repeated to the Indian children, which naturally leads them to reflect
and gradually to understand that a being which hath done such great
things for them, and all to make them happy, must be good indeed, and
that it is surely their duty to do something that will please him. They
are then told that their ancestors, who received all this from the hands
of the Great Spirit and lived in the enjoyment of it, must have been
informed of what would be most pleasing to this good being, and of the
manner in which his favour could most surely he obtained; and they are
directed to look up for instruction to those who know all this, learn
from them, and revere them for their knowledge and the wisdom which they
possess; this creates in the children a strong sentiment of respect for
their elders, and a desire to follow their advice and example. Their
young ambition is then excited by telling them that they were made the
superiors of all other creatures, and are to have power over them; great
pains are taken to make this feeling take an early root, and it becomes,
in fact, their ruling passion through life; for no pains are spared to
instil into them, that by following the advice of the most admired and
extolled hunter, trapper, or warrior, they will at a future day acquire
a degree of fame and reputation equal to that which he possesses; that
by submitting to the counsels of the aged, the chiefs, the men superior
in wisdom, they may also rise to glory, and be called _wise men_, an
honorable title to which no Indian is indifferent. They are finally told
that if they respect the aged and infirm, and are kind and obliging to
them, they will be treated in the same manner when their turn comes to
feel the infirmities of old age.”
When this first and important lesson is thought to be sufficiently
impressed upon children’s minds, the parents next proceed to make them
sensible of the distinction between good and evil; they tell them that
there are good and bad actions, both equally open to them to do or
commit; that good acts are pleasing to the Good Spirit which gave them
their existence; and that on the contrary, all that is bad proceeds from
the Bad Spirit who has given them nothing, and who cannot give them
anything that is good, because he has it not, and therefore he envies
them that which they have received from the good spirit, who is far
superior to the bad one.
“This introductory lesson, if it may be so called, naturally makes them
wish to know what is good and what is bad. This the parent teaches them
in his own way, that is to say, in the way in which he was himself taught
by his parents. It is not the lesson of an hour or of a day; it is
rather a long course more of practical than of theoretical instruction;
a lesson, which is not repeated at stated times and seasons, but which
is shown, pointed out, and demonstrated to the child, not only by those
under whose immediate guardianship he is, but by the whole community, who
consider themselves alike interested in the direction to be given to the
rising generation.
“When this instruction is given in the form of precepts, it must not be
supposed that it is done in an authoritative or forbidding tone, but,
on the contrary, in the gentlest and most persuasive manner: nor is the
parent’s authority ever supported by harsh or compulsive means; no whips,
no punishments, no threats are ever used to enforce commands or compel
obedience. The child’s _pride_ is the feeling to which an appeal is made,
which proves successful in almost every instance. A father needs only
to say in the presence of his children: ‘I want such a thing done; I
want one of my children to go upon such an errand; let me see who is the
_good_ child that will do it!’ this word _good_ operates, as it were, by
magic, and the children immediately vie with each other to comply with
the wishes of their parent. If the father sees an old decrepit man or
woman pass by, led along by a child, he will draw the attention of his
own children to the object by saying: ‘what a good child that must be,
which pays such attention to the aged! That child, indeed, looks forward
to the time when it shall be old!’ or he will say: ‘may the Great Spirit,
who looks upon him, grant this _good_ child a long life!’
“In this manner of bringing up children, the parents, as I have already
said, are seconded by the whole community. If a child is sent from his
father’s dwelling to carry a dish of victuals to an aged person, all in
the house will join in calling him a _good_ child. They will ask whose
child he is; and on being told, will exclaim, what! ‘has the _Tortoise_,
or the _Little Bear_ (as the father’s name may be) got such a _good_
child?’ If a child is seen passing through the streets leading an old
decrepit person, the villagers will in his hearing, and to encourage all
the other children who may be present to take example from him, call on
one another to look on and see what a _good_ child that must be. And
so, in most instances, this method is resorted to, for the purpose of
instructing children in things that are good, proper, or honorable in
themselves; while, on the other hand, when a child has committed a _bad_
act, the parent will say to him, ‘O! how grieved I am that my child has
done this bad act! I hope he will never do so again.’ This is generally
effectual, particularly if said in the presence of others. The whole of
the Indian plan of education tends to elevate rather than depress the
mind, and by that means to make determined hunters and fearless warriors.
“Thus, when a lad has killed his first game, such as a deer or a bear,
parents who have boys growing up will not fail to say to some person
in the presence of their own children: ‘that boy must have listened
attentively to the aged hunters, for, though so young, he has already
given a proof that he will become a good hunter himself.’ If, on the
other hand, a young man should fail of giving such a proof, it will be
said of him: ‘that he did not pay attention to discourses of the aged.’
“In this indirect manner is instruction on all subjects given to the
young people. They are to learn the arts of hunting, trapping, and making
war, by listening to the aged when conversing together on those subjects;
each in his turn relating how he acted; and opportunities are afforded to
them for that purpose. By this mode of instructing youth, their respect
for the aged is kept alive, and it is increased by the reflection that
the same respect will be paid to them at a future day, when young persons
will be attentive to what they shall relate.
“This method of conveying instruction is, I believe, common to most
Indian nations; it is so, at least, amongst all those that I have become
acquainted with, and lays the foundation for that voluntary submission
to their chiefs, for which they are so remarkable. Thus has been
maintained for ages, without convulsions and without civil discords,
this traditional government, of which the world perhaps does not offer
another example; a government in which there are no positive laws, but
only long established habits and customs; no code of jurisprudence, but
the experience of former times; no magistrates, but advisers, to whom the
people nevertheless pay a willing and implicit obedience; in which age
confers rank, wisdom gives power, and moral goodness secures a title to
universal respect. All this seems to be effected by the simple means of
an excellent mode of education, by which a strong attachment to ancient
customs, respect for age, and the love of virtue are indelibly impressed
upon the minds of youth, so that these impressions acquire strength as
time pursues its course, and as they pass through successive generations.”
What can afford stronger proof of the Socialist’s doctrine, that the
character of man results from the peculiar mode of training to which
he may be subjected, than the forgoing statements of the missionary
Heckewelder? Robert Owen and his disciples assert that man is the
creature of circumstances; that the quality of his character corresponds
to the quality of the associations under the influence of which he has
been trained. And in the statements of a minister of the Gospel, we
find ample proof of the truth of these assertions. O! that men were
wise enough to perceive the benefits that would result from the proper
application of a principle, the truth of which is thus warranted by the
condition, character, and training of the Aborigines of America!
_Further particulars respecting the Cruelty of the Indians, their
Hospitality, their sense of Justice, and the mode in which the Whites
have acted towards them._
A great deal has been said respecting the cruelty of the North-American
Indians. That they are in some instances cruel, may be admitted; but
this need not be wondered at, when we consider the atrocities which the
whites have perpetrated upon them. “Cruelty and eager desire for revenge”
says Buchanan, “are the chief, if not the only deformities of their
nature; and these are scarcely ever manifested, except in their open
hostilities, the causes of which are precisely similar to those which
actuate civilized nations. Then indeed their ferocity breaks out with
almost demoniacal fury; their captives are generally doomed to death;
but it is not until they have undergone the most exquisite tortures,
the most ingenious, unutterable and protracted agony, that the final
blow is given. These atrocious practices are not however peculiar to
our unlettered Indians. The metal boot and wedge; the thumb screw; the
rack; the gradual burnings of Smithfield; the religious butchery of the
bloody Piedmontese who rolled Mother with Infant down the rocks; the
dismemberment by horses; Luke’s iron crown; Damien’s bed of steel;” and
the kiss of the virgin; “sufficiently attest the claims of enlightened
man to distinction in the art of torture.”[72]
Governor Clinton in his discourse to the New York Society, says that “the
five nations, notwithstanding their horrible cruelty, are in one respect,
entitled to singular commendation for the exercise of humanity; those
enemies they spared in battle they made free; whereas, with all other
barbarous nations slavery was the commutation of death. But it becomes
not us, if we value the character of our forefathers; it becomes not the
civilized nations of Europe who have had American possessions, to inveigh
against the merciless conduct of the savage. His appetite for blood
was sharpened and whetted by European instigation and his cupidity was
enlisted on the side of cruelty by every temptation.”[73]
On the cruelty of the Indians, and the provocation they have received
from the Whites, Mr. Heckewelder in his 44th chapter, has the following
observations—
“The Indians are cruel to their enemies!—In some cases they are, but
perhaps not more so than white men have sometimes shown themselves.
