phlegmatic disposition, and you must know them for some time before you
can be persuaded to the contrary. If you shew them any artificial
production which pleases them, they simply tell you, with seeming
indifference, “that it is pretty;” “that they like to look at it;” “that
it is a clever invention:” nor do they testify their satisfaction and
pleasure by emotions seemingly much warmer in their nature, on beholding
any new or surprising spectacle, or on hearing any happy piece of
intelligence. The performances at the amphitheatre at Philadelphia,
though unquestionably highly interesting to them, never drew forth from
them, I observed, more than a smile or a gentle laugh, followed by a
remark in a low voice to their friend sitting next to them. With equal
indifference do they behold any thing terrible, or listen to the
accounts of any dreadful catastrophe that has befallen their families or
their nation. This apathy, however, is only assumed, and certainly does
not proceed from a real want of feeling: no people on earth are more
alive to the calls of friendship; no people have a greater affection for
their offspring in their tender years; no people are more sensible of an
injury: a word in the slighted degree insulting will kindle a flame in
their breasts, that can only be extinguished by the blood of the
offending party; and they will traverse forests for hundreds of miles,
exposed to the inclemency of the severest weather, and to the pangs of
hunger, to gratify their revenge; they will not cease for years daily to
visit, and silently to mourn over the grave of a departed child; and
they will risk their lives, and sacrifice every thing they possess, to
assist a friend in distress; but at the same time, in their opinion, no
man can be esteemed a good warrior or a dignified character that openly
betrays any extravagant emotions of surprise, of joy, of sorrow, or of
fear, on any occasion whatsoever. The excellence of appearing thus
indifferent to what would excite the strongest emotions in the minds of
any other people, is forcibly inculcated on them from their earliest
youth; and such an astonishing command do they acquire over themselves,
that even at the stake, when suffering the severest tortures that can be
inflicted on the human body by the flames and the knife, they appear
unmoved, and laugh, as it is well known, at their tormentors.
This affected apathy on the part of the Indians makes them appear
uncommonly grave and reserved in the presence of strangers; in their own
private circles, however, they frequently keep up gay and sprightly
conversations; and they are possessed, it is said, of a lively and ready
turn of wit. When at such a place as Philadelphia, notwithstanding their
appearing so indifferent to every thing before them whilst strangers are
present, yet, after having retired by themselves to an apartment for the
night, they will frequently lit up for hours together, laughing and
talking of what they have seen in the course of the day. I have been
told by persons acquainted with their language, that have overheard
their discourse on such occasions, that their remarks are most
pertinent, and that they sometimes turn what has passed before them into
such ludicrous points of view, that it is scarcely possible to refrain
from laughter.
But though the Indians, in general, appear so reserved in the presence
of strangers, yet the firmness of their dispositions forbids them from
ever appearing embarrassed, and they would sit down to table in a
palace, before the first crowned head on the face of the earth, with as
much unconcern as they would sit down to a frugal meal in one of their
own cabins. They deem it highly becoming in a warrior, to accommodate
his manners to those of the people with whom he may happen to be, and as
they are wonderfully observant, you will seldom perceive any thing of
awkwardness or vulgarity in their behaviour in the company of strangers.
I have seen an Indian, that had lived in the woods from his infancy,
enter a drawing room in Philadelphia, full of ladies, with as much ease
and as much gentility as if he had always lived in the city, and merely
from having been told, preparatory to his entering, the form usually
observed on such occasions. But the following anecdote will put this
matter in a stronger point of view.
[Sidenote: ANECDOTE.]
Our friend Nekig, the Little Otter, had been invited to dine with us at
the house of a gentleman at Detroit, and he came accordingly,
accompanied by his son, a little boy of about nine or ten years of age.
After dinner a variety of fruits were served up, and amongst the rest
some peaches, a dish of which was handed to the young Indian. He helped
himself to one with becoming propriety; but immediately afterwards he
put the fruit to his mouth, and bit a piece out of it. The father eyed
him with indignation, and spoke some words to him in a low voice, which
I could not understand, but which, on being interpreted by one of the
company, proved to be a warm reprimand for his having been so deficient
in observation as not to peel his peach, as he saw the gentleman
opposite to him had done. The little fellow was extremely ashamed of
himself; but he quickly retrieved his error, by drawing a plate towards
him, and pealing the fruit with the greatest neatness.
