Chapter X: ――indian Tribes (2)

‘Two great families of Indians seem, from time immemorial, to have occupied the country between the Rocky mountains and the Atlantic, viz. the Dahcotahs, and the Chippeway, or Algonquin race. The former are divided into a great number of independent tribes, whose origin may be traced by similarity of language, habits and manners. The parent stock is divided into several septs, which are again subdivided into a great many minor hordes. The principal divisions are these: Munday Wawkantons, Sussetons, Wakhpaytons, Wawkhpaykootays, Yanktows and Tetons. These last live high upon the Missouri, and have little intercourse with the rest. The Assinneboins, a numerous and powerful tribe, who roam over the prairies between the Missouri and the Saskatchawayn, seceded from the Dahcotahs little more than a century ago, and a bloody war was long waged between them and the parent race. A woman was the cause of quarrel. The Winnebagoes and Otoes, renowned for desperate bravery, the Ioways, the Osages, the Omahaws and many other western tribes, claim affinity with the Dahcotahs, and speak dialects of their tongue. The tradition concerning their origin, to which we give most credit, says, that they all came from Mexico at the time of the invasion of Cortez. The Winnebagoes hold the Spaniards in abhorrence to this day. Such of these tribes as inhabit the prairie region are vagrant, and live mainly by hunting the buffalo. A description of one will be a description of all of them. They are, generally, of the middle stature of mankind, and it is rare to see a Dahcotah who much exceeds or falls short of it, or who is in any wise deformed. They are beautifully formed: it is as rare to see an ill-made Dahcotah as a well-made white man. They are not muscular, nor are they so agile as whites commonly are; but in recompense, their powers of endurance are very great. They seem utterly insensible of fatigue, and patient of hunger, pain, and all other hardships.

‘Neither these, nor any other Indians with whom we are acquainted, are at all remarkable for gravity in their social intercourse. They are more taciturn, indeed, than the whites; but this is the result rather of circumstance than of education. Spending much time alone, they acquire a habit of silence; having fewer ideas than civilized men, they have fewer inducements to discourse. The conversation that does take place among them, however, is by no means characterized by reserve or by the absence of hilarity. In councils and on solemn occasions, it is judged decorous and proper to give no indication of feeling, and hence an apathetic gravity has long been thought a distinguishing attribute of the Indian character. Even were the assumption just, the aborigines would be no more remarkable in this respect than most modern Asiatic nations.

‘The character of Indians in general seems to have been viewed by most writers through a false medium, and their qualities have been inferred from the nature of their intercourse with white men. This is a false standard; to know them, one should live long among them and watch their social relations. Thus seen, they appear to much greater advantage than when hanging upon the frontiers doing or suffering wrong, and debasing themselves by theft, beggary and intemperance.

‘It will not be denied by any who know them, that those Indians who have not been corrupted by the whites are sincerely pious. They universally believe in one all-wise, benevolent and powerful God, to whom, however, they never pray; for, they say, he knows better what is good for them than they do themselves. Nothing shocks them more than to hear his name mentioned with irreverence by the whites. They also believe in an evil principle, whom they pray to do them no harm. They people all animated nature with inferior spirits, and to these they offer prayers and sacrifices. Their superstitions are numberless. They believe in a future state, and the world of spirits is, in their opinion, a fine hunting-ground, where the vexations and sufferings of this life will be unknown. Each man has what he calls his medicine; that is, he thinks fit to consider his fate and fortunes dependent on some animal, and that animal he will neither kill, eat, or treat with disrespect. In short, they have an infinite variety of such observances, and there is little uniformity in the belief of individuals.

‘Their priests are mere jugglers, who practise various mummeries, and are also, as is common among savages, physicians and surgeons, and, indeed, they mix medicine and religion together. A cure is effected by songs and superstitious rites as well as by the use of simples. The juggler’s voice and rattle are seldom still near the couch of a sick man. We are yet to learn that these quacks are much respected in their sacerdotal character, or that any great importance is attached to their ceremonies by the majority of the laity. One merit they have, and that is their skill in rough surgery. We have seen them effect astonishing cures. It may not be amiss to mention one, by way of example. A hunter was grappled by a bear, that he had wounded, and dreadfully lacerated. His arm was broken in several places, and all who saw it thought he must die or submit to amputation. An Indian surgeon, however, undertook the cure and effected it. It is true that he was three years about it, and perhaps the abstemious habits of the patient were a main cause of his recovery.