There have been instances of white men flaying or taking off the skins
of Indians who had fallen into their hands, then tanning those skins
or cutting them up in pieces, making them up into razor-straps, and
exporting them for sale, as was done at or near Pittsburg sometime during
the revolutionary war. Those things are abominations in the eyes of the
Indians, who indeed, when strongly excited, inflict torments on their
prisoners and put them to death by cruel tortures, but never are guilty
of acts of barbarity in cold blood. Neither do the Delawares and some
other Indian nations, ever on any account disturb the ashes of the dead.
“The custom of torturing prisoners is of ancient date, and was first
introduced as a trial of courage. I have been told, however, that among
some tribes it has never been in use; but it must be added that those
tribes give no quarter. The Delawares accuse the Iroquois of having been
the inventors of this piece of cruelty, and charge them further with
eating the flesh of their prisoners after the torture was over. Be this
as it may, there are now but few instances of prisoners being put to
death in this manner.
“Rare as these barbarous executions now are, I have reason to believe
that they would be still less frequent, if proper pains were taken to
turn the Indians away from this heathenish custom. Instead of this, it is
but too true that they have been excited to cruelty by unprincipled white
men, who have joined in their war-feasts and even added to the barbarity
of the scene. Can there be a more brutal act than, after furnishing those
savages, as they are called, with implements of war and destruction, to
give them an ox to kill and to roast whole, to dance the war dance with
them round the slaughtered animal, strike at him, stab him, telling the
Indians at the same time, ‘Strike, stab! thus you must do to your enemy!’
Then taking a piece of the meat and tearing it with their teeth, ‘So you
must eat his flesh!’ and sucking up the juices, ‘Thus you must drink his
blood;’ and at last devour the whole as wolves do a carcass. This is what
is known to have been done by some of those Indian agents that I have
mentioned.
“Is this possible? the reader will naturally exclaim. Yes! it is
possible! and every Indian warrior will tell you that it is true. It has
come to me from so many credible sources that I _am forced_ to believe
it. How can the Indians now be reproached with acts of cruelty to which
they have been excited by those who pretended to be Christians and
civilized men, but who were worse savages than those whom, no doubt, they
were ready to brand with that name.
“When hostile governments give directions to employ the Indians against
their enemies, they surely do not know that such is the manner in which
their orders are to be executed; but let me tell them and every other
government who will descend to employ these auxiliaries, that is the
only way in which their subaltern agents will and can proceed to make
their aid effectual. The Indians are not fond of interfering in quarrels
not their own, and will not fight with spirit for the mere sake of a
livelihood which they can obtain in a more agreeable manner by hunting
and their other ordinary occupations. Their passions must be excited;
and that is not easily done when they themselves have not received any
injury from those against whom they are desired to fight. Behold then,
the abominable course which must unavoidably be resorted to—to induce
them to do what?—to lay waste the dwelling of the peaceable cultivator of
the land, and to murder his innocent wife and helpless children! I cannot
pursue this subject farther, although I am far from having exhausted it.
I have said enough to enable the impartial reader to decide which of
the two classes of men, the Indians or the Whites, are the most justly
entitled to the epithets of brutes, barbarians, and savages. It is not
for me to anticipate his decision.”
The cruelty of the Indians need not be wondered at, when the provocations
they have received are taken into account. The white settlers usually
treat them as inferiors, as lawful prey, as beings only fit to be
trampled on and oppressed. Of the truth of this statement, the following
extracts will afford abundant proof. We quote them from Buchanan’s
Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the North-American Indians;
Heckewelder’s Historical Account, and the Report on the Condition of the
Indians of Upper-Canada, published recently by the Aborigines Protection
Society. These extracts, it will be seen, contain a narration of events,
more creditable to the character of the Indians, than to the character of
their white oppressors.
Mr. Buchanan says: “In passing down the St. Lawrence in the summer of
1819, I stopped my batteaux at a tavern, where I proposed to remain all
night. Two squaws were there with a basket of wild strawberries for
sale, and I directed the mistress of the tavern to purchase some, that
I might have them with cream for my supper. It was soon, however, to be
perceived by the conversation in bargaining, that my landlady and the
Indian women could not come to terms. There seemed to be much harshness
in the manner of the former; but the replies of the latter were so
meek, and their demeanour so submissive, that had I been making the
bargain under the impression of my feelings, few words would have been
necessary. The Christian purchaser, however, continued so extortionate
in her demands, that the poor disappointed heathens turned away from
her. Truly unreasonable indeed must the lady have been; for there was
neither village, nor other house near likely to afford a market for the
poor Indian hawkers, who it seemed had come to this very tavern with
the hope of selling their fruit. Under this impression I followed the
poor women, put a small sum into the hands of one of them, and hastily
passed on, while they gazed at me with astonishment at so unexpected _a
largess_, for so it appeared to them. On my return from a walk along the
river, I was surprised to see the two squaws standing at the corner of
the house patiently waiting for me; when, eyes sparkling with emotions
which I could not misunderstand, but which I am incapable of portraying,
they presented me with a bowl top-full of picked strawberries, which I
rejected at first, being desirous of convincing them there were some, if
not many, white men who felt kindly towards them. But their expression
of entreaty was so vehement, their importunity so great, that I felt it
necessary to their happiness to accept their present; for they had no
other way of showing their gratitude. This humble offering furnished my
supper, and sweet indeed would my meal have been, had not commiseration
for the wrongs of these sorely abused, persecuted, forlorn, abandoned
people, mingled with my enjoyment. I am so fully impressed with their
undeserved misery, and with the nobleness of their character, that I
should esteem the devotion of my life in their cause the most honourable
way in which it could be employed; but alas, years and circumstances
prevent my doing more than making this feeble effort to rouse the
energies of youthful talent in their behalf; and as benevolence pervades
the youthful mind more powerfully than that of the aged, I am not without
a hope that thousands will yet start up to advocate the cause of the Red
Indians, and prosecute measures for the amelioration of their state.
