CHAPTER XXII.

The Ioways in Vauxhall Gardens--Surrey Theatre--Carter in

the lions' cage--Astonishment of the Indians--Indians in

the Diving Bell, at the Polytechnic Institution--Indians

riding--Shooting at target on horseback--Ball-play--"Jolly

fat dame"--Ladies converse with the Doctor--His reasons for

not marrying--Curious questions--Plurality of wives--Amusing

scene--The Author in Indian costume--A cruel experiment--Ioways

arrive in Birmingham--The Author's arrival there--Society of

Friends--Indians all breakfast with Mr. Joseph Sturge--Kind

treatment--Conversation after breakfast about religion and

education--Reply of the War-chief--The button-factory of Turner

and Sons--Generous presents to the Indians--_Bobasheela_

arrives--Indians dividing their buttons--Doctor found

on top of the Shakespeare Buildings--Indians' kindness

to a beggar-woman--Poor-houses--Many Friends visit the

Indians--Indians' visit to Miss Catherine Hutton--Her

great age--Her kindness--Dinner--Her presents to them in

money--Parting scene--The War-chief's speech to her--Her

letters to the Author--Indians present to the two hospitals 370

dollars--Address read by the Presidents to the Indians--Doctor's

reply--Indians start for York--A fox-hunt--Curious notions

of Indians about it--Visit to York Minster--Ascend the grand

tower--Visit to the castle and prison--Museum of the instruments

of murder--Alarm of the Doctor--Kindness of the governor of the

castle and his lady--Indians' ideas of imprisonment for debt,

and punishment for murder.

The scene of the Indians' amusements was now changed from the Egyptian

Hall to the open air in Vauxhall Gardens, and their dances and other

exercises were given in the afternoon. Their lodgings were also changed

at the same time to the buildings within the enclosure of the gardens.

This arrangement was one of very great pleasure to the Indians, as it

allowed a free space to exercise in during their leisure hours, amongst

trees and shrubbery, affording them almost a complete resumption of

Indian life in the wilderness, as they had the uninterrupted range

of the gardens during the hours that the public were not there to

witness their amusements. This arrangement was pleasing to them in

another respect, and to us also, as there were many things they were

yet anxious to see in London, and which, as they could only be seen at

night, our former arrangements had entirely precluded them from seeing.

Under these new arrangements they still had their omnibus drives,

and at night attended the parties of numerous friends who had been

desirous to show them some attentions, and also were taken to several

instructive exhibitions, and to two or three of the principal theatres.

We were then in the vicinity of the Surrey Theatre, where Mr. Carter,

"the lion-tamer," invited them several times to witness his wonderful

feat of going into the lion's cage. This scene was one of the most

impressive and exciting nature to them, and will probably be as long

recollected by them as the wonders opened to their minds at the

_fountain of chickabobboo_.

The Polytechnic Institution was one I took great pleasure in

accompanying them to; and a scene of much amusement for a numerous

audience as well as amusing and astonishing to themselves, was that

of their descending in the diving-bell. They were at first afraid of

it, but after the Doctor had made a descent with me, and come out

unhurt and unwet, several others went down with Mr. Melody, others with

Jeffrey--the old War-chief with his old friend _Bobasheela_, and so

on, until every one of the party, men, women, and children, went down

and experienced the curious sensation of that (to them) greatest of

_medicine affairs_.

In Vauxhall Gardens the Indians erected their four wig-wams of buffalo

hides, and in darting into and about them during their various games

and amusements, whilst the blue smoke was curling out of their tops,

presented one of the most complete and perfect illustrations of an

Indian encampment that could possibly have been designed. It was _the

thing itself_, and the very men, women, and children living and acting

on a similar green turf, as they do on the prairies of the Missouri.

In the amusements as there given, there was an addition to those which

had been made in _Lord's Cricket-ground_ some weeks before, having in

Vauxhall brought horses in to add, with equestrian exercises, to the

completion of all the modes practised by this tribe. The Ioways, like

most of the Indians of the prairies of America, subsist upon the food

of the buffalo, and kill them from their horses' backs, with their bows

and arrows, while running at full speed. In the same manner they meet

their enemies in battle, in which they carry their shield and lance.

Thus fully equipped, with their own native shields and lances, and

bows, and even the saddles and trappings for their horses, they all

mounted upon their backs, in the midst of their amusements, and dashing

off at full speed, illustrated their modes of drawing the bow as they

drove their arrows into the target, or made their warlike feints at it

with their long lances as they passed.

This formed the most attractive part of their exhibition, and thousands

flocked there to witness their powers of horsemanship and skill in

prairie warfare. This exciting exhibition which pleased the visitors, I

could have wished might have been less fatiguing, and even dangerous,

to the limbs of the Indians than it actually was from the awkwardness

and perverseness and fright of the horses, not trained to Indian modes.

With all these difficulties to contend with, however, they played

their parts cheerfully and well, and the spectators seemed highly

pleased. Amidst the throngs who visited them here, we could discover

most of their old standard friends and admirers, who came to see them

on horseback, and in the beautiful game of ball, in the open grounds

of Vauxhall, where they could more easily approach and converse with

them; and amongst such, the "jolly fat dame" was present, and more

pleased than ever, when she could catch the Doctor's smile as he passed

by her at full speed, and raising his shield of buffalo's hide upon

his arm, he darted his long lance in feints at her breast, and sounded

the piercing war-cry. The vanity of the Doctor was so well suited in

this mode of the exhibition, where he could dash by ranks and files,

and even phalanxes of ladies, with the endless flourishes of his shield

and lance, that he soon began to exhibit convincing evidences that

his ambition and his vanity were too much for his bodily resources,

which it became necessary to replenish occasionally by refusing him

his horse, on which occasions he made good use of his time, by placing

himself, wrapped in his robe, with his fan in his hand, by the side

of the ladies, with whom he could exchange by this time a few words,

and many significant looks and gestures, which never failed to amuse,

and seldom failed to operate upon their generous feelings, which were

constantly adding to the contents of his tobacco pouch, which was

now known to be a reservoir for money and trinkets of various kinds,

instead of tobacco.

I happened to be by the side of the Doctor on one of these occasions,

when I became so much amused with the questions and answers, that I

immediately after retired and committed them to my note book. A number

of jolly fat dames, of middle and knowing age, had drawn themselves

around the Doctor, and looking over their shoulders and under their

arms, a number of delicate and coy little girls. And having called

Jeffrey to translate, they were enabled to get the gist of all he

said, without loss from modesty or evasion, which seemed to be exactly

what they most desired. His friend Jim having seen him thus enveloped,

turned _his_ horse loose and came to his aid (or countenance), and as

the old man hesitated, Jim gave him the nod and the wink to be plain

in his replies. They had first asked him if he was married? to which

he replied "No." They then asked him why he did not get him a wife? he

said "He had always been very particular about giving offence to the

women, and he had feared that if he selected one in preference to the

others, that the others would all be offended." This queer reply raised

a great laugh amongst the crowd, and encouraged the Doctor to go on.

Some one of the ladies then told him she feared he did not admire the

ladies enough? he said, "he had always believed that the reason he did

not get married was, that he admired them too much; he saw so many that

he wanted, that he had never decided which to take, and so had taken

none." Melody came up at this time, and seemed a little vexed, and

said, "Catlin, you had better call that old fool away, those people

will spoil him, he is quite vain enough now." "Oh, no," said I, "let

him alone, he is gratifying the ladies, and we shall see, in a few

moments, which is the fool, he or the ladies who are questioning him."

Melody smiled, and looked on.

"I have been told," said one of the ladies, "that some of the Indians

have a number of wives: is that so?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied in English, "sometimes have a heap." (The

ladies all laughed.) Two or three inquired what a "_heap_" was? Jeffrey

said, "Why, ma'am, it is what in our country means a '_lot_:' you know

what they call a '_lot_' here?" "Oh, yes! it means a great many." "Yes,

a number." "Well, tell the Doctor I want to know what they do with so

many?"