Some port wine, which he was afterwards helped to, not being by any
means agreeable to his palate, the little fellow made a wry face, as a
child might naturally do, after drinking it. This called forth another
reprimand from the father, who told him, that he despaired of ever
seeing him a great man or a good warrior if he appeared then to dislike
what his host had kindly helped him to. The boy drank the rest of his
wine with seeming pleasure.
The Indians scarcely ever lift their hands against their children; but
if they are unmindful of what is said to them, they sometimes throw a
little water in their faces, a species of reprimand of which the
children have the greatest dread, and which produces an instantaneous
good effect. One of the French missionaries tells us of his having seen
a girl of an advanced age so vexed at having some water thrown in her
face by her mother, as if she was still a child, that she instantly
retired, and put an end to her existence. As long as they remain
children, the young Indians are attentive in the extreme to the advice
of their parents; but arrived at the age of puberty, and able to provide
for themselves, they no longer have any respect for them, and they will
follow their own will and pleasure in spite of all their remonstrances,
unless, indeed, their parents be of an advanced age. Old age never fails
to command their most profound veneration.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
No people are possessed of a greater share of natural politeness than
the Indians: they will never interrupt you whilst you are speaking; nor,
if you have told them any thing which they think to be false, will they
bluntly contradict you; “We dare say brother,” they will answer, “that
you yourself believe what you tell us to be true; but it appears to us
so improbable that we cannot give our assent to it.”
In their conduct towards one another nought but gentleness and harmony
is observable. You are never witness, amongst them, to such noisy broils
and clamorous contentions as are common amongst the lower classes of
people in Europe; nor do you perceive amongst them any traces of the
coarse vulgar manners of these latter people; they behave on all
occasions like gentlemen, and could not so many glaring proofs be
adduced to the contrary, you never could imagine that they were that
ferocious savage people in war which they are said to be. It must be
understood, however, that I only speak now of the Indians in their sober
state; when intoxicated with spirits, which is but too often the case, a
very different picture is presented to our view, and they appear more
like devils incarnate than human beings; they roar, they fight, they cut
each other, and commit every sort of outrage; indeed so sensible are
they of their own infirmities in this state, that when a number of them
are about to get drunk, they give up their knives and tomahawks, &c. to
one of the party, who is on honour to remain sober, and to prevent
mischief, and who generally does behave according to this promise. If
they happen to get drunk without having taken this precaution, their
squaws take the earliest opportunity to deprive them of their weapons.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
The Indians prefer whiskey and rum to all other spirituous liquors; but
they do not seem eager to obtain these liquors so much for the pleasure
of gratifying their palates as for the sake of intoxication. There is
not one in a hundred that can refrain from drinking to excess if he have
it in his power; and the generality of them having once got a taste of
any intoxicating liquor, will use every means to gain more; and to do so
they at once become mean, servile, deceitful, and depraved, in every
sense of the word. Nothing can make amends to these unfortunate people
for the introduction of spirituous liquors amongst them. Before their
acquaintance with them, they were distinguished beyond all other nations
for their temperance in eating and drinking; for their temperance in
eating, indeed, they are still remarkable; they esteem it indecorous in
the highest degree even to appear hungry; and on arriving at their
villages, after having fasted, perhaps, for several days preceding, they
will sit down quietly, and not ask for any food for a considerable time;
and having got wherewith to satisfy their appetite, they will eat with
moderation, as though the calls of hunger were not more pressing than if
they had feasted the hour before. They never eat on any occasion in a
hurry.