“The above instance of want of charity, nay, of common decency on the
part of white people in their intercourse with the Indians, is not by any
means of rare occurrence. My reader will already have seen the complaints
and pathetic appeals of justice which the poor children of the wilderness
are so frequently compelled, by the treachery of their civilized
neighbours, to make; and I am sorry to add another specimen to the long
list of these atrocious outrages, which, in large and petty aggressions,
is daily swelling and becoming more and more enormous. In passing, on
the very day I have just adverted to through the Thousand Islands, one
of the boatmen who were rowing me, hallooed to a canoe in which some
Indians were fishing, who immediately came towards us, and a barter
commenced between them and the boatmen. The boatmen held up a piece of
cold pork and a loaf, for which they were to receive fish. The poor young
Indians, (for the eldest was not above fourteen, and there were two
little girls younger) showed what fish they would give; yet warily kept
at a distance, fearing what, in spite of their precaution, actually took
place. The boatmen struck suddenly at the canoe with their oars, and in
the confusion which this attack caused, grasped the fish; the bread and
the pork they at first offered were, I need hardly say, withheld. Having
achieved this noble enterprise they shouted and assailed the unresisting
and defenceless children (who paddled off evidently fearful of further
outrage,) with taunts and mockery. These men were Canadians; there were
four of them; and I had no other means of punishing them on this occasion
than by withholding the usual pecuniary fee. I was in some measure at
their mercy; but though compelled to be a calm spectator of so dastardly
a theft, I confess I was still more incensed at seeing how heartily some
inhabitants of Canada, who were my fellow passengers, seemed to enjoy
the joke. The fact is, the Indians are esteemed lawful prey. Such is the
feeling of thousands of men called Christians, who boast of civilization,
but who derive their subsistence by intercourse with the Indians; and
however just many in the United States are, and however careful the
British government is to guard the rights of the red men, yet as this
guardianship is chiefly committed to those who are partakers in the
spoils of the Indians, the care, instead of being wise and benign, is
rather to debauch their untutored mind by the introduction of spirits
among them. Every cup to them is indeed ‘unblessed, and the ingredient
is a devil!’ Gradually, therefore, are they diminishing, and receding
from the haunts of what we term _civilization_! That this charge does not
apply to all, and rarely to the _heads_ of these departments, I rejoice
to admit; but still those heads of departments are responsible for all
the acts of their subordinate agents, and should exercise a vigilant
superintendence, impartially punishing any, the least, infringement of
their regulations. No man should be connected with the Indian department
who is directly or indirectly interested in trade with the Indians.”
The following facts derived from Heckewelder’s historical account speak
volumes. Eternal God can white men be so cruel! Can the professors of
religion be so depraved!!
“In the summer of the year 1763, some friendly Indians from a distant
place, came to Bethlehem to dispose of their peltry for manufactured
goods and necessary implements of husbandry. Returning home well
satisfied, they put up the first night at a tavern, eight miles
distant.[74] The landlord not being at home, his wife took the liberty of
encouraging the people who frequented her house for the sake of drinking,
to abuse the Indians, adding, that she would freely give a gallon of rum
to any one of them that should kill one of the black devils. Other white
people from the neighbourhood came in during the night, who also drank
freely, made a great deal of noise, and increased the fear of the poor
Indians who, for the greatest part, understanding English, could not
but suspect that something bad was intended against their persons. They
were not, however, otherwise disturbed; but in the morning, when after
a restless night they were preparing to set off, they found themselves
robbed of some of the most valuable articles they had purchased, and on
mentioning this to a man who appeared to be the bar-keeper, they were
ordered to leave the house. Not being willing to lose so much property,
they retired to some distance into the woods, where, some of them
remaining with what was left them, the others returned to Bethlehem and
lodged their complaint with a justice of the peace. The magistrate gave
them a letter to the landlord pressing him without delay to restore to
the Indians the goods that had been taken from them. But behold! when
they delivered that letter to the people at the inn they were told in
answer, ‘that if they set any value on their lives, they must make off
with themselves immediately.’ They well understood that they had no other
alternative, and prudently departed without having received back any of
their goods. Arrived at Nescopeck on the Susquehannah, they fell in with
some other Delawares, who had been treated much in the same manner, one
of them having had his rifle stolen from him. Here the two parties agreed
to take revenge in their own way, for those insults and robberies for
which they could obtain no redress; and that they determined to do as
soon as war should be again declared by their nation against the English.
“Scarcely had these Indians retired, when in another place, about
fourteen miles distant from the former, one man, two women and a child,
all quiet Indians, were murdered in a most wicked and barbarous manner,
by drunken militia officers and their men, for the purpose of getting
their horses and the goods they had just purchased.[75] One of the women,
falling on her knees, begged in vain for the life of herself and her
child, while the other woman seeing what was doing, made her escape to
the barn, where she endeavoured to hide herself on the top of the grain.
She however was discovered, and inhumanly thrown down on the thrashing
floor with such force that her brains flew out.
“Here, then, were insults, robberies and murders, all committed within
the short space of three months, unatoned for and unrevenged. There was
no prospect of obtaining redress; the survivors were therefore obliged
to seek some other means to obtain revenge. They did so; the Indians,
already exasperated against the English in consequence of repeated
outrages, and considering the nation as responsible for the injuries
which it did neither prevent nor punish, and for which it did not even
offer to make any kind of reparation, at last declared war; and then the
injured parties were at liberty to redress themselves for the wrongs
they had suffered. They immediately started against the objects of their
hatred, and finding their way unseen and undiscovered to the inn which
had been the scene of the first outrage, they attacked it at day-break,
fired into it on the people within who were lying on their beds. Strange
to relate! the murderers of the man, two women, and child, were among
them. They were mortally wounded, and died of their wounds shortly
afterwards. The Indians, after leaving this house, murdered by accident
an innocent family, having mistaken the house that they meant to attack,
after which they returned to their homes.
“Now a violent hue and cry was raised against the Indians; no language
was too bad, no crimes too black to brand them with. No faith was to
be placed in those savages; treaties with them were of no effect; they
ought to be cut off from the face of the earth! Such was the language
in everybody’s mouth; the newspapers were filled with accounts of the
cruelties of the Indians; a variety of false reports were circulated in
order to rouse the people against them; while they, the really injured
party, _having no printing presses among them, could not make known the
story of their grievances_.
“‘No faith can be placed in what the Indians promise at treaties; for
scarcely is a treaty concluded than they are murdering us.’ Such is our
complaint against these unfortunate people; but they will tell you that
it is the white men in whom no faith is to be placed. They will tell
you that there is not a single instance in which the whites have not
violated the engagements that they have made at treaties. They say that
when they had ceded lands to the white people, and boundary lines had
been established, ‘firmly established,’ beyond which no whites were to
settle; scarcely was the treaty signed when white intruders again were
settling and hunting on their lands! It is true that when they preferred
their complaints to the government, the government gave them many fair
promises, and assured them that men would be sent to remove the intruders
by force from the usurped lands. The men, indeed, came, but with chain
and compass in their hands, taking surveys of the tracts of good land,
which the intruders, from their knowledge of the country, had pointed out
to them!
“What was then to be done, when those intruders would not go off from
the land, but, on the contrary increased in numbers! ‘Oh!’ said these
people, (and I have myself frequently heard this language in the Western
country,) ‘a new treaty will soon give us all this land; nothing is now
wanting but a pretence to pick a quarrel with them!’ Well, but in what
manner is this quarrel to be brought about? A David Owen, a Walker, and
many others, might, if they were alive, easily answer this question. A
precedent however, may be found, on perusing Mr. Jefferson’s appendix to
his notes on Virginia. On all occasions, when the object is to murder
Indians, strong liquor is the main article required; for when you have
them dead drunk, you may do to them as you please, without running the
risk of losing your life. And should you find that the laws of your
country may reach you where you are, you have only to escape or conceal
yourself for a while until the storm has blown over! I well recollect the
time when thieves and murderers of Indians fled from impending punishment
across the Susquehannah, where they considered themselves safe; on which
account this river had the name given to it of ‘_the rogues’ river_.’ I
have heard other rivers called by similar names.