‘As to government, the Dahcotah race have no king, and every man does what seems right in his own eyes. They have chiefs, indeed, who have, by tacit consent, the power of making treaties, and of transacting the business of their followers. Sometimes they lead in war, but, save on such occasions, authority they have none. They may advise, but cannot command. They receive no reward for their services, nor do they wear any badge of their rank. Indeed they are usually worse dressed and provided than other individuals, because it is considered peculiarly the duty of chiefs to be generous. The office is hereditary in families, but not in the direct line of descent. If the heir apparent be notoriously ineligible, he is set aside, and a more worthy kinsman takes his place. Highly distinguished warriors become war chiefs through the respect paid to their valor. Each village has one of these, who is called the war chief, to distinguish him from the hereditary leader. He rules in war, but not in civil affairs. Sometimes a chief acquires absolute power, but of that kind which strong minds gain over weak ones, and it behoves every leader to bear his faculties meekly.

‘Laws the Dahcotahs have none; but they have customs which have the force of laws, and which are seldom broken. Thus a man may have as many wives as he can maintain. Adultery is punished by cutting off the nose of the offending wife; the wife cuts the clothes of the offending husband to pieces. Life is taken for life, unless the homicide can appease the friends of the dead by the payment of a ransom. The murderer invariably gives himself up to punishment, for to fear death is considered the acme of dishonor. When minor offences are committed, the injured party kills the dogs and horses of his enemy, or destroys his tent before his eyes, and in such cases no resistance is offered. Divorces are at the option of the husband. Theft is not regarded as a crime; indeed, property is nearly in common among them, so that no theft can be committed. They apply this standard of morals to the whites, and so get the reputation of thieves, while themselves are unconscious of wrong doing. It is, in our opinion, this very community of goods that is the principal obstacle to their civilization and improvement; for it cannot be expected that one man will sow for all the world to reap, or that he will weary his limbs in the chase to obtain what will not belong to him or his family. Those tribes who hold the right of property in most esteem, as, for example, the Saques and Foxes, have made the greatest advances in civilization.

‘Another obstacle to the civilization of our aborigines is their unconquerable indolence. The savage is content with the bare necessaries of life; he neither knows nor cares for its luxuries and superfluities. Necessity only will compel him to exertion. Tribes, whose limits have been so circumscribed by the whites that they cannot live by the chase, have resorted to labor for subsistence; but we think no other force of reason or circumstance will bring about such a result.

‘However strange such an assertion may appear, we confidently affirm that Indians are not more revengeful than other people. They have the same feelings and passions as other men, neither stronger nor weaker. They are kind to each other. Every offence but murder is readily forgiven, and even that crime seldom finds its due punishment. Nine murderers out of ten among them go down to the grave in peace. An Indian rarely goes much out of his way for revenge. Time and opportunity being ministered, an individual will wreak a long-smothered resentment, and so, we presume, would any other man, if freed from the restraints of law. We take it upon us to say that murders are not so frequent among them as with ourselves, and that these, as well as all minor injuries, are not so often or so fearfully avenged by Indians as by white men. As it regards wrongs committed by enemies of the tribe, the case is different. These, the savage is taught, it is his duty to requite upon any member of the hostile nation. Such vengeance it is his glory to take, and it is one of the first requisitions of his moral code.

‘The courage of Indians is not to be measured by our standard. In a mere clan, the loss of an individual is severely felt. It subtracts largely from the strength of the band and the happiness of his family. Discretion, therefore, is considered the better part of valor. The war chief who conquers the enemy does well; but he who conquers without loss to himself does infinitely better. It is thought honorable to avoid risk as much as possible, and the decision of quarrels by single combat is called folly and madness. But when they have resolved on battle, no people strive more valiantly. Our history bears witness of the furious energy of their valor. Their ideas of moral courage might be adopted with advantage by all who call them savages. They think it weak and cowardly to yield to grief or anger; misfortune and pain they scorn, and death they endure not only without a murmur, but with cheerfulness. Suicide under any circumstances they brand as the strongest evidence of lack of courage.