Here the poor Doctor was quite at a loss to know what to say; one thing

he was sure to do--he smiled--and it seemed as if he wished that to

go for an answer: and it might have done so with most of her sex, but

in this instance it was not quite satisfactory, and the question was

again put: to which the big-mouthed Jim, who I said had come to the

relief of his friend, and who had a wife of his own, put in an instant

reply, which relieved the Doctor, and seemed very much to embarrass the

lady, for she instantly added, (as all were bursting with laughter,)

"That isn't what I mean: I want to know how a chief can get along with

so many, how he can manage them all, and keep them in good humour and

satisfied; for," said she, "in this country, one is quite as much as a

man can manage."

This seemed to afford the Doctor a little relief, and he was evidently

able to go on again, as he smilingly said, "It was quite easy, as

Indian women were much more peaceable and quiet than white women,

it was much more easy he thought to manage them; they drank no

_chickabobboo_, and therefore did not require so much watching as white

women."

The lady seemed quite balked in the debate she was about entering on

with the Doctor, from her ignorance of the meaning of _chickabobboo_,

and asked for an explanation of it, as if for all the company about; to

which Jim put in (again in plain English), "Gin!" "Oh! Doctor," said

she, "I hope you don't accuse the ladies of London of drinking gin?"

The Doctor replied, that "he had not seen them do it, but that he had

been told that they did, and that it was the reason why the ladies here

grew so large and so fat." He said, "that they could always look out of

the windows, where he lived, and just before going to bed they could

see any night a hundred women going home with pitchers full of it,

to drink after they got into bed, so as to sleep sound: and that one

night, coming home in their carriage at a late hour, from a distance,

where they had been to see a show, he and Jim had counted more than

three hundred women running along in the street, with pitchers filled

with it in their hands, to drink as they were going to bed."

The lady's explanation of this, that "It was only harmless ale that

these women were carrying in for their masters and mistresses," excited

the Doctor's smiles, but no reply.

She seemed not satisfied yet about the first subject that she had

started, and reverting to it again, said, "Well, Doctor, I can't excuse

the Indians for having so many wives. I like the Indians very much, but

I don't like that custom they have; I think it is very cruel and very

wicked. Don't you think it is wrong?"

The Doctor studied a moment, and replied, "that it might be wrong, but

if it was, he didn't see that it was any worse than for white women

to have a number of husbands." "But what, Doctor, what do you mean? I

hope you have not so bad an opinion of white women as that?" To this

he very coolly replied, "that when they drank a great deal of gin, he

believed, from what he had seen in his practice, that a woman would

require more than one husband; and that since he had been in London

he had seen many walking in the streets, and some riding in fine

carriages, whom he thought, from their looks, must have more than one

husband: and from what he had been told, he believed that many women in

London had a _heap_!" "That's a _lot_!" (cried out a very pretty little

girl, who had been listening, and, frightened at her own unintentional

interpretation, started to run.)

"Come, come, Catlin," said Melody, "pull the old fellow out, and take

him away;" and so the debate ended, amidst a roar of laughter from all

sides.

One more of the hundred little reminiscences of Vauxhall, and we will

leave it. I have already said, that in the spacious apartments of

Vauxhall, unoccupied, the Indians were quartered, and took their meals;

and during the forepart of the day, between their breakfast and the

hour of their afternoon exhibitions, their time was mostly spent in

strolling around the grounds, or at their varied amusements. Many of

my personal friends finding this a pleasing opportunity to see them,

were in the habit of coming in, and amusing themselves with them. I

had accidentally heard of a party of ladies preparing to come on a

certain morning, some of them my esteemed friends, and others strangers

to me: and from a wish to get relieved from a fatiguing conversation,

as well as from a still stronger desire for amusement, I selected

from my wardrobe a very splendid dress, head-gear and all complete,

and fully arranged myself in Indian costume, "cap-à-pied," with face

fully painted, and weapons in hand; and at the hour of their arrival

in the house, took care to be strolling about in the grounds with

Wash-ka-mon-ya (Jim). Whilst the ladies were amused with the party in

the house, where there were constant inquiries for me, two of them

observing us two beaus sauntering about in the garden, came out to keep

us company, and to talk to us, and with themselves, in the English

language, which of course we Indians knew nothing of: when we shook

our heads to their inquiries, "Do you speak English, good Indians?" I

saw they did not recognize me, yet I trembled for fear, for they were

lovely women, and every sentence almost which they uttered would have

made the discovery more cruel: we held ourselves dignified and dumb;

whilst they, poor things, were so much regretting that we could not

understand what they said. They finished their visit to us and their

remarks, and returned, leaving me to regret my folly upon which I had

thoughtlessly entered.

Several weeks were spent in their daily exhibitions in Vauxhall, and,

as one can easily imagine, much to the satisfaction of the Indians,

and, I believe, much to the amusement of the visitors who came to see

them. Within the last week of their exhibition I admitted from charity

schools 32,000 children, with their teachers, free of charge; to all of

whom I gave instructive lectures on the position of the tribe, their

condition, their customs and character: and explained also the modes,

which were acted out by 14 living Indians before their eyes; and but

one of these schools ever communicated with me after, to thank me for

the amusement or instruction; which might not have been a _curious

omission_, but I thought it _was_, at the time.

With the amusements at Vauxhall ended my career in London; and

contemplating a tour to several of the provincial towns, in company

with the Indians, I took my little family to Brighton, and having

left them comfortably situated and provided for, I joined the party

in Birmingham, where they had arrived and taken lodgings. The idea

of moving about pleased the Indians very much, and I found them all

in high spirits when I arrived, delighted to have found that the

_chickabobboo_ was the same there as in London, and was likely to

continue much the same in all parts of the kingdom to which they should

go. There was an unfortunate offset to this pleasing intelligence,

however, which seemed to annoy them very much, and of which they were

making bitter complaint. On leaving London for the country, they had

spent some days, and exercised all their ingenuity, in endeavouring

to clean their beautiful skin dresses, which the soot of London had

sadly metamorphosed; and on arriving in Birmingham they had the extreme

mortification to anticipate, from appearances, an equal destruction of

that soft and white surface which they give to their skin dresses, and

which (though it had been entirely lost sight of during the latter part

of their stay in London) had, with great pains, been partially restored

for a more pleasing appearance in the country.

Though I had several times passed through Birmingham, and on one

occasion stopped there a day or two, I entered this time a total

stranger, and in rather a strange and amusing manner. On my journey

there by the railway, I had fallen in company and conversation with a

very amusing man, who told me he was a commercial traveller, and we had

had so much amusing chat together, that when we arrived, at a late hour

at night, I was quite happy to follow his advice as to the quarters we

were to take up in the town, at least for the night. He said it was

so late that the hotels would be closed, and that the commercial inn,

where he was going, was the only place open, and I should find there

everything to make me comfortable, and a very nice sort of people. We

took an omnibus for town, and as there was only room for one inside, he

got upon the top, and so we went off; and getting, as I supposed, into

or near the middle of the town, the bus stopped at a "commercial inn,"

which was open, and lighted up in front, and a number of passengers

getting out, and others down from the top, I was seeing to get my

luggage in safe, and the omnibus drove off with my jolly companion

still on the top; or this I presumed, as he was not left behind. My

only alternative now was, to make the best of it, and be as comfortable

as I could; so I got into the "commercial room," and having been told

that I should have a bed, I felt quite easy, and told the plump, tidy

little landlady, who was waiting upon me herself, that I would have

a mug of ale and a biscuit, and then be ready to go to bed. As she

turned round to execute my command, she met a party consisting of three

young women, and a man leading one of them on his arm, and in his hands

carrying three or four carpet-bags and band-boxes, just got down from

the same bus, and entering the inn on the same errand that I was on.

" Madam," said he, "what have you?"--"Hevery-think, sir, that you can

wish." "Well, one thing we must have, that is, two beds."--"They are

ready, sir." "Well, ladies," said he, "suppose we take a drop of wet."

This agreed to, the "wet" was brought in in a moment, and also my mug

of ale.