“In the year 1742, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield offered the Nazareth Manor,
(as it was then called) for sale to the United Brethren. He had already
begun to build upon it a spacious stone house, intended as a school-house
for the education of Indian children. The Indians, in the meanwhile,
loudly exclaimed against the white people for settling in this part of
the country, which had not been legally purchased of them, but, as they
said, had been obtained by fraud.[76] The Brethren declined purchasing
any lands on which the Indian title had not been properly extinguished,
wishing to live in peace with all the Indians around them. Count
Zinzendorff happened at that time to arrive in the country; he found that
the agents of the proprietors would not pay to the Indians the price
which they asked for that tract of land; he paid them out of his private
purse, the whole of the demand which they made in the height of their ill
temper; and moreover, gave them permission to abide on the land, at their
village, (where, by the by, they had a fine large peach orchard,) as long
as they should think proper. But among those white men, who afterwards
came and settled in the neighbourhood of their tract, there were some who
were enemies to the Indians; and a young Irishman, without any cause or
provocation, murdered their good and highly respected chief, _Tademi_, a
man of such an easy and friendly address, that he could not but be loved
by all who knew him. This, together with the threats of other persons ill
disposed towards them, was the cause of their leaving the settlement on
this manor, and removing to places of greater safety.
“It is true, that when flagrant cases of this description occurred, the
government, before the revolution, issued proclamations offering rewards
for apprehending the offenders; and in later times, since the country has
become more thickly settled, those who had been guilty of such offences,
were brought before the tribunals to take their trials. But these
formalities have proved of little avail. In the first case, the criminals
were seldom, if ever, apprehended; in the second, no jury could be found
to convict them; for it was no uncommon saying among many of the men of
whom juries in the frontier counties were commonly composed, that no man
should be put to death for killing an Indian; for it was the same thing
as killing a wild beast!
“In the course of the revolutionary war, in which (as in all civil
commotions) brother was seen fighting against brother, and friend against
friend; a party of Indian warriors, with whom one of those white men,
who under colour of attachment to their king, indulged in every sort of
crimes, was giving out against the settlers on the Ohio, to kill and
destroy as they had been ordered. The chief of the expedition had given
strict orders not to molest any of the white men who lived with their
friends the Christian Indians; yet as they passed near a settlement of
these converts, the white man, unmindful of the orders he had received,
attempted to shoot two of the missionaries who were planting potatoes
in their field, and though the captain warned him to desist, he still
obstinately persisted in his attempt. The chief, in anger, immediately
took his gun from him, and kept him under guard until they had reached a
considerable distance from the place. I have received this account from
the chief himself, who on his return sent word to the missionaries that
they would do well not to go far from home as they were in too great
danger from the _white people_.
“Another white man of the same description, whom I well knew, related,
with a kind of barbarous exultation, on his return to Detroit from a war
excursion with the Indians, in which he had been engaged, that the party
with which he was, having taken a woman prisoner who had a sucking babe
at her breast, he tried to persuade the Indians to kill the child, lest
its cries should discover the place where they were; the Indians were
unwilling to commit the deed, on which the white man at once jumped up,
tore the child from its mother’s arms, and taking it by the legs dashed
its head against the tree, so that the brains flew out all around! The
monster in relating this story said: ‘the little dog all the time was
making _wee_!’ He added, that if he were sure that his old father, who
some time before had died in Old Virginia, would, if he had lived longer,
have turned rebel, he would go all the way into Virginia, raise the body,
and take off his scalp!
“Let us now contrast with this the conduct of the Indians. Carver tells
us in his travels with what moderation, humanity, and delicacy they treat
female prisoners, and particularly pregnant women.[77] I refer the reader
to the following fact, as an instance of their conduct in such cases.
If his admiration is excited by the behaviour of the Indians, I doubt
not that his indignation will be raised in an equal degree by that of a
white man who unfortunately acts a part in the story.
“A party of Delawares, in one of their excursions, during the
revolutionary war, took a white female prisoner. The Indian Chief, after
a march of several days, observed that she was ailing, and was soon
convinced (for she was far advanced in her pregnancy) that the time of
her delivery was near. He immediately made a halt on the banks of a
stream, where, _at a proper distance from the encampment_, he built for
her a close hut of peeled barks, gathered dry grass and fern to make
her a bed, and placed a blanket at the opening of the dwelling as a
substitute for a door. He then kindled a fire, placed a pile of wood near
it to feed it occasionally, and placed a kettle of water at hand where
she might easily use it. He then took her into her little infirmary,
gave her Indian medicines, with directions how to use them, and told her
to rest easy, and she might be sure that nothing should disturb her.
Having done this, he returned to his men, forbade them from making any
noise, or disturbing the sick woman in any manner, and told them that he
himself should guard her during the night. He did so; and the whole night
kept watch before her door, walking backward and forward, to be ready at
her call at any moment, in case of extreme necessity. The night passed
quietly; but in the morning, as he was walking by on the bank of the
stream, seeing him through the crevices she called to him and presented
her babe. The good chief, with tears in his eyes, rejoiced at her safe
delivery; he told her not to be uneasy, that he should lay by for a few
days, and would soon bring her some nourishing food, and some medicines
to take. Then going to his encampment he ordered all his men to go out a
hunting, and remained himself to guard the camp.”
After citing this account a modern writer observes: “forgive me, reader,
if, for a moment, I disturb the order of my extract. There is nothing
that I know within the whole scope of anecdotal history more affecting
than the present narration. How exalted was the humanity of this Indian
Chief! how refined his delicacy! how watchful and tender his care! The
pathos, though deep, is sweet; and Mr. Heckewelder has communicated the
story in a style of feeling and simplicity worthy of it. He has made us
witnesses of the transaction. We see through the darkness of the night,
the swarthy warrior walking anxiously backward and forward before the hut
of bark—the ‘little infirmary’ of the labouring woman. The morning comes;
and in the pale dawn, behold! the poor creature, pointing, in a state of
utter exhaustion to her babe, delivered in the wilderness—in night and
solitude! Yet was she not entirely without support; for, over and above
the secret aid which came to her pangs from high, see! she meets with
sympathy in a wild man, a stranger, a warrior, who melts into tears at
the sight! My heart, too, swells as I read. Bear with me——we will resume
our extract.”
“Now for the reverse of the picture. Among the men whom this chief had
under his command, was one of those white vagabonds whom I have before
described. The captain was much afraid of him, knowing him to be a bad
man; and as he had expressed a great desire to go a hunting with the
rest, he believed him gone, and entertained no fears for the woman’s
safety. But it was not long before he was undeceived. While he was gone
to a small distance to dig roots for his poor patient, he heard her
cries, and running with speed to her hut, he was informed by her that the
white man had threatened to take away her life if she did not immediately
throw her child into the river. The captain, enraged at the cruelty of
this man, and the liberty he had taken with his prisoners, hailed him as
he was running off, and told him, ‘that the moment he should miss the
child, the tomahawk should be in his head.’ After a few days this humane
chief placed the woman carefully on a horse, and they went together to
the place of their destination, the mother and the child doing well. I
have heard him relate this story, to which he added, that whenever he
should go on an excursion, he never would suffer a white man to be of his
party.
“Yet I must acknowledge that I have known an Indian Chief who had been
guilty of the crime of killing the child of a female prisoner. His name
was Glikhican. In the year 1770, he joined the congregation of the
Christian Indians; the details of his conversion are related at large
by Loskiel, in his ‘History of the Missions’.[78] Before that time he
had been conspicuous as a warrior and a counsellor, and in oratory it is
said he never was surpassed. This man having joined the French in the
year 1754 or 1755, in their war against the English, and being at that
time out with a party of Frenchmen, took, among other prisoners, a young
woman, named Rachel Abbott, from the Conegocheague settlement, who had at
her breast a sucking babe. The incessant cries of the child, the hurry
to get off, but above all, the persuasions of his _white_ companions,
induced him much against his inclination to kill the innocent creature;
while the mother in an agony of grief, and her face suffused with tears,
begged that its life might be spared. The woman, however, was brought
safe to the Ohio, where she was kindly treated and adopted, and some
years afterwards was married to a Delaware Chief of respectability, by
whom she had several children, who are now living with the Christian
Indians in Upper Canada.
