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[53] 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[54] 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[55] 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[56] 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:—

[57]

“‘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[58] 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]

[59]

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:—

letter from red jacket.

canandaigua, 18th. jan., 1821.

“brother parrish,

“i address myself to you, and through you to the governor.

“the chiefs of onondaga have accompanied you to albany, to do business with the governor; i also was to have been with you, but i am sorry to say that bad health has put it out of my power. for this you must not think hard of me. i am not to blame for it. it is the will of the great spirit that it should be so.

“the object of the onondagas is to purchase our lands at tonnewanta. this, and all other business that they may have to do at albany, must be transacted in the presence of the governor. he will see that the bargain is fairly made, so that all parties may have reason to be satisfied with what shall be done, and when our sanction shall be wanted to the transaction, it shall be freely given.

“i much regret that at this time the state of my health should have prevented me from accompanying you to albany, as it was the wish of the nation that i should state to the governor some circumstances, which show that the chain of friendship between us and the white people is wearing out and wants brightening.

“i proceed now, however, to lay them before you by letter, that you may mention them to the governor, and solicit redress. he is appointed to do justice to all, and the indians fully confide that he will not suffer them to be wronged with impunity.

“the first subject to which we would call the attention of the governor, is the depredations that are daily committed by the white people upon the most valuable timber on our reservations. this has been a subject of complaint with us for many years; but now, and particularly at this season of the year, it has become an alarming evil, and calls for the immediate interposition of the governor in our behalf.

“our next subject of complaint is, the frequent thefts of our horses and cattle by the white people, and their habit of taking and using them whenever they please, and without our leave. these are evils which seem to increase upon us with the increase of our white neighbours, and they call loudly for redress.

“another evil arising from the pressure of the whites upon us, and our unavoidable communication with them, is the frequency with which our chiefs, and warriors, and indians, are thrown into jail, and that too for the most trifling causes. this is very galling to our feelings, and ought not to be permitted to[60] the extent to which, to gratify their bad passions, our white neighbours now carry this practice.

“in our hunting and fishing too, we are greatly interrupted by the whites. our venison is stolen from the trees, where we have hung it to be reclaimed after the chase. our hunting camps have been fired into; and we have been warned that we shall no longer be permitted to pursue the deer in those forests which were so lately all our own. the fish, which in the buffalo and tonnewante creeks, used to supply us with food, are now by the dams and other obstructions of the white people, prevented from multiplying, and we are almost entirely deprived of that accustomed sustenance.

“our great father, the president, has recommended to our young men to be industrious, to plough and to sow. this we have done; and we are thankful for the advice, and for the means he has afforded us of carrying it into effect. we are happier in consequence of it; but another thing recommended to us, has created great confusion among us, and is making us a quarrelsome and divided people; and that is the introduction of preachers into our nation. these black-coats continue to get the consent of some of the indians to preach among us, and wherever this is the case, confusion and disorder are sure to follow, and the encroachments of the whites upon the lands, are the invariable consequence. the governor must not think hard of me for speaking thus of the preachers; i have observed their progress, and when i look back to see what has taken place of old, i perceive that whenever they came among the indians, they were the forerunners of their dispersion; that they always excited enmities and quarrels among them; that they introduced the white people on their lands, by whom they were robbed and plundered of their property; and that the indians were sure to dwindle and decrease, and be driven back in proportion to the number of preachers that came among them.

“each nation has its own customs and its own religions. the indians have theirs, given to them by the great spirit, under which they were happy. it was not intended that they should embrace the religion of the whites, and be destroyed by the attempt to make them think differently on that subject from their fathers.

“it is true these preachers have got the consent of some of the chiefs to stay and preach among us, but i and my friends know this to be wrong, and that they ought to be removed; besides we have been threatened by mr. hyde, who came among us as a school master and a teacher of our children, but has now become a black-coat, and refused to teach them any more, that unless we listen to his preaching and become christians, we shall be turned off our lands. we wish to know from the governor if this is to be so, we think he ought to be turned off our lands, and not allowed to plague us any more. we shall never be at peace while he is among us.

“we are afraid too that these preachers, by and by, will become poor, and force us to pay them for living among us and disturbing us.

“some of our chiefs have got lazy, and instead of cultivating their lands themselves, employ white people to do so. there are now eleven white families living on our reservations at buffalo; this is wrong, and ought not to be permitted. the great source of all our grievances is that the white men are among us. let them be removed, and we will be happy and contented among ourselves. we now cry to the governor for help, and hope that he will attend to our complaints, and speedily give us redress.

“red jacket.”

[61]

this letter was dictated by red jacket, and interpreted by henry obeal, in the presence of the following indians:—

“red jacket’s son, corn planter,

john cobb,

peter, young king’s brother,

tom the infant,

blue sky,

john sky,

jemmy johnson,

marcus,

big fire,

captain jemmy.”[84]

to this may be added the testimony of timothy flint, who had ample opportunities of judging of the effects of the proselyting scheme on the character of the indians.