A very genteel-looking little man whom I had seen in the same carriage

with me, and now sitting in the room before me, with his carpet-bag

by the side of him, and his umbrella in his hand, addressed me,

"Stranger, you'll allow me."--"Certainly, sir." "I think I heard you

tell a gentleman in the carriage that you were from New York."--"Yes,

I did so." "_I'm_ from there. I left there four months ago, and I've

gone ahead, or I'll be shot. How long have _you_ bin from there,

sir?"--"About five years." "Hell! there's been great fixins there in

that time; you'd scarcely know New York now; look here, isn't this the

darndest strange country you ever saw in your life? rot 'em, I can't

get 'em to do anything as I want it done; they are the greatest set of

numskulls I ever saw; now see, that little snub of a petticoat that's

just gone out there, I suppose she is cock of the walk here too; she's

been all civility to you, but I've had a hell of a blow up with her;

I was in here not five minutes before you by the watch, and I spoke

for a bed and a mug of ale; she brought me the ale, and I told her to

bring me a tumbler and a cracker, and she turned upon me in a hell of a

flare-up. She said she was very much obliged to me for my himpudence,

she didn't allow crackers in her house, and as for 'tumblers,' they

were characters she never had anything to do with, thank God; they

were a low set of creatures, and they never got any favour about her

house. She wanted to know what quarter I came from. I told her I wasn't

from _any quarter_, I was from _half_--half the globe, by God, and the

better half too--wasn't I right, stranger? She said her house was a

hinn, to be sure, but she didn't hentertain blackguards, so there was

my hale, and I might drink it hup and be hoff, and be anged, and then

she cut her string quicker than lightning; now isn't she a hard un? I

don't suppose there is another house open in this darned outlandish

place at this time of the night; what the devil shall I do? _you_ are

fixed snug enough." "Oh, well, never mind," said I, "be quite easy, it

is settled in a moment,"--as I rung the bell. The tidy little landlady

came in again, and I said, "This gentleman will have a glass if you

please, and a biscuit."--"Hif he was a gentleman, Sir," said she,

"but I assure you, Sir, is beaviour as'nt been much like it." "Well,

well," said I, "never mind it now, you will be good friends after a

little better understanding--he comes from a country where a glass

is a _tumbler_ and a biscuit is a _cracker_: now, if you had known

this, there would have been no difficulty between you." "Ho, that I

hadmit, but it's very hodd." "Never mind that, you will find him a good

fellow, and give him his bed." "Is bed, Sir?--hit's too late; it's been

hoccupied hever since you entered the ouse--the only chance his for you

and im to turn hin." "Well," said I, "never mind, he and I will manage

that; it is after midnight, and I suppose the other houses are all

shut?" "I'll hanswer for that: hif you are ready, gentlemen, I'll show

you hup." My friend kept by my side, but knowing the gloomy fate that

awaited him if he got into the street again, he kept entirely quiet

until the little landlady was down stairs. "There," said he, "isn't she

a roarer? I could have settled the hash with her myself in a twinkling,

if she had only let me have said five words, but her tongue run so

slick that I couldn't get the half of a word in edgewise."

My new acquaintance and I talked a little more before we "turned in,"

but much more after we had got into bed. He could command words and

ideas fast enough when he was on his feet; but I found in him something

of Jim's peculiarity, that he thought much faster and stronger when

on his back; and for half an hour or so I reaped the benefit of the

improvement. How long I heard him, and how much he actually said, I

never could tell exactly; but what he said before I went to sleep I

always distinctly recollected, and a mere sentence or two of it was

as follows:--"Well, stranger, here we are: this is droll, ain't it?

'hodd,' as the landlady would call it. I'd a been in the streets

to-night as sure as catgut if it hadn't been for you. God knows I am

obliged to you. Youv'e got a sort o' way o' gettin' along ur' these

ere darned, ignorant, stupid sort o' beings. I can't do it: dod rot

'em! they put me out at every step; they are so eternally ignorant;

did you ever see the like? I suppose you are going to stop awhile in

Birmingham?" "A few days." "_I_ shall be here a week, and be bright

and early enough to get into a decenter house than this is, and be

glad to join you. I was told in London that the Ioway Indians went on

here yesterday. I'm damned anxious to meet them: you've seen them, I

suppose?" "Yes, I saw them in London." "Well, _I_ did not; I was just

too late; but I must go and look 'em up to-morrow: they know me." "Then

you have seen them'?" "Oh, dam 'em, yes: I've known 'em for several

years: they'll be at home with me at once. I've run buffaloes with

White-Cloud, the chief, many and many a time. He and I have camped out

more than once. They are a fine set of fellows. I'm going to spend some

time with them in Birmingham. I know 'em like a book. Oh yes, they'll

know me quick enough. I was all through their country. I went clean

up Lake Superior, nearly to Hudson's Bay. I saw all the Chippeways,

and the Black-feet, and the Crows, Catlin's old friends. By the way,

Catlin, I'm told, is with these Indians, or was, when they were in

London--he's all sorts of a man." "Have you seen him?" "Seen him?

why, dam it, I raised him, as the saying is: I have known him all

my life. I met him a number of times in the Prairie country; he's a

roarer." This was about the last that I distinctly recollected before

going to sleep; and the next morning my vigilant and wide-awake little

bedfellow, being about the room a little before me, where my name was

conspicuous on my carpet bag and writing-desk, &c., had from some cause

or other thought it would be less trouble and bother to wend his way

amongst these "stupid and ignorant beings" alone, than to encounter

the Indians and Mr. Catlin, and endeavour to obliterate the hasty

professions he had made; and therefore, when I came down and called for

breakfast for two, the landlady informed me that my companion had paid

his bill and left at an early hour. I was rather sorry for this, for he

was quite an amusing little man, and I have never heard of him since.

I found the dumpy little landlady kindly disposed, and she gave me a

very good breakfast, amusing me a great deal with anecdotes of the

party who called for "a little bit of wet;" she informed me they were

a wedding-party, and the man who had the lady on his arm was the

bride-groom. While waiting for my breakfast I was much amused with

some fun going on in the street before the window. It seems that the

house directly opposite had been taken by a couple of tidy-looking

young women who were sisters, and that, having established a millinery

business on the lower floor, they had several apartments which they

were anxious to underlet in order to assist them in paying their heavy

rent. Young gentlemen are everywhere in this country considered the

most desirable lodgers, as they give less trouble than any others,

are less of the time at home, and generally pay best. These young

adventurers had been therefore anxious to get such a class of lodgers

in their house, and had, the day before, employed a sign-painter to

paint a conspicuous board, in bright and glaring letters, which was

put up on a post erected in the little garden in front of their house,

near the gate. The announcement ran, when the young ladies retired to

bed, "_Lodgings for single gentlemen_"--a customary and very innocent

way of offering apartments; but owing to the cruelty of some wag during

the night it was found in the morning, to the great amusement of the

collected crowd, to read, "_Longings for single gentlemen_." How long

this continued to amuse the passers-by, or how it might have affected

the future prospects of the poor girls, I cannot of course tell, as I

forthwith proceeded to a more pleasant part of the town. Birmingham

I found on further acquaintance to be one of the pleasantest towns

I visited in the kingdom, and its hotels and streets generally very

different from those into which my commercial travelling acquaintance

had that night led me.

Mr. Melody had all things prepared for our exhibition when I arrived,

having taken the large hall in the Shakspeare Buildings, and also

procured rooms for the Indians to sleep in in the same establishment.

The Indians and myself were kindly received in Birmingham, for which,

no doubt, they, like myself, will long feel grateful. The work which I

had published had been extensively read there, and was an introduction

of the most pleasing kind to me, and the novelty and wildness of the

manners of the Indians enough to ensure them much attention.

In their exhibition room, which was nightly well attended, we observed

many of the Society of Friends, whom we could always easily distinguish

by their dress, and also more easily by the kind interest they

expressed and exhibited, whenever opportunity occurred, for the welfare

of those poor people. The Indians, with their native shrewdness and

sagacity, at once discovered from their appearance and manner that

they were a different class of people from any they had seen, and were

full of inquiries about them. I told them that these were of the same

society as their kind friend Dr. Hodgkin, whom they so often saw in

London, who is at the head of the _Aborigines Protection Society_, who

was the first person in England to invite them to his table, and whom

the reader will recollect they called _Ichon-na Wap-pa_(the straight

coat); that they were the followers of the great William Penn, whom I

believed they had heard something about. They instantly pronounced the

name of "Penn, Penn," around the room, convincing me, as nearly every

tribe I ever visited in the remotest wildernesses in America had done,

that they had heard, and attached the greatest reverence to, the name

of Penn.