“Glikhican never forgave himself for having committed this crime,
although many times, and long before his becoming a Christian, he had
begged the woman’s pardon with tears in his eyes, and received her
free and full forgiveness. In vain she pointed out to him all the
circumstances that he could have all edged to excuse the deed; in vain
she reminded him of his unwillingness at the time, and his having been in
a manner compelled to do it by his French associates; nothing that she
did say could assuage his sorrow or quiet the perturbation of his mind;
he called himself a wretch, a monster, a _coward_, (the proud feelings
of an Indian must be well understood to judge of the force of this
self-accusation,) and to the moment of his death the remembrance of this
fatal act preyed like a canker worm upon his spirits. I ought to add,
that from the time of his conversion he lived the life of a Christian,
and died as such.”
In the “Report on the condition of the Indians of Upper Canada,”
published by the Aborigines Protection Society, we find the following
statements respecting the attempts which have been made to civilize them:—
“It is an important additional fact in regard to the light in which
the Indians of North America were once looked upon, that their rights
are stipulated for in the treaty of Utrecht. But on the other hand,
modern writers on the laws of nations seem inclined to exclude them from
its benefits. And modern statesmen carry this theory further, so as
to sacrifice them by positive injustice in practice. Sir Francis Bond
Head recommended the discontinuance of payment due by treaty to certain
tribes, on the ground of those tribes being at war with our present
allies, the people of the United States; a matter undoubtedly deserving
grave consideration, in reference to the point especially raised, namely,
the supply of arms; but which also involves a question of international
rights, on this occasion much too summarily disposed of by the Canadian
governor. Lord Glenelg hesitated to adopt his recommendation, but his
lordship does not seem to have taken entirely a just view of the case.[79]
“It is strictly within the limits of truth to say, that neither the Home
government, nor the Colonial authorities have acted up to the injunctions
of those two documents of 1670, and 1763, which are unquestionably
binding to this day; and the extent to which these injunctions have been
neglected, fully accounts to us for the ruin of the Indians. That extent
is proved,
“First,—By the unjust and improvident manner in which the land of the
Indians has been dealt with by us, their insecurity of title, and their
actual removal from it in late remarkable cases under an oppressive and
fraudulent treaty, and by unjust contracts.
“Second,—By the neglect of obvious means of securing justice to Indians
in courts of law, in their participation of civil rights; and in just
regulations of trading with them. And
“Third,—By the small provision of direct means of improving the Indians,
in missions, in schools, and other institutions.
“Unquestionably the various benefits contemplated by the royal
instructions of 1670, have not been conferred: and the frauds and abuses
mentioned in the proclamation of 1760, have been repeated down to a very
late period by the government itself, instead of being repressed.
“We shall prove the unworthiness of this course of neglect and injustice,
by producing incontrovertible evidence of the capacity of the Indians
to become civilized, and of their desire to accept the elements of
civilization at our hands, as well to be gradually incorporated with the
Colonists.
“We shall also show, that numerous Colonists are anxious to promote the
civilization of the Indians.”
The undue acquisition of the Indians’ land, and encroachments upon it,
are not new; and the personal appeals of their delegates to the crown,
have been frequent. More than thirty years ago such a delegate, John
Norton, had the countenance of the late Mr. Wilberforce.[80] In 1822, the
younger Brant, and Colonel Kerr, came to London on such a mission for the
six nations. Subsequently, the Rev. Peter Jones has come over more than
once for the Mississaguas, of the river Credit, on the like errand. And
the visit of Heshtona-quet, has shewn the Indians of the river St. Clair
to be in the same danger.
Other examples might be cited, and it is believed that none have produced
proper results. The case however of the river Credit Indians, has some
favourable aspects; and it will be mentioned fully.
But these visits have exhibited Indians to the impartial English public
most favourably; and they in that respect, as well as in some others to
be mentioned hereafter, deserve particular attention.
We pass by the earlier cases of alienation of land from the Indians of
Upper Canada, amounting for example in the years 1818, 1819, and 1820, to
4,680,000 acres acquired by the government for annuities of £512.[81]
The sum due annually to these Indians from the crown for lands acquired
from them; was stated in the “Parliamentary Papers” of 1834, at £5106
currency, or £4426 sterling.[82]
Those earlier cases, appear to be more remarkable for general neglect
of a proper system of treatment of the Indians, than for any extreme
oppression and injustice in the bargains made. They did not involve the
REMOVAL of the Indians from the unimproved land sold, and still less the
alienation of their improvements and forms. On the contrary, in the year
1823, a general reform of the old system was very seriously contemplated
by the Secretary of State of that time, Earl Bathurst. One of the
Sub-Committee was in fact employed by the Secretary of State in 1823, to
draw up a general plan for that reform, which had the approbation of the
late Bishop of Quebec, the Honourable Dr. Stuart. But it was not acted
upon.
Before 1828, however, a reform was begun by the government, in addition
to what had been long doing usefully by the Moravians, the New England
Company, and other societies. It was pursued during eight or nine years
with great success, although the plan was defective in several material
points.
The character of what was accomplished may be inferred from the following
extracts from the Parliamentary papers of 1834, No. 617.
In 1828, General Darling reported to Earl Dalhousie as follows on the
subject:—
The Mississaquas of Rice Lake, consisting of 317 souls, and the Mohawks
of Bay of Quinti, and the Rice Lake have recently been converted to
Christianity by the Methodist society, who have introduced missionaries
among the Indians here, and in every part of Upper Canada, where they
have been able to obtain a footing. These missionaries come chiefly
from the United States, and belong to the “Canada Conference Missionary
Society,” auxiliary to the “Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of the State of New York,” from which they receive a small salary,
seldom exceeding £40 a year. It is undoubted that they have done some
good, by influencing the Indians to embrace Christianity, and have
inculcated the first principles of civilization, particularly in the
tribes now under consideration, which shows itself in the desire which
they have expressed to be collected in a village, and have lands allotted
them for cultivation.
The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinti were separated from the Mohawk nation
about the year 1784, and settled in the Bay of Quinti; amongst these are
some becoming tolerable farmers. They have in many instances assumed the
dress of the European, which is sometimes mixed with their native attire,
presenting a curious compound of barbarism and civilization.
_Chippawas under the Chief Yellow head._—These Indians amount, upon an
average, to 550 souls; they occupy the lands about Lake Simcoe, Holland
River, and the unsettled county in the rear of York. They have expressed
a strong desire to be admitted to Christianity, and to adopt the habits
of civilized life; in these respects they may be classed with the
Mississaquas of the Bay of Quinti, and Rice Lake, but are at present in a
more savage state.
_Mississaquas of the Credit._—The present state of this tribe, amounting
to 180 souls, who were lately notorious for drunkenness and debauchery,
affords, in my humble opinion, the strongest encouragement to extend
to the other tribes now disposed to Christianity and civilization, the
experiment that has been tried by his Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland,
with every promise of success with these Mississaquas.
They are now settled in a delightful spot on the banks of the Credit,
about sixteen miles from York, in a village consisting of twenty
substantial log huts, eighteen feet by twenty-four, having an upper story
or garret to each. They have a school-house for the boys (in which is
combined decent arrangement for the performance of divine service, which
is regularly attended,) and another for the girls.