‘Of the cruelty of Indians to conquered enemies, this only can be said, that it is the vice of all barbarians, that they know not what they do, that it is only exercised on their avowed foes, and that it is almost always perpetrated in the heat of blood. Captives, once spared, fare no worse than their conquerors. The sense of honor among Indians is, in some respects, very strong; in others, not so. It will not prevent an individual from falsehood, treachery, promise-breaking, flattery, beggary and a multitude of other offences. It will deter him from labor, which he considers the exclusive business of women, it forbids him to shun death, it commands him to requite a disgraceful blow with a stab, it forbids him to boast of deeds he never achieved, it commands him to sacrifice himself for the good of his tribe. Its scope is not very extensive; but where it operates, it operates effectually.

‘In their domestic relations, they are essentially, but not ostensibly kind. They provide for their families, they love their wives and children; but thinking it womanish to manifest the affections, they are not fond husbands or fathers. Tatunkah Nazhee, the best hunter of the Dahcotahs, lost his wife and five children by the hands of the Chippeways. The only sign of grief he displayed was painting his face black. Yet he abandoned his usual occupations, and pursued the enemy till he had taken life for life. “This,” said he, “is the best way of mourning for the dead.”

‘Indian hospitality and charity have no limit. No stranger enters their tents to whom they do not give meat: no person goes to them in need whom they do not relieve to the extent of their ability, and often to their great inconvenience. They will not look upon an execution, they will not suffer a person who has wronged them to be whipped for it, and the idea of imprisoning a man for debt, or for a petty violation of the rights of property, fills them with horror.

‘Some years ago, the old chief of a Dahcotah band was robbed by a drunken soldier of eighteen ducks, which he had killed for the use of his family. The offender was detected, compelled to make restitution, and fastened to the whipping-post. When the old man comprehended the nature of the punishment about to be inflicted, he burst into tears, and threw down half his game before the commanding officer. “I will give you these,” said he, “if you will spare this man. Of what consequence are a few ducks?” The man had committed violence on the chiefs person. Which of the two best deserved to be called a savage?

‘In short, to end our remarks on the Dahcotah character, which is, with some trivial alterations, the character of most Indian tribes, we may say that their moral code is grievously defective, but that, such as it is, they adhere rigidly to it. Considering their ignorance, their extreme necessities and their wrongs, it is wonderful that their moral degradation is not deeper than it is. Their code is adapted to their mode of life, and it is only by applying it to others, who have more to lose and less to gain than themselves, that they become disagreeable and dangerous neighbors to the whites. An incessant irritation is the consequence, hatred succeeds, mutual wrong follows, and war consummates the drama.

‘Those of the tribes of Dahcotah origin who live on the Mississippi, and other wooded countries, live on the deer and other game of the forest. By entrapping the fur-clad animals, they get the means of buying guns, cloth and other articles, which have become indispensably necessary to them. In the summer, they live in permanent villages, and cultivate a little corn. The women perform this, as well as all other labors, and do not consider themselves aggrieved thereby. It is said that, as the men encounter the fatigues and perils of the chase, the dangers of war and the vicissitudes of the seasons, they have their full share of domestic duties. The women being unfit for these occupations, must fill the station which God has allotted to them, and neither party thinks the distribution of offices unjust or unreasonable. The women are sold, like the daughters of the patriarchs, by their parents to their husbands, and they are chastised or commended according to the degree of their industry or good conduct. Judging from their general cheerfulness, they see no hardship in their lot. Jealousy seems to be their chief annoyance, and often causes them to hang themselves.

‘In winter, the hunters leave their villages, and encamp in leathern tents on their hunting-grounds, removing from place to place as the game is more or less abundant. They are plentifully supplied by the traders with ammunition on credit, and pay their debts as they best can in the spring. This system is highly injurious to the Indians, and vexatious to the traders. As not more than half of the hunters pay their debts, the trader is obliged to charge a double price for his goods, in his own defence, and thus the honest and industrious Indians pay for the idle and vicious. Still this is the fashion of their fathers, and no persuasion will induce them to depart from it.

‘It only remains to be said of this portion of the race, that they live from hand to mouth, hunting and fishing when they feel so inclined, and fasting when the chances of the chase are against them. Few of them perish by starvation. The only circumstance that varies the monotony of their lives is war, and that they practise on so limited a scale that it has no perceptible effect on their population or happiness.