These inquiries commenced in their private room one evening after the

exhibition had closed, and they had had an interview in the exhibition

room with several ladies and gentlemen of that society, and had

received from them some very valuable presents. They all agreed that

there was something in their manners and in their mode of shaking

hands with them that was more kind and friendly than anything they had

met amongst other people; and this I could see had made a sensible

impression upon them.

I took this occasion to give them, in a brief way, an account of the

life of the immortal William Penn; of his good faith and kindness in

all his transactions with the Indians, and the brotherly love he had

for them until his death. I also gave them some general ideas of the

Society of Friends in this country, from whom the great William Penn

came;--that they were the friends of all the human race; that they

never went to war with any people; that they therefore had no enemies;

they drink no spirituous liquors; that in America and this country

they were unanimously the friends of the Indians; and I was glad to

find that in Birmingham we were in the midst of a great many of them,

with whom they would no doubt become acquainted. There were here some

inquiries about the religion of the Friends, which I told them was the

Christian religion, which had been explained to them; that they were

all religious and charitable, and, whatever religion the Indians might

prefer to follow, these good people would be equally sure to be their

friends. They seemed, after this, to feel an evident pleasure whenever

they saw parties of Friends entering the room: they at once recognised

them whenever they came in, and, on retiring to their own room,

counted up the numbers that had appeared, and made their remarks upon

them. In one of these conversations I pleased them very much by reading

to them a note which I had just received from Mr. Joseph Sturge, with

whom I had been acquainted in London, and who was now residing in

Birmingham, inviting me to bring the whole party of Indians to his

house to breakfast the next morning. I told them that Mr. Sturge was a

very distinguished man, and one of the leading men of the Society of

Friends. This pleased them all exceedingly, and at the hour appointed

this kind gentleman's carriages were at the door to convey the party

to his house. Mr. Melody and Jeffrey accompanied us, and there were

consequently seventeen guests to be seated at this gentleman's

hospitable board, besides a number of his personal friends who were

invited to meet the Indians. After receiving all in the most cordial

manner, he read a chapter in his Bible, and then we were invited to

the table. This interview elicited much interesting conversation, and

gained for the Indians and Mr. Melody many warm and useful friends.

Before taking leave, the War-chief arose, and, offering his hand to Mr.

Sturge, made the following remarks:--

"My Friend,--The Great Spirit, who does everything that is good, has

inclined your heart to be kind to us; and, first of all, we thank Him

for it.

"The Chief, White Cloud, who sits by me, directs me to say that we

are also thankful to you for this notice you have taken of us, poor

and ignorant people, and we shall recollect and not forget it.

"We hope the Great Spirit will be kind to you all. I have no more to

say."

The simplicity of this natural appeal to the Great Spirit, and its

close (in which they were commended by the poor and unenlightened

Indian of the wilderness to the care and kindness of their God), seemed

to create surprise in the minds of the audience, and to excite in the

Indians' behalf a deep and lively interest.

After the breakfast and conversation were over, the whole party was

kindly sent back by the same carriages, and the Indians returned in a

state of perfect delight with the treatment they had met with, and the

presents they had received.

Poor _Jim_ (the student and recorder) was anxious that I should write

down the name of _William Penn_ in his book, and also that of the

gentleman who had just entertained us, that he might be able to repeat

them correctly when he got back to the wilderness again, and have

something to say about them.

We found on our return that the hour of another engagement was at hand,

and carriages were soon prepared to take us to the button-factory of

Messrs. Turner and Son, to which we had been kindly invited; and on our

arrival we found ourselves most cordially received and entertained.

The proprietor led the party through every room in his extensive

establishment, and showed them the whole process of striking the

buttons and medals from various dies, which pleased them very much,

and, after showing and explaining to them all the different processes

through which they passed in their manufacture, led them into his

ware-room or magazine, where his stock on hand was exhibited, and

package after package, and gross upon gross, of the most splendid and

costly buttons were taken down, and by his own generous hand presented

to them. These were such _brilliant evidences_ of kindness, and would

be so ornamental to the splendid dresses which they and their wives

were to have when they got home, that they looked upon them as more

valuable than gold or silver. These were presented to them in the

aggregate, and all carried in a heavy parcel by the interpreter; and

when they had thanked the gentleman for his munificent liberality and

got back to their rooms, a scene of great brilliancy and much interest

and amusement was presented for an hour or two, while they had their

treasures spread out, covering half of the floor on which they lodged,

and making a _per capita_ division of them.

In the midst of this exhilarating and dazzling scene, their old friend

_Bobasheela_ made his appearance, having just arrived from London on

his way to Cornwall. He could not, he said, pass within a hundred

miles of them without stopping to see them a few days, and smoke a

pipe or two with them again. _Bobasheela_ was stopped at the door,

notwithstanding their love for him; he could not step in without doing

sacrilege with his muddy boots to the glittering carpet of buttons

which they had formed on the floor, and upon which his eyes were

staring, as he thought at the first glance they could have committed

no less a trespass than to have plundered a jeweller's shop. A way was

soon opened for his feet to pass, and, having taken a hearty shake of

the hand with all, he was offered a seat on the floor, and in a few

moments found that an equal parcel was accumulating between his knees

as in front of each, and that, instead of fourteen, they were now

dividing them into fifteen parcels. This he objected to, and with much

trouble got them to undo what they had done, and go back to the first

regulation of dividing them equally amongst fourteen.

The Shakspeare Buildings afforded the Indians a fine promenade in its

large portico overlooking the street, where all Birmingham passed

before their eyes, giving them one of the most gratifying privileges

they had had, and promising them a rich and boundless means of

amusement; but their enjoyment of it was short, for the crowds that

assembled in the streets became a hinderance to business, and they were

denied the further privilege of their delightful look-out. They were

therefore called in, and stayed in, and yet the crowd remained, and

could not be dispersed, while their attention seemed fixed upon some

object higher up than the portico, which led us at once to surmise its

cause, and, searching for the old Doctor, he was not to be found: he

was, of course, upon the pinnacle of the house, wrapped in his robe,

smiling upon the crowd beneath him, and taking a contemplative gaze

over the city and country that lay under his view. I could only get

to him by following the intricate mazes through which the old lady

(curatress) conducted me, and through which the Doctor said he had

required several days of investigation to find his way, and which he

had never succeeded in until just at that moment.

Under this rather painful embargo there was no satisfactory way of

peeping into the amusements of the streets but by going down the

stairs, which Jim and his ever-curious friend the Doctor used daily

and almost hourly to do, and, standing in the hall, see all they could

that was amusing, until the crowd became such that it was necessary to

recall them to their room. On one of these occasions they had espied

a miserably poor old woman, with her little child, both in rags, and

begging for the means of existence. The pity of the kind old Doctor was

touched, and he beckoned her to come to him, and held out some money;

but fear was superior to want with her, and she refused to take the

prize. The Doctor went for Daniel, who, at his request, prevailed upon

the poor woman to come up to their room, by assuring her that they

would not hurt her, and would give her much more than white people

would. She came up with Daniel, and the Indians, all seated on the

floor, lit a pipe as if going into the most profound council; and so

they were, for with hearts sympathizing for the misery and poverty

of this pitiable-looking object, a white woman and child starving to

death amidst the thousands of white people all around her in their fine

houses and with all their wealth, they were anxious to talk with her,

and find out how it was that she should not be better taken care of.