The progress made in the former is highly creditable to the
superintendent, considering the short time it has been established. I
found it attended by thirty-one boys, mostly very young, who spelt and
read fluently in English; they also answered several questions which I
put to them promiscuously from the church catechism, and sung a hymn,
remarkable for the loyalty of its sentiments. Finding the houses built
for them too few for their numbers, they have added some of their own
construction similar to those first erected.
They have two enclosures of about seven acres of wheat, and a field on
the banks of the river, containing about thirty-five acres of Indian
corn, in a promising state of cultivation. A small plot is attached to
each house for their potatoes or other garden stuff.
The expense of these buildings has not exceeded, I believe, £14 currency
each, say £250 sterling on the whole. A respectable Englishman, now a
Methodist missionary, who receives a pension from the British government
for the loss of an arm in the late war, when he served in the provincial
marine of Upper Canada, resides amongst these Indians, and as his
feelings towards Great Britain have been well tried, there is every
reason to hope that his exertions for the perfect civilization of his
flock will be crowned with success.
_Mohawks and the Six Nations._—Under 2000 souls are settled on the banks
of the Ouse, or Grand River, a fine and fertile tract of country, which
was purchased from the Chippawas (the Aborigines) exclusively from them
when they were brought to this country from the Mohawk River, in the
State of New York, at the termination of the revolutionary American war.
The proclamation of Sir F. Haldimand, which constitutes, I believe, their
only title, allots them “six miles deep from each side of the river,
beginning at Lake Erie, and extending in that proportion to the head of
the river.”
They are now considered as having retained about 260,000 acres of
land, mostly of the best quality. Their possessions were formerly more
extensive, but large tracts of land have been sold by them, with the
permission of his majesty’s government; the monies arising from which
sales were either founded in England, or lent on interest in this
country. The proceeds amount to about £1500 per annum.
The principal village, or Mohawk Castle, as it is called, consists now of
half a dozen miserable huts, scattered without any order, and a paltry
church.
The town was formerly more respectable; but the increasing scarcity of
fuel in its neighbourhood, and the fine quality of the soil, induced
them by degrees to separate and settle on the bank of the river, where
they cultivate the ground in companies or bands, a certain number of
families divided amongst them the produce of certain numbers of acres.
Their knowledge of farming is exceedingly limited, being chiefly confined
to the cultivation of Indian corn, beans and potatoes; but those of more
industrious habits follow the example of their white neighbours, and have
separate farms, on which they raise most kind of English grain.
Were I to offer to your lordship all the observations which appear to
me worthy of attention respecting these ancient allies of his majesty,
this report would assume the character of a history and far exceed the
expected limits. I hasten, therefore, to submit a statement, which has
been compiled with great attention, showing their present possessions in
houses, horses, cattle, &c.; viz.
Dwelling-houses 416
Computed number of acres of land in cultivation 6872
Horses 738
Cows 869
Oxen 613
Sheep 192
Swine 1630
I have already adverted to the introduction of Methodist Missionaries and
teachers amongst the Indians of Upper Canada, several of whom are found
in this neighbourhood.
There is also an English Protestant Missionary, lately sent out from
London by the New England Corporation, a young man whose zeal and
devotion to the cause in which he has embarked promise the best results,
the Indians giving in all cases the preference to whatever is given or
recommended by their great father, to whatever comes from any other
quarter. In earnest of their disposition to profit by and assist the
labours of this minister, they have readily agreed, on my recommendation,
to allot one hundred acres of land to each school that may be established
on the Grand River, under his direction.
I submit, with all deference, whether it is not worthy the liberality of
the British government to encourage the disposition now shown generally
amongst the resident Indians of the province, to shake off the rude
habits of savage life, and to embrace Christianity and civilization.
It appears to me that this would not be attended with much expence. A
small sum, by way of salary, to a schoolmaster wherever a school may be
formed, say four or five in the whole, a trifling addition to the salary
of the present missionary, who is paid by a society, and of a second if
appointed, which I believe is contemplated by the Lord Bishop of the
diocese; and some aid in building school houses.
There are Chippawas who have prayed urgently for a missionary and
schoolmaster to be sent amongst them.
_Of the attempts which have been made to civilize the American Indians._
The Indians of America owe very few obligations to the white people that
have settled among them. The latter have endeavoured to exterminate the
former, and by violence or fraud, to get possession of their territories.
They have slaughtered a great part of the American Aborigines in open
war, endeavoured to enslave the rest, and multiplied so rapidly, and
spread themselves so regularly over the face of the transatlantic world,
as to render the Indian mode of procuring subsistence exceedingly
precarious. “While the diminution of their supplies” observes a writer
in the _Edinburgh Review_ “was thus sowing the seeds of decay, the
lessons which they learnt from their new neighbours, drunkenness and
other excesses, with several diseases which they imported, tended to
accelerate their utter extinction. It appeared indeed quite obvious, that
if the Indians did not, by imitating the whites learn new habits and
occupations, their race in a few years would be completely destroyed.”
“From these considerations a duty devolved upon the European settlers,
which several bodies of men in the United States, seem to have felt
extremely urgent. They were called upon to contribute as much as lay
in their power towards the alleviation of the sufferings which their
own increased prosperity was daily entailing upon the original and
rightful proprietors of the country. They were called upon to prevent,
if possible, the utter extinction of a race, which their own progress
in wealth and in numbers, was constantly depriving of the means of
subsistence. Accordingly, various plans were adopted with this view,
sometimes by the government, sometimes by individuals, and public bodies.
Pensions were granted to certain tribes, whose hunting had been destroyed
by the clearing of the forests. Such a relief, unaccompanied by any
change in their character and habits, was at best but temporary, and,
in the end, rather did evil than good; for the same people who bestowed
the annuity, had taught the Indians to drink, and continued to supply
them with spirituous liquors: the temptations of which, those savages
had not fortitude to resist. Another means adopted, with somewhat more
wisdom, was the employment of missionaries among them, for the purpose
of converting and instructing them. But this plan was involved in one
radical mistake, and was also injudiciously pursued. The Indians had a
religion of their own, to which, as the inheritance of their ancestors,
they were strongly attached. The evils of their situation lay not in the
errors of their faith, but of their practice. They might be converted
to Christianity, without leaving off the habits of the hunting state;
and it by no means followed, that their growth in grace must be attended
with a proportionate improvement in the arts of common life. Yet the
missionary scheme hinged entirely on religious points. Its object was to
send a multitude of preachers among the Indians; to preach them, not out
of their ignorance and idleness, but out of their theological errors; to
convert them, not to the life of husbandmen and shepherds, but to the
knowledge of the life to come. Add to this, that the missionaries who
could be found, in a country so little prone to any but commercial and
agricultural labours as America, were necessarily zealots; persons of
narrow views; ignorant and superstitious, and ill natured; and, in the
affairs of this world, idle. They had no success at all. They preached
the gospel to men already satisfied with their spiritual condition, and
only anxious for food and raiment; they despised and intolerantly cried
down all the notions held sacred by a people as prejudiced and bigoted
as themselves; they recommended sobriety as a religious duty, to men
whose former faith did not prohibit the use of strong liquors, and whose
tastes all point to bodily intoxication as a greater blessing than the
holy raptures of their new instructors. Thus the missionaries always
quarrelled with their flocks, and made but few converts; nor among these
produced any real improvement.
