to the _organ of philoprogenitiveness_--the gallant
scalping-lock--which was decorated with feathers so as somewhat to
resemble the crest of a Greek or Roman helmet. Their bodies were uncovered
from the waist upwards, except when they wore blankets, a modern
substitute for the buffalo-robe, which they commonly wore over the left
shoulder, leaving the right arm and breast bare. The Ioways are a nation
dwelling in the Missouri territory, and these hostages delivered
themselves up pending the investigation of an affray that had taken place
between their people and the backwoodsmen.
The day previous to our departure from St. Louis, the investigation took
place in the Museum, which is also the office of Indian affairs. There
were upwards of twenty Indians present, including the hostages. The charge
made against these unfortunate people and on which they had been obliged
to come six or seven hundred miles, to stand their trial before _white
judges_, was, "that the Ioways had come down on the white
territory--killed the cattle, and attacked the settlers, by which attack
four citizens lost their lives." The principal chief implicated in the
affair, named "Big-neck," was called upon for his defence. In the person
of this man there was nothing remarkable. He advanced into the centre of
the room, and disengaging his right arm from the blanket, shook hands with
the judges, and then, in succession, with all the officers of the court.
This ceremony being ended, he paused, and drawing himself up to his full
height, extended his arm forward towards the judge, and inclining his head
a little in the same direction, said, "If I had done that of which my
white brother accuses me, I would not stand here now. The words of my
red-headed father (General Clarke) have passed through both my ears, and I
have remembered them. I am accused, and I am not guilty." (The
interpreter translated each sentence as it was delivered, and gave it as
nearly verbatim as possible--observe, the pronoun I is here used
figuratively, for _his party, and for the tribe_). "I thought I would come
down to see my red-headed father, to hold a talk with him.--I come across
the line (boundary)--I see the cattle of my white brother dead--I see the
Sauk kill them in great numbers--I said that there would be trouble--I
turn to go to my village--I find I have no provisions--I say, let us go
down to our white brother, and trade our powder and shot for a little--I
do so, and again turn upon my tracks, until I reach my village."--He here
paused, and looking sternly down the room, to where two Sauks sat, pointed
his finger at them and said, "The Sauk, who always tells lie of me, goes
to my white brother and says--the Ioway has killed your cattle. When the
lie (the Sauk) had talked thus to my white brother, he comes, thirty, up
to my village--we hear our brother is coming--we are glad, and leave our
cabins to tell him he is welcome--but while I shake hands with my white
brother," he said, pointing to his forehead, "my white brother shoots me
through the head--my best chief--three of my young men, a squaw and his[6]
child. We come from our huts unarmed--even without our blankets--and yet,
while I shake hands with my white brother, he shoots me down--my best
chief. My young men within, hear me shot--they rush out--they fire on my
white brother--he falls, four--my people fly to the woods without their
rifles." He then stated that four more Indians died in the forest of cold
and starvation, fearing to return to their villages, and being without
either blankets or guns. At length returning, and finding that their
"great chiefs" had delivered themselves up, he came to stand his trial.
The next person called was an old chief, named "Pumpkin," who corroborated
the testimony of "Big-Neck," but had not been with the party when the
Sauks were seen killing the cattle. When he came to that part of the story
where the Indian comes from his wig-wam to meet the white man, he said,
nearly in the same words used by Big-neck, "While I shake hands with my
white brother, my white brother shoots me down--my best chief"--he here
paused, and lifting his eyes above the heads of the auditors, his lip
curling a little, but resuming again, almost immediately, its natural
position, he pronounced in a low but distinct guttural tone, the Indian
word meaning "_my_ son." His eye seemed fixed for a few seconds, and then,
as if conscious of his weakness, and that the eyes of the great warriors
of his tribe were upon him, he looked slowly round in a kind of solemn
triumph, and resumed his tale. There was a strong feeling excited in the
court by the misfortune of this old man, for the "best chief" of the
Ioways was his _only_ son. The court asked the chiefs what they thought
should be done in the matter? They spoke a few words to each other, and
then answered promptly, that all they required was, that their white
brother should be brought down also, and confronted with them. The
prisoners were set at liberty on their parole.
Nothing could have been more respectable than the silence and gravity of
the Indians during the investigation. The hostages particularly, were
really imposing in their appearance; an air of solemnity overspread their
manly countenances, whilst their eyes bespoke that unquailing spirit which
the habits and vicissitudes of a sylvan life are calculated rather to
raise than depress. The Indians, when uncontaminated by the vices of the
whites, are really a fine people; and it is melancholy to reflect that in
a few centuries the red-man will be known only by name, for his total
extinction seems almost inevitable.
The upshot of this affair proved that the Indians' statement was correct,
and a few presents was then thought sufficient to compensate the tribe for
this most unwarrantable outrage.
The fact of the prisoners being set free on their parole, proves the high
character they maintain with the whites. An officer who had seen a great
deal of service on the frontiers, assured me that, from _experience_, he
had rather fall into the hands of the Indians, than of the
backwoodsmen.[7] Once, while crossing one of the immense prairies in the
Missouri territory during the winter season, this gentleman, Mr. R----,
was seized with rheumatic pains, and unable to proceed. His party,
consisting only of a few men, had no provisions, nor had they any means of
taking him with them, being completely exhausted themselves--he was left
on the plains to die. An old Indian chief, of one of the hostile tribes,
chanced to find him; he carried him home, and nourished him until he was
sufficiently recovered to eat with the warriors; when they came to the hut
of his host, in order as they said to do honour to the unfortunate white
chief. He remained in their village for two months; at the expiration of
which time, being sufficiently recovered, they conducted him to the
frontiers, took their leave, and retired.
Clements Burleigh, who resided thirty years in the United States, says, in
his "Advice to Emigrants," "It may be objected by some that it is
dangerous to go to the frontier country, on account of the Indians, wild
beasts, &c.; this is no more than a scarecrow. Indians in time of peace
are perfectly inoffensive, and every dependence may be placed on them. If
you call at their huts, you are invited to partake of what they have--they
even will divide with you the last morsel they have, if they were starving
themselves; and while you remain with them you are perfectly safe, as
every individual of them would lose his life in your defence. This
unfortunate portion of the human race has not been treated with that
degree of justice and tenderness which people calling themselves
Christians ought to have exercised towards them. Their lands have been
forcibly taken from them in many instances without rendering them a
compensation; and in their wars with the people of the United States, the
most shocking cruelties have been exercised towards them. I myself fought
against them in two campaigns, and was witness to scenes a repetition of
which would chill the blood, and be only a monument of disgrace to people
of my own colour.
"Being in the neighbourhood of the Indians during the time of peace, need
not alarm the emigrant, as the Indian will not be as dangerous to him as
idle vagabonds that roam the woods and hunt. He has more to dread from
these people of his own colour than from the Indians."
FOOTNOTES:
[5] Eighteen miles below the mouth of the Missouri, and thirty-six below
that of the Illinois.
[6] In the Indian tongue there is no distinction of masculine or feminine
gender, but simply of animate and inanimate beings.
[7] "The freedom of manners, and the uncertainty of life, from the
various hazards to which it is inevitably exposed, imparts to the
character of savages a species of liberality, under which are couched
many benevolent principles; a respect for the aged, and in several
instances a deference to their equals. The natural coldness of their
temperament, admits of few outward demonstrations of civility. They are,
however, affable in their mode, and are ever disposed to show towards
strangers, and particularly towards the unfortunate, the strongest marks
of hospitality. A savage will seldom hesitate to share with a
fellow-creature oppressed by hunger, his last morsel of
provisions."--Vide _Heriot_, p. 318.