‘The roving tribes, who live in the great plains of the west, differ little in language or character from their more stationary brethren. They encamp near the vast herds of buffaloes, kill as many as they want, eat the flesh, dress in the skins, and sell as many robes to the traders as will procure them cloth and guns. They are wilder and more primitive than their neighbors, and more addicted to plunder and massacre those who are not of their blood. They are generally well mounted and armed with guns, bows and arrows, spears and shields. They kill the buffalo at full speed. If the drove removes, they pluck up their tents and follow. If any man frightens the cattle, certain police officers, called soldiers, punish him by stripes and the destruction of his horses and property. Their persons are held sacred, and no one thinks of resisting them. Some of these wanderers are like the children of Ishmael in that every man’s hand is against them, and their hand is against every man. The Assinneboins are an example. Their time is spent in indolence, war and the chase.

‘The wars of Indians among themselves are seldom very destructive. The war chief dreams or pretends to dream that the enemy will be delivered into his hands, and sets out for the field of strife with, perhaps, twenty followers. The greatest caution is observed, and if the party find reason to think that the enemy is apprised of their intention, they turn back. If, however, their plans succeed, a small number of the enemy are surprised and butchered. Few are ever spared. Within a few months, this paltry onslaught is repaid in kind, and the account is balanced. These wars have been from time immemorial, and will probably continue till time shall be no more. Such is the modern state of Indian warfare; but tradition tells of more serious hostilities. Hundreds of Dahcotahs and Mandans perished less than a century ago in a battle between the two tribes. The Assinneboins were once nearly exterminated by the former tribe. Those times are gone, and a mightier influence is sweeping the red men from the face of the earth.

‘The Algonquin or Chippeway race is even more widely extended than the Dahcotahs. Judging from the remains of the languages which have descended to our times, the entire aboriginal population of New England sprung from this stock. Their manners and habits corroborate this supposition. The Delawares are supposed to have had the same origin. The language of the powerful and chivalrous Iroquois is said to be allied to the Chippeway. The Saque and Fox tribes are evidently branches of the same tree. The Ottawas and Pottawattamies claim the same descent. It is thought that the Menomenies share the same blood. The Kinisteneaux speak a dialect of the same tongue, and many other tribes may be traced to the same origin. All these tribes are and have ever been dwellers in the woods, and save that they now dress in articles made by the whites and that they love rum, they are now very nearly what they were two hundred years ago. They have proved themselves possessed of some mechanical ingenuity by inventing the birch canoe, a vehicle which has been the admiration of all travellers.

‘The Chippeway race differ little from other tribes living in the woods, whose manners and habits are too well known to need comment here. They are a nation of hunters and warriors, skilful in the chase, bold in battle, eloquent in council, and, in a word, possessing all the half-formed virtues, all the vices, all the ignorance and all the barbarism already ascribed to the Dahcotahs. Those of them who live in high northern latitudes, are more needy, and consequently more industrious, than those who dwell in more favored climes. Between this great nation and the Dahcotahs, a war has been waged so long that tradition itself conveys no knowledge of its cause or the date of its commencement. The deadly feud has been transmitted from father to son with such inveteracy, that all efforts to staunch it have proved abortive. A great deal of inherited hatred, and the strong thirst for martial renown, which is an inherent part of Indian character, have co-operated to perpetuate this state of things.

‘The language of these two great races are like no forms of speech known in the old world. They are wonderfully expressive, both defective and redundant, and said to be difficult of acquisition. The verbs of the Dahcotah language appear to have no roots, and to be entirely irregular in their modifications. The nominative case neither precedes nor follows the verb, as in the languages of the old world, but is incorporated with it, sometimes at the end of the word, sometimes in the middle, sometimes abbreviated, and sometimes entire. We have known traders to fail to acquire it during a trial of thirty years. From the little acquaintance we were able to gain, we thought it a collection of phrases, with scarce the resemblance of rule or order, and conclude that, to be learned at all, it must be learned by rote.

‘We can give but brief notices of other tribes. The Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws are known to us by their wrongs, and by the advances they have made in civilization. The measures taken to remove them beyond the Mississippi, already partially successful, will probably ere long be fully so. It would be an ungrateful as well as a useless task to enter into a discussion of a subject so generally understood; nevertheless, it may not be impertinent to offer a few remarks on the probable future fate of these unfortunate tribes.

‘We have already expressed our views respecting what we think the only sure mode of civilizing Indians. That mode, or, in other words, the necessity of a change of manners, was in successful operation upon the four southern nations. By transferring them to an unlimited range of territory, that necessity has been removed, and if they do not relapse into their primitive barbarism, they are radically unlike any other Indians with whom we are acquainted, or farther advanced in civilization than we are prepared to believe. The influences which make and continue the hunter state of the Indians, operate on the whites also. For every Indian who has voluntarily relinquished the life of his fathers, ten whites may be found who have become hunters.