“The instruction of the Indians in schools, among the Europeans settled
at the great towns, was another method which was adopted with the same
view, and with no better success. After receiving in part the education,
and in whole the vices of civilized life, those pupils returned to their
naked and hunting brethren, from corruption the most profligate, and from
necessity the most idle, members of the Indian community. They found a
society in the woods, to which they originally belonged by blood, but for
the manners and pursuits of which they had been altogether incapacitated
by education. We need go no further, to illustrate the absurdity of this
plan of inoculating the Indian tribes with civilization, than the remarks
of a person in this predicament. He had been educated at Prince town; and
upon being asked by an American commandant in the neighbourhood of his
tribe, why his countrymen continued so perversely addicted to a savage
life, he replied: ‘it is natural that we should follow the footsteps of
our forefathers; and when you white people undertake to divert us from
this path, you teach us to eat, drink, dress, and write like yourselves,
and then turn us loose, to beg, starve, or seek our native forests,
without alternative; and, outlawed from your society, we curse you for
the feelings you have taught us, and resort to excess, that we may forget
you.’
“Such having been the necessary consequence of the feeble and ill-planned
attempts, both of government and other societies, to civilize the
Indians, we had begun to despair of ever seeing this laudable undertaking
prosper. Men seemed resolved (as appears from the foregoing statement,
which we have prefixed to the present article, as a proper introduction)
to begin at the wrong end, and to neglect the only plain and simple
method by which these savage tribes ever can be reclaimed from their
barbarism, or made the partakers, and not the victims of the civilization
that surrounds them. Happily our fears have proved groundless. The people
called Quakers, a society in many respects by far the most meritorious
and amiable among our religious sects, seems to have solved the problem;
and, by a close attention to the principles above sketched out, they
appear to have laid a very solid foundation for the rapid civilization of
those unhappy natives. The little tract now before us, contains a plain
unvarnished detail of their benevolent and most judicious proceedings. It
was printed originally at Philadelphia, and is now reprinted in London.
We trust it will meet with due attention, as it is, in fact, one of the
most interesting publications which has appeared of late years. We shall
now present our readers with a short account of what the Quakers have
done. The scene of their operations was among the Indians of the Five
Nations, who inhabit a tract of country about three hundred miles North
West, from Philadelphia; and of these nations, the experiments now to be
described, were performed on the Oneidas and Senecas.
“The Quakers appear to have proceeded upon the fundamental assumption
that the only means of civilizing those tribes, and indeed of preserving
their existence, must be sought in a well planned attempt to reclaim
them from the precarious and idle life of hunters. For this purpose,
they conceived that the settlement of a few missionaries among them was
absolutely necessary. But the missionaries, whom they choose, were not
preachers; they were artizans, carpenters, blacksmiths, and ploughmen.
They likewise imagined that a very small number of such persons, chosen
for their quiet conduct and industrious regular habits, and sent to
settle among the Indians without parade or pomp, would do more good than
the most splendid scheme of colonization, by means of the greatest and
wealthiest body of settlers. Example was to be their great engine—and
example, they well knew, works slowly, gradually, and quietly.
“Proceeding upon these principles, they waved, for the present, every
idea of converting the Indians to Christianity. The remarks of the
committee, to whose care we owe this publication, are particularly
judicious and enlightened on this point. ‘It is probable,’ they observe,
‘that some readers may think every scheme of civilization defective, that
does not immediately attempt to plant Christianity. Of the infinite value
of Christianity, our Pensylvanians are doubtless aware; but here, though
not directly acting the part of missionaries, they are preaching religion
by example; and are probably preparing the Indians, by more means than
one, for the reception and acknowledgment of the gospel.’
“Their first step was to address circular letters to the different tribes
in 1796, accompanied by one from the executive government of the United
States, expressive of its approbation. The letters merely contained an
offer to instruct such as should apply to them, in husbandry. The Oneidas
were the only tribe that at first made the application; and accordingly
three Quakers repaired to their country, and settled there. At first, the
natives were quite averse to labour of every kind; and the Quakers only
cultivated their own ground, and worked a saw-mill for themselves. By
degrees their example had its effect, and the use of the saw-mill became
familiar to the tribe. In winter they opened a school for the children;
and in summer they found the Indians beginning to assist their wives in
cultivating little pieces of ground; a labour which had formerly devolved
entirely on the latter. The want of a blacksmith being very greatly felt,
a Quaker of that profession volunteered his services to settle there;
and his wife accompanied him, to instruct the Indian girls. A number
of the young men were hired and boarded by the Quakers, to assist them
in working. The spirit of labour and taste for husbandry became more
prevalent; the blacksmith’s work was generally attended to; the women
learned to sew and spin. Implements of husbandry were judiciously and
sparingly distributed. The use of these was acquired, and, in 1799, the
natives began to clear lands for themselves, and sow wheat.
“Having proceeded thus far in reclaiming the tribe from the hunting
state, and its attendant misery and idleness, an incident occurred, which
displays in a remarkable manner, the happy mixture of judgment with which
the promoters of this admirable plan tempered their zeal. The whites
of other sects had not failed to spread abroad stories unfavourable to
the scheme of the Quakers; and the Indians, naturally mistrustful, like
all savages, began to entertain suspicions that these surmises were
well founded. They knew that the labours of the Quakers must have cost
money; and, as they never before saw any example of Europeans working for
nothing, they suspected that the new settlers had a design of making a
permanent establishment, and then laying claim to their lands. As soon as
this notion came to the ears of the Quakers, they resolved to withdraw
instantly, and leave the natives in the natural course of improvement,
to benefit by the civilization which they had already planted among
them. After a residence of three years, therefore, they disclosed
their intentions in a council of the nation, and they left the place,
accompanied by the unanimous thanks and good wishes of those rude tribes.
A similar instance of suspicion afterwards occurred, and it was allayed
with equal judgment. The Indians of another tribe having received many
benefits from them, were afraid lest repayment should be demanded at some
future time. A speedy and frank explanation from men whose honesty they
never had even reason to doubt, at once allayed these apprehensions.
“The observations of what had been done among the Oneidas, induced the
Senecas to send an invitation, requesting a similar assistance from the
society. Three Quakers immediately repaired thither: they were welcomed
with great joy; and thanks were given by the nation to the Great Spirit,
for their safe arrival among them. Here, as in every other hunting tribe,
the women and girls are left to the labour of rearing such vegetables as
their husbandry affords, and in hewing timber for fuel. The chase, and
amusements of different sorts, occupied the men and boys. The Quakers
exhorted them constantly to give up such practices; and never failed to
set before them, in the strongest light, the necessity both of general
industry and temperance; a virtue almost unknown among the Indians at
the commencement of the Quaker missions. The progress of improvement in
the arts and comforts of life, uniformly kept pace with the disuse of
spirituous liquors; and the speeches and other communications of thanks
from the chiefs of the tribe, to the society and its emissaries, never
fail to mark the state of morals, and especially of sobriety among the
natives. The sketch of improvement given above, relative to the Oneidas,
is also applicable to its history among the Senecas. But we shall be
excused for extracting the following discourse, delivered by the Quakers
to those Indians, in a council. It is, in our apprehension, the right
model of a right missionary sermon. We shall also subjoin the answer of
the chief:—
“‘Brothers,—It has afforded us satisfaction, in passing through your
town, to notice marks of industry taking place; that you are building
better and warmer houses to live in; and that so much of your cleared
land is planted with corn, beans, potatoes, &c.; and to see these
articles kept in good order.
“‘Brothers,—We observe, where your new houses are building, that the
timber is very much cut off a rich flat, which we wish you encouraged to
clear and make fit for ploughing. We hope more of your men will assist in
clearing and fencing land, and planting it with corn; also sowing it with
wheat; you will then have a supply of provision, more certain to depend
upon than hunting.