Jeffrey was called to interpret, and Melody, _Bobasheela_, Daniel, and

myself, with two or three friends who happened to be with us at the

time, were spectators of the scene that ensued. The War-chief told her

not to be frightened nor to let her little child be so, for they were

her friends; and the Doctor walked up to her, took his hand out from

under his robe, put five shillings into hers, and stepped back. The

poor woman curtsied several times, and, crossing her hands upon her

breast, as she retreated to the wall, thanked "his Honour" for his

kindness. "The Lard be with your Honours for your loving kindness, and

may the Lard of Haven bless you to al etarnity, for ee niver e thaught

af sich threatment fram sich fraightful-lukin gantlemin as ee was a

thakin you to ba."

The War-chief then said to her, "There, you see, by the money we have

been all of us giving out of our purses, that we wish to make you happy

with your little child, that you may have something for it to eat;

you see now that we don't wish to hurt you, and we shall not; but we

want to talk with you a little, and before we talk we always make our

presents, if we have anything to give. We are here poor, and a great

way from home, where we also have our little children to feed; but the

Great Spirit has been kind to us, and we have enough to eat." To this

the Indians, who were passing the pipe around, all responded "_How!

how! how!_"

The old chief then proceeded to ask the poor woman how she became so

poor, and why the white people did not take care of her and her child.

She replied that she had been in the workhouse, and her husband was

there still; she described also the manner in which she had left it,

and how she became a beggar in the streets. She said that when she

and her husband were taken into the poorhouse they were not allowed

to live together, and that she would rather die than live in that way

any longer, or rather beg for something to eat in the streets as she

was now doing; and as the cold weather was coming in, she expected her

child and herself would be soon starved to death.

The poor Indians, women and all, looked upon this miserable

shivering object of pity, in the midst of the wealth and luxuries of

civilization, as a mystery they could not expound, and, giving way to

impulses that they could feel and appreciate, the women opened their

trunks to search for presents for the little child, and by White

Cloud's order filled her lap with cold meat and bread sufficient to

last them for a day or two. The good old Doctor's politeness and

sympathy led him to the bottom of the stairs with her, where he made

her understand by signs that every morning, when the sun was up to a

place that he pointed to with his hand, if she would come, she would

get food enough for herself and her little child as long as they

stayed in Birmingham; and he recollected his promise, and made it his

especial duty every morning to attend to his pensioners at the hour

appointed.[27]

[27] It is worthy of remark, and due to these kind-hearted people,

that I should here explain that this was by no means a

solitary instance of their benevolence in Birmingham. Whenever

they could get out upon the portico to look into the streets,

they threw their pence to the poor; and during the time they

were residing in London, we ascertained to a certainty that

they gave away to poor Lascars and others in the streets, from

their omnibus, many pounds sterling.

The moral to be drawn from all this was one of curious interest and

results in the minds of the Indians, and a long conversation ensued

amongst them, in which _Daniel_ and their friend _Bobasheela_ (who were

familiar with the sufferings and modes of treatment of the poor) took

part, and which, as Melody and I had withdrawn, afterwards gave us

some cause to regret that such a pitiable object of charity had been

brought into their presence for the temporary relief they could give

her, and which resulted in so glaring an account of the sum total of

misery and poverty that was constantly about them, of the extent of

which we both began to think it would have been better to have kept

them ignorant. Daniel and _Bobasheela_ had opened their eyes to the

system of poorhouses and other public establishments for the employment

and protection of the poor; and until this account, which was already

entered in _Jim's_ book, had been given them by these two knowing

politicians, they had but little idea of this enormous item that was to

go into the scales in weighing the blessings of civilization.

Almost daily visits were now being made to their private rooms by

parties of ladies and gentlemen of the Society of Friends, with whom

they were rapidly advancing into the most interesting acquaintance,

and which I observed it was affording Mr. Melody almost unspeakable

satisfaction to behold. They were kindly invited to several houses, and

treated at their tables with the greatest friendship. Of these, there

was one visit that it would be wrong for me to overlook and to neglect

to give here the notes that I made of it at the time.

A note was written to me in a bold and legible hand by Miss Catherine

Hutton, desiring to know "at what hour it would be suitable for her to

come from her house, a few miles out of town, to see the Indians (for

whom she had always had a great love), so as not to meet a crowd, for

her health was not very good, being in the ninety-first year of her

age." This venerable and most excellent lady I held in the highest

respect, from a correspondence I had held with her on the subject

of the Indians ever since I had been in England, though I never had

seen her. Her letters had always teemed with love and kindness for

these benighted people, and also with thanks to me for having done so

much as I had for their character and history. I therefore deemed it

proper to respond to her kindness by proposing to take the whole party

to her house and pay her the visit. Her note was answered with that

proposition, which gave her great pleasure, and we took a carriage and

went to her delightful residence.

We were received with unbounded kindness by this most excellent and

remarkable lady, and spent a couple of hours under her hospitable roof

with great satisfaction to ourselves, and with much pleasure to her,

as her letter to me on the following day fully evinced.[28] After a

personal introduction to each one in turn, as she desired, and half

an hour's conversation, they were invited into an adjoining room to a

breakfast-table loaded with the luxuries she had thought most grateful

to their tastes. This finished, another half-hour or more was passed in

the most interesting conversation, containing her questions and their

answers, and her Christian advice to prepare their minds for the world

to which, said she, "we must all go soon, and, for myself, I am just

going, and am ready." When we were about to take our leave of her, she

called each one up in succession, and, having a quantity of money in

silver half-crowns placed on the sofa by her side, she dealt it out to

them as they came up, shaking hands at the same time and bidding each

one a lasting farewell, embracing each of the women and children in her

arms and kissing them as she took leave. This kindness melted their

hearts to tears, and brought old _Neu-mon-ya_ (the War-chief) up before

her at full length, to make the following remarks:--

"My Friend,--The Great Spirit has opened your heart to feel a

friendship for the red people, and we are thankful to Him for it. We

have been happy to see your face to-day, and our hearts will never

forget your kindness. You have put a great deal of money into our

hands, which will help to feed our little children, and the Great

Spirit will not forget this when you go before him.

"My kind Mother,--You are very old. Your life has been good; and the

Great Spirit has allowed you to live to see us; and He will soon call

you to Him. We live a great way from here, and we shall not look upon

your face again in this world; though we all believe that, if we

behave well enough, we shall see your face in the world to come."

[28] _Bennett's Hill, near Birmingham, Nov. 1st, 1844._

My dear Mr. Catlin,--I have seen the nobility of England at a

birth-night ball in St. James's palace. I have seen the King

and Queen move around the circle, stopping to speak to every

individual, and I have wondered what they could have to say. I

have seen the Prince of Wales (afterwards George the Fourth)

open the ball with a minuet, and afterwards dance down a country

dance; and I thought him a handsome young man, and a fine

dancer. This was in the year 1780.

Yesterday, as you well know, for you brought them to visit me,

I saw the fourteen Ioway Indians. I shook hands with each,

and told them, through the interpreter, that red men were my

friends. I looked at them, as they were seated in a half-circle

in my drawing-room, immoveable as statues, and magnificently

dressed in their own costume, with astonishment. I had never

seen a spectacle so imposing. At my request, you presented

them to me separately--first the men, and then the women and

children--and I gave each a small present, for which they were

so thankful. At parting, the War-chief stood before me and made

a speech, thanking me for my kindness to them, which they should

long recollect, and saying, "that, although we should meet no

more in this world, yet he hoped the Great Spirit would make us

meet in the next." The action of the chief was free and natural,

and most graceful; far superior to anything I ever saw. Indeed,

these people are the nobility of nature.

I am, my dear Sir, your very obliged and very respectful

CATHERINE HUTTON.

The chief here stopped, and, shaking her hand again, withdrew. The

excellent lady was overwhelmed in tears, and called to her maid,

"Betty, bring all the silver that I left in the drawer there; bring the

whole of it and divide it among them; my eyes are so weak that I cannot

see it--give it to them, dear creatures! May God bless their dear

souls!" Such had been the meeting, and such were her parting words as

we came away.

The Indians continued to speak in terms of the greatest admiration of

this kind old lady, and the certainty that they should never see her

face again made them for some days contemplative and sad. They had many

civilities extended to them in town, however, which were calculated to

dissipate melancholy and contemplation. Their repeated visits to the

house and the table of Doctor Percy were exceedingly pleasing to them,

where they were amused with experiments in electricity and galvanism,

and other chemical results, to them new, and far beyond the reach of

their comprehensions.

