When we take a view of the difference between the acquirements of the
Indian race of people and those of our own nation, and the European
and other enlightened nations of the world, we behold an endless
acquisition which the industry and perseverance of the latter have
brought into their possession, whilst the former have scarcely made
a remove from a state of infancy in respect to improvements. This we
cannot so much ascribe to their mental abilities as to their indolence
and distaste of the pursuits of our people, preferring their own mode
of life to that of ours. They were in a state of great destitution
before their intercourse with Europeans for want of such materials as
they were enabled to procure after Europeans settled among them, from
whom they could obtain such materials as were necessary for their
livelihood, guns, traps, hatchets, knives, blankets, and other articles
of which they stood in need, whereby their condition of life was much
improved; and these advantages which they derived and which their
descendants still continue to obtain as mentioned, were, and continue
to be of greater benefit to these people than the territories which they
abandoned; for they now have the means of obtaining a more comfortable
living than what they had before Europeans came into this country. Yet
we must admit that it was a disagreeable and melancholy trial for them
to leave their native places; but for these sacrifices they have
received and continue to receive a good reward, of which they would have
remained destitute if they had remained alone in this country. It is
the lot of mankind to undergo such changes. Thousands of foreigners and
our own citizens are continually migrating from place to place to
advance their interest and better their condition in life. Before
Europeans came into this country, stone, wood and clay were the only
materials of which they manufactured any implements for their use; and
stone axes, bows and arrows were the most valuable articles they
manufactured. The stone axe was made of a solid stone, about six inches
long and two thick, one end round and the other flattened with a
rounding towards its edge, which was made as sharp as the nature of
the stone would bear for its intended use. With these they would get
bark from trees to cover their wigwams, and made other shelters under
which to evade the inclemency of storms of snow and rain, night air,
&c.; also to get bark for canoes, and girdle trees to kill them, so
that the bark and limbs would fall for fuel. And with these axes in a
slow operation they could cut and split small saplings for bows, and
with these and other sharp stones and bones could scrape them off to
a required thickness. Arrow heads (generally called harpoons in this
section) were made of different kinds of flint stones, from three to
about four inches long, one inch wide at the large end, and tapering
from that to the small end. They were flat and rounding towards each
side for sharpening the edges; a notch was worked into each side of
the big end to fasten it into the arrow. These appear to have been
made by knocking off small scales, whereby their surfaces, were left
uneven.
It was said that they had manufactured pots of clay for cooking, and
that a few remains of these had been found, in a broken condition,
and that they made eel-pots of with and caught therein eels and fish
by setting them in the mouths of eel-weirs, which consisted of wings
of stones thrown up in rivers and streams of water. The stone axes,
bows and arrows were of great value to the naked-handed Indians. With
the latter it was said that they could even kill a deer by making the
bow very stiff and laying down with it in the tall grass which grew
on the flats near to a deer-path, would, when a deer approached to
pass, place both feet against the bow and with both hands draw the
string or cord of the bow and shoot the deer as it passed, so as to
kill it. It was said they made use of a sharp flint stone to skin it.
Now, although the improvements the natives of this country had made
during their existence in it was very trifling, yet they had attained
to about all that was in their reach in the circumstances under which
they labored, and had come to the borders of a gigantic step which
was necessary to be made for entering into a field of improvements
similar to that of the enlightened nations of the world.