“‘Brothers,—We are pleased to see your stock of cattle increased. The
rich bottoms on the river will be plenty for them to live on in the
summer season; but, as your winters are long and cold, it will require
something for them to live on in the winter. The white people keep their
cattle on hay, on straw, and on corn fodder. Straw you cannot get, until
you have raised wheat or other grain; the rich bottoms, if put in order,
would produce a great deal of hay. But, for an immediate supply, we
think, that, as soon as you gather the corn, if you would cut the stalks
close at the ground, bind them up in small bundles, and put them in
stacks, as our young men do, they would keep your cattle part of the cold
weather.
“‘Brothers,—We are pleased to see a quantity of fence made this summer,
and we would not have you discouraged at the labour it takes; for, if you
will clear a little more land every year, and fence it, you will soon get
enough to raise what bread you want, as well as some for grass, to make
hay for your cattle in winter.
“‘Brothers,—We understand you are desirous to discourage whiskey from
being brought among you, with which we are much pleased, and should be
glad you could entirely keep it away. To get it, you give your money,
with which you should buy clothing, oxen, &c.’
“The Indians were also informed that one of the young men, who had been
there since the settlement was first formed, (about sixteen months)
appeared most uneasy to leave them, and return to his friends before
winter. They hoped another would supply his place.
“Cornplanter, on behalf of the nation, made a reply, in substance as
follows:—
“‘That, when our young friends first settled among them, many of his
chiefs were averse to it; but they had this summer several councils among
themselves respecting the young men, and all the chiefs seeing their good
conduct and readiness to assist Indians, were now well satisfied. He
hoped, several of his young men would do more at farming than heretofore;
and friends must not be discouraged because so little was done; but
exercise patience towards them, as it was hard for them to make much
change from their ancient customs. He regretted the loss of the friend
who expected to leave them soon; he said he had been useful to him in
keeping whisky, and other strong liquors, out of the town; that they now
drank much less than formerly; but feared, when the friend was gone, he
should keep it away so well as he had lately done.’ p.p. 18, 21.
“We add the following passage, as an interesting account of the progress,
in one of the grand circumstances which distinguishes the civilized from
the barbarous state of society.
“‘In the ninth month of this year, (Sept. 1801), three of the committee
visited the settlement, being accompanied by a young friend, a
blacksmith, who went to instruct some of the Indians in that useful
and necessary occupation. Two of the visitors had been there before.
The preceding spring, the Indians first began to use a plough; and the
men performed the labour with a little instruction and assistance from
friends. They took a very cautious method of determining whether it was
likely to be an advantageous change for them or not. Several parts of a
very large field were ploughed; and the intermediate spaces prepared by
their women with the hoe, according to ancient custom. It was all planted
with corn; and the parts ploughed besides the great saving of labour,
produced much the heaviest crop; the stalks being more than a foot
higher, and proportionably stouter, than those on the hoed ground. The
corn was now ripe and gathering in; and as their stock of cattle was much
increased, instead of letting the stalks and leaves perish on the ground
as heretofore, they preserved them for winter fodder. Several of them
had mown grass, and made small stacks of hay; and they had made a fence
about two miles long, which encloses the lower town, and a large body of
adjacent land fronting on the river; also several other fences within it,
to separate the corn ground from the pasture, &c.
“‘The cabins which they used to live in, were generally either gone to
decay, or pulled down. Most of them had built good log houses, with
shingled roofs, and some of them with stone chimneys.
“‘With the exception of houses and fences, the improvements at
Jeneshadago did not bear a comparison with the upper settlements, where
the Indians lived more scattered. Their thus settling separate and
detached from each other, was already manifestly more to their advantage
than living together in villages. A chief, who is not ashamed to be seen
at work by the women of his own family, would be probably much mortified,
were he discovered by a number of females, who, on such occasions, do
not always refrain from ridicule. Yet this false shame on the part of
the men, and ridicule of the women, is wearing away, in proportion as
they become familiarized to each other’s assistance in their little
agricultural labours.
“‘Friends requested a council with the chief women of the Jeneshadago
town, which was readily granted, when they were favoured to make some
communications pertinent to their situation. The women expressed their
thankfulness to the Great Spirit for affording them this council; the
words, they said, had sunk deep into their hearts, and they hoped would
never be forgotten by them. Cornplanter and his brother Conedieu were
present.
“‘The Indians were become very sober, generally refraining from the use
of strong drink, both at home and when abroad among the white people. One
of them observed to our committee, “no more bark cabin, but good houses;
no more get drunk now this two year.”’—p.p. 24, 25, 26.
“We shall only add one proof more of the progress which industry had
made among these tribes, by the laborious and judicious example of the
Quakers. A single tribe had formed a road of twenty-two miles in length;
and a few families, in one place, had cleared and fenced sixty acres of
good land.
“It is impossible to contemplate the signal success which has attended
these experiments, without remarking that it was owing in part to the
character of the Quakers, as well as to the wisdom of the plans which
they here adopted. The general reputation of that sect for peacefulness
and honesty, and the quiet manner of those whom they sent to reside
among the Indians, could not fail to disarm any repugnance of the savage
natives towards strangers, and to conciliate their confidence and esteem.
Even their taciturnity was favourable to the end in view. ‘Your young
men,’ said a chief in one of their councils, ‘do not talk much to us,
but when they do, they speak what is good, and have been very helpful in
keeping us from using spirituous liquors.’ Their punctual performance of
engagements, and the regularity of all their habits had the same good
effects in gaining the respect of the Indians. ‘Brothers,’ said they,
in a conference which had been held for the purpose of explaining some
differences, ‘Brothers, we are well satisfied with your conduct towards
us. You have always done what you promised.’ We subjoin the following
anecdote as illustrative of the influence which the character of the sect
has had on the success of their experiment and as interesting in itself.
‘In the evening, when friends were sitting with the chief warrior, he
said he wished to ask them a question, but was almost afraid. They
desired him to speak, and they would give him such information as they
were able. It was, Do the Quakers keep any slaves? He was told they did
not. He said he was very glad to hear it; for if they had kept any, he
could not think so well of them as he now did. That he had been at the
city of Washington last winter, on business of the nation, and found many
white people kept blacks in slavery, and used them no better than horses.’
“From these causes, as well as from the admirable discretion and sound
sense which directed the formation of these plans, this small society
of Quakers have, at an expence inconceiveably trifling, secured the
civilization of the Indian tribes, and laid the foundation of their
entire conversion to the state of peaceful and industrious husbandmen,
from that of wandering and turbulent and idle hunters. The missionaries
left those children of their care mutually satisfied with the progress
and result of their labours. For the first time Europeans had resided
amongst them with no interested ends in view; for the first time they had
learnt no bad lesson, and received no injury from intercourse with more
polished communities; for the first time since the voyage of Columbus,
a stranger and a friend became compatible appellations—the natural
antipathy to new faces vanished in the course of further acquaintance—and
he who had been welcomed with distrust, was only suffered to depart with
tears. The Indian tribes view the departure of the Quaker missionaries as
a national calamity, and are not afraid to consult with their society on
all matters of general import.”[83]
The success which attended the benevolent exertions of the Quakers,
affords demonstrable proof of the possibility of reclaiming the American
Aborigines from the savage state. It must not, however, be supposed
that the efforts of other missionaries have been equally successful;
nor ought the reader to conclude that even the efforts of the Quakers
were productive of any considerable and abiding change in the condition
of the red men. However anxious we may be for the civilization of the
American Savages, there is no historic fact more certain than that
they are not yet civilized. Missionaries and preachers are not the men
likely to produce any great change in the condition of these children of
nature. That the efforts of the missionaries have, in most cases, proved
ineffectual, the following letter from an Indian Chief will abundantly
show:—