Their days and nights were now passing away very pleasantly, visited

by and visiting so many kind friends, doing all they could to make

them happy--giving their nightly amusements at the Shakspearian

Rooms, and enjoying the society and western jokes of their old friend

_Bobasheela_, and, after their dinners and suppers, their other old

friend, _chickabobboo_.

About this time some very kindly-disposed friends proposed that a

couple of nights of their exhibitions should be given in the immense

room of the Town-hall, and one half of the receipts be presented

to the two hospitals, representing that upon such conditions they

thought the use of the hall would be granted free of expense, and

believing that the results would be beneficial to both parties. Mr.

Melody and I at once consented, and, the entertainments on those two

nights being for a charitable purpose, the crowds that came in were

very great, and the receipts beyond what we expected, the profits

being 145_l._ 12_s._, the half of which, 72_l._ 16_s._, the Ioways

presented to the two hospitals, and on the following day were invited

to attend at the Town-hall at eleven o'clock in the morning, to

receive an acknowledgment of it from the venerable Presidents of the

two institutions, and to hear an address which was prepared to be

read and given to them. The Indians met the two kind and excellent

gentlemen (both of whom were Friends), and many others, both ladies and

gentlemen, of their society; and seeing the results of this meeting

likely to be of a very interesting nature, I took pains to make notes

of all that was said on the occasion. The venerable Mr. R. T. Cadbury,

from the General Hospital, in a very impressive manner, and suited

to their understandings, explained to the Indians, through their

interpreter, the purpose for which the hospital was built and carried

on, after which he read the following resolution, which had been passed

at the weekly meeting of the Board of Governors on the preceding day:--

"Resolved,--That the Chairman be requested to present the thanks of

this Board to Mr. Catlin, Mr. Melody, and the Ioway Indians, for

the donation of 36_l._ 8_s._, being a moiety of the net proceeds of

two exhibitions made for the benefit of the two hospitals at the

Town-hall; and to assure them their generous gift shall be faithfully

applied to the relief of the sick and maimed, for whose benefit the

said hospital was instituted, and for sixty-five years has been

supported by voluntary donations and subscriptions."

After reading this, Mr. Cadbury presented to each of them a copy of the

annual report and rules of the institution, and expressed a hope that

all of them would reach their distant homes in safety, and that their

visit to this country would be beneficial to them.

The chief, _White Cloud_, shook hands with Mr. Cadbury, and replied as

follows:--

"My Friend,--I have very few remarks to make to you. We are all very

thankful to you for the speech you have made to us, and for the

prayer you have made that we may all reach home safe. Those words

pleased all my people here very much, and we thank you for them.

"My Friend,--We have now been some time in England, and, amongst all

the words of friendship we have heard, nothing has been more pleasing

to us than the words we have heard from your lips. We have seen some

of the greatest men in this country, and none have delighted us so

much as you have by the way in which you have spoken; and we believe

that the service we have rendered to the hospital will be looked on

with mutual satisfaction.

"My Friend,--The Americans have been long trying to civilize us, and

we now begin to see the advantages of it, and hope the Government of

the United States will do us some good. I hope some of the people of

my nation will place their children with white people, that they may

see how the white children live.

"My Friend,--I have nothing more to say, but to thank you."

After the speech of White Cloud, Mr. J. Cadbury, at the head of a

deputation from the "_Temperance Society_" (to which the Indians had

sent also the sum of 36_l._ 8_s._), presented himself, and read an

address from that association, thanking them for the amount received,

and advising the Indians to abstain from the use of "_fire-water_" and

to practise _charity_, which was one of the greatest of virtues.

Mr. Cadbury then addressed the Indians, in all the fervency and

earnestness of prayer, on the all-important subject of temperance. His

words and sentences, selected for their simple understandings, were in

the simplicity, and consequently the eloquence of nature, and seemed to

win their highest admiration and attention. He painted to them in vivid

colours the horrors and vice of intemperance, and its consequences; and

also the beauty and loveliness of sobriety, and truth, and charity,

which he hoped and should pray that they might practise in the

wilderness, with constant prayers to the Great Spirit in the heavens,

when they returned to their own country.

When this venerable gentleman's remarks were finished, the old Doctor

(or Medicine-man) arose from his seat upon the floor, with his pipe in

his lips, and, advancing, shook hands with the two Messrs. Cadbury,

and, handing his pipe to the chief, spoke as follows:--

"My Friends,--I rise to thank you for the words you have spoken to

us: they have been kind, and we are thankful for them.

"My Friends,--When I am at home in the wilderness, as well as when I

am amongst you, I always pray to the Great Spirit; and I believe the

chiefs and the warriors of my tribe, and even the women also, pray

every day to the Great Spirit, and He has therefore been very kind to

us.

"My Friends,--We have been this day taken by the hand in friendship,

and this gives us great consolation. Your friendly words have opened

our ears, and your words of advice will not be forgotten.

"My Friends,--You have advised us to be charitable to the poor, and

we have this day handed you 360 dollars to help the poor in your

hospitals. We have not time to see those poor people, but we know you

will make good use of the money for them; and we shall be happy if,

by our coming this way, we shall have made the poor comfortable.

"My Friends,--We Indians are poor, and we cannot do much charity.

The Great Spirit has been kind to us though since we came to this

country, and we have given altogether more than 200 dollars to the

poor people in the streets of London before we came here; and I need

not tell you that this is not the first day that we have given to the

poor in this city.

"My Friends,--If we were rich, like many white men in this country,

the poor people we see around the streets in this cold weather, with

their little children barefooted and begging, would soon get enough

to eat, and clothes to keep them warm.

"My Friends,--It has made us unhappy to see the poor people begging

for something to eat since we came to this country. In our country

we are all poor, but the poor all have enough to eat, and clothes to

keep them warm. We have seen your poorhouses, and been in them, and

we think them very good; but we think there should be more of them,

and that the rich men should pay for them.

"My Friends,--We admit that before we left home we all were fond of

'_fire-water_,' but in this country we have not drunk it. Your words

are good, and we know it is a great sin to drink it. Your words to us

on that subject, can do but little good, for we are but a few; but if

you can tell them to the white people, who make the '_fire-water_,'

and bring it into our country to sell, and can tell them also to the

thousands whom we see drunk with it in this country, then we think

you may do a great deal of good; and we believe the Great Spirit will

reward you for it.

"My Friends,--It makes us unhappy, in a country where there is so

much wealth, to see so many poor and hungry, and so many as we see

drunk. We know you are good people, and kind to the poor, and we give

you our hands at parting; praying that the Great Spirit will assist

you in taking care of the poor, and making people sober.

"My Friends,--I have no more to say." #/

Temperance medals were then given to each of the Indians, and the

deputation took leave.

A council was held that evening in the Indians' apartments, and several

pipes smoked, during which time the conversation ran upon numerous

topics, the first of which was the interesting meeting they had held

that day, and on several former occasions, with the Friends, and which

good people they were about to leave, and they seemed fearful they

should meet none others in their travels. They were passing their

comments upon the vast numbers which Daniel and _Bobasheela_ had told

them there actually were of poor people shut up in the poorhouses,

besides those in the streets, and underground in the coal-pits; and

concluded that the numerous clergymen they had to preach to them, and

to keep them honest and sober, were not too many, but they thought they

even ought to have more, and should at least keep all they had at home,

instead of sending them to preach to the Indians. _Jim_ was busy poring

over his note-book, and getting Daniel to put down in round numbers the

amount of poor in the poorhouses and in the streets, which they had

found in some newspaper. And he was anxious to have down without any

mistake the large sum of money they had presented to the hospitals, so

that when they got home they could tell of the charity they had done

in England; and if ever they got so poor as to have to beg, they would

have a good paper to beg with. The sum, in American currency (as they

know less of pounds, shillings, and pence), amounted to the respectable

one of 370 dollars.