‘It is proposed, by placing these tribes west of the Mississippi, to protect them from the encroachments of the whites, an intention which is certainly not founded on precedent or analogy. If the most solemn treaties, if repeated retrocessions have not hitherto been adequate to protect the savage from the overpowering tide of white population, how can it be supposed that his new abode in Arkansas will be respected when he shall have made it valuable, if indeed, he ever should make it valuable? There, he is thrown in contact with other tribes, as warlike, and more barbarous than his own, and much misery and bloodshed has already been the consequence.

‘Moreover, it is proposed, by casting the lot of several distinct tribes together, to amalgamate them, and thereby preserve them from decay. If the experience of past times is to be trusted, this measure is much more likely to produce division than to prevent it. Who ever saw two Indian tribes amalgamate, unless when one, reduced to a mere handful, sought the protection of the other? Thus the remnant of the Saques sought protection of the Foxes, the Stockbridge Indians of the Six Nations. On the other hand, we have only to refer to the Dahcotah and Algonquin races, severally derived from two great roots, but now divided into an almost infinite number of petty hordes. If people, thus connected by the bonds of common origin and language, have so divided, what is to be expected from others, who have no basis of union, and who, in some instances, entertain hostile feelings toward each other? We hope the best; but to us the future prospect of the expatriated tribes appears overshadowed with clouds and darkness.

‘Beside the two great divisions already noticed, there are many other tribes, of whose origin and languages little is known, save that they are wholly distinct from each other. Such are the natives of the Columbia river, for an account of whom we must refer the reader to the travels of Lewis and Clarke, and of Roos Coxe. M’Kenzie and Franklin tell all that is known of the Dog-rib and Coppermine Indians, two feeble and miserable tribes which inhabit the frozen regions north of the Great Slave lake. The Flat-heads, who live on the upper waters of the Columbia, muster five hundred determined warriors, and derive their name from their custom of compressing the head, in infancy, into a hideously unseemly shape; a practice common to most of the tribes of Oregon, and formerly in use among the Caraibs. They war upon their eastern neighbors, the buffalo-following Blackfeet, a desperate and ferocious tribe, who are friendly to the English, and abhor the very name of an American. This animosity arose from the fact that one or two of them were killed, more than thirty years ago, by Lewis and Clarke. The Mandans and Minnetarees dwell in permanent villages on the Missouri, speak distinct languages from each other, and from all other tribes, and claim consanguinity with none. The Crows are a separate and powerful race of vagrant horsemen, and so are the Shiannes, who were formerly expelled by the Dahcotahs from the lands which the latter now occupy. The Pawnees and Arikarees compose three tribes who speak one language; the Pawnee Wolves are in no wise connected with them. The Shoshonees live and starve among the Rocky mountains. Among other distinct races may be numbered the Wyandots, or Hurons, the Comanches, the Appaches, and many others. All of these tribes, excepting the Wyandots, are more or less in the vagabond state, and ride over the boundless prairies, chasing the buffalo, and warring upon all whom they dare attack. All are bold warriors, skilful hunters, and inveterate horse-stealers, in all of which characters they glory. The manners of all are nearly alike; all practise the same indiscriminate hospitality; all have the same code of morals, religion, and policy; almost all detest the people of the United States, for what reasons it is unnecessary here to inquire. By classing all these hordes together, we do not mean to imply that there is no difference whatever in their habits, ideas, and characters; but that there is a very strong general resemblance between them all.

‘The Caraibs and the original inhabitants of the West Indies have passed away, thanks to the cruelties of their Spanish invaders. Nothing can be said of them which is, probably, not already known to the mass of our readers. For an account of the Mexicans, and the Indians of South America, we must refer to the pages of Humboldt, Robertson, and other writers. Nor can it be expected that we should enter into such details as may have come to our knowledge, respecting the tribes already mentioned. Many volumes larger than this would be requisite for such purpose. It is our duty, however, to caution our readers against trusting the statements of such travellers as Carver, who have galloped over the countries they describe with the speed of race-horses, without understanding a syllable of the languages of the Indians with whom they sojourned, and relying for information on the hearsay testimony of ignorant trappers and boatmen. There are but too many of this stamp. If we may say what authorities we consider unquestionable, we will mention M’Kenzie, Henry, Franklin, Tanner, and the English Long. These all sojourned long among the people they pretend to describe, and enjoyed the best opportunities for personal observation.