The Indians are by nature of a very hospitable generous disposition,
where no particular circumstances operate to the contrary; and, indeed,
even when revenge would fain persuade them to behave differently, yet
having once professed a friendship for a stranger, and pledged
themselves for his safety, nothing can induce them to deviate from their
word. Of their generosity I had numberless proofs in the presents which
they gave me; and though it must be allowed, that when they make
presents they generally expect others in return, yet I am convinced,
from the manner in which they presented different trifles to me, that it
was not with an expectation of gaining more valuable presents in return
that they gave them to me, but merely through friendship. It is
notorious, that towards one another they are liberal in the extreme, and
for ever ready to supply the deficiencies of their neighbours with any
superfluities of their own. They have no idea of amassing wealth for
themselves individually; and they wonder that persons can be found in
any society, so destitute of every generous sentiment, as to enrich
themselves at the expence of others, and to live in ease and affluence,
regardless of the misery and wretchedness of members of the same
community to which they themselves belong. Their dresses, domestic
utensils, and weapons, are the only articles of property to which they
lay an exclusive claim; everything else is the common property of the
tribe, in promoting the general welfare in which every individual feels
himself deeply interested. The chiefs are actuated by the same laudable
spirit, and instead of being the richest, are, in many instances, the
poorest persons in the community; for whilst others have leisure to
hunt, &c. it frequently happens that the whole of their time is occupied
in settling the public affairs of the nation.
[Sidenote: REMARKS.]
The generality of the Indian nations appear to have two sorts of chiefs;
council chiefs, and war chiefs. The former are hereditary, and are
employed principally in the management of their civil affairs; but they
may be war chiefs at the same time: the latter are chosen from amongst
those who have distinguished themselves the most in battle, and are
solely employed in leading the warriors in the field. The chiefs have no
power of enforcing obedience to their commands, nor do they ever attempt
to give their orders in an imperious manner; they simply advise. Each
private individual conceives that he is born in a state of perfect
liberty, and he disdains all controul, but that which his own reason
subjects him to. As they all have one interest, however, at heart, which
is the general welfare of the nation, and as it is well known that the
chiefs are actuated by no other motives, whatever measures they
recommend are generally attended to, and at once adopted. Savages as
they are, yet in no civilized community, I fear, on earth, shall we find
the same public spirit, the same disinterestedness, and the same regard
to order, where order is not enforced by the severity of laws, as
amongst the Indians.
The Indians have the most sovereign contempt for any set of people that
have tamely relinquished their liberty; and they consider such as have
lost it, even after a hard struggle, as unworthy any rank in society
above that of old women: to this cause, and not to the difference that
subsists between their persons, is to be attributed, I conceive, the
rooted aversion which the Indians universally have for negroes. You
could not possibly affront an Indian more readily, than by telling him
that you think he bears some resemblance to a negro; or that he has
negro blood in his veins: they look upon them as animals inferior to the
human species, and will kill them with as much unconcern as a dog or a
cat.
[Sidenote: ANECDOTES.]
An American officer, who, during the war with Great Britain, had been
sent to one of the Indian nations resident on the western frontier of
the States, to persuade them to remain neuter in the contest, informed
me, that whilst he remained amongst them some agents arrived in their
village to negociate, if possible, for the release of some negro slaves
whom they had carried off from the American settlements. One of these
negroes, a remarkably tall handsome fellow, had been given to an Indian
woman of some consequence in the nation, in the manner in which
prisoners are usually disposed of amongst them. Application was made to
her for his ransom. She listened quietly to what was said; resolved at
the same time, however, that the fellow should not have his liberty, she
stepped aside into her cabin, and having brought out a large knife,
walked up to her slave, and without more ado plunged it into his bowels:
“Now,” says she, addressing herself coolly to the agents; “now I give
you leave to take away your negro.” The poor creature that had been
stabbed fell to the ground, and lay writhing about in the greatest
agonies, until one of the warriors took compassion on him, and put an
end to his misery by a blow of a tomahawk.
At Detroit, Niagara, and some other places in Upper Canada, a few
negroes are still held in bondage. Two of these hapless people
contrived, while we remained at Malden, to make their escape from
Detroit, by stealing a boat, and proceeding in the night down the river.