This last night's talk in Birmingham was rather a gloomy one, for it

was after leave had been taken of all friends. _Bobasheela_ was to

start in the morning for Liverpool, and I for London, where I had

been summoned to attend as a witness in court, and Mr. Melody and the

Indians were to leave for Nottingham and other towns in the north. So

at a late hour we parted, and early in the morning set out for our

different destinations, bearing with us many warm attachments formed

during our short stay in the beautiful town of Birmingham.

For what befel these good fellows in Nottingham and Leeds there will

probably be no historian, as I was not with them. I commenced with

them in York, where I became again the expounder of their habits and

mysteries, and was delighted to meet them on classic ground, where

there is so much to engage the attention and admiration of civilized

or savage. I had visited York on a former occasion, and had the most

ardent wish to be present at this time, and to conduct these rude

people into the noble cathedral, and on to its grand tower. I had

this pleasure; and in it accomplished one of my favourite designs in

accompanying them on their northern tour.

On my return from London I had joined the Indians at Leeds, where they

had been exhibiting for some days, and found them just ready to start

for York. I was their companion by the railway, therefore, to that

ancient and venerable city; and made a note or two on an occurrence

of an amusing nature which happened on the way. When we were within a

few miles of the town the Indians were suddenly excited and startled

by the appearance of a party of fox-hunters, forty or fifty in number,

following their pack in full cry, having just crossed the track ahead

of the train.

This was a subject entirely new to them and unthought of by the

Indians; and, knowing that English soldiers all wore red coats, they

were alarmed, their first impression being that we had brought them on

to hostile ground, and that this was a "war-party" in pursuit of their

enemy. They were relieved and excessively amused when I told them it

was merely a fox-hunt, and that the gentlemen they saw riding were

mostly noblemen and men of great influence and wealth. They watched

them intensely until they were out of sight, and made many amusing

remarks about them after we had arrived at York. I told them they

rode without guns, and the first one in at the death pulled off the

tail of the fox and rode into town with it under his hatband. Their

laughter was excessive at the idea of "such gentlemen hunting in open

fields, and with a whip instead of a gun; and that great chiefs, as I

had pronounced them, should be risking their lives, and the limbs of

their fine horses, for a poor fox, the flesh of which, even if it were

good to eat, was not wanted by such rich people, who had meat enough

at home; and the skin of which could not be worth so much trouble,

especially when, as everybody knows, it is good for nothing when the

tail is pulled off."

On our arrival in York one of the first and most often repeated

questions which they put was, whether there were any of the "good

people," as they now called them, the Friends, living there. I told

them it was a place where a great many of them lived, and no doubt

many would come to see them, which seemed to please and encourage them

very much. Mr. Melody having taken rooms for them near to the York

Minster, of which they had a partial view from their windows, their

impatience became so great that we sallied out the morning after our

arrival to pay the first visit to that grand and venerable pile. The

reader has doubtless seen or read of this sublime edifice, and I need

not attempt to describe it here. Were it in my power to portray the

feelings which agitated the breasts of these rude people when they

stood before this stupendous fabric of human hands, and as they passed

through its aisles, amid its huge columns, and under its grand arches,

I should be glad to do it; but those feelings which they enjoyed in the

awful silence, were for none but themselves to know. We all followed

the guide, who showed and explained to us all that was worth seeing

below, and then showed us the way by which we were to reach the summit

of the grand or middle tower, where the whole party arrived after a

laborious ascent of 273 steps. We had luckily selected a clear day;

and the giddy height from which we gazed upon the town under our feet,

and the lovely landscape in the distance all around us, afforded to

the Indians a view far more wonderful than their eyes had previously

beheld. Whilst we were all engaged in looking upon the various scenes

that lay like the lines upon a map beneath us, the old Doctor, with his

_propensity_ which has been spoken of before, had succeeded in getting

a little higher than any of the rest of the party, by climbing on to

the little house erected over the gangway through which we entered upon

the roof; and, upon the pinnacle of this, for a while stood smiling

down upon the thousands of people who were gathering in the streets. He

was at length, however, seen to assume a more conspicuous attitude by

raising his head and his eyes towards the sky, and for some moments he

devoutly addressed himself to the Great Spirit, whom the Indians always

contemplate as "in the heavens, above the clouds." When he had finished

this invocation, he slowly and carefully "descended on to the roof,

and as he joined his friends he observed that when he was up there

"he was nearer to the Great Spirit than he had ever been before." The

War-chief excited much merriment by his sarcastic reply, that "it was

a pity he did not stay there, for he would never be so near the Great

Spirit again." The Doctor had no way of answering this severe retort,

except by a silent smile, as, with his head turned away, he gazed on

the beautiful landscape beneath him. When we descended from the tower,

the Indians desired to advance again to the centre of this grand

edifice, where they stood for a few minutes with their hands covering

their mouths, as they gazed upon the huge columns around them and the

stupendous arches over their heads, and at last came silently away, and

I believe inspired with greater awe and respect for the religion of

white men than they had ever felt before.

Our stay of three days in York was too short for the Indians to make

many acquaintances; but at their exhibitions they saw many of the

Society of Friends, and these, as in other places, came forward to

offer them their hands and invite them to their houses.

Amongst the invitations they received was one from the governor of

the Castle, who with great kindness conducted us through the various

apartments of the prison, explaining the whole of its system and

discipline to us. We were shown the various cells for different

malefactors, with their inmates in them, which no doubt conveyed to

the minds of the Indians new ideas of white men's iniquities, and the

justice of civilized laws.

When we were withdrawing we were invited to examine a little museum of

weapons which had been used by various convicts to commit the horrid

deeds for which they had suffered death or transportation. A small

room, surrounded by a wire screen, was devoted to these, and as it was

unlocked we were invited in, and found one wall of the room completely

covered with these shocking records of crime.

The turnkey to this room stepped in, and in a spirit of the greatest

kindness, with a rod in his hand to point with, commenced to explain

them, and of course add to their interest, in the following manner:--

"You see here, gentlemen, the weapons that have been used in the

commission of murders by persons who have been tried and hung in this

place, or transported for life. That long gun which you see there is

the identical gun that Dyon shot his father with. _He was hung._

"That club and iron coulter you see there, gentlemen, were used

by two highwaymen, who killed the gatekeeper, near Sheffield, by

knocking out his brains, and afterwards robbed him. _They were both

hung._

"This club and razor here, gentlemen (you see the blood on the razor

now), were used by Thompson, who killed his wife. He knocked her down

with this club, and cut her throat with this identical razor.

"This leather strap--gentlemen, do you see it? Well, this strap was

taken from a calf's neck by Benjamin Holrough, and he hung his father

with it. _He was hung here._

"That hedging-bill, razor, and tongs, gentlemen, were the things used

by Healy and Terry, who knocked an old woman down, cut her throat,

and buried her. _They were hung in this prison._

"Now, gentlemen, we come to that hammer and razor you see there. With

that same hammer Mary Crowther knocked her husband down, and then

with that razor cut his throat. _She was hung._

"Do you see that club, gentlemen? That is the club with which Turner

and Swihill, only nineteen years of age, murdered the bookkeeper near

Sheffield. _Both were hung._

"Do you see this short gun, gentlemen? This is the very gun with

which Dobson shot his father. _He was hung._

"This hat, gentlemen, with a hole in it, was the hat of Johnson, who

was murdered near Sheffield. The hole you see is where the blow was

struck that killed him."

The Indians, who had looked on these things and listened to these

recitals with a curious interest at first, were now becoming a little

uneasy, and the old Doctor, who smiled upon several of the first

descriptions, now showed symptoms of evident disquiet, retreating

behind the party, and towards the door.

"Do you see this knife and bloody cravat, gentlemen? With that same

knife John James stuck the bailiff through the cravat, and killed

him. _He was executed here._

"A fire-poker, gentlemen, with which King murdered his wife near

Sheffield. _He was hung here._

"These things, gentlemen--this fork, poker, and bloody shoes--with

this poker Hallet knocked his wife down, and stabbed her with the

fork; and the shoes have got the blood on them yet. _Hallet was hung._

"That rope there is the one in which Bardsley was hung, who killed

his own father.