“during my long residence,” he observes, “in the mississippi valley, i have seen them [the indians] in every point of view, when hunting, when residing in their cabins, in their permanent stations, wild and unsophisticated in the woods, in their councils and deputations, when making treaties in our towns. i have seen their wisest, bravest, and most considered; and i have seen the wretched families that hang round the large towns, to trade and to beg, intoxicated subdued, filthy, and miserable, the very outcasts of nature. i have seen much of the creeks and cherokees, whose civilization and improvement are so much vaunted. i have seen the wretched remains of the tribes on the lower mississippi, that stroll about new orleans. i have taken observations at alexandria and nachitoches of the indians of those regions, and from the adjoining country of new spain. i have resided on the arkansas, and have been conversant with its savages. while i was at st. charles, savages came down from the rocky mountains, so untamed, so unbroken to the ways of the whites, that they were said never to have eaten bread until on that trip. while i was at st. louis, a grand deputation from the northern points of the missouri, the mississippi, and the lakes, comprising a selection of their principal warriors and chiefs, to the number of 1800, was there for a length of time. they were there to make treaties and settle the relations which had been broken during the war, in which most of them had taken a part hostile to the united states. thus i have inspected the northern, the middle, and southern indians for a length of ten years, and i mention it only to prove that my opportunities of observation have been considerable, and that i do not undertake to form a judgment of their character, without at least having seen much of it.”

after thus stating the circumstances which qualified him to give an opinion on the subject of indian civilization, he asserts that the efforts of religious missionaries have not met, in the long run, with any apparent success. nor does he seem to think very differently of the result of two romanist missions, of which glowing and animated accounts were published some years ago.

“the catholics,” he observes, “have caused many to hang a crucifix around their necks, which they show as they do their medals and other ornaments; but this too often is all that they have to mark them as christians. i have conversed with many travellers that have been over the stony mountains into the great missionary settlements of st. peter and st. paul. these travellers,—and some of them were professed catholics,—unite in affirming that the converts[62] will escape from their mission whenever it is in their power, fly into their native deserts, and resume at once their old modes of life. the vast empire of the jesuits, in paraguay, has all passed away, and, we are told, the descendants of their convert indians are no way distinguished from the other savages. it strikes me that christianity is the religion of civilized man, that the savages must first be civilized, and that as there is little hope that the present generation of indians can be civilized, there is but little more that they will be christianized.”[85]

to the foregoing i will add the testimony of sir francis bond head, who, in one of his despatches to lord glenelg, thus depicts the effects which have resulted from the efforts of the missionaries.

“whenever and wherever the two races come in contact it is sure to prove fatal to the red man. however bravely for a short time he may resist our bayonets and fire arms, sooner or later he is called upon by death to submit to his decree. if we stretch forth the hand of friendship, the liquid fire it offers him to drink proves still more destructive than our wrath; and lastly if we attempt to christianize the indians, and for that sacred object congregate them in villages of substantial log houses, lovely and beautiful as such a theory appears, it is an undeniable fact, to which i unhesitatingly add my humble testimony, that as soon as the hunting season commences, the men (from warm clothes and warm houses having lost their hardihood) perish, or rather rot in numbers by consumption; whilst, as regards their women, it is impossible for any accurate observer to refrain from remarking that civilization, in spite of the pure, honest, and unremitting zeal of our missionaries, by some accursed process has blanched their babies faces; in short, our philanthropy, like our friendship, has failed in its professions.… i believe that every person of sound mind in this country, who is disinterested in their conversion, and who is acquainted with the indian character will agree

“first,—that the attempt to make farmers of the red men has been, generally speaking, a complete failure.

“second,—that congregating them for the purpose of civilization, has implanted many more vices than it has eradicated; and consequently,

“third,—the greatest kindness we can perform towards this intelligent and simple minded people, is to remove and fortify them as much as possible from any communication with the whites.”[86]

in reply to these statements, many articles have appeared in the newspapers, chiefly written by missionaries and divines who are interested in the missionary scheme, and who, we may be sure, would say nothing on the subject likely to prevent the religious from coming forward with their subscriptions. their statements, however should be received with caution, and considered with impartiality. men of comparatively weak intellect (it is not often that any other description of missionaries are sent out) and who are interested in the success of their schemes, ought not to be trusted implicitly, unless their evidence be confirmed by other authorities. in the present case the statements of the methodist and other missionaries are in direct opposition to the statements of more impartial persons, who have enjoyed equal facilities for forming an accurate judgement. though the evidence given by both sides is flatly contradictory, yet for my own part i[63] adopt that which has the sanction of the church, inasmuch as i cannot find in all the records of history, an example of lying or forgery on the part of religious men!(?) from time immemorial they have told the truth when the interest of their religion required it, and it would indeed be an anomaly if they were in the present age to depart from the course they have pursued for the last eighteen centuries.

i have now taken a survey of the principal features of character exhibited by the aborigines of america, as far as my information and as well as my ability would permit. if i could have procured mr. catlins’s travels or work on the indians, which is now in the press, while i was compiling these sketches, i should have been able to have said a great deal more respecting the manners, customs, religion, and civilization of the unhappy and oppressed red men. as that work however has not yet been published, i must endeavour to conclude this treatise with a few reflections suggested by the preceding narrative.