‘One topic connected with the aborigines only remains, which we must discuss briefly. It relates to their ultimate destiny, and the prospect of christianizing and civilizing them. Many obstacles to this desideratum exist, and we are sorry to add that they appear to us insuperable. To convert the adults must be excessively difficult, if not impossible. Firstly, their languages are so difficult of acquisition, and so barren of words expressing abstract ideas, that the greater part of a life is spent in learning them, and when acquired, they are scarcely adequate to convey the doctrines of Christianity. Secondly, the Indians are so constantly roaming about, and so scattered, that, to instruct them, a missionary would be needed for every family, who should accompany them in their peregrinations, avail himself of such opportunities as their caprice might allow, and above all, maintain himself; for, though no Indian would tell him so, the burthen of his support would, at times, be severely felt. He must then overcome that apathy and laziness which is the characteristic of savage life, break up the whole of his pupil’s long-revered rules of thought and action, and substitute others in their stead. A new ambition must be awakened, and the whole frame of Indian society must be changed entirely, for the ethics of our Savior will not apply to the present one. For example, it will be difficult to persuade the savage to meekness and long-suffering, while all his arts and exertions will scarce protect his wives and children from the knives of his neighbors, while all his companions tell him that revenge on the enemies of his tribe is a sacred duty, and that martial renown ought to be to him as the breath of his nostrils.

‘The missionary should not too much rely on the apparent impression he may have produced on his auditors. Indians seldom contradict, and, by an intuitive politeness, always receive what is addressed to them by one whom they respect, with approbation and assent. Therefore, when an Indian auditory may have listened to a discourse with marked attention and expressed approbation, the speaker is not to suppose that they believe a word of it. They only mean that he is entitled to respect. An Indian once agreed that man’s first disobedience was improper, and, being farther questioned, gave his reasons. “It was very foolish,” he said, “to eat apples: it was much better to make cider of them all.”

‘Some few adults have, indeed, become Christians; but where such conversions have taken place, the converts have either made some previous progress in civilization, or the change has been nominal. We never yet saw a savage hunter who had a rational idea of Christianity. The example of the Cherokees alone shows that the ground must be prepared to receive the seed. The missionaries have undoubtedly done them great good; but they made little or no progress before the tribe had turned to agriculture, framed laws and a regular government, and acknowledged a distinction of property. They are now fitted to receive the Word.

‘Indians taken from their tribe young, educated, and sent back, do not appear better qualified to teach than white missionaries. They are, in every thing but complexion, as much aliens among their people as the whites, and command no more sympathy, and rather less respect.

‘We believe there is no example on record of a tribe who have changed from hunters to farmers on any other consideration than compulsion of some kind or other. We constantly see them recede rather than labor. But when prevented from receding, they learn the value of time and labor, and a distinction of property necessarily takes place. Laws are then necessary to guard this distinction. Prodigality is no longer a principal virtue; war is no longer the chief pursuit of life; the mind acquires new ideas and new habits of exercise, and thus the way to entire civilization and Christianity is prepared. Could we see the coast of the Pacific settled by white men, who should advance into the interior, driving the western Indians before them as we have done the eastern, till the entire race should be hemmed within limits too narrow for their existence as hunters, we should entertain a hope of seeing a remnant of them saved and civilized. The same result must be brought about by driving them to the Pacific; but the operation will be so tardy, that most of the expatriated tribes will probably be destroyed by their intercourse with the whites, or by the tribes on whom they will be forced to intrude. How small a remnant remains of the millions who once dwelt in peace between the Atlantic and the Mississippi!

‘The children of Indians may be christianized, but only when they can be separated from their parents. The missionaries of Michilimacinac seem aware of this fact; for they have chiefly confined their instructions to the half-breed children of white men, who are at the disposal of their fathers. It was a wise policy, and their ministry has produced the most blessed results.

‘Consider this subject in what light we may, so many difficulties present themselves, that it is almost impossible to hope that any considerable portion of the aboriginal race will be in existence three centuries hence. The fate of individual tribes is beyond the reach of conjecture, and we have only to pray that the God alike of white and red men will preserve them from utter extermination.’