"A bloody axe and poker, gentlemen. With that axe and poker an old

woman killed a little boy. She then drowned herself. _She was not

executed._

"This shoe-knife, gentlemen, is one that Robert Noll killed his wife

with in Sheffield. _He was executed._

"Another knife, with which Rogers killed a man in Sheffield. He

ripped his bowels out with it. _He was hung._

"A club, and stone, and hat, gentlemen. With this club and stone

Blackburn was murdered, and that was his hat: you see how it is all

broken and bloody. This was done by four men. _All hung._

"The hat and hammer here, gentlemen--these belonged to two robbers.

One met the other in a wood, and killed him with the hammer. _He was

hung._

"That scythe and pitchfork, you see, gentlemen"----

When our guide had thus far explained, and Jeffrey had translated

to the Indians, I observed the old Doctor quite outside of the

museum-room, and with his robe wrapped close around him, casting his

eyes around in all directions, and evidently in great uneasiness. He

called for the party to come out, for, said he, "I do not think this

is a good place for us to stay in any longer." We all thought it was

as well, for the turnkey had as yet not described one-third of his

curiosities; so we thanked him for his kindness, and took leave of him

and his interesting museum.

We were then conducted by the governor's request to the apartments

of his family, where he and his kind lady and daughters received the

Indians and ourselves with much kindness, having his table prepared

with refreshments, and, much to the satisfaction of the Indians (after

their fatigue of body as well as of mind), with plenty of the _Queen's

chickabobboo_.

The sight-seeing of this day and the exhibition at night finished our

labours in the interesting town of York, where I have often regretted

we did not remain a little longer to avail ourselves of the numerous

and kind invitations which were extended to us before we left. After

our labours were all done, and the Indians had enjoyed their suppers

and their _chickabobboo_, we had a pipe together, and a sort of

recapitulation of what we had seen and heard since we arrived. The two

most striking subjects of the gossip of this evening were the cathedral

and the prison; the one seemed to have filled their minds with

astonishment and admiration at the ingenuity and power of civilized

man, and the other with surprise and horror at his degradation and

wickedness; and evidently with some alarm for the safety of their

persons in such a vicinity of vice as they had reason to believe they

were in from the evidences they had seen during the day. The poor old

Doctor was so anxious for the next morning to dawn, that we might be on

our way, that he had become quite nervous and entirely contemplative

and unsociable. They had heard such a catalogue of murders and

executions explained, though they knew that we had but begun with the

list, and saw so many incarcerated in the prison, some awaiting their

trial, others who had been convicted and were under sentence of death

or transportation, and others again pining in their cells, and weeping

for their wives and children (merely because they could not pay the

money that they owed), that they became horrified and alarmed; and as

it was the first place where they had seen an exhibition of this kind,

there was some reason for the poor fellows' opinions that they were in

the midst of the wickedest place in the world.

They said that, from the grandeur and great number of their churches,

they thought they ought to be one of the most honest and harmless

people they had been amongst, but instead of that they were now

convinced they must be the very worst, and the quicker Mr. Melody made

arrangements to be off the better. The Indians had been objects of

great interest, and for the three nights of their amusements their room

was well filled and nightly increasing; but all arguments were in vain,

and we must needs be on the move. I relieved their minds in a measure

relative to the instruments of death they had seen and the executions

of which they had heard an account, by informing them of a fact that

had not occurred to them--that the number of executions mentioned had

been spread over a great number of years, and were for crimes committed

amongst some hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, occupying a tract of

country a great many miles in every direction from York; and also that

the poor men imprisoned for debt were from various parts of the country

for a great distance around. This seemed to abate their surprise to a

considerable degree; still, the first impression was here made, and

made by means of their eyes (which they say they never disbelieve,

and I am quite sure they will never get rid of it), that York was the

"wicked town," as they continued to call it during the remainder of

their European travels. I explained to them that other towns had their

jails and their gallows--that in London they daily rode in their buss

past prison walls, and where the numbers imprisoned were greater than

those in York, in proportion to the greater size of the city.

Their comments were many and curious on the cruelty of imprisoning

people for debt, because they could not pay money. "Why not kill

them?" they said; "it would be better, because when a man is dead he

is no expense to any one, and his wife can get a husband again, and

his little children a father to feed and take care of them; when he

is in jail they must starve: when he is once in jail he cannot wish

his face to be seen again, and they had better kill them all at once."

They thought it easier to die than to live in jail, and seemed to be

surprised that white men, so many hundreds and thousands, would submit

to it, when they had so many means by which they could kill themselves.

They saw convicts in the cells who were to be transported from the

country: they inquired the meaning of that, and, when I explained it,

they seemed to think that was a good plan, for, said they, "if these

people can't get money enough to pay their debts, if they go to another

country they need not be ashamed there, and perhaps they will soon

make money enough to come back and have their friends take them by the

hand again." I told them, however, that they had not understood me

exactly--that transportation was only for heinous crimes, and then a

man was sent away in irons, and in the country where he went he had to

labour several years, or for life, with chains upon him, as a slave.

Their ideas were changed at once on this point, and they agreed that it

would be better to kill them all at once, or give them weapons and let

them do it themselves.

While this conversation was going on, the Recorder Jim found here very

interesting statistics for his note-book, and he at once conceived the

plan of getting Daniel to find out how many people there were that

they had seen in the prison locked up in one town; and then, his ideas

expanding, how many (if it could be done at so late an hour) there were

in all the prisons in London; and then how many white people in all the

kingdom were locked up for crimes, and how many because they couldn't

pay money. His friend and teacher, Daniel, whose head had become a

tolerable gazetteer and statistical table, told him it would be quite

easy to find it all ready printed in books and newspapers, and that he

would put it all down in his book in a little time. The inquisitive

Jim then inquired if there were any poorhouses in York, as in other

towns; to which his friend Daniel replied that there were, and also in

nearly every town in the kingdom; upon which Jim started the design

of adding to the statistical entries in his book the number of people

in poorhouses throughout the kingdom. Daniel agreed to do this for

him also, which he could easily copy out of a memorandum-book of his

own, and also to give him an estimate of the number of people annually

transported from the kingdom for the commission of crimes. This all

pleased Jim very much, and was amusement for Daniel; but at the same

time I was decidedly regretting with Mr. Melody that his good fellows

the Indians, in their visit to York, should have got their eyes open

to so much of the dark side of civilization, which it might have been

better for them that they never had seen.

Jim's book was now becoming daily a subject of more and more excitement

to him, and consequently of jealousy amongst some of the party, and

particularly so with the old Doctor; as Jim was getting more rapidly

educated than either of the others, and his book so far advanced as

to discourage the Doctor from any essay of the kind himself. Jim that

night regretted only one thing which he had neglected to do, and which

it was now too late to accomplish--that was, to have measured the

length of the cathedral and ascertained the number of steps required to

walk around it. He had counted the number of steps to the top of the

grand tower, and had intended to have measured the cathedral's length.

I had procured some very beautiful engravings of it, however, one of

which Daniel arranged in his book, and the length of the building and

its height we easily found for him in the pocket Guide.

The Doctor, watching with a jealous eye these numerous estimates going

into Jim's book, to be referred to (and of course sworn to) when he

got home, and probably on various occasions long before, and having

learned enough of arithmetic to understand what a wonderful effect a

cipher has when placed on the right of a number of figures, he smiled

from day to day with a wicked intent on Jim's records, which, if they

went back to his tribe in anything like a credible form, would be

a direct infringement upon his peculiar department, and materially

affect his standing, inasmuch as Jim laid no claims to a knowledge of

_medicine_, or to anything more than good eating and drinking, before

he left home.

However, the Doctor at this time could only meditate and smile, as his

stiff hand required some practice with the pen before he could make

those little 0's so as to match with others in the book, which was

often left carelessly lying about upon their table. This intent was

entirely and originally wicked on the part of the old Doctor, because

he had not yet, that any one knew of, made any reference to his measure

of the giant woman, since he had carefully rolled up his cord and put

it away amongst his other estimates, to be taken home to "astonish the

natives" on their return.