As the wind would not permit them to cross the lake, it was conjectured
that they would be induced to coast along the shore until they reached a
place of safety; in hopes, therefore, of being able to recover them, the
proprietor came down to Malden, and there procured two trusty Indians to
go in quest of them. The Indians, having received a description of their
persons, set out; but had scarcely proceeded an hundred yards, when one
of them, who could speak a few words of English, returned, to ask the
proprietor if he would give him permission to scalp the negroes if they
were at all refractory, or refused coming. His request was peremptorily
refused, for it was well known that, had it been granted, he would have
at once killed them to avoid the trouble of bringing them back. “Well,”
says he, “if you will not let me scalp both, you won’t be angry with me,
I hope, if I scalp one.” He was told in answer, that he must bring them
both back alive. This circumstance appeared to mortify him extremely,
and he was beginning to hesitate about going, when, sorry am I to say,
the proprietor, fearful lest the fellows should escape from him, gave
his assent to the Indian’s request, but at the same time he begged that
he would not destroy them if he could possibly avoid it. What the result
was I never learned; but from the apparent satisfaction with which the
Indian set out after he had obtained his dreadful permission, there was
every reason to imagine that one of the negroes at least would be
sacrificed.
[Sidenote: JOSEPH BRANDT.]
This indifference in the mind of the Indians about taking away the life
of a fellow creature, makes them appear, it must be confessed, in a very
unamiable point of view. I fear also, that in the opinion of many
people, all the good qualities which they possess, would but ill atone
for their revengeful disposition, and for the cruelties which, it is
well known, they sometimes inflict upon the prisoners who have fallen
into their power in battle. Great pains have been taken, both by the
French and English missionaries, to represent to them the infamy of
torturing their prisoners; nor have these pains been bestowed in vain;
for though in some recent instances it has appeared that they still
retain a fondness for this horrid practice, yet I will venture, from
what I have heard, to assert, that of late years not one prisoner has
been put to the torture, where twenty would have been a hundred years
ago. Of the prisoners that fell into their hands on St. Clair’s defeat,
I could not learn, although I made strict enquiries on the subject, that
a single man had been fastened to the stake. As soon as the defeat was
known, rewards were held out by the British officers, and others that
had influence over them, to bring in their prisoners alive, and the
greater part of them were delivered up unhurt; but to irradicate wholly
from their breasts the spirit of revenge has been found impossible. You
will be enabled to form a tolerable idea of the little good effect which
education has over their minds in this respect, from the following
anecdotes of Captain Joseph Brandt, a war chief of the Mohawk nation.
This Brandt, at a very early age, was sent to a college in New England,
where, being possessed of a good capacity, he soon made very
considerable progress in the Greek and Latin languages. Uncommon pains
were taken to instil into his mind the truths of the gospel. He
professed himself to be a warm admirer of the principles of
christianity, and in hopes of being able to convert his nation on
returning to them, he absolutely translated the gospel of St. Matthew
into the Mohawk language; he also translated the established form of
prayer of the church of England. Before Brandt, however, had finished
his course of studies, the American war broke out, and fired with that
spirit of glory which seems to have been implanted by nature in the
breast of the Indian, he immediately quitted the college, repaired to
his native village, and shortly afterwards, with a considerable body of
his nation, joined some British troops under the command of Sir John
Johnston. Here he distinguished himself by his valour in many different
engagements, and was soon raised, not only to the rank of a war chief,
but also to that of a captain in his Majesty’s service.
[Sidenote: BRANDT.]
It was not long, however, before Brandt sullied his reputation in the
British army. A skirmish took place with a body of American troops; the
action was warm, and Brandt was shot by a musquet-ball in the heel; but
the Americans in the end were defeated, and an officer with about sixty
men taken prisoners. The officer, after having delivered up his sword,
had entered into conversation with Colonel Johnston, who commanded the
British troops, and they were talking together in the most friendly
manner, when Brandt, having stolen slily behind them, laid the American
officer lifeless on the ground with a blow of his tomahawk. The
indignation of Sir John Johnston, as may readily be supposed, was roused
by such an act of treachery, and he resented it in the warmest language.
Brandt listened to him unconcernedly, and when he had finished, told
him, that he was sorry what he had done had caused his displeasure, but
that indeed his heel was extremely painful at the moment, and he could
not help revenging himself on the only chief of the party that he saw
taken. Since he had killed the officer, his heel, he added, was much
less painful to him than it had been before.