it must be obvious to the reader, that the character of the indians is proportionate to the associations under the influence of which they are trained. “the aborigines of america,” to use the language of timothy flint, “are a moody and musing race, whose familiarity with the wilderness renders them sullen and grave. how could they be otherwise? they are more accustomed to behold the rocks and forests and mighty rivers of the transatlantic world than those objects which excite the loquacity of mankind.” whatever some individuals may say about the inward power of “mind” and “will” and “volition” in forming the human character, it will be admitted by all who have travelled through scenes of physical majesty and grandeur, that scenery exercises an extensive influence over human beings. the sight of the mighty maranon or st lawrence rolling their immense volumes of water towards the ocean, tends to excite a feeling of sublimity, rather than that light-heartedness of spirit which vents itself in loud peals of laughter, and which is generally connected with a keen perception of the ridiculous. the north american indian is forced to associate with rocks and rivers and almost boundless forests from his infancy; he hears the tempest roll, and fancies that his manitto speaks in thunder from the clouds; and the natural consequence of this constant familiarity with the wilderness is a certain degree of gravity and sullenness in his deportment. the mode in which he is educated or trained fosters this habit, and all the circumstances around him, whether of a physical, mental, or moral description, tend to render it an element in his character. indeed if the circumstances which surround these children of the wilds, their mode of procuring a subsistence, the manner in which they are educated, the nature of their religion, and their method of waging war, be taken into account and duly considered, it will not appear surprising that they should exhibit a degree of gravity and sullenness which is seldom found among polished nations.

it is a mournful and painful truth that the whites have acted towards the savages of america in such a way as to prejudice them against the benefits and arts of civilization. the white people have robbed, plundered, and murdered the indians, thrown their chiefs into jail, and treated them as if they were made to be trampled on; and then raised the hue and cry whenever the indians attempted to retaliate. nor have the christian missionaries acted towards the unfortunate red men as became their professions of peace and philanthropy. this is evident from the letter written by red jacket, an indian chief, who was well acquainted with the conduct of the missionaries, and whose evidence is more worthy of credit than the ex parte[64] statements of these propagators of the gospel. the conduct of the whites towards the indians, the rapacity with which they have treated them, and the manner in which they have broken all their promises, presents a powerful barrier to the progress of indian civilization. the experiments of the pensylvanian quakers prove, however, that this barrier is not impassable. the same thing is evidenced by the partial success which has attended the efforts of some of the wesleyan missionaries in canada. though we ought not to give implicit credence to all that these holy men say respecting the success of their efforts, there is nevertheless good reason to believe that they have some ground for their exaggerated statements. some of the indian tribes, for a time at least, have been partially civilized; and this fact proves that their entire civilization is not impossible. but the “black-coats,” to use the language of red jacket, are not the men likely to accomplish such an undertaking. they may indeed convert the indians to christianity, and by this means inflict on them all the evils resulting from the spread of a dogmatic sectarianism; but as it regards the civilization of these savages the efforts of christian missionaries are sure to prove abortive, unless they alter their plan of operation. artizans and mechanics of upright character, faithful to their promises, and fully imbued with the “milk of human kindness,” would be the best missionaries that could be sent among the indian tribes. the example of such persons would, in a short time work wonders among the indians. the success of the quaker experiment warrants this supposition.

it may seem strange that the good people who tell such melting stories about the love of christ, as exhibited in the conduct of the converted heathen, and who publish such marvellous accounts of the unprecedented success which attends missionary exertions, ad captandum vulgus, should have met with so little success among the indians. this phenomenon, however, is not at all surprising to any one who has studied the indian character. it is agreed on all hands that whatever vices may deform the character of the indian warrior, he is in some respects characterized by a nobility of soul which is rarely met with in civilized nations. this very nobility causes him to look down upon the whites as a deceiving and treacherous race. he keeps his word sacred; if he pledges himself he performs his promise. the whites have broken almost every treaty they have made with the indians. with them political expediency obtains the mastery over justice, honour, and truth. the missionaries, too, have in many cases endeavoured to wriggle into office and to lead an idle life instead of “learning and labouring truly to get their own living, and doing their duty in that state of life unto which it hath pleased god to call them.” it is natural for men who hate injustice and detest lying, to despise the ministrations of such teachers. this appears to be one among the many causes which have prevented the efforts of the missionaries from being successful.

and truly if the indians had wisdom enough to anticipate the consequences likely to result from the success of missionary schemes, they would not only reject the ministrations of such teachers, but expel them from their territories. the “pale faces” are always dangerous to the man of america. wherever the sound of the asiatic gospel has been heard, the roar of the european cannon has speedily followed. brandy, small pox, and the gospel, are the three principal blessings we have given to the red men. the consequences resulting from the two former, have been more extensive than those resulting from the latter. the whites must abandon their own vices before they can expect to civilize the aborigines of america.