When the war broke out, the Mohawks resided on the Mohawk River, in the
state of New York, but on peace being made, they emigrated into Upper
Canada, and their principal village is now situated on the Grand River,
which falls into Lake Erie on the north side, about sixty miles from the
town of Newark or Niagara; there Brandt at present resides. He has built
a comfortable habitation for himself, and any stranger that visits him
may rest assured of being well received, and of finding a plentiful
table well served every day. He has no less than thirty or forty
negroes, who attend to his horses, cultivate his grounds, &c. These poor
creatures are kept in the greatest subjection, and they dare not attempt
to make their escape, for he has assured them, that if they did so he
would follow them himself, though it were to the confines of Georgia,
and would tomahawk them wherever he met them. They know his disposition
too well not to think that he would adhere strictly to his word.
[Sidenote: BRANDT.]
Brandt receives from government half pay as a captain, besides annual
presents, &c. which in all amount, it is said, to £.500 per annum. We
had no small curiosity, as you may well imagine, to see this Brandt, and
we procured letters of introduction to him from the governor’s
secretary, and from different officers and gentlemen of his
acquaintance, with an intention of proceeding from Newark to his
village. Most unluckily, however, on the day before that of our reaching
the town of Newark or Niagara, he had embarked on board a vessel for
Kingston, at the opposite end of the lake. You may judge of Brandt’s
consequence, when I tell you, that a lawyer of Niagara, who crossed Lake
Ontario in the same vessel with us, from Kingston, where he had been
detained for some time by contrary winds, informed us, the day after our
arrival at Niagara, that by his not having reached that place in time to
transact some law business for Brandt, and which had consequently been
given to another person, he should be a loser of one hundred pounds at
least.
Brandt’s sagacity led him, early in life, to discover that the Indians
had been made the dupe of every foreign power that had got footing in
America; and, indeed, could he have had any doubts on the subject, they
would have been removed when he saw the British, after having demanded
and received the assistance of the Indians in the American war, so
ungenerously and unjustly yield up the whole of the Indian territories,
east of the Mississippi and south of the lakes, to the people of the
United States; to the very enemies, in short, they had made to
themselves at the request of the British. He perceived with regret that
the Indians, by espousing the quarrels of the whites, and by espousing
different interests, were weakening themselves; whereas, if they
remained aloof, and were guided by the one policy, they would soon
become formidable, and be treated with more respect; he formed the bold
scheme, therefore, of uniting the Indians together in one grand
confederacy, and for this purpose sent messengers to different chiefs,
proposing that a general meeting should be held of the heads of every
tribe, to take the subject into consideration; but certain of the
tribes, suspicious of Brandt’s designs, and fearful that he was bent
upon acquiring power for himself by this measure, opposed it with all
their might. Brandt has in consequence become extremely obnoxious to
many of the most warlike, and with such a jealous eye do they now regard
him, that it would not be perfectly safe for him to venture to the upper
country.
He has managed the affairs of his own people with great ability, and
leased out their superfluous lands for them, for long terms of years, by
which measure a certain annual revenue is ensured to the nation,
probably as long as it will remain a nation. He wisely judged, that it
was much better to do so than to suffer the Mohawks, as many other
tribes had done, to sell their possessions by piecemeal, the sums of
money they received for which, however great, would soon be dissipated
if paid to them at once.
[Sidenote: BRANDT.]
Whenever the affairs of his nation shall permit him to do so, Brandt
declares it to be his intention to sit down to the further study of the
Greek language, of which he professes himself to be a great admirer, and
to translate from the original, into the Mohawk language, more of the
New Testament; yet this same man, shortly before we arrived at Niagara,
killed his only son with his own hand. The son, it seems, was a drunken
good for nothing fellow, who had often avowed his intention of
destroying his father. One evening he absolutely entered the apartment
of his father, and had begun to grapple with him, perhaps with a view to
put his unnatural threats into execution, when Brandt drew a short
sword, and felled him to the ground. Brandt speaks of this affair with
regret, but at the same time without any of that emotion which another
person than an Indian might be supposed to feel. He consoles himself for
the act, by thinking that he has benefitted the nation, by ridding them
of a rascal.
Brandt wears his hair in the Indian style, and also the Indian dress;
instead of the wrapper, or blanket, he wears a short coat, such as I
have described, similar to a